Abstract. The Tohoku-Oki earthquake on 11 March 2011 caused significant widespread crustal movements. In a previous study, we proposed a method for capturing two-dimensional (2-D) surface displacements from a pair of pre- and post-event TerraSAR-X (TSX) intensity images. However, it is impossible to detect three-dimensional (3-D) displacements from one pair of TSX images. In this study, three pairs of pre- and post-event TSX images taken on different paths were used to estimate 3-D crustal movements. The relationship between the actual 3-D displacements and the converted 2-D movements in the synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images was derived based on the observation model of a SAR sensor. The 3-D movements were then calculated from three sets of detected 2-D movements that occurred within a short time period. Compared with GPS observations, the proposed method was found to be capable of detecting the 3-D crustal movements with sub-pixel accuracy.


Climate change impacts viticulture with even stronger effects on sparkling wines. Innovative cultural practices represent effective short-term solutions. Among these, postponement of winter pruning later than budburst delayed both vegetative and reproductive cycles as well as technological maturity of several varieties from different wine regions. This research aims to assess the impact of delayed winter pruning on grapevine performance as a function of training system.
The trial was carried out in a Pinot Noir vineyard sited at 385 m asl in Central Italy. Delayed winter pruning was performed when unpruned canes had shoots showing three unfolded leaves (BBCH 13) and compared to standard winter pruning within two separate experiments focused on: i) cane pruning, and ii) spur pruning. Grapevine phenology, vegetative growth, fruit ripening kinetics and productivity of selected vines were assessed over three years. Delayed winter pruning postponed budburst by 20 and 31 days in Guyot and spur pruned cordons, respectively; then, differences diminished over time showing a maximum delay of 17 days at bloom and 7–10 days at harvest. Despite a decrease in yield (ranging from −35 to −47% in cane and spur pruning, respectively), delayed winter pruning increased titratable acidity (40–89%) and reduced sugars (721%) as compared to control vines. Although effects of delayed pruning were stronger in spur pruned vines, delayed winter pruning was effective also on cane-pruned vines, therefore adapting to varieties marked by low basal-node fruitfulness


The network-planning of a middle-voltage distributed system includes branch planning and switch allocation. This two main aspects determinate the economy and reliability of a planning scheme. Therefore, taking the economy and reliability optimization as the two objectives, a multi-objective optimal model for branches and switches united planning of a distributed system is established in this paper. Based on the Pareto optimum theory, and by the specific genetic operators of Partheno-genetic algorithm (PGA), the proposed model is solved efficiently in specified connection mode. By constructing a rational fitness function and performing elitist preservation strategy, a well-proportioned Pareto solution set is obtained. From which the final network planning scheme can be found according to different actual engineering conditions. A typical example is used to verify the proposed model and algorithm to be effective. The results indicated that the proposed method can satisfied the different demands in engineering, and provides theory basis to flexible network planning of the distributed system.


Summary 1. Pollinating insects provide vital ecosystem services of enormous importance for economies and biodiversity. Yet, there is a concerning global trend of pollinator declines. Parasites and pesticides are among the suspected principle drivers of these declines. However, especially in the case of key wild pollinators, there are insufficient data on the relative impact of these individual environmental stressors and whether they interact to increase detrimental effects. 2. Using a fully crossed factorial design, we investigated how laboratory exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides, thiamethoxam and clothianidin, over a 9-week period and a prevalent trypanosome gut parasite Crithidia bombi affects various crucial colony traits of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris. 3. We show that chronic dietary exposure from an early stage of colony development to doses of thiamethoxam and clothianidin that could be encountered in the field truncated worker production, reduced worker longevity and decreased overall colony reproductive success. Further, we demonstrate a significant interaction between neonicotinoid exposure and parasite infection on mother queen survival. The fate of the mother queen is intrinsically linked to colony success, and under combined pressure of parasite infection and neonicotinoid exposure, mother queen survival was lowest. This indicates increased detrimental effects of combined exposure on this crucial colony trait. Combined effects may be exacerbated in stressful natural environments where more pronounced parasite virulence is expected. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our findings reiterate that dietary exposure to neonicotinoids can impact on bumblebee colony performance and fitness. The indication of combined negative effects of ecologically relevant pressures suggests additional adverse consequences for long-term population dynamics under complex field conditions. To help safeguard pollinator health, whole life-cycle fitness assessments, particularly for non-Apis bees, stringently incorporating chronic and sublethal side effects of pesticides, as well as interactions with common natural stressors, such as prevalent parasites, should be considered in the corresponding test guidelines.


The fine-grained grid of elastic optical networks (EONs) facilitates flexible bandwidth allocation and increased spectrum utilization efficiency and is seen as a promising solution to handle ever-increasing traffic demands. Despite this, fiber capacity exhaustion is imminent, and multifiber links are expected to be prevalent in future optical networks. A challenge this brings about is the high port count of optical cross-connects (OXCs). Conventional OXCs built using flex-grid wavelength selective switches do not scale well. To achieve scalability of OXCs, a flexible wavebanding OXC architecture (FLEX) has been proposed recently. FLEX reduces the complexity and cost of OXCs while sacrificing some performance in terms of limited switching flexibility. Taking the reduced switching capability into consideration, a cost-function pluggable auxiliary layered-graph framework has been proposed in our previous work to solve the routing, fiber, waveband, and spectrum assignment (RFBSA) problem in multifiber-based EONs with flexible wavebanding nodes. In this paper, we address the following problem. Given the total number of available WSSs for the network as a budget, we determine how many FLEX nodes to deploy and where to deploy them, and solve the RFBSA problem jointly to optimize the network performance. An integer linear programming formulation is proposed for a set of traffic requests. We also propose a heuristic algorithm to solve this joint problem efficiently. The results show that our algorithm achieves good network performance, which is indicated by the average maximum spectrum usage as well as considerably reducing hardware costs. We also evaluate our algorithm for dynamically arriving traffic requests in terms of demand blocking ratio.


Background and Aim: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic pediatric disorders. Changes in vasculature are described in IBD, but these could be secondary to inflammation and the role in pathogenesis is poorly understood. Assessing circulatory changes in typically unaffected sites in IBD (eg, duodenum), when inflammation is absent, can identify vascular changes associated with pathogenesis. The aim of the study is to measure capillary flow rates in duodenal mucosa using probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) during endoscopy in children with IBD. Methods: Images of villi with visible blood vessels obtained using pCLE were captured as video sequences. Capillary flow rate (mm/s) was calculated by dividing the distance travelled by blood cells by the duration of the sequence. Flow rates were correlated with various clinical parameters. Results: Forty-five patients (22 non-IBD, 14 CD, 9 UC) were included in the study. Duodenal capillary flow rates were significantly higher in UC patients (0.75 ± 0.07 mm/s) as compared to non-IBD (0.57 ± 0.03) and CD (0.65 ± 0.04). There was no correlation between serum hemoglobin and albumin, disease activity indices, serum inflammatory markers, and capillary flow rates in patients. Conclusions: This pilot study shows, for the first time, increased capillary blood flow in the duodenum of UC patients that was unrelated to inflammatory markers or disease activity. Thus, early vascular changes can be assessed using pCLE during endoscopy.


Extending the time window for acute stroke therapies is important in increasing the number of stroke patients who might benefit from treatment. SMTP-7, a novel small-molecule plasminogen modulator, has a time window of ~6 h in thrombotic stroke in animal experiments. The excellent activity of SMTP-7 is attributable to an anti-inflammatory action as well as thrombolysis due to plasminogen modulation. We recently identified soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) as an intracellular target of the anti-inflammatory action of SMTP-7. SMTP-7 inhibits sEH that hydrolyzes anti-inflammatory fatty acid epoxides, and this action possibly plays a role in the protection of nervous tissues from inflammatory damage. We report here that SMTP-7 treats thrombotic stroke with little bleeding risk. In thrombotic stroke models of monkey and mouse, SMTP-7 (10 mg/kg) significantly ameliorated neurological deficits, cerebral infarct, and hemorrhage transformation. The efficacy of SMTP-7 in thrombolysis at 10 mg/kg was comparable to that of t-PA at 0.55 mg/kg in a rat carotid artery thrombosis model. In a mouse tail amputation assay, SMTP-7 at < 30 mg/kg did not prolong bleeding time, and bleeding was observed at 100 mg/kg. t-PA significantly prolonged bleeding time at >0.1 mg/kg. These effects of SMTP-7 and t-PA were canceled by tranexamic acid, an inhibitor of fibrinolysis. Thus, at the pharmacological thrombolytic dose, t-PA but not SMTP-7 increases bleeding time. The difference can be explained by that, unlike t-PA that directly activates plasminogen, SMTP-7 is a plasminogen modulator that alters plasminogen conformation to be susceptible to proteolytic activation by endogenous plasminogen activators, and acts through a physiological on-demand system coping with thrombotic events. In addition, anti-inflammatory action of SMTP-7 through an sEH inhibition may contribute to lower risk of hemorrhagic transformation.


Herein, we demonstrate the use of lysozyme (Lys) as a model to fabricate a protein carrier system based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via the Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technology. Poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were used as cationic and anionic polymers respectively to grow oppositely charged layers. Mild aqueous conditions were utilized to avoid protein denaturation and activity instead of organic solvents that have been used in other encapsulation systems. Two different strategies were used: (A) lysozyme acting as a reducing and stabilizing agent in the formation of AuNPs at a temperature of 45 ± 2 °C followed by only two subsequent polymeric layers deposited by LbL, and (B) citrate acting as a reducing agent prior to stabilization of the AuNPs by mercaptoundecanoic acid. Dynamic light scattering, UV-vis spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the nanoconjugates. Furthermore, the enzymatic activity of the resulting protein/nanoparticle conjugates was evaluated using the bacteria Micrococcus lysodeikticus as a substrate.


Dr. Charles M. Balch, M.D., FACS, Professor of Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, was previously Deputy Director for Clinical Trials and Outcomes Research at Johns Hopkins Institute and Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He has led a distinguished career as a clinical and academic oncologist for the past 35 years, as a leading authority in both melanoma and breast cancer. He has also made significant contributions to laboratory research in tumor immunology and human T lymphocyte differentiation.


Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is highly prevalent among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, little is known regarding its developmental patterns, risk factors, or health-related consequences. We examined IPV victimization in an ethnically diverse community-based convenience sample of 248 LGBT youth (aged 16-20 at study outset) who provided six waves of data across a 5-year period. Results from multilevel models indicated high, stable rates of IPV victimization across this developmental period (ages 16-25 years) that differed between demographic groups. Overall, 45.2% of LGBT youth were physically abused and 16.9% were sexually victimized by a dating partner during the study. Odds of physical victimization were 76% higher for female than for male LGBT youth, 2.46 times higher for transgender than for cisgender youth, and 2 to 4 times higher for racial-ethnic minorities than for White youth. The prevalence of physical IPV declined with age for White youth but remained stable for racial-ethnic minorities. Odds of sexual victimization were 3.42 times higher for transgender than for cisgender youth, 75% higher for bisexual or questioning than for gay or lesbian youth, and increased more with age for male than female participants. Within-person analyses indicated that odds of physical IPV were higher at times when youth reported more sexual partners, more marijuana use, and lower social support; odds of sexual IPV were higher at times when youth reported more sexual partners and more LGBT-related victimization. In prospective analyses, sexual IPV predicted increased psychological distress; both IPV types marginally predicted increased marijuana use.


Maternal attributes may influence the quantity and quality of offspring and hence, their survival. We evaluated the seasonal variability in maternal effects on developing oocytes and larvae of European hake Merluccius merluccius from the southern stock. Females were collected in 10 different years between 1999 and 2017 in the 3 spawning seasons identified in NW Spain (winter− spring, summer and autumn). Five indices of reproductive trait characteristics (batch fecundity [BF], relative fecundity [RBF], oocyte dry weight [ODW], oocyte diameter [OD] and oocyte lipid droplet diameter [ODD]) and 4 indices of maternal effects (total length [TL], gutted weight, hepatosomatic index [HSI] and Fulton's K) were analysed. Additionally, larvae were sampled in 2017 during winter−spring and summer spawning peaks to study seasonal variability in their growth and allometry. The results revealed maternal effects on offspring attributes (for both oocytes and larvae) that differed among seasons in terms of productivity and oocyte quality; more and likely better-quality oocytes were produced in the winter−spring. BF, ODW and OD were influenced mostly by female size, ODD was related to HSI, and RBF was not influenced by any maternal attribute. The larval growth rate was similar, although summer larvae had more developed anterior body parts than winter−spring larvae. The temporal differences could be due to differences in maternal attributes and/or environmental conditions; these differences might impact larval survival and hence annual stock recruitment. A multi-year analysis of interactions between environmental conditions and maternal effects is required to understand the complex process of larval recruitment.


The environmental crisis creates an unprecedented moral predicament: how to be a good person when our collective and individual actions contribute to immeasurable devastation and suffering. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources from philosophy, political theory, global religion, ecology, and contemporary spirituality, Roger S. Gottlieb explores the ethical ambiguities, challenges, and opportunities we face. Engagingly written, intellectually rigorous, and forcefully argued, this volume investigates the moral value of nature; the possibility of an 'ecological' democracy; how we treat animals; the demands and limits of individual responsibility and collective political change; contemporary ambiguities of rationality; and how to face environmental despair. In Morality and the Environmental Crisis, Gottlieb combines compassion for the difficulties of contemporary moral life with an unflinching ethical commitment to awareness and action.


Background An increasing and often inappropriately large proportion of the resources and attention of the healthcare system is being diverted into the Emergency and Urgent Care System (EUCS). This aim of this study was to describe the evolution of health policy relevant to EUCS in Ireland, using the Health Policy Triangle, to examine coherence between different policy documents and to assess implementation of these policies. Methods A retrospective documentary analysis of published national and regional policy documents related to the EUCS was conducted. Current policy documents governing EUCS were included, encompassing National Health Policy (e.g. Strategy), National Reconfiguration Reports (e.g. Report on the Establishment of Hospital Groups as a Transition to Independent Hospital Trusts), Regional Reconfiguration Reports (e.g. Reconfiguration Roadmap), Regulatory Reports (HIQA), and National Clinical Programme Reports (e.g. Emergency Medicine Programme). A framework approach was used to analyse the documents, identifying context, actors, content and processes. Results The EUCS policy context in Ireland is influenced by the socio-political, economic and cultural environment. Historically, the Churches and medical profession were dominant actors but recently national and international regulators, the media and the general public are visible. Drivers have remained consistent over time and include quality, access and equity, specialisation, patient safety, clinical governance and cost. The analysis revealed three types of evidence which informed policy formation; expert opinion, peer review research, and assessment of the status quo (a de facto limited evaluation of current policy). The use of each type of evidence in policy formation has evolved over time with increasing use of peer review research as it has become available. Public consultation and involvement has also improved over time, though this is a poorly developed area. EUCS policy demonstrates both coherence and inconsistency. The main recommendations of all current EUCS policy relate to a new model of care, which sees centralisation of acute complex care, and the development of critical enablers needed to achieve implementation. However, incoherence emerges in implementation attributable to repeatedly changing governance and management structures. Conclusion Emergency and urgent care is a developing area. There are sustained efforts to develop a systems approach. Public opinion when expressed is often negative as service user involvement particularly in policy and health service development is piecemeal.


One of the most prominent and important topics in modern agricultural biotechnology is the manipulation of oilseed triacylglycerol composition. Towards this goal, we have sought to identify and characterize acyl-CoA synthetases (ACSs), which play an important role in both de novo synthesis and modification of existing lipids. We have identified and cloned 20 dierent genes that bear strong sequence homology to known ACSs from other organisms. Through sequence comparisons and functional characterization, we have identified several members of this group that encode ACSs, while the other genes fall into the broader category of genes for AMP-binding proteins (AMPBPs). Distinguishing ACSs from AMPBPs will simplify our eorts to understand the role of ACS in triacylglycerol metabolism.


Insulin resistance is the defining feature of the metabolic syndrome and the primary defect leading to type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is a pathological state in which the normal physiological function of insulin is impaired in target tissues including skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and liver. Thiazolidinediones, synthetic ligands of the PPAR[gamma] nuclear receptor, are clinically potent insulin sensitizing drugs; however, not all individuals respond to treatment. Although PPAR[gamma] -mediated gene regulation is the predominant mode of thiazolidinedione-enhanced insulin sensitivity, the exact mechanisms by which PPARgamma activation leads to insulin sensitization or by which insulin sensitization is prevented are poorly understood. Addressing these expansive but fundamental questions concerning multi- tissue insulin resistance and PPAR[gamma] ligand-mediated insulin sensitization necessitates a comprehensive system- wide approach. The advent and maturation of the gene expression microarray allows for high-throughput transcript measurements. The massively parallel nature of microarrays, though, requires robust statistical analysis in order to obtain sensitive, accurate, and reliable results. With these tools, we characterize human subjects whom range in insulin sensitivity and relate their clinical phenotypes with functional pathway alterations. Multi-tissue gene expression profiles are further interrogated for distinctions between thiazolidinedione treatment responder and non-responder subjects. We further characterize the insulin sensitivity and multi-tissue gene expression profiles of lean and insulin resistant, obese Zucker rats treated with one of four PPAR[gamma] ligands, in order to identify functional pathways which are necessary for effective insulin sensitization.A robust statistical approach is formulated, through which sensitivity analysis of leading microarray statistical testers on various controlled datasets demonstrates that a global variance modeling methodology is advantageous towards increased sensitivity for the detection of true differential expression. With this devised approach, we identify pathway alterations in multiple tissues which are characteristic of insulin resistance, TZD-induced insulin sensitization, and potential TZD responsiveness. We also identify transcriptional biomarkers of insulin resistance and response signatures of PPAR[gamma] ligand treatment. These new insights suggest new targets for the therapy of type 2 diabetes, and measures to decrease risk for existing treatments


Many states impose absolute limits on municipal taxes, such as a one percent maximum property tax. States also commonly require electoral approval of municipal taxes. California's Proposition 13 is the best-known example of such state-imposed requirements. Such restrictions reduce municipal flexibility in dealing with financial distress and may contribute to municipalfinancial distress. This Article argues that Congress may constitutionally preempt such rules in the exercise of its bankruptcy power. Preemption of state tax limits in bankruptcy should be found to lie within Congress's power under the Bankruptcy Clause. The Clause has been interpreted to provide expansive authority to legislate on the subject of insolvency-that is, a person's general inability to pay debts. Taxation is intimately bound up with municipal ability to pay debts. Indeed, taxation occupies a position in municipal debt collection roughly analogous to that of property in non-municipal debt collection. The Supreme Court's understanding of the scope of the Bankruptcy Clause has consistently evolved in the direction of finding broader authority under the Clause to meet novel conditions, such as the unprecedented potentially impending municipal debt crisis brought on by a squeeze between pension obligations that cannot be changed and taxes that cannot be increased The most serious objection to the Article's thesis may be that preempting state tax limits would violate the Tenth Amendment. This Article argues that the requirement hat states consent o their municipalities' bankruptcies cures any Tenth Amendment problem. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the power of state consent to municipal bankruptcy is such that it authorizes municipalities to propose bankruptcy plans that would otherwise violate state law, including the state constitution. The landmark decisions in Detroit and Stockton, which held that municipal bankruptcy trumped state constitutional protections for municipal retirees, are recent and prominent cases that embrace this proposition.


The authors have demonstrated the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11 in 10 of 13 (77%) juvenile laryngeal papillomatosis by in situ DNA hybridization using as probes the radiolabeled DNAs of HPVs 6, 11, 16, and 18. Of six specimens from adult laryngeal papillomatosis assayed by the same technique, only 33% were positive. Immunohistochemistry to detect HPV capsid antigens performed on serial sections gave positive signals in 44% (8 of 18) of the specimens, all from juvenile lesions. These results were in agreement with in situ hybridization, except in two cases. When both series (juvenile and adult) were analysed by amplification of a 450-bp fragment corresponding to the L1 ORF of the HPV genomes directed by the polymerase chain reaction, the frequency of positive specimens rose to 100%. Our data agree with the concept that HPV is implicated in the etiology of laryngeal papillomatosis.


The unsteady behavior and three-dimensional flow structure of spike-type stall inception in an axial compressor rotor were investigated by experimental and numerical analyses. Previous studies revealed that the test compressor falls into a mild stall after emergence of a spike, in which multiple stall cells, each consisting of a tornado-like vortex, are rotating. However, the flow mechanism from the spike onset to the mild stall remains unexplained. The purpose of this study is to describe the flow mechanism of a spike stall inception in a compressor. In order to capture the transient phenomena of spike-type stall inception experimentally, an instantaneous casing pressure field measurement technique was developed, in which 30 pressure transducers measure an instantaneous casing pressure distribution inside the passage for one blade pitch at a rate of 25 samplings per blade passing period. This technique was applied to obtain the unsteady and transient pressure fields on the casing wall during the inception process of the spike stall. In addition, the details of the three-dimensional flow structure at the spike stall inception were analyzed by a numerical approach using the detached-eddy simulation (DES). The instantaneous casing pressure field measurement results at the stall inception show that a low-pressure region starts traveling near the leading edge in the circumferential direction just after the spiky wave was detected in the casing wall pressure trace measured near the rotor leading edge. The DES results reveal the vortical flow structure behind the low-pressure region on the casing wall at the stall inception, showing that the low-pressure region is caused by a tornado-like separation vortex resulting from a leading-edge separation near the rotor tip. A leading-edge separation occurs near the tip at the onset of the spike stall and grows to form the tornado-like vortex connecting the blade suction surface and the casing wall. The casing-side leg of the tornado-like vortex generating the low-pressure region circumferentially moves around the leading-edge line. When the vortex grows large enough to interact with the leading edge of the next blade, the leading-edge separation begins to propagate, and then the compressor falls into a stall with decreasing performance.


Several works regarding facial recognition have dealt with methods which identify isolated characteristics of the face or
with templates which encompass several regions of it. In this paper a new technique which approaches the problem holistically dispensing with the need to identify geometrical characteristics or regions of the
face is introduced. The characterization of a face is achieved by randomly sampling selected attributes of the pixels of its image.
From this information we construct a set of data, which correspond to the values of low frequencies, gradient, entropy and another several characteristics of pixel of the image. Generating a set of "p" variables. The multivariate data set with different polynomials minimizing the data fitness error in the minimax sense (L∞ − Norm) is approximated. With the use of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) it is able to circumvent the problem of dimensionality inherent to higher degree polynomial approximations. The GA yields the degree and values of a set of coefficients of the polynomials approximating of the image of a face. By finding a family of characteristic polynomials from several variables (pixel
characteristics) for each face (say Fi ) in the data base through a resampling process the system in use, is trained. A face (say F ) is recognized by finding its characteristic polynomials and using an
AdaBoost Classifier from F's polynomials to each of the Fi's polynomials. The winner is the polynomial family closer to F's
corresponding to target face in data base.


There are three main research goals of this study. The first one is to examine the level of technology integration into teaching by Saudi university faculty members. The second goal of this study is to investigate Saudi university faculty members' perceptions of educational technology. The third and most important one is to investigate whether there is a relationship between faculty perception of educational technology and the level of technology integration into teaching and learning. A quantitative approach was employed to organize, collect, test and analyze the data. Analysis of self-report survey data from 306 Saudi university faculty members showed that Saudi university faculty members use technology in their teaching at three different levels of the T3 technology integration model; the most used level is the translational level (M = 5.35, SD = .499), the second most used is the transformational level (M = 4.8, SD = .84), and the third most used is the transcendent level (M = 4.6, SD = 1.10). Five educational technology concepts were examined to investigate Saudi university faculty members' perceptions of educational technology. The overall trend of the findings of this section suggests that there is no definite answer. Therefore, we cannot conclude whether there is misconception or not. For the first four concepts, the mean of the answer centered around 3 (somewhat disagree). Onley the fifth concept confirmed a trend toward the disagreement, meaning that there is misconception or misunderstanding about this concept. Regression analysis found that there is a relationship between the perceptions of educational technology and educational technology integration by faculty members in Saudi Arabia. By and large, all regression models in this study were statistically significant, indicating that perception concepts are good at predicting the level of technology integration into teaching.


Where do you turn for help in dosing an antidepressant for a child with major depressive disorder? You might be misinformed if you rely on methods used in multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trials, according to Robert L. Findling, MD, an expert in child and adolescent pharmacokinetics (PK). In a recent review, (1) Dr. Findling and colleagues at University Hospitals, Case Medical Center, and Case Western Reserve University concluded that: * Data from PK studies do not support the dosing strategies used in many placebo-controlled efficacy trials of antidepressants in children and adolescents * Excessively low or high dosages may explain--at least in part--why antidepressants failed to show efficacy or were associated with agitation, hostility, or increased suicidality among depressed pediatric patients in some studies. To provide CURRENT PSYCHIATRY readers with more information on this topic, Section Editor Robert A. Kowatch, MD, PhD, interviewed Dr. Findling about pediatric PK studies and what they can tell clinicians about dosing antidepressants and antipsychotics in children and adolescents. Not'small adults' Dr. Kowatch: Warnings about a risk of suicidality in young people taking antidepressants have increased physicians' concern about accurate dosing for children. How do pediatric pharmacokinetic parameters differ from those of adults? Dr. Findling: Children and adolescents are not, of course, simply small adults. Significant differences in absorption rate, volume of distribution, and elimination affect PK parameters, such as half-life, throughout the life cycle. (2) Dr. Kowatch: What determines these differences? Are they based on factors such as weight, age, puberty, or gender? Dr. Findling: In general, PK differences observed with antidepressants have been dependent on the patient's age or weight, rather than on gender differences or sexual maturation. To assume that drug exposure is weight-proportional across the life cycle is fraught with peril and is not true for many compounds, including psychotropics. Dr. Kowatch: In which age groups would clinicians see the greatest differences in drug exposure? Dr. Findling: It depends on the compound. Exposure to lithium, for example, is determined by the glomerular filtration rate, which often is much higher and necessitates higher weight-adjusted dosing in a younger child than in a teenager or adult. Drug exposure becomes more complicated with more complex compounds, with differing volumes of distribution, absorption rates, and perhaps multiple enzymes involved in bio-disposition. Factors that affect dosing Dr. Kowatch: Clinically, what's the best way to determine safe, effective psychotropic dosing in children? Dr. Findling: The short answer is to study the literature, and unfortunately most people find PK studies just about as interesting as watching paint dry. But a good PK study provides insight into a very important parameter, which is dosing. Ultimately, we can't talk about a medicine's effectiveness or safety as a fixed statement. You can't say drug "x" is effective for this condition or drug "y" is associated with this rate of side effects because tolerability and effectiveness are dose-dependent. And if you don't know how to dose a medicine, you can't characterize its pharmacodynamic properties when prescribing it to a youngster. So you have to know the literature; what happens at different doses is terribly important. Dr. Kowatch: In children with psychiatric disorders, what does the literature say about whether the diagnosis determines the dose? Dr. Findling: With children, dosing may be diagnosis-dependent for the same medications within the same age groups. For example, Tourette's syndrome or conduct disorder in children and adolescents can be managed with lower antipsychotic doses than those required for major psychotic illnesses or mania. …


Research on speech comprehension in noise indicates that a multilinguistic experience may confer advantages in filtering out verbal interference, an effect observed both in children acquiring two or more languages since birth (Filippi, Morris, Richardson, et al., 2015) and in second language learner adults (Filippi, Leech, Thomas, et al., 2012). A possible interpretation for this advantage is that the multilingual mind is "trained" to control interference from the language not in use. This constant effort may support optimization of cognitive resources that are necessary for successfully selecting, processing and interpreting complex linguistic information. The present study aimed to extend this line of research by including a non-verbal interference condition. 209 typically developing children (132 English monolinguals and 77 multilinguals from different linguistic backgrounds) carried out a sentence interpretation task in the presence of verbal and non-verbal interference. We found no evidence for a reliable group difference in our data. Instead, findings indicated that background cognitive ability and socioeconomic status were the best indicators of successful control of interference, irrespective of whether participants were bilingual or monolingual. These findings are discussed in the light of previous research and, more widely, on the account of the current debate on the bilingual advantage.


The role and influence of Chlamydia trachomatis on the development and course of acute respiratory virus infections (ARVI) in 130 children admitted to the hospital of the Research Institute of Children's Infections (St. Petersburg) was studied. The occurrence of respiratory Chlamydia infections in ARVI patients with an unfavorable premorbid background was 35-36%. The disease took its course simultaneously with the mixed infection of the respiratory tract with viruses, pneumococci and their associations with staphylococci and Haemophilus influenzae. Chlamydia infection in children had no influence on the character of the clinical manifestation of ARVI with the exception of the obstruction syndrome which was constantly observed in children with ARVI (p < 0.001).


UNLABELLED
Background.  Responsibility for medication can be an integral part of the informal caring role. Aims and objectives.  To explore partnerships between older people and their carers in the management of medication and consider the implications for health professionals. Methods.  Older people and their carers were identified through community pharmacies in four randomly selected areas of England. Data regarding their activities, responsibilities and experiences of managing medication were collected in semi-structured interviews conducted in respondents' own homes. Ninety-four transcripts relating to 47 older people and their associated carers were analysed using a qualitative approach. Results.  Responsibility for medication was shared to varying extents between older people and their carers, and different patterns of partnership were identified. Differing perspectives between older people and their carers regarding the role, purpose and need for medication were revealed. Underlying these perspectives were issues concerning the sharing/concealment of information, autonomy and control. Caring was also described as a dynamic process. Older people and carers commented on how sharing responsibilities for medication varied on a day-to-day basis, as well as expressing concern regarding the changing needs of the older person and the carer's capacity to cope.

CONCLUSIONS
  Older people and their carers work together in diverse and sometimes complex ways to manage medication. Problems included dilemmas relating to the sharing of information, patient determination, disputes about the control of medication and concerns about the future.

RELEVANCE TO PRACTICE
  These patterns of partnership need to be recognized and taken into account by health professionals when providing information, advice and support. They need to listen for indications of differing perspectives and be aware of their possible implications for adherence to medication regimens. In caring for older people, health professionals need to find a balance that respects their autonomy whilst providing support for carers to enable them to be effective in their roles.


Ocean acidification is changing surface water chemistry, but natural variability due to nearshore processes can mask its effects on ecosystem responses. We present an approach of quantitatively resolving net ecosystem metabolism from an array of long‐term time series stations, offering perhaps the longest record of such processes over a reef to date. We used 8 and 6 yr of in situ, high‐quality frequency observations to characterize the changes in dissolved inorganic carbon and oxygen in La Parguera, Puerto Rico and Cheeca Rocks, Florida, respectively. Net respiration and net dissolution are the dominant metabolic processes at both systems, with a narrow window of ~ 4 months under net calcification. The annual mean net ecosystem calcification (NEC) rates for La Parguera (−0.68 ± 0.91 kg CaCO3 m−2 yr−1) and Cheeca Rocks (−0.48 ± 0.89 kg CaCO3 m−2 yr−1) were on the lower end of typical NEC ranges determined for other reef areas using chemistry‐ and census‐based approaches. At Cheeca Rocks, 53% of the variance in NEC can be explained by net ecosystem production (NEP) and 30% by aragonite saturation state (Ωarag). At La Parguera, NEC is primarily driven by changes in NEP. The linear relationship between NEC and NEP showed a significant slope (± standard error) of 1.00 ± 0.005 and 0.88 ± 0.04 for La Parguera and Cheeca Rocks, respectively. These results suggest that NEP appears to play a prominent role on NEC, and Ωarag probably is not the most informative measure to monitor when attempting to resolve the long‐term impacts of ocean acidification.


Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is an arthropod‑borne viral disease characterised by a short‑term clinical expression that can lead to significant losses in high‑yielding cattle and water buffaloes. In this study, we aimed to generate a recombinant plasmid expressing the glycoprotein (G) of the BEF virus (BEFV) and to stimulate a humoral immune response to this protein in BALB / c mice immunised with the recombinant plasmid. Expression of the encoded protein was demonstrated by western blotting and immunoperoxidase tests. The suitable plasmids were intramuscularly administered to BALB/c mice on days 0, 14 and 21. The antibody response in the immunised mice was measured by a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) and enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). According to BEFV ELISA, only two of the seven animals in these groups exceeded the cut‑off value. A significant difference was observed in the mean OD values at 450 nm absorbance in the pcDNA4‑G‑immunised group when compared with those in the plasmid control group at 30 days (p < 0.05). According to PRNT50 results, a 1:20 (p < 0.05) antibody response was obtained at 30 days in pcDNA4‑G (100 μg)‑immunised mice, whereas this ratio was 1:80 (p < 0.001) in BEFV‑immunised mice (1,000 PFU/0.5 ml). We conclude that the humoral immune response was stimulated in experimental mice immunised with the recombinant plasmid. However, disappointingly, the antibody response was markedly low in pcDNA4‑G‑immunised mice.


Numerical groundwater flow and solute transport models are usually subject to model structural error due to simplification and/or misrepresentation of the real system, which raises questions regarding the suitability of conventional least squares regression‐based (LSR) calibration. We present a new framework that explicitly describes the model structural error statistically in an inductive, data‐driven way. We adopt a fully Bayesian approach that integrates Gaussian process error models into the calibration, prediction, and uncertainty analysis of groundwater flow models. We test the usefulness of the fully Bayesian approach with a synthetic case study of the impact of pumping on surface‐ground water interaction. We illustrate through this example that the Bayesian parameter posterior distributions differ significantly from parameters estimated by conventional LSR, which does not account for model structural error. For the latter method, parameter compensation for model structural error leads to biased, overconfident prediction under changing pumping condition. In contrast, integrating Gaussian process error models significantly reduces predictive bias and leads to prediction intervals that are more consistent with validation data. Finally, we carry out a generalized LSR recalibration step to assimilate the Bayesian prediction while preserving mass conservation and other physical constraints, using a full error covariance matrix obtained from Bayesian results. It is found that the recalibrated model achieved lower predictive bias compared to the model calibrated using conventional LSR. The results highlight the importance of explicit treatment of model structural error especially in circumstances where subsequent decision‐making and risk analysis require accurate prediction and uncertainty quantification.


Summary form only given. The semiconductor industry has increased the size of wafers from 150 mm to 450 mm to improve productivity. This change has necessitated the need for innovations in the sizes of FABs, equipments, and transportation systems. the increase in the size of FABs, in particular, has resulted in many changes in transportation systems. The increase in wafer sizes has led to an increase in front opening unified pod (FOUP) weight, reducing manual handling by operators and bringing to light the importance of automated material handling systems (AMHS). The transportation systems of FABs can be largely divided into intra-bay and inter-bay. The initial 150 mm FABs relied only on overhead shuttles (OHS) for automatic inter-bay transportation, while the 200 mm FABs added automatic guided vehicles (AGV) for automatic intra-bay transportation. The 300 mm FABs introduced a segregated approach where high-speed overhead hoist transports (OHT) are used for intra bay transportation and OHSpsilas are used for inter-bay transportation. The inefficiency of operating intra-bay and inter-bay transportation in a segregated manner in 300 mm FABs has recently been raised, so a unified approach where OHTpsilas are used for both intra- and inter-bay transportation has been developed. Also, side track buffers (STB) and under track buffer (UTB) have been installed on OHT rails to minimize the footprint of stockers, resulting in minimal equipment rundown and reduced turn-around time (TAT) of semiconductor production. The standard for 450 mm fabs is currently being heavily discussed within the International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI).


An investigation is undertaken to ascertain the suitability of network based nonparametric regression for multivariate nonlinear system identification and fault detection. A network that makes use of the theory of autoregressive models and functional approximation is proposed. A feature of this network is the use of different basis functions in each hidden layer. Observation of the network weights shows which basis functions dominate, thereby revealing information about the physical system. During this analysis step, only the dominant functions are retained to reduce error variance. In a further refinement step, several sigmoid functions are added to the network to generate a smooth stepwise approximation to the part of the mapping unexplained by the dominant basis functions. By implementing the network, it is possible to generate a structural model for a 3 kW induction motor. The network exhibits a 100% success rate in the detection of 1.8 A armature current variations.


Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of tendoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of peroneal tendon (PT) pathologies, and to evaluate the results of our technical modification. Methods: Twenty ankles of 18 patients with retrofibular pain, operated on between 2006 and 2012, were included in this study. Peroneal tendoscopy was performed diagnostically for the patients who were diagnosed as having "peroneal tendinopathy" with physical examination, x-ray, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After being diagnosed by peroneal tendoscopy, patients were definitively treated with either tendoscopy or open surgery. Results: Thirteen of 20 ankles had accompanying ankle pathology with PT pathology, and the other 7 ankles had no concomitant pathology. We detected peroneal tenosynovitis (PTS) in 13 patients, PT tear in 7 patients, and vincula thickening in 1 patient. The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) score was 76 preoperatively, and after 2 years' follow-up the AOFAS score was 96. Conclusion: Tendoscopy is a useful method for the diagnosis and treatment of PT pathologies. The patients with clinical suspicion of PT pathology were treated or diagnosed by peroneal tendoscopy with our technical modification. Level of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series.


Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease in individuals with a history of multiple concussions or other forms of repetitive brain injury. A definite diagnosis can only be made post-mortem and it is unclear why some individuals appear more susceptible to progressive neurological symptoms following repetitive brain injury than others. CTE has become a major concern in individuals exposed to increased risk of concussion, for example, sports athletes and some military personnel, but its prevalence in such risk groups is unknown. The condition shares some molecular pathologies with other neurodegenerative disorders and it appears that repetitive concussion can initiate a degenerative process involving protein misfolding that may propagate over the brain many years after the trauma. Clinical manifestations of CTE include a wide range of neurological and psychiatric symptoms. These should be treated but presently there is no disease-modifying therapy against CTE. In contrast to most other neurodegenerative diseases, the condition is preventable.

Key Concepts

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) may develop secondary to repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries.
A definite diagnosis of CTE can only be made post-mortem.
CTE can be prevented but not cured – prevention and symptomatic treatment are important.
Brain changes in CTE should be possible to detect and monitor using biomarkers.
It is important to study risk factors for CTE – why do some individuals appear to be more susceptible to chronic and sometimes progressive symptoms following traumatic brain injury than others?

Keywords:

chronic traumatic encephalopathy;
traumatic brain injury;
diffuse axonal injury;
concussion;
biomarkers;
neuropathology;
tau;
amyloid;
contact sports


For a language learner, any new word is a pseudoword. A pseudoword is a string of of letters or phonemes that sounds like an existing word in a language, though it has no meaning in the lexicon. On the other hand, speakers are well aware of permissible phonemes, their frequencies and collocations in their language due to the phonotactics inherent in the language. For example, saktal is a pseudoword in Turkish, whereas szyan is not, due to Turkish phonotactics. This study investigates the relationship between pseudoword letter formation and eye movement characteristics in reading. In particular, we examine the role of Turkish vowel harmony, middle-word consonant collocation, and word-initial and word-final consonants on eye movements with adult native speakers reading sentences that involve predesigned Turkish pseudowords. The results of an experiment with 34 participants are indicative of the role of pseudoword formation on a set of eye movement parameters.


Numerous phenomena in supply chain management (SCM) involve more than one level of theory and analysis, such as individuals within groups, groups within organizations, and organizations in the supply chain. Furthermore, multilevel analysis has made the simultaneous testing of hypotheses at multiple levels a reality. However, while other disciplines have made steps toward adopting a multilevel perspective, the majority of SCM research still conceptualizes research questions at a single level. We provide theoretical reasoning for incorporating multilevel research into our discipline and a framework that outlines future research opportunities that would benefit from the incorporation of a multilevel approach. We also provide examples from the SCM literature to demonstrate how multilevel research can be used to enrich understanding of real-world SCM phenomena.


Recent studies indicate that dietary interventions have the potential to prevent and even treat cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death. Many of these studies have focused on various animal models that are able to recreate one or more conditions or elevate risk factors that characterize the disease. Here, we highlight macronutrient-focused interventions in both mammalian model organisms and humans with emphasis on some of the most relevant and well-established diets known to be associated with cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment. We also discuss more recent dietary interventions in rodents, monkeys, and humans, which affect atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases with focus on those that also delay aging.


Secondarily sensitive receptor balancer cells comprise the gravity receptor in the aboral organ-polivalent organ of Ctenophora. Ctenophora are phylogenetically the first animals which created receptor cell supplied with a single flagellar kinocilium connected with the otolithic apparatus. The receptor balancer cells are innervated by the nerve fiber branched off the nerve cells of the aboral ganglion. The localization of AChE, BuChE products of cytochemical reaction on sodium suggests that the cholinergic mechanism may take part in the process of synaptic transmission. Our morphological data cannot exclude an adrenergic mechanizm also.


In traditional models for word-of-mouth recommendations and viral marketing, the objective function has generally been based on reaching as many people as possible. However, a number of studies have shown that the indiscriminate spread of a product by word-of-mouth can result in overexposure, reaching people who evaluate it negatively. This can lead to an effect in which the over-promotion of a product can produce negative reputational effects, by reaching a part of the audience that is not receptive to it. How should one make use of social influence when there is a risk of overexposure? In this paper, we develop and analyze a theoretical model for this process; we show how it captures a number of the qualitative phenomena associated with overexposure, and for the main formulation of our model, we provide a polynomial-time algorithm to find the optimal marketing strategy. We also present simulations of the model on real network topologies, quantifying the extent to which our optimal strategies outperform natural baselines.


A standing-wave model based on ldquocoldrdquo cavity mode expansion is proposed and presented for simulation of distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor lasers. The model is validated against the well-established traveling-wave model in terms of the static and dynamic characteristics of typical DFB lasers. Effects such as the longitudinal variation of carrier and photon densities and nonlinear gain saturation, known as the spatial and spectral hole burning, respectively, are all included in this model. Simulation examples show that the proposed approach is computationally more efficient than the traveling-wave model. The impact of the expansion mode truncation on the accuracy and efficiency is also investigated and discussed.


Heavy-particle therapy such as carbon ion therapy is currently very popular because of its superior conformality in terms of dose distribution and higher Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE). However, carbon ion beams produce a complex mixed radiation field, which needs to be fully characterised. In this study, the fragmentation of a 290 MeV/u primary carbon ion beam was studied using the Geant4 Monte Carlo Toolkit. When the primary carbon ion beam interacts with water, secondary light charged particles (H, He, Li, Be, B) and fast neutrons are produced, contributing to the dose, especially after the distal edge of the Bragg peak.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) features of the corneal epithelium and stroma in dogs and cats with herpetic dendritic ulcerative keratitis.

ANIMALS
6 client-owned dogs and 10 client-owned cats with herpetic dendritic ulcerative keratitis (affected group) and 10 dogs and 10 cats from specific-pathogen-free laboratory colonies (nonaffected group).

PROCEDURES
After complete ophthalmic examination, IVCM corneal examination was performed on the clinically diseased eyes of animals in the affected group and on both eyes of animals in the nonaffected group. Results by species were compared between groups.

RESULTS
In the affected group, all 6 dogs had unilateral ocular lesions (total, 6 eyes examined), whereas 7 cats had unilateral lesions and 3 cats had bilateral lesions (total, 13 eyes examined). For the nonaffected group, 20 cat eyes and 20 dog eyes were examined. Corneal epithelial morphological abnormalities were identified in all examined eyes of animals in the affected group and in no examined eyes of the nonaffected group. Hyperreflective punctate opacities and inflammatory cells were present in all epithelial layers in examined eyes of affected animals but were absent in nonaffected animals. Similarly, Langerhans cells and anterior stromal dendritic cells were identified in corneas of eyes examined for animals in the affected group but not in any eye of animals in the nonaffected group. Stromal changes were less consistent in the affected group, but absent in the nonaffected group.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results indicated that herpetic dendritic ulcerative keratitis in dogs and cats is associated with microanatomic corneal abnormalities that can be detected by IVCM.


This paper presents an overview of Arena--an extendible modeling system that is built on SIMAN/Cinema. A key idea behind Arena is the concept of tailorability to a specific application domain through the use of a template.


Fusulinid Foraminifera are important for biostratigraphic correlation of strata in the Upper Paleozoic of the central and southwestern United States due to their high abundance and diversity in shallow marine carbonates. These correlations rely on consistent species-level identifications as well as geographically consistent morphological variation within species. However, many taxonomically important characters are described qualitatively, which can lead to conflicting identifications among taxonomists and cause biostratigraphic disagreements. Quantitative morphometric comparisons among species can increase the consistency of identifications among workers and capture temporal and geographic morphological gradients. Here, we used 14 linear measurements to describe the morphology of 18 biostratigraphically important species within the genus Triticites. Canonical variates analysis (CVA) showed that whereas specimens of a given species occupy similar areas of morphospace, species overlap considerably and, thus, these linear measurements poorly differentiate among species. However, species morphology covaried with geological age and multivariate analyses focused on age differences reveal an increase in the size of the initial chamber (proloculus) and a relative decrease in test expansion along the long axes over time. These morphological changes are consistent with an adaptation to shallow water conditions following the fall in relative sea-level across the Virgilian-Newwellian/Bursumian transition. Given the consistency of the morphological shift among North American basins, these morphological changes may be more useful for the recognition of the Virgilian-Newwellian/Bursumian transition than species-level biozones because they do not depend on consistent species identification.


The sprocket wheel and pallet cars of industrial sintering machine utilize the gear and pin rack gear meshing to drive focused on the defects of velocity fluctuation and arching during running process, motion features for sprocket wheel and pallet cars line were analyzed. In this paper, based on virtual prototype motion simulation, using ADAMS simulation software, the regulars of motion which are the velocity and acceleration of the upper and lower pallet cars line and the angular velocity of tail sprocket wheel were analyzed. And then, the reasons of velocity fluctuation have been found. Simulation analysis results are consistent with the actual situation. We obtain the movement rule of traditional type sintering machine. Study results can provide the theoretical basis which can be used to solve the problems of velocity fluctuation in future.


The role of the school librarian (SL) is evolving to better meet the needs of a school in an increasingly digital learning environment. This case study research of an exemplary district level library program explores what is currently working by examining the valued competencies of SLs and contextual factors that enable strong library programs in 1:1 device settings. The findings suggest that SLs are expected to be change agents, relationship builders, curriculum developers, and creators of virtual library services. Critical contextual factors are district buy-in, rebranding, and an integrated approach to library services. The findings could inform curricular improvements for educator preparation programs and professional developers as well as increase SLs' understanding of how they can strengthen their own practice and raise administrators' awareness of the powerful ways they can support the school community.


The paper examines various oppositions of autobiographical models of Bunin and Proust and the difference between the mnemonic actions of the autobiographical subjects of Bunin and Proust, whose ars memorativa principles are an ambivalent combination of rational efforts and 'involuntary memory'. For Bunin the memory is an instinctive-irrational entity that ensures the integrity of the subject and the ontological essence of the reality of his consciousness, while for Marcel Proust it is an tool, which when stubbornly used allows to structure the reality of the past and overcome the state of epistemological uncertainty painful for Proust (but blissful for Bunin). Where Bunin stops in an indistinct, incomprehensible delight in front of the mystery and unpredictability of life, Proust is uncomfortable with the inability to clearly identify the phenomenon or impression and analytically decomposes memory into components, inventing 'mnemoforming' and 'mnemosaving' technologies. The author concludes that, unlike Proust, whose modernist project exposes numerous processes of interaction between reality and consciousness, memory and creativity, Bunin's autobiographical discourse is characterized by a fusion of life and creativity in the organic fabric of the memorial ornament.


Background: Phytophthora blight (PB), caused by Phytophthora drechsleri f. sp. cajani, is soil borne disease of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L). The use of PGPR in agriculture leads to alternative disease management of crop in a sustainable ecofriendly way. Methods: In vitro and In vivo experimentation was conducted at �elds of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during kharif season of 2017-18 to study the percentage of blight inhibition by rhizobacteria and production potential in pigeonpea. The present study consisted of 6 treatments of dual inoculation of antagonistic bacteria with recommended rhizobium of PAU (LAR-06). Results: The selected rhizoisolates were studied against Phytophthora drechsleri caused stem blight of pigeonpea. The allelochemicals and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria traits involved in antagonistic behavior signi�cantly inhibited the growth of the test fungus. Scanning electron microscopy between potential rhizoisolates and test fungus revealed intumescent hyphae with irregular cell surface morphology. The synergistic effects of LAR-06 + S-2 and LAR-06+ S-18 were found to be the most potent ones in inhibiting the radial growth of the test pathogen with increased yield production in the �eld as well as greenhouse conditions. The present study strongly suggests that potential rhizobacteria (S-2 and S-18) can be explored as potent inoculant along with recommended Rhizobium, PAU (LAR-06) for bio fertilization of pigeonpea. It also induced systemic resistance against soil-pathogen under low input technology for improving pulses production in sustainable agriculture.


We report development of a novel label-free continuous cell separation method for the extraction of rare cells from a limited amount of sample. The separation method is based on specific adhesion between target cells and antibody immobilized on oblique micro grooves etched into the channel wall. Due to asymmetric adhesive force, cross-flow displacement of the target cells is induced. Label-free lateral separation of micro beads as the cell model has been successfully achieved. Cross-flow displacement of human umbilical-vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with the CD31 antibody is also demonstrated.


This study examined discursively produced transnational masculinities through mediated Korean-born sport celebrities playing in the major league baseball. Considering that studies of men and masculinity are more likely to offer richer, more in-depth analyses when they recognize the intersections of class, race, gender, sexuality, and nationality, this research explored diverse and plural conflations of contemporary masculinities in transnational contexts. In the process, I took into account a variety of theoretical approaches including post-colonial feminist theory, queer theory, critical race theory, new manism theory, and hegemonic theory in order to find a more appropriate theoretical framework for the analysis of transnational subjectivities. Linking theoretical frames with feminist critical discourse analysis and Fairclough's three dimensions of critical discourse analysis, I investigated multiple media sport texts including online newspapers and reader comments in US and South Korean contexts. Based on a total number of 108 media texts in online newspapers, six distinguishing thematic discourses were analyzed: athletic masculinities, heterosexual patriarchal masculinities, militarized masculinities, trans/nationalist masculinities, Korean Confucian masculinities, and color solidarity. Through analyzing a total number of 83 media texts in reader comments, also, four dominant discourse categories were identified: othering masculinities, regulating bodies, commodified transnational masculinities, and multifaceted androcentric nationalism. The results illustrate that diversely conflated transnational relationships and the intersectional factors including race, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality have an influence on shaping the hybridity of Korean sporting masculinities. Resisting a dominant dichotomous perception that the western males and masculinities are standardized as a norm but Asian/Korean males and masculinities are merely effeminate, the results of this study effectively illuminate newly racialized transnational subjects and the masculinities under the power of new imperialism.


BACKGROUND
This study examined the effect of fathers' alcoholism and associated risk factors on toddler compliance with parental directives at 18 and 24 months of age.

METHODS
Participants were 215 families with 12-month-old children, recruited through birth records, who completed assessments of parental substance use, family functioning, and parent-child interactions at 12, 18, and 24 months of child age. Of these families, 96 were in the control group, 89 families were in the father-alcoholic-only group, and 30 families were in the group with two alcohol-problem parents. Child compliance with parents during cleanup situations after free play was measured at 18 and 24 months. The focus of this paper is on four measures of compliance: committed compliance, passive noncompliance, overt resistance, and defiance.

RESULTS
Sons of alcohol-problem parents exhibited higher rates of noncompliance compared with sons of nonalcoholic parents. Sons in the two-alcohol-problem parent group seemed to be following a trajectory toward increasing rates of noncompliance. Daughters in the two-alcohol-problem parent group followed an opposite pattern. Other risk factors associated with parental alcohol problems also predicted compliance, but in unexpected ways.

CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that early risk for behavioral undercontrol is present in the toddler period among sons of alcoholic fathers, but not among daughters.


This paper deals with a study on resource management strategies in Low Earth orbit mobile satellite systems (LEO-MSSs). A suitable mobility model has been proposed. Fixed channel allocation (FCA) has been considered. Moreover, we have foreseen that inter-beam handover requests, which do not immediately find service, can be queued in order to reduce the handover failure rate. An analytical approach has been developed to compare two different queuing disciplines and its results have been compared with simulations.


Online social networking has become the predominant activity in the digital world thanks to multimedia data (mainly photos) sharing (e.g., photos now represent 93% of the top posts on Facebook). Discovering events where users are involved using their own posts and those shared by their friends would be of great importance. In this paper, we address this issue by providing an original approach able to detect, enrich and also link user's events using photos shared within his online social networks. Using metadata, our approach provides a multidimensional gathering of similar photos using their temporal, geographical, and social facets. To validate our approach, we implemented a prototype called Foto2Events and conducted a set of experiments on real and generated data. Results show that our approach works well for various metadata distributions. Keywords—image clustering; metadata; event detection


Incidences of cryo-benthic communities beneath ice shelves are rare and recent discoveries. Images taken by seal-borne cameras at Drescher Inlet (Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf, eastern Weddell Sea) in 2004 led to the discovery of a hitherto unknown cryo-benthic community of crustaceans being attached head-down to the underside of the floating ice shelf at depths between 130-150m (Watanabe et al. 2006). Resolution and exposure of these images did not allow distinct identification on species level, being considered as likely isopods or cnidarians, and no information could be gained on the composition, size, dimension and density of the faunal aggregation at that time. Recently, however, a re-assessment and augmentation of the earlier findings (Bornemann et al. 2016) has become feasible due to the use of combined seal- and ROV-borne imagery and novel sampling technologies.

The Drescher Inlet is a 25km long and between 2 and 4km wide crack in the Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf and characterized by perennial fast ice that disintegrates at irregular intervals. The fast ice of the inlet provides habitat for Weddell seals, hauling-out along tidal cracks in numbers of 200 – 300 individuals. In December 2016 German logistics and the research platforms Neumayer Station III and RV Polarstern coordinated a field camp on the ice shelf close to the inlet that had been maintained for four weeks.

Weddell seals were instrumented with infrared still picture camera loggers (IR-DSL; Little Leonardo, JP) or CTD-combined satellite relay data loggers (CTD-SRDL; Sea Mammal Research Unit, UK). A Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV; Ocean Modules, SE) was launched through a hole dug in the fast ice near the shelf ice cliffs.

Seal-borne IR-DSLs took close-ups of aggregations of isopods underneath the floating ice shelf at 100m water depth. ROV-borne high resolution video footage showed dense aggregations of a single morphospecies of filter-feeding isopods. Significant size differences and clustering of the isopod aggregations imply a specific association of adults and juvenile life stages along the scallop structure of the shelf ice underside. A custom-made ROV-mounted dredge collected several specimens at depths between 60 and 80m. Molecular barcodes from a dozen specimens from all size classes and both sexes revealed all individuals as members of a single species. Furthermore, an exact molecular match of these newly sampled cryobenthic isopods with Antarcturus cf. spinacoronatus from nearby benthic communities (Baltzer et al. 2000) confirms that this species inhabits the seabed, too, albeit at significantly lower abundances.

The aggregations of isopods are likely to represent an attractive food horizon, where seals could benefit from a local hotspot of highly biological productivity. The factors contributing to this hotspot and its relation to physical processes are not yet understood. We therefore compiled available local physical and biological data and will discuss their relevance in the wider regional context for this faunal hotspot. These include data on shelf, sea and platelet ice, seafloor topography, and hydrography, as well as associated pelagic and benthic marine life.

Diving profile data from over thirty adult Weddell seals that had been instrumented with time-depth recorders during the course of six field campaigns between 1990 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed using an automated broken stick algorithm (Heerah et al. 2014), to identify within-dive hunting phases and to correlate those to the local physical environment of the Drescher Inlet. A tri-modal frequency distribution of mean hunting depths suggests that Weddell seals concentrated their foraging in three depth strata corresponding with pelagic (20-50m), shelf ice associated (110-160m), and demersal (below 370m) foraging depths. Midwater and demersal foraging depths are concordant with data from air-borne and bathymetric measurements of the shelf ice contour and seafloor topography.

Our results indicate that earlier reports of increased mid-water foraging of Weddell Seals (Plotz et al. 2001; Liebsch et al. 2007) and the identification of filter-feeding isopods on seal-borne still images from the underside of the shelf ice (Watanabe et al. 2006) are causally linked.


The aim of this work is to present the variation in the sterlet's (Acipenser ruthenus L. 1758) diet along the course of the River Danube, from 1694 to 852 river km. The diet of sterlet mostly comprised 12 bottom fauna taxa. Sterlet in the Danube feed mainly on larvae of Trichoptera, Chironomidae (Diptera) and Gammaridae (Amphipoda), with a reduction in food composition variability close to the Djerdap I dam and in the reservoir between the two dams. The other components of the diet were Corophium sp., Asselus sp., Mollusca, Oligochaeta, Annelida, Insecta, Nematoda and Hirudinea. The organisms typical of lithorheophilic and psammorheophilic biocoenoses play a considerable role in the diet of the sterlet. Composition of bottom fauna as food items varies due to changes in environmental conditions induced mainly by the construction of two dams: Djerdap I (943 river km, 1970) and Djerdap II (863 river km, 1984).


The Texas Digital Library is now offering preservation service via DuraCloud™, an open source technology developed by DuraSpace.  In 2014, the membership of the TDL formed a Working Group to explore the software and define best practices, given the diverse approaches to the issue of preservation.  In January 2015 we first announced the service and made the service available in Spring of 2015. In this presentation, the Texas Digital Library will describe how our implementation of the DuraCloud™ software provides multiple upload options for preservationists through a selection of interfaces and tools intended to serve a variety of audiences, from librarians at their desktop to server administrators working at the command line.  We will describe how DuraCloud™@TDL fits in to varying environments as a primary or third party preservation solution, and we will also define the array of options for durable, reliable storage infrastructure for preservationists in the care of the unique collections of their institutions. Looking forward, TDL will discuss the issues regarding preservation management and challenges we are addressing with users such as format management and metadata management within DuraCloud™@TDL.  TDL will present planned next steps for additional services such as integration of DuraCloud™@TDL with DSpace, using DuraCloud™ as a platform for utilization of the Digital Preservation Network, and the potential for using DuraCloud™ to serve content to the public. We will be joined by representatives of DuraSpace who will present information about the ongoing development of DuraCloud™as well as future plans for DuraCloud features/functionality and integrations. In addition, TDL and DuraSpace will discuss how TDL community activities tie to the broader trends of DuraCloud customer use and the joint efforts between the two organizations to create resources and best practices around preserving content in a cloud environment. Lastly, ways in which TDL and others can assist development as part of the DuraCloud user-base and the overall DuraSpace community will be highlighted.


Differentiation involves repression of genes governing proliferation and self-renewal, and transcriptional activation of lineage-specific genes. The mechanisms underlying these changes are epigenetic. In cancer cells differentiation genes are locked into a transcriptionally inactive state. Recent results show that in spite of the diversity of the genetic lesions leading to a cancerous phenotype, it may still be possible to release this block and to force differentiation. The key may be microRNAs (miRNAs) which directly or indirectly target epigenetic modifiers. These miRNAs could allow the non-toxic differentiative approach currently adopted in some hematologic malignancies to apply to solid tumors.


This paper examines the stratigraphy, structure, and seismicity of the Peter the First Range, an actively deforming foreland basin in Soviet Tadjikistan. The range represents a highly deformed segment of a large intracontinental basin, the Tadjik Depression, which is being shortened in response to the Cenozoic convergence between two orogenic massifs, the Pamir and the Tien Shan Ranges. The Late Jurassic to Paleogene stratigraphy of the Peter the First Range includes more than 2,000 m of shallow marine to nonmarine sediments deposited under relatively quiescent conditions, close to sea level. In contrast, the correlative units of the northernmost Pamir, directly south of the Peter the First Range, show evidence of proximity to a major, uplifted source area to the south. These Mesozoic-early Cenozoic strata are overlain by thick sequences of alluvial sandstone and conglomeratic units that coarsen upward through the Neogene and record the progressive uplift of the Pamir. Shortening within the Peter the First Range is recorded by kilometer-scale isoclinal, upright-to-over-turned folds, and imbricate, north-verging thrusts that emerge near the northern edge of the range and mark the active tectonic boundary with the Tien Shan. Most of the deformation appears to postdate the accumulation of the Mio-Pliocene molasse. The stratigraphy and structure of the region are best explained by a model of the Mesozoic Tadjik Depression as an intracontinental, foreland basin, developed in a back-arc position with respect to the active Andean or collisional orogens located in northern Afghanistan and the Pamir. Seismicity in the region is dominated by earthquakes extending from the surface to ∼12-km depth, apparently occurring within the deformed sediments of the Peter the First Range. A subhorizontal zone of relatively low activity at this depth may mark the location of a basal detachment that underlies a structurally thickened sedimentary section. This aseismic zone is in turn underlain by a south-dipping belt of seismicity that extends from about 17- to 35-km depth, and which can be traced updip to the seismogenic crystalline basement of the Tien Shan range to the north. We interpret this south-dipping structure as a zone of intracontinental subduction that may be an updip continuation of the enigmatic, intermediate-depth Wadati-Benioff Zone beneath the Pamir Range to the south.


In many applications of DC-DC converters, loads cannot be specified in advance, i.e., their amplitudes are suddenly changed from the zero to the maximum rating. Generally, design conditions are changed for each load and then each controller is re-designed. Then, a so-called robust DC-DC converter which can cover such extensive load changes and also input voltage changes with one controller is needed. Analog control IC is used usually for the controller of DC-DC converter. Simple integral control etc. is performed with the analog control IC. However it is difficult to retain sufficient robustness of DC-DC converter by these techniques. The authors proposed the method of designing an approximate 2-degree-of-freedom (2DOF) controller of DC-AC converter. This controller has an ability to attain sufficient robustness against extensive load and DC power supply changes. For applying this approximate 2DOF controller to DC-DC converter, it is necessary to improve the degree of approximation for better robustness. In this paper, we propose a method of designing high-order approximate 2DOF digital controller which makes the control bandwidth wider, and at the same time makes a variation of the output voltage very small at a sudden change of resistive load. The proposed high-order approximate 2DOF digital controller is actually implemented on a DSP and is connected to a DC-DC converter. Experimental studies demonstrate that this type digital controller can satisfy given specifications.


PATH has drawn on its global experience from our total market approach (TMA) work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Uganda, and Vietnam to produce a TMA planning guide to increase access to family planning. The guide and toolkit (Planning Guide for a Total Market Approach to Increase Access to Family Planning: Toolkit and Glossary), produced by The Evidence Project, contain practical information and specific tools to help organizations and other planners conduct a landscape assessment, the first phase in developing a TMA. | These resources are part of a larger toolkit, which also includes an in-depth market analysis and two-volume handbook produced by MEASURE Evaluation, and a joint publication by all three projects (Guide for Assessing the Impact of a Total Market Approach to Family Planning Programs).


Transposon-based technologies are important genetic tools for global genome analysis and, as discussed in the present paper, in detailed studies of protein structure-function. Various different transposition systems can be used in these studies but this paper uses Tn5-related systems as a model. In particular, the following four different technologies are described in this paper: (i) using transposition to generate nested deletion families, (ii) using transposons to generate functional protein fusions to reporter functions, (iii) mapping protein secondary structures through the generation and analysis of in-frame linker insertions and (iv) using sequential transposition events to generate random gene fusions. The success of these forward genetic technologies requires that the transposition system be efficient and manifest near-random target sequence selection.


Influenza and pneumonia continue to be leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States each year. These pathogens can be lethal on their own, but they are particularly dangerous if encountered simultaneously in an influenza-pneumonia superinfection. The severity of the infection can be controlled by the strength of the host's immune response, which is often dependent on the age and species of the host. In this work, the intrahost immune response to respiratory infections is explored with mathematical modeling. We first examine how different species of mice react to an identical Streptococcus pneunoniae infection. A low-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) model is used to model data from four strains of mice, each of which represents a distinct phenotype in response to the infection. By changing only a small number of parameters, representing variations in the strength of the immune response, the output of the model can change significantly. We next examine the complementary study, in which the host species remains constant but the strain of bacteria administered is different. Again adjusting only a few parameters in our small ODE model, we can again reproduce several phenotypes of responses to these varied infections. We then examine the immune response to influenza infection. First, we develop a large ODE model to fit to data from mice infected with either a sublethal or lethal dose of H1N1. The model is the first of its kind to include a detailed study of the inflammatory response to infection. Next we use a Boolean network model to study data taken from adult and elderly mice infected with influenza to assess differences in the immune response that arise with age. Finally, we propose an ODE model of influenza-pneumonia superinfection. In each of these five studies, we discuss the implications of our work for further experiments and identify potential avenues for future research.


Abstract. Oxygen metabolism and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play important roles in the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia. Using multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) imaging, we visualized in vivo changes in cerebral tissue oxygenation during 1 h of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) and at 48 h after reperfusion together with MMP activity using an MMP-activatable probe. The deoxyhemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, and MMP signals were coregistered with structural magnetic resonance imaging data. The ipsi-/contralateral ratio of tissue oxygen saturation (SO2) was significantly reduced during 1 h of tMCAO and recovered after 48 h of reperfusion in tMCAO compared with sham-operated mice (n  =  8 to 10 per group). A higher ipsi-/contralateral MMP signal ratio was detected at 48 h after reperfusion in the lesioned brain regions of tMCAO compared with the sham-operated animal (n  =  4 to 6 per group). Ex vivo near-infrared fluorescence imaging of MMP signal in brain slices was used to validate in vivo MSOT measurements. In conclusion, noninvasive MSOT imaging can provide visualization of hemodynamic alterations and MMP activity in a mouse model of cerebral ischemia.


Recent work has shown that deep learning (DL) techniques are highly effective for assisting network intrusion detection systems (NIDS) in identifying malicious attacks on networks. Training DL classification models, however, requires vast amounts of labeled data which is often expensive and time-consuming to collect. Also, DL models trained using data from one type of network may not be able to identify attacks on other types of network or identify new families of attacks discovered over time. In this paper, we propose and evaluate the use of adversarial domain adaptation to address the problem of scarcity of labeled training data in a dataset by transferring knowledge gained from an existing network intrusion detection (NID) dataset. Our approach works for scenarios where the source and target datasets have same or different feature spaces. We demonstrate that our proposed approach can create highly accurate DL classification models even when the number of labeled samples in the target dataset is significantly small.


The mediatization thesis maintains that media technologies, beginning with print, have profoundly changed human experience. One of its major claims is that media have allowed a new "disembedding," or "distanciation," from the here and now, in a process which now culminates as a so-called deep mediatization. Relying on cultural history and anthropology, this article questions this claim. It contends that mediatization theory is premised on a modern/naturalist, human-centered view of the world as a homogeneous physical nature, dominated by human beings who must resort to technologies to communicate at a distance. This outlook disregards ancient and/or peripheral nonWestern ontologies, and cultural practices such as correspondence, theater, religion, and human language itself, which have long enabled rich forms of distanciation. Such neglected ontologies and practices now combine with modern technology, and could be fruitfully incorporated into mediatization research, both historical and contemporary.


"It's a trap". Transmedia Screen Storytelling: from the immersive experience to participatory interactivity. The current narrative environment sees as protagonists of the production and distribution of content, important franchises, able to colonize the imaginary built on media representations, saturating also the conversations on social media. Think, for example, of memes, videos and UGC that have as a reference such narrative universes. In this context, it is possible to note a structural transformation of the original concept of transmedia (Jenkins 2006), in function of two variables: the circulation of stories through different media, the multiplication of the possibilities of creation and diffusion of the narrative universe by users (Scolari 2013). Such a scenario determines a new balance between producers and consumers, in relation to the dynamics of access to the fruition of the storyworld (Ryan 2014), by virtue of a multiple authorship (Wolf 2014) and a non-sequential narrative (macro-history, interstitial stories, parallel stories, peripheral stories, UGC). In the light of these changes, the paper proposes a reflection on the distribution of transmedia content through screen-based media, privileged points of entry of the narrative, thanks to its intrinsic characteristics (Lipovetsky and Serroy 2011). In particular, the case study "Star Wars", a paradigmatic example of classical transmediality and, at the same time, of evolved transmediality, is explored in depth. Through an analysis of the different productions activated starting from the acquisition of the brand by Disney, a specific parallelism between narration and screen emerges: macro-history produced for cinema, interstitial stories for cinema and television, parallel productions for television and videogames (consoles), peripheral stories for video, social platforms and videogames (consoles and apps). The analysis returns the dimension of a transmedia cultural interface (Manovich 2001) built by screens, which stands as a continuum between the immersive experience of cinema, of collective nature, and the interactive and participatory dimension given by mobile devices, of individual nature.


Holographic reconstruction algorithms based on wave propagation require the object's Z-plane location. The location is determined manually by selecting an image from a set of reconstructed images over a range of Z-planes. We evaluate five autofocus metrics; the standard deviation of Laplacian and Sobel edge detectors, sum of darkest 2% of pixels, sum of the difference of adjacent reconstructed images (DAMP method), and product of the variance of two orthogonal Gabor filters. The metrics were tested on ten classes of plankton collected from field deployments of a submersible digital holographic imaging system (HOLOCAM). Our results indicate that Gabor filters provide the best focus metric performance, correctly predicting focus distance with +/- 100 um for 78% of the images (n=687). The performance of each metric is significantly dependent on the plankton class, from 46% for the round Coscinodiscus class to 100% for the Thalassionema nitzschoid class using the Gabor focus metric. Focus metric waveform analysis provides a prediction confidence to eliminate images likely to produce erroneous Z predictions. Applying focus metrics to reconstructed image segments substantially containing the object greatly improves the performance of the DAMP method. While Gabor filters are the most computationally intensive focus metric evaluated, the Gabor focus metric curves are relatively smooth and unimodal, enabling iterative search methods to reduce the number of reconstructions required to determine focus.


It is estimated that 5 million people in the EU countries (1% of the population) are in the autism spectrum. ASC-Inclusion is a new tool that has been studied, designed and constantly evolving from a multidisciplinary team of prestigious Universities and Organizations in Europe. It is an online platform that helps children with autism disorders and their carers. The results of its use are particularly important since there is a significant improvement in the socialization of children with autism disorders, improved adaptive behavior at home and at school, improved emotional expression and emotional recognition. Its further development and implementation is expected to have major social and economic repercussions.


The environmental impact of hydrocarbon-burning aircraft is one of the main motivations for the move to electric propulsion in aerospace. Also, cars, buses, and trucks are incorporating electric or hybrid-electric propulsion systems, reducing the pressure on hydrocarbons and lowering the costs of electrical components. The economies of scale necessitated by the automotive industry will help contain costs in the aviation sector as well. The use of electric propulsion in airplanes is not a new phenomenon. However, it is only recently that it has taken off in a concrete manner with a viable commercial future. The Electric Flight Technology: Unfolding of a New Future reviews the history of this field, discusses the key underlying technologies, and describes how the future for these technologies will likely unfold, distinguishing between all-electric (AE) and hybrid-electric (HE) architectures. Written by Dr. Ravi Rajamani, it covers the essential information needed to understand this new technology wave taking hold in the aerospace industry. The Electric Flight Technology: Unfolding of a New Future covers fundamental topics such as: • The history of electric propulsion, including its evolution from using traditional electricity, to solar power to batteries as sources to sustain propulsion and flight. • The various architectures being considered for electric aircraft, specifically small general aviation (GA) aircraft and larger business jets; single-aisle commercial aircraft; and larger twin-aisle commercial aircraft. • The various systems and subsystems of an electric aircraft, along with how various subsystems in the vehicle can be integrated in a more optimal manner. In the future, the existing tube-and-wing configuration will not be the only available architecture; instead we will be more likely to find an architecture where the propulsion system is embedded within the airframe. • The future trends in this arena and what we can expect to see in the next decade or so.


Background: The safety and efficacy of supplemental allograft combined with iliac crest autograft as a treatment for cleft alveolus defects is poorly characterized. The authors report the safety and efficacy of supplemental demineralized bone matrix and cancellous allograft with iliac crest bone autograft in cleft alveolar bone defects. Methods: A retrospective review of one institution's experience with cleft alveolar bone defects treated with traditional open iliac crest bone graft alone (group 1) or minimal access iliac crest bone graft plus demineralized bone matrix and cancellous allograft (group 2) was performed. All patients (n = 36) were treated with alveolar fistula repair with primary closure. Results: Twenty-two patients [17 unilateral and five bilateral clefts (n = 27)] were treated in group 1 and 14 [six unilateral clefts and eight bilateral clefts (n = 22)] in group 2. The average operative time per alveolus was 147 minutes in group 1 and 111 minutes in group 2. Average engraftment (Enemark Scale) was 1.96 in group 1 and 1.20 in group 2. In group 1, canine eruption was complete in 71.4 percent, partial in 21.4 percent, and unerupted in 3.5 percent; in group 2, canine eruption was complete in 22 percent, partial in 55 percent, and unerupted in 18 percent. Bone graft extrusion occurred in six patients in group 1. There were no wound infections or deaths. Conclusions: The addition of supplemental demineralized bone matrix and cancellous allograft in cleft alveolar defects is safe and effective. The authors' allograft supplemental surgical technique is associated with low morbidity, shorter operative times, and higher rates of bone graft survival. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.


: Lipoproteid-X was revealed at the onset of the disease in 59.6% of patients with acute viral hepatitis with prevalence of the cholestasis syndrome and cytolysis. Lipoproteid-X may be revealed in moderate activity of alkaline phosphatase. Lipoproteid-X was revealed in 66.7% of patients with chronic cholestatic hepatitis and biliary cirrhosis independent of the duration of the pathological process.


Certain processes in indoor air, such as deposition, partitioning, and heterogeneous reactions, involve interactions with surfaces. We have characterized the surface area, volume, shape, and material of objects in 10 bedrooms, nine kitchens, and three offices. The resolution of the measurements was ∼1 cm. The ratio of surface area with contents to that without contents did not vary by type of room and averaged 1.5 ± 0.3 (mean ± standard deviation) across all rooms. The ratio of the volume minus contents to nominal volume averaged 0.9 ± 0.1 and was lower for kitchens compared to bedrooms and offices. Ignoring contents, the surface-area-to-volume ratio was 1.8 ± 0.3 m-1; accounting for contents, the ratio was 3.2 ± 1.2 m-1, or 78% higher. These two ratios did not vary by type of room and were similar to those measured for 33 rooms in another study. Due to substantial differences in the design and contents of kitchens, their ratios had the highest variability among the three room types. The most common shape of surfaces was flat rectangular, while each room also had many irregularly-shaped objects. Paint-covered surfaces and stained wood were the two most common materials in each room, accounting for an average of 42% and 22% of total surface area, respectively, although the distribution of materials varied by room type. These findings have important implications for understanding the chemistry of indoor environments, as the available surface area for deposition, partitioning, and reactions is higher and more complex than assumed in simple models.