Ignored in the flurry of new research on fathers is that fatherhood may have consequences for men. This article explores possible effects on the lives and well-being of men for a range of fatherhood experiences. Data are drawn from the National Survey of Families and Households. The first part of this article examines whether men's varied associations with children (no children, coresident, non-coresident, and stepfatherhood) are associated with men's psychological health and behavior, social connections, intergenerational family relations, and work behavior. We found strong evidence that fathers differ from nonfathers in their social connections, family relationships, and work behavior. There is significant variation in effects among the father types as well. The second section of this article focuses attention only on men who are fathers and examines whether fathering behavior (e.g., the amount of time and nature of the activities that fathers are reported to be spending with their children) is associated with men's well-being. The effects of father involvement on men was found to be most significant for those who were living with their own children.


You ask, 'Can the dead speak?' I answer, 'Is this blood that runs in my veins, or ink? I ask that you read me. I ask that you hear me. See me. Touch me. Others have, and tasted my blood ...' So writes Jack Ireland, 14 year old English born survivor of the horrors of capture by head hunters. In Voicing the Dead, internationally-awarded author Gary Crew revisits the astonishing story of nineteenth century teenager Jack Ireland who survived - and lived to fight back through his 'never say die' determination and creativity. [Book Synopsis]


Multipurpose trees such as Senegalia senegal are widespread in arid and semi-arid lands that have natural or induced saline soils and poor soil fertility. Such environmental problems impact growth and have the potential to influence plant physiological adaptations. Identifying superior genotypes better adapted to these environmental stresses will be of great importance for tree selection for reclamation of degraded drylands. The main objective of this study was to examine the growth performance, and physiological and morphological adaptations to salinity, and fertility treatments of different Senegalia senegal families. We used five families (DB16, DB14, K4B19, K17B19, NB1) selected from 60 families of a Senegalia senegal progeny trial in Dahra, Senegal. Seedlings were grown under greenhouse conditions by watering all plants for three weeks and then stopping all watering for three more weeks. In a randomized complete block design, a two-level factorial combination was used for salinity (zero and 183.1 mM NaCl added) and fertility (zero and 100 kg/ha N-P-K added) treatments. A significant family × salt × fertilizer interaction was found for all biomass parameters (leaf dry matter, stem dry matter, root dry matter, and leaf area). The fertilizer application resulted in a significant increase of total biomass of all families, ranging from 63% to 237% for NB1 and K17B19, respectively. In contrast, salt only decreased total biomass of NB1 and K17B19 increased growth. Despite similar net photosynthetic rates before treatment started, fertilizer and salinity induced different effects between families. Prior to drought stress, fertilizer did not affect photosynthesis of DB16, while salt significantly decreased stomatal conductance of all families. DB16 and N1B1, despite significant differences of stomata size and density, significantly decreased transpiration, and thereby increased their intrinsic water use efficiency. Under drought, relative growth rate was significantly decreased. Given that genotype differences were found, these families and salinity and fertilizer treatments need to be explored in field trials.


Several phosphonium ionic liquid monomers have been shown to possess a lower critical solution temperature [1][2]. This property was kept when the monomers were used to synthesize both linear and crosslinked polymers, thus making them suitable materials for the synthesis of stimuli-responsive hydrogels [2]. Herein, we present the synthesis of a thermo-responsive tributylhexyl phosphonium 3-sulfopropyl acrylate (PSPA) crosslinked PIL, followed by its inclusion in a microfluidic device to be used as a temperature controlled valve. The hydrated hydrogels had their temperature-induced shrinking measured with a digital microscope from 20 °C to 70 °C, in 10 °C intervals. Measurements indicate a relative surface contraction of the hydrogels, in deionized water, of 34.04% ± 4.62% (n = 3) at 50 °C, and 53.37% ± 12.55% (n = 3) at 70 °C. Following this, hydrogels were polymerized in a microfluidic chip and had their flow characteristics analysed. When placed on a heating element and connected to a syringe pump and a flow microsensor, the hydrogels allowed deionized water to flow through the microfluidic chip at a rate of 140 nL·min-1 at 50 °C and ~ 15 nL·min-1 at 25 °C. The required time for the PILc valve to open was ~6s, while the time required for it to close was ~8s. In conclusion, the results confirm the applicability of PSPA hydrogels as thermally controlled valves in microfluidic devices. Furthermore, the study will continue by focusing on the optimization of the valve geometry to ensure higher flowrates, while also increasing the lifetime of the valve.


Thermoresponsive statistical copolymers of N-vinylcaprolactam and N-vinylpyrrolidone of controlled average molar masses and composition were synthesized by RAFT/MADIX polymerization. The cloud point temperature was finely tuned in the range of temperature 36–70 °C. DSC measurements combined with statistical calculations suggest that the whole polymer chain is involved in the hydration/dehydration process rather than short polymer sequences. At high concentration, these polymers enable the formation of thermoresponsive hydrogels. Cryo-SEM analysis of these solutions showed the presence of globular substructures, with a looser 3-D network at higher VP content. This decrease of density of entanglements in the gel network could explain the decrease of mechanical properties and faster rehydration kinetics of the thermogelling polymer.


We have constructed an apparatus to study DC electrical breakdown in liquid helium at temperatures as low as 0.4 K and at pressures between the saturated vapor pressure and ∼600 Torr. The apparatus can house a set of electrodes that are 12 cm in diameter with a gap of 1-2 cm between them, and a potential up to ±50 kV can be applied to each electrode. Initial results demonstrated that it is possible to apply fields exceeding 100 kV/cm in a 1 cm gap between two electropolished stainless steel electrodes 12 cm in diameter for a wide range of pressures at 0.4 K. We also measured the current between two electrodes. Our initial results, I < 1 pA at 45 kV, correspond to a lower bound on the effective volume resistivity of liquid helium of ρV > 5 × 10(18) Ω cm. This lower bound is 5 times larger than the bound previously measured. We report the design, construction, and operational experience of the apparatus, as well as initial results.


AIMS AND BACKGROUND
Capecitabine, as all fluoropyrimidines, interferes with vitamin metabolism and may thus have an impact on hematopoiesis. It is metabolized to its active form 5-fluoruracil by the enzyme thymidine phosphorylase, which exists in higher concentrations in tumor tissue and liver than in normal tissues. In the study, we investigated the changes in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of red blood cells and the possible correlation of these changes with the clinical outcome of capecitabine treatment in women with metastatic breast cancer.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN
Data from 75 metastatic breast cancer patients were analyzed retrospectively. Capecitabine was used at a dose of 2500 mg/m² daily for 14 days of every 3-week period. Mean corpuscular volume of red blood cells and other parameters of complete blood count were recorded at the beginning of the treatment, in the ninth week, and periodically thereafter.

RESULTS
Mean age was 51.5 ± 10.8 and 61.3% of the patients were premenopausal. Capecitabine was administered as the median 3rd line (min-max: 1-9) treatment and a median of 6 cycles (min-max: 1-24) for metastatic breast cancer. Median ΔMCV level (post-treatment values at ninth week - baseline) was 8. ΔMCV was ≥8 in 37 patients and <8 in 38 patients. The 35 of the 37 patients with ΔMCV level ≥8 and 25 of the 38 patients with ΔMCV level <8 had clinical benefit (complete response + partial response + stable disease) from capecitabine treatment (P = 0.02). However, the difference between progression-free survival of the patients with ΔMCV levels higher than 8 and those with ΔMCV levels lower than 8 according to Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was not statistically significant (6.7 and 4.3 months, respectively, P = 0.26). Additionally, median ΔMCV level was 9.1 (min-max: -2.4 to 24.9) among patients who had clinical benefit and 5.90 (min-max: -0.8 to 12.3) among nonresponders (P = 0.016).

CONCLUSIONS
Capecitabine increases the mean corpuscular volume levels of red blood cells by a yet unidentified mechanism. Early increment of mean corpuscular volume levels is higher than 8, i.e. by the 9th week, might predict clinical benefit from the treatment.


Background Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI) reported worldwide. Accurate point-of-care diagnostic tests are urgently needed for the rapid treatment of patients. To address this need, we have previously developed a 16S rRNA-based Microwave-Accelerated Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence (MAMEF) assay for the detection of CT. Here we report the development of an additional CT cryptic plasmid-based MAMEF assay, the use of the assays on clinical samples and the implication of MAMEF as a point-of-care test. Methods The cryptic plasmid-based assay was investigated with cultured, titered CT and vaginal specimens. Following the optimization of the assay, we tested a blinded cohort of dry-shipped vaginal swabs using both the 16S rRNA- and cryptic plasmid-based MAMEF assays, and compared the results to nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). Results The MAMEF assays detected as few as 10 IFU/mL of CT in less than 10 minutes including DNA extraction and detection. A total of 257 vaginal swabs from 245 adolescent women (ages 14–22) were analysed by MAMEF. The overall prevalence of CT by NAAT was 17.5%. Of the 45 NAAT CT-positive samples and 212 CT-negative samples, 33/45 and 197/212 were correctly identified by both MAMEF assays (sens 73.3%, spec 92.9%). Using the plasmid-based assay alone, 37/45 CT+ and 197/212 CT- were detected (sens 82.2%; spec 92.9%). Using the 16S rRNA assay alone, 34/45 CT+ and 197/212 CT- (sens 75.5%; spec 92.9). For the overall % agreement with NAAT, the individual 16S rRNA and cryptic plasmid were 89.8% and 91%, respectively. Conclusions Both CT MAMEF assays demonstrated moderate sensitivity and high specificity when using dry-shipped vaginal swabs. The cryptic plasmid assay was more sensitive than the 16S rRNA assay. MAMEF is an ultra-rapid platform with results in less than 10 minutes making it ideal as a point-of-care test.


Reuse repositories manager manages the reusable software components in different categories and needs to find the category of reusable software components. In this paper, we have used different pure and hybrid approaches to find the domain relevancy of the component to a particular domain. Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis (PLSA) approach, LSA, Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) technique, LSA Semi-Discrete Matrix Decomposition (SDD) technique and Naive Bayes Approach purely as well as hybrid, are evaluated to determine the Domain Relevancy of software components. It exploits the fact that Feature Vector codes can be seen as documents containing terms -the identifiers present in the components- and so text modeling methods that capture co-occurrence information in low-dimensional spaces can be used. The FV code representation of clusters or domains is used to find the domain-relevancy of the software components. PLSA has provided better results than LSA retrieval techniques in terms of Precision and Recall but its time complexity is too high. SVD Transformation with Naive Bayes scheme has outperformed all other approaches and shows better results than the existing approach (LSA) being used by some open source code repositories e.g. Sourceforge. The DR-value determined is close to the manual analysis, used to be performed by the programmers/repository managers. Hence, the tool can also be utilized for the automatic categorization of software components and this kind of automation may improve the productivity and quality of software development.


Aims: Kelussia odoratissima is a plant from Umbelliferae family that has nutritional and pharmacological properties. The antispasmodic effect of this plant has been mentioned in Iranian traditional medicine. The aim of study was to assess the effect of alcoholic extract of Kelussia odoratissima on uterus contractions of adult rats. Materials & Methods: In this experimental study, 16 adult female Wistar rats were studied and were randomly divided into two groups (each consisted of 8 rats); receiver of Tyrod solution (first group) and receiver of Dejalon solution (second group) groups. A 10-15mm sample of uterus smooth muscle were placed in an organ bath containing Tyrod or Dejalon solution (10ml), and contractions were recorded with Isometric method after inducing with KCl and Oxytocin. The 0.125, 0.25 and 0.5mg/ml final concentrations of the alcoholic extract of Kelussia odoratissima was added to the organ bath. Data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 17 software using repeated measures ANOVA. Findings: The alcoholic extract of Kelussia odoratissima significantly decreased the KCl-induced (p<0.001) and Oxytocin-induced (p<0.002) contractions in a concentration dependent manner. Conclusion: The alcoholic extract of Kelussia odoratissima inhibits the contractions of adult rat uterus in a concentration dependent manner.


GAEC1 in Colorectal Cancer: A pilot study Gopalan, V.1,2, Salajegheh, A.1, Kim, S.Y. 1, Tiang, T. 1, Smith, R.A.1,2,Lam, A.1 1 School of Medicine, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. 2 Schools of Medical Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia Introduction: GAEC1 (gene amplified in oesophageal cancer 1) is a novel gene, located in chromosome 7q22.1, originally identified in oesophageal cancer by our group. By comparative DNA fingerprinting, we have showed that the amplification or deletion of chromosomal sequences at 7q22.1 are common events in both pre-neoplastic lesions and carcinomas. The gene has not been studied in colorectal cancer. The objective of this study was to detect the presence of GAEC1 in colorectal cancer. Method: Colorectal cancers from 15 patients (8 males; 7 females; age ranges from 59 to 91) with resected colorectal carcinoma were collected. These patients have no family history of colorectal cancer and have not received any pre-operative chemo-radiation. The pathological features were reviewed. In all these samples, DNA was extracted. PCR was performed using primers developed for GAEC1 Results: All the cancer samples were confirmed to be adenocarcinomas (3 well-differentiated; 10 moderately-differentiated and 2 poor-differentiated). GAEC1 DNA was present in all tested tumour samples. Conclusion: This is the first study showing that the GAEC1 gene is present in colorectal cancer. Further tests will be performed to correlate the expression and amplification of the gene with the clinicopathological features in colorectal cancer.


Background Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) disproportionately report a history of traumatic life events including incarceration. Incarceration, by increasing distress and psychopathology, may increase risk-taking and infection. Pre-incarceration trauma may exacerbate the impact of incarceration on STI/HIV risk among BMSM. Methods Using data from HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061, we used inverse probability of treatment weighted Poisson regression models to estimate risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between recent incarceration and incident STI (gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis) and sexual risk behavior (sex trade defined as selling/buying sex, multiple partnerships, condomless sex) measured six months after incarceration assessment (n=1189). We tested the significance of interaction terms between incarceration and trauma to assess whether associations differed significantly by trauma history (e.g., experiencing a robbery, natural disaster, sexual/physical assault). Results Approximately 93% reported at least one traumatic event and 14% had been recently incarcerated. Incarceration was associated with STI among those with prior trauma (RR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.00–1.22) but not among those with no prior trauma (RR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.75–1.09); associations differed significantly (interaction term p=0.036). Incarceration was linked to increased risk of sex trade involvement among those with prior trauma (RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.00–1.15) and decreased risk among those with no prior trauma (RR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.90–1.00) (interaction term p=0.002). Incarceration was associated with increased risk of multiple partnerships among those with prior trauma (RR: 1.24; CI: 1.10, 1.40) but not among those with no prior trauma (RR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.32–2.25), though the RRs were not significantly different (interaction term p=0.224). Incarceration was not associated with condomless sex, regardless of prior trauma. Conclusion BMSM with prior trauma appear to face disproportionate vulnerability to STI/HIV risk after release from incarceration. Trauma-informed STI/HIV care and prevention interventions for BMSM with recent justice involvement are warranted. Disclosure No significant relationships.


Comparing interventional cardiology with minimally invasive cardiac surgery 1998 goes back to the early 80s when cardiologists treated coronary artery disease patients with balloon angioplasty under a permanent observation of cardiac surgeons who could offer to the patient the well established Conventional CABG, which already had proven to be safe, effective, durable, reproducible, and complete. At that time some critics predicted PTCA would remain the hobby of some cardiologists. During the last two decades, however, an explosive proliferation in the number of PTCA procedures has occurred, which soon exceed the number of CABG procedures. As technology has advanced and operator experience has increased, the application of PTCA has expanded from dilatation of simple, concentric single-vessel stenotic lesions to progressively more complex lesions in multivessel disease. Within the last 5 years the minimally invasive cardiac surgery has progressed, which allows the performance of even complex cardiac surgery through small incisions with (port-access technique) or without (MIDCAB technique) cardiopulmonary bypass. The rationale of enthusiastic users of these new techniques leads to improved cosmetic results, less surgical trauma, decreased length of hospital stay, reduced cost, and comparable long-term results with respect to conventional CABG. Similar to the prediction about PTCA two decades ago, some critics say that minimally invasive cardiac surgery would remain the hobby of some cardiac surgeons. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


Introduction: Dental radiographs are one of the principal diagnostic methods used in dentistry. The safe and effective use of X-ray equipment is important to the protection of the patient and members of the dental team. The aim of this research is to evaluate the general dental practitioner's knowledge of dental radiography. Materials and Methods: The data were collected from fifty general dental practitioners at self-convenience using a structured questionnaire consisting of 9-item questionnaire. The sample was selected based on inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria include undergraduate, postgraduate, and Chennai dental practitioners. The exclusion criteria include the students and dental radiograph assistants. In the questionnaire, details were asked about the age of the intraoral radiographic unit, kVp and mA of the equipment, the type of timer on the machine and about the geometry of the machine, and the geometric technique used for intraoral radiography. Furthermore, the questionnaire contained questions about the type of intraoral detectors that were used and whether the dentists were also using panoramic machines and, if so, which type of detector they had. Among the possible answers, one option was "no idea." The data thus obtained were subjected to statistical evaluation. Results: 80% (40 dentist) of the equipment used in South Chennai dentist was reported to operate between 60 and 70 kVp, whereas 20% (10 dentist) claimed to be working at a tube voltage of 50 kVp. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the knowledge of dentist in South Chennai regarding dentomaxillofacial radiology is excellent. The level of awareness of practitioners regarding radiation hazards and safety was found to be acceptable.


Abstract: Eberhard the German9s Laborintus , the first of the artes
poetriae to be printed, has received comparatively little scholarly attention.
Both Kelly and Murphy have noticed that the work conveys
a pedagogical emphasis. This essay, however, demonstrates that Laborintus
is not merely a manual for teachers of verse. Rather, the
work is a delightful maze of verse, grammar, and rhetoric, a labyrinth
of learning containing an allegorical account of grammar,
poesy, and rhetoric. On one level, the rhetorical figures are used as
inventional schemes for the composition of verse in proper meter.
However, the examples used in Eberhard9s account of the rhetorical
figures also contain Christian homilies on faith and action that are
exemplary primers for teachers. The homilies in tum underscore
Eberhard9s pedagogical theory, which is ultimately the key to his
labyrinth.


The use of CT scans in palaeontology has a long history. Most X-ray CT scans of fossils are carried out on previously prepared specimens and seldom on unprepared blocks of fossils. Here we report the use of a standard medical X-ray CT scanner to detect vertebrate and invertebrate fossils inside limestone blocks as an aid to subsequent preparation. The results were largely successful, with low-resolution images and radiodensity thresholds which nevertheless created sufficient contrast for identification of objects and their location inside blocks of limestone, thus optimizing the allocation of time and resources for palaeontological preparation. We conclude that the use of medical X-ray CT scanners for an initial visual inspection of limestone blocks for the presence of below the surface fossils is possible, cost effective and reliable. In addition, it allows the original raw data to be preserved as a digital object. The advantages of making use of standard medical X-ray CT scanners to facilitate palaeontological preparation under logistic or budgetary limitations is becoming more and more apparent.


GRP78, a 78-kDa protein localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), has been implicated in protein processing and stress protection. Its promoter contains a 36-bp region which is conserved among GRP genes across species and has the ability to compete for trans-acting factors mediating GRP gene expression. Integration of about 800 tandem copies of this sequence into the genome of a Chinese hamster ovary cell line (DG44) results in transfectants with the following phenotypes: (i) the induction level of GRP78 by the calcium ionophore A23187 and tunicamycin is reduced 4- and 2-fold, respectively, (ii) the induction levels of two other ER luminal protein genes, GRP94 and ERp72, are simultaneously down-regulated, (iii) the growth rate of these cells is half that of transfectants without the amplified sequence, and (iv) cell viability is decreased by 25-fold after A23187 treatment. These results provide new evidence that ERp72 shares common trans-acting regulatory factors with the GRP genes and that a reduction of this set of ER proteins correlates with lower viability after ionophore treatment.


The mechanism by which a suppressed immune system of a cancer patient makes them susceptible to COVID‐19 is still unclear. Any delay or discontinuation of cancer care due to the pandemic is expected to have a detrimental impact on the outcome of cancer. A few studies have addressed the incidence of COVID‐19 among cancer patients, but the small sample size of such studies makes it difficult to draw inference to the general population.


In the Brazilian savannah (Cerrados area), about 60 % of the surface area is used as pasture land and 30 % of the latter is cultivated pasture. Many studies have reported that pastures degrade quickly and degradation would be more intense when the soil was tilled prior pasture sowing. Pasture degradation (decrease in the pasture quality and yield, weed invasion) would be partly a consequence of the soil structure evolution (Balbino & Di Stefano, 1999). Origin of pasture degradation is still under discussion and analysis of the literature showed that there is a lack of quantitative data. The aim of this study is to perform a detailed analysis of the porosity in a low productivity cultivated pasture and to compare the results with the porosity of a similar soil still under native vegetation (Cerradao, i.e. Scierophylous forest).


The demonization of youth in urban communities is on the increase globally, and the recent media obsession with youth gang culture has added to this moral panic. This paper examines evidence from a small qualitative pilot study of young people in some of the most deprived urban communities in Glasgow, Scotland. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with disaffected young people between the ages of 14-19 years as a means of exploring their experience of urban phenomena and the impact this experience has on the generation of social capital. The findings illustrate that the young people feel stigmatised, victimised and excluded from urban space, and that territorial issues restrict their social mobility. Although gang membership provides some young people with a source of bonding social capital, the reality of their lives is one devoid of trust, reciprocity and agency. The paper presents evidence from a case study of a new community-based youth work initiative in Glasgow and the impact it has on re-building social capital among young marginalised men. The paper ends with implications for practice and suggestions for future research.


The case history is presented of two patients with attacks of cherry-red urine after strenuous exercise. Both had varicosity of the long saphenous veins. Haemoglobinuria disappeared after crossectomy of the long saphenous vein and resection of the convolutes. After one and two years, they have no recurrence.


The possibility of transplanting adult stem cells into damaged organs has opened new prospects for the treatment of several human pathologies. The purpose of this study was to develop a culture system for the expansion and production of human Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells (hPDLSCs) using a new xeno-free media formulation and ensuring the maintenance of the stem cells features comprising the multiple passage expansion, mesengenic lineage differentiation, cellular phenotype, and genomic stability, essential elements for conforming to translation to cell therapy. Somatic stem cells were isolated from the human periodontium using a minimally invasive periodontal access flap surgery in healthy donors. Expanded hPDLSCs in a xeno-free culture showed the morphological features of stem cells, expressed the markers associated with pluripotency, and a normal karyotype. Under appropriate culture conditions, hPDLSCs presented adipogenic and osteogenic potential; indeed, a very high accumulation of lipid droplets was evident in the cytoplasm of adipogenic-induced cells, and indisputable evidence of osteogenic differentiation, investigated by transmission electron microscopy, and analyzed for gene expression analysis has been shown. Based on these data, the novel xeno-free culture method might provide the basis for Good Manufacturing Procedure culture of autologous stem cells, readily accessible from human periodontium, and can be a resource to facilitate their use in human clinical studies for potential therapeutic regeneration.


Using a cross-polarization transmission geometry, stress maps for the normalized birefringence and intrinsic stress direction of polymeric materials may be obtained using terahertz nondestructive evaluation. The analysis method utilizes a deconvolution method to determine the arrival times and amplitude of the cross-polarized terahertz pulses through a birefringent material. Using amber (a naturally occurring polymer) as a material of interest, stress maps show that inclusion-free Lebanese amber samples behave as classic uniaxial birefringent (photoelastic) materials whose principal stress directions, as inferred in the terahertz spectral range, agree well with visible photoelasticity measurements. Since amber samples, depending upon their source, may be either transparent or opaque to visible light, comparing birefringence measurements in the visible and terahertz spectral ranges cross-validates the stress measurements, thereby establishing a strong and unique stress analysis methodology for visibly opaque samples. While the material of interest for this paper is amber, the method is generally applicable for any terahertz-transparent polymer. The cross-polarization experimental configuration enables stress levels within the amber matrix to be visualized while also outlining highly localized regions of stress surrounding inclusions. Birefringence stress maps clearly show localized increases in stress magnitude and directional changes surrounding inclusions.


Results on brain imaging studies have led to a
better understanding of the neural circuits involved in social cognition and
its implication in autism spectrum disorders(ASD).
It has been shown that the superior temporal sulcus(STS)is highly implicated in social processes, from perception of socially relevant
information, such as body movements or eye gaze, to more complex social
cognition processes. Furthermore, several multimodal brain imaging results
point to anatomo-functional abnormalities in the STS in both children and adults with ASD. These results are highly consistent with social impairments
in ASD, among which eye gaze perception is particularly relevant. Gaze
abnormalities can now be objectively measured using eye-tracking methodology,
leading to a better characterization of social perception impairments in autism. Moreover, these gaze abnormalities have been associated with STS abnormalities in ASD. Based on these results, our
hypothesis is that anatomo-functional anomalies in the STS occurring early
across brain development could constitute the first step in the cascade of
neural dysfunction underlying autism. In the present work, we'll review recent data of STS contribution to normal social cognition and it's implication in autism.


Coastal communities experience a wide array of environmental and social changes to which they must constantly adapt. Further, a community's perception of change and risk has significant implications for a community's willingness and ability to adapt to both current and future changes. As part of a larger study focusing on the adaptive capacity of communities on the Andaman Coast of Thailand, we used Photovoice to open a dialogue with communities about changes in the marine environment and in coastal communities. This article presents the results of two exploratory Photovoice processes and discusses prospects for using the Photovoice method for exploring social and environmental change. Changes examined included a number of broader environmental and social trends as well as ecological specifics and social particularities in each site. Participants also explored the social implications of environmental changes, the impacts of macro-scale processes on local outcomes, and emotive and active responses of individuals and communities to change. Photovoice is deemed a powerful method for: examining social, environmental, and socio-ecological change, triangulating to confirm the results of other scientific methods, revealing novel ecological interactions, and providing input into community processes focusing on natural resource management, community development, and climate change adaptation.


Inhalational exposure to crystalline silica is linked to several debilitating systemic autoimmune diseases characterized by a prominent humoral immune component, but the mechanisms by which silica induces autoantibodies is poorly understood. To better understand how silica lung exposure breaks B cell tolerance and unleashes autoreactive B cells, we exposed both wildtype mice of healthy C57BL/6 and lupus-prone BXSB, MRL, and NZB strains and mice carrying an autoantibody transgene on each of these backgrounds to instilled silica or vehicle and monitored lung injury, autoimmunity, and B cell fate. Silica exposure induced lung damage and pulmonary lymphoid aggregates in all strains, including in genetically diverse backgrounds and in autoantibody transgenic models. In wildtype mice strain differences were observed in specificity of autoantibodies and site of enhanced autoantibody production, consistent with genetic modulation of the autoimmune response to silica. The unique autoantibody transgene reporter system permitted the in vivo fate of autoreactive B cells and tolerance mechanisms to be tracked directly, and demonstrated the presence of transgenic B cells and antibody in pulmonary lymphoid aggregates and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, respectively, as well as in spleen and serum. Nonetheless, B cell enumeration and transgenic antibody quantitation indicated that B cell deletion and anergy were intact in the different genetic backgrounds. Thus, silica exposure sufficient to induce substantial lung immunopathology did not overtly disrupt central B cell tolerance, even when superimposed on autoimmune genetic susceptibility. This suggests that silica exposure subverts tolerance at alternative checkpoints, such as regulatory cells or follicle entry, or requires additional interactions or co-exposures to induce loss of tolerance. This possibility is supported by results of differentiation assays that demonstrated transgenic autoantibodies in supernatants of Toll-like receptor (TLR)7/TLR9-stimulated splenocytes harvested from silica-exposed, but not vehicle-exposed, C57BL/6 mice. This suggests that lung injury induced by silica exposure has systemic effects that subtly alter autoreactive B cell regulation, possibly modulating B cell anergy, and that can be unmasked by superimposed exposure to TLR ligands or other immunostimulants.


Limited studies have assessed longitudinal growth among children exposed to different types of diabetes in-utero. We assessed BMI from birth to age 10 years in offspring of mothers who had pre-existing type 1 (T1D) or type 2 (T2D), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or no diabetes during pregnancy. GDM was further divided into GDM managed with (GDM with meds) or without (GDM no meds) diabetes medication. More than 3.5 million BMI measurements were obtained from medical records of 218,227 singleton children born at 28-44 weeks gestation from 2008 to 2015. Relationships between BMI, age and diabetes exposure were modelled using random effects mixed models with quadratic B splines adjusted for maternal age, race/ethnicity, education, household income, pre-pregnancy BMI, gestational weight gain, maternal comorbidity, and child's sex. At birth, the adjusted BMI had small differences among groups except for T1D which had the highest BMI [diff=0.4; 95%CI 0.2-0.6 kg/m2 relative to no diabetes]. After birth, the adjusted BMIs were comparable between T1D and T2D exposed. At about 48 months, the growth pattern started separating with highest BMI in T1D and T2D groups, followed by GDM with meds, GDM no meds and no diabetes groups (Figure). Thus, despite standard diabetes management, there exists a hierarchical BMI pattern in offspring exposed to different types of diabetes even after adjusting for important covariates, starting as early as age 4. Disclosure M.A. Sidell: None. T. Chow: None. M.P. Martinez: None. C. Koebnick: None. K.A. Page: None. T.A. Buchanan: None. A. Xiang: None.


This randomized three‐way, crossover pharmacokinetic study was performed to determine whether food or an antacid alters the bioavailability of dexketoprofen trometamol. A total of 24 healthy volunteers received three single 25 mg doses of dexketoprofen trometamol administered either in fasting condition, after an antacid (Maalox®), or after a high‐fat breakfast. Each volunteer received the three treatments in a randomized order, with a 7‐day washout period between treatments. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals up to 24 h after dose. Plasma dexketoprofen concentrations were determined by HPLC and the main outcome measures were area under curve of concentration vs. time (AUC0‐∞), maximal plasma concentration (Cmax.), and time to reach maximal concentration (tmax). Administration of an antacid 10 min before dexketoprofen trometamol had no clinically relevant effect on any of the pharmacokinetic parameters. Food did not alter the extent of absorption of dexketoprofen trometamol, but tmax was significantly increased and Cmax significantly decreased compared with the fasting state. In conclusion, we can state that neither antacid nor food has a significant effect on the overall bioavailability of dexketoprofen trometamol.


Introduction: Good oral hygiene protects against oral diseases such as caries and gum infections. Twice daily tooth brushing with fluoride pastes and flossing are recommended to keep mouth clean and reduce plaque bacterial growth. Poor access to oral cleaning material and dental care services expose children from poor backgrounds to oral diseases. Background: Milk consumption is popular in Malaysia especially among the younger ages. Nonetheless, there is a lack of quantitative data on milk consumption by children in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken on a sample of 749 children aged 1-10 years in the metropolitan areas of Kuala Lumpur. Approximately similar proportions of children were selected from low, middle and high household income categories. Socioeconomic background, dietary intake based on 24-hour recall and food records, were obtained for each child. Results: Prevalence of milk drinking was highest among aged 1-3 years (90.6%) followed by 86.1% aged 4-6 years, and 73.7% among ages 7-10 years. The youngest age group consumed averagely 3.5 (3.1 – 3.8) cups (200ml/cup) of milk daily, exceeding the recommendation of 2-3 cups a day by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. There were no significant differences in the mean amounts of milk consumed among ages 1-3 years from low to high income categories. Children aged 4-6 years consumed, on average, 2.2 (1.9 – 2.4) cups/day, which is within the MOH recommendation, while that for ages 7-10 years, at 1.07 (0.9–1.2) cups/day, is below the recommendation. Conclusion: Parents of young children should be advised on the nutritional importance of providing foods from a variety of sources, so that the children obtain the right balance and mix of nutrients for optimum growth.


On the basis of a large number of continuous monitoring experiments for the five-line salinity of seawater, and the uncertainty of natural seawater oxidation reduction potential (ORP) is 2.2mV, the effect of seawater salinity on the equilibrium time of ORP is studied qualitatively and quantitatively. The results indicated that the greater the salinity, the longer the time of reaching to ORP equilibrium value, the longer the equilibrium time of the seawater ORP value. It is showed that the ORP equilibrium value was obtained at 30minutes, 90minutes, 120minutes, 240minutes and 300minutes from seawater with salinity as 5,20,30,35 and 40, respectively, and the equilibrium time was more than 12 hours. Accuracy and stability of the equilibrium time of seawater ORP value under different salinity can provide technical support for metrological verification of ORP sensor.


For complex robotic tasks (manipulation, locomotion, haptics, ...), the lack of knowledge of precise interaction models, the difficulties to precisely measure the task associated physical quantities (force, speed, ...) in real time and the non-collocation of sensors and transducers have negative effects on performance and stability of robots when using simple force or simple movement controllers. To cope with these issues, some researchers proposed a new approach named «interaction control» that refers to regulation of the robot's dynamic behavior at its ports of interaction with the environment. Interaction control involves specifying a dynamic relationship between motion and force, and implementing a control law that attempts to minimize deviation from this relationship [1]. The implementation of machines able to precisely control interaction with its environment begins with the use of actuators specially designed for that purpose. To that effect, a new compact implementation design for high performance actuators that are especially adapted for integration in robotic mechanisms is presented, this design making use of a mechanical differential as central element. Differential coupling between an intrinsically high impedance transducer and an intrinsically low impedance spring element provides the same benefits as serial coupling [4]. However differential coupling allows new interesting design implementations possibilities, especially for rotational actuators.


Simian virus 40 (SV40)-mediated transformation of human fibroblasts offers an experimental system for studying both carcinogenesis and cellular aging, since such transformants show the typical features of altered cellular growth but still have a limited life span in culture and undergo senescence. We have previously demonstrated (D. S. Neufeld, S. Ripley, A. Henderson, and H. L. Ozer, Mol. Cell. Biol. 7:2794-2802, 1987) that transformants generated with origin-defective mutants of SV40 show an increased frequency of overcoming senescence and becoming immortal. To clarify further the role of large T antigen, we have generated immortalized transformants by using origin-defective mutants of SV40 encoding a heat-labile large T antigen (tsA58 transformants). At a temperature permissive for large-T-antigen function (35 degrees C), the cell line AR5 had properties resembling those of cell lines transformed with wild-type SV40. However, the AR5 cells were unable to proliferate or form colonies at temperatures restrictive for large-T-antigen function (39 degrees C), demonstrating a continuous need for large T antigen even in immortalized human fibroblasts. Such immortal temperature-dependent transformants should be useful cell lines for the identification of other cellular or viral gene products that induce cell proliferation in human cells.


In this article, the authors develop and test hypotheses relating the four knowledge creation modes of socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization as performed during the concept and the development phases of new product development projects to new product success. Using data from 94 new product development projects, they find that socialization during the concept phase and combination during the development phase are positively related to new product success but that externalization during the concept phase as well as socialization and internalization during the development phase are negatively related to new product success. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.


We consider the setting of an agent with a fixed body interacting with an unknown and uncertain external world. We show that models trained to predict proprioceptive information about the agent's body come to represent objects in the external world. In spite of being trained with only internally available signals, these dynamic body models come to represent external objects through the necessity of predicting their effects on the agent's own body. That is, the model learns holistic persistent representations of objects in the world, even though the only training signals are body signals. Our dynamics model is able to successfully predict distributions over 132 sensor readings over 100 steps into the future and we demonstrate that even when the body is no longer in contact with an object, the latent variables of the dynamics model continue to represent its shape. We show that active data collection by maximizing the entropy of predictions about the body---touch sensors, proprioception and vestibular information---leads to learning of dynamic models that show superior performance when used for control. We also collect data from a real robotic hand and show that the same models can be used to answer questions about properties of objects in the real world. Videos with qualitative results of our models are available at this https URL.


Hepatic, heparin-releaseable lipase is a multifunctional enzyme that may act on all lipoprotein classes present in plasma from fasted subjects. Recent evidence suggests that the enzyme also plays a role in the metabolism of chylomicronremnants. Its activity is impaired in normolipidemic patients with coronary heart disease, which also have a delayed removal of chylomicronremnants from plasma. Therefore hepatic lipase, in addition to lipoprotein lipase, plays an important role in postprandial lipoprotein metabolism. The activity levels of lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and cholesterylester transfer protein (CETP) are virtually unchanged after the ingestion of an oral fat load by normolipidemic subjects. However, the net mass transfer of cholesterylesters out of HDL into apo B-containing lipoproteins (chylomicronremnants, VLDL/IDL/LDL) is strongly increased. All triglyceride-rich lipoprotein fractions accumulate postprandially and, as a result of CETP action, become enriched in cholesterylesters. Defects in hepatic remnant removal may result in influx of remnants into the arterial wall. In patients with hyperlipidemia (and increased risk for atherosclerosis) the CETP-mediated formation of cholesterylester-rich remnants may operate, not only during the postprandial phase, but continuously.


Recently, the mathematical theory of games has been applied to late-stage Go endgames [Berlekamp and Wolfe 1994; Wolfe 1991]. Based upon this theory, we developed a tool to solve local Go endgames. We verified all exact game values in [Wolfe 1991] and analyzed some more complex positions. We extended our method to calculate bounds for positions where optimal play depends on Ko. Our program Explorer uses this tool to play full board endgames. It plays a nontrivial class of endgame positions perfectly. In a last section we discuss heuristic play for a wider range of endgames.


Memristive devices have emerged as compact nonvolatile memory elements which can be used as synapses in neuromorphic architectures. However, the intrinsic stochasticity in their switching behavior, non-linear characteristics, and variability limit their operation in real systems. In this paper we propose spike-based learning circuits designed to exploit the stochastic properties of memristors. This implements a probabilistic version of a local gradient descent rule, namely the delta rule, for online learning in neuromorphic chips. The circuits proposed translate the delta error to the slope of a ramp voltage which modulates the probability of resistive switching in very low resolution (i.e. binary) memristive devices. We demonstrate the feasibility and computational power of such approach, using a spiking neural network simulator to carry out system level behavioral simulations of the neuromorphic architecture applied to a classification task of digits 0 to 4 in the MNIST data-set.


Dynamic analysis of large-size finite element models has been commonly applied by mechanical engineers to simulate the dynamic behavior of complex structures. The ever-increasing demand for both detailed and accurate simulation of complex structures forces mechanical engineers to pursue a balance between two conflicting goals during the simulations: low computational cost and high accuracy. These goals become extremely difficult for geometric nonlinear structural dynamical problems. When geometrical nonlinearities are introduced, the internal force vector and Jacobians are configuration dependent, and the corresponding updates are computationally expensive. This thesis presents nonlinear model order reduction techniques that aim to perform detailed dynamic analysis of multi-component structures with reduced computational cost, without degrading the accuracy too much. Special attention is given to flexible multibody system dynamics. For multi-component structures featuring many interface degrees of freedom, standard substructuring dynamics can be combined with interface reduction techniques to obtain compact reduced order models. Chapter~2 summarized a variety of interface reduction techniques for the well-known Craig-Bampton substructuring method. These approaches are reviewed and compared in terms of both computational cost and accuracy. A multilevel interface reduction method is presented as a more generalized approach, where a secondary Craig-Bampton reduction is performed when the subsystems are assembled within localized subsets. The multilevel interface reduction method provides an accurate representation of the full linear model with significantly lower computational cost. In Chapter~3, we extend the Craig-Bampton method to geometric nonlinear problems by augmenting the system-level interface modes and internal vibration modes of each substructure with their corresponding modal derivatives. The modal derivatives are capable of describing the bending-stretching coupling effects exhibited by geometric nonlinear structures. Once the reduced order model is constructed by Galerkin projection, the upcoming challenge is the computation of the reduced nonlinear internal force vectors and tangent matrices during the time integration. The evaluation of these objects scales with the size of the full order model, and it is therefore expensive, as it needs to be repeated multiple time within every time step of the time integration. To address this problem, we directly express the reduced nonlinear vectors and matrices as a polynomial function of the modal coordinates, using substructure-level higher-order tensors with much smaller size. This enhanced Craig-Bampton method offers flexibility for reduced modal basis construction, as modal derivatives need to be computed only for substructures actually featuring geometrical nonlinearities, and do not need the prior knowledge of the nonlinear response of the full system with training load cases. For flexible multibody systems, each body undergoes both overall rigid body motion and flexible behavior. To describe the dynamic behavior of each body accurately, the floating frame of reference is commonly applied. In Chapter~4, the enhanced Craig-Bampton method, as proposed in Chapter~3, is embedded in the floating frame of reference. We consider here structures modeled with von-Karman beam elements. Interface reduction methods are in this context unnecessary since the adjacent bodies are connected through a single node. The proposed reduction method constitutes a natural and effective extension of the classical linear modal reduction in the floating frame. For more complex geometries, like wind turbine blades, extremely simplified beam models can not capture the complexity of the real three-dimensional structure, and therefore the dynamic behavior might not be accurately modeled. In Chapter~5, we present an enhanced Rubin substructuring method for three-dimensional nonlinear multibody systems. The standard Rubin reduction basis is augmented with the modal derivatives of both the free-interface vibration modes and the attachment modes to include bending-stretching coupling effects triggered by the nonlinear vibrations. When compared to the enhanced Craig-Bampton method proposed in Chapter~4, the enhanced Rubin method better reproduces the geometrical nonlinearities occurring at the interface, and, as a consequence, higher accuracy can be achieved. In Chapter~6, the overall conclusions are drawn and recommendations for further study are provided.


This study examines the relative merits of grievance-based explanations of civil conflict that stress 'Malthusian crises' and 'creed-related,' civilizational clashes against competing propositions of greed- and governance-related explanations. The results from maximum-likelihood analyses on approximately 139 countries over the entire post-Cold War period find little support for Malthusian propositions. Abundant mineral wealth makes countries highly unstable, whereas scarcity of renewable resources is largely unrelated to civil conflict. There is some evidence suggesting that Malthusian crises are likely to be man made. Ethnicity is related to conflict when society is moderately homogenous and safer if highly plural. Large populations of Christians and Muslims within one society make countries remarkably safer, contrary to popular beliefs that ancient hatreds and Islamic militarism drive conflict. Trade to GDP (openness) is also strongly associated with peace.


We used shear flow and an electric field to control colloidal crystallization. The structures were examined in situ with confocal microscopy. For experiments under shear, a new parallel plate shear cell was designed. It had a zero-velocity plane that was stationary with respect to the microscope. The plates were microscopy slides of a few square centimeters. They both had a maximum travel of 1 cm and for the systems that we study an oscillatory shear with such a large amplitude can be regarded as a continuous shear. The gap width was variable between 20- 200 m. The plates were parallel within 1-2 m. The flow profile of a dilute suspension was linear, but that of a crystallizing dispersion appeared to be non-linear. At the walls a sliding layer structure formed of which the local viscosity was 1.5 times smaller than that of the liquid-like structure in the middle of the gap. At low shear rates hexagonal layers of a crystal showed a zigzag motion. We also examined shear melting and crystallization. Shear melting appeared to be a local process in which the local order sometimes increased and sometimes decreased while the average order decreased. Shear induced crystallization occurred uniformly over the sample and the order increased monotonously. By spin coating colloidal crystalline films were fabricated that consisted of randomly stacked hexagonal layers. The structures could be made permanent by using a dispersing medium that could be polymerized. The interparticle spacing was not fixed, but probably depended subtly on the surface charge of the particles and the ionic strength of the medium. Different from crystals formed by sedimentation, spin coated crystals were crystalline to the top. This is one of the indications that crystal formation started at the air interface with a 2D layer that grew into a 3D multilayer structure while it was sedimenting. From these spin coated crystals freestanding colloidal crystalline films could be made. Without crack-formation either the particles or the matrix could be removed. Even deforming a freestanding crystal of silica particles in air by irradiating it with a MeV high-energy ion beam could be done without crack formation. In a high frequency alternating current electric field, particles formed strings along the field lines. By making a regular pattern on one of the electrodes of a parallel plate capacitor, a gradient in the electric field was established. Depending on the dielectric contrast between the particles and the medium the strings of particles formed either on top or in between this pattern. This gave control over structure formation along the gradient of the electric field strength. We showed that the electric field induced crystals can also be made permanent. If the matrix is elastomeric, the structure can be subsequently deformed by a shear. Combining two external fields at the same time will also be possible in our parallel plate shear cell. The setup can be adapted such that an electric field can be applied in addition to a shear flow. This opens up possibilities to make crystals with even different symmetries.


This paper presents promising current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor-insulator-graphene tunnel diodes as the hot-electron injection unit in graphene base transistors (GBTs). We propose that by using a bilayer tunnel barrier one can effectively suppress the defect mediated carrier transport while enhancing the hot-electron emission through Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (FNT) and step tunneling (ST). A stack of TmSiO/TiO2 (1 nm/ 5.5 nm) is sandwiched between a highly doped Si substrate and a single layer graphene (SLG) as the electrodes. This tunnel diode exhibits high current with large nonlinearity suitable for the application in GBTs.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide with substantial mortality and morbidity. Alisertib (ALS) is a selective Aurora kinase A (AURKA) inhibitor with unclear effect and molecular interactome on CRC. This study aimed to evaluate the molecular interactome and anticancer effect of ALS and explore the underlying mechanisms in HT29 and Caco-2 cells. ALS markedly arrested cells in G2/M phase in both cell lines, accompanied by remarkable alterations in the expression level of key cell cycle regulators. ALS induced apoptosis in HT29 and Caco-2 cells through mitochondrial and death receptor pathways. ALS also induced autophagy in HT29 and Caco-2 cells, with the suppression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), but activation of 5′ AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathways. There was a differential modulating effect of ALS on p38 MAPK signaling pathway in both cell lines. Moreover, induction or inhibition of autophagy modulated basal and ALS-induced apoptosis in both cell lines. ALS potently suppressed epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in HT29 and Caco-2 cells. Collectively, it suggests that induction of cell cycle arrest, promotion of apoptosis and autophagy, and suppression of EMT involving mitochondrial, death receptor, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, p38 MAPK, and AMPK signaling pathways contribute to the cancer cell killing effect of ALS on CRC cells.


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Analyses of functional traits have become fundamental tools for understanding patterns and processes in plant community ecology. In this context, regenerative seed traits play an important, yet overlooked, role because they largely determine the ability of plants to disperse and re-establish. A survey of recent publications in community ecology suggests that seed germination traits in particular are neglected at the expense of other relevant but overused traits based only on seed morphology. As a response to this bias, we discuss the functional significance of seed germination traits in comparison with morphological and biophysical seed traits, and advocate their use in vegetation science. We also demonstrate how research in community assembly, climate change and restoration ecology can benefit from the inclusion of germination traits, encompassing functions that cannot be explained solely by adult plant traits. Seed germination experiments conducted in the laboratory or field to quantify these traits provide ecologically meaningful and relatively easy-to-obtain information about the functional properties of plant communities. We argue that bridging the gap between seed physiologists and community ecologists will improve the prediction of plant assemblages, and propose further perspectives for including seed traits into the research agenda of functional community ecologists.


Introduccion During the 1990s the market for Latin America's debt grew in volume, types of instruments traded and number of investors and trade houses involved. Investors were drawn by high growthpotential and high yields in most Latin American countries, as well as by a general trend towards the implementation of economic and political reforms. As a result, the relative size of Latin America's market worldwide grew.This growth, however, was affected by a series of market events that underscored Latin America's vulnerability to financial shocks. Growth in trading volumes and asset values was first interrupted in 1994, in the aftermath of Mexico's peso devaluation in mid-December. Mexico's devaluation set in motion 'contagion' (the 'tequila effect');, which depressed market values throughout Latin America and other emerging markets during early 1995. Investor confidence recovered by mid-1995, following the massive rescue package for Mexico organized by the International Monetary Fund with support from United States and other G-7 countries. Capital flows to Latin America and other emerging markets grew considerably for the next two years. Market conditions were favorable until the onset of financial and economic difficulties in Southeast Asia in mid-1997. Market contagion spread these difficulties to Russia by mid-1998, which in turn led to more general, and more severe, contagion throughout the emerging markets in the latter half of 1998. The resulting loss of investor confidence eventually led to Brazil's January 1999 devaluation.An essential element of external financing in the 1990s was increasing access to the international bond market. The importance of bond financing as a source of external funding to Latin America rose substantially, with the number and value of bonds issued surging considerably over the course of the decade. Bond financing is currently one of the fastest growing sources of external development financing, being second only to foreign direct investment. On average, bond financing became the second major source of funding in Latin America in the 1990s. In order to assess the role of bonds as a source of external finance in Latin America in the 1990s, it is important to understand the behavior and evolution of bond spreads and the changes in debt composition due to liability management. This paper looks first at the role of the Brady plan, which redefined Latin America's integration into the global economy during the 1990s, as well as the role of debt buybacks and swaps. The changes in the composition of sovereign debt throughout the decade and the behavior of spreads are also analyzed, including the influence of credit ratings on Latin American bond spreads. In the 1990s the outstanding stock and volume of sovereign tradable Latin American debt showed an unprecedented increase, as it became increasingly liquid with the development of secondary markets. As liquidity increased, Latin American debt markets became more volatile. Bond flows to Latin America experienced strong volatility throughout the decade and were strongly concentrated in middle-income countries, particularly in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Spreads responded not only to economic fundamentals, but were subject to market sentiment as well. As a result, issues of financial volatility and contagion were particularly relevant to Latin American countries.


During the crude oil production, water-in-oil stable emulsions may be created. Water which is naturally present in oil reservoirs mixes with crude oil to form very stable emulsions due to very high shear rates and zones of turbulence encountered at the wellhead and pipe of production. The formation of these emulsions is generally caused by the presence of resins, asphaltenes, wax and naphtenic acid which play the role of "natural emulsifiers. The aim of this study was to focus on some important factors in the formation and stabilize crude oil/water emulsions. These factors are the water content, which varies from oil field to another and to understand its role in the Stability of the emulsion, which vary depending on the oil fields. Another factor is the temperature at which the physicist has a role in a large non-oil emulsions Stability. The study deals with the effect of water content and temperature on the stability of crude oil emulsion. The emulsion was prepared by mixing the crude oil and desired content of water and shaking by hand. The volume percent of water were studied in this paper to the total volume of crude oil emulsion (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60) and temperature were (20, 30, 40, 50) O C. The results showed that, the emulsion stability decrease with increase water concentration. Change in temperature had a significant effect where the higher temperature became unstable emulsions


STUDY OBJECTIVES
There is a long-standing controversy surrounding the existence of dream experiences during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Previous studies have not answered the question whether this "NREM dream" originates from the NREM sleep mechanism because the subject might simply be recalling experiences from the preceding rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

METHODS
We scheduled 11 healthy men to repeat 20-minute nap trials separated by 40-minute periods of enforced wakefulness across a period of 3 days. At the end of the nap trial, each participant answered questions regarding the formal aspects of his dream experiences during the nap trial, using the structured interviews.

RESULTS
We obtained a total of 172 dream reports after naps containing REM sleep (REM naps) and 563 after naps consisting of only NREM sleep (NREM naps). Dream reports from NREM naps were less remarkable in quantity, vividness, and emotion than those from REM naps and were obtained more frequently during the morning hours when the occurrences of REM sleep were highest.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the polysomnographic manifestations of REM sleep are not required for dream experiences but that the mechanisms driving REM sleep alter experiences during NREM sleep in the morning. A subcortical activation similar to REM sleep may occur in human NREM sleep during the morning when REM sleep is most likely to occur, resulting in dream experiences during NREM sleep.


Of 313 patients with cerebral hemorrhages and blood breakthrough into the ventricular system, 39 developed the epileptic syndrome. The epileptic seizures were the first symptom of the hemorrhage in 29 patients; in the rest 10 they became manifest on the 1st to 10th day of the stroke in the presence of pronounced focal neurological symptoms. The clinical manifestations of the epileptic syndrome were rather diverse: general convulsive seizures, focal seizures, and combination of the general and focal seizures in the same patients. The generalized seizures were indications of a failure of the compensatory mechanisms to cope with progressing cerebrovascular insufficiency, hypoxia, and cerebral edema. In the pathogenesis of the epileptic seizures in cerebral hemorrhages with blood breakthrough into the ventricular system an importance is attached to old cysts, a concurrent subarachnoidal hemorrhage, and dyshemic processes in the intact hemisphere following the pattern of interhemispheral depression of the cerebral blood flow. The relative infrequency of the epileptic syndrome in cerebral hemorrhage and the absence of a connection between the focal seizure and the localization of the hemorrhage focus do not allow one to judge about a topico-diagnostic significance of that syndrome in this form of the cerebrovascular pathology.


This paper is a review of the fascinating development of sensors and the communication of sensor data. A brief historical introduction is given, followed by a discussion on architectures for sensor networks. Further, realistic specifications on sensor devices suitable for ambient intelligence and ubiquitous computing are given. Based on these specifications, the status and current frontline development are discussed. In total, it is shown that future technology for ambient intelligence based on sensor and actuator devices using standardized Internet communication is within the range of possibilities within five years.


Australia has a large and growing population of people living with and beyond cancer. The dominant model of post-treatment cancer care is specialist-led and focused on detection of cancer recurrence, however there is increasing attention towards cancer rehabilitation to maximise the health and wellbeing of people affected by cancer. Peak national cancer bodies are calling for person-centred care that is responsive to the holistic needs and issues experienced by people with cancer, and recognizing the need for health care systems and services to adapt in order to effectively and efficiently meet this challenge. A variety of rehabilitation practice and research initiatives are currently underway nationally; we provide key examples of strategies that aim to meet physical and psychosocial needs of cancer survivors while highlighting the inadequacy of existing rehabilitation services to meet the needs of the Australian cancer population. Despite the growing evidence base supporting a range of rehabilitation practices however, cancer rehabilitation is not part of usual care in Australia. Challenges include limited awareness of rehabilitation services among both patients and health care professionals and a lack of sustainable funding to support rehabilitation programs. These challenges support the need for ongoing multidisciplinary approaches to cancer rehabilitation and for coordination of efforts nationally to progress cancer rehabilitation policy, practice and research. Future opportunities include development of a minimum dataset of rehabilitation outcomes, utilization of emerging digital health technologies, routine assessment of patients' needs, and further development and evaluation of efficient and effective models of survivorship care. We call on policy makers, clinicians, researchers and consumer groups to collectively advance the agenda of cancer rehabilitation in Australia and work towards optimizing outcomes for patients.


BORIC ACID RADIOLYSIS IN PRIMARY COOLANT WATER OF PWR AT TEMPERATURE  OF 250 o C. The existence of oxygen in the primary coolant system of PWR could lead to  corrosion, hence it is very important to suppress the oxygen concentration in the system.  Therefore, study of the effect of boric acid addition into the primary coolant water system of  PWR to suppress oxygen concentration resulted from gamma-ray radiation is essential to be  performed. The aim of this research is to understand reaction mechanism at temperature of  250 0 C and the effect of boric acid adding toward oxygen concentration in the PWR primary  coolant water. Methodology used is simulation using Facsimile software. Input for the software  namely radiolysis reaction mechanism for pure water, G value from radiolysis product, dose rate  of 1 and 10 4 Gy/s, aeration and deaeration system, and specific reaction of boric acid with  hydroxyl radical and hydrated electron at temperature 25 0 C and 300 0 C. The output are in the  form of irradiation time vs oxygen concentration time series. The results show that the oxygen  production increase significantly with the irradiation time and reach the saturated concentration  at 10 7 s. Based on the plot of oxygen's concentration at 10 7 s vs boric acid, several results are as  following: oxygen concentration significantly suppressed by boric acid addition and gives the  exponential decreasement, the higher dose rate gives the higher concentration of oxygen, the  aeration system gives no effect on suppressing oxygen concentration at boric acid addition up to  0.1M.


We report a patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis who had a 15 mm focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH)-like nodule in the liver. This FNH-like nodule was diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mainly based on hypervascularity during the hepatic arterial phase, washout pattern during the equilibrium phase and low signal intensity during the hepatobiliary phase in gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI; it was surgically resected. Its histology exhibited hepatocyte hyperplasia, fibrous septa containing unpaired small arteries accompanied by reactive bile ductules, remarkable iron deposits and sinusoidal capillarization, and was compatible with the diagnosis of an FNH-like nodule. When we analyzed the images of the present nodule retrospectively, low signal intensity on in-phase and isosignal intensity on opposed-phase T1-weighted MRI may have reflected iron deposits in the FNH-like nodule. In addition, a low signal intensity on T2-weighted MRI and no detection in diffusion-weighted MRI may help in distinguishing FNH-like nodules from HCC, since these image findings are inconsistent with typical HCC. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed a markedly reduced expression of organic anion transporter (OATP) 1B3 in this nodule, which implied decreased Gd-EOB-DTPA uptake by hepatocytes and accounted for the low signal intensity during the hepatobiliary phase on Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report in which an FNH-like nodule was assessed for OATP1B3 expression.


Although female jumping spiders (Salticidae) often stay with their egg sacs, little is known about whether this behaviour is effective in improving offspring survival. Females of the jumping spider Psecas chapoda (Salticidae) typically stay above their egg sacs and under a plain silk cover, spun from edge to edge of bromeliad leaves. The objective of this paper is to test the hypothesis that the presence of the females above the egg sac increases egg survival. We experimentally manipulated females and silk cover in P. chapoda using three treatments: female and silk cover present (control), female removed and silk cover present and female and silk cover removed. The number and area of holes in the egg sac walls, which are likely to be damage caused by egg predators, were higher in the absence of spiders and spiders+silk cover than in controls. Additionally, the number of spiderlings and exuvia was lower in the absence of females and female+silk cover than in the control treatment. The number of important specialized predators of spider eggs (i.e. mantipids) that develop inside P. chapoda egg sacs did not differ among the treatments. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental study that effectively demonstrates maternal care in spiders of the family Salticidae.


Recently it has been suggested that a short segment of the DNA sequence of the Ia beta gene in the mutant B6. C-H-2bm12 (bm12) is derived from the Eb beta gene by a gene-conversion-like mechanism, and that the same segment is also seen in the Ek beta gene. To obtain serological evidence for this idea, we produced an antibody against the "new" determination on the I-Abm12 molecule by immunizing A.BY mice with bm 12 cells. After absorption with B6 lymphocytes to remove antibodies against background antigens, the antisera lysed bm12 cells. Typical Ia peaks were obtained by immunoprecipitation. The absorbed antiserum reacted with B10.A (Ekβ), B10.A(5R) (Ebβ) and B10.S(9R) (ESβ), but not B10. The unabsorbed antiserum is specific for Ia when tested on A background mice. The antiserum lysed spleen cells of Ik strains (A/Sn, A.AL, A.TBR1, and A.TFR1) but not Ak strain, A.TBR13 (KsAkEbSbDb), confirming the presence of antibodies aganist the I-Ek molecule. This antiserum also lysed the cells from (A.BYxA.TFR5)F1, which expresses the transcomplementing EbβEKα molecule and from the (A.SWxA. TFR5)F1 which expresses the transcomplementing EsβEkα molecule. These data are consistent with DNA sequence analyses, and show the existence of a determinant (Ia.51) generated in the bm 12 mutant by a gene-conversion-like event that is also present in the I-Ek, I-Eb, and I-Es beta polypeptide chains.


Staykova, G. & Iliev, M. (2020). Effect of different sources of specific variance on the weight development and wool production of the Karnobat sheep breed. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 26 (2), 461–466 Subject of the study were 279 ewes of the Karnobat sheep breed, ownership of Institute of Agriculture – Karnobat, born in the period between 2010 and 2015. The live weight traits at weaning (100 days), at 9 months, at 1.5 years, at 2.5 years and the wool production at 1.5 years, 2.5 years and 3.5 years were studied. The information was extracted from the pedigree book of the breed for the three line groups. The data was obtained in conformity with the standard methods and guidelines in the Instruction Codex for Breeding for Preservation of the Local (Indigenous) Sheep Breeds in Bulgaria (2003). Analysis of variance per each age was conducted on the basis of multi-factor linear models (Harvey, 1990). The estimation of heritability coefficients were under Becker (1968). The differences among levels of studied factors were established on the basis of the Student's distribution (Hayter, 1984). It was established that the average live weight of the Karnobat ewes was 23.289 kg at 100 days, 32.463 kg at 9 months, 41.840 kg at 1.5 years and 43.575 kg at 2.5 years. The average wool yield per ewe was 3.923 kg from first shearing, 2.858 at 2.5 years and 2.778 at 3.5 years. Lineage did not have significant effect on the phenotypic expression of the traits live weight and wool production of the ewes from the Karnobat breed. Year of birth had reliable influence on the live weight and wool production of the ewes from the Karnobat breed at all studied ages (P < 0.001). The coefficients of heritability of the trait live weight are low at 100-day and 9-month age (h2 = 0.092, h2 = 0.194,), and moderate at 1.5 and 2.5 years (h2 = 0.303, h2 = 0.399). The heritability estimates of wool yield are low at all studied ages (h2 = 0.076 to h2 = 0.141).


The maternal deprivation hypothesis was arguably the most discussed debate in midcentury psychiatry. Combined with the gender ideology prevalent in America and Britain, it solidified the idea that the mother-child relationship had formative influence on personality development. This essay explores the formation of this hypothesis by situating its knowledge claims against an institutional innovation set to prevent juvenile delinquency and promote mental hygiene, the establishment of child guidance clinics on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1920s. It then tracks the development of investigative agendas by child guidance practitioners, examining the practices they adopted to construct psychological knowledge claims in conformity with preventive objectives and positivist standards. Shifting the historiographical focus toward the clinical scenes in which psychological assertions were made, the essay examines how investigators sought to determine the "pathogenic" influence of early parental environment by way of estimating its emotional qualities. It argues that it was this positivist-determinist effort to achieve preventive goals that foregrounded the role of the mother in the etiology of personality disturbance and marked the knowledge field that came to be called the maternal deprivation debate.


Moments are generic (and usually intuitive) descriptors that can be computed from several kinds of objects, defined either from closed contours or from a set of points. In this paper, we present improvements in image-based visual servo using image moments. First, the analytical form of the interaction matrix related to the moments computed from a set of coplanar points is derived, and we show that it is different from the form obtained previously, using coplanar closed contours. Six visual features are selected to design a decoupled control scheme when the object is parallel to the image plane. This nice property is then generalized to the case where the desired object position is not parallel to the image plane. Finally, experimental results are presented to illustrate the validity of our approach and its robustness, with respect to modeling errors.


Abstract. A three-dimensional global ozone distribution has been derived from
assimilation of ozone profiles that were observed by satellites. By
simultaneous assimilation of ozone profiles retrieved from the nadir
looking satellite instruments Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment 2
(GOME-2) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), which measure the
atmosphere at different times of the day, the quality of the derived
atmospheric ozone field has been improved. The assimilation is using
an extended Kalman filter in which chemical transport model TM5 has
been used for the forecast. The combined assimilation of both GOME-2
and OMI improves upon the assimilation results of a single
sensor. The new assimilation system has been demonstrated by
processing 4 years of data from 2008 to 2011. Validation of the
assimilation output by comparison with sondes shows that biases vary
between − 5 and +10 % between the surface and
100  hPa . The biases for the combined assimilation vary
between − 3 and +3 % in the region between 100 and
10  hPa where GOME-2 and OMI are most sensitive. This is
a strong improvement compared to direct retrievals of ozone profiles
from satellite observations.


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Objective To evaluate changes in the expression of biofilm-related genes when exposed to tobacco smoke and oxidative stress. Study Design Experimental, in vitro. Setting Laboratories of Rhinology and Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania. Subjects and Methods Bacterial biofilm mass was measured using crystal violet staining and measurement of the optical density. Biofilm-related genes of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 strain (pilF, flgK, lasI, lasB, rhlA, and algC) were studied following repetitive exposure to exogenous tobacco smoke and hydrogen peroxide. This was done using a reporter plasmid. Results After 1 exposure to smoke, there was no change in biofilm formation. However, after 2 and 3 exposures, the biofilm formed had an increased mass (P < .05). With respect to oxidative stress in the form of H2O2, bacterial cultures demonstrated a dose- and time-dependent induction of biofilm formation compared with control conditions. Gene expression following repetitive smoke exposure demonstrated an increase in expression of pilF, flgK, algC, and lasI genes (P < .05); a decrease in rhlA (P < .05); and no significant change in the lasB gene (P = 0.1). Gene expression following H2O2 exposure demonstrated an increase in pilF (P < .05), whereas the other genes failed to demonstrate a statistical change. Conclusions Repetitive tobacco smoke exposure leads to molecular changes in biofilm-related genes, and exposure to oxidative stress in the form of H2O2 induces biofilm growth in PAO1. This could represent adaptative changes due to oxidative stress or chemically mediated through any of the several chemicals encountered in tobacco smoke and may explain increased biofilm formation in microbes isolated from smokers.


BACKGROUND
Histological risk assessment evaluating worst pattern of tumour invasion (WPOI), and lymphocytic response (LR), has previously been shown to be of prognostic significance in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN). SCCHN is a heterogeneous group of tumours including tumours located in the oral cavity, of which the majority is located in the tongue.

METHODS
Haematoxylin/eosin-stained slides from diagnostic biopsies from 94 cases of SCC on the tongue were evaluated for WPOI and LR. Within the inflammatory infiltrate, the percentage of eosinophilic granulocytes was also estimated. Results were correlated with clinical data such as response to treatment and recurrence.

RESULTS
For WPOI the majority of patients, 84%, showed small invasive tumours islands with a size <15 cells (grade 4). No correlation with survival, response to treatment or recurrence was seen for WPOI. More than half of the patients showed a dense lymphocytic infiltrate, a factor that was significantly correlated with complete response to radio therapy. Of the patients with dense lymphoid infiltrate, the majority, 63%, did not either have a recurrence. No significant correlation with recurrence, response to treatment or any other factor was seen for presence of eosinophils.

CONCLUSIONS
Data clearly showed that tongue tumours have a split invasive growth pattern and an intense inflammatory response at the tumour interface. Results also indicated that evaluation of the intensity of the inflammatory infiltrate at the tumour interface in tongue SCC could provide information of potential importance for choice of treatment and prognosis.


This study analyses the effect of pollution to the optimal taxation and public provision. Environmental deterioration is modelled to be created by a harmful externality of consumption. It is assumed that there are two types of households with high and low productivity, endogenous wages and a government using a mixed taxation scheme. As a result of the asymmetric information the government needs to take the self-selection constraint into account when designing the optimal tax policy. It will be shown that the social valuation of the externality consist of terms indicating the effects directed on consumers, producers, the government and the labour markets respectively. It turns out that in the consumer side the direct effect and the self-selection effect have opposite signs indicating that the environmental and the redistributive objectives are inconsistent. However, in the producer side the direct effect and the indirect effect from wage adjustment in the labour markets have both positive signs indicating consistence between these two goals of the government. Another considerable result comes from the commodity taxation: it is shown that Dixit's principle of targeting continues to hold unless the endogeneity assumption is enlarged to apply all factor prices.


Subjects with common variable immune deficiency may have mutations in transmembrane activator calcium modulator and cyclophilin ligand interactor (TACI). Unlike the murine gene, human TACI undergoes alternative messenger (m)RNA splicing to produce isoforms with 1 or 2 ligand-binding domains. Because both isoforms are found in human B cells, we compared their functions in transduced murine B and human pre-B cells. Although murine cells and pre-B cells transduced with the long TACI isoform retained surface CD19 and immunoglobulin G, cells transduced with the short TACI isoform completely lost these B-cell characteristics. Expression of the short TACI isoform produced intense nuclear factor κB activation, nuclear p65 translocation, and colocalization with myeloid differentiation factor 88 and calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand. The short TACI-transduced cells became larger and CD138 positive, demonstrated upregulated BLIMP1 and XBP1 mRNA, and acquired the morphology of plasma cells. In contrast, cells bearing the long isoform had significantly less BLIMP1 and XBP1 mRNA and, for human pre-B cells, remained CD138 negative. Although human B cells express both isoforms, the short isoform predominates in CD27(+) B cells, toll-like receptor 9-activated peripheral B cells, and splenic marginal zone B cells. Although the transcriptional controls for alternative splicing of isoforms remain unknown, differential signals via isoforms may control plasma-cell generation in humans.


Binary exponential backoff is a randomized protocol for regulating transmissions on a multiple-access broadcast channel. Ethernet, a local-area network, is built upon this protocol. The fundamental theoretical issue is stability: Does the backlog of packets awaiting transmission remain bounded in time, provided the rates of new packet arrivals are small enough? It is assumed n ≥ 2 stations share the channel, each having an infinite buffer where packets accumulate while the station attempts to transmit the first from the buffer. Here, it is established that binary exponential backoff is stable if the sum of the arrival rates is sufficiently small. Detailed results are obtained on which rates lead to stability when n = 2 stations share the channel. In passing, several other results are derived bearing on the efficiency of the conflict resolution process. Simulation results are reported that, in particular, indicate alternative retransmission protocols can significantly improve performance.


Complex biological systems are often modelled using non-linear differential equations which provide a rich framework for describing the dynamic behaviour of many interacting physical variables representing quantities of biological importance. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) using a sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) algorithm is a Bayesian inference methodology that provides a comprehensive platform for parameter estimation, model selection and sensitivity analysis in such non-linear differential equations. However, this method incurs a significant computational cost as it requires explicit numerical integration of differential equations to carry out inference. In this thesis we propose a novel method for circumventing the requirement of explicit integration, within the ABC-SMC algorithm, by using derivatives of Gaussian processes to smooth the observations from which parameters are estimated. We evaluate our methods using synthetic data generated from model biological systems described by ordinary and delay differential equations. Upon comparing the performance of our method to existing ABC techniques, we demonstrate that it produces comparably reliable parameter estimates at a significantly reduced execution time. To put emphasis on the practical applicability of our fast ABC-SMC algorithm we have used it extensively in the task of inverse modelling of a phenomenon pertaining to plant electrophysiology. Particularly we model the electrical responses in higher plants subjected to periods of ozone exposure. We investigate the generation of calcium responses at local sites following a stimulation and model electrical signals as a plant-wide manifestation of such responses. We propose a novel mathematical model that describes the experimentally observed responses to ozone. Furthermore, we pose the modelling task as an inverse problem where much of our insight is gained from the data itself. We highlight throughout the inverse modelling process the usefulness of the proposed fast ABC-SMC method in fitting, discriminating and analysing models described as non-linear ordinary differential equations. We carry out all these tasks using noisy experimental datasets, that provide limited information, to derive novel insights about the underlying biological processes.


Cultural consumption is increasingly moving into a digital realm where art and non-art spaces blur in an all-inclusive image-rich environment online. While cultural consumption studies remain limited to a defined cultural environment (e.g. the museum website), we will analyse the patterns of consumption of 119 paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection in an all-inclusive online environment, Wikipedia. We will find paintings in art as well as non-art related articles and compare visibility to the institutional physical and online exhibition, a purely art environment. We will find a greater share of digital cultural consumption takes place in non-art related articles, inferring accidental consumption, while fact-checking and the presence of articles about obscure paintings satisfy a utilitarian information use. We will argue that digital cultural consumption can expand the user base when positioned outside of the expected art context, enabling new forms of hedonic and utilitarian consumption. Our results suggest that the adoption of the online encyclopaedia by superstar museums reflects a new conceptualisation of authentic taste that includes digital consumption, highlighting the collection's information value.


Abstract Purpose: Students with social anxiety are vulnerable to hazardous drinking patterns due to their social evaluative fears and tendency to perceive alcohol use as a socially-approved, normative behavior. These students do not drink as often as their peers, yet they experience more alcohol-related consequences. Thus, it is important to identify specific anxiety-provoking drinking contexts that trigger these students to engage in hazardous episodic drinking. These students are also less likely to seek treatment for mental health or substance use issues, pointing to the importance of examining their use of protective strategies, particularly in those anxiety-provoking contexts. Evidence supports the unique roles of drinking context and protective strategies as influencing the link between social anxiety and alcohol-related outcomes. Therefore, the current study tested the unique and synergistic effects of drinking context and protective strategies on the social anxiety-alcohol outcomes relationship. Materials and methods: Data from 678 traditional-aged college students were collected via measures assessing social anxiety symptoms, drinking contexts, and safe and risky drinking behaviors. Results: Mediation analyses indicated that negative coping drinking contexts and serious harm reduction protective strategies independently mediated the link between interaction social anxiety and hazardous drinking, and between social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences, respectively. Further, negative coping drinking contexts and serious harm reduction strategies sequentially mediated the positive association between interaction social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences. Conclusions: There appears to be a complex interplay of cognitive, social, and environmental factors making students with social interaction fears more susceptible to alcohol-related harm and less focused on using safe drinking strategies. Implications and directions for future research are outlined.


This paper investigates the recoveries following the 1990-91 and 2001 recessions on a state by state and regional basis, and examines why different states and regions performed differently over these two expansions. The general conclusion of the study is that, when measured by a six-year Okun Gap contribution, the 50 states showed great variability follow-ing the 1990-91 recession and the 2001 recession. The results also indicate that the relative magnitude and variability were not the same for the two recessions, but states with higher relative levels of manufacturing were more likely to have had positive six-year Okun Gap contributions following both recessions.


In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) invited the Mexican Institute of Psychiatry to participate in a multicentric collaborative four year programme including two basic projects. The first, entitled "Pathway study" for which a geographical area of Mexico city was selected, in which two psychiatric services of different institutions served the population. All new patients seen in a five week period were interviewed by an assistant researcher obtaining information about the following: a) onset of the actual episode of illness; b) the first and subsequent decisions to seek care; c) symptoms presented on each decision; d) treatments offered; e) time elapsed since onset of the disorder until the first decision to seek care; f) time elapsed from the latter until arriving to the psychiatric service and g) psychiatric diagnosis. This report presents the results, comparing both institutions, which differed on the socioeconomic status of the population served, as well as on some of the pathology presented. The time elapsed between the onset of the disorder and the first decision to seek care was different for the disorders and the kind of population. The delay between the first seek of care and the arrival to psychiatric services also showed differences. Strategies for intervention for both institutions are discussed as well as the utility of the research model used.


The blank of heavy pressure vessel is forged directly, so its machined surface is very terrible. Because of its very large size and weight, it costs very much time and expenses cost, lots of tools and activity float to turn it during the period of rough machining. This paper describes the machining characteristic of the machining difficult points of heavy pressure vessel in China. Through analyzing the processing difficulties and utilizing the methods of experimentation and manufacture, it discussed on the choice of cutting parameters, tool structure and the optimization of tool material and so on. Then the effective measures of rough machining efficiency were constituted. Last, the processing plan which is summarized turns into the guidance of the heavy pressure vessel in actual production period.


Abstract The belief that additional time allows children to become more ready for school has affected public policy and individual practices. Prior studies estimated either associations between school entry age and academic growth or causal effects on achievement measured at one or two points. This article contributes novel causal evidence for the impacts of kindergarten entry age on academic growth in the first three years of school. We embed regression discontinuity into a piecewise multilevel growth model and apply it to rich assessment data from three states. Being a year older leads to higher initial achievement and higher kindergarten growth rates but lower growth rates during 1st and 2nd grades. Effects do not differ by gender or race.