A low-voltage TiO2 capacitor-varistor ceramics doped with Ta2O5 and Nd2O3 was systematically researched. The effect of Nd2O3 on the microstructure, nonlinear electrical properties, and dielectric properties of TiO2-based ceramics was investigated. It was found that an optimal doping composition of 99.20 mol% TiO2-0.10 mol%Ta2O5-0.7 mol% Nd2O3 was obtained with low breakdown voltage of 8.5 v/mm, high nonlinear constant of 4.0, ultrahigh electrical permittivity of 1.07× 105 and low tanδ of 0.39. In view of these electrical characteristics, the ceramics of 99.20 mol% TiO2-0.10 mol%Ta2O5-0.7 mol% Nd2O3 is a viable candidate for capacitor-varistor functional devices. The theory of defects in the crystal lattice was introduced to explain the nonlinear electrical behavior of the Nd2O3-doped TiO2-based varistor ceramics.


Abstract This study utilizes a sociocultural approach to explore how pre-service elementary teachers' experiences in both outdoor and formal school settings have contributed to their intentions for taking their students outdoors and perceived obstacles to doing so. The participants were pre-service elementary teachers (N = 95) enrolled in an elementary science education methods course at a public university in the Midwestern United States. This study builds on the qualitative research methodology established in a prior research study, whereby after reading Richard Louv's book entitled Last Child in the Woods, pre-service teachers completed written essay responses to prompts about their past outdoor experiences, their intentions for taking their students outdoors, and additionally in this study, perceived obstacles to doing so once they become teachers. Analysis of the data indicates the importance of participants' youth experiences in the outdoors and positive intentions for taking students outside. In addition, findings describe major obstacles discussed by pre-service teachers, and we use sociocultural theory to analyse the context of these findings. Implications for teacher educators working to better equip pre-service teachers to overcome these perceived obstacles are discussed.


We consider a stochastic model of gene expression in which transcription depends on a multistate promoter, including the famous two-state model and refractory promoters as special cases, and focus on deriving the exact stationary distribution. Building upon several successful approaches, we present a more unified viewpoint that enables us to simplify and generalize existing results. In particular, the original jump process is deeply related to a multivariate piecewise-deterministic Markov process that may also be of interest beyond the biological field. In a very particular case of promoter configuration, this underlying process is shown to have a simple Dirichlet stationary distribution. In the general case, the corresponding marginal distributions extend the well-known class of Beta products, involving complex parameters that directly relate to spectral properties of the promoter transition matrix. Finally, we illustrate these results with biologically plausible examples.


Agronomic performance of new common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties may vary considerably in diverse agro-ecological zones, due to genotype-environment (G x E) interactions. A multi-site evaluation is, therefore, crucial in elite lines selection as it considers simultaneously both yield and stability of performance, making selection of genotypes more precise and refined. This study aimed at assessing the agronomic performance and yield stability of 24 F1.7 small red bean lines, selected for multiple disease resistance, using molecular markers from 16 inter-racial bean populations. The study lines were evaluated in low, medium and high altitude agro-ecological conditions in Kenya. G x E effects for grain yield were highly significant (P<0.001), implying that the agronomic potential of the small red bean lines varied with agro-ecological zones. Tigoni, the high altitude (2130 m above sea level) test site had the highest grain yield (3,809 kg ha-1). There were no significant differences between medium altitude (1820 masl) Kabete (1,100 kg ha-1) and low altitude (1150 masl) Mwea (1,025 kg ha-1) sites. Number of pods per plant was strongly positively correlated with seed yield (r=0.85***), and could be adopted by breeders as an indirect selection method for grain yield. The G x E interaction on grain yield was high (14.4%), implying that most of genotypes should be selected and recommended to specific environments. The high yielding line, KMA13-25-09 (3,385 kg ha-1), was the least stable across sites. Disease severity score for target diseases was low to intermediate regardless of the genotypes and sites. Key words: Disease resistance, Phaseolus vulgaris , severity


Children's well-being has received extensive research attention and has a central role in early childhood policy and curricular guidelines. However, the well-being of early childhood educators has received fragmentary research attention and is unacknowledged in policy and curricular documents. Given the seemingly self-evident links between educators' well-being and positive experiences and outcomes for children, why is educators' well-being invisible within the discursive landscape of early childhood education and care? In this article, the authors offer explanations for this invisibility by identifying and critiquing a number of discourses that have shaped, and continue to shape, early childhood education and educators' positions within it. They use Foucault's idea of dividing practices to demonstrate how these discourses have formed regimes – and, ultimately, a discursive landscape – that make the issue of educators' well-being invisible. The authors then begin the work of challenging this discursive landscape by using theoretical resources from Deleuze and Guattari, and Tronto, to argue for placing care, and a logic of 'and', at the centre of supports for educators' well-being. They offer examples and questions to prompt ongoing critique and action.


In the context of gauge-Higgs unification scenario in a 5-dimensional flat spacetime, we investigate Higgs boson production via gluon fusion and its diphoton and Z gamma decay modes at the LHC. We show that the signal strength of the Higgs diphoton decay mode observed at ATLAS (and CMS), which is considerably larger than the Standard Model expectation, can be explained by a simple gauge-Higgs unification model with color-singlet bulk fermions to which a half-periodic boundary condition is assigned. The bulk fermions with mass at the TeV scale also play a crucial role in reproducing the observed Higgs boson mass of around 125 GeV. One naturally expects that the KK modes also contribute to the effective H-Z-gamma coupling. However, we show a very specific and general prediction of the gauge-Higgs unification scenario that KK-mode contributions to the H-Z-gamma coupling do not exist at the 1-loop level. If the excess of the Higgs to diphoton decay mode persists, its correlation with the Higgs to Z photon decay mode can be a clue to distinguish scenarios beyond the SM, providing a significant improvement of the sensitivity for the Higgs boson signals in the future.


In order to obtain panoramic view of medical micro-image in remote medical diagnosis system, we should mosaic micro-image sequence accurately in remote node. SIFT features are invariant to image scaling, rotation and translation. The aim of this study is to mosaic micro-image sequence by extracting SIFT features. Firstly, search coordinate of potential features through Gaussian pyramid (with 7 octaves × 6 scales) and then filter pseudo-keypoints. Secondly, describe these features with 128-D vector. The next step is to calculate matching keypoint pairs between two time-successive images according to minimum Euclidean distance. In this step, standard deviation comparing is proposed to eliminate wrong matching pairs and appropriate threshold(8000) through experiment is used to insure matching pairs. Then, construct image motion equation considering rotation and translation and compute motion parameter by solving equation according matching pairs. Finally mosaic all images. These steps are applied in 5 micro-image sequences such as slices of lung tissue, spleen, kidney, frog blood cell and sunflower tissue. The experiment results show that the gap between two images is vanishing and the proposed method can satisfy with medical micro-images sequence mosaic.


Kids involved in driving down speed (KIDDS) represents an innovative and creative partnership approach to addressing road safety issues around local primary schools. In 2007, representatives from local road safety organisations worked together with six New Plymouth primary schools on a joint initiative to identify key road safety issues around the schools and develop potential solutions to address them. What was particularly unique about this project was that it was almost entirely led by students from the six schools. Between April and June 2007 the children collected passing vehicle speed data, using hand-held laser guns, along with information on road and weather conditions outside their school. They analysed this data, identified key issues and worked together to develop potential solutions. The children involved in the project presented their findings at a local conference in June 2007. Those invited to the conference included local councillors, road planners, police and other key stakeholders. The project led to the development of joint action plans between the project partners and those agencies with the ability and resources to implement road safety interventions. Outcomes included a number of tangible road safety actions and initiatives (including engineering solutions) and extensive local media coverage. The project won a national Road Safety Innovation Award in 2008, and since then KIDDS has evolved into a similar participatory project focusing on rural school bus safety. The project highlighted how children can become powerful agents of social change, and how communities can make themselves heard by working together on a project that addresses a common concern.


In this paper, a micromechanical tension-compression fatigue hysteresis loops model of fiber-reinforced ceramic-matrix composite (CMC) was developed considering fibers failure. Multiple fatigue damage mechanisms of fibers failure, interface debonding, slip and wear, and matrix fragmentation were considered and incorporated in the micromechanical fatigue hysteresis loops model. Upon unloading, the unloading stress-strain relationship was divided into three stages, including, (1) Unloading Stage I: the unloading interface counter slip stage and the unloading stress is between the tensile peak stress and the matrix crack closure stress; (2) Unloading Stage II: the unloading partial compressive stage and the unloading stress is between the matrix crack closure stress and the unloading complete compressive stress; and (3) Unloading Stage III: the unloading complete compressive stage and the unloading stress is between the unloading complete compressive stress and the compressive valley stress. Multiple micromechanical damage parameters of fibers failure probability, unloading/reloading transition stress, closure stress of the matrix cracking, compressive transition stress, complete compressive stress, unloading/reloading inverse tangent modulus (ITM), and interface counter slip/new slip ratio (ICSR/INSR) were adopted to characterize the tension-compression stress-strain hysteresis loops. Experimental tension-compression fatigue stress-strain hysteresis loops of unidirectional CMCs were predicted using the developed micromechanical models. The characteristics of the tension-compression fatigue hysteresis loops of unidirectional CMC are analyzed for different material properties, damage state, and tensile fatigue peak stress.


Asymmetric allylation of (hetero)aromatic aldehydes by a zinc(II)-allylbutyrolactone species catalyzed by a chiral BINOL-type phosphoric acid gave β-substituted α-methylenebutyrolactones in 68 to >99% ee and 52–91% isolated yield. DFT studies on the intermediate Zn2+-complex – crucial for chiral induction – suggest a six-membered ring intermediate, which allows the phosphoric acid moiety to activate the aldehyde. The methodology was applied to the synthesis of the antitumour natural product (S)-(−)-hydroxymatairesinol.


All areas of business and governmental organizations are currently dependent on information technology (IT) to meet business objectives of improving network service and maximizing limited resources. In this paper the main problems that's represented by using the information network to transfer information such as text, image and video files, conversations or direct video lectures, periods of use that can cause bottlenecks and network downtime, in addition to the large number of users of the network and the causes of these problems. The main objective of this paper is to find out what methods or means to overcome the problems that guide us in terms of optimal use of resources and components even if it is limited, and to determine which technologies are best depending on the typically, quality, importance and confidentiality of the information and the periods of arrival of the information to be transferred. The information is based on the type of networks adopted if they are localized on a given building or the scope of a city or a wide range to include a country or continent and so on.


This paper discusses whether technology-based performance tasks
could become a mediator to communicating in English and enhance language
learner engagement. The present study investigated how low-proficiency Japanese
English-language learners could change their attitude toward communication in
their target language by completing a performance task involving making and
presenting a digital portfolio. Such students should need to mediate between
themselves linguistically and contextually when completing a performance task
for communication. The study adapted two types of questionnaires: open-ended
questions about the performance task and four Likert-type questions about L2
learning motivation. Twenty-five students completed the questionnaires. The
present study asked the students to answer each questionnaire twice, once at
the end of the first semester and once at the end of the second semester. The
data from the open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively from a
phenomenological research perspective, while the data collected from the four
Likert-type questions were statistically analyzed. The students' comments on
the task showed that they positively engaged in the performance task throughout
the two semesters by reflecting on themselves as English learners, with some
difficulty mediating themselves in L1 and L2. However, the results of the
Likert-type questionnaire suggested that such positive engagement would not
necessarily lead to simultaneous English learning motivation. The results
indicate that the task might become a "headstream" of directed motivational
current (DMC) for the students.


European labour markets have undergone several important innovations over the last three decades. Most countries have reformed their labour markets since the mid-1990s, with the liberalization of fixed-term contracts and temporary work agencies being the common elements to such reforms. This paper investigates the existence of a change in the dynamic behaviour of the aggregate employment for major European Union countries - France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. According to our results, partial labour market reforms have made the response of the aggregate employment to output shocks larger and quite comparable to that found for the UK - the most flexible labour market in Europe since the Thatcher reforms.


In this paper, a model reference fault tolerant control strategy based on a reconfiguration of the reference model, with the addition of a virtual actuator block, is presented for uncertain systems affected by disturbances and sensor noise. In particular, this paper (1) extends the reference model approach to the use of interval state observers, by considering an error feedback controller, which uses the estimated bounds for the error between the real state and the reference state, and (2) extends the virtual actuator approach to the use of interval observers, which means that the virtual actuator is added to the control loop to preserve the nonnegativity of the interval estimation errors and the boundedness of the involved signals, in spite of the fault occurrence. In both cases, the conditions to assure the desired operation of the control loop are provided in terms of linear matrix inequalities. An illustrative example is used to show the main characteristics of the proposed approach.


The curtain is widely used in the Coptic Orthodox Church, either as a decorated textile hung before the door of the sanctuary haikal , or as a pictorial motif being extensively represented on the walls of the niches of different monasteries like the monastery of Apa Apollo at Bawit, the Red Monastery and the Monastery of Abu Fana, taking four different forms; the closed, the opened or torn curtain, the semi-opened and the drapery which decorates the lower zones of the walls of the churches.  The using of the curtain in churches is influenced by Jewish tradition of separating the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle, where the God exists, by using a curtain (Exodus 26: 1-6),beyond which only the high priest was allowed to pass to present the atonement for sins. According to the Christian tradition,this curtain was torn in two parts at the moment of the death of the Christ who, through his sacrifice, presented the sufficient atonement for sins,opened the Holy of Holies to the faithful for salvation and gave the Christians a free permanent access to God (Mathew 27:51; Mark 15:38;Luke 23:45). Therefore, the curtain subsequently became the symbol of the Christ, the transparent boundary connecting the earthly and the heavenly worlds, transformed into an essential liturgical feature in the Coptic Church. This paper aims to discuss the different representations of the illusory curtain in Coptic murals and their architectural context to understand its symbolic concept in the Coptic liturgy. Keywords : Curtain, Veil, Illusory, Coptic, Liturgy, Altar, Christ, Textile, Drapery


Fast algorithms for the computation of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of real signals are important since the signals in practical situations are mostly real. The more efficient algorithms for real data are those that are derived from the algorithms for complex data. So far, all such algorithms use a real array to store the data. However, as the data values are real and their transform values are mostly complex, two possible data structures can be used for these algorithms: real or complex. DFT algorithms for real data that use a complex array for storing both the real data and their transform values are derived from the Cooley-Tukey radix-2 algorithm for complex data. This approach reduces the number of bit-reversal and array-index updating operations, eliminates independent data-swapping operations, and yields a computational structure that is almost as regular as that of the algorithms for complex data. Detailed derivations of the proposed algorithms for the computation of both the DFT of real data and the inverse DFT of the transform of real data, as well as their computational complexities, are presented. A C-language program of one of the proposed algorithms is given, illustrating the use of all the features of the new approach in software implementation. Comparison results are included to show that the proposed algorithms are faster and simpler than the real-valued split-radix and other algorithms.


We look at dynamic programming algorithms for propositional model counting, also called #SAT, and MaxSAT. Tools from graph structure theory, in particular treewidth, have been used to successfully identify tractable cases in many subfields of AI, including SAT, Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP), Bayesian reasoning, and planning. In this paper we attack #SAT and MaxSAT using similar, but more modern, graph structure tools. The tractable cases will include formulas whose class of incidence graphs have not only unbounded treewidth but also unbounded clique-width. We show that our algorithms extend all previous results for MaxSAT and #SAT achieved by dynamic programming along structural decompositions of the incidence graph of the input formula. We present some limited experimental results, comparing implementations of our algorithms to state-of-the-art #SAT and MaxSAT solvers, as a proof of concept that warrants further research.


An examination for potential direct or indirect adverse effects on the immune system (immunotoxicity) is an established component of nonclinical testing to support safe use of new drugs. Testing recommendations occur in various regulatory guidance documents, especially ICH S8, and these will be presented. Key evaluation usually occurs in toxicology studies with further investigative work a consideration if a positive signal is seen. Expectations around whether findings may occur are related to the type of compound being developed, including a chemically synthesized small molecule, a small molecule oncology drug, a biopharmaceutical, an oligonucleotide, a gene therapy/stem cell product, a vaccine, or reformulation of drugs in liposomes or depots. Examples of immunotoxicity/immunogenicity findings will be discussed for all of these types of compound. Overall, it can be concluded that our main tool for evaluation of potential immunotoxicity/immunogenicity for a new drug still remains standard toxicology study testing with key assessment for effects on clinical pathology and lymphoid organs/tissues (weights and cellularity). Additional evaluation from studies using a T cell-dependent antibody response (TDAR) and lymphocyte phenotyping is also valuable, if needed. Thus, using the tools from the past, it is the role of toxicologists to work with clinical teams now and in the future, to interpret findings from nonclinical testing to possible adverse findings in humans.


The current guidelines for physical activity are based on the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In this article the magnitude and type of physical activity required to prevent unhealthy weight gain are assessed. Five categories of analyses are considered, ranging from the most rigorous analyses (based on D2O18 measures of energy expenditure) to socio‐ecological associations. To standardize the approach, published work on the extent of exercise was expressed as a physical activity level (PAL), i.e. the ratio of total expenditure to the measured or estimated basal metabolic rate. D2O18, direct monitoring and measurements of activity patterns and detailed prospective studies of substantial population groups all suggest that a PAL of ≥1.8 is required to limit the proportion of overweight and obese adult men. Data on women are more difficult to interpret because women are less active and the relationship with physical activity is usually less clear. Post‐obese women with a PAL of >1.75 do not regain weight and other data are consistent with the need for a PAL of ≥1.8. The analyses in both sexes are based predominantly on adults living in a Western society with the ready availability of energy‐dense foods. Vigorous activity is more clearly linked to weight stability, allows a higher intensity of exercise for general activities and shortens the time needed for achieving a PAL of 1.8. This activity level is equivalent to an additional 60–90 min of brisk walking in adults who normally undertake only modest exercise. These demands are greater than the current suggested levels for cardiovascular benefit and imply the need for different environmental policies, rather than health education policies, if societies are to become generally more active and avoid unhealthy weight gain.


In this paper, a nonlinear adaptive neuro-fuzzy wavelets network (NFWN) control strategy is designed for the control of full car suspension system. Conventional passive suspension system has not the ability to provide better vehicle stability and ride quality against the road disturbances. To avoid damaging from vehicle components, passenger discomfort and vehicle instability, an active suspension system based on NFWN is used. The active NFWN controller is capable of providing better ride quality and vehicle stability, because, it is highly nonlinear control strategy and has ability to overcome the oscillations produced due to road disturbances. Simulation is based on the mathematical model by using MATLAB/SIMULINK. Simulation results of NFWN control strategy give better tradeoff between ride quality and vehicle stability than passive and semi-active suspension systems.


Universal education has been an international development goal for a very long time, and gaps still exist in gender parity in developing countries. This project aims to address the fact that while the provision of affordable and accessible education institutions have seen great successes in the past, perhaps the way forward now is to analyze the demand side issues. Due to cultural norms, demand for girls' education in developing countries is lacking. The first part of the paper explores the psychological constraints of present bias, role model effect and stereotype threat in the context of girls' educational demands. The second part of the paper analyzes several randomized control trials (RCTs) with the lens of behavioral economics, and then proposes a new RCT to test the role model effect on primary school girls in rural Bangladesh. The proposal calls for the distribution of short stories that portray empowered women to young girls, with the hopes that this will create a virtuous cycle of empowered women acting as role models for younger generations in the long run, while short term effects will be measured on the basis of changes in aspirations.


In a growing number of OECD countries policymakers are designing specific regulations for lending-based crowdfunding platforms. In March 2018, as a part of its Fintech action plan, the European Commission also presented its proposal for the EU-wide passporting regime. To evaluate these new regimes, this study collects information about the regulation of lending-based crowdfunding platforms in 17 OECD countries and proposes a theoretical framework to reflect about different regulatory regimes. In this context, we explore market failures in lending-based crowdfunding and identify regulatory challenges. Although lending-based crowdfunding platforms do not technically perform risk and maturity transformation, in some countries, flexible regulation allows them to experiment with different business models to provide services of credit risk management (via risk grades, provision funds, automated lending) and liquidity provision (via secondary markets). These platforms could perform the same functions as banks in the future, but there are theoretical reasons to believe that platform-based intermediation could be more stable than banking intermediation. The success of lending-based crowdfunding platforms hinges on their ability to solve moral hazard issues and overcome significant barriers to entry related to scale and scope economies, adverse selection, as well as funding cost advantage of incumbent large banks. There are also risks related to an excessive reliance on funding of leveraged and 'too big to fail' institutional investors that are prone to runs and moral hazard problems.


This book explores traditional and contemporary concerns surrounding gender and ethnicity in Chile through a textual analysis of historical novels depicting seventeenth-century figure, Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer. Drawing on theories from the Global North and South, it incorporates postcolonial perspectives and decolonial feminist approaches to expose patriarchal, Eurocentric hierarchies constructed during the colonial era, which remain in Chilean society today. Through close readings, the book demonstrates that it is in the inconsistent and fluid depictions of characters that identities are deconstructed and reconstructed in ways that defy and transform social norms.
This is the first extended English-language study of this infamous historical figure, who is more widely known as la Quintrala. It is also the first to compare the literary portrayals by Mercedes Valdivieso and Gustavo Frías. Looking beyond the infamy which usually shapes interpretations of la Quintrala, the author presents these novels as an embodiment of the anxieties surrounding hybridity in Chile, where European heritage has traditionally overshadowed indigenous concerns, and patriarchal norms dominate the construction of gender. Written during a period of social and political upheaval in Chile, it makes a timely contribution to existing works in social and political science, popular culture and the ongoing discussions of this iconic figure.


30 cases of submandibular gland tissue were determined quantitatively in this article.It is noticed that there was no great change during and after the birth .But at the adolesence stage,the data began to change was steady in adult state.At pressenium,the change speed of mean was faster.Observation under microscope:the submandibular gland in 7-8 month old embryo was developed basically and similar to newborn.It had good blood supply and secrete function.Adipose tissue,which is important indication of changed with age in saliva gland,did not exit in submandibular gland of human being.In addition.it is normal that there were a few lymphatic cells and plasmocytes with secrete SIgA in the gland and is relating with protective principle of normal environment.


Fire is a real threat for people and property. However, if the risks can be identified before the accident, the consequences can be remarkably limited. The requirement of fire safety is particularly important in places with large number of people and limited evacuation possibilities (e.g., ships and airplanes) and for places where the consequences of fire may spread wide outside of the fire location (e.g., nuclear power plants). The prerequisite for reliable fire safety assessment is to be able to predict the fire spread instead of prescribing it. For predicting the fire spread accurately, the pyrolysis reaction of the solid phase must be modelled. The pyrolysis is often modelled using the Arrhenius equation with three unknown parameters per each reaction. These parameters are not material, but model specific, and therefore they need to be estimated from the experimental small-scale data for each sample and model individually. The typical fuel materials in applications of fire safety engineers are not always well-defined or characterised. For instance, in electrical cables, the polymer blend may include large quantities of additives that change the fire performance of the polymer completely. Knowing the exact chemical compound is not necessary for an accurate model, but the thermal degradation and the release of combustible gases should be identified correctly. The literature study of this dissertation summarises the most important background information about pyrolysis modelling and the thermal degradation of the polymers needed for understanding the methods and results of this dissertation. The articles cover developing methods for pyrolysis modelling and testing them for various materials. The sensitivity of the model for the modelling choices is also addressed by testing several typical modeller choices. The heat release of unknown polymer blend is studied using Microscale Combustion Calorimetry (MCC), and two methods are developed for effectively using the MCC results in building an accurate reaction path. The process of pyrolysis modelling is presented and discussed. Lastly, the methods of cable modelling are applied to a large scale simulation of a cable tunnel of a Finnish nuclear power plant. The results show that the developed methods are practical, produce accurate fits for the experimental results, and can be used with different materials. Using these methods, the modeller is able to build an accurate reaction path even if the material is partly uncharacterised. The methods have already been applied to simulating real scale fire scenarios, and the validation work is continuing.


For many of the 700 million illiterate people around the world, speech recognition technology could provide a bridge to valuable information and services. Yet, those most in need of this technology are often the most underserved by it. In many countries, illiterate people tend to speak only low-resource languages, for which the datasets necessary for speech technology development are scarce. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of unsupervised speech representation learning on noisy radio broadcasting archives, which are abundant even in low-resource languages. We make three core contributions. First, we release two datasets to the research community. The first, West African Radio Corpus, contains 142 hours of audio in more than 10 languages with a labeled validation subset. The second, West African Virtual Assistant Speech Recognition Corpus, consists of 10K labeled audio clips in four languages. Next, we share West African wav2vec, a speech encoder trained on the noisy radio corpus, and compare it with the baseline Facebook speech encoder trained on six times more data of higher quality. We show that West African wav2vec performs similarly to the baseline on a multilingual speech recognition task, and significantly outperforms the baseline on a West African language identification task. Finally, we share the first-ever speech recognition models for Maninka, Pular and Susu, languages spoken by a combined 10 million people in over seven countries, including six where the majority of the adult population is illiterate. Our contributions offer a path forward for ethical AI research to serve the needs of those most disadvantaged by the digital divide.


Objective Park system is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) grading system for cervical neural foraminal stenosis (CNFS) and consists of 4 grades (0–3) based on the foraminal shape of 45-degree T2-weighted oblique sagittal images. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interreader reliability of the Park system among radiologists, residents, and clinicians. This study also assessed the correlations between radiologic and clinical findings. Material and Methods A total of 289 patients (men:women = 155:134, mean age = 50 years) who underwent oblique sagittal MRI of the cervical spine at our hospital were included. According to the MR grading system suggested by Park et al (Br J Radiol 2013;86:20120515), 2 radiologists, 2 trainees, and 2 clinicians measured CNFS grade at the most narrow point. A neurosurgeon assessed the associated clinical manifestations. &kgr; statistics were used to analyze the interreader agreement among the radiologists and clinicians. The clinical correlations between grade and positive clinical manifestations were assessed with R using nonparametric correlation analysis (Spearman correlation). Results The overall interreader agreements between radiologists, between trainees, between clinicians, and between radiologists and clinicians were almost perfect (&kgr; = 0.80–0.96). There were moderate correlations between grade and clinical manifestations in each group (R = 0.562–0.669). There were moderate to relatively high correlations between grade and neurologic manifestations based on cervical level (R = 0.570–0.715) (all P < 0.05). Conclusions Regardless of reader experience, there was substantial to almost perfect interreader reliability with the Park system for CNFS based on oblique sagittal MRI.


Control of HIV replication in elite controller (EC) and long-term nonprogressor (LTNP) patients has been associated with efficient CD8+cytotoxic T-lymphocyte function. However, innate immunity may play a role in HIV control. We studied the expression of natural cytotoxicity receptors (NKp46, NKp30, and NKp44) and their induction over a short time frame (2–4 d) on activation of natural killer (NK) cells in 31 HIV controller patients (15 ECs, 16 LTNPs). In EC/LTNP, induction of NKp46 expression was normal but short (2 d), and NKp30 was induced to lower levels vs. healthy donors. Notably, in antiretroviral-treated aviremic progressor patients (TAPPs), no induction of NKp46 or NKp30 expression occurred. More importantly, EC/LTNP failed to induce expression of NKp44, a receptor efficiently induced in activated NK cells in TAPPs. The specific lack of NKp44 expression resulted in sharply decreased capability of killing target cells by NKp44, whereas TAPPs had conserved NKp44-mediated lysis. Importantly, conserved NK cell responses, accompanied by a selective defect in the NKp44-activating pathway, may result in lack of killing of uninfected CD4+NKp44Ligand+ cells when induced by HIVgp41 peptide-S3, representing a relevant mechanism of CD4+ depletion. In addition, peripheral NK cells from EC/LTNP had increased NKG2D expression, significant HLA-DR up-regulation, and a mature (NKG2A−CD57+killer cell Ig-like receptor+CD85j+) phenotype, with cytolytic function also against immature dendritic cells. Thus, NK cells in EC/LTNP can maintain substantially unchanged functional capabilities, whereas the lack of NKp44 induction may be related to CD4 maintenance, representing a hallmark of these patients.


INTRODUCTION
Although long-term outcome studies in large pediatric myocarditis/cardiomyopathy populations have been reported in literature, none of them focused on comorbidities.

METHODS
All children and adolescents (age <18 years) treated with myocarditis at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Debrecen, Hungary were followed. Patients suffering from myocarditis during the period 1996-2011 were enrolled.

RESULTS
Over the 16-year period, a diagnosis of myocarditis was established in nine children. Their median age was 1.11 (0.03-8.71) years. Three of the nine patients died. Left ventricular dilatation and ejection fraction normalized within 1-21 months in the survivors. None of the cases progressed to dilated cardiomyopathy. Regarding non-cardiac comorbidities, myocarditis or recurrent peri-myocarditis preceded the manifestation of celiac disease in two patients, while cystic fibrosis was diagnosed after the improvement of cardiac function in another, and Alström syndrome was diagnosed several years after complete recovery from myocarditis in yet another patient.

CONCLUSION
These results suggest that manifestations of other chronic pediatric diseases may be more frequent among survivors of pediatric myocarditis. Prolonged follow-up of patients who survive myocarditis is therefore recommended not only to detect possible progression to cardiomyopathy but also to identify non-cardiac comorbidities.


Abstract It is now generally agreed that the impact of the current nature, purpose and extent of food processing on human well-being, health and disease needs to be better understood and explained, in order to improve public health. The special issue of Public Health Nutrition devoted to the concept of ultra-processing of food, and the NOVA classification of which ultra-processed foods are one category, is a great step forward in this work. Coincidentally, a polemical 'critical appraisal' of ultra-processing was recently published in another journal. Debate and discussion are an essential part of the scientific endeavour. In this commentary, we correct inaccurate statements made about NOVA in the 'appraisal,' rebut points raised, and discuss the larger issue of scientific responsibility for publishing opposing views on controversial topics.


Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the concentrations and accumulation of macronutrients in conilon coffee (Coffea canephora) fruit, and their concentrations in leaves, over two years, in irrigated and nonirrigated coffee plants. Three-year-old conilon coffee plants of the cultivar Emcapa 8111 genotype 02 were used. An experimental design was carried out in randomized complete blocks, in a split-plot arrangement, with 14 replicates. The main plot factor was irrigation versus nonirrigation of coffee plants, and the split-plot factor was different fruit and leaf collection times. Collections began 10 days after the beginning of flowering and were performed on average every 28 days, until full fruit ripening. At each sampling date, five plants per treatment were picked out, by collecting one plagiotropic branch by plant, separated into fruit and leaves. Each part was dried, weighed, and subjected to the chemical analysis. Macronutrient accumulations and their accumulation rates were determined. According to the regression analysis of the data, fruit macronutrient accumulation curves fit best to sigmoidal equations. Irrigation affects the macronutrient dynamics in fruit and leaves during the fruiting phase of conilon coffee, and increases the accumulation of nutrients in the plant tissues. The macronutrients found in greater quantities are N, K, and Ca, in fruit and leaves, regardless of the irrigation treatment.


The study intended to explain the influence of innovative leadership on management of institutions: A case of Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development in Kumasi Metropolis. The phenomenon explored in the study was how innovative effective leadership and management change influence other variables in organisations as it facilitates change, such as trust, commitment and clear vision. The population for the study comprises of all graduate students in the university. Qualitative research approach was employed with this study. The sample was eleven (11) respondents who voluntary agreed to take part in the study. Interview guide was used for focus group discussions to gather empirical data. The data was analysed through transcribing each interview session and arranging them in a themes for the discussion. The study results indicated that the leader is the one who seeks to enhance and grow the patterns of thought, originations, and innovates new transformational approaches to the institutional effective change.


Despite the remarkable similarity in amino acid composition, many anticancer peptides (ACPs) display significant differences in terms of activity. This strongly suggests that particular relative dispositions of amino acids (motifs) play a role in the interaction with their biological target, which is often the cell membrane. To better verify this hypothesis, we intentionally modify HB43, an ACP active against a wide variety of cancers. Sequence alignment of related ACPs by ADAPTABLE web server highlighted the conserved motifs that could be at the origin of the activity. In this study, we show that changing the order of amino acids in such motifs results in a significant loss of activity against colon and breast cancer cell lines. On the contrary, amino acid substitution in key motifs may reinforce or weaken the activity, even when the alteration does not perturb the amphipathicity of the helix formed by HB43 on liposomes mimicking their surface. NMR and MD simulations with different membrane models (micelles, bicelles, and vesicles) indicate that the activity reflects the insertion capability in cancer-mimicking serine-exposing membranes, supported by the insertion of N-terminal phenylalanine in the FAK motif and the anchoring to the carboxylate of phosphatidylserine by means of arginine side chains.


Accurate co-registration of multi-sensor data is a primary step in data integration for photogrammetric and remote sensing applications. A proven intensity-based registration approach is Mutual Information (MI). However the effectiveness of MI for automated registration of multi-sensor remote sensing data can be impacted to the point of failure by its non-monotonic convergence surface. Since MI-based methods rely on joint probability density functions (PDF) for the datasets, errors in PDF estimation can directly affect the MI value. Certain PDF parameter values, such as the bin-size of the joint histogram and the smoothing kernel, need to be assigned in advance, since they play a key role in forming the convergence surface. The lack of a general approach to the assignment of these parameter values for various data types reduces both the automation level and the robustness of registration. This paper proposes a new approach for selection of optimal parameter values for PDF estimation in MI-based registration of optical imagery to LiDAR point clouds. The proposed method determines the best parameters for PDF estimation via an analysis of the relationship between similarity measure values of the data and the adopted geometric transformation in order to achieve the optimal registration reliability. The performance of the proposed parameter selection method is experimentally evaluated and the obtained results are compared with those achieved through a feature-based registration method.


The differences of adult female murine mandibular form between two inbred strains of mice (BALB/cBy and C57BL/6By) were analyzed by use of the finite element method (FEM). In the present instance, this method overcomes the conceptual and methodologic constraints of both craniometry and roentgenographic cephalometry by providing two-dimensional, reference-frame-invariant, independent comparisons of the size, shape, and location of the point continua enclosed within the boundaries for each local, finite element into which the mandible was discretized. At the present scale of observation, it is suggested that the FEM kinematic descriptions of form comparisons can be correlated with dynamic interpretations offered by the functional matrix hypothesis, i.e., that certain discrete, causal relationships exist between the continuum form of single elements and the form, or function, of anatomic structures associated with these elements. It is concluded that, in addition to its previously demonstrated use in the analysis of growth, the finite element method seems well suited for comparisons of form.


Today, conserving the natural environment is paramount. Educators have been striving to develop pedagogical approaches that facilitate greater engagement in conservation behaviors. However, many of these reforms have been targeted at an institutional level, without necessarily testing whether changes in proenvironmental perceptions, attitudes, or behaviors occur for students. This step seems important when developing conservation biology courses that provide well-rounded education that may better prepare students for future challenges in biodiverse conservation contexts. Our objective was to assess the proenvironmental attitudes and conservation values of undergraduate students enrolled in an undergraduate conservation biology course before and after instruction to determine whether a multidisciplinary curriculum, in conjunction with traditional conservation biology content, would alter their perceptions. Students in both the control and intervention groups felt relatively neutral about a range of environmental and conservation topics. No statistical significance between curricula and impact on student perception was revealed. However, in the experimental course, shifts were found concerning students' understanding of the complexity of conservation. Results also highlight long-standing issues related to conservation education, such as a bias toward mammal conservation, and suggest that guest lectures are insufficient to bring about attitude change related to sustainability. Further research on incorporating cross-disciplinary pedagogy into STEM courses is recommended.


Moral condemnation may guide individuals into choosing the same side as other bystanders in disputes. If this is the case, people would condemn an actor more strongly when they are conscious of other bystanders than when they are not. In this study, participants were asked to judge the unacceptability of theft and deception in hypothetical situations. Unacceptability (condemnation) scores were compared between participants in two groups: those who provided only their scores and those who estimated others' scores before providing their own. The results revealed that older participants were less willing to accept immoral behaviors than younger participants. When conscious of others' judgments, younger participants tended to reduce their condemnation while older participants tended to increase their condemnation. Additionally, condemnation was stronger in females than males. The results support the hypothesis that those who are more likely to avoid direct and physical competition are more willing to condemn, and that moral condemnation functions as a "flag".


This paper deals with the design and realization of a reconfigurable humanoid robot. The related design concept and the mechanical structure including kinematics for a robot are presented and discussed. In order to give it a flexibility of structure, a main controller of the robot is deployed with an FPGA, which can load the user configurable logics as well as Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) based on its own microcomputer structure. Since it has an internal high performance microprocessor system, bus architecture, and memories, some different kind of application algorithm under the various situations can be replaced with reconfigurable hardware. These kinds of structure will be very effective in the field of application like a humanoid robot requiring for the small space and compactness of the structure. The suggested configuration method is testified through simple walking in real world and as a result, the proposed reconfiguration method is applied successfully in a humanoid robot and verified its validness from the experiment.


Utterance verification based on N-Best HMM scores has been widely used in ASR system. There are a number of ways to calculate a measurement score for verification from N-Best scores. Most of proposed methods are based on the framework of the hypothesis testing. This has lead to use the second best score or an overall average of available N-Best scores for normalisation. In this study we examine N-Best UV approach from a competition-based measurement framework. With this framework different competitive measurements can be derived from a sequence of sorted likelihood ratios ( SLR ). The evaluation results demonstrate that OOV performance can be improved by using some selective components in SLR . In our experiments by using the first four components OOV rejection errors can be reduced about 30% in comparison with the baseline results.


South Africa needs to redress premature deindustrialization that has seen the manufacturing sector's contribution to economic growth and development thinning out. In order to chart a path towards reviving the manufacturing sector, understanding the factors that drive the performance and the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry is vital. This paper analyses responses from the City of Johannesburg survey on economic performance, competitiveness and the challenges faced, from over 300 firms. The study suggests that that a significant proportion of firms exhibited growth between 2013 and 2015, depending on sectoral grouping, access to the export market and investment in machinery and equipment, among other factors. The paper offers recommendations to stimulate economic performance and competitiveness in Johannesburg.


Training long-horizon robotic policies in complex physical environments is essential for many applications, such as robotic manipulation. However, learning a policy that can generalize to unseen tasks is challenging. In this work, we propose to achieve one-shot task generalization by decoupling plan generation and plan execution. Specifically, our method solves complex long-horizon tasks in three steps: build a paired abstract environment by simplifying geometry and physics, generate abstract trajectories, and solve the original task by an abstract-to-executable trajectory translator. In the abstract environment, complex dynamics such as physical manipulation are removed, making abstract trajectories easier to generate. However, this introduces a large domain gap between abstract trajectories and the actual executed trajectories as abstract trajectories lack low-level details and are not aligned frame-to-frame with the executed trajectory. In a manner reminiscent of language translation, our approach leverages a seq-to-seq model to overcome the large domain gap between the abstract and executable trajectories, enabling the low-level policy to follow the abstract trajectory. Experimental results on various unseen long-horizon tasks with different robot embodiments demonstrate the practicability of our methods to achieve one-shot task generalization.


SUMMARY: Experiment of induction male sterility with GA3 in 32 inbred and mutant lines of sunflower and two experiments of evaluation at AL-Tuwaitha-Baghdad and AL-Latifya-Babylon, involving 20 top-crosses of the same lines were investigated. Evaluation specified with the general combining ability (GCA) of several characters with emphasis on seed yield. Results showed that induction male sterility with GA3 gave a favorable results in the experimental breeding programs for this situation In general, GCA was highly exceeded for some top-crosses in the two locations, whereas, other top-crosses were significantly exceeded in one location. Some top-crosses did not exceed in their GCA in the two locations. However, three Inbred and mutant lines were exceeded in their GCA, and they must be introduced in further studies of evaluation to determine which one could used in hybrid seed production.


Author(s): Alkafeef, Selma | Advisor(s): Liu, Haoping | Abstract: Candida albicans is a common opportunistic fungal pathogens of humans. As such, it faces challenges unique to host-dwelling organisms and has evolved mechanisms that allow it to thrive in the constantly changing environment of the human host. In this dissertation we sought to address two such mechanisms of C. albicans biology.C. albicans can undergo phenotypic switching between two heritable states: white and opaque. This phenotypic plasticity facilitates its colonization in distinct host niches. The master regulator WOR1 is exclusively expressed in opaque phase cells. Positive feedback regulation by Wor1 on the WOR1 promoter is essential for opaque formation, however the underlying mechanism of how Wor1 functions is not clear. In Chapter 3, we use tandem affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry to identify Wor1-interacting proteins. Tup1 and its associated complex proteins are found as the major factors associated with Wor1. Tup1 occupies the same regions of the WOR1 promoter as Wor1 preferentially in opaque cells. Loss of Tup1 is sufficient to induce the opaque phase, even in the absence of Wor1. This is the first such report of a bypass of Wor1 in opaque formation. These genetic analyses suggest that Tup1 is a key repressor of the opaque state and Wor1 functions to alleviate Tup1 repression at the WOR1 promoter. Opaque cells convert to white en masse at 37°C. However, we find this conversion occurs only in the presence of glycolytic carbon sources, and the opaque state is stabilized when cells are cultured on non-glycolytic carbon sources, even in an MTLa/α background. We further show that temperature and carbon source affect opaque stability by altering the levels of Wor1 and Tup1 at the WOR1 promoter. We propose that Wor1 and Tup1 form the core regulatory circuit controlling the opaque transcriptional program. This model provides molecular insights on how C. albicans adapts to different host signals to undergo phenotypic switching for colonization in distinct host niches.Iron is an essential molecule involved in a myriad of biological processes. Despite its essential role as a cofactor, excess iron can become toxic through the generation of reactive oxygen species. As a fungal pathogen of humans, C. albicans is subject to a wide range of iron levels encountered in the human host. Consequently, iron homeostasis is essential for survival and is tightly controlled by a regulatory circuit. Glutaredoxins are a conserved family of proteins involved in maintaining cellular redox homeostasis as well as the biogenesis of iron-sulfur clusters, cofactors linked to diverse biological processes including metabolism, DNA maintenance, transcriptional regulation, and protein translation. In Chapter 4, using a combination of functional genetics, molecular biology, and cross-linked tandem affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry, we assess the function of the conserved monothiol glutaredoxin Grx3. We examined the function of four identified C. albicans glutaredoxins in response to oxidative and iron stresses and found a grx3 mutant to be sensitive to iron level. The grx3 mutant was defective in the expression of the iron-regulatory circuit genes Sfu1, Sef1, and Hap43 in response to iron status. We determined that Grx3 interacts with Sfu1 and regulates its occupancy at SEF1 promoter. Grx3 was also found to contribute to Sef1 nuclear localization and Hap43 activity. Therefore, Grx3 directly controls the activity of the iron homeostasis regulatory circuit. Identification of Grx3 interacting proteins by mass spectrometry uncovered proteins enriched for several functional categories, including those involved in various metabolic and biosynthetic pathways such as redox homeostasis, amino acid and nucleotide metabolism, protein translation, tRNA aminoacylation DNA maintenance and repair, iron-sulfur biogenesis, and iron homeostasis. We validate some of these findings and show that the grx3 mutant is hypersensitive to oxidative, nitrosative and genotoxic stresses and shows decreased translational efficiency compared to wild-type. Finally, we show the grx3 mutant displays decreased virulence in a disseminated infection model. Therefore, we propose C. albicans Grx3 is a global iron sensor critical for both the regulation of the iron homeostasis circuit as well as the functions of iron-sulfur cluster containing proteins involved in a wide array of diverse biological processes.


BackgroundLocal authorities in Scotland have a responsibility to provide support for vulnerable children and young people, known as 'looked after children'. This support can include providing care for these children away from home, but there have been growing concerns that children with out of home placements may experience multiple placements before a stable home environment is established for them. As a result, policy changes have aimed to reduce the amount of instability which looked after children experience, but our current understanding of care placement stability in Scotland, and how this has changed over time, is limited.
ObjectivesThis project aims to develop our understanding of the patterns of instability experienced by children looked after away from home by applying state sequence analysis (SSA) administrative data regarding children's care placements from 2008 to 2017 ( 70,000 children). Data are provided by Scottish Government.
Methods and FindingsSSA is a method commonly used to describe developmental processes which consist of changes between different states - in this case, types of care placement - and provides a number of tools to describe in/stability in these processes. In this paper we use SSA to analyse sequences of placements for multiple cohorts of children to give a detailed description of how placement stability for looked after children in Scotland has changed over the last decade, with results show differences in the typical placement sequence patterns for children of different ages. We and also discuss some methodological challenges which arise when implementing SSA using administrative data.
ConclusionsCombining SSA and administrative data provides a useful way to describe the typical patterns of looked after care placements, and how these patterns have changed over time.


The purpose of this study was to find out whether the cost of raw materials and direct labor costs had an effect on the increase in production. In this quantitative research two types of variables are used, namely the independent variable is Raw Material Cost, Direct Labor Cost  and the dependent variable is Increased Production Results. Sampling is done by the technique used, namely purposive sampling. Data analysis using Classical Assumptions and Multiple Linear Regression methods. The results of the study were processed using SPSS 20, it can be seen that the Raw Material Cost has a tcount of 4.616 with a significance probability of 0.000, concluded that Raw Material Costs  partially have a positive and significant effect on Increasing Production Cost of Direct Labor Costs  has t count of 4.944 with a significance of 0,000 can be concluded that Direct Labor Costs  partially have a positive and significant effect on Increasing Production Results. The F test shows the Fcount value of 71,270 and significance of 0,000b means that there is a significant effect between Raw Material Costs  and Direct Labor Costs on Increasing Production Results.


We calculate the optical trapping forces exerted by a single laser beam strongly focused on a dielectric sphere located at a two-dimensional (2D) oil-water interface. The calculated lateral trapping forces, based on the geometrical optics approximation (GOA), agree with experimental measurements of the trapping force. Importantly, the calculations verify that the radiation force exerted on particles perpendicular to the interface is not sufficient to induce capillary interactions between particle pairs, which could be mistaken for particle-particle interactions. Finally, we find that the trapping forces depend on the three-phase contact angle of the particle at the interface.


As Ukraine has started the legal process for a public health legislation, this narrative review attempts to: i) characterize recent legal acts (which are current as well as drafts) and international standards in the sphere of public health; ii) analyze the definitions of public health legally relevant to Ukraine, in particular: public health and public health protection; iii) discuss related definitions relevant to the health sector; iv) characterize the main subjects tasked to protect public health; v) and clarify the necessary educational innovations, which are the basis in the preparation of human resources for an efficient implementation of the public health concept. After referring to the current legislative process and a discussion of some of the concepts and terminologies available in the literature, the following understanding of the terminology is proposed here: i) 'Public Health' should be understood as mental and physical health of the population in a certain territory, determined by the best achievable demographic indicators, characterized by decreasing morbidity and mortality and increasing the potential to lead an active and long life; ii) the term 'Public Health Protection' (or, 'Protection of Public Health') should address a system of measures which are aimed at prevention and control of morbidity, optimization of demographic indicators, promoting a value-oriented state policy, securing biological and genetic safety and relying on joint societal efforts. It is essential that the implementation of a public health law is underpinned by adapting the postgraduate educational system to the new challenges in Ukraine.


The misfolded form of cellular prion protein (PrPc) is the main component of the infectious agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and the validated biomarker for these diseases. The expression of PrPc is highest in the central nervous system and has been found in peripheral tissues. Soluble PrPc has been detected in cerebrospinal fluid, urine, serum, milk, and seminal plasma. In this study, attempts were made to characterize prion protein in urine samples from normal and scrapie-infected sheep. Urine samples from scrapie-infected sheep and age-matched healthy sheep were collected and analyzed by Western blot following concentration. A protease K-sensitive protein band with a molecular weight of approximately 27–30 kDa was visualized after immunoblotting with anti-PrP monoclonal antibodies to a C-terminal part of PrPc, but not after immunoblotting with monoclonal antibodies to an N-terminal epitope of PrPc or with secondary antibodies only. The amount of PrPc in the urine of 49 animals (control group: n = 16; naturally scrapie-infected group: n = 33) was estimated by comparison with known amounts of ovine recombinant PrP in the immunoblot. Background concentration of PrPc in urine was found to be 0–0.16 ng/ml (adjusted to the initial nonconcentrated volume of the urine samples). Seven out of 33 naturally scrapie-infected animals had an elevated level (0.3–4.7 ng/ml) of PrPc in urine. The origin of PrPc in urine and the reason for the increased level of PrPc in scrapie-infected sheep urine has yet to be explored.


Knowledge of the tectonic history of the Pamir contributes to our understanding of both the evolution of collisional orogenic belts as well as factors controlling Central Asian aridification. It is, however, not easy to decipher the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonics of the Pamir due to extensive Neogene deformation in an orogen that remains largely understudied. This study reports detrital apatite and zircon fission‐track (FT) ages from both the eastern Tajik Basin sedimentary rocks and Pamir modern river sands. These FT data, supported by vitrinite reflectance and zircon and apatite U–Pb double dating, suggest that the majority of the FT ages are unreset and record exhumation stages of the Pamir, which has served as the source terrane of the Tajik Basin since the Cretaceous. Furthermore, we combine the new data with a compilation of published detrital apatite and zircon FT data from both the Tajik Basin sedimentary rocks and Pamir modern river sands, to explore the Mesozoic–Cenozoic tectonic history of Pamir. Deconvolved FT Peak Ages document two major Mesozoic exhumation events associated with the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic Cimmerian orogeny that reflects accretion of the Pamir terranes, as well as the Early–early Late Cretaceous deformation associated with the northward subduction of the Neo‐Tethys Ocean beneath Pamir. The compiled data also show significant Late Eocene–Neogene exhumation associated with the ongoing formation of the Pamir, which peaks at ca. 36, 25, 14 and 7 Ma.


ABSTRACT This study aims to describe patterns of injury mechanism among patients treated at a tertiary trauma center in Mumbai to identify opportunities for targeted injury prevention strategies. Data were collected from an institutional trauma registry, and all patients presenting with life- or limb-threatening injuries over a 16- month period were included. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed for demographic characteristics, injury mechanisms, and clinical outcomes. A total of 1,115 patients were treated during the study period, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 32% in this severely injured cohort. More than one half of patients were suffered transportation injuries (58%). Of victims of transportation injuries, 45% were victims of railway injuries and 28% were pedestrians struck by motor vehicles. Mortality was highest among victims of railway injuries (42%) and pedestrians struck by automobiles (38%). Although injury prevention is a major public health concern worldwide, it is important to understand local patterns of injury to guide targeted prevention strategies. This study highlights the utility of trauma registries in collecting crucial injury surveillance data. In this context, a focus on pedestrian safety and railway injury prevention is warranted.


Eliakim, M, Bodner, E, Eliakim, A, Nemet, D, and Meckel, Y. Effect of motivational music on lactate levels during recovery from intense exercise. J Strength Cond Res 26(1): 80–86, 2012—The effects of music played during an exercise task on athletic performance have been previously studied. Yet, these results are not applicable for competitive athletes, who can use music only during warm-up or recovery from exercise. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of motivational music (music that stimulates or inspires physical activity) during recovery from intense exercise, on activity pattern, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and blood lactate concentration. Twenty young, active men (mean age 26.2 ± 2.1 years) performed a 6-minute run at peak oxygen consumption speed (predetermined from the &OV0312;O2 max test). The mean heart rate (HR), RPE, number of steps (determined by step counter), and blood lactate concentrations were determined at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 minutes during the recovery from the exercise, with and without motivational music (2 separate sessions, at random order). There was no difference in the mean HR during the recovery with and without music. Listening to motivational music during the recovery was associated with increased voluntary activity of the participants, determined by increased number of steps (499.4 ± 220.1 vs. 413.2 ± 150.6 steps, with and without music, respectively; p ≤ 0.05). The increased number of steps during the recovery was accompanied by a significantly greater decrease in blood lactate concentration percentage (28.1 ± 12.2 vs. 22.8 ± 10.9%, with and without music, respectively, p ≤ 0.05). This was associated with a greater decrease in RPE (77.7 ± 14.4 vs. 73.1 ± 14.7% with and without music, respectively; p ≤ 0.05). Our results suggest that listening to motivational music during nonstructured recovery from intense exercise leads to increased activity, faster lactate clearance, and reduced RPE and therefore may be used by athletes in their effort to enhance recovery.


The Bem Sex Role Inventory was administered to adults age 60 and over to examine the nature of their scores on this scale in light of their current developmental demands and life circumstances. This study examined whether there is reason to believe that the nature of mature adults' scores is influenced by four things: passage of time; cohort in which respondents, were born; rural or urban context; or by chronological adult age. This continuation of earlier studies readministered the Bem Sex Role Inventory to community dwelling urban olderadults who had been tested the first time when they were age 60 or older. At the same time, additional community dwelling cohorts of older adults were tested. Although none of the respondent samples strongly endorsed the Bem items, predictions that Masculinity scale items would be more strongly favored by rural participants, and that middleaged participants' responses would differ by gender more than older participants' responses were supported. However other differences related to time, age, and gender ran counter to predictions. Results were interpreted in light of theories of sex role development, prior research on sex roles and aging, and the limitations of current measures of roles. Contains 16 references. A table of statistical analysis is appended. (JBJ) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************uk********************************** Sex Roles and Aging 1 Reconsidering Sex Roles and Aging: Preliminary Data on Some Influences of Context, Cohort, Time Jan D. Sinnott, Ph.D


A facile three-step method is designed for large-scale preparation of a NiCo2O4@MnO2/nickel foam/MnO2 sandwich architecture with robust adhesion as an advanced electrode for high-performance supercapacitors. The synthesis contains the hydrothermal reaction of a cobalt-nickel hydroxide precursor on a nickel foam (NF) support and subsequent thermal conversion into spinel mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanowire arrays, followed by a hydrothermal oxidation reaction to synthesize NiCo2O4@MnO2/nickel foam/MnO2 sandwiches. Moreover, the tactics reported in this study enable easy control of the growth of NiCo2O4 on one side of the NF and MnO2 nanosheets on both sides of the NF to obtain novel NiCo2O4@MnO2/nickel foam/MnO2 sandwiches. Because of the unusual structural and compositional features, the obtained NiCo2O4@MnO2/nickel foam/MnO2 sandwiches manifest excellent performance with high specific capacitance (1.70 C cm-2 at 2 mA cm-2), exceptional rate capability (78.5% retention at 20 mA cm-2) and ultralong cycling stability (91% retention over 30 000 cycles at 20 mA cm-2) as a battery-type electrode material for supercapacitors. When further assembled into an aqueous hybrid supercapacitor, it can deliver an energy density of 53.5 W h kg-1 at a power density of 80 W kg-1 and 20.7 W h kg-1 at 8 kW kg-1. This novel sandwich electrode provides a new idea for improving the electrochemical performance of hybrid supercapacitors.


Global rainbow thermometry (GRT) measures the mean size and temperature of an ensemble of spray droplets. The domain of validity of the Airy theory for this technique is established through comparison with Lorenz-Mie theory. The temperature derivation from the inflection points of the Airy rainbow pattern appears to be independent of the type of spray dispersion. Measurements in a water spray are reported. The mean diameter obtained from the rainbow pattern lies between the arithmetic and the Sauter mean diameters measured by phase Doppler anemometry. The temperature measurement by GRT is shown to be accurate within a few degrees Celsius.


Changeux et al. recently suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein may interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Such interactions may be involved in pathology and infectivity. Here, we use molecular simulations of validated atomically detailed structures of nAChRs, and of the S protein, to investigate this 'nicotinic hypothesis'. We examine the binding of the Y674-R685 loop of the S protein to three nAChRs, namely the human α4β2 and α7 subtypes and the muscle-like αβγd receptor from Tetronarce californica. Our results indicate that Y674-R685 has affinity for nAChRs and the region responsible for binding contains the PRRA motif, a four-residue insertion not found in other SARS-like coronaviruses. In particular, R682 has a key role in the stabilisation of the complexes as it forms interactions with loops A, B and C in the receptor's binding pocket. The conformational behaviour of the bound Y674-R685 region is highly dependent on the receptor subtype, adopting extended conformations in the α4β2 and α7 complexes and more compact ones when bound to the muscle-like receptor. In the α4β2 and αβγd complexes, the interaction of Y674-R685 with the receptors forces the loop C region to adopt an open conformation similar to other known nAChR antagonists. In contrast, in the α7 complex, Y674-R685 penetrates deeply into the binding pocket where it forms interactions with the residues lining the aromatic box, namely with TrpB, TyrC1 and TyrC2. Estimates of binding energy suggest that Y674-R685 forms stable complexes with all three nAChR subtypes. Analyses of the simulations of the full-length S protein show that the Y674-R685 region is accessible for binding, and suggest a potential binding orientation of the S protein with nAChRs.


Background Comorbidities associated with systemic inflammation including cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke and diabetes mellitus (DM) are common among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A study was undertaken to quantify the burden of comorbidity and to determine the risk of first acute arteriovascular events among individuals with COPD. Methods The computerised primary care records of 1 204 100 members of the general population aged ≥35 years on 25 February 2005 were searched for recordings of each disease. Data were analysed using multivariate logistic regression. Cox regression was used to determine whether individuals with COPD were at increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke. Results Cross-sectional analyses showed that physician-diagnosed COPD was associated with increased risks of CVD (OR 4.98, 95% CI 4.85 to 5.81; p<0.001), stroke (OR 3.34, 95% CI 3.21 to 3.48; p<0.001) and DM (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.97 to 2.12; p<0.001). In the follow-up analyses, after adjusting for confounding by sex and smoking status and stratifying for age, the greatest increase in the rate of acute arteriovascular events was found in the youngest age groups; the HR for acute MI was 10.34 (95% CI 3.28 to 32.60; p<0.001) and for stroke the HR was 3.44 (95% CI 0.85 to 13.84; p<0.001) compared with the oldest age group. Conclusion Individuals with COPD are substantially more likely to have pre-existing CVD, DM or a previous stroke and are at high risk of acute arteriovascular events. National COPD guidelines and models of care need to adapt to provide an integrated approach to addressing these comorbidities.


Myopic choroidal neovascularization (MCNV) is one of the main reasons of vision loss in working population in Asia, which has brought economical and social-psychological burdens with high incidence in China, The precise pathogenesis of MCNV is unclear. Metamorphosia is the main reported symptom in these patients. The lesions were usually with smaller area, less leakage and relatively slow progression. Currently, intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents are now the established standard of care for MCNV, which was a major breakthrough in the treatment of MCNV achieving visual acuity improvement. Since the natural history, clinical features and therapy response of this disease is significant different from that in choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration, the treatment dosing, frequency, retreatment criteria and the follow-up interval should been considerately. Facing the myopia boom in China, there is a need for the development of a precise definition and a more detailed classification for pathogenic myopia, optimize the outcome assessment and follow-up strategy, which should benefit to the further basically and clinical studies.

Key words:
Myopia, degenerative/diagnosis; Myopia, degenerative/complications; Choroidal neovascularization/therapy; Editorial


Hypertension is an exceedingly common disorder in Western societies; but, thanks to improved management of chronic hypertension, the number of patients who present with hypertensive crisis (HC) is less than 1%. However, critical elevation of blood pressure (BP) obliges to a proper and immediate management in order to prevent serious injury to organ target of hypertension (brain, heart, kidney and vessels). Moreover, the so called hypertensive emergencies (HE) and the hypertensive urgencies (HU) expect a several therapeutic approach. The HE warrant both prompt admission to an intensive care unit, where it is available a continuous monitoring of BP, and a prompt starting of a therapy with parenteral anti-hypertensive drugs. The treatment of HU can be managed choosing oral anti-hypertensive agents followed by a tight observation of the patient also in ambulatory system, lowering the BP more gradually over 12 to 24-48 hours. The present clinical review is aimed at reporting the current opinions on the management of HC, examining as well the drugs of largest use. Any drug that lowers BP precipitously should be avoided. Choice of the appropriate agent should be based on the underlying pathophysiological and clinical findings, on the mechanism of action, and on its potential side effects.


The number of satellites in non-geostationary orbits (NGSOs) is planned to grow dramatically, from about a thousand in orbit today to more than 15,000. Most of the new constellations will provide broadband communications, sharing spectrum in Ku/Ka-band and V-band. While not all the constellations will be launched, the potential for harmful interference is obvious. However, the actual risk of interference is not known.
We perform a quantitative risk assessment for NGSO-NGSO interference to inform regulatory and operational decision making. To our knowledge, this is the first publicly available probabilistic NGSO-NGSO risk assessment for multi-constellation configurations. Unlike previous studies that only consider RF signal levels, we characterize interference impacts by the degradation in data throughput.
We use Monte Carlo modeling to calculate the risk of co-channel interference between four planned NGSO constellations operating in Ka-band (LeoSat, O3b, OneWeb's MEO, and Telesat) and three in V-band (OneWeb's MEO, SpaceX's LEO, and Telesat). We consider the interference risk to communication between an NGSO satellite and a user terminal. (The interference risk is greater for user terminals than gateways.)
Engineering risk is the combination of likelihood and consequence. Our consequence metric is the percentage degradation in throughput relative to a fixed reference value (%DTp). Our baseline condition excludes interference hazards but includes poor atmospheric transmission so that %DTp can be non-zero even for baseline.
Our primary result is that NGSO-NGSO interference risk in Ka-band and V-band is low, even without mitigation. Under reasonable assumptions, we find that the mean value of %DTp for the baseline condition can be up to 12 percentage points (pp); interference increases this by 3pp or less. In our most conservative scenario (all satellites in an interfering constellation form co-channel, co-polarization links with earth stations in a small area), the increase in mean %DTp due to interference can reach 18pp.
The large constellations—OneWeb and SpaceX—are most likely to cause interference to others. Our results suggest that the need for interference mitigation will be limited. In cases where mitigation is needed, we find that look-aside mitigation based on ephemeris information—which does not require coordination between operators—can benefit large constellations but can harm small constellations. We believe that mitigation will have to include coordination. This raises questions about how to achieve coordination using operational information, e.g., which satellite is serving a particular earth station on which channel.


Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is coming into worldwide use for diesel engine emissions reduction of on- and off-highway vehicles. These applications are characterized by broad operating range as well as rapid and unpredictable changes in operating condition. Significant nonlinearity, input, and output constraints, and stringent performance requirements have led to the proposal of many different advanced control strategies. This article introduces a model predictive feedback controller based on a nonlinear, reduced order model. Computational effort is significantly reduced through successive linearization, analytical solutions, and a varying terminal cost function. A gradient-based parameter adaptation law is employed to achieve consistent performance. The controller is demonstrated in simulation for an on-highway heavy-duty diesel engine over two widely different emissions test cycles and for 24 different plants. Comparisons with baseline control designs reveal the attractive features as well as the limitations of this approach.


Fibrinogen from plasma was compared with fibrinogen from platelets using two-dimensional electrophoresis. The source of platelet fibrinogen was isolated alpha-granules, thrombin- and collagen-released platelet material. The B beta- and gamma-chains from the different sources showed similar two-dimensional patterns, while gamma'-chains were not observed in platelet fibrinogen preparations. Furthermore, the A alpha-chain could hardly be identified in platelet preparations. When individual fibrinogen was studied in persons heterozygous for genetic B beta- and gamma-chain variants, the two-dimensional variant pattern could be demonstrated in plasma fibrinogen as well as in platelet fibrinogen. This observation strongly indicates that the structural genes for plasma and platelet fibrinogen B beta- and gamma-chains are identical.


While it is widely accepted that planets are formed in protoplanetary disks, there is still much debate on when this process happens. In a few cases protoplanets have been directly imaged, but for the vast majority of systems, disk gaps and cavities—seen especially in dust continuum observations—have been the strongest evidence of recent or ongoing planet formation. We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of a nearly edge-on (i = 75°) disk containing a giant gap seen in dust but not in 12CO gas. Inside the gap, the molecular gas has a warm (100 K) component coinciding in position with a tentative free–free emission excess observed with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. Using 1D hydrodynamic models, we find the structure of the gap is consistent with being carved by a planet with 4–70 MJup. The coincidence of free–free emission inside the planet-carved gap points to the planet being very young and/or still accreting. In addition, the 12CO observations reveal low-velocity large-scale filaments aligned with the disk major axis and velocity coherent with the disk gas that we interpret as ongoing gas infall from the local interstellar medium. This system appears to be an interesting case where both a star (from the environment and the disk) and a planet (from the disk) are growing in tandem.


In this paper, we are concerned with a hybrid hyperbolic dynamic system formulated by partial differential equations with initial and boundary conditions. An optimal energy control of the system is investigated. First, the system is transformed to an abstract evolution system in an appropriate Hilbert space, and then semigroup generation of the system operator is discussed. Finally, an optimal energy control problem is proposed and it is shown that an optimal energy control can be obtained by a finite dimensional approximation.


We combined the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with oligonucleotide hybridization as a novel and sensitive technique to evaluate posttransplant chimerism. Specific oligonucleotides for hybridization were synthesized homologous to tandemly repetitive core sequences of regions with a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs). Polymorphisms at such loci result from allelic differences in the number of repeats. Primers flanking the repeat region of each of the corresponding VNTRs were used for amplification. Recipient and donor pretransplant DNA and recipient posttransplant DNA were amplified. The resultant fragments were analyzed after gel electrophoresis either by hybridization in-gel or after Southern transfer. To confirm our findings, we also performed standard assays of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). Evaluation of 13 selected cases indicated mixed chimerism (4), complete chimerism (5), recurrence of leukemia (2), and endogenous repopulation of hematopoiesis (2) after marrow transplantation. Sensitivity of the method was determined by mixing various proportions of recipient and donor DNA; the limit of detection of the minor component in a mixture was 0.1%. PCR data correlated with RFLP data in all cases except two in which PCR proved more sensitive than RFLP. PCR amplification of VNTRs combined with oligonucleotide hybridization is a novel technique for documenting posttransplant chimerism and has advantages over RFLP analysis: high sensitivity, use of small amounts of DNA (250 ng), ease of preparation of DNA, elimination of need for restriction enzymes, and the ability to complete studies in 2 days.


We provide a comprehensive survey of packet-switched ring metro WDM networks. We first review current standardization and testbed activities, then we provide a categorization of ring WDM networks. We structure our survey according to a classification of the medium access control (MAC) protocols employed in the networks. Throughout the article we pay close attention to the key factors that govern the throughput-delay performance of the networks, such as the source vs. destination stripping of the data packets from the ring and the a priori or a posteriori access strategies. We also consider fairness aspects and QoS support in the networks.


The success of clinical decision-support systems requires that they are seamlessly integrated into clinical workflow. In the SAGE project, which aims to create the technological infra-structure for implementing computable clinical practice guide-lines in enterprise settings, we created a deployment-driven methodology for developing guideline knowledge bases. It involves (1) identification of usage scenarios of guideline-based care in clinical workflow, (2) distillation and disambiguation of guideline knowledge relevant to these usage scenarios, (3) formalization of data elements and vocabulary used in the guideline, and (4) encoding of usage scenarios and guideline knowledge using an executable guideline model. This methodology makes explicit the points in the care process where guideline-based decision aids are appropriate and the roles of clinicians for whom the guideline-based assistance is intended. We have evaluated the methodology by simulating the deployment of an immunization guideline in a real clinical information system and by reconstructing the workflow context of a deployed decision-support system for guideline-based care. We discuss the implication of deployment-driven guideline encoding for sharability of executable guidelines.


Shugoshin-like protein 1 (Sgo1) is an essential protein in mitosis; it protects sister chromatid cohesion and thereby ensures the fidelity of chromosome separation. We found that the expression of Sgo1 mRNA was relatively low in normal tissues, but was upregulated in 82% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and correlated with elevated alpha-fetoprotein and early disease onset of HCC. The depletion of Sgo1 reduced cell viability of hepatoma cell lines including HuH7, HepG2, Hep3B, and HepaRG. Using time-lapse microscopy, we showed that hepatoma cells were delayed and ultimately die in mitosis in the absence of Sgo1. In contrast, cell viability and mitotic progression of immortalized cells were not significantly affected. Notably, mitotic cell death induced upon Sgo1 depletion was suppressed upon inhibitions of cyclin-dependent kinase-1 and Aurora kinase-B, or the depletion of mitotic arrest deficient-2. Thus, mitotic cell death induced upon Sgo1 depletion in hepatoma cells is mediated by persistent activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint. Together, these results highlight the essential role of Sgo1 in the maintenance of a proper mitotic progression in hepatoma cells and suggest that Sgo1 is a promising oncotarget for HCC.


A reasonably comprehensive set of data accessing and manipulation operations that should be supported by a generalized pictorial database management system (PDBMS) is proposed. A corresponding high-level query language, PICQUERY, is presented and illustrated through examples. PICQUERY has been designed with a flavor similar to QBE as the highly nonprocedural and conservational language for the pictorial database management system PICDMS. PICQUERY and a relational QBE-like language would form the language by which a user could access conventional relational databases and at the same time pictorial databases managed by PICDMS or other robust PDBMS. This language interface is part of an architecture aimed toward data heterogeneity transparency over pictorial and nonpictorial databases. >


Studies indicate that most European new, technology-based firms (NTBFs) have been founded by relatively senior, highly-educated personnel coming from existing companies. These founders already have strong, industry and market links. A relatively small proportion have spun out of university or other public research facilities. However, this latter group has attracted particular attention from several interested groups, including governments and the scientific establishment. For governments, this has appeared to offer a means whereby public policy could have a direct and significant impact on economic development. Hence, substantial public resources are increasingly being committed to support these developments in most industrialised countries. The founders of HEI spinouts are often academics aiming to commercialise nascent technologies and they face challenges, which are less likely to arise for the founder with an industry background. The emerging technologies often commercialised in academic spinouts may have many potential applications. At the outset, founders must make critical strategic choices of applications to develop, if they are to attract the substantial resources often needed for the risky development process. Some of these choices need an understanding of changing fashions in business models and investors' current preferences for particular industries. It is a difficult challenge for academic founders with little prior market knowledge and linkages, and no previous experience of professional investors and their requirements, to select the applications and business models which will support successful venture creation. This paper explores a number of key issues which surround these decisions and their relation to the changing business environment. It is concluded that the acceptability of novel technologies and products is mediated by systemic interactions which are ill-understood by industry and government.


Introduction: Olecranon fractures are relatively common upper extremity fractures often treated with tension band wiring and plate fixation. The purpose of this review is to compare the complications, reoperation rates, and clinical and radiographic outcomes of tension band wiring and plate fixation in patients treated surgically for olecranon fractures at our institution. Methods: Retrospective review identified 59 patients (27 men and 32 women) treated operatively for olecranon fractures between 2006 and 2016 at our level 1 trauma center. The average age was 47 years (range: 17 to 81 years). Medical records were reviewed for complications, reoperation rates, and other perioperative variables. The average follows up time was 12 months. All patients were assessed clinically and radiographically at their latest follow up. Results: Of the 59 patients with an olecranon fracture, 23 underwent treatment with tension band wiring and 36 underwent plate fixation. The overall complication rate was 55.9%. The most common overall complication was symptomatic implants seen in 44.1% of patients. Complications were greater in the tension band group (65.2%) compared to the plate fixation group (50%). The overall rate of implant removal for both fixation groups was 39.0%, performed at an average time of 11.6 months. This was seen in 43.5% of the tension band group and 36.1% in the plate fixation group. Implant removal was most commonly performed for symptomatic hardware. The mean elbow extension deficit was 7 degrees for both groups. Plate fixation required significantly longer operating times (110 verse 81 minutes). Radiographic arthrosis was seen in nine patients (15.3%) and heterotrophic ossification was seen in seven (11.9%). Conclusion: Though both tension band wiring and plate fixation are reliable fixation methods that provide a consistent union of olecranon fractures, our series demonstrates high rates of complications and reoperations for both methods.


Electronic properties of the passive film formed on nominally smooth Zn electrodes in aqueous KOH solutions were investigated using in situ Raman spectroscopy. Measurements performed in 1 M KOH, in which the potential, E, of Zn electrodes was stepped from E = -1.6 V (fully reduced state) into the passive region, i.e., E > -1.2 V vs. saturated calomel electrode, revealed a significant increase in the intensity of the Raman peak attributed to the E 1 longitudinal optical (LO) phonon modes of ZnO at ca. 565 cm -1 , with respect to that of one of the E 2 modes of the same material at 436 cm -1 , as the passivation potential was made more positive. In analogy with observations made for sputtered ZnO films under high vacuum conditions (G. J. Exarhos and S. K. Sharma, Thin Solid Films, v. 270, p. 27-32, 1995; and M. Tzolov et al., Thin Solid Films, v. 379, p. 28-36, 2000), such unusually intense LO phonon features have been ascribed to the presence of interstitial Zn and oxygen deficiency in the lattice, affording rather convincing evidence that the electronic characteristics of Zn passive films in alkaline solutions are influenced by the conditions under which the films are formed. A similar behavior was found for electrochemically formed films in 0.1 M KOH solutions, in which case small amounts of Ag were electrodeposited on the bare Zn surfaces prior to potential step passivation to enhance the otherwise weak Raman signals found for the Zn passive film in this medium.


Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory reaction that primarily affects large and medium-sized arteries. It is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and peripheral arterial occlusive disease. The pathogenesis of AS involves specific structural and functional alterations in various populations of vascular cells at different stages of the disease. The immune response is involved throughout the entire developmental stage of AS, and targeting immune cells presents a promising avenue for its treatment. Over the past 2 decades, studies have shown that gut microbiota (GM) and its metabolites, such as trimethylamine-N-oxide, have a significant impact on the progression of AS. Interestingly, it has also been reported that there are complex mechanisms of action between GM and their metabolites, immune responses, and natural products that can have an impact on AS. GM and its metabolites regulate the functional expression of immune cells and have potential impacts on AS. Natural products have a wide range of health properties, and researchers are increasingly focusing on their role in AS. Now, there is compelling evidence that natural products provide an alternative approach to improving immune function in the AS microenvironment by modulating the GM. Natural product metabolites such as resveratrol, berberine, curcumin, and quercetin may improve the intestinal microenvironment by modulating the relative abundance of GM, which in turn influences the accumulation of GM metabolites. Natural products can delay the progression of AS by regulating the metabolism of GM, inhibiting the migration of monocytes and macrophages, promoting the polarization of the M2 phenotype of macrophages, down-regulating the level of inflammatory factors, regulating the balance of Treg/Th17, and inhibiting the formation of foam cells. Based on the above, we describe recent advances in the use of natural products that target GM and immune cells crosstalk to treat AS, which may bring some insights to guide the treatment of AS.