TRMM microwave imager rain estimates are used to quantify the spatial distribution of rainfall in tropical cyclones (TCs) over the global oceans. A total of 260 TCs were observed worldwide from 1 January 1998‐31 December 2000, providing 2121 instantaneous TC precipitation observations. To examine the relationship between the storm intensity, its geographical location, and the rainfall distribution, the dataset is stratified into three intensity groups and six oceanic basins. The three intensity classes used in this study are tropical storms (TSs) with winds ,33 m s21, category 1‐2 hurricane-strength systems (CAT12) with winds from 34‐48 m s21, and category 3‐5 systems (CAT35) with winds .49 m s21. The axisymmetric component of the TC rainfall is represented by the radial distribution of the azimuthal mean rainfall rates ( R). The mean rainfall distribution is computed using 10-km annuli from the storm center to a 500-km radius. The azimuthal mean rain rates vary with storm intensity and from basin to basin. The maximum R is about 12 mm h21 for CAT35, but decreases to 7m m h 21 for CAT12, and to 3 mm h21 for TS. The radius from the storm center of the maximum rainfall decreases with increasing storm intensity, from 50 km for TS to 35 km for CAT35 systems. The asymmetric component is determined by the first-order Fourier decomposition in a coordinate system relative to the storm motion. The asymmetry in TC rainfall varies significantly with both storm intensity and geographic locations. For the global average of all TCs, the maximum rainfall is located in the front quadrants. The location of the maximum rainfall shifts from the front-left quadrant for TS to the front-right for CAT35. The amplitude of the asymmetry varies with intensity as well; TS shows a larger asymmetry than CAT12 and CAT35. These global TC rainfall distributions and variability observed in various ocean basins should help to improve TC rainfall forecasting worldwide.


Objective: To analyze osteopontin mRNA expression levels in subjects with periodontitis prior to (baseline) and 7, 14, and 28 days following scaling and root planing (SRP).  Material and Methods: Gingival crevicular fluid was collected as clinical samples from four subjects with periodontitis (pocket depth, 4 - 5 mm) aged 35 - 54 years old as well as from three healthy subjects (controls). The osteopontin mRNA expression levels were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Spearman's rank correlation between osteopontin levels in gingival crevicular fluid and the modified gingival index (MGI) was also performed.  Results: The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed no significant difference in osteopontin mRNA expression levels between baseline and 28 days following SRP (p=0.068). The Friedman test showed no significant difference in osteopontin mRNA expression levels between baseline and following SRP (7, 14, or 28 days) (p>0.05). Spearman's rank correlation showed no significant correlation between osteopontin mRNA expression levels and MGI (r=0.087; p=0.749).  Conclusion: Following SRP of periodontal tissue, there was a decreasing trend in osteopontin mRNA expression; however, this finding was not statistically significant. Nevertheless, osteopontin can be used as a biomarker to monitor the healing process; however, further studies are required to clarify our results.


Stimulating deep inside the brain Noninvasive deep brain stimulation is an important goal in neuroscience and neuroengineering. Optogenetics normally requires the use of a blue laser inserted into the brain. Chen et al. used specialized nanoparticles that can upconvert near-infrared light from outside the brain into the local emission of blue light (see the Perspective by Feliu et al.). They injected these nanoparticles into the ventral tegmental area of the mouse brain and activated channelrhodopsin expressed in dopaminergic neurons with near-infrared light generated outside the skull at a distance of several millimeters. This technique allowed distant near-infrared light to evoke fast increases in dopamine release. The method was also used successfully to evoke fear memories in the dentate gyrus during fear conditioning. Science, this issue p. 679; see also p. 633 Optogenetic experiments can be performed inside the mouse brain by using near-infrared light applied outside the skull. Optogenetics has revolutionized the experimental interrogation of neural circuits and holds promise for the treatment of neurological disorders. It is limited, however, because visible light cannot penetrate deep inside brain tissue. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) absorb tissue-penetrating near-infrared (NIR) light and emit wavelength-specific visible light. Here, we demonstrate that molecularly tailored UCNPs can serve as optogenetic actuators of transcranial NIR light to stimulate deep brain neurons. Transcranial NIR UCNP-mediated optogenetics evoked dopamine release from genetically tagged neurons in the ventral tegmental area, induced brain oscillations through activation of inhibitory neurons in the medial septum, silenced seizure by inhibition of hippocampal excitatory cells, and triggered memory recall. UCNP technology will enable less-invasive optical neuronal activity manipulation with the potential for remote therapy.


In this paper, a model based on GMDH Type Neural Network, is used to predict gas price in the spot market while using oil spot market price, gas spot market price, gas future market price, oil future market price and average temperature of the weather. The results suggest that GMDH Neural Network model, according to the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Direction statistics (Dstat) statistics are more effective than OLS method. Also, first lag of gas price in the futu re market is the most efficient variable in predicting gas price in spot market.


Single-walled carbon nanotubes are functionalized with copper hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles for the liquid-solid extraction of cesium from liquid waste and contaminated water. The functionalization process is followed mainly by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Indeed, determining the chemical environment around carbon or nitrogen atoms allows to evidence the formation of covalent bounding. In addition, the signatures of iron and copper ions give information on the effective growth of hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles. Furthermore, the cesium sorption mechanism is investigated by comparing the peak intensities associated to the response of potassium and cesium ions. Finally, based on the liquid chromatography analyzes, the sorption of cesium with the functionalized carbon supports is studied. The main results of this work are the demonstration of both a good selectivity of cesium trapping and a high sorption capacity by hybrid single-walled carbon nanotubes.


This paper describes a range of procedural techniques being developed to allow historic building styles to be modelled in a rapid manner, suitable for extremely fast rendering. We are expecting these tools to be used to model large-scale urban virtual-environments, from ancient Rome to modern day Hong Kong.When creating large scenes, there are two particular problems that we need to address and overcome. Firstly, the need to model scenes efficiently leads to a sense of repetition of the models as a small number of individual models is used repeatedly. We believe that it is now feasible to avoid the sense of repetition by using models drawn from a large library of prototypes according to some well-defined tools. By using procedural modelling we hope to speed up the model-building process while providing a number of other benefits.The other problem with large scenes comes with rendering them at an acceptable frame rate. By incorporating our modellers with the scenegraph being used to render them, a series of techniques and attributes may be applied to the models to cull out geometry not visible to the viewer, and to provide smoother transitions between varying levels of detail, avoiding artefacts such as geometry popping.As well as describing how the approach can be used in particular applications we describe the architecture and implementation of the modelling tools. Finally we show how the approach can be extended to other architectural styles and the working environment customised.


Background: Chk1 inhibitors are currently in clinical trials as putative potentiators of cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs. Chk1 inhibitors may exhibit single agent anti-tumor activity in cancers with underlying DNA repair, DNA damage response or DNA replication defects. Methods: Here we describe the cellular effects of the pharmacological inhibition of the checkpoint kinase Chk1 by the novel inhibitor V158411 in triple-negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Cytotoxicity, the effect on DNA damage response and cell cycle along with the ability to potentiate gemcitabine and cisplatin cytotoxicity in cultured cells was investigated. Western blotting of proteins involved in DNA repair, checkpoint activation, cell cycle and apoptosis was used to identify potential predictive biomarkers of Chk1 inhibitor sensitivity. Results: The Chk1 inhibitors V158411, PF-477736 and AZD7762 potently inhibited the proliferation of triple-negative breast cancer cells as well as ovarian cancer cells, and these cell lines were sensitive compared to ER positive breast and other solid cancer cells lines. Inhibition of Chk1 in these sensitive cell lines induced DNA damage and caspase-3/7 dependent apoptosis. Western blot profiling identified pChk1 (S296) as a predictive biomarker of Chk1 inhibitor sensitivity in ovarian and triple-negative breast cancer and pH2AX (S139) in luminal breast cancer. Conclusions: This finding suggests that Chk1 inhibitors either as single agents or in combination chemotherapy represents a viable therapeutic option for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. pChk1 (S296) tumor expression levels could serve as a useful biomarker to stratify patients who might benefit from Chk1 inhibitor therapy.


The Glossop Lecture has been initiated as the most prestigious lecture of the Engineering Group of the Geological Society, to be presented by an invited eminent engineering geologist. The requirement for the presentation is that it should highlight the contribution made in the application of engineering geology to civil engineering. This may be achieved by utilizing a subject that illustrates a particular expertise or summarizes a significant contribution to the science by the invitee. Alternatively, the speaker may choose to highlight a significant case history. I am delighted that our first Glossop lecturer is Professor Peter Fookes, an engineering geologist who I am sure needs little introduction to the majority of you. The committee had little difficulty in agreeing that he was the most appropriate, indeed the outstanding choice. His breadth of experience is phenomenal and so tonight you will be privileged to hear what is effectively an overview of geology and engineering. What could be better suited to the first of our Glossop lectures? Peter began his career as a soil chemistry technician in the 1950s before gaining his first degree in geology at Queen Mary College, London. During this time he developed an interest in engineering and after graduation he secured a job as a field geologist with Binnie, Deacon and Gourley, now Binnie, Black and Veitch, in West Pakistan working on the Mangla Dam. He started and completed an external PhD on the engineering characteristics of Siwalik Clays under the supervision of Professor A. W. Skempton. At


MacDonald JK, Pyle WG, Reitz CJ, Howlett SE. Cardiac contraction, calcium transients, and myofilament calcium sensitivity fluctuate with the estrous cycle in young adult female mice. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 306: H938–H953, 2014. First published January 24, 2014; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00730.2013.—This study established conditions to induce regular estrous cycles in female C57BL/6J mice and investigated the impact of the estrous cycle on contractions, Ca transients, and underlying cardiac excitation-contraction (EC)-coupling mechanisms. Daily vaginal smears from group-housed virgin female mice were stained to distinguish estrous stage (proestrus, estrus, metestrus, diestrus). Ventricular myocytes were isolated from anesthetized mice. Contractions and Ca transients were measured simultaneously (4 Hz, 37°C). Interestingly, mice did not exhibit regular cycles unless they were exposed to male pheromones in bedding added to their cages. Field-stimulated myocytes from mice in estrus had larger contractions ( 2-fold increase), larger Ca transients ( 1.11-fold increase), and longer action potentials ( 2-fold increase) compared with other stages. Larger contractions and Ca transients were not observed in estrus myocytes voltage-clamped with shorter action potentials. Voltage-clamp experiments also demonstrated that estrous stage had no effect on Ca current, EC-coupling gain, diastolic Ca , sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca content, or fractional release. Although contractions were largest in estrus, myofilament Ca sensitivity was lowest (EC50 values 1.15-fold higher) in conjunction with increased phosphorylation of myosin binding protein C in estrus. Contractions were enhanced in ventricular myocytes from mice in estrus because action potential prolongation increased SR Ca release. These findings demonstrate that cyclical changes in reproductive hormones associated with the estrous cycle can influence myocardial electrical and contractile function and modify Ca homeostasis. However, such changes are unlikely to occur in female mice housed in groups under conventional conditions, since these mice do not exhibit regular estrous cycles.


Unusual geologic and geochemical relations are preserved along the contact between intracaldera tuff and a resurgent intrusion within the 26.9 Ma Turkey Creek caldera of southeast Arizona. Thick intracaldera tuff is weakly argillically altered throughout, except in zones within several hundred meters of its contact with the resurgent intrusion, where the groundmass of the tuff has been variably converted to granophyre and unaltered sanidine phenocrysts are present. Dikes of similarly granophyric material originate at the tuff-resurgent intrusion contact and intrude overlying intracaldera megabreccia and tuff. Field relations indicate that the resurgent intrusion is a laccolith and that it caused local partial melting of adjacent intracaldera tuff. Geochemical and petrographic relations indicate that small volumes of partially melted intracaldera tuff assimilated and mixed with dacite of the resurgent intrusion along their contact, resulting in rocks that have petrographic and compositional characteristics transitional between those of tuff and dacite. Some of this variably contaminated, second-generation magma coalesced, was mobilized, and was intruded into overlying intracaldera rocks. Interpretation of the resurgent intrusion in the Turkey Creek and other calderas as intracaldera laccoliths suggests that intrusions of this type may be a common, but often unrecognized, feature of calderas. Development of granophyric and anatectic features such as those described here may be equally common in other calderas. The observations and previously undocumented processes described here can be applied to identification and interpretation of similarly enigmatic relations and rocks in other caldera systems. Integration of large-scale field mapping with detailed petrographic and chemical data has resulted in an understanding of otherwise intractable but petrologically important caldera-related features.


As part of their SMS, aviation service providers are required to develop and maintain the means to verify the safety performance of their organisation and to validate the effectiveness of safety risk controls. Furthermore, service providers must verify the safety performance of their organisation with reference to the safety perfor-mance indicators and safety performance targets of the SMS in support of their organisation's safety objectives. However, SMEs lack sufficient data to set appropriate safety alerts and targets, or to monitor their performance, and no other objective criteria currently exist to measure the safety of their operations. The Aviation Academy of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences therefore took the initiative to develop alternative safety performance metrics. Based on a review of the scientific literature and a survey of existing safety metrics, we proposed several alternative safety metrics. After a review by industry and academia, we developed two alter-native metrics into tools to help aviation organisations verify the safety performance of their organisations.


One hundred elderly subjects comprising of residents of old peoples homes and patients attending routine outpatients clinic at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital were examined in Lagos. The mean age of subjects was 68.7 years. Using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) it was found that 23% had tooth deposits (plaque/calculusonly) whilst 70% had shallow or deep pockets. 87% of these elderly subjects were caries-free and none had restored or filled teeth. However, more than half of the subjects had an average missing teeth number of 8.829% of the subjects needed extraction with an average of 3.3 teeth. Among the subjects that needed dental extraction, none had healthy periodontal condition whereas, 79% of them were caries free. It is concluded from this study that the periodontal status of the subjects was poor and the incidence of caries was low. Furthermore, the majority of the missing teeth could have been largely due to periodontal disease. Dental health education which is directed towards improved oral hygiene procedures is suggested for the elderly dental population. It is also suggested that elderly patients be given free or subsidised treatment. Furthermore, the National Health Policy should be directed towards domiciliary dental treatment for the compromised elderly patients.


Five experiments demonstrate that exposure to novel visual stimulus arrays of geometric shapes affects consumers' real choices among products. The authors first demonstrate that exposure to variety arrays (arrays of differing shapes) increases variety seeking (Study 1). They then show that exposure to uniqueness arrays (e.g., one circle among six squares) increases choice of unique over common objects (Studies 2 and 3) and interacts with chronic need for uniqueness (Study 3). In the final two studies, the authors show that variety and uniqueness arrays activate distinct constructs; specifically, they find no effect of exposure to uniqueness arrays on variety seeking (Study 4a) and no effect of exposure to variety arrays on uniqueness seeking (Study 4b). Taken together, these studies build on the existing literature about nonconscious effects on consumer behavior and choice behavior in particular by showing that consumers' real choices are affected by subtle exposure to novel stimuli that do not have any previous associations.


Many myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients have a long history of transfusion before eventually undergoing transplantation and therefore are at high risk of developing parenchymal iron overload. Recently, retrospective studies suggested that iron overload has some prognostic impact in MDS patients treated by allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (allo-SCT) as previously observed in thalassemia. However, the optimal strategy to assess iron overload and to reduce iron burden during and after transplant procedure remains to be determined. The Gruppo Italiano Trapianto di Midollo Osseo (GITMO) promoted a consensus process aimed at providing clinical practice recommendations that can support the appropriate choice for iron overload assessment and for iron chelation therapy in MDS patients undergoing allo-SCT. A systematic review of the published literature (1990–2010) was performed. An Expert Panel was selected according to the framework elements of the NIH Consensus Development Program, comprising 10 physicians with different areas of expertise (iron metabolism, SCT, and MDS patient management/treatment). Based on the available scientific evidence and consensus among experts, clinical recommendations were formulated on appropriate assessment of iron body stores, selection of candidates to iron chelation therapy before and after allo-SCT, and treatment modalities.


Aiming to understand the field of customer satisfaction under the electronic commerce context in recent years, a sample of 565 papers on e-commerce customer satisfaction included in Web of Science ( SCIE, SSCI, A&HCI) published during 1993-2013 were analyzed with CiteSpaceII software to reveal the research focuses and frontiers of the field. The results show that the theories of expectancy-disconfirmation, planned behavior, and Technology Acceptance Model are the basic theoretical foundation; structural equation modeling is the primary empirical research method; the research focuses would include model, service quality, perceived value, trust and loyalty; the frontiers and trends would be intelligent technology supporting system, service failure recovery, customer feedback utility, service quality and customer loyalty across e-commerce service and production transaction etc.


One of the units in the relatively new high school CS curriculum which is being implemented in Israel is a theoretical unit on computational models. It includes deterministic and non-deterministic finite automata, regular and non-regular languages, closure properties of regular languages, pushdown automata, closure properties of context free languages, turing machines, the church-turing thesis and the halting problem. This paper focuses on part of a study we conducted on the unit, dealing with the topic of non-determinism of finite automata. One of the aspects dealt with was how students perceived non-determinism. 339 students were given a relatively complicated regular language, and asked to construct a finite automaton that accepts this language. We found that many students did not choose the easiest way to solve the problem: Many students preferred to construct a deterministic automaton, even though constructing a non-deterministic automaton for the language is much simpler. We analyze and categorize the students' solutions, thus shedding some light on their perception of the abstract concept of non-determinism.


A swelling in the neck is a common finding. Underlying causes may be enlarged lymph nodes and cysts, but also benign and malignant tumors. The clinical presentation, however, often gives rise to a fear of a malignant process. In children, more than 95% of such swellings are due to infection. In adults older than 40, however, a malignant tumor may be expected in more that 50% of the cases. Sine early detection is associated with a good prognosis, every mass in the neck must be considered to be potentially malignant. In particular when there is additional difficulty in swallowing or hoarseness, indicative of concomitant involvement of the airways or upper alimentary canal, a further careful diagnostic workup is indicated. Cervical lymph nodes measuring appreciably more than 1 cm in diameter, or additional fever, night sweats or loss of weight must immediately prompt the diagnostic steps necessary to diagnose a malignant lymphoma or carcinoma.


ABSTRACT Traditional marketing methods can no longer sustain a business. Businesses have been aware for the past few years that social connectivity was becoming the key to marketing. However, the time, effort, usefulness and ability to measure outcomes made using social media for marketing impracticable. With the advent of analytics and other sophisticated measurement tools, entrepreneurs are finding that they can now not only take advantage of social media as a marketing tool but use data to optimize their social media marketing campaigns. This study was conducted to examine trends in social media marketing and the resources available to entrepreneurs to jump start their marketing strategy by incorporating social media. INTRODUCTION Entrepreneurs face many daunting tasks in the operation of their businesses, not the least of which is maximizing the marketing potential of social media while at the same time being able to measure cost benefits. According to the 2011 Q3 Nielsen State of the Media: The Social Media Report (NMincite, 201 1), "60 percent of people who use three or more digital means of research for product purchases learned about a specific brand or retailer from a social networking site" (para. 1). This statistic, and a host of others, serves to prove that tried and true social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Linkedln, and newcomers Google+ and Tumblr are here to stay. Furthermore, they are influencing the way consumers buy products and services. To encourage business owners, large and small alike, to use social media as a marketing platform, several social media companies have developed business-specific tools or made it possible to brand an online profile to a business. The number one deterrent of social media for small business has always been the time commitment required to keep profiles active and the almost impossible task of calculating the return on investment (ROI). Advances in the social media scene like Hootsuite, a social media dashboard and scheduler, allows scheduling and posting content to all online profiles simultaneously. Facebook Pages Insights, which allows tracking the number of visitors to a Facebook Business Page, helps close the gap between big brand experts (i.e., Coke and Apple) and average mom and pop businesses at leveraging social media. INTERNET GROWTH AND CURRENT SMALL BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE In 1995 statistics indicated 0.4% of the world population used the Internet. The latest figures show that number has grown to 32.7% or some 2.2 billion users (Internet World Stats, 2012). With this incredibly fast evolution of the Internet and social media, it is evident from everyday media that big businesses are making use of every social media outlet available today; but are small businesses doing the same? An industry study in 2011 published in the Social Media Examiner surveyed 3,342 marketers, and just under half of those were self-employed or small business owners (Stelzner, 201 1). The results ofthat survey are summarized below: * Overall, 90% of the marketers surveyed agreed with the statement "Is social media important to your business?" and 66% of small business owners strongly agreed with the statement. * 80% of marketers indicated social media use generated more exposure for their business. * An increase in search engine rankings was seen by almost two-thirds of marketers. * Spending as little as six hours weekly generated leads for 52%» of marketers, with small business owners more likely to strongly agree to the lead generation question. * 59%) of small business owners saw a reduction in marketing costs when social media were implemented. * Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln, and blogs dominated usage stats, with 92%, 84%, 71%, and 68%) respectively, with 78%> of small business owners indicating they were more likely to use Linkedln. APPROACHES USED TO DEFINE AND MEASURE SOCIAL MEDIA ROI While some social media strategies, such as offering Facebook- or Twitter-specific deals and coupons, can be directly traced to a traditional form of ROI like generating a sale, it is important to note that other facets of social media interaction also constitute ROI and can be important indicators of the health of a social media campaign. …


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate warfarin management by pharmacists compared with physicians through an inpatient anticoagulation management service (AMS).

DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING
Community teaching hospital.

PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS
Patients were randomly selected from the Inpatient AMS from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2011. Patients were included if they were 18 of age years or older and received warfarin for at least three days and excluded for indefinite warfarin discontinuation or an indication following orthopedic surgery. A total of 179 patients were included in each group.

INTERVENTIONS
The electronic medical record was reviewed for demographics, warfarin indication and goal range, international normalized ratios (INRs), albumin, drug-drug interactions, bleeding, and thrombotic rates.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Primary endpoints included mean time to therapeutic INR, mean time within goal, frequency of supratherapeutic INRs, bleeding, thrombotic rates, and mean INR on discharge.

RESULTS
There was no statistically significant difference in the time required to reach a therapeutic INR; 3.17 vs. 2.65 days (95% confidence interval -0.09-1.13; P = 0.093). However, the pharmacist group resulted in a lower frequency of supratherapeutic INRs and significantly more time within goal range.

CONCLUSION
Similar results were observed for pharmacist-managed and physician-managed patients for INR monitoring and outcome rates. However, the pharmacist-managed patients demonstrated a lower incidence of supratherapeutic INRs and significantly more time within goal.


Hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF-1a) is upregulated by hypoxia and oncogenic signalling in many solid tumours. Its regulation and function in thyroid carcinomas are unknown. We evaluated the regulation of HIF-1a and target gene expression in primary thyroid carcinomas and thyroid carcinoma cell lines (BcPAP, WRO, FTC-133 and 8505c). HIF-1a was not detectable in normal tissue but was expressed in thyroid carcinomas. Dedifferentiated anaplastic tumours (ATCs) exhibited high levels of nuclear HIF-1a staining. The HIF-1 target glucose transporter 1 was expressed to a similar level in all tumour types, whereas carbonic anhydrase-9 was significantly elevated in ATCs. In vitro studies revealed a functionally active HIF-1a pathway in thyroid cells with transcriptional activation observed after graded hypoxia (1% O2, anoxia) or treatment with a hypoxia mimetic cobalt chloride. High basal and hypoxia-induced expression of HIF-1a in FTC-133 cells that harbour a phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) mutation was reduced by introduction of wild-type PTEN. Similarly, pharmacological inhibition of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway using LY294002 inhibited HIF-1a and HIF-1a targets in all cell lines, including those with B-RAF mutations (BcPAP and 8505c). In contrast, the effects of inhibition of the RAF/MEK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway were restricted by environmental condition and B-RAF mutation status. HIF-1 is functionally expressed in thyroid carcinomas and is regulated not only by hypoxia but also via growth factor signalling pathways and, in particular, the PI3K pathway. Given the strong association of HIF-1a with an aggressive disease phenotype and therapeutic resistance, this pathway may be an attractive target for improved therapy in thyroid carcinomas. Endocrine-Related Cancer (2010) 17 61‐72


Purpose: To evaluate the common characteristics and differences in contrast behavior of short-TI-inversion-recovery (STIR) and short-TI-inversion-recovery fast spin-echo (TurboSTIR) sequences. Material and Methods: Phantoms doped with increasing doses of Gd-DTPA and a pork-fat phantom were used to evaluate the dependence of the STIR and TurboSTIR signals on the T1 relaxation time. Clinical TurboSTIR images were obtained from 30 patients with musculoskeletal abnormalities and compared to conventional STIR images in 15 cases and to postcontrast TurboSTIR images in another 15 cases. Results: In the phantom measurements, a significantly shorter inversion time (TI) was needed to achieve fat suppression on TurboSTIR images, and, with an identical number of signal averages, contrast-to-noise ratios were lower on TurboSTIR images. These differences between STIR and TurboSTIR can be attributed to the contribution of stimulated echoes to overall TurboSTIR signal and can be compensated by a shorter TI and a higher number of signal averages for TurboSTIR, respectively. With these adaptations, clinical TurboSTIR and STIR images showed an identical contrast behavior with fat suppression and a high sensitivity to pathological lesions but TurboSTIR saved a significant amount of scan time and reduced some types of artifacts. Contrast uptake impaired lesion conspicuity on TurboSTIR images. Conclusion: TurboSTIR sequences should replace conventional STIR sequences and should be performed before contrast administration.


Only 2 cases of nasopharyngeal small cell carcinoma have been reported. Another case of this rare type of nasopharyngeal tumor confirmed by immunopositivity for CD56, synaptophysin, and chromogranin A is described in this study. The tumor was also negative for cytokeratin (CK) 20 and thyroid transcription factor-1. Clinical investigation did not find any primary tumor in other anatomic sites. Therefore, this case was established as a primary nasopharyngeal small cell carcinoma. Epstein-Barr virus was shown to be absent by Epstein-Barr virus encoded RNA in situ hybridization study in this case, which further distinguished it from conventional nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Clinical features of this case and 2 previously reported cases are compared. They do not differ from conventional nasopharyngeal carcinoma in clinical presentation, but the prognosis seems to be worse. More cases are needed to confirm the observation and for understanding the clinical behavior of this rare type of nasopharyngeal tumor.


Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature death and disability in Europe. Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) can reduce the impact of CVD by lowering mortality and morbidity rates and promoting healthy active lifestyles. Yet adherence within CR is low. Research suggests that mHealth interventions are useful in supporting the self-management of chronic disease. The overall purpose of this research is to facilitate the development of a specially designed Android App called MedFit, which aims to enhance the likelihood of people with established CVD self-managing their disease through participation in an exercise-based rehabilitation programme.

Methods: For the intervention development, the preliminary stages of the Medical Research Council's (MRC) formative process [i) development and ii) feasibility/piloting were used. This was achieved by conducting a systematic literature review, adhering to PRISMA guidelines, to identify what behaviour change techniques (BCTs) are used in physical activity eHealth interventions for adults with CVD (study 1). Study two involved testing the feasibility and acceptability of the prototype application using five focus groups (N=26 CVD patients; average age 64 ± 8.2 years; 65 % male). The focus group script was developed using a questionnaire (N=119 CVD patients; Appendix B.3) based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) which identified the constructs that were the primary concerns for end users. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and in-depth content analysis was performed.

Results: Twenty-three studies were included in the systematic literature review. The average number of BCTs employed in the studies was 7.2 (range 1-14). The top three most frequently used BCTs were information about health consequences (78.3%), goal setting (behaviour) (73.9%) and self-monitoring of behaviour (47.8%) (study 1). In study 2 the focus group usability feedback included; add in a retrieve password function, play the exercise video continuously and remove leaderboard function. Four key themes were identified following content analysis, these were; support, app as a mentor/guide, translation of activity from gym to home and technology knowledge gap. This feedback was translated into feasible technical improvements through close collaboration with the technical team.

Conclusion: This research describes in detail the design process, first alpha-version of the App and focus group feedback used to develop a CVD mHealth intervention.


Locus of control (LOC) is a measure that identifies the likelihood as to whether an individual considers what happens to him is largely a matter of luck or fate (known as externally oriented) or whether it is something that the individual can influence (internality). Here we have used data collected as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to determine the associations between the mothers' LOC orientation before the birth of the child and her child's cognition measured at age 8. Using results from 6801 children we show that maternal internal LOC is associated with increased ability in offspring IQ, as measured using the WISC, with children of internally oriented mothers having an advantage of approximately 7 IQ points at age 8. As a sensitivity analysis we used the IQ test results of a sample of 986 preschool children tested using the WPSSI at age 4. A similar advantage was found among the offspring of the internally oriented mothers. We investigated mechanistic explanations for these results firstly by determining the extent to which three separate sets of factors known to be influenced by the LOC orientation might explain these findings. We showed that (a) perinatal life-style exposures, (b) parenting attitudes and strategies and (c) socio-economic circumstances, largely explain the mechanism through which the internality of the mother influences the cognition of the child. Similar effects were found using the smaller sample tested at age 4. The results indicate that efforts made to foster internality in adolescents and young adults prior to parenthood may result in improvements in the cognitive development of the next generation. Intervention studies are urgently needed.


Abstract. US surface O3 responds to varying global-to-regional precursor emissions, climate, and extreme weather, with implications for designing effective air quality control policies. We examine these conjoined processes with observations and global chemistry-climate model (GFDL-AM3) hindcasts over 1980–2014. The model captures the salient features of observed trends in daily maximum 8 h average O3: (1) increases over East Asia (up to 2 ppb yr−1), (2) springtime increases at western US (WUS) rural sites (0.2–0.5 ppb yr−1) with a baseline sampling approach, and (3) summertime decreases, largest at the 95th percentile, and wintertime increases in the 50th to 5th percentiles over the eastern US (EUS). Asian NOx emissions have tripled since 1990, contributing as much as 65 % to modeled springtime background O3 increases (0.3–0.5 ppb yr−1) over the WUS, outpacing O3 decreases attained via 50 % US NOx emission controls. Methane increases over this period contribute only 15 % of the WUS background O3 increase. Springtime O3 observed in Denver has increased at a rate similar to remote rural sites. During summer, increasing Asian emissions approximately offset the benefits of US emission reductions, leading to weak or insignificant observed O3 trends at WUS rural sites. Mean springtime WUS O3 is projected to increase by  ∼  10 ppb from 2010 to 2030 under the RCP8.5 global change scenario. While historical wildfire emissions can enhance summertime monthly mean O3 at individual sites by 2–8 ppb, high temperatures and the associated buildup of O3 produced from regional anthropogenic emissions contribute most to elevating observed summertime O3 throughout the USA. GFDL-AM3 captures the observed interannual variability of summertime EUS O3. However, O3 deposition sink to vegetation must be reduced by 35 % for the model to accurately simulate observed high-O3 anomalies during the severe drought of 1988. Regional NOx reductions alleviated the O3 buildup during the recent heat waves of 2011 and 2012 relative to earlier heat waves (e.g., 1988, 1999). The O3 decreases driven by NOx controls were more pronounced in the southeastern US, where the seasonal onset of biogenic isoprene emissions and NOx-sensitive O3 production occurs earlier than in the northeast. Without emission controls, the 95th percentile summertime O3 in the EUS would have increased by 0.2–0.4 ppb yr−1 over 1988–2014 due to more frequent hot extremes and rising biogenic isoprene emissions.


Currently more than 50% of compounds identified are water insoluble and or poorly water soluble. These molecules are difficult to formulate using conventional approaches (for their poor aqueous solubility) and are associated with numerous formulation-related performance issues. Formulating these compounds using lipid based systems is one of the growing interest and suitable drug delivery strategies are applied to this class of molecules. The rapid growth and investment in the use of lipid based systems in product development is primarily due to the diversity and versatility of pharmaceutical grade lipid excipients and drug formulations and their compatibility with liquid, semi-solid and solid dosage forms. Lipid formulations such as self-emulsifying/ microemulsifying/ nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems have been attempted in many researches to improve the BA and dissolution rate for their better dispersion properties. One of the greatest advantages of incorporating the poorly soluble drug into such formulation products is their spontaneous emulsion and or micro emulsion/ nanoemulsion formation in aqueous media. The performance and ongoing advances in manufacturing technologies has rapidly introduced lipid-based drug formulations as commercial products into the marketplace with several others in clinical development. The goal of the current review is to present the characteristics feature, development and utilization of oral lipid based formulations within drug delivery region. The review also aims to provide an insight of the in vitro evaluation of lipid based systems and their potential limitations.


As user interfaces become more powerful and easier to use they are often harder to design and implement. This has caused a great demand for interface tools. While existing tools ease interface creation, they typically do not provide mechanisms to simplify application development and are too low-level. Furthermore, existing tools do not provide effective mechanisms to port interactive applications across user interfaces. While some tools provide limited mechanisms to port applications across user interfaces which belong to the same class (e.g., the class of all standard graphical direct-manipulation user interfaces), very few can provide the ability to port applications across different interface classes (e.g., command-line, hypermedia, speech recognition and voice synthesis, virtual reality, etc.). \n With my approach, the programmer uses an abstract model to describe the structure of the application including the information that the application must exchange with the user, rather than describing a user interface which realizes these characteristics. By specifying application semantics at a very high level of abstraction it is possible to obtain a much greater separation between the application and the user interface. Consequently, the resulting applications can be ported not only across user interfaces which belong to a common interface class, but across interfaces which belong to distinct classes. This can be realized through simple recompilation --- source code does not have to be modified. \n NAAG (Not Another Application Generator), a tool which embodies these ideas, enables programmers to create interactive applications with minimal effort. An application is modelled as a set of operations which manipulate objects belonging to user-defined object classes. The input to NAAG is a source program which describes classes, operations and their inputs and outputs, and the organization of operations within the application. Classes and operations are implemented as data structures and functions in a conventional programming language such as C. This model simplifies not only the specification and generation of the user interface, but the design and implementation of the underlying application. \n NAAG utilizes existing technology such as macro-preprocessors, compilers, make programs, and low-level interface tools, to reduce the programming task. An application that is modified by adding, removing, or reorganizing artifacts (classes, operations, and menus), can be regenerated with a single command. Traditionally, software maintenance has been a very difficult task as well. Due to the use of a simple abstract model, NAAG applications are also easier to maintain. Furthermore, this approach encourages software reuse: applications consisting of arbitrary collections of original and pre-existing artifacts can be composed easily; functions which implement abstract operations are independent of both, user interface aspects, and the context in which they are


The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) is a promising part of future energy approaches due to a relatively high energy conversion efficiency and low environmental pollution. SOFCs are typically composed of ceramic materials which are highly complex at the nanoscale. TEM is routinely applied ex situ for studying these nanoscale structures, but only few SOFC studies have applied in situ TEM to observe the ceramic nanostructures in a reactive gas environment at elevated temperatures. The present contribution focuses on the reduction of an SOFC anode which is a necessary process to form the catalytically active Ni surface before operating the fuel cells. The reduction process was followed in the TEM while exposing a NiO/YSZ (YSZ = Y 2 O 3 -stabilized ZrO 2 ) model anode to H 2 at T = 250-1000⁰C. Pure NiO was used in reference experiments. Previous studies have shown that the reduction of pure NiO is a relatively rapid autocatalytic process. On the contrary, the reduction of NiO/YSZ is significantly slower, which indicates that the presence of YSZ inhibits the reduction of NiO. This study aims to obtain fundamental insight into this reduction mechanism and to explain the inhibitive influence of YSZ. A Titan E-Cell 80-300ST TEM was used for the in situ work in combination with the chip-based Aduro heating holder from Protochips. Since the chip-based heating holder does not allow internal temperature measurements, and the since the temperature of the chips are only calibrated in vacuum, part of the presentation will focus on temperature calibration.


References to trumpeters appear in records of the Scottish royal court from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. During the reign of James IV, several groups of Italian minstrels came from Bologna to serve the Scottish King. The first group to arrive was a wind band, which was appointed to a permanent place at court. By the reign of James VI this ensemble had evolved into the royal trumpet corps. When James VI ascended to the throne of England and moved to London in 1603, the Scottish royal trumpeters were transferred to the English royal trumpet corps. Gradually, a royal trumpet corps was re-established in Scotland.

Solo items for trumpet, performed by one of the royal trumpeters, were included in a concert presented in Edinburgh in 1695, the first concert in Scotland of which details have survived. During the eighteenth century, a number of prominent professional musicians in Edinburgh served as royal trumpeters. Several of these appear not to have played brass instruments other than to fulfil their official duties.

A calendar of references to the trumpet, drawn mainly from archival sources, forms a central part of this thesis. Subsequent chapters analyse the material contained in the calendar and consider the deployment of the trumpet in a cultural context. Issues relating to terminology, patronage, repertoire and the symbolism of the trumpet are discussed. The study focuses on the use of the trumpet in royal service and provides the first detailed examination of the role of wind instrumentalists at the Scottish royal court during the sixteenth century. The ceremonial function of the trumpet is considered, and in particular its use in funeral and judicial ceremonies during the seventeenth century. The role of the trumpet in concerts and the theatre during the eighteenth century, and the relationship between trumpet and horn playing are examined, as is the function of the royal trumpet corps as a source of patronage for the Edinburgh Musical Society.


Climate model simulations produce large volumes of data, and reducing the storage burden with data compression is increasingly of interest to climate scientists. A key concern to the climate community, though, is ensuring that any data loss due to compression does not in any way affect their scientific analysis. For this reason, the climate community is taking a cautious approach to adopting lossy compression by carefully investigating the potential existence of artifacts due to compression in a wide variety of analysis settings. Spatio-temporal statistical analysis in particular can highlight compression-induced features that would go unnoticed by the standard metrics common to the data compression community. Communicating such findings to the algorithm developers in the context of a collaborative improvement cycle is one – in our view productive – way to foster trust within the climate community and pave the way for eventual adoption of lossy compression. In this work, we report on the initial results of a successful and mutually beneficial collaboration between the two communities that led to improvements in a well regarded compression algorithm and more effective compression of climate simulation data.


The main objective of the paper is the description of the behavior and fatigue damage of inelastic solids in plastic flow processes under dynamic cyclic loadings. Experimental motivations and physical foundations are given. Recent experimental observations for cycle fatigue damage mechanics at high temperature of metals suggest that the intrinsic microdamage process does very much depend on the strain rate effects as well as on the wave shape effects. The microdamage process has been treated as a sequence of nucleation, growth and coalescence of microcracks. The microdamage kinetics interacts with thermal and load changes to make failure of solids a highly rate, temperature and history dependent, nonlinear process. A general constitutive model of elasto-viscoplastic damaged polycrystalline solids is developed within the thermodynamic framework of the rate type covariance structure with finite set of the internal state variables. A set of the internal state variables is assumed and interpreted such that the theory developed takes account of the effects as follows: (i) plastic non-normality; (ii) plastic strain induced anisotropy (kinematic hardening); (iii) softening generated by microdamage mechanisms; (iv) thermomechanical coupling (thermal plastic softening and thermal expansion) ; (v) rate sensitivity. To describe suitably the time and temperature dependent effects observed experimentally and the accumulation of the plastic deformation and damage during dynamic cyclic loading process the kinetics of microdamage and the kinematic hardening law have been modified. The relaxation time is used as a regularization parameter. By assuming that the relaxation time tends to zero, the rate independent elastic-plastic response can be obtained. The viscoplastic regularization procedure assures the stable integration algorithm by using the finite difference method. Particular attention is focused on the well-posedness of the evolution problem (the initial-boundary value problem) as well as on its numerical solutions. The Lax-Richtmyer equivalence theorem is formulated and conditions under which this theory is valid are examined. Utilizing the finite difference method for regularized elasto-viscoplastic model, the numerical investigation of the three-dimensional dynamic adiabatic deformation in a particular body under cyclic loading condition is presented. Particular examples have been considered, namely, a dynamic, adiabatic and isothermal, cyclic loading processes for a thin steel plate with small rectangular hole located in the centre. Small two regions which undergo significant deformations and temperature rise have been determined. Their evolution until occurrence of final fracture has been simulated. The accumulation of damage and equivalent plastic deformation on each considered cycle has been obtained. It has been found that this accumulation distinctly depends on the wave shape of the assumed loading cycle.


Based on the need for effective solutions of structures response to seismic loading, this thesis includes the theoretical background, and explanation of several methods. There are many theories in the community, but the ones chosen to be looked closer at here are Modal response spectrum analysis for symmetric and asymmetric plan structures, Modal Pushover Analysis for symmetric and asymmetric plan structures and Linear and Non-Linear Response History Analysis. The theory has been adapted from published papers and books on the topic. The report is divided into three main sections, numerical methods for solving of dynamic problems, elastic analysis and inelastic analysis. The chapters on Elastic and Inelastic analysis are further divided into sections on symmetric and asymmetric plan. Elastic analyses by hand calculations and SAP2000 have been performed on a 2D-frame, a SAP2000 Elastic Response spectrum analysis has been performed on a 3D-frame, and an inelastic modal pushover analysis in SAP2000 has been performed on a 2D frame. The target for this inquiry is to discover advantages and disadvantages in the different methods and comparing them.


Capillary forces play an active role in defining the equilibrium structure of nanoscale patterns. This effect can be especially pronounced in soft materials such as polymers near or above their glass transition temperature (Tg) where material flow is possible. In these situations, the effect of surface tension can produce varied and complex capillary instabilities, even in relatively simple geometries such as parallel-line-space grating patterns. Here we investigate a novel capillary instability that arises upon thermal annealing of nanoimprinted polystyrene line-space gratings with an underlying residual layer. This novel instability is characterized by the development of lateral undulations of the lines, culminating in the localized coalescence of adjacent imprinted lines. An exact analytic model of this undulatory instability is not tractable, but we introduce a simple physical model for this lateral instability based on the driving force to reduce the surface energy, as in the well-known Rayleigh–Plateau instability, which is likewise surface-energy driven. Good agreement is obtained between this simplified model and our observations. Our insights into the nature of this instability have implications for controlling the thermal stability of nanoscale patterns fabricated by nanoimprint lithography or other lithography techniques.


Purpose: The objective of this study is to discuss the implications of product loss rates in terms of the environmental performance of bottled wine. Wine loss refers to loss occurring when the consumer does not consume the wine contained in the bottle and disposes of it because of taste alteration, which is caused by inadequate product protection rendering the wine unpalatable to a knowledgeable consumer. The decision of whether or not to drink the wine in such cases is guided by subjective consumer taste perception and wine quality expectation (drinking the bottle or disposing of the wine down the drain and replacing it with a new bottle). This study aims to illustrate the importance of accurately defining system boundaries related to wine packaging systems. Methods: The environmental impacts resulting from wine loss rates as related to two types of wine bottle closures—natural cork stoppers and screw caps—have been estimated based on literature review data and compared to the impact of the respective closure system. The system studied relates to the functional unit "a 750 mL bottle of drinkable wine" and includes bottled wine, bottle and closure production, wine production, wine loss and wine poured down the drain. Results: The range of wine alteration rates due to corked wine is estimated to be 2–5% based on interviews with wine experts. Consumer behavior was assessed through a sensitivity study on replacement rates. When the increase in loss rate with the cork stopper is higher than 1.2% (corresponding to 3.5% corked wine multiplied by a consumer replacement rate of 35%), the influence of losses on the impact results is higher than that of the closure material itself. The different closures and associated wine losses represent less than 5% of the total life cycle impact of bottled wine.


Sir We thank Dr Aellen for his comments to our editorial. We note his concerns regarding the risks of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) and feel they are similar to our own. We also support his view that a retromuscular sublay open repair is a good operation, but we must acknowledge that there is little evidence to support the view that it is the preferred operation in the majority of patients. The majority of, although not all, studies comparing the open approach with LVHR report fewer wound complications and mesh infections with the laparoscopic approach, along with a shorter hospital stay and faster return to full activity. These advantages must be weighed up against the shortand long-term risks associated with placing mesh within the peritoneal cavity, well described by Dr Aellen. The medicolegal side is interesting. Although the majority of cases referred to the authors for medicolegal opinions have no case to answer with respect to negligence, what is clear is that the number of cases referred following laparoscopic surgery exceeds that following open surgery, despite open repairs being performed more often than laparoscopic repairs in the UK. Although we are advocates of LVHR in selected patients, with the right mesh and state-of-the-art technique, we make a plea in our editorial for more information, as there remain too many unanswered questions regarding the laparoscopic approach. Information can be gathered by careful audit of our results and combining the results from many centres. We believe the online platform developed by a European working party has much to recommend it in facilitating this end (the platform can be viewed at http://www.eurahs.eu). A. de Beaux and B. Tulloh Department of General Surgery, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SA, UK (e-mail: email@example.com) DOI: 10.1002/bjs.9080


Ghana, as an emerging oil and gas producing country, is expected to have an improved, or a new approach to manage safety to prevent major hazard incidents in the industry. Given the country's experience of poor risk governance regimes before the emergence of the upstream oil and gas industry, it has become imperative to develop a robust safety management regime that can deal with the complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity of risk associated with upstream oil and gas operations. The current safety management regime is underpinned by an engineering risk assessment approach which is inherently inadequate in handling uncertainties of knowledge and potential surprises relative to major hazard incidents. This study aims at developing a framework for robust safety management in Ghana's upstream oil and gas industry. The study followed design science research as its methodological approach, which involved six data collection stages. Data collection methods included documents, quantitative safety data, questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, workshop and focus groups. It must be indicated that the questionnaires recorded a 70.7% — response rate of 300 samples. There were 14 participants involved in the semi-structured interviews, 12 participated in the workshop and 9 for the focus group validation. Data analysis included content analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, factor analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The key findings of the review of the safety statutory and regulatory documents indicated that Ghana's regulatory regime is not robust as there is incoherence and limited scope of the existing regulatory and institutional framework. Main findings of the analysis of the safety statistical data shown a rising trend of incidents mainly triggered by hydrocarbon releases, struck by/impact, falls from height/dropped objects and equipment failure. The key findings of the questionnaire surveys indicated that safety climate factors such as safety supervision, management of change, safety empowerment, safety policies, safety rules and procedures, safety behaviour, safety priority, supportive environment, equipment maintenance and safety communication have a predictive influence on incidents risks. The semi-structured interviews indicated weak risk governance in the industry. The critical safety barriers to the implementation of safety management systems related to poor safety culture issues and lack of investment in safety research and development. A conceptual framework was developed and evaluated to improve safety management in Ghana's oil and gas industry. The study contributed knowledge towards improving the management of complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity of risk associated with the upstream oil and gas industry in Ghana.


As a steroid hormone that regulates mineral homeostasis and bone metabolism, 1α, 25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol) also has broad spectrum anti-tumor activities as supported by numerous epidemiological and experimental studies. Calcitriol potentiates the anti-tumor activities of multiple chemotherapeutics agents including DNA-damaging agents cisplatin, carboplatin and doxorubicin; antimetabolites 5-fluorouracil, cytarabine, hydroxyurea, cytarabine and gemcitabine; and microtubule-disturbing agents paclitaxel and docetaxel. Calcitriol elicits anti-tumor effects mainly through the induction of cancer cell apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, differentiation, angiogenesis and the inhibition of cell invasiveness by a number of mechanisms. Calcitriol enhances the cytotoxic effects of gamma irradiation and certain antioxidants and naturally derived compounds. Inhibition of calcitriol metabolism by 24-hydroxylase promotes growth inhibition effect of calcitriol. Calcitriol has been used in a number of clinical trials and it is important to note that sufficient dose and exposure to calcitriol is critical to achieve anti-tumor effect. Several trials have demonstrated that safe and feasible to administer high doses of calcitriol through intermittent regimen. Further well designed clinical trials should be conducted to better understand the role of calcitriol in cancer therapy.


Some recent works in conditional planning have proposed reachability heuristics to improve planner scalability, but many lack a formal description of the properties of their distance estimates. To place previous work in context and extend work on heuristics for conditional planning, we provide a formal basis for distance estimates between belief states. We give a definition for the distance between belief states that relies on aggregating underlying state distance measures. We give several techniques to aggregate state distances and their associated properties. Many existing heuristics exhibit a subset of the properties, but in order to provide a standardized comparison we present several generalizations of planning graph heuristics that are used in a single planner. We compliment our belief state distance estimate framework by also investigating efficient planning graph data structures that incorporate BDDs to compute the most effective heuristics.

We developed two planners to serve as test-beds for our investigation. The first, CAltAlt, is a conformant regression planner that uses A* search. The second, POND, is a conditional progression planner that uses AO* search. We show the relative effectiveness of our heuristic techniques within these planners. We also compare the performance of these planners with several state of the art approaches in conditional planning.


River restoration is essential to guarantee access to ecosystem services provided by free-flowing rivers. One mechanism to restore rivers is the decommissioning of run-of-the-river dams, but restoration can create opposition as anthropised landscapes form part of the environmental history and imaginary. To facilitate decision-making, actors' perceptions on ecosystem services for and against dam removal should be considered. We analyse perceptions on ecosystem services at two levels of study in Catalonia (Spain): the Catalan context and two local cases of dam removal in the Ter River Basin. Local case studies illustrate that combining participatory mapping and interviews makes contrasting values conspicuous and contributes to conflict understanding. Additionally, we acknowledge a dichotomy of perceptions between locals and outsiders, and the relevance of cultural values, environmental aesthetics, and history for actors' positioning. We propose the engagement of local stakeholders at the basin level through participatory approaches for the sake of understanding water conflicts, as decision making will rarely achieve social sustainability without local support.


To perform a climatic analysis of the annual UV index (UVI) variations in Catalonia, Spain (northeast of the Iberian Peninsula), a new simple parameterization scheme is presented based on a multilayer radiative transfer model. The parameterization performs fast UVI calculations for a wide range of cloudless and snow-free situations and can be applied anywhere. The following parameters are considered: solar zenith angle, total ozone column, altitude, aerosol optical depth, and single-scattering albedo. A sensitivity analysis is presented to justify this choice with special attention to aerosol information. Comparisons with the base model show good agreement, most of all for the most common cases, giving an absolute error within 0.2 in the UVI for a wide range of cases considered. Two tests are done to show the performance of the parameterization against UVI measurements. One uses data from a high-quality spectroradiometer from Lauder, New Zealand [45.04°S, 169.684°E, 370 m above mean sea level (MSL)], where there is a low presence of aerosols. The other uses data from a Robertson–Berger-type meter from Girona, Spain (41.97°N, 2.82°E, 100 m MSL), where there is more aerosol load and where it has been possible to study the effect of aerosol information on the model versus measurement comparison. The parameterization is applied to a climatic analysis of the annual UVI variation in Catalonia, showing the contributions of solar zenith angle, ozone, and aerosols. High-resolution seasonal maps of typical UV index values in Catalonia are presented.


Bilingualism is a complex process involving a variety of characteristics, among which we can distinguish a particular system of a language, as well as the ability to use it in communication. Apart from the mere fact of acquiring the knowledge of a second language, bilingualism also implies the development of specific linguistic structuring and brain functioning different from those of a monolingual individual. This fact is crucial at the time of comprehension and, consequently, learning of a third language and this is why it has been studied by analysing the understanding ability of bilingual informants to refer to a third language without the prior learning of this language and the comparison of the results with those obtained for monolingual individuals presenting each language. Thus, the hypothesis involved considers individuals presenting bilingualism between two different language families (on the example of Russian-Romanian bilingualism) manifesting better understanding of a language from one of the language families they speak natively (on the example of the Spanish language) in comparison with monolingual people presenting one of the languages considered in bilingual individuals (i.e. Russian and Romanian monolinguals). This difference between bilingual and monolingual people in the access to a third language mainly involves the difference in the way of thinking and analysing the acquired linguistic data, resulting in a more effective capacity for understanding. The specification of brain organization and the analysis of linguistic data are due to the creation of specific psycholinguistic strategies by the bilingual individual.


The rapid outbreak of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to infection with variable clinical presentations and a wide clinical spectrum. The disease was first reported in Wuhan, China in 2019 and has rapidly spread worldwide. Despite reports of dynamic changes in disease progression, clinical predictors of disease severity have been difficult to identify. The following case describing identical twins with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 who had very different disease courses. These patients resided in the same home and shared many of the same comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and morbid obesity. Although twin 1 had higher inflammatory markers, white blood cell (WBC) and an arguably more complicated medical history in comparison to their identical twin, the patient experienced a milder and shorter disease course. This case highlights the need for identifying proper disease markers and predictors early in the clinical course in order to direct future management guidelines and timely treatment.


Fully mechanized harvesting systems are the most productive and common harvesting systems in the United States. Stem size, stand density, species composition, silvicultural prescriptions, slope/terrain, and operator skill affect the productivity and cost of a harvesting system. Timber harvest expectations of foresters, landowners, and loggers are dependent on these factors. This article describes the factors affecting the productivity of specific harvesting machines used in whole-tree harvesting and impact on harvesting cost. Landowners will understand the common limitations of a timber harvest, and they can be discussed with a forester or logger.


CuCr2O4 nanopowders were successfully prepared by co-precipitation technique from alcohol-aqueous system and applied for photo-anodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The synthesized CuCr2O4 particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum (UV-vis) and thermo-gravimetric/differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG-DSC). It was shown that, with the sintering temperature of 1000 °C and the amount of PEG-400 of 1.5 wt % , the size of primary crystal grain was about 48 nm. The CuCr2O4/TiO2 composite exhibit high absorption ability in the spectral range 600 ~ 900 nm, which leading to a much higher conversion efficiency (η) of the solar cell in comparison with the pure TiO2 film electrode.


For many years, Indonesia has been widely regarded as a model wellspring of moderate and peaceful Islam. However, these democratic pluralism images appear inconsistent with the many religious-inspired violent conflicts that have taken place continuously in Indonesia up until the present day (2014). Taking the perspective of historicity, the minoritization of certain religious communities in Indonesia is not a historical condition, but is rather constructed through specific historical processes, involving several actors that have an interest in power and representation. The Ahmadiyya case has remained a polemic until now and is an example to illustrate how the majority discourses are produced to create the identity of a minority group as "the other." This paper will address the question within the historical perspective of why and how Ahmadiyya became an antagonized minority. To answer this question, the discourses from several parties that address the Ahmadiyya issue will be identified, as well as how these discourses identify Ahmadis as the "antagonist minority." Furthermore, discursive construction will be linked with the shifting landscape of the Indonesian political and cultural context to explain why there has been growing agitation against the Ahmadiyya, particularly since the reformation era, while previously the Ahmadiyya coexisted peacefully with other Islamic organizations in Indonesia.


The growth of the semantic web has fueled the need to search for information based on the understanding of the intent of the searcher, coupled with the contextual meaning of the keywords supplied by the searcher. The common solution to enhance the searching process includes the deployment of formal concept analysis (FCA) theory to extract concepts from a set of text with the use of corresponding domain ontology. However, creating a domain ontology or cross-platform ontology is a tedious and time consuming process that requires validation from domain experts. Therefore, this study proposed an alternative solution called Lattice Mining (LM) that utilizes FCA theory and graph theory. This is because the process of matching a query to related documents is similar to the process of graph matching if both the query and the documents are represented using graphs. This study adopted the idea of FCA in the determination of the concepts based on texts and deployed the lattice diagrams obtained from an FCA tool for further analysis using graph theory. The LM technique employed in this study utilized the adjacency matrices obtained from the lattice outputs and performed a distance measure technique to calculate the similarity between two graphs. The process was realized successively via the implementation of three algorithms called the Relatedness Algorithm (RA), the Adjacency Matrix Algorithm (AMA) and the Concept-Based Lattice Mining (CBLM) Algorithm. A similarity measure between FCA output lattices yielded promising results based on the ranking of the trace values from the matrices. Recognizing the potential of this method, future work includes refinement in the steps of the CBLM algorithm for a more efficient implementation of the process.


We evaluated TLR function in primary human dendritic cells (DCs) from 104 young (age 21–30 y) and older (≥65 y) individuals. We used multicolor flow cytometry and intracellular cytokine staining of myeloid DCs (mDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and found substantial decreases in older compared with young individuals in TNF-α, IL-6, and/or IL-12 (p40) production in mDCs and in TNF-α and IFN-α production in pDCs in response to TLR1/2, TLR2/6, TLR3, TLR5, and TLR8 engagement in mDCs and TLR7 and TLR9 in pDCs. These differences were highly significant after adjustment for heterogeneity between young and older groups (e.g., gender, race, body mass index, number of comorbid medical conditions) using mixed-effect statistical modeling. Studies of surface and intracellular expression of TLR proteins and of TLR gene expression in purified mDCs and pDCs revealed potential contributions for both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms in these age-associated effects. Moreover, intracellular cytokine production in the absence of TLR ligand stimulation was elevated in cells from older compared with young individuals, suggesting a dysregulation of cytokine production that may limit further activation by TLR engagement. Our results provide evidence for immunosenescence in DCs; notably, defects in cytokine production were strongly associated with poor Ab response to influenza immunization, a functional consequence of impaired TLR function in the aging innate immune response.


Nowadays, many devices provide access to Web pages: desktops, mobile phones, PDAs, etc.. Often desktop user interfaces need to be redesigned for mobile devices in order to support nomadic access. The problem of adapting the interface to different platforms can be addressed in many ways. Lowlevel syntactical transcoding or just resizing elements do not seem able to provide general solutions: they often generate poor results in terms of usability because they follow rigid rules and mainly try to fit the same design into different devices. This paper presents our solution, which is based on platform-dependent semantic redesign. Semantic redesign means that transformation from one platform to another is based on the use of semantic information and not only on the analysis of the low-level implementation. In our case, such semantic information is contained in logical descriptions of the user interfaces that also capture the possible tasks users intend to accomplish.


Sixth nerve palsy can occur as a result of elevated intracranial pressure, neoplasm or trauma. Reports from tertiary centres indicate that between 5% and 16% of referred cases have no ascribed aetiology and are classified as benign. Rarely, these benign palsies can recur. A retrospective chart review of a cohort of 253 paediatric patients with sixth nerve palsies was analysed and uncovered 30 cases of benign sixth nerve palsy, nine of which recurred. Our data and review of other studies on the subject imply that a new onset sixth nerve palsy presenting in children can be benign in approximately 13% of cases, so a thorough history and physical examination to evaluate for any other neurological symptoms or signs followed by MRI of the brain with and without contrast is recommended.


As we consider the future of the information professions, it is useful to reflect on issues related to the library and information science workforce and the values that underlie the field. The author's professional experience and research are used to highlight important practice trends such as digital libraries, embedded librarianship, broadening the audience for library and information services, involvement in problem-based learning, evidence based practice, end user searching of online databases, and the increasing need to conduct studies that link information services to key outcomes. The importance of tracking practice trends as part of the ongoing curriculum revision process is emphasized. Linking both education and research to practice will be crucial to the success of future educational programs and the ability of graduates to make a useful contribution in the workplace. Workforce tracking of alumni is a key component of effective strategic planning and overall workforce planning, especially in a time of major demographic change. Professional associations have an important role of play in continuing education and building the core ethics and values of the field.


A graded-adaptive grid projection method to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible interfacial flows characterized by large density ratios is presented. The numerical model is similar to the one we proposed in [7] and extended to 3D problems in [8].The free surface is described using a level set method. A Godunov-type method and a Crank-Nicholson temporal discretization scheme are used to solve the advection equation of the level set function and to update of the momentum equation. The reinitialization procedure of the distance function is based on solving a hyperbolic equation to steady state using third-order Runge-Kutta and fifth-order WENO schemes.The conservation equations are discretized on a rectangular adaptive grid with an octree data structure and the pressure stored at the grid cell vertices. In order to avoid spurious pressure oscillations, the velocity components are stored at the cell edges. This new storage scheme combines the advantages of vertex-based schemes, in which the nodes where the pressure is stored are aligned, and cell center-based schemes, which avoid pressure-velocity coupling problems.The numerical model incorporates a continuous surface tension model based on the balanced-force algorithm proposed in [6]. A special treatment of T-nodes (nodes located at vertices, edges or faces of cells belonging to two different refinement levels) is proposed that considerably improves the efficiency of the method.Several tests in two and three dimensions have been carried out to assess the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. In this work we present some numerical results for a 3D kinematic test, which are compared with those obtained by other authors. We also present results for the impact of a drop of water onto a liquid surface, which are compared with experimental visualization results.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


In Paraisópolis, a slum in São Paulo (Brazil) housing over 100.000 inhabitants, the Covid crisis seemed to have less of a death toll (0,0217%) than in other areas of the city (an average of 0,0652% as of May 2020); or at least it did at first. The sense of community in the area is strong, leading to many community initiatives and organisations to rise to the challenge of combating the pandemic with little help from the authorities. The community's initial efficient response to the Covid crisis relied heavily on self‐reliance and self‐organization to mobilise common resources. Despite their later failure in containing the virus, the community's response to the pandemic is exemplary of a well‐known phenomenon: how communities are able to mobilise the commons to create general welfare. The commons concept is used in this contribution to help us better understand slum governance and the power and limitations of community reliance. At the same time, we aim to refine our understanding of the commons as a contentious category rooted in agonistic relationships instead of the romanticised leftist social imaginary that views the commons as purely anti‐capitalist. Thus, we explicitly argue for a view of the commons and commoning that transcends the narrow "Leftist imaginary" of the commons as egalitarian, inclusive, anti‐capitalist, horizontal, and as expressions of sharing (and caring), and instead views the commons as embedded in everyday realities, where commoning practices emerge as practises that support the reproduction of (social) life.


Both human plasma carboxypeptidase N (CPN) and membrane-bound carboxypeptidase M (CPM) released the C-terminal arginine (alpha-Arg141) of the alpha chain of human adult hemoglobin. An arginase contamination present in the hemoglobin preparation, which converted the released arginine to ornithine, was removed by gel filtration. CPM was about 20 times more efficient than CPN or its active subunit in hydrolyzing oxyhemoglobin and cleaved oxyhemoglobin twice as fast as deoxyhemoglobin. The hydrolysis of the peptide bond of alpha-Arg141 accelerated the dissociation rate of the tetramer deoxy-des-alpha-Arg141 hemoglobin to dimers 2500-fold over that of deoxyhemoglobin, as measured by haptoglobin binding. Moreover, the dissociation of the deoxy-des-alpha-Arg141 hemoglobin tetramer to dimers was not affected by 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid. Des-alpha-Arg141 hemoglobin had a higher oxygen affinity (P50, 5.51 mm Hg; control, 19.94 mm Hg [P50 is the partial pressure of oxygen that gives 50% of the saturation of hemoglobin]) and a lower apparent cooperativity (Hill coefficient: n, 1.02; control, 2.24) than unhydrolyzed hemoglobin. After hemoglobin was incubated in human plasma, its oxygen-binding parameters, the P50, and the Hill coefficient decreased drastically due to cleavage by CPN. In the perfused rat heart, des-alpha-Arg141 hemoglobin was a more effective coronary vasoconstrictor than hemoglobin, possibly because it dissociated to dimers in the coronary vascular bed. A covalently cross-linked hemoglobin was less active than native hemoglobin. The coronary vasoconstriction was caused by multiple factors, including interference with vasodilation by nitric oxide and eicosanoids. Thus, the hydrolysis of hemoglobin by CPM and CPN demonstrated the contribution of the alpha-Arg141 residue to sustaining the tetrameric structure of hemoglobin and its normal oxygen affinity and vasoactivity.


Much of what is done in Latter-day Saint temples is symbolic. Temple symbolism, however, extends well beyond the ordinances performed within the temples. From the Kirtland Temple's pulpits representing the different orders of the priesthood to the stones on the Salt Lake Temple representing the universe and one's relationship to God, exterior temple symbolism complements the principles learned within. The architecture within temples also provides insights into the ordinances. In many temples, murals depicting the different kingdoms of glory and stairs leading to higher areas remind participants of their ascent to God. This article chronicles, in detail, the meanings and development of these and other symbols incorporated into the architecture of modern-day temples. Title


FREEWAT is an HORIZON 2020 project financed by the EU Commission under the call WATER INNOVATION: BOOSTING ITS VALUE FOR EUROPE. FREEWAT main result is an open source and public domain GIS-integrated modeling environment for the simulation of groundwater quantity and quality, with an integrated water management and planning module. FREEWAT aims at promoting water resource management by simplifying the application of the Water Framework Directive and other EU water-related Directives. To this scope, the FREEWAT platform results from the integration in the QGIS Desktop of spatially distributed and physically-based codes (mostly belonging to the USGS MODFLOW family), which allow to get a deep insight in groundwater dynamics, taking into account the space and time variability of stresses which control the hydrological cycle. This is attempted in a unique GIS environment, where large spatial datasets can be managed and visualized. In this paper, a review of the tools/modules integrated in FREEWAT for data pre-processing and model implementation is provided. FREEWAT applicability was demonstrated through running 14 case studies, in the general framework of an innovative participatory approach, which consists in involving technical staff and relevant stakeholders (in primis policy and decision makers) during modeling activities, thus creating a common environment to enhance science and evidence-based decision making in water resource management.


KiWi is a semantic Wiki, aiming to combine the wiki philosophy of collaborative content creation and the methods of the Semantic Web to enable effective knowledge management. Its intended use is in enterprise knowledge management and other social software settings, and thus encompasses a broad spectrum of possible users. To accommodate users with varying technological backgrounds and varying intended uses for the software, KiWi has its own keyword-based query language, KWQL, which allows for both very complex querying and construction based on the internal KiWi model, and simple keyword queries. This thesis introduces visKWQL and the KWQL Query Builder, a visual rendering of and editor for the textual KWQL language, that allows the creation of queries by constructing them from visual building blocks, each corresponding to an operator or keyword of the KWQL language. The Query Builder supports the user in the creation of queries by preventing operations that would result in syntactically incorrect queries, visually displays problems in the query, guides the user with hints and warnings through the query creation process and displays descriptions of the visible building blocks. The Query Builder automatically translates the visual query into its textual form. Additionally, since it also includes a parser for KWQL, it supports round-tripping, allowing the user to edit the textual query without using the visual Query Builder, and see the changes reflected in the visual representation, or to further textually edit a query generated using the visual editor. This thesis first gives an overview of different visual languages and methodologies and a short introduction to KiWi and the KiWi Query Language. Afterwards, visKWQL and the KWQL Query Builder are introduced, first giving an overview of the language and editor features, followed by a user's manual and a look at the implementation.


The concept of localization in wireless sensor networks refers to finding locations of sensors and use this information while reporting events. There are a number of nodes that already aware of their position (known as Beacons); they support other blind nodes to know their locations through localization techniques. It is infeasible to supply every node with GPS due to a large number of nodes and high cost and GPS is not functioning indoor, thus the localization techniques must find alternative ways to supply nodes with their locations. The location information is useful in making decisions. Each localization algorithm, hardware, and architecture is suitable for a specific application. Some of these applications work indoor as well as outdoor. This paper presents an analytical study of several algorithms and performance measure that used to locate the sensor nodes and also review some applications and simulators for these algorithms.


Quetta straddles four significant historical regions and plays a role in two major armed conflicts - the war in Afghanistan, and the Baloch nationalist insurgency in Pakistan. The city itself has remained relatively peaceful, though a closer look reveals the ways in which the two wars have encroached upon urban life. Quetta is an international border post as well as an internal buffer zone between major ethnic groups. It is a colonial enclave that was originally populated for the purposes of subduing its expansive tribal hinterland. The city is also an urban hub where possibilities of modern political development have been imagined and pursued, and one which bears potential for the appropriation and disbursal of massive economic rents. An analysis of Quetta's geography, history and institutional development shows that three aspects of the city's character - border/buffer zone, colonial enclave and urban hub - have remained significant through its evolution since the late 19th century. A description of the city and its context enables the identification of the various elites and non-elites that have a stake in Quetta and in projects of state-building and state-breaking in its hinterland. The colliding and overlapping interests of the Pakistan central state, its military and political elites, provincial patrons, Baloch and Pashtun ethnic nationalists, settlers, Afghan migrants, and Islamic clerics have shaped Quetta's contributions to state-building in Balochistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Whether it is the border/buffer zone, colonial enclave or urban hub that prevails depends on the balance of power between and alignments within these various elites.


This essay reviews several of the main ways in which scholars of religion have depicted relationships between religion and market economies in the United States. It traces sociological, historical, and ethnographic approaches to the study of religion and market economies, examining how scholars have navigated the tensions between religious declension, on the one hand, and celebration of free market ideals, on the other. It then suggests some directions for further study, including better integration of the studies of material goods, labor, and capitalism with studies of religion and market economies; new studies of religion and finance; greater attention to non-capitalist systems in U.S. history; and studies that recognize the permeable and co-constructed nature of religion and market economies.


Agricultural mechanization in developing countries has taken at least two contested innovation pathways—the "incumbent trajectory" that promotes industrial agriculture, and an "alternative pathway" that supports small-scale mechanization for sustainable development of hillside farming systems. Although both pathways can potentially reduce human and animal drudgery, the body of literature that assesses the sustainability impacts of these mechanization pathways in the local ecological, socio-economic, cultural, and historical contexts of hillside farms is either nonexistent or under-theorized. This paper addresses this missing literature by examining the case of Nepal's first Agricultural Mechanization Promotion Policy 2014 (AMPP) using a conceptual framework of what will be defined as "responsible innovation". The historical context of this assessment involves the incumbent trajectory of mechanization in the country since the late 1960s that neglected smallholder farms located in the hills and mountains and biased mechanization policy for flat areas only. Findings from this study suggest that the AMPP addressed issues for smallholder production, including gender inequality, exclusion of smallholder farmers, and biophysical challenges associated with hillside farming systems, but it remains unclear whether and how the policy promotes small-scale agricultural mechanization for sustainable development of agriculture in the hills and mountains of Nepal.


A self-contained self-rescue unit is a device that is used in the mining industry in case of fires or release of toxic gases that depletes or contaminates breathable oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere. These units are the first line of defense by providing oxygen in a closed breathing cycle, allowing personnel to get themselves to safety.The goal of this project was to design a unit that is more comfortable to carry during the daily operations in and outside the mines. A unit that is easier to done and less likely to damage the users and/or surrounding mining equipment. It is developed in close collaboration with Atlas Copco, as the main sponsor, as well as Drager and personnel working at Zink Gruvan Mining. The result is a unit with an operational time of twenty minutes and a reduced size and weight. It's position can be adjusted to be worn around the waist or the chest, depending on the tasks the user performs, as well as simplifying the donning procedure.


We summarize the risk factors that may significantly contribute to racial disparities in pancreatic cancer, which is now the third leading cause of cancer deaths and projected to be second around 2030 in 12 years. For decades, the incidence rate of pancreatic cancer among Blacks has been 30% to 70% higher than other racial groups in the United States and the 5-year survival rate is approximately 5%. Diabetes and obesity have been identified as potentially predisposing factors to pancreatic cancer and both are more common among Blacks. Smoking continues to be one of the most important risk factors for pancreatic cancer and smoking rates are higher among Blacks compared to other racial groups. The overall risk of pancreatic cancer due to changes in DNA is thought to be the same for most racial groups; however, DNA methylation levels have been observed to be significantly different between Blacks and Whites. This finding may underlie the racial disparities in pancreatic cancer. Identification and prevention of these factors may be effective strategies to reduce the high incidence and mortality rates for pancreatic cancer among Blacks.


The increasing recognition of the need to treat chronic pain has led to an increase in the number of interventional procedures performed on an outpatient basis, and consequently, a rise in the number of complications as well. Safe interventional pain management requires Pain specialists have a comprehensive understanding of how to perform a procedure as well as how to manage any acute complications. Though simplistic, an emphasis on prevention is the solution to avoiding a complication. This involves meticulous planning of the injection technique based on the relevant anatomy, thoughtful selection of doses and concentrations of medications, careful injection of the medications, and attentive monitoring of the patient. When prevention is not enough, preparation can be life-saving. Resuscitation equipment should be readily accessible, and physicians should be prepared to institute Advanced Cardiac Life Support protocols. Immediate recognition of the signs and symptoms associated with a vasovagal reaction, hypotension, hypertension, systemic local anesthetic toxicity, high spinal, pneumothorax, and anaphylaxis is paramount, as prompt treatment offers the best chance for a successful outcome.


A total of 400 nursery pigs (initially 12.5 lb) were used in a 20-d study to evaluate the effects of varying porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccination timing on growth performance of pigs fed commercial segregated early weaning (SEW) and transition diets from 4 different sources. At weaning (d 0), pigs were blocked by weight and randomly allotted to 1 of 8 treatments. Treatments were arranged in a 2 × 4 factorial on the basis of vaccination timing (0 or 8 d after weaning) and diet source (A, B, C, or D). There were 5 pigs per pen and 10 pens per treatment. Initially, SEW and transition diets were budgeted at 1 and 5 lb/pig, respectively. The SEW and transition diets were formulated to similar Kansas State University specifications but made by different manufacturers. Feeders were emptied on d 8, and a common phase 2 diet was fed for the remainder of the trial. On d 0, 4, 8, and 20, pigs were weighed and feed disappearance was measured to determine ADG, ADFI, and F/G. Diet source influenced (P < 0.001) ADG during the first 4 d of the trial. Pigs fed diet B had increased (P < 0.001) BW (d 4) and ADG (d 0 to 4) compared with pigs fed all other diets, and diet D pigs exhibited increased ADG compared with pigs fed diet C. On d 8, diet source effects remained significant (P ≤ 0.02) for pig weights (d 8) as well as ADG and ADFI (d 4 to 8 and 0 to 8). Pigs fed diet A had increased (P < 0.01) ADG (d 4 to 8) compared with pigs fed the other 3 diet sources. Pigs fed diets A and B had similar ADFI, but their ADFI (d 4 to 8) was greater (P ≤ 0.02) than that of pigs fed diets C and D. There were no effects of diet source from d 8 to 20. Pigs vaccinated on d 0 had lower (P < 0.01) BW (d 8) and ADG and ADFI (d 4 to 8 and d 0 to 8) than pigs vaccinated on d 8. From d 8 to 20, pigs vaccinated on d 8 had lower (P = 0.05) ADG. Overall (d 0 to 20), diet source and vaccine timing did not influence growth performance, although pigs fed diet C had a numeric decrease (P = 0.06) in ADFI. Nursery pigs in this trial were initially affected by both SEW/transition diet source and vaccination timing, but the influence of these factors lessened with time. Despite the transient nature of these effects, however, data obtained during this trial indicate that nursery pig growth performance is affected by diet source and vaccine timing immediately postweaning, and these factors should be taken into consideration when managing weaning groups.