Abstract Rhynchophorus (curculionid) larvae produce economic damage to ornamental and date palm crops that could be mitigated significantly by early detection and treatment. Acoustic technology enables early detection, but often it is difficult to distinguish insect sounds from background noise containing energy at the resonant frequencies of stiff, fibrous structures in trees and other plants. Tests were conducted with currently available acoustic instrumentation and software to assess the capability of these methods to discriminate curculionid, cerambycid, and buprestid larval sounds from background noise in woody structures. An approach to the discrimination problem is to monitor the temporal patterns of the 3-10-ms sound impulses produced by locomotory and feeding activities. Playback and computer analyses of larval sounds revealed trains of impulses separated by intervals of less than 500 ms that experienced listeners frequently use as indications of potential insect sounds. Further analyses identified a subgroup of trains, denoted as bursts, containing > 6 and < 200 impulses, which occurred frequently when larvae were present but only rarely when larvae were absent. The incorporation of bursts into the analysis process significantly improved the capability to distinguish sounds produced by beetle larvae from background noise when these insects were hidden in stiff, fibrous structures, and likely will be of assistance also in other applications where consistent activity patterns of hidden pests can be identified.


Numerous animal feeding studies have investigated the presence of DNA from transgenic plants in tissues from different animal species, but the data reported are sometimes controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of transgenic DNA (tDNA) in the digesta and tissues of a meat rabbit breed fed genetically modified (GM) soybean meal. Fifteen male New Zealand White rabbits were used for the experimental trial. Ten rabbits (treated group [TG]) were fed a mixed feed containing 10% GM soybean meal and 5 rabbits (control group [CG]) received a mixed feed containing conventional soybean meal, both from weaning (28 d of age) to slaughter (80 ± 3 d). Samples of blood, liver, kidney, heart, stomach, intestine (jejunum), lateral quadricep muscle, longissimus muscle, and perirenal adipose tissue were collected to assess the possible DNA transfer from GM feed to animal tissues. Samples of stomach contents and feces were also taken to study the degradability of ingested tDNA from feed in the digestive tract of rabbit. Moreover, samples of hair were collected to determine the possible environmental contamination from feed powders present on the farm. The DNA extraction was performed using specific genomic DNA kits. All samples were monitored, by using real-time PCR, for oligonucleotide primers and probes specific for the transgenic Roundup Ready soybean 40-3-2 and for the endogenous () gene. As an internal control of rabbit tissues, the presence of the () gene was used. In this study, no fragments of tDNA were detectable in tissue DNA samples of rabbits except in the extracted DNA from stomach digesta, feces, and hair of rabbits fed with GM soybean. Similar results were found for the reference gene, whereas the presence of the gene was detected in all rabbit tissues. The lack of tDNA of soybean in rabbit tissues represents an important result, which demonstrates that meat from rabbits fed a diet containing GM feed is as that derived from rabbits fed conventional crops. The recombinant DNA recovered in the stomach digesta and in feces indicates an incomplete digestion of the soybean DNA in the gastrointestinal tract of the rabbit, whereas the presence of trace soybean transgene in the hair of the TG rabbits is suggestive of an environmental contamination.


The joining of high temperature structural ceramics to other materials is an important process commercially and technologically. Due to the existence of physical and economic limitations for the manufacture of large parts, joining is essential. Functional gradient materials (FGMs) are designed to exhibit a desirable gradient in a property, due ether to a gradient in composition, or microstructure, or both. In this paper, Si3N4-Al2O3 functional gradient joining material was prepared by hot press sintering of multilayered FGMs with 20 layers of thickness 400um each using β-Sialon as transient interlayer. The structure and properties of the materials were analyzed by the means of scan electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and micro-sclerometer. The components of the materials have gradient distribution and successional. The microhardness is gradient changing with the change of micro-structure. The interface between layers is tightly coupling and has no stress convergence. The test of thermal shock and fatigue cracks of FGM between 1300 °C and 900 °C show good properties of thermal stress relaxing and resistance for high temperature.


BACKGROUND
Sensory qualities of dyspnea are known to differ by diagnosis. Less is known about whether sensory qualities vary with changes in health status in a given diagnosis.

PURPOSE
The goal of this study was to evaluate the reliability, validity, and factor structure of dyspnea sensory quality descriptors in patients with heart failure (HF) treated in an emergency department (ED) and to investigate whether change in sensory quality influences HF patients to seek care in an ED.

METHODS
HF patients (N = 57) treated in an ED were interviewed retrospectively. Open-ended characterizations of dyspnea at the time of the ED visit were analyzed qualitatively. A subset of subjects (n = 34) rated the intensity of 13 dyspnea descriptors (0 = not endorsed; 1= very mild; 10 = very severe) as the descriptors applied to the time at which they decided to come to the ED (Decision) and a week before the visit (Week Before). Descriptor ratings were analyzed for congruence with open-ended characterizations, endorsement frequency, internal consistency, factor structure, and correlations (by descriptor and within subjects) between the 2 time frames.

RESULTS
Open-ended characterizations of dyspnea provided support for the content validity of most descriptors. Internal consistency of numerical ratings was high (alpha >0.90) in both recalled time frames. Factor analysis of descriptor ratings was unifactorial for Week Before, but suggested multiple sensory quality factors at Decision (suffocation, air hunger, effort/impedance, and, possibly, rate). Within-subject concordance and descriptor-by-descriptor correlations across time frames were mostly low, suggesting change in sensory quality from Week Before to Decision. Correlations in descriptor ratings were lowest among subjects who reported duration of dyspnea (as severe as at Decision) of 3 days or less. Subjects who recalled a duration of 6 days or more gave highly concordant ratings across both time frames.

CONCLUSION
Sensory quality descriptor-based ratings were internally consistent and content valid. Low correlations in ratings of sensory quality for most subjects across recalled time frames suggest that change in sensory quality may be an aspect of perceived increases in dyspnea severity before an ED visit. Results require replication and extension with larger samples and other diagnoses.


Ft statistic test is a non classical method of comparing two or more groups. This statistical procedure is able to handle problems of sample locations when non-normality occurs but the homogeneity of variances assumption still applies. This method is not robust under the existence of variance heterogeneity. To make this test less sensitive when either one or both of the common assumptions are violated, in this study the test is modified and improved by replacing the test's original central tendency measure that is, the fixed symmetric trimmed mean with a predetermined asymmetric trimmed mean and a modified one-step M-estimator (MOM) trimmed mean. The finding shows that when the data is suspected to be extremely skewed, then, it will be advantageous to adopt MOM procedures for homogeneous variance cases. On the other hand, for heterogeneous variances, a trimmed mean which uses predetermined asymmetric trimmed mean should be considered as an alternative, particularly for testing the equality of four groups.


Telehealth has been widening its scope of action in Sistema Unico de Saude SUS (the brazilian public health system, literally Unified Health System) focusing in Primary Health Care. Pernambuco develops telehealth financed by Department of Health and subsidies paid by research funded-institutions, and has expanded its actions with the Programa Telessaude Brasil Redes (PTBR-Redes). The implementation of this program in Pernambuco from 2007 till 2011 is the objective of this essay. The study was qualitative using data triangulation to establish its validity. The PTBR-Redes institutionalization and development in Pernambuco emphasize the former telehealth experience of Universidade Federal de Pernambuco and the motion for its formulation in other brazilian universities. The lack of political articulation in this state, the high turnover of health professional and the difficulty of connection to the internet are problems that slow down the PTBR-Redes working. We recommend that deep evaluation of this program should be done, insofar as it is essential for its sustainability.


A weight-t halfspace} is a Boolean function f(x)=\sign(w_1 x_1 + … + w_n x_n - θ) where each w_i is an integer in \{-t,\dots,t\}. We give an explicit pseudorandom generator that δ-fools any intersection of k weight-t halfspaces with seed length \poly(\log n, \log k,t,1/δ). In particular, our result gives an explicit PRG that fools any intersection of any quasi\poly(n) number of halfspaces of any \polylog(n) weight to any 1/\polylog(n) accuracy using seed length \polylog(n). Prior to this work no explicit PRG with non-trivial seed length was known even for fooling intersections of n weight-1 halfspaces to constant accuracy.The analysis of our PRG fuses techniques from two different lines of work on unconditional pseudorandomness for different kinds of Boolean functions. We extend the approach of Harsha, Klivans and Meka \cite{HKM12} for fooling intersections of regular halfspaces, and combine this approach with results of Bazzi \cite{Bazzi:07} and Razborov \cite{Razborov:09} on bounded independence fooling CNF formulas. Our analysis introduces new coupling-based ingredients into the standard Lindeberg method for establishing quantitative central limit theorems and associated pseudorandomness results.


The study aims to compare the perceptions of self-efficacy and job satisfaction level between Korean and Non-Korean teachers. Questionnaires based from literature review were administered to 44 teachers at Hanseo University. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment of Correlation and ANOVA have been used to analyze the data in the study. According to the result, there is no significant difference on the level of job satisfaction and the perception of efficacy between Korean and Non-Korean teachers. On the other hand, there is a significant positive relationship between teacher efficacy and job satisfaction level.


Objective. Self-reported diagnoses of inflammatory arthritis are not accurate. The primary study aim was to ascertain self-reported diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in the Norwegian population-based Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) using hospital case files. The secondary aim was to provide updated estimates of the prevalence and incidence of RA and AS. Methods. All inhabitants ≥ 20 years old from the county of Nord-Trøndelag were invited. Data from 70,805 unique participants from HUNT2 (1995–1997) and HUNT3 (2006–2008) were included. For participants who self-reported RA or AS, case files from all 3 hospitals in the catchment area were evaluated using standardized diagnostic criteria. Results. Of 2703 self-reported cases of RA, 19.1% were verified in hospital files. Of 1064 self-reported cases of AS, 15.8% were verified. Of 259 cases self-reporting both RA and AS, 8.1% had RA and 5.4% had AS. Overall, a self-report of 1 or both diagnoses could not be verified in 82.1%, including 22.8% with insufficient information or no case file. The prevalence of RA was 768 (95% CI 705–835) per 100,000. The incidence of RA from HUNT2 to HUNT3 was 0.48 (0.41–0.56) per 1000 per year. The prevalence of AS was 264 (228–305) per 100,000. The incidence of AS from HUNT2 to HUNT3 was 0.19 (0.15–0.24) per 1000 per year. Conclusion. Self-reported diagnoses of RA and AS are often false-positive. The prevalence and incidence of RA were comparable to reports from similar populations. The incidence of AS was higher than previously reported in a mixed population from Norway.


Until recently, the prognosis and treatment of patients with advanced-stage squamous cell lung cancers have been limited. An improvement in the understanding of the role of the immune system in tumor immunosurveillance has led to the development of the programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo). Nivolumab is the first PD-1 inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced-stage squamous cell non-small-cell lung cancer following platinum-based chemotherapy. In the key Phase III trial CHECKMATE 017, a better overall survival and progression-free survival were seen in patients treated with second-line nivolumab compared with docetaxel. Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression did not predict for outcome. In addition, nivolumab had better safety and tolerability, and led to better patient reported outcomes. Further research on the role of PD-L1 expression as a predictive biomarker should be performed, and other biomarkers that can predict the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors should also be pursued. Further studies on the combination treatment are ongoing to determine the optimal role of nivolumab as monotherapy or nivolumab with other agents in non-small-cell lung cancer.


Only a few studies have described hormonal treatments for induction of synchronicity and gamete collection in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), both important for assortative matings in breeding programmes and essential for polyploidy technologies. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of carp pituitary extract (CPE), Nile tilapia pituitary extract (TPE), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) protocols on the induction of spawning and egg production in Nile tilapia. Among the hormonal treatments analysed, only hCG was effective for producing viable gametes for in vitro fertilization. To verify the viability of this hormonal treatment, hCG was tested using different doses (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 IU/kg) in a large number of females (208 animals) from two Nile tilapia lines. The results indicated that hCG doses between 1000 and 5000 IU/kg could be used to induce final oocyte maturation in Nile tilapia with collection of stripped oocytes. This is the first study to report differential reproductive responses to hormonal treatment between tilapia lines: line 1 was more efficient at producing eggs and post-hatching larvae after hCG induction than line 2. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the hCG protocol may be applied on a large scale to induce final oocyte maturation in Nile tilapia. The development of a protocol for in vitro fertilization in Nile tilapia may aid in breeding programmes and biotechnological assays for the development of genetically modified lines of Nile tilapia.


This study was conducted to analyze the effects of regular sight reading studies of classical guitar students on their sight reading and their performance of classical guitar. In the research, experimental method was used with a pretest-posttest control and experimental group. The application process was carried out with 14 undergraduate students studying Music and Fine Arts Education Department from Marmara University. In the study groups, 7 students from the individual instrument training course made up the experimental group (n=7) and another 7 students from the individual instrument training made up the control group (n=7). Data were collected using "The Guitar Performance Grading Scale" and "The Sight Reading Performance Evaluation Scale". The study included a 10-week experimental process. The process was carried out within 1 week of pretest evaluations by a jury of experts, 8 weeks of individual guitar enstrument training performed by the researcher and 1 week of posttest evaluations by the jury. The data obtained was analyzed after the application and interpreted by statistical techniques. In the application that was done with the groups to analyze the influence of a regular sight reading practice upon sight reading skills, a significant difference was found between the experimental and control group posttest "Sight Reading Performance Evaluation Scale" scores in favor of the experimental group. In the other application done to analyze the influence of a regular sight reading practice upon classical guitar performance, a significant difference was found between experimental and control group in favor of experimental group "Guitar Performance Grading Scale" posttest scores. According to the findings, it has been concluded that the education given to the experimental group in the research positively influenced and improved the sight reading skills and classical guitar performances of the students; thus, various suggestions were given on the subject.

 Key words: Instrument training, classical guitar education, sight reading, performance.


By using mutagenesis induced by N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, 150 temperature-sensitive mutants of rhizobiophage c were isolated. All were able to form plaques at 14 C but not at 29 C. They were classified into 21 complementation groups. Representative temperature-sensitive mutants from each complementation group were analyzed with regard to gene function. The approximate time of expression of the genes defined by the mutants was measured by temperature-shift experiments. Most genes began to be expressed at 4.0 to 7.5 h after infection at 14 C. Four genes were found which were expressed 2.5 to 3.5 h after infection. Some mutants showed no DNA synthesis at 29 C; some showed a delay in lysis. Some produced apparently normal particles after infection and lysis at 29 C; others produced various types of defective particles. Some mutants showing no DNA synthesis at 29 C nevertheless caused lysis at the normal time together with the production of phage structural components. Representative mutants from each complementation group were mapped by using two-factor crosses. A preliminary genetic map of phage c was constructed from the data.


The aim of this research was to explore the ICT skills of LIS students in Kuwaiti HE
that are potentially defined by the job market. These skills are deemed essential for
the employment of LIS graduates in different job market sectors. As a result, the ICT
skills of current LIS students, the needs of employers, and the LIS curriculum in
Kuwait were all investigated. In addition the factors that had an impact on students
ICT skills were also investigated.
To fulfil the research aim and objectives, mixed research methods were employed.
The research subjects were employers, LIS students, and teaching staff. Their views
were sought through qualitative and quantitative methods that included: 54 semistructured
interviews; 225 self-administered questionnaires; these were supplemented
by three focus groups; and content analysis of relevant web sites, reports, and LIS
syllabus to provide further documentation and analysis.
The main findings of the research were: (1) overall the students had knowledge and
basic ICT skills, but they lacked advanced searching and internet navigation skills.
85% of the students did not have enough ICT skills; their ICT skills level was selfrated
as intermediate or beginner ; (2) the research investigated negative factors
such as: unsuitable teaching and learning environment, negative attitudes, social
influences, and lack of resources; (3) the students most preferred teaching and
training method was group training ; (4) the employers identified further ICT skills
and non-ICT skills that LIS graduates should possess for employability; (5) gaps were
found in the curriculum and in teaching and training the ICT courses such as: course
content was inconsistent; did not reflect the needs of the job market and were
outdated; an imbalance between theory and practical training, courses had different
outline and little use of the English language hindered the students ICT skills
improvement and ICT use. In addition, work placement needed careful consideration.
Recommendations based on the research findings and conclusions were made to the
DLIS in Kuwait and stakeholders. Future ideas were identified for further research.


The aim of this chapter is to analyse electronic marketplaces from an organisational point of view. These marketplaces are considered as a particular form of electronic network and are analysed from the perspective of transaction cost theory. This chapter considers the three classical effects identified by Malone et al. (communication effect, electronic integration effect, electronic mediation effect), and also evaluates a fourth effect on the grounds of empirical evidence; this effect is defined by Wigand as "the strategic electronic network effect." Adopting the case study approach, the chapter describes how ICT affects marketplace organisation, and reshapes relationships among the actors involved in this particular type of electronic network.


Objective To asses the changes in platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in liver fibrosis. Data sources The data were sourced from the PubMed database from the start of the database to 2017 and from all materials available in the Internet. Study selection The initial search presented 423 articles of which 39 met the inclusion criteria. The articles studied the relation between PDGF and liver fibrosis. Data extraction If the studies did not fulfill the inclusion criteria, they were excluded. Study quality assessment included when ethical approval was obtained, eligibility criteria defined, sufficient information, convenient controls, and known assessment measures. Data synthesis Comparisons were made through structured review with the results tabulated. Findings In total, 39 potentially relevant publications were included. The studies indicate an association between PDGF and liver fibrosis as PDGF increases in patients with hepatic fibrosis and correlates well with the grade of fibrosis. The majority of studies were performed on the effect of PDGF antagonists on liver fibrosis and they found that interference of PDGF pathway leads to reduction of liver fibrosis. Conclusion We found that PDGF levels increase in patients with liver fibrosis and its level correlates well with the stage of fibrosis; thus, PDGF can be used as a potential noninvasive marker for liver fibrosis either alone or in association with other fibrosis markers. Further, antagonizing the pathway of PDGF may offer a promising strategy for the treatment of liver fibrosis.


BACKGROUND
This phase III trial was to compare 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), adriamycin, and polyadenylic-polyuridylic acid (poly A:U) against 5-fluorouracil plus adriamycin (FA) for operable gastric cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
From 1984 to 1989, patients who had D(2-3) curative resection were randomly assigned to receive chemotherapy or chemoimmunotherapy. Chemotherapy consisted of 12 mg/kg 5-FU every week for 18 months and 40 mg/m2 adriamycin every 3 weeks for 12 cycles. Chemoimmunotherapy consisted of FA plus 100 mg of poly A:U weekly for six cycles and was followed 6 months later by six weekly 50-mg booster injections.

RESULTS
A total of 292 patients were enrolled. After excluding 12 ineligible patients, 142 and 138 patients were allocated to each treatment. Patients were balanced with prognostic variables: age, sex, tumor location, differentiation, degree of tumor invasion (T2-T4a), and lymph node status (N0-N2). During the 15-year follow-up, chemoimmunotherapy significantly prolonged overall (P = 0.013) and recurrence-free (P = 0.005) survivals compared with chemotherapy alone. The survival benefits were prominent in the subset of patients with T3/T4a, N2, or stage III. Treatments were generally well tolerated in both arms.

CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate a survival advantage of chemoimmunotherapy with a regimen of FA and poly A:U in curatively resected gastric adenocarcinoma.


ABSTRACT The Identification of Yeasts Which Were Isolated from Soils in the Wamena Biological Garden, Jayawijaya Residence, Papua Province. The present study deals with the isolation and identification of yeasts isolated from soil samples in The Wamena Biological Garden, Papua. Microbial population in 11 samples were estimated by plate count method. The yeasts population were ranged from 30.0 x102 until 16.5 x106 cells/g soil. Fifteen isolates of yeasts were taxonomically studied. On the basis of morphological and physiological characteristics these isolates were belonging to two group namely ascomycetous-imperfect yeasts and basidiomycetous yeasts. Futher, they were separated into three group. Out of 15 isolates, eleven isolates were included in group I and identified into genus level as Cryptococcus, three in group II as Candida and one isolate in group III identified into species level as Cryptococcus albidus. Type of sample sources appeared has no effect on yeasts diversity as shown by similar yeast isolate was observed isolated from different sources. Key words : Ascomycetous-imperfect yeasts, basidiomycetous yeasts, The Wamena Biological Garden, Papua.


Searle, J. B. 1990. A cytogenetic analysis of reproduction in common shrews (Sorex araneus) from a karyotypic hybrid zone. —Hereditas 113: 121–132. Lund, Sweden. ISSN 0018–0661. Received May 21, 1990. Accepted June 25, 1990

Sixteen pregnant female common shrews were collected near Oxford (U.K.) from a hybrid zone between two karyotypic races which differ by Robertsonian rearrangements. Some females were homozygotes and others were 'simple' or 'complex' Robertsonian heterozygotes. The females and their fetuses were karyotyped and number of ovulations and regressing implants scored. Prenatal losses were noted in female simple Robertsonian heterozygotes. Some losses, including two trisomics, were likely to be due to anaphase I nondisjunction of the maternal autosomal trivalent. However, numbers of ovulations were found to be higher in these heterozygotes than in the homozygotes, and this could compensate for prenatal losses due to nondisjunction. Overall, fertility of females from the hybrid zone did not differ substantially from that of females from other areas of karyotypic polymorphism or monomorphism. There was no evidence for assonative mating or assortative fertilisation within the hybrid zone. On chromosomal grounds, the hybrid zone is unlikely to be a major barrier to gene flow.


This paper documents a decreasing trend in the geographical concentration of EU agrofood imports. Decomposing the concentration indices into intensive and extensive margins components, we find that the decrease in overall concentration indices results from two diverging trends: the pattern of trade diversifies at the extensive margin (EU countries have been sourcing their agri-food products from a wider range of suppliers), while geographical concentration increases at the intensive-margin (EU countries have concentrated their imports on a few major suppliers). This leads to an increasing inequality in market shares between a small group of large suppliers and a majority of small suppliers. We then move on to exploit a database of food alerts at the EU border that had never been exploited before. After coding it into HS8 categories, we regress the incidence of food alerts by product on determinants including exporter dummies as well as HS8 product dummies. Coefficients on product dummies provide unbiased estimates of the intrinsic vulnerability of exported products to food alerts, as measured at the EU border. We incorporate the product risk coefficient as an explanatory variable in a regression of geographical concentration and show that concentration is higher for risky products.


Introduction
Students favour teaching methods employing audiovisual aids over didactic lectures not using these aids. However, the optimum use of audiovisual aids is essential for deriving their benefits. This study was done to know the students' preference regarding the various audiovisual aids, with an aim to improve their use in didactic lectures.
Methods
Two hundred and fifty seven fifth semester medical students were invited to participate in a questionnaire based study. Two hundred and twenty four (87.2%) students completed the questionnaire and their responses were analyzed. The first
part of the questionnaire included demographic and educational details. The second part consisted of 12 statements regarding the preference of audiovisual aids for
various aspects of learning.
Results
41.1% were female students. 85.3% of the students preferred the use of audiovisual aids during didactic lectures. A mixture of audiovisual aids during didactic lectures
was preferred (42.4%), especially for understanding a particular topic. Females were more likely to take notes during the class lecture (p<0.001). Males preferred handouts
over self made notes (p<0.001). Students from government institutions preferred power point presentations for understanding the subject matter (p=0.03), while those
from private schools preferred the blackboard (p=0.04).
Conclusion
Our study demonstrates that lectures delivered by using a mixture of audio visual aids are more appreciated by the students. Furthermore, the lecture should be constructed in a fashion so as to enable the students to gather factual information easily and in a concise manner. Teachers should note that the students preferred a combination of visual aids and were interested in taking notes during lectures.


Author(s): Merrill, Anne Francisca | Advisor(s): Afifi, Tamara | Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of couple identity (or the degree to which one's partner and relationship are central to one's personal identity; Acitelli, Rogers, a Knee, 1999) in romantic partners' communicative and physiological management of stress associated with relational conflict. The current study extends the research on couple identity by introducing the concept of identity gaps (Hecht, 1993) into relational contexts as a way to explain why couples vary in their ability to manage stress. With assumptions that perceptions of couple identity are beneficial to stress management and that perceptions of couple identity gaps are detrimental to stress management, it was hypothesized that these variables would predict romantic partners' a) perceptions of anxiety, stress, and negativity associated with a conflict-inducing discussion and b) their salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and salivary cortisol reactivity and recovery in response to a conflict-inducing discussion. One hundred eighteen couples participated in a laboratory study, in which they engaged in a discussion about conflict-inducing topic and provided saliva samples to assess biological stress markers. The couples were also randomly assigned to one of three conditions (couple identity prime, individual identity prime, or control) to test whether priming partners' sense of couple identity (compared to individual identity) prior to the conflict-inducing discussion influenced the results. The results showed that perceptions of couple identity predicted perceptions of conflict negativity, but not anxiety or stress. Overall, perceptions of couple identity gaps emerged as a stronger predictor in this study than perceptions of couple identity. Perceptions of couple identity gaps were associated with greater conflict anxiety, stress, and negativity, as well as heightened cortisol and sAA reactivity. Intriguing results emerged when testing the possibility of interaction effects between the type of prime (couple identity or individual identity) and individuals' pre-existing perceptions of couple identity (and couple identity gaps) on conflict and stress outcomes. The interaction effect patterns suggest that for some outcomes, priming couple identity for those who have weak perceptions of couple identity or have high couple identity gap perceptions increases stress associated with conflict (self-reported and physiological). On the other hand, the interaction effects revealed some evidence that priming individual identity for those who have strong perceptions of couple identity or those with low couple identity gap perceptions increases stress associated with conflict (self-reported and physiological). The current study contributes to the existing research on couple identity by highlighting its role in the romantic partners' experiences and management of stress associated with relational conflict. The study also is the first known to the author to translate identity gaps from the individual context to a dyadic context. Furthermore, the predictive power of couple identity gaps in this study was noteworthy and further supports the viability of this concept in future relationship research. Finally, the study integrated multiple approaches to studying stress (cognitive, behavioral, and physiological) in a novel and theoretically-rich way.


Background. Universal neonatal hearing screening can now be done by practical application of hearing physiology and automated techniques for registration of otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responses. Material and methods. This review gives the theoretical and practical background for implementation of neonatal hearing screening in Norway. Results. With the diagnostic methods used up to now, age at diagnosis of permanent hearing loss and start of habilitation has not been lowered during the last decades. Based on early diagnosis, habilitation of permanent hearing impairment can now be improved to an earlier unknown extent. The importance of continued efforts for diagnosis of postnatal hearing loss through infancy and adolescence is stressed. Disapproval of neonatal hearing screening based on methodological problems and possible parental concern is largely non-existent. Interpretation. The benefits of early diagnosis of hearing loss outweigh the costs and efforts invested in screening.


The semi-solid brazing process of SiCp/A356 composites and 2024 aluminum alloy using Zn-Al eutectic filler metal at 450 °C has been investigated. The two substrates and Zn-Al filler metal were heated up to the semisolid temperature range of Zn-Al filler metal by a resistance heating plate. In order to mix the filler metal with the base metal of both sides to be a single uniform joint, a stirrer was introduced into the weld seam. After stirring, specimens were sectioned for analysis of macro- and micro-structures along the weld region. The research shows that SiCp/A356 composites and aluminum can be joining by semisolid metal. It can be found that almost half of the oxide film on the surface of the base metal was disrupted and removed through the observation by SEM. The metallurgical bonds formed between the filler metal and the base materials on the interface of oxide had been disrupted. Moreover, the oxide film of surface of aluminum alloy was more thoroughly disrupted and removed than that of surface of composites with existing of SiC particle.


The RSA algorithm is one of the most commonly used efficient cryptographic algorithms. It provides the required amount of confidentiality, data integrity and privacy. This paper integrates the RSA Algorithm with round-robin priority scheduling scheme in order to extend the level of security and reduce the effectiveness of intrusion. It aims at obtaining minimal overhead, increased throughput and privacy. In this method the user uses the RSA algorithm and generates the encrypted messages that are sorted priority-wise and then sent. The receiver, on receiving the messages decrypts them using the RSA algorithm according to their priority. This method reduces the risk of man-in-middle attacks and timing attacks as the encrypted and decrypted messages are further jumbled based on their priority. It also reduces the power monitoring attack risk if a very small amount of information is exchanged. It raises the bar on the standards of information security, ensuring more efficiency.


The success of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in reducing hunger and poverty is limited by crop losses. Globally, plant pests and diseases account for 40% yield losses which threatens food and nutrition security, livelihoods of citizenry and erode the resources of local and national economies. Phytophthora diseases are among the most important diseases in sub-Saharan Africa which result in severe socio-economic consequences. Roots and tubers and cash commodity crops are important staples and foreign exchange earner crops in Ghana which are significantly challenged by the incidence and severity of Phytophthora diseases. To ensure food availability, safeguard the local financial ecosystem and protect the environment, innovative and sound management practices are needed and this chapter reviews the different Phytophthora diseases on crops; more specifically with (cocoa and taro as case studies), the consequences and available management options that can be applied to manage the disease situation in Ghana.


The purpose of the study was to examine the results of an effort to select an approach to first-grade reading for each child in accordance with his modality strength as determined by an informal modality test. In their kindergarten year, 60 middle-class children with at least average intelligence were given three readiness tests, the Peabody Jicture Vocabulary Test, Metropolitan Readiness Tests, and an informal modality test. Children were grouped (four groups) for first-grade reading instruction on the basis of their scores on the informal modality test. Those whose scores indicated an auditory strength were instructed via the Open Court Correlated Language Arts Program. The Harper and Row Basic Reading Program was used for teaching children with a visual strength. Children whose scores did not indicate a particular strength were placed in either program. Results indicated that despite the effort to match each child's modality strength to a mode of instruction, 11 children were not reading at a minimum 1.5 grade level at the end of grade one. Stanford Achievement Test reading scores (A + B) were not significantly different (p > .05) among the four groups. Significant (p < • 05) predictors of first-grade reading achievement for the total group were the Metropoli._tan Readiness Tests (Pre-Reading Skills Composite), and the auditory and visual portions of the informal


The detection of two similar periodicities (3001 and 3028 s) in the light curve of V 1405 Aql, a low mass X-ray binary (LMXRB), has attracted the attention of many observers. Two basic competing models have been offered for this system. According to the first, V1405 Aql is a triple system. The second model invokes the presence of an accretion disc that precesses in the apsidal plane, suggesting that the shorter period is the orbital period while the longer is a positive superhump. The debate on the nature of V1405 Aql has been continued until very recently. Re-examination of previously published X-ray data reveals an additional periodicity of 2979 s, which is naturally interpreted as a negative superhump. The recently found 4.8-d period is consequently understood as the nodal precession of the disc. This is the first firm detection of negative superhumps and nodal precession in a LMXRB. Our results thus confirm the classification of V1405 Aql as a permanent superhump system. The 14-yr argument on the nature of this intriguing object has thus finally come to an end. We find that the ratio between the negative superhump deficit (over the orbital period) and the positive superhump excess is a function of orbital period in systems that show both types of superhumps. This relation presents some challenge to theory as it fits binaries with different components. We propose that a thickening in the disc rim, which causes increased occultation of the X-ray source, is the mechanism responsible for both types of superhumps in LMXRBs. However, the positive signal is related only to the pronounced dips in the light curve, where the point-like central source is covered up, whereas the morphology of the negative superhump signal appears quite smooth, implying obscuration of a larger X-ray emitting region, possibly the inner accretion disc or a corona. According to our model, superhumps (both in the X-ray and optical regimes) are permitted in high-inclination LMXRBs contrary to the Haswell et al. prediction.


Radiofrequency (RF) is one of the most common procedures used to treat trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Ophthalmic division (V1) is the most distant division to reach with the needle electrode and probably the most difficult to treat with RF. In an attempt to improve results and reduce complications in treating TN involving V1 we propose an operative procedure using two needles method for continuous RF (CRF) of Gasserian ganglion (GG). A total of 63 patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) were selected from 2011 to 2017 to treat with this method and were followed-up for one year. During this period of time 90% of patients were completely pain free after the procedure, no major complications were found and no pain recurrence was observed.


Equine chronic progressive lymphoedema (CPL) is a disabling disorder of draft horse breeds. Combined decongestive therapy (CDT) is the treatment of choice for lymphoedema in people and has been adapted for use in horses. Equine CDT which includes manual lymph drainage (MLD) and subsequent bandaging with short stretch bandages was expected to improve the symptoms of CPL in draft horses, because CPL resembles primary lymphoedema in humans. Five affected horses Gypsy Cob (1), Clydesdale (1), Shires (3) were included. Lesions were documented preand post treatment. Percentage volume loss of the distal legs was calculated using the disc model. Initial plans for daily CDT had to be adapted; intermittent treatment of Chorioptes infections required alternating between CDT and MLD in 4/5 horses. Concurrent pyoderma (1/5 horses) was treated throughout the study. Development of unrelated lameness (hoof abscess) allowed limited CDT treatment only in one horse. Marked softening of previously firm tissue indicated the change from 'brawny' to pitting edema in 2/5 horses. Fibrotic nodules and folds in the pasterns became markedly softened and smaller in 2/5 horses. Skin surface notably improved in all horses: hyperkeratosis decreased, erosions and ulcerations healed completely and crusts disappeared. After two weeks a mean volume reduction of 11.25% was seen, ranging from 4.75% to 21.74% and quality of movement improved. This pilot study documents evidence that CDT assists management of CPL. Current CPL management is limited to palliative treatments of secondary infections. While not a permanent treatment, CDT offers a promising tool to manage horses with CPL, improving their quality of life and potential usefulness. More extensive and prolonged studies with a larger number of horses are warranted to evaluate the full potential of CDT.


Night Journeys-Carla Gerona 2004 Early modern Quakers looked to their dreams to gain spiritual insight and developed a potent system of dreamwork that acted simultaneously as a device for gaining and retaining authority and as a democratizing force. Night Journeys recounts how Quakers on both sides of the Atlantic turned their sleeping experiences into powerful stories that advanced a more inclusive--but still imperial-vision of colonial and Revolutionary America. Quakers did not keep their dreams to themselves. On the American mainland, Caribbean plantations, and in the British Isles, Quakers were competing to shape their imperial culture when they circulated dreams beyond meetinghouse walls and influenced larger transatlantic movements for reform. Covering a broad time span that begins with the English civil war and ends with the creation of the American republic, Carla Gerona argues that dreams provided Quakers with mental maps to influence the values of their emerging colonial society, usually, though not exclusively, in progressive ways. Night visions, as Quakers often termed their dreams, contributed to social and cultural changes such as the abolition of slavery and religious reform. Simultaneously, dreams helped Quakers define and delineate their mission in America and the world, fostering innovative concepts of individuality, community, nation, and empire.


MOTIVATION
Current methodologies for the selection of putative transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) rely on various assumptions such as over-representation of motifs occurring on gene promoters, and the use of motif descriptions such as consensus or position-specific scoring matrices (PSSMs). In order to avoid bias introduced by such assumptions, we apply an unsupervised motif extraction (MEX) algorithm to sequences of promoters. The extracted motifs are assessed for their likely cis-regulatory function by calculating the expression coherence (EC) of the corresponding genes, across a set of biological conditions.

RESULTS
Applying MEX to all Saccharomyces cerevisiae promoters, followed by EC analysis across 40 biological conditions, we obtained a high percentage of putative cis-regulatory motifs. We clustered motifs that obtained highly significant EC scores, based on both their sequence similarity and similarity in the biological conditions these motifs appear to regulate. We describe 20 clusters, some of which regroup known TFBS. The clusters display different mRNA expression profiles, correlated with typical changes in the nucleotide composition of their relevant motifs. In several cases, a variation of a single nucleotide is shown to lead to distinct differences in expression patterns. These results are confronted with additional information, such as binding of transcription factors to groups of genes. Detailed analysis is presented for clusters related to MCB/SCB, STRE and PAC. In the first two cases, we provide evidence for different binding mechanisms of different clusters of motifs. For PAC-related motifs we uncover a new cluster that has so far been overshadowed by the stronger effects of known PAC motifs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Supplementary data are available at http://adios.tau.ac.il/regmotifs and at Bioinformatics online.


Meeting the needs of HIV-positive pregnant women and their offspring is critical to India′s political and financial commitment to achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. This review of the strategy to prevent vertical transmission of HIV in Mysore district, Karnataka, highlights the need to integrate prevention of parent-to-child transmission (PPTCT) and reproductive and child health (RCH) services. All key officials who were involved in the integration of services at the state and district levels were interviewed by use of semistructured protocols. Policy documents and guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society were reviewed, as were records and official orders issued by the office of District Health and Family Welfare Officer and District HIV/AIDS Programme Office, Mysore. Routine data were also collected from all health facilities. This review found that 4.5 years of PPTCT-RCH integration resulted not only in a rise in antenatal registrations but also in almost all pregnant women counselled during antenatal care undergoing HIV tests. Based on the findings, we propose recommendations for successful replication of this strategy. Integration of PPTCT services with RCH should take place at all levels − policy, administration, facility and community. The increased demand for HIV counselling and testing resulting from service integration must be met by skilled human resources, sufficient facilities and adequate funds at the facility level.


Forty-three dogs with lymphoma that had relapsed or had failed to achieve complete remission to previous chemotherapy were treated with lomustine (1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-cyclohexyl-1-nitrosourea [CCNU]) at a dosage of 90-100 mg/m2 body surface area p.o. every 3 weeks. Durable complete or partial responses occurred in 11 dogs for a median of 86 days. The acutely dose-limiting toxicosis was neutropenia 7 days after administration, resulting in a recommended dosage of 90 mg/m2. Cumulative thrombocytopenia occurred in dogs receiving continued CCNU treatment, and a dose interval of 3 weeks may be too short for continued administration of this drug. Toxicoses evident as fever or central nervous system signs or renal damage were uncommon or rare. CCNU is effective in the treatment of relapsed lymphoma.


This study analyzes the environmental performance of the Municipal Solid Waste Management System (MSWMS) of Piedade, Sao Paulo, from a systemic perspective. A life cycle assessment (LCA) technique was applied according to an attributional approach to evaluate both the current operational situation and different prospective scenarios, which were devised based on the application of targets for recycling dry and wet waste suggested by the pre-draft version of the Brazilian Plan for Solid Waste. The life cycle impact assessment method EcoIndicator 99, in association with normalization and weighting procedures, was used to conduct the analysis. It was observed that the adoption of goals of 30%, 50% and 70% for recovering of the recyclable dry waste, resulted in improvement of the environmental performance of the waste management system under analysis, respectively of 10%, 15% and 20%. It was also possible to detect an evolution in the order of 54% in reducing impacts resulting from the adoption of targets for composting. LCA proved to be effective for the evaluation of the environmental performance of MSWMS-Piedade. However, for future evaluations, the attributional approach should be replaced by the methodological practice of substitution to enable the avoided burdens to be considered in estimations of the environmental performance municipal solid waste management systems.


Space steel structure stability has been a focused problem in the engineering field, in the past the study mainly concentrated on the single layer dome structure stability and elastic stability analysis, but with the structure shape complex, new type structure emerges continually, it needs more accurate stability analysis method. In this paper the linear and nonlinear buckling theory and analysis method are introduced firstly, and then a new type steel space structure with partially double layer dome structure is chosen as the computational model. The structure self vibration mode, linear buckling analysis and nonlinear buckling process and buckling characteristics are studied by the FEM commercial code ANSYS; the nonlinear load-deflection curves at the different points are gotten and some conclusions about this kind of structure are drawn.


Residual stresses, both macroscopic and microscopic, are originated during conventional metallurgical processes. Knowing their magnitude and distribution is of great importance in the structural design of applications where fatigue, stress corrosion or thermal cycling occur (e.g., in the aerospace industry). The importance of these stresses is reflected in the large number of articles published in recent years, mainly focused on studying macroscopic stresses. However, there are no experimental studies that quantify the magnitude of microscopic triaxial stresses. This lack is due in part to the limitations of diffraction techniques (neutrons and synchrotron radiation). Since the measurement volume is much higher than the variation of these microscopic stresses, its calculation is greatly complicated, because the methods used in the case of macroscopic stresses are not valid for microscopic ones. Furthermore, there is no reliable procedure to obtain the relaxed lattice parameter value, a key factor in the calculation of residual stresses. The aim of this paper is to present the main ideas oriented to develop a methodology for mapping microscopic stresses, particularly in aluminium alloys such as those commonly used in the aerospace industry. The procedure will use experimental diffraction results obtained from large European facilities, mainly by neutron diffraction. This information will be analyzed using evolutionary algorithms, computational techniques that handle a large number of variables. The procedure will be based on the analysis of the shift of the diffraction peaks and, fundamentally, their broadening. For simplicity, non-heat treatable alloys will be used as they do not experience lattice parameter variation with heat treatments.


Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used as a common design tool in the aerospace industry. UPACS, a package for CFD, is convenient for users, since a customized simulator can be built just by selecting desired functions. The problem is its computation speed, which is difficult to enhance by using the clusters due to its complex memory access patterns. As an economical solution, accelerators using FPGAs are hopeful candidate. However, the total scale of UPACS is too large to be implemented on small numbers of FPGAs. For cost efficient implementation, partial reconfiguration which dynamically loads only required functions is proposed in this paper. Here, the MUSCL scheme, which is used frequently in UPACS, is selected as a target. Partial reconfiguration is applied to the flux limiter functions (FLF) in MUSCL. Four FLFs are implemented for Turbulence MUSCL (TMUSCL) and eight FLFs are for Convection MUSCL (CMUSCL). All FLFs are developed independently and separated from the top MUSCL module. At start-up, only required FLFs are selected and deployed in the system without interfering the other modules. This implementation has successfully reduced the resource utilization by 44% to 63%. Total power consumption also reduced by 33%. Configuration speed is improved by 34-times faster as compared to full reconfiguration method. All implemented functions achieved at least 17 times speed-up performance compared with the software implementation. key words: computational fluid dynamics (CFD), field programmable gate array (FPGA), scientific computations, reconfigurable hardware, partial reconfiguration


Natural swimming pools rely on the correct balance of living plants and micro-organisms to clean and purify the water. They are easy and less costly to maintain than chemical pools. Chlorine and other common pool chemicals that are hazardous to human health are not used. Natural pools are safe places for children to play and birds to drink, and are a dramatic example of ecological design, combining the natural and man-made worlds while creating beauty. These pools offer enjoyment not only in the warm months, but during winter, when they can be used for ice skating. Often the focal point of a garden, a natural swimming pool blends into the environment, flowing into the surroundings with plants and rocks. It reflects the changing seasons and enhances the environment naturally. This book is a necessary resource for people who consider a natural swimming pool. It shows how the natural system works to provide environmental, health, and safety benefits. Drawings, diagrams, and charts help explain their planning, design, biology, materials, construction, planting, and maintenance. Over 300 beautiful color photographs of natural pools will inspire your own water garden, where you can swim in harmony with nature.


The proposed algorithm can be used in both link directions of the FDD mode and in the downlink of the TDD mode of UMTS, where the same closed-loop power control is used. Adaptive power control algorithms have a dynamic transmitted power update step. For these algorithms, power control steps depend on the instantaneous mobile command and the command history. Our proposed algorithm adds some intelligence to mobiles and base stations in order to limit oscillations around the target signal-to-interference ratio (SIR). When the received SIR is close to the target SIR, the receiver sends alternative up and down commands. These alternatives commands are interpreted by the transmitter. In this case, the transmitter stabilizes its transmitted power. Simulations are performed in order to evaluate the proposed algorithm performance. Simulations have shown that the proposed algorithm decreases the outage probability and dramatically reduces the transmitted power, which are the main objectives of power control algorithms.


This study seems to be much ado about very little and tends to show that Sigmund Freud was very careless and inaccurate, hardly a new or startling discovery since Freud remarked that he was often very sloppy. It concerns the case of Johann Christoph Haizmann, a destitute painter who was born in Traunstein, Bavaria, in 1652, and having lost a parent, supposedly made two bonds with the devil, one in the year 1668, written in ink, the other in 1669 written in blood. From the study of the available documents, mainly a folk-song about the painter, a brief account by Father G. Petschacher, and a collection of documents compiled by Father A. Eremiasch, Freud made a psychoanalytical study of the case, arriving at the conclusion that the illness should be interpreted as a conflict over unconscious homosexuality, that is in terms of the father-complex, an interpretation which he made also


Directed evolution is a reliable method for protein engineering and as a tool for investigating structure/function relationships. A key for a successful directed evolution experiment is oftentimes the screen. Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) is powerful high-throughput screening approach to isolate and identify mutants from large protein libraries. FACS has been successful in isolating proteins with improved or altered binding affinity. However, FACS screening for mutants with enhanced catalytic activity has been met with limited success. This review focuses on the FACS screening of protein libraries for enzymatic activity.


This article presents a novel congestion-based pricing scheme for IP networks, termed Bounded Local Adaptive Packet Pricing (BLAPP). The BLAPP scheme enables IP users to limit their expenses on routing packets by enforcing a price limit in the packet's header. BLAPP extends the LAPP scheme in which payment is collected on a per-packet basis in each router on the packet's path. In both protocols, each router changes its price for each service level in response to its congestion at a specific output port. Finally, the BLAPP scheme is analyzed using network simulations of traffic congestions. The analysis suggests that BLAPP exhibits a correlation between user expenses and QoS properties such as RTT, especially when the network is congested. Thus, a user may control his or her QoS using payments without having to allocate network resources on a per-session basis (e.g., RSVP protocol).


Quantitative results are reported of a longitudinal evaluation of a resilience training as a possible method to prevent violent radicalization (Diamant; SIPI, 2010). A total of 46 male and female Muslim adolescents and young adults with a migrant background participated. Results show that the training significantly increased participants' reports of agency and a marginal increase was found in reported self-esteem, empathy and perspective taking but also narcissism. Attitudes toward ideology-based violence and own violent intentions were significantly lower after the training than before. Higher reports of empathy were related to less positive attitudes toward ideology-based violence. These results suggest that an intervention aimed at empowering individuals in combination with strengthening empathy is successful in countering violent radicalization.


We describe a new, general approach for safeguarding systems against any type of code-injection attack. We apply Kerckhoff's principle, by creating process-specific randomized instruction sets (e.g., machine instructions) of the system executing potentially vulnerable software. An attacker who does not know the key to the randomization algorithm will inject code that is invalid for that randomized processor, causing a runtime exception. To determine the difficulty of integrating support for the proposed mechanism in the operating system, we modified the Linux kernel, the GNU binutils tools, and the bochs-x86 emulator. Although the performance penalty is significant, our prototype demonstrates the feasibility of the approach, and should be directly usable on a suitable-modified processor (e.g., the Transmeta Crusoe).Our approach is equally applicable against code-injecting attacks in scripting and interpreted languages, e.g., web-based SQL injection. We demonstrate this by modifying the Perl interpreter to permit randomized script execution. The performance penalty in this case is minimal. Where our proposed approach is feasible (i.e., in an emulated environment, in the presence of programmable or specialized hardware, or in interpreted languages), it can serve as a low-overhead protection mechanism, and can easily complement other mechanisms.


We have investigated numerical characteristics of iterative solutions to the acoustic wave equation in the LaplaceFourier (LF) domain. We transformed the time-domain acoustic wave equation into the LF domain; the transformed equation was discretized with finite differences and was solved with iterative methods. Finite-difference modeling experiments demonstrate that iterative methods require an infinitesimal stopping tolerance to accurately compute the pressure field especially at long offsets. To understand the requirement for such infinitesimal tolerance values, we analyzed the evolution of intermediate solution vectors, residual vectors, and search direction vectors during the iteration. The analysis showed that the requirement arises from the fact that in the solution space, the amplitude of the pressure field varies more than sixty orders of magnitude on the common log scale. Accordingly, we propose a rule of thumb for choosing a proper stopping tolerance value. We also examined numerical dispersion errors in terms of the grid sampling resolutions per skin depth and wavelength. We found that despite the similarity of the form of the acoustic wave and electromagnetic diffusion equations, the former is different from the latter due to the fact that in the LF domain, the skin depth of the acoustic wave equation is decoupled from its wavelength. This aspect requires that in the LF domain, its grid size be determined by considering the minimum grid sampling resolutions based not only the wavelength but also the skin depth.


Studies have reveal that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can break through the blood-brain/testi barrier and invade the human reproductive system, causing infertility or complications in patients. Excessive nitric oxide (NO) is a fundamental reason for breaking the Blood-Brain/Testi Barrier. Nitric oxide often relates the spread or replication of many viruses in the body. The nitric oxide synthase (NOS) that synthesizes NO in the human by binding heme to complete the oxygenase reaction. This study focused on the relationship between heme, NO, and the novel coronavirus using bioinformatics methods such as domain search and molecular docking. The results showed ORF8 had three domains similar to nitric oxide synthase : oxygenase, reductase, and calmodulin (CaM). ORF6 could bind to these three domains. The dimer of ORF8 was identical to the dimer of NOS enzyme. The oxygenase domain was in the core, and the reductase domain was on both sides. ORF8 could capture Heme, H4B, L-arginine, FAD, FMN, and NADPH, and bind with CaM protein to catalyze NO production. The heme bound by ORF8 mainly came from the attacked hemoglobin. ORF8 also attached to E protein and synthesized NO through the heme hunted by E protein. We believed NO synthesized by ORF8 inhibited SARS-CoV-2 from reinfecting infected cells and controlled the virus replication speed to avoid cell collapse because of exhaustion of resources. After the SARS-CoV-2 virus combined with an extensive ORF8, the produced NO stream permeably expanded blood vessels and broke the blood-brain/testi barrier. The SARS-CoV-2 virus spread to nearby tissues through small blood vessel holes created by NO stream. It would increase the tendency to bleed and the blood clotting of the tissue: blood clotting and viral infections severely damaged organs such as the respiratory, heart, nerve, reproductive. Short NO could not open vascular permeability dilation, causing high viral load in asymptomatic patients' blood. Excessive NO stimulated the reproductive organs and generated abnormal functions. It also made abnormal hormone regulation, such as excessive secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH). Much LH would hurt the reproductive organs, leading to infertility. Extreme NO also interfered with the human NO signaling pathway and damaged the immune nerve, metabolism, cardiovascular and other systems. This theory is for academic discussion only. We hope that this discovery will help block the virus's transmission through the human circulatory system and help reproductive health management during the pandemic.


This publication highlights notable procedural fairness scholarship released over the past quarter by topic. Each Quarterly issue will also include a listing of other articles that are of particular relevance to procedural fairness the courts. Recent news and events, if available, complete the report. Articles still in the publication process are identified as "forthcoming" and articles available via open source are denoted by a double asterisk.


An indentation test is an experimental method whereby an indenter is pressed into a specimen in order to create a contact impression. Based on experimental input and the mechanical response of a specimen, an indentation test can be used to measure material properties of a specimen. A nanoindentation test is an instrumented indentation test where the indentation depth is at the submicron scale, utilising the interpretation of recorded load-displacement data. Nanoindentation tests have proven to be popular commercially due to their non-destructive nature, with the Oliver-Pharr method being one of the most prominent analysis methods applied. In this research, nanoindentation tests on a semi-spherical particle embedded in a semi-infinite matrix were simulated using the finite element method. Dimensional analysis was utilised to conduct a numerical study of the nanoindentation response obtained from finite element simulations. The Oliver-Pharr method to estimate contact area from a nanoindentation test is unsuitable for the cases with pile-up deformation. In an indentation of a hard particle embedded in a soft matrix, the mismatch of material properties will cause the particle to indent itself into the matrix, which creates a secondary indentation effect. This makes it difficult to investigate the pile-up and sink-in behaviour for hard particle reinforced composites because the definition of pile-up for monolithic materials is no longer valid. In this research, a feasible method to quantify pile-up and sink-in for particle-matrix systems is proposed. Using a reference height, it was found that particle pile-up and sink-in can be quantified when the maximum indentation depth is less than 15% of the particle's radius. The influence of particle and matrix material property on pile-up and sink-in was explored. Within the maximum indentation depth, which is less than 15% of the particle's radius, it was found that only the mechanical properties of the particle represented by particle's elastic modulus, particle's yield strength, and particle's work-hardening exponent, have a significant influence on the degree of pile-up and sink-in from a nanoindentation test. In a nanoindentation test of a particle embedded in a matrix, the matrix material properties may influence the measured indentation hardness of the particle. A numerical study was carried out to identify the influence of particle and matrix material properties on the measured hardness. Results reveal that a mismatch in material properties is more sensitive on the measured hardness of a hard particle embedded in a soft matrix than a soft particle embedded in a hard matrix. Finally, a parametric study was carried out to identify a particle-dominated depth, within which the particle's hardness obtained from a nanoindentation test can be measured with confidence. Simulation results from the finite element analysis of a variety of material properties determined that when the maximum indentation depth is less than 13.5% of the particle's radius, the measured hardness is in good agreement with the particle's true hardness, with a maximum error of 5%. This finding can be applied in practice as a guideline to measure the hardness of a particle embedded in a matrix from a nanoindentation test and provide the theoretical basis to develop a particle-embedded method to measure the hardness of individual particles.


Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computeraided modern engineering analysis technique capable of revolutionizing the practice of historic structures research. Only recently applied to historic structures, FEA is a tool available to architectural historians interested in understanding the structural logic and behavior of buildings and their component parts. The case study presented in this paper combines historical research and FEA to explore the performance of one of the greatest medieval heavy timber structures, Hugh Herland9s roof trusses at Westminster Hall (1395-1396), and to assess the structural contribution of their prevalent and highly ornamental tracery. The complexity of this analysis, previously unsolvable with the tools available to historians and engineers, provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the capacity of FEA working in concert with historical research to clarify structural issues and reveal insights into the construction, longevity, and possible origins of historic structural types. At Westminster Hall we find that the tracery in Herland9s trusses performed the role of reducing bending stresses in the principal members and, as a secondary structural system, was responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the roof over time. These non-aesthetic functions may well have been understood by the designer.


Nonlinear limit cycle oscillations of an aeroelastic energy harvester are exploited for enhanced piezoelectric power generation from aerodynamic flows. Specifically, a flexible beam with piezoelectric laminates is excited by a uniform axial flow field in a manner analogous to a flapping flag such that the system delivers power to an electrical impedance load. Fluid-structure interaction is modeled by augmenting a system of nonlinear equations for an electroelastic beam with a discretized vortex-lattice potential flow model. Experimental results from a prototype aeroelastic energy harvester are also presented. Root mean square electrical power on the order of 2.5 mW was delivered below the flutter boundary of the test apparatus at a comparatively low wind speed of 27 m/s and a chord normalized limit cycle amplitude of 0.33. Moreover, subcritical limit cycles with chord normalized amplitudes of up to 0.46 were observed. Calculations indicate that the system tested here was able to access over 17% of the flow energy to which it was exposed. Methods for designing aeroelastic energy harvesters by exploiting nonlinear aeroelastic phenomena and potential improvements to existing relevant aerodynamic models are also discussed.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


To precisely identify mouse resident alveolar macrophages (AMs) and bone marrow (BM)-derived macrophages, we developed a technique to separately label AMs and BM-derived macrophages with a fluorescent lipophilic dye followed by FACS. We showed that this technique overcomes issues in cell identification related to dynamic shifts in cell surface markers that occurs during lung inflammation. We then used this approach to track macrophage subsets at different time points after intratracheal (i.t.) instillation of Escherichia coli LPS. By isolating BM-derived macrophages and AMs, we demonstrated that BM-derived macrophages were enriched in expression of genes in signal transduction and immune system activation pathways whereas resident AMs were enriched in cellular processes, such as lysosome/phagosome pathways, efferocytosis, and metabolic pathways related to fatty acids and peroxisomes. Taken together, these data indicate that more accurate identification of macrophage origin can result in improved understanding of differential phenotypes and functions between AMs and BM-derived macrophages in the lungs.


Cytosolic Ca2+ (Cai2+) regulates secretion of bicarbonate and other ions in the cholangiocyte. In other cell types, this second messenger acts through Ca2+ waves, Ca2+ oscillations, and other subcellular Ca2+ signaling patterns, but little is known about the subcellular organization of Ca2+ signaling in cholangiocytes. Therefore, we examined Ca2+ signaling and the subcellular distribution of Ca2+ release channels in cholangiocytes and in a model cholangiocyte cell line. The expression and subcellular distribution of inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (InsP3) receptor (InsP3R) isoforms and the ryanodine receptor (RyR) were determined in cholangiocytes from normal rat liver and in the normal rat cholangiocyte (NRC) polarized bile duct cell line. Subcellular Ca2+ signaling in cholangiocytes was examined by confocal microscopy. All 3 InsP3R isoforms were expressed in cholangiocytes, whereas RyR was not expressed. The type III InsP3R was the most heavily expressed isoform at the protein level and was concentrated apically, whereas the type I and type II isoforms were expressed more uniformly. The type III InsP3R was expressed even more heavily in NRC cells but was concentrated apically in these cells as well. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which increases Ca2+ via InsP3 in cholangiocytes, induced Ca2+ oscillations in both cholangiocytes and NRC cells. Acetylcholine (ACh) induced apical‐to‐basal Ca2+ waves. In conclusion, Ca2+ signaling in cholangiocytes occurs as polarized Ca2+ waves that begin in the region of the type III InsP3R. Differential subcellular localization of InsP3R isoforms may be an important molecular mechanism for the formation of Ca2+ waves and oscillations in cholangiocytes. Because Cai2+ is in part responsible for regulating ductular secretion, these findings also may have implications for the molecular basis of cholestatic disorders.


Inverse schemes are constructed for multisegment piecewise-linear nonlinearities. Adaptive laws are proposed to update the inverse to cancel the effect of the unknown characteristic of such a nonlinearity which appears at the input of a linear part. Two adaptive control schemes using an adaptive inverse and a linear controller structure are developed: one for the linear part known and the other for the linear part unknown. Different adaptive designs are given based on different a priori nonlinearity knowledge necessary for the construction of an adaptive inverse. The adaptive inverse controllers ensure closed-loop signal boundedness and lead to significant improvements of system tracking performance.


Grid computing environments typically federate heterogeneous resource "clusters" belonging to several organizations. To fully realize the promise of a grid environment, it is necessary to support analysis tools that help obtain insights into the behavior of individual clusters. The Grid Research Centre at the University of Calgary (http://grid.ucalgary.ca/) is developing a cluster service called "replay" that simplifies the development andmaintenance of such tools. The service provides a single, consistent, model-based interface for obtaining current and historical information about a cluster.


Norwegian teachers are facing increasing challenges with multi-lingualism and multi-culturalism in schools. In addition, Norway faces the challenge of addressing the need to retain novice teachers. In teacher education programmes there is little focus on teacher well-being to assist teachers in understanding and coping with the challenges of a range of schools and teaching contexts. The focus of this paper is on how an induction course on Teacher Well-Being, TWB, infused as part of an exchange programme between one higher education institution, Oslo and Akershus University of Applied Sciences (HIOA) in Norway and three primary schools in South Africa, influence the professional development and resilience of the participating primary school student teachers.  A qualitative research approach was used to capture student perceptions and meaning of their learning and development from the TWB training. The research design was informed by the qualitative reflective research approach as understood by, among others, Alvesson and Skjoldberg.


A public emergency is the ultimate example of multitasking and collaboration over a wide area. Crowd control, first aid, fire, police, and search and rescue teams all have to provide a timely and coordinated response to save lives and property. This requires situational awareness, meaning that emergency managers know what and where their resources are on the ground, and what the ground's features are. Managers who direct emergency operations centers have few technological tools to help them with these complicated, critical tasks. They are, in fact, still largely paper based.
 The Big Board aids in filling this technological gap by providing aerial photography, facility for dynamic, geo-referenced content creation, and a mechanism for simulcasting the content to everyone participating in the management of an emergency. The goal is that it should give emergency managers a reliable and flexible way to coordinate on their most natural medium (maps), be as easy to use as pen and paper, quick to train a new user on, and able to run in many environments, some quite technologically out of date.
 In The Big Board, users open a map, join a virtual conference room, and then can collaboratively mark up the map with paths, polygons, and placemarks and add content behind these using a wiki that is generated as part of every conference room. As they mark up the map, their annotations are simulcasted to everyone else in the same conference room. Additionally, web-services serving geo-referenced content can be integrated onto the map to overlay things such as real-time vehicle location and sensor data.
 This application has been written from the ground up in Haskell, with a PostGIS backend. Haskell was chosen for its laziness, reliability of applications written in it, rapid development, multicore scalability, and native compilation. In this presentation I will describe:
 •The Big Board, who's using it, and where we're going with it.
 •The requirements of it, and how Haskell fulfills these requirements better than the alternatives.
 •A high level overview of the application's structure.
 •The challenges and advantages of functional design in such a large application.
 •How the design led naturally to two reusable, publicly available libraries now in Hackage: Buster (FRP for application orchestration) and Hieroglyph (for functional 2D vector-graphics).
 I will also give a demonstration of the application running, showing how it can be used to coordinate a disaster response.


The aim of this study is to investigate a specific form of Special Interest Tourism (SIT), namely health- and fitnesstravels. This kind of travelling is studied from a Swedish perspective and includes aspects like gender and age in active tourism. It also includes which travel motivations that lies beyond the choice of an active vacation.The study is based on a survey that was sent in an e-mail to the health tourism company InShapeTravel´s customers. The answers to the survey has been analyzed and related to earlier research about active tourism.The result shows that more women than men participate in the kind of healthy travels that InShapeTravel offers. A majority of the respondents are between 41-60 years old and the most common travel motivation was "Better physic/psychic wellbeing".


Summary form only given. The energy resource scheduling is becoming increasingly important, as the use of distributed resources is intensified and massive gridable vehicle (V2G) use is envisaged. This paper presents a methodology for day-ahead energy resource scheduling for smart grids considering the intensive use of distributed generation and V2G. The main focus is the comparison of different EV management approaches in the day-ahead energy resources management, namely uncontrolled charging, smart charging, V2G and Demand Response (DR) programs in the V2G approach. Three different DR programs are designed and tested (trip reduce, shifting reduce and reduce+shifting). Other important contribution of the paper is the comparison between deterministic and computational intelligence techniques to reduce the execution time. The proposed scheduling is solved with a modified particle swarm optimization. Mixed integer non-linear programming is also used for comparison purposes. Full ac power flow calculation is included to allow taking into account the network constraints. A case study with a 33-bus distribution network and 2000 V2G resources is used to illustrate the performance of the proposed method.


Forage species are primarily stocked in private waters throughout the Southeast as a food source for largemouth bass and other predator species. Unfortunately, the ideal forage species for all management situations does not exist. Therefore, managers often attempt to maximize largemouth bass production by stocking a multi-forage base. In many southeastern states, private landowners must rely on private hatcheries as sources for appropriate forage species.


Machinima is a low-cost alternative to full production filmmaking. However, creating quality cinematic visualizations with existing machinima techniques still requires a high degree of talent and effort. We introduce a lightweight artificial intelligence system, Cambot, that can be used to assist in machinima production. Cambot takes a script as input and produces a cinematic visualization. Unlike other virtual cinematography systems, Cambot favors an offline algorithm coupled with an extensible library of specific modular and reusable facets of cinematic knowledge. One of the advantages of this approach to virtual cinematography is a tight coordination between the positions and movements of the camera and the actors.


Introduction: Globally, Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has a negative impact on health, economy and the quality of life for afflicted individuals, their family and friends. The following study aims to identify barriers to treatment of alcohol dependence, as perceived by individuals suffering from AUD, by means of through a systematic review.

Material and methods: PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO databases were searched for relevant publications the 27th of February 2018. 492 articles where initially identified, of which 16 were eligible for inclusion in our analysis. The study quality was assessed using the Critical Appraised Skills program (CASP) checklist for qualitative studies, and the Checklist for systematics reviews (CFR) for quantitative studies.

Results and discussion: This systematic review has investigated and identified barriers to treatment that vary greatly according to personal, cultural, institutional, ethnic and gender-specific factors. Three barriers proved to be prominent: Shame and stigma, lack of perception of treatment need and the paradox of both need for and fear of giving up drinking.

Conclusion: A recommendation is to include in-depth questions about barriers in large national surveys. Additionally, to apple special considerations with regards to the aforementioned specific factors, when developing and offering treatment to subgroups with AUD.


Along with TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study), this study shows both commonalities and differences in the National Curricula, assessment and teachers' perceptions, in depth. Teachers in both Korea and England indicate that assessment dominates their teaching. They show similarities in the way they say they would prepare their pupils for specific assessment items.
Through the documentary analysis, Korean students show consistently higher achievement than their English counterparts in international comparison tables. However, content and assessment in England more fully reflect the aims of the curriculum. In Korea there is less consistency between the aims and content of the curriculum and assessment. In addition, the standardized assessments in England assess a more varied range of a student's abilities. For example, the English KS3 tests show a wider spectrum using Klopfer's specifications whilst Korean tests reflect a narrower spectrum. Using Bloom's taxonomy, Korean tests are shown to contain higher cognitive ability questions.
The results of surveying teachers in both countries, reflects the documentary analysis. The Korean teachers express dissatisfaction about the Korean National Curriculum and assessment as well as being less-confident in teaching scientific enquiry although the Korean students showed better performance in the TIMSS-2003. The opinion of perceptions of teachers from both countries are more similar than findings from documentary analysis of their National Curriculum and assessment tests would suggest.


Recent conservation efforts to reduce threats facing the greater sage-grouse in its 11-state range and to avoid its listing as a protected species under the Endangered Species Act have garnered attention as a success story for federal and state agencies and private stakeholders. But the greater sagegrouse isn't alone. As chair of the Western Governors Association, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead has initiated a process through facilitated stakeholder meetings, webinars and outreach to a broad audience of stakeholders to build on recent successes and find ways to improve species conservation activities in the West. This FREE CSG eCademy, presented by CSG West, explores the themes highlighted from the effort and the next steps in the process.


The research looked into the beliefs and practices of social studies teachers in selected Philippine public junior high schools and the factors that hindered teachers from practicing democratic classroom approaches. The handling of social studies classroom is deemed crucial especially for a nation that has been divided by two opposing versions of history. The study found that the social studies teachers believed and practiced teacher-centered approach and managed their classes using behavioristic methods, utilizing punishment and reward system. The teachers preferred traditional paper-and-pencil tests. The lack of meaningfulness of classroom activity and democratic engagement in the classroom was brought about by the teachers limited conceptions of learner-centered approaches. The teachers needed more training and feedback on their implementation of the K-to-12 program's emphasis on constructivist teaching approach. An important issue that needed to be addressed by the Philippine Department of Education is the one raised by the teachers regarding the social studies curriculum. They deem that the Philippine History is necessary to be tackled among the more mature junior high school students compared to the elementary students.


Ovarian cancer arises mostly from the ovarian surface epithelium. The aim of our study was to compare the effects of cytokines in ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells and in ovarian carcinoma cells. Proliferation and expression of surface antigens (CA-125 and classes I and II antigens of the major histocompatibility complex [MHC]) were measured in OSE cells obtained from 7 different patients and 7 ovarian carcinoma cell lines. Proliferation of OSE cells remained unaffected by interferon (IFN)-alpha or IFN-gamma, whereas interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) increased cell growth. Proliferation of ovarian carcinoma cells was reduced by both types of IFN as well as TNF but was not affected by IL-1. Expression of the tumor marker CA-125 was increased by IFN-gamma in ovarian carcinoma cells but not by any other treatment. None of the cytokines affected CA-125 surface expression in OSE cells. Expression of MHC-I was augmented in OSE and in carcinoma cells by both IFNs but not by the other cytokines. Both types of cell were negative for MHC-II, but IFN-gamma induced its expression in both OSE and carcinoma cells. Significant concentrations of the cytokines evaluated here have been measured in blood and follicular fluid by several authors. The different actions of these cytokines in OSE and carcinoma cells could therefore be important in understanding the role of such molecules in the regulation of physiological and pathological processes in the ovary, such as ovulation or malignant proliferation.


This paper presents isolated photon-hadron correlations using pp and p-Pb data collected by the ALICE detector at the LHC. For photons with |$\eta$|<0.67 and 12<$p_{\rm{T}}$<40 GeV/$c$, the associated yield of charged particles in the range |$\eta$|<0.80 and 0.5<$p_{\rm{T}}$<10 GeV/$c$ is presented. These momenta are much lower than previous measurements at the LHC. No significant difference between pp and p-Pb is observed, with PYTHIA 8.2 describing both data sets within uncertainties. This measurement constrains nuclear effects on the parton fragmentation in p-Pb collisions, and provides a benchmark for future studies of Pb-Pb collisions.


This study used the Delphi method to engage expert practitioners on the topic of threshold concepts for information literacy. A panel of experts considered two questions. First, is the threshold concept approach useful for information literacy instruction? The panel unanimously agreed that the threshold concept approach holds potential for information literacy instruction. Second, what are the threshold concepts for information literacy instruction? The panel proposed and discussed over fifty potential threshold concepts, finally settling on six information literacy threshold concepts.


The internal functional organization of cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) lies at the heart of our understanding the mode and tempo of gene regulatory evolution as well as practical efforts at deciphering and annotating genomic sequences. In an open-ended search for loose clusters of known mesodermal enhancer motifs in the Ciona intestinalis genome, I discovered the existence of a class of highly organized CRMs in otherwise unrelated genes expressed early in development. Each such CRM is composed of distinct motifs located at specific positions along approximately 160 bp of DNA sequence, and is able to drive expression in distinct mesodermal compartments descended from the B4.1 blastomere. The majority of the loci bearing these B4.1-specific modules encode important early mesodermal transcription factors at the snail, paraxis, and tbx6 orthologous loci of this invertebrate chordate system. These unrelated genes encode members of the C2H2 zinc-finger, bHLH, and T-box transcription factor families, and likely serve as a chordate-specific trans-code for paraxial mesoderm. One other similarly organized enhancer was discovered in the TNC3 muscle structural locus. These results suggest that organization of binding sites over the length of the enhancer sequence is a critical aspect of gene regulatory biology. The extent to which this is a general principle will facilitate our ability to identify, decipher, and categorize the regulatory functions contained in whole genome assemblies.


Background: The Neutrophil-lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) reflects the inflammatory state. Elevated NLR has been reported to be a prognostic indicator in some malignancies. The aim of this study was to determine whether NLR is a prognostic factor in the response to anticoagulation and survival in patients with gastric cancer and Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) treated with anti-VTE.
Methods: We retrospectively recruited 73 patients with gastric cancer who had VTE, among 539 patients with pathologically proven gastric cancer between January 2008 and December 2016. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify clinicopathological predictors of anticoagulant response and overall survival.
Results: Patients with high NLR had more late tumor stage (p=0.046), deeper tumor depth (p=0.033), and worse histologic grade (p=0.045) than did the low NLR group. There was a statistically significant association between poor NLR (p=0.001) and low albumin (p=0.016) and anticoagulant therapy. Multivariate analysis showed that high levels of NLR (hazard ratio, 1.56, 95% CI: 1.32-1.87, p=0.032) and late tumor stage (hazard ratio, 2.11, 95% CI: 1.29-3.44, p=0.043) were independent risk factors for poor prognosis for gastric cancer patients with VTE.
Conclusions: The results suggest that NLR may be a useful biomarker in predicting the response to anticoagulation and survival in patients with gastric cancer with VTE.


Abstract : Robotics and Computer Assisted Medical Interventions (RCAMI) has emerged as a rapidly evolving area of research and development with great potential for improving clinical out-comes while also reducing patient morbidity and the cost of health care. The first generation of computer-assisted systems are being utilized in operating rooms and hospitals throughout the world. Advancing RCAMI technology to the next levels of development and utilization requires collaboration among the disciplines of engineering, science and medicine. The RCAMI workshop brought together clinicians, engineers, scientists, and industrial representatives. Through intensive discussions, the participants defined current status and clinical applications of these technologies, and explored future directions and requirements. We have divided the RCAMI field into four sub-areas: 1. Image Guided Therapy - the use of images obtained either during or prior to treatment, coupled with the use of computers, sensors, graphics, or other technologies to assist or guide the administration of treatment. For the purpose of this workshop, this group did not consider active or semi-active robotic systems, although many robotic systems employ image guidance to administer treatment. 2. Robotics - the intra-operative use of active or semi-active robotic/manipulation systems to significantly enhance the ability of humans to perform interventional procedures. 3. Surgical Simulators - the use of medical imaging, computer graphics, biomechanical analysis, and virtual environments, to simulate surgery for medical education, scientific analysis and pre-treatment planning. 4. Teleintervention - the application of information-based technologies to deliver procedural health care through an electronic interface. Indirect patient contact is implicit; however, the distance separating patient and physician may be insignifican


Inconsistent directional drilling performance has cost the oil and gas industry billions of dollars in drilling costs, missed production potential, and increased lifting costs. While some directional drillers perform at a high-level, others often fail to properly compensate for multiple variables seen while drilling. Automation of the directional drilling service including automated decision-making is proving to be a viable solution to this problem and has been implemented in the drilling of thousands of wells in North America in recent years.
 A joint industry project (JIP) affiliated with the IADC (International Association of Drilling Contractors), SPE DSATS (Society of Petroleum Engineers Drilling Systems Automation Technical Section), AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International), Southwest Research Institute, Energistics, and the OPC (Open Platform Communications) Foundation has created a Drilling Systems Automation (DSA) Roadmap to help the industry understand the direction of drilling systems automation. In this roadmap, the authors suggest that the transition from humans to automation in the general drilling space can occur across four cognitive functions: acquiring information, analyzing and displaying information, deciding action, and implementing action. They also suggest that there is value in partial automation.
 This assessment is accurate when applied to directional drilling; over the past few years many individual directional drilling tasks have become either fully automated or partially automated, each bringing significant value to the operation. These individual automated tasks systematically link together, moving toward the fully automated rig.
 Continuous real-time updating of the bit position is one of the many critical analysis steps that can be automated, driving steering decisions. The practice of accurately predicting bit position and trajectory is a skill that is artfully developed by expert directional drillers over many years. To demonstrate the value of partial automation, a specific example is presented where the continuous calculation of the real-time bit position and its trajectory is fully automated, showing that the analysis and decision-making performed by the automated system is faster and more accurate than performed by human directional drillers. Although the details of only a single automated task is the focus of the case study, it is important to realize that it is just one of many automated tasks currently implemented in the field on the path to full automation.
 In the transition from human to automated processes, roles and responsibilities must change both on the rig and in the office in order to fully benefit from its value potential. With most of the heavy cognitive lifting performed by a machine, a single directional driller can now work remotely and manage the directional control of multiple wells simultaneously. This remote directional driler can perform data analysis in a structured scientific manner. Automation incorporates the science, integrates previously siloed best practices and individual knowledge, and allows for continual consideration of the economic consequences to the asset from each decision.