This paper focuses mainly on the supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO2) cycles performance as regards from the aspect of thermodynamic point of view. Detailed analyses have been performed by considering; the effects of compressor inlet temperature and pressure, turbine inlet temperature, compressor outlet pressure, recuperator pinch temperature and pressure drop. Turbine and compressor efficiencies on cyclic performance were investigated and the results have been given. Exergy efficiency and exergy destruction ratios have been provided with respect to compressor inlet temperature variation. Exergy efficiency decreased when compressor inlet temperature increased. Results show that an optimum input pressure value for high cycle efficiency should be a value between 75 bar and 90 bar. In addition, the pressure ratio should be between 2.5 and 3 in order to have high cycle efficiency and high output power. The effect of the increase in turbine efficiency is more important than compressor efficiency.


Considering the academic literature regarding athlete brands as role models is largely fragmented, the present study contributed significantly to this evolving construct and our understanding of the impact superstar athletes have on their consumers. Specifically, the central aim of this exploratory study was to uncover the traits of the athlete brand as a role model from the perspective of the sport consumer. Thirty-one consumers of the athlete brand were purposefully selected to participate in semi-structured interviews. The interview data revealed four prevalent themes including personal attributes, community impact, idealized parental figure, and exemplar for other athletes.


Heme-copper oxidases (HCO), nitric oxide reductases (NOR), and sulfite reductases (SiR) catalyze the multi-electron and multi-proton reductions of O2, NO, and SO32-, respectively. Each of these reactions is important to drive cellular energy production through respiratory metabolism and HCO, NOR, and SiR evolved to contain heteronuclear active sites containing heme/copper, heme/nonheme iron, and heme-[4Fe-4S] centers, respectively. The complexity of the structures and reactions of these native enzymes, along with their large sizes and/or membrane associations, make it challenging to fully understand the crucial structural features responsible for the catalytic properties of these active sites. In this review, we summarize progress that has been made to better understand these heteronuclear metalloenzymes at the molecular level though study of the native enzymes along with insights gained from biomimetic models comprising either small molecules or proteins. Further understanding the reaction selectivity of these enzymes is discussed through comparisons of their similar heteronuclear active sites, and we offer outlook for further investigations.


Kamran Abbasi looks at how Channel 4's Cancer Wars (8 pm on January 18 and 25 and February 1 and 8) explores the political dimensions of cancer

Nazi scientists working sinisterly in dark laboratories; a whole town suffering the harsh discipline of the Third Reich; the triumphant Allies showering gifts on liberated townsfolk. It might sound like the storyline from a second world war yarn, but in fact these are images from Channel 4's Cancer Wars . Billed as a "major four part series telling the story of cancer through the eyes of those who have suffered, those who have tried to combat it and those who have stood in the way," Cancer Wars begins with Hitler's Germany.

While the Jews were being terrorised, it seems Hitler was on a mission to improve the health of the Aryan race. German scientists investigated smoking and cancer and found a link. In the German town of Jena …


Background: Literature regarding brand identity within the service industry is relatively under developed. As a result one theory is used for both the service and product brands, even though there is a significant difference between a product and a service. As a result of this, the brand identity within the service industry has consequences. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the brand identity within the service industry. This is done by focusing on how and why this work is done. Accomplishment: Empirical data have been gathered through interviews with relevant people. Result: The fundamentals of a brand identity are the same within the service industry as the product industry. The foundation for both industries is to stipulate the identity by recognizing the values which makes the company unique and competitive. The employees within these companies are a major part of the brand identity as they are the ones to influence it the most. Up to this statement current theories are accurate but when it comes to the correspondence between brand identity and corporate culture there aren't enough theoretical support to find. In order to come a step further integration of organization theory and marketing is required.


A model of semiconductor laser noise is presented which includes the carrier density as a dynamical variable and the carrier density dependence of the refractive index. The Van der Pol laser noise model is shown to he a special case of this treatment. Expressions are calculated for all laser spectra and compared with their Van der Pol counterparts. The power fluctuations spectrum and the frequency fluctuations spectrum exhibit a resonance corresponding to the relaxation resonance and the field spectrum contains fine structure, similar to sidebands which result from harmonic frequency modulation of a carrier signal. The role of carrier noise in determining the field spectrum linewidth is also considered.


The liquid Mg - Bi system exhibits strong compound formation at the `octet' composition . We present results of first-principles molecular dynamics simulations of this alloy system at different compositions: the pure Mg and Bi liquid components, the stoichiometric liquid, and a Mg-rich composition . For the pure liquids, our results are in excellent agreement with experimental diffraction data. For , a significant modification of the characteristics of the local ordering is found w.r.t. the crystalline -phase: the ordering in the liquid is much more ionic. This structural modification is consistent with the structure of the superionic -phase, that was reported recently by Barnes et al 1994 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 6 L467. Our simulations cannot reproduce the `reverse' metal - nonmetal transition observed upon melting, the computed conductivity being much larger than found in experiments. Instead, for the Mg-rich alloy, the calculated conductivity approaches closely to the experimental value.


Abstract Stereotyped behaviors have been routinely used as characters for phylogeny inference, but the same cannot be said of the plastic aspects of performance, which routinely are taken as a result of ecological processes. In this paper we examine the evolution of one of these plastic behavioral phenotypes, thus fostering a bridge between ecological and evolutionary processes. Foraging behavior in spiders is context dependent in many aspects, since it varies with prey type and size, spider nutritional and developmental state, previous experience and, in webweavers, is dependent on the structure of the web. Reeling is a predatory tactic typical of cobweb weavers (Theridiidae), in which the spider moves the prey toward her by pulling the capture thread (gumfoot) to which it is adhered. Predatory reeling is dependent on the gumfoot for its expression, and has not been previously reported in orbweavers. In order to investigate the evolution of this web dependent behavior, we built artificial, pseudogumfoot lines in orbwebs and registered parameters of the predatory tactics in this modified web. Aspects of the predatory tactics of 240 individuals (12 species in 4 families) were measured, and the resulting data were optimized on the phylogeny of Orbiculariae. All species perform predatory reeling with the pseudogumfoot lines. Thus, predatory reeling is homologous for the whole Orbiculariae group. In nature, holes made by insects in ecribellate orbs produce pseudogumfoot lines (similar to our experimentally modified webs), and thus reeling occurred naturally in ecribellates. Nevertheless, outside lab conditions, predatory reeling does not occur among cribellate orbweavers, so that this behavior could not have been selected for in the cribellate ancester of orbweavers. Cribellate spiders are flexible enough as to present novel and adaptive predatory responses (reeling) even when exposed for the first time to conditions outside their usual environment. Thus, the evolution of reeling suggests an alternative mechanism for the production of evolutionary novelties; that is, the exploration of unusual ecological conditions and of the regular effects these abnormal conditions have on phenotype expression.


This article proposes solutions that use TINA concepts for the future evolution of IN. It focuses on the specific need to provide a software architecture for the IN service control function which controls the transport network through INAP. After giving an overview of the TINA architecture, the article examines how it can be applied to IN. Several aspects are considered, such as architectural modeling, application of recent software technology and methodology, and definition of sets of standard open interfaces. The article concludes with a view on related activities in industrial fora.


Abstract The emergence of a new technology like BIM is often connected with extensive discussions of industrial and organizational development and change. However, predicting the use trajectory of a technology has always been a difficult task. In understanding the adoption and use of information and communication technology (ICT), the way that people make sense of a technology is an important component. Even if sensemaking varies over time, studies of sensemaking processes over longer periods are rare. This paper has two aims. First, to develop a conceptual framework of how the development of sensemaking processes shapes the adoption and use of ICT. Second, to discuss the implications of this for research and practice, with a specific focus on the adoption and use of BIM. The research involves a case study of 12 years of telemedicine use in a Swedish county. These results are compared with contemporary BIM studies. The overall conclusion is that the use of technology is heavily shaped by the sensemaking of significant actor groups. This is grounded both an institutional logic and daily practice in relation to the benefits or disadvantages the group perceives from the use of the technology.


This dissertation focuses on the role played by officials of transnational corporations and transnational corporations themselves in the situation in Burma. The main aim of this dissertation is to assess the liability of officials of transnational corporations in Burma and transnational corporations in Burma for crimes against humanity such as slave labour and for war crimes such as plunder under International Criminal Law. However at present transnational corporations cannot be prosecuted under International Criminal Law as the International Criminal Court only has jurisdiction to try natural persons and not legal persons. In doing this analysis the theory of complicity, actus reus of aiding and abetting and the mens rea of aiding and abetting in relation to officials of transnational corporations will be explored and analysed to assess the liability of these officials in Burma. In doing this analysis the jurisprudence of inter alia the Nuremberg cases, the cases decided by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will be used. This dissertation also examines the problems associated with suing or prosecuting transnational corporations due to the legal personality of transnational corporations and the structure of transnational corporations. At the end of the dissertation some recommendations are made so as to enable transnational corporations to be more transparent and accountable under the law.


The effect of 1,2,4-triaminotriazole on the activity of catalase was studied in the resting cells of Candida mycoderma when they oxidized glucose, ethanol and other alcohols. The compound was shown to inhibit the activity of catalase in the cells when the endogenous substrate and glucose were oxidized, but it had no effect on its activity during the oxidation of alcohols (C1-C4). Catalase is supposed to be involved in the oxidation of lower alcohols forming a complex with them and thus preventing the inhibiting action of 1,2,4-triaminotriazole.


This paper demonstrates that under conditions of imperfect (oligopolistic) competition, a transition from separate accounting (SA) to formula apportionment (FA) does not eliminate the problem of profit shifting via transfer pricing. In particular, if affiliates of a multinational firm face oligopolistic competition, it is beneficial for the multinational to manipulate transfer prices for tax-saving as well as strategic reasons under both FA and SA. The analysis shows that a switch from SA rules to FA rules may actually strengthen profit shifting activities by multinationals.


Forum selection is typically the most crucial issue in a transnational case. Nowhere is this truer than in maritime law, where forum selection is the first and sometimes the only point of engagement in international maritime litigation. In this important collection of essays, ten outstanding maritime law scholars from eight countries analyze the complex theoretical and practical issues surrounding forum selection in maritime cases. Among the topics discussed are the following: injunctions; forum shopping for limitation of liability; forum non conveniens; effect of forum selection clauses; loss or damage to goods; the in personam link; and, recognition of foreign liens. The book stems from a symposium held at Tulane University in 2004 to honor the 70th birthday of Robert Force, the influential and respected scholar who founded the renowned Tulane Maritime Law Center. As befits such a festschrift, the book opens with a detailed analysis and overview of forum selection clauses, written by Professor Force and his Tulane colleague Martin Davies. This is followed by thought-provoking essays on comparative issues, procedural theory, competing jurisdictions, jurisdictional clauses, EC law, and other matters, and by insightful and knowledgeable reports on specific issues related to China and South Africa. At a moment in history when geopolitical trends and globalization of trade are rapidly growing and changing, maritime lawyers and the various agencies and commissions that sustain this vitally important branch of international legal practice will greatly appreciate this remarkable book.


We prove the undecidability of MSO on $\omega$-words extended with the second-order predicate $U_1(X)$ which says that the distance between consecutive positions in a set $X \subseteq \mathbb{N}$ is unbounded. This is achieved by showing that adding $U_1$ to MSO gives a logic with the same expressive power as $MSO+U$, a logic on $\omega$-words with undecidable satisfiability. As a corollary, we prove that MSO on $\omega$-words becomes undecidable if allowing to quantify over sets of positions that are ultimately periodic, i.e., sets $X$ such that for some positive integer $p$, ultimately either both or none of positions $x$ and $x+p$ belong to $X$.


ABSTRACT Design thinking remains mired in controversy. Its proponents claim that it enhances not just confidence but also creativity, while the opponents question whether it does anything beyond building unfounded confidence. To bring rigorous evidence to this debate, we designed a randomised field experiment amongst school children served by a major non-governmental organisation in rural India. The findings reveal that the design thinking training did not just increase confidence: it also significantly increased ideational fluency and elaboration in a divergent thinking task, although the originality and flexibility of the generated ideas was on average lower in the treatment group than the control group. We also find that the increase in confidence occurred primarily among female students, whereas the increase in ideational fluency and elaboration occurred for both genders in our study.


Fish respond to habitat and demographic factors that affect growth and survival through migration, reproduction and mortality. However, the importance of migration rates on fish population dynamics and the effects of habitat and demographic factors on movement are not well understood. We used mark-recapture to determine population dynamics (recruitment, mortality, immigration and emigration) of the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus inhabiting semi-isolated ponds in a New Jersey salt marsh over the spring and summer of 2002. We tested the effects of marsh pond flood frequency, water temperature and fish density on mummichog emigration from marsh ponds. Results show that during the April to July study period, monthly emigration rates averaged 30% and tended to decline from spring to summer in most ponds. Recruitment and immigration were negligible after May and June, respectively. Increasing mortality and decreasing emigration and immigration over the study period suggested that there was a shift in the importance of movement in regulating mummichog population size in marsh ponds. The mean rate of emigration showed a significant negative relation- ship with the frequency of flooding in a pond. Neither mummichog density nor water temperature was strongly correlated with emigration rate. Our finding of lower emigration from ponds with higher flooding frequency suggests that frequent pond flooding indirectly triggers stationary behaviour in mummichogs because of enhanced water quality and food abundance.


This case study focuses on extending research knowledge about the politics of public management policymaking in Spain. The case involves legislating to change politically sensitive features of the central government and administration. The study explains such analytically significant event conditions as: an agenda-setting process that made a policy issue of the formal, structural attributes of state administration, an alternative-specification process that proceeded without complication, and a decisional process that lasted five years and in which political leaders' positions on the issue flip-flopped. Broadly speaking, the case analysis demonstrates that when policy proposals take the form of legislation, the politics of public management policymaking in Spain are highly influenced by political stream factors, themselves reflecting Spain's parliamentary form of government and relations between statewide and regional political parties.


In November 1993, Professor Alexei Yablokov, who at the time was the Science Advisor to Russian President Boris
Yeltsin, stood on a podium in Galveston, Tex., and delivered a speech to the Society for Marine Mammalogy's biennial conference, the premier international event in the field of marine mammal science. Addressing the 1,500 scientists present, he made what amounted to a national confession: that, beginning in 1948, the U.S.S.R. had begun a huge campaign of illegal whaling. Despite being a signatory to the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (signed in Washington, D.C., just 2 years before in 1946), the Soviets set out to pillage the world's ocean


Intelligence is one of the main features proposed to differ substantially between humans and other animals. Therefore, crucial for understanding human evolution is knowledge of the evolution of human intelligence. Complex social interactions may have selected for advanced cognitive capacities in primates and humans. One hallmark of human intelligence is Theory of Mind, the capacity to understand the mental states of others. Although non-human primates may not exhibit full-blown Theory of Mind, they may possess capacities required for or underlying Theory of Mind. One important capacity is Visual Perspective Taking, the ability to understand what other individuals can see. Although this capacity is found in apes, its presence in monkeys is much debated. In this thesis I study whether VPT or its prerequisites are present in monkey species and whether these capacities are employed in their natural behavioural strategies. When addressing primate capacities, I find with a new paradigm evidence for understanding the target of attention, a VPT prerequisite, in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Male macaques showed elevated interest in pictured social scenes that show dominance interactions inconsistent with the actual dominance hierarchy in their group than in those showing the actual hierarchy. Since the only difference between these pictures is the looking direction, indicating the object of attention, we can conclude that male long-tailed macaques understand the object of attention of conspecifics. An experimental test of VPT in long-tailed macaques shows that they understand what a conspecific can see in a competitive situation. Not only do they prefer the food item that is invisible for their competitor when they expect to obtain only one of two food items, they also adopt an alternative strategy of approaching the visible food first when they expect to obtain both food items before their competitor does. Therefore, long-tailed macaques, a monkey species, possess not only a precursor, but also real VPT. The social use of VPT is addressed in sexual behaviour, since monkeys may tactically hide sexual behaviour from group members. Indeed, rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and long-tailed macaques preferentially copulate in absence of bystanders. Next to the alpha male, also other male and female bystanders are avoided. However, there is no indication that the separation of a male and female from potentially disruptive bystanders is coordinated. Moreover, macaques do not hide their sexual behaviour behind opaque screens. Instead, they exploit the peripheral positions of non-alpha males by enlarging their distance from potentially disruptive bystanders before they engage in sexual behaviour. Although macaques tactically adjust their sexual behaviour to the presence of others employing relatively simple cognitive capacities, they do not use VPT to achieve this. In conclusion, monkeys, similar to apes, posses a precursor to Theory of Mind, namely VPT. I show that VPT is used in a relatively simple competitive situation, but not when more individuals are involved during sexual behaviour. Therefore, I find no support for the hypothesis that social complexity enhances the use of this capacity.


Fragmentary long bone material from fossil Carnivora is rarely considered to support palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Here, we use morphometry of the radius in extant carnivorans of the dog family (Canidae) to reconstruct the palaeobiology of extinct canids from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania (Bed I and II) and Koobi Fora, Kenya. We use radius morphometrics to predict adaptation to prey size and introduce a new method for quantifying canid habitat adaptations based on the geographic distributions of the extant species sampled. Linear Discriminant Function Analyses (DFA) and cluster neighbour-joining algorithms are employed to investigate radial morphometrics as described by 29 linear measurements. Results of our analyses suggest that a phylogenetic signal is present in radial morphometrics, even if it does not allow us to accurately discriminate among genera. A binary prey size categorisation of "small-medium" versus "large" prey can be more accurately predicted than a habitat categorisation scheme (Open, Mixed, Closed). The East African fossil specimens examined show morphometric affinities with the golden jackal (Canis aureus) and coyote (Canis latrans) and are likely attributable to the genus Canis. Fragmentary fossil specimens from Olduvai Gorge are predicted as habitat generalists (Open for Bed I and Mixed for Bed II) adapted for hunting small-medium prey, whereas the specimen from Koobi Fora was predicted as inhabiting mixed habitats and adapted for killing large prey. This study supports the inclusion of fossil Canidae in palaeoecological analyses attempting to clarify the palaeoenvironment of early hominin fossil sites.


Abstract Background: Prior investigations have documented disparities in the supply side of Maryland's Medical Marijuana program. Initially a disproportionate share of licenses to cultivate and distribute medical marijuana were awarded to Non-Hispanic White owned businesses. The state has implemented measures to ameliorate the inequity by prioritizing license awards to qualified minority owned businesses. Objectives: The objective of this study is to examine the racial and income characteristics of communities where licensed dispensaries are located. We quantify the racial and income characteristics of communities where Maryland medical cannabis dispensaries are located and explore whether Maryland medical marijuana dispensaries disproportionately locate in high-income, majority-White zip codes. Method: Using data from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission and the American Communities Survey, we create geocodes for each of the operating dispensaries as of December 2019. We examine the distribution of medical cannabis dispensaries by zip code level household income and zip code level racial distribution. The data set encompasses 85 operating cannabis dispensaries in Maryland and 6.1 million Marylanders distributed across 468 zip codes in 2018–2019. Results: The analysis indicates that dispensaries are concentrated in zip codes whose residents are racially diverse, and with higher concentrations of retail establishments. Conclusion: Community level racial or income disparities in access to medical cannabis were not observed in Maryland. Access to medical cannabis, based on ability to pay out of pocket for the product, may be uneven.


Since the commissioning of the fifth, largest telescope (28 m diameter) in December 2012, H.E.S.S. II is the only hybrid array of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes operating in the energy range ~ 20 GeV to ~ 100 TeV. The last years have seen a tremendous effort in the design, implementation and optimization of analysis techniques suitable for monoscopic & stereoscopic events. At the same time, a complete redesign of the acquisition scheme resulted in a very significant speed-up of repointing, allowing the big telescope to be on target just ~ 20 s after receiving a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) alert notification. With its deep sensitivity, broad energy range, and fast reaction time, H.E.S.S. II provides an unprecedented high-quality view of the Universe at the highest energies, in a multi-wavelength and multi-messenger approach which is currently based on agreements many collaborations including in particular Fermi, IceCube, ANTARES and VIRGO/LIGO.In the last years, we conducted deep observations of several galactic regions of primordial importance, among them are the Galactic Center region and its halo (particularly relevant for dark matter searches), the Crab Nebula, the supernova remnant RXJ 1713.7-3946, the Vela pulsar and several binary systems such as LS 5039 and PSR B1259-63. Outside the Milky Way, the blazars PKS 2155-304 and PG 1553+113 have been extensively monitored, and H.E.S.S.-II forms part of a multi-wavelength campaign of the flaring activity of Mrk 501 in 2014.Highlights of these observations with H.E.S.S.-II have been presented and discussed at the conference. Moreover, after ten years of H.E.S.S. phase I observations, we are currently preparing a Legacy Release of the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey. A special edition of Astronomy & Astrophysics is currently under preparation, and will contain many important legacy results from H.E.S.S.-I. Major results from this very deep scan of the MilkyWay performed with H.E.S.S.-I, including among others spectacular findings from the Large Magellanic Cloud, have been presented.


Abstract BACKGROUND: Elevated serum cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) is observed in some cervical cancers (CCs). Is the correlation of CA-125 with the presence of nodal events useful in predicting early metastasis to the lymph nodes? METHODS: The study included 45 patients with CC FIGO (2009) stages IA1-IIA1 and known preoperative CA-125 concentration, surgery treated (05.2011-05.2014). Investigated pretreatment: age (pre-, postmenopausal), histological type, grade, confounding factors - prior cone biopsy, ovarian cyst, endometriosis, liver or colon pathology, concomitant malignancy. LN metastases (LNM) were defined as macro (MAC, >2mm) and/or micrometastases (mic, 0.2 - 2 mm), and LVLND as mic or/and ITC (single CC cells clusters) in LNs. Ultrastaging of all LNs (sentinel and non-sentinel, 4 μm thick slices/150 μm intervals) was performed with hematoxylin and eosin staining and with immunohistochemistry (IHC - AE1/AE3 cytokeratin antibodies). Non-parametrical analysis and receiver operating curve analysis were used to determine correlation between CA-125 and LNM including LVLND. RESULTS: The median age was 55 (23-71). 806 LNs were extracted. LNM was found in 12, LVLND in 6 patients. LNM but not LVLND was correlated with higher grade (G2-G3, p<0.05). LVLND was positively correlated with premenopausal age (p<0.05) but not with tumor histology or grade. Liver disease only was found to influence CA-125 levels (p=0.064). There were no differences within CA-125 concentration among LVLND, LNM, and node-negative patients groups, however a trend was found between higher CA-125 and lower LVLND risk. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of CA-125 may be less likely due to LVLND than to LN positivity. Grade is an important feature in prediction of LNM but not LVLND. CA-125 level was found to be not predictive of LNM nor LVLND, as confirmed by ultrastaging.


In this paper, we investigate the seasonal and spatial variability of stratification on the Siberian shelves with a case study from the Laptev Sea based on shipboard hydrographic measurements, year-round oceanographic mooring records from 2013 to 2014 and chemical tracer-based water mass analyses. In summer 2013, weak onshore-directed winds caused spreading of riverine waters throughout much of the eastern and central shelf. In contrast, strong southerly winds in summer 2014 diverted much of the freshwater to the northeast, which resulted in 50% less river water and significantly weaker stratification on the central shelf compared with the previous year. Our year-long records additionally emphasize the regional differences in water column structure and stratification, where the northwest location was well-mixed for 6 months and the central and northeast locations remained stratified into spring due to the lower initial surface salinities of the river-influenced water. A 26 year record of ocean reanalysis highlights the region's interannual variability of stratification and its dependence on winds and sea ice. Prior the mid-2000s, river runoff to the perennially ice-covered central Laptev Sea shelf experienced little surface forcing and river water was maintained on the shelf. The transition toward less summer sea ice after the mid-2000s increased the ROFI's (region of freshwater influence) exposure to summer winds. This greatly enhanced the variability in mixed layer depth, resulting in several years with well-mixed water columns as opposed to the often year-round shallow mixed layers before. The extent of the Lena River plume is critical for the region since it modulates nutrient fluxes and primary production, and further controls intermediate heat storage induced by lateral density gradients, which has implications for autumnal freeze-up and the eastern Arctic sea ice volume. MAIN POINTS 1. CTD surveys and moorings highlight the regional and temporal variations in water column stratification on the Laptev Sea shelf. 2. Summer winds increasingly control the extent of the region of freshwater influence under decreasing sea ice. 3. Further reductions in sea ice increases surface warming, heat storage, and the interannual variability in mixed layer depth.


Epidemic routing
(Flooding) is considered as a simple routing protocol for opportunistic
networks where the participants attempt to transmit whatever information they
have to everyone who does not already have that information. However, it is
plagued with disadvantages of resource scarcity as it exerts stress on
available bandwidth as well as storage capacity of the devices in the network.
Cognitive radio (CR) is one of the emerging technologies that can improve the
bandwidth utilization by smart allocation of spectrum radio bands. Ideally
speaking, a spectrum-aware cognitive radio is able to sense the local spectrum
usage and adapt its own radio parameters accordingly. In this study, we have
performed experiments to analyze the gains achieved by flooding protocol using
cognitive radios of varying capabilities in opportunistic networks. We have
performed experiments on three opportunistic networks obtained from real-life
traces from different environments and presented results showing variance in
delivery efficiency as well as cost incurred on those scenarios. Our results
show that performance of flooding can be significantly improved using CRs in
bandwidth-scarce environments; however, the improvement is not uniform with the
increase in a number of available bands.


Machine reading using differentiable reasoning models has recently shown remarkable progress. In this context, End-to-End trainable Memory Networks (MemN2N) have demonstrated promising performance on simple natural language based reasoning tasks such as factual reasoning and basic deduction. However, other tasks, namely multi-fact question-answering, positional reasoning or dialog related tasks, remain challenging particularly due to the necessity of more complex interactions between the memory and controller modules composing this family of models. In this paper, we introduce a novel end-to-end memory access regulation mechanism inspired by the current progress on the connection short-cutting principle in the field of computer vision. Concretely, we develop a Gated End-to-End trainable Memory Network architecture (GMemN2N). From the machine learning perspective, this new capability is learned in an end-to-end fashion without the use of any additional supervision signal which is, as far as our knowledge goes, the first of its kind. Our experiments show significant improvements on the most challenging tasks in the 20 bAbI dataset, without the use of any domain knowledge. Then, we show improvements on the Dialog bAbI tasks including the real human-bot conversion-based Dialog State Tracking Challenge (DSTC-2) dataset. On these two datasets, our model sets the new state of the art.


We have developed a Virtual Museum with realtime 3DCG capable of exhibiting arbitrary planar artifacts such as paintings which have been specified by a user. The pictures are collected from the Internet sites such as Wikimedia Commons by giving bookmarks by the user. The artifact images are displayed in its life size automatically aligned on the wall of the museum with picture frames and generated captions. This process is done based on metadata extracted using a technique called Web scraping to extract necessary information from the target Web sites. The museum space is realistically modeled with high resolution and sophisticated illumination where the user can walk through in the space. The system enables the users to create their own personalized museums with their favorite pictures exhibited in the realistic way.


The findings from a detailed study of human resource management (HRM) practitioners in the metals mining industry indicate strong support for the view that significant changes to workplace practices and the management of human resources have taken place in the mining sector in recent years and that these changes have led to high organisational productivity and the evolution of workplace and organisational cultures amenable to productive change. The results reveal that a key element of the change process has been the introduction and development of workplace agreements, and this industrial regime has been instrumental in facilitating the type of workplace reform which is beneficial to the achievement of organisational goals and objectives. A flow-on effect of this workplace reform has been the diminution in importance of the traditional industrial relations component in the HR role, and the trend towards the decentralisation of some of the traditional HR functions to line managers. However, evidence of a major shift in the importance of HR managers and comprehensive moves to integrate HRM strategically is not overwhelming, although most HR practitioners surveyed agreed that the status and influence of HR professionals have generally increased over recent years. The results of this study raise important questions about the positioning of HRM as a strategic element in organisational and business planning and activities, and its role within management systems which reflect a largely unitarist interpretation of organisational life.


In order to exploit the full multiplexing gain of multi-antenna multi-user downlink schemes, accurate channel state information at the transmitter (i.e., at the base station) is required. We consider the design of a closed-loop channel state information feedback scheme, where user terminals feed back their channel state information simultaneously to a multi-antenna base station. The underlying information theoretic problem consists of lossy source-channel coding of multiple independent analog sources (i.e., the users' channel coefficients) over a Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output multi-access channel (MIMO-MAC). Unlike the classical source-channel coding setting, this application requires low latency, otherwise the channel state information would be outdated. Hence, source-channel codewords can span only a single fading state of the uplink (feedback) channel. Furthermore, the transmitters are ignorant of the realization of the uplink channel coefficients. In this scenario, the scaling of the maximum of the estimated downlink channel mean-square errors with the SNR dominates the performance of the multiuser downlink. This scaling is described by the distortion SNR exponent, previously introduced in a single-user MIMO setting. This paper analyzes the max-min distortion SNR exponent of the MIMO-MAC for both separated source-channel coding, and a particular hybrid digital-analog joint source-channel coding scheme. For the case of single-antenna users, we prove that the distortion SNR exponent of separated source-channel coding can be achieved by the concatenation of scalar quantization and uncoded quadrature-amplitude modulation (QAM) transmission, with lattice decoding at the base-station receiver. The resulting scheme has very low encoding latency (only a few symbols of the uplink slot) and generally outperforms currently proposed channel state feedback schemes based on analog unquantized transmission or vector quantization with fixed codebooks.


The recently-developed optimized binary compressive detection (OB-CD) strategy has been shown to be capable of using Raman spectral signatures to rapidly classify and quantify liquid samples and to image solid samples. Here we demonstrate that OB-CD can also be used to quantitatively separate Raman and fluorescence features, and thus facilitate Raman-based chemical analyses in the presence of fluorescence background. More specifically, we describe a general strategy for fitting and suppressing fluorescence background using OB-CD filters trained on third-degree Bernstein polynomials. We present results that demonstrate the utility of this strategy by comparing classification and quantitation results obtained from liquids and powdered mixtures, both with and without fluorescence. Our results demonstrate high-speed Raman-based quantitation in the presence of moderate fluorescence. Moreover, we show that this OB-CD based method is effective in suppressing fluorescence of variable shape, as well as fluorescence that changes during the measurement process, as a result of photobleaching.


We report three cases of children with visceral larva migrans confirmed by enzyme-linked immu-nosorbent assay (ELISA), in Goiânia, Pulmonary interstitial infiltrates with dry cough and peripheral eosinophilia characterised the first case. Clinical and laboratorial finding in the second case included dry cougn, pulmonary infiltrates, peripheral eosinophilia and hypergammaglobulinaemia. A persistent eosino-philia, between 1987-1989, without apparent cause led to the confirmation of parasite infection in the third case.


Heliconius warning colour is a good example of a genetic system shaped by strong selection. The genetics of colour patterns in interracial hybrid zones within both H. erato and H. melpomene was investigated. Within each species, the loci controlling these pattern differences are mostly homologous to those known from other races, but have somewhat different phenotypic effects. The precise genetic control varies geographically, even for nearly identical colour patterns. Independent evolution of the same pattern is unlikely; instead evolution of the genetic system is hypothesized to have occurred while stabilizing selection preserved the pattern itself. Single genes often control more than one pattern element. This apparent pleiotropy is in part due to tightly linked loci within 'supergenes': rare recombinants (possibly mutants) in genes controlling 'dennis' and 'ray' patterns were found in both species. However, supergenes, which are likely in polymorphic Batesian mimicry, are not expected to accumulate in Müllerian mimics because polymorphisms, which would favour their evolution, are too transient. The existence of supergenes in Heliconius suggests that major switch genes are gradually built up within a locus rather than evolving wholly by macromutation or by selection for tighter linkage of mimetic genes. This gradual evolution at a single locus might be necessitated by a lack of other sites that can control warning patterns. These genes are strongly epistatic, and heterozygotes and hybrid homozygotes have 'fuzzier' (less sharply defined) and more variable patterns than the pure races. The genetic system controlling colour pattern in Heliconius is clearly canalized and coadapted to produce efficient warning signals.


Autophagy (macroautophagy) is a self-degradative physiological mechanism observed in insufficiently nourished or injured cells and often activated to meet energy requirements or for cleaning up damaged organelles. Cancer cells, which are known to require more energy and nutrients than benign counterparts, may eventually take advantage of autophagy for survival. This special issue of this journal provides an updated view on the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of cancer. The expert authors who have been invited to help with this task will describe the molecular mechanisms of autophagy with a special focus on tumor cells biology, dealing with those natural compounds which have potential anticancer activity because of being known to induce or inhibit autophagy.

The review entitled "Tumor Suppression and Promotion by Autophagy" addresses the issue of how autophagy affects tumorigenesis. It is apparent from several studies that tumor suppressor genes that negatively regulate mTOR, such as PTEN, AMPK, LKB1, and TSC1/2, stimulate autophagy. Conversely, oncogenes that activate mTOR, such as class I PI3K, Ras, Rheb, and AKT, inhibit autophagy. All together this suggests that autophagy is a tumor suppressor mechanism. Nevertheless, autophagy also functions as a cytoprotective mechanism under stress conditions, including hypoxia and nutrient starvation. These phenomena may promote tumor growth and induce resistance to chemotherapy in established tumors.

Another review entitled "The Importance of Autophagy Regulation in Breast Cancer Development and Treatment" summarizes the current knowledge on autophagy regulation in breast cancer, describing up-to-date anticancer strategies correlated with autophagy. During breast cancer development autophagy exerts different effects at cancer initiation and progression due to superimposition of signaling pathways of autophagy and carcinogenesis. Inhibition of autophagy may enhance the effectiveness of currently used anticancer drugs and other therapies (like radiotherapy). However, the promotion of autophagy can also induce death and, hence, elimination of cancer cells and reduction of tumor size. Thus, in the development of cancer, autophagy is regarded as a double-edged sword.

The review paper entitled "Calcium Homeostasis and ER Stress in Control of Autophagy in Cancer Cells" points to calcium ion homeostasis and starvation as the major factors influencing autophagy in tumors. Several Ca2+ channels like voltage-gated T- and L-type channels, IP3 receptors, or CRAC are involved in autophagy regulation as well as glucose transporters, mainly from GLUT family, which are often upregulated in cancer. Signals from both Ca2+ perturbations and glucose transport blockage might be integrated at UPR and ER stress activation. Thus modulation of autophagy might be a promising anticancer therapy. However, whether inhibition or activation of autophagy leads to tumor cell death or not appears to be a context-dependent matter.

The review entitled "Roles of Autophagy Induced by Natural Compounds in Prostate Cancer" focuses on prostate cancer (PCa), one of the most common cancers in aged men. Natural compounds showing low toxicity to benign tissue associated with specific anticancer effects at physiological levels in vivo are receiving increasing attention for prevention and/or treatment of PCa. Current evidence shows that some natural compounds may exert their action by modulating autophagy in PCa cells. Since mTOR activity can be directly or indirectly modulated by a number of upstream signaling pathways, it is mandatory to uncover the mechanisms through which these natural compounds inhibit the Akt/mTOR pathway and regulate the cell fate.

The review "Elaborating the Role of Natural Products-Induced Autophagy in Cancer Treatment: Achievements and Artifacts in the State of the Art" illustrates how the tumor suppressive action of natural products-induced autophagy may lead to cell senescence and apoptosis-independent cell death, also inducing complement apoptotic cell death by robust target-specific mechanism. Technicalities at detecting autophagy may affect the quality of the data; therefore it is suggested that rational criteria should be set up for monitoring natural products-induced autophagy in cancer cells. The action of autophagy-inducing natural products should be highlighted in future studies because it could become clinically relevant.

The paper entitled "Nucleofection of Rat Pheochromocytoma PC-12 Cells with Human Mutated Beta-Amyloid Precursor Protein Gene (APP-sw) Leads to Reduced Viability, Autophagy-Like Process, and Increased Expression and Secretion of Beta Amyloid" describes observations obtained from tumor pheochromocytoma PC-12 cells. These cells (immune to apoptosis) became sensitive to cell death following human GFP vector + APP-sw gene expression. Reduced cell viability was accompanied by higher expression of Aβ 1–16 and elevated secretion of Aβ 1–40. At the ultrastructural level autophagy-like process was demonstrated to occur in APP-sw-nucleofected cells with numerous autophagosomes and multivesicular bodies but without autolysosomes. Summing up, human APP-sw gene is harmful to PC-12 cells and cells are additionally driven to incomplete autophagy-like process.

In the following paper entitled "Combined Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and Beclin1 Autophagic Protein Expression Analysis Identifies Different Clinical Presentations, Responses to Chemo- and Radiotherapy, and Prognosis in Glioblastoma" the authors investigated the expression of EGFR and Beclin1 in 117 glioblastoma undergoing postoperative chemo- or radiotherapy. Clinical cases are classified according to the level of expression of EGFR and Beclin1 and compared with clinical data. It is suggested that low expression of EGFR associated with high expression of Beclin1 could be a useful biomarker for the identification of a patient subgroup with relatively favorable clinical presentations and prognosis. This information supports the rationale for possible combined EGFR/Beclin1-targeted therapies.

Finally, the article "Gene Network Exploration of Crosstalk between Apoptosis and Autophagy in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia" renders a graphical illustration of the most relevant gene networks for the exploration of functional links and potential coordinated regulations of gene expression related to apoptosis and autophagy in CML. In the CML-specific network, the link between E2F3 and AKT3 demonstrated a possible cell response to oncogenic stress which is active during the proliferation of hematopoietic cells. It is important to note that E2F3 and AKT3 were both the predicted targets of miR-15, whose deletion was proved to be associated with cancer promotion. The central role of E2F2 was further confirmed by the normal-specific transcription factor regulatory signature network. In the normal-specific miRNA regulatory signature network, the apoptotic balance was strengthened by the coregulation of BAK1 and BCL2 by miRNAs. As a normal-specific composite regulatory signature, the E2F2-BAK1-PIK3R5 motif may constitute the core mechanism controlling cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and autophagy. This hypothesis is worth further investigations in the future.

Overall, the current issue of this journal highlights the contribution of autophagy in tumorigenesis and describes which natural compounds are more promising in the future for chemoprevention and anticancer therapy on the basis of their ability to modulate autophagy.

Arkadiusz Orzechowski

Saverio Bettuzzi

Patrycja Pawlikowska

Beata Pająk


The objective of the present study was to determine the bacterial microbiota of shrimp cinnamon, continental kind of frequent occurrence. The shrimps were collected on the banks of the Rio São Francisco in the city of Petrolina-PE and streaked in Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA) and MacConkey agar (MC) and incubated at 27oC. The reading of the plates was performed in up to 48 hours, and bacterial agents were identified. Twenty six 26 isolates were found being: Enterobacter spp. (n=7), Klebsiella spp. (n=4), Staphylococcus spp. (n=4), Acinetobacter spp. (n=3), Streptococcus spp. (n=2), Alcaligenes spp. (n=2), Shigella spp. (n=1), Escherichia coli (n=1), Enterococcus spp. (n=1), and Pseudomonas spp. (n=1). Antimicrobial activity was determined by the disk diffusion Kirby-Bauer test. Of the isolates 92.3% were sensible to enrofloxacin , 88.4% to tetracycline, 84.6% to ceftriaxone , 84.6% to sulfazotrim, 76.9% to streptomycin, 65.3% to gentamicin, 57.6% to nalidixic acid, 57.6% to erythromycin, 53.8% to ampicillin, 50% to amoxacillin, 46.1% to nitrofurantoin, 42.3% to neomycin and 38.4% to lincomycin. The more sensible bacterial genus was Streptococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. the least sensitive. This study showed that bacteria with pathogenic potential for man in specie M. amazonicum.


Objective To investigate the impact of early oral beta blockade in patients presenting with acute non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Methods We retrospectively identified 890 consecutive patients presenting with NSTEMI to a single UK centre from 2012 to 2014. Included patients all received standardised antiplatelet therapy plus low-dose oral bisoprolol (1.25–2.5 mg) within 4 h (mean 2.2±1.36; 'Early Group') or within 5–24 h (mean 15.4±5.7; 'Late Group') of presentation. Patients were followed up for the duration of hospital stay with the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE—defined as ventricular arrhythmia, cardiac death or repeat infarction) set as the primary outcome. Multivariate logistic regression models analysed early versus late bisoprolol administration and adjusted for potential confounders. Results 399 patients were included. Of the patient parameters, only the GRACE score was significantly different between the early (n=99, GRACE 164.5±29.6) and late (n=300, GRACE 156.7±31.4) groups (p=0.033). The early group had significantly fewer ventricular arrhythmias (1 vs 20, p=0.034), cardiac deaths (0 vs 13, p=0.044) and consequently MACE (1 vs 27, p=0.005) than the late group. After adjusting for the confounders of pulse, blood pressure, smoking and creatinine, logistic regression analysis identified early bisoprolol administration as protective for ventricular arrhythmia (p=0.038, OR 0.114, CI 0.015 to 0.885) and MACE (p=0.011, OR 0.064, CI 0.008 to 0.527). There was one episode of symptomatic bradycardia in the late group. Conclusions This study suggests that low-dose oral bisoprolol administered to patients with NSTEMI within 4 h of admission may be protective and lead to reduced inpatient MACE.


Background: Studies have shown that obesity is associated with a worse breast cancer prognosis. Besides the effect of different stages of diagnosis and co-morbidities, recent data from our published in vitro and retrospective studies suggests that this phenomenon may occur because the obese state promotes a more aggressive cancer phenotype through the cyclooxygenase (COX-2) pathway and its production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The metabolization of omega-3 fatty acids decreases the production of PGE2, and have been shown to have potential benefit to cancer patients by decreasing inflammation-related signaling. Our previous clinical trial showed mixed results in the effect of omega-3 PUFA supplements on PGE2 production in post-menopausal obese women. This led us to the hypothesis that the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 PUFAs have differential effects on cell types within the tumor microenvironment, impacting cancer cell phenotype. Approach:In vitro experiments, including wound-healing assays to determine motility, and clonogenic assays to determine overall survival, were performed to determine if exposure to higher ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids lead to a more aggressive cancer phenotype. MCF-7 breast cancer cells were treated with the following fatty acid ratios of omega-6 (arachidonic acid (AA)) to omega-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)): 46:1, 20:1, 10:1, and 1.3:1. The wound-healing assays showed greater motility with higher ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids conditions and the clonogenic assays showed greater survival with the higher ratios. Conclusion: These data indicate that lowering ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids may lessen the aggressiveness of breast cancer cells and be beneficial to some patients. Studies are on-going to investigate the impact of PUFA ratios on cancer cell phenotype directly, including proliferation and invasion, as well as the indirect effects from modulation of the other cells within the tumor microenvironment, including the macrophages and adipocytes. Citation Format: Winikka L, Quach D, Harlow B, Brenner A, Munoz N, Tiziani S, deGraffenried L. The ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 PUFAs impact cancer cell phenotype in the tumor microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-03-12.


The use of computational methods in carbene chemistry has a long‐standing tradition. Indeed, the field has come a long way since the first ab initio calculations on methylene. Computations now routinely accompany most experimental studies, either to validate the obtained results or to help design appropriate experiments. Advances in computational carbene chemistry within the last decade are covered in this text, encompassing a plethora of studies on alkyl‐, aryl‐, halo‐, and heterocarbenes (N, P, O, S) as well as on persistent triplet carbenes. Moreover, the conceptual advancements in the fields of theoretical chemistry and computing technology have enabled researchers to conduct intricate ab initio studies. The application of leading‐edge theory to multireference problems, high‐accuracy thermochemical evaluations, atom tunneling, and the description of bonding is thoroughly reviewed. In addition, general recommendations for the choice of an appropriate method for a specific computational problem are given. Practitioners of the art are likely to discover new computational approaches in carbene chemistry applied to various examples from the current literature. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


buzzer, seem only to work when the emotional problems in the child are secondary to the shame and embarrassment of the wetting itself. Psycho-dynamics is not a mysterious or necessarily foul piece of theorizing. Someone, like myself, who is prepared to use physical or psycho-therapeutic methods, finds that where the wetting is used as part of the emotional disorder-for example, as an aggressive weapon against an over-controlling mother-physical methods of treatment almost always fail. Presumably the child sees these methods as only further assaults on it, this time by a doctor who is allying himself with the punitive parent. I make no apology for trying to be controversial in criticizing those who take a mechanistic view of psychiatry. One tires of the division of a difficult subject into "'goodies" and " baddies," by, on the one hand, the over-organic types of theoreticians and, on the other, the almost religiously psycho-dynamic school. Let us have accurate diagnosis. Let psychiatry be a subject in its own right and not an extension of pseudophysiology.-I am, etc.,


Despite the critical need to know how consumers' perceptions of Web sites influence their behavior, and especially their intention to revisit or purchase, there is no extant general measure for evaluating Web sites and no consensus on what such an instrument should measure. The authors used the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Technology Acceptance Model to develop the WebQual instrument for consumer evaluation of Web sites. They refined it through a literature review and interviews with Web designers and users, and tested it using four samples of Web consumers. WebQual includes 12 dimensions (informational fit-to-task, tailored information, trust, response time, ease of understanding, intuitive operations, visual appeal, innovativeness, emotional appeal, consistent image, on-line completeness, relative advantage) and shows strong measurement validity. It is a highly validated instrument that can provide both wide- and fine-grained measurements of organizational Web sites.


IntroductionReport cards or scorecards typically reflect one particular sector along the care continuum; however, stroke patients typically require acute care, inpatient rehabilitation and community care highlighting the need to link data sources to demonstrate the interdependencies between and across sectors.
Objectives and Approach1) Identify stroke best practice indicators from across the care continuum; 2) develop a one page report card that reports on the quality of the stroke system of care through data linkage and 3) visually impactful knowledge translation tool. The indicators cover five health care sectors starting with pre-hospital stroke symptom onset, then to management of the acute event, to institutional and community-based rehabilitative care, reintegration into the community and secondary prevention. The report card is a knowledge translation tool that identifies gaps in best practice, provides achievable benchmarks of regional and provincial stroke system performance to drive system change.
ResultsUsing data linkage techniques, seven administrative datasets are used to populate the 20 indicators in the annual Ontario stroke report card. Indicator performance was trended by comparing the previous 3 years' results to the most recent year of data. Fifteen of 17 indicators improved (11 statistically significant) compared to the previous three years and 2 indicators did not change / declined. Performance benchmarks were calculated using Achievable Benchmarks of Care™ methodology and 14 of 16 performance benchmarks improved since 2014/15. There was wide variation across indicators with only 4 indicators showing a reduction in regional variation. The Ontario stroke report card can be viewed at https://www.ices.on.ca/Publications/Atlases-and-Reports/2017/Stroke-Report-Cards.
Conclusion/ImplicationsThe Ontario stroke report card spans the stroke care continuum, provides a snapshot of Ontario's stroke system performance. Data linkage is essential for a system-wide opportunity to evaluate and influence system performance. This cross-continuum approach and report card format could be applied to other health related conditions.


In minimal invasive cardiac surgery (MICS), the surgeon is missing haptic feedback of the guide wire for navigation through the vessels. A wide range of guide wires with various properties and performance characteristics are available to reduce the risk of complications during the intervention. This paper presents a force sensing guide wire for cardiac catheterization, which provides the surgeon a haptic feedback on the guide wire tip. Three conventional wires for the recanalization of chronic total coronary occlusions (CTO) are investigated and general design requirements for the force sensing guide wire are determined. A comparison of the developed with the conventional guide wires concerning the tip force is conducted. The measured tip force of the force sensing guide wire is 50 mN, which is slightly lower than two of the compared conventional wires. As a result, the guide wire offers a good compromise between a soft, low-traumatic and hard guide wire tip.


With increasing deployment of multi-agent and distributed systems, there is an increasing need for failure diagnosis systems. While successfully tackling key challenges in multi-agent settings, model-based diagnosis has left open the diagnosis of coordination failures, where failures often lie in the boundaries between agents, and thus the inputs to the model--with which the diagnoser simulates the system to detect discrepancies--are not known. However, it is possible to diagnose such failures using a model of the coordination between agents. This paper formalizes model-based coordination diagnosis, using two coordination primitives (concurrence and mutual exclusion). We define the consistency-based and abductive diagnosis problems within this formalization, and show that both are NP-Hard by mapping them to other known problems.


Purpose: Literature investigating barriers to cataract surgery is mostly done from the patient's point of view. However, many medical decisions are jointly taken by household members, especially in developing countries such as India. We investigated from the household head's (or representative's) perspective, households' view on those not willing to undergo cataract surgery along with the economic and social factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of four randomly selected village clusters in rural areas of Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, was conducted to elicit the willingness to pay for cataract surgery by presenting "scenarios" that included having or not having free surgery available. The presentation of scenarios allowed the identification of respondents who were unwilling to undergo surgery. Logistic regression was used to estimate relationships between economic and social factors and unwillingness to undergo cataract surgery. Results: Of the 1271 respondents, 49 (3.85%) were not willing to undergo surgery if they or their family members have cataract even if free surgery were available. In the regression results, those with good understanding of cataract and its treatment were less likely to be unwilling to undergo cataract surgery. Those not reporting household income were more likely to be unwilling to undergo cataract surgery. Conclusions: As a good understanding of cataract was an important predictor of willingness to undergo cataract surgery, health education on cataract and its intervention can improve uptake.


This study investigates the important role of attendant factors, such as road traffic victims' access to trauma centres, the robustness of health infrastructure, and the responsiveness of police and emergency services in the incidence of Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) during the pandemic-induced COVID-19 lockdowns. The differential effects of the first and second waves of the pandemic concerning perceived health risk and legal restrictions provide us with a natural experiment that helps us differentiate between the impact of attendant factors and the standard relationship between mobility and Road Traffic Injuries. The authors use the auto-regressive recurrent neural network method on two population levels–Tamil Nadu (TN), a predominantly rural state, and Chennai, the most significant metropolitan city of the state, to draw causal inference through counterfactual predictions on daily counts of road traffic deaths and Road Traffic Injuries. During the first wave of the pandemic, which was less severe than the second wave, the traffic flow was correlated to Road Traffic Death/Road Traffic Injury. In the second wave's partial and post lockdown phases, an unprecedented fall of over 70% in Road Traffic Injury—Grievous as against Road Traffic Injury—Minor was recorded. Attendant factors, such as the ability of the victim to approach relief centres, the capability of health and other allied infrastructures, transportation and medical treatment of road traffic crash victims, and minimal access to other emergency services, including police, assumed greater significance than overall traffic flow in the incidence of Road Traffic Injury in the more severe second wave. These findings highlight the significant role these attendant factors play in producing the discrepancy between the actual road traffic incident rate and the officially registered rate. Thus, our study enables practitioners to observe the mobility-adjusted actual incidence rate devoid of factors related to reporting and registration of accidents.


Radiocarbon is produced in situ in ice by nuclear spallations of oxygen by cosmic ray neutrons. As the firn accumulates, it acquires a predictable concentration of in situ14C, inversely proportional to the rate of accumulation. Most of this production occurs when the amount of overlying ice is less than (2–3) Λ, where Λ is the absorption mean free path for cosmic radiation in ice, about 150 g · cm−2, i.e. within the top 10 m. In most accumulation areas, this is firn. In situ produced 14C is added to the firn as it accumulates, and is not expected to be lost by diffusion. During the firnice transition, atmospheric CO2 is trapped, adding 14CO2 to the ice. The signature of in situ14C is however not obliterated since ∼ 60% of in situ14C is instantly oxidized to 14CO in the ice. We discuss the results available to date and propose that this in situ14CO can be used to determine ice accumulation rates back to 40,000 yrs in the past.


With a fascinating variety of American Indian rings from the southwestern United States shown in more than 350 color photos, this book provides a design history of these rings, beginning with pre-contact artifacts and continuing through to contemporary artistic innovations. The text surveys key developments in Native American ring design; materials and methods of construction; definitions for historical and vintage rings; master innovators; and the transition from craft to wearable art since 1980. Shortly after the Civil War, Native American artisans began making silver rings set with turquoise, coral, jet, mother-of-pearl, and colored shell, adding lapis, malachite, onyx, and petrified wood over the decades. More recently, artisans began utilizing gold and such non-traditional settings as opals and diamonds, among others. Works by Navajo (also known as Dine) and Pueblo artists are featured, although Apache, Northern Cheyenne, and Sonoran Desert Native jewelers are also included. A guide to valuation issues and resources is offered for collectors.


A study was conducted to determine weight loss and moisture regain properties of silk cocoon shells, shell layers and degummed fibers of the four African wild silkmoths Anaphe panda , Argema mimosae , Epiphora bauhiniae and Gonometa postica and compare with the industry standard mulberry silkmoth, Bombyx mori . No. significant difference was observed between the moisture regain of the wild silk fibers after degumming. However, there were significant differences in weight loss and moisture regain between cocoon shells as well as shell layers. E. bauhiniae had the lowest weight loss and moisture regain of 23.19 and 5.64%, respectively while G. postica had the highest weight loss and moisture regain, 56.84 and 9.05%, respectively. The SEM micrographs also showed the presence of remnant sericin gum on the fibers surface. In both A. panda and E. bauhiniae , the outer shell layers had the lowest moisture regain and highest weight loss while the inner layer of E. bauhiniae and middle layer of A. panda lost the least weight. The physical structure and chemical composition of the cocoon shells and fibers contribute towards the variation in the moisture regain and weight loss and these features may have commercial implications due to their direct effect on the resulting fabric.


This article presents a structural equations model of rural industrial entrepreneurship (RIE) among farmers in the Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. It identifies the determinants of RIE but also analyzes impacts of RIE on its endogenous determinants. Age, education, marital status, number of children, number of crops, financial family support, innovativeness, wealth, and occupational status are identified as the main determinants of RIE. On the basis of these findings, promotion, education, and training programs are suggested as important policy handles to encourage and support farmers to start a rural industrial enterprise. Moreover, the development of properly functioning capital markets in rural areas is recommended. This policy instrument may not only stimulate rural industrialization but may also be instrumental in controlling the development of inefficient rural industrial activities.


Introduction: Genital cancers are the most common female cancers, some of which, such as ovarian cancer, have highest mortality rates. Genital cancers treatment does not only increase survival, but also improves life quality. The goal of this study was to determine genital cancers morbidity and mortality. Material and Methods: This cross- sectional descriptive study was done in the years 1996- 2002 on referral patients to Beheshti and Alzahra Centers of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, who had genital cancers. 302 cases with genital cancers, through simple sampling, were studied. Individual, treatment results, and treatment complications were recorded in a questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS –10 statistical package including chi square, analysis of variance, spearman's correlation coefficient, and T-test. Results: Results of this study showed that bleeding was seen in 6.1, operation site infection in 3, thromboembolic disease in 1.1, UTI in 3, bowel obstruction in 2.7, pelvic abscess in 1.1, anuria in 1.1, lymphocyst in 0.76, incisional dehiscence in 0.38, bladder atonia in 1.9, major blood vessels injury in 0.38, ureterovaginal fistula in 0.76, rectovaginal fistula in 0.76, rectovesical fistula in 0.38, vesicovaginal fistula in 0.38, ileovaginal fistula in 0.38, urinary incontinence in 0.76, and death in 0.38. Conclusion: In this study intraoperative complications rate was 3.04 that was 6 in other studies. Infectious complications were seen in 7 that in other studies was around 4 (perhaps due to proper antibiotics). Post infectious complications were seen in 6.8 in this study, 4 in others.


While bringing tremendous benefits to users worldwide, the proliferation of online social networks has also given rise to undesirable online harassment behavior which consists of performing harassing behavior through electronic or digital social media to inflict harm or discomfort on others. Although victims can respond in various ways to the threat of online harassment, little attention has been paid so far to the complex nature of online protective coping strategies, more specifically, how victims respond to these threats by using the available features in the online social network platforms. This proposal has two specific goals in its effort to fill this gap in the literature. The first goal is to develop an instrument for online protective coping strategies. The second goal is to investigate the effects of appraisals on victims' online protective coping strategies by drawing upon the extended parallel process model (EPPM). Overall, this proposal contributes to the area of online harassment by studying victims' coping strategies in response to online harassment. It can serve as a springboard for future work to understand the effect of online protective coping strategy and can be used as a guide to design effective coping features to combat online harassment on online social networks


: The past 2 decades have witnessed the introduction and demise of several different antithrombotic medications for acute coronary syndromes. Part of the assessment of these compounds has been their effect on thrombotic events relative to the degree of increase in bleeding events. This review will outline the data supporting various antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies and their combinations in patients with acute coronary syndromes and related disorders in both the acute and chronic phases of therapy. ( Circ Res . 2014;114:1929-1943.) Acute Coronary Syndromes: Pathology, Diagnosis, Genetics, Prevention, and Treatment Mechanisms of Plaque Formation and Rupture Inflammation and its Resolution as Determinants of Acute Coronary Syndromes Lipoproteins as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in the Setting of Acute Coronary Syndrome Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease Imaging Plaques to Predict and Better Manage Patients With Acute Coronary Events Reperfusion Strategies in Acute Coronary Syndromes Antiplatelet and Anticoagulation Therapy for Acute Coronary Syndromes Nonantithrombotic Medical Options in Acute Coronary Syndromes: Old Agents and New Lines on the Horizon Global Perspective on Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Burden on the Young and Poor preprocedural or upstream therapy versus procedural or in-laboratory benefit. The Early Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibition in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome (EARLY-ACS) trial 60 randomized 9492 patients with ACS intended to undergo PCI to receive eptifibatide early ( ≤ 12 hours before angiography) versus during the procedure. The 30-day occurrence of death or MI was not different between the early treatment and delayed treatment groups (odds ratio [OR], 0.89; P =0.08). The early treatment group did have more bleeding events and red cell transfusions. Data from EARLY-ACS, a meta-analysis of related studies, and another large-scale timing trial, Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage Strategy (ACUITY), 61 support the selective rather than the routine use of upstream GPIIb/IIIa therapy for patients with ACS. This is because the reduction in ischemic events is modest, yet the increase in bleeding events is marked. 6 Among patients with STE-ACS, multiple placebo-con-trolled studies were completed testing GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors, although again without the routine use of thienopyridines. These studies demonstrated a significant reduction in 30-day ischemic events, but with less robust evidence for durable benefit at 6 months. In comparison, the Bavarian Reperfusion Alternatives Evaluation-3 (BRAVE-3) trial 62 tested upstream abciximab against placebo among 800 patients after preload-ing with 600 mg of clopidogrel. The study failed to show a reduction in infarct size or clinical benefit with abciximab.


Abstract: The concentration of total phosphorus(P-tot) in effluent is an important indicator of the effect of wastewater treatment plant(WWTP), excessive discharge of phosphorus will result in the tender eutrophication of natural water and other ecological pollution problems. In this paper, Qilidian WWTP in Guilin for the study object, researched Carrousel oxidation ditch process of the plant DO, pH, nitrate, BOD5 and P-tot in influent, and P-tot in influent and in effluent of the final clarifier, systems analyzed the factors and reasons affecting phosphorus removal. The result of the research shows itself as follows: the dissolved oxygen (DO) in oxidation ditch anaerobic zone above 0.5mg/l and at the end of the aerobic zone up to 3.87mg/l are not suitable for phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAOs) to release phosphorus; in the influent, B0D5/P-tot<20, carbon source used for PAOs in the sewage is insufficient; the concentration of P-tot in the effluent is higher than that in the influent, there occurs an obvious phenomenon of phosphorus release in the final clarifier. In addition, the pH in oxidation ditch ranges from 6.82 to7.19 and the concentration of nitrate in anaerobic zone below 0.2mg/l are suitable for the phosphorus removal process. This research provide technical support for the similar oxidation ditch process of upgrading and transformation,and have a higher value in engineering practice.


Much has been said lately about entrepreneurship, so it seems important to leave here some personal analysis on this topic. The issues outlined here result from a work in about a year in which because a personal and professional obligations it was doing some research on these issues. This is an interesting topic that has not yet expired and on which there is much to research, do it is an area where there are many challenges.


Background: The association of human leukocyte antigen B27 (HLA-B27) with anterior uveitis is well known. The prevalence of HLA-B27 and its relation to anterior uveitis is related to race and geographic location. The association is strongest in Western countries and weakest in Eastern countries. Data regarding this association from Middle Eastern countries are limited. Thus, we undertook the study reported here to evaluate the association of HLA-B27 with anterior uveitis in patients in a tertiary center in the western region of the Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study involved a retrospective analysis of the records of patients with anterior uveitis, referred to the uveitis clinic in Magrabi Eye and Ear Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from 1999 to 2010. The cost-effectiveness of HLA-B27 testing was analyzed. Results: Among the 587 cases of uveitis, 335 (57.1%; mean age 37.56 ± 12.82 years; 203 male and 132 female) cases were of anterior uveitis. All patients with anterior uveitis were investigated for HLA-B27 positivity. Idiopathic anterior uveitis was the most common (80%), followed by Fuchs heterochromic cyclitis (7.45%) and ankylosing spondylitis (3.8%). Only two patients were HLA-B27 positive. The cost-effectiveness of HLA-B27 testing was found to be 165,000 Saudi riyals (44,594 US dollars) per positive case. Conclusion: HLA-B27-related uveitis appears to be very rare in our part of the world. Idiopathic uveitis is the most common type of anterior uveitis. The cost-effectiveness of HLA-B27 testing is low for patients with anterior uveitis in the western region of Saudi Arabia.


Cleanup of oil spills, especially at the shoreline, is confronted with challenging problems of both technology and cost-effectiveness. Over the past decades, a new hypothesis has emerged, that the formation of Oil-Mineral Aggregates (OMAs) consisting of oil droplets and mineral fines, enhances the dispersion of oil in aquatic environments. Despite its documented role in cleaning oil spills along shorelines through reported experimental studies, the literature on the mathematical modeling of the formation and dispersion of OMAs has been limited. In the present study, the physical processes were investigated including oil slick breaking up under breaking wave, the formation of OMAs, and oil/OMAs vertical mixing. A modeling approach was developed for simulating the formation and vertical mixing of oil droplets and OMAs, namely Oil Droplet and OMAs Simulation (OMA-SIM). This method integrated modeling tools for addressing the oil vertical mixing model and density based OMAs formation model to examine the dispersion of oil droplets and OMAs. The OMA-SIM was validated using data obtained from mesoscale wave tank experiments. The concentration and size of oil droplets and OMAs generated under breaking wave condition were simulated and compared with experimental data. The main factors that affect oil droplets and OMAs formation and vertical mixing have been studied and concerned in the developed model. These factors include oil density and viscosity, oil/water interfacial tension, wave energy dispersion rate, dispersants, and environment temperature. The results of the case studies suggest that the OMA-SIM developed in this study provide effective methods for simulating and predicting the vertical dispersion of spilled oil. A computation system was then developed that couples the OMA-SIM with a user-friendly interface system, and the system was applied to real case studies based on field data. OMA-SIM results indicated that the energy dissipation rate of breaking waves is the predominant factor which affects the concentration and particle size of oil droplets and OMAs. The higher the breaking wave energy, the more oil was dispersed with time after the experimental oil spill. Oil viscosity has a significant influence on dispersed oil concentration. The mass of dispersed oil decreased with increasing oil viscosity. Increasing temperature to decrease oil viscosity and then to enhance the formation of OMAs resulted in a greater concentration of oil. The dispersants reduce oil/water interfacial tension and result in a decreased size of oil droplets and OMAs. The application of mineral fines facilitates the formation of OMAs.


The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is increasing in high-risk populations in Uruguay, possibly owing to emerging resistance. Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units (MIRU) genotyping and katG sequence analysis of isoniazid (INH) resistance-associated mutations were performed in 45 INH-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in Uruguayan patients. The genotype distribution among INH-resistant isolates shares features of that of neighbouring countries, with a predominance of Latin American and Mediterranean, T and Haarlem genotypes, although the S genotype was particularly frequent among our isolates. Forty-four per cent of INH-resistant strains harboured the S315T mutation in katG; we found novel katG mutations (W321X, G269T, P232R and G221Wfs1) that could explain INH resistance.


We are developing a PET insert for existing MRI equipment to be used in clinical PET/MR studies of the human brain. The proposed scanner is based on annihilation gamma detection with monolithic blocks of cerium-doped lutetium yttrium orthosilicate (LYSO:Ce) coupled to magnetically-compatible avalanche photodiodes (APD) matrices. The light distribution generated on the LYSO:Ce block provides the impinging position of the 511 keV photons by means of a positioning algorithm. Several positioning methods, from the simplest Anger Logic to more sophisticate supervised-learning Neural Networks (NN), can be implemented to extract the incidence position of gammas directly from the APD signals. Finally, an optimal method based on a two-step Feed-Forward Neural Network has been selected. It allows us to reach a resolution at detector level of 2 mm, and acquire images of point sources using a first BrainPET prototype consisting of two monolithic blocks working in coincidence. Neural networks provide a straightforward positioning of the acquired data once they have been trained, however the training process is usually time-consuming. In order to obtain an efficient positioning method for the complete scanner it was necessary to find a training procedure that reduces the data acquisition and processing time without introducing a noticeable degradation of the spatial resolution. A grouping process and posterior selection of the training data have been done regarding the similitude of the light distribution of events which have one common incident coordinate (transversal or longitudinal). By doing this, the amount of training data can be reduced to about 5% of the initial number with a degradation of spatial resolution lower than 10%.


Lung is the one of the first organ to metabolise the cigarette smoke contents soon after inhalation. Adult male mice were assigned to six different groups different groups (Group I (control),Group II (Tocopheryl acetate), Group III (soyabean oil used as vehicle for Tocopheryl acetate), Group IV (Cigarette smoke Exposed), Group V (Cigarette smoke exposed plus Tocopheryl acetate) and Group VI(Cigarette smoke exposed plus soyabean oil) were exposed to cigarette smoke 3 times a day for 20 minutes each time for 28 days and Tocopheryl acetate with dose of 200mg/kg/day in 0.3ml of soyabean oil as vehicle orally through oral gavage. Cigarette smoke exposed lung appreciated highly in pathogenicby lymphatic nodular around hyperplasia bronchus collapsed alveolar sac, inflammatory interalveolar septum. Lung of cigarette smoke exposed group showed significantly increased oxidant level as malondialdehyde 815.2±54.62 μmol/mg protein (Group V) and 823.5±68.17 μmol/mg protein (Group VI). Tocopheryl acetate administrated to cigarette smoke exposed lung(Group V) markedly reduced the severity of the pathogenesis and oxidant level(570.5±56.32 μmol/mg protein). Present study, tocopheryl acetate thought to be as a protective agent against cigarette smoke.


There are earlier studies for psychiatric counseling using chat bots. These studies have not considered the user's emotional status and ethical judgment to provide interventions. This paper proposes an intelligent assistant for psychiatric counseling that understands dialogues using high-level features of natural language understanding, and multi-modal emotion recognition. A response generation model using machine leaning provides suitable responses for clinical psychiatric counseling.


This is the first report of an epidemiological cross-sectional study of solid waste scavengers, called Zabaline, in Egypt. The Zabaline communities provide an important solid waste collection service throughout Egypt's urban sector. Their economic viability depends entirely on salvaging solid waste for recycling. Intestinal parasites were common among the Zabaline examined; 48% were found with one or more protozoan or helminth infections. Either Schistosoma haematobium or S. mansoni or both infections were found in 19% of the sample although there was an apparent lack of a local transmission focus. Ascaris lumbricoides was the most frequently seen parasite (26.0%) and Entamoeba histolytica was seen infrequently (1.6%). Physical hazards of sorting solid waste was assessed and general illness occurring during the previous month recorded. Estimates of infant mortality showed elevated measures (IMR = 205/1000). The results indicate a need for the improvement of environmental conditions and health care in the Zabaline community and suggest that other similar scavenger groups may be at risk as well.


This paper presents 2D generalized plain strain simulations of the thermo-mechanical response of a pellet fragment and overlying cladding during a RIA transient. A fictitious hydride blister of increasing depth (25 to 90% of the clad thickness) is introduced at the beginning of the calculation. When a pre-determined hoop stress is exceeded at the clad outer surface, radial cracking of the blister is taken into account in the simulation by a modification of the mechanical boundary conditions. The hoop stress criterion is based on Finite Element simulations of laboratory hoop tensile tests performed on highly irradiated samples with a through-wall hydride blister. The response of the remaining clad ligament (beneath the cracked blister) to the pellet thermal expansion is then studied. The simulations show that plastic strains localize in a band orientated at ∼45° to the radial direction, starting from the blister crack tip and ending at the clad inner wall. This result is in good agreement with the ductile shear failures of the clad ligaments observed post-RIA transients. Based on a local plastic strain failure criterion in the shear band, ALCYONE simulations are then used to define the enthalpy at failure in function of the blister depth.


The mammalian cell cycle is positively regulated by holoenzymes constituted by a regulatory subunit (called cyclin) and a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK). Cyclin/CDK complexes are sequentally activated and inhibited in different phases of the cell cycle.
CDK inhibitory proteins (CKIs) constitute an important family of growth suppressors. The p27Kip1 protein is a CKI that belongs to the CIP/KIP family which acts as an universal CDK inhibitor. Its levels are elevated in quiescent cells and decreased during mitogen-dependent entry into the cell cycle. Phosphorylation of p27Kip1 at threonine 187 (T187) is an important mechanism by which p27Kip1 levels are regulated.
The tumour suppressor protein p53, which can be activated in response to several cellular insults, also modulates cell number by negatively regulating the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis.
Several animal models of atherosclerois, mechanical injury and transplant-atherosclerosis have demonstrated that p27Kip1 and p53 protect against vascular obstructive lesion development, which depends in part on a hiperproliferative response of arterial wall cells, mainly smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and macrophages.
The work carried out in this Doctoral Thesis has been focused in the elucidaton of molecular mechanisms implicated in the control of cellular proliferation, with especial interest in cultured SMCs and murine models of atherosclerosis and mechanical injury of the vessel wall. The following specific objectives were pursued:
1) To study the molecular mechanism by which the cytostatic agents PCA-4230 and STI571 inhibit SMC and cancer cell proliferation (Paper 1 and Paper 2).
2) To investigate whether p27Kip1 phosphorylation on T187 regulates atheroma progression in apolipoptotein E-null mice (apoE-KO) fed a high-fat and cholesterol-rich diet (Paper 3)
3) To analyze in apoE-KO mice the consequences of hightening p53 function on the development of aortic atherosclerosis and neointimal lesions induced by mechanical injury of the femoral artery (Manuscript 4).
Results from paper 1 and paper 2 demostrated that E2F inhibition and transcriptional repression of cyclin A contribute to PCA-4230- and STI571-dependent SMC growth arrest. STI571 also inhibited ERK1/2 activation, whereas forced activation of these MAPKs in femoral artery SMCs impaired STI571-dependent inhibition of both cyclin A promoter activity and SMC proliferation.
Results from paper 3 in the experimental model of diet-induced atherosclerosis showed identical atheroma size, lesion cellularity, proliferation, and apoptotic rates when comparing apoE-KO and p27T187A-apoE-KO mice. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that phosphorylation of p27Kip1 on T187 was not implicated in the control of aortic p27 expression. These findings are in contrast with previous studies by other investigators that have implicated this phosphorylation event on cell cycle regulation and p27Kip1 protein expression in other cell types. Thus, the relevance of p27Kip1 phosphorylation on T187 level seems to depend on the cell type and tissues and on pathologic conditions both in vitro and in vivo.
Results from manuscript 4 revealed that gain of p53 function can reduce neointimal hyperplasia after mechanical injury, but has no effect on atherosclerosis, thus highlighting profound differences in the role of p53 in different models of vascular injury that may have important implications for therapeutic purposes.


PURPOSE
Concussion management is shifting away from a rest-is-best approach, as data now suggest that exercise-is-medicine for this mild brain injury. Despite this, we have limited data on habitual physical activity following concussion. Therefore, our objective was to quantify accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary time in children with concussion (within the first month of injury) and healthy controls. We hypothesized that children with concussion would be less active than their healthy peers.

METHODS
We performed a secondary analysis of prospectively collected accelerometer data. Our sample included children with concussion (n = 60, 31 females) and historical controls (n = 60) matched for age, sex, and season of accelerometer wear.

RESULTS
Children with concussion were significantly more sedentary than controls (mean difference [MD], 38.3 min/d, P = .006), and spent less time performing light physical activity (MD, -19.5 min/d, P = .008), moderate physical activity (MD, -9.8 min/d, P < .001), and vigorous physical activity (MD, -12.0 min/d, P < .001); these differences were observed from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Sex-specific analyses identified that girls with concussion were less active and more sedentary than both boys with concussion (P = .010) and healthy girls (P < .010).

CONCLUSION
There is an activity deficit observed within the first month of pediatric concussion. Physical activity guidelines should address this while considering sex effects.


Changes in microbiology and dialysis techniques in intensive care have made the use of antibiotics on nephropathic patients more complex. Several recent studies have modified our knowledge about the use of antibiotics in the care of critically ill patients, highlighting the frequency of their inappropriate use: both underdosing, risking low efficacy, and overdosing, with an increase in toxicity. Kidneys, organs devoted to excretion and metabolism, are a potential target of pharmacological toxicity. Extracorporeal replacement therapy is also a possible drug elimination route. What we call nefropharmacology represents a complex, tangled and rapidly evolving subject of multi-specialist interest. We have reviewed here most of the recent literature dealing with the appropriateness of antibiotic use, focusing on the most interesting contributions from a nephrological perspective.


ABSTRACT 'Direct water injection (DWI)' is a method in which water is injected directly into the combustion chamber under high injection pressure from dedicated injectors other than fuel injectors. DWI is supposed to have improving effects not only on NOx emission by decreasing flame temperature but also on PM by promoting combustion inside the diesel engines with a certain timing of water injection, which could be different from those for NOx reduction. In this paper, the potential of the DWI with the later injection timing (abbreviated to 'LDWI') was investigated in detail by using numerical simulations and several experiments. Unlike the earlier DWI usual in NOx reduction, LDWI around the end of fuel injection greatly improved the combustion during the after-burning period. In observation of flame propagation processes in a visual constant-volume combustion chamber, the water spray injected just before the end of fuel injection proved to reduce the soot formation during after-burning stage. This agreed well with prediction results by the spray model calculation. It was also confirmed in visual engine tests with LDWI that the after-burning was much shortened and heat release from residual spray cores was accelerated along with the reduction of soot formation.


Consider the first exit time of one-dimensional Brownian motion from a random passageway. We discuss a Brownian motion with two time-dependent random boundaries in quenched sense. Showing $-t^{-1}\ln\bfP^x(\forall_{s\in[0,t]}a+\beta W_s\leq B_s\leq b+\beta W_s|W)$ converges to a finite positive constant $\gamma(b-a,\beta)$ almost surely if $a<x<b$ and $\{W_s\}_{s\geq 0}$ is another one-dimensional Brownian motion independent of $\{B_s\}_{s\geq 0}, B_0=x, W_0=0.$ $P(\cdot|W)$ is the probability condition on a realization of $\{W_s\}_{s\geq 0}$. Some properties of binary function $\gamma(b-a,\beta)$ are also found.


Christian people share ethical norms opposing extra-marital sex. Consequently, the association between religion and timing at first sex could be bidirectional: (1) when people relax their adhesion to Church, the statistical risk of having first sex should improve (religiosity effect on sex); (2) when young Christians have first sex, their connection with religion should diminish (religiosity adaptation after sex). When dealing with this topic, a connection between religion and sex has been usually found, but without distinguishing between the two effects. We study the bi-directional effect between first sex and discontinuing church attendance among a representative sample of university students of Italy (i.e., an overwhelming Catholic country) using simultaneous equations and taking into account unobserved heterogeneity. Results show that both effects work, contrasting the results of other authors for USA, where only religiosity effects on sex has been detected. In the paper some hypotheses for explaining this difference are discussed.


It remains contentious whether improvements in the swimming speed at various lactate concentrations coincide with improvements in competitive performances. A lack of longitudinal data exists to confirm this premise. This case study presents data for a world-class 200-m male breaststroke swimmer from a sports science support programme over a three-year period. Eleven (7 × 200-m) Step tests were undertaken during this period Seven of the Step tests occurred within two-three weeks of a competition performance. Rank order correlation demonstrated that higher race speeds coincided significantly (P 0.1) with higher speeds at blood lactate concentrations of 4 mM (ρ = 0.95), 6 mM (ρ = 1), 8 mM (ρ = 0.95). Data were observed to fluctuate following periods of overreaching, detraining and also due to poor nutritional practice. It was concluded that changes in the speed at various blood lactate concentrations can inform the coaching process, but only when measured alongside other parameters and where an in-depth knowledge of the swimmer's health and training status is available.