The present thesis deals with two-dimensional signal processing for computer vision. The main topic is the development of a sophisticated generalization of the one-dimensional analytic signal to two dimensions. Motivated by the fundamental property of the latter, the invariance – equivariance constraint, and by its relation to complex analysis and potential theory, a two-dimensional approach is derived. This method is called the monogenic signal and it is based on the Riesz transform instead of the Hilbert transform. By means of this linear approach it is possible to estimate the local orientation and the local phase of signals which are projections of one-dimensional functions to two dimensions. For general two-dimensional signals, however, the monogenic signal has to be further extended, yielding the structure multivector. The latter approach combines the ideas of the structure tensor and the quaternionic analytic signal. A rich feature set can be extracted from the structure multivector, which contains measures for local amplitudes, the local anisotropy, the local orientation, and two local phases. Both, the monogenic signal and the structure multivector are combined with an appropriate scale-space approach, resulting in generalized quadrature filters. Same as the monogenic signal, the applied scalespace approach is derived from the three-dimensional Laplace equation instead of the diffusion equation. Hence, the two-dimensional generalization of the analytic signal turns out to provide a whole new framework for low-level vision. Several applications are presented to show the efficiency and power of the theoretic considerations. Among these are methods for orientation estimation, edge and corner detection, stereo correspondence and disparity estimation, and adaptive smoothing.


Background: The period of adoles-cence is phase of rapid growth, change, relocation and self-discovery, which are defining qualities of stressful experience. Family plays a pivotal role in the personality development and socialization of the child. The objec-tive of this study was to identify the factors influencing on mental abnormalities among high school children
Materials and method: It was a Community based cross-sectional study. High school children aged 14 years to 16 years in tribal, rural and urban Mysuru were included. Sample size was rounded off to 180. Probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling was applied. MINI KID tool was used with pre tested and semi structured questionnaire. Approval of institutional ethical committee was taken before the start of the study.
Results: Among rural high schools participants in the age group of 15years, 27.2% had mental abnormalities. 70% of study partici-pants of urban schools whose father and mother had poor relationship and 40% of study participants belonging to socio-economic Class II rural schools had mental abnormalities.
Conclusion: Good relation with father, mother and good relation between father and mother were having some association with mental abnormalities among high school children.


Puya raimondii is an endemic species from the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia. In Peru it is distributed from 8.068501°S, 16.170280°W to 16.180580°S, 70.658873°W, between 3600 and 4800 m, living in extreme climatic conditions typical of the Puna, where it plays an important ecological role. Despite the wide distribution of P. raimondii populations in Peru, they appear to be fairly uniform morphologically. The following questions arise: Will the current molecular tools be able to show differences between the numerous populations? Are the conservation areas established for P. raimondii sufficient since they harbor the existing variability? To answer these questions, this work aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity and genetic structure in a northern population, Pachapaqui (Ancash department), a central population, Yanacancha (Junin), and a southern population, Lampa - Choconchaca sector (Puno), using microsatellite markers (SSR) specific for the species. The genetic diversity parameters used included number of alleles (A), exclusive alleles (RA), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (He), and polymorphic content index (PIC). The results showed that the total number of A varied from 2 - 13, the He values were 0 ‒ 0.723 and Ho 0 ‒ 0.929, with an average He of 0.217, indicating a moderate to high genetic diversity, being the population of Lampa-Choconchaca sector, the one that presented the greatest allelic diversity and the greatest genetic diversity. The Hardy-Weinberg test showed that the populations are in HW disequilibrium, the statistical analysis indicates 65% of the genetic variation at the population level and values of FST (0.426) and RST (0.650) that indicate high genetic differentiation among populations, with two genetic groups (K=2) that correspond to the populations of northern-central and southern Peru. The results provide useful information to establish conservation strategies for P. raimondii, which lead to the creation of an additional conservation area to protect the populations in southern Peru.


Pressure-temperature ( P - T ) paths in structural terranes dominated by folds and thrust faults can be complex and can vary widely within a single metamorphic belt. The complexity and variability of P - T paths result from the advection of heat by folding and thrusting, conductive heat transfer during and after deformation, and the relatively short times for thermal relaxation within folds and thrusts. In fold terranes, contrasting P - T paths are observed between anticlines and adjacent synclines. Cooling paths are observed within anticlines, whereas heating paths are observed within synclines. These different P - T paths result from the folding of isotherms during deformation and the subsequent relaxation of isotherms after deformation. In polydeformed fold terranes, noncoaxial folding results in complex P - T paths over small distances (less than 15 km) within a metamorphic belt because of the repetition of the process of folding and relaxation of isotherms during each folding event In structural terranes dominated by thrust faults, P - T paths differ between major thrust sheets because heat is transferred from the hotter overriding sheet to the cooler lower plate during deformation. Heat transfer during thrusting causes the upper plate to cool and the lower plate to heat. In terranes with multiple thrust sheets, P - T paths can be complex and will depend upon the relative timing of thrust development and the rate at which heat can be transferred from one thrust sheet to the next The P - T paths observed in both the fold and thrust terranes discussed here record relatively short time intervals of 10 5 or 10 6 yr. Because the mineral equilibria respond to small-scale thermal perturbations, there may be a wide variability in P - T paths over a small distance in a metamorphic belt Therefore, before P - T paths are used to reconstruct tectonic histories, both structural and petrologic investigations must be carried out.


This paper presents a "recorded history" of national leadership standards, a critique of that history, along with a conceptual framework for how the national standards movement is viewed. The analysis offers a deconstruction of the recorded history, emphasizing the specific events surrounding the spread of educational leadership standards. A distinction between "history" and "recorded history" is made: educational leadership has a history where events come alive with emotion, debate, politics, and intrigue; by contrast, the recorded history of standards notes that over the past 2 decades a series of national education reports has been published by commissions appointed by professional associations and philanthropic foundations, each trying to improve the quality of educational leadership. A critical reading of the recorded history, however, indicates these reports are not a true history filled with debates and political intrigue, but a political narrative that tries to convince and persuade policymakers, researchers, and practitioners that the different constituencies had set aside their philosophical differences in educational leadership approaches and training in order to reach a consensus on national standards. What is missing, however, are the first-person eyewitness accounts, after-the-fact interviews, and backroom and hallway meetings. (Contains 23 references.) (DFR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Reclaiming Pedagogy in National Standards for Educational Leaders By Ira E. Bogotch Florida Atlantic University Department of Educational Leadership


Indeed, one of the effective technological factors leading to an organization's successful deployment of knowledge management strategy is the development of proper IT infrastructure. Yet it seems IT management has substantively surpassed individuals' ability to mutually understand and agree upon their desired information and its sharing. This is so, because, despite the amazing improvements of information technology in recent decades, and its omnipresence in organizations, the improvements in the field of knowledge sharing were insignificant. In the present paper, it is discussed that despite the claimed knowledge sharing resources and the certain and ever-growing capabilities of ICT for sharing knowledge in organizations, still knowledge sharing is extremely difficult. The motives for sharing, or maybe more importantly, the motives behind refusing to share knowledge should be understood on the basis of correct organizational image. Thus, the article reviews the political and cultural perspectives of organizational functions and compares these two. In addition, the roles of informal networks in knowledge sharing are examined.


As to the production of degreasing unit, fully integrated with the equipment and technological features of the line, the approach for the setting of coiling tension was changed, which was mainly tabular method in the past. Under the new idea, the degreasing process was closely integrated with the bell-type annealing for the first time. Then, to minimize the severity of stick breaks was set as the objective function, and no loose coil and no heart-shaped coil is took as the constraint condition. On these bases, a new comprehensive optimization model for the setting of coiling tension in degreasing unit was put forward. The relation between coiling tension and coil radius was obtained, which was a quadratic curve. This simple and practical technology can make the distribution of internal stress of coil more reasonable, and reduce the incidence of stick breaks, loose coil and heart-shaped coil defects effectively and improve production efficiency, quality and the metal yield.


A transitory image sequence is one in which no scene element is visible through the entire sequence. This article deals with some major theoretical and algorithmic issues associated with the task of estimating structure and motion from transitory image sequences. It is shown that integration with a transitory sequence has properties that are very different from those with a nontransitory one. Two representations, world-centered (WC) and camera-centered (CC), behave very differently with a transitory sequence. The asymptotic error rates derived in this article indicate that one representation is significantly superior to the other, depending on whether one needs camera-centered or world-centered estimates. We introduce an efficient "cross-frame" estimation technique for the CC representation. For the WC representation, our analysis indicates that a good technique should be based on camera global pose instead of interframe motions. Rigorous experiments were conducted with real-image sequences taken by a fully calibrated camera system.

http://vision.ai.uiuc.edu/publications/Transitory Image Sequences, Asymptotic Properties, and Estimation of Motion and Structure.pdf


Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a new generation of concrete developed through microstructure enhancement techniques for cementitious materials. UHPC exhibits extremely high compressive and flexural strengths exceeding 180 and 30 MPa, respectively, and remarkable durability compared to normal concretes. The fabrication of UHPC requires very low W/B ratio reaching merely 0.2, the use of large quantities of fine binder and superplasticizer without coarse aggregates, and the incorporation of steel micro-fibers. This study investigates the effect of the type of silica fume on the rheological and mechanical properties of UHPC. The adopted silica fume presents various contents of SiO2 and surface areas. From the experimental results, UHPC using silica fume with 94% of SiO2 3% of ZrO2, and surface area of 80,000 g/cm3 shows better flowability than UHPC using silica fume with 98% of SiO2and surface area of 200,000 g/cm3 by lowering the viscosity of the cementitious composites without decreasing the compressive strength. Therefore, the fabrication cost of UHPC can be reduced by smaller dosage of superplasticizer when using silica fume with Zr content .


The aim of the present research was the study of several physico-chemical and hygienic characteristics of Caprino d'Aspromonte goat's cheese, made from raw milk, which was sampled at the end of the ripening time (4 weeks), both in winter and in spring. The following ranges of variability were observed for each parameter: pH 5.25-5.89, dry matter 49.89%-67.07%, crude protein 21.12%-42.32% dry matter, fat 43.85%-54.03% dry matter, chloride content 2.06%-5.44% dry matter, total coliforms 0-5.04 log cfu g-1, faecal coliforms 0-4.96 log cfu g-1, yeasts 2.60-4.95 log cfu g-1. These values were similar to those of other Mediterranean goat's milk cheeses with an analogous ripening time. The present data could constitute basic information useful for improving and promoting Caprino d'Aspromonte, as well as for defining its production.


Ultraluminous X-ray sources are non-nuclear point sources exceeding the Eddington luminosity of a 10 Solar mass black hole. Modern consensus for a majority of the ULX population is that they are powered by stellar-mass black holes or neutron stars accreting well above the Eddington limit. Theoretical models of super-Eddington accretion predict existence of powerful outflows of moderately ionised gas at mildly relativistic velocities. So far, these winds have been found in 3 systems: NGC 1313 X-1, NGC 5408 X-1, NGC 55 ULX. In this work, we create a sample of all ULXs with usable archival high resolution X-ray data, with 10 sources in total, in which we aim to find more signatures of outflows. We perform Gaussian line scans to find any narrow spectral signatures, and physical wind model scans where possible. We tentatively identify an outflow in NGC 5204 X-1, blueshifted to 0.34c, which produces emission features with a total significance of at least 3$\sigma$. Next we compare ULXs with similar hardness ratios. Holmberg IX X-1 shows absorption features which could be associated with a photoionized outflowing absorber, similar to that seen in NGC 1313 X-1. The spectrum of Holmberg II X-1 possesses features similar to NGC 5408 X-1 and NGC 6946 X-1 shows O VIII rest-frame emission. All other sources from the sample also show tentative evidence of spectral features in their high resolution spectra. Further observations with the XMM-Newton and Chandra gratings will place stronger constraints. Future missions like XARM and Athena will be able to detect them at larger distances and increase our sample.


In this paper, KBE and some key technologies, such as knowledge representation, knowledge reasoning and knowledge base design, are studied for solving the exiting design problems of modular machine tool fixtures. The methods of hybrid knowledge representation based on ontology and rule-based and case-based hybrid reasoning are introduced to intelligent design of modular machine tool fixtures. By researching the design flow of modular machine tool fixtures, a modular machine tool fixtures intelligent design system (MMTFIDS) is developed based on secondary development technology of UG/NX in the VS.NET integrated development environment. The system realizes the reuse of design knowledge and rapid design for modular machine tool fixture.


Introduction: The Common Region Test (CRT) is useful for predicting children's visual memory as individual object-place binding predicted better object memory while objects-region coding predicted better place memory. Aim: To test children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with regards to spatial binding in the CRT. Methods: 19 children with ASD and 20 children with ADHD were gender-matched with 39 typically developing children by chronological age and with another 39 children by verbal mental age as control groups (N = 117) and tested with the CRT and Bender Gestalt test. Results: Children with ASD and ADHD showed more unsystematic coding than typically developing children. This was due to lower fine motor skills, and in children with ADHD also because of reduced verbal naming. Almost all children with ASD presented the less mature under-inclusive Type I unsystematic coding which included object-place binding, while children with ADHD showed the over-inclusive Type II unsystematic coding that was overriding the Gestalt-like properties of proximity and similarity. Conclusions: It was demonstrated that the CRT is a useful screening instrument for ASD and ADHD that shows that their spatial categorization varies in their unsystematic visuo-spatial classification due to fine motor skill deficiencies.


This paper review and examine how strategic management researchers apply research methods, and what strategies use as part of the research process, to locate, organize, manage, transform, create, communicate and evaluate research tools, data and information resources. It also analyzes recent developments on research methodology to create scientific knowledge in theory building and practice in strategic management offering an overview of methodologies used in strategic management research. The assessment of strategic management's research methodology is based on a review and analysis of strategies for the incorporation of knowledge of managerial research methods. Finally, the paper identifies and discusses some methodological research issues and reviews future directions on research methodologies in strategic management.


The thesis is concerned with the inversion of matrices and the solution of linear systems
and eigensystems in a parallel environment.
Following an introductory chapter of concepts and definitions in the field of linear
algebra, a general survey of parallel machines and algorithms is presented in Chapters 2
and 3, including a detailed description of the Distributed Array Processor (DAP) and the
Neptune multiprocessing system.
In Chapter 4, a new technique, the double-bordering algorithm, for the solution of
linear systems is derived, and its application to the parallel solution of difference systems
described. A modified form of the method for the inversion of matrices is derived,
implemented on the Neptune multiprocessing system, and its performance compared with
that of the Gauss-Jordan and (single) bordering algorithms. The results of the
implementation of several other parallel algorithms are also presented.
Chapter 5 deals with the class of matrices known as Toeplitz matrices, which arise in
the field of signal processing. Trench's algorithm for the inversion of such matrices is
implemented on the Neptune multiprocessing system, and, for the solution of banded
symmetric Toeplitz systems, the relative efficiencies of three sequential strategies are
compared: Levinson's algorithm, the double-bordering algorithm, and a method based on a
novel factorisation scheme.
Chapter 6 is concerned with the implementation of various iterative methods on the
DAP. The solution of several difference systems by the Jacobi, Gauss-Seidel and
successive over-relaxation (SOR) algorithms is compared with their solution by a variation
(c. 1943) of the algorithms proposed by Hotelling, in which matrix-vector products are
replaced by successive matrix squarings. The technique is also applied to the power
method for the solution of the eigenvalue problem.
The thesis concludes with a summary and recommendations for future work.


Currently, pressure sensors with large areas often use array elements to achieve tactile measurements. Large-area tactile sensors always feature array-type elements connected by wires in series to accomplish extensive ranges of measurements. However, unnecessary noise is generated in the sensors; crosstalk especially is caused by undesired capacitive coupling from array-type element circuits. A grounding method for an elastic capacitive tactile array pressure sensor system (ECTAPSS) is presented in this study to reduce the crosstalk effect of parasitic capacitance. When the capacitive changes influenced by the crosstalk in the floating circuit exceeded 10 fF, the crosstalk effect of the ECTAPSS could be reduced by more than 50%. Multipoint measurements of the ECTAPSS were achieved at the same time, and the applied pressures of the ECTAPSS were varied in the range between 0.211 and 0.306 kg/cm 2 . Finally, various applied pressure values of the ECTAPSS were measured accurately in multipoint measurements and have been tested and verified under different experimental conditions.


A partial palatal split technique is described for use with superiorly based pharyngeal flap palatoplasties. This procedure allows (1) increased facility in dissection, (2) precision in the design of the flap for lateral port control, and (3) construction of a one-piece nasomucosal lining flap in comparison to the standard complete palatal split technique.


Clinical and experimental studies indicate that hypertension accelerates the development of arteriosclerosis. Morphological and chemical studies of the distended rat thoracic aorta were undertaken to define the structural and compositional alterations of the media which accompany hypertension and to relate these changes to increases in calculated medial stress. An 8-week period of hypertension was associated with significantly greater diameter, medial thickness, and cross-sectional area of the media of the thoracic aorta than in normotensive animals. Calculated wall tension was significantly higher in hypertensive animals, but the number of medial lamellar units was not greater than that usual in normotensive animals; this resulted in a strikingly elevated value for calculated tension per medial lamellar unit for the aortas of hypertensive animals. A highly significant linear relation was found between total tension and cross-sectional area of the media of the same segment. In addition, the absolute amounts of both medial elastin and collagen were increased in hypertensive animals; however, the percent of these elements remained essentially constant, indicating little change in the composition of aortic tissue. Increments in both fibrous proteins were linearly related to increases in calculated mural stress, and medial accumulations of elastin and collagen proceeded at similar rates. These findings demonstrate a linear relation among vessel dimensions and amounts of medial elastin and collagen and calculated wall tension.


Natural Field Orientation (NFO) Control proposed in the 1980psilas is an alternative low cost control method for induction machines. The NFO Control has shown to have some stability issues in regeneration which have been partially addressed in the previous papers. In the present paper a linearised stability analysis is presented for the motor/drive system based on both the non-augmented and the augmented versions of the NFO control. Based on the results of this analysis, the limitations of the augmentation strategy are explored and conditions are identified when it does not ensure stability. Theoretical results are confirmed by simulations and experiments. Directions of further improvement of the NFO stability are outlined.


Oxidative damage to the sulfur-containing amino acids, methionine and cysteine, is a major concern in biotechnology and medicine. alpha1-Antitrypsin, which is a metastable and conformationally flexible protein that belongs to the serpin family of protease inhibitors, contains nine methionines and a single cysteine in its primary sequence. Although it is known that methionine oxidation in the protein active site results in a loss of biological activity, there is little specific knowledge regarding the reactivity of its unpaired thiol, Cys-232. In this study, the thiol-modifying reagent NBD-Cl (7-chloro-4-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole) was used to label peroxide-modified alpha1-antitrypsin and demonstrate that the Cys-232 in vitro oxidation pathway begins with a stable sulfenic acid intermediate and is followed by the formation of sulfinic and cysteic acid in successive steps. pH-dependent reactivity with hydrogen peroxide showed that Cys-232 has a pK(a) of 6.86 +/- 0.05, a value that is more than 1.5 pH units lower than that of a typical protein thiol. pH-induced conformational changes in the region surrounding Cys-232 were also examined and indicate that mildly acidic conditions induce a conformation that enhances Cys-232 reactivity. In summary, this work provides new insights into alpha1-antitrypsin reactivity in oxidizing environments and shows that a unique structural environment renders its unpaired thiol, Cys-232, its most reactive amino acid.


Scene change detection plays an important role in a number of video applications, including video indexing, semantic features extraction, and, in general, pre- and post-processing operations. This paper deals with the design and performance evaluation of a dynamic scene change detector optimized for H.264/AVC encoded video sequences. The detector is based on a dynamic threshold that adaptively tracks different features of the video sequence, to increase the whole scheme accuracy in correctly locating true scene changes. The solution has been tested on suitable video sequences resembling real-world videos thanks to a number of different motion features, and has provided good performance without requiring an increase in decoder complexity. This is a valuable issue, considering the possible application of the proposed algorithm in post-processing operations, such as error concealment for video decoding in typical error prone video transmission environments, such as wireless networks.


This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of internet usage on agro-business productivity and factors affecting it. A total of 164 respondents were involved in the study representing agro-based entrepreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia. The respondents involved in agro-business such as food processing, plantation, animal rearing, farming, fisheries and non-food processing. Respondents were chosen based on the list of agro-based entrepreneurs provided by the Department of Agriculture (DOA), Farmers Organization Authority (FOA) and Agriculture Bank of Malaysia. A survey using a questionnaire developed for the study was used to collect data. Mean, percentage, frequency and independent t-test were generated to describe the general trend of the data. From the results obtained, the level of internet applications usage was at moderate level, while all of
the eight internet applications listed in the study showed significant difference in term of internet potential contribution to agro-based productivity comparing between the users and non-users of the listed internet applications.


We present evidence of strong steric interference in bilayer graphene containing offset point dislocations. Calculations are carried out with Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) using the Long-Range Carbon Bond-Order Potential (LCBOP) potential of Los et al.. We start by validating the potential in the harmonic response by comparing the predicted phonon dispersion curves to experimental data and other potentials. The requisite force constants are derived by linearization of the potential and are presented in full form. We then continue to validate the potential in applications involving the formation of dislocation dipoles and quadrupoles in monolayer configurations. Finally, we evaluate a number of dislocation quadrupole configurations in monolayer and bilayer graphene and document strong steric interactions due to out-of-plane displacements when the dislocations on the individual layers are sufficiently offset with respect to each other.


A new class of functionalised dicationic ionic liquids, containing a central cationic unit capped by a basic functionality (imidazole), has been synthesised. These salts have been characterised in isotropic solution using proton and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, and their thermal stability has been studied by DSC and TGA. All these novel salts contain the 1-(1-imidazolylmethyl)-3,5-di{1-(3'-octylimidazolylmethyl)}-benzene cation as a defining structural motif. Salts of both singly and doubly charged anions were prepared and, in particular, the selected monoanions (Br(-), [BF4](-), or [NTf2](-)) differ in size, shape and hydrogen-bonding ability, whereas the dianions differ in the nature of the spacer, such as 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylate, 1,5- and 2,6-naphthalenedisulfonate, 1,4-butanedicarboxylate, and 1,6-hexanedicarboxylate. These ionic liquids exhibit the presence of different conformers in solution, whose distribution is affected by the nature of the anion. The nature of the anion also affects their thermal stability.


We experimentally demonstrate that at terahertz frequencies perfect plasmonic absorbers made on a highly doped silicon platform can be easily realized, exhibiting near-zero dips in the reflection spectra. The unit cell of the absorber consists of a dielectric layer of SiO2 film sandwiched between a highly doped silicon wafer and the copper structures, in the form of either one-dimensional stripe array or two-dimensional cross array. The reflection spectrum of the proposed absorbers are characterized using a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy system and the experimental results are in good agreement with numerical simulations. The dependence of the absorption on the THz polarization for both the 1D and 2D absorbers are also investigated. The high performance together with the easy fabrication processes presented in this paper show that the plasmonic absorber holds high prospect in terahertz applications.


Abstract Motivation Applied research in machine learning progresses faster when a clean dataset is available and ready to use. Several datasets have been proposed and released over the years for specific tasks such as image classification, speech-recognition and more recently for protein structure prediction. However, for the fundamental problem of RNA structure prediction, information is spread between several databases depending on the level we are interested in: sequence, secondary structure, 3D structure or interactions with other macromolecules. In order to speed-up advances in machine-learning based approaches for RNA secondary and/or 3D structure prediction, a dataset integrating all this information is required, to avoid spending time on data gathering and cleaning. Results Here, we propose the first attempt of a standardized and automatically generated dataset dedicated to RNA combining together: RNA sequences, homology information (under the form of position-specific scoring matrices) and information derived by annotation of available 3D structures (including secondary structure, canonical and non-canonical interactions and backbone torsion angles). The data are retrieved from public databases PDB, Rfam and SILVA. The paper describes the procedure to build such dataset and the RNA structure descriptors we provide. Some statistical descriptions of the resulting dataset are also provided. Availability and implementation The dataset is updated every month and available online (in flat-text file format) on the EvryRNA software platform (https://evryrna.ibisc.univ-evry.fr/evryrna/rnanet). An efficient parallel pipeline to build the dataset is also provided for easy reproduction or modification. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


Though India's SEZ policy owes its conceptual base to the successful model of China's SEZs experience, hardly any attempt has been made to explain what made them so successful. In this paper , we trace this phenomenal success to the well articulated and executed SEZ policy in China. Apart from this, the success of SEZs in China is also attributed to the various supporting mechanisms, both internal and external. Hence our contention that SEZs cannot be expected to deliver optimum performance under ceteris paribus condition.


This paper discusses the classification of basic vocal typesfor northern Swedish voices. The classification is carried out by use ofsupport vector machines. The paper aims to identify the important fea-tures of voice signal for classification. The paper also presents the resultsof applying the selected features in classification performance. Finally,those features that outperform others in classification are introduced.


Abstract : The term wrongful birth denotes a claim brought by the parents of an unwanted child who was conceived or born due to medical negligence. The claims are often dismissed as contradictory to good morals or public order. However, there remains a neglected question whether the court decision to award or dismiss damages could constitute discrimination against the child concerned. While the child is not a party to the litigation, it is nevertheless unacceptable for the court not to take into account the effects of its decision on the child. In the case of award of damages, the court publicly affirms the legitimacy of the parentsꞌ need for compensation, that is the fact that the childꞌs birth represents recoverable harm to them. The court decision therefore means a different treatment in respect to other children whose benefits for the family are generally recognized and praised by the society. That might have serious psychological consequences for the child, depriving her or him of the full enjoyment of the right to dignity. This fact constitutes discrimination on the grounds of birth, which can be justified only by very weighty reasons. Such reasons may be arguably given in the case of a child incapable of understanding the meaning of wrongful birth litigation, whose special needs are extremely burdensome on the family. On the other hand, the dismissal of the claim cannot represent a negative discrimination against the child. Keywords : Discrimination. Wrongful birth. International human rights law. Human rights of the child. Convention on the Rights of the Child.


Biochar is emerging as a cost-effective, environmentally-sustainable adsorbent for removing organic contaminants (OC) from wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water, but strategies for managing exhausted biochar are needed. Here, pine biochar generated at 850 °C was exhausted by background dissolved organic matter isolated from surface water [dissolved organic carbon ∼4.2 mg L−1, UV-absorbance at 254 nm (UVA254) ∼0.10 cm−1] and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) [∼200 ng L−1], in a column. Exhausted biochar underwent a semi-oxic-thermal-regeneration step at 600 °C (i.e., heat treatment). SMX and UVA254 adsorption capacity and breakthrough were evaluated in rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs). Relative to fresh biochar, heat treated biochar that had been exhausted exhibited ∼3.5-fold and ∼3-fold greater SMX and UVA254 adsorption capacities, respectively, and ∼3-fold increase in adsorption efficiency (i.e., mass loss-adjusted SMX adsorption capacity). When applying the heat treatment to fresh biochar, a similar improvement in adsorption capacity was observed. Adsorption capacity and BET surface area were positively correlated and continued to increase after a second exhaustion–regeneration cycle, but the adsorption efficiency remained the same due to mass loss. SMX breakthrough correlated with that of UVA254, which provides the basis for a rapid, inexpensive method to predict OC breakthrough. Heat-treated biochar's SMX adsorption capacity was ∼20% of activated carbon's. Greater empty-bed-contact times increased the SMX adsorption capacity of heat-treated biochar. These results suggest that thermal regeneration could enhance the economic and environmental sustainability of biochar sorbents.


It has been reported that nicotinamide-overload induces oxidative stress associated with insulin
resistance, the key feature of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aimed to investigate the effects
of B vitamins in T2DM. Glucose tolerance tests were carried out in adult Sprague-Dawley rats treated
with or without cumulative doses of B vitamins. More specifically, insulin tolerance tests were also
carried out in adult Sprague-Dawley rats treated with or without cumulative doses of Vitamin B3. We
found that cumulative Vitamin B1 and Vitamin B3 administration significantly increased the plasma
H₂O₂ levels associated with high insulin levels. Only Vitamin B3 reduced muscular and hepatic glycogen
contents. Cumulative administration of nicotinic acid, another form of Vitamin B3, also significantly
increased plasma insulin level and H₂O₂ generation. Moreover, cumulative administration of nicotinic
acid or nicotinamide impaired glucose metabolism. This study suggested that excess Vitamin B1 and
Vitamin B3 caused oxidative stress and insulin resistance.


The abundance of orally formulated chemotherapy agents reflects the expanding role of oral chemotherapy in the care of patients with cancer. Many oral chemotherapy agents have been used for a number of years, and several have been developed recently. Newer agents include the prodrugs capecitabine and temozolomide, the retinoid bexarotene, the immunomodulatory agent thalidomide, the protein kinase inhibitor imatinib, and the epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors gefitinib and erlotinib. Each agent has unique pharmacologic properties, dosing, and side-effect profiles. This article reviews these agents from a pharmacology perspective.


The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel has committed to certain principles for the conduct of its legal advisory function, one of which is a commitment to providing the executive a "best view" of the law while nonetheless "facilitating" where possible the executive's policy objectives. The standard is closely related to a conception of the Office's standing, developed after Watergate in the Carter Administration, as a source of fully independent legal advice insulated to the maximum extent possible from political and policy pressure. This adherence to "best view" has been the source of considerable comment and criticism when the Office has appeared to depart from this standard in supplying the executive with legal positions that may qualify as "reasonable" or "plausible" but fall manifestly short of what scholars and other observers judged to be the best possible reading of the law.
This Article questions the "best view" as a standard that should bind the OLC, or any other senior legal advisers, in advising the executive in a national security crisis. It challenges the best view theory both as an empirically unsustainable account of how lawyers in fact perform in a crisis setting, and as a theoretically unjustified constraint on the range of legal options that a president's legal advisers should be expected to offer. Among the criticisms is the absence of a fully coherent conception of "best view," and the risk that best view claims mask what are less legal, and more policy, disagreements. The Article sets out an alternative of legal positions grounded in reasonable, good faith readings of the law, subject to thoroughgoing transparency requirements.
One consequence of this revised view of crisis lawyering is that it is no longer clear that OLC should have the primary if not decisive role in determining the lead advice that the executive should receive when confronting a critical national security challenge. An alternative decision-making model would assure that OLC views are considered but would allow for a crisis management structure with different leadership on legal issues, including but not limited to the Counsel to the President, and closer, more open dialogue between lawyers and policy makers. The Article insists that the key to the executive checking function is a detailed public accounting of the legal advisory structure established to support the president's decision-making in crisis and of the substance of the Administration's formal legal position.
Apart from an assessment of the literature and expositions of "best view," the Article draws on historical and contemporary sources that aid in a dispassionate analysis of the response of lawyers to policy and political pressure in crisis. One such source is the historical record of the functioning of the executive's legal advisory process in two major national security crises: the bases-for-destroyers exchange with Great Britain intended to shore up that country's defense against the German military onslaught, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Primary source materials, including memoirs and documents authored by senior legal advisers, supply useful insight into the challenges of crisis lawyering. A second source are senior national security lawyers who have served in recent Administrations and who agreed to be interviewed for this Article about their personal experience with the conflicts between "best view" and the responsibility to advance where possible the executive's policy objectives.


This dissertation investigates the role which the acquisition of external resources plays in firm strategy. External Resource Acquisition (ERA) is a core strategic action for firm survival, especially when firms are faced with high munificence and uncertainty in regards to their resource environment. Primarily driven by the theoretical premises of the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984), scholars have conceptualized ERA as predominantly a resource-driven action. Under this view, firms engage in ERA to alleviate their resource constraints (Combs & Ketchen, 1999), access complementary resources (e.g., Rothaermel, 2001b), and further enhance their knowledge base (e.g., Ahuja & Katila, 2001).
These contributions significantly advance understanding on various dimensions of ERA, but they treat the competitive environment of the firm as an exogenous factor. While there is a good theoretical rationale of the exclusion of the competitive environment in terms of the explanatory power of the RBV and its theoretical limits (Peteraf & Barney, 2003), the treatment of ERA as solely a resource-driven action, I argue, significantly fails to provide a holistic assessment on the strategic implications of ERA. I address this gap by a) developing a conceptual framework of ERA that takes into account both the firm's idiosyncratic attributes and its competitive environment, and b) providing an extensive empirical analysis on the patterns of ERA activity among competing firms. Departing from this resource-driven view of ERA, I argue that ERA can be also seen as a competitor-driven action. I propose that firms engage in ERA to also respond to their competitive environment and more specifically to their competitors' ERA-related actions. To build the competitive side of my argument, I draw upon the competitive dynamics literature and theories of interorganizational imitation. Taking these two views together, I argue that ERA can be seen as a strategic action that leads to a broader set of strategic choices.
Drawing from an extensive sample of 4,729 ERA actions among the top 50 biopharmaceutical firms between 1987 and 2006, my empirical analysis provides overall support for both the resource- and competitor- driven views of ERA.
This dissertation makes at least three contributions to the field of strategy. First, it illustrates that firm strategy, at least in the context of ERA, can be better explained when both firm- and competitor- specific explanations of firm action are taken into account. This particularly important for scholars who view firms from a RBV point of view, and tend to exclude the competitive environment of the firm from their conceptual development and analysis. Second, to better understand complex strategic actions, such as ERA, scholars must adopt a broader theoretical perspective of strategic choice. The empirical support of ERA as both resource- and competitor- driven, illustrates that firm strategy cannot be sufficiently explained by one theoretical view. Third, my empirical analysis provides support for the temporal dimension of strategy, when firms are faced with changing technological paradigms. In the case of the biotechnology paradigm, for example, the extent which firm- and competitor- specific factors explain patterns of ERA changes over time.


We study a class of single-round, sealed-bid auctions for items in unlimited supply, such as digital goods. We introduce the notion of competitive auctions. A competitive auction is truthful (i.e., encourages buyers to bid their utility) and yields profit that is roughly within a constant factor of the profit of optimal fixed pricing for all inputs. We justify the use of optimal fixed pricing as a benchmark for evaluating competitive auction profit. We show that several randomized auctions are truthful and competitive and that no truthful deterministic auction is competitive. Our results extend to bounded supply markets, for which we also get truthful and competitive auctions. A preliminary version of this paper appeared in [6, 7]. The new paper contains new results and refines some of the results and concepts introduced in the preliminary version.


The thesis consists of the creative project and the critical essay. Latitude is a novel about childhood memory and trauma, and the human instinct for repetition. Set in present-day northern New South Wales, it tells the story of grieving photographer Anna and the enigmatic music producer and composer David Cain, whose meeting at a tragic accident takes place in the familiar landscape of Anna's childhood. From there an affair between Anna and David leads them to two characters, a young and beautiful singer, Kara, and Kara's boyfriend Tom, who reappear from David"s past and lead Anna, ultimately, to a game that keeps increasing in its extremity. Anna, caught in a nightmare, struggles to understand David's destructive behaviour. The critical essay examines Georges Perec's W, or, The Memory of Childhood (W). W, a Holocaust narrative, is an exemplary trauma text that is a product of the author's extreme childhood trauma. Incomplete, with different narrative strands of
 fiction and childhood memory, it shows both the author's profound desire to write and a remarkable inability to speak. Through a close reading of W, the essay analyses Perec's strategic use of traumatic effects (such as narrative omissions, repetition, and uncanny objects) and engages with four main questions: why is it that traumatic memory cannot provide a linear view? In fiction, how can the author say so much about an extreme childhood trauma and yet say so little? How does W, at times become a ghost story in which haunting takes on material shapes? And how does the effect of estrangement, of not understanding, take place? The essay explores the relation between autobiography and fiction, searching for clues to the unspoken story underneath–not to compare the trauma of the Holocaust with the childhood trauma my fiction protagonist is dealing with, but to find structural signposts through which a reader might see a process of memory interpretation in instances of childhood trauma
 and catch glimpses of its effects on identity. This essay draws attention to the irrevocable effects of trauma on the narrative because these techniques are precisely where the force of the fictional trauma narrative resides. What this essay is interested in is the way Perec synthesises many of the common aims of the fictional trauma narrative by emphasising absence as a distinguishing characteristic of trauma, demonstrating that, more than anything else, trauma is a matter of emptiness, far more obscure than the writing of a crash. The impact of a crash can propel the narrative's form, but in the strange way of trauma one of its most compelling aspects is that its effects can be triggered by very different and far less obvious reasons than originally supposed. Exploration of the irrevocable effects of trauma is central to the methodology of this thesis, both creatively and critically. Once David's ambiguity threatened to be directly described, a surprising inner logic grew: the
 narrative of the novel required an oblique strategy not unlike Perec's. When Anna and David arrive at an impasse, the only direction is a breaking apart. Chronological order is lost, resorting to a going backwards and forwards, before the narrative is separated by a journey to an island. Everything that exists between Anna and David in the real world disappears. Because the book is interrupted and taken outside of the world to an unknown island it also embraces Cathy Caruth's idea that the story of the accident resists comprehension, and the repeated return to the accident constitutes much of what it means to experience trauma belatedly, directing the victim to an unrecognisable location. An unspoken story or underlying absence is built into the text. When Anna takes the first photograph of David at the site of the accident she cannot shake the sensation that there is something she should have seen. When she looks at the photograph later she tells herself it is a mistake. Like so
 many stories of trauma, there is an underlying story that is impossible to tell because it is beyond words. The extremity Anna is drawn to falls outside language; it also means she is caught by David. The novel is an attempt to stage an extra-textual truth and create a suspicion that something terrible has happened to Anna, and her memory is disturbed. In that light, the absence at the centre of the novel represents trauma as an impassable distance imposed on the mind. David and Anna are likewise devoted to the construction of lost narratives: David works on an album that will never be made. And in a similar manner, Anna works through an irretrievable story of her childhood, her mother, her father, and indeed the truth about David that she imagines to be lost in her camera. The unsayable, the unknowable, the unspoken presence of an other is crucial to a convincing portrayal of a protagonist dealing with the effects of trauma. It is not a question of completion because traumatised
 memory directs and redirects the mind to an unresolvable break, forcing an impassable distance between what is known and unknown. The truth is suspended, providing a window to another untold story whose consequences dictate, in the fictional world of the novel, the characters' fates.


Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) is a wireless communication network with frequent changes in its topology due to unpredictable movements of vehicles. The frequent changes of network topology make the data packet transmission and routing process very difficult. Among various routing algorithms available for VANET, different position based routing algorithms which use the position information of neighbor nodes have been proposed. However, dynamic movement direction and speed of vehicles can easily break the communication between nodes. Nonetheless, due to various aspects (i.e. neighbor nodes locate at the edge of sender's transmission range or change their mobility between beacon transmission intervals.) that have not been considered in the existing methods, there still exists a possibility of communication disconnection. In this paper, we propose a reliable and effective intermediate node selection algorithm to improve the routing problem. The key component of the proposed algorithm is selecting the reliable intermediate node from the mobility information included in beacons. Extensive number of simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing methods in terms of end-to-end delay and packet delivery ratio.


Spinel LiMn2O4 was synthesized via a solid state reaction, and modified with Al2O3 thin layers by a chemical deposition method. The electrochemical performances of the as-prepared samples were investigated with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge-discharge test. It is found that the Al2O3-coated LiMn2O4 help dramatically retaining the discharge capacity upon long-term cycling. The influences of the heat-treating temperature and the coating amount are discussed and compared. The optimized sample is 1% Al2O3/ LiMn2O4 heat-treated at 500oC, which has an initial discharge capacity of 116mAh/g, and a very slight capacity loss of 1.7% at the 50th cycle.


Stabilization of multiply-charged atomic clusters in the gas phase has been a topic of great interest not only because of their potential applications as weakly-coordinating anions, but also for their ability to promote unusual reactions and serve as building blocks of materials. Recent experiments have shown that, after removing one terminal ligand from the closo-dodecacyano-borate, B12(CN)122-, the cluster can strongly bind an argon atom at room temperature. Bearing this in mind, here, we have developed more than a dozen highly stable tri- and tetra-anions using density functional theory (DFT) calculations with hybrid functional (B3LYP) and semi-empirical dispersion corrections. The interactions between the clusters and noble gas atoms, including Ne, Ar and Kr, are studied. The resulting super-electrophilic sites embedded in these charged clusters can bind noble gas atoms with binding energies up to 0.7 eV. This study enriches the database of highly-charged clusters and provides a viable design rule for super-electrophiles that can strongly bind noble gas atoms.


Guide rails which take place in structure of elevator, are the important elements for safety of elevator systems. They have attached together end to end with the fishplates and bolts, and are anchored to wall with brackets. Connections between guide rails and brackets are provided by clips. To ensure the safe operation of elevators, the guide rails, fishplates, brackets, bolts, clips have enough strength against to loads and forces which affect these elements. In this study, shear tests are performed to examine mechanical properties of bolts and clips which are used guide rail anchor element. The results which are gained from stress calculations and experiments are compared and interpreted.


In this chapter we seek an explanation for the reservations of local authorities towardcontracting out. Although empirical evidence suggests that contracting out results in a significant cost decrease, a majority of Dutch municipalities provides for waste collection services themselves. Based on theoretical insights we model the choice between private, public, in-house, and out-house refuse collection. The models are estimated using a database comprising nearly all Dutch municipalities. We find evidence that the number of inhabitants, the transfer by central government, and interest group arguments are important explanations. Interestingly, ideology seems to play a minor role. Compared to earlier studies we estimate more general models. Although the same qualitative results are found for parametric and semiparametric models, we find strong statistical evidence that a parametric specification is far too inflexible. Differences between the parametric and the semiparametric marginal effects are substantial. Thus, more attention is needed for the implications of model specification.


In a best-effort publish/subscribe network, publications may be delivered out of order (e.g., violating FIFO order). We contend that the primary cause of such ordering violations is the parallel matching and forwarding process employed by brokers to achieve high throughput. In this paper, we present an end-to-end method to improve event ordering. The method involves the receiver and minimally the sender, but otherwise uses the broker network as a black box. The idea is to analyze the dynamics of the network, and in particular to measure the delivery delay and its variation, which is directly related to out-of-order delivery. With these measures, receivers can determine a near-optimal latch time to defer message delivery upon the detection of a hole in the message sequence number. We evaluate the performance of this ordering scheme empirically in terms of the reduction in out-of-order deliveries, the delay imposed by the latch time, and its automatic adaptability to variable network conditions and input loads.


The prevention or alleviation of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), is a challenge for contemporary health services. The aim of this study was to review the literature on the prevention or alleviation of AD by introducing an appropriate carnitine-rich diet, dietary carnitine supplements and the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet, which contains elements of the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. L-carnitine (LC) plays a crucial role in the energetic metabolism of the cell. A properly balanced diet contains a substantial amount of LC as well as essential amino acids and microelements taking part in endogenous carnitine synthesis. In healthy people, carnitine biosynthesis is sufficient to prevent the symptoms of carnitine deficiency. In persons with dysfunction of mitochondria, e.g., with AD connected with extensive degeneration of the brain structures, there are often serious disturbances in the functioning of the whole organism. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high consumption of fruits and vegetables, cereals, nuts, olive oil, and seeds as the major source of fats, moderate consumption of fish and poultry, low to moderate consumption of dairy products and alcohol, and low intake of red and processed meat. The introduction of foodstuffs rich in carnitine and the MIND diet or carnitine supplementation of the AD patients may improve their functioning in everyday life.


Typical atrial flutter is a macro-reentrant arrhythmia within the right atrium. Its zone of slow conduction is the so-called right atrial isthmus, representing the area between inferior vena cava, tricuspid annulus, and coronary sinus. Conduction block of this target area can terminate the arrhythmia and prevent reinduction. Isthmus ablation with radiofrequency (RF) energy is a well-established technique to produce conduction block. However, in most cases multiple energy applications are needed to create linear lesions. In individual cases, this results in prolonged procedure duration and, as a possible result of nontransmural lesions, recurrence of the arrhythmia. This article evaluates the feasibility and safety of a new steerable temperature-monitoring microwave ablation catheter in the production of linear lesions in the right atrial isthmus and examines both the dose-response relationship and the energy required for transmural lesions. Ablation was performed in eight open-chest mongrel dogs using a 2.450-MHz microwave generator with 35-50 W and a newly designed AFx 9-F deflectable catheter with a 25-mm antenna on the tip. The operation was performed under general anesthesia using nembutal and supported with room-air artificial respiration throughout the procedure. The study showed that the new deflectable AFx microwave catheter is a feasible and safe tool for creating long transmural linear lesions in the right isthmus. Based on this data, an appropriate catheter position, energy settings between 40 and 50 W, and application duration of approximately 90 s are needed. Also, the development of different antennas and curve shapes is recommended to simplify the ablation procedure and to target more complex arrhythmia substrates with microwave energy. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal anticoagulation procedure after microwave ablation.


PURPOSE
To determine the existence of a relatively higher abundance of potential TFs in glaucomatous trabecular meshwork (TM) that may bind putative promoter regions and affect cochlin protein expression in glaucomatous compared to normal TM.

METHODS
Combinatorial bioinformatics and biochemical analyses, using human glaucomatous and normal donor tissue (n = 4 each). Biochemical analysis included electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs), filter binding assays (FBAs), coupled in vitro transcription-translation (TNT) assays and promoter mutation analysis.

RESULTS
Combinatorial bioinformatics and biochemical analyses revealed the existence of a higher abundance of TFs in glaucomatous than in normal TM nuclear extracts. The evidence of a relatively high abundance of TFs, leading to increased expression of cochlin predicted by bioinformatic and biochemical analyses (EMSA and FBA), was further supported by TNT and promoter mutation TNT assays.

CONCLUSIONS
These results support the finding that the observed increased cochlin expression in glaucomatous TM is due to relative elevated abundance of TFs. The results also demonstrate the utility of combinatorial bioinformatic and biochemical analyses for genes with uncharacterized promoter regions.


At the present day, software systems get more and more complex. The requirements of software systems change continuously and new requirements emerge frequently. New and/or modified requirements are integrated with the existing ones, and adaptations to the architecture and source code of the system are made. The process of integration of the new/modified requirements and adaptations to the software system is called change management. The size and complexity of software systems make change management costly and time consuming. To reduce the cost of changes, it is important to apply change management as early as possible in the software development cycle. Requirements traceability is considered crucial in change management for establishing and maintaining consistency between software development artifacts. It is the ability to link requirements back to stakeholders' rationales and forward to corresponding design artifacts, code, and test cases. When changes for the requirements of the software system are proposed, the impact of these changes on other requirements, design elements and source code should be traced in order to determine parts of the software system to be changed. Determining the impact of changes on the parts of development artifacts is called change impact analysis. Change impact analysis is applicable to many development artifacts like requirements documents, detailed design, source code and test cases. Our focus is change impact analysis in requirements and software architecture.

The need for change impact analysis is observed in both requirements and software architecture. When a change is introduced to a requirement, the requirements engineer needs to find out if any other requirement related to the changed requirement is impacted. After determining the impacted requirements, the software architect needs to identify the impacted architectural elements by tracing the changed requirements to software architecture. It is hard, expensive and error prone to manually trace impacted requirements and architectural elements from the changed requirements. In this thesis, we introduce methods and tools for application of change impact analysis in requirements and software architecture.


Multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with index modulation (MIMO-OFDM-IM) has the potential advantage to balance the trade-off between spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE). This paper investigates the application of MIMO-OFDM-IM to millimeter wave (mmWave) communication systems. Taking advantage of the properties of Pareto optimality, we propose a feasible solution to achieve a globally Pareto-optimal trade-off between SE and EE, and the collision constraints of multi-objective optimization problem (MOP) can be solved efficiently. The MOP of SE-EE trade-off can then be converted into a Pareto-optimal set (POS) solution problem. This combinatorial-oriented resource allocation approach on SE-EE relation considers the optimal beam design and power reallocation for downlink multi-user mmWave transmission. We adopt the Poisson point process (PPP) to model the mobile data traffic, and the evolutionary algorithm is applied to speed up the search efficiency of the Pareto front. Compared with benchmarks, the experimental results collected from extensive simulations reveal that the proposed optimization approach is vastly superior to existing algorithms.


A novel type of multi-mode resonator (MMR) is proposed in this letter, which is constructed by cascading interdigital coupled microstrip line sections with short-ended stepped impedance stubs being loaded. Its transmission line model is set up and analyzed, which shows that it has seven resonances. Finally, an ultra-wideband filter based on this type of MMR is designed, fabricated and measured. The measured results show that the filter has a sharp skirt and an out-of-band rejection level as good as 40 dB. Meanwhile, return loss is better than 17 dB. Group delay is also flat in the passband.


Welker, N. E. (Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio) and L. Leon Campbell. Effect of carbon sources on formation of α-amylase by Bacillus stearothermophilus. J. Bacteriol. 86:681–686. 1963.—A chemically defined medium was devised for use in α-amylase induction studies. The addition of 0.1% casein hydrolysate to the chemically defined medium permitted growth on fructose, and with glucose, sucrose, maltose, starch, and glycerol it shortened the lag period and increased both the growth rate and the total enzyme produced. Growth did not occur when gluconate, acetate, or succinate were used as carbon sources. α-Amylase was produced during the logarithmic phase of growth; the amount produced was inversely proportional to the rate of growth. The poorer the carbon source for growth (glycerol, k = 0.24; glucose, k = 0.26; sucrose, k = 0.42), the higher was the amount of enzyme produced (glycerol, 109 units/ml; glucose, 103 units/ml; sucrose, 45 units/ml). Cells grown on technical-grade maltose (k = 0.26) or starch (k = 0.42) did not conform to this relationship in that unusually large amounts of α-amylase were produced (362 and 225 units/ml, respectively). Cells grown on fructose or sucrose had the same growth rate (k = 0.42), but smaller amounts of α-amylase were produced on fructose (fructose, 0 to 4 units/ml; sucrose, 45 units/ml). An intracellular α-amylase was not detected in Bacillus stearothermophilus.


The aim of this study is to analyze the amount of atmospheric pollution caused by vehicular traffic alone, and a public strike during which vehicular traffic is highly curtailed offers an excellent opportunity for our purpose. Hence, the present study was carried out through systematic in-situ measurements of Particulate Matter (PM), Black Carbon (BC) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) over the urban region of Hyderabad, India during two public strikes (hereafter case 1 and 2). Results of the study suggested that the pollutant concentrations decreased to a considerable extent especially for BC and Particulate Matter (PM 10 , PM 2.5 and PM 1.0 ) and CO in both the cases indicating that vehicular emissions alone largest contributors to air. A significant reduction of about 48% and 28% in first public strike where as in second public strike reduction of 27% and 30% observed in BC and particulate matter respectively compared to pre strike period. A significant reduction of about 20% in CO concentration during post strike period was observed compared to pre strike period for case 2.


Heat transfer through the interface between a metallic nanoparticle and an electrolyte solution has great importance in a number of applications, ranging from nanoparticle-based cancer treatments to nanofluids and solar energy conversion devices. However, the impact of the surface charge and dissolved ions on heat transfer has been scarcely explored so far. In this study, we compute the interface thermal conductance between hydrophilic and hydrophobic charged gold nanoparticles immersed in an electrolyte using equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. Compared with an uncharged nanoparticle, we report a 3-fold increase of the Kapitza conductance for a nanoparticle surface charge of +320 mC/m2. This enhancement is shown to be approximately independent of the surface wettability, charge spatial distribution, and salt concentration. This allows us to express the Kapitza conductance enhancement in terms of the surface charge density on a master curve. Finally, we interpret the increase of the Kapitza conductance as a combined result of the shift of the water density distribution toward the charged nanoparticle and an accumulation of the counterions around the nanoparticle surface which increase the Coulombic interaction between the liquid and the charged nanoparticle. These considerations help us to apprehend the role of ions in heat transfer close to electrified surfaces.


We have constructed growth factor-toxin chimeric molecules composed of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and two different binding mutant forms of Pseudomonas exotoxin termed bFGF-PE40 and bFGF-PE4E KDEL. The chimeric molecules were expressed in Escherichia coli and localized to both inclusion bodies and the spheroplast cytoplasm. The bFGF-toxin fusion protein that was isolated and purified from inclusion bodies was 3-fold more active in inhibiting protein synthesis than that purified from spheroplast cytoplasm. Immunoreactivity of purified bFGF-toxin fusion protein to anti-bFGF antibodies was similar to that of native bFGF, as determined by ELISA analysis. A variety of carcinoma cell lines were sensitive to bFGF-PE40 and bFGF-PE4E KDEL, including H3396 (breast), Hep G2 (hepatocellular), and A431 (epidermoid). The concentration of chimeric toxin that inhibited protein synthesis by 50% (EC50) was 110, 70, and 18 ng/mL for bFGF-PE40 and 15, 1, and 18 ng/mL for bFGF-PE4E KDEL. In comparison with fusion-toxins composed of acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) and either PE40 or PE4EKDEL, bFGF-PE40 and bFGF-PE4E KDEL were similarly cytotoxic on most cell lines tested. Human aortic smooth muscle cells were sensitive to both bFGF and aFGF toxin fusion proteins. However, human aortic endothelial cells were sensitive to the bFGF-toxins but were resistant to both aFGF-toxin forms. Time course studies showed that bFGF-PE40 needed a 4-6-h exposure to target cells for peak inhibition of protein synthesis on both MCF-7 and A431 cells, while aFGF-PE40 was almost fully active within a 2-h incubation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


A fundamental characteristic of calcified structures commonly used for direct age estimation in animals is that new material is accreted cumulatively and preserved across ontogeny, thus allowing growth marks to be reliably observed and counted. Direct age estimation in crustaceans has been problematic due to molting of calcified structures across ontogeny; however, recent studies suggest that gastric ossicle tissue is retained through molts and can be used for age estimation. We evaluate the use of sectioned gastric ossicles for direct aging of the Giant mud crab Scylla serrata. Sectioned zygocardiac ossicles from crabs collected in northern Australia are analyzed to determine: (1) whether putative annual age estimates can be reliably reproduced; (2) if age estimates are compatible with previous information; and (3) if ossicle growth is cumulative across ontogeny. Our analyses show that readability of putative annual increments in sectioned ossicles is poor and age estimates imprecise in comparison to fish otolith studies. Age‐at‐size estimates are broadly compatible with previous mark‐recapture data from the same regions. However, analyses of ossicle growth morphology suggest that the zygocardiac ossicles are either shed or extensively reworked during ontogeny, thus casting doubt on the utility of gastric ossicles for direct age estimation in this species. We conclude that the ontogenetic growth morphology of structures used for crustacean aging needs to be carefully considered and that detailed information on the timing and frequency of increment formation—and at least some understanding of the underlying processes—is required before this method is widely adopted.


We study the problem of approximate inference in collective graphical models (CGMs), which were recently introduced to model the problem of learning and inference with noisy aggregate observations. We first analyze the complexity of inference in CGMs: unlike inference in conventional graphical models, exact inference in CGMs is NP-hard even for tree-structured models. We then develop a tractable convex approximation to the NPhard MAP inference problem in CGMs, and show how to use MAP inference for approximate marginal inference within the EM framework. We demonstrate empirically that these approximation techniques can reduce the computational cost of inference by two orders of magnitude and the cost of learning by at least an order of magnitude while providing solutions of equal or better quality.


Background: Persons with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) on statins remain at higher risk of CV events. The added residual risk that diabetes mellitus (DM) confers has not been well-quantified. We examined initial and total ASCVD events in statin treated persons with ASCVD and the added risk of DM. Methods: We studied 3,271 subjects with ASCVD on statins from the Atherothrombosis Intervention in Metabolic Syndrome with Low HDL/High Triglycerides: Impact on Global Health Outcomes trial cohort. We examined rates for first and total ASCVD events. Cox regression examined the risk of first ASCVD events over 3 years with and without DM at baseline. Results: 40% of subjects had DM. Those with vs. without DM were slightly older, less likely male, white, currently smoking, had higher systolic but lower diastolic blood pressure, lower HDL-C, LDL-C, lipoprotein (a), but higher triglycerides and BMI (all p Conclusion: Despite statin therapy, DM carries significantly greater residual risk over having ASCVD alone. More aggressive approaches are needed to reduce the increased risk with ASCVD and DM. Disclosure N.D. Wong: Advisory Panel; Self; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Consultant; Self; Akcea Therapeutics, AstraZeneca. Research Support; Self; Amarin Corporation, Amgen Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc. Y. Zhao: None. P. Xiang: Employee; Self; Amgen Inc. J.G. Lopez: Employee; Self; Amgen Inc. Stock/Shareholder; Self; Amgen Inc. Funding Amgen Inc.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) modifies various nuclear proteins by poly (ADP-ribose)-ylation, and has a known role in a multitude of chromatin-associated functions, including: transcriptional coregulation, modification of chromatin structure, regulation of insulators, and well-established activities in DNA repair. With regard to nuclear receptors, PARP1 promotes recruitment of topoisomerase IIβ (TopoIIβ) to estrogen-regulated promoters, leading to promoter DNA cleavage, factor exchange, and transcriptional activation. However, PARP1 function is known to be context dependent. Here, the impact of PARP1 on AR signaling was assessed under conditions of prostate cancer relevance. As will be discussed, key preliminary data strongly suggest that PARP1 function is critical for the pro-tumorigenic functions of AR. First, pharmacological inhibition of PARP1 enzymatic activity potently suppressed ligand-dependent AR transcriptional activity on target genes of clinical relevance. Second, the mechanism of PARP1-mediated AR regulation appears to be manifest at the level of chromatin, as inhibition of PARP1 failed to alter AR levels. This posit was assessed by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays to delineate the impact on AR signaling. Third, it was shown that suppression of PARP1 specifically inhibited AR-dependent prostate cancer cell proliferation in both early stage and late stage (castrate-resistant) models of disease. Lastly, it was observed that PARP1 inhibition cooperates with currently used genotoxic therapeutic modalities (IR and Docetaxel) in reducing cell survival, dependent on treatment scheduling.

In sum, our data identify PARP1 as a critical effector of AR activity at the level of chromatin, and suggest that abrogation of PARP1 function may cooperate with existing therapeutics to improve the response to therapeutic intervention.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1706.


Background
Elevated oxygen cost of walking and energy equivalents are reported for highly and moderately disabled individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, less is known about minimally impaired individuals. Moreover, no sex-based data on the metabolic rates of individuals with MS are available. In this cross-sectional study, the metabolic rates and temporospatial parameters of gait during overground walking in minimally disabled individuals with MS versus matched controls were quantified and whether sex-based differences occur was examined.

Methods
Sixty-nine minimally impaired adults with MS (37, relapsing-remitting MS [RRMS]; 32, clinically isolated syndrome [CIS]) and 25 matched controls completed two 6-minute walking bouts at comfortable and fast speeds. The oxygen cost of walking, energy equivalents, and respiratory exchange ratio were recorded through breath-by-breath open-circuit spirometry. Gait analysis was performed via a portable electronic walkway.

Results
At comfortable but not at fast speed, men with RRMS showed higher oxygen cost of walking than men with CIS (+17.9%, P = .04) and male controls (+21.3%, P = .03). In the RRMS group, men showed higher oxygen cost of walking (+19.2%, P = .04) and energy equivalents (+19.2%, P = .02) than women. Elevated oxygen cost of walking and energy equivalents in men were paralleled by significantly larger base of support and step time asymmetry during walking.

Conclusions
Metabolic demands are elevated while walking in minimally disabled individuals with RRMS. Furthermore, higher energy demands occur in men, probably due to increased step symmetry and base of support. Clinicians are advised to follow energy expenditure metrics collected while walking because they can indicate a decrease in fitness, even in the early phase of MS.


Background:Although health is influenced by an individual's characteristics and choices, accumulating evidence suggests that contextual attributes may influence a variety of health outcomes. Whether these factors also represent "upstream" factors affecting one's ability to enter the healthcare system is less clear, however. Objective:The objective of this study was to assess associations between contextual characteristics and an individual's report of having a usual source of health care. Research Design:Cross-sectional, survey-weighted data assessing demographics, insurance status, needs, and healthcare access were obtained through telephone survey in 1998 and were linked with county-level data from the 1998 Area Resource File and the 1990 US Census. Subjects:A state-representative sample of 16,261 adult residents, living in urban, suburban, and rural settings throughout Ohio comprised this study. Measures:Operational measures for social, economic, and health system characteristics were used in multilevel logistic regression models to test associations with an individual's report of a usual source of care. Results:The weighted proportion of individuals reporting no usual source of care was 18.0%. Although individuals' current health, insurance status, income, demographics, educational attainment, and social support were closely associated with this outcome, significant associations remained for county-level characteristics representing the level of poverty and degree of urbanization. Conclusions:Persisting health status disparities increase the need for programs that promote equitable access to health care. Policy interventions may be more effective if they look beyond individual characteristics to incorporate strategies that address economic factors in areas where healthcare access is inequitable.


Members of dinflagellate genus Alexandrium are frequently linked to toxic incidents (i.e. PSP) and
ecological impacts and thus are among the best characterized organisms of Harmful Algae Blooms
widespread throughout many parts of the world. Some species in Alexandrium spp. (e.g. A.tamarense)
produce secondary metabolites such as allelopathic substances, independent of PSP toxins, which can
inhibit or even lyse other coexisting protists including both photosynthetic and heterotrophic species
and could benefit Alexandrium spp. to overcome its relative low growth rate and/or resource uptake
capabilities, which generally is believed to be of special importance under stress and tough
environmental conditions.
In this study, extracellular substances of Alexandrium tamarense were examined by quantification of
allelopathic potency based on a bioassay with the cryptophyte Rhodomonas salina under N-deficient
compared to nutrient-sufficient conditions along various nitrate additions and growth phases in batch
cultures, and under different N-limitations in semi-continuous culutres. The results indicate that
extracellular compounds produced by Alexandrium tamarense play an allelopathic role, however, the
production of exuded allelochemicals of Alexandrium tamarense was not stimulated by N-limitation. In
contrast, slight but significant differences between non-limited control and N-limited treatments
indicate that nitrate-limitation even decreased the lytic potency.


This article explores a reconceptualization of creativity from a postmodern perspective. The author addresses sociopolitical aspects of somatics and creativity through an account of a postmodern paradigmatic shift that emerged as a reflective tool during a qualitative research study. Through this "postmodern turn," new theoretical questions were raised such as, How is somatic and creative experience inscribed by culture? Do personal somatic power, creative expression, and social change work against each other, or is it possible to move toward social change through somatic practice and creative experience? The reformed questions, postpositivist analysis, and discussion of research findings provide a starting point for the alternative framework offered in the paper. The author proposes a reconceptualization of creativity through a posthumanistic lens; from this position, somatic and creative work may be tools for personal change, but are also inseparable from sociopolitical change.


The model makes a distinction between "voluntary" and "involuntary" welfare receipt. The findings suggest that, among female heads of households, the increase in welfare receipt that occurred between 1967 and 1979 was almost completely attributable to an increase in involuntary unemployment and an increase in the proportion of the population that was eligible for welfare (due to changes in program parameters). The passage of time, used as a proxy for changes in the stigma associated with receiving welfare, appears to be of secondary importance. The labor supply response to welfare programs is small and possibly diminishing over time. Copyright 1990 by Oxford University Press.


Endosymbiosis, the establishment of a former free-living prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell as an organelle inside a host cell, can dramatically alter the genomic architecture of the endosymbiont. Plastids, the light harvesting organelles of photosynthetic eukaryotes, are excellent models to study this phenomenon because plastid origin has occurred multiple times in evolution. Here, we investigate the genomic signature of molecular processes acting through secondary plastid endosymbiosis – the origination of a new plastid from a free-living eukaryotic alga. We used phylogenetic comparative methods to study gene loss and changes in selective regimes on plastid genomes, focusing on the green lineage that has given rise to three independent lineages with secondary plastids (euglenophytes, chlorarachniophytes, Lepidodinium). Our results show an overall increase in gene loss associated with secondary endosymbiosis, but this loss is tightly constrained by retention of genes essential for plastid function. The data show that secondary plastids have experienced temporary relaxation of purifying selection during secondary endosymbiosis. However, this process is tightly constrained as well, with selection relaxed only relative to the background in primary plastids, but purifying selection remaining strong in absolute terms even during the endosymbiosis events. Selection intensity rebounds to pre-endosymbiosis levels following endosymbiosis events, demonstrating the changes in selection efficiency during different phases of secondary plastid origin. Independent endosymbiosis events in the euglenophytes, chlorarachniophytes, and Lepidodinium differ in their degree of relaxation of selection, highlighting the different evolutionary contexts of these events. This study reveals the selection-drift interplay during secondary endosymbiosis, and evolutionary parallels during the process of organelle origination.


The mechanical alloying processes was employed to fabricate Al-4at.%Zr alloy with nano-sized grains and very fine Al3Zr compounds. The phase transformations and the stability of the phases formed during mechanical alloying and heat treatment processes were investigated. The grain sizes of the alloys immediately after milling and following the subsequent heat treatment at 550°C were 54.2nm and 106.4nm, respectively. Some of Zr atoms were dissolved into the Al matrix and most of them reacted with hydrogen produced by decomposition of PCA(process control agent) to form ZrH2 during mechanical alloying process. These ZrH2 hydrides decomposed gradually after the heat treatment. Stable Al3Zr with a DO23 structure was formed by heat treatment at temperature of more than 4500C. The hardness of the Al-4at.%Zr alloy was more than two times higher than those of other Al-based alloys.


The authors have developed a multi-crystal SPECT (McSPECT-II) system for clinical brain imaging. This system features a stationary cylindrical detector and a rotating collimator. The cylindrical detector is comprised of 120 NaI(Tl) crystal bars coupled to 24 columns /spl times/3 rows of PMTs. Each PMT output is digitized by an ADC. Position calculations, and the associated calibrations and corrections are performed using software and look-up-tables on a Pentium-based PC. The collimator has four quadrants, each consists of a parallel array of collimator units. The four corner wedges between adjacent quadrants are utilized to accommodate line sources for system calibrations. The authors report the calibration and correction procedures developed for the McSPECT-II system. These procedures are: (1) azimuthal bar identification, (2) floating energy windows, (3) axial linearity correction and (4) uniformity correction. Results of these calibrations and corrections are also reported.<<ETX>>


Sulfate-reducing organisms use sulfate as an electron acceptor in an anaerobic respiratory process. Despite their ubiquitous occurrence, sulfate respiration is still poorly characterized. Genome analysis of sulfate-reducing organisms sequenced to date permitted the identification of only two strictly conserved membrane complexes. We report here the purification and characterization of one of these complexes, DsrMKJOP, from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774. The complex has hemes of the c and b types and several iron-sulfur centers. The corresponding genes in the genome of Desulfovibrio vulgaris were analyzed. dsrM encodes an integral membrane cytochrome b; dsrK encodes a protein homologous to the HdrD subunit of heterodisulfide reductase; dsrJ encodes a triheme periplasmic cytochrome c; dsrO encodes a periplasmic FeS protein; and dsrM encodes another integral membrane protein. Sequence analysis and EPR studies indicate that DsrJ belongs to a novel family of multiheme cytochromes c and that its three hemes have different types of coordination, one bis-His, one His/Met, and the third a very unusual His/Cys coordination. The His/Cys-coordinated heme is only partially reduced by dithionite. About 40% of the hemes are reduced by menadiol, but no reduction is observed upon treatment with H2 and hydrogenase, irrespective of the presence of cytochrome c3. The aerobically isolated Dsr complex displays an EPR signal with similar characteristics to the catalytic [4Fe-4S]3+ species observed in heterodisulfide reductases. Further five different [4Fe-4S](2+/1+) centers are observed during a redox titration followed by EPR. The role of the DsrMKJOP complex in the sulfate respiratory chain of Desulfovibrio spp. is discussed.


Abstract : Cadmium sulfides was vacuum-deposited onto glass substrates at approximately 0.00002 torr using electron beam heating. Initial resistivities were in the range 0.1 to 1 ohm-cm. After heating in vacuum at 360 to 370C for 1/2 hr, the resistivities increased to the range 0.3 to 300,000 ohm-cm. To correlate resistivity with crystal structure, the cadmium sulfide films were studied by means of X-ray and electron diffraction, and spectrophotometry. It was found that these cadmium sulfide films were hexagonal and highly oriented with the c-axis perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. Grain size perpendicular to the c-axis was much less than 100 A after deposition onto room-temperature substrates, and increased to 100 to 200 A in diameter after heat treatment. To determine the type of contact the commonly deposited metals make to cadmium sulfide, a mask changer was employed to allow the deposition of layerized arrays of metal-cadmium sulfide-metal in a single pumpdown. Aluminum, indium, silver, and gold were thereby deposited in several different electrode combinations. Combinations having aluminum as one (or both) of the electrodes exhibited rectifying characteristics; all other combinations exhibited ohmic characteristics. (Author)


Abstract. The aim of the studies was to compare Na, K, Ca, Png and Mg concentrations in the blood serum of lambs coming from the northern and the southern region of Western Pomerania, as well as to compare the concentration of these elements in the osseous tissue of caudal vertebrae in sheep lambs and of mandible in roe deer bucks populating the areas of the same agrocenoses – cultivated fields and meadows. The studies were carried out in the same year on the blood serum and the osseous tissue of the 4th and 5th caudal vertebrae of 99-days-old Polish Merino lambs (± 2 days) of both sex and on the mandibular osseous tissue of 62 roe deer bucks (Capreolus capreolus) of an "ecological field population". Fifty lambs, with the average body weight of 7.26 kg ± 1.49, came from a fold in the coastal zone of the Western Pomeranian Province (53°59' N; 15°18' E), and 49 lambs, with the average body weight of 7.64 kg ± 1.87, from an area far removed by approximately 130 km to the south (53°25' N; 14°81' E). The feeding of lamb dams was standardized. In the blood serum of lambs from the north, higher concentrations of K (P ≤ 0.05) and Ca, Png and Mg (P ≤ 0.01) were recorded, as well as a lower concentration of Na (P ≤ 0.05). The osseous tissue of caudal vertebrae of these lambs contained significantly less Na, Ca, Png and Mg (P ≤ 0.01) and more K (P ≤ 0.01) compared to the lambs from the south. The age of bucks was not a source of variation for the content of examined macroelements in the osseous tissue of their mandibles. Higher concentration of Ca (P ≤ 0.01) was recorded in the mandibular osseous tissue of bucks aged 1–2 and 3–5 years compared to similar ones from the southern part. The concentration of Mg in the osseous tissue of bucks aged 3–5 and 6–9 years was significantly lower compared to individuals from the south. The results of the own studies showed significant differences in the abundance of the blood serum and the osseous tissue of young lambs in examined macroelements according to the area of Western Pomerania region. One may not exclude that the source of that variation is geological substrate of agrocenoses, being a food base of domestic ruminants. Higher concentration of calcium in the mandibular osseous tissue of bucks from the north compared to animals from the south confirms the fact of significant effect of the natural intensive light with limited abundance of substrate in that element on its concentration in organism. On the other hand, its lower concentration in the osseous tissue of lambs from that area points to the necessity of supplementing their dams in that element during pregnancy. These results prove simultaneously the food selectivity of roe deer and their ability to unconstrained supplementation of possible deficiencies, which may serve as a recommendation for ecological agriculture.


Background The comparison of hepatic steatosis animal models has allowed the understanding of mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the progression to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We investigated the changes in serum levels of trace elements and inflammation markers in fatty livers using two rat models of NAFLD, the methionine and choline deficient (MCD) diet model and Obese-Zucker rats. Material and methods NAFLD was induced in male Wistar rats by 3-week MCD diet administration, after which, blood samples were collected. 12-week old Obese (fa/fa) and Lean (fa/-) male Zucker rats were also used. Serum levels of hepatic enzymes, Urea, Uric acid, Ca2+, Cl, Fe, K, Na, Mg and Zn were quantified, as well as the inflammation markers TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL-6. Results In MCD rats, a serum increase in Cl, Mg and Na and a decrease in Ca2+, Zn were detected in comparison with control rats. An increase in only serum Ca2+ was found in Obese-Zucker rats. In MCD rat serum, Zn was inversely correlated with IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, Urea and Uric Acid; Ca2+ was inversely correlated with IL-1beta, IL-6 and Urea; Cl and Mg were directly correlated with Uric Acid and Urea, respectively. In Obese-Zucker rats, Cl and IL-1beta were inversely correlated, whereas Ca2+ and Urea where directly correlated, as well Fe and TNF-alpha. Conclusions The serum concentrations of trace elements change significantly only in MCD rats, which spontaneously progress to NASH. The causes of these changes may be a result of defense strategies of the organism, which is regulated by immunoregulatory cytokines. These results might suggest that the impairment of trace element status should be taken into account when the effectiveness of a pharmacological treatment is under evaluation.


Ultrasonic transmitters were surgically implanted into adult tautog (n=27, 400–514 mm TL) to document sea sonal occurrence and site utilization at four sites situated within known tautog habitat near Cape Charles, Virginia, in lower Chesapeake Bay. Tagged tautog were released at the same sites where originally caught within 2 h of capture. Sites were continuously monitored with automated acoustic receivers between 9 November 1998 and 13 October 1999. Two sites consisted of natural bedform materials and two sites consisted of manmade materials. Ninety-four percent of tautog (n=15) released in fall 1998 remained inshore during winter at sustained water temperatures of 5–8°C,rather than moved offshore during winter as documented for tautog off New York, Rhode Island, and Mas sachusetts. Ninety-one percent (n=10) of tautog released in spring 1999 re mained inshore during summer when water temperature was 27°C and in the absence of an important food item, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). These find ings conflict with assertions that tautog move to cooler water in summer when water temperatures reach 20°C. Tautog released at natural bedform sites were detected only at these sites throughout the study. Tautog released at manmade structures also displayed high site-utili zation patterns, but several tautog peri odically moved 2–10.2 km away from these sites over featureless bottom, a known deterrent to emigration for large temperate labrids in other waters. Ben thic communities were similar at manmade sites and natural bedform sites, and movement away from manmade sites may have been influenced by hab itat size as well as habitat structure. Understanding temporal and spatial utilization of habitats is an important first step to identifying essential fish habitat and to evaluating and protect ing fishery resources within Chesa peake Bay and elsewhere. Manuscript accepted 11 April 2001. Fish. Bull. 99:519–527 (2001). Seasonal occurrence and site-utilization patterns of adult tautog, Tautoga onitis (Labridae), at manmade and natural structures in lower Chesapeake Bay*


The Eagle Plain, located in the northeastern Yukon Territory, Canada, forms a northern segment of the Cretaceous Western Interior Sea. Its preserved mid-Cretaceous strata (Whitestone River Formation and Eagle Plain Group) document an active structural regime and sea-level fluctuations. Recent paleontological evidence suggested that Albian to Cenomanian aged strata are preserved. This study compares subsurface foraminiferal assemblages from two wells with those in outcrop, reported in previous studies, and integrates both with well log signatures. The emerging biostratigraphic framework correlates well with the fauna observed in outcrops. Three biostratigraphic zones are observed, suggesting an Early to early Late Albian age for the Whitestone River Formation. The studied well localities represent slope to distal shelf, and more proximal shelf settings. The Whitestone River Formation documents Albian sea-level fluctuations correlated to the Polar Sea, Western Interior Sea and globally. The latest Albian disconformity is believed to occur in the Fishing Branch Formation.