Historically, the clinical staging of pancreatic cancer has centered on the surgical management of the primary tumor, because few effective chemotherapeutic agents were available and long-term survival was only achieved in the context of surgical resection. Such a strategy of complete oncologic surgical care is reasonable when surgery is both the principal therapy and highly effective. However, complex surgery for pancreatic cancer-often performed in older patients after a lengthy period of induction therapy-can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The majority of patients with pancreatic cancer present either locally advanced or metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. In this article, we will discuss the role of multimodality management of patients with borderline resectable and locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Considering that surgery has a modest impact on the natural history of pancreatic cancer in most patients, a neoadjuvant approach to treatment sequencing is favored for patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer, and this same rationale has been extended to select patients with locally advanced disease who demonstrate an exceptional response to induction therapy.


: Data on clinico-catamnestic examinations of 50 patients with achalasia of the cardia are presented. An analysis of the premorbid features has made it possible to reveal three basic groups of psychopathological disturbances, and, namely, a group with prevalence of neurosis-like disturbances, a group with hysterical traits of the character, and a group of patients with affective swings. It is noted that as long as the achalasia develops, the pre-morbid features are transformed to neurosis-like, hysteriform, and depressive syndromes. The rightfullness of differentiation of those syndromes has been confirmed by psychological examinations (by the MMPI method). Therapeutic recommendations on using psychotropic means and psychotherapy for treating the cardia achalasia are presented.


Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is a distressing problem to the cancer patient for which currently there is no effective preventive measure. Recently ImuVert, a biologic response modifier, has been shown to protect from cytarabine-induced alopecia in the young rat model, but not from alopecia induced by cyclophosphamide. In the present study, the rat model was used to examine the effect of N-acetylcysteine on the course of alopecia from cyclophosphamide and of ImuVert plus N-acetylcysteine on alopecia induced by cytarabine-cyclophosphamide combination. The following observations were made: (1) Cyclophosphamide-induced alopecia could be effectively prevented by N-acetylcysteine, administered parenterally or applied topically in liposomes. (2) Alopecia caused by the combination of cyclophosphamide and cytarabine could be prevented by the parenteral or topical administration of ImuVert plus N-acetylcysteine. The potential applicability of these observations to the clinical settings remains to be determined.


We introduce an adaptive superconvergent finite element method for a class of mixed formulations to solve partial differential equations involving a diffusion term. It combines a superconvergent postprocessing technique for the primal variable with an adaptive finite element method via residual minimization. Such a residual minimization procedure is performed on a local postprocessing scheme, commonly used in the context of mixed finite element methods. Given the local nature of that approach, the underlying saddle point problems associated with residual minimizations can be solved with minimal computational effort. We propose and study a posteriori error estimators, including the built-in residual representative associated with residual minimization schemes; and an improved estimator which adds, on the one hand, a residual term quantifying the mismatch between discrete fluxes and, on the other hand, the interelement jumps of the postprocessed solution. We present numerical experiments in two dimensions using Brezzi-Douglas-Marini elements as input for our methodology. The experiments perfectly fit our key theoretical findings and suggest that our estimates are sharp.


In this study, the feasibility of a new chemical agent named zero-valent iron (ZVI or Fe0) was used to investigate for removal of NH4+-N from coking wastewater. Reaction pH, dose of Fe0, initial NH4+-N concentration and temperature were considered variable parameters. The pH was observed as the major critical parameter. The removal rate of NH4+-N decreased as the pH increased from 3 to 6 and then increased from pH 6 to pH 9. At pH of 8.0 about in coking wastewater, the NH4+-N removal might be depended on the types and quantity of corrosion products on the surface of Fe0. The removal rate of NH4+-N increased with increase of temperature in the studied range of 10–60°C. At an initial NH4+-N concentration of 134.17 mg/L, Fe0 concentration of 6 g/L, temperature of 60°C and initial pH of 8.0, the removal rate of NH4+-N increased to 54.94%. The dose of Fe0 is determined according to the nitrogen content in coking wastewater.


BACKGROUND
The combination of partial absence of the sacrum, anorectal anomalies, and presacral mass constitutes Currarino syndrome (CS), which is associated with mutations in HLXB9.

METHODS
We analyzed 5 CS families and 6 sporadic cases for HLXB9 mutations by direct sequencing. Potentially pathologic expansions of HLXB9 GCC repeats were analyzed in patients, 4 general populations [Chinese, Japanese, Yoruba, and Centre du Etude Polymorphisme Human (CEPH)] from the HapMap project, and 145 healthy Chinese.

RESULTS
We identified 6 novel mutations affecting highly conserved residues (Ser185X, Trp215X, Ala26fs, Ala75fs, Met1Ile, and Arg273Cys). GCC allele and genotype distributions showed marked statistically significant differences. (GCC)11 was the most common allele overall; its frequency ranged from 90% in CEPH to 68% in Yoruba and 50% in Chinese and Japanese populations. (GCC)9 was almost as common as (GCC)11 in Chinese and Japanese populations, whereas its frequency was <10% in Yoruba and CEPH populations. The Yoruba population had the highest frequency of the largest alleles [(GCC)12 and (GCC)13], which were almost absent in the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Lack of HLXB9 mutations in some patients and the presence of variable phenotypes suggest DNA alterations in HLXB9 noncoding regions and/or in other genes encoding HLXB9 regulatory molecules or protein partners. If HLXB9, like other homeobox genes, has a threshold beyond which triplet expansions are pathologic, those populations enriched with larger alleles would be at a higher risk. The data illustrate the importance of ethnicity adjustment if these polymorphic markers are to be used in association studies.


Glucose metabolism is vital to most mammalian cells, and the passage of glucose across cell membranes is facilitated by a family of integral membrane transporter proteins, the GLUTs. There are currently 14 members of the SLC2 family of GLUTs, several of which have been the focus of this series of reviews. The subject of the present review is GLUT3, which, as implied by its name, was the third glucose transporter to be cloned (Kayano T, Fukumoto H, Eddy RL, Fan YS, Byers MG, Shows TB, Bell GI. J Biol Chem 263: 15245-15248, 1988) and was originally designated as the neuronal GLUT. The overriding question that drove the early work on GLUT3 was why would neurons need a separate glucose transporter isoform? What is it about GLUT3 that specifically suits the needs of the highly metabolic and oxidative neuron with its high glucose demand? More recently, GLUT3 has been studied in other cell types with quite specific requirements for glucose, including sperm, preimplantation embryos, circulating white blood cells, and an array of carcinoma cell lines. The last are sufficiently varied and numerous to warrant a review of their own and will not be discussed here. However, for each of these cases, the same questions apply. Thus, the objective of this review is to discuss the properties and tissue and cellular localization of GLUT3 as well as the features of expression, function, and regulation that distinguish it from the rest of its family and make it uniquely suited as the mediator of glucose delivery to these specific cells.


This paper presents a dual-band quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO) using a transformer-based high-order LC-ring resonator, which inherently provides quadrature signals without requiring noisy coupling transistors as in traditional approaches, thereby achieving low phase-noise performance. Moreover, the proposed resonator shows two possible oscillation frequencies, which are exploited to realize a wide-tuning range QVCO employing a mode-switching transistor network. Due to the use of transformers, the oscillator has a minimal area penalty compared to the conventional designs. The implemented prototype in a 65-nm CMOS process achieves a continuous tuning range of 77.8% from 2.75 to 6.25 GHz while consuming from 9.7 to 15.6 mA current from a 0.6-V supply. The measured phase-noise figure-of-merit at 1-MHz offset ranges from 184 to 188.2 dB throughout the entire tuning range. The QVCO also exhibits good quadrature accuracy with 1.5° maximum phase error and occupies a relatively small silicon area of 0.35 mm2.


An approach to a partial solution to the general problem of defining biogeochemical provinces for the accurate estimation of global-ocean primary production and realistic structuring of epipelagic plankton ecosystem models is presented for the northwestern Indian Ocean. This is accomplished through use of a new technique, biohydro-optical classification, that applies a rudimentary submarine light budget incorporating clirnatologies of incident light, mixed-layer thickness, and chlorophyll to recognize fundamental modes of tropical plankton ecosystems. The 3 types of biohydro-optical classes found in the Arabian Sea, Typical Tropical, Mixed-Layer Bloom, and Transitional, are shown to evolve through the spnng intermonsoon (March through May), summer so.uthwest monsoon (June through August), and fall intermonsoon (September through November) under climatic forcing and in response to the resulting biological variability. Virtually all of the open Arabian Sea is within the Typical Tropical Class at the close of the spring intermonsoon. This class type is intended to identify the epipelagic plankton ecosystem mode associated with tropical regions containing a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) maintained by active algal growth, and a light-rich, oligotrophic shallow zone containing a phytoplankton association which depends largely upon regenerated nutrients. At the close of the southwest monsoon in August, a Mixed-Layer Bloom Province covers much of the northern Arabian Sea. This provlnce class corresponds to the ecosystem mode represented by tropical regions undergoing marginal or mid-ocean upwelling and greatly simplifies regional extrapolation of the local primary production algorithm. At the onset of the fall intermonsoon, the Mixed-Layer Bloom Province in the northern and western Arabian Sea is superseded by a Transitional Province, which persists through the fall intermonsoon. We interpret the upper layer of the fall intermonsoon Transitional Province in the Arabian Sea as a special case of the shallow regenerative plankton ecosystem of oligotrophic ocean areas, where rates of zooplankton-driven nutrient regeneration and recycled production, key processes in the upper layer of the classic 2-layer euphotic zone of oligotrophic low-latitude oceans, reach extreme values. KEY WORDSlndian Ocean . Primary production . Biogeochemistry Satellite remote-sensing Modehng . Phytoplankton ecosystems


A thin film heterojunction photocathode is fabricated by depositing an n-type amorphous titanium dioxide (TiO2) onto a p-type/intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC). Using this configuration, the photovoltage of the photocathode increases from 0.5 V to 0.8 V under open circuit conditions, indicating the change in band-edge energetics from the semiconductor–liquid junction to the isolated solid p–i–n junction. The p–i–n structure produces an internal electric field that increases the operating photovoltage, and subsequently improves the drift mechanism of photogenerated charge carriers across the intrinsic layer. The enhancement of the photovoltage leads to a very positive photocurrent onset potential of +0.8 V vs. RHE and exhibits a photocurrent density of 8.3 mA cm−2 at 0 V vs. RHE with only a 100 nm absorber layer. The a-SiC photocathode with a front surface field amorphous TiO2 layer shows a high stability for 12 hours of operation under photocatalytic conditions. This high performance, very thin, and earth-abundant photocathode is very promising for integration with smaller band gap solar absorbers to form a multijunction system for highly efficient bias-free solar water splitting devices.


The most important feature that distinguishes an electronic transaction from other transactions is that it is done via electronic means, such as the Internet. There are many parties involved in concluding the contract between the merchant and the buyer. The merchant and buyer need an Internet service provider to allow the parties to communicate via the Internet, and also enable them to use the Internet and browse websites. This paper will examine the liability of the Internet service provider in an electronic transaction. In addition, this paper seeks to clarify the nature of the liability for any harm caused to the user during transaction, and also in the case of an incomplete electronic contract or disconnection of the communication, that leads to harm/damage to the users. In fact, the current laws in Palestine are inadequate to regulate the issues of Internet service provider liability in e-transactions. This study is a doctrinal research using both analytical and library research to examine the main issues of service providers liability in e-transaction. The laws of Palestine, Bahrain and Directive 2000/31/EC are used in this study to clarify the legal positions on the relevant issues above. The materials for this research are collected from the primary sources including statutes, rules, regulations and case laws; besides secondary sources such as books and manuscripts, academic journals, parliamentary reports, newspaper articles and other periodicals. It is found from this study that, the Palestinian presidential decree No. 15/2017 relating to e-transactions does not examine the liability the Internet service providers. In addition, Palestinian presidential decree No. 10/2018, relating to cybercrimes does not examine the liability of the ISP relating the content of information in a special issue. In general, the liability of the ISPs depends on their role and duties in controlling the content of information in general; they would be liable if they are aware of the illegal content in information, and they do not take any procedures to remove it. In addition, ISPs would be liable under the condition of contractual liability if they fail in fulfilling their obligation according to a valid contract. In other words, the contract clarifies the obligations and the duties of the ISP in controlling the content of information, and he is obliged to check the content to know about any illegal information and remove it, because the terms of the contract obligate him to control the information. The benefit of this paper is to propose some recommendations to develop the Palestinian laws in order to address the issues of internet service provider liability which will contribute in the development of e-commerce in Palestine.


The level of antibodies to the ribosomes, polysaccharide A and peptidoglycan of group A streptococcus in the blood of patients with primary, secondary, and often relapsing erysipelas was studied by means of the enzyme immunoassay with the use of the sandwich techniques. For control, the sera of healthy donors were used. In the sera obtained from all groups of erysipelas patients a significant rise in the levels of antibodies to ribosomes and peptidoglycan in comparison with the controls was revealed. An increase in the level of antibodies to polysaccharide A was revealed only in patients with frequently relapsing and secondary erysipelas. Depending on the clinical form and the duration of the disease, polysaccharide A was detected in 32-51.9% of erysipelas patients and protein-ribosomal antigen was detected in 28.6-51.9% of such patients.


AIM. To determine the cataract surgical coverage (CSC) in the close proximity of Nkhoma Hospital, Malawi. METHOD. A rapid epidemiological assessment of the population aged 40 years and over was undertaken to determine the proportion of eyes and patients with cataract blindness that had previously received cataract surgery within a 10-mile radius of the hospital. RESULTS. A total of 993 people aged 40 years and above from all 31 small villages in the 10-mile radius were examined. The prevalence of blindness in this age group was 3.72%, of which 62% was due to cataract. The cataract surgical coverage for people with blinding cataract was calculated at 14.8%, and for eyes with cataract (visual acuity <3/60) 8.5%. CONCLUSION. Nkhoma Hospital has provided affordable cataract surgery for more than 20 years. Despite this, within a ten-mile radius of the hospital, only 1 in 7 people with bilateral blindness from cataract has received surgery.


To assess the fate and behavior of engineered nanoparticles in the aquatic environment, it is crucial to conduct appropriate bacterial bioassay procedure. However, test conditions of bacterial bioassay are limitedly investigated; especially in the field of environmental media chemistry or aging of nanoparticles which interfere the procedure. For this purpose, TiO2 nanoparticles were treated with different test conditions by keeping them in 1% and 100% seawater for one day and 20 days. The bacterial bioassay of treated nanoparticles towards gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria were examined, as well as the mechanism by biochemical responses of bacteria and physicochemical properties of TiO2 nanoparticles. The viability response of tested bacteria reduced remarkably in seawater concentration, while treatment (aging) duration of tested nanoparticles slightly affected the viability response of tested bacteria. Moreover, key events which affected the bioassay response were changed with the treatment duration and media concentration. The results also showed that aging duration and concentration of the media influenced the main physicochemical properties due to the alterations in surface from aging media compared to unaged ones.


This paper explores the relationships between students' activities, space choice patterns and satisfaction with campus space provision with the aim of establishing rational space utilization strategies. Many universities attempt to achieve their sustainability goals and address the constraints of space restrictions by implementing no-net growth policies and rational space utilization strategies. However, architects or facility managers often experience difficulties in keeping their commitment to such initiatives because they lack empirical data that explain the relationships in action between students and campus space. This paper demonstrates these relationships by analysing empirical data obtained from a university campus. University students completed 330 student-day time-use surveys and relevant post-occupancy evaluations for regular days at university. Three major space-choice-rejection patterns were found: (1) spaces for 56% of activities were chosen by students themselves; (2) students often struggled to find an appropriate space for their group activities; (3) students' space choice behaviour was both common and influential on campus. A campus sustainability model of space choice-rejection was theorized based on the students' post-occupancy evaluations, comprising anticipated space choice and intended space rejection. Three categories of relationships were established: space-oriented relationships with space environmental performance and spatial form; user-oriented relationships with user capacity and locational accessibility and equipment-oriented relationships with equipment adequacy and equipment condition.


The study examined the cultural patterns of contraceptive usage among rural women in Urhoboland, Nigeria. The basic objectives of the study were to find out the traditional methods of contraceptive, the reasons for the use or non-use of the methods, the barriers to modern contraceptive usage and the likely effects of contraceptive practice on rural women in Urhoboland. The study was a descriptive cross sectional study, using multi-stage sampling procedure. The Health Belief model provided a guide to the study. The study revealed that the older women of age bracket 30-41 use contraceptive than the younger age bracket and the basic reason given was to limit family size. The commonest traditional contraceptives were waist band, ring, gin concoctions, abstinence from sex after last birth as well as prolonged breast feeding. There is high misconception by the women on modern contraceptive method mainly due to perceived side effects and opposition by their husbands. The paper argued that there is need for sexuality and sex education among the rural women to disabuse their minds on the misconception of modern methods of contraception and mass campaign by the State and Federal Ministries of Health on control of family size.


Much has been researched and written about the trials and techniques of imparting education to students in technical fields like Information Technology via online learning. Even more work has been done about the students experiences in online courses. What this panel is hoping to engender is to start a discussion about online learning from the teachers' point of view, their trials and tribulations. It is our hope to start a discussion with the attendees and be able to share our triumphs, failures, theories, tools, approaches and fears. Attendees need no personal experience in online teaching, just a curiosity of what the endeavor might be like. Attendees with personal experience might find others with similar experiences, commiserate and hopefully find new pathways forward together.


Grinding is inherently characterized by high specific energy requirements, a high grinding zone temperature. Many methods have been employed in grinding high grinding zone temperature. But all have their shortfalls, both in cooling environmental pollution. Here a new high efficiency cooling technology—cryogenic mist jet impinging (CPMJI) cooling technology is offered. In this technology, coolant is carried by high-pressure cryogenic air (–20°C) and reaches the machining form of mist jet to enhance heat transfer in machining zone. This paper mainly cooling effects of CPMJI in surface grinding, compared with grinding with compressed flood cooling. CPMJI seems to have better effects than other cooling methods.


George Kennan, Charles Bohlen, W. Averell Harriman, William Bullitt, Joseph E. Davies, Llewlleyn Thompson, Jack Matlock: these are important names in the history of American foreign policy. Together with a number of lesser-known officials, these diplomats played a vital role in shaping U.S. strategy and popular attitudes toward the Soviet Union throughout its 75-year history. In The Ambassadors and America's Soviet Policy, David Mayers presents the most comprehensive critical examination yet of U.S. diplomats in the Soviet Union. Mayers' vivid portrayal evokes the social and intellectual atmosphere of the American embassy in the midst of crucial episodes: the Bolshevik Revolution, the Great Purges, the Grand Alliance in World War II, the early Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the rise and decline of detente, and the heady days of perestroika and glasnost. He also offers rare portraits of the professional lives of the diplomats themselves: their adjustment to Soviet life, the quality of their analytical reporting, their contact with other diplomats in Moscow, and their influence on Washington. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of American diplomacy in its most challenging area, this compelling book fills an important gap in the history of U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-Soviet relations. Readers interested in U.S. foreign policy, the cold war, and the policies and history of the former Soviet Union will find The Ambassadors and America's Soviet Policy an intriguing and informative work.


An antibody-free diagnostic reagent has been developed based on the aggregation-induced colorimetric change of Ni(II)NTA-functionalized colloidal gold and silver nanoparticles. This diagnostic strategy utilizes the high binding affinity of histidine-rich proteins with Ni(II)NTA to capture and cross-link the histidine-rich protein mimics with the silver and gold nanoparticles. In model studies, the aggregation behavior of the Ni(II)NTA nanoparticles was tested against synthetic targets including charged poly(amino acid)s (histidine, lysine, arginine, and aspartic acid) and mimics of Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (pfHRP-II). Aggregation of the nanoparticle sensor was induced by all of the basic poly(amino acid)s including poly(l-histidine) within the pH range (5.5-9.0) tested, which is likely caused by the coordination between the multivalent polymer target and Ni(II)NTA groups on multiple particles. The peptide mimics induced aggregation of the nanoparticles only near their pK(a)'s with higher limits of detection. In addition, monomeric amino acids do not show any aggregation behavior, suggesting that multiple target binding sites are necessary for aggregation. Long-term stability studies showed that gold but not silver nanoparticles remained stable and exhibited similar aggregation behavior after 1 month of storage at room temperature and 37 °C. These results suggest that Ni(II)NTA gold nanoparticles could be further investigated for use as a sensor to detect histidine-rich proteins in biological samples.


Background Dietary antioxidants protect tissues and organs against insecticides/xenobiotic-induced damage. In the present study, we evaluated the results of exposure to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides, cypermethrin (Cyp) and deltamethrin (Del) and possible protective effects of curcumin and quercetin on reproductive system in male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods In this controlled experimental study, 42 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 7 groups of 6 animals. Group A served as control, group B was exposed to Cyp (2 mg/kg.bw), group C was exposed to Del (2 mg/kg.bw), group D was exposed to Cyp+Del (2 mg/kg.bw each), group E was exposed to Cyp+Del and treated with curcumin (100 mg/kg.bw), group F was exposed to Cyp+Del and treated with quercetin (100 mg/kg.bw) and group G was exposed to Cyp+Del and treated with quercetin+curcumin for 45 days. Results Exposure to Cyp and Del caused decreases in reproductive organs weight, sperm count, sperm motility, level of sex hormones viz. testosterone (T), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), steroidogenic enzymes viz. 3β-hydroxyl steroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) and 17β-HSD, non-enzymatic antioxi- dant glutathione (GSH) and enzymatic antioxidants viz. superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione reductase (GR) activity and increases in sperm abnormalities and lipid peroxidation (LPO). The exposure also adversely affected the histo-achitecture of testes. Single and combined treatment with curcumin and quercetin significantly ameliorated Cyp and Del-induced damage in reproductive system. Conclusion Curcumin and quercetin protected against Cyp and Del-induced reproductive system toxicity and oxidative damage in rats. The increases in activities of 3β-HSD and 17β-HSD with concomitant increases in testosterone were mainly responsible for ameliorating effects of curcumin and quercetin. Curcumin showed slightly better activity as compared to quercetin. The combination of both antioxidants offered more protection compared to each one alone.


We derive a general result in microfacet theory: given an arbitrary microsurface defined via standard microfacet statistics, we show how to construct the statistics of its linearly transformed counterparts. A common use case of such transformations is to generate anisotropic versions of a given surface. Traditional anisotropic derivations based on varying the roughness of an isotropic distribution in an ellipse have a general closed‐form formula only for the subclass of shape‐invariant distributions. While our formulation is equivalent to these specific constructs, it is more general in two aspects: it leads to simple closed‐form solutions for all distributions, including shape‐variant ones, and works for all invertible 2D transform matrices. The latter is of particular importance in case of deformation of the macrosurface, since it can be approximated locally by a linear transformation in the tangent plane. We demonstrate our results using the Generalized Trowbridge‐Reitz (GTR) distribution which is shape‐invariant only in the special case of the popular Trowbridge‐Reitz (GGX) distribution.


India is second largest producer of cement in world after China; the total amount of cement produce in India in year 2012-13 is approximately 327 million tones. On the other hand, the climate change due to global warming has become a major concern. Among the greenhouse gases, CO2 contributes about 65% of global warming, the cement industry is held responsible for some of the CO2 emissions because the production of one ton of Portland cement emits approximately one ton of CO2 into the atmosphere. Therefore it is necessary to take initiative to reduce the use of Portland cement in concrete in order to address the global warming issues. These include the utilization of supplementary cementing materials such as fly ash, silica fume, granulated blast furnace slag, and the development of alternative binders to Portland cement. In this respect, the geo-polymer technology shows considerable promise for application in concrete industry as an alternative binder to the Portland cement and thereby reducing the CO2 emission to the atmosphere caused by the cement industries. In this paper the various industries related to production of building material are studied, their potential impact on environment are identified and the various alternatives like geo-polymeric concrete, pre-cast concrete ,fly ash bricks, pavement tiles etc. are explained.


A.M. STRASSER DE SAAD AND M.C. MANCA DE NADRA. 1993. Twenty strains of Pediococcus pentosaceus isolated from wine were examined for production of bacteriocins. Only two of them showed inhibitory activity, Ped. pentosaceus N4p against the indicator strains of the same species and N5p against 19 strains of the three genera of lactic acid bacteria from wine. The antimicrobial substance from N5p strains was removed by membrane (0.2 μm) filtration, destroyed by organic solvents and proteolytic enzymes. It was stable for 60 min at 100dC. The bacteriocin was produced early in the growth cycle and its production was maximum after 48 h of culture in tomato juice medium at an initial pH of 6.5. The bactericidal effect was observed.


2-chlorobenzonitrile (2-ClBN) is widely used in the manufacturing of azo dyes, pharmaceuticals, and as intermediate in various chemical reactions. The aim of present study was to evaluate the impact of biofield treatment on physical, thermal and spectroscopic properties of 2-ClBN. 2-ClBN sample was divided into two groups that served as treated and control. The treated group received Mr. Trivedi's biofield treatment. Subsequently, the control and treated samples were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area analyser, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. XRD result showed a decrease in crystallite size in treated samples i.e. 4.88% in 2-ClBN along with the increase in peak intensity as compared to control. However, surface area analysis showed a decrease in surface area of 64.53% in treated 2-ClBN sample as compared to the control. Furthermore, DSC analysis results showed a significant increase in the latent heat of fusion (28.74%) and a slight increase in melting temperature (2.05%) in treated sample as compared to the control. Moreover, TGA/DTG studies showed that the control and treated 2-ClBN samples lost 61.05% and 46.15% of their weight, respectively. The FT-IR spectra did not show any significant change in treated 2-ClBN sample as compared to control. However, UV-Vis spectra showed an increase in the intensity of peak as compared to control sample. These findings suggest that biofield treatment has significantly altered the physical, thermal and spectroscopic properties of 2-ClBN, which could make them more useful as a chemical intermediate.


Organizations face many challenges in executing offshore-outsourced software development (OOSD) projects involving several countries. In such contexts, complex software development efforts are exposed to a greater number of risks, which make OOSD projects prone to failures. We analyzed 19 cases of OOSD project failures to explore the concept of early warning signs (EWS) in OOSD projects at the team level. Using the grounded theory methodology, we studied the EWSs specific to OOSD project failures. We classified the EWSs of failure into early signals of failure and early warning issues in order to help project managers notice the early failing indications. Further, we identified and characterized EWSs of failure and divided them into six broad categories. An OOSD project failure model incorporating the EWSs of failure was developed to understand the initial stages of OOSD project failure. Our research has shed more light on project development failures in outsourcing, a rare topic of investigation in information systems research.


Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine how the Swedish contact familysystem works in practice. The main focus of the study is on the relationship between the contactfamilies and the social services. What kind of help can the contact families expect to get from the social services and what do they feel could be added to that information? I also focus on the perspective of the social services and ask what kind of support they usually try to give contact families both before and during an assignment.Theory: The theoretical framework draws on ideas about which kind of families are connected to the ideal family, who the contact family system should support, role of the contact family, problems surrounding the system and the teamwork between social services and the contact families. Methods: The study is based on four semi-structured interviews with one social secretary and three contact families selected througha targeted selection. Results: I found that the contact families are dependent on the social services and their support in order to complete their assignment. Good relations between the social services and contact families is an essential part of this since confidentiality agreements make it difficult for the contact families to confide in other parties. There are a variety of things that could help contact families, such as education, one specific contact at the social services among other things. However these actions need to be led by the social services since a part of their job is to protect the children. As it is today the contact families feel that the support is lacking a bit, due to the difficulties connected with reaching the right parties in the social services, among other things. The respondents had a variety of suggestions connected to strengthening the system.Conclusions: The results show that the social services do not have any kind of official support to offer the contact families, however the social secretaries usually take it upon themselves to support the contact families even though they don't have any official time set out for it, since it is needed in order to enable the contact families to carry out their assignments. In order to strengthen the system it could be helpful for the contact families to have their own social secretary who is theirs regardless of their assignment.


The peace treaties following the Great War dictated that certain nation-states accept, as the price of international recognition, agreements to protect the rights of their minority populations. Responsibility to `guarantee' and `supervise' the minority treaties fell to a novel and untried international institution, the League of Nations. It established the `minority petition procedure', an unprecedented innovation within international relations that initiated transnational claims-making. Focusing on the supervision of agreements pertaining to the Macedonian region, I examine how the Minorities Section of the League of Nations Secretariat handled `minority petitions' alleging state infractions of minority treaties. I consider, in particular, a preoccupation among both bureaucrats and states with `violent language' in petitions. I argue that this preoccupation signalled anxieties about honour, sovereignty and legitimacy, about the ambiguous position of `minority states' and about the potentially explosive effects of popular energies in the post-war international order.


While science communication is increasingly being discussed as a third mission alongside research and teaching, there is little research on how universities and research organizations deal with issues regarding the quality of science communication. This article examines, from an organizational perspective, which new forms of quality assurance processes scientific organizations in Germany apply when addressing quality risks for science communication such as exaggeration in press releases or in the online communication of individual faculty members. Six focus group discussions were conducted with 22 participants (rectors or presidents of universities, heads of communication, ombudsmen, and high-impact researchers). Based on the results, proposals were developed to extend central as well as decentral organizational structures to assure good scientific communication practice. Their possible implementation was discussed in a workshop with representatives of all abovementioned groups. In conclusion, recommendations for future institutional policy are presented.


The research results upon the application of the existing information transmission methods in polymodal info communication systems are presented herein. The analysis of the existing commutation ways and multiplexing schemes has revealed that modern means of telecommunication are capable of providing polymodal information delivery with the required quality to the customer correspondent terminal. Under these conditions substantial capacity resource consumption in the data transmission networks with a simultaneous static time multiplexing is required, however, it is easier to achieve the modality synchronization within that kind of an infrastructure. The data networks with a static time multiplexing demand employing more sophisticated supporting algorithms of the guaranteed data blocks delivery quality. However, due to the stochastic data blocks delays modality synchronizing during the off-line processing is more difficult to provide. Nowadays there are objective preconditions for a data networking realization which is invariable to the applied transmission technology. This capability is defined by a wide (person-to-person) application of the optical technologies in the transport infrastructure of the polymodal info communication systems. In case of the availability of the customer terminal and networking functioning matching mode it becomes possible to organize channels in the latter which can adaptively select the most effective networking technology according to the current volume allocation and modality types in the messages.


The evaluation of current literature regarding Information Communication Technology (ICT) in education reveals the most significant obstacles facing its successful incorporation into schools and teachers' pedagogies. As with any pedagogy, ICT is constantly changing and developing, and it is crucial, now more than ever, that great consideration is put towards how pedagogies involving ICT might evolve. In order for pedagogy to keep up with the ever widening chasm between technology that is available to use, and what is actually incorporated into pedagogical practice, the barriers to successful integration must be considered.


A natural cyclic octapeptide cherimolacyclopeptide G (8) was synthesized by coupling of tetrapeptide units Boc-Gly-Ala-Val-Pro-OMe (5) and Boc-Ile-Tyr-Ala-Pro-OMe (6) after proper deprotection at carboxyl and amino terminals followed by cyclization of the linear peptide segment. The structure was elucidated by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, FAB MS spectral data, and elemental analyses. The newly synthesized cyclopeptide was also evaluated for its antimicrobial, anthelmintic, and cytotoxic activities and found to exhibit potent anthelmintic and cytotoxic activity against earthworms, Megascoplex konkanensis, Pontoscotex corethruses, and Eudrilus species, and Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA) and Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell lines. In addition, compound 8 possessed moderate antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans and gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa.


ABSTRACT We evaluated seven reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays, including six in-house assays and one commercial assay for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) RNA in clinical specimens. RT-PCR assays targeted different genomic regions and included three conventional assays (one nested and two non-nested) run on a conventional heat block and four real-time assays performed in a LightCycler (LC; Roche Diagnostics). All in-house assays were optimized for assay parameters, including MgCl2, primer, and probe concentrations. The commercial assay was the RealArt HPA CoV RT-PCR assay (Artus), which was run in the LC. Testing serial dilutions of cultured SARS-CoV showed that the analytical sensitivity of the assays ranged from 10−8 to 10−6, corresponding to 1 and 100 copies of viral RNA, respectively. Significant differences in analytical sensitivities were observed between assays (P < 0.01, probit regression analysis for 50% sensitivity levels for the top two assays versus the others). Testing 68 clinical specimens (including 17 respiratory tract specimens, 29 urine samples, and 22 stools or rectal swabs) demonstrated that six of the seven assays detected at least 17 of 18 positives (defined as positive in at least two assays), and two of the assays had a sensitivity of 100%. There were no significant differences in sensitivity between the assays (P = 0.5 [Cochrance Q test, least sensitive 15 of 18 versus 18 of 18]). The specificities of the assays ranged from 94.0 to 100% without significant differences (P = 0.25 to 0.5 [McNemar test]). The reagent and technologist cost of performing the in-house PCR assays ranged from $5.46 to $9.81 Canadian dollars (CDN) per test. The commercial assay cost was considerably higher at $40.37 per test. The results demonstrated good performance for all assays, providing laboratories that need to do SARS RNA testing with a choice of assay formats.


This study proposed a mixed linear modeling framework for revealing the average
treatment effects of coupon promotions as well as for figuring out what kind of
customers are more responsive to coupon promotions. The analysis used detailed
data on 2,469 households who are frequent shoppers at a retailer over one year. A
series of models starting from fixed parameters OLS regression to more flexible
random coefficient models were built. The results showed that receiving more
coupon promotions does not lead to higher spending among households. None of
the available demographic characteristics was significantly linearly related to the
responsiveness to coupon promotions according the initial model with cross-level
interaction terms. However, exploratory analysis of random slopes with the help of
a regression tree allowed to correct the specification, which allowed confirming that
people aged 25+ with annual household income exceeding $25,000 are more
responsive, yet their response is insignificantly different from zero.
Keywords: Mixed-Effects Model, Multilevel Analysis, Heterogeneous
Responsiveness, Promotions.


Dataset bias and spurious correlations can significantly impair generalization in deep neural networks. Many prior efforts have addressed this problem using either alternative loss functions or sampling strategies that focus on rare patterns. We propose a new direction: modifying the network architecture to impose inductive biases that make the network robust to dataset bias. Specifically, we propose OccamNets, which are biased to favor simpler solutions by design. OccamNets have two inductive biases. First, they are biased to use as little network depth as needed for an individual example. Second, they are biased toward using fewer image locations for prediction. While OccamNets are biased toward simpler hypotheses, they can learn more complex hypotheses if necessary. In experiments, OccamNets outperform or rival state-of-the-art methods run on architectures that do not incorporate these inductive biases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that when the state-of-the-art debiasing methods are combined with OccamNets results further improve.


Single GaN nanowires and larger GaN ensembles are investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Spectra of nanowire ensembles prove the high crystal quality and are in agreement with selection rules for the wurtzite structure. Single nanowires are studied with a spatial resolution of the order of 400 nm for different polarization directions of the incident laser beam relative to the nanowire axis. In the single wire spectrum, only the A1(TO) was observed and the Raman intensity was suppressed for perpendicular polarization. These results confirm that Raman scattering in isolated GaN nanowires is governed by size effects.


Problem: A review of the literature indicated that human trafficking is a worldwide problem and not all nurses in the healthcare setting were adequately trained to identify and care for human trafficking victims. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to further explore nurses' awareness regarding human trafficking. Method: This quantitative, cross-sectional, non-experimental study with a descriptive design, studied the issue by administering a survey to nurses actively working in the field. The theoretical framework of forced labor and Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory were used to guide the study. The data were collected using SurveyMonkey®, an Internet-based confidential data-collection tool. The survey contained eight demographic questions and sixteen Likert-type statements. The researchers obtained personal email addresses and used Facebook contacts to send out the survey initially. In this study, a Snowball sampling was used to obtain nurse participants. Results: A total of 166 responses were received from nurses across the United States. The results confirmed that there is a lack of awareness among nurses about human trafficking. An increase in both training and education amongst nurses could increase the number of victims, which go unnoticed, being saved or provided with assistance. Nurses also must be more self-aware about the patients they are encountering and be more observant of signs that look suspicious. The most agreed upon statement by participants was that counseling should be available to people who are affected by human trafficking ( M = 3.75, SD = 0.48).


Partisan gerrymandering is widely frowned upon by the citizenry as well as the Supreme Court. Despite broad disdain for the practice, the Supreme Court has found it difficult to identify a workable standard by which we might regulate political gerrymandering. We have lacked sufficient tools to analyze and synthesize redistricting data, in part, because the requisite computation is massive. At the same time, the recent proliferation of significant computing power has led to the discovery of the extensive and often surprising reach of technology, information, and computation in many realms of life. Our capacities to compile, organize, analyze, and disseminate information have increased dramatically and facilitated the creation of many tools to connect citizens and automate human tasks. We present a computational model that brings these significantly advanced computing capacities to the redistricting process. Our model allows us to understand redistricting in fundamentally new ways and allows us to integrate technological advances with our articulated theories for redistricting and democratic rule while also empowering citizens with new abilities to understand and overturn partisan gerrymanders.


A solid-type diamond rotary dresser consisting of a CVD diamond disc is developed and applied to the dressing of a vitrified CBN grinding quill for internal grinding. This dresser has a feature not found in the other discrete-type rotary dressers used thus far, in which it continuously contacts the grinding wheel and leaves a spiral on the grinding wheel surface. The solid-type diamond rotary dresser was mounted on a low-speed spindle supported by journal bearings, and its dressing performance was compared with those of two discrete-type rotary diamond dressers: a dressing roll on which surface single diamond grains are brazed and a dressing roll made of a metal-bonded diamond wheel. It is found that the solid-type diamond rotary dresser tends to bring about rough grinding conditions among the three dressers.


Developing new strategies for controlling polymer conformations through precise molecular recognition can potentially generate a machine-like motion that is dependent on molecular information-an important process for the preparation of new intelligent nanomaterials (e.g., polymer-based nanomachines) in the field bordering between polymer chemistry and conventional supramolecular sciences. Herein, we propose a strategy to endow a helical polymer chain with dynamic spring-like (contraction/expansion) motion through the one-dimensional self-assembly (aggregation/disaggregation) of peripheral amphiphilic molecules. In this developing system, we employed a semi-artificial helical polysaccharide presenting peripheral amphiphilic chlorophyll units as a power device that undergoes contractive motion in aqueous media, driven by strong π-π interactions of its chlorophyll units or by cooperative molecular recognition of bipyridyl-type ligands through pairs of chlorophyll units, thereby converting molecular information into the regulated motion of a spring. In addition, this system also undergoes expansive motion through coordination of pyridine. We anticipate that this strategy will be applicable (when combined with the established wrapping chemistry of the helical polysaccharide) to the development of, for example, drug carriers (e.g., nano-syringes), actuators (stimuli-responsive films), and directional transporters (nano-railways), thereby extending the frontiers of supramolecular science.


This paper takes Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share IPOs from 2009 to 2016 as samples, focusing on the possible impact of executive media experience on corporate media coverage during the IPO period and its market effect. The research finds that senior managers' media experience has a significant positive impact on media attention and reporting tendency during the IPO period, that is, it helps to improve the media coverage level of the company. At the same time, the higher the positions of senior managers with media experience in media organizations or departments, the better the media coverage will be for them. This further shows that the higher the positions of senior managers, the more obvious their professional skills and social network advantages or the stronger their abilities to deal with media relations, the more conducive to the improvement of the corporate media information environment. Finally, the positive impact of senior managers' media experience on media coverage can achieve a better market effect, that is, it helps to promote the increase of underpricing rate and turnover rate on the first day of IPO, thereby maximizing the company value or shareholder wealth.The possible contributions of this paper are mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1)This paper focuses on the role of corporate management in the formation of media bias, thus further revealing the way or mechanism of corporate media disclosure management, providing incremental information for corporate media disclosure management research. (2) This paper finds that media coverage plays an intermediary role in the influence of executive media experience on IPO underpricing rate, which not only further reveals the internal mechanism of corporate governance on information disclosure, but also enriches the research on the impact of corporate governance factors on IPO underpricing rate. At the same time, it also provides Chinese empirical evidence for Gurun's (2016) study on the impact of executive media experience on corporate media information environment. (3) This study focuses on the possible impact of executive media experience on the corporate media disclosure behavior, enriching the research on the relationship between executive experience and corporate behavior decision-making. (4) In addition, the conclusions of this study have good implications for market regulation, information disclosure management of listed companies and investor decision-making.


A common criticism of Michel Foucault's works is that his writings on power relations over-emphasized the effects that technologies of power have upon the subjection of humans, rendering any attempt of resistance futile and reducing the subject to a mere passive effect of power. This criticism treats Foucault's consideration of ethics in his later works as a break from his earlier views. In this paper, by reading Foucault's books alongside his lectures and interviews, two ways will be proposed through which the question of the subject can be productively raised and located throughout Foucault's works, even within his concerns with power relations. The first way is through the relation between assujettisement and critique, and the second way is through the notions of government and conduct.


In our earlier work, we developed a 2-kg NMR system, which was 60 X lighter, 40× smaller, yet 60× more spin-mass sensitive than a 120-kg state-of-the-art commercial benchtop system. Here we report on two new nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) systems that represent further orders-of-magnitude size reduction and lab-on-a-chip capability. The first system, which weighs 0.1 kg and can be held in the palm of a hand, is the smallest NMR system ever built, and is 1200× lighter, 1200× smaller, yet 150× more spin-mass sensitive than the commercial system. It is enabled by combining the physics of NMR with a CMOS RF transceiver. The second system, which even integrates a sample coil, directly interfaces the CMOS chip with a sample for lab-on-a-chip operation. The two systems detect biological objects such as avidin, human chorionic gonadotropin, and human bladder cancer cells.


Timed automata are popular for formally analyzing real-time systems. However, it is difficult to depict real-time systems with compositional components that interact with each other in a synchronization way or a mutex way. Synchronized components are modeled using parallel composition of timed automata by Larsen et al. [1]. This paper proposes controller automata to represent real-time systems with mutex components. In a controller automaton each state corresponds to a timed automaton with a built-in mechanism of relations, e.g., preemptions, in which every such timed automaton models a component of the real-time system. It is shown that given a strict partial order over states, an ordered controller automaton can be translated into a timed automaton. Various analyses are thus performed by checking the reachability to an error state.


Abstract Titanium and its alloys are widely used as dental implant materials due to their excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties and erosion resistance. The b type titanium alloys are becoming more promising dental implant materials for their low elastic modulus and suitable mechanical properties. Because the titanium alloys are bioinert. The dental implant's surfaces that contact with bone tissues need modification. To bioactivate the implants, hydroxyapatite/TiO2 composite material was coated onto dental implants by sol-gel and micro arc oxidation (MAO) methods. The HA (Hydroxyapatite) was employed to enhance the bioactivity of the Ti substrate. Owning to TiO2, the HA/TiO2 composite coatings adhered tightly to the dental implants and no longer existed cracks.


A modified diffusional model of Me methacrylate polymn. at 130-170 Deg was described qual. Based on the polymn. and the reactor model, the stability behavior of a pilot recycle reactor was predicted. In pilot expts. under stable reactor conditions, polymer product with mean mol. wt. ? 250,000 was obtained. The polydispersity index was .apprx. 2 which indicated that concn. and temp. gradients in the reactor could be neglected. [on SciFinder (R)]


This paper presents a method to perform person independent sign recognition. This is achieved by implementing generalising features based on sign linguistics. These are combined using two methods. The first is traditional Markov models, which are shown to lack the required generalisation. The second is a discriminative approach called Sequential Pattern Boosting, which combines feature selection with learning. The resulting system is introduced as a dictionary application, allowing signers to query by performing a sign in front of a KinectTM. Two data sets are used and results shown for both, with the query-return rate reaching 99.9% on a 20 sign multi-user dataset and 85.1% on a more challenging and realistic subject independent, 40 sign test set.


Eleven approximate full-size specimens including nine eccentrically compressed columns of monotonic loading and two axially compressed columns of laterally cyclic loading were tested. By a series of comparison experiment of specimens strengthened by high performance ferrocement laminates (HPFL) and no strengthened specimens, it was found that the RC columns strengthened with attached HPFL demonstrated greater degree of improving in load-bearing capacity, in which the carrying capacity increment of the strengthened eccentrically compressed columns with lesser eccentricity was greater than that of the same type of columns with bigger eccentricity under the same strengthening conditions; the strengthening effects of the specimens with lower concrete grade are better than that of those ones with higher concrete grade; the ductility and energy dissipation ability of the strengthened columns were remarkably increased. In this paper, the test results is described, the principle and regularity that this category of strengthening laminate improved the ultimate load-bearing capacity, ductility, cracking behavior and mode of failure etc. of the RC columns are analyzed. The studying results proved that this strengthening measure for RC columns is superior to make the strengthening effect notable, working behavior of strengthened column excellent, strengthening construction easy and economical.


The performance scaling of high-power picosecond cryogenically cooled rod-type Yb:YAG multipass amplification is studied numerically, taking into account diffraction, dispersion, self-focusing, self-phase modulation, gain guiding, and thermal lensing effects. It is shown that the beam size narrows as the beam energy rises, rapidly reaching the damage threshold of optics, mainly due to gain guiding and self-focusing effect. Simulation results predict that for a 1 kHz cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG bulk amplifier, it is difficult to obtain energies beyond 40 mJ with 100 ps seed pulse in a single stage, which is consistent with experimental results, while it is possible to produce more than 100 mJ with 300 ps pulses.


Background We describe the neuroradiologic features of a cohort of patients with Erdheim-Chester disease. Methods We assessed patients at Mayo Clinic Rochester between January 1, 1990, and July 31, 2016, with pathologically confirmed Erdheim-Chester disease (n = 53). Results Neuroimaging, including head CT (n = 17), brain MRI (n = 39), orbital MRI (n = 15), and spine MRI (n = 16), was available for 42 participants. Median age at diagnosis was 55 years (interquartile range 46–66) with higher male prevalence (33:20). Neurologic symptoms were identified in 47% (25/53); BRAFV600E mutation in 58% (15/26). Median follow-up was 2 years (range 0–20) with 18 patients deceased. Radiologic disease evidence was seen in dura (6/41), brainstem (9/39), cerebellum (8/39), spinal cord (2/16), spinal epidura (2/16), hypothalamic-pituitary axis (17/39), and orbits (13/42). T2 white matter abnormalities (Fazekas score ≥1) were present in 21/34 patients. Diabetes insipidus was present in 30% (16/53); 8 had abnormal hypothalamic–pituitary axis imaging. Radiographic evidence of CNS involvement (i.e., dural, brain, including Fazekas score >1, or spinal cord) occurred in 55% (22/40) and was unassociated with significantly increased mortality. Conclusions Erdheim-Chester disease commonly and variably involves the neuraxis. Patients with suspected Erdheim-Chester disease should undergo MRI brain and spine and screening investigations (serum sodium, serum and urine osmolality) for diabetes insipidus to clarify extent of neurologic disease.


Yield stress fluids are widely used in industry, deeply studied as an example of soft matter, and easy to conceptually describe: A solid-like material that can be yielded and made to flow by applying a minimum stress but will re-solidify once the applied stress is removed. Similarly, a particle will be stably suspended against sedimentation by a yield stress fluid if the stress it exerts on the fluid does not exceed the yield stress. In this article, we examine the current approach to predicting particle suspension in a yield stress fluid. We focus on a key cause of variability in both the fluid yield stress and propagation of particle stress: The fluid microstructure. We measure the prevention of particle sedimentation by examples of the two key microstructures used to create a yield stress suspension: A colloidal glass, Carbopol, which forms high volume fraction elastic structures by crowding, and a colloidal gel, microfibrous cellulose or MFC, which forms a sparser low volume fraction elastic network by inter-particle attachments. Comparing the sedimentation behavior of a single sphere in Carbopol and in MFC indicates that fluids with the same yield stress value can differ by a factor of 6 in their stability against particle sedimentation as a result of microstructure differences. Such suspensions cannot be characterized by yield stress alone, so the different fluids' yielding, and possibly recovery, from applied stress must also be studied. The work points to methods of improved design of microstructured fluids in a range of formulated product applications and also links shared goals of the rheology and microrheology communities.


In the end of 2009 IKEA had 267 stores in 25 countries with total sales of 21,5 billion Euros and is one of the most successful home furnishing companies in the world. IKEA has its roots in Smaland, a region in Sweden with a history of poorness. This has come to characterize IKEAs business concept with quality furniture's at low prices. With this business concept in mind IKEA strives to save money and avoid wasting resources, this also goes in line with IKEAs efforts in saving the environment. Market adaptation is a key to succeed with this concept. A better understanding of what the customer wants reduces the risk of producing too much and therefore decreases the amount of waste. This thesis studies the customers purchase habits when it comes to chairs and tables. IKEA collects information of their customers by the IKEA family card, which stores all purchase information of the customer. By access to that database we are able to compare the purchase habits on different markets. In this thesis we are interested of knowing which chairs the customer has bought on the same receipt as a certain table. With this information we can compare actual figures with IKEAs belief and make models over the purchase patterns.


In marketing and advertising research, "zapping" is defined as the action when a viewer skips a commercial advertisement. Researchers analyze audience's behavior in order to prevent zapping, which helps advertisers to design effective commercial advertisements. Since emotions can be used to engage consumers, in this paper, we leverage automated facial expression analysis to understand consumers' zapping behavior. To this end, we collect 612 sequences of spontaneous facial expression videos by asking 51 participants to watch 12 advertisements from three different categories, namely Car, Fast Food, and Running Shoe. In addition, the participants also provide self-reported reasons of zapping. We adopt a data-driven approach to formulate a zapping/non-zapping binary classification problem. With an in-depth analysis of expression response, specifically smile, we show a strong correlation between zapping behavior and smile response. We also show that the classification performance of different ad categories correlates with the ad's intention for amusement. The video dataset and self-reports are available upon request for the research community to study and analyze the viewers' behavior from their facial expressions.


ABSTRACT In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the pgr1+ gene encoding glutathione (GSH) reductase (GR) is essentially required for cell survival. Depletion of GR caused proliferation arrest at the G1 phase of the cell cycle under aerobic conditions. Multicopy suppressors that restore growth were screened, and one effective suppressor was found to be the trx2+ gene, encoding a mitochondrial thioredoxin. This suggests that GR is critically required for some mitochondrial function(s). We found that GR resides in both cytosolic and organellar fractions of the cell. Depletion of GR lowered the respiration rate and the activity of oxidation-labile Fe-S enzymes such as mitochondrial aconitase and cytosolic sulfite reductase. Trx2 did not reverse the high ratio of oxidized glutathione to GSH or the low respiration rate observed in GR-depleted cells. However, it brought the activity of oxidation-labile Fe-S enzymes to a normal level, suggesting that the maintenance of Fe-S enzymes is a critical factor in the survival of S. pombe. The activity of succinate dehydrogenase, an oxidation-insensitive Fe-S enzyme, however, was not affected by GR depletion, suggesting that GR is not required for the biogenesis of the Fe-S cluster. The total iron content was greatly increased by GR depletion and was brought to a nearly normal level by Trx2. These results indicate that the essentiality of GR in the aerobic growth of S. pombe is derived from its role in maintaining oxidation-labile Fe-S enzymes and iron homeostasis.


Sortases are transpeptidases which are used to modify, ligate and immobilize peptides or proteins in a sitespecific manner 1. To extend the portfolio of sortases used to engineer proteins in vitro, a new type of assay was developed, applicable as high throughput screening tool but also as very sensitive analytical method. With this so-called Reporter Immobilization Assay (REIA) it was possible to perform a biodiversity screening of a variety of wild type sortases found in different species as well as a directed evolution campaign on one of those wild type enzymes 2. The biodiversity screening revealed that the sortase A from Listeria monocytogenes (LmSrtA) holds a high reactivity to the unusual LPXTA sort motif. This newly described specificity of Lm-SrtA can be used for efficient orthogonal double-labeling approaches e.g. in combination with sortase A from S. aureus (SaSrtA) catalyzing conjugation reactions at the conventional LPXTG sort motif. Furthermore, the Lm-SrtA appears calcium-independent and for this reason is able to catalyze conjugation reactions in vivo. Based on this finding, the Lm-SrtA is suggested as intracellular bioengineering tool. Another conclusion of the biodiversity screening was that Sa-Srt appears as the most efficient wild type enzyme for conjugation at the LPXTG motif, as described also by previous studies performed by others 3. Based on its high starting efficiency, a directed evolution approach was performed with the REIA with the intent to further increase activity and affinity of SaSrtA. After four rounds of directed evolution, indeed a five-time mutant of Sa-SrtA was identified possessing a dramatically increased catalytic efficiency and even slightly increased thermo stability. Finally, molecular dynamics simulations gave first insights that two of these five beneficial mutations found in the engineered SaSrtA variant are stabilizing the catalytically active Arginine which is in charge of substrate binding and oxyanion stabilization.


As the age of employer enlightenment continues to unfold, for the past halfcentury researchers have collected mounting empirical evidence linking management theory and environmental factors to worker productivity. The rise of professional research over the past several years has however signaled a change in the marketability of this research within the business community. The change is prompted by a newfound interest in workforce productivity as a source of profitability (Colan, 2009; Corporate Leadership Council, 2004; Gebauer, Lowman, & Gordon, 2008; Thomas, 2000, 2009). The study of management systems, the system of interrelationships between supervisory characteristics and organizational performance, has gained new found interest through common underpinnings innate to measures of employee engagement. The profit potential born out of workforce productivity now has business leaders seeking to understand the management and leadership practices that show a strong relationship to employee commitment. Savvy business leaders understand the new economy is dependent upon leaders nurturing the commitment and goodwill of the employee population. Employee attitudes expressed in the research as employee commitment, and more recently as employee engagement, capture the relationship between employee's perceptions and how those perceptions translate into organizational performance. The ability to increase organizational performance depends upon the quality of leadership within an organization, and the literature has established solid linkages between employee engagement and organizational performance. This study seeks to identify and determine the relationship between leadership behaviors, employee engagement and organizational performance in an effort to effect positive change.


Learning Objectives: After reading this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Describe the diagnostic criteria for breast implant–associated (BIA) anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). 2. Appropriately evaluate a patient with suspected BIA-ALCL, including appropriate imaging, laboratory tests, and pathologic evaluation. 3. Understand the operative treatment of BIA-ALCL, and indications for systemic chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy in advanced disease. 4. Understand treatment outcomes and prognosis based on stage of disease. Summary: The goal of this continuing medical education module is to present the assessment of a patient with suspected breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, the evaluation and diagnosis, the preoperative oncologic workup, the formation and execution of a surgical treatment plan, and the inclusion of adjunct treatments when indicated. In addition, staging and disease progression for treatment of breast implant–associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma are discussed.


24 European Crystallographic Meeting, ECM24, Marrakech, 2007 Page s156 Acta Cryst. (2007). A63, s156 It was shown that optical properties of both 1 and 2 correlate with the local ligand environments observed in the crystal structures. In both cases, the rigidity of the stilbene linker increases upon coordination to the inorganic units through inhibition of torsion about the central ethylene bond, resulting in luminescent crystals with increased emission lifetimes compared to solutions of trans-stilbene. The emission spectrum of 2 is found to depend on the nature of the incorporated solvent molecules, suggesting use of this or related materials in sensor applications.


The objective of this research is developing the skills of writing paragraph through the model of cooperative learning with jigsaw technique. The objects of this study were the students of Islamic state high school 2 Kota Serang on the XI grade of language program in the second semester academic year 2015/2016 amounting to 32 students.The instrument of data collection was early test, questioner, observation, collaborator arguments and final test and the technique of data analysis were descriptive quantitative and descriptive qualitative techniques. This research was an action research with 3 cycles and each cycle consist of threemeetings. At the end of each learning cycle each student was given an individual writing test and the results of this test become the basis of the success of a research action. The results of activities in this study stated that there is an increase both in process and improvement of student learning outcome.This is evidenced by the student's writing results from average increase obtained from the first cycle to the third cycle.Teaching using cooperative learning model with jigsaw technique is an effective and appropriate learning model and it can maximize the learning outcome, one of them is improving the skill of writing German paragraph.


The construction features of autocollimation systems for measurement the large-sized and extended objects deformations at industry, power and scientific instrument making are considered. The conditions of increase of a distance of measurement are analyzed in comparison with the serial autocollimation devices. The error of measurement by the restriction of a working beam is investigated. The structure of algorithm for reduces the systematic error of the measurement which based on received analytical expression of function of an error is determined.


Objective: Staphylococcus aureus remains an important bacterial pathogen causing diverse infections which are both nosocomial and community acquired. Increasing resistance among S. aureus to various antibiotics is a cause of concern. Methods: A prospective observational study of 4 months duration was conducted to analyze the spectrum of infections caused by S. aureus and to study its antimicrobial resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Specimens from various clinical sites received in the laboratory for culture and sensitivity were processed as per standard techniques. Identification and susceptibility testing of S. aureus isolates were done using automated systems. Results: A total of 234 S. aureus isolates were obtained during the study period. Males accounted for 70.1% (n=164) of patients with S. aureus infections. These patients were uniformly distributed across all age groups. S. aureus was most commonly isolated from pus and exudates (64.5%) followed by respiratory specimens (20.5%) and mainly cultured from the skin and soft tissue infections (56%). Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) accounted for 47% (n=110) of isolates. Higher rates of susceptibility were noted for tetracycline (95.3%), gentamicin (85.4%), and trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole (88%). Low susceptibility rate was seen for ciprofloxacin (11.2%). Inducible clindamycin resistance was seen in 22.4% (n=50) isolates. Methicillin-sensitive S. aureus isolates were found to be more susceptible to non-beta lactam antibiotics than the methicillin-resistant isolates. Conclusion: A high frequency of MRSA was found in our study. Regular surveillance of antimicrobial resistance profile of this most frequent pathogen is necessary to aid in providing appropriate empirical antibiotic therapy.


The purpose of this study was to assess the association between occupational exposure to low levels of airway irritants, and airway responsiveness to histamine. In 688 male workers, symptom prevalence was assessed according to the British Medical Research Council (BMRC) questionnaire. All subjects performed a 30 s tidal breathing challenge test. Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) was defined as a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) at < or = 32 mg.ml-1 histamine. On the basis of job titles and working department, the exposure status of all workers was characterized into seven groups: 1) reference group; 2) white collars; 3) SO2, HCl, SO4(2-); 4) polyester vapour; 5) oil mist and oil vapour; 6) polyamide and polyester vapour; and 7) multiple exposures. Using multiple logistic regression, no association was found between the exposure groups and a higher prevalence of AHR. A higher prevalence was significantly associated with a low FEV1, a history of allergy, and the presence of chronic respiratory symptoms. Subjects in the SO2 group and the oil mist group with < or = 5 exposure years had a lower prevalence of AHR, probably due to pre-employment selection procedures. There was some trend for subjects with more than 5 yrs exposure to polyester vapour and to oil mist and to oil vapour to have a higher prevalence of AHR. Analyses using the dose-response slope according to O'Connor, revealed similar results and provides no additional information. We conclude that no association could be demonstrated between low grade exposure to airway irritants and airway hyperresponsiveness, and that further research is needed to elucidate this relationship.


This study discussed the issue of computer crime as it relates to the criminal justice system, specifically law enforcement. The information was gathered through several books, academic journals, governmental documents, and the Internet. First, the nature and forms of computer crime, Internet crime, and cyber terrorism were analyzed. Next, law enforcement responses were discussed. International aspects of the problem were separately pointed out. Further, detection and investigation of computer crime were examined. Problems related to the each component of the criminal justice system (law enforcement, investigators, prosecutors, and judges) were described. Specific solutions to these problems were offered. In addition, computer crime handling procedures were presented. Results indicate that computer crime will increase in the 21st century, and this problem cannot be controlled by traditional methods alone. Using new technology as preventive measures, and increasing awareness and security conscious culture will prevent the problem in the long run.


This report presents the up to date understanding of changes in ecological structure of small Baltic Sea bays following shore-level displacement and isolation of bays from the sea. It was producedas a part of the biosphere research programme, which has a strong emphasis on the characterization of properties and processes affecting the fate of potentially released radionuclides from the suggested repository of nuclear waste in the bedrock of the Forsmark area. The report has a focus on ecology and gives a description of input data, methodology and results on changes in flora and fauna communities, as well as some abiotic factors, with topographic isolation of bays from the sea. It is intended to describe the properties and conditions at the Forsmark site and to give information essential for demonstrating site specific understanding of processes and properties linked to a sea-to-lake succession. Long-term landscape development in the Forsmark area is dependent on two main and partly interdependent factors; shore-level displacement and climate variations. These two factors in combination strongly affect a number of processes, which in turn influence the development of ecosystems. Some examples of such processes are erosion and sedimentation, primary production and decomposition of organic matter. In this work focus has been to report changes in the structure and biomass of flora and fauna communities, which affect primary production, and influence the processes of decomposition of organic matter and sedimentation. A section of the study also deals with the biological processes of primary production, autotrophic carbon uptake and influence of allochtonous energy. The study is part of a description of the Forsmark ecosystem succession during a glacial cycle, which is one of the main objectives of the biosphere modelling at the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB). The biomass of macrofauna was found to decrease with increasing isolation of bays. The changes in the macrofauna community also reflected the animals ability to re-colonize an unstable habitat, where slow colonizers with passively dispersed larvae were almost absent from the most isolated bays. Fast colonizers – particularly the ones with flying adults (insects) – were however found inhigher proportions in isolated bays. Contrary to the macrofauna and flora, the zooplankton and juvenile fish increased in biomass with increasing bay isolation. This study describes a significant change in ecological properties of Baltic Sea bays with shore-level displacement. This change affects ecosystem processes which may be of importance for the fate of potentially released radionuclides to the biosphere.


The Chemical Bath Deposition Method (CBD) was employed for deposition of Cd1-xZnxS (x=0,.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6,0.8 1.0) thin films. The Chemically deposited Cd 1-xZnxS thin films were characterized by using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Transmission spectra show the blue shifting of absorption edge. The maximum 78% transmittance was observed in the x=0.8 composition. The reflection in the blue portion of the incident spectrum was decreased as the Zn content increased. The (αhυ) 2 versus photon energy (hυ) curves shows tuning of band gap with Zn content. The observed band gap was 3.9 eV in the x=0.8 composition. The effect of composition on refractive index, absorption index and other optical dispersion parameters were also investigated. The calculated values of average excitation energy Eo approximately obey the empirical relation (Eo=1.2 Eg) obtained from single oscillator model.


An improved CMOS logic circuitusing a differential cascode tree with sample and set phases of operation is presented. The sample-set differential logic (SSDL) circuit allows the use of several transistors in series in the cascode tree without significant speed degradation. Also, the signals arriving at the input require only a short valid time, which allows long interconnect delays. This improved logic circuits is compared with two other common CMOS logic circuits in a simulated design example.


The Routledge Companion to Business History is a definitive work of reference, and authoritative, international source on business history. Compiled by leading scholars in the field, it offers both researchers and students an introduction and overview of current scholarship in this expanding discipline. Drawing on a wealth of international contributions, this volume expands the field and explores how business history interacts theoretically and methodologically with other fields. It charts the origins and development of business history and its global reach from Latin America and Africa, to North America and Europe. With this multi-perspective approach, it illustrates the unique contribution of business history and its relationship with a range of other disciplines, from finance and banking to gender issues in corporations. The Routledge Companion to Business History isa vital source of reference for students and researchers in the fields of business history, corporate governance and business ethics.


The fertilizer availability as source of N, P, and K nutrient where plant responsif  was difficult found by farmer. Thefore, It was needed information about nutrient availability in soil properties to know nutrient deficiency of its by maize as plant indicator. The  objective of this research was to study the respons of  N, P, and K fertilizers and the best combination of it on the growth and yield of Maize. The research conducted at Udic Pellusterts in North Isimu Tibawa District of Gorontalo Regency. The experi- mental design was following random block design that consist of 5 treatments with 3 replications. The result of this research showing that minus N, P, and K fertilizers have a significantly effect on plant age polination, the percentage of height stem of  an ear of corn to plant height and dry straw weight but did not have significantly effect on plant height and the weigh of one hundred grain of Maize. To improve the growth and yield of Maize using fertilizing without P treatment were 250 kg Urea ha-1 and 75 kg KCl ha-1 or completely dosage were 250 kg Urea ha-1, 100 kg TSP ha-1 and 75 kg KCl ha-1 as the best fertilizers combination.


XIE XIDE, Professor of Physics and President, Fudan University, Shanghai, China Graphite Intercalation Compounds: Progress of Research in Japan Edited by S. Tanuma and H. Kamimura (World Science, 1985) During a two-year period beginning in April 1981, Japanese research on graphite intercalation compounds was organized into a "Special Distinguished Research Project" under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. This functioned as an overlay to the already strong previous and continuing individual programs; more importantly, it provided support which launched many young scholars, some of whom have become major figures in the field. This book is the summary report of that two-year project. It will be of most interest to materials physicists working on graphite and other layer intercalates. There is also much of value for materials scientists in general, as an example of how different approaches, . theoretical and experimental, are effectively coordinated. Industrial research managers and government program officers concerned about distinctions between "thrust areas" and individual projects will also find food for thought.


Marked developmental changes in social behavior take place during youth, including increased complexity of the social repertoire and dramatic increment of peer-directed social interactions. Social experiences early in life are of major importance for proper behavioral development and create valuable practice scenarios for complex social interactions throughout life. Conversely, social insults during development can create a predisposing factor for psychopathology. The overall aim of this thesis is to enhance our understanding of the neurobiology of adolescent social behavior and its importance for behavioral development. Children and young mammals spend a substantial part of maturation engaging in play with peers, such as running, chasing, climbing and play fighting. Social play has been shown to be a natural reinforcer, and neurotransmitter systems implicated in the motivational, pleasurable and cognitive aspects of natural and drug rewards, such as opioids, endocannabinoids, dopamine and noradrenaline, have an important modulatory role in the performance of social play. Drugs of abuse from various pharmacological classes have facilitating effects on social play, under certain circumstances, most likely because they enhance the positive emotional properties of social play. The overlap in neural pathways involved in mediating rewarding social interactions and the positive subjective properties of drugs of abuse may explain the clinical relationship between social behavior and addictive behavior. The ability to make profitable short- and long-term decisions, select optimal behavioral strategies and inhibit prepotent responses can be considered as expressions of cognitive control. Impairments in these cognitive abilities can have tremendous influence on daily life and are associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders. Pharmacological manipulations targeting monoaminergic reuptake demonstrated that dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) interfere in different ways with the behavioral constructs underlying cognitive control. Elevation of DA neurotransmission increases impulsive action, whereas it reduces impulsive choice. Increasing NA or 5-HT neurotransmission reduces impulsive action, but has no effect on impulsive choice.Simultaneous blockade of DA and NA disrupts decision making, reflected by a relative decrease in choice for the advantageous choice options. In our research it is demonstrated that a disrupted social development by social isolation during early adolescence, i.e. postnatal day 21 until 42, when social play is highly abundant, affects cognitive development, prefrontal DA function and creates an increased vulnerability for drug addiction later in life. Early adolescent social isolation resulted in an increase of impulsive action and blunted response to DA reuptake inhibitors under demanding conditions in the 5-choice serial reaction time task. Moreover, instead of a normal development of preference for the advantageous options, socially isolated rats had a disrupted acquisition of a profitable choice strategy in the first session of the rat gambling task. The impaired cognitive control was accompanied by a loss of sensitivity to DA of pyramidal neurons in the adult medial PFC. Furthermore, adolescent social isolation resulted in an enhanced acquisition and increased motivation for low doses of cocaine during adulthood. These deficits were all observed during adulthood after several months of re-socialization, indicating the long-lasting impact of early social life events.


This volume examines how power was framed in Visigothic society and how a diverse population with a complex and often conflicting cultural inheritance was thereby held together as a single kingdom. Indeed, through this dynamic process a new, early medieval society emerged. Understanding this transformation is no simple matter, as it involved the deployment of an array of political and cultural resources: the production of knowledge, the appropriation of Patristic literature, controlling and administering rural populations, reconceptualizing the sacred, capital punishment and exile, controlling the manufacture of currency, and defining Visigothic society in relation to other polities such as the neighbouring Byzantine state. In order to achieve an analysis of these different phenomena, this volume brings together researchers from a variety of disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach therefore expands the available sources and reformulates topics of traditional scholarship in order to engage with a renewal of Visigothic Studies and reformulate the paradigm of study itself. As a result, this volume rethinks frameworks of power in the Peninsula along not only historical and archaeological but also anthropological terms, presenting the reader with a new understanding of Iberian society as a whole.


Over the last decades, new mobility offers have emerged to enlarge the coverage and the accessibility of public transportation systems. In many areas, public transit now incorporates on-demand transport lines, that can be activated at user need. In this paper, we propose to integrate lines without predefined schedules but with predefined stop sequences into a state-of-the-art trip planning algorithm for public transit, the Trip-Based Public Transit Routing algorithm [30]. We extend this algorithm to non-scheduled lines and explain how to model other modes of transportation, such as bike sharing, with this approach. The resulting algorithm is exact and optimizes two criteria: the earliest arrival time and the minimal number of transfers. Experiments on two large datasets show the interest of the proposed method over a baseline modelling.


In this thesis, we consider two closely related problems. The first is a full-rank weighted least-squares problem with a weight matrix that is positive definite, diagonal, and extremely ill conditioned. The ill-conditioning can cause standard algorithms to compute solutions with, in some cases, no digits of accuracy. Theory suggests the existence of an algorithm that will compute an accurate solution despite the ill-conditioning in the weight matrix. We describe a new algorithm, the Complete Orthogonal Decomposition (COD) Algorithm, for solving the weighted least squares problem and show that it has this desirable property. In addition, the COD Algorithm is based on standard, well-understood techniques and is straight forward to implement.
A natural application for the weighted least-squares problem described in the previous paragraph is interior point methods for linear programming. We discuss the problem in this context, and describe how the COD algorithm can be extended and used in this setting. Unlike other algorithms, this one is stable for interior point methods without assuming nondegeneracy in the linear programming instance. Computational experiments indicate that it is more reliable than other algorithms when the problem is near degenerate.
The second problem involves a particular interior point algorithm. In 1994, Vavasis and Ye proposed a new primal-dual path-following interior point method, the layered-step interior point (LIP) method. This algorithm interleaves traditional steps with longer, layered least-squares (LLS) steps. Computation of a LLS step requires solving a weighted least-squares problem similar to the one described above, but the weight matrix also has the property that the weights fall into well-separated groups. This additional structure allows the problem to be broken down into smaller, constrained problems with well-conditioned weight matrices. The smaller problems can then be solved stably with standard algorithms, and the LLS step can be computed.
Vavasis and Ye did not propose a particular algorithm for solving the LLS problem. In this thesis, we present an algorithm based on Cholesky factorization. The algorithm is such that a modified version of the sparse Cholesky code of Ng and Peyton of Oak Ridge National Laboratories can be used. Thus, the theoretical results are straightforward, and this algorithm proves to be accurate and efficient in practice.


Plant-soil systems are key for understanding the effects of factors of global change. Recent work has highlighted the general importance of considering the simultaneous incidence of a number of factors or stressors. To help mechanistically dissect the possible interactions of such factors, we here propose three broad groups of mechanisms that may generally lead to non-additivity of responses within a plant-soil system: direct factor interactions (that is, one factor directly changing another), within-plant information processing and cross-talk, and effects of factors on groups of soil biota interacting with plants. Interactions are also possible within and across these groups. Factor interactions are very likely present in experiments, especially when dealing with an increasing number of factors. Identifying the nature of such interactions will be essential for understanding and predicting global change impacts on plants and soil.


Biological systems manifest continuous weak autoluminescence, which is present even in the absence of external stimuli. Since this autoluminescence arises from internal metabolic and physiological processes, several works suggested that it could carry information in the time series of the detected photon counts. However, there is little experimental work which would show any difference of this signal from random Poisson noise and some works were prone to artifacts due to lacking or improper reference signals. Here we apply rigorous statistical methods and advanced reference signals to test the hypothesis whether time series of autoluminescence from germinating mung beans display any intrinsic correlations. Utilizing the fractional Brownian bridge that employs short samples of time-series in the method kernel, we suggest that the detected autoluminescence signal from mung beans is not totally random, but it seems to involve a process with a negative memory. Our results contribute to the development of the rigorous methodology of signal analysis of photonic biosignals.


Heterogeneous multi-agent systems have previously been studied and deployed to solve a number of different tasks. Despite this, we still lack a basic understanding of just what "heterogeneity" really is. For example, what makes one team of agents more heterogeneous than another? In this paper, we address this issue by proposing a measure of heterogeneity. This measure takes both the complexity and disparity of a system into account by combining different notions of entropy. The result is a formulation that is both easily computable and makes intuitive sense. An overview is given of existing metrics for diversity found in various fields such as biology, economics, as well as robotics, followed by a discussion of their relative merits and demerits. We show how our proposed measure of heterogeneity overcomes problematic issues identified across the previous metrics. Finally, we discuss how to apply the new measure of heterogeneity specifically to multi-agent systems by using the notion of a common task-space to compare agents with different capabilities.