Last year in this conference, we presented a theoretical analysis of how ambient lighting in dark reading rooms could be moderately increased without compromising the interpretation of images displayed on LCDs. Based on that analysis, in this paper we present results of two psychophysical experiments which were designed to verify those theoretical predictions. The first experiment was designed to test how an increase in ambient lighting affects the detection of subtle objects at different luminance levels, particularly at lower luminance levels. Towards that end, images of targets consisting of low-contrast objects were shown to seven observers, first under a dark room illumination condition of 1 lux and then under a higher room illumination condition of 50 lux. The targets had three base luminance values of 1, 12 and 35 cd/m2 and were embedded in a uniform background. The uniform background was set to 12 cd/m2 which enabled fixing Ladp, the visual adaptation luminance value when looking at the display, to 12 cd/m2. This value also matched the luminance value of about 12 cd/m2 reflected off the wall surrounding the LCD at the higher ambient lighting condition. The task of the observers was to detect and classify the displayed objects under the two room lighting conditions. The results indicated that the detection rate in dark area (base luminance of 1 cd/m2) increased by 15% when the ambient illumination is increased from 1 to 50 lux. The increase was not conclusive for targets embedded in higher luminance regions, but there was no evidence to the contrary either. The second experiment was designed to investigate the adaptation luminance value of the eye when viewing typical mammograms. It was found that, for a typical display luminance calibration, this value might lie between 12 and 20 cd/m2. Findings from the two experiments provide justification for a controlled increase of ambient lighting to improve ergonomic viewing conditions in darkly lit reading rooms while potentially improving diagnostic performance.


In 1974 an unusual phenomenon called Usherenko effect was observed in impact experiments [1,2]. Surprisingly large were impact produced craters whose depth varied between 100 and 10000 times the impactor's size. For materials whose static strength is small or zero, e.g., sand or water, the depth of penetration is no larger than 100 times the size. When a macro-size body impacts on a barrier, it produces a crater whose depth is normally in a ratio of no larger than 6-10 to the body's size regardless impact parameters. The papers [1,3] give overviews of models which were developed to explain the phenomenon. They all try to answer why material resistance to the penetration of micro-size impactors suddenly decreases. We suggest a model that uses the concept of particle entrainment by a shock produced by the impact of a bunch of particles on a barrier. The approach was proposed by V.A. Simonenko [4]. It is based on calculations by the finite-difference technique TWS [5,6]. Such an approach shows prospects for further development with account for new experimental results obtained after 1991. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate feasibility of applying this approach for justification of impactor's acceleration in solid.


Although interviewer observations have potential as auxiliary sources of information on key survey variables, questions about their quality temper enthusiasm for their use in survey estimation and responsive survey design. This study considers the utility of two interviewer observations (household income and household receipt of unemployment benefits) collected in a panel survey: the German Labor Market and Social Security (PASS) study. We find that the ability of the interviewer observations to accurately identify these household features is not as high as that of prior-wave survey reports on these features, but the observations do tend to capture accurate information for households with changing socioeconomic status over time (where prior-wave reports may be inconsistent with current-wave reports). The observations add modest predictive power to models for key survey variables that also include survey reports on related variables in prior waves, but this predictive power may be limited by relatively high error rates and variance in observation quality among interviewers. Finally, estimates based on panel households only improve slightly when including the observations in nonresponse adjustments, which is likely due to the inability of the observations to predict response propensity (given a relatively low attrition rate for the panel households). Implications for practice and directions for future research in this area are discussed in conclusion.


Parkinson's disease is an age‐related brain disease which is currently incurable. The long period during which damage occurs but symptoms are not evident is a focus of research with an aim to finding ways of reducing damage. This paper is the third in a series of diet and PD and covers the evidence for a role of fruit, vegetables and grains in the development of PD. Evidence is not conclusive but suggests that increasing the consumption of fruit, vegetables and grains may reduce the incidence of PD. A small number of studies have found a positive association between fruit and vegetables and PD but this may be due to chemical contamination. There is a need for further research to be carried out, preferably as part of a large ongoing study, rather than using retospective data, with its inherent bias.


Attempted suicide is an act associated with childhood sexual abuse, depression, bipolar illness, substance abuse, and other diagnoses, as documented in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994). Three women, who attended a group to decrease their depression and increase their self-esteem and who had histories of multiple suicide attempts, agreed to participate in interviews designed to determine the common factors associated with their suicide attempts and to examine the assertion that their suicide attempts were an addiction, similar to their addictions to alcohol and drugs. The common factors found were depression, substance use disorders with early abuse and risky behaviors, history of sexual abuse, faulty relationships, alteration of mood with a suicide plan, and distorted and illogical thinking and motivation. The similarities to addiction also were described. Based on the complexity of factors that emerged and the addictive nature of the suicide attempts, treatment for similar patients needs to be multidimensional and ongoing to allow sufficient time to monitor progress and address the numerous factors involved.


When the Supreme Court, or one its Justices, writes an opinion invalidating a race-conscious affirmative action program, it is commonplace for the opinion to note that the rights protected by the Equal Protection Clause are "individual" or "personal," and thus require the state to treat every person as an individual, not simply as a member of a class. This assertion about the nature of equal protection rights is assumed to be inconsistent with the classbased underpinning of affirmative action programs, and thus determinative of their invalidation. The problem with affirmative action programs, under this view, is that they ignore the individual characteristics of the persons affected and instead assign different treatment to persons based on their membership in a class. If, for example, the University of California Medical School at Davis assigns a certain number of seats in its entering class to black, Chicano, Asian, and Native-American applicants,2 it has made overly broad assumptions about the characteristics of the members of those classes, and then assigned a benefit on the basis of class membership without regard to individual merit or accomplishment.


In this paper, a kind of alkaline slurry was introduced, in which silica was used as the abrasive, H2O2 was used as the oxidize, glycine was used as the complexing agent, azimidobenzene was used as the surfactant, and borax was used as the pH regulator. The atomization polishing method was used, and the effects of the traditional polishing and atomization polishing were compared. After the atomization polishing, the surface roughness of copper was 7.61 nm and the material removal rate was 188 nm/min; After the traditional polishing, the surface roughness was 15.22 nm and the material removal rate was 236 nm/min. The dosage of polishing slurry used in the atomization polishing is dozens of times less than that in the traditional polishing.


Two syndromes of bile acid malabsorption caused by ileal resection—bile acid diarrhea (cholerheic diarrhea) and fatty acid diarrhea (steatorrheic diarrhea)—have been identified, characterized, and symptomatic therapy has been developed. In patients with small resections, bile acid malabsorption is mild, and compensatory increase in hepatic synthesis of bile acids is sufficient to restore their secretion. The increased passage of bile acids into the colon causes diarrhea. In patients with large resections, bile acid malabsorption is severe, and increase in bile acid synthesis is insufficient to restore their secretion. This results in impaired micellar dispersion of lipolytic products and malabsorption of fat. Diarrhea responds to removal of long-chain triglycerides from the diet, suggesting that unabsorbed fatty acids or their bacterial products cause the diarrhea in these patients.


INTRODUCTION In 2000, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a far-reaching law, commonly called the Kentucky Accessible Information Technology (AIT) Act, KRS 61.980 61.988, which requires that all state-supported institutions utilize information technology resources that are accessible to people with disabilities. This law explicitly covers school districts, universities, and all other institutions supported with state funds. As one of the "covered entities" under this statute, school districts are required to ensure that the information technology they use will provide students with disabilities with access "that is equivalent to the access provided individuals who are not disabled" (KRS 61.982). As a means of determining conformity with this provision, Kentucky law further defines that the level of access provided by school systems and other covered entities must be in compliance with federal Section 508 access standards (36 C.F.R. 1194). Although Kentucky's AIT law has been on the books for a number of years, anecdotal evidence suggested that few school systems were aware of its implications, and there was no evidence that any formal policies had been formulated to address compliance with this legislation. To help provide a framework to address this issue, the Kentucky Assistive Technology Service (KATS) Network, in collaboration with the Kentucky Department of Education's Division of Exceptional Children Services launched the AITIS (Accessible Information Technology in Schools) project to develop accessibility guidelines, checklists, and other technical assistance materials for helping school systems understand and fulfill their obligations under Kentucky's AIT law. These materials were developed with input from personnel at the school district level, assistive technology professionals, and representatives from disability consumer groups. Guidance and other forms of assistance were provided from national experts in the field through the participation of our primary project partner, the Southeast Disability Business Technical Assistance Center (SEDBTAC), as well as the National Center on Accessible Information Technology in Education (AccessIT) at the University of Washington, the National Center for Accessible Media at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/WGBH, and Equal Access to Software and Information (EASI). Funding for the KY-AITIS Project is provided in part through a grant by the U.S. Dept. of Education (Grant #H133D010207). The AITIS Project was initiated by the Kentucky Assistive Technology Service (KATS) Network on February 1, 2003, and the initial funding allocation ended on December 31, 2004. Additional funding for ongoing project development was approved effective April 1, 2005. BACKGROUND OF THE KATS NETWORK The KATS Network is the federally-funded Assistive Technology Act program for the state of Kentucky. KATS is a statewide network of organizations and individuals connecting to enhance the availability of assistive technology devices and services to improve the productivity and quality of life for individuals with disabilities. KATS engages in advocacy activities and capacity building efforts to help make assistive technology information, devices, and services easily obtainable for people of any age or disability. The KATS Network is a Kentucky state agency affiliated with the Kentucky Office for the Blind, which is part of the Department for Workforce Investment within the state Education Cabinet. KATS is headquartered at the McDowell Center in Louisville and supports four regional resource centers and two satellite centers across the state. KATS initiatives are designed to work toward permanent systems change through responsive, comprehensive, statewide programs of technology-related assistance for individuals of all ages with disabilities. KATS regularly works with other state agencies and educational entities on matters of accessibility and access to assistive technology. …


Article history: Received December 28, 2013 Accepted 28 March 2014 Available online April 12 2014 This research proposes a comprehensive integrated model, which investigates the relationships between atmospheric elements, emotions, perceived value and behavioral intentions. Data collected through customers of three Salian chain stores by using stratified random sampling method and the analysis uses 390 questionnaires to collect the information. Structural equations modeling by using LISREL was performed to empirically test the relationships between the constructs of this research. Results show that ambience, interaction and design factors had a positive influence on customer emotions. However, effects of ambience, interaction and design on perceived value were not significant. In addition, results indicate that customer emotions and perceived value had a positive and significant effect on behavioral intentions. Finally, it suggests that managers should focus on designing atmospheric elements in a way that contributes positively in creating positive emotions in customers, which in turn enhance customer's positive behavioral intentions. © 2014 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


It is known that a macroscopic quantum superposition (MQS), when it is exposed to an environment, decoheres at a rate scaling with the separation of its component states in phase space. This is more or less consistent with the well-known proposition that a more macroscopic quantum state is reduced more quickly to a classical state in general. Effects of initial mixedness, however, on the subsequent decoherence of MQSs have been less known. We study the evolution of a highly mixed MQS interacting with an environment and compare it with that of a pure MQS having the same size as the central distance between its component states. Although the decoherence develops more rapidly for the mixed MQS in short times, its rate can be significantly suppressed after a certain time and becomes smaller than the decoherence rate of its corresponding pure MQS. In an optics experiment to generate a MQS, our result has the practical implication that nonclassicality of a MQS can still be observable in moderate times, even though a large amount of noise is added to the initial state.


The Mallina basin, in the central west part of the North Pilbara terrain, is one of the more mineralized parts of the Pilbara craton. Three styles of Au mineralization are present in the region: (1) lode Au deposits associated with sericite-carbonate-pyrite alteration assemblages, (2) lode Au deposits associated with pyrophyllite-bearing alteration assemblages, and (3) lode Sb-Au deposits. Gold resources have been identified at the Withnell and Camel deposits just to the north of the east-trending Mallina shear zone. East-trending mineralized zones at the Withnell deposit are typical of turbidite-hosted lode Au deposits in that they are late tectonic (syn- to late- local D3) and associated with extensive carbonate-sericite alteration. Gold mineralization occurs in planar quartz carbonate veins and with pyrite and arsenopyrite in the host rocks to the veins. Fluid inclusion analyses indicate mainly low-salinity, carbonic inclusions with moderate homogenization temperatures. The lode Sb-Au deposits have a similar structural setting and fluid characteristics. At the Camel 2 deposit Au is associated with syn- to late-D3 pyrophyllitic shear zones that have overprinted an earlier carbonate alteration assemblage. Structural relationships and limited Pb isotope data suggest that the lode Au mineralization in this district formed at about 2900 Ma.

In addition to the lode Au and Sb-Au deposits, north-northwest–trending quartz veins have textures typical of low-sulfidation epithermal deposits. The lithogeochemistry of samples collected from these veins indicates local enrichment of Au, As, Sb, Ag, Te, and Hg, which is consistent with an epithermal origin. Based on geologic relationships and Pb isotope data, these deposits are interpreted to have formed in the Mallina basin at ca. 2750 Ma. If they are true epithermal deposits, then they are among the oldest known. Their presence suggests that preservation, not Archean age, is the key control on the temporal distribution of epithermal deposits.


Abstract. Several basic ratios of responses to forcings in the carbon-climate system are observed to be relatively steady. Examples include the CO2 airborne fraction (the fraction of the total anthropogenic CO2 emission flux that accumulates in the atmosphere) and the ratio T/QE of warming (T) to cumulative total CO2 emissions (QE). This paper explores the reason for such near-constancy in the past, and its likely limitations in future. The contemporary carbon-climate system is often approximated as a set of first-order linear systems, for example in response-function descriptions. All such linear systems have exponential eigenfunctions in time (an eigenfunction being one that, if applied to the system as a forcing, produces a response of the same shape). This implies that, if the carbon-climate system is idealised as a linear system (Lin) forced by exponentially growing CO2 emissions (Exp), then all ratios of responses to forcings are constant. Important cases are the CO2 airborne fraction (AF), the cumulative airborne fraction (CAF), other CO2 partition fractions and cumulative partition fractions into land and ocean stores, the CO2 sink uptake rate (kS, the combined land and ocean CO2 sink flux per unit excess atmospheric CO2), and the ratio T/QE. Further, the AF and the CAF are equal. Since the Lin and Exp idealisations apply approximately to the carbon-climate system over the past two centuries, the theory explains the observed near-constancy of the AF, CAF and T/QE in this period. A nonlinear carbon-climate model is used to explore how future breakdown of both the Lin and Exp idealisations will cause the AF, CAF and kS to depart significantly from constancy, in ways that depend on CO2 emissions scenarios. However, T/QE remains approximately constant in typical scenarios, because of compensating interactions between CO2 emissions trajectories, carbon-climate nonlinearities (in land–air and ocean–air carbon exchanges and CO2 radiative forcing), and emissions trajectories for non-CO2 gases. This theory establishes a basis for the widely assumed proportionality between T and QE, and identifies the limits of this relationship.


A wide array of neural and non‐neural cell types arises from the neural crest during vertebrate embryogenesis. The neural crest forms transiently in the dorsal neural primordium to yield migratory cells that will invade nearly all tissues and later, differentiate into bones and cartilages, vascular smooth muscle cells, connective tissues, neurons and glial cells of the peripheral nervous system, endocrine cells, and melanocytes. Due to the amazingly diversified array of cell types they generate, the neural crest cells represent an attractive model in the stem cell field. We review here in vivo and in vitro studies of individual cells, which led to the discovery and characterization of neural crest progenitors endowed with multipotency and stem cell properties. We also present an overview of the diverse types, marker expression, and locations of the neural crest‐derived stem cells identified in the vertebrate body, with emphasis on those evidenced recently in mammalian adult tissues. © 2012 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry


Powder consolidation using a shock compression apparatus is a potential method for the processing of bulk materials. Two-stage gasdynamic guns take advantage of light gases properties to accelerate projectiles to hypervelocity. The prototype developed at the CNR-IENI labs was modified in order to densify powders in very short times (1-100 μs). Powder compaction can be achieved either by the generation of a pressure pulse (10-30 104 bar) or by direct impact on the powder sample of a high speed projectile (0.5 - 2 Km/s). A numerical code, to simulate the gasdynamic gun behavior, has been written and, depending on the densification method (pressure pulse or impact) can be used to calculate the pressure and temperature histories in the densification stage or the pellet velocity, momentum and kinetic energy just before the impact. Preliminary experimental tests indicate the capability of this apparatus to densify different kind of precompacted powders.


Controversies have emerged regarding the beneficial v. detrimental effects of dietary n-6 PUFA. The alteration of the intestinal microbiota, a phenomenon termed dysbiosis, occurs during several chronic inflammatory diseases, but has not been well studied in an aged population. With present 'Western' diets predominantly composed of n-6 PUFA, we hypothesised that PUFA-rich diets cause intestinal dysbiosis in an aged population. C57BL/6 mice (aged 2 years) were fed a high-fat (40 % energy), isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diet composed of rapeseed oil, maize oil or maize oil supplemented with fish oil. We examined ileal microbiota using fluorescence in situ hybridisation and stained tissues by immunofluorescence for the presence of immune cells and oxidative stress. We observed that feeding high-fat diets rich in n-6 PUFA promoted bacterial overgrowth but depleted microbes from the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla. This corresponded with increased body mass and infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils. Fish oil supplementation (rich in long-chain n-3 PUFA like DHA and EPA) restored the microbiota and inflammatory cell infiltration and promoted regulatory T-cell recruitment. However, fish oil supplementation was associated with increased oxidative stress, evident by the increased presence of 4-hydroxynonenal, a product of lipid peroxidation. These results suggest that an n-6 PUFA-rich diet can cause dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation in aged mice. However, while fish oil supplementation on an n-6 PUFA diet reverses dysbiosis, the combination of n-6 and n-3 PUFA, like DHA/EPA, leads to increased oxidative stress, which could exacerbate gastrointestinal disorders in the elderly.


PURPOSE
This study aimed to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and effects of an 8-wk combined resistance and endurance exercise program in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during in- and outpatient care.

METHODS
In this intervention study, 40 patients with predominantly advanced NSCLC receiving simultaneous or sequential radiochemotherapy or chemotherapy alone were enrolled. For a period of 8 wk, patients were instructed to exercise at least five times per week during the inpatient setting and at least three times per week in the outpatient setting. Physical performance status (endurance capacity: 6-min walk test; strength capacity: handheld dynamometry), quality-of-life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung), fatigue (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory), and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire) were assessed at baseline (T0), after the exercise intervention (T1), and at a follow-up time point 8 wk later (T2). The primary end point was adequate adherence (feasibility) defined as completing at least two training sessions per week during a minimum of 6 wk.

RESULTS
Of 40 patients, 31 (77.5%) completed the postexercise assessment (T1) and 22 (55%) completed follow-up (T2). The stages were IIA (5%), IIIA (8%), IIIB (20%), and IV (67%), and the median age was 63 yr (range = 22-75 yr). Overall, adherence was 82% for those patients who completed T1, and 55% of the 40 participating patients fulfilled the adequate adherence criterion. Those who completed the intervention showed a significant improvement in the 6-min walk distance and in knee, elbow, and hip muscle strength after the intervention (T1). Quality of life, fatigue, and depression scores remained stable or declined slightly. Significant improvements in knee-muscle strength were also observed at T2.

CONCLUSIONS
Exercise training is feasible in advanced and metastatic NSCLC patients during anticancer treatment. In this pilot study, endurance and strength capacity improved over time, indicating the rehabilitative importance of the applied intervention. To investigate the potential impact of exercise training in this patient group, a larger randomized trial is warranted.


To determine the cellular mechanism whereby oral insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) increases intestinal lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) activity, we studied 2-d-old pigs fed cow's milk formula (control, n 5 5), formula 1 low IGF-I (0.5 mg/L; n 5 6) or formula 1 high IGF-I (12.0 mg/L, n 5 6) for 15 d. On d 15, intestinal protein synthesis and lactase processing were measured in vivo in fed pigs using a 6-h intravenous, overlapping infusion of multiple stable isotopes (H3-Leu, C1-Leu, C1-Phe, H5-Phe, C6-Phe and C9-Phe). Morphometry and cell proliferation also were measured in the jejunum and ileum. Neither dose of IGF-I affected the masses of wet tissue, protein or DNA, or the villus height, cell proliferation or LPH-specific activity. Oral IGF-I decreased the synthesis and abundance of prolactase-phlorizin hydrolase (pro-LPH), but increased brush-border (BB)-LPH synthesis in the ileum. The BB-LPH processing efficiency was twofold to threefold greater in IGF-fed than in control pigs. In all pigs, villus height and the total mucosal and specific activity of LPH activity were greater in the ileum than in the jejunum, yet the synthesis of BB-LPH were significantly lower in the ileum than in the jejunum. We conclude that oral IGF-I increases the processing efficiency of pro-LPH to BB-LPH but does not affect LPH activity. Moreover, the posttranslational processing of BB-LPH is markedly lower in the ileum than in the jejunum. J. Nutr. 131:


Summary The effects of temperature on sprint swimming ability and muscle contractile properties were examined in northern and southern populations of the holarctic tree frog, Hyla crucifer Wied-Neuwied, acclimated to 20-23°C. Maximal swimming velocities of 29 (southern) and 32 (northern) cms" 1 and stroke frequencies of 4-1 (southern) and 5-5 (northern) strokes s" 1 were attained at 30°C, and maximal stroke lengths (i.e. distance moved per stroke) of 8-0 (southern) and 7-4 (northern) cm at 20°C. The thermal dependence of swimming velocity decreases with increasing temperature (e.g. Q10 = 4-0 from 6 to 10°C, 1-2 from 20 to 30°C), as reported for locomotion in other ectothermic vertebrates. Over a temperature range of l-5-30°C, velocity increases by a factor of 5-5, frequency by a factor of 4, and length by a factor of 1-7. Thus, increased velocity at higher temperatures can be attributed mostly to increased stroke frequency; increments in stroke length contribute less. Muscle contractile properties have similar thermal dependencies to those of other vertebrates: rate processes [including twitch time-to-peak tension (TPT), twitch half-relaxation time (RTi/2), maximal rate of tetanic tension development and isotonic shortening velocity] are much more sensitive to temperature than is force generation (twitch and tetanic tension). Below 8°C, stroke frequency is limited by twitch contraction time (TPT + RTi/2), and leg extension in a swimming stroke by TPT. At higher temperatures, the thermal dependence of stroke time is lower than that of contraction time. Neither locomotor nor muscle contractile properties are different between the two populations (except for twitch tension at low temperatures). Inflexibility in the thermal dependence of muscle contraction and locomotion in this species may help to explain differences in breeding phenologies between northern and southern populations.


This thesis reports on the research undertaken to increase the sustainability of food production through the transition towards a 'Distributed Localised Manufacturing' (DLM) strategy. The DLM strategy aims to facilitate holistic improvements of future food supply chains. The principle objective of this research is to generate an assessment method which collects relevant food manufacturing systems data and expert knowledge to evaluate the suitability of DLM to manufacture the wide range of food product families. The research contributions are divided into three major parts. The first part reviews relevant literature regarding the organisation of the food manufacturing sector and its current behaviour, examines alternative manufacturing strategies and assesses the need for this research. The second part of this research defines the concept of DLM in the context of food manufacturing, and identifies four system models; namely Manufacturer DLM, Retailer DLM, Service Provider DLM and Consumer DLM; which can be used to implement the DLM strategy. Furthermore, it investigates a method used to assess the suitability of this approach for specific product families using nine distinctive metrics, and a decision-support model utilised to identify the most appropriate DLM system model for a specific application. The final part demonstrates the application of the developed assessment method through the generation of case studies. [Continues.]


The current study examines 3 alternative conceptual models of the directional associations between parent involvement in schooling (homework assistance, home-school conferencing, school-based support) and child adjustment (academic and social competence, aggressive behaviors). The parent socialization model tests the hypothesis that parent involvement contributes to prospective child adjustment. The child adjustment model examines the proposition that children's adjustment affects prospective parent involvement in schooling. The transactional model tests the hypothesis that parent involvement and child adjustment are reciprocally related over time. These models are tested with a large sample of low-income, racially/ethnically diverse children and their parents who were assessed in the fall and spring of children's 3rd and 4th grades. Overall, consistent support for the child adjustment hypothesis was found. When children were struggling academically, socially, and behaviorally, their parents showed higher prospective levels of homework assistance and home-school conferencing but lower levels of school-based support. Economic hardship also contributed to variation in levels of parent involvement and child adjustment, with child adjustment mediating the effects of economic hardship on parent involvement.


Abstract. For the past twenty years, the adoption of Virtual Geographic Environments is thriving. This democratization is due to numerous new opportunities offered by this medium. However, in participatory urban planning these interactive 3D geovisualizations are still labeled as very advanced means, and are only scarcely used. The involvement of citizens in urban decision-making is indeed carefully planned ahead to limit off-topic feedback. A better comprehension of Virtual Geographic Environments, and more specifically of users' strategic behaviors while interacting with this medium could enhance participants' contributions. The users' strategic behavior was assessed in this article through an experimental study. A total of 107 participants completed online tasks about the identification of 3D scenes' footprints, the comparison of buildings' heights, and the visibility of objects through the scenes. The interactions of the participants were recorded (i.e. pressed keys, pointing device interactions), as well as the camera positions adopted to complete specific tasks. The results show that: (1) users get more efficient throughout the study; (2) interruptions in 3D manipulation appear to highlight difficulties in interacting with the virtual environments; (3) users tend to centralize their positions within the scene, notably around their starting position; (4) the type of task strongly affects the behavior of users, limiting or broadening their explorations. The results of this experimental study are a valuable resource that can be used to improve the design of future urban planning projects involving Virtual Geographic Environments, e.g. with the creation of personalized 3D tools.


Abstract The South Korean media boasts of its leading success–during the escalation of the coronavirus outbreak–in flattening of the curve thereby mitigating the grave outcomes of the public health crisis. Much of the success is reportedly attributed to the rapid and advanced development of test kits, essential equipment and implementation of protocols in precautionary measures. However, it has been an arduous task to stay afloat for one particular vulnerable community. The disabled citizens of Korea were confronted by the realities of health inequity during this disastrous period. Pre-existing the pandemic onset, the disabled community have faced stigmatization and under many circumstances de-prioritization by their own society. Through the lense of a visiting physician, my hope is to poignantly and respectfully share personal experiences and thoughts on these realties impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.


MLCAT is a desktop content authoring application that is used to record lectures and presentations for educational purposes. It does not only record the audio of the speaker but also their Power Point presentation. It is able to record, encode and save the presentation in various formats. The result is one synchronized multimedia video that can be played back on a variety of feature phones. Apple has a big success with the release of podcasting solutions, iPod series and accessories. They enable the user to carry around music and videos, play them back while on a bus or even use it as a digital multimedia library. These products have been trialled and used in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the developed world. Developing world HEIs such as those in Africa have limited diffusion of these technologies due to their relative high cost; infrastructural limitations, technical skills shortages; digital divides and cultural and socio-economic issues. This paper describes a pragmatic podcasting approach and how instructors can author and supply the learner with mobile-ready lecture recordings in order to enable mobile learning "anytime – anywhere". Our solution has been implemented and is being made available for lecturers and students to examine and evaluate. The feedback will be analyzed and enhancements to the system proposed.


Background Stroke is an abrupt interruption of brain circulation that constitutes a neurological emergency. Aphasia is a language disorder caused by stroke. It can affect patients' reading, writing, comprehension and expression. The aim of the study is to find out if the use of the latest portable technologies such as tablets, computers and mobile phones can help to improve the rehabilitation of patients with aphasia. Methods A literature review has been carried out on the main databases; Pubmed, Scopus and Cinahl, of articles in english and spanish published between june and december 2019 following the PRISMA methodology. Results Sixty-two articles were included in which the use of technologies alongside traditional rehabilitation therapies showed that might improve the recovery of aphasic patients. Most studies have a sample size of less than fifty patients (21.7%), with only three publications having a sample size of more than 150 patients (1.86%). Conclusions The review shows that the use of digital applications might improve aphasia rehabilitation in patients who have suffered a stroke, but more studies are needed due to the small sample size of those conducted so far and to explore whether that improvement hold up over time.


I first saw Métis artist Terril Calder's 2014 stop-frame feature, The Lodge, an independently made, relatively smallbudget film, at its premiere at the ImagineNative Film + Media Arts festival, held annually in Toronto, Canada. The feature-length animation played to a full house at the Light-box Theater downtown. Many were there to attend the five-day festival, which is dedicated to Indigenous media made by and for Indigenous people. Others were there because as members of Toronto's general public they wanted to catch a movie during a night out in the city. Since then The Lodge has shown at various other independent venues. It isn't what you might think of as commercial fare. Its audiences are not huge. However, for those who do view The Lodge, the film presents a creative space to rethink our sense of boundaries in a number of ways: boundaries between human/nonhuman, white/Indigenous, male/female, spectator/film-object. In this essay, I argue that the film is thus an invitation to question the "naturalness" of hegemonic identity assumptions that demarcate such boundaries. I interviewed Calder (via Skype and subsequent email correspondence) soon after I saw the film, and I situate a close textual analysis of the film within the context of her intent and the burgeoning scholarly dialogue between Indigenous studies and ecocritical studies. The scholarly dialogue, as Joni Adamson and I write in the introduction to our recent anthology, Ecocriticism and Indigenous Studies: Conversations from Earth to Cosmos (2016), argues for "clear sighted understandings of multi-faceted human/more-than-human relationships" that exist outside of binaries imposed by Western notions of "progress". Similarly, Steven Loft, coeditor of Coded Territories: Tracing Indigenous Pathways in New Media Art, writes of an Indigenous "media cosmology" that is "replete with life and spirit, inclusive of beings, thought, prophecy, and the underlying connectedness of all things" and that is not predicated on Western foundations of thought (xvi). Calder extends such Indigenous worldviews of connectedness to cinema and animation in particular.


EDRS Price MF-$0.65 HC-$6.58 *Audiovisual Aids, *Christianity, Church Programs, Information Needs, Library Programs, *Library Reference Services, *Religious Education, *Special Libraries *Church Libraries The church today faces the alternative of advancing to meet the problems of the 70s or regressing into the past. Christian young people are demanding up-to-date answers to up-to-date problems. The church is being squeezed by cultural pressures and bombarded by the knowledge explosion. This book is designed to help the church that has no library but wishes to get one started, as well as to encourage the struggling church library. One of the primary goals of a church library should be that of strengthening the Christian education program of the church and a church library should be more than a depository of books from which church members occasionally check out certain titles. The church library must be an educational resource center to which teachers and other church leaders look for assistance. Visual aids, audio-visual equipment, and reference sources are an important part of the church library. Just as the quality of a college is measured by its library, so the quality of the educational program of the church may be gauged by its library. (Author) r--1 I) PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPY RIGHTED MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED


Peer-to-peer storage systems assume that their users consume resources in proportion to their contribution. Unfortunately, users are unlikely to do this without some enforcement mechanism. Prior solutions to this problem require centralized infrastructure, constraints on data placement, or ongoing administrative costs. All of these run counter to the design philosophy of peer-to-peer systems.Samsara enforces fairness in peer-to-peer storage systems without requiring trusted third parties, symmetric storage relationships, monetary payment, or certified identities. Each peer that requests storage of another must agree to hold a claim in return---a placeholder that accounts for available space. After an exchange, each partner checks the other to ensure faithfulness. Samsara punishes unresponsive nodes probabilistically. Because objects are replicated, nodes with transient failures are unlikely to suffer data loss, unlike those that are dishonest or chronically unavailable. Claim storage overhead can be reduced when necessary by forwarding among chains of nodes, and eliminated when cycles are created. Forwarding chains increase the risk of exposure to failure, but such risk is modest under reasonable assumptions of utilization and simultaneous, persistent failure.


In Colombia, the rise of agricultural and pastureland expansion continues to exert increasing pressure on the structure and ecological processes of savannahs in the Eastern Plains. However, the effect of land use change on soil properties is often unknown due to poor access to remote areas. Effective management and conservation of soils requires the development spatial approaches that measure and predict dynamic soil properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC). This study estimates the SOC stock in the Eastern Plains of Colombia, with validation and uncertainty analyses, using legacy data of 653 soil samples. A random forest model of nine environmental covariate layers was used to develop predictions of SOC content. Model validation was determined using the Taylor series method, and root-mean-squared error (RMSE) and mean error (ME) were calculated to assess model performance. We found that the model explained 50.28% of the variation within digital SOC content map. Raster layers of SOC content, bulk density, and coarse rock fragment within the Eastern Plains were used to calculate SOC stock within the region. With uncertainty, SOC stock in the topsoil of the Eastern Plains was 1.2 G t ha−1. We found that SOC content contributed nearly all the uncertainty in the SOC stock predictions, although better determinations of SOC stock can be obtained with the use of a more geomorphological diverse dataset. The digital soil maps developed in this study provide predictions of extant SOC content and stock in the topsoil of the Eastern Plains, important soil information that may provide insight into the development of research, regulatory, and legislative initiatives to conserve and manage this evolving ecosystem.


Establishing robust and accurate correspondences is a fundamental backbone to many computer vision algorithms. While recent learning-based feature matching methods have shown promising results in providing robust correspondences under challenging conditions, they are often limited in terms of precision. In this paper, we introduce S2DNet, a novel feature matching pipeline, designed and trained to efficiently establish both robust and accurate correspondences. By leveraging a sparse-to-dense matching paradigm, we cast the correspondence learning problem as a supervised classification task to learn to output highly peaked correspondence maps. We show that S2DNet achieves state-of-the-art results on the HPatches benchmark, as well as on several long-term visual localization datasets.


Exponential growth in the interest in MOF (Metal–Organic Framework) materials in both scientific and industrial spheres has been flourishing in the last fifteen years. However, certain environmental and economic limitations could slow down their industrial establishment. Here we present an innovative, widely applicable, straightforward, rapid, inexpensive and environmentally friendly method to prepare high-quality carboxylate-based MOFs with properties rarely obtained under conventional conditions. The method is based on the use of organic salts (instead of their homologous protonated organic ligands) as anionic linker sources, so that their solubility and the deprotonation steps, which necessarily take place in the formation of MOFs, are notably favoured in aqueous solution. As an example, the preparation of X-MIL-53-Al (X = none, NH2, NO2) materials is reported at room temperature, with the following additional advantages for some applications: they (i) are nanocrystalline, (ii) have notable and ordered inter-crystalline mesoporosity, and (iii) contain a reduced or even a negligible amount of unreacted linker within the pores. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first preparation of a 3-D highly-porous MOF under these two industrially-demanded synthesis conditions: room temperature and water as the sole solvent. The scarce commercial availability of these linker salts is a limitation that can be easily circumvented by replacing the salts with their protonated analogue plus a base. Following this method, a high-quality MOF-74 material, so far only prepared in organic solvents, could be also prepared in water and at room temperature. Even in organic media, in which this approach could be a priori unfavourable from a linker solubility point of view, MOFs with properties unattainable through conventional methods of synthesis can be prepared following this approach. That is the case for the synthesis of MOF-5 with the highest interpenetration degree ever described by just replacing terephthalic acid with disodium terephthalate as the linker source and maintaining the otherwise conventional conditions including the use of DMF as the solvent.


To evaluate the role of variable doses of phosphorus on the growth and yield of tea (Camellia sinensis L., variety, Qi-Men), the present study was projected. The experiment was conducted during 2016-17 and repeated during 2017-18 at National Tea and High-value crops Research Institute, Shinkiari. Phosphorus was applied in six variable doses @ 0, 75, 112.5, 150, 187.5 and 225 kg ha-1 as Di-Ammonium Phosphate. Nitrogen and Potassium were applied as basal doses. Nitrogen was applied in the form of Urea @ 225 kg ha-1 while Potassium was applied as Sulphate of Potash @ 75 kg K2O/ha. The full dose of phosphorus and Potassium was applied as basal dose while Nitrogen was applied in three split doses during March, July, September 2017& 2018. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications and six treatments. Plot size was kept as 2 rows 5 meter length and 1.2 meter width. Soil samples were collected before application of fertilizers for physico-chemical characteristics. All agronomic practices were kept uniform and plucking was done manually by keeping four leaves and a bud as standard. Results showed that the application of phosphorus significantly increased plant height, No .of leaves/plant, Leaf Length, No. of branches /plant. Tea was plucked 11 times each year and the total yield of each plot was obtained from the total harvest during 2016-17 & 2017-18. Maximum No. of branches/plant (9, 8), Plant Height (57, 55 cm), No. of Leaves (40, 41) and Leaf Length (17, 17 cm), Fresh leaves yield (5306, 3353 kg/ha), Made tea (1061, 671 Kg/ha) was obtained in treatment T3 respectively when NPK was applied @ 225-150-175 while minimum Plant height (46, 40 cm), No. of leaves/plant (31, 29) Leaf length (12, 11 cm) and No. of branches (6, 5), Fresh leaves yield (3419, 2292 kg/ha), Made tea yield (684, 458 kg/ha) was obtained in control plot (without any fertilizer) during both the years respectively. It was concluded that: 1. Phosphorus may be applied @ 225 kg ha-1 with combination of basal doses of nitrogen @ 245 kg/ha in three split doses and Potassium @ 75 kg K2O/ha to obtain maximum possible yield of tea. 2. Further experiments on different combination of Phosphorus and other major elements like N and K are required for confirmation of results.


Cultural heritage is subjected to many pressures and risks. Over the past few years, the use of digital technologies has significantly changed the approaches to cultural heritage documentation for the purpose of condition assessment and conservation. The integration of novel approaches and techniques has permitted a detailed examination and assessment of damage, deterioration due to weathering and erosion, and their mechanisms. This study seeks to contribute to the preservation and conservation of the significant heritage of the so-called Djin Blocks at the World Heritage Site of Petra in Jordan. While these three dimensional cuboid rock-cut monuments have been subject to extensive conservation studies, this is the first time they have been subjected to 3D recording and multispectral photography, with the aim of recording damage caused by the ravages of time. This study presents the results of the documentation of the case study Djin Block No. 9. A variety of systematic documentation techniques were used, including 3D recording with terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), close-range photogrammetry, multispectral imaging, and thermography records. In addition, pathological studies of the erosion from various causes and an analysis of the effect of weathering on Djin Block No. 9 are performed. Based on this data, the paper presents recommendations for developing risk management and conservation planning of Djin Block No. 9.


Photoaging is a multisystem degenerative process that involves the skin and the skin support systems, including the bone, cartilage, and subcutaneous compartments. These structures provide the architectural support for the dermis, epidermis, and stratum corneum. A multiprong approach to photoaging involves reversing the undesirable changes in each of these structures. Dermatologists should become adept at treating all of the visible manifestations of photoaging.


The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify how susceptible women perceived their babies to be to perinatal transmission of HIV and to examine factors that influence a woman's motivation to have a baby. The sample consisted of 45 African American women living in South Carolina and Georgia. Data were collected during face-to-face interviews. A researcher-developed scale, Motivation for Childbearing in HIV-Positive Women, provided reliable and valid data on factors that motivated or deterred a woman's decision to have a baby. This study supported prior findings that HIV status is not the most important influence on a woman's reproductive decision making. Women identified significant others (husbands and sex partners) and other family members as those most important in making the decision to add a child to their family. The findings of this study underscore the importance of family in childbearing decisions by HIV-positive women.


This paper is the result of a three-month monitoring of Serbian television commercials which aimed to study the way elderly people are represented in the media. Elderly people appear in only six commercials, more often as a functional part of a series than as protagonists. Yet in spite of the small number of commercials in which they appear, it is easy to identify the stereotypes which are translated from a social paradigm into the sphere of the media. The stereotypes on which commercials are based belong for the most part to the corpus of negative stereotypes of elderly people as hopelessly behind the times, feeble, lonely, irritating, cantankerous, etc. Some positive stereotypes are also evident, but they are mostly limited to a perception of elderly people as kindly givers of useful advice. It is interesting to note that the "cantankerous people next door" are as a rule anonymous elderly people, as are those "lost in time and space", who are mostly elderly women. In contrast, those who let their careers and images be associated with a certain product, in order to pass on their great experience and knowledge, are as a rule famous persons. Just as it is possible to make a distinction between commercials depending on whether or not the products advertised are targeted at the elderly – which they rarely are – and whether elderly people appear in leading or supporting roles, in order to make viewers laugh or annoy them, so it is possible to distinguish between the "real-life principle", which involves the translation of the society's dominant attitudes into commercials, and "commercial reality", which either makes old age invisible or "masks" it so that it is pleasant to the eye. The reason that old people are absent from television commercials or are mostly represented in a negative light is to be found in the low purchasing power of this age group, but also in the fact that advertising in Serbia developed practically overnight, and therefore has not always been able to follow foreign advertising trends, which treat the elderly as a worthy target audience for commercials.


Two strains of diploid fibroblasts were derived from green monkey fetal lungs and their main properties were studied. These strains were shown not to differ principally from the well studied human diploid fibroblasts. The derived cultures are free from contaminating viruses. The titers of attenuated poliomyelitis virus strains achieved in green monkey diploid cells are comparable to those in primary cultures of green monkey kidneys. The possiblity of using green monkey diploid fibroblasts in virological practice is discussed.


Using spectral and spectro-temporal auditory models along with perturbation-based analysis, we develop a new framework to optimize a feature vector such that it emulates the behavior of the human auditory system. The optimization is carried out in an offline manner based on the conjecture that the local geometries of the feature vector domain and the perceptual auditory domain should be similar. Using this principle along with a static spectral auditory model, we modify and optimize the static spectral mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) without considering any feedback from the speech recognition system. We then extend the work to include spectro-temporal auditory properties into designing a new dynamic spectro-temporal feature vector. Using a spectro-temporal auditory model, we design and optimize the dynamic feature vector to incorporate the behavior of human auditory response across time and frequency. We show that a significant improvement in automatic speech recognition (ASR) performance is obtained for any environmental condition, clean as well as noisy.


Three meteorologically-related triggers of slab avalanches and cornice failure are observed by avalanche workers: (1) Snow loading during storm and wind events; (2) abrupt temperature changes at the snow surface; and (3) seasonal warming/prolonged midwinter warm periods. We analyze the character and correlations of naturally triggered cornice failures, avalanches and weather data of a twelve year long database from twelve Canadian Mountain Holidays tenure areas in the Columbia Mountains, BC. Avalanche observations in the database include human (56%) and natural triggers (44%). Of the natural triggers, 83% are due to weather and snowpack interactions(Na), 15% are cornice related(Nc), and 2% are icefall related(Ni). Nc occur preferentially on steeper slopes (55% on greater than 45 degrees) and N, NE, and E aspects, whereas 26% of Na (slab) occur on slopes greater than 45 degrees and are more evenly distributed by aspect. In a correlation analysis of avalanche frequency and seasonal climate means, triggers (1) and (2) are significant for Na, while only (1) is significant for Nc. However, when Nc associated with significant snowfall are filtered, the 24-hour trend in minimum temperature appears to be important in inducing cornice failure. In addition, analyzing time lapse photography/movies created with hourly and daily photos aid in understanding cornice processes, formation, and failure. International Snow Science Workshop


Objective: To ascertain the risk of a new vascular event (NVE) occurring after ischemic stroke and evaluate differences in risk based on stroke subtype. Methods: This was a prospective observational study of consecutive patients with nonfatal stroke recruited at a single tertiary stroke center with follow-up ranging from 2 to 5 years (average, 31 ± 15.9 months). An NVE (vascular death, nonfatal stroke or myocardial infarction, and hospitalization for other atherothrombotic events) was defined according to criteria used in a previously developed large multicenter register of atherothrombotic patients (Reduction of Atherothrombosis for Continued Health Registry [REACH]). We analyzed age, sex, and atherosclerotic burden (AB) based on a number of vascular risk factors, affected vascular areas, and stroke subtype according to Stop Stroke Study Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (SSS-TOAST) criteria in cardioaortic, large artery atherosclerosis (LAA), unclassified (more than one causal mechanism), small-artery disease (SAD), and undetermined (without cause) stroke categories. Results: The final cohort consisted of 748 patients. An NVE occurred in 162 patients (21.7%), equivalent to a rate of 0.084 events per patient/year. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher NVE risk was associated with AB and 3 stroke subtypes, namely cardioaortic (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.58; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27–5.22), LAA (HR = 4.17; 95% CI 2.03–8.56), and unclassified (HR = 5.70; 95% CI 2.49–13.08). Patients with SAD or stroke of undetermined cause had lower NVE risk. Conclusions: Patients who survive stroke are at increased risk for NVEs. The risk for NVE varies according to stroke subtype.


The MAT is also mentioned by the FDA "Guidance For Industry – Pyrogen and Endotoxins testing: Questions and Answers" as an alternative to the rabbit pyrogen test which should be validated according to USP <1225>. Additionally, the USP <151> Pyrogen Test mentions that, "A validated, equivalent in vitro pyrogen or bacterial endotoxin test may be used in place of the in vivo rabbit pyrogen test, where appropriate."


We identify the class of directed one-trees and prove the so-called min-max theorem for them. As a consequence, we establish the equality of directed tree-width and a new measure, $d$-width, on this class of graphs. In addition, we prove a property of all directed one-trees and use this property to create an $O(n^2)$ recognition algorithm and an $O(n^2)$ algorithm for solving the Hamiltonian cycle problem on directed one-trees.


The power of hope doesn't have just one method or one path. It is created in relation to the world around us. In the dark of the northern hemisphere's winter months where we, the editors of this issue, live it is easy to see only darkness. And yet, there is light and hope. The Covid-19 vaccine is being delivered in many parts of the world, offering the dream that we might hug our friends and family before 2021 is over.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in the management of morbid obesity in a cohort of Chinese patients. DESIGN. Cohort study.

SETTING
University teaching hospital, Hong Kong.

PATIENTS
From August 2002 to September 2003, 10 patients (6 male, 4 female) with a median age of 34 years (range, 23-48 years) underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding to treat morbid obesity. Considerable co-existing diseases were present in 90% of the cases. We instituted a team approach that allowed every patient to see our dietitian, physician, psychiatrist (if necessary), and surgeon prior to deciding on the procedure to be used.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Excessive body weight loss, quality-of-life score (SF36), and co-morbidities improvement.

RESULTS
The 10 patients had a median weight of 127 kg (range, 115-196 kg) and median body mass index of 47 kg/m(2) (range, 38-67 kg/m(2)). The operation was successful in all patients with a median operating time of 110 minutes (range, 75-240 minutes). The median hospital stay was 3 days (range, 3-4 days) and three of the patients required overnight observation in the intensive care unit because of severe sleep apnoea and asthma. The median follow-up period was 12 months (range, 1-18 months). The mean weight loss at 6, 12, and 18 months was 19.3, 22.4, and 25.9 kg, respectively. Mean percentage of excessive weight loss at 6, 12, and 18 months was 34.9%, 36.5%, and 40.5%, respectively. Unsatisfactory weight loss (<20 kg) occurred in three patients because of poor dietary compliance and non-follow-up. Surgery also considerably improved the patients' co-morbidities (hypertension, diabetes, and obstructive sleep apnoea) and the quality of life.

CONCLUSION
In the short term, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is certainly an effective procedure for morbid obesity, which results in a substantial weight loss and improvement of co-existing morbidities. Longer follow-up will show whether this weight loss is maintainable.


In recent decades, scientific knowledge has been extremely important in informing environmental decision-making processes on e.g. air and water quality, and coastal zone management. However, in many cases the relationship between science and policy is often still troubled and contested. This can be attributed to the complex and multi-layered character of the field of environmental governance, and the involvement of a broad array of stakeholders with conflicting stakes and needs. Issues include the selective use of knowledge, knowledge being ignored by policy-makers, the use of counter-expertise, and differences in the demand for and supply of knowledge in terms of language, timeframes, and level of detail. Consequently, opportunities to enrich decision-making processes – i.e. the use of knowledge to gain a clearer picture of the problem setting, underpin and implement policy and management measures, explore policy options, inform policy evaluations, and apply in learning processes between policy-makers, scientists and stakeholders – are not fully exploited. The aim of this dissertation is to increase our understanding of the interaction problems science and policy face, and the extent to which science–policy interfaces could contribute to eliminating these problems and enriching decision-making. Science–policy interfaces can be organisations, individuals or objects, which are placed (or place themselves) at the boundary between science and policy with the aim of enhancing the interactions and enriching decision-making processes by the use of scientific knowledge. Following the scholarly literature in this subject, in order to be used in environmental decision making and to enrich it, science must meet three criteria: it needs to be perceived as credible (scientifically valid) and salient (relevant to decision makers), and to have been produced in a way that is seen as legitimate by all stakeholders involved. The empirical focus of this research is on the Dutch Wadden Sea, an area in which the ecological and economic stakes are strongly opposing, scientific insights are used strategically in favour of or against certain positions and where the institutional network (consisting of governmental institutes and organisations, environmental agencies, research institutes and industry) is highly complex. This dissertation concludes that in the case of a multitude of pressing environmental issues, disciplines involved, stakeholders, conflicting interests, 'truths' and scientific insights leading to various interaction problems set in a multi-actor and multi-interest setting, science–policy interfaces can only contribute to enriching decision-making processes when the interaction and knowledge development processes they aim to enhance are perceived to be legitimate. If in these processes the dominant aim is to create scientific knowledge which is as 'credible' as possible, the usability of knowledge, which greatly depends on legitimacy and salience, is put under pressure. By engaging science–policy interfaces such as boundary organisations or boundary workers proactively instead of reactively in these complex and contested situations in order to establish and guide such legitimate interaction processes, room for manoeuvre is created for the negotiation on and development of credible and salient knowledge, which in turn could lead to enriched decision-making processes.


In this paper Finger print Image Enhancement method in spatial domain and frequency domain using filter is discussed. The state-of-art in the literature is reviewed to provide a foundation for the evaluation of the proposed approaches. Fingerprint enhancement can be conducted on either binary ridge images or gray-scale images. Different techniques for gray-level fingerprint images enhancement have been proposed assuming that the local ridge frequency and orientation can be reliably estimated. A good fingerprint enhancement technique obtains a relatively good estimate of orientation field even if the quality of input fingerprint image is poor. Most of the fingerprint enhancement techniques use contextual filter or multi-resolution filter whose parameters depend on the local ridge frequency and orientation.


The possibility of using the typing of P. aeruginosa strains by their pyocins as one of the epidemiological markers in the study of P. aeruginosa hospital infections has been established. As this method of typing is characterized by certain variability, the authors propose that the method of the "cross analysis" of pyocins produced by P. aeruginosa strains be used simultaneously. This method is based on the following phenomenon: if the cultures to be compared are different, the pyocin produced by one strain suppresses the growth of the other one, and if the cultures are identical, no suppression of their growth by pyocins is observed.


Purpose. To report a patient with lattice corneal dystrophy type I (LCDI) who developed a triple anterior chamber after full-thickness lamellar keratoplasty (LKP). Methods. A 46-year-old woman underwent a full-thickness LKP in her right eye for visual disturbances caused by LCDI. Her visual acuity was 20/200 OD before surgery. A complete ophthalmic examination, including slit lamp biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT), was performed before and after surgery. Molecular genetic analysis was performed on DNA extracted from the peripheral leukocytes. Results. The surgery was performed uneventfully; however, extra spaces posterior to the graft, along with the severe graft edema, were observed to form a triple anterior chamber a few days after surgery. The extra spaces resolved in 3 weeks with no surgical treatment, and her visual acuity improved to 20/20 OD without correction 3 months after surgery. The triple anterior chamber was clearly demonstrated by OCT, but not by slit lamp biomicroscopy. A heterozygous single base-pair transition (CGC to TGC, arginin to cysteine) was detected in codon 124 of the TGFBI gene in the patient. Conclusion. The separation of the graft and the host's deep corneal tissue and a Descemet's membrane detachment in the host's cornea caused the triple anterior chamber. The Descemet's membrane detachment demonstrated the weak adhesion of the stroma and the Descemet's membrane, probably resulting from a dysfunction of the TGFBI protein caused by the mutation of the TGFBI gene. OCT is useful for the objective documentation of the posterior corneal region even with severe corneal edema.


Acute estrogen administration relaxes vascular smooth muscle by decreasing intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that this reduction in [Ca2+]iis mediated in part by enhanced Ca2+ efflux. Coronary artery smooth muscle cells were isolated from gonad-intact, sexually mature female pigs. The [Ca2+]iresponse to endothelin-1 was measured using fluo 3 and confocal microscopy. 17β-Estradiol (E2β), but not 17α-estradiol or triamcinolone acetonide, caused a concentration-dependent (IC50 = 10 nM) decrease in the [Ca2+]iresponse to endothelin-1. This decrease was blocked by the specific estrogen receptor antagonist ICI-182780. Under conditions in which Ca2+ influx and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ reuptake were blocked, E2β still decreased [Ca2+]i. The response was blocked by extracellular lanthanum. These data indicate that E2β decreases [Ca2+]iin coronary artery smooth muscle by affecting Ca2+ efflux via a receptor-mediated mechanism.


Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured with PET during rudimentary singing of a single pitch and vowel, contrasted to passive listening to complex tones. CBF increases in cortical areas related to motor control were seen in the supplementary motor area, anterior cingulate cortex, precentral gyri, anterior insula (and the adjacent inner face of the precentral operculum) and cerebellum, replicating most previously seen during speech. Increases in auditory cortex were seen within right Heschl's gyrus, and in the posterior superior temporal plane (and the immediately overlying parietal cortex). Since cortex near right Heschl's has been linked to complex pitch perception, its asymmetric activation here may be related to analyzing the fundamental frequency of one's own voice for feedback-guided modulation.


Earthquake stress drop, the stress change on a fault due to an earthquake, is important for seismic hazard analysis because it controls the level of high-frequency ground motions that damage structures. Numerous studies report that stress drops vary by tectonic environment, providing insight into a region's seismic hazard. Here, we show that teleseismic stress-drop estimates have large uncertainties that make it challenging to distinguish differences between the stress drops of different earthquakes. We compared stress drops for ∼900 earthquakes derived from two independent studies using teleseismic data and found practically zero correlation. Estimates for the same earthquake can differ by orders of magnitude. Therefore, reported stress-drop differences between earthquakes may not reflect true differences. As a result of these larger uncertainties, some tectonic environment stress-drop patterns that appear in one study do not appear in the other analysis of the same earthquakes. These large uncertainties in teleseismic estimates might lead to erroneous inferences about earthquake hazards. In many applications, it may be more appropriate to assume that earthquakes in different regions have approximately the same average stress drop.


ABSTRACT Introduction: A systematic review was performed to assess the prognostic value of Measurable Residual Disease (MRD) during treatment, for relapse and overall survival in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Areas covered: A systematic search of available literature was performed to identify original full-text articles concerning MRD as prognostic for relapse and survival in pediatric AML. Thirteen studies were included, and in all studies, MRD positivity during treatment was associated with worse clinical outcome. MRD positivity was significantly associated with a higher probability of relapse in eleven studies. However, MRD negativity does not exclude the possibility of relapse in pediatric AML, while positivity early during therapy does not exclude cure. Expert opinion: MRD positivity during treatment has emerged as the most powerful prognostic factor in pediatric AML concerning relapse and overall survival and is useful for risk-group adapted treatment. Future studies should identify the optimal time-point(s) for MRD measurements and the optimal technique, to further improve its prognostic significance.


Today, the people living along the Gulf Coast continue their daily struggle to rebuild, revive, and renew in these United States of America (opening dedication of When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts) Introduction Spike Lee's epic documentary testifies to the inconvenient truths that enabled the social disaster so spectacularly showcased by Hurricane Katrina. Where Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth (2006) highlights the often willful blindness with which the catastrophic threat of climate change has been greeted, Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) points to a complicated web of social, political, and environmental blind spots that led to Katrina and its catastrophic aftermath. These truths, which hovered just beneath national consciousness, constituted a disaster of racial and economic disenfranchisement that was exposed and further exacerbated by the levee breaches in August 2005. What apparently began as only a natural disaster soon revealed itself as something all-too-human, disproportionately striking those already existing on the edges of survival. Not only was it that the predominantly black poor who were abandoned to the drowning city, but it is also this same group that has faced the most obstacles to returning and reclaiming their homes. Katrina dispelled the myth that disasters are social levelers, and vividly highlighted the role played by national governments in selecting the constituencies it chooses to protect. Lee's documentary thus raises inconvenient truths not only about race and class in America, but also about the limits of national identity in an increasingly divided and unequal world. Climate change, which is one of the inconvenient truths at the heart of Lee's film, vividly attests to the arbitrariness of national borders and the protections that these borders may or may not afford. The film points to these limits by featuring a frequent insistence on the part of many of its protagonists that the hurricane victims were not, and should not be called, "refugees." Yet there is a sense in which these voices protest too much, and the film leaves the viewer with the lingering sense that particularly black America remains at the outer boundary of American national identity. To borrow a phrase from Yvonne Haddad, who uses it to describe the dilemmas of America's Muslim and Arab populations in a post-9/11 environment, Lee's film fails to dispel the notion that African Americans, and perhaps especially those residing in Louisiana's Crescent City, are "not quite American." "These United States of America," referred to in the film's dedication, cited in the epigraph, and signaling a subtle yet powerful transformation of the definite article from single to plural, thus emerge in Lee's film as a deeply troubled site in which the relative protections of national citizenship remain elusive for all but a privileged few. The long history of African American disenfranchisement--placing a large proportion on the rough end of both race and class prejudice--means that America's black population plays a central role in illuminating the national drama of inclusion and exclusion. This essay explores these dynamics by following the conversations in When the Levees Broke that, almost in spite of themselves, pit the terms "black" and "American" against one another. What emerges, however, is far more complex than the articulation of a simple black/white binary. As has been much noted, poor whites share in the post-hurricane neglect experienced by predominantly black people. Moreover, both Louisiana's French and Spanish pasts endow the state's race relations with a very different history from that of the rest of the United States. New Orleans, in particular, remains deeply marked both by European and West African culture. Louisiana's own persistent "foreignness" within the U. S. is underscored in the film on the part of one commentator who remarks that the state functions as a kind of colony of the federal government. …


Can combat experience foster organizational skills that engender political collective action? We use the arbitrary assignment of troops to frontline combat in World War II to identify the effect of combat experience on two channels that change local ethnic composition and future political control: ethnic cleansing and co-ethnic immigration. During the Partition of South Asia in 1947, an environment where national borders were themselves endogenous to ethnic composition, we find that ethnically mixed districts whose veterans gained more combat experience exhibit greater co-ethnic immigration and ethnic cleansing. However, where ethnic groups had been in complementary economic roles or the minority received greater combat experience, there was relatively less minority ethnic cleansing. We interpret these results as reflecting the substitute roles of ethnic cleansing and co-ethnic immigration in altering local ethnic composition to gain political control and the role of combat experience in enhancing organizational skill that facilitates political collective action.


The fundamental challenge in opportunistic net- working, regardless of the application, is enabling node cooper- ation in order to forward a message. While node cooperation is considered as a fundamental property in such networks, ensuring such a property between two devices in mobile op- portunistic networks remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we investigate the potential impact of the lack of trust on node cooperation. We adopt a real-trace driven approach to study and analyze the trade-off between trust and success delivery rates in opportunistic networks. We first explore leveraging social information to establish trustworthy communication for mobile opportunistic networks. We then propose six trust based filters that use three social-based estimators of trust including common interests, common friends, and the distance in the social graph, coupled with two major techniques of trust establishment including Relay-to-Relay, and Source-to-Relay. We finally show that our trust filters yield a fair trade-off between trust and success rate by achieving more than 35% success rate compared to an untrusted environment where 10% of the nodes refuse to cooperate in the absence of trust. Index Terms—Social Opportunistic Forwarding, DTN, Trust, mobility traces.


Choice RT experiments are an invaluable tool in psychology and neuroscience. A common assumption is that the total choice response time is the sum of a decision and a non-decision part (time spent on perceptual and motor processes). While the decision part is typically modeled very carefully (commonly with diffusion models), a simple and ad hoc distribution (mostly uniform) is assumed for the non-decision component. Nevertheless, it has been shown that the misspecification of the non-decision time can severely distort the decision model parameter estimates. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach to the estimation of choice RT models that elegantly bypasses the specification of the non-decision time distribution by means of an unconventional convolution of data and decision model distributions (hence called the D*M approach). Once the decision model parameters have been estimated, it is possible to compute a non-parametric estimate of the non-decision time distribution. The technique is tested on simulated data, and is shown to systematically remove traditional estimation bias related to misspecified non-decision time, even for a relatively small number of observations. The shape of the actual underlying non-decision time distribution can also be recovered. Next, the D*M approach is applied to a selection of existing diffusion model application papers. For all of these studies, substantial quantitative differences with the original analyses are found. For one study, these differences radically alter its final conclusions, underlining the importance of our approach. Additionally, we find that strongly right skewed non-decision time distributions are not at all uncommon.


The presentation of elderly patients with hip pain due to osteoarthritis is familiar to most general practitioners. Hip pain in the younger adult, particularly men, can be a less familiar and more challenging presentation. In this article the authors describe femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, an increasingly recognised cause of hip pain in the younger population.


While the general idea is to demonstrate how non-Western culture has been
represented by a Western one, the particular aim of the thesis is to offer an analysis of
twentieth century images of Turkey in the West mainly through the texts of thrillers
and travel accounts. Since Turkey has generally been treated as a Middle Eastern
country in terms of geography, culture and religion in those texts I have randomly
selected, the negative images of Turkey and the Turks have been examined from a
non-European point of view taking into account Michel Foucault's analysis
interpreted by Edward Said. In order to provide a better understanding of the texts
studied in the thesis, there is a brief presentation of the history and development of
travel writing and popular fiction as distinct literary genres in the Introduction.
Moreover, as the thesis demonstrates that there are a great number of direct or indirect
references to historical representations of the Turks identified with the Ottomans, a
chronological account of early images is made in the first chapter. These images can
be summed up under such general headings as 'Lustful' and 'Terrible' Turks or a
combination of both. The analysis of contemporary images of Turkey has been
undertaken separately in ensuing chapters. While the images of violence are discussed
in the second chapter, the images of the exotic which appear in the third, and the
fourth chapter deals with first impressions of Turkey and the Turks. The thesis, which
concludes with a discussion of the evolving process of Turkish stereotypes from
verbal to visual towards the end of the twentieth century, suggesting that there are also
other discourses in the media, particularly in the cinema worth examining as they also
construct and perpetuate the negative image discerned in the selection of the texts.


Introduction The collaborative care model is an approach providing care to those with mental health and addictions disorders in the primary care setting. There is a robust evidence base demonstrating its clinical and cost-effectiveness in comparison with usual care; however, the transitioning to this new paradigm of care has been difficult. While there are efforts to train and prepare healthcare professionals, not much is known about the current state of collaborative care training programmes. The objective of this scoping review is to understand how widespread these collaborative care education initiatives are, how they are implemented and their impacts. Methods and analysis The scoping review methodology uses the established review methodology by Arksey and O'Malley. The search strategy was developed by a medical librarian and will be applied in eight different databases spanning multiple disciplines. A two-stage screening process consisting of a title and abstract scan and a full-text review will be used to determine the eligibility of articles. To be included, articles must report on an existing collaborative care education initiative for healthcare providers. All articles will be independently assessed for eligibility by pairs of reviewers, and all eligible articles will be abstracted and charted in duplicate using a standardised form. The extracted data will undergo a 'narrative review' or a descriptive analysis of the contextual or process-oriented data and simple quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics. Ethics and dissemination Research ethics approval is not required for this scoping review. The results of this scoping review will inform the development of a collaborative care training initiative emerging from the Medical Psychiatry Alliance, a four-institution philanthropic partnership in Ontario, Canada. The results will also be presented at relevant national and international conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.


Background: In developing countries, manual small incision cataract surgery is a better alternative and less expensive in comparison to phacoemulsification and thus the incision is an important factor causing high rates of postoperative astigmatism resulting into poor visual outcome. Thus, modifications to the site of the incision is needed to reduce the pre-existing astigmatism and also to prevent postoperative astigmatism. Modification to superotemporal incision relieves pre-existing astigmatism majorly due to its characteristic of neutralizing against-the-rule astigmatism, which is more prevalent among elderly population and thus improves the visual outcome. Aims: To study the incidence, amount and type of surgically induced astigmatism in superior and superotemporal scleral incision in manual SICS. Methodology: It is a randomized, comparative clinical study done on 100 patients attending the OPD of Ophthalmology at a tertiary care hospital, with senile cataract within a period of one year and underwent manual SICS. 50 of them chosen randomly for superior incision and rest 50 with superotemporal incision. MSICS with PCIOL implantation were performed through unsutured 6.5 mm scleral incision in all. Patients were examined post-operatively on 1st day, 7th day, 2nd week and 4th week and astigmatism was evaluated and compared in both groups. Results: It is seen that on postoperative follow up on 4th week, 77.78% of the patients with ATR astigmatism who underwent superior incision had increased astigmatism whereas, only 13.63% of the patients with ATR astigmatism who underwent supero-temporal incision, had increased astigmatism but 81.82% had decreased ATR astigmatism. However, 77.78% of the patients with preoperative WTR astigmatism who underwent supero-temporal incision, had increased astigmatism, whereas 44.45% of the patients with WTR astigmatism preoperatively, had increased astigmatism in contrast to 50% had decreased amount of astigmatism. It is also seen that the supero-temporal incision group had more number of patients (78%) with visual acuity better than 6/9 at 4th postoperative week than superior incision group (42%). Conclusion: This study concludes that superior incision cause more ATR astigmatism postoperatively whereas superotemporal incision causes lower magnitude of WTR astigmatism, which is advantageous for the elderly. Besides superotemporal incision provides better and early visual acuity postoperatively.


Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a multiorgan hamartomatous disease caused by loss of function mutations of either the TSC1 or TSC2 genes. Neurological symptoms of TSC predominate in younger patients, but renal pathologies are a serious aspect of the disease in older children and adults. To study TSC pathogenesis in the kidney, we inactivated the mouse Tsc1 gene in the distal convoluted tubules (DCT). At young ages, Tsc1 conditional knockout (CKO) mice have enlarged kidneys and mild cystogenesis with increased mammalian target of rapamycin complex (mTORC)1 but decreased mTORC2 signaling. Treatment with the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin reduces kidney size and cystogenesis. Rapamycin withdrawal led to massive cystogenesis involving both distal as well as proximal tubules. To assess the contribution of decreased mTORC2 signaling in kidney pathogenesis, we also generated Rictor CKO mice. These animals did not have any detectable kidney pathology. Finally, we examined primary cilia in the DCT. Cilia were longer in Tsc1 CKO mice, and rapamycin treatment returned cilia length to normal. Rictor CKO mice had normal cilia in the DCT. Overall, our findings suggest that loss of the Tsc1 gene in the DCT is sufficient for renal cystogenesis. This cytogenesis appears to be mTORC1 but not mTORC2 dependent. Intriguingly, the mechanism may be cell autonomous as well as non-cell autonomous and possibly involves the length and function of primary cilia.


Remote sensing techniques have been shown effective for large-scale damage surveys after a hazardous event in both near real-time or post-event analyses. The paper aims to compare accuracy of common imaging processing techniques to detect tornado damage tracks from Landsat TM data. We employed the direct change detection approach using two sets of images acquired before and after the tornado event to produce a principal component composite images and a set of image difference bands. Techniques in the comparison include supervised classification, unsupervised classification, and object-oriented classification approach with a nearest neighbor classifier. Accuracy assessment is based on Kappa coefficient calculated from error matrices which cross tabulate correctly identified cells on the TM image and commission and omission errors in the result. Overall, the Object-oriented Approach exhibits the highest degree of accuracy in tornado damage detection. PCA and Image Differencing methods show comparable outcomes. While selected PCs can improve detection accuracy 5 to 10%, the Object-oriented Approach performs significantly better with 15-20% higher accuracy than the other two techniques.


Branching morphogenesis of epithelia is an important mechanism in animal development, being responsible for the characteristic architectures of glandular organs such as kidney, lung, prostate and salivary gland. In these systems, new branches usually arise at the tips of existing branches. Recent studies, particularly in kidney, have shown that tip cells express a set of genes distinct from those in the stalks. Tip cells also undergo most cell proliferation, daughter cells either remaining in the tip or being left behind as the tips advance, to differentiate and contribute to new stalk. Published time-lapse observations have suggested, though, that new branches may be able to arise from stalks. This happens so rarely, however, that it is not clear whether this reflects true plasticity and reversal of differentiation, or whether it is just an occasional instance of groups of tip cells being `left behind' by error in a mainly stalk zone. To determine whether cells that have differentiated into stalks really do retain the ability to make new tips, we have removed existing tips from stalks, verified that the stalks are free of tip cells, and assessed the ability of tip-free stalks to initiate new branches. We find stalks to be fully capable of regenerating tips that express typical tip markers, with these tips going on to form epithelial trees, at high frequency. The transition from tip to stalk is therefore reversible, at least for early stages of development. This observation has major implications for models of pattern formation in branching trees, and may also be important for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.


Given the widespread popularity of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, understanding consumer-brand engagement behavior within social media is fundamental for retail firms. Yet, little is known about how consumers engage with retail brands through social media. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap and extend previous research by examining factors that influence consumers' attitudes and intentions to engage with retail brands through Facebook, and ultimately purchase products and services.,This study draws on the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model to develop a model of consumer-brand social media engagement and purchase intentions. Specifically, the model tests the influence of five antecedents of attitude on consumer intentions to engage with retail brands through the brands' Facebook pages as well as intentions to make purchases through this social media. The hypotheses of the model are tested using structural equation modeling.,The findings provide an understanding of the main drivers of consumer-brand engagement that can lead to purchase intentions. Results show that consumers' attitudes toward engaging with retail brands through Facebook are influenced by peer communication, compatibility and credibility, and that attitude has a strong influence on intentions toward this behavior. Furthermore, there is a strong relationship between intentions to engage and the likelihood of purchasing through a retail brand's Facebook page.,This study is cross-sectional and was conducted at a particular point in time. Thus, results are not purported to make any inferences to causal relationships. Further, the measures of intentions to engage are attitudinal and not objective measures. Future longitudinal studies may help avoid this limitation by testing causal relationships.,The study contributes to the important area of consumer engagement with retail brands through social media in ways that may lead to making purchases. Findings can provide retailers with reference points through which to engage their brands with consumers through their Facebook pages in ways that may lead to more direct returns on their investment in social media sites.,Retailers are noticing the power of social media sites as a platform for engaging with consumers and extending this relationship to purchases. However, scant research has addressed this topic. The proposed model and findings of this study can extend prior research.


Abstract Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), an ancient aquatic plant, possesses a unique pharmacological activity that is primarily contributed by benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs). However, only few genes and enzymes involved in BIA biosynthesis in N. nucifera have been isolated and characterized. In the present study we identified the regiopromiscuity of an O-methyltransferase, designated NnOMT6, isolated from N. nucifera; NnOMT6 was found to catalyze the methylation of monobenzylisoquinoline 6-O/7-O, aporphine skeleton 6-O, phenylpropanoid 3-O, and protoberberine 2-O. We further probed the key residues affecting NnOMT6 activity via molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. Verification using site-directed mutagenesis revealed that residues D316, N130, L135, N176A, D269, and E328 were critical for BIA O-methyltransferase activities; furthermore, N323A, a mutant of NnOMT6, demonstrated a substantial increase in catalytic efficiency for BIAs and a broader acceptor scope compared with wild-type NnOMT6. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the O-methyltransferase activity of an aporphine skeleton without benzyl moiety substitutions in N. nucifera. The study findings provide biocatalysts for the semisynthesis of related medical compounds and give insights into protein engineering to strengthen O-methyltransferase activity in plants.


Understanding the molecular basis of innate immune evasion by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an important consideration for designing the next wave of therapeutics. Here, we investigate the role of the nonstructural protein 16 (NSP16) of SARS-CoV-2 in infection and pathogenesis. NSP16, a ribonucleoside 2'-O methyltransferase (MTase), catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group to mRNA as part of the capping process. Based on observations with other CoVs, we hypothesized that NSP16 2'-O MTase function protects SARS-CoV-2 from cap-sensing host restriction. Therefore, we engineered SARS-CoV-2 with a mutation that disrupts a conserved residue in the active site of NSP16. We subsequently show that this mutant is attenuated both in vitro and in vivo, using a hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Mechanistically, we confirm that the NSP16 mutant is more sensitive to type I interferon (IFN-I) in vitro. Furthermore, silencing IFIT1 or IFIT3, IFN-stimulated genes that sense a lack of 2'-O methylation, partially restores fitness to the NSP16 mutant. Finally, we demonstrate that sinefungin, a methyltransferase inhibitor that binds the catalytic site of NSP16, sensitizes wild-type SARS-CoV-2 to IFN-I treatment. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of SARS-CoV-2 NSP16 in evading host innate immunity and suggest a possible target for future antiviral therapies. Importance Similar to other coronaviruses, disruption of SARS-CoV-2 NSP16 function attenuates viral replication in a type I interferon-dependent manner. In vivo, our results show reduced disease and viral replication at late times in the hamster lung, but an earlier titer deficit for the NSP16 mutant (dNSP16) in the upper airway. In addition, our results confirm a role for IFIT1, but also demonstrate the necessity of IFIT3 in mediating dNSP16 attenuation. Finally, we show that targeting NSP16 activity with a 2'-O methyltransferase inhibitor in combination with type I interferon offers a novel avenue for antiviral development.


Background: Detailed mapping of the corpus callosum for functional fractionation in humans remains incomplete. Objective: To examine separable interhemispheric transfer of visual information by callosal fibers, especially in the splenium. Methods: We examined callosal disconnection signs in a 14-year-old boy with a lesion confined to the posterior part of the splenium and reviewed reported cases with callosal lesions. Results and Conclusion: The patient presented with left hemialexia as the only manifestation of callosal disconnection syndrome. The only difficulty demonstrated was in reading aloud or copying letters, which were presented tachistoscopically to the left visual field, with his right hand. He could copy letters presented to his left visual field with his left hand, however. Therefore, left hemialexia was not due to hemiamblyopia or hemineglect. There was no anomia for pictures and colors in the left visual field. MRI revealed that the lesion was limited to the ventroposterior end of the splenium. Review of 40 reported patients with callosal lesions suggests that the anterior to middle part of the splenium is involved in transferring picture information from the language-nondominant hemisphere to the language-dominant hemisphere and that the ventroposterior part is involved in transferring letter information.


In February 2016, the Institute for Falsification researched the production of fake news in Veles, North Macedonia. Focusing on a specific hoax distributed from Veles via social media, this article analyses the political and aesthetic effects of fake news. It argues that fakes and hoaxes (mis)use established references to renew pre-existing discourses, media techniques, and symbols. The present definition of fakes is therefore insufficient for these practices.