This paper's primary purpose is to compare the 2D and 3D analysis methodologies in investigating the performance of a concrete faced rock‐fill dams under dynamic loading conditions. The state of stress on the face plate was obtained in both cases using a total strain based crack model to predict the spreading of cracks on the plate and the corresponding crack widths. Results of the 2D and 3D analyses agree well. Although significantly more demanding, 3D analyses have the advantage of predicting the following: (i) the opening of the vertical construction joints; (ii) the cracking at the valley sides; and (iii) the crushing of the plate during the seismic action. During the earthquake loading, the cracking predicted at the base of the face plate after the impounding spread significantly towards the crest of the dam; however, the crack widths are obtained relatively small. Crushing of the face plates at the construction joints is the primary cause of the large scale cracking predicted on the face plate for high intensity earthquakes. Earthquake induced permanent deformation of the fill increases the compressive stresses on the face plate, thereby reducing the minute cracking on the plate. However, this effect also leads to significant increases in the residual openings at the construction joints and at the plinth level. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The paper investigates the potential of look-ahead in the con-text of AND/OR search in graphical models using the Mini-Bucket heuristic for combinatorial optimization tasks (e.g., MAP/MPE or weighted CSPs). We present and analyze the complexity of computing the residual (a.k.a Bellman update) of the Mini-Bucket heuristic and show how this can be used to identify which parts of the search space are more likely to benefit from look-ahead and how to bound its overhead. We also rephrase the look-ahead computation as a graphical model, to facilitate structure exploiting inference schemes. We demonstrate empirically that augmenting Mini-Bucket heuristics by look-ahead is a cost-effective way of increasing the power of Branch-And-Bound search.


Purpose of the article: The objective of this research was to examine the helpfulness of new IT tools which are used to project management. IT tools have been an important part of project management for a long time but after the pandemic time became an absolute necessity. The authors of this research examined whether project managers dealing with big international projects based on soft skills with the necessity of quick communication with internal and external stakeholders are convinced to work with a new tool and find it helpful.Methodology/methods: As a research sample, four consortiums of Interreg Central Europe have been chosen. Each consortium consists of 10 to 12 participant institutions, including the institutions of higher educations, NGOs and municipalities. The main objective of all selected projects is to support groups of migrants and refugees from programme countries. For the purpose of the research, the survey was designed and submitted to all institutions and project managers involved in four chosen projects.Scientific aim: The aim of the paper was to identify the issues regarding project management and risk management before and during the COVID-19 pandemic within Interreg Central Europe programmes considering internal and external stakeholders of the four chosen projects.Findings: The study showed that owing to the use of new IT tools, it was possible to maintain and improve communication in international project teams during the pandemic. The study also showed that surveyed project managers find helpful to work with new IT tools; however, they recognize risks related to communication with external project stakeholders. Most of those surveyed stated that new IT tool boosted the project teams' communication but did not affect communication with digitally excluded stakeholders.Conclusions: In the authors' opinion, the results confirm the purposefulness of using and developing the new IT tools despite issues with reaching external stakeholders. In the next step, the research will focus more on the external stakeholders' issues with access to digital technologies, especially IT tools themselves.


Abstract  Introduction: Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is present in nearly half the patients undergoing implant of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and its correction confers better long‐term outcome. Aim: To compare the early and late results of tricuspid valve repair (TVrpr) or replacement (TVR) with LVAD implant. Patient and Methods: Sixty‐four from a cohort of 126 patients had a concomitant tricuspid valve procedure; 48 (75%) underwent a TVrpr whereas 16 (25%) had TVR. All preoperative hemodynamic parameters including the mean TR grade (TVrpr; 3.6 vs. TVR; 3.7) were comparable (p = 0.7). The mean TR grade was 1.6 ± 1.5 for the remaining 62 patients who did not have a concomitant tricuspid valve procedure, with 4/62 (6%) having severe TR (p < 0.0001). Results: Cardiopulmonary bypass time was longer for patients undergoing TVR (p = 0.01). There was a significant reduction in right atrial pressure for the entire cohort (p < 0.01) and the postoperative right atrial pressure was not statistically different between TVrpr (13.6 ± 4.6) and TVR (11.6 ± 4.3; p = 0.6. Postoperative intensive care unit stay was comparable as was the duration of inotropic support (p = 0.5) or need for temporary right ventricular mechanical support. In‐hospital mortality (12%) was not different between groups. The mean time for LVAD support was 12.3 ± 9.71 months and the last transthoracic echocardiographic examination was performed at mean intervals of 13.8 ± 10.8 months (TVrpr) and 11.8 ± 7.6 months (TVR; p = 0.47). Reduction in TR grade was similar between groups (p = 0.27). Late mortality (p = 1.00) was comparable in both groups. Using log‐rank analysis, there was no significant difference in the estimated survival between TVrpr and TVR (p = 0.88). Conclusion: TVrpr repair at the time of LVAD implant is effective in correcting TR even at the end of one year of follow‐up. The choice to repair or replace does not affect the clinical outcome. (J Card Surg 2012;27:760‐766)


Breakdown of porous materials by salts occurs when growing crystals exert pressure on the pore walls, inducing stress in the material that exceeds its tensile strength. In this work, we quantify the mechanical stresses caused by a particularly destructive mechanism: the dissolution of an anhydrate (thenardite, Na_2SO_4) followed by precipitation of a hydrated salt (mirabilite, Na_2SO_4·10H_2O). Stresses are measured using a composite specimen consisting of a plate of glass bonded to a plate of limestone (CaCO_3) whose pores are impregnated with thenardite. As water wicks into the limestone, thenardite dissolves and mirabilite precipitates. The limestone expands from the pressure exerted by the salt resulting in deflection of the composite, and the stresses can be obtained from an elastic analysis. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction reveals the dissolution–crystallization rate. Numerical modeling shows that the stresses are affected by the kinetics of crystallization and dissolution, permeability, and mechanical properties of the stone, allowing us to determine the amount of salt that causes material fracture.


The purpose of the research was to study the transitional experiences of elite female athletes who are going through the process of athletic retirement. Using a life history approach, six former and six current athletes in Hong Kong were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were utilized based on the Schlossberg's (1981, 1984) transition model. Data were analyzed using typology and constant comparison methods. Diversity and commonality in the experiences of women withdrawing from elite sports competition were found. The life history approach was effective in illustrating the ways in which Hong Kong female athletes feel and think about career end, with a transition from competition to retirement evident as part of career passing. Content analysis of interviews revealed several salient themes related to sports retirement. Key distinctions across projected and experienced retirement were associated with a woman's being an immigrant athlete, entering early into sport, and pursuing an education. Athlete sta...


WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS TOPIC
The adverse effects of opioids are largely mediated by central μ-opioid receptorsCentral μ- and δ-opioid receptors synergistically provide analgesia WHAT THIS ARTICLE TELLS US THAT IS NEW: The administration of a selective δ-opioid agonist, oxymorphindole, and a peripherally-restricted μ-agonist, loperamide, provided synergistic analgesia in a mouse inflammatory pain modelThe use of combinations of peripherally-restricted opioid ligands may provide analgesia with reduced side effects when compared with centrally acting opioids BACKGROUND:: The long-term use of opioids for analgesia carries significant risk for tolerance, addiction, and diversion. These adverse effects are largely mediated by μ-opioid receptors in the central nervous system. Based on the authors' previous observation that morphine and δ-opioid receptor agonists synergize in spinal cord in a protein kinase Cε-dependent manner, they predicted that this μ-opioid receptor-δ-opioid receptor synergy would take place in the central terminals of nociceptive afferent fibers and generalize to their peripheral terminals. Therefore, the authors hypothesized that loperamide, a highly efficacious μ-opioid receptor agonist that is excluded from the central nervous system, and oxymorphindole, a δ-opioid receptor agonist that was shown to synergize with morphine spinally, would synergistically reverse complete Freund's adjuvant-induced hyperalgesia.

METHODS
Using the Hargreaves assay for thermal nociception, the von Frey assay for mechanical nociception and the complete Freund's adjuvant-induced model of inflammatory pain, we tested the antinociceptive and antihyperalgesic effect of loperamide, oxymorphindole, or the loperamide-oxymorphindole combination. Animals (Institute for Cancer Research [ICR] CD1 strain mice; n = 511) received drug by systemic injection, intraplantar injection to the injured paw, or a transdermal solution on the injured paw. Dose-response curves for each route of administration and each nociceptive test were generated, and analgesic synergy was assessed by isobolographic analysis.

RESULTS
In naïve animals, the loperamide-oxymorphindole combination ED50 value was 10 times lower than the theoretical additive ED50 value whether given systemically or locally. In inflamed animals, the combination was 150 times more potent systemically, and 84 times more potent locally. All combinations showed statistically significant synergy when compared to the theoretical additive values, as verified by isobolographic analysis. The antihyperalgesia was ablated by a peripherally-restricted opioid antagonist.

CONCLUSIONS
From these data we conclude that the loperamide-oxymorphindole combination synergistically reverses complete Freund's adjuvant-induced inflammatory hyperalgesia. The authors also conclude that this interaction is mediated by opioid receptors located in the peripheral nervous system.


Tissue engineering (TE) aims to regenerate damaged tissues by the combined use of biomaterials and cells, often in presence of bioactive molecules, such as growth factors. Particularly for tissues with poor regenerative capacity, such as articular cartilage, TE approaches may lead to promising treatments. Articular cartilage is a connective tissue responsible for absorbing and distributing the load acting on the joint, to the undelaying bone. The limited regenerative capacity of articular cartilage is due to the absence of blood vessels in this tissue and consequent low cellular activity. Currently, an optimal treatment for cartilage defects does not exist. Therefore, TE strategies are exploited to obtain cell-laden scaffolds able to provide an initial mechanical support that over time degrades, while new tissue is formed by the embedded cells. The aim of this thesis was to develop biomechanically advanced hydrogel constructs for articular cartilage regeneration. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction of the anatomy and the physiology of articular cartilage, as well as the current clinically relevant techniques for its repair. Considering the limitations of present treatments, TE strategies for cartilage regeneration are presented as a promising alternative. Moreover, three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is presented as a novel and versatile technology for the accurate design and generation of cartilage constructs. The experimental "core" of this thesis describes a step-by-step development of thermosensitive and photo-crosslinkable hydrogels based on partially methacrylated poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide mono-dilactate]/polyethylene glycol triblock copolymers (pHPMAlac-PEG) and chemically modified polysaccharides, i.e. methacrylated chondroitin sulfate (CSMA) or hyaluronic acid (HAMA), for 3D bioprinting of cartilage constructs. In Chapter 2, 3 and 4 an extensive and comprehensive in vitro characterization of this material is reported. The synthesis of the polymeric building blocks is achieved with a full control over polymer characteristics. Further, these building blocks are used to fabricate hydrogels with favorable rheological behavior for 3D bioprinting application and able to support cartilage-like tissue formation by embedded chondrocytes. Chapter 5 describes an introductory study on the possibility to enrich pHPMAlac-PEG hydrogels with protein-laden microgels for a controlled, in situ release of proteins. Chapter 6 describes the 3D bioprinting of pHPMAlac-PEG/HAMA hydrogels in combination with a polycaprolactone (PCL)-based reinforcement for the development of cartilage composite constructs with relevant stiffness and high chondrogenic potential. In Chapter 7, we report about the ectopic implantation of pHPMAlac-PEG/HAMA hydrogels in small animal (murine) and large animal (equine) models, as well as the orthotopic implantation in a large animal (porcine) model, as a work up for the future orthotopic implantation in a highly challenging equine model. Importantly, pHPMAlac-PEG/HAMA hydrogels showed adequate biocompatibility in the tested species and locations. Nevertheless, variability in hydrogel stability and resistance between different implantation sites and among the different species highlights the need for further optimization before an orthotopic, long-term screening in horses is undertaken.


Glass sponge reefs (Porifera, Hexactinellida) are unique to the Pacific coast of Canada. To date, the locations and extents of reefs have only been assessed by multibeam echosounders, a method that does not resolve where live, dead and buried sponges are within a reef. We performed fine-scale (25 and 12.5 m grids) photographic surveys using remote operated vehicles and carried out GIS and semivariogram analysis to produce high resolution maps of the spatial distribution and abun- dance of glass sponges among 3 reefs in the Strait of Georgia and also to determine the community structure of animals associated with the reefs. Within a reef, glass sponges are clustered in spatially dependent patches 35 to 72 m in diameter, which we interpret to result from growth and reproduc- tion processes. Reefs occur within a narrow range of depths (30 to 50 m), which may be explained by suspension feeding requirements for flow, which is accelerated over the underlying elevated bedrock mounds and ridges. The local abundance of fish and crustaceans was significantly higher in the pres- ence of glass sponges while significantly lower abundances of molluscs and other sponges were found within the reefs. Also, we determined that a dense population of reef sponges can process water at 83 000 l s -1 , removing carbon at a rate of 0.96 g C m -2 d -1 . Our high resolution mapping establishes a biological baseline for 3 glass sponge reefs in the Strait of Georgia.


An influential observation has the potential to render a model unsuitable for estimation with an OLS regression. This is well known in the statistics literature. However, the use of standard measures for detecting and managing influential observations is not common practice in empirical finance. In this article, we examine a leverage point, which is an outlier in an independent variable, from an economic perspective since it represents an actual market event. It is also interesting and subtle from a statistical perspective: it materially deflates the volume of regression confidence ellipsoids but has a limited effect on the regression coefficients, thereby enabling pure noise to masquerade as statistical significance.


A novel cellulose-based cross-linked polymer, dicarboxymethyl cellulose (DCMC), has been synthesized and used for methylene blue (MB) removal. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nitrogen porosimetry, and optical microscopy were employed to characterize the structure of the cellulose-based adsorbent. The number of carboxylate groups per gram of polymer (CG) was calculated with sodium content determined by ICP-AES. Systematic equilibrium and kinetic adsorption studies were performed to assess the polymer suitability for dye removal. The effect of pH on its adsorption capacity was also studied and the equilibrium adsorption data was analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips isotherms. At pH = 3, the adsorption isotherms followed the Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 887.6 mg/g. At pH = 6.4, the adsorption isotherms produced S-shape curves and were best fitted with the Sips model. The maximum MB uptake increased to 1354.6 mg/g. Pseudo first-order and second-order models were used to fit the kinetic data. A pseudo second-order kinetic model provided the best correlation for the adsorption of MB onto DCMC. Adsorption coupled with membrane filtration achieved 95% methylene blue removal and DCMC can be successfully regenerated and reused in consecutive experiments.


ANDRZEJ WAJDA'S AFTERIMAGESThe text: Andrzej Wajda's Afterimages is an analysis of the last film made by the creator of Ashes and Diamonds. This motion picture is a film vision of the last years of Władysław Strzemiński's life. Strzemiński was an outstanding Polish, avant-garde artist, destroyed by the communist authorities in the 1950s. The situation of the artist in the trap of enslavement is transferred by Wajda into his film, and into the figure of Strzemiński himself — created by Bogusław Linda — who becomes a "medium" throughout Wajda talks about himself — both as a human and as an artist. Thanks to this specific autobiographical perspective, Wajda's film becomes a deeply original statement, in which we find not only Wajda's way of seeing human being, the world and the art, but also a description of his tragic situation from the very beginning of his artist's life and work. Situation which had been projecting on his future existential choices and artistic decisions. Not only Strzemiński's character, but also his theoretical work — famous, unfinished book The Art of Vision becomes close to Wajda, who adopted the painting theory of the creator of unism for his own film practice. And this "theorethical" practice is also evident in the Afterimages.]]>


One of the fundamental problems in Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) has been the gap between low-level visual features and high-level semantic concepts. To narrow down this gap, relevance feedback is introduced into image retrieval. With the user-provided information, a classifier can be learned to distinguish between positive and negative examples. However, in real-world applications, the number of user feedbacks is usually too small compared to the dimensionality of the image space. In order to cope with the high dimensionality, we propose a novel semisupervised method for dimensionality reduction called Maximum Margin Projection (MMP). MMP aims at maximizing the margin between positive and negative examples at each local neighborhood. Different from traditional dimensionality reduction algorithms such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), which effectively see only the global euclidean structure, MMP is designed for discovering the local manifold structure. Therefore, MMP is likely to be more suitable for image retrieval, where nearest neighbor search is usually involved. After projecting the images into a lower dimensional subspace, the relevant images get closer to the query image; thus, the retrieval performance can be enhanced. The experimental results on Corel image database demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.


This article examines the contract design decisions of three federal agencies—the Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and Homeland Security—using five years of data from the Federal Procurement Data System. Three basic contract design elements are charted—type (fixed price versus cost reimbursement), length, and value—across simple to complex products. All three agencies use short-term, fixed-price contracts for the majority of the purchases that they make. This basic contract design allows agencies to tap the benefits of competition: innovation and cost-efficiency. However, the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security often dramatically increase the length and value of contracts through modifications to initial agreements. This approach forgoes the benefits of competition and may expose the agency to the risk of cost overruns, delivery delays, and diminished product quality.


This study explores Australian prescribers' attitudes towards Treatment as Prevention (TasP) and their practices around initiating combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) for HIV. A brief online survey was conducted nationally amongst antiretroviral treatment (ART) prescribers in Australia. The sample broadly represented ART prescribers in Australia (N = 108), with 40.7% general practitioners (GPs), 25.9% sexual health clinic-based physicians and 21.3% hospital-based infectious diseases physicians. About 60% of respondents had been treating HIV-positive patients for more than 10 years. Respondents estimated that about 70–80% of all their HIV-positive patients were receiving ART. Over half of the prescribers agreed very strongly that their primary concern in recommending cART initiation was clinical benefit to individual patients rather than any population benefit. A majority of the prescribers (68.5%) strongly endorsed cART initiation before CD4+ T-cell count drops below 350 cells/mm3, and a further 22.2% strongly endorsed cART initiation before CD4+ T-cell count drops below 500 cells/mm3. Regarding the optimal timing of cART initiation, this study shows that prescribers in Australia in 2012 focus primarily on the benefits for their individual patients. Prescribers may need more convincing evidence of individual health benefits or increased knowledge about the population health benefits for a TasP approach to be effective in Australia.


Genomewide analysis of genetic divergence is critically important in understanding the genetic processes of allopatric speciation. We sequenced RAD tags of 131 Asian seabass individuals of six populations from South‐East Asia and Australia/Papua New Guinea. Using 32 433 SNPs, we examined the genetic diversity and patterns of population differentiation across all the populations. We found significant evidence of genetic heterogeneity between South‐East Asian and Australian/Papua New Guinean populations. The Australian/Papua New Guinean populations showed a rather lower level of genetic diversity. FST and principal components analysis revealed striking divergence between South‐East Asian and Australian/Papua New Guinean populations. Interestingly, no evidence of contemporary gene flow was observed. The demographic history was further tested based on the folded joint site frequency spectrum. The scenario of ancient migration with historical population size changes was suggested to be the best fit model to explain the genetic divergence of Asian seabass between South‐East Asia and Australia/Papua New Guinea. This scenario also revealed that Australian/Papua New Guinean populations were founded by ancestors from South‐East Asia during mid‐Pleistocene and were completely isolated from the ancestral population after the last glacial retreat. We also detected footprints of local selection, which might be related to differential ecological adaptation. The ancient gene flow was examined and deemed likely insufficient to counteract the genetic differentiation caused by genetic drift. The observed genomic pattern of divergence conflicted with the 'genomic islands' scenario. Altogether, Asian seabass have likely been evolving towards allopatric speciation since the split from the ancestral population during mid‐Pleistocene.


Max-cut, clustering, and many other partitioning problems that are of significant importance to machine learning and other scientific fields are NP-hard, a reality that has motivated researchers to develop a wealth of approximation algorithms and heuristics. Although the best algorithm to use typically depends on the specific application domain, a worst-case analysis is often used to compare algorithms. This may be misleading if worst-case instances occur infrequently, and thus there is a demand for optimization methods which return the algorithm configuration best suited for the given application's typical inputs. We address this problem for clustering, max-cut, and other partitioning problems, such as integer quadratic programming, by designing computationally efficient and sample efficient learning algorithms which receive samples from an application-specific distribution over problem instances and learn a partitioning algorithm with high expected performance. Our algorithms learn over common integer quadratic programming and clustering algorithm families: SDP rounding algorithms and agglomerative clustering algorithms with dynamic programming. For our sample complexity analysis, we provide tight bounds on the pseudodimension of these algorithm classes, and show that surprisingly, even for classes of algorithms parameterized by a single parameter, the pseudo-dimension is superconstant. In this way, our work both contributes to the foundations of algorithm configuration and pushes the boundaries of learning theory, since the algorithm classes we analyze consist of multi-stage optimization procedures and are significantly more complex than classes typically studied in learning theory.


: The rising incidence of dementia locally and worldwide has now reached a critical level. The associated costs associated with these individuals will ultimately be untenable to most societies. Furthermore there is a paucity of highly effective treatments. However, the recent discovery of the association of hearing loss and dementia may open many potential opportunities. Although we still are acquiring knowledge on the pathophysiology of this association, clinicians are hopeful that our current highly effective treatments of hearing loss may ultimately be shown to have a positive effect on those with dementia.


Numerical Methods for 3-dimensional Magnetic Confinement Configurations using Two-Fluid Plasma Equations Bhuvana Srinivasan Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Uri Shumlak Aeronautics & Astronautics The 5-moment two-fluid plasma model uses Euler equations to describe the ion and electron fluids, and Maxwell's equations to describe the electric and magnetic fields. Two-fluid physics becomes significant when the characteristic spatial scales are on the order of the ion skin depth and characteristic time scales are on the order of the inverse ion cyclotron frequency. The two-fluid plasma model has disparate characteristic speeds ranging from the ion and electron speeds of sound to the speed of light. In addition, the characteristic frequencies in the system are the ion and electron plasma frequency, and the ion and electron cyclotron frequency. Explicit and implicit time-stepping schemes are explored for the twofluid plasma model to study the accuracy and computational effectiveness with which they could capture two-fluid physics. The explicit schemes explored include the high resolution wave propagation method (a finite volume method) and the Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) method (a finite element method). The ideal two-fluid model is a purely dispersive equation system with no physical or artificial dissipation. The dispersions are physical effects responsible for the wide variety of plasma waves; they are not numerical artifacts. This sets the two-fluid plasma model apart from other equation systems. The finite volume and finite element methods are compared for accuracy and computational expense for applications of the two-fluid plasma model. For realistic regimes, the explicit time-step for the two-fluid plasma model can be very restrictive making it computationally expensive. This motivates the implicit time-stepping scheme. A semi-implicit two-fluid plasma model is developed using the discontinuous Galerkin method where the electron fluid equations and Maxwell's equations are evolved implicitly eliminating the restrictions set by the speed of light, and the electron plasma and cyclotron frequencies. Resolving all ion time-scales is a minimum to capture two-fluid physics, so the ion fluid equations are solved explicitly. This allows for accuracy and physics considerations alone to determine the time-step. Non-ideal terms are added to the two-fluid plasma model in the form of resistivity, viscosity, and heat flux to provide a self-consistent and physically relevant twofluid plasma model and these are compared to solutions of the ideal two-fluid plasma model. The two-fluid plasma model is compared to the more commonly used Hall-MHD model for accuracy and computational effort using an explicit time-stepping scheme. Simulations of two-fluid instabilities in the Z-pinch and the field-reversed configuration are presented in 3-dimensions.


This paper describes an easy-to-fabricate and low-cost SU-8 microfluidic mixer suitable for enabling a mixing process based on diffusion. It is developed to be an integrated part of a lab-on-a-chip for measuring the concentration of four biomolecules in urine samples, by optical absorption. The design of the microfluidic system is based on computational fluid dynamics techniques. Mixing and reaction of the components of the process must be simulated by solving the flow and mass transport equation. A good design must guarantee the mixing of the reactants to assure an uniform mixture at the detection zone. The resulting design and the experimental results are supported by numerical simulations, which allow a reliable quantitative analysis of the concentrations after the mixing process. The reduced size, weight and the simultaneous measurement of more than one biomolecule concentration will improve the performance of biological fluids analyses in clinical laboratories and consequently the quality of the medical diagnostic.


An autogenous transplant of the kidney will function normally or maintain the life of the animal for several months or years. On the other hand, a homogenous transplant of the kidney will excrete urine for only a limited period and then rather abruptly cease to function. This peculiarity in the behavior of the homogenous transplant has been variously explained, but without the support of any definite evidence explanations can at best be purely hypothetic. Although it seems obvious that some light might be shed on the subject by knowledge of the histologic changes which take place in a homogenous transplanted kidney both before and after it has failed to excrete urine, such data are yet to be obtained. The purpose of this investigation is to study the histologic changes that take place in the transplanted kidneys from day to day and to note any qualitative or quantitative difference in the


High-overtone Bulk Acoustic Resonator is an acoustic transducer based on an excitation of a bulk acoustic wave by a thin piezoelectric film bonded to a thick low acoustic loss substrate. This combination of materials aims at providing on the one hand a high frequency transducer as defined by the thickness of the thin piezoelectric layer, and on the other hand the robustness of a thick substrate while keeping the acoustic properties of single crystal piezoelectric materials. More specifically, this architecture provides high quality factors using bulk acoustic wave at frequencies only accessible to surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices with interdigitated transducer generation. The multimode spectrum is well suited for an openloop, wireless interrogation strategy in which the frequency of the incoming electromagnetic wave defines the operating point. We here demonstrate the use of a frequency sweep RADAR-like network analyzer for probing through a wireless link HBARs with different temperature coefficients in order to perform temperature measurements insensitive to other correlated noise sources (capacitive frequency pulling, electrode aging, stress).


Open Science is a topic currently being discussed in different research policy fora. It is also a priority of the Dutch Presidency of the Council in the first half of 2016. Open science is based on the idea that scientific knowledge of all kinds should be openly shared as early as is practical in the discovery process. This policy brief on Open Science by Katja Mayer (University of Vienna) describes the current situation and the challenges ahead for the national and EU research system and actors.


CV. Bagaskara Galih Perkasa Jepara is one of the companies engaged in furniture. Current inventory systems still have many shortcomings and weaknesses that cause the company's performance to be less than the maximum. There is inefficient data recording process because the same data recording is done several times because the form is available separately, and the absence of notification "goods are running out" on the current system that causes the delay of decision-making process. The purpose of this study is to develop an inventory information system that can manage data efficiently and facilitates the decision-making process. Object-oriented system development methodology using Rapid Application Development (RAD) method is utilized in this research and it is tested using black box testing and questionnaire. It is developed by system modeling using Unified Modelling Language (UML), Java programming language using Netbeans IDE tools, and MySQL database. Theresult of this research is a computerized inventory information system that can be used efficiently, and features of goods receiving, goods spending, goods inventory report, notice of near-expense supplies, and daily reports. Based on the results of research conducted to measure the feasibility of this product by spreading the questionnaire to thematerialexpert, the rate of user satisfaction is obtained 83.03% and the black box testing conducted by the media expert obtained 93.38%, it can be concluded that the inventory information system is included in the "very eligible" category to use. Keywords :Inventory, Rapid Application Development (RAD), Unified Modeling Language (UML), Java, MySQL, Black box testing


An important goal in plant community ecology is to understand how species traits determine demographic performance. Several functional traits have been shown to correlate with growth and mortality rates in trees, but less is known about how the relationships between functional traits and demographic rates change with tree size. We examined the associations of functional traits with growth and mortality across 43 tree species in the Fushan 25‐ha subtropical rain forest plot in northern Taiwan. We estimated the 95th percentile maximum stem diameter, wood density and six leaf functional traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, thickness, succulence, and mass‐based nitrogen and phosphorus contents) obtained from leaves on juvenile and adult individuals of each species. To quantify size‐dependent changes in growth and mortality, relative growth rate (RGR) and mortality were estimated as a function of stem diameter using hierarchical Bayesian models. These rate estimates were then correlated with functional traits at a range of stem diameter classes. Relationships between functional traits and demographic rates varied with tree size. Maximum size was positively correlated with RGR across a wide range of tree sizes. Wood density was negatively correlated with RGR and mortality for small‐sized trees. Leaf traits such as leaf area and specific leaf area at juvenile and adult stages were associated more strongly with demographic rates for corresponding sizes than from other sizes. Synthesis. The observed size‐dependent changes in the trait–demography relationships are possibly due to the effects of developmental and environmental changes with increasing tree size. The underlying effects of functional traits on demographic performance vary with tree size, and this should influence dynamics in a tree community.


Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the oral health status of 6-12 year old children and their mother's knowledge, attitude, and practices in Bhilai city. Moreover, this study was also carried out to determine whether mother's oral health related knowledge, attitude, and practices have a significant influence on the oral health of their children. Materials and Methods: A cross- sectional study was conducted among children (n=600) aged between 6-12 years, attending both government and private schools accompanied with their mothers in Bhilai city. The oral health status of the children was evaluated by using WHO Oral Health Assessment Form (2013). The parents were then asked to fill 25 item based on selfadministered questionnaire. Mother's knowledge, attitude, and practices were assessed by direct contact with mothers using close ended questionnaire. Statistical Analysis: The data was then entered and analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Also, p value≤ 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The result of the study showed that 90% of mothers had good knowledge, 75% mothers had average attitude, and 51% mothers had high level practices related to oral health. An inverse relationship was found between children's oral health status and their mother's knowledge, attitude, and practices about oral health. Thus, the findings were highly significant. Conclusion: Results showed that mother's oral health related to knowledge, attitude, and practices had a significant impact on oral health status of their children.


Biochar is a carbon-rich solid obtained from the heating of biomass in the (near) absence of oxygen in a process called pyrolysis. Its deployment in soils is increasingly discussed as a promising means to sequester carbon in soils and, thus, to help mitigate climate change. For a wide range of feedstocks and scenarios and against the baseline of conventional feedstock management, we calculate the technical greenhouse-gas mitigation potentials of slow-pyrolysis biochar in 2015, 2030 and 2050 when the biochar is incorporated into agricultural soils in Germany and when the by-products from biochar production – pyrolysis oils and gases – are used as renewable sources of energy. Covering the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, our analysis reveals that biochar allows for an annual technical greenhouse-gas mitigation potential in Germany in the range of 2.8-10.2 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalents by 2030 and 2.9-10.6 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalents by 2050. This corresponds to approximately 0.4-1.5% and 0.3-1.1% of the respective German greenhouse-gas reduction targets in 2030 and 2050.


Hypertension is a highly prevalent cardiovascular risk factor in the world and particularly overwhelming in low and middle-income countries. Recent reports from the WHO and the World Bank highlight the importance of chronic diseases such as hypertension as an obstacle to the achievement of good health status. It must be added that for most low and middle-income countries, deficient strategies of primary healthcare are the major obstacles for blood pressure control. Furthermore, the epidemiology of hypertension and related diseases, healthcare resources and priorities, the socioeconomic status of the population vary considerably in different countries and in different regions of individual countries. Considering the low rates of blood pressure control achieved in Latin America and the benefits that can be expected from an improved control, it was decided to invite specialists from different Latin American countries to analyze the regional situation and to provide a consensus document on detection, evaluation and treatment of hypertension that may prove to be cost-utility adequate. The recommendations here included are the result of preparatory documents by invited experts and a subsequent very active debate by different discussion panels, held during a 2-day sessions in Asuncion, Paraguay, in May 2008. Finally, in order to improve clinical practice, the publication of the guidelines should be followed by implementation of effective interventions capable of overcoming barriers (cognitive, behavioral and affective) preventing attitude changes in both physicians and patients.


Abstract The dynamics in socio-economic life raises the need of new organizational and managerial solutions that meet the requirements of contemporary society. Innovative technologies, as part of these solutions, have a major impact on all areas of life and determine the direction of social development. Modern managers and leaders in the economic industry strive to implement the best innovation practices that will be the key for achieving of the maximum results and ultimate goals. In this respect, tourism as a sector of global economic and social importance is aware of the need to implement innovative practices in all tourism activities. International tourism market show specific changes in the actual and potential tourist behavior. These changes are significant and affect all of the participants in the process of formation and realization of the tourism products, producers and distributors. The main goal is connected with the achieving of a more personal experience, inner satisfaction and maximum recovery as expression of the global contemporary trends in the tourism business. In a more dynamic competitive environment, participants in the tourism market must increasingly rely on the implementation and use of innovative technologies that improve management, organizational structure, economic policy and contributing for the success of the tourism companies.


This study of the Greek text of Acts in Codex Bezae seeks to
demonstrate how the practice of textual criticism can be helped by the
application of discourse analysis to internal linguistic criticism. In
so doing, it aims to throw light on the origin and purpose of the
Bezan text.
The text of Codex Bezae is compared with that of Codices
Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. After an initial section explaining the
method used and outlining the principles of discourse analysis, a
selection of the types of variant readings is examined exhaustivelyi
connectives, word order, prepositions, divine names and the spelling
of Jerusalem. Grammatical and pragmatic features (particularly the
context and the writer/recipient relationship) are considered. In the
final section, consecutive variants in extended portions of text
(1: 15-26; 12: 1-12,18-25; 113: 1-18) are the object of exegetical study. The findings of the analyses challenge the traditional view of
the Bezan text as a late and wayward text, the work of a slipshod and
fanciful scribe. It emerges, on the contrary, as a careful and
deliberate work, displaying a high degree of inner coherence and
remarkably close to the linguistic patterns which can be discerned in
the text which is common to all three manuscripts. The results further suggest that the text peculiar to Codex
Bezae was the work of an early Christian editor familiar with
the Jewish background of the Church. Its purpose seems to have been to
amplify and enhance the first text of Acts for the benefit of Jewish
recipients in order to demonstrate the continuity between Judaism and
Christianity and especially the divine endorsement of the
openness of the new movement to the Gentiles.
The Bezan revision of the original is, thus, a valuable
witness to the life of the early Church and a demonstration of the
acceptable fluidity of the pre-canonical text.


In the chain from sensing to information extraction, there are many traps where errors can occur, which might lead to false alarms and therefore leave us with the impression of an unreliable system. In this chapter, we deal with the important first element of the chain, the sensor, which can undergo various faults and defects during its lifetime. Especially for the use of acousto-ultrasonic (AU)-based methods or the electro-mechanical impedance (EMI) method, piezoelectric transducers are frequently used. Subsequent steps within the chain of SHM rely on the quality and reliability of these measurements. An overview is given on the usage of piezoelectric transducers within SHM systems, their electromechanical coupling and its modeling as well as frequent faults of these devices and methods on how to inspect them and diagnose defects. The authors show the effects of different transducer faults on the excited wave field, used for AU. It is shown how a sensor fault can be detected before the SHM system indicates a (false) alarm. With the help of application scenarios—including temperature variations—the advantages and disadvantages of the introduced methods of transducer inspection are presented, enabling an increased reliability of SHM systems.


Background: A good proportion of poisoned patients treated at poisoning wards are elderly. This study was designed to evaluate the epidemiologic pattern of acute poisoning in elderly in Hamadan, western Iran.
Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, poisoned patients aged 60 years and older treated at department of poisoning of Farshchian Hospital from March 2008 to March 2013 were included.
Results: In this 5-year period, 7951 poisoned patients were treated at Farshchian Hospital in Hamadan, Iran. Among them, 418 (5.3%) patients were 60 years old or older, with mean age of 71.6 ± 5.1 years. Narcotics and recreational substances were the most common type of poisons responsible for poisoning (46.4%), which among them, methadone was the most commonly used drug (20.3%). Neurologic medicines were the most commonly used pharmaceutical products (16%), among which, benzodiazepines (8.9%) were responsible for the highest number of poisonings due to pharmaceuticals. Fifteen patients (3.6%) including 13 men and 2 women died. The toxic agents used by cases with fatal outcome were opioids (8 patients), organophosphates (5 patients) and aluminum phosphide (2 patients). Men were found to be significantly more affected with recreational substances (P < 0.001) and pesticides (P < 0.001), while poisoning with pharmaceutical products (P = 0.017) was significantly more common in women. Regarding the intention of poisoning, accidental poisoning (P = 0.025) and overdose (P < 0.001) were significantly more common in men while deliberate self-poisoning was significantly more frequent in women (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Deliberate self-harm and poisoning with opioids especially methadone showed a high prevalence in elderly poisoned patients in Hamadan, Iran.  It seems that drug trafficking control, addiction rehabilitation therapies and suicide prevention programs for elderly can be helpful in poisoning reduction in this age group in this part of the country.


AIM: The specific goals of this study were to investigate the determinant factors of alcohol consumption in Indonesian adolescents. Method: The research design used is a survey with a cross-sectional approach using data from Indonesia—Global School-Based Student Health Survey 2015. The sample consisted of adolescents aged 13–17 years who attended school in all regions of Indonesia. The total sample was 11 142 teenagers. For the data analysis, frequency distribution, percentage, chi-square, and multinomial logistic regression were used. Results: Factors that affect alcohol consumption in adolescents in Indonesia were age, gender, and parental attention related to academics (p < .001). Early teens were 1.5 times more likely to consume alcohol (95% CI: 1.204–1.778) compared to late teens. Good parental attention to adolescent academics can inhibit alcohol consumption by 0.8 times (95% CI: 0.762–0.887) compared to parents who do not pay attention to academics. Conclusion: Factors that influence teenagers to consume alcohol are age, gender, and parents' who does not pay attention to adolescent academics. Involving the role of parents is a strategic part of the alcohol consumption prevention program in adolescents.


A general awareness of meditation has grown significantly in the western world within the last fifty years yet with little accurate understanding of the nature of the practice. In addition, the broad diversity of meditative practices and their variations of physiological results make a standardized study of effects difficult. Recent advances in technology have provided an opportunity for investigators to systematize their efforts so that the body of research may be more coherent. A more accurate understanding of the physiological and neurological effects of meditation will likely reveal means of therapeutic application for both individual and social benefit as well as further insight into attentional states. The preponderance of literature points to meditation as a practice facilitating a general return to neurological and physiological homeostasis.


A combination of quantum mechanics calculations with machine learning techniques can lead to a paradigm shift in our ability to predict materials properties from first principles. Here we show that on-the-fly training of an interatomic potential described through moment tensors provides the same accuracy as state-of-the-art ab initio molecular dynamics in predicting high-temperature elastic properties of materials with two orders of magnitude less computational effort. Using the technique, we investigate high-temperature bcc phase of titanium and predict very weak, Elinvar, temperature dependence of its elastic moduli, similar to the behavior of the so-called GUM Ti-based alloys (Sato et al 2003 Science 300 464). Given the fact that GUM alloys have complex chemical compositions and operate at room temperature, Elinvar properties of elemental bcc-Ti observed in the wide temperature interval 1100–1700 K is unique.


Guided by design-based research and the notion of seamless learning, we have designed a learning activity in mathematics where mobile and web technologies support transitions between outdoor and indoor learning contexts. The students' initiatives during the self-regulated outdoor part of the activity are scaffolded by the use of mobile technologies and activity prompts which provide means and demands for on-the-spot oral and visual recordings of the groups' experiences and strategies. We argue that the high quality of mathematical content in the recordings is due to several contributing factors: the choice of appropriate technological support, the informal settings, the availability of relevant physical references, and the immediate recording based on fresh experiences. Our data suggests that the rich nature of the recordings contributes to the effective transition and communication of the outdoor experiences to the classroom's learning context where these experiences are shared and discussed with peers. Finally, we discuss design issues related to the role of the teacher, as well as the structure of the entire activity and the implications for future design iterations.


Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is consisting of independent and distributed sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, pressure, etc. The most crucial and fundamental challenge facing WSN is security. Due to minimum capacity in-term of memory cost, processing and physical accessibility to sensors devices the security attacks are problematic. They are mostly deployed in open area, which expose them to different kinds of attacks. In this paper, we present an illustration of different attacks and vulnerabilities in WSN. Then we proposed a new lightweight cryptography algorithm for identifying compromised node in WSN called Leap Enhanced. Our evaluations on TOSSIM give a precise and detailed idea of the extra cost of consumption of resources needed to ensure the high level of expected security compared to other cryptography schemes in literature.


A new equipment for measuring the draping characteristics of static cloth is presented in the paper. In contrast with Kawabata Evaluation System 3D geometrical data of the sample are captured from photo images. Based on a mathematical reconstruction of geometry, and drape coefficients and mechanical parameters are evaluated upon the geometrical model. The computer controlled equipment moves a round table positioned in the centre providing the natural pleating of fabric for the measuring. The core part of the equipment is a computer moved frame. The sample is scanned by laser-beams. Lasers light the cross section curves of the sample on different levels. There are four cameras on the frame taking the pictures of cross section curves in different levels. 3D geometry is reconstructed upon the pictures. A mass, spring and damping element system is the basis of the cloth simulator. Springs are assumed to be linear, while damps are proportional to the velocity. The physics engine running the simulator calculates vertex positions at a time based on interaction forces with neighbouring vertices, including stretch, bend and shear forces. Collision of the cloth model with the model of the underlying object is performed and handled in each time step. To evaluate the influence of the individual parameters, a series of simulations was performed. For the real cloth samples, a range of cross-section curves is captured, digitalized and interpolated by Fourier series. The same Fourier coefficients are determined for the cloth model as a function of simulation parameters. The actual simulation parameters are defined by the minimum of the difference between the modelled and the measured geometry.


The paper presents a statistical analysis of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) in fringe pattern matching. It shows theoretically that the SNR of interference fringes can be significantly improved by fringe pattern matching or mean square difference calculation based on statistical analysis. Computer simulation and experimental results have confirmed that the high accuracy of fringe pattern matching is due to the significant SNR improvements achieved.


Vinasse is a waste material from distillery industries which has lot of organic and inorganic loads. It is utilized in agriculture  for  cheap  nutrients  source,  ameliorating  agents  and  animal  feed  beyond  the limitation of high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD; 46100 to 96000 mgL-1), chemical oxygen demand (COD; 104000 to 134400 mgL-1) and total dissolved salts (30.5 to 45.2 dSm-1) content even after the pollutant removal treatments. Vinasse treatments with combined approach of aerobic and anaerobic methods are more effective by both cost and pollutant on removal efficiency. Optimized dose of vinasse application has significance over soil properties, crop qualities and yield improvement. Globally, it has high potential to substitute potassium and nitrogen nutrients to the present level of annual consumption. It also contributes a substantial amount of phosphorous, calcium, sulphur and micronutrients to crops. In developed countries, starchy vinasse used as animal feed on a lean season to animals that improved the feed digestibility and animal quality where feed shortages are experienced. However, inadequate knowledge of vinasse properties and mode of utilization in agriculture questioned environmental quality for ground water pollution. Further research is needed to be strengthened for increased pollutant removal efficiency and diversified utilization in different cropping system (temporal scale) for effective utilization and safe disposal to the ecosystem. This article aimed to give the vinasse kinds and their characteristics features, soil-vinases interaction mechanism and its influence on plant, soil and water quality as consequence in agriculture.

 Key words: Chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), eco-friendly, utilization, environmental quality.


There are a few books on all naval weapon systems for all nations in the world. These are limited in many Chinese technologies, with not a single entry on several important areas such as communications, weapon integration/ control and sonars. There are other excellent books on PLAN organization, high level assumed goals and political structure, but little on actual ship combat system details except possibly in limited areas. This book traces, in detail, the long path from a coastal defense force of obsolete ships and crude systems to the current complex unique new construction coastal missile catamarans and AEGIS-like large DDGs with indigenous Vertical launch weapons and long range cruise missiles.In war gaming or operational tactics, many tables with frequencies, loadouts and ranges are useful, especially if unclassified. With this book, all of these platforms and systems are in one source. The book is divided into sections on frigates, destroyers, missile destroyers, patrol craft, naval aircraft and helicopters, nuclear and diesel submarines. Antisubmarine, anti-air, antisurface and mine warfare, amphibs and auxuiliaries are in their own areas. Even state-owned paramilitary vessels are covered. Hull, machinery and electrical and deperming are also addressed.This book prompts the reader to discern PLAN areas of weakness as well as threats based upon the sum of tables, rather than merely accept an author s conclusions. The enigmatic PLAN aircraft carrier preparations in pilots, shipyard and battle group basing will be noted. The only fact pending is when the keels will be laid in Shanghai and the actual tonnage."


Metal-organic
framework (MOF) glasses is a newly discovered family of melt-quenched glasses. Recently, several intriguing features (e.g.,
ultrahigh glass forming ability and low liquid fragility) have been discovered in
the glasses obtained from zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) that are a subset of MOFs. However, the fracture behavior of ZIF glasses remains elusive.
Here, we report on the first important finding, namely, the anomalous crack behavior
in a representative ZIF glass, i.e., ZIF-62 glass with the chemical composition of ZnIm2-xbImx, where the
central node – zinc - is coordinated to imidazolate (Im) and benzimidazole
(bIm) ligands. By performing micro- and nano-indentation and atomic
force microscopy (AFM) analysis, we
observe a unique sub-surface cracking phenomenon with induced shear bands on the
indent faces, in contrast to the cracking behavior of other types of network
glasses. The occurrence of shear bands could be attributed to the breakage of
coordinative bonds that are much weaker than ionic and covalent The observed
anomalous cracking behavior accords with the high Poisson's ratio (=0.34) of the
ZIF-62 glass.


Provides a brief overview of book history and determines the first book published in the Philippines. Briefly illustrates the stages of book life cycle: publication, manufacture, distribution, reception and survival. It analyzes the research made by Pardo de Tavera and Retana regarding the printing and existence of the Tagalog Doctrina and Shih-lu. Totanes concludes that "the Tagalog Doctrina and the Shih-lu were written by non-Filipinos, printed by non-Filipinos and were meant to be read by non-Filipinos."


Approximately 60% of patients with pancreatic cancer have metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis.1 Gemcitabine, which has been shown to improve overall survival (OS) and clinical response compared with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is standard treatment with a median survival of 6 months and a 1 year survival rate of only 20%.2 The addition of other drugs to gemcitabine to improve outcome has been generally unsuccessful with the exception of erlotinib, an oral human epidermal growth factor 1 receptor/epidermal growth factor receptor ( HER1/EGFR ) tyrosine kinase inhibitor. The combination of erlotinib with gemcitabine resulted in an improved 1 year survival compared with gemcitabine alone (23% vs 17%, p=0.023).3 Data from a phase III trial evaluating gemcitabine with capecitabine (GEM-CAP) showed an improvement in response and progression-free survival with GEM-CAP over single-agent gemcitabine, and pooling of these results with two other randomised controlled trials in a meta-analysis resulted in a survival advantage with GEM-CAP.4

At this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, the interim analysis from the randomised phase III PRODIGE 4/ACCORD 11 trial comparing FOLFIRINOX (5-FU/leucovorin, irinotecan and oxaliplatin) with gemcitabine as first-line treatment for fit patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma was presented.5 These preliminary results were encouraging, with a significantly longer OS, progression-free survival and improved response rate associated with the experimental arm compared with gemcitabine alone. Although …


This research examines the relationship between multiple open access (OA) availability of journal articles and the citation advantage by collecting data of OA copies and citation numbers in 20 top library and information science journals. We discover a correlation between the two variables; namely, multiple OA availability of an article has a positive impact on its citation count. The statistical analysis reveals that for every increase in the availability of OA articles, citation numbers increase by 2.348.


ABSTRACT p27kip1 (p27) is a cell cycle inhibitor and tumor suppressor whose expression is tightly regulated in the cell. Translational control of p27 mRNA has emerged as a prominent mechanism to regulate p27 expression during differentiation, quiescence, and cancer progression. The microRNAs miR-221 and miR-222 repress p27 expression in various cancer cells, and this repression promotes tumor cell proliferation. In addition, the presence of an internal ribosome entry site in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of p27 mRNA has been reported. Here, we show that p27 mRNA is translated via a cap-dependent mechanism in HeLa and HL60 cells and that the previously reported IRES activity can be attributed to cryptic promoters in the sequence corresponding to the p27 5′ UTR. Furthermore, cap-dependent translation of p27 mRNA is repressed by miR-181a in undifferentiated HL60 cells. Repression by miR-181a is relieved during differentiation of HL60 into monocyte-like cells, allowing the accumulation of p27, which is necessary to fully block cell cycle progression and reach terminal differentiation. These results identify miR-181a as a regulator of p27 mRNA translation during myeloid cell differentiation.


Ethical issues of information and communication technologies ICTs are important because they can have significant effects on human liberty, happiness, and people's ability to lead a good life. They are also of functional interest because they can determine whether technologies are used and whether their positive potential can unfold. For these reasons, policy makers are interested in finding out what these issues are and how they can be addressed. The best way of creating ICT policy that is sensitive to ethical issues pertain to being proactive in addressing such issues at an early stage of the technology life cycle. The present paper uses this position as a starting point and discusses how knowledge of ethical aspects of emerging ICTs can be gained. It develops a methodology that goes beyond established futures methodologies to cater for the difficult nature of ethical issues. The authors outline how the description of emerging ICTs can be used for an ethical analysis.


Phosphate based binders are high early strength materials with a short setting time. Usually, they are used as rapid repair material for concrete structures. The feasibility of a basalt fiber reinforced inorganic binder for strengthening concrete was studied. We successfully compounded suitable phosphate binder (PB) for concrete strengthening. In the current paper, phosphate binder was to adjusted to has excellent workability, suitable setting time and fluidity. Compressive strength of phosphate binder mortar, bonding strength between PB and Portland cement mortar, and strengthening effect of PB sticked basalt fiber on concrete beam were measured. Results showed that PB has excellent adhesion with Portland cement mortar. The strengthening effect of basalt fiber reinforced PB composite on concrete beam is evident. It is feasible that concrete strengthening by basalt fiber reinforced inorganic adhesive.


The perspective taken in this paper is that technology is a powerful tool for aiding in university instruction but not as an end in itself. Therefore, institutions can use it to empower and engage students for intellectual, emotional, social and economic development. The paper presents the results of a study on the impact of simulations and virtual reality on university students' achievement and their attitude. These are then discussed in the context of specific media characteristics. The researcher used a mixed method design and examined hypotheses for effect as well as analysed qualitative data for stated assumptions. The underlying theory for the study is that simulations and virtual reality may bring teaching to life by creating an imaginary life experiential learning. Characteristically, these types of media do not only have graphics, sound, video, text, and special effects that enhance the overall appeal of teaching, they also allow students to vicariously experience real life situations. Students can experience past events, current trends, and future possibilities and also interact with each other. Through interactive participation by the students, multimedia software permitted logical thinking, problem solving, hypothesis testing, inference and many activities of higher order thinking. Computer simulations presented potential to create complex and challenging student activities. Conversely, virtual reality has the potential to transport the minds of students into a given set of experiences. Students felt that they were actually in the experience they were watching on the screen. Virtual reality experience resulted in learning that connects the student with their emotions, cognitive skills, and physical sensations. Such experience promoted memory of content learned. This study sought to investigate the impact of multimedia on developing and achieving research and assessment skills and attitude of developmental psychology students at the University of Botswana. Building on theory, a virtual psychology lab was created to train students to identify human development problems and learn strategies for problem solving. Students were later examined for improved learning, acquisition of skills, knowledge and attitude. The results show that there are numerous benefits for engaging multimedia in teaching. The paper concludes that there is a need for changing teaching methods to empower students by embracing technology.


The article outlines an understanding of the modern principles, types of management of protected areas and policies aimed at ensuring sustainable land use development taking into account European experience. The change in awareness of the role of nature in human life and place of man in the biological chain of the planet also changed the approaches to the creation of protected areas, measures of protection and management system and environmental and economic instruments of environmental land use. In Europe, there is an understanding that most of our biodiversity is found in semi-natural habitats that depend on long-term human management. This is reflected in the diversity of conservation policy types and strategies that have been developed in recent decades. Modern approaches recognize that well-managed nature conservation areas not only support important ecosystems and threatened species, but also provide many benefits to humans, including a range of ecosystem services. In practice, you can observe various types of management for protected areas. One of the forms of protected land use in Ukraine is the territory and objects of the nature reserve fund. Their successful use depends on a clear and coordinated management mechanism. Eurointegration processes in Ukraine (Association Agreement) require and the application of new approaches in the management of protected areas and the application of new principles for their creation, the use of ecological and economic incentives for management. Key words: nature conservation land use, protected areas, management principles, types of management.


We present an optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) delivering 10.5 mJ pulses with durations down to 220 fs, at 100 Hz repetition rate, centered at 1550 nm. The system is pumped by a picosecond Nd:YAG amplifier at 1064 nm based on quasi-continuous-wave diode pumping and seeded by a femtosecond mode-locked Er fiber laser at 1550 nm. This choice of wavelengths enables the use of well-established technology and optical components for both pump and signal beams, resulting in a straightforward and robust system design and the ability for further power scaling to be used in high-energy laser-produced plasma experiments.


The operation of vagotomy alone or in combination with other gastric surgery has been carried out in 322 patients. Vagotomy alone was performed in 27 patients with peptic ulcer, but 10 of these required further surgery because of gastric retention. Vagotomy was done with subtotal gastric resection in 29 patients with peptic ulcer, with gastrojejunostomy in 93 patients, with duodenal ulcer, and with pyloroplasty in 162 patients with duodenal ulcer. The choice of operation depended on the patient's history. The explanation of varying postoperative results was therefore difficult, but the probability of good results was significantly higher when the combination of vagotomy and pyloroplasty was used. The operation of pyloroplasty affords the surgeon good visualization of the ulcer area at operation, is more effective in eliminating antral stasis and decreasing regurgitation of jejunal contents into the stomach, and facilitates subsequent operative procedures.


Mitochondrial dysfunction in adipose tissue is involved in the pathophysiology of obesity-induced systemic metabolic complications, such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. However, the mechanisms responsible for obesity-induced adipose tissue mitochondrial dysfunction are not clear. The aim of present study was to test the hypothesis that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-3 (SIRT3) in adipocytes plays a critical role in adipose tissue mitochondrial biology and obesity. We first measured adipose tissue SIRT3 expression in obese and lean mice. Next, adipocyte-specific mitochondrial Sirt3 knockout (AMiSKO) mice were generated and metabolically characterized. We evaluated glucose and lipid metabolism in adult mice fed either a regular-chow diet or high-fat diet (HFD) and in aged mice. We also determined the effects of Sirt3 deletion on adipose tissue metabolism and mitochondrial biology. Supporting our hypothesis, obese mice had decreased SIRT3 gene and protein expression in adipose tissue. However, despite successful knockout of SIRT3, AMiSKO mice had normal glucose and lipid metabolism and did not change metabolic responses to HFD-feeding and aging. In addition, loss of SIRT3 had no major impact on putative SIRT3 targets, key metabolic pathways, and mitochondrial function in white and brown adipose tissue. Collectively, these findings suggest that adipocyte SIRT3 is dispensable for maintaining normal adipose tissue mitochondrial function and whole body metabolism. Contrary to our hypothesis, loss of SIRT3 function in adipocytes is unlikely to contribute to the pathophysiology of obesity-induced metabolic complications.


Gregory Tate, "Austen's Literary Alembic: Sanditon , Medicine, and the Science of the Novel" (pp. 336–362) This essay examines the representation of science in Jane Austen's unfinished novel Sanditon . It argues that this text, written in the months before Austen's death in 1817, points to a development in her understanding of the novel, one that associates the form with the emerging scientific disciplines of the early nineteenth century through its emphasis on empirical objectivity and professional expertise. These traits are exemplified in the medical profession, which is central to Sanditon 's plot. Austen's text presents a range of different types of medical knowledge and practice, and it celebrates professional medical advice as a safe middle ground between the commercial exploitation of quackery and the uninformed subjectivism of hypochondria. Similar issues are at stake in the text's considerations of the literary marketplace: while acknowledging some of the problems involved in the growing commodification of the novel, Sanditon also satirizes the undisciplined reading habits of careless readers, and it promotes a view of the novel as an objective and professional articulation of knowledge. Sanditon 's advocacy of professional objectivity is conveyed in its narrative stance as well as its plot: the text focuses not on the subjectivity of a single protagonist but on the objective observation and experimental comparison of the interactions between a number of characters and between those characters and their environment. The essay concludes that the methodologies of science, as they were practiced within the medical profession, played a significant part in Austen's understanding of the profession of writing at the end of her career.


Transgenic expression of key myelosupportive human cytokines in immune-deficient mice corrects for the lack of cross-species activities of stem cell factor (SCF), IL-3, and GM-CSF. When engrafted with human umbilical cord blood (UCB), these triple-transgenic mice produce BM and spleen grafts with much higher myeloid composition, relative to nontransgenic controls. Shortly after engraftment with UCB, these mice develop a severe, fatal macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) characterized by a progressive drop in rbc numbers, increased reticulocyte counts, decreased rbc half-life, progressive cytopenias, and evidence of chronic inflammation, including elevated human IL-6. The BM becomes strikingly hypocellular, and spleens are significantly enlarged with evidence of extramedullary hematopoiesis and activated macrophages engaged in hemophagocytosis. This manifestation of MAS does not respond to lymphocyte-suppressive therapies such as steroids, i.v. immunoglobulin, or antibody-mediated ablation of human B and T cells, demonstrating a lymphocyte-independent mechanism of action. In contrast, elimination of human myeloid cells using gemtuzumab ozogamicin (anti-CD33) completely reversed the disease. Additionally, the IL-6R antibody tocilizumab delayed progression and prolonged lifespan. This new model of MAS provides an opportunity for investigation of the mechanisms driving this disease and for the testing of directed therapies in a humanized mouse.


Typically the iron bacteria are described as ferrous iron (Fe2+) oxidisers (with oxy¬gen) to ferric iron (Fe3+). Exposure of ferrous iron and sulphide containing ground¬water to atmospheric oxygen forms the well known phenomena of ferric iron and sulphur precipitation which typically, but not necessarily, involves iron and sulphide oxidising bacteria. In this process ferrous iron serves as the electron donor and mo¬lecular oxygen as the electron acceptor. The flow of electrons from ferrous iron to oxygen enables the respiration process of the bacteria and allows their growth. Also insoluble iron species allow an electron flow that bacteria can use for their respira¬tion and growth. Two such examples are covered in this paper:

1. Bacterially influenced corrosion of steel. The iron in steel (Fe0) is even more reduced than ferrous iron and hence offers a more attractive electron donor for bacteria. Sulphate-Reducing bacteria can utilise the electrons from metallic iron using sulphate, sulphite or elemental sulphur as electron acceptor. Again, this elec¬tron flow from metallic iron to sulphate provides the bacteria with a suitable energy source for growth. And like usual this electron flow is used for respiration, here an anaerobic respiration. Sulphate-Reducing bacteria (SRB) play an important role in the corrosion of steel in anaerobic environments, such as oilfields, marine sediments, treatment tanks etc. This paper covers the principle and examples of steel corrosion by SRB.

2. Bacterial reduction of ferric iron to ferrous iron. Also the most oxidized form of iron, ferric iron can be used by bacteria for growth. However, as it is in its most oxidised form it can not act as electron donor but as electron acceptor. Analogous to the oxygen respiration using O2 as electron acceptor for electrons derived from the oxidation of organic material, iron reducing bacteria can ʻrespire' ferric iron. This reaction occurs typically in anaerobic ecosystems with organic compounds (e.g. or¬ganic acids) as the electron donor. The role and economic potential of iron reducing bacteria in groundwater are discussed in this paper.

Both the above cases of iron metabolism involve insoluble species of iron. As bacte¬ria by definition can only metabolise soluble material, specific mechanisms need to be in place that enable the electron transfer. This paper discusses possibilities and implications of such electron flow by also covering other species relevant to ground¬water chemistry (e.g. elemental sulphur and chlorinated solvents).


The enology characteristics were studied by three yeast strains of pure and mixed cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae QM, ZYFJQ and Hanseniaspora uvarum YQY with Cabernet sauvignon grape,respectively, while the commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae RC212 was made as a control, in order to screen excellent yeast strains or the combination of those for the original wine. Chemical indices of the wines by three stiains were analyzed including ethanol, total acidity, volatile acidity and residual reducing sugar. Flavor compounds in wines and in must were extracted by dichloromethane and identified by GC–MS.The results showed that the chemical indices of the wine from selected strains could satisfy with the demand of Chinese national standard, and the volatiles were mainly the 2-phenylethanol, which shaped the main characteristics of wine aroma components. yeast strain QM and YQY got the best balance between acetate and alcohols. The best volatiles of wine was obtained from the mixed fermentations than from the pure or from the control ones. ndigenous yeast strains from grape played an important role on the types and amounts of flavor compounds in mixed culture fermentation. The yeasts could have potential applications to the original winemaking.


Background: Survival outcomes after cardiac or respiratory arrest occurring outside of intensive care units (ICUs) has been well described. We investigated survival outcomes of adults whose arrest occurred in ICUs and determined predictors of decreased survival. Methods: We reviewed all records of adults who experienced cardiac or respiratory arrest from Jan. 1, 2000, to Apr. 30, 2005, in ICUs at four hospitals serving Edmonton, Alberta. We evaluated patient and clinical characteristics, as well as survival outcomes during a five-year follow-up period. We determined risk factors for immediate (within 24 hours) and later death. Results: Of the 517 patients included in the study, 59.6% were able to be resuscitated, 30.4% survived to discharge from ICU, 26.9% survived to discharge from hospital, 24.3% survived to one year, and 15.9% survived to five years. Pulseless electrical activity or asystole was the most common rhythm (45.8% of the arrests). Survival was lowest among patients with an arrest due to pulseless electrical activity or asystole: only 10.6% survived to one year, compared with 36.3% who had other arrest rhythms (p < 0.001). Independent predictors of decreased later survival (eight months or more after arrest) were increasing age (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.09) and longer duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (adjusted HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.03–1.83, per additional logarithm of a minute of CPR). Interpretation: Our study showed no major improvement in survival following cardiac arrest with pulseless electrical activity or asystole as the presenting rhythm in the ICU despite many advances in critical care over the previous two decades. The independent predictors of death within 24 hours after arrest in an ICU were sex, the presenting rhythm and the duration of CPR. Predictors of later death (eight months or more after arrest) were age and duration of CPR.


We investigate the circumstellar dust properties of the oxygen-rich bipolar proto-planetary nebula IRAS 18276-1431 by means of two-dimensional radiative transfer simulations of the circumstellar dust shell. The model geometry is assumed to have a torus and an envelope. The parameters of the dust and the dust shell are constrained by comparing the SED and NIR intensity and polarisation data with the models. The polarisation in the envelope reaches 50 -- 60 % and is nearly constant in the H and K_S bands in the observations. This weak wavelength dependence of the polarisation can be reproduced with a grain size distribution function for the torus: 0.05 micron <= a with n(a)=a^{-(p=5.5)}exp(-a/{a_c=0.3 micron}). The power index p is significantly steeper than that for interstellar dust. Similar results have also been found in some other PPNs and suggest that mechanisms that grind down large particles may also have acted when the dust particles formed. The spectral opacity index beta is found to be 0.6+/-0.5 from the millimeter fluxes. This low value indicates the presence of large dust grains in the torus. We discuss two possible dust models for the torus. One has a size distribution function of 1.0 micron <= a <= a_max=5,000.0 micron with n(a)=a^{-(p=2.5)} and the other is 1.0 micron <= a <= a_max=10,000.0 micron with n(a)=a^{-(p=3.5)}. The former has beta of 0.633, but we are not able to find reasonable geometry parameters to fit the SED in the infrared. The latter has beta of 1.12, but reproduces the SED better over a wide wavelength range. With this dust model, the geometric parameters are estimated as follows: the inner and outer radii are 30 AU and 1000 AU and the torus mass is 3.0 M_sun. Assuming an expansion velocity of 15 kms^{-1}, the torus formation time and mass-loss rate are found to be \sim300 yrs and \sim10^{-2}M_sun yr^{-1} respectively.


CONTEXT
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, but treatment rates are low, particularly for minority patients.

OBJECTIVE
To estimated societal cost-effectiveness of two interventions to improve care for depression in primary care, examining Latino and white patients separately.

METHODS
Intent-to-treat analysis of data from a group-level controlled trial, in which matched primary care clinics in the US were randomized to usual care or to one of two interventions designed to increase the rate of effective depression treatment. One intervention facilitated medication management ("QI-Meds") and the other psychotherapy ("QI-Therapy"); but patients and clinicians could choose the type of treatment, or none. The study involved 46 clinics in 6 non-academic, managed care organizations; 181 primary care providers; and 398 Latino and 778 White patients with current depression. Outcomes are health care costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALY), depression burden, employment, and costs per QALY, over 24 months of follow-up.

RESULTS
Relative to usual care, QI-Therapy resulted in significantly fewer depression burden days for Latinos and increased days employed for white patients. Average health care costs increased 278 dollars in QI-Meds and 161 dollars in QI-Therapy for Latinos, and by 655 dollars in QI-Meds and 752 dollars in QI-Therapy for whites, relative to usual care. The estimated cost per QALY for Latinos was 6,100 dollars or less under QI-Therapy, but 90,000 dollars or more in QI-Meds. For Whites, estimated costs per QALY were around 30,000 dollars under both interventions.

CONCLUSIONS
Latinos benefit from improved care for depression, and the cost is less than that for white patients. Diverse patients are likely to benefit from improving care for depression in primary care.


Abstract. The integration based on Inertial Navigation System (INS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) has been successfully developed in observing the gravity. Therefore, this study integrates a navigation-grade INS, iNAV-RQH from iMAR and GNSS from NovAtel to develope an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) using unmanned helicopter for gravimetric application. The advantages include its good flexibility, and it is an intermediate system between the airborne and terrestrial survey in terms of the coverage and spatial resolution. On the other hand, based on the characteristics of vertical take-off and landing, in addition to the kinematic mode as the measure method in the acquisition of gravimetric results, the Zero Velocity Update (ZUPT) mode is implemented as a novel method with the developed UAS. The preliminary results in kinematic mode show that the internal accuracies of horizontal and vertical gravity disturbance at crossover points are approximately 6–11 mGal and 4 mGal, respectively, with a 0.5-km resolution. As expected, the accuracy in down component is higher than that in horizontal components because the orientation errors could cause large error in horizontal components. Moreover, the repeatability in ZUPT mode is evaluated with accuracies of approximately 2–3 mGal. The capability of developed UAS for gravimetric application has been demonstrated through various scenarios in this study.


In the last decade, the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in facilities management has significantly increased among practitioners. This has largely been due to the noticeable BIM capability in collecting, capturing and generating data/information during the lifecycle of assets through Open data standards such as the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and specifications such as the Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie). However, accuracies of data and interoperability between facilities management and BIM software systems are still the main challenges for facilities managers. Thus existing applications of BIM for facilities management often output data that does not satisfy the facilities management requirements. Furthermore, the existing frameworks for overcoming the interoperability are generally inclined towards software oriented or theoretical procedures. The purpose of this paper is to develop BIM ‐ based guidelines, which enable to integrate data between the facilities and BIM software systems to keep the data accurate and ensure the outputs achieve the required data/information for facilities management. To achieve the aim of the study, a critical review of peer‐reviewed literature in BIM‐ facilities management and a case study are conducted. The critical review discusses the challenges, gaps and linking approaches of the peer‐reviewed studies about BIM‐facilities management integration. The case study is to assess the suitability of integrating a building modelling tool (e.g. Revit), Open data specification (COBie) and a facility management tool (e.g. Ecodomus) for exchanging data between BIM and facilities management environments. This paper provides practical evidence of both the challenges and the benefits of BIM in facilities management applications and also provides the requirements for successful proprietary middleware for BIM-FM interoperability.


A seeded dye laser cavity, synchronously pumped by the 2nd harmonic of the Nd:YAG laser has been designed and experimentally tested. The used seed signal was the well defined narrow linewidth output laser signal (▵λ = 0.013 nm) from the excimer-dye laser system. Energy considerations showed that the intracavity laser energy, that can be used for an experimental section inside the cavity, can reach an efficiency of 20% of the pumping energy. The wavelength and linewidth are fully controlled by the wavelength and linewidth of the seeding laser.


OBJECTIVE
To assess clinical outcomes and scintigraphic findings in horses with a bone fragility disorder (BFD) treated with zoledronate (a nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate).

DESIGN
Prospective uncontrolled clinical trial.

ANIMALS
10 horses with evidence of a BFD.

PROCEDURES
Signalment, history, and geographic location of horses' home environments were recorded. Physical examinations, lameness evaluations, and nuclear scintigraphy were performed. Diagnosis of a BFD was made on the basis of results of clinical and scintigraphic examination. Each horse was treated with zoledronate (0.075 mg/kg [0.034 mg/lb, IV, once]) at the time of diagnosis. Horses were reevaluated 6 months after treatment.

RESULTS
Affected horses were from the central and coastal regions of California and had ≥ 1 clinical sign of the disorder; these included scapular deformation (n = 2), lordosis (1), nonspecific signs of musculoskeletal pain (1), and lameness that could not be localized to a specific anatomic region (9). All horses had multiple sites of increased radiopharmaceutica uptake during initial scintigraphic evaluation of the axial skeleton and bones of 1 or both forelimbs. Six months after treatment, clinical improvement (defined as improvement in the lameness score, resolution of signs of musculoskeletal pain, or both) was detected in 9 of 10 horses; scintigraphic uptake was unchanged (n = 2) or subjectively decreased (8). No adverse effects attributed to zoledronate treatment were detected.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Treatment with zoledronate appeared to be useful in improving clinical outcome and scintigraphic findings in horses with a BFD; however, future placebo-controlled studies are necessary to accurately determine efficacy and long-term safety.


This paper describes how the Knowledge-Based Software Assistant/Advanced Development Model brings together technologies from the KBSE domain along with more traditional software engineering practices in order to address the pervasive software development problems associated with complexity coordination, and automation. This paper describes how the KBSA/ADM realizes and refines the vision of Rome Laboratory's Knowledge-Based Software Assistant research program. The most innovative aspects of this work have been in the areas of contextual knowledge (i.e., design history, discussion databases, and object linking), process support (i.e., personalized agendas and process enactment), evolution transformations (i.e., transformations which automate stereotypical changes to a model), and critics (i.e., integrating intelligent analysis with process enactment).


Abstract In 1981, Takeuti introduced quantum set theory as the quantum counterpart of Boolean valued models of set theory by constructing a model of set theory based on quantum logic represented by the lattice of closed subspaces in a Hilbert space and showed that appropriate quantum counterparts of ZFC axioms hold in the model. Here, Takeuti's formulation is extended to construct a model of set theory based on the logic represented by the lattice of projections in an arbitrary von Neumann algebra. A transfer principle is established that enables us to transfer theorems of ZFC to their quantum counterparts holding in the model. The set of real numbers in the model is shown to be in one-to-one correspondence with the set of self-adjoint operators affiliated with the von Neumann algebra generated by the logic. Despite the difficulty pointed out by Takeuti that equality axioms do not generally hold in quantum set theory, it is shown that equality axioms hold for any real numbers in the model. It is also shown that any observational proposition in quantum mechanics can be represented by a corresponding statement for real numbers in the model with the truth value consistent with the standard formulation of quantum mechanics, and that the equality relation between two real numbers in the model is equivalent with the notion of perfect correlation between corresponding observables (self-adjoint operators) in quantum mechanics. The paper is concluded with some remarks on the relevance to quantum set theory of the choice of the implication connective in quantum logic.


The previous decade can be viewed as a second golden for era Multiple Comparisons research. I argue that much of the success stems from our being able to address real current needs. At the same time, this success generated a plethora of concepts for error rate and power, as well as multiplicity of methods for addressing them. These confuse the users of our methodology and pose a threat. To avoid the threat, it is our responsibility to match our theoretical goals to the goals of the users of statistics. Only then should we match the methods to the theoretical goals. Considerations related to such needs are discussed: simultaneous inference or selective inference, testing or estimation, decision making or scientific reporting. I then further argue that the vitality of our field in the future – as a research area – depends upon our ability to continue and address the real needs of statistical analyses in current problems. Two application areas offering new challenges have received less attention in our community to date are discussed. Safety analysis in clinical trials, where I offer an aggregated safety assessment methodology and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.


Calibration can be used to adjust for unit nonresponse when the model variables on which the response/nonresponse mechanism depends do not coincide with the benchmark variables in the calibration equation. As a result, model-variable values need only known for the respondents. This allows the treatment of what is usually considered nonignorable nonresponse. Although one can invoke either quasirandomization or prediction-model-based theory to justify the calibration, both frameworks rely on unverifiable model assumptions, and both require large samples to produce nearly unbiased estimators even when those assumptions hold. We will explore these issues theoretically and with an empirical study.


Two convergence aspects of the EM algorithm are studied: (i) does the EM algorithm find a local maximum or a stationary value of the (incompletedata) likelihood function? (ii) does the sequence of parameter estimates generated by EM converge? Several convergence results are obtained under conditions that are applicable to many practical situations. Two useful special cases are: (a) if the unobserved complete-data specification can be described by a curved exponential family with compact parameter space, all the limit points of any EM sequence are stationary points of the likelihood function; (b) if the likelihood function is unimodal and a certain differentiability condition is satisfied, then any EM sequence converges to the unique maximum likelihood estimate. A list of key properties of the algorithm is included.


High-precision measurements of mechanical parts' surface topography represent an essential task in many industry sectors. Examples of such tasks are, e.g., precise alignments of opto-mechanical systems, large object deformation measurements, evaluation of object shape, and many others. Today, the standard method used for such measurements is based on use of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). Unfortunately, CMMs have severe shortcomings: low measurement point density, long measurement time, risk of surface damage, etc. Indeed, the measurement time rapidly increases with the object complexity and with the density of measurement points. In this paper, we have developed a method for surface topography measurements called "frequency sweeping digital holography" (FSDH). Our developed FSDH method is based on the principles of wavelength scanning interferometry. It allows surface topography measurements of objects with a diameter of several hundred of mms and a high axial accuracy reaching 10 μm. The greatest advantage of the presented FSDH is the fact that the surface topology data are captured in a motionless manner by means of a relatively simple setup. This makes the FSDH method a suitable technique for topography measurements of objects with complex geometries made of common materials (such as metals, plastics, etc.), as well as for the characterization of complex composite structures such as acoustic metamaterials, active acoustic metasurfaces, etc. Measurement method principles, setup details, lateral resolution, and axial accuracy are discussed.