Pattern of osteonal classification referred to collagen fiber orientation in a human fibula was studied. Along the length of the whole bone, serial 100-µm parallel cross sections were obtained and analyzed by circularly polarized light microscopy. The distribution of 3 different kinds of osteons (transversal, alternated and longitudinal-hooped) depending on their collagen fiber orientation were analyzed to determine the effect of length, anatomical quadrant and cortical thickness. Referring to length, the 3 types of osteons appeared with approximately the same relative frequency, but when the symmetry of the fibula was considered and the length was expressed as distance from the bone mid-section, the alternated osteons are predominant in the mid-section. On the contrary, moving toward the epiphyses, the balance is inverted, and transversal together with longitudinal-hooped types become more frequent than the alternated type. Osteonal pattern distribution was not significantly affected by the anatomical quadrant of each section or by the thickness of the cortex. This observation seems to confirm that along the fibula shaft the orientation of collagen fibers within the osteons is consistent with the loading conditions which the bone undergoes.


The high specific strength of the magnesium alloy makes it a valuable choice for automotive, aerospace and sporting industries, where the weight reduction is a critical consideration in design. However, wrought magnesium alloys offer a poor formability at room temperature and a hot working condition is required for the forming process. This paper studies the application of finite element methods for the simulation of the forging of magnesium alloys. Numerical analysis of the forging process of an automotive magnesium wheel is conducted based on the tested flow curve of AZ80. The effect of friction on the final deformation of the upsetting of magnesium billets is also discussed.


Abstract The author first establishes the frame characterizations of Besov and Triebel–Lizorkin spaces on spaces of homogeneous type. As applications, the author then obtains some estimates of entropy numbers for the compact embeddings between Besov spaces or between Triebel–Lizorkin spaces. Moreover, some real interpolation theorems on these spaces are also established by using these frame characterizations and the abstract interpolation method.


Hydraulic redistribution, the movement of water from soil layers of higher water potential to layers of lower water potential through the root systems of plants, has been documented in many taxa worldwide. Hydraulic redistribution is influenced principally by physical properties of roots and soils, and it should occur whenever root systems span soil layers of different water potential. Therefore, hydraulic redistribution should occur through the root systems of plants with aboveground tissue removed or through the root systems of fully senesced plants as long as roots remain intact and hydrated. We examined our hypothesis in field and greenhouse studies with the annual grass Bromus tectorum. We used soil psychrometry to measure soil water potential and performed 2H-labeling exper- iments. In the field, following senescence of B. tectorum, we show substantial changes in soil water potential consistent with both upward and downward movement of water through roots. The amount of water redistributed represents a significant proportion of that which can be stored in the rooted zone. We also experimentally demonstrated upward movement of a 2H label by roots of senesced plants and by roots of plants without aboveground tissues. In the greenhouse, we further demonstrated redistribution by senesced individuals using a 2H label. Hydraulic redistribution through the roots of senesced plants should receive further attention because it may have important ecological consequences for soil water recharge, survival of plants through drought, and agricultural practices.


The paper presents the results concerning the microstructure of Ti – Al intermetallic layers produced on a TA6V titanium alloy by the "duplex method". This method combines vacuum evaporation coating of aluminum with glow discharge assisted heat treatment of the deposited films. It has been found that this combination of surface engineering techniques yields multi – layered films of the diffusive character. The films contain intermetallic phases from Ti – Al system which ensure a high microhardnes and good wear resistance. It is finally suggested that these properties can significantly widen application range of titanium alloy parts in aerospace.


The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible alterations in radiodensity of the hepatic parenchyma and spleen resulting from the corticotherapy with prednisone, correlating these findings with serum biochemical hepatic transaminase activity. A clinical trial was performed on eight healthy dogs with the intent of evaluating possible hepatic alterations after prednisone therapy using quantitative computed tomography. All animals received prednisone orally at a dose of 2mg/kg of weight for 30 days. The radiodensity of the liver and spleen was determined before and after the period that the medication was administered. An increase in the radiodensity of the hepatic parenchyma between the initial and final experimental stages was observed. In the present study the existence of early hepatic alterations were verified, which are compatible with glycogen storage.


The goal for implementing simulation into medical laboratory education is to provide students with a highly realistic learning environment to practice "real-world" situations before starting clinical internships. To encourage higher levels of thinking during simulated scenarios, the incorporation of case studies exposes the learner to problem-based learning which facilitates the development of critical thinking skills by tapping into the cognitive learning domain of Bloom's taxonomy. This research project focused on developing case study based lab simulation for undergraduate CLS students. By utilizing case studies in laboratory-simulated scenarios, the learner engages in critical thinking/problem-solving skills by focusing on cognitive learning in order to evaluate, analyze, and interpret laboratory data from all major areas of the clinical laboratory as it correlates to a specific patient diagnosis. Each learning module was based on a disease/condition the student is most likely to encounter in the hospital/laboratory setting. Learning module # 1 centered on a Type 2 diabetic with chronic renal failure and learning module #2 involved a patient with gastrointestinal bleeding due to colon cancer. The pedagogical framework encompassed the following phases: pre-briefing, analysis and test performance, student-centered discussion, and debriefing. The results of the module evaluations concluded, 100% of students strongly agreed they learned to think critically as a result of the activities in learning module #2, while 75% of students strongly agreed (25 % simply agreed) in learning module #1. Utilizing case studies, group discussions, and simulated scenarios creates a student-centered learning environment, thus allowing students to become active learners.


Many important aspects of Chagas' heart disease can be successfully assessed using magnetic resonance imaging of the heart. It is possible to obtain with great detail the anatomic characterization of the cardiac as well as important information of the functional or metabolic status of the heart. Magnetic resonance imaging after gadolinium infusion seems also a promising technique to obtain a better regional characterization of myocardial tissue, and may be important in the non-invasive diagnosis of active myocarditis in patients with Chagas' heart disease.


1. In the usual therapeutic dosage in mice with the Ak4 strain of leukemia, TEM caused a prolongation of survival time, held the total leukocyte count down at severely leukopenic levels, delayed the appearance of immature lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, and caused a marked delay in the appearance of leukemic infiltrations of the liver, spleen, bone marrow and kidney.

2. A single massive dose of TEM, administered on the seventh day of the disease when the total leukocyte count was high, caused a rapid fall in the count and depressed the number of prolymphocytes in the peripheral blood.

3. Single massive doses of such structurally related compounds as hexamethylene diethylenurea, 2,4-diethylenimino-6-amino- s -triazine, and to a lesser degree, 2-ethylenimino-4,6-dimethoxy- s -triazine caused a similar fall in the total leukocyte count when administered on the seventh day of the disease.


Objectives Nursing is a safety critical activity but not easily quantified. This makes the building of predictive staffing models a challenge. The aim of this study was to determine if relationships between registered and non-registered nurse staffing levels and clinical outcomes could be discovered through the mining of routinely collected clinical data. The secondary aim was to examine the feasibility and develop the use of 'big data' techniques commonly used in industry for this area of healthcare and examine future uses. Setting The data were obtained from 1 large acute National Health Service hospital trust in England. Routinely collected physiological, signs and symptom data from a clinical database were extracted, imported and mined alongside a bespoke staffing and outcomes database using Mathmatica V.10. The physiological data consisted of 120 million patient entries over 6 years, the bespoke database consisted of 9 years of daily data on staffing levels and safety factors such as falls. Primary and secondary outcomes To discover patterns in these data or non-linear relationships that would contribute to modelling. To examine feasibility of this technique in this field. Results After mining, 40 correlations (p<0.00005) emerged between safety factors, physiological data (such as the presence or absence of nausea) and staffing factors. Several inter-related factors demonstrated step changes where registered nurse availability appeared to relate to physiological parameters or outcomes such as falls and the management of symptoms. Data extraction proved challenging as some commercial databases were not built for extraction of the massive data sets they contain. Conclusions The relationship between staffing and outcomes appears to exist. It appears to be non-linear but calculable and a data-driven model appears possible. These findings could be used to build an initial mathematical model for acute staffing which could be further tested.


Mutations in the PIK3CA gene have recently been reported in different human neoplasms, including breast cancer. This paper reports the results of a systematic analysis of PIK3CA mutations in different histological types of breast carcinoma. One hundred and eighty invasive breast carcinomas, comprising 74 ductal, 56 lobular, 22 mucinous, 20 medullary, and eight papillary, were selected on the basis of their histological type in a consecutive series of 780 breast cancers. Exons 1–20 of the PIK3CA gene were subjected to SSCP analysis followed by direct sequencing. PIK3CA mutations were observed in 46 (26%) of the 180 tumours examined: 23 (50%) mutations were located in exon 9, and 23 (50%) in exon 20. Mutations were frequent in lobular (46%), less frequent in ductal (22%), and uncommon in medullary (10%), mucinous (5%), and papillary tumours (12%) (p = 0.0002). Mutations in exon 9 were more frequent in lobular carcinomas (30% of cases) than in the other histological types (less than 5% of cases) (p = 0.00014). No significant differences were observed in the distribution of mutations in exon 20. There was no significant correlation between PIK3CA mutations and other clinicopathological and biological variables, including age, tumour size, lymph node metastases, oestrogen receptor (ER) status, progesterone receptor (PgR) status, p53 gene mutations, and p53 protein expression. The findings indicate that in invasive breast carcinomas, PIK3CA alterations are mainly present in lobular and ductal tumours, whereas the other histological types, known to be associated with a favourable prognosis, show a very low incidence of PIK3CA mutations. Copyright © 2005 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A cross-sectional SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey was conducted after the Omicron surge in Jamaica using 1,540 samples collected during March – May 2022 from persons attending antenatal, STI and non-communicable diseases clinics in Kingston, Jamaica. SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain (RBD) and/or nucleocapsid IgG antibodies were detected for 88.4% of the study population, with 77.0% showing evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of persons previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 and/or with COVID-19 vaccination, 9.6% were negative for spike RBD IgG, most of which were unvaccinated previously infected persons. Amongst unvaccinated previously infected people, age was associated with testing spike RBD IgG negative. When considering all samples, median spike RBD IgG levels were 131.6 BAU/mL for unvaccinated persons with serological evidence of past infection, 90.3 BAU/mL for vaccinated persons without serological evidence of past infection, and 896.1 BAU/mL for vaccinated persons with serological evidence of past infection. Our study of the first reported SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey in Jamaica shows extensive SARS-CoV-2 population immunity, identifies a substantial portion of the population lacking spike RBD IgG, and provides additional evidence for increasing COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Jamaica.


As regulatory capital constraints in recent years have become more binding and less risk sensitive, banks are evaluating how they need to change their mix of businesses to ensure attractive returns to their shareholders. In this paper we analyze what the optimal choice of business lines is for a bank that maximizes shareholder value when faced with various regulatory as well as internal constraints. Our results show that a bank can largely mitigate the impact of the various constraints on shareholder value by changing the type of businesses in which it is active (shareholder impact), but we find that that there is a material impact on the risk profile of the bank (risk profile impact) as well as the supply of credit to the economy (economic impact). Specifically, our analysis shows: (1) Optimizing shareholder value under a risk-based capital constraint incentivizes the bank to divide its capital across multiple business lines so as to maximize diversification benefits. (2) A binding leverage ratio constraint incentivizes the bank to allocate its capital to the riskiest business line(s), thereby increasing and becoming more concentrated in the risk it takes (risk profile impact). Combining this with a risk-based capital constraint does not eliminate this incentive but limits the amount that can be invested in riskier assets. As a consequence, the amount of credit that will be provided to the economy (economic impact) will be lower than without a leverage ratio constraint. (3) An earnings volatility constraint, which is typically an internal constraint, incentivizes the bank to maximize diversification benefits as in (1), but at the same time to maintain more capital per unit of risk than in (1) so as to lower the volatility of the return on equity. (4) Subsidiarization and ring-fencing restrict a bank to achieve diversification benefits, thereby incentivizing it to focus on a single or a few business lines in which it has the greatest competitive edge. Many banks face most, if not all, of the above constraints. This incentivizes banks to become more specialized in core activities, focus on more risky activities and restrict lending. This results in less diversified banks that are more vulnerable to a downturn in their chosen markets. The results of our analysis should be of value for policy makers, regulators and bank managers.


Because solid-solution trace elements in olivine have significant influence on upper mantle rheology, it is important to establish whether inclusions in olivine are exsolved from an intrinsic solid solution or are introduced by metasomatism. In a study of olivine in hot deformed peridotite xenoliths from kimberlites, we have found a new type of multiphase inclusion that contains Fe-Ti-rich and Si-Fe-Al-rich phases. Microstructural relations indicate that these inclusions form by a process involving metasomatic fluid infiltration along a fine network of cracks shortly before entrainment of the xenoliths, followed by crack healing during xenolith transport in the magma. The high trace-element content of Ti, Ca, Al, and Na found in Fe-Ti-rich, hot deformed olivine is related to metasomatic enrichment that occurred shortly before kimberlite eruption. Assessment of the effects of the Fe-Ti metasomatism indicates that the Cr-C-rich inclusions found in olivine from other hot deformed xenoliths are formed by precipitation from an intrinsic solid solution in olivine that has not been affected by Fe-Ti-rich metasomatism.


Shalom Auslander and Gary Shteyngart are two of the most prominent new voices to have emerged in Jewish-American fiction in the 21st century. In addition to their fiction, they have both published memoirs—Auslander's Foreskin's Lament (2007) and Shteyngart's Little Failure (2014)—that follow the narrative trajectory of Bildungsromane and are, as their titles suggest, characterised by a self-satirising, self-incriminating comedy. In this article, I will argue that this comedy emerges from an intertextual dialogue with the work of Philip Roth, so that we might call Shteyngart and Auslander—adapting the 'Sons of Ben' label given to a generation of Caroline authors who regarded themselves as disciples of the Renaissance poet and playwright Ben Jonson—'sons of Phil'. Tracing the affinities between the work of the two writers and that of Roth, I argue that their 'works of semi-autobiography' cannot be accommodated in the redemptive, ethical model of Jewish fiction that has been proposed by a number of recent critics, but rather are animated by the paradoxically self-fulfilling and self-abasing impulse identified by Shteyngart: 'I write because there is nothing as joyful as writing, even when the writing is twisted and full of hate, the self-hate that makes writing not only possible but necessary' (Shteyngart, 2014: 148).


Small heat-shock proteins (sHSP) are molecular chaperones that bind and sequester partially and globally unfolded states of their client proteins. Of paramount importance to their physiological roles is the assembly into large oligomers, which for mammalian sHSP are polydisperse and undergo subunit exchange. The flexibility and dynamic nature of these oligomers mediates functional regulation by phosphorylation and underpins the deleterious effects of disease-linked mutations. Previously, we discovered that the archaeal Hsp16.5, which natively forms ordered and symmetric 24-subunit oligomers, can be engineered to transition to an ordered and symmetric 48-subunit oligomer by insertion of a peptide from human HspB1 (Hsp27) at the junction of the N-terminal and α-crystallin domains. Here, we carried out a detailed analysis of the determinants of Hsp16.5 oligomeric plasticity by altering the sequence and length of the inserted peptide. Utilizing light scattering, blue native gel electrophoresis, native mass spectrometry and electron microscopy, we uncovered the existence of an array of oligomeric states (30 to 38 subunits) that can be populated as a consequence of different insertions. These oligomers are intermediate states on the assembly pathway of the 48-subunit oligomer as two of the variants can concurrently form 24-subunit or 30-38 subunit polydisperse oligomers. Polydisperse Hsp16.5 oligomers displayed higher affinity to a model client protein consistent with a general mechanism for recognition and binding that involves increased access of the hydrophobic N-terminal region. Our findings, which integrate structural and functional analyses from evolutionarily-distant sHSP, support a model wherein the modular architecture of these proteins encodes motifs of oligomer polydispersity, dissociation and expansion to achieve functional diversity and regulation.


Background: Children of alcoholics (COAs), particularly experience life uniquely in the families of alcoholic parents. They are more likely than others to suffer from various physical, emotional, and mental health problems. Aims: The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among the children of alcohol-dependent patients attending our tertiary health care center, and further determine the association between clinical-sociodemographic background and psychiatric morbidities among these children. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study consisting of 100 COAs. Data collections tools used were: Pro forma for sociodemographic details, the Kiddie – Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for school-aged children (6–18 years) Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS PL), Learning Disability Checklist and Wechsler's Intelligence Scale for Children. The data were entered using statistical software Epi-Info (version 188.8.131.52) software package, analyzed using the SPSS software version 24.0. Results: About 60% of COAs assessed had the presence of psychiatric morbidity, with anxiety spectrum and depressive disorders being the most commonly associated diagnosis. It was noted that female gender had a positive association with anxiety spectrum disorders. Further, a history of child abuse had a positive association with evidence of psychiatric morbidity in these children. In addition, family history of antisocial personality traits had a significant association with conduct disorder in COAs. Conclusions: To conclude, psychiatric morbidities were identified in about 60% of children whose fathers were alcohol dependent. These COA's commonly manifested with two major psychiatric morbidities, namely anxiety and depression. Nearly 1/10th of these children were noted to have substance use as well.


One of the most efficient ways to probe the lunar inner structure at present is through the study of its rotation. Range and range rate (Doppler) data between the Chang'E-3 lander and station on the Earth were collected from the beginning of the Chang'E-3 lunar mission in 2013. These observation data, taken together with the existing lunar laser ranging data, provide a new approach to extend research on the Earth-Moon system. The high precision of current observation data imposes exacting demands, making it necessary to include previously neglected factors. In this paper, motivated by progress of the Chinese lunar exploration project and to use its data in the near future, two lunar models: a one-layer model and a two-layer model with a fluid core, were applied to the rotational equations based on our implemented algorithm of the Moon's motion. There was a difference of about 0.5″ in ϕ and ψ, but 0.2″ in θ between the two models. This result confirms that stratification of the inner structure of the Moon can be inferred from rotation data. We also added precise Earth rotation parameters in our model; the results show that this factor is negligible at present, due to the limited precision of the existing data. These results will help us understand the rotational process clearly and build a more realistic Earth-Moon model when we combine Lunar Laser Ranging data with high precision radio data to fit lunar motion in the near future.


We present spatially resolved spectroscopy from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI) of a star-forming galaxy at z = 0.6942, which shows emission from the Mg ii λ λ2796, 2803 doublet in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) extending ∼37 kpc at 3σ significance in individual spaxels (1σ detection limit 4.8 × 10−19 erg s−1 cm−2 arcsec−2). The target galaxy, selected from a near-UV spectroscopic survey of Mg ii line profiles at 0.3 < z < 1.4, has a stellar mass log (M */M ⊙) = 9.9, a star formation rate of 50 M ⊙ yr−1, and a morphology indicative of a merger. After deconvolution with the seeing, we obtain 5σ detections of Mg ii line emission extending for ∼31 kpc measured in 7-spaxel (1.1 arcsec2) apertures. Spaxels covering the galaxy stellar regions show clear P Cygni−like emission/absorption profiles, with the blueshifted absorption extending to relative velocities of v = −800 km s−1; however, the P Cygni profiles give way to pure emission at large radii from the central galaxy. We have performed 3D radiative transfer modeling to infer the geometry and velocity and density profiles of the outflowing gas. Our observations are most consistent with an isotropic outflow rather than biconical wind models with half-opening angles ϕ ≤ 80°. Furthermore, our modeling suggests that a wind velocity profile that decreases with radius is necessary to reproduce the velocity widths and strengths of Mg ii line emission profiles at large circumgalactic radii. The extent of the Mg ii emission we measure directly is further corroborated by our modeling, where we rule out outflow models with extent <30 kpc.


One of the current concerns for water treatment plants using alum as a coagulant is elevated concentration of residual aluminium in finished water. The objective of the study is to examine the seasonal variations and factors influencing residual aluminium at the B uffalo P ound W ater Treatment Plant ( BPWTP ). Analysis of BPWTP data for two years related to seasonal variations of total/dissolved aluminium levels showed that much of the raw water total aluminium were in particulate form. Raw water particulate aluminium is correlated well ( r 2 = 0.79 for 1996 and r 2 = 0.82 for 1997) with raw water total suspended solids indicating much of the particulate aluminium is derived from the suspended solids present in raw water. An analysis of eight-year data on total/dissolved aluminium, turbidity, dissolved organic carbon and applied alum dosage showed that dissolved organic carbon present in the raw water played a major role in controlling efficacy of alum coagulation at BPWTP . The data showed that when alum/ DOC ratio is less than 7, insufficient alum addition led to incomplete coagulation resulting in colloidal material mostly consisting of organic aluminium in particulate form. Hence particulate aluminium increased in treated water. But this increase in particulate aluminium did not increase the turbidity of treated water. This indicated that an adequate alum dose in response to dissolved organic carbon change is important in minimising residual aluminium in treated water at BPWTP .


We present a comprehensive study on oscillation of high-energy neutrinos from two different environments: blue supergiant progenitors that may harbor low-power gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets and neutron star merger ejecta that would be associated with short gamma-ray bursts. We incorporate the radiation constraint that gives a necessary condition for nonthermal neutrino production, and account for the time evolution of the jet, which allows us to treat neutrino oscillation in matter more accurately. For massive star progenitors, neutrino injection inside the star can lead to nonadiabatic oscillation patterns in the 1 TeV - 10 TeV and is also visible in the flavor ratio. For neutron star merger ejecta, we find a similar behavior in the 100 GeV - 10 TeV region and the oscillation may result in a $\nu_e$ excess around 1 TeV. These features, which enable us to probe the progenitors of long and short GRBs, could be seen by future neutrino detectors with precise flavor ratio measurements. We also discuss potential contributions to the diffuse neutrino flux measured by IceCube, and find parameter sets allowing choked low-power GRB jets to account for the neutrino flux in the 10 TeV - 100 TeV range without violating the existing constraints.


In risky decision-making, expected utility (EU) theory is widely used to examine people's risk attitude and choice behavior. However, it is unknown how risk attitude relates to attention and information search. In this paper, we explore the relationship between risk attitude (as measured by a variant of EU) and eye movement patterns (which serve as a proxy for attention and information search). Participants made choices between gambles presented perceptually as flickering grids in which monetary values were indicated by colors and probabilities by color proportions. To explore attention and information search patterns, we investigated eye movement patterns when faced with different gambles and correlated these patterns with the parameters of EU. We observed that people who are more risk-seeking (as determined by modeling) tend to look at risky options more often. These results bridge choice behaviors conceptualized by EU and information search strategies under risky decision-making revealed by eye movements.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), the most abundant microbial metabolites in the intestine, activate cells via G-protein-coupled receptors (GPRs), such as GPR41 and GPR43. We studied regulation of the immune response by SCFAs and their receptors in the intestines of mice.

METHODS
Inflammatory responses were induced in GPR41(-/-), GPR43(-/-), and C57BL6 (control) mice by administration of ethanol; 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic-acid (TNBS); or infection with Citrobacter rodentium. We examined the effects of C rodentium infection on control mice fed SCFAs and/or given injections of antibodies that delay the immune response. We also studied the kinetics of cytokine and chemokine production, leukocyte recruitment, intestinal permeability, and T-cell responses. Primary colon epithelial cells were isolated from GPR41(-/-), GPR43(-/-), and control mice; signaling pathways regulated by SCFAs were identified using immunohistochemical, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and flow cytometry analyses.

RESULTS
GPR41(-/-) and GPR43(-/-) mice had reduced inflammatory responses after administration of ethanol or TNBS compared with control mice, and had a slower immune response against C rodentium infection, clearing the bacteria more slowly. SCFAs activated intestinal epithelial cells to produce chemokines and cytokines in culture and mice after administration of ethanol, TNBS, or C rodentium. These processes required GPR41 and GPR43 and were required to recruit leukocytes and activate effector T cells in the intestine. GPR41 and GPR43 activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways in epithelial cells to induce production of chemokines and cytokines during immune responses.

CONCLUSIONS
SCFAs activate GPR41 and GPR43 on intestinal epithelial cells, leading to mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling and rapid production of chemokines and cytokines. These pathways mediate protective immunity and tissue inflammation in mice.


The genital tract of young female mice was rendered susceptible to colonisation with Mycoplasma pulmonis by pre-treating them with progesterone (usually 2.5 mg) given subcutaneously at weekly intervals for 4 weeks. Colonisation was influenced by the size of the inoculum and by the dose of progesterone; at least 2.5 x 10(4) organisms and at least 0.5 mg of hormone (administered on four occasions) were required. The duration of colonisation was related also to the size of the inoculum and the dose of progesterone. Similar results were obtained in TO, BALB/c and CBA strains of mice. Progesterone treatment induced the dioestrous stage of the reproductive cycle within 5 days and the cycle of the majority of untreated, mycoplasma-susceptible mice was also at this stage. However, mice, particularly of the CBA strain, were far less susceptible when not given progesterone and the mycoplasmas tended to persist for a shorter time. Mice treated with oestradiol, even in small doses, became completely refractory to infection with M. pulmonis. In vitro, progesterone inhibited the growth of M. pulmonis, as did oestradiol, but vaginal washings from progesterone-treated mice were no more inhibitory than those from untreated mice. Thus, the success of progesterone in enhancing colonisation could not be attributed to a direct stimulatory effect of the hormone at the mucosal surface and we suggest that it may be due to a greater availability of progesterone-induced receptors for mycoplasmas in the dioestrous phase of the reproductive cycle than in the oestrous phase.


The debate over the affair between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings rarely rises above the question of 'Did they or didn't they?' But lost in the argument over the existence of such a relationship are equally urgent questions about a history that is more complex, both sexually and culturally, than most of us realize. Mongrel Nation seeks to uncover this complexity, as well as the reasons it is so often obscured. Clarence Walker contends that the relationship between Jefferson and Hemings must be seen not in isolation but in the broader context of interracial affairs within the plantation complex. Viewed from this perspective, the relationship was not unusual or aberrant but was fairly typical. For many, this is a disturbing realization, because it forces us to abandon the idea of American exceptionalism and reexamine slavery in America as part of a long, global history of slaveholders frequently crossing the color line. More than many other societies - and despite our obvious mixed-race population - our nation has displayed particular reluctance to acknowledge this dynamic. In a country where, as early as 1662, interracial sex was already punishable by law, an understanding of the Hemings-Jefferson relationship has consistently met with resistance. From Jefferson's time to our own, the general public denied - or remained oblivious to - the possibility of the affair. Historians, too, dismissed the idea, even when confronted with compelling arguments by fellow scholars. It took the DNA findings of 1998 to persuade many (although, to this day, doubters remain). The refusal to admit the likelihood of this union between master and slave stems, of course, from Jefferson's symbolic significance as a Founding Father. The president's apologists, both before and after the DNA findings, have constructed an iconic Jefferson that tells us more about their own beliefs - and the often alarming demands of those beliefs - than it does about the interaction between slave owners and slaves. Much more than a search for the facts about two individuals, the debate over Jefferson and Hemings is emblematic of tensions in our society between competing conceptions both of race and of our nation.


ABSTRACT Today's greater product variety, shorter product life cycle, and lower production costs are pushing companies to look beyond their own boundaries, thereby, creating complexity in the management of the supply chain. To manage such complexity, it is imperative that the management understand the associated complexity drivers and their interrelationships. This study identified twenty-three drivers responsible for supply chain complexity and classified them by using various criteria. In addition, the study presents a structural model using interpretive structural modelling (ISM) methodology to understand the inter-relationships between one driver to another. The research findings showed that drivers such as customer need, competitor action, and government regulation are beyond the control of supply chain partners, and have found the highest dominance with respect to supply chain complexity. Conversely, drivers related to tactical issues such as production planning and control, logistics and transportation, forecasting error, and marketing and sales are found to be the dependent drivers. Remaining drivers, such as company culture, number of suppliers, product variety, and organisational structure fall between the former two classifications. These drivers are related to strategic issues and require action from the upper level of the management hierarchy.


Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)-C is one of the more common complementation groups of XP, but causative mutations have thus far been reported for only six cases (S. G. Khan et al., J. Investig. Dermatol., 115: 791-796, 1998; L. Li et al., Nat. Genet., 5: 413-417, 1993). We have now extended this analysis by investigating the genomic and coding sequence of the XPC gene, the level of expression of the XPC transcript and the status of the XPC protein in 12 unrelated patients, including all of the 8 Italian XP-C cases identified thus far and in 13 of their parents. Eighteen mutations were detected in the open reading frame of the XPC gene, 13 of which are relevant for the pathological phenotype. The mutations are distributed across the gene, with no indication of any hotspots or founder effects. Only 1 of the 13 relevant changes is a missense mutation, the remainder causing protein truncations as a result of nonsense mutations (3), frameshifts (6), deletion (1) or splicing abnormalities (2). These findings indicate that the XPC gene is not essential for cell proliferation and viability and that mutations causing minor structural alterations may not give an XP phenotype and may not, therefore, be identified clinically. XP13PV was the only patient carrying a missense mutation (Trp690Ser on the paternal allele). This was also the only patient in which the XPC transcript was present at a normal level and the XPC protein was detectable, although at a lower than normal level. No quantitative alterations in the transcript or protein levels were detected in the XP-C heterozygous parents. However, the expression of the normal allele predominated in all of them, except the father of XP13PV, which suggests the existence of a possible mechanism for monitoring the amount of the XPC protein.


cumulative density was proposed to analyze the short-term HRV. 150 subjects participated in the test, falling into three groups with equal numbers-the healthy young group (Young), the healthy old group (Old), and the group of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Results of multiple comparisons showed a significant differences of the cumulative density in the three groups, with values 0.0238 for Young, 0.0406 for Old and 0.0732 for CHF (p<0.001). After 7 days and 14 days, 46 subjects from the Young and Old groups were retested twice following the same test protocol. Results showed good-to-excellent interclass correlations (ICC=0.783, 95% confidence interval 0.676-0.864). The Bland-Altman plots were used to reexamine the test-retest reliability. In conclusion, the method proposed could be a valid and reliable method to the short-term HRV assessment.


Rough set theory was proposed by Pawlak Z. and is well used in the area of data mining. The main role of rough set theory is to extract important sets of attributes and decision rules based on the knowledge about objects. Rough set theory is defined by information system, whose role is knowledge representation. But recently the concept of ontology is used in knowledge engineering, Semantic Web, etc. Since ontology can flexibly represent knowledge, rough set theory using the concept of ontology enables us to use flexible information system in ontological description. One of our main aims of this paper is to propose rough set theory applied the concept of ontology to. For flexibility, ontology often consists of complex objects. We formulate a concept of similarity which measures a degree of relationship among complex objects. The concept of similarity is useful for extracting important sets of attributes defined by flexibly represented knowledge. We present steps for finding a set of decision rule based on the proposed concepts. We demonstrate the concepts and steps by using a simple example.


As an alternative to a solid-state electrolyte for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), ordered mesoporous membranes (OMMs) were prepared using a sol-gel technique, followed by a deep-UV irradiation. Structure and impedance spectroscopy analyses revealed that the porous architecture and proton conductivity of OMMs were influenced by the nature of the substrates. Compared with hydrophilic substrate, hydrophobic substrate was beneficial to an accessible porous architecture in the interface layer and an increase of proton conductivity of the whole membrane. The proton conductivity of the OMMs was up to 10-3 S cm-1.


Abstract Herding and contrarian strategies produce informational inefficiencies when investors ignore private information, instead following or bucking past trends. In a simple market model, I show theoretically that investors with prospect theory preferences generically follow herding or contrarian strategies, but do so because of future returns as opposed to past trends. I conduct a laboratory experiment to test the theory and obtain an estimate of the distribution of preferences in the subject population. I find that approximately 70% of subjects have preferences that induce herding. Using the preference estimates, I quantify informational efficiencies and predict trade behavior in more general environments.


Summary Rats bearing transplantable thyroid tumors representing two different stages of progression were used to study the incorporation of 131 I into monoiodotyrosine, diiodotyrosine, diiodothyronine, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine by the host thyroid glands and the tumors. The tissues were simultaneously used for assaying iodide peroxidase activity. Both the less progressed "transitional" and the more advanced "autonomous" tumors lowered the incorporation of 131 I by the host thyroid. The tumors themselves showed extremely low incorporation, although thyroidectomy of the host significantly increased the incorporation in the tumors. However, results of incorporation experiments do not distinguish the transitional from the autonomous tumors. Tumor growth also caused iodide peroxidase activity in the host thyroid to decline. The enzyme activity in the transitional tumor approached the activity in normal thyroid. Thyroidectomy of the host, however, greatly reduced the enzyme activity in the tumor. By contrast, the autonomous tumor had no measurable peroxidase activity. Apparently, no correlation exists between the incorporation and the enzyme activity in the tumor, although both biochemical parameters are subject to the influence of the host thyroid. However, the results indicate that iodide peroxidase activity can serve as a more sensitive gauge to measure the progression of the thyroid tumor from a transitional to an autonomous stage than can 131 I incorporation. A parallel cytogenetic analysis of the tumors used in the biochemical studies shows that the percentage of aneuploidy in the cells of the transitional tumors was lower than that in the cells of the autonomous tumors. Nearly all cells of the autonomous tumors had altered karyotypes. Furthermore, most of the 41-chromosome cells of the transitional tumors had one chromosome of the metacentric group missing, but a high percentage of all cells of the autonomous tumors lost this chromosome.


Images, labor and capitalism. On Workers Leaving the Factory (Harun Farocki, 1995). In a specific moment of Harun Farocki's Workers Leaving the Factory (1995), the voiceover duly notices that, since the Lumiere brothers filmed their workers in Lyon in 1896, more and more workers had actually been leaving the factory, to the point where the latter has become an empty space, turning the everyday act of leaving the Factory into a non-image. The film's discursive stance foregrounds the factory as a hidden aspect within dominant visuality over the last century, configuring the images of workers leaving the factory as an ideological node where capitalism and visual culture collide. In fact, the sort of visual-ideological analysis carried out by Farocki in Workers Leaving the Factory widens critical practice in the field of the political economy of the image, inasmuch as it highlights its value within an exploitation system ranging from advertising to film and other culture industries. This article reflects on Farocki's proposal with the aim of approaching the images of workers as a socio-historical reality, completely reinstated to the field of ideology and in constant conflict with a visuality focused on individuals and personal relations. From this perspective, the working class becomes invisible as a collective actor, dissolving into differences and life stories that invariably take leaving the factory as a starting point


Who should have the ultimate say over a child's medical treatment? A series of high-profile withdrawal of care cases have highlighted the full extent of the courts' authority to make decisions on behalf of children in the medical context. In both the Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans litigation, the courts have made clear that they have the power to make medical decisions for children at the point that child's welfare is engaged. All courts involved in both cases affirmed the orthodox position that the threshold for judicial intervention in disputes about medical care of children is the welfare of the child, often referred to as the "best interests" approach (referring to both the threshold and the test applied to determine what should be done). While no new point of law has been decided in these cases, they are important in that they confirm just how expansive the inherent jurisdiction of the courts in such cases is, extending as far as to prevent parents from removing their child to another jurisdiction to pursue alternative treatment. In this paper, we argue that the current threshold for intervention is too low. We argue that prima facie decision-making authority about a child's medical care should rest with the child's parents, affording them the ability to choose between the range of medical options available. This authority should yield only where the parents' decision carries a "serious risk of significant harm" to the child, at which point the court then has the authority to intervene. When it does so, the court should then apply the best interests approach.


Abstract. A new kind of data analysis is discussed – and a few case histories of actual application are presented – concerning the physical information attainable by acoustic emission (AE) records in geodynamically active or volcanic areas. The previous analyses of such same kind of observations were reported in several papers appeared in the last few years, and here briefly recalled. They are concerned with the inference of the forcing ("F") acting on the physical system, and on the ageing ("T") or fatigue of its "solid" structures. The new analysis here discussed deals with the distinction between a state of applied stress ("hammer regime"), compared to state of "recovery regime" of the system while it seeks a new equilibrium state after having been perturbed. For instance, in the case of a seismic event – and according to some kind of almost intuitive argument – the "hammer regime" is the phenomenon leading to the main shock, while the "recovery regime" deals with the well known aftershocks. Such same intuitive inference, however, can be investigated by a much more formal algorithm, aimed at envisaging the minor changes of the behaviour of the system, during its history and during its present dynamic evolution. As a demonstrative application, detailed consideration is given of AE records – each one lasting for a few years – collected on the Italian peninsula vs. records collected on the Kefallinia Island (western Greece). Such two areas are well known being characterised by some great comparative difference in their respective tectonic setting. When considering planetary scale phenomena, they appear comparatively very close to each other. Hence, they are likely being presumably affected by similar large-scale external actions, although they ought to be expected to respond in some completely different way. Such facts are clearly manifested by some substantially different AE responses of the local crustal structures. However, a full understanding of such entire set of geodynamic and tectonic details ought to require several year data series of AE records, and/or (maybe) also simultaneous AE records collected within some suitable array of AE stations. Such understanding ought to permit the inference of the spatial features of the crustal stress propagation – including its diagnosis and "forecasting" – in addition to the temporal diagnosis and "prevision" that can be attained by isolated point-like AE recording stations. Additional analyses are in progress.


Within the information processing approach to speech perception, the problem of acoustic‐phonetic variability is solved by positing multiple stages of processing that transform the acoustic input into a stable phonetic percept. If this problem is viewed as part of the broader problem of perceptual normalization, a question that arises is whether the mechanisms that normalize speech stimuli also normalize nonspeech stimuli. Five experiments addressed this question by investigating the normalization of musical timbre using a selective adaptation paradigm. The results parallel some of those found with speech, suggesting that a single mechanism normalizes both types of stimuli.


Online consumer product reviews, an important form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), have attracted widespread attention from researchers. The reviews provide potential buyers with product comments and evaluations from a user's perspective. This paper examines how the sequence of negative reviews, the quantity of online feedback text and the quality of online comments affect consumer purchase intention. The experiments results suggest that the quantity and quality of online consumer product reviews have a positive effect on consumer purchase intention. However, consumers show a negativity bias for products when negative consumer reviews concentrate in the front.


The cereal branch is one of the main agricultural production sectors in Morocco, including wheat, which represents the first speculation, given the size of the areas it covers. This culture faces many constraints that negatively affect its productivity. Among these constraints, we find fungal diseases including Fusarium wilt, which affects yields and sanitary quality of seeds. In order to promote the protection and the study of the phytosanitary status of wheat against Fusarium wilt, the Doukkala, Chaouia, Haouz, and Tadla regions are prospected to collect seed samples, while the Gharb-Chrarda-Bni-Hssen, Meknes-Tafilalet,and Fez-Boulemane regions were targeted to collect fresh samples at the heading stage, and that during the year 2013/2014. Thus the calculation of infestation levels, macro, microscopic and molecular identification by "PCR" was performed. The results obtained show that all the prospected regions were contaminated. For seed samples, durum wheat had higher levels of infections than soft wheat, which was not negligible. For durum wheat in the Doukkala, Haouz and Tadla regions, more than half of the samples had an average rate of Fusarium wilt infection, while 50% of soft wheat seeds had low levels of infection. In Chaouia, 50% of durum wheat samples were heavily infected, against 31% only for soft wheat. For fresh samples, the results asserted that the most infected plots were those from Gharb, of which 40% of the studied plots were highly infected, while the Meknes and Fez regions recorded the lowest infection rates.PCR molecular identification of seed samples isolates revealed the presence of two species responsible for Fusarium wilt, Microdochium nivalemajus and Fusarium avenaceum, with a dominance of Microdochium nivalemajus of over 90%. Regarding the fresh samples, the species detected by PCR areMicrodochium nivalemajus with 42% of dominance, followed by Fusarium culmorum: 40% and finally Fusarium graminearum: 18% for the region Gharb-Chrarda-Bni-Hssen. In the Meknès-Tafilalet and Fès-Boulemane regions, the only species that caused the infection is Fusarium avenaceum. We conclude from these results that the yield and sanitary quality of the crop incur significant risk due to Fusarium wilt, which damages the wheat crop by the presence of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species in the grains.


The plasma magnesium concentration has been determined in 73 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. In most patients it lay within the normal range (1·7-2·3 mg./100 ml.), but in five it was less than 1·6 mg./100 ml. These patients had relatively high urinary magnesium outputs, and one of them, studied in greater detail, failed to retain parenterally administered magnesium. Hence hypomagnesaemia in hyperparathyroidism may be associated with a defect in renal magnesium conservation, which may be reversible.


Ductile honeycombs under in-plane biaxial loads fail by elastic buckling, plastic yielding and fast fracture of solid cell edges, while brittle honeycombs fail by elastic buckling, brittle rupturing and fast fracture of solid cell edges. In the paper, we aim at summarizing the modeling and theoretical expressions for describing the failure surfaces of honeycombs with non-uniform thickness cell edges under in-plane biaxial loads. Hence, the failure surfaces of ductile honeycombs with plateau borders are generated and found to be dependent on the solid distribution in cell edges and the yielding strengths of solid cell edges. Also, the failure surfaces of brittle honeycombs with plateau borders are significantly affected by the cell-edge modulus of rupture and the solid distribution in cell edges.


In this paper, we want to present the results of a study into integrating socio-cultural factors into predictive modelling (PM). So far, PM has largely neglected the social and cultural dimensions of past landscapes. Input is commonly derived from correlations between archaeological sites and natural landscape features. The result is a rather static way of modelling, in which the human factor remains unexplored. Furthermore, issues of temporality have been addressed uncritically or insufficiently. To maintain its value for archaeological research, therefore, PM needs new methodologies, concepts and theories. For this study, we have departed from the methodology developed in the 1990s during the Archaeomedes Project (Favory et al. 1999, van der Leeuw 1998; van der Leeuw et al. 2003; Nuninger et al. 2007). By analyzing the surroundings of Roman settlements in the French Rhone Valley, it proved possible to make cross-regional comparisons of settlement location factors, in particular slope, aspect, solar radiation and soil type. However, at the time this method was not used for PM purposes, and did not include an analysis of non-environmental factors. For the current research, we modified this approach, and analyzed not just the surroundings of the known Roman settlements, but of every pixel in three different study regions, Vaunage (Languedoc, France), Argens-Maures (Provence, France) and Zuid-Limburg (Netherlands). Furthermore, the set of variables analyzed was expanded with a number of 'socio-cultural' factors, in particular accessibility, visibility, and the effect of previous occupation (the 'memory of landscape'). From this, we created predictive models using a combination of principal component analysis and cluster analysis. By making a side-by-side comparison of predictive models based on environmental variables, and models based on a combination of environmental and socio-cultural ones, we could show that, at least for this particular archaeological context, the inclusion of socio-cultural variables will increase the predictive power of the models. More importantly however, we have developed a protocol for PM using both environmental and socio-cultural factors that can easily be implemented for different regions and time periods. REFERENCES Favory, F., Girardot, J.-J., Nuninger, L., Tourneux F.-P. 1999. ARCHAEOMEDES II : une etude de la dynamique de l'habitat rural en France meridionale, dans la longue duree (800 av. J.-C.-1600 ap. J.-C.). AGER 9, 15-35. Nuninger, L., Tourneux, F.-P., Favory, F. - From Archaeomedes to Archaedyn. In: Poslushny, A., Lambers, K., Herzog, I. eds. – Layers of perception, proceedings of the 35th Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Achaeology Conference, Berlin, Germany, April 2-6, 2007, Bonn (Germany): Habelt, 2008 (Kolloquien zur Vor- und Fruhgeschichte, vol. 10) : p. 278 and CD. Van der Leeuw, S.E. (Ed.) (1998). The Archaeomedes Project - Understanding the natural and anthropogenic causes of land degradation and desertification in the Mediterranean. Luxemburg: Office for Official Publications of the European Union. Van der Leeuw, S., Favory, F. & Fiches, J.-L. (Eds.) (2003). Archeologie et systemes socio-environnementaux: etudes multiscalaires sur la vallee du Rhone dans le programme ARCHAEOMEDES.  Valbonne: Presses du CNRS (Monographies du CRA).


This paper discussed about the developed collaborative intelligent tutoring system for medical PBL called Comet (collaborative medical tutor). Comet uses Bayesian networks to model the knowledge and activity of individual students as well as small groups. It applies generic tutoring algorithms to these models and generates tutorial hints that guide problem solving. An early laboratory study shows a high degree of agreement between the hints generated by Comet and those of experienced human tutors. Evaluations of Comet's clinical-reasoning model and the group reasoning path provide encouraging support for the general framework.


Dietary phosphorus restriction ameliorates renal injury in rats. This may be due to changes in renal hemodynamics, including those factors associated with protein-induced hyperfiltration. To test this, we measured inulin clearance (CIn), p-aminohippuric acid clearance (CPAH), mean arterial blood pressure, and renal vascular resistance (RVR) 1 h before and 100 min after either oral gavage of 2 g bovine serum albumin or intravenous infusion of 5% glycine in female Sprague-Dawley rats previously fed for 3-8 wk a 0.5% or a 0.1% phosphorus diet. Baseline CIn, CPAH, blood pressure, and RVR were similar. After albumin gavage, CIn rose 20% (P < 0.01) for the 0.5% phosphorus group but did not change for rats fed the 0.1% phosphorus diet. Other measured parameters, including plasma glucagon and renin activity, were not influenced by dietary phosphorus content. In contrast, during intravenous infusion of glycine, hyperfiltration was induced in phosphorus-restricted rats. Thus dietary phosphorus restriction ablates oral protein but not intravenous amino acid-induced hyperfiltration, suggesting a gut-mediated mechanism for the former. These data highlight the potential importance of dietary phosphorus as a mediator of renal hemodynamics.


Political science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, nation, government, and politics and policies of government. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems, poli


REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY
Joint inflammation and septic arthritis are both potential complications of intra-articular injections of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs). Clinicians may prophylactically co-inject BM-MSCs admixed with either antimicrobials or hyaluronic acid; however, the effect of these agents on cultured BM-MSCs is unknown.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the effects of therapeutic levels of gentamicin, amikacin and hyaluronic acid on cultured equine BM-MSCs in vitro.

STUDY DESIGN
In vitro experimental study.

METHODS
Equine BM-MSCs from 4 healthy mature horses were isolated. Cultured BM-MSCs from each donor were incubated with gentamicin (150 mg), amikacin (250 mg), hyaluronic acid (22 mg) or 1% penicillin/streptomycin (control) under sterile conditions. Mesenchymal stem cells viability, proliferation, mediator secretion and culture media pH were measured.

RESULTS
Incubation of BM-MSCs with gentamicin resulted in >95% MSC death after 45 min, and incubation of BM-MSCs with amikacin resulted in >95% MSC death after 2 h. Incubation of BM-MSCs with hyaluronic acid or penicillin/streptomycin (control) for up to 6 h resulted in sustained BM-MSC viability of 80% and >93%, respectively. All additives resulted in decreased media pH in the first minute; however, the pH then remained constant over the 6 h incubation period. No significant differences in BM-MSC proliferation or mediator secretion between the penicillin/streptomycin (control) and cells treated with hyaluronic acid were observed.

CONCLUSION
Therapeutic concentrations of aminoglycoside antimicrobials are toxic to cultured equine BM-MSCs. The effects of hyaluronic acid on cultured MSC viability, proliferation and mediator secretion are minimal.

POTENTIAL RELEVANCE
Based on these findings, the mixing of aminoglycoside antimicrobials and cultured equine BM-MSCs prior to therapeutic use is not recommended.


The C substituent chemical shifts C-2, C-4 and C-5 (with a particular focus at C-2) for disubstituted 2,3-diphenylthiazolidin-4-ones with one substituent in each phenyl ring are systematically being investigated. The substituents in question are p-NO2, m-NO2, p-F, m-F, p-Cl, m-Cl, p-Br, m-Br, H, p-CH3, m-CH3, p-OCH3 and m-OCH3. This combination of substituents leads to a 13 x 13 matrix array of compounds with the fixed substituents in the 2-phenyl ring constituting the columns and the fixed substituents in the 3-phenyl rings constituting the rows. Including this present study, 81 of the total 169 compounds in the matrix have been analyzed. A single para-methoxy group interacting with another fixed substituent, as measured by C substituent chemical shift values at C-2 in either the C-2 phenyl or N-3 phenyl rings, shows little deviation. This changes however when the moiety is either an alkyl group at N-3 or when a para-methoxy group is the fixed substituent on the N-3 phenyl ring. This present study shows that a para-methoxy group on a C-2 phenyl ring shows a similar deviation in the efficacy in the transmission of electronic effects witnessed in this set of matrix compounds and mimics the issues seen with a previously studied para-methoxy substituted system with the para-methoxy group on the N-3 phenyl ring. Reasons for these aberrations are discussed.


A characteristic feature of extrusion processes is the formation of a shear zone, which separates the deformation zone and the dead metal zone [1, 2]. The deformations occurring in the shear zone cause inner separation and welding effects, which are of great importance for the material flow and the microstructure development of the extruded profiles. The material in the dead metal zone is not participating directly in the forming process but the shape of this zone influences eminently the forming zone and thus the forming of the extruded profile. Furthermore the extreme shear deformation causes according to the Hall-Petch relationship a significant grain refinement in these regions of extruded profiles [3, 4]. So the knowledge on the effects in the shear zone during extrusion processes is fundamental for subsequent numerical investigations on the microstructure development for example regarding quenching techniques. The aim of this study is to localize the formation of the shear zone during extrusion processes by means of the finite element analysis. On the basis of the assumption that separation and welding effects take place in the shear zone, numerical investigations were carried out to indicate these microscopic effects on the macroscopic scale. The considered process was the extrusion of a solid round profile of the alloy EN AW 6082 at 450°C with a punch velocity of 10.5 mm/s. For the localization of the shear zone mechanical parameters were chosen for a shear criterion, which are taken from numerical simulations. A user subroutine was implemented into the FE-models in order to evaluate the shear criterion for the localization of the shear zone. According to [5, 6] the friction model used for the numerical simulations has a strong influence on the formation of the shear zone. In this study a combined friction model according to [7] was used.


Ad hoc networks are autonomous dynamic networks composed of mobile devices like personal digital assistants (PDA) for instance. In such mobile networks, lack of infrastructure leads to non trivial information discovery and dissemination. A scheme in which a unique object centralizes information is not efficient for many reasons. We propose a probabilistic algorithm to distribute an information token satisfactorily among nodes forming the network by using localized data. Then, in order to limit the number of memorizing nodes, we propose to make memorizing nodes belong to a dominating set.


Members of the ErbB family of cell surface tyrosine kinase receptors are important targets for cancer treatment because they frequently contribute to the pathogenesis of malignancy. In this issue of the JCI, Fukuoka et al. generate data that suggest that using a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; also known as ErbB1) may be a novel approach for treating patients with hypercortisolemia due to pituitary corticotroph adenomas (Cushing disease). While surgical resection remains the cornerstone of treatment for individuals with such tumors, this study suggests that TKIs could perhaps be used to reduce tumor size prior to surgery or to treat recurrent disease after surgery.


Abstract A 77-day feeding trial was designed in order to assess the effect of partial or total replacement of soybean meal by hazelnut meal (HNM) on feed intake, growth performance, nutrient utilization and body composition of rainbow trout (initial mean body weight: 80.0±3.5 g) in seawater conditions. A control and three experimental diets were formulated in which soybean meal level (25.5%) in the control diet was replaced by hazelnut meal at 39.2 (HN 39), 78.4 (HN 78) and 100% (HN 100) to provide 44% crude protein and 20% crude lipid diets. Diets were fed to 125 rainbow trout to apparent satiation by hand twice daily at 09.00 and 16.00 hours under natural photoperiod conditions. At the end of the feeding trial, fish of all groups almost tripled their body weight and no significant difference (P>0.05) was revealed in final weight or specific growth rate between treatments. However, feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the HN100 group was significantly higher than other treatments (P<0.05). There was a slightly decreasing trend in protein efficiency ratio (PER) and net protein utilization (NPU) with increasing level of dietary hazelnut meal, but it was only significant in groups of fish fed HN100. All groups of fish displayed similar carcass and muscle compositions. According to the results of the present study, it can be stated that hazelnut meal can replace soybean meal at up to 200 g kg-1 in grow-out diets of rainbow trout without any detrimental effects on growth performance.


The emergence of the human rights of individuals defined as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexual (LGBTI) has caused a questioning of the reliability of a system of protection of human rights resting on heteronormativity and the enforcement of a strict male-female dichotomy. It has also pushed scholars to ask who is the contemporary subject of human rights.

This thesis builds on the acknowledgement of this tension in order to investigate, in the context of the Council of Europe, the process by which LGBTI individuals are created as subjects of human rights. It is argued that law and politics play a concerted productive role in constituting the subjects that they wish to protect, thus promoting adherence to rigid identity categories in order to become intelligible before the law. This endeavour will be carried out by analysing both outstanding case law from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concerning sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as using ethnographic observation carried out at the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe in 2010.

The thesis analyses the process by which the subject of human rights is produced and granted legal intelligibility in Strasbourg. Simultaneously, it also explores viable alternatives to the categorisation of individuals in terms of sexual orientation and/or gender identities in the socio-juridical field. In this regard, citizenship represents the privileged domain of inquiry, where identities are articulated, rights are allocated and exclusionary practices are enacted. The concept of "multisexual citizenship" serves to explore models of citizenship that can transcend national borders, also encompassing multiple forms of identification and socio-political and cultural allegiances. As a result of this process of transformation of citizenship, an inevitable and radical metamorphosis of human rights is also anticipated, beyond the current narrow framework of formal equality and freedom.


We conduct a pre-study with 25 participants on Mechanical Turk to find out which security behavioural problems are most important for online users. These questions are based on motivational interviewing (MI), an evidence-based treatment methodology that enables to train people about different kinds of behavioural changes. Based on that the chatbot is developed using Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML). The chatbot is trained to speak about three topics: passwords, privacy and secure browsing. These three topics were 'most-wanted' by the users of the pre-study. With the chatbot three training sessions with people are conducted.


The Qinling Mountains are located in a transition zone between (semi)-arid regions in north China and humid regions in south China. The water resource and water ecology of regional rivers are strongly affected by climate change and human activity. In this paper, the stochastic simulation of river water regulation was performed and an optimal water regulation scheme of rubber dam projects was developed by establishing a multi-objective stochastic constraint water regulation model of rubber dam projects based on the coupling of a distributed hydrological model and a water balance model. Results show that a ∼40% reduction of water occurred in the lower river channel due to the operation of water supply project in the upper reach and impoundment by rubber dam projects in the lower reaches. This water reduction was associated with decreased water environment self-purification capacity and serious deterioration of water quality for smaller ecological basic flow and mean flow velocity. By establishing a multi-objective stochastic constraint programming model, the average velocity and the ecological basic flow at different adjusting heights of rubber dams are determined. The regulation scheme of rubber dam projects we propose in this paper may optimize the current river water management strategies and help to improve the river water quality environment in urban rivers.


Objective: Pupil dilation patterns are outside of conscious control and provide information regarding neuropsychological processes related to deception, cognitive effort, and familiarity. This study examined the incremental utility of pupillometry on the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in classifying individuals with verified traumatic brain injury (TBI), individuals simulating TBI, and healthy comparisons. Method: Participants were 177 adults across three groups: verified TBI (n = 53), feigned cognitive impairment due to TBI (SIM, n = 52), and heathy comparisons (HC, n = 72). Results: Logistic regression and ROC curve analyses identified several pupil indices that discriminated the groups. Pupillometry discriminated best for the comparison of greatest clinical interest, verified TBI versus simulators, adding information beyond traditional accuracy scores. Simulators showed evidence of greater cognitive load than both groups instructed to perform at their best ability (HC and TBI). Additionally, the typically robust phenomenon of dilating to familiar stimuli was relatively diminished among TBI simulators compared to TBI and HC. This finding may reflect competing, interfering effects of cognitive effort that are frequently observed in pupillary reactivity during deception. However, the familiarity effect appeared on nearly half the trials for SIM participants. Among those trials evidencing the familiarity response, selection of the unfamiliar stimulus (i.e., dilation-response inconsistency) was associated with a sizeable increase in likelihood of being a simulator. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings provide strong support for multimethod assessment: adding unique performance assessments such as biometrics to standard accuracy scores. Continued study of pupillometry will enhance the identification of simulators who are not detected by traditional performance validity test scoring metrics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


In the real-life environments, due to the sudden appearance of windows, lights, and objects blocking the light source, the visual SLAM system can easily capture the low-contrast images caused by over-exposure or over-darkness. At this time, the direct method of estimating camera motion based on pixel luminance information is infeasible, and it is often difficult to find enough valid feature points without image processing. This paper proposed HE-SLAM, a new method combining histogram equalization and ORB feature extraction, which can be robust in more scenes, especially in stages with low-contrast images. Because HE-SLAM uses histogram equalization to improve the contrast of images, it can extract enough valid feature points in low-contrast images for subsequent feature matching, keyframe selection, bundle adjustment, and loop closure detection. The proposed HE-SLAM has been tested on the popular datasets (such as KITTI and EuRoc), and the real-time performance and robustness of the system are demonstrated by comparing system runtime and the mean square root error (RMSE)of absolute trajectory error (ATE)with state-of-the-art methods like ORB-SLAM2.


Wind speed forecasting is important to operation of wind power plants and power systems. To solve short term wind speed prediction problem, a radial basis functional neural network prediction model for wind speed time series based on cross iterative fuzzy clustering algorithm and regularized orthogonal least squares algorithm is proposed. First, the optimal fuzzy clustering centers of samples are computed by cross iterative fuzzy clustering algorithm. Then radial basis functional centers are optimized by regularized orthogonal least squares algorithm, and the generalized cross-validation is regarded as criteria to halt center selection. The proposed model centralizes advantages of both algorithms, and it can decrease network scale, improve generalization performance, accelerate network training speed and avoid ill-conditioning of learning problems. A case of practical wind speed time series from wind power plants verifies validity of the proposed model.


Values of University Students Portugal/Brazil: socio-political dimension. This study assesses the socio-political values of colleges students (n = 605) Portugal/Brazil, employing a questionnaire on socio-political dimension Values. The results revealed significate differences about fundamental values. We find indifference/scepticism in Portuguese and Brazilian students practice, essentially with regard to the causes of social inequalities. In Brazil are connect from bad luck, laziness and inactivity and in Portugal a short instruction distinguish. This research empowers the implementation of programmes of education for citizenship in academic context.


Transmural gradients in the contents of glycogen triglycerides, and phospholipids were studied in the dog left ventricle with and without 4 hours of left circumflex artery ligation. In control dogs (patent circumflex), an increasing outer to inner glycogen gradient was observed. After 4 hours of ischemia, subepicardial glycogen content was similar to control values, but midventricular and subendocardial stores were nearly depleted, thus indicating a reversal of the control gradient. These changes were seen biochemically as well as by light and electron microscopic techniques. In the present studies, conclusive evidence for a transmural gradient in tissue triglyceride content was not obtained in either control or ligated dogs. However, an approximate three-fold increase in midventricular and subendocardial triglycerides was observed in ischemic hearts. Regional contents of total tissue phospholipids appeared to be similar across the left ventricular wall in both normal and ischemic left ventricles.


Nutritional factors are important contributors to colorectal cancer prevention. There is some evidence to suggest that a high dietary folate intake is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer. Folate, which is found in green leafy vegetables, is involved in C1 group transfer and contributes to purin and thymi-dilate synthesis as well as to DNA methylation. Alterations in gene expression and DNA damage are discussed to result from low folate levels and might be associated with an elevated risk of colorectal malignancies. This hypothesis can be supported by the finding that a common polymorphism in the methylentetrahydrofolate reductase gene enhances the risk of colorectal cancer when folate status is low. Both retrospective and prospective epidemiologic studies confirm the observation that a high intake of folate correlates with a lower risk of colorectal cancer. There is also evidence from epidemiological studies that diets which are low in methyl donors, such as low contents of folate and/or methionine combined with relatively high alcohol consumption, even enhance the risk of colorectal cancer. A small number of intervention trials provide first evidence that folate intakes far above recommended dietary allowances might influence possible biomarkers of colorectal tumours.


This work proposes a switching technique for cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) cells. Single carrier Sinusoidal PWM (SCSPWM) scheme is employed in the generation of the gating signals. A sequential switching and base PWM circulation schemes are presented for this fundamental cascaded multilevel inverter topology. With these proposed concepts, it is now possible to generate equal average switching signal patterns in all the constituting power semiconductor switches. This results in equal switching loss dissipation and equal power sharing in CHB multilevel inverter modules; and therefore technically modularizes the cascaded system. A 4-cell cascaded structure has been used to exemplify the proposed switching technique. Outlines with switching functions are given for the proposed modulation strategy. For a modulation index of 0.9, a THD value of 14.62% has been achieved in the output voltage waveform of the exemplanary 4-cell cascaded configuration. Verification of the performance of the proposed control technique is done through simulations and experiments. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v34i1.24


BACKGROUND Historically, youth violence prevention strategies used deterrence-based programming with limited success. We developed a youth violence prevention program, Dusk to Dawn (D2D), intended to improve youths' recognition of high-risk situations and teach new skills in conflict resolution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of D2D on youths' perceptions of personal risk factors and high-risk situations. METHODS Youth ages 12 years to 18 years were referred to D2D by community-based organizations, probation, or youth detention center. The youth completed a self-report survey before and after participating in D2D. RESULTS One hundred eight youth participated in D2D. Pretest and posttest results for self-reported personal risk factors and high-risk situations for violence are presented. For personal risk factors, a statistically significant increase in the perception that family (p < 0.01) and other issues (p < 0.05), and a decrease in the perception that school problems (<0.05) were seen as important personal risk factors. For high-risk situations, increases in the perception that peer violence and substance use as high-risk situations were seen as significant at the trend level (p < 0.10). Of the 60% of participants who answered questions regarding satisfaction with D2D, 83.3% agreed or strongly agreed that D2D helped them to better understand violence and 83.3% would recommend D2D to others. CONCLUSION Youth violence prevention programming including an explicit discussion of how violence is learned and the role of family, friends, school, and a community in shaping youths' attitudes toward violence can effectively raise awareness of one's own risk factors. Risk factors for youth violence are often preventable or modifiable, making awareness of one's own risk factors a realistic target for youth violence prevention programs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic/Care Management, Level III.


This paper presents a new method of online estimation for the stator and rotor resistances of the induction motor for speed sensorless indirect vector controlled drives, using artificial neural networks. The error between the rotor flux linkages based on a neural network model and a voltage model is back propagated to adjust the weights of the neural network model for the rotor resistance estimation. For the stator resistance estimation, the error between the measured stator current and the estimated stator current using neural network is back propagated to adjust the weights of the neural network. The rotor speed is synthesized from the induction motor state equations. The performance of the stator and rotor resistance estimators and torque and flux responses of the drive, together with these estimators, are investigated with the help of simulations for variations in the stator and rotor resistances from their nominal values. Both resistances are estimated experimentally, using the proposed neural network in a vector controlled induction motor drive. Data on tracking performances of these estimators are presented. With this speed sensorless approach, the rotor resistance estimation was made insensitive to the stator resistance variations both in simulation and experiment. The accuracy of the estimated speed achieved experimentally, without the speed sensor clearly demonstrates the reliable and high-performance operation of the drive


Customers are the source of hotel profits, and hotel profits provide the customers with a wide range of services to achieve through the hotel. Because of the existence of intangible, heterogeneity, identity of production and consumption in services, as well as the subjective characteristics in the evaluation of service quality, etc, the phenomenon of customers' complaints will inevitably be encountered. If they are not handled properly, it will inevitably cause the loss of the hotel. So it is a great importance to handle correctly customer complaints. By analyzing the substance of customer complaints and the causing reason, this paper proposes countermeasures to deal with customer complaints to turn negative factors into positive ones, and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, and safeguard the reputation of the hotel to improve hotel service quality.


Designing experiments which delocalize ever more complex and more massive particles requires a quantitative assessment of new interferometer configurations. Here, we introduce a figure of merit which quantifies the difference between a genuine quantum interference pattern and a classical shadow and use it to compare a number of near-field interferometer schemes. This allows us to identify the most promising setups for future tests of the quantum superposition principle, and to discuss the perspectives of interferometry with complex molecules and clusters.


Psychological stress can be viewed as occurring when demands exceed an individual's adaptive capacity. Burnout is an occupational syndrome defined by three dimensions, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and feelings of low personal accomplishment. Factors related to the nature of the physiotherapy practice, in which health care is provided to patients under painful experiences and chronical conditions, to aspects related to emotional fatigue brought by interpersonal exchanges or physical exhaustion due to staff shortage, within an increasingly demanding health care system, expose physiotherapists to a higher risk of burnout and few studies have examined burnout in this specific setting.  Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of burnout in Portuguese physiotherapists and to explore possible associations between burnout and demographic and work-related variables. Significant but weak association was found between age and emotional exhaustion, and between clinical experience and emotional exhaustion and global burnout score. Weak association was also found between the number of treated patients daily and daily working hours and physical fatigue and global burnout. Workload was associated with significantly higher scores of physical fatigue, cognitive weariness and global burnout. The prevalence of burnout was not high but significant differences were found in the prevalence of physical fatigue between the group with low workload and high workload. Emotional exhaustion was the most relevant predictor of the global burnout score. In conclusion, the results suggest that the prevalence of burnout in Portuguese physiotherapists is not very high, however, workload seems to place these professionals at a higher risk of developing burnout.


This article has answered on two questions; what the process-outcome weight ratio for oriented outcome should be? The second question is: What are the items would be reflected elements under dimensions of both sides? In logic thinking, the used corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions of Islamic banks (IBs) have different impacts on the society as result for that these dimensions should be different. There still is very lack in using appropriate weights of dimensions to measure of CSR in IB. By redistribution of the dimensions to two types; business process dimensions (BPDs) and oriented outcome dimensions (OODs) then give each type specific weight to suit their consequence on the CSR's level in IBs. From 115 items, 23 sub-dimensions, and 7 dimensions that have taken from 18 articles since 2005 until 2013, this article has selected 16 items, 9 sub-dimensions, and 5 dimensions. Only Mohammed et al. (2008) built an index has different weights of the CSR's dimensions based on several academic experts in IB. The dimensions' weights has been calculated based on weights of Mohammed et al (2008) in which ratio of BPDs and OODs has been 54 and 46 respectively. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility,; Business Process; Oriented Outcome Dimensions JEL Classifications: K40


Introduction. I. History Of Exploration The Portuguese East-African District of Mozambique was, until recently, one of the least known of the East-African coastlands. Livingstone explored the regions on the south-west (1865) and north (1874), but Mozambique itself he did not touch. Sadebeck (1879) was the first to give a geological description of the sedimentary rocks that fringe the coastal plain of the mainland north and south of Mozambique Island. This work was followed up by Choffat (1903) in an important palæontological memoir on the Cretaceous formations of Conducia Bay. Exploration beyond the coastal zone was initiated by Lieut. H. E. O'Neill, who made a number of successful journeys westwards across the mainland during the years 1881–1884. In his papers (1882, 1884, 1885) he gives a very complete and faithful account of the natives and their customs; but, beyond the suggestion that the prevailing rocks are gneisses and granites, he makes no reference to the geology of the territory. In 1887, Mr. J. T. Last made a journey from Blantyre to the Namuli Peaks, which had for long been considered to be of volcanic origin. This view he disproved (Last, 1887), describing the summit as 'an almost perpendicular mass of white stone.' I have since learned from Mr. Last that he referred in this expression to the grey granite and gneiss which builds up the Namuli Peaks, as it does the other mountainous masses of the country. Thus, until a few years ago, Mozambique, with the exception of part of the


This article(2) examines productivity growth and levels in UK manufacturing between 1970–92. During this period, UK manufacturing output fell, but by less than the number of hours worked in manufacturing, and so labour productivity increased. Within manufacturing, economic performance varied considerably, both across sectors and time, including a notable difference between the two peak-to-peak business cycles 1973–79 and 1979–89. To understand manufacturing economic performance more fully, the article considers disaggregated data for 19 manufacturing industries, using two measures of productivity: labour productivity and Total Factor Productivity.


UN's Millennium Development Goals declared in 2010 stated sustainable consumption's importance in ensuring environmental sustainability. Given the roles education, children and social learning process are expected to play in sustainability, this study aims to identify tools for active & passive social learning (SL) perceived by teachers (involved in delivering environmental education) as appropriate & effective for primary school children (chiefly focusing on environmentally sustainable consumption behavior{ESCB}). Study's largely exploratory nature with a limited sample from Bhiwadi (India) was aimed at setting framework rather than generalization of results. Apart from interviewing fifty respondents from government and private schools with a semi-structured questionnaire (16 SL tools across 16 ESCBs), SL tools were also identified from text books. Data on was put through qualitative and quantitative analysis. Results showed that patterns in teachers' preferences for SL tools were similar across school types but preferences only partly matched with recommendations from text books and/or research literature. Teachers' qualitative statements for opportunities, constraints and opinions add to study's strength. Findings hold useful implications for sustainability educators who aim to prod and inspire young minds for a sustainable environment. Insights would guide educationists to evolve effective SL tools for classroom experience.


Neuroinflammatory processes have been shown to have a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Based on the evidence that inflammatory processes are involved in the pathogenesis of AD, research has been focusing on the potential therapeutic application of anti-inflammatory compounds in AD. Punicalagin is a polyphenolic active constituent of the pomegranate fruit, Punica granatum, which has shown promising anti-inflammatory activity in cancer and skin cells. However, nothing is known about the potential effects of this compound in neuroinflammation, and ultimately amyloid formation in the brain. We therefore evaluated the effects of different concentrations of punicalagin on LPS-induced neuroinflammation and amyloidogenesis in rat primary microglia. .Levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in supernatants from LPS-activated primary microglia were measured using ELISA while PGE2 released was measured using enzyme immunoassay (EIA), while nitrite production was measured with the Griess assay. Western blot analysis was used to evaluate the effects of punicalagin on protein expressions of COX-2, iNOS, mPGES-1, p38 MAPK and the β-site APP Cleaving Enzyme 1 (BACE-1) in LPS-activated microglia. Punicalagin (5-40 μM) produced significant (p<0.05) and dose-dependent reduction of PGE2, nitrite, TNFα and IL-6 in microglia incubated with LPS for 24 hours. At the highest concentration tested (40 μM), punicalagin-treated cells produced 39.4±2.6% PGE2, 35.7±3.9% nitrite, 32.0±3.0% TNFα and 43.3±2.1% IL-6, compared with control (LPS only) cells. Further investigations using immunoblotting revealed inhibition of COX-2, iNOS, mPGES-1, phospho-p38 and BACE-1 protein expressions in LPS-stimulated microglia. At a concentration of 40 μM, punicalagin pre-treatment resulted in 31.7±17.9% COX-2, 18.0±4.2% iNOS, 35.2±6.5% mPGES-1, and 26.0±5.1% BACE-1 protein expressions, compared with LPS control. Cell viability experiments using the MTT assay showed that punicalagin was not toxic to rat primary microglia at concentrations up to 40 μM. These observations indicate that punicalagin possesses both anti‑neuroinflammatory and anti-amyloidogenic effects in LPS-activated rat primary microglia. It is suggested that punicalagin might be a potential therapeutic source for delaying the progression of AD.


: In vivo quantification of glutamate (Glu) and GABA using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is often achieved using two separate sequences, PRESS and MEGA-PRESS. The purpose of this study was to compare the measurement of Glu and Glx (Glu+ Glutamine; Gln) quantified from two different MEGA-PRESS protocols (GABA+, TE=68 ms, and macromolecule suppressed, MM-Sup, TE=80 ms) and short-echo (SE) PRESS (TE=35 ms). Fifteen healthy male volunteers underwent a single scan session in which data were acquired using the three sequences in both the sensorimotor cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex. Glx and Glu were quantified from the MEGA-PRESS data using both the difference (DIFF) spectra and the OFF sub-spectra. Glx and Glu measured using SE-PRESS was taken as de-facto standard due to its common use in the field. Reliability was assessed using repeated measures ANOVA, correlation analyses, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and Bland-Altman plots. Glx and Glu quantified using the DIFF spectra of either MEGA-PRESS sequence were in poor agreement with the SE-PRESS data in both brain regions. Glx quantified from the OFF sub-spectra of both sequences and Glu quantified from the OFF sub-spectra of GABA+ MEGA-PRESS also showed poor agreement in both brain regions. In the sensorimotor cortex, Glu quantified from the OFF sub-spectra of MM-Sup MEGA-PRESS showed better agreement with SE-PRESS data, but this finding was not replicated in the anterior cingulate cortex data. In conclusion, Glx and Glu measured from MEGA-PRESS data generally shows poor agreement with Glx and Glu measured using SE-PRESS. Therefore, we recommend that a separate SE-PRESS be used when studying Glx, Glu and GABA, rather than using Glx or Glu metrics from the MEGA-PRESS data, particularly in areas of the brain with lower signal quality.


The analytical solutions developed in the first paper can be used to interpret the results of cross-hole tests conducted in anisotropic porous or fractured media. In the particular case where the injection and monitoring intervals are short relative to the distance between them, the test results can be analyzed graphically. From the transient variation of hydraulic head in a given monitoring interval, one can determine the directional hydraulic diffusivity, Kd(e)/Ss, and the quantity D/Ss, by curve matching. (Here Kd(e) is directional hydraulic conductivity parallel to the unit vector, e, pointing from the injection to the monitoring interval, Ss is specific storage, and D is the determinant of the hydraulic conductivity tensor, K.) The principal values and directions of K, together with Ss, can then be evaluated by fitting an ellipsoid to the square roots of the directional diffusivities. Ideally, six directional measurements are required. In practice, a larger number of measurements is often necessary to enable fitting an ellipsoid to the data by least squares. If the computed [Kd(e)/ss]½ values fluctuate so severely that a meaningful least squares fit is not possible, one has a direct indication that the subsurface does not behave as a uniform anisotropic medium on the scale of the test. Test results from a granitic rock near Oracle in southern Arizona are presented to illustrate how the method works for fractured rocks. At the site, the Oracle granite is shown to respond as a near-uniform, anisotropic medium, the hydraulic conductivity of which is strongly controlled by the orientations of major fracture sets. The cross-hole test results are shown to be consistent with the results of more than 100 single-hole packer tests conducted at the site.


These, Sir, are briefly the findings in this case, and I consider it rare and interesting for the following reasons. (1) The heart condition seems to have been a toxic myocarditis causing ectopic ventricular beats. (2) The toxaemia was mild, causing no temperature or tachycardia. (3) In my library I cannot find any cardiograms like the tracings found in this case. (4) The clinically alarming condition of her heart and the rapidity with which it cleared up.-I am, etc.,