Scientists express little doubt that the earth's climate has changed since the start of
the Anthropocene (Karl, 2007). In this period, variations have been observed for
the cryosphere, in coastal, marine, freshwater and terrestrial systems, as well as in
the frequency of severe weather events (IPCC, 2007a). In particular, change has
been evident in freshwater and marine systems, where variations in surface seawater
temperature, pH and sea level have been linked to events such as coral bleaching,
harmful algal blooms, fish kills, and oyster disease, as well as outbreaks of human
disease from known and emerging pathogens. The debate about whether human activity is primarily responsible for climate
change will continue because extended time intervals must be observed in order to
conclude that a specific cause results in a specific effect. As such, this uncertainty delays
implementation of risk management strategies that may need to be initiated in shorter
time intervals. Whether anthropomorphic or natural, the earth's climate is changing,
and such events may influence the safety (positive and negative) of food harvested from
marine and freshwater environments. Seawater temperature, level, salinity and pH have changed in the past century
(IPCC, 2007b; Karl, 2007; Levitus et al., 2000). On average, the ocean has increased
one-third of a degree Celsius in the last 50 years (Levitus et al., 2000). In addition, the
sea level has risen at a global average rate of 1.7–1.8 mm per year in the last century, and
at an elevated rate of 3 mm per year in the past 10 years (IPCC, 2007c). The average pH of the ocean, 8.4, has dropped by approximately 0.1 units since
pre-industrial times (Kintisch and Stokstad, 2008). This has been caused, in part, by
the conversion of carbon dioxide and other atmospheric gases to water-soluble acidic
compounds, such as carbonic, sulphonic and nitric acids. By 2100, some estimates
indicate that ocean pH will drop another 0.4 units at the current rate of carbon
increase. In addition to the direct effect of pH on biota, increased temperature can
also compound the negative effects of pH on marine life (O'Donnell, Hammond and
Hofmann, 2009). Ocean warming, sea-level rise, and changes in ocean chemistry are driven, in part,
by increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases (Kite-Powell et al., 2008). Carbon
dioxide, although relatively low in concentration compared with other gases, absorbs
energy and contributes to global warming. Atmospheric gases can also exert a direct
effect on microbial physiology as well as through compounds that are formed when
gases dissolve in seawater. It is well established in the field of microbial ecology that the environment selects
for types and levels of bacteria that live in a particular habitat. Baas-Becking (1934)
stated that "Everything is everywhere, but the environment selects." Although not
every environmental parameter exerts as strong an influence on microbial viability as
temperature, water activity (salinity) and pH do. Importantly, these same factors are
also markedly affected by climate change. Although changes in marine microbial communities do not always translate into
changes in risk to animal and human health, it is important to understand how
and to what degree variations in environmental parameters can influence microbial
community structure, especially those that impact health. Such knowledge will provide
insights into potential risk management strategies.


Abstract. Relatively little is currently known about the seedling physiology of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) Agathosma betulina, a sclerophyllous crop plant cultivated for its high-value essential oils and food additives. In addition, virtually nothing is known about the AM associations of this plant. Consequently, the effect of an indigenous community of AM fungi on P nutrition and C economy in seedlings, grown in nursery conditions, was determined during different stages of host and AM fungal establishment. AM fungal ribosomal gene sequence analyses were used to identify some of the fungi within the roots, responsible for the nutritional changes. During the early stages of host and AM fungal establishment (0 to 77 days after germination), host growth was reduced, whereas the rate of P-uptake and growth respiration was increased. Beyond 77 days of growth, the rate of P-uptake and growth respiration declined. These findings, together with results obtained after molecular analyses of root associated fungal DNA, indicate that AM fungi belonging to the genera Acaulospora and Glomus, improve P-uptake and costs of utilization during the early stages of seedling establishment in a nutrient-poor soil.


Many people are given farmland and this phenomenon will continue. People who receive the gift of farmland may want to retain ownership for a variety of reasons: the land is already paid for; it may increase in value; it may have been in the family for a long time; or it may allow participation in production agriculture. Lack of land ownership costs may reduce the risk of land ownership. The purpose of this manuscript is to determine whether a person who has been given farmland can afford to retain ownership. A twelveyear analysis was used to determine the net income and risk associated with three strategies for retaining ownership.


In this paper, we propose a novel cell transistor using retracted Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/-liner STI (shallow trench isolation) for the enhanced and reliable operation of 256-Mb dynamic random access memory (DRAM) in 0.15-/spl mu/m technology. As the technology of DRAM has been developed into the sub-quarter-micron regime, the control of junction leakage current at the storage node is much more important due to the increased channel doping concentration. With the decreased parasitic electric field at the STI corner using the retracted Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/-liner, the inverse narrow width effect (INWE) was significantly reduced. The channel doping concentration, hence, was lowered without degrading the subthreshold leakage characteristics and the channel doping profile was optimized from the viewpoint of the electric field at local areas in the depletion region. In addition to the optimized channel doping profile resulted in a dramatic increase in data retention time and device yield for 256-Mb DRAM. The proposed cell transistor can be extended to future high-density DRAMs in 0.13-/spl mu/m technology and beyond.


Cancer‐specific anxiety (CSA) can affect treatment decisions and is common in men following surgery for prostate cancer (PCa). We hypothesized that CSA is also associated with factors affecting quality of life. Herein, we examine the association of CSA with psychosocial factors and PCa aggressiveness in a cohort of men 1 year after prostatectomy for localized PCa.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate and describe the strategies of Portuguese rheumatologists and paediatricians, regarding either the maintenance or the withdrawal of classic and biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (cDMARDs and bDMARDs, respectively), when patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) achieved clinical inactive disease (CID).

METHODS
We performed a 30-question questionnaire, which was sent to all the 35 clinicians enrolled in the Portuguese group of paediatric rheumatology.

RESULTS
Twenty-three complete responses were obtained. The factors with the greatest impact on the decision to withdraw cDMARDs were: the duration of the CID, the therapy-induced toxicity, the presence of erosive disease and joint damage, the subtype of JIA, the time to reach inactive disease and the low adherence to therapy. These factors were classified as "very important" in this decision by more than 50% of the clinicians. The same factors, except for low adherence, had the greatest impact, when considering the withdrawal of bDMARDs. Withdrawal was more likely in patients with persistent oligoarticular JIA and less likely in rheumatoid factor positive polyarticular JIA. Sulfasalazine was more susceptible to be discontinued than methotrexate. Contrariwise, there were no differences concerning bDMARDs. Most participants reported that they started the drug withdrawal only after 12 months of sustained remission, by progressively tapering the dose of the cDMARD and spacing the intake of the bDMARD. Also, they reported that the decision to suspend the DMARD was based on imaging methods, preferably ultrasound, and in patient-reported outcomes. For patients on combination therapy, bDMARDs are reported to be the first to be withdrawn.

CONCLUSIONS
Literature is scarce on this matter and there are no well-defined guidelines on how to withdrawal cDMARDs or bDMARDs on JIA. Notwithstanding, most Portuguese physicians were in agreement on the factors that needed to be taken into account with respect to the withdraw decision.


Managers today are asked to demonstrate strong skills in conflict resolution in a variety of forms.  While this primarily involves negotiation, the most common form of conflict resolution, there is an increased emphasis on mediation or third party assisted negotiation.  Managers will find themselves asked to be involved as a neutral to solve problems.  This may or may not lead to a formal mediation, but even if not, the skills required of a mediator, are useful skills for any manager.  This session (presented by a professor of negotiation and professional mediator) will focus on teaching the basic skills of mediation in one or two classes.  The session will involve a role-play used to introduce the topic.


The vulnerability of aortic strips from 50-52 week old Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) controls to the inhibitory or relaxing effects of the calcium antagonists verapamil and diazoxide was studied. Verapamil produced concentration-dependent inhibition (antagonism) of KCl, PGE2, and methoxamine-induced contraction of aortic strips from SHR and WKY. KCl and PGE2-induced contraction of SHR tissue were less readily antagonized by verapamil compared to WKY preparations. The reverse was seen with methoxamine-induced contraction. The slope of the verapamil inhibition curve of KCl-induced contraction was significantly steeper for aortic strips form WKY. Verapamil and diazoxide also produced concentration-dependent relaxation of KCl-induced contraction of aortic strips, no significant differences being noted in SHR and WKY responses. Results are compatible with the hypothesis that arterial smooth muscle from SHR is characterized by a more tightly bound pool or source of activator Ca++ which is released by certain agonists. Failure to observe a significant difference in verapamil or diazoxide induced relaxation of KCl contracted tissues from SHR or WKY suggests that in the tonic phase of KCl contraction, transmembrane fluxes of Ca++ in SHR and WKY are equally vulnerable to the Ca++ channel inhibitory effect of the antagonists.


The figure of the missing child is a recurrent and highly visible feature of past and present culture, not only the concern of extensive reporting in the media but also a frequent motif in the cinema, theatre, popular fiction and autobiographical memoirs. This article is focused on the ways in which British feature films of the 1950s and 1960s portrayed the experiences of losing a child through kidnap or abduction, exploring in particular how mothers were represented. Through an examination of the complex and contradictory discourses through which motherhood and the maternal role were constituted in these films, the article considers what they reveal about the shifting meanings of the mother–child relationship and the dynamics of gender relations in the home and post-war society more generally. The films discussed are Lost (1956), Tomorrow at Ten (1962) and Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964).


Background Isolated reports from some regions of Nigeria have found prevalence rates to range from 0.9?8.3%. In Nigeria, where healthcare services and accessibility are poor, diabetes mellitus is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Diabetes is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and kidney failure. It is believed that appropriate patients? knowledge of self care is the key to achieving therapeutic goals in ambulatory care.
Objective This study aimed to assess type 2 diabetic patients? knowledge of self-care practices.
Methods A 28-item questionnaire consisting of 5 point response scale was developed for the survey. Factor analysis was performed using principal axis factoring extraction with varimax rotation. Validity and reliability were established. This survey was conducted in five states of south-eastern Nigeria. Health care facilities included four tertiary hospitals and six secondary hospitals.
Results Knowledge of diabetes self-care was associated with sex, age, educational status, and years with diabetes. Female patients, younger patients (18-35 years), patients who were attending or stopped at secondary school and patients who had lived many years with diabetes (>10 years) were more likely to be knowledgeable. When extracted knowledge factor 2 (self care), factor 3 (cardiovascular complications), and factor 4 (non-cardiovascular complications) were correlated with factor 1 (diabetes) their correlation coefficients were 0.90, 0.94, and 0.71 respectively. This implies that knowledge of diabetes self care and knowledge of cardiovascular complications increase as the knowledge of diabetes increases but the increase about knowledge of non-cardiovascular complications is slower with increase about knowledge of diabetes. Following communalities determination, the mean total score was 98.50±21.87.
Conclusion This study has shown that type 2 diabetic outpatients in south-eastern Nigeria were knowledgeable about diabetes self care practices and that knowledge of diabetes self care is dependent on the knowledge of diabetes.


This is a brief account of our approach to trends in palaeoseismological research that are currently emerging in Greece, with the application of modern investigative methods practised world-wide in active tectonic zones. These techniques include fault stratigraphy in trenches, and dating recent fault reactivations in order to understand and distinguish palaeoseismic events along specific segments of active faults, named Gerakarou (Mygdonia Basin, Thessaloniki area), Palaeochori Fault (Kozani-Grevena, Western Macedonia), Souli (Petousi, Epirus), and Volos-Larissa (Thessaly plain). Four palaeoearthquakes were investigated on the Gerakarou fault segment, with a uniform slip rate and return period around 7000 years. In Western Macedonia "aseismic areas" the Servia-Palaeochori recently activated fault shows a -3500 year quiescence. Three coseismic events on the Souli Fault pre- and post-date to 26000 year deposits.


Many real world systems involve interaction among large number of agents to achieve a common goal, for example, air traffic control. Several model-free RL algorithms have been proposed for such settings. A key limitation is that the empirical reward signal in model-free case is not very effective in addressing the multiagent credit assignment problem, which determines an agent's contribution to the team's success. This results in lower solution quality and high sample complexity. To address this, we contribute (a) an approach to learn a differentiable reward model for both continuous and discrete action setting by exploiting the collective nature of interactions among agents, a feature commonly present in large scale multiagent applications; (b) a shaped reward model analytically derived from the learned reward model to address the key challenge of credit assignment; (c) a model-based multiagent RL approach that integrates shaped rewards into well known RL algorithms such as policy gradient, soft-actor critic. Compared to previous methods, our learned reward models are more accurate, and our approaches achieve better solution quality on synthetic and real world instances of air traffic control, and cooperative navigation with large agent population.


Watermarking 3D meshes is very important in many areas of activity including digital cinematography, virtual reality as well as in CAD design. Due to the complexity of 3D meshes, mesh watermarking schemes are far from the maturity of watermarking algorithms dedicated to audio, image or video watermarking. According to our knowledge, no existing scheme is robust against all attacks. To verify a good trade-off between invisibility and robustness, a new approach of 3D mesh watermarking algorithm based on MSMs detection is proposed in this paper. In this algorithm, only invariant regions are marked. These invariant regions are called Maximally Stable Meshes (MSMs) and they present an extension of the well-known Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSER) detected for 2D images. First, an efficient way to detect MSMs in 3D meshes by using curvature measures of vertices is presented. Then, obtained MSMs are marked with a geometric watermarking scheme. The experimentations show that this new watermarking is robust against numerous attacks including rotation, zooming, translation, cropping, simplification, and remeshing. Moreover, it gives a good invisibility and a blind extraction.


Drosophila melanogaster locomotor activity responds to seasonal conditions by modulating the "evening" activity component. During simulated winters of cold temperature and short days an advanced evening locomotor peak occurs with more daytime locomotor activity; on the other hand long photoperiods and warm temperatures give a delay in the evening peak, thereby avoiding a possible desiccation during the hottest times of the day. This pattern of activity is related to a thermosensitive splicing event that occurs in a 3' intron in the period gene, with a higher level of splicing and earlier accumulation of PERIOD in short days and low temperatures. A mutation in norpA which encodes a phospholipase C, generates a high level of spliced per at warmer temperature, so mutants behave as if it is colder than it actually is. The relation between norpA, per splicing and the circadian neurons has been analysed. Initially, norpA expression has been investigated via in situ hybridisation and immunocytochemistry. norpA transcript has been localised among the clock pacemakers but not NORPA. Subsequently, norpA expression has been knocked-down by RNAi in specific subset of neurons. The resulting locomotor behaviour shows seasonally related effects implicating the photoreceptors, lateral and dorsal clock neurons as structures involved in timing the locomotor behaviour. In parallel, the thermal role of a second PLCβ, plc21C, has been investigated via RNAi among circadian pacemakers. It has been possible to show that plc21C expression in the photoreceptors, lateral and dorsal neurons is required to set different locomotor behaviours at different temperatures, but not via per and tim splicing. Finally, in contrast to reports that the double photoreceptor mutants involving glass and cryptochrome are "circadian blind", these flies have been observed to entrain to light-dark cycles at moderate temperatures. Candidate orphan G protein coupled receptors have been screened in order to identify a further set of putative circadian-relevant photoreceptors contributing to this residual entrainment in glasscry mutants. In constant light conditions, the RNAi of CG7497 and CG16958 generates rhythmic or arrhythmic flies depending on the genetic background tested.


The relationship between marriage and women's perspectives of their social and economic mobility is reviewed and analyzed from women's retrospective accounts of past experiences in marriage to understand the impact on outside opportunities.  The information is derived from answers from a sample of middle-aged and elderly women through in-depth qualitative interviews.  Women assess their marriages and opportunities through the lenses of other institutions and factors, such as family, education, religion, and economy.  Women's perceived level of autonomy, choice availability, historical circumstances, internal perceptions of self-efficacy and self worth, perceived level of opposition from valued other, and sense of belonging greatly influence one's perceptions and attainment of outside opportunities.  The results reveal a relationship between marriage and women's perspectives of themselves and their marriages as their understanding of themselves and the world changes according to the social construction of marriage.


Chickens cannot independently thermoregulate at hatch and lack opportunity to behaviorally thermoregulate with a hen in the egg layer industry, thus barns are heated to thermoneutral temperatures. Dark brooders are low-energy-consuming hot plates, which may be environmentally advantageous while providing welfare-enhancing aspects of maternal care (i.e., shelter and separation of active and inactive individuals). Dark brooder use has been demonstrated to decrease injurious pecking and mortality well into the production period of layers. To further understand hen development around lay onset and effects of dark brooders on the brain and HPA-axis, we examined effects of rearing with dark brooders on expression of vasotocin (AVT) in the hypothalamus and corticosterone (CORT) in the feathers of in total 48 layer Isa Warren hens at 16 w and 28 w of age (n = 12 per age and treatment). An age-dependent decreased number of AVT-positive neurons was seen in the medial preoptic area, medial preoptic nucleus, paraventricular nucleus, rostral part (prepeduncular hypothalamus), and lateral preoptic area. Trends to effects of brooder rearing were found in both anteromedial preoptic nucleus and supraoptic nucleus, with dark brooder reared animals showing higher mean counts of AVT-positive neurons in both areas. No interactions between brooder raising and age were observed in AVT-positive neuron count. CORT levels were higher in primary wing feathers from 28 week old hens than in those from 16 week hens. No main effects of rearing with dark brooders or interactions between age and treatment were found on CORT levels. The age-dependent effects seen in the hypothalamus and CORT aids in further understanding of the development of chickens around puberty. The use of brooders tended to increase AVT expression in the anteromedial preoptic nucleus and supraoptic nucleus, an indication that dark brooder rearing may affect physiological responses regulated by these areas. The lack of effect of dark brooders on CORT in feathers is at the least an indication that the use of dark brooders is not stressful; in combination with the benefits of dark brooders on injurious pecking, fearfulness and early mortality, this pleads for the use of dark brooders in on-farm situations.


The scene model is extremely complex in the 3DVR remote control platform for shearer. In order to speed up the 3D scene rendering of 3DVR remote control platform for shearer and reduce computational load of the system, we simplified the scene model based on LOD technology. The LOD algorithm was designed, in which the computing method of simplification rate, the algorithm of Triangle mesh simplification based on contraction and data structure of original mesh was described. Two shearer drums were simulated in the XNA platform via the above method. The simulation experiment results show that LOD model generated by the LOD algorithm have almost no loss in the visual effect, meanwhile the complexity of the scene model is reduced and the scene rendering speed is improved.


The study of heat transfer and moisture movement in liquid and vapour phase has attracted the attention of scientists from the beginning of 19th century. The study is very important to many geotechnical and geoenvironmental problems like diurnal heat mass movement in ground, performance assessment of nuclear waste disposal repositories, buried hot pipes, buried high voltage electric cables and landfill liners. Significant experimental and theoretical development has been made in this field but still there is a lack of experimental data available specially for highly swelling clays. The heat transfer and liquid moisture movement theories for clays more or less are very well established but vapour transfer theory is still based upon rigid matrix granular soils. Therefore, this thesis presents an experimental, theoretical and numerical investigation of the heat and moisture movement in unsaturated clays. A new apparatus termed a thermo-hydraulic (TH) cell has been designed, fabricated and calibrated in-house to perform thermal gradient, thermo-hydraulic gradient and isothermo-hydraulic gradient tests on two types of clays namely Speswhite kaolin and MX-80 bentonite. The TH cell is capable of measuring the transient temperature, relative humidity, volume flow rate of incoming water and swelling pressure. It also facilitates the determination of moisture content, dry density and chemical composition (anions and cations concentration) of the soil samples at the end of the tests. In the thermal test, the clay sample is subjected to fixed temperatures of 85 C at the bottom end and 25 C at the top end. In the thermo-hydraulic test, same thermal gradient is used like the thermal test and in addition to this deionised and de-aired water was supplied at the top end under a pressure of 0.6 MPa. In the isothermal test, the clay sample is supplied deionised and de-aired water from the top end under a pressure of 0.6 MPa and the temperature kept at 25 C at both ends of the clay sample. The test results show that there is a cycle of vapour and liquid moisture movement within the clay sample, vapour moves from the hot end to the cold and condense to liquid at the cold end and liquid moisture moves to the hot end. The accumulation of chloride ions near the hot end indicate that liquid moisture moved from the cold end to the hot end. An empirical method has been developed to calculate the vapour fluxes using the variation of chloride ions concentration with time. The vapour fluxes calculated empirically found to be much lower than that determined by existing vapour theories. Therefore, the existing vapour theory has been modified to more closely predict the observed vapour fluxes. The new modified vapour transfer theory has been incorporated in transient finite element code and validated against the experimental work carried out in this study. The numerically simulated results match reasonably with the experimental heat and mass results. Further research is necessary to explore the new vapour theory application to large scale tests.


The deep drill string is subjected to many kinds of loading under the condition of vibration and precession, such as tension, compression, bending and torsion, while the temperature and press are very high. Under this circumstance, the shallow drill string is more likely to failure. Based on the force analysis of the drill string, the drilling process of the deep drill string is simulated using finite element software. The stress distribution and displacement of the drill string is obtained under the interaction of drilling pressure, torque and temperature. At the same time, the effect of transverse vibration, longitudinal vibration and torsional vibration, on the stress and displacement of the drill string, is compared. The change law of the natural frequency of transverse vibration varying with the length of drill string, rotational speed and the hole size is discussed. Connected with concrete examples, the reliability and sensitivity of some influencing factors such as external diameter, wall thickness, the minimum yield strength, temperature, elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio, axial loading and torque is obtained. The main factors that influence the reliability of the drill string are the yield strength and torque. The reliability of the drill string increases as the increase of yield strength, and decreases as the increase of the torque.


Abstract In the early 1970s, J. T. Mihalczo (team leader), J. J. Lynn, and J. R. Taylor performed experiments at the Oak Ridge Critical Experiments Facility with highly enriched uranium (HEU) metal (called Oak Ridge Alloy or ORALLOY) in an effort to recreate GODIVA I results with greater accuracy than those performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1950s. The purpose of the Oak Ridge ORALLOY Sphere experiments was to estimate the unreflected and unmoderated critical mass of an idealized sphere of uranium metal corrected to a density, purity, and enrichment such that it could be compared with the GODIVA I experiments. Additionally, various material reactivity worths, the surface material worth coefficient, the delayed neutron fraction, the prompt neutron decay constant, relative fission density, and relative neutron importance were all measured. The critical assembly, material reactivity worths, the surface material worth coefficient, and the delayed neutron fraction were all evaluated as benchmark experiment measurements. The reactor physics measurements are the focus of this paper; although for clarity the critical assembly benchmark specifications are briefly discussed.


Wild edible plants refer to edible species that are not cultivated or domesticated for use. Different parts of wild plants collected from natural habitats are consumed as food in varied forms in different parts of Nepal. The main objective of this study was to review the wild edible plant species of Nepal. It compiled 436wild edible plant species from 110 families and 277 genera. Among them 208 (48%) species were herbs, 68 (16%) species shrubs, 120 (27%) species trees and 40 (9%) species were climbers. The study showed that 95 % of wild edible plant species were angiosperm, 5 % were pteridophytes and very negligible percentage (only one species) was gymnosperm. Fabaceae was the family with the highest number (27 sps.) followed by Moraceae and Rosaceae (24 sps.) and Polygonaceae and Asteraceae (19 sps.) of wild edible plants. Maximum numbers of plant species (208 sps.) were consumed as vegetables and the mostly used part of was found as the fruits (168 sps.) followed by leaves (93 sps.), shoots (52 sps.) and flowers (20 sps.).


Mechanical machining processes are common manufacturing strategies to re-shape materials to desired specification. The mechanistic approach has revealed the mechanics of the machining processes with various parameters determined. The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of swept angle optimization and their influence on the specific cutting energy in milling AISI 1045 steel alloy. This is achieved by varying the step over at different feed rate values in order to determine the optimization criterion for machining. It was observed that an optimum swept angle of 31.8o was appropriate in the elimination of ploughing effect and reducing the specific cutting energy to an optimised minimum value. However, higher swept angle of 41.4o increases the specific cutting energy with a higher machine tool power. This is attributable to the reduction in the cycle time caused by shorter toolpath length. The results obtained further elucidate the knowledge base for the determinations of optimum parameters for sustainable machining and resource efficiency of manufactured products.


Finding semantic communities using network topology and contents together is a hot topic in community detection. Existing methods often use word attributes in an indiscriminate way to help finding communities. Through analysis we find that, words in networked contents often embody a hierarchical semantic structure. Some words reflect a background topic of the whole network with all communities, some imply the high-level general topic covering several topic-related communities, and some imply the high-resolution specialized topic to describe each community. Ignoring such semantic structures often leads to defects in depicting networked contents where deep semantics are not fully utilized. To solve this problem, we propose a new Bayesian probabilistic model. By distinguishing words from either a background topic or some two-level topics (i.e., general and specialized topics), this model not only better utilizes the networked contents to help finding communities, but also provides a clearer multiplex semantic community interpretation. We then give an efficient variational algorithm for model inference. The superiority of this new approach is demonstrated by comparing with ten state-of-the-art methods on nine real networks and an artificial benchmark. A case study is further provided to show its strong ability in deep semantic interpretation of communities.


ABSTRACT "Deficiencies" of clastic particles in the ranges 1 to 4 mm and 0.125 to 0.062 mm have been widely reported in the literature. Reanalysis of the evidence cited as demonstrating the existence of these "deficiencies" reveals that (1) only a small number of data sets from a relatively few environments and localities have been considered, (2) some data sets have been misinterpreted, (3) a large body of contrary evidence has been ignored, and (4) statistically rigorous techniques were not used. In an effort to remedy some of these shortcomings 11,212 analyses of sediment from a wide variety of localities and environments (glacial, fluvial, eolian, lacustrine, marine, estuarine, beach and other) were averaged in subsets and examined for evidence of the "deficiencies." Most of the subset histograms do not have the histogram valleys that were thought to prove the existence of "deficiencies," nor does the overall average histogram. All of the distributions plot as a series of (1 to 4) straight line segments on normal probability paper as does the overall average. This conformity to a model that has been proposed as the expected distribution for individual analyses further refutes the hypothesis of "deficiencies." Because the data represent such diverse environments and localitie it is suggested that the character of the plots is controlled by the nature of parent material and the effects of attrition rather than by depositional mechanism.


Background/Aim: In Western countries, most patients with gastric cancer (GC) present in advanced stages. Therefore, there is imminent clinical need for novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Deregulation of microRNAs has been reported as a frequent event in GC development in a number of studies. Our study validated the potential of microRNAs to serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in patients with GC from the Central European population. Materials and Methods: Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, expression levels of six microRNAs (miR-10b, -21, -93, -107, - 143, and -145) were examined in 67 tumor tissues and 67 paired adjacent gastric tissues, and correlated with clinicopathological features of GC patients. Results: Expression levels of miR-10b, miR-21, miR-93, and miR-107 were significantly higher in GC samples compared to non-tumor tissue. Furthermore, the expression levels of miR-10b, miR-143, and miR-145 positively correlated with advanced stages, and increased expression of miR-10b, miR-21 and miR-145 was significantly associated with worse prognosis of gastric cancer patients. Conclusion: Our results indicate that selected tissue microRNAs have the potential to serve as relevant diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of GC in a central European population.


We report the properties of more than 800 bursts detected from the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source FRB 20201124A with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope during an extremely active episode on UTC 2021 September 25th-28th in a series of four papers. In this fourth paper of the series, we present a systematic search of the spin period and linear acceleration of the source object from both 996 individual pulse peaks and the dedispersed time series. No credible spin period was found from this data set. We rule out the presence of significant periodicity in the range between 1 ms and 100 s with a pulse duty cycle <0.49 ± 0.08 (when the profile is defined by a von-Mises function, not a boxcar function) and linear acceleration up to 300 m s−2 in each of the four one-hour observing sessions, and up to 0.6 m s−2 in all 4 days. These searches contest theoretical scenarios involving a 1 ms–100 s isolated magnetar/pulsar with surface magnetic field <1015 G and a small duty cycle (such as in a polar-cap emission mode) or a pulsar with a companion star or black hole up to 100 M ⊙ and P b > 10 hr. We also perform a periodicity search of the fine structures and identify 53 unrelated millisecond-timescale "periods" in multi-components with the highest significance of 3.9σ. The "periods" recovered from the fine structures are neither consistent nor harmonically related. Thus they are not likely to come from a spin period. We caution against claiming spin periodicity with significance below ∼4σ with multi-components from one-off FRBs. We discuss the implications of our results and the possible connections between FRB multi-components and pulsar microstructures.


SIR,-It was with great relief that I read the leading article on "Hypoglycaemia in Infancy and Childhood" (17 July, p. 130). At last there is guidance on the "controversial" point of whether or not to treat asymptomatic hypoglycaemic infants. These infants warrant intravenous therapy until there is evidence to the contrary. Can we now expect that requests for true glucose levels on neonates "at risk" will be recognized as urgent and neces-ary investigations by pathology departments throughout the country? It may well be that these actions will help to reduce the number of school children with learning difficulties in the future. -I am, etc., NoRMAN PET HALLIDAY London S.W.12


We have developed a simulation-based learning environment to provide system designers and operators with an appreciation of the impact of incidents on traffic delay. We used an application framework developed at the University of Maryland for constructing simulation-based learning environments called SimPLE (Simulated Processes in a Learning Environment). Environments developed with SimPLE use dynamic simulations and visualizations to represent realistic time-dependent behavior and are coupled with guidance material and other software aids that facilitate learning. The simulation allows learners to close freeway lanes and divert traffic to an arterial road. Users can see the effect of the detour on freeway and arterial delay. Users can then adjust signal timing interactively on a time space diagram and watch the effect of their adjustment on green band changes and on arterial delays and total delays.


In order to ascertain the superior characteristics of PCBN tool for hardened material machining, to promote the cutting performance and efficiency of a mold manufacturing, to investigate the wear mechanism of the cutting tool, and to investigate the dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the machined molds, SKD11 die steel and the polycrystalline cubic boron nitride are used as the workpiece and tool materials, respectively, in this study for turning experiments. After some proper surface layers removed from the workpiece in the experiment, the tool wear was measured through the toolmaker's microscope and the roughness of the machined surface was measured by the roughness measuring instruments. So that, the associated sampling data prepared for training pattern of a neural network can be obtained. Besides, the noise-mediator was used to detect cutting noise during each surface layer removal for the cutting performance judgment in the machining processes additionally. An assessment model of cutting process is thus developed using a neural network system if the reliable and sufficient data is taken from the experiments. Based on the developed neural network, the complicated relationships between the cutting parameters (cutting speed, depth of cut and feed rate) and the cutting performance (surface roughness, tool wear and cutting temperature) can be clearly clarified. The best surface roughness of 0.29μm Ra is obtained from these experiments under the cutting conditions of d =0.2mm, f =0.05mm/rev and V=120m/min. This surface quality is equivalent to the manufacturing process of chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), and the surface roughness of 0.2~0.5μm Ra may be attained by CMP. The CMP is always applied to high precision surface processing such as the valve piping and connector components in semiconductor/LED manufacturing.


Many forest and woodland birds are threatened by landscape modifications and predation, particularly nest predation. Nest predation affects a critical stage in avian life histories, which impacts the recruitment of new generations of adult birds. This review discusses the main issues in nest predation research in Australia: mesopredators, the use of artificial nests, 'edge-effects', the identification and role of nest predators and the responses of their prey. One conservation strategy is to selectively remove introduced mesopredators, but mesopredators iteratively replace one another, so the net benefit may be negligible. Authors have questioned the utility of artificial nests: they often provide results that vary from natural nests, thus I propose they are best seen as generators of hypotheses to be tested at natural nests. Many studies investigated nest success based on the distance to the edge of the forest or woodland, with equivocal results. Yet fragment size, structure and faunal assemblage set in a more complex paradigm may better explain the presence or absence of effects at edges. There are various types of evidence used to identify nest predators. I argue that cameras are the most functional and direct observations are the most informative. A large number and variety of nest predators are reported yet reviews of nest predation call for more information on the identity and roles of nest predators, particularly on those that add predation pressure beyond what the prey might be able to sustain. The impact of nest characteristics: type, height, vegetation layer, concealment and re-nesting were found to be equivocal in relation to nest predation and in need of focussed research on phylogenetic groups and guilds present within assemblages and within the context of assemblages. A handful of research studies have looked at the possible conservation actions of culling nest-predators and placing cages around threatened birds. More such studies are needed because they provide direct information about practical interventions. Research within assemblages is required to identify and elucidate the roles of nest predators and prey responses and to generate broad and useful theories, which may better inform conservation models.


Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) offers a treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients that are not eligible for surgery, embolization, chemotherapy, or radiofrequency ablation. We have evaluated the feasibility, tolerance and toxicity of SRT for 25 HCC patients who were not eligible for these other modalities. The patients (6 women and 19 men) were treated with CyberKnife stereotactic radiotherapy using respiratory motion tracking. All patients had liver cirrhosis with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score of less than 2 and pre-treatment Child scores ranging from A5 to B9. A total dose of 45 Gy in three fractions of 15 Gy each was prescribed to the 80% isodose line (95% of the PTV received 45 Gy) and delivered to the target volume over 10 to 12 days. Overall the treatment was well tolerated with two Grade 3 acute toxicities and no acute Grade 4 toxicities. Late toxicity was minimal with all observed late toxicities occurring within the first six months of follow-up. Three hepatic recurrences at a distance from the target and one metastasis were observed. The actuarial 1- and 2-year local control rate was 95% (95% CI: 69–95%). At a median overall follow-up of 12,7 months (range, 1–24 months), six of the twenty-five (24%) patients have died. Overall actuarial survival at 1- and 2-years was 79% (95% CI: 52–92%) and 52% (95% CI: 19–78%), respectively. Our results suggest promising therapeutic efficacy and good clinical tolerance to CyberKnife SRT treatment for HCC patients not eligible for other treatment modalities.


Companies, policymakers, and scholars alike are paying increasing attention to algorithmic recruitment and hiring tools that leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Big Data. To its advocates, algorithmic employee selection processes can be more effective in choosing the strongest candidates, increasing diversity, and reducing the influence of human prejudices. Many observers, however, express concern about other forms of bias that can infect algorithmic selection procedures, leading to fears regarding the potential for algorithms to create unintended discriminatory effects or mask more deliberate forms of discrimination. This article represents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the legal, ethical, and practical challenges associated with using these tools.

The article begins with background on both the nature of algorithmic selection tools and the legal backdrop of antidiscrimination laws. It then breaks down the key reasons why employers, courts and policymakers will struggle to fit these tools within the existing legal framework. These challenges include algorithmic tools' reliance on correlation; the opacity of models generated by many algorithmic selection tools; and the difficulty in fitting algorithmic tools into a legal framework developed for the employee selection tools of the mid-20th century.

The article concludes with a comprehensive proposed legal framework that weaves together the usually separate analyses of disparate treatment and disparate impact. It takes the fundamental principles of antidiscrimination laws, and the landmark Supreme Court cases interpreting them, and articulates a set of standards that address the unique challenges posed by algorithmic tools. The proposed framework (1) uses tests of reasonableness in disparate impact analysis in place of tests of statistical significance, which will become less and less meaningful in the age of Big Data; (2) requires employers to satisfy a modified form of the business necessity defense when an algorithmic tool has a disparate impact on a protected group; and (3) allows employers to use novel machine-learning techniques to prevent disparate impacts from arising without exposing themselves to disparate treatment liability.


This study was carried out to examine the effect of plant species on soil properties in the Falgore Game Reserve (FGR) in Kano State, Nigeria; with the aim to promote sustainable conservation and management of the game reserve and to encourage the use of multiple tree species on farmlands. Strata, systematic and random sampling techniques were employed in order to capture the variability of land cover. Composite samples of soil were randomly collected at a depth of 0-30cm from sample plots of 50 m × 50 m sizes at five points using soil auger. This experiment was replicated four times. The samples were thoroughly mixed and spread out on a dry floor to air dried under the roofed shade. The samples were packaged in polythene bags and taken to the biological science laboratory (Bayero University Kano, Nigeria) for preparation and analysis. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Correlation at p< 0.05. Based on this finding, shrubs and tree species diversity were found to be inversely related to soil total Nitrogen, N, % O.C and soil pH (H2O). The nitrogen content of the soil sample was more stable compared with the carbon content across the strata in the study area. The results of this finding revealed that plants species diversity have different effects on soil properties of FGR. Thus, it is recommended that conservation and restoration of threatened plant species should be encouraged for soil amendment. For easy adoption of plant species on farmlands, farmers should be enlightened more on the effects and environmental functions of trees on farm land.


The composition dependence of the viscosity of binary silicate melts is calculated from a new theoretical model based on the silicate structure described by the bonding state of oxygen ion. Gaye 's modelt 1 is used to evaluate the bonding state of oxygen ion using thermodynamic database.


Most online markets are characterized by competitive settings and limited demand information. Due to the complexity of such markets, efficient pricing strategies are hard to derive. We analyze stochastic dynamic pricing models in competitive markets with multiple offer dimensions, such as price, quality, and rating. In a first step, we use a simulated test market to study how sales probabilities are affected by specific customer behaviors and the strategic interaction of price reaction strategies. Further, we show how different state-of-the-art learning techniques can be used to estimate sales probabilities from partially observable market data. In a second step, we use a dynamic programming model to compute an effective pricing strategy which circumvents the curse of dimensionality. We demonstrate that the strategy is applicable even if the number of competitors is large and their strategies are unknown. We show that our heuristic can be tuned to smoothly balance profitability and speed of sales. Further, our approach is currently applied by a large seller on Amazon for the sale of used books. Sales results show that our data-driven strategy outperforms the rule-based strategy of an experienced seller by a profit increase of more than 20%.


Participatory research methods argue that young children should be enabled to contribute their perspectives on research seeking to understand their worldviews. Visual research methods, including the use of still and video cameras with young children have been viewed as particularly suited to this aim because cameras have been considered easy and fun to use for young children. However, how children learn to use cameras introduced into early childhood classrooms for research purposes is not well understood. In terms of visual research methodologies, this is a problem because participant use of cameras is associated with understanding the nature of visual data generated during the recording process itself. In this paper, we consider observational data of young children playing with video cameras introduced into their classrooms for research purposes. Drawing on the concepts of culturally mediated tool use and epistemic and ludic play, we theorise these observations to generate a new framework for understanding how children learn to use cameras through play-based activity. This framework suggests that research with children using still or video cameras may need to accommodate this learning within research designs and procedures in order to take full advantage of this medium. Pedagogical implications for using the framework to support young children's technological play are also considered.


Mobile ad hoc network (MANETs) is an emerging area with practical applications. One such field concerns mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) in which mobile nodes organize themselves in a network without the help of any predefined infrastructure. Securing MANETs is an important part of deploying and utilizing them, since them are often used in critical applications where data and communications integrity in important. Existing solutions for wireless networks can be used to obtain a certain level of such security. Nevertheless, these solutions may not always be sufficient, as ad-hoc networks have their own vulnerabilities that cannot be addressed by these solutions. To obtain an acceptable level of security in such a context, traditional security solutions should be coupled with an intrusion detection mechanism. We propose using a quantitative method to detect intrusion in MANETS with mobile nodes. Our method is a behavioral anomaly based system, which makes it dynamic, scalable, configurable and robust. Finally, we verify our method by running ns2 simulations with mobile nodes using Ad-hoc on- demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing. It is observed that the malicious node detection rate is very good, and the false positive detection rate is low.


The aim of this study was to determine the anatomical restraints to dislocation of the second metatarsophalangeal joint and to assess the biomechanical efficacy of a technique that is commonly used to stabilize this joint. Cadaveric feet were disarticulated at the ankle, with preservation of the long flexor tendons at the medial malleolus. The hindfoot was transfixed to an aluminum jig, and a contoured nylon block was secured to the dorsum of the second metatarsal. A Kirschner wire was passed transversely through the proximal phalanx and was attached to a wire loop through which a constant vertical displacement was applied with a universal testing machine. A preload of five newtons was applied, followed by a constant displacement of two millimeters per minute, and the load-displacement curves were measured. The volar plate and the collateral ligaments were divided in five feet each. In another ten feet, both of these structures were divided simultaneously. Each load cycle was repeated four times. The force required to dislocate the joint, in the position in which testing was performed, was reduced by a mean of 30 per cent when the volar plate was divided and by a mean of 46 per cent when the collateral ligaments were divided. Division of both of these structures created an unstable joint, which dislocated at an applied load of five to ten newtons. The metatarsophalangeal joint was then repaired with use of a flexor tendon transfer in all twenty feet. This repair technique restored the load-displacement curves to that of the normal toe.


The characteristic physical properties of titanium alloy materials of the electrical discharge machining (EDM) small hole is studied theoretically and experimentally. From the theory of EDM, based on the phenomenon of microcosmic surface on EDM small hole, the model of surface roughness is built, and the regulation between roughness and pulse width, peak electric current was analyzed, and the roughness empiric formula is developed by use of dyadic linear regression method. Furthermore, by computer simulation technology with established formula the results are derived for other people to public data simulation. After being simulated, the results show that the established model in this paper can accurately forecast the value of processing roughness Ra of commonly used in the processing parameters within the framework, provides a useful complement to titanium alloys for processing the theoretical study and practical application.


Paclitaxel (Taxol), a naturally occurring antimitotic agent, has shown significant cell-killing activity in a variety of tumor cells through induction of apoptosis. The mechanism by which paclitaxel induces cell death is not entirely clear. Recent studies in our laboratory demonstrated that glucocorticoids selectively inhibited paclitaxel-induced apoptosis without affecting the ability of paclitaxel to induce microtubule bundling and mitotic arrest. This finding suggests that apoptotic cell death induced by paclitaxel may occur via a pathway independent of mitotic arrest. In the current study, through analyses of a number of apoptosis-associated genes or regulatory proteins, we discovered that paclitaxel significantly down-regulated I kB-a, the cytoplasmic inhibitor of transcription factor nuclear factorkB (NF-kB), which in turn promoted the nuclear translocation of NF-kB and its DNA binding activity. In contrast, we found that glucocorticoids could antagonize paclitaxel-mediated NF-kB nuclear translocation and activation through induction of I kB-a protein synthesis. Northern blotting analyses demonstrated that the steady-state level of I kB-a mRNA was not affected by paclitaxel, which suggests that the down-regulation of I kB-a by paclitaxel is attributable to protein degradation rather than suppression of transcription. Furthermore, through transfection assays, we demonstrated that tumor cells stably transfected with antisense I kB-a expression vectors remarkably increased their sensitivity to paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. Finally, we found that a key subunit of I kB kinase (IKK) complex, IKK b, was up-regulated by paclitaxel, which implies that paclitaxel might down-regulate IkB-a through modulation of IKK b activity. All of these results suggest that the NFkB/IkB-a signaling pathway may contribute to the mediation of paclitaxel-induced cell death in solid tumor cells.


The following report documents the internship performed by Michael Indest, Jr. at the Metropolitan Opera Guild in New York City. Since 1935, the Metropolitan Opera Guild has supported the Metropolitan Opera Association as a separate nonprofit organization in order to ensure the continuing survival of this esteemed opera company. The Guild operates from its office buildings in the Rose Building at 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, in New York City. During his time at the Rose Building, Mr. Indest worked closely with the Development and Education Departments, and was responsible for writing instructional study guides and grant appropriate materials for those departments. This report catalogues the duties performed by Mr. Indest and the scope of his contribution. It discusses issues encountered during that process, and also provides a SWOT analysis of the organization. The report examines the best practices performed by similar organizations and provides practical recommendations to foster increased effectiveness within the Guild. Finally, the report discusses Mr. Indest's contributions as an intern and their short and long-term effects. It should also be noted that Mr. Indest's experience was solely with the Guild, and the statements and analysis included in this report do not in any way reflect the practices of the Metropolitan Opera Association.


Based on Nd:YAG laser, tunable diode laser, electro-optic amplitude modulator and the difference frequency generator, a servo scanning laser source is designed, and the principle of trace gas concentration measurement model is introduced as well, which can realize the gas concentration measurement in the band of mid-infrared and far-infrared. Based on the theory of electromagnetic field, mutual coupling equation about laser transmission in nonlinear crystal and the optical frequency conversion characteristics are analyzed theoretically. As a result, in the range of far-field, electric field intensity of coupled wave increases approximatively exponentially,then tends to be stable.


This dissertation presents work in two areas, the first of which is 35-44 GHz power dividers for phased-array transmit systems. A compact active 1:16 single-ended power divider in a 0.18 [mu]m SiGe technology is presented, which achieves 0.8 dB rms gain imbalance and 6⁰ rms phase imbalance at 35 GHz. A second-generation divider is also presented, with 0.3 dB rms gain imbalance and 4⁰ rms phase imbalance at 40.5 GHz. The cascode-node power division approach is shown to be a useful and compact power division topology. A differential broadside-coupled stripline (BCS) structure integrated vertically in the 0.18 [mu]m SiGe interconnect stackup is also developed, which can produce highly symmetric corporate-feed networks (tree structure). A 1:8 power divider is presented which incorporates the BCS structure and attains 0.4 dB rms gain imbalance and 3⁰ rms phase imbalance at 44 GHz. Finally, a sixteen-element 44 GHz beamforming chip with integrated phase shifters utilizing the BCS structure is also presented, and is the first example of a sixteen-element phased-array beamformer at any frequency. The second area of work is in W-Band (70-110 GHz) imaging systems, and several W-band RFICs are developed in the IBM8HP SiGe process (0.12 [mu]m BiCMOS). A wideband 84-100 GHz LNA with 19 dB gain and 8 dB NF is first presented, along with a second-generation LNA achieving 8 dB more gain. An 80- 110 GHz SPDT switch with 2.3 dB insertion loss and 21 dB isolation is developed, and a biased power detector circuit with 14 kV/W responsivity, 40 nV/pHz output noise, and 2.5-3 pW/pHz NEP is presented along with noise and responsivity analysis. These circuits can replace current (and more expensive) III-V chips in many applications. Two passive imaging chips are developed using these RFICs. First, a total-power radiometer is presented (LNA + Detector) which can achieve 0.69 K temperature resolution when 1/f noise contributions are removed by electronic or mechanical chopping. Following this is a Dicke radiometer chip integrating a SPDT, LNA, and W-band detector. This chip can achieve 0.84 K temperature resolution by using electronic chopping, which is comparable to current III-V implementations and is the first SiGe or CMOS W-Band imaging chip. The thesis also contains a summary of the equations required for imaging systems, and an investigation of the additional 1/f noise found in the radiometer chips. The 1/f noise problem is solved using large-area resistors in the bias network layout. The thesis concludes with a presentation of differential SiGe LNA designs and radiometer chips which are designed to be compatible with planar differential antennas


[Extract] The purpose of this project was to create a better understanding of the multi-stakeholder environment in which decisions are made for the coastal zone. Stakeholder analysis and social mapping are applied here as participatory social research tools that document and feed back the values, interests, attitudes and aspirations of a defined group of stakeholders to encourage mutual understanding and enhance negotiation and deliberation over genuine conflicts of interest. This project used stakeholder analysis to investigate the values, interests, attitudes and aspirations of those involved in, or affected by, decision-making in the Port Curtis and Fitzroy Catchments. The 'social map' that the research generated will provide a more robust platform for research, planning and decision-making. These participatory 'tools' have been used to understand the coastal system, by examining how stakeholders construct and perceive the coastal zone, and the planning and management environment.


An innovative comparative history of how German and British soldiers endured the horror of the First World War. Unlike existing literature, which emphasises the strength of societies or military institutions, this study argues that at the heart of armies' robustness lay natural human resilience. Drawing widely on contemporary letters and diaries of British and German soldiers, psychiatric reports and official documentation, and interpreting these sources with modern psychological research, this unique account provides fresh insights into the soldiers' fears, motivations and coping mechanisms. It explains why the British outlasted their opponents by examining and comparing the motives for fighting, the effectiveness with which armies and societies supported men and the combatants' morale throughout the conflict on both sides. Finally it challenges the consensus on the war's end, arguing that not a 'covert strike' but rather an 'ordered surrender' led by junior officers brought about Germany's defeat in 1918.


Abstract The design of new protocols for the colloidal synthesis of complex nanocrystals (NCs) with advanced functionalities, comprising both hybrid and hollow structures, and the study of their fundamental properties is of paramount importance for the development of a new generation of nanostructured materials. The possibility of tailoring the dimensional regime of NCs, along with its composition and structure, represents a landmark achievement in the control of their unique physico-chemical properties. These properties, alongside with the ability to cheaply produce high quality NCs in fairly large amounts by wet-chemistry techniques, leads to their potential applicability from materials science to nanomedicine. Within this context, this review is focused on describing a successful framework for designing synthetic strategies for the production of advanced complex NCs, integrating the development of new synthetic methods with its structural characterization, monitoring of their properties, and study of its reactivity. As a result, it is expected to provide new routes to produce robust and easy-to-process NCs in a wide range of sizes, shapes and configurations that can be explored to achieve the combination of all degrees of control, aiming to produce a complete and diverse library of material combinations that will expand its applicability in a wide diversity of fields.


The MIM technology is an alternative process for fabricating near net shape components that usually uses gas atomised powders with small size (< 20 μm) and spherical shape. In this work, the possibility of changing partially or totally spherical powder by an irregular and/or coarse one that is cheaper than the former was investigated. Different bronze 90/10 components were fabricated by mixing three different types of powder: gas atomised spherical powder (usual MIM powder < 22 μm) and two water atomised irregular powders (size < 35 μm and < 140 μm). The blends were made by using only two types of powder in each mixture with the following volume proportions (100/0, 67/33, 33/67, 0/100). The influence of the particle size and shape on the powder packing density and sintering stage was analyzed through the apparent density of the powder blends, as well as, densification, hardness and porosity of the sintered parts. The addition of irregular and/or coarse powder was found to affect the moulding process, although good densifications and hardnesses were obtained in the sintering step. Therefore it could be a promising way to diminish production costs in this technology.


TITLE OF THESIS: OBJECTIVE QUANTIFICATION OF DAYTIME SLEEPINESS STUDENT'S NAME: Amanda E. Hodges THESIS CHAIR: Daniel J. Whitaker BACKGROUND: Sleep problems affect people of all ages, race, gender, and socioeconomic classifications. Undiagnosed sleep disorders significantly and adversely impact a person's level of academic achievement, job performance, and subsequently, socioeconomic status. Undiagnosed sleep disorders also negatively impact both direct and indirect costs for employers, the national government, and the general public. Sleepiness has significant implications on quality of life by impacting occupational performance, driving ability, cognition, memory, and overall health. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of daytime sleepiness, as well as other quantitative predictors of sleep continuity and quality. METHODS: Population data from the CDC program in fatigue surveillance were used for this secondary analysis seeking to characterize sleep quality and continuity variables. Each participant underwent a standard nocturnal polysomnography and a standard multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) on the subsequent day. Frequency and chi-square tests were used to describe the sample. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare sleep related variables of groups with sleep latencies of 10 minutes. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association of the sleep variables with sleep latency time. RESULTS: The mean (SD) sleep latency of the sample was 8.8 (4.9) minutes. Twenty-four individuals had ≥1 SOREM, and approximately 50% of participants (n = 100) met clinical criteria for a sleep disorder. Individuals with shorter sleep latencies, compared to those with longer latencies reported higher levels of subjective sleepiness, had higher sleep efficiency percentages, and longer sleep times. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale, sleep efficiency percentage, total sleep time, the presence of a sleep disorder, and limb movement index were positively associated with a mean sleep latency of <5 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of a significant percentage of sleep disorders within our study sample validate prior suggestions that such disorders remain unrecognized, undiagnosed, and untreated. In addition, our findings confirm questionnaire-based surveys that suggest a significant number of the population is excessively sleepy, or hypersomnolent. Therefore, the high prevalence of sleep disorders and the negative public health effects of daytime sleepiness demand attention. Further studies are now required to better quantify levels daytime sleepiness, within a population based sample, to better understand their impact upon morbidity and mortality. This will not only expand on our current understanding of daytime sleepiness, but it will also raise awareness surrounding its significance and relation to public health. OBJECTIVE QUANTIFICATION OF DAYTIME SLEEPINESS


Lanthanum manganites with a massive concentration of La defects can be stabilized in the form of thin films, by exploiting the structural stress produced by a substrate such as SrTiO3. They undergo an insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) like those doped by divalent ions, which is here studied by measuring the optical conductivity of LaxMnO 3 − &dgr; ?> films with x = 0.66, 0.88, 0.98 and 1.10, and with &dgr; ≃ 0 ?> , from the far infrared to the near ultraviolet, and between 20 and 300 K. The IMT is here a slow process which continues down to 100 K at least, more than 250 K below its onset at the Curie temperature Tc and at the TIMT measured from the dc resistivity. The metallization is here monitored through the increase of the Drude term and a transfer of spectral weight from a 'hard' midinfrared band MIR-2 peaked between 3000 and 5000 cm−1 at room temperature, to a 'soft' midinfrared band MIR-1 at ∼ 1000 cm−1 and to the Drude term. This evidence is in good agreement with a model of phase separation below Tc, where insulating and paramagnetic regions of small polarons coexist with conducting and ferromagnetic regions populated by large polarons and free carriers.


An influential literature on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) has documented that poor conditions in utero lead to higher risk of cardiovascular disease at older ages. Evidence from low-income countries (LICs) has hitherto been missing, despite the fact that adverse in utero conditions are far more common in LICs. We find that Malawians exposed in utero to the 1949 Nyasaland famine have better cardiovascular health 70 years later. These findings highlight the potential context specificity of the DOHaD hypothesis, with in utero adversity having different health implications among aging LIC individuals who were exposed to persistent poverty.


Echogenic ovarian foci (EOF) are common ultrasound findings of unclear significance. Objectives: to follow up natural course of EOF and to determine potential for malignant transformation. Materials and Methods: Sixty five patients with EOF in one or both ovaries were followed with yearly pelvic ultrasound for 10 years. Results: EOF were bilateral in 53 patients, unilateral in 12 patients. EOF had clustered pattern in 83 ovaries and were singular in 35 ovaries. EOF were peripheral in 67 ovaries, had central location in 18 and had mixed distribution in 33 ovaries. During longitudinal follow up EOF stayed unchanged in 99 ovaries, increased in size in 12, decreased or became undetectable in 7 ovaries. Ovarian specimens were obtained in 6 patients (total 9 ovaries) who had gynecologic surgery for reasons unrelated to EOF. Epithelial inclusion cysts were detected in 5 ovaries, simple calcifications in 4 ovaries. None of the patients developed ovarian malignancy over 10-year observation period. Conclusion: EOF are benign findings and their appearance changes over time. In our series EOF did not signify ovarian pathology and required no follow-up.


This thesis describes the development and device physics of an X-ray microcalorimeter. This is a device for measuring the energy of X-rays. The microcalorimeter measures the temperature increase that is the result of the absorption of an X-ray photon. Combined into an array, the microcalorimeter can be used as an imaging spectrometer. The availability of an imaging X-ray spectrometer with a high energy resolving power will have a significant impact in astronomy and material analysis. In astronomy, X-ray spectra provide information about high-energy processes taking place in the universe. In material analysis, the structure and composition of materials can be determined. The work described here is guided by therequirements of an
instrument for XEUS, a future space-based astrophysical observatory.
The microcalorimeter is based on a superconducting-to-normal phase transition edge thermometer (TES). This is a superconductor that is voltage-biased in the very narrow transition from superconducting to resistive behaviour. In the
transition, the electrical resistance is very sensitive to changes in the temperature, making the TES a good temperature to resistance transducer. The resistive element is easily incorporated in an electrical read-out circuit. The energy resolving power of the microcalorimeter is limited by noise. In this thesis, this noise is studied in detail, both in experimental sensors as well as through simulations.
The sensors are fabricated using existing Si3N4 micromachining and thin-film photolithographical techniques. Several sensors with small square absorbers were manufactured and tested. With an operating temperature of 0.1 K, their energy resolution was about 4.5 eV for X-ray photons of 5.9 keV. This is equivalent to a resolving power of 1300. This energy resolution is satisfactory, but not as good as predicted by theory. This discrepancy was investigated and forms the heart of this thesis. The difference between theory and measurement was explained by a combination of two effects:
Firstly, because the TES and absorber are seperate parts in the sensor, there can be an exchange of energy between the two. This results in an internal noise component which deteriorates the energy resolution. By changing the sensor geometry, we were able to influence and reduce the spectral density of this noise component. Using a numerical noise simulation, several geometries were evaluated.
Secondly, the predicted resolution is based on a small-signal model, which assumes limited excursions over the transition of the TES. For actual X-ray pulses that use a significant part of the dynamic range of the TES, this model was found to be incorrect. The large excursions cause the pulse shape to deviate from the ideal shape as assumed by the small-signal model. Because of this, the small-signal model predicts a better resolution than could actually be measured. Using measured pulse shapes, a more accurate prediction was made, which is in agreement with the measurements. A simple large-signal model was constructed to simulate pulse shapes based on the sensor parameters. With this model, the energy resolution can be described as a function of the size of the excursion over the transition (equivalent to different X-ray photon energy or
device heat capacity). The model can be used for performance prediction at arbitrary X-ray energies and for improved sensor optimisation.


Background After a rise in the early 2000s in the number of new HIV diagnoses among MSM in New Zealand, also witnessed in many developed countries, in 2011 the number dropped by 34% compared to 2010. To assess relative progress on control we compare trends in HIV diagnosis rates among MSM in developed countries with similarly mature epidemics. Methods We obtained data on annual HIV diagnoses among MSM between 2003–2011 from 17 developed countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, UK, US). We reallocated those with unknown means of infection according to the countries' pattern of known causes, and used countries' adjustment for delayed reporting where available. The diagnosis rate was derived using the population of men aged 15–64. Results New Zealand has low rates compared to most countries of Western Europe, North America and Australia, and are comparable with those of Scandinavia All counties except New Zealand, Iceland and Canada, experienced a slight overall rise in diagnosis rates in the period 2003–2011 Over the past four years there has been a: Slight trend upwards in UK, Belgium, France, Australia, Ireland No clear trend in Spain, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Norway Slight trend downwards in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and possibly Iceland Clear trend downwards in Switzerland. Conclusions New Zealand has a low rate of HIV diagnoses, relative to many other developed countries. Our drop in 2011 HIV is encouraging but not unique. Limitations of this study are that the data are of diagnosis not infection rates, are influenced by patterns of testing, immigration and emigration, and dual modes of transmission, and the proportion who are MSM may vary between countries. Factors relating to recent trends should be explored.


An injectable bone substitute (IBS) made of a suspension of calcium phosphate ceramic was used to filled dental root canal after removing of canal pulp. Compared with current filling materials, which are toxic to periapical tissues, calcium phosphate materials, due to their biocompatibility and bioactive properties, may be viewed as possible alternatives. The aim of this study was first to determine if an injectable bone substitute could be used to obtain further healing of apical tissue by the neoformation of a mineralized barrier. In the next step, the paper will focus on rheological measurements as a tool for physical characterisation and on the improvement of the injection technique. Rheology concerns the flow and deformation of the suspension and, in particular, its behaviour in the transient area between solids and fluids. The results showed that injection is possible with a good level of BCP granules at the end of the root dental canal with extracted tooth. Other experiments with other animal models closer to a Human model have to be performed before human trials.


When the system load is high or congestion occurs, a base station (BS) in the IEEE 802.16e metropolitan area network (MAN) is not able to transmit all buffered packets to mobile stations (MSs) within a frame interval, resulting in extra energy consumption for MSs to wake up for receiving pending packets. To save energy for such a situation, we first propose a scheduling- based delay-tolerant traffic indication message (D-TIM) scheme to enable a BS to properly schedule queued packets for non-real-time variable rate (NRT-VR) and best effort (BE) using information of delay threshold (DT), which can be derived from QoS parameters, and to determine the time offset between the frame in which an MS has to wake up and the frame containing a TIM message. With the time offset, MSs are able to wake up more precisely so that energy can be efficiently saved and less packet delay can be reached. Furthermore, two variants of D- TIM are also proposed for solving the problem of higher jitter to the unsolicited grant service (UGS). Through simulation, we demonstrate that D-TIM outperforms other related schemes in the literature in terms of energy efficiency and packet delay and the two variants reduce jitter greatly as compared to D-TIM while maintaining good energy efficiency and less packet delay.


Agricultural communities and crop production are negatively impacted by invasive species, with the effects of pathogenic fungi, parasitic insects and weedy plants being well studied. Mammals and birds are also recognized as impacting crops, but reptiles, such as non-native green iguanas ( Iguana iguana ), are typically not considered agricultural pests. Research on non-native green iguanas has largely focused on the lizard's interactions with native species with little attention given to its impact in the agricultural landscape. We conducted semi-structured interviews with farmers from 20 farms in Puerto Rico to explore the effect of the invasive green iguana on the production of crops and how farmers manage impacts, if any. A total of 34 of 55 crop species reported by farmers were negatively affected by the green iguana. We found that green iguanas were absent from 20% of farms, did not consume crops in 10% of the farms and caused negative impacts in 70% of the remaining farms. Negative impacts included crop loss and infrastructural damage, which had behavioral, emotional, and economic effects on farmers. Specific outcomes of these effects were revenue loss, refurbishing costs, changes in crop selection, management costs and emotional stress. Farmers considered management strategies as mitigation measures that needed to be constant to produce any positive effects on crop yield. They reported use of mesh fencing, hunting, and domestic animals as attempts to reduce negative effects of green iguanas on crop production. Recognition of this species as an agricultural pest is warranted in Puerto Rico and perhaps elsewhere in its introduced range. Agricultural extension agents should consider providing guidance on strategies to reduce negative impacts of green iguanas including cultivating less susceptible crops when possible.


Catharine Macaulay, an 18th century English historian, published her educational philosophy in Letters on Education with Observations on Religious and Metaphysical Subjects in 1790. The ultimate goal of her educational process, to 'bring the human mind to such a height of perfection as shall induce the practice of the best morals', (, p. 173) is examined in this paper. Her ideas about the interactions among benevolence, sympathy, reason and the public voice with regard to the education of the moral, virtuous person are considered. Macaulay's suggestions regarding the benefits of a specific curriculum and pedagogy in developing students capable of filtering the limiting dictates of society and aspiring toward virtue are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the tensions her suggestions embody for the ideal, co‐educational classroom.


In basic genetic algorithm (GA) applications, the fitness of a solution takes a value that is certain and unchanging. This formulation does not work for ongoing searches for better solutions in a nonstationary environment in which expected solution fitness changes with time in unpredictable ways, or for fitness evaluations corrupted by noise. In such cases, the estimated fitness has an associated uncertainty. The uncertainties due to environmental changes (process noise) and to noisy evaluations (observation noise) can be reduced, at least temporarily, by re-evaluating existing solutions. The Kalman formulation provides a formal mechanism for treating uncertainty in GA. It provides the mechanics for determining the estimated fitness and uncertainty when a new solution is generated and evaluated for the first time. It also provides the mechanics for updating the estimated fitness and uncertainty after an existing solution is re-evaluated and for increasing the uncertainty with the passage of time. A Kalman-extended GA (KGA) is developed to determine when to generate a new individual, and when to re-evaluate an existing one and which to re-evaluate. This KGA is applied to the problem of maintaining a network configuration with minimized message loss, with mobile nodes and stochastic transmission. As the nodes move, the optimal network changes, but information contained within the population of solutions allows efficient discovery of better-adapted solutions. The sensitivity of the KGA to several control parameters is explored.


Hydraulic fracturing is the most commonly used stimulation method at present. The improvement effect and validity period mainly depend on the fracture conductivity. Carbo proppant is widely used worldwide for its excellent performance in increasing the conductivity of fracture support. The proppant used in the fracturing development of the Karamay oilfield in Xinjiang is also mainly Carbo proppant, but Karamay has abundant regional sand resources due to its special geographical location and geological conditions. Compared with the high cost and transportation cost of the Carbo proppant, the available regional sand becomes cheaper and reduces the development cost. According to the evaluation standard of flow conductivity of proppant in petroleum and natural gas industry, Firstly, the basic physical properties of the regional sand in Xinjiang were evaluated through the laboratory experiment system, and compared with the Carbo proppant. Secondly, the effect of sand placement concentration (8kg, 10kg, 16kg) and mesh number of proppant (30/50, 40/70) on regional sand conductivity was studied based on the conductivity evaluation system. Finally, the effect of the combination of regional sand and Carbo proppant on the conductivity was studied, under the same sand placement concentration and mesh number of proppant. The results of laboratory experiments show that the hardness and density of regional sand are higher than that of Carbo proppant, but the sphericity of regional sand is smaller than that of Carbo proppant. Under the same sand placement concentration, the regional sand conductivity of 30/50 meshes was higher than that of 40/70 meshes. As the concentration of sand placement increases, the ability of regional sand conductivity increases. The conductivity of a 1:1 mixture of regional sand and Carbo quartz is comparable to that of all Carbo quartz. According to the application examples of adjacent Wells A and B in block X of Xinjiang oilfield, the project that the ratio of regional sand to Carbo proppant is 1:1 can guarantee stable and effective flow conductivity and save fracturing cost.


BACKGROUND
 Mobile health (mHealth) apps can provide support to people living with a chronic disease by offering resources for communication, self-management, and social support. PositiveLinks (PL) is a clinic-deployed mHealth app designed to improve the health of people with HIV. In a pilot study, PL users experienced considerable improvements in care engagement and viral load suppression. To promote its expansion to other HIV clinics, we developed an implementation strategy consisting of training resources and on-demand program support.

 OBJECTIVE
 The objective of our study was to conduct an interim analysis of the barriers and facilitators to PL implementation at early adopting sites to guide optimization of our implementation strategy.

 METHODS
 Semistructured interviews with stakeholders at PL expansion sites were conducted. Analysis of interviews identified facilitators and barriers that were mapped to 22 constructs of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). The purpose of the analysis was to identify the facilitators and barriers to PL implementation in order to adapt the PL implementation strategy. Four Ryan White HIV clinics were included. Interviews were conducted with one health care provider, two clinic managers, and five individuals who coordinated site PL activities.

 RESULTS
 Ten common facilitators and eight common barriers were identified. Facilitators to PL implementation included PL's fit with patient and clinic needs, PL training resources, and sites' early engagement with their information technology personnel. Most barriers were specific to mHealth, including access to Wi-Fi networks, maintaining patient smartphone access, patient privacy concerns, and lack of clarity on how to obtain approvals for mHealth use.

 CONCLUSIONS
 The CFIR is a useful framework for evaluating mHealth interventions. Although PL training resources were viewed favorably, we identified important barriers to PL implementation in a sample of Ryan White clinics. This enabled our team to expand guidance on identifying information technology stakeholders and procuring and managing mobile resources. Ongoing evaluation results continue to inform improvements to the PL implementation strategy, facilitating PL access for future expansion sites.


Clinicians face competing pressures of being clinically productive while using imperfect electronic health record (EHR) systems and maximizing face-to-face time with patients. EHR use is increasingly associated with clinician burnout and underscores the need for interventions to improve clinicians' experiences. With an aim of addressing this need, we share evidence-based informatics approaches, pragmatic next steps, and future research directions to improve 3 of the highest contributors to EHR burden: (1) documentation, (2) chart review, and (3) inbox tasks. These approaches leverage speech recognition technologies, natural language processing, artificial intelligence, and redesign of EHR workflow and user interfaces. We also offer a perspective on how EHR vendors, healthcare system leaders, and policymakers all play an integral role while sharing responsibility in helping make evidence-based sociotechnical solutions available and easy to use.


This paper describes a case study of an energy efficiency project carried out for a UK manufacturer of ready meals. As well as a review of relevant literature the study collected and analysed data on energy and water use and analysed the possible use of waste heat in the effluent from the factory. The novelty in this project was the use of building simulation software to model the impact of modified temperature control, solar thermal collectors and absorption chillers on factory energy use. The results show the weather dependence of energy used by food factories where electrical energy is dominated by refrigeration, and the poor correlation of gas use with output due to the use of large volumes of hot water for cleaning.


We present half-light sizes measured from emission tracing star formation in 281 star-forming galaxies from the survey at . Sizes are derived by fitting 2D exponential disk models, with bootstrap errors averaging 20%. sizes are a median (mean) of 1.19 (1.26) times larger than those of the stellar continuum—which, due to radial dust gradients, places an upper limit on the growth in stellar size via star formation—with just intrinsic scatter. At fixed continuum size the size shows no residual trend with stellar mass, star formation rate, redshift, or morphology. The only significant residual trend is with the excess obscuration of by dust, at fixed continuum obscuration. The scatter in continuum size at fixed stellar mass is likely driven by the scatter in halo spin parameters. The stability of the ratio of size to continuum size demonstrates a high degree of stability in halo spin and in the transfer of angular momentum to the disk over a wide range of physical conditions and cosmic time. This may require local regulation by feedback processes. The implication of our results, as we demonstrate using a toy model, is that our upper limit on star-formation-driven growth is sufficient only to evolve star-forming galaxies approximately along the observed size–mass relation, consistent with the size growth of galaxies at constant cumulative comoving number density. To explain the observed evolution of the size–mass relation of star-forming disk galaxies, other processes, such as the preferential quenching of compact galaxies or galaxy mergers, may be required.


INTRODUCTION: The first hours of life are still a window of opportunity to identify at-risk newborns, but there are few studies focusing on early neonatal behavior.OBJECTIVE: Describe in a cross section the behavior of newborns born in conditions of low perinatal risk under 48 hours of extrauterine life and compare it with historical referents.METHOD: We studied 47 newborns with low perinatal risk, whose behavior was assessed using the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). Scores were obtained by item and area, and then were compared with 7 historical referents.RESULTS: Low scores were found, both by item and by areas in up to 25% of the population. NBAS scores were related primarily with age of newborn, weight, and height. Significant differences were found in relation to referents for which higher scores were reported in the majority of cases.CONCLUSIONS: A pattern was found of behavior, in which the same areas or items caused greater or lesser difficulty in achieving higher scores or those which required a certain level of adaptation to the environment, which would lead us to believe that our newborns should attain the scores seen in other populations as they advance in age.


In distributed simulations, the delivered performance of networks of heterogeneous computers degrades severely if the computations are not load balanced. In this work we consider the distributed simulation of TURNS (Transonic Unsteady Rotor Navier Stokes), a 3-D space CFD code. We propose a load balancing heuristic for simulations on networks of heterogeneous workstations. Our algorithm takes into account the CPU speed and memory capacity of the workstations. Test run comparisons with the equal task allocation algorithm demonstrated significant efficiency gains.


A novel approach is presented for more effectively removing invalid phase values in absolute phase recovery. The approach is based on a detailed study involving the types and cases of invalid phase values. Meanwhile, some commonalities of the existing removal algorithms also are thoroughly analyzed. It is well known that rough absolute phase and fringe order maps can very easily be obtained by temporal phase unwrapping techniques. After carefully analyzing the components and fringe order distribution of the rough fringe order map, the proposed method chiefly adopts an entirely new strategy to refine a pure fringe order map. The strategy consists of three parts: (1) the square of an image gradient, (2) subregion areas of the binary image, and (3) image decomposition and composition. In combination with the pure fringe order map and a removal criterion, the invalid phase values can be identified and filtered out from the rough absolute phase map. This new strategy not only gets rid of the limitations of traditional removal methods but also has a two-fold function. The paper also offers different metrics from the experiment to evaluate the quality of the final absolute phase. In contrast with other removal methods, experimental results have verified the feasibility, effectiveness, and superiority of the proposed method.


Based on a close study of Walter Lippmann's correspondence and publications, this article aims to critically reconsider his legacy in the field of communication. To this end, I focus on Lippmann's involvement in propaganda and psychological warfare activities during the Second World War. Following a succinct overview of the history of the psychological warfare and propaganda agencies, I successively explore three different aspects of Lippmann's involvement. First, this article examines Lippmann's contribution to the activities of the Committee for National Morale. Second, the article focuses on the relationship between Lippmann and William "Wild Bill" Donovan, the director of the Office of the Coordinator of Information and the Office of Strategic Services. Third, the article turns to the relationship between Lippmann and Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy, and explores Lippmann's role in the War Department's Psychological Warfare Branch.


We report the fabrication of 3D, highly porous, covalently bound polymer films of homogeneous thickness. These surface-bound gels combine the advantages of metal-organic framework (MOF) materials, namely, the enormous flexibility and the large size of the maximum pore structures and, in particular, the possibility to grow them epitaxially on modified substrates, with those of covalently connected gel materials, namely, the absence of metal ions in the deposited material, a robust framework consisting of covalent bonds, and, most importantly, pronounced stability under biological conditions. The conversion of a SURMOF (surface-mounted MOF) yields a surface-grafted gel. These SURGELs can be loaded with bioactive compounds and applied as bioactive coatings and provide a drug-release platform in in vitro cell culture studies.


The long-term use of antimicrobials as growth promoters in poultry feed leads to antimicrobial resistance in pathogens. Thus, alternatives to antibiotics are essential for reasons associated with both safety and cost-effectiveness. Underutilized plant sources need to be developed to replace antibiotics in broiler feed. Several feed resources have been introduced so far, but they have yet to be applied widely. Date pits are a major by-product of the date industry (6–8%) and have the potential antioxidant to replace antibiotics. In this study, fresh date pits were degraded using the mold Trichoderma reesei under solid-state degradation (SSD), resulting in degraded date pits (DDP). A total of 180 Brazilian "Cobb 500" broiler chicks were divided into six feed treatments in triplicate groups. The treatments were corn-soy basal diet (positive control; C+), corn-soy + 20% oxytetracycline at 0.05% (negative control; C–), corn-soy + 10% DDP, corn-soy + 0.2% mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS), corn-soy + 0.1% mannose, and corn-soy + 0.2% mannose. The antioxidant and biochemical effects of DDP, MOS, and mannose were determined in the blood serum, liver, and intestine of broilers at age 21 and 42 days. The results indicated that the contents of antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolics, as well as the MOS content in DDP, were increased by the degradation process. Additionally, mannose, glucose, arabinose, rhamnose, and glucuronic acid were significantly increased in DDP after degradation. The activity of antioxidant enzymes (GPx—glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and SOD—superoxide dismutase) in the serum, liver, and intestine of broilers fed with diets containing 10% DDP and 0.2% MOS was increased significantly compared to the control group. Malondialdehyde activity was decreased, whereas the mean corpuscular hemoglobin level and the iron content were significantly upregulated in the broilers fed with 10% DDP, 0.1% mannose, and 0.2% MOS diets compared with the control. Thus, DDP can be used to improve the antioxidant status and has a prebiotic-like effect in broiler chicken performance.