Longevity and effectiveness of sunscreens and other UV-protectant lotions have been studied and researched for upwards of 90 years. Sunscreen lotions have been linked with prevention of a number of genetic mutations that may lead to skin cancers. The effectiveness of sunscreens is generally measured as Sun-protection Factor (SPF), which describes the minimal time that a sunscreen product can provide protection. Despite many advances in the field most sunscreens fail to deliver their claimed SPF protection. This is normally a result of human error; either in the amount applied, or the process of application. The focus of this research has been to investigate the use of second-generation dendrimers to increase the quantity of active sunscreen molecules present after application. Dendrimers, with their highly manipulatable physical and chemical properties, enable us to increase the "stickiness" of a sunscreen. This experiment focuses on finding optimal conditions to form a second-generation sunscreen dendrimer, and to test whether the sunscreen will retain its protective function in this context.
*Indicates presenter


In this paper, the performance limits of faults localization are investigated using synchrophasor data. The focus is on a non-trivial operating regime where the number of Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) sensors available is insufficient to have full observability of the grid state. Proposed analysis uses the Kullback Leibler (KL) divergence between the distributions corresponding to different fault location hypotheses associated with the observation model. This analysis shows that the most likely locations are concentrated in clusters of buses more tightly connected to the actual fault site akin to graph communities. Consequently, a PMU placement strategy is derived that achieves a near-optimal resolution for localizing faults for a given number of sensors. The problem is also analyzed from the perspective of sampling a graph signal, and how the placement of the PMUs i.e. the spatial sampling pattern and the topological characteristic of the grid affect the ability to successfully localize faults. To highlight the superior performance of presented fault localization and placement algorithms, the proposed strategy is applied to a modified IEEE 34, IEEE-123 bus test cases and to data from a real distribution grid. Additionally, the detection of cyber-physical attacks is also examined where PMU data and relevant Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) network traffic information are compared to determine if a network breach has affected the integrity of the system information and/or operations.


Abstract. Adaptation to and mitigation of climate change in Australian agriculture has included research at the plant, animal, and soil level; the farming system level; and the community and landscape level. This paper focuses on the farming systems level at which many of the impacts of a changing climate will be felt. This is also the level where much of the activity relating to adaptation and mitigation can usefully be analysed and at which existing adaptive capacity provides a critical platform for further efforts. In this paper, we use a framework of nested hierarchies introduced by J. Passioura four decades ago to highlight the need for research, development and extension (RDE) on climate change at the farming systems level to build on more fundamental soil, plant, and animal sciences and to link into higher themes of rural sociology and landscape science. The many questions asked by those managing farming systems can be categorised under four broad headings: (1) climate projections at a local scale, (2) impacts of climate projections on existing farming systems, (3) adaptation options, and (4) risks and opportunities from policies to reduce emissions. These questions are used as a framework to identify emerging issues for RDE in Australian farming systems, including the complex balance in on-farm strategies between adapting to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas concentrations. Climate is recognised as one of the defining features of different farming systems in Australia. It follows that if the climate changes, farming systems will have to shift, adapt, or be transformed into a different land use. Given that Australian farming systems have been adaptive in the past, we address the question of the extent to which research on adaptation to climate change in farming systems is different or additional to research on farming systems in a variable climate.


This paper presents very small laboratory hybrid photovoltaic-hydrogen power system. The system was primarily assembled to verify the operability of the control algorithms and practical deployment of available commercial hydrogen technologies that are directly usable for storage of electricity produced from renewable energy sources in a small island system. This energetic system was installed and tested in Laboratory of fuel cells that is located in the university campus of VSB-Technical University of Ostrava. The energetic system consists of several basic components: a photovoltaic field, accumulators bank, water commercial electrolyzer and compact fuel cell system. The weather conditions recorded in two different weeks as model weather and solar conditions are used as case studies to test the energetic system and the results for two different cases are compared each other. The results show and illustrate selected behaviour curves of the power system and also average energy storage efficiency for accumulation subsystem based on hydrogen technologies or at the energetic system embedded components. On the basis of real measurement and its evaluation the ideal parameters of the photovoltaic field were calculated as well as the hydrogen technologies for supposed purpose and the power requirements.


Urban growth is associated with a number of environmental issues. One of the most serious environmental concerns is the air pollutants and increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study presents a comprehensive review of the impact of urban form on the GHG emissions from household vehicles. A comparative study encompassing the methods used for identifying the relationship between urban form and vehicle GHG emissions was conducted. Household vehicle GHG emissions in different urban forms were investigated, drawing upon various existing studies. The internal variables that define urban form, such as density, connectivity, land use mix, and accessibility, were further discussed with respect to their degree of influence on household vehicle GHG emissions. Finally, a discussion of opportunities in urban form which may be conducive to household vehicle GHG emission mitigation in the long term was presented.


There is an increasing prevalence of negative attitudes toward vegans and vegetarians in North America. Religious reasons for diet might provide a buffering effect on prejudice towards these groups (MacInnis & Hodson, 2017). In the present thesis (Study 1), the role of socio-political ideology, threat perceptions and religious identity in understanding negative attitudes towards vegans and vegetarians, was investigated. Further, as imagined contact has been found to predict tolerant outgroup attitudes (Miles & Crisp, 2014), the relationship between imagined contact and attitudes towards vegans was studied (Study 2). Study 1 (n=406) and Study 2 (n=137) were both administered to undergraduate samples. In Study 1, religious identity had no buffering effect on attitudes towards vegans/vegetarians. Participants higher on ideology and threat held less favourable attitudes towards vegans and Sikh vegans/vegetarians. In Study 2, participants who imagined interacting with vegans reported liking them more (vs. control). Implications for future research are discussed.


In this brief review, some aspects of the relation between sodium balance and peripheral resistance in four types of arterial hypertension are discussed. Renal hypertension, hypertension caused by reduced kidney mass and sodium load, mineralocorticoid hypertension, and spontaneous or "genetic" hypertension in rats are considered. In all these forms of hypertension, the increase in peripheral resistance is preceded by changes in body sodium and fluids. However, the precise role of these changes in the development of the subsequent rise of peripheral resistance is not yet clear. Changes in ion transport across the cell membranes have been demonstrated even before the development of hypertension, especially the forms caused by mineralocorticoids or genetic factors. Even though we do not know the underlying mechanisms, it is very likely that these cell-membrane changes are involved in the rise of peripheral resistance and blood pressure.


The discovery of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) and its importance in the identification of nitric oxide (NO) originated with studies using rabbit aorta to examine drug-receptor interactions in vascular smooth muscle. Smooth muscle relaxation by acetylcholine and a number of other agonists was found to be dependent on the presence of endothelial cells, which, when stimulated by the agonist, released a diffusable, very labile, nonprostanoid substance, termed EDRF, that acted on vascular smooth muscle cells to activate relaxation. The characteristics of EDRF, when released from endothelial cells, were similar to the characteristics of NO. It is now established that EDRF, either as NO or some related nitrosyl substance, has a major role in a variety of important biological processes, including the regulation of vascular tone, local blood flow, and blood pressure, inhibition of platelet aggregation and adhesion, and involvement in postischemic reperfusion, memory function, and central nervous system degenerative diseases.


Sirex nigricornis F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is an innocuous pine-inhabiting woodwasp native to eastern North America, utilizing dead or dying pine trees as hosts. Although S. nigricornis F. does not cause economic damage, a closely related species, Sirex noctilio, was discovered in New York in 2004 and has continually spread throughout the northeastern United States and southern Canada, threatening the multi-billion-dollar pine timber industry of the southeastern United States and raising interest about potential interactions with native woodwasps and associated mortality agents. A non-sterilizing strain of the biological control agent, Deladenus siricidicola Bedding (Tylenchida: Neotylenchidae), was introduced along with S. noctilio but is not inhibiting the spread or establishment of S. noctilio A North American congener, Deladenus proximus Bedding, has been recently isolated from S. noctilio and shows promise as a biological control agent. To better understand the potential of D. proximus as a control agent for S. noctilio, we measured and dissected nearly 1,200 S. nigricornis females from Arkansas and Mississippi and evaluated differences among collection location with regard to nematode virulence, woodwasp body size, and egg load. Body size and egg load were related to collection location, and nematode infestation resulted in significantly smaller females who produced significantly fewer eggs. Female woodwasps, especially those collected in Arkansas, were often fully sterilized by nematodes, and a higher percent sterilization was inversely related to body size and fewer eggs. We propose field studies to test the nematode's ability to sterilize S. noctilio in the northeastern United States.


Thirty-four adults with AML were treated with conventional remission induction chemotherapy consisting of Ara-C and daunorubicin. The median age was 55 years. Thirty (88%) patients showing complete remission (CR) were treated with four courses of intensive consolidation chemotherapy: course 1 with 7 days Ara-C and 4 days of mitoxantrone; course 2 and 7 days Ara-C, 5 days of etoposide, vincristine day 10 and vinblastine day 12 (A-Triple-V); course 3 with 7 days Ara-C and 3 days of aclacinomycin; course 4 with 7 days Ara-C and 3 days of daunorubicin. Then patients were observed without further therapy until relapse. The median duration of relapse-free survival for patients < 60 years of age was 13 months, with 49% patients projected to continue first CR at 52 months. In contrast, only 19% of patients 60 years or older were projected to be in CR at 22 months. Most patients experienced significant side effects including fever, liver dysfunction, pneumonia and septicemia during consolidation therapies. Short-term intensive consolidation therapy appeared to be efficacious for patients < 60 years of age. The results in older individuals were worse than expected, and the use of G-CSF was suggested to improve this problem.


The goal of this study was to examine potential deficits in working memory capacity for college students that had a diagnosis of ADHD. College students with ADHD may be a particularly vulnerable group of individuals, given that success on academic work required focus and working memory for a variety of problem solving activities. Performance on these assessments involved controlled processing with simultaneous memory load. Both verbal and visual complex span tasks were used to assess working memory. Additionally, students were all administered with the Brown ADD scale in order to examine self-reported issues with distractibility. Results revealed that ADHD students performed significantly lower on the verbal complex span measure of working memory. No differences in reported inattentiveness were found. Findings were discussed in context of varying task demands in working memory and executive function measures.


Hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) networks are used around the world to distribute cable television and broadband internet services to customers. These networks are governed by the Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) family of standards, with the most recent version at the time of this writing being DOCSIS 3.1. A frequency division duplex (FDD) spectrum is used in DOCSIS 3.1, where the upstream and downstream signals are separated in frequency to eliminate interference. A possible method to increase signal bandwidths is to use a full-duplex (FDX) spectrum, in which the US and DS signals use the same frequencies at the same time. A main challenge faced when implementing FDX in a DOCSIS node is eliminating the interference in the received US signal caused by the transmitted DS signal. One possible method for eliminating the interference is utilizing an echo-canceling algorithm, which predicts the self-interference (SI) based on the known DS signal and cancels it from the received US signal. Although echo-cancellation algorithms exist for fundamentally similar applications, the DOCSIS FDX case is more complicated for two main reasons. First, the DOCSIS node uses a nonlinear power amplifier to amplify the DS signal. Second, the DS signal is an ultra-wideband signal spanning a frequency range of up to 1.2 GHz. Most of the amplifier modeling techniques discussed in the literature were designed for narrowband wireless signals and will have limited performance when used with ultra-wideband signals. This thesis develops an algorithm to characterize the power amplifier and to predict the harmonics it generates for a given DS signal. These predicted harmonics can be used to cancel the SI signal in a full duplex DOCSIS system. The algorithm, which is referred to as the ultra-wideband memory polynomial (UWB-MP) model, is based on the well-known memory polynomial model with adaptations which allow the model to predict harmonics for ultra-wideband signals. Since a direct implementation of the UWB-MP model in an FPGA would result in very high resource usage, system architecture recommendations are provided. Our proposed imiv plementation of the model compensates for harmonics up to and including the 3 order, which has a power spectrum extending above 3600 MHz. Using the techniques discussed in this thesis, it is shown that a sampling rate of 4 GHz allows for cancellation of the SI signal while providing a reasonable balance between performance and resource usage. Matlab simulations of a DOCSIS node with various parameters and PA simulation models were conducted. The simulations showed that over 75 dB of cancellation of the SI signal is possible in an idealized hardware setup. It is also demonstrated that AWGN injected into the received signal does not reduce the ability of the model to estimate the PA harmonics, although the noise itself cannot be canceled. Further simulations showed that the UWB-MP model could cancel harmonics whose power is much higher than that specified in DOCSIS. Although the UWB-MP model was designed with memory polynomial type PAs in mind, simulation results show that significant cancellation is possible with PAs that are represented by Wiener models as well. Based on the simulation results, we recommend using a filter of length 20 coefficients for each harmonic in the UWB-MP model, and 60 iterations with 500 samples for estimating the coefficients with the least squares method.


During last 10 years, it has been pointed out that the reproducibility and reliability of air plasma sprayed (APS) coatings depend, among other parameters, on the particle velocity and temperature distributions prior to their impacts to the target surface. On-line control systems have been designed to follow these parameters in the harsh environment of booths. However, in spite of significant strides, works have yet to be carried out to establish relationships between deposit properties and in-flight particle parameters and/or surface target temperature, roughness and oxidation stage. The SPCTS laboratory at the University of Limoges has developed the SDC (Spray and Deposit Control) system in collaboration with SNECMA Services. It controls the stability of the spray jet and the mean particle trajectory together with the target surface temperature. It has been used with a device allowing to measure the deflection of a rectangular beam during APS of WC-Co17wt% or ZrO2+8wt%Y2O3 powder on Hastelloy X (Ni base alloy) substrate. The aim of this study was to determine which spray parameters influence the residual stresses, in order to achieve a mean compressive residual stress in the WC-Co17wt% coating on Hastelloy X and to control it with the deposit temperature.


Learned vocalizations are important for communication in some vertebrate taxa. The neural circuitry for the learning and production of vocalizations is well known in songbirds, many of which learn songs initially during a critical period early in life. Dopamine is essential for motor learning, including song learning, and dopamine‐related measures change throughout development in song‐control regions such as HVC, the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN), Area X, and the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA). In mammals, the neuropeptide neurotensin strongly interacts with dopamine signaling. This study investigated a potential role for the neurotensin system in song learning by examining how neurotensin (Nts) and neurotensin receptor 1 (Ntsr1) expression change throughout development. Nts and Ntsr1 mRNA expression was analyzed in song‐control regions of male zebra finches in four stages of the song learning process: pre‐subsong (25 days posthatch; dph), subsong (45 dph), plastic song (60 dph), and crystallized song (130 dph). Nts expression in LMAN during the subsong stage was lower compared to other time points. Ntsr1 expression was highest in HVC, Area X, and RA during the pre‐subsong stage. Opposite and complementary expression patterns for the two genes in song nuclei and across the whole brain suggest distinct roles for regions that produce and receive Nts. The expression changes at crucial time points for song development are similar to changes observed in dopamine studies and suggest Nts may be involved in the process of vocal learning. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 78: 671–686, 2018


During an unbiased proteomics screen of rat L6 myotubes, we previously discovered the first member of the microtubule plus-end interacting protein (+TIP) family that undergoes insulin-stimulated phosphorylation, CLIP-associating protein 2 (CLASP2). Here we report that CLASP2 protein is expressed in several muscle groups as well as epididymal fat in mouse and we have successfully confirmed the expression of CLASP2 protein in human vastus lateralis muscle by mass spectrometry. In addition, insulin resistant, 60% fat diet-fed mice exhibit a loss of CLASP2 expression in epididymal adipose tissue versus control animals. We performed an insulin time course and discovered that insulin stimulates the phosphorylation of both endogenous and overexpressed CLASP2 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes in a manner to that similarly observed in L6 myotubes. Inhibition of either PI 3-kinase with wortmannin or mTOR with rapamycin had no effect on insulin-stimulated, proline-directed serine phosphorylation of CLASP2, whereas inhibition of the MAPK pathway reduced proline-directed serine phosphorylation of endogenous CLASP2 to basal levels. Quantitative phosphoproteomics identified Ser884/Ser1004/Ser1005/Ser1021 as significant insulin-stimulated CLASP2 phosphorylation sites that can be decreased after inhibition of the MAPK pathway. These findings indicate that CLASP2 undergoes insulin-stimulated proline-directed serine phosphorylation that is under control of the MAPK pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In addition, we also present new evidence of CLASP2 protein expression in mammalian tissues that are specifically targeted for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and suggest that CLASP2 is altered within in vivo models of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Disclosure N.K. Barker: None. J.L. Krantz: None. P.R. Langlais: None. Funding National Institutes of Health


Ascorbate (vitamin C) can reach very high concentrations in chloroplasts (20-300 mM). The pool size in leaves and chloroplasts increases during acclimation to high light intensity and the highest concentrations recorded are in high alpine plants. Multiple functions for ascorbate in photosynthesis have been proposed, including scavenging of active oxygen species generated by oxygen photoreduction and photorespiration, regeneration of alpha-tocopherol from alpha-tocopheryl radicals, cofactor for violaxanthin de-epoxidase and donation of electrons to photosystem II. Hydrogen peroxide scavenging is catalysed by ascorbate peroxidase (Mehler peroxidase reaction) and the subsequent regeneration of ascorbate by reductant derived from photosystem I allows electron flow in addition to that used for CO2 assimilation. Ascorbate is synthesized from guanosine diphosphate-mannose via L-galactose and L-galactono-1,4-lactone. The last step, catalysed by L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase, is located on the inner mitochondrial membrane and uses cytochrome c as electron acceptor. L-galactono-1,4-lactone oxidation to ascorbate by intact leaves is faster in high-light acclimated leaves and is also enhanced by high light, suggesting that this step contributes to the control of pool size by light. Ascorbate-deficient Arabidopsis thaliana vtc mutants are hypersensitive to a number of oxidative stresses including ozone and ultraviolet B radiation. Further investigation of these mutants shows that they have reduced zeaxanthin-dependent non-photochemical quenching, confirming that ascorbate is the cofactor for violaxanthin de-epoxidase and that availability of thylakoid lumen ascorbate could limit this reaction. The vtc mutants are also more sensitive to photo-oxidation imposed by combined high light and salt treatments.


Transparent glass sponges are a new class of materials that can potentially be used for effective light dispersion in photobioreactors. In this work, transparent glass sponges are prepared by the polymer replica technique employing polyurethane sponges with cell sizes of 20 pores per inch as templates and commercially available nanoscaled SiO2 powders. Necessary conditions for obtaining transparent open‐celled glass sponges are presented. Topics such as slurry stabilization, temperature for burning‐out the polymer and subsequent sintering of the remaining SiO2 structure to transparent cellular bodies are discussed. It was found, that concentrated suspensions at around pH 10 offer suitable properties for both, bringing enough particles onto the polymer template for the formation of a stable and self‐supporting SiO2 shell and for successful sintering of the particulate framework to transparent bodies. Therefore, an adjusted burning‐out process and an adequate sintering regime is presented. Furthermore, the resulting sponge structure is characterized employing X‐Ray diffractometry, light, and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, volume image analysis was performed using magnetic resonance imaging. This method allows the calculation of geometrical parameters like cell‐size and specific surface area of the resulting structure, required for application of the new material.


Computing devices now enable access to rich information about their surrounding execution environment gathered through sensor networks or system monitors. This ability allows software systems to be conceived with context in mind, instead of being created in isolation as in traditional approaches for software development. Services provided by software systems can be adapted to sensed conditions rendering such services more appropriate to the surrounding execution environment. Adaptations to the system's behavior take place unannounced over time. However, if not dealt with carefully, the behavior provided by such adaptations could lead to inconsistencies in the system's behavior. In order to avoid such inconsistencies, dependencies between adaptations must be carefully managed so that interactions gathered for the surrounding execution environment are not rendered incompatible. This dissertation investigates how to provide more guarantees about the predictability of the system's behavior when it is adapted dynamically at run time. Based on the observation of different dynamically adaptive software systems, we put forward a set of requirements that software systems should satisfy to ensure consistency of its behavioral adaptations. We propose a formal basis to support the development of consistent software systems in the presence of dynamic behavioral adaptations, called context Petri nets. This formal basis complies with the requirements for consistent dynamically adaptive software systems, and in particular context-oriented programming, on three levels: formalization, execution, and analysis. Context Petri nets offer a formalization for the definition of adaptations, the interactions between them, and the notion of consistency of a system in the presence of dynamic behavioral adaptations. Interactions between adaptations are formalized by a well-defined set of rules that capture the intention of programmers at a high-level, while enabling the low-level representation and automatic verification of those rules. Consistency verification of the system is provided at two levels. At design-time, system properties can be analyzed for the identification of possible incoherence in the definition of interactions between adaptations. At run-time the satisfiability of all interaction rules between adaptations is verified, hence, it can be ensured that no inconsistencies occur. Based on the proposed formal basis, we offer a tool for the design, manipulation, and simulation of adaptations and their interactions. This work is validated by demonstrating its usefulness in analyzing existing context-aware applications, its appropriateness in broadening the frontiers of context-oriented programming, and its extensibility by expanding the formal basis itself.


Knowledge about entities and their interrelations is a crucial factor of success for tasks like question answering or text summarization. Publicly available knowledge graphs like Wikidata or DBpedia are, however, far from being complete. In this paper, we explore how information extracted from similar entities that co-occur in structures like tables or lists can help to increase the coverage of such knowledge graphs. In contrast to existing approaches, we do not focus on relationships within a listing (e.g., between two entities in a table row) but on the relationship between a listing's subject entities and the context of the listing. To that end, we propose a descriptive rule mining approach that uses distant supervision to derive rules for these relationships based on a listing's context. Extracted from a suitable data corpus, the rules can be used to extend a knowledge graph with novel entities and assertions. In our experiments we demonstrate that the approach is able to extract up to 3M novel entities and 30M additional assertions from listings in Wikipedia. We find that the extracted information is of high quality and thus suitable to extend Wikipedia-based knowledge graphs like DBpedia, YAGO, and CaLiGraph. For the case of DBpedia, this would result in an increase of covered entities by roughly 50%.


A study of the mechanisms of the effects of amphotericin B and ouabain on cell membrane and transepithelial potentials and intracellular K activity (alpha Ki) of Necturus gallbladder epithelium was undertaken with conventional and K-selective intracellular microelectrode techniques. Amphotericin B produced a mucosa-negative change of transepithelial potential (Vms) and depolarization of both apical and basolateral membranes. Rapid fall of alpha Ki was also observed, with the consequent reduction of the K equilibrium potential (EK) across both the apical and the basolateral membrane. It was also shown that, unless the mucosal bathing medium is rapidly exchanged, K accumulates in the unstirred fluid layers near the luminal membrane generating a paracellular K diffusion potential, which contributes to the Vms change. Exposure to ouabain resulted in a slow decrease of alpha Ki and slow depolarization of both cell membranes. Cell membrane potentials and alpha Ki could be partially restored by a brief (3-4 min) mucosal substitution of K for Na. Under all experimental conditions (control, amphotericin B, and ouabain), EK at the basolateral membrane was larger than the basolateral membrane equivalent emf (Eb). Therefore, the K chemical potential difference appears to account for Eb and the magnitude of the cell membrane potentials, without the need to postulate an electrogenic Na pump. Comparison of the rate of Na transport across the tissue with the electrodiffusional K flux across the basolateral membrane indicates that maintenance of a steady-state alpha Ki cannot be explained by a simple Na,K pump-K leak model. It is suggested that either a NaCl pump operates in parallel with the Na,K pump, or that a KCl downhill neutral extrusion mechanism exists in addition to the electrodiffusional K pathway.


Dialogue and exchange between researchers and policy personnel may increase the use of research evidence in policy. We piloted and evaluated a programme of formalised dialogue between researchers and provincial health policymakers in South Africa, called the buddying programme. An external evaluation examined implementation and short-term impact, drawing on documents, in-depth interviews with policymakers, a researcher buddies focus group and our own reflection on what we learnt. We set up buddying with seven policymakers and five researchers on six policy questions. Researchers knew little about policymaking or needs of policymakers. Policymakers respected the contact with researchers, respected researchers' objectivity and appreciated the formalised approach. Having policymaker champions facilitated the dialogue. Scenarios for policy questions and use were different. One topic was at problem identification stage (contraceptives and HIV risk), four at policy formulation stage (healthy lifestyles, chronic illness medication adherence, integrated care of chronic illness and maternal transmission of HIV to infants) and one at implementation stage (task shifting). Research evidence were used to identify or solve a policy problem (two scenarios), to legitimise a predetermined policy position (three scenarios) or the evidence indirectly influenced the policy (one scenario). The formalised dialogue required in this structured buddying programme took time and commitment from both sides. The programme illustrated the importance of researchers listening, and policymakers understanding what research can offer. Both parties recognised that the structured buddying made the dialogue happen. Often the evidence was helpful in supporting provincial policy decisions that were in the roll-out phase from the national government.


In this article, we deal with the Order Batching Problem (OBP) considering traversal, return, and midpoint routing policies. We consider the Set Partitioning Problem formulation of the OBP and develop a specially tailored column generation–based algorithm for this problem. We suggest acceleration techniques such as a column pool strategy and a relaxation of the column generation subproblem. Also, a specially devised upper-bounding procedure and a lower-bounding method based on column generation that is strengthened by adding subset-row inequalities are employed. According to the computational results, the proposed solution approach manages to solve OBP instances with up to 100 orders to optimality.


Fifteen single-site charge-reversal mutations of yeast cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) have been constructed to determine the effect of localized charge on the catalytic properties of the enzyme. The mutations are located on the front face of CcP, near the cytochrome c binding site identified in the crystallographic structure of the yeast cytochrome c-CcP complex [Pelletier, H., and Kraut, J. (1992) Science 258, 1748-1755]. The mutants are characterized by absorption spectroscopy and hydrogen peroxide reactivity at both pH 6.0 and 7.5 and by steady-state kinetic studies using recombinant yeast iso-1-ferrocytochrome c(C102T) as a substrate at pH 7.5. Some of the charge-reversal mutations cause detectable changes in the absorption spectrum, especially at pH 7.5, reflecting changes in the equilibrium between penta- and hexacoordinate heme species in the enzyme. An increase in the amount of hexacoordinate heme in the mutant enzymes correlates with an increase in the fraction of enzyme that does not react with hydrogen peroxide. Steady-state velocity measurements indicate that five of the 15 mutations cause large increases in the Michaelis constant (R31E, D34K, D37K, E118K, and E290K). These data support the hypothesis that the cytochrome c-CcP complex observed in the crystal is the dominant catalytically active complex in solution.


In the field of employment, pressures of work, employees' stress, anxiety, agitation, irritability, or depression are all related to the different dimensions of emotional intelligence, which is well known as EI. All these emotional symptoms could affect employees' performance. Emotions have an impact on everything that employees do. They can lead either a higher or lower morale, which will impact the employees' performance positively or negatively. This concept paper sheds light on the definition and measurement of emotional intelligence, the different dimensions of EI, and the impact of EI on employees' performance. It also highlights the definition of job performance, the purpose of performance appraisal, the performance appraisal methods, and the measurement for employee performance. Finally, this concept paper proposes a theoretical framework that can be used by the higher education institutions in the Kindgom of Saudi Arabia.


Background and aim: FKBP51 is an immunophilin encoded by FKBP5 gene on chromosome 6. It is a protein resident in lymphocytes and involved in immune response. Recently, our group demonstrated that the inhibitory checkpoint PD-L1/PD1 promoted the alternative splicing of FKBP5 gene, resulting in increased expression of its variant 4, in PBMC of melanoma patients. The aim of this study was to address whether such a molecular signature could help in identifying an immune profile associated with increased probability of immunotherapy response. Experimental Design: The splicing FKBP51 isoform or FKBP51s was measured in peripheral blood T lymphocytes subsets (CD3/CD4, CD3/CD8, CD25 and PD-L1) and CD14 monocytes from a cohort of 118 patients and 77 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, by flow cytometry. Blood samples were collected before patients underwent ipilimumab treatment. Furthermore, in 64 out of 118 patients, expression of FKBP51s was also assessed in regulatory T cells. Results: Physiologically, each PBMC subset analyzed contained a fraction of an FKBP51spos component, which resulted expanded in melanoma patients. We also measured an increase in CD3/CD8 and PD-L1 lymphocytes in patients. CD4 T lymphocytes showed the FKBP51sneg fraction significantly impaired, which might reflect the condition of impaired T cell help. Treg count was increased, in accordance with previous studies. The count of FKBP51sposTregs defined a subgroup of nonresponder patients to ipilimumab, by 92.6%. A 2D hierarchical partitioning of data from FKBP51s-immunophenotype (heatmap) revealed 3 main clusters: C1 (33 pts, 51,5%), C2 (14 pts, 22%) and C3 (17 pts, 26,5%). FKBP51spos Treg subset appeared globally increased in all clusters. In C1, values of effector T cells and monocytes were not different from normal donors. C2 showed a significant increase of FKBP51spos PD-L1 monocytes and a significant probability of not responding (Chi-square=5.46; p=0.019). This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that response to ipilimumab is prevented by accessory cells exerting a negative immune regulatory control. C3 showed a significant increase of FKBP51s in overall lymphocyte subsets analyzed. Patients in this cluster showed reduced overall survival. This finding suggests that a prevalence of activation (CD25) and co-inhibitory (PD-L1) markers together with the expansion of FKBP51spos effector T cells might reflect a condition of chronic lymphocyte stimulation in some advanced melanoma patients, contributing to T cell-exhaustion. Conclusions: FKBP51s-based immunophenotype of melanoma patients revealed several profiles virtually related to a negative immune regulatory control and highlights an impairment of a Treg subset endowed with increased suppressive potential. Such FKBP51sTreg subset is likely to be associated with immunotherapy response (Chi-square=9.916, p=0.002) . Citation Format: Simona Romano, Ester Simeone, Anna D9Angelillo, Paolo D9Arrigo, Mario Capasso, Vito Alessandro Lasorsa, Martina Tufano, Anna Rea, Michele Russo, Nicola Zambrano, Paolo Antonio Ascierto, Maria Fiammetta Romano. An FKBP5-based immunophenotype for assessment of the immunosuppression status and possible prediction of immunotherapy response in melanoma patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2624. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2624


During the course of thin film deposition,the thin-film thickness wideband monitoring system is utilized,the correction of thickness monitoring depends on overlapping stage of the theoretical transmittance curve and the measured one. The absorption of thin-film material results in the measured spectrum curve deviation from the theoretical spectrum curve. A method in software brings forward, namely before the next layer will be deposited, its theoretical transmittance curve is corrected so that the absorption of layers which have been deposited has no effect on this layer, as such, the theoretical transmittance curve of the layer which will be deposited is corrected until the deposition ends.By experiment, the monitoring error of thin-film thickness is less than 10-3, the result indicates that this method can satisfy the practical requirement.


Previous studies show that the choroid can maintain its blood flow despite changes in perfusion pressure, behaviour possibly mediated by an autoregulatory mechanism. However, the choroid's rich autonomic innervation suggests possible neural involvement in the response. To evaluate the potential neural contribution, choroidal blood flow was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry over a wide range of perfusion pressure before and after ganglionic blockade in anaesthetized rabbits. Although an upward shift in the pressure-flow (P-F) curve was anticipated due to loss of adrenergic tone, ganglionic blockade shifted the P-F curve downward, prompting a search for a neural vasodilator to explain the response. Cholinergic blockade with atropine failed to alter the P-F curve suggesting little parasympathetic involvement. By contrast, inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase with nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) caused a dramatic downward shift in the P-F curve, suggesting the nitridergic nerves as the source of vasodilatory tone. However, the downward shift in the P-F curve with L-NAME was greater than seen with ganglionic blockade, indicating that endothelial NO rather than neural dilator tone predominates. Moreover, calcium channel blockade after L-NAME reversed the downward shift in the P-F curve suggesting that choroidal vascular tone is modulated by an interaction between NO and an unknown vasoconstrictor. Neither hexamethonium, losartan or a vasopressin antagonist given after L-NAME reversed the downward shift in the P-F curve, ruling out a neural vasoconstrictor, angiotensin II and vasopressin as the source of constrictor tone. Phentolamine given after L-NAME caused a small but significant reversal of the downward shift in the P-F curve, suggesting a minor adrenergic contribution. By contrast, the non-selective endothelin antagonist, A-182086, given after L-NAME significantly attenuated the choroidal constriction. These results indicate that an unknown neural dilator and locally produced NO and endothelin exert competing influences on the inherent reactivity of the choroidal resistance vessels as they respond to changes in perfusion pressure, and that this local regulation is likely modulated by extrinsic neurohumoral factors that are relatively quiet in the anesthetized rabbit.


Writing under Wartime Conditions is a study into North and South Korean literature written during the Korean War. It depicts the views and activities of the authors on war and traces the historical and social circumstances under which the writers had to write their literature. The North and South Korean wartime literature written during this period is analyzed in a comparative perspective and deals with themes such as the use and effect of propaganda literature, the contention of differing nationalist narratives, the concept of the enemy during civil war, and the image of womanhood during war. While writers of both belligerent sides show shared views in the way they envisioned the war, their own role in war, and that of their literature, the literature they produced shows differences according to the (pre-)wartime social and historical circumstances the writers found themselves in.


Fog computing is a paradigm that expands cloud computing and services to the edge of the network. Similar to cloud Fog computing implement data, compute, storage, and relevance services to end users. In this paper elaborate the advantages of Fog computing and analyze its relevance's of real scenarios, such as smart traffic lights in vehicular networks, smart grid etc. The state-of-the-art of Fog computing and parallel task under the same umbrella. Security and privacy issues are further impart according to current Fog computing paradigm. As example a typical barrage, man-in-middle barrage in Fog computing.


The Multi-Stream Dependency Detection algorithm finds rules that capture statistical dependencies between patterns in multivariate time series of categorical data [Oates and Cohen, 1996c]. Rule strength is measured by the G statistic [Wickens, 1989], and an upper bound on the value of G for the descendants of a node allows MSDD'S search space to be pruned. However, in the worst case, the algorithm will explore exponentially many rules. This paper presents and empirically evaluates two ways of addressing this problem. The first is a set of three methods for reducing the size of MSDD'S search space based on information collected during the search process. Second, we discuss an implementation of MSDD that distributes its computations over multiple machines on a network.


Utilization of land with intercrop plants can support the productivity of the land. The wide spacing of oil palm plants can be used to plant intercrops. Spice plants such as red ginger, turmeric, and cardamom are examples of intercropping plants under the shade of oil palm. This study aimed to determine the adaptability of red ginger, turmeric, and cardamom as understorey plants of different oil palm ages. The research was carried out from February to November 2021 at Sekernan, Muaro Jambi, Jambi. The study consisted of three experiments to investigate three spice plants. Each experiment used a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with oil palm ages as treatments, namely 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. Variables observed included light intensity, plant height, tiller number, leaf number, and rhizome weight. The red ginger and turmeric were considered as adaptive plants to understorey conditions due to the yield of > 60% in 15-year-old oil palm trees than those grown in non-shade conditions. Production levels of red ginger and turmeric were determined by the number of tillers and leaves. The cardamom plant under oil palm shade produced a better yield than that in control. This implies that all three spices are suitable as intercrop plants under oil palm plantations.
Keywords: cardamom; low light intensity; red ginger; shade stands; turmeric


This paper presents a new study of the effects on communications within the coastal harbor system of such environmental factors as nonstationary signal propagation characteristics and nonstationary atmospheric noise. Propagation of signals during daylight hours is predominantly by ground-wave propagation over sea water. During the evening hours, sky-wave and ground-wave propagation takes place. The noise at receiving sites during daylight hours is predominantly set by the level of galactic or man-made noise some 40 to 45 dB above thermal. During the evening hours, the level of atmospheric noise may at times reach some 90 dB above thermal. For daylight hours, it is shown that usable quality will not be achieved for distances greater than 400 mi; while at night, usable quality will be achieved beyond 200 mi with less than 20-percent probability. The conditional distribution of intraarea signal-to-interference ratio at the receiving antenna is shown to be approximately lognormal with a standard deviation of 23 dB during the day and a standard deviation of 16 dB during the night, for an area of high atmospheric noise. It is also shown that channel frequency separations of greater than 9 kHz are necessary if the probability of detecting crosstalk is to be kept below 25 percent during interfering transmissions from the same coverage area under low noise conditions. The probability of detecting intelligible crosstalk from a eochannel interferer transmitting at night from a different coverage area located from 400 to 1200 mi away could be as high as 58 percent.


Purpose The arrhythmogenic effect of stem cells transplantation (SCT) in an infarct myocardium is still unknown. We investigated arrhythmogenicity of SCT in rat cryo-infarct model. Materials and Methods In rat cryo-infarct model, bone marrow mononuclear stem cells (MNSC, 1 × 107 cells) were transplanted into the infarct border zone (BZ) of the LV epicardium. We compared the optical mapping and inducibility of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF) among normal (n = 5), cryo-infarct (n = 6), and SCT rats (n = 6). Results The VT/VF inducibility was higher in the cryoinfarct (47.2%, p = 0.001) and SCT groups (34.6%, p = 0.01) than in the normal group (12.8%). The induced VT/VF episodes persisted for more than 2 minutes in 4.3%, 26.4% and 17.3% in the normal, cryo-infarct and SCT group, respectively. In the SCT group, the action potential duration at 70% was shorter at the SCT site than the BZ during SR (75.2 ± 8.1 vs. 145.6 ± 4.4 ms, p = 0.001) and VT (78.2 ± 13.0 vs. 125.7 ± 21.0 ms, p = 0.001). Conduction block was observed at the SCT site and BZ during VT. However, no reentry or ectopic foci were observed around the SCT sites. Conclusion The electrical conduction was improved by SCT without evidence of augmentation of arrhythmia in the rat cryo-infarct model.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized neuropathologically by the cytoplasmic accumulation of misfolded α‐synuclein in specific brain regions. The endolysosomal pathway appears to be involved in α‐synuclein degradation and, thus, may be relevant to PD pathogenesis. This assumption is further strengthened by the association between PD and mutations in the gene encoding for the lysosomal hydrolase glucocerebrosidase. The objective of the present study was to determine whether endolysosomal enzyme activities in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) differ between PD patients and healthy controls. Activity levels of 6 lysosomal enzymes (β‐hexosaminidase, α‐fucosidase, β‐mannosidase, β‐galactosidase, β‐glucocerebrosidase, and cathepsin D) and 1 endosomal enzyme (cathepsin E) were measured in CSF from 58 patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1–3) and 52 age‐matched healthy controls. Enzyme activity levels were normalized against total protein levels. Normalized cathepsin E and β‐galactosidase activity levels were significantly higher in PD patients compared with controls, whereas normalized α‐fucosidase activity was reduced. Other endolysosomal enzyme activity levels, including β‐glucocerebrosidase activity, did not differ significantly between PD patients and controls. A combination of normalized α‐fucosidase and β‐galactosidase discriminated best between PD patients and controls with sensitivity and specificity values of 63%. In conclusion, the activity of a number of endolysosomal enzymes is changed in CSF from PD patients compared with healthy controls, supporting the alleged role of the endolysosomal pathway in PD pathogenesis. The usefulness of CSF endolysosomal enzyme activity levels as PD biomarkers, either alone or in combination with other markers, remains to be established in future studies. © 2013 Movement Disorder Society


We have focused on melt adsorption as manufacture method of wax matrices to control particles size of granules more easily than melt granulation. The purpose of present study was to investigate the possibility of identifying a hydrophobic material with a low melting point, currently used as a meltable binder of melt granulation, to apply as a novel carrier in melt adsorption. Glyceryl monostearate (GM) and stearic acid (SA) were selected as candidate hydrophobic materials with low melting points. Neusilin US2 (US2), with a particle diameter of around 100 µm was selected as a surface adsorbent, while dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD), was used as a non-adsorbent control to prepare melting granules as a standard for comparison. We prepared granules containing ibuprofen (IBU) by melt adsorption or melt granulation and evaluated the particle size, physical properties and crystallinity of granules. Compared with melt granulation using DCPD, melt adsorption can be performed over a wide range of 14 to 70% for the ratio of molten components. Moreover, the particle size; d50 of obtained granules was 100-200 µm, and these physical properties showed good flowability and roundness. The process of melt adsorption did not affect the crystalline form of IBU. Therefore, the present study has demonstrated for the first time that melt adsorption using a hydrophobic material, GM or SA, has the potential capability to control the particle size of granules and offers the possibility of application as a novel controlled release technique.


Layer by Layer (LbL) thin films stemming from the formation of stereocomplex between oligolactate of opposite chirality (OLLA and ODLA) covalently anchored onto poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) chains is described herein for the first time. The feasibility to construct films by sequential adsorption of PVA-g-ODLA and PVA-g-OLLA graft copolymers is undertaken through the exploitation of two different film deposition techniques, namely dip- and spin-assisted processes. For both deposition methods, infrared spectroscopy in ATR mode reveals a progressive accumulation of matter on the flat substrate during the successive cycle depositions and proves that co-crystallisation involving the two homochiral copolymers is the main driving force for the step by step film build up. Also, the effect of the deposition technique is assessed on the film features in terms of (i) growth mechanism, (ii) internal organization and (iii) surface topology. The strong centrifugal forces associated with fast solvent elimination acting during spinning lead to thinner film with more uniform and homogeneous surface morphology in a much shorter time, than the ones resulting from the dip-assisted process. Such LbL nanometric films, induced by OLLA/ODLA interfacial stereocomplexation, open promising perspectives in the field of biodegradable self-assembled films.


We study the free boundary problem for a plasma–vacuum interface in ideal incompressible magnetohydrodynamics. Unlike the classical statement when the vacuum magnetic field obeys the div‐curl system of pre‐Maxwell dynamics, to better understand the influence of the electric field in vacuum, we do not neglect the displacement current in the vacuum region and consider the Maxwell equations for electric and magnetic fields. Under the necessary and sufficient stability condition for a planar interface found earlier by Trakhinin, we prove an energy a priori estimate for the linearized constant coefficient problem. The process of derivation of this estimate is based on various methods, including a secondary symmetrization of the vacuum Maxwell equations, the derivation of a hyperbolic evolutionary equation for the interface function, and the construction of a degenerate Kreiss‐type symmetrizer for an elliptic‐hyperbolic problem for the total pressure.


This paper attempts to draw attention to the fact that groundwater electrical conductivity (EC) and pH observations may assist in the development of a conceptual model of the groundwater resources of an area under investigation. The geologic environment investigated is the Benin Formation (Coastal Plain Sands) where the main rock constituents are unconsolidated sands. Water samples were collected from 26 existing boreholes in the area and their EC and pH measurements taken. An analysis of the spatial variation of these parameters indicates that the EC and pH values of groundwater allow us to make deductions not only on the changes in the groundwater quality that may exist in the area but also to estimate relative changes in permeability of the water bearing zones in the area in which they are situated. This will guide water resources planners in making preliminary assessment of the water resources required for the development of an area. Nigerian Journal of Technology and Education in Nigeria Vol. 8(2) 2003: 76-86


This paper examines the impact of the U.S. federal R&D tax credit between 19811991 using confidential IRS data from corporate tax returns. This paper makes two key advances on previous work. First, this paper implements a new instrumental variables (IV) strategy based on tax changes that directly addresses the simultaneity of R&D spending and marginal credit rates. Second, it makes use of new restrictedaccess IRS corporate return data describing R&D expenditures. Estimates imply that a ten percent reduction in the user cost of R&D leads the average firm to increase its research intensity—the ratio of R&D spending to sales—by 10.4 percent in the short-run. Long-run estimates imply that the average firm faces adjustment costs and increases spending over time, though small and young firms show evidence of reversing initial increases. Analysis of the components of qualified research shows that wages and supplies account for the bulk of the increase in research spending. Elasticities of qualified and total research intensities from a smaller sample suggest firms respond to user cost changes largely by increasing their qualified spending, meaning that the type of R&D the federal credit deems qualified research is an important margin on which the credit a↵ects firm behavior.


shows colosimo skipping while training.bob beel a self-taught photographer established the le dawn studios in wangaratta in 1956. from 1956 to his retirement in october 1996 he recorded public events and life in north eastern victoria.title assigned by cataloguer using information inscribed in blue ballpoint pen on original envelope (retained) date inscribed in blue ballpoint pen on original envelope (retained): week ending 21-2-70 negatives single or in groups of two on horizontal strips each one measures 6 x 9 cm.


Two tree-ring width chronologies of Picea koraiensis at two altitudes in Fenglin National Nature Reserve of Xiaoxing'an Mountains, China were developed by using dendrochronological methods. To identify main limiting factors of P. koraiensis radial growth at the two altitudes, the relationships between the chronologies and local temperature, precipitation, Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), and large-scale climatic factors were investigated. Meanwhile, the reasons of P. koraiensis growth decline in recent years were also explored. Results showed that radial growth of P. koraiensis in Xiaoxing'an Mountains was mainly limited by temperatures, especially by the minimum temperature in growing season, while the limiting effect of precipitation was relatively weak. Climate responses of P. koraiensis growth at the different altitudes showed significant differences. Radial growths of P. koraiensis at the low altitude were positively correlated with precipitation in the current growth season (June-September) and whole year, and negatively correlated with soil temperatures at different depths, especially at 80 cm depth in growing season. Meanwhile, it was signi-ficantly positively correlated with PDSI in growing season. However, the relationships between radial growth of P. koraiensis at the high altitude and precipitation, air and soil temperatures, and PDSI were not significant as that at the low altitude. Growth decline of P. koraiensis in Xiaoxing'an Mountains could be related to the phase changes in Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) and Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and the significant global warming since 1980. The coupling effects of the above changes might result in increased soil evaporation and exacerbated warming and drying phenomena, consequently causing the growth decline of P. koraiensis at the low altitude.


ABSTRACT The role of students' first language(s) in foreign language classrooms has been hotly debated in the last decades. Although this line of research has advanced our understanding of language choice in the L2 classroom, it has mostly dealt with adolescent and adult learners. From a contextual perspective, then, more micro-analytic research that focuses on language choice at the primary school level is needed. Against this background, this paper presents a case study of a Danish third-grade English as a foreign language classroom, in which a pattern of divergent language choices has been observed: the teacher consistently uses English, whereas the learners almost exclusively speak Danish, which might entail trouble in maintaining intersubjectivity and a joint pedagogical focus. Using Conversation Analysis methodology, we found two sequential formats that help ensure student understanding and thus maintain intersubjectivity: (1) learner translations and reformulations for peer support in expansion sequences, and (2) expansions initiated by students requesting information or clarification that display partial or no understanding. We argue that the sense-making practices co-constructed in this classroom context are possible because the teacher encourages shared multilingual meaning-making practices. This research has implications for teaching EFL to young learners, and classroom language policies.


This paper presents a hybrid architecture for autonomous trajectory planning of agile vehicles. A velocity control system providing the ability to accurately track trajectories is combined with a maneuver scheduler that enables execution of pre-programmed agile maneuvers. The closed-loop dynamics under this control architecture are described by a simple hybrid model, consisting of a set of constrained, linear time-invariant modes and discrete fixed-duration transitions in the state space. Given these dynamics, mixed integer linear programming (MILP) is used to compute optimal trajectories in cluttered environments. Continuous constraints and binary logic are combined to model the constraints governing the dynamics, to formulate switching rules between different velocity modes, to encode execution of agile maneuvers, and to account for obstacle avoidance. Both offline time-optimal planning and online receding horizon formulations are presented. The framework is applied in detail to a small-scale helicopter, for which several receding horizon results are given. A discussion about practical considerations regarding a real-time implementation concludes the paper.


Objective. To determine whether an educational intervention could result in changes in physicians' practice behavior. Methods. Twenty rheumatologists performed a prospective chart audit of 50 consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and again after 6 months. Ten were randomized to the educational intervention: monthly Web-based conferences on the value of systematic assessments in RA, recent evidence-based information, practice efficiency, and other topics; this group also read articles on targeting care in RA. The others were randomized to no intervention. Results. One thousand serial RA charts were audited at baseline and 1000 at 6 months, with no between-group differences in patient characteristics: mean disease duration of 10 years; 77% women; 74% rheumatoid factor– positive; mean Disease Activity Score (DAS) 3.7; and 68% taking methotrexate, 14% taking steroids, and 27% taking biologics. At 6 months the intervention group collected more global assessments (patient global 53% preintervention vs 66% postintervention, and MD global 51% vs 60%; p < 0.05) and Health Assessment Questionnaires (37% vs 42%; p > 0.05; p = nonsignificant), whereas controls had no change in outcomes collected. For the intervention group there was a 32% increase in calculable composite scores [such as DAS, Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI), Clinical Disease Activity Index; p < 0.05] but no change in the controls. There was more targeting to a low disease state. For those with SDAI between 3.3 and 11, the percentage of patients receiving a change in therapy was 66% in the intervention group and 36% in controls (p < 0.05). When DAS was between 2.4 and 3.6, 57% of the intervention group and 38% of controls made changes to treatment (p < 0.05). Conclusion. Small-group learning with feedback from practice audits is an inexpensive way to improve outcomes in RA.


The political geography of Crete during the period of the Bronze Age palaces has been a subject of widespread debate, not only with respect to the timing of the island's move towards greater social and political complexity, but also with regard to the nature of the political institutions and territorial configurations that underpinned palace-centred society, as well as their longer-term stability over the course of the second millennium bc. As such, the region provides an ideal context in which to consider the broader question of how we develop robust political geographies in pre- and protohistoric contexts. This paper proposes the need for a more deliberate interlocking of computational, comparative and material approaches, as a means of guiding our political model-building efforts.


the experiment was conducted in the laboratory of agrostology, departement of animal nutrition, Bogor Agricultural University.The aim of the experiment was to study the effects of different concentration of CO2 namely 0, 40, 60, and 80%, and length of storing period namely 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days, on the viability of Leucaena (Leucaena leucoce phala (1am) de wit) seed. The results of the study showed that increasing concentration of CO2 up to 40% significantly increased germination and live seed persentage and maintained the water content constantly. Storing period up to 120 days decrease hard seed and increase live seed.there is no interaction between CO2 concentration and storing period.


Obesity predisposes animals towards the metabolic syndrome and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. Spirulina maxima is a microalga with anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and neuroprotective activities, but the anti-obesity effect of Spirulina maxima 70% ethanol extract (SM70EE) has not yet been fully established. We investigated the effect of SM70EE on adipogenesis, lipogenesis, and browning using in vitro and in vivo obesity models. SM70EE treatment reduced lipid droplet accumulation by the oil red O staining method and downregulated the adipogenic proteins C/EBPα, PPARγ, and aP2, and the lipogenic proteins SREBP1, ACC, FAS, LPAATβ, Lipin1, and DGAT1 by western blot analysis. In addition, the index components of SM70EE, chlorophyll a, and C-phycocyanin, reduced adipogenesis and lipogenesis protein levels in 3T3-L1 and C3H10T1/2 cells. High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice administered with SM70EE demonstrated smaller adipose depots and lower blood lipid concentrations than control HFD-fed mice. The lower body mass gain in treated SM70EE-administrated mice was associated with lower protein expression of adipogenesis factors and higher expression of AMPKα-induced adipose browning proteins PRDM16, PGC1α, and UCP1. SM70EE administration ameliorates obesity, likely by reducing adipogenesis and activating the thermogenic program, in 3T3-L1 cells and HFD-induced obese mice.


A gate insulator film with a wide bandgap and a high dielectric constants required to achieve high power field effect transistor (FET) using wide bandgap semiconductors such as SiC and diamond. We can achieve to suppress the gate leakage current and the charge shifts by using the AlSiO film. We found that the leakage current of Nitrogen-doped AlSiO film can be suppressed in high temperature region compared with AlSiO film. In addition, we attempted to study Yttrium aluminate (YAlO) and Lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO) as a gate insulator film. Since the Y (+3) and La(+3) have the same valence as Al (+3), it is expected that there is an advantage that Y, La doping generates less dangling bonds in the Al2O3 film. We can achieve to form aluminum based oxide film with higher dielectric constant by doping Lanthanoid atoms such as Y and La. The optimized YAlO and LaAlO films were applied to SiC-MIS structure. The Lanthanoid and Aluminum based oxide films can readily be applicable to wide bandgap semiconductor devices.


Purpose. The aim of the three studies in this article was to develop a way to include dual tasking in speech restructuring treatment for persons who stutter (PWS). It is thought that this may help clients maintain the benefits of treatment in the real world, where attentional resources are frequently diverted away from controlling fluency by the demands of other tasks. Method. In Part 1, 17 PWS performed a story-telling task and a computer semantic task simultaneously. Part 2 reports the incorporation of the Part 1 protocol into a handy device for use in a clinical setting (the Dual Task and Stuttering Device, DAS-D). Part 3 is a proof of concept study in which three PWS reported on their experiences of using the device during treatment. Results. In Part 1, stuttering frequency and errors on the computer task both increased under dual task conditions, indicating that the protocol would be appropriate for use in a clinical setting. All three participants in Part 3 reported positively on their experiences using the DAS-D. Conclusions. Dual tasking during treatment using the DAS-D appears to be a viable clinical procedure. Further research is required to establish effectiveness.


A survey of 80 translation scholars in South Korea was conducted
 to shed light on their professional backgrounds and how their profiles compare
 with those of the translation scholars in Europe surveyed by Torres-Simón and Pym in 2016. The
 survey results suggest that Korean scholars tend to be younger than scholars in
 Europe (84 percent of the former are under fifty, compared to 68 percent of the
 latter), more female-dominated (85 percent versus 70 percent), and less
 internationally mobile. The great majority of both Korean scholars (84 percent)
 and scholars in Europe (96 percent) have translated or interpreted on a regular
 basis. Both groups generally agree that there is a beneficial relationship
 between translation theory and practice. In both samples, the respondents who
 said practice helps theory outnumber those that said theory helps practice. The
 last section of this study is a word-cloud analysis on the adjectives that
 Korean scholars used to describe the relationship between theory and
 practice.


The prevalence of subsequent acute histologic chorioamnionitis was in 8% (11/145) and that of spontaneous preterm delivery was 5% (7/138). Women who were initially diagnosed a short cervix at 28–30 weeks were significantly more likely to have subsequent histologic chorioamnionitis and spontaneous preterm delivery than those who were not. The mean cervical lengths at 20–25 weeks and 28–30 weeks were significantly shorter in women who delivered preterm than in those who delivered at term. Conclusions: In twin gestations, a short cervix initially detected by transvaginal ultrasound at 28–30 weeks is associated with an increased risk of the subsequent histologic chorioamnionitis and the occurrence of spontaneous preterm delivery. Our findings support the hypothesis that a short cervix in asymptomatic pregnant women predisposes to ascending intrauterine infection.


INTRODUCTION: The goal of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of the complete urodynamic office evaluation. This assistance modality consists on the realisation in the same moment of the clinical chart, physical examination, urodynamic study, report, therapeutic indications, program of other complementary studies, hospitalisation or discharge from the outpatient office. PATIENTS AND METHODS: During 1 year complete urodynamic office evaluation was performed to 100 patients (87 female, 13 male) All patients were directed to our department to perform a urodynamic test, most of them due to incontinence. Different kinds of urodynamic tests were performed in 91 patients, with a medium of 2 studies per test. Abnormalities were detected in 59 cases. RESULTS: After the complete urodynamic office evaluation, 16 patients were programmed for surgery, 26 were discharged from outpatient office, 37 were directed to follow up in the outpatient setting, 2 were hospitalised, and 19 were lost of follow up. CONCLUSIONS: The complete urodynamic office evaluation allowed us to get the diagnostic and therapeutic approach in 98% of patients, employing a standard of 90 minutes. Twenty six percent of patients could be discharged from our center. Sixteen patients were operated on following this unique visit, that means an important reduction in the usual assistance delay.


The use of flagella by sessile organisms to generate feeding currents is analysed. The organism consists of a spherical cell body (radius A) to which a smooth flagellum (radius a, length L) is attached radially. The cell body is a height H above the plane substrate to which it is rigidly attached via a stalk. The organism propagates plane sinusoidal waves (amplitude α, wavenumber k) from base to tip. The flagellum is represented by distributions of stokeslets and dipoles along its centre-line. The cell body and substrate are modelled by employing an approximate form of the Green's function for the sphere in the half space. The error terms in the model are O(a/L) and O(A2/H2). The analysis and method of solution are adapted from Higdon (1979). The mean flow rate and power consumption are calculated for a wide range of parameters. Optimal motions are determined with the criterion of minimizing the power required to achieve a given flow rate. The optimum wave has maximum slope in the range 2 < αk < 2·5 (compared to the optimum value αk = 1 for swimming). The optimum number of waves Nλ increases linearly with flagellar length for L/A > 10 and is approximately constant, Nλ = 1, for shorter flagella. The optimum flagellar length is in the range 5 < L/A < 10. There is no optimum flagellar radius a/A. For optimal efficiency, the height H should be greater than or equal to the length of the flagellum. The optimum values of the parameters are compared to the values for the choano-flagellates described by Lapage (1925) and Sleigh (1964). Excellent agreement is found between the predicted optima and the observed values. The calculated velocity field closely resembles the flow described by Sleigh and Lapage.


Amorphous tungsten oxide exhibits electrochromism when intercalated with protons, lithium, sodium, and other ions. Thin films of the material were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering and then electrochemically intercalated with lithium. The optical absorption in the wavelength range of 300–2500nm was measured for a number of lithium concentrations. The optical absorption shows a maximum for lithium/tungsten ratios of 0.3–0.5. The optical spectra can be fitted by a superposition of three Gaussian peaks, representing the three possible electronic transitions between W6+, W5+, and W4+ sites. The variation of the peak strength with lithium concentration is consistent with an extended site-saturation theory.


Stricter regulations enforcement by many countries has led to utilization of catalytic converters to treat exhaust emission. Commercial catalytic converters use honeycomb monolith structure with uniform-sized and parallel channels. However, ceramic open cell foam has received particular attention and has been proposed as an alternative structure as a substrate in catalytic converters. This porous ceramic/zeolite combines interconnecting channels to promote radial mixing and enhance turbulence together with zeolite; microporous solid known as molecular sieve with the ability to absorb molecules based on size exclusion process. Most current research is focused on the synthesized zeolite and its coating on the surface of ceramic foam. This project focuses on developing and testing porous ceramic/zeolite to treat emissions fiom petrol engines. It involves of three major tasks: preparation and characterization of alumina and natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) in producing porous ceramic/zeolite filter. Second and third task involve experimental and numerical work in determining pressure drop characteristics and its effects on engine performance for cars and motorcycles application. Under task 1, sample prepamtion of alumina and zeolite are using two methods: casting and polymeric sponge. The purpose is to determine appropriate alumina loading and sintering profile of the sample. The sintered porous ceramic bodies are characterized by their physical and mechanical properties i.e. flexural strength, hardness, porosity and density. The samples which can meet requirement in engine exhaust system are selected to be tested further. Under task 2, determination of pressure drop characteristics using blower facility is conducted for different configurations of filters for motorcycles and cars application. It uses digital pressure manometer to measure pressure drop, pitot probe to determine air flow rate and K-type thermocouple for air temperature. In numerical analysis, it uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to predict the pressure drop and to conduct laboratory studies for validation and actual application test of several configurations. Task 3 includes engine performance test which invalves severaI parameters i.e. power, torque, engine speed, exhaust temperature and filter temperature conducted using a chassis dynamometer under several different configurations of porous cerarnic/zeolite filter. These tests are performed on both motorcycle and car= In all performance tests, gas analyzer is used to determine emissions of hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) before and after installation of filter in the system. Results presented here are focused on system performance of the porous ceramic/zeolite filter ability to reduce emissions without aff'ecting engine performance. In terms as emission, it is observed that reduction of emission typically ranged fiom 25 % to 60 % without affecting power and torque of the engine. Based on the results obtained, porous ceramic/zeolite has indicated its advantages by reducing emissions fiom gasoline engines without affecting overall engine performance.


The most common cause of foot pain concluded from a study of International Communications Research for Temple University School of Pediatric Medicine is improper fitting of shoes. Many people do not give much attention to shoe selection. They only consider the style and the brand, but not the fit when buying shoes. This may invite problems to their feet. With this, a reliable, accurate and user-friendly PC-Based Shoe Size Measurement with Inventory System was developed with the goal of improving customer satisfaction to provide a superior fit between consumers' feet and their shoes. The system has a device that measures foot sizes interfaced to a computer program that monitors the availability of shoe brand, size, price, and the number of stocks available. It lessens the work of shoe sales personnel by getting the right shoe that helps minimize errors and efforts in shoe fitting. Foot size guessing by customers will also be avoided.


I. INTRODUCTION Advances in computer technology have allowed more information to be stored digitally and have permitted a greater number of people to own a personal computer. Additionally, legal professionals increasingly use digital information as sources for evidence in criminal cases.1 The use of computers presents new questions and problems for traditional Fourth Amendment searchand-seizure doctrines.2 For example, does the information storagecapacity of computers, and the highly personal information stored therein heighten personal privacy interests in computers above those in traditional documents? Additionally, should the government be limited in its electronic searches of personal computers or in its ability to recover deleted or discarded information on a personal computer? Courts confronted with cases regarding searches and seizures of computers need to adequately recognize and carefully analyze the new and unique characteristics of computers, or else the courts will fail to respect the proper balance between individual citizens' privacy interests and the government's interests in enforcing the law. In United States v. Cotterman,3 the Ninth Circuit failed to recognize a proper balance of Fourth Amendment interests and erred in holding that a border search of a laptop in a forensic computer laboratory is constitutional absent reasonable suspicion.4 The court failed to adequately weigh individual privacy interests against the government's interests in performing its Fourth Amendment reasonableness evaluation. The court also failed to recognize that a forensic search of a computer is particularly offensive. The Ninth Circuit should have recognized the distinct privacy interests that are violated by a forensic computer examination and should have required reasonable suspicion. II. FOURTH AMENDMENT RESTRICTION ON SEARCHES AND SEIZURES AND THE BORDERSEARCH DOCTRINE The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures.5 Generally, a search or seizure is unreasonable unless government agents have probable cause that a crime has been, or is being, committed.6 However, many exceptions to the general rule exist. For example, some searches require only reasonable suspicion of the commission of a crime,7 which is a lower standard of proof than probable cause.8 Other searches require no suspicion at all.9 The exception to the probable-cause requirement pertinent to Cotterman is the border-search doctrine. Two Supreme Court cases and one Ninth Circuit case have developed the border-search doctrine regarding searches of computers and whether reasonable suspicion is required. This Note discusses the basics of the bordersearch doctrine and these cases below. To begin, the premise of the border-search doctrine is that "searches made at the border, pursuant to the long-standing right of the sovereign to protect itself by stopping and examining persons and property crossing into this country, are reasonable simply by virtue of the fact that they occur at the border."10 The rationale for the doctrine is that border searches and seizures "are justified by the national interests of the sovereign state in preventing the entry of undesirable persons and prohibited goods."11 Additionally, individuals have a lower expectation of privacy at the border because a reasonable person understands that she is subject to customs inspections when entering a country.12 While the Constitution permits routine border searches and seizures without any particularized suspicion, some nonroutine searches and seizures at the border require reasonable suspicion.13 A. Reasonable Suspicion at the Border: Montoya de Hernandez In United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, the Supreme Court held that reasonable suspicion justified detention - or temporary seizure - of a traveler "beyond the scope of a routine customs search and inspection," in which the traveler was suspected of alimentarycanal smuggling. …


We study the crystal structure of Pd(100) ultrathin films, which show ferromagnetism induced by the quantum confinement effect, using in-situ X-ray crystal truncation rod measurement and density functional calculation. The energy gain due to the appearance of ferromagnetism in Pd results in flatter and uniform film growth of ferromagnetic Pd films compared with paramagnetic Pd. In addition, ferromagnetic Pd films expand the lattice constant in order to suppress the increase in kinetic energy of electrons accompanied by the occurrence of exchange splitting. Although the traditional theory of magnetism in metals indicates that the increase in density of states that induces ferromagnetism (Stoner criterion), our present finding reveals a mechanism of modulation in the density of states via the appearance of ferromagnetism, i.e., the inverse mechanism of Stoner's theory.


Abstract The European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is known to be affected by such stress factors as pathogen load, poor nutrition and depressed immunity. Nosema ceranae is one of the main parasites that affect colony populations. The relationship between the stress factors and honey bee-bacteria symbiosis appears as an alternative to enhance bee health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the oral administration of bacterial metabolites produced by Lactobacillus johnsonii AJ5 on nutritional parameters, the N. ceranae development and the performance of A. mellifera colonies. Laboratory assays were performed and demonstrated that the bacterial metabolites did not have a toxic effect on bees. Field trial showed an increase of colonies population over time. Also, a decreasing trend of fat bodies per bee was detected in all colonies but there were no evident changes on abdomen protein content at the end of the assay. Lastly, N. ceranae prevalence showed a tendency to reduce with the organic acids. Future studies should be performed to increase our knowledge of the physiological effects of bacterial metabolites on the health of bee colonies.


Since the advent of the movement toward the use of electronic medical records, an axiom in the promotion of electronic health records (EHRs) has been the idea that the use of EHRs will reduce medical errors. Certainly, there are countless examples of how technology can improve the health care experience and aid providers in reducing medical errors, including errors of medication administration, medication management, access to decision support tools, telemedicine, immediate access to diagnostic tests and other clinical information and treatment results—just to name a few. Even with such improvements, however, EHRs have not entirely eliminated medical errors and new technology has in fact created its own challenges and issues that might lead to liability in a different way. As the use of EHRs proliferates, so too does the reliance of healthcare workers on the systems themselves and the inevitable blame game wherein an individual claims that whatever errors occurred were the result of "the computer" or the "system" that dictated the manner in which the care was provided or the manner in which the services were reimbursed. Ultimately, this "blame game" leads all to ask the question—whose fault is that? Can one blame the EHR vendor? To the extent that the answer may in fact be "Yes," and the EHR vendor is at fault, are such claims easy to maintain? Historically, providers and other purchasers of EHRs have had little leverage against EHR vendors. One of the primary challenges arises out of the contract between the provider-purchaser and the EHR vendor. Ultimately, the purchase or licensing of an EHR system is actually just the purchase or licensing of software and, as such, the contracts resemble standard software licensing agreements, replete with disclaimers of implied and express warranties and "hold-harmless" or indemnification clauses that protect the vendor from third party liability. Recent litigation—including one particular case involving the federal government's allegations of fraud—has started to erode the disconnect between the potential responsibility of the EHR vendor and the ability to hold the vendor actually liable for its actions related to its software.
On May 31, 2017, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a $155 million settlement with eClinicalWorks (eCW), one of the nation's largest electronic health records vendors, to resolve a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit in which the DOJ alleged that eCW caused the submission of false claims for federal incentive payments made under the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. This settlement is unique not only because of the rarity of settlements or judgments against an entity based on an allegation that the falsity was in causing another to submit a false claim—as opposed to an action against an entity that has falsely filed its own claim and received payment directly—but also because it is one of the first of its kind against an EHR vendor. Following this case, many are wondering whether this settlement with eCW stands alone as an example of the government simply snaring one "bad actor," or if this settlement is indicative of what might lie ahead for EHR vendors under the FCA. Will the FCA be a new tool under which EHR vendors are going to be held responsible for the role that their software might play in the delivery of care or the billing and collection of services rendered? Indeed, many in the information technology industry took note of this settlement and have speculated that this may not be a singular incident. Farzad Mostahsari—former National Coordinator for Health IT—stated, "Let me be plain-spoken. eClinicalWorks is not the only EHR vendor who flouted certification/misled customers[.] Other vendors better clean up."
Is Mr. Mostahsari correct and this could be a sign of things to come if EHR vendors are not careful about their actions? This Article will examine the existing eCW settlement agreement, along with other case law against EHR vendors, to determine whether this settlement is simply an outlier among FCA cases, meant only to punish particularly egregious behavior, or the beginning of a new era of FCA activity akin to other industries, like the pharmaceutical industry. Part II of this Article will provide a brief history of the FCA and the instances in which the DOJ has utilized provisions under the law against entities that or individuals who cause another to submit a false claim or make a material, false record. It will further review the types of cases outside of the FCA context that have been filed against EHR vendors since providers began more widespread adoption of EHR systems, especially after the enactment of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and the EHR Incentive Program. Part III will then study the eCW case in more detail, examining the actions that led to the settlement and determine whether such actions are an indication of a new era of FCA cases and EHR vendor liability. Part III will additionally examine existing case law against EHR vendors to determine whether any patterns can be gleaned from the cases that will predict the continued use of the FCA as an enforcement tool against EHR vendors. In Part IV, this Article will argue that, although the eCW case is based on unique facts, it is likely that EHR vendors will face other FCA cases as the healthcare industry places increasing responsibility and reliance on electronic systems. These suits will likely include allegations of fraud arising not only out of the EHR Incentive Program but also the submission of claims more generally. Unlike in other FCA cases involving entities that do not contract directly with the federal government, however, it is unlikely that the federal government will be able to realize as much success or generate the same type of monetary rewards against EHR vendors as it has against the pharmaceutical industry because of the distinctions between these two disparate sectors of the health care industry. Finally, the Article will conclude by providing some thoughts on the impact of the eCW settlement agreement, which puts the EHR industry on notice regarding the potential for future liability.


Quantifying the exercise effect (EE) on glucose turnover is fundamental for type 1 diabetes (T1D) management. We recently proposed a model describing EE on insulin-dependent and -independent glucose utilization in subjects with and without T1D (ND). However, to date, a model of EE on endogenous glucose production (EGP) is still lacking. To do so, we analysed existing data on 6 T1D (age 29±3 yrs, BMI 28.3±2.0 kg/m2, VO2 max 28.7±2.9 ml/kg/min, mean±SE) and 6 ND (age=28.2±4.2 yr, BMI=23.6 ±1.0 kg/m2, VO2 max 36.6±2.9 ml/kg/min) subjects studied with a glucose clamp, during, before and after a 60 min aerobic exercise session at 65% VO2max on three visits: euglycemia-low insulin (V1); euglycemia-high insulin (V2) and hyperglycemia-low insulin (V3) in random order. EGP was measured with the isotope dilution technique using [6,6-2H2]glucose. A battery of models was tested against data to assess if EE on EGP is mediated by insulin, glucose or both. The best model (Fig 1) provided a good description of the data in both groups. Results show that EE on EGP is delayed and insulin mediated. Further studies are needed to validate the model in real life conditions thus making it usable for optimization of insulin therapy. Disclosure D. Romeres: None. M. Schiavon: None. R. Visentin: None. A. Basu: Consultant; Spouse/Partner; GENFIT. Research Support; Spouse/Partner; AstraZeneca. C. Cobelli: None. R. Basu: Consultant; Self; GENFIT. Research Support; Self; AstraZeneca. C. Dalla Man: Research Support; Self; Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH. Funding Italian Ministry of Education (232/2016); National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK029953 to R.B.), (DK085516 to A.B.)


Background / Context Medical advances have led to more children with life-limiting conditions surviving into adulthood with an increasing number accessing adult Specialist Palliative Care (SPC) services. These young adults often have conditions unfamiliar to adult SPC professionals, who may be inexperienced in caring for their complex needs. Results from previous research carried out by the same team, identified a need for a training/education programme for adult SPC professionals and provided recommendations regarding content and delivery. Aim To develop a training programme to help up skill and build confidence in adult SPC professionals regarding the care of young adults with life-limiting conditions. Approach Used A project team, consisting of children's and adult palliative care providers, researchers and the All Wales Palliative Care Transition Lead, was convened to design a purposeful and effective training. The training was specifically created such that it would be suitable for a multi-disciplinary audience which would provide a comprehensive grounding if completed, but could also be delivered piecemeal so that participants had as much flexibility as possible regarding attendance. The content was informed by previous research. Outcomes A series of six linked study days was designed such that each day could be attended as standalone, but those attending all of the days would have a comprehensive grounding in young adult care. Each study day includes a balance of clinical, practical and psychosocial topics suitable for a multi-disciplinary audience. Training will be delivered between June 2013 and June 2014. Application to Hospice Practice The study day series is open to all professionals working in adult hospices who may increasingly be called upon to care for young people with life-limiting conditions. By improving the knowledge and skill base of these professionals, professional confidence will increase and lead to an improvement of care for these young people.


I–III–VI chalcogenide quantum dots (QDs) are regarded as the most promising downconverters for the fabrication of high-efficiency, high-color rendering solid-state lighting devices, particularly enabled by their exceptional photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields (QYs) along with substantially Stokes-shifted, broad PL characters. In this work, we first synthesize highly efficient green Cu–Ga–S (CGS) and red Cu–In–S (CIS) QDs, having PL QYs of 85 and 83%, respectively, after elaborate ZnS shelling. Then, these two QD emitters that are well color-separated are simply copackaged in a single blue LED chip for the fabrication of tricolored white QD-light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs). A series of white QD-LEDs with this novel QD combination are prepared by varying the weight ratio of the two QDs loaded. A QD-LED with an optimal weight ratio between CGS and CIS QDs produces a spectrally well-balanced tricolored white electroluminescence, possessing not only near-ideal color rendering index values of 94–97 but high luminous efficacies of 43.1–68.8 lm W−1, depending on the driving current.


To understand spatial and temporal continuing occurrence patterns and relationships of Cyprideis torosa to several physicochemical variables, monthly samples from seven stations were collected from Kocaçay Delta (Bursa, Turkey) between 2018 and 2019. Four (C. torosa, Koencypris ornata, Candona lindneri, Candona meerfeldiana) of 14 ostracod taxa are new records for the ostracod fauna of Bursa province where total numbers of recent species increased to 33. Cyprideis torosa was the only dominant species found in almost all samples throughout the sampling. Based on carapace type of the species, three groups can be divided as i) Type-1 (smooth carapaces), ii) Type-2 (noded carapaces), and iii) Type-3 (both carapaces noded on one valve and smooth on the other). Different occurrence patterns of the species with overlapping ecological ranges were observed among the stations. Except for station 1, all the types were encountered from other stations. Beginning from December 2018, nearly all populations had mostly Type-1 individuals until the end of March. During April-May, individuals with Types-2 and 3 appear to increase until the end of October while individuals in Type-2 group were solely found from three stations (2, 3 and 5) in March and May 2018. There was a significant difference in salinity, magnesium, and calcium values among the stations (P < 0.05) but only total nitrogen, temperature and calcium showed a medium correlation to carapace type. In all cases, populations with noded individuals were found in narrower ecological ranges for those variables than other populations with smooth individuals.


Successful petroleum drilling largely depends on the type and quality of mud used in the process. There exist many types of muds, which differ in use and composition. Certain muds are composed of materials that can cause damage to the formation and the bottom-hole. This has resulted in the search for alternatives mud additives or addition of new materials to minimize the damage of the formation and enhance the stability of the wellbore. Several bodies of literature exist that research different sources of mud functions and additives, also their effect on the drilling process, the production zone and the environment. Density is one of the main properties of drilling mud because it is the responsible in controlling the formations pressure. So, many weighting agents exist to increase the density of drilling mud. Barite (BaSO4) has a specific gravity of 4.2–4.5 and hardness 2.5-3.5. It has been the most common weight material used in drilling fluids, it is preferred to other weighting materials because of its low cost and high purity but its main disadvantage that its composed of large amount of insoluble acid which damage the formation due to the invasion of the solids into the production zone. A new weighting agent that can be used instead of barite would be a new innovation in the oil field. Siderite (FeCO3) is a weighting material which has a specific gravity of 3.9 and a hardness of 3.5 and makes the mud weighted up to 20 lb/ gal. It is specified by a high acid solubility which didn't cause damage to the formation compared to barite. So, it can be used as an alternative weighting material in both oil and water muds due to its high specific gravity and high acid solubility.