Metallothionein (MT) is a low-molecular-weight cysteine-rich protein with extensive metal binding capacity and potential nonenzymatic antioxidant activity. Despite the sensitivity of vascular endothelium to either heavy metal toxicity or oxidative stress, little is known regarding the role of MT in endothelial cells. Accordingly, we determined the sensitivity of cultured sheep pulmonary artery endothelial cells (SPAEC) that overexpressed MT to tert-butyl hydroperoxide ( t-BOOH), hyperoxia, or 2,2'-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) (AMVN; peroxyl radical generator). Nontoxic doses of 10 μM Cd increased MT levels from 0.21 ± 0.03 to 2.07 ± 0.24 μg/mg and resulted in resistance to t-BOOH and hyperoxia as determined by reduction of Alamar blue or [3H]serotonin transport, respectively. SPAEC stably transfected with plasmids containing either mouse or human cDNA for MT were resistant to both t-BOOH and hyperoxia. In addition, we examined transition metal-independent, noncytotoxic AMVN-induced lipid peroxidation after metabolic incorporation of the oxidant-sensitive fluorescent fatty acid cis-parinaric acid into phospholipids and high-performance liquid chromatography separation. SPAEC that overexpressed MT after gene transfer completely inhibited peroxyl oxidation of phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylcholine, and sphingomyelin (but not phosphatidylethanolamine) noted in wild-type SPAEC. These data show for the first time that MT can 1) protect pulmonary artery endothelium against a diverse array of prooxidant stimuli and 2) directly intercept peroxyl radicals in a metal-independent fashion, thereby preventing lipid peroxidation in intact cells.


On-line partial discharge (PD) testing has been used for decades to help maintenance personnel detect rotating machine stator winding insulation problems at an early stage and thus optimally plan any required maintenance. Specifically, the test can find loose, overheated, and contaminated windings, well before these problems lead to failure. The test has also found use in determining the effectiveness of any repair work.The widespread application of on-line PD testing has enabled the accumulation over the past 20 years of a database with, currently, approximately 700,000 test results. This proposed contribution presents the basics of on-line data collection, including the implementation of noise rejection algorithms and possible methods in improvements in interpreting test results. One case study describing application of on-line partial discharge testing on a hydro generator will be presented.


Asymptomatic subjects greater than 55 years old received lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging studies. Two radiologists, blinded to the subjects' history, independently read the scans for the presence of abnormalities. One radiologist also measured spinal canal dimensions. In 33 subjects, at least one disc bulge was present in 28 (84.8%) subjects, at least one disc herniation in 6 (18.2%), at least one degenerated facet joint in 25 (75.7%), ligamentous thickening in 22 (66.7%), and anterolisthesis in 6 (18.2%). Twenty-four (68.5%) had at least mild, 10 (28.6%) had at least moderate, and 2 (5.6%) had severe central canal stenosis. Mean osseous spinal canal diameter gradually decreased from 20.4 mm at the L1-2 level to 16.0 mm at L5-S1. Midline thecal sac diameter and lateral recess anterior-posterior diameter were relatively unchanged. Interfacet distances both slowly increased from L1-2 to L5-S1. To achieve 95% and 90% specificities, the lower-limit cutoff should be 10.7 mm and 11.9 mm for the osseous spinal canal diameter, 6.5 mm and 7.6 mm for the thecal sac, and 3.7 mm and 4.3 mm for the lateral recess. Understanding the range of findings in asymptomatic older subjects will help clinicians better treat older patients with spinal disorders.


We consider the problem of optimizing multilabel MRFs, which is in general NP-hard and ubiquitous in low-level computer vision. One approach for its solution is to formulate it as an integer linear programming and relax the integrality constraints. The approach we consider in this paper is to first convert the multi-label MRF into an equivalent binary-label MRF and then to relax it. The resulting relaxation can be efficiently solved using a maximum flow algorithm. Its solution provides us with a partially optimal labelling of the binary variables. This partial labelling is then easily transferred to the multi-label problem. We study the theoretical properties of the new relaxation and compare it with the standard one. Specifically, we compare tightness, and characterize a subclass of problems where the two relaxations coincide. We propose several combined algorithms based on the technique and demonstrate their performance on challenging computer vision problems.


The last leaf mesophyll structure of Triticum aestivum cv. 'Tronka' which was grown in the field experiment conditions was investigated by the method of confocal laser scanning microscopy. The experiment plants were treated by BAP and Н2О2 in booting phase. It is established that plant treatment didn't effect on structure of leaf tissues but enhanced the functional ability of chloroplast pigment complexes. It has shown that influence of exogenous BAP enhanced chlorophyll autofluorescence, especially in palisade mesophyll cells, delayed aging of pigment complex. The action of exogenous mainly increased chlorophyll fluorescence of spongy mesophyll near stomata, but its influence was less significant than BAP. In winter wheat plants treated by BAP and Н2О2 plant height and last leaf length enlarged. The plant treatment by BAP increased productivity of T. aestivum cv. 'Tronka' mainly by the cost of increasing of corns' quantity in ear and corns'weight.


Abstract. Understanding the impact of atmospheric black carbon (BC)-containing particles on human health and radiative forcing requires knowledge of the mixing state of BC, including the characteristics of the materials with which it is internally mixed. In this study, we examine the mixing state of refractory BC (rBC) and other aerosol components in an urban environment (downtown Toronto) utilizing the Aerodyne soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer equipped with a light scattering module (LS-SP-AMS). k-means cluster analysis was used to classify single particle mass spectra into chemically distinct groups. One resultant particle class is dominated by rBC mass spectral signals (C1p to C5p) while the organic signals fall into a few major particle classes identified as hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA), oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA), and cooking emission organic aerosol (COA). A gradual mixing is observed with small rBC particles only thinly coated by HOA (~ 28% by mass on average), while over 90% of the HOA-rich particles did not contain detectable amounts of rBC. Most of the particles classified into other inorganic and organic particle classes were not significantly associated with rBC. The single particle results also suggest that HOA and COA emitted from anthropogenic sources were likely major contributors to organic-rich particles with vacuum aerodynamic diameter (dva) ranging from ~ 200 to 400 nm. The similar temporal profiles and mass spectral features of the organic classes identified by cluster analysis and the factors from a positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of the ensemble aerosol data set validate the interpretation of the PMF results.


Despite the fact that the concept of 'perinatal medicine' has met with general acceptance, at least as an idea, there remains a temptation, to which most of us succumb on occasion, to regard the existence of the newborn infant as having begun on the labour ward. It is true that at present we are rather limited in what we can discover about the pesonal 'past history' of the individual baby, but there is now a mass of information about the common past of all babies which is the key to understanding postnatal adaptation and many neonatal conditions, and is therefore fundamental to the practice of neonatal paediatrics. Unfortunately, because advances in knowledge in this field have been so rapid and so much based on animal work (of which none but the truly informed are in a position to assess the relevance), it has hitherto been no easy task for the interested clinician to accumulate a useful body of information. That is why this book, which gathers together in one volume authoritative reviews of many of the most important areas of materno-fetal physiology and medicine, is so welcome. The topics covered include materno-fetal immunological interaction; fetal breathing and lung maturation; fetal cardiovascular control; fetal, placental, and maternal hormones; many aspects of fetal growth and metabolism and materno-fetal exchange; the effects of hypoxia on the fetal brain; sexual differentiation; maternal and fetal acid based balance; and, if this is not enough to whet the appetite, there is also an extremely well illustrated chapter of antenatal diagnosis by ultrasound and two quite comprehensive chapters on fetal monitoring. One aspect of the brief given to contributors seems to have been not only to review the best of the published reports in their field but also to make a definite attempt to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical practice. The considerable extent to which many of them have succeeded in this task adds greatly to the relevance of the book to the practising paediatrician. Each chapter is very adequately referenced, and the balance between text, diagrams, and tables has been well judged. A lot of effort has gone into the layout and presentation which makes the book a pleasure to read, although perhaps the index would benefit from expansion. Sadly, the price will inevitably make many people think twice about obtaining a personal copy. We can only hope that by the time the next edition is ready, which in view of the pace of development in this field will hopefully not be too many years hence, exchange rates will be more favourable.


Analog MOS circuits are becoming increasingly sophisticated in terms of checking and correcting themselves. Self-correcting, self-compensating, or self-calibrating techniques has been employed in analog-to-digital (A/D) converters to eliminate errors caused by offset and low frequency noise and cancel the error effect. For real-time applications, however, it is rather difficult to achieve validation of the converted data in the presence of faulty switching element(s). In this paper, fault behaviors and test generation of a current-mode A/D converter are addressed. Results show that the converter achieves full testability with two test currents. In addition, an A/D converter with concurrent error detection capability is proposed. The converter detects all transient faults. >


This subject guide will help you get started finding reference material, books, and articles in the Lane Community College library and beyond.


In this paper we examine skill and technology indicators at the macro and micro levels in Sudan. Different from the Sudanese literature, a novel element in our analysis is that we use new primary data from the macro and firm surveys and we provide a new contribution and fill the gap in the Sudanese literature by examining five hypotheses on the causes and consequences of low skill and technology indicators at the macro and micro levels in Sudan. We verify our first hypothesis that the interaction between the deficient educational system -caused by low quality of education- and the high share of unskilled workers leads to poor provision of training; low skill levels; skills mismatch; low transfer of knowledge/external schooling effect; weak technology indicators and dependence on foreign technologies at the micro level. We confirm our second hypothesis that the poor local technology indicators/indigenous capability to build the local technology and heavy dependence on foreign technology can be attributed to lack of R&D activities/efforts, due to a lack of funding, low skill levels, weak linkages, lack of networks systems and collaboration between universities and industry/firms, low transfer of knowledge and a lack of entrepreneur perspective. We support our third hypothesis that the transfer of knowledge/external schooling effects is successful at the micro level but unsuccessful at the macro level due to low educational qualifications and deficient educational and training systems. We confirm our fourth hypothesis that skill and technology indicators are significantly determined by firm size and industry. We support our fifth hypothesis concerning the consistency of upskilling plans at the macro-micro levels. Finally, one advantage and interesting element in our analysis is that we provide a new contribution to the Sudanese literature, since we explain the causes, consequences and interaction between the low skill and technology indicators and the transfer of knowledge. We recommend further efforts to be made to improve skill and technology indicators and transfer of knowledge at the macro and micro levels which are all essential for economic growth and development in Sudan.


BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to determine if the Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment in Child Care (Go NAP SACC) intervention was effective in improving best practices in the areas of infant and child physical activity and outdoor play and learning in family child care homes (FCCHs) in Nebraska.

METHODS
FCCHs (n = 201) participated in a pre-post evaluation using the Infant and Child Physical Activity and Outdoor Play and Learning assessments from the Go NAP SACC validated measure to assess compliance with best practices.

RESULTS
At post, FCCHs demonstrated significant differences in 85% of the Infant and Child Physical Activity items (17 of 20) and 80% of the Outdoor Play and Learning items (12 of 15). Significant differences in best practices between urban and rural FCCH providers were also found.

CONCLUSION
Go NAP SACC appears to be an effective intervention in Nebraska as, after participation in the initiative, providers were improving child care physical activity best practices. Additional research is needed to objectively determine if these changes resulted in objective improvements in children's physical activity levels. Further, efforts are needed to develop and/or identify geographic-specific resources for continued improvement.


COVID-19 is causing a high influx of patients suffering from serious respiratory complications leading the necessity to find effective therapies. These patients seem to present with cytokine perturbation and high levels of IL6. Tocilizumab and sarilumab could be effective in this condition. We retrospectively collected data about 112 consecutive hospitalized in a single center. Fifty (IL6 group) treated with tocilizumab (8mg/kg intravenously [IV], 2 infusions 12hours apart) or sarilumab 400mg IV once and 62 treated with the standard of care but not anti-cytokine drugs (CONTROL group). To determine whether anti-IL6 drugs are effective in improving prognosis and reducing hospitalization times and mortality in COVID-19 pneumonia. To date 84% (42/50) of IL6 group patients have already been discharged and only 2/50 are still recovered and intubated in intensive care. Six/fifty patients (12%) died: 5/6 due to severe respiratory failure within a framework of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), 1 suffered an acute myocardial infarction, and 1 died of massive pulmonary thromboembolism. There were no adverse treatment events or infectious complications. Compared to the CONTROL group they showed a lower mortality rate (12% versus 43%), for the same number of complications and days of hospitalization. Anti-IL6 drugs seem to be effective in the treatment of medium to severe forms of COVID-19 pneumonia reducing the risk of mortality due to multi-organ failure, acting at the systemic level and reducing inflammation levels and therefore microvascular complications. However, it is essential to identify the best time for treatment, which, if delayed, is rendered useless as well as counterproductive. Further studies and ongoing clinical trials will help us to better define patients eligible as candidates for more aggressive intervention. Abbreviations: antiTNF-a = anti-tumor necrosis factor-a, ARDS = acute respiratory distress syndrome, CPAP = Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, CPR =C reactive protein, IL(6) = interleukin (6), IL6-R = interleukin 6 receptor, IV = intravenously, LMWH = low molecular weight heparin, PEEP = positive end-expiratory pressure, SOC = standard of care.


In response to health care needs, Ghana has adopted the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) system to increase access to and use of health services in remote communities.  The purpose of the study was to assess the utilization of the CHPS facilities in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality. A total of 175 respondents comprising 50 males and 125 females participated in the study. Four communities with CHPS zones were selected. The study design was a cross sectional descriptive survey. The respondents in each of the selected communities were chosen through systematic random sampling. Collection of data was done through a structured interview using an interview guide. About 59.4% of the respondent mentioned that CHPS system provided immediate and timely healthcare services to the community hence admitting the relevance of the CHPS themselves as well as their respective communities. 65.8% of the respondents said they were satisfied with services at the CHPS zone. Drug unavailability, lack of midwifery services, poor staff attitude and fear of blood by some nurses were challenges in the utilization of CHPS services in the municipality. The study recommends that drug availability rate should be improved in all the CHPS zones especially the basic and very essential drugs; and more community health nurses should be trained in midwifery. Keywords: CHPS zone, Staff Attitude, Municipality, Health facility, OPD, KEEA


This work analyzes the behavior of long-term interest rates for several developed and developing economies, identifying the risk-neutral and term premium components under different methodologies. The authors analyze which of these two channels affected interest rate movements in different monetary policy regimes. Also, they quantify the transmission of U.S. long-term yield to these economies using a spillover index. They find that movements in long-term interest rates in different monetary policy regimes are related to changes in the term premium for most countries. The findings also suggest a heterogeneous behavior in the United States to other economies. In developed economies, long-term interest rates are affected in both components (risk neutral and term premium) mainly through the U.S. risk-neutral channel, whereas in developing countries, the evidence suggests that the relevant transmission channel is the term premium, which is affected by the U.S. term premium.


ABSTRACT The majority of historical masonry bridges were constructed early years and they were not originally designed to carry the extent of loads imposed on them by current vehicular traffic and seismic loads. Therefore, many existing masonry arch bridges can need reassessment and upgrading. In addition to arch elements, the most vulnerable structural elements of masonry arch bridges under transverse seismic loads are the spandrel walls. Spandrel wall failures are local failures, however they affect the serviceability of the bridge considerably. The present paper aims to determine transverse nonlinear seismic performances of the spandrel walls of masonry arch bridges strengthened with different techniques, which are i) take down and rebuilt with tapered section instead of straight section, ii) using transverse tie bars, and iii) covering with a Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) composite. The concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) material model adjusted to masonry structures for the masonry units, Mohr–Coulomb material model for the backfill, and interface interactions between the backfill, spandrel walls, arch and FRCM units are considered in the 3D finite element model of the bridge. Modal, nonlinear static and seismic responses of the spandrel walls strengthened with the above three different techniques are determined using the finite element method, and the results obtained from the unstrengthened and strengthened models are evaluated and compared with each other. Some recommendations are presented for the strengthening of the spandrel walls in masonry arch bridges.


Swiss Volkswagen importer AMAG reorganized its spare parts supply process through a new method of collaboration between Volkswagen, AMAG's central warehouse and regional warehouses, and service stations. From the service station spare parts orders via replenishment by the VW spare parts warehouse in Kassel (Germany) and by other suppliers, to Swiss customs, inventory levels in the central and regional warehouses, and the delivery to the service stations, the entire process utilizes the same database in real time. This enables AMAG to eliminate an existing sales and warehousing step and to manage the rapidly growing complexity of spare parts logistics resulting from frequent design changes and wide variety. Additionally it creates one central point of contact for the customer (one face to the customer) which replaces the product group-based responsibilities of the past.


A retrospective review is reported of 128 patients presenting with multiple myeloma and 16 patients presenting with solitary plasmacytoma. Ninety‐one percent of 116 evaluable patients treated for palliation of painful bone disease received some degree of subjective pain relief. The radiation dose most frequently prescribed was between 1500 and 2000 rad. Of the 278 ports treated, only 17 (6.1%) were re‐treated to the same area at a later date. There was no increase in incidence of re‐treatment with lower radiation doses. Ten of the 13 patients treated for a solitary plasmacytoma with a minimum follow‐up period of three years have local tumor control. The median survival in the solitary plasmacytomas is five and one‐half years. Data from the literature on 27 additional solitary plasma‐cytomas combined with our data suggest an improved local control and a decrease in dissemination with doses greater than 5000 rad. It is concluded that low doses of radiation are usually adequate to treat painful bone lesions of multiple myeloma and doses of 5000–6500 rad in six to seven weeks are recommended for solitary plasmacytomas. Cancer 45:647‐652, 1980.


We report on the fabrication of InGaN-based multiple-quantum-well laser diodes (LDs) emitting at 420 nm. Structures with standard claddings (p- and n-AlGaN), asymmetric claddings (p-GaN and n-AlGaN), and AlGaN-free claddings were grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy on polar c-plane free-standing GaN substrates. Electrical and optical properties of each LD are presented. Thanks to an optimized design of the InGaN waveguide and active region, cw lasing of a completely AlGaN-free laser diode is demonstrated, with a threshold current density <5 kA/cm2 and a differential efficiency per facet of ∼0.4 W/A without high-reflection coatings.


The Muteh gold deposit (NE of Golpaygan) in the central part of intrusive-metamorphic belt of Sanandaj-Sirjan zone comprises NW-SE trending gold-quartz vein occurred in metamorphic complex. Gold mineralization is associated with quartz veins that formed during regional deformation across the mylonitic zones in metamorphic rocks of predominantly meta-volcanic, gneiss and schist. The sulfidation (pyritization) and silicification hydrothermal alteration as the main alteration adjacent to ore body and the quartz-sulfide veins with sulfide content of variable from 10 to 60% is dominated by pyrite, chalcopyrite, emplectite, arsenopyrite and minor content of galena and sphalerite. Native gold in the quartz veins occurs as the inclusion in pyrite and chalcopyrite and fracture fillings within pyrite. Pyrite of the late assemblage (py2) shows a range of 0.03 to 0.31 wt.% Au and 0.00 to 0.26 wt.% As and chalcopyrite have content of Au (up to 0.30 wt.%), As (up to 0.12 wt.%), and Hg (up to 0.15 wt.%) were detected in chemical composition.
Fluid inclusion (FI) shows that three types of FI include CO2-rich or carbonic FI have homogenization temperatures of CO2 (average 19.9°C), aqueous-carbonic FI (average salinities of 7.4 wt.%NaCl eq.


Experiments have been performed with thick-film resistor arrays which provide information about ,the correlation between the values of untrimmed thick-film resistors. The results confirm that such a correlation does exist and is approximately inversely proportional to the distance separating two resistors. The results also show that the resistor area has a small effect on the correlation and that the resistor aspect ratio has very little effect. The results indicate that the correlation coefficient between thick-film resistors is always positive. The most important result is that there is a significant amount of correlation between two resistors on a substrate that are made of different pastes. This last correlation is caused by the common conductor printing step.


ABSTRACT Members of the field of philosophy have, just as other people, political convictions or, as psychologists call them, ideologies. How are different ideologies distributed and perceived in the field? Using the familiar distinction between the political left and right, we surveyed an international sample of 794 subjects in philosophy. We found that survey participants clearly leaned left (75%), while right-leaning individuals (14%) and moderates (11%) were underrepresented. Moreover, and strikingly, across the political spectrum from very left-leaning individuals and moderates to very right-leaning individuals, participants reported experiencing ideological hostility in the field, occasionally even from those on their own side of the political spectrum. Finally, while about half of the subjects believed that discrimination against left- or right-leaning individuals in the field is not justified, a significant minority displayed an explicit willingness to discriminate against colleagues with the opposite ideology. Our findings are both surprising and important because a commitment to tolerance and equality is widespread in philosophy, and there is reason to think that ideological similarity, hostility, and discrimination undermine reliable belief formation in many areas of the discipline.


This paper addresses the modeling problem associated with Brushless DC Motors (BLDCM) with non-uniform air gaps which operate in a range where magnetic saturation may exist. The mathematical model includes the effects of reluctance variations as well as magnetic saturation to guarantee proper modeling of the system. An experimental procedure is developed and implemented in a laboratory environment to identify the electromagnetic characteristics of a BLDCM in the presence of magnetic saturation. It is demonstrated that the modeling problem associated with this class of BLDCM can be formulated in terms of mathematically modeling a set of multi-dimensional surfaces corresponding to the electromagnetic torque function and the flux linkages associated with the motor phase windings. The accuracy of the mathematical model constructed by the developed method is checked against experimental measurements.


Twenty midlactation Holstein cows (4 ruminally fistulated) averaging 101 +/- 34 d in milk and weighing 674 +/- 77 kg were used to compare rations with brown midrib corn silage (bm3) to rations with dual-purpose control silage (DP) on N utilization and milk production. The effect of monensin in these rations was also examined. Animals were assigned to one of five 4 x 4 Latin squares with treatments arranged in a 2 x 2 factorial. Cows were fed 1 of 4 treatments during each of the four 28-d periods. Treatments were 1) 0 mg/d monensin and bm3 corn silage, 2) 0 mg/d monensin and DP corn silage, 3) 300 mg/d monensin and bm3 corn silage, and 4) 300 mg/d monensin and DP corn silage. In vitro 30-h neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility was greater for bm3 corn silage (61.0 vs. 49.1 +/- 0.62). Dry matter intake (DMI) tended to be greater for cows consuming bm3 corn silage (21.3 vs. 20.2 kg/d). Neither hybrid nor monensin affected milk production, fat, or protein (37.7 kg, 3.60%, or 3.04%). Monensin tended to increase rumen pH (5.89 vs. 5.79 +/- 0.07) compared with the control treatment. In addition, bm3 corn silage resulted in a significant decrease in rumen pH (5.72 vs. 5.98 +/- 0.07). Supplementing monensin had no effect on molar proportions of acetate, propionate, or butyrate. In contrast, an increase was observed in branched-chain volatile fatty acids. No treatment interactions were observed for rumen pH or molar proportion of propionate but monensin decreased the molar proportion of acetate and increased the molar proportion of butyrate when cattle consumed bm3 silage. Dry matter, N, and acid detergent fiber digestibility were lower for the bm3 ration, whereas NDF digestibility was not different between treatments. There was no effect of hybrid on microbial protein synthesis (1,140 g/d) as estimated by urinary concentration of purine derivatives. Cows consuming bm3 excreted more fecal N than cows consuming DP (38.2 vs. 34.4% N intake); however, based on spot sampling, estimated urinary and manure N were not different between treatments (35.8 and 71.9% N intake). Monensin had no effect on DMI, digestibility of any nutrients, or N metabolism, and there were no hybrid by monensin interactions. Rations including bm3 corn silage tended to increase DMI but did not affect production. The reduction in the digestibility of some nutrients when cows consumed bm3 may have been caused by increased DMI and possible increased digestion in the lower gut. This increase in DMI appeared to also have negatively affected N digestibility but not NDF digestibility. This resulted in a greater amount of N excreted in feces but did not affect total mass of manure N.


This paper presents a high-speed multilevel programming scheme for 90-nm node AG-AND flash memories. Source-side hot-electron injection programming with self-boosted charge, accumulated in inversion-layer local bit-lines under AGs, reduces the dispersal of programming characteristics and also reduces the time overhead of pre-charging the bit-lines. With this self-boosted charge injection scheme, programming at a fast 16 MB/s is obtainable in 4-Gb flash memory with an actual cell size of 2F/sup 2//bit.


Weanling Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or a low-fat diet (LFD) over 3 and 5-6 weeks. In both comparable groups the absorption of energy was almost the same. In the HFD animals glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH, E.C. 18.104.22.168) showed its well-known restrictive behaviour in the liver and also in the fatty tissues. After 3 weeks on the respective diet, the body fat content of the LFD animals was lower than that of the HFD animals. After 6 weeks on the respective diet, the body fat contents were nearly the same in the animals of both groups. The energy turnover was greater after 3 weeks on the diet than after 6 weeks, the significantly highest values being found in animals fed over 3 weeks. After 5 weeks on the respective diet, all the energy turnover values were at a lower level, but this was the same in both animal groups. It may be concluded that the fatty-acid synthesis de novo indicated by the G-6-PDH activity does not depend upon the experimental time, and is determined only by the amount of dietary fat. In contrast to this, the establishment of the energy turnover during the experimental time is subject to relatively great changes which might be correlated with the regulation of total fat retention in the body.


Ankylosing spondylitis is the axial skeleton and sacroiliac crick, starting in late adolescence or early adulthood age, and is characterized by spondyloarthropathy. Some symptoms are confused with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis. Our case had neck, back, waist, and heel pain and morning stiffness lasting about half an hour and was admitted with complaints. Lateral lumbar spine radiographs taken at the corners of the lumbar vertebral bodies compatible with DISH consecutive osteophytes were detected, and radiography of the calcaneus of the lateral foot showed hyperostosis compatible with DISH. However, the patient was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis because of a bilateral crick in the sacroiliac radiography. In this case-a differential diagnosis between DISH and ankylosing spondylitisclinical and radiological features were assessed by reviewing the literature.


Environmental politics and policy, while gaining a significant place in the nation's consciousness, constantly comes up against the United States' desire for more development, more profit and a collective lack of foresight. Nowhere is this more evident than in the crucial biodiversity of the world's oceans, which are victim to pollution, overharvesting, habitat destruction, and simplistic and fragmented environmental policies that do not speak to underlying problems. Robert Wilder describes how management of the world's oceans and their ecosystems has long faced two principal obstacles. The first is the seemingly infinite capacity of human apathy - something that permits us to take the sea's comfort, sustenance, ecological services and integrity for granted. The second is the myriad lines for rigid offshore jurisdiction. That people believe the diversity of life on land should be protected is reflected in well-publicized efforts to save the celebrated biodiversity of rainforests. Far less is known, however, about protecting a far larger two-thirds of this planet - the oceans. Drawing on academic literature and practical experience, Wilder illustrates the nature of the questions facing decision makers and provides solutions. By describing how the emerging idea of precautionary action can help build second-generation policy, Wilder offers means to halt problematic overfishing. He integrates political science with the goals of environmental protection, revealing why agencies often fail in their mission to preserve the environment, and offers paths ahead. Wilder shows how damage to marine ecosystems often stems from distant land-based activities and details emerging ideas such as how industrial ecology can be a cost-effective way to prevent pollution. Through a rigorous integration of policy and science, Wilder suggests a much-improved second-generation governance of the oceans and coasts and proposes ideas for resolving the environmental policy stalemate found within the US government.


Most performances of Classical-period keyboard music today are given on the modem piano. However, the understanding of the sound-differences between the modem piano and the instrument for which this music was composed will most probably reveal that some features of Classical music can be problematical on our present-day instrument. This study will present the main differences between early and modem pianos and will focus on certain aspects of performance practice of the music under discussion, including articulation, dynamics, pedalling and timbre relationships that can prove challenging when transferred on to the modem piano. It will analyse their role and significance, and will demonstrate how they are affected by the changes that have been applied to the piano in the last two centuries. This dissertation will also attempt to suggest possible solutions for the modem player whose aim is, as much as possible, to maintain the style and project the right spirit of the music on the present-day instrument.


Objective: To estimate flavonoid intake in the Australian population Design: Flavonoid consumption was estimated by analysing the 24 hr NNS95 and apparent consumption data using USDA flavonoid composition data on 145 reference foods. Subjects: The NNS95 assessed dietary intake in a random sample of the Australian population (n=13 858) Results: Apparent dietary flavonoid consumption was 339 mg/person/day, of which 80% were flavan-3-ols. Black tea was the major flavonoid source (predominantly flavan-3-ols) representing 70% of total intake. Hesperetin and naringenin were the next most highly consumed flavonoids, reflecting orange intake. The 24 hour-recall data analysis indicated an average adults intake (>18 years) of 454 mg/day (93% being flavan-3-ols). Apple was the highest quercetin source until age 16-18 years, after which onions became an increasingly important source. Variations in hesperetin consumption reflected orange intake. Apple, apricot and grapes were the major sources of epicatechin and catechin for children, but became less important as wine consumption increased in adulthood. Wine was the main source of Malvidin. Naringenin intake remained static as a percentage of total flavonoid intakes until age 19-24 years, corresponding to orange intake, then increased with age from 19-24 years, corresponding to grapefruit intake. Both apparent consumption and 24-recall data indicated that apigenin intake was markedly higher in Australia than reported in either USA or Denmark, due presumably to differences in consumption data for leaf and stalk vegetables. Conclusions: Tea is the predominant flavonoid source in the Australian diet. Flavonoid consumption profiles and flavonoid sources varied according to age. International comparisons of flavonoid intake are difficult because of in consistent methodologies and a lack of survey tools validated for specific and total flavonoid intakes.


Digital transformation is an ongoing challenge in construction. Whereas central storage and planning with Building Information Modeling (BIM) can be considered state-of-the-art, the integration of realtime data like environmental and localization data of workers in indoor work environments can provide further benefits for operations management in construction and facility management. This paper introduces the concept of permanent availability of up-to-date actual performance data sets through an Internet-of-Things (IoT) approach that integrates environmental and localization data in a cloud-based BIM platform. In this paper, we reflect on the usage of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and the lean and injury-free (LIFE) construction management approach, create a concept to implement the topics in existing systems, design and create a prototypical application, validate the prototype in field-typical work settings, and critically review the results.


Lithium-deficient cathode materials Li(1-x)CoO2, where x = 0.1, 0.4 and 0.6 were prepared electrochemically from the stoichiometric parent compound (x = 0.0). The materials were observed to be air-stable, and x-ray diffraction characterization yielded good agreement with the in situ studies of Dahn and co-workers, regarding changes in lattice parameters. In addition to both static and magic angle spinning (MAS) 7Li NMR, measurements, the samples were investigated by EPR and cobalt K-edge NEXAFS. The removal of Li is accompanied by compensating electrons from the Co d-orbitals, as evidenced by both shifts in the NEXAFS peak and the observation of EPR signals due to spins localized on the Co ions. These spins, in turn, result in dramatic 7Li chemical shifts (89 ppm for x = 0.6) and line broadening. Whereas MAS analysis of Li0.9CoO2 indicates two magnetically inequivalent Li sites, the spectra become too broad to resolve different sites for higher values of x. Finally NMR linewidth and spin-lattice relaxation measurements as a function of temperature suggest a modest increase in Li+ ion mobility for Li-deficient samples as compared to the parent compound.


We explore the use of the Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/BE for short) for combinatorial optimization applications: we present a parallel version of a constraint-based local search algorithm that has been implemented on a multiprocessor BladeCenter machine with twin Cell/BE processors (total of 16 SPUs per blade). This algorithm was chosen because it fits very well the Cell/BE architecture and requires neither shared memory nor communication between processors, while retaining a compact memory footprint. We study the performance on several large optimization benchmarks and show that this achieves mostly linear time speedups, even sometimes super-linear. This is possible because the parallel implementation might explore simultaneously different parts of the search space and therefore converge faster towards the best sub-space and thus towards a solution. Besides getting speedups, the resulting times exhibit a much smaller variance, which benefits applications where a timely reply is critical.


Intelligent autonomous mobile robots must be able to sense and recognize 3D indoor space where they live or work. In this paper, we propose a new 3D sensing system using the laser structured lighting method, because of its robustness on the nature of the navigation environment and the easy extraction of feature information of interest The proposed active trinocular vision system is composed of a flexible multi-stripe laser projector and two cameras arranged with a triangular shape. Based on the virtual camera concept and the trinocular epipolar constraints, the matching pairs of line features in two real camera images are established, and 3D information from one-shot image can be extracted on the patterned scene. Especially, for robust line feature matching, we propose a new correspondence matching algorithms based on line grouping and probabilistic voting. Finally, a series of experimental tests is performed to show its efficiency and accuracy.


Mini-Grid is a new technology for developing countries like Nepal and socioeconomic aspects of this technology have to be identified for future implementation of this concept. Typically socioeconomic aspects are measured in terms of economic indices like employment and monetary gain whereas the socio-cultural and environmental issues are often neglected. This paper thus investigates the effect of Mini-Grid from a socioeconomic dimension including not only quantitative but also qualitative factors. Thereafter, in a long run, these identified factors can be used during implementation of Mini-Grid concept in developing countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Namibia, Tunisia etc.


This article proposes a sociological critique of theories of political constitutionalism, which distinguish sharply between political and judicial constitutionalism and express hostility towards constitutions allowing extensive judicial control of legislation. It argues that such theories are usually undermined by a sociologically deficient account of politics. As an alternative, this article proposes a theory of politics based in a model of systemic inclusion. Using this perspective, it claims that constitutions with a strong judicial emphasis, especially where judicial functions are supported by international norms, have served, in many societies, as an effective precondition for the emergence and persistence of a relatively secure, differentiated political domain. These claims are exemplified through analysis of recent constitution‐making experiments in Russia, Kenya and Bolivia.


The primary aim of this study is to investigate positive and constructive teacher-child interaction. The study involved 65 children from 4 pre-schools and their teachers. A qualitative methodology was applied in this study. Observations of the children were conducted over 12 weeks, in classroom activities, and were recorded in field notes and with a digital camera to gain understanding of the interaction based on instruments. The children were interviewed based on observations and photographs conducted earlier. In-depth interviews were conducted with the teachers according to the child observation and interview data. The result shown interaction between teachers and children come with polite language and the practice of ―budi bahasa" as a symbol of respectfulness. Teacher facilitated children with appropriate language and good manner. Teacher character such caring, soft spoken (intonation), body language become model for children in interaction to their peer and influence child's character. In conclusion, the study gives a picture of the importance of contextual factors such as teachers influencing child 's interaction. The implications of these results for research in teachers-child, for future research should emphasis on how the level and quality of teacher-child remains.


In the United Kingdom it is proper to examine the relationship of the National Health Service and the pharmaceutical industry which has a large financial interest in it: home and export sales in 1961, £105-4 million; in 1965, £1644 million. The industry must seek to promote the maximum use of its products, approximately £15-4 million in 1965, almost as much as was spent on research (approximately £18-5 million). The Sainsbury Report says (page 94) '. . . we believe that it is wrong that the doctors should be influenced in any aspect of practice of their profession by mere advertising techniques . . .' Dr Wyndham Davies writes forcefully and well, but he has not really made his case. There are responsible firms with high standards in the pharmaceutical industry that will have nothing to fear in their relationship with the government. This relationship can be put on a reasonable basis which would satisfy the industry, the government, the medical profession and, last but not least, the public that has to pay by high taxation for its medicines and swallow them.


In this chapter we review practice-based studies that have examined the ontological and epistemological conditions for producing strategy research that proves relevant to management practice. Drawing on these works, we argue that researchers inevitably adopt a scholastic point of view, which makes it impossible to capture directly the logic of strategy practice. However, scholars can increase the practical relevance of their research by developing theories based on practical logic. We have outlined three approaches to capture the logic of management practice (1) theorizing through practical rationality, (2) the application of 'participant objectivation', and (3) the consideration of the dissociation process. We argue that if strategy-as-practice research builds on these insights, it can prove a particularly fruitful approach to generate knowledge that is of conceptual relevance to strategy practice.


The aim of this study was to investigate whether diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) could be useful in predicting the microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Sixty‐seven surgically proven HCCs from 65 patients (54 men and 11 women with an age range of 35‐75 years and a mean age of 56.0 years) were retrospectively analyzed. The signal intensities (SIs) of the lesions on preoperative diffusion‐weighted (DW) images were visually categorized as isointense or hyperintense in comparison with the adjacent liver. We also quantitatively measured SIs and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) by drawing regions of interest in HCCs and livers on DW images with b values of 50, 400, and 800 second/mm2 and on ADC map images. Logistic regression analyses were performed so that we could identify independent predictors of MVI among laboratory and DWI findings. A univariate analysis showed that a histological grade of 3, a larger tumor size, a higher SI ratio on DW images, and a lower ADC value were significantly associated with MVI. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that a histological grade of 3 and the ADC value were independent predictors of MVI. With a cutoff of 1.11 × 10−3 mm2/second, the ADC value provided a sensitivity of 93.5% and a specificity of 72.2% for the prediction of MVI with an odds ratio of 24.5 (95% confidence interval = 4.14‐144.8, P < 0.001). In conclusion, lower ADC values (1.11 × 10−3 mm2/second or less) can be a useful predictor of MVI during the preoperative evaluation of HCC. Liver Transpl 18:1171–1178, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.


Objective: To examine college-aged students' sexual risk taking behavior and their knowledge level. Design: descriptive design participants. Setting: A convenience sample of college-aged students between the ages of 17 - 25. Results: Seven hundred and seventy students responded to the survey. Findings revealed that 33% had sexual intercourse with two to five individuals, and 15.5% between eleven and twenty sexual partners. 50.9% had unprotected vaginal intercourse not using condoms and of those 45.8% either do not insist on condom use or only use them occasionally. 22.1% do not insist on using condoms for sexual intercourse and 24.7% responded that they sometimes insist on condom use. 47.2% are not worried about getting AIDS. 41.3% are not concerned with genital lesions. 42.4% would rate themselves as not being very knowledgeable about sexually transmitted infections. 12.4% of the females had unintended pregnancies and overall 74.9% would not feel comfortable discussing their sexual activity with their mothers. 58.1% use alcohol prior to or during sexual intercourse.


In the writings of Philostratus (ca. 170-ca. 250 CE), the renaissance of Greek literature in the second century CE reached its height. His "Life of Apollonius of Tyana," "Lives of the Sophists," and "Imagines" reconceive in different ways Greek religion, philosophy, and art in and for the world of the Roman Empire. In this volume, "Heroicus "and "Gymnasticus," two works of equal creativity and sophistication, together with two brief "Discourses" (Dialexeis), " complete the Loeb edition of his writings."Heroicus" is a conversation in a vineyard amid ruins of the Protesilaus shrine (opposite Troy on the Hellespont), between a wise and devout vinedresser and an initially skeptical Phoenician sailor, about the beauty, continuing powers, and worship of the Homeric heroes. With information from his local hero, the vinedresser reveals unknown stories of the Trojan campaign especially featuring Protesilaus and Palamedes, and describes complex, miraculous, and violent rituals in the cults of Achilles."Gymnasticus" is the sole surviving ancient treatise on sports. It reshapes conventional ideas about the athletic body and expertise of the athletic trainer and also explores the history of the Olympic Games and other major Greek athletic festivals, portraying them as distinctive venues for the display of knowledge.


Abstract The illumination performance of surgical luminaires is quantified by performance indicators defined in an international standard (IEC 2000). The remaining maximum illuminance in relevant situations, the light-field size, and the spectral characteristics are performance indicators used by hospitals as input for luminaire opting processes. Industry however focuses on illuminance when communicating with health care professionals. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether these standards are sufficient to describe luminaire performance, especially for modern LED lighting technology. Illuminance distribution and spectrum measurements were performed on 5 different state-of-the-art (LED) surgical luminaires. The results showed that changing situations not only changed the maximum illuminance but also changed the light-field sizes and shapes, introducing substantial differences between luminaires. Moreover, colored cast shadows and light color variations across the light-field were observed for 3 luminaires using differently colored light emitting diodes (LEDs). Both the changing light-field sizes and shapes, and the cast shadows and light color variations for LED luminaires are not covered by the current standard. The standard should therefore be extended to incorporate these aspects, especially for such a high-end application as surgical lighting.


Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) play critical roles in host defense after recognition of conserved microbial‐ and host‐derived components, and their dysregulation is a common feature of various inflammation‐associated cancers, including gastric cancer (GC). Despite the recent recognition that metabolic reprogramming is a hallmark of cancer, the molecular effectors of altered metabolism during tumorigenesis remain unclear. Here, using bioenergetics function assays on human GC cells, we reveal that ligand‐induced activation of TLR2, predominantly through TLR1/2 heterodimer, augments both oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and glycolysis, with a bias toward glycolytic activity. Notably, DNA microarray‐based expression profiling of human cancer cells stimulated with TLR2 ligands demonstrated significant enrichment of gene‐sets for oncogenic pathways previously implicated in metabolic regulation, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), p53 and Myc. Moreover, the redox gene encoding the manganese‐dependent mitochondrial enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD)2, was strongly induced at the mRNA and protein levels by multiple signaling pathways downstream of TLR2, namely JAK‐STAT3, JNK MAPK and NF‐κB. Furthermore, siRNA‐mediated suppression of SOD2 ameliorated the TLR2‐induced metabolic shift in human GC cancer cells. Importantly, patient‐derived tissue microarrays and bioinformatics interrogation of clinical datasets indicated that upregulated expression of TLR2 and SOD2 were significantly correlated in human GC, and the TLR2‐SOD2 axis was associated with multiple clinical parameters of advanced stage disease, including distant metastasis, microvascular invasion and stage, as well as poor survival. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel TLR2‐SOD2 axis as a potential biomarker for therapy and prognosis in cancer.


Recent research on organic and polymeric semiconductors is directed towards highly ordered molecular structures in solid states. Through molecular design and engineering, it has been shown possible to control the molecular orientation and processing conditions of these materials as well as fine tuning their energy levels and color emissions. Thin film field-effect transistors (FETs) have been used as testing structures for evaluating the semiconducting properties of new organic semiconducting materials. Performance similar to amorphous-Si can now be realized with some organic materials. Large-scale integration of organic transistors has been demonstrated. In addition, several low cost novel non-lithographic patterning methods have been developed, which resulted in the first flexible electronic paper. The field-effect transistor device structure can also be utilized as a means to induce a great amount of charge carriers in organic thin films through the gate field. Using this type of structure, superconductivity was observed in a highly ordered conjugated regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene).


The research identifies the complexity level of eight texts from Spotlight 11 used in Russian TEFL to prepare students for National Unified Exam in English and assess their reading skills. The results of the analyses conducted with the help of T.E.R.A., an automated text processor, prove that all texts fell within the range of 6 – 9 Flesch-Kincaid grade levels which correspond to the English language proficiency of the target audience. We also revealed the absence of a clear progression in difficulty across the eight texts in the continuum which may cause unpredictable test results and contribute to de-motivation of students. The results also show that the indices of narrativity, syntactic simplicity, word concreteness, referential cohesion and deep cohesion measured with T.E.R.A. do not grow but fluctuate across the continuum of the texts either. Aiming at selecting authentic texts with steadily growing complexity of each of the above mentioned parameters, we recommend to incorporate the suggested algorithm of text analysis into TEFL practice in Russia. T.E.R.A. is viewed by the authors as a tool able to provide educators with a solid foundation to select texts, develop curriculum, design assessment tasks and otherwise address academic needs of a target audience.


The latest edition of The Illustrated Book of Development Definitions breaks new ground. It addresses traditional and new planning problems: natural and industrial disasters such as hurricanes and oil spills; new housing types and living accommodations; changes in urban design and practice like new urbanism; sustainability; pedestrian and bicycle friendly environments; and more. Joining Harvey S. Moskowitz and Carl G. Lindbloom, authors of the first three editions, are two prominent, nationally known planners: David Listokin and Richard Preiss. Attorney Dwight H. Merriam adds legal annotations to almost all 2,276 definitions. These citations from court decisions bridge the gap between land use theory and real world application, bringing a new dimension to this edition. More than 20,000 copies of previous editions were sold over four decades to professionals and government representatives, such as members of planning and zoning boards and municipal governing bodies. This first revision in ten years updates what is widely acknowledged as an essential, standard reference for planners.


TQM and its high-powered sidekick, reengineering, require extensive changes in human resource management, as demonstrated by the experiences of leading-edge companies. These changes fall into four groups: people and their roles (the process improvement baton passes from experts and managers to everyone else); performance, recognition, and pay (activities and results are put on display in the workplace and the foundation for reward and recognition expands); the role and responsibilities of the human resource department (broadened jobs, expanded involvement in training, and mentally active employees cut the size of the HR staff and department); and corporate decision making and strategy (specialists come out of isolation and join cross-functional teams for interactive decision making).


A rapid high performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the estimation of Atenolol and Nitrendipine simultaneously in combined dosage form. A Phenomenox C-18 column having dimensions of 4.6×250 mm and particle size of 5 μm in isocratic mode, with mobile phase containing a mixture of methanol: acetonitrile: water (40:40:20 v/v) (pH adjusted to pH 3.0 using orthophosphoric acid) was used. The mobile phase was pumped at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min and the eluents were monitored at 235 nm. The selected chromatographic conditions were found to effectively separate Atenolol (R t: 2.61 min) and Nitrendipine (R t: 6.11 min) having a resolution of 11.097. The method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, and specificity, limit of detection and limit of quantitation. Linearity for Atenolol and Nitrendipine were found in the range of 30-70 μg/ml and 6-14 μg/ml, respectively. The percentage recoveries for Atenolol and Nitrendipine ranged from 99.05- 100.51% and 99.14-101.60%, respectively. The limit of detection and the limit of quantitation for Atenolol were found to be 1.96 μg/ml and 5.95 μg/ml respectively and for Nitrendipine were found to be 0.34 μg/ml and 1.03 μg/ml, respectively. The method was found to be robust and can be successfully used to determine the drug content of marketed formulations.


Summary Ever since pioneering technology brought objective lung function measurement out of the laboratory with the introduction of "office spirometers" nearly 50 yrs ago, there has been a debate on whether nonspecialist practitioners can reliably achieve accurate lung function measurements. This debate continues today, because although it is certain that some users can achieve excellent-quality lung function measurements in general practice, occupational medicine and other nonspecialist practices, it is equally certain that some very poor-quality spirometry measurements are being performed. Examples of these poor quality measurements are presented as evidence that respiratory measurements should only be performed in controlled conditions by expert operators. Whether this is true can only be speculated upon, unless it is possible for an expert to review every spirometry measurement. You may think that this would be impossibly time consuming and expensive, but the internet, expert software and other technological advances have made this achievable and inexpensive; much cheaper than inaccurate lung function measurements.


1. The effect of angiotensin II-amide upon the intrarenal distribution of perfusate was studied in the isolated rat kidney. 2. Low concentrations of angiotensin, 4·86 pmol/l (0·005 μg/l), reduced the flow rate through the papilla but did not alter total flow. 3. Higher concentrations of angiotensin, 0·486 nmol/l (0·5 μg/l), reduced total renal flow but did not decrease papillary perfusion. 4. In these experiments the perfusion pressure was maintained constant, indicating that the changes in flow were due to a direct effect of angiotensin upon the renal vasculature.


The proliferation of mass-shootings in the United States since the 1960s has produced a character profile of largely unremarkable, middleclass male culprits who transform particular places of civil peace – schools, universities, shopping malls – into landscapes of war. On the one hand, the lack of clear motives has led mystified psychiatric experts to draw correlations between such events and "running amok" – the phenomenon of sudden outbursts of homicidal violence observed since early modernity in Southeast Asia. On the other hand, the details of how such acts are carried out as well as the notes of some perpetrators suggest that mass-shootings could also be understood as "interpretations" of American postwar society: from the "lonely crowd" of suburbia via "Reaganomics" to the present politics of fear and resentment to a society of preemptive control.


Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a powerful high-throughput phenotyping tool for predicting traits that are expensive and difficult to measure in dairy cattle. Calibration equations are often developed using standard methods, such as partial least squares (PLS) regression. Methods that employ penalization, rank-reduction, and variable selection, as well as being able to model the nonlinear relations between phenotype and FTIR, might offer improvements in predictive ability and model robustness. This study aimed to compare the predictive ability of 2 machine learning methods, namely random forest (RF) and gradient boosting machine (GBM), and penalized regression against PLS regression for predicting 3 phenotypes differing in terms of biological meaning and relationships with milk composition (i.e., phenotypes measurable directly and not directly in milk, reflecting different biological processes which can be captured using milk spectra) in Holstein-Friesian cattle under 2 cross-validation scenarios. The data set comprised phenotypic information from 471 Holstein-Friesian cows, and 3 target phenotypes were evaluated: (1) body condition score (BCS), (2) blood β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB, mmol/L), and (3) κ-casein expressed as a percentage of nitrogen (κ-CN, % N). The data set was split considering 2 cross-validation scenarios: samples-out random in which the population was randomly split into 10-folds (8-folds for training and 1-fold for validation and testing); and herd/date-out in which the population was randomly assigned to training (70% herd), validation (10%), and testing (20% herd) based on the herd and date in which the samples were collected. The random grid search was performed using the training subset for the hyperparameter optimization and the validation set was used for the generalization of prediction error. The trained model was then used to assess the final prediction in the testing subset. The grid search for penalized regression evidenced that the elastic net (EN) was the best regularization with increase in predictive ability of 5%. The performance of PLS (standard model) was compared against 2 machine learning techniques and penalized regression using 2 cross-validation scenarios. Machine learning methods showed a greater predictive ability for BCS (0.63 for GBM and 0.61 for RF), BHB (0.80 for GBM and 0.79 for RF), and κ-CN (0.81 for GBM and 0.80 for RF) in samples-out cross-validation. Considering a herd/date-out cross-validation these values were 0.58 (GBM and RF) for BCS, 0.73 (GBM and RF) for BHB, and 0.77 (GBM and RF) for κ-CN. The GBM model tended to outperform other methods in predictive ability around 4%, 1%, and 7% for EN, RF, and PLS, respectively. The prediction accuracies of the GBM and RF models were similar, and differed statistically from the PLS model in samples-out random cross-validation. Although, machine learning techniques outperformed PLS in herd/date-out cross-validation, no significant differences were observed in terms of predictive ability due to the large standard deviation observed for predictions. Overall, GBM achieved the highest accuracy of FTIR-based prediction of the different phenotypic traits across the cross-validation scenarios. These results indicate that GBM is a promising method for obtaining more accurate FTIR-based predictions for different phenotypes in dairy cattle.


Visual and screen-based research practices have a long history in social-science, humanities, education, and creative-arts based disciplines as methods of qualitative research. While approaches may vary substantially across visual anthropology, sociology, history, media, or cultural studies, in each case visual research technologies, processes, and materials are employed to elicit knowledge that may elude purely textual discursive forms. As a growing body of visual and screen-based research has made previously-latent aspects of the world explicit, there has been a concomitant appreciation that visual practices are multisensory and must also be situated within a broader exploration of embodied knowledge and multisensory (beyond the visual) research practice. As audio-visual projects such as Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel's Leviathan (2013), Rithy Panh's S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine (2003), and Margaret Loescher's Cameras at the Addy (2003) all demonstrate, screen-based research practices are both modes of, and routes to, knowledge. These projects also demonstrate ways in which screen-based visual research may differ from research exclusively delivered in written form, most specifically in their capacity to document and audio-visually represent intersubjective, embodied, affective, and dynamic relationships between researchers and the subjects of their research. Increasingly, as a range of fields reveal that the incorporative body works as an integrated "perceptive field" as it processes sensory stimuli, visual and screen-based research practices will fulfil an important role in facilitating scholarly access to intuitive, affective, embodied, and analytical comprehension.


Objective: To obtain high-quality positron emission tomography (PET) image with low-dose tracer injection, this study attempts to predict the standard-dose PET (S-PET) image from both its low-dose PET (L-PET) counterpart and corresponding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: It was achieved by patch-based sparse representation (SR), using the training samples with a complete set of MRI, L-PET and S-PET modalities for dictionary construction. However, the number of training samples with complete modalities is often limited. In practice, many samples generally have incomplete modalities (i.e., with one or two missing modalities) that thus cannot be used in the prediction process. In light of this, we develop a semisupervised tripled dictionary learning (SSTDL) method for S-PET image prediction, which can utilize not only the samples with complete modalities (called complete samples) but also the samples with incomplete modalities (called incomplete samples), to take advantage of the large number of available training samples and thus further improve the prediction performance. Results: Validation was done on a real human brain dataset consisting of 18 subjects, and the results show that our method is superior to the SR and other baseline methods. Conclusion: This paper proposed a new S-PET prediction method, which can significantly improve the PET image quality with low-dose injection. Significance: The proposed method is favorable in clinical application since it can decrease the potential radiation risk for patients.


Purpose of review This article reviews the current literature dealing with pathophysiology, diagnostics, bleeding management, and thromboprophylaxis in patients with acute and chronic liver dysfunction. Recent findings Routine coagulation tests such as prothrombin time and International Normalized Ratio (INR) are not able to define whether a patient with critical liver dysfunction is hypocoagulable or hypercoagulable and are not able to predict the risk of bleeding in patients with liver dysfunction. Therefore, prophylactic transfusion of fresh frozen plasma and platelets in order to correct laboratory values is not appropriate. Notably, patients with liver dysfunction and increased INR are not 'autoanticoagulated'. In contrast, thrombin generation assays in the presence and absence of thrombomodulin or Protac, a snake venom that activates protein C in a manner similar to thrombomodulin, as well as viscoelastic tests (thrombelastography/thromboelastometry) indicate that patients with liver dysfunction are rather hypercoagulable with the inherent risk of thrombosis. Summary Coagulopathy in patients with critical liver dysfunction is complex and can quickly decompensate to bleeding as well as to thrombosis. Both are associated with worse outcome. Hemostatic interventions should only be performed in case of clinically relevant bleeding and thromboprophylaxis should strongly be considered.


The molecular structure of 7alpha, 8beta-dihydroxy-9beta, 10beta-epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[a]pyrene, an ultimate carcinogenic form of benzo[a]pyrene has been determined by X-ray crystallography. The tetrahydrobenzene ring has diequatorial hydroxyl substitutents and a C8 half-chair conformation. The epoxide ring is symmetric and the plane of the epoxide ring is approximately at right angles to the plane of the aromatic system. A variety of other geometric parameters are reported.


Background As vaginal flucytosine is not commercially available, it is necessary to prepare this formulation in the Pharmacy Department. Purpose To describe the preparation of flucytosine 15.5% (FLUCY15.5), and flucytosine 17% + amphotericin 3% (FLUAM) creams for vaginal use and their efficacy in the treatment of Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis. Materials and methods FLUCY15.5 was prepared as follows: Twenty-eight 500 mg capsules of flucytosine (Ancotil) were opened into a mortar and the contents crushed. The powder was mixed with glycerine to form a paste. Cold Cream was added up to 90 g. It was blended until smooth. The procedure for preparing FLUAM was: Thirty-one 500 mg capsules of flucytosine were opened into a mortar and the contents crushed. Then 2.7 g of amphotericin B powder were added and mixed with glycerine to create a paste. Acuagel was added to a total weight of 90 g. It was blended until smooth. An expiry date of 14 days was given, although according to the Spanish Pharmacopoeia the stability of these formulations is 3 months. Vaginal applicators were used to apply the cream intravaginally. Results A 36-year-old woman with vulvovaginitis (positive culture for C. glabrata resistant to itraconazole and sensitive to amphotericin B, flucytosine, fluconazole and voriconazole in January 2009), was treated with oral and intravenous fluconazole, vaginal ketoconazole, intravenous voriconazole and vaginal boric acid. However, in February 2009 the culture was still positive. The physician prescribed 5 g/day vaginal FLUCY 15.5 for 14 days. For preparation details see materials and methods. After this treatment, the culture became negative (April 2009). Unfortunately, in March 2010, the patient again developed pain and vaginal itching. Culture of vaginal discharge was positive for C. tropicalis. The physician prescribed 5 g/day vaginal FLUAM and oral fluconazole 50 mg/day for 14 days. It was prepared as indicated above. After this treatment, the culture was negative (April 2010). Conclusions Local treatment with flucytosine and amphotericin B was effective against vaginal infections caused by non-albicans Candida species.


Lower extremity joint arthroplasty surgery remains one of the most successful interventions in orthopaedics. While improvements in patient mobility and physical functioning following surgery are well‐documented, there remains significant post‐operative functional deficits in many patients. This highlights a need and an opportunity towards improving functional and patient‐reported outcomes of arthroplasty surgery. This review summarizes key opportunities arising from the recent 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting in New Orleans, USA. In this review, the Canadian Orthopaedic Research Society (i.e., CORS) highlights key research advances, case examples, scientific messages, and personalized medical care approaches toward improving physical functioning in our knee and hip joint arthroplasty patients. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 37:1754–1759, 2019


If we are creating most of our competitive advantage at the strategic planning stage, why are we spending so little time on this and so much time on technology?
This book is not about why you should digitally transform and become more strategic, it's about how. It lays out the steps that must be taken, the data that should be used, and the decision tree to be followed.
Following the principles laid out in this book allows organizational leaders, marketers, and technologists to talk at a high strategic level without getting bogged down in the tactics and delivery that consumes most of the time, attention, and activity in the modern workplace. Use The Seven Principles of Digital Business Strategy to define the direction of travel for your business in today's digital economy.


On 14 March 2017 the Court of Justice of the EU delivered its judgments in Achbita and Bougnaoui , analyzing, for the first time, something formerly in the realm of interpretation of the European Court of Human Rights: the relationship between the employees' right to manifest religion in the work place and the employers' desire for a certain understanding of corporate neutrality. The current article will show that the CJEU judgments in Achbita and Bougnaoui depart from the established ECtHR analysis of limitations on fundamental rights by failing to properly assess the necessity and proportionality of the interdiction on religious symbols, generally setting a weak threshold for limitations on religious manifestations. The present research will also inquire whether such differing standards will, in the long term, lead to a fragmentation and a weakening of the protection of freedom of religion or belief in Europe.


The subject of female-perpetuated intimate partner violence (IPV) against men has been one of controversy, with well-rehearsed arguments surrounding both the nature and existence of female-perpetrated abuse against men. This experiential research study explored the experiences of 23 men who self-identified as having experienced female-perpetrated IPV. Semi-structured interviews explored the men's experiences of both physical and emotional abuse, as well as barriers to leaving their abusive relationship(s), and their experiences of seeking help. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed that the men's experience of being in an abusive relationship was traumatic and had a negative impact on both their physical and psychological well-being. The importance of maintaining a sense of masculinity consistently underpinned the men's narratives. Some participants described feeling shame and embarrassment for not having met dominant cultural expectations surrounding the roles of men in heterosexual relationships. Frequently the participants reported that a fear of being judged or not being believed was a significant barrier to seeking help. The lack of recognition and understanding of male IPV within society was of concern to most of the men. Some participants outlined a desire to use their own experiences in order to help other men in abusive relationships. These findings offer important implications for understanding IPV against men and developing enhanced sources of support.


Telecom operators face an increasing need for service quality management to cope with competition and complex service portfolios in the mobile sector. Improvements in this area can lead to significant market benefits for operators in highly competitive markets. We propose an architecture for a service monitoring tool, including a time aware formal language for model specification. Using these models allows for increased predictability and flexibility in a constantly changing environment.


Churn is a great challenge for the development and deployment of Distributed Hash Table networks, but current churn treatments ignore the effect of adapting the size of routing table flexibly to handle churn. In this paper, we research the routing table self-adaptive mechanism for Kademlia. Based on quantifying the influence of K, the parameter representing the size of a k-bucket, on routing performance, a self-adaptive algorithm of K is proposed. This algorithm adapts K to the variation of churn rate which is estimated by the validity of data in routing table. Simulation results show that it can reduce the lookup latency under churn. Even if the churn rate varies remarkably, the network is flexible enough to provide fine performance.


Co-infections of hosts by multiple pathogen species are ubiquitous, but predicting their impact on disease remains challenging. Interactions between co-infecting pathogens within hosts can alter pathogen transmission, with the impact on transmission typically dependent on the relative arrival order of pathogens within hosts (within-host priority effects). However, it is unclear how these within-host priority effects influence multi-pathogen epidemics, particularly when the arrival order of pathogens at the host-population scale varies. Here, we combined models and experiments with zooplankton and their naturally co-occurring fungal and bacterial pathogens to examine how within-host priority effects influence multi-pathogen epidemics. Epidemiological models parametrized with within-host priority effects measured at the single-host scale predicted that advancing the start date of bacterial epidemics relative to fungal epidemics would decrease the mean bacterial prevalence in a multi-pathogen setting, while models without within-host priority effects predicted the opposite effect. We tested these predictions with experimental multi-pathogen epidemics. Empirical dynamics matched predictions from the model including within-host priority effects, providing evidence that within-host priority effects influenced epidemic dynamics. Overall, within-host priority effects may be a key element of predicting multi-pathogen epidemic dynamics in the future, particularly as shifting disease phenology alters the order of infection within hosts.


The subject of this book is accurately defined by its subtitle. "Music in a New Found Land" does not pretend to be a comprehensive history of American music. Nor does Mellers strive to catalog what he considers to be authentic American music. Instead, he deals, in some detail, with comparatively few composers, most of whom have well-established reputations. It has always been difficult to separate American music from its immediate relevance to the twentieth century. Mellers' theme involves the relationship between 'art' music, jazz and pop music; he sees the segregation of these genres as both illogical and artificial. If the pop music of Tin Pan Alley may be anti-art, it has also produced Gershwin, Ellington, and composing improvisers such as Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis. The study of American music is as relevant into any inquiry into a national culture as the study of American literature and painting. This book contains a large number of quotations from American writers, because Mellers thought American sensibility should parallel, reinforce, and comment on American music. In sum, this is the closest available one-volume history of American music, and a window into American culture.


Escherichia coli O86 possesses high human blood group B activity because of its O-antigen structure, sharing the human blood group B epitope. In this study, the wbwK gene of E. coli O86:B7 was expressed and purified as the GST fusion protein. Thereafter, the wbwK gene was biochemically identified to encode an alpha1,2-fucosyltransferase through radioactivity assays, as well as mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. WbwK shows strict substrate specificity and only recognizes Gal beta1,3GalNAc alpha-OR (T-antigen and derivatives) as the acceptor to generate the H-type 3 blood group antigen. In contrast to other alpha1,2-fucosyltransferases, WbwK does not display activity toward the simple substrate Gal beta-OMe. Comparison with another recently characterized alpha1,2-fucosyltransferase (WbsJ) of E. coli O128:B12 indicates a low level of amino acid identity between them; however, they share a common acceptor substrate, Gal beta1,3GalNAc alpha-OR. Domain swapping between WbwK and WbsJ revealed that the smaller variable domains located in the C-terminus determine substrate specificity, whereas the larger variable domain in the N-terminus might play a role in forming the correct conformation for substrate binding or for localization of the alpha1,2-fucosyltransferase involved in O-antigen biosynthesis. In addition, milligram scale biosynthesis of the H-type 3 blood group antigen was explored using purified recombinant WbwK. WbwK may have potential applications in masking T-antigen, the tumor antigen, in vivo.


BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 crisis placed extraordinary demands on the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the beginning of 2020. These were coupled with shocks to the supply chain resulting from the disease. Many typically well-resourced health systems faced subsequent shortages of equipment and had to implement new strategies to manage their stocks. Stockpiles of protective equipment were held in both the United States and United Kingdom intended to prevent shortages.

METHOD
Cross-comparative case study approach by applying Pettigrew and Whipp's framework for change management.

SETTING
The health systems of England and New York state from January 2020 to the end of April 2020.

RESULTS
Both cases reacted slowly to their outbreaks and faced problems with supplying enough PPE to their health systems. Their stockpiles were not enough to prevent shortages, with many distribution problems resulting from inadequate governance mechanisms. No sustainable responses to supply disruptions were implemented during the study period in either case. Health systems planned interventions along each part of the supply chain from production and importing, to usage guidelines.

CONCLUSION
Global supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions caused by international crises, and existing mitigation strategies have not been wholly successful. The existence of stockpiles is insufficient to preventing shortages of necessary equipment in clinical settings. Both the governance and quality of stockpiles, as well as distribution channels are important for preventing shortages. At the time of writing, it is not possible to judge the strength of strategies adopted in these cases.


The increasing population of elderly people over the coming decades will have a profound effect on the demand for and costs of social care support. In the development of policies about the provision of social it is essential that we are clear: what it is we mean by social care?; how social care is provided?; and who it is that bears the cost? None of the answers to these questions are fixed and the future costs of social care will depend as much on changes in the answers to these questions as on the expected growth in the numbers and proportion of very elderly people in the population. While health care focuses primarily on alleviating or mitigating the cause of disability, social care is concerned with the effects of disability on normal domestic activities. It is the results of these everyday activities rather than the activities themselves that need to be produced and the results that services aim to provide. Thus social care is concerned with ensuring elderly people have adequate nutrition, housework, personal care and so on. Changes in society's expectations about these "commodities" lead to changes in definitions in what social care services should be concerned with. For example, changes in perceptions of the importance and expected quality of housing tend to result in a corresponding increase in concern about the issue of shelter in the social care of elderly people. Mainstream services, however, tend to provide social care in the form of relatively inflexible services. While needs and informal methods of provision are very variable, services tend to come in fixed ways and, frequently, levels. Thus meals-on-wheels may provide three meals (or nutrition) directly weekly to people with widely varying disabilities and needs. Recent legislation is designed to improve choice for consumers and delivery of social care but simply adding on a "care manager" to existing services may increase costs without improving the benefit felt by the consumers. Devolved budgets allow a more flexible approach to the provision of social care and getting away from service based descriptions of social care may encourage new ways of thinking about how social care is best delivered. Most social care is produced by carers and elderly people themselves (or informal care networks). The informal sector both provides and bears the costs of care. Demographic and economic changes mean that the capacity of the informal sector to produce care may be reduced and/or unable to meet the increasing demands of the growing elderly population. However, the capacity of elderly people and their carers to purchase care is likely to increase. There is a need for a coherent policy which will address the issue of the burden of costs borne by the state and the informal care sector (including elderly people themselves). This must:

 take account of opportunity cost, not expenditure; consider both levels and proportions of the cost burden borne by the informal sector; take into account future expectations and inter-network relationships; apply across taxation, social security, centrally and locally funded provision. In examining the resource implications of the expected rise in demand for social care the discussion must be extended from the narrow restrictive definition of expenditure on social services. There needs to be an increased awareness of what it is the services are providing, how they are doing it and the resource implications for the mixed economy including the informal sector.


Gadget is one of the successful communication technology products is booming in this millennium century. Gedget allows humans to interact or communicate with another human being without a limited time, place and space. Progress society characterized by the development of science and technology. Science and technology major effect on human life and activity. Positive implications that science and technology can facilitate human in Survival. With the science and technology, human creativity challenged to continue and develop ideas berkualitasnya to be something useful for humans, and the natural surroundings. While the negative implication is that he has now increasingly rely on technology to run his life, so he became a creature lazy, spoiled and less willing to work hard. In reality, not all the problems facing humanity can be solved by technology. The function of religion as a human guide in these conditions is very important. Hinduism is not anti to the technology, it Hindu suggest the importance of building a strong civilization. Hinduism has given life provision and guidelines long before humans evolved in advanced age as it is today. The concept of Tri Pramana and Wiweka should remain aware and understood in Survival .


Educational technology is a set of systems consisting of tech savvy equipment, processes and methods for the effective and positive implementation of educational theories. Nowadays, when the internet is becoming widespread, and mobile device technologies such as smartphones and tablets have been developing rapidly, it is possible to access educational content without being connected to a place. Today, almost everyone has smartphones. Many social networks, sites, applications are available. Many studies have shown that technology is effective in the field of education. For teachers with foreign language and their perceptions of learning through the help of technology are important. In this study, it is important to determine teachers' perception levels of mobile applications that contribute to foreign language learning. The "mobile learning perception scale" developed to access the research data. Items that are mentioned in the scale are basically positive question, "absolutely disagree", "disagree", "undecided", "agree", "strongly agree". After analysing the reliability of the survey, the overall result was found as Cronbach ? = 0,963. A total of 180 teachers attended from North Cyprus and Russian universities. According to the result of the research, the teachers' perception of mobile learning is high. But this rate is proportional to age. There is a difference in the findings regarding the use of mobile technology when looking at the professional seniority and age ranges. This is due to the fact that recently, technology-supported trainings have been increased and the addition of "material design courses" and "technology-supported trainings" at universities play an important role in increasing perceptions. The use of mobile technology can be increased by providing in-service trainings to teachers with high professional experience and ages.


This is a research guide for Charles Schoonmaker's courses Historical Dress: Baroque and Rococo (DRA2284.01) and Historical Dress: The 19th Century (DRA2285.02)


Background: Autism is usually accompanied by many symptoms such as abdominal pain, constipation/diarrhea, due to deregulation of physiological microflora. Recently, regression of the autistic symptoms after oral administration of antibiotic such as vancomycin was detected, that leads to the disappearance of the symptoms and eliminate toxins produced by bacteria such as Clostridium spp.
Methods: In the present study we are identified the chemical compositions of non-polar fractions (PGp and PGc) from natural bee pollen by using GC/MS against AD induced by Clostridium perfringens in vitro.
Results: 23 and 14 chemical components representing 84.07% and 92.92% for PGp and PGc respectively by GC/MS. Total phenolic and proanthocyanidine contents were determined in both PGc and PGe fractions by Folin -Ciocalteau and vanillin-sulfuric acid assays respectively and expressed in term of quercetin equivalent (y=1.6463x + 132.6, R2=0.9972) as mg QUE/g fraction or gallic acid equivalent (y=0.0019x + 0.137, R2=0.9988) as mg GAE/g fraction and as (+) - catechin equivalent (% CT w/w) in bee pollen (y=0.0013x + 0.3998, R2=0.9997).
Conclusion: The results of the present study revealed the capacity of natural bee pollen to enhance the recovery from AD induced by C. perfringens in vitro. This is due to the diversity of different chain of fatty acids as well as phenolic/ proanthocyanidin compounds that found in bee pollen fractions.


We present a new Dynamic Tonality MIDI sequencer, Hex, that aims to make sequencing music in and across a large variety of novel tunings as straightforward as sequencing in twelve-tone equal temperament. It replaces the piano roll used in conventional MIDI sequencers with a two-dimensional lattice roll in order to enable the intuitive visualization and dynamic manipulation of tuning.

In conventional piano roll sequencers, a piano keyboard is displayed on the left side of the window, and white and black note lanes extend horizontally to the right, into which a user can draw a sequence of notes. Similarly, in Hex, a button lattice is displayed in its own pane on the left side of the window, and horizontal lines are drawn from the center of each note to the right. These lines function as generalized note lanes, just like in piano roll sequencers, but with the added benefit that each note lane's height is always proportional to its pitch, even if the user changes the tuning. The presence of the button lattice on the left side of the window illustrates exactly which buttons a performer would play in order to replicate the sequence when playing a physical button lattice instrument.


By analyzing the operating principle and building the mathematical model, the pressure characteristics of the tri-proportion controller are obtained. A simulation about the pressure characteristics is carried out, which shows the differential pressure and rotational speed are subjected to a linear relationship within the full measuring range. The simulation result agrees with experimental data very well, which shows the feasibility of this simulation method. Analyzing the pressure characteristics and the proportional control accuracy, we obtained the minimum differential pressure, the maximum differential pressure, the factors which affect the differential pressure and the relationship between the differential pressure and leakage. And finally we obtained the solutions of decreasing the leakage and improving the proportional control accuracy.


Abstract Consider a study in which one observes n independent and identically distributed random variables whose probability distribution is known to be an element of a particular statistical model, and one is concerned with estimation of a particular real valued pathwise differentiable target parameter of this data probability distribution. The targeted maximum likelihood estimator (TMLE) is an asymptotically efficient substitution estimator obtained by constructing a so called least favorable parametric submodel through an initial estimator with score, at zero fluctuation of the initial estimator, that spans the efficient influence curve, and iteratively maximizing the corresponding parametric likelihood till no more updates occur, at which point the updated initial estimator solves the so called efficient influence curve equation. In this article we construct a one-dimensional universal least favorable submodel for which the TMLE only takes one step, and thereby requires minimal extra data fitting to achieve its goal of solving the efficient influence curve equation. We generalize these to universal least favorable submodels through the relevant part of the data distribution as required for targeted minimum loss-based estimation. Finally, remarkably, given a multidimensional target parameter, we develop a universal canonical one-dimensional submodel such that the one-step TMLE, only maximizing the log-likelihood over a univariate parameter, solves the multivariate efficient influence curve equation. This allows us to construct a one-step TMLE based on a one-dimensional parametric submodel through the initial estimator, that solves any multivariate desired set of estimating equations.


Transformer has become ubiquitous in sequence modeling tasks. As a key component of Transformer, self-attention does not scale to long sequences due to its quadratic time and space complexity with respect to the sequence length. To tackle this problem, recent work developed dynamic attention sparsification techniques based on Approximate Nearest Neighbor (ANN) methods, where similar queries and keys are allocated to the same hash bucket with high probability. However, the effectiveness of those ANN methods relies on the assumption that queries and keys should lie in the same space, which is not well justified. Besides, some of the ANN methods such as Locality-Sensitive Hashing (LSH) are randomized and cannot fully utilize the available real data distributions. To overcome these issues, this paper proposes a new strategy for sparse attention, namely LHA (Learningto-Hash Attention), which directly learns separate parameterized hash functions for queries and keys, respectively. Another advantage of LHA is that it does not impose extra constraints for queries and keys, which makes it applicable to the wide range of pre-trained Transformer models. Our experiments on evaluation of the WikiText-103 dataset for language modeling, the GLUE benchmark for natural language understanding, and the Lang-Range-Arena benchmark for multiple tasks (text/image classification, retrieval, etc.) show the superior performance of LHA over other strong Transformer variants.


This paper describes the application of 3D FIB-SEM tomography as a method for quantifying process variations across the die and across the wafer, as well as layout investigations. In this study, the analysis of results acquired by 3D FIB-SEM tomography were applied to a 64L 3D-NAND device where process induced variation in the high aspect ratio vertical memory channels is measured and to a double stack 3D-NAND architecture, which is comprised of two 32-layer stacks where eccentricity of the pillars was evaluated for layers in both upper and lower stacks. In addition, a partial layout of a 14nm logic device is investigated by this method, demonstrating the capabilities for structural verification, and structural overlay of elements from a 7nm logic device were also evaluated. The results demonstrate the value of 3D FIB-SEM tomography for physical confirmation of the structural layout, which can be applied towards device debug and reverse engineering.