The microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of as cast AZ91 Mg alloy enduring different homogenization conditions were researched. The results show that the peak stress and plasticity obtain improvement with the increase of heat treated time and temperature until 693K. When the temperature is higher than 743K, the sample will occur the over-burned and directly lead to the decrease of mechanical properties. Otherwise, with the increase of heat treated time and temperatures, the second phase gradually precipitate from the solution, while the grain evolution is not obvious. In the compression process for the samples after heat treatment, some twins could be found in the grains.


Summary  Resistant starch (RS) refers to the portion of starch and starch products that resist digestion as they pass through the gastrointestinal tract. RS is an extremely broad and diverse range of materials and a number of different types exist (RS1–4). At present, these are mostly defined according to physical and chemical characteristics. RS may be categorised as a type of dietary fibre, as defined by the American Association of Cereal Chemists and the Food Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. RS is measured in part by the methodology recommended by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists for measuring dietary fibre. Dietary intakes of RS in westernised countries are likely to be low. However, accurate comparative assessments of dietary intakes between countries, and subsequent epidemiological analysis, are absent due to the lack of consensus over of an agreed, repeatable and simple in vitro method for analysing the RS content of foods. At present, the recognised method is that of McCleary & Monaghan (2002). RS appears to confer considerable benefits to human colonic health, but has a smaller impact on lipid and glucose metabolism. Comparisons between studies are hampered by differences in study design, poor experimental design and differences in the source, type and dose of RS in the ingredients or diets used. It is likely that RS mediates some or all of its effects through the action of short chain fatty acids but interest is increasing regarding its prebiotic potential. There is also increasing interest in using RS to lower the energy value and available carbohydrate content of foods. RS can also be used to enhance the fibre content of foods and is under investigation regarding its potential to accelerate the onset of satiation and to lower the glycaemic response. Due to the difficulties in agreeing on a universal definition and method of analysis for dietary fibre, RS may be included within the term 'fibre' on the nutrition labels in some countries but not in others. Pressure to agree a legal definition and universal method of analysis is likely to increase due to the potential of RS to enhance colonic health, and to act as a vehicle to increase the total dietary fibre content of foodstuffs, particularly those which are low in energy and/or in total carbohydrate content.


Column studies were conducted to investigate the influence of benzene or toluene on the dechlorination of perchloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) in columns packed with zero-valent iron (ZVI) in order to simulate a permeable reactive barrier. Enhancive and inhibitive influences of benzene and toluene, respectively, on PCE and TCE reduction were observed within 10–80 pore volumes (PV) that flowed through the columns. However, such influences dissipated when the flow-through volume increased above 80 PV. The presence of benzene increased the mean dechlorination k obs of PCE and TCE by 7% and 6%, respectively; in contrast, the presence of toluene decreased the mean dechlorination k obs of PCE and TCE by 21% and 10%, respectively. We presumed that the more competitive adsorption between benzene and toluene in comparison to PCE and TCE on the ZVI particle surface might have caused the disparate influences. With a lower affinity for ZVI, benzene has no substantial influence on PCE and TCE adsorption on the ZVI particle surface. However, toluene has a higher affinity for ZVI and could compete with PCE and TCE by contacting the ZVI particle surface. Moreover, given benzene9s higher polarity, it could also benefit electron transfer from ZVI to PCE and TCE.


In wireless networks, due to limited battery power, it is crucial to reduce the transmission overhead and power consumption. In this paper we discuss how to achieve low transmission overhead and reduced power consumption by minimizing the transmission of redundant control messages. The popular on-demand multi cast routing protocols like AODV and ODMRP has drawbacks due to transmission overhead. As the mobility of communicating nodes increases the transmission overhead also increases as the number of specific control messages used for the protocol functioning are high in number. In a communication network where the high mobility is not demanding, ODMRP generates transmission overhead and thereby power loss due to unnecessary retransmission. In this paper we are discussing a method where the control messages used is considerably reduced. The broadcast of control messages for route establishment as well as route maintenance is done when the existing reliable path becomes invalid or unreachable. This method can be considered as an efficient protocol for ondemand ad hoc multicast routing protocols. This technique helps to achieve high packet delivery ratio but low delay, congestion and there by low power consumption. Keywords—ad hoc, on demand, multi cast, routing protocols,


Perineal laseration occurs because the position of the perineum is tense so that when the baby's head comes out there is laceration in the perineum. The purpose of this study is to know the analysis of perineal massage result with olive oil on prevention of perineal laseration in labor at RB. Kasih Ibu Wonoasri Village Grogol District Kediri. The design of this study Quasy Experiment with Post test only with control group design. The population of this study all pregnant women gestational age ≥36 weeks in RB. Kash Ibu of Wonoasri Village, Grogol Subdistrict of Kediri Regency, with purposive sampling technique obtained sample 20 respondents. Independent variables was perineal massage with olive oil, the dependent variable is perineal Laseration. Data analysis using Mann Whitney U test. The result of this study was found that most respondents did not have perineal laceration, amount 7 respondents (70%) while in the treatment group, most of respondents had perineal laceration, amount 6 respondents (60%). The result of analysis using Chi Square test shows the value of p-value = 0,039 <α = 0,05, so H0 rejected and H1 accepted which means there is influence of perineal massage result with olive oil on prevention of perineal laseration in labor at RB. Kasih Ibu Wonoasri Village Grogol District Kediri. Perineum massage using oil can be an alternative alternative to prevention of perineal laceration in maternal women because through massage the perineum exercise process to widen so as to increase the flexibility, while the olive oil content is useful in providing nutrients for skin tissue to remain soft and elastic.


Edge Computing (EC) enables a new kind of caching system in close geographic proximity to end-users by allowing app vendors to cache popular data on edge servers deployed at base stations. This edge cache system can better support latency-sensitive applications. However, transmitting data from the centralized cloud to the edge servers without proper transmission strategies may cost app vendors dearly. Cost-effective data distribution strategies are of particular importance for applications, whose data to be cached at the edge often changes dynamically. In this paper, we study this Online Edge Data Distribution (OEDD) problem, aiming to minimize app vendors' total transmission cost, while ensuring low transmission latency in the long term. We first model this problem and prove its $\mathcal {NP}$-hardness. We then combine Lyapunov optimization and game theory to propose a novel Latency-Aware Online (LAO) approach for solving this OEDD problem over time in a distributed manner with provable performance guarantees. The evaluation of LAO based on a real-world dataset demonstrates that it can help app vendors formulate cost-effective edge data distribution strategies in an online manner.


In this paper, the optimization of the surface composite of Mg AZ31B-carbon nanotub(CNT) via friction stir processing was investigated. Then, the most effective process parameters such as transverse speed, rotational speed, CNT weight percent and welding passes were studied by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) design of experiment. The specimens were also characterized by micro-hardness, tensile, shear punch and pin on disk dry sliding wear tests. The optimization results of hardness and weight reduction responses showed that the best conditions would be achievable with a transverse speed of 24 mm/min, rotational speed of 660 rpm, 4wt.% CNT and 3 welding passes. Moreover, fracture analysis of the surfaces proved a * :یکینورتکلا تسپ ،تابتاکم لوئسم : firstname.lastname@example.com


We demonstrate the use of CCD image sensors and LCD screens from discarded electronic devices as elements for performing simple optical diffraction experiments. The experiments can determine the spatial structure of these components by analyzing diffraction patterns generated by their interaction with monochromatic light. This article presents the design and results of such experiments.


This study examines interpersonality and audience awareness of initial greetings and leavetaking formulae in 1,041 e-mails (523 Finnish, 518 Swedish) written by Finnish (n = 222) and Swedish (n = 174) language learners in basic education, secondary education and at university level in Finland. The results reveal that there are certain communicative differences between the two groups. The e-mails contain different levels of formality: Swedish learners use more initial greetings and their messages are slightly more coherent than those of Finnish learners. The initial greeting hei/hej is commonly used in different contexts, regardless of the language. Learners' audience awareness is indicated by addressing the recipient by their proper name. The largest variation has been found in leave-taking formulae in both groups. We observed that greetings and leave-taking become more complex and increasingly similar to the target language at a higher level of proficiency.


Background Studies in mice have shown that PPARα is an important regulator of hepatic lipid metabolism and the acute phase response. However, little information is available on the role of PPARα in human liver. Here we set out to compare the function of PPARα in mouse and human hepatocytes via analysis of target gene regulation. Methodology/Principal Findings Primary hepatocytes from 6 human and 6 mouse donors were treated with PPARα agonist Wy14643 and gene expression profiling was performed using Affymetrix GeneChips followed by a systems biology analysis. Baseline PPARα expression was similar in human and mouse hepatocytes. Depending on species and time of exposure, Wy14643 significantly induced the expression of 362–672 genes. Surprisingly minor overlap was observed between the Wy14643-regulated genes from mouse and human, although more substantial overlap was observed at the pathway level. Xenobiotics metabolism and apolipoprotein synthesis were specifically regulated by PPARα in human hepatocytes, whereas glycolysis-gluconeogenesis was regulated specifically in mouse hepatocytes. Most of the genes commonly regulated in mouse and human were involved in lipid metabolism and many represented known PPARα targets, including CPT1A, HMGCS2, FABP1, ACSL1, and ADFP. Several genes were identified that were specifically induced by PPARα in human (MBL2, ALAS1, CYP1A1, TSKU) or mouse (Fbp2, lgals4, Cd36, Ucp2, Pxmp4). Furthermore, several putative novel PPARα targets were identified that were commonly regulated in both species, including CREB3L3, KLF10, KLF11 and MAP3K8. Conclusions/Significance Our results suggest that PPARα activation has a major impact on gene regulation in human hepatocytes. Importantly, the role of PPARα as master regulator of hepatic lipid metabolism is generally well-conserved between mouse and human. Overall, however, PPARα regulates a mostly divergent set of genes in mouse and human hepatocytes.


A binary plant expression vector, pCM12-slm, carrying the aroAM12 mutant gene encoding bacterial 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) and the Bts1m recombinant gene consisting of 331 N-terminal amino acids of CryIAc and 284 C-terminal amino acids of CryIAb has been constructed. The truncated Bts1 gene was fused with the PR1b signal peptide sequence and expressed in tobacco plants under the control of 2E-CaMV35S promoter and the omega (omega) translation enhancer sequence from tobacco mosaic virus. The mutant aroAM12 was fused with the transit sequence of tobacco EPSPS and expressed in tobacco plants under the control of the CaMV35S promoter. Tobacco leaves were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404 harboring the pCM12-slm plasmid, and the transgenic plants were selected directly on medium containing the herbicide. Forty glyphosate resistant plants were regenerated, with a transformation frequency of 27%. Transgenic plants were initially assessed for glyphosate resistance by placing leaf discs on shoot induction media containing the herbicide. Rooted plantlets, propagated from selected transgenic tobacco, were transferred to soil in a greenhouse and tested for glyphosate resistance by spraying them with Roundup at a commercial recommended dose. The glyphosate resistance assay indicated that all the transgenic plants showed highly resistant to the herbicide. The PCR assay showed that the aroAM12 gene was present in all of the 40 T0 transfer plants, and Bts1m genes present in 28 of 40 of the transgenic plants. Southern blot analysis further confirmed that the copy number of the transgenes varied from one to three copies in different transgenic plants. Northern blot and immunodot blot showed that the aroAM12 and Bts1m genes were expressed at the transcription and translation levels. Transgenic plants containing both the aroA M12 and Bts1m genes were further assessed for insect resistance. Tobacco leaves of T0 transgenic plants were infested with tobacco bollworm H. assulta larvae for 6 days. The result (table 1) showed that the survival rate of insect larvae was between 0-10%, and the growth of insect larvae was seriously inhibited, suggesting pCM12-slm as a dual functional vector with potential application in breeding of glyphosate and insect resistance transgenic plants.


Background Variable clinical outcomes of tibial tuberosity transfer surgery have been reported. Hypotheses The biomechanical outcome of surgery is patient-specific; no single procedure produces superior results for all patients. Use of patient-specific computer models can optimize choice of procedure. Study Design Computer simulation study using clinical data. Methods We used patient-specific multibody models of the patellofemoral joints of 20 patients with a diagnosis of patellar subluxation and osteoarthritis. Four tibial tuberosity transfer procedures (two anterior and two anteromedial) were simulated for each patient and compared with their preoperative model. Results When results for all patients were averaged, all simulated operations produced a statistically significant decrease in surface-wide mean contact stress, although no significant difference was found among them. Conclusions The simulated surgical outcomes were patient-specific: no single procedure was consistently superior at decreasing peak or mean stress and each procedure produced a potentially detrimental outcome, an increase in either mean stress or peak stress, in at least one patient. Clinical Relevance Computer simulation may serve as a valuable tool for tailoring procedures to specific patients.


This theologically informed study in economic ethics focuses on the 'world market' as an ideology, a formal theory and a practical device. It analyses the tendency of economists to elaborate and impose market theory as dogma. Such approaches are contrasted with principles of justice found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), the parable of the sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46) and the Reformed Protestant social theory of 16th-century theologian John Calvin. The author concludes that market mechanisms must be supplemented by additional tools to ensure that world needs may be fairly and correctly met.


The objective of this study is to review the existing research models of green human resource management (Green HRM) and then conclude the paper with a comprehensive research model for future study. This methodological aspect of this study is qualitative and accordingly the study is carried out based on the archival method. The key components of the existing research models were identified and discussed. The study is supposed to contribute to the existing field of research as this is the first kind of research in this field. Research gaps and policy implications are identified.


CrowdBand, a sound composition system, demonstrates how a crowd can create works that meet requested criteria and fulfill the aesthetic character given by keyword description and examples. CrowdBand allows flexibility in music composition in terms of duration of the music, completion time and cost of music composition by giving the requestor two modes - thrifty and normal. CrowdBand's workflow divides the composition task into three sections: requesting fundamental sounds, assembling sounds into compositions, and evaluating the results. Based on the crowd workers' responses, we conclude that crowdsourced workers who are non-musicians can design sound and create novel sound compositions through CrowdBand. We also conclude that CrowdBand gives the musically-untrained crowd workers the ability to use common compositional techniques, such as sound layering, vertical stacking of sounds to create harmonic effects, related melodic lines (contrapuntal techniques), and transitions between aesthetic notions, or sound themes. Finally, we show improved, faster results with successive simplification and examples.


BACKGROUND
The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique has been frequently used in the molecular diagnosis of leprosy.

OBJECTIVES
To compare the results of PCR with four pairs of Mycobacterium leprae specific primers as well as to compare these results to multibacillary (MB) and paucibacillary (PB) leprosy according to the WHO operational classification.

METHOD
28 DNA samples, collected from the frozen skin biopsies and biopsy imprints on filter paper of 23 patients (14 MB and PB 9), were examined for PCR using primers which amplify 131, 151 and 168bp of specific microsatellite regions and a 336 fragment of the Ml MntH (ML2098) gene.

RESULTS
M.leprae bacillus could be detected in 22 (78.6%) of the 28 samples. 9 (45%) of the 20 biopsy samples and 6 (75%) of the 8 imprints were positive to TTC. 7 (35.5%) skin biopsy specimens and 5 (62.5%) imprints were positive to AGT, and 11 (55%) biopsies and 4 (50%) were positive to AGT. 11 (55%) skin biopsies and 4 (50%) imprints were positive to AT. 8(38%) skin biopsies and 5 (62.5%) imprints were positive to the Ml MntH gene. In the MB group, the microsatellites detected the bacillus in 78.5% of the samples, and the Ml MntH gene in 57.1% of the samples, independent of the clinical material. In the PB group 55.5% of samples were positive to the microsatellite primers, while 22.2% were positive to the Ml MntH gene.

CONCLUSIONS
These results show that both the specific regions of microsatellites, as well as the Ml MntH gene fragment can be useful tools for detecting the M. leprae DNA by PCR in frozen skin biopsy samples and filter paper biopsy imprints.


Due to their unique physical and chemical properties, monodisperse titanium oxide microspheres can be used in dye-sensitized solar cells, as cosmetic pigments, and for other applications. However, the synthesis of microspheres with narrow size distribution, desired phase composition, and porosity is still a challenge. In this work, spherical titania particles with controllable size, crystallinity, and pore size were obtained by Ti(OnBu)4 hydrolysis in ethanol. The influence of NaOH addition on the particles' size and morphology was investigated for the first time. Particle diameter can be tailored from 300 nm to 1.5 μm by changing water and NaOH concentrations. Particle size was analyzed by the statistical processing of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and differential centrifugal sedimentation (DCS) measurements. Optical properties of the microspheres were studied by diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy. Thermal and hydrothermal treatment allowed transforming amorphous phase in as-prepared particles into nanocrystalline anatase and/or rutile. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of the lamellae, cut out from spherical particles using focused ion beam (FIB), revealed that as-synthesized microspheres are non-hollow, homogeneous, and crystallize throughout the whole volume of the particle. The spherical particles possess photoprotective properties; the highest sun protection factor (SPF) was observed for amorphous microspheres.


We present a novel data structure, the Bayes tree, that provides an algorithmic foundation enabling a better understanding of existing graphical model inference algorithms and their connection to sparse matrix factorization methods. Similar to a clique tree, a Bayes tree encodes a factored probability density, but unlike the clique tree it is directed and maps more naturally to the square root information matrix of the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem. In this paper, we highlight three insights provided by our new data structure. First, the Bayes tree provides a better understanding of the matrix factorization in terms of probability densities. Second, we show how the fairly abstract updates to a matrix factorization translate to a simple editing of the Bayes tree and its conditional densities. Third, we apply the Bayes tree to obtain a completely novel algorithm for sparse nonlinear incremental optimization, named iSAM2, which achieves improvements in efficiency through incremental variable re-ordering and fluid relinearization, eliminating the need for periodic batch steps. We analyze various properties of iSAM2 in detail, and show on a range of real and simulated datasets that our algorithm compares favorably with other recent mapping algorithms in both quality and efficiency.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Anemia is a common and early complication of nondialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD). One contributing factor is iron deficiency, which may be particularly problematic during erythropoietin replacement therapy. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of iron deficiency in nondialysis CKD.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
The National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) data for NHANES III (1988 to 1994) and subsequent NHANES 2-yr datasets, 1999 to 2000, 2001 to 2002, and 2003 to 2004 were analyzed for individuals >18 yr old.

RESULTS
It was found that low levels of iron tests [either serum ferritin < 100 ng/ml or transferrin saturation (TSAT) < 20%] were present in most patients with reduced creatinine clearance (CrCl). The percentage of low iron tests was higher among women than men, present in 57.8 to 58.8% of men and 69.9 to 72.8% of women (P < 0.001). With declining levels of CrCl, in women, TSAT levels decreased, whereas, surprisingly, serum ferritin tended to progressively increase. The percentage of anemic subjects increased progressively with declining quartiles of TSAT but was unrelated to serum ferritin quartiles.

CONCLUSIONS
It was found that low levels of iron tests, following National Kidney Foundation/Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines (either serum ferritin < 100 ng/ml or TSAT < 20%) were present in most patients with reduced CrCl.


IN 1937 MINNIE L. STECKEL, A SOCIOLOGIST AT THE ALL-WHITE ALABAMA COLLEGE for women in Montevallo, made the following observations: "A consideration of how [poll tax] laws affect women indicates that in many circumstances they do result in limiting women, more than men, in meeting voting qualifications.... [E]specially during the depression, $1.50 poll tax paid for the husband to vote and also for the wife often meant just that much less food and clothing for the family. If such a family is mindful of the need for voting, in most cases the poll tax will be paid for the man, but not for the woman." Fourteen years later, Katharine Cater, the dean of women at Auburn, wrote: "Why have women not taken better advantage of the vote for which they worked so diligently? There are a number of possible reasons, but one of the most obvious is the poll tax. The Alabama poll tax very clearly discriminates against women between the ages of 21 and 45. Veterans of World War I and World War II are exempt from paying the tax. This includes many men. But it leaves most women with a tax to pay, one of the worst features of which is the fact that it is cumulative." By 1958 Frederic D. Ogden, a University of Alabama political scientist who spent years studying the poll tax, reached the same conclusions. The poll tax, he wrote, "tends to bear more harshly on women than men and analysis of the results of ... reduction of the cumulative feature in Alabama disclosed that more white women had been prevented from voting by the tax than either white men or Negroes." (1) Even though these observations make clear that earlier generations of scholars and women's activists identified forces that suppressed the white female vote in the South after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, the post-1920 disfranchisement of large numbers of southern white women has gone largely unnoticed and unexplained by recent historians and political scientists. (2) Scholarly discussions of the poll tax and the anti-poll tax campaigns have generally been placed within the context of the civil fights movement, where the focus is on race and/or class discrimination, not gender. (3) Why is it that we are aware of the ongoing struggle black women and men waged through the NAACP and other organizations to challenge black disfranchisement but know so little about the continuing fight for woman suffrage waged by the white women who campaigned to abolish the poll tax and reform election laws in order to make the Nineteenth Amendment a reality? The failure of scholars to address white female disfranchisement seems deserving of an explanation in and of itself. This essay examines how a growing understanding of the suppressive effects of the poll tax on southern white women voters inspired the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee to pursue an anti-poll tax agenda at the national level and moved white women in Alabama to launch a state anti-poll tax campaign. These women's political activism was part of the continuing movement to enfranchise women, and their efforts were opposed by white male Democratic leaders. Yet the women's campaigns were also conducted in the midst of the in-depth studies of black disfranchisement and southern political systems that yielded such classic works as Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and American Democracy and V. O. Key's Southern Politics in State and Nation. (4) These researchers, however, neglected issues concerning women and politics as they gathered data and feverishly wrote chapter drafts to meet impending deadlines. An examination of their methods illuminates the process that has maintained our ignorance of the history of women's political cultures. (5) What we have then are two stories: the first concerns the reality of white female disfranchisement in the South in the post-suffrage decades and women's relentless efforts to combat it at the state and national level; the second centers on the failure of political scientists to study the problem. …


Straight to the Heart. By George Lawton. $5.00. Pg. 347. International Universities Press, Inc., New York, 1956. This book is unique in that it is a personal account of the thoughts and feelings of a psychoanalyst while undergoing heart surgery. In fact, the fears and anxieties so clearly depicted began soon after the suggestion of cardiac surgery was made to the author by his medical advisers. Although the dread and suspense of a serious operation is not an uncommon experience it is comforting to learn that even the most equanimous of people, the analyst, is also subject to mental upheaval when confronted by a stressful situation particularly one in which life is threatened.


Repeated administration of haloperidol (HAL) and olanzapine (OLZ) causes a progressively enhanced disruption of the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) and a progressively enhanced inhibition of phencyclidine (PCP)-induced hyperlocomotion in rats (termed antipsychotic sensitization). Both actions are thought to reflect intrinsic antipsychotic activity. The present study examined the extent to which antipsychotic-induced sensitization in one model (e.g. CAR) can be transferred or maintained in another (e.g. PCP hyperlocomotion) as a means of investigating the contextual and behavioral controls of antipsychotic sensitization. Well-trained male Sprague–Dawley rats were first repeatedly tested in the CAR or the PCP (3.2 mg/kg, subcutaneously) hyperlocomotion model under HAL or OLZ for 5 consecutive days. Then they were switched to the other model and tested for the expression of sensitization. Finally, all rats were switched back to the original model and retested for the expression of sensitization. Repeated HAL or OLZ treatment progressively disrupted avoidance responding and decreased PCP-induced hyperlocomotion, indicating a robust sensitization. When tested in a different model, rats previously treated with HAL or OLZ did not show a stronger inhibition of CAR-induced or PCP-induced hyperlocomotion than those treated with these drugs for the first time; however, they did show such an effect when tested in the original model in which they received repeated antipsychotic treatment. These findings suggest that the expression of antipsychotic sensitization is strongly influenced by the testing environment and/or selected behavioral response under certain experimental conditions. Distinct contextual cues and behavioral responses may develop an association with unconditional drug effects through a Pavlovian conditioning process. They may also serve as occasion setters to modulate the expression of sensitized responses. As antipsychotic sensitization mimics the clinical effects of antipsychotic treatment, understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of antipsychotic sensitization and its contextual control would greatly enhance our understanding of the psychological and neurochemical nature of antipsychotic treatment in the clinic.


Lycium barbarum has been used in China for more than 2,000 years as a traditional medicinal herb and food supplement. Lycium barbarum contains abundant Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs), betaine, phenolics, carotenoids (zeaxanthin and β-carotene), cerebroside, 2-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid (AA-2βG), β-sitosterol, flavonoids and vitamins (in particular, riboflavin, thiamine, and ascorbic acid). LBPs are the primary active components of Lycium barbarum. In this review, we discuss the pharmacological activities of LBPs and other major components. They have been reported to mediate significant anti-aging effects, through antioxidant, immunoregulative, anti-apoptotic activities and reducing DNA damage. Thus, the basic scientific evidence for anti-aging effects of LBPs is already available. However, additional studies are needed to understand mechanisms by which LBPs mediate anti-aging properties. Novel findings from such studies would likely pave the way for the clinical application of traditional chinese medicine Lycium barbarum in modern evidence-based medicine.


There are various traditional Malay potteries such as Labu Sayong, Buyung and Terenang. Kelantan traditional pottery known as Mambong. The objectives of this research are to compare and characterize the density, strength, physical appearance and shrinkage of traditional and slip casted Mambong pottery. Traditional Mambong pottery has been brought from the potter at Mambnog village and slip casted Mambong pottery is made by using slip casting method. Density of sample is measured by using Archimedes principal. Traditional Mambong pottery show the higher value of density compared to slip casting Mambong pottery. The average value of density for traditional Mambong pottery was 1.763 g/cm3, while the average value of density for Mambong pottery that was fabricated via slip casting was 1.461 g/cm3. Due to the presence of iron in clay, the colour of Mambong pottery changes from brown to reddish-brown after firing process. Traditional Mambong pottery shows the higher percentage of dry shrinkage which was 9.76 % compared to slip casting Mambong pottery which was 5.72 %. Traditional Mambong pottery also shows the higher percentage of fired shrinkage which was 1 % compared to slip casting Mambong pottery which was 0.58 %. In conclusion, by using slip casting technique, density, physical appearance and shrinkage of pottery can be improved.


We examine the $q=1$ and $t=0$ special cases of the parking functions conjecture. The parking functions conjecture states that the Hilbert series for the space of diagonal harmonics is equal to the bivariate generating function of $area$ and $dinv$ over the set of parking functions. Haglund recently proved that the Hilbert series for the space of diagonal harmonics is equal to a bivariate generating function over the set of Tesler matrices–upper-triangular matrices with every hook sum equal to one. We give a combinatorial interpretation of the Haglund generating function at $q=1$ and prove the corresponding case of the parking functions conjecture (first proven by Garsia and Haiman). We also discuss a possible proof of the $t = 0$ case consistent with this combinatorial interpretation. We conclude by briefly discussing possible refinements of the parking functions conjecture arising from this research and point of view. $\textbf{Note added in proof}$: We have since found such a proof of the $t = 0$ case and conjectured more detailed refinements. This research will most likely be presented in full in a forthcoming article.


Adjusting the structure of g-C3N4 to significantly enhance its photocatalytic activity has attracted considerable attention. Herein, a novel, sponge-like g-C3N4 with a porous structure is prepared from the annealing of protonated melamine under N2/H2 atmosphere (PH-CN). Compared to bulk g-C3N4 via calcination of melamine under ambient atmosphere (B-CN), PH-CN displays thinner nanosheets and a higher surface area (150.1 m2/g), which is a benefit for shortening the diffusion distance of photoinduced carriers, providing more active sites, and finally favoring the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity. Moreover, it can be clearly observed from the UV-vis spectrum that PH-CN displays better performance for harvesting light compared to B-CN. Additionally, the PH-CN is prepared with a larger band gap of 2.88 eV with the Fermi level and conduction band potential increased and valence band potential decreased, which could promote the water redox reaction. The application experiment results show that the hydrogen evolution rate on PH-CN was nearly 10 times higher than that of B-CN, which was roughly 4104 μmol h−1 g−1. The method shown in this work provides an effective approach to adjust the structure of g-C3N4 with considerable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity.


We report geomorphic observations and cosmogenic-nuclide measurements on bedrock surfaces from three isolated nunatak groups in West Antarctica: the Pirrit Hills and Nash Hills, located in the Weddell Sea sector, and the Whitmore Mountains, located on the Ross-Weddell divide. The objectives of this paper are to (i) establish a chronology for landscape development at these sites and (ii) quantify the long-term history of ice-thickness variations in West Antarctica. These nunataks display relic alpine landscapes on which weathered bedrock surfaces are superimposed. In the Pirrit Hills, an erosional trimline is etched into alpine ridges and separates smooth-crested ridges below from serrated ridges above. Below the trimline, geomorphic evidence indicates repeated frozen-based ice cover, while above the trimline evidence for ice cover is entirely absent. There is also no geomorphic evidence for thicker-than-present ice at the Whitmore Mountains. Cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in the oldest bedrock surfaces from the Whitmore Mountains and from above the Pirrit Hills trimline indicate uninterrupted exposure for ∼12 Myr at extraordinarily low erosion rates. This places a lower limit on the timing of the formation of alpine landscapes in West Antarctica, and we hypothesize that this occurred during the relatively warm climates prior to the mid-Miocene cooling. The absence of evidence for thicker ice at the Whitmore Mountains is consistent with the hypothesis that the divide was typically thinner than present during Pleistocene glacial periods due to reduced accumulation. Bedrock surfaces below the trimline have much lower nuclide concentrations and are most easily explained by a scenario of repeated frozen-based ice cover and occasional subglacial plucking, which is consistent with geomorphic observations. Bedrock surfaces near the modern ice level appear to have been covered more than half of the time, while higher elevation surfaces indicate progressively less cover. The trimline and associated geomorphic features are very similar to a prominent trimline in the Ellsworth Mountains, and we conclude that these are, in fact, part of the same feature. The Ellsworth trimline is hypothesized to have formed during the mid-Miocene cooling and the transition from alpine to continental glaciation, and our results are consistent with this hypothesis.


This paper describes a performance evaluation of different implementation alternatives of a parallel C++ program for telecommunication applications. The implementation alternatives use different combinations of Solaris threads and Unix processes. A Sun multiprocessor with eight processors was used in the performance evaluation. The measurements show that the multiprocessor system favors implementations with many Unix processes, containing a small number of threads each, compared to implementations with one process containing a large number of threads. It also turns out that the performance can be increased by binding threads to processors, and that the overhead grows significantly when the number of processors increases.


This paper presents the design and analysis of a three-fingered deployable metamorphic robotic grasper for manipulating large-scale unknown objects. This grasper is composed of three fingers and a single-mobility umbrella-shaped palmar mechanism. First, the mechanism-design of the grasper is introduced and the metamorphic-motion process is analyzed, followed by the structural optimization, the finger with three modules can be deployed from 111.5mm to 304mm and the good deploy/fold ratio can reach 2.73. This equips the grasper with a compact folded configuration and a large deployed configuration. Second, kinematic models of the deployment-motion and grasping-motion are independently established, and kinematic analysis is conducted. To further illustrate kinematic performance, kinematic simulation for the grasper is then performed. Third, the condition of the stable grasp is analyzed, trajectory planning of the grasper based on an S-shaped acceleration and deceleration function algorithm is then carried out. Fourth, a control system is designed and a physical prototype is fabricated. Grasping experiments are then conducted to prove the ability of the grasper to grasp objects of various sizes and shapes.


Recent bailouts in response to the subprime crisis evince an ad hoc government response that benefited general unsecured creditors and managers within the financial sector, while inflicting great loss upon taxpayers. The bailouts violated notions of the rule of law and sound macroeconomic science. In fact, the bailouts were followed by restricted lending and capital hoarding. This paper argues that such bailouts should be powerfully discouraged by imposing a legal framework including civil, criminal and administrative sanctions designed to discourage CEOs and other senior managers from flirting with too-big-to-fail status. Specifically, such managers would face near-automatic termination, discharge of employment agreements, the loss of protections under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, civil fines for causing losses to TBTF firms through unsafe and unsound practices, criminal sanctions for recklessly causing a loss to TBTF firms, and the prospect of administratively ordered prudential divestitures of operating units when a regulator identifies a firm as being TBTF. The goal is to eliminate the attractiveness of TBTF and thereby avert the huge costs implicit in TBTF. This should assure that bailouts are not a function of political power rather than sound economic policy.


Food and nutrition guidelines for the handling and processing of fresh fruit, bread, and vegetables are essential and fresh produce may require cold preservation procedures to prevent minimal bacterial and fungi contamination of food. Bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) corrupt lipoprotein and amyloid beta (Aβ) metabolism in diabetes, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and various neurological diseases. In the developing world the increased plasma LPS levels induce non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and interfere with albumin and Aβ interactions with spontaneous Aβ oligomer formation in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain that leads to neuron apoptosis by inactivation of Starling's equation that is responsible for the maintenance of hydrostatic and oncotic pressure with relevance to fluid balance. In the developing world increased levels of LPS, mycotoxin and xenobiotics lead to irreversible neurological diseases by inhibition of Starling's equation for maintenance of oncotic/osmotic pressure that lead to neuron senescence or apoptosis. In the developed world nutrigenomic diets are required that prevent Sirtuin 1 gene repression and maintain neuron survival that links the brain and peripheral hepatic monomer Aβ metabolism. The maintenance of blood-cerebrospinal fluid capillary transport of albumin and monomer Aβ is relevant to stabilization of neurons not only in Alzheimer's disease but also in Type 3 diabetes and various neurological diseases. Healthy diets reverse the inhibition of brain to peripheral Aβ transport that is sensitive to Starling's equation for regulation of central nervous system hydrostatic and oncotic pressure with the prevention of diabetes, various neurological diseases and Alzheimer's disease.


With health care surfacing in political campaigns across the country and referencing virtually every one of the policy topics discussed here, nurses have an important opportunity to share their views regarding both policy substance as well as engage in the political arena. For those nurses not yet ready to run for elective office, participating in grassroots efforts of campaigns, on advisory panels, and making financial contributions to preferred candidates are important opportunities not to be missed. Given the interest in and challenges ahead associated with health care broadly and nursing specifically, there is a great deal at stake.


This paper proposes an improved technique for modeling of an electrical distribution system in the presence of incomplete information. By considering the different behavior and coincident factors of commercial and residential loads, this paper formulates a ratio factor technique to acquire an improved power-flow model. A load distribution relationship between the entire load and less than 50% of the total load on a feeder is also formulated. The technique only requires annual peak loads for each feeder and substation which are readily available. In addition, the method uses the results of the conventional technique and produces better results through a set of simple computation. It is shown that the accuracy of the new technique is significantly better than the traditional technique. >


The purpose of the present study was to describe patterns in the dynamics of families of talented athletes throughout their development in sport. Four families, including three families of elite rowers and one family of an elite tennis player were examined. The framework provided by Ericsson, Krampe, and Tesch-Romer (1993) to explain expert performance served as the theoretical basis for the study. Ericsson et al. suggested that the acquisition of expert performance involves operating within three types of constraints: motivational, effort, and resource. In-depth interviews were conducted with each athlete, parent, and sibling to explore how they have dealt with these three constraints. A total of 15 individual interviews were conducted. Results permitted the identification of three phases of participation from early childhood to late adolescence: the sampling years, the specializing years, and the investment years. The dynamics of the family in each of these phases of development is discussed.


The development of veterinary dentistry has substantially improved the ability to diagnose canine and feline dental abnormalities. Consequently, examinations previously performed only on humans are now available for small animals, thus improving the diagnostic quality. This has increased the need for technical qualification of veterinary professionals and increased technological investments. This study evaluated the use of cone beam computed tomography and intraoral radiography as complementary exams for diagnosing dental abnormalities in dogs and cats. Cone beam computed tomography was provided faster image acquisition with high image quality, was associated with low ionizing radiation levels, enabled image editing, and reduced the exam duration. Our results showed that radiography was an effective method for dental radiographic examination with low cost and fast execution times, and can be performed during surgical procedures.


Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is a leading cause of cancer-related death, and it continues to be a major barrier to cancer treatment. The tumour microenvironment (TME) has proven to play an essential role in not only cancer progression and metastasis, but also the development of resistance to chemotherapy. Despite the significant advances in the efficacy of anti-cancer therapies, the development of drug resistance remains a major impediment to therapeutic success. This review highlights the interplay between various factors within the TME that collectively initiate or propagate MDR. The key TME-mediated mechanisms of MDR regulation that will be discussed herein include (1) altered metabolic processing and the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) axis; (2) changes in stromal cells; (3) increased cancer cell survival via autophagy and failure of apoptosis; (4) altered drug delivery, uptake, or efflux and (5) the induction of a cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype. The review also discusses thought-provoking ideas that may assist in overcoming the TME-induced MDR. We conclude that stressors from the TME and exposure to chemotherapeutic agents are strongly linked to the development of MDR in cancer cells. Therefore, there remains a vast area for potential research to further elicit the interplay between factors existing both within and outside the TME. Elucidating the mechanisms within this network is essential for developing new therapeutic strategies that are less prone to failure due to the development of resistance in cancer cells.


The influence of the size of shaped charges on the penetration and perforation behavior of low-density brittle walls is investigated in this work. An incremental computation procedure for wall penetration was proposed earlier in combination with the Fireman-Pugh technique to provide a rapid answer for the use in fast running engineering tools. Shaped charges with three different diameters have been studied experimentally and compared with the computed results. Size-independent penetration and perforation of targets can be determined, provided that the charges are dimensionally proportional and the materials used have identical properties. However the three charges which are considered in this investigation show some differences, in particular concerning the liner geometry and the presence of a wave shaper. Therefore additional parameters are needed to describe the jet characteristics. The jet tip velocity, the velocity difference between the jet elements after breakup and a specific breakup criterion provide a good description of the stretching jet to perform modeling of charges with different sizes and different designs. If wall perforation and residual penetration performance are investigated, a separate RHA- penetration-depth curve needs to be established experimentally for each charge type.


For makers and developers, circuit prototyping is an integral part of building electronic projects. Currently, it is common to build circuits based on breadboard schematics that are available on various maker and DIY websites. Some breadboard schematics are used as is without modification, and some are modified and extended to fit specific needs. In such cases, diagrams and schematics merely serve as blueprints and visual instructions, but users still must physically wire the breadboard connections, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. We present CircuitStack, a system that combines the flexibility of breadboarding with the correctness of printed circuits, for enabling rapid and extensible circuit construction. This hybrid system enables circuit reconfigurability, component reusability, and high efficiency at the early stage of prototyping development.


OBJECTIVE
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer related deaths in women in Turkey, as elsewhere around the world. However, detailed and systematic demographics, data on clinical and pathological characteristics, and treatment were largely unavailable in Turkey until now. This paper is intended to provide an analysis of clinical and pathological data on women registered in the National Breast Cancer Database (Ulusal Meme Kanseri Veri Tabanı [UMKVT]), established within Turkish Federation of Breast Diseases Societies (TMHDF) and available for use in Turkey since 2005.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Clinical and pathological data on breast cancer patients registered online in the database from May 01, 2005 to May 01, 2011 were investigated. Parameters examined in patients included age, menopausal status, distribution of clinical and pathological stage, histological type, tumor diameter, histological grades, regional lymphatic stage, estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), HER-2 receptors and molecular subtypes. Analysis results of these parameters were compared with literature data and discussed.

RESULTS
A total of 13,240 patients with breast cancer since April 07, 1992 were included in the study, and 99% of them were female. Female breast cancer patients whose requisite parameters had been completely entered in the database were included in the analysis. The mean age was 51.6 years (±12.6; range 12-97), 17% of them were younger than 40 years of age, and 45% were premenopausal. According to an analysis of age groups at diagnosis, the frequency of cancer peaked at the 45 - 49 age group with 16.7%, declining to 7.6% in the 65-69 age group, and then rose again. Most of the patients (78.7%) had invasive ductal, 7.8% were invasive lobular cancers, 9.8% were invasive mixed cancers (invasive ductal + invasive lobular), and 4% were other histological types (e.g. inflammatory, intracystic papillary, mucinous, etc.), respectively. Half of them (50%) had grade III histology. According to an analysis of pathological stages of all breast cancers (stage 0 - IV), 5% were stage 0, 27% were stage I, 44% were stage II, 21% were stage III, and 3% were stage IV breast cancer, respectively. The mean tumor diameter was 2.5 cm (±1.6; range 0.1-20 cm). The rates of lymphatic stages were pN0 50%, pN1 28%, pN2 15%, and pN3 7%, respectively. ER, PR, and HER-2 receptors were positive in 70%, 59%, and 23% of patients. A subtype analysis of tumors showed that 62% were type luminal A. This was followed by subtypes luminal B (15%), triple negative (15%), and HER-2 positive (8.5%).

CONCLUSION
As a conclusion patients with breast cancer in our breast cancer registry program were younger, and had more advanced disease, and worse prognostic factors than patients in developed countries.


In this editorial state that COVID-19 does not have a significant impact on childhood asthma, and there is no indication to radically change treatment strategies for asthmatic children. New data are emerging daily, rapidly updating our understanding of this novel coronavirus and further research is now needed to focus on different aspects of COVID-19.


PAR4 inhibition with a reversible small-molecule antagonist is a promising antiplatelet therapy. This antiplatelet agent is just right Antiplatelet agents are common drugs that are used to prevent thrombotic events such as stroke in patients at high risk. Unfortunately, a frequent side effect of these drugs is excessive bleeding because they indiscriminately suppress thrombotic function. To improve on the safety margin of antiplatelet agents, Wong et al. identified a new target for treatment, a platelet receptor called PAR4. The authors developed a small-molecule drug against this target and evaluated its efficacy and safety in animal models. In head-to-head comparisons, the new drug was no less effective than clopidogrel, an antiplatelet agent widely used in the clinic, but it had a much larger therapeutic window. Antiplatelet agents are proven efficacious treatments for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However, the existing drugs are compromised by unwanted and sometimes life-threatening bleeding that limits drug usage or dosage. There is a substantial unmet medical need for an antiplatelet drug with strong efficacy and low bleeding risk. Thrombin is a potent platelet agonist that directly induces platelet activation via the G protein (heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding protein)–coupled protease-activated receptors PAR1 and PAR4. A PAR1 antagonist is approved for clinical use, but its use is limited by a substantial bleeding risk. Conversely, the potential of PAR4 as an antiplatelet target has not been well characterized. Using anti-PAR4 antibodies, we demonstrated a low bleeding risk and an effective antithrombotic profile with PAR4 inhibition in guinea pigs. Subsequently, high-throughput screening and an extensive medicinal chemistry effort resulted in the discovery of BMS-986120, an orally active, selective, and reversible PAR4 antagonist. In a cynomolgus monkey arterial thrombosis model, BMS-986120 demonstrated potent and highly efficacious antithrombotic activity. BMS-986120 also exhibited a low bleeding liability and a markedly wider therapeutic window compared to the standard antiplatelet agent clopidogrel tested in the same nonhuman primate model. These preclinical findings define the biological role of PAR4 in mediating platelet aggregation. In addition, they indicate that targeting PAR4 is an attractive antiplatelet strategy with the potential to treat patients at a high risk of atherothrombosis with superior safety compared with the current standard of care.


Phytoplankton are photosynthetic microbes that form the basis of the marine
food web and are estimated to produce over half of all oxygen in the Earth's
atmosphere. Recent advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies
have allowed scientists to sample the set of genes actively transcribed from communities
of microbes in-situ. This set of transcripts (the metatranscriptome)
provides a snapshot of actively transcribed genes at the time of sampling, and
can provide insights into microbial metabolism and their relationship with their
environment. In this thesis we present the computational analysis of eukaryotic
phytoplankton metatranscriptome data sampled from representative marine
environments; the simulation of metatranscriptome data for benchmarking
computational tools; and analysis carried out on a newly sequenced eukaryotic
phytoplankton genome.
Transcripts a�liated with ribosomal proteins and associated with translation
dominated in all but the Equatorial Paci�c metatranscriptome sample.
Hierarchical clustering of the metatranscriptome samples by taxa produced two
groups: the diatom dominated and the alveolate dominated. However, clustering
by Gene Ontology terms clustered the samples by environment type (tropical,
temperate and polar), producing a gradient of translation-associated transcripts
which increased as the in-situ temperature of the samples decreased. A strong
i
correlation (R = 0:9) was detected between the relative proportion of transcripts
associated with temperature and the in-situ temperature. Laboratory
experiments on model diatom species under control conditions con�rmed that
as the in-situ temperature decreases, these model diatoms produce more transcripts
and consequently more ribosomal proteins.
A translational e�ciency experiment demonstrated that the rate of translation
decreased under low temperatures for a model diatom species. This suggested
that the increased production of ribosomes acts as a compensatory mechanism
under low temperatures. As more ribosomes require more phosphate-rich
rRNAs we hypothesised that this could have an impact on biogeochemical cycles
(E.g. the Red�eld ratio of Nitrate (N) to Phosphate (P)). This was modelled
by our collaborators from the University of Exeter, who produced a global phytoplankton
cell model of resource allocation. They showed how the N:P ratio
di�ers across latitudinal temperature zones and predicted the impact of increasing
temperature on global N:P.


V substituted phosphomolybdic acids could hydroxylate benzene with nearly 100% selectivity at appreciable conversion levels in the presence of oxidizing agents like H2O2 and AcOOH. There appears to be a correlation, for the liq. phase, between phenol yield and its rate of formation with V content in the phosphomolybdic acid. Unfortunately, these materials do not show the same activity in gas-phase with N2O as oxidant. Therefore, the high acidity of these solids is not involved in the reaction pathway. [on SciFinder (R)]


Growth value thresholds used to identify positive blood culture vials can be defined by users for each BACTEC NR-660 bacteremia detection instrument. Growth values were compared with the recovery of organisms from vials flagged as positive during the testing of 3.056 high-volume vials containing aerobic (BACTEC PLUS 26) medium over a 2-month period. Results showed that optimal threshold values for our use of these vials varied from those recommended by the manufacturer; if the thresholds defined from these data had been used during the study period, total vials flagged as positive from which no organisms were recovered (false alarms) would have been reduced from 181 (5.9/100 vials tested) to 71 (2.3/100 vials tested), with a minimal decrease in the identification of vials containing usual or occasional pathogens (hits). Adjustments of growth value thresholds by the individual user can make the use of BACTEC instruments more efficient by decreasing further processing of vials from which no organisms are recovered.


Software underpins the academic research process across disciplines. To be able to understand, use/reuse and preserve data, the software code that generated, analysed or presented the data will need to be retained and executed. An important part of this process is being able to persistently identify the software concerned. This paper discusses the reasons for doing so and introduces a model of software entities to enable better identification of what is being identified. The DataCite metadata schema provides a persistent identification scheme and we consider how this scheme can be applied to software. We then explore examples of persistent identification and reuse. The examples show the differences and similarities of software used in academic research, which has been written and reused at different scales. The key concepts of being able to identify what precisely is being used and provide a mechanism for appropriate credit are important to both of them.


Abstract The double distance and metallicity frontier marked by the SMC has been finally broken with the aid of powerful multi-object spectrographs installed at 8-10m class telescopes. VLT, GTC and Keck have enabled studies of massive stars in dwarf irregular galaxies of the Local Group with poorer metal-content than the SMC. The community is working to test the predictions of evolutionary models in the low-metallicity regime, set the new standard for the metal-poor high-redshift Universe, and test the extrapolation of the physics of massive stars to environments of decreasing metallicity. In this paper, we review current knowledge on this topic.


After approximately 40 years of discussions and investigations the Government finally decided, in year 1842, that the old-time elementary school would be introduced in Sweden. Each parish in Sweden would have at least one school and a validated teacher. The school would have been introduced within five years. The parish itself had to solve the question of the economy, to build up the school and fix the organization of the old-time elementary school. This study illustrates as a background how and why the old-time elementary school is introduced in Sweden. The central study aims to show how the old-time elementary school's introduction was done in a specific parish - Hyltinge parish in Sodermanland, approximately 100 kilometer south Stockholm. A parish with a big castle surrounded of farmers and crofters. Definitely a parish with a poor population. The poverty in itself constituted the biggest obstacle in order to implement the old-time elementary school. A process that came to take at least 40 years before the school functioned properly and in line with the state's aim. Also on national level the introduction of the old-time elementary school took long time.


In the automotive industry, thin gauge high strength steels require not only good tensile ductility, but also good sheared edge ductility or a good hole expansion ratio (HER) value. These properties can be achieved through producing a microstructure consisting of a single-phase ferrite and strengthened by microalloyed precipitates. The objective of this current study was to develop a hot band steel with a ferrite-based microstructure with a tensile strength higher than 1200MPa, total elongation larger than 10%, good HER values and low temperature toughness. The steel being studied in this project has the following nominal composition (wt %): 0.14C, 0.35Mo, 0.163Ti and 0.294V. In this investigation, the relationship between the microstructure and mechanical properties with different finish rolling and coiling temperatures were explored. It was found that the finish rolling temperature did not have an obvious influence on either microstructure or mechanical properties. However, the coiling temperatures strongly affected both microstructure and mechanical properties. Steels with a coiling temperature of 610°C, exhibited predominately polygonal ferrite and a few acicular ferrite grains. The corresponding tensile strength was over 1200MPa, total elongation of about 20%; however, the low temperature toughness and HER were rather low. The fracture surface from broken CVN specimens shows nearly pure brittle fracture. When the coiling temperature was reduced to 530°C, the microstructure appears to be a mixture of granular bainite and coarse quasi-polygonal ferrite grains. Here, the tensile strength drops to under 1000MPa, but the low temperature toughness and HER improve greatly. With a further lower coiling temperature of 450°C, the microstructure is a mixture of granular bainite, quasi-polygonal ferrite and upper bainite. In this case, the tensile strength increases to about 1100MPa, and the steels have intermediate low temperature toughness and HER. Studies showed that the high strength of the steels with the highest coiling temperature were due to the excessively formed fine precipitates at the coiling temperature of 610°; while the strength of steels with lower coiling temperatures originates predominately from dislocation strengthening. Because of the very high percentage of Ti and low amount of N, coarser TiN inclusions were formed in the liquid and in the interdendritic pools separating the dendritic δ ferrite grains. These hyper-stoichiometric TiN particles with a size larger than 3 microns can be observed throughout the steels. The relatively low toughness and HER values can be attributed, at least partially, to the large amount of coarse TiN inclusions found in all steel conditions. In addition, the low values found with 610°C coiling can be partly attributed to excessive precipitation hardening, while the low values found with 450°C coiling is the result of high levels of MA microconstituent. The scientific hypothesis guiding this study is that excessively large amounts of TiN particles are detrimental to toughness and sheared edge ductility (HER) in high strength steels.


: With the health care industry becoming increasingly competitive, laboratories must discover new, more effective ways to provide services. Re-organizing the laboratory and perfecting quality assurance activities, the author says, will increase the chances for survival. This article is adapted from Dr. Bernstein's presentation at the Bridgeport Symposium entitled "Performance Requirements for Clinical Laboratories Under Prospective Reimbursement and DRGs." The Nov. 15-16, 1984 symposium was sponsored by Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, Conn., and supported by contributions from 20 companies (listed on page 29). Dr. Bernstein was chairman of the symposium.


The aim of the present study is to investigate in detail the near infrared (NIR) spectra of the three types of polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and to develop calibration models that predict their physical properties such as density, crystallinity and melting point. The effects of spectral resolution on the classification and the prediction of density for the three types of PE have been investigated. Furthermore, the NIR spectral differences among LLDPE, LDPE and HDPE have been explored in more detail using 2 cm−1 resolution. Principal component analysis (PCA) has been performed to differentiate the 18 samples of PE. They are classified into three groups, LLDPE, LDPE and HDPE, by a score plot of the PCA Factor 1 versus 3 based on the NIR spectra pretreated by multiplicative scatter correction (MSC). The 2 cm−1 spectral resolution yields a slightly better result for the classification. Partial least squares (PLS) regression has been applied to the NIR spectra after MSC to propose calibration models that predict the density, crystallinity and melting point of HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE. The correlation coefficient for the density was calculated to be 0.9898, 0.9928, 0.9925 and 0.9872 for the spectra obtained at 2, 4, 8 and 16 cm−1 resolutions, respectively, and the root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) was found to be 0.0021, 0.0018, 0.0018 and 0.0023 g cm−3, respectively. It has been found that the correlation coefficient and RMSECV for the prediction of the density and crystallinity change little with the spectral resolution. However, for the prediction of melting point, the higher resolutions (2 and 4 cm−1 resolution) provide slightly better results than the lower resolutions. NIR transmission spectra of thin films of LLDPE, LDPE and HDPE have also been investigated, and calibration models for predicting their density have been developed for the film spectra.


This paper describes and compares two methods for estimating the variance function associated with iTRAQ (isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation) isotopic labeling in quantitative mass spectrometry based proteomics. Measurements generated by the mass spectrometer are proportional to the concentration of peptides present in the biological sample. However, the iTRAQ reporter signals are subject to errors that depend on the peptide amounts. The variance function of the errors is therefore an essential parameter for evaluating the results, but estimating it is complicated, as the number of nuisance parameters increases with sample size while the number of replicates for each peptide remains small. Two experiments that were conducted with the sole goal of estimating the variance function and its stability over time are analyzed, and the resulting estimated variance function is used to analyze an experiment targeting aberrant signaling cascades in cells harboring distinct oncogenic mutations. Methods for constructing conservative $p$-values and confidence intervals are discussed.


Medical educators must develop instructional methods suiting the learning styles of their students. Simulation-based curriculums are popular among resident physicians, and have been shown to improve information recall and diagnostic abilities, and to sustain proficiency of procedural skills.1 The gamification of learning, a mechanism that engages students by integrating serious-game elements into the educational environment, has recently been explored.2 At our emergency medicine residency, we aimed to create a hybrid of the two models that would profit from each method's individual strengths.

Recursive objective-based gameplay (ROBG) is a serious-game scheme in which participants are allowed infinite lives so that they can achieve predetermined criteria for progression through multiple levels of increasing difficulty. The concept resembles time loops, a plot device used in the film Edge of Tomorrow (Warner Bros Pictures 2014). We named our simulation/ROBG hybrid instructional method 'LIVE. DIE. REPEAT.'(LDR), after the tagline featured on promotional materials for the aforementioned film.

We designed a LDR curriculum targeting critical management concepts in emergent pulmonary conditions. In this manuscript, we describe the LDR concept and design, and present initial evidence supporting the effectiveness of this model in training emergency medicine residents.

The LDR design and pulmonary scenario was developed and piloted for the Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine Residency at the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. …


The dose-volume histogram (DVH) is universally used in radiation therapy for its highly efficient way of summarizing three-dimensional dose distributions. An apparent limitation that is inherent to standard histograms is the loss of spatial information, e.g. it is no longer possible to tell where low- and highdose regions are, and whether they are connected or disjoint. Two methods for overcoming the spatial fragmentation of low- and high-dose regions are presented, both based on the gray-level size zone matrix, which is a two-dimensional histogram describing the frequencies of connected regions of similar intensities. The first approach is a quantitative metric which can be likened to a homogeneity index. The large cold spot metric (LCS) is here defined to emphasize large contiguous regions receiving too low a dose; emphasis is put on both size, and deviation from the prescribed dose. In contrast, the subvolume-DVH (sDVH) is an extension to the standard DVH and allows for a qualitative evaluation of the degree of dose heterogeneity. The information retained from the two-dimensional histogram is overlaid on top of the DVH and the two are presented simultaneously. Both methods gauge the underlying heterogeneity in ways that the DVH alone cannot, and both have their own merits-the sDVH being more intuitive and the LCS being quantitative.


Small farms play a crucial role in conserving the agricultural biodiversity that underpins long-term food security worldwide. Particularly in centers of crop genetic diversity – such as Mesoamerica in the case of maize (corn) and the Andean region in the case of potatoes – small farmers are the 'keystone species' in agricultural ecosystems of great value to humankind. Today, however, a formidable nexus of market forces and political forces threatens both small farmers and the biodiversity they sustain. Countervailing public policies are urgently needed. These should include the removal of existing policy biases against small farmers; social recognition of the contribution of in situ conservation to human well-being; development of markets for 'traditional' varieties of crops and livestock; the provision of local public goods in areas where farmers cultivate diversity; payments for the environmental service of on-farm conservation; and support for part-time farming as an element of diversified household livelihood strategies.


Lingwood was appointed Senior Designer by Interbrand (international branding consultancy division of Omnicom) on the Toyota project, with responsibility for the development of a detailed rationalization of the Toyota Europe visual identity system that resulted in online guidelines detailing the Toyota visual identity elements (logo, typography, colour, photography and layout) and their specified use. This assignment required Lingwood to collate and analyse all Toyota Europe collateral, and to resolve inconsistencies of design that weakened the brand. Subsequently, Lingwood developed design recommendations and specifications for corporate stationery, customer literature, advertising principles, use of photography, signage, packaging, merchandising and exhibitions. Lingwood was responsible for the design and specification of Toyota Brand Central: conceived and produced as an online resource for in-house and third party suppliers for the production of all Toyota collateral resulting in the improved visual presentation of all aspects of Toyota's public-facing and business-to-business activities. This project resulted in further work for the Toyota Europe that included the development and repositioning of the Toyota brand, including the evolution of the visual identity. The Interbrand design team included Creative Director (Andy Payne), Account Manager (Susanne Acreman) and several designers. The realization of the Toyota Brand Central project included working with third parties (including Grouptree, Amaze, Saatchi & Saatchi and Little Blue Fish) and involved developing a detailed understanding of all aspects of Toyota Europe's business.


A key to all genera of Leguminosae occurring in or expected to occur in Ecuador is presented along with short descriptions of all genera, including information on morphology, ecology, diversity and distribution. A total of 147 genera are treated, nine of which are expected but not yet recorded from Ecuador. The treatment includes 21 genera that in their entirety include species introduced to Ecuador, chiefly as ornamentals, animal forage or crop plants. The most species rich genera are Inga (75 spp.), Senna (40 spp.), Acacia (23 spp., including Senegalia and Vachellia), Lupinus (22 spp.), Mimosa (21 spp.), Desmodium (20 spp.), and Swartzia (17 spp.). Most genera recorded from Ecuador are illustrated with colour photos of selected species.


Unsteady cavitating flow and lift/drag characteristics of a two-dimensional Clark Y- 11.7% hydrofoil are experimentally investigated in order to clarify the relation between the lift drop mechanism and the unsteady cavity behavior. Unsteady lift and drag forces are measured by strain gauges attached on the cantilever supporting the hydrofoil, assuming the negligible bending moment. In combination with the above force measurements, the cavitating flow is filmed from both top and side simultaneously using two high speed video cameras. It is clearly observed that, in larger attack angle conditions (4-10 degrees), the time-averaged lift coefficient slightly increases from that in the non-cavitating condition. After the slight increase, the lift gradually decreases then its steep decrease starts to occur. On the other hand, in a small attack angle case (2 degrees), little increase of the lift is observed, and just after that the sudden lift drop occurs. From the instantaneous frequency spectra of the lift, the followings are found; during the slight increase of the lift, the cavity is being a partial cavity in almost steady state, but during the subsequent gradual lift decrease, the partial cavity oscillates with cloud cavity shedding, in other word, the partial cavity oscillation occurs, whose frequency decreases with the growth of the cavity. During the sudden lift drop, the low frequency transitional cavity oscillation occurs, in which the cavity dramatically changes between partial and super cavities. The typical events of cavity behavior during the cavitation instabilities are found to be able to be related with the behavior of instantaneous lift force and pressure.


A multiproduct variable cost function was used to compare the efficiency of Midwestern cooperative and investor-oriented grain and farm supply firms. Results suggest that cooperatives are no less efficient in a variable cost sense than their investor-oriented counterparts. Concerning fixed input-variable cost elasticities, investor-oriented firms may be more effective in their use of plant and equipment, but cooperatives make more efficient use of other fixed inputs.


ABSTRACT Major gastrointestinal surgery is associated with immune suppression and a high risk of postoperative complications. The aim of this open, randomized controlled trial was to examine the effect of supplementary per oral immunonutrition (IN) seven days before surgery for pancreatic cancer (PC) on postoperative complications and length of hospital stay (LOS). Secondary outcomes were the changes in functional capability and body weight (BW). Consecutive patients referred for surgery for diagnosed or plausible PC were included. The patients in the intervention group received supplementary IN (Oral Impact®, Nestlé) to reach a goal of 1.5 g protein/kg BW. The control group continued their habitual diet. Complications and LOS were independently assessed by the surgical staff. Secondary outcomes were measured 10, 20, and 30 days postoperatively. Thirty-five patients were included, of whom 19 (54%) were allocated to the intervention group. The doses of IN ranged from 250 to 1000 ml per day and the median compliance was 100 (0–100%). Based on the principle of intention-to-treat, no significant differences were found between the groups. We conclude that the lack of effect could be due to the limited dosage of IN, and/or because only 40% of the patients were at nutritional risk.


Abstract : An architectural tactic is a design decision that helps achieve a specific quality-attribute response. Such a tactic must be motivated by a quality-attribute analysis model. This report presents the basic concepts of analysis models for two quality attributes-modifiability and performance, identifies a collection of tactics that can be used to control responses within those models, and discusses how to analyze the models in terms of these tactics. This report also describes how to interpret architectural designs in terms of analysis models and how to apply those models to specific architectures. In addition, it presents the analysis of several different architectural patterns taken from current literature.


ABSTRACT Host-specific serovars of Salmonella enterica often have large-scale chromosomal rearrangements that occur by recombination between rrn operons. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain these rearrangements: (i) replichore imbalance from horizontal gene transfer drives the rearrangements to restore balance, or (ii) the rearrangements are a consequence of the host-specific lifestyle. Although recent evidence has refuted the replichore balance hypothesis, there has been no direct evidence for the lifestyle hypothesis. To test this hypothesis, we determined the rrn arrangement type for 20 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strains obtained from human carriers at periodic intervals over multiple years. These strains were also phage typed and analyzed for rearrangements that occurred over long-term storage versus routine culturing. Strains isolated from the same carrier at different time points often exhibited different arrangement types. Furthermore, colonies isolated directly from the Dorset egg slants used to store the strains also had different arrangement types. In contrast, colonies that were repeatedly cultured always had the same arrangement type. Estimated replichore balance of isolated strains did not improve over time, and some of the rearrangements resulted in decreased replicore balance. Our results support the hypothesis that the restricted lifestyle of host-specific Salmonella is responsible for the frequent chromosomal rearrangements in these serovars. IMPORTANCE Although it was previously thought that bacterial chromosomes were stable, comparative genomics has demonstrated that bacterial chromosomes are dynamic, undergoing rearrangements that change the order and expression of genes. While most Salmonella strains have a conserved chromosomal arrangement type, rearrangements are very common in host-specific Salmonella strains. This study suggests that chromosome rearrangements in the host-specific Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, the causal agent of typhoid fever, occur within the human host over time. The results also indicate that rearrangements can occur during long-term maintenance on laboratory medium. Although these genetic changes do not limit survival under slow-growth conditions, they may limit the survival of Salmonella Typhi in other environments, as predicted for the role of pseudogenes and genome reduction in niche-restricted bacteria. Although it was previously thought that bacterial chromosomes were stable, comparative genomics has demonstrated that bacterial chromosomes are dynamic, undergoing rearrangements that change the order and expression of genes. While most Salmonella strains have a conserved chromosomal arrangement type, rearrangements are very common in host-specific Salmonella strains. This study suggests that chromosome rearrangements in the host-specific Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, the causal agent of typhoid fever, occur within the human host over time. The results also indicate that rearrangements can occur during long-term maintenance on laboratory medium. Although these genetic changes do not limit survival under slow-growth conditions, they may limit the survival of Salmonella Typhi in other environments, as predicted for the role of pseudogenes and genome reduction in niche-restricted bacteria.


This review aims to highlight how the chronic condition self-management support (CCSMS) field might inform and enhance the skills of the disability employment services (DES) workforce, particularly in its interactions with clients with complex disability needs. The approach we have taken involves a consideration of current education and training, recruitment of staff into DES and issues of concern arising from these processes. The main findings of our review are that the current DES workforce may not have the required skills to fully meet the needs of the populations they serve given the growing burden of chronic conditions, generally. We conclude by calling for greater consideration of CCSMS education and training as core required skills for the DES workforce, so that they might integrate their practice more collaboratively alongside other support providers.


available in an existing futures market. Implied IN spread orders derive from existing outright orders in individual legs. Implied OUT outright orders are derived from a combination of an existing spread order and an existing outright order in one of the individual underlying legs. Implied functionality fills in "holes" in the market. In other words, it allows both spreads and outright futures traders to participate in a specific contract where there would otherwise have been little or no available bids and asks. Such implied quotes are critical to building volume in new electronic markets like the NYMEX energy contracts. This is particularly true with lightly-traded and longer-dated futures and spreads. In mature markets like CME Eurodollars, implied functionality adds an estimated 16.1% to trades and 11.5% to volume at a given point in time. An impressive 44.6% of NYMEX energy trades on CME Globex are achieved via implied trading. So, implied functionality also provides a great deal of liquidity and depth to mature markets.


In 1969-70 or thereabouts several Yale Law School students set up a "commune" in the courtyard between what were then residential halls. At roughly the same time David Trubek and Rick Abel were holding a reading group on law and development with a heavy dose of social theory, a harbinger of what became critical legal studies. The two events can be taken as representative of alternative paths to social transformation – roughly, the cultural path and the path to change through self-consciously directed political action. In this short paper, originally prepared for a conference on the intellectual history of critical legal studies at Princeton University in February 2020, I read two works as dialogues about those paths, Tom Stoppard's play "Rock 'n' Roll," which looks at Czechoslovakia from 1968 through 1989 – from the Prague Spring through the Soviet occupation to the collapse of the Soviet empire – and "Roll Over Beethoven," a discussion between "Peter Gabel" and "Duncan Kennedy" about some controversies in the early years of critical legal studies.


Scientific computing is increasingly incorporating the advancements in machine learning and the ability to work with large amounts of data. At the same time, machine learning models are becoming increasingly sophisticated and exhibit many features often seen in scientific computing, stressing the capabilities of machine learning frameworks. Just as the disciplines of scientific computing and machine learning have shared common underlying infrastructure in the form of numerical linear algebra, we now have the opportunity to further share new computational infrastructure, and thus ideas, in the form of Differentiable Programming. We describe Zygote, a Differentiable Programming (∂P ) system that is able to take gradients of general program structures. We implement this system in the Julia programming language. Our system supports almost all language constructs (control flow, recursion, mutation, etc.) and compiles high-performance code without requiring any user intervention or refactoring to stage computations. This enables an expressive programming model for deep learning, but more importantly, it enables us to incorporate a large ecosystem of libraries in our models in a straightforward way. We discuss our approach to automatic differentiation, including its support for advanced techniques such as mixed-mode, complex and checkpointed differentiation, and present several examples of differentiating programs.


In 1999 an unusually strong, teleseismically registered earthquake swarm at the volcanic complex at 85°E/85°N marked the onset of a spreading episode at Gakkel ridge with deep submarine explosive volcanism. At this site, the rift valley hosts distinctive volcanic features which cluster on ridge-parallel faults or fissures. Activity persisted at least until 2001, seafloor imagery in 2007 showed fresh lava at volcanic cones.

Three arrays of four seismometers each which were mounted on ice floes, drifted 16 days in July 2007 with a drift speed of up to 1 km/h over a region of 60 km x 70 km. We recorded over 300 local earthquakes. Of these, we used 124 earthquakes which were recorded by two or more arrays for a local tomography. They yield a dense ray coverage of the centre of the rift valley and the rift valley walls. We chose a 1D velocity starting model by selecting the best performing out of 90 randomly selected models and used the resulting hypocentres as starting locations for the tomographic algorithm. We complemented the 1D-velocity model with a 3D-water layer (vp=1500 m/s) whose thickness varies between 2.8 and 4.3 km to take the bathymetry in the survey region into account.

Here we present the results of a seismic tomography for three-dimensional P-velocity structure in the crust and upper mantle with the algorithm FMTOMO: Most of the earthquakes cluster at a depth of 11 to 15 km, directly beneath or closely around the centrally located volcanic cones, with only slight activity in the surrounding area. The velocity variations indicate reduced seismic velocities (up to 0.2 km/s variation) in the centre of the rift valley around the site of most recent activity, stretching down from the upper crust to the assumed Moho at 11 km depth. A region of increased seismic velocities (up to 0.2 km/s variation) lies directly to the southeast, also in the middle of the rift valley.


The language SDL has long been applied in the development of various kinds of systems. Real-time systems are one application area where SDL has been applied extensively. Whilst SDL allows for certain modelling aspects of real-time systems to be represented, the language and its associated tool support have certain drawbacks for modelling and reasoning about such systems. In this paper we highlight the limitations of SDL and its associated tool support in this domain and present language extensions and next generation real-time system tool support to help overcome them. The applicability of the extensions and tools is demonstrated through a case study based upon a multimedia binding object used to support a configuration of time dependent information producers and consumers realising the so called lip-synchronisation algorithm.


s. The journal is archived by Library and Archives Canada and is accessible for consultation and research at the Electronic Collection site maintained by Library and Archives Canada. ISSN 1203–1542 http://www.jhsonline.org and http://purl.org/jhs MEDIEVAL JEWISH EXEGESIS OF PSALM 2 MARIANO GOMEZ ARANDA


Mycoplasma pneumoniae was detected in a number of patients with community-acquired pneumonia in a recent prospective study. To assess whether other pathogens were also detected in these patients, TaqMan Array Cards were used to test 216 M pneumoniae-positive respiratory specimens for 25 additional viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens. It is interesting to note that 1 or more codetections, predominantly bacterial, were identified in approximately 60% of specimens, with codetections being more common in children.


Several thousand bacterial colonies were isolated from "Saline di Tarquinia" (Italy) marine salterns; after dereplication, thirty-one strains were obtained, confirming the low culturable bacterial diversity attributed to similar hypersaline environments. Strains were identified by 16S ribosomal DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis; most strains belonged to the class Gammaproteobacteria, with minorities from Actinobacteria, Bacilli and Alphaproteobacteria. Halomonas and Salinivibrio were predominant genera. To profile growth preferences, strains were cultivated at different salinities and temperatures. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis on growth data at different salinities identified four groups that were significantly correlated with the ecological categories conventionally used to describe halophiles. The majority were moderate halophiles with optimal growth at 40-80‰ salinity. Some were markedly euryhaline and grew from 40-80‰ to 240-280‰.Very uncommon behaviour was observed for some strains, with a clear optimum growth in the slight to moderate halophilic range, but also the ability to grow without salt. These bacteria could barely be included in the mentioned traditional definitions and we suggest to consider them as "norm-tolerant halophilic", being somehow in-between the slight halophiles and the halotolerants. As for temperature, nMDS groups were less defined and uncorrelated to ecological categories. Most strains were mesophilic-psychrotolerant or mesophilic, and some psychrotolerants were also recorded. Generally, diffused eurythermism was observed and various strains displayed unusual "flat growth profiles" that showed a broad range of thermal optima. Overall, the majority of strains appeared to be well adapted to the "Saline di Tarquinia" environment and showed great temperature and salinity variations compared to species observed in other salterns.


The characteristics of a fuzzy model are frequently determined by the manner in which the rules are constructed. Rules obtained by a heuristic assessment of a system generally are linguistically interpretable and have large granularity. The generation of rules via learning algorithms that analyse training data produces precise models consisting of multiple rules of small grannularity. In this paper, a greedy algorithm is presented that combines rule learning with a region merging strategy to reduce the number of rules. This approach differs from standard rule reduction techniques in that the latter are employed after the rule base has been completed while the learn-and-merge strategy generates a rule simultaneously with expanding its region of applicability. The objective of the algorithm is to produce fuzzy models with both a small number of interpretable rules and high precision.


Boolean function complementation is a basic operation of Boolean algebra. For functions given in SOP form, the complementation methods include the DeMorgan's Law, sharp, disjoint sharp, unate complementation, recursive, and Sasao's method. This paper accomplishes three purposes: (1) It exposes an underlying unification of the existing complementation algorithms. It is proven that (a) unate-complementation and sharp are the same as the DeMorgan Law algorithm; (b) Sasao's algorithm is the same as disjoint sharp; (c) disjoint sharp is a special case of the recursive method. (2) It proposes negation trees for the representation of functions and their complements. (3) It gives faster algorithms for finding complements of functions in SOP form based on negation trees.


As magnetic recording density increases toward hundreds of Gb/in/sup 2/, both the magnetic spacing and head-disk clearance decrease to <10 nm. By one estimate, the magnetic spacing for 1 Tb/in/sup 2/ is about 6 nm and the read width is /spl sim/30 nm. There are at least two different approaches to achieving this. The first is an extension of the traditional flying interface and the second is contact recording. In the former case, one needs to be concerned about maintaining adequate clearance both at sea level and at higher elevation, whereas in the latter case wear and corrosion of the heads and disks may pose major challenges. An example of how head-disk interference takes place in a disk drive is given for an experimental 10-nm flying slider. The effects of radial flying height profile, takeoff height of the disk, and disk curvature on mechanical spacing are presented. The results of changes occurring on the air bearing surface and the disks after long-term flyability tests are discussed.


Using antisera generated against sequences conserved between the ERK1- and the ERK2-encoded species of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases of the rat, species of approximate M(r) 42 and 44 kDa were identified in mouse oocytes. When oocytes underwent meiotic maturation, both species displayed a retarded electrophoretic mobility, consistent with modification by phosphorylation. The slow-migrating forms first appeared after the oocytes had entered metaphase, and their appearance was sensitive to inhibitors of protein synthesis or phosphorylation. These forms remained throughout maturation and in oocytes arrested at metaphase II. Following oocyte activation, which induces a transition to interphase, the slow-migrating forms were replaced by the fast-migrating forms observed in prophase oocytes. MAP kinase activity also increased after oocytes entered metaphase, and this increase required protein synthesis and phosphorylation. To investigate the intracellular distribution of the immunoreactive species, spindles were purified from metaphase II eggs. Both the 42- and the 44-kDa species were detected in immunoblots, and bright staining of the spindle poles was observed by immunofluorescence. When intact oocytes undergoing maturation were examined by immunofluorescence, foci of staining were initially detected on opposing sides of the condensing chromosomes and then became congregated at each pole of the first meiotic spindle. No localized staining was observed during the first meiotic division, but stained foci were present at the poles of the second meiotic spindle. In addition, several cytoplasmic foci of staining often could be seen. When oocytes were exposed to taxol, which permits nonspindle microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) present in the cytoplasm to nucleate microtubule assembly, the cytoplasmic foci labeled by the MAP kinase antibodies were found to contain tubulin. We conclude that mouse oocytes contain 42- and 44-kDa species of MAP kinase and that, after maturing oocytes enter metaphase, MAP kinase activity is stimulated by means of a process requiring protein synthesis and phosphorylation. MAP kinase is present in the spindle and is specifically associated with the MTOCs present at the spindle poles and in the cytoplasm. Evidence from cell-free systems suggests that the alterations in MTOC activity that normally occur at metaphase in oocytes may be regulated by MAP kinase. The association of MAP kinase with MTOCs provides a potential structural basis for this cell cycle-dependent change in MTOC activity.