Al-rich spinels were rarely reported compared to Cr-spinels, which were mostly observed in ophiolitic rocks. Pleonaste [(Mg, Fe 2+ )Al 2 O 4 ], which is an Al-rich spinel, was observed in the ophiolitic mafic-ultramafic rocks tectonically located in the Early Cretaceous accretionary complex, at the eastern part of the Armutlu peninsula, NW Turkey. The ophiolitic mafic-ultramafic rocks have cumulate character, and most of them are represented by peridotite and pyroxenite. Pleonaste was observed in pyroxenites and gabbros of the ophiolitic rocks. Pyroxenites consist mainly of clinopyroxene + orthopyroxene + amphibole ± olivine + spinel. Gabbros are composed of clinopyroxene + orthopyroxene + amphibole + plagioclase + spinel. Pleonaste in these rocks lies parallel to the magmatic layers and is distinguished by its emerald greenish color under the microscope. Pleonastes have high Al 2 O 3 (59.65-62.24 wt.%) and low Cr 2 O 3 (0.05-1.32 wt.%) contents with Mg# and Fe 3+ # ranging from 54.23 to 59.77 and 3.83 to 4.28, respectively. Petrographical observations and the pressure?temperature (P-T) pseudosection modelling suggest that pleonaste in the mafic-ultramafic rocks from the study area crystallized during magmatic processes. Presence of amphibole and Ca-rich (An % 85-88) plagioclase in these rocks suggests that the ophiolitic rocks, located in the Early Cretaceous accretionary complex at the eastern part of Armutlu peninsula, formed from an arc-related hydrous magma source.


B cells from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients display signalling defects that may underlie disease pathogenesis activity.CD19 and CD22 play a major role as regulators of B-cell response. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between B cell surface markers namely CD19, CD20 and CD22 expression and clinical and laboratory indices of SLE activity. The study included 33 SLE patients and 20 healthy children and adolescents as controls. Flowcytometric assay of dual markers, CD19/CD20, and CD20/CD22 was done. SLE disease activity was assessed by SLEDAI score. CD22% was significantly higher while CD20% was significantly lower in the study compared to the control group. No significant difference was observed in both groups with respect to CD19% or CD19/CD22% ratio. The level of CD22 expression was significantly lower in high and very high active cases than in mild and moderate cases and negatively correlated with SLDEAI score and ESR. Results obtained showed that, B cell surface receptors CD20 and CD22 are significantly affected in patients with SLE, pointing to their possible involvement in the aetiopathogenesis of the disease and in the regulatory mechanisms in response to the immune disturbance.


New additions to the crustacean decapod fauna of Bahia Culebra, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The crusta- cean fauna of Bahia Culebra, Guanacaste, north Pacific, Costa Rica, was studied before the 1940's. Based on the collections, mainly of the last two decades, deposited in the Zoology Museum of the University of Costa Rica, 15 species of decapods crustaceans belonging in 11 families are added to the 94 species previously reported for Bahia Culebra. This results in a total of 109 decapod species, and 130 crustacean species for the bay. Probably more species are present since several environments of the bay have not been studied, as well as the benthic microcrustaceans. This type of baseline data studies are important because of the rapid changes taking place in Bahia Culebra. Rev. Biol. Trop. 60 (Suppl. 2): 73-76. Epub 2012 April 01.


Excerpt] 2016 was the concluding year of Eurofound's work programme for 2013–2016 From crisis to recovery: Better informed policies for a fair and competitive Europe. This work programme was designed to provide evidence to feed into the development of social, employment and work-related policies to aid the recovery of the European Union in the aftermath of a severe economic crisis that has had profound and wide-ranging repercussions on citizens, countries and the Union itself. The priorities of the programme reflected the challenge of achieving a fair and competitive Europe in the context of uncertainty on the road ahead and the measures necessary to regain growth and prosperity.


Abstract A new model for multi-conductor transmission lines is proposed based on an alternative modal decoupling technique. The line decoupling is accomplished using two modal transformation matrices: the real and constant Clarke's matrix and a reduced frequency-dependent matrix for decoupling the remaining mutual terms in the impedance and admittance matrices (quasi-modes). This procedure results in a simple matrix formulation in the frequency domain, which time-domain results can be obtained using inverse transforms. The proposed line model provides accurate results because the phases of a multi-conductor line are decoupled into exact propagation modes from a second modal transformation, using a reduced frequency-dependent matrix. Each propagation mode is modeled in the frequency domain as three independent two-port circuits. The proposed model is evaluated in the frequency and time domains based on results obtained from the line modeling using the exact modal transformation matrix of the line. The advantage of the proposed line model is the simplified modeling based on a constant and real matrix and a reduced matrix with dimension two per two instead a frequency-dependent transformation matrix with dimension three per three.


The study assessed the practices, productivity and contribution of beekeeping to household income of communities adjacent to UMNP in Kilombero District. Data were collected through administration of questionnaires to households practicing beekeeping and interview of key informants. Means and percentages were calculated for practices, productivity and income. The study revealed that more than 30% of respondents undertake beekeeping in order to earn income. Traditional beehives were mostly used by respondents in Ifakara (46%) and Kidatu (62%) divisions while many (67%) respondents in Mang'ula division used both modern and traditional beehives. Lack of equipment and extension services were mentioned as the main challenges to beekeeping. Many respondents in Ifakara and Mang'ula divisions admitted that modern beehives have double productivity of bee products compared to traditional beehives. Contribution of beekeeping to household income is generally low in all divisions of Ifakara (4%), Mang'ula (13%) and Kidatu (8%) as compared to farming, petty trade and formal employment. It was concluded that the contribution of beekeeping to household income is low in the study area. Increased productivity could increase the contribution to household income. This could be through ensuring availability of extension services, modern beehives and equipment for harvesting and packaging materials.Keywords: Beekeeping, local community, practices, productivity, household income, Udzungwa Mountains


The coaching and mentoring profession is facing a major challenge – helping clients cope effectively with life's complexities and conflicting demands in a rapidly changing environment. Conversations around work-life balance need to address not only the interconnectedness of work, leisure, home, and social life but also the fact that these elements are in flux and require continuous rebalancing. This book is a practical and evidence-based resource to help coaches and mentors in supporting clients to achieve greater work-life balance.

Written by an experienced academic-practitioner team, this book provides coaches and mentors with a way of addressing work-life tensions with their clients. It is grounded in research and practice and offers a wide range of tools and techniques which are supported with real-life case studies illustrating how they can be employed. On top of this, readers are also supported with reflective questions to enhance understanding and a series of downloadable worksheets for practical use.

Coaching and Mentoring for Work-Life Balance is essential reading for professional coaches and mentors who are helping their clients to develop personal resilience and will also be a valuable resource for students in postgraduate coaching and mentoring courses. The authors present some of the latest thinking on this topic, underpinned by their own research and model for work-life balance, making the book indispensable to all those engaged in leadership, coaching, mentoring, and supervision.


Objectives To study the epidemiological and pathological properties of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases eligible for surgical resection. Background HCC is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third most common cause of cancer death. In Egypt, liver cancer forms 1.68% of the total malignancies. HCC constitutes 70.48% of all liver tumors among Egyptians. HCC represents the main complication of cirrhosis. Materials and methods This longitudinal study included 92 HCC patients who had undergone surgical intervention. Clinical and demographic data were collected from medical records, and paraffin blocks were retrieved from the Archives of the Pathology Department, National Liver Institute, Menoufia University, during the period between March 2007 and October 2014. Results revealed that 51.1% of the studied HCC patients were at least 58 years old, 81.5% male and 18.5% female, 51.2% of the patients had an a-fetoprotein level of at least 200 ng/ml and 95.7% were positive for hepatitis viral infection. Revision of the pathological data revealed that 82.6% of the HCC cases presented as a single focal lesion with a median size of 5 cm. About 76.1% were on top of a cirrhotic liver and 44.5% showed dysplastic changes and 96.7% of the cases were of the classic type. About 57.6% of the cases presented with stage T1 and 34.8% of the cases had lymphovascular invasion. Conclusion On the basis of 92 surgical specimens of HCC, most of the HCC in Egypt occurred in men who developed a cirrhotic liver due to HCV infection. Epidemiological and histopathological data of HCC highlight the importance of an integrated strategy for the prevention and the treatment of viral hepatitis infections and chronic liver disease.


This review summarises progress reported in the chemical, biological and mycological literature dealing with the isolation, characterisation and chemistry of pigments manufactured by those fungi that produce conspicuous fruit bodies (Macromycetes). Work that has appeared in the primary literature between September 1998 and May 2003 is covered, and 99 references are cited.


Movements are important. When animals move, they exert mechanical load on their bodies and their muscles and bones respond by the generation of more tissue. Vice versa, a lack of movement will result in a decrease in bone and muscle tissue. During my PhD studies I have looked into the normal development of muscle and bone in the trunk of zebrafish. In addition, I have looked at different levels whether this development can be influenced by mechanical load. I investigated how cells respond to load by subjecting zebrafish cells to strain and observing the effects on cell morphology. The cells appear to orient themselves perpendicularly away from the strain, which results in a lower absolute strain value. During this orientation process, the expression of more than 400 genes is adjusted. In an entire organism I have investigated the normal development of bone and muscle. During development the muscle fibres turn away from the body axis and together they build up a spiral like architecture. I have tried to explain this architecture by means of a computer model in which the equal work theory was implemented. According to this theory, the muscle fibres can only generate equal amounts of work when they can all shorten equally and by doing so function optimally. The observed architecture appears to be adapted to the movement of the embryos in the egg and it is only generated after the embryos start moving. From these observations I hypothesised that mechanical load, represented by the movements of the embryo, could be important for the normal development of the muscle architecture. I tested this hypothesis by making use of mutant zebrafish embryos that are immobile. I found that the morphology of the embryos is indeed affected by this lack of movement, although the spiral like architecture does develop in the mutant embryos. Finally, I made zebrafish larvae perform endurance training by making them swim against a water current. They developed more slow muscle in the trunk muscles, similar to endurance training in humans, but the heart muscle developed more fast muscle. The general conclusion I can draw from the results in this thesis is that mechanical load already during early development is important for fine-tuning genetically predetermined principles.


In practice, electrification of remote and islanded communities with no connection to the main grid is entangled with many techno-economic issues. These technical and more importantly economical challenges often justify the use of Micro-Grids (MGs) as self-sufficient electrical networks with a group of controllable/non-controllable consumers and producers in remote and islanded areas. However, the optimal design of sustainable MGs, even in small communities, is a complex optimisation problem due to the uncertain nature of load consumption and renewable production as well as the non-convex characteristics of network constraints. In this paper, we propose a model to design sustainable MGs using the notion of Distributionally Robust Optimisation (DRO) to handle the uncertainties arising from forecast data wherein the non-convex AC power flow equations are reformulated into convex constraints. Furthermore, a three-step approach is introduced to recast the tri-level DRO-based model into a tractable single-stage Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem. The proposed approach is tested on a modified Europrean CIGRE 18-bus test network and its performance is compared with the stochastic optimisation approach.


Abstract The topographical evolution of tectonic systems, as well as the sedimentation pattern and depositional environments in the associated basins, are controlled by both tectonics and climate. In the region of the Tien Shan (Central Asia), the Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous period was marked by complex, low-intensity tectonic deformation and major climate changes from humid to arid conditions (Jurassic) to semi-arid conditions (Cretaceous). Using the sediment record in the Junggar, Tarim and Fergana basins to describe the tectonic evolution of the Tien Shan area during the Mesozoic thus requires differentiation between the tectonic and climatic influences on sedimentation. The conglomerates of the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Kalaza Formation were commonly associated with renewed tectonic activity resulting from the docking of the Lhasa block along the southern margin of Asia. From sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy analyses of several sections in the Junggar, Tarim and Fergana basins, we reassess the main factors controlling the deposition of this formation. We show that, while some tectonic activity persisted throughout the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition, the switch from the sandy deposits of the Upper Jurassic Qigu Formation to the coarse deposits of the Kalaza Formation is largely linked to the development of an arid climate.


Background Kidneys derived from brain-dead (BD) donors have lower graft survival rates compared with kidneys from living donors. Complement activation plays an important role in brain death. The aim of our study was therefore to investigate the effect of C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) on BD-induced renal injury. Methods Brain death was induced in rats by inflating a subdurally placed balloon catheter. Thirty minutes after BD, rats were treated with saline, low-dose or high-dose C1-INH. Sham-operated rats served as controls. After 4 hours of brain death, renal function, injury, inflammation, and complement activation were assessed. Results High-dose C1-INH treatment of BD donors resulted in significantly lower renal gene expression and serum levels of IL-6. Treatment with C1-INH also improved renal function and reduced renal injury, reflected by the significantly lower kidney injury marker 1 gene expression and lower serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase and creatinine. Furthermore, C1-INH effectively reduced complement activation by brain death and significantly increased functional levels. However, C1-INH treatment did not prevent renal cellular influx. Conclusions Targeting complement activation after the induction of brain death reduced renal inflammation and improved renal function before transplantation. Therefore, strategies targeting complement activation in human BD donors might clinically improve donor organ viability and renal allograft survival.


Polycrystalline samples of novel oxypnictides, Sr2ScMPO3, with MP layer (M = Mn, Ni and Co0.5Fe0.5) were synthesized, and their resistivities and Seebeck coefficients were measured. Sr2ScMPO3 crystallizes in a stacked, layered structure comprised of a ThCr2Si2- type MP layer alternating with a K2NiF4-type Sr2ScO3 layer. Sr2ScMnPO3 is an insulator at room temperature. The resistivities (ρ) of Sr2ScNiPO3 and Sr2ScCo0.5Fe0.5PO3 decrease with decreasing temperature like a metal. The Seebeck coefficients (S) of these materials are negative at room temperature. For Sr2ScNiPO3, S initially decreases slightly with decreasing temperature, and increases with decreasing temperature below 50 K. However, for Sr2ScCo0.5Fe0.5PO3, S increases with decreasing temperature, and attains to a positive value below 270 K.


To provide a high availability and to be able to quickly react to link failures, most communication networks feature fast rerouting (FRR) mechanisms in the data plane. However, configuring these mechanisms to provide a high resilience against multiple failures is algorithmically challenging, as rerouting rules can only depend on local failure information and need to be pre-defined. This paper is motivated by the observation that the common approach to design fast rerouting algorithms, based on spanning trees and covering arborescences, comes at a cost of reduced resilience as it does not fully exploit the available links in heterogeneous topologies. We present several novel fast rerouting algorithms which are not limited by spanning trees, but rather extend and combine ("graft") multiple spanning arborescences to improve resilience. We compare our algorithms analytically and empirically, and show that they can significantly improve not only the resilience, but also accelerate the preprocessing to generate the local fast failover rules.


The protein tau has gained notoriety due its role in many neurodegenerative disorders including the most prevalent form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, as well as the hereditary frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP- 17). The development of novel systems for investigating tau-mediated dysfunction and possible ways in which this may be reversed or even prevented are therefore essential. The present study provides primary characterisation of a novel transgenic mouse model of tauopathy, known as TauD35. This model harbours transgenic human tau containing the FTDP-17 mutation, P301L, under the control of the CaMKIIα promoter. As demonstrated in Alzheimer's disease, hippocampal neurones are particularly vulnerable to tau dysfunction, fuelling the decision to choose the hippocampus as the site of this initial characterisation. Molecular biology, immunohistochemistry, behavioural and electrophysiological techniques were employed at 4, 13 and 24 months of age in order to investigate pathology development over time. Investigations revealed two sublines within the TauD35 model, with one line harbouring approximately double the number of transgene copies (HIGHTAU) compared to the other (LOWTAU). Both transgenic lines developed intraneuronal inclusions formed from pathological tau species relevant to human tauopathies in an age- and dose-dependent manner, as tested with specific antibodies. At 4-months, prior to tau aggregation, an increase in paired-pulse ratio was detected at entorhinal cortex to dentate gyrus synapses. At 13-months, the two lines exhibited large disparity in NFT load, with HIGHTAU animals displaying behavioural changes consistent with the symptoms of FTDP-17 patients. Neuronal loss was evident in the CA1 region of HIGHTAU mice by 17.5 months of age, coinciding with the development of a pathological phenotype. These data show that both TauD35 models mimic cardinal features of human tauopathies, and thus provide valuable tools in which to study tau dysfunction as well as assess possible therapeutics.


The rate of clearance of technetium-99m labelled diethylene triamine pentacetic acid (99mTc DTPA) was measured in 32 patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome to determine if a more rapid clearance rate, possibly reflecting a more severe abnormality of pulmonary function, was associated with a reduced likelihood of recovery from pulmonary failure. Although the mean rate of clearance from lung to blood (T1/2LB) of 99mTc DTPA was more rapid in the patients (T1/2LB = 29 (SEM 3.2) min than in 42 normal subjects (T1/2LB = 59 (1.8)min), there was no difference between the clearance rate in the 18 patients who recovered from respiratory failure (T1/2LB = 31 (5) min) and the 14 who died (T1/2LB = 27 (4) min). Additionally, not all patients studied had abnormally rapid clearance rates. In 12 of the 32 patients the T1/2 fell within the range for normal individuals; this was found more commonly in patients who were predisposed to develop adult respiratory distress syndrome by pancreatitis or massive blood transfusion. These data suggest that a single measurement of 99mTc DTPA clearance in patients with established respiratory failure and adult respiratory distress syndrome is of no value in assessing the likelihood of recovery from this condition.


Sub-Saharan African exports of horticultural and processed agricultural products are growing in line with the major shift towards these products in world markets. Continued growth in these exports may be vitally important for expanding returns from African agriculture and for increasing its overall exports. Policy reforms such as reductions in the tariff escalation facing Africa, improvements in the productivity of agricultural processing, and reductions in trade barriers within Africa and beyond would all further stimulate exports of processed agriculture. While essential, expansion of these exports should be regarded as complements to—rather than substitutes for—development of other dynamic export sectors.


BACKGROUND: Modern consumer electronic devices and automobiles are often controlled by interfaces that sense physical gestures and spoken commands. In contrast, patient monitors and anesthesia devices are typically equipped with panel-mounted buttons, dials, and keyboards. The increased use of noncontact gesture-based interfaces in anesthesia may improve patient safety through more intuitive and prompter control of equipment and also through reduced rates of surface contamination. A novel gesture-based controller was designed and retrofitted to a standard GE Solar 8000M patient monitor. This type of technical innovation is rare, due to closely held proprietary input control systems on commercially produced clinical equipment. Nevertheless, we hypothesized that anesthesiologists would find a contactless gesture interface straightforward to use. METHODS: A gesture-based interface system was developed to control a Solar 8000M patient monitor using a millimeter-wave radar sensor. The system was programmed to detect noncontact "rotate" and "press" gestures to control the patient monitor by implementing a virtual trim knob for interface control. Fifty anesthesiologists tested a prototype interface and evaluated usability by completing a short questionnaire incorporating modified Likert scales. These evaluations were performed in a nonpatient care environment so that respondents were not adversely task loaded during assessment, also allaying any ethical or safety concerns regarding use of this novel interface for patient management. RESULTS: Anesthesia hardware was controlled reliably with 2 distinct gestures above the gesture sensor. The gesture-based interface generally was well received by anesthesiologists (8.09; confidence interval, 8.06–8.12 on a 10-point scale), who preferred the simpler "press" gesture to the "rotate" gesture (8.45; 8.39–8.51 vs 7.73; 7.67–7.79 on a 10-point scale; P = .005). The correlation between the preference scores for the 2 gestures from each anesthesiologist was strong (Pearson r = 0.49; 0.25–0.68; P < .001). Advancing level of training (resident, fellow, attending 1–10 years, attending >10 years) was not correlated with preference scores for either gesture (Spearman ρ = −0.02; −0.30 to 0.26; P = .87 for "press" and Spearman ρ = 0.08; −0.20 to 0.35; P = .58 for "rotate"). CONCLUSIONS: The use of gesture sensing for controlling anesthesia equipment was well received by a cohort of anesthesiologists. Even though the simpler "press" gesture was preferred over the "rotate" gesture, the intrarespondent correlation indicates that the preference for gestures as a whole is the stronger effect. No adverse relationship was found between acceptability and anesthesia experience level. Gesture sensing is a promising new area to simplify and improve the interaction between the anesthesiologist and the anesthesia workstation.


Objective: The study presented here analyzed the patterns of relationship between oculomotor performance and psychopathology, focusing on depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety disorder. Methods: Scientific articles published from 1967 to 2013 in the PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, Cochrane, and SciELO databases were reviewed. Results: Saccadic eye movement appears to be heavily involved in psychiatric diseases covered in this review via a direct mechanism. The changes seen in the execution of eye movement tasks in patients with psychopathologies of various studies confirm that eye movement is associated with the cognitive and motor system. Conclusion: Saccadic eye movement changes appear to be heavily involved in the psychiatric disorders covered in this review and may be considered a possible marker of some disorders. The few existing studies that approach the topic demonstrate a need to improve the experimental paradigms, as well as the methods of analysis. Most of them report behavioral variables (latency/ reaction time), though electrophysiological measures are absent.


This work presents an empirical study of the influence of judicial review upon the (non-) compliance of administrative bodies with administrative law. Using the administration of English homelessness law as a case study, the book explores the social reality of bureaucratic decision-making and the place of law in the routine activities of local government decision-makers. In particular, it examines the influence of direct experiences of judicial review litigation upon the continuing practices of three local government offices. In light of sustained empirical enquiry, it critically examines the ability of judicial review to facilitate compliance with administrative law.


We consider a multiple access primary network with N transmitters. A secondary link of one transmitter and a corresponding receiver causes interference to the primary network. An achievable rate region for the primary network and the secondary link is obtained given the following mode of operation. The secondary transmitter employs rate-splitting so that the primary receiver can decode part of the secondary's signal and cancel it. The secondary receiver, on the other hand, treats primary interference as noise. Given a Gaussian channel model, we investigate the effect of rate-splitting on the rate region for two cases. The first case is when the link between the secondary transmitter and the primary receiver supports a higher data rate than that of the link between the secondary transmitter and its corresponding receiver. The second case is the opposite scenario. For each case we determine the optimal rate-splitting that maximizes the sum throughput of the primary network and the secondary link subject to a constraint on primary rate. The optimal solution for the first case does not require rate-splitting. For the second, rate-splitting is needed and the primary rate constraint is met with equality.


An investigation on the cowling of radial air-cooled engines was conducted in the 20-foot Propeller Research Tunnel at Langley Field. Cooling and drag tests were made with each form of cowling. The propulsive efficiency was found to be practically the same with all forms of cowling.


Significance Future sea level rise (SLR) poses serious threats to the viability of coastal communities, but continues to be challenging to project using deterministic modeling approaches. Nonetheless, adaptation strategies urgently require quantification of future SLR uncertainties, particularly upper-end estimates. Structured expert judgement (SEJ) has proved a valuable approach for similar problems. Our findings, using SEJ, produce probability distributions with long upper tails that are influenced by interdependencies between processes and ice sheets. We find that a global total SLR exceeding 2 m by 2100 lies within the 90% uncertainty bounds for a high emission scenario. This is more than twice the upper value put forward by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in the Fifth Assessment Report. Despite considerable advances in process understanding, numerical modeling, and the observational record of ice sheet contributions to global mean sea-level rise (SLR) since the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, severe limitations remain in the predictive capability of ice sheet models. As a consequence, the potential contributions of ice sheets remain the largest source of uncertainty in projecting future SLR. Here, we report the findings of a structured expert judgement study, using unique techniques for modeling correlations between inter- and intra-ice sheet processes and their tail dependences. We find that since the AR5, expert uncertainty has grown, in particular because of uncertain ice dynamic effects. For a +2 °C temperature scenario consistent with the Paris Agreement, we obtain a median estimate of a 26 cm SLR contribution by 2100, with a 95th percentile value of 81 cm. For a +5 °C temperature scenario more consistent with unchecked emissions growth, the corresponding values are 51 and 178 cm, respectively. Inclusion of thermal expansion and glacier contributions results in a global total SLR estimate that exceeds 2 m at the 95th percentile. Our findings support the use of scenarios of 21st century global total SLR exceeding 2 m for planning purposes. Beyond 2100, uncertainty and projected SLR increase rapidly. The 95th percentile ice sheet contribution by 2200, for the +5 °C scenario, is 7.5 m as a result of instabilities coming into play in both West and East Antarctica. Introducing process correlations and tail dependences increases estimates by roughly 15%.


Context. In recent years, we have seen a rapidly growing number of stellar magnetic field detections for various types of stars. Many of these magnetic fields are estimated from spectropolarimetric observations (Stokes V) by using the so-called center-of-gravity (COG) method. Unfortunately, the accuracy of this method rapidly deteriorates with increasing noise and thus calls for a more robust procedure that combines signal detection and field estimation. Aims. We introduce an estimation method that provides not only the effective or mean longitudinal magnetic field from an observed Stokes V profile but also uses the net absolute polarization of the profile to obtain an estimate of the apparent (i.e., velocity resolved) absolute longitudinal magnetic field. Methods. By combining the COG method with an orthogonal-matching-pursuit (OMP) approach, we were able to decompose observed Stokes profiles with an overcomplete dictionary of wavelet-basis functions to reliably reconstruct the observed Stokes profiles in the presence of noise. The elementary wave functions of the sparse reconstruction process were utilized to estimate the effective longitudinal magnetic field and the apparent absolute longitudinal magnetic field. A multiresolution analysis complements the OMP algorithm to provide a robust detection and estimation method. Results. An extensive Monte-Carlo simulation confirms the reliability and accuracy of the magnetic OMP approach where a mean error of under 2% is found. Its full potential is obtained for heavily noise-corrupted Stokes profiles with signal-to-noise variance ratios down to unity. In this case a conventional COG method yields a mean error for the effective longitudinal magnetic field of up to 50%, whereas the OMP method gives a maximum error of 18%. It is, moreover, shown that even in the case of very small residual noise on a level between 10 −3 and 10 −5 , a regime reached by current multiline reconstruction techniques, the conventional COG method incorrectly interprets a large portion of the residual noise as a magnetic field, with values of up to 100 G. The magnetic OMP method, on the other hand, remains largely unaffected by the noise, regardless of the noise level the maximum error is no greater than 0.7 G.


The forest floor of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) stands is typified by a thick layer of moss and organic material overlying the soil. This layer is an important source of nutrients and water for spruce and provides thermal insulation of permafrost. However, little is known about the water retention characteristics and thermal conductivity of black spruce forest floors. Near Fairbanks, Alaska, in situ thermal conductivity and water content ofa black spruce forest floor (0-0.05 m depth) were assessed during the 1992 growing season. In addition, core samples were taken for laboratory estimates of bulk density, water retention, and thermal conductivity. Bulk density was about 0.035 Mg m -3 at the 0 to 0.10-m depth and 0.050 Mg m -3 at the 0.10 to 0.20-m depth. In situ thermal conductivity of moss was generally smaller than previously estimated and ranged from 0.03 to 0.09 W m- 1 K- 1 over the growing season. Thermal conductivity varied linearly with water content at the 0 to 0.10-m depth and exponentially with water content below 0.10 m. Water retention differed within the forest floor profile, with an apparently smaller air-entry matric suction and pore size distribution index below the 0.1-m depth. This study suggests that variations in bulk density within a forest floor profile, which result from changes in organic material composition, affect both the thermal and hydrologic properties of black spruce forest floors.


Culture is the identification of a person or community's origin. It is a set of values taught since birth and implemented throughout living. The variation of culture in the global setting is vast and allows other cultures to be affected by another. Filipino culture is very rich and passed down through generations, but Filipinos find it necessary to live and work away from their homeland. This study aims to prove the cultural ramifications experienced by the Filipino diaspora through selected Filipino movies. Anak, Barcelona, Dubai, and Milan shed light on the experiences of Filipino people overseas, especially their sufferings and sacrifices. With the guidance of Rank, Freire, and Propp, cultural ramification was observed in the portrayal of the selected movies which are not far from the real experiences of the Filipino diaspora.


In virtual reality (VR), the virtual scenes are pre-designed by creators. Our physical surroundings, however, comprise significantly varied sizes, layouts, and components. To bridge the gap and further enable natural navigation, recent solutions have been proposed to redirect users or recreate the virtual content. However, they suffer from either interrupted experience or distorted appearances. We present a novel VR-oriented algorithm that automatically restructures a given virtual scene for a user's physical environment. Different from the previous methods, we introduce neither interrupted walking experience nor curved appearances. Instead, a perception-aware function optimizes our retargeting technique to preserve the fidelity of the virtual scene that appears in VR head-mounted displays. Besides geometric and topological properties, it emphasizes the unique first-person view perceptual factors in VR, such as dynamic visibility and objectwise relationships. We conduct both analytical experiments and subjective studies. The results demonstrate our system's versatile capability and practicability for natural navigation in VR: It reduces the virtual space by 40% without statistical loss of perceptual identicality.


The contractual mechanism of software development outsourcing, typically either fixed-price (FP) or time-and-materials (T&M), determines the nature of incentives, risk sharing, and coordination between client and vendor. While software engineering considers project size as crucial for project planning and success, neither economic nor organizational theory considers size per se among the determinants of contract choice. In this paper, we address the gap between the centrality of project size in the software engineering literature and the attention it receives in software contracting research by modeling and testing the association between project size and contract choice. Existing empirical evidence indicates that FP contracts are appropriate for small development efforts whereas T&M contracts are suitable for larger projects, based on the reasoning that cost and schedule are difficult to estimate in larger projects. This prediction that size is directly associated with contract choice is the basis upon which two models are developed. The first model draws on the contracting efficiency approach to hypothesize that the effect of project size on contract choice is mediated by project detail. The second model draws on the contingency approach to software development risk management to hypothesize that the effect of project size on contract choice is moderated by project detail and vendor familiarity. We test these models using a large portfolio of software development contracts entered into by a leading European bank, and the results confirm that both mediation and moderation are at play.


The paper describes the initial phase of a collaborative program in research and education in the realm of nanomaterials and nanomanufacturing between the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM) and the University of South Florida (USF). The first year of activities of a UPRM professor working on a Sabbatical leave at USF with a group of nanomaterials researchers in implementing this collaborative pilot program is illustrated. The timeline and the feasibility of the project over the next three years as well as a plan for qualitative and quantitative evaluation are formulated. Finally, the broader impact, both scientific and educational, of the collaborative venture on the community as a whole is envisioned. As a work-in-progress report some of the future work that is not presented in this short written version will be illustrated in the formal oral presentation during the FIE conference. Numerical figures will be presented after completion of the first phase in a year


Electrostatic protein/DNA interactions arise from the neutralization of the DNA phosphodiester backbone as well as coupled exchanges by charged protein residues as salt bridges or with mobile ions. Much focus has been and continues to be paid to interfacial ion pairs with DNA. The role of extra-interfacial ionic interactions, particularly as dynamic drivers of DNA sequence selectivity, remain poorly known. The ETS family of transcription factors represents an attractive model for addressing this knowledge gap given their diverse ionic composition in primary structures that fold to a tightly conserved DNA-binding motif. To probe the importance of extra-interfacial salt bridges in DNA recognition, we compared the salt-dependent binding by Elk1 with ETV6, two ETS homologs differing markedly in ionic composition. While both proteins exhibit salt-dependent binding with cognate DNA that corresponds to interfacial phosphate contacts, their nonspecific binding diverges from cognate binding as well as each other. Molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent, which generated ionic interactions in agreement with the experimental binding data, revealed distinct salt-bridge dynamics in the nonspecific complexes formed by the two proteins. Impaired DNA contact by ETV6 resulted in fewer backbone contacts in the nonspecific complex, while Elk1 exhibited a redistribution of extra-interfacial salt bridges via residues that are non-conserved between the two ETS relatives. Thus, primary structure variation in ionic residues can encode highly differentiated specificity mechanisms in a highly conserved DNA-binding motif.


Electricity in the atmosphere provides an ideal topic for educational outreach in environmental science. To support this objective, a simple instrument to measure real atmospheric electrical parameters has been developed and its performance evaluated. This project compliments educational activities undertaken by the Coupling of Atmospheric Layers (CAL) European research collaboration. The new instrument is inexpensive to construct and simple to operate, readily allowing it to be used in schools as well as at the undergraduate University level. It is suited to students at a variety of different educational levels, as the results can be analysed with different levels of sophistication. Students can make measurements of the fair weather electric field and current density, thereby gaining an understanding of the electrical nature of the atmosphere. This work was stimulated by the centenary of the 1906 paper in which C. T. R. Wilson described a new apparatus to measure the electric field and conduction current density. Measurements using instruments based on the same principles continued regularly in the UK until 1979. The instrument proposed is based on the same physical principles as C. T. R. Wilson's 1906 instrument.


The Open Access movement has reached adulthood, but not maturity: fewer than one-third of
newly-published peer-reviewed articles are available open access (OA) and progress widening OA
has stalled. Scores of uncoordinated initiatives try to achieve universal OA, but academic journal
publishing is still dominated by a handful of powerful commercial publishers. Individual authors
show little interest in OA and indeed have to be mandated (see the UK REF or Plan S) to release
their research on OA. The BitViews Project is a low-cost, no-risk, high-return initiative to turn all
academic journals «green» through a combination of blockchain technology, provision of
appropriate incentives to authors, and a new crowdfunding mechanism. The project is predicated
on the active participation of individual libraries taking direct action. The paper will provide an
interim report on the progress of the project and an account of how libraries and their various
associations (both in the global South and in the global North) have reacted to the project. The
concluding section of the paper sketches a possible direction for academic journal publishing in
the near future. Huge savings and increased efficiency can flow to the academy from finally
dissolving its current one-sided contract with publishers and from reclaiming control of the
peer-review process. Practical and incentive-based suggestions are proposed for the transition
from publisher-owned to academy-owned peer review.


Aims Assess baseline quality and efficiency of paediatric handovers using a new audit tool Improve paediatric handovers using a safety briefing and the Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) structured communication tool Re-audit the handover after implementing changes. Methods Morning handovers of paediatric ward patients from night to day teams in September then November 2013 were assessed. The following data were obtained: date, time, interruptions, usefulness of communication for prioritising and managing patients (5-point Likert scale), SBAR use and how well each SBAR component was conveyed (score 0–2 for each component, 0=not conveyed, 1=partly conveyed, 2=well conveyed). To qualify for using SBAR, all components had to be mentioned. Scoring was done by two doctors at every handover and discussed thereafter until reaching consensus. Data were recorded and analysed anonymously. Quality of communication with and without SBAR was compared using the Mann-Whitney-U test. Interventions included: leading handovers by example, interactive handover teaching sessions, introduction of a safety briefing (as in the new RCPCH Handover Assessment Tool) and incorporating SBAR into handover documentation. Results Three weekdays (n = 58 patient handovers) were assessed in September 2013. Communication with SBAR (median 4) was significantly more useful than without (median 3, p < 0.001). On re-audit of three weekdays in November 2013 (n = 86 patient handovers), safety briefing use increased from 0% to 100%, SBAR use increased from 58% to 97%, and communication quality scores increased from a median of 4 to 5 (p < 0.001). SBAR components also improved (Figures 1&2). Duration of handovers decreased from 1.07 to 0.94 min per patient, despite an increase in interruptions due to latecomers, digressions and teaching. Abstract G188 Figure 1 Baseline scores for SBAR components at morning shift handovers in September 2013. Abstract G188 Figure 2 Re-audit scores for SBAR components at morning shift handovers in November 2013. Conclusions Our new, real-time audit tool for evaluating SBAR use and quality of handovers allows targeting of areas requiring most improvement. Introducing safety briefing and SBAR improved quality and overall efficiency of communication. Areas for ongoing improvement include conveying assessment and recommendation, and reducing interruptions, for example by having a discussion slot for one interesting case at the end. Further improvement strategies include keeping handover documentation up-to-date in SBAR format, regular handover teaching sessions and maintaining our safety culture with regular multidisciplinary risk meetings.


The emergence of high frequency trading has resulted in `bursts' of orders arriving at an exchange (nearly) simultaneously, yet most electronic financial exchanges implement the continuous limit order book which requires processing of orders serially. Contrary to an assumption that appears throughout the economics literature, the technology that performs serialization provides only constrained random serial dictatorship (RSD) in the sense that not all priority orderings of agents are possible. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for fairness under different market conditions on orders for constrained RSD mechanisms. Our results show that exchanges relying on the current serialization technology cannot ensure fairness, including exchanges using `speed bumps.' We find that specific forms of constrained RSD ensure fairness under certain assumptions about the content of those orders but that the general case nevertheless requires unconstrained RSD. Our results have implications for the design of trading exchanges.


Manuscript type: Research paper.Research aim: This study aims to identify the persuasive strategiesapplied by Bangladeshi companies in disclosing poverty related corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) activities in their annual reports.Design/ Methodology/ Approach: This study applies the discourseanalysis as an approach in exploring the narratives of Bangladeshicompanies' annual reports. It specifically focuses on the three classificationsof Aristotle's rhetoric while explanations are also drawnfrom the impression management theory.Research findings: This study concludes that the disclosures of theBangladeshi companies' CSR activities are rhetorical in nature. Theanalysis suggests that these companies try to portray themselves aspro-social and helpful towards the poor.Theoretical contribution/ Originality: Rather than focusing on'what' was disclosed (which is the objective of most prior studieson CSR reporting in Bangladesh), this study highlights 'how' thedisclosure was done. This study also focuses on a particular aspectwhich is poverty related and a linguistic analysis is used to performthe analysis which is unlike previous studies.
Practitioner/ Policy implication: This study calls for the participationof regulators and stakeholders in introducing appropriate regulationsthat can ensure a 'balanced' disclosure of the companies' CSRactivities so that stakeholders are not misled.Research limitation: The main limitation of this research is thatit focuses on only one kind of impression management strategies,namely rhetorical appeals.Keywords: Bangladesh, Corporate Social Reporting, DiscourseAnalysis, Poverty, Rhetoric.JEL Classification: I3, M14


In this article we investigate how a particular vision of the future of EU defence has embedded itself into different arenas of EU politics over decades, and is currently gaining material expression in the European Defence Fund (EDF). Through an historiographic approach, we traced the development of a particular narrative on security, innovation, research, and economic growth based on fears of technology gaps and dependence on the US, and a belief in the potential of military R&D to produce civilian bene fi ts. We provide an alternative reading of the emergence of the EDF by drawing on literature within Science and Technology Studies, in particular the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries, to highlight wider socio-political dimensions of defence technologies and expand debates on EU defence.


ABSTRACT Storage condition and pathogen infection of seed can cause seed deteriorates faster. The rate of deterioration during storage could be slowed by seed invigoration, and pathogen infection could be elimited by application of natural pesticide. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of seed invigoration on seed physiological quality and health of Intani-2 hybrid rice seed during storage. All research activities were done at Laboratory of Quality Control and Plant Protection, PT. BISI International, Kediri, East Java. Split plot design was used in this experiment with 4 replications. Three seed lots of Intani-2 rice seed were used as main plot and 5 invigoration treatments were used as sub plot. Seed lot 1, 2 and 3 were harvested on 30 June 2012, 29 September 2012, and 2 November 2012, respectively. Invigoration treatments consisted of untreated, priming with ascorbic acid 40 ppm, osmoconditioning with KNO3 2%, osmoconditioning with PEG -0.2 MPa, and hydropriming. All invigoration treatments were added with clove oil 0.3%. Osmoconditioning with KNO3 2% + clove oil 0.3% was effective to maintain vigour index of seed lots 2 and 3 for up to 3 months storage. All seed invigoration treatments increased speed of germination before storage. Priming with ascorbic acid 40 ppm + clove oil 0.3% and osmoconditioning with PEG -0.2 MPa + clove oil 0.3% were effective to reduce the growth of Xanthomonas sp. on rice seeds monitored at 0, 2, and 3 months after storage. Keywords: ascorbic acid, clove oil, KNO3, osmoconditioning, PEG


This paper is part of a collection that identifies research priorities that will help guide the efforts of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as it regulates tobacco products. This paper examines the major provisions related to tobacco product advertising, marketing, sales, and distribution included in Public Law 111-31, the "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act". This paper covers 5 areas related to (a) marketing regulations (e.g., ban on color and imagery in ads, ban on nontobacco gifts with purchase); (b) granting FDA authority over the sale, distribution, accessibility, advertising, and promotion of tobacco and lifting state preemption over advertising; (c) remote tobacco sales (mail order and Internet); (d) prevention of illicit and cross-border trade; and (e) noncompliant export products. Each of the 5 sections of this paper provides a description and brief history of regulation, what is known about this regulatory strategy, and research opportunities.


Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) plays a key role in cell adaptation to low oxygen and stabilization of HIF-1 is vital to ensure cell survival under hypoxia. Diabetes has been associated with impairment of the cell response to hypoxia and downregulation of HIF-1 is most likely the event that transduces hyperglycemia into increased cell death in diabetes-associated hypoxia. In this study, we aimed at identifying the molecular mechanism implicated in destabilization of HIF-1 by high glucose. In this work, we identified a new molecular mechanism whereby methylglyoxal (MGO), which accumulates in high-glucose conditions, led to a rapid proteasome-dependent degradation of HIF-1α under hypoxia. Significantly, MGO-induced degradation of HIF-1α did not require the recruitment of the ubiquitin ligase pVHL nor did it require hydroxylation of the proline residues P402/P564 of HIF-1α. Moreover, we identified CHIP (Carboxy terminus of Hsp70-Interacting Protein) as the E3 ligase that ubiquitinated HIF-1α in the presence of MGO. Consistently, silencing of endogenous CHIP and overexpression of glyoxalase I both stabilized HIF-1α under hypoxia in the presence of MGO. Data shows that increased association of Hsp40/70 with HIF-1α led to recruitment of CHIP, which promoted polyubiquitination and degradation of HIF-1α. Moreover, MGO-induced destabilization of HIF-1α led to a dramatic decrease in HIF-1 transcriptional activity. Altogether, data is consistent with a new pathway for degradation of HIF-1α in response to intracellular accumulation of MGO. Moreover, we suggest that accumulation of MGO is likely to be the link between high glucose and the loss of cell response to hypoxia in diabetes.


GaSb 1 µm-thick layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (0 0 1). The effects of the growth conditions on the crystalline quality, surface morphology, electrical properties and optical properties were studied by double crystalline x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, Hall measurement and photoluminescence spectroscopy, respectively. It was found that the surface roughness and hole mobility are highly dependent on the antimony-to-gallium flux ratios and growth temperatures. The crystalline quality, electrical properties and optical properties of GaSb layers were also studied as functions of growth rate, and it was found that a suitably low growth rate is beneficial for the crystalline quality and electrical and optical properties. Better crystal quality GaSb layers with a minimum root mean square surface roughness of 0.1 nm and good optical properties were obtained at a growth rate of 0.25 µm h−1.


This paper studies the problem of the minimum mean squared error estimator for non-parametric nonlinear system identification. It is shown that for a wide class of nonlinear systems, the local linear estimator is a linear (in outputs) asymptotic minimum mean squared error estimator. The class of the systems allowed is characterized by a stability condition that is related to many well studied stability notions in the literature. Numerical simulations support the analytical analysis.


We propose a new approach to communication between agents that perform inductive inference. Previous systems have used methods based on voting strategies or theory refinement to integrate multiple learned models. Our approach uses version spaces as a medium for the inter-agent communication of inductive inferences. This allows multiple models to be integrated using the principle of set intersection. This approach preserves the logical soundness of the distributed knowledge-base. This is because a version space contains the deductive closure of an inductive inference.


ABSTRACT Circumvention of the host innate immune response is critical for bacterial pathogens to infect and cause disease. Here we demonstrate that the group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes) protease SpyCEP (S. pyogenes cell envelope protease) cleaves granulocyte chemotactic protein 2 (GCP-2) and growth-related oncogene alpha (GROα), two potent chemokines made abundantly in human tonsils. Cleavage of GCP-2 and GROα by SpyCEP abrogated their abilities to prime neutrophils for activation, detrimentally altering the innate immune response. SpyCEP expression is negatively regulated by the signal transduction system CovR/S. Purified recombinant CovR bound the spyCEP gene promoter region in vitro, indicating direct regulation. Immunoreactive SpyCEP protein was present in the culture supernatants of covR/S mutant GAS strains but not in supernatants from wild-type strains. However, wild-type GAS strains do express SpyCEP, where it is localized to the cell wall. Strain MGAS2221, an organism representative of the highly virulent and globally disseminated M1T1 GAS clone, differed significantly from its isogenic spyCEP mutant derivative strain in a mouse soft tissue infection model. Interestingly, and in contrast to previous studies, the isogenic mutant strain generated lesions of larger size than those formed following infection with the parent strain. The data indicate that SpyCEP contributes to GAS virulence in a strain- and disease-dependent manner.


We report that hematopoietic progenitor cells expressing the CD34 antigen (CD34+ cells) transiently circulate in the peripheral blood (PB) of cancer patients treated with 7 g/m2 cyclophosphamide (HD-CTX) with or without recombinant human granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (rHuGM-CSF). In adult humans, CD34+ cells represent a minor fraction (1% to 4%) of bone marrow (BM) cells, comprising virtually all hematopoietic colony-forming progenitors in vitro and probably also stem cells capable of restoring hematopoiesis of lethally irradiated hosts. We show that CD34+ cell circulation is fivefold enhanced by rHuGM-CSF 5.5 protein micrograms/kg/day by continuous intravenous infusion for 14 days after HD-CTX. During the third week after HD-CTX (ie, when CD34+ cells peak in the circulation), large-scale collection of PB leukocytes by three to four continuous-flow leukaphereses allows the yield of 2.19 to 2.73 x 10(9) or 0.45 to 0.56 x 10(9) CD34+ cells depending on whether or not patients receive rHuGM-CSF. The number of CD34+ cells retrieved from the circulation by leukaphereses exceeds the number that can be harvested by multiple BM aspirations under general anesthesia. Thus, after therapy with HD-CTX and rHuGM-CSF, PB represents a rich source of hematopoietic progenitors possibly usable for restoring hematopoiesis after myeloablative chemoradiotherapy. To determine whether CD34+ cells found in the PB are equivalent to their marrow counterpart, we evaluated their in vitro growth characteristics and immunological phenotype by colony assays and dual-color immunofluorescence, respectively. We show that PB CD34+ cells possess qualitatively normal hematopoietic colony growth and high cloning efficiency comparable to that observed with BM CD34+ cells. In addition, PB CD34+ cells display heterogeneous surface membrane differentiation antigens analogous to BM CD34+ cells. The availability of large quantities of CD34+ cells by leukapheresis is relevant to the field of stem cell transplantation and possibly to genetic manipulations of the hematopoietic system in humans.


This article originally appeared in the August 2010 White Collar Defense & Investigations Committee Newsletter. On April 7, 2010, the United States Sentencing Commission approved significant changes to Chapter 8 of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which applies to organizations convicted of criminal offenses. In particular, these amendments affect the requirements for establishing an "effective compliance program"--a means of mitigating institutional punishment in the wake of criminal conduct. Barring rejection or changes from Congress, the amendments take effect automatically on November 1, 2010. One important change expands an organization's eligibility for a reduced sentence if it has an effective compliance and ethics program in place at the time an offense occurs. Additional amendments clarify what constitutes an appropriate response to criminal conduct as part of an effective compliance program. And, notably, the Commission rejected controversial proposals regarding independent monitors and document retention policies that some had argued would prevent flexibility in tailoring context-appropriate compliance programs and responses. On balance, the amendments reflect a give-and-take approach designed to encourage better internal and external reporting of suspected criminal conduct as a means of detecting and deterring crime, especially at the executive level. Understanding the new Guidelines is critical not only for corporations facing criminal prosecution, but also for those seeking to avoid it. The United States Attorney considers the existence and effectiveness of compliance programs in determining whether to file charges, and the new amendments reflect the importance of independent and autonomous compliance officers to federal prosecutors and government agencies. Indeed, as Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler recently emphasized, "[t]hese amendments reinforce the point that having a robust compliance program is critical not only to preventing misconduct in the first place, but also [to] how your organization will be treated in the event criminal conduct does take place." Additionally, effective compliance and ethics programs may reduce exposure to liability if civil litigation occurs. Corporations should therefore reassess their compliance programs in light of the new Guidelines to improve both their ability to comply with the law and, in the event of a violation, respond efficiently and effectively with appropriate, remedial measures. The Importance of an Effective Compliance and Ethics Program Implementing an effective compliance and ethics program is essential to an organization's ability to self-monitor and, if appropriate, report discovered violations to government authorities. It also is the starting point for assessing eligibility for a reduced sentence under the Guidelines, and the amendments offer important insights into how to maximize the practical and legal benefits of this organizational risk-management tool. Enhanced Autonomy for Compliance Personnel The proposed Guidelines amendments expand the availability of sentencing benefits for organizations that ensure the autonomy of compliance personnel. Under the previous Guidelines, convicted organizations could receive a reduced sentence for having an effective compliance and ethics program in place at the time of the offense, but only if no "high-level personnel" were involved in, or willfully ignorant of, the crime. This per se disqualification rule proved fatal to many corporations, as the term "high-level personnel" was defined broadly by the Guidelines and applied broadly in practice. The amendments eliminate this automatic disqualification based on the offender's organizational rank, focusing instead on the structural independence of compliance personnel, among other factors. To be eligible for the newly expanded credit for an effective compliance and ethics program, convicted organizations must satisfy four criteria, the first of which is a direct communication channel between compliance personnel and the organization's governing authority (e. …


There are many application areas of optical directional couplers, which are among the elements of optical ciruits, such as power distribution, optical switching, wavelength filtering, and polarization selection. In this study, applicability of Pattern Search Optimization (PSO), which is a simple and fast optimization method, to optical directional couplers, which have complex modal analysis results, is shown. It is observed that the results of Pattern Search Optimization (PSO), which is preferred because of its ease of implementation and fast convergence ability, are in coherence with analytical findings. It is ascertained that PSO and other evolutionary algorithms, because of their sophisticated formulations, are suitable for the optimization of many complex optical circuit elements.


Optimal weight extraction of beamforming algorithms based on systolic structures have been the subject of various researches since the well-known article presented by Gentleman and Kung (1981) on recursive least squares systolic arrays. Systolic algorithms are parallel and fully pipelined structures, this feature improves the performance of the beamforming algorithms and the system. SystemC is a system design language, which was lately accepted by the IEEE as a standard. SystemC has the advantage of designing both the hardware and the software components together so that the design and simulation process of large systems become easier. This work is based on the simulation of the minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer, proposed by Tang, Liu, and Tretter (1994), in SystemC environment and evaluate its performance


Introduction Protective pulmonary mechanical ventilation, higher positive end-expiratory pressure, neuromuscular blockade, prone positioning, and pulmonary recruitment procedures are all strategies in severe COVID-19 cases. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) can be seen as an alternative to traditional treatment in certain patients when conventional therapy fails. We present a study that intends to systematically review and meta-analysis ECMO use in COVID-19 patients. Methods We search major medical databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, MedRxiv) for clinical trials that were released between January 2020 until February 2021, had full-text availability, were written in English, and humans studies. We used National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) quality evaluation methods for retrospective cohort and cross-sectional studies to evaluate the quality of the articles. In addition, we used the Mantel–Haenszel random-effects meta-analysis of using RevMan 5.4. Results A total of 33 studies involving 3090 patients were included in the systematic review and six studies in the meta-analysis. There were 828 patients admitted to the ICU, of which 779 patients had ARDS (94%). Of the total study, 527 patients received ECMO therapy (17%). ARDS incidence was associated with complications during ICU care compared to non-ICU care (OR 107.98; 95% CI 55.51–210.03; p < 0.00001). Indirect comparisons, the incidence of mortality was associated with ECMO compared with non-ECMO (OR 15.79; 95% CI 4.21–59.28; p < 0.0001). Conclusion The incidence of ARDS was associated with complications during ICU stay, and the incidence of mortality was associated with ECMO. Further study about mechanisms involving illness and death of patients from COVID-19 is needed.


OBJECTIVES
To characterize interactions that female sex workers (FSWs) have with the police and explore associations with client-perpetrated violence.

METHODS
Baseline data were collected April 2016 to January 2017 from 250 FSWs from the Sex Workers and Police Promoting Health in Risky Environments (SAPPHIRE) study based in Baltimore, Maryland. Interviewer-administered questionnaires captured different patrol or enforcement and abusive police encounters, experiences of client-perpetrated violence, and other risk factors, including drug use. We conducted bivariate and multivariable analysis in Stata/SE version 14.2 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX).

RESULTS
Of participants, 78% reported lifetime abusive police encounters, 41% reported daily or weekly encounters of any type. In the previous 3 months, 22% experienced client-perpetrated violence. Heroin users (70% of participants) reported more abusive encounters (2.5 vs 1.6; P < .001) and more client-perpetrated violence (26% vs 12%; P = .02) than others. In multivariable analysis, each additional type of abusive interaction was associated with 1.3 times (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1, 1.5) increased odds of client-perpetrated violence. For patrol or enforcement encounters, this value was 1.3 (95% CI = 1.0, 1.7).

CONCLUSIONS
Frequent exposures to abusive police practices appear to contribute to an environment where client-perpetrated violence is regularly experienced. For FSWs who inject drugs, police exposure and client-perpetrated violence appear amplified. Public Health Implications. Structural interventions that address police-FSW interactions will help alleviate police's negative impact on FSWs' work environment.


The Robotics Program at Oregon State University has beenrunning an NSF-funded summer Research Experiences forUndergraduates (REU) site since 2014. Over twenty studentsper year (on average) have participated in the site, spendingten weeks embedded in the OSU Robotics Program. Our mainfocus with this REU Site is to give the participants a com-plete research experience, from problem definition to the fi-nal presentation of results, "in miniature". Our secondary ed-ucational objectives are: 1) Teach basic non-technical skillsneeded for graduate work, such as time management and lit-erature review, 2) Provide details on how to apply to gradu-ate school and for funding, 3) Clarify what we look for in agraduate student, and 4) Detail what to expect from the grad-uate student experience. In this paper, we describe the over-all structure of the participants' summer experience, outlinesome of the training materials that we use, describe the moti-vations for our approach, and discuss the lessons that we havelearned after running the program for a number of years.


A major challenge in nanotechnology is that of determining how to introduce green principles when assembling individual nanoscale elements to create multifunctional working devices. This dissertation focuses on fundamentals (Part A), scaling-up (Part B) and application (Part C) of nanoparticles with sub-10 nm in size produced by ambient spark ablation, which is a scalable and environmentally benign process, providing great versatility in producing inorganic nanoparticles consisting of a wide variety of conducting or semiconducting materials with virtually unlimited mixing possibilities. In Part A, a new 'singlet' concept has been introduced, which rules out the pseudo-paradigm: continuous gas-phase synthesis of nanoparticles is associated with rapid agglomeration. Subsequently, a general approach has been developed to describe the size distributions of singlet particles as a function of the process conditions. In Part B, a newly developed high-frequency spark yields a series of monometallic and bimetallic nanoparticles, sub-10 nm (primary) particles and well-defined chemical composition, providing a green and versatile platform for manufacturing key building blocks toward industrial scale. To improve the uniformity of nanoparticles, inhibition of 'splashing' particles (larger than 100 nm) has been successfully achieved by using an external magnetic field within the inter-electrode gap. The resulting Lorenz force deflects the continuous glowing current, onto which sparks are superimposed, thereby avoiding the sparks to strike the same point of electrode surface. To explore internal nanoparticle mixing, a model developed here links the composition of nanoparticles to spark oscillations. In Part C, by integrating gas-phase nanoparticle syntheses into textile nanofinishing, a number of constraints encountered in traditional wet-finishing processes, can be circumvented while creating a new class of fabrics. As proof of this concept, Ag nanoparticles are deposited onto a range of textiles, imparting high antimicrobial activities and exhibiting good washing durability. Accounting for the green, scalability and versatility of the technique used here as well as its compatibility with the existing fabrication processes, the generated nanoparticles bear a great potential for creating multifunctional working devices.


The effects of rainfall on rainfall Soil moisture, which is controlled in part by past rainfall, can affect the probability of future rainfall over large areas. This is because the water contained in soils helps determine how sunlight is converted into latent heat (evaporation) and sensible heat (which increases overlying air temperatures). Tuttle and Salvucci used data collected for the contiguous United States over 10 years to study this relationship. The feedback between soil moisture and rainfall is generally positive in the western United States but negative in the east. This regional dependence could be a function of large-scale differences in aridity. Science, this issue p. 825 Past rainfall can affect the probability of future rainfall over large areas. Soil moisture influences fluxes of heat and moisture originating at the land surface, thus altering atmospheric humidity and temperature profiles. However, empirical and modeling studies disagree on how this affects the propensity for precipitation, mainly owing to the difficulty in establishing causality. We use Granger causality to estimate the relationship between soil moisture and occurrence of subsequent precipitation over the contiguous United States using remotely sensed soil moisture and gauge-based precipitation observations. After removing potential confounding effects of daily persistence, and seasonal and interannual variability in precipitation, we find that soil moisture anomalies significantly influence rainfall probabilities over 38% of the area with a median factor of 13%. The feedback is generally positive in the west and negative in the east, suggesting dependence on regional aridity.


CATS is a collaborative European project promoting driverless vehicles that ended in December 2014. This contribution explains how the project evolved, including the handling of unexpected events and concentrating on lessons learned. The constructor and vehicle had to be changed for economic reasons in the middle of the project timeline. A second constructor went bankrupt, although access to his vehicles could be secured. For security and legal reasons, part of the final demonstration was relocated at short notice to the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, where around 1600 people were transported during 16 days of vehicle operation. Reactions to the driverless vehicle concept were overwhelmingly positive. Implications for the acceptability of driverless vehicles in Europe and elsewhere are discussed.


In this study, wear properties of FeW-B 4 C coatings produced by tungsten inert gas (TIG) process on the AISI 1060 steel were investigated. TIG process was selected because it is a cost-effective approach for melting-based coatings. The treated surfaces were evaluated and characterized by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis, and electron dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The microhardness and wear experiment were also performed by using a microhardness machine and ball-on-disk tribometer. SEM observations showed that the obtained coating had a smooth and uniform surface. According to XRD analysis, borides and carbides phases formed in the coatings. The wear behavior of the coatings was compared with ball-on-disc configuration wear tests, at the same conditions. Average coefficient of friction values of the coatings were obtained at relatively low levels.


Multidrug resistance (mdr) can be defined broadly as the ability of a cell to survive ordinarily lethal doses of more than one drug. Clearly, such resistance is a critical problem in the treatment of fungal and bacterial infections and cancer. Four general, but nonexclusive, mechanisms give rise to multidrug resistance: 1) detoxification by enzymatic modification or cleavage of drug; 2) genetic alteration of the intraor extracellular targets; 3) decreased permeability of the cell membrane; and 4) active drug extrusion by multidrug transporters. Paramount to our understanding of mdr is the issue of recognition of structurally dissimilar substrates and how drug binding effects function. In bacteria many multidrug transporters are regulated directly (locally) by transcription factors, which also bind the substrates of these transporters, i.e. the drug can act as a transcriptional coactivator or inducer. Multiple mdr transporter genes are also regulated globally by activators such as MarA that do not necessarily bind drugs (1). The regulators are of keen interest because they are more amenable to structural studies than the membrane-bound transporters and thus offer a greater chance to obtain high resolution views of multidrug binding. Moreover, the local gene regulators are equally interesting as their DNA complexes directly reveal the mechanism of mdr transporter gene regulation. This minireview will summarize the structures of known bacterial mdr regulators. Because our focus is more structural the reader is referred to one of several recent reviews that discuss the more biological aspects of global and local mdr regulation (2–5).


Reinforcing the small water cycle is considered to be a holistic approach to both water resource and landscape management. In an agricultural landscape, this can be accomplished by incorporating agricultural conservation practices; their incorporation can reduce surface runoff, increase infiltration, and increase the water holding capacity of a soil. Some typical agricultural conservation practices include: conservation tillage, contour farming, residue incorporation, and reducing field sizes; these efforts aim to keep both water and soil in the landscape. The incorporation of such practices has been extensively studied over the last 40 years. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to model two basins in the Czech Republic (one at the farm-scale and a second at the management-scale) to determine the effects of agriculture conservation practice adoption at each scale. We found that at the farm-scale, contour farming was the most effective practice at reinforcing the small water cycle, followed by residue incorporation. At the management-scale, we found that the widespread incorporation of agricultural conservation practices significantly reinforced the small water cycle, but the relative scale and spatial distribution of their incorporation were not reflected in the SWAT scenario analysis. Individual farmers should be incentivized to adopt agricultural conservation practices, as these practices can have great effects at the farm-scale. At the management-scale, the spatial distribution of agricultural conservation practice adoption was not significant in this study, implying that managers should incentivize any adoption of such practices and that the small water cycle would be reinforced regardless.


A new type of wireline-powered debris removal system that efficiently captures and retains a wide variety of wellbore debris types is presented. The system's unique benefits and performance are demonstrated through modeling and testing in controlled conditions.
 Wireline-powered debris removal technology uses localized fluid circulation generated downhole to vacuum debris into bailers for capture. Challenges with conventional systems are related to the ability to continuously mobilize and separate a variety of debris including fine particulates and cohesive debris-binder mixtures. The new wireline debris removal system improves on previous technology by addressing the specific challenges of each of the debris types. This performance improvement is enabled by using a progressing cavity pump (PCP) to create powerful bidirectional suction pressure and a staged bailer configuration with parallel flow filters for maximum fill efficiency.
 Pump performance is compared analytically for a centrifugal pump and a PCP to demonstrate the benefits of the PCP for debris collection applications. These benefits include reverse pumping ability for unsticking the toolstring when operating in debris-filled wellbores. This pump analysis defines a suction pressure budget, which is used to analyze the performance and capabilities of the staged bailer system. The pressure losses and debris accumulation profile of the new top-fed parallel flow filter bailers is determined by using fluid dynamics models. Results of an extensive testing campaign are presented to validate model results. Actual collection performance is presented for a wide variety of debris types using the new debris removal system.
 The new wireline debris removal system's use of a PCP to generate the necessary vacuum and provide bidirectional capabilities for operational flexibility in combination with maximum debris recovery provided by staged bailers with parallel flow filters will bring new efficiencies and reliability to intervention operations.


In this work we present a critical assessment of some problems and open questions on the debated notion of modularity. Modularity is greatly in fashion nowadays, being often proposed as the new approach to complex artefact production that enables to combine fast innovation pace, enhanced product variety and reduced need for co-ordination. In line with recent critical assessments of the managerial literature on modularity, we sustain that modularity is only one among several arrangements to cope with the complexity inherent in most high-technology artefact production, and by no means the best one. We first discuss relations between modularity and the broader (and much older within economics) notion of division of labour. Then we sustain that a modular approach to labour division aimed at eliminating technological interdependencies between components or phases of a complex production process may have, as a by-product, the creation of other types of interdependencies which may subsequently result in inefficiencies of various types. Hence, the choice of a modular design strategy implies the resolution of various tradeoffs. Depending on how such tradeoffs are solved, different organisational arrangements may be created to cope with 'residual' interdependencies. Hence, there is no need to postulate a perfect isomorphism, as some recent literature has proposed, between modularity at the product level and modularity at the organisational level.


One of the commonly used chemotherapy drugs is cyclophosphamide. However, the use of cyclophosphamide can provide various toxic effects. The most common toxic effect of cyclophosphamide is bone marrow suppression with anemia as one of its markers. The antioxidant content of cainito leaf potentially increase the production of blood cells, especially erythrocytes. The aims of this study is determining the effectiveness of the cainito leaf ethanol extract against cyclophosphamide induced mouse erythrocyte count in vivo. A sample of 20 male wistar rats was divided into five groups; normal group, negative control group, and three groups of ethanol extract of cainito leaf with dose 100 mg/kgBW, 200 mg/kgBW, and 400 mg/kgBW were administered for one week followed by intraperitoneal cyclophosphamide with dose 50 mg/kgBW as much as one time. One Way Anova Test result showed a significance of 0.015 (p<0.05). However, the LSD test results showed no significant different results between the negative control group and the treatment group. The conclusion was that there was no difference in the amount of erythrocytes in mice given only cyclophosphamide with previous rats given cainito extract.


Grain legumes are very important in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (1GP)
countries for their contribution to human and animal nutrition, as
components of indigenous cropping systems, and as restorers of soil
fertility. Yields of grain legumes have remained low due to several
production constraints. There is a undening gap between the growing
demand and production of grain legumes in the IGP. Rice and wheat
production has increased significantly over the previous decades but the
area and production of grain legumes has gradually declined. Various
abiotic, biotic, and socioeconomic constraints can explain the poor
performance of these legumes, relative to that of major cereals and cash
crops. Previous research on improving grain legumes production in the
IGP has been relatively limited and lacking in focus. Efforts to develop,
assemble, and evaluate improved production technologies have only been
recent. Previous research concentrated mainly on varietal improvement.
Factors such as inherently limited yield potential, susceptibility to
various pests and diseases, and sensitivity to edaphic and microclimatic
changes contribute to large variations in the output of grain legumes from
year to year. The problem is therefore highly complex, making it difficult
to halt the declining trend of grain legumes (in terms of area and
production) unless improved cultural practices ensuring sustainable high
yields are developed together with promising cropping patterns. It is
concluded that substantial increases in the production of grain legumes in
the IGP can be achieved by fine tuning management aspects and thereby
increasing total system productivity and sustainability.


An accurate and efficient numerical approximation of the multivariate normal (MVN) distribution function is necessary for obtaining maximum likelihood estimates for models involving the MVN distribution. Numerical integration through simulation (Monte Carlo) or number-theoretic (quasi-Monte Carlo) techniques is one way to accomplish this task. One popular simulation technique is the Geweke–Hajivassiliou–Keane MVN simulator. This paper reviews this technique and introduces a Mata function that implements it. It also computes analytical first-order derivatives of the simulated probability with respect to the variables and the variance–covariance parameters.


Abstract Context. Long-term studies of large, vertebrate mammals using capture–recapture data are scarce, even though long-term ecological studies are requisite to understanding quantitative genetics and evolutionary processes that can be applied as part of management programs. Aims. Objectives were to (1) partition components of variation in body mass to understand the differential effects of environmental variation on the sexes during ontogeny, to better prescribe habitat-improvement projects, and (2) estimate repeatability to assess potential for selection on body mass. Methods. We used a 23-year dataset (1983–2005) of capture–recapture records of wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to estimate components of variance and repeatability of body mass. We used an animal-model approach that employed the use of general linear mixed models and restricted maximum likelihood to adjust for the effects of age (i.e. fixed effect), and to partition the total phenotypic variance into among-individual (i.e. the deer), permanent environmental (i.e. year of birth) and temporary environmental (i.e. year of measurement and residual) effects (all modelled as random effects). Key results. We found that body mass increased with age in both sexes, repeatability of body mass was 0.595 for females and 0.716 for males, and among-individual variation was more influential on body mass than were permanent and temporary environmental effects combined. Year of birth was more important in males than females, but changed during the course of ontogeny for both sexes. Year of measurement did not influence post-rut body mass in males, but did contribute to variation in body mass of females. Conclusions. These long-term data offer insights into the sources of variation that influence body mass of deer, which can be used to understand how environmental sources of variation influence phenotypic traits, and for developing management plans and making selection decisions. Implications. Knowledge of repeatability (as an upper limit to heritability) can be used to make management decisions related to selection, culling and breeding, whereas understanding environmental effects can lead to better management recommendations (e.g. habitat-improvement projects).


Cooling is needed to protect vulnerable populations from heatwaves, keep vaccines viable and food fresh, and workforces productive. It is essential for equity and development, especially as climate change raises global temperatures.

There are an estimated 3.6 billion cooling appliances in use globally today, and that number is growing by up to 10 devices every second. This growth is set to increase the sector's greenhouse gas emissions dramatically.

Air conditioners are a double burden. In most cases, they use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), extremely potent greenhouse gases, and require significant energy to run. Without policy intervention, direct and indirect emissions from air conditioning and refrigeration are projected to rise 90 per cent above 2017 levels by the year 2050.

This report lays out ways to resolve this dilemma by delivering efficient and climate friendly cooling for all – in particular by rapidly phasing down hydrofluorocarbons in the cooling sector and delivering cooling more efficiently through more efficient equipment and more efficient buildings.


This paper is intended to analyze the interrelationship between the textual comment and the itemized rating in consumers' online feedback, and to study differentiations among diversified segments of consumers who leave the feedback. The data were collected from both an international top tourism service website which operates hotel booking services internationally and offers online hotel reputation feedback services, and its China host website. Based on the coded comments and itemized ratings from the dataset, our study shows that different customer segments demonstrate varied interrelationship behavioral patterns, and factors like satisfaction and contextual backgrounds will matter. The findings from this research may help hotels to develop varied marketing strategies for different segment of customers, and help online reputation sites to improve their services by distinguishing dissimilar behavioral patterns in different customer segments.


Over the last few decades, we have seen massive improvements in computing power, but nevertheless we still rely on digital documents and file systems that were originally created by mimicking the characteristics of physical storage media with all its limitations. This is quite surprising given that even before the existence of the computer, Information Science visionaries such as Vannevar Bush described more powerful information management solutions. We therefore aim to improve the way information is managed in modern desktop environments by embedding a hypermedia engine offering rich hypermedia and cross-media concepts at the level of an operating system. We discuss the resource-selector-link (RSL) hypermedia metamodel as a candidate for realising such a general hypermedia engine and highlight its flexibility based on a number of domain-specific applications that have been developed over the last two decades. The underlying content repository will no longer rely on monolithic files, but rather contain a user's data in the form of content fragments, such as snippets of text or images, which are structurally linked to form the corresponding documents, and can be reused in other documents or even shared across computers. By increasing the scope to a system-wide hypermedia engine, we have to deal with fundamental challenges related to granularity, interoperability or context resolving. We strongly believe that computing technology has evolved enough to revisit and address these challenges, laying the foundation for a wide range of innovative use cases for efficiently managing cross-media content in modern desktop environments.


Here, we report the synthesis of polyethyleneimine (PEI) cryogels for the first time via cryopolymerization technique. The crosslinking of amine groups on the branched PEI chains is accomplished with epoxy groups of glycerol diglycidyl ether (GDE) based on epoxy–amine reactions in excess water at −18 °C in about 16 h. Superporous PEI cryogels with pore sizes >100 μm were shown to have very fast equilibrium swelling behavior, e.g., 10 s to reach maximum swelling in DI water. Furthermore, the synthesized PEI cryogels were exposed to anion exchange reaction after protonation by HCl treatments to generate PEI ionic liquid cryogels containing hexafluorophosphate, thiocyanate, dicyanamide, and tetrafluoroborate. It was also demonstrated that PEI cryogels modified with [PF6]− absorbed 47.8 ± 5.7 mg/g of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Moreover, PEI cryogels were shown to be very useful as simple filtration filling materials for the direct removal of organic dyes such as methyl orange (MO) and eosin Y (EY) from their corresponding aqueous solutions with 98.5 and 98.6% yields, respectively. The separation of methylene blue (MB) from MO and EY mixture by using PEI cryogels as column filler materials was also demonstrated. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43478.


We previously reported that the thermosensitivity of tumor cells can be increased when the intracellular pH is lowered by inhibiting Na+/H+ exchange through the plasma membrane with amiloride (3,5-diamino-6-chloro-N-(diamino methylene)pyrazinecarboxamide) or its analogues and HCO3-/Cl-exchange with 4,4-diiothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid. In this study, we investigated the effects of (3-amino-6-chloro-5- (1-homopiperidyl)-N-(diaminomethylene)pyrazine-carboxamide) (HMA), an analogue of amiloride and a potent inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchange, and R(+)-[(5,6-dichloro-2,3,9,9a-tetrahydro-3-oxo-9a-propyl-1H-fluoren -7- yl)oxy]acetic acid [B-3(+)], a potent inhibitor of HCO3-/Cl- exchange, on the thermosensitivity of SCK tumor cells in vitro. We observed that 10 microM of HMA could effectively increase the cell death by heating at 43 degrees in pH 6.6 medium but not in pH 7.5 medium. The B-3(+) at 50 microM alone had no effect on the thermosensitivity of cells, but it increased the thermosensitizing effect of HMA in acidic medium. Our results strongly suggested that a combination of HMA and B-3(+) may preferentially thermosensitize tumors in vivo since the interstitial environment in tumors is acidic relative to that in normal tissues.


In this paper, algorithms and architectures for the evaluation of trigonometric functions in the Logarithmic Number System (LNS) are described. A novel algorithm for the computation of the LNS cosine, based on the subtraction function, is presented and extended to compute all trigonometric functions. The proposed algorithms show a major advantage over other methods in terms of memory requirements (up to 94% improvement as opposed to direct polynomial approximation) and computational speed. A hardware implementation of an elementary LNS trigonometric processor with 12-bit accuracy is also presented, to illustrate the feasibility of extending the LNS processors to include trigonometric functions.


The risk for preeclampsia (PE) is increased 4-fold in women with type 1 diabetes (T1D), in whom we previously demonstrated that elevated cholesterol-rich lipoproteins confer risk at the 1st trimester. Sphingolipids, including ceramides (Cer) and glycosphingolipids (hexosyl- (HexCer) and lactosyl-ceramides (LacCer)), are lipoprotein constituents that regulate cell signaling. We propose that these bio-active lipids could be modulators of PE risk. In a prospective T1D pregnancy cohort (studied at 12, 22, 32 weeks' gestation), we used liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry to determine plasma levels of 12 species of Cer, HexCer, and LacCer in 23 women with T1DM who did vs. 24 who did not develop PE, and in 19 normotensive nondiabetic pregnant women. All were free of microalbuminuria and hypertension at enrolment; all visits preceded clinical PE onset. Results: Plasma levels of C22-Cer (1st and 3rd study visits); C26:1-Cer (1st and 2nd visits); C26-Cer (1st visit); C18-Cer and C18:1-Cer (2nd visit) were significantly higher in women with T1DM who did vs. did not develop PE. C22-Cer and C26-Cer were significantly lower in T1DM vs. non-T1DM (1st visit). There were no overall PE- or diabetes-related differences in any HexCer- or LacCer species. Longitudinally, most Cer and HexCer species increased throughout pregnancy in all groups (except C14- and C18-Cer; and C14 and C26-HexCer). C16-LacCer increased, while C22:1-, C26-, and C26:1-LacCer decreased as pregnancy advanced, independent of PE status. Independent of LDL-C, total Cer increased throughout pregnancy in all groups. Conclusions: Maternal Cer species may serve as early biomarkers for PE in women with T1DM. T1DM was associated with lower levels of two Cer species. Like cholesterol-rich lipoproteins, Cer, HexCer and some LacCer species increase as pregnancy advances in all groups, but other LacCer species decrease: the significance of these findings requires further study. Disclosure C.B. Kelly: None. S.M. Hammad: None. R.L. Klein: None. M.F. Lopes-Virella: None. M.J. Leyva: None. J. Yu: None. A.J. Jenkins: Advisory Panel; Self; Abbott, Australian Diabetes Society, Medtronic. Research Support; Self; Abbott, GlySens Incorporated, Medtronic, Mylan. Speaker9s Bureau; Self; Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk Inc. A.J. Nankervis: None. K.F. Hanssen: None. S.K. Garg: Advisory Panel; Self; Eli Lilly and Company, Roche Pharma, Sanofi-Aventis, Zealand Pharma A/S. Research Support; Self; Eli Lilly and Company, WebMD. J.A. Scardo: None. C.E. Aston: None. T. Lyons: None. Funding JDRF; Novo Nordisk; National Institutes of Health