PURPOSE
To investigate the activity and toxicity of gemcitabine as a single agent in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after recurrence or failure of previous treatment with a platinum-containing regimen.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
From November 1995 to October 1997, 83 patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC received gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) once a week for 3 weeks every 28 days. Responses were assessed every two treatment courses. The median age of the patients was 63 years; Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was 0 to 1 in 62 patients and 2 in 21 patients. The predominant histology was squamous (39 patients); 49 patients had stage IV disease and 34 patients had stage III disease (33 stage IIIB and one stage IIIA).

RESULTS
Sixteen patients (19%) achieved a partial response to treatment; the median duration of response was 29 weeks (range, 6 to 50 weeks). Treatment was well tolerated: grade 2 to 3 (World Health Organization standardized response criteria) leukopenia and thrombocytopenia occurred in 23% and 20% of patients, respectively. Mild asthenia was observed in 16% of patients, and peripheral edema in 5% of patients. Nausea and vomiting were present in 16% of patients.

CONCLUSION
In this experience, gemcitabine showed significant activity without relevant toxicity, mainly in patients who were previously responsive to chemotherapy. This suggests a possible role for gemcitabine as a second-line treatment in patients who had a previous response or achieved stable disease with a platinum-containing regimen.


One of the greatest challenges facing biopharmaceutical companies is ensuring adequate manufacturing capacity for products that are under development and potentially years away from commercialization. Companies without existing manufacturing capacity must decide among several alternatives, including building internal manufacturing capability, acquiring existing manufacturing facilities, outsourcing production to a contract manufacturing organization (CMO), or combinations of these. We present the strategic and tactical implications of various "make versus buy" strategies and discuss such critical aspects of developing appropriate manufacturing strategies for biopharmaceutical products as capital investment and risk, CMO selection, and the timing and cost of building manufacturing capacity.


ABSTRACT Diversity of the gut microbiota is crucial for human health. However, whether fruit and vegetable associated bacteria contribute to overall gut bacterial diversity is still unknown. We reconstructed metagenome-assembled genomes from 156 fruit and vegetable metagenomes to investigate the prevalence of associated bacteria in 2,426 publicly available gut metagenomes. The microbiomes of fresh fruits and vegetables and the human gut are represented by members in common such as Enterobacterales, Burkholderiales, and Lactobacillales. Exposure to bacteria via fruit and vegetable consumption potentially has a beneficial impact on the functional diversity of gut microbiota particularly due to the presence of putative health-promoting genes for the production of vitamin and short-chain fatty acids. In the human gut, they were consistently present, although at a low abundance, approx. 2.2%. Host age, vegetable consumption frequency, and the diversity of plants consumed were drivers favoring a higher proportion. Overall, these results provide one of the primary links between the human microbiome and the environmental microbiome. This study revealed evidence that fruit and vegetable-derived microbes could be found in the human gut and contribute to gut microbiome diversity.


We use recent progress in simulating the production of magnetohydrodynamic jets around black holes to derive the cosmic spin history of the most massive black holes. Our work focusses on black holes with masses ∼> 108 M⊙. Under the assumption that the efficiency of jet production is a function of spin ˆa, as given by the simulations, we can approximately reproduce the observed 'radio loudness' of quasars and the local radio luminosity function.Using the X-ray luminosity function and the local mass function of supermassive black holes, SMBHs, we can reproduce the individual radio luminosity functions of radio sources showing high- and low-excitation narrow emission lines. We find that the data favour spin distributions that are bimodal, with one component around spin zero and the other close to maximal spin. The 'typical' spin is therefore really the expectation value, lying between the two peaks. In the low-excitation galaxies, the two components have similar amplitudes, meaning approximately half of the sources have very high spins, and the other have very low spins. For the high-excitation galaxies, the amplitude of the high-spin peak is typically much smaller than that of the low-spin peak, so that most of the sources have low spins. However, a small population of near maximally spinning high-accretion rate objects is inferred. A bimodality should be seen in the radio loudness of quasars, although there are a variety of physical and selection effects that may obfuscate this feature. We predict that the low-excitation galaxies are dominated by SMBHs with masses ∼> 108 M⊙, down to radio luminosity densities ∼1021 W Hz−1 sr−1 at 1.4 GHz. Under reasonable assumptions, our model is also able to predict the radio luminosity function at z=1, and predicts it to be dominated by radio sources with high-excitation narrow emission lines above luminosity densities ∼> 1026 W Hz−1 sr−1 at 1.4 GHz, and this is in full agreement with the observations. From our parametrisation of the spin distributions of the high- and low-accretion rate SMBHs, we derive an estimate of the spin history of SMBHs, which shows a weak evolution between z=1 and 0. A larger fraction of low-redshift SMBHs have high spins compared to high-redshift SMBHs. Using the best fitting jet efficiencies there is marginal evidence for evolution in spin: the mean spin increases slightly from hˆai∼0.25 at z=1 to hˆai∼0.35 at z=0, and the fraction of SMBHs with ˆa>0.5 increases from 0.16±0.03 at z=1 to 0.24±0.09 at z=0. Our inferred spin history of SMBHs is in excellent agreement with constraints from the mean radiative efficiency of quasars, as well as the results from recent simulations of growing SMBHs. We discuss the implications in terms of accretion and SMBH mergers. We also discuss other work related to the spin of SMBHs as well as work discussing the spin of galactic black holes and their jet powers.


SUMMARY: Using proprietary Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data, this study examines audit pricing, service bundling, and independence issues in the self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) sector, the fastest growing and largest segment of the Australian $2 trillion retirement savings industry. We consider the impact of partner-level scale effects for a large sample of SMSF audits for the three years to June 2010. After controlling for factors known to determine audit fees, we find evidence of fee discounting by partners with large client portfolios. However, when the dependent variable is redefined to the total "bundle" of services (including audit and non-audit fees), the firms of partners with larger client portfolios are shown to earn bundling fee premiums. This finding suggests industry specialists price strategically using audits as a conduit to supply higher margin non-audit services (NAS) to clients with more resources. Last, we find no evidence the supply of NAS impairs auditor independence, all...


The Antarctic continental shelf seas feature a bimodal distribution of water mass temperature, with the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas flooded by Circumpolar Deep Water that is several degrees Celsius warmer than the cold shelf waters prevalent in the Weddell and Ross Seas. This bimodal distribution could be caused by differences in atmospheric forcing, ocean dynamics, ocean and ice feedbacks, or some combination of these factors. In this study, a highly simplified coupled sea ice–mixed layer model is developed to investigate the physical processes controlling this situation. Under regional atmospheric forcings and parameter choices the 10-yr simulations demonstrate a complete destratification of the Weddell Sea water column in winter, forming cold, relatively saline shelf waters, while the Amundsen Sea winter mixed layer remains shallower, allowing a layer of deep warm water to persist. Applying the Weddell atmospheric forcing to the Amundsen Sea model destratifies the water column after two years, and applying the Amundsen forcing to the Weddell Sea model results in a shallower steady-state winter mixed layer that no longer destratifies the water column. This suggests that the regional difference in atmospheric forcings alone is sufficient to account for the bimodal distribution in Antarctic shelf-sea temperatures. The model prediction of mixed layer depth is most sensitive to the air temperature forcing, but a switch in all forcings is required to prevent destratification of the Weddell Sea water column.


ABSTRACT Increasing ship traffic and human activity in the Arctic has led to a growing demand for accurate Arctic weather forecast. High-quality forecasts obtained by models are dependent on accurate initial states achieved by assimilation of observations. In this study, a multi-variate nudging (MVN) method for assimilation of sea-ice variables is introduced. The MVN assimilation method includes procedures for multivariate update of sea-ice volume and concentration, and for extrapolation of observational information spatially. The MVN assimilation scheme is compared with the Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) using the Los Alamos Sea Ice Model. Two multi-variate experiments are conducted: in the first experiment, sea-ice thickness from the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission is assimilated, and in the second experiment, sea-ice concentration from the ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility is assimilated. The multivariate effects are cross-validated by comparing the model with non-assimilated observations. It is found that the simple and computationally cheap MVN method shows comparable skills to the more complicated and expensive EnKF method for multivariate update. In addition, we show that when few observations are available, the MVN method is a significant model improvement compared to the version based on one-dimensional sea-ice concentration assimilation.


The Three Gorges Project has been subject to intense debates regarding its benefits and costs. The environmental impacts of this huge project have been an important focus of these debates since the project planning stage. After the operation of the Three Gorges Dam at full capacity at the end of 2008, new environmental and ecological issues are emerging. This paper gives a brief description of the Three Gorges Project and its environmental impact assessment process, as well as major efforts to control environmental problems brought about by the project. From the long and complicated evaluation process, it is clear that there are large uncertainties and competing opinions regarding the benefits and costs, especially the ecological and environmental ones, of the project even after great research effort. Emphasis here is given to the environmental challenges including: (1) water quality control; (2) water and sediment regulation; (3) biodiversity conservation in the riparian and aquatic ecosystems; (4) environmentally friendly dam operation and regional sustainable development. Opportunities often grow out of the challenges. The Three Gorges Project provides opportunities for grand-scale experiments on the environmental, ecological, and socio-economic impacts of large dams. Local, national, and international concerted efforts and concrete actions should be directed to the mitigation and control of the negative impacts as well as securing the positive contributions of the project across scales.


A series that prepares students for paragraph and composition writing, while making the process enjoyable. Writing from Within, Level 2 focuses on generating topics, writing cohesive paragraphs, and organizing them into clear, logical compositions. The book contains twelve units, each one centering around a final writing assignment. As students prepare for their assignment, they brainstorm ideas for writing and analyze sample paragraphs and compositions for both language and organization. The units offer a balance of introspective writing assignments with more conventional, task-based ones. Level 2 writing topics include a major life event, personal goals, a research report, and a newspaper article.


The current European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) texts for Interferon (IFN)-alfa-2 include a nonspecific photometric protein assay using albumin as calibrator and a highly variable cell-based assay for the potency determination of the protective effects. A request was expressed by the Official Medicines Control Laboratories (OMCLs) for improved methods for the batch control of recombinant interferon alfa-2 bulk and market surveillance testing of finished products, including those formulated with Human Serum Albumin (HSA). A HPLC method was developed at the Medical Products Agency (MPA, Sweden) for the testing of IFN-alfa-2 products. An initial collaborative study run under the Biological Standardisation Programme (BSP; study code BSP039) revealed the need for minor changes to improve linearity of the calibration curves, assay reproducibility and robustness. The goal of the collaborative study, coded BSP071, was to transfer and further validate this improved HPLC method. Ten laboratories participated in the study. Four marketed IFN-alfa-2 preparations (one containing HSA) together with the Ph. Eur. Chemical Reference Substance (CRS) for IFN-alfa-2a and IFN-alfa-2b, and in-house reference standards from two manufacturers were used for the quantitative assay. The modified method was successfully transferred to all laboratories despite local variation in equipment. The resolution between the main and the oxidised forms of IFN-alfa-2 was improved compared to the results from the BSP039 study. The improved method even allowed partial resolution of an extra peak after the principal peak. Symmetry of the main IFN peak was acceptable for all samples in all laboratories. Calibration curves established with the Ph. Eur. IFN-alfa-2a and IFN-alfa-2b CRSs showed excellent linearity with intercepts close to the origin and coefficients of determination greater than 0.9995. Assay repeatability, intermediate precision and reproducibility varied with the tested sample within acceptable ranges. Test accuracy estimated by comparing the values obtained by the participants to the declared contents determined by the manufacturers was good despite the absence of a common reference preparation. In conclusion, the present study showed that the new method is suitable, reproducible and transferable. Proposals for the revision of Ph. Eur. texts are presented.


To manage and control grinding process theoretically, the cutting-edge density should be quantified. In this study, the estimation method of the grain-height distribution, which is necessary to quantify the cutting-edge density, has been examined. From the results of simulation by modeling the grain distribution of a grinding wheel, the close correlation has been confirmed between the grain-height distribution and the peak-height distribution of the working surface profile. Based on this, the grain-height distribution can be estimated from the peak-height distribution by narrowing the width accompanied maintaining the total frequency. Since the estimated grain-height distribution agreed well to the distribution determined from the measured 3D-topography, the validity of the method has been confirmed.


Dietary patterns synthesize multiple related diet components, which can be used by nutrition researchers to examine diet-disease relationships. Latent class models (LCMs) have been used to derive dietary patterns from dietary intake assessment, where each class profile represents the probabilities of exposure to a set of diet components. However, LCM-derived dietary patterns can exhibit strong similarities, or weak separation, resulting in numerical and inferential instabilities that challenge scientific interpretation. This issue is exacerbated in small-sized subpopulations. To address these issues, we provide a simple solution that empowers LCMs to improve dietary pattern estimation. We develop a tree-regularized Bayesian LCM that shares statistical strength between dietary patterns to make better estimates using limited data. This is achieved via a Dirichlet diffusion tree process that specifies a prior distribution for the unknown tree over classes. Dietary patterns that share proximity to one another in the tree are shrunk towards ancestral dietary patterns a priori, with the degree of shrinkage varying across pre-specified food groups. Using dietary intake data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, we apply the proposed approach to a sample of 496 US adults of South American ethnic background to identify and compare dietary patterns.


"So you're the one getting this gift? Lucky you! Someone who knows you has visited the museum. They searched out things they thought you would care about, and they took photos and left messages for you."
 This is the welcoming message for the Gift app, designed to create a very personal museum visit. Hybrid Museum Experiences use new technologies to augment, expand or alter the physical experience of visiting the museum. They are designed to be experienced in close relation to the physical space and exhibit. In this book we discuss three forms of hybridity in museum experiences: Incorporating the digital and the physical, creating social, yet personal and intimate experiences, and exploring ways to balance visitor participation and museum curation. This book reports on a 3-year cross-disciplinary research project in which artists, design researchers and museum professionals have collaborated to create technology-mediated experiences that merge with the museum environment.


In this work, a chemical optical fiber sensor based on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) was designed and implemented using plastic optical fiber. The sensor is used for estimating refractive indices and concentrations of various chemical materials (methanol, distilled water, ethanol, kerosene) as well as for evaluating the performance parameters such as sensitivity, signal to noise ratio, resolution and the figure of merit of the fabricated sensor. It was found that the value of the sensitivity of the optical fiber-based SPR sensor, with 40 nm thick and 10 mm long Au metal film of exposed sensing region, was 3μm/RIU, while the SNR was 0.24, the figure of merit was 20, and the resolution was 0.00066. The sort of optical fiber utilized in this work is plastic optical fiber with a core diameter of 980 μm, a fluorinated polymer cladding of 20μm and a numerical aperture of 0.51.


1. The eosinophilic response of the guinea pig sensitized and reinjected with the specific antigen varies with the nature of the antigen used, but also with the individual guinea pig in any groupsensitized and reinjected with the same antigen.

2. Certain antihistamine drugs which abolish anaphylactic symptoms, do not abolish the eosinophilic response.

3. The severity of anaphylactic "shock" symptoms has no influence on the eosinophilic response.

4. Histamine phosphate has no effect on the eosinophil count of nonsensitized guinea pigs protected by benadryl; it causes a distinct eosinophilic response in sensitized animals.

5. Heparin—in the dose injected—produced only an insignificant rise in the peripheral eosinophil count of sensitized guinea pigs; adenosine had no effect.

6. Attempts were made to correlate the eosinophilic response in bone marrow, blood and shock tissue of guinea pigs sensitized and reinjected with a specific antigen. The variation within a wide range of the number of eosinophils in the bone marrow of nonsensitized and of sensitized, reinjected guinea pigs is emphasized. A definite correlation seems to exist between the presence of a large number of eosinophils in blood and lungs; it is shown, however, that this observation permits only limited conclusions.

7. The factors which account for discrepancies in the interpretation of the eosinophilic response, e.g., nature of antigen, route of administration and characteristics of species, are analyzed.

8. The significance of the findings is reviewed in the light of previous work.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT We wish to express our appreciation to Miss Alice Sprenger for her patient and efficient technical assistance.


With the increase in chip size and complexity, the direct or bus interconnects in conventional SoC test control models are rather restricted. In this paper, we propose a new distributed multihop wireless test control network based on the recent development in "radio-on-chip" technology. The proposed architecture consists of three basic components, the test scheduler, the resource configurators, and the RF nodes which support the communication between the test scheduler and clusters of cores. Under the multilevel tree structure, the resources (including not only the circuit blocks to perform testing, but also the on-chip radio-frequency nodes for intra-chip communication) are properly distributed and system optimization is performed in terms of both test application time and test control cost. Topic Category: System-on-Chip (SOC) Test, System Testing, Test Resource Partitioning


Melanic polymorphism in Adalia bipunctata is usually said to result from cyclical seasonal selection acting on the morphs: predominantly black individuals gain a reproductive advantage in the spring and summer, red forms gaining an advantage during the winter. The veracity of this proposition is based largely on a series of samples taken in Berlin-Buch in the 1930s by Timofeeff-Ressovsky (1940). These show considerable and reasonably consistent cyclical changes in the frequency of the morphs. We here give morph frequency data from sites in Russia and Britain, as well as citing data from Berlin-Buch (Schummer, 1983) which show no indication of the seasonal selection postulated by Timofeeff-Ressovsky. We discuss the possible explanations of these contradictory data sets and consider the mechanisms which might account for the maintenance of melanic polymorphism in A. bipunctata in the absence of cyclical thermal melanism.


Socially responsible policy makers and consumers are pressuring firms to make their supply chains more transparent by disclosing information about their supplier monitoring activities (SMA). Yet, high monitoring costs and the complexity of supply chains pose challenges for firms to effectively monitor their extended supply chain, including both first-tier and lower-tier suppliers. In order to comprehensively evaluate the net benefit from SMA, it is therefore critical to consider potential effects on drivers of additional revenues that may accrue from the disclosure of SMA to consumers. Prior research on SMA has examined the associated cost, risk, and supplier relational implications on the focal firm. I examine the effect of supply chain transparency by means of a firm's SMA disclosure on consumer evaluations through a series of experiments and sentiment analysis of social media data. Further, I study the effect of SMA disclosures on a firm's brand equity via content analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. Specifically, I investigate the effects of (1) mere disclosure of SMA, (2) the breadth of SMA, the depth of SMA, and the specific mechanism used to monitor lower-tier suppliers, and (3) the interactions between issue involvement, SMA disclosure, and SMA characteristics on consumer evaluations. The results reveal that (1) the disclosure of SMA information improves individual-level consumer evaluations, consumer sentiment, and organizational-level brand equity; (2) SMA characteristics including breadth, depth, and monitoring mechanism each have effects on consumer evaluations; and (3) consumers' CSR involvement plays an important role in strengthening the relationship between firms' SMA disclosures and evaluations. This work makes several important contributions to several literature streams including the CSR literature, the supply chain transparency literature, and the sustainable supplier management literature. This research also provides motivation and guidance for practitioners that engage in or are considering SMA by highlighting SMA disclosure as a means for firms to boost consumer evaluations. Further, for firms that strive to achieve supply chain transparency through SMA disclosures, results show that not only is it critical to understand what to disclose, but also to whom to disclose. TABLE OF CONTENT


Patients with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease were studied using MRI, SPECT, and psychometric tests. Significant correlations between focal perfusion deficits and focal cognitive deficits were found. Significant correlations between regional relaxation time of white matter and psychometric tests of diffuse and focal categories were also found. Pathological examination confirmed Alzheimer's disease as the only diagnosis.


Dear Editor,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global health emergency since the end of 2019.1 It has been the cause of more than 2.06 million deaths around the world until now.2,3 As you know, this pandemic has caused many problems and has had damaging effects on various aspects of people's lives. One of the essential issues to pay special attention to is women's mental health during pregnancy. In this letter, we would like to explain the immediate need to focus on the psychological impact of the SARS-Cov-2 during pregnancy.Several reports have shown that the rate of psychopathology (anxiety, depression, etc.) in pregnancy has increased significantly during pandemics. This increasing rate was related to fear of infection with the virus, reduce support services in hospitals and operating rooms, inadequate prenatal care, and social isolation from support networks.4Mortazavi and colleagues published an article regarding pregnant women's well-being and worry during the COVID-19 pandemic.5 The results of their study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a harmful effect on pregnant women in terms of mental health. A little percentage of pregnant women have severe coronavirus infection, but this pandemic has psychological consequences for the neonate and the mother.Perinatal support is a service for any woman with mental health problems, who are planning a pregnancy, are pregnant, or have a baby up to one year of age. There has been a significant decrease in prenatal care around the world, which could lead to increased rates of psychopathology problems which is in turn a risk factor for poor postpartum health and postnatal depression. Since the start of the pandemic, for the protection of pregnant women and their children, only one person is allowed to enter the delivery room and unnecessary visits are unacceptable.Perinatal support leads to reduced pain during delivery, increases psychological health, and satisfaction during pregnancy, so it seems that these policies have some harmful effects, and they will show themselves in the near future.Moreover, during the pandemic, violence against women has increased as a result of economic stress and financial instability. Domestic violence is closely related to psychopathology, especially increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide. During pregnancy, mental health disorders can have very serious consequences for both the mother and baby. For instance, increased perinatal psychopathology can result in the usage of drugs, alcohol, and future suicide. In addition, when the mother has stress, many problems can restrict fetal growth, lead to premature birth, and induce low birthweight.According to all the explanations above, future research should aim to recognize women who are exposed to domestic violence, as well as the psychological effects of the pandemic on pregnant women and their children. To solve these problems, careful planning and management is needed and if not addressed, it can lead to irreversible outcomes in the future.In order to have a healthy society in future, we also suggest that after the end of this pandemic we need to set up a screening and control program for women who have given birth during this pandemic to monitor and manage possible consequences.


Journalists and bloggers need to find useful images to illustrate news stories and blog entries with high quality photos. The dpikt text illustration system uses multimedia information retrieval to assist this content enrichment task. Users query the system with text fragments and get collections of candidate photos. Images in the results can be visually sorted according to a selected photo, or be used as a seed for interactive searches over the entire collection. dpikt incorporates a recent visual descriptor, the Joint Composite Descriptor, and an approximate indexing scheme designed for large-scale image collections, the Permutation-Prefix Index. We have used the SAPO-Labs large-scale news stories photo collection, containing almost two million high quality photos with short descriptions, as the resource for the illustration task.


Algorithms for real-time parallel processing of an audio signal in large-scale digital audio distribution networks, implemented on personal computer platform, are compared in this paper from the performance point of view. In such systems, the summing and multiplication of audio signal take up a significant portion of the processing power of the system. Therefore, there is a tendency to decrease its computing demands and thus reserve the computing power of the processor for other signal processing modules in the audio network. Various approaches can therefore be used to distribute computing among several threads. Seven approaches are analyzed in the paper and fastest one is found with regard to the size of audio sample buffers.


In the present world, stress has been known as one of the calamities of human force and job stress has been considered by researchers and also World Health Organization (WHO) as an annoying phenomenon. It has been introduced as an important phenomenon in social life and a serious threat for health of labor force in the world. For this reason, researchers have conducted extensive studies in this field. In this regard, the present paper has been conducted to study role of stress management in civil projects' constructions. The most important causes of stress in road building projects were identified through literature review, field studies and interview with employers, consultants and contractors. Then, the research questionnaire was compiled by classifying these cases. By distributing the questionnaires and collecting them, the obtained information was analyzed with SPSS software. The results show that "no complete removal of the conflicts before start of the project operations" employer, consultant and contractor was the highest job stress factor which employer applies to the active forces in the project. Also, "monthly salary" was found as the most stressful factor of the working forces of employers, consultant and contractor. It was specified that "educational level" and "working experience of people" does not affect on their stress but "timely payment of wage" reduces stress and "high working volume" increases stress. KeywordsJob Stress, Stress Management, Road Building Projects


Improving the low-order natural frequencies of spiral bevel gear milling machine is a scientific design method to improve its dynamic characteristics, machining accuracy and to prolong work life. The author presents the dynamic testing method of such large-scale equipment by self-developed signal acquisition system. The finite element model was modified and constrains considered numerical model of kinetic theory were built according to the measured dynamic characteristics. On the basis of sensitivity analysis, the author takes elevation of column rear plate etc. as the optimal variables, modifies the boundary conditions and optimizes the dynamic characteristics of machine tool. Results show that the low-order natural frequency of machine tool is increased, vibration amplitude is decreased and the dynamic characteristic of machine tool is improved. This method can be applied to optimization design of the same type of products.


The focus of this dissertation is mainly on color image, especially on the images with lossy compression. Issues related to color quantization, color correction, color image retrieval and color image quality evaluation are addressed. A no-reference color image quality index is proposed. A novel color correction method applied to low bit-rate JPEG image is developed. A novel method for content-based image retrieval based upon combined feature vectors of shape, texture, and color similarities has been suggested. In addition, an image specific color reduction method has been introduced, which allows a 24-bit JPEG image to be shown in the 8-bit color monitor with 256-color display. The reduction in download and decode time mainly comes from the smart encoder incorporating with the proposed color reduction method after color space conversion stage. To summarize, the methods that have been developed can be divided into two categories: one is visual representation, and the other is image quality measure. Three algorithms are designed for visual representation: (1) An image-based visual representation for color correction on low bit-rate JPEG images. Previous studies on color correction are mainly on color image calibration among devices. Little attention was paid to the compressed image whose color distortion is evident in low bit-rate JPEG images. In this dissertation, a lookup table algorithm is designed based on the loss of PSNR in different compression ratio. (2) A feature-based representation for content-based image retrieval. It is a concatenated vector of color, shape, and texture features from region of interest (ROI). (3) An image-specific 256 colors (8 bits) reproduction for color reduction from 16 millions colors (24 bits). By inserting the proposed color reduction method into a JPEG encoder, the image size could be further reduced and the transmission time is also reduced. This smart encoder enables its decoder using less time in decoding.
Three algorithms are designed for image quality measure (IQM): (1) A referenced IQM based upon image representation in very low-dimension. Previous studies on IQMs are based on high-dimensional domain including spatial and frequency domains. In this dissertation, a low-dimensional domain IQM based on random projection is designed, with preservation of the IQM accuracy in high-dimensional domain. (2) A no-reference image blurring metric. Based on the edge gradient, the degree of image blur can be measured. (3) A no-reference color IQM based upon colorfulness, contrast and sharpness.


Although history and archaeology each seek to elucidate the past, both sets of data are incomplete and ambiguous and thus open to multiple readings that invite contradictory interpretations of human activity. This is particularly true when scholars of each field ignore or fail to understand research in the other discipline. Excavating Asian History contains case studies and theoretical articles that show how archaeologists have been investigating historical, social, and economic organizations and that explore the relationship between history and archaeology in the study of pre-modern Asia. These contributions consider biases in both historical and archaeological data that have occasioned rival claims to knowledge in the two disciplines. Ranging widely across the region from the Levant to China and from the third millennium BC to the second millennium AD, they demonstrate that archaeological and historical studies can complement each other and should be used in tandem. The contributors are leading historians and archaeologists of Asia who present data, issues, and debates revolving around the most recent research on the ancient Near East, early Islam, India, China, and Southeast Asian states. Their chapters illustrate the benefits of interdisciplinary investigations and show in particular how archaeology is changing our understanding of history. Commentary chapters by Miriam Stark and Philip Kohl add new perspectives to the findings. By showing the evolving relationship between those who study archaeological material and those who investigate textual data, Excavating Asian History offers practical demonstrations of how research has been and must continue to be structured.


IPCC special report on Global Warming of 1.5°C presents the assessment based on available scientific literature that accelerated deep decarbonization is at the core of global mitigation strategy consistent with 1.5°C warming compared to pre-industrial level. The same report also presents the high agreement and robust evidence of risks evaluated by the scientific community in faster and deeper mitigation strategies through possible threats to multiple social and economic dimensions of sustainable development for countries with high dependency on fossil fuels for revenue, economic development and employment generation. The same concerns are coming from literature on just transition which are representing voices around possible job loss, loss of investment flow despite new resource identification, high risks of stranded assets, lower revenue earning with fluctuating oil and gas prices, dwindling resources. Another set of literature on policy instruments talk of need for diversification of economy and energy sector to ease these adverse consequences of transition and need for creating enabling conditions. The diversification discourse is mostly dominated by focus on new investment opportunities limited to wind and solar energy sectors. Also, the countries at risk discussion get dominated by GCC (Gulf Countries Council) countries. All these discourses ignore multiple challenges and realities in many small but fast emerging developing country perspectives. So, the research question for this paper is how can accelerated global transition address the 'trio': sustainable and peaceful transition' through cooperation for oil and gas dependent developing countries and what is the potential for leapfrog. We with reference to oil and gas based fossil fuel energy systems which is caught up in a complex combination of problems due to likely uncertainty and redundancy of human resource currently engaged in the sector, stranded asset due to prospective early retirement of infrastructure and projected reduction in investment and need for finding substitute of fossil based energy carrier to cleaner, renewable energy carrier. Our hypothesis is that for Bangladesh endowed with gas resources and drilling infrastructure one of the transition path can be through geothermal energy system. The policy can encompass objectives of scaling up contributions of renewable energy to electricity production, promoting appropriate, efficient and environment friendly use of renewable energy and promoting clean energy as the country is facing risk of natural gas depletion. However, currently policies make no reference to geothermal potential as a part of the solution. So this study will make a novel and unique contribution in the subject and discourse.


Effect of chronic alcoholic poisoning on the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in the liver of rats was studied during ontogenesis. The activity of the enzyme was detectable for the first time in the fetal liver days 17-18 of the ontogenesis and reached the level seen in adult rats day 25 after the birth. ADH activity was dramatically increased in the liver of fetuses and progeny of females alcoholized before and during the entire pregnancy period as well as of females alcoholized before and during mating. Alcoholization of females before and over the first 15-16 days of pregnancy did not modulate the activity of liver ADH in the fetuses and progeny despite the fact that this activity in the mothers liver was 2.5 times as high as that in control.


Cystectomy is the removal of all or part of the urinary bladder. It has been observed that there is significant regrowth of the bladder after partial cystectomy and this has been proposed to be through regeneration of the organ. Regrowth of tissue in mammals has been proposed to involve compensatory mechanisms that share many characteristics of true regeneration, like the growth of specialized structures such as blood vessels or nerves. However, the overall structure of the normal organ is not achieved. Here we tested if bladder growth after subtotal cystectomy (STC, removal of 50% of the bladder) was compensatory or regenerative. To do this we subjected adult female mouse bladders to STC and assessed regrowth using several established cellular parameters including histological, gene expression, cytokine accumulation and cell proliferation studies. Bladder function was analyzed using cystometry and the voiding stain on paper (VSOP) technique. We found that STC bladders were able to increase their ability to hold urine with the majority of volume restoration occurring within the first two weeks. Regenerating bladders had thinner walls with less mean muscle thickness, and they showed increased collagen deposition at the incision as well as throughout the bladder wall suggesting that fibrosis was occurring. Cell populations differed in their response to injury with urothelial regeneration complete by day 7, but stromal and detrusor muscle still incomplete after 8wks. Cells incorporated EdU when administered at the time of surgery and tracing of EdU positive cells over time indicated that many newborn cells originate at the incision and move mediolaterally. Basal urothelial cells and bladder mesenchymal stem cells but not smooth muscle cells significantly incorporated EdU after STC. Since anti-inflammatory cytokines play a role in regeneration, we analyzed expressed cytokines and found that no anti-inflammatory cytokines were present in the bladder 1wk after STC. Our findings suggest that bladder regrowth after cystectomy is compensatory and functions to increase the volume that the bladder can hold. This finding sets the stage for understanding how the bladder responds to cystectomy and how this can be improved in patients after suffering bladder injury.


Using a fluorinated high-k/metal gate stack combined with a stress relieved pre-oxide (SRPO) pretreatment before high-k deposition, the authors show significant device reliability and performance improvements. This is a critical result since threshold voltage instability may be a fundamental problem and performance degradation for high-k is a concern. The novel fluorinated gate stack device exceeds the PBTI and NBTI targets with sufficient margin and has electron mobility comparable to the best polySi/SiON device on bulk Si reported so far


Introduction: Teenage pregnancy and its effects on teen motherhood are among the major societal challenges of the teenagers in the contemporary global community. In a 30 million population 25 percent pregnancy rate among adolescents is an issue of great concern to the government and the whole of Uganda. Objective: This study identifies and analyses the individual factors contributing to the prevalence of teenage pregnancy among teenagers assessing Naguru teenage centre. Methodology: A cross sectional study design was used employing both quantitative and qualitative approaches using 384 population sample size among teenagers assessing Naguru teenage centre. A consecutive sampling technique with structured questionnaire was used to identify the individual factors contributing to teenage pregnancy. Data were statistically analysed using SPSS for the relationship between the variables. Results: The result shows that 4 in every 10 teenagers accessing Naguru teenage centre were pregnant. Individual risk factors found to be associated with teenage pregnancy were educational level (P=0.024, X2=7.452), age at the start of contraceptives (P=0.049, X2=7.852), siblings are sexually active (X2=12.727, P=0.005) and siblings ever got pregnant (X2=15.214, P<0.001). Teenagers that were not educated (OR=3.437, CI=6.906-1.711) were more likely to be pregnant. Teenagers who start the use of contraceptives at the age of 13years and above were more likely to get pregnant (OR=2.484, CI=4.938-1.25). Teenagers whose siblings were sexually active (OR=5.308, CI=11.295-2.494) were more likely to get pregnant. Teenagers whose siblings ever got pregnant were more likely to get pregnant (OR=2.575, CI=4.642-1.428). Conclusion: The study concluded that the prevalence of teenage pregnancy among teenager accessing Naguru teenage centre is moderately high. Risk factors for teenage pregnancy were educational level, age at the start of contraceptives, sibling sexually active and siblings ever got pregnant. Recommendation: Government, Stakeholders, community leaders, teachers and parents have more efforts such as sensitization, monitoring, counseling, etc to intensify on various means of reducing teenager's pregnancy.


Dyes are often used as tracers of water and solute flow in soil. However, there has been little published research on the effects of now velocity on the relative movement of dye and wetting fronts. Recently, the FD&C Blue no. 1 dye has been used as a tracer of preferential water flow paths in soils, and has attractive properties suggesting it will be used increasingly in the future. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of flow velocity on the adsorption characteristics of the FD&C Blue no. 1. We performed a series of laboratory experiments on the characterization of the equilibrium adsorption isotherm as well as the effect of flow velocity on adsorption characteristics of the FD&C Blue no. 1 in three horizons of Verndale sandy loam (coarse-loamy over sandy, mixed, frigid Udic Argiboroll). Batch equilibration (24 h) measurements resulted in linearized Freundlich distribution coefficients (K d ) of 4.33, 23.95, and 4.59 L kg -1 for the Ap, Bt, and C horizons, respectively. Neither organic C nor clay content differences accounted for the variation between horizons. Leaching experiments with a 1 g L -1 dye solution and repacked soil columns containing either Ap, Bt, or C horizon material showed that the dye was retarded relative to the wetting front, and that the extent of retardation was inversely related to the time period during which dye solution was applied. Therefore, this dye (and perhaps others) should not be used to make inferences about the movement of water or other solutes until the effect of the application rate is evaluated for the flow conditions in the system(s) of interest.


The human chromosome region 11p15.5 contains a number of maternally and paternally imprinted genes, and the LIT1/KCNQ1OT1 locus acts as an imprinting center in the proximal domain of 11p15.5. Loss of imprinting (LOI) of LIT1 and its correlation with methylation status at a differentially methylated region, the KvDMR1, were investigated in 69 colorectal cancer tissue specimens. LIT1 expression profiles were also examined by RNA‐fluorescence in situ hybridization in 13 colorectal cancer cell lines. In 69 colorectal cancer tissue specimens, LOI of LIT1 was observed in nine of the 17 (53%) informative cases. Moreover, LOI of LIT1 was only observed in tumor samples. In the cell lines, methylation status at the KvDMR1 correlated well with LIT1 expression profiles. Loss of expression of LIT1 also correlated with enrichment of H3 lysine 9 (H3‐K9) dimethylation and reduction of H3 lysine 4 (H3‐K4) dimethylation. Thus, LIT1 expression appears to be controlled by epigenetic modifications at the KvDMR1, although CDKN1C expression, which is considered to be controlled by LIT1, was not associated with epigenetic status at the KvDMR1 in some colorectal cancer cell lines. Therefore, these findings suggest that LOI of LIT1 via epigenetic disruption plays an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis, but it is not necessarily associated with CDKN1C expression. (Cancer Sci 2006; 97: 1147–1154)


BACKGROUND
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of invasive bacterial disease and pneumonia among children. Antimicrobial resistance among pneumococci has increased in recent years and complicates treatment. The introduction of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) could reduce acquisition of antimicrobial-resistant pneumococci.

METHODS
We obtained 1350 nasopharyngeal swabs for culture from 1275 children aged 3-59 months presenting at 3 clinics in Anchorage, Alaska, during the winters of 2000, 2001, and 2002, as PCV7 was being introduced into the routine immunization schedule. We recorded the frequency of use of antibiotics as well as the dates of doses of PCV7 for enrolled children. We used multivariate logistic regression modeling to identify independent risk factors for overall carriage of pneumococci and carriage of PCV7-type pneumococci, cotrimoxazole-nonsusceptible (COT-NS) pneumococci, or penicillin-nonsusceptible (PCN-NS) pneumococci.

RESULTS
The proportion of children who were up-to-date for age, with respect to PCV7 vaccination, increased from 0% in 2000 to 55% in 2002. Carriage of PCV7-type pneumococci decreased by 43% (P<.0001). Risk of carriage of PCV7-type pneumococci was lower in 2002 than in 2000, independent of vaccination status, suggesting an indirect effect of vaccination. Carriage of COT-NS, but not PCN-NS, pneumococci also decreased (38%; P=.02), not only among vaccinated children but also among unvaccinated children without recent use of antibiotics.

CONCLUSIONS
Introduction of PCV7 into the routine infant immunization schedule in a community with a high prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant pneumococci appears to reduce transmission of PCV7 vaccine serotypes and COT-NS pneumococci but has no impact on overall carriage of pneumococci or carriage of PCN-NS pneumococci.


With the advancement of the "big data" technology, college students inadvertently purchase personal advice while taking advantage of the exciting Internet to access information quickly and easily. In order to objectively achieve the real office of college students' material enlightenment penetration in the mobile-friendly network, we choose the popular mobile social network, and we apply the natural clustering algorithm rules to segment the college students. Further, we identify college students, based on which we construct information leakage and apply the risk assessment design. The comprehensive entrepreneurial evaluation of the microblog platform combined with the user's mobile complaints is utilized to conduct a psychological analysis on the key components and key communication channels of college students' complaint leakage. We obtain ticket data using the social prospect method and refer to four dogmatic characteristic elements of query motivation. And we also collect dimensions through surrogate analysis. Based on the reference feature factor, four different user groups are rapidly moved. Dining, social, teaching and large users, and the model features of various usage profiles are described in combination with eight categories of user feature importance. The |objective is to improve college students' awareness of social network and mobile partner network mobile information to a certain extent. We attempt to protect college students from fraud and installation plans, to standardize the management of online social platform of advertisements, and to progressively promote the disposal of network movable property due to security changes.


In certain cases, images of different scenes can be mixed to produce an image of a novel scene. For example, an image of a pink sphere can be additively mixed from suitable images of a red and a white sphere. Three ways in which scenes can differ are considered: in the spectral composition of the illuminant and in the spectral and the geometric reflectance of scene objects. Sufficient conditions are given for mixing to produce images that correspond to possible scenes. Examples illustrate ways that mixtures can be used as stimuli in psychophysical experiments concerned with pictorial perception.


We introduce mortgages into a dynamic equilibrium, directed search model of the housing market. Mortgage rates play their natural role in our model by affecting the share of per-period income that a homeowner spends on mortgage payment rather than consumption. We estimate the model using microdata on home listings, exploiting the insights of Menzio and Shi (2010) to handle the significant heterogeneity that even basic mortgages introduce into a search model. The estimated model shows that, because of search frictions, housing market conditions are significantly more responsive to mortgage rates than suggested by reduced-form correlations of rates with house prices. Buyer willingness to pay for the typical home changes by more than twice as much as average house prices in response to an interest rate change. As in the data, home construction is more rate sensitive than prices in our model.


This paper presents a learning satisfaction model that examines the determinant factors for student learning satisfaction in a blended e-learning environment. Conformation factor analysis was performed to test the reliability and validity of the measurement model. The partial least squares method was used to evaluate the causal model. The results indicated that the learning climate, perceived value and perceived ease of use significantly affected learning satisfaction. Computer self-efficacy had a strong impact on perceived behavioral control; computer self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control and social interaction had significant effects on perceived ease of use. System functionality, content feature and social interaction significantly affected perceived value. Social interaction had a significant effect on learning climate. This paper provides initial insights into those factors that are likely significant antecedents for planning and implementing a blended e-learning system to enhance student learning satisfaction.


We analyze the interaction of fiscal rules and fiscal space. We find strong evidence for fiscal rules being associated with higher fiscal space for the EU27 countries for the period 1990-2014. Furthermore, the analysis shows that countries with more fiscal space tend to have higher discretionary expenditures, but that this effect is significantly reduced if fiscal rules are in place. Moreover, we find support for the hypothesis that the procyclicality of fiscal policy is significantly higher in an environment of ample fiscal space and that fiscal rules can help lowering this procyclicality.


In several neurodegenerative diseases and myelin disorders, the degeneration profiles of myelinated axons are compatible with underlying energy deficits. However, it is presently impossible to measure selectively axonal ATP levels in the electrically active nervous system. We combined transgenic expression of an ATP-sensor in neurons of mice with confocal FRET imaging and electrophysiological recordings of acutely isolated optic nerves. This allowed us to monitor dynamic changes and activity-dependent axonal ATP homeostasis at the cellular level and in real time. We find that changes in ATP levels correlate well with compound action potentials. However, this correlation is disrupted when metabolism of lactate is inhibited, suggesting that axonal glycolysis products are not sufficient to maintain mitochondrial energy metabolism of electrically active axons. The combined monitoring of cellular ATP and electrical activity is a novel tool to study neuronal and glial energy metabolism in normal physiology and in models of neurodegenerative disorders. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24241.001


One of the most important topics regarding the application of superconducting fault current limiters (SFCL) for upcoming smart grid is related to its possible effect on the reduction of abnormal fault current and the suitable location in the micro grids. Due to the grid connection of the micro grids with the current power grids, excessive fault current is a serious problem to be solved for successful implementation of micro grids. However, a shortage of research concerning the location of SFCL in micro grid is felt. In this work, a resistive type SFCL model was implemented by integrating Simulink and SimPowerSystem blocks in Matlab. The designed SFCL model could be easily utilized for determining an impedance level of SFCL according to the fault-current-limitation requirements of various kinds of the smart grid system. In addition, typical smart grid model including generation, transmission and distribution network with dispersed energy resource was modeled to determine the location and the performance of the SFCL. As for a dispersed energy resource, 10 MVA wind farm was considered for the simulation. Three phase faults have been simulated at different locations in smart grid and the effect of the SFCL and its location on the wind farm fault current was evaluated. Consequently, the optimum arrangement of the SFCL location in Smart Grid with renewable resources has been proposed and its remarkable performance has been suggested.


We prove that any compact orientable hypersurface with boundary immersed (resp. embedded) in Euclidean space is regularly homotopic (resp. isotopic) to a hypersurface with principal directions which may have any prescribed homotopy type, and principal curvatures each of which may be prescribed to within an arbitrary small error of any constant. Further we construct regular homotopies (resp. isotopies) which control the principal curvatures and directions of hypersurfaces in a variety of ways. These results, which we prove by holonomic approximation, establish some h-principles in the sense of Gromov, and generalize theorems of Gluck and Pan on embedding and knotting of positively curved surfaces in 3-space.


This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to explore emotional representation and illness coherence, the understanding a person has about an illness which helps them make sense of the experience, in Russians with tuberculosis. In a secondary analysis of questionnaires from 105 Russians treated for pulmonary tuberculosis, social isolation and disease consequences were predictors of negative emotions related to tuberculosis and accounted for 49 percent of the variance. Participants who scored higher on illness coherence were less likely to experience negative emotions. Development of programs to help patients understand tuberculosis and to manage emotional responses and stigma is suggested.


Studies of semantic dementia, imaging, and repetitive TMS have suggested that the bilateral anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) underpin a modality-invariant representational hub within the semantic system. Questions remain, however, regarding functional specialization across a variety of knowledge domains within the ATL region. We investigated direct evidence for the functional relevance of the superior ATL in processing social concepts. Using converging evidence from noninvasive brain stimulation and neuropsychology, we demonstrate graded differentiation of right and left superior anterior temporal areas in social cognition. Whereas the left superior ATL is necessary for processing both social and nonsocial abstract concepts, social conceptual processing predominates in the right superior ATL. This graded hemispheric specialization is mirrored in the patient results. Our data shed new light on the classic debate about hemispheric differences in semantic and social cognition. These results are considered in the context of models of semantic representation and the emerging data on connectivity for left and right ATL regions.


Control of molecular ordering and packing of π-conjugated molecules in the solid state is crucial for enhancing the charge transport properties in organic electronics. A series of quinoidal materials based on different alkyl-chain branching positions on the thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione moiety flanked with unsymmetric thieno[3,4-b]thiophenes (2DQTT-n) are synthesized. By the combination of organic thin-film transistor performances and thin-film characterization, we clarified the influence of the branching position on the film microstructure/molecular packing and charge transport properties. Air-stable solution-processable n-channel 2DQTT-n derivatives show dramatic changes in film morphology and molecular packing, which leads to disparate electron mobilities ranging from ∼0.34 to 4.5 cm2 V−1 s−1. 2DQTT-1 with a branching point at the two-position in the alkyl side chain results in a 3D molecular packing with a lamellate morphology, and an electron mobility of up to 4.5 cm2 V−1 s−1 using an annealing temperature of just 80 °C. In contrast, the other three materials exhibit polymorphs and 2DQTT-3 and 2DQTT-4 even show mix-oriented crystallites which are highly disadvantageous to charge transport. These results demonstrate that variation of the alkyl-chain branching point is a powerful strategy to tune the stacking modes in the thin-film state, which enables high charge transport properties.


The Anthropocene, viewed as a new geological epoch displacing the Holocene epoch of the last 10,000 to 12,000 years, represents what has been called an "anthropogenic rift" in the history of the planet.… Recent scientific evidence suggests that the period from around 1950 on exhibits a major spike, marking a Great Acceleration in human impacts on the environment, with the most dramatic stratigraphic trace of the anthropogenic rift to be found in fallout radionuclides from nuclear weapons testing.… Viewed in this way, the Anthropocene can be seen as corresponding roughly to the rise of the modern environmental movement, which had its beginnings in the protests led by scientists against above-ground nuclear testing after the Second World War, and was to emerge as a wider movement following the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962. Carson's book was soon followed in the 1960s by the very first warnings, by Soviet and U.S. scientists, of accelerated and irreversible global warming. It is this dialectical interrelation between the acceleration into the Anthropocene and the acceleration of a radical environmentalist imperative in response that constitutes the central theme of Ian Angus's marvelous new book.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


It has been shown in experiments on CBA mice that in certain conditions injection of hydrocortisone (10 mg/kg) results in suppression of the delayed type hypersensitivity reaction and prolongation of the skin allograft survival. Preliminary thymectomy abolishes the immunomodulating effect of the drug, being, in the authors' opinion, the evidence for thymus involvement in mediation of the immuno-suppressive effect of hydrocortisone.


The past decade has witnessed a growth of interest in parental influences on individual differences in children's executive function (EF) on the one hand and in the academic consequences of variation in children's EF on the other hand. The primary aim of this longitudinal study was to examine whether children's EF mediated the relation between three distinct aspects of parental behavior (i.e., parental scaffolding, negative parent-child interactions, and the provision of informal learning opportunities) and children's academic ability (as measured by standard tests of literacy and numeracy skills). Data were collected from 117 parent-child dyads (60 boys) at two time points ~1 year apart (M Age at Time 1 = 3.94 years, SD = 0.53; M Age at Time 2 = 5.11 years, SD = 0.54). At both time points children completed a battery of tasks designed to measure general cognitive ability (e.g., non-verbal reasoning) and EF (e.g., inhibition, cognitive flexibility, working memory). Our models revealed that children's EF (but not general cognitive ability) mediated the relations between parental scaffolding and negative parent-child interactions and children's early academic ability. In contrast, parental provision of opportunities for learning in the home environment was directly related to children's academic abilities. These results suggest that parental scaffolding and negative parent-child interactions influence children's academic ability by shaping children's emerging EF.


Virtual independent medical evaluations (IMEs) have become and are likely to remain common even after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ends, but virtual health care and virtual examinations are not simply a matter of moving to a new platform—rather, they require a transformation that affects all stakeholders. Innovative solutions necessitated by virtual IMEs potentially can improve both quality and efficiency. The American Medical Association (AMA) defines telemedicine as health-related services that are synchronous and asynchronous and include a variety of tools and platforms that allow clinicians to connect with one another and patients (a box provides information about AMA's ongoing telehealth initiative). Physicians who plan to perform virtual evaluations must have the appropriate policies, procedures, and security in place; resources are available from the AMA Guides series of publications. Each component of the virtual IME, including each data element, should be assessed to determine best practices and how to use virtual technologies successfully. The credibility of virtual IMEs may hinge on the examiner's ability to explain both what was done and why it was as efficacious as an in-person alternative or perhaps as useful as any other alternative under the circumstances. One challenge is to master the tools used in virtual IMEs and another is to obtain stakeholders' acceptance of the virtual process, but this will come with time, experience, and effective physician performance.


Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a debilitating mental illness, may be exacerbated and maintained by stress. Furthermore, the disorder may be conceptualized as maladaptive coping in relation to an absent or exaggerated perceived threat due to faulty appraisals of potentially distressing intrusive thoughts. Thus, using cognitive models, OCD is conceptualized using Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) Transactional Stress Model. Distress caused by obsessions, misinterpretations (primary appraisal) of these initial thoughts based on a set of misguided beliefs held by individuals with OCD, leads to engagement in largely ineffective and/or unnecessary compulsive strategies (coping) after learning previously that these strategies are briefly effective in reducing distress (secondary appraisal). This creates a cycle broken only through reappraisal of the initial thoughts, which is the goal of treatment. This conceptualization provides an understanding of how stress and coping are integral influences on the formation, persistence, and treatment of this disorder.


Development is a process that needs to tightly coordinated in both space and time. Cell tracking and lineage tracing have become important experimental techniques in developmental biology and allow us to map the fate of cells and their progeny in both space and time. A generic feature of developing (as well as homeostatic) tissues that these analyses have revealed is that relatively few cells give rise to the bulk of the cells in a tissue; the lineages of most cells come to an end fairly quickly. This has spurned the interest also of computational and theoretical biologists/physicists who have developed a range of modelling – perhaps most notably are the agent-based modelling (ABM) — approaches. These can become computationally prohibitively expensive but seem to capture some of the features observed in experiments. Here we develop a complementary perspective that allows us to understand the dynamics leading to the formation of a tissue (or colony of cells). Borrowing from the rich population genetics literature we develop genealogical models of tissue development that trace the ancestry of cells in a tissue back to their most recent common ancestors. We apply this approach to tissues that grow under confined conditions — as would, for example, be appropriate for the neural crest — and unbounded growth — illustrative of the behaviour of 2D tumours or bacterial colonies. The classical coalescent model from population genetics is readily adapted to capture tissue genealogies for different models of tissue growth and development. We show that simple but universal scaling relationships allow us to establish relationships between the coalescent and different fractal growth models that have been extensively studied in many different contexts, including developmental biology. Using our genealogical perspective we are able to study the statistical properties of the processes that give rise to tissues of cells, without the need for large-scale simulations.


Graphene-enhanced metamaterials in THz applications Terahertz (THz) radiation is widely employed in a broad range of fields in biology, medicine, communication, security, chemistry, and spectroscopy. To expand the application of terahertz radiation new device designs and fabrication methods are needed. The ability of metamaterials to manipulate electromagnetic waves makes them natural candidates for THz optical components [1]. However, ranges of light manipulation can be strongly expanded by involving graphene as a structural component of metamaterials. The interplay between interband and intraband transitions in graphene allows converting a multilayer graphene/dielectric structure into a transparent and/or electromagnetically dense artificial medium in a narrow THz or infra-red frequency range. The gate voltage can be used to electrically control the concentration of carriers in the graphene sheets and, thus, efficiently change the dispersion of the whole structure. Placed inside a hollow waveguide, a multilayer graphene/dielectric metamaterial provides high-speed modulation of radiation and offers novel concepts for terahertz modulators and tunable bandpass filters. We exemplify it showing performance of waveguide-based terahertz modulators with high ON-state transmission and competitive energetic efficiency: with a 50 meV shift of graphene's Fermi energy, it is possible to switch between transmission and attenuation regimes [2]. Structured graphene layers embedded into dielectric (graphene wire medium) can be used to create a hyperlens. We propose a realistic geometrical design for the hyperlens for the THz radiation and proved that it can resolve two line sources separated by distance λ0/5. Simulations were done with two approaches: heavy full-3D simulations and quick 2D hyperlens modeling via homogenization in one dimension [3]. Both approaches exhibit close correspondence in results. Furthermore, we analyze the origin of the hyperbolic dispersion behavior in graphene-dielectric metamaterials. It appears that TM-polarized plasmon-polaritons in individual graphene sheets hybridize to form volume plasmon-polaritons with hyperbolic metamaterial-like properties in the frequency range, where the imaginary part of the graphene conductivity significantly exceeds its real part. On the other hand, TE-polarized graphene plasmons-polaritons behave like long-ranged surface plasmon-polaritons in metal-dielectric multilayers, without any hints on hyperbolic-like dispersion [4]. We believe that graphene-enhanced metamaterials constitute a useful functional element for the THz-infrared integrated optics devices.


One of the most remarkable men in church history was Giovanni Bernardone (1182-1226), nicknamed Franciscus of Assisi. After his conversion he took Jesus' instruction to his disciples in Mark 6:8 to hart and made poverty his "bride". The historical background of church and society in the 13th century had a major impact on his theology. He objected against the negative effects of the crusades, economy of prosperity and growing humanism of the time. His bondage to God, mankind and nature later became the major characteristic of the mendicant order of the Franciscans. St. Franciscus' theology of compassionate ministry was also a reaction to the scholasticism with its focus on reason. Scholasticism "believed in order to understand". It was a theology (philosophy) of the intellectuals at the universities in Europe and focussed mainly on the mind/reason. In St. Franciscus' theology the mistic (as a reaction against the scholasticism) and the mediaeval piety flowed into one. This mistical piety focussed on the emotions of man and touched lay people.


Emotional intelligence is composed of a set of emotional abilities, including recognition of emotional states in the self and others, the use of emotions to guide thoughts and behaviours, and emotion regulation. Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional intelligence is associated with mental health, social problem solving, interpersonal relationship quality, and academic and job performance. Although emotional intelligence has received much interest both in basic research fields and applied and clinical fields, the mechanisms underlying the functions of emotional intelligence remain unclear. The aim of the present article was to consider the mechanisms of emotional intelligence using a computational approach. Recent theories of emotion in psychology and neuroscience have emphasized the importance of predictive processing. It has been proposed that the brain createsinternal models that can provide predictions for sensation and motor movement, and perception and behaviors emerge from Bayesian computations rooted in these predictions. This theoretical framework has been expanded to include interoceptive perception of the internal body to explain affect and decision-making as phenomena based on interoception. This perspective has implications for understanding issues of emotional intelligence.


Direct measurement of the binding of endogenous androgens to the androgen receptor of human tissues has not been possible because of contamination of tissue with traces of plasma proteins, such as testosterone-binding globulin (TeBG), that contain more androgen-binding capacity than does the receptor itself. Molybdate is known to stabilize the 8-9S forms of other steroid hormone receptors. We took advantage of this phenomenon to characterize the androgen receptor of hyperplastic prostates removed at surgery, using sucrose density gradient centrifugation in a vertical rotor. In 10 mM sodium molybdate, the androgen receptor sediments as a distinct 9.2 +/- 0.5S moiety, easily separable from TeBG. Unlike TeBG, the 9S receptor is not removed by absorption with Concanavalin A. [3H]Dihydrotestosterone (3H-labeled 17 beta-hydroxy-5-alpha-androstan-3-one) binding to the 9S receptor is not removed by absorption with Concanavalin A. [3H]Dihydrotestosterone (3H-labeled 17 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-androstan-3-one) binding to the 9S receptor is not competed for by excess triamcinolone acetonide (9 alpha-fluoro-11 beta, 16 alpha, 17 alpha, 21-tetrahydroxypregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione cyclic 16,17-acetonide) or promegestone (17,21-dimethyl-19-non-pregna-4,9-diene-3,-20-dione), which are known to bind to the progestin receptor. In contrast, [3H]methyltrienolone (3H-labeled 17 beta-hydroxy-17 alpha-methyl-estra-4,9,11-trien-3-one) binds to both androgen and progestin receptors, and consequently, the binding of this ligand to the androgen receptor was assessed in the presence of a 500-fold excess of triamcinolone acetonide. The amounts of 9S binding (7.8 and 5.8 fmol/mg protein) are similar for dihydrotestosterone and methyltrienolone. The amount of 9S binding of testosterone to the receptor was also similar to that of dihydrotestosterone, but the affinity of testosterone for the 9S receptor was only a fifth or less of that for dihydrotestosterone. The observation that testosterone binds less avidly than dihydrotestosterone to the receptor may explain the role of dihydrotestosterone formation in androgen physiology.


Neurons in the lateral habenula (LHb) of rats have efferent projections that terminate in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNC) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), where cell bodies of dopamine-containing neurons are located. In order to study the influence of the habenula on dopaminergic activity, single-cell electrophysiological techniques were used to record unit discharge of dopamine-containing neurons in the SNC and VTA during electrical stimulation of the LHb or adjacent structures. Dopamine-containing neurons in the SNC and VTA were identified by their characteristic spike duration (greater than 2 msec), discharge rate (2–8 spikes/sec), and irregular firing pattern. Analysis of peristimulus time histograms showed that 85% of SNC cells and 91% of VTA neurons were inhibited after single pulse stimulation (0.25 mA, 0.1 msec) of the LHb. The mean time between stimulation and onset of inhibition was 11 msec (range, 2–22 msec) and mean duration of maximal suppression was 76 msec (range, 20–250 msec). Stimulation of structures adjacent to the LHb (hippocampus, lateral thalamus, medial dorsal thalamus, medial habenula) had little or no effect. Destruction of the fasciculus retroflexus, the fiber pathway that contains most habenular efferents, blocked the stimulation effects on dopamine- containing neurons. Destruction of the stria medullaris, which contains most habenular afferents, did not alter the inhibitory effect of habenular stimulation. Injection of a cytotoxin, kainic acid, in the LHb 1 week before recording sessions blocked the inhibitory consequences of habenular stimulation. These experiments show that activation of neuronal perikarya in the LHb causes orthodromic inhibition of dopamine-containing neurons in SNC and VTA via the fasciculus retroflexus.


Abstract Aboveground plant community dynamics in an oligohaline marsh at Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana, U.S.A., were assessed in response to nutrient loading (3 N × 3 P factorial) and disturbance (both planned herbicide treatment and stochastic tropical storm or hurricane disturbances). Sampling was conducted seasonally from April 2004 to September 2006. Spartina patens and Schoenoplectus americanus are codominant plant species in this marsh. Although Spartina patens displayed increased aboveground cover under the low N addition (20 g N m−2 y−1) relative to ambient conditions or high N addition (40 g N m−2 y−1), increased N or P loading did not result in a shift in plant community composition or species richness during the study period. Schoenoplectus americanus consistently had higher leaf tissue N and generally higher leaf tissue P than Spartina patens regardless of treatment. Our results indicate that Schoenoplectus americanus is more resilient than Spartina patens to disturbances that do not increase marsh surface elevation, such as minor disturbances (e.g., prolonged flooding events) or prescribed burning, which is often utilized as a management technique to increase the relative abundance of Schoenoplectus americanus in this marsh type. Similarly, Schoenoplectus americanus was able to recolonize the herbicide treatment plots to some degree during the study via a combination of seed bank and rhizome tillering, whereas Spartina patens remained essentially absent. Hurricane Katrina deposited significant amounts of sediment (average of +27 cm) into plots that survived the storm (August 29, 2005). By 2006, this elevation increase resulted in a significant increase of both Spartina patens cover and species richness, suggesting that a shift in the relative abundance of the two codominants is mitigated by disturbance type and the resultant effect of disturbance on the abiotic environment, particularly marsh surface elevation.


BACKGROUND
Analyses of secular trends in tobacco consumption can provide evidence of potential tobacco-disease relationships and have utility in terms of public health projections and policy. The purpose of this project was to provide a unique set of continuous apparent tobacco product consumption estimates for the United States over the period spanning 1900 through 1990.

METHODS
Two U.S. Department of Agriculture data sources provide information on long-term apparent tobacco consumption in the United States; however, differences exist between these data sets. The consumption estimates in these reports were adjusted to a common population base. A 9-year overlap of the data sets was then used to calibrate one data series to the other using inverse regression. Predicted tobacco consumption estimates for the years 1900 through 1944 were then combined with the adjusted 1945-1990 data.

RESULTS
Inverse regression showed a strong linear relationship between the two U.S. Department of Agriculture summaries for each tobacco product during the 9-year overlap period. A continuous set of annual per capita tobacco consumption estimates is reported by product for the United States.

CONCLUSIONS
The two U.S. Department of Agriculture reports can be combined to provide a history of tobacco product consumption in the United States over the period 1900-1990.


This study explored beneficiaries' experiences on participation in Community-based Agriculture and Rural Development program. Nigeria had from 1977-1999 implemented
no fewer than five (5) anti poverty programs. In spite of the series of programs and huge expenditure, the scourge of poverty is increasing. Although, previous studies in
 Tanzania, Mongolia and Ghana have attributed lack of beneficiaries' participation in the development process as one of the major causes of failure of development programs to empower people, none has yet focused on Nigeria. In order to gain insights on beneficiaries' participation in the International Fund for Agriculture Development assisted Community-Based Agriculture and Rural Development Program
(IFAD/CBARDP) this study explored the past experiences of beneficiaries in development process, how beneficiaries perceived and interpreted participation, how beneficiaries have participated in the program and what motivated them into participation. Using qualitative approach with a single case study focusing on Guba farmers, primary data for the study was mainly collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions; semi-structured questions were used with the aid of interview guide. Eleven (11) farmers participating in the program as beneficiaries participated in the study as key informants. The desire to capture in-depth information on beneficiaries' experiences on participation in the program, not only informed the purposive selection of informants but the study methodology as well. The major findings of the study have been categorized to reflect the four research objectives. It was found that beneficiaries lacked previous experiences of participation in development process. Although there were different interpretations of participation among beneficiaries, the notion of participation as a process in which beneficiaries contribute labor and other resources in return for tangible material benefits appears dominants. Similarly, beneficiaries understood their participation in terms of consultations with development officials and beneficiaries' contributions in the development process. Moreover, beneficiaries were found to have been motivated into participation by several factors, but the desire to meet tangible material benefits stood above all other considerations. The study concluded that whilst participation was conceived and interpreted by beneficiaries to mean the process of meeting tangible material benefits, sharply contrasted the objective of the program to empower rural communities to manage their own future development. Beneficiary participation turns out to be 'passive' which does not ensure sustained empowerment. The need for involving beneficiaries at all the stages of future development process therefore, becomes imperative in order to empower beneficiaries to manage their own development. The study also suggested that policymakers and program designers should ensure the incorporation of contexts and histories when designing future development programs in order to achieve sustained empowerment of communities.


This chapter examines the four 'late' novels that are the peak of Penelope Fitzgerald's achievement as a writer: Innocence, The Beginning of Spring, The Gate of Angels, The Blue Flower. Each novel is, at least superficially, a work of historical fiction in that it is set in the past: in 1950s Italy, in revolutionary Russia, in Edwardian England, and in late-eighteenth-century Germany respectively. But history is decidedly not the defining feature of these novels. Rather, as this chapter shows, all four works are characterized by their bold experimentation with narrative form and style, reflecting an intense concern with profound questions of body, mind and spirit that culminates in Fitzgerald's haunting masterpiece, the story of the idealized yearning of the German Romantic poet Novalis both for Sophie von Kühn, his 'heart's heart', and for revelation. Through close analysis of Fitzgerald's methods of research, composition and editing, this chapter proposes fresh ways of thinking about the stylistic means by which these late novels create fictional worlds that expand to fill the reader's imagination, and even appear to possess an existence independent of the novels themselves.


A difficulty in diverse metrological applications is the measurement of relatively low intensity ultraviolet radiation signals in the presence of an intense visible radiation background. The development of a detector technology that combines the high efficiency and ease of use found in Si photodiodes with the solar-blind characteristics of many photoemissive devices would offer an ideal solution to this problem. Wide bandgap semiconductors (e.g. SiC, GaN and AlGaN) should combine sensitivity comparable to Si photodiodes with solar-blind response. We present ultraviolet quantum efficiency measurements of AlGaN Schottky and GaN p–i–n photodiodes demonstrating responsivity in the far ultraviolet to wavelengths as short as 116 nm (AlGaN Schottky devices) or 180 nm (GaN p–i–n devices) and several orders of magnitude reduction in efficiency for photon energies below the bandgap. The bandgap for GaN corresponds to 365 nm wavelength, and AlGaN devices exhibit cut-off wavelengths as short as 260 nm.


Purpose: To report the endovascular treatment of a relatively uncommon entity: an aortic type B dissection combined with an aberrant subclavian artery (SA). Case Report: A 59-year-old patient was admitted with chest pain and interscapular back pain. A transesophageal ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography revealed a type B aortic dissection originating at the level of an aberrant SA orifice. After failure of medical therapy, the dissection was treated by transluminal implantation of an Excluder stent-graft covering the entry site of the dissection at the aberrant SA orifice. Prior to the endovascular procedure, a transposition of the aberrant SA to the right carotid artery was performed through a supraclavicular approach. The patient remains asymptomatic at 19 months after the endovascular repair. Conclusions: Endovascular repair of a type B aortic dissection in the presence of a lusorian artery appears to be a feasible, safe, and less invasive alternative to conventional surgery. The need for concurrent transposition of the SA remains to be determined.


Climate change, rising global energy demand, and energy security concerns motivate research into alternative, sustainable energy sources. In principle, solar energy can meet the world's energy needs, but the intermittent nature of solar illumination means that it is temporally and spatially separated from its consumption. Developing systems that promote solar-to-fuel conversion, such as via reduction of protons to hydrogen, could bridge this production-consumption gap, but this effort requires invention of catalysts that are cheap, robust, and efficient and that use earth-abundant elements. In this context, catalysts that utilize water as both an earth-abundant, environmentally benign substrate and a solvent for proton reduction are highly desirable. This Account summarizes our studies of molecular metal-polypyridyl catalysts for electrochemical and photochemical reduction of protons to hydrogen. Inspired by concept transfer from biological and materials catalysts, these scaffolds are remarkably resistant to decomposition in water, with fast and selective electrocatalytic and photocatalytic conversions that are sustainable for several days. Their modular nature offers a broad range of opportunities for tuning reactivity by molecular design, including altering ancillary ligand electronics, denticity, and/or incorporating redox-active elements. Our first-generation complex, [(PY4)Co(CH3CN)2](2+), catalyzes the reduction of protons from a strong organic acid to hydrogen in 50% water. Subsequent investigations with the pentapyridyl ligand PY5Me2 furnished molybdenum and cobalt complexes capable of catalyzing the reduction of water in fully aqueous electrolyte with 100% Faradaic efficiency. Of particular note, the complex [(PY5Me2)MoO](2+) possesses extremely high activity and durability in neutral water, with turnover frequencies at least 8500 mol of H2 per mole of catalyst per hour and turnover numbers over 600 000 mol of H2 per mole of catalyst over 3 days at an overpotential of 1.0 V, without apparent loss in activity. Replacing the oxo moiety with a disulfide affords [(PY5Me2)MoS2](2+), which bears a molecular MoS2 triangle that structurally and functionally mimics bulk molybdenum disulfide, improving the catalytic activity for water reduction. In water buffered to pH 3, catalysis by [(PY5Me2)MoS2](2+) onsets at 400 mV of overpotential, whereas [(PY5Me2)MoO](2+) requires an additional 300 mV of driving force to operate at the same current density. Metalation of the PY5Me2 ligand with an appropriate Co(ii) source also furnishes electrocatalysts that are active in water. Importantly, the onset of catalysis by the [(PY5Me2)Co(H2O)](2+) series is anodically shifted by introducing electron-withdrawing functional groups on the ligand. With the [(bpy2PYMe)Co(CF3SO3)](1+) system, we showed that introducing a redox-active moiety can facilitate the electro- and photochemical reduction of protons from weak acids such as acetic acid or water. Using a high-throughput photochemical reactor, we examined the structure-reactivity relationship of a series of cobalt(ii) complexes. Taken together, these findings set the stage for the broader application of polypyridyl systems to catalysis under environmentally benign aqueous conditions.


Fiber Bragg grating sensors recorded in poly(methyl methacrylate) fiber often exhibit hysteresis in the response of Bragg wavelength to strain, particularly when exposed to high levels of strain. We show that, when such a fiber grating sensor is bonded directly to a substrate, the hysteresis is reduced by more than 12 times, compared to the case where the sensor is suspended freely between two supports.


Background Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), a bacteriostatic agent, is known to inhibit erythropoiesis leading to anemia. We aimed to investigate the associations of NGAL, anemia, and renal scarring in children with febrile urinary tract infections (UTIs). Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 261 children with febrile UTIs. The relationship between the presence of anemia and plasma NGAL levels was investigated. NGAL performance in comparison with serum C-reactive protein (CRP) at admission and after 72 hours of treatment was also evaluated for the prediction of renal scarring as well as acute pyelonephritis (APN) and vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). Results Plasma NGAL levels were elevated in patients with anemia compared with those without anemia. Multiple linear regression analysis showed an inverse relationship between NGAL levels and erythrocyte counts (standard β = −0.397, P < 0.001). Increased NGAL, but not CRP, was independently associated with the presence of anemia (odds ratio [OR], 2.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–5.27; P < 0.05). Receiver operating curve analyses showed good diagnostic profiles of pre- and post-treatment NGAL for identifying APN, VUR, and renal scarring (all P < 0.05). For detecting renal scars, the area under the curve of post-treatment NGAL (0.730; 95% CI, 0.591–0.843) was higher than that of post-treatment CRP (0.520; 95% CI, 0.395–0.643; P < 0.05). The presence of anemia and elevated NGAL at admission (> 150 ng/mL) were independent risk factors for renal scarring in children with febrile UTIs. With anemia, NGAL levels increased consecutively in children with febrile UTI without renal involvement, with APN without scar, and with APN with renal scarring. Conclusion Increased plasma NGAL levels may be associated with the presence of anemia and renal scarring in children with febrile UTIs.


ABSTRACT This essay addresses a foundational topic in applied sciences with interest in design: how do theories inform design? Previous work has attributed theory-use to abduction and deduction. However, design is about creating an intervention, a possible state that does not exist presently, and these accounts fail to explain how theories permit taking this leap. We argue that the practical value of a theory lies in counterfactual thinking. Theories are like "speculation pumps": they produce (pump) counterfactual thought experiments of the type: If design was , then interaction would be . The more valid these thought experiments are and the better they direct the solution of design problems toward desirable and reliable outcomes, the more useful the theory. Counterfactual thinking sheds new light to design methods and, importantly, can reconcile an underlying tension between design sciences and applied sciences.


In a space dominated by communication and socialising platforms working either asynchronous or synchronous, there are human interventions which can lead to a high level of cohesion in virtual classes. This paper intention is to analyse this phenomenon by describing a case study and using research tools specific for ID-IFR CREDIS Department-Bucharest University.
Using as a starting point our experience extended over almost ten years of practice in the field of managing educational services for distance learning, to which I may add my personal experience as a specialised manager for the department of Educational Sciences in ID-IFR CREDIS and a specialised psychologist, where I hold the position of course tutor I initiated programmes of psycho-pedagogical assistance. This research plan was motivated both by my pedagogical experience and by the challenging activity of psych-pedagogical assistance and conciliation, activity that had to be carried out on socialising platform.
Since its beginning (1999), inside ID-IFR CREDIS it has been a permanent concern for offering students a proper psychological and pedagogical assistance. Even if this part of the educational process is not included in the curricula, it is of a vital importance for developing the academic process as it reinforces students' motivation and contributes to diminish their dropout.
The case study describes the activities developed on GMAIL platform in order to offer a psycho-pedagogical support for Second year students enrolled in Primary and Preschool Education Pedagogy, during The human values that were underlined inside the Forum "About us, in a different way", are: excellence , generosity, self-confidence, ambition, values expressing the virtual class cohesion. The study underlines the personalised approaches as well as different aspects concerning personal implication in defining the specialised assistance offered to our students.


Abstract Lonely people often crave connectedness. However, they may also experience their environment as threatening, entering a self-preserving state that perpetuates loneliness. Research shows conflicting evidence about their response to positive social cues, and little is known about their experience of observed human touch. The right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) is part of an observation–execution network implicated in observed touch perception. Correlative studies also point to rIFG's involvement in loneliness. We examined the causal effect of rIFG anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on high- and low-loneliness individuals observing human touch. In a cross-over design study, 40 participants watched pictures of humans or objects touching or not touching during anodal and sham stimulations. Participants indicated whether pictures contained humans or objects, and their reaction time was measured. Results show that the reaction time of low-loneliness individuals to observed human touch was significantly slower during anodal stimulation compared to high-loneliness individuals, possibly due to them being more emotionally distracted by it. Lonely individuals also reported less liking of touch. Our findings support the notion that lonely individuals are not drawn to positive social cues. This may help explain the perpetuation of loneliness, despite social opportunities that could be available to lonely people.


We study the problem of consensus emergence in multi-agent systems via external feedback controllers. We consider a set of agents interacting with dynamics given by a Cucker-Smale type of model, and study its consensus stabilization by means of centralized and decentralized control configurations. We present a characterization of consensus emergence for systems with different feedback structures, such as leader-based configurations, perturbed information feedback, and feedback computed upon spatially confined information. We characterize consensus emergence for this latter design as a parameter-dependent transition regime between self-regulation and centralized feedback stabilization. Numerical experiments illustrate the different features of the proposed designs.


We experimentally investigated the broadband nonlinear optical response of highly stable few-layer antimonene (FLA) by performing a Z-scan laser measurement. FLA was deposited into the microfiber as a FLA-decorated microfiber, which is feasible not only for all-optical thresholding, but also for wavelength converting in optical signal processing.