Microalgae are common members of the atmospheric microbial assemblages. Diverse airborne microorganisms are known to produce ice nucleation active (INA) compounds, which catalyze cloud and rain formation, and thus alter cloud properties and their own deposition patterns. While the role of INA bacteria and fungi in atmospheric processes receives considerable attention, the numerical abundance and the capacity for ice nucleation in atmospheric microalgae are understudied. We isolated 81 strains of airborne microalgae from snow samples and determined their taxonomy by sequencing their ITS markers, 18S rRNA genes or 23S rRNA genes. We studied ice nucleation activity of airborne isolates, using droplet freezing assays, and their ability to withstand freezing. For comparison, we investigated 32 strains of microalgae from a culture collection, which were isolated from polar and temperate aqueous habitats. We show that ∼17% of airborne isolates, which belonged to taxa Trebouxiphyceae, Chlorophyceae and Stramenopiles, were INA. A large fraction of INA strains (over 40%) had ice nucleation activity at temperatures ≥-6°C. We found that 50% of aquatic microalgae were INA, but the majority were active at temperatures <-12°C. Most INA compounds produced by microalgae were proteinaceous and associated with the cells. While there were no deleterious effects of freezing on the viability of airborne microalgae, some of the aquatic strains were killed by freezing. In addition, the effect of desiccation was investigated for the aquatic strains and was found to constitute a limiting factor for their atmospheric dispersal. In conclusion, airborne microalgae possess adaptations to atmospheric dispersal, in contrast to microalgae isolated from aquatic habitats. We found that widespread taxa of both airborne and aquatic microalgae were INA at warm, sub-zero temperatures (>-15°C) and may thus participate in cloud and precipitation formation.


Completely eliminating the sharp rise in the tax rate for middle income households in Germany by changing personal income tax rates would mean estimated annual losses in tax revenue of 35 billion euros, or 1.1 percent of GDP. Taxpayers with high incomes would also benefit from this type of relief. The ten percent of the population with the highest income would have a relief of around 10.4 billion euros—over 2,000 euros per taxpayer on average— while middle income taxpayers would benefit to a much lesser extent. With regard to tax burdens or taxable income, the middle and higher income segments would experience more relief than the highest income segment. If high tax revenue losses ought to be avoided and the relief to be focused on middle income taxpayers, tax rates in the upper income segments must be raised. A moderate increase in maximum tax rates would only result in limited extra revenue.


With some injection techniques for use in cellular-phone amplifiers, there is a limit to distortion compensation. This paper proposes a new predistortion technique that injects third-and fifth-order distortion components in the base-band block. By using this technique, the distortion-compensation limit can be raised. This paper also examines the distortion compensation performance of W-CDMA PA and the possibility of applying a new low-voltage, high-capacity battery.


Placing  value  on  river  recreation  can  be difficult, and often times our rivers are valued for their "traditional"  uses,  such  as  transportation,  irrigation, and  water  supply.    However,  more  and  more, economists are offering studies and concrete numbers of the economic benefits and local gains that can come from promoting river recreation in communities.   One tool  communities  can  use  to  promote  recreation  is  a water trail, which is the river equivalent to a greenway. Water  trails  have  been  shown  to  be  effective  in bringing  tourism,  getting  communities  on  their  local waterways,  and  promoting  conservation.    Non‐ traditional  economic  valuations  can  demonstrate  the benefits  local  communities  can  receive  from  natural attractions  and  amenitities.    Rural  communities  often struggle  to  find  ways  to  attract  new  residents  and tourists.    Several  studies have  shown  that  rural  areas can  benefit  from  emphasizing  their  natural  amenities both  in  the  tourism  sector  as  well  as  increasing  in‐ migration  to  the  area.    Once  the  community  realizes the economic benefits that the water trail is bringing to their  town,  the  paddlers,  residents  and  local governments will be much more  likely  to  support  the protection and conservation of the resource.


Studies of age based female mate preference suggested that female preference for male age in different taxa was found to be mixed and various hypotheses have been proposed with conflicting prediction. The present study in D. malerkotliana noticed that females of all ages preferred to mate with a middle aged males more frequently than young or old males. Further middle aged males showed significantly greater courtship acts to courting females. The female showed least rejection behavior and copulated longer with middle aged male than young or old males. Female mated with middle aged male had produced a significantly greater number of progeny but insignificant variation was found in eggs laid by female mated with different male age classes. Female mated with middle aged male lived shorter. Thus our study in D. malerkotliana shows the occurrence of age based female mate preference and female preferred middle aged male to obtain direct fitness benefits.


Introduction: Macrofungi have been used in the Philippines as source of food and traditional medicines. However, these macrofungi in the Philippines have not yet been studied for different biological activities. Thus, this research determined the potential antibacterial and antioxidant activities of crude ethanolic extracts of seven macrofungi collected in Bataan, Philippines. Methods: Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay and broth microdilution method were used to screen for the antibacterial activity and DPPH scavenging assay for the determination of antioxidant activity. Results: F. rosea, G. applanatum, G. lucidum and P. pinisitus exhibited zones of inhibition ranging from 6.55 ± 0.23 mm to 7.43 ± 0.29 mm against S. aureus, D. confragosa, F. rosea, G. lucidum, M. xanthopus and P. pinisitus showed antimicrobial activities against S. aureus with an MIC50 ranging from 1250 μg/mL to 10000 μg/mL. F. rosea, G. applanatum, G. lucidum, M. xanthopus exhibited excellent antioxidant activity with F. rosea having the highest antioxidant activity among all the extracts tested (3.0 μg/mL). Conclusion: Based on the results, these Philippine macrofungi showed antistaphylococcal activity independent of the antioxidant activity. These can be further studied as potential sources of antibacterial and antioxidant compounds.


Different models of Decision Support Systems (DSS) are used in medicine to help physicians in disease diagnosis, prognosis evaluation and therapy prescription. The DSS models rely on mathematical or computer theories. Each of them offers advantages and drawbacks. We propose a DSS system architecture which tries to integrate the different kinds of decision models and to use them to deal with the successive clinical decision steps. Besides, the decision process includes patient data, experts' knowledge, statistical and epidemiological data, experience. The Case Based Reasoning (CBR) approach is used to store and retrieve the previous clinical cases. The object case components are clustered, indexed and stored in an object data base. To sum up, we propose a framework for clinical decision making and experience storing based on the main DSS models. Each step of the decision process is supervised by a finite state automaton which triggers the appropriate module and knowledge or data sources. At last, we illustrate our approach through an example : the epilepsy diagnosis and therapy.


This paper describes the development of a software tool for automating the design process of built-in self-test (BIST) circuits for mixed-signal circuit cards. The purpose of this tool is to generate a complete design of microcontroller-based BIST circuits including hardware and firmware. A typical BIST system generated by this tool consists of a microcontroller, A/D, D/A converters, digital I/Os, digital/analog multiplexers, and a programmable logic device. Several heuristic-based algorithms were developed in this work to optimize the configuration of multiplexers so that the required number of input and output ports is minimized, and the size and number of multiplexers are also reduced. The design tool reported here can greatly simplify the time-consuming procedure of designing BIST circuits and optimize the BIST circuits for mixed-signal circuit cards. A demonstration board is currently under development to evaluate the usability of this tool. The paper focuses on the overall theory and application of the tool, and also describes how if interfaces to the larger tool set we have developed. This larger tool set includes tools to help the designer define the level of built-in test required to meet the system maintainability goals.


The method of H_/Hinfin optimization is used to detect the power sensor fault under the condition of using various speed wind turbine systems in this paper. This method takes into account the robustness of the fault detection observer against disturbances and sensitivity to faults simultaneously. First in this paper, a physical model of the fundamental drive-system dynamics of a 400 kW horizontal axis variable speed wind turbine is derived. Second, H_/Hinfin optimization algorithm is introduced in brief. Finally, a robust H_/Hinfin fault detection observer is designed on the basis of this kind of wind turbine model and simulation is made. The results show that the designed fault detection observer has high sensitivity to faults and strong robustness to disturbances.


Croton is the second bigger and more diverse genus in the family Euphorbiaceae, with about 1,200 species distributed in 40 sections, occurring in all tropical areas, most of them in Americas. In South America, Brazil is the country in which a larger number of taxa are found, ca. 356. According to recent classification, the genus belongs to the tribe Crotoneae, and despite the wide and morphological diversity, it would be a monophyletic taxon. However, a phylogenetic analysis using markers of ITS region from nuclear ribosomal DNA, and of trnL-F from plastidial DNA, showed that Croton, like traditionally circumscribed, is not a monophyletic taxon. A taxonomic revision of Croton section Lamprocroton (Mull. Arg.) Pax is presented here. It is a Neotropical group with most of its species occurring from Southeast and South Brazil to southern South America (Uruguay and Argentina). Morphologically, the members of Lamprocroton are characterized as monoecious or dioecious shrubs or subshrubs, with a lepidote indumentum at least in part of foliage, entire leaves with no glands. The staminate flowers have 9 to 16 stamens and the pistillate flowers may have equal or unequal sepals, reduced to absent petals, and styles once or twice bifid. Overall, are recognized 26 species in the group, three of them new to the science. Identification key, morphological descriptions, illustrations, phenological period, as well as data on geographic distribution and general comments of each species are presented. Four taxa were excluded from C. sect. Lamprocroton because they do not show the morphological features that are diagnostics of the section. Four species that are poorly known were not included in the taxonomic treatment.


Subthreshold design has been proposed in the literature as an effective technique for designing signal processing circuits needed in wireless sensor nodes powered by sources with limited energy. The full adder cell forms the basic building block of majority of these signal processing circuits. In this paper, 8-Bit subthreshold Ripple Carry Adders (RCAs) for wireless sensor nodes optimized for ultra low power operation are proposed. Major contribution of this work is conversion of BSIM4, Predictive Technology Model (32nm) to EKV model ( charge based model). The 8-bit RCAs are simulated with HSPICE (Level =55) using the 32nm CMOS technology at supply voltages ranging from 0.25V to 0.4V. Various metrics such as delay, average power and power delay product (PDP) are simulated and reported for effective twelve different topologies. The circuit designers can choose the full adder topology and the supply voltage that is suitable for their applications. Usage of EKV models results in 11% reduction in power than that of using BSIM models for the adder cell "CB" with supply voltage of 0.2V.


Screening tests were conducted in glass-houses in 2006 and 2007 to assess the reaction of 27 new Italian potato (Solanum tuberosum) breeding clones to the potato cyst nematode, Globodera rostochiensis pathotypes Ro1 and Ro2, and to rootknot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita host race 1 and M. javanica. Seven potato cultivars, known to be resistant to cyst nematodes, were also screened for their response to root-knot nematodes. The tests were conducted in 1 dm3 clay pots containing steam sterilized sandy soil infested with 10-15 eggs/cm3 of either pathotype of G. rostochiensis or 10,000 eggs and second stage juveniles/ pot of either root-knot nematode species. The glass-houses were maintained at 20 ± 2 °C for G. rostochiensis and at 26 ± 2 °C for Meloidogyne spp. The clones CS 8617 and MN 3-1469 R2 were resistant to all three nematode species, and the clone AND 97-15, known to be resistant to all European pathotypes of G. rostochiensis and G. pallida, was also resistant to M. incognita and moderately resistant to M. javanica. Fourteen of eighteen clones tested in 2006 and seven of the nine clones tested in 2007 were resistant to both pathotypes of G. rostochiensis. Two clones were resistant to both root-knot nematode species in 2006 and one clone moderately resistant to M. incognita and one moderately resistant to M. javanica in 2007. Some of the clones resistant to G. rostochiensis also possess good agronomic traits and have potential for registration as new cultivars.


Many diagnostic methods have been used to detect rabies virus antigen. The preferred method for routine rabies diagnosis in fresh brain tissue is fluorescent antibody test (FAT). In this study, FAT was used to evaluate the presence of rabies virus antigen in the brain (hippocampus) of fifty apparently healthy dogs. Mouse inoculation test (MIT) and Microscopic examination for Negri bodies (MEN) were also employed to compare agreement, if any, between these employed methods. FAT detected 13 (26%), while MIT detected 10 (20%) samples positive for rabies virus antigen. Of the 10 samples positive by MIT only one sample was FAT negative all the remaining 9 samples were FAT positive. In all, 14 (28%) samples were positive by the two methods (FAT & MIT) combined. Out of these, 3 (21.4%) were positive by MEN and only those samples with the 3+ distribution of fluorescing viral antigen by FAT as well as positive by MIT showed Negri bodies. Despite the high sensitivity of FAT and the good agreement (Kappa = 0.72) between the two methods; there is need to employ MIT on samples from apparently healthy dogs that showed FAT negative. MEN is not a reliable test for samples from apparently healthy dogs; but it was suggested that any sample from apparently healthy dog that is positive by FAT with 3+ or more distribution of fluorescing viral antigen should be presumed MEN positive.


The tissue changes in osteogenesis imperfecta apparently lie in the collagen and in the glycosaminoglycans. The collagen shows structural development disturbance and incomplete calcification. The tissue glycosaminoglycans are increased. The basis probably lies in a disturbed ATP metabolism (Solomons and Millar, 1973). An increased pyrophosphate concentration explains the decreased calcification and the structural changes. The increased osteolysis could be explained by increased quantities of cAMP.


For assembly tasks parts often have to be oriented before they can be put in an assembly. We present a new approach to parts orienting through the manipulation of pose distributions. Through dynamic simulation we can determine the pose distribution for an object being dropped from an arbitrary height on an arbitrary surface. By varying the drop height and the shape of the support surface we can find the initial conditions that will result in a pose distribution with minimal entropy. We attempt to uniquely orient a part with high probability just by varying the initial conditions. We derive a condition on the pose and velocity of an object in contact with a sloped surface that will allow us to quickly determine the final resting configuration of the object. This condition can then be used to quickly compute the pose distribution. We also show simulation and experimental results which confirm that our dynamic simulator can be used to find the true pose distribution of an object.


In cooperation with local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the JOICFP Integrated Project in Solola State, where it is implemented by the Family Welfare Association of Guatemala (APROFAM), has been refocused on reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP) within the predominately Mayan communities of Panajachel, San Pedro la Laguna, and San Lucas Toliman. Emphasis has been placed on sensitivity to cultural and gender issues. Mayan professionals, including a Mayan doctor who provides 2 days of service to clinics on a rotational basis, are employed. A clinic has been added in San Pedro la Laguna and another in Panajachel; the latter serves as the project's headquarters. Training of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and of community-based distribution agents (CBDs) has been increased in order to broaden project coverage. 31 CBDs have been recruited from project communities to counsel and to educate clients in the local language, to provide referrals, and to sell low-cost contraceptives. A Japanese public health nurse serves as a Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteer at the APROFAM clinic in Solola. Six TBAs have received follow-up training in natural and modern FP. The project's Mayan doctor works closely with these health personnel. 28 CBDs have been trained to provide Depo-Provera; acceptance of this method has increased by 42%. Contraceptive acceptance between January and June of this year is greater than the total for all of 1996. Two UN Population Fund (UNFPA) representatives, Dr. Sergio de Leon (program officer) and Dr. Ruben Gonzalez (national coordinator of the project to reduce maternal mortality), visited during a monitoring/technical support mission in July and August.


The toxicological symptoms prevalent and reported in Elelenwo area were taken into consideration and the leachates quality of its notable dumpsites was investigated for possible links. In situ measurements were made and standard procedures followed for analyses of lead, cadmium and nickel as well as other physicochemical load of the leachates. The results obtained were compared with various guidelines set by some notable regulatory bodies. The outcome showed more than 100 folds toxicity levels above the various benchmarks especially for lead, cadmium and nickel. These dumpsites as a result are environmental hotspots for pollution distribution to nearby surface waters, air and wastewaters bodies as well as the ground water. There is a strong link between reported toxicological symptoms among inhabitants of Elelenwo and Leachates toxicity from these dumpsites and there is emergency need for clean-up action by appropriate authorities.


Background Ankle sprains are associated with detrimental long-term sequelae tied to neuromechanical alterations. Neurological adaptations occurring in the initial weeks after injury may be responsible for long-term adaptations resultant in altered movement patterns; however, few studies have quantified neuromechanical and functional adaptations following acute ankle sprains. Objective This study aims to quantify cortical and reflexive excitability following ankle sprain with concurrent changes in function. Design Pilot cohort study. Setting University laboratory. Participants 6 male subjects (age = 20.8 ± 0.8 years, height = 181.2 ± 3.5 cm, body mass = 84.8 ± 9.0 kg) with history of recent ankle sprain volunteered for this investigation. Interventions Participants were tested at 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks from injury. During each session clinical measures of ankle volume, balance (Y-balance test), and dorsiflexion range-of-motion (weight-bearing lunge) were assessed. Electromyography sensors were placed on tibialis anterior (TA), peroneus longus (PL), and soleus (SOL) and cortical and reflexive excitability were assessed bilaterally using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and Hoffmann reflex, respectively. Main outcome measurements Stimulus- response curves from TMS were used to determine active motor threshold (AMT, %output) and maximal response (MEPmax, %Mmax). Side differences were assessed using descriptive statistics. Results Differences in ankle volume, balance, and dorsiflexion were observed at week 1, and, except dorsiflexion, were no longer present at week 8. Notable side-to-side alterations in cortical excitability were noted for TA AMT and PL and SOL MEPmax. These findings indicated decreased TA excitability, but increased PL and SOL excitability at 1-week (TAINJ = 33.4 ± 15.7%, TANON = 27.7 ± 4.0%; PLINJ = 70.5 ± 35.1%, PLNON = 45.7 ± 34.1%; SOLINJ = 10.6 ± 11.6%, SOLNON = 12.1 ± 5.1%) but the opposite effect 8-weeks after injury (TAINJ = 38.8 ± 2.8%, TANON = 35.6 ± 12.0%; PLINJ = 35.6 ± 9.2%, PLNON = 48.7 ± 9.0%; SOLINJ = 10.5 ± 7.2, SOLNON = 8.1 ± 5.9%). Generally, the H-reflex was slightly elevated for all muscles and time-points on the injured side. Conclusions Changes in neurological function were observed among this small cohort of participants that reflect both acute and long-term adaptations due to injury. Further analysis is required to determine how these variables might affect functional measures.


While research on emotions has become one of the most productive areas at the intersection of cognitive science, artificial intelligence and natural language processing, the diversity and incommensurability of emotion models seriously hampers progress in the field. We here propose kNN regression as a simple, yet effective method for computationally mapping between two major strands of emotion representations, namely dimensional and discrete emotion models. In a series of machine learning experiments on data sets of textual stimuli we gather evidence that this approach reaches a human level of reliability using a relatively small number of data points only.


1. The conduction and gating properties of K(+)‐conducting channels were studied in isolated turtle colon cells in an attempt to identify the single channels responsible for specific components of the macroscopic conductance of the basolateral membrane. Three types of Ca(2+)‐activated channel were identified, two of which were selective for K+ over Na+ and a third which was selective for monovalent cations over anions, but did not discriminate between K+ and Na+. 2. One of the K(+)‐selective channels was a large‐conductance 'maxi' K+ channel. A second was characterized by a lower conductance and pronounced inward rectification. 3. The inward‐rectifying K+ channel was selectively blocked by diphenylamine‐2‐carboxylate (DPC). Neither the maxi K+ channel nor a previously identified K(+)‐selective channel thought to be activated by cell swelling was affected by this compound. DPC also blocked the non‐selective cation channel. 4. An inward‐rectifying, DPC‐sensitive current was prominent in whole cell‐recordings, and DPC blocked basolateral K+ currents in colonic cell layers apically permeabilized with amphotericin‐B. In addition, the compound blocked active Na+ absorption. 5. The selective block of a class of epithelial K+ channels by DPC may be a useful tool for determining the contribution of this specific subpopulation to macroscopic conductance and transepithelial salt transport.


The arterial puncture is a procedure that patients and nurses are faced with suspicion by the pain it causes. We evaluate the effectiveness of a new protocol of arterial puncture with fine needle (paf) less painful and damaging. Comparative randomized design for independent samples on patients who request samples of arterial blood. Analysis of the variables of pain intensity compared pain and technical difficulty. Significant confirmation of the alternative hypothesis in favor of lower rates of pain and technical difficulty with paf.


The B case extends the analysis in the A case (UVA-F-1020) to the next level, where the executive must choose between two mutually exclusive plant-renovation projects. Net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return rank the projects differently, affording an opportunity to (IRR) discuss the classic "cross-over" problem in capital investment analysis. Operational flexibility is a significant factor, permitting a discussion of the role of real options in investment analysis. The last element is politics as managers jockey for project approval. A student worksheet file is available for use with this case.


ABSTRACT Genomic analysis of the Chlamydiaceae has revealed a multigene family encoding large, putatively autotransported polymorphic membrane proteins (Pmps) with nine members in the sexually transmitted pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis. While various pathogenesis-related functions are emerging for the Pmps, observed genotypic and phenotypic variation among several chlamydial Pmps in various Chlamydia species has led us to hypothesize that the pmp gene repertoire is the basis of a previously undetected mechanism of antigenic variation. To test this hypothesis, we chose to examine the serologic response of C. trachomatis-infected patients to each Pmp subtype. Immune serum samples were collected from four populations of patients with confirmed C. trachomatis genital infection: 40 women with pelvic inflammatory disease from Pittsburgh, PA; 27 and 34 adolescent/young females from Oakland, CA, and Little Rock, AR, respectively; and 58 adult male patients from Baltimore, MD. The Pmp-specific antibody response was obtained using immunoblot analysis against each of the nine recombinantly expressed Pmps and quantified by densitometry. Our results show that nearly all C. trachomatis-infected patients mount a strong serologic response against individual or multiple Pmp subtypes and that the antibody specificity profile varies between patients. Moreover, our analysis reveals differences in the strengths and specificities of the Pmp subtype-specific antibody reactivity relating to gender and clinical outcome. Overall, our results indicate that the Pmps elicit various serologic responses in C. trachomatis-infected patients and are consistent with the pmp gene family being the basis of a mechanism of antigenic variation.


A success in treatment of acute ulcerations of the upper parts of the gastrointestinal tract in patients with a severe neurosurgical pathology can be achieved only with a complex approach to treatment of the intensive care patients. The application of antiulcerous medicines in combination with pyrokinetics and medicines improving the regeneratory ability of the gastrointestinal tract mucosa allowed to considerably decrease risk of the development of gastroduodenal bleedings against the background of erosive-ulcerous lesion of the mucosa. The endoscopic methods of arresting bleedings in such patients in combination with the correction of homeostasis by infusions and local hemostatic therapy in most cases result in reliable hemostasis of the upper parts of the gastrointestinal tract. The program of active measures is completed with the early enteral feeding with balanced nutritional mixtures.


Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) display an activated type I IFN system due to unceasing IFN- a release from plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) stimulated by nucleic acid–containing immune complexes (ICs). NK cells strongly promote the IFN- a production by pDCs; therefore, we investigated surface molecules that could be involved in the pDC–NK cell cross-talk. In human PBMCs stimulated with RNA-containing ICs (RNA-ICs), the expression of the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) family receptors CD319 and CD229 on pDCs and CD319 on CD56 dim NK cells was selectively increased. Upregulation of CD319 and CD229 on RNA-IC–stimulated pDCs was induced by NK cells or cytokines (e.g., GM-CSF, IL-3). IFN- a –producing pDCs displayed a higher expression of SLAM molecules compared with IFN- a 2 pDCs. With regard to signaling downstream of SLAM receptors, pDCs expressed SHIP-1, SHP-1, SHP-2, and CSK but lacked SLAM-associated protein (SAP) and Ewing's sarcoma-activated transcript 2 (EAT2), indicating that these receptors may act as inhibitory receptors on pDCs. Furthermore, pDCs from patients with SLE had decreased expression of CD319 on pDCs and CD229 on CD56 dim NK cells, but RNA-IC stimulation increased CD319 and CD229 expression. In conclusion, this study reveals that the expression of the SLAM receptors CD319 and CD229 is regulated on pDCs and NK cells by lupus ICs and that the expression of these receptors is specifically altered in SLE. These results, together with the observed genetic association between the SLAM locus and SLE, suggest a role for CD319 and CD229 in the SLE disease process.


This dissertation deals with the development of the vortex generator model and its use for the optimization study of vortex generator flow control in high-offset-ed inlets. In the first part, the overview of use of vortex generators and their mechanism is outlined. Both the application form the existing aircraft as well as laboratory studies are reviewed. The second part contains four papers. The first paper deals with the development, verification and validation of the vortex generator model in Navier-Stokes code. Although primarily meant to be used in inlets, the validation of the model was carried out in case of high-lift system by comparing pressure coefficient to the experimental data. Second paper deals with development of the inflow and outflow mass flow boundary conditions for Navier-Stokes codes. Newly designed mass flow boundary conditions were compared to existing mass flow boundary conditions. Special attention was paid to flows under condition of choking. Third paper deals with the Design of Experiment optimization study of the vortex generator flow control in the RAE M2129 inlet with two sets of five geometrical parameters. The aim is to reduce the inlet flow distortion and increase pressure recovery. The parameters of optimal vortex generator setup were then used to design a vortex generator flow control in more realistic inlet for a UAV. Fourth paper deals with testing of vortex generator flow control in the UAV inlet under different flight conditions. In order to be able to find appropriate parameters of flow in inlet, entire UAV with prescribed value of the mass flow was calculated. It was found that the proposed vortex generator installation malfunctioned when at conditions corresponding to the high altitude flight conditions. A new configuration with double number of vortex generators was then tested and at proven being stable. Triangular vortex generators were tested also.


BACKGROUND
This study explored the personal experiences of family carers and residential care staff in supporting adults with intellectual disabilities through the process of bereavement.

METHOD
A semi-structured interview was used to interview 11 carers on their experience of supporting adults with intellectual disabilities through the process of bereavement. The transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

RESULTS
A total of five superordinate themes were identified: (i) Factors making the experience difficult for carers, (ii) Factors that helped carers, (iii) Carers' perspectives on the responses of people with intellectual disabilities, (iv) Approaches to supporting people with intellectual disabilities and (v) Carers' perspectives on support.

CONCLUSIONS
Supporting people with intellectual disabilities through bereavement is an emotionally demanding task for carers. The support needs of carers need to be acknowledged and addressed in order to ensure that adequate support is available to people with intellectual disabilities following bereavement.


The development of new sequencing technologies in the post-genomic era has accelerated the identification of causative mutations of several single gene disorders. Advances in cell and animal models provide insights into the underlining pathogenesis, which facilitates the development and maturation of new treatment strategies. The progress in biochemistry and molecular biology has established a new class of therapeutics—the short RNAs and expressible long RNAs. The sequences of therapeutic RNAs can be optimized to enhance their stability and translatability with reduced immunogenicity. The chemically-modified RNAs can also increase their stability during intracellular trafficking. In addition, the development of safe and high efficiency carriers that preserves the integrity of therapeutic RNA molecules also accelerates the transition of RNA therapeutics into the clinic. For example, for diseases that are caused by genetic defects in a specific protein, an effective approach termed "protein replacement therapy" can provide treatment through the delivery of modified translatable mRNAs. Short interference RNAs can also be used to treat diseases caused by gain of function mutations or restore the splicing aberration defects. Here we review the applications of newly developed RNA-based therapeutics and its delivery and discuss the clinical evidence supporting the potential of RNA-based therapy in single-gene neurological disorders.


PDS is considered as principal institutions in the hands of State Governments for providing safety net to the poor against the spiralling food prices of essential commodities. In this regard Tamil Nadu sets a model in the PDS as universal system. The involvement of the Cooperative Societies, and other distribution networks to make ensures safety net, transparency, accessibility and all reduced the less transaction cost. This study found that problems like leakages, poor quality, under weightiest, non-availability of controlled as well as non-controlled articles during certain times, non-availability of ration cards, bogus cards and its affect the impact of the universal system.  This study covered Multi-stage random sampling and pre-test analysis was done. To this study showed that universal PDS will help to provide safety net to the poor. The study suggested that new implications of universal PDS in the state.


A lensless optical security system based on double random-phase encoding in the Fresnel domain is proposed. This technique can encrypt a primary image to random noise by use of two statistically independent random-phase masks in the input and transform planes, respectively. In this system the positions of the significant planes and the operation wavelength, as well as the phase codes, are used as keys to encrypt and recover the primary image. Therefore higher security is achieved. The sensitivity of the decrypted image to shifting along the propagation direction and to the wavelength are also investigated.


In this work ion-implanted p+/n diodes have been used as minimum ionizing particle (MIP) detectors. The diode structure is based on a 0.45 $m deep, NA = 4×1019 cm-3 doped p+ anode, ion implanted in an n-type epilayer with thickness equal to 55 $m and nominal donor doping ND = 2×1014 cm-3. The diode breakdown voltages were above 1000V. At 1000V reverse bias the diode leakage current was of the order of 1 nA. The punch through depletion voltage was nearing the range 220-250 V. The charge collection efficiency to minimum ionizing particle was investigated by a 90Sr β source. The pulse height spectrum was measured as a function of the reverse voltage in the range 0-605 V. At each bias point the signal was stable and reproducible, showing the absence of polarization effects. At 220 V the collected charge was 2970 e- and saturated at 3150 e- near 350 V. At the moment, this is the highest collected charge for SiC detectors. At bias voltages over 100V the spectrum was found to consist of two peaks clearly separated. Around 250 V the signal saturates, in agreement with CV results.


RegComponent models are time series models with linear regression mean functions and error terms that follow ARIMA (autoregressive-integrated-moving average) component time series models. Bell (2004) discusses these models and gives some underlying theoretical and computational results. The REGCMPNT program is a Fortran program for performing Gaussian maximum likelihood estimation, signal extraction, and forecasting with RegComponent models. In this paper we briefly examine the nature of RegComponent models, provide an overview of the REGCMPNT program, and then use three examples to show some important features of the program and to illustrate its application to various different RegComponent models.


The purposes of the study were: 1. To design two contrasting plans of shorthand homework, Method A plan to be used by control groups and Method B plan to be used by experimental groups. 2. To implement Method A plan and Method B plan through control and experimental groups respectively. 3. To define criteria by which achievement levels may be determined. 4. To make comparative analysis of achievement levels between the control groups and the experimental groups.


Background Earlier age at sexual debut is associated with drug and alcohol use, risky sexual behaviours and sexually transmissible infections (STI).

METHODS
In the present study, 2320 young Indigenous Australians were surveyed.

RESULTS
Most study participants had sex for the first time when they were 14 years or younger (79% and 67% for males and females respectively). More than 80% of participants were categorised as being in the high-risk category for the combined sexual risk factors (i.e. not using condoms, drunk or high at last sexual act, or three or more sexual partners in the past year). There was a linear decreasing trend between the proportion of males and females who had less than high school education and age at first sex (Ptrend<0.001). Compared with the highest quintile of age at first sexual debut (≥18 years), those in the bottom quintile (<15 years) were less likely to have completed high school (63% vs 32% respectively for males; 68% vs 26% respectively for females; Ptrend<0.001 for both).

CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the present study suggest that sex education and STI prevention should start early when targeting Indigenous young people, with age-appropriate messages. Sex education should be comprehensive and address individual risk behaviours, sexual agency and societal vulnerability to not only delay sexual debut, but also to emphasise the importance of STI prevention through condom use, which clearly already works to a certain extent with this group.


Purpose. To assess the association between structural factors in the health care delivery system and self-reported utilization of ophthalmic services by patients with diabetes in the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS). Methods. Self-reported utilization of ophthalmic services within the 6 months preceding enrollment into the MOS among 522 of 567 individuals with diabetes in the MOS longitudinal panel was measured. Use of eye care services was regressed (logistic model) on patient demographics, geographic location, physician specialty, type of practice, and finance plan (prepaid or fee-for-service). Results. None of the variables was significantly associated with a higher or lower likelihood of having used ophthalmic services in the preceding 6 months. Thus, no difference between prepaid or fee-for-service plans or among solo practice, large multispecialty groups, or HMOs were identified. Having seen an internist, family practitioner, or diabetes specialist for diabetes care was not related to use of ophthalmic services. Conclusions. Despite a presumed greater interest in preventive health, prepaid health plans were no more or less likely than the fee-for-service sector to have patients with diabetes reporting an eye examination within the prior 6 months. Thus, steps to improve the rate of eye examinations of diabetics may need to focus beyond the structural elements of the health care delivery system.


OITAF-NACS : ninth symposium, September 16-20, 2004, Vail Marriott Mountain Resort and Spa, Vail, Colorado -- USA / The International Organization for Transportation by Rope, North American Continental Section.


The A-type response regulator ARR4 is an element in the two-component signalling network of Arabidopsis. ARR4 interacts with the N-terminus of the red/far-red light photoreceptor phytochrome B (phyB) and functions as a modulator of photomorphogenesis. In concert with other A-type response regulators, ARR4 also participates in the modulation of the cytokinin response pathway. Here evidence is presented that ARR4 directly modulates the activity state of phyB in planta, not only under inductive but also under extended irradiation with red light. Mutation of the phosphorylatable aspartate to asparagine within the receiver domain creates a version of ARR4 that negatively affects photomorphogenesis. Additional evidence suggests that ARR4 activity is regulated by a phosphorelay mechanism that depends on the AHK family of cytokinin receptors. Accordingly, the ability of ARR4 to function on phyB is modified by exogenous application of cytokinin. These results implicate a cross-talk between cytokinin and light signalling mediated by ARR4. This cross-talk enables the plant to adjust light reponsiveness to endogenous requirements in growth and development.


Background: Objective of the study was to evaluate fetomaternal outcome in patients with eclampsia.
Methods: This prospective study was conducted in Government Thanjavur Medical College Hospital, Tamilnadu, India over a period of 15 months from January 2015 to March 2016 in all eclampsia cases. Total 146 eclampsia cases were admitted of which 113 were antepartum eclampsia, 4 were intrapartum eclampsia and 29 cases were postpartum eclampsia. In all cases of antepartum eclampsia pregnancy was terminated irrespective of gestational age.
Results: This study showed that incidence of eclampsia in our hospital is 0.83%. It is more common in the age group of 20 to 25 years (78.8%) and primigravidae (69.2%). Maximum number of cases had seizures before the onset of labour (77.39%). 53.85% eclamptic cases presented with seizures at ≥37 completed weeks. Commonest mode of delivery was caesarean section (62.33%). Out of 146 patients, 9 (6.16%) cases died, 35 (23.97%) had complications. 75.64% cases delivered live babies but 26.36% had early neonatal death.
Conclusions: Eclampsia is still one of the important and common obstetric emergencies, which has a significant role in maternal and perinatal outcome. Regular Antenatal Care (ANC), proper health education, improvements of socio-economic conditions and spreading of awareness in the community has major roles in prevention of eclampsia. Timely and appropriate intervention including primary management, early referral and judicious termination of pregnancy help in reducing morbidity and mortality of both mother and fetus.


We study the numerical solution of scalar time-harmonic wave equations on unbounded domains which can be split into a bounded interior domain of primary interest and an exterior domain with separable geometry. To compute the solution in the interior domain, approximations to the Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DtN) map of the exterior domain have to be imposed as transparent boundary conditions on the artificial coupling boundary. Although the DtN map can be computed by separation of variables, it is a nonlocal operator with dense matrix representations, and hence computationally inefficient. Therefore, approximations of DtN maps by sparse matrices, usually involving additional degrees of freedom, have been studied intensively in the literature using a variety of approaches including different types of infinite elements, local non-reflecting boundary conditions, and perfectly matched layers. The entries of these sparse matrices are derived analytically, e.g. from transformations or asymptotic expansions of solutions to the differential equation in the exterior domain. In contrast, in this paper we propose to `learn' the matrix entries from the DtN map in its separated form by solving an optimization problem as a preprocessing step. Theoretical considerations suggest that the approximation quality of learned infinite elements improves exponentially with increasing number of infinite element degrees of freedom, which is confirmed in numerical experiments. These numerical studies also show that learned infinite elements outperform state-of-the-art methods for the Helmholtz equation. At the same time, learned infinite elements are much more flexible than traditional methods as they, e.g., work similarly well for exterior domains involving strong reflections, for example, for the atmosphere of the Sun, which is strongly inhomogeneous and exhibits reflections at the corona.


The input of leaf litter resources is a major driver of ecosystem processes in terrestrial and freshwater habitats. Although variation exists in the quantity and composition of litter inputs due to natural and anthropogenic causes, few studies have examined how such variation influences the structure and composition of aquatic food webs. Using outdoor mesocosms, we examined the bottom–up effects of 10 chemically distinct tree litter species on microbial, algal, invertebrate and vertebrate fauna found in temperate ponds. We hypothesized that individual litter species, which differ in their traits, would differentially and predictably affect abiotic and biotic elements of pond communities. We further hypothesized that the presence of leaf litter, regardless of species, would elevate resource supply and increase the biomass of community members. Finally, we hypothesized that a mixture of litter species would have non-additive effects on community responses. We followed the system for > 4 months and measured > 30 abiotic and biotic responses related to primary and secondary production. The different species of leaf litter had major effects on abiotic and biotic responses, including phytoplankton, periphyton, zooplankton, snails, amphipods and tadpoles. Most biological responses were negatively associated with soluble carbon content of litter, or litter decay rate. Other litter traits, including phenolic concentrations and litter C:N were of secondary importance but did exhibit both positive and negative associations with several responses. The absence of litter had pervasive effects on abiotic attributes, but did not promote substantial changes in organism biomass. Most responses to the litter mixture were additive. Our results suggest that changes in temperate forest composition can strongly affect pond communities.


In a distributed heterogeneous fog environment, fog nodes may change their state at any time. Their reliability changes accordingly. A dynamic analysis of state changes can help one detect fault-tolerant fog nodes, which is conducive to promoting the reliability of fog services. This article proposes a fault-tolerant model based on a Markov chain for a fog system's performance optimization. The real-time reliability of fog nodes is analyzed by using dynamic distributed parameters. Thus, the state transition process of fog nodes is modeled with a continuous-time Markov chain. The steady-state probability of a fog system is analyzed. Then, a fault-tolerant strategy and its algorithms are designed to select nodes with the minimum cost based on their steady-state probabilities. The proposed method can predict the number of faulty ones of a fog system via the steady-state probability. An intelligent optimization method called simulated annealing (ISA) is designed and used to select the most appropriate fog nodes to substitute faulty ones. The experimental results show that the method is feasible and effective for selecting the right fault-tolerant nodes according to different performance requirements. ISA can well outperform such methods as random selection, discrete differential evolution, and simulated annealing in terms of cost and time.


Abstract Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), the only group of "bioplastics" sensu stricto, are accumulated by various prokaryotes as intracellular "carbonosomes". When exposed to exogenous stress or starvation, presence of these microbial polyoxoesters of hydroxyalkanoates assists microbes to survive. "Bioplastics" such as PHA must be competitive with petrochemically manufactured plastics both in terms of material quality and manufacturing economics. Cost-effectiveness calculations clearly show that PHA production costs, in addition to bioreactor equipment and downstream technology, are mainly due to raw material costs. The reason for this is PHA production on an industrial scale currently relying on expensive, nutritionally relevant "1st-generation feedstocks", such as like glucose, starch or edible oils. As a way out, carbon-rich industrial waste streams ("2nd-generation feedstocks") can be used that are not in competition with the supply of food; this strategy not only reduces PHA production costs, but can also make a significant contribution to safeguarding food supplies in various disadvantaged parts of the world. This approach increases the economics of PHA production, improves the sustainability of the entire lifecycle of these materials, and makes them unassailable from an ethical perspective. In this context, our EU-funded projects ANIMPOL and WHEYPOL, carried out by collaborative consortia of academic and industrial partners, successfully developed PHA production processes, which resort to waste streams amply available in Europe. As real 2nd-generation feedstocks", waste lipids and crude glycerol from animal-processing and biodiesel industry, and surplus whey from dairy and cheese making industry were used in these processes. Cost estimations made by our project partners determine PHA production prices below 3 € (WHEYPOL) and even less than 2 € (ANIMPOL), respectively, per kg; these values already reach the benchmark of economic feasibility. The presented studies clearly show that the use of selected high-carbon waste streams of (agro)industrial origin contributes significantly to the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of PHA biopolyester production on an industrial scale.


Background Human bocavirus species 1–4 (HBoV1–4) have been associated with respiratory and enteric infections in children. However, the immunological mechanisms in response to HBoV infections are not fully understood. Though previous studies have shown cross-reactivities between HBoV species, the epitopes responsible for this phenomenon remain unknown. In this study, we used genomic and immunologic approaches to identify the reactive epitopes conserved across multiple HBoV species and explored their potential as the basis of a novel diagnostic test for HBoVs. Methodology/Principal Findings We generated HBoV1–3 VP2 gene fragment phage display libraries (GFPDLs) and used these libraries to analyze mouse antisera against VP2 protein of HBoV1, 2, and 3, and human sera positive for HBoVs. Using this approach, we mapped four epitope clusters of HBoVs and identified two immunodominant peptides–P1 (1MSDTDIQDQQPDTVDAPQNT20), and P2 (162EHAYPNASHPWDEDVMPDL180)–that are conserved among HBoV1–4. To confirm epitope immunogenicity, we immunized mice with the immunodominant P1 and P2 peptides identified in our screen and found that they elicited high titer antibodies in mice. These two antibodies could only recognize the VP2 of HBoV 1–4 in Western blot assays, rather than those of the two other parvoviruses human parvovirus B19 and human parvovirus 4 (PARV4). Based on our findings, we evaluated epitope-based peptide-IgM ELISAs as potential diagnostic tools for HBoVs IgM antibodies. We found that the P1+P2-IgM ELISA showed a higher sensitivity and specificity in HBoVs IgM detection than the assays using a single peptide. Conclusions/Significance The identification of the conserved B-cell epitopes among human bocavirus species contributes to our understanding of immunological cross-reactivities of HBoVs, and provides important insights for the development of HBoV diagnostic tools.


The blank chart which accompanies this paper has been prepared by a Committee appointed by the British Association at Glasgow, in 1840, with a view to the collection and preservation of a regular series of sections of railway cuttings, which, by their intersection of mineral districts or of rocks presenting any remarkable geological features, may afford useful information, and be worthy of being kept as geological and mining records.

An object apparently so easy of attainment, and of such obvious importance and utility, seems scarcely to require comment, and it would appear more surprising that it should in any case have been neglected, than that any arguments should be required to enforce its general observance. The facts of the case, however, are a sufficient evidence that due attention has not hitherto been devoted to this interesting department of geology and engineering; for on many lines of railway no measures have been taken to preserve a regular and systematic record of the geological features presented during the progress of the works, and in other cases, where such details have been carefully measured and preserved, they have not been reduced to that uniformity of scale and colour which is indispensably necessary for an extensive series of sections of this description. To societies like the present, considerations of this kind cannot be too strongly urged or too often repeated, since it is only by the cooperation of numerous and influential parties that great public objects can be effected. At first sight, it may ...


Before surgery we studied the blood flow in and around 59 breast tumours (35 malignant and 24 benign) and investigated a correlation with the histology. The most decisive factors were the maximum end-diastolic frequency B (probability greater than magnitude of z = 0.0009) and the mean frequency F mean (probability greater than magnitude of z = 0.0017). The maximum systolic frequency A, the resistance index Ri, the diastolic angle W and the pulsatility index Pi showed less significant differences between malignant and benign histological types. In a retrospective survey, we tried to confirm the definitive histology by our Doppler results. In this, we failed in 17.14%--of malignant cases and in 33.33% in the cases of benign tumours.


A new, simple and green method was proposed for preparation of the S-doped graphene based pencil graphite electrodes (S-GPGEs) in sulfuric acid solution by cyclic voltammetric method in this work. The obtained S-GPGEs were investigated by the measurements of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical performance. The results show that the S-GPGEs were composed of many nano flakes. –C-S-Cand –C-SOx-C(x:2, 3) groups were determined by XPS. Raman spectra were taken to determine the optical properties of the electrodes. Thus, the results show that S-doped graphene was obtained in situ. S-GPGEs were used as positive electrode components of a vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). The electrodes showed great electrochemical activity in the positive electrolyte of VRB. This novel method is easy, cheap and environmentally friend for production of S-doped graphene for many application such as sensor, electro-optics, energy storage devices and etc.


Years of intensive investigations in our laboratories on staphylococcal infections in mice have indicated a gradual decrease in the virulence of Staphylococcus aureus for this animal, particularly the strain we were using, the random-bred BT mouse. The present investigations, based on changes in diet and strain differences in mice, were undertaken in an attempt to improve susceptibility of our stock strain, on the one hand, and to determine whether susceptibility was influenced by genetic strain differences, on the other. In the first series of experiments, littermate mice of the BT strain were placed on different diets: one group received a commercial diet; the other, a basic diet previously established in our laboratories as adequate for growth requirements of the animals. An increase in the susceptibility of the animals to staphylococcal infection was noted in the mice receiving the basic diet. In the second series of investigations, three other strains of mice (the Swiss albino, the C3H/HeJ, and the C57B1) previously not used by our laboratories in staphylococcal experiments were studied for staphylococcal susceptibility. These experiments revealed that all of these strains of mice were highly susceptible to the infection, even though they were maintained on a commercial diet.


Retroviral vectors are currently the most suitable vehicles for therapeutic gene transfer in hematopoietic stem cells. However, these vectors are known to integrate rather randomly throughout the genome, suffering the so called chromosomal position effects (PE). Such a critical occurrence most probably depends upon the ability of heterochromatin to spread in the inserted vector sequences. Moreover, the use of transgenes imply genotoxicity effects, since the cis -regulatory sequences harbored by the vector can disturb the proper transcription of the resident genes neighboring the integration site, potentially leading to malignant transformation. Due to their enhancer blocker activity, the incorporation of chromatin insulators in flanking position to the transferred unit can reduce the mentioned dangerous effects. Moreover, by acting as barriers to the spread of heterochromatin, chromatin insulators can also mitigate vector silencing. We have previously shown that the sea urchin sns5 chromatin insulator activity is conserved in mouse and human erythroid milieu: it blocks the βglobin-LCR-HS2 enhancer/globin promoter interaction when placed between them. In addition, when placed in flanking location of a γ-retrovirus vector, sns5 impedes PE variegation and improves vector-specific expression following integration in the erythroid genome. Importantly, by binding both erythroid-specific and ubiquitous factors, sns5 favors the accumulation inside the provirus locus of epigenetic marks commonly associated to an euchromatic state (Acuto S. et al., BCMD 2005; D9Apolito D. et al., 2009; Di Caro D. et al., J Mol Biol 2004; Cavalieri V. et al., NAR 2009). In this study we extend these findings, demonstrating that sns5 works as chromatin insulator also when placed in flanking position of a GFP transgene contained in a lentivirus vector (LV-GFP). A large panel of mouse erythroleukemic clones (MELC) was generated after transduction with uninsulated and sns5 -insulated LV-GFP. Individual clones were screened for single vector integrants (by Q-PCR), and for GFP-expression (by cytofluorimetry). Our results shown that the inclusion of the sns5 element in a forward orientation increased the fraction of vector expressing cells (89% for the insulated vector vs 42% for the uninsulated ones). The clonal variegation of expression, assessed as frequency of clones that showed a percentage of GFP-negative cells in the progeny, decreased in clones transduced with the insulated vectors (7.4% vs 13,9%). It has been suggested that chromatin insulators could shape the architecture of topologically independent chromosome domains. High resolution mapping of chromosomal domains in drosophila and higher eukaryotes highlighted that chromatin insulators play a critical role in shaping the architectural genome organization both in a local chromosome environment and in long range chromosomal interaction. Intriguingly, by using the Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) technology, we demonstrated that the sns5 -flanked LV-GFP integrated at a single copy in the erythroid cell genome is organized into an independent chromatin loop at the integration site. Worth to mention, no looping was detected in the absence of sns5 , indicating that the two flanking copies of sns5 are specifically involved in the reorganization of the chromatin structure at the provirus locus. In conclusion our results not only confirm the conserved and striking boundary function of sns5 , but also provide a new clue concerning the molecular mechanism that allows this function to occur. On these basis, our findings reassure the use of sns5 to improve both efficacy and safety of lentiviral vectors for gene therapy. This work was funded by the Assessorato Regionale della Salute, Regione Siciliana (PO FESR 188.8.131.52 RIMEDRI) Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


This research paper describes the impact of heavy vehicles on traffic flow at urban road. A number of factors that are thought of as determinants of this effect were considered in this investigation. The data are collected from the selected patch of 60 m from Hingna T-point to CRPF gate, Nagpur. Data collection is done with the help of video filming technique and data are collected at peak hour and off-peak hour. Some important parameter is considering such as traffic parameter (speed, time, and flow), the capacity of the lane, percentage of heavy vehicles, & congestion for this project. While the study results suggest some similarities between free-flow and congested traffic regimes concerning heavy vehicles. Some important dissimilarities exist due to the different mechanisms that govern heavy vehicles.


A Thesis Submitted To The School Of Graduate Studies
Addis Ababa University Faculty Of Medicine Department
Of Community Health As A Partial Fulfillment Of The
Master Of Public Health Degree


ABSTRACT In order to identify patients likely to be infected with resistant bacterial pathogens, analytic methods such as standard regression (SR) may be applied to surveillance data to determine patient- and institution-specific factors predictive of an increased MIC. However, the censored nature of MIC data (e.g., MIC ≤ 0.5 mg/liter or MIC > 8 mg/liter) imposes certain limitations on the use of SR. In order to investigate the nature of these limitations, simulations were performed to compare a regression tailored for censored data (censored regression [CR]) and one tailored for an SR. By using a model relating piperacillin-tazobactam MICs against Enterobacter spp. to patient age and hospital bed capacity, 200 simulations of 500 isolates were performed. Various MIC censoring patterns were imposed by using 26 left- or right-censored (L,R) pairs (i.e., MICs ≤ 2 mg/literL [2L] or MICs > 2 mg/literR [2R], respectively). Data were fit by CR and SR for which censored MICs were either (i) excluded, (ii) replaced by 2L or 2R, or (iii) replaced by 2L − 1 or 2R + 1. Total censoring for the 26 pairs ranged from 7 to 86%. By CR, deviations of average parameter estimates from the true parameter values were <0.10 log2 (mg/liter) for all parameters for each of the 26 pairs. By SR, these deviations were >0.10 log2 (mg/liter) for at least 18 of the 26 pairs for all but one parameter. Two-standard-error confidence intervals for individual parameters contained as little as 0% of cases for all SR approaches but ≥91.5% of cases for the CR approach. When censored MIC data are modeled, CR may reduce or eliminate biased parameter estimates obtained by SR.


We develop an exact algorithm for integer programs that uses restrictions of the problem to produce high-quality solutions quickly. Column generation is used both for generating these problem restrictions and for producing bounds on the value of the optimal solution. The performance of the algorithm is greatly enhanced by using structure, such as arises in network flow type applications, to help define the restrictions that are solved. In addition, local search around the current best solution is incorporated to enhance overall performance. The approach is parallelized and computational experiments on a classical problem in network design demonstrate its efficacy.


ABSTRACT The role of epigenetic modifications in the regulation of gammaherpesvirus latency has been a subject of active study for more than 20 years. DNA methylation, associated with transcriptional silencing in mammalian genomes, has been shown to be an important mechanism in the transcriptional control of several key gammaherpesvirus genes. In particular, DNA methylation of the functionally conserved immediate-early replication and transcription activator (RTA) has been shown to regulate Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus Rta expression. Here we demonstrate that the murine gammaherpesvirus (MHV68) homolog, encoded by gene 50, is also subject to direct repression by DNA methylation, both in vitro and in vivo. We observed that the treatment of latently MHV68-infected B-cell lines with a methyltransferase inhibitor induced virus reactivation. In addition, we show that the methylation of the recently characterized distal gene 50 promoter represses activity in a murine macrophage cell line. To evaluate the role of de novo methyltransferases (DNMTs) in the establishment of these methylation marks, we infected mice in which conditional DNMT3a and DNMT3b alleles were selectively deleted in B lymphocytes. DNMT3a/DNMT3b-deficient B cells were phenotypically normal, displaying no obvious compromise in cell surface marker expression or antibody production either in naïve mice or in the context of nonviral and viral immunogens. However, mice lacking functional DNMT3a and DNMT3b in B cells exhibited hallmarks of deregulated MHV68 lytic replication, including increased splenomegaly and the presence of infectious virus in the spleen at day 18 following infection. In addition, total gene 50 transcript levels were elevated in the spleens of these mice at day 18, which correlated with the hypomethylation of the distal gene 50 promoter. However, by day 42 postinfection, aberrant virus replication was resolved, and we observed wild-type frequencies of viral genome-positive splenocytes in mice lacking functional DNMT3a and DNMT3b in B lymphocytes. The latter correlated with increased CpG methylation in the distal gene 50 promoter, which was restored to levels similar to those of littermate controls harboring functional DNMT3a and DNMT3b alleles in B lymphocytes, suggesting the existence of an alternative mechanism for the de novo methylation of the MHV68 genome. Importantly, this DNMT3a/DNMT3b-independent methylation appeared to be targeted specifically to the gene 50 promoter, as we observed that the promoters for MHV68 gene 72 (v-cyclin) and M11 (v-bcl2) remained hypomethylated at day 42 postinfection. Taken together, these data provide the first evidence of the importance of DNA methylation in regulating gammaherpesvirus RTA/gene 50 transcription during virus infection in vivo and provide insight into the hierarchy of host machinery required to establish this modification.


Satellite imagery is often used to study and monitor Earth surface changes. The open availability and extensive temporal coverage of Landsat imagery has enabled changes in temperature, wind, vegetation and ice melting speed for a period of up to 46 years. Yet, the use of satellite imagery to study cities has remained underutilised, partly due to the lack of a methodological approach to capture features and changes in the urban environment. This notebook offers a framework based on Python tools to demonstrate how to batch-download high-resolution satellite imagery; and enable the extraction, analysis and visualisation of features of the built environment to capture long-term urban changes.


THE EFFECTIVENESS of intracordally injected Teflon in restoring or improving the voice in a variety of dysphonias, particularly unilateral recurrent nerve paralysis, has been established by Arnold 1-5 and corroborated by others. 6,7 Specific indications for the use of Teflon are restricted to situations in which dysfunction is permanent. Where there is doubt as to whether cordal function will return, injection of Teflon must be withheld until at least six months have elapsed. Should this rule not be observed and a paralyzed vocal cord spontaneously recover after the injection of Teflon, the voice would be rendered permanently disturbed instead of returning to its normal preparalytic state by virtue of the foreign material within the substance of the cord acting as a benign space-occupying lesion. There is a period of time, therefore, during which the patient with dysphonia from unilateral palsy of uncertain prognosis must endure his disability with no immediate


Constrained optimization methods have received considerable attention as a means to derive blind multiuser receivers with low complexity. The receiver's output variance is minimized subject to appropriate constraints which depend on the multipath structure of the signal of interest. When multipath is present, the constraint equations can be written in parametric form, and the constraint parameters jointly optimized with the linear receiver's parameters. In this paper, we develop adaptive solutions for this joint, constrained optimization problem. Both stochastic gradient and recursive least-square-type algorithms are developed. The performance of the proposed methods is compared with other blind and trained methods and turns out to be close to the trained minimum mean-square-error receiver.


Sexual reproduction in Eukarya consists of genome reduction by meiosis and subsequent gamete fusion. The presence of meiotic genes in Archaea and Bacteria suggests that prokaryotic DNA repair mechanisms evolved towards meiotic recombination1,2. However, the evolutionary origin of gamete fusion is less clear because fusogenic proteins resembling those found in Eukarya have so far not been identified in prokaryotes3–5. Here, using bioinformatics, we identified archaeal genes encoding candidates of fusexins, a superfamily of fusogens mediating somatic and gamete fusion in multiple eukaryotic lineages. Crystallographic structure determination of a candidate archaeal FusexinA reveals an archetypical trimeric fusexin architecture with novel features such as a six-helix bundle and an additional globular domain. We demonstrate that ectopically expressed FusexinA can fuse mammalian cells, and that this process involves the additional domain and a more broadly conserved fusion loop. Genome content analyses reveal that archaeal fusexins genes are within integrated mobile elements. Finally, evolutionary analyses place these archaeal fusogens as the founders of the fusexin superfamily. Based on these findings, we propose a new hypothesis on the origins of eukaryotic sex where an archaeal fusexin, originally used by selfish elements for horizontal transmission, was repurposed to enable gamete fusion.


The anti-diabetic effects of a kaempferol glycoside-rich fraction (KG) prepared from leaves of unripe Jindai soybean (Edamame) and kaempferol, an aglycone of kaempferol glycoside, were determined in genetically type 2 diabetic KK-Ay mice. The hemoglobin A1c level was decreased and tended to be decreased by respectively feeding KG and kaempferol (K). The area under the curve (AUC) in the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) tended to be decreased by feeding K and KG. The liver triglyceride level and fatty acid synthase activity were both decreased in the mice fed with KG and K when compared to those parameters in the control mice. These results suggest that KG and K would be useful to improve the diabetes condition. The major flavonoids in KG were identified as kaempferol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)]-β-D-galactopyranoside, kaempferol 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→2)-O-[α-L-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)]-β-D-glucopyranoside, kaempferol 3-O-β-D-(2-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl) galactopyranoside and kaempferol 3-O-β-D-(2,6-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl) galactopyronoside, suggesting that these compounds or some of them may be concerned with mitigation of diabetes.


This work is needed for the relation which should exist between Administration and Communication like two proper things to do in the human condition. Plan the question about what is the human should be the iniciation for administrators and communicators in the field of the organization. However, both disciplines don't know the conception which doean't have a reason, which privileges administration and communication from things, without including the people which use Instruments to achieve something determined. From this optic, the man is at the same time half and final.Polars like subjetive-objetive, science-spiritual, reason-emotional, culture-nature, interior-exterior, mith-reality with each respective scale of grays, like the interaction they do, should coexist in the definition and the comprehension of the multidimensional man.The search of a human that makes is the idea inspired by this project, results to be pertinent in the occidental truth is prefered the answers, the recipes and the saving formulas, beside the answers about the same how to do from this structure is not escape the administrators and communicators cannot escape from the organization.Beside the respect for the people, it is only the respect to their identity -the human condition and the singularthe Administration and the Communication of today should propuse the respect of nature, towards the human beings that coexist of the planet. The discovery of the human genome said that the human beings are not superior from the rest of the species of nature, they are only different.


This paper evaluates the effects of patent protection on pharmaceutical innovations for 26 countries that established pharmaceutical patent laws during 19782002. Controlling for country characteristics through matched sampling techniques to establish two proper comparison sets among 92 sampled countries and through country-pair fixed-effects regressions, this study yields robust results. National patent protection alone does not stimulate domestic innovation, as estimated by changes in citation-weighted U.S. patent awards, domestic R&D, and pharmaceutical industry exports. However, domestic innovation accelerates in countries with higher levels of economic development, educational attainment, and economic freedom. Additionally, there appears to be an optimal level of intellectual property rights regulation above which further enhancement reduces innovative activities.


The design, development and measurement of an X-band microstrip resonator fabricated using a sputtered Y1Ba2Cu3O7- delta thin film are presented. The films were grown in situ at 700 degrees C in a hollow cylindrical magnetron sputtering system. The resonator is a capacitive-gap coupled two-port transmission-type resonator in a microstrip configuration. The measurements were carried out in the temperature range 30 K to 300 K using a closed cycle He cryocooler. The resonator patterns on the sputtered Y1Ba2Cu3O7- delta film were generated using conventional photolithography and wet-etch process. Microwave surface resistance values obtained for the above resonator are compared with those of conventional gold resonators.


textabstractStrategic Planning is a process which permits the articulation of the initiatives of
public and private stakeholders which seek synergies for the development of a
city. It is about:
• An adaptable, non-rigid methodology for which flexibility is an indispensable
precondition.
• A tool for local development which conceives strategic interventions that
guarantee the quality of life, and economic and social progress.
• A mechanism to promote progressive forms of governance, substantially
improving local democracy through a real collaboration between public and
private urban stakeholders.
• A modern, participatory and democratic form of thinking about urban
development which permits to establish a reference for all those economic
and social actors who can harmonise their own strategies with those
scenarios which are desired for their city or territory.
• A new instrument which facilitates the management of a city in a period of
frequent and substantial changes which stimulates the necessary
imagination to deal with this.2
This document presents the experiences of Cordoba, Rosario and Buenos Aires
in Argentina, Santiago de Chile, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and La Paz in Bolivia,
Trujillo, various Districts of Lima in Peru, Bogota in Colombia, and Havana in
Cuba in the field of strategic urban planning and the implementation of such
plans. Strategic Urban Planning comes with the promise of a fundamental
change in the city, opening new routes towards the new millenium with
programmes and projects that are really transforming, modernising and
innovative.
The document is divided into three main parts:
• A discussion of the experiences of the strategic urban development plans of
each city.
• A brief presentation of the key themes of the Strategic Urban Development
Plans of all cities included in this comparative study.
• Specific and general conclusions.


Magneto-optical (MO) composites with excellent Faraday rotation (FR) response were fabricated using iron platinum (FePt) nanoparticles (NPs) and polystyrene-block-poly (2-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) block copolymers (BCPs). Gallic acid functionalized FePt NPs with average core diameters (dcore) of 1.9, 4.9, 5.7 and 9.3 nm have been selectively incorporated into a P2VP domain through hydrogen bonding interactions. The use of copolymer templates to selectively arrange the magnetic NPs guaranteed high MO performance with little trade-off in terms of scattering loss, providing a simple strategy to prepare functional materials for MO applications. As a result, Verdet constants of a 10 wt % loaded 4.9 nm FePt NP composite reached absolute magnitudes as high as ~-6 × 104 °/T-m at 845 nm, as determined by FR measurements at room temperature. At the same time, the MO figure-of-merit was as large as −25 °/T in these composites, indicating both excellent MO performance and transparency. The dependence of the nanocomposite FR properties on particle diameter, loading (from 0.1 wt % to 10 wt %) and composite nanostructure were systematically investigated at four infrared wavelengths (845, 980, 1310 and 1550 nm).


FRB 121102 is the only known repeating fast radio burst source. Here we analyze a wide-frequency-range (1–8 GHz) sample of high signal-to-noise, coherently dedispersed bursts detected using the Arecibo and Green Bank telescopes. These bursts reveal complex time–frequency structures that include subbursts with finite bandwidths. The frequency-dependent burst structure complicates the determination of a dispersion measure (DM); we argue that it is appropriate to use a DM metric that maximizes frequency-averaged pulse structure, as opposed to peak signal-to-noise, and find DM = 560.57 ± 0.07 pc cm−3 at MJD 57,644. After correcting for dispersive delay, we find that the subbursts have characteristic frequencies that typically drift lower at later times in the total burst envelope. In the 1.1–1.7 GHz band, the ∼0.5–1 ms subbursts have typical bandwidths ranging from 100 to 400 MHz, and a characteristic drift rate of ∼200 MHz ms−1 toward lower frequencies. At higher radio frequencies, the subburst bandwidths and drift rate are larger, on average. While these features could be intrinsic to the burst emission mechanism, they could also be imparted by propagation effects in the medium local to the source. Comparison of the burst DMs with previous values in the literature suggests an increase of ΔDM ∼ 1–3 pc cm−3 in 4 yr; though, this could be a stochastic variation as opposed to a secular trend. This implies changes in the local medium or an additional source of frequency-dependent delay. Overall, the results are consistent with previously proposed scenarios in which FRB 121102 is embedded in a dense nebula.


Summary Contrary to the common understanding that collective memory functions as a driver for fostering domestic peace, stability, a common national identity, and serves as a cornerstone for the realisation of specific national goals, our aim is to show how collective memory is understood as a constitutive element of foreign policy narratives and how memory can influence foreign policy choices (Anderson, 1983; Gillis, 199 4; Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983; Bodnar, 1992; Schudson, 1993; Dian, 2017). Building on the work of Müller (2002), Bell (2010), Langenbacher and Shain (2010), Resende and Budryte (2014), Dian (2017) and Bachleitner (2018), we will argue that Serbia's foreign policy choice in 2013 to sign the agreement with Kosovo is best understood with the help of an interpretative approach to foreign policy, as this issue de facto reflected the continuation of the role of sacrifice within Serbian collective memory. A narrative of victimisation was used to efficiently bridge the 'guilt' and tie it to the notion of great powers' intervention. This article also examines the paradox of Serbia's endeavours to hold on to Kosovo by looking into how the struggle over the nation's past provides the fundamental ideational background for contemporary foreign policy choices.


The products of plant origin are a rich source of biologically active substances, both nutritive and referred as anti-nutritive. A large group of these compounds are substances with antioxidant activity that fights against free radicals. In the family of Brassicaceae vegetables, Brassica, is the largest and most widely consumed a group of plants in Europe and all over the world. They are characterized by different levels of nutrients. However because of their large and frequent consumption, they may become a significant source of nutrients and bioactive compounds in the daily diet. The beneficial effects of Brassica vegetables on human health have been somewhat linked to phytochemicals. They prevent oxidative stress, induce detoxification enzymes, stimulate immune system, decrease the risk of cancers, inhibit malignant transformation and carcinogenic mutations, as well as, reduce proliferation of cancer cells. Brassica vegetables contain a lot of valuable metabolites, which are effective in chemoprevention of cancer, what has been already documented by numerous studies. Due to the presence of vitamins C and E, carotenoids and antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase, these vegetables are considerable source ofantioxidants, and due to the presence of polyphenols and the sulfur-organic compounds exert also antimutagenic action. Moreover, these vegetables are also rich in glucosinolates, which are unstable compounds and undergo degradation into biologically active indoles and isothiocyanates under the influence of enzyme presented in plant tissues- myrosynase. These substances through the induction of enzymatic systems I and II phase of xenobiotics metabolism may affect the elimination or neutralization of carcinogenic and mutagenic factors, and consequently inhibit DNA methylation and cancer development. Despite many healthy benefits upon eating of cruciferous vegetables, it has been also seen a negative impact of their certain ingredients on the human body.


Increased economic opportunities, population pressure and decline, transportation facilities, rapid growth of cities, the decline of rural communities, all have widely felt social consequences. Books in this set consider the causes and consequences of these social phenomena in various international contexts: South Africa, Germany, Britain, Ireland and Western Europe.


An important goal of bandwidth allocation is to maximize the utilization of network resources while sharing the resources in a fair manner among network flows. To strike a balance between fairness and throughput, a widely studied criterion in the network community is the notion of max-min fairness. However, the majority of work on max-min fairness has been limited to the case where the routing of flows has already been defined and this routing is usually based on a single fixed routing path for each flow. In this paper, we consider the more general problem in which the routing of flows, possibly over multiple paths per flow, is an optimization parameter in the bandwidth allocation problem. Our goal is to determine a routing assignment for each flow so that the bandwidth allocation achieves optimal utility max-min fairness with respect to all feasible routings of flows. We present evaluations of our proposed multi-path utility max-min fair allocation algorithms on a statistical traffic engineering application to show that significantly higher minimum utility can be achieved when multi-path routing is considered simultaneously with bandwidth allocation under utility max-min fairness, and this higher minimum utility corresponds to significant application performance improvements.


OBJECTIVE
There is still ongoing research on the relationship of arcuate eminence (AE) and superior semicircular canal (SSC). We aimed to evaluate the precision of predictability of SSC through the morphology of AE via radiological means.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This investigation is performed on 12 dry skulls belonging to Mersin University Medical Faculty department of anatomy. Computed tomography (CT) assessment is performed with 0.5-mm-thin sections temporal bone algorithm on dry skulls which were marked with fixated copper wire by scotch tapes on the most prominent part of the middle fossa floor assuming the location of AE. The data are reformatted on the workstation with vitrea 2.0. The distances of the determined three points including lateral (A), apical (B), and medial (C) of the SSC and the copper wire are measured radiologically. Also, the height between the most apical part of the SSC to the floor of the skullbase (H) is measured. The angles between the placed copper wires and the SSC (E) are calculated. The angle between SSC and the midpoint of the IAC (F) and SSC to the sulcus of the greater GSPN (G) were measured. The nearest distance was measured between the most posterior part of the SSC and the point marked by the perpendicular line drawn from the medial border of the petrous bone to the most posterior part of the internal auditory canal (IAC) (D).

RESULTS
The right and left A, B, and C distances are 2.54+/- 2.75, 3.67+/-3.16, 5.85+/-3.77; 2.92+/-2.24, 3.68+/-2.93, 6.09+/-3.40, respectively. We could not find any statistical significance when the right A, B, and C distances were compared with the left values. Examination of the values revealed that C distance is greater than the A distance of the same side both for right (p=0.040) and left (p=0.022) measurements. The calculated left and right E angles are 30.313+/-12.838, and 35.558+/-18.437 degrees, respectively. Statistical significance was not found between the right and left angles. The right and left F, G angles were 53.17, 47.25; 93.58, 100.92 degrees; and D distances are 8.01, 8.13 millimeters, respectively. Statistical significance was not found when right and left E, F, G angles and D distances were compared. Among 12 left and 12 right sides, the copper wire was found to be nearly overlapping to SSC in two in the right and only one in the left.

CONCLUSION
This study reveals that there is a great variability predicting the exact location of SSC through the prominence of AE. Complementary studies are needed with greater number of dry skulls and cadavers. Comparison of different hypothesis including the effect of temporal lobe sulcus is to be discussed to better enlighten the exact relationship of the aforementioned anatomical structures.


The recent ubiquity of high-framerate (120 fps and higher) handheld cameras creates the opportunity to study human grasping at a greater level of detail than normal speed cameras allow. We first collected 91 slow-motion interactions with objects in a convenience store setting. We then annotated the actions through the lenses of various existing manipulation taxonomies. We found manipulation, particularly the process of forming a grasp, is complicated and proceeds quickly. Our dataset shows that there are many ways that people deal with clutter in order to form a strong grasp of an object. It also reveals several errors and how people recover from them. Though annotating motions in detail is time-consuming, the annotation systems we used nevertheless leave out important aspects of understanding manipulation actions, such as how the environment is functioning as a "finger" of sorts, how different parts of the hand can be involved in different grasping tasks, and high-level intent.


The very existence of the Netherlands and its prosperity is tightly linked to the provision of sufficient and reliable flood protection. Flood risk can change, as it is influenced by continually changing environmental and socio-economic factors. In such a dynamic situation, maintaining sufficient safety requires continuous investment in maintenance and reinforcement of the flood defenses. Often, flood defense reinforcement requires more space, which is scarce in densely populated urban areas. While the competing needs of housing, commerce, transportation, and agriculture have to fit in a relatively small surface area in the Netherlands, the safety of the living environment and the quality of the landscape have to be maintained as well. One way that has been suggested to deal with the conflict between flood protection and urbanization is by combining activities in the available space. This can be achieved by integrating urban functions into the flood defenses; these are referred to as multifunctional flood defenses.


Conflict escalates through a series of feedback loops. On the micro level, conflict generates conditions for intense interaction rituals, and internal solidarity fuels external conflict. Perceived atrocities reciprocally increase ideological polarization between opponents, while confrontational tension/fear makes violence incompetent and produces real atrocities. Conflict groups seek allies, drive out neutrals, and mobilize material resources. Both sides in a conflict counter-escalate through the same set of feedbacks. Winning and losing are determined by differences between rates of escalation and by attacks that one-sidedly destroy organizational and material capacity. Conflict de-escalates because both sides fail to find conditions for solidarity, cannot overcome confrontational tension/fear, and exhaust their material resources. Emotional burnout sets in through a time dynamic of explosion, plateau, and dissipation of enthusiasm. Defection of allies opens the way for third-party settlement. When both sides remain stalemated, initial enthusiasm and external polarization give way to emergent internal factions—a victory faction (hard-liners) versus a peace faction (negotiators)—creating new conflict identities. Ideals promoted at the outset of conflict become obstacles to resolution at the end.


Background: Human α-defensin HD5 is a multifunctional antimicrobial peptide whose functional determinants have yet to be elucidated. Results: Alanine scanning mutagenesis aided by x-ray crystallography identified Leu29 at the dimer interface as crucial; N-methylation of Glu21 to debilitate HD5 dimerization also affected activity. Conclusion: Dimerization and hydrophobicity are important for HD5 function. Significance: The molecular basis of α-defensin function is better understood. Human α-defensins are cationic peptides that self-associate into dimers and higher-order oligomers. They bind protein toxins, such as anthrax lethal factor (LF), and kill bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, among other functions. There are six members of the human α-defensin family: four human neutrophil peptides, including HNP1, and two enteric human defensins, including HD5. We subjected HD5 to comprehensive alanine scanning mutagenesis. We then assayed LF binding by surface plasmon resonance, LF activity by enzyme kinetic inhibition, and antibacterial activity by the virtual colony count assay. Most mutations could be tolerated, resulting in activity comparable with that of wild type HD5. However, the L29A mutation decimated LF binding and bactericidal activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. A series of unnatural aliphatic and aromatic substitutions at position 29, including aminobutyric acid (Abu) and norleucine (Nle) correlated hydrophobicity with HD5 function. The crystal structure of L29Abu-HD5 depicted decreased hydrophobic contacts at the dimer interface, whereas the Nle-29-HD5 crystal structure depicted a novel mode of dimerization with parallel β strands. The effect of mutating Leu29 is similar to that of a C-terminal hydrophobic residue of HNP1, Trp26. In addition, in order to further clarify the role of dimerization in HD5 function, an obligate monomer was generated by N-methylation of the Glu21 residue, decreasing LF binding and antibacterial activity against S. aureus. These results further characterize the dimer interface of the α-defensins, revealing a crucial role of hydrophobicity-mediated dimerization.


Most mutation-related aberrant splicing occurs in the conserved splice-acceptor and -donor sites and some exonic mutations also affect splicing. We identified and characterized a point mutation (380C>T) in a Spanish patient (GK25) with mitochondrial acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase (T2) deficiency. GK25 is a homozygote of 380C>T, which activates a cryptic splice-acceptor site 5 bases downstream from 380C>T within exon 5, causing aberrant splicing in 94% of transcripts. The aberrant splicing results in a 17-amino acids deletion, including the active-site 126Cys. The 380C>T mutation also results in A127V mutation in 6% of transcripts. Transient expression analysis showed that the A127V mutation did not retain T2 activity, indicating that 380C>T was a null mutation. Although this cryptic splice site has a higher Shapiro and Senapathy's score (86) in even a normal sequence than the authentic splice-acceptor site of intron 4 (78), it is not used in normal controls. While the 380C>T mutation increases the score slightly (90), the cryptic splice site is used in almost all transcripts in GK25 fibroblasts. This is an example in which a point mutation activates a cryptic splice-acceptor site motif that is used preferentially over the upstream authentic splice site.


Phosphorus contents in cumulus rocks occurring close to the level of apatite appearance in the basic rocks of the Bushveld Complex, South Africa, provide a method of calculating the proportion of intercumulus component in these rocks. Previous experimental studies have accurately constrained the phosphorus content of magmas when apatite becomes stable. The ratio of the phosphorus content in the cumulates immediately below the appearance of apatite to this liquid composition defines the proportion of trapped liquid. Application of this method to rocks from the uppermost marie rocks of the Bushveld Complex leads to the conclusion that there is from 1 to 6 per cent intercumulus component. Many of these rocks are muttiphase cumulates and in such rocks estimation of intercumulus component from textural criteria is difficult. If crystals grow in situ on the floor of the magma chamber such small proportions of interstitial component can be produced without appealing to excessive diffusion and circulation of magma through an unconsolidated crystal pile. The geometry of the intrusion as well as its size might have a major influence on the proportion of the liquid ultimately solidifying within a cumulus rock.


PT Perkebunan Nusantara X (PTPN X) is a state-owned company engaged in the sugar industry and tobacco as well as a number of subsidiaries. PTPN X uses Information Technology (IT) to improve productivity and competitive advantage. The Management of PTPN X generated IT Organization to deliver good IT solution. But with the limited budget and a huge investment, the role of IT is not contributing the maximum to the progress of the company even IT solution have paradox impact. This is because the IT strategic initiatives do not aligned with its business strategy, so that IT organizations need strategic planning. In This study, strategic planning for IT organization generated by using the Balanced Scorecard Cascading. Wherein the process is divided into several stages, namely the determination of the vision and mission of IT organizations, determine business strategy that will be supported by IT, identification of IT users, identification of output and the main job description of the IT organization, aligning strategy IT organizations indicated to the strategic map, defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and IT strategic initiatives of each strategies. The analysis in this study is using SWOT analysis, Critical Success Factor, and Value Chain. Balanced Scorecard is used in this study were IT-Balanced Scorecard with the perspectives of Corporate Contribution, Customer Orientation, Operational Excellence, and Future Orientation. The results obtained from this research are 10 Strategy that is maximizing IT contribution to business, meet the IT customers' needs, good IT planning, implementing good application, effective and efficient IT operations, improving IT good services, upgrades IT and Technology support, IT good governance implementation, IT alignment with business strategy, and motivated and competent IT personnel. There are 21 KPI to measure the strategy and 30 strategic initiatives or programs to meet the KPI. The KPI and the 30 initiatives are arranged based on the existing condition of IT organization reflected in the SWOT and what targets are indeed to be achieved by implementing the strategy.


This article focuses on how the Finnish-Estonian literary author Aino Kallas (1878–1956) worked with fact and fiction in order to activate a political dimension in her works. I offer an interpretation inspired by the literary theorist Jacques Rancière, whereby the short story Bernhard Riives is discussed in terms of the creation of new political subjects. When Kallas toured the USA and Canada in 1926 she opened her recitals by giving a historical background that could explain the events of her fictive story. The interplay between fact and fiction politicized both the original story and the event of the public reading, I argue, but in ways that were out of the control of the author.