Living a long lasting self-dependent and self-determined life is not a mere selfish aim, but becomes an economical need in our ageing societies. Knowledge about the current state of health and personal risks is necessary for informed and healthy decisions in every day life. Due to recent developments health enabling technologies are on the horizon allowing everyone to access one's own personal state of health along with associated risks and recommendations as well as reminders for behavioural changes. Increase of computational power along with the miniaturisation of electronic components and new developments in sensor technology allow for the ubiquitous deployment of sensors for health related parameters. Based on literature reviews and experiences from ongoing projects a categorization of sensors for health-related parameters is provided. Examples for the combination of sensors to monitor an individual state of health based on relevant diseases are presented. The problems arising with the expected amounts of data are discussed and data stream management systems are introduced as a possible way to address the problem. The growing field of sensor networks for health related parameters needs to address the problem of configurable and adaptable analysis of resulting data, preferable in a distributed fashion.


Abstract A comparison of the influence of different runner designs on the mechanical properties of aluminium castings has shown that filtered rectangular runners (FRRs) yield aluminium castings with higher and more reliable mechanical properties than the conventional unfiltered rectangular runners. Unfiltered vortex flow runners have also been shown to improve the reliability of the modulus of rupture of cast aluminium alloys over unfiltered rectangular runners. In the present paper, experimental results of a comparative study on the effect of the unfiltered vortex flow and FRR designs on the tensile strength of permanent mould aluminium castings are reported. The results show that an FRR yields castings with higher and more reliable tensile strengths than the unfiltered vortex flow runner. Castings poured into a mould with an FRR had strengths between 269 and 291 MPa and a Weibull modulus of 50·2 while castings poured into the vortex flow runner had strengths between 255 and 280 MPa and a Weibull modulus of 40·3.


Egg incubation temperature controls sexual differentiation of the gonads in the saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus. Embryos incubated at 30°C develop ovaries and hatch as females while most embryos incubated at 32–32.5°C develop testes and hatch as males. Several lines of evidence suggest that estrogen is involved in gonadal sex differentiation in crocodilians and other reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). In vivo autoradiography was used here to identify sites of 3H-estradiol uptake in the urogenital tissues of C. porosus embryos incubated at 30°C (female-producing) and at 32.5°C (predominantly male-producing). During the period of gonadal differentiation (developmental stage 23), 3H-estradiol was specifically concentrated in the gonads of presumptive females at 30°C and presumptive males at 32.5°C. Binding was localised primarily in the medulla of the gonad in both sexes, with little or no uptake in the cortex. No uptake was detected in the adjoining adrenal glands, at either temperature, although some uptake was observed in the mesonephros at the female temperature (30°C). No specific binding of estradiol by the gonads was found prior to (stage 19) or after (stage 28) the period of gonadal differentiation. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that estrogen binding sites are present in the gonads of both sexes during a specific period of embryogenesis, which coincides with the time of gonadal sex differentiation. Furthermore, these observations suggest that the role of estrogen in TSD is not mediated through differential uptake of the steroid by presumptive ovaries and testes. It is therefore hypothesised that estrogen synthesis is temperature-sensitive, rather than estrogen binding by the gonad. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


We measured lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in blood samples from control subjects and patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) in Taiwan. We found significant differences (P < 0.01) in the concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), apolipoprotein AI (ApoAI), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), and lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)]. Concentrations of HDLC < 350 mg/L, ApoAI < 900 mg/L, ApoB > 800 mg/L, and Lp(a) > 200 mg/L occurred, respectively, 2.8, 5.2, 1.7, and 2.3 times more frequently in the patients than in the control group. If one considers HDLC at < 350 mg/L, ApoAI at < 900 mg/L, ApoB at > 800 mg/L, and Lp(a) at > 200 mg/L as separate risk factors for CAD, the ratio of individual patients to control subjects having 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0 risk factors was [symbol: see text] 9.4, 2.1, 0.2, 0.2, respectively. Individuals displaying three or more risk factors were found 15 times more frequently in the CAD group than in the control group. These risk factors may be used clinically for the prediction and prevention of CAD in the general population.


Background

Neonatal mortality has been reported as a major societal health menace across the globe. Hence, this study, which adopted a hospital-based cross-sectional type of experimental research design, aimed at examining the clinical indication of some selected cardiopulmonary and anthropometric indices as key predictive clinical biomarkers for neonatal survival. The subjects were divided into three groups; experimental Group 1 consisted of 80 pre-term neonates within 28 weeks; experimental Group 2 consisted of 80 pre-term neonates within 33 weeks; and the control group, which consisted of 80 apparently healthy, term neonates. For each subject selected, cardio-pulmonary parameters and anthropometric variables were obtained daily and compared. ANOVA, correlation coefficients, and linear regression were used to compare statistical measures. A discrimination accuracy test of previous records using cut points available from previous models was conducted for ease of estimating the possibility of neonatal survival from assayed variables.
Results

Following data collection, sorting, and analysis, the study found a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05) in average systolic blood pressure (SBP) values of preterm neonates when compared with term neonates. This, however, was the reverse for DBP, which was proved to have increased in preterm neonates compared to term neonates. The study also observed a statistically significant decrease (p < 0.05) in RR and OSL levels of preterm neonates compared to term neonates.
Conclusion

In conclusion, cardiopulmonary and anthropometric status could be useful predictive biomarkers in clinical trials to provide insight into the extent of compromise in newborn health. This will help to minimize the death of neonates by ensuring a better treatment protocol/regimen is given. A corroborative study with an event-driven approach that assays more molecular or other non-physiological variables is recommended.


The objectives of this paper are to study the impact of liberalisation on trade deficits and current accounts of developing countries. It is expected that trade liberalisation would promote economic growth from the supply side by leading to a more efficient use of resources, by encouraging competition, and by increasing the flow of ideas and knowledge across national boundaries. Trade liberalisation could lead to faster import growth than export growth and hence the supply side benefits may be offset by the unsustainable balance of payments position. This study uses panel data of 42 countries (both time-series and cross-section dimension) to estimate the effect of trade liberalisation and growth on trade balance while controlling for other factors such as income terms of trade. The major finding of the study is that trade liberalisation promotes growth in most cases, (Part 1 of this study) the growth itself has a negative impact on trade balance and this in turn could have negative impacts on growth through deterioration in trade balance and adverse terms of trade. Our conclusion is that trade liberalisation could constrain growth through adverse impact on balance of payments.


Anthropogenic heat and modified landscapes raise air and surface temperatures in urbanized areas around the globe. This phenomenon is widely known as an urban heat island (UHI). Previous UHI studies, and specifically those based on remote sensing data, have not included cities north of 60°N. A few in situ studies have indicated that even relatively small cities in high latitudes may exhibit significantly amplified UHIs. The UHI characteristics and factors controlling its intensity in high latitudes remain largely unknown. This study attempts to close this knowledge gap for 28 cities in northern West Siberia (NWS). NWS cities are convenient for urban intercomparison studies as they have relatively similar cold continental climates, and flat, rather homogeneous landscapes. We investigated the UHI in NWS cities using the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) MOD 11A2 land surface temperature (LST) product in 8-day composites. The analysis reveals that all 28 NWS cities exhibit a persistent UHI in summer and winter. The LST analysis found differences in summer and winter regarding the UHI effect, and supports the hypothesis of seasonal differences in the causes of UHI formation. Correlation analysis found the strongest relationships between the UHI and population (log P). Regression models using log P alone could explain 65–67% of the variability of UHIs in the region. Additional explanatory power—at least in summer—is provided by the surrounding background temperatures, which themselves are strongly correlated with latitude. The performed regression analysis thus confirms the important role of the surrounding temperature in explaining spatial–temporal variation of UHI intensity. These findings suggest a climatological basis for these phenomena and, given the importance of climatic warming, an aspect that deserves future study.


Significant improvements in incident photon-to-current efficiencies can be obtained by covering inorganic semiconductors with ultrathin alumina films and sensitizing them with adsorbed dye molecules. The anchoring mode of the latter to the substrate affects the charge transport between the dye and the electrode via tunneling, and consequently, the device efficiency. In this work, we employ X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS and UPS) for a comparative study of the adsorption of three rhenium and two ruthenium organometallic dyes, one of each being ionic, with different anchoring modes on single-crystalline ultrathin alumina films. Molecular monolayers were prepared by self-assembly from solution. Quantitative XPS analysis reveals higher surface densities for the Re dyes. Nearly stoichiometric coadsorption of counterions is observed for the ionic dyes. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for the Re dyes show that the most stable adsorption configurations exhibit the expected bonding via the dedicated anchoring groups (carboxyls or methylphosphonic acid), with an additional sulfur–aluminum bond for the dyes containing a thiocyanate ligand. The alignment of the occupied molecular levels with respect to the alumina valence band maximum, obtained for these geometries, follows the experimental trend in the UPS data and places the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs) close to the Fermi level of the systems, far inside the alumina band gap. Dynamical charge screening is found to be important for this type of system when comparing UPS and DFT results. This work provides a general guideline for the systematic characterization of related molecules on surfaces.


Clusters of microbubbles, represent probable sites of newly initiated DNA synthesis, were identified in nuclear DNA from Physarum polycephalum by using the electron microscope. Their presence is associated specifically with S-phase. Each microbubble corresponds in size to a replicating segment of DNA about 100-5000 nucleotide residues in length. The DNA structures containing microbubbles are metastable, and revert to native DNA in the presence of moderate concentrations of formamide used to prepare samples for electron microscopy. It is suggested that each cluster of microbubbles may correspond to a unit of replication (a replicon) in Physarum DNA.


BACKGROUND
It is unclear if the use of external cooling to treat fever contributes to better patient outcomes. Despite this, it is a common practice to treat febrile patients using external cooling methods alone or in combination with pharmacological antipyretics.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness and complications of external cooling methods in febrile adults in acute care settings.

INCLUSION CRITERIA
We included adults admitted to acute care settings and developed elevated body temperature.We considered any external cooling method compared to no cooling.We considered randomised control trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised trials and controlled trials with concurrent control groups SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched relevant published or unpublished studies up to October 2009 regardless of language. We searched major databases, reference lists, bibliographies of all relevant articles, and contacted experts in the field for additional studies. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts, and retrieved all potentially relevant studies.

CRITICAL APPRAISAL
Two reviewers independently conducted the assessment of methodological quality of included studies.

DATA ANALYSIS
The results of studies where appropriate was quantitatively summarised. Relative risks or weighted mean difference and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated using the random effects model in Review Manager 5. For each pooled comparison, heterogeneity was assessed using the chi-squared test at the 5% level of statistical significance, with I statistic used to assess the impact of statistical heterogeneity on study results. Where statistical summary was not appropriate or possible, the findings were summarised in narrative form.

RESULTS
We found six RCTs that compared the effectiveness and complications of external cooling methods against no external cooling. There was wide variation in the outcome measures between the included trials. We performed meta-analyses on data from two RCTs totalling 356 patients testing external cooling combined with antipyretics versus antipyretics alone, for the resolution of fever. The results did not show a statistically significant reduction in fever (relative risk 1.12, 95% CI 0.95 to 1.31; P=0.35; I =0%).The evidence from four trials suggested that there was no difference in the mean drop in body temperature post treatment initiation, between external cooling and no cooling groups. The results of most other outcomes also did not demonstrate a statistically significant difference. However summarising the results of five trials consisting of 371 patients found that the external cooling group was more likely to shiver when compared to the no cooling group (relative risk 6.37, 95% CI 2.01 to 20.11; P=0.61; I =0%).Overall this review suggested that external cooling methods (whether used alone or in combination with pharmacologic methods) were not effective in treating fever among adults admitted to acute care settings. Yet they were associated with higher incidences of shivering. These results should be interpreted in light of the methodological limitations of available trials.

IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE
Given the current available evidence, the routine use of external cooling methods to treat fever in adults may not be warranted until further evidence is available. They could be considered for patients whose conditions are unable to tolerate even slight increase in temperature or who request for them. Whenever they are used, shivering should be prevented.

IMPLICATION FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Well-designed, adequately powered, randomised trials comparing external cooling methods against no cooling are needed.


AIM
  This article presents a discussion of nursing education development in the People's Republic of China in its historical, economic and sociopolitical contexts.

BACKGROUND
  China has a population of 1·3 billion with about 2·18 million nurses. With the recent surging economic and social development in China, nursing education has undergone transformation changes in the past two decades.

DATA SOURCES
  Online bibliographical databases from 1990 to 2010 were searched including CINAHL, MEDLINE, Wan Fang Data and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure. Search terms included nursing education, China and development.

METHODS
  Thematic analysis and narrative synthesis were used to identify and report themes from literature.

RESULTS
  Database searches yielded 1674 papers, and 34 met the inclusion criteria for review. The standard of nursing education varies greatly in different parts of China, because of its huge size and population, with pre-registration programmes offered at the secondary, associate degree and baccalaureate level. Multi-level nursing education is one of the major barriers for professional development. There is a need to upgrade the pre-registration education to at least associate degree level. There is also a need to enhance graduate nursing education at master and doctoral level to prepare advanced practice nurses, nurse scientists and nursing faculty. conclusion:  The challenges for nursing education development in China are echoed and encountered in many parts of the world. The experience in China and the lessons learned would be relevant to developing countries. Nursing in China must continue to develop in parallel to international trends. Promoting communication and maintaining international links are important for the global development of nursing practice.


Permanent deformation (i.e., rutting) is one of the major distresses in asphalt pavements, and it consists of irrecoverable deformation due to viscoplastic flow and viscofracture fatigue damage. The mechanisms of rutting have not been well addressed due to the complexities of asphalt mixture including (a) distinctions between compression, extension, and tension; (b) rate and temperature dependence; (c) dilative volumetric change; (d) frictional material with cohesion; (e) inherent anisotropy due to preferential aggregates' orientation; (f) crack-induced anisotropy due to crack growth; (g) strain hardening during viscoplastic accumulation; and (h) strain softening during viscofracture evolution. In this project, all of the aforementioned fundamentals of asphalt mixtures were simultaneously characterized by a comprehensive viscoplastic-fracture mechanistic model, which was incorporated with (a) a modified effective stress to consider the inherent anisotropy and the crack-induced anisotropy due to viscofracture cracking in compression; (b) a smooth and convex Generalized Drucker-Prager (GD-P) yield surface; (c) a non-associated viscoplastic flow rule; (d) a rate- and temperature-dependent strain hardening rule; and (e) a viscofracture evolution that was modeled by an anisotropic damage density-based pseudo J-integral Paris' law. The model parameters were related to fundamental material properties that were measurable and understandable for civil engineers. A systemic testing protocol including five individual test methods were proposed to determine the model parameters and material properties. The test protocol was demonstrated to be efficient, as one asphalt mixture could be completely characterized within 1 day. The GD-P yield surface model was validated by octahedral shear strength tests at different normal and confining stresses. The GD-P model was able to characterize the full range of the internal friction angles from 0 to 90 degrees. In contrast, the widely used Extended Drucker-Prager (ED-P) model can only be used for a material that has an internal friction angle less than 22 degrees due to the convexity criterion of the yield surface.


International large-scale assessments (ILSA) –like e.g. PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS, etc.– have obtained a high worldwide popularity among researchers to study students' academic achievement. Nevertheless, in spite of their recently acquired relevance, there are few studies which really account for the complex survey and test designs that they present and follow the technical procedures suggested by their developers. The current study intends to provide researchers with a comprehensive explanation on how these databases should be dealt with and the drawbacks of not employing the recommended procedures. Furthermore, we also alert about the use of methodologies which would not be adequate in the context of these studies, as the common use of student fixed effects. Hence, the main goal of this research is to provide some kind of 'good practices guide' which can be a quick reference to researchers.


: The objective of the study was to evaluate the walking ability and the energy cost of walking in patients before and after total hip replacement. The oxygen intake and the maximum walking speed were measured immediately before and 6 months after operation in 25 patients. Although the oxygen intake did not change significantly in most patients it was decreased in those patients who before surgery had had the worst walking capacity. The average maximum walking speed almost doubled in the 25 patients.


At 2.27 a.m., on 5 March 2021, an Mw 7.3 earthquake occurred approximately 100 km off the East Cape of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. This earthquake was felt across the entire country, including in the capital city of Wellington and the surrounding region. Previous work reports varied levels of tsunami evacuation behavior for natural warnings from earthquake shaking. To further explore this behavior, we surveyed residents of the Wellington region about their evacuation decisions following the 5 March East Cape earthquake, their motivations for evacuating or not evacuating, and their immediate information needs. Approximately one-third of those who felt the earthquake, and who were in a tsunami hazard zone, self-evacuated, similar to previous findings following a larger, closer earthquake in 2016. Reasons for evacuating immediately were evenly split over specific awareness of the National Emergency Management Agency's "Long or strong, get gone" tsunami evacuation advice, general knowledge that earthquakes can trigger tsunami, and social influences. Among those who did not evacuate, common reasons included not receiving an official warning and not believing that the earthquake was strong enough to generate a tsunami. Most people sought information from GeoNet, an official provider of earthquake information, though civil defense and emergency management sources were less used than mainstream news and social media. Along with information about tsunami risk, people tended to seek or want general information about earthquake characteristics such as location and size. Overall, the findings suggest that current public education efforts to encourage people to recognize and act on natural warnings (i.e., earthquake shaking) rather than waiting for official advice should be continued, and that consideration should be given to encouraging the use of official information sources.


We consider structures which have rules for completion such as balanced incomplete block designs, Latin squares, Rooms squares, F-squares, Youden squares, regular graphs, colourings, finite geometries and difference sets. In particular we are concerned with the problem of unique completion of structures given partial information. If the partial structure can be uniquely completed then this partial structure together with the rules contains the same information as the final structure. In this paper, we study the information inherent in partial Room squares, where it is not possible to uniquely complete the square. We study the influence and power of parts of the partial square on the unique completion of larger partial squares containing those parts. That part of Room square, called the strong box, which is inaccessible to all the q-subsets of a critical set may be thought to contain the secret information. We study the size of the secret which will be used to model secret sharing schemes.


Numerical models solving the full 2‐D shallow water equations (SWEs) have been increasingly used to simulate overland flows and better understand the transient flow dynamics of flash floods in a catchment. However, there still exist key challenges that have not yet been resolved for the development of fully dynamic overland flow models, related to (1) the difficulty of maintaining numerical stability and accuracy in the limit of disappearing water depth and (2) inaccurate estimation of velocities and discharges on slopes as a result of strong nonlinearity of friction terms. This paper aims to tackle these key research challenges and present a new numerical scheme for accurately and efficiently modeling large‐scale transient overland flows over complex terrains. The proposed scheme features a novel surface reconstruction method (SRM) to correctly compute slope source terms and maintain numerical stability at small water depth, and a new implicit discretization method to handle the highly nonlinear friction terms. The resulting shallow water overland flow model is first validated against analytical and experimental test cases and then applied to simulate a hypothetic rainfall event in the 42 km2 Haltwhistle Burn, UK.


It is generally expected that immigrants do not fare as well as the native-born in the U.S. labor market. The literature also documents that Blacks experience lower labor market outcomes than Whites. This paper innovates by studying the interaction between race and immigration. The study compares the labor market outcomes of four racial groups in the United States (Whites, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics) interacted with their foreign born status, using the Integrated Public Use Micro Data Series data for the 2000 Census. Among women and for labor market outcomes such as labor force participation, employment, and personal income, the foreign born are doing worse than the native born from the same racial background, with the exception of Blacks. Among men, for labor force participation and employment, foreign-born Blacks are doing better than native Blacks. The paper tests different possible explanations for this"reversal"of the advantage of natives over immigrants among Blacks. It considers citizenship, ability in English, age at and time since arrival in the United States, as well as neighborhood effects, but concludes that none of these channels explains or modifies the observed reversal.


Retinal extracts have been prepared from dark-adapted mudsuckers by treatment of retinal tissue or of isolated outer segments of the visual cells with digitonin solution. The extracts were examined spectrophotometrically and found to absorb light maximally between the wave lengths of 488 and 510 mµ, depending on the proportion of yellow impurities and light-sensitive pigment present. This photosensitive pigment was shown to be homogeneous by partial bleaching of the extracts with monochromatic light of various wave lengths from 390 to 660 mµ. The mudsucker pigment was specifically demonstrated not to be a mixture of rhodopsin and porphyropsin; the adequacy of the method used to analyze such mixtures was shown by performing a control experiment with an artificial mixture of bullfrog rhodopsin and carp porphyropsin. Comparison of the hydroxylamine difference spectrum and of the absorption maximum of the purest retinal extract located the mudsucker photosensitive pigment maximum at 512 ± 1 mµ. Extraction of retinal tissue with a fat solvent after exposure to white light gave a preparation which after the addition of antimony chloride reagent developed the absorption band maximal near 664 mµ, which is characteristic of retinene1. If an hour intervened between exposure of the retinal tissue to light and extraction of the carotenoid, the antimony trichloride test gave a color band maximal at 620 mµ, characteristic of vitamin A1. No evidence of retinene2 or vitamin A2 was obtained. The euryhaline mudsucker has, therefore, a photosensitive retinal pigment with an absorption maximum halfway between the peaks of rhodopsins and of porphyropsins and belonging to the retinene1 system characteristic of rhodopsins. The pigment is therefore named a retinene1 pigment 512 of the mudsucker, Gillichthys mirabilis. It is uncertain whether this type of photosensitive pigment will be found in other euryhaline fishes.


The research presented in this thesis aims to address the issue of undiagnosed diabetes cases. The current state of knowledge is that one in seventy people in the United Kingdom are living with undiagnosed diabetes, and only one in a hundred people could identify the main signs of diabetes. Some of the tools available for predicting diabetes are either too simplistic and/or rely on superficial data for inference. On the positive side, the National Health Service (NHS) are improving data recording in this domain by offering health check to adults aged 40 - 70. Data from such programme could be utilised to mitigate the issue of superficial data; but also help to develop a predictive tool that facilitates a change from the current reactive care, onto one that is proactive. This thesis presents a tool based on a machine learning ensemble for predicting diabetes onset. Ensembles often perform better than a single classifier, and accuracy and diversity have been highlighted as the two vital requirements for constructing good ensemble classifiers. Experiments in this thesis explore the relationship between diversity from heterogeneous ensemble classifiers and the accuracy of predictions through feature subset selection in order to predict diabetes onset. Data from a national health check programme (similar to NHS health check) was used. The aim is to predict diabetes onset better than other similar studies within the literature. For the experiments, predictions from five base classifiers (Sequential Minimal Optimisation (SMO), Radial Basis Function (RBF), Naive Bayes (NB), Repeated Incremental Pruning to Produce Error Reduction (RIPPER) and C4.5 decision tree), performing the same task, are exploited in all possible combinations to construct 26 ensemble models. The training data feature space was searched to select the best feature subset for each classifier. Selected subsets are used to train the classifiers and their predictions are combined using k-Nearest Neighbours algorithm as meta-classifier. Results are analysed using four performance metrics (accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and AUC) to determine (i) if ensembles always perform better than single classifier; and (ii) the impact of diversity (from heterogeneous classifiers) and accuracy (through feature subset selection) on ensemble performance. At base classification level, RBF produced better results than the other four classifiers with 78%accuracy, 82% sensitivity, 73% specificity and 85% AUC. A comparative study shows that RBF model is more accurate than 9 ensembles, more sensitive than 13 ensembles, more specific than 9 ensembles; and produced better AUC than 25 ensembles. This means that ensembles do not always perform better than its constituent classifiers. Of those ensembles that performed better than RBF, the combination of C4.5, RIPPER and NB produced the highest results with 83% accuracy, 87% sensitivity, 79% specificity, and 86% AUC. When compared to the RBF model, the result shows 5.37% accuracy improvement which is significant (p = 0.0332). The experiments show how data from medical health examination can be utilised to address the issue of undiagnosed cases of diabetes. Models constructed with such data would facilitate the much desired shift from preventive to proactive care for individuals at high risk of diabetes. From the machine learning view point, it was established that ensembles constructed based on diverse and accurate base learners, have the potential to produce significant improvement in accuracy, compared to its individual constituent classifiers. In addition, the ensemble presented in this thesis is at least 1% and at most 23% more accurate than similar research studies found within the literature. This validates the superiority of the method implemented.


Previous studies have shown that Schwann cells (SCs) differentiate into myelin‐forming or ensheathing cells only under conditions which allow the deposition of basal lamina and extracellular collagen [Bunge (1993) Peripheral Neuropathy, pp. 299–316]. SC adhesion to basal lamina is mediated by β1 integrins and function blocking antibodies to β1 integrins inhibit myelination [Fernandez‐Valle et al. (1993) Development 119:867–880]. Recently, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a cytoplasmic non‐receptor tyrosine kinase, was found to mediate β1 integrin‐dependent signalling in a variety of cultured cell types adhering to ECM components such as fibronectin [reviewed in Schwartz et al. (1995) Ann. Rev. Cell Biol. 11:549–599; Ilic et al. (1997) J. Cell Sci. 110:401–407]. In the present study, we have determined more precisely the respective time courses of ECM deposition and myelination. In addition, we have studied by immunocytochemistry, immuno‐gold labelling, and electron microscopy the expression and subcellular localization of FAK in nondifferentiating SCs and in SCs differentiating into myelinating cells. We show that the development of basal lamina and extracellular collagen fibrils precedes by 3 days the appearance of the first myelin sheaths. FAK was detected by immunocytochemistry or immuno‐gold labelling only in SCs differentiating in the presence of ascorbic acid. Localization of FAK to the abaxonal plasma membrane was dependent upon ECM deposition. Cytochalasin D did not prevent or disrupt localization of FAK to the plasma membrane. These data support the possibility that FAK acts as an intermediate in the pathway by which basal lamina regulates SC differentiation.  Microsc. Res. Tech. 41:416–430, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and cardiovascular diseases, are considered among the most common and above all growing in our society, resulting in a major socio-economic burden [1]. The causes can be related, to external factors such as, environmental factors, ionising radiation exposure, chemical exposure, to endogenous factors, like inflammation, oxidative stress, vitamin deficiencies, smoking, ageing, or even other factors like following a pre-existing pathology such as stroke, diabetes, depression, tumour [2]. A patient with a neurodegenerative loses a large population of neural cells, leading to nervous system dysfunction [3]. Oxygen is essential for life, but it is also potentially dangerous. There is a complex system of production and control of the balance of oxygen and also of its reactive species, like hydroxyl radicals (• OH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide radicals (• O-2) and hypochlorite (ClO-). It has been observed that in neurodegenerative diseases there is an imbalance in the pro-oxidant / antioxidant homeostasis which leads to the production of a toxic excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is also called oxidative stress[1].


Evaluation of store separation experimentally is expensive; time consuming and dangerous as human risks are involved. This results in development of computational methods to simulate the store separation. Store separation studies include store separation simulation and determination of linear and angular displacements of store under the influence of complex and non-uniform flow field of parent aircraft. In order to validate the methodology, the unsteady CFD results, obtained by coupling six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) with flow solver, are compared with experimental results. Major trends are captured which are consistent with experimental results. Variation in store trajectory has been evaluated with different combinations of forward and rearward ejection forces. By increasing the magnitude of forward ejection force vertical displacement increases and store separates more safely from the wing. Moreover, effects of varying parent wing configuration on store trajectory has also been analyzed by incorporation of leading-edge flaps (LEFs). Store always separates in nose down condition due to LEFs which increases vertical displacement of store and thus safety related to store separation is enhanced.


Reports an error in "Productive and counterproductive job crafting: A daily diary study" by Evangelia Demerouti, Arnold B. Bakker and Jonathon R. B. Halbesleben (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Advanced Online Publication, Mar 23, 2015, np). There was an error in the results. In the Results section, under the subheading Testing Hypotheses, the parenthetical text referring to "lower bound and upper bound" for reducing demands to work engagement through workload in the second paragraph and for reducing demands on task performance through day-level workload and work engagement in the sixth paragraph respectively should have read as follows: (lower bound = -.040 to upper bound = -.002) (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2015-12645-001.) The present study aims to uncover the way daily job crafting influences daily job performance (i.e., task performance, altruism, and counterproductive work behavior). Job crafting was conceptualized as "seeking resources," "seeking challenges," and "reducing demands" and viewed as strategies individuals use to optimize their job characteristics. We hypothesized that daily job crafting relates to daily job demands and resources (work pressure and autonomy), which consequently relate to daily work engagement and exhaustion and ultimately to job performance. A sample of 95 employees filled in a quantitative diary for 5 consecutive working days (n occasions = 475). We predicted and found that daily seeking resources was positively associated with daily task performance because daily autonomy and work engagement increased. In contrast, daily reducing demands was detrimental for daily task performance and altruism, because employees lower their daily workload and consequently their engagement and exhaustion, respectively. Only daily seeking challenges was positively (rather than negatively) associated with daily counterproductive behavior. We conclude that employee job crafting can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)


Anoxic processes can effectively control odour and corrosion in sewer networks. However, the absence of fundamental knowledge on the kinetics of anoxic transformation of sewage prevents the engineering applications of anoxic control in sewers. This paper focuss on a basic understanding of the anoxic transformations needed for a conceptual simulation of the water phase processes. Experiments conducted in batch reactors have shown that nitrite builds up in wastewater during denitrification. Part of the nitrate-reducing biomass is capable of utilizing nitrite after nitrate is depleted. Compared with aerobic transformation, anoxic processes have low values of maximum growth rate of the biomass and also a low endogenous respiration rate. Heterotrophic yield determined under anoxic conditions, at level of 0.25 mmol e-eq (mmol e-eq)(-1), accounted for less than 40% of the corresponding aerobic values.


Data from multibeam echosounders were used to implement segmentations and classifications of the seafloor, and measurements from underwater images and physical samples were used to relate segmentations and predictions to observed seafloor characteristics. Texture analysis, using local Fourier histogram (LFH) texture features, was applied to multibeam bathymetry data in unsupervised- and supervised-classification modes. Unsupervised classification of bathymetry using texture features produced segmentations that corresponded to known spatial distributions of seafloor sediments, but required arbitrary choices for some parameter values and, therefore, included potential bias. Supervised classification of bathymetric texture overcame bias related to arbitrarily-chosen parameters and produced classifications that corresponded well with identified seafloor habitats, but accuracy of supervised-classification results depended on detailed and accurately-georeferenced ground-truth data. The LFH texture feature classification technique, using only gridded bathymetric data, was generally effective for predicting spatial distributions of seafloor morphologies and habitat structure classes on a per-grid-cell basis and was robust to data noise. In some cases, different substrates had similar morphologies, and in these cases, texture alone was inadequate for discriminating habitats. Using acoustic backscatter strength in addition to texture or roughness sometimes facilitated discrimination of habitats with distinct substrates and similar morphologies. Microtopographical roughness influences high frequency acoustic scattering, and roughness measurements can facilitate modeling and interpretation of backscatter data. Spectra model parameters (slope and intercept) were calculated to describe roughness of seafloor microtopography in sediment profile images (SPI). SPI spectral-model parameters were consistent with published estimates for data from other devices such as stereophotographs, and values varied by sedimentary facies and bioturbational regime. Traditional methods of ground truthing were not always sufficient for characterizing attributes of features seen in shallow-water multibeam data. Seafloor video-image mosaics were used to characterize biogenic features and verify transitions between habitats and allowed descriptions of features that were not determinable from other imagery.


A large body of research has documented the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms, especially vasomotor symptoms, in breast cancer survivors and their impact on quality of life. However, urinary symptoms as part of the constellation of menopausal symptoms have received relatively little attention. Thus, less is known about the prevalence and severity of urinary symptoms in breast cancer survivors. The authors of this report conducted a systematic review of studies published between 1990 and 2010 to describe the prevalence and severity of urinary symptoms in breast cancer survivors. In total, 16 eligible studies that involved >2500 women were identified. The studies varied with respect to purpose, design, and nature of the samples included; the majority used the same definition and assessment approach for urinary symptoms. Prevalence rates for symptoms ranged from 12% of women reporting burning or pain on micturition to 58% reporting difficulty with bladder control. Although, in many studies, the largest percentage of women rated symptoms as mild, 23% reported severe symptoms. Symptoms appeared to adversely affect women's quality of life. The authors concluded that there is a need for additional research assessing the natural history of urinary symptoms using consensus definitions and validated measures in diverse populations. Nevertheless, this review suggested that clinicians should screen for urinary symptoms in breast cancer survivors and should offer treatment recommendations or make referrals as appropriate. Cancer 2012;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.


BACKGROUND
The diagnosis-related group-based prospective payment programme was introduced in Korea in 1997 as a pilot programme to control health spending. In July 2013, the programme was implemented throughout the nation. The aim of our study is to evaluate the relationship between quality of care and market competition following the introduction of the new payment system in Korea.

METHODS
We conduct an observational analysis using National Health Insurance claim data from 2011 to 2014. We analyse data on readmission within 30 days, length of stay, and number of outpatient visits for 1742 hospitals and 821 912 cases. We use a generalized estimating equation model to evaluate readmission within 30 days and number of outpatient visits and a multi-level regression model to assess length of stay.

RESULTS
Total readmission within 30 days is 10 727 (1.3%). High competition areas present a lower risk of readmission [odds ratio (OR): 0.95, P: 0.0277], a longer length of stay (1%, P < 0.0001), and an increased number of outpatient visits (Relative Risk: 1.11, P: 0.0011) as compared with moderate competition areas. Risk of readmission is higher in low competition areas as compared with moderate competition areas (OR: 1.21, P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION
The effects of the introduction of the new payment system differed by degree of market competition. Thus, evaluation about the effect of new payment system on hospital performance should be measured in combination with the degree of hospital market structure.


Clustering and prediction of sets of curves is an important problem in many areas of science and engineering. It is often the case that curves tend to be misaligned from each other in a continuous manner, either in space (across the measurements) or in time. We develop a probabilistic framework that allows for joint clustering and continuous alignment of sets of curves in curve space (as opposed to a fixed-dimensional feature-vector space). The proposed methodology integrates new probabilistic alignment models with model-based curve clustering algorithms. The probabilistic approach allows for the derivation of consistent EM learning algorithms for the joint clustering-alignment problem. Experimental results are shown for alignment of human growth data, and joint clustering and alignment of gene expression time-course data.


This paper examines the effects of decoupling policies on Greek cotton production. We estimate a system of cotton supply and input derived demand functions under the hypothesis that producers face uncertainty about prices. Using our estimation results we simulate the effects on cotton production under four alternative policy scenarios: the 'Old' CAP regime (i.e. the policy practiced until 2005), the Mid Term Review regime, a fully decoupled policy regime and a free trade-no policy scenario. Our results indicate that cotton production gradually decreases as more decoupled policies are adopted. Moreover, the fully decoupled payment is found to be non-production neutral since it indirectly affects producers' decisions through the wealth effect. Keywords— CAP, decoupling, uncertainty


Introduction: Chincha (Tamarindus indica Linn.) is indicated for the treatment of wounds in Indian system of medicine, however there is no experimental data related to its efficacy in wound healing potential thus the present study was undertaken to evaluate the wound healing potential of the cork and seed ash of Tamarindus indica Linn. in Wistar albino rats. Methods: The excision wound was made on the dorsal side of the rats measuring an area of 2cm. 2The animals were randomly divided into four different groups and treated with group specific drugs for 21 consecutive days. The number of days required for epithelialisation and percentage wound contraction was measured during the experimentation. The hydroxyproline estimation and histopathology was carried out in the healed skin. Results: The test drug treated groups showed significant reduction in the period of epithelialization and percentage wound contraction compared to normal control. The cork ash of Tamarindus indica Linn. has shown considerable increase in the % wound contraction (P<0.01) on 9th, 12th,18th and 21st ( P<0.05) post wounding day and seed ash has shown considerable increase in the % wound contraction on 18th(P<0.01) & 21st( P<0.05) day, as compared to control. The hydroxyproline content was increased in T. Indica cork treated group than T. Indica seed. The histopathalogical study revealed almost normal cytoarchitecture and complete re-epithelialization in test drug treated groups. Conclusion: The results suggest that T. indica cork and seed ash has significant wound healing potential and comparatively T. indica cork ash has significant wound healing activity than T. indica seed.


The objective of this chapter is to sum up the results of the monitoring of Croatia's accession to the European Union (EU). This is a project in which a number of authors have taken part, each of them wanting in his or her own area to draw the attention of the politicians, experts, the media and the public to the requirements of the EU, and the weaknesses and strengths of Croatia, and to offer their recommendations for a better and faster accession to the EU, as well as a better and faster development of both the economy and society. After an introduction in which stress is placed on the importance of institutions for the development of the economy and society, the second part starts off optimistically with the opinions of others concerning us, goes on pessimistically with EU views about itself and its own development, and in part three the results are summed up in terms of topics – macroeconomics, the budget deficit, poverty, inequality and social exclusion, the rule of law and the judiciary, governance and the public administration, consumer and environmental protection, and legal aspects of the protection of ethnic minorities, science and higher education, and social values. In the fourth part, there is consideration of what has changed in Croatia during the year since the printing of the previous book; in the fifth, the degree of Croatian preparedness to join the EU is discussed; in the sixth, recommendations are offered for as good an adjustment as possible; and in the seventh, conclusions. Very briefly, it can be concluded that Croatia is working hard at implementing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and at adjusting to EU requirements, but that a better implementation of regulations will be required, together with a more rapid establishment of new, and a better functioning of existing, institutions. Crucial in this respect are problems in the public administration, in conjunction with the establishment and strengthening of the institutions essential for market liberalisation. This project too shows, once again, that irrespective of developments within the EU itself and its attitude with respect to Croatia, the country needs to work on its own institutions, launch the necessary reforms as rapidly and thoroughly as possible, and achieve better results in knowledge and education; in addition, the active participation of all those involved in the process is also a matter of vital importance.


A spectral method which uses a gauge method, as opposed to a projection method, to decouple the computation of velocity and pressure in the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, is presented. Gauge methods decompose velocity into the sum of an auxilary field and the gradient of a gauge variable, which may, in principle, be assigned arbitrary boundary conditions, thus overcoming the issue of artificial pressure boundary conditions in projection methods. A lid-driven cavity flow is used as a test problem. A subtraction method is used to reduce the pollution effect of singularities at the top corners of the cavity. A Chebyshev spectral collocation method is used to discretize spatially. An exponential time differencing method is used to discretize temporally. Matrix diagonalization procedures are used to compute solutions directly and efficiently. Numerical results for the flow at Reynolds number Re = 1000 are presented, and compared to benchmark results. It is shown that the method, called the spectral gauge method, is straightforward to implement, and yields accurate solutions if Neumann boundary conditions are imposed on the gauge variable, but suffers from reduced convergence rates if Dirichlet boundary conditions are imposed on the gauge variable.


The warning given by Mr. Henderson and Dr. de Guti6rrezMahoney will, one hopes, save many unfortunate patients from the dangerous sequelae of lumbar puncture in certain circumstances. If the habit is also made of using a lateral radiograph of the skull as an adjunct to the ophthalmoscope not only will more patients be saved the danger of a pressure cone but more intracranial tumours will be diagnosed earlier.-I am, etc., London, W.. J. W. D. BULL.


We have studied conductivity and molecular weight obtained poly(2-ethanolaniline), P2EANi. P2EANi synthesized according to the best ratio of obtained molar of initiator to monomer at different reaction times. Then we measured the mass and conductivity of the obtained polymers in the best time of polymerization. Next, we repeated these reactions under different electric fields in the most appropriate time and measured the mass and conductivity of obtained polymers. As a result, intensity of the required electric field for polymerization was determined. After which the polymerization was carried out at the best electric field at different times. Finally, the best time and amount of the electric field for polymerization were determined. Moreover, we studied the doping of polymerization in the presence of an electric field by applying different dopants and other initiators. Then compared the obtained results to the results of a similar condition; but without the electric field. As a result we found the best  condition for the reaction was determined as follows; the P2EANi with a high molecular weight was synthesized under the electric field, Mw=193749 g/mol, with Mw/Mn=2.3. The conductivity of the black films oxidized by ammonium peroxydisulfate and doped with dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid cast from NMP was higher than 0.118 S/cm under 10 KV/Cm2 electric field and showed an enhanced resistance to aging. It can be concluded that polymers synthesized under electric field probably have better physical properties as a result of less branching and high electrical conductivity.

 Key words: Polymers, chemical synthesis, electrical conductivities, electric field.


The management of PP includes transvaginal sonography as the best method for the correct localization of a low-lying placenta. The next step is schedule the Cesarean section (CS), usually at 37 weeks, in order to reduce the possibility of bleeding with uterine contractions. However, emergency Cesarean section must be done at any time if bleeding appears massively. Objective: Evaluate the association between cervical length and the main outcomes of PP, in order to identify the cases with higher risk of emergency CS. Methods: We have analyzed retrospectively the data of our placenta previa cases, between 2007 and 2009. There have been a total of 39 cases and we disposed of cervical length measured transvaginally in 22 of them. Results: Cesarean section was made in an emergency situation due to massive bleeding in 38.5% of the cases, while the rest was made elective. Maternal complications were present in 33.3% in the emergency group vs 25% in the elective group. The emergency CS was made in a gestational mean age of 34.2 ± 2.17 weeks, vs 36.6 ± 0.92 weeks in the elective. Comparing cervical length between the main outcomes, no significantly differences between women with bleeding preceding CS (n=10) and those without bleeding (n=12) were found. Neither emergency CS (n=11) and elective cases (n=11) showed significantly differences. In contrast, comparing the measurement between CS before and after 34 completed weeks, we found significantly different means: 29.14 ± 5.87 mm (n = 7) vs 37.06 ± 7.67 mm (n = 15) with p = 0.018. Conclusions: According to these results, transvaginal sonographic cervical length is associated with a higher risk of CS before 34 weeks in PP, where more complications are found, as shown on available literature.


The stimulating Editorial by Datzmann et al . (1) suggests further considerations on the prognostic parameters for patients on veno venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) support. While VV ECMO is increasingly acknowledged as a life-saving therapeutic tool for refractory acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) especially in high volume and experienced centers, it is also is associated with elevated costs, resource, and complications (2) and appropriate risk stratification of candidate patients is necessary to recognize those more likely to benefit from VV ECMO (3). Moreover, in everyday practice, an objective risk assessment for refractory ARDS on ECMO support is a clinical need for intensivists also to provide relatives with information about the patient's condition.


Noise and motion artifacts in Positron emission tomography (PET) scans can interfere in diagnosis and result in inaccurate interpretations. PET gating techniques effectively reduce motion blurring, but at the cost of increasing noise, as only a subset of the data is used to reconstruct the image. Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) could complement gating techniques by correcting such noise. However, there is little research on the specific application of DCNNs to gated datasets, which present additional challenges that are not considered in these studies yet, such as the varying level of noise depending on the gate, and performance pitfalls due to changes in the noise properties between non-gated and gated scans. To extend the current status of artificial intelligence (AI) in gated-PET imaging, we present a post-reconstruction denoising approach based on U-Net architectures on cardiac dual-gated PET images obtained from 40 patients. To this end, we first evaluate the denoising performance of four different variants of the U-Net architecture (2D, semi-3D, 3D, Hybrid) on non-gated data to better understand the advantages of each type of model, and to shed more light on the factors to take in consideration when selecting a denoising architecture. Then, we tackle the denoising of gated-PET reconstructions, revising challenges and limitations, and propose two training approaches, which overcome the need for gated targets. Quantification results show that the proposed deep learning (DL) frameworks can successfully reduce noise levels while correctly preserving the original motionless resolution of the gates.


Full-waveform inversion (FWI) is considered an effective technique for building high-resolution velocity models by fitting observed seismology waveforms. When the observed waveforms lack low frequencies or when the starting model is dissimilar to the true model, FWI usually suffers from cycle-skipping problems. To mitigate this difficulty, we propose a new correlative objective function that matches the phase differences between the seismic-waveform intensities to provide a good starting model. The waveform intensity separates the frequency band of the original data into an ultralow-frequency part and a higher frequency part, even when the original data lacking in low-frequency information. As the low-frequency part of the intensity is less prone to the cycle-skipping problem, it can be used to build an initial model for FWI. Furthermore, the source wavelets, in practice, are estimated from the observed data, which may be inaccurate in amplitude, phase shift, and time delay. To mitigate the inaccurate-source problem, a Wiener filter is constructed to build a source-independent objective function. Applications to the Marmousi model and Chevron blind-test model demonstrate that the proposed method converges to an acceptable initial model for conventional FWI. It is highly efficient and insensitive to inaccurate source wavelets, including inaccurate amplitude, phase shift, and time delays.


Nowadays the economic processes in any world economy are carried out at a rapid pace. They have a strong influence on the activities of companies. In this regard, the electric power companies have faced the issue of increasing the efficiency of companies and reducing the degree of dependence on external factors. Moreover, the successful operation of the majority of modern branches of the national economy depends on the efficient and smooth performance of this business. The purpose of the study is to improve the financial stability indicators of electric power companies. The base of the conducted study includes both general scientific and empirical methods: analysis, synthesis, generalization, modeling, observation, description, measurement, and comparison and the case method, which allow broadening the authors' understanding of the financial stability of the business, proposing its main criteria, and studying the aspects of the financial stability of business exemplified by electric power companies. The study carried out by the authors shows that the financial stability of the country is inextricably linked to the financial stability of organizations. Therefore, they need to be evaluated jointly. The relationship between macroeconomic indicators and the financial stability of business is defined by the authors. The concept of financial stability at the macro and micro levels is generalized. The indicators of financial diagnostics of organizations, characterizing their financial stability have been revealed. A model has been developed that allows determining the degree of the financial stability of electric power companies. The proposed model enables the selection of the most stable and steadily functioning electric power companies out of the significant number of ones in conditions of the uncertainty of the external environment. The results obtained by the authors will give an opportunity to identify not only the most stable business in the electric power industry but also, as a consequence, to determine the most attractive business model that should be adapted to other regions to minimize the adverse effects of situations related to uncertainty.


Morphological errors are prevalent in adult second language production, particularly among learners whose first languages have less complex inflectional systems. Thus, U.S. learners of Russian can provide a testing ground for competing approaches to L2 morphological acquisition. This study utilizes the Russian Learner Corpus of Academic Writing (2017) to compare case and gender-marking error frequencies in timed versus untimed essays by advanced heritage and traditional L2 learners in Portland State University's Russian Language Flagship program.

It was predicted that higher error rates in timed compositions would support the position that advanced learners' morphological errors reflect processing difficulties under time pressure. However, such differences did not reach significance for either heritage or L2 learners; in the latter group, error rates were higher in students' untimed texts. These results could be interpreted as demonstrating representational deficits in interlanguage grammar, particularly in the L2 group. However, greater complexity (words per T-unit) of the untimed essays provides an alternative explanation for the higher untimed error rate among this group. The heritage group had lower overall case and gender-marking error rates than the L2 group, suggesting heritage learners are less likely to show evidence of possible representational deficits of nominal functional features in their interlanguage grammar.


The communities of brachyuran crabs living on soft bottoms off Ubatuba in SE Brazil were studied with respect to their structure, bathymetric distribution, composition, diversity and indices of similarity. The data were analyzed using multivariate techniques of classification and ordi- nation. Most of the individuals caught during summer were the swimming crab Portunus spinicarpus at the 35 m isobath, which contributed to the much-decreased diversity in this season and site. Multi- variate analysis indicated that the species were distributed according to depth and also in relation to environmental gradients.


Case study is a qualitative research approach useful for exploring, explaining and describing complex issues in their real life, natural context. As healthcare changes with advances in technology, treatments and demand, nursing practice has become increasingly complex. Contemporary use of case study in nursing and midwifery research has demonstrated its applicability as a unique and powerful approach to explore and understand these complexities. For some researchers however, the variation in case study approaches can be confusing. Drawing on the ideas of two leading case study methodologists, Yin and Stake, we present some of the fundamental steps that can enable a robust yet flexible research design.


Pharmaceutical products are widely consumed globally and are commonly found in wastewaters as a result of constant excretion and disposal into sewers. The present study proposes an efficient binary solvent dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (BS‐DLLME) method that was developed for preconcentration of 7 nervous system drug active compounds from aqueous media for their determination at trace levels by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. The drug analytes included 3 antidepressants, 2 antipsychotics, 1 antiepileptic, and 1 antidementia. Optimum conditions of the BS‐DLLME method were acquired by univariate optimization of parameters including type of binary solvents, ratio of binary solvents, type of disperser solvent, volume of binary solvents, and volume of disperser solvent. Detection and quantification limits were calculated in the range of 0.28 to 6.5 µg/L. Municipal wastewater, medical wastewater, synthetic domestic wastewater, and lake water were utilized as real samples in spike recovery experiments; and the results (94–106%) indicated the method's applicability and accuracy at quantifying the analytes in complex matrices. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1570‐1575. © 2021 SETAC


This dissertation studies routing in storage facilities with stackable unit loads with time as the objective function. In the storage facilities, orders need to be stored as well as picked and material handling vehicles can carry more than one unit load at a time if the unit load containers are stackable on each other. In the first part of this research where the number of unit loads the vehicle can carry is limited to two and only one unit load can be stored at a location, a mathematical model was developed to find optimal paths for multicommand operations to route the unit load handling vehicle that minimizes total travel time of the vehicle and unit load handling time. Time savings from the proposed model can be over 25% compared to the single unit load handling single command heuristics. Three heuristics were also developed that give sub optimal solutions, yet can be used to get quicker solutions for larger problems. Exploring further, routing in unit load storage facilities when the number of unit loads a vehicle can carry is not limited to two and when more than one unit load can be stored at a location is studied. A mixed integer linear programming model is developed and four route construction heuristics are presented to construct routes that minimizes the total time. The heuristic that constructs routes based on operating time time and starting from the locations with longest operating time provides best routes. Routing methods in temporary storage facilities where unit loads can be shipped to alternate destinations and have limited storage capacity and operation time is studied. A construction heuristic is proposed to make internal routing, storing, and reshipping decisions.


BACKGROUND
This mini review includes two case descriptions. It introduces the use of chicken egg yolk antibody (IgY) solutions in the prevention and cure of viral and bacterial infections. Application for the protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), rotavirus, and influenza viruses, as well as for the eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, caries, various enteric bacteria and other pathogens, and toxins have been developed. This approach is a fast, reliable, safe, and tested method for producing molecular shield and protection against emerging pathogens and epidemics. In the current pandemic situation caused by coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), this method of passive immunization could be applied for rapid protection against modifiable agents. The specific IgY antibodies start to accumulate into egg yolks about 3 weeks after the immunization of the chicken. The product can be collected safely, as the antigen is not found in the eggs. This method for microbial safety uses natural means and commonly used food substances, which have been tested and could be produced for both blocking epidemics and applying personalized medicine.


Objective Stent-assisted coiling on intracranial aneurysm has been considered as an effective technique and has made the complex aneurysms amenable to coiling. To achieve reconstruction of intracranial vessels with preservation of parent artery the use of stents has the greatest potential for assisted coiling. We report the results of our experiences in ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms using Y-stent coiling. Methods From October 2003 to October 2011, 12 patients (3 men, 9 women; mean age, 62.6) harboring 12 complex ruptured aneurysms (3 middle cerebral artery, 9 basilar tip) were treated by Y-stent coiling by using self-expandable intracranial stents. Procedural complications, clinical outcome, and initial and midterm angiographic results were evaluated. The definition of broad-necked aneurysm is neck diameter over than 4 mm or an aneurysm with a neck diameter smaller than 4 mm in which the dome/neck ratio was less than 2. Results In all patients, the aneurysm was successfully occluded with no apparent procedure-related complication. There was no evidence of thromboembolic complication, arterial dissection and spasm during procedure. Follow-up studies showed stable and complete occlusion of the aneurysm in all patients with no neurologic deficits. Conclusion The present study did show that the Y-stent coiling seemed to facilitate endovascular treatment of ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms. More clinical data with longer follow-up are needed to establish the role of Y-stent coiling in ruptured aneurysms.


An electrical experiment on the full-scale model is conducted. Distribution of temperature stress and strain for the cast-in-site concrete roof slab during typical time of extreme weather in the winter and the summer are obtained. Cracking mechanism of cast-in-situ concrete roof is revealed preliminary. Contrasting of the experimental data between the green roof and bare plate roof plate ,it is expounded that planting roof can reduce temperature difference and average variable temperature for the roof slab significantly.


ABSTRACT Background: It is well established in the literature how exercise prevents chronic diseases. Nevertheless, we still lack knowledge about the ways in which health-related bodily practices might contribute to health promotion. Less is known about pedagogies in public health directed at adult and older-age groups, within non-formal educational settings. Considering a lack of tailored and attractive approaches to health-related bodily practices for adults and older people [Pettigrew et al. 2019. "Encouraging Older People to Engage in Resistance Training: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective." Ageing & Society 39 (8): 1806–1825; Van Dyck, D., L. Mertens, G. Cardon, K. De Cocker, and I. De Bourdeaudhuij. 2017. "Opinions Toward PhysicalActivity, Sedentary Behavior, and Interventions to Stimulate Active Living During Early Retirement: Qualitative Study in Recently Retired Adults." Journal of Aging and Physical Activity 25 (2): 277–286], we argue that there is a need to explore pedagogical practices that might further health promotion with this target group. Purpose: Drawing on Antonovsky's theory of salutogenesis [1996. "The Salutogenic Model as a Theory to Guide Health Promotion." Health Promotion International 11 (1): 11–18], the purpose of the study was to investigate how health and physical education (HPE) professionals delivered health-related bodily practices for adults and older people in community-based programmes. Data collection and analysis: A qualitative and grounded theory study design was employed. Participants included six HPE professionals, three health centre coordinators and thirty-four adults and older people enrolled in four community-based programmes from Brazil. Condensed fieldwork was adopted to generate data through three-days visits to each programme. Multiple data sources comprised semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation of health-related bodily practices sessions and documents/materials produced by participants. Data were analysed through open, axial and selective coding, using the constant comparative method [Charmaz 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Book. Vol. 10. London: Sage Publications]. Findings: Three themes were generated to explain the ways HPE professionals worked with adults and older people in health promotion: adopting a holistic view of health, serving as a health resource and nurturing further health resources. These practices included caring attitudes, such as listening carefully to adults and older people, showing attentiveness and responsiveness to them. Moreover, a key finding indicated that the HPE professionals served in their pedagogical practices as health resources, which the adults and older people learned to draw on to cope with life situations and experience health development. Conclusion: The HPE professionals in the four programmes demonstrated they were capable of moving beyond a solely biomedical approach to health and focus on the salutary factors that enable health promotion through the development of a combination of pedagogical practices that were consistent with salutogenesis.


Successful execution of a program and full satisfaction of the customer's requirements is a challenge for any contractor. Raytheon Company responds to this challenge by following a proven program execution methodology. The methodology includes all program aspects from financial planning to engineering to validation and test. This discusses the engineering team and the role of the mechanical engineer. A radar system is ultimately an assembly of advanced electronics and software. However, the design, fabrication, assembly, integration, and test Of this complex system requires a coherent multi-disciplinary approach. Raytheon, like many contractors, chooses to assemble an integrated product team (IPT) including all engineering disciplines. Mechanical engineering is integral to satisfying performance requirements, performing preliminary and detailed design, transition of the design to manufacturing, and implementation of the hardware in the field. During definition, mechanical engineering assists fundamental architecture development, conceptual design, and requirements development which precludes issues that are sometimes ignored to the detriment of many programs. These design issues include environmental protection, structural stiffness to meet deflection requirements, cooling system capacity to properly remove dissipated heat, manufacturability to control cost, maintainability to enable repair in the field, and transportability. Recognizing and trading off these issues early greatly increases the Probability Of satisfying customer objectives. This discusses the approach Raytheon is taking to ensure an overall multi-disciplinary solution to our design challenges from the perspective of the mechanical engineer.


The article examines the prospects for the integration of the Ukrainian economy into the European economic space. It has been established that Ukraine's accession to the EU would be beneficial not only for Ukraine, but also for the European Union itself. One obvious advantage is security: if Ukraine were not currently at war, Russian tanks would probably already be in Warsaw or Tallinn. In peacetime, there are many opportunities for cooperation. Obvious areas are food security and energy production; in addition, Ukraine has a lot of human capital and entrepreneurial talent, and it is quite developed in IT, mechanical engineering and other industries that require a high level of technical skills. Ukrainian culture is rich and original. However, not only Ukraine will change during the accession. The European Union itself will be reformed in response to new challenges.Existing agreements between Ukraine and the European Union have already contributed to significant trade flows. Accession will have greater implications for the free movement of capital and workers – investment inflows and migration outflows. These areas are likely to be the focus of negotiations.A certain accession agreement usually has transition periods, especially for full free movement of labor, and opt-out clauses. The essential difference will be that Ukraine will be granted the status of "member of the EU" and not associated or annexed status.The consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its request for membership in the European Union changed the role of international diplomacy. The European Union realized the need to strengthen its own security and solve internal problems - from the consequences of Brexit to solving the alleged violations of the rule of law by Hungary.The military incursions into Ukraine have become a catalyst for change across Europe, and this may be reflected in how the member states of the European Union and the European Commission deal with Ukraine's accession.


Early detection of progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML) in the setting of natalizumab therapy currently is performed by rapid evaluation of new symptoms occurring in treated patients. The role of MR scanning has not been investigated but holds promise since MR detection is highly sensitive for PML lesions. The authors report a case of presymptomatic PML of the posterior fossa detected by MR scans. Immediate suspension of natalizumab and plasma exchanges resulted in a rapid decline of natalizumab serum concentration. Intravenous steroids started together with plasma exchanges followed by an oral tapering course were used to minimise the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. No symptoms (beyond mild headache) developed, and the repeat PCR for JC Virus (JCV) DNA detection performed 10 weeks later was negative. This case suggests that: (1) periodic brain MR scans may detect signs of presymptomatic PML in MS patients treated with natalizumab, (2) corticosteroid management of inflammatory reaction may contribute to optimal control of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome routinely seen with natalizumab-associated PML and (3) early radiological detection of PML can have an excellent outcome even in a clinically critical region and despite prior immunosuppressant exposure. The potential benefit of regular MR scanning just using the T2/FLAIR modalities could be further investigated in order to detect early natalizumab-associated PML, leading to benign outcomes.


Although the exhaustion and brutal exploitation of nature in the name of progress has been decried in recent decades, post-socialist China continues to use economic gains to justify the destruction of the majority of the populace and their environment. This article focuses on the lives of Chinese people and the ways in which urban spaces, which are the result of a long-term ideologically and economically driven development paradigm, are rendered spectral and uncanny by contemporary Chinese writers. Specters serve as common tropes for social injustice, personal vendettas, or unspeakable traumas. Di qi tian 第七天 (The Seventh Day, 2013) by Yu Hua 余華 (1960–) and Yuese liaoren 月色撩人 (Seductive Moon, 2008) by Wang Anyi 王安憶 (1954–) are analyzed in order to expose the dire effects of the urbanization of post-socialist China on the everyday lives of people of every profession, age, class, and gender.


In this study, preparation, structure, morphology and thermal properties of ceramic insulation coating on Monel/Fe/MgB2 wires, which were fabricated by Hyper Tech Research Inc., using Continuous Tube Forming and Filling (CTFF) process were studied for coil development. Ceramic insulation coatings were prepared by reel-to-reel sol-gel method using solutions of Y and Zr based organometallic compounds. The coating thickness was controlled by number of coating, withdrawal speed and solution chemistry. 29 meter of Monel/Fe/MgB2 wire was insulated by Y2O3-ZrO2 using sol-gel method. Monel/Fe/MgB2 coil was layer wounded and impregnated with stycast. Sister samples of coil were tested between 4.2 K and 30 K with a Variable Temperature Insert (VTI) in a 20 T superconducting magnet using the analog DC pulse four-wire method with 1 (muV/cm) criterion. The sample had a Jc of 0.16 times 105 (A/cm2) at 4 T at 21 K. The surface morphologies and microstructure of sister samples of coil were characterized by ESEM, EDS, DTA, TGA and XRD. Resistance was measured by using HP 4339A High Resistance Meter.


Glutamine, an excitatory neurotransmitter, is necessary for physiological as well as pathological processes. Other than neuronal disorders and/or cancers, glutamate receptors have also been associated with an array of other malignancies. The metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR 1–8 [like Groups I, II, and III]) and ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) have been targeted to treat cancers like carcinoma of the lung, breast, prostate, and oral cancer. iGluRs present on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA receptors are multisubunit complexes. Since these subunits of NMDA receptors influence the mTOR signaling pathway significantly, their antagonists such as memantine, ifenprodil, or diclozipine are often used in cancer chemotherapy. Non-NMDA receptors such as α-amino 3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate (AMPA) and kainate undergo glutamine to arginine site-specific RNA editing inflicting changes in cancer cell permeability. Thus, the employment of antagonists specific to these receptors would provide an effective anticancer therapeutic approach. Since AMPA receptors and kainate receptors have a crucial role in neural development and other cellular processes, their contribution in tumorigenesis has been mainly recognized in brain tumors although their role in further cancers cannot be ruled out. Delta or orphan receptors are primarily classified based on sequence homology. The effect and activity of antagonists for metabotropic and iGluRs have been pointed out due to their remedial contribution in various tumors. This review also highlights the relation of a range of subunits to cancer and anticancer agents as curatives for future applications and investigations.


In the US government-information community, domestic issues dominate the conversation, as they arguably should. Yet at times I feel discouraged at how little traction international issues receive—the situation is just as serious, if not more so, than with the US Federal Depository Library Program. International organizations, including the United Nations, have been effectively ending depository programs and paywalling their publications, in spite of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16, Target 10, to provide "access to information."1 International government data is likewise under duress. While the proliferation of online international data has resulted in tremendous research gains, unless the data is deposited in trusted repositories and subjected to best practices, international organizations may alter or delete the data for a multitude of reasons. This is in fact what has happened.


The feeding of ethanol increased significantly the activities of hepatic pentobarbital and benzpyrene hydroxylases in rats, and, in human volunteers, doubled pentobarbital hydroxylase activity. In vitro ethanol inhibited aniline, pentobarbital, and benzpyrene hydroxylases. These data may explain, at least in part, the increased tolerance of alcoholics to sedatives when sober, and the enhanced sensitivity to sedatives when inebriated.


'Sustainable Tropical Urbanism' recognises a region experiencing rapid urban growth while also facing issues of sustainability which involve Places, Pasts and People. These issues include climate change and environmental challenges, as well as cultural histories of colonialism and their continuing postcolonial effects on peoples of the Tropics and their future prospects. This Special Issue narrows its focus to 'Monsoonal Asia-Pacific' with case studies from the tropical cities of Khulna and Chittagong in Bangladesh, South Asia; Singapore, and the Indonesian city of Semarang, Southeast Asia; and the regional city of Cairns in the tropical north of Australia.


Drought is the most important abiotic factor limiting growth, adversely affect growth and crop production. Stresses, resulting in the non-normal physiological processes that influence one or a combination of biological and environmental factors. Stress can damage which has occurred as a result of an abnormal metabolism and may reduce growth, plant death or the death of the plant develops. Production is limited by environmental stresses, according to different scholars estimates, only 10 percent of the world's arable land is free from Stress, in general, a major factor in the difference between yield and potential performance, environmental stresses. Drought and stress is the most common environmental stresses that almost 25 percent of agricultural lands for agricultural farm products in the world is limited. Drought risk to successful production of crops worldwide and occurs when a combination of physical and environmental factors causing stress in plants and thus reduce production. International Journal of Life Sciences 10 (1) : 2016; 1-6


The lack of communication facilities in developing countries is a constraint to social, political and economic empowerment of the people. However, advances in technology promise to deliver voice, video and data communication services, that are urgently needed, under a common packet switched communication network. Using Zambia as a case study, the cost effectiveness of three design scenarios which involve a hybrid of radio and microwave, radio and satellite, and radio and optic fibre were evaluated. The communication links in each scenario were modeled as E1 trunks. The cost of establishing these links was determined. Each scenario was then subjected to generic input traffic patterns using a multiclass queueing network analysis model to determine its effectiveness. Our findings show that the scenario involving the microwave links as inter‐regional links has the lowest cost. The second is the scenario involving satellite inter‐regional links and the most expensive is the scenario involving optic fibre inter‐regional links. Furthermore, the microwave‐radio hybrid scenario was found to have the smallest cost‐effectiveness ratio of 17.9 followed by the optic fibre‐radio scenario with 20.3 and finally the satellite‐radio scenario with 892.9. These results effectively imply that the microwave‐radio hybrid scenario is a better option for developing countries.


This paper reports research on relationship between firm's knowledge sourcing strategy and green innovation. The data are taken from Spanish Technological Innovation Panel survey during 2007–2011. The study contributed to the literature by focusing on the moderating role of firm size on the relationship between knowledge sources and green innovations. Results from over 5,000 firms indicate a shift in the focus from internal knowledge to external knowledge when developing green innovations as firms grow in size. Despite benefits from broad knowledge search on green innovations, the relationship has an inverted U shape. The diminishing returns of knowledge breadth on green innovations are present for smaller firms and disappearing as firms get larger. Government policies promoting more coordination and knowledge complementarity between private and public sector will help to influence more knowledge transfer, ensuring a more sustainable and green economy.


Government debt has risen substantially in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) since the global financial crisis. The current environment of low global interest rates and weak growth may appear to mitigate concerns about elevated debt levels. Considering currently subdued investment, additional government borrowing might also appear to be an attractive option for financing growth-enhancing initiatives such as investment in human and physical capital. However, history suggests caution. Despite low interest rates, debt was on a rising trajectory in half of EMDEs in 2018. In addition, the cost of rolling over debt can increase sharply during periods of financial stress and result in financial crises; elevated debt levels can limit the ability of governments to provide fiscal stimulus during downturns; and high debt can weigh on investment and long-term growth. Hence, EMDEs need to strike a careful balance between taking advantage of low interest rates and avoiding the potentially adverse consequences of excessive debt accumulation.


Nutrition support methods in the elderly is not easy, but similar as young adult. Elderly patients are at increased risk of partial or complete loss of independence due to acute and/or chronic disease and often of concomitant protein caloric malnutrition. The type of artificial nutrition to use will depend on the current illness and the previous health record. Because enteral feeding is less expensive and aggressive, enteral feeding should be used whenever possible, leaving parenteral nutrition for specific situations where enteral feeding should not be used.


State density distribution, in contrast to worst-case reachability, can be leveraged for safety-related problems to better quantify the likelihood of the risk for potentially hazardous situations. In this work, we propose a data-driven method to compute the density distribution of reachable states for nonlinear and even black-box systems. Our semi-supervised approach learns system dynamics and the state density jointly from trajectory data, guided by the fact that the state density evolution follows the Liouville partial differential equation. With the help of neural network reachability tools, our approach can estimate the set of all possible future states as well as their density. Moreover, we could perform online safety verification with probability ranges for unsafe behaviors to occur. We use an extensive set of experiments to show that our learned solution can produce a much more accurate estimate on density distribution, and can quantify risks less conservatively and flexibly comparing with worst-case analysis.


As places where future citizens are educated, knowledge is (co-)produced and societal developments are critically reflected, higher education institutions (HEIs) can play a key role in addressing sustainability challenges. In order to accelerate mutual learning, shared problem understanding, and joint development of sustainable solutions, interinstitutional exchange and collaboration between HEIs is crucial. However, little research to date has focused on institutional HEI networks in the field of sustainability. More specifically, we still understand little about the concrete development, implementation, and adaptation of such networks. This article explores early-stage HEI networks for sustainability from a conceptual and empirical stance in order to develop a framework that facilitates structured descriptions of these networks, as well as to foster cross-HEI learning on their effective performance. It therefore combines insights from an explorative literature review, two case studies and an interactive workshop at the ISCN Conference 2018. As results, we first suggest an analytical framework to facilitate a systematic characterization of HEI networks. Second, by applying the framework to the two case studies, we present and discuss lessons learned on how a single HEI can contribute to establishing a network and how it can utilize its network membership effectively to strengthen its efforts for sustainability.


Discovering causative genetic variants in individual cases of suspected mitochondrial disease requires interrogation of both the mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear genomes. Whole-exome sequencing can support simultaneous dual-genome analysis, although currently available capture kits do not target the mtDNA genome and provide insufficient capture for some nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes. To optimize interrogation of nuclear and mtDNA genes relevant to mitochondrial biology and disease, a custom SureSelect "Mito-Plus" whole-exome library was formulated by blending RNA "baits" from three separate designs: (A) Agilent Technologies SureSelectXT 50 Mb All Exon PLUS Targeted Enrichment Kit, (B) 16-gene nuclear panel targeting sequences for known MitoCarta proteins not included in the 50 Mb All Exon design, and (C) sequences targeting the entire mtDNA genome. The final custom formulations consisted of a 1:1 ratio of nuclear baits to which a 1 to 1,000-fold diluted ratio of mtDNA genome baits were blended. Patient sample capture libraries were paired-end sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2000 system using v3.0 SBS chemistry. mtDNA genome coverage varied depending on the mtDNA:nuclear blend ratio, where a 1:100 ratio provided optimal dual-genome coverage with 10X coverage for over 97.5% of all targeted nuclear regions and 1,000X coverage for 99.8% of the mtDNA genome. mtDNA mutations were reliably detected to at least an 8% heteroplasmy level, as discriminated both from sequencing errors and potential contamination from nuclear mtDNA transcripts (Numts). The "1:100 Mito-Plus Whole-Exome" Agilent capture kit offers an optimized tool for whole-exome analysis of nuclear and mtDNA genes relevant to the diagnostic evaluation of mitochondrial disease.


Based on an eclectic approach, we examined the public debt – growth nexus in selected SSA countries. Panel regression results indicate that debt/GDP and rates of inflation had negative relationship with the growth in real GDP and its per capita measure for SSA. For the ECOWAS countries, debt/GDP was  positively related to growth in real GDP and its per capita measure while rate of inflation had a negative relationship. The global economic crisis had no impact on the debt-growth link in the ECOWAS countries. For economic  integration and eventual monetary union to be sustainable, countries in ECOWAS must ensure fiscal prudence in the management of their economies. Keywords : Public debt, economic integration, debt sustainability, West Africa JEL Classification: F34; H6; F15


Cell-free filtrates of axenic or bacterized cultures of the dominant blue-green algae from a freshwater lake inhibited the growth of diatoms isolated from the same lake. Lake waters, collected during blue-green algal blooms, also inhibited diatom growth. In situ observations over a 5-year period indicate that diatom bloom populations vary inversely with the levels of the preceding blue-green algal populations. Blue-green algal dominance of eutrophic lakes is attributed to this allelopathy, and dilution is proposed as one cause for the limited occurrence of blue-green alga dominance in marine waters.


Statistical fault localization aims at detecting execution features that correlate with failures, such as whether individual lines are part of the execution. We introduce SFLKit, an out-of-the-box workbench for statistical fault localization. The framework provides straightforward access to the fundamental concepts of statistical fault localization. It supports five predicate types, four coverage-inspired spectra, like lines, and 44 similarity coefficients, e.g., TARANTULA or OCHIAI, for statistical program analysis. SFLKit separates the execution of tests from the analysis of the results and is therefore independent of the used testing framework. It leverages program instrumentation to enable the logging of events and derives the predicates and spectra from these logs. This instrumentation allows for introducing multiple programming languages and the extension of new concepts in statistical fault localization. Currently, SFLKit supports the instrumentation of Python programs. It is highly configurable, requiring only the logging of the required events.


Automated reasoning with theories and quantifiers is a common demand in formal methods. A major challenge that arises in this respect comes with rewriting/simplifying terms that are equal with respect to a background first-order theory T , as equality reasoning in this context requires unification modulo T . We introduce a refined algorithm for unification with abstraction in T , allowing for a fine-grained control of equality constraints and substitutions introduced by standard unification with abstraction approaches. We experimentally show the benefit of our approach within first-order linear rational arithmetic.


This guide presents select resources on Douglass and Rutgers Colleges' history. Originally created for the History and College Life seminar taught by Prof. Nancy Hewitt, Fall '12. .


Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) has the broadest host range, infecting more than 1300 species in
more than 500 genera from over 100 botanical families. In ornamental plants, CMV can cause mosaic and
distortion of leaves,
stunting, color break, and malformation of flowers.
CMV coat protein (CP) sequences obtained from seven ornamental plants and other
homologous sequences available in GenBank were compared, and phylogenetic
relationships were established. Total RNA from virus-infected ornamental
species were extracted, submitted to RT-PCR with specific primers, and
amplicons obtained were sequenced. A nucleotide substitution model and
phylogenetic analyses were carried out using the PAUP program. The seven sequences of
CMV CP obtained showed similar identity percentages and close relationships
with subgroup I isolates from other countries and hosts. CMV isolates from different
regions of S?o Paulo state,
Brazil (Salvia splendens, Catharanthus
roseus, Nematanthus nervosus (=Hypocyrta nervosa), Impatiens walleriana, Eucharis grandiflora and Commelina sp.) formed a monophyletic group,
indicating a possible common origin. It was found that when lily sequences of CMV
only from different geographic regions were compared, Brazilian isolates shared
the same common ancestor with those from Poland and Taiwan.
Furthermore, this monophyletic group presented a quite basal position.