looked by researchers who insist on confining their investigations to "scientific studies"-on rats. ("No word from the rat. Complete objectivity.") A psychiatrist, Professor Alexander Kennedy, contributed the third. In the remaining papers, as In the discussions which are reported in detail, one is struck by the careful attention to detail which accompanies the search for fundamental principles. The student Is seen in lecture hall and tutorial, hospital and laboratory, library and "digs". On the academic side, problems which challenge all tertiary education are discussed in their medical context: how to reduce the number of lectures so that students may learn to think and be better equipped to continue their own professional education: the value of original work; the use of audio-visual aids; the curriculum and advancing knowledge ; the problem of integrating the various specialized studies into a more meaningful whole, especially those of the pre-clinical with the clinical years. It was on the last-mentioned theme that the guest speaker from Harvard, Professor E. G. Ball, spoke. His account of attempts to centre the basic medical sciences "round the morphological and functional characteristics of organs and systems of organs rather than round the discipline" (an experiment which involved team teaching as well) must have been a highlight of the conference. It will no doubt be of especial interest because experIments with a similar purpose are In progress here. But the whole book is informative and stimulating.


This article connects the literatures of administrative burden with those of representative bureaucracy and group identity. We derive two hypotheses from extant scholarship that, adapted to the case of administrative burden, propose the following: Citizens will be more tolerant of burden if their race identity overlaps with that of the bureaucrat administering the burden, and if potential benefits are targeted at people who are similar to them. Using a survey experiment based on a stratified sample of 465 U.S. residents, we find little support for the hypotheses. In fact, while Black participants barely responded to the treatments at all, we see that white participants were most tolerant of burden when served by a white bureaucrat in a program that benefits Black clients. The article calls for more research on the subject to build nuanced theory, including contextualizing propositions across identity groups and drawing on additional theoretical ideas.


This study assessed the impact of a positive psychology intervention in a sample of 40 young men (35%) and women (65%) aged 18-30 years. Participants were 1st and 4th year undergraduate University students, postgraduate students and working youths. The study examined the effects of a battery of interventions commonly used in positive psychology interventions, including a video and three exercises (i.e. expressing gratitude, best possible selves, goal setting) on character strengths, hope, gratitude and social relations. Intervention activities were carried out during a session that lasted an hour and a half, while a further half-hour evaluation session took place after a two-week interval. Marked positive changes were revealed with regards to youths' well-being as a result of the intervention. In particular, elevated levels of hope, perceptions of social support and ability to handle social stress successfully, as well as levels of three out of six key character strengths, i.e. courage, humanity/love and transcendence were observed. Influences of demographic and socio-psychological characteristics of youths on the above variables; constellations of intricate relations between them; as well as certain developmental patterns were also highlighted. The repercussions of the above findings for the advancement of positive psychology knowledge and interventions are discussed.


Texas last week filed a lawsuit seeking to force FDA to decide whether the state may legally import thiopental sodium, a drug crucial to administering lethal injections. In July 2015, U.S. Customs agents, at FDA's request, seized 1,000 vials of thiopental sodium at a Houston airport "for further analysis," according to the court filing. The barbiturate has not been approved by FDA for injection into humans. But the Texas Department of Criminal Justice argues that importation is lawful for the purposes of carrying out death sentences. "FDA has an obligation to fulfill its responsibilities faithfully and in a timely manner," says Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. "My office will not allow FDA to sit on its hands and thereby impair Texas' responsibility to carry out its law enforcement duties." FDA says it does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation. Texas and other states have struggled for years to obtain


Introduction Nephrotic syndrome (NS) relapses are common in children and are diagnosed and treated before the development of oedema, when urine testing shows proteinuria 3+ on >3 consecutive days. However, febrile episodes can also induce proteinuria, 30% of which are transient and require no therapy. Differentiating between them is essential to avoid unnecessary therapy. In a mouse model proven suitable to study human minimal change NS as well as fever, we compare urinary cytokines after experimentally induced NS versus controls with experimentally induced fever. Material and methods A group (NS) of 10 adult mice had experimentally induced NS with intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg/kg of Doxorubicin. Another group (F) of 10 mice had experimentally induced fever with subcutaneous injection of 10 ml/kg of 20% brewer's yeast suspension. They were kept in a metabolic cage and their temperature measured with a rodent monitoring thermometer with a rectal probe. Fever was defined when rectal temperature exceeded 380°C. 24-h urine was collected from the metabolic cage and analysed for interleukins (IL 2 and IL6) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF) by the colorimetric sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique, at baseline and after induction of fever (after 18 h) or NS (after 5 days). Results Urinary IL2 levels remained unchanged in group F and increased by an average of 2.16 pg/ml (SE 1.21) in NS. IL 6 levels increased by 7.9 pg/ml (SE 1.9) or twofold (95% CI 1.8, 2.3) in group F and by 0.4 pg/ml (SE 1.4) or 1.09-fold (95% CI 0.9, 1.3) in NS (p<0.001). TNF levels increased by 183 pg/ml (SE 45) or 3.7-fold (95% CI 0.5 to 7.0) in group F and by 371 pg/ml (SE 85) or 12-fold (95% CI 8.0 to 16.0) in NS (p=0.02). Conclusion(s) Urinary IL2 increased only in the NS group, with TNF increase significantly higher with NS than the group with fever. IL6 increased significantly more in those with fever. Extending this study to children with NS might enable adequate differentiation between genuine NS relapses and proteinuria associated with a febrile illness.


Caveolin-1 and -2 constitute a framework of caveolae in nonmuscle cells. In the present study, we showed that caveolin-2, especially its β isoform, is targeted to the surface of lipid droplets (LD) by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy, and by subcellular fractionation. Brefeldin A treatment induced further accumulation of caveolin-2 along with caveolin-1 in LD. Analysis of mouse caveolin-2 deletion mutants revealed that the central hydrophobic domain (residues 87–119) and the NH2-terminal (residues 70–86) and COOH-terminal (residues 120–150) hydrophilic domains are all necessary for the localization in LD. The NH2- and COOH-terminal domains appeared to be related to membrane binding and exit from ER, respectively, implying that caveolin-2 is synthesized and transported to LD as a membrane protein. In conjunction with recent findings that LD contain unesterified cholesterol and raft proteins, the result implies that the LD surface may function as a membrane domain. It also suggests that LD is related to trafficking of lipid molecules mediated by caveolins.


In-situ spherical icosahedral quasicrystal phase (I-phase) was fabricated in Mg-Zn-Y-based alloys by metal mold casting route. The effects of Mn and/or Cu on spheroidized process, morphology and microhardness of primary I-phase were studied in this paper. The results showed that the solidified morphology of I-phase depended on the stability of spherical I-phase during the subsequent growth and critical radius Rr of the spherical I-phase. Only when actual radius smaller than critical radius Rr can spherical IQC be formed. The effects of the fourth component and degree of undercooling on Rr were studied for the first time. Amazing spherical minisize IQC had been produced by improving cooling rate using a water-cooled copper mold. Multicomponent spherical IQC is hopeful of being strengthening phase to novel metal composites.


BACKGROUND
This systematic review of economic evaluations of universal preventative or targeted treatment parenting interventions that aim to enhance parent-infant interaction is primarily intended to inform decision makers who have to make difficult spending decisions, especially at a time of reduced spending allocations. A synthesis of available costs and savings about parenting interventions that set out to enhance parent-infant interaction is presented. This topic is important specifically in view of the UK Governments' emphasis on the equalities agenda and the early years. The benefits of positive early life experiences, which include good parent-infant interaction, are far reaching and may be positively correlated with improved educational, health and well-being outcomes and reduced criminality.

METHODS
A literature search was undertaken using on-line indexing databases between 2004 and 2014 that included the search terms 'parent', 'infant', 'interaction', 'cost benefit analysis' and their synonyms.

RESULTS
Despite existing economic studies generally focusing upon targeted short-run outcomes, significant savings were observed in the included studies. Parenting interventions could save the health service around £2.5k per family over 25 years and could save the criminal justice system over £145k per person over the life course. In light of the escalating costs of remedial services, these potential savings may provide the UK and other governments with a robust incentive to invest in early years parenting interventions.

CONCLUSIONS
Parenting interventions can be economically efficient and return savings on investment. Moreover, and one might argue as a moral imperative of democratic societies, population health can be improved and health inequalities reduced. An important debate is needed about early years policy, to include acknowledgement of the differences between UK and international healthcare systems and the potential savings from the synergistic and spin-off effects of early years interventions to inform decision-making to fund and implement appropriate action.


In a software product line, security may need to be varied. Consequently, security variability must be managed both from the customer and product line architecture point of view. We utilize design science to build an artifact and a generalized design theory for representing and configuring security and functional variability from the requirements to the architecture in a configurable software product line. An open source web shop product line, Magento, is used as a case example to instantiate and evaluate the contribution. The results indicate that security variability can be represented and distinguished as countermeasures; and that a configurator tool is able to find consistent products as stable models of answer set programs.


Purpose Overactive bladder (OAB) is a clinical syndrome that is currently treated initially with anticholinergics, although some other therapeutic alternatives exist, such as neuromodulation, botulinum toxin, and posterior tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS). The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of PTNS in patients with OAB refractory to anticholinergics. Materials and Methods We present a cohort study of 14 women with OAB to whom we applied PTNS. We assessed (before and after the treatment) the diurnal micturitional frequency, the nocturnal micturitional frequency, urgency episodes, and urge incontinence episodes. Results were analyzed by using the Wilcoxon test for nonparametric samples. Results We observed statistically significant improvement in the diurnal micturitional frequency (p=0.05), in episodes of micturitional urgency (p=0.03), and in episodes of urge incontinence (p=0.004). A total of 50% of the patients felt subjective improvement from their pathology. Conclusions PTNS is a valid, minimally invasive treatment option with minimum morbidity for patients with OAB refractory to treatment with anticholinergics.


Seed orchards with high hereditary qualities and the improvement studies used are of great importance. This study was carried out on individuals in a Boyabat grafted black pine seed orchard, Sinop. The morphological and micromorphological measurements of the characteristics were performed on needle samples taken from individuals, and the genetic diversity was determined on a clonal basis. According to the analysis of variance applied to the data obtained from the measurements and the morphological and micromorphological characters of the clones, it was determined that there was a significant difference among the clones at the P<0.001 confidence level. In this context, according to Duncan's Range test, the creation of a large number of groups is an indicator of it. The highest heritability rates were obtained in needle diameter, stipule diameter, number of the dorsal stoma, and needle length characteristics.


As Peer-to-Peer (P2P) quickly gains popularity for its nearly unlimited scalability, the amount of copyright infringing incidents surges even more rapidly. While record industry pleads for prohibiting P2P by lawmakers, academicians and practitioners turn to look for more constructive ways: using P2P as a profitable and legitimate distribution channel. By offering rebate to those who share content with others, incentive can be provided for hosting copyrighted material as well as motivating product diffusion process. As several business models are already in practice, rigorous studies of this novel distribution mechanism are still largely absent. This dissertation represents one of the first analytical studies of P2P content distribution. Conceptually, it can be divided into three essays. The diffusion models developed in essay 1 builds up the analytical foundations for further optimization. Comprehensive analysis is conducted to reveal the impact of different parameters on the diffusion process, including the rebate, network topology, and searching mechanism. Based on them, essay 2 studies the optimal distribution process under different scenarios. Both static and dynamic rebating strategies are explored to find the optimal rebate amount such that the content distributor's total profit/utility is maximized. Finally, essay 3 studies the economics of P2P distribution. Compared with traditional centralized content distribution schemes, gains and losses of P2P distribution are evaluated in terms of different metrics. The conditions under which P2P distribution is preferred are derived and discussed.


Abstract While techniques have been developed to tackle different tasks in accident management, there have been very few attempts to develop an on-line operator assistance tool for accident management and none that can be found in the literature that uses probabilistic arguments, which are important in today's licensing climate. The state/parameter estimation capability of the dynamic system doctor (DSD) approach is combined with the dynamic event-tree generation capability of the integrated safety assessment (ISA) methodology to address this issue. The DSD uses the cell-to-cell mapping technique for system representation that models the system evolution in terms of probability of transitions in time between sets of user-defined parameter/state variable magnitude intervals (cells) within a user-specified time interval (e.g., data sampling interval). The cell-to-cell transition probabilities are obtained from the given system model. The ISA follows the system dynamics in tree form and braches every time a setpoint for system/operator intervention is exceeded. The combined approach (a) can automatically account for uncertainties in the monitored system state, inputs, and modeling uncertainties through the appropriate choice of the cells, as well as providing a probabilistic measure to rank the likelihood of possible system states in view of these uncertainties; (b) allows flexibility in system representation; (c) yields the lower and upper bounds on the estimated values of state variables/parameters as well as their expected values; and (d) leads to fewer branchings in the dynamic event-tree generation. Using a simple but realistic pressurizer model, the potential use of the DSD-ISA methodology for on-line probabilistic accident management is illustrated.


Experimental and computational investigations of dilute gas/particle flow in a vertical lifter are performed. The effect of superficial gas velocity, particle density, particle size distribution and particle loading on particle velocities, particle fluctuations and particle cross-moment have been studied experimentally using laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The results from the experimental investigation is compared with the computational investigation using FluentR. The experimental measurements are performed on a lab-scale vertical lifter, consisting of a fluidizing silo and a receiving tank with a glass pipe in which the solids phase is transported. The particles are placed in the fluidization tank and transport air enters at the bottom of the silo. The transport pipe is suspended above the inlet and as the transport air passes the opening, the particles are dragged into the air flow and transported upwards to the receiving tank. Fluidizing air is used to control the particle loading in the system and supplied through a distribution plate. The test section of the transport pipe is made of glass to enable the use of the optical laser based investigation techniques, LDA and PIV. Two types of powders are used, ZrO2 and glass, each with two different particle size distributions, average diameter of 260 and 530 micron and 120 and 518 micron, respectively. The experimental techniques LDA and PIV are used to investigate a dilute gas/particle vertical flow. The two techniques are also evaluated for use on this type of flow. LDA is a single point measurement technique, which means that one point is measured at a time. The acquisition stops when a pre-set criteria is reached, this can either be based on sample number or time. A measurement spanning over the whole cross-section of the pipe consists of several points. These points makes up a cross-sectional profile. PIV on the other hand is a whole field technique and consequently the whole cross-section of the pipe is measured simultaneously. Within a given time interval two laser pulses light up the flow and the reflection of the particles is captured by a camera. Satisfactory measurements of all the particle types are performed using LDA. The mean axial and normal particle velocities and fluctuations as well as the cross-moment, are measured at varying particle volume fraction and superficial gas velocity. The value of the measured quantities will vary depending on the particle size, particle density, particle volume fraction and superficial gas velocity. A comparison between the particle types show that the mean axial particle velocity is highest for the lighter and smaller particles, but the fluctuations are greatest for the larger and heavier particles. For smaller particles LDA is a very efficient measurement tool. For the largest particles the acquisition can be time consuming due to relatively few particles in the system. PIV measurements are generally performed satisfactory on all of the particle types. The exception is measurements performed on the smaller particles at the higher particle volume fractions. The mean axial and normal particle velocities and fluctuations including the crossmoments are measured at varying particle volume fraction and superficial gas velocity. The results from the measurements show that the measured quantities will vary depending on the particle size, particle density, particle volume fraction and superficial gas velocity. When comparing the particle types, it is observed that the mean axial particle velocity is highest for the smaller and lighter particles while the fluctuations are lower than for the larger and heavier ones. The combination of particles larger than commonly used tracer particles and higher particle volume fractions is challenging, but overall the PIV technique works well. Comparison between LDA and PIV results show generally a good agreement for the mean axial particle velocity. The mean axial and normal particle fluctuations and the particle crossmoment are generally measured lower when using PIV. Simulations are performed using FluentR and the model Euler-Euler, where both phases are regarded as being continua. The kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF) is included for the solids phase. Initially only the single transport pipe is simulated in 2d and 3d. The flow in this pipe is dilute and therefore the simulations which included KTGF and the Gidaspow drag model are compared to simulations enabling the constant viscosity model (CVM) and the Schiller-Naumann drag model. The results from the simulations show very little difference between the two simulations. Euler-Euler with KTGF 2d and 3d simulations are performed for all of the particle types. Little difference between 2d and 3d simulations are observed. A comparison between simulations and experimental results, LDA and PIV, showed good agreement for axial particle velocity for all of the particle types. The upward transport of particles in a vertical pipe is also simulated using Euler-Lagrange. Here a number of particles are tracked and compared to the experiments with good agreement. Simulations of the vertical lifter, a silo containing the particles and a transport pipe, show that simulations using Euler-Euler including KTGF and the Gidaspow drag model over-predicted the particle volume fraction in the pipe compared to the experiments. The reason for this discrepancy is that the experimental set-up is modified to give low particle volume fractions in the transport pipe to enable the use of lasers to investigate the flow.


This report describes the program and the results of Dagstuhl Seminar 17092 "Search as Learning", which brought together 26 researchers from diverse research backgrounds. The motivation for the seminar stems from the fact that modern Web search engines are largely engineered and optimized to fulfill lookup tasks instead of complex search tasks. The latter though are an essential component of information discovery and learning. The 3-day seminar started with four perspective talks, providing four different views on the topic of search as learning: interactive information retrieval (IR), psychology, education and system-oriented IR. The remainder of the seminar centered around breakout groups leading to new views on the challenges and
issues in search as learning, interspersed with research spotlight talks.


There has been a dramatic increase in the focus on corporate governance reform. This has emboldened corporate shareholders and placed board members and senior management at personal risk for corporate performance. This article discusses the impact of legislation and governance guidelines on the ability of organizations to recruit, select, and ensure that their boards of directors and senior managers are adequately equipped to handle their increasingly challenging responsibilities. Organizations, including those in a turnaround situation, must respond to the new demands of the regulatory environment while still remaining focused on firm performance. What sets effective organizations apart from the rest of the pack is the implementation of effective recruitment, development, retention, and reward systems for senior leaders in addition to focusing on regulatory compliance.


The establishment of Missions among the Indians who were settled in the Kansas region is apart of the story of the "Winning of the West." The fate of the Indian was certain from the very beginning and those forces which fitted him in the end to take his place in the national life as a responsible individual were real factors in progress. The reservation system was but one stage in the gradual crowding of the Indian from his free hunting life and served only as a training school for the next stage of individual responsibility. One of the agencies which helped to tame him on the reservation and which made the transition to the new order possible and easier, was the Christian Mission. The Kansas missions were perhaps typical. At any rate a study of the work attempted and in part accomplished here, will show something of the problems presented, the difficulties met with, and the possible results. For these purposes a detailed study has been made of the missions established in Kansas by the Moravians, the Friends, the Catholics, the Baptists, the Presbyterians and the Methodists. It will be seen that in many ways the work of each denomination was typical of all. For example, the Presbyterian missions among the Osages, the Iowas, Sauks and Foxes or of the Methodist missions among the Shawnees, the Delawares, the Potawatomies, the Peorias, and the Kaskaskias, are in large part similar to the efforts of the Baptist, all of which are treated in later chapters.


Structure and properties of MASHS powder Ti-46Al-8Cr, at. %, have been investigated. The powder is characterized by the multiphase dispersed strengthened structure with coherent precipitates/matrix bonding. Main structural constituents of the powder are titanium aluminides alloyed with chromium: γ-TiAl(Cr), Al0,67Cr0,08Ti0,25 and α2-Ti3Al(Cr). Average powder microhardness is 313 HV0.25. High-quality detonation coatings with high hardness (940-1100 HV) and low porosity (less than 1%) have been obtained from the synthesized powder. The coatings exhibit good oxidation behaviour at 900°C.


s | 41 and anxiolytic properties in several studies. However there is limited data showing the beneficial effect of linalool following exposure to chronic stress. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of linalool in chronic stress rats on behaviour related depressive disorder and BDNF protein in hippocampus. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, 1) Tween 80 + home cage (HC) 2) Tween 80 + restrain stress (RS) 3)  linalool 50 mg/kg + RS 4)  linalool 160 mg/kg + RS and 5)  linalool 500 mg/kg + RS. Either Tween 80 or linalool was intraperitoneally injected to rats daily for two weeks. Some rats were housed in home cage but the others induced chronic restrained stress (15 min daily) for two weeks. At the end of the treatment, rats were assessed for depressive-like behavior using the forced swimming test. Then, the rats were immediately decapitated and hippocampus was removed for the measurement of BDNF protein by ELISA. Restrained rats injected with linalool 500 mg/kg for two weeks significantly reduced immobility time (p<0.05) but increased climbing time (p<0.05) compared their controls, suggesting that this dose produced antidepressant activity. Linalool had no effect on the level of BDNF protein in hippocampus. Therefore, these findings suggest that linalool decreases behaviour related depressive disorder but has no effect on hippocampal BDNF in chronic restrained stress. PS121 Evaluation of extrapyramidal side effects in the treatment of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD): Interactions between antiAlzheimer drugs and antidepressants Saki Shimizu, Akiyoshi Inada, Yukihiro Ohno, Shunsaku Sogabe, Megumi Yamanaka, Ryoto Yanagisako Osaka University of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Japan Abstract Background/Objectives: Antidepressants are often used in conjunction with anti-Alzheimer drugs to treat the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Here, we studied the interactions between anti-Alzheimer drugs, cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), and antidepressants in inducing extrapyramidal side effects (EPS). Methods: Male ddY mice were used. Using the pole test, we examined the actions of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),Background/Objectives: Antidepressants are often used in conjunction with anti-Alzheimer drugs to treat the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Here, we studied the interactions between anti-Alzheimer drugs, cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), and antidepressants in inducing extrapyramidal side effects (EPS). Methods: Male ddY mice were used. Using the pole test, we examined the actions of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), fluoxetine and paroxetine, a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) milnacipran, a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant (NaSSA) mirtazapine in modulating the ChEIs (galantamine and donepezil)-induced bradykinesia. Results: Both fluoxetine and paroxetine significantly potentiated galantamine-induced bradykinesia in a synergistic manner. The EPS augmentation by fluoxetine was antagonized by ketanserin (5-HT2 antagonist) and SB-258585 (5-HT6 antagonist), but not by ondansetron (5-HT3 antagonist). In contrast to SSRIs, milnacipran and mirtazapine failed to augment galantamineinduced EPS. In addition, combined treatment of prazosin (α1 antagonist), but not yohimbine (α2 antagonist), with milnacipran significantly potentiated galantamine-induced EPS. Conclusion: The present results indicate that SSRIs and ChEIs synergistically facilitate the EPS induction, via the activation of 5-HT2 and 5-HT6 receptors, in the treatment of BPSD. The combination of ChEIs with SNRIs (or NaSSA) is recommended in terms of EPS liability for the BPSD therapy, where the activation of α1 receptors by SNRIs seems to reduce EPS. PS122 Overexpression of N-acetyltransferase Shati/Nat8l in the dorsal striatum induces depression-like behaviors in mice. Kengo Sodeyama1, Toshiyuki Fuziwara1, Toh Miyazaki1, Kyosuke Uno1, Shin-ichi Muramatsu2, Toshitaka Nabeshima3, Yoshiaki Miyamoto1, Atsumi Nitta1 1University of Toyama, Toyama, JAPAN, 2Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, JAPAN, 3Meijo University, Nagoya, JAPAN. Abstract Depression is one of the most serious psychological disorders, but its pathogenesis remains unclear and the current medical treatment is mainly restrictive effect. We have identified Shati/ Nat8l, which is containing a well-conserved N-acetyltransferase sequence, in the brain of psychosis animal model. Shati/ Nat8l synthesizes N-acetylaspartate (NAA) from L-aspartate and acetyl-CoA, and NAA is subsequently converted into N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) by being condensed with glutamate. It is reported that NAA and NAAG abundantly exist in human brains and those both or one quantity change in the postmortem brain of patients with psychological disorders including depression. In the present study, to clarify the functional roles of Shati/Nat8l in depression, we investigated various behavioral analyses in Shati/Nat8l-overexpressed mice. Firstly, the expression levels of Shati/Nat8l mRNA were assessed in the brain of depressed C57BL6J mouse model, which was exposed repeated social defeat stress for 10  days following procedure as physical stress for 10 min and sensory stress for 24 hrs by aggressor ICR mice. And, Shati/Nat8l mRNA in the dorsal striatum of the depression mice significantly increased compared with that of control mice. Therefore, mice were microinjected Shati/Nat8l-inserted or non-inserted (Mock) adeno-associated virus vectors into the dorsal striatum. The Shati/Nat8l-overexpressed mice exhibited decreased social interaction and sucrose preference after subthreshold social defeat stress as the exposure to aggressor ICR mice for 5 min×3 on only one day,which showed normal behaviors in the Mock mice. These two phenotypical impairments in the Shati/Nat8loverexpressed mice were ameliorated by treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine at the dose of 10 mg/kg i.p., which has no effect in the Mock mice. These findings suggest that Shati/Nat8l in the striatum play an important role in depression-like behaviors including diminished sociability and pleasure by regulating the serotonergic neuronal system.Depression is one of the most serious psychological disorders, but its pathogenesis remains unclear and the current medical treatment is mainly restrictive effect. We have identified Shati/ Nat8l, which is containing a well-conserved N-acetyltransferase sequence, in the brain of psychosis animal model. Shati/ Nat8l synthesizes N-acetylaspartate (NAA) from L-aspartate and acetyl-CoA, and NAA is subsequently converted into N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) by being condensed with glutamate. It is reported that NAA and NAAG abundantly exist in human brains and those both or one quantity change in the postmortem brain of patients with psychological disorders including depression. In the present study, to clarify the functional roles of Shati/Nat8l in depression, we investigated various behavioral analyses in Shati/Nat8l-overexpressed mice. Firstly, the expression levels of Shati/Nat8l mRNA were assessed in the brain of depressed C57BL6J mouse model, which was exposed repeated social defeat stress for 10  days following procedure as physical stress for 10 min and sensory stress for 24 hrs by aggressor ICR mice. And, Shati/Nat8l mRNA in the dorsal striatum of the depression mice significantly increased compared with that of control mice. Therefore, mice were microinjected Shati/Nat8l-inserted or non-inserted (Mock) adeno-associated virus vectors into the dorsal striatum. The Shati/Nat8l-overexpressed mice exhibited decreased social interaction and sucrose preference after subthreshold social defeat stress as the exposure to aggressor ICR mice for 5 min×3 on only one day,which showed normal behaviors in the Mock mice. These two phenotypical impairments in the Shati/Nat8loverexpressed mice were ameliorated by treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine at the dose of 10 mg/kg i.p., which has no effect in the Mock mice. These findings suggest that Shati/Nat8l in the striatum play an important role in depression-like behaviors including diminished sociability and pleasure by regulating the serotonergic neuronal system. PS123 Altered peptide ligands of myelin basic protein produce persistent antidepressant-like effects Cheng-Yu Sun, 1,2,# Ling-Zhi Xu, 1,2,# Shi-Qiu Meng, 1,2,# Jia-Hui Deng, 1,2 Lin Lu 1,2,3 1Institute of Mental Health/Peking University Sixth Hospital and Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China; 2National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China; 3Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/ McGovern Institute for Brain Research; # Equal contribution to this


Given two channels that convey information about the same random variable, we introduce two measures of the unique information of one channel with respect to the other. The two quantities are based on the notion of generalized weighted Le Cam deficiencies and differ on whether one channel can approximate the other by a randomization at either its input or output. We relate the proposed quantities to an existing measure of unique information which we call the minimum-synergy unique information. We give an operational interpretation of the latter in terms of an upper bound on the one-way secret key rate and discuss the role of the unique informations in the context of nonnegative mutual information decompositions into unique, redundant and synergistic components.


Ernesto "Che" Guevaramedical doctor, chess player (he played Bobby Fischer by telephone in 1963), motorcycle rider, president of the Cuban National Bank, ruthless killerwould have celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday this June 14, had he lived. Instead, he was executed in the Bolivian jungle, captured leading a quixotic insurgency, a canonizing death that produced one of the era's most enduring plaster saints and symbols of revolutionary yearning. He has since been venerated and reviled in dozens of biographies, memoirs, essays, and films. This most photogenic of all revolutionaries (himself a photographer) was also obsessively shot by Fidel's court photographers the serendipitous snap by Korda became the most reproduced photo of the agefrom the Sierra Maestra to the Congo. Che was a prolific writer, too; and from his youthful Motorcycle Diaries, through nine volumes of essays and speeches, to the journal of his fatal Bolivian adventure, Che as much wrote the revolution as lived it. This anthology contains selections from Fidel Castro, Jon Lee Anderson, Mark Cooper, Regis Debray, Jorge Castaneda, Paco Taibo, Gary Hart (writing as John Blackthorn), Mary-Alice Waters, and many others. In addition, there are rare official and personal documents, letters, diary passages, and 50 black and white photographs.


Abstract. The CARIBIC project (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container) is a long-term monitoring program making regular atmospheric measurements from an instrument container installed monthly aboard a passenger aircraft. Typical cruising altitudes of the aircraft allow for the study of the free troposphere and the extra-tropical upper troposphere as well as the lowermost stratosphere. CARIBIC measurements include a number of real time analyses as well as the collection of aerosol and whole air samples. These whole air samples are analyzed post-flight for a suite of trace gases, which includes non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC). The NMHC measurement system and its analytical performance are described here. Precision was found to vary slightly by compound, and is less than 2% for the C2–C6 alkanes and ethyne, and between 1% and 6% for C7–C8 alkanes and aromatic compounds. Preliminary results from participation in a Global Atmospheric Watch (WMO) VOC audit indicate accuracies within the precision of the system. Limits of detection are 1 pptv for most compounds, and up to 3 pptv for some aromatics. These are sufficiently low to measure mixing ratios typically observed in the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere for the longer-lived NMHC, however, in air samples from these regions many of the compounds with shorter lifetimes (


Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is worldwide the third leading cause of cancer-related death, and despite therapeutic advances, survival remains low. Emerging evidence shows that Homeobox (HOX) genes are important in carcinogenesis, and their dysregulation has been linked with metastatic potential and poor prognosis. This systematic review aims to present the current evidence on the role of HOX genes as biomarkers in CRC and the impact of their modulation in tumour growth and progression. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Eligible studies investigated two research questions: a) the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of HOX gene dysregulation in patients with CRC and b) the functional role of HOX genes in CRC progression. This study was registered in the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO), CRD42020190953. Results: Twenty-five studies enrolling 3003 patients with stage I-IV CRC, showed that 26 out of 39 HOX genes were dysregulated in cancerous versus normal colon. Aberrant expression of HOX proteins was significantly related to tumour depth, nodal invasion, distant metastases, advanced stage and poor prognosis. Twenty-two preclinical studies showed that HOX proteins are crucially related to tumour growth and metastatic potential by affecting cell proliferation and altering the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition modulators. Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings suggest that HOX proteins play vital roles in CRC progression and significantly affect survival. Further research, though, is required to elucidate their potential role as biomarkers in CRC.


We studied charge injection and transport mechanisms in blends of poly(3hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methylester (PCBM), by analyzing dark, temperature dependent current-voltage characteristics of the P3HT:PCBM blend thin films sandwiched between aluminium electrodes in a MIM configuration. We present a general method of interpreting Fowler Nordheim plots of metal/semiconductor/metal devices with pronounced non-linear characteristics by dividing them into several regions based on physical origins. We show that by applying appropriate electric fields it is possible to switch from electron-only conduction to hole-only conduction in a single Al/P3HT:PCBM/Al device. We affirm that electrons can be selectively transported through the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of PCBM at low applied voltages and low temperatures; and alternatively holes can be transported through the highest occupied molecular orbital of P3HT at higher applied voltages and high temperature, within a single device.


The location of Saturn's northern infrared aurora is described in detail using 12 selected images acquired by Cassini VIMS during 2006–2008. Bright main oval arcs and prevalent polar features are displayed, which do not exhibit a preferred local time or spatial extent. The average equatorward limit of the aurora was determined using a best fit circle method. The average circle has a radius of 16.4 ± 0.2° latitude, centred 1.6° anti‐sunward of Saturn's pole. The low standard deviation of the fitted circle radii (<1°) indicates the relative stability of the equatorward auroral boundary. For the first time we show that the average location of the infrared oval is similar to that of the ultraviolet oval, suggesting that the auroral emissions at different wavelengths are very likely produced by a common driver despite the distinct emission mechanisms.


Cadmium chloride, administered intratracheally to golden Syrian hamsters, causes an acute lung injury which evolves into a lesion with functional and morphological features of diffuse fibrosis. With simultaneous feeding of a lathyrogen, beta-aminoproprionitrile, this same injury evolves into functional and morphological changes of bullous emphysema. These results suggest that the same lung injury might result in either fibrosis or emphysema, connective tissue synthesis during the healing phase being the critical determinant.


During the period 1980-2008 the United States has accumulated nearly 185,000unresolved murders. Based on the number of homicides andclearance rates for murders 2009-2012 this figure is either closer to, or well over 200,000.  As of 2004 the UnitedStates also had approximately 14,000 unidentified sets of human remains, many of which could be homicides, furtherincreasing our total number of unresolved cases.     The efforts to resolve some of these cases by law enforcement and others have been unrelenting.  And while historically we can easily identifythe early 1980s with Dade County Sherriff's Office as the beginnings of the"cold case concept" a standard protocol for evaluating cold cases has not yet been identified and implemented, as noted by the Rand Corporation study for the National Instituteof Justice (NIJ). The intent of this article is to provide the readers with two cold case models that can assist in streamlining theevaluation process and possibly significantly contribute to the resolution of cold cases.


The hypersonic vehicle model is characterized by strong coupling, nonlinearity, and acute changes of aerodynamic parameters, which are challenging for control system design. This study investigates a novel compound control scheme that combines the advantages of the Fractional-Order Proportional-Integral-Derivative (FOPID) controller and Linear Active Disturbance Rejection Control (LADRC) for reentry flight control of hypersonic vehicles with actuator faults. First, given that the controller has adjustable parameters, the frequency-domain analysis-method-based parameter tuning strategy is utilized for the FOPID controller and LADRC method (FOLADRC). Then, the influences of the actuator model on the anti-disturbance capability and parameter tuning of the FOLADRC-based closed-loop control system are analyzed. Finally, the simulation results indicate that the proposed FOLADRC approach has satisfactory performance in terms of rapidity, accuracy, and robustness under the normal operating condition and actuator fault condition.


Electronics may be required to operate in harsh environments in automotive, aerospace, and defense applications. Solder interconnects in harsh environments may be subjected to extremely-low and high temperatures in the range of −65C to +200C in conjunction with significant strain loads. Furthermore, electronic assemblies may be subjected to extended periods of non-climate-controlled storage prior to deployment. Prior studies have shown that lead-free solder materials continue to evolve under varied thermal loads, leading to deterioration in mechanical parameters such as Ultimate Tensile Strength and Elastic Modulus. The material characteristics for non-linear modeling and reliability prediction are required for risk minimization with the use of new alloy formulations in high-reliability applications. The current work fills this state-of-the-art gap by measuring the mechanical characteristics of undoped SAC105 and doped SAC-Q solder alloys at low operation temperatures (−65°C to 0°C) at high strain rate after varied thermal aging periods up to one year. In addition, the evolution of Anand parameters for SAC solder alloys after prolonged thermal aging has been studied. The Anand model's reliability has been assessed by comparing experimentally observed data with forecasted data using determined model constants for both solder alloys. The Anand parameters were applied in a FE-framework to simulate drop events for a ball-grid array package on a printed circuit board assembly.


We investigated the effects of anoxia and ischemia on thallium (201Tl) exchange using isolated rabbit interventricular septa. Anoxia for 20 or 40 min caused a decrease in 201Tl tissue uptake due to an increased efflux of 201Tl with a smaller increase in 201Tl influx. Between 40 and 60 min of anoxia, the increased efflux of 201Tl was reversed and the increase in 201Tl influx was absent. After 60 min of reoxygenation, septa made anoxic for 20-60 min recovered at least 95% of the Tl lost. Mechanical recovery, however, was still significantly depressed. Reperfusion after total ischemia for 20-60 min was followed by resumption of 201Tl uptake despite continued mechanical dysfunction. Efflux rates during reperfusion after ischemia were significantly different from preischemic values but not in a predictable way. This unpredictability complicates interpretation of clinical 201Tl redistribution studies. These results represent important differences from those reported previously using 42K [Am. J. Physiol. 232 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 1): H85-H94 and H564-H570, 1977]. Anoxia did not increase the influx of 42K. Also, 60 min of ischemia resulted in progressive losses of 42K. This implies there are different sensitivities and/or mechanisms for Tl compared with K uptake. Our results are consistent with 201Tl uptake by severely damaged and nonviable cells.


This paper deals with the international financial crisis that began around July 2007 and became evident in September 2008. It is true that to date, many of the ideas focus on the possible consequences of this crisis on the real economy and on the evaluation of the maximum time of its influence and its effect on the progress of the global economy and this seems to hold attention of economists and giving little room for analysis of its origins. For some analysts, the financial crisis of 2007-2008 is originated in expansionary monetary policy conducted by Alan Greenspan after 2001, a second group of analysts think it comes from innovations and the growing complexity of financial activities stimulated to take even more risk and the lack of regulation in the housing market and finally, another group of analysts attribute this crisis to the Bush administration, because he has legitimized the increasing budget deficit by the need for the war against terrorism, which has displaced the budgets of social infrastructure investment for the war, the rise in external debt and money creation. Recall here that the facts influence thinkers, and this creates both the appearance of doctrines and theories to support them. Based on these observations, this paper proposes to first analyze the relationship between the attacks of September 11, 2001, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the fiscal and monetary policies conducted by the U.S. authorities as a result of these events and also the relationship between these policies and the current international financial crisis. Then show how the crisis has spread to the U.S. financial system and world, and finally to present its first effects on the real economy.


The paper addresses the problem of detecting eyewitness reports of mass emergencies on Twitter. This is the first work to conduct a large-scale comparative evaluation of classification features extracted from Twitter posts, using different learning algorithms and datasets representing a broad range of mass emergencies including both natural and technological disasters. We investigate the relative importance of different feature types as well as on the effect of several feature selection methods applied to this problem. Because the task of detecting mass emergencies is characterized by high heterogeneity of the data, our primary focus is on identifying those features that are capable of separating mass emergency reports from other messages, irrespective of the type of the disaster .


Does increasing the sexual content of advertisements lead, though memory processes, to greater sales? By employing a between-participants design, we aimed to explore how sexual advertising affects explicit and implicit memory, and whether it impairs memory for information preceding the commercials (retroactive interference) or following the commercials (proactive interference). We randomly assigned 182 young participants in the UK to one of two groups who watched the same TV program containing an advertisement break during which either sexual or nonsexual advertisements were shown, while brands were held constant across conditions. Participants were then tested on their explicit and implicit memory for both the advertising content and program information. Results revealed that implicit memory was better for nonsexual than for sexual advertisements. Unexpectedly, there was no group difference in participants' explicit memory for the advertisements. Further, sexual advertising resulted in retroactive interference with program information, whereas proactive memory for program information was not impaired. We acknowledge various study limitations and discuss proposals for future research.


ABSTRACT Background: Pregnancy is a normal physiological phenomenon and normal vaginal delivery is defined as the natural and spontaneous method of labour and delivery. However, as first time mother, primigravida mothers might have concern towards mode of delivery. This study aims to assess the primigravida mothers' knowledge and attitude towards vaginal delivery (VD) and caesarean section (CS). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used in this study. One hundred and five primigravida mothers were recruited using non-probability, purposive sampling between January and February 2016. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaires adopted with permission from Nisar et al. (2009) on knowledge and attitude towards VD and CS. Data was analyzed using the SSPS version 22 for descriptive and inferential analysis. Results: Most of the participants knows that CS is mandatory for breech presentations (75.2%, n=79). In addition, more than half of the participants (53.3%, n=56) participants were aware that infections are more frequent after CS. The majority of the participants in this study have good knowledge (51.4%, n=54) and positive attitude towards both VD (50.5%, n=53) and CS (52.4%, n=55). A significant association was found between knowledge and attitude towards VD among primigravida mothers (p=0.025). Conclusion: The study revealed that although more than half of primigravida mothers have good knowledge and positive attitude towards both VD and CS, health education to empower primigravida mothers to understand the risks and benefits of different modes of delivery is needed. Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, primigravida mothers, vaginal delivery, caesarean section


Recent developments in organic crystalline electrolytes for lithium and sodium ion conduction have demonstrated bulk conductivities in the range of 10−4 S cm−1 with negligible grain boundary resistance. Experimental results from EM, XRD, and DSC point to a liquid boundary layer at the crystalline surface in equilibrium with the bulk solid that conducts ions between the grains. In this report we examine this behavior in the electrolyte DMF·LiCl (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide), which has a bulk conductivity of 1.6 × 10−4 S cm−1, but which decomposes between 360–380 K. Molecular dynamics simulations predict a number of quantitative parameters consistent with experimental observation, such as decomposition temperature (Td(theor) = 380 K, Td(obs) = 360 K), bulk conductivity (σheor = 7 × 10−4, σobs = 1.6 × 10−4) and density (dtheor = 1.209 g mL−1, dobs = 1.306 g mL−1). Further, a number of qualitative properties of the material are predicted by simulation, namely, the crystal packing arrangement, the mechanism of decomposition by expulsion of DMF from the LiCl lattice, the existence of a liquid-like grain boundary layer, and most importantly, negligible grain boundary resistance from increased mobility of ions in the boundary layer vs. the bulk. Finally, from quantum mechanical calculations, various interaction energies between fragmental components explain lattice stability and decomposition of the co-crystal, and highlight the contributions from various possible small aggregates. The theoretical calculations predict decomposition of smaller aggregates, such as those expected in the liquid-like surface, to be more facile than larger aggregates that are more likely to be found in the crystal interior.


user in interactive evolutionary computation (IEC) has the characteristic of fuzzy cognition. Based on this, a method to learn users' fuzzy cognition knowledge is given. The method includes the fuzzy expression of the basic elements of IEC such as search space, population, gene sense unit and so on. Then a method to increase the performance of IEC based on the knowledge of users' fuzzy cognition is given. The above results enrich the researches of IEC users' cognition.


The use of Deep Reinforcement Learning (Deep RL) in many resource constrained mobile systems has been limited in scope due to the severe resource consumption (e.g., memory, computation, energy) such approaches exert. As a result, TinyML devices ranging from sensors and cameras to small formfactor robots and drones have been unable to benefit from the advantages of recent Deep RL algorithms that have underpinned breakthrough results in applications of decision and control. In this work, we propose and study a variety of general-purpose techniques designed to lower such system resource bottlenecks for Deep RL by optimizing both the agent algorithms and neural architectures used in these solutions. Experiments show our Deep RL optimization framework that combines these techniques is able produce significant efficiency gains to the point such techniques become feasible for TinyML platforms. We present one representative end-to-end application (viz. network protocol learning) executing on constrained processors (embedded-hardware), in addition to simulated control problems addressed assuming limited access to system resources.


Phoma clematidina (Thüm.) Boerema is shown to be the causal agent of leafspot and wilt of large-flowered Clematis L. hybrids, and leafspot of clematis species. P. clematidina is a wound pathogen and causes leafspots on both wilt susceptible and wilt resistant cultivars. Wilting is usually the result of nodal rotting or 'stem girdling' following hyphal extension into the node from the infected leaf. Resistance to wilt is manifested by abscission or senescence of infected leaves. The fungicides chlorothalonil and fenpropimorph were the most effective of those tested for inhibiting spore germination and mycelial growth, respectively. A mixture of these fungicides significantly reduced the number of leaf lesions after wound inoculation. Other fungicides, including dichlofluanid, captafol, prochloraz and propiconazole, also displayed in vitro fungicidal activity and could be useful alternative sprays for chemical control, although proper plant hygiene and maintenance are important for disease-free clematis.


In the context of designing a new air-gun with reduced highfrequency emissions, we developed computational fluid dynamics models that provide new insight into the dynamic behavior of air-guns. We combined these simulations with video images and high-fidelity acoustic measurements from physical tests to investigate the physical mechanisms contributing to the air-gun signature. We considered the dynamic output in the time domain, and the energy components in the frequency domain.


Abstract The 690 nm absorption change reflecting the turnover of the system-II-reaction center chlorophyll, Chl-aII (often referred to as P 680), has been investigated under different experimental conditions in spinach chloroplasts. A comparison was made with oxygen evolution and with absorption changes of Chl-aI measured at 703 nm, both indicating the number of electrons produced by system II. It was found: 1. The dependency on actinic flash intensity of the initial amplitudes of the measured 690 nm absorption change, ∆A0 (Chl-an), markedly differs for normal and for Tris-washed chloroplasts, respectively. 2. The saturation curve of ∆A0 (Chl-an) in Tris-washed chloroplasts is similar to that for the total amplitude of the 703 nm absorption change, ∆A0 (Chl-aI), in normal chloroplasts, and can be described by an exponential function. On the other hand, ∆A0 (Chl-aII) in normal chloroplasts exhibits a more complex biphasic dependency and much higher flash intensities are required for saturation. 3. Under repetitive flash group excitation and in the presence of an A D R Y (= acceleration of the deactivation reactions of the water-splitting enzyme system Y)-reagent the initial amplitude of the 690 nm absorption change oscillates in the same characteristic pattern as the oxygen evolution. 4. The initial amplitude of the 690 nm absorption change, ∆A0(Chl-aII), in Tris-washed chloroplasts becomes significantly smaller (more than 50%) by the addition of system-II-electron donors (benzidine, p-phenylendiamine, tetraphenylboron), whereas the total amplitude of the 703 nm absorption change, ∆A0(Chl-aI) increases 3 -4-fold. In order to explain these results, the existance of a very fast reduction kinetics of Chl-aII+ is postulated, which is not detectable by our measuring equipment. The half time of this reaction is ≦ 1 μs. Reaction centers with the very fast "undetected" Chl-aII+-reduction are photochemically transformed into slower one by double hit processes with a comparatively low quantum yield. Furthermore, it is inferred, that the dark recovery kinetics of Chl-aII is dependent on the charge accumulation state of the watersplitting enzyme system Y. This phenomenon is shown to explain also the oscillation pattern of delayed fluorescence. On the basis of the present results two alternative reaction schemes for the functional organization of the electron transport on the donor side of system II are discussed.


The effect of Fe, Zn, Mn, Pb, Al, Cu, and K on the synthesis of pyruvic, alpha-ketoglutaric and total volatile acids and ethanol was studied in the process of fermentation of 6 per cent maltose solution by Saccharomyces carlsbergensis 776. Experiments were conducted using techniques of their mathematical planning. Fe, Pb, and Mn at concentrations of 15.0, 0.5, and 1.5 mg/litre, respectively, had a positive effect on the synthesis of pyruvic acid whose concentration in the medium increased by 3.3 mg per 100 ml to become equal to 43.3 mg per 100 ml. Fe3+ at a concentration of 15 mg/litre had a negative effect on the synthesis of alpha-ketoglutaric acid. The synthesis of volatile acids depended on the presence of Fe, Zn, Pb, Al, and K. Fe and Al at concentrations of 15 mg/litre favoured the synthesis of volatile acids by 2.72 mg/litre. In the presence of Zn (1.5 mg/litre), Pb (0.5 mg/litre), and K (15 mg/litre), the content of volatile acids decreased by 4.48 mg/litre and became equal to 14.94 mg/litre. Zn at a concentration of 1.5 mg/litre inhibited it.


: A growing volume of heritage data is being digitized and made available as text via optical character recognition (OCR). Scholars and libraries are increasingly using OCR-generated text for retrieval and analysis. However, the process of creating text through OCR introduces varying degrees of error to the text. The impact of these errors on natural language processing (NLP) tasks has only been partially studied. We perform a series of extrinsic assessment tasks — sentence segmentation, named entity recognition, dependency parsing, information retrieval, topic modelling and neural language model fine-tuning — using popular, out-of-the-box tools in order to quantify the impact of OCR quality on these tasks. We find a consistent impact resulting from OCR errors on our downstream tasks with some tasks more irredeemably harmed by OCR errors. Based on these results, we offer some preliminary guidelines for working with text produced through OCR.


This study investigated prospective memory and its relationship to executive and memory functions in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-three individuals with PD and 25 healthy comparison participants participated in the study. In the prospective memory tasks, participants were asked to execute 3 actions after 20 min (time-based condition) or after a timer ring (event-based condition). A score was computed for the correct recall of the intention to perform the actions (prospective component) and for the correct execution of the actions (retrospective component). Participants with PD also received an extensive neuropsychological test battery. PD participants were less accurate than comparison participants in the prospective component of the time-based but not the event-based task. Individuals with PD were also impaired on the retrospective component of both tasks. In the PD group, a general trend toward significant correlations was found between performance level on the prospective memory component of the time-based task and scores on executive and working memory measures. These results document that prospective memory is impaired in PD possibly in relation to a dysregulation of cognitive functions associated with frontal systems.


Whereas information is rapidly accumulating about the structure and position of genes encoded in the human genome, less is known about the complexity and relative abundance of their expression in individual human cells and tissues. Here, we describe the characteristics of the transcriptomes of two cultured cell lines, HB4a (normal breast epithelium) and HCT-116 (colon adenocarcinoma), using massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS). We generated in excess of 107 short signature sequences per cell line, thus providing a comprehensive snapshot of gene expression, within the technical limitations of the method. The number of genes expressed at one copy per cell or more in either of the lines was estimated to be between 10,000 and 15,000. The vast majority of the transcripts found in these cells can be mapped to known genes and their polyadenylation variants. Among the genes that could be identified from their signature sequences, ≈8,500 were expressed by both cell lines, whereas 6,000 showed cellular specificity. Taking into account sequence tags that map uniquely to the genome but not to known transcripts, overall the data are consistent with an upper limit of 17,000 for the total number of genes expressed at more than one copy per cell in one or both of the two cell lines examined.


We analyze the equilibrium size of the active management industry and the role of historical data—how investors use it to decide how much to invest in the industry, and how researchers use it to judge whether the industry's size is reasonable. As the industry's size increases, every manager's ability to outperform passive benchmarks declines, to an unknown degree. We find that researchers need not be puzzled by the industry's substantial size despite the industry's negative track record. We also find investors face endogeneity that limits their learning about returns to scale and allows prolonged departures of the industry's size from its optimal level.


This paper studies two player stopping games in a discrete time multiple prior framework with a finite time horizon. Optimal stopping times as well as recursive formulas for the value processes of the games are derived. These results are used to characterize the set of no-arbitrage prices for a game option. The notion of a no-arbitrage price for a game option is based on the idea to consider the payoff for fixed stopping times as an European option.


Modern syntheses of eukaryote diversity assign almost all taxa to one of three groups: Amorphea, Diaphoretickes and Excavata (comprising Discoba and Metamonada). The most glaring exception is Malawimonadidae, a group of small heterotrophic flagellates that resemble Excavata by morphology, but branch with Amorphea in most phylogenomic analyses. However, just one malawimonad, Malawimonas jakobiformis, has been studied with both morphological and molecular-phylogenetic approaches, raising the spectre of interpretation errors and phylogenetic artefacts from low taxon sampling. We report a morphological and phylogenomic study of a new deep-branching malawimonad, Gefionella okellyi n. gen. n. sp. Electron microscopy revealed all canonical features of 'typical excavates', including flagellar vanes (as an opposed pair, unlike M. jakobiformis but like many metamonads) and a composite fibre. Initial phylogenomic analyses grouped malawimonads with the Amorphea-related orphan lineage Collodictyon, separate from a Metamonada+Discoba clade. However, support for this topology weakened when more sophisticated evolutionary models were used, and/or fast-evolving sites and long-branching taxa (FS/LB) were excluded. Analyses of '–FS/LB' datasets instead suggested a relationship between malawimonads and metamonads. The 'malawimonad+metamonad signal' in morphological and molecular data argues against a strict Metamonada+Discoba clade (i.e. the predominant concept of Excavata). A Metamonad+Discoba clade should therefore not be assumed when inferring deep-level evolutionary history in eukaryotes.


We explore the risks to security and privacy in IoT networks by setting up an inexpensive home automation network and performing a set of experiments intended to study attacks and defenses. We focus on privacy preservation in home automation networks but our insights can extend to other IoT applications. Privacy preservation is fundamental to achieving the promise of IoT, Industrial Internet and M2M. We look at both simple cryptographic techniques and information manipulation to protect a user against an adversary inside the IoT network or an adversary that has compromised remote servers. We show how user data can be masked or selectively leaked and manipulated. We provide a blueprint for inexpensive study of IoT security and privacy using COTS products and services.


We investigated the effect of language in answering qualitative questions in user experience (UX) evaluation web-surveys. Two cross-cultural case studies of high tech sports watches with altogether 176 participants were carried out. Comparisons in answers were made among 72 native English speakers and 104 non-native English speakers. In the first study native Italian and native English speaking users were compared. Half of the Italians answered in Italian and half of them in English. We found that the response rate for participating to the survey among Italians answering in their native language was 64 % compared to only 38% among Italians answering in English. The results of our case studies indicate that translating a UX web-survey into participants' native language would motivate users to participate in the study, especially if the user sample needs to include more varied users. It is easier to describe more in details and give examples of experiences, express emotions, feelings and ideas in one's own native language. The results suggest that if more descriptive qualitative data is needed from users, they are able to answer better in their own native language.


Abstract. The coupled climate-chemistry model ECHAM4.L39(DLR)/CHEM is presented which enables a simultaneous treatment of meteorology and atmospheric chemistry and their feedbacks. This is the first model which interactively combines a general circulation model with a chemical model, employing most of the important reactions and species necessary to describe the stratospheric and upper tropospheric ozone chemistry, and which is computationally fast enough to allow long-term integrations with currently available computer resources. This is possible as the model time-step used for the chemistry can be chosen as large as the integration time-step for the dynamics. Vertically the atmosphere is discretized by 39 levels from the surface up to the top layer which is centred at 10 hPa, with a relatively high vertical resolution of approximately 700 m near the extra-tropical tropopause. We present the results of a control simulation representing recent conditions (1990) and compare it to available observations. The focus is on investigations of stratospheric dynamics and chemistry relevant to describe the stratospheric ozone layer. ECHAM4.L39(DLR)/CHEM reproduces main features of stratospheric dynamics in the arctic vortex region, including stratospheric warming events. This constitutes a major improvement compared to earlier model versions. However, apparent shortcomings in Antarctic circulation and temperatures persist. The seasonal and interannual variability of the ozone layer is simulated in accordance with observations. Activation and deactivation of chlorine in the polar stratospheric vortices and their inter-hemispheric differences are reproduced. Considering methane oxidation as part of the dynamic-chemistry feedback results in an improved representation of the spatial distribution of stratospheric water vapour concentrations. The current model constitutes a powerful tool to investigate, for instance, the combined direct and indirect effects of anthropogenic trace gas emissions. Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (middle atmosphere – composition and chemistry) – Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (general circulation; middle atmosphere dynamics)


A pattern recognizer is usually a modular system which consists of a feature extractor module and a classifier module. Traditionally, these two modules have been designed separately, which may not result in an optimal recognition accuracy. To alleviate this fundamental problem, the authors have developed a design method, named discriminative feature extraction (DFE), that enables one to design the overall recognizer, i.e., both the feature extractor and the classifier, in a manner consistent with the objective of minimizing recognition errors. This paper investigates the application of this method to designing a speech recognizer that consists of a filter-hank feature extractor and a multi-prototype distance classifier. Carefully investigated experiments demonstrate that DFE achieves the design of a better recognizer and provides an innovative recognition-oriented analysis of the filter-bank, as an alternative to conventional analysis based on psychoacoustic expertise or heuristics.


Non-uniformity of temperatures appears as a general rule in hot nanofiber synthesis reactors, where local variations of the balance between long-range radiative heat exchanges and short-range conductive heat exchanges are driven by size and composition of structures. Metal particles larger than a few tens of nanometer are radiation captors, when fiber bodies thinner than 10 nm are transparent. We note that typical gradient lengths correspond remarkably well to usual length of nanotubes (micron range), and increase with fiber radius. For anisotropically radiating reactors as well as for furnace-type reactors, difference between radiative and conductive environments allows temperature intervals as high as several hundred degrees. Practically, axial thermal gradients arise by fiber attachment to a metallic particle, eventually at each tip (ideally with different sizes or compositions), or by attachment to a hot wall (electrode, supporting substrate, or target). The resulting thermal gradients are unusually stiff, typically 10 K µ m −1 . We show that local temperature evolution in early stage of nucleation is triggered by dimension of attached particle(s). We show that a diffusion flux of adatoms induced by the axial thermal gradient is quantitatively consistent with a feeding flux, as measured for different reactors. In addition, we notice that the spontaneous minimization of free energy at fiber tip is such that a temperature drop favors axial extension.


This article reviews, very positively, Michael Forster's (2010)AfterHerder:PhilosophyofLanguage in the German Tradition. The review canvasses Herder's views on philosophy of language, as explained by Forster, with special emphasis on what Herder can teach contemporary pragmaticists. These key lessons are: i) that meaning is intimately related to sensation; ii) that thought is intimately related to language; iii) that meaning is intimately related to use. It ends with some reflections on empirical obstacles that Herder's views seem to face.


Fanpy is a free and open‐source Python library for developing and testing multideterminant wavefunctions and related ab initio methods in electronic structure theory. The main use of Fanpy is to quickly prototype new methods by making it easier to convert the mathematical formulation of a new wavefunction ansätze to a working implementation. Fanpy is designed based on our recently introduced Flexible Ansatz for N‐electron Configuration Interaction (FANCI) framework, where multideterminant wavefunctions are represented by their overlaps with Slater determinants of orthonormal spin‐orbitals. In the simplest case, a new wavefunction ansatz can be implemented by simply writing a function for evaluating its overlap with an arbitrary Slater determinant. Fanpy is modular in both implementation and theory: the wavefunction model, the system's Hamiltonian, and the choice of objective function are all independent modules. This modular structure makes it easy for users to mix and match different methods and for developers to quickly explore new ideas. Fanpy is written purely in Python with standard dependencies, making it accessible for various operating systems. In addition, it adheres to principles of modern software development, including comprehensive documentation, extensive testing, quality assurance, and continuous integration and delivery protocols. This article is considered to be the official release notes for the Fanpy library.


Malaria infection in pregnancy is a major public health problem which poses serious life threats to pregnant mothers and foetuses. Accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment of pregnancy associated malaria (PAM) are important in preventing adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study compared the diagnostic performance of two rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), parasite lactate dehydrogenase (PLDH) based Optimal IT and parasite aldolase base Dr. Grey's with the gold standard microscopy in pregnant women. Blood samples of 113 pregnant women were collected from two hospitals in Lagos and screened for malaria parasite by Giemsa stained smear and two malaria rapid diagnostic tests, Optimal IT parasite lactate dehydrogenase and Dr. Grey aldolase. The results showed that, out of 113 blood samples screened, 23 (20.4%), 51 (45.1%) and 14 (12.4%) were positive by microscopy, Aldolase and PLDH respectively. 17 (33.3%) and 34 (66.7%) of the aldolase positive samples were positive and negative by microscopy respectively. 11 (21.6%) of the aldolase positive samples were positive for both microscopy and PLDH. Of the positive samples, 34 (66.7%) were negative for both microscopy and PLDH. 3 (13.0%) were positive by microscopy but negative by aldolase and PLDH (RDTs). There was no statistically significant difference between the performances of the different RDTs. This study revealed that microscopy, the gold standard underestimated the real burden of malaria during pregnancy and aldolase (RDT) performed better than microscopy and PLDH, the other RDT in diagnosing pregnant-associated malaria.


Vocal learning in swamp sparrows, Melospiza georgiana, is subject to a host of sensory and motor limitations. One such limitation is that young swamp sparrows almost invariably crystallize their songs with a simple trilled syntax, irrespective of the syntax of vocal models from which they learn. A striking exception to this pattern was recently identified by Podos (1996, Animal Behaviour, 51, 1061-1070), who found that large-scale organizational changes in vocal syntax, including the production of an intermittent or 'broken' syntax, were produced when birds faced limits on vocal performance capacities during motor ontogeny. Our goal in the present study was to determine whether song models with broken syntax could serve as suitable training models for young swamp sparrows, and, if so, if broken syntax could be faithfully reproduced. We hand-reared 10 male swamp sparrows and exposed them to control, rapid and broken song models. Control song models were copied with a high degree of accuracy, as in previous studies. Rapid song models were copied with deficiencies that suggested performance limits on vocal production; such deficiencies included the production of songs with broken syntax and the production of songs in which notes were dropped out as songs progressed. Broken songs proved suitable as training models. Furthermore, copies of broken song models were crystallized either with normal or with broken syntax. These data identify an unexpected direction of permissiveness in the types of songs swamp sparrows will memorize and accurately reproduce, and also point to a possible proximate basis for syntactical changes in the evolution of sparrow songs. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.


This article offers a reflexive and phenomenological response to some of the challenges of the recent ontological turn. It argues, first, that a focus on embodiment is crucial in understanding the formation of ontological assumptions, and, second, that researchers have an ethical responsibility to practice an 'ontological reflexivity' that goes beyond the conceptual reflexivity of much recent ontological work. It conceives the anthropological domain as a place of 'intra-actment' and maintains that to avoid ontological closure, researchers must contextualize their ontological assumptions by reflexively sensitizing themselves to how these assumptions are shaped by both embodied experience and the contexts in which they are articulated and performed. This article seeks to enact this through an auto-ethnographic exploration of the author's own embodied experience as it relates to demonic manifestations and the divine.


The renin-angiotensin system, endothelin (ET), and vasoconstrictor prostaglandins have been reported in separate studies to mediate the renal vasoconstrictor effect of cyclosporin A (CsA). However, direct comparison of the relative importance of these potential mediators has not been performed. In this study, the attenuating effects of comparable agonist-inhibiting doses of receptor antagonists for angiotensin II (ANG II), DuP-753 at 2.5 mg/kg, for ETA, BQ-123 at 0.5 mg/kg, and for thromboxane A2 (TxA2), SQ-29,548 at 1.6 mg.kg-1.h-1, or saline vehicle on acute CsA (20 mg/kg) renal vasoconstriction were compared in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. All three receptor antagonists significantly limited the CsA-induced increase in renal vascular resistance; however, BQ-123 and SQ-29,548 were more effective than DuP-753. Because all three receptor antagonists demonstrated at least some attenuation of CsA-induced renal vasoconstriction, the potential role of acute CsA-related nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition and nonspecific heterologous effects of specific receptor antagonists on other agonists were determined to exclude the possibilities that there was a general increased agonist sensitivity and that detection of a single or primary constrictor mediator was obscured by "crossover" receptor antagonist effects. CsA significantly reduced renal blood flow (39%) in the presence of the NOS inhibitor, N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, and there was negligible indication that receptor antagonists had nonspecific effects. It is concluded that CsA-induced renal vasoconstriction is complex and involves activation of multiple constrictor agonists independently or sequentially.


Myocardial infarction was simulated in experiments with 138 dogs showing normal, high, and low responses. The kinetics of creatine kinase as a marker of necrotic processes in myocardial infarction was shown to accelerate with hyperreactivity and to slow down with hyporeactivity. The kinetics of ů-glutamyl transpeptidase as a marker of reparative processes in myocardial infarction was characterized by delayed and slower evolution in hyper- and hyporeactivity. The kinetics of dienic conjugates, cyclic nucleotides (cAMP, cGMP) and immunoreactive insulin was also determined largely by the body's reactivity and the types of experimental myocardial infarction healing and was closely related to that of enzymatic markers of necrotic processes.


The steam reforming of simulated coke oven gas (COG) with toluene as a model tar compound for syngas production was investigated over Ni/Al2O3-MgO catalysts. XRD results showed that the catalysts with high calcination temperature and Al2O3 content after calcination formed (Ni,Mg)Al2O4 spinel and Ni-Mg-O solid solution structure. At optimized reaction conditions, toluene and CH4 can be completely converted, while a H2 yield of 71.8% and a CO yield of 76.1% have been achieved at 800 oC. The catalysts with appropriate calcination temperature and Al2O3 content showed better catalytic activity and resistance to coking, which will be promising catalysts in the catalytic reforming of COG.


Demonstrating product reliability is a common challenge within industry, and one that has become continuously more difficult to address due to the marketplace demands for decreased development time and cost. This challenge presents industry with new constraints as proven reliability assessment techniques are becoming increasingly difficult to apply due to the test duration standing in conflict with resource demands placed on engineering organizations. These limitations represent the main influence behind this paper, which explores an alternative reliability demonstration approach using quantitative accelerated life testing (QALT). Accelerated life testing is a reliability discipline that has been the focus of much research, and from which a great many publications have been derived. Yet many proposed approaches can be difficult to apply within industry due to the aforementioned resource constraints, and therefore an alternative methodology will be proposed that delivers accurate reliability data within the aforementioned constraints, thus addressing the limitations imposed by conventional reliability demonstration tests.


Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are characterized by intestinal infiltration of pathogenic effector CD4+ T cells. The defects driving loss of T-cell regulation vary between patients and remain undefined. Previously, we have shown that in human intestine, 20–40% of effector (CD62LnegCD4+) T cells express TIGIT (T cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain), an inhibitory receptor modulating dendritic cell and T-cell function. TIGIT expression is enriched in circulating gut-homing CD38+ effector T cells in healthy controls while in a subgroup of IBD patients with active intestinal inflammation, frequencies of inhibitory TIGIT+CD38+ effector T cells are decreased and associated with earlier relapse of disease. Here we hypothesized that gut-homing effector T cells lacking TIGIT (TIGITneg) are pathogenic mediators of intestinal inflammation in IBD and assessed whether patients with low frequencies have a distinctive disease immunotype.

 In the Rotterdam PIBD-SETQuality cohort of newly diagnosed pediatric IBD patients (CD: n=50; UC: n=25), patients with suspicion of IBD but negative diagnosis (n=17) and age-matched healthy controls (HC: n=22), we monitored TIGIT+ and TIGITnegCD38+ effector T cells in peripheral blood, collected plasma at diagnosis and during therapy and phenotyped intestinal T cells.

 At diagnosis, 50% of CD patients had strongly reduced frequencies of inhibitory TIGIT+CD38+ effector T cells compared to UC patients and HC. CD patients with reduced frequencies of inhibitory TIGIT+CD38+ effector T cells had higher plasma IFN-γ concentrations and 53% of them experienced a disease relapse by 1 year versus 25% for CD patients with normal TIGIT+CD38+effector frequencies. In keeping with our hypothesis that TIGITneg gut-homing effector T cells are pathogenic, absence of TIGIT expression identified CD38+ effector T cells enriched in recent proliferation and having high expression of chemokine receptors associated with inflammatory non-classical T helper-1 IFNγ highIL-17Alow producing (Th1*) cells. Moreover, intestinal TIGITnegCD4+ T cells of CD patients contained higher frequencies of IFNγ and IL-17A producing cells than TIGIT+CD4+ T cells. In order to identify the factors that drive differentiation of the pathogenic Th1* cells, inhibitory TIGIT+CD38+ effector T cells from HC were exposed to an array of IBD-associated cytokines in vitro. Only IL-12p70, a known driver of IFNγ, could convert inhibitory TIGIT+CD38+ effector T cells into their TIGITneg proinflammatory counterpart.

 We identify TIGITneg gut-homing effector T cells, enriched in Th1* cells, as potential drivers of intestinal inflammation in a subgroup of CD, but not UC patients, with a more severe disease course.


: The study of psychophysiological status' interaction and interrelation with parameters of a neurohumoral regulation is important for perfection of medical and psychological support of high serviceability of the crew-members in conditions of space flight. Long-term bed rest in a head-down tilt (BRHDT, antiorthostatic hypokinesia) is used for simulation of prolonged influence of microgravity on a human body in ground-based conditions. The main objective of the present work was to reveal main links of psychophysiological state with neurohumoral parameters in BRHDT.


Analyzing social media posts and comments has become a critical task to prevent cyberbullying and hate speech. In this work we present a classification models based on the attention mechanism to analyze Arabic posts and filter out all kinds of inappropriate speech including Religious based hate speech, offensive and abusive content in different Arabic dialects. The attention-based models show promising results for four Arabic datasets. The results are presented and compared in terms of accuracy and training time


The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic organization made up of ten Southeast-Asian countries. Within that organization, the ASEAN University Network (AUN) works towards educational capacity building by conducting programs and activities for institutions of higher education/learning, with a goal of working to achieve global standards. One primary mechanism to achieve this goal is AUN's Quality Assurance activity, referred to as AUN-QA. AUN-QA has implemented a regional style accreditation system spanning the ten ASEAN countries, with significant influence from European organizations. A number of countries within the ASEAN now have institutions with academic programs accredited by AUN-QA. 2 This paper provides a partial review of the similarities and differences of accreditation as implemented by ASEAN University Network (AUN-QA) and ABET Inc. The philosophical differences of ABET and AUN-QA accreditation, including constituency involvement, will be identified as well as the similarities and differences between ABET's assessment and evaluation requirements and the AUN-QA model for program accreditation. The authors have not seen a similar analysis published in the engineering education literature. Discussion of some similarities and differences of AUN-QA and ABET accreditation is presented from both a philosophical viewpoint and a pragmatic viewpoint. ABET's approach is significantly different from that of AUN-QA and the comparison of the two can lead to complementation about the purpose of accreditation, perceived difficulties of attaining it and the perceived value of attaining different accreditations. It becomes evident that the two approaches are not duplicative and one or the other, or both, may be useful to a program within the ASEAN.


Recent generations of mobile phones, embedding a wide variety of sensors, have fostered the development of open sensing applications, such as network quality or weather forecast applications. In this paper, we present a novel privacy-preserving crowdsourcing platform relying on two components: APISENSE and PRIVAPI. APISENSE is a distributed middleware platform that leverages the dynamic deployment of crowdsourcing tasks across a population of mobile phones. PRIVAPI is a middleware handling privacy-preserving publication of mobility data.


A ceramic filter coated with a reactive material has a high thermal and chemical stability and can be used to treat wastewater under extreme conditions. With the aim of enhancing the reactivity of conventional ceramic materials, the feasibility of incorporating an iron material as the reactive material into conventional ceramic materials was evaluated. Reactive ceramic pellets were synthesized by mixing zero-valent iron (ZVI) with conventional ceramic materials composed of primarily alumina in order to enhance the reactivity of the conventional ceramic materials. To evaluate the removal of As(III), As(V), and Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions, batch sorption tests were conducted under various conditions (i.e., pH and solid-to-liquid ratio) using synthesized ceramic pellets incorporating various iron contents and ZVI and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as reference materials. Results show that ZVI had a higher sorption capacity than Al2O3 under acidic conditions, and the adsorption capacity of synthesized ceramic pellets for As and Cr increased when the iron content of the synthesized ceramic pellets increased. These results indicate that the addition of iron materials into conventional ceramic materials can enhance the reactivity of the conventional ceramic material for removal of As and Cr from aqueous solutions.


Use of reactive filter media (RFM) is an emerging technology in small-scale wastewater treatment to improve phosphorus (P) removal and filter material longevity for making this technology sustainable. In this study, long-term sorption kinetics and the spatial dynamics of sorbed P distribution were simulated in replaceable P-filter bags filled with 700 L of reactive material and used in real on-site treatment systems. The input data for model calibration were obtained in laboratory trials with Filtralite P®, Polonite® and Top16. The P concentration breakthrough threshold value was set at an effluent/influent (C/C0) ratio of 1 and simulations were performed with P concentrations varying from 1 to 25 mg L−1. The simulation results showed that influent P concentration was important for the breakthrough and longevity, and that Polonite performed best, followed by Top16 and Filtralite P. A 100-day break in simulated intermittent flow allowed the materials to recover, which for Polonite involved slight retardation of P saturation. The simulated spatial distribution of P accumulated in the filter bags showed large differences between the filter materials. The modelling insights from this study can be applied in design and operation of on-site treatment systems using reactive filter materials.


1. Wooo-sYrm FG, VIcxBI1s MD. STEWART HC. Drug5 in wrsthetir pmrticr. 4th cd. London: Buttemorthr, 1974: 284. 2. BOWMAN WC. RAND MI. Texcxlbwk of & n n a c o I ~ . 2nd cd. W o n k BLchwdl Sdentific Publications, 1980. 7-10. 3. A r m IL, ALOO\NDER SC. HalothPne cffeas on conductivity of chc A-V node and His PurLinjc systems in the do& Anesthesia and Analgesia 1977; 56c 319.86. JL. R u n BF. Halothane depmsion of AV cond d o n atudid by ck*r&diograms of the bundk of His in dog. Anrstk~i~dlogy 197.2; 3& 112-8. 4. A reply


The tunica adventitia is an active vascular compartment that actively participates in modulation of vascular structure, function and pathophysiology. Adventitial thickness has recently been accepted as a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. The effects of salt and chemicals that ameliorate those effects are important in understanding vascular structure, function and pathology. There are few studies on hibiscus and high salt induced vascular pathology. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of hibiscus on salt induced vascular changes on rat carotid artery. The experimental animals were divided into 3 groups of 8 animals each – (i) controls; (ii) high salt diet alone and (iii) high salt + hibiscus extract for a period of eight weeks. At ages 2, 5 and 8weeks 2 – 3 animals were sacrificed for study. They were anaesthetized with ether and perfused with formal saline. Specimens were then obtained from the middle of common carotid artery, fixed in 5% formaldehyde solution, processed routinely for paraffin embedding and 5-micron thick sections stained with Hematoxylin / Eosin and also with Mason's Trichome/ Aniline blue. Adventitial thickness and volumetric densities of collagen were measured using morphometric techniques. High salt consumption induced statistically significant increase in adventitial thickness from 297.45μm at week 2 to 659.4μm in week 8. In hibiscus fed rats, this increase progressively reduced to 482.55μm in week 8. Volumetric density of collagen was 57% in high salt fed rats but reduced to 45.66% in hibiscus fed rats (p<0.001). The increase in tunica adventitial thickness and collagen density which is induced by high salt can be mitigated by hibiscus extract. This implies that hibiscus has potential to restore salt induced vascular injury. Further studies are recommended to refine the extract. Keywords : adventitial thickness, high salt, hibiscus, collagen, density


The present study builds on previous research on psychological contracts by examining the moderating roles of leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) in the psychological contract breach-civic virtue behavior dynamics. A survey was administered to 241 front-line branch employees. Results suggest that psychological contract breach, LMX, and POS were related to civic virtue behavior. Furthermore, LMX and POS moderated the relationship between contract breach and civic virtue behavior. This suggests that high levels of LMX and POS buffer the negative effects of breach. In other words, both LMX and POS may serve as social support mechanisms mitigating the negative effects of psychological contract breach on civic virtue behavior. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.


A new compact analytical model is developed to predict transient heat convection from isoflux vertical plates into a constant property surrounding region. The proposed model is based on a blending of the two asymptotes corresponding to transient diffusion into a half-space and the steady-state convection heat transfer from an isoflux vertical plate. A compact relation for transient and steady-state average Nusselt numbers is proposed. The proposed model is successfully verified with existing experimental data of Goldstein and Eckert. The maximum difference between the proposed compact analytical model and the experimental data is less than 6%.


In response to a voltage difference it is applied across the memory element and is provided with a three-dimensional array is configured for the memory device for a reversible change in the level of electrical conductance. The memory element are formed over a plurality of planes disposed at different distances above a semiconductor substrate. All the planes of memory elements are connected to bit lines are aligned vertically over a plurality of plane from the substrate.