In 2018, it is expected that there will be a major revision of the International System of Units (SI) which will result in all of the seven base units being defined by fixing the values of certain atomic or fundamental constants. As part of this revision, the kelvin, unit of thermodynamic temperature, will be redefined by assigning a value to the Boltzmann constant k. This explicit-constant definition will define the kelvin in terms of the SI derived unit of energy, the joule. It is sufficiently wide to encompass any form of thermometry. The planned redefinition has motivated the creation of an extended mise en pratique ('practical realization') of the definition of the kelvin (MeP-K), which describes how the new definition can be put into practice. The MeP-K incorporates both of the defined International Temperature Scales (ITS-90 and PLTS-2000) in current use and approved primary-thermometry methods for determining thermodynamic temperature values. The MeP-K is a guide that provides or makes reference to the information needed to perform measurements of temperature in accord with the SI at the highest level. In this article, the background and the content of the extended second version of the MeP-K are presented.


This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of three-dimensional, highly porous polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) and composite scaffolds made by the emulsion freezing / freezing-drying technique. Freeze-drying of the polymer/solvent/ water phase emulsions produced hard and tough scaffolds with interconnected pores. The effects of the fabrication parameters such as polymer concentration in emulsions and emulsion stabilizer were examined and optimized. The density of polymer scaffolds was found to increase with an increasing polymer concentration. Structural analyses of selected samples using scanning electron microscopy indicated that the scaffolds had pore sizes ranging from several microns to a few hundred microns. The porosity of scaffolds of up to 85% was achieved and it increased with a decreasing polymer concentration. It was found that mechanical properties of composite scaffolds increased with the increasing amount of hydroxyapatite (HA) incorporated in the scaffolds.


This paper introduces a nonlinear certainty equivalent approximation method for dynamic stochastic problems. We first use a novel, stable and efficient method for computing the optimal policy functions for deterministic dynamic optimization problems, and then use them as certainty-equivalent approximations for the stochastic versions. Our examples demonstrate that it can be applied to solve high-dimensional problems with up to four hundred state variables with an acceptable accuracy. This method can also be applied to solve problems with inequality constraints that occasionally bind. These features make the nonlinear certainty equivalent approximation method suitable for solving complex economic problems, where other algorithms, such as log-linearization, fail or are far less tractable.


Classically, acute uncoupling of G protein-linked receptors has been presented as a nonselective process in which modification of the receptor by phosphorylation leads to reduction in or the loss of coupling to all effectors. Investigation of multiple signaling pathways has modified this view: for example, when expressed in Ltk- fibroblasts, the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A (5-HT1A) receptor couples to both stimulation of intracellular calcium mobilization (via inositol phosphate generation) and inhibition of cAMP accumulation. Acute pretreatment for 2 min with 100 nM 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), an activator of protein kinase C (PKC), abolished the intracellular calcium response induced by 100 nM 5-HT but did not reduce 5-HT1A receptor-mediated inhibition of cAMP. In the present report, mutant 5-HT1A receptors lacking one, two, or three putative PKC phosphorylation sites located in the receptor's third cytoplasmic loop were constructed and transfected separately into Ltk- cells. The receptor mutants displayed agonist affinities similar to that of the nonmutated receptor. The relative magnitudes of 5-HT-induced changes in intracellular calcium or forskolin-stimulated cAMP levels were also similar to those of the wild-type receptor for all except one of the mutants. In addition, TPA treatment did not change the magnitude or potency of 5-HT-induced inhibition of prostaglandin E1-stimulated cAMP accumulation in the wild-type or triple-mutant 5-HT1A receptor clones. On pretreatment with TPA, there was a progressive recovery to 74% of the control 5-HT-induced increase in calcium mobilization as PKC sites were eliminated from the receptor, indicating that multiple phosphorylation sites are required for PKC-mediated receptor uncoupling. Also, these results indicate that receptor phosphorylation selectively uncouples the 5-HT1A receptor from enhancement of calcium mobilization without reducing receptor-mediated inhibition of cAMP. Thus, phosphorylation by PKC can sculpt receptor signaling via pathway-selective uncoupling.


Different performance measures are an important mean in order to analyze and design wireless communications systems. Examples of common performance measures are the ergodic capacity, the outage capacity, and the average mean-square error (MSE). In this work, we study the delay-limited capacity (DLC). The DLC depends on the properties of the fading channel, e.g. on the spatial correlation and on the line-of-sight (LOS) component. In this letter, we derive the DLC for the general class of parallel fading channels, including the multiple antenna channels under moment and long-term power constraint. We prove that the DLC is Schur-concave with respect to the spatial correlation in single-input multiple-output (SIMO), and multiple-input single-output (MISO). Bounds for the DLC of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and parallel fading channels are derived and the impact of the the mean component and spatial correlation on these bounds is characterized.


In the p-LearNet project, we are interested in TEL systems integrating context-aware corporate learning and working activities for e-retail (shops and hypermarkets). The main issues of the p-LearNet project are: work-integrated learning and customer learning support whatever the place, the time, the organisational and technological contexts of the individual or collective learning and working processes. We propose an adaptive and context-aware model of scenario for a pervasive learning system. This model enables us to choose how to achieve activities according to the current situation. The scenario model is based on a hierarchical task model having the task/method paradigm - methods define how to achieve a task, a task represents an activity. The context-aware adaptation process selects the relevant methods according to the current situation.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of applying a 4-week instead of an 8-week dry period to dairy cows on the proteome of colostrum (first sample) and of transition milk (the fifth postpartum milk sample). Individual milk serum samples of colostrum and transition milk were analysed from 12 Swedish Holstein (SH) and 12 Swedish Red (SR) cows. Samples were prepared by filter-aided sample preparation and dimethyl labelling and analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Shortening the dry period resulted in upregulation of 18 proteins in colostrum and transition milk of SR, whereas no statistical differences were found for SH colostrum and transition milk. These upregulated proteins may reflect a specific immune response in the SR samples that was reflected in colostrum as well as in transition milk. Upregulated proteins in colostrum seemed to reflect increased mammary epithelial cell proliferation in the periparturient period when a 4-week dry period was applied. The proteome data indicate that a dry period of 4 weeks to SR cows may not be sufficient for complete regeneration of the mammary epithelium.


Education
Should professors continue to use traditional lectures in undergraduate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classrooms? Freeman et al. performed a meta-analysis of 225 studies that evaluated how students performed in traditional lecture classes as compared to in courses with at least some active learning. Traditional lecturing led to a 55% increase in student failure rates, they found, whereas active learning increased examination performance by approximately half a letter grade. Besides supporting active learning as the preferred teaching format in science classrooms, these results call into question the practice of using traditional lecture courses as control groups in research studies that evaluate new teaching methods.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 10.1073/pnas.1319030111 (2014).


After decades of domination on campus, college sports' supremacy has begun to weaken. "Enough, already!" detractors cry. College is about learning, not chasing a ball around to the whir of TV cameras.In Intercollegiate Athletics and the American University James Duderstadt agrees, taking the view that the increased commercialization of intercollegiate athletics endangers our universities and their primary goal, academics. Calling it a "corrosive example of entertainment culture" during an interview with ESPN's Bob Ley, Duderstadt suggested that college basketball, for example, "imposes on the university an alien set of values, a culture that really is not conducive to the educational mission of university."Duderstadt is part of a growing controversy. Recently, as reported in "The New York Times," an alliance between university professors and college boards of trustees formed in reaction to the growth of college sports; it's the first organization with enough clout to challenge the culture of big-time university athletics.This book is certainly part of that challenge, and is sure to influence this debate today and in the years to come.James J. Duderstadt is President Emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering, University of Michigan.


Recent corporate scandals come on top of increased securities litigation and competitive pressure on premiums in the past couple of years to create a strain for directors and officers liability insurance (D&O) underwriters. Immediate changes are required to protect the ability of these carriers to offer D&O insurance. Entity coverage, which has diluted the protection available to directors and officers, needs to be regulated. The quality of insurance companies participating at every level of the D&O program must be ensured. D&O underwriters must understand the true nature of the risk they are being asked to assume. Finally, D&O insurance premiums must be aligned with the current level of securities exposure.


The investigated medicinally and ethno-medicinally very important taxon endemic to the Western Ghats of India. This taxon belonging to the medicinally rich sources of Asteraceae plant family. The various medicinally important components deposited in various parts of plant. The current investigation was completed to find the anatomical characters of Glossocardia bosvallia. The G. bosvalliaan endemic taxa to India, were a major plant population distributed in the Western Ghats of India.The plant shows distinct anatomical characters of stem and root. It shows the presence of resin oil cavities and large solitary calcium crystals in the region of the cortex of the stem and root of G. bosvallia. During the study of G. bosvalliawe noted different anatomical attributes transverse section of the stem and root, were as epidermis layer, cortex, sclereids, cork, vascular bundle, phloem cell layer, phloem medullary rays, xylem medullary rays, xylem vessels, arc vascular bundle, and pitted type parenchyma. This taxon's anatomical study has yet to be studied by a single researcher. The various plant parts have some medicinally important depositions that will be used in the future to cure diseases or abnormalities. G. bosvallia species has a prominent ethnomedicinal plant used for treatments of various illnesses and irregularities such as throat infection, hoarseness of throat, alcohol addiction, anti-fertility action, and bacillary dysentery, anthelmintic, cure bloat, swelling, pains, sores, wounds, emmenagogue, and gynecological disorders.


The development of software systems from already built COTS components has been motivated by the prospect of reduced cost and development time. However, developing COTS-based systems introduces new challenges and risks different from building systems from scratch. In particular, this new paradigm requires simultaneous tradeoffs among user requirements, COTS products and system architecture. In this paper, we describe a set of guidelines for handling risks and uncertainties associated with such tradeoffs.


BACKGROUND
Reports of prevalence of spinal pain indicate the prevalence of thoracic pain in approximately 13% of the general population compared to 32% of the population with neck pain and 43% of the population with low back pain during the past year. Even though, thoracic pain is less common than neck or low back pain, the degree of disability resulting from thoracic pain disorders seems to be similar to other painful conditions. Interventions in managing chronic thoracic pain are also less frequent, leading to the paucity of literature about various interventions in managing chronic thoracic pain. Thoracic intervertebral discs and thoracic facet joints have been shown to be pain generators, even though thoracic radicular pain is very infrequent. Thoracic epidural injections are one of the commonly performed procedures in managing thoracic pain. The efficacy of thoracic epidural injections has not been well studied.

STUDY DESIGN
A randomized, double-blind, active controlled trial.

SETTING
  Private interventional pain management practice and specialty referral center in the United States.

OBJECTIVE
The primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of thoracic interlaminar epidural injections in providing effective pain relief and improving function in patients with chronic mid and/or upper back pain.

METHODS
One hundred and ten patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups with 55 patients in each group receiving either local anesthetic alone (Group I) or local anesthetic with steroids (Group II). Randomization was performed by computer-generated random allocation sequence by simple randomization.

OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT
Outcomes were assessed utilizing Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) 2.0, employment status, and opioid intake. The patients experiencing greater than 3 weeks of significant improvement with the first 2 procedures were considered as successful. Others were considered as failed participants. Significant improvement was defined as a decrease of greater than 50% NRS scores and ODI scores with measurements performed at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post treatment.

RESULTS
Significant improvement was seen in 71% in Group I and 80% in Group II at the end of 2 years with all participants; however, improvement was seen in 80% and 86% when only successful patients were considered. Therapeutic procedural characteristics showed 5 to 6 procedures per 2 years with total average relief of 80 weeks in Group I and 78 weeks in Group II in the successful patient category; whereas, it was 71 and 72 weeks when all patients were considered.

LIMITATIONS
Limitations of this assessment include lack of a placebo group.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on the results of this trial, it is concluded that chronic thoracic pain of non-facet joint origin may be managed conservatively with thoracic interlaminar epidural injections with or without steroids.


Introduction. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in ethnographic research within the field of library and Information studies. Although ethnography has been used by information researchers for studying a wide variety of phenomena, discussions concerning methodological developments and directions, as well as ethnography's wider applicability within the field are rare. Our intent is to contribute to the such discussions. Method. The article draws on three on-going research projects to illustrate how the analytical and methodological concepts of following and translation are operationalized. Analysis. Particularly the article addresses the tension between the site specificity traditionally associated with ethnographic methodology, and the fluidity and place transcending but yet situated character of the objects of study in the field. Conclusion. The authors conclude that an ethnography of following and translation is a tool for handling the movability characterizing the phenomena studied in the field, thus


TLPS (Transient Liquid Phase Sintering) process is a candidate method for heat-resistant bonding, which makes use of the reaction between low-melting temperature powder of Sn-Bi base alloys and reactive powder of Ag. During heat treatment above the melting temperature of a Sn-Bi base alloy, the molten Sn-Bi reacts rapidly with solid Ag particles, which results in the formation of a heat-resistant intermetallic compound (IMC). In this study, the TLPS properties between Sn-17Bi-1Ag (at.%) powder with a liquidus temperature of 200°C and pure Ag powder were investigated. During differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement, an exothermic reaction and an endothermic reaction occurred, which correspond to the formation of the Ag3Sn-IMC phase and the melting of the Sn-17Bi-1Ag alloy, respectively. After the overall measurement, the obtained reactant consisted of the Ag3Sn-IMC and Bi-rich phases, both of which started melting above 250°C, with a small amount of the residual Sn-Bi eutectic phase. These results suggest that the TLPS process can be applied for Pb-free heat-resistant bonding.


We describe a general framework --compressive statistical learning-- for resource-efficient large-scale learning: the training collection is compressed in one pass into a low-dimensional sketch (a vector of random empirical generalized moments) that captures the information relevant to the considered learning task. A near-minimizer of the risk is computed from the sketch through the solution of a nonlinear least squares problem. We investigate sufficient sketch sizes to control the generalization error of this procedure. The framework is illustrated on compressive PCA, compressive clustering, and compressive Gaussian mixture Modeling with fixed known variance. The latter two are further developed in a companion paper.


High energy density Li-ion batteries have attracted broad attention due to their great significance for various applications ranging from portable electronics to electric vehicles. However, emerging applications require batteries with greater than currently available energy densities, which have motivated numerous research efforts such as investigations on high energy density active materials, and engineered electrode structures that maximize the capacity. Three-dimensional (3D) graphene provides promising pathways for developing high energy density electrodes including cathodes and anodes, because of its potential for providing a conductive 3D network, improving Li+ ion and electron transfer, as well as accommodating the structure and volume change during cycling. In this review, recent research efforts particularly focused on 3D graphene-based nanocomposite electrodes which exhibit high energy density, high capacity, and good rate performance have been summarized comprehensively. The current challenges for high energy density Li-ion batteries have been discussed, while the potential research perspectives have been presented as well, which we hope would inspire high-performance battery investigations.


The objective of this paper is to investigate the relation between ownership concentration and performance of listed companies in the East African Community (EAC). The EAC is a community of six countries located in the East Africa : Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan. Among this Community, all of the countries excepted Burundi and South Sudan own a financial market. These countries decided in 2010 to create the East African Stock Exchanges Association (EASEA). The EASEA has many purposes : the increase of attractiveness and liquidity of its financial markets to encourage foreign investments and the economic development of the region. The study of the relation between ownership concentration and performance is particularly necessary to identify the main levers to be activated to enable the EASEA to achieve its objectives. On the one hand, ownership concentration is represented by the level of capital concentration by the principal shareholder and the type of controlling shareholder. On the other hand, performance is represented by the rate of return on equity (ROE) and the rate of return on assets (ROA). An econometric analysis using panel data was carried out on a sample of 290 observations.
Even if the main problem of the study is the unavailability of some data, our results show the existence of a significant positive relation between the concentration of capital by the first shareholder and the economic performance of firms. A significant negative influence was found between the number of shareholders and the financial performance of the firms studied. Concerning the type of controlling shareholder, the research highlights a significant positive relation between the presence of a foreign principal shareholder (i.e. a shareholder outside the East African Community) and the economic performance, whereas the presence of a controlling institutional shareholder is negatively correlated with the financial performance.


Wei Huang Chong Zeng Shanbiao Hu 4 Lei Wang Jie Liu 1Department of Pathology, Changsha Central Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; 2Research Center of Carcinogenesis and Targeted Therapy, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; 3Department of Respiratory and Neurology, Hunan Rongjun Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; 4Department of Urological Organ Transplantation, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China; 5Cancer Research Institute, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China Background: Studies have indicated that ATG3 could mediate the effects of other tumorrelated regulators in carcinogenesis. However, the expression, role, and mechanism of ATG3 itself in cancers are rarely revealed. Thus, we explored the expression, function, and mechanism of ATG3 in colon cancer. Materials and methods: The expression of ATG3 was detected in colon cancer tissues and cell lines, as well as in adjacent tumor tissues and normal colon epithelial cells. The effects of ATG3 alteration on proliferation and invasion were further analyzed. The expression and role of miR-431-5p, a potential negative regulator of ATG3, were also studied. Eventually, the role of autophagy in ATG3 related effects in colon cancer was checked. Results: ATG3 is upregulated in colon cancer tissues and cells demonstrated by qPCR and IHC. ATG3 knockdown significantly suppressed proliferation and invasion of colon cancer cells indicated by plate clone formation and Transwell invasion assays. The expression of miR-431-5p is downregulated and negatively correlates with ATG3 in colon cancer. Furthermore, luciferase report system, plate clone formation and Transwell invasion assays demonstrated that miR-431-5p could prohibit cell proliferation and invasion via directly targeting ATG3 in colon cancer. Eventually, Western blot, plate clone formation and Transwell invasion assays proved that autophagy block could antagonize the promotive functions of ATG3 on proliferation and invasion in cancer suggesting autophagy activation accounts for the promotive role of ATG3 on proliferation and invasion in colon cancer. Conclusion: Collectively, ATG3 upregulation, caused by downregulated miR-435-5p, promotes proliferation and invasion via an autophagy-dependent manner in colon cancer suggesting that miR-431-5p/ATG3/autophagy may be a potential therapeutic target in colon cancer.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis at an early stage plays a significant role in reducing its symptoms and decelerating cognitive deterioration. Hence the use of computer-aided systems for early and accurate AD diagnosis is critical. The proposed diagnostic tool depends on classifying features extracted from brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). These Features must accurately capture main AD-related variations of the anatomical brain structures, such as hippocampi region atrophy, lateral ventricle enlargement, cortical thickness, brain volume, etc. In this work, T1-weighted structural MRIs were employed for extracting these AD-related features. The images resulting from MRI scans are interpreted to high-intensity visible features, making preprocessing and segmentation less complex. This work has proposed a software pipeline consisting of several preprocessing steps, a segmentation method for segmenting brain tissues, and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for Regions of Interest (ROIs) Parcellation that is AD-related. Features extracted from these segmented tissues and ROIs are utilized for the final AD classification using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The results show that the proposed approach has reached 89.1% accuracy in the binary classification of AD vs. CN (Cognitively Normal), Demonstrating promising classification performance.


This paper addresses robust fuzzy adaptive control for nonlinear multi-input multi-output systems in the presence of parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. A universal approximator is used to approximate the plant model. The boundedness of the variables involved and convergence towards zero of the tracking error are guaranteed by a supervisory control. The effect of both the approximation errors and the external disturbances is attenuated to a prescribed level via an H∞ supervisor. Sufficient conditions are derived for robust stabilization in the sense of Lyapunov asymptotic stability. The effectiveness of the proposed controller design methodology is demonstrated by numerical simulations of a two-link robot.


There is limited experimental data describing the mixing processes and coherent velocity structures near the surface of the ocean. These play an important part in the interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean and thus affect the climate of the earth. A robust, low cost thermistor based sensor suitable for use in the detection and quantification of velocity structures has been designed and developed. The flow sensor, a thermal anemometer, consists of a self-heated thermistor that is maintained at constant temperature using a feedback control circuit. The thermistor is exposed to the moving fluid and the heat transfer from it is a function of the velocity of the fluid. The sensor has been interfaced with a PC to facilitate data acquisition. A tow tank calibration and testing facility also interfaced to a PC was developed. The sensor is compensated for changes in ambient fluid temperature, which is a major problem for all thermal anemometers that operate in water. The calibration relation that is normally used for thermistor anemometers has been improved upon and gives better results than any found in the literature. In order to provide electrical isolation from the water the sensor was protected with an insulating coating. The effect of coating thickness and the type of coating used on sensor performance was investigated. It was found that a polymer coating resulted in a sensor that did not show any appreciable drift due to sensor contamination over a number of months. This is a significant
improvement over glass coated hot film sensors, which are widely used for velocity measurements in water and previously developed thermistor based sensors. The effect of various control circuit parameters on the frequency response of the sensor was determined and these parameters were tuned to give maximum frequency response A procedure for easily replacing broken/damaged sensors in the field was also developed.


We present new scanning probes suitable for Microwave Impedance Microscopy measurements on any scanning platform using a piezoactuator. We microfabricated piezoresistive cantilevers integrated with low-impedance, electrically-shielded transmission lines to enable simultaneous topographical and electrical scanning probe microscopy. The probes provide topography feedback with nanometer vertical resolution for samples or setups where laser detection is not feasible or desirable. MIM is a scanning probe technique that utilizes the interaction of a GHz electrical signal with a sample and yields a conductivity map of the sample at the nanoscale. Our new design exhibits vertical displacement resolution of 3.5 nm in a measurement bandwidth from 1 Hz to 10 kHz. The capacitance between shield and inner conductors measured with an impedance analyzer is 9.5 pF and the trace resistance is 32 Ω. We have demonstrated sample location and topographic scanning capabilities using the self-sensing piezoresistor.


Uterine metastases of extragenital malignomas are rarely presented in literature. Malignant melanoma as primary tumour is described more often than can be expected with regard to its relative incidence in comparison to other malignomas. If the uterus is involved in melanoma disease, mostly cervix and myometrium are affected, endometrial metastases are considered to be very rare. If the primary tumour is known, bleeding abnormalities frequently lead to the diagnosis of uterine metastases, but occasionally abnormal bleeding appears to be the first symptom of melanoma disease. In the following another such case is described and an additional case of endometrial metastases of malignant melanoma is presented.


Studies of life rely on classifying organisms into species. However, since Darwin, there is no agreement about how to separate species from varieties. Contrary to a frequent belief, quantitative standards for species delineation are lacking and overdue, and debates about species delimitation create obstacles for conservation biology, agriculture, legislation, and education. To tackle this key biological question, we have chosen butterflies as model organisms. We sequenced and analyzed transcriptomes of 188 specimens representing pairs of close but clearly distinct species, populations, and taxa that are debated among experts. We find that species are robustly separated from populations by the combination of two measures computed on Z-linked genes: fixation index that detects hiatus between species, and the extent of gene flow that quantifies reproductive isolation. These criteria suggest that all 9 butterfly pairs that caused experts' disagreement are distinct species, not populations. When applied to Homo, our criteria agree that all modern humans are the same species distinct from Neanderthals, suggesting relevance of this study beyond butterflies. Furthermore, we found that proteins involved in interactions with DNA (including proteins encoded by trans-regulatory elements), circadian clock, pheromone sensing, development, and immune response recurrently correlate with speciation. A significant fraction of these proteins is encoded by the Z-chromosome, which appears to be resistant to introgression. Taken together, we find common speciation mechanisms in butterflies, reveal the central role of Z-chromosome in speciation, and suggest quantitative criteria for species delimitation using genomic data, which is vital for the exploration of biodiversity.


Objectives: To establish an individualized nomogram to predict the probability of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in tuberculosis patients receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment. Methods: The clinical information of patients admitted to a tertiary hospital between January 2010 and December 2022 was retrospectively reviewed from the clinical records. Patients with baseline liver diseases (hepatis B or C infection and fatty liver) or taking liver protective drugs were excluded. The maximum values in liver function test within 180 days after anti-tuberculosis treatment were collected to determine the occurrence of DILI. The candidate variables used for establishing prediction model in this study were the last results within the 30 days before the treatment onset. The final variables were included after univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses and applied to establish the nomogram model. The discrimination power and prediction accuracy of the prediction model were assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) curve and a calibration chart. The clinical effectiveness was assessed via decision curve analysis (DCA). The established model was validated in two validation groups. Results: A total of 1979 patients with 25 variables were enrolled in this study, and the incidence of DILI was 4.2% (n = 83). The patients with complete variables were divided into training group (n = 1,121), validation group I (n = 492) and validation group II (n = 264). Five variables were independent factors for DILI and included in the final prediction model presented as nomogram: age (odds ratio [OR] 1.022, p = 0.023), total bilirubin ≥17.1 μmol/L (OR 11.714, p < 0.001), uric acid (OR 0.977, p = 0.047), neutrophil count (OR 2.145, 0.013) and alcohol consumption (OR 3.209, p = 0.002). The AUCs of the prediction model in the training group, validation group I and validation group II were 0.833, 0.668, and 0.753, respectively. The p-values of calibration charts in the three groups were 0.800, 0.996, and 0.853. The DCA curves of the prediction model were above the two extreme curves. Conclusion: The nomogram model in this study could effectively predict the DILI risk among patients under anti-tuberculosis drug treatment.


The adoption of agriculture and settled village life is one of the most important transitions in prehistory, long viewed as one of the most essential 'revolutions' in human history. While traditional grand narratives of agricultural origins and dispersals still remain relevant today, decades of excavation and investigation in western Asia are increasingly challenging and reinterpreting these narratives, revealing diverse pathways in the emergence of Neolithic communities. This volume, arising from a workshop organised at the 2016 ICAANE conference in Vienna, uses new research and theories to shed light on the diversity of early farming communities beyond the Near East, in Anatolia (the Asian part of Turkey) and the Aegean basin. The volume proposes that these regions represent one of the first farming 'frontiers' between the agricultural economies in central Anatolia in the 9th millennium BC and farming communities in western Anatolia and the Aegean, which emerged around two thousand years later. The thirteen contributions collected in this volume highlight the diverse trajectories by which societies transitioned to farming on the periphery of one of the great centres of food-plant and animal domestication of the Old World, and allow for the re-evaluation of long-established models in the field of Neolithic archaeology, integrating the area into broader narratives about one of the essential transformations in human history.


Purpose of reviewThis review will highlight the recent findings concerning the role of the intrarenal dopaminergic system in hypertension, especially the role of alterations in G-protein receptor kinase 4 (GRK4) activity. Recent findingsRecent studies highlight the importance of the intrarenal dopaminergic system in blood pressure regulation and how defects in dopamine signaling are involved in the development of hypertension. There are recent experimental models that definitively demonstrate that abnormalities in intrarenal dopamine production or receptor signaling can predispose to salt-sensitive hypertension and a dysregulated renin–angiotensin system. Furthermore, studies in experimental animal models and in humans with salt-sensitive hypertension implicate abnormalities in dopamine receptor regulation because of receptor desensitization resulting from increased GRK4 activity. Functional polymorphisms that predispose to increased basal GRK4 activity both decrease dopamine receptor activity and increase angiotensin II AT1 receptor activity and are associated with essential hypertension in a number of different human cohorts. SummaryThe ongoing elucidation of this important regulatory pathway further emphasizes the importance of the kidney in maintenance of blood pressure control and may help to delineate the underlying mechanisms predisposing individuals or populations to increased risk for development of hypertension.


Internet applications have been increasingly and widely used in every field in the society. On the other hand, the disruptions of services caused by software fault and hardware fault are more and more widespread. To improve the survivability of the Internet applications, we have conducted a study of virtualized clustering technology and software rejuvenation that follows a proactive fault-tolerant approach. In this paper, we present a virtualized two node cluster recovery model to increase the survivability level of Internet applications in which software and hardware failures occur. The system is modeled under Markov chains. Two different clustering systems are studied, traditional clustering system and virtualized clustering system, and compared in order to determine the best configuration which provides the highest level of survivability and availability.


Abstract. The Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) provides an interface to couple submodels to a base model via a highly flexible data management facility (Jockel et al., 2010). In the present paper we present the four new radiation related submodels RAD, AEROPT, CLOUDOPT, and ORBIT. The submodel RAD (including the shortwave radiation scheme RAD_FUBRAD) simulates the radiative transfer, the submodel AEROPT calculates the aerosol optical properties, the submodel CLOUDOPT calculates the cloud optical properties, and the submodel ORBIT is responsible for Earth orbit calculations. These submodels are coupled via the standard MESSy infrastructure and are largely based on the original radiation scheme of the general circulation model ECHAM5, however, expanded with additional features. These features comprise, among others, user-friendly and flexibly controllable (by namelists) online radiative forcing calculations by multiple diagnostic calls of the radiation routines. With this, it is now possible to calculate radiative forcing (instantaneous as well as stratosphere adjusted) of various greenhouse gases simultaneously in only one simulation, as well as the radiative forcing of cloud perturbations. Examples of online radiative forcing calculations in the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model are presented.


For systems where safety is critical, it will soon be a requirement that the safety related systems be designed in accordance with the IEC 61508 set of standards. This applies to electrical as well as to electronic equipment - such as protection relays - used in safety related systems, which are subject to the requirements of IEC 61508. The objective of the paper is to demonstrate that the safety requirements defined by IEC 61508 have consequences for the whole engineering process including the design of elementary electronic devices such as protection relays. Applying IEC 61508 to these devices becomes a must for achieving the user's basic requirements - improving the safety and the availability of their industrial complexes. IEC 61508 constitutes is a very powerful tool from organizational and qualitative points of view and systematic failures analysis is an important topic of this standard, and the probabilistic quantification part may be improved.


An article in a recent issue of the British magazine Punch , entitled "Sleeping Partner," deals with surgeons and anesthetists. It opens with this paragraph: "Surgeons are traditionally accused by the medical profession of introducing two necessary evils—wound infection and anaesthetists. In the past hundred years both of these have fortunately become less dangerous to human life." There are many amusing statements in the article, and the author, in a jovial fashion, tells of the changing relationships between surgeons and anesthetists. He states that formerly "the surgeon took the limelight and ninety per cent of the fee; the anaesthetist at his best was only a Jeeves, ready to smooth the surgical progress of his master, to encourage him in clinical distress, and to temper discreetly his operative enthusiasms," and how after a day's work the anesthetist "left the hospital by bicycle in the dust of the surgical limousine." But, "as


The formation of the character of Sun Wukong has remained one of the most controversial issues in the field of Xiyou ji studies. While acknowledging that different strands might have fed into the image of Sun Wukong in the sixteenth- century novel Xiyou ji (Journey to the West), this paper calls attention to complex and sometimes contradictory representations of Sun Wukong's sexuality and explores the mechanism of displacement that subtly operates in the novel and reveals itself through such representations. It further demonstrates the dual function performed by the displacement of Sun Wukong's sexuality: on the one hand, it connects Sun Wukong to the image of the lustful ape in the white ape tradition; on the other hand, such displacement allows him to utilize and transcend his desire by experiencing the process of awakening to kong 空 by means of se 色 on his path to enlightenment. Therefore, a reexamination of Sun Wukong through the lens of sexuality helps draw together these two seemingly separate aspects and reveals a narrative in which Sun Wukong's sexual desire not only encodes his hidden past associated with the white ape tradition but also generates significant meaning in light of the Buddhist context, that is, the notion that erotic encounters and fulfillment of sexual desire can be integrated into the Buddhist journey to enlightenment.


Early social reintegration of patients with disabilities of the wrist is possible with the help of dedicated rehabilitation equipment. Using such equipment reduces the duration of recovery and reduces significantly rehabilitation costs. Based on these considerations the paper puts forward a novel constructive solution of rehabilitation equipment that ensures the simultaneous passive mobilization of the radiocarpal, metacarpophalangeal, and interphalangeal joints. The novelty of this equipment consists in the bioinspired concept of the hand support based on the Fin-Ray effect and in driving it by means of a pneumatic muscle, an inherently compliant actuator. The paper places an emphasis on the compliant character of the rehabilitation equipment that is responsible for its adaptability to the concrete conditions of patient pain tolerability.


Abstract Vujaskovic, Z., Feng, Q. F., Rabbani, Z. N., Anscher, M. S., Samulski, T. V. and Brizel, D. M. Radioprotection of Lungs by Amifostine is Associated with Reduction in Profibrogenic Cytokine Activity. Radiat. Res. 157, 656–660 (2002). Radiation-induced pulmonary toxicity causes significant morbidity and mortality in patients irradiated for lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma or thymoma. Amifostine is an important drug in the emerging field of cytoprotection. Recent advances in our understanding of the mechanism of radiation-induced injury at the molecular and cellular levels have stimulated interest in the development of effective radioprotective strategies. Accumulation of macrophages with associated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and production and activation of cytokines is a key process involved in the pathophysiology of radiation injury in the lung. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the mechanism of radioprotection by amifostine includes reduction in both macrophage activity and the expression and activation of profibrogenic cytokines. Our results demonstrated a reduction in both functional and histological radiation-induced lung injury by amifostine. In addition, this study is the first to demonstrate that amifostine given prior to irradiation reduced both the accumulation of macrophages and the expression/activation of lung tissue Tgfb1 which was followed by the reduction of plasma Tgfb1 levels during the development of radiation-induced lung injury. Future studies are needed to determine whether administration of amifostine both during and after radiotherapy may further increase its radioprotective effect.


During a 14-month period, eight infants and children were observed with an acute, infectious, upper airway obstructive disease with features common to both croup and epiglottitis. We have termed this distinct entity "bacterial tracheitis." All patients failed to respond to treatment for croup, including racemic epinephrine delivered by intermittent positive-pressure breathing. Direct laryngoscopy consistently revealed a normal epiglottis and aryepiglottic folds but marked subglottic mucosal edema. Tracheal suctioning yielded copius mucopus below the subglottic swelling. Gram stain of this material corroborated subsequent cultures: Staphylococcus aureus, six; group A Streptococcus, one; and Haemophilus influenzae (not typed), one. All patients required periodic tracheal suctioning for relief of upper airway obstruction. Six patients required endotracheal intubation; one required a tracheostomy. Bacterial tracheitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a young child with a croup-like illness that is refractory to conventional therapy.


Pulmonary hypertension is a menacing complication of a number of diseases, which is responsible for high mortality rates and considerably poorer quality of life in a patient. The timely detection for pulmonary hypertension allows timely initiation of treatment, thus improvement in prognosis in the patient. Chest X-ray is the most commonly used radiographic technique for various causes. Physicians' awareness about the radiographic manifestations of pulmonary hypertension may contribute to the earlier detection of this severe disease. Owing to the natural contrast of reflected structures, a chest X-ray film gives a unique opportunity to assess pulmonary circulation vessels, to reveal the signs of pulmonary hypertension, and to estimate trends in the course of the disease. The paper details a procedure for analysis and the normal radiographic anatomy of pulmonary circulation vessels, gives the present classification of pulmonary hypertension, and sets forth its X-ray semiotics.


: The open innovation proposed by Chesbrough (2003a) had a heavy impact on practical business, and not just academia. However, the definition of open innovation is broad and ambiguous, with Chesbrough himself not providing a clear, specific example of open innovation practice (OIP). Thus, practitioners interpret it in many ways. Accordingly, to accurately measure the impact of open innovation, OIP must be classified into several types. This paper proposes two methods for classification. The first is whether the OIP of Chesbrough and that of the practitioner are aligned. From this perspective, OIP can be categorized in three ways: (a) what both Chesbrough and the practitioner call OIP; (b) what Chesbrough calls OIP, but not the practitioner; and (c) what a practitioner calls OIP but not Chesbrough. (a) can be clearly evaluated as the impact of open innovation, while more attention is required when interpreting (b) and (c). Second is the differentiation of whether activities that are currently implemented as OIP were started (i) before or (ii) after Chesbrough (2003a). (ii) can be seen as the impact of open innovation, though (i) is nothing more than changing the name of something that was previously just a "practice" into "OIP." If (i) is included in the impact of open innovation, there is a risk of exaggerating the assessment of open innovation.


A complex study of 1273 healthy children of creches and kindergartens where no viral hepatitis occurred for a long time revealed 39 children (3.1%) with an increased activity of glutamine-pyroracemic transaminase in the blood serum. Viral hepatitis was diagnosed in 12 (0.94%) of them as a result of clinical examination (an icteric form in 1, and a nonicteric form in 11 cases). The presence of asymptomatic form of infection could be supposed in 17 other children (1.3%). The incidence of increased activity of the enzyme in the serum of "healthy" children was definitly connected with the viral hepatitis incidence registered in the town during the year as a whole, and by seasons. This permitted to prognosticate the spread of viral hepatitis in the given populated locality. By complex laboratory examination of children in collective bodies it was possible to detect the latene foci and the latently coursing epidemic process of viral hepatitis.


When the Supreme Court delivered its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), the decision's opponents argued that the Court had just given corporations the same rights to free speech that individuals possessed. The opponents, as well as the court's dissenting opinion, argued that democracy would suffer as a result. To equate money with speech necessarily impairs democracy was the critics' reasoning. In response to the decision, a "Move to Amend" social movement launched seeking a constitutional amendment that money is not speech and that corporations should not be entitled to the same protections and rights afforded to "individuals." The Court's jurisprudence since the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment has given more and more constitutional protections to corporations, and the Court's recent decisions have made real campaign finance reform almost impossible. However, one has to practice the art of the ostrich to believe that money became speech in 2010 or that corporations only now have been given the right to unduly influence elections. Economic resources rather than political rights have determined whose speech is effective in our democracy for quite some time. To focus solely on a rhetoric of rights is to ignore the relations of production that favor some speech over others. Further, in a media ecology where effective speech requires control over its processes of distribution, one should not say that money equals speech but that private fortunes equal speech. Our discussions on the role of private money in a democracy cannot be limited to election time. This paper will analyze the political right and economic reality of free speech today by moving beyond jurisprudence and the language of rights.


Automated marking of short textual answers is a challenging task due to the difficulties involved in accurately "understanding" natural language text. However, certain purpose-built Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques can be used for this purpose. This paper describes an NLP-based approach to automated assessment that extends an earlier approach [1] to enable the automated marking of longer answers as well as answers that are partially correct. In the extended approach, the original Question Answer Language (QAL) is augmented to support the definition of regions of text that are expected to appear in a student's answer. In order to explain the extensions to QAL, we present worked examples based on real exam questions. The system's ability to accurately mark longer answer texts is shown to be on a par with that of existing state-of-the-art short-answer marking systems which are not capable of marking such longer texts.


With its high robustness nature and simplicity in design, the switched reluctance machines are finding its way for most of the modern day applications. The torque generating capability of such machines highly depends on the energy density available in the air-gap. The energy density in the air-gap depends on the ux traverse as the rotor moves from its full non-overlap position to the overlap position towards the excited stator pole. One way to improve the air-gap energy density is through the reduction of the air-gap length and the other through the extension of ux-linking the stator and rotor pole surface (typically known as pole-arcs). The reduction of the air-gap length is limited to a minimal value due to the mechanical oscillations that develop as the machine picks up the speed. Also the pole-arc value has to be designed appropriately in order to avoid the uneven pull due to the sequential excitations of the phases. This eventually introduces high torque ripples and vibrations inside the machine. To address this issue a dual air-gap structure through a double rotor structure is proposed in this investigation. Initially the concept of the ux tube technique based on the integration techniques used in this analysis is introduced with respect to generic dual air-gap structure. In this method the energy density of a small strip in the uniform magnetic path of the structure is computed and then integrated over the whole surface, making the computation results more accurate. Unlike the conventional ux tube techniques where estimation of ux values are used in this analytical method the results are more accurate. The algorithm to derive the magnetic characteristics of the machine is presented. A quantitative analysis is performed on the various possible pole-arc values to derive the best possible com- binations to be used in the design of the double rotor structure. It is found from the analysis that with the outer rotor pole arc at 35', the inner rotor pole arc valve at 45', the stator inner surface pole arc at 30' and the outer surface pole arc at 50' the machine exhibit lesser Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)of 13.45%. Numerical evaluation of the results from the above analysis is performed using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tool. The maximum torque in case of the numerical FEA is about 1.755 N-m whereas by the analytical method is about 1.652 N-m. The percentage error is due to the ux shape assumption in the analytical computations. The average torque for analytical is 0.947 N-m and through numerical is 0.953 N-m. The percentage error in the computation is about 6.35%. Analysis of the design of the dual rotor structure reveals particular aspects of dificulties to assemble. A support structure for both the stator and the rotor are developed. The fabricated machine is then tested to evaluate the analytical and the simulation results. In the full overlap La the error through FEA computations is about 12.90% due to the setting of the design parameter and about 8.13% error for the analytical due to practical limitation. In the full non-overlap condition Lu the error percentage is very small and is negligible. The time taken for the FEA simulation of one point is about 2 min 30 sec and the calculation of the iterations for one position is about 10 min. Numerical com- parative evaluations of the proposed machine with its conventional structure for the same volume and same mmf value is also performed through FEA. The maximum torque generated by the selected Double rotor switched reluctance machine is about 1.755 N-m with the THD value of 13.45%. The maximum torque generated by the conventional switched reluctance machine is about 1.272 N-m with THD value of 67.13%. This analysis is performed using the finite element tool. Motor Constant Square Density (G) is used as the comparative evaluation parameter and it is found that the proposed machine exhibit 65% increase in torque value compared to that of the conventional machine.


The aim of this study is to describe the meaning of living with bipolar disorder (BD) based on individuals' views of the illness and their future. Interviews were conducted with 18 participants who resided in Sweden and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Qualitative content analysis was employed. The findings revealed that daily life of those with BD was characterized by insecurity and challenges of accepting, understanding, and managing the illness. Increased hope of being able to influence the condition and receiving support to achieve a stable structure in life facilitates the management of daily life. Further research is needed on the next of kins' experiences of living with persons with BD.


Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between family-expressed emotion (FEE) and schizophrenia relapse rate (SRR).
Method: The study was descriptive-correlational. The population was the families of patients with schizophrenia admitted to Taft Comprehensive Psychiatric Center in 2017. The study was conducted with the participation of patients and their relatives through a questionnaire on socio-demographic and clinical variables, Family Questionnaire (FQ) and five-minute speech sample FMSS interview. Data was analyzed in SPSS 22 and descriptive and inferential statistics such as regression, t-test and chi-square test.
Results: The results showed a significant relationship between relapse and FEE and both its dimensions. Moreover, emotional criticism and involvement were significant predictors of relapse in patients. The more the emotion expressed in family members, the more frequent relapses are seen among the patients. However, the relationship between the expressed emotion and the frequency of relapses was not affected by the gender of the family members or their relation to the patient. Accordingly, it was concluded that no matter which family member (in terms of relation to the patient and gender) expresses criticism of the patient or becomes emotionally involved with the patient, the rate of relapse increases. In addition, more educated family members express less emotion about their patient because of their greater awareness.
Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between the levels of emotion expressed and its components (critical messages and Emotional Overinvolvement (EOI)) and disease relapse


Radioactive silver was diffused into GaAs at 1000 degrees C. The diffusions were carried out over a range of diffusion times and with different amounts of extra arsenic in the ampoule. Profiles were plotted. It is proposed that the silver diffuses primarily by the movement of interstitial atoms but that most of the silver in the GaAs occupies a substitutional site. Electrical measurements were also carried out on diffused specimens, using capacitance-voltage and Hall techniques. All samples were p-type and a reasonably good correspondence was found between the silver and hole concentrations. It was established that the p-type conductivity was not due to thermal conversion and it was concluded that the silver acts as an acceptor in GaAs, occupying the gallium site.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of knowledge dimensions and cognitive process patterns of students with different cognitive styles in STEM collaborative learning activities. These students used Packet Tracer and Facebook to conduct collaborative problem-solving activities on network troubleshooting in order to learn related knowledge and skills; the researcher then utilized a hidden figure test to divide them into "Field-Independent Group (FI Group)" and "Field-Dependent Group (FD Group)" to investigate their learning outcomes. The results showed that their learning outcomes had improved. The researcher further used "Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (RBT)" to code their group discussion contents and also content analysis and sequential analysis to investigate their knowledge dimensions and cognitive process patterns. The results indicated that knowledge dimensions of "FI Group" and "FD Group" were diverse; moreover, "FD Group" had an additional high-level knowledge dimension – C5 (Evaluate). For cognitive process patterns, students of "FD Group" had diverse transfers of knowledge deepening and cognitive process patterns; this meant that they could apply, analyze and even reflect known knowledge through the learning process. The participants of this study were the students studying introduction to IT at a university in Taiwan. In the future, it was expected that participant range could be enlarged so that more holistic references could be provided for teachers and researchers.


Understanding the origin of biodiversity is a central question in evolutionary biology. Ecological specialisation, including the repeated rapid and parallel evolution of ecological specialists ('ecotypes'), is a major source of biodiversity. The parallel evolution of ecotypes in salmonid fishes, such as Arctic charr, brown trout and European whitefish, has resulted in extensive diversity in northern postglacial freshwater ecosystems. Despite their ecological diversity and importance for northern ecosystems, the knowledge on the genetic basis of ecological specialisation, the evolutionary history of adaptive divergence, and the factors shaping the underlying genetic architecture are still not well understood in salmonids.
Over the last decade many studies have investigated the genetic basis of ecologically relevant phenotypic traits in a wide range of salmonid species using genetic mapping approaches. However, knowledge on the conservation of the genetic basis for particular traits, or suits of traits, across species is limited, mainly due to a lack of genomic resources. Similarly, little is known about the genomic architecture of phenotypic diversity within species, such as the organisation of species-specific quantitative trait loci across the genome and the frequency of potential pleiotropy or genetic linkage. To understand how conserved the genomic basis for particular traits is across species and how quantitative trait loci (QTL) are organised within the genome, we analysed the genetic basis for a wide range of phenotypic traits (N=18) in six salmonid species using a dataset comprising of 943 QTL markers. We developed a novel analytical approach to analyse the colocalisation and synteny of QTL within and across species using a hetero-specific reference genome, in this case the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) genome. We found that QTL were not randomly distributed across the genome and that gene-density determined the distribution of QTL across chromosomes. By comparing QTL across species, we further identified genomic regions that were enriched for QTL for morphological and physiological traits (synteny blocks) in a range of species. Within three of the species, we also detected the significant colocalisation of QTL for different traits. Overall, the detection of synteny blocks and colocalised traits suggests a small but detectable role of pleiotropy and genetic linkage in trait evolution in salmonids and a conserved genetic basis for some traits across species. However, the observed patterns of conserved genetic basis and colocalisation were relatively weak, as QTL were mostly not conserved across species or colocalised within species.
In general, the repeated evolution of similar ecotypes across populations and species implies a certain predictability of evolution. However, it is not well understood how phenotypic evolution overcomes the contingencies of heterogeneous genomic backgrounds of natural populations. To investigate the repeatability and predictability of parallel evolution, we used eco-morphological, genome-wide SNP and transcriptome data within and across lakes and evolutionary lineages of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). We found significant parallelism across replicated ecological specialists in foraging-associated traits. This phenotypic parallelism evolved despite population-specific variation in demographic histories, varying genomic response to selection and the non-parallel genetic basis of ecotype divergence. However, the regulatory molecular basis of ecological specialisation, inferred from gene expression and biological pathways, was highly parallel across ecotypes, bridging non-parallel genomic patterns and parallel eco-morphology. These findings suggest that parallel phenotypic evolution is possible despite non-parallel evolutionary routes when the functional molecular basis of ecological specialisation compensates for non-parallel genomic basis and histories.
Evolutionary and genomic contingencies, such as demographic histories and genomic features can strongly influence the genomic architecture of adaptive divergence and reproductive isolation. To investigate how genomic features and demographic history influence the genetic architecture of adaptation and reproductive isolation, we reconstructed the demographic history and analysed the genetic architecture of divergence in brown trout (Salmo trutta) from the Maree Catchment in Scotland. Brown trout display reproductively isolated and divergent life histories and ecological specialisation, including a large piscivorous life-history form (ferox trout) and a smaller benthivorous life-history form. We found that ferox trout and benthivorous brown trout most likely diverged under a secondary contact of at least two distinct postglacial lineages and identified 33 genomic islands across the genome differentiating life-history forms. We demonstrated that some of these genomic islands formed under selection, and contained genes and biological pathways related to growth, development and immune response. Overall, we found strong genomic signals of divergence that were partially driven by selection on divergent phenotypes, and not only caused by genetic drift or through underlying genomic features, such as reduced recombination. The identification of the underlying evolutionary history and genetic architecture highlights the strength of genomic studies using species pairs for understanding the driving factors of adaptive divergence and reproductive isolation.
Despite extensive knowledge on the genomic mechanisms underlying adaptive divergence over longer time scales and under the influence of phases of geographic isolation, less is known about the mechanisms underlying rapid ecological and phenotypic divergence. Rapid evolution plays an important role in the adaptation of species to human-induced environmental changes. However, it has been shown that in some cases human-driven environmental changes can lead to rapid loss of species and functional diversity, e.g. through species collapse and hybridization. Even though theoretical models predict that species can rapidly re-diverge under the right conditions following a species collapse and hybridization, the underlying mechanisms of rapid re-divergence remain to be elucidated. Empirical evidence for re-divergence following a species collapse is also lacking. We found evidence for the rapid evolution of ecologically-relevant phenotypic diversity in a European whitefish subspecies from Lake Constance, the gangfisch (Coregonus lavaretus macrophthalmus) after the recovery of pristine ecosystem conditions, following human-driven eutrophication, and speciation reversal. We found that a key functional trait, gill raker number, rapidly diversified within less than 10 generations following ecosystem recovery, allowing the use of vacant trophic niches. Variation in gill raker number is controlled by a sparse genetic architecture, as predicted by theory, and we further found evidence suggesting that introgression potentially provided the underlying adaptive variants. Several biological pathways that are known to be involved to ecological specialisation in fishes, such as metabolism, immune response and neural development, were identified based on coexpressed gene modules and genes under selection associated with gill raker number. Overall, our results demonstrate that functional diversity can rapidly re-emerge, given the right combination of genetic architecture, genetic diversity, and selection.
In summary, this thesis demonstrates the evolutionary and genomic routes underlying phenotypic evolution and ecological specialisation in salmonid fishes. Comparing across different study systems, we find that secondary contact and historical gene flow played an important role in the evolution of salmonid species. Despite strong variation in the genomic basis of phenotypic traits across species and the genomic patterns of divergence across populations within species, we find some molecular parallelism across populations and species. Parallel ecotypes most likely evolved through parallel regulatory evolution and involvement of similar functional biological pathways. Furthermore, we find biological pathways that are repeatedly involved in adaptive divergence in different species. Overall, our results indicate that despite the flexibility of rapid and parallel phenotypic evolution on the genomic level, it is relatively conserved on the level of regulatory mechanisms and functional biological pathways.


This paper shows characteristics of mental illness and its economic impact, as well as various cost-estimating approaches and insights in missed economic opportunities. To assess the burden of economic diseases, there are three different ways: the human capital, the economic growth and the value of statistical life approach. The first focuses on indirect and direct costs. Direct costs are frequently associated with care and recovery, indirect costs apply to the "invisible costs" correlated with revenue loss due to death, injury, treatment and a fading productivity. The global financial costs of mental illness were evaluated at US$2.5 trillion, with a significantly bigger impact of indirect costs. Moreover, the effect of mental illness on economic development can only be approximated implicitly. Thus, the lack of production is primary estimated for somatic conditions compared to their corresponding quantity of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). According to some research, the total economic productivity drop associated with mental illnesses between 2011 and 2030 is estimated to be US$16.3 trillion globally. Furthermore, the value of statistical life (VSL) method suggests that trade-offs between risks and capital should be used to assess the probability of injury or death due to psychiatric illness. This computation, like the economic increase effect, is equivalent to that of cardiovascular disease and bigger than that of chronic respiratory disease, cancer, and diabetes. However, greater activism is required to better the existing condition. This involves a shift in thinking away from stigmatizing mentally ill people and supports the activation of financial resources.


This final technical report was prepared for the Air Force Research Laboratory, under award #FA8750‐ 08‐1‐0024,  titled "MultiCore Hardware Experiments  in Software Producibility."   This report details our findings when  taking  heterogeneous  systems  software,  designed  for  a  distributed  environment,  and running  it  on  a  single‐core,  and  later multi‐core,  computers. Our  research  outcomes  are  significant, indicating that  in our case, significant variance was seen  in system performance, and that the variance increased with  the  number  of  cores  used. We  also  created  some  strategies  to  reduce  this  variance, namely  a  weak  time  triggered  infrastructure,  which  we  imposed  upon  the  system:  this  strategy significantly reduced the variance of behaviors when trading up to multicore processors.


Adoptive T cell therapy to treat cancer in combination with re-directing specificity through T cell receptor (TCR) gene transfer, represents an effective therapeutic option. However, reduced effector responses due to the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment and insufficient long-term engraftment of transferred cells represent two potential limitations. Tumours often employ mechanisms to inhibit T cell responses including secretion of TGFβ and depleting the tumour microenvironment of amino acids. The main aim of this PhD project was to develop a strategy to enhance T cell function for tumour therapy. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway regulates CD8 T cell differentiation such that high mTOR activation leads to enhanced effector whilst low mTOR activation leads to increased T cell memory formation. Two retrovirus constructs have been designed whereby one expresses the positive mTOR regulator Rheb and the other expresses the negative mTOR regulator Pras40. Rheb transduction into CD8 T cells resulted in enhanced activation of mTOR, increased effector functions and partial resistance to TGFβ and low arginine concentrations. Pras40 overexpression led to a decrease in the activation of mTOR and reduced effector functions. Rheb transduced CD8 T cells expanded efficiently upon antigen encounter in vivo, followed by pronounced T cell contraction. Pras40 transduced T cells were unable to expand in vivo, but persisted at low numbers and acquired a central memory phenotype. Tumour bearing mice treated with TCR re-directed CD8 T cells transduced with Rheb showed improved tumour protection. Pras40 overexpression resulted in the loss of the protective function of TCR re-directed T cells. Together, the data show that gene transfer can be used to regulate mTOR activity in T cells. Enhancing mTOR activity led to improved tumour control despite reducing memory formation. Permanent mTOR inhibition, on the other hand, preserved some memory characteristcs of T cells but deteriorated their tumour protective functions.


Stereotypic responding and social behaviors of three profoundly retarded children were measured before and during application of a DRL contingency for stereotypic responding. A variant of the standard DRL procedure, spaced responding DRL, was used, in which reinforcement is delivered following a response if that response has been separated from the previous response by at least a fixed minimum time interval. Three children were treated by using a reversal design. Results showed that: (a) during baseline sessions, the children engaged in high rates of stereotypic responding and very low rates of appropriate social behavior; and (b) during DRL sessions, appropriate behavior increased markedly as stereotypic responding was reduced. The data suggest that spaced responding DRL may be effective in increasing appropriate social behavior as well as in reducing stereotypic responding.


Background. Convergence-accommodation is the synkinetic change in accommodation driven by vergence. A few studies have investigated the static and dynamic properties of this cross-link in adults but little is known about convergence-accommodation in children. The purpose of this study was to develop a technique for measuring convergence-accommodation and to study its dynamics (gain and movement time) in a sample of pre-school children. Method. Convergence-accommodation measures were examined on thiry-seven normal pre-school children (mean age = 4.0 ± 1.31 yrs). Stimulus CA/C (sCA/C) ratios and movement time measures of convergence-accommodation were assessed using a photorefractor while subjects viewed a DOG target. Repeated measures were obtained on eight normal adults (mean age = 23 ± 0.2 yrs). Results. The mean sCA/C ratios and movement times were not significantly different between adults and children (0.10 D/&Dgr; [0.61 D/M.A.], 743 ± 70 ms and 0.11 D/&Dgr; [0.50 D/M.A.], 787 ± 216 ms). Repeated measures on adults showed a non-significant mean difference of 0.001 D/&Dgr;. Conclusion. The results suggest that the possible differences in crystalline lens (plant) characteristics between children and adults do not appear to influence convergence-accommodation gain or duration.


While recent research finds strong evidence that birth order affects children's outcomes such as education and earnings, the evidence on the effects of birth order on IQ is decidedly mixed. This paper uses a large dataset on the population of Norway that allows us to precisely measure birth order effects on IQ using both cross-sectional and withinfamily methods. Importantly, irrespective of method, we find a strong and significant effect of birth order on IQ, and our results suggest that earlier born children have higher IQs. Our preferred estimates suggest differences between first-borns and second-borns of about one fifth of a standard deviation or approximately 3 IQ points. Despite these large average effects, birth order only explains about 3% of the within-family variance of IQ. When we control for birth endowments, the estimated birth order effects increase. Thus, our analysis suggests that birth order effects are not biologically determined. Also, there is no evidence that birth order effects occur because later-born children are more affected by family breakdown. * Black and Devereux gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation and the California Center for Population Research. Salvanes thanks the Research Council of Norway for financial support. We are grateful to the Medical Birth Registry for Norway for providing the birth registry data.


This paper introduces a new connection-inner and through-type diaphragm, which is recommended by Technical Specification for Structures with Concrete-filled Rectangular Steel Tube Members. It studies some factors including the additional plates installed on both sides of the flanges, the width-to-thickness ratio of the column and the length of the through diaphragm which have an influence to the seismic resistance behaviors of connection through cyclic test. The results show the hysteresis curves attained in the experiment are full and the rigidity deterioration is not obvious. The connection models have a good energy dissipation capacity. Meanwhile the stress distributing can be ameliorated and the ductility of the connections can also be improved through welding the additional plates to both sides of the flanges.


The effect of intracavity aberration perturbation on output mode structure properties of unstable laser resonator is been experimentally researched using Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor on the basis of numerical analysis. Results show that intracavity tilt aberration notablely affects outcoupled intensity distribution, but only a small intracavity tilt perturbation will not obviously augment the high-order aberrations of beam phase properties. The tilt aberration, coma aberration and astigmatism will all be brought, and also tilt aberration is the main component when intracavity mirrors have a vertical movement along the direction of optic axis. When adaptive optical elements such as deformable mirrors are adopted for intracavity aberration correction, the correction for tilt aberration should be considered firstly.


The way that design is being taught is continuously changing under the pressure of the transition from analogical to digital environments. This becomes even more important as the novelty and the alleged superiority of the digital world is used as a marketing tool by competing universities. Even though in some fields of application this approach is desirable, some particular aspects of teaching design and architecture make this transition debatable. The advantages of drawing on blackboards over drawing on whiteboard surfaces in regards of line aesthetic and expression possibilities were previously identified, along with the complementary necessary features for improvement. This study showcases a proof of concept in digitally augmenting a blackboard surface. The system allows the capturing, processing and making real time projections of images over the blackboard surface as trace references. Such a hybrid system, along with providing support for design and architecture related presentations and discussions could also mediate the contradictory relation towards technology that students and teachers have.


Oral hygiene is the key to one's healthy life. Maintaining oral hygiene is directly related to the body's first line of defense mechanism. It maintains both oral and systemic health. Oral microflora plays a very important role in oral hygiene. Oral microbiome is a complex ecosystem of several species of microorganisms such as streptococci, Neisseria, Veillonella, Actinomyces, and other obligate anaerobes. This microbiome is mainly affected by acidic diet and acidic environment of the oral cavity. Poor oral hygiene decreases the rate of survival of oral microbiome and causes dental caries, periodontal diseases, halitosis, oral pain, and discomfort. Globally, the prevalence of oral diseases is an increasing burden on the health sector and the economic sector. Research on oral diseases states that it affects around 3.5 billion people. It generally affects the poor and socially disadvantaged members of society. Therefore, it has been necessary to develop a mouthwash to reduce oral disorders through Ayurveda. It is developed by using powder of the pomegranate peel and by maintaining its pH. Further, it is analyzed for its organoleptic property to standardize the principles of Ayurveda. On the basis of these properties, it seems to be effective in the maintenance of oral hygiene and can reduce the chances of oral diseases. Preparation of mouthwash with this method is very easy and can be used by every socio-economic strata of society without any complication. Hence, using this mouthwash is recommended.


ever, that a membercan only be expelled from the Association by a resolution of the Council if carried by three-fourths of the members present, subject to:confirmation by the next annual meeting. If this rule is to be maintained and the Council are all of the samemind as Dr. Saundby this means of expressing the disapproval of the conduct of the staff of the Coventry Dispensary cannot be carried out.-I am, etc., Plymouth, Sept. 17th. _ _G. JACKSON.


D2-branes with magnetic or electric flux in 10 D IIA string theory, after the Kaluza-Klein reduction. We then perform the T-duality to the spacetime to find the background of a stack of N D3-branes with magnetic or electric flux. In the near-horizon limit the background becomes the magnetic or electric field deformed AdS5 � S 5 . We adopt an ansatz to find the classical string solution which is rotating in the deformed S 5 with three angular momenta in the three rotation planes. The relations between the classical string energy and its angular momenta are found and results show that the external magnetic and electric fluxes will increase the string energy. Therefore, from the AdS/CFT point of view, the corrections of the anomalous dimensions of operators in the dual SYM theory will be positive. We also investigate the small fluctuations in these solutions and discuss the effects of magnetic and electric fields on the stability of these classical rotating string solutions. Finally, we find the possible solutions of string pulsating on the deformed spacetimes and show that the corrections to the anomalous dimensions of operators in the dual SYM theory are non-negative. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.73.026007


This study investigated the relation between sensory visual problems and the severity of visuospatial difficulties in a large group of young children with Williams'syndrome (WS). A questionnaire describing visual and associated problems was completed by the families of 108 children with WS and detailed follow‐up assessments were conducted, including visual, spatial, motor, visuocognitive, and linguistic tests of 73 of these children (mean age 7 years 3 months; 40 males, 73 females). Children with WS showed a much higher incidence of common paediatric sensory vision problems (strabismus, visual acuity loss, amblyopia, reduced stereopsis) than normally developing children. It was found that delays with respect to age normative values increased with age on all tests. No significant correlation was found between the presence of a visual deficit and the severity of the visuospatial problems, suggesting that the difficulties children with WS have in understanding spatial arrangements are not simply a result of their earlier sensory visual problems. Results confirm the dissociation between visuospatial and language abilities in children with WS, and support the neurobiological model of a split between ventral and dorsal stream processing of visual information with a generalized deficit in dorsal stream processing in young children with WS.


wards. Smoking is associated with an increased likelihood of complications severe enough to destroy the embryo and with the slowing of fetal growth and hence decreased bodyweight, itself associated with perinatal mortality. Indeed, from birth to childhood there appear to be minor but significant disorders associated with smoking by the pregnant mother. There seems little doubt that pregnant women should stop smoking.


The popularity of online social media platforms provides an unprecedented opportunity to study real-world complex networks of interactions. However, releasing this data to researchers and the public comes at the cost of potentially exposing private and sensitive user information. It has been shown that a naive anonymization of a network by removing the identity of the nodes is not sufficient to preserve users' privacy. In order to deal with malicious attacks, k-anonymity solutions have been proposed to partially obfuscate topological information that can be used to infer nodes' identity. In this paper, we study the problem of ensuring k-anonymity in time-varying graphs, i.e., graphs with a structure that changes over time, and multi-layer graphs, i.e., graphs with multiple types of links. More specifically, we examine the case in which the attacker has access to the degree of the nodes. The goal is to generate a new graph where, given the degree of a node in each (temporal) layer of the graph, such a node remains indistinguishable from other k-1 nodes in the graph. In order to achieve this, we find the optimal partitioning of the graph nodes such that the cost of anonymizing the degree information within each group is minimum. We show that this reduces to a special case of a Generalized Assignment Problem, and we propose a simple yet effective algorithm to solve it. Finally, we introduce an iterated linear programming approach to enforce the realizability of the anonymized degree sequences. The efficacy of the method is assessed through an extensive set of experiments on synthetic and real-world graphs.


The market for smart devices was identified years ago, and yet commercial progress into this field has not made significant progress. The reason such devices are so painfully slow to market is that the gap between the technologically possible and the market capitalizable is too vast. In order for inventions to succeed commercially, they must bridge the gap to tomorrow''s technology with marketability today. This thesis demonstrates a design methodology that enables such commercial success for one variety of smart device, the Ambient Intelligence Node (AIN). Commercial Off-The Shelf (COTS) design tools allowing a Model-Driven Architecture (MDA) approach are combined via custom middleware to form an end-to-end design flow for rapid prototyping and commercialization. A walkthrough of this design methodology demonstrates its effectiveness in the creation of Global Network Academic Test (GNAT), a sample AIN. It is shown how designers are given the flexibility to incorporate IP Blocks available in the Global Economy to reduce Time-To-Market and cost. Finally, new kinds of products and solutions built on the higher levels of design abstraction permitted by MDA design methods are explored.


We aim to develop an AI-guided autonomous materials design approach to discover high-performance organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Autonomous synthesis, automated characterization, and AI-based methods will be integrated into a closed-loop approach to drive molecular discovery guided by target criteria for OPV performance: efficiency and stability. The long-term goal of the project is two-fold: (1)in terms of fundamental science, we aim to fill key knowledge gaps in understanding how molecular structure determines OPV stability and efficiency, and advance the science of closed-loop autonomous discovery by learning how to synergistically integrate AI, automated synthesis, and automated testing. (2)In terms of technology, we aim to meet the "10-10" target (10% efficiency and 10-year stability for OPV materials) to make OPVs a commercial reality for next-generation energy capture applications and for mitigating climate change.


As part of the Montane Alternative Silviculture Systems (MASS) project, this study investigates limits on the growth of montane conifers resulting from varying overstory retention under conventional and alternative silvicultural systems. After harvesting treatments were complete in 1993, Abies amabilis (amabilis fir) and Tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock) seedlings were spring planted in replicated blocks of shelterwood (SW), patch cut (PC), green tree retention (GT) and clearcut (CC) systems. In addition, sub-plots were established within each silvicultural system in which fertilization (at planting) and vegetation control post-planting treatments were applied alone and in combination to test the extent to which growth limitations are related to nutrient availability and vegetative competition. The impact of overstory retention was most pronounced in the reduced light environment of the SW where height growth after seven years was 26‐30% lower in both species compared to the untreated CC, GT and PC systems. Although the effect on growth of both species in the SW was mitigated somewhat by fertilization and vegetation control treatments, amabilis fir did not attain free‐to-grow height (1.3 m) regardless of post-planting treatment. Time to free-to-grow height in the more open silvicultural systems was reduced in both fir and hemlock with fertilization and vegetation control alone and in combination, except in the CC where the initial growth response to fertilization alone was diminished by the end of the sevenyear study. In contrast to fertilization, the effects of vegetation control on height growth were not apparent until three to five years and seven years after planting in the CC and GT, PC, SW, respectively. Combining vegetation control and fertilization had an additive effect on growth in amabilis fir but not in western hemlock. The effect of silvicultural systems and post-planting treatments on the two species illustrate that both above- and below-ground resource availability (light and nutrients) availability was potentially limiting to growth, particularly in the shelterwood treatment.


On the heels of democratic uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), recent "mass incidents" (qunti shijian) in China have spurred renewed debate about the level of social dissatisfaction and the stability of authoritarian governance in the People's Republic of China. Yet, unlike in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries in the MENA facing widespread rebellion against their ruling regimes, protests in China have not been directed at central political leaders or the political system as a whole. By examining the similarities and differences between Chinese and Middle Eastern authoritarianism, this article seeks to uncover which factors underpin continued public acceptance of the Chinese Communist Party and which ones--if left unchecked--bode ill for the regime. ********** A quick glance at the causes of unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries n the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) suggests that China, too, is susceptible to popular cries for political change. In China--much like in Egypt and Tunisia before the Arab Spring--income inequality has been growing, corruption is rampant and the same regime has had a choke hold on political power for decades. Yet underneath these superficial similarities lie key differences between China and authoritarian states in the MENA. First, the relationship of major socioeconomic sectors to the regime and to each other is fundamentally different in China. Unlike Egypt and Tunisia in recent years, China's ruling elites have pursued policies that mix capitalism and socialism in such a way that both prosperous and struggling socioeconomic sectors have benefited materially. The result has been that--despite widespread dissatisfaction with CCP corruption and injustice, particularly at the local level--no socioeconomic group has had an economic reason to seek the downfall of the CCP. (1) Moreover, CCP policies and practices have effectively divided China's vast lower class through differential treatment of the various groups therein. Second, the nature of the ruling regime in China differs quite dramatically from those in countries in the MENA that have experienced recent mass unrest. Rather than allowing political power to be concentrated in the hands of one man with no ideological justification for his rule, in post-Mao (and especially post-Deng) China, the CCP has instituted collective leadership and has worked to legitimate itself not only via economic growth, but also via nationalism and elements of socialism. Finally, the CCP has undertaken political reforms that have made the regime more responsive to the grievances and demands of the people, thereby improving the quality of its governance. (2) However, there are signs that this delicate balance may be tipping. First, since the spring of 2011, the CCP has backtracked on freedom of expression and political participation. These moves have proved counterproductive, increasing public dissatisfaction with the political status quo and jeopardizing the central leadership's reputation as benevolent "emperor." (3) Meanwhile, central authorities have been unwilling or unable to prevent local officials from snatching away the safety nets that have provided basic economic security to China's poor, which has spurred unrest from below. If CCP leaders wish to remain in power, they will need to enhance--not abandon--the factors that have worked in their favor in the reform era. POPULAR PROTEST IN CHINA, SPRING 2011 For at least the last decade, China has witnessed tens of thousands of mass incidents (qunti shijian) per year. Moreover, both the number of incidents and their level of violence have increased over time. (4) Though the demographic characteristics and grievances of the participants have varied, it is clear that wide swaths of the Chinese public are unhappy with the status quo. Following the wave of public uprisings against authoritarian governance in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries of the MENA in the spring of 2011, several large-scale and violent popular protests swept China. …


The government in Iran, in the recent century, has played a crucial role in structural changes, particularly in cities. These changes have been made due to political division, land reforms, economical investment and performing urban development schemes in various geographical regions. After the Mashroota Revolution in 1907 and petroleum discovery in Iran, the government's political decisions and oil-centred economical development led to a change in national economy from dependency on agricultural and livestock production to oil incomes. The research results indicate that before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the government had created functional and structural changes in the urban network and hierarchy with a capitalistic and modernistic approach and the instrumental use of oil. The changes resulted in such outcomes as racial variation, rural to urban migration, urban-regional inequality, the increasing growth and development of cities and in general urban structure sustainability. Following the Islamic Republic of Iran, the government's political decisions with an Islamic-sociological approach and socio-economical programming have influenced urban growth and development sustainability and have brought about challenges such as the reduction in urban economical efficiency, decline in urban environment quality, life quality diminution, housing crisis, etc. This paper seeks to study critically, analytically and using documental studies the contribution the government and its political decisions had in the urban structural changes in Iran in the recent century. Moreover, using documental data, the authors have presented statistical tables and diagrams, the levels of analysis and socio-economical and political structure in general and the urban structure sustainability of Iran in particular.


The authors share herein their experience gained in surgical management of 101 patients presenting with distal aortic dissection, describing in detail surgical policy and the technique of reconstructive interventions on the thoracoabdominal and descending thoracic aorta, with both treatment policy and the technique involved having over the past several years changed considerably. Shown herein is efficacy of the so-called "local" prosthetic repair of the descending thoracic aorta as compared to thoracoabdominal prosthetic reconstruction of the aorta, especially if the former variant is combined with directing blood flow to the true aortic lumen. Repeat and stagewise operations were performed in 17 % of cases, with a lethality rate of 28.6 %. The repeat interventions were more often caused by dilatation of the spared segments of the aorta and landing areas with the branches and formation of pseudoaneurysms of aortic anastomoses. Also shown is the initial experience in endovascular treatment of patients with the pathology concerned.


In recent years, skeleton based action recognition is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to existing video-based approaches, beneficial from its robust and comprehensive 3D information. In this paper, we explore an unsupervised representation learning approach for the first time to capture the long-term global motion dynamics in skeleton sequences. We design a conditional skeleton inpainting architecture for learning a fixed-dimensional representation, guided by additional adversarial training strategies. We quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of our learning approach on three well-established action recognition datasets. Experimental results show that our learned representation is discriminative for classifying actions and can substantially reduce the sequence inpainting errors.