Editing faces in videos is a popular yet challenging task in computer vision and graphics that encompasses various applications, including facial attractiveness enhancement, makeup transfer, face replacement, and expression manipulation. Directly applying the existing warping methods to video face editing has the major problem of temporal incoherence in the synthesized videos, which cannot be addressed by simply employing face tracking techniques or manual interventions, as it is difficult to eliminate the subtly temporal incoherence of the facial feature point localizations in a video sequence. In this article, we propose a temporal-spatial-smooth warping (TSSW) method to achieve a high temporal coherence for video face editing. TSSW is based on two observations: (1) the control lattices are critical for generating warping surfaces and achieving the temporal coherence between consecutive video frames, and (2) the temporal coherence and spatial smoothness of the control lattices can be simultaneously and effectively preserved. Based upon these observations, we impose the temporal coherence constraint on the control lattices on two consecutive frames, as well as the spatial smoothness constraint on the control lattice on the current frame. TSSW calculates the control lattice (in either the horizontal or vertical direction) by updating the control lattice (in the corresponding direction) on its preceding frame, i.e., minimizing a novel energy function that unifies a data-driven term, a smoothness term, and feature point constraints. The contributions of this article are twofold: (1) we develop TSSW, which is robust to the subtly temporal incoherence of the facial feature point localizations and is effective to preserve the temporal coherence and spatial smoothness of the control lattices for editing faces in videos, and (2) we present a new unified video face editing framework that is capable for improving the performances of facial attractiveness enhancement, makeup transfer, face replacement, and expression manipulation.


This article explores the links between gangs, masculinity, religion, spirituality and desistance from an international perspective. It presents insights from life history interviews conducted with a small sample of 17 male reforming gang members in Denmark who had become immersed in a holistic spiritual intervention programme that foregrounded meditation, yoga and dynamic breathing techniques. Engagement with the programme enabled the men to begin to perform broader versions of masculinity, experience improved mental health and well-being and develop a greater commitment to criminal desistance. Links with religious and spiritual engagement are discussed, and policy implications for the UK gang context included.


We describe the selection of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) Time-domain Field (TDF), a ≳14′ diameter field located within JWST's northern continuous viewing zone (CVZ) and centered at (R.A., decl.)J2000 = (17:22:47.896, +65:49:21.54). We demonstrate that this is the only region in the sky where JWST can observe a clean (i.e., free of bright foreground stars and with low Galactic foreground extinction) extragalactic deep survey field of this size at arbitrary cadence or at arbitrary orientation, and without a penalty in terms of a raised zodiacal background. This will crucially enable a wide range of new and exciting time-domain science, including high-redshift transient searches and monitoring (e.g., SNe), variability studies from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to brown dwarf atmospheres, as well as proper motions of possibly extreme scattered Kuiper Belt and Inner Oort Cloud Objects, and of nearby Galactic brown dwarfs, low-mass stars, and ultracool white dwarfs. A JWST/NIRCam+NIRISS GTO program will provide an initial 0.8–5.0 μm spectrophotometric characterization to m AB ∼ 28.8 ± 0.3 mag of four orthogonal "spokes" within this field. The multi-wavelength (radio through X-ray) context of the field is in hand (ground-based near–UV-visible–near-IR), in progress (VLA 3 GHz, VLBA 5 GHz, HST UV-visible, Chandra X-ray, and IRAM 30 m 1.3 and 2 mm), or scheduled (JCMT 850 μm). We welcome and encourage ground- and space-based follow-up of the initial GTO observations and ancillary data, to realize its potential as an ideal JWST time-domain community field.


This paper reports the findings of a comparative analysis of online learner behavioral interactions, time-on-task, attendance, and performance at different points throughout a semester (beginning, during, and end) based on two online courses: one course offering authentic discussion-based learning activities and the other course offering authentic design/development-based learning activities. Web log data were collected to determine the number of learner behavioral interactions with the Moodle learning management system (LMS), the number of behavioral interactions with peers, the time-on-task for weekly tasks, and the recorded attendance. Student performance on weekly tasks was also collected from the course data. Behavioral interactions with the Moodle LMS included resource viewing activities and uploading/downloading file activities. Behavioral interactions with peers included discussion postings, discussion responses, and discussion viewing activities. A series of Mann-Whitney tests were conducted to compare the two types of behavioral interactions between the two courses. Additionally, each student's behavioral interactions were visually presented to show the pattern of their interactions. The results indicated that, at the beginning of the semester, students who were involved in authentic design/development-based learning activities showed a significantly higher number of behavioral interactions with the Moodle LMS than did students involved in authentic discussion-based learning activities. However, in the middle of the semester, students engaged in authentic discussion-based learning activities showed a significantly higher number of behavioral interactions with peers than did students involved in authentic design/development-based learning activities. Additionally, students who were given authentic design/development-based learning activities received higher performance scores both during the semester and at the end of the semester and they showed overall higher performance scores than students who were given authentic discussion-based learning activities. No differences were found between the two groups with respect to time-on-task or attendance.


We live in an era in which the culture and values of big business are dominant. The riptides of capital swirl around the globe ruining entire economies overnight. Directors and chief executives cash in stock options for unimaginable fortunes while whole workforces are "downsized" as companies relocate at a whim. Environmental degradation escalates as the earth's resources are looted. The dream of worldwide prosperity and peace is given the lie from Kosovo to the Congo, from the drug baronies of South America to the criminal empires of the former Soviet Union. Welcome to the Age of Insecurity. In the face of this slow-motion global coup d'etat by untrammelled finance, traditionally left leaning parties now in power have abandoned their concern with regulating business for a compulsive and self-righteous moralism; the Blair government stands as a perfect exemplar in this trend. In the coruscating argument the authors make a plea for government to turn strictures concerning ethics away from the citizen and on to a financial system that is making our society ever more precarious. Since the publication of the hardback of he Age of Insecurity in May 1998 events have conspired to validate the author's argument. In a new preface and afterword Elliott and Atkinson draw out the lessons to be learned from the hedge-fund crisis, the disintegration of the rouble and the spreading of economic turmoil in Latin America. The Age of Insecurity is, more than ever, a vital and radical tract for our times.


The blue shark (Prionace glauca) is a large predator in marine ecosystems, figuring as the most common and abundant species in oceanic fisheries. For this reason, many studies on this species were conducted throughout its entire distribution range. However, no comparison has been made regarding the variability of the aspects addressed herein. Thus, the present study aims at analyzing the available information on P. glauca. This species constitutes between 85 and 90% of the total elasmobranchs caught by oceanic fisheries with pelagic longlines. Growth parameters reveal that individuals in the Atlantic Ocean show the highest asymptotic lengths when compared to those found in other oceans. Females present an average uterine fecundity of 30 embryos. Although it shows a diverse diet, it is mainly composed of teleost fish and cephalopods. Currently, the main threat to the species is commercial fishing, being listed in Brazil and worldwide, according to IUCN as Near Threatened. Regardless, information on crucial aspects, such as its population dynamics, are still scarce or unreliable for many areas. Despite the number of studies regarding its distribution, abundance, and biology, data for new stock assessments of P. glauca are still needed to improve the species' management.


Background (1) Establish an improved morphological staging method of midpalatal suture. (2) Investigate the correlation between morphological stages of midpalatal suture (MPS stage) and cervical vertebrate maturation (CVM) stages. (3) Compare effects of traditional tooth-borne rapid maxillary expansion (RME) at different MPS stages. Methods 1076 CBCT images (675 females, 401 males, 6.0 to 21.0 years old) are included. MPS stages are classified based on observation of horizontal view. Correlation between MPS stage and CVM stage are investigated by Spearman correlation coefficient and diagnostic test analysis. Effects of traditional tooth-borne RME at different MPS stages were analyzed based on pre- and post-expansion dental casts. Results Five stages of midpalatal suture are established. Spearman coefficient between MPS stage and CVM stage is 0.803. Diagnostic pairs with the largest area under ROC curve (AUC) value are: CS 6 - MPS 5,CS 5 - MPS 4s2,CS 1 - MPS 1, CS 4 - MPS 4s1, CS 2 - MPS 1, CS 3 - MPS 3. 309/340 (90.9%) of individuals at CS 1-3 are at MPS 1-3, 31/340 (9.1%) are at MPS 4s1. 107/324 (31.2%) of individuals at CS 4 are at MPS 3, 151/324 (46.6%) are at MPS 4s1. Conclusion (1) An improved morphological staging method of midpalatal suture is established. (2) MPS stages have close relationship with CVM stages. (3) Pre-treatment CBCT is recommended for individuals at CS 4 to estimate the possibility of skeletal expansion with traditional tooth-borne RME.


Engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) are relatively new construction materials characterized by strain-hardening behavior under excessive tensile loading. The intrinsic selfhealing ability of cracks in ECC is an attractive methodology for durability and in some cases for regaining of mechanical properties. In order to achieve the robust self-healing criteria, this dissertation comprises of four main parts. The first part explores the effectiveness of frost action on water movement into micro-cracked ECC. Experimental findings show that until the end of 150 freezing and thawing (F/T) cycles, sorptivity measurements of ECC went down due to self-healing in micro-cracks. However, after 150 F/T cycles, deterioration surpasses the self-healing effect and increased sorptivity. The second part of the research focuses on the effect of self-healing capability on the different transport properties of micro-cracked ECC with several maturity levels and incorporating different mineral admixtures. Experimental results reveal that with the selection of proper mineral admixture, 92% recovery in water sorptivity results is attainable mostly in the first seven days of curing. The third part investigates the effects of progressively increasing sustained loading on self-healing behavior of 180-day-old micro-cracked ECC incorporating different mineral admixtures. Experimental results show that even under progressively increasing sustained mechanical loading, modulus of rupture results greater than the original values could be obtained, depending on the mineral admixture selection. The last part of the dissertation investigates the selfhealing behavior of large scale ECC reinforced beams under load influence. The results show that ECC beams with no regards to their size exhibit strength recovery after 90 days of extended moist curing. As for ductility, ECC beams with lower shear span to depth ratio have more pronounced recovery than the ones with higher ratios.


Despite the growing literature on Brexit, specifically, and conflicts of sovereignty, more generally, there has been insufficient research on how the concept of sovereignty has been used in citizen campaigns and street protests across the United Kingdom – a form of 'counter-democracy' through which people attempted to oversee the post-referendum political process. Combining qualitative content analysis of campaign websites with a discourse-network analysis of media articles on Brexit protests, this article shows that claims to sovereignty were mobilised not only in conflicts between the United Kingdom and the European Union, but also in conflicts between different institutions within Britain itself. Both 'Leavers' and 'Remainers' appealed to popular and parliamentary sovereignty at different points in time, pragmatically adapting their framing according to changing circumstances but also as a result of a dynamic series of interactions with each other, including denying, keying and embracing their opponents' frames. Crucially, conflicts around different institutionalisations of popular sovereignty did not demand system change, a rhetoric familiar from other protests of the 2010s such as Occupy Wall Street with its emphasis on 'We are the 99%'. To the contrary, pro- and anti-Brexit mobilisations remained firmly focused on Brexit policy itself. They problematised the split between 'Remainers' and 'Leavers' within the United Kingdom, between 48% and 52%, and thus, on a deeper level, the tension between the political principle of popular sovereignty and the sociological reality of a split country. Finally, the more Leavers opposed Remainers, the more movements and parties on each of these two sides aligned. Politicians featured prominently in campaigns and as speakers at protest events, contributing to close cooperation between protesters and parties, and precluding anti-systemic discourses around popular sovereignty that would target parties and institutions altogether.


Dr. Benouar presents a full and integrated study of the recent seismicity of Algeria and adjacent regions during the twentieth century. He has amassed an impressive amount of macroseismic information pertaining to individual earthquakes, which he combines with instrumental information to reassess the origin parameters of each event. In any compilation of earthquakes it is the additional information beyond the bare accumulation of figures and facts that adds interest and social understanding to the scientific appreciation of the earthquakes themselves. For this it is necessary to know the local conditions, and Dr. Benouar brings out for us very vivid1y the differences between reporting procedures at different times this century, and the ensuing difficulties. It would be most difficult for an outsider to gather the information he presents, and he makes good use of his knowledge of his native land, as well as his professional training as an engineer. We thus learn of the reluctance of the colonial powers to report on damage or casualties outside those inflicted on the expatriate community, and the general difficulties of finding information about earthquakes that occurred during the wars of independence, at a time when effects of even major earthquakes were sometimes minor compared to those of the war itself. He also does not spare us details of political difficulties that arose during periods of reconstruction following recent earthquakes. This work is not restricted, however, to description. He examines the underlying tectonics of the area and deduces estimates of hazard and risk in various parts of the country. He then proceeds to examine the engineering consequences and discuss future needs for building codes and civil protection. Dr. Benouar has produced a work which could well form a model for those wishing to undertake comprelzensive studies of seismicity of other areas, and the measures needed to reduce the effects of catastrophic earthquakes.


The capturing of angular and spatial information of the scene using single camera is made possible by new emerging technology referred to as plenoptic camera. Both angular and spatial information, enable various post-processing applications, e.g. refocusing, synthetic aperture, super-resolution, and 3D scene reconstruction. In the past, multiple traditional cameras were used to capture the angular and spatial information of the scene. However, recently with the advancement in optical technology, plenoptic cameras have been introduced to capture the scene information. In a plenoptic camera, a lenslet array is placed between the main lens and the image sensor that allows multiplexing of the spatial and angular information onto a single image, also referred to as plenoptic image. The placement of the lenslet array relative to the main lens and the image sensor, results in two different optical designs of a plenoptic camera, also referred to as plenoptic 1.0 and plenoptic 2.0. In this work, we present a novel dataset captured with plenoptic 1.0 (Lytro Illum) and plenoptic 2.0 (Raytrix R29) cameras for the same scenes under the same conditions. The dataset provides the benchmark contents for various research and development activities for plenoptic images.


Plasmonic resonances in metallic nanostructures provide a way for broadband enhanced light–matter interaction in subwavelength regions, which can be used to boost a variety of physical phenomena, notably including Raman scattering. Such nanostructures can be integrated on silicon chips and driven via dielectric waveguides, which may improve the performance of photonic integrated circuits in terms of foot-print, efficiency, sensitivity or power consumption, amongst other figures of merit. Here, we show that an isolated plasmonic nanoantenna can be efficiently integrated into a silicon nitride waveguide to detect surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra from molecular monolayers. We study numerically and experimentally two different configurations, both enabling the recording of Raman spectra at the output: nanoantenna on top of the waveguide and nanoantenna inserted in a subwavelength gap built in the waveguide. We also compare both configurations, which may pave the way toward massive integration of SERS devices for lab-on-a-chip applications.


We show that the transformer attention mechanism is the update rule of a modern Hopfield network with continuous states. This new Hopfield network can store exponentially (with the dimension) many patterns, converges with one update, and has exponentially small retrieval errors. The number of stored patterns is traded off against convergence speed and retrieval error. The new Hopfield network has three types of energy minima (fixed points of the update): (1) global fixed point averaging over all patterns, (2) metastable states averaging over a subset of patterns, and (3) fixed points which store a single pattern. Transformer and BERT models operate in their first layers preferably in the global averaging regime, while they operate in higher layers in metastable states. The gradient in transformers is maximal for metastable states, is uniformly distributed for global averaging, and vanishes for a fixed point near a stored pattern. Using the Hopfield network interpretation, we analyzed learning of transformer and BERT models. Learning starts with attention heads that average and then most of them switch to metastable states. However, the majority of heads in the first layers still averages and can be replaced by averaging, e.g. our proposed Gaussian weighting. In contrast, heads in the last layers steadily learn and seem to use metastable states to collect information created in lower layers. These heads seem to be a promising target for improving transformers. Neural networks with Hopfield networks outperform other methods on immune repertoire classification, where the Hopfield net stores several hundreds of thousands of patterns. We provide a new PyTorch layer called "Hopfield", which allows to equip deep learning architectures with modern Hopfield networks as a new powerful concept comprising pooling, memory, and attention. GitHub: this https URL


The early detection and management of recurrence following curative resection for colorectal carcinoma can prolong survival. However, at the present time there is no consensus on the appropriate follow-up protocol for such patients. This investigation was undertaken to determine which tests and procedures are most useful in detecting recurrence and the frequency with which they should be employed. Another purpose of this study was to identify those patients at high risk for recurrence. Sixty-five patients who underwent curative resection of adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum were followed for at least two years or until recurrence. Thirty were classified as Duke's A carcinoma of the colon, 18 were Duke's B, and 17 were Duke's C. Mean follow-up was 44.9 months. The follow-up regimen consisted of clinical exam, liver function tests, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, and chest x-ray every three months for the first two years postoperatively and every six months thereafter, and colonoscopy or barium enema and proctoscopy every six months for the first two years postoperatively and every year thereafter. Seventeen patients (26%) had a recurrence; 24% per cent of these developed within one year, 65 per cent developed within two years, 82 per cent developed within three years, and 94 per cent developed within four years of resection. Recurrence was detected by CEA in eight patients, chest x-ray in five, endoscopy in three, and laparotomy for small-bowel obstruction in one patient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


New Zealand has adopted the raised-profile type of audio tactile profiled (ATP) roadmarkings. This research was undertaken in 2011/2012 to help address gaps in available international literature on the stability of motorcycles when travelling on or across ATP roadmarkings. The research investigated the stability of motorcycles when contacting ATP roadmarkings, through evidence of traffic crash reports from motorcycle crashes at locations where ATP roadmarkings were present, a review of associated international literature, and simulation of motorcycles interacting with ATP roadmarkings via full-scale physical testing and computer simulation testing. This research found no evidence that ATP roadmarkings as currently used in New Zealand create any significant instability issues for motorcycles.


Several recent studies have documented the rising earnings and wage inequality and the widening inequality in the distribution of family income in the United States over the past 15 years. We examine the effect of government tax and transfer policies to offset some of these disequalizing changes, using a sample of six nations observed in two periods during the 1980s. We ask the following questions: in addition to changes in earned income inequality, how do other components of market income affect market pre-government income inequality? How does government tax and transfer policy affect the distribution? And finally, what were the trends in market driven inequality, government intervention, and disposable income inequality during the 1980s? The results of our exploration indicate that the U.S. redistribution system is decidedly weaker that that found in other nations.


Over the past two decades, a burgeoning literature has touted the promise of regional collaboration to address a wide range of issues. This article challenges the premise that horizontal collaboration alone can empower regional decision-making venues. By analyzing efforts to create regional venues for transportation policy making in Chicago and Los Angeles, the authors show that vertical power is essential to building regional capacities. Only by exercising power at multiple levels of the political system can local reformers launch a virtuous cycle of reform that begins to build enduring regional capacities.


Although the field of tissue engineering has advanced significantly in the past decade, the inability to easily produce structured scaffolds continues to hinder its progress. We have proposed a method to create a porous scaffold utilizing directional freezing that is fast, reproducible and can be easily mass produced. Most importantly, this method creates long parallel channels within the scaffold. This should allow cells in the scaffold to grow more easily, and may aid scientists in predicting diffusion rates of nutrients and drugs throughout the scaffold. A cross-linked alginate gel was utilized in a directional freezing apparatus which incorporated a mold based on the horizontal Bridgeman design. The apparatus is designed to allow crystallization to occur in only one direction. The gel was frozen from 0°C to −40°C at a cooling rate of −18.3°C/minute. The samples were then freeze dried (leaving pores where ice dendrites had been), sectioned and viewed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Visual inspection revealed clear directionality present within the scaffolds. SEM photos also showed evenly spaced pores on the order of 100 μm present. A lesser magnification photo showed that the pores extended to become parallel channels producing a structured mesh that resembled an air filter. The directional freezing method is successful when used to create porous tissue engineering scaffolds, especially those with a low amount of tortuosity. By altering the cooling rate, it may be possible to create different pore distributions, thereby producing a method which can be utilized to create directional tissue engineering scaffolds quickly and effectively.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


This research takes a phenomenological approach through narratives to investigate the meanings females attribute to their experiences with physical activity. Nine females across the age ranges of 10-80 were asked to share three meaningful physical activity stories. These experiences could be positive or negative in nature as long as they were reflective of a meaningful experience for the participant. The aim of the research was to explore the types of physical activity experiences that females find meaningful. The results indicate that participants perceived the following to be meaningful within their experience: social support, benefits to personal health and wellbeing, recognition and acknowledgment, empowerment, body control, early positive experience and identity formation. Participants' stories offered an enlightened understanding of the meanings active females associate with physical activity across their lifespans that perhaps can assist in formulating and developing strategies to encourage and promote involvement in physical activity.


We have presented general ideas to develop a theoretical methodology, based on Molecular simulation and Einstein equation aimed to describe the mechanism and behavior of chitosan-membrane ion conductivity and to obtain its magnitude for different ionic species. Atomistic molecular modelling has been utilized to construct an ionic-conducting polymer electrolyte system consisting of poly(chitosan), H O 2 molecules, and + H O 3 , − OH , 2− 4 SO ions, inside of the simulation cell. The COMPASS force field was used. The simulation allows describing the mechanism of ionic conductivity along the polymer matrix. The theoretical results obtained are compared with previously-reported experimental data for chitosan membranes. The present methodology can be considered as a first step towards understanding these complex problems of technological interest.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
Because of associated abnormalities affecting connective tissue in various organs including airways, hypermobility syndrome has been associated with high risk for the development sleep apnea. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and Marfan syndrome (MFS) represent the most common hypermobility syndromes; therefore, the purpose of this review was to examine the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in these populations.

METHODS
All publications and poster presentations written in English found through August 2018 that describe the prevalence of sleep apnea among people with EDS or MFS were included.

RESULTS
A total of 13 studies were identified, 7 for EDS and 6 for MFS. A combined random prevalence rate of OSA across both populations was 48.9% (95% confidence interval 38.3-59.6), with a slightly higher rate of 59.7% (39.7-77.0) for MFS versus 39.4% (28.8-51.1) for EDS. However, a high degree of heterogeneity across studies was found in both groups (EDS group: Q = 28.6 and I2 = 79.0; MFS group: Q = 37.1 and I2 = 86.5). When directly compared to the general population, patients with EDS/MFS were on average six times more likely (odds ratio 6.28 [95% confidence interval 3.31-11.93], P < 0.001, Z = 5.61) to have a diagnosis of OSA.

CONCLUSIONS
OSA is a previously underestimated EDS/MFS-related complication. The high prevalence of OSA might be the result of bony and soft-tissue abnormalities associated with these hypermobility syndromes. Untreated OSA is thought to worsen cardiovascular complications especially among those with MFS. Further research is needed to better delineate whether the prevalence of OSA is moderated by factors such as sex, body mass index, bony structure, and disorder subtype.


The development of multimode absorption spectroscopy (MUMAS) for multi-species detec- tion and its potential for process control or environmental monitoring is reported. The simultaneous detection of CO and CO2 is demonstrated in a proof-of-principle experiment for applications in industrially relevant gas species monitoring. The technique of MUMAS is extended to the near infrared in order to detect these and other industrially relevant species. A laser was designed and constructed to emit a multimode spectrum in the region of 1.57um to take advantage of the spectral overlap of the second vibrational overtone of CO and the combination band 3ν1 + ν3 of CO2. The laser consisted of a semi-confocal cavity employing an Er:Yb glass chip as the gain medium. The laser was pumped by a 1W laser diode at 980nm and emitted up to 30mW in a bandwidth of 180GHz. The laser emitted between 6-10 modes depending upon the selective cavity length. Mode spacings varied between 18GHz to 33GHz with an individual mode linewidth of less than 8MHz. The laser modes were simultaneously scanned using a piezo-electric transducer (PZT) in order to modulate the cavity length at frequencies between 1Hz and 10Hz. A system for linearizing the MUMAS spectra with respect to frequency was devised based on a transmission spectra of a confocal Fabry-Perot etalon. Refinements to the MUMAS fitting code were developed to improve the computational efficiency. An initial demonstration of MUMAS on a known gas mixture of CO and CO2 was per- formed. The ratio of CO:CO2 concentrations in the gas mixture was measured with an accuracy of 0.4% which was within the supplier's quoted uncertainty. MUMAS is then applied to the detection of CO and CO2 concentrations in exhaust gas produced by a 1.3 litre 4-cylinder turbo-charged spark ignition engine. Relative and absolute concentrations were derived from MUMAS signals and values compared to measurements using a 4-gas analyser. Concentrations of CO and CO2 were measured using MUMAS to a precision of 0.17% and 0.23% respectively compared to less than 0.1% for the 4-gas analyser. Ratios of CO and CO2 were determined with a precision of 0.28 using MUMAS compared to 0.11 with the 4-gas analyser. The detection limit of CO was found to be 1486ppm in these circumstances. Finally a discussion is presented of potential improvements arising from wavelength mod- ulation spectroscopy and cavity enhancement techniques.


Acronyms for groups of countries provide an often useful shorthand to capture emergent similarities, and terms such as PIIGS, BRICs and LDCs pervade the lexicon of international and comparative political economy. This can also lead to misleading narratives, since the grounds for use of these terms as heuristic devices are usually not well elaborated. This can become problematic when the use of such heuristics drives market responses in areas such as risk perception and changes in interest rates. In this paper we look at the narrative construction of the group of countries that has been grouped as 'PIIGS' (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain). We examine the process whereby the group came into being, trace how Ireland became a member of this grouping, and assess the merits of classifying these countries together. Our contention is that the repetition of the acronym in public debate shaped the behaviour of market actors toward these countries. We find evidence of Granger causality that increased media usage of the term 'PIIGS' is followed by converging interest rate correlations between Ireland and the


Abstract: Confined masonry with tie columns and ring-beams was adopted during the reconstruction in the rural and suburban areas in Sichuan Province after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. Based on the results of the sample tests of building material such as clay brick, cement mortar, steel and concrete in reconstruction and the analysis on the characteristics and features using Solid65 elements in ANSYS, the shear property of joints in masonry structures under different vertical load (σ∕fm) is numerically simulated. Comparing the experimental results with the numerical ones, the proposed values for the shear transfer coefficients for open and closed crack of Solid65 elements for simulating masonry structures are given. The seismic performance of confined masonry walls (strengthened by tie column and ring-beam, etc.) and unconfined masonry walls with different stress condition (σ∕fm) under low cyclic load are discussed. Results show that, under monotonic loading, confined masonry walls have better performance for displacement and load corresponding to the occurrence of the first crack as well as for the ultimate load and ductility, although the energy dissipating ability of unconfined walls under low cyclic loading increases with vertical load (σ∕fm) at low stress level. The results demonstrate that confined walls are greatly enhanced by strengthening measures such as tie column and ring-beams.


Finally, a research paper makes the case that sick people waiting in line die at a rate similar to or slightly lower than the death rate for other sick people.[1][1] Will government now be able to say that queuing isn't bad for you? Let's put everyone on a waiting list to reduce the death rates


Twelve trait anxious male, federal prisoners with high self-esteem and twelve trait anxious male, federal prisoners with low self-esteem participated in the study. Subjects were selected from among those volunteering to participate and who met the scoring criteria on the IPAT Anxiety Scale Questionnaire and on the Self-Esteem Scale from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory II. Each volunteer participated in one session of approximately 50 minutes in length. Each subject was asked to respond to a medical/psychological interview, after which he was asked to listen to and follow a series of instructions (autogenic training). Throughout the session electromyographic and skin temperature measurements were taken from each subject's dominant forearm and non-dominant middle finger, respectively. At the end of the session each volunteer was asked to complete the STAI-State Scale. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of self-esteem as a moderator of trait anxiety. In addition, the study was designed to assess the effectiveness of autogenic training with this population. Results indicate no significant difference between high and low self-esteem subjects on measurements of electromyography/ F (1, 22) = .63, p > .05 or peripheral skin temperature F (1, 22) = .20 p > .05. However, a significant difference was found between high and low self-esteem subjects on the STAI-State Scale, F (22) = 4.45 p < .05. High self-esteem subjects obtained significantly lower raw scores than low self-esteem subjects on the state anxiety measurement. A significant difference was also found for the block of trial factor (baseline/relaxation periods) for the electromyography F (6, 132) = 3.43, p < .01, and peripheral skin temperature F (6, 132) = 6.32, p < .001 measurements. Results present partial support for the role of self-esteem as a moderating variable in trait anxious subjects. Self-esteem is conceptualized as a form of self-efficacy.


Field experiments, using foliage blight susceptible cultivars, were conducted at Oak Park, Carlow from 1983 to 2007 to determine the loss in potato production caused by crop infection with Phytophthora infestans. In each of the 25 years an untreated control was compared with protectant and with systemic fungicide programmes to determine the effect of late blight on the defoliation percentage at the end of the season, the area under the disease progress curve, marketable tuber yield, total tuber yield and yield of blighted tubers. The earliest date of first recorded late blight was 22 June and the latest was 15 September, but in 15 of the 25 years, blight was first recorded between 17 July and 13 August. Disease reached epidemic proportions in all but 4 of the years. Yields varied considerably among years. The mean loss in total yield from not using a fungicide was 10.1 t/ha. Differences in yield were significant across the 25 seasons. No overall increase in aggressiveness of the pathogen could be detected over the 25-year period.


Maximum-likelihood detection for the multiuser code-division multiple-access (CDMA) channel is prohibitively complex. This paper considers new iterative multiuser receivers based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm and related, more powerful "space-alternating" algorithms. The latter algorithms include the SAGE algorithm and a new "missing parameter" space-alternating algorithm that alternately updates individual parameter components or treats them as probabilistic missing data. Application of these EM-based algorithms to the problem of discrete parameter estimation (i.e., data detection) in the Gaussian multiple-access channel leads to a variety of convergent receiver structures that incorporate soft-decision feedback for interference cancellation and/or sequential updating of iterative bit estimates. Convergence and performance analyses are based on well-known properties of the EM algorithm and on numerical simulation.


Background Obesity has increased in prevalence worldwide in the last 20 years and is associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes. It is valuable to examine these trends in relation to age, period and birth cohort, in conjunction with several evolving environmental factors. Age-period-cohort (APC) analysis is a popular analytic approach, since knowing the separate effects of age, period and cohort allows for a better understanding of the different risk groups based on age and generation cohort, separately, and cohort effects can identify individuals who are particularly at high risk of obesity, to allow for effective public intervention measures. Methods Data were obtained in the Republic of Ireland via three consecutive waves of the Surveys of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition (SLAN), all of which are now publicly available. Data were collected in 1998, 2002 and 2007 through standardised protocols. Participants with missing values were excluded from the analyses. Those over the age of 75 were excluded due to sparse data. Of the original 22,895 participants, we performed analyses on 18,016 participants: 7,796 men and 10,220 women. We applied partial least squares (PLS) methodology to estimate the separate effects of age, period and cohort on the trends in obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI). We also explore and model nonlinear relationships of BMI with age, period and cohort. Results PLS analysis revealed a positive period effect. Additionally, men born later tended to have lower BMI (-0.026 kgm-2yr-1 [95% CI -0.030, -0.024]) and older men had in general higher BMI (-0.029 kgm-2yr-1 [-0.026, -0.033]) Similarly for women, those born later had lower BMI (-0.025 kgm-2yr-1 [-0.029, -0.022]) and older women in general had higher BMI (0.029 kgm-2yr-1 [0.022, 0.033]) Nonlinear analyses revealed that BMI has a substantial curvilinear relationship with age, though less so with birth cohort. Discussion Through the use of PLS we are able to estimate the separate contributions to obesity of age, period and cohort. Consequently, PLS produces more interpretable results than other approaches. Men and women born in Ireland during the period 1924-1989 experienced a steady increase in BMI by year of age, which became more pronounced throughout the study period, mitigated only slightly by improved maternal nutrition of successive cohorts, which would potentially have given rise to better 'programming' of children in preparation for an increasingly obesogenic environment experienced in childhood and adulthood.


The oil and gas is a very vast industry. The production well is the crucial thing in oil and gas because it is the measurement of the profitability of the reservoir itself. It is a common thing that the production system will undergo multiphase condition due to the condition of the reservoir. Besides oil, other substance such as gas, water, sand, hydrates and waxes will be produce through the tubing string. The simultaneous flow of those substances will occur from the reservoir until the chrismas tree. It is very crucial to have a prediction tool so that optimum flow rate can be achieved with less pressure gradient and liquid holdup. Theoretically, a zero friction factor in a flowing fluid in a pipe cannot be achieved because it is only applicable to static fluid. Recovery from the wells need special challenges and requires accurate multiphase flow prediction tool for several applications, such as the design and schematic of the production systems, separation of phases in vertical wells, and multiple separation (topside, seabed or bottom-hole). As for any multiphase flow, the inlet condition such as flow rates, flow patterns, volume fractions of the fluids and the pressure need to be known. Due to that, it is crucial to have more accurate and efficient multiphase flow prediction tool.
The method that being used now separates flow pattern and flow behaviour prediction modelling. Due to that, the results that being produced was inaccurate. As an example, a multiphase flow of oil and gas are treated as both single phase, and ignoring the interactions between both of the fluids such as the slippage. However, the improved prediction tools now will allow such interaction and more accurate result can be obtained


This paper presents the performance improvements implemented in the KTH high-flux solar simulator to deliver a total power on target closer to the working conditions of real CSP systems. Therefore, additional rectifiers were installed in the power conversion unit of the high-power lamps as well as the back reflector was coated providing more favorable spectral reflectance properties. The results of a single lamp/lens-combination show that the power on target in an aperture of 280mm in diameter was increased from 831W to 1446W while the peak flux was increased from 675kW/m2 to 905kW/m2.


Many countries in the world recently initiated the Open Government Data (OGD) to achieve
transparency, accountability, value from the data and to transform public sector into smart
and open government. However, the (OGD) initiatives faces challenges that hinders the
initiatives to achieve the desired objectives, particularly in developing countries.
The information systems adoption literature indicates a lack of studies investigating OGD
adoption at an early stage from the national ecosystem perspective. This research
investigates the early stage of adoption of the national OGD. The study adopts the
institutional perspective to investigate the role of institutional logics and institutional pillars.
The research aims to answer the research question: How do the institutional logics affect the
emergence and adoption of the Open Government Data initiative in the public sector? This
study adopts the interpretive research methodology with data collected from a singleembedded case study that encompasses nine government organisations in Oman. It captures
the institutional logics qualitatively, by applying pattern inducting technique, that affects the
adoption of OGD in the public sector in a complex institutional environment.
The phenomena investigated reveals that the institutional pillars affect the institutional logics
in the institutional environment. It shows how the institutional logics and institutional pillars
interplay at the macro- and micro-level. It also shows that normative and cultural-cognitive
pillar have a prominent effect, whereas the regulative pillar has less-prominent effect. This
study captured one dominant and three competing logics that enable/hinder the OGD
initiative from achieving the desired objectives: Institutional Acceptance Logic (ACL),
Institutional Roles Logic (IRL), Ownership and Control Logic (OCL) and Institutional
Capabilities Logic (ICL). The findings show that dominant logic is complemented by three
co-existing subordinate institutional logics.
This research contributes to the IS literature and to the institutional theory and further
explains how the institutional logics and institutional pillars affect the adoption of the OGD
initiative. It outlines how institutional logics are shaped and reconciled in the complex
environment at the national level. It offers a holistic view from an ecosystems perspective
and explains how institutional logics interact in a heterogeneous institutional environment.
Given the tensions between the dominant and competing institutional logics, the adoption
progresses at a slower pace. These tensions exist between micro and macro levels, and
contribute negatively to the adoption of the OGD initiative. The study suggests that in order
to reconcile the competing logics, a combined collaborative initiative to be formed between
regulatory authorities at the national level. In addition, it offers a conceptual framework for
OGD adoption at an early stage, and assists the policymakers and practitioners by presenting
a holistic view from the institutional perspectives to attain the desired objectives.


INTRODUCTION: Infantile hemangiomas are the most common cause of tumors in children. They usually located on head and neck. Airway hemangiomas usually cause respiratory symptoms, especially subglottic hemangiomas that early diagnosis and treatments are very important. AIM AND METHODS: To examine of the features of airway hemangiomas and to determine of the approach of diagnosis and treatment. The data of 8 patients obtain from several center from retrospectively. RESULTS: Three of patients were girl (% 37.5), and 5 of the patients were boy (% 63.5). Average age of diagnosis was 5.2 ± 5.4 months (1-17 months). Average duration of follow up was 18,6±16 (3-48 months). The primary symptom was stridor in 7 of patients (% 87,5) and hemoptysis in 1 of patients. All of patients were performed with flexible bronchoscopy. 4 of patients required screening method like magnetic resonans (MR) for neck to confirm diagnosis. Medical treatment was applied to 7 patients, 1 of the patients were treated with surgical. The choices of treatment were propronalol+prednisolon, propronalol+metilprednisolon, metilprednisolon, propranolol; 3, 2, 1,1, respectively. All of patients were still on treatment. During follow up 5 of the patients were asymptomatic, 3 of the patients were symptomatic as stridor when there was an upper respiratory tract infection. CONCLUSION: Airway hemangiomas are an important differential diagnosis of stridor in infants. Early diagnosis and treatment of airway hemangiomas are very important. The first choice of treatment is usually medical but surgical treatment may perform firstly in proper cases as an alternative treatment choice.


The authors report a system developed in the Department of Medicine of the University of Maryland School of Medicine to encourage members of the full-time faculty to assume greater responsibility for their compensation. A member of the department's administrative staff individually interviews each faculty member and fills out, with the member, a "scorecard" that contains the number of hours per month and per year that the member reports were spent on his or her duties--such as teaching, attending, and consulting--that are assigned by the department or its divisions. This report also contains the record of unassigned time devoted to research (for investigators) or to personal practice (for clinicians). Assigned duties includes the time spent by clinicians performing procedures such as bronchoscopy cardiac catheterization, and endoscopy. The department pays for the otherwise unsupported costs of salary and benefits associated with assigned duties, and the faculty member is responsible for part of his or her compensation for time spent in research or practice. The program was developed and the data collected during the summer and fall of 1995. The salary reductions were applied on July 1, 1996. During the 1996-97 academic year the department projects a savings of $110,362 from compensation withheld from faculty members unable to fulfill their salary responsibilities and not paid to members who left the department, in part because of expected reductions in their incomes. The program has stimulated other faculty members to develop salary support with even greater vigor than that might otherwise have shown.


The aim of this systematic review is to compile and critically evaluate the evidence from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for the effectiveness of acupuncture using constitutional medicine compared to standard acupuncture. Ten databases were searched through to December 2008 without language restrictions. We also hand-searched nine Korean journals of oriental medicine. We included prospective RCTs of any form of acupuncture with or without electrical stimulation. The included trials had to investigate constitutional medicine. There were no restrictions on population characteristics. Forty-one relevant studies were identified, and three RCTs were included. The methodological quality of the trials was variable. One RCT found Sasang constitutional acupuncture to be superior to standard acupuncture in terms of the Unified PD Rating Scale and freezing gate in Parkinson's disease (PD). Another two RCTs reported favorable effects of eight constitutional acupuncture on pain reduction in patients with herniated nucleus pulposi and knee osteoarthritis. Meta-analysis demonstrated positive results for eight constitutional acupuncture compared to standard acupuncture on pain reduction (weighted mean difference: 10 cm VAS, 1.69, 95% CI 0.85–2.54, P < 0.0001; heterogeneity: τ2 = 0.00, χ2 = 0.00, P = 0.96, I2 = 0%). Our results provide suggestive evidence for the effectiveness of constitutional acupuncture in treating pain conditions compared to standard acupuncture. However, the total number of RCTs and the total sample size included in our analysis were too small to draw definite conclusions. Future RCTs should assess larger patient samples with longer treatment periods and appropriate controls.


The study explores the social diversity of Europe from the perspective of life-spaces with high profile configurations of states of mind. "Social worlds" as groups with standardised modes of acting, thinking and evaluation are identified beyond formal borders. This study tested the hypothesis of the existence of similarities in states of mind (measured in terms of satisfaction with life, optimism, perception of labour market in the country and institutional trust) as a function of age category (young adult, middle-aged adult and aged), residential environment (rural, urban) and the sociocultural macroregion. The testing of research hypotheses is performed by means of a multilevel analysis of the Eurobarometer 70 data collected at an EU level in the autumn of 2008. The approach is in line with quantitative grounded theory (Glaser 2008).


Maintaining future high performance microprocessor chips within an acceptable operating temperature range (e.g. less than 85°C), is likely to involve the removal of large quantities of heat (e.g. several hundred Watts), from small areas (e.g. 1– 2 cm2), necessitating very high heat fluxes. To date, heat dissipation from computer chips has generally been achieved by means of heat sinks and fans; however, alternative, more effective cooling techniques are likely to be needed in the future. Three UK universities are undertaking a 3-year collaborative project to develop a miniature vapor compression refrigeration (VCR) system, suitable for future microprocessor and electronic cooling. The design and testing of a novel porous media based evaporator heat exchanger is being undertaken by Newcastle University. Preliminary results suggest that this device should be capable of achieving the high heat fluxes required. The University of Oxford's Cryogenics Group has developed specialised oil-free compressors for low temperature cooling systems for space applications. Based on this work, a new design of compressor has been developed, which is suitable for use with miniature VCR devices. The performance of such systems is being studied by means of simulation by London South Bank University. Models developed to date include an overall miniature VCR system model, and a detailed model of the compressor. The current paper will focus on the design and construction of the compressor and the compressor model developed. The mathematical modelling approach used will be discussed, and the results from a number of simulations will be reported.


p53-dependent apoptosis is modulated by the ASPP family of proteins (apoptosis-stimulating proteins of p53; also called ankyrin repeat-, Src homology 3 domain-, and Pro-rich region-containing proteins). Its three known members, ASPP1, ASPP2, and iASPP, were previously found to interact with p53, influencing the apoptotic response of cells without affecting p53-induced cell cycle arrest. More specifically, the bona fide tumor suppressors, ASPP1 and ASPP2, bind to the core domain of p53 and stimulate transcription of apoptotic genes, whereas oncogenic iASPP also binds to the p53 core domain but inhibits p53-dependent apoptosis. Although the general interaction regions are known, details of the interfaces for each p53-ASPP complex have not been evaluated. We undertook a comprehensive biophysical characterization of ASPP-p53 complex formation and mapped the binding interfaces by NMR. We found that the interaction interface on p53 for the proapoptotic protein ASPP2 is distinct from that for the antiapoptotic iASPP. ASPP2 primarily binds to the core domain of p53, whereas iASPP predominantly interacts with a linker region adjacent to the core domain. Our detailed structural analyses of the ASPP-p53 interactions provide insight into the structural basis of the differential behavior of pro- and antiapoptotic ASPP family members.


The creation of pigs is an activity practiced in the country however, one of the biggest difficulties has been in the control of gastrointestinal nematodes that consequently lead to economic expenses, low productivity and indiscriminate use of anthelmintic drugs. In this context, it becomes necessary to search for easily accessible and low-cost forms of treatment such as cassava leaves that have condensed tannins which is the active principle with anti-helminthic effect. In this context, the efficacy of the use of cassava leaves (FM) in the control of gastrointestinal nematodes in pigs was evaluated. The trial was conducted in the district of Chòkwé in the production unit of the Civic Services of Mozambique (SCM), in the period from April to June 2019. Eighteen piglets from Large white and landim cross breed aged between 1.5 and 2 months were used carrying natural infection by gastrointestinal nematodes, verified by counting the number of eggs per gram of feces (OPG). The piglets were divided into 3 treatments: T0 (control, not dewormed); T1 (dewormed with FFM-Manioc Leaf Meal); T2 (dewormed with Albendazole), in a completely causalized design (DCC) with 6 randomly chosen animals where the data obtained were analyzed in the statistical package Mintab18. The calculation of efficacy was based on the percentage of reduction through the RESO statistical package. As a result, it was observed that FFM had a better reduction capacity with an efficacy of (82% and 90%) compared to Albendazole which obtained (64% and 73%) efficacy at 60 and 75 days respectively. Estrongylideos sp., were the group most sensitive to the effect of cassava leaf meal. FFM also stood out with the highest return (25.47 meticais) in the economic feasibility analysis compared to Albendazole (2.72 meticais). It can be concluded that FFM has anti-helminthic efficacy in the control of gastrointestinal nematodes and is also feasible in reducing costs of constant reacquisition of conventional dewormers and can be an alternative for use in family pig farms.


Power series and stream processing were made for each other. Stream algorithms for power series are short, sweet, and compositional. Their neatness shines through in Haskell, thanks to pattern-matching, lazy lists, and operator overloading. In a short compass one can build working code from ground zero (scalar operations) up to exact calculation of generating functions and solutions of differential equations.


Traditional, outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation provided to stable COPD patients leads to significant improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity and health related quality of life.  Also, when started during or shortly after a hospitalization for a COPD exacerbation, pulmonary rehabilitation improves these patient-centered outcomes and arguably reduces subsequent health care utilization and mortality.  Despite these benefits, the uptake of traditional pulmonary rehabilitation remains disappointingly poor.  Home-based pulmonary rehabilitation, a safe and effective alternative to traditional, center-based programs, can broaden access. While proven improvements in dyspnea, exercise capacity and health status justify implementation of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation, it would be helpful to know whether it can also decrease health care utilization and be cost-effective.


The physical properties of pineapple pomace are important in designing and fabricating equipment and structures for handling, transporting, processing and storage. The study was conducted to investigate some physical properties of pineapple pomace at various moisture levels. The experiment was used to evaluate the physical properties at different pineapple pomace/cassava flour ratio mash (5:1, 6:1 and 7:1) and the moisture content of the mash (12.36, 15.66, 19.58, 22.70 and 26.26%). In the same moisture range, the bulk density increased from 427 to 679 kg/m3. The coefficient of friction of pineapple pomace flour and cassava at various mixing ratio increased linearly (p<0.05) for all the surfaces and varied with structural surface in the moisture range of 12.36 to 26.26% (dry basis). The maximum and minimum values of coefficient of friction were obtained on the surface of wood and stainless steel respectively. Pineapple pomace moisture content effect was statistically significant (p<0.05) on all properties investigated while baseline data were generated for the development of necessary handling and processing equipment. The results encourage value addition to the industrial waste while reducing environmental pollution.

 Key words: Designing, processing, mash, surface, steel.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The association between plant-based diets, incident CKD, and kidney function decline has not been examined in the general population. We prospectively investigated this relationship in a population-based study, and evaluated if risk varied by different types of plant-based diets.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
Analyses were conducted in a sample of 14,686 middle-aged adults enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Diets were characterized using four plant-based diet indices. In the overall plant-based diet index, all plant foods were positively scored; in the healthy plant-based diet index, only healthful plant foods were positively scored; in the provegetarian diet, selected plant foods were positively scored. In the less healthy plant-based diet index, only less healthful plant foods were positively scored. All indices negatively scored animal foods. We used Cox proportional hazards models to study the association with incident CKD and linear mixed models to examine decline in eGFR, adjusting for confounders.

RESULTS
During a median follow-up of 24 years, 4343 incident CKD cases occurred. Higher adherence to a healthy plant-based diet (HR comparing quintile 5 versus quintile 1 [HRQ5 versus Q1], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.78 to 0.96; P for trend =0.001) and a provegetarian diet (HRQ5 versus Q1, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82 to 0.99; P for trend =0.03) were associated with a lower risk of CKD, whereas higher adherence to a less healthy plant-based diet (HRQ5 versus Q1, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.21; P for trend =0.04) was associated with an elevated risk. Higher adherence to an overall plant-based diet and a healthy plant-based diet was associated with slower eGFR decline. The proportion of CKD attributable to lower adherence to healthy plant-based diets was 4.1% (95% CI, 0.6% to 8.3%).

CONCLUSIONS
Higher adherence to healthy plant-based diets and a vegetarian diet was associated with favorable kidney disease outcomes.


The educational objectives for this self-assessment module are for the participant to exercise, self-assess, and improve his or her understanding of the imaging spectrum of endometriosis.


Background: The testing of theoretical models with experimental data is an integral part of the scientific method, and a logical place to search for new ways of stimulating scientific productivity. Often experiment/theory comparisons may be viewed as a workflow comprised of well-defined, rote operations distributed over several distinct computers, as exemplified by the way in which predictions from electronic structure theories are evaluated with results from spectroscopic experiments. For workflows such as this, which may be laborious and time consuming to perform manually, software that could orchestrate the operations and transfer results between computers in a seamless and automated fashion would offer major efficiency gains. Such tools also promise to alter how researchers interact with data outside their field of specialization by, e.g., making raw experimental results more accessible to theorists, and the outputs of theoretical calculations more readily comprehended by experimentalists. Results: An implementation of an automated workflow has been developed for the integrated analysis of data from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments and electronic structure calculations. Kepler (Altintas et al. 2004) open source software was used to coordinate the processing and transfer of data at each step of the workflow. This workflow incorporated several open source software components, including electronic structure code to compute NMR parameters, a program to simulate NMR signals, NMR data processing programs, and others. The Kepler software was found to be sufficiently flexible to address several minor implementation challenges without recourse to other software solutions. The automated workflow was demonstrated with data from a O NMR study of uranyl salts described previously (Cho et al. in J Chem Phys 132:084501, 2010). Conclusions: The functional implementation of an automated process linking NMR data with electronic structure predictions demonstrates that modern software tools such as Kepler can be used to construct programs that comprehensively manage complex, multi-step scientific workflows spanning several different computers. Automation of the workflow can greatly accelerate the pace of discovery, and allows researchers to focus on the fundamental scientific questions rather than mastery of specialized software and data processing techniques. Future developments that would expand the scope and power of this approach include tools to standardize data and associated metadata formats, and the creation of interactive user interfaces to allow real-time exploration of the effects of program inputs on calculated outputs.


Prior research suggests that knowledge calibration (KC) supports consumers' maintenance of a healthy diet. However, no previous studies have considered that learned helpless consumers may refrain from using their knowledge, even though they may be fully aware that they possess it. This research gap is considered in three studies. Study 1 investigates the moderating effect of learned helplessness (LH) by means of a cross-sectional survey. Studies 2 and 3 are online choice studies. Besides from replicating Study 1, Studies 2 and 3 eliminate potential social desirability bias by objectively measuring respondents' dietary choice quality. In addition, Study 3 takes into account the possibility that respondents' responses may be biased by food preferences, medical conditions, and/or food allergies. Moreover, Studies 2 and 3 both investigate the consequences of the findings on consumers who live under a dieting regime. These studies demonstrate that consumers suffering from LH do not stand to gain from calibrating their dietary knowledge to the same degree as other consumers. It is also shown that dieting behavior has a tendency to weaken this negative moderating effect of LH on the relationship between KC and dietary choice quality. Finally, the implications of the findings for marketers and public policymakers are discussed.


The Chinese concept of wen is examined here in the context of contemporary gene theory and the "cultural branch" of gene theory called "memetics." The Chinese notion of wen is an untranslatable term meaning "pattern," "structure," "writing," and "literature." Wen hua—generally translated as "culture"—signifies the process through which one adopts wen. However, this process is not simply one of civilizational mimesis or imitation but the "creation" of a new pattern. Within a gene-wen debate we are able to read genes neither in terms of nature or culture but, in a Chinese way, in terms of "nature-culture." "Posthuman" or "transhuman" models that celebrate the creation of techno-bio bodies (cyborgs) as the continuation of the human by nonhuman means are still dependent on a clear distinction between nature and technology (culture) that is rooted in the Greek and Christian traditions. Bioengineering does not do more than gradually replacing the "given" by the "made" until the body is seen as a commodity malleable in the hands of modern technology. A wen-based genetics offers a new perspective on nature-culture continuity because it is not trapped in nature but involved in a concept of wen that a Western mind tends to identify too quickly with natural necessity.


Self-disclosures of mental illnesses have been identified to yield coping and therapeutic benefits. An important construct in the self-disclosure process is the audience with whom the individual interacts and shares their experiences. Mental illness self-disclosures are increasingly happening online. However, unlike online support communities where the audience comprises sympathetic peers with similar experiences, what the discloser gains from an 'invisible' audience on a general purpose, public social media platform is less understood. Focusing on a highly stigmatized mental illness, schizophrenia, this paper provides the first investigation characterizing the audience of disclosures of this condition on Twitter and how the audience's engagement impacts future disclosures. Our results are based on a rich year-long temporal analysis of the data of nearly 400 disclosers and their nearly 400 thousand audiences. First, characterizing and modeling the audience engagement temporally, we find evidence of reciprocity in the disclosure process between the discloser and their audience. Then, situating our work in the Social Penetration Theory and operationalizing the disclosure process via a measure of intimacy, an auto-regressive time series model indicates that the patterns of audience engagement and content can forecast changes in the intimacy of disclosures. We discuss the implications for building socially engaging, supportive online spaces for stigmatized mental illness disclosures.


We present a novel algorithm that generates a set of diverse workspace paths for manipulators. By considering more than one possible path we give our manipulator the flexibility to choose from many possible ways to execute a task. This is particularly important in cases in which the best workspace path cannot be executed by the manipulator (e.g. due to the presence of obstacles that collide with the manipulator links). Our workspace paths are generated such that a distance metric between them is maximized, allowing them to span different workspace regions. Manipulator planners mostly focus on solving the problem by analyzing the configuration space (e.g. Jacobian-based methods); our approach focuses on analyzing alternative workspace paths which are comparable to the optimal solution in terms of length. This paper introduces our intuitive algorithm and also presents the results of a series of experiments performed with a simulated 7 DOF robotic arm.


Carbon-fluorine bonds are among the most unreactive functionalities in chemistry. Interest in their activation arises in part from the high global warming potentials of anthropogenic polyfluoroorganic compounds. Conversion to carbon-hydrogen bonds (hydrodefluorination) is the simplest modification of carbon-fluorine bonds, but efficient catalytic hydrodefluorination of perfluoroalkyl groups has been an unmet challenge. We report a class of carborane-supported, highly electrophilic silylium compounds that act as long-lived catalysts for hydrodefluorination of trifluoromethyl and nonafluorobutyl groups by widely accessible silanes under mild conditions. The reactions are completely selective for aliphatic carbon-fluorine bonds in preference to aromatic carbon-fluorine bonds.


The criteria underlying the design of low-noise front-end integrated electronics for radiation and particle detectors have been determined, taking into account the limits in the allowable power dissipation. The analysis specifically treats integrated amplifiers employing silicon bipolar transistors, whose performance has been studied to highlight the ultimate noise limit and the roles of the front-end device parameters such as the current gain, the base spreading resistance, the junction and diffusion capacitances, the transition frequency, and the device geometry. The relationships existing among the power dissipated in the front-end stage, the noise performance, and the characteristic of signal processing are derived.


Abstract : This report covers all research protocols that were administratively or technically supported by the Department of Clinical Investigation, Madigan Army Medical Center, during FY 93. Included in the individual reports are title, investigators, funding, objective, technical approach, and progress for FY 93. Also included in the report are personnel rosters for the Department, funding information, and presentations and publications emanating from Madigan Army Medical Center during this period. Research protocols, Investigators, Objectives, Technical approach, Progress, Funding.


This research presents the results of the study of unknown mummiform cartonnage from Egyptian museum stores that dates back to the late period (712 BC until 332 BC). It was decorated with blue-red-black-white and yellow pigments on the canvas support which prepared with thin ground layers. The cartonnage contain many parts that are missing due to poor storage in the basement of the Egyptian Museum and the spread of mice, in addition to stains resulting from their droppings. This has led to the oblitera-tion of some colors, in addition to the separation and micro crack of the ground layer, paintings and layers of canvas supports. The research aims to study the stratigraphic structure of the Cartonnage Fragments by Optical Microscopy (OM), Film analysis (UV-induced fluorescence imaging) and Multispectral Imaging technique that included (VIS) Visible light, (IR) Infrared CCD Reflected light, (IRF) Infrared Fluorescence, (IRFC) Infrared False Colors, (UVR) Ultraviolet Reflected light, (UVF) Ultraviolet Fluorescence, and (UVFC) Ultraviolet False Colors. The analytical techniques utilized in this study were Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. The results indicated that canvas support consists of about one to three layers of linen, ground layer consists of calcium carbonate, pigments including Egyptian blue, red Hematite and yellow Orpiment were identified. The binding medium was identified as animal glue.


In this paper we explain our experiences and observations on a blended world history course which combines classical lecture and discussion elements as well as video game sessions in which the students play strategy video games with heavy historical focus. The course, named Playing with The Past, is designed to experiment on how to integrate video games on teaching history especially in order to achieve a higher understanding of the contemporary social, political, economical, and technological context of a given era for a given nation. We ran the course four times between 2015 – 2018 with different video game titles having different historical models and observe the experiences and learning of students based on the quality of their written essays and articles. Our experiments and observations could be beneficial not only for the design of a general world history course, but also for a history course on specific periods, cultures, and nations.


Cd-substituted forms of the Bacillus cereus metallo-beta-lactamases (BCII) were studied by perturbed angular correlation of gamma-rays (PAC) spectroscopy. At very low [Cd]:[apo-beta-lactamase] ratios, two nuclear quadrupole interactions (NQI) were detected. For [Cd]:[apo-beta-lactamase] ratios between 0.8 and 3.0, two new NQIs appear, and the spectra show that up to 2 cadmium ions can be bound per molecule of apoenzyme. These results show the existence of two interacting Cd-binding sites in BCII. The relative populations of the two NQIs found at low [Cd]:[apo-beta-lactamase] ratios yielded a 1:3 ratio for the microscopic dissociation constants of the two different metal sites (when only one cadmium ion is bound). X-ray diffraction data at pH 7.5 demonstrate that also for Zn(II) two binding sites exist, which may be bridged by a solvent molecule. The measured NQIs could be assigned to the site with three histidines as metal ligands (three-His site) and to the site with histidine, cysteine, and aspartic acid as metal ligands (Cys site), respectively, by PAC measurements on the Cys168Ala mutant enzyme. This assignment shows that cadmium ions preferentially bind to the Cys site. This is in contrast to the preference of Zn(II) in the hybrid Zn(II)Cd(II) enzyme, where an analysis of the corresponding PAC spectrum showed that Cd(II) occupied the Cys site, whereby Zn(II) occupied the site with three histidines. The difference between Zn(II) and Cd(II) in affinity for the two sites is combined with the kinetics of hydrolysis of nitrocefin for different metal ion substitutions (Zn(2)E, ZnE, Cd(2)E, CdE, and ZnCdE) to study the function of the two metal ion binding sites.


One of the most important facets of quality social work education is the
recruitment and retention of faculty. This mixed methods study uses findings from
an on-line survey of 106 recent (within three years) faculty hires and their (n=24)
spouse/partner/significant others (S/P/SO) to determine the degree to which family-
integrative recruitment strategies were being used in recruiting social work faculty
and the impact with which the presence or absence of these strategies have on retention. A majority of respondents reported that S/P/SO were excluded from the recruitment process.Though the few respondents who felt included were pleased with their
current position and planned to pursue tenure to stay with the school, a significant
number of faculty whose S/P/SO were not involved were already contemplating their
next position.The authors suggest family integrative strategies that help S/P/SO connect with the community may give social work programs the competitive edge they
need to attract and retain the best and brightest social work faculty.


Mediation theory facilitates teachers and students to tackle the barriers in English teaching and learning process. It offers a sound systematic theoretical fort on which teachers could rely, redefines teachers' roles and functionings in the process of learners' cognitive development and growing self-regulations. The famous psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1978) raised notions in his ZPD theory, Feuerstein (1980) illuminates capable adults as mediators, and defined twelve main features of mediation, which has empirical study value for English teaching. Thus, through quantitative and qualitative research, this paper aims to investigate the perceptions of English teachers' mediation between private university teachers and students, analyze and compare the similarities and differences between them. The results reveal that both teachers and students coming from the two private universities have been aware of the importance of teachers' mediation, however, have different perceptions in the frequency of teachers' mediation. Teachers' actual employment on mediation is weaker than their beliefs on the importance of it.


In the fetal development, the eustachian valve, which directs the blood flow from the inferior vena cava to the foramen oval, is defined as the Chiari network, which is not regressed and persists. It may accompany congenital heart anomalies and cause to cardiac problems. It is mostly diagnosed incidentally in the postnatal period. With this case report, Chiari network structure, which is diagnosed at 20th gestational week by prenatal ultrasonography, with hypoplastic right ventricle, VSD (ventricular septal defect) and tricuspid atresia, is explained. When evaluated together with other cases in the literature, it comes to mind that Chiari network structure may lead to the formation of tricuspid atresia by blocking blood flow to the tricuspid valve. The evaluation of more Chiari network cases in the prenatal period will guide the understanding of this relationship.


The authors address the problem of designing manipulator control laws such that interaction between manipulator and environment is stable. Taking passive manipulator admittance as a design goal. a metric that bounds the distance between the achieved nonpassive response and a passive target response is introduced. Conditions for coupled stability are developed based on this measure of admittance error, which result in restrictions on allowable environmental characteristics. When environmental conditions for the manipulator are known, the admittance error can be used as a control design specification. Alternatively, the admittance error can be used to measure performance of an existing system, providing a guide to mechanical interface design. A simple example is used to illustrate this approach.<<ETX>>


Pharmacological sodium nitrate supplementation has been reported to reduce the O2 cost of submaximal exercise in humans. In this study, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation with inorganic nitrate in the form of beetroot juice (BR) would reduce the O2 cost of submaximal exercise and enhance the tolerance to high-intensity exercise. In a double-blind, placebo (PL)-controlled, crossover study, eight men (aged 19-38 yr) consumed 500 ml/day of either BR (containing 11.2 +/- 0.6 mM of nitrate) or blackcurrant cordial (as a PL, with negligible nitrate content) for 6 consecutive days and completed a series of "step" moderate-intensity and severe-intensity exercise tests on the last 3 days. On days 4-6, plasma nitrite concentration was significantly greater following dietary nitrate supplementation compared with PL (BR: 273 +/- 44 vs. PL: 140 +/- 50 nM; P < 0.05), and systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced (BR: 124 +/- 2 vs. PL: 132 +/- 5 mmHg; P < 0.01). During moderate exercise, nitrate supplementation reduced muscle fractional O2 extraction (as estimated using near-infrared spectroscopy). The gain of the increase in pulmonary O2 uptake following the onset of moderate exercise was reduced by 19% in the BR condition (BR: 8.6 +/- 0.7 vs. PL: 10.8 +/- 1.6 ml.min(-1).W(-1); P < 0.05). During severe exercise, the O2 uptake slow component was reduced (BR: 0.57 +/- 0.20 vs. PL: 0.74 +/- 0.24 l/min; P < 0.05), and the time-to-exhaustion was extended (BR: 675 +/- 203 vs. PL: 583 +/- 145 s; P < 0.05). The reduced O2 cost of exercise following increased dietary nitrate intake has important implications for our understanding of the factors that regulate mitochondrial respiration and muscle contractile energetics in humans.


The local, regional and global economic and natural phenomena of previous decades collectively emphasize the growing importance of risk factors affecting agricultural production both directly and indirectly. Agricultural producers should not restrict their risk management strategies to offset and relieve the problems caused by climatic and natural phenomena, but the knowledge of up-to-date professional, market, and agricultural policy developments is more and more an indispensable condition of successful farming. Besides what mentioned above, it is at least equally important to answer the question of how farmers perceive the importance of risk factors surrounding their activities, as it strongly influences the shaping of their risk management strategies. The responsibility of professional organizations and policy makers is easily shapeable in this sense because they may play an important role in the orientation and education of farmers, thus making it possible that farmers judge the importance of risk factors properly so they may work out adequate risk management strategies. The European Union has long been aware of the importance of the topic and makes great efforts to investigate the possibilities of an EU level risk management system. The "Design and economic impact of risk management tools for European agriculture" research project1 conducted under the aegis of the Sixth Framework Programme fits that objective. Within the project the authors of this paper explored the risk perception and applied risk management strategies of farmers in selected EU Member States.


A forthcoming publication by the Georgia Environmental Organization [GEO] will guide watershed planning at a variety of scales ranging from individual properties at the small watershed level to interstate river basins. Using illustrations organized along watershed boundaries, GEO's reference tool promotes a clearer perspective on the interrelatedness of our regional waterways. The guide, building on this knowledge, will show citizens how to take steps to improve water quality while at the same time improving the livability of their neighborhoods. Watershed planning is presented as an organizational paradigm that can result in more sustainable land


Recent molecular phylogenies of the Acanthodactylus pardalis species-group have revealed a deep genetic divergence within the nominal species A. busacki from north-west Africa. The species is phylogenetically separated into northern and southern lineages, which correspond to a previously observed morphological differentiation between the northern and southern populations of this species. Based on morphological comparisons of the type material and location of the type locality, the nomen Acanthodactylus busacki Salvador, 1982 is assigned here to the southern lineage, known from the northern Saharan Atlantic coastal desert. The northern lineage, described here as Acanthodactylus margaritae sp. nov., is prominently characterized by weakly keeled dorsal scales and a characteristic colour pattern. The new species is endemic to Morocco and confined to arid and semi-arid bioclimatic areas between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains, from around Tamri in the north to Tiznit in the south and the Souss valley in the east.


Supersymmetry (SUSY) is a beautiful mathematical concept which binds internal symmetries of a quantum field theory with global symmetries of the space-time. Applications of this approach may stretch from unsolved puzzles in particle physics to global problems in cosmology. The elimination of the hierarchy problem in Supersymmetric versions of the Standard Model was the initial strongest motivation to explore SUSY. However, there are other philosophical and technical problems that may found a solution if SUSY is proven to be the part of physical reality. This includes improved ultraviolet convergence of the theory, a way out of the strong restrictions imposed for field-theoretical models by general Coleman-Mandula theorem, potential solution of the so-called "cold dark matter problem" in cosmology, and many others. Building a (realistic) supersymmetric quantum field theory model normally requires introduction of new particles ("superparticles"), and it is not yet clear how one can confirm supersymmetry without detecting some of them. The regular search for supersymmetric events started back in 1980th, but, unfortunately, no direct evidence is still found. Yet, the SUSY studies contribute a big part of particle physics activities; the search for Supersymmetry is one of the main focuses of the on-going experimental program at CERN and at proposed electron–positron linear collider. In particular, it is currently believed that the known sources of CP-violation inside the Standard Model are not sufficient to explain the observed dominance of matter over anti-matter, while SUSY extensions of the Standard Model provide additional sources of CP-violation. It is known that the complex phases of the higgsino and gaugino mass parameters in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) allow for CP violation at low orders of perturbation theory, without invoking the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix or the Higgs sector. If the phases are significant, one may expect experimental evidence of CP violation that does not fit the explanation within the (non-supersymmetric) Standard Model. In the light of the International Linear Collider project, it is natural to consider the products of electron–positron annihilation. Typically, to detect a CP-odd observable in a two particle creation process one has to detect spin component (polarization) of some of the particles in addition to the particle momenta, since any scalar product of momenta is even under C and P. It is shown, however, that for chargino pair creation in electron-positron annihilation it is in principle possible to detect CP-violation without measuring polarizations, provided the two final charginos have different masses. It is shown that one can construct a CP-odd observable out of unpolarized cross-sections. This observable, although vanishes at the tree level, acquires non-vanishing contributions starting from 1-loop order. Most of the results are obtained in the simplest version of unconstrained MSSM, however one can easily see that the results hold in a much larger class of less restricted Supersymmetric models.


In North Carolina's Barrier Islands: Wonders of Sand, Sea, and Sky, author David Blevins offers readers a glimpse into the fragile ecosystems which make up the barrier islands off the North Carolina coastline. As the islands have been formed by rising seas and moving continental shelves, different types of wildlife have been able to survive for many years. Despite the existence of the islands, the author is careful to point out that human beings must do all in their power to preserve these natural treasures for future generations to enjoy. Essentially, the book takes readers on a tour from the North Carolina/Virginia border all the way down to the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Throughout the pages of the book, the author depicts the distinctive wildlife or ecological features to be found on each North Carolina barrier island.


The use of a deep neural network scheme is proposed to help clinicians solve a difficult diagnosis problem in neurology. The proposed multilayer architecture includes a feature engineering step (from time-frequency transformation), a double compressing stage trained by unsupervised learning, and a classification stage trained by supervised learning. After fine-tuning, the deep network is able to discriminate well the class of patients from controls with around 90% sensitivity and specificity. This deep model gives better classification performance than some other standard discriminative learning algorithms. As in clinical problems there is a need for explaining decisions, an effort has been carried out to qualitatively justify the classification results. The main novelty of this paper is indeed to give an entropic interpretation of how the deep scheme works and reach the final decision.


This article follows on from one in 2001, which dealt with the emergence of a network of microenterprise banks. The German consulting firm IPC has been involved with setting up microenterprise banks 'from scratch', first in Latin America in the early 1990s, and then in south-east Europe, and most recently in Africa. This article describes how IPC formed the investment company, IMI, owned by private and public shareholders, and has made investments in 18 microenterprise banks in the last six years. It argues that having the same shareholders within IMI makes it easier to apply the same business model consistently across all the banks and to transfer knowledge and resources between the banks.


Clinically missed Dieulafoy's lesion is a significant cause of gastro-intestinal bleeding with a poor prognosis. We hereby compare an autopsy case of a similar nature; thereby highlighting the importance of autopsy. 69 years old male living in a retirement home was being managed for anemia. He was admitted with a preliminary diagnosis of septicemia with deteriorating renal function. He was found dead and referred for autopsy to our institute. At autopsy, 3 small defects at the gastroesophageal junction measuring about 5-7 mm were seen, which on microscopy revealed a relatively large artery at the submocosal level with rupture. There was about 2 liters of blood in the stomach. This was a Dieulafoy's lesion, the cause of sudden massive gastrointestinal bleeding and subsequent shock. This signifies that autopsy still holds its value in this modern era of diagnostics.


Although many viral particles can enter a single cell, the number of viral genomes per cell that establish infection is limited. However, mechanisms underlying this restriction were not explored in depth. For herpesviruses, one of the possible mechanisms suggested is chromatinization and silencing of the incoming genomes. To test this hypothesis, we followed infection with three herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) fluorescence-expressing recombinants in the presence or absence of histone deacetylases inhibitors (HDACi's). Unexpectedly, a lower number of viral genomes initiated expression in the presence of these inhibitors. This phenomenon was observed using several HDACi: Trichostatin A (TSA), Suberohydroxamic Acid (SBX), Valporic Acid (VPA) and Suberoylanilide Hydoxamic Acid (SAHA). We found that HDACi presence did not change the progeny outcome from the infected cells but did alter the kinetic of the infection. Different cell types (HFF, Vero and U2OS), which vary in their capability to activate intrinsic and innate immunity, show a cell specific basal average number of viral genomes establishing infection. Importantly, in all cell types, treatment with TSA reduced the number of viral genomes. ND10 nuclear bodies are known to interact with the incoming herpes genomes and repress viral replication. The viral immediate early protein, ICP0, is known to disassemble the ND10 bodies and to induce degradation of some of the host proteins in these domains. HDACi treated cells expressed higher levels of some of the host ND10 proteins (PML and ATRX), which may down regulate the number of viral genomes initiating expression per cell. Corroborating this hypothesis, infection with three HSV-1 recombinants carrying a deletion in the gene coding for ICP0, show a reduction in the number of genomes being expressed in U2OS cells. We suggest that alterations in the levels of host proteins involved in intrinsic antiviral defense may result in differences in the number of genomes that initiate expression.


: The membrane vesicles (proteoliposomes) have been reconstituted from soya bean phospholipids and mitochondrial transhydrogenase (EC 126.96.36.199) by a self-assembly procedure. Palmitoyl-CoA and Mg2+ inhibit the rate of NAD+ reduction by NADPH in these proteoliposomes as well as in these submitochondrial particles. After solubilization of transhydrogenase from submitochondrial particles membranes the specific activity of the enzyme decrease and then again increases (more than 4.5 times) after its incorporation into the proteoliposomal membranes. An addition of potassium cholate to the proteoliposomal suspension further increases the rate of the direct transhydrogenase reaction (by 35--40%) due to the function of the oppositely oriented molecules of transhydrogenase. The Michaelis constants for NAD+ and NADPH for transhydrogenase proteoliposomes are 27 microM and 30 microM, respectively. These data are practically coincident with the results obtained for submitochondrial particles (21 and 33 microM, respectively). Thus, the incorporation of transhydrogenase into proteoliposomal membranes results in reconstitution of both electrogenic and the most essential kinetic properties of the enzyme.


Chromosome region maintenance protein1 (CRM1) mediates protein export from the nucleus and is a new target for anti-cancer therapeutics. Broader application of KPT-330 (selinexor), a first in class CRM1 inhibitor recently approved for relapsed multiple myeloma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, have been limited by substantial toxicity. We discovered that salicylates markedly enhance the anti-tumor activity of CRM1 inhibitors by extending the mechanisms of action beyond CRM1 inhibition. Using salicylates in combination enables targeting of a range of blood cancers with a much lower dose of selinexor, thereby potentially mitigating prohibitive clinical adverse effects. Choline salicylate (CS) with low-dose KPT-330 (K+CS) had potent, broad activity across high-risk hematological malignancies and solid organ cancers ex vivo and in vivo. The K+CS combination was not toxic to non-malignant cells as compared to malignant cells and was safe without inducing toxicity to normal organs in mice. Mechanistically, compared to KPT-330 alone, K+CS suppresses the expression of CRM1, Rad51 and thymidylate synthase proteins, leading to more efficient inhibition of CRM1-mediated nuclear export, impairment of DNA-damage repair, reduced pyrimidine synthesis, cell cycle arrest in S-phase, and cell apoptosis. Moreover, the addition of PARP inhibitors further potentiates the K+CS anti-tumor effect. K+CS represents a new class of therapy for multiple types of blood cancers and will stimulate future investigations to exploit DNA-damage repair and nucleocytoplasmic transport for cancer therapy in general.


For the future energy system, the transition from centralized fossil-based plants to a sustainable energy system means the emergence of a huge number of distributed renewable energy sources. Weather-dependent and volatile power generation as well as an increasingly spiky electric demand, arising from ongoing electrification of other sectors, require predictive and flexible control strategies already on the district level. With an increasing number of IoT-enabled field devices, multiple energy vectors thereby lead to a complex interplay, where micro and macro objectives may sometimes differ or even oppose. In this work we propose holonic whole-part architectures for multi-energy management systems. Building up a district's energy system from self-sufficient sub-units, enables the preservation of local control schemes and reduces complexity for energy management entities or energy markets on hierarchically higher levels. Additionally, resilience and topological flexibility can be enhanced through dynamic reconfiguration of the holons. Two field examples for cross-sector realizations of IoT-based multi-energy management in districts are presented, which demonstrate the implementation of the concept once at the district level and once at the device level.