We develop a distribution regression model under endogenous sample selection. This model is a semi-parametric generalization of the Heckman selection model. It accommodates much richer effects of the covariates on outcome distribution and patterns of heterogeneity in the selection process, and allows for drastic departures from the Gaussian error structure, while maintaining the same level tractability as the classical model. The model applies to continuous, discrete and mixed outcomes. We provide identification, estimation, and inference methods, and apply them to obtain wage decomposition for the UK. Here we decompose the difference between the male and female wage distributions into composition, wage structure, selection structure, and selection sorting effects. After controlling for endogenous employment selection, we still find substantial gender wage gap – ranging from 21% to 40% throughout the (latent) offered wage distribution that is not explained by composition. We also uncover positive sorting for single men and negative sorting for married women that accounts for a substantive fraction of the gender wage gap at the top of the distribution.


In 2018/19, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople initiated the establishment of an autocephalous (independent) Orthodox Church in Ukraine. This process was met with harsh criticism by the Russian Orthodox Church and eventually led to a split in the entire Orthodox world. The contributions to this volume examine this conflict and discuss the underlying causes for it in a broader perspective. They deal with several aspects of Orthodox theology, history, church life and culture, and show the existence of a serious rift in the broader Orthodox world. This became visible most recently in the conflict over the Ukrainian Church autocephaly, yet it has a longer, and more complex historical background.


Abstract On the fall of Suharto, the long-surviving authoritarian president of Indonesia, in 1998, the 'reform era' began. Quite revolutionary laws on decentralisation sought to meet international notions of democracy and human rights, and local claims to greater self-determination. The decentralisation process in Indonesia was thus accompanied by a nationwide trend to revive local traditions, political units and institutions, and traditional leaders. This paper focuses on the Moluccan islands in Eastern Indonesia, where, in addition to a revival of adat (tradition and customary law), there was a strategic move by local people to foster reconciliation after conflicts in the early post-Suharto period, mainly between Christians and Muslims. At the international level Indonesia took account of the recently developed notions of collective human rights, including indigenous peoples' right to self-determination and autonomy, and their rights to preserve and practice their own culture. This entailed the revival and re-recognition of traditional villages (negeri) and the reinstallation of traditional village heads (raja). New decentralisation laws enabled village people as cultural collectivities to return to their village adat, but tended towards the exclusion, or non-equal treatment, of cultural outsiders. At the national level decentralisation provisions, constitutional amendments, and a Human Rights Law were enacted. These were to be implemented at the local level. However, progress was impeded by the outbreak of bloody and lengthy Christian-Muslim conflict. After a peace meeting in 2002 put an official end to the conflict, local actors hoped to build sustainable peace through the revival or strengthening of traditions, traditional leaders, structures and customary law. The raja as traditional leaders and potential mediators, but also part of the national government system, were to play a central role. The new national autonomy law gave such local tendencies legal support, and stated that diversity was to be acknowledged. The laws raised many issues. There were various difficulties in determining who should be raja in many districts, and in settling their powers. There were further questions as to whether the observance of cultural rights could be premised on fixed and static notions of culture, as to which persons should make the decisive choices, and whether adat could be reduced to writing without losing its necessary flexibility. The paper uses a study of the Honitetu district to explore these issues. It is suggested in conclusion that an unconditional revival of adat would be counterproductive. It is argued that it is crucial to preserve the flexibility of adat in order to adapt it to changing political, social and economic circumstances and to accommodate all people living in the territories, both cultural insiders and outsiders.


In this paper we present an approach for the integration of cybersecurity tools from multiple domains into an overall risk assessment framework which takes the complex interactions between domains in smart grid systems into account. The approach is based on generating hypotheses from a template, which are then analyzed for their probability and associated impact on the system. The feasibility of the proposed approach is discussed using a very simple example case to serve as a proof of concept. Furthermore, we introduce a generic software framework for the processing of hypothesis templates.


The exploration of different routes leading to the stereoselective synthesis of the neuritogenic steroid withanolide A is reported in full detail. Notable features of the synthesis include a Corey–Seebach homologation, a vinylogous aldol reaction, a singlet oxygen Schenck-ene reaction, and finally, a late-stage Wharton transposition. Semi-synthetic elaboration of the natural product resulted in 15 derivatives allowing a better understanding of its inherent reactivity pattern as well as its biological properties related to neuronal differentiation and neurite outgrowth.


This case looks at the long history of racism on and off the football pitch. Although this case focuses on UK football, the issue does not exist solely within the UK – it is found in many countries and even threatens to disrupt the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The case highlights the poor attempts by clubs and by football (and other) authorities to stamp out racism. The examples demonstrate the lack of consistency in dealing with the problem and the apparent unwillingness of people at the top to deal with this issue. Perhaps business needs to be drawn into the furore to ensure action – hit racists where it hurts (and we are not talking footballs here). Umbro's withdrawal of sponsorship of John Terry is a start; Zoopla's withdrawal of their West Bromwich Albion shirt sponsorship another – let's have some bigger action off
the pitch.


Statistical literacy skills and technological literacy skills are becoming increasingly entwined as the practice of statistics shifts toward more reliance on the power of technology. More and more, statistics educators suggest reforming introductory college statistics courses to include more emphasis on technology and modeling. But what is the impact of such a focus on student learning? This research examines a small sample of students. The students received a reform-oriented curriculum focused on modeling and simulation using TinkerPlotsTM technology. The data reported here is from students written work at the end of the term on their final assessment. They had access to TinkerPlotsTM for the assessment and we share the ways they used the technology to create statistical models. This work provides insights into the ways students' construct models and how they interpret the models they construct within the context of the original statistical problem they were given. We describe how the technology used in this reform class appeared to frame students' ways of constructing a statistical model. We also discuss challenges of this approach for student thinking and share implications for teaching and future research.


Background: Controlled randomised studies to prove improved cardiovascular stability and improved anaemia management during on-line haemodiafiltration (oHDF) are scarce. Methods: 70 patients were treated with both haemodialysis (HD) and oHDF in a cross-over design during 2 × 24 weeks at a dialysis dose of eKt/V≧1.2. Patients randomised into group A started on HD and switched over to oHDF, whereas patients in group B began with oHDF and were treated with HD afterwards. Intradialytic morbid events (IME), such as symptomatic hypotension or muscle cramps, were noted in case of appearance. Blood parameters reflecting anaemic status, phosphate status, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and accumulation of advanced glycation end products were recorded either monthly or at the end of each study phase. Results: The mean incidence of IME was 0.15 IME per treatment, and there was no statistical difference between oHDF and HD. A higher haematocrit (oHDF 31.5% vs. HD 30.5%, p < 0.01) at a lower erythropoietin dose (oHDF 4,913 vs. HD 5,492 IU/week, p = 0.02) was found during oHDF, when the sequence of HD and oHDF had not been taken into account. For the study groups, the results were less distinct: in group A, a higher haematocrit (HD 30.4% vs. oHDF 32.0%, p < 0.01) at a comparable erythropoietin dose (HD 5,421 vs. oHDF 5,187 IU/week, ns) was observed during oHDF, whereas in group B an identical haematocrit (oHDF 30.8% vs. HD 30.7%, ns) was achieved at a reduced erythropoietin dose (oHDF 4,622 vs. HD 5,568 IU/week, p < 0.01). During oHDF, lower levels of free and protein-bound pentosidine and of serum phosphate were found. Conclusion: In contrast to other studies, no benefit regarding cardiovascular stability for oHDF was found, but oHDF could well offer a potential benefit regarding anaemia correction, inflammation, oxidative stress, lipid profiles, and calcium-phosphate product.


Since its earliest days, Congress has delegated lawmaking authority to Executive Branch officials. Over time, a body of Supreme Court case law, known as the Delegation Doctrine, has grown up (ostensibly) to regulate Congress's ability to offload legislative authority to administrative agencies. Occasionally, however, Congress, like state legislatures and municipal councils, bypasses executive officials and directly delegates lawmaking authority to private parties. The Supreme Court has addressed those delegations in only few cases and struck down three of them, the last one in its 1936 decision in Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 U.S. 238. In those cases, the Court did not rely on the Article I Vesting Clause or separation of powers principles, as it has in the case of delegations to administrative agencies. Instead, the Court held the delegations unconstitutional by invoking the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Nonetheless, the Court did not explain why the Due Process Clauses play that role, and the Court has not offered a rationale since 1936. Perhaps the reason for that omission is that the Court's contemporary "procedure vs. substance" dichotomy has obscured the original meaning of the Due Process Clause: namely, a guarantee that the government comply with "the law of the land" before trespassing on someone's life, liberty, or property. That guarantee, which reaches back to Article 39 of Magna Carta, means that the government cannot legislate around the Constitution by empowering a private party to act in a lawless fashion. Put differently, Congress cannot escape constitutional restraints by delegating government authority to private parties to accomplish indirectly what Congress cannot do directly. So viewed, the Private Delegation Doctrine continues to have vitality today in areas such as the constitutionality of private prisons.


Development of a compact, low-cost, and high-performance reader for reading the chipless RFID tags is believed to be key for making chipless RFID technology a commercial reality. This dissertation aims at providing a total solution for this real-world technological challenge by overcoming the practical, engineering, scientific, and cost-related issues of the chipless RFID systems. Several UWB passive and active RF components are designed and implemented from scratch, and various novel techniques to improve the performance of the individual components as well as the sub-systems are proposed. Finally, three UWB frequency-domain RFID readers are implemented, and their performances are evaluated.


In the UK, the unprecedented cuts to local budgets, implemented by the national governments from 2010 to the present day, have pushed local authorities to reconsider their scope, their role and their action. The ever decreasing budgets have de facto transformed local councils from service providers to territorial entrepreneurs, as the pressing pursuit of revenues has placed the economic profit at the core of the local policy-making. Urban planning plays a central role in this shift in mindset. The British planning system has been remodelled so to facilitate the implementation of development processes, as these grant revenues from planning obligations, uplifts in land values and higher income from taxes. The reform of the planning system has however conceded free rein to developers, especially through the introduction of the Development Viability Appraisal, a document which they use to reduce the provision of affordable housing, in favour of luxury housing tenures. Therefore, in British cities the mechanisms that rule the territorial transformations exacerbate the existing housing crisis and force local communities to face displacement. Austerity has thus initiated a cascade-effect whose negative externalities are tangible at the very local level. The emerged topics find their concretization in the description of the Heygate Estate regeneration.


Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disorder of the vasculature, is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease and is responsible for most deaths in western societies. The disease is characterised by a number of steps that occur during the lifespan of an individual, including fatty streak formation, development of complex lesions containing a fibrous cap, and thinning and rupture of such plaques leading to thrombosis and clinical complications of this disease. Macrophages play key roles during all stages of this disease such as foam cell formation, amplification of the inflammatory response and control of plaque stability. The actions of macrophages during this disease are regulated by cytokines present in atherosclerotic lesions such as interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumour necrosis factor-like protein 1A (TL1A) and interleukin-17 (IL-17).
 Statins are widely used for the primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerosis and its complications because of their ability to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis and, thereby, plasma levels of pro-atherogenic low density lipoprotein. However, statins have actions beyond lowering cholesterol levels, the so-called pleiotropic effects, and includes acting in an anti-inflammatory manner. Unfortunately, the anti-inflammatory effects of statins are not fully understood and therefore formed the focus of studies in this thesis using a combination of human macrophage THP-1 cell line, primary cultures of human monocyte-derived macrophages and mouse RAW264.7 macrophage cell line.
 Simvastatin generally acted in an anti-inflammatory manner in macrophages in relation to the expression of several pro-atherogenic genes, such as monocyte chemoattractant proein-1 (MCP-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1),regulated by IFN-γ, TL1A or IL-17. Such an anti-inflammatory action also extended to another statin, Atorvastatin. The inhibitory action of Simvastatin on IFN-γ induced expression of MCP-1 and ICAM-1 was reversed, at least in part, by intermediates of the 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A pathway such as farnesyl pyrophosphate and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. This suggested a potential role for monomeric G-proteins that require such intermediates for activation. In addition, Simvastatin inhibited the phosphorylation-mediated activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1), a key transcription factor in IFN-γ signalling, on tyrosine 701 and serine 727 in response to the cytokine. The effect of Simvastatin on MAP Kinase (MAPK) pathways in macrophages was also analysed. The statin attenuated the IFN-γ induced activation of p38 MAPK and extracellular signal activated kinase (ERK)-1/2.
Simvastatin also affected the constituve expression of many components of the MAPK pathways (e.g. ERK-1/2) along with downstream genes involved in atherosclerosis (e.g. ATP-binding cassette transporters-A1 and-G1).
 The effect of Simvastatin on lipid profile of THP-1 and RAW264.7 macrophages was also investigated. Simvastatin does not affect total polar lipids and triacylglycerol. The statin also had no significant effect on fatty acid distribution into polar lipids and triacylglycerol.
 The studies presented in this thesis provide insights into the actions, and potential mechanisms, underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of statins on human macrophages along with their effects on lipid profiles. Such studies are essential given the widespread use of statins and a need to gain a deeper understanding of their actions.


Oviraptorosaurs, like many coelurosaurians, are frequently diagnosed using incomplete or fragmentary skeletal remains, with factors such as body size often used to assign material to a particular taxon or as a basis for describing new species. Here we describe a partial skeleton, ROM VP 65884, from the Hell Creek Formation (Montana, USA), and through morphological and phylogenetic comparisons identify it as belonging to Caenagnathidae, and probably referable to Anzu wyliei. We perform multi‐element osteohistological sampling of the tibia, fibula, manual phalanx, rib and gastralium of ROM VP 65884 to determine the ontogenetic status of the individual, and to perform a detailed assessment of the intra‐skeletal variation present in a series of histological proxies for growth and development. Skeletochronological analysis suggests ROM VP 65884 was still actively growing at time of death. Lacunar area was variable, but consistent with values reported for other dinosaurs and vertebrates. Osteocyte lacunar density was found to be relatively similar to the few previous measurements known from coelurosaurian dinosaurs, and preserved no ontogenetic pattern. Osteocyte lacunar density (OLD) was much higher in sampled rib and gastralia elements when compared to limbs, and the high variability in OLD overall lends further support against the hypothesis of this feature acting as a proxy for mass‐specific growth rate. Our results stress the importance of using osteohistological analyses to constrain variation and permit ontogenetic assessment, and suggest caution be taken when using size as a determinant for referral of disassociated elements to specific or new coelurosaur taxa.


To improve inclination error evaluation of planar lines, chaos optimization is proposed to evaluate the minimum zone error in this paper. The evolutional optimum model and the calculation process are introduced. By using the properties of ergodicity, stochastic property, and "regularity" of chaos, the efficiency of chaos optimization algorithm (COA) is much higher than some stochastic algorithms such as simulated anneal algorithm (SAA) and genetic algorithm (GA) when COA is used to a kind of continuous problems. The chaos optimization algorithm can improve the efficiency of searching in the whole field by gradually shrinking the area of optimization variable. Finally, the control experiment results evaluated by different method such as the Least Square, Simplex search, Powell optimum methods and GA, indicate that the proposed method does provide better accuracy on inclination error evaluation.


Immunotherapy is now advancing at remarkable pace for tumors located in various tissues, including the brain. Strategies launched decades ago, such as tumor antigen-specific therapeutic vaccines and adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are being complemented by molecular engineering approaches allowing the development of tumor-specific TCR transgenic and chimeric antigen receptor T cells. In addition, the spectacular results obtained in the last years with immune checkpoint inhibitors are transfiguring immunotherapy, these agents being used both as single molecules, but also in combination with other immunotherapeutic modalities. Implementation of these various strategies is ongoing for more and more malignancies, including tumors located in the brain, raising the question of the immunological particularities of this site. This may necessitate cautious selection of tumor antigens, minimizing the immunosuppressive environment and promoting efficient T cell trafficking to the tumor. Once these aspects are taken into account, we might efficiently design immunotherapy for patients suffering from tumors located in the brain, with beneficial clinical outcome.


Teaching English Language at schools and universities since 1995 and working as a school principle for four years and as an English Language supervisor for ten years, the author of the paper noticed that majority of teachers adopt traditional ways of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. In these classes teachers inculcate knowledge through spoon feeding practices rather than innovative ones that may challenge students' thoughts and abilities by facing them with non-traditional events, activities or scenes. In spite of the fact that Muslim teachers recite many verses from the Holy Quran daily, they are unaware of the pedagogical and psychological implements in the verses they have been reciting. Hence, this study aims at identifying the pedagogical and the psychological implements in the holly Quran, specifically Surah Alkhaf. To collect data, content analysis method was used to elicit the pedagogical and the psychological implements. To identify the context in which these implements appear, the Key Word In Context (KWIC) was used depending on Al Islam website. These implements are hoped to reshape the way of teaching and learning practiced by many teachers and learners at educational institutions. In most cases, EFL learners don't actively use their minds or the critical skills that may trigger solutions to problems they encounter continuously. This study emphasizes the disastrous consequences of jumping to conclusions before one analyzes and interprets any ambiguous phenomenon. Results of the study showed many pedagogical and psychological implements such as motivation for learning, learning contracts, contradicted practices, stimulus-response model, accommodation and equilibration. The study implicates that any process of learning should be fueled by internal motivation that sparks the learner's power. Learners shouldn't be hasty and jump to conclusions, instead they should do their best to critically analyze events so that they can solve dilemmas they face daily. Another significant implication is the use of learning contracts to enhance fruitful learning. Finally, some recommendations were stated at the end of the study.


Abstract This study employed the Cobb–Douglas stochastic frontier production function to measure the level of technical efficiency among smallholder cassava farmers in Central Madagascar. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 180 cassava farmers in the region and from this sample, input–output data were obtained using the cost route approach. The parameters of the stochastic frontier production function were estimated using the maximum likelihood method. The results of the analysis showed that individual farm-level technical efficiency was about 79%. The study found education, gender and age to be indirectly and significantly related to technical efficiency at a 1% level of probability, and to household size at a 5% level. The coefficient for occupational status was positive and highly significant at a 1% level. The results show that the study's cassava farmers are not fully technically efficient, showing a mean score of .79%, and suggesting that opportunities still exist for increasing efficiency among the farmers. There is a need, therefore, to ensure that these farmers have access to the appropriate inputs, especially land and capital. The results also call for land reform policies to be introduced, aimed at making more land available, especially to the younger and full-time female farmers.


Creating realistic and natural-sounding synthetic speech remains a big challenge for voice identities unseen during training. As there is growing interest in synthesizing voices of new speakers, here we investigate the ability of normalizing flows in text-to-speech (TTS) and voice conversion (VC) modes to extrapolate from speakers observed during training to create unseen speaker identities. Firstly, we create an approach for TTS and VC, and then we comprehensively evaluate our methods and baselines in terms of intelligibility, naturalness, speaker similarity, and ability to create new voices. We use both objective and subjective metrics to benchmark our techniques on 2 evaluation tasks: zero-shot and new voice speech synthesis. The goal of the former task is to measure the precision of the conversion to an unseen voice. The goal of the latter is to measure the ability to create new voices. Extensive evaluations demonstrate that the proposed approach systematically allows to obtain state-of-the-art performance in zero-shot speech synthesis and creates various new voices, unobserved in the training set. We consider this work to be the first attempt to synthesize new voices based on mel-spectrograms and normalizing flows, along with a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the TTS and VC modes.


A reduction in capital tax rates generates substantial dynamic responses within the framework of the standard neoclassical growth model. The short-run revenue loss after a tax cut is partly — or, depending on parameter values, even completely — o¤set by growth in the long-run, due to the resulting incentives to further accumulate capital. We study how the dynamic response of government revenue to a tax cut changes if we allow a Ramsey economy to engage in international trade: the open economy's ability to reallocate resources between labor-intensive and capital-intensive industries reduces the negative e¤ect of factor accumulation on factor returns, thus encouraging the economy to accumulate more than it would do under autarky. We explore the quantitative implications of this intuition for the US in terms of two issues recently treated in the literature: dynamic scoring and the La¤er curve. Our results demonstrate that international trade enhances the response of government revenue to tax cuts by a relevant amount. In our benchmark calibration, a reduction in the capital-income tax rate has virtually no e¤ect on government revenues in steady state.


Gold–copper nanoparticles (Au1−xCux NPs) have been reported as a versatile system to study various aspects related to the colloidal synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles. In this work, Au1−xCux NPs are synthesized via a one pot approach using equimolar amounts of Au and Cu. Different compositions are obtained by changing the reaction temperature. By taking aliquots at crucial stages of the synthesis and combining several techniques, such as elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, it was possible to shed light on the synthesis mechanism: the formation of Au NPs occurs at low temperature, then the higher the synthesis temperature the higher the Cu content in the NPs. In parallel to the Au NPs formation, results of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses carried out in scanning transmission electron microscopy mode suggest the formation of a Cu-rich phase at the early stages of the synthesis. Such a phase, not detectable by X-ray diffraction, acts as a reservoir of Cu species that are slowly released to form the Au1−xCux alloy NPs through a digestive ripening-like process. The reaction temperature and annealing time affect the final Au : Cu ratio but had no significant effect on the final size of the particles, which for all compositions is approximately 14 nm.


Abstract. The management of sediment and other non-point source (NPS) pollution has proven difficult, and requires a sound understanding of particle movement through the drainage system. The primary objective of this investigation was to obtain an understanding of NPS sediment source(s), transport, and storage within the Mkabela Basin, a representative agricultural catchment within the KwaZulu–Natal Midlands of eastern South Africa, by combining geomorphic, hydrologic and geochemical fingerprinting analyses. The Mkabela Basin can be subdivided into three distinct subcatchments that differ in their ability to transport and store sediment along the axial valley. Headwater (upper catchment) areas are characterized by extensive wetlands that act as significant sediment sinks. Mid-catchment areas, characterized by higher relief and valley gradients, exhibit few wetlands, but rather are dominated by a combination of alluvial and bedrock channels that are conducive to sediment transport. The lower catchment exhibits a low-gradient alluvial channel that is boarded by extensive riparian wetlands that accumulate large quantities of sediment (and NPS pollutants). Fingerprinting studies suggest that silt- and clay-rich layers found within wetland and reservoir deposits of the upper and upper-mid subcatchments are derived from the erosion of fine-grained, valley bottom soils frequently utilized as vegetable fields. Coarser-grained deposits within these wetlands and reservoirs result from the erosion of sandier hillslope soils extensively utilized for sugar cane, during relatively high magnitude runoff events that are capable of transporting sand-sized sediment off the slopes. Thus, the source of sediment to the axial valley varies as a function of sediment size and runoff magnitude. Sediment export from upper to lower catchment areas was limited until the early 1990s, in part because the upper catchment wetlands were hydrologically disconnected from lower parts of the watershed during low to moderate flood events. The construction of a drainage ditch through a previously unchanneled wetland altered the hydrologic connectivity of the catchment, allowing sediment to be transported from the headwaters to the lower basin where much of it was deposited within riparian wetlands. The axial drainage system is now geomorphically and hydrologically connected during events capable of overflowing dams located throughout the study basin. The study indicates that increased valley connectivity partly negated the positive benefits of controlling sediment/nutrient exports from the catchment by means of upland based, best management practices.


SUMMARY: Single-step erythromycin-resistant strains of Streptococcus pyogenes 56188 fell into two classes: whereas class A mutants were sensitive to lincomycin and carried mutations transducible by phage A 25, class B mutations conferred lincomycin cross-resistance and failed to be transducible under the conditions employed. Recombination and cotransduction experiments allowed the assigning of at least 10 of 13 class A mutations to the same linkage group. From interclass crosses recombinants emerged at frequencies comparable with those at which the donor markers were integrated into wild type. The resistance to three macrolides and lincomycin of interclass recombinants, carrying mutations which were not cotransducible, was related to the resistance levels determined by the individual mutations. The pheno-typic properties of the ery mutants together with their genetic relationship lead to the conclusion that there are at least two loci governing resistance to erythromycin in strain 56188 of S. pyogenes.


Correspondence: emilio Bajetta Medical Oncology Unit 2, Fondazione iRCCS "istituto Nazionale dei Tumori", via venezian 1, 20133 Milan, italy Tel +39 02 23902500 Fax +39 02 23902149 email email@example.com Abstract: Prevention of nausea and vomiting is the main goal of antiemetic treatment in cancer patients scheduled to receive chemotherapy. To prevent acute emesis, antiemetics should be administered just before chemotherapy and patients should be protected for up to 24 hours after chemotherapy initiation. The emetogenic potential of chemotherapeutic agents guides clinicians towards the most appropriate antiemetic prophylaxis. Current guidelines recommend the use of 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist (RA) either alone or in combination with dexamethasone and/or a neurokinin-1 RA both in the acute and delayed phases. The second-generation 5-HT 3 RA palonosetron exhibits a longer half-life and a higher binding affinity than older antagonists. Palonosetron has been approved by the FDA for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients scheduled to receive either moderately (MEC) or highly emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC) and for the prevention of delayed CINV in patients receiving MEC. The present review will discuss the role of palonosetron in the prevention of acute CINV.


In the era of information overload, recommender systems (RSs) have become an indispensable part of online service platforms. Traditional RSs estimate user interests and predict their future behaviors by utilizing correlations in the observational historical activities, their profiles, and the content of interacted items. However, since the inherent causal reasons that lead to the observed users' behaviors are not considered, multiple types of biases could exist in the generated recommendations. In addition, the causal motives that drive user activities are usually entangled in these RSs, where the explainability and generalization abilities of recommendations cannot be guaranteed. To address these drawbacks, recent years have witnessed an upsurge of interest in enhancing traditional RSs with causal inference techniques. In this survey, we provide a systematic overview of causal RSs and help readers gain a comprehensive understanding of this promising area. We start with the basic concepts of traditional RSs and their limitations due to the lack of causal reasoning ability. We then discuss how different causal inference techniques can be introduced to address these challenges, with an emphasis on debiasing, explainability promotion, and generalization improvement. Furthermore, we thoroughly analyze various evaluation strategies for causal RSs, focusing especially on how to reliably estimate their performance with biased data if the causal effects of interests are unavailable. Finally, we provide insights into potential directions for future causal RS research.


Droplet evaporation has been intensively investigated in past decades owing to its emerging applications in diverse fields of science and technology. Yet the role transport mechanisms has been the subject of a heated debate, especially the presence of Marangoni flow in water droplets. This work aims to draw a clear picture of the switching transport mechanisms inside a drying pinned sessile water droplet in both the presence and absence of thermocapillarity by developing a comprehensive model that accounts for all pertinent physics in both phases as well as interfacial phenomena at the interface. The model reveals a hitherto unexplored mixed radial and buoyant flow by shedding light on the transition from buoyancy induced Rayleigh flow to the radial flow causing coffee ring effect. Predictions of the model excellently match previous experimental results across varying substrate temperatures only in the absence of Marangoni flow. When thermocapillarity is accounted for, strong surface flows shape the liquid velocity field during most of the droplet lifetime and the model starts to overestimate evaporation rates with increasing substrate temperature.


Life is certainly not a fairytale and in this kind of situation, "happily ever after" is not very common. These are the stories of five women-survivors of domestic violence who dreamed of having a happy family, but in the end, their dreams contradicted reality. This interpretivist qualitative study was designed to look into a deeper understanding of collective accounts of women-survivors of domestic violence. The narrative inquiry was employed using the in-depth interview method. The study revealed that these women experienced various forms of domestic violence and were caused by men's bad habits, problems arising from the family, and jealousy of a man or a woman. Several strategies were employed by these women to improve their lives. This tough decision to free themselves from the abuse made them better individuals, developed a stronger bond with their children, and increased faith in God. Keywords - Domestic Violence, Violence against Women, and Children, Survivors


Purpose: We examined the prognostic impact of specific KRAS mutations in patients with stage III colon adenocarcinoma receiving adjuvant FOLFOX alone or combined with cetuximab in a phase III trial (N0147). Analysis was restricted to BRAF–wild-type tumors, because BRAF mutation was associated with poor prognosis, and BRAF and KRAS mutations are mutually exclusive. Experimental Design: The seven most common KRAS mutations in codon 12 and codon 13 were examined in 2,478 BRAF–wild-type tumors. Because KRAS mutations in codon 12 (n = 779) or 13 (n = 220) were not predictive of adjuvant cetuximab benefit, study arms were pooled for analysis. Disease-free survival (DFS) was evaluated by HRs using Cox models. Results: KRAS mutations in codon 12 (multivariate HR, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.28–1.80; P < 0.0001) or codon 13 (multivariate HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.04–1.77; P = 0.0248) were significantly associated with shorter DFS compared with patients with wild-type KRAS/BRAF tumors, independent of covariates. KRAS codon 12 mutations were independently associated with proficient mismatch repair (P < 0.0001), proximal tumor site (P < 0.0001), low grade, age, and sex, whereas codon 13 mutations were associated with proximal site (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: KRAS mutations in either codon 12 or 13 are associated with inferior survival in patients with resected stage III colon cancer. These data highlight the importance of accurate molecular characterization and the significant role of KRAS mutations in both codons in the progression of this malignancy in the adjuvant setting. Clin Cancer Res; 20(11); 3033–43. ©2014 AACR.


Odorous gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulphide produced by anaerobic bacteria are emitted when palm oil mill effluent (POME) is treated via anaerobic digestion. Although odour is a nuisance rather than a hazardous nature most of the times, sensory annoyance complaints provoke local authority to seek for feasible mitigation. Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) under the jurisdiction of the Air Division has proposed an odour emission limit of 12 000 OUm –3 for palm oil mills recently. The objective of this article is to establish the anaerobic pond odour concentration at palm oil mill using open ponding system for POME treatment, identify ammonia (NH 3 ) and hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S) gas content in odour sample collected from respective anaerobic pond, and establish the odour concentration (OUm –3 ) at residential locations close to a palm oil mill using open ponding system, covered lagoons and tank digester for POME treatment. The odour sampling and assessment were performed according to MS 1963:2007 Air Quality – determination of odour concentration by dynamic olfactometry with enhanced VDI3940 Grid Method. Results showed that odour concentration at source of anaerobic pond ranged from 44 135-85 012 OUm –3 while H 2 S content ranged from 15.9-103.9 ppm and NH 3 content ranged from 4.1-16.6 ppm. Odour concentrations at residential locations are often dominated by local odour sources such as chicken farms. Odour emission levels at all surveyed residential areas identified as palm oil mills origin were well below 10 OUm –3 most of the times although high level of up to 108.4 OUm –3 has been observed occasionally. Thus, the proposed odour limit value needs to be reviewed and justified based on further study with focus on more data collection, odour control guidelines, community odour impact survey, inclusion limit values for odorous chemical substances, odour regulation framework, odour assessment methods and odour management plan guidelines.


Abstract All Zapad exercises which took place after the collapse of the former Soviet Union (in 1999, 2009, 2013 and 2017) attracted the attention of neighboring countries and led to different estimates and conclusions. Every exercise had something particular happening which could not be explained or understood in the West. Step by step, while analyzing Zapad exercises and changes in Russia and its armed forces, sufficient information was gathered allowing for the partial explanation of the behavior of Russian forces during different exercises, and the reasons why they acted in such a manner. Contrary to NATO and a majority of Western countries, the Russian military plans and executes military activities differently. This could be explained by the czarist and Soviet military giving preference to Prussian General Staff (GS) traditions and philosophy. The General Staff, which advocated its own methods, allowed the national leadership to manage and use military instruments more effectively. The recent Russian military tends to keep those traditions alive, while believing that modern technological progress could reduce (if not eliminate) the weaknesses of the Prussian GS philosophy and increase its stronger aspects. The Russian military believes that detailed operation planning in advance, with synchronization of actions in its core and the ability of forces to implement plans and the leadership to control and command an entire operation can turn the military into an effective fighting and foreign policy tool. Zapad exercises have shown that they are used to test the concept and planning of a potential Russian war with a strong opponent in the West (Zapad operation). The concept and plan are both backed up with adequate assumptions. An entire operation (war) is planned to be waged in three stages. The essence of the war (and plan) is a synchronization of military actions in time and space. Since 1999, all of this has been tested, in the earlier years in separate stages, and during Zapad 2017 tests were carried out in a more complex way and covered all three stages. It is worth to note that at least two times (in 2009 and 2017), Russia used Zapad exercises not only to test its plans and troops, but as a deception and strategic communication message as well. It appears that in both cases, some success was achieved.


Emerging virtual technology suggests that we are moving into a new age of technology, Web 3.0, in which social networks and 3D virtual environments are prominent. Many new business opportunities present themselves in this context. However, business success in the new virtual world requires an understanding of how people behave in virtual worlds so that they can be effectively and efficiently managed. This paper examines how people behave in virtual worlds by using a Triandis interpersonal behavior model. The data were collected in Cyworld, and the results were tested by Lisrel 8.70. We examined two types of behaviors, giving information and obtaining information. We show that although behavioral intention plays a role in shaping virtual world behavior, habit plays a major role in determining whether people will give information and obtain information. What is more interesting is that behavior related to obtaining information is a strong antecedent of behavior related to giving information in virtual worlds. The conclusion provides several implications for both researchers and virtual world developers.


Purpose: To determine the survival rate of inhaled MSCs via different types of nebulizers, and their effect on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis

Methods: We evaluated the survival rate of MSCs nebulized ex vivo via 3 types of nebulizers – ultrasound, jet and mesh nebulizers. Subsequently we used a nebulizer which showed the best result in cells viability. At the next stage 15 rabbits received instillation of bleomycin solution 2,5 mg/kg in the posterior lobe of the right lung through the ultrathin bronchoscope. The next day 5 rabbits were intravenously introduced 2 x106 MSCs, other 5 animals inhaled an equivalent respirable dose of MSCs, the rest ones were used as control. At 28 days we assessed the morphological changes and cytokine levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF).

Results: The highest survival rate of MSCs was detected after using jet nebulizer (72%). Morphologic and ELISA data are presented in the table and figure.

View this table:

Morphologic fibrosis score and BALF cytokines in study groups

![Figure][1]

Conclusion: Inhalation of MSCs via jet nebulizer provides a significant antifibrotic effect in a bleomycin induced lung fibrosis similar with benefits of intravenous MSCs transplantation.

 [1]: pending:yes


Author(s): Nitsche, Heino | Abstract: We study Deinococcus radiodurans, a nonpathogenic prokaryote able to withstand high doses of ionizing radiation, for bioremediation and biostabilization of heavy metals and actinides to limit the migration of these contaminants. Our goal is to develop a system for D. radiodurans to bioprecipitate actinides similar to that of a genetically engineered strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa capable of polyphosphate accumulation, inducible degradation and secretion, and UO22+ precipitation. The radioresistance of D. radiodurans to ionizing gamma radiation has been well studied, yet is not well understood1. Several DNA repair mechanisms have been discovered, yet survivability studies are typically done under nutrient-rich conditions at a single growth stage. Although a minimal irradiation medium has been described2, a clear study of the effect of different variables on survivability in a nutrient-starved environment has not been performed. We have shown that D. radiodurans grown in typical TGY complex media displays increasing radioresistance with increasing age of the culture at the time of harvest; however, the dose below which there is little loss of reproductive viability does not change significantly with growth phase. Higher irradiation rates in nutrient-starved medium display higher survivability. These results indicate that there is a threshold below which the radiation dose is not sufficient to overcome the cells' passive defense mechanisms, such as radical scavenging by carotenoids in the cell wall. Additional radiation resistance is then due to active resistance induced by cell damage, which can be related to aging. Using the 88" cyclotron at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, we also studied the effects of light-ion irradiation in aqueous suspension and show increasing lethality corresponding to increasing linear energy transfer (LET) values of the radiation. Previous studies only examined heavy ion effects on cells supported on solid medium3. To better und


Drosophila species communicate the presence of parasitoid wasps to naïve individuals. This observation suggests a rudimentary Drosophila social structure. Communication between closely related species is efficient, while more distantly related species exhibit a dampened, partial communication. Partial communication between some species is enhanced following a period of cohabitation, suggesting that species-specific variations in communication "dialects" can be learned through social interactions. However, it remains unclear as to how the behavioral acquisition and how learning dialects is facilitated by distinct brain regions. In this study, we have identified six regions of the Drosophila brain essential for dialect learning, including the odorant receptor Or69a. Furthermore, we pinpoint subgroups of neurons such as motion detecting neurons in the optic lobe, layer 5 of the fan-shaped body, and the D glomerulus in the antennal lobe, where activation of each are necessary for dialect learning. These results demonstrate that Drosophila can display complex social behaviors with inputs to multiple regions of the Drosophila brain and unique subsets of neurons that must integrate olfactory, visual and motion cues.


Problem statement: In this study, an attempt had been made to compare the performance of the reactive ad-hoc routing protocols using OPNE T modeler with respect to increasing number of nodes in the network. Approach: In present study, we compared various reactive rout ing protocols such as Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV), Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) and Temporally Ordered Routing Algorithm (TORA), on the basis of their throughput by increasing number of nodes in the network. Results: Comparative study of routing protocols on the basi s of throughput of a network on the basis of number of i ncreasing nodes in the network. Conclusion/Recommendations: Three routing protocols are being studied on the b asis of the throughput of the network with respect to the numbe r of increasing nodes in the network and had been concluded that TORA performs better for if the number of nodes in a network are increased.


Linear echoendoscopes with large instrument channels enable EUS-guided interventions in organs and anatomical spaces in proximity to the gastrointestinal tract. Novel devices and tools designed for EUS-guided transluminal interventions allow various new applications and improve the efficacy and safety of these procedures. New-generation biopsy needles provide higher histology rates and require less passes. Specially designed stents and stent insertion devices enable intra- and extra-hepatic bile and pancreatic duct stenting as well as gallbladder drainage. Currently, EUS-guided biliary drainage in obstructive jaundice due to malignant distal bile duct obstruction is feasible and safe when ERCP has failed. It might replace ERCP as first choice intervention in future. EUS-guided transmural stenting is regarded as the preferred intervention in the management of symptomatic peripancreatic fluid collections. Creating a new anastomosis between different organs such as gastrojejunostomy has also become possible with lumen-apposing stents. EUS-guided creation of a gastrogastrostomy is a promising novel technique to access the excluded stomach to facilitate conventional ERCP in patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass anatomy. The role of EUS in tumor ablation and targeted angiotherapy is also constantly expanding. In this review, we report on the newest developments of therapeutic EUS within the past 4 years.


Precise knowledge of the age and magnitude of past earthquakes is essential for characterizing models of earthquake recurrence and key to forecasting future earthquakes. We present 28 new radiocarbon analyses that refine the chronology of the last five earthquakes at the Bidart Fan site along the Carrizo section of the south central San Andreas Fault, which last ruptured during the Fort Tejon earthquake in A.D. 1857. The new data show that the penultimate earthquake in the Carrizo Plain occurred not earlier than A.D. 1640 and the modeled 95th percentile ranges of the three earlier earthquakes (and their mean) are A.D. 1540–1630 (1585), A.D. 1360–1425 (1393), and A.D. 1280–1340 (1310), indicating an average time interval of 137 ± 44 years between large earthquakes since A.D. 1310 ± 30. A robust earthquake recurrence model of the Carrizo section will require even more well‐dated earthquakes for thorough characterization. However, these new data imply that since A.D. 1310 ± 30, the Carrizo section has failed more regularly and more often than previously thought.


Abstract. Developments in LiDAR technology over the past decades have made LiDAR to become a mature and widely accepted source of geospatial information. This in turn has led to an enormous growth in data volume. The central idea for a file-centric storage of LiDAR point clouds is the observation that large collections of LiDAR data are typically delivered as large collections of files, rather than single files of terabyte size. This split of the dataset, commonly referred to as tiling, was usually done to accommodate a specific processing pipeline. It makes therefore sense to preserve this split. A document oriented NoSQL database can easily emulate this data partitioning, by representing each tile (file) in a separate document. The document stores the metadata of the tile. The actual files are stored in a distributed file system emulated by the NoSQL database. We demonstrate the use of MongoDB a highly scalable document oriented NoSQL database for storing large LiDAR files. MongoDB like any NoSQL database allows for queries on the attributes of the document. As a specialty MongoDB also allows spatial queries. Hence we can perform spatial queries on the bounding boxes of the LiDAR tiles. Inserting and retrieving files on a cloud-based database is compared to native file system and cloud storage transfer speed.


SUMMARY The role of Mycobacterium w (Mw) vaccine as an immunomodulator and immunoprophylactant in the treatment of mycobacterial diseases (leprosy and pulmonary tuberculosis) is well established. The fact that it shares common antigens with leishmanial parasites prompted its assessment as an immunostimulant and as an adjunct to known anti-leishmanials that may help in stimulating the suppressed immune status of Leishmania donovani-infected individuals. The efficacy of Mw vaccine was assessed as an immunomodulator, prophylactically either alone or in combination with anti-leishmanial vaccine, as well as therapeutically as an adjunct to anti-leishmanial treatment in L. donovani-infected hamsters, representing a chronic human Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) model. Similarly, its efficacy was also evaluated in L. donovani-infected BALB/c mice, representing an acute VL model. The preliminary studies revealed that Mw was ineffective as an immunostimulant and/or immunoprophylactant in hamsters infected with L. donovani, as estimated by T-cell immunological responses. However, in the BALB/c mice-VL model it appeared as an effective immunostimulant but a futile prophylactic agent. It is therefore inferred that, contrary to its role in managing tuberculosis and leprosy infections, Mw vaccine has not been successful in controlling VL infection, emphasizing the need to find detailed explanations for the failure of this vaccine against the disease.


Transit operators are interested in strategies to improve service reliability as it is an important measure of performance and level of service. One of the common practices aimed at reducing service unreliability is holding control strategies. The design of these strategies involves the selection of a set of time point stops and the holding criteria for regulating the departure time. The interactions between passenger activity, transit operations, and traffic dynamics must be dynamically modeled to analyze the impacts of holding strategies on transit performance. An evaluation of different holding criteria and the number and location of time point stops was conducted with BusMezzo, a dynamic transit simulation model. The holding strategies were implemented in the model and applied to a high-frequency trunk bus line in Stockholm, Sweden. The analysis of the results considers the implications of holding strategies from both passenger and operator perspectives. The analysis suggests substantial gains are possible by implementing a holding strategy on the basis of the mean headway from the preceding and the succeeding buses. This strategy is the most efficient for passenger time savings as well as fleet costs and crew management.


Increasing evidence supports a role for cytokines as chemical signals in the CNS, either under normal conditions or in the pathologic state. CNS levels of the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) are known to be elevated in several diseases associated with developmental disorders and may contribute to the pathological state. To investigate the potential role of IL-6 in such disorders, neuronal effects of IL-6 were examined during development using an in vitro model system, cultured rat cerebellar granule neurons. The cultures were prepared from 8 d postnatal rat pups and exposed chronically to IL-6 (5 ng/ml) by addition to the culture medium. Neuronal effects of IL-6 were assessed by a comparison of calcium signals produced in control and IL-6 treated neurons by the glutamate receptor agonists NMDA and domoate and by K+ depolarization. IL-6 treatment significantly enhanced the response to NMDA and altered the developmental pattern of NMDA sensitivity, whereas only minor changes were observed for the response to domoate and K+. Reducing extracellular calcium and depleting intracellular stores significantly decreased the amplitude of the response to NMDA in control and IL-6 treated neurons. However, the IL-6 treated neurons were significantly more sensitive to these treatments than control neurons. These results suggest that elevated levels of IL-6 can significantly alter CNS neuron development and response to excitatory transmitters, and that IL-6 pretreatment selectively enhances the intracellular calcium responses to NMDA by altering the relative contribution of extracellular calcium influx and release of calcium from stores to the calcium signal.


Generally, new production technologies are adopted because they will increase profits, mostly due to lower production costs ceteris paribus. In the case of the first-generation crop biotechnologies, however, additional factors play a role. These factors affect the utility functions of individual producers directly, as well as possibly affecting their utility functions indirectly through profits. This article considers the effect that embodied non-pecuniary factors have on the derived demand for a new, firstgeneration crop biotechnology over time. We show that the derived demand for the biotechnology will increase (shift out) at first and then begin to become more inelastic to price increases as adopters get accustomed to, and value more highly, the nonpecuniary benefits. We consider the convenience embodied in the Roundup Ready ® soybean system as an example. Then, as empirical support for the transformation of the elasticity of derived demand, we examine Roundup Ready ® soybean system costs and adoption over the period 1996-2007. The data suggest that, despite recent increases in the system costs of the technology, adoption continued to increase, signaling a relatively inelastic demand response.


This thesis is concerned with the design and application of the prediction method in the NMAS (networked multi-agent system) external consensus problem. The prediction method has been popular in networked single agent systems due to its capability of actively compensating for network-related constraints. This characteristic has motivated researchers to apply the prediction method to closed-loop multi-process controls over network systems. This thesis conducts an in-depth analysis of the suitability of the prediction method for the control of NMAS. In the external consensus problem, NMAS agents must achieve a common output (e.g. water level) that corresponds to the designed consensus protocol. The output is determined by the external reference input, which is provided to only one agent in the NMAS. This agreement is achieved through data exchanges between agents over network communications. In the presence of a network, the existence of network delay and data loss is inevitable. The main challenge in this thesis is thus to design an external consensus protocol with an efficient capability for network constraints compensation. The main contribution of this thesis is the enhancement of the prediction algorithm's capability in NMAS applications. The external consensus protocol is presented for heterogeneous NMAS with four types of network constraints by utilising the developed prediction algorithm. The considered network constraints are constant network delay, asymmetric constant network delay, bounded random network delay, and large consecutive data losses. In the first case, this thesis presents the designed algorithm, which is able to compensate for uniform constant network delay in linear heterogeneous NMAS. The result is accompanied by stability criteria of the whole NMAS, an optimal coupling gains selection analysis, and empirical data from the experimental results. 'Uniform network delay' in this context refers to a situation in which the agent experiences a delay in accessing its own information, which is identical to the delay in data transfer from its neighbouring agent(s) in the network In the second case, this thesis presents an extension of the designed algorithm in the previous chapter, with the enhanced capability of compensating for asymmetric constant network delay in the NMAS. In contrast with the first case—which required the same prediction length as each neighbouring agent, subject to the same values of constant network delay—this case imposed varied constant network delays between agents, which required multi-prediction lengths for each agent. Thus, to simplify the computation, we selected a single prediction length for all agents and determined the possible maximum value of the constant network delay that existed in the NMAS. We tested the designed control algorithm on three heterogeneous pilotscale test rig setups. In the third case, we present a further enhancement of the designed control algorithm, which includes the capability of compensating for bounded random network delay in the NMAS. We achieve this by adding delay measurement signal generator within each agent control system. In this work, the network delay is considered to be half of the measured total delay in the network loop, which can be measured using a ramp signal. This method assumes that the duration for each agent to receive data from its neighbouring agent is equal to the time for the agent's own transmitted data to be received by its neighbouring agent(s). In the final case, we propose a novel strategy for combining the predictive control with a new gain error ratio (GER) formula. This strategy is not only capable of compensating for a large number of consecutive data losses (CDLs) in the external consensus problem; it can also compensate for network constraints without affecting the consensus convergence time of the whole system. Thus, this strategy is not only able to solve the external consensus problem but is also robust to the number of CDL occurrences in NMAS. In each case, the designed control algorithm is compared with a Proportional-Integral (PI) controller. The evaluation of the NMAS output performance is conducted for each by simulations, analytical calculations, and practical experiments. In this thesis, the research work is accomplished through the integration of basic blocks and a bespoke Networked Control toolbox in MATLAB Simulink, together with NetController hardware.


Higgins et al. (2006) report several statistically significant partial correlates with U.S. per capita income growth. However, Levine and Renelt (1992) demonstrate that such correlations are hardly ever robust to changing the combination of conditioning variables included. We ask whether the same is true for the variables identified as important by Higgins et al. Using the extreme bounds analysis of Levine and Renelt, we find that the majority of the partial correlations can be accepted as robust. The variables associated with those partial correlations stand solidly as variables of interest for future studies of U.S. growth.


Although the need of logging messages in secondary storage once they have been received has been stated in several papers that assumed a recoverable failure model, none of them analysed the overhead implied by that logging in case of using reliable broadcasts in a group communication system guaranteeing virtual synchrony. At a glance, it seems an excessive cost for its apparently limited advantages, but there are several scenarios that contradict this intuition. This paper surveys some of these configurations and outlines some benefits of this persistence-related approach.


Uveitis, or inflammation of the uveal tract (i.e., iris, ciliary body, and choroid), results from a heterogeneous collec - tion of disorders of varying etiologies and pathogenic mechanisms. Uveitis is caused by a systemic disease in 30% to 45% of patients. Primary care physicians may be asked to evaluate patients with uveitis when an underlying systemic diagnosis is suspected but not apparent from eye examination or history. If the history, physical examination, and basic laboratory studies do not suggest an underlying cause, serologic tests for syphilis and chest radiography for sarcoidosis and tuberculosis are recommended. Typing for human leukocyte antigen-B27 is appropriate for patients with recurrent anterior uveitis. Because the prevalence of many rheumatologic and infectious diseases is low among persons with uveitis, Lyme serology, antinuclear antibody tests, serum angiotensin-converting enzyme tests, serum lysozyme tests, and tuberculin skin tests can result in false-positive results and are not routinely recommended. Drug- induced uveitis is rare and can occur from days to months after the time of initial exposure. Primary ocular lym- phoma should be considered in persons older than 50 years with persistent intermediate or posterior uveitis that does not respond to anti-inflammatory therapy. (Am Fam Physician. 2014;90(10):711-716. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Family Physicians.)


This article analyzes the export participation of Chilean farms and the relative importance of farm-specific and geographic characteristics in this decision. An export behavior model is estimated using data on 8,284 Chilean farms and a two-stage conditional maximum likelihood procedure. Farm efficiency has a relatively stronger effect than the combined effect of geographic characteristics in increasing the probability of export participation. Farms with skilled (managerial) labor and in regions with higher human capital also have a relatively higher probability of producing for the export market. However, for geographic characteristics to positively affect export participation, farms must achieve a minimum level of efficiency.


In 2008 Sherpa/Romeo was created, and for the first time there was a (relatively) easy way of checking the publisher's policies for journal articles. At the same time, our University, Northampton launched it's repository, NECTAR (Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses & Research). Since 2008 attitudes and awareness of open access amongst academics has changed considerably… or have they? Entitled Open Access… From oblivion to the spotlight, this 10 x 10 slide presentation will take a snap shot of our early days of using a repository, challenges faced, lessons learned and academic attitudes towards open access and how policies have impacted and shaped this and the growth of our repository. With particular emphasis on HEFCE's open access policy, announced in 2014. From comments when asked for accepted manuscripts ranging from "It's in the library" to "I don't need to do anything until 2016" to "my article will likely be submitted to the next REF, can you pay the APC for it"! From zero visibility of research outputs in the repository, to an increase in downloads, correlations between open access and citations and new opportunities for reaching an audience beyond academia. The presentation will then move forward to REF2021 and beyond, as we start to enlarge the spheres of our influence, and not only curate research outputs, but to also have data repositories, to extend open access to chapters, monographs and other outputs. How do we best curate data sets and add value to not only our research outputs, but also to our datasets? What potentially will a repository of 2027 look like? Or will it be obsolete?


Conditions of the posthuman are hastened by the technologies that now fully mediate our brains and nervous systems, a circumstance anticipated by Marshall McLuhan some sixty years ago. In 1977, McLuhan co-developed a media textbook for Canadian high school students. We expand on a selection of the concepts and themes identified in City as Classroom: Understanding Language and Media and query in what ways we might apply a forty-year-old media curriculum to our present-day circumstances. We riff on Marshall McLuhan's prognostications on education during the electric age as a recalibration of his remarkably prescient work and conceptualize a hypercity in which to explore our considerations. We enmesh City as Classroom with the materiality of city spaces and theorize a posthuman critical pedagogy as a call to action.


The growing call of minimizing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitting from energy and transportation products will spur innovation to meet new stringent requirements while striving to preserve significant investments in the current infrastructure. This paper presents quantitative analysis of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on industrial gas turbines to enable carbon sequestration venturing towards emission free operation. This study will show the effect of using EGR on gas turbine performance and operation, combustion characteristics, and demonstrate potential hybrid solutions with detailed constituent accounting. Both single shaft and two shaft gas turbines for power generation and mechanically driven equipment are considered for application of this technology. One key element is assessing the combustion system operating at reduced O2 levels within the industrial gas turbine. With the gas turbine behavior operating with EGR defined at a reasonable operating state, a parametric study shows rates of CO2 sequestration along with quantifying supplemental O2 required at the inlet, if needed, to sustain combustion. With rates of capture known, a further exploration is examined reviewing potential utilities, monetizing these sequestered constituents. Ultimately, the objective is to preview a potential future of operating industrial gas turbines in a non-emissive and in some cases carbon negative manner while still using hydrocarbon fuel.


On the basis of density matrix formalism a mathematical model describing lasing in quantum well semiconductor nanostructures is developed. In its frame, an inversionless room-temperature operating amplifier or laser widely tunable in the far-infrared and terahertz (THz) region is suggested. Its working frequency can be varied by several times via the simple change of the mid-infrared pump power. For the pump beam intensity I = 2.9 × 107 W/cm2 the output frequency of such a device is expected to be ≃1.27 THz and the corresponding gain ≃0.73 cm-1. For I = 8.6 × 107 W/cm2 its working frequency is 1.9 times higher and the gain reaches 10.95 cm-1. The suggested amplifier or laser is expected to operate in the pulsed mode and to be used as a compact and convenient tunable source of the far-infrared and THz radiation for fundamental studies and various applications.


The upward plasma drift and equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) in the Earth's ionosphere are strongly influenced by the zonal electric field, which is generated by the wind dynamo. Specification and forecasting of thermospheric winds thus plays an important role in ionospheric weather prediction. In this study, we assess the impact of assimilating thermospheric wind observations from the Michelson Interferometer for Global High‐resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) instrument on NASA's Ionospheric CONnection (ICON) explorer satellite on the ionospheric electrodynamics. Empirical localization functions (ELFs) of ICON/MIGHTI zonal and meridional winds are also computed and applied to our data assimilation experiments, enabling improved assimilation of the ICON/MIGHTI wind observations. A set of observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) are performed using the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere‐ionosphere eXtension (WACCMX) with data assimilation provided by the Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART) ensemble adjustment Kalman filter. The results show that assimilating the ICON/MIGHTI wind observations with the ELF improves the zonal and meridional wind root mean square error (RMSE) by 16%–18% and 7%–10%, respectively. The improved wind specification further improves the low‐latitude E × B vertical drift RMSE by about 18%. The response of electron densities is slower, and the overall impact is smaller. The improvement of the ionosphere F‐region maximum electron density (NmF2) between ±45° is about 8% after 18 days of data assimilation.


OBJECTIVES
To assess differences in risk factors, clinical presentation, and course of illness between children infected with penicillin-sensitive and drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (DRSP).

DESIGN
A retrospective cohort study conducted in Uruguay and Argentina using information from a hospital-based surveillance system. Hospitalized children 5 years of age and younger who had S pneumoniae isolated from a normally sterile site between June 1993 and October 1996 were eligible. Hospital records were linked with surveillance data. Both stratified univariate analysis and logistic regression was completed.

RESULTS
Of the 380 children eligible for the study, 274 records (72%) were available for review. Ninety-nine children (36%) had DRSP; 46 showed intermediate susceptibility (minimum inhibitory concentration, 0.12-1.0 microg/mL) and 53 showed high-level resistance (minimum inhibitory concentration >/=2.0 microg/mL). Children with meningitis were less likely to have DRSP than those with other forms of invasive disease (relative risk = 0. 5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.2-0.9). Risk factors associated with DRSP were use of penicillin or ampicillin in the 3 months before illness (odds ratio = 2.9; 95% CI, 1.5-5.7) and possession of private medical coverage (odds ratio = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2-5.0). Response to therapy, including response to penicillin or ampicillin among children with nonmeningeal invasive disease, course of illness, and clinical outcome did not differ significantly between children infected with penicillin-susceptible or penicillin-resistant isolates.

CONCLUSION
In this study, previous use of penicillin or ampicillin and private medical coverage were associated with having DRSP. Children with nonmeningeal invasive disease responded equally well to penicillin regardless of the penicillin susceptibility of their pneumococcal isolate.


Abstract Improved partner notification (PN) after HIV diagnosis could help control HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM). However, there is little evidence exploring what this experience is like for Australian MSM and how achievable it is in the era of the Internet and smartphones. Fifteen of 39 invited MSM recently diagnosed with HIV undertook a semistructured interview about PN. Interviews were thematically analyzed using a combined deductive/inductive approach. Three main themes arose: fear of PN and HIV disclosure, partners' unexpected reactions, and the need for more patient support. MSM found PN difficult and uncomfortable and described fear about potential repercussions of PN; however, they felt it was the right thing to do. Regular partners were more likely to be notified, and in person, because of the availability of contact information but more notably because of a sense of moral responsibility. Men commonly had few contact details for casual partners and preferred PN strategies that allowed them to remain anonymous, largely reflecting the reasons for and ways in which they met casual partners: online or through apps and predominantly for once‐off, anonymous sex. Most described unexpected positive responses from partners who were contacted personally by the men. Our study also showed that participants required professional support to carry out PN, especially with casual partners, as well as support around understanding the implications of and treatments relating to being HIV positive. PN could be improved by offering more options that allow the index patient to remain anonymous, particularly when notifying casual partners.


Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune mediated, inflammatory demyelinating neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a well-established animal model of MS. MS is considered as one of the most important causes of disability in adults. It is a chronic progressive, potentially disabling disorder with considerable social impact and economic consequences. Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to cure MS, the treatments available up to now have centered their action on the anti-inflammatory and disease course-modifying effect, and the purpose of treatment is to prevent recurrence of relapses and accumulation of disability. In addition, all the approved drugs for MS treatment have potentially serious side effects.Therefore the aim of the present study was to investigate the protective as well as the possible ameliorative effects of N. sativa seeds (a natural non-toxic product) in EAE-induced Wistar female rats.


Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] lines homozygous for the mips allele (mips lines) have reduced phytate P and raffinose saccharides in the protein meal. Less phytate is desirable for reducing the P content of manure from nonruminant animals and less raffinose saccharides increases the amount of metabolizable energy available to them. Field trials indicated that seedling emergence percentage of mips lines was less for seed produced in a subtropical environment than a temperate environment. The objective of this study was to determine if field emergence of mips lines is influenced by the environment used for seed production. Seed of six mips lines and four commercial cultivars (Mips lines) produced in four temperate and 12 subtropical environments during 2 yr was evaluated for field emergence percentage, seed viability percentage, and germination percentage in warm germination, cold vigor, and accelerated aging tests. The field emergence percentage of mips lines was significantly less than Mips lines for all seed sources. The mips lines had a mean field emergence of 63% for temperate sources and 8% for subtropical sources while Mips lines had a mean field emergence of 77% for temperate sources and 83% for subtropical sources. The mean seed viability percentage for the mips lines based on the tetrazolium test of 88% for temperate sources and 70% for subtropical sources accounted for only part of the differences in field emergence. Differences in field emergence between the mips and Mips lines were not consistently predicted by the warm germination and cold vigor tests for temperate sources. The accelerated aging test effectively differentiated the field emergence potential of the mips and Mips lines for all seed sources. Seed source should be a consideration when evaluating the field emergence of mips lines in a breeding program or for obtaining acceptable plant populations in commercial fields.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to present the genetic and clinical data of the largest cohort of Turkish cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS) patients.

METHODS
This is a two-centre descriptive study of Turkish children with clinical diagnosis of CAPS. NLRP3 analyses were performed by Sanger sequencing and by massively parallel sequencing. ASC dependent NF-κB activation and transfection-induced THP-1 cell death assays determined the functional consequences of the detected variants. Disease activity and response to anti interleukin 1 (anti-IL-1) treatment was also assessed.

RESULTS
Heterozygous germline NLRP3 mutation was detected in 8 of 14 enrolled patients (57.1%). Two novel somatic mutations Y560H and G307D were found which induced both THP-1 cell death and ASC dependent NF-kB activation. With anti-IL-1 treatment the disease activity was improved in all patients except one. Except two patients with macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) attack, there were no serious adverse events requiring hospitalisation.

CONCLUSIONS
CAPS should be considered in all patients with typical symptoms even if Sanger-based genetic analysis is negative, since a considerable number of patients have mosaicism. Treatment should be patient-tailored and MAS should be considered as a rare complication.


Research methods in lifespan development include single-factor designs that either follow a single cohort of individuals over time or compare age groups at a single time point. The two basic types of studies involving the manipulation of the single factors of age, cohort, and time of measurement are longitudinal and cross-sectional. Each of these has advantages and disadvantages, but both are characterized by limitations because they cannot definitively separate the joint influences of age, cohort, and type of measurement. The third group of designs involves manipulation of two or more levels of each factor to permit inferences to be drawn that separate personal from social aging.
 The theoretical problems involved in both the single-factor and sequential designs combine with practical issues to present lifespan developmental researchers with a number of choices in approaching the variables of interest. The theoretical problems include the inevitable linking of personal with social aging, particularly evident in single-factor designs, and the fact that selective attrition leads to the differential availability of increasingly select older samples. Practical problems include the need to assign participants to appropriate age intervals and such clerical issues as the need to track participants in follow-up investigations. Researchers must also be aware of methodological issues related to task equivalence across individuals of different ages and the need to covary for potential confounds that could lead to differences across groups of participants due to such factors as education and health status.
 The increasing recognition of the need to address these issues is leading to a body of literature that reflects the growing sophistication of the field along with the more widespread availability of sophisticated analytic methods. As these improvements continue to raise the level of scholarship in the field, there will be a greater understanding of both ontogenetic change as well as the influence of context on development from childhood through later life.


Now a days farmers are struggling hard in the agricultural fields round the clock. They do their field work in the morning session and irrigate their land during night time with intermittent intervals. Farmers working in the farm lands are dependent on the rains and boar wells for the irrigation of land. Even if farm land has water pump, manual intervention by farmers is required to turn ON/OFF pump whenever needed. The task of irrigating fields is becoming quite difficult for the farmers due to lack of regularity in their work and negligence on their part because sometimes they switch on the motor and then forget to switch of which may lead to wastage of water. The proposed system, tried to minimize manual intervention by the farmer and helps the farmer to ON/OFF the motor and provide update status of the operation carried out in the agricultural fields via SMS with the help of GSM modem and monitor Temperature, Voltage, Current and Dry run of the motor because farmers are not familiar with the technical problems occurred in the motor.


Denitrification is commonly measured using in situ benthic chambers or laboratory incu- bations of sediment cores. These techniques are similar in principle but differ considerably in cost and practicality. Despite widespread use of both techniques, it is uncertain whether they give com- parable results. We compared cores and chambers for measuring fluxes (dissolved oxygen (DO), N2, NH4 + , NO3 - and NO2 - ) and denitrification efficiency at 2 sites in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia. Overall, denitrification efficiency was not significantly different between cores and chambers, but fluxes of DO, NO3 - and NO2 - differed. Chambers demonstrated higher levels of oxygen consumption and net fluxes of NO3 - and NO2 - out of the sediment, suggesting that denitrification and nitrification were closely coupled. In contrast, there was a greater relative importance for uncoupled denitrifica- tion in cores as indicated by reduced oxygen consumption and net fluxes of NO3 - into the sediment. We conclude that cores and chambers give different flux results and therefore are not comparable techniques for measuring denitrification. To ascertain the cause of this, we tested the hypothesis that cores failed to adequately incorporate the impacts of macrofauna on fluxes, due to the small size of cores relative to chambers. However, densities of macrofauna were not significantly different in cores and chambers. We then hypothesised that disturbance during core collection, transportation, and handling may account for differences, but cores deployed in situ and in the laboratory gave similar results. We suggest that compression of sediment during insertion of core cylinders into the sediment may account for differences between core and chamber fluxes.


We compare the Hartz reforms in Germany with three other major labor market activation reforms carried out by center-left governments. Britain and Germany developed radically neoliberal "mandatory" activation policies, whereas in the Netherlands and Ireland radical activation change took a very different "enabling" form. The Irish and German cases were path deviant, the British and Dutch path dependent. We explain why Germany underwent "mandatory" and path deviant activation by focusing on two features of the policy discourse. First, the elite level discourse was "ensilaged" sealing policy formation off from dissenting actors. This is what the British and German cases had in common and the result was reform that identified long term unemployment as social delinquency rather than market failure. Second, although the German policy-making system lacked the "authoritative" features that facilitated reform in the British case, and the Irish policy-making system lacked the "reflexive" mechanisms that facilitated reform in the Dutch case, in both Germany and Ireland the wider legitimating discourses were reshaped by novel institutional vehicles (the Hartz Commission and FAS) that served to fundamentally alter system-constitutive perceptions about policy. The findings suggest that major reform of welfare-to-work policy may be much more malleable than previously thought.


This paper presents a novel approach to the classic Taylor impact experiment using an ultra-high-speed camera and mirror arrangement to measure the elliptical cross-section of a specimen in situ as a function of time. This optical measurement technique is used to quantify the key aspects of material behaviour, such as the area strain perpendicular to the impact direction and the lengths of the semimajor and semiminor axes of the elliptical sample cross-section, which were caused by anisotropic plastic deformation, as functions of time and the axial position. The application of this technique gives access to previously unattainable data on the anisotropic plastic deformation of Taylor impact specimens and therefore has the potential to provide a more rigorous method of validation for anisotropic constitutive material models. To demonstrate the feasibility of the new method, experiments were carried out on cylindrical Taylor impact specimens machined from strongly textured high-purity zirconium plate. The surface geometry of a recovered specimen was measured using a coordinate measurement machine and compared with the optically measured surface geometry reconstructed from post-impact images. Excellent agreement between the two methods was found.


The heavy fragments in heavy-ion collisions are finally formed after the hot prefragments undergo sequential decay, of whom the temperature should be much lower than that of prefragments. Using the double ratio (DR) method, the isotopic thermometer (Tiso) for heavy fragment is constructed using the yield of heavy isotopes. Tiso of heavy fragment is obtained by analyzing the measured data in the 1A GeV 124,136Xe and 140A MeV 48Ca/64Ni reactions. Result shows that Tiso varies from 0.5 MeV to 10 MeV. But most Tiso is around 1 ± 0.5 MeV, which is much lower than temperature of light particles. Result also indicates that the difference between Tiso of heavy fragments in different reactions is very small, and Tiso is independent on the size of the reaction system, the incident energy and the neutron-richness of the projectile.


ABSTRACT Xu, H.; Fu, M., and Jia, C., 2018. Classification method of marine tourism resource of least square support vector machines based on particle swarm algorithm. In: Liu, Z.L. and Mi, C. (eds.), Advances in Sustainable Port and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, pp. 632–636. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. In the current marine tourism resources classification research, the potential relationship between various types of marine tourism resources characteristics can not be fully used. The dimensional Curse and low accuracy can not be solved in the process of marine tourism resources classification. Thus, this article proposes a method for automatically selecting parameters of support vector machine based on particle swarm optimization and applies it on marine tourism resources classification. This method maps the input space of marine tourism resources to a high-dimensional feature space through non-linear transformation and finds the optimal linear classification surface of marine tourism resources classification in this new space. This method takes the classification accuracy as the fitness function of optimization problem and uses the particle swarm optimization algorithm to optimize parameters of support vector machine.


The paper focuses on the seismic responses of a hyperbolic cooling tower resting on soil foundation represented by the three-parameter Vlasov elastic soil model. The three-parameter soil model eliminates the necessity of field testing to determine soil parameters such as reaction modulus and shear parameter. These parameters are calculated using an iterative procedure depending on the soil surface vertical deformation profile in the model. The soil and tower system are modeled in SAP2000 structural analysis program using a computing tool coded in MATLAB. The tool provides a two-way data transfer between SAP2000 and MATLAB with the help of Open Application Programming Interface (OAPI) feature of SAP2000. The response spectrum analyses of the tower system with circular V-shaped supporting columns and annular raft foundation on elastic soil are conducted thanks to the coded tool. The shell and column forces and displacements are presented for different soil conditions and fixed raft base condition to investigate the effects of soil-structure interaction. Numerical results indicate that the flexibility of soil foundation leads to an increase in displacements but a decrease in shell membrane and column forces. Therefore, it can be stated that the consideration of soil-structure interaction in the seismic response analysis of the cooling tower system provides an economical design process.


In classical bacterial nucleotide excision repair (NER), a bulky DNA lesion such as a UV photoproduct is recognized by the UvrAB DNA damage recognition complex, and the strand containing the adduct is incised by UvrC nuclease upstream and downstream of the lesion. UvrD helicase subsequently loads at a nicked DNA site and unwinds the 12-base pair duplex containing the lesion, thereby creating a gap subsequently filled in by DNA polymerase and ligated to restore genomic integrity. Unexpectedly, another prominent role for UvrD in NER was discovered by Epshtein et al. that has major implications for how bacteria sense bulky adducts in actively transcribed DNA sequences. As reported in the January 16, 2014 issue of Nature, Epshtein et al. found that UvrD facilitates an alternative mode of transcription-coupled repair (TCR) by pulling the transcribing RNA polymerase backward to enable NER proteins gain access to the damage (see train engine analogy, Fig. 1). The ability of UvrD to physically bind RNA polymerase and tow the macromolecule in the opposite direction, to template-directed translocation during RNA synthesis, provides a new paradigm for molecular motors and their action on polymer lattices. UvrD tracks uni-directionally in its own right; therefore, the helicase enzyme performs its Herculean task by translocating 3′ to 5′ on the rail opposite to that which RNA polymerase uses as a template for RNA synthesis during elongation. RNA polymerase backtracking is known to pose a significant source of genomic instability in E. coli. How? Collision of the replisome with backtracked RNA polymerase elongation complexes can lead to discontinuous replication, resulting in double-strand breaks (DSBs) that lead to genome rearrangements. This finding poses a challenge to understand the potentially conflicting outcome of UvrDsponsored RNA polymerase backtracking. It appears that "mother nature" has placed a definite cost on implementing the UvrDbased alternative mode of TCR, taking the risk that replication machinery will encounter a backtracked RNA polymerase, resulting in a toxic DSB. Perhaps this is why multiple anti-backtracking factors (transcript cleavage factors, ribosomes) conceivably help to keep the system in balance during specialized circumstances, such as periods of elevated DNA damage (e.g., UV irradiation). In addition, bacterial cells solicit the DNA translocase Mfd, which serves to push RNA polymerase forward and displace it from the lesion site as it recruits the DNA damage recognition protein UvrA. UvrD also has a helper in TCR, the NusA elongation factor, which supports UvrD-mediated backtracking by RNA polymerase and possibly aids in recruitment of UvrAB. UvrD's risk-taking behavior to yank RNA polymerase backward is conceivably minimized if limited to periods when replication is subdued. Nonetheless, transcription can occur during times of DNA synthesis. DNA translocases like Mfd may help to push the backtracked RNA polymerase forward again, once the lesion is repaired to alleviate potential collisions with co-directional replication fork proteins. In eukaryotic cells, it is easy to imagine that RNA polymerase backtracking would be less hazardous in periods outside S phase, when the cell is not actively replicating its genome; however, this remains to be seen. These issues are likely to be significant, as cells have a very low threshold for DSBs. Genetic studies have already implicated UvrD in facilitating fork progression across transcribed sequences. Mutations in RNA polymerase subunits that affect stability of DNA: transcription complexes suppress the growth defects of bacteria lacking the replication accessory helicases Rep, UvrD, and recombination protein RecF. Genetic and biochemical studies support a model in which certain DNA helicases (Rep, UvrD, DinG) have specialized duties to displace proteins bound to DNA, or unwind R-loops to facilitate progression of the replication fork across transcribed sequences. However, the discovery that UvrD can pull RNA polymerase backward suggests that the role of UvrD in both NER and collision avoidance is more complex than previously thought. For helicase aficionados, the subtle aspects of UvrD mechanism are intriguing. UvrD is known to load at single-stranded/ double-stranded junctions and, depending on its oligmeric state, translocate on single-stranded DNA as a monomer or unwind duplex DNA as a dimer. Therefore, the assembly state of UvrD as it pulls RNA polymerase backward is of interest. Second, UvrD can strand switch and translocate in the opposite direction on the strand complementary to the one it was originally tracking. This behavior of UvrD suggests that at times UvrD may translocate on the damaged strand and, upon encountering the lesion, switch to the undamaged strand. Either way, as UvrD mightily tows RNA polymerase


This paper presents simple equivalent models of electric vehicle (EV) chargers, based on the measurements of a range of actual EVs. The developed models of the EV chargers are capable of correctly reproducing instantaneous input current waveforms, retaining all relevant electrical characteristics, including harmonic content. To analyse the effects of increased penetrations EV chargers on low-voltage network, the developed EV charger models are combined with the models of existing loads, as a part of the aggregate residential load mix.


The first chikungunya fever case was observed in the state of Andhra Pradesh during the year 2004-05, followed by large outbreaks emerged in India at 2006 and starting from the state of Andhra Pradesh the disease spread to 16 other states infecting more than 1.39 million people before the end of the year. Three of the worst affected districts viz, Cuddapah (Coordinates: 14°30′36″N 078°46′22″E14.51°N 78.77278°E), Kurnool (Coordinates: 15°50′N 78°03′E15.83°N 78.05°E) and Nellore (Coordinates: 14°26′N 79°58′E14.43°N 79.97°E) were surveyed during 2009-10 to understand the magnitude of the problem of chikungunya fever, clinical signs and symptoms and effective therapy. A total of 146 physicians from three districts were surveyed for their opinion on the prevalence of disease, clinical signs, symptoms and effective therapy were recorded. The symptoms recorded were fever (94%), headache (54%), arthralgia (96.2%) and myalgia (90%). The physicians were preferred 4th generation cephalosporin's (Cefixime) for the treatment of infection, a paracetamol and aceclofenac is used for the therapy of fever. No gender wise difference was observed for any of the symptoms.


We have found that solution-treated or sensitized SUS304L stainless steel transforms isothermally from the γ (fcc)-phase to the α' (bcc) martensite via the ε' (hcp) martensite, that is, the amount of the α'-phase increases with increasing holding time. By applying magnetic field, the α' martensite can be induced in the ε'-plate when the steel has a sufficiently large ε' plate formed beforehand by isothermal holding. However, the α' martensite cannot be induced by magnetic field in the ε'-plate formed beforehand by a deformation-induced transformation.