Abstract An explicit neural network formulation (ENNF) is developed for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET0) using daily meteorological variables obtained from the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) database. First, the ENNF is trained and tested using the CIMIS database, and then compared with five conventional ET0 models, as well as the multiple linear regression method. Statistics such as average, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values, and criteria such as mean square error and determination coefficient are used to measure the performance of the ENNF. Daily atmospheric data of four climatic stations in central California are taken into consideration in the model development and those of three other stations are used for comparison purposes. The meteorological variables employed in the formulation are solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. It is concluded from the results that ENNF offers an alternative ET0 formulation, but that the gain in skill is marginal compared with simpler linear techniques. However, this finding needs to be tested using sites drawn from a wider range of climate regimes.


Ocean wave energy is a promising renewable source to contribute to supplying the world's energy demand. The Division of Electricity at Uppsala University is developing a technology to capture energy from ocean waves with a wave energy converter (WEC) consisting of a linear permanent magnet generator and a point absorber. The linear generator is placed on sea bed and is driven directly by the floating absorber. Since March 2006, multiple wave energy converters have been deployed on the Swedish west coast outside the town of Lysekil. The technology is verified by long-term operation during at sea and satisfactory reliability of the electricity generation.This thesis focuses on developing advanced control strategies for fully coupled wave energy converters subject to constraints. A nonlinear control strategy is studied in detail for a single WEC subject to constraints under regular and irregular waves. Besides, two coordinated control strategies are developed to investigate the performance of a wave energy farm subject to constraints. The performance of the WECs using these control strategies are investigated in case studies, and optimal PTO damping coefficients are found to maximize the output power. The results show that these control strategies can significantly improve the performance of the WECs, in terms of mean power, compared to a conventional control.Besides these control strategies, a wave-to-wire simulation platform is built to study the power generation control of the WEC subject to constraints. The wave-to-wire simulation platform allows both nonlinear and linear control force. The results show that there is a good agreement between the desired value and the actual value after advanced control.


Virtual worlds are quickly growing; both in interactivity and realism, users can experience through their avatars, and the number of actual users is continuously growing as well. Among the virtual worlds, Second Life (SL) is perhaps one of the most famous. This article presents a project whose aim is to use SL as a means to spread robotics culture as well as to investigate possible paradigms of social interaction in heterogeneous communities of robots and humans. As a first step, a point of presence has been established in SL through the development of a building to represent and host the activities of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS). In addition, simplified models and behaviors of some robots have been reproduced and used for demonstrations both within and around the building itself.


Sarcomas are mesenchymal tumors showing high molecular heterogeneity, reflected at the histological level by the existence of more than fifty different subtypes. Genetic and epigenetic evidences link aberrant activation of the Wnt signaling to growth and progression of human sarcomas. This phenomenon, mainly accomplished by autocrine loop activity, is sustained by gene amplification, over-expression of Wnt ligands and co-receptors or epigenetic silencing of endogenous Wnt antagonists. We previously showed that pharmacological inhibition of Wnt signaling mediated by Axin stabilization produced in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity in glioblastoma tumors. Here, we report that targeting different sarcoma cell lines with the Wnt inhibitor/Axin stabilizer SEN461 produces a less transformed phenotype, as supported by modulation of anchorage-independent growth in vitro. At the molecular level, SEN461 treatment enhanced the stability of the scaffold protein Axin1, a key negative regulator of the Wnt signaling with tumor suppressor function, resulting in downstream effects coherent with inhibition of canonical Wnt signaling. Genetic phenocopy of small molecule Axin stabilization, through Axin1 over-expression, coherently resulted in strong impairment of soft-agar growth. Importantly, sarcoma growth inhibition through pharmacological Axin stabilization was also observed in a xenograft model in vivo in female CD-1 nude mice. Our findings suggest the usefulness of Wnt inhibitors with Axin stabilization activity as a potentialyl clinical relevant strategy for certain types of sarcomas.


Objectives: Unlike other cancer screening tests, which rely on early detection, colorectal cancer screening (CRS) provides an opportunity for prevention since most colorectal cancer (CRC) begin as a benign polyp. However, over 20 million people age 50 to 75 in the U.S. have never undergone CRS. Furthermore, lower screening rates were observed among minority groups, especially immigrants with low English proficiency (LEP). The purpose of this study was to explore patient-provider communication on CRS among three LEP Asian immigrant subgroups (Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using data collected from the Chicago Asian Community Survey (CACS). Participants were recruited from three Asian communities, Chinese, Cambodian and Vietnamese, using a three-stage random sampling of the Chinese community and Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) of the Cambodian and Vietnamese communities. The CACS consisted of face-to-face interviews and was conducted following cultural and language-specific survey guidelines. The survey questionnaire was developed from several validated national health surveys, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention9s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Patient-provider communication was measured by the language the doctor spoke and self-reported understanding information given by health providers. Results: A total of 783 participants completed the survey and 465 of them aged 50 or older. The proportion of adults aged 50 or older who reported ever having a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy was 27% Chinese, 31% Vietnamese, and 36% Cambodian. Only 14% Chinese, 5% Vietnamese and 9% Cambodian reported speaking well to very well English; however, 23% Chinese, 44% Vietnamese and 100% Cambodian had English-speaking doctors. More than half of Cambodian participants (56%) had difficulty understanding information given by their health providers, compared to 16% and 13% Chinese and Vietnamese participants respectively. Interestingly, among the Cambodian cohort who reported understanding their physician (44%), only 17% of this group reported having CRS. In contrast, among those who reported difficulty with physician communication, 51% reported past CRS. This paradox was not found among the Chinese and Vietnamese subgroups. For Cambodian participants, understanding information given by their health providers alone accounted for 16% to 22% of the variance, and Cambodian participants who reported understanding information given by their health providers were less likely to have screened before (OR = .148, 95%CI .042-.519). Even after adjusting for socio-economic characteristics (having insurance coverage, having a regular place for health care, age, years in the U.S, employment status and education levels), the significance remained (OR = .126, 95%CI .028-.585). Conclusion: The CRS rates remain suboptimal across the three Asian subgroups. Studies have shown that provider prescription of certain health services can vary by race/ethnicity of the patient. In addition, disparate communication between patient and provider, which can stem from language proficiency and cultural differences, may further hinder CRS uptake among Asian immigrants. Our finding suggests that there is a need for cultural competent and linguistic appropriate care to improve CRS uptake in LEP, underserved Asian immigrants. Our study also highlights the need for further research on disaggregated Asian subgroups in order to better understand the role of patient-provider communication on CRS uptake. This abstract is also presented as Poster A13. Citation Format: Karen Kim, Edwin Chandraskar, Helen Lam. Patient-provider communication and colorectal cancer screening in three Asian communities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr PR7. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-PR7


Abstract The paper analyses the role of economic and cultural threat in exploring support for immigration control in Switzerland. A factorial survey experiment enables us to look into different migrant characteristics. Results show more support for immigration control for Eastern Europeans and low-skilled migrants. However, German migrants do not gain acceptance due to being highly skilled, and their willingness to adapt culturally is crucial for native Swiss with a high level of national pride.


The focus of this write-up is on three points. First: development is a multidimensional process involving major changes not only in socio-economic structures and institutions but also in popular attitudes and perceptions. Second: these changes, however anti-status quo, can be initiated, maintained, and speeded up if some powerful motivational factor comes into operation, as happened during the revolutionary Pakistan Movement. Third: the countrywide enthusiastic celebration of the year 2003 as Madar-e-Millat Year has proved to be one such motivational factor as it has brought about an unusual awakenance among Pakistan's womenfolk to demand a rightful place in all walks of life. This is heartening especially because nearly half of the country's population has terribly lagged behind in every conceivable sphere of development. This newly acquired awakenance can be and should be mobilised for speeding up the process of development by strengthening women's participatory role in all political, economic, cultural, and even religious activities.


In this paper, capitalizing on Mils ratio for Q-function approximation, we have presented novel improved composite Q-function approximation. Based on our improved approximation, we have further presented tight approximation for the average symbol error probability (ASEP) expressions of digital modulations over Nakagami-m fading channels. First, comparison to other known Q-function closed-form approximations has been performed, and it has been shown that accuracy improvement has been achieved in the observed range of values. Further, it has been shown that by using proposed approximation, values of average symbol error probability (ASEP) for some applied modulation formats could be efficiently and accurately evaluated when transmission over Nakagami-m fading channels is observed. Also, it has been shown in the paper that by using proposed approximation, observed ASEP measures are bounded more closely, than by using other known Q-function closed-form approximations. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eie.23.3.18338


OBJECTIVE
Alcohol dependence is extremely common in patients with bipolar disorder, and it is associated with unfavorable outcomes, including treatment nonadherence, violence, and cognitive impairment. However, few treatment trials have been conducted in this population. Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic medication that is used to treat the mood symptoms of bipolar disorder. In this study, the efficacy of quetiapine in reducing alcohol use and improving mood symptoms was assessed in patients with bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse or dependence.

METHOD
One hundred fifteen outpatients with bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse or dependence were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of quetiapine (titrated to 600 mg/day) add-on therapy or placebo. Alcohol use and mood were assessed. The study was conducted from November 2002 to September 2005.

RESULTS
One hundred two participants (49% with bipolar I disorder, 82% depressed, and 97% with alcohol dependence) returned for at least 1 postbaseline assessment and were used in the random regression analysis. No statistically significant between-group differences were found on alcohol use measures or the Young Mania Rating Scale. However, based on a random regression analysis, scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) decreased statistically significantly more in the quetiapine than in the placebo group during the trial (p < .05). The between-group difference was largely due to differences in HAM-D scores during the first 6 weeks of the trial, with the placebo group showing greater improvement during the second half of the trial.

CONCLUSIONS
Quetiapine therapy was associated with a statistically significant decrease in depressive symptoms, but not alcohol use, in patients with bipolar disorder and alcohol dependence (p < .05).


Animals normally ingest small amounts of fluorides in their diet with no adverse effect. An increased ingestion of fluoride can be harmful to animals, and grazing animals can be damaged by the consumption of high-fluoride vegetation. Cattle have been the species most commonly affected, and the symptoms of excessive fluoride ingestion in that species include; lesions in the developing dentition, skeletal lesions, lameness, chemical evidence of tissue fluoride ingestion in that species include: lesions in the developing take and decrease in production. The level of fluoride which can be tolerated by various species with no adverse effect has been determined, and this data can be used to set a standard to protect animals from the deleterious effect of fluoride ingestion.


A passive haemagglutination test, using sheep red blood cells sensitised with Salmonella typhi lipopolysaccharide, was compared with the Widal test for the serological diagnosis of typhoid fever in an endemic area. The results obtained on sera from 152 patients with bacteriologically confirmed typhoid and 183 patients who did not have typhoid were analysed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, simplicity, and rapidity of the respective tests. The passive haemagglutination test was found to be more sensitive (80%) than the S typhi O antigen (71%) but marginally less sensitive than the H antigen (82%) of the Widal test. The false positive rate on control sera was 1.2% and 6.6%, respectively, for the Widal O and H antigens, and 1.6% for the passive haemagglutination test. Our findings indicate that the passive haemagglutination test is comparable with the Widal test for the serological diagnosis of typhoid fever in endemic areas, but is more simple, rapid, and economic. The passive haemagglutination test may be a useful alternative to the Widal test for the serological diagnosis of typhoid fever in busy microbiology laboratories in areas in which the disease is endemic.


The streamwise mean velocity profile in a turbulent boundary layer is classically described as the sum of a log law extending all the way to the edge of the boundary layer and a wake function. While there is theoretical support for the log law, the wake function, defined as the deviation of the measured velocity profile from the log law, is essentially an empirical fit and has no real physical underpinning. Here, we present a new physically motivated formulation of the velocity profile in the outer region, and hence for the wake function. In our approach, the entire flow is represented by a two-state model consisting of an inertial self-similar region designated as 'pure wall flow state' (featuring a log-law velocity distribution) and a free stream state, which results in a jump in velocity at the interface separating the two. We show that the model provides excellent agreement with the available high Reynolds number mean velocity profiles if this interface is assumed to fluctuate randomly about a mean position with a Gaussian distribution. The new concept can also be extended to internal geometries in the same form, again confirmed by the data. Furthermore, adopting the same interface distribution in a two-state model for the streamwise turbulent intensities, with unchanged parameters, also yields a reliable and consistent prediction for the decline in the outer region of these profiles in all geometries considered. Finally, we discuss differences between our model interface and the turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI) in turbulent boundary layers. We physically interpret the two-state model as lumping the effects of internal shear layers and the TNTI into a single discontinuity at the interface.


Security monitoring systems detect potentially malicious activities in IT infrastructures, by either looking for known signatures or for anomalous behaviors. Security operators investigate these events to determine whether they pose a threat to their organization. In many cases, a single event may be insufficient to determine whether certain activity is indeed malicious. Therefore, a security operator frequently needs to correlate multiple events to identify if they pose a real threat. Unfortunately, the vast number of events that need to be correlated often overload security operators, forcing them to ignore some events and, thereby, potentially miss attacks. This work studies how to automatically correlate security events and, thus, automate parts of the security operator workload. We design and evaluate DEEPCASE, a system that leverages the context around events to determine which events require further inspection. This approach reduces the number of events that need to be inspected. In addition, the context provides valuable insights into why certain events are classified as malicious. We show that our approach automatically filters 86.72% of the events and reduces the manual workload of security operators by 90.53%, while underestimating the risk of potential threats in less than 0.001% of cases.


This thesis explores the psychological properties of words – the idea that words carry links to additional information beyond their dictionary meaning. It does so by presenting three distinct publications and an applied project, the Macroscope. The published research respectively covers: the modelling of language networks to explain lexical growth; the use of high dimensional vector representations of words to discuss language learning; and the collection of a normative dataset of single word humour ratings. The first publication outlines the use of network science in psycholinguistics. The methodology is discussed, providing clear guidelines on the application of networks when answering psychologically motivated questions. A selection of psychological studies is presented as a demonstration of use cases for networks in cognitive psychology. The second publication uses referent feature norms to represent words in a high dimensional vector space. A correlative link between referent distinctiveness and age of acquisition is proposed. The shape bias literature (the idea that children only pay attention to the shape of objects early on) is evaluated in relation to the findings. The third publication collects and shares a normative dataset of single word humour ratings. Descriptive properties of the dataset are outlined and the potential future use in the field of humour is discussed. Finally, the thesis presents the Macroscope, a collaborative project put together with Li Ying. The Macroscope is an online platform, allowing for easy analysis of the psychological properties of target words. The platform is showcased, and its full functionality is presented, including visualisation examples. Overall, the thesis aims to give researchers all that's necessary to start working with psychological properties of words – the understanding of network science in psycholinguistics, high dimensional vector spaces, normative datasets and the applied use of all the above through the Macroscope.


One role of the Internet seems to be acting as a corpus which expands interpretations which may or may be not based on real data. Oral variation, together with folk etymology and false interpretation are not limited to the Middle Ages. Crowdsourcing constitutes a rich source of information, more or less reliable. It is easier to dig than to filter, though. In the rich Western folklore, what seems handier is to discover how tradition is well and alive, and people may drive along versions of the same song. The exchange of information carried on, and the use of different media to convey different interpretations, seems to be useful for the analysis of textual variation and interpretation in a particular sub-field of heritage lore. The analysis of a traditional song of the West seems to be adequate for a tentative diving into that folkloric pool.


At the 6th Austroads Bridge Conference held in Perth in 2006 a work-shop was convened on bridge barriers. A recommendation from the workshop was to develop a set of guidelines for bridge barrier design. This recommendation was strongly endorsed by the audience of more than 100 participants including repre-sentatives from government, consultants and contractors. The Austroads Bridge Technology Review Panel developed and submitted a project proposal to develop a set of national guidelines related to bridge barriers which would provide better consistency in design, selection, installation and maintenance of bridge barriers. Austroads has approved and funded the project which is expected to address the above and assist bridge designers, contractors and asset owners. The project com-menced in July 2010 and is expected to take 3 years. The project is part of the Austroads Technology Program and is being Project Managed by Austroads Bridge Technology Review Panel member Nigel Powers from VicRoads and the work is being conducted by ARRB. This paper provides an update on the pro-gress of the project, provides an insight into how bridge barriers are designed within the industry including Austroads members and major consultants, proposes amendments to AS 5100 based on findings to date and seeks feedback from industry.


Dr. Peloubet accepts the unity of the Book of Job, and places the book at an early date, probably at some period in the age of the Judges. "There is no great poem extant of which it can be shown that it was composed by several authors at different periods." One of the best . features of our author's discussion is the skill with which he relates each division of the Book of Job to the great problem of human suffering. Be wise, ye pastors and teachers, and get this book. JOHN· R. SAMPEY.


Visual-spatial attention involves modulations of activity in human visual cortex as indexed by electrophysiological and functional neuroimaging measures. Prior studies investigating the time course and functional anatomy of spatial attention mechanisms in visual cortex have used higher-order discrimination tasks with complex stimuli (e.g. symbol matching in bilateral stimulus arrays, or letter discrimination), or simple detection tasks but in the presence of complex distracting information (e.g. luminance detection with superimposed symbols as distractors). Here we tested the hypothesis that short-latency modulations of incoming sensory signals in extrastriate visual cortex reflect an early spatially specific attentional mechanism. We sought evidence of attentional modulations of sensory input processing for simple, isolated stimuli requiring only an elementary discrimination (i.e. size discrimination). As in prior studies using complex symbols, we observed attention-related changes in regional cerebral blood flow in extrastriate visual cortex that were associated with changes in event-related potentials at a specific latency range. These findings support the idea that early in cortical processing, spatially-specific attentional selection mechanisms can modulate incoming sensory signals based on their spatial location and perhaps independently of higher-order stimulus form. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


The label shift problem refers to the supervised learning setting where the train and test label distributions do not match. Existing work addressing label shift usually assumes access to an \emph{unlabelled} test sample. This sample may be used to estimate the test label distribution, and to then train a suitably re-weighted classifier. While approaches using this idea have proven effective, their scope is limited as it is not always feasible to access the target domain; further, they require repeated retraining if the model is to be deployed in \emph{multiple} test environments. Can one instead learn a \emph{single} classifier that is robust to arbitrary label shifts from a broad family? In this paper, we answer this question by proposing a model that minimises an objective based on distributionally robust optimisation (DRO). We then design and analyse a gradient descent-proximal mirror ascent algorithm tailored for large-scale problems to optimise the proposed objective. %, and establish its convergence. Finally, through experiments on CIFAR-100 and ImageNet, we show that our technique can significantly improve performance over a number of baselines in settings where label shift is present.


We present a joint experimental and theoretical study with the aim of investigating the individual effects of Li-TFSI and EMIM-TFSI additives on the optical and charge transfer properties of D102 dye in solution as well as at the dye-sensitized TiO2 interface. Experimental results show that while the spectral shifts are negligible for the dye in solution, when moving to the TiO2 film in air the addition of both lithium and EMIM salts clearly gives rise to a slight red-shift with the appearance of a lower-energy shoulder in the absorption spectrum. Computational modelling confirms the weak tendency to have stable dye/additive complexes in solution and predicts appreciable spectral red-shifts as a consequence of the interaction of the dye with Li+ and EMIM+ cations. We also predict a strong effect of the additives on the electronic coupling between the dye's LUMO and the TiO2 conduction band states, reflecting on the calculated injection rates. Further, by modeling the formation and the optical response of selected dye/additive aggregate models, we find a general broadening of the absorption band, accounting for the experimentally observed lower-energy shoulder in the D102 absorption spectrum recorded on TiO2 films where Li and EMIM salts are added.


The fuel assemblies of high-speed sodium-cooled reactors are an important component which operates under very severe conditions (temperature, sodium flow velocity, etc.). The Phenix fuel assembly is shown in Fig. 1. Due to fuel element or assembly clearances, vibration can be a problem, and this has necessitated a certain number of studies and tests. The tests were carried out with water at ambient temperature on a full-size model combining mechanical structural similarity and Froude hydraulic similarity. The main source of excitation is liable to be situated within the flow inside the assembly and underneath the core cover at the otltlet. Due to the symetrical reactor layout, only one-sixth of the core and cover were featured on the model, together with their various flow regions (Fig. 2). The assembly under vibration test was installed inside a very rigid tube (Figs. 3 and 4) by means of which loads could be applied to the assembly plates. The tube could be set up in three different positions. The other assemblies were simulated by ordinary tubes. Accelerometers and strain gauges were used for the measurements, with provision for recording the signals on magnetic tape and processing them, especially in order to establish the spectral density. After measuring the natural frequencies of the assemblies in air and water with various loads on the plates, flow tests were carried out. The recordings from these tests are now being analysed, but the first results show a very low vibration amplitude, so that there does not appear to be much danger as far as the Phenix fuel assemblies are concerned. Fuel element vibration study. Within the assembly the fuel elements are laid out in a triangular pattern, their spacing being established by means of a spiral wire round each element. As the contact levels were thus indefinite, the method chosen to detect vibration consisted in measuring the EMF produced by the movement of a conductor running along the spiral wire through a magnetic field. This method was tried out on a separate mock-up, which was also used to investigate the natural frequencies of a fuel element. Tests were then carried out on various fuel element bundles, including Phenix, and it was found that the latter were not affected by any measurable vibration. The remaining results are being analysed by auto-correlation methods. The next stage in this vibration research programme will be to establish the effects of the various parameters with which the component designer is liable to be concerned.


Approximate Computing as a promising approach in Digital Signal Processing applications has been extensively analyzed to trade off limited accuracy loss for improvements in other circuit metrics, such as area, power, and speed. Most previous works on approximate circuit design have hardwired the degree of approximation in their implementations. This significantly limits their applicability, since inherent resilience varies significantly within applications. To address this limitation, in this paper, we propose a compact and energy efficient accuracy-configurable adder design based on a composite spintronic device structure consisting of magnetic domain wall motion stripe and magnetic tunnel junction. By leveraging the intrinsic current-mode thresholding operation of the spintronic device, we initially propose a hybrid Spin-CMOS majority gate and then we employ it to design an accuracy-configurable full adder cell. The proposed adder is equipped with a control knob to regulate energy-efficiency and the output quality trade-offs by modulating the circuit into two distinct operation modes (approximation and precision) to obtain acceptable output quality and reduced power consumption. The device-circuit SPICE simulations show 34.58% and 66% improvement in power consumption for precision and approximation modes, respectively, over recently reported Domain Wall Motion-based full adder design. The area-efficient accuracy-configurable adder also exhibits 19% improvement in circuit complexity over state-of-the-art CMOS FA design. We demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed adder in discrete cosine transform computation for a digital image processing architecture.


Intraosseous infusion is an outmoded technique that is gaining new prominence in the field of emergency medicine. Although not recommended as a replacement for conventional modes of intravascular access, this alternative provides rapid venous access during life-threatening emergencies. A review of the literature indicates that the intraosseous route provides relatively safe, rapid, and reliable access to the systemic venous circulation and is associated with an acceptably low complication rate. This article offers a brief historical overview of this technique and discusses insertion methods, clinical applications, and nursing management of pediatric intraosseous infusion.


Abstract Chromosome number, morphology and location of the nucleolus organizer region (NOR) are useful cytological characters for taxonomic and evolutionary studies. The karyotype of Upeneus moluccensis from the north-eastern Mediterranean was investigated through conventional Giemsa staining, Ag-NOR staining, C-banding and GTG-banding techniques. The results showed 2n = 44 (FN = 46), 2m + 2st + 40a chromosomes and four NORs. Two telomeric C-band regions were observed on a metacentric and subtelocentric chromosome pair. On the basis of the chromosome morphology, the GTG and C-banding pattern, it is hypothesized that Upeneus moluccensis is more primitive than the Mediterranean native fish species, Mullus barbatus and Mullus surmuletus. In this study, the cytogenetic characterization of U. moluccensis has been carried out for the first time.


While data from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offers the potential to gain new insights into the ways in which online communities can contribute to student learning, much of the richness of the data trace is still yet to be mined. In particular, very little work has attempted fine-grained content analyses of the student interactions in MOOCs. Survey research indicates the importance of student goals and intentions in keeping them involved in a MOOC over time.  Automated fine-grained content analyses offer the potential to detect and monitor evidence of student engagement and how it relates to other aspects of their behavior. Ultimately these indicators reflect their commitment to remaining in the course.  As a methodological contribution, in this paper we investigate using computational linguistic models to measure learner motivation and cognitive engagement from the text of forum posts.  We validate our techniques using survival models that evaluate the predictive validity of these variables in connection with attrition over time. We conduct this evaluation in three MOOCs focusing on very different types of learning materials. Prior work demonstrates that participation in the discussion forums at all is a strong indicator of student commitment. Our methodology allows us to differentiate better among these students, and to identify danger signs that a struggling student is in need of support within a population whose interaction with the course offers the opportunity for effective support to be administered.  Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed.


ABSTRACT N-acetylanthranilate amidase (Amq), a 32.8-kDa monomeric amide hydrolase, is involved in quinaldine degradation by Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus Rü61a. Sequence analysis and secondary structure predictions indicated that Amq is related to carboxylesterases and belongs to the α/β-hydrolase-fold superfamily of enzymes; inactivation of (His6-tagged) Amq by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride and diethyl pyrocarbonate and replacement of conserved residues suggested a catalytic triad consisting of S155, E235, and H266. Amq is most active towards aryl-acetylamides and aryl-acetylesters. Remarkably, its preference for ring-substituted analogues was different for amides and esters. Among the esters tested, phenylacetate was hydrolyzed with highest catalytic efficiency (k cat/Km = 208 mM−1 s−1), while among the aryl-acetylamides, o-carboxy- or o-nitro-substituted analogues were preferred over p-substituted or unsubstituted compounds. Hydrolysis by His6Amq of primary amides, lactams, N-acetylated amino acids, azocoll, tributyrin, and the acylanilide and urethane pesticides propachlor, propham, carbaryl, and isocarb was not observed; propanil was hydrolyzed with 1% N-acetylanthranilate amidase activity. The catalytic properties of the cysteine-deficient variant His6AmqC22A/C63A markedly differed from those of His6Amq. The replacements effected some changes in Km s of the enzyme and increased k cats for most aryl-acetylesters and some aryl-acetylamides by factors of about three to eight while decreasing k cat for the formyl analogue N-formylanthranilate by several orders of magnitude. Circular dichroism studies indicated that the cysteine-to-alanine replacements resulted in significant change of the overall fold, especially an increase in α-helicity of the cysteine-deficient protein. The conformational changes may also affect the active site and may account for the observed changes in kinetic properties.


Identifying novel NF-κB-regulated immune genes in the human genome is important to our understanding of immune mechanisms and immune diseases. We fit logistic regression models to the promoters of 62 known NF-κB-regulated immune genes, to find patterns of transcription factor binding in the promoters of genes with known immune function. Using these patterns, we scanned the promoters of additional genes to find matches to the patterns, selected those with NF-κB binding sites conserved in the mouse or fly, and then confirmed them as NF-κB-regulated immune genes based on expression data. Among 6440 previously identified promoters in the human genome, we found 28 predicted immune gene promoters, 19 of which regulate genes with known function, allowing us to calculate specificity of 93%–100% for the method. We calculated sensitivity of 42% when searching the 62 known immune gene promoters. We found nine novel NF-κB-regulated immune genes which are consistent with available SAGE data. Our method of predicting gene function, based on characteristic patterns of transcription factor binding, evolutionary conservation, and expression studies, would be applicable to finding genes with other functions.


Relating the observed CO emission from giant molecular clouds (GMCs) to the underlying H2 column density is a long-standing problem in astrophysics. While the Galactic CO–H2 conversion factor (XCO) appears to be reasonably constant, observations indicate that XCO may be depressed in high surface density starburst environments. Using a multiscale approach, we investigate the dependence of XCO on the galactic environment in numerical simulations of disc galaxies and galaxy mergers. XCO is proportional to the GMC surface density divided by the integrated CO intensity, WCO, and WCO is related to the kinetic temperature and velocity dispersion in the cloud. In disc galaxies (except within the central ∼ kpc), the galactic environment is largely unimportant in setting the physical properties of GMCs provided they are gravitationally bound. The temperatures are roughly constant at ∼10 K due to the balance of CO cooling and cosmic ray heating, giving a nearly constant CO–H2 conversion factor in discs. In mergers, the velocity dispersion of the gas rises dramatically during coalescence. The gas temperature also rises as it couples well to the warm (∼50 K) dust at high densities (n > 104 cm−3). The rise in velocity dispersion and temperature combine to offset the rise in surface density in mergers, causing XCO to drop by a factor of ∼2–10 compared to the disc simulation. This model predicts that high-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxies should show velocity dispersions of 101–102 km s−1, and brightness temperatures comparable to the dust temperatures.


In March 2020, China had periodically controlled the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) epidemic. We reported the results of health screening for COVID-19 among returned staff of a hospital and conducted a summary analysis to provide valuable experience for curbing the COVID-19 epidemic and rebound. In total, 4729 returned staff from Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China were examined for COVID-19, and the basic information, radiology and laboratory test results were obtained and systematically analysed. Among the 4729 employees, medical staff (62.93%) and rear-service personnel (30.73%) were the majority. The results of the first physical examination showed that 4557 (96.36%) were normal, 172 (3.64%) had abnormal radiological or laboratory test results. After reexamination and evaluation, four were at high risk (asymptomatic infections) and were scheduled to transfer to a designated hospital, and three were at low risk (infectivity could not be determined) and were scheduled for home isolation observation. Close contacts were tracked and managed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China. Asymptomatic infections are a major risk factor for returning to work. Extensive health screening combined with multiple detection methods helps to identify asymptomatic infections early, which is an important guarantee in the process of returning to work.


The purpose of this article is to investigate the institutional innovation represented by the implementation of Programs of Goals in Brazilian cities through amendments in legislation, focusing on its contribution to the social control of public policies. The article presents a mapping on legislation based on the theory of participatory democracy. After a theoretical reflection about the limits of representative democracy and the search for institutional innovations in participatory democracy, the article presents a historical-legislative overview about the Goals' Program and a comparative analysis of the normative texts that instituted it in Brazilian cities. As main results, in addition to a mapping that indicates the state of the art of the subject, we have the formulation of relevant hypotheses for the execution of legislative evaluation and development of proposals to improve the legal-institutional design of the object of investigation.


In the result of corrosion phenomena in automotive metallic fuel tank, a layer of rust which consists of hard and micronized oxide grits with low cohesion and adhesion could appear. Through gasoline delivery from fuel tank to chamber of combustion, these hard and micronized grits could cause erosion and service problem for the components in this rout. In concept of after sale services, some defective parts such as fuel tank, injector pump, nozzle of injector and etc, needs to be repaired or changed due to the corrosion. In this article in order to improvement of corrosion resistance, some investigations into the recognition and assessment of corrosion in which relative these parts have been done. The corrosion mechanisms such as galvanic corrosion, general corrosion have been recognized. Based on this information modification and improvement are concentrated in field of welding, plating showed considerable improvement in corrosion resistance.


This review provides a summary of knowledge on two-way fish migration of salmonids and eels past hydroelectric plants in Europe. On the basis of a summary of international literature, general designs and recommendations for best practices for fish-pass facilities are provided. The review is part of the Norwegian SafePass project, which focuses on Atlantic salmon, brown trout, grayling and European eel. According to recent international recommendations, many existing European fishways for upstream migration do not have an optimal design. This is especially evident for denil and pool-and-weir fishways in inland areas with species such as grayling and brown trout. Based on the review, we generally recommend (1) using ramps, nature-like channels and vertical-slot fishways for these species and (2) reducing water drop between the pools in pool-and-weir fishways and reducing energy dissipation compared with the design of traditional Atlantic salmon ladders. There are few well-functioning passages for downstream migration of fish in Europe and significant progress has been made in the past decade to improve technology and knowledge. Several international studies have shown that physical structures, such as fine-mesh trash racks with alternative escape routes and bypass arrangements, provide >90% passage efficiency for downstream migration, especially for brown trout and salmon, and have, in recent years, shown good results also for silver eels.


Summary As part of a hydrogeological investigation in a Permo-Triassic Sandstone aquifer in northwest England, various methods of field permeability testing have been developed and evaluated. These techniques involve the use of borehole packers to isolate specific test sections and permeability measurements made by either injection or pumping tests. Field results have been compared with both laboratory permeability measurements and conventional pumping tests. The test procedures were found to have a significant effect on the results obtained. Packers have also been employed to examine the vertical distribution of piezometric heads within an aquifer, both in pumping and non-pumping conditions, and to obtain groundwater samples from selected horizons. Some of the test results are presented to illustrate the value of packer techniques in hydrogeological investigations.


From the #1 Name in Professional Certification Prepare for CompTIA Security+ Exam SY0-401 with McGraw-Hill Professionala Platinum-Level CompTIA Authorized Partner offering Authorized CompTIA Approved Quality Content to give you the competitive edge on exam day. Get on the fast track to becoming CompTIA Security+ certified with this affordable, portable study tool--fully revised for the latest exam release. Inside, certification training experts guide you on your career path, providing expert tips and sound advice along the way. With an intensive focus only on what you need to know to pass CompTIA Security+ Exam SY0-401, this certification passport is your ticket to success on exam day. INSIDE: Itineraries -- List of official exam objectives covered ETAs -- Amount of time needed to complete each lesson Travel Advisories -- Expert advice on critical topics Local Lingo -- Concise definitions of key terms and concepts Travel Assistance -- Recommended resources for more information Exam Tips -- Common exam pitfalls and solutions Checkpoints -- End-of-chapter questions, answers, and explanations Career Flight Path -- Information on the exam and possible next steps Electronic content includes: 200 practice exam questions PDF copy of the book


VALUE (Vaccine Acceptance & Access Lives in Unity, Engagement & Education) Baltimore began in February 2021 with the vision of helping underserved communities in Baltimore City value COVID-19 vaccination and have access to the vaccine. VALUE dispatched ambassadors to provide COVID-19 education and risk-mitigation strategies in their communities. Once the project was implemented, we noticed that our ambassadors were often overwhelmed by misinformation in the community and our priority populations faced deeper issues relating to the social determinants of health (SDOH) and social needs such as food, transportation, job loss, and housing. To help our ambassadors cope with and address these issues, we created Healing Baltimore in April 2021. Healing Baltimore aims to support our VALUE ambassadors as they contribute toward improving the wellbeing of Baltimore now and after COVID. Healing Baltimore has four elements: (1) Weekly Self-Care Tips, (2) Weekly Positive Facts about Baltimore, (3) SDOH Referral to Baltimore City Health Department Services, and (4) Webinars to teach us about the VALUE communities while offering the opportunity to discuss historical trauma. We share our lessons learned from Healing Baltimore, which include (1) increasing ambassador input, (2) engagement, (3) co-creation, (4) collaboration, and (5) community appreciation.


The vectors of beet mosaic virus are optimally infective when they have fed for only a few minutes on the infected plants after a period of fasting. After infection feeding, infectivity is very rapidly lost when the vectors feed on healthy plants, but while it remains a single vector can infect several plants. Infectivity is lost much more slowly when the vectors fast after infection feeding. In this behaviour beet mosaic virus resembles Hy 3, potato Y, cucumber 1, and other aphis-transmitted viruses which have been called the non-persistent group. It resembles these viruses also in its physical properties. In some secondary characters beet mosaic differs from the other non-persistent viruses more than they differ from each other. It is retained longer by the fasting vectors, and infectivity of the vectors may increase considerably with increasing infection feeding time, in the absence of preliminary fasting, though it rarely reaches the optimal level. With beet yellows virus infectivity of the vectors is not affected by preliminary fasting, but always increases with increasing feeding time on both infected and healthy plants. Infectivity increases with increasing feeding time on the healthy plants whatever the infection feeding time, and therefore there is always a delay in the production of optimum infectivity by the aphides after cessation of infection feeding. Infectivity is more rapidly lost from the fasting than from the feeding vectors. The properties indicate that beet yellows belongs to the persistent group of viruses, although its persistence in the fasting vectors is only about the same as that of beet mosaic, which is a non-persistent virus. The main basis of distinction between the two types seems not to be the time for which they are retained by vectors, but the effect of preliminary fasting. Beet yellows and beet mosaic viruses have the same vector and host plant and therefore the differences in their behaviour are properties of the viruses them selves, and are not induced by the conditions in which they are transmitted.


There is increasing concern about the health, particularly mental health, of young people and the factors that affect it. Drawing on data from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study: Health in the Community, this paper describes the pattern of health in a cohort of about 1000 young people between the ages of 15 and 21, within a context of their experience and expectations of unemployment. Contrary to assumptions of healthiness, high levels of poor physical and mental health were found, with a third of males and two-fifths of females exhibiting evidence of psychological morbidity at age 18. Poorer mental health was strongly linked to the experience of unemployment and being at home, the latter predominantly involving females. This effect was confirmed in multivariate analysis, which controlled for prior health. In addition, an expectation of being unemployed in the future was associated with poorer mental health. For many young people entering the labour market, the prospects of limited employment opportunities and associated risks to health are a major public health concern. In setting their needs firmly on the policy agenda, and planning appropriate services, these broader social issues should not be forgotten.


ABSTRACT In some bacteria, salicylate is synthesized using the enzymes isochorismate synthase and isochorismate pyruvate lyase. In contrast, gene inactivation and complementation experiments with Yersinia enterocolitica suggest the synthesis of salicylate in the biosynthesis of the siderophore yersiniabactin involves a single protein, Irp9, which converts chorismate directly into salicylate. In the present study, Irp9 was for the first time heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli as a hexahistidine fusion protein, purified to near homogeneity, and characterized biochemically. The recombinant protein was found to be a dimer, each subunit of which has a molecular mass of 50 kDa. Enzyme assays, reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analyses confirmed that Irp9 is a salicylate synthase and converts chorismate to salicylate with a Km for chorismate of 4.2 μM and a kcat of 8 min−1. The reaction was shown to proceed through the intermediate isochorismate, which was detected directly using 1H NMR spectroscopy.


Through in-context learning (ICL), large-scale language models are effective few-shot learners without additional model fine-tuning. However, the ICL performance does not scale well with the number of available training sample as it is limited by the inherent input length constraint of the underlying language model. Meanwhile, many studies have revealed that language models are also powerful feature extractors, allowing them to be utilized in a black-box manner and enabling the linear probing paradigm, where lightweight discriminators are trained on top of the pre-extracted input representations. This paper proposes prompt-augmented linear probing (PALP), a hybrid of linear probing and ICL, which leverages the best of both worlds. PALP inherits the scalability of linear probing and the capability of enforcing language models to derive more meaningful representations via tailoring input into a more conceivable form. Throughout in-depth investigations on various datasets, we verified that PALP significantly closes the gap between ICL in the data-hungry scenario and fine-tuning in the data-abundant scenario with little training overhead, potentially making PALP a strong alternative in a black-box scenario.


Objective. To describe the Strategy Results Cycle (SRC), a model that approaches planning as an ongoing cycle of seven phases that continually responds and adapts to existing evidence. Materials and methods. Reliable sources were used for the preparation of databases and expenditurecosting data for resources needs analysis. The planning process 6-9 months to complete a national strategic plan that was informed by evidence, focused on results and costed. Results. Knowledge transfer facilitated national leadership and stakeholders' participation. Between 2007 and 2011, 13 of 16 countries adopted the Strategy Results Cycle model. The evidence supported the identification of results and the expenditure-costing analysis improved budget allocation efficiency. Conclusion. The SRC facilitated purposeful participation and added value to previous planning approaches by connecting "thinking" and "doing" which resulted in national strategic plans that are designed by stakeholders, relevant to local conditions, and can guide implementation and resource mobilization.


An unavoidable problem for growing regions is the mismatch of smaller, more parochial local governments and regional dynamics, harms, and social and infrastructure needs. The implications and challenges of regulatory fragmentation, however, are significant for regulatory challenges of all types, especially in areas of overlapping and intertwined regulation such as environmental law. To illuminate these fragmentation conceptions and implications, this paper draws on longer-term research regarding the 1971-85 battles over the proposed New York Westway highway and park project. After reviewing the story of Westway's defeat due to its environmental impacts and a series of legal and political challenges, the article suggests a four-part typology of regulatory fragmentation. Regional ills and projects tend to encounter four types of regulatory fragmentation: temporal, horizontal, vertical, and institutional. This paper then seeks to reconcile two seemingly clashing views about the implications of regulatory fragmentation. Scholars writing from a law and economics perspective suggest in several recent works that multiple regulators sharing actual or potential regulatory turf will tend to create a drag on or stop activities that would be in the collective interest. A seemingly opposite view asserts that in a setting of fragmented governance, where neither citizens nor potential regulators view any person or institution as having regulatory primacy over a particular social ill, "regulatory commons" problems arise, creating incentives for failures to address such shared but dispersed regulatory harms or opportunities. This paper suggests that these two seemingly disparate views actually can be reconciled. Rather than fragmentation creating either one result or another, as might at first appear to be the case, ubiquitous regulatory fragmentation creates a continuum of institutional proclivities and incentives. Those proclivities are heavily dependent on the modality of government action. The article closes by analyzing potential responses to fragmentation.


Methane emission pathways and their importance were quantified during a yearlong survey of a temperate hydropower reservoir. Measurements using gas traps indicated very high ebullition rates, but due to the stochastic nature of ebullition a mass balance approach was crucial to deduce system-wide methane sources and losses. Methane diffusion from the sediment was generally low and seasonally stable and did not account for the high concentration of dissolved methane measured in the reservoir discharge. A strong positive correlation between water temperature and the observed dissolved methane concentration enabled us to quantify the dissolved methane addition from bubble dissolution using a system-wide mass balance. Finally, knowing the contribution due to bubble dissolution, we used a bubble model to estimate bubble emission directly to the atmosphere. Our results indicated that the total methane emission from Lake Wohlen was on average >150 mg CH(4) m(-2) d(-1), which is the highest ever documented for a midlatitude reservoir. The substantial temperature-dependent methane emissions discovered in this 90-year-old reservoir indicate that temperate water bodies can be an important but overlooked methane source.


Background: People who have an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) and asthma are at greater risk of poor health outcomes. They often require assistance from caregivers when managing their medicines. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the level of understanding of asthma selfmanagement concepts of family caregivers who provide assistance to people who IDD and asthma. Results will inform future needs assessment and intervention studies. Materials and Methods: Nineteen caregivers of people who have asthma and IDD completed a mailed survey. The survey included scales to measure asthma selfmanagement concepts, inhaler technique knowledge, medication adherence and control of asthma. The caregivers were instructed to complete most of the scales with reference to the person with IDD. Results: Most caregivers had acceptable health literacy, but had low scores on the asthma selfmanagement and inhaler technique tests. The most frequently cited barriers to controlling asthma were inadequate caregiver and patient education about the illness as well as knowing and avoiding asthma triggers. The most frequently cited barriers to medication management were knowing inhaler technique, knowledge of medication and forgetting to use medication. Asthma was controlled in 63.2% of patients, while almost 75% of patients were considered nonadherent to controller therapy. Conclusions: Most caregivers had inadequate understanding of asthma selfmanagement as well as inhaler technique despite having high health literacy. Improving caregiver and patient knowledge and skills may lead to better asthma


This paper contributes to our understanding of personal mastery by providing fresh insights from a cross-national study in Higher Education (HE). It presents findings from a rich sample of informants in two well-established universities in the UK and Vietnam, and develops a framework that illustrates the antecedents and outcomes of personal mastery in the two cultures. The multi-level analysis performed provides valuable insights that extend our current understanding of personal mastery beyond the individual level as it is traditionally theorized. Instead, we are able to show that a number of contextual conditions at the organizational, industry and the national culture that may also have a bearing on the way personal mastery is cultivated. By contributing a richer account of the multifaceted nature of personal mastery, the paper draws attention to a range of implications for both future research and practice. In particular, it invites practitioners in HE to apply the theories they develop in practice.


Understanding and studying human anatomy is not something that is constant and easy to understand, therefore, classical anatomy has been studied under dissection rooms of medical schools. In recent years, certain universities worldwide do not have as many bodies to carry out such field work, in addition to the processing, maintenance and facilities to preserve a body have a high cost, also exposure to chemicals such as formaldehyde by time prolonged can cause health problems. It is for this reason that many universities have seen the need to use plastic models or plasticized corpses. However, the former are unrealistic and the latter involve a very expensive process and are not accessible to all medical institutions.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the in vivo effects of PD-0200347, an alpha(2)delta ligand of voltage gated Ca(2+) channels, on cell signalling in osteoarthritic (OA) chondrocytes from an experimental dog model, and examine the effect of PD-0200347 on the major signalling pathways involved in OA cartilage degradation.

METHODS
OA was surgically induced in dogs by sectioning the anterior cruciate ligament. OA dogs were divided into three groups and treated orally with (a) placebo; (b) 15 mg/kg/day PD-0200347, or (c) 90 mg/kg/day PD-0200347. The animals were killed 12 weeks after surgery. Cartilage specimens from femoral condyles and tibial plateaus were processed for immunohistochemistry. Specific antibodies against the phosphorylated form of PKCalpha, Ras, c-Raf, the MAP kinases Erk1/2, p38, JNK, and the transcription factors, CREB and Elk-1, were used.

RESULTS
Levels of all the tested signalling mediators were increased in the placebo treated (OA) group compared with the normal group. PD-0200347 treatment significantly reduced the levels of the active forms of PKCalpha, c-Raf, Erk1/2, and Elk-1; however, the levels of the active forms of Ras, p38, JNK, and CREB were not affected by the PD-0200347 treatment.

CONCLUSION
The action of PD-0200347 on OA chondrocytes is probably mediated through the inhibition of Erk1/2 activation via a Ras independent mechanism. This effect is associated with reduction of the activation of transcription factors such as Elk-1, which leads to the inhibition of the induction of the major catabolic factors involved in the degradation process of OA cartilage.


The present thesis is concerned with the quantification of weak non-covalent
interactions between a simple π system and functional groups through dynamic
NMR studies of conformational equilibria of specifically designed molecular
balance systems.
The work begins with an introduction which provides a formal review of the
current literature on various aspects of non-covalent π-interactions, starting with
an examination of the physical properties of non-covalent arene interactions,
including arene-arene interactions, the behaviour of aromatic rings as hydrogen
bond acceptors and the interactions between aromatic rings and cationic species.
The use of molecular balance systems for studying these weak interactions will
then be discussed together with some other important methods used. The
introduction concludes with an account of olefinic !-interactions and methods for
their study as described in the current chemical literature.
The second section presents and discusses the results obtained in the present
study and begins with the description of the synthetic routes employed to prepare
two series of molecular balance systems, both of which feature a common
bicyclo[3.2.2]nona-6,8-diene framework and a flexible three carbon atom bridge,
whose central carbon atom can possess two different functional groups. The
relative abundance of each of the two possible conformers in solution provides a
measure of the relative interaction energies. Dynamic NMR studies in a range of
solvents were employed to study each derivative. The results from these studies
were then compared in order to gain insight into the relative strengths of both
olefinic and aromatic π-interactions.
The thesis concludes with a formal description of the experimental procedures
used in this study and appendices detailing the data obtained from dynamic NMR
studies and crystal structure data.


The problem of robust mode-dependent delayed state feedback H∞ control is investigated for a class of uncertain time-delay systems with Markovian switching parameters and mixed discrete, neutral, and distributed delays. Based on the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional theory, new required sufficient conditions are established in terms of delay-dependent linear matrix inequalities for the stochastic stability and stabilization of the considered system using some free matrices. The desired control is derived based on a convex optimization method such that the resulting closed-loop system is stochastically stable and satisfies a prescribed level of H∞ performance, simultaneously. Finally, two numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of our approach.


We report density-functional-theory calculations on vacancies on the ZnO(101̄0) surface with the on-site Coulomb interaction correction. Zn and O vacancies and three different configurations of ZnO divacancies were examined considering all the possible charge states. Using the calculated vacancy formation energies, we constructed the phase diagram by spanning the allowed range of electronic and ionic chemical potential. Differently from the bulk where the divacancy is not stabilized at all, one configuration of surface divacancies can be stable in a certain region of the chemical potentials. Among all the stable vacancies, only the neutral and the singly negatively-charged monatomic Zn vacancies exhibit a finite magnetic moment of 1 μB , which implies that the surface Zn vacancies may be responsible for the experimentally-observed room-temperature ferromagnetism in ZnO nanocrystals.


Elevated antibody levels against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been reported in sera from patients with Crohn's disease and not with ulcerative colitis. The aim of the study was to identify the nature of the epitopes supporting this antibody response. Whole cells from different S. cerevisiae strains were selected in immunofluorescence assay for their ability to differentiate the antibody responses of patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Their cell wall phosphopeptidomannans were then tested as antigen in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against sera from 42 patients with Crohn's disease, 20 patients with ulcerative colitis, and 34 healthy controls. Graded chemical degradations were performed on the most reactive strain phosphopeptidomannan. The discriminating epitope was determined through gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The greatest discrimination among patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and controls was obtained with Su1, a S. cerevisiae strain used in brewing of beer. ELISA directed against phosphopeptidomannan of this strain was 64% sensitive and 77% specific for discriminating Crohn's disease versus ulcerative colitis and 71% sensitive and 89% specific for Crohn's disease versus controls. Periodate oxidation and selective degradation demonstrated that the most important polysaccharide epitope was shared by both the acid-stable and the alkali-labile domains of the phosphopeptidomannan. The determination of oligomannose sequences of S. cerevisiae Su1 phosphopeptidomannans suggested that a mannotetraose, Man (1 --> 3)Man(1 --> 2)Man(1 --> 2)Man, supported the serological response seen in Crohn's disease. Further identification of the immunogen eliciting this antibody response as a marker of the disease may help to understand its etiology.


BACKGROUND
Persistent, low-grade inflammation is an independent predictor of several chronic diseases and all-cause mortality.

OBJECTIVE
The intention of this study was to determine the independent and combined effects of diet-induced weight loss and exercise on markers of chronic inflammation.

DESIGN
Three hundred sixteen community-dwelling, older (> or = 60 y), overweight or obese [body mass index (in kg/m2) > or = 28], sedentary men and women with radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to four 18-mo treatments: healthy lifestyle control, diet-induced weight loss, exercise, and diet plus exercise. The exercise intervention consisted of combined weight training and walking for 1 h 3 times/wk. The weight-loss intervention consisted of a weekly session with a registered dietitian to provide education and support for lowering energy intake.

RESULTS
The diet-induced weight-loss intervention resulted in significantly greater reductions in concentrations of C-reactive protein (P = 0.01), interleukin 6 (P = 0.009), and soluble tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 1 (P = 0.007) than did no weight-loss treatment. Changes in soluble tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor 1 but not in C-reactive protein or interleukin 6 correlated with changes in body weight. Exercise training did not have a significant effect on these inflammatory biomarkers, and there was no significant interaction between weight loss and exercise training.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide evidence from a randomized controlled trial that a dietary intervention designed to elicit weight loss reduces overall inflammation in older, obese persons. Additional studies are needed to assess the effects of different modes and intensities of exercise on inflammation.


Abstract:This essay proposes "reading with conviction" as a method for elaborating the alternative possibilities for living that can obtain a degree of visibility when dead ends—or points of absence, fragmentation, and distortion within the documentary record—frustrate the conventional protocols or the desired progress of research. As recent historical and literary studies scholarship has shown, slavery's archives expose the enslaved to the palest, most perverse imitation of representation, entangling the memory of their lives with evidence of their exclusion from the province of human being. Yet each encounter with one of these dead ends, and thus with the limits of what an archive can verify, presents an occasion to relinquish positivist historiographic approaches and begin devising alternatives that valorize instead that which resists verification—most notably, the heterodox concepts, philosophies, and counter-facts that survive the convergence of omission and distortion. To this range of unverifiable alternates, this essay adds the convictions that archived subjects might have held, but that the conventions of archival texts would have prevented them from disclosing outright. Turning to The Address of Abraham Johnstone (1797)—the gallows confession and address of a formerly enslaved man sentenced to death for the crime of murder—the essay argues that careful, credulous attention to the residues of subversive conviction that breach the surface of Johnstone's disfiguring textual performance enables us to turn inward on the space of enclosure he inhabited and become acquainted with the otherworldly designs it might have contained.


Abstract The vision sciences literature contains a large diversity of experimental and theoretical approaches to the study of visual attention. We argue that this diversity arises, at least in part, from the field's inability to unify differing theoretical perspectives. In particular, the field has been hindered by a lack of a principled formal framework for simultaneously thinking about both optimal attentional processing and capacity-limited attentional processing, where capacity is limited in a general, task-independent manner. Here, we supply such a framework based on rate-distortion theory (RDT) and optimal lossy compression. Our approach defines Bayes-optimal performance when an upper limit on information processing rate is imposed. In this article, we compare Bayesian and RDT accounts in both uncued and cued visual search tasks. We start by highlighting a typical shortcoming of unlimited-capacity Bayesian models that is not shared by RDT models, namely, that they often overestimate task performance when information-processing demands are increased. Next, we reexamine data from two cued-search experiments that have previously been modeled as the result of unlimited-capacity Bayesian inference and demonstrate that they can just as easily be explained as the result of optimal lossy compression. To model cued visual search, we introduce the concept of a "conditional communication channel." This simple extension generalizes the lossy-compression framework such that it can, in principle, predict optimal attentional-shift behavior in any kind of perceptual task, even when inputs to the model are raw sensory data such as image pixels. To demonstrate this idea's viability, we compare our idealized model of cued search, which operates on a simplified abstraction of the stimulus, to a deep neural network version that performs approximately optimal lossy compression on the real (pixel-level) experimental stimuli.


1078 COSTIMULATION BLOCKADE-MEDIATED TOLERANCE OF DIABETOGENIC T CELLS. Mark R Rigby, Alison Trexler, Thomas C Pearson, Christian P Larsen. Pediatrics; Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine; Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA. Interrupting activation and differentiation signaling in effector T cells is a powerful intervention to prevent organ destruction in many animal models of autoimmunity and organ transplantation. Although a therapy, the mechanism of costimulation blockade to induce immune tolerance remains unclear. As a model to dissect this mechanism in one model of immune dysregulation, we are using the murine model of Type 1 diabetes in which disease is transferred by transgenic T cells. We find that adoptive transfer of lymphocytes from BDC2.5.NOD donors to NOD.scid recipients results in diabetes in >95% of recipients within 2 weeks. Evaluation of recipient pancreas demonstrates ablation of islets by a combined T and B cell infiltrative process. Diabetes is prevented in recipients by antagonizing early signaling through CD154 and CD28 using a shourt course of MR1 and CTLA4-Ig every other day beginning the day of adoptive transfer. No protection occurs if initiation of costimulation therapy is delayed, indicating a brief window of therapeutic susceptibility. Protected recipients retain intact islets. Like diabetic recipients, protected recipients harbor vβ4 transgenic donor-derived T cells indicating a state of peripheral immune tolerance has been achieved. Tolerant recipients are resistant to re-challenge with new diabetogenic BDC.NOD cells; but NOD.scid recipients of lymphocytes from protected recipients develop diabetes, indicating a state of dominant regulatory tolerance in protected mice. Phenotypic evaluation of transgenic cells from tolerant and diabetic mice demonstrate similar maturation changes including acquisition of CD44 and loss of CD62L, but cells from tolerant recipients express lower amounts of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IFNγ and TNFα), as assessed by intracellular cytokine analysis. To evaluate the early effects of costimulation blockade, we analyzed recipients of CFSE-labeled donor cells in the absence or presence of costimulation blockade. We find they donor cells display a dampened proliferative response of in draining pancreatic lymph nodes in costimulation blockade recipients compared to untreated recipients, suggesting a role for anergy early in tolerance induction. From this data we hypothesize that costimulation blockade promotes the T cell balance in favor islet protection through a sequential process of blunting antigen-specific activation of effector T cells followed by an enhancement in T cell regulatory mechanisms. Abstract# 1079 REGULATION OF AUTOIMMUNITY BY CD4+CD25+ T-CELLS (Tregs) FOLLOWING LUNG TRANSPLANTATION. A Bharat, R Fields, EP Trulock, GA Patterson, T Mohanakumar. Surg; Int Med; Path & Immunol, Washington University, St Louis. Introduction: Col-V, a sequestered but immunogenic self-protein present in the lung tissue, is exposed following rodent lung transplant (LT) resulting in autoimmunity. Here we investigated the role of col-V autoimmunity in chronic human lung allograft rejection (bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, BOS) and hypothesized that T-regs would be pivotal in modulating col-V autoimmunity in LT patients. Methods: Col-V immunity was serially analyzed in LT patients (n=17) and normal subjects (n=9) using ELISPOT after in vitro stimulation of PBMC with col-V. Transwell experiments were performed to identify cytokines involved in immune regulation. Results: Col-V specific immunity was elicited in LT patients but not in normal subjects. LT patients revealed high frequency of IL-10 producing T-cells (TIL10) [>200 spots/million cells (spm)] with low IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-5 (<50 spm), and no IL-4. These TIL10 were distinct from T-regs since they lacked constitutive CD25 and foxp3 expression. However, expansion of TIL10 cells during col-V stimulation involved CTLA-4 on Tregs since both depleting or blocking Tregs with anti-CTLA4 mAbs resulted in immune deviation to Th1 [high IL-2, IFN-γ (>200 spm), no IL-10]. The TIL10 cells were col-V specific (<30 spm with col-II or ovalbumin). In presence of colV and antigen presenting cells, the TIL10 markedly suppressed IFN-γ and proliferation of autologous Th1-cells (those generated in absence of Tregs) and mitogenic or allogeneic stimulation of conventional CD4 T-cells, which was reversed by neutralizing IL-10. The development of BOS was associated with loss of TIL10 (>4 fold) with concomitant increase in Th1-cells (>4 fold). In contrast, BOSpatients maintained steady levels of TIL10 that kept Th1-cells suppressed. The TIL10 cells in BOSpatients could also suppress the Th1-cells from BOS+ patients in transwell co-culture. This effect was not found to be due to diffusion of mismatched soluble HLA antigens. Loss of TIL10 during BOS correlated with a significant decline in CD4CD25CD45RO "mature" T-regs. Conclusions: LT patients have col-V specific T-cells that can be detected in the peripheral blood. The predominant col-V specific T-cells produce IL-10 that suppresses autoreactive Th1-cells, independent of direct cellular contact. T-regs are pivotal for the induction of these suppressor TIL10 cells. During BOS, loss of T-regs leads to the failure of this regulatory circuit resulting in the expansion of Th1-cells.


New structural materials can potentially change the technics and economics of the building and construction industry in a profound way. It is important to identify applications and develop forms that exploit a material's unique properties. The developer of a material can use the knowledge of how materials such as steel and reinforced concrete were first introduced to advance the development and application of new materials today. This project examines why structural forms have evolved as they have and what influences the process of creating form, or form-finding. The purpose of this analysis is to aid the development of structural forms that make the most efficient use of material and take advantage of a material's processing and constructive attributes. Such forms are called material-adapted. This thesis is based on the general history of structural materials used in construction. This research is summarized in six appended case studies that comprise the data of the thesis. The research has extended well beyond these case studies; some of this data is included in the main text. The research showed that the influences on form-finding are: Function; Material Properties; Processing Technologies; Connection Technology; Construction Process; Economics; Socio- Political Factors; Knowledge; and Technological Thought. A Form-Finding Influence Interaction Model summarizes the inter-relationships of these influences. It was first assumed that material-adapted form is determined by material properties alone. Further research showed this untrue. The hypothesis of this thesis is that material properties do not unilaterally determine material-adapted structural form. This statement is true because the nature of a material is a function of its properties and its processing and constructive attributes. A material's processing and constructive attributes are dependent on technology and organizational systems that are not specific to the material. It was further hypothesized that new materials are first used substitutionally in forms and applications of known materials. This concept was found to be misleading and untrue for a number of materials. The knowledge of this thesis was used to examine the current development of fiber reinforced polymer composite materials. It is shown that a material's development can be analyzed not only by the aforementioned influences, but also by characteristics of other material developments. This information is used to suggest how these materials might develop in the future.


: The secondary structure of pre-mRNA species from mouse Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells extracted with phenol at the temperatures either 55-65 degrees C or 65-85 degrees C was investigated. A fraction of the double helical regions of pre-mRNA was estimated by two methods: a) by recording of melting curves; b) by measuring fluorescence lifetimes of acridine orange dye adsorbed on the nucleic acid. This fraction was about 64-68%. Further lowering of ionic strength down to 0.024 results in 10-15% decrease in the fraction of double regions. Both lowering of ionic strength and increase of the temperature up to 50-55 degrees C results in despiralisation of pre-mRNA regions which contain more than 70% of AU-nucleotide pairs. Only regions containing mainly GC-nucleotide pairs remain double-stranded under heating to temperatures above 50 degrees C. These facts were established on the basis of studies of acriflavin dye complexes with pre-mRNA.


This essay outlines the development and activities of the Black Arts Repertory Theater/School. Its members set up classes on history, politics, and drama; hosted plays, poetry readings, and new music concerts; and stalked through the community preaching about Blackness. Despite its trials, including fighting among members and criticism from the rest of the art world, the theater and school, along with the Black Arts Movement, has made a significant impact. The continuing task faced by revolutionary Black artists and intellectuals is to further the Cultural Revolution.


Nucleoside transport sites in rat brain membrane preparations were labeled with [3H]nitrobenzylthioinosine ([3H] NBI), a potent inhibitor of nucleoside transport systems. The membranes contained a single class of very high affinity binding sites with KD and Bmax values of 0.06 nM and 147 fmol/mg of protein, respectively. The displacement of [3H]NBI binding by various nucleosides, adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists, and known nucleoside transport inhibitors was examined. The Ki values (micromolar concentration) of [3H]NBI displacement by the nucleosides tested were: adenosine, 3.0; inosine, 160; thymidine, 240; uridine, 390; guanosine, 460; and cytidine, 1000. These nucleosides displayed parallel displacement curves indicating their interaction with a common site labeled by [3H]NBI. The nucleobases, hypoxanthine and adenine, exhibited Ki values of 220 and 3640 microM, respectively. Adenosine receptor agonists exhibited moderate affinities for the [3H]NBI site, whereas the adenosine receptor antagonists, caffeine, theophylline, and enprofylline, were ineffective displacers. The Ki values for cyclohexyladenosine, (+)- and (-)-phenylisopropyladenosine, 2-chloroadenosine, and adenosine 5′-ethylcarboxamide were 0.8, 0.9, 2.6, 12, and 54 microM, respectively. These affinities and the rank order of potencies indicate that [3H]NBI does not label any known class of adenosine receptors (i.e., A1, A2, and P). The Ki values of other nucleoside transport inhibitors were: nitrobenzylthioguanosine, 0.05 nM; dipyridamole, 16 nM; papaverine, 3 microM; and 2′-deoxyadenosine, 22 microM. These results indicate that [3H]NBI binds to a nucleoside transporter in brain which specifically recognizes adenosine as its preferred endogenous substrate. This ligand may aid in the identification of CNS neural systems that selectively accumulate adenosine and thereby control "adenosinergic" function.


Direct oral anticoagulants have recently emerged as an attractive choice for patients requiring anticoagulation treatment. They have a rapid onset of action and can be administered at fixed doses without the need for routine anticoagulation monitoring. They may present fewer interactions than warfarin but further experience is needed to assess the clinical significance of the interactions with cytochrome CYP3A and P-gp inhibitors/inducers. A higher rate of bleeding has been observed in association with antiplatelet agents or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Their safety profile has not been sufficiently studied in the elderly, and in patients with liver disease or severe renal impairment. Dose adjustment is necessary in patients with moderate renal impairment and a higher bleeding rate has been observed in this subgroup, although not higher than with warfarin. The clinical settings that require monitoring of coagulation assays have not yet been specified. Reversal of their anticoagulant effect may be problematic in case of severe bleeding. Therefore, despite the obvious advantages of the direct oral anticoagulants, [...] MAVRAKANAS, Thomas, et al. Direct oral anticoagulants: efficacy and safety in patient subgroups. Swiss Medical Weekly, 2015, vol. 145, p. w14081


The Cdc25 dual‐specificity phosphatases control progression through the eukaryotic cell division cycle by activating cyclin‐dependent kinases. Cdc25 A regulates entry into S‐phase by dephosphorylating Cdk2, it cooperates with activated oncogenes in inducing transformation and is overexpressed in several human tumors. DNA damage or DNA replication blocks induce phosphorylation of Cdc25 A and its subsequent degradation via the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway. Here we have investigated the regulation of Cdc25 A in the cell cycle. We found that Cdc25 A degradation during mitotic exit and in early G1 is mediated by the anaphase‐promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C)Cdh1 ligase, and that a KEN‐box motif in the N‐terminus of the protein is required for its targeted degradation. Interestingly, the KEN‐box mutated protein remains unstable in interphase and upon ionizing radiation exposure. Moreover, SCF (Skp1/Cullin/F‐box) inactivation using an interfering Cul1 mutant accumulates and stabilizes Cdc25 A. The presence of Cul1 and Skp1 in Cdc25 A immunocomplexes suggests a direct involvement of SCF in Cdc25 A degradation during interphase. We propose that a dual mechanism of regulated degradation allows for fine tuning of Cdc25 A abundance in response to cell environment.


Background: Annual influenza immunisation (FI) is recommended for people living with HIV (PLWH) in the UK but HIV services do not receive specific funding for this, whereas GP practices and pharmacies do. High uptake of FI requires services that are easy to access. We explored behaviour and attitudes towards the provision of FI amongst PLWH in the UK. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of uptake of influenza immunisation, services used and patient attitudes towards FI in a metropolitan HIV care service. Results: 209 individuals responded to the questionnaire of whom 171 (81%) were aware of the recommendation for annual influenza immunisation for PLWH. 136 (65%) had received FI; 23 (11%) planned to do so and 40 (24%) did not want to be immunised. Of those immunised, 71 (54%) received this in their GP practice, 31(23%) in their HIV care service, 10 (8%) at a pharmacy and 24 (18%) elsewhere. Of the 33 individuals who did not plan to have FI this year, 28 (85%) reported that this was because they did not want it, 3 (9%) indicated that they did not know where to get it and 2 (6%) reported allergy to the products used. When asked if they would be able to receive the FI at their GP practice, 109/153 (73%) of respondents reported that they would be prepared to do this. Of the 45 who reported that they could not receive FI at their GP practice, 36 (80%) reported that they would prefer it to be given in their HIV service. Conclusion: We found high levels of awareness of the need for FI, and reasonable uptake. Most immunisations were provided by GP practices, although one-quarter prefer to be immunised in their HIV care service. Resources for influenza immunisation of HIV positive individuals should facilitate patient choice.


Antagonists of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) were investigated as a means of preventing premature birth. Five ligand-derived pharmacophore models of the CRH-R1 receptor were generated using Catalyst®. Analysis of these models revealed the most important features to be a hydrogen bond acceptor, located on one of the nitrogens of a heterocyclic ring, a 7i-stacking feature, located on an aryl ring and three hydrophobic aliphatic features, one about the hydrophobic chain of a tertiary nitrogen and the other two in the 2and 4-positions of an aryl ring. The Series la pharmacophore model was the most statistically valid model generated, having the highest null-total cost difference, generated from a large structurally diverse training set. Preliminary exclusion volume models were generated. Database mining was performed yielding twelve compounds as potential CRH-R1 inhibitors, however, none of these compounds showed significant activity. A preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis was performed in an attempt to investigate omissions from studies on the cunent range of antagonists. This involved the synthesis and biological testing of 42 aminopyrimidine derivatives, 31 of which were new structures. This study suggested that the anilino nitrogen, the aromatic ring and the nitrogen in the pyrimidine ring adjacent to the anilino group are all required for activity. In order to generate a more thorough analysis all the compounds from this series need to be tested. A rigid scaffold and a series of derivatives were designed via de novo design methodologies using the pharmacophore models of the CRH-R1 receptor. Through the use of metathesis chemistry to generate a spiro centre, the synthesis of the scaffold and


This paper analyzes an abstract two-level algorithm for hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) methods in a unified fashion. We use an extended version of the Xu-Zikatanov (X-Z) identity to derive a sharp estimate of the convergence rate of the algorithm, and show that the theoretical results also apply to weak Galerkin (WG) methods. The main features of our analysis are twofold: one is that we only need the minimal regularity of the model problem; the other is that we do not require the triangulations to be quasi-uniform. Numerical experiments are provided to confirm the theoretical results.


Plasmas with an internal transport barrier (ITB) were heated with a second-harmonic ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) minority heating during the reversed magnetic shear (RS) experiments in JT-60U. In order to control the central particle fuelling, the input power of the neutral beam injection (NBI) heating during ICRF heating was scanned shot-by-shot. The electron temperature gradient around the ITB increased with the total input power. Steeper gradients were obtained with additional ICRF heating by avoiding collapses induced by the steep pressure gradient. The difference of the time derivative at the ICRF injection timing indicated a fast ion loss of about 40% during the RS operation. The density gradient was increased with the central fuelling by the NBI heating and the shoulder position of the slope at the ITB moved outward with the particle fuelling. The particle confinement time at the ITB increased with the central particle fuelling while the particle confinement time of the low-fuelling discharges were similar to that of the normal shear L-mode discharge.


In this paper, the end-to-end bit error performance of a dual-hop (DH) energy harvesting (EH) amplify-and-forward/decode-and-forward (AF/DF) system is investigated. In this system, the source communicates with the destination over an intermediate relay when the direct link between the source and the destination is in deep fade. The channels are assumed to be exposed to Nakagami- $m$  fading and all nodes are equipped with one antenna. The relay uses power splitting (PS) and time switching (TS) relaying protocols to harvest energy and uses it to forward the decoded signal or to transmit the amplified version of the received signal to the destination. The bit error probabilities of the considered DH-AF and DH-DF systems are analytically derived for both EH protocols and their performances are comparatively evaluated. Moreover, a system optimization is performed to maximize the bit error rate (BER) performance. For the TS mode, a list of mixture of modulations is provided for different spectral efficiency values and different time allocation parameters. Our comprehensive results on the BER performance of AF- and DF-aided DH networks with EH in the relay, provide basic guidelines for the design of the future DH-EH systems.


This paper combines quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate assumptions underlying return migration programs in Senegal. More specifically, the objective is first, to study the sociodemographic characteristics of return migrants to Dakar and the determinants and motives of return migration. Secondly, we explore the reinsertion of return migrants to Dakar. Finally, we examine the coherence between return migration and reinsertion programs and the sociodemographic characteristics and determinants of returns and reinsertion to Dakar. The quantitative data for this study comes from the MAFE survey (Migration between Africa and Europe) implemented in 2008, which collected data both at household and individual level at origin (Senegal). Life-histories were also collected in European destination countries (France, Spain, and Italy). The qualitative analysis is based on semi-structured interviews conducted in the region of Dakar during spring and autumn 2009, with institutional actors and return migrants, beneficiaries and non beneficiaries of return programs. The first part examines the profile and reintegration experiences of return migrants in the region of Dakar through quantitative and qualitative analysis. The second part of the study identifies key hypotheses and objectives underlying return and reinsertion programs through a qualitative analysis. This will allow us to contrast the policy objectives and perceptions as formulated in the return and reinsertion programs as well as in the institutional discourse on migration with the profile and reintegration experiences of return migrants in the region of Dakar. This study contributes to the better understanding of return migration in the context of Sub-saharan Africa. It also gives incites for the assessment of programs and policies put in place to enhance return migration.


For designers concerned with social and spatial justice, it is necessary to expand the context of landscape work beyond a site's physical and historic narratives to include the context and conditions of the people laboring at the site itself. This involves considering the devaluation of manual labor and the ethnic division of labor evident in the production of landscape architecture and naturalized through capitalism. Attention is drawn to the embeddedness of undocumented, migrant labor in the construction and maintenance of landscapes and the discipline's role in the construction and maintenance of unsustainable, precarious labor regimes. Visual representation, as a major component of professional jurisdiction, plays a critical role in either propagating or grappling with these ethical dilemmas. Landscape architectural representations function both practically and discursively, ordering the construction of the physical environment and building the philosophical space for design. This essay suggests that the transformative power of representation can be operationalized to foment a broad social representation of the many Latinx, immigrant workers who contribute to the creation and maintenance of landscape architecture. This would allow landscape architects to work toward repositioning and revaluing the contributions of these workers by reaffirming the social connection between design and labor, affirming a disciplinary ethic of process and sustainability, and influencing the governing structures and everyday practice of the discipline.


We present a multisensory method for estimating the transformation of a mobile phone between two images taken from its camera. Pose estimation is a necessary step for applications such as 3D reconstruction and panorama construction, but detecting and matching robust features can be computationally expensive. In this paper we propose a method for combining the inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) of a mobile phone with its camera to provide a fast and accurate pose estimation. We use the inertial based pose to warp two images into the same perspective frame. We then employ an adaptive FAST feature detector and image patches, normalized with respect to illumination, as feature descriptors. After the warping the images are approximately aligned with each other so the search for matching key-points also becomes faster and in certain cases more reliable. Our results show that by incorporating the inertial sensors we can considerably speed up the process of detecting and matching key-points between two images, which is the most time consuming step of the pose estimation.


Purpose: To assess the preliminary effects of a new course entitled Freshman 5 to Thrive/COPE Healthy Lifestyles on the cognitive beliefs, knowledge, mental health outcomes, healthy lifestyle choices, physical activity, and retention of college freshmen. Data sources: Measures included demographics, nutrition knowledge, healthy lifestyle beliefs, healthy lifestyle perceived difficulty, healthy lifestyle choices, Beck Youth Inventories‐II (anxiety, depression, anxiety, and destructive behavior), step count via pedometer, and college retention. Conclusions: The experimental COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) group had greater intentions to live a healthy lifestyle (p = .02) versus the comparison group. COPE students also significantly increased their physical activity (p = .003) from baseline to postintervention and had a higher college retention rate than students who did not take the course. In addition, there was a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms in COPE students whose baseline scores were elevated. Implications for practice: The Freshman 5 to Thrive Course is a promising intervention that can be used to enhance healthy lifestyle behaviors and improve mental health outcomes in college freshmen.