This study aimed to evaluate the production characteristics of pastures in integrated livestock production systems. For that, an experiment was carried out in Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil, from 2013 to 2015. Forage development, production and nutritive value were evaluated in five beef cattle production systems: extensive continuous stocking (Urochloa decumbens) = EXT; intensive = INT; crop-livestock = iCL; livestock-forest = iLF and crop-livestock-forest = iCLF. Rotational stocking pastures in INT, iCL, iLF and iCLF systems were established with Urochloa brizantha cv. BRS Piata. In iCL and iCLF, pastures were renovated by resowing the grass simultaneously with corn. In iLF and iCLF, eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urograndis clone GG100) was planted in Apr 2011 in single rows with 15 × 2 m spacing. In the 2013/2014 crop season, INT, iCL, and iCLF pastures were more productive than in iLF and EXT. Shading increase in the 2014/2015 season reduced pasture production in iLF and iCLF, compared with INT and iCL, but increased crude protein content and digestibility. In the shaded systems, pasture production was affected by proximity to trees, mainly due to reductions in solar radiation transmission. The principal component analyses showed that forage accumulation and leaf area index were associated with the position in the middle of the inter-row, and nutritive value was associated with the position at 1.5 m from the trees. In iCLF, solar radiation transmission greater than 60 % maintained forage accumulation similar to iCL, while in iLF, it reduced forage accumulation, evidencing that pasture renovation minimized shading effects in these systems.


This paper interrogates certain contractarian theoretical presumptions concerning the development and maintenance of political constitutions. Specifically, the extent to which constitutional agreement is said to be inclusive of all persons affected by the activation of proposed provisions, and the extent to which such provisions remain agreeable, is critically appraised. For example, rectifying historical exclusions of indigenous peoples from constitutional agreement procedures, and the constitutional accommodation of demands for racial equality and recognition of indigenous rights, presents as an important motivation for constitutional change in actually existing societies. The objective of this paper is to interpret constitutional developments on matters of indigenous rights as the manifestation of complex, adaptive arrangements, instituted by actions seeking to restructure political rules and reframe the boundaries of permissible political action. Taking the Australian case, this paper illustrates how acts of constitutional entrepreneurship by indigenous groups have contributed to constitutional changes such as racially non-discriminatory treatment and recognition of indigenous governance. Entrepreneurship is seen as a part of broader endogenous processes reshaping constitutions, including constitutional arbitrage by activists between legislatures and judiciaries, and mobilizing popular support for indigenous rights. The framework presented in this paper extends constitutional political economy insights regarding the evolution of basic political institutions.


Entity Linking is one of the essential tasks of information extraction and natural language understanding. Entity linking mainly consists of two tasks: recognition and disambiguation of named entities. Most studies address these two tasks separately or focus only on one of them. Moreover, most of the state-of-the -art entity linking algorithms are either supervised, which have poor performance in the absence of annotated corpora or language-dependent, which are not appropriate for multi-lingual applications. In this paper, we introduce an Unsupervised Language-Independent Entity Disambiguation (ULIED), which utilizes a novel approach to disambiguate and link named entities. Evaluation of ULIED on different English entity linking datasets as well as the only available Persian dataset illustrates that ULIED in most of the cases outperforms the state-of-the-art unsupervised multi-lingual approaches.


This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an ultrasonic system for in vitro measurement of cusp tips of human teeth. Each worn cusp of 12 molar teeth was measured with an industrial ultrasonic system. The teeth were sectioned and measured by polarized light microscopy. The ultrasonic measurements and histological readings were moderately correlated (r = 0.601, p < 0.01). The ultrasonic system used in this study seemed a promising method for measuring thickness of worn cusp tips of extracted human molar teeth.


Objectives: To describe a successful medical engagement during counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan, and to demonstrate that a full audit cycle can be used in this environment to support improvements to local healthcare delivery. Methods: In the district of Nad-e-Ali, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, the management of children under five years of age (under-5s) who presented with diarrhoea to a Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) Basic Health Centre was audited. Staff then attended a training course on the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) in Kandahar. After further medical engagement to reinforce this training, the audit was repeated. Results: A lack of knowledge of the Afghan government's MoPH guidelines during the initial audit resulted in 90% of under- 5s with acute diarrhoea being given unnecessary antibiotics and none receiving zinc as recommended. Following the training course and on-going engagement, there was a 67% reduction in the number of under-5s prescribed antibiotics and a 74% increase in the number who received zinc. Conclusions: Opportunities for successful medical engagement during operations are limited but this example demonstrates that in conjunction with host nation facilities, sustainable improvements in healthcare are possible. Secondly, it shows that use of the audit cycle can provide objective evidence that may help encourage local staff to improve their standards of patient care.


The stability and accuracy of the drive mode are important for the performance of vibrating MEMS gyroscope. At present, the PI-like controller is always used in the control of the drive mode of vibrating MEMS gyroscope. The PI-like control has good effect on rejecting the literal disturbance, but it can't reject the time-dependent disturbance well. The disturbance for the MEMS gyroscope is so uncertain that the stability and accuracy of the PI-like control for the gyro are comparatively low. In this paper, an ADRC method for vibrating MEMS gyroscope drive is introduced, and it is proved that this method can rapidly and stably control the MEMS gyro drive mode by simulation and comparing with the PI-like method.


Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is one of the most adapted methods to measure the size of nanoparticles, as referred to the hydrodynamic radii (Rh). However, the Rh represents only that of three-dimensional spherical nanoparticles. In the present research, the size of two-dimensional (2D) nanoparticles of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) and zirconium phosphate (ZrP) was evaluated through comparing their hydrodynamic diameters via DLS with lateral sizes obtained using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. We demonstrate that the hydrodynamic radii are correlated with the lateral sizes of both square and circle shaped 2D nanoparticles. Two proportional coefficients, i.e., correcting factors, are proposed for the Brownian motion status of 2D nanoparticles. The correction is possible by simplifying the calculation of integrals in the case of small thickness approximation. The correcting factor has great significance for investigating the translational diffusion behavior of 2D nanoparticles in a liquid and in eff...


An experiment to assess the effects of the responsibility model on
students' personal and social development was conducted in a
school in Shah Alam, Selangor. Instruction using the specific
teaching strategies served as the intervention programme, and a
pre test-post test control group research design was utilised. The
study involved 146 Form One students (75 males and 71 females)
in four classes. The teaching of personal and social development
in physical education classes used the responsibility model
developed by Hellison (1985) and adapted to Malaysian physical
education curriculum. It was hypothesised that the responsibility
model would improve students' personal and social development
and would assist students in responding to sports and non-sports
related dilemmas. It was further hypothesised that gender and
level of competition did not have any influence on the-students' ability to respond to dilemmas. The hypotheses of the study
received significant support. Students in the experimental group
improved significantly after exposure to the responsibility model.
Gender and number of years in competitive sports had no effect on
the ability to adapt to the responsibility model. The implication of
the study showed that the responsibility model did influence
students' personal and social development. Therefore, it is
recommended that specific teaching strategies be used in teaching
physical education so that the aim of producing students who are
able to choose right from wrong and good from bad be no longer
taken for granted.


Molecular data have had a profound impact on the field of plant systematics, and the application of DNA-sequence data to phylogenetic problems is now routine. The majority of data used in plant molecular phylogenetic studies derives from chloroplast DNA and nuclear rDNA, while the use of low-copy nuclear genes has not been widely adopted. This is due, at least in part, to the greater difficulty of isolating and characterising low-copy nuclear genes relative to chloroplast and rDNA sequences that are readily amplified with universal primers. The higher level of sequence variation characteristic of low-copy nuclear genes, however, often compensates for the experimental effort required to obtain them. In this review, we briefly discuss the strengths and limitations of chloroplast and rDNA sequences, and then focus our attention on the use of low-copy nuclear sequences. Advantages of low-copy nuclear sequences include a higher rate of evolution than for organellar sequences, the potential to accumulate datasets from multiple unlinked loci, and bi-parental inheritance. Challenges intrinsic to the use of low-copy nuclear sequences include distinguishing orthologous loci from divergent paralogous loci in the same gene family, being mindful of the complications arising from concerted evolution or recombination among paralogous sequences, and the presence of intraspecific, intrapopulational and intraindividual polymorphism. Finally, we provide a detailed protocol for the isolation, characterisation and use of low-copy nuclear sequences for phylogenetic studies.


This paper examines the interference cancellation performance in global positioning system (GPS) receivers equipped with dual-polarized antenna arrays. In dense jamming environment, different types of interferers can be mitigated by the dual-polarized antennas, either acting individually or in conjunction with other receiver antennas. We apply minimum variance distorntionless response (MVDR) method to a uniform circular dual-polarized antenna array. The MVDR beamformer is constructed for each satellite. Analysis of the eigenstructures of the covariance matrix and the corresponding weight vector polarization characteristics are provided. Depending on the number of jammers and jammer polarizations, the array chooses to expend its degrees of freedom to counter the jammer polarization or/and use phase coherence to form jammer spatial nulls. Results of interference cancellations demonstrate that applying multiple MVDR beamformers, each for one satellite, has a superior cancellation performance compared to using only one MVDR beamformer for all satellites in the field of view.


Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) is a key ionization technique in mass spectrometry (MS) for the analysis of labile macromolecules. An important area of study and improvements in relation to MALDI and its application in high-sensitivity MS is that of matrix design and sample preparation. Recently, 4-chloro-alpha-cyanocinnamic acid (ClCCA) has been introduced as a new rationally designed matrix and reported to provide an improved analytical performance as demonstrated by an increase in sequence coverage of protein digests obtained by peptide mass mapping (PMM) (Jaskolla, T. W.; et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2008, 105, 12200-12205). This new matrix shows the potential to be a superior alternative to the commonly used and highly successful alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA). We have taken this design one step further by developing and optimizing an ionic liquid matrix (ILM) and liquid support matrix (LSM) using ClCCA as the principle chromophore and MALDI matrix compound. These new liquid matrices possess greater sample homogeneity and a simpler morphology. The data obtained from our studies show improved sequence coverage for BSA digests compared to the traditional CHCA crystalline matrix and for the ClCCA-containing ILM a similar performance to the ClCCA crystalline matrix down to 1 fmol of BSA digest prepared in a single MALDI sample droplet with current sensitivity levels in the attomole range. The LSMs show a high tolerance to contamination such as ammonium bicarbonate, a commonly used buffering agent.


In the past decades, more and more information has been stored or delivered in nonrelational data models—either in NoSQL databases or via a Software as a Service (SaaS) application. Users often want to load these data sets into a BI application or a relational database for further analysis. The data-driven renormalization framework is often used to transform non-relational data into relational data. In this thesis, we explore how to help users to make design decisions in such a framework. We formally define two kinds of queries—the point query and the stable interval query—to help users making design decisions. We propose two index structures, which can represent a list of FDs concisely but also process the queries efficiently. We conduct experiments on two real datasets and show that our algorithms greatly outperform the baseline method when processing a large set of FDs.


Discourse on the localization of software and websites now underlies one of the major language industries of our time. Its basic concepts also address issues that are of interest to sociolinguistics, text linguistics, translation theory, and terminology. A survey of the main areas in which localization discourse might interact with linguistic theory and indeed with languages themselves reveals both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, there is much to be learnt from interlingua architectures as opposed to transfer approaches. Similarly positive may be the way commercial language technology can strengthen the diversity of selected languages and cultures, rather than necessarily impose just one international lingua franca. However, the concepts of localization are rather more worrying with respect to the loss of linearity in text production and reception, since the predominance of chunking threatens to reduce the person-to-person aspects of communication. Also worrying is the use of leveraging strategies to restrict the role of translation to natural-string replacement, resulting in a hierarchy of work processes whereby IT technicians have political and financial priority over the uses of language for communication. These issues can only be addressed once the locale of localizers themselves is identified as an interculture, and a call for ethics is made in humanistic terms.


The perfusion microscope was developed for the study of the osmotic response of cells. In this microscope, the cells are immobilized in a transparent chamber mounted on the stage and exposed to a variety of milieus by perfusing the chamber with solutions of different concentrations. The concentration of the supplied solution is controlled using two variable-speed syringe pumps, which supply an isotonic solution and a hypertonic solution. Before using this system to characterize the osmotic response of cells, the change in the concentration of NaCl solution flowing through the chamber is examined quantitatively using a laser interferometer and an image processing technique. The NaCl concentration is increased from an isotonic condition to a hypertonic condition abruptly or gradually at a given constant rate, and decreased from a hypertonic condition to an isotonic condition. It is confirmed that the concentration is nearly uniform in the cross direction at the middle of the chamber, and the change in the NaCl concentration is reproducible. The average rate of increase or decrease in the measured concentration agrees fairly well with the given rate when the concentration is changed gradually at a constant rate. The rate of the abrupt change is also determined to be the highest limit achieved by the present method. As the first application of using the perfusion microscope for biological studies, the volume change of cells after exposure to a hypertonic solution is measured. Then, the hydraulic conductivity of the cell membrane is determinedfrom the comparison of the volume change between the experiment and the theoretical estimation for the measured change in the NaCl concentration of the perfused solution.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Introduction

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT) are rare pediatric embryonal brain tumors. AT/RT are genomically characterized by a very simple genomic landscape caused by inactivation of the SMARCB1 tumor suppressor, chromatin remodelling, gene. Adult AT/RT is a super-rare disease with only 33 cases previously reported. For the first time, we report an adult pituitary AT/RT which has undergone whole-exome sequencing (WES) from a patient who subsequently died of intrachemotherapy leptomeningeal progression.

Results

In combination, the detection of both somatic biallelic SMARCB1 mutations and the loss of INI-1 protein expression confirmed the diagnosis of AT/RT. Trisomy 8 was detected in a minority of AT/RT cells. The overall somatic mutation rate was 1.9 Mb. A total of 98 somatic mutations were detected of which 20/49 non-synonymous coding mutations were predicted to be potentially damaging to protein function. These 20 genes were stratified into 4 functionally discrete groups: Group 1). tubulin / actin dynamics; Group 2). cell adhesion; Group 3). metabolism; Group 4). cytotoxic resistance mechanisms.

Molecular pathway analysis predicted that loss of NOTCH1 signalling could be an important cellular node that was perturbed by a combination of LNX1 and POFUT1 mutations.

AT/RT cells did not express any endocrine differentiation markers. Furthermore, 90% of AT/RT cells demonstrated intense nuclear p53 expression despite no TP53 mutations or HDM2 amplification being detected.

Conclusions

This is the first adult AT/RT to have undergone next-generation sequencing using WES. We have shown that the genomic landscape can be relatively complex in comparison to pediatric primary AT/RT(Lee RS et al 2012. J Clin Invest; 122(8):2983-2988). First, we detected a somatic mutation rate which was four times higher (1.9 Mb versus <0.5 Mb) than pediatric primary AT/RT, but which was comparable to the mutation rate of pediatric metastatic AT/RT. Second, we detected a Chr8 CNV in a minority of cells. Given that Chr8 harbors the loci for a variety of pro-metastatic genes, including C-MYC, MT3-MMP and BNIP3, we hypothesize that the intra-chemotherapy tumor progression was possibly caused by a clonal population of trisomy 8 cells which over-expressed the respective proteins of these specific genes.

Given the dedifferentiated phenotype of AT/RT cells and that NOTCH1 signalling is known to be essential for maintaining the pituitary stem cell pool, we hypothesize that the combined effects of LNX1 and POFUT1 mutations could have been important events in the generation of an AT/RT cancer-initiating cell, through loss of NOTCH1 signalling. In this regard, we are currently investigating the expression of NOTCH1 signalling proteins, as well as elucidating the cause of the high levels of nuclear p53 expression within this AT/RT, which we also hypothesize was related to perturbations in NOTCH1 signalling.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting.

Citation Format: Swethajit Biswas, Madeleine Wood, Abhijit Joshi, Nick Bown, Lisa Strain, Philip Kane, Tommy Martinsson, Javier Garrido, James Campbell, Amanda Swain, Alan Ashworth. Whole-exome sequencing of an adult pituitary atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) - A not so simple genome as pediatric AT/RT. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5082. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5082


This study examined divergence in the foraging distribution, at-sea behaviour and pro- visioning strategies of a small procellarid, the Cook's petrel Pterodroma cookii, during chick-rearing at 2 islands off New Zealand, separated latitudinally by ~1000 km. There was little overlap in forag- ing distribution between adults from Little Barrier Island (LBI), which ranged to the west into the Northern Tasman Sea and east into the Pacific Ocean, and conspecifics from Codfish Island (CDF), which foraged west of the South Island in the south Tasman Sea in association with the subtropical convergence zone. Although birds from CDF ranged further than those from LBI, there was no differ- ence in mean foraging trip duration. Cook's petrels from CDF foraged over deeper, cooler water, with higher primary productivity, than conspecifics from LBI. At-sea behaviour also differed: adults from LBI spent less time in flight, and showed less variation in total flight time per day. Overall, Cook's petrels spend much more time in flight than albatrosses, and approximately the same amounts of time on the water during the night as during the day, suggesting a high portion of nocturnal foraging. Dive depths did not differ between colonies but were greater than expected for a gadfly petrel. Stable isotope signatures of blood indicated population-specific diets, and suggested that birds from LBI primarily consume cephalopods and fish, whereas those from CDF eat more crustaceans. Chicks at CDF received more food. These results suggest a broad divergence in foraging strategies between geographically well-separated colonies in response to regional differences in oceanography.


This paper investigates the use of voicing information as an additional cue in contrast enhanced frequency shaping (CEFS) of speech to improve perception in the hearing impaired. The presented work builds on an existing system combining multiband compression with contrast enhanced frequency shaping (MICEFS) to restore the auditory nerve response of a hearing impaired listener. CEFS can improve the perception of voiced segments. Hence voicing cues are used to differentiate segments for processing. Alternative processing for unvoiced segments is investigated and shown to improve neural representation of unvoiced segments compared to using MICEFS processing alone


The aim of this study was to determine the effects of two production and ripening methods on some properties of these herby cheeses. The cheeses were produced from raw and pasteurised milks and ripened with two different salting methods. In the first method, the cheeses were ripened in brine and in the second, the cheeses were dry-salted and firmly filled in a container (filling cheese). Some chemical, biochemical, microbiological and sensorial properties of the cheeses were investigated on days 3, 90, 180 and 270. It was found that dry matter and fat contents of the filling cheeses were higher than those of the brined cheeses. More proteolysis and lipolysis occurred in the cheeses made with raw milk and the dry salting method. Total aerobic count and moulds-yeasts were higher in dry-salted and raw milk cheeses. Similarly, high numbers of coliforms were detected in raw milk cheeses, especially in the earlier stages of the ripening. The filling cheeses had higher sensorial scores.


Open-domain question answering can be reformulated as a phrase retrieval problem, without the need for processing documents on-demand during inference (Seo et al., 2019). However, current phrase retrieval models heavily depend on sparse representations and still underperform retriever-reader approaches. In this work, we show for the first time that we can learn dense representations of phrases alone that achieve much stronger performance in open-domain QA. We present an effective method to learn phrase representations from the supervision of reading comprehension tasks, coupled with novel negative sampling methods. We also propose a query-side fine-tuning strategy, which can support transfer learning and reduce the discrepancy between training and inference. On five popular open-domain QA datasets, our model DensePhrases improves over previous phrase retrieval models by 15%-25% absolute accuracy and matches the performance of state-of-the-art retriever-reader models. Our model is easy to parallelize due to pure dense representations and processes more than 10 questions per second on CPUs. Finally, we directly use our pre-indexed dense phrase representations for two slot filling tasks, showing the promise of utilizing DensePhrases as a dense knowledge base for downstream tasks.


Classification of new class entities requires collecting and annotating hundreds or thousands of samples that is often prohibitively costly. Few-shot learning suggests learning to classify new classes using just a few examples. Only a small number of studies address the challenge of few-shot learning on spatio-temporal patterns such as videos. In this paper, we present the Temporal Aware Embedding Network (TAEN) for few-shot action recognition, that learns to represent actions, in a metric space as a trajectory, conveying both short term semantics and longer term connectivity between action parts. We demonstrate the effectiveness of TAEN on two few shot tasks, video classification and temporal action detection and evaluate our method on the Kinetics-400 and on ActivityNet 1.2 few-shot benchmarks. With training of just a few fully connected layers we reach comparable results to prior art on both few shot video classification and temporal detection tasks, while reaching state-of-the-art in certain scenarios.


A new red phosphor, Ba(2)Mg(BO(3))(2):Eu,Mn, was synthesized by the solid-state reaction method and its photoluminescence properties were investigated by excitation and emission spectra and decay curves. Its excitation band is extending from 250-450 nm, which is adaptable to the emission band of near-ultraviolet LED chips (350-420 nm). Upon the excitation of 365 nm light, the phosphor exhibits strong red emission centered at 615 nm. The relationship between Eu(2+) and Mn(2+) dopants was studied from the viewpoint of a crystal structure and by photoluminescence spectra and decay curves. The results show that the characteristic Eu(2+) emission predominate in the emission band and Mn(2+) promote the redistribution of Eu(2+) at the cation sites of the host crystal.


Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the medical cost of facial paralysis in payer perspective and to estimate the practice pattern of patient using 2011 Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service-National Patients Sample(HIRA-NPS). Methods: Basic statistical system was used for descriptive analysis of NPS dataset. A table for general information (table20) was extracted by disease code, and social demographic characteristics, distribution of the use among inpatients and outpatients, utilization of each kind of medical care institutions, medical cost were analyzed. Subgroup analysis was conducted for assuming the practice pattern of korean medicine and western medicine. Results: A total of 8,219 people and 64,345 claims data were identified as having facial paralysis. Proportion of outpatient was 95.23%, inpatient 0.84% and patient using both services 3.93%. Mean patient charges was 44,229 won per outpatient, 178,886 won per inpatient and 523,542 won per patient using both services. Utilization of korean medical care institutions was 68.81%(claims), 40.46%(patients), utilization of western medical care institutions was 31.19%(claims), 59.54%(patients). The amount charged by korean medical care institutions was 52.61% and western medical care institutions was 47.39%. Cost per claim was higher than those of the korean treatment and cost per patient of western treatment was lower than those of the korean treatment. Conclusions: The research assessed the medical cost and practice pattern associated with facial paralysis. These findings could be used in health care policy and subsequent studies.


Introduction Managing resistant constipation commonly involves multiple often unpleasant invasive tests. Our aim was to develop a more acceptable non-invasive colonic function test. Methods 13 patients (ages 21–60, female: male = 12:1) with chronic constipation (CC) unresponsive to simple laxatives; 9 with slow transit constipation, 2 obstructive defecation and 2 IBS with constipation. Whole gut transit (WGT) was assessed by ingesting 5 pills filled with Gadolinium-DOTA solution, 24 hours before study day when a fasting MRI scan of the abdomen was performed. Transit of the pills was assessed from an average weighted Transit Score (TS) previously shown to correlate well with the standard radio-opaque marker method (1). This enabled TS to be converted to WGT time in hours. Patients then ingested 1 litre of macrogol (MCG), followed by hourly MRI scans for 4 hours while they scored bowel symptoms from 0–10 (none – severe). Colonic movements were assessed using a motility index (integral of the duration of contraction in secs/2 minute X multiplied by the number of sections of the ascending colon showing contraction). Results were compared with values from 11 healthy volunteers (HV) previously reported (2). Results (Mean±SEM) WGT time was calculated from the TS to be significantly greater for CC being 83 ± 12 hr vs. 30 ± 4 hr for HV (p < 0.01). The average fasting small bowel water content (SBWC) was increased for CC being 200 ± 18 compared to 51 ± 7ml in HV (p < 0.01). Fasting AC volumes were also greater in CC being 307 ± 26 compared to 205 ± 14ml in HV (p < 0.01). The average arrival time of MCG to the ascending colon (AC) was 74 ± 7 min in CC and 65 ± 5 in HV (p = 0.39). Motility index 2 hours after MCG ingestion was reduced in CC compared to HV being 14 ± 14 and 82 ± 14 (p = 0.04). Distension of the colon at 2 hours by MCG was greater for CC with AC volume of 615 ± 59 vs. 357 ± 46 ml in HV (p < 0.01). Time to first bowel movement after ingestion of MCG was delayed for CC compared to HV at 414 ± 144 and 117 ± 21 min (p = 0.04). Stool frequency for CC on the day of MCG ingestion were reduced compared to HV being 4.5 ± 1.4 versus 8.9 ± 1.2 (p < 0.01). Bloating score following ingestion of MCG was greater in CC being 2.3 ± 0.3 compared to HV 0.9 ± 0.3 (p = 0.02). Conclusion CC patients have increased fasting SBWC and AC volumes compared to HV. When challenged with MCG, they showed greater distension and more discomfort with reduced motility and delayed bowel movement response. This MRI monitored MCG challenge test gives data on transit, sensory and motor function. Disclosure of Interest None Declared References Lam et al. BSG 2013 submission. Garsed et al. Gastroenterology 2012; 142:S814S.


Abstract Background Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a heterogeneous clinical phenotype that emerges from interactions among genetic, biological, neurodevelopmental, and psychosocial factors. In the present family study, we evaluated the familial aggregation of key clinical, personality, and neurodevelopmental phenotypes in probands with BPD (n = 103), first-degree biological relatives (n = 74; 43% without a history of psychiatric disorder), and non-psychiatric controls (n = 99). Methods Participants were assessed on DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses, symptom dimensions of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity, 'big five' personality traits, and neurodevelopmental characteristics, as part of a larger family study on neurocognitive, biological, and genetic markers in BPD. Results The most common psychiatric diagnoses in probands and relatives were major depression, substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and avoidant personality disorder. There was evidence of familial aggregation for specific dimensions of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation, and the big five traits neuroticism and conscientiousness. Both probands and relatives reported an elevated neurodevelopmental history of attentional and behavioral difficulties. Conclusions These results support the validity of negative affectivity- and impulse-spectrum phenotypes associated with BPD and its familial risk. Further research is needed to investigate the aggregation of neurocognitive, neural and genetic factors in families with BPD and their associations with core phenotypes underlying the disorder.


The folk arts of West Bengal have always been a treasure-trove of folk art in diverse forms, which found expression in almost every conceivable item of village life in earlier days, starting from clay-built houses and corn-bins to folk painting, kantha embroidery on patched cotton, alpona floor painting, hand-woven sitting mats, hand-fans, dolls, terracotta horses, masks worn in folk dances and even moulds for making sweets. What made these items unique was the use of inexpensive and easily available ingredients, which the creative passion of the rural artisans transformed into exquisite objects of art. In this book, Tarapada Santra delves into the intricacies of the creative pattern of folk arts of Bengal, providing an overview of the vast array of art forms and analysing how regional influences and political changes were reflected in the creative styles of the artisans, who braved innumerable hardships to pursue their trade for generations and made significant contributions to the onward progress of rural society. This first ever English translation of Tarapada Santra's work carries the flavour and essence of the original Bengali text and introduces the reader to the rural lifestyle of Bengal and its many traditional forms of folk arts - which are bound to draw the interest of researchers and art-lovers all over the world.


The screening efficiency of 2 methods to convert Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) assessment data into Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) diagnoses was compared. The Machine-Aided Diagnosis (MAD) method converts CBCL input data directly into DSM-IV symptom criteria. The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) proceeds more indirectly and uses DSM-oriented scales. The power of the 2 methods to predict DSM-IV diagnoses obtained via administration of the structured Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-IV) interview in a clinical sample was examined. DISC-IV interviews and CBCL reports from parents of 44 children, 25 boys, and 19 girls, ages 6 to 17 were used. The results showed comparable levels of predictive power for the 2 methods. Both methods were able to predict DSM-IV diagnoses and therefore can be used for screening DSM-IV diagnoses.


SIR,-Mr F T deDombal and Dr A J Hedley (24 March, p 820) dispute the assertion by Mr D P Burkitt and others that "the geographical distribution of appendicitis indicates that it is a disease associated with Western culture" (3 March, p 620), and cite recent reports published from a number of non-Western countries attesting to the frequency of acute appendicitis,, found to be the commonest cause of hospital admission for acute abdominal pain. This is also our experience with Canadian Indians and Eskimos in recent years. "Epidemics" of acute appendicitis, the appendix often being ruptured by the time the patient reached hospital, were noted in northern Alberta Indians in the 1950s, subarctic Indians and Eskimos of the western Arctic in the 1960s, and eastern arctic Eskimos in the 1970s, corresponding in each population group to drastic changes in diet and life style. This contrasts sharply with our experience in the early 1950s, when I saw during two years caring for more than 3000 Eskimos and Indians in the western Arctic and lower Mackenzie River area only three cases of appendicitis-all in children at native residential schools-while none occurred in the majority of children and adults staying at home. Similarly, not one case of appendicitis was observed from 1928 to 1958 in a mission hospital in Pangnirtung caring for 4000-5000 Eskimos in Canada's eastern Arctic. But in 1964, for example, in an eight-week journey aboard a supply ship visiting the same shores three emergency appendectomies had to be performed in addition to numerous cases shipped annually to the new Frobisher Bay Hospital, where appendicitis has become the most frequent operation and commonest cause of hospital admissions for acute abdominal pain just as a decade earlier in the western Arctic. Our observations in northern Indians and Eskimos-spanning a generation-of a marked change in the epidemiology of appendicitis, linked in each population group to drastic changes in diet and life style, are in accord with the ideas of Mr D P Burkitt and others that differences in geographical distribution of a number of intestinal diseases-such as diverticulosis, cancer of the colon in the older, and appendicitis in the younger age groupsmay be associated with diet and the way of living of modern man. There is, however, a noteworthy difference: northern hunting populations, especially the almost exclusively carnivorous Eskimos, ingested in their traditional diet no more fibre than modern Western man, in contrast to most non-Western population groups, which led Burkitt and others to their epidemiological deductions. We found that intestinal transit times were nevertheless much shorter in traditionally living Eskimos than in modern urbanised Eskimos owing both to dietary patterns (polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish and game, especially sea mammals) and to activity patterns. Considering the marked changes in the epidemiology of appendicitis as well as cholecystitis, diverticulosis,l and cancer of the colon and rectum,2 in Eskimos during the last generation, one must wonder if the relatively high incidence of appendicitis in non-Western countries cited from recent reports by Mr deDombal and Dr Hedley reflects new developments in the same way as in our northern native population groups.


Lung cancer is one of the most common types of maligancies and has been one of the leading causes death due to cancer for a long time. Although surgery is the treatment of choice for patients with non-N2 localized disease, most of the lung cancer patients are found to have metastatic lesions at the same time as initial diagnosis. The median survival of patients with metastatic lung cancer is less than one year even when systemic chemotherapy is given. We present a patient with non-small cell lung cancer with no initial evidence of metastasis. He underwent curative resection of the primary tumor followed by local radiotherapy. Adrenal gland metastasis was found fours years after the first surgery. After surgical resection of this metastatic lesion, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, this patient's survival was prolonged with no evidence of disease recurrence until now. The prolonged survival of this patient may be due to a slow rate of progression of the primary tumor.


The high demand for clean, efficient, and renewable energy and, the necessity for solving the CO2 issue and global warming are only a few of the major motivations for exploring renewable energy technologies. Since the energy must be stored in order for renewable energy to become part of a practical energy solution, there have been many studies of secondary batteries for energy storage applications that benefit from high specific energy, high rate capability, high safety, and low cost.
Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have received a great amount of attention in recent years, as sulfur exhibits an order of magnitude higher theoretical specific capacity than that achievable with intercalation-type cathodes in lithium-ion batteries. In addition, sulfur is abundant in nature and non-toxic, which leads to low cell cost and significant environmental benefits. However, low active material utilization and poor cycle life hinder the commercial application of the Li-S chemistry.
In this research project, different methods and solutions have been applied to achieve high capacity and efficiency with a long cycle life of the Li-S battery. In the first part of this thesis, the effects of different electrolyte solvents and fluorinated additives on the Li-S battery were investigated, as electrolyte is one of the key components in determining the performance of this battery. It is observed that fluorinated solvents have an outstanding effect in improving the cycle life and efficiency and will also assist in improving the self discharge. In the second part of this study, we report on a modification to the traditional Li-S battery configuration. The performance of Li-S batteries using Teflon® coated carbon paper (TCCP) was investigated in this study for the first time. The TCCP is composed of carbon microfibers that act as an excellent substrate while the hydrophobic Teflon (PTFE) coating facilitates the absorption of soluble polysulfides to the cathode. This new configuration indicates great improvement of the Li-S performance in comparison to conventional cells.
 Even though the current state of the Li-S battery is still far away from the requirements for practical applications, based on our studies utilizing fluorinated solvents and additive can open a new window for engineering Li-S cells with much improved performance.


Abstract The delineation of constituency boundaries and variations in vote distribution across districts often favor certain parties at the expense of others. Applying a hitherto under-utilized formula (Brookes, 1959; Johnston et al., 1999), this study investigates whether the mechanism translating votes into seats in Japan's single-member districts results in systematic partisan advantage that may influence election outcomes. Simulations are conducted for the 2003 and 2005 general elections under two scenarios: where the governing coalition and the main opposition party receive equal vote shares, and where their vote shares are reversed from the actual results. Components of electoral bias are then disaggregated into size and distribution effects, and the impact of malapportionment, electorate size, turnout, and the role of third party/independent candidates on overall electoral bias is examined. Results show that while partisan bias exists, disadvantages toward one party in some components are likely to cancel out benefits derived from others, producing a relatively small net effect. Furthermore, electoral bias in Japan is found to award sectoral rather than partisan seat bonuses.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the role of bevacizumab and irinotecan as secondline treatment of glioblastoma in patients with progression after radiotherapy and temozolomide.

METHODS
A retrospective analysis of 16 subjects was performed with overall survival and toxicity evaluation as the primary endpoint.

RESULTS
The analysis revealed serious toxicity of this highly expensive regimen without proving an improvement in overall survival of patients in comparison to a control group.

CONCLUSION
Unless there are robust data from phase III clinical trials, including quality of life assessments or evaluation of predictive bio-markers to guide therapy, bevacizumab and irinotecan regimen should be spared for cautiously selected patients, especially in countries with limited budget for oncological treatment.


Vast resources of serpenitinite rock available worldwide are capable of binding CO2 amounts that dwarf the capacity of methods based on geological storage of CO2. R&D has been ongoing in Finland for many years on developing large-scale application of process routes for serpentinite carbonation. Several routes have been assessed in the laboratory, in all cases using ammonium salts to extract magnesium from rock followed by carbonation either in a gas/solid reactor at elevated temperatures and pressures, or in an aqueous solution at ambient conditions. The choice for either route is motivated by the CO2 producing source, (waste) heat availability, the magnesium (hydro-)carbonate product aimed at, and a preference for energy efficiency or simplicity. Rocks from several locations have been analysed. A special issue is the recovery of the ammonium flux salt, typically from an aqueous solution. As for application, several industry sectors are considered, such as a (natural gas fired) power plant, a lime kiln, or iron- and steelmaking, applying MC to blast furnace top gas. The analysis includes life cycle assessment. Finally, the use of magnesium (hydro-)carbonates for heat storage is addressed.


Asian soybean rust is a formidable threat to soybean (Glycine max) production in many areas of the world, including the United States. Only five sources of resistance have been identified (Resistance to Phakopsora pachyrhizi1 [Rpp1], Rpp2, Rpp3, Rpp4, and Rpp5). Rpp4 was previously identified in the resistant genotype PI459025B and mapped within 2 centimorgans of Satt288 on soybean chromosome 18 (linkage group G). Using simple sequence repeat markers, we developed a bacterial artificial chromosome contig for the Rpp4 locus in the susceptible cv Williams82 (Wm82). Sequencing within this region identified three Rpp4 candidate disease resistance genes (Rpp4C1–Rpp4C3 [Wm82]) with greatest similarity to the lettuce (Lactuca sativa) RGC2 family of coiled coil-nucleotide binding site-leucine rich repeat disease resistance genes. Constructs containing regions of the Wm82 Rpp4 candidate genes were used for virus-induced gene silencing experiments to silence resistance in PI459025B, confirming that orthologous genes confer resistance. Using primers developed from conserved sequences in the Wm82 Rpp4 candidate genes, we identified five Rpp4 candidate genes (Rpp4C1–Rpp4C5 [PI459025B]) from the resistant genotype. Additional markers developed from the Wm82 Rpp4 bacterial artificial chromosome contig further defined the region containing Rpp4 and eliminated Rpp4C1 (PI459025B) and Rpp4C3 (PI459025B) as candidate genes. Sequencing of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction products revealed that Rpp4C4 (PI459025B) was highly expressed in the resistant genotype, while expression of the other candidate genes was nearly undetectable. These data support Rpp4C4 (PI459025B) as the single candidate gene for Rpp4-mediated resistance to Asian soybean rust.


The complex structures and important biological functions of Strychnos alkaloids have attracted a great deal of attention from synthetic chemists. Herein, we describe the concise asymmetric total syntheses of the Strychnos alkaloids, (-)-dehydrotubifoline, (-)-tubifoline, and (-)-tubifolidine, as well as the formal total synthesis of (-)-strychnine. Our strategy features the construction of the common tetracyclic pyrrolo[2,3-d]carbazole structure using regioselective Fischer indolization on unsymmetrical cyclic ketones and late-stage functionalization for divergent synthesis. We developed a stepwise Fischer indolization featuring selective formation of enol triflate to solve the challenging regioselectivity problem, leading to the common tetracyclic ring skeleton in these Strychnos alkaloids. The regioselectivity of Fischer indolization on unsymmetrical cyclic ketones was studied on the basis of different types of ring systems and supported by density functional theory calculations. Overall, our success in the construction of this tetracyclic ring secured the syntheses of Strychnos alkaloids and may provide a general method for the total syntheses of various alkaloids containing this skeleton.


Complex studies of the mechanical properties of composites based on rubber vulcanizates with various micro and nanofillers (which are already used or intended to be used in the tire industry) were carried out. Testing of composites for uniaxial stretching to rupture allowed us to determine the reinforcing effects of the input of fillers, as well as materials strength and deformability. Cyclic tests for biaxial loading in two mutually perpendicular directions were also carried out. As a result, the effects of softening and the occurrence of induced mechanical anisotropy in filled elastomers under the action of a biaxial load were studied. It was shown that there are no hysteresis losses in the unfilled elastomer, and there is no induced anisotropy. For a filled elastomer, the value of hysteresis and induced anisotropy depend on the type of filler, its concentration and particle size.


Obajana Limestone Mine is operated by Obajana Cement Plc, the largest cement company in West Africa. The mine is located in Obajana town 49km North-West of Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria within the Igara-Kabba-Lokoja Schist belt with coordinates N070 55l 00ll and E060 261 0011. An assessment of the mine pit slope face was carried out in order to evaluate bench slope stability conditions with a view to providing a consistently safe and effective mine pit working environment. Scanline method was used in the geologic mapping of a section of the northern pit-wall of the mine. Empirical method was used to determine rock strength parameters relevant to design and analysis. Factors of safety values - the primary indices for assessing the probability or remoteness of slopes to failure were determined by the traditional limit equilibrium analysis; a most accepted and widely used method among geotechnical engineers. Roclab and RockPack III Software were used as tools for the analyses. Results from kinematics analysis i.e stereographic projections, stereoplots and stereo-analysis identified four sets of pole concentration with three of these lying within the friction cone (Critical area). This implies that the set of discontinuities with these poles will negatively influence stability conditions of the mine pit slope face.


The use of drones is nowadays an extended procedure in the surveillance and combat missions in the armies of the different NATO countries. The concept of drone is a generalization of the so called unmanned vehicles, whose more usual unit is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). However, in recent years the civil autonomous vehicles technology has been extended to military sector that demands autonomous technology to carry out missions in the ground with the so called Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV). These vehicles develop missions in unstructured environments, usually off-road, and must be able of combining autonomous behaviors plus tele-operation from a command station. In this paper we present the application of the civil autonomous vehicle technology to develop a demonstrator of UGV for the Spanish Army, including the background, architecture and first field tests.


This project compiled information on the fate, transport, and risk presented by pathogens in land-applied biosolids into a spreadsheet based risk assessment model. The model was applied to an example field. This report describes the integration of knowledge to assess microbial risks from the land application of biosolids. This knowledge has been incorporated into an environmental dispersion, exposure, and risk model, known as the Spreadsheet Microbial Assessment of Risk: Tool for Biosolids ("SMART Biosolids"). The SMART Biosolids model includes a user's manual that enables wastewater utilities, land applicators, and regulators, to estimate microbial risk from biosolids land application under a variety of scenarios and thereby gain insight into effective management practices. In addition, this project conducted field monitoring to assess the fate and transport of microbes from land application during wet weather events.

The field monitoring did not find detectable quantities of pathogens after transport through several feet of soil in the field. However, the study did quantify some desorption of pathogens and indicators into ponded surface water, suggesting that runoff from biosolids amended fields may have trace amounts of pathogens. The risk assessment model was applied to quantify the risks such runoff might pose to surface waterbodies on a site-specific basis. The example scenarios run suggest that microbial risk due to contamination of surface waters from land application runoff would be below existing risk standards for recreational surface waters. The risk modeling estimated that exposure due to the incidental ingestion of soil appears to be the pathway of most concern and adenovirus was found to be the organism presenting the highest risk over the different pathways considered. Adenovirus is a common pathogen that is not associated with life threatening illness. The results are based on extremely limited monitoring for adenovirus (N=5). An important goal of knowledge integration efforts such as this is to identify and help prioritize knowledge gaps. The need for better information on the occurrence and persistence of adenovirus in land-applied biosolids is a key research need identified by this study.

This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series .

ISBN: 9781843392590 (eBook)


This paper contains a discussion of the Software Development System (SDS), a methodology addressing the problems involved in the development of software for ballistic missile defense systems. These are large real-time, automated systems with a requirement for high reliability. The SDS is a broad approach attacking problems arising in requirements generation, software design, coding, and testing. The approach is highly requirements oriented and has resulted in the formulation of structuring concepts, a requirements statement language, process design language, and support software to be used throughout the development cycle. This methodology represents a significant advance in software technology for the development of software for a class of systems such as BMD. The support software has been implemented and is undergoing evaluation.


The authors examine the spread of radical Islamic terrorist organizations in the territories of the former USSR, and note in particular the role of suicide bombers and the use of Tajikistan as a haven for such terrorists. Key Words: Terrorism; Suicide bombers; Islamic fundamentalist movements; Jihad, Al Qaeda; Hizb ut Tahrir; Tajikistan; Uzbekistan; Afghanistan; Chechnya; Russian federation. Introduction The expansion of extremist Islam into the former USSR has confused the political situation by working with and sometimes engulfing sundry non-religious anti-establishment organizations. Significant ties between Chechen Islamic fighters and Tajik Islamists encourage the use of suicide terrorism in Central Asian regions of the former Soviet Union. In June 2000, five attacks on Russian military bases and a car bombing in Chechnya introduced Russia to the phenomenon. Two years later, Chechen rebels attacked a Moscow theater, demonstrating the rising Arabic influence within terrorism in the former USSR. The murder of legendary Afghan commander Akhmadshakh Masud in September 2001, the July 2004 attacks on the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Uzbekistan, and the August-September 2004 Chechen suicide attacks brought greater attention to the connection. Tajikistan is being used as a base to expand terrorist influence into Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Russia proper. Because of its proximity to Afghanistan, the country has become a haven for terrorists fleeing the consequences of U.S. military operations. Radical Islamic teachers from the Middle East, skillful in developing motivational themes for extremist movements, have joined the influx. Consequently, many Tajiks have joined members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in terrorist activities; and Hizb ut Tahrir, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, has become a destabilizing influence creating a climate conducive to suicide terrorism. Suicide terrorism presents a new challenge to Western nations that is not compatible with the strategic and tactical military challenges to which they are accustomed. Any evidence of success by suicide bombers makes the tactic more attractive to Islamic terrorist groups, and this enables recruiters to present it as a weapon capable of overcoming the United States and its allies in Central Asia as well as the Russian presence in the north Caucasus. In the post-Soviet environment, religious sentiment, superstition and prejudice are manipulated as terrorist recruitment techniques. Activity that is fundamentally positive (e.g., the creation of a value system based on religious motivational themes) can be transformed into the basis for criminal behavior that is shrouded in religious rhetoric. Skilled, educated recruiters transform speculation about religious principles and the nature of an afterlife into themes encouraging self-sacrifice. Extremist religious figures persuade sincere believers that death is God's grace and provides accelerated entry into "paradise." Circumstances that contribute to the mobilization of religious extremist organizations in the former USSR's Islamic regions lend themselves greatly to suicide terrorism. Indeed, for several years, skilled radical Islamic teachers from the Middle East have been relocating to Tajikistan. Given the proper circumstances, suicide terrorism may be effective as a weapon in religious-ethnic conflict, in cases where the religious element overshadows the ethnic, interstate and cultural factors. The influx of Islamic teachers from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East combines with the work of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan to create favorable conditions for suicide terrorism in the former USSR. There are several existing circumstances that arc likely to be exploited by these Islamic teachers. The most significant are: - In much of Central Asia there is a very low standard of living, making suicide terror tactics cheap and secure. - Under the cover of humanitarian activities, Al Qacda representatives began to infiltrate Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, and Chechnya as early as 1989. …


A cluster of acute melioidosis cases occurred in a remote, coastal community in tropical Western Australia. Molecular typing of Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates from culture-confirmed cases and suspected environmental sources by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of XbaI chromosomal DNA digests showed that a single PFGE type was responsible for five cases of acute infection in a community of around 300 during a 5 week period. This temporal and geographical clustering of acute melioidosis cases provided a unique opportunity to investigate the environmental factors contributing to this disease. B. pseudomallei isolated from a domestic tap at the home of an asymptomatic seroconverter was indistinguishable by PFGE. Possible contributing environmental factors included an unusually acid communal water supply, unrecordable chlorine levels during the probable exposure period, a nearby earth tremor, and gusting winds during the installation of new water and electricity supplies. The possible role of the potable water supply as a source of B. pseudomallei was investigated further.


There is a scarcity of theoretical frameworks capable of describing precursors and dynamics associated with elder abuse and neglect in Latino families. The present manuscript seeks to address this gap in the literature by presenting an integrative theoretical framework that fosters an ecological and cultural understanding of elder abuse and neglect among Latinos. The proposed model rests on the premise that Latino families caring for elder adults have the ability to adapt to the demands of aging only if they are supported by nurturing environments. The usefulness of the model is threefold. First, the proposed model describes elder abuse and neglect as multifactorial phenomena and identifies specific risk factors associated with the etiology and maintenance of elder abuse and neglect in Latino families. Second, the model provides clinical applications, including reflections about the therapists' need to extend their scope of practice beyond traditional family therapy interventions. A brief case study is presented that illustrates the clinical application of the model with a Latino family. Implications for future research are discussed.


The Tay So'n uprising (1771-1802) was a cataclysmic event that profoundly altered the eighteenth-century Vietnamese political and social landscape. This groundbreaking book offers a new look at an important and controversial era. George Dutton follows three brothers from the hamlet of Tay So'n as they led a heterogeneous military force that ousted ruling families in both halves of the divided Vietnamese territories and eventually toppled the 350-year-old Le dynasty. Supplementing Vietnamese primary sources with extensive use of archival European missionary accounts, he explores the dynamics of an event that affected every region of the country and every level of society. Tracing the manner in which the Tay So'n leaders transformed an inchoate uprising into a new political regime, Dutton challenges common depictions of the Tay So'n brothers as visionaries or revolutionaries. Instead, he reveals them as political opportunists whose worldview remained constrained by their provincial origins and the exigencies of ongoing warfare and political struggles.


Ecological and sociological spectrum of Ostericum palustre at new localities in central Poland The paper presents new data on the distribution of Ostericum palustre (a strictly protected vulnerable species) in central Poland. In the period of 2008-2009, new population of this species were found in the north-eastern part of Łódź Province. Ostericum palustre was present in the described localities in meadow, herb, peat bog and reed bed communities. The species was most numerous in well preserved purple moor-grass meadows. New localities of Ostericum palustre described in the article are instrumental in the protection of this species in central Poland.


The study on ecological survey of plant species biodiversities and abundance in Southeastern Nigeria was conducted between January 2012 and 2013 at Anambra State, Nigeria to determine the plant species biodiversities and abundance in three forest fringes viz: community, shrine and reserves using measures based on floristic, stratified random sampling, plotless measure and point centre quarter methods, respectively. Shannon-wienners index of diversity analysis proved that Umunze community forest was highest in biodiversity (0.95) with Afzelia africana as the most dorminant species (148.93) while Pterocarpus sp. has the highest importance value index (25.36). Achala forest reserve has Chlorophora exdelsa as the most dominant (686.09), while Tectora grandis recorded the highest importance value index (62.53). The dominant species in Iyiocha forest was Pterocarpus species (451.31), while Newbouldia levis has the highest importance value index. Regression analysis showed that at P<0.05, there is a significant relationship between species abundance and species diversity.

 Key words: Ecology, survey, plants, biodiversities, abundance, Anambra.


A cascade controller was proposed for mobile robot navigation because of the simplicity of control algorithm. For a robot that requires to only complete straight path navigation, the cascade controller is an attractive solution. Compared to typical mobile robot navigation algorithms, this cascade control does not need any path tracking control and only uses simple PID for navigation. For each mobile robot wheels, a position PID controller is cascaded to a velocity PID controller. An additional PID controller is added in between both wheels to make sure the mobile robot moves in a straight path. An experiment was done on a differential drive robot and results were presented.


We present a novel approach for the combination of M-ary FSK data signalling with incoherent all-optical code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. In contrast to well-known pulse position modulation (PPM) schemes no critical frame synchronisation is necessary and less frequencies than in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) are needed, resulting in an improved performance. The M-ary source coding leads to a lower repetition rate of the used tunable mode locked laser or to a higher data rate than in OOK/CDMA systems. The filter bank of the maximum likelihood detector can be easily realized by arrayed waveguides. The theoretical performance for optical orthogonal codes (OOC) is analysed and a comparison to OOK and PPM is given.


We report physiological and anatomical characteristics of water transport across roots grown in soil of two cultivars of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) differing in response to water stress (Grenache, isohydric; Chardonnay, anisohydric). Both cultivars have similar root hydraulic conductances (Lo; normalized to root dry weight) that change diurnally. There is a positive correlation between Lo and transpiration. Under water stress, both cultivars have reduced minimum daily Lo (predawn) attributed to the development of apoplastic barriers. Water-stressed and well-watered Chardonnay had the same diurnal change in amplitude of Lo, while water-stressed Grenache showed a reduction in daily amplitude compared with well-watered plants. Hydraulic conductivity of root cortex cells (Lpcell) doubles in Chardonnay but remains unchanged in Grenache. Of the two most highly expressed plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) aquaporins in roots (VvPIP1;1 and VvPIP2;2), only VvPIP2;2 functions as a water channel in Xenopus laevis oocytes. VvPIP1;1 interacts with VvPIP2;2 to induce 3-fold higher water permeability. These two aquaporins are colocated in the root from in situ hybridization and immunolocalization of VvPIP1 and VvPIP2 subfamily members. They occur in root tip, exodermis, root cortex (detected up to 30 mm), and stele. VvPIP2;2 mRNA does not change diurnally or with water stress, in contrast to VvPIP1;1, in which expression reflects the differences in Lo and Lpcell between cultivars in their responses to water stress and rewatering. VvPIP1;1 may regulate water transport across roots such that transpirational demand is matched by root water transport capacity. This occurs on a diurnal basis and in response to water stress that corresponds to the difference in drought tolerance between the cultivars.


We propose a view-dependent compression algorithm for 3D binary voxel models, based on the skeleton representation. An input model is first partitioned into several segments. The segmentation increases the number of skeleton points, requiring more bits than the original model. Therefore, we develop a remodeling algorithm, which reduces the number of skeleton points in each segment effectively without any loss of information. Each segment is then compressed with a context-based arithmetic coder. Before the transmission, the encoder is informed of the viewing parameters via feedback channel. Then, the encoder transmits visible segments in detail, while cutting off invisible segments. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm requires much less bitrate than the conventional skeleton-based algorithm, while exhibiting faithful image quality.


Herein we report the synthesis of a library of thioalkyl- and thioaryl-pyridazinediones for thiol-based self-immolative release of cargo. A bisthioaryl-pyridazinedione is shown to be stable to serum protein albumin but unstable in intracellular conditions. A derivatised analogue underwent self-immolative degradation in cellular thiol conditions as evidenced by LC-MS/release of a turn-on fluorescence fluorophore; versatility of the thiol-pyridazinedione is demonstrated through synthesis of SMDC precursors that contain three different functional groups on the same central molecule.


This paper studies the three-state series-parallel (S-P) devices network reliability redundancy allocation problem (RAP) whose different components is paralleled, and the objective function
is maximized with cost and weight constraints. A new model is built. A new algorithm is constructed by using an objective function, that is, the discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm with compression coefficient to solve the RAP problem.
The algorithm is tested by two instances of the problem with MATLAB programming. As shown by the results, under the usually initial solution conditions, the particle swarm optimization algorithm can converge in each run and solve the system; at the same time, the algorithm is compared with the traditional simulated annealing algorithm, ant colony algorithm and genetic algorithm. The particle swarm optimization algorithm features advantages of easy programming and efficient convergence to the system optimal solution.


In this introduction to the special issue on "Sustainability in Combining Career and Care," we argue that demographic developments such as ageing populations demand attention to the long-term consequences of using family friendly arrangements. In order to create and support sustainability in combining career and care, we address normative beliefs about parenting, behavior or "choices" in combining work and family, and outcomes for individual careers, couples, and children. We provide an integrative framework for combining career and care, thereby incorporating the individual, organizational, and societal level of the work-family interface. In this first paper, the eight empirical contributions to this special issue are introduced, the collective message being that normative beliefs about parenting need to be challenged in order to create change and promote sustainability for working parents. © 2012 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.


The study aimed to analyze stricto sensu postgraduate theoretical production in Brazil addressing alcoholism, aiming at health promotion. Bibliographical research performed on dissertations and thesis obtained from CAPES Portal through related descriptors. We used a form to record information that was analyzed according to the method of content analysis. The theme was observed in only 22 works and the main trends from these were: surveillance in health, reorientation of services and strengthening of community action. Researches aiming the promotion of health in this context are undoubtedly an important field of investigation to be explored. The existence of more studies involving other topics in health promotion is mandatory, as well as the building of public health policies, the creation of healthy environments and the deepening of efforts on all the identified trends related to alcoholism. Descriptors: Health promotion; Alcoholism; Alcohol-related disorders.


Abstract Infiltration of a transplanted organ by host lymphoid cells
is the hallmark of acute rejection. However, after intestinal transplantation, physiological lymphocyte migration may lead to host cell infiltration of the graft even in the absence of rejection. It is unclear whether this lymphocyte migration also involves the intraepithelial compartment of the graft or whether infiltration there is indicative of acute rejection. We demonstrate here that host cell infiltration of the intestinal mucosa occurs both during acute rejection of a small bowel allograft and, to a lesser extent, when rejection is prevented by immunosuppression with FK506. The infiltrating host cells consisted of CD3 + T cells with a predominant CD4–CD8 + phenotype resembling intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs). Functional studies showed that the nonspecific cytolytic activity of IELs was not affected by acute rejection or by immunosuppression with FK506. These findings indicate that host cell infiltration of the intestinal mucosa does not connote an ongoing acute rejection. Furthermore, the decreased mucosal barrier function during acute rejection of intestinal allgrafts is probably not due to impaired cytolytic activity of IELs.


Rapid electrical heating cycle injection molding technology can be used to produce polymer parts with no weld mark, flow mark and other surface defects on the parts surface. Recently, it has been gradually found wide use in plastic injection industry. In this paper, a structure of the rapid electrical heating cycle injection mold and its working processes were presented. As the production efficiency and the part's quality are seriously affected by the temperature of the mold cavity surface and its distribution uniformity, the heat transfer process of the mold was analyzed by using 3D finite element simulation. The transient temperature values on different places of the cavity surface were obtained. The results provided theoretical guidelines for the engineers to evaluate the layout of the heating rods in the mold.


Abstract Research on topic segmentation has recently focused on segmenting documents by taking advantage of documents covering the same topics. In order to properly evaluate such approaches, a dataset of related documents is needed. However, existing datasets are limited in the number of related documents per domain. In addition, most of the available datasets do not consider documents from different media sources (PowerPoints, videos, etc.), which pose specific challenges to segmentation. We fill this gap with the MUltimedia SEgmentation Dataset (MUSED), a collection of documents manually segmented, from different media sources, in seven different domains, with an average of twenty related documents per domain. In this paper, we describe the process of building MUSED. A multi-annotator study is carried out to determine if it is possible to observe agreement among human judges and characterize their disagreement patterns. In addition, we use MUSED to compare the state-of-the-art topic segmentation techniques, including the ones that take advantage of related documents. Moreover, we study the impact of having documents from different media sources in the dataset. To the best of our knowledge, MUSED is the first dataset that allows a straightforward evaluation of both single- and multiple-documents topic segmentation techniques, as well as to study how these behave in the presence of documents from different media sources. Results show that some techniques are, indeed, sensitive to different media sources, and also that current multi-document segmentation models do not outperform previous models, pointing to a research line that needs to be boosted.


This dissertation aimed to investigate relationships between attachment theory, health-beliefs and health behaviours. It was hypothesised that there would be significant differences between attachment groups (Secure, Anxious-ambivalent and Avoidant) with regard to certain health beliefs and health behaviours and that such results would be influenced by gender and negative affect. In comparison to insecurely attached male and female participants, securely attached male and female participants were more concerned with looking after their physical and psychological health. Securely attached participants reported higher levels of current health status, and were less anxious about their current and future health. They were more responsible for their health in terms of internal locus of control and had greater expectations for their future health status. They also reported feeling less concerned about how others perceived their health, and were more motivated to look after their physical and psychological health through the use of health promoting behaviours (physical activity, spiritual growth, social support, stress management). In contrasting avoidant and anxiously attached participants, avoidant participants were least concerned with seeking social support and reported significantly lower levels of health promoting behaviours. It is noted that the health beliefs and health behaviours of avoidant male participants appeared to place them at greatest risk of poor physical and psychological health. Increased negative affect and insecure attachment were found to have a significant influence upon participants' anxieties about their health, their concerns about others opinions about their health, as well and their ability to maintain their psychological health through the use of stress management techniques. The results were broadly in line with and extend the findings of previous research. These findings will be discussed in relation to their implications for clinical practice, further research and service development, and a new model of attachment, health beliefs and health behaviours is proposed.


Tensor decomposition is an important tool for multiway data analysis. In practice, the data is often sparse yet associated with rich temporal information. Existing methods, however, often under-use the time information and ignore the structural knowledge within the sparsely observed tensor entries. To overcome these limitations and to better capture the underlying temporal structure, we propose Dynamic EMbedIngs fOr dynamic Tensor dEcomposition (DEMOTE). We develop a neural diffusion-reaction process to estimate dynamic embeddings for the entities in each tensor mode. Specifically, based on the observed tensor entries, we build a multi-partite graph to encode the correlation between the entities. We construct a graph diffusion process to co-evolve the embedding trajectories of the correlated entities and use a neural network to construct a reaction process for each individual entity. In this way, our model can capture both the commonalities and personalities during the evolution of the embeddings for different entities. We then use a neural network to model the entry value as a nonlinear function of the embedding trajectories. For model estimation, we combine ODE solvers to develop a stochastic mini-batch learning algorithm. We propose a stratified sampling method to balance the cost of processing each mini-batch so as to improve the overall efficiency. We show the advantage of our approach in both simulation study and real-world applications. The code is available at https://github.com/wzhut/Dynamic-Tensor-Decomposition-via-Neural-Diffusion-Reaction-Processes.


OBJECTIVES
The overall aim was to propose a plausible model of the dentogingival junction (DGJ) to deepen our understanding of the extrinsic influences responsible for the development of the junctional epithelial phenotype. The specific objective was to test the hypothesis that epithelial migration and proliferation would be inhibited by periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts in an in vitro model of the DGJ consisting of 3D organotypic cultures.

BACKGROUND
Previously, we showed that 3D organotypic cultures containing human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) supported the development of a multi-layered epithelium, while constructs containing human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPDLF) resulted in epithelial atrophy (Lu EMC, Hobbs C, Dyer CJ, Ghuman M, Hughes FJ. J Perio Res., 2020). However, changes in epithelial phenotype have not been studied within an in vitro model of the DGJ.

METHODS
The in vitro model of the DGJ comprised of a donor HGF construct (H400 epithelium overlying HGF-collagen matrix) supported by a dimensionally larger recipient collagen bed enriched with HPDLF. Samples were harvested, fixed and processed for immunohistochemistry. The changes in epithelial migration and proliferation following contact with HPDLF were assessed by measuring the horizontal extension of the epithelial outgrowth on the recipient collagen matrix.

RESULTS
Within our in vitro model of the DGJ, epithelial migration and proliferation were inhibited following contact with the recipient HPDLF. By contrast, the control set-up showed a relative increase in epithelial growth, where the epithelium came into contact with the recipient HGF. Overall, there were limited changes in the molecular expression of keratin markers.

CONCLUSION
This study has proposed a plausible in vitro model of the DGJ to illustrate the role of different fibroblasts in the regulation of dentogingival epithelia. Furthermore, it suggests that the anatomical positional stability of the JE and its apparent resistance to apical migration could be associated with its interaction with the PDL.


This experiment compared the separate effects of behavior modifications (Stamps System) and drug therapy (Ritalin) in producing a calming effect in a hyperactive child during speech therapy. An intellectually normal seven-year-old Caucasian child served as the subject. The behaviors to be modified were (1) Out of seat behavior defined as completely leaving the chair; (2) Playing with instructional materials when not specifically being told to do so. An attempt was also made to increase the subject's skills in the area of auditory attending through a "listening" exercise. The experiment was divided into two treatment phases each of which was preceded by baseline sessions. A calming effect as measured by the frequencies of the target behaviors was graphically evaluated for each treatment. The results supported the hypotheses that the token system would produce more of a calming effect than would drug therapy on all target behaviors. Although both treatments were found to be effective, the Stamps System was more effective and more consistent than was drug therapy.


An inequality is given for the expected length of a confidence interval given that a particular distribution generated the data and assuming that the confidence interval has a given coverage probability over a family of distributions . As a corollary, attempts to adapt to the regularity of the true density within derivative smoothness classes cannot improve the rate of convergence of the length of the confidence interval over minimax fixed-length intervals and still maintain uniform coverage probability . However, adaptive confidence intervals can attain improved rates of convergence in some other classes of densities, such as those satisfying a shape restriction .


AIM
To evaluate the accuracy of red cell distribution width (RDW) to platelet ratio (RPR) to predict in-hospital mortality in acute pancreatitis (AP).

METHODS
Between January 2010 and June 2012, 102 patients with AP were recruited to the study. In this retrospective cohort study, for all subjects, demographic data on hospital admission, AP etiology, co-morbid diseases, organ failure assessment, laboratory parameters and length of hospital stay were examined. Additionally, we used a non-invasive prediction method in addition to the RPR to evaluate the disease severity. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the impact of RPR on hospital admission to predict mortality.

RESULTS
The male-female ratio (59/43) was 1.37 with a median age of 56.5 years (17-89 years). In both univariate and multivariate analyses, RDW and RPR were presented as independent and significant variables on admission to predict mortality. The RPR obtained on hospital admission was persistently higher among non-survivors than among survivors (P < 0.0001). The median RPR was 0.000087 in the non-survivor group and 0.000058 in the survivor group. RPR with a cutoff value of 0.000067 presented an area under the curve of 0.783 (95%CI: 0.688-0.878) in receiver operating characteristic curves and could predict the mortality of approximately 80% of the patients.

CONCLUSION
We identified RPR as a valuable, novel laboratory test to predict mortality in AP.


The study aimed to identify the consequences of a low-cost restructuring process of an e-government initiative in the state of Sao Paulo. The measures adopted strengthened interaction between government and citizens and the initiative received an award for the good results achieved. A single-case study was carried out on Channel 156 of the municipal government of Limeira. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participation in meetings with the program's managers and technicians, and analysis of internal documents available to researchers. The findings contribute to studies on the use of information technology by public agencies, an area as yet poorly explored. The research may help in restructuring similar initiatives in other contexts through the use of appropriate management and information technology tools, resulting in better service to citizens.


Eukaryotic cells control the levels of molecular chaperones and folding enzymes in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by a transcriptional induction process termed the unfolded protein response (UPR) according to the needs within the ER. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, expression of the UPR-specific transcription factor Hac1p is tightly regulated at the level of mRNA splicing that depends on an unconventional system. Thus, HAC1 precursor mRNA is constitutively expressed but not translated. A sensor molecule Ire1p/Ern1p-mediated signaling from the ER specifically removes an intron of 252 nucleotides from the precursor mRNA, and the resulting mature mRNA is translated to produce Hac1p. Because the 5' splice site is located near the C-terminal end of the Hac1p-coding region, this splicing replaces the last 10 codons of the ORF with an exon encoding 18 aa without affecting the N-terminal 220-aa region which contains the DNA-binding domain. Here, we found that this C-terminal 18-aa segment functions as a potent activation domain. Therefore, the splicing event joins the HAC1 DNA-binding domain to its activation domain, allowing rapid posttranscriptional generation of a potent transcriptional activator (238-aa Hac1p) that activates the UPR efficiently. This suggests that the UPR is hardly activated by Hac1p produced without splicing (230-aa Hac1p) which may occur in the absence of Ire1p/Ern1p-mediated signaling from the ER. Based on these and other results, we propose that the control of expression and activity of Hac1p meets the requirements of the ER.


Gaze awareness and eye contact serve important functions in social interaction. In order to maintain those functions in 2D and 3D videoconferencing systems, human sensitivity to eye contact and gaze direction needs to be taken into account in the design of such systems. Here we experimentally investigate human perception of eye contact and gaze direction in 2D and 3D, using a within-subjects design. Our results indicate that the disparity between the optical axis of the camera and the looking direction of a looker (a photographed face) should be at most 1.2° in horizontal direction, and 1.7° in vertical direction to support eye contact. Maximum tolerable offsets for the perception of eye contact are independent of (monoscopic or stereoscopic) display conditions. Asymmetric sensitivity to eye contact is explained by the underestimation of the vertical component of a looker's gaze direction.


Pushed at first by the labels backed onto the 2005 French energy performance (EP) regulation, and later on by the 2012 energy performance regulation, which imposes envelope airtightness requirements for any new dwellings, and pulled by a growing interest for low-energy labels, an important market transformation is observed in France on envelope airtightness measurement. A framework has been set to supervise the authorized measurers' activities. Within this framework, the measurers must fill a standard register for each measurement they perform. Every year, since 2006, this file has to be sent to CETE de Lyon to set a database. It represented around 31.000 envelope airtightness data in August 2013 and around 100.000 new data are expected each year with the new EP regulation. In 2013, a database and specific tools have been developed in order to make the most of this numerous data. Five airtightness indicators (Q 4Pa_Surf , n 50 , NL, w 4 , ELA n ) can be analysed through 20 parameters concerning: region and climate zone, building use, certification/label, building age, construction mode and main material, insulation type, ventilation system, heating system, measurement devices, method of the measurement, local measured (envelope or part of building), floor area and volume. This paper describes the database, and presents some preliminary analysis about residential and non-residential buildings envelope airtightness based on the impact of several parameters: label and connected applicable airtightness requirement, building volume, ventilation system and main material.


Earthquakes represent one of the most destructive yet unpredictable natural disasters around the world, with a massive physical, psychological, and economi-cal impact in the population. Earthquake events are, in some cases, explained by some empirical laws such as Omori's law, Bath's law, and Gutenberg-Richter's law. However, there is much to be studied yet; due to the high complexity associated with the process, nonlinear correlations among earthquake occurrences and also their occurrence depend on a multitude of variables that in most cases are yet unidentified. Therefore, having a better understanding on occurrence of each seismic event, and estimating the seismic hazard risk, would represent an invaluable tool for improving earthquake prediction. In that sense, this work consists in the implementation of a machine learning approach for assessing the earthquake risk in Chile, using information from 2012 to 2018. The results show a good performance of the deep neural network models for predicting future earthquake events.


A comparative study on the hydrogen sorption characteristics of commercial multi-wall nanotubes (MWNT), single-wall nanotubes (SWNT) and as synthesized carbon nanotubes was undertaken. The hydrogen sorption properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT's) were investigated by means of a Temperature-Programmed Desorption (TPD), BET surface area measurement and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Hydrogen adsorption was carried out at room temperature, 77K, 70 °C while hydrogen desorption was carried out at 70 °C. Samples were pretreated at 350 °C for 3 hours before saturating the samples with hydrogen for 1 hour at the different adsorption temperatures. The study indicated that the amount of H2 desorbed is affected by the adsorption temperature and the type of carbon nanotubes. In general, the commercial MWNT sample showed relatively higher amount of hydrogen desorbed per gram sample under the adsorption temperatures studied compared to the commercial SWNT and the as synthesized CNT's. However, at the adsorption temperature of 77 K, the as synthesized CNT showed the highest amount of hydrogen desorped. The studies also indicated that there is no direct correlation between the amount of hydrogen desorped and surface area of the CNT's.


ell adhesions play an important role in neurite extension. Paxillin, a focal adhesion adaptor protein involved in focal adhesion dynamics, has been demonstrated to be required for neurite outgrowth. However, the molecular mechanism by which paxillin regulates neurite outgrowth is unknown. Here, we show that paxillin is phosphorylated by p38MAPK in vitro and in nerve growth factor (NGF)–induced PC-12 cells. Ser 85 (Ser 83 for endogenous paxillin) is identified as one of major phosphorylation sites by phosphopeptide mapping and mass spectrometry. Moreover, expression of the Ser 85 → Ala C mutant of paxillin (pax S85A ) significantly inhibits NGF-induced neurite extension of PC-12 cells, whereas expression of wild-type (wt) paxillin does not influence neurite outgrowth. Further experiments indicate that cells expressing pax S85A exhibit small, clustered focal adhesions which are not normally seen in cells expressing wt paxillin. Although wt paxillin and pax S85A have the same ability to bind vinculin and focal adhesion kinase, wt paxillin more efficiently associates with Pyk2 than pax S85A. Thus, phosphorylation of paxillin is involved in NGF-induced neurite extension of PC-12 cells, probably through regulating focal adhesion organization.


The action of Lonidamine [1-(2,4-dichlorobenzyl)-1-H-indazol-3-carboxylic acid] on oxygen consumption and the rate of aerobic and anaerobic lactate production by Ehrlich ascites tumor cells has been investigated. The rate of oxygen consumption decreases exponentially with the increase of Lonidamine concentration, with maximal inhibition occurring at 0.40 mM Lonidamine. The rate of aerobic lactate production is inhibited to the same extent as is the oxygen consumption. However, the maximum effect is observed at 0.12 mM Lonidamine, and the decrease is linear with Lonidamine concentration. Anaerobic lactate production is more sensitive to Lonidamine, and complete inhibition can be observed by raising the concentration to 0.6 mM. The possibility that the decrease observed in lactate production was secondary to the inhibition of sodium- and potassium-containing adenosinetriphosphatase was excluded, because the drug has no effect on this enzyme. Mitochondrial adenosinetriphosphatase was not affected. Lonidamine was, however, shown to inhibit the activity of mitochondrially bound hexokinase to approximately the same extent as it inhibited aerobic glycolysis (approximately 70%). It is concluded that inhibition of the glycolysis of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells by Lonidamine results from an effect of the drug on the mitochondrially bound hexokinase.


An inverse problem is analyzed where corrosion of rebars is detected from a small number of potential data measured at the surface of concrete structure. Because the shape and number of corrosion in rebars are not known in advance, usual inverse analysis method in which the shape and number of corroded part are assumed is not available. In this research, the genetic algorithm (GA) is employed without any assumption. The fitness in the multi-step GA is defined as the inverse of difference between experimental and numerical potential values, and is evaluated by the boundary element method (BEM). To reduce the computational time, the net elements, which have been recently developed by the authors for corrosion analysis of net structures, is used together with the multi-step GA. It is shown by a simulation that the multi-step GA with net elements are successfully employed in the inverse analysis.


Objective: to determine the effectivity of live versus heat killed probiotic in children with acute diarrhea in diarrhea duration and frequency of diarrhoea. Methods: the study was conducted in June 2005-September 2006 in Sari Mutiara Hospital Medan. All charts of children in group age 4-24 months old with diagnosis acute diarrhoea enrolled and divided in to two groups. One group received live probiotic (LP) and other had heat killed probiotic (HKP). Both probiotic consumpt for seven days. The diarrhea duration and frequency diarrhea were noted. Formula milk was discontinued during diarrhea and all children received standard treatment of diarrhea and had probiotic as adjuvant treatment. Results: from the total of 150 children who came to visit pediatric outpatient clinic and pediatric ward, there were 108 children (70.6% boy and 29.4% girl) in group age 4-24 months with acute diarrhoea who meet the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study. Amount of children who had live probiotic and heat killed probiotic were 54 each. In this study there were 26 (47%) and 25 (44%) in group aged 2-11 months and 28 (53%) and 29 (56%) in group aged 12-24 months in group Live probiotic and Heat killed probiotic, respectively. Boys more than girls. Some dehydration in 48 (82.4%) in group Live probiotic and 27(50%) in group heat killed probiotic. Mother of the almost graduated high school 28 (51.5%), employee 20 (35.3%) and unemployee in 34 (64.7%). All the father were employee, some of them work in informal sectors and 17.6% worked for government. There was significant difference in diarrhoeal duration in group live probiotic compared to heat killed probiotic (7.06 day vs 5.65 day; p=0.042), there was no significant differences in frequency diarrhea in both group live probiotic and heat killed probiotic (3.94 episodes vs 4.08 episodes, p=0.055). Conclusion: heat killed probiotic looked superior in shorten diarrhea duration compared to live bacteria in children with acute diarrhea, while there was no significant difference in frequency of diarrhea. It is required a longitudinal study with large sample to determine this findings.


This article takes a look at integration processes of second generation Russian youth in Estonia at identity level which is often referred to as identificational integration. The focus is set on two dimensions of the identificational integration: identification with one's own ethnic group and identification with the majority group in host country. First the role and place of identity in theoretical approaches to integration processes is explored. The second task of the article is to demonstrate the shortcomings of widespread theories and commonly used research instruments for studying the identificational integration. For that purpose the hypotheses on identificational integration that stem from literature and presume that national level belongingness either replaces or replenishes ethnic identity are put on test. The analysis is based on both survey data and follow-up face-to-face interviews conducted with 18-35 year old Russians born in Estonia to parents of whom at least one have migrated to Estonia during Soviet times. Conducted analysis on ethnic identity of Russian youth and their sense of belonging to the majority group reveal a need for an enhanced approach to conceptualising and operationalising the identity level integration processes.