The relationship between peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARG) expression and epigenetic changes occurring in colorectal-cancer pathogenesis is largely unknown. We investigated whether PPARG is epigenetically regulated in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. PPARG expression was assessed in CRC tissues and paired normal mucosa by western blot and immunohistochemistry and related to patients' clinicopathological parameters and survival. PPARG promoter methylation was analyzed by methylation-specific-PCR and bisulphite sequencing. PPARG expression and promoter methylation were similarly examined also in CRC derived cell lines. Chromatin immunoprecipitation in basal conditions and after epigenetic treatment was performed along with knocking-down experiments of putative regulatory factors. Gene expression was monitored by immunoblotting and functional assays of cell proliferation and invasiveness. Methylation on a specific region of the promoter is strongly correlated with PPARG lack of expression in 30% of primary CRCs and with patients' poor prognosis. Remarkably, the same methylation pattern is found in PPARG-negative CRC cell lines. Epigenetic treatment with 5′-aza-2′-deoxycytidine can revert this condition and, in combination with trichostatin A, dramatically re-activates gene transcription and receptor activity. Transcriptional silencing is due to the recruitment of MeCP2, HDAC1 and EZH2 that impart repressive chromatin signatures determining an increased cell proliferative and invasive potential, features that can experimentally be reverted. Our findings provide a novel mechanistic insight into epigenetic silencing of PPARG in CRC that may be relevant as a prognostic marker of tumor progression.


Product lines for information systems present variabilities both in non-functional and functional features. Aspects are being used successfully in the implementation of non-functional features, as they provide intuitive units for isolating the requirements associated to this type of features. However, aspects could also be used to implement some product line features that refer to functional requirements. Using that approach, the instantiation of specific products could be done by combining the desired aspects into the final product. In this paper, we propose an approach, named AIPLE-IS, to incrementally build a product line for information systems using aspects. The product line core is developed first, followed by the addition of optional features through aspects. A case study for a product line in the domain of information systems for psychology clinics is presented to illustrate the approach.


The representation of self and the nature of our identities often converge through technological forms. This study investigates the promotional techniques of seven companies selling DNA portraits, the objective being to uncover how these images derived from laboratory processes are viewed as valid depictions of the self and scientific knowledge. DNA portraits are revealed as the intertwining of technology and identity through celebrations of the technoself. Abstract


Background and study aim Chronic use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) has become a mainstay of therapy in common gastrointestinal diseases. A causal relationship between chronic PPI use and development of osteoporosis remains unproven. The aim of this study was to determine whether PPI users are more likely to develop alterations in bone density. Patients and methods In an analytical cross sectional study, patients who used PPIs for more than 2 years because of long-term gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) were recruited. PPI users were healthy people except for GERD. The compression group was randomly derived from an age-, sex- and physical activity-matched group from a healthy population in the National Registry of Osteoporosis who had not used PPIs in the previous 2 years. Bone mineral density was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Data regarding BMD and bone mineral content (BMC) of three regions: femoral neck, total hip, and the lumbar spine (L1-L4) were gathered and recorded. The World Health Organization (WHO) classification was used for definition of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Results A total of 394 participants (133 PPI users and 261 comparison group) were enrolled. The median duration of PPI use was 6.7 (2–31) years. The mean age ± SD of PPI users and comparison group was 48.38 ± 11.98 and 47.86 ± years, respectively (P = 0.681). There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics and age distribution between the two groups. The BMC levels were significantly lower in PPI users in all three regions: lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck (P<0.001). There were no significant differences in the T-scores between the two groups except for femoral neck (P<0.001). Osteoporosis in femoral neck was significantly higher in PPI users than in comparison group. Conclusion This study showed that long-term use of PPIs is associated with lower BMC and higher rate of osteoporosis in the femoral neck. However, more studies with longitudinal evaluation should be performed to clarify this causal relationship. Until then, it is advised not to overuse PPIs because of the possible increase in risk of osteoporosis and the risk of fractures. We also recommend using the BMC levels as a quantitative measure in addition to T scores in analysis and reporting similar studies.


This essay explains how one of the most maligned decisions in Constitutional Law, Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905) lives on in one of the Sherman Act's most celebrated decisions: Standard Oil v. United States, 221 U.S. 1 (1911). Standard Oil, it is shown, was simply an application of Lochnerian principles to antitrust policy. In particular, Standard Oil's "Rule of Reason," universally-embraced by modern jurists and scholars, functioned as a device for narrowing the Sherman Act to avoid abridging contracts and other conduct protected by the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. By banning only that conduct producing higher prices, reduced output or inferior quality, the Court left unscathed so-called "normal" or "ordinary" conduct necessary to "fructify" trade and create wealth, conduct beyond the scope of the "police power" as understood by Lochner and its progeny. In so doing, the Court simply reiterated the principles articulated by previous decisions, which had banned as "direct" those restraints that resulted in prices above the competitive level, leaving firms and individuals free to adopt "indirect" restraints sheltered by liberty of contract. Thus, Lochner lives on in Sherman Act case law, with no sign of mortality.The essay also explores how a Lochnerized Rule of Reason would address two current antitrust controversies: first, the appropriate definition of "consumer welfare," and second, whether courts should condemn "normal" conduct when a balancing test reveals that the harms produced by such conduct outweigh its benefits. Implementation of Lochnerian principles would, it is shown, require courts to equate the "consumer welfare" relevant for antitrust doctrine with "total welfare" instead of the welfare of purchasers in the relevant market. After all, the "police power" invoked by Lochner and its progeny entailed the power to ban externalities and other market failures, while decisions such as Coppage v. Kansas, 236 U.S. 1 (1915) rejected, as outside the police power, interference with liberty and property that simply redistributed wealth from one party to another. Lochnerian principles would also require antitrust courts to reject the sort of balancing that supposedly characterizes modern Rule of Reason analysis.


This study examines the relationship between climate and species richness and distribution of palms (Arecaceae) in the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina. We use data from the Floristic and Forest Inventory of Santa Catarina and WorldClim - Global Climate Data. We hypothesized that low temperature and precipitation limit palm species richness and distribution in Santa Catarina. For modeling palm species richness, we used a generalized linear model for zero inflated data and to assess reasons behind differences in palm species abundance and species richness across the state, we used a canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP). We found that only the distribution of Euterpe edulis Mart. and Syagrus romanzoffiana (Cham.) Glassman showed significant effects of climate, largely because they were the most abundant and frequent species found in sampled plots. Modelling results pinpointed minimum temperature of the coldest month as the strongest predictor of palm species richness and distribution in Santa Catarina. Our results contribute to knowledge about the occurrence of native palms of the Atlantic Forest and their environmental limitations. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.184.108.40.206.737


IntroductionThis study uses linked administrative data to identify Albertan children and youth (aged 0 to 25 years) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cerebral Palsy (CP) or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and to examine their government service use patterns from 2005/06 to 2010/11.
Objectives and ApproachThe analysis looks at whether children with ASD, CP and FASD have similar government service use patterns and how their service use patterns changed over time. Six Government of Alberta ministries' data were linked (Health, Justice, Education, Advanced Education, Children's Services and Community and Social Services). Individuals were defined as having ASD, CP or FASD if, at any point during the study period, they had a diagnostic code for one of three conditions (ASD, CP or FASD) from a health service (i.e., physician visits, or emergency room visits, or hospitalizations), or accessed disability support programs for ASD, CP or FASD.
ResultsThe results showed different service use patterns for the three conditions: (1) a higher proportion of children with ASD were students with special needs compared to children with FASD and CP; (2) a lower proportion of children with FASD received FSCD services compared to children with ASD and CP; (3) a higher proportion of children with FASD were involved in the Child Intervention system and were Income Support recipients compared to children with ASD and CP. Moreover, the study showed that there was a decrease in accessing services and programming from Persons with Development Disabilities (PDD) for young Albertans with ASD, CP and FASD from 2005/06 to 2010/11. In contrast, the use of another adult disability program that provides only financial assistance, Assured Income for Severely Handicapped, increased over time.
Conclusion/ImplicationsThe use of population-based linked administrative data allows a comprehensive and comparative study for government service use patterns. The findings have implications for cross-ministry policy and program development, resource allocation, and service coordination and delivery to young Albertans with ASD, CP and FASD.


In France, the care pathway for PWID is not straightforward, even among prevention and treatment addiction centres. The aim of this study was to describe and compare the HCV cascade of care in PWID patients followed up in such centres from 2012 to 2017, namely before the 2014 era of interferon-based treatment until the 2014 advent of DAA therapy onwards. The study included an educational component, along with the setting up of a care pathway with an integrated and multidisciplinary approach. 1054 PWID were evaluated, 242 from the interferon-based treatment period and 812 from DAA. Poly-addiction was common, mainly including tobacco (88%) and alcohol consumption (54%). Among the PWID, 77% were screened for anti-HCV, with 34% of them being positive. Besides, 75% of PWID positive for anti-HCV were tested for RNA-PCR, with 68% of them being positive. Among the 140 PWID with HCV infection, 73% were treated with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin or DAA, with 90% of them considered as cured. The proportion of treated PWID cases significantly increased with the advent of DAA drugs: 85% vs 32% with interferon (p=0.027), as did the proportion of cured PWID (95% vs 55%, p<0.001). Conversely the detection rate of anti-HCV and RNA-PCR levels did not differ between both periods, neither did the positivity of anti- HCV, nor that of RNA-PCR. The integrated and multidisciplinary approach and the incorporation of the cure of hepatitis C into the risk and harm reduction strategy proved to be paramount.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to identify biochemical and clinical predictors of poor response (including incomplete response and non-response) to standard treatment in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) patients.

METHODS
This study retrospectively collected clinical data from 297 patients who were first diagnosed with AIH in Beijing Ditan Hospital from 2010 to 2019. Finally, 149 patients were screened out. Risk factors were screened by univariate and multifactorial logistic regression. Then they were used to establish the nomogram. The ROC curve, calibration curve, decision curves analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC) were used to evaluate the nomogram.

RESULTS
149 patients were divided into two groups: the response group (n = 120, 80%) and the poor response group (n = 29, 20%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis found that IgG > 26.5 g/L (OR: 22.016; 95% CI: 4.677-103.640) in AIH patients increased the risk. In contrast, treatment response status was better in women (OR: 0.085; 95% CI: 0.015-0.497) aged >60 years (OR: 0.159; 95% CI: 0.045-0.564) with AST > 4.49 × ULN (OR: 0.066; 95% CI: 0.009-0.494). The C index (0.853) and the calibration curve show that the nomogram is well differentiated and calibrated; the DCA and CIC indicate that the model has good clinical benefits and implications.

CONCLUSION
The study found that male patients aged ≤ 60 years with IgG > 26.5 g/L and elevated AST ≤ 4.49 × ULN were more likely to have a non-response/incomplete response to standard treatment.


Characteristics of the cognitive and emotional spheres were recorded in 67 healthy women aged 18-25 years 9-12 times in 1-2 menstrual cycles. The relationship of psychophysiological indicators activity of progesterone and cortisol in saliva was studied using a single monitoring. Using within individual comparisons it was established that the level of the psychoemotional tension women is lowest, and the cognitive effectiveness--the highest in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, then other phases. The highest level of non-verbal creativity was marked on the ovulatory and luteal but the highest activation and audio sensitivity--on the follicular and ovulatory phases of the cycle. The Correlation analysis showed that the changes of psychophysiological characteristics during a cycle are connected with the changes in the level of progesterone. These results provide evidence of the psychophysiological characteristics dependence on the neurohumoral status and the need to consider the phase of the menstrual cycle in psychometric measurements of female subjects.


Abstract The high overall plant-based diet index (PDI) is considered to protect against type 2 diabetes in the general population. However, whether the PDI affects gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk among pregnant women is still unclear. We evaluated the association between PDI and GDM risk based on a Chinese large prospective cohort – the Tongji Maternal and Child Health Cohort. Dietary data were collected at 13–28 weeks of pregnancy by a validated semi-quantitative FFQ. The PDI was obtained by assigning plant food groups positive scores while assigning animal food groups reverse scores. GDM was diagnosed by a 75 g 2-h oral glucose tolerance test at 24–28 weeks of gestation. Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate OR of GDM, with associated 95 % CI, comparing women in different PDI quartiles. Among the total 2099 participants, 169 (8·1 %) were diagnosed with GDM. The PDI ranged from 21·0 to 52·0 with a median of 36·0 (interquartile range (IQR) 33·0–39·0). After adjusting for social-demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors etc., the participants with the highest quartile of PDI were associated with 57 % reduced odds of GDM compared with women in the lowest quartile of PDI (adjusted OR 0·43; 95 % CI 0·24, 0·77; P for trend = 0·005). An IQR increment in PDI was associated with 29 % decreased odds of GDM (adjusted OR 0·71; 95 % CI 0·56, 0·90). Findings suggest that adopting a plant-based diet during pregnancy could reduce GDM risk among Chinese women, which may be valuable for dietary counselling during pregnancy.


Stage-Gate® is a widely used product innovation process for managing portfolios of new product development projects. The process enables companies to minimize uncertainty by helping them identify—at various stages or gates—the "wrong" projects before too many resources are invested. The present research looks at the question of whether using Stage-Gate® may lead companies also to jettison some "right" projects (i.e., those that could have become successful). The specific context of this research involves projects characterized by asymmetrical uncertainty: where workload is usually underestimated at the start (because new development tasks or new customer requirements are discovered after the project begins) and where the development team's size is often overestimated (because assembling a productive team takes more time than anticipated). Software development projects are a perfect example. In the context of an underestimated workload and an understaffed team, the Stage-Gate® philosophy of low investment at the start may set off a negative dynamic: low investments in the beginning lead to massive schedule pressure, which increases turnover in an already understaffed team and results in the team missing schedules for the first stage. This delay cascades into the second stage and eventually leads management to conclude that the project is not viable and should be abandoned. However, this paper shows how, with slightly more flexible thinking (i.e., initial Stage-Gate® investments that are slightly less lean), some of the ostensibly "wrong" projects can actually become the "right" projects to pursue. Principal conclusions of the analysis are as follows: (1) adhering strictly to the Stage-Gate® philosophy may well kill off viable projects and damage the firm's bottom line; (2) slightly relaxing the initial investment constraint can improve the dynamics of project execution; and (3) during a project's first stages, managers should focus more on ramping up their project team than on containing project costs.


The authors investigated the time-varying behavior of the autoregressive (AR) parameters in a myoelectric (ME) signal detected during a linear force increasing contraction. The AR parameters of interest mere the reflection coefficients, the AR model spectrum, and the prediction errors. The authors used well-conditioned ME signals for which the complete time record of the motor units firings was available. In addition, the influence of the recruitment of a new motor unit, the conduction velocity of action potentials, and additive broad-band noise were investigated using simulated ME signals. The simulated ME signals were constructed from a selected group of the available motor unit action potential trains. The results revealed that, as the contraction progressed, the AR parameters displayed a time-varying behavior which coincided with the recruitment of newly recruited motor units whose spectrum of the waveform differed from that of the rest of the ME signal. This property of the AR parameters was obscured by the presence of broad-band noise and low-amplitude motor unit action potentials, both of which are more pronounced during low-level force contractions.<<ETX>>


The aim of this work is to develop a new chemical solvent for CO2capture and compare its performance with a reference based solvent MDEA (MethylDiEthanolAmine). A mixture of MDEA and Hexylamine activator (HA) is designed to improve the performance of the process and allow a substantial gain in terms of energy regeneration and reducing the cost of capture. New CO2 absorption data is obtained using a Lewis cell gas-liquid interface at 298, 313 and 333 K with mass concentrations MDEA 37 wt%+ HA 3 wt%,MDEA 35 wt%+ HA 5 wt% and MDEA 33 wt%+ HA 7 wt%, to assess the CO2 absorption flux and the absorption capacity of the new solvent. Our results show that for the mixture of MDEA 37 wt%+ HA 3 wt%, the kinetics reaction is fast with reduced activation energy compared to that of MDEA 40 wt%.


Biomimetic hydrogels with triple networks have been developed via in situ polymerization and addition of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets, which achieve improved toughness and superior fatigue resistance, simultaneously. Compared with pristine calcium alginate/polyacrylamide double network (DN) hydrogels, the integration of a calcium-induced graphene oxide network enhances the crosslinking degree of triple network (TN) hydrogels with improved compressive strength by 172% and toughness by 174%. In addition, cyclic compressive loading-unloading curves depict excellent fatigue resistance because of reversible calcium alginate and calcium-induced GO networks, whereas high strength and toughness of traditional DN gels derive from the first sacrificial network, which leads to inferior fatigue resistance. Toughness of these TN gels was still kept at 110 kJ m−3 at the fifth cycle which is equal to that of articular cartilages. The swelling property of these DN and TN hdyrogels is also systematically explored, which exhibits that GO can reduce the swelling to maintain the mechanical properties of TN gels. The internal fracture mechanisms of these TN hydrogels are studied via swelling tests of precompressed and as-prepared gels. These synergistic effects of the reversible ions crosslinking polymer network and nanofillers open a new platform to design supertough and fatigue-resistant hydrogels. In addition, these TN hydrogels are talented replacements for load-bearing parts, like cartilage due to its high toughness and superior fatigue resistance.


The right of publicity — the most recently developed type of intellectual property — allows a person to control commercial use of his or her identity. The scope of the right has expanded significantly since its inception because many courts and commentators have misinterpreted it, viewing it as a pure property right justified by a labor or unjust enrichment theory. Rather, this article contends that it should be evaluated in light of the utilitarian justification for intellectual property law. Rewarding people by allowing them to monetize their public persona is not the goal of the right of publicity. The goal should be to incentivize individuals to engage in creative endeavors for the benefit of the public. Accordingly, a right of publicity action should only be available if commercial use of an individual's persona will result in the likelihood that consumers will be misled into thinking the individual endorsed or approved of the use of his or her identity. However, such confusion-based conduct is already actionable under trademark and unfair competition law. Therefore, I argue that any use of a person's persona that creates an association with the person but does not create a likelihood that consumers will think the person endorsed or approved of the commercial use should only be actionable if the person is famous. This is consistent with trademark dilution law, which limits association-based trademark actions to famous trademarks. This approach places the right of publicity within the domain of intellectual property law and preserves the existing balances between protecting property rights, preventing free riding, and preserving robust free speech rights.


The health and well-being of children is a universal priority for families, communities, nations, and even international welfare, development, and success. Physical health is an overwhelming concern, especially related to the escalating epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity. Furthermore, emotional health is an area of immense interest including the relevance of self-control and its role in controlling emotions, influencing interactions with others, and assisting one in becoming a self-directed learner. Children's health promotional interventions have been developed and implemented; however, the majority either focuses on one health aspect and/or the effects of one health aspect on another. The Fit Initiative originated from a web partnership between Sanford Health and WebMD, and later fully developed by Sanford Health with the purpose of improving children's health. The objective of this theoretically-based programming has been to incorporate technology, engaging programs, as well as the utilization of key role models and caregivers of children in and throughout a number of settings including homes, schools, daycares, healthcare clinics, and communities to inspire and support healthy lifestyles. The Sanford Health Fit Initiative is focused on the four commonly recognized key elements of healthy living: food, move, mood, and recharge. It assists children and families in cultivating a better understanding of how the key influencers of mood and recharge affect their daily choices and habits, including food and move. Children and families are guided to recognize, appreciate, and apply a more thorough understanding of the interrelatedness of these four elements so that they may experience real and meaningful behavioral change.


Abstract The present paper is concerned with the development of multiscale modelling approaches for predicting the microstructural evolution and high temperature deformation characteristics of superalloys with special attention to creep and hot forming behaviour. A microstructure informed deformation model is presented that links rearrangements at the microscale to the overall macroscopic response of the material through a damage mechanics approach and results are presented on the application of the model to CMSX4. The control of microstructure, during the manufacture of nickel based superalloy components, is key to the development of the mechanical properties required for the high temperature applications typical of these materials. Results from empirical methods and a new physics based approach for modelling recrystallisation in polycrystalline superalloys are presented for the prediction of the grain size distributions produced during hot forming operations in Inconel alloy 718. A global macroscale modelling approach based on Neural Networks has been developed which includes the effects of composition, heat treatment and processing route and the effectiveness of the model for both property prediction and interpolation is demonstrated.


The analytical procedure for the determination of trace rare earth impurities in high purity neodymium oxide (Nd 2 O 3 ) by ICP-MS is described. The effect of ICP-MS operating parameters on the REO(H) + /RE + production ratio was studied in detail, and the optimal ICP operating conditions were established. In this context, the relationship between REO(H) + /RE + production ratio and the bond strength of the rare earth oxides is also discussed briefly. For the correction of the spectral interference induced by the matrix (neodymium), a simple correction equation was used for correcting the interferences of the polyatomic ions NdO + and NdOH + with 1 5 9 Tb and 1 6 5 Ho. The proposed method was applied to the determination of trace rare earth impurities in high purity Nd 2 O 3 , and the analytical results were in good agreement with the recommended reference values.


Forty-eight patients with erythema chronicum migrans (ECM) were studied prospectively for 6 to 18 months. Twenty-six patients had no later symptoms, but 22 subsequently developed Lyme arthritis and 9 of them also experienced neurologic abnormalities. Eighty-seven percent of patients with active ECM followed by subsequent involvement had cryoglobulins containing IgM compared to only 13% of those with active ECM and no later symptoms. The former group also had significantly lower IgG, C3 and C4 levels. Sixty-seven percent of patients still had serum cryoglobulins when neurologic disease was most active, and 45% had them when joint symptoms were most severe, but only 11% continued to have small amounts in remission. The number of patients who continued to have serum cryoglobulins with recurrent attacks of arthritis decreased with time. In contrast, patients always had cryoglobulins in joint fluid, a finding Lyme arthritis shares with rheumatoid arthritis. The cryoprecipitates from 2 of 10 patients contained particles with internal structure, but their viral nature is problematic. All components of antisera obtained from goats and rabbits immunized with cryoglobulins were absorbed by normal human sera. The amount of IgM in cryoglobulins correlated directly with serum IgM, which generally rose during exacerbations and fell during remissions; serum IgG and IgA moved conversely. Thus, IgM was an important correlate of clinical disease activity and IgG or remission.


The paper attempts to marry object oriented software architecture with M. Jackson's (1995) "problem frames". Jackson's problem frames follow from his perception that many systemic problems in modern software development can be addressed by a greater problem space orientation during system specification and analysis, and a clearer separation of problem and solution space concerns during design and implementation. The author attempts an experimental union of problem space and object oriented architecture by adopting Jackson's generic problem structural patterns, problem frames, as the principal structural driver of an object oriented architecture. Problem frames bring with them a detailed method for solving problems of the corresponding class; the paper extends one problem frame's method to include a basic object oriented framework to provide a reference software architecture. The problem frame's reference architecture is evaluated by applying it to the design of a typical business component. The characteristics of the resultant architecture are then evaluated.


Due to a staggering increase in the number of patients who self-administer drugs to treat chronic diseases, and growing use of biologics drugs, manufacturers started showing shift from vial-and-syringe format, prone to dosing errors and low patient-compliance rates to single use, disposable syringes filled with a prescribed unit dose of medication called prefilled syringes to deliver protein-based drugs, sustained release formulations, and other parenteral medications. Being the fastest growing segment of the injectable drug delivery devices market, it has the potential to unlock significant value by providing the next level of safe and highly effective treatments for patients. However, getting these products to the market in a timely, compliant, and sustainable manner is not easy. New and challenging technical problems will persist. Interacting with key regulatory authorities, such as FDA, requires a dedicated and collaborative effort as their approaches continue to evolve. The intent of this review article is to provide concise information on the latest regulatory aspects of prefilled syringe, methods of their manufacture, methods of filling syringes as a drug product. This type of knowledge can familiarize the reader with the prefilled syringes as a combination product & its possible challenges.


In order to cope with advanced relaying techniques, a multimicroprocessor-based digital relay was developed. The main features are distributed processing among five processors, 32-b floating-point operations, digital filtering of fast sampled data, and a personal computer based testing tool. Performance tests of this digital relay showed the following characteristics: (1) the error of any relaying element (distance, overcurrent and undervoltage) was less than 1%; (2) operating time was less than 20 ms when the processing interval was 1.67 ms; and (3) a single relaying processor had a computational capacity of six-phase (ground, short*4 steps*3 phases) distance relays based on differential equations, accompanying elements, and a self-diagnosis function in every processing interval. >


Most of the proposed algorithms focus on static networks of sensors with either static or mobile anchors, in which the Monte Carlo localization algorithm is a typical one for localizing nodes in a mobile wireless sensor network. But the radio range being all different or inconstant in this algorithm leads to reduce the accuracy of localization and the efficiency of the algorithm itself. In this article, we propose the novel rang-based stochastic Monte Carlo localization algorithm for wireless sensor networks specifically designed with mobility to improve the accuracy of localization by dealing with the different radio ranges of sensors, and being bound to the narrow sampling area. Our simulation experimental results show that the rang-based stochastic Monte Carlo localization algorithm has improved the accuracy and stability of the estimated locations.


Anhedonia is one of the core symptoms of depression and is characterized by the inability to experience pleasure. Anhedonia is difficult to treat with the current available antidepressants. A novel class of antidepressants, the triple reuptake inhibitors (TRIs), are believed to act as broad-spectrum drugs with an early-onset antidepressant effect. TRIs might be particularly useful for the treatment of anhedonia. TRIs block the transporters of all three monoamines simultaneously: serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA). In particular the effects on the DA transporter are thought to be important for the treatment of anhedonia. In this thesis in rats the role of 5-HT, NE and especially DA in brain mechanisms involved in anhedonia and in brain stimulation reward was investigated. In vivo microdialysis studies were performed in which the effects of monoaminergic drugs were measured on extracellular monoamine concentrations in several brain areas that are involved in depression. On the other hand effects of psychotropic drugs on brain reward sensitivity in an intracranial self-stimulation paradigm were investigated. In chapter 2, the use of TRIs in the treatment of different subtypes of depression was reviewed. First, a distinction was made between different subtypes of depression; melancholic and atypical depression, which both have their own symptom profile. Specific symptoms were linked to distinct disturbances in monoaminergic brain mechanisms, which resulted in a revisited monoamine hypothesis of depression, stating that monoaminergic neurotransmission is out of balance, rather than deficient in the subtypes of depression. In chapter 3 and 4 it was shown that the triple reuptake inhibitor DOV 216,303 increased 5-HT, NE and DA in the prefrontal cortex and dorsal hippocampus, brain areas that are important in depression. Furthermore, chronic treatment with DOV 216,303 lead to a faster metabolism of the drug compared to an acute challenge, which might be a limitation for this drug in clinical use. In chapter 5 it was shown that DOV 216,303 induced long-lasting enhancement of brain reward activity without showing withdrawal-associated reward deficits, suggesting that an enhancement of DA does not necessarily mean that a drug has abuse potential. In chapter 6, enhancement of DA neurotransmission did not enhance brain reward systems, as the 5-HT1A/1B receptor agonist eltoprazine increased DA concentrations and decreased 5-HT concentrations in the brain, but resulted in increased ICSS thresholds. It was concluded that besides DA, also 5-HT might be important in mediating reward. In chapter 7, the acute and chronic effects of escitalopram, reboxetine and methylphenidate were investigated on monoamine release in the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens in combination with the effects of these drugs on brain stimulation reward. Only methylphenidate, which increased DA levels in the nucleus accumbens, enhanced brain stimulation reward. In chapter 8, the main results of the thesis are discussed with implications for further research. In summary, it is concluded that TRIs might serve as good first-line antidepressants, especially in the treatment of anhedonia


The factors affecting the precision of the flow injection doublet peak method are discussed with particular reference to the contribution from the uncertainty associated with the calibration procedure. A single-line flow injection manifold was used in which the concentration gradients were generated by alternating helical reactors and the reaction products were monitored by a simple detector incorporating diodes as light source and intensity transducer. The reactions between lanthanum and Methyl Thymol Blue and between sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid in the presence of Bromothymol Blue were used. Optimization studies involved the method of steepest ascent, two figures of merit (the slope of the calibration and the standard deviation of a measured concentration) and two parameters (pump speed setting and the number of segments in the alternating helical reactor). The resulting minimum uncertainties, which ranged from 3 to 9%, were found to be insensitive to changes in experimental parameters. The major contribution to the uncertainty in a determined concentration was found to be the scatter of the points about the regression line fitted to the calibration data. Alternative approaches to flow injection peak width methods are discussed and it is pointed out that the doublet peak method has the unique feature of giving rise to an inherently linear calibration function, because the reference points at which the time interval is measured are not fixed at a particular value of the detector response for all concentrations.


Inositol 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate receptor-mediated (IP3R-mediated) calcium (Ca2+) release has been proposed to play an important role in regulating vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) contraction for decades. However, whether and how IP3R regulates blood pressure in vivo remains unclear. To address these questions, we have generated a smooth muscle-specific IP3R triple-knockout (smTKO) mouse model using a tamoxifen-inducible system. In this study, the role of IP3R-mediated Ca2+ release in adult VSMCs on aortic vascular contractility and blood pressure was assessed following tamoxifen induction. We demonstrated that deletion of IP3Rs significantly reduced aortic contractile responses to vasoconstrictors, including phenylephrine, U46619, serotonin, and endothelin 1. Deletion of IP3Rs also dramatically reduced the phosphorylation of MLC20 and MYPT1 induced by U46619. Furthermore, although the basal blood pressure of smTKO mice remained similar to that of wild-type controls, the increase in systolic blood pressure upon chronic infusion of angiotensin II was significantly attenuated in smTKO mice. Taken together, our results demonstrate an important role for IP3R-mediated Ca2+ release in VSMCs in regulating vascular contractility and hypertension.


Abstract. The Auroral Electrojet (AE) indices, which are composed of four indices (AU, AL, AE, and AO), are calculated from the geomagnetic field data obtained at 12 geomagnetic observatories that are located in geomagnetic latitude (GMLAT) of 61.7°–70°. The indices have been widely used to study magnetic activity in the auroral zone. In the present study, we examine magnetic local time (MLT) dependence of geomagnetic field variations contributing to the AU and AL indices. We use 1-min geomagnetic field data obtained in 2003. It is found that both AU and AL indices have two ranges of MLT (AU: 15:00–22:00 MLT, ~06:00 MLT; and AL: ~02:00 MLT, 09:00–12:00 MLT) contributing to the index during quiet periods and one MLT range (AU: 15:00–20:00 MLT, and AL: 00:00–06:00 MLT) during disturbed periods. These results are interpreted in terms of various ionospheric current systems, such as, Sqp, Sq, and DP2.


Judging from the debates on the international political scene, the legal regime for the marine areas beyond national jurisdiction might be changing in the years to come. One recurring question is whether and how future international law should incorporate the issue of sharing the benefits that arise from utilizing marine genetic resources (MGRs). In reviewing these questions, this work outlines some of the regulatory options for addressing the activity of bioprospecting in the high seas. De lege ferendae the activity of bioprospecting will likely give rise to a wide range of legislative alternative forms of benefit sharing. These must be consistent with the fundamental principle of freedom of the high seas and the exclusive rights awarded by patents when the activity results in an invention; yet they should also have advantages in terms of conserving MGRs, promoting fairness and spurring innovation. When emphasis is placed on maintaining the incentives to innovate, there are important drawbacks to monetary benefit sharing. On the other hand, open or semi-open source options can be conceived for the material relating to MGRs. This article identifies important practical implications and unresolved legal and practical questions for owners of sampled material and for third-party users.


BACKGROUND
Long distance truck drivers and helpers constitute a high risk group for human immunodeficiency virus /acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Despite increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS and safe sex practices, they still have a high incidence of new cases of HIV.

AIMS
This study carried out at an ART (anti-retroviral treatment) centre in North India aimed to evaluate the sexual myths and misconceptions prevalent among long distance drivers and helpers.

DESIGN
This was a retrospective study carried out at apex ART centre.

METHODS
Data were collected retrospectively from ART records of 129 long distance Truck drivers and 68 helpers. Details of socio-demographic characteristics, contact with commercial sex workers (CSW'S), pattern of condom usage with CSW'S and factors influencing it were studied.

RESULTS
We found that a significant number of drivers and helpers had sexual contact with CSW's and out of these, 30% of drivers and 50% of helpers reported not using condoms and instead resorting to methods like washing genitalia after sex with battery water/urine to avoid getting HIV. There was no significant relationship between pattern of condom usage and educational status, marital status and age. We also found that certain myths like sex with young CSW's was less likely to cause sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) and HIV were also widespread.

CONCLUSION
Owing to continuing prevalence of such sexual myths, long distance truck drivers and helpers do not use condoms while having sex with CSW's as they feel that they can enjoy sex with CSW's and still stay protected against STD's/HIV. It is imperative that this battery water/urine antiseptic myth be specifically targeted for better HIV control in this high risk group.


AIM
Сomparative studying of changes in the spectrum of bile acids in bile in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cholelithiasis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
140 patients were included in the survey: 50 - with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and 90 - with cholelithiasis. The diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was established on the basis of ultrasound examination of the liver, the elasticity and fibrosis of liver by using the sonoelastography and liver biopsy. The prestone stage of cholelithiasis was established on the basis of ultrasound examination of the gallbladder and biochemical examination of bile. The level of total cholesterol, triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase were studied using the analyzer "Labsystems" (Finland). The spectrum of bile acids in bile is studied by mass spectrometry on AmazonX apparatus (Bruker Daltonik GmbH, Bremen, Germany).

RESULTS
Biochemical blood test revealed increase of cholesterol, triglycerides, cytolysis markers, and cholestasis, the most pronounced in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Biochemical study of bile showed increase of cholesterol, decrease the total amount of bile acids and cholatecholesterol coefficient in the vesicle and hepatic bile in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cholelithiasis. Mass spectrometry showed decrease the total amount of free bile acids (choloidal, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic) and increase the content of conjugated bile acids (glycocholic, glycodesoxycholic, taurocholic, taurodeoxycholic, ursodeoxycholic), the most pronounced in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

CONCLUSION
Unidirectional changes in the spectrum of bile acids in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cholelithiasis give reason to believe that the trigger mechanism in the disturbance of bile acids metabolism is the liver. Reduction of primary bile acids, imbalance of phospholipids and cholesterol disrupt the stabilization of bile, resulting in unfavorable conditions in the bile ducts to form stones.


Arsenic contamination in shallow aquifers is severe, and drinking water status is seriously affected in Bangladesh because the majority of the people rely on hand tubewells in both rural and urban areas. Consequently a piped water supply based on deep groundwater aquifers and surface water is considered more important to provide arsenic and iron free water to the consumers in urban areas of Bangladesh. As a result, a few water supply projects were initiated to manage piped water supply systems in core areas of the district towns and paurashavas (municipalities) of Bangladesh. One such project is the 18 District Towns Water Supply Project, which also includes hand tubewell supply in fringe and slum areas. The paper describes the existing piped water supply system condition, performance and management following recommendations to improve the piped water supply system in 18 medium-sized district towns of Bangladesh.


Castellated steel beam is a beam with a regular section cut into half with a particular pattern and regrouped with welding to increase its height compared to the original. This structure element has been developed in building constructions since many years ago. However, its uniform section along the span will make the modification no longer effective in cantilever structure, unless it has additional adaptation. Therefore, in this study, it is proposed to use a castellated steel beam with a tapered shape to be applied as cantilever structures. A steel beam with IWF section 150x75x5x7 is the primary sample type in this research. Some variations were made such as openings angle for 450 and 500, openings space for 50 mm, 70 mm, and 90 mm, openings diameter for 50 mm, 75 mm, and 100 mm, and span length for 2 m, 2.5 m, 3 m, and 3.5 m. Two open-source software namely FreeCAD and LisaFEA were used to draw solid 3-dimensional samples and to conduct the numerical analysis to determine stress and deformation respectively. From the result, it is known that the smallest stresses and deformations can be achieved by a different angle of openings, openings space, and diameter for each span length.


The embedded memories have already played a very important role in the modern system on a chip (SoC) designs from the aspects of performance enhancement, power reduction, form factor optimization, etc. Meanwhile, embedded memories usually occupied for the major portion of an SoC layout. Thus, how an embedded memory IP (intellectual property) provider can differentiate the product to maximize the value of that IP has already become a key factor for profit maximization. However, very few scholars tried to resolve such problems. The product and service differentiation problem of memory IPs is in nature a multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problem. Moreover, the differentiators of an embedded memory IP usually interact with each other. Furthermore, evaluations of customers' needs and wants, which are vague, are often required for such a product marketing strategy definition problem. Thus, a fuzzy DEMATEL based multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) framework will be proposed for maximizing the value of an embedded memory IP. The value driver for differentiating an embedded memory IP will first be derived by literature review. The most influential value drivers will be selected. Then, strategies will be proposed for maximizing the value through the most influential value drivers. An empirical study based on an embedded memory IP being provided by an SOC design service provider will be used for verifying the feasibility of the framework. Based on the empirical study results, both power consumption as well as the area of the embedded memory core are the most important value drivers. The proposed product marketing strategies can also be used for maximizing the value of the embedded IP.


The liquid film motor (LFM) is a simple device which serves as a laboratory to conduct experimental research in basic theoretical studies of electrohydrodynamics (EHD). In addition the LFM can play an important role in technological applications such as micro mixers and washers. In this paper we initially performed experiments to examine the theory regarding rotation and vibration of an AC LFM. While many theoretical predictions are in agreement with our experimental data, but in the threshold of vibration there is an obvious disagreement; we showed that no threshold exists and oscillation is observed in any field value. Experimental evidence showed the existence of an elastic deformation in water before reaching the yield stress and lead us to the use of the elastic Bingham fluid model. We revised the theories using this model and investigated the behaviour of a vibrating LFM which has more applications in mixing. We applied a numerical solution to derive different phases of vibration and distinguish between elastic and plastic vibrations, the latter which could be used for mixing.


During the 1990s venture capitalists transformed entrepreneurs into corporate entities, and these companies in turn have funded increased productivity that has helped to accelerate U.S. economic growth. This success has spawned an interest in tracking information about the industry. These new resources provide an important perspective for understanding how venture capital works.


Abstract Objectives The objectives of this post-hoc analysis were to examine the safety and efficacy of omadacycline by BMI categories and diabetes history in adults with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) from two pivotal Phase III studies. Patients and methods OASIS-1 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02378480): patients were randomized 1:1 to IV omadacycline or linezolid for 7–14 days, with optional transition to oral medication. OASIS-2 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02877927): patients received once-daily oral omadacycline or twice-daily oral linezolid for 7–14 days. Early clinical response (ECR) was defined as ≥20% reduction in lesion size 48–72 h after the first dose. Clinical success at post-treatment evaluation (PTE; 7–14 days after the last dose) was defined as symptom resolution such that antibacterial therapy was unnecessary. Safety was assessed by treatment-emergent adverse events and laboratory measures. Between-treatment comparisons were made with regard to WHO BMI categories and diabetes history. Results Patients were evenly distributed among healthy weight, overweight and obese groups. Clinical success for omadacycline-treated patients at ECR and PTE was similar across BMI categories. Outcomes by diabetes status were similar in omadacycline- and linezolid-treated patients: at ECR, clinical success rates were lower for those with diabetes; at PTE, clinical success was similar between treatment groups regardless of diabetes history. The safety of omadacycline and linezolid was largely similar across BMI groups and by diabetes history. Conclusions Omadacycline efficacy in patients with higher BMI and in patients with diabetes was consistent with results from two pivotal Phase III ABSSSI trials. Fixed-dose omadacycline is an appropriate treatment for ABSSSI in adults regardless of BMI.


The conditional spectrum (CS) is a target spectrum (with conditional mean and conditional standard deviation) that links seismic hazard information with ground-motion selection for nonlinear dynamic analysis. Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) estimates the ground-motion hazard by incorporating the aleatory uncertainties in all earthquake scenarios and resulting ground motions, as well as the epistemic uncertainties in ground-motion prediction models (GMPMs) and seismic source models. Typical CS calculations to date are produced for a single earthquake scenario using a single GMPM, but more precise use requires consideration of at least multiple causal earthquakes and multiple GMPMs that are often considered in a PSHA computation. This paper presents the mathematics underlying these more precise CS calculations. Despite requiring more effort to compute than approximate calculations using a single causal earthquake and GMPM, the proposed approach produces an exact output that has a theoretical basis. To demonstrate the results of this approach and compare the exact and approximate calculations, several example calculations are per- formed for real sites in the western United States. The results also provide some in- sights regarding the circumstances under which approximate results are likely to closely match more exact results. To facilitate these more precise calculations for real applications, the exact CS calculations can now be performed for real sites in the United States using new deaggregation features in the U.S. Geological Survey hazard mapping tools. Details regarding this implementation are discussed in this paper.


Intellectual Property related products have gained prominence in international trade volume during the last couple of decades. Concurrently, the international legal regime on Intellectual Property Rights is also expanding; as a result, the debate on intellectual property has intensified in many forums including in the economic, trade, legal, political, and public realms. The main question at these forums is the debate centered on whether Intellectual Property Rights create positive trade and economic impacts as is assumed by policy makers. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between Intellectual Property Rights and economic and trade indicators. To that end, this paper provides an academic review of the legal documentation on Intellectual Property Rights and related empirical evidence from previous academic research. In addition to trade impacts, economic impacts on Intellectual Property Rights are borne through five main channels: innovation, technology transfer, Foreign Direct Investment, economic growth, and welfare. There is a significant relationship between Intellectual Property Rights and economic indicators; nevertheless, the significance of this relationship in terms of the level and nature of the impact is contingent on several factors. These contributory factors include: the nature of the industry of traded goods; the level of development of the receiving country; and the presence of other dimensions –such as administrative, social, political, and cultural elements. While Intellectual Property Rights and economic indicators in developed countries illustrate a significant and positive relationship, the same relationship is less significant, and in some cases negative for developing/less developed countries. This premise also holds true with respect to the relationship between Intellectual Property Rights and international trade volumes.


Many different methods for sound source localization have been developed. Most of them mainly depend on time difference of arrival (TDOA) or analytic head related transfer functions (HRTF). In real implementation, since the direct path between a source and a sensor is interrupted by obstacles as like a head or body of robot, it has to be considered the number of sensors as well as their positions. Therefore, in this paper, we present the methods, which are included sensor position problem, to localize the sound source with 4 microphones to cover the 3D space. Those are modified two-step TDOA methods. Our conclusion is that the different method has to be applied in case to be different microphone position on real robot platform.


The exchange-traded fund industry has seen tremendous growth in the past years. Experts still see high potential for a future increase in assets and trading. When things go so well, it isn't usually the time to think about how to improve strategic marketing. Strategic marketing includes strategies to efficiently reach clearly defined target groups with an optimized mix of products, price, message, brand, and products. The other side of the coin of the remarkable growth of the industry is that the ETF industry is still a dwarf when it comes to absolute figures. Few investors are savvy about ETFs—less than 5% of European ETF assets belong to private investors, according to estimates by the largest providers. Relatively well-educated institutional investors hold the rest of the assets in larger lots. ETFs are definitely not yet a mass market phenomenon. To get there, we need smart, strategic marketing. Although many investors could take advantage of ETFs, there is no budget for broad marketing and lots of competition. The article analyzes the current situation in Europe, provides insight into the mechanics, and makes suggestions on how to cope with these restrictions to make ETFs more accepted.


Many herbicides exhibit some disadvantages such as high water solubility and volatility after application, which lead to potential threats to the aquatic and atmospheric environment and human health. Herbicidal ionic liquids (HILs) can effectively eliminate these intrinsic shortcomings by pairing with appropriate counterions (cation or anion). In this study, new HILs based on bromoxynil with eight typical cations were synthesized to reduce the negative impacts of currently used forms of bromoxynil. All the obtained compounds were investigated for solubility, octanol–water partition coefficient, surface activity, volatilization rate, and herbicidal activity in a greenhouse. The results showed that the HILs with long alkyl chains in the cations had reduced water solubility and volatilization rate, better surface activity and Kow, and substantially improved efficacy against weeds over bromoxynil sodium. Due to their adjustable physicochemical properties and improved herbicidal activity, the HILs could tremendously reduce the adverse impacts of bromoxynil on the environment and human health and may be potential alternatives to currently popular forms of bromoxynil in the future.


In recent decades, normative expectations for parenthood have changed for both men and women, fertility has declined, and work–family arrangements have become more egalitarian. Previous studies indicate that the transition to parenthood and work–family arrangements both influence life satisfaction and do so differently for men and women. Drawing on constructivism and utility maximization, we theorize how gendered parenthood norms influence life satisfaction after the transition to parenthood, and how decisions regarding motherhood and fatherhood are made in order to maximize life satisfaction. We hypothesize that the rise of gender-egalitarian patterns has contributed to closing the parental happiness gap, and that the effects of motherhood and fatherhood on life satisfaction have converged. We test these assumptions by drawing on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-2015) and applying a series of hybrid panel regressions to estimate motherhood and fatherhood effects on life satisfaction in Western Germany over the last three decades. We then trace trends in these effects back to changing parenthood norms. The results indicate that the implications of parenthood have converged for men and women. As support for a gendered division of labor has lost ground, the transition to parenthood has become increasingly conducive to life satisfaction for both genders, and the parental happiness gap has vanished.


In traditional rural societies, the relationships between the two partners are genuine community patterns. It is not good to mingle male authority with thefe male's, just like it is not possible to reverse the roles. Each of them has clear-cutt asks on both inter-relational level and on the level of socio-economic activities within or outside the household. The (male or female) authority in point is brought to the foreground as early as the first contacts between the partners. The whole "courtship", "proposal", "dealing" with the bride's father (moment often associated with engagement), wedding rituals, etc., show the division of authority between the two. The community and the Church are on man's side. The male has authority on his family. Yet, the authority originates in the role of representing the family in front of the community, a role assumed by man. The woman has authority on household. Yet she has internal control only when the mother-in-law and generally female community "consider she is able" to respond to the needs and duties this authority supposes. In several regions in France, for instance, the young wife has to be an "apprentice" for a year by her mother-in-law or another woman, if the former is absent. Man's authority is granted by civil and religious law, by family and community and especially by socio-professional structure of traditional society, by "male" and "female" professions. Male mortality (the man is the one who is exhausted, toils, sacrifices himself, dies first) entails respect finally leading to authority. The young man looking for a wife is not concerned if she can lead a cart or cope with field work (although they are not excluded). Most of the times, the "village rumours" inform him if the young woman is able to be a good housewife through a well built mental pattern. From another perspective, the relationship between man and woman are most of the times dominated by the relationship between them and their exploitation. Thus, the equation is enlarged to husband – wife – land. The new relationship is framed by a cosmic universe, by meteorological season cycles. It is a unique relationship. Individual (and family!) life is influenced by the slightest whim of weather and nature in general. There are two types of relationships between the spouses: 1. the case of those under their parent, relatives, customs watch, when the woman has an inferior status; 2. the case of those emancipated, "evading" the traditional, when the husband accepts woman's "equality". In the latter case, we can speak of a love union, where "happiness" is more present, the husband imposes less authority on his wife, where there is a consensus between the spouses and their relationship is based on tenderness and physical pleasure.


In modern enterprises, both operational and organizational data is typically spread across multiple heterogeneous systems, databases and file systems. Recognizing the value of their data assets, companies and institutions construct data lakes, storing disparate datasets from dierent departments and systems. However, for those datasets to become useful, they need to be cleaned and integrated. Data can be well documented, structured and encoded in dierent schemata, but also unstructured with implicit, human-understandable semantics. Due to the sheer scale of the data itself but also the multitude of representations and schemata, data integration techniques need to scale without relying heavily on human labor. Existing integration approaches fail to address hidden semantics without human input or some form of ontology, making large scale integration a daunting task. The goal of my doctoral work is to devise scalable data integration methods, employing modern machine learning to exploit semantics and facilitate discovery of novel relationship types. In order to capture semantics with minimal human intervention, we propose a new approach which we call Data as a Language (DaaL). By leveraging embeddings from the Natural Language Processing (NLP) literature, DaaL aims at extracting semantics from structured and semi-structured data, allowing the exploration of relevance and similarity among dierent data sources. This paper discusses existing data integration mechanisms and elaborates on how NLP techniques can be used in data integration, alongside challenges and research directions.


Exosomes have been implicated in a wide range of pathological and nonpathological processes. Research on tumor-derived exosomes uncovered their role on major processes associated with disease progression. Uncontrolled cellular proliferation resulting in tumor growth, metastatic dissemination and modulation of the immune response, are only a few of the central pathological processes in which tumor-derived exosomes have been implicated. These in vivo studies rely on the administration of purified labeled exosomes from cell culture supernatants into circulation of animals or injections of genetically engineered cells that produce labeled exosomes. However, it is not clear that current available techniques actually translate the in vivo implications of exosomes in several biological processes. The variations seen when using different exosomes cell sources, the total amount of exosomes injected in mice and their route of administration as well as the fact that most studies are performed in immunodeficient animals, shows the difficulty to achieve conclusions which are biologically significant. Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) could be a promising approach to address the current technical limitations allowing tracing tumor-derived exosomes in a living organism. These models could enhance greatly our knowledge about exosomes in different fields of research, namely cancer.


Mikania micrantha Kunth, commonly known as bitter vine, American rope, or mile-a-minute, is a rapidly growing vine, native to tropical America. Mikania micrantha is present in 20 Pacific island countries and territories, including Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. A CLIMEX model based on native distribution of M. micrantha suggests that most of the islands in the Pacific, southern Asia, and parts of southern and central Africa are climatically suitable for M. micrantha, leaving these areas vulnerable to new or further incursions. Its rapid spread is a threat to both natural and agricultural environments, where it kills or reduces growth of preferred species, severely impacting on biodiversity and production. Large numbers of wind-dispersed seeds and ability to propagate vegetatively from stem fragments facilitate rapid invasion. Management of M. micrantha is difficult. Several postemergence herbicides exhibit some efficacy, but manual control via hand pulling and slashing is more commonly practiced. However, slashing may result in increased growth from fragments, and plants may regenerate from roots after herbicide application. Cultural techniques such as fallowing or burning may also help limit spread. Competitors that produce ample vegetation such as sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) may be effective for suppression in some situations. Various studies have shown that Mikania micrantha exhibits some genetic diversity across biotypes encountered in southern Asia. Although little is currently known about its population genetics across the South Pacific, more information will undoubtedly facilitate potential for future biological control. A rust pathogen, Puccinia spegazzinii, introduced from South America was established in Taiwan in 2008, in Papua New Guinea and Fiji in 2009, and in Vanuatu in 2012 for biological control. The dodder Cuscuta campestris Yuncker has also shown some efficacy against M. micrantha, but its status as a known pest limits its use as a biological control agent. Recent research into the mikania wilt virus as a biocontrol agent is in its infancy, and it is too early to recommend it to assist with the management of M. micrantha. Given the difficulty of controlling M. micrantha once established and the early stages of research into biological control, high priority must be given to preventing colonization of Pacific islands where M. micrantha is not yet present, through early detection and rapid response to new incursions.


The seamless confluence of data in motion and data at rest has the potential to redefine the Big Data analytics landscape in a diverse range of domains. To make this happen, existing data intensive computing frameworks need to be repurposed and integrated at control, data, and management levels. Towards this end, we present the system level integration of IBM InfoSphere Streams with Apache YARN. Our design leverages the key differentiating features of the two frameworks to blend high throughput batch-processing with near line-rate, low latency stream-processing. In addition, both frameworks are able to share resources and offer the same interfaces that their users are accustomed to. Using two real-world examples, we illustrate how such a system can be used in production.


The chapter discusses the two basic approaches to the use of the world wide web in corpus linguistic research: web-as-corpus and web for corpus building. The progressive passive, a relatively elusive grammatical construction, is used as a case study to illustrate areas where webbased data provide useful additional evidence to standard corpora. The chapter also discusses possible limitations and pitfalls involved in these approaches.


This article investigates the commonalities between motivations and emotions as evidenced in a broad range of animal models, including humans. In particular, a focus is placed on how these models can have utility within the context of working robotic systems. Behavior-based control serves as the primary vehicle through which emotions and motivations are integrated into robots ranging from hexapods to wheeled robots to humanoids. Starting from relatively low-level organisms, such as the sowbug and praying mantis, and then moving upward to human interactions, a progression of motivational/emotional models and robotic experiments is reported. These capture a wide set of affective phenomena including social attachment, emotional behavior in support of interspecies interaction, multiscale temporal affect, and various motivational drives such as hunger and fear.


In this paper, we consider the gate matrix layout problem in VLSI design, where the goal is to minimize the number of tracks required to layout a given circuit. An efficient hybrid heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve this combinatorial optimization problem, which is based on the combination of the probabilistic hill-climbing technique and a greedy method. This heuristic is tested experimentally with respect to four existing algorithms. As test cases, five benchmark problems from the literature as well as randomly generated problem instances are considered. The experimental results show that the proposed hybrid algorithm, on the average, performs better than other heuristics in terms of the required computation time and/or the quality of solution.<<ETX>>


Isolating cells from a living organism and growing them in a Petri dish allowed scientists to
study the physiology and biochemistry of healthy and diseased cells. Today we have cell
cultures from almost any tissue type, including the brain. One brain region has been
fundamental for understanding neuronal and synaptic dynamics, both in vivo and in culture:
the hippocampus. Since the H.M. case, the hippocampus drew attention to itself with the
promise of understanding molecular and electrical mechanisms behind learning and memory.
This made the primary culture from hippocampus tissue one of the most commonly used
models in the neuroscience field. Despite being a very common preparation, it is still
imperfectly known.
For example, during preparation, multiple animals are sacrificed, and tissues are pooled,
regardless of their sex. That creates a female-male mixed culture in which the female to male
neuron ratio is unknown. It is still unclear whether the neurons of different genders behave
differently in these cultures. To address this question, I performed a systematic investigation
on cultured female and male neurons. I found differences in their electrical activity as well as
in their synaptic translation rate. First, I compared the firing rates with a calcium indicator and
found higher spontaneous electrical activity and larger response capacity to electrical
stimulation in male neurons than in female neurons. The following step was investigating the
dynamics of synaptic compartments with a synaptotagmin 1 (Syt1) uptake assay. It also proved
that male neurons have a larger active synaptic vesicle pool size and dynamics than female
neurons. An immunostaining survey with a focus on synaptic proteins did not show major
differences between the two sexes. Their transcriptomes also shown substantial differences.
Finally, I also examined the local translation, and found higher translation rate at the male
synapse, which could, at least in part, explain the functional differences. These results present
an extensive comparison for functional behavior and synaptic structure between female and
male neurons and encourage a first discussion on primary hippocampal culture preparation in
respect to female-male neuron ratio.
Another overlooked aspect of the primary hippocampal culture is the circadian effects on
cellular biology. It is now well established that circadian rhythm is kept in every mammalian
cell via the molecular clock, which consists of several transcription factors. However, without
a central pacemaker, which in vivo is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the
hypothalamus, it would be difficult to maintain a 24-hour rhythmicity in cell cultures. Therefore,
we expect that primary hippocampal neurons in culture will maintain a form of rhythmus in
culture, but this has never been studied. I performed a series of experiments indicating the
existence of a weak circadian rhythm in the firing patterns, the synaptic activity and mRNA
localization at the synapse, even after 20 day-long deprivation of external stimuli. I found a
2
rhythmically expressed transcript, RNA-binding motif 3 (RBM3), whose knock-down results in
significant changes in the firing pattern and in the reduction of the active synaptic vesicle pool
dynamics, the post-synapse size, and the post-synaptic translation rate. This implies that
RBM3 is involved in sustaining the rhythmic abundance of synaptic proteins, and therefore in
sustaining rhythmic synaptic function.
Overall, these findings change the impression of the primary hippocampal culture. It is
essential to be aware of the female-male ratio and the timing of experiments.


Refrigeration is the largest load in a supermarket, accounting for 50-60% of the electricity consumption. Supermarket refrigeration systems also generate greenhouse gas emissions directly through refrigerant leakage. Technologies that can save direct and indirect emissions in a typical baseline UK supermarket were examined and the application timescales and cost per tonne of CO2abated were calculated using a model of the supermarket. Using the model, the technologies that could save the most carbon were identified. The work examined 81 different technologies and their potential to save direct and indirect emissions in supermarkets. Results from the work have shown that most technologies either save CO2eemissions from reduction in energy or from reduction in refrigerant leakage only a few technologies demonstrated savings from both.


Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)9 has been reported to be the most potent BMP to induce bone formation. However, the details of BMP9‐transduced intracellular signaling remain ambiguous. Here, we have investigated signal transduction mechanisms of BMP9 in comparison to BMP2, another potent inducer of bone formation, in osteoblasts. In a mouse osteoblast cell line, BMP9 induced higher mRNA levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and runt‐related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) than BMP2 within 2 h. Unlike BMP2, BMP9 induced rapid phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3‐β (GSK3‐β) and protein kinase B (Akt) and increased the cellular protein content of β‐catenin. BMP9 moderately increased mRNA levels of several canonical Wingless‐related integration site to lower degrees than BMP2. Furthermore, BMP9‐induced GSK3‐β phosphorylation was not inhibited by pretreatment with actinomycin D, cycloheximide, or Brefeldin A, indicating it is independent of Wnt protein secretion. BMP9‐induced GSK3‐β phosphorylation was abrogated by Akt or class I PI3K‐specific inhibitors. Moreover, inactivation of GSK3‐β by LiCl did not further promote ALP and Runx2 mRNA induction by BMP9 as significantly as that by BMP2. Notably, BMP9‐induced GSK3‐β phosphorylation was inhibited by small interfering RNA against endoglin and GIPC PDZ domain‐containing family, member 1. Taken together, our present findings have indicated that BMP9 directly activates GSK3β‐β‐catenin signaling pathway through class I PI3K‐Akt Axis in osteoblasts, which may be essential for the potent osteoinductive activity of BMP9.—Eiraku, N., Chiba, N., Nakamura, T., Amir, M. S., Seong, C.‐H., Ohnishi, T., Kusuyama, J., Noguchi, K., Matsuguchi, T. BMP9 directly induces rapid GSK3‐β phosphorylation in a Wnt‐independent manner through class I PI3K‐Akt axis in osteoblasts. FASEB J. 33, 12124‐12134 (2019). www.fasebj.org


Research needs to be policy-oriented. But at times, researchers need to take the liberty to undertake 'policy irrelevant research' (A. Zaidi) - i.e. to use a research space within which policies themselves and their underlying assumptions can be critically questioned and debated. The present paper argues for such intellectual space taking the example of decentralization and power devolution. At the level of policy-orientation, researchers for example can study the performance of related ventures, in order to recommend potential improvements to the policy-makers. At a more basic level though, researchers need to ask for the pre-conditions that make decentralization and power devolution such a powerful discourse today. Among others, this leads to the question of state-subject relations.


Elsie Hillman, through her thoughtful leadership, boundless energy, big-sky thinking, clear perceptions, and principled defenses of civil rights, rose in power within a transitioning Republican Party. As a party moderate, she encouraged women to run for political office and supported their efforts, worked hard to increase the political participation of African Americans in the party, and engaged and garnered the support of organized labor for candidates who shared her beliefs. This book contains a glimpse of Elsie Hillman's knack for identifying individuals she believed would make good, balanced leaders and her tireless work to elevate them to positions of great power, leading some to dub her a kingmaker; her concerns for the moral, social, and political implications of religious beliefs; her passion for certain political issues that were not often shared by those in her party; and her sadness over having dedicated much of her life to a party that she came to believe had abandoned her. Elsie's clarity of thought, vision, and commitment, and her dedication and ability to will into being that which others may not have imagined possible makes her story an important study in leadership, civic engagement, politics, and government—in any context.


The calcite coccoliths from the alga Emiliania huxleyi (Lohmann) Hay and Mohler have been studied by ultra-high resolution electron microscopy. This paper describes the two different types of structure observed, one in the upper elements, the other in the basal plate, or lower element. The former consisted of small, microdomain structures of 300-500 A (1 A = 10-10 m) in length with no strong orientation. At places along these elements, and particularly in the junction between stem and head pieces, triangular patterns of lattice fringes were observed indicating multiple nucleation sites in the structure. In contrast, the lower element consisted of a very thin single crystalline sheet of calcite which could be resolved into a two dimensional lattice image, shown by a computer program that is capable of simulating electron diffraction patterns and lattice images to be a [421] zone of calcite. A possible mechanism for these growth patterns in the formation of coccoliths is discussed, together with the relevance of such mechanisms to biomineralization generally.


Through this paper, I intend to analyse the state of Japanese learning through virtual reality technologies, avoiding as much as possible the analysis of prototypes and laboratory experiments, focusing instead on a case study that implements software and hardware already present on the consumer market. After analysing the VR technology currently available to end-users and its hardware, which has lately increased in popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the specificities of virtual reality compared to other communication technologies, I will proceed to the analysis of the case study Altspace VR, a social VR software used also by an active Japanese learning community, to try to identify the characteristics that could make this technology particularly suitable for language learning. © 2021 ;cb Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License


Three physico-chemical cell parameters have been shown by the biologists to be of importance for understanding the cell behavior: the transmembrane potential (TMP) which modifies substantially the cell functional activity, the intracellular pHi whose dynamics influences a number of other ionic fluxes and, to a lesser extent, the cell volume. In this work we present a dynamical model for understanding how the pHi influences the TMP. In this model we consider the HCO3 − /Cl− and Na+/H+ exchangers as well as the bicarbonate/carbon dioxide buffering mechanism and also the ions conductance dependence to the intracellular pHi. We show that the conductances of the ions are the most important factors that have an impact on the TMP evolution and that the intracellular pHi controls the membrane ionic conductance. Therefore, our new dynamical model support the hypothesis that pHi regulates the TMP dynamics due its influence on membrane ionic conductances.


The cell adhesion molecule CD24 is a highly glycosylated glycoprotein that plays important roles in the central nervous system, the immune system and in tumor biology. Since CD24 comprises only a short protein core of approximately 30 amino acids and low conservation among species, it has been proposed that the functions of CD24 are mediated by its glycosylation pattern. Our present study provides evidence that interaction of CD24 with the cell adhesion molecule L1 is mediated by Olinked glycans carrying a2,3-linked sialic acid. Furthermore, de-N-glycosylated CD24 was shown to promote or inhibit neurite outgrowth of cerebellar neurons or dorsal root ganglion neurons, respectively, to the same extent as untreated CD24. Therefore, this study is focused on the structural elucidation of the chemically released, permethylated CD24 O-glycans by electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry. Our analyses revealed the occurrence of a diverse mixture of mucintype and O-mannosyl glycans carrying, in part, functionally relevant epitopes, such as 3-linked sialic acid, disialyl motifs, LeX, sialyl-LeX or HNK-1 units. Hence, our data provide the basis for further studies on the contribution of carbohydrate determinants to CD24-mediated biological activities.


. A characteristic property of compact support cohomology is the long exact sequence that connects the compact support cohomology groups of a space, an open subspace and its complement. Given an arbitrary cohomology theory of algebraic varieties, one can ask whether a compact support version exists, satisfying such a long exact sequence. This is the case whenever the cohomology theory satisfies descent for abstract blowups (also known as proper cdh descent). We make this precise by proving an equivalence between certain categories of hypersheaves. We show how several classical and non-trivial results, such as the existence of a unique weight filtration on compact support cohomology, can be derived from this theorem.


BACKGROUND
Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME), caused by Ehrlichia canis, is an important tick-borne disease of global importance. Currently, limited information is available on the diagnostic and prognostic value of acute phase proteins (APPs) in dogs naturally infected with E. canis.

HYPOTHESIS
APPs may be useful indicators of the clinical phase of CME and predictive of the clinical outcome (death or survival).

ANIMALS
Fifty-six dogs naturally infected with E. canis and 7 clinically healthy control dogs.

METHODS
C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), and albumin concentrations determined on admission were retrospectively compared among 27 dogs with nonmyelosuppressive CME, 29 dogs with myelosuppressive CME and 7 healthy dogs. Diagnosis of CME was based on clinical and clinicopathological findings, seropositivity to E. canis, polymerase chain reaction amplification of E. canis-specific 16S rDNA, microscopic observation of Ehrlichia sp. morulae in blood monocytes or some combination of these.

RESULTS
Mean concentrations of CRP, SAA, and Hp were significantly higher in the myelosuppressed dogs compared with the other groups, but no significant differences were found in the concentration of albumin. Survival analysis of the affected animals indicated that APP concentrations were not associated with clinical outcome; the latter was strongly associated with pancytopenia (odds ratio for death 22.7) and neutropenia (odds ratio for death 7.7).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
CRP, SAA, and Hp serum concentrations on admission are useful indicators of the clinical phase of CME, but are not useful predictors of clinical outcome.


The Southwest prospect is located at the southwestern periphery of the Sto. Tomas II porphyry copper–gold deposit in the Baguio District, northwestern Luzon, Philippines. The Southwest prospect hosts a copper‐gold mineralization related to a complex of porphyry intrusions, breccia facies, and overlapping porphyry‐type veinlets emplaced within the basement Pugo metavolcanics rocks and conglomerates of the Zigzag Formation. The occurrences of porphyry‐type veinlets and potassic alteration hosted in the complex are thought to be indications of the presence of blind porphyry deposits within the Sto. Tomas II vicinity. The complex is composed of at least four broadly mineralogically similar dioritic intrusive rocks that vary in texture and alteration type and intensity. These intrusions were accompanied with at least five breccia facies that were formed by the explosive brecciation, induced by the magmatic–hydrothermal processes and phreatomagmatic activities during the emplacement of the various intrusions. Hydrothermal alteration assemblages consisting of potassic, chlorite–magnetite, propylitic and sericite–chlorite alteration, and contemporaneous veinlet types were developed on the host rocks. Elevated copper and gold grades correspond to (a) chalcopyrite–bornite assemblage in the potassic alteration in the syn‐mineralization early‐mineralization diorite (EMD) and contemporaneous veinlets and (b) chalcopyrite‐rich mineralization associated with the chalcopyrite–magnetite–chlorite–actinolite±sericite veinlets contemporaneous with the chlorite–magnetite alteration. Erratic remarkable concentrations of gold were also present in the late‐mineralization Late Diorite (LD). High XMg of calcic amphiboles (>0.60) in the intrusive rocks indicate that the magmas have been oxidizing since the early stages of crystallization, while a gap in the composition of Al between the rim and the cores of the calcic amphiboles in the EMD and LD indicate decompression at some point during the crystallization of these intrusive rocks. Fluid inclusion microthermometry suggests the trapping of immiscible fluids that formed the potassic alteration, associated ore mineralization, and sheeted quartz veinlets. The corresponding formation conditions of the shallower and deeper quartz veinlets were estimated at pressures of 50 and 30 MPa and temperatures of 554 and 436°C at depths of 1.9 and 1.1 km. Temperature data from the chlorite indicate that the chalcopyrite‐rich mineralization associated with the chlorite–magnetite alteration was formed at a much lower temperature (ca. 290°C) than the potassic alteration. Evidence from the vein offsetting matrix suggests multiple intrusions within the EMD, despite the K‐Ar ages of the potassic alteration in EMD and hornblende in the LD of about the same age at 3.5 ± 0.3 Ma. The K‐Ar age of the potassic alteration was likely to be thermally reset as a result of the overprinting hydrothermal alteration. The constrained K‐Ar ages also indicate earlier formed intrusive rocks in the Southwest prospect, possibly coeval to the earliest "dark diorite" intrusion in the Sto. Tomas II deposit. In addition, the range of δ34S of sulfide minerals from +1.8‰ to +5.1‰ in the Southwest prospect closely overlaps with the rest of the porphyry copper and epithermal deposits in the Sto. Tomas II deposit and its vicinity. This indicates that the sulfides may have formed from a homogeneous source of the porphyry copper deposits and epithermal deposits in the Sto. Tomas II orebody and its vicinity. The evidence presented in this work proves that the porphyry copper‐type veinlets and the adjacent potassic alteration in the Southwest prospect are formed earlier and at a shallower level in contrast with the other porphyry deposits in the Baguio District.


The aim of this thesis is to formalise cost allocation in the Dutch electricity sector by means of concepts from the theory of cost allocation and cooperative games. Consumers of electricity are connected to one of the seven voltage levels in the electricity grid. Most electricity is fed into the grid at the highest voltage level and is transported to lower voltage levels. Research in collaboration with TNO has shown that a heavy burden of the electricity network costs (in particular transmission-related costs) is born by smallscale consumers connected to lowest voltage level. One of the reasons that small-scale consumers are charged this large share of the costs is because they are also charged for the upstream voltage levels by means of the cascade method. In this thesis we provide a formal framework that models the electricity demand problem, where groups of agents with individual electricity demands are connected to a specific voltage level in the electricity grid and are allocated cost shares by the network operators. This framework provides the opportunity to analyse the cascade rule and several other cost allocation rules for our problem, inspired by and in comparison with rules proposed in the literature on other problems. We provide axiomatic characterizations for three rules differing in the properties they obey. Building on the electricity demand problem we introduce a cooperative cost game and simplified versions of the unionand agentShapley value, assigning cost shares to groups of agents. Also other union values are discussed and evaluated. Hence, cost allocation from practice and theory are combined and formalised by means of a cost allocation and cooperative game theoretic approach.


In cooperation with the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History, Yale University Press is publishing the Annals of Communism series. Stalinism as a Way oj'Life, edited by Lewis Siegelbaum and Andrei Sokolov, is an excellent addition to this continuing collection of previously unpublished documents from the Soviet party and state archives. In this case. Siegelbaum, who is a professor of history at Michigan State University, and Sokolov. who is the main researcher and department head of the Institute of Russian History at [he Russian Academy of Sciences, have compiled documentary evidence that includes letters, summary reports, minutes of meetings. md memoranda from individuals throughout Soviet society. The documents provide insight into the impact of state ideology and practice on citizens and the response of average people to those government and party actions. The large volume of letters and correspondence reveals that a lively discussion of many aspects of Stalinist policy took place during the 1930s. The Socialist Offensive that started in 1929 included c( dlectivization, the anti-kulak campaign, antireligious propaganda, and a purge of class enemies. In the documents, Soviet citizens complain about the excesses that occurred in all of those areas and the disparity between state promises and reality. Peasants wrote to leading state office holders and reported on the corrupt behavior of local officials, and in 1936 peasants participated in the discussion of the draft of the Stalin constitution. Again many letters pointed out the inconsistencies between the promise of the regime and the realities of life on the collective farms, Additional documents illuminate the situation of the new generation of Communist officials who joined the party during or after thz revolution, as well as the impact of the purges on educational and scientific institutions. Ironically, the intensification of the purges came at the moment when socialism theorctically had been achieved, and therefore problems could only be attributed to traitors, spies, and wreckers. The final documents reveal the contradictory pressures faced by children. Letters discuss the necessity of obtaining a good education, life in the Young Pioneers, the situation in the children's homes, the growth of hooliganism and juvenile delinquency, and the prevalence of suicide. Siegelbaum provides an excellent introduction as well as informative commentary throughout the book. He also explicates the origins of the documents, their handwriting, spelling, and grammar, all in an unobtrusive yet useful presentation. Stalinism as a Way of Ljfe, perhaps read in conjunction with Sheila Fitzpatrick's Everyday Stalinism, would be useful for college students who want to analyze primary documents. Siegelbaum and Sokolov's book effectively illuminates how Soviet citizens sought to survive in the 1930s by creating a way of life under Stalinism.


This thesis is dedicated to the use of graph based methods applied to ranking problems on the Web-graph and applications in natural language processing and biology.Chapter 2-4 of this thesis is about PageRank and its use in the ranking of home pages on the Internet for use in search engines. PageRank is based on the assumption that a web page should be high ranked if it is linked to by many other pages and/or by other important pages. This is modelled as the stationary distribution of a random walk on the Web-graph.Due to the large size and quick growth of the Internet it is important to be able to calculate this ranking very efficiently. One of the main topics of this thesis is how this can be made more efficiently, mainly by considering specific types of subgraphs and how PageRank can be calculated or updated for those type of graph structures. In particular we will consider the graph partitioned into strongly connected components and how this partitioning can be utilized.Chapter 5-7 is dedicated to graph based methods and their application to problems in Natural language processing. Specifically given a collection of texts (corpus) we will compare different clustering methods applied to Pharmacovigilance terms (5), graph based models for the identification of semantic relations between biomedical words (6) and modifications of CValue for the annotation of terms in a corpus.In Chapter 8-9 we look at biological networks and the application of graph centrality measures for the identification of cancer genes. Specifically in (8) we give a review over different centrality measures and their application to finding cancer genes in biological networks and in (9) we look at how well the centrality of vertices in the true network is preserved in networks generated from experimental data.


Abstract Several methods exist for estimating reservoir capacity based on field surveys of reservoir bottom features and the sediment thickness. Recently, the grid method was proposed which reduces the cost by measuring only a few sediment cross sections on selected parts of the reservoir from which the water depths in the remainder can be estimated by interpolation. The objective of the research reported here is to enhance the performance of the grid method by utilizing three additional numerical techniques, namely the Newton and Lagrangian polynomials and the cubic spline. The proposed technique was verified by estimating the known volume of a model dam reservoir in the laboratory. The reservoir volume was successfully evaluated using these numerical methods. It was found that the maximum error using the Newton and Lagrangian methods was 10%, while the maximum error using the cubic spline was as high as 24% and so this method is clearly less applicable. Although the Newton and the Lagrangian methods yield similar results, the latter is preferred as it is easier to use.