A long-standing debate in the science of language is whether our capacity to process language draws on attentional resources, or whether some stages or types of this processing may be automatic. I review a series of experiments in which this issue was addressed by modulating the level of attention on the auditory input while recording event-related brain activity elicited by spoken linguistic stimuli. The overall results of these studies show that the language function does possess a certain degree of automaticity, which seems to apply to different types of information. It can be explained, at least in part, by robustness of strongly connected linguistic memory circuits in the brain that can activate fully even when attentional resources are low. At the same time, this automaticity is limited to the very first stages of linguistic processing (<200 ms from the point in time when the relevant information is available in the auditory input). Later processing steps are, in turn, more affected by attention modulation. These later steps, which possibly reflect a more in-depth, secondary processing or re-analysis and repair of incoming speech, therefore appear dependant on the amount of resources allocated to language. Full processing of spoken language may thus not be possible without allocating attentional resources to it; this allocation in itself may be triggered by the early automatic stages in the first place.


Persistence of a pneumothorax after closed tube thoracostomy is usually indicated by fluctuance within the chest drainage tubes. Reasons for incomplete lung expansion include (1) inadequacy of the suction device, if such a device is used, (2) air leaks within the system, or (3) an air leak into the pleura greater per volume time than the volume of air that can be displaced by the suction device. Occlusion of the tubing with maintenance of negative suction usually assures that the system is airtight.1In our hospital, pleurovacs, commercially prepared units of the classical three-bottle controlled suction systems, are used extensively. We have recently experienced two situations where pleurovac drainage systems thought to be intact were the source of a persistent residual space. In one case, a pneumothorax secondary to the insertion of a hyperalimentation catheter persisted until the pleurovac unit was empirically changed. Following a trial of waterseal drainage,


Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS), which involves the bilateral wedge resection of 20% to 30% of the most diseased lung through a median sternotomy, is emerging as a promising treatment option for select patients with severe, debilitating emphysema. This article details our observations and preliminary investigations related to the imaging evaluation of patients including selection criteria, postoperative findings, and structural changes in the thorax after surgery. Routine preoperative evaluation includes inspiratory and expiratory chest radiographs, computed tomography (CT) examination, and nuclear medicine lung scan. Investigational studies include quantitative CT to assess disease severity and dynamic magnetic resonance imaging to study respiratory movements. Postoperative improvement in FEV1, oxygenation, and exercise tolerance correlate with the degree of heterogeneity, hyperinflation, lung compression, upper lobe severity, and percentage of retained mildly diseased lung shown on preoperative imaging studies. Postoperative radiographic monitoring is important for detection of complications. Postoperative follow-up examinations show reduced thoracic distention, improved coordination of respiratory movement, and increased diaphragm curvature and excursion, supporting the hypothesis of improved respiratory mechanics as a major contributing factor to the success of LVRS.


Differentiation of the epidermis during embryonic rabbit development was found to be accompanied by dramatic changes in keratin proteins. Immunofluorescent labeling with keratin antiserum revealed that the undifferentiated epithelium of 12-d embryos was already committed to making keratin proteins. At 18 d of embryogenesis, the epithelium contained keratin proteins in the molecular weight range of 40,000- 59,000. The stratification of the epithelium into two cell layers at 20 d of development coincided with the appearance of a 65-kdalton keratin. When a thick stratum corneum developed at 29 d, several additional keratins became prominent, most notably the large keratins (61- and 64- kdalton) and a 54-kdalton keratin. In addition, the 40-kdalton keratin, which had been present in earlier embryonic epidermis, disappeared. Newborn epidermis resembled that of a 29-d embryonic epidermis, with the exception of the appearance or increase in concentration of two more keratin species (46- and 50-kdalton). In vitro culturing of keratinocytes from 12- and 14-d embryonic skin demonstrated that these cells contained essentially the same keratin profiles as the undifferentiated epithelium of 18-d embryos (40-59 kdalton). Keratinocytes grown from older embryos contained increased amounts of keratin, similar to the in vivo situation, but did not synthesize the high molecular weight keratins. The changes observed during embryonic epidermal differentiation appear to be recapitulated during the sequential maturation steps of adult epidermis.


The 2023 International Virus Bioinformatics Meeting was held in Valencia, Spain, from 24–26 May 2023, attracting approximately 180 participants worldwide. The primary objective of the conference was to establish a dynamic scientific environment conducive to discussion, collaboration, and the generation of novel research ideas. As the first in-person event following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the meeting facilitated highly interactive exchanges among attendees. It served as a pivotal gathering for gaining insights into the current status of virus bioinformatics research and engaging with leading researchers and emerging scientists. The event comprised eight invited talks, 19 contributed talks, and 74 poster presentations across eleven sessions spanning three days. Topics covered included machine learning, bacteriophages, virus discovery, virus classification, virus visualization, viral infection, viromics, molecular epidemiology, phylodynamic analysis, RNA viruses, viral sequence analysis, viral surveillance, and metagenomics. This report provides rewritten abstracts of the presentations, a summary of the key research findings, and highlights shared during the meeting.


This thesis examines the actor-clown Will Kemp and his working relationship with Shakespeare. In particular, the thesis explores the theatrical and literary influence Kemp had on his roles for Shakespeare. In the chapters which follow, I investigate the traces of Kemp in some of the early editions of the plays in which he first appeared, before looking at more solid evidence of his continuing rapport with Shakespeare in the two plays which name Kemp in a role. In each case the focus is on the first entry of his clown figure in the plays examined and the interplay of performance and authorial script. The study reveals Kemp not only as an agent of performance for Shakespeare, but also as a catalyst of textual and eventually thematic change in the composition of his plays. Their professional association thus maps the cultural shift identified by a number of critics from a players' to an authors' theatre in the late sixteenth century.

Over the last three decades, there have been two major revisionist theories about how Shakespeare wrote and disseminated his dramatic works and which acknowledge the dynamic and pragmatic processes leading to the eventual posthumous publication of the First Folio in 1623. One is the hypothesis, embedded most tangibly in The Oxford Shakespeare (1986), that the dramatist revised and reworked his plays primarily for performance. In the second, related but distinct theory laid out in Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist (2003), Lukas Erne argued that Shakespeare also reworked certain plays specifically for publication. Both theories uphold the notion of authorial revision and both raise questions about how we are to understand the creative and commercial processes which lie behind the surface of Shakespeare's printed plays.

Neither of these overarching theories, however, perhaps pays sufficient attention to the daily realities of the Elizabethan stage, or to the relationship between the plays and the actors who performed them. In the thesis, I contend that Shakespeare's plays emerged from a vibrant and collaborative theatrical context, articulated in the extant early printed editions, captured in their myriad textual variances and proved in a multitude of details. By scrutinizing these details, I argue, it is possible to see how the conditions of performance made for a dispersal of authorship in playwriting. Actors were not merely the vehicles for the play-texts they performed, but also a root source of written variation. Kemp's presence undermines the simple binary view of Shakespeare as a theatrical or literary author around which most revisionary scholarship still tends to revolve and points, rather, to far more fluid processes of composition and adaptation in the plays on which he worked with Shakespeare. Indeed, in the stage direction 'Enter Will Kemp', where writing meets performance, a whole world of possible change to Shakespeare's protean art is thus opened up.


Prime brokers understand the importance of the securities lending industry in providing liquidity to markets, but most other participants view it simply as a source of incremental income for long-term investors. In fact, securities lending is a fundamental component of the short-selling market, and the income from lending is not trivial. This description of the very important securities lending industry provides the first in-depth exploration of the behavior of daily lending transactions in 24 countries for a two-year period in 2000–2002. The analysis includes cash and non-cash loans of equity securities and non-equity securities, such as corporate debt, government/sovereign debt, and agency debt.


Most general chemistry textbooks published in the last six years contain tables or figures showing the alkaline earth metals with large endothermic electron affinities. These data come from outdated extrapolations and are seriously in error. It has been known since 1987, both theoretically and experimentally, that the ion Ca- is stable. It is now certain that Sr-, Ba-, and Ra- are also stable, and accurate values for the electron affinities of Ca-, Sr-, and Ba- have been determined. Recommended values for these electron affinities, in the units commonly employed in introductory texts and with the sign convention used here, are 2.37, 5.03, and 13.95 kJ/mol for Ca, Sr, and Ba, respectively. The endothermic electron affinities often quoted for Be and Mg are also too large and should be reported simply as ">0". An argument for a return to the original sign convention for the electron affinity is presented in this paper.


Background: The aging population and associated high disability rates make the assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) a high priority for elderly people. Objectives: To compare the Brazilian versions of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and the Short Form Health Survey-36 (SF-36) regarding their measurement properties, such as, ceiling and floor effects, inter-rater/test-retest reliabilities, internal consistency, and the associations between the total scores and those of similar domains. Methods: The NHP and the SF-36 were randomly administered through interviews to 40 community-dwelling elderly (mean age 70.57; SD=7.42 years). The scores of the five similar domains of the NHP and the SF-36, in percentages, were compared: Energy level/Vitality (EL/V), pain, emotional reactions/mental health (EM/MH), social isolation/social functioning (SI/SF), and physical mobility/physical functioning (PA/PF). Descriptive statistics, Spearman Correlation Coefficient, α-Cronbach, and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) were used for analyses (α=0.05). Results: Both instruments demonstrated ceiling and floor effects for all similar domains, however the NHP showed, on average, higher scores for individual domains and total scores, as well as, floor effects for the SI domain. The internal consistency (NHP=0.86; SF-36=0.80), the inter-rater reliability (NHP=0.99; SF-36=0.96) and the test-retest reliability (NHP=0.94; SF-36=0.83) were considered adequate. Positive and statistically significant correlations were found between all similar domains (p≤0.01; 0.41≤r s ≤0.70), except for those related to EL and vitality (r s =0.21;p=0.19). Conclusions: The SF-36 demonstrated to be more adequate regarding the ceiling and floor effects, whereas the NHP presented a higher internal consistency and reliability levels. These findings should be considered for selecting instruments for the assessment of HRQOL of community-dwelling elderly.


Lav Diaz is a Filipino independent filmmaker notable as a key figure in the contemporary slow cinema movement. Of his oeuvre, one of the longest is A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery (Filipino: Hele sa Higawang Hapis), a 2016 epic film that runs for 8 hours, orchestrating narratives derived from what are conveniently sung as mythology (i.e., Jose Rizal's El filibusterismo and Philippine folklore) and history (i.e., Philippine history and artifacts). The movie competed in the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Alfred Bauer Prize. This success has earned Diaz's the spotlight in the Filipino mainstream culture, enabling the film to be distributed to and showcased in mainstream platforms, albeit primarily garnering attention from the Filipino audience for its runtime and international attention. The movement of the film, as a text, from the local Philippines toward the international and returning home, incurs in it a textuality that disrupts the phenomenology of time diasporically, scatteringly: that as much as its 8-hour languor ―opens new perspective in the cinematic arts‖ according to the international rendition of this time, it is also the 8-hour whose value in the Philippine time is that of a day's labor, and thus the exoticization of its cinematic experience as a ―challenge,‖ having to endure an entire working day of slow cinematography. This diaspora of time is of no cacophony; on the contrary, it is the lullaby, sorrowful and mysterious, that finally slows Diaz in to become a filmmaker attuned to both the spaces of the local and the international.


In Named-Data Networking (NDN), content is cached in network nodes and served for future requests. This property of NDN allows attackers to inject poisoned content into the network and isolate users from valid content sources. Since a digital signature is embedded in every piece of content in NDN architecture, poisoned content is discarded if routers perform signature verification; however, if every content is verified by every router, it would be overly expensive to do. In our preliminary work, we have suggested a content verification scheme that minimizes unnecessary verification and favors already verified content in the content store, which reduces the verification overhead by as much as 90% without failing to detect every piece of poisoned content. Under this scheme, however, routers are vulnerable to verification attack, in which a large amount of unverified content is accessed to exhaust system resources. In this paper, we carefully look at the possible concerns of our preliminary work, including verification attack, and present a simple but effective solution. The proposed solution mitigates the weakness of our preliminary work and allows this paper to be deployed for real-world applications.


A total of 480 examination gloves (240 vinyl and 240 latex) were stressed by using manipulations designed to mimic patient care. At the highest use level, 38 (63%) of 60 vinyl gloves leaked bacteriophage phi X174 compared with 4 (7%) of 60 latex gloves. At lower use levels, there was no statistically significant difference in leakage.


STKE
Administration of HIV protease inhibitors, while beneficial to AIDS patients, often results in serious side effects; for instance, patients may develop insulin resistance that leads to type 2 diabetes. Murata et al. studied the effects of the HIV protease inhibitors indinavir, ritonavir, and amprenavir on glucose transport and found that glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 cells via the transporter Glut4 was severely reduced. Because this transporter is responsible for the insulin-stimulated glucose uptake into muscle and fat, this result suggests a direct connection between protease inhibitors and the development of insulin resistance, and perhaps other disruptions of lipid metabolism. — JN

J. Biol. Chem. 275 , 20251 (2000).


Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes serious infections in immunocompromised patients, produces numerous virulence factors, including exotoxin A and the siderophore pyoverdine. As production of these virulence factors is influenced by the host environment, we examined the effect serum has on global transcription within P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 at different phases of growth in an iron-deficient medium. At early exponential phase, serum significantly enhanced expression of 138 genes, most of which are repressed by iron, including pvdS, regA and the pyoverdine synthesis genes. However, serum did not interfere with the repression of these genes by iron. Serum enhanced regA expression in a fur mutant of PAO1 but not in a pvdS mutant. The serum iron-binding protein apotransferrin, but not ferritin, enhanced regA and pvdS expression. However, in PAO1 grown in a chemically defined medium that contains no iron, serum but not apotransferrin enhanced pvdS and regA expression. While complement inactivation failed to eliminate this effect, albumin absorption reduced the effect of serum on pvdS and regA expression in the iron-deficient medium chelexed tryptic soy broth dialysate. Additionally, albumin absorption eliminated the effect of serum on pvdS and regA expression in the chemically defined medium. These results suggest that serum enhances the expression of P. aeruginosa iron-controlled genes by two mechanisms: one through apotransferrin and another one through albumin.


A cross-sectional study on pulmonary functions and respiratory symptoms was undertaken in Japanese male workers in 18 viscose rayon plants to detect pulmonay effects associated with viscose exposure, especially to H2S. Measurement of the occupational exposure level (OEL) of H2S by personal passive diffusion dosimetry, and the forced expiratory flow-volume test before and after an eight-hour shift on the same workday was undertaken in 30 matched pairs of exposed and non-exposed workers. The OEL of H2S was 0.3 to 7.8 ppm, 3 ppm on the average, for the viscose exposed workers and less than 0.1 ppm for the referents. No significant difference in the eight-hour pulmonary function changes between the pairs was observed, and no significant correlation between the individual pulmo-nary function changes and individual OEL of H2S was obtained. Indices of the forced expiratory flow-volume test for 324 workers appeared to be better in ex-posed non-smokers than in non-exposed non-smokers. The prevalence rates of respiratory symptoms in 2379 exposed and 2968 referent workers using a modified self-administered BMRC questionnaire showed significant associations with smoking habits, but not with rayon work-history. No evidence of any appreciable effect of viscose exposure on pulmonary functions and symptoms was revealed in the Japanese rayon plant workers.


A charge-domain SRAM-based CIM macro is proposed to implement efficient neural accelerator with variable input/weight/output precisions. A versatile All-Around-Wire-Capacitor (AAWC) is introduced to enable accurate charge-domain MAV operation with 1-5 bit variable-precision weight capability with 10T SRAM cell structure. The AAWC also allows variable-precision array-embedded 1-5 bit digital-to-analog (DA) conversion for input, and 1-6 bit analog-to-digital (AD) conversion for output without additional passive devices. Such array-embedded DA/AD conversion scheme significantly reduces area overhead and simplifies peripheral circuits to achieve high array efficiency while achieving high energy efficiency of 24-330 TOPS/W.


Constant and continued up-grade of skills and qualifications is imperative in a knowledge society (David & Foray 2003, OECD 2007) and central to Continued Professional Development (CPD) programmes in most organisations. However identifying and using effective (maximise retention / recall) and efficient (minimise time to learn) learning practices is often a challenge. This thesis reports the findings of a longitudinal study consisting of naturalistic observations of a real-life adult online learning environment for project management
(PRINCE2®) based in the UK. The primary research question sought to explore, the impact of modality preferences, learning/cognitive styles and patterns of usage on course completion, time spent and time to completion. The first phase collected data over 14 months following the launch of the new online project management learning system. Some changes were identified and incorporated before collecting additional data. The second phase collected data over the next 14 months. The interplay between Inter Session Interval, Study Duration, Frequency of Usage and its impact on Time Spent & Time to Completion are further explored using the concept of the Spacing Effect. The Spacing Effect is a robust phenomenon that suggests that the retention / recall of learning improve when presentations are spaced
as opposed to massed (Toppino et al., 2002). The thesis concludes by summarising the observations with respect to the research questions, across the two phases of study and the further analysis of the Spacing Effect. The contributions of this research to online project management training are discussed in the form of implications and recommendations for future work. The outcomes of the
study have informed and will continue to inform the on-going online learning development at the partner organisation.


Three-dimensional structure of trabecular bone can be modeled by 2D or 3D Voronoi structure. The effect of missing cell walls on the mechanical properties of 2D honeycombs is a first step towards understanding the effect of local bone resorption due to osteoporosis. In patients with osteoporosis, bone mass is lost first by thinning and then by resorption of the trabeculae [1].Furthermore, creep response is important to analyze in cellular solids when the temperature is high relative to the melting temperature. For trabecular bone, as body temperature (38 °C) is close to the denaturation temperature of collagen (52 °C), trabecular bone creeps [1]. Over the half of the osteoporotic vertebral fractures that occur in the elderly, are the result of the creep and fatigue loading associated with the activities of daily living [2].The objective of this work is to understand the effect of missing walls and filled cells on elastic-plastic behavior of both regular hexagonal and non-periodic Voronoi structures using finite element analysis.The results show that the missing walls have a significant effect on overall elastic properties of the cellular structure. For both regular hexagonal and Voronoi materials, the yield strength of the structure decreased by more than 60% by introducing 10% missing walls. In contrast, the results indicate that filled cells have much less effect on the mechanical properties of both regular hexagonal and Voronoi materials.Copyright © 2007 by ASME


This thesis describes immobilisation techniques for biomolecules on solid surfaces via an intermediate self-assembled or Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film. Such films are advantageous, because the biological activity can be optimised by tailoring the layer composition. Factors like charge density, density of the linking group and composition of the monolayer matrix have particularly large effects on the activity. In the first part, oxidase enzymes were immobilised on self-assembled, conductive layers of bispyridiniumthiophene oligomers (thienoviologens) on gold substrates. The enzyme was bound by electrostatic interaction of the negatively charged enzyme with the positively charged pyridinium groups. The enzymatic activity of glucose oxidase was dependent on the surface density of the conductor and on the ionic strength during adsorption. In the second part of the thesis, Fab'-fragments were bound to LB-films of various linker lipids and the immobilisation efficiency (relative amount of binding sites) was optimised by variation of the constitution of the lipid LB-film. The films were deposited onto various substrates by vertical contact transfer of a preformed mixed Langmuir film of the linker lipid and a matrix lipid. The immobilisation efficiency was investigated with radioassay, quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements, while also atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to image the structure of the films at different stages of binding. The immobilisation efficiency of the LBfilms appeared to be much higher as that of more conventional methods for antibody immobilisation. Between 20 and 70% of the binding sites could be preserved, depending on the type of linker and film matrix composition, while that of the conventional methods was less than 10%. Films with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine as the matrix lipid and a maleimide derivative of dipalmitoylphosphatidyl-ethanolamine showed the highest sensitivity (and lowest detection limit) in QCM measurements.


The performance scores of children (aged 11 to 16 years) in verbal and spatial memory tests were compared for two groups (n = 30, each), one attending a yoga camp and the other a fine arts camp. Both groups were assessed on the memory tasks initially and after ten days of their respective interventions. A control group (n = 30) was similarly studied to assess the test-retest effect. At the final assessment the yoga group showed a significant increase of 43% in spatial memory scores (Multivariate analysis, Tukey test), while the fine arts and control groups showed no change. The results suggest that yoga practice, including physical postures, yoga breathing, meditation and guided relaxation improved delayed recall of spatial information.


This thesis assesses the image of Canada that has developed through the Canadian presence at the Venice Biennale from 1988 to 2005. By examining the exhibitions, as well as their dissemination through the Canadian and foreign press, this study isolates trends that have proven influential in the production of a Canadian national image within the context of the international contemporary art scene. The time period includes exhibitions by Roland Brener and Michel Goulet, Genevieve Cadieux, Robin Collyer, Edward Poitras, Rodney Graham, Tom Dean, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Jana Sterbak, and Rebecca Belmore. Data has been collected from over eight hundred printed sources and through interviews with key participants. Three major models emerge from the dissemination of these events: the universal exposition; the Olympics of visual art; and a wonderland of visual arts. These persistent models transform the content of the exhibitions into nationalistic manifestations. A careful reading of the exhibitions, however, isolates three less obvious, but more significant trends that apply specifically to Canada: a preoccupation with the unstable distinction between fiction and reality; a concern with contradictory cultural production processes; an emphasis on the reconstruction of Canadian history. These three trends contribute to a revisionist project that effectively revisits and deconstructs the construction of a Canadian national image. The Canadian presence can thus be read as a voice of dissent in a forum where national participation is generally equated with unified national representation.


An ultra-low carbon IF steel was heavily deformed up to an equivalent strain of 36 at various high temperatures of ferrite single-phase region and various strain rates. Effects of temperature and strain rate on the microstructures evolved in torsion deformation were clarified. On the other hand, it was found that homogeneous ultrafine grained structures were not obtained by the present torsion deformation though very high strain was applied. The coarser grain sizes than those obtained by conventional severe plastic deformation (like ARB) were due to the deformation at higher temperature and lower strain rate, but lower fraction of high-angle grain boundaries in the torsion specimen was suggested to be attributed to the characteristics of monotonic torsion (or simple shear) deformation including the way of strain evaluation.


Various error control schemes have been addressed in wireless video stream transmission. By combining an adaptive binary arithmetic coding technique with context modeling, CABAC as a normative part of H.264/AVC has achieved a high degree of adaptation and redundancy reduction. However, error propagation still remains a problem because of the property of arithmetic coding. The presented scheme compares the various error detection methods, and proposes an efficient error detection technique based on CABAC semantics, which is achieved by inserting detective markers denoting by syntax elements. The misdetection probability versus stream size expansion can be easily handled. In addition, placements of markers can vary with regard to specific video content, thus efficiency within this scheme is enhanced. Comparison with other detection scheme is also presented


1College of Agriculture and Natural Resource, Asossa University, Asossa, Ethiopia; 2Department of Clinical Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Addis Ababa University, Bishoftu, Ethiopia Background: Equine herpesvirus (EHV) infections have major economic, health, and welfare impacts on equids. This study was performed in three selected zones of central Ethiopia with the objectives of detecting EHV-1, -2, and -5 in horses and donkeys with suggestive signs of respiratory tract disease and to assess epidemiological risk factors associated with infections. Methods: A total of 58 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from donkeys and horses showing clinical signs of respiratory disease. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect EHV-1, -2, and -5. Evaluation of the associated risk factors was conducted using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: Among the 58 equids tested, 36 (62%), 31 (53%), and 15 (25%) equids were positive for EHV-1, -2, and -5, respectively. Concurrent infections with EHV-1 and EHV-2 (31%), EHV-1 and EHV-5 (17%), EHV-2 and EHV-5 (15.5%), and EHV-1, -2, and -5 (13%) were recorded. EHV-1 was detected significantly in higher proportion in donkeys (76%; 95% CI: 1.066–2.251; P = 0.047) compared with horses (51.5%). In contrast, horses had fourteen times more likely to be positive for EHV-2 (OR: 13.66; 95% CI: 3.119–59.816; P = 0.001) compared to donkeys. Detection of EHV-1, -2, and -5 was no significant association with age, sex, and body condition score. Conclusion: The present study revealed the molecular evidence of EHV-1, -2, and -5 infection in donkeys and horses with signs of respiratory disease. It also documented that donkeys and horses have varying levels of susceptibility to EHVs. This species-specific in susceptibility difference to EHVs infections should be further elucidated.


It is difficult to analyse soil properties quantitatively with multispectral remote sensing data. An alternative solution is to determine the main spectral characteristic control points of soil hyperspectral reflectance curves by sensitivity analysis methods. Hyperspectral reflectance is simulated using the control points based on multispectral reflectance collected from satellites in this study. The laboratory hyperspectral reflectance and its continuum-removed curve of Phaeozem and the parent material (PM) of samples collected from Heilongjiang Province, China were analysed, and the spectral characteristic control points determined. Hyperspectral simulating linear and quadratic models based on laboratory reflectance were then built. Results show that montmorillonite and illite are the dominant minerals in Phaeozem PM. Organic matter content determines the spectral characteristics of Phaeozem and makes it suitable for reflectance simulation in the spectrum range of 1000 nm and less; the higher the organic matter content the greater the spectral absorption area. There are two absorption valleys at 500 and 660 nm, which determine the spectral characteristic control points of Phaeozem between 450 and 930 nm, namely 450, 500, 590, 660 and 930 nm. Both the linear and quadratic simulation models built with the characteristic control points accurately describe Phaeozem reflectance, which proves that the characteristic control points are selected reasonably and representatively. The hyperspectral simulation method based on multispectral reflectance closely represents the characteristics of Phaeozem hyperspectral reflectance, partly removes noise and improves the precision of predicting organic matter content. Therefore the method is feasible and useful for data compression of Phaeozem hyperspectral reflectance, soil and vegetation indices building, and quantitative remote sensing in the Phaeozem Zone, northeast China.


3D mesh models created by human users and shared through online platforms and datasets flourish recently. While the creators generally have spent large efforts in modeling the visually appealing shapes with both large scale structures and intricate details, a majority of the meshes are unfortunately flawed in terms of having duplicate faces, mis-oriented regions, disconnected patches, etc., due to multiple factors involving both human errors and software inconsistencies. All these artifacts have severely limited the possible low-level and high-level processing tasks that can be applied to the rich datasets. In this work, we present a novel approach to fix these man-made meshes such that the outputs are guaranteed to be oriented manifold meshes that preserve the original structures, big and small, as much as possible. Our key observation is that the models all visually look meaningful, which leads to our strategy of repairing the flaws while always preserving the visual quality. We apply local refinements and removals only where necessary to achieve minimal intrusion of the original meshes, and global adjustments through robust optimization to ensure the outputs are valid manifold meshes with optimal connections. We test the approach on large-scale 3D datasets, and obtain quality meshes that are more readily usable for further geometry processing tasks.


THE ROLE OF SUPERVISOR-SUPERVISEE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, SUPERVISOR MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE, AND THE SUPERVISORY WORKING ALLIANCE IN SUPERVISION OUTCOMES: A MODERATED MEDIATION MODEL Stephanie A. Crockett Old Dominion University, 2011 Dissertation Chair: Dr. Danica G. Hays As the United States population grows more diverse, many counseling professionals have called for attention to the cultural issues present in clinical supervision. Existing research suggests that the supervisor's level of multicultural competence and the strength of the supervisory working alliance may affect the relationship between supervisor-supervisee cultural differences on supervision outcomes. Accordingly, the study sought to address how cultural differences between the supervisor and supervisee, supervisor multicultural competence, and the supervisory working alliance impact supervisee counseling self-efficacy and satisfaction with supervision. The study examined the plausibility of a moderated mediation model, derived from the literature, using a sample of doctoral and master's level counselor trainees who were receiving individual supervision. Participants completed an electronic survey packet containing a demographic sheet to measure the degree of supervisor-supervisee cultural differences, the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Form (WAI-S) to measure strength of the supervisory working alliance, the Supervisor Multicultural Competence Inventory (SMCI) to measure perceived supervisory multicultural competence, the Counselor SelfEstimate Inventory (COSE) to measure supervisee counseling self-efficacy (CSE), and Trainee Personal Reaction Scale-Revised (TPRS-R) to measure supervisee satisfaction with supervision. SEM techniques were used to determine the extent to which the theoretical model is supported by sample data, as well as the relationships between the model's parameters. The results indicated supervisor-supervisee cultural differences were not significantly related to the supervision outcome variables, supervisee satisfaction with supervision and CSE. However, supervisor multicultural competence was significantly related to both supervisee satisfaction with supervision and CSE, with the supervisory working alliance fully mediating the relationship between supervisor multicultural competence and supervisee satisfaction with supervision. Lastly, the moderated mediation model was found to be a good fit to the data; however, the modified mediation model was the most parsimonious fit to the data. Implications of these findings for supervisors and counselor educators are discussed.


SUMMARY Novel technologies have prompted a new paradigm in disease surveillance. Advances in computation, communications and materials enable new technologies such as mobile phones and microfluidic chips. In this paper we illustrate examples of new technologies that can augment disease detection. We describe technologies harnessing the internet, mobile phones, point of care diagnostic tools and methods that facilitate detection from passively collected unstructured data. We demonstrate how these can all assist in quicker detection, investigation and response to emerging infectious events. Novel technologies enable collection and dissemination of epidemic intelligence data to both public health practitioners and the general public, enabling finer temporal and spatial resolution of disease monitoring than through traditional public health processes.


Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a disorder of the human nervous system which results in difficulty in communicating and expressing feelings or desire to interfere with the social relations. They often can't accept the built environment that designed with comfort considerations for normal people. Specific space for autism's convenience should be considered by architect. Finding the acceptable colors for children with autism, as one of the elements of their space, is the aim of this research. The characteristics of colors and how children with autism react to color are used  as the basic theories of this research. Collaboration with psychology field is required to know the characteristics of children with autism besides doing some observations to children with autism and interviews to teachers and parents of them. Furthermore, some prior experiments are explored to know how specific character of children with autism react differently to certain colors. It can be concluded that specific characteristics of children with autism and their specific activities require specific colors charts, so that we can not apply same colors standard for all children with autism. Further experiments are needed to know precisely specific colors charts for specific characters and activities of children with autism.


As TiAl based alloys begin to approach maturity, the development of successful and cost effective joining methods will be required. The growing industrial interest in these materials, particularly in aerospace and automotive industry, led to an interesting challenge - how to joint parts and components in order to produce integrated and resistant structures. Diffusion bonding of materials produces components with thinner interfaces than other joining techniques do. The absence of abrupt microstructure discontinuity and the small deformation induced maximize joint strength. This work focuses on the joining of TiAl using a thin multilayer obtained by alternating nanometric layers of titanium and aluminium. The Ti/Al layers were deposited onto the γ-TiAl samples by DC magnetron sputtering. The interfaces of these diffusion bonded joints depend on processing and deposition conditions. In this work we describe the influence of bilayer thickness (period) and on microstructure and chemical composition of the joining interfaces.


Chloride molten salts have become a potential heat storage material for the design of a new generation of concentrating solar power (CSP) (>700 °C) due to its abundant reserves and low cost. The difficulty of measuring the high-temperature thermal properties of chlorides can be effectively solved by using molecular dynamics simulation. However, it is challenging to get the thermophysical properties of multi-component molten salts containing CaCl2 due to the lack of Born–Mayer–Huggins (BMH) potential parameters of CaCl2. Through comparative analysis of the structure and thermal properties of CaCl2, including density and thermal conductivity, a set of Born–Mayer–Huggins (BMH) potential parameters of CaCl2 named SP2 is determined in this study. The density, specific heat capacity, and thermal conductivity of nine eutectic molten salts are simulated, including NaCl-CaCl2, KCl-CaCl2, NaCl-CaCl2-MgCl2, and NaCl-CaCl2-KCl, and the simulation results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. It is also found that the SP2 parameters are able to predict the thermal properties and structure of molten multicomponent chlorides including calcium.


During the pathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration, pro‐inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), stimulate the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of intervertebral discs via the activity of catabolic enzymes including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), disintegrins and metalloproteinases with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTSs), and cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox2). The transcriptional promoters of the human catabolic enzymes MMPs, ADAMTS, Cox2 and Syndecan 4 contain at least one specificity protein‐1 (Sp1) transcription factor‐binding site. The present study investigated the role of Sp1 in the regulation of the mRNA and protein expression of the aforementioned catabolic enzyme genes in nucleus pulposus cells, using reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot, transfection and RNA interference. The data demonstrated that Sp1 transcription factor protein expression is induced by TNF‐α and interleukin‐1β. Specific inhibitors of Sp1 DNA binding to its GC-rich consensus site, WP631 and mithramycin A, partially suppressed TNF-α‐induced catabolic enzyme expression and activity. Genetic inhibition of Sp1 by small interfering RNA‐mediated Sp1 knockdown partially inhibited catabolic enzyme induction by TNF‐α. In addition, Sp1 transcription factor inhibitors decreased the activity of MMP3, ADAMTS4 and ADAMTS5 promoters. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed functional Sp1 binding sites at ‐577/‐567 bp within the ADAMTS4 promoter and ‐718/‐708 bp within the ADAMTS5 promoter. These results provide pharmacological and genetic evidence of the importance of Sp1 in catabolic enzyme gene regulation during TNF-α stimulation. Thus, Sp1 may represent an effective target in reducing intervertebral disc-associated ECM loss.


Trauma is one of the leading causes of mortality in the United States. There is a need for effective and efficient delivery of care that can improve survival and reduce morbidity as much as possible. Due to technological advances in interventional radiology (IR); there has been an expanding role for IR in hemodynamically stable and unstable patients. Various tools, such as micro catheters, stent grafts, digital subtraction angiography (DSA), and cone beam angiography have expanded the ability of the IR physician in reducing mortality and morbidity in patients who have suffered traumatic injuries. However, for the best possible patient care to be administered there must be two important resources readily available: the ability to triage before or quickly upon presentation to the hospital and a multidisciplinary trauma team which includes physicians and well trained ancillary staff. Here we describe the critical role IR plays in the trauma setting and its evolution and future growth, given the advances in technology.


Teaching robots everyday tasks like making pancakes by instructions requires interfaces that can be intuitively operated by nonexperts. By performing manipulation tasks in a virtual environment using a data glove task-related information of the demonstrated actions can directly be accessed and extracted from the simulator. We translate low-level data structures of these simulations into meaningful first-order representations, called timelines, whereby we are able to select data segments and analyze them at an abstract level. Hence, the proposed system is a powerful tool for acquiring examples of manipulation actions and for analyzing them whereby robots can be informed how to perform a task.


Dynamic recrystallization(DRX) of ferrite in low carbon steels was investigated by hot compression tests at temperatures of 550 to 700oC at strain rates of 0.001 to 10s-1. The results indicate that DRX of ferrite can occur in low carbon steels and lead to grain refinement. With increasing Zener-Hollomon parameter Z, its mechanism changes from discontinuous dynamic recrystallization to continuous dynamic recrystallization, the turning point is approximately at Z=1×1016s-1 for a low carbon steel with 0.171wt% C. The results also indicate that changing the minor constituents of the low carbon steel from pearlite colonies to fine cementite particles has an effect on promoting DRX of ferrite, and the increase of Mn content and the presence of tiny Nb precipitates have opposite effects respectively. However, all these changes are of benefit to the refinement of recrystallized grains.


Sustainability has become a ubiquitous term in almost every field, especially in engineering design and manufacturing. Recently, an increased awareness of environmental problems and resource depletion has led to an emphasis on environmentally friendly practices. This is especially true in the manufacturing industry where energy consumption and the amount of waste generated can be high. This requires proactive tools to be developed to carefully analyze the cause-effect of current manufacturing practices and to investigate alternative practices. One such approach to sustainable manufacturing is the combined use of Discrete Event Simulation (DES) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to analyze the utilization and processing of manufacturing resources in a factory setting. On an economic aspect such methods can significantly reduce the financial and environmental costs by evaluating the system performance before its construction or use. In this project, what-if scenarios in a simplified golf ball factory using as close to real-world data as possible demonstrate DES and LCA's ability to facilitate decision-making and optimize the manufacturing process. Plastic injection molding, an energy-intensive step in the golf ball manufacturing process, is the focus of the DES model. AutoMod, a 3-D modeling software, was used to build the DES model and AutoStat was used to run the trials and analyze the data. By varying the input parameters such as type and number of injection molding machines and material used, the simulation model can output data indicating the most productive and energy efficient methods. On a more detailed level, the simulations can provide valuable information on bottlenecks or imbalances in the system. Correcting these can allow the factory to be both "greener" and more cost-effective.


The ores at Darwin occur as massive replacement bodies in silicated limestones of Pennsylvanian and Permian age adjacent to a Jurassic quartz monzonite stock. Three types of ore have a definite spatial relationship to the quartz monzonite: (1) pyrite-sphalerite-galena ores, (2) pyrite-pyrrhotite-magnetite-sphalerite-galena ores, and (3) galena-Ag-Bi-Se ores.The delta 34 S values of all sulfide minerals range from +4.4 to --5.7 permil. The delta 34 S values for individual minerals tend to decrease with respect to both space and paragenetic time. The delta (sub sl-gn) values range from 1.5 to 2.5 permil and correspond to a temperature range of 325 degrees + or - 55 degrees C. The sphalerite-galena sulfur isotope temperatures at a given locality are reproducible to + or -30 degrees C and are consistent with temperatures determined by other means.Analyses of water in three samples of fluid inclusions in sphalerite indicate that the ore fluids had delta D values of --66 + or - permil, a total salinity that reached at least 20 percent, and K/Na atomic ratios of 0.23 + or - 0.03. Isotopic and thermochemical data indicate that the ore fluids had average values of delta 34 S (sub Sigma S) = 3 permil, delta 13 C (sub Sigma O) = -- 3.5 permil, Sigma S = 0.01 mole/Kg H 2 O, f (sub CO 2 ) = 12 + or - 8 bars, and Sigma C = 0.15 + or - 0.06 mole/Kg H 2 O.The delta 18 O values of postsulfide calcites have a range of 12.8 + or - 1.5 permil in the pyrite ores and 17 + or - 2 permil in the pyrrhotite ores. Similar values for relict limestone host rock in these areas indicate that oxygen isotopic equilibrium was established between the calcite precipitating fluids and the wall rock. The delta 13 C values of the calcites, however, range from --5.8 to --3.6 permil and are considerably more negative than the limestone in the host rock, indicating that carbon isotopic equilibrium was not established between the fluids and the wall rock.Thermochemical data indicate that the pH of the ore fluids was about 4.8 as they traveled through the quartz monzonite at T nearly equal 350 degrees C. When the fluids completely equilibrated with the relict limestone and calc-silicate host rock, the pH increased to 6.7. This increase in pH as the fluids traveled upward and away from the quartz monzonite was responsible for the spatial distribution of iron sulfide assemblages, for variations in delta 34 S values of sulfides, and probably caused precipitation of the ore.


Aims. In this paper we report calculations for energy levels, radiative rates, and electron impact excitation rates for transitions in O vii. Methods. The grasp (general-purpose relativistic atomic structure package) is adopted for calculating energy levels and radiative rates. For determining the collision strengths and subsequently the excitation rates, the Dirac atomic R-matrix code (darc )a nd the flexible atomic code (fac )a re used. Results. Oscillator strengths, radiative rates, and line strengths are reported for all E1, E2, M1, and M2 transitions among the lowest 49 levels of O vii. Collision strengths have been averaged over a Maxwellian velocity distribution, and the resulting effective collision strengths are reported over a wide temperature range below 2 × 10 6 K. Additionally, lifetimes are also listed for all levels.


Environmental pollution particularly from heavy metals and minerals in the wastewater is the most severe problem
in India. Due to extensive anthropogenic activities such as industrial operations particularly mining, agricultural
processes and disposal of industrial waste materials; their concentration has increased to dangerous levels. Heavy
metals in industrial effluent include Copper, nickel, chromium, lead, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, selenium and uranium. So
far, a number of efficient methods have been reviewed for the removal of heavy metals such as chemical precipitation,
ion exchange, reverse osmosis, electro dialysis, ultra filtration, nanofiltration, coagulation, flocculation, floatation,
etc. However these methods have several disadvantages such as high reagent requirement, unpredictable metal ion
removal, generation of toxic sludge etc. Adsorption process being very simple, economical, effective and versatile has
become the most preferred methods for removal of toxic contaminants from wastewater. This paper reviews the use
of various readily available natural materials as adsorbents of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. Various
natural adsorbents reviewed includes sand, waste tea leaves eggshell, rice husk, activated carbon, zeolites, olive
stones, wood sawdust etc.


Delegation of decision-making authority to agents with different preferences and better information than their principals is ubiquitous in politics, and political representation is no exception. A prominent change in a political agency relationship, at least in formal terms, occurred when the 17th Amendment to the Constitution established direct election of U.S. senators as of 1914. What effect did this institutional change have on the representation of states by their senators? The authors argue that before the 17th Amendment, the state population relied on an intermediary, the state legislature, to control its U.S. senators. This intermediary was a sophisticated monitor of the behavior of senators, but itself not a perfect agent of the populace. After the 17th Amendment, the state populace gained more direct control over its U.S. senators, but sacrificed expert monitoring of their behavior. If this view is correct, senators after the 17th Amendment should better reflect the ideology of their home states' populace, but also exhibit greater variability relative to other members of their state's delegation. The authors show that these expectations are borne out empirically. First, U.S. senators from moderate states exhibit less extreme roll-call behavior after the 17th Amendment. Second, differences in roll-call records for senators from the same state are greater after the 17th Amendment. The authors argue that this change is one factor that has made the Senate a less polarized body since passage of the 17th Amendment.


With the Draft Common Frame of Reference of European Private Law updated in 2009, the European Union is striving for a uniform legal framework for judicial control of standard terms. The draft offers a chance to point out perspectives for European private law from the view of law and economics without being burdened by the constraints of current national laws or European directives. The basic issue to be dealt with is the question for the regulatory purpose of judicial clause control, which is not to be found in superior market power on the part of the user of standard terms. Rather, the informational asymmetries which cannot or can only partially be overcome by market mechanisms, are the justification for judicial intervention in the private allocation of risks via standard terms. On this basis, perspectives for the future development of the European and national understanding of the law of standard terms will be presented: we will suggest a form of clause control limited to the positive contract value-information cost-relationship together with a control cap for business contracts, an equal standard for controlling consumer and business contracts, and, a differentiating approach towards preserving a clause by adjusting the excessive risk allocation to a permissible maximum (salvatory reduction).


The US federal pretreatment regulations have created a demand for qualified pretreatment facility inspectors. The objectives of the General Pretreatment Regulations are to protect publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), prevent pollutants from upsetting treatment processes, improve opportunities to reclaim or recycle wastewaters and sludges and reduce health and environmental risks from discharge of toxic pollutants to POTWs. Pretreatment inspectors have the responsibility of protecting municipal wastewater collection systems, treatment plants and the environment from the damage that may occur when industries discharge hazardous or toxic materials into a wastewater collection system. The inspectors must possess the knowledge and skills to perform their jobs safely and fairly. To meet this need, a training program using the independent-study (correspondence) format was developed and field tested. Experienced inspectors active in the field prepared the training material on the basis of what pretreatment facility inspectors "need to know" to do their job. The training program has been implemented and used by inspectors as home-study or self-paced instruction (correspondence) as well as by colleges and universities as a textbook in formal classes. Since 1988 over 1600 persons have successfully completed this training program and over 7000 copies of the training manual have been sold throughout the world. In areas where the training program has been used, the results of an effective pretreatment program using qualified inspectors is very impressive. An agency with a training program that produces competent inspectors can have an effective pretreatment program.


The leader role carries several complexities, suggesting that identifying closely with one's role as a leader might be both beneficial and costly on a day-to-day basis. We integrate theories of leader identity, self-sacrificial leadership, and self-regulation to develop a conceptual model articulating the manner in which strongly identifying with one's leader role on a daily basis yields benefits (i.e., increased task performance and perceived prosocial impact) and costs (i.e., increased depletion and conflict at home) via increased self-sacrificial leader behavior. Further, we theorize and test whether work addiction moderates the indirect effects of leader identity on the aforementioned processes. Using an experience sampling investigation of 80 leaders who completed 3 surveys per day for 10 workdays (Level 1 n = 645), we found that daily leader identity was positively associated with self-sacrificial leader behavior which, in turn, was positively associated with task performance and perceived prosocial impact (leader benefits) and positively associated with resource depletion and conflict at home (leader costs). Moreover, these effects were stronger for leaders who reported higher (vs. lower) levels of work addiction. In an exploration considering the effects of leader identity on daily well-being, results indicated that leader identity also indirectly helped and hindered psychological detachment from work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


In the present study, we have isolated leucocytes from peripheral blood, head kidney and spleen from lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus L.), and performed functional studies like phagocytosis and respiratory burst, as well as morphological and cytochemical analyses. Different leucocytes were identified, such as lymphocytes, monocytes/macrophages and polymorphonuclear cells with bean shaped or bilobed nuclei. In addition, cells with similar morphology as described for dendritic cells in trout were abundant among the isolated leucocytes. Flow cytometry was successfully used for measuring phagocytosis and respiratory burst activity. The phagocytic capacity and ability were very high, and cells with different morphology in all three leucocyte preparations phagocytised beads rapidly. Due to lack of available cell markers, the identity of the phagocytic cells could not be determined. The potent non-specific phagocytosis was in accordance with a high number of cells positive for myeloperoxidase, an enzyme involved in oxygen-dependent killing mechanism present in phagocytic cells. Further, high respiratory burst activity was present in the leucocytes samples, verifying a potent oxygen- dependent degradation. At present, the specific antibody immune response could not be measured, as immunoglobulin or B-cells have not yet been isolated. Therefore, analyses of the specific immune response in this fish species await further clarification. The present study presents the first analyses of lumpsucker immunity and also the first within the order Scopaeniformes.


A bottleneck to developing Semantic Parsing (SP) models is the need for a large volume of human-labeled training data. Given the complexity and cost of human annotation for SP, labeled data is often scarce, particularly in multilingual settings. Large Language Models (LLMs) excel at SP given only a few examples, however LLMs are unsuitable for runtime systems which require low latency. In this work, we propose CLASP, a simple method to improve low-resource SP for moderate-sized models: we generate synthetic data from AlexaTM 20B to augment the training set for a model 40x smaller (500M parameters). We evaluate on two datasets in low-resource settings: English PIZZA, containing either 348 or 16 real examples, and mTOP cross-lingual zero-shot, where training data is available only in English, and the model must generalize to four new languages. On both datasets, we show significant improvements over strong baseline methods.


Published on the occasion of the twin exhibition Double Act: Art and Comedy at Bluecoat, Liverpool, 9 April – 19 June 2016 and at MAC, Belfast, 6 May – 31 July 2016. Double Act: Art and Comedy (Book) Published by Bluecoat, distributed by Cornerhouse Publications, published May 2016.

The joke always has a healthy disrespect for structures and categories and when allied with art, can become a very unruly and volatile impulse. This book seeks to map out and interpret some of art's great comedic moments. Double Act: Art and Comedy draws together artists from diverse cultural and political contexts, each sharing an interest in humour as a resource to animate their art practice and to connect with an audience.
With 67 colour and 12 b&w illustrations, this 120 pages book provides a lively, original and humorous discussion of comic artworks by both established and emerging artists. Exploring key comedic strategies employed by contemporary artists in their work, chapter headings reflect thematic focus, and include:
Comic Inversion.
The Everyday.
Irony.
Wit.
Deadpan.
Mockery.
The Carnivalesque.
Slapstick.
Falling.
Falling Short

The book, provides a lively, original and humorous discussion of comic artworks by both established and emerging artists, including Paul McCarthy, Pilvi Takala, BANK, Keith Coventry, David Sherry, Olav Westphalen, Jonathan Monk, Michael Smith, John Smith, Adrian Paci, Thomas Geiger, Erica Eyres, Sarah Lucas, Jo Spence, Gemma Marmalade, Richard Wentworth, Julian Rosefeldt, Peter Finnemore, Peter Land, Mel Brimfield, Common Culture, Maurice Doherty, Erwin Wurm, Richard Prince, Bruce Nauman, Bill Woodrow, Richard Hughes, Bas Jan Ader, Kara Hearn, Joachim Schmid, Alex Bag and Cory Arcangel.


UNLABELLED
Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy is a rare operation in our country because the complexity of the technique and the expansion of the cadaveric donor. We present our open and laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy from 1984.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
From 1984 to 2007 we have done 84 live donor nephrectomies; 64 open, 20 laparoscopic surgeries. The transperitoneal approach is preferred in laparoscopy and lumbotomy for the open surgery.

RESULTS
In the open technique the operating time is 112 min (70-155), ischaemia time 20 seconds (15-47) and postoperative hospital stay 4,8 days (3-9). Laparoscopic cases, the operating time is 146 min (90-210), ischaemia time 3 min 15 sec (2-3, 25 min) and postoperative hospital stay 3,4 days (2-9).

CONCLUSIONS
The laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy is a difficult and demanding technique. It should be done by experienced team in laparoscopic renal surgery. The kidney from a live donor is a very good alternative for the cronic renal failure. It should be offered in our main hospitals.


ABSTRACT An important puzzle in the study of political violence is why individuals risk their lives fighting for a public good, when they can free-ride and enjoy the same benefits if others take the risk. This logic is particularly important to rationalist theories, which view risk as an inherent cost to violent armed group participation—which has to be offset by selective incentives, peer pressure, or coercion. This perspective has widely contributed to the understanding of violent conflict, but ignores key insights from psychology. What if risk is not a cost and instead attractive? In this article, I argue that people with a sensation seeking personality—interested in novel and intense experience and willing to accept risk for the sake of it—are more likely to join armed groups. Preliminary survey evidence comparing voluntarily and forcibly recruited members of Colombian armed groups supports my argument. The re-interpretation of a series of existing studies on Colombian guerrilla and paramilitary fighters illustrates the pervasiveness and varying manifestations of sensation seeking. Personality traits are an under-recognized ingredient in the process of joining armed groups and complement our current understanding, which is mainly determined by contextual conditions and situational motivations.


Mutation analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has recently been introduced as a noninvasive tumor monitoring method. In this study, we tested the mass spectrometric-based MassARRAY platform for multiplexed gene mutation analysis of plasma samples from colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. A total of 160 patients, who underwent curative resection of either primary or metastatic CRC harboring KRAS mutations between 2005 and 2012, were included. Circulating DNA was isolated from plasma was analyzed on the MassARRAY platform with or without selective amplification of mutant DNA fragments. Tumor-specific KRAS mutations were detected in 39.6% (42/106) of patients with distant metastasis, and in 5.6% (3/54) of patients without distant metastasis. Selective amplification of the mutant allele increased sensitivity to 58.5% (62/106) for patients with distant metastasis, and 16.7% (9/54) for patients without distant metastasis. These mutation detection rates were no less than those of droplet digital polymerase chain reaction. Among patients with distant metastasis, detectable plasma KRAS mutations correlated with larger primary tumors and shorter overall survival rate (P = 0.014 and P = 0.003, respectively). In addition, activating PIK3CA mutations were detected together with KRAS mutations in two plasma samples. Taken together, massARRAY platform is a cost-effective, multigene mutation profiling technique for ctDNA with reasonable sensitivity and specificity.


In the present paper the chemical interaction between an alumina plate and a one-phase NaCl-KCl-K2TiF6 as well as two-phase NaCl-KCl-K2TiF6/Ti system has been studied experimentally at 700 oC during 2 hours, as function of K2TiF6 content of the melt. In all experiments the reaction product TiO2 of an exchange reaction has been found at the surface of the alumina plate. Its thickness changes through a maximum point as function of the K2TiF6-content of the melt, as a result of the competition of two processes: the exchange reaction leading to the formation of the TiO2 layer, and its dissolution in the melt.


Technical progress in electronics allows the transformation of visions of pervasive computing into real world options. This perspective has raised deep concerns about the survival of privacy, as central building blocks of pervasive computing are in direct conflict with the fundaments of privacy protection. Considerable efforts have been undertaken to cope with these concerns with only limited success. While pertinent efforts have resulted in solutions for single aspects, they proved insufficient to eliminate the fears; on the contrary, they highlighted the principal incompatibility of privacy and pervasive information systems. Technical concepts alone, regardless how complex they are, cannot be sufficient; rather, a mix of privacy enhancing technologies, restrictions on the utilization of pervasive computing, and new regulations required to preserve some remnants of privacy.


Background The purpose of this study was to describe dentists' training experiences relevant to pain management, addiction, and prescription opioid drug diversion and examine associations between these training experiences and dentists' opioid prescribing practices. Methods A Web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted among practicing dentist members of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN; N = 822). The survey assessed pain management prescribing practices and training experiences related to pain management and assessment for addiction and drug diversion. Survey data were linked with National Dental PBRN Enrollment Questionnaire data regarding practitioner demographics and practice characteristics. Results The majority of dentists (67%) reported prior training in pain management; however, a minority of dentists reported prior training regarding identification and assessment of drug abuse or addiction (48%) or identification of prescription drug diversion (25%). The majority of training experiences across all topics occurred through continuing dental education participation. Dental school training relevant to pain management, addiction, and identification of drug diversion was more prevalent among more recent dental school graduates. Training experiences were associated with prescribing practices. Conclusions Results suggest that across multiple levels of training, many dentists are not receiving training specific to addiction assessment and identification of drug diversion. Such training is associated with greater consistency of risk mitigation implementation in practice.


A total of 1206 dacryorhinostomies carried out from January, 1991 to December, 1997 at Institute of Ocular Diseases of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences are analyzed. The main causes of relapses were underevaluation of the data of examinations and improper choice of operative access and method of surgery, errors in the technique of operation, and wrong postoperative treatment. For improving the efficacy of surgery, the authors developed a comprehensive method for preventing and treating relapses. X-ray and rhinological data are decisive for the choice of the access and method of operation. Unfavorable rhinogenic factors are removed and measured aimed at suppression of the cicatricial process at the site of anastomosis are carried out in primary dacryorhinostomy. For this purpose the authors for the first time in Russia applied a cytostatic antibiotic mitomycin C to the site of dacryostoma (44 cases) and a polymeric film Diplen with hemostatic and wound-healing effects (87 cases) with good results. Thorough follow-up after surgery detected a threatened relapse sufficiently early to carry out adequate treatment promoting cure.


This paper discusses the experience of the authors in using Matlab power system toolbox for the transient stability studies of an AC/DC interconnection power system. The modified two-area power system model with HVDC Link is used in the investigation. It is shown that as the AC line became weaker (as compared to the DC line), the transient stability of the interconnected AC/DC system is negatively affected. The use of power system stabilizer (PSS) was critical in maintaining the stability of the system.


Since the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, consumer financial and borrowing behavior, once considered a relatively quiet little corner of finance, has been of enormously increased interest to policymakers and researchers alike. Prior to the Great Recession, there was a historic run-up in household debt, driven primarily by housing debt, which coincided with a speculative bubble and sharp rises in home prices. Then, as prices began to fall, millions of households began defaulting on their mortgages, unable to keep up with home payments, and greatly contributing to the onset of the deepest recession since the 1930s. Following the steep increase in debt balances during the boom, households began rapidly paying off their loans during and immediately after the Great Recession. Since 2013, debt has begun to increase and eventually rise above its previous levels, albeit at a much slower rate than before, at least partially owing to stricter lending standards. We examine the trends in household debt before, during, and since the 2000s financial crisis and Great Recession. As we will show, this period is unique in American history in several ways. Our analysis will show the sources of the historic run-up in debt during the bubble period of the early 2000s, the change in borrowing behavior that took place as the financial crisis and Great Recession took hold, and the nature of the recovery that began in 2013. We find that while total household debt has recovered to its previous level in nominal terms, its composition and characteristics have changed dramatically along many dimensions.


In comparison with the conformal phosphor or in-cup phosphor structure, remote phosphor structure has a superior luminous flux whereas its color quality is inferior to the others'. Due to this drawback, it is essential to conduct experiments to find the solution for the improvement of the color quality of WLEDs using remote phosphor structure. In this study, a dual-layer remote phosphor structure that is capable of enhancing the color rendering index (CRI) and color quality (CQS) for WLEDs was proposed. Three kinds of WLEDs with similar structures but different color temperatures varying at 5600 K, 7000 K, and 8500 K are used in this article. The mission of this paper is to place a yellow-green emitting SrBaSiO4:Eu2+ phosphor layer or a red-emitting SrwFxByOz:Eu2+, Sm2+ phosphor layer on the YAG:Ce3+ phosphor layer and then select the most appropriate value of SrwFxByOz:Eu2+, Sm2+ concentration to get the greatest color quality. Experimental results were exactly as expected since SrwFxByOz:Eu2+, Sm2+ really succeeded in increasing CRI and CQS. Specifically, the larger the SrwFxByOz:Eu2+, Sm2+ concentration, the higher the CRI and CQS, resulting from the increase of the red light component in WLEDs. Meanwhile, the quality degree of luminous flux depends tightly on the SrBaSiO4:Eu2+ phosphor layer. However, if the SrwFxByOz:Eu2+, Sm2+ and SrBaSiO4:Eu2+ concentration exceeds, the luminous flux and color quality will have a tendency to drop off, according to the theory of Mie scattering and the Lambert-Beer law. The result of this paper is a valuable reference in the production of high-quality WLEDs.


This paper reviews current concepts of root canal infection and the consequences for endodontic treatment strategies and practices. In particular, root canal disinfection by chemical and mechanical means is discussed, as are the possibilities and limitations of proposed methods to reduce the time necessary to obtain a disinfected canal.


There is a number of research work in the literature that have applied sEMG biofeedback as an instrument for muscle rehabilitation. Therefore, sEMG is a good tool for this research work and is used to record the myoelectric activity in the paraspinal muscles of those with AIS during habitual standing and sitting. After the sEMG evaluation, the root-mean-square (RMS) sEMG values of the paraspinal muscles in the habitual postures reflect the spinal curvature situation of the PUMC Type Ia and IIc subjects. Both groups have a stronger average RMS sEMG value on the convex side of the affected muscle regions. Correction to posture as instructed by the physiotherapist has helped the subjects to achieve a more balanced RMS sEMG ratio in the trapezius and latissimus dorsi regions; the erector spinae in the thoracic region and/or erector spinae in the lumbar region. It is, therefore, considered that with regular practice of the suggested positions, those with AIS can use motor learning to achieve a more balanced posture. Consequently, the findings can be used in less intrusive early orthotic intervention and provision of care to those with AIS.


Familial adenomatous polyposis represents approximately 1% of all colorectal cancers and is caused by germline mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene. Most mutations are located within the first 2000 codons, and several mutational hot spots have been identified. The relative location of the mutation may be associated with the number of polyps and partially predicts specific phenotypic expression. Mutations associated with the attenuated phenotype are found predominantly in the 5' region of the gene or in the last third. We describe a patient with a mutation in codon 161 of the APC gene, which displays a phenotype most closely resembling the attenuated form of familial adenomatous polyposis, and review the literature, the implications of this mutation, and the importance of the molecular testing in the proper and more complete characterization of these patients. Differences in the APC mutation sites alone cannot completely account for intrafamilial and interfamilial variation in the polyposis phenotypes.


Reduced layered M(C4H4N2)V4O10 ((I, M = Co; II, M = Ni; III, M = Zn); C4H4N2 = pyrazine, pyz) hybrid solids were synthesized via hydrothermal reactions at 200-230 degrees C, and their structures determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (Cmcm, No. 63, Z = 4; a = 14.311(2), 14.2372(4), 14.425(1) A; b = 6.997(1), 6.9008(2), 6.9702(6) A; and c = 11.4990(8), 11.5102(3), 11.479(1) A; for I, II, and III, respectively). All three solids are isostructural and contain V4O102- layers condensed from edge- and corner-shared VO5 square pyramids. A single symmetry-unique V atom is reduced by 1/2 electron (on average) and bonds via its apical oxygen atom to interlayer Mpyz2+ chains. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show a strong temperature dependence and a Curie constant that is consistent with two randomly localized spins per V4O10(2-) formula for III. Further, the unusual discovery of a remarkably well-defined transition to a singlet ground state, as well as formation of a spin gap, is found for III at 22(1) K. The temperature-dependent electrical conductivities show apparent activation energies of 0.36 (I), 0.46 (II), and 0.59 eV (III). During heating cycles in flowing N2, the samples exhibit weight losses corresponding to the removal of predominantly pyrazine, pyrazine fragments, and CO2 via reaction of pyrazine with the vanadate layer. The complete removal of pyrazine without loss of crystallinity is found for well-ground samples of I and III. The SEM images of I and II after heating at 400-500 degrees C show relatively intact crystals, but at 600 degrees C further structural collapse results in the formation of macropores at the surfaces.


PCI Express is a ubiquitous bus interface providing the highest bandwidth connection in the PC platform. Sadly, support for it in FPGAs is limited and/or expensive. The Speedy PCIe core addresses this problem by bridging the gap from the bare bones interface to a user friendly, high performance design. This paper describes some of the fundamental design challenges and how they were addressed as well as giving detailed results. The hardware and software source code are available for free download from [12].


Introduction:Repair of zygomatic fractures can be classified into the early closed reduction or the more recent open reduction and rigid internal fixation (ORIF) methods. Surgical training and literature advocate ORIF, but the actual frequency of the different techniques in clinical practice is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the current trends in the management of zygomatic fractures among US surgeons and elucidate their influences. Methods:A 10-question survey was developed and distributed to over 16,000 practicing US facial trauma surgeons, including plastic surgeons (PS), oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMFS), and otorhinolaryngologists (ENT). The survey queried training background, zygoma fracture treatment preferences, and rationale. Responses were tabulated and both univariate and bivariate statistical analyses completed. Results:One thousand six hundred eleven (10%) total responses were received. Zygomatic fractures are treated most commonly by OMFS (61%), then PS (20%) and ENT (19%), with 71% of repairs being performed in private practice. Open reduction and rigid internal fixation is the most common treatment modality (81%), with most surgeons using 2 to 3 sites for exposure, reduction, and fixation with titanium miniplates (70%). Thirty-five percent of surgeons perform routine orbital floor exploration. Forty-three percent quoted training and 32% reported accuracy of repair as the primary reason for choosing ORIF. Conclusions:This is the largest reported survey on the repair of zygoma fractures. The response rate suggests dominance of OMFS in zygoma fracture care, an area pioneered by PS. Evolution of technique is also evident by predominance of ORIF with emphasis of multiple points of exposure, reduction, and fixation with rigid hardware.


The goal of this paper was to compare two methods for the analysis of group composition effects using the classical big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) as an example. The BFLPE (Marsh, 1987) is a well-known and frequently investigated group composition effect in educational research (e.g. Seaton, Marsh, & Craven, 2009; Wang, 2013). According to this effect, students compare their own academic abilities with those of their school- or classmates and the information obtained then forms a reference that shapes students' academic self-concept. As a result, being in a group with high achievers often has detrimental influence on students' academic self-concept. Such negative comparative peer group influences are evident over and above the positive association between individual achievement and academic self-concept. Participants were 598 adolescents (Mage = 12.20; SDage = 0.80; 48% girls) from 40 classes (grade 6) with a sampling ratio close to 100%. Academic self-concept was measured using a 4-item scale developed by Venetz, Zurbriggen, and Eckhart (2014). Academic achievement was the average score on standardized math and German achievement tests (Machievement = -.005; SDachievement = .81; range -2.41 to +1.67). The data were analyzed using two methods: (1) a latent-manifest contextual model within a multilevel SEM framework (Marsh et al., 2009) and (2) the Group Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (GAPIM; Garcia, Meagher, & Kenny, 2014; Kenny & Garcia, 2012). In the latent-manifest contextual model, a latent group-mean centered variable for academic achievement at the individual level (L1) and the observed mean on academic achievement at the classroom level (L2) were used to predict a latent measure of academic self-concept (using the 4-item scale) at both levels (see Figure 1). In the GAPIM, four (manifest) group composition effects were calculated and used as individual level (L1) predictors to predict a latent measure of academic self-concept at Level 1 in a multilevel SEM framework. Both methods supported the BFLPE, but results differed slightly. In the GAPIM approach, the contrast model was the best fitting model, where both main effects are constrained to be equal but with opposite signs (see Table 1). Adolescents' academic self-concept was positively predicted by their own academic achievement, but negatively by the average academic achievement of all others in the group (i.e., a BFLPE). In the latent-manifest contextual model (see Figure 1), results were similar. However, estimates and standard errors were slightly larger than in the GAPIM. Simulation studies by Ludtke et al. (2008) showed that this may occur when using a multilevel latent approach to correct for sampling error as this may result in a positive bias and larger root-mean-square error of contextual effects when the sampling ratio is large (i.e., when most or all participants of a group are sampled) and when the number of participants per group and the number of groups are low, a situation typical in adolescent peer relationships research. The analyses showed that both methods have advantages and disadvantages, depending on the nature of the data. Benefits and drawbacks of the GAPIM in comparison to a latent MSEM approach will be discussed.


Human lactoferrin (Lf) is an iron binding glycoprotein that is present in several mucosal secretions. Many biological functions have been ascribed to Lf. In the present study, we showed that Lf limited specifically adsorption of R5- and X4-HIV-1-free particles on endometrial epithelial HEC-1A cells, by inhibiting virus adsorption on heparan-sulfated proteoglycans. But, Lf did not interfere with both R5 and X4-HIV transcytosis. We showed also the efficacy of Lf in preventing R5 and X4-HIV capture by dendritic cells. Conversely, we demonstrated that Lf-reacting natural Abs (NAbs) present within i.v. Ig-enhanced HIV attachment on dendritic cells by forming HIV-Lf-NAbs. HIV particles were able to directly interact with Lf following its interaction with NAbs. We also found Lf-reacting natural Abs within cervicovaginal secretions, suggesting the existence of Lf-NAbs complexes in women genital tract in vivo. In conclusion, this study highlights Lf as a potent microbicides and reports new function for NAbs within the genital compartment that may compartment that may abolish the inhibitory activity of microbicide compounds. Thus, we proposed a model in which Lf would appear as a double-edged sword that could have beneficial or detrimental effects depending on both cellular and molecular environments. This study highlights the use of Lf derivates as microbicide candidates to limit such interferences.


We consider the benefits of dream mechanisms – that is, the ability to simulate new experiences based on past ones – in a machine learning context. Specifically, we are interested in learning for artificial agents that act in the world, and operationalize "dreaming" as a mechanism by which such an agent can use its own model of the learning environment to generate new hypotheses and training data. We first show that it is not necessarily a given that such a data-hallucination process is useful, since it can easily lead to a training set dominated by spurious imagined data until an ill-defined convergence point is reached. We then analyse a notably successful implementation of a machine learning-based dreaming mechanism by Ha and Schmidhuber (Ha, D., & Schmidhuber, J. (2018). World models. arXiv e-prints, arXiv:1803.10122). On that basis, we then develop a general framework by which an agent can generate simulated data to learn from in a manner that is beneficial to the agent. This, we argue, then forms a general method for an operationalized dream-like mechanism. We finish by demonstrating the general conditions under which such mechanisms can be useful in machine learning, wherein the implicit simulator inference and extrapolation involved in dreaming act without reinforcing inference error even when inference is incomplete.


Recent advances in generative models have made exploring design spaces easier for de novo molecule generation. However, popular generative models like GANs and normalizing flows face challenges such as training instabilities due to adversarial training and architectural constraints, respectively. Score-based generative models sidestep these challenges by modelling the gradient of the log probability density using a score function approximation, as opposed to modelling the density function directly, and sampling from it using annealed Langevin Dynamics. We believe that score-based generative models could open up new opportunities in molecule generation due to their architectural flexibility, such as replacing the score function with an SE(3) equivariant model. In this work, we lay the foundations by testing the efficacy of score-based models for molecule generation. We train a Transformer-based score function on Self-Referencing Embedded Strings (SELFIES) representations of 1.5 million samples from the ZINC dataset and use the Moses benchmarking framework to evaluate the generated samples on a suite of metrics.


Within the framework of the development and exploitation of offshore wind power, precise and reliable evaluation of the resource is crucial for the construction of wind farms. Today this assessment is generally carried out by means of individual measurements which are then extrapolated to produce wind maps for wide areas, which may not adequately reflect local wind conditions. In this article a method is described which allows the production of wind maps with a high spatial resolution by means of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery from ERS satellites. The problem of repeatability of data is examined and the basis of an algorithm for the fusion of data is proposed. The aim is to obtain wind statistics over a specific area of interest from data with high spatial and temporal resolution.


The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has an ongoing research program that evaluates new technologies for increasing postcrash fire survivability on aircraft and determines methods to increase the performance capabilities of aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) vehicles. Excessive tire wear on hard surfaces is a concern on ARFF vehicles with more than four wheels. The FAA ARFF research program evaluated a six-wheeled ARFF vehicle with rear-wheel steering (RWS). The objectives were to evaluate an ARFF vehicle for turning diameter, tire tread wear, and estimated tire life. A six-wheeled ARFF vehicle was used with a prototype RWS system that allowed comparisons with the RWS function disabled and enabled. Tests were conducted according to FAA Advisory Circular 150/5220-10C, which specifies turning diameter procedures. Tire tread wear was achieved by driving the test vehicle on a figure-eight course for 60 miles, which generated a faster and more aggressive tire tread wear than normal driving patterns. Tire tread depth was measured according to the tire manufacturer. The data from the tread wear results were used to calculate estimated tire life. The results showed the ARFF vehicle with RWS decreased the turning diameter by 18.7% in the clockwise direction from 116.0 feet to 94.3 feet and 18.2% in the counter clockwise direction from 108.2 feet to 88.5 feet compared to vehicle operations without RWS. Without RWS, the rear tires wore the fastest by approximately 0.406 (13/32) inch over the 60 miles. With RWS, the middle tires wore the fastest by approximately 0.121 (4/32) inch over the 60 miles. The data from the tire tread wear tests were used to calculate the estimated tire life using linear regression calculations. RWS extended the estimated tire life by 1.9 to 2.6 times on the front tires and 7.9 to 9.0 times on the rear tires compared to vehicle operations without RWS enabled. However, the middle tires showed better tire life without RWS, 5.3 to 7.3 times that of tire life with RWS.


In this diploma work, a technique for digital reconstruction of 3D objects is presented. By using an ordinary digital camera, a turntable and a green screen a method of scanning objects and recreate them as digital 3D models is explained. This technique is based on deriving depth from images using stereo matching methods. When the depth of a scene is obtained, a volume corresponding to the scanned object can be reconstructed. This volume is later on textured with its original textures and presented as a digital reconstruction. Using only a sparse set of images, new and unique views of the object can be obtained.


settler colonial studies aims to contribute to the consolidation of a new scholarly field. This process requires that colonial and settler colonial phenomena be analytically disentangled. They have generally been seen either as entirely separate, or as different manifestations of colonialism at large. Neither stance, however, allows a proper appraisal of settler colonialism in its specificity. In contrast, in this introduction to this new scholarly journal, I suggest that colonialism and settler colonialism should be understood in their dialectical relation. On the basis of this distinction, in the second part of this introduction I reflect on the need to develop dedicated interpretative tools capable of sustaining an approach to the decolonisation of settler colonial formations.


According to works by Jenifer Lunden (2013), James W. Pennebaker (2007), and other researchers, narrative writing has proven to be beneficial in helping people recover from traumatic events. Therefore, the use of the narrative writing technique can be a valuable way to assess the dimensions of wellness of survivors of domestic violence. A greater focus on restoration is imperative to developing and maintaining stability, which will result in a better quality of life for survivors, after trauma, displacement, and living in shelters. This study combined personal narrative with research for the purpose of understanding Dr. Bill Hettler's (1976) "The Six Dimensions of Wellness" of domestic violence survivors, living in a shelter. Participants answered prepared survey questions regarding their occupational, physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional wellness. The study brought about self-realization for the woman, resulting in a more positive attitude, and insights to areas that they need to address in order to improve the quality of their lives.


The role of small scavengers (typically birds and small mammals) of large vertebrate remains in terrestrial environments is an under-researched aspect of forensic taphonomy. The present research examined the role of small scavengers in a wooded environment in Massachusetts. A sample of fresh, mostly defleshed pig (Sus scrofa) femora was placed in heavy mesh wire cages that restricted access by the largest scavengers but allowed full access by smaller scavengers. The bones were monitored with game cameras for a four-month period from 8 June through 7 October 2016, and bones were replaced frequently. A minimum of 8 bird and 10 mammalian taxa were detected scavenging the remains, including multiple Passerines, turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), mustelids, raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and rodents including eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and chipmunk (Tamias striatus). Gnawing damage to bone was accrued by fisher (Martes pennanti), but the remaining scavengers only consumed adhering soft tissue. The small scavenger guild in this region is diverse and has a high potential for involvement in the scavenging of human skeletal remains in exposed terrestrial environments. KEYWORDS: forensic anthropology, forensic taphonomy, scavenger guild, scavenging, bone gnawing, Massachusetts


Fischer's (1973) linear logistic test model can be used to test hypotheses regarding the effect of covariates on item difficulty and to predict the difficulty of newly constructed test items. However, its assumptions of equal discriminatory power across items and a perfect prediction of item difficulty are never absolutely met. The amount of misfit in an application of a Bayesian version of the model to two subtests of the SON-R 5(1/2)-17 is investigated by means of item fit statistics in the framework of posterior predictive checks and by means of a comparison with a model that allows for residual (co)variance in the item parameters. The effect of the degree of residual (co)variance on the robustness of inferences is investigated in a simulation study.


ABSTRACT In addition to health and financial burdens, family caregivers can experience stress in their romantic relationships. Relational turbulence theory (RTT) is used to understand how family caregivers and caregivers' romantic partners navigate relational transitions and caregiver burden when one partner is providing informal care to another aging family member. Three hundred and nineteen participants, who were either the romantic partner providing care or the romantic partner of a family caregiver, completed an online survey. Tests of RTT and caregiver burden revealed that relational uncertainty, partner facilitation, and relational turbulence were related to caregiver burden as predicted for family caregivers; relational uncertainty was unrelated to caregiver burden for romantic partners. Partner interference was unrelated to caregiver burden. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Video Abstract Read the transcript Watch the video on Vimeo © 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC


Biological information is necessary for population structure assessment of economically important species. There are no known published studies on the age and reproduction of Mullus surmuletus in the north of the Bay of Biscay. The aim of this study was to estimate growth and reproductive biology of this species in the eastern English Channel and southern North Sea from 1089 individuals, observed from February to December 2004. The length–weight relationship was described by the parameters: a = 3.284.10−6 and b = 3.243, being allometrically positive. Ages were determined from increments of otoliths, used entirely after a burning treatment. Marginal-increment analysis showed an annual periodicity of increment formation. Von Bertalanffy growth equations were estimated as TLt = 51.2(1−e−0.19(t+2.904)) for females and TLt = 36.0(1−e−0.218(t+3.232)) for males. Comparing the observed growth performance index (φ′ = 2.676) from others studies, a positive growth gradient was suggested for M. surmuletus from south to north of its distribution area. Females grew significantly faster and reached a larger size at age than males. Length at 50% maturity was 16.9 and 16.2 cm, respectively, for females and males, corresponding to an estimated age of 1 year for both sexes. In the eastern English Channel, according to both the gonadosomatic indices (GSI) and maturity stages, the observed spawning period of M. surmuletus was from May to July. The present description of the red mullet life history characteristics in this region may constitute a preliminary step to future population dynamics modelling and stock assessment exercises.