: Rats with bilateral lesions of lateral entorhinal cortex and perirhinal cortex were tested on a nonrecurring-items delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMS) task resembling the one that is commonly used to study object recognition in monkeys. The rats were tested at retention delays of 4 s, 15 s, 60 s, 120 s, and 600 s before and after surgery. After surgery, they displayed a delay-dependent deficit: They performed normally at the 4-s delay but were impaired at delays of 15 s or longer. The addition of bilateral amygdala lesions did not increase their DNMS deficits. The present finding of a severe DNMS deficit following rhinal cortex damage is consistent with the authors' previous finding that bilateral lesions of the hippocampus and amygdala cause only mild DNMS deficits in rats unless there is also damage to rhinal cortex (D.G. Mumby, E.R. Wood, & J.P.J. Pinel, 1992). These findings add to accumulating evidence that the rhinal cortex, but not the amygdala, plays a critical role in object recognition.


Recently, and due to Arab spring and terrorism around the globe, pushing and driving most governments potentially to harmonize their border measures particularly the regional and an international transit trade within and among Customs Unions. The main purpose of this study is to investigate and provide an insight for monitoring and controlling the trade supply chain within and among different countries by using technological advancement (i.e. an electronic tracking system, etc.); furthermore, facilitate the local and intra-regional trade among countries through reviewing the recent trends and practical implementation of an electronic transit traffic and cargo that related to customs measures by introducing and supporting some case studies of several international and landlocked transit trade countries. The research methodology employed in this study was described as qualitative by conducting few interviews with managers, transit truck drivers, and traders and reviewing the related literature to collect qualitative data from secondary sources such as statistical reports, previous studies, etc. The results in this study show that Jordan and other countries around the globe that used an electronic tracking system for monitoring transit trade has led to a significant reduction in cost, effort and time in physical movement of goods internally and crossing through other countries. Therefore, there is no need to escort transit trucks by customs staff; hence, the rate of escort transit trucks is reduced by more than ninety percent, except the bulky and high duty goods. Electronic transit traffic has been increased; the average transit time journey has been reduced by more than seventy percent and has led to decrease in rates of smuggling up to fifty percent. The researcher recommends considering Jordan as regional and international office for tracking electronically and monitoring the transit trade for many considerations. Keywords—Electronic tracking system, facilitation system, regional and international corridor, supply chain security, transit trade


The CXI dimers [dimers containing, for example cyclopropapyrroloindole (CPI), cyclopropabenzindole (CBI) or cyclopropathienoindole (CTI) moieties] first emerged in the late 1980s, and were composed of two units of the active pharmacophore present in duocarmycin natural products. They are among the most potent cytotoxic agents ever synthesised and have been successfully utilised by various groups as payloads for antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs). Their ability to cross-link DNA, selectively alkylating adenines in the minor groove, differentiates them from other known payload classes and even other cross-linking agents. This chapter reviews the various forms of CXI dimers that have been reported, including several examples where they have been shown to outperform approved ADCs both in vitro and in vivo.


Abstract The Endangered Madagascar giant jumping rat, Hypogeomys antimena, has suffered a major decline in distribution and is now restricted to two seemingly unconnected sub-populations in the largest remaining fragment of deciduous, seasonally dry forest in Menabe, western Madagascar. In a previous study a rapid decrease in numbers of H. antimena was observed in relatively intact forest, suggesting a factor of population decline additional to habitat loss, and provoking fears of a negative trend occurring across its remaining range. In the current study we conducted extensive line transect surveys to estimate active H. antimena burrow density in 2004 and 2005 as an index of population size, and trapping to estimate mean group size, as a multiplier for population size estimation. Within the surveyed areas we estimated the combined size of the two H. antimena sub-populations in 2005 to be c. 36,000, considerably larger than previously assumed. There was no evidence that active burrow density across the species' known range changed between 2000 and 2005. H. antimena was not uniformly distributed, with higher densities of active burrows found in forest with the highest canopy in areas furthest from forest edges. These core forest areas are vital for the species' conservation and the recent declaration that the Menabe forest will receive statutory protection provides hope that H. antimena may be safeguarded. However, given its restricted range and low reproductive output, among other factors, H. antimena remains threatened and requires close future monitoring.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to determine the ability of healthcare professionals and lay volunteers to grade photoscreening photographs.

DESIGN
The study design was a cross-sectional study.

PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTION
One hundred children 3 years of age or younger received a complete ophthalmologic examination and were photographed using the Medical Technology Innovations (MTI) photoscreener. Twenty-six children had normal examination results, and the remaining 74 children had conditions that are of interest for pediatric screening, including strabismus, refractive error, media opacities, and ptosis. Eighteen volunteers, including pediatric ophthalmologists, pediatricians, ophthalmic technicians, health department nurses, Prevention of Blindness Society personnel, and Lions Club volunteers, graded each of the 100 photoscreening photographs.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Sensitivity and specificity of vision screening and of photograph grading were measured.

RESULTS
Results from various graders yielded sensitivities ranging from 37% to 88% and specificities ranging from 40% to 88%. No single grader achieved sensitivity and specificity both greater than 70%. The grading of the manufacturer's representative had a sensitivity of 43% and a specificity of 85%. Sensitivity decreased to 31% for strabismus and 18% for refractive error when the correct type of strabismus or refractive error was required to be considered true-positives. Results were not positively correlated with the ophthalmologic knowledge of the participant.

CONCLUSIONS
The wide variability in sensitivities and specificities among graders indicates inconsistent photograph interpretation skills or deficient screening guidelines or both. For off-axis photoscreening as implemented by the MTI system to become a useful vision-screening method, additional photograph interpretation skill transfer may be beneficial, although not necessarily sufficient.


Abstract Grade control and ore/waste delineation in open pit mining operations was traditionally based on the comparison of estimated grades with an economic cutoff. In the 1990s, an alternative approach to ore selection was applied and established, taking into account financial indicators through the so-called economic classification functions in combination with grade uncertainty assessment. Grade uncertainty is assessed using multiple grade realisations from geostatistical or stochastic simulations. Ore/waste selection integrates and is supported by the evaluation of economic consequences of sending a block of mined material to a processing facility or to the waste dump, and the related asymmetric financial implications. The benefits and practical implications of this efficient alternative framework are best illustrated by comparing the performance of three economic functions when combined with three commonly used stochastic simulation methods under different conditions. The latter conditions include a sparse and a dense blasthole sampling patterns and three cutoff grades. A general observation is that the minimum loss classification function combined with the indicator sequential simulation presents the most consistently better performing combination. This observation is reinforced in an application at a gold mine where the above combination outperforms the already well reconciling conventional grade control approach of the mine. The extension of the framework of economic functions to account for geometallurgical properties follows. This extension shows the integration of ore and waste grindability, a key aspect of ore comminution. Finding shows the improvements that could be made over current best practice when grindability is considered, and suggests how other geometallurgical attributes may be further integrated into grade control, as long as economic classification functions and orebody uncertainty models are considered.


Ischemia involving the posterior cerebral circulation carries high morbidity and mortality. Endovascular access to the vertebral artery is a relatively safe and straightforward management option. The feasibility and safety of angioplasty and stenting is well demonstrated in multiple centers. Periprocedural risks include stent embolization, malposition, stent fracture, vessel rupture, dissection and thrombosis. We present a case of vertebral artery stenting that was complicated by distal embolization of the stent. The anatomical difficulties while managing the complication were challenging. A novel drag-back technique was successfully tried and is described here along with discussion of other management options described in literature. J Med Cases. 2018;9(8):260-263 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3104w


This paper presents a control strategy to improve the low-voltage ride-through capability of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG); since the stator of a DFIG is directly connected to a grid, this sort of machine is very sensitive to grid disturbance. Grid voltage sag causes overcurrents and overvoltages in rotor windings, which can damage the rotor-side converter (RSC). In order to protect the RSC, a classical solution based on installation of the so-called crowbar is adopted; however, as the DFIG absorbs reactive power from the grid, this type of solution deteriorates grid voltage sags and cannot meet the requirements of a new grid code. An improved control strategy which uses virtual resistance to limit rotor side overcurrents is proposed in this paper, which can make a crowbar inactive and supply reactive power to fulfill the latest grid code requirement during voltage sags. In order to validate the proposed strategy, simulations and experiments have been carried out, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To facilitate affordable and equitable access to essential and cost-effective medicines for patients, governments can use a mix of policy measures. For the implementation and optimisation of such policies, policy-makers benefit from information and evidence of appropriate measures in other countries and their impacts. This PPRI Report 2018 aims to provide information of currently existing pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies in the 47 PPRI member countries. *** METHODOLOGY: Information and data of pharmaceutical policies (as of December 2018) were predominantly obtained through primary surveys from the competent authorities in 47 PPRI network member countries. *** RESULTS 42 PPRI network member countries have mechanisms in place to set medicine prices at the exfactory (or sometimes wholesale) price level, mostly targeting reimbursable medicines or prescription-only medicines. 41 countries apply external price referencing (i.e. referencing to prices in other countries). The EPR methodology (e.g. reference countries, benchmark calculation) varies across the countries. Several but not all PPRI countries have regulated distribution remuneration such as mark-ups (32 countries with regulated wholesale remuneration and 43 countries with regulated pharmacy remuneration). 46 PPRI network member countries have one or more reimbursement lists for outpatient medicines in place, and in 31 PPRI countries the reimbursement lists relate to both outpatient and inpatient sectors. In addition, hospital pharmaceutical formularies are managed at the level of hospitals in most PPRI countries. At least 43 countries charge co-payments for outpatient reimbursable medicines (frequently percentage co-payments, but also a prescription fee and/or a deductible). All these 43 countries apply exemptions from or reductions of co-payments for vulnerable and other defined population groups. Internal price referencing, which considers the prices of identical or similar medicines in the same country, is a pricing policy applied for off-patent medicines (32 PPRI countries set the generic price at a defined percentage of the originator price, and 23 countries determine the biosimilar price based on the price of the reference medicine). A reference price system, with defined reimbursement amounts for similar or identical medicines, is applied in 32 PPRI countries. Prescribing by International Non-proprietary Name (43 PPRI countries) and generic substitution (43 countries) are commonly used. To assess the value of new medicines, health technology assessments (HTA) and pharmacoeconomic evaluations are used to support reimbursement decisions of new medicines. Among the PPRI countries, Sweden is the only country with a full-fledged value based pricing system. To manage the market entry of new medicines with possibly high price tags an increasing number of countries (at least 33 PPRI countries) have been applying managed-entry agreements (MEA). *** CONCLUSION: Since the implementation of pricing and reimbursement policies is the national competence of governments, the design of policies used varies from country to country.


Fusion of an interphalangeal joint of a lesser toe is a commonly used procedure for addressing interphalangeal joint deformities such as a hammer or a claw toe. Fusion can be achieved by insertion of an intramedullary Kirschner wire in a retrograde manner. Deviation of the Kirschner wire from the intramedullary canal into the surrounding soft tissues is common. This can render the fusion unstable and can cause painful soft-tissue irritation and early Kirschner wire loosening, resulting in an unstable nonunion with recurrence of deformity. We describe a simple and reproducible technique to assist with optimal intramedullary placement of the Kirschner wire, thereby reducing the risk of complications after interphalangeal joint fusion of a toe.


Malignant relapse remains a major problem for recipients of allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We hypothesized that immunization of allogeneic HSCT recipients against tissue-restricted Ags using DNA vaccines would decrease the risk of relapse without enhancing graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). Using the mouse B16 melanoma model, we found that post-HSCT DNA immunization against a single tumor Ag induces tumor rejection that is significantly greater than HSCT alone in a T cell-depleted MHC-matched minor Ag-mismatched allogeneic HSCT model (LP → B6). In treatment models, post-HSCT DNA immunization provides significantly greater overall survival than the vaccine alone. Donor leukocyte infusion further enhances tumor-free survival, including in treatment models. There was no GVHD in HSCT recipients treated with DNA vaccination and donor leukocyte infusion. Further analysis demonstrated that these effects are dependent on CD8+ T cells of donor origin that recognize multiple epitopes. These results demonstrate that DNA immunization against tissue-restricted Ags after allogeneic T cell-depleted HSCT can induce potent antitumor effects without causing GVHD.


In 1935 the present author reported the occurrence of this N. American species in the eastern part of Holland, province of Overijssel, in the vicinity of Almelo (JONKER, 1935). He found the species near the hamlet of Harbrinkhoek on a wet heath. The locality was also the only station of Wahlenbergia hederacea in the Netherlands, discovered a year before. Notwithstanding the extensive reclamations in that part of the country the species now still occurs in a number of localities around Almelo. The plants cannot be considered adventitious as they were found in places that are comparatively little influenced by human culture, judging from the occurrence, on the first-discovered locality, of e.g. Wahlenbergia hederacea. Gentiana pneumonanthe, Viola palustris, Radiola linoides, Linum catharticum, Scutellaria minor. The late Dr. Wachter discovered, in the herbarium of the Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands, unidentified specimens of Hypericum canadense collected by Lako as early as 1909 in the same environment, perhaps even in the same station; and Dr. van Soest identified two specimens collected in 1918 by the late naturalist Bernink near Denekamp, about 20 km E of the above mentioned localities. Bouchard (1953, 1954, 1955) reported the discovery of the species in France, dept. Haute-Saone. The plants were found in large quantities, at the stony beach of oligotrophous lakes, together with Littorella uniflora. In his detailed publication of 1954 he discussed the possibilities of introduction. He concluded that the plants are not adventitious. They may be autochthonous or naturalized and then, when the latter is the fact, probably by U.S. army units that stayed in that area during world war I. He did not preclude, however, the possibility of a glacial relic. Bouchard overlooked the previous publication reporting the occurrence in Holland.


This paper describes a simple and didactic procedure which illustrates the benefits of the visual aspects of MATLAB/SIMULINK for educational purposes. The novel didactic procedure is specially developed for transient stability simulation of a multi-machine power system given with full details. Structural details of various sub-models for a multi-machine power system are provided and their implementation in SIMULINK environment is outlined. Simulation results show that the developed transient simulation model is a powerful and promising tool for transient stability studies, and very helpful to understand transient stability phenomena for students and researchers. The most salient features of the developed MATLAB/SIMULINK-based model are simplicity of use, transparency, flexibility and expandability. These special characteristics are easy to understand and can be easily modified. Hence, these features make the proposed model suitable for both educational and research purposes. In addition, classroom experience has shown that the didactic procedure helps in consolidating a better understanding of power system transient stability.


Abstract A hallmark of adaptation in humans and other animals is our ability to control how we think and behave across different settings. Research has characterized the various forms cognitive control can take—including enhancement of goal-relevant information, suppression of goal-irrelevant information, and overall inhibition of potential responses—and has identified computations and neural circuits that underpin this multitude of control types. Studies have also identified a wide range of situations that elicit adjustments in control allocation (e.g., those eliciting signals indicating an error or increased processing conflict), but the rules governing when a given situation will give rise to a given control adjustment remain poorly understood. Significant progress has recently been made on this front by casting the allocation of control as a decision-making problem. This approach has developed unifying and normative models that prescribe when and how a change in incentives and task demands will result in changes in a given form of control. Despite their successes, these models, and the experiments that have been developed to test them, have yet to face their greatest challenge: deciding how to select among the multiplicity of configurations that control can take at any given time. Here, we will lay out the complexities of the inverse problem inherent to cognitive control allocation, and their close parallels to inverse problems within motor control (e.g., choosing between redundant limb movements). We discuss existing solutions to motor control's inverse problems drawn from optimal control theory, which have proposed that effort costs act to regularize actions and transform motor planning into a well-posed problem. These same principles may help shed light on how our brains optimize over complex control configuration, while providing a new normative perspective on the origins of mental effort.


A new trend in topic modeling research is to do Neural Topic Modeling by Clustering document Embeddings (NTM-CE) created with a pretrained language model. Studies have evaluated static NTM-CE models and found them performing comparably to, or even better than other topic models. An important extension of static topic modeling is making the models dynamic, allowing the study of topic evolution over time, as well as detecting emerging and disappearing topics. In this research proposal, we present two research questions to understand dynamic topic modeling with NTM-CE theoretically and practically. To answer these, we propose four phases with the aim of establishing evaluation methods for dynamic topic modeling, finding NTM-CE-specific properties, and creating a framework for dynamic NTM-CE. For evaluation, we propose to use both quantitative measurements of coherence and human evaluation supported by our recently developed tool.


As predicted by Duverger's Law, the UK has two-party competition in each electoral district. However, there can be different patterns of two-party competition in different districts (currently there are five), so that there have usually been more than two effective parties in the Commons. Since 1874 it has always contained parties fighting seats in only one of the non-English parts of the Union. These parties wish to change the Union by strengthening, weakening, or dissolving it. By calculating the Penrose power index for all parties in the House of Commons for all General Elections since 1874, we identify the occasions on which a party that wished to modify the Union was pivotal. We explain various acts (e.g, the Crofters Act 1886; the first three Irish Home Rule Bills; the Parliament Act 1911) and non-acts (e.g. the failure to enact female suffrage before 1914) by reference to the Penrose indices of the non-English parties. The indices also explain how and why policy towards Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland changed, and did not change, in the 1970s.


Background: Proximal humerus fractures are very common fractures occurring in the skeleton. They account for approximately 4 – 5% of the fracture attendance at the hospital. It is the most common fracture of shoulder girdle. It is the 3rd most common fracture in elderly. Till date various methods are used including percutaneous and open reduction & fixation according to fracture type.

Aims & Objective: To study the occurrence, mechanism of injury and displacement of various types of fractures and different modalities of the fixations in proximal humerus fractures. Come to conclusion about preferred modality of treatment of proximal humerus fractures according to the pattern of fracture.

Material and Methods: In present study 44 patients of complex fracture of proximal humerus treated with either open reduction internal fixation or percutaneous fixation from 2009 to 2012. Follow up assessment was done by Constant score.

Results: Radiological union occur at about 8 to 12 weeks. Closed reduction and percutaneous k wire or cancellous screws fixation showed excellent results in majority cases of 3 -part fracture. All 4 part fractures are treated with ORIF. Open reduction and internal fixation with locking compression plates showed good results among all implants used.

Conclusion: Principle of fixation is reconstruction of the articular surface, including the restoration of the anatomy, stable fixation, with minimal injury to the soft tissues preserving the vascular supply, should be applied. Majority of poor results are due to poor surgical techniques and lack early physiotherapy.


The felsites of Conway Mountain were described by Prof. Bonney more than 16 years ago. Among specimens which I collected in North Wales in 1877, but from which sections have only recently been prepared, there are a few which may be of interest, since they were procured at short intervals from a point at the mouth of the River Conway, and may be regarded as representing the southern portion of the felsite near the fault which, on the Geological Survey map, is shown to separate the felsites of Conway Mountain from those of Diganwy, throwing the latter a considerable distance to the north. The spot at which the specimens were collected is marked Bodlondeb on the Ordnance Survey map. A path runs round this point, bounded on the west by an exposure of rock which has been dressed back so as to form a low natural wall, while a lower wall has been built between the eastern side of the path and the estuary (see map, p. 172). The specimens, or small chips, were consecutively numbered in the order in which they were collected, from south to north. On the south the felsite is succeeded by Bala Beds, which about a mile to the west are marked on the Geological Survey map as dipping 60° southward, but at Bodlondeb the felsites appeared to dip at a higher angle. No. 1 is a pale pinkish-grey rock, somewhat resembling the yellowish felsite which occurs to the west below Castell Caer Seion. The


Twenty-seven years ago, Micah Bartlett was a first-time bank teller at a small community bank in central Illinois. A few months in, the bank CEO gathered the staff to discuss the topic of the day: cross-selling. "Going forward, we were all going to be about cross-selling," he remembers. The idea never had a chance. "I never changed my habits at all, and most of my coworkers didn't either," he remembers. "The whole initiative went nowhere." Why? As a newbie teller, Bartlett didn't feel like a salesperson--and he didn't feel confident that he could be one. Moreover, the bank didn't provide tools and processes to help employees cross-sell, and "there was no discussion about why this is in the interest of our customers. It was all about the bank's objectives." That kind of cross-selling--with a maniacal focus on hitting the bank's internal metrics--has cast a pall on the whole concept in the wake of the Wells Fargo scandal. But when anchored by knowledge of and tailoring to customers' goals and desires, cross-selling can be a useful tool for growing business. "You have to have an authentic intention with regard to the customer's financial goals," says Bartlett--and you have to provide employees with the tools to understand and meet those goals. For the past decade, Bartlett has been president and CEO at Town and Country Bank, a $516 million bank in Springfield, III. He knew he wanted the bank to be a source of financial empowerment for customers in a way that would deepen customer relationships. So he found himself in the same role as his first CEO--pitching employees on a new relationship approach. "When we first started talking about this at our company, most employees looked at me like I had three eyes," he laughs. "They were just waiting for this thing to blow over." But as Bartlett points out, deepening customer relationships isn't a trend bank employees should let blow over. It's core to the banking model. Here are three approaches banks are using to deepen customer relationships: Outreach, not onboarding "In many banks, [onboarding] is the end of the relationship," says Barbara Sanfilippo, a banking sales coach with High Definition Banking. They make sure online banking is set up, the debit card is activated--and not much more contact happens. But Sanfilippo argues that knowing customers' goals is essential to those deeper relationships. At Town and Country Bank, Sanfilippo helped Bartlett develop an outreach process that worked. The process includes a sequence of onboarding questions designed to discern goals--plus regular follow-up as appropriate for the customer and their goals. Sanfilippo urges banks to coach employees to ask questions without pitching products. "When you haven't built trust with a customer, you don't want to [sell] first." For example, instead of offering financial planning for college, an employee can ask, "What are you thinking about for college for your kids?" She also emphasizes the importance of "reboarding," since many bank customers aren't receiving regular personal contact. (For example, Bartlett says only 10 percent of Town and Country customers visit branches--until he launched the new outreach program, the bank had little personal contact with the remaining 90 percent.) The new approach to outreach, only in place a few years at Town and Country, is already paying off. Before 2013, when the program launched, the bank saw 14 percent attrition but only 11 percent new account acquisition. …


Background and Aims
More than half of patients with Crohn's disease [CD] develop disease complications requiring aggressive medical therapy or surgery over time. However, predicting disease course and treatment response remains difficult. We therefore identified distinctive serum analytes associated with disease activity and course in newly diagnosed, untreated patients at presentation and during their follow-up.

Methods
In a pilot study, a multiplex immunoassay analysis on 36 markers was performed on serum from 20 CD patients at the time of primary diagnosis following endoscopic evaluation. The 12 most potent markers associated with disease activity, phenotype and course were analysed in a consecutive cohort of 66 CD patients at diagnosis and follow-up [n = 39]. A healthy control group [n = 20] was included as a reference.

Results
CD patients had higher baseline levels of sTNF-R2 [p = 0.001], sIL-2R [p = 0.0001], and MMP-1 [p = 0.001] compared with healthy controls. Serial measurements revealed that these three analytes dropped statistically significantly from baseline level during remission and were high during exacerbation. Great decline of sTNF-R1 levels was found during remission, with 6.7-fold lower levels than in healthy controls [p = 0.015]. Patients who did not respond to initial prednisone treatment had higher baseline levels of sTNF-R2 [p = 0.001]. Patients experiencing relapses during follow-up had lower baseline sTNF-R2 and VCAM levels compared with patients with long-lasting remission.

Conclusions
In a large cohort of newly diagnosed untreated CD patients, we identified candidate serum markers [sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2, sIL-2R, and MMP-1] associated with disease activity. Furthermore, sTNF-R2 was associated with prednisone response and, together with VCAM, with long-lasting remission.


The aim of this study was to explore the anatomy and morphometry of the coronary sinus in hearts of adult humans, clarify position of the sinus to left atrium, left fibrous ring and adjacent arteries and describe topographic variants for adjacent anatomy of the coronary sinus in hearts of various types of coronary dominance. We studied 40 hearts weighing 200-420 g, obtained from patients who died from non-cardiac causes. We dissected 30 non-injected macroscopic specimens preserved into 4% PBS formalin to reveal and measure coronary sinus and neighboring coronary arteries. The rest 10 hearts we used for preparing histological slices from the points of the beginning of the sinus, in the middle, and near the "crux cordis". We measured large and small diameters, circumference, wall thickness of the coronary sinus, as well as explored relative position of the coronary sinus, adjacent arteries, left atrium and left fibrous ring. The reference range of coronary sinus length was 33.76-48.4 mm. The median (Me) of the circumference of the coronary sinus increased from 13.87 mm at the beginning of the sinus to 23.99 mm at the "crux cordis". In some specimens, the cross section of the sinus looked flattened in the anteroposterior direction; in others, it appeared to be flattened basoapically. We distinguished two anatomical patterns of the coronary sinus: subepicardial and intramyocardial. The first we proposed to term myocardialless or, simply, "naked", and the second type we named muscularized. We proposed to divide the latter into partially and completely muscularized. Lack of adventitia between the myocardial sheet and tunica media of the coronary sinus allowed us to consider myocardial sleeves as an integral structure of the intramyocardial sinus wall. The wall thickness value of the coronary sinus at the point of origin, in the middle, and at the point of its turning anterosuperiorly toward the right atrium had no differences, but significantly depended on the myocardial cover and on the position of the coronary sinus in the left atrioventricular sulcus. The distance from the sinus to the posterior wall of the left atrium was 0.15-7.66 mm (Me 0.91 mm); the distance to the left fibrous ring was 2.9-13.7 mm (Me 7.9 mm). We found four variants of topographic and anatomical relations of the sinus and its adjacent arteries. Commonly, arteries were located below the coronary sinus. The ranges of variability of morphometric values of the coronary sinus and neighboring structures may be considered as reference values of the anatomy of the coronary sinus in the normal human adult heart.


The angiograms of 40 nephrectomised donors operated at the Department of Urology. Hacettepe University Hospital, were evaluated retrospectively. It was found that in 84 % of donors who underwent intravenous digital subtraction angiography (IV-DSA) and in 76 % of patients who underwent conventional aortography and selective renal angiography (CA) the estimations for renal arterial anatomy preoperative - ly were correct. The accuracy of the two techniques for predicting the renal arterial status did not differ statistically. It was concluded that as IV-DSA is a non- invasive method, it should be the procedure of choice for evaluating living renal donors.


High-Speed Centrifugal Compaction Process (HCP) is one of slip-using compacting method in which the compacts are obtained as sediments under huge centrifugal force. Compacting mechanism of the HCP differs from other slip using compacting methods. The unique compacting mechanism of the HCP leads a number of characteristics such as a higher compacting speed, wide applicability for net shape formation, etc. Moreover, the most outstanding characteristics of the HCP can be found in homogeneous and flawless microstructure of the green compacts, because the process possesses an intrinsic defect removing function. That is, the defect inducing matters in slips (powder aggregates, inclusions, bubbles) are removed from the main part of the compact by the classification effect of centrifuge, and therefore the HCP alumina exhibits superior sinterabiliy and higher strength and hardness than most other aluminas. Many of the advantageous characteristics of the HCP can be improved with a higher centrifugal force.


A 3-dimensional model dual to the Rozansky-Witten topological sigma-model with a hyper-Kähler target space is considered. It is demonstrated that a Feynman diagram calculation of the classical part of its partition function yields the Milnor linking number.


The evidence that obesity adversely affects women's health is overwhelming and indisputable. The risk of postmenopausal breast cancer increases with obesity; measured as weight gain, body mass index, waist–hip ratio or percent body fat. It is also established that obesity is associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer. This review examines in detail the possible mechanisms by which obesity causes poor prognosis of breast cancer such as estrogenic activity, advanced or more aggressive disease at diagnosis and high likelihood of both local and systemic treatment failure. After careful consideration of the available evidence, the author concludes that obesity contributes towards development and poor prognosis of breast cancer; therefore, weight management should be an integral part of any strategy to prevent and improve the outcome of breast cancer.


The Wnt pathway transcription factor T cell factor 1 (TCF-1) plays essential roles in the control of several developmental processes, including T cell development in the thymus. Although previously regarded as being required only during early T cell development, recent studies demonstrate an important role for TCF-1 in T helper 2 (Th2) cell polarization. TCF-1 was shown to activate expression of the Th2 transcription factor GATA-binding protein 3 (GATA3) and thus to promote the development of IL-4-producing Th2 cells independent of STAT6 signaling. In this study, we show that TCF-1 is down-regulated in human naive CD4+ T cells cultured under Th2-polarizing conditions. The down-regulation is largely due to the polarizing cytokine IL-4 because IL-4 alone is sufficient to substantially inhibit TCF-1 expression. The IL-4-induced suppression of TCF-1 is mediated by STAT6, as shown by electrophoretic mobility shift assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and STAT6 knockdown experiments. Moreover, we found that IL-4/STAT6 predominantly inhibits the shorter, dominant-negative TCF-1 isoforms, which were reported to inhibit IL-4 transcription. Thus, this study provides a model for an IL-4/STAT6-dependent fine tuning mechanism of TCF-1-driven T helper cell polarization.


Existing person re-identification (re-id) methods either assume the availability of well-aligned person bounding box images as model input or rely on constrained attention selection mechanisms to calibrate misaligned images. They are therefore sub-optimal for re-id matching in arbitrarily aligned person images potentially with large human pose variations and unconstrained auto-detection errors. In this work, we show the advantages of jointly learning attention selection and feature representation in a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) by maximising the complementary information of different levels of visual attention subject to re-id discriminative learning constraints. Specifically, we formulate a novel Harmonious Attention CNN (HA-CNN) model for joint learning of soft pixel attention and hard regional attention along with simultaneous optimisation of feature representations, dedicated to optimise person re-id in uncontrolled (misaligned) images. Extensive comparative evaluations validate the superiority of this new HA-CNN model for person re-id over a wide variety of state-of-the-art methods on three large-scale benchmarks including CUHK03, Market-1501, and DukeMTMC-ReID.


Several species of thalassinid shrimp are found in the U.K., all of which construct burrows in muddy sediments of the intertidal or sublittoral. The most abundant species in Scottish west coast waters is the axiid Calocaris macandreae Bell, which burrows in soft mud from 10 to several hundred metres water depth. Previous studies have indicated that oxygen availability within the burrows of other burrowing decapods is limited. A study was made of Calocaris macandreae, in particular of the respiratory environment of the burrows, the behaviour associated with burrowing and of the respiratory physiology and metabolism of this species. In addition, literature information concerning other Thalassinidea was reviewed. The structure and distribution of Calocaris burrows was investigated in the field using diving-based methods. Burrows were mapped and polyester resin-casts were made. Burrows constructed by Calocaris in sediment columns in laboratory aquaria were also examined. Oxygen tensions in burrows constructed by animals kept in laboratory aquaria were determined, and showed that respiratory conditions in burrows may be permanently and severely hypoxic, with oxygen tensions as low as 15 Torr recorded in the deeper levels of a burrow. The range of burrow forms constructed by thalassinid species was reviewed with regard to possible functions of a burrow. The behaviour patterns shown by Calocaris macandreae in laboratory burrows were analysed using video recordings. In general, Calocaris has a behavioural regime characterised by low levels of activity. Burrow irrigation by pleopod beating was infrequent and of short duration in 'normal' conditions, but increased during experimental depletion of oxygen tension in the overlying water column. The branchial morphology of seven thalassinid species (from the U.K. ) were compared using scanning electron microscopy. A range of gill formulae and gill anatomy was observed, with a trend towards simplification of the gill formula and a phyllobranchiate gill structure in Upogebia and Callianassa. In addition, the surface area of the gills of Calocaris macandreae was determined to be relatively small compared to other, more active decapods. In view of the hypoxic conditions encountered by Calocaris macandreae, an investigation of respiratory physiology in this species was made. Open and closed respirometry techniques showed that the rate of oxygen consumption by Calocaris is low compared to that of most other decapods (but similar to those recorded for other thalassinids). However, oxygen consumption is maintained at a constant rate even at very low oxygen tensions (the 'Pc' varied between 10 and 20 Torr). Measurement of heart and scaphognathite rates using an impedance technique showed that hyperventilation is a consistent response to environmental hypoxia, although there was no response of heart rate. Comparative data from the literature suggest that adaptive responses of the haemolymph oxygen transport system may be a major component of adaptation to hypoxia in Crustacea. The respiratory pigment of Calocaris macandreae (and other thalassinids reported in the literature) has a larger molecular weight haemocyanin than those of other Crustacea (as determined by gel filtration), although the subunit molecular weight is similar. The concentration of haemocyanin in the haemolymph is comparatively low, resulting in a low oxygen carrying capacity (thought to be related to low activity levels). The oxygen affinity of the haemocyanin was studied using a diffusion chamber system. The haemocyanin oxygen affinity is exceptionally high in Calocaris macandreae (P50 as low as 1.8 Torr under in vivo conditions), probably resulting in efficient oxygen transport to the tissues even in severe hypoxia. However, there is little evidence for modulation of oxygen affinity. The functional significance of modulation of haemocyanin oxygen affinity in Calocaris and other decapods is discussed. In conclusion, both comparative and functional approaches were used to interpret the ecological physiology of Calocaris macandreae. An integrated suite of behavioural, physiological and metabolic characteristics represent adaptation to low activity levels and to the hypoxic burrow environment.


Many modern applications like entertainment displays, data encryption, security, and virtual reality (VR) technology require asymmetric light manipulation. Symmetric spin-orbit interactions (SOI) apply a limit in achieving an asymmetrical metahologram. However, different reported asymmetric SOI's based on propagation and geometric phase mergence techniques effectively break this limit at the expense of design complexity and greater computation cost. This work proposes a novel helicity multiplexing technique that breaks all the aforementioned barriers in achieving on-axis dual side holograms. Benefiting from the geometric phase modulation of anisotropic nano-resonating antennas, we have employed a single unit cell to achieve helicity multiplexing. A low extinction coefficient material a-Si:H is used for device analysis. Due to the simple single unit cell-based designing technique, simulation and fabrication complexities were significantly reduced. As a result, based on the helicity and incidence direction of electromagnetic wave, we have achieved highly transmissive dual holographic images in the visible band. Our simulated efficiencies are 55%, 75%, and 80% for the blue $\boldsymbol{(\lambda=488\ \text{nm})}$, green $\boldsymbol{(\lambda=532}$ nm), and red light $\boldsymbol{(\lambda=633\ \text{nm})}$.


Common and uncommon nonatheromatous diseases affecting the cervical carotid artery are discussed. Specifically, the radiographic and pertinent clinical features of cervical carotid artery congenital variants, dissection, fibromuscular dysplasia, Takayasu's arteritis, and infection are described. Catheter angiography continues to have an important role in the diagnosis of many of these conditions. Magnetic resonance imaging techniques are emerging as a useful adjunct to catheter angiography and occasionally may be the primary imaging modality for diagnosis.


The seasonal variation of F region neutral wind from the midlatitude conjugate Fabry‐Perot interferometer observations has been studied. The meridional wind at Palmer station (64°S,64°W) has a significant local time dependence with strong equatorward wind at midnight and polarward wind at dawn and dusk. The zonal wind switches from eastward to westward in the early morning section. From the June solstice (austral winter) to equinox, the maximum meridional wind increases from 90 m/s to 130 m/s, and the zonal wind switches direction at an earlier local time. The neutral winds from Palmer have been compared with those from the geomagnetic conjugate location, Millstone Hill (MH). At equinox, the local time variation of neutral wind shows a very good conjugacy between these two locations. But at June solstice, the similarity in the zonal wind becomes less clear. This seasonal dependence can be attributed to the seasonal variation of solar and geomagnetic forcings. The annual variation of daily average neutral wind from Palmer and MH has also been compared. The meridional wind shows a clear offset of season, and the magnitude at Palmer is averagely 40 m/s more equatorward than that at MH. The zonal wind is dominantly westward at Palmer and eastward at MH. The annual variation of neutral wind, especially the zonal component, is much less symmetric between the two sites than the local time variation. The empirical horizontal wind model shows a good agreement with the observations in both local time and annual variations.


Some models for collaboration among families, schools, law enforcement, and social agencies, which promote gang awareness and prevention of gang involvement at the elementary and middle school levels, are described in this research review. The studies were grouped into three categories: background information, prevention strategies, and intervention strategies. Statistics regarding gang involvement and the sociology of gangs are covered first. Ways in which communities can break the cycle of violence through early and middle childhood prevention are discussed and includes antiviolence curricula (e.g., Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and intervention strategies, such as dress codes, mentor programs, after-school activities, and collaborative community programs. Numerous examples of where these programs have been tried are presented. Based on the findings, eight steps for preventing gang involvement are offered. They include the following: collaboration and education among school, family, and community; love and respect for all children; individualized instruction for students; life skills curricula for students; preventive measures in early childhood; mentoring and monitoring for middle grade children; zero tolerance for bullying, intimidation, and violence. Contains approximately 65 references. (RJM) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Synthesis of Research 1 Running head: SYNTHESIS OF RESEARCH ON COLLABORATION A Synthesis of Research on Home, School, and Community Collaboration to Keep Children From Joining Gangs Lelia Christie Mullis State University of West Georgia


Student center learning leads to changing teacher roles. This resulted in a shift in the role of teachers. Learners are required to have HOTS (High Order Thinking Skill), one of the capabilities including HOTS is critical thinking ability. The purpose of this research is to know the influence of learning model of Reciprocal Teaching (RT) and Problem Based Learning (PBL) to critical thinking ability of high school students on reproduction system material. The method used in this research is quasi experiment with Post-Test Only Control Group Design. After obtained the results of the calculation of ANOVA test one way and critical data, then obtained significance value less than 0.05 is 0.001 <0.05 then rejected H0, meaning there is a difference in the average ability of critical thinking learners. The difference of students' critical thinking ability between the RT experimental class and the Student Team Achievement Divisions (STAD) control class proves that there is an influence of the RT learning model on critical thinking skills. The involvement of learners in PBL learning can help in developing critical thinking skills, because PBL involves the ability of learners to search and investigate logically, critically and analytically so that they can formulate their own problem solving. Based on the results of research and hypothesis testing it can be concluded that there is the influence of learning Reciprocal Teaching (RT) and Problem Based Learning (PBL) on the critical thinking skills of high school students on the material reproduction system.


With the popularity of personal computers and powerful workstations, today's users are no longer satisfied with the traditional data processing. They demand eagerly to putting up graphics on existing applications, putting a lot of pressure in system re-engineering. The Client/Server architecture is a less risky and less costly approach in adding a Graphical User Interface for users. The developer has to determine data and program logic distribution among client, middleware server, and the top-tier server. Middleware is a kind of software that links programs running on different platforms, transmitting messages and data. It plays an important role in 3-tier architecture. There are two types of middlewares: the first connects client programs to server programs, and the second provides data access connections to heterogeneous data sources. The developer also needs to separate on-line transaction processing, project-oriented data processing, and history data from each other. In view of no existing standard method in developing a middleware server, this paper outlines a methodology to design a 3-tier Client/Server database system. It identifies the role of middleware as temporary storage for better performance and as database gateway for Database Management Systems connectivity. Case studies are used to illustrate the steps.


A dense ionized cloud of gas has been recently discovered to be moving directly toward the supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, at the Galactic center. In 2013 June, at the pericenter of its highly eccentric orbit, the cloud will be approximately 3100 Schwarzschild radii from the black hole and will move supersonically through the ambient hot gas with a velocity of vp ≈ 5400 km s−1. A bow shock is likely to form in front of the cloud and could accelerate electrons to relativistic energies. We estimate via particle-in-cell simulations the energy distribution of the accelerated electrons and show that the non-thermal synchrotron emission from these electrons might exceed the quiescent radio emission from Sgr A* by a factor of several. The enhanced radio emission should be detectable at GHz and higher frequencies around the time of pericentric passage and in the following months. The bow shock emission is expected to be displaced from the quiescent radio emission of Sgr A* by ∼33 mas. Interferometric observations could resolve potential changes in the radio image of Sgr A* at wavelengths ≲ 6 cm.


This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Applied Cryptography and Network Security, ACNS 2012, held in Singapore, in June 2012. The 33 revised full papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 192 submissions. They are organized in topical sessions on authentication, key management, block ciphers, identity-based cryptography, cryptographic primitives, cryptanalysis, side channel attacks, network security, Web security, security and privacy in social networks, security and privacy in RFID systems, security and privacy in cloud systems, and security and privacy in smart grids.


In this study of my sixth grade mathematics class, I investigated how using reading strategies, a structured problem-solving form, and math-infused literature impacted students' success in solving word problems and building geometric vocabulary. Direct instruction of reading strategies and the use of those reading strategies in a structured problem-solving group increased my students' confidence in their own abilities to solve word problems. The structured problemsolving form served as a reminder of the strategies and the steps students should use when reading and solving a word problem. Students wrote in their journals that they liked the reading of the "Sir Cumference" stories, and they incorporated the geometric vocabulary from those stories into their own mathematical register. As a result of this research, I learned that in this action research period, structured group problem solving with reading strategies increased the ability of my students to solve word problems and that reading the "Sir Cumference" stories by Neuschwander helped in the development of geometric vocabulary. In the future I will use a structured group problem-solving approach after I have taught reading strategies. I intend to use the "Sir Cumference" stories to aid in geometric vocabulary and concept development. Reading Mathematics


The Java runtime is installed on billions of devices worldwide, and over years it has been a primary attack vector for online criminals. In this work, we address that many attack vectors exploit weaknesses in Java's information hiding, making use of illegal access to private members of system classes. To study to what extent such attacks can be mitigated, and at what cost, this paper demonstrates a proof-of-concept solution to strengthen information hiding. Experiments show that this approach is backward compatible, and that it blocks 84% of all information-hiding attacks in a large-scale sample set at an average performance overhead below 2%. Based on our experiments, we suggest a solution to strengthen information hiding for productive use that has the potential to outperform our proof of concept in terms of robustness and performance, and also would block the remaining information-hiding attacks. Finally, we conclude with general advice on the design of secure software.


This research identifies a gap in the tele-communication technology. Several novel technology demonstrators are tested experimentally throughout the research. The presented final system allows a remote participant in a conversation to unambiguously address individual members of a group of 5 people using non-verbal cues. The capability to link less formal groups through technology is the primary contribution. Technology-mediated communication is first reviewed, with attention to different supported styles of meetings. A gap is identified for small informal groups. Small dynamic groups which are convened on demand for the solution of specific problems may be called "ad-hoc". In these meetings it is possible to 'pull up a chair'. This is poorly supported by current tele-communication tools, that is, it is difficult for one or more members to join such a meeting from a remote location. It is also difficult for physically located parties to reorient themselves in the meeting as goals evolve. As the major contribution toward addressing this the 'Telethrone' is introduced. Telethrone projects a remote user onto a chair, bringing them into your space. The chair seems to act as a situated display, which can support multi party head gaze, eye gaze, and body torque. Each observer knows where the projected user is looking. It is simpler to implement and cheaper than current comparable systems. The underpinning approach is technology and systems development, with regard to HCI and psychology throughout. Prototypes, refinements, and novel engineered systems are presented. Two experiments to test these systems are peer-reviewed, and further design & experimentation undertaken based on the positive results. The final paper is pending. An initial version of the new technology approach combined retro-reflective material with aligned pairs of cameras, and projectors, connected by IP video. A counterbalanced repeated measures experiment to analyse gaze interactions was undertaken. Results suggest that the remote user is not excluded from triadic poker game-play. Analysis of the multi-view aspect of the system was inconclusive as to whether it shows advantage over a set-up which does not support multi-view. User impressions from the questionnaires suggest that the current implementation still gives the impression of being a display despite its situated nature, although participants did feel the remote user was in the space with them. A refinement of the system using models generated by visual hull reconstruction can better connect eye gaze. An exploration is made of its ability to allow chairs to be moved around the meeting, and what this might enable for the participants of the meeting. The ability to move furniture was earlier identified as an aid to natural interaction, but may also affect highly correlated subgroups in an ad-hoc meeting. This is unsupported by current technologies. Repositioning of several onlooking chairs seems to support 'fault lines'. Performance constraints of the current system are explored. An experiment tests whether it is possible to judge remote participant eye gaze as the viewer changes location, attempting to address concerns raised by the first experiment in which the physical offsets of the IP cameras lenses from the projected eyes of the remote participants (in both directions), may have influenced perception of attention. A third experiment shows that five participants viewing a remote recording, presented through the Telethrone, can judge the attention of the remote participant accurately when the viewpoint is correctly rendered for their location in the room. This is compared to a control in which spatial discrimination is impossible. A figure for how many optically seperate retro-reflected segments is obtained through spatial anlysis and testing. It is possible to render the optical maximum of 5 independent viewpoints supporting an 'ideal' meeting of 6 people. The tested system uses one computer at the meeting side of the exchange making it potentially deployable from a small flight case. The thesis presents and tests the utility of elements toward a system, and finds that remote users are in the conversation, spatially segmented with a view for each onlooker, that eye gaze can be reconnected through the system using 3D video, and that performance supports scalability up to the theoretical maximum for the material and an ideal meeting size.


This issue presents a selection of articles on English in various contexts and settings, with a significant focus on education in the first four. Susan Van Rooy describes the language experiences of South Korean academics and their families in a small town in South Africa, and the consequences of their stay abroad for their English language proficiency. She reminds us that not all EFL learners of English have the 'Inner Circle' mainstream as their model: Potchefstroom, South Africa offers a mix between Inner and Outer Circle, probably having more features of the latter. Christian Burrows writes about methodologies of EFL classrooms in Japan, where cultural constraints make TBL (Task-Based Learning) more challenging than its Western proponents realise. The next two articles emphasise the need to pay attention to colloquial spoken language. Manfred Markus writes about the need to focus on phonetic accuracy in EFL teaching, or at least to try and replicate mainstream norms as much as possible. Fan Xianlong contributes a paper on the ever-changing spoken norms of the mainstream, based on his experiences as a visiting scholar in the United States. Although many of the features he describes are well known to Western sociolinguists, the article presents a refreshing perspective of how complex the notion of 'target language' must be to users of ESL and EFL. More often it is a moving and mystifying target, with its cultural and political minefields that find their way into everyday usage.


Ti micro-alloyed high strength hot rolled steel was developed in Valin Lianyuan Steel in the CSP line. The cleanliness of liquid steel was good enough for thin slab casting after LF refining. The mould powder was adjusted for stabilizing the heat flux of thin slab continuous casting mould. Homogeneous microstructure consisting of ferrite and pearlite was obtained in the hot rolled steel plates by the improving of rolling process. The nano-scale precipitates of Ti(C, N) and Nb(C, N) is the main strengthening mechanism. The yield strength of developed hot rolled plate is higher than 660 MPa and the tension strength is 760 MPa. The ductile-brittle transition temperature is below -60 degree Celsius. The developed Ti alloyed steel with designed composition fulfils the requirements of 600 MPa grade steel for engineering machinery.


A practical route planning algorithm for vehicle navigation system is proposed in this paper, the shortest path algorithm with the restricted searching area. The algorithm takes advantage of the adjacent list data structure and the mechanism of restricted searching area, that is, the algorithm that uses the spatial distribution feature of the real road network to restrict the searching area in reason. Finally, combining with its practical application in real-time vehicle navigation system (RTVNS), one example is given, the analysis in theory and the experimental results show that compared with the Dijkstra algorithm, the new algorithm can greatly approve the searching speed, and satisfy the needs of RTVNS.


Wind based electricity generation is considered as one of the solutions for emission reduction. However, variability and uncertainty of wind speeds create challenges for balancing in the power systems and in many cases require improvements in ramping capabilities of the system along with additional reserved generation capacity. Ramping capability as well as generation reserves could be provided by different technologies such as thermal and hydro generation and different types of energy storage. The last option is considered to be a possible solution for power systems with large wind generation. This paper provides a model for short-term planning of the hydro-thermal power system with high wind energy penetration and presence of a large scale energy storage unit. The model is used to compare the effect of different generation mix and energy storage presence on the operation of the power system and balancing cost in particular.


This paper argues that a systems' thinking and explicit modeling approach is needed to address noted weaknesses (in terms of practicality and usefulness) in integrated water resource management. A process of coupling complex regional land use, economy, and water system interactions in integrated modeling is demonstrated with proof‐of‐concept applications to two urban cases (Chicago and Stockholm). In this uniquely coupled systems model, urban land use scenarios are considered a complex urban system represented by dynamic systems models of land use, economics, and water with a focus on urban environments that include drivers and system feedbacks with implications focused on urban water systems. The integrated model results reveal that the physical availability of land for economic activities (forecasted via a bottom‐up land use change model) and their locations differ sharply from top‐down sectoral‐based economic forecasts. This shows that both human systems (economic and land use planning) and natural systems (land use limitations and associated water implications) need to be considered in order to accurately account for system(s) impacts. For example, flood zone regulations divert land use to other locations, whereas land cover changes can greatly affect the water infiltration characteristics of land surfaces and thereby alter hydrological outcomes. Our results indicate that modeling social and natural processes using a systems approach can provide a more comprehensive understanding of coupled causal mechanisms, impacts, and feedbacks in applications of integrated water resource management.


BACKGROUND
Acute kidney injury (AKI) following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a known complication. The prospective validation of various AKI definitions and estimated baseline renal function equations in the context of TAVR remains an ongoing area of research. This study examined the Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC) 1 and 2 criteria for AKI, and impact of three estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations (CKD-EPI, MDRD, and Cockcroft-Gault) on AKI incidence in TAVR patients.

METHODS
Retrospective review of 120 consecutive TAVR procedures over a 4-year period was performed. AKI, including stage, was defined using the VARC 1 and VARC 2 criteria. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed for association between AKI and known patient, hemodynamic, and procedural variables. Further logistic regression, stepwise logistic regression, and association plots were performed for the three different eGFR calculations.

RESULTS
AKI occurred in 22% of VARC 1 patients and 23% of VARC 2 patients. On multivariate analysis, baseline eGFR was predictive of stage 1 AKI by CKD-EPI classification (VARC 1: odds ratio [OR], 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88-0.99; P=.02; VARC 2: OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.99; P=.03) and MDRD (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99; P=.03). Non-transfemoral approach was predictive of stage 1 AKI by VARC 2 (OR, 33.33; 95% CI, 1.6-696.41; P=.02).

CONCLUSIONS
The incidence and risk factor associations for AKI post TAVR vary by definitions used. Decreased GFR at baseline by both MDRD and CKD-EPI and non-transfemoral approach were associated with an increased risk of AKI post TAVR.


We have compared the frequency and types of cancer chemotherapies used in a private hospital and in a government-based hospital in Mexico City. A retrospective study was conducted from January 2005 to December 2007, and therapeutic management determined in 415 cases reviewed by the attending physicians of the oncology service. In the government-based hospital, 60 different types of cancer were found among 273 patients diagnosed. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) had the greatest incidence (30%), followed by Hodgkin's lymphoma (9%), retinoblastoma (7%), neuroblastoma (6%), and osteosarcoma (6%). The entire number of chemotherapy sessions was 7575. Drugs most frequently employed included etoposide (577), followed by methotrexate (575), vincristine (483), cyclophosphamide (312), and cytarabine (277). The economic status among these patients was mainly of limited resources and represented 80% of the total number of patients. The types of cancer found in the private hospital were similar, however the drugs used were predominantly cyclophosphamide (416), doxorubicin (382), 5fluorouracil (368), paclitaxel (237) and cisplatin (128). The types of cancer were similar in both hospitals and reflected the incidence among the entire population in Mexico, since acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma and retinoblastoma, were the types most represented. However, the treatment schemes differed; the chemotherapeutic agents used in the private hospital were rather more specific but significantly more expensive than those employed in the government hospital.


ABSTRACT Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) causes sporadic but often severe cases of human and equine neurological disease in North America. To determine how EEEV may evade innate immune responses, we screened individual EEEV proteins for the ability to rescue the growth of a Newcastle disease virus expressing green fluorescent protein (NDV-GFP) from the antiviral effects of interferon (IFN). Only expression of the EEEV capsid facilitated NDV-GFP replication. Inhibition of the antiviral effects of IFN by the capsid appears to occur through a general inhibition of cellular gene expression. For example, the capsid inhibited the expression of several reporter genes under the control of RNA polymerase II promoters. In contrast, capsid did not inhibit expression from a T7 RNA polymerase promoter construct, suggesting that the inhibition of gene expression is specific and is not a simple manifestation of toxicity. The inhibition correlated both with capsid-induced phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha and with capsid-mediated inhibition of cellular mRNA accumulation. Mapping analysis identified the N terminus as the region important for the inhibition of host gene expression, suggesting that this inhibition is independent of capsid protease activity. Finally, when cell lines containing EEEV replicons encoding capsid were selected, replicons consistently acquired mutations that deleted all or part of the capsid, for example, amino acids 18 to 135. Given that the amino terminus of the capsid is required to inhibit host cell gene expression, these data suggest that capsid expression from the replicons is ultimately toxic to host cells, presumably because of its ability to inhibit gene expression.


The detailed work histories of the individual workers composing the Pliofilm cohort represent a unique resource for estimating the dose-response for leukemia that may follow occupational exposure to benzene. In this paper, we report the results of analyzing the updated Pliofilm cohort using the proportional hazards model, a more sophisticated technique that uses more of the available exposure data than the conditional logistic model used by Rinsky et al. The more rigorously defined exposure estimates derived by Paustenbach et al. are consistent with those of Crump and Allen in giving estimates of the slope of the leukemogenic dose-response that are not as steep as the slope resulting from the exposure estimates of Rinsky et al. We consider estimates of 0.3-0.5 additional leukemia deaths per thousand workers with 45 ppm-years of cumulative benzene exposure to be the best estimates currently available of leukemia risk from occupational exposure to benzene. These risks were estimated in the proportional hazards model when the exposure estimates of Crump and Allen or of Paustenbach et al. were used to derive a cumulative concentration-by-time metric.


In Losing It, William Ian Miller brings his inimitable wit and learning to the subject of growing old: too old to matter, of either rightly losing your confidence or wrongly maintaining it, culpably refusing to face the fact that you are losing it. The "it" in Miller's "losing it" refers mainly to mental faculties-memory, processing speed, sensory acuity, the capacity to focus. But it includes other evidence as well-sags and flaccidities, aches and pains, failing joints and organs. What are we to make of these tell-tale signs? Does growing old gracefully mean more than simply refusing unseemly cosmetic surgeries? How do we face decline and the final drawing of the blinds? Will we know if and when we have lingered too long? Drawing on a lifetime of deep study and anxious observation, Miller enlists the wisdom of the ancients to confront these vexed questions head on. Debunking the glossy new image of old age that has accompanied the graying of the Baby Boomers, he conjures a lost world of aging rituals-complaints, taking to bed, resentments of one's heirs, schemes for taking it with you or settling up accounts and scores-to remind us of the ongoing dilemmas of old age. Darkly intelligent and sublimely written, this exhilarating and eccentric book will raise the spirits of readers, young and old.


In the recent few years, the UFH RFID systems which work in the frequency range between 860MHz and 960MHz have been widely adopted in real deployments and applications, and accordingly the EPC Gen-2 protocol is proposed as an international standard to resolve the tag collisions occurred in such system. In this paper, based on the stochastic distribution model established to analyze the collision resolution process of this protocol, some key factors that affect its performance are discussed, and a transmission control schema based on the stochastic model is proposed to optimize this protocol. Simulations are performed to examine this optimization and the its performance is verified regarding to the average number of queries to collect a tag identifier.


When using thresholding method to segment an image, a fixed threshold is not suitable if the background is uneven. Here, we propose a new adaptive thresholding method using variational theory. The method requires only one parameter to be selected and the adaptive threshold surface can be found automatically from the original image.


Abstract The article proposes a new reading of the reservations regime to human rights treaties. The practice developed by states in relation to the reservations regime is analysed and presented as a constitution-making process. This new vision is based on the notion of the reservations dialogue as presented and developed by the Special Rapporteur of the International Law Commission on reservations to treaties. However, the article also proposes a wide reading of the practice of the reservations dialogue using examples from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Based on this analysis, the author formulates some proposals as to a more adequate development of the reservations dialogue and the reservations regime. A development which will favour the formation of inclusive international human rights as a basis for a future international constitution accepted as legitimate by all members of the international community.


Nanotopography, which refers to surface height variations of tens to hundreds of nanometers that extend across millimeter-scale wavelengths, is a wafer geometry feature that may cause failure in direct wafer bonding processes. In this work, the nanotopography that is acceptable in direct bonding is determined using mechanics-based models that compare the elastic strain energy accumulated in the wafer during bonding to the work of adhesion. The modeling results are presented in the form of design maps that show acceptable magnitudes of height variations as a function of spatial wavelength. The influence of nanotopography in the bonding of prime grade silicon wafers is then assessed through a combination of measurements and analysis. Nanotopography measurements on three 150-mm silicon wafers, which were manufactured using different polishing processes, are reported and analyzed. Several different strategies are used to compare the wafers in terms of bondability and to assess the impact of the measured nanotopography in direct bonding. The measurement and analysis techniques reported here provide a general route for assessing the impact of nanotopography in direct bonding and can be employed when evaluating different processes to manufacture wafers for bonded devices or substrates.


This work paves the way to realize a processing-in-pixel (PIP) accelerator based on a multilevel HfOx resistive random access memory (RRAM) as a flexible, energy-efficient, and high-performance solution for real-time and smart image processing at edge devices. The proposed design intrinsically implements and supports a coarse-grained convolution operation in low-bit-width neural networks (NNs) leveraging a novel compute-pixel with nonvolatile weight storage at the sensor side. Our evaluations show that such a design can remarkably reduce the power consumption of data conversion and transmission to an off-chip processor maintaining accuracy compared with the recent in-sensor computing designs. Our proposed design, namely an integrated multilevel RRAM (HfOx)-based processing-in-pixel accelerator (MR-PIPA), achieves a frame rate of 1000 and efficiency of ~1.89 TOp/s/W, while it substantially reduces data conversion and transmission energy by ~84% compared to a baseline at the cost of minor accuracy degradation.


Large privately held startups valued at $1 billion or more ("unicorns") are grappling with how to deal with employees' expectations caused by the illiquidity of the shares of stock acquired upon exercise of their options. Until about eight years ago, many talented workers chose to work for a startup company for a lower cash salary combined with a substantial stock option grant and the dream of cashing out for a large sum of money after an initial public offering ("IPO") of the startup's stock.
Today, unicorns remain private for extended periods of time, in part, because they are often no longer dependent on an IPO or a trade sale to raise sufficient capital. As a result, they are delaying liquidity events for their founders, employees, and investors, thereby causing their employee stock options to lose some of their allure as a hiring and retention device.
This Article examines a contemporary puzzle in Silicon Valley: Is there a shift in unicorn employees' expectations that results in labor contract renegotiations? To answer this question, this Article explores the challenges faced by unicorn firms as repeat players in competitive technology markets and offers the following possible solutions. First, it proposes new equity-based compensation contracts, and critiques them. Second, it suggests alternatives to the traditional liquidity mechanisms, and critiques them. Unfortunately, current securities and tax laws create legal barriers to private ordering, which prevent the parties from solving these issues on their own. This Article concludes with proposals to remove these legal barriers to private ordering to allow for the proposed solutions to take hold, accompanied with new mandatory disclosure requirements to limit the risks.


ABSTRACT Dill has multiple culinary and medicinal purposes and the use of their landraces into a plant breeding program, requires the analysis of their phenotypic diversity. In this study, 33 Greek dill landraces collected from diverse areas were evaluated using traits based on UPOV descriptor list. Phenotypic diversity was assessed using Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H΄) and non-linear principal component analysis. Grouping of landraces was further performed through hierarchical cluster analysis. The H' index ranged from 0.32 (stem waxiness) to 0.98 (density of foliage) with a mean value of 0.68 indicating a high level of phenotypic diversity. High H' values were recorded for the foliage width, stem color and anthocyanin coloration. Multivariate analysis revealed three common genetic groups: 1) North mainland Greece, 2) Aegean islands and 3) Central mainland Greece. The landraces' heterogeneity was attributed to various traits linked to specific geographic origin, such as early time of flowering and high stem waxiness allied with the landraces originated from the Aegean islands. Greek dill landraces revealed useful variation on yield component traits related to fresh herb weight and to seed production, such as high number of leaves/plant and large diameter of main umbel that can be promptly exploited in breeding programs.


Global warming will lead to changes in spatiotemporal distributions of regional water resources and the global hydrological cycles. Thus, an important task in climate change detection is represented by the analysis of changes in meteorological variables. The current paper aimed to detect the trends of hydro-meteorological variables such as precipitation and river discharge by focusing on the impacts of climate change. In order to achieve the stated purpose, linear regression and non-parametric test of Mann– Kendal were used on water balance components such as runoff, actual evapotranspiration and precipitation using Palmer equation in eight north eastern basins of Khorasan province. Thirty years of data results of Mann–Kendall test indicated that, the trends in average precipitation were inhomogeneous across the watersheds. The analysis of time series of discharge in most of the watersheds showed an obvious falling trend at 95 and 99 percentage levels of confidence monthly, seasonally and annually. Also, an ascending trend in evapotranspiration rate and temperature was found throughout the years. Generally, the global climate change has no significant effect on the hydrological inputs in the studied area. However, evapotranspiration component, as a part of output factors, has been increased due to the observed warming trend. Thus, a drastic strategic management is highly recommended to reduce the amount of loss.


OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of asthma patients with a poor perception of dyspnea, correlating the level of that perception with the severity of acute bronchoconstriction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, use of maintenance medication, and asthma control. METHODS: Uncontrolled clinical trial involving asthma patients treated at the Pulmonology Outpatient Clinic of the Sao Lucas Hospital, in Porto Alegre , Brazil. Methacholine challenge testing was performed using a five-breath dosimeter protocol. The perception of dyspnea after each breath was determined using the Borg scale. Data concerning asthma control, medication in use, and use of rescue short-acting bronchodilators were recorded. RESULTS: Of the 65 patients included in the study, 53 completed the evaluation. Of those, 32 (60.5%) showed adequate perception of dyspnea after the methacholine challenge test, whereas 21 (39.5%) did not perceive any changes in the degree of dyspnea even after a 20% fall in FEV1. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding baseline FEV1, percentage fall in FEV1, and the dose of methacholine causing a 20% fall in FEV1. The perception of dyspnea was not significantly associated with age (p = 0.247); gender (p = 0.329); use of maintenance medication (p = 0.152); asthma control (p = 0.562), bronchial hyperresponsiveness (p = 0.082); or severity of acute bronchoconstriction (p = 0.749). CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of asthma patients have a poor perception of dyspnea. The factors related to the inability of these patients to identify changes in pulmonary function have not yet been well defined. In order to reduce asthma-related morbidity and mortality, it is essential that this group of patients be identified and counseled.


An insect larval toxin designated CryII is produced by several subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis and differs from the other major δ-endotoxins in these bacteria in its size, toxicity profile and presence as part of an operon with three open reading frames (ORF). Such an operon from a novel B. thuringiensis isolate has been cloned and differs from one previously characterized in the following ways: (a) the size and number of amino acid repeats in one of the ORFs; (b) the smaller size of the CryII protoxin and the presence of a unique 110-kDa CryII-related antigen; and (c) high larvicidal activity for a particular Lepidopteran but low activity for a Dipteran. Various subclones of this operon were introduced into a plasmid-free B. thuringiensis strain and only the cryII gene was found to be necessary for protoxin accumulation.


ABSTRACT Eocene siliceous rocks exposed on Barbados contain both opal-A (biogenic silcia) and opal-CT, and are interpreted as uplifted abyssal-plain or trench deposits, probably correlative to Horizon Ac beneath the Atlantic Ocean floor. Rocks of hemipelagic origin on Barbados are well layered to massive and consist of radiolarite layers (T layers), matrix-supported radiolarian mudstone (F layers), and layers with an intermediate abundance of radiolarian tests (N layers). Large d-spacings of opal-CT (4.08-4.11 A) and low height to width peak ratios indicate poor crystallinity. Opal-CT is most common in silica-rich T layers, and opal-A is best preserved in mud-rich F layers. D-spacing doesn't correlate with Al2O3 weight percent or layer type as defined by relati e abundance of radiolarians versus mud matrix. We infer that the harder, more indurated T layers had better initial permeability prior to induration and that diagenesis was probably influenced by both porosity and permeability differences and to a lesser extent by chemical and mineralogic differences between F and T layers. Comparable diagenetic states between Horizon Ac siliceous sediments below the Atlantic Ocean floor and accreted sediments on Barbados indicate that accretion of siliceous sediments was not accompanied by deep burial and/or elevated temperatures.


At high rates of production face advance, requirements towards reliable operation of undermining drainage holes get raised. The issue of maintaining high intensity of gaseous seams development under naturally increasing gas content, mining depth and capacity of production equipment poses a problem. The greatest threat comes from the loss of hole stability in the bearing pressure affected zone (in front of the face) and in the intensive shift area of overhanging rock corbels (behind the face). Intensification of air leaks due to deformation of borehole channel leads to impoverishment of removed methane-air mixture and an increasing risk to disturb safe aerogas regime in the mining area. The paper describes a mechanism of how coal-face operations affect the state of underground holes and formation of overhanging rock corbels. A typification of basic kinds of borehole deformations is presented. Authors point out critical disadvantages of the most widely-used technological schemes of gaseous seams development under high load on the production face, which hinder normal operation of a gas drainage system. As a result of research, a dependency of shot hole number, as well as the distance between shot hole axes and the borehole, on the stress state of the borehole outline has been defined more precisely. Basing on that, a formula to calculate drilling parameters of the discharge hole system has been suggested. Implementation of these measures will allow to increase the efficiency of underground gas drainage and to maintain growing intensity of gaseous coal seam development.


We studied the foraging rhythms of green sea turtles Chelonia mydas on the seagrass beds of N'Gouja Bay, Mayotte Island (Comoros Archipelago) with acoustic transmitters and moored listening stations. We monitored 8 tagged turtles (4 probable males, 3 probable females and 1 immature), from 70 to 109 cm curved carapace length (CCL), for durations ranging from 5 to 92 d. The turtles exhibited a regular diel pattern: they foraged mainly during the day (on average 87% of seagrass detections were between 06:00 and 18:00 h) and rested on the inner reef slope during the night. Night time feeding activities were observed on the seagrass bed when the night light was high. The presence of turtles on the seagrass bed at night was significantly correlated with a night light index (r = 0.54, p = 0.002), which included both moon light and cloudiness indices. Behaviour of the only immature individual observed was similar to adult turtles, although it rested more frequently around noon. All turtles displayed a high fidelity to 1 foraging site within the seagrass bed. Acoustic transmitters and permanent listening stations are an appropriate technique for long-term behavioural studies of turtles, with no human interaction with turtles during tracking, and represent a suitable technique to assess the possible effects of environmental changes or human activities upon green turtle behaviour.


ABSTRACT In Lotus japonicus, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for nitrogen fixation activity (acetylene reduction activity, ARA) and seed weight are located in the same region on chromosome 4 as the gene responsible for the Fix− mutant sen1. The SEN1 gene of L. japonicus Gifu B129 has a deletion of three nucleotides in comparison with that of L. japonicus Miyakojima MG20, which results in a deletion of one amino acid. Here, we examined whether SEN1 is responsible for these QTLs. Because the MG20 allele of the QTL for ARA and seed weight has a positive effect, we generated a near-isogenic line (NIL) in which the SEN1 gene region of B129 was replaced with that of MG20. Growth parameters of this NIL (MG20-type) 21 days after inoculation with Mesorhizobium loti were significantly higher than those of B129-type, and ARA was also significantly higher. Nodules formed on hairy roots in which the sen1 mutant was complemented with the MG20 SEN1 gene had higher ARA than those of B129. The seeds of the MG20-type NIL were significantly heavier than those of B129-type. These results indicate that the SEN1 gene is a very likely candidate for the QTL for ARA and seed weight on chromosome 4.


There are many narratives, some old, some relatively recent, covering the presence of crypto-Jews and Jews in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I have tried, specifically with non-specialists and general readers in mind, to give an overview of that story here. Given this essay 's origin as a public lecture commemorating the 350th anniversary of the tacit readmission of Jews to England in 1656, my account has a particular focus on developments during the English Revolution of 1641–60, though it is also positioned within a more ambitious grand narrative recounting the Jewish, crypto-Jewish and Jewish apostate experience in England from the Norman Conquest to the Restoration.

While I have drawn on my own research – notably on Judaizing, readers familiar with the material will see that my text is also greatly indebted to a number of important scholars in the field of Anglo-Jewish history; something fully acknowledged in the endnotes. Indeed, there is another story to tell, namely how from the mid-nineteenth century scholars of Anglo-Jewry, desiring acceptance within British society and the legitimation of their distinctive history, collectively constructed a narrative of gradual social assimilation and communal unity. But that these histories were themselves written against a background of religious and racial prejudice, exclusion, marginalisation, tensions and conflict, as well as the disturbing continuity of antisemitic tropes, is itself revealing. Intended as a companion piece to this article, my discussion of the evolution of Anglo-Jewish historiography will appear elsewhere shortly.


We highlight the fractal behaviour of marine measurement networks when determining the Earth's total magnetic field and the spatial trend of the field itself. This approach is a convenient alternative method of assessing the coverage of an area by a set of measurements whenever the environmental situations do not permit a regular distribution of the measurement points. The Earth's magnetic field is sampled in marine areas when the measuring apparatus is moving, even at low speeds, whilst attempts are made to respect the spatial planning which has been pre-determined on the basis of the resolution sought after. However, the real distribution of the measurements presents numerous disturbances which are mainly due to environmental factors. In the case of distributions containing vast areas with no measurement points it is no longer possible to apply Shannon's theorem in 1-D and 2-D. In our paper we apply the fractal theory to certain 1-D and 2-D measurement distributions order to obtain a coverage estimate of the area and the capacity of reconstructing the field. We also examine the trend of the power spectra S of numerous magnetic profiles noting that almost all of them illustrate the dependency with the frequency f in the form S » f-b which is characteristic (necessary condition) of self-similar or self affine fractals.


Two‐thirds of newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are over 65 yr and/or physically unfit. Such patients are not eligible for high‐dose chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation. The treatment aims in these patients should be to prolong survival by obtaining the best possible response, while maintaining good tolerability. The aim of our study was to evaluate the response to treatment and treatment‐related toxicities in patients treated with conventional and novel protocols.


This paper presents the results of the first phase of the project that was developed in order to enhance oral and written communication skills in students coursing the last semester in engineering at the Capstone Design curse. At this level the student has completed both the basic training cycle (in which he had to study the subjects Competence Communicative 1 and 2) as the professional core and therefore expected, according to criterion 5 ABET, that a student is ready to finish off your formation with a design experience that includes multiple stages whose reach extends, in some cases, the implementation of solutions. During initial phase of the project was developed an advanced specific training to professors to provide them tools to understand the problems of oral and written expression within students. At this same stage an opinion poll was applied to students in order to know their impressions of the importance of communication skills in engineering and in particular, in the course Capstone Design. As well, a rubric was designed so that teachers could evaluate the communication skills in this first group. The Rubric designed allows rating on a scale of 5 points the quality of different aspects of communicative competence of students in relation to their Final Report. The Rubric was created from the enumeration of oral and written aspects that are deemed essential for proper support of a Final Report of a technology project.
The project is now in the second phase, which consists in training for professors, class lectures and tutorials for students. Preliminary results presented in this report show that students are fully aware of the importance and need to develop better oral and written transferable skills in not only the Capstone Design class, but also all along their career.


Objectives. Study 1 examines whether age-related declines in balance are moderated by bicycling. Study 2 tests whether regular cycling can increase leg strength and improve balance. Methods. Study 1: a cross-sectional survey of 43 adults aged 44–79 was conducted. Leg strength was measured, and Balance was measured using the choice stepping reaction time (CSRT) test (decision time and response time), leg strength and timed single leg standing. Study 2: 18 older adults aged 49–72 were recruited into a 12-week cycling program. The same pre- and postmeasures as used in Study 1 were collected. Results. Study 1: participants who had cycled in the last month performed significantly better on measures of decision time and response time. Study 2: cycling at least one hour a week was associated with significant improvements in balance (decision time and response time) and timed single leg standing. Conclusions. Cycling by healthy older adults appears promising for improving risk factors for falls.


Mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells have the pluripotent ability to differentiate in vitro into various cell lineages, including neurons. Adding chick dorsal root ganglion (DRG) conditioned medium (CM) to the culture medium promotes the differentiation of ES cells into neurons. We determined the types of neurons that differentiate from ES cells. The addition of DRG-CM caused nearly half of all ES cells on the periphery of the colony sphere to differentiate into neurons. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that the neurons that differentiated from ES cells were mainly motor, GABAergic, serotonergic, and cholinergic neurons. Of particular note, flow cytometry showed that approximately 50% of betaIII-tubulin-positive neurons were motor neurons. This indicates that DRG-CM induces ES cells to differentiate into motor neurons as target of DRG neurons (sensory neurons).


-The mineralogy and geochemistry of shales reflect the composition of the initially deposited precursor mud, subsequently modified by diagenetic processes. To see if significant geochemical differences exist between shales that mainly owe their present-day composition to either deposition or diagenesis, we compare the published mineralogical, bulk and clay-fraction geochemical, and clay-fraction O-isotopic compositions of 2 shales. One shale is from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), and its composition mainly reflects primary (depositional) chemical and mineralogical variations (smectitic to illitic illite/smectite) within this unit. The other shale is from the United States Gulf Coast (USGC), and its composition mainly reflects mixed-layer illite/smectite (US) diagenesis of deposited smectitic clay material. The chemical and mineralogical trends of WCSB and USGC shales, including one of increasing illite content in US with depth or maturity, are essentially indistinguishable, in both bulk shale and clay fraction, despite the contrasting genetic interpretations for the origin of the contained US. Thus, similar mineralogical and chemical trends with depth or temperature can result either from inherited depositional compositional heterogeneity of the sediment, from burial metamorphism of shale or a combination of both. Interestingly, the O-isotopic compositions of the clay fractions from the WCSB and USGC are significantly different, a fact that reflects original clay formation from source material and water of quite different isotopic compositions. The discrimination between depositional and diagenetic contributions to shale composition continues to pose challenges, but a combination of bentonite, illite polytype, clay isotopic and trace and rare earth elemental analyses together with illite age analysis holds promise for future work; Key Words----Deoosition, Diagenesis, Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Mixed-Layer Illite/Smectite, Oxygen Isotopes.