ABSTRACT Aim: Statins, cholesterol lowering and anti-inflammatory agents, have demonstrated an in-vitro anti-tumor activity, but clinical evidence is lacking. Our study aimed at evaluating the postulated chemo-sensitizing effect of simvastatin in a cohort of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. Methods: This was a prospective, single-centered, randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled study. The study protocol was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee at Damascus University. Inclusion criteria encompassed MBC patients undergoing a chemotherapy course consisting of carboplatin and vinorelbine, and with an ECOG Performance Status score > 2. Patients were enrolled between August 2011 and July 2012, and randomly allocated to receive oral simvastatin 40 mg or placebo for 15 days starting at day -7 of each chemotherapy cycle. The follow-up duration was 18 months. Serum levels of total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, hs-CRP, CEA, CA15-3, CK, SGPT, LDH, and creatinine were monitored, and the status of ER, PR, and Her2 receptors was determined. A cutoff value of > 10 mg/l was used to categorize patients into high vs. low hs-CRP. Primary endpoints were response rate (RR) and toxicity, and secondary endpoint was survival. Statistical analysis of data was performed using Prism Graphpad, version 5. Results: Eighty Two patients met the inclusion criteria and consented. The mean age was 47.3 ± 9.85 years. Seventy Seven patients were assessable. The response rates were 35% and 32.5%, whereas progression rates were 35% and 37.5% in simvastatin and placebo groups respectively (p >0.05 for all comparisons). The median survival was 15 months in the simvastatin group and 17 months in the placebo group (P = 0.47, HR = 1.248, 95% CI (0.6863-2.268)).The median survival was 9 months vs. undefined (p = 0.0014, HR = 2.73, 95% CI (1.476–5.05)), and survival rates were 28.09% versus 56.72% in patients with high vs. normal baseline hs-crp levels, respectively regardless of the treatment subgroup. Conclusions: Our data prove a safe profile but nota chemo-sensitizing effect of simvastatin at 40 mg per day in patients with MBC, and also suggest a clinical utility of baseline hs-CRP as a useful prognostic tool in MBC patients. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of 21 dogs belonging to different United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Interior (MOI), trained for COVID-19 olfactory detection. The study involved 17 explosives detection dogs, two cadaver detection dogs and two dogs with no previous detection training. Training lasted two weeks before starting the validation protocol. Sequential five and seven-cone line-ups were used with axillary sweat samples from symptomatic COVID-19 individuals (SARS-CoV-2 PCR positive) and from asymptomatic COVID-19 negative individuals (SARS-CoV-2 PCR negative). A total of 1368 trials were performed during validation, including 151 positive and 110 negative samples. Each line-up had one positive sample and at least one negative sample. The dog had to mark the positive sample, randomly positioned behind one of the cones. The dog, handler and data recorder were blinded to the positive sample location. The calculated overall sensitivities were between 71% and 79% for three dogs, between83% and 87% for three other dogs, and equal to or higher than 90% for the remaining 15 dogs (more than two thirds of the 21 dogs). After calculating the overall sensitivity for each dog using all line-ups, "matched" sensitivities were calculated only including line-ups containing COVID-19 positive and negative samples strictly comparable on confounding factors such as diabetes, anosmia, asthma, fever, body pain, diarrhoea, sex, hospital, method of sweat collection and sampling duration. Most of the time, the sensitivities increased after matching. Pandemic conditions in the U.A.E., associated with the desire to use dogs as an efficient mass-pretesting tool has already led to the operational deployment of the study dogs. Future studies will focus on comparatives fields-test results including the impact of the main COVID-19 comorbidities and other respiratory tract infections.


Ocimum basilicum L. (O. basilicum) and its constituents show anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antioxidant effects. The plant has been mainly utilized in traditional medicine for the treatment of respiratory disorders. In the present article, effects of O. basilicum and its main constituents on respiratory disorders, assessed by experimental and clinical studies, were reviewed. Relevant studies were searched in PubMed, Science Direct, Medline, and Embase databases using relevant keywords including "Ocimum basilicum," "basilicums," "linalool," "respiratory disease," "asthma," "obstructive pulmonary disease," "bronchodilatory," "bronchitis," "lung cancer," and "pulmonary fibrosis," and other related keywords.The reviewed articles showed both relieving and preventing effects of the plant and its ingredients on obstructive pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and other respiratory disorders such as bronchitis, aspergillosis tuberculosis, and lung cancer. The results of the reviewed articles suggest the therapeutic potential of O. basilicum and its constituent, linalool, on respiratory disorders.


Surgical site infection (SSI) accounts for 37% of US hospital infection and increase in morbidity and cost. The Preoperative planning and intra-operative techniques become important in preventing surgical site infection. The present work has been undertaken with an aim to assess the role and extent of warming up of surgical site just before clean operation to prevent surgical site infection. 400 patients referring to Imam Reza hospital- Tehran-Iran from 2009 to 2010 with indication of clean surgery for treatment of hernia, varicocele, varicose, thyroidectomy and mastectomy were the study cases. Patients were divided randomly into two groups of 200 each. The surgical site of patients belonging to group I was warmed up just 30 minutes before operation. For patients belonging to group II no preoperation interference was performed. The findings indicate a significant difference (P<0.05) in the rate of infection between the two groups. As a whole, 7.5% of patients belonging to group II showed SSI while 2% of patients of group I suffered surgical site infection. Warming up of surgical site just before operation may acts as a safe and inexpensive antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent infection


Typically, optical microscopy uses the wavelike properties of light to image a scene. However, photon arrival times provide more information about emitter properties than the classical intensity alone. Here, we show that the Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment (second-order correlation function) measures the intensity asymmetry of two single photon emitters, and that by combining the total number of detected photons with the zero-lag value of the correlation function, the positions and relative brightness of two emitters in two dimensions can be resolved from only three measurement positions – trilateration, a result that is impossible to achieve on the basis of intensity measurements alone.


The performance of sliding contact lubricants including a diester-chlorofluorocarbon blend, a neopentylpolyolester-diester blend, a four ring polyphenyl ether, a perfluoroalkylPolyether, and a perfluorotributyl amine in an atmosphere composed of several chemical compounds has been determined. The chemical compounds were those that outgassed at 65°C from electro-mechanical assemblies normally used in guidance systems. A detailed gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) analysis of this atmosphere and the compounds transferred to the lubricated sliding contact devices is presented. The performance of the lubricants was measured as a function of electrical noise and friction of the sliding contacts.


We describe a rare hepatic collision tumor composed of a hepatocellular carcinoma and a high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma. The patient, a 68-year-old man, underwent a partial hepatectomy because of a 4.0 cm mass. The tumor had two distinctive patterns. The majority of the tumor was a high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma with features of a small cell carcinoma that was positive for chromogranin, synaptophysin, and cytokeratin 19 and negative for hepatocellular antigen and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). The second component was a moderately differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma that was positive for hepatocellular antigen and AFP and negative for neuroendocrine markers. The two tumors were separated by fibrous bands. In areas where they collided, there was no transition or intermingling of cells between the two components, thus, it is different from the combined type of tumors. After removal of the tumor, the patient underwent four courses of chemotherappy which included etoposide and cisplatin with a follow-up period of 28 months.


BACKGROUND
Genes encoding pectic enzymes were introduced into wild-type potato Karnico. Cell wall materials were extracted from Karnico and transgenic lines expressing β-galactosidase (β-Gal-14) or rhamnogalacturonan lyase (RGL-18). Pectic polysaccharides from the β-Gal-14 transgenic line exhibited rhamnogalacturonan-I structural elements with shorter galactan side chains, whereas the RGL-18 transgenic line had less rhamnogalacturonan-I structures than Karnico. Xyloglucan in primary cell walls interacts with pectin and other cell wall polysaccharides and controls cell growth.

RESULTS
Xyloglucan extracts from transgenic lines had different levels of monosaccharides compared to wild-type. Most XXGG-type xyloglucans from Karnico and RGL-18 alkali-extractable extracts predominantly consisted of XXGG and XSGG building blocks. Karnico and RGL-18 4 mol L-1 extracts had small proportions of the XXXG-type xyloglucan, whereas β-Gal-14 extracts also contained the XXXG-type xyloglucan. The peak ratios of XSGG/XXGG were 1.9, 2.4 and 1.1 for 4 mol L-1 extracts of Karnico, RGL-18 and β-Gal-14 lines, respectively.

CONCLUSION
After transgenic modification on pectin, the xyloglucan building blocks may have been changed. The β-Gal-14 lines mostly present XXXG-type repeating units instead of the XXGG-type in 4 mol L-1 extracts. The ratio of XSGG/XXGG repeating units also changed, indicating that the transgenic modification of pectin altered xyloglucan structure during plant development. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.


This project focuses on the creative person, process, product and pressthe 4Ps of creativity as articulated by Rhodes (1961). A curricular framework was developed with an emphasis on enhancing the abilities of those who already identify themselves as creative, specifically undergraduate Freshmen and Sophomores looking to study various fields of Design at the university level. The objective of the framework is to not only identify the innate processes that may have led these students to identify themselves as creativethereby choosing their majorbut also to allow them to recognize, improve and be deliberate in those processes, to enhance their creative environments, and to allow them to see that creativity is transferable beyond their chosen craft or profession. This curriculum framework also focuses on identifying the knowledge-gathering, thinking, and decision-making skills that are the foundation for the type of innovation and problem-solving that is valuable in industry. _____________________________ Miriam Kelley December 4, 2013 _____________________________ Date


This survey provides an overview of theoretical and empirical research on information flows in corporations. It highlights key frictions preventing effective information flows and discusses how organizational structure and corporate governance can alleviate these frictions, focusing on three broad topics: 1) organizational design, such as the choice between centralized and decentralized decision-making; 2) composition and decision-making process of the board of directors; and 3) communication among shareholders and between shareholders and management in the context of shareholder activism. The goal of the survey is to draw connections between theoretical and empirical work and point out directions for future research.


The purpose of this report is to present in brief form such information as is available regarding the supplies of the kinds of wood that have been used or seem likely to become important in the construction of airplanes, and the amount of lumber of each species normally put on the market each year. A general statement is given of the uses to which each kind of wood is or may be put.


A dominant hypothesis in empirical research on the evolution of language is the following: the fundamental difference between animal and human communication systems is captured by the distinction between regular and more complex non-regular grammars. Studies reporting successful artificial grammar learning of nested recursive structures and imaging studies of the same have methodological shortcomings since they typically allow explicit problem solving strategies and this has been shown to account for the learning effect in subsequent behavioral studies. The present study overcomes these shortcomings by using subtle violations of agreement structure in a preference classification task. In contrast to the studies conducted so far, we use an implicit learning paradigm, allowing the time needed for both abstraction processes and consolidation to take place. Our results demonstrate robust implicit learning of recursively embedded structures (context-free grammar) and recursive structures with cross-dependencies (context-sensitive grammar) in an artificial grammar learning task spanning 9 days.


Early aerodynamic mathematical methods rely on potential flow concepts that formally isolate aerodynamic drag into a profile and an induced drag component. The more recent evolution of Navier–Stokes-based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods typically directly computes aerodynamic forces. It does so using surface integration of pressure and viscous forces, which does not readily enable conventional separation of profile and induced drag. Isolating induced drag from aerodynamic drag is not well developed using CFD, leading to the present effort that derives a mathematical framework to extract induced drag from CFD model results. The present approach builds on mass, momentum, and energy equation control volume analysis performed within the CFD results. We find that the energy equation provides the necessary means for the closure of quantifying induced drag within the context of minor assumptions. In addition, the results indicate an interesting character in the development of energy losses in the context of induced drag associated with flow reorganization into a tip vortex. The results from the approach indicate accuracy in the method as displayed with good correlation to predictions from analytical and potential flow methods for a variety of wing planforms. Results indicate a novel and efficient method to extract induced drag from CFD models.


Early childhood education has a tradition of arts based pedagogy. Current emphasis on high stakes testing and test scores as evidence of learning, even for young children, has educators moving away from the arts as academic learning. This visual essay is an a/r/tographic inquiry with woven threads of theory/practice from this moving fault zone that support the arts as a way of knowing for the early years. Making and writing with woolen fibers and feathers form a mat as a surface that is thinking with encounters from teaching pre-service early childhood educators with art. The weaving is an opening to understanding that falling, fear, and knowing are temporary and can provoke what might be next for pre-service teachers and young children using art as learning.


Many nursing home transition barriers are manmade and avoidable. PPACA is encouraging improvement and reduced unnecessary hospitalizations through incentives and penalties. Providers are responding through a variety of internal and collaborative models. The resulting communication, technology, education, and emphasis can improve the quality of life for the people served.


Whereas the success of goal setting is well documented in the industrial-organizational literature (Locke & Latham, 1990), the empirical efforts to determine its effectiveness in sport settings have met with minimal success, and no studies exist that document the role played by goals in successful adherence to exercise regimens. We examined the relationships among goals, efficacy, and exercise behavior in the context of community conditioning classes. Female participants' goal efficacy was predictive of perceived goal achievement at the end of the program, and exercise self-efficacy was significantly related to subsequent intensity but not frequency of exercise participation. Moreover, a proposed interaction between exercise importance and self-efficacy failed to account for further variation in physical activity participation. The results are discussed in terms of the physical activity history of the sample and the roles played by goals and efficacy at diverse stages of the exercise process.


After-loading implantation techniques apparently offer an effective alternative in the management of persistent (or recurrent) oropharynx and oral cavity carcinoma postirradiation. A total of 29 patients with such lesions was treated from February 1974, to July 1975, in the LAC/USC Radiation Medicine Section, using after-loading loZIr implantation techniques. These patients all had extensive persistent cancer after "full tolerance" irradiation (with or without previous surgery) and were referred for palliation or for possible salvage. Additional doses administered ranged from 5000 to 7000 rads in three to five days. Eighteen of the 29 patients (63%) have had complete local control for 18 to 36 months. These patients have maintained a relatively satisfactory palliative status. Ten of the 29 are dead. Follow-up periods are short, but early indications are that problem patients with persistent cancer after "full tolerance irradiation" can be salvaged, or at least satisfactorily palliated, with after-loading interstitial implant techniques. Clinical details, sites of involvement, implantation techniques, dosimetry methodology, reactions and complications will be described. Cancer 3932443-2450, 1977.


Mammography is the common modality used for screening and early detection of breast cancer. The emergence of machine learning, particularly deep learning methods, aims to assist radiologists to reach higher sensitivity and specificity. Yet, typical supervised machine learning methods demand the radiological images to have findings annotated within the image. This is a tedious task, which is often out of reach due to the high cost and unavailability of expert radiologists. We describe a computeraided detection and diagnosis system for weakly supervised learning, where the mammogram (MG) images are tagged only on a global level, without local annotations. Our work addresses the problem of MG classification and detection of abnormal findings through a novel deep learning framework built on the multiple instance learning (MIL) paradigm. Our proposed method processes the MG image utilizing the full resolution, with a deep MIL convolutional neural network. This approach allows us to classify the whole MG according to a severity score and localize the source of abnormality in full resolution, while trained on a weakly labeled data set. The key hallmark of our approach is automatic discovery of the discriminating patches in the mammograms using MIL. We validate the proposed method on two mammogram data sets, a large multi-center MG cohort and the publicly available INbreast, in two different scenarios. We present promising results in classification and detection, comparable to a recent supervised method that was trained on fully annotated data set. As the volume and complexity of data in healthcare continues to increase, such an approach may have a profound impact on patient care in many applications.


The origins of multicellular physiology are tied to evolution of gene expression. Genes can shift expression as organisms evolve, but how ancestral expression influences altered descendant expression is not well understood. To examine this, we amalgamated 1,903 RNA-seq datasets from 182 research projects, including 6 organs in 21 vertebrate species. Quality control eliminated project-specific biases, and expression shifts were reconstructed using gene-family-wise phylogenetic Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models. Expression shifts following gene duplication result in more drastic changes in expression properties. The expression properties were tightly coupled with protein evolutionary rate, depending on whether and how gene duplication occurred. Fluxes in expression patterns among organs were nonrandom, forming modular connections which were reshaped by gene duplication. Thus, if expression shifted, ancestral expression in some organs induces a strong propensity for expression in particular organs in descendants. This supports a major role for what might be termed "preadaptive" pathways of gene expression evolution.


Cysteine sulfenic acid formation in proteins results from the oxidative modification of susceptible cysteine residues by hydrogen peroxide, alkyl hydroperoxides, and peroxynitrite. This species represents a biologically significant modification occurring during oxidant signaling or oxidative stress, and it can modulate protein function. Most methods to identify such oxidatively modified proteins rely on monitoring the loss of one or more thiol group(s) or on selective labeling of nascent thiol groups following reduction of oxidized proteins. Our previous work reported the direct labeling of these chemically distinct modifications with a dimedone analogue, 1,3-cyclohexadione, to which a linker and functional group (an alcohol) had been added; further addition of a fluorescent isatoic acid or methoxycoumarin reporter allowed detection of the incorporated tag by fluorescence techniques ( Poole, L. B., Zeng, B. B., Knaggs, S. A., Yakubu, M., and King, S. B. ( 2005) Synthesis of chemical probes to map sulfenic acid modifications on proteins. Bioconjugate Chem . 16, 1624-1628 ). We have now expanded our arsenal of tagging reagents to include two fluorescein-, two rhodamine-, and three biotin-conjugated probes based on the original approach. The new tools provide readily detectable fluorescent and affinity probes to identify sulfenic acid modifications in proteins and have been used in subsequent mass spectrometric analyses to confirm covalent attachment of the conjugates and directly determine the site of modification.


We address the issue of multiservice packet demand modeling in the radio dimensioning process for 3G/IMT-2000 systems. For packet services, quality of service (QoS) is measured as a time delay over the radio interface. New tables stemming from simulations are proposed to convert the volume of packet data expressed in Mbits into a required pipe respecting the QoS. The mix of packet services with different QoS requirements and the mix of circuit and packet services are also addressed. This new demand modeling scheme has been implemented in Orange Support & Consulting's dimensioning tool, ndt/spl trade/ and compared to the results of Orange Support & Consulting's UTRA simulation tool.


The administrative burden the government puts on citizens is substantial, whereas, generally speaking, service levels are low and a 'customer' orientation is lacking. There is a growing understanding that e-government can play an important role in tackling these issues by better exchange of information and electronic availability. This paper reports on the development and evaluation of an e-government vision as part of a strategic planning trajectory for the social security sector and other government agencies in the Netherlands. The vision approaches governmental service delivery from the citizen viewpoint and helps governmental organisations to take serviceand citizen orientation to a higher level. The concepts used in the vision were tested by boardroom sessions as well as a survey, and has become the guiding principles for a number of e-government developments.


Access to high-quality health care, including mental health care, remains a high priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs and civilian health care systems. Increased access to mental health care is associated with improved outcomes, including decreased suicidal behavior. Multiple policy changes and interventions are being developed and implemented to improve access to mental health care. The Perceived Access Inventory (PAI) is a patient-centered questionnaire developed to understand the veteran perspective about access to mental health services. The PAI is a self-report measure that includes 43 items across 5 domains: Logistics (6 items), Culture (4 items), Digital (9 items), Systems of Care (13 items), and Experiences of Care (11 items). This article is a preliminary examination of the concurrent and convergent validity of the PAI with respect to the Hoge Perceived Barriers to Seeking Mental Health Services scale (concurrent) and the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ; convergent). Telephone interviews were conducted with veterans from 3 geographic regions. Eligibility criteria included screening positive for posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol use disorder, or depression in the past 12 months. Data from 92 veterans were analyzed using correlation matrices. PAI scores were significantly correlated with the Hoge total score (concurrent validity) and CSQ scores (convergent validity). The PAI items with the strongest correlation with CSQ were in the Systems of Care domain and the weakest were in the Logistics domain. Future efforts will evaluate validity using larger data sets and utilize the PAI to develop and test interventions to improve access to care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).


Aim: There is a paucity in the literature regarding the effectiveness of the Impulse Adjusting Instrument® (IAI) in treating myofascial trigger points (MFTPs) and regarding the effectiveness between dry needling and the IAI in the treatment of MFTPs. There are many limitations and an array of contraindications for dry needling. Therefore, an alternative method should be sought as this will be beneficial to the patient. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the IAI compared to dry needling in the treatment of MFTPs found in the upper trapezius muscle. Methodology: This study was a randomised single-blinded clinical trial. This study consisted of 41 participants between the ages of 18 and 40 who were divided into two groups. The participants were randomly allocated into their respective groups using a blinded allocation method that was drawn up by the statistician. Groups were divided into dry needling (Group one (n=18)) and IAI (Group two (n=23)) treatment groups. Subjective neck pain level was determined using a numerical pain rating scale (NRS). The neck disability index (NDI) subjectively assessed the effect neck pain had on the participants' activities of daily living before and after treatment. The Patients Global Impression of Change (PGIC) tool was used to determine the participants' subjective impression of treatment outcomes since the beginning of the treatment. Objective pain pressure thresholds (PPT) were measured with an algometer. Objective cervical range of motion (CROM) in lateral flexion (LF) was measured with a goniometer. Each participant had four visits over a two week period, which included three treatments and a final visit for final measurements. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 23. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the effect on each outcome measure. Directional trends in effectiveness were drawn up using profile plots to assess the direction and trends of the effects. A p value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Intra-group and inter-group statistical analysis revealed all subjective measurements improved in both groups with no significant differences between the groups. With respect to objective measurements, there was no statistical improvement in LF CROM and dry needling had no improvement in PPT. Impulse Adjusting Instrument trigger point therapy showed an increase in PPT, however, when compared to dry needling there was no statistical difference in PPT. Conclusion: The conclusion for this study states that the trends in each of the outcomes suggest that the IAI is as effective as dry needling for the treatment of MFTPs.


Abstract Mental health problems represent a potentially important but relatively unexplored factor in explaining human capital accumulation during college. We conduct the first study, to our knowledge, of how mental health predicts academic success during college in a random longitudinal sample of students. We find that depression is a significant predictor of lower GPA and higher probability of dropping out, particularly among students who also have a positive screen for an anxiety disorder. In within-person estimates using our longitudinal sample, we find again that co-occurring depression and anxiety are associated with lower GPA, and we find that symptoms of eating disorders are also associated with lower GPA. This descriptive study suggests potentially large economic returns from programs to prevent and treat mental health problems among college students, and highlights the policy relevance of evaluating the impact of such programs on academic outcomes using randomized trials.


The interaction between goal‐directed and stimulus‐driven attentional control allows humans to rapidly reorient to relevant objects outside the focus of attention—a phenomenon termed contingent reorienting. Neuroimaging studies have observed activation of the ventral and dorsal attentional networks, but specific involvement of each network remains unclear. The present study aimed to determine whether both networks are critical to the processes of top‐down contingent reorienting. To this end, we combined the contingent attentional capture paradigm with the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to interfere with temporoparietal junction (TPJ; ventral network) and frontal eye field (dorsal network) activity. The results showed that only right TPJ (rTPJ) TMS modulated contingent orienting. Furthermore, this modulation was highly dependent on visual fields: rTPJ TMS increased contingent capture in the left visual field and decreased the effect in the right visual field. These results demonstrate a critical involvement of the ventral network in attentional reorienting and reveal the spatial selectivity within such network. Hum Brain Mapp, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The main objective of this study was to identify the critical factors that affecting the implementation of environmental management systems (EMSs) of manufacturing SMEs in Sri Lanka. Out of twelve factors, management commitment, professional expertise, financial resources, stakeholders and environmental information are identified as key factors. Based on the survey results, it is proposed that the government should play an important role in promoting environmental management in SMEs. It is necessary for the government to provide active support in the aspects including mandatory policy, encouraging policy and supporting policy.


Rocky H Ranch is a 120 acre avocado farm located in Escondido California. There is a 20 acre parcel that has not been planted. The roads, trees, and irrigation system were designed to maximize yields and irrigation system performance while utilizing the latest technology. Roads were laid out along the contours to maintain block sizes to an average length and width. This is done for two reasons, ease of harvesting and so the irrigation laterals are not excessively long. Nine blocks, or where roads surrounded trees, were created. The trees were laid out along the contours at a 15 foot row spacing and 10 foot tree spacing. There will be a total of 4,117 trees that cover 14.2 acres. The 9 blocks were divided into 2 irrigation sets. Set 1 has a flow rate of 777 gallons per minute and a total dynamic head of 116 feet. Set 2 has a flow rate of 856 gallons per minute and a total dynamic head of 173 feet. The NETAFIM SUPERNET # 90 Orange microsprinkler was selected because of its pressure compensating technology and a nominal flow rate of 23.8 gallons per minute. The Grundfos Model 800S500-2 pump was also selected and will utilize a VFD controller. It will operate at a maximum of 18 hours per day to coincide with off-peak and semi-peak electrical power rates. The system will provide enough water to meet the peak evapotranspiration rate and have a system distribution uniformity of .95.


OWL-DL is a World Wide Web Consortium standard for representing ontologies on the Semantic Web. It can be seen as a syntactic variant of the Description Logic SHOIN(D), with an OWL-DL ontology corresponding to a SHOIN(D) knowledge base. The very recent accomplishment of a decision procedure for SHOIN(D) poses the challenge of turning the decision procedure into a practical implementation. In particular, we emphasize the need of new optimization techniques for nominals, especially in the presence of large number of individuals in the KB.

In this paper, we present new techniques for optimizing DL reasoning in the presence of nominals in the TBox and individuals in a large ABox. We have integrated our optimizations in the open-source Pellet reasoner, which is sound and complete for SHOIN(D), and found that they suffice for efficiently classifying the famous Wine Ontology. We also show that these optimization techniques produce significant performance improvements in other widely used ontologies containing nominals, such as the OWL-S and AKT ontologies.


In modern electoral campaign, especially that in most single member districts, negative campaigning has become a popular strategy for most candidates. They broadcast negative information about their opponents in order to discourage their supporters and hence garner, if any, electoral advantage and maximize chances of election. Despite its prevalence, scholars still have not achieved an agreement on whether negative campaign is determinant to voting behavior. Especially, while statistics shows that receiving negative information is negatively associated with voting decisions, we found that interviewees generally asserted that the messages did not affect their voting decisions at all. To solve the self-contradictory puzzle, following conventional wisdom, we assert that voters apply party identification as a shortcut to sift political information. Thus, they ignore the negative information about their preferred candidate but reinforce their detestation of the candidates they do not like. We further examine our theory by incorporating the TEDS2010C data with structural equation model. The analytical result supports our hypotheses and shows that voters' party identity and voting decision significantly influence the negative information they received. Nevertheless, the negative information does not have significant influence on voters' voting decisions.


Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells present a seminal discovery in cell biology and promise to support innovative treatments of so far incurable diseases. To translate iPS technology into clinical trials, the safety and stability of these reprogrammed cells needs to be shown. In recent years, different non-viral transposon systems have been developed for the induction of cellular pluripotency, and for the directed differentiation into desired cell types. In this review, we summarize the current state of the art of different transposon systems in iPS-based cell therapies.


Finding talents, often among the people already hired, is an endemic challenge for organizations. The social networking revolution, with online tools like Linkedin, made possible to make explicit and accessible what we perceived, but not used, for thousands of years: the exact position and ranking of a person in a network of professional and personal connections. To search and mine where and how an employee is positioned on a global skill network will enable organizations to find unpredictable sources of knowledge, innovation and know-how. This data richness and hidden knowledge demands for a multidimensional and multiskill approach to the network ranking problem. Multidimensional networks are networks with multiple kinds of relations. To the best of our knowledge, no network-based ranking algorithm is able to handle multidimensional networks and multiple rankings over multiple attributes at the same time. In this paper we propose such an algorithm, whose aim is to address the node multi-ranking problem in multidimensional networks.We test our algorithm over several real world networks, extracted from DBLP and the Enron email corpus, and we show its usefulness in providing less trivial and more flexible rankings than the current state of the art algorithms.


Successful navigation of the social world requires making accurate inferences about the contents of other people's minds, being able to represent in one's own mind the thoughts, beliefs, and intentions of another. This "theory of mind" (ToM) ability allows us to explain and predict others' behavior in terms of their mental states (1). As reported in PNAS, Bio et al. (2) show that when prompted to adopt the visual perspective of a cartoon agent participants demonstrated the same spatial bias as when processing objects from their own perspective. Interestingly, this effect occurred only when the cartoon agent held a false belief about the location of an object, due to its having moved while the agent's view was blocked by a barrier. When the agent held a true belief about the location of the object, either because he had witnessed it move or it never moved from its original location after the barrier appeared, participants' own spatial bias had no effect on perspective taking (see Fig. 1 A for a description of the experimental paradigm). Bio et al. (2) conclude that when representing others' true beliefs, compared with their false beliefs, social cognition may be engaged to a lesser extent or not at all. This study is important because it may provide an answer to one of the most challenging questions in current ToM research: What is it to represent mental states to a greater or lesser degree?

Fig. 1.
A social "false-belief" condition ( A ) in the task by Bio et al. (2) and an analogous nonsocial "false-photo" condition ( B ). Two agents view ( A ) and two video cameras record ( B ) a scene in which a ball appears in one of two boxes. An occluder then appears between one of the agents/cameras and the ball, before it moves to the other box. Participants are asked …

[↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: geoff.bird{at}psy.ox.ac.uk.

 [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1


The paper reports on a survey undertaken amongst first year students who were taking introductory courses in departments within Schools of IT at two South African universities. The purpose of the survey was to understand factors influencing career choice and how educationalists could use this to encourage enrollment in computer-related degree programmes. This paper considers association of values with chosen careers, other career outcomes that students consider important and their perceptions regarding personal characteristics of ICT students. The responses of students who intend taking computer-related courses up to third year and those who are taking other majors are compared. Gender is also considered. Significant differences were discovered and are associated with a variety of different theories that are broadly related to personal characteristics and personality (Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Five Factors Model). An INTJ profile for males and an INFJ profile for female students intending to major in computer-related courses seem to emerge. Low Power Distance, low Uncertainty Avoidance, and high Masculinity are tentatively proposed as cultural dimensions of the ICT career culture.


Graph is a conceptual mathematical data structure. In this paper, Josephus cube (JC) architecture is studied as a graph. We consider Josephus architecture as a self-loop free graph. We study Josephus cube interconnection connectivity properties where vertices present the processor (nodes) and communication arcs / links as edges of the graph. Josephus cube architecture connectivity is presented through mathematical tool: Matrices to perform logical operations. Incidence Matrix, Circuit Matrix and Path Matrix were considered to map the graph properties to the matrix properties of Josephus Cube interconnection network. Here we take matrix and in each matrix all columns are arranged using the same order of edges. Binary AND () logical operation is performed in MATLAB on the incidence matrix & transpose of circuit matrix and vice-versa for Josephus graph in this The result shows that, for any p processor lies in the n circuit, then the nonzero values in a matrix at corresponding position exist, if the particular communication link is incident on the p processor (vertex) and is also in the n circuit of the Josephus cube graph structure. Path matrix of Josephus cube was also presented to define all the connectivity's between two processor nodes P(Px,Py). Here we observed that AND ( ) logical operation was executed on the incidence matrix and transposed of path matrix, the resultant matrix has 1's in exactly two rows Px and Py , the processor nodes for which we had considered all the possible paths and the rest of the (Rn-2) rows are filed with 0 bits, that confirms Px and Py nodes does not lies in any other connectivity paths. The XOR of any two rows of path matrix of Josephus cube corresponds to the circuit that contains the traversed paths.


Introduction 2-3 % of the world's population are chronically infected with hepatitis C. In the UK 50% of those infected are unaware. There is currently no national antenatal screening for hepatitis C. The aim of our audit was to compare the testing of babies born in Sheffield to Hepatitis C positive mothers with local and national guidance. Methods We obtained a list of hepatitis C positive pregnant women from January 2007 to December 2010. We then used the IT based results system to obtain the results of hepatitis C RNA and antibodies done on the babies. We obtained clinic letters and notes to review the cases where results were not available, or were positive. Results We identified 47 hepatitis C positive women whose babies should have been followed up. In only 10 out of 47 cases were they managed appropriately. 23% had no investigations done at all. Eight children were hep C antibody positive at last clinic visit; only 3 were still under 18 months and therefore due to be rechecked. There were no Hep C RNA positive babies. Conclusions There was no evidence of vertical transmission, however the rate of investigations was low and therefore some positive cases could have been missed. There was a wide variation in practice and a very high rate of DNAs. To address these problems there needs to be agreement locally about the protocol, and better communication within the community involved to improve the rate of testing.


In Islam, all decisions, activities, policies, strategy and interaction in the economy do not end with the profit or loss only, but are directly related to human relationships. This is also believed in other religions. Hence in the Islamic financial System, the syariah rules are considered in all economic activities including investment. Investment is money or capital commitment for the purchase of financial instruments or other assets to recover the benefits in the form of interest income. Most of the investment opportunities offered are interest based but Islamic law strictly prohibits interest or usury, also commonly called riba in Arabic. The prohibition of riba has led to the creation of alternatives schemes for the compensation of investment capital. One of the methods of compensation is by means of profit-sharing and one of the financial contracts that internalize profit sharing is mudharabah. It is an investment partnership in which one party called rab ul mal provides capital while the other party called mudharib brings labor and effort with the provision of profit sharing in some pre-determined proportions. This study derives the new mudharabah investment model by using the stochastic calculus. This model can be used in stock market investment. Based on the results it shows that the new mudharabah investment model is useful in investing in stock market since it has the accurate forecasting stock prices and profit rate.


BACKGROUND
This study was aimed at investigating the impact of assisted cycling therapy (ACT) on fine manual dexterity in adults with Down's syndrome (DS).

METHODS
Nine persons with DS completed four different interventions: voluntary exercise (VE), voluntary with music (VEM), assisted exercise (AE) and no exercise (NE). Fine manual dexterity (e.g., Purdue Pegboard) was tested pre and post interventions.

RESULTS
The results showed dominant and bimanual hands were improved after AE but no evident in either subtest after VE. The assembly subtest, processed by spatial-temporal ability, was only improved after VEM and NE.

CONCLUSIONS
It is speculated that AE stimulated more peripheral sensory input to the motor cortex and neurotransmitters than the other interventions. In addition, the involvement of music may enhance spatial intelligence during VEM. Even though the exact mechanisms are still unknown, the implication of our results showed that AE and VEM can improve fine manual dexterity in persons with DS.


This study concerns scaled physical model tests of the delta formation process at the head of a run-of-river hydropower plant (RoR). It forms part of a larger research project to provide a scientific base for RoR sediment management strategies in medium-sized gravel bed rivers. The physical model consisted of an idealized river having a width of 20 m, a mean slope of 0.005, a mean flow rate of 22 m/s and a 1-year flood flow of 105 m/s. The model scale was 1:20. For the experiments five different grain sizes were used covering a range of 14 to 120 mm. Sediment feeding rates for each grain size were calculated using the surface-based approach of Wilcock & Crowe (2003) which was calibrated in preliminary tests in a straight channel. Experiments were carried out under live-bed conditions at a flow rate which corresponds to 70% of the 1-year flood. This discharge is able to mobilize all sediment fractions and is yet low enough to not evoke reservoir drawdown. It is therefore well suited to study delta formation. Two sets of test runs were performed: (i) normal flow conditions to provide a reference case which is undisturbed of any backwater effects and (ii) delta formation at the head of the reservoir at turbine operation (i.e. at operation level). The experiments revealed that even at the head of the reservoir which is least influenced by the backwater effect of the RoR plant sediment transport practically ceases for sediment fractions > 14 mm at 1:1 scale. The whole sediment load coming from the undisturbed upstream section accumulates at the head of the reservoir accompanied by a substantial rise in water levels.


Abstract A typical first stab at explicating the thesis of physicalism is this: physicalism is true iff every fact about the world is entailed by the conjunction of physical facts. The same holds, mutatis mutandis, for other hypotheses about the fundamental nature of our world. But it has been recognized that this would leave such hypotheses without the fighting chance that they deserve: certain negative truths, like the truth (if it is one) that there are no angels, are not entailed by the physical facts, but nonetheless do not threaten physicalism. A plausible remedy that has been suggested by Jackson and Chalmers is that physicalism boils down to the thesis that every truth is entailed by the conjunction of the physical facts prefixed by a "that's it" or "totality" operator. To evaluate this suggestion, we need to know what that operator means, and—since the truth of physicalism hinges on what is entailed by a totality claim—what its logic is. That is, we need to understand the logic of totality, or total logic. In this paper, I add a totality operator to the language of propositional logic and present a model theory for it, building on a suggestion by Chalmers and Jackson. I then prove determination results for a number of different systems.


This study presents an analytical procedure to determine the contact stress distribution at the surface of an FGM coating perfectly bonded to a homogeneous substrate. The coating is assumed to be loaded by a rigid stamp of a semi‐circular or circular profile. Using Fourier transformations, the contact mechanics problems are reduced to a singular integral equation of the second kind. Singular behavior of the unknown contact stress distribution at the end points is determined by following a function theoretic method. The singular integral equation is solved numerically using an expansion‐collocation technique. Main results of the study are the normal and lateral contact stress components and required contact forces as functions of material parameters. It is shown that a substrate that is softer than the FGM coating could be useful in decreasing the magnitude of the positive lateral stress at the trailing end of the contact.


The interference channel models a wireless network where several source-destination pairs compete for the same resources. This paper considers a 4-node network, where two nodes are sources and the other two are destinations. All nodes are full-duplex and cooperate to mitigate interference. A sum-rate outer bound is derived, which is shown to unify a number of previously derived outer bounds for special cases of cooperation or feedback. The approach is shown to extend to cooperative interference networks with more than two source-destination pairs and for any partial sum-rate. How the derived bound relates to other channel models including cognitive nodes, i.e., nodes that have non-causal knowledge of the messages of some other node, is also discussed. The bound is evaluated in Gaussian noise.


Hydroalcoholic extract of Melia azedarach Linn roots were evaluated for analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity in experimental animals. In the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg, extract inhibited 82.23 % and 88.94 % writhing induced by acetic acid respectively and reduces 15.08 % and 26.45 % paw volume in carageenan induced paw edema. Keywords: Melia azedarach, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, wtithing


Italy has a preeminent rank in kiwifruit industry, being the first exporter and the second largest producer after China. However, in the last years kiwifruit yields and the global cultivated area considerably decreased, due to the pandemic spread of the bacterial canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa). Several climatic conditions and cultural practices affect the development of the bacterial canker. With the emergence of this devastating disease, the use of pesticides rapidly increased and therefore the kiwifruit quality can be maintained only by ensuring agricultural practices that reduce the need of toxic xenobiotic compounds. This research work focused on the impact of agricultural practices on disease development and spread. High nitrogen fertilization, iron deficiency and water stress were related to more severe symptoms. Open canopies allow a better irradiation, aeration, and penetration of phytosanitary treatments. Synthetic gibberellins reduced disease incidence and severity in controlled conditions. Finally, the preliminary guideline harmonizing the best cultural practices with the current disease control inputs is provided.


In this study, critical areas of Iran were determined using 50-year rainfall data and ARIMA model. For this purpose, annual rainfall data of 112 different synoptic stations in Iran were gathered. To summarize, it could be concluded that: ARIMA model was an appropriate tool to forecast annual rainfall. According to obtained results from relative error (RE) between observed and forecasted values, five stations include IRANSHAHR, SIRJAN, NAEIN, ZAHEDAN, and KISH, were in critical condition. Therefore, in these areas due to lack of accurate forecasting, agriculture water management and crop pattern presenting must be done very carefully. As the figure 1 in 65% from forecasted annual rainfalls by ARIMA model amount of relative error was less than 0.1 (10%). These areas were in the safe range. 35% of forecasting had a relative error between 0.1-0.2 (10-20%) and these areas were in the alarm range. Finally only 5% of all ARIMA forecasting occurred in the critical range. This showed a high ability of ARIMA model in annual rainfall forecasting. At 45 stations accrued rainfalls with amounts of less than half of average in the 50-year period. Therefore, in these 45 areas, chance of drought is more than other areas of Iran.


An erosion model using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) equation derived from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER G-DEM) and LANDSAT 8 is presented in the study. This model can be a cost-effective, quick and less labor-intensive tool for assessing erosion in small watersheds. It can also act as a vital input for the primary assessment of environmental degradation in the region, and can aid the formulation of watershed development planning strategies. The Palar River, which drains into Shanmukha Nadi, is a small mountain watershed. The town of Kodaikanal, a popular tourist attraction in Tamilnadu, forms part of this sub-watershed. This quaint, hill-town has been subjected to intense urbanization and exhaustive changes in its land use practices for the past decade. The consequence of this change is manifested in the intense environmental degradation of the region, which results in problems such as increased numbers of landslides, intense soil erosion, forest fires and land degradation. The nature of the terrain, high precipitation, and intense agriculture exponentially increase the rate of soil erosion. Spatial prediction of soil erosion is thereby a valuable and mandatory tool for sustainable land use practices and economic development of the region. A comprehensive methodology is employed to predict the spatial variation of soil erosion using the revised soil loss equation in a geographic information system (GIS) platform. The soil erosion susceptibility map shows a maximum annual soil loss of 3345 Mg·ha−1·y−1, which correlates with scrub forests, degraded forests, steep slopes, high drainage density and shifting cultivation practices. The erosion map shows that the central region is subjected to intense erosion while the inhabited southern part is less prone to erosion. A small patch of severe soil loss is also visible on the eastern part of the northern fringe. About 4% of the sub-watershed is severely affected by soil erosion and 18% falls within a moderate erosion zone. The growing demand for land and infrastructure development forces the shift of urbanization and agriculture to these less-managed spaces. In light of this scenario, the spatial distribution of erosion combined with terrain and hydro-morphometry can aid in sustainable development and promote healthy land use practices in the region.


The ability of selected plant extracts from wood and foliage to inhibit mold regrowth on fungal colonized wood was evaluated on Douglas-fir sapwood. Most foliage extracts produced some inhibition of Graphium or Trichoderma species, but isolations of other fungi increased following treatment. Five out of eight wood extracts produced 50% reductions in isolations, and those from Alaska cedar, western juniper, and incense cedar produced at least 80% reductions. The results indicate that wood extracts may be useful for reducing the incidence of mold on wood products, but none of the materials evaluated completely inhibited the test fungi. These extracts may provide a useful value-added application for by-products of lumber production from these species.


Rationale: Our previous study has shown that yes-associated protein (YAP) plays a crucial role in the phenotypic modulation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in response to arterial injury. However, the role of YAP in vascular SMC development is unknown. Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the functional role of YAP in cardiovascular development in mice and determine the mechanisms underlying YAP's actions. Methods and Results: YAP was deleted in cardiomyocytes and vascular SMCs by crossing YAP flox mice with SM22&agr;-Cre transgenic mice. Cardiac/SMC-specific deletion of YAP directed by SM22&agr;-Cre resulted in perinatal lethality in mice because of profound cardiac defects including hypoplastic myocardium, membranous ventricular septal defect, and double outlet right ventricle. The cardiac/SMC-specific YAP knockout mice also displayed severe vascular abnormalities including hypoplastic arterial wall, short/absent brachiocephalic artery, and retroesophageal right subclavian artery. Deletion of YAP in mouse vascular SMCs induced expression of a subset of cell cycle arrest genes including G-protein–coupled receptor 132 (Gpr132). Silencing Gpr132 promoted SMC proliferation, whereas overexpression of Gpr132 attenuated SMC growth by arresting cell cycle in G0/G1 phase, suggesting that ablation of YAP-induced impairment of SMC proliferation was mediated, at least in part, by induction of Gpr132 expression. Mechanistically, YAP recruited the epigenetic repressor histone deacetylase-4 to suppress Gpr132 gene expression via a muscle CAT element in the Gpr132 gene. Conclusions: YAP plays a critical role in cardiac/SMC proliferation during cardiovascular development by epigenetically regulating expression of a set of cell cycle suppressors.


During the past decades, quantum mechanical methods have undergone an amazing transition from pioneering investigations of experts into a wide range of practical applications, made by a vast community of researchers. First principles calculations of systems containing up to a few hundred atoms have become a standard in many branches of science. The sizes of the systems which can be simulated have increased even further during recent years, and quantum‐mechanical calculations of systems up to many thousands of atoms are nowadays possible. This opens up new appealing possibilities, in particular for interdisciplinary work, bridging together communities of different needs and sensibilities. In this review we will present the current status of this topic, and will also give an outlook on the vast multitude of applications, challenges, and opportunities stimulated by electronic structure calculations, making this field an important working tool and bringing together researchers of many different domains. WIREs Comput Mol Sci 2017, 7:e1290. doi: 10.1002/wcms.1290


This article argues that the use of principles in WTO dispute resolution is both necessary and desirable. However, Panels and the Appellate Body (WTO Tribunals) have often ignored principles or not clearly identified the legal basis for their use. This article establishes a framework for the use of principles (in particular principles of WTO law, principles of customary international law, and general principles of law) in WTO dispute settlement. Broadly, WTO Tribunals can use principles drawn from these categories to interpret WTO provisions, based on Article 3.2 of the DSU, and Articles 31 and 32 of the VCLT. This follows most directly from a teleological approach to interpretation, but principles also feature under subjective and textual approaches to interpretation. WTO Tribunals may also use certain principles in a non-interpretative manner. Indeed, this may be necessary, particularly to address procedural issues. Precisely how a principle may be used depends on its type, content and status. , Oxford University Press.


Ceramic matrix composites are potential future innovative materials for high temperature application in gas turbines and aviation industry. Mechanical properties at elevated temperature reaching up to 1500°C make these group of materials suitable for increased efficiency and lower emission of the aircraft engine. However, corrosion resistance is still an issue, especially in meaning of water vapour. Moreover, thermal insulation is important for oxide ceramic matrix composites due to their low temperature limit. That is why new protective coatings in form of TBCs are needed to increase the potential of these materials. The research conducted within the international project funded from the European Union concerns development of the Atmospheric Plasma Spraying method in meaning of obtaining new material system based on ceramic matrix composite. The paper is focused on the first stage of preparation of the process. The aim is to develop the method of APS with YSZ on the ceramic substrate. The results obtained within the study will be used for development of the process parameters for advanced ceramic matrix composites. The study focuses on methodology that was applied in the research as well as the literature analysis.


In this paper are showed on the results of research whose aim was to document and analyze the manner in which students relate different representations when solving problems. A total of 20 students took part in the study, students attending their first year of university studies. In order to design the problem, the underlying information in each representation was deemed to be the starting point of different inferences and of different cognitive processes. The findings obtained make it possible to assert that the underlying information in each representation is not visible to all students and that a problem can foster handling of different representations, the making and verifying of various conjectures and the transfer of knowledge acquired in previous courses.
Key words: representations, solving problem, verifying conjectures.


Abstract: A cross-sectional study assessing the prevalence of food taboos during pregnancy, types of foods prohibited and the associations of some of the socioeconomic parameters to food taboos, was carried out in Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Two hundred ninety five healthy pregnant women who attended an antenatal clinic for routine check-up between February and May 1995, were included in the study. A questionnaire consisting of socioeconomic information, food taboo practice, types of foods avoided and reasons for avoidance was administered by trained nurses. The results indicate that a little over a quarter of them (27%) avoided at least one type of food due to food taboos. Milk and cheese were regarded as taboo foods by nearly half of the women (44.4%) followed by linseed and fatty meat (16% 11.1% respectively). The reasons for avoiding foods include fear of difficult delivery (51%), discoloration of the fetus (20%) and fear of abortion (9.7%). Among the few socioeconomic variables studied, education and income were found to influence food taboos (P<0.05). The findings underscore the importance of education and income in improving maternal nutrition, through changing food habits and increasing purchasing power of the mothers. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1998;12(1):45-49]


Abstract The aim of this paper is to study, in mean square sense, a class of random fractional linear differential equation where the initial condition and the forcing term are assumed to be second-order random variables. The solution stochastic process of its associated Cauchy problem is constructed combining the application of a mean square chain rule for differentiating second-order stochastic processes and the random Fröbenius method. To conduct our study, first the classical Caputo derivative is extended to the random framework, in mean square sense. Furthermore, a sufficient condition to guarantee the existence of this operator is provided. Afterwards, the solution of a random fractional initial value problem is built under mild conditions. The main statistical functions of the solution stochastic process are also computed. Finally, several examples illustrate our theoretical findings.


At the present time there are available to the college and graduate student in biology a great number of basic genetics books, and among these Gardner's book surely is one of the best. I am very happy that Dr. Gardner has been able to find the time to revise the first edition of his book so thoroughly. In addition to being Professor of Zoology, Dr. Gardner is also Dean of the College of Sciences at Utah State University. He has made many significant contributions not only to basic genetics but also to human genetics and he is one of the few basic geneticists whose name is used eponymically for a human disease (Gardner's syndrome). 1 The first one half of the book is a lucid and well-written exposition of classic genetics. The first chapter defines genetics and gives a historical review of the subjects; all subsequent chapters continue this admirable


Abstract Through a case study with Spanish-speaking Takana indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon, we explored ethnoecological landscape categories, including their ecological underpinnings, cultural significance and hierarchical organisation. Using field walks and interviews with consultants, we elicited 156 ethnoecological landscape categories, 60 of which related to vegetation types. However, sorting exercises with landscape photographs revealed that vegetation was not a guiding organisation principle. Takana consultants organised ethnoecological landscape categories into geographical regions that contained different landscape features, including vegetation units, topographical or hydrological features. Comparing the documented ethnoecological landscape categorisation with a published scientific botanical classification of vegetation units, we observed some important conceptual differences, which in turn have implications for the management of such landscapes.


The research described herein focuses on the synthesis of chiral pinene-pyridine derivatives, and their application in asymmetric catalysis. Both transition metal catalysed and organocatalytic transformations were investigated.

Chiral pyridine-phosphines based on α-pinene were synthesised and applied as efficient P,N-ligands for the enantioselective palladium(II)-catalysed Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of prochiral 3-substituted cyclobutanones to furnish chiral γ-butyrolactones in up to 81% ee. Complexes of these ligands with iridium can also promote asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins in up to 83% ee.

Novel N,N'-dioxides were synthesised from α-pinene and a range of 2-pyridine-acetophenones by employing Krohnke annulation reaction as the key cyclisation step. Although poor enantioselectivity was achieved (up to 12% ee), high reactivity of the catalysts is, however, promising.


Deconvolution analysis (DA) based on singular value decomposition (SVD) has been widely accepted for quantification of cerebral blood flow (CBF) using dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI). When using this method, the elements in the diagonal matrix obtained by SVD are set to zero when they are smaller than the threshold value given beforehand. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the threshold value on the accuracy of the CBF values obtained by this method using computer simulations. We also investigated the threshold value giving the CBF closest to the assumed value (optimal threshold value) under various conditions. The CBF values obtained by this method largely depended on the threshold value. Both the mean and the standard deviation of the estimated CBF values decreased with increasing threshold value. The optimal threshold value decreased with increasing signal-to-noise ratio and CBF, and increased with increasing cerebral blood volume. Although delay and dispersion in the arterial input function also affected the relationship between the estimated CBF and threshold values, the optimal threshold value tended to be nearly constant. In conclusion, our results suggest that the threshold value should be carefully considered when quantifying CBF in terms of absolute values using DSC-MRI for DA based on SVD. We believe that this study will be helpful in selecting the threshold value in SVD.


We report a patient with severe chronic obstructive lung disease requiring home oxygen, in whom increased pulmonary vascular resistance was associated with collateral flow from the left coronary circumflex artery to the bronchial and pulmonary arteries. The anomaly was clearly demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained before coronary angiography. This case suggests that MRI could play an important role in the assessment of coronary anomalies.


The Faroe Bank Channel Basin, which lies on the North Atlantic Margin southwest of the Faroe Islands, is a large, Mesozoic depocentre covering in excess of 10 000 km 2 . It has undergone little exploration to date and its structural complexity is reflected by the presence of two prominent structural trends: the SW–NE (Caledonian) trend which controls the main Faroe Bank Channel Basin and Faroe Bank Channel Knoll structure and a younger N–S trend which elongates the basin to form the North Faroe Bank Channel Basin area, containing the prominent Regin Smidur volcanic centre. As there is no well control in this frontier basin and seismic data quality precludes conventional interpretation, seismic data in combination with potential field data were analysed in order to determine the structural framework of the area and the geophysical characteristics of the geological units present. Within the basin centre, a thick post-basalt sedimentary section is present. The Paleocene flow basalt sucession is underlain by units of interpreted sedimentary origin which could be considered to be prospective for hydrocarbon exploration. The basin is floored by a block-faulted basement; successive reactivation of basement fault trends by younger tectonic episodes is further demonstrated by the mapping of transtensional features within the basin. Basin structure has been influenced strongly by Paleocene volcanism and subsidence. However, the internal structure of the Faroe Bank Channel Basin has remained relatively unaffected by the younger, Eocene–Miocene compressional events evident on its surrounding margins. Although the Faroe Bank Channel Basin area has yet to be made available for commercial licensing, it is considered to be an interesting area for the future as risk is reduced by exploration not only within the basin but in the adjacent areas to the southeast and in other areas of a similar nature.


This paper presents a possible strategy for the identification of prehistoric cognitive quartz tool categories among flakes and flake fragments found on Stone Age sites. Use-wear and fracture pattern analysis of 543 artefacts from 21 Mesolithic and Neolithic Stone age sites in Eastern Central Sweden form the basis of the discussion. It is initially assumed that the type of fractures and formal qualities of flakes are decisive regarding which pieces were selected for use. It could be concluded that most tools are unmodified flakes and that as much as 50% of the total flaked, but unmodified assemblage on some of the sites, have been used as tools. A range of uses to which these tools had been put could thus be interpreted. Another important result of this study is that the initially hypothesised relationship between certain types of fractures and specific use was refuted. Flake and flake fragments are most likely, and not surprisingly, used for different purposes based on edge qualities, rather than on formal qualities of the flake or flake fragment. Distinct cognitive categories seem to be present as certain types continuously show up among the flakes with use-wear in the investigated assemblages.


Industry servitisation, i.e. the manufacturing industry transition towards the integration of services, provides for strong opportunities of new business model development and implementation. However, managing the industrial transformation to such business models means decision-makers are confronted with high decisional complexity. Such dramatic changes affect most enterprise performance drivers, and the interactions of the multiple business and industrial factors influencing the overall company performance make it very difficult for managers to specify consistent and efficient industrial configurations for their business processes. This context explains a concrete need for developing servitisation-dedicated decision support systems (DSS). The objective of the decision aid developed in this paper is to provide operational support which integrates the specific business and industrial features of so-called 'product–service systems' in order to study the interactions of different types of performance factors, notably market-oriented versus industrial-oriented factors. These developments are applied to a French Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). The key added values of the paper are (1) to specify a modelling and simulation approach associated to a generic simulator adaptable to various industrial contexts, then (2) to illustrate the concrete decision support provided in a case study of an SME in the business of remanufacturing electrical equipment. The case study highlights capacity management issues in a servitisation context.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Silent cerebral infarctions (SCIs) have a prevalence between 10% and 40% in the transient ischemic attack population and have been associated with increased mortality and morbidity; however, little is known about the prevalence and risk factors for SCI in the general population. This report focuses on the role of cigarette smoking and other risk factors for SCI in the general population.

METHODS
MRI scans were performed on 1737 participants selected from the general population as part of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Smoking status and other major cerebrovascular risk factors were assessed, and associations between smoking status and SCIs were established with the use of ANCOVA.

RESULTS
Overall, the prevalence of SCI in this population aged 55 to 70 years was 11%. Cigarette smoking had an ordered association (P=0.029) with the presence of SCI, with the odds ratio (OR) of nonsmoking participants exposed to environmental tobacco smoke being 1.06 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 1.75) times as great as for nonsmokers not exposed; the OR of past smokers was 1.16 (95% CI, 0.74 to 1.83) times greater, and the OR of current smokers was 1.88 (95% CI, 1.13 to 3.13) times greater. An increased prevalence was also noted among black, older, and hypertensive participants.

CONCLUSIONS
This report is among the first to examine the risk factors for SCI in the general population and finds a relatively high overall prevalence (11%). There is an ordered relationship between increasing exposure to cigarette smoke and the presence of SCI that parallels the relationship between smoking and carotid atherosclerosis. The magnitude of the association with smoking is substantial compared with the effect of hypertension and other traditional cerebrovascular risk factors. The reduction in prevalence of SCI between current and past smokers and the trend that increased pack-years of smoking is related to increased prevalence of SCI are both additional arguments for smoking avoidance and cessation.


The ever-growing need to develop new anticancer agents due to increased incidence of cancer and its recurrence has led to a broad range of investigational efforts in anticancer research. Drug discovery and development processes involve evaluations of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters of potential drug candidates in order to assess their safety, toxicity, and efficacy profiles. By providing sensitivity, assay precision, reliability, and high-throughput, mass spectrometry has become an indispensable tool in quantitative and qualitative analysis, from early-stage drug discovery and development processes to routine laboratory analysis. Development of bioanalytical methods requires knowledge of separation science with instrumentation, data interpretation and sample preparation techniques from complex biological matrices. This work describes the theory, instrumentation, and method development processes behind these investigations. Further, detailed method development and validation procedures for investigational anticancer agents MLN0128, GS87, and curcumin using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were presented.


High levels of methylesterification of pectin allow for enhanced cell expansion, partitioning of resources to leaf growth, and increased leaf area for photosynthesis, which in turn enhance plant growth. Photosynthesis occurs in mesophyll cells of specialized organs such as leaves. The rigid cell wall encapsulating photosynthetic cells controls the expansion and distribution of cells within photosynthetic tissues. The relationship between photosynthesis and plant growth is affected by leaf area. However, the underlying genetic mechanisms affecting carbon partitioning to different aspects of leaf growth are not known. To fill this gap, we analyzed Arabidopsis plants with altered levels of pectin methylesterification, which is known to modulate cell wall plasticity and plant growth. Pectin methylesterification levels were varied through manipulation of cotton Golgi-related (CGR) 2 or 3 genes encoding two functionally redundant pectin methyltransferases. Increased levels of methylesterification in a line over-expressing CGR2 (CGR2OX) resulted in highly expanded leaves with enhanced intercellular air spaces; reduced methylesterification in a mutant lacking both CGR-genes 2 and 3 (cgr2/3) resulted in thin but dense leaf mesophyll that limited CO2 diffusion to chloroplasts. Leaf, root, and plant dry weight were enhanced in CGR2OX but decreased in cgr2/3. Differences in growth between wild type and the CGR-mutants can be explained by carbon partitioning but not by variations in area-based photosynthesis. Therefore, photosynthesis drives growth through alterations in carbon partitioning to new leaf area growth and leaf mass per unit leaf area; however, CGR-mediated pectin methylesterification acts as a primary factor in this relationship through modulation of the expansion and positioning of the cells in leaves, which in turn drive carbon partitioning by generating dynamic carbon demands in leaf area growth and leaf mass per unit leaf area.


The degradation in the quality of silver eel and their health could have been a major factor in the collapse of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) population. However, the health status of the spawners has been poorly studied until now. This study evaluated the quality of migrant male silver eels from four Mediterranean habitats in France presenting different degrees of contamination: Canet-Saint-Nazaire, Salses-Leucate and Bages-Sigean lagoons and La Berre River. We considered pathogens including Anguillicoloides crassus and EVEX virus and the concentration of chemical contaminants including PCBs, OCs and heavy metals. Our study results revealed different patterns of pollution and infection in the four habitats, with high individual variability. No single silver eel was free of pollution. Total dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and copper contaminations, as well as the Swim bladder Degenerative Index (induced by parasitism), were remarkably high in eels from Canet lagoon, while eels from Salses lagoon showed lower levels of contaminants and parasite infection. A non-negligible proportion of eels were strongly impacted with levels of contaminants/parasites that could potentially impair their migration and reproduction. Our study revealed low to moderate contamination levels compared with the other Mediterranean sites previously reported, except for high concentrations of DDTs and Cu in Canet lagoon. We discuss the contribution of these results in the context of possible implications for silver eels reproductive success and local eel population management.


Sciencing and living the art of humanbecoming are a commitment to a specific ontology housed in the humanbecoming paradigm. This article is a reflection on Parse's unique humanbecoming paradigm and its postulates: illimitability, paradox, freedom, and mystery. It is important to interpret these postulates in ways that are personally unique, as all persons live humanbecoming in the emerging now in the endless sea of nows.


A fundamental, unsolved problem in solar system formation is explaining the melting and crystallization of chondrules found in chondritic meteorites. Theoretical models of chondrule melting in nebular shocks have been shown to be consistent with many aspects of thermal histories inferred for chondrules from laboratory experiments; but, the mechanism driving these shocks is unknown. Planetesimals and planetary embryos on eccentric orbits can produce bow shocks as they move supersonically through the disk gas, and are one possible source of chondrule-melting shocks. We investigate chondrule formation in bow shocks around planetoids through three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics simulations. A new radiation transport algorithm that combines elements of flux-limited diffusion and Monte Carlo methods is used to capture the complexity of radiative transport around bow shocks. An equation of state that includes the rotational, vibrational, and dissociation modes of H2 is also used. Solids are followed directly in the simulations and their thermal histories are recorded. Adiabatic expansion creates rapid cooling of the gas, and tail shocks behind the embryo can cause secondary heating events. Radiative transport is efficient, and bow shocks around planetoids can have luminosities ∼few× 10−8 L☉. While barred and radial chondrule textures could be produced in the radiative shocks explored here, porphyritic chondrules may only be possible in the adiabatic limit. We present a series of predicted cooling curves that merit investigation in laboratory experiments to determine whether the solids produced by bow shocks are represented in the meteoritic record by chondrules or other solids.


Student affairs personnel are often charged with the task of creating a sense of community on campuses. Sports is among the many activities that historically have been used to meet this need for community among students. Yet, how and when a sense of community is created within a sports context has not been appropriately addressed in literature. Utilizing a community psychology theoretical framework for this study, we employed a qualitative approach to uncover the necessary factors for creating a sense of community within a sports club setting. The results revealed that Common Interest, Leadership Opportunities, Voluntary Activity, and Competition were the most critical components to creating a sense of community. The results advance community building theory and suggest practical application for improving the student experience. The implications for sports managers and student affairs administrators are also discussed.


This research aims at analyzing the factors that influence the choice of the multi-modes of governance by producers and processors of paddy in Benin. Unlike previous researches, it analyzes these factors simultaneously for both producers and processors. Furthermore it explains the multiple choices of governance modes by actors. Finally, this research analyses the influence of institutional environment on the governance mode choice by the actors. Data were collected in Benin from 320 producers and 140 processors of rice selected randomly. The results indicate that the majority of producers (78.04%) and processors (92.69%) use the spot market to sell and procure paddy against 32.78% and 26.43% of producers and processors respectively for the contractual marketing and procurement. Nearly 26.35% of producers use at least two modes of governance to market the paddy, against 19.70% of the processors to procure paddy. Producers and processors that belong to an innovation platform use more formal contracts and farmer associations to market and to procure paddy. The quantities of paddy sold by producers and purchased by processors are unstable on the spot market and through informal contracts. In opposite, these quantities are stable for formal contracts. Knowledge of traditional institutions by the actors positively influences participation in formal and informal contracts. Knowledge of modern institutions negatively affects participation in informal contracts. The innovation platforms can be used to facilitate contracts between farmers and rice processors. Modern and traditional institutions may also be used to assist stakeholders in the enforcement of contracts.


The Frank-Starling mechanism was investigated in 88 athletes exposed to physical stress and was shown to operate under physical stress in athletes with ventricular cavities of normal or moderately increased size. In athletes with physiological ventricular dilatation as a result of endurance training (over 160 ml in ultimate diastolic volume), the Frank-Starling mechanism is not normally triggered under stress: increased cardiac output is provided by greater basal blood volume reserve. With ultimate diastolic volumes of 115-159 ml, the Frank-Starling mechanism provides an optimum increase in peak stroke volume. The effectiveness of the heterometric mechanism activated by physical stress in subjects with small ultimate diastolic volumes is not sufficient as additive reserve volume cannot be increased essentially.


This paper deals with lactic acid extraction by using tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) extractant dissolved in diluents (Methyl ether diketone (MIBK), 1-dedocanol & di ethyl ether) at different temperatures range (298, 313, 323, 333 K). Chemical equilibrium experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of temperature on the extraction efficiency of tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) as well as on the equilibrium extraction constant. It was found that distribution coefficient (KD) decreased with increasing the temperature. However, an improved separation of the phases is observed. The extraction equilibrium constants have been determined using a mathematical model of reactive extraction. The apparent enthalpy and entropy of the reactive extraction with systems (TBP/MIBK, TBP/1-dedocanol TBP/di ethyl ether) are also determined.


Progressive nodular histiocytosis is a proliferative process of histiocytes, the main element of which is the dermal dendrocyte. It is considered to form part of a group of histiocytic disorders related to juvenile xanthogranuloma, which also includes xanthoma disseminatum, benign cephalic histiocytosis, spindle cell xanthogranuloma and generalized eruptive histiocytosis; disorders which perhaps represent the spectrum of one single entity. We present the case of a 57-year-old man who, for 26 years, had had a progressively deforming process of cutaneous lesions, with systemic involvement, including chronic myeloid leukaemia, hepatosplenomegaly, hypothyroidism, hyperuricaemia and hypocholesterolaemia. We have not been able to establish precisely the relationship between these features.


In this talk we discuss black hole solutions in six-dimensional gravity with a Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk and an induced gravity term on a thin 3-brane of codimension-2. It is shown that these black holes can be localized on the 3-brane, and they can further be extended into the bulk by a warp function. These solutions have regular horizons and no other curvature singularities appear apart from the string-like ones. The projection of the Gauss-Bonnet term on the brane imposes a constraint relation which requires the presence of matter in the extra dimensions, in order to sustain our solutions.


Human brain has a complex structure with the billions of neurons, so it is a difficult and challenging task to predict the behavior of human brain. Different methods and classifiers are used to measure and classify the brain activities with higher accuracy and reliability. In this paper, instead of using mostly used classifier (support vector machine), prediction of the brain activity is done by estimating the match score densities. This method is based on likelihood ratio test which helps in finding the optimal combination of match scores. The distributions of match scores are modeled for different classes based on density score fusion in which the densities of different classes are estimated from the training data set and match scores are found by fusing the estimated densities with the testing data. The fusion is done with the data extracted from distributed activation patterns using multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) against a visual task. MVPA is an intense strategy which helps in better understanding of the human brain. The match score-based technique is used in different biometric systems but never been used for the prediction of brain activity. In order to test the performance of proposed method, prediction accuracy is compared with the support vector machine using two data sets of different modalities, one is electroencephalography (EEG) and the other is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results show that the proposed method predicts the novel data with improved accuracy of 66.1% and 69.3% compared with support vector machine which have 64.15% and 65.7% for fMRI and EEG data sets, respectively.


The strength members, such as front-end side members, are subjected to axial compressive and bending load during collision. Therefore, it is important to consider energy absorption by the axial compression and the bending for design of effective strength members. And at the same time, it also should consider reducing weight of the members. In this study, CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics) side members with single-hat-section shape were manufactured. The axial compression and the bending tests were performed for the members using universal testing machine, and the axial compression and the bending characteristics were analyzed. Stacking condition related to the energy absorption of composite materials is being considered as an issue for the structural efficiency. So the energy absorption of the member under the axial compressive load and the bending load were experimentally investigated.


This paper gives a snapshot of the convergence of the telecommunications and computer industries to a common vision of networking models for an integrated services information infrastructure meeting the stringent requirements of multimedia applications. First we summarize the requirements and elements of such an infrastructure and introduce a networking model that is framed into four layers: interconnection (bearer), internetworking, interoperability (middleware), and application. Then, we offer a review of the classical telecommunications networking model, the current status of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) multimedia networking features, and the ongoing activities for fostering evolution of telecommunications networks to enhance control, management, and service delivery. An overview of the current Internet network architecture follows, presenting the recent achievements and the evolving networking protocols to cope with real-time multimedia applications. As described in this paper, the schemes for integrating Internet protocols (IPs) and ATM resource reservation protocols, which address an efficient resource utilization and quality of service guarantee in broadband networks, fall into the first two lower architectural layers, which are the foundation of network computing and communications services. In particular, we present a summary description of the comparative features of both IP and ATM protocol approaches, and we report on current proposals for provisioning IP on ATM networks. Last, we discuss trends in middleware services, including the emerging technology of transportable computation and intelligent agents. Interoperability of heterogeneous networked systems is based on an agreed distributed application encoding and computation environment, thus pushing the key capability of the layered networking architecture up into the middleware layer.


This article uses the option pricing arguments of Merton (1974) to demonstrate that even solvent banks will be reluctant to sell volatile, toxic assets at market prices. Banks' shareholders have insolvency puts that give them limited liability in the event of default. The insolvency puts are more valuable when the banks' assets are more volatile. Shareholders in banks will require any buyer to pay for the lost volatility as well as the market price of the toxic assets. Thus, taxpayers must be ready to richly overpay if they want banks to voluntarily part with their toxic assets.


The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain 2012 reveal that the level of animal experimentation in Great Britain continues to rise, with just over 4.1 million procedures being started in that year. Despite the previous year's indication that the dominance of the production and use of genetically-altered (GA, i.e. genetically-modified animals plus animals with harmful genetic defects) animal might be abating, it returned with a vengeance in 2012. Breeding increased from 43% to 48% of all procedures, and GA animals were involved in 59% of all the procedures. Indeed, if the breeding of these animals were removed from the statistics, the total number of procedures would actually decline by 2%. In order to honour their pledge to reduce animal use in science, the Coalition Government will have to address this issue. The general trends in the species used, and the numbers and types of procedures, are also reviewed. Finally, forthcoming changes to the statistics are discussed.


Improving access to basic surgical interventions has great potential to improve the length and quality of life of many people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, research has shown that current access to surgical interventions is limited, and initiatives such as the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery 2030 advocate for improved access to basic surgical interventions for all. As the needs, health system context and available budgets in each country will be different, a critical component of effective local scale-up of surgical interventions will be to use tools and processes of health technology assessment (HTA). HTA has traditionally been used in high-income countries to make decisions about which medicines and devices should be available in a health system, but its central concepts, such as assessing clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and feasibility, appraising all available evidence, and incorporating wider health systems objectives in decision-making, can be applied to decisons about how LMICs can best utilise basic surgical interventions from within available resources - in essence, to focus spending on the 'best buys'. As South Africa (SA) moves towards National Health Insurance (NHI), HTA functions will be strengthened. There is potential for SA to lead the practice of application of HTA to decisions about how basic surgical interventions are chosen and implemented, contributing to the success and sustainability of NHI in SA and the health of people in LMICs worldwide.