OBJECTIVE
To describe challenges that late preterm infants (LPIs) face with breastfeeding and to provide an overview of current policy statements and practice guidelines that support breastfeeding for LPIs. In addition, we describe current breastfeeding research related to the LPI and combine this research with policies and practice guidelines to provide evidence-based recommendations to guide practice and future research in the NICU.

DATA SOURCES
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and PubMed databases.

STUDY SELECTION
Policies, guidelines, and research relevant to breastfeeding the LPI were selected if they were published between January 1, 2009 and March 1, 2014. All documents were published in English and related to breastfeeding management or breastfeeding outcomes for the LPI.

DATA EXTRACTION
Information from articles, policies, and guidelines were chosen for their relevance to breastfeeding the LPI.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Policy statements and practice guidelines were reviewed to provide an understanding of breastfeeding recommendations for the LPI. Additionally, recent research studies were reviewed and combined with the policy statements and practice guidelines to provide practice recommendations for NICU providers.

CONCLUSIONS
LPIs require a unique set of interventions for breastfeeding success; though they might be perceived as small, full-term infants, these infants often have greater challenges with breastfeeding than their term counterparts. Future research should be directed at identifying and testing specific strategies that will best support this at-risk population. Findings from this article are applicable for the LPI in the NICU as well as other care areas such as special care and transitional nurseries.


Two Hsp82 genes were isolated from the malaria vector Anopheles albimanus in a single lambda phage clone. The two genes are in a head‐to‐head arrangement separated by approx. 0.9 kbp. Northern hybridizations and 5' RACE demonstrate that both genes are transcribed, have moderate levels of constitutive transcription, and are also heat‐inducible with maximum transcript accumulation occurring after 40°C heat shocks. Both genes have typical heat‐shock promoters and conserved intron boundaries in the untranslated leaders. The open reading frames are 99.6% identical differing in only nine silent nucleotide positions in the 2166 bp ORFs. However, precisely outside the ORFs, the flanking DNA of the two genes shows no evidence of common derivation. The high degree of identity between the two ORFs appears to be a result of gene conversion occurring by a process similar to that previously suspected in the A. albimanus Hsp70 genes and several D. melanogaster genes arranged as palindromes. This process probably involves a stem‐loop intermediate and is restricted in extent by flanking sequence divergence. These Hsp82 genes clearly demonstrate the extreme precision with which gene conversion can lead to proteincoding‐region homogeneity yet allow flanking DNA divergence.


In this paper, we examine the effect of an organization's multi-dimensional reputation on the external stakeholders' preference for an organization in the notions of reputation incongruence. We propose that an organization's incongruent reputation, or large variations among the reputations of each dimension, can be an unfavorable signal to its stakeholders based on theoretical ideas that claim reputation incongruence induces the ambiguity and risk of an organization perceived by stakeholders. We also investigate the moderating effect of reputation incongruence by positing that this incongruence may nullify the influences of reputation dimensions on the preferences of stakeholders. These propositions about reputation incongruence are empirically examined in the context of MBA programs of the global business schools which have three dimensions of reputation—career development, globalization, and research performance.


Coffee husks (CHs) is a high biological activity by-product of the coffee bean industry, but currently, in Vietnam, it has not been used properly in the food industry. This study was conducted to investigate the combined cellulolytic and pectinolytic enzymes to increase the polyphenol extractability of coffee husks. The red ripe Robusta coffee cherries from Dăklak province, Vietnam were blanched, peeled and the coffee husks was then extracted. The effects of pectinase content (from 0 to 800 U/gCHs), cellulase content (from 0 to 800 U/gCHs), pH (from 3.0 to 5.0), temperature (from 40◦C to 60◦C), CHs: solvent ratio (from 1: 6 to 1:12) and extracted time (from 60 minutes to 120 minutes) on soluble solid content (SSC), total polyphenol content (TPC) and antioxidant activity were investigated. The appropriate conditions for the treatment were pectinase dosage of 600 U/gCHs, cellulase dosage of 400 U/gCHs, pH 4.0, temperature 50◦C, CHs:soluble ratio = 1:10 and incubation time of 60 min under which the SSC, TPC and antioxidant activity of extract were highest by 60.60.4 g/100g dry weight of CHs, 200.5 gGAE /100g dry weight of CHs, 1.5 +/- 0.1 mMTE/g dry weight of extract (according to DPPH assay) and 1.5 +/- 0.1 mMTE/g dry weight of extract (according to DPPH assay). From this result, it can be seen that the extracted solution from coffee husk is a potential source for the production of soft drinks with high antioxidant activity.


The "5th Workshop on Architectures, Services and Applications for the Next Generation Internet" (WASA-NGI-V) invited researchers and practitioners to share their ideas on novel network architectures and services to support emerging data-intensive Internet applications. The workshop focuses especially on architectures and services that expose high flexibility for scaling applications and also provide efficient processing of data streams. This includes all aspects related to QoS, mobility, heterogeneity, and interoperability while employing the possibilities of novel communication technologies. Within this scope, the workshop received 14 submissions. Five technical contributions were selected for oral presentation in a rigorous review process, which yields an acceptance rate of 36%. The program committee consisted of 20 international members.


Activation of coal gangue from Yixing was done by the method of addition of calcium during calcination. Structural characteristic and cementitious properties of activated samples were analyzed. And then hydration degree of activated coal gangue cement was studied. The results show that: thermally and chemically added-calcium composite activation method can improve the activity of coal gangue. At 1050°C, more effective silicate minerals may be in activated samples, with which cement system may have a higher degree of hydration. infra-red(IR) spectra shows that large number of new mineral peaks can occur in activated sample, and with extending of hydration age mineral peaks gradually decreases until it disappears.


PURPOSE: Resting heart rate[RHR] is a simple, inexpensive, non-invasive, and ubiquitously collected vital sign. Further, heart rate information is now more readily accessible to the general population due to the popularity of wearable devices, capable of measuring RHR. Purpose of the current review paper are to summarize 1) literature which report associations between RHR and health outcomes, and 2) to suggest the use of RHR as a new health indicator
METHODS: We performed a search, including reviews and original papers, on the PubMed and Korean Information Service System (KISS) electronic databases of articles assessing the association between RHR and the risk and prognosis of diseases. For our search strategy, we used combinations of the following key terms: resting heart rate, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer.
RESULTS: RHR's prognostic value as a marker of general health, has received considerable attention recently. Studies have consistently shown clear associations of elevated RHR with cardiovascular disease [CVD], type 2 diabetes, and even cancer [prevalence, incidence and mortality]. Due to strong association between RHR and health outcomes, RHR may be used as a preliminary health indicator, to detect undiagnosed cardiometabolic diseases and cancer. However, it is still unclear whether elevated RHR is one of the risk markers or risk factors in diseases of our interest. Factors associated with RHR include aerobic fitness, physical activity, body mass, smoking, drinking, sleep duration, and stress. Changing these modifiable lifestyle components coincide with general health recommendations, which would improve one's health.
CONCLUSIONS: RHR may reflect disease risk and changes lifestyles which may affect health outcomes. Therefore, due to the ease of measurement, lowering RHR may be a new target for better health.


Lithuania has a well-developed transportation system. Its geographically strategic position is very important to European transport corridors. In Lithuania, there are various important factors that contribute to shaping the sector's characteristics — lack of knowledge, a low level of computerization and Internet usage – that cause 'ebusiness possibilities' not to be used. An appropriate analysis of effective e-business usage for the development of competitive advantage between transportation companies is a very important task which requires theoretical grounding and research of practical possibilities. The purpose of paper is to analyze the use of e-business in Lithuania's transportation companies. The survey was supposed to act as a guideline to the future of Internet usage in the Lithuanian transportation industry. The survey tried to find out considerations about the Internet, how it had affected their business and activities and what might happen in the future.


Gamma spectroscopy and gross neutron counting systems are commonly employed together during nuclear security operations, particularly mobile searches. The data from these systems are typically analyzed independently; however, operational data suggest a relationship between the background signals from both systems. This relationship appears to occur between the neutron count rate and the high energy (greater than 3 MeV) gamma spectrometer count rate for background conditions. To verify the presence of this correlation, high energy gamma ray and neutron count rates were measured in five parking garages on the Texas A&M University campus. These measurements employed one 4" x 4" x 16" NaI detector with an Ortec digiBASE MCA, four moderated 1" x 18" He tubes (part of the Ortec NAI-SS system), and two unmoderated 2" x 15" He tubes (part of a Thermo PackEye system). The NaI detector was calibrated to a 50 MeV scale and ignored signals less than 4 MeV. Results show a decrease in the count rate of each detector as the systems were moved further below the roof of each garage. These decreases appear linear, but exponential relationships are plausible. More importantly, the data also show that the count rates from the two different detector types are linearly related. The linear relationships are strong, and the slopes vary depending on which neutron counter is considered against the gamma spectrometer. While it is possible that these relationships are the result of the NaI system detecting 4-50 MeV (or even higher energy) gamma rays, it is more likely that this system is detecting charged particles: muons generated by cosmic ray interactions with the atmosphere or protons produced by the decay of free neutrons. All three of these particles would be produced proportionally to the neutrons that the He tubes would detect, either from the decay of the neutrons themselves or by being produced from the same cosmic ray interactions that produce the neutrons.


A technique for adjusting a minimum volume set of covering ellipsoids technique is elaborated. Solutions to this problem have potential application in one class classification and clustering problems. Its main original features are: (a) it avoids the direct evaluation of determinants by using diagonalization properties of the involved matrices, (b) it identifies and removes outliers from the estimation process, (c) it avoids binary variables resulting from the combinatorial character of the assignment problem that are replaced by continuous variables in the range [0,1], (d) the problem can be solved by a bilevel algorithm that in its first level determines the ellipsoids and in its second level re-assigns the data points to ellipsoids and identifies outliers based on an algorithm that forces the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions to be satisfied. Two theorems provide rigorous bases for the proposed methods. Finally, a set of examples of application in different fields are given to illustrate the power of the method and its practical performance.


The Spinning Screen In screen-based experiences, the screen itself can become the physical device used for interaction. The "move-ability" of the screen affords interactivity between the screen artifact and the viewer and between the virtual space and the physical space. As a movable screen interface, I have created the spinning screen, a two-sided monitor mounted on a revolving base. This interface invites user interaction through the action of spinning the screen. User interactions with the spinning screen can support diverse temporal and spatial responses, thereby enriching users' experiences. The spinning screen enables the viewer to grasp the interplay between visibility and invisibility, creating an aesthetic experience. The angle and direction of rotation affects the displayed visuals and audio output.


The ongoing revolution in life sciences research is producing vast amounts of genetic and proteomic sequence data. Scientists want to pose increasingly complex queries on this data, but current methods for querying biological sequences are primitive and largely procedural. This limits the ease with which complex queries can be posed, and often results in very inefficient query plans. There is a growing and urgent need for declarative and efficient methods for querying biological sequence data. In this paper, we introduce a system called Periscope/SQ which addresses this need. Queries in our system are based on a well-defined extension of relational algebra. We introduce new physical operators and support for novel indexes in the database. As part of the optimization framework, we describe a new technique for selectivity estimation of string pattern matching predicates that is more accurate than previous methods. We also describe a simple, yet highly effective algorithm to optimize sequence queries. Finally, using a real-world application in eye genetics, we show how Periscope/SQ can be used to achieve a speedup of two orders of magnitude over existing procedural methods!


in 2000, a group of seniors with various Yiddish language skills formed the Winnipeg Women's Yiddish Reading Circle—a leyenkrayz—where they would read stories aloud in Yiddish to the group. The leyenkrayz has been a long-standing tradition of literary discussion and from this Winnipeg leyenkrayz came the inspiration for this anthology of fourteen translated stories from nine authors. While all are steeped in yidishkayt, the range of geography, history, subject and style are vast and diverse. There is satire and wit, fury and insight; stories of immigration, family, revolution and the Holocaust; stories of religion, politics, love and daily life. We hear, for instance, with a wry humor of what options life offered for a young girl who ruins the chance for a "rabbi in the family," by allowing an inconsolable baby to be nursed by a "healthy goye" in Sarah Hamer-Jacklyn's "No More Rabbi," and feel the suggestive detail in the contemporary setting of Rikuda Potash's The Sad House in Talibye, where artists and a nurse struggle with their demons. The complexity of these stories and lives brings forward a realistic, engaging and nuanced look into the lives of Ashkenazi women, missing from our culture, literature and history. The House of Memory: Stories by Jewish Women Writers of Latin America Edited by Marjorie Agosin (Feminist Press, 1999)


Dissatisfaction with traditional mechanisms of funding agricultural research and dissemination (AR&D) in developing countries has led to the introduction of competitive agricultural technology funds (CAM) in an increasing number of them. This model is now favoured by many donors, despite the fact that available information on its modalities and performance has been fragmentary. This paper reviews experience with ten such funds in very different national and institutional settings.


Introduction. Platelet function, platelet volume indices, traditional markers of lipid metabolism, inflammatory markers and a novel biomarker, cyclophilin A (CyPA), are related as far as they have implications in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate interrelations among these factors, correlation between platelet function and inflammatory factors, also a function of CyPA.
 Materials and methods. 160 male patients with high risk of atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome were included in the study. Inclusion criteria were as follows: disturbances in lipids profile, increased weight, smoking, acute or chronic stress, no previous or current acute cardiovascular disease (CVD), high risk and presence of stress confirmed by physician. CRP, vWF, fibrinogen, CyPA levels were measured. Platelet function was assessed by aggregation and flow cytometry.
 Results. Increasing number of risk factors gave statistically significant elevation in fibrinogen, thrombin receptors activating peptide, CRP, glucose, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet large cell ratio, lipids and their ratios with extremely significant linearity. MPV correlated positively with CD42a (r = 0.605; p < 0.001) and negatively with CD42a/CD14 (r = –0.327; p < 0.001). Lipid ratios were found to be prognostic for metabolic syndrome biochemical markers. Platelet function parameters showed relation with lipid ratios, lipid-CRP ratios, MPV and vWF. CyPA correlated with CD42a/CD14 (r = 0.202, p = 0.010).
 Conclusions. Platelets in men with dyslipidemia and other investigated risk factors have a tendency to be hyperreactive. It might be considered as a separate risk factor for CVD. Inflammatory status does not correlate with the platelet function. CyPA reflects inflammatory processes but not the platelet function.


Security is always a major concern and a topic of hot discussion to users of Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs). The open architecture of WMNs makes it very easy for malicious attackers to exploit the loopholes in the routing protocol. Cooperative Black-hole attack is a type of denial-of-service attack that sabotages the routing functions of the network layer in WMNs. In this paper we have focused on improving the security of one of the popular routing protocols among WMNs, Ad-hoc on demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol and present a probable solution to this attack using Merkle hash tree.


Tar mats at the oil-water contact (OWC tar mats) in oilfield reservoirs can have enormous, pernicious effects on production due to possibly preventing of any natural water drive and precluding any effectiveness of water injectors into aquifers. In spite of this potentially huge impact, tar mat formation is only now being resolved and integrated within advanced asphaltene science. Herein, we describe a very different type of tar mat which we refer to as a "rapid-destabilization tar mat"; it is the asphaltenes that undergo rapid destabilization. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to describe such rapid-destabilization tar mats at least in this context. Rapid-destabilization tar mats can be formed at the crest of the reservoir, generally not at the OWC and can introduce their own set of problems in production. Most importantly, rapid-destabilization tar mats can be porous and permeable, unlike the OWC tar mats. The rapid-destabilization tar mat can undergo plastic flow under standard production conditions rather unlike the OWC tar mat. As its name implies, the rapid-destabilization tar mat can form in very young reservoirs in which thermodynamic disequilibrium in the oil column prevails, while the OWC tar mats generally take longer (geologic) time to form and are often associated with thermodynamically equilibrated oil columns. Here, we describe extensive data sets on rapid-destabilization tar mats in two adjacent reservoirs. The surprising properties of these rapiddestabilization tar mats are redundantly confirmed in many different ways. All components of the processes forming rapiddestabilization tar mats are shown to be consistent with powerful new developments in asphaltene science, specifically with the development of the first equation of state for asphaltene gradients, the Flory-Huggins-Zuo Equation, which has been enabled by the resolution of asphaltene nanostructures in crude oil codified in the Yen-Mullins Model. Rapid-destabilization tar mats represent one extreme while the OWC tar mats represent the polar opposite extreme. In the future, occurrences of tar in reservoirs can be better understood within the context of these two end members tar mats. In addition, two reservoirs in the same minibasin show the same behavior. This important observation allows fluid analysis in wells in one reservoir to indicate likely issues in other reservoirs in the same basin.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To examine the relationship between caregiver burden and symptom distress in patients with terminal cancer who are enrolled in hospice.

DESIGN
Descriptive, quantitative.

SETTING
A large, metropolitan, nonprofit-based organization in west central Florida.

SAMPLE
Convenience sample of 30 patient-caregiver dyads enrolled in hospice.

METHODS
Caregivers completed the Caregiver Reaction Scale to measure the level of caregiver burden; patients completed the Adopted Symptom Distress Scale. Results were correlated using a Pearson correlation.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Symptom distress and caregiver burden.

FINDINGS
The patient sample exhibited low symptom distress, and the caregiver sample exhibited moderate caregiver burden. A statistically significant moderate correlation existed between symptom distress and caregiver burden.

CONCLUSIONS
The significant moderate correlation confirms the idea that caregiver burden and patient symptom distress are related. Future studies are needed to obtain a more representative sample of caregivers of patients closer to death, even if those patients are nonresponsive.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE
This information can assist hospice nurses in assessing and formulating targeted care for symptom distress and caregiver burden in their patients,


OBJECTIVE
To identify the intervention mechanism of the effect of electroacupuncture on the expression of Ang/Tie-2 mRNA and protein in rats with acute cerebral infarction induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

METHODS
Altogether 120 Wistar rats were subjected to MCAO by inserting a nylon filament, and then divided into 3 groups: control group, injured group and electroacupuncture group. The injured and electroacupuncture groups were further divided into the following 7 subgroups according to the time after MCAO: 3, 6, 12, 24 h, 3, 7 and 12 d, with 8 rats in each subgroup. The electroacupuncture group was given electroacupuncture treatment at Shuigou (GV 26) instantly after operation. The rats were killed at different time points according to their groups, and then the expression levels of Ang/Tie-2 mRNA and protein were detected using Real-Time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS
The mRNA and protein expression levels of Ang/Tie-2 in the electroacupuncture group were significant higher than that in the injured group.

CONCLUSION
The results suggested that electroacupuncture could significantly regulate the expression of Ang/Tie-2 mRNA and protein in the rats with acute cerebral infarction induced by MCAO, and enhance angiogenesis after ischemic penumbra.


This paper proposes a QoS-guaranteed IPTV service provisioning by differentiated traffic handling in home network IEEE 802.11e/g Wireless LAN. The proposed traffic engineering scheme prioritizes IPTV traffic to provide guaranteed QoS in the inter-mixed and congested traffic condition. Prioritization of traffic is provided by assigning differentiated access category to each packet according to predefined QoS class. When generating multimedia video data, the IPTV server prioritizes user data by setting ToS field of IP datagram to be able to distinguish the multimedia traffic from usual best effort traffic in the home network. This paper provides detailed explanation of classification and mapping of multimedia traffic on home networks, based on access categories of IEEE 802.11e Wireless LAN. Performance evaluations show that IPTV MPEG-2 traffic, encoded at about 2Mbps bitrate, can be delivered with guaranteed QoS even when the aggregated traffic reaches up to 20Mbps in IEEE 802.11e/g WLAN access point. The received video traffic has a quality that is good enough to satisfy users, and QoE(Quality of Experience) of received video is verified by VQM(Video Quality Metric). From the series of experiments, we found that the proposed differentiated traffic engineering for IPTV service can provide QoS-guaranteed real-time service in home network with Wireless LAN.


Stokvel is a type of 'rotating savings and credit associations' found only in South Africa (SA) which have an estimated value of R49 billion and a membership of 11,5 million, in a country with a populace of 57million and an informal economy with a total value of R160 billion – yet remain a hidden sector of the economy. This confirms that there is a shortage of the consulted literature on the model for integrating the stokvels into the economic policy framework of a municipality. Therefore, developing the stokvel industry could be key to poverty alleviation, reduction of unemployment and broadening equitable access to the ownership of the economy and capital accumulation; thus, improving the livelihoods and raising the standard of living. The objective of the paper is to determine the economic contribution factors of stokvels in the economic transformation of SA at a municipality level. The paper used a mixed methods design. A sample size of 395 stokvel groups' respondents for the quantitative research was selected using a simple random probability sampling method. The response rate was 100 percent. For the qualitative part, six policy-makers were interviewed using the purposive non-probability sampling method. The paper revealed that the money saving and investment, business opportunities and job creation, and policy development were the main economic contribution factors of stokvels in SA at the municipalities. The paper recommended for policy-makers to formulate an economic transformation policy framework inclusive of stokvels and to adopt their economic contribution factors.


The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) is an informal network of states seeking to strengthen their national and collective capacities to interdict materials related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Despite the lack of means to objectively assess how effective the PSI has been in fulfilling its main objective, it can be described as a qualified success. However, the PSI faces a number of challenges in its everevolving fight against WMD proliferation: (a) certain, significant global actors are not involved in the PSI, (b) there are gaps in both the national legislations of PSI participants and international legal frameworks, (c) capacity-building activities within the PSI are irregular, (d) civilian law enforcement officers are not sufficiently involved in PSI exercises, and (e) the PSI has so far failed to develop assessment measures for effectiveness. The realization of critical interdiction capabilities and practices, and the further institutionalization of the PSI, could help to address some of these challenges. The European Union, regardless of whether it is given formal status in the initiative, could also play a role in discussions and activities to facilitate the successful realization of nonproliferation goals that it shares with the PSI.


Dropped head syndrome (DHS) is a relatively rare condition, with a broad differential diagnosis. This deformity has significant implications on the health and quality of life of affected individuals. While surgery seems to be an obvious therapeutic option, there is a paucity of information on surgical intervention with no clear consensus on an optimal approach or timing. We present a case of DHS in a young woman to illustrate this condition, and review the current literature. Although at present the only definitive solution for correction and stabilization of DHS is surgical intervention involving multilevel instrumented fixation and fusion, this condition requires a persistent medical workup and treatment of reversible causes before surgical intervention is contemplated.


Educational attainment is strongly associated with a person's life chances, and poorer children most often have poorer educational outcomes, thus entrenching inequalities. It is known that living in a deprived neighbourhood can have a detrimental impact on educational outcomes. Additionally, it has been found that having a high proportion of poor pupils within a school can have a negative impact on individual educational outcomes. In Glasgow, tenure mixing, which aims to break up areas of mainly social rented housing with owner occupation, has been an objective of regeneration policy. This thesis aims to look at whether mixed tenure policy has had an impact on individual pupil educational attainment in Glasgow.

A mixed methods approach was utilised. Firstly changes between two timepoints using data from Glasgow City Council, 2001 and 2011 Censuses, and Scottish Qualification Agency data were examined, focusing on educational attainment and housing tenure. Secondly, multilevel modelling was used to explore variations in educational attainment between neighbourhoods and schools in relation to housing tenure and other socioeconomic measures at each timepoint, as well as over time. Finally, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 15 teachers and pupils in two case study schools in Glasgow.

This research found that the proportion of owner occupied households in a pupil's neighbourhood had a significant impact on their educational attainment, over and above other individual, neighbourhood, school catchment area and school factors, suggesting that mixed tenure policy could have an impact on educational attainment in Glasgow. Owner occupation was seen by teachers as a way of increasing the numbers of 'aspirational' families in catchment areas. Without an influx of 'aspirational' pupils the scope for policies to raise attainment and reputation to take hold was viewed to be limited. Pupils were more likely to be negative about changes in the catchment areas, highlighting the slow pace of change, and felt that their schools and areas were stigmatised due to poor reputation.

This thesis illustrates the importance of taking into account the different contexts that may impact on a person's outcomes. It also highlights the role of policy to take a more holistic view of contextual influences.


Of the different catheterisation methods described for closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), coil embolisation is most commonly used in dogs. However, for a PDA larger than 4 to 5 mm in diameter, coil implantation is difficult. For these cases, the Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO) offers an alternative method. This report describes the successful implantation of an ADO in two dogs with large PDAs of approximately 6 mm diameter. The self-expandible device attached to an implantation wire was advanced through a long sheath antegrade to the femoral vein through the right heart and pulmonary artery to the duct and delivered into the PDA. Thereafter the device was released by unscrewing it from the delivery cable. The large PDA in both dogs was totally occluded by these means without any residual shunt. Thus, the ADO is a controlled release implant that also allows occlusion of a large PDA. Its high costs limit its general use in veterinary medicine at the present time.


Purpose Concerns have been raised that modern intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) may be associated with increased second primary cancer risks (SPC) compared to previous three-dimensional conformal radiation techniques (3DCRT), due to increased low dose volumes and more out-of-field ionizing dose to peripheral tissue further away from the target. We assessed the impact of treatment technique on SPC risks in a cohort of prostate cancer (PCa) survivors. Material and Methods The study cohort comprised 1,561 PCa survivors aged 50–79 years at time of radiotherapy, treated between 2006–2013 (N=707 IMRT, N=854 3DCRT). Treatment details were extracted from radiotherapy systems and merged with longitudinal data of the Netherlands Cancer Registry to identify SPCs. Primary endpoint was the development of a solid SPC (excluding skin cancer) in peripheral anatomical regions, i.e. non-pelvic. Applied latency period was 12 months. SPC rates in the IMRT cohort (total cohort and age subgroups) were compared to 1) the 3DCRT cohort by calculating Sub-Hazard Ratios (sHR) using a competing risk model, and 2) to the general male population by calculating Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIR). Models were adjusted for calendar period and age. Results Median follow-up was 8.0 years (accumulated 11,664 person-years at-risk) with 159 cases developing ≥1 non-pelvic SPC. For IMRT vs 3DCRT we observed a significantly (p=0.03) increased risk (sHR=1.56, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.03–2.36, corresponding estimated excess absolute risk (EAR) of +7 cases per 10,000 person-years). At explorative analysis, IMRT was in particular associated with increased risks within the subgroup of active smokers (sHR 2.94, p=0.01). Within the age subgroups 50–69 and 70–79 years, the sHR for non-pelvic SPC was 3.27 (p=0.001) and 0.96 (p=0.9), respectively. For pelvic SPC no increase was observed (sHR=0.8, p=0.4). Compared to the general population, IMRT was associated with significantly increased risks for non-pelvic SPC in the 50–69 year age group (SIR=1.90, p<0.05) but not in the 70–79 years group (SIR=1.08). Conclusion IMRT is associated with increased SPC risks for subjects who are relatively young at time of treatment. Additional research on aspects of IMRT that may cause this effect is essential to minimize risks for future patients receiving modern radiotherapy.


Axonal injury and loss of white matter has been well documented in corpus callosum (CC) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating disorder of the of Central Nervous System (CNS). The CC is the largest compact white matter fiber bundle of the brain connecting the two cerebral hemispheres. It seems that CC continue to mature structurally from infancy to adulthood (Muetzel RL, 2008). The topographical organization of its fibers allows the association of its abnormalities with those of specific cortical regions. It is one of the few white matter tracts that can be adequately evaluated by conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), having sharply demarcated two-dimensional limits on a mid-saggital T1W imaging (Fiqueira FF, 2007). So, as a consequence of these anatomic characteristics, it is reasonable to assume that CC morphometrics might be used as a possible marker for the analysis of its integrity. Conventional and non-conventional MRI techniques have been used to characterize pathological damages of the CC; for instance, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can show white matter changes undetected by conventional MRI (Bester M, 2008). We carried out a review focusing our interest on the diagnostic efficacy of MRI to predict MS disability. PubMed search engine was used to select manuscripts with predefined search terms: "corpus callosum", "multiple sclerosis", "disability" and "magnetic resonance imaging". Only manuscripts in English language, published from January 2003 to January 2013, were selected. Abstracts and unpublished studies were excluded. References of all relevant retrieved articles, of review articles, were also evaluated manually in order to find additional articles. For data extraction an electronic form was prepared. The findings of the review suggest that CC atrophy is a more sensitive marker of disease activity than the global atrophy measures, predicting clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS)conversion as early as 6 months of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) (Kalincik T, 2012). Furthermore, the occurrence or growth of lesions over the first year in the splenium of corpus callosum, together with the cerebellum and the thalamus, was associated with cognitive worsening at year 5. CC atrophy seems to be a simple and an accurate predictor of disability, mostly for secondary progressive MS (Fiqueira FF, 2007), and it seems helpful for routine clinical activities (Vaneckova M, 2012).


Since 2016, there has been an explosion of interest in misinformation and its role in elections. Research by news outlets, government agencies, and academics alike has shown that millions of Americans have been exposed to dubious political news online. However, relatively little research has focused on documenting the effects of consuming this content. Our results suggest that many claims about the effects of exposure to false news may be overstated, or, at the very least, misunderstood.


Abstract Context: Ocimum basilicum L. (Lamiaceae) has been used in folk medicine to treat headaches, kidney disorders, and intestinal worms. Objective: This study evaluates the anti-cryptococcal activity of ethanol crude extract and hexane fraction obtained from O. basilicum var. Maria Bonita leaves. Materials and methods: The MIC values for Cryptococcus sp. were obtained according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute in a range of 0.3–2500 μg/mL. The checkerboard assay evaluated the association of the substances tested (in a range of 0.099–2500 μg/mL) with amphotericin B and O. basilicum essential oil for 48 h. The ethanol extract, hexane fraction and associations in a range of 0.3–2500 μg/mL were tested for pigmentation inhibition after 7 days of treatment. The inhibition of ergosterol synthesis and reduction of capsule size were evaluated after the treatment with ethanol extract (312 μg/mL), hexane fraction (78 μg/mL) and the combinations of essential oil + ethanol extract (78 μg/mL + 19.5 μg/mL, respectively) and essential oil + hexane fraction (39.36 μg/mL + 10 μg/mL, respectively) for 24 and 48 h, respectively. Results: The hexane fraction presented better results than the ethanol extract, with a low MIC (156 μg/mL against C. neoformans T444 and 312 μg/mL against C. neoformans H99 serotype A and C. gattii WM779 serotype C). The combination of the ethanol extract and hexane fraction with amphotericin B and essential oil enhanced their antifungal activity, reducing the concentration of each substance needed to kill 100% of the inoculum. The substances tested were able to reduce the pigmentation, capsule size and ergosterol synthesis, which suggest they have important mechanisms of action. Conclusions: These results provide further support for the use of ethanol extracts of O. basilicum as a potential source of antifungal agents.


The ecological relationship between cities and resource hinterlands is a major theme in environmental history and historical geography. Most scholars described the twentieth-century industrialisation of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as reliant on hydroelectricity. Warren Dean's wood hypothesis', published posthumously in 1995, argued that industrialisation relied on wood fuel and charcoal during the first half of the twentieth century. However, Dean's wood hypothesis has not yet been tested or evaluated. Two substantive criticisms are offered here: the wood hypothesis is accurate in general but under-estimated the industrial consumption of fossil fuels, without conclusively reject the competing hydroelectricity hypothesis; the method used for estimating potential energy supply from forest area was erroneous. The paper also makes several specific claims that advance the issues raised by the wood hypothesis: evidence of actual industrial demand for fuel, not potential supply, should advance the debate on Sao Paulo's energy use; wood fuel consumption required labourers, yet work and trade relations are still not well described; and specific moments in Sao Paulo's energy transition, such as the 1940s, require in-depth analysis. A revised wood hypothesis is that Sao Paulo's industrialisation depended on the interplay of three energy sources, led by biomass fuels, then fossil fuels and hydroelectricity, each of which was supplied by a distinct energy hinterland.


A new wall impaction model for spray and its assessment are described in this paper. The gas phase is modelled in terms of the Eulerian continuum conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy and fuel vapour fraction. The liquid phase is modelled following the discrete droplet model approach. The droplet parcel contains many thousands of drops assumed to have the same size, temperature and velocity components. The droplet parcel equations of trajectory, momentum, mass and energy are written in Lagrangian form. The new drop-wall interaction model is proposed, which is based on experimental investigations on individual drops, and it is applied for the general non-orthogonal grid. The model is then assessed through comparison with experiments over a wide range of test conditions of sprays. The results are in good agreement with experimental data.


We describe and show the results of video coding based on a three-dimensional (3-D) spatio-temporal subband decomposition. The results include a 1-Mbps coder based on a new adaptive differential pulse code modulation scheme (ADPCM) and adaptive bit allocation. This rate is useful for video storage on CD-ROM. Coding results are also shown for a 384-kbps rate that are based on ADPCM for the lowest frequency band and a new form of vector quantization (geometric vector quantization (GVQ)) for the data in the higher frequency bands. GVQ takes advantage of the inherent structure and sparseness of the data in the higher bands. Results are also shown for a 128-kbps coder that is based on an unbalanced tree-structured vector quantizer (UTSVQ) for the lowest frequency band and GVQ for the higher frequency bands. The results are competitive with traditional video coding techniques and provide the motivation for investigating the 3-D subband framework for different coding schemes and various applications.


Abstract Transthyretin hereditary amyloid polyneuropathy, also traditionally known as transthyretin familial amyloid polyneuropathy (ATTR-FAP), is a rare, relentless, fatal hereditary disorder. Tafamidis, an oral, non-NSAID, highly specific transthyretin stabilizer, demonstrated safety and efficacy in slowing neuropathy progression in early-stage ATTRV30M-FAP in a 1.5-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, and 1-year open-label extension study, with a second long-term open-label extension study ongoing. Subgroup analysis of the effectiveness of tafamidis in the pivotal study and its open-label extensions revealed a relatively cohesive cohort of patients with mild neuropathy (i.e. Neuropathy Impairment Score for Lower Limbs [NIS-LL] ≤ 10) at the start of active treatment. Early treatment with tafamidis for up to 5.5 years (≥1 dose of tafamidis meglumine 20 mg once daily during the original trial or after switching from placebo in its extension) resulted in sustained delay in neurologic progression and long-term preservation of nutritional status in this cohort. Mean (95% CI) changes from baseline in NIS-LL and mBMI were 5.3 (1.6, 9.1) points and −7.8 (−44.3, 28.8) kg/m2 × g/L at 5.5 years, respectively. No new safety issues or side effects were identified. These data represent the longest prospective evaluation of tafamidis to date, confirm a favorable safety profile, and underscore the long-term benefits of early intervention with tafamidis. Trial Registration: ClincalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00409175, NCT00791492, and NCT00925002.


Abstract The discovery, about forty years ago, of α-bungarotoxin, a three-finger α-neurotoxin from Bungarus multicinctus venom, enabled the isolation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), making it one of the most thoroughly characterized receptors today. Since then, the sites of interaction between α-neurotoxins and nAChRs have largely been delineated, revealing the remarkable plasticity of the three-finger toxin fold that has optimally evolved to utilize different combinations of functional groups to generate a panoply of target specificities to discern subtle differences between nAChR subtypes. New facets in toxinology have now broadened the scope for the use of α-neurotoxins in scientific discovery. For instance, the development of short, combinatorial library-derived, synthetic peptides that bind with sub-nanomolar affinity to α-bungarotoxin and prevent its interaction with muscle nAChRs has led to the in vivo neutralization of experimental α-bungarotoxin envenomation, while the successful introduction of pharmatopes bearing "α-bungarotoxin-sensitive sites" into toxin-insensitive nAChRs has permitted the use of various α-neurotoxin tags to localize and characterize new receptor subtypes. More ambitious strategies can now be envisaged for engineering rationally designed novel activities on three-finger toxin scaffolds to generate lead peptides of therapeutic value that target the nicotinic pharmacopoeia. This review details the progress made towards achieving this goal.


Lithuanian tradition of green architecture – it is not only a perception of landscape identity, but also a perception of human-nature coexistence. Problems of ECO architecture are analyzed through narrower green architecture concept, as a field of cultural human activity, historical tradition of space. It is not only work field of urban planners, architects or landscape architects. It is a tradition of spontaneous relationship with the natural environment of every nation. Circle of investigated questions is urban expression of green architecture in Lithuanian cities. Two branches with different genesis roots are defined: from urban agriculture to city landscape . All possible development configurations of green architecture in future city should be associated with concept of self-sufficient city , that is to say, planned, regulated, balanced change, ensuring not only renewal of artificial structures but also renewal of natural structures. The subject is urgent because mistakes in this process only lead to collapse of the cities and destruction of nature. Lithuanian cities development : peculiarities and changes are inseparable from human effort to communicate with flora: practical use (food preparation), beautification of personal everyday life. In Lithuanian cities, manors and monasteries architects planned unique ensembles of green architecture . Urban planner of 20 th century included surrounding valuable natural landscape elements into urban fabric, they created systemic 'Green structures of the city'. Emphasizing that Lithuanian cities identity is related to preserved structures of urban agriculture and green architecture (always vibrant and changing), thus formed objectives are to recognize, preserve and develop these structures. Discussing global trends of green architecture , we see that main of them are associated with intense urban growth and need to adapt natural talents, primarily in the sense of energy and natural environment. It is understandable that Lithuanian cities will not stay in eternal stagnation, however, their development suppose to immediately balance between two objectives: cities urban intensity should grow parallelly to intensity of green structures; proposals of cities development, their forms and objectives should be presupposed on political, juristical and educational basis – this is obligation of raising public ecological consciousness. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.13.4.13609


Atypical sensory perception and heterogeneous cognitive profiles are common features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous findings on auditory sensory processing in ASD are mixed. Accordingly, auditory perception and its relation to cognitive abilities in ASD remain poorly understood. Here, children with ASD, and age- and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched typically developing children, were tested on a low- and a higher level pitch processing task. Verbal and nonverbal cognitive abilities were measured using the Wechsler's Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. There were no group differences in performance on either auditory task or IQ measure. However, there was significant variability in performance on the auditory tasks in both groups that was predicted by nonverbal, not verbal skills. These results suggest that auditory perception is related to nonverbal reasoning rather than verbal abilities in ASD and typically developing children. In addition, these findings provide evidence for preserved pitch processing in school-age children with ASD with average IQ, supporting the idea that there may be a subgroup of individuals with ASD that do not present perceptual or cognitive difficulties. Future directions involve examining whether similar perceptual-cognitive relationships might be observed in a broader sample of individuals with ASD, such as those with language impairment or lower IQ.


The scope of this thesis has been to investigate the existence of out-of-plane vibration of jacket sub-structures for offshore wind turbines. This is done by making the program code JAC (Jacket Analysis Code), which is capable of solving dynamic problems in both time and frequency domain. The code is also able to do damage analysis as it has been a major goal to quantify the change in damage caused by the out-of-plane vibrations and to see how this is influenced by dierent parameters. It is shown that the out-of-plane vibrations are caused by rotation of the intersection node, between tower and jacket, exciting a global-for-aft and global side-side eigenmode of the jacket structure. The rotation of the intersection node is probably caused by the higher harmonic components of load from the rotor. The out-of-plane vibration gives a significant contribution to the damage at some parts of the structure. In particular this applies to the face of the jacket perpendicular to the main load direction. However for the analysis performed by the authors, the damage generated by the in-plane stresses is governing. The infjuence of marine growth, structural damping and incremental time step is investigated. It is shown how these parameters will have significant influence on the damage of the structure. The analysis is done using a sequential approach where calculations on wind turbine and sub-structure are separated. The thesis shows that this method could highly overestimate the response of out-of-plane vibrations if the structure is exposed to a widely scattered load. This is due to coupling of modes.


Current Cardiology Reviews, 2017, Vol. 13, No. 2 85 Meet Our Editorial Board Member Irving H. Zucker Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology University of Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE USA Irving H. Zucker, Ph.D. is the Theodore F. Hubbard Professor of Cardiovascular Research and Chairman of the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. He has been Chairman since 1989. Dr. Zucker received his Ph.D. from New York Medical College in 1972. He continued his post doctoral training at the University of Nebraska Medical Center where he became a faculty member in 1973. Dr. Zucker has been involved in studies related to the neural regulation of cardiovascular function over the past 45 years. His studies have revolved around cardiovascular reflex control of sympathetic nerve activity in animal models of chronic heart failure. These investigations focus on the role of central mediators of sympathetic nerve activity such as angiotensin II, nitric oxide and oxidative stress. Dr. Zucker has published over 200 papers in this field and this work has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. He is the PI of a Program Project currently in its 17 th year of funding. He has been the recipient of a MERIT Award from the NHLBI, an Established Investigatorship from the American Heart Association, the Wiggers Award from the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiological Society and the Carl Ludwig Award from the Neural Control and Autonomic Regulation Section of the American Physiological Society. In 1993 he received the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award from the University of Nebraska. He serves on the editorial boards of 9 journals. In addition to his research, Dr. Zucker has been and is currently active in administrative activities for the American Physiological Society and the American Heart Association. He was a member of the National Research Committee of the American Heart Association. He is currently Editor-In-Chief of the American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology. He is a Past-President of the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology and a Past-President of the American Physiological Society. Irving H. Zucker


Anxiety and depressive are fundamental psychic disorder and are considered one of the most severe mental health problems globally. There is much evidence that air pollution exposure is significantly related to symptoms of anxiety and depression. Air pollution exposures in addition to increased morbidity and mortality caused by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, may cause neuroinflammation and oxidative stress and contribute to the escalating prevalence of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Diesel exhaust particles (DEPs), is one of the most important components of air pollution. Diesel exhaust (DE) contains more than 40 toxic air pollutants and is a major constituent of ambient particulate matter (PM), particularly of ultra fine-PM. We hypothesized that females may be less susceptible than males to DEPs exposure neurotoxicity, anxiety, and depression. So adult male and female NMRI mice were exposed to DEPs (350–400μg/m3 for 6 h per day, five days per week and 8 weeks). The degree of depression by Forced Swimming Test (FST) and anxiety by elevated plus-maze test, showed an increase in male and female mice. But the observed effects were less pronounced in male than in female mice in a number of cases. Findings indicate that sub-chronic exposure to DEPs causes anxiety and depression, and suggest that gender may play important roles in modulating susceptibility to anxiety and depression-related DEPs neurotoxicity.

Air contamination is a blend contained different segments, including gases, particulate issue (PM), metals and natural mixes. Traffic-related air contamination is a significant wellspring of natural contamination. It is assessed that 20 to 70 percent of natural contaminations are ignition determined particles of traffic, coming about because of the burning of traffic, and 85% of PM in urban zones is identified with traffic. Today relationship between air contamination introduction and dismalness and mortality brought about via cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses is settled, while new proof recommends that air contamination may likewise add to focal sensory system (CNS) infections and contrarily influence the CNS. Epidemiological examinations express that expanded air contamination presentation is identified with hear-able and olfactory deficiencies, diminished intellectual capacities, additionally expanded the rate of neurodegenerative illness pathologies and burdensome symptoms.PM is accepted to be the most significant danger between air contamination segments and has been vigorously ensnared in infection.

One of the significant explanations behind worldwide air contamination is traffic-related air contamination and the most significant segment is diesel fumes (DE). DE is an intricate mix of gases, hydrocarbons, sulfur, substantial metals and particulates created inside the burning of diesel fuel. Diesel fumes gas particles (DEPs) are one of the primary segments of ecological particles. Most diesel fumes gas particles have a distance across of under 1 micron. DE presentation is regularly the marker of appearing of traffic-related air contamination. DE is a significant wellspring of encompassing PM, that contains in excess of 40 harmful air contaminations and especially of UFPM. Some examination to DE controlled presentation have analyzed on people; for instance, it has been appeared to initiate EEG changes in people following intense introduction to DEPs (300 µg/m3). DEPs incorporate numerous blends that have conceivably harmful impacts on the insusceptible framework and cerebrum development. In 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) distinguished DEPs as a human cancer-causing bunch dependent on proof of introduction to particulate and lung cancer1. Other human frameworks that are influenced by diesel fumes cancer-causing agents contain the CNS

Burdensome is a major mystic issue and is viewed as one of the most serious emotional wellness issues internationally. Nervousness and Depression are not just connected with diminished personal satisfaction, diminished work efficiency, and physical sicknesses, for example, cardiovascular issues yet in addition expands the self destruction rate and mortality. Tension and melancholy are basic mental ailments with particular relational contrasts in indications, where a few people react completely and others show just a minor reaction. In any case, singular contrasts because of stress are still intensely explored however the sex and hereditary wellsprings of these distinctions accordingly generally stay a secret. Moreover, late examinations uphold the inclusion of irritation in the mind in the pathogenesis of emotional issues and impeded insight. For instance, tension and sorrow in the grown-up male mice and learning and memory issue are related with sub-ceaseless DEPs presentation. DE presentation in mice has been accounted for to adjust spatial memory and learning and locomotor movement. For the most part, the accessible proof recommends that DEPs presentation, with essential components identified with neuroinflammation and to enlistment of oxidative pressure, is related with harmful CNS impacts. Age, sex, and hereditary qualities are among the elements that can are the most pertinent impact of neurotoxic results [36-38].The fundamental point of this investigation was to overview whether sexual orientation contrasts in tension and melancholy after DEPs introduction. Accordingly, we accepted that presentation to DEPs would initiate nervousness and despondency in male and female mice. We utilized sub-ceaseless introduction to DEPs to assess how broadened DEPs presentation may affect tension and melancholy. Consequently, 40 NMRI male and female mice in discrete pens were presented to 350-400 µg/m3 of nanoscale.

Biography:

Dr. Mojtaba Ehsanifar has completed his PhD from Iran University of medical Sciences and now he continues his research on Air pollution and Health effects Such as effect of the Nano particular matter, PM, using in-vivo models (mouse) and health effects and focused on the molecular mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases, lung diseases, and reproductive system in Kashan University of Medical Sciences. He has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and presented in congresses. Also he has Cooperation as reviewer with reputed journals.

32nd International Conference on Mental and Behavioral Health, April 22-23, 2020

Abstract Citation:

Mojtaba Ehsanifar, Anxiety and depression following diesel exhaust nano-particles exposure in male and female mice, Mental Health Congress 2020, 32nd International Conference on Mental and Behavioral Health, April 22-23, 2020


This study contrasts the economic position of youths across local labor markets that differ in their rates of unemployment using the annual merged files of the Current Population Survey and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The paper finds: (1) Local labor market shortages raise the employment-population rate arid reduce the unemployment rate of disadvantaged youths by substantial amounts. (2) Shortages also raise the hourly earnings of disadvantaged youths. In the 19805 the earnings gains for youths in tight labor markets offset the deterioration in the real and relative earnings of the less skilled that marked this decade. (3) Youths in labor shortage areas had greeter increases in earnings as they aged than youths in other areas, implying that improved labor market conditions raise the longitudinal earnings profiles as well as the starting prospects of youths. These findings show that despite the social pathologies that plague disadvantaged youths, particularly less educated black youths, arid the 1980s twist in the American labor market against the less skilled, tight labor markets still operated to substantially improve their economic position.


: Sea turtles exhibit complex life histories, encompassing intermittent use of multiple spatially separated habitats throughout long lifespans. This broad scope presents challenges for collecting comprehensive biological and ecological data, yet absence of such information compli-cates evaluation of management strategies for populations at risk of extinction. Hawksbill sea turtles Eretmochelys imbricata are endangered worldwide, primarily due to long-term, directed harvest. However, available information regarding life stage durations, somatic growth patterns, and maturation attributes to enhance understanding of anthropogenic impacts and recovery potential remains constrained. To address these data gaps in the western North Atlantic, we conducted skeletochronological analysis for hawksbills stranded along US coastlines to generate straight-line carapace length (SCL)-at-age and somatic growth data. Generalized additive mixed models and bootstrapped von Bertalanffy growth curves were used to characterize age at maturation and covariate influence on somatic growth. For a subset of turtles, annual bone growth increment-specific stable isotope and trace element analyses were incorporated to evaluate habitat use relative to age. Integration of these data sources indicated that juveniles transitioned from oceanic to neritic habitat at 1−3 yr old and mean SCLs of 23−24 cm (range 15.7−35.0 cm). Initial ages at maturation for this population at minimum nesting female SCLs were estimated at 15−25 yr. Somatic growth varied significantly relative to size, age, and stranding location, while no association with sex or calendar year was observed. Our results demonstrate the utility of these complementary analytical approaches for generating baseline data fundamental to characterizing hawksbill sea turtle population attributes.


A study was conducted to forecast cotton production trend with the application of a grafted polynomial function in Nigeria from 1985 through 2013. Grafted models are used in econometrics to embark on economic analysis involving time series. In economic time series, the paucity of data and their availability has always been a matter of concern when attempting to make appropriate forecasts and predictions. Data were sourced from the United States Department of Agriculture in respect of cotton production in Nigeria while the analysis depends just on the trend. It was shown from the graphical illustration that cotton production did not relate linearly to trend within the entire sample period. A two-time segments function (quadratic-linear) was suggested after grafting. The grafted (mean) function gave more reliable ex-post forecasts rather than merely fitting a linear function to the data used. Key words : grafted polynomial, forecasting, cotton production, trends, Nigeria


A large and growing body of literature has been published on migration in China. This thesis has identified several challenges, namely, the destination-biased framework of migration, the neglect of heterogeneity of migrants, the relative dearth of research on the intersection of mobility and place attachment, and the suppression of the significance of the migrant subject. This research responds to these challenges by adopting a native-place perspective and a lifecourse/biographical approach and using mixed methods to explore the patterns and meanings of migration among educated young adults from peripheral China. The data come from a life-history questionnaire survey and biographical interviews with university and college graduates, who were born and raised in Chaohu and received higher education outside Chaohu. Firstly, it analyses educated young people's migration pathways from home to university and onwards to current place of residence, and develops a four-fold typology of spatial mobility (Stick-in, Move-down, Move-up, and Re-entry) from migration trajectories data. Secondly, it explores how spatial mobility is implicated in the process of bonding with places by examining educated young adults' place attachment and belonging. Four types of migrants (Translocals, Departers, Aliens, and Settlers) and three types of returnees (the Trapped, the Bonded, and the Rooted) are classified. Thirdly, through the lens of agency as a socially situated process, it explores how migration decision-making reflects socially structured patterns, how agency interplays with social structure, and how agency operates in a differentiated and dynamic way. Meanwhile, through its attention to migration aspirations, it further explores the potential for meaningful experiences of geographical mobility to change migrants' subjectivities and considers the emotional dynamics involved in the intersection of identity with senses of place. This thesis contributes to the field of youth migration by providing a mapping of the spatial patterns for migration of educated young people and addressing the complexities and dynamics of spatial mobility with a case study. Also, the present work highlights the importance of a biographical approach that allows us to appreciate the significance of the migrant subject and to investigate the ongoing nature of migration processes.


Objective:  to understand the perception of self-care and maternal care in the discourse of pregnant women under the psychosocial perspective.  Methods:  qualitative study with data collection performed through a semi structure interview with ten pregnant women. The technique of content analysis, associated with the computer program Atlas TI, was used. Results:  two analytical categories were identified, self-care: taking care of one's own body and maternal care. Postmodern thinking influenced the self-care actions of pregnant women. However, maternal care was not directly influenced and pregnant women showed indicators of primary maternal concern, such as feelings and attitudes that provide the baby with comfort, protection and comfort.  Conclusion:  the self-care actions performed by the pregnant women showed concern about the aesthetic appearance at the expense of attitudes to preserve health and quality of life.


Abstract Using an oriental mustard root length bioassay, thiencarbazone bioavailability and dissipation in five Saskatchewan soils was investigated under laboratory conditions. Thiencarbazone bioavailability was assessed at 0 to 3.9 µg ai kg−1. Thiencarbazone concentrations corresponding to 50% inhibition (I50 values) obtained from dose-response curves varied from 0.56 to 1.71 µg kg−1. Multiple regression analysis indicated that organic carbon content (P  =  0.018) and soil pH (P  =  0.017) predicted thiencarbazone bioavailability. Thiencarbazone dissipation was examined in soils incubated at 23 C and moisture content of 85% field capacity. Thiencarbazone half-lives estimated from dissipation curves were 9 to 50 d, and organic carbon content (P  =  0.002) and soil pH (P  =  0.008) were significant factors affecting thiencarbazone dissipation. Thiencarbazone bioavailability decreases and dissipation rate is slower in Canadian prairie soils of high organic matter content and low soil pH. Because root length of oriental mustard plants also was reduced by ammonium, therefore ammonium-containing or -producing fertilizers can cause false positive results for thiencarbazone soil residues. Canaryseed roots had the same sensitivity to ammonium as oriental mustard roots but were not inhibited by thiencarbazone. Therefore canaryseed root length bioassay was effective in identifying inhibition caused by ammonium toxicity. Use of oriental mustard root and canaryseed root bioassays together can aid in interpreting bioassay results for detection of thiencarbazone residues. Nomenclature: Thiencarbazone, oriental mustard, Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. 'Cutlass'; canaryseed, Phalaris canariensis L. 'CDC Togo'.


"The Fifth Volume in the Studies in Interpretation Series" In interpreting, professionals must be able to convey to their clients the rhythm, stress, and length of phrases used by the communicating parties to indicate their respective emotional states. Such subtleties, which can signal sarcasm and irony or whether a statement is a question or a command, are defined in linguistics as prosody. Brenda Nicodemus s new volume, the fifth in the Studies in Interpretation series, discusses the prosodic features of spoken and signed languages, and reports the findings of her groundbreaking research on prosodic markers in ASL interpretation. In her study, Nicodemus videotaped five highly skilled interpreters as they interpreted a spoken English lecture into ASL. Fifty Deaf individuals viewed the videotaped interpretations and indicated perceived boundaries in the interpreted discourse. These identified points were then examined for the presence of prosodic markers that might be responsible for the perception of a boundary. "Prosodic Markers and Utterance Boundaries "reports on the characteristics of the ASL markers, including their frequency, number, duration, and timing. Among other findings, the results show that interpreters produce an average of seven prosodic markers at each boundary point. The markers are produced both sequentially and simultaneously and under conditions of highly precise timing. Further, the results suggest that the type of prosodic markers used by interpreters are both systematic and stylistic."


Does the rule of law guarantee peace and democracy, as so many people in the development and governance field believe? What are the historical and sociocultural conditions that shape the way rule of law mechanisms work in practice? Mark Massoud's monograph tracing the changing dimensions of the rule of law in Sudan from its colonial period to the present offers an important perspective on these questions, casting doubt on the simple argument that the rule of law produces democracy and peace. Instead, he shows how colonial and authoritarian rulers used the rule of law to consolidate power and legitimate their rule. In Law's Fragile State: Colonial, Authoritarian, and Humanitarian Legacies in Sudan, Massoud develops the concept of legal politics, arguing that the way the rule of law works varies with the political system in which it is embedded. He concludes that the forms of legal politics that reinforce the power and authority of legal institutions are more likely to sustain an authoritarian state than to bring democratic rule. His analysis is a valuable caution to those who promote the rule of law as the salvation for all. Taking a sociolegal perspective, he shows how it works in practice.


This study presents novel sulfolane based non-aqueous CO2 capture solvents, as an alternative solution for capturing CO2 from industrial processes. In order to select the most promising amine system, five different amines were tested by monitoring CO2 absorption and desorption processes using the time-base Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. During absorption experiments, we observed the formation of Monomethyl Carbonate (MMC) in diisopropylamine (DIPA) and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) systems, while carbamate was observed as the main product for the other three amine systems tested. In regeneration experiments, the MMC could be desorbed relatively easily from the amine solution at a mild temperature.


Although abnormalities involving the short arm of chromosome 12 (12p) are one of the most frequently observed rearrangements in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), little is known about the frequency of different structural abnormalities and their relationship to the status of the ETV6 (also named TEL ) gene in this region. Of 815 children with newly diagnosed ALL, 94 (11.5%) had a total of 104 cytogenetic 12p abnormalities. Loss of genetic material was observed in 67 (64%) of these abnormalities. Cases with 12p alterations had a much lower frequency of hyperdiploidy greater than 50 (7%) than did the ALL population in general, but these cases had a similar distribution of immunophenotype and similar 5-year event-free survival (70% ± 5% SE v 64% ± 2%, P = .64). Rearrangement of the ETV6 gene was identified in 36 (56%) of 64 cases evaluated. The ETV6-CBFA2 ( TEL-AML1 ) fusion transcript was found in 25 (66%) of 38 cases evaluated, and all but one of these showed ETV6 rearrangement. Importantly, ETV6 rearrangement was associated with a favorable prognosis (5-year event-free survival: 89% ± 6% v 60% ± 1%, P < .01). We conclude that most but not all 12p cytogenetic abnormalities in childhood ALL involve ETV6 , and that rearrangement of ETV6 is associated with a favorable treatment outcome.


This article assessed the carbon footprint (CFP) and local environment interface in the Canadian livestock industry. The livestock production activities that generate GHG emissions in Canada organized into four management groups: Farm animals, manure systems, crop production, and farm inputs, were used to define the system boundaries of a life cycle assessment (LCA). For the environmental assessment (EA) stage of the LCA an environmental impact matrix and a network diagram was used to identify the non-CFP of Canadian livestock production. The Unified Livestock Industry and Crop Emissions Estimation System (ULICEES) model was used to estimate the livestock CFP. An index derived from agricultural extension literature was used to assign weights to the non-CFP impacts during the EA stage of the LCA. The attention given to these impacts in this literature, factored by the crop areas associated with each issue and livestock type, resulted in the area-reference index (ARI). The impacts were assessed on the basis of Eastern and Western Canada and on two broad classes of Canadian livestock: ruminants and non-ruminants. Non-ruminants showed much less east–west difference in greenhouse gas emissions than ruminants. The farm animals component had the highest protein based emission intensity. The highest ARI contribution to the non-CFP was from growing annual feed grains for both ruminants and non-ruminants.


Objectives: To study depressive symptoms in preclinical presenilin-1 (PS1) related Alzheimer's disease. Methods: Participants were 33 Mexican women at risk for inheriting PS1 mutations who were not demented. They were interviewed, underwent cognitive testing, and completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI). PS1 mutation status was determined. Mean BDI scores were compared between PS1 mutation carriers and non-carriers. The percentage of subjects who reported seeing a psychiatric professional, and the percentage complaining of memory loss were compared between groups. Regression analysis was used to determine whether mutation status predicted BDI scores after adjusting for age, education, mini-mental state examination, and subjective memory function. Results: PS1 mutation carriers (n = 17) scored significantly higher than non-carriers (n = 16) on the BDI (mean score, 14.4 v 6.5, p = 0.017); 24% of mutation carriers and 12.5% of non-carriers admitted having sought help from a psychiatric professional (NS). Mutation status remained a significant predictor of BDI scores after adjusting for potential covariates. Though not demented, mutation carriers tended to score lower than non-carriers on several neuropsychological tests. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms can occur early in the course of PS1 related Alzheimer's disease, at least in women. This supports the hypothesis that depression may occur as a direct result of the neuropathology underlying Alzheimer's disease.


The supernova remnant SN 1006 is a powerful source of high-energy particles and evolves in a relatively tenuous and uniform environment despite interacting with an atomic cloud in its northwestern limb. The X-ray image of SN 1006 reveals an indentation in the southwestern part of the shock front and the H i maps show an isolated (southwestern) cloud, having the same velocity as the northwestern cloud, whose morphology fits perfectly in the indentation. We performed spatially resolved spectral analysis of a set of small regions in the southwestern nonthermal limb and studied the deep X-ray spectra obtained within the XMM-Newton SN 1006 Large Program. We also analyzed archive H i data, obtained by combining single-dish and interferometric observations. We found that the best-fit value of NH derived from the X-ray spectra significantly increases in regions corresponding to the southwestern cloud, while the cutoff energy of the synchrotron emission decreases. The NH variation corresponds perfectly with the H i column density of the southwestern cloud, as measured from the radio data. The decrease in the cutoff energy at the indentation clearly reveals that the back side of the cloud is actually interacting with the remnant. The southwestern limb therefore presents a unique combination of efficient particle acceleration and high ambient density, thus being the most promising region for γ-ray hadronic emission in SN 1006. We estimate that such emission will be detectable with the Fermi telescope within a few years.


Most real-world datasets, and particularly those collected from physical systems, are full of noise, packet loss, and other imperfections. However, most specification mining, anomaly detection and other such algorithms assume, or even require, perfect data quality to function properly. Such algorithms may work in lab conditions when given clean, controlled data, but will fail in the field when given imperfect data. We propose a method for accurately reconstructing discrete temporal or sequential system traces affected by data loss, using Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTMs). The model works by learning to predict the next event in a sequence of events, and uses its own output as an input to continue predicting future events. As a result, this method can be used for data restoration even with streamed data. Such a method can reconstruct even long sequence of missing events, and can also help validate and improve data quality for noisy data. The output of the model will be a close reconstruction of the true data, and can be fed to algorithms that rely on clean data. We demonstrate our method by reconstructing automotive CAN traces consisting of long sequences of discrete events. We show that given even small parts of a CAN trace, our LSTM model can predict future events with an accuracy of almost 90%, and can successfully reconstruct large portions of the original trace, greatly outperforming a Markov Model benchmark. We separately feed the original, lossy, and reconstructed traces into a specification mining framework to perform downstream analysis of the effect of our method on state-of-the-art models that use these traces for understanding the behavior of complex systems.


In order to evaluate the influence of food quality on deep-sea macroinfaunal and mega-epifaunal communities, we deployed experimental food pulses at 890 m depth in Barkley Canyon, NE Pacific. Pulses of 2 microalgal species (i.e. Chaetoceros calcitrans and Nannochloropsis oculata) differed in nitrogen, carotenoid, and lipid content (i.e. quality). After 8 mo, we sampled the enriched patches and controls with push cores. The community structure between the 2 treatments differed in the deeper sediment layers (5−10 cm). Despite no significant differences in the surface sediments (0−5 cm) among the 2 enrichment patches and the control, the macroinfaunal community from sediments enriched with N. oculata separated in ordination space. These results suggest that the experimental duration exceeded the appropriate time-frame to detect initial colo nizers at the surface sediments. Analyses of functional traits, including migration, colonization, foraging, and food selectivity, separated communities in ordination space among algal treatments and control, although not significantly. Based on fixed camera images of each treatment over the course of the experiment, we observed more epifaunal Brachyura visits (between 50 and 40 more) to a patch enriched with N. oculata than to a patch enriched with C. calcitrans or the procedural control patch during the first 2 wk of the experiment. The visible area of 1 enrichment patch per algal treatment disappeared (>90%) ~1.5 mo after deployment. Our study points to influences of food quality, at the algal class level, on macroinfaunal community structure and function, epi faunal disturbance, and sediment reworking.


The economic development and growth literature encompasses comprehensive discussions on connections amid exports and commercial growth. One debate centres on whether states ought to advance the export sector to attain economic growth. This study examines the validity of the export-led growth hypothesis in the Indian economy. We use annual time series data for the period 1970 to 2012 in an export augmented framework. Applying popular time series econometric methods of cointegration and vector error correction estimation, the study provides the facts of stationarity of time series variables, existence of long-run equilibrium relation between them, and finally, the acceptance of export led growth hypothesis for India by the Granger causality test based on vector error correction model estimation.

Keywords: Export-led growth, Cointegration, VELM, Granger causality


Reading motivation and attitude are salient issues for adolescent students because their enjoyment of reading declines from early elementary years to middle school. Literacy authorities believe motivation and attitude toward reading influences an individual to become a proficient reader, and plays a pivotal role in literacy development. Booktalks and book displays can be powerful motivators for reading because they help match struggling and avid readers with the right books. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between booktalks and book displays utilized in a middle school classroom setting and readers' reading behavior and motivation.
The participants included 346 sixth-grade students from multiple classrooms in two South Texas Title I and one non-Title I schools, eight teachers, and three librarians. The researcher utilized four instruments in the quasi-experimental study: The Survey of Adolescent Reading Attitudes (SARA) (McKenna, Conradi, Lawrence, Jang, and Meyer's, 2012), the Insignia Library System (ILS), student Reading Logs, and students' Spring 2013 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading scores. At the end of the study a semi-structured approach was utilized to interview the booktalk teachers.
There were no statistically significant findings supporting the idea that either displaying the books or booktalks positively affect students' reading attitude. However, there were statistically significant differences among STAAR Reading Level I (unsatisfactory) students, who read more books than Level II (proficient) and III (advanced) students readers. And the effectiveness of teacher booktalks was supported by semi-structured interviews with booktalk teacher participants. Teacher participants reported that students enjoyed the booktalks and they helped them find a good book to read. Teachers found the booktalks to be a useful tool for impacting struggling and proficient readers' attitudes, and they increased their students' reading. Previous booktalk studies, as well as librarian and teacher anecdotes support booktalk presentations as motivators for reading. However, researchers recommended that it takes years to form students' reading attitudes. In order to show a significant difference in students' reading attitudes, more time is required. Because of the reported successes of teacher booktalk presentations in the literature review and studies, these contradictory results should be examined in a future study.


We report results of the development of fast closing switches, so-called pseudospark switches, at Erlangen University. Two different parameter regimes are under investigation: medium power switches (32 kV anode voltage, 30 kA anode current and 0.02 C charge transfer per shot) for pulsed gas discharge lasers and high power switches (30 kV anode voltage, 400 kA anode current and 3.4 C charge transfer per shot) for high current applications. The lifetime of these switches is determined by erosion of the cathode. The total charge transfer of devices with one discharge channel is about 220 kC for the medium and 27 kC for the high power switch. At currents exceeding 45 kA a sudden increase in erosion rate was observed. Multichannel devices are suited to increase lifetime as the current per channel can be reduced. Successful experiments with radial and coaxial arrangements of the discharge channels were performed. In these systems the discharge channels move due to magnetic forces. A skilful use of this phenomena will result in a considerably increase of switch lifetime. Multigap devices enable an increase of anode voltage. A three gap switch has run reliably at an anode voltage of 70 kV. >


Biodiesel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits, and the fact that it is derived from renewable resources. Recently, the acidic oil and waste cooking oil were the main resources for the biodiesel production, due to the economical and environmental consideration. However, the product obtained from the transesterification with dark colour. Activated carbon (ACN), activated clay (ACY), activated bleaching earth (ABE), attapulgite (ATE) were employed to refine the undecolored biodiesel. Among all studied decolorants, activated clay exhibited higher activity and more economically competitive. In addition, decoloring process of undecolored biodiesel by activated clay was performed; the optimum conditions were obtained as decoloring temperature 60°C, time 60 min and dosage of activated clay 3 wt. % at atmospheric pressure. Besides, the water content of biodiesel should be below 1 wt. % while ACY was used as decolorant. This paper compared contents and features of decolorization by ACY and rectification under vacuum. The results indicated that higher decolorization ratio(DR) and better quality product will be achieved through rectification, while the decolorization by ACY method should be an proper choice if the biodiesel solded by mixing with diesel fuel.


We study the portfolio selection problem in a new product development setting with many projects in parallel, each lasting several stages, in the face of uncertainty. Each stage of the process performs an experiment on a selected number of projects in the stage, depending on the amount of (scarce) budget allocated to the stage. Projects become differentiated through their experimental results, and all available results for a project determine its category.We model the problem as a Markov decision process. We seek an optimal policy that specifies, for every configuration of projects in categories, which projects to test and/or terminate. For two special cases we characterize the optimal project promotion policy as following a new type of strategy, state-dependent non-congestive promotion (SDNCP). SDNCP implies that a project with the highest expected reward in any stage is advanced to the next stage if and only if the number of projects in each successor category is below a congestion-dependent threshold. For the general problem, numerical experiments reveal the outstanding performance of SDNCP (optimal in 72 of 77 instances with maximum deviation from optimal of 0.67%), highlighting when and how a fixed non-congestive promotion policy, which is easier to implement, may fall short.


In this paper, the application of radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) in inverse-scattering problems related to microwave medical imaging is proposed. The objective of the networks is to estimate the geometric and/or electromagnetic properties of tissues by processing the scattered-field measurements obtained during the illumination of the body by electromagnetic waves. The training of the RBFNNs is based on the orthogonal least-squares algorithm. This approach results in straightforward construction of the network, where both the size and the values of the free parameters of the network are obtained. The proposed methodology is applied to the estimation of the position and the size of proliferated marrow inside the bone of a limb. This application is closely related to the detection and monitoring of leukemia. Different measurement configurations are examined. The performance of the constructed networks in cases of noisy field measurements is also investigated.


Therapy-related Myeloid Neoplasm (t-MN) represents one of the worst long-term consequences of cytotoxic therapy for primary tumors and autoimmune disease. Poor survival and refractoriness to current treatment strategies characterize affected patients from a clinical point of view. In our aging societies, where newer therapies and ameliorated cancer management protocols are improving the life expectancy of cancer patients, therapy-related Myeloid Neoplasms are an emerging problem. Although several research groups have contributed to characterizing the main risk factors in t-MN development, the multiplicity of primary tumors, in association with the different therapeutic strategies available and the new drugs in development, make interpreting the current data still complex. The main risk factors involved in t-MN pathogenesis can be subgrouped into patient-specific, inherited, and acquired predispositions. Although t-MN can occur at any age, the risk tends to increase with advancing age, and older patients, characterized by a higher number of comorbidities, are more likely to develop the disease. Thanks to the availability of deep sequencing techniques, germline variants have been reported in 15-20% of t-MN patients, highlighting their role in cancer predisposition. It is becoming increasingly evident that t-MN with driver gene mutations may arise in the background of Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) under the positive selective pressure of chemo and/or radiation therapies. Although CHIP is generally considered benign, it has been associated with an increased risk of t-MN. In this context, the phenomenon of clonal evolution may be described as a dynamic process of expansion of preexisting clones, with or without acquisition of additional genetic alterations, that, by favoring the proliferation of more aggressive and/or resistant clones, may play a crucial role in the progression from preleukemic states to t-MN.


Calcium alginate hydrogels, offering cells with three dimensional growing environments similar to that experienced in vivo, is an appealing materials utilized as scaffolds in tissue engineering. However, how to improve its mechanical property and expand its use is becoming an urgent topic that draws great attention. In this paper, we introduced polylactic acid (PLLA) microspheres, treated by surface aminolysis, into calcium alginate hydrogels that was fabricated by the methodology of in-situ release and transformation. The surface aminolysis modification improved the hydrophilicity of PLLA microspheres, which increased the integration between PLLA microspheres and calcium alginate hydrogels. Within the composite hydrogels, PLLA microspheres can play the role of hindrance for the extension of cracks and improve its mechanical strength. Meanwhile, PLLA microspheres can also be used as hydrophobic drugs delivery vehicles to transport gene, protein, peptide and the like. In this way, with the enhancement of mechanical strength and newly given functions, the fields in which the composite hydrogels can be applied can be broadened significantly.


The first two observational sky "blocks" of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS) have significantly increased the number of well characterized observed trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in Neptune's mean motion resonances. We describe the 31 securely resonant TNOs detected by OSSOS so far, and we use them to independently verify the resonant population models from the Canada–France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS), with which we find broad agreement. We confirm that the 5:2 resonance is more populated than models of the outer solar system's dynamical history predict; our minimum population estimate shows that the high-eccentricity (e > 0.35) portion of the resonance is at least as populous as the 2:1 and possibly as populated as the 3:2 resonance. One OSSOS block was well suited for detecting objects trapped at low libration amplitudes in Neptune's 3:2 resonance, a population of interest in testing the origins of resonant TNOs. We detected three 3:2 objects with libration amplitudes below the cutoff modeled by CFEPS; OSSOS thus offers new constraints on this distribution. The OSSOS detections confirm that the 2:1 resonance has a dynamically colder inclination distribution than either the 3:2 or 5:2 resonances. Using the combined OSSOS and CFEPS 2:1 detections, we constrain the fraction of 2:1 objects in the symmetric mode of libration to 0.2–0.85; we also constrain the fraction of asymmetric librators in the leading island, which has been theoretically predicted to vary depending on Neptune's migration history, to be 0.05–0.8. Future OSSOS blocks will improve these constraints.


Speaking to today's flourishing conversations on both law, morality, and religion, and the religious foundations of law, politics, and society, Common Law and Natural Law in America is an ambitious four-hundred-year narrative and fresh re-assessment of the varied American interactions of 'common law', the stuff of courtrooms, and 'natural law', a law built on human reason, nature, and the mind or will of God. It offers a counter-narrative to the dominant story of common law and natural law by drawing widely from theological and philosophical accounts of natural law, as well as primary and secondary work in legal and intellectual history. With consequences for today's natural-law proponents and critics alike, it explores the thought of the Puritans, Revolutionary Americans, and seminal legal figures including William Blackstone, Joseph Story, Christopher Columbus Langdell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the legal realists.


Reconstructing who infected whom is a central challenge in analysing epidemiological data. Recently, advances in sequencing technology have led to increasing interest in Bayesian approaches to inferring who infected whom using genetic data from pathogens. The logic behind such approaches is that isolates that are nearly genetically identical are more likely to have been recently transmitted than those that are very different. A number of methods have been developed to perform this inference. However, testing their convergence, examining posterior sets of transmission trees and comparing methods' performance are challenged by the fact that the object of inference - the transmission tree - is a complicated discrete structure. We introduce a metric on transmission trees to quantify distances between them. The metric can accommodate trees with unsampled individuals, and highlights differences in the source case and in the number of infections per infector. We illustrate its performance on simple simulated scenarios and on posterior transmission trees from a TB outbreak. We find that the metric reveals where the posterior is sensitive to the priors, and where collections of trees are composed of distinct clusters. We use the metric to define median trees summarising these clusters. Quantitative tools to compare transmission trees to each other will be required for assessing MCMC convergence, exploring posterior trees and benchmarking diverse methods as this field continues to mature.


We previously suggested that, in obese animals and humans, white adipose tissue inflammation results from the death of hypertrophic adipocytes; these are then cleared by macrophages, giving rise to distinctive structures we denominated crown-like structures. Here we present evidence that subcutaneous and visceral hypertrophic adipocytes of leptin-deficient (ob/ob and db/db) obese mice exhibit ultrastructural abnormalities (including calcium accumulation and cholesterol crystals), many of which are more common in hyperglycemic db/db versus normoglycemic ob/ob mice and in visceral versus subcutaneous depots. Degenerating adipocytes whose intracellular content disperses in the extracellular space were also noted in obese mice; in addition, increased anti-reactive oxygen species enzyme expression in obese fat pads, documented by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, suggests that ultrastructural changes are accompanied by oxidative stress. RT-PCR showed NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the fat pads of both leptin-deficient and high-fat diet obese mice, in which formation of active caspase-1 was documented by immunohistochemistry in the cytoplasm of several hypertrophic adipocytes. Notably, caspase-1 was not detected in FAT-ATTAC transgenic mice, where adipocytes die of apoptosis. Thus, white adipocyte overexpansion induces a stress state that ultimately leads to death. NLRP3-dependent caspase-1 activation in hypertrophic adipocytes likely induces obese adipocyte death by pyroptosis, a proinflammatory programmed cell death.