Pull-Pull (PPT) and Imazapyr resistant maize (IR) technologies are among the Striga weeds eradication innovations that have been promoted in western Kenya. In order to direct agricultural investment optimally, the most promising technology need to be identified and up scaled given limited financial and resource allocation trade-offs. Using data from a sample of 326 farmers, we applied the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) framework to estimate the actual and potential adoption rates of the two technologies. The results indicate relatively similar actual adoption rates of PPT (37%) and IR maize technology (36.3%). However, the potential adoption rates of PPT and IR maize technology were 56.3% and 46%, respectively, whereby the adoption gap of PPT (20%) was higher compared to that of IR maize technology (9%). These findings show that, if extra efforts are made to close the adoption gap to potential, PPT is a more attractive Striga control strategy.


Eocene Lake Gosiute in southwestern Wyo- ming was progressively fi lled in by volcani- clastic sediment between 49.6 and 47.0 Ma. The source of this material has long been thought to have been the Absaroka volcanic province, immediately north of the greater Green River Basin. Lead isotope compositions of sandstone from this interval, however, are consistent with derivation from the Challis volcanic fi eld. The 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages of single de- trital K-feldspar crystals from greater Green River Basin sandstones are nearly identical to 40 Ar/ 39 Ar eruptive ages for volcanic rocks of the Challis volcanic fi eld (49.8-45.5 Ma), but we also identify Mesozoic and Proterozoic crystals that are consistent with cooling ages for rocks that were likely exposed in the Idaho segment of the North American Cordillera during the Eocene. Most of these rocks are traversed by or are up-gradient of a major Eocene paleovalley in central Idaho. The sud- den appearance of Challis-derived sediment in the greater Green River Basin indicates that a major river, here named the Idaho River, connected the interior of the North American Cordillera to the greater Green River Basin. This connection requires 500 km to reach from central Idaho to the greater Green River Ba- sin. The Idaho River probably carried detritus that was stripped from distant uplifted moun- tains above the active Challis volcanic fi eld as far south as the Piceance Creek Basin, suggest- ing a total length of at least 1000 km. Middle Eocene metamorphic core complexes in the northern Cordillera likely produced a major highland in the headwaters of the Idaho River, which generated river systems that drained both eastward into the Wyoming foreland and westward into the Oregon Coast ranges.


Although the numbers of asylum seekers in Europe is decreasing, the asylum policy of most European Union member states (EU MS) continues to be driven by a fear of a potential increase. As a result, EU MS refuse to address the growing numbers of people caught between Eurodac and Dublin II. These includes the many thousands who transit Greece and Spain, where in theory they should claim asylum, but where in reality they have little chance of being able to make a claim, and almost no chance of having it examined properly, much less being actually granted asylum. This article argues that the concern of EU MS is actually to reduce the number of those able to apply for asylum to an absolute minimum, rather than ensuring access to this status to anyone who might need it. Focusing on the 'waiting' of young Afghan men in Paris, this article seeks to show the daily suffering inflicted in pursuit of this policy goal.


Writing a program to evaluate a given polynomial at a point can be done rather simply. If it has to be done repeatedly, efficiently, and/or accurately, a naive approach may not suffice. There is in fact a huge design space of how to approach this problem [12]. Depending upon one's criteria, it may be worthwhile to use automated program-generation programs to write source code. Such generated code can be structured to exploit whatever special knowledge of the polynomial being evaluated may be available early, as well as the design requirements. This knowledge can include its degree, some or all of its coefficients (used in pre-computing coefficients of an auxiliary polynomial), special knowledge of the point at which it is evaluated (real or complex), special knowledge of the computer on which it is run (pipe-line depth and number of arithmetic units), the required error tolerance, and whether auxiliary information is needed, such as the first or second derivative of the polynomial. It is possible also to indicate exactly the number of arithmetic operations used, and in some cases, other information describing the efficiency of the code. In this paper we describe some program-generating programs that may be of assistance. All the code is available in an on-line appendix. Although the implementation language is ANSI standard Common Lisp, the target language is (your choice) of Lisp or C.


Hormonal Regulation of Polyphenol Biosynthesis in Cultured Populus trichocarpa Cells Sister Angela Hoffman, Ph.D. Oregon Graduate Center, 1989 Supervising Professor: William L. Pengelly The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulation of polyphenol biosynthesis in plant cell walls using Populus trichocarpa as a model woody angiosperm. When 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-0) was present in the culture medium, cells grew most rapidly and did not form tracheids. An estimated 15% of the cell wall material was composed of polyphenol. If the tissues were placed on media containing a-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) or NAA plus a cytokinin, growth rate was slower, polyphenol content increased, and tracheids formed. Cells transferred from NAA plus SAP to medium containing 2,4-0 gradually produced less polyphenol and lost the ability to differentiate into tracheids. After tissues were returned to media containing NAA plus SAP, these hormone effects were reversed. Polyphenolcontent was directly proportional to the cytokinin concentration in the medium, while the effect of cytokinin on tracheid formation was biphasic. The polyphenol in cultured tissues resembled wood lignin in several ways. 1. Histological staining with classical lignin reagents suggested that tracheids and some parenchyma-like cells contained lignin. 2. Alkaline copper hydrolysis and permanganate oxidation of purified methylated cell walls yielded the same methoxylated benzoic acid products as wood. 3. A small amount of C6-C3 product was recovered xi after thioacidolysis of walls from tracheid-forming tissues, suggesting that some polyphenol was derived from phenylpropanoid units. PAL activity correlated with level of tracheid development in cultured tissues. Anionic peroxidases were present in all tissues, but, with syringaldazine as substrate, peroxidase activity in ionic and medium fractions was greater in tissues that produced tracheids. Several cloned P. trichocarpa cell lines were isolated which contained higher or lower than average polyphenollevels that remained stable. When highly habituated clones were cultured with cytokinin, they grew slowly and their oxidized walls yielded less p-hydroxybenzoic acid and more syringic acid. Less habituated clones grew faster with added cytokinin and yielded more p-hydroxybenzoic acid. Shoots could be regenerated from several clones. Plants from a stable lowpolyphenol cell line were grown in the greenhouse. Analysis of wood in a 2-year old stem from this plant indicated that it contained lower lignin than the parental tree.


The transcription pattern of the heavy chain immunoglobulin gene locus was analyzed in a 6‐month‐old female with agammaglobulinemia characterized by the absence of mature B cells in peripheral blood, arrested B cell development in the bone marrow and lack of germinal center development. DNA sequencing provided no evidence of mutations within the coding region of the Bruton's tyrosine kinase gene. Polymerase chain reaction‐generated cDNA libraries from blood and bone marrow were screened initially using JH and CH oligodeoxynucleotide probes and VH family‐specific probes. Only 10% of the transcripts constituted mature VDJCμ recombinations. Ninety percent of the cDNA were sterile immunoglobulin transcripts comprised of: DJCμ (DH−JHCμ), JCμ (JH−Cμ), ECμ (enhancer spliced to Cμ), SCμ and ICμ [corresponding to switch (S) and intron (I) regions spliced to Cμ]. In the mature immunoglobulin transcripts, VH use indicated germline expression with little evidence of somatic mutation. All cDNA were of the Cμ type. Different D segments, D‐D joining events and unknown D‐like elements were noted in the DJCμ and VDJCμ transcripts. This pattern of immunoglobulin rearrangements, along with the phenotypic cell surface antigen characteristics (CD19−), suggest that an earlier arrest in B cell development than is characteristic of Bruton's X‐linked agammaglobulinemia has occurred in this patient.


On page 1141, the one-trick transcription factor FoxP3 reveals a new function. According to Chang and colleagues, FoxP3 does more than just drive regulatory T (T reg) cell development; it also promotes the proliferation of developing thymocytes. FoxP3 is required for the development of CD4 CD25 T reg cells, which subdue the activation of conventional T cells and thus protect against chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. Mice and humans that lack FoxP3 develop a spontaneous, multi-organ autoimmune disease that has been primarily attributed to the lack of T reg cells. But one fact suggests that this explanation may be too simple. Irradiated mice that are reconstituted with FoxP3-deficient bone marrow do not develop disease, suggesting that FoxP3 also functions in nonhematopoietic cells. Chang and colleagues now show that FoxP3 is not exclusive to T cells, but is also expressed in thymic epithelial cells. In mice lacking FoxP3, developing thymocytes were unable to proliferate normally, resulting in thymic atrophy. The proliferation defect was caused by a lack of FoxP3 in thymic stromal cells, rather than in T cells, as normal thymocytes also failed to proliferate in a FoxP3deficient thymic environment. How FoxP3 expression on thymic epithelial cells helps drive thymocyte proliferation is unknown. Also unclear is how the proliferation defect contributes to autoimmune disease, although there is a long-standing but poorly understood link between thymic atrophy and T cell–driven autoimmune disease.


At the heart of most of the systemic problems currently confronting individuals and businesses as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic is quite literally a contract. Housing. Insurance. Food. Health care. Child care. Employment. Manufacturing. Construction. Supply chains. You name it. Contracts are implicated everywhere. So make no mistake: How contract law addresses these ostensibly private contracts will have profound social consequences. If the past really is prologue, then the future is indeed bleak. The empirical study conducted for this Article establishes what the conventional wisdom has claimed for the last 70 years. More specifically, the empirical study here shows that the common law's changed circumstances doctrines ("CCDs")—namely, impossibility, impracticability of performance, and frustration of purpose—will generally not excuse a party from performing his obligations under a contract, regardless of the changed circumstance he alleges. Contrary to all the CCD literature that addresses this issue, this Article makes the unconventional argument that the CCDs should be more broadly available, meaning they should be more successful in excusing contract performance when triggered by catastrophic circumstances. And unlike the rest of the field, which focuses on the CCDs themselves, this Article argues that to effectively address the allocation of unforeseen risks in general and catastrophic risks like a pandemic in particular, we must reframe the legal approach to contract formation. From there, given that the solution to the changed circumstances problem preferred by courts and commentators is an explicit risk-allocation term in the parties' contract, the solution proposed in this Article to the risk-allocation problem literally suggests itself. A risk-and-loss-allocation clause should be mandated in most contracts as a part of contract formation. The type of risk-and-loss-allocation clause and how the clause would work would depend on whether the contract is co-drafted or adhesive. Generally, the inclusion of a risk-and-loss-allocation clause would facilitate transactions and encourage contracting by ensuring that contracts remain efficient and predictable. The main difference between the risk-and-loss-allocation clause proposed here and existing contract law, of course, is who ends up bearing all the risk and loss occasioned by the catastrophic changed circumstance. To be clear, if nothing changes and our approach to contract formation remains the same as it is right now, then all of the risk and all of the attendant loss will generally be left to lie where it falls—namely, on the party trying to get out of the contract because of the changed circumstances—and this will be the result regardless of the legal theory used to justify (or demonize) the CCDs or any changes made to the doctrines themselves. But if we finally acknowledge the public aspects of contracts and contract law, namely, that they do in fact produce social consequences that extend beyond the individual contract and contracting parties, then contracts and contract law may well be part of the solutions to some of the most pressing problems currently confronting American society now and into the future.


The collapse of degenerate oxygen–neon cores (i.e., electron-capture supernovae or accretion-induced collapse) proceeds through a phase in which a deflagration wave ("flame") forms at or near the center and propagates through the star. In models, the assumed speed of this flame influences whether this process leads to an explosion or to the formation of a neutron star. We calculate the laminar flame speeds in degenerate oxygen–neon mixtures with compositions motivated by detailed stellar evolution models. These mixtures include trace amounts of carbon and have a lower electron fraction than those considered in previous work. We find that trace carbon has little effect on the flame speeds, but that material with electron fraction has laminar flame speeds that are times faster than those at . We provide tabulated flame speeds and a corresponding fitting function so that the impact of this difference can be assessed via full star hydrodynamical simulations of the collapse process.


This chapter presents a multiobjective approach for the vehicle routing problem with optional collections, whose objectives are the minimization of the route costs and of the not fulfilled collection- demands. It proposes a data structure that best suits the problem, neighborhood structures that exploit both goals of the problem and an algorithm that checks the feasibility of a solution with lower computational cost. To solve the problem, three metaheuristics are discussed: the multiobjective iterated local search (MOILS), NSGA-II and the e-Constrained method, which are applied to fourteen instances containing between 50 and 199 customers. The results indicate that the MOILS outperforms the other approaches, obtaining significantly better average values for coverage, hypervolume and cardinality over the set of used test problems.


A novel, rapid and efficient route to imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines under ambient, aqueous and metal-free conditions is reported. The NaOH-promoted cycloisomerisations of N-propargylpyridiniums give quantitative yield in a few minutes (10 g scale). A comparison of common green metrics to current routes showed clear improvements, with at least a one order of magnitude increase in space-time-yield.


This study presents an improved voltage shift islanding detection method with the new control mode. The proposed method adopts the modulation index shift scheme based on the pulse-width modulation control principle, which can promote the detection performance in the multi-inverter grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems, compared with the conventional voltage positive feedback (VPF) method. The superposition algorithm of the proposed method can make the rapid reduction of voltage magnitude at the point of common coupling during the islanding condition, and minimise the non-detection zone. Through the self-varying positive feedback gain, the synchronisation of voltage shift rates from multiple PV inverters can be effectively improved under the varying active power conditions. According to the characteristic of maximum power point tracking control, the gain will be automatically changed along with the variable PV voltage. The advantage of the proposed method is analysed by the simulation results in comparison with the conventional VPF method. Moreover, the experimental results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Objective Several previous studies have evaluated associations between body mass index (BMI) and self-rated health (SRH); however, the results were inconsistent. This study aimed to examine the association between BMI and SRH in Korean adults. Methods The study was conducted in 214,997 adults who participated in the 2016 Korean Community Health Survey. Participants were categorized into four groups based on BMI: underweight (<18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2), or obese (≥30.0 kg/m2). Multivariate Poisson regression analysis with sampling weights and robust variance estimators was performed to evaluate the relationship between BMI categories and poor SRH. Results There was a J-shaped association between BMI and poor SRH in both sexes, with the lowest risk observed in the normal weight group in both sexes. Compared with normal weight subjects, the age and lifestyle adjusted prevalence rate ratios for poor SRH were 1.61 (95% CI, 1.50–1.74) for underweight, 1.16 (95% CI, 1.11–1.21) for overweight, and 2.35 (95% CI, 2.13–2.58) for obese men; and 1.24 (95% CI, 1.17–1.32) for underweight, 1.26 (95% CI, 1.22–1.31) for overweight, and 1.77 (95% CI, 1.64–1.91) for obese women. Conclusions In a cross-sectional study using a nationally representative survey, there was a nonlinear relationship between BMI and poor SRH. This relationship was more prominent in men than in women. Prospective studies are needed to further clarify the relationship between BMI and SRH.


The Technostress (TS) research is one of the emerging areas of study in Information Systems (IS) domain that has drawn significant attention in recent years among scholars and practitioners. It is defined as the stress experienced by the end users of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In this study, we assess the status quo of TS research in an organizational context. We further classified the studies into three different sub-sections, 1) General studies 2) TS due to specific technology 3) TS among specific professionals. Not only TS research is multi-disciplinary in nature, but also with the expeditious growth of ICTs it is widely prevalent across organizations. Hence we expect that our review of extant literature will provide meaningful insights to both researchers and practitioners. Our result indicates that in the organizational context, TS creators negatively influence various job outcomes. However, due to the mandatory use of ICTs, employees find it difficult to cope with the new and evolving technologies. Finally, we also highlight three research gaps that are theoretically significant and practically valuable to both scholars and practitioners and need further attention.


OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the quality of work life of registered nurses working in obstetrics at 4 hospitals in northeastern Ontario and explore demographic and occupational factors related to nurses' quality of work life (QWL).

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A stratified random sample of registered nurses (N = 111) selected from the 138 eligible registered nurses (80.4%) of staff in the labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum areas at the 4 hospitals participated. Logistic regression analyses were used to consider QWL in relation to the following: 1) demographic factors, and 2) stress, employment status and educational attainment.

RESULTS
In the logistic regression model, the odds of a higher quality of work life for nurses who were cross trained (nurses who can work across all areas of obstetrical care) were estimated to be 3.82 (odds ratio = 3.82, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-14.5) times the odds of a higher quality of work life for nurses who were not cross trained.

CONCLUSIONS
This study highlights a relationship between quality of work life and associated factors including location of cross-training among obstetrical nurses in northeastern Ontario. These findings are supported by the qualitative interviews that examine in depth their relationship to QWL. Given the limited number of employment opportunities in the rural and remote regions, it is paramount that employers and employees work closely together in creating positive environments that promote nurses' QWL.


Abstract. The quantitative revolution in the field of geography is commonly recalled as
a story of scientific success, overcoming parochial, regionalist and
ideographic modes of geography. This paper, however, suggests a different,
yet parallel narrative. It reveals that the methodological reorientation
towards statistical geography was a coping strategy, adopted by researchers
from within and outside the discipline of geography in order to defend the
analysis of ecological (i. e., spatially aggregated) data against the
powerful critique of producing "ecological fallacies". Through emphasizing
how the quantitative revolution was an expression of both modernizing and
protective tendencies within the field of geography, the paper contributes to
a more concrete understanding of what motivates methodological change in
geography.


Abstract This article aims to present an effective learning strategies appropriate to the current social context. Based on the idea that the process of learning skills required to develop and to improve continuously, enhancing the learner skills and promoting the learner to be a reflective learner who engages in active processing are needed in the 21st century. The present strategies for promoting the reflective learner are as follows: First, improving learning in class effectively by using LISAN techniques- lead, ideas, signal words, actively listen, and note taking. Second, Setting the learning process by engaging the active processing reflective SQ4R method. Third, improving study habits a few more things. Fourth, changing passive studying into reflective by using self-regulated learning. Finally, overcoming the procrastination by using time management, goal setting, and make learning an adventure. In conclusion, all strategies can be applied more efficiently and effectively by being a reflective learner who engages in active processing. The implications of LISAN and SQ4R techniques are discussed. Keywords: Learning skills, Reflective Learner, LISAN, SQ4R


Handling of missing areas is a key step for depth‐based rendering to synthesize virtual views. Existing methods usually consider finding candidate pixels from only one reference view to fill missing areas. However, the information provided by one reference view is restricted by the position of the view. By utilizing two reference views located on both the left and right sides of the virtual view, we propose to synthesize the missing areas at hole level with connected regions optimization. To avoid the appearance of ghost boundary, we apply morphological operations to generate a boundary band map for the depth map, which restricts the warping of the virtual view. We use a binary map to mark unknown pixels in a hole, label the connected unknown regions, and count the area of each connected region, which decide the order in our enhanced inpainting synthesis. Besides, we separate the foreground and background regions of the depth map to constrain the searching of candidate pixels. Multiple experiments on virtual view synthesis have shown the effectiveness and high quality of our multiview‐coherent disocclusion synthesis.


The main objective of any production unit is profit. It can be achieved by minimizing the maintenance cost without compromising on the lower bound reliability and availability. Maintenance budget markedly impacts maintenance costs so it is crucial to appropriately assess it for an organization to maintain their competitiveness. Precise estimation of maintenance budget is necessary to initiate and complete the maintenance activity as desired. The existing methodologies of budget estimation are all nonscientific and based on plant specific values of budget influencing parameters and contextual in nature. This work attempts to resolve this. Maintenance parameters affect the maintenance budget and this depends upon the level of identified maintenance parameters. In this paper, different maintenance scenarios are described. Monte Carlo simulations are deployed to evaluate steady state value of maintenance budget by assigning random values to the budget parameters within specified range corresponding to a chosen maintenance scenario. Mat Lab code is deployed for its implementation. Descriptive analysis is carried out on yearly maintenance budget data generated by Monte Carlo simulation for all identified maintenance scenarios. Descriptive tools such as histogram, box and whisker plot, central tendency and dispersion measures are employed to organize and describe the characteristics of maintenance budget data. The results are validated by comparing it with world class and best practices values reported in the literature. The study shows that maintenance parameters have significant effect on the plant maintenance budget. It is, therefore necessary to take corrective measures on the budget parameters, if the values of these drop below certain levels. This study will avoid using historic data or subjective expert judgments in selection of maintenance budget. Keywords—: Descriptive analysis, Maintenance Budget, Maintenance Management, Monte Carlo Simulation


Introduction Few data about the safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the patients with solid tumor with Occult Hepatitis B Virus (OBI) are available. According to the Taormina Workshop on Occult HBV Infection Faculty Members we defined as potential-OBI (pOBI) the HBV DNA negativity with anti-hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) positivity (pOBI seropositive), and the patients with HBsAg–negative and anti-HBc–negative and Hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs)–negative are defined pOBI seronegative. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of OBI in patients with solid tumors undergoing ICIs with or without chemotherapy and the incidence of reactivation (HBVr). Methods We retrospectively enrolled all HBsAg negative subjects who had received ICIs for at least three months. HBsAg and HBV DNA levels were repeated every 3 months until the end of the study and/or in case of ALT alterations. A univariate analysis was conducted in order to study for each variable available its ability to distinguish a potential OBI seropositive patient from a seronegative one. Results 150 patients in our Oncology Unit were eligible. One hundred and seventeen patients (78%) received ICI as monotherapy, whereas 33 patients (22%) were treated with chemo-immunotherapy. The mainly used drugs for the ICI monotherapy were Pembrolizumab (47%), Nivolumab (33%) and Atezolizumab (11%). The prevalence of pOBI seropositive patients was 25.3%. We did not observe alterations of liver biochemistry nor HBVr. Discussion This study highlights that about a quarter of our population had a potential occult hepatitis B. Immunotherapy might be considered as low risk of reactivation, regardless of the potential presence of episomal covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in the liver, but the correct management still represents a challenge for oncologists and hepatologists.


Leaders play a strategic role in the process of organizational change. Various studies were conducted to show the role of leaders in succeeding change. One famous concept of leaders' role was the Mintzberg managerial role, which divides the role of the leader into three main roles: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. This research was conducted to explore the leaders' role in creating organizational readiness to change. The study was conducted at 40 government-owned public health centers in Indonesia, involving 190 midwives as respondents. The study results show that all three leader's roles were well implemented by the head of the public health center with the best score in the informational role. However, organizational readiness to change at public health centers is not on the same level. The linear regression test indicates that the decisional role has the largest contribution in building the organizational readiness to change. The successfully implemented role of entrepreneurs, disturbance handlers, resource allocators, and negotiators was the key to the successful implementation of changes. Therefore, the advice given was the need for leaders to improve their decision abilities so that the organizational readiness to change becomes better.
Acknowledgment The researcher thanked the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education, Republic of Indonesia, for funding this research.


Abstract The Storting election of September 2021 signalled the end of eight years in office for of the centre-right government led by Premier Erna Solberg. During this period, different constellations of parties had been in power: first the Conservatives and the Progress Party, later the Liberal Party and finally the Christian Democrats joined the coalition. However, due to policy disagreements, particularly with the Liberals and the Christian Democrats, the Progress Party left the coalition in 2020, just a year ahead of the election. Climate and immigration policies were at the core of the disagreements. At the 2021 election, the five centre-left (or red-green) parties won the majority of seats and votes, but did not succeed in establishing a majority government. Instead, the Labour Party and the Centre Party formed a minority government, supported by the Socialist Left Party. The overriding issue at the election was climate and environmental concerns. Somewhat unexpectedly, the Green Party did not fare particularly well at the election, and fell short of the four percent threshold for adjustment seats by the tiniest margin. Data from the Norwegian National Election Study shows that the Greens only received 11 per cent of the climate vote, while more than 60 per cent voted for other red-green parties. Social inequality was also high on the agenda, in particular by left of centre voters. The number of effective parties rose from 5.5 to 6.4, increasing the fractionalisation of the party system, which may be worrying if it continues.


This Article reflects upon Darren Rosenblum's provocative piece Unsex CEDAW, or What's Wrong with Women's Rights. At the outset I should note that this critical analysis should not be misinterpreted. I do not quarrel with Professor Rosenblum's observations that inequality in law and life is much broader than sex inequalities. To the contrary, I am in full accord with him that discrimination along other categorical axes is also undesirable and sometimes as prevalent as sex inequality. Indeed, oftentimes such other discriminatory tendencies dovetail with those rooted in sex discrimination.Where we diverge, however, is in his proposal that the category woman, and the pursuit of equality rights utilizing a focus on sex, be eliminated altogether. He claims it is wrong to focus on women's rights. Yet even in that regard I think our differences could be framed as methodological rather than substantive. Professor Rosenblum suggests that we unsex CEDAW and that the convention focus on gender in lieu of sex. Moreover, he posits that any consideration of discrimination on the basis of sex include men as well as women. I agree that the convention ought to protect against discrimination on the basis of gender as well as sex. Moreover, there is no question that the category sex includes men as well as women, although it is incontrovertible that the aim of CEDAW was to protect women because of the privations women experience in their lives -- a reality around the world, north and south, east and west alike. Thus, our disagreement is narrow and centers on the ongoing relevance and significance -- indeed, necessity -- of the category woman.In this response I grapple with this narrow point: it is not only relevant but necessary to continue to have women, qua women, be an organizing category. To be sure, "woman" is not a singular, essential category. I have already suggested that "woman" should not be the sole category for analysis. Moreover, while I contend that the category "woman" should not be -- indeed cannot be -- monolithic, I urge that such a category should remain among the myriad classifications relevant to rights discourse; to conversations about marginalized, subordinated, or peripheral actors in the local as well as the world stage.This position does not equate to a blind concession that CEDAW is perfect; it is patent that it is incomplete. However, one should not fall into the trap of (forgive the cliche) throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There are ways to achieve Professor Rosenblum's goals while still recognizing the realities of women's lives.


This paper studies the feasibility of monitoring crop growth based on a trend analysis of three elementary radar scattering mechanisms using three consecutive years (2008-2010) of RADARSAT-2 (R-2) Fine Quad Mode data. The polarimetric synthetic aperture radar analysis is based on the Pauli decomposition. Multitemporal analysis is applied to RGB images constructed using surface scattering, double-bounce, and volume scattering, along with intensity analysis of these scattering mechanisms. The test site is located in Eastern Ontario, Canada where the cropping system is dominated by corn, spring wheat, and soybeans. Each crop has unique physical structural characteristics which provide different responses for these scattering mechanisms. Significant changes occur in these scattering mechanisms as the crops move from one phenological stage to the next. By monitoring these changes over the season, the crop growth cycle from emergence to harvest can be observed. When harvest occurs, the backscatter intensities change significantly, and these changes aid in identifying crops. The temporal evaluation of the intensity of the scattering mechanisms generally track the measured leaf area index and observed phenological plant development. Changes in growth stage are crop type specific. Thus, to monitor changes in crop phenology and the occurrence of harvest activities, knowledge of the crop grown in any particular field is required. To accommodate this requirement, a maximum likelihood classification was performed on the R-2 data to produce a crop map. An overall classification accuracy of 85% was achieved.


ABSTRACT Introduction: As type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) advances, patients receiving basal insulin will eventually require another agent on top of their current regimen in order to achieve glycemic control. One such agent that can be administered in combination with basal insulin is the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) lixisenatide. GLP-1 RAs, such as lixisenatide, and basal insulin offer complementary mechanisms of action in their ability to provide glycemic control, thus providing a strong rationale for using them in combination with each other for the treatment of T2DM. Areas covered: The current data available on the use of lixisenatide added to basal insulin for the management of T2DM is reviewed. Expert opinion: Lixisenatide as add-on to basal insulin provides overall glycemic control as well as offering a number of other treatment benefits, such as a reduction in both body weight and the risk of hypoglycemia. Therefore, when basal insulin becomes inadequate in managing T2DM, lixisenatide should be considered as an add-on agent to help patients achieve glycemic targets with a low risk of hypoglycemic events.


Despite aggressive measures for the treatment of cardiovascular collapse and cardiac arrest, the hypotension associated with these malignant processes usually leads to profound vital-organ ischemia and death. A fundamental therapeutic challenge of such life-threatening processes is the restoration of adequate blood flow to the heart and the brain. However, to maintain adequate forward blood flow out of the heart, venous blood return must be drawn back into the heart. With the exception of administration of exogenous fluid replacement, there are limited ways to enhance blood flow back to the heart during prolonged hypotension. This article describes the potential value of a new impedance threshold valve for the treatment of cardiac arrest and hypotension. The valve was designed to create a vacuum within the thorax during the decompression phase of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or during inhalation. By transiently blocking inspiratory gas exchange during the decompression phase of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, after phrenic nerve-stimulated gasping, or during spontaneous ventilation, the impedance-valve concept may have clinical value in the treatment of patients in cardiac arrest, hemorrhagic shock, and cardiovascular collapse secondary to a number of life-threatening clinical processes.


Currently, due to the wide development of new technologies, many researches of surface water dynamics are being conducted on the basis of remote sensing data (RSD) and predicting the causes of changes in surface water areas. This article is devoted to the assessment of long-term dynamics of surface water areas based on remote sensing methods, using data sets of Global Surface Water Explorer (GSWE) of the Landsat archive database, as well as to identify the suitability of data from various database sets for the study area. The main object of research is the datasets of the GSWE database and the Ertis river floodplain. Due to the fact that remote sensing data requires processing a large amount of information, computer analysis and synthesis methods, complex processing and analysis tools of the ArcGIS and Python systems were used. As a result of the study, the dynamics of flooding of the Ertis River floodplain was estimated based on the results of processing data sets of GSWE using various methods and approaches of remote sensing. During the research, several processed data from the GSWE database were checked and the dataset of Yearly Water Classification was determined suitable for our study area. The value of the article is based on the use of materials obtained using the remote sensing of the global data base for studying changes in the surface water area, their processing, as well as analyzing and evaluating database sets using the example of the studied area. Using methods of remote sensing of the Earth, it is possible to study and obtain data on large territories, hard-to-reach areas of the earth, as well as to obtain longterm data. This information allows us to establish patterns of changes in surface water areas, and helps to make optimal decisions for government authorities. Materials obtained from remote sensing data can be used in various fields. In particular, when investigating areas of flooding, environmental studies, etc


The present article stands at the interface of CMC research andgrapholinguistics. After outlining which features are typical of the writing of private text messages, the focus of the first part of the paper (Sections 2 and 3) lieson the use of emojis. Notably, emoji use is not—as is commonly done—analyzedunder a pragmatic perspective, but grapholinguistically, at the graphetic andgraphematic levels: emojis are conceptualized as visual shapes that may assumegraphematic functions within a given writing system. In the second part (Section 4), it is underlined that all variants of written digital communication (suchas the use of emojis, but also all other characters) are made possible only due tothe Unicode Consortium's decisions; this, finally, is argued to have farreaching consequences for the future of writing.


A unique single offset reflector antenna has been designed which provides as much as +or-30 degrees of scanning in azimuth while maintaining a much higher aperture efficiency than a torus antenna. Like a torus antenna, different portions of the reflector are illuminated for each scanned beam. The reflector profile curve in the plane of scan is found by least squares to minimize the error for the beams with the greatest scan angle, and then polynomial terms of up to sixth order which minimize nonplanar phase errors are added to produce a three-dimensional reflector surface. Numerical simulation indicates very good results for all 0.5 degrees beams in the +or-30 degrees azimuth field of view, with peak gain no more than 0.3 dB below ideal and highest side-lobe levels no worse than 13.3 dB below the peak gain. Additionally, comparable performance can be extended to the elevation plane out to 15 degrees /-30 degrees , although full azimuth performance becomes compromised at extreme elevation scan angles. By using an offset design, there is no blockage of the outgoing beam by the feed array assembly for azimuth scanning. With better feed performance than comparably sized paraboloids, and being more compact than similar torus reflectors, this novel antenna should find numerous uses in spacecraft and terrestrial applications. >


Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) in combination with endocrine therapy (ET) show meaningful efficacy and tolerability in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), but the optimal sequence of ET has not been established. It is not clear if patients with lobular breast carcinomas (LBC) derive the same benefits when receiving second line CDK4/6i. This retrospective study compared the efficacy of palbociclib plus fulvestrant (PALBO–FUL) with everolimus plus exemestane (EVE–EXE) as second-line ET for hormone-resistant metastatic LBC. From 2013 to 2018, patients with metastatic LBC positivity for estrogen and/or progesterone receptors and HER2/neu negativity, who had relapsed during adjuvant hormonal therapy or first-line hormonal treatment, were enrolled from six centers in Italy in this retrospective study. A total of 74 out of 376 patients (48 treated with PALBO–FUL and 26 with EVE–EXE) with metastatic LBC were eligible for inclusion. Progression-free survival (PFS) was longer in patients receiving EVE–EXE compared with PALBO–FUL (6.1 vs. 4.5 months, univariate HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.35–0.96; p = 0.025). On the propensity score (PS) analysis, PFS was confirmed to be significantly longer for patients treated with EVE–EXE compared to PALBO–FUL (6.0 vs. 4.6 months, p = 0.04). This retrospective analysis suggests that EVE–EXE is more effective than PALBO–FUL for second line ET of metastatic LBC, allowing us to speculate on the optimal therapeutic sequence.


Human beings and specifically in African societies value children for they determine the communities' future and place them at the centre of their family life. Over the decades, governments have recognized the importance of children in their development efforts and have devoted considerable resources to child development especially in education and health. In Kenya, Free Primary Education (FPE) led to significant increase in primary school enrolment. Among the children who were enrolled in school were Street children but many more children are once again on the streets. Such children end up roaming the streets, deficient of adult supervision and engage in activities majorly to themselves and the society. The major objective of the study on which this paper is based was to determine the learning needs of street children in Kenya. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Nairobi County targeting 320 street children living in the streets and those found in rehabilitation centres. A total of 33 street children and 20 in rehabilitation centres were sampled and studied. It was established that quality accelerated education delivered through a relevant curriculum would enable such children lead a decent life and contribute to national development. An appropriate curriculum was recommended for this special category of learners.


Background: Total body and long-axial field-of-view (LAFOV) PET/CT represent visionary innovations in imaging enabling either improved image quality, reduction in injected activity–dose or decreased acquisition time. An improved image quality may affect visual scoring systems, including the Deauville score (DS), which is used for clinical assessment of patients with lymphoma. The DS compares SUVmax in residual lymphomas with liver parenchyma, and here we investigate the impact of reduced image noise on the DS in patients with lymphomas scanned on a LAFOV PET/CT. Methods: Sixty-eight patients with lymphoma underwent a whole-body scan on a Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT-scanner, and images were evaluated visually with regard to DS for three different timeframes of 90, 300, and 600 s. SUVmax and SUVmean were calculated from liver and mediastinal blood pool, in addition to SUVmax from residual lymphomas and measures of noise. Results: SUVmax in liver and in mediastinal blood pool decreased significantly with increasing acquisition time, whereas SUVmean remained stable. In residual tumor, SUVmax was stable during different acquisition times. As a result, the DS was subject to change in three patients. Conclusions: Attention should be drawn towards the eventual impact of improvements in image quality on visual scoring systems such as the DS.


Malignant melanoma may metastasize to virtually any organs. Metastases to the oral cavity are uncommon and tongue metastases are very rare. The patient was a 79-year-old woman with cutaneous malignant melanoma. Lesion was widely excised and lymph node dissection was performed. She also had adjuvant chemotherapy. She is the unique malignant melanoma case who had recurrence on tongue 10 years later in literature. In conclusion, the prognosis of patients with tongue metastasis is poor and most of these patients have underlying widespread diseases.


1. The threatened status of many sea turtle populations and their vulnerability to coastal development and
predicted climate change emphasize the importance of understanding the role of environmental factors in their
distribution and ecological processes. The factors driving the distribution of sea turtle nesting sites at a broad
spatial scale is poorly understood.

2. In light of the lack of understanding about physical factors that drive the distribution of turtle nesting, the
relationship between nesting site distribution and the exposure of coastal areas to wind and wind-generated waves
was analysed. To achieve this, a Relative Exposure Index (REI) was developed for an extensive area in northeastern
Australia and values of the index for nesting sites of five different sea turtle species and randomly selected
non-nesting sites were compared.

3. Although there are differences between species, the results show that sea turtles nest in areas of higher REI
values suggesting that wind exposure is related to the spatial distribution of sea turtle nesting sites, and it may
also influence nest site selection in female turtles and/or the dispersal of hatchlings towards oceanic currents.

4. The combination of these results with further research on other driving environmental factors, like oceanic
currents, has the potential to allow for the identification and prediction of future nesting sites, for which
conservation and management may become essential.


Many spider-venom peptides are known to modulate the activity of the voltage-gated sodium (NaV) subtype 1.7 (NaV1.7) channel, which has emerged as a promising analgesic target. In particular, a class of spider-venom peptides (NaSpTx1) has been found to potently inhibit NaV1.7 (nanomolar IC50), and has been shown to produce analgesic effects in animals. However, one member of this family [m-TRTX-Hhn2b (Hhn2b)] does not inhibit mammalian NaV channels expressed in dorsal root ganglia at concentrations up to 100 mM. This peptide is classified as a NaSpTx1 member by virtue of its cysteine spacing and sequence conservation over functionally important residues. Here, we have performed detailed structural and functional analyses of Hhn2b, leading us to identify two nonpharmacophore residues that contribute to human NaV1.7 (hNaV1.7) inhibition by nonoverlapping mechanisms. These findings allowed us to produce a double mutant of Hhn2b that shows nanomolar inhibition of hNaV1.7. Traditional structure/function analysis did not provide sufficient resolution to identify the mechanism underlying the observed gain of function. However, by solving the high-resolution structure of both the wild-type and mutant peptides using advanced multidimensional NMR experiments, we were able to uncover a previously unknown network of interactions that stabilize the pharmacophore region of this class of venom peptides. We further monitored the lipid binding properties of the peptides and identified that one of the key amino acid substitutions also selectively modulates the binding of the peptide to anionic lipids. These results will further aid the development of peptide-based analgesics for the treatment of chronic pain.


A 63-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of bilateral infi ltrations and nodular opacities in her chest radiograph taken in the mass radiography screening in September 2010. The chest computed tomography showed patchy infi ltrations with bronchiectasis in the lower lung fi elds on both sides. She was diagnosed with pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease based on the bacteria recovered from the sputum and the bronchoalveolar lavage fl uid. To elucidate an environmental MAC source, we investigated her home, and isolated M.avium and M.gordonae from the bathtub and shower tap, respectively, in her residential bathroom. Analysis of the hsp65-PRA variants digested with BamH I and some insertion sequences showed that the clinical strains recovered from sputum and strains from the bathtub were M.avium subsp. hominissuis. A dendrogram of the Mycobacterium avium tandem repeat loci variable-number tandemrepeat (MATR-VNTR) analysis of the MAC strains showed that the bathtub strains formed a polyclonal colonization, and that 1 of the 5 MATR-VNTR patterns was identical to the corresponding pattern of the sputum strain from the patient. In conclusion, we believe that the residential bathroom of the patient was the environmental source of her pulmonary MAC disease, as has been previously reported.


Big data means big datacenters, comprised of hundreds or thousands of machines. With so many machines, failures are commonplace. Failure detection is crucial: undetected failures may lead to data loss and outages. Recent health monitoring approaches use anomaly detection to forecast failures { anomalous machines are considered to be at risk of future failures. Our previous work focused on detecting latent faults in large web services, which are often characterized by scale-out architecture where load is dynamically balanced. We proposed a robust and unsupervised latent fault detector for such systems, with statistical bounds on the rate of false positives. That detector, however, is unsuitable for applications without dynamic load balancing, such as statically-balanced key-value stores, Hadoop jobs, and supercomputer applications. We describe an improved latent fault detection method for unbalanced workloads. It retains the advantages of our previous methods: it is unsupervised, robust to changes, and statistically sound. Moreover, the statistical bounds for the new method scale better with the number of machines, and so dramatically reduce the number of measurements needed. Preliminary evaluation on supercomputer logs shows that the new method is able to correctly predict some failures, while our previous methods completely fail in this setting.


The Brexit saga has shaken in the last years many founding aspects of the United Kingdom's historical constitution: its engagement in the EU and the admissibility of referendums, up to the extension of royal prerogatives in the field of foreign policy and the sovereignty of Parliament. The essay focuses on the judicial response given by the Supreme Court in Miller and upholds the reasons proffered by the majority in order to necessarily involve the Parliament before the decision to withdraw from the EU, according to Art. 50 TEU, is notified to the Brussels institution.


The extract of soluble proteins from Lilium anthers is characterized by four electrophoretic components. Three of the components show quantitative differences markedly correlated with the synchronized division of the microspores contained within the anthers. One of the components increases in amount before mitosis and disappears at mitosis; two of the components have peak values at the time of mitosis and decrease thereafter; a fourth component remains relatively constant in amount throughout.


This paper describes a system for automatically acquiring high-resolution images by steering a pan-tilt-zoom camera at targets detected in a fixed camera view. The system uses a novel method to automatically calibrate between multiple cameras, estimating the homography between the cameras in a home position, together with the effects of pan and tilt controls and the expected height of a person in the image. These calibrations are chained together to steer a slave camera. In addition we describe a simple manual calibration scheme


ABSTRACT For the first time in the Netherlands, the Adjustment Scales for Early Transition in Schooling (ASETS) have been applied to kindergarten and first-grade elementary school. A study was conducted to examine the relation between the different behavioral (phenotypes) and situational dimensions (situtypes) of the ASETS and learning performance on standardized language and numeracy tests. Results show that a proportion of children experience socioemotional and behavioral problems. Among boys, in particular, emotional or behavioral problems are significant. Furthermore, results show that these problems translate into a fairly consistent pattern of negative correlations with language and numeracy performance. These outcomes support the assertion that some children are not yet ready for school. It therefore seems important that the structured academic approach that is central to many methods used in early childhood education undergoes critical reflection, as by no means all target group children are ready for this approach.


The deep red phosphor Sr4(PO4)2O:Eu2+, which has an excitation peak around 450 nm for blue LED applications, is reported. This behavior is unusual for most phosphate phosphors. The crystal structure of Sr4(PO4)2O:Eu2+ is found to be monoclinic P21 and isotypic with Ca4(PO4)2O:Eu2+, which also shows deep red emission. Sr4(PO4)2O:Eu2+ has a larger lattice volume than Ca4(PO4)2O:Eu2+, but their emission and excitation spectra at room temperature are very similar. The key factors are discussed for achieving a large redshift of the 5d levels of Eu2+ ion in order to emit red light. In particular, the importance of the anion polarizability and the distortions of the metal coordination polyhedra are discussed, including the effective coordination number. Importantly, Sr4(PO4)2O:Eu2+ lacks the yellow emission at 77 K, which is found in Ca4(PO4)2O:Eu2+. The differences in thermal quenching behavior for Eu2+ dopants in Sr4(PO4)2O:Eu2+ and Ca4(PO4)2O:Eu2+ are attributed to the degree of auto/photo-ionization due to differences in the band gaps of these compounds. The importance of the large band gap of the host lattice in avoiding non-radiative processes of energy relaxation was confirmed.


Collaborative relationships between school and families are increasingly put forward as a means to promote student success and persistence. This collaborative work sometimes creates tensions and misunderstandings (Ravn, 2005) that can exacerbate divisions of power and reproduce inequalities (e.g., Crozier, 2000; Lareau, 2011; Vincent 2000). The main purpose of this study is to identify the areas of tensions and inner contradictions that emerge in the teacher-parent relationships in order to guide them while engaging in individual and collective transformation processes. Relying on Hoover-Dempsey et al.'s proposed model (2010), we conducted in-depth interviews with volunteered elementary and secondary teachers. Salient findings are discussed in light of the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) (Engestrom, 2015). These include mainly issues of trust versus control when it comes to choosing communication tools and issues related to the hierarchical status and power inside and outside the school when it comes to the redistribution of actions among the school community members. As a promising research and intervention avenue, the authors suggest to apply the Change Laboratory method (Virkkunen & Newnham, 2013) anchored in CHAT and that uses mirror data to reflect upon and foster transformative processes, hence, relationships between teachers and parents.


Experiments on dogs were made to demonstrate the importance of humoral factor for the inhibitory action of fat. The mechanism of the effect of fat and antidiuretic hormone on gastric secretion was found to be different. Fatty emulsion was discovered to produce an inhibitory action on gastric secretion when administered parenterally, while lipid secretion with bile to the duodenum to be of importance. The inhibitory effect of prostaglandin E2 on gastric juice secretion was studied. It has been demonstrated that this action is not removed by adrenoblockers.


This paper introduces an approach describing how an organization can use its own improvement methods and tools to develop a customer-driven environmental strategy that enhances its business strategy. The following steps were briefly described. First, key customers who express the environmental voice of the customer are identified and prioritized. Second, this environmental voice is collected and translated into product attributes that are critical to the environment. Third, the Kano technique is used to understand the different customer perceptions of these critical environmental attributes. Fourth, those customer perceptions suggest appropriate pathways for integrating the critical The anticipated result is improved environmental products that add greater perceived value to customers. The Kano technique ties an environmental attribute and how it is perceived to a business strategy thus providing a platform for environmental issues in the product realization process.


The number of closed housing transactions is a direct indicator of local housing market conditions. Transaction volume is affected by many external factors. This study uses a unique database to examine local economic data from 27 markets in the US from 1990 to the third quarter of 2011 in order to examine the impact of changing macroeconomic conditions on single-family housing transaction volume, an indicator of market conditions for a specific area. Our model produces an elasticity or sensitivity coefficient that measures how much transaction volume changes for a given change in national economic conditions, as measured by the year over year percentage change in the real US Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We use summary metropolitan-level data on single family homes that was generously provided by the National Association of Realtors and Capital Analytics. Local measures of housing market conditions include the number of regular (nondistressed) sales recorded taken from metropolitan and county-level tax assessor records. Other variables included in the analysis include average selling price per square foot, time-on-the-market, change in employment, foreclosures as a percentage of sales, and the differential between the 3-month LIBOR and the 3-month US Treasury rate to proxy for international risk. It is envisioned the real estate market participants could use the model to examine how the number of market transactions in each of these markets have responded to a change in the GDP. This model will also allow us to compare housing markets and we hope to eventually extend the analysis to forecast future market conditions. In addition, we will be able to examine how transaction levels have shifted over time. This proposed model and its output will be useful in raising the understanding of how a housing market will respond to changing stimuli, which in turn will be useful to real estate brokers in planning future activities, to lenders in deciding where to allocate their capital and to public planners making fiscal policy.


Development of ultra-smooth surface processing technology has great effect on the frontier technologies and defense industry, this attracts many countries to invest and highlight the research works related to ultra-smooth surface abrasive flow polishing technology. This paper gives a global review on the functional effect of ultra-Smooth surface abrasive flow polishing technology on the modern industry. Recent research achievements and machining accuracy developed by several famous universities were introduced and the principle and structure of the machining device were explained, according to the new demands for the future, the tendency of ultra-smooth surface abrasive flow polishing technology was suggested, especial emphasis on the precise polishing tool and the technology of soft contact between abrasive and workpiece.


The paper motivates for the need for rural communities in Botswana to gain access to information and communication technologies (ICTs). It generally acknowledges the excellent telecommunications infrastructure in the country, and the stated policy of the government and the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) to provide universal access to ICTs. The paper then explores why the policy and the infrastructural endowments have not combined to make Botswana an "information society" according to the timeframe envisaged in the national vision document, Vision 2016. Citing the phenomenal growth of the mobile phone in the Botswana telecommunications market, the paper proposes that a nascent information society could be upon Botswana, if only the mobile cellular platform and Internet connectivity could be fully harnessed to give people a foothold into the vast ICT field. The paper outlines the technological, institutional and policy issues that need to be tackled to ensure that Botswana's rural communities get the benefits of new ICTs, with particular emphasis on the need for integrated public access centres and a new legal framework guaranteeing access to information.


Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is imported into Chile mostly for bread making and feed. Identification of genotypes best adapted for seed production in South Central Chile would facilitate producer's decision. The objective of this study was to determine the adaptation and genotype x environment interaction of 16 flaxseed genotypes (including 10 from North American and six from Argentine sources) grown at 11 environments (defined as location-year) in Chile from 2003 to 2007. Genotype seed yield was above 5700 kg ha -1 for some environments indicating a high yield potential. According to the AMMI (Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction) and SREG (Sites regression) models the 11 environments were classified into four groups by the AMMI and three groups by the SREG models. Genotypes were classified into five groups by the SREG model with four of the groups as single genotypes. Overall mean seed yield was similar for all genotypes; however the genotype Nekoma was the most stable and higher yielding genotype across environments. The environment with the highest yield potential was Chillan 2003-2004, but this location had low yield stability across years. The environments with greatest seed yield potential, Chillan 2003-2004 and Los Angeles 2004-2005, had irrigation during flowering and seed filling. Seed oil content fluctuated between 420 and 530 g kg -1 . The climatic differences among environments did not influence oil composition as expected from previous research. Flaxseed appears adapted to South Central Chile with differences observed among genotypes for biomass and seed yield, harvest index, test weight, oil content, and composition.


The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), allowing direct wireless communications between industrial machines and people, is the key component of Industry 4.0. By grouping several IIoT devices (IIoT-Ds) into IIoT groups (IIoT-Gs), the IIoT-Ds within one group can share information and deter malicious users from accessing the network by modifying the access control list (ACL) in IIoT-Ds. In an IIoT-G, several IIoT-Ds jointly manage the access control of IIoT sensors. The security of ACL is protected by blockchains deployed in IIoT-Ds. Even secured by blockchains, a blockchain-based IIoT-G (B-IIoT-G) still cannot secure correct access control in a system with more than half of the blockchain-based IIoT-Ds (B-IIoT-Ds) from spreading wrong authorization information. In this article, we propose a B-IIoT-G with trust evaluation for each B-IIoT-D to evaluate the weight in voting for final decisions of authorization. By designing a new voting mechanism with trust evaluation for the access control in B-IIoT-G, the system has a higher probability of making correct authorization even with malicious B-IIoT-Ds. Simulation results have demonstrated that the mechanism with trust evaluation can still make, with a high probability, correct authorization even with more than half of the B-IIoT-Ds in B-IIoT-G being malicious.


Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine the use of graphic notation in relation to improvisation and indeterminacy in practice. The paper opens with a background context around terms and ideas about improvisation and indeterminate music pioneered by composers in the 20th century. The techniques the author used in the pieces Fluttering (Brondum 2015) and Serpentine Line (Brondum 2010) are examined and discussed in informal interviews with four musicians. The paper closes with a discussion and conclusions gained from the interviews and from working with musicians in the context of using graphic notation as a bridge between improvisation and notated music. Documentation of the author's practice and research of these methodological and aesthetical issues may be of interest to composers and musicians that work with similar techniques. It may also add to theory by developing the understanding of a composer's own approach, and in extension, to ask questions on how to develop these theories further.


The frequency spectrum of magnetic fluctuations as measured on the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment is broadband and exhibits a nearly Kolmogorov 5/3 scaling. It features a steepening region which is indicative of dissipation of magnetic fluctuationenergy similar to that observed in fluid and magnetohydrodynamicturbulence systems. Two non-spectrum based time-series analysis techniques are implemented on this data set in order to seek other possible signatures of turbulent dissipation beyond just the steepening of fluctuation spectra. Presented here are results for the flatness, permutation entropy, and statistical complexity, each of which exhibits a particular character at spectral steepening scales which can then be compared to the behavior of the frequency spectrum.


Clay addition has been shown to affect polymer resins positively in terms of several physical and chemical properties, including mechanical performance, high temperature endurance and durability. These increases are limited only to relatively low concentrations of reinforcement phase, but at these low concentrations polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites (P/LS NC) have shown to exhibit higher mechanical performance than fiber reinforced polymer composites. This is among the several reasons that make P/LS NC's one of the most widely studied class of materials today. In this study, the mechanical performance of resol type phenolic resin/layered silicate nanocomposite specimens was examined by carrying out 3-point bending, Charpy impact and fracture toughness tests to couple the observations, microstructural analysis is done through X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of especially three factors; cure method, clay amount, and clay modification were investigated. It was concluded that highest mechanical performance was obtained by the acid curing of the phenolic resin with very low amounts (e.g., 0.5%) of either very hydrophobic or very hydrophilic Na-montmorillonite clay additions. Improvements as high as 7% in flexural strength, 11% in flexural strain at break, 16% in Charpy impact strength, and 66% in fracture toughness values were obtained. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers


Process that uses a CNC lathe is required to have the results of surface roughness (roughness) is small with a definite degree of roughness. To get the product that has a surface roughness as expected, can be influenced by several factors one of which is the thickness of the funeral. The purpose of this study to determine the extent of the influence of the thickness of the funeral to the surface roughness at S45C material. This research was carried out on the shaft material S45C specimens with diameter of 50 mm with a rotary speed of 1600 rpm using a CNC turning machine MT3040. Ingestion thickness variation using a 0.1 mm; 0.15 mm; 0.2 mm; 0.25 mm and 0.3 mm. Ingestion of motion while using only 0.15 mm / rotation by using a chisel insert VCMT 160 404 with a chisel tip radius of 0.4 mm. Results of research for the material S45C 50 mm diameter suitable parameter is the funeral 0.15 mm thick at 1600 rpm rotation produces minimum roughness Ry, Rmax = 11.76 ?m and 0.10 mm thick feeds at 1600 rpm rotation Ra = 2.67 ?m, and Rz = 11.03 lm. Meanwhile, if the funeral 0.30 mm thick and round 1400 rpm generate greater roughness is Ra = 3.65 ?m, Ry (Rmax) = 16.07 ?m and Rz = 13.28 lm


The complex structure of the macroscopic assemblies of carbon nanotubes and variable intrinsic piezoresistivity of nanotubes themselves lead to highly interesting piezoresistive performance of this new type of conductive material. Here, we present an in-depth study of the piezoresistive effect in carbon nanotube fibers, i.e., yarnlike assemblies made purely of aligned carbon nanotubes, which are expected to find applications as electrical and electronic materials. The resistivity changes of carbon nanotube fibers were measured on initial loading, through the elastic/plastic transition, on cyclic loading and on stress relaxation. The various regimes of stress/strain behavior were modeled using a standard linear solid model, which was modified with an additional element in series to account for the observed creep behavior. On the basis of the experimental and modeling results, the origin of piezoresistivity is discussed. An additional effect on the resistivity was found as the fiber was held under load which led to observations of the effect of humidity and the associated water adsorption level on the resistivity. We show that the equilibrium uptake of moisture leads to the decrease in gauge factor of the fiber decrease, i.e., the reduction in the sensitivity of fiber resistivity to loading.


Since the first applications of structural concrete, the shear behaviour of one-way slabs without transverse reinforcement has been largely investigated. Nevertheless, currently in the scientific community there is no general agreement on the mechanisms of shear failure, on the parameters governing the shear strength and on the predominant shear-transfer actions. Hence, several mechanical models, based on very different hypotheses, and empirical formulations, calibrated on the available experimental results, have been proposed in the last decades. In addition, these experimental results have been traditionally obtained from tests on simply supported beams subjected to point load, whereas in most one-way slabs without transverse reinforcement in practice (foundations, retaining walls, slabs of cut-and-cover tunnels, silos) the boundary and loading conditions are typically different. This thesis has therefore the objective to provide new experimental data on reinforced concrete members without transverse reinforcement tested with different loading and boundary conditions, to increase the understanding on the mechanisms of shear failure and to develop a mechanical model based on the new experimental evidence. In the first part of the thesis, the experimental results of 23 tests on 20 beams without transverse reinforcement subjected to different loading (concentrated or distributed) and boundary conditions (cantilevers, simply supported or continuous beams) are presented. Refined measurement techniques allowed detailed tracking of the development of the crack pattern up to failure. The results show that the location, inclination and kinematics of the critical shear crack play a major role on the shear strength. Moreover, the amount of shear transferred by the various potential shear-transfer actions has been estimated on the basis of the experimental measurements and by using suitable mechanical models for each shear-transfer action. The analyses show that, for slender members, the shear-transfer actions contributing to the shear capacity are the inclination of the compression chord, the residual tensile strength of concrete, the dowelling action and the aggregate interlock, and the latter is the predominant one. For squat members or members in which the critical shear crack develops below the theoretical compression strut, differently, the arching action is predominant. In the second part of the thesis, a mechanical model, consistent with the main ideas of the critical shear crack theory, is presented. The shear force that is transferred through the critical shear crack by the various shear-transfer actions is calculated by integration of simple constitutive laws and a failure criterion is obtained by summing the different contributions. The shear and deformation capacity can thus be calculated by intersection of the failure criterion with a load-deformation relationship. It is shown that the failure criteria obtained by integration of stresses at the crack surface can be approximated by power-law equations. Combining the power-law failure criteria with the load deformation relationship, a closed-form equation has been obtained. The closed-form equation provides almost identical results to the mechanical model and allows for direct design and assessment of existing structures. The accuracy of the mechanical model and the closed-form equation has been checked against a large database, showing a good agreement to the experimental results.


In 2009, China's growth rate declined for the first time in more than a decade. Although the main reason for this fall was believed to be the 2008 recession, the Chinese economy has in fact reached a competitive crossroads where it must decide between remaining an underdog and becoming a world leader. In order to take the next step in its development, the Chinese Government and firms will have to adopt bold and innovative strategies. This paper discusses the global competition facing china and the ways in which the Chinese government and businesses can respond to this challenge in the presence of foreign firms in the local market.


This study presents a new modus of selective removal technology and an excimer assistance on TFT-LCD above the five generation used to carry out the selective removal of nanostructures layers from optoelectronic flat panel displays' color filter surface as well as the complete removal from the substrate of the ITO thin-films, RGB layer or resin BM layer. Displays' color filters are produced using optoelectronic semiconductor fabrication techniques though the low yield during production can still be improved. Through the precise removal process of chemical etching and excimer assistance, the selective removals of different layers on top of color filter substrates will cut down the production costs. It can individually pick out and remove defective films or directly remove all films but the Cr layer or bare glass. Experimental results point out defective ITO thin-films, RGB layers, or resin BM layer can now be recycled with great precision. When the ITO proves difficult to remove, excimer-light can also be used to help with its removal. During the color filter recycle process the use of a 172nm excimer-light can remove stubborn film residues, effectively improving the quality of recycled color filters. This study offers a recovery module for defective diaplays' color filters can be reused and fed back into the color filter production line, therefore provides many benefits in the industry of optoelectronic semiconductor.


SIR,-Your leading article (12 June, p 1425) reads as an attempted defence of a poor, persecuted minority-the consultants in acute general hospitals. We all live in difficult times. No doubt they will have the sympathy of those wealthier than themselves with more resources at their disposal. What worries me is what you say in their defence and what you don't say. For instance, you were challenged (24 April, p 1013) to justify a figure quoted ("every drop of even 01-( . . .") in a previous leading article (3 April, p 787). Usually such challenges are answered by a reference, an explanation, or an apology. Your technique is a vague quote, from a source not entirely free from bias. In addition you argue about "absolute standards" in medicine. "If a . . . new drug or procedure has been proved to make a substantial difference to mortality or morbidity then the doctors working in the specialty will not be content until they use the new treatment on their patients." For the world as a whole the statement is clearly untrue, but even in Britain I have some doubts-although much depends on how you define "proof" and "substantial," and the choice of referee, when there is conflict between specialties. Even so I would argue that there are other factors involved, such as the degree of effectiveness, the cost, the age and general health of the patient, and his or her wishes. You also mention diagnostic aids. For many years it has been known that if, before giving barbiturate anaesthetics, patients were tested the reduction in specific mortality for porphyria might be substantial. My family would profit from such a routine but I have always understood that it was not done because it was not cost-effective-and I rather agree. Your other point concerns "workhouses." I agree that they are depressing places to work in, and to die in, but do new buildings really affect morbidity, mortality, or morale ? I observe in Cardiff and remain sceptical. The omissions in your defence are even odder. You seem curiously unaware of the rising tide of criticism of these consultants over the past 10 years. It is based in general on their inability to justify the vast increase in their resources by evidence of a comparable increase in "output." In greater detail one could cite the lack of reaction on behalf of these consultants to a considerable mass of observational and experimental evidence about the effectiveness of some treatments, place of treatment, and length of stay in hospital. Possibly the most striking example is the conspiracy of silence with which the cardiologists have welcomed Gordon Mather's comparison of case fatality in coronary care units and at home.1 I know from my travels that it is much more discussed abroad than here, where it represents our one big chance to save both lives and money at the same time. It is evidence of this nature without adequate reply which has convinced so many people, medical and lay, that the acute sector could well survive a cut in resources without detriment to outcome. I would in conclusion like to stress areas of agreement. I would agree that there are possibly too many administrators. It is unfortunately at present impossible to measure their ineffectiveness. Similarly, I am suspicious of the rapid growth of the social services without proper evaluation. Finally, I can't agree more about over-prescribing, but what has the BMA done to control it ? A L COCHRANE


The Gibraltar Arc is a complex tectonic region, and several competing models have been proposed to explain its evolution. We studied the sedimentary fill of the Guadalquivir Basin to identify tectonic processes that were occurring when the reopening of the Strait of Gibraltar led to the reestablishment of Mediterranean outflow. We present a chronostratigraphic framework for the Lower Pliocene sediments from the lower Guadalquivir Basin (SW Spain). The updated chronology is based on magnetobiostratigraphic data from several boreholes. Our results show that the studied interval in the La Matilla core is in the early Pliocene section, providing better constraints on the sedimentary evolution of the basin during that period. Migrating depositional facies led to a younger onset of sandy deposition basinward. At the northwestern passive margin, a 0.7 m.y. period of sedimentary bypass related to a sharp decrease in sedimentation rates and lower sea levels resulted from the tectonic uplift of the forebulge. In contrast, high sedimentation rates with continuous deep-marine sedimentation are recorded at the basin center due to continuous tectonic subsidence and west-southwestward progradation of axial depositional systems. The marginal forebulge uplift, continuous tectonic basinal subsidence, and southward progradation of clinoforms in the early Pliocene can be explained by the pull of a lithospheric slab beneath the Gibraltar Arc as the Strait of Gibraltar opened. These findings are, to our knowledge, the first reported sedimentary expression of slab pull beneath the Betics related to the opening of the Strait of Gibraltar after the Messinian salinity crisis.


In external-beam radiotherapy, using external markers is one of the most reliable tools to predict tumor position, in clinical applications. The main challenge in this approach is tumor motion tracking with highest accuracy that depends heavily on external markers location, and this issue is the objective of this study. Four commercially available feature selection algorithms entitled 1) Correlation-based Feature Selection, 2) Classifier, 3) Principal Components, and 4) Relief were proposed to find optimum location of external markers in combination with two "Genetic" and "Ranker" searching procedures. The performance of these algorithms has been evaluated using four-dimensional extended cardiac-torso anthropomorphic phantom. Six tumors in lung, three tumors in liver, and 49 points on the thorax surface were taken into account to simulate internal and external motions, respectively. The root mean square error of an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) as prediction model was considered as metric for quantitatively evaluating the performance of proposed feature selection algorithms. To do this, the thorax surface region was divided into nine smaller segments and predefined tumors motion was predicted by ANFIS using external motion data of given markers at each small segment, separately. Our comparative results showed that all feature selection algorithms can reasonably select specific external markers from those segments where the root mean square error of the ANFIS model is minimum. Moreover, the performance accuracy of proposed feature selection algorithms was compared, separately. For this, each tumor motion was predicted using motion data of those external markers selected by each feature selection algorithm. Duncan statistical test, followed by F-test, on final results reflected that all proposed feature selection algorithms have the same performance accuracy for lung tumors. But for liver tumors, a correlation-based feature selection algorithm, in combination with a genetic search algorithm, proved to yield best performance accuracy for selecting optimum markers. PACS numbers: 87.55.km, 87.56.Fc.


Abstract Mixtures of stickies-containing and stickies-free pulps were investigated for their deposition potential in an attempt to better understand the interactions of dissolved and colloidal material (DCM) when mixing two different pulps. The filtered pulp mixtures were tested in a deposition apparatus which measures both the dynamic fluid as well as impact deposition by an established optical scanning method. A pulp filtrate of model stickies led to deposition according to the proportion of stickies-containing pulp in the mixture. Other mixtures of pulps, however, led to deposition that differed from the predicted value. It is theorised that pulp fibres present in the mixture could adsorb the polysaccharides that would otherwise keep the colloidal system electrostatically stable. This destabilisation was most prominent at lower proportions of the stickies-free pulp suspensions used for mixing. These results show that care must be taken when mixing different pulps for paper and board production, as even a small amount of replacement pulp can lead to destabilisation of DCM and formation of deposits. Furthermore, special care must be taken when mixtures of pulps are used to validate stickies measurements.


The purpose of this paper is to develop an approximate method for the evaluation of the normal force acting on a flexible plate normal to the wind flow and the deformation of the plate. A theoretical modelling is firstly proposed to predict the relationship between the normal drag coefficient of a rigid curved-plate and the configuration of the plate with the aid of a series of numerical analyses of structure and fluid dynamics. Then, based on the theoretical modelling, an approximate method for the evaluation of the normal force acting on the plate and the deformation of the plate is constructed using only the iteration of structure mechanics analysis, instead of conventional complex iterations of fluid-structure coupling analysis. Simulation tests for 3D flexible plates with different lengths and different material moduli are conducted. Also a comparative simulation test of a 3D flexible plate used in a previous experiment is performed to further confirm the validity and accuracy of the approximate method. Numerical results obtained from the approximate method agree well with those obtained from the fluid dynamics analysis as well as the results of the previous wind tunnel experiment.


Abstract We present a fluid-mechanical model of the coalescence of a number of elastic objects due to surface tension. We consider an array of spring–block elements separated by thin liquid films, whose dynamics are modelled using lubrication theory. With this simplified model of elastocapillary coalescence, we present the results of numerical simulations for a large number of elements, $N=O(10^4)$. A linear stability analysis shows that pairwise coalescence is always the most unstable mode of deformation. However, the numerical simulations show that the cluster sizes actually produced by coalescence from a small white-noise perturbation have a distribution that depends on the relative strength of surface tension and elasticity, as measured by an elastocapillary number $K$. Both the maximum cluster size and the mean cluster size scale like $K^{-1/2}$ for small $K$. An analytical solution for the response of the system to a localized perturbation shows that such perturbations generate propagating disturbance fronts, which leave behind 'frozen-in' clusters of a predictable size that also depends on $K$. A good quantitative comparison between the cluster-size statistics from noisy perturbations and this 'frozen-in' cluster size suggests that propagating fronts may play a crucial role in the dynamics of coalescence.


This paper presents the first ever approach for solving continuous-observation Decentralized Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (Dec-POMDPs) and their semi-Markovian counterparts, Dec-POSMDPs. This contribution is especially important in robotics, where a vast number of sensors provide continuous observation data. A continuous-observation policy representation is introduced using Stochastic Kernel-based Finite State Automata (SK-FSAs). An SK-FSA search algorithm titled Entropy-based Policy Search using Continuous Kernel Observations (EPSCKO) is introduced and applied to the first ever continuous-observation Dec-POMDP/Dec-POSMDP domain, where it significantly outperforms state-of-the-art discrete approaches. This methodology is equally applicable to Dec-POMDPs and Dec-POSMDPs, though the empirical analysis presented focuses on Dec-POSMDPs due to their higher scalability. To improve convergence, an entropy injection policy search acceleration approach for both continuous and discrete observation cases is also developed and shown to improve convergence rates without degrading policy quality.


The authors describe a set of solutions developed to address the storage management problem for networks of workstations and fileservers. Specifically, they describe the implementation of the Renaissance Infinite Storage Manager (ISM). Based on the bitfile client and bitfile server components of the IEEE Mass Storage Reference Model, the network ISM uses a mass storage server as backing store for magnetic disks attached to workstations and workgroup servers on a network. The ISM preserves the transparency of access while the contents of the least recently used storage on the network automatically migrate to the storage server. >


Loss of oligodendrocytes as the result of central nervous system disease causes demyelination that impairs axon function. Effective directional migration of endogenous or grafted oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to a lesion is crucial in the neural remyelination process. In this study, the migration of OPCs in electric fields (EFs) was investigated. We found that OPCs migrated anodally in applied EFs, and the directedness and displacement of anodal migration increased significantly when the EF strength increased from 50 to 200 mV/mm. However, EFs did not significantly affect the cell migration speed. The transcriptome of OPCs subjected to EF stimulation (100 and 200 mV/mm) was analyzed using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), and results were verified by the reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. A Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed that the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway that signals cell migration was significantly upregulated in cells treated with an EF of 200 mV/mm compared with control cells. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed the downregulation of differentially expressed genes in chemotaxis. This study suggests that an applied EF is an effective cue to guiding OPC migration in neural regeneration and that transcriptional analysis contributes to the understanding of the mechanism of EF-guided cell migration.


The data presented here are the first and second order statistics of near-wall two-component–two-dimensional (2C–2D) particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements of a turbulent pipe flow at shear Reynolds numbers up to acquired in the CICLoPE facility of the University of Bologna. The 111.5 m long pipe of 900 mm diameter offers a well-established turbulent flow with viscous length scales ranging from at down to at . These length scales can be resolved with a high-speed PIV camera at image magnification near unity. Statistically converged velocity profiles were determined using multiple sequences of up to 70 000 PIV recordings acquired at sampling rates of 100 Hz up to 10 kHz. Analysis of the velocity statistics shows a well-resolved inner peak of the streamwise velocity fluctuations that grows with increasing Reynolds number and an outer peak that develops and moves away from the inner peak with increasing Reynolds number. DATAFILES:ASCII tecplot files (include additional experimental information as comments)profile_u05mps.dat: Re_tau = 5,383 profile_u10mps.dat: Re_tau = 11,708 profile_u20mps.dat: Re_tau = 19,918 profile_u30mps.dat: Re_tau = 27,983 profile_u40mps.dat: Re_tau = 39,944 PUBLICATION:The experiment and turbulent velocity statistics has been reported in the archival literature: Christian E. Willert, Julio Soria, Michel Stanislas, Joachim Klinner, Omid Amili, Michael Eisfelder, Christophe Cuvier, Gabriele Bellani, Tommaso Fiorini and Alessandro Talamelli (2017). Near-wall statistics of a turbulent pipe flow at shear Reynolds numbers up to 40 000. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 826, R5. doi:10.1017/jfm.2017.498. Note: when referring to this data this journal publication must be referred to as well.


In this paper, we propose a novel design for network coding vectors that limits the overhead information. Network coding vectors contain information regarding the operations the packets have undergone in the network nodes. They are used at the decoder side to invert coding operations and recover the data. We propose to reduce the size of this side information with the use of Vandermonde-like generator matrices at the sources. These matrices permit to describe the coding operations performed on packets with only one symbol. We analytically investigate the limitations arising from such design constraints. Interestingly, we find that the feasible generation size is upper bounded by log2 q in Galois field Fq of size q as this is the maximum packet diversity allowed by the employed generator matrices. In addition, we show that network coding nodes should only perform addition operations in order to maintain the properties of the coding vectors. We finally discuss the benefits and limitations of the proposed coding vectors in practical systems.


This work presents a new theory of multipactor under multicarrier signals for parallel-plate geometries, assuming a homogeneous electric field and one-dimensional electron motion. It is the generalization of the nonstationary multipactor theory for single-carrier signals [S. Anza et al.,Phys. Plasmas 17, 062110 (2010)]. It is valid for multicarrier signals with an arbitrary number of carriers with different amplitude, arbitrary frequency, and phase conditions and for any material coating. This new theory is able to model the real dynamics of the electrons during the multipactor discharge for both single and double surface interactions. Among other parameters of the discharge, it calculates the evolution in time of the charge growth, electron absorption, and creation rates as well as the instantaneous secondary emission yield and order. An extensive set of numerical tests with particle-in-cell software has been carried out in order to validate the theory under many different conditions. This theoretical de...


Isoprostanes are a family of prostaglandin (PG) isomers formed in an enzyme-independent manner. They circulate in plasma and are excreted in urine. One of them, 8-epi PGF2 alpha is a vasoconstrictor and mitogen, effects which are prevented by thromboxane antagonists. Given that 8-epi PGF2 alpha may be formed by cyclooxygenase (COX) (Corey, E. J., Shih, C., Shig, N-Y., and Shimoji, K. (1984) Tetrahedron Letts. 44, 5013-5016; Hecker, M., Ullrich, V., Fischer, C., and Meese, C.O. (1987) Eur J. Biochem. 169, 113-123) and that this might confound its use as an index of free radical generation, we sought to characterize the mechanism of its formation by human platelets. Activation of platelets by threshold concentrations of collagen, thrombin, and arachidonic acid resulted in formation of 8-epi PGF2 alpha coincident with that of the COX product, thromboxane, and the 12 lipoxygenase product, 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, as detected by selected ion monitoring assays using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The effect appeared selective for 8-epi PGF2 alpha among the F2 isoprostanes. Pretreatment of platelets with aspirin or indomethacin abolished 8-epi PGF2 alpha formation. COX-independent activation of platelets by high doses of collagen or thrombin, by the phorbol ester, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, or the prostaglandin endoperoxide analog, U 46619 was not associated with 8-epi PGF2 alpha formation. Confirmation of the nature of the material formed by platelet COX as 8-epi PGF2 alpha included its cochromatography over three highly resolving high performance liquid chromatography systems, identification by electron impact mass spectrometry, and its formation by partially purified COX. Inhibition of platelet thromboxane formation was associated with augmented 8-epi PGF2 alpha formation. A major component of 8-epi PGF2 alpha formed in serum by healthy volunteers was shown to be sensitive to inhibition by aspirin ex vivo. In addition to its generation by free radical catalyzed mechanisms, 8-epi PGF2 alpha may be formed as a PG by human platelets. Given that activation of platelet COX characterizes many of the human syndromes which are putatively associated with free radical generation, assessment of the contribution of this pathway is relevant to the use of 8-epi PGF2 alpha as an index of lipid peroxidation in vivo.