In this study, the degree of conversion (DC) of an acrylic-based resin (IP-L 780) in two-photon polymerization (TPP) is systematically investigated via Raman microspectroscopy. A quantitative relationship between TPP laser parameters and the DC of the resin is established. Nonlinear increase in DC with increased laser average power is observed. The resin DC is more sensitive to the laser average power than the laser writing speed. Nanoindentation was employed to correlate the results obtained from Raman microspectroscopy with the mechanical properties of microstructures fabricated by TPP. At constant writing speeds, microstructures fabricated with high laser average powers possess high hardness and high reduced Young's modulus (RYM), indicating high DCs. The results are in line with high DCs measured under the same TPP parameters in Raman microspectroscopy. Raman microspectroscopy is proved to be an effective, rapid, and nondestructive method characterizing microstructures fabrication by TPP.


Based on the imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG) and blind source separation (BSS) theory the author put forward a method for non-contact heartbeat frequency estimation. Using the recorded video images of the human face in the ambient light with Webcam, we detected the human face through software, separated the detected facial image into three channels RGB components. And then preprocesses i.e. normalization, whitening, etc. were carried out to a certain number of RGB data. After the independent component analysis (ICA)'theory and joint approximate diagonalization of eigenmatrices (JADE) algorithm were applied, we estimated the frequency of heart rate through spectrum analysis. Taking advantage of the consistency of Bland-Altman theory analysis and the commercial Pulse Oximetry Sensor test results, the root mean square error of the algorithm result was calculated as 2. 06 beat/min. It indicated that the algorithm could realize the non-contact measurement of heart rate and lay the foundation for the re- mote and non-contact measurement of multi-parameter physiological measurements.


OBJECTIVE
When evaluating sensory dysfunctions and pain mechanisms in patients with low back pain (LBP), a specific subgroup of patients with radicular symptoms is often excluded. Comparative studies that evaluate sensory sensitivity in patients with a dominant nociceptive and neuropathic pain component are rarely performed. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine differences in electrical thresholds and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) between patients with low back-related leg pain (LBRLP) and patients with failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS).

DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.

SETTING
University Hospital Brussels.

SUBJECTS
Twenty-one patients with LBRLP and 21 patients with FBSS were included.

METHODS
Electrical detection thresholds (EDTs), electrical pain thresholds (EPTs), and CPM were evaluated on the symptomatic and nonsymptomatic sides. Within- and between-group differences were evaluated for all parameters.

RESULTS
No between-group differences were found for EDT and EPT at both sides. On the nonsymptomatic side, a significantly lower CPM effect was found in the FBSS group (P = 0.04). The only significant within-group difference was an increased EDT at the symptomatic side in patients with FBSS (P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
LBP patients with a primary neuropathic pain component revealed altered detection sensitivity at the symptomatic side, without severe indications for altered nociceptive processing, compared with LBP patients without a dominant neuropathic pain component. Endogenous modulation is functioning in LBP patients, although it is possible that it might only be functioning partially in patients with a dominant neuropathic pain component.


A comparison of the various effects, in rats, of intrauterine insertion of copper-64 or copper-67 wire with the effects of intraperitoneal injection of copper sulfate solutions has shown that copper ions, dissolved from the wire, are locally active contraceptively and, in part, systemically absorbed.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the ACE inhibitor enalapril (E) on blood pressure and metabolic control in 15 hypertensive patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. When the treatment goal was not reached with enalapril alone, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was added. A diastolic blood pressure (DBP) below 90 mmHg was achieved in seven patients with enalapril alone (47%), and in an additional four (27%) with concomitant hydrochlorothiazide. No significant adverse effects of enalapril occurred and all patients completed the study. Monotherapy with enalapril did not affect metabolic control or renal function. Addition of HCTZ to E did not consistently result in further lowering of blood pressure and caused deterioration of both the degree of metabolic control and renal function. We, therefore, conclude that monotherapy with enalapril can be a safe and satisfactory treatment for hypertensive patients with NIDDM. Caution is needed, however, when HCTZ is added, since this may adversely affect metabolic control and renal function whereas the effect on blood pressure may be variable.


BACKGROUND/PURPOSE
The Nuss procedure is a minimally invasive pectus repair that helps avoid cartilage resection and osteotomy. This report compares outcomes in patients undergoing a standard pectus repair to patients with the Nuss procedure.

METHODS
One hundred three children (ages 5 to 20 years) with severe pectus excavatum underwent repair. Patients were evaluated for type of repair performed, associated anomalies, cardiopulmonary function, operating time, analgesia requirements, complications, length of hospital stay, hospital and operative charges, and cosmetic result. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney rank sum test.

RESULTS
There were 68 patients (average age, 12.6 years) in the standard group and 35, (average age, 9.5 years) in the Nuss group. Associated anomalies were found in 6 standard group and 2 Nuss group patients. Average operating time in Nuss was 3.3 hours and in open procedures, 4.7 hours. Postoperative complications occurred in 13 (20%) standard repair patients and 15 (43%) after the Nuss. In the standard group, 14 patients received intrathecal and 3 received epidural analgesia, while 35 (52%) required an intravenous patient-controlled anesthetic device (PCA; average, 1.8 days). In the Nuss group, 25 patients (71%) received epidural anesthesia (average, 3 days), and 31 (89%) utilized PCA (average 3.8 days). Four (6%) standard patients and 8 Nuss patients (29%) required reoperation. Length of stay averaged 4.0 days (range 2 to 30) in the standard group and 4.8 days (range, 2 to 11) in the Nuss group. Average operating room charge was $8,325 in the standard group and $9,480 in the Nuss group. Average hospital charge was $4,137 for the standard patient and $4,044 for the Nuss group. Analgesic requirements and length of hospital stay were increased (P <.05). The complication rate and operative and hospital charges were similar between groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Although the Nuss repair is associated with shorter operating time, smaller incisions, and less dissection, early results indicate few other advantages. Drawbacks of the Nuss procedure include high complication and reoperation rates and lack of efficacy in older teenagers and those with connective tissue disorders. Long-term follow-up will be necessary to determine final cosmetic and functional outcomes and define the overall risks and benefits of this procedure as compared with the standard technique.


Vascular inflammation is a common pathophysiological response to diverse cardiovascular disease processes, including atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and aortic aneurysms/dissection. Inflammation is an ordered process initiated by vascular injury that produces enhanced leucocyte adherence, chemotaxis, and finally activation in situ. This process is coordinated by local secretion of adhesion molecules, chemotactic factors, and cytokines whose expression is the result of vascular injury-induced signal transduction networks. A wide variety of mediators of the vascular injury response have been identified; these factors include vasoactive peptides (angiotensin II, Ang II), CD40 ligands, oxidized cholesterol, and advanced glycation end-products. Downstream, the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) transcription factor performs an important signal integration step, responding to mediators of vascular injury in a stimulus-dependent and cell type-specific manner. The ultimate consequence of NF-kappaB signalling is the activation of inflammatory genes including adhesion molecules and chemotaxins. However, clinically, the hallmark of vascular NF-kappaB activation is the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), whose local role in vascular inflammation is relatively unknown. The recent elucidation for the role of the IL-6 signalling pathway in Ang II-induced vascular inflammation as one that controls monocyte activation as well as its diverse signalling mechanism will be reviewed. These new discoveries further our understanding for the important role of the NF-kappaB-IL-6 signalling pathway in the process of vascular inflammation.


Using radioactive nuclei for electricity generation in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) is important research as needs for longer life batteries increase. There are many applications developed in recent years, however there are limitations still to overcome before a final product can be produced. One of the important issue is the low power output. This research addresses this issue with a new method in fabrication for powering MEMS sensors. We have proposed to fabricate $^{63}Ni$ nano-particle $\beta^-$source in a glassy phosphorous type sphere which creates scintillation and phosphorescent photons. The micro-spheres will be doped in our semiconductor. Since $^{63}^Ni$ is a pure $\beta^-$ emitter, in this report the energy loss $dE/dx$ of $\beta^-$ in our scintillation material (phosphorus $^{15}P$) is modelled using C++ coding with GEANT4 and furthermore the particle distributions in two different source geometries (circular and square structure) is studied using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). We have shown the ${63}Ni$ $\beta$ energy spectrum absorption in ${15}^P$, where upto energy range 28keV had nearly 100% efficiency. The optimum thickness therefore was 800$\mu m$.


Extracellular purinergic agonists regulate a broad range of physiological functions via P1 and P2 receptors. Using the epididymis as a model system in which luminal acidification is essential for sperm maturation and storage, we show here that extracellular ATP and its hydrolysis product adenosine trigger the apical accumulation of vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) in acidifying clear cells. We demonstrate that the epididymis can hydrolyze luminal ATP into other purinergic agonists such as ADP via the activity of nucleotidases located in the epididymal fluid and in the apical membrane of epithelial cells. Alkaline phosphatase activity and abundant ecto-5'-nucleotidase protein were detected in the apical pole of principal cells. In addition, we show that nine nucleotidase genes (Nt5e, Alpl, Alpp, Enpp1, 2, and 3, and Entpd 2, 4, and 5), seven ATP P2 receptor genes (P2X1, P2X2, P2X3, P2X4, P2X6, P2Y2, P2Y5), and three adenosine P1 receptor genes (A1, A2B, and A3) are expressed in epithelial cells isolated by laser cut microdissection (LCM). The calcium chelator BAPTA-AM abolished the apical V-ATPase accumulation induced by ATP, supporting the contribution of P2X or P2Y in this response. The PKA inhibitor myristoylated protein kinase inhibitor (mPKI) inhibited adenosine-dependent V-ATPase apical accumulation, indicating the participation of the P1 A2B receptor. Altogether, these results suggest that the activation of P1 and P2 purinergic receptors by ATP and adenosine might play a significant role in luminal acidification in the epididymis, a process that is crucial for the establishment of male fertility.


Dickinsonia, an iconic member of the Ediacara biota, is abundant in the Ediacaran deposits found at the Nilpena field site, South Australia. Despite exquisite preservation at this site, many specimens of Dickinsonia appear to be incomplete. Orientation measurements from specimens on fossil beds suggest that "missing pieces" are aligned irrespective of the axial orientation of Dickinsonia. The nonrandom orientation of incomplete specimens matches that of aligned structures found on two beds. The directionality of this feature suggests the molding of incomplete specimens under the influence of current activity prior to or during burial. This feature originates where part of a Dickinsonia was lifted off of the substrate during a storm event and sand was deposited beneath this lifted portion. This suggests that Dickinsonia was easily separated from the sea floor and was not attached to the substrate. This is consistent with the data suggesting that Dickinsonia was mobile. Examination of Dickinsonia costata demonstrates ranges in length from 3.6 mm to 167.4 mm and occurs in varying abundance within and across facies. Density data show that this organism preferred a relatively shallow water, fair-weather wave base habitat. The substrate dominated by fossils of Aspidella and Funisia limited the presence of D. costata. Ubiquitous Funisia in the absence of Aspidella preserves larger populations of D. costata, while juvenile forms occur preferentially in an inferred algal-dominated seafloor. The timing of depositional events controlled the maximum size ranges of D. costata, with small populations representing communities buried before they fully developed. The biology of D. costata is reflected in the overall right-skewed, log-normal size frequency curve, demonstrating a pattern of high infant mortality. A single bed contains more than half of the D. costata at Nilpena and the absence of cohorts within this large population is suggestive of continuous recruitment.


The study was carried out on 21 teeth before and after their removal in 9 patients. Mechanical parameters of the dental supporting-retaining system were studied with a two-parametrical periodontometer, which evaluates the tooth mobility and angle of losses, characterizing the internal friction in the tooth-periodontium-bone system. The in vitro area of the periodontium was evaluated using millimeter paper. A direct relationship between the angle of losses and periodontal area was revealed. The authors suggest using a coefficient of propotionateness between the periodontal area and angle of losses; this coefficient does not depend on the tooth mobility and periodontal area.


We studied the effect of salicylic acid (SA) treatment on the response of pea plants to salinity. Sodium chloride (NaCl)-induced damage to leaves was increased by SA, which was correlated with a reduction in plant growth. The content of reduced ascorbate and glutathione in leaves of salt-treated plants increased in response to SA, although accumulation of the respective oxidised forms occurred. An increase in hydrogen peroxide also occurred in leaves of salt-exposed plants treated with SA. In the absence of NaCl, SA increased ascorbate peroxidase (APX; 100 μm) and glutathione-S transferase (GST; 50 μm) activities and increased catalase (CAT) activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Salinity decreased glutathione reductase (GR) activity, but increased GST and CAT activity. In salt-stressed plants, SA also produced changes in antioxidative enzymes: 100 μm SA decreased APX but increased GST. Finally, a concentration-dependent increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was induced by SA treatment in salt-stressed plants. Induction of PR-1b was observed in NaCl-stressed plants treated with SA. The treatment with SA, as well as the interaction between salinity and SA treatment, had a significant effect on PsMAPK3 expression. The expression of PsMAPK3 was not altered by 70 mm NaCl, but was statistically higher in the absence than in the presence of SA. Overall, the results show that SA treatment negatively affected the response of pea plants to NaCl, and this response correlated with an imbalance in antioxidant metabolism. The data also show that SA treatment could enhance the resistance of salt-stressed plants to possible opportunistic pathogen attack, as suggested by increased PR-1b gene expression.


A ROOF over the head, a shirt on the back, food on the table and access to healthcare and education are among the basic needs of a citizen that a government is responsible for, and these needs have generally been taken care of all these years.In the case of the roof over your head,
the government has since the 1970s been actively working together with the private sector to promote home ownership. Since that time, government efforts have been sullied by some housing developers and it is not just the occasional lapses.The national House Buyers Association has a list of complaints made to it, ranging from non-issuance of strata titles, poor management and maintenance, shoddy workmanship and, perhaps worst of all, abandonment of housing projects. In 2006, of the 245 projects involving 38,744 house buyers, 30 per cent of the complaints involved non-issuance of strata titles, 24 per cent were on management and
maintenance, and 14 per cent on abandoned projects.


Doctors, including general practitioners, experience higher levels of mental illness than the general population. General practitioners who are partners in their practices may face heightened stress. In total, 10 general practitioner partners living with work-related distress were interviewed, and transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three major themes arose: (1) extreme distress, (2) conflicted doctor identity and (3) toxic versus supportive workplace relationships. Participants detailed symptoms of depression, anxiety and burnout; reported conflicted identities; and discussed the impact of bullying partnerships. We recommend that organisational interventions tackling issues such as bullying be implemented and opportunities to debrief be offered as protected time activities to general practitioner partners.


The use of aluminium alloy films, and in particular Al-1%-Si, is common in many microelectronic interconnection schemes. Specular reflectivity and sheet resistance measurements are often used to characterise the deposited film. These and other properties, such as electromigration resistance, are dependent on the film's structure. An understanding of the relationship between the film structure and its properties is therefore important. Al-1%-Si films were deposited using dc magnetron sputtering onto (100) silicon substrates with or without thermal or deposited oxide layers. The film grain size and orientation were determined using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements respectively. The orientation was quantified by the ratio of the X-ray diffraction intensities from the (111) and (200) planes. The structure of Al-1%-Si films depended strongly on film thickness using continuous mode deposition, and on substrate position using batch mode. For both modes of deposition the X-ray diffraction ratio was dependent on the substrate used. By careful choice of monitor substrate, and control of deposition conditions, the film structure could be successfully predicted and controlled. The specular reflectivity of Al-1%-Si films has been shown to depend on their roughness, optical properties and grain size, and the measurement wavelength. Of particular importance in determining the specular reflectivity is the substrate used as well as its position for batch mode deposition. The critical dimension size and automatic alignment accuracy obtained during the photolithographic patterning of the deposited film depended on its specular reflectivity. This shows that specular reflectivity control, especially for a batch deposition process, is important. Finally, room temperature sheet resistance has been shown to vary with the substrate used and substrate position during batch mode deposition.


The skin is equipped with nerve fibers subserving the senses for touch, temperature, pain and itch. Thickly myelinated Aβ-fibers are linked to low threshold mechano-receptors responsible to detect vibration and slight indentation of the skin. Among the thinly myelinated Aδ-fibers one class is crucial for the cold detection, but there also nociceptive Aδ-fibers for the detection fast rising noxious heat and punctate mechanical stimuli. Unmyelinated C-fibers consist of various classes mediating nociceptive (pain and itch) and non-nociceptive (warmth, pleasant touch) sensations. The unmyelinated C-fibers have close contact to the keratinocytes and the interaction between C-fibers and local skin cells is of particular interest, as efferent neuronal function has both local trophic and immunomodulatory function. In turn, excitability of C-fibers is governed in part by neurotrophins from neighbouring skin cells such as keratinocytes. This mechanism is held responsible to induce and maintain chronic itch and pain conditions. Beyond this interaction recently a direct involvement of keratinocytes in the transduction process has been discussed especially for temperature and noxious stimuli, as keratinocytes express a variety of sensory transduction molecules. Thus, the interplay between neurons and non-neuronal cells is operational not only in basic physiology, but also in chronic itch and pain patients.


An obvious magnetic disturbance has been repeatedly observed by magnetometers located outside of urban areas in Yangmingshan National Park and has affected the monitoring of volcanic activity in the northern region of Taiwan. The disturbance has amplitudes of approximately 3–5 nanoteslas, and regularly appears for approximately 21 hours per day, except during the New Year period, when it is observed continuously for 45 hours. This change coincides with the annual extended operation of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. A 750‐volt direct current drives the MRT trains and leaks to the ground, with a maximum value of approximately 1000 amperes measured along the routes. The disturbance is dominated by the unbalanced supply and return currents resulting from the leakage. The daily changes in the magnetic noise levels are correlated with the electricity consumption of the MRT system because the leakage is proportional to the use of electric power.


The results of CREST (Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stenting Trial), announced in February 2010 added further insight to the issue of patient selection for carotid revascularization. Carotid artery stenting (CAS) was equivalent to carotid endarterectomy (CEA), perhaps better in the younger age group. CEA patients developed more perioperative myocardial infarctions, and CAS patients incurred more perioperative strokes. Our hypothesis was that following the announcement of the CREST results, characteristics of patients undergoing CAS would change to include younger patients and more cardiac disease compared with those undergoing CEA.

 Methods:
 a retrospective chart review was conducted of all carotid revascularization procedures performed at four hospitals in a metropolitan region. The study duration was from June 2009 (8 months prior to CREST) through May 2011 (16 months after CREST). Demographics and high surgical risk criteria were recorded. Comparisons were drawn between patients receiving the procedures prior to and after CREST.

 Results:
 The study included 483 procedures. Of the 174 preCREST procedures, 64(36.8%) were CEA and 110(63.2%) were CAS. Of the 309 postCREST procedures, 112(36.2%) were CEA and 197(63.8%) were CAS. The proportion of patients undergoing CEA for asymptomatic carotid disease did not change significantly (76.6% preCREST vs. 69.6% postCREST: p=0.42). There was a significant increase in the proportion undergoing CAS for asymptomatic disease (52.7% preCREST vs 65.5% postCREST: p=0.04). The patients undergoing CAS for nonspecific symptoms such as dizziness also increased(5.5% preCREST vs. 18.3% postCREST: p=0.002). The median age did not change significantly for either CEA(68.5years preCREST vs. 69.0years postCREST: p=0.95) or CAS(73.0years preCREST vs. 70years postCREST: p=0.23). The proportion of CAS patients ≥70 years somewhat decreased(58.2% preCREST vs.50.3% postCREST: p=0.18). In the CEA subgroup, there was a reduction in the proportion of patients with congestive heart failure (10.9% preCREST vs.2.7% postCREST: p=0.07) and recent myocardial infarction/angina(4.7% preCREST vs.0 postCREST: p=0.06). There was an increase in the proportion of patients undergoing CAS with congestive heart failure(27.3% preCREST vs.37.6% postCREST: p=0.05).

 Conclusions:
 The utilization of CAS for asymptomatic carotid disease and nonspecific symptoms has increased after CREST. There is a trend towards patients with cardiac disease getting CAS more often. In spite of an increased risk of perioperative stroke among the elderly CAS patients, half of the CAS procedures postCREST were performed in subjects ≥70 years. Careful consideration of the choice of carotid revascularization procedures is warranted in the light of the CREST study.


Leachate is a liquid generated by mixing of water with organic and inorganic material found in landfills. This liquid accumulates at the bottom of the landfill and has the potential to percolate through the soil to enter groundwater or other water bodies. Leachate contains various contaminants and toxins that can significantly diminish the quality of water it enters, which can become hazardous to humans and the environment. In this article, the water quality of two towns: Egg Harbor and Middle Township, New Jersey were analyzed and compared. Egg Harbor Township has a landfill located within the town, while the closest landfill to Middle Township is approximately 10 miles away. Water supply for both towns comes from the same aquifer, known as the Kirkwood-Cohansey water table system. The water quality results from community wells within Egg Harbor Township were compared to those of Middle Township. Water quality data for this study is from New Jersey American Water database. Based on the results, the water quality of Egg Harbor Township varies significantly from Middle Township. The levels of contaminants in Egg Harbor Township are much higher compared to Middle Township. Therefore, it can be concluded that communities near landfills, even well monitored and managed ones, are prone to have poorer water quality than those farther away from the landfill.


Throughout recorder history the dental ills of mankind have been treated by medical specialists particularly associated with surgery. However, deep-rooted cultural tradition relegated surgeons and those engaged in the dental art to a class deemed socially, intellectually and economically inferior to that of the physician, causing widespread neglect of dentistry until the 16th century. Organizational developments and advances in the technology of medecine and surgery during the next two centuries in Europe engendered the emergence of dentistry from a virtual trade to a recognized specialty of medecine, setting the stage for its phenomenal growth in the 19th century Ameria. Perceiving the common need, far-seeing and dedicated representatives of dentistry organized, collected available literature, instituted an unprecedented system of dental education, eliminated the untutored and untrained practictioner, and left the heritage of an independent and honored self-governing health care profession.


In the talk a new automated and self-consistent approach to modeling photonic devices is presented. Is is based on a new software being developed at Lodz University of Technology and its main idea is automated consideration of mutual interactions between various physical phenomena taking place in photonic devices. The software consists of several solvers that can model temperature distribution within the investigated structure, the electric current flow and carriers diffusion, the optical eigenmodes of the analyzed cavity or waveguide and the light-matter interaction. Results of the modeling performed with one solver are automatically provided as the input state of another one, and the calculations are performed in a user-controlled self-consistent loop. In the talk the basic idea of the approach is presented and it is supported by examples of simulation results of semiconductor lasers.


Deformation anisotropy of samples from rolled sheet and extruded rod of AZ31 alloy was investigated in the present work. A strong basal plane texture is detected formed during rolling and extrusion, and both rolled and extruded samples exhibit similar mechanical behavior: tensile yield strength is the highest in the specimens parallel to the longitudinal direction, and decrease continuously as the specimen orientation departs from the longitudinal direction. Using texture analysis and optical microscopy it has been found that, the obvious anisotropy can be explained by texture and orientation factor during tension and compression. Basal slip and twinning are restricted when tensile load is applied in the rolling and extrusion direction, which results in high tensile yield strength along the two directions.


[16] recently introduced Sequential quasi-Monte Carlo (SQMC) algorithms as an efficient way to perform filtering in state-space models. The basic idea is to replace random variables with low-discrepancy point sets, so as to obtain faster convergence than with standard particle filtering. [16] describe briefly several ways to extend SQMC to smoothing, but do not provide supporting theory for this extension. We discuss more thoroughly how smoothing may be performed within SQMC, and derive convergence results for the soobtained smoothing algorithms. We consider in particular SQMC equivalents of forward smoothing and forward filtering backward sampling, which are the most well-known smoothing techniques. As a preliminary step, we provide a generalization of the classical result of [20] on the transformation of QMC point sets into low discrepancy point sets with respect to non uniform distributions. As a corollary of the latter, we note that we can slightly weaken the assumptions to prove the consistency of SQMC.


We have fabricated a self-aligned offset-gated poly-Si thin film transistor (TFT) by employing a novel photoresist reflow process. The gate structure of the new device is consisted of two unique patterns: A main-gate and a sub-gate. The new fabrication method extends the gate-oxide over the offset region. With the assistance of the sub-gate and reflowed photoresist a self-aligned offset region is successfully obtained due to the offset oxide acting as an implantation mask. The poly-Si TFT with symmetrical offsets is easily fabricated and the new method does not require any additional offset mask step. Compared with the misaligned offset gated poly-Si TFTs, excellent symmetric electrical characteristics are obtained.


Background Sporadic studies in antimicrobial therapy have evaluated the effects of infusion rates on therapeutic and economic outcomes, and new findings may challenge the regular infusion regimen. Methods Focusing on studies comparing the outcomes of different infusion regimens, the relevant literature was identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from January 1, 2013 to March 1, 2018. Papers were finally chosen using a PRISMA flowchart. Results Antimicrobials with the superiority of prolonged infusion to standard infusion in terms of efficacy and safety include meropenem, doripenem, imipenem, cefepime, ceftazidime, piperacillin/tazobactam, linezolid, and vancomycin. The strategy of concomitantly reducing total daily dose and prolonging infusion time may cause treatment failure (eg, imipenem). Extended infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam has pharmacoeconomic advantage over standard infusion. Prolonged infusion of voriconazole is inferior to standard infusion because of lower efficacy caused by pharmacokinetic changes. Comparable outcomes following standard infusion and continuous infusion were observed with norvancomycin and nafcillin. Factors determining whether prolonged infusion has a benefit over standard infusion include MIC of bacterial pathogens, bacterial density, diagnosis, disease severity, total daily dose, and renal function. Conclusion To maximally preserve the effectiveness of current antimicrobials, effective interventions should be implemented to enhance the application of optimal infusion strategies. For reducing nephrotoxicity, prolonged infusion of meropenem is better than conventional infusion in neonates with Gram-negative late-onset sepsis, and continuous infusion of vancomycin is superior to intermittent infusion. For increasing efficacy, prolonged or continuous infusion of time-dependent antimicrobials (eg, meropenem, doripenem, imipenem, cefepime, ceftazidime, piperacillin/tazobactam, linezolid, and vancomycin) is an optimal choice. Nevertheless, such advantages may only be demonstrated in special clinical circumstances and special populations (eg, patients with a sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score≥9, respiratory tract infections, urinary or intra-abdominal infections, or infections caused by less susceptible pathogens would benefit from prolonged infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam).


Industry 4.0 must respond to some challenges such as the flexibility and robustness of unexpected conditions, as well as the degree of system autonomy, something that is still lacking. The evolution of Industry 4.0 aims at converting purely mechanical machines into machines with self-learning capacity in order to improve overall performance  and contribute to the optimization of maintenance. An important contribution of Industry 4.0 in the industrial sector is predictive maintenance and prescriptive maintenance. This article should be analysed as a methodology proposal to implement an automatic forecasting model in a test bench for the recognition of a machine's failure and contribute to the development of algorithms for preventive and descriptive maintenance.
Keywords: Industry 4.0, Artificial intelligence, Machine learning, Predictive maintenance, Prescriptive maintenance


For the European Union (EU), the field of trade policy is a main field in which the EU
can assert its actorness and build its identity as an international actor. This
"superpower" potential arises out of the EU's extensive resource equipment in trade
policy and is driven forward by the EU's significant economic interests. To what
extent, however, the EU has been able to use its resources to shape the rules of the
international trade regime according to its own preferences has remained
questionable.
This thesis investigates the question of the EU's impact on and power utilisation in
the international trade regime by analysing the EU's changing involvement in World
Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations. Drawing from the theoretical concepts of the
"international regime" and "power", the thesis proposes an approach centred on the
possession, mobilisation and impact of actors' power in international regimes. In
particular, the thesis proposes a framework centred on five key elements:
specification of the regime, its qualities and focus; the resources or 'underlying
power' that actors bring to the regime; the resources derived by actors from the
operation of the regime itself, or 'organisationally dependent capabilities'; the
manifestation or deployment of resources and strategies by actors in negotiations;
and outcomes defined in terms of actors' power over the regime itself. After an
examination of the broad context of the WTO's development and the EU's
involvement in the international trade regime, this framework is then explored through
a detailed study of the EU's involvement in the negotiations over trade in services
that took place in the WTO between 1995 and 2005, using evidence from a wide
range of documentary sources and from interviews.
On the basis of this exploration of trade in services, the thesis finds that despite the
EU's outstanding resources, the WTO negotiations have become too complex for the
EU to decisively influence them due to a power shift in the international trade regime.
The special nature of the trade in services negotiations makes these particularly unmanageable
and they do not seem to present the EU with a setting for achieving its
preferences. A lack of cooperation among the WTO members in favour of the negotiations
has made progress in the negotiations very hard to realise for the EU. At the
same time, the erosion of the EU's resources by the shifting attitude in civil society
towards trade policy, and an apparent Jack of business support, has increased the
challenge for the EU of managing the international trade regime. Questions are
therefore raised about the extent to which the EU has responded to change,
mobilised its resources effectively and had a consistent impact on the international
trade regime since the mid-1990s.


Gilcrease on Wheels is an initiative designed to project the Gilcrease Museum's extraordinary American collections in a multi-faceted educational package that includes on-site programming, pre-visit preparation, and post-visit activities and evaluation to rural school districts and under-served communities in Oklahoma. Gilcrease on Wheels utilises Gilcrease Museum's extensive collections of American (North America, Mesoamerica, and South America) art, archaeology, and historical documents to enliven the classroom experience while addressing appropriate teaching standards in social studies, art, and language arts to offer a well-rounded, complementary learning experience through exhibits on Oklahoma history and Native American cultures. By introducing Gilcrease collections, in-class enrichment, new activities, and incentives to explore local history, this program promotes critical thinking and encourages students to explore their part of the world. Gilcrease on Wheels incorporates electronic interactive experiences which are age-appropriate for each grade level. Gilcrease on Wheels was inaugurated at the Poteau Public Library on October 23rd, 2014 with successful programming for the third grade. By the end of 2014, over 2000 children in rural schools had participated in programs. The third grade interactive experience incorporates the use of sounds from nature to match to items in the exhibit. The first three years of Gilcrease on Wheels the program focuses on reaching children in rural southeast Oklahoma, including the counties of LeFlore, Haskell, Latimer and Sequoyah. Gilcrease on Wheels gradually will expand to additional grade levels and topics. Age-appropriate techniques and applicable learning standards for each grade will guide development of new curricula incorporating electron interactive experiences. By 2017, Gilcrease on Wheels will expand to cover other under-served, rural areas across Oklahoma


Event-related brain potentials were used to study the retrieval of visual semantic information to concrete words, and to investigate possible structural overlap between visual object working memory and concreteness effects in word processing. Subjects performed an object working memory task that involved 5 s retention of simple 4-angled polygons (load 1), complex 10-angled polygons (load 2), and a no-load baseline condition. During the polygon retention interval subjects were presented with a lexical decision task to auditory presented concrete (imageable) and abstract (nonimageable) words, and pseudowords. ERP results are consistent with the use of object working memory for the visualisation of concrete words. Our data indicate a two-step processing model of visual semantics in which visual descriptive information of concrete words is first encoded in semantic memory (indicated by an anterior N400 and posterior occipital positivity), and is subsequently visualised via the network for object working memory (reflected by a left frontal positive slow wave and a bilateral occipital slow wave negativity). Results are discussed in the light of contemporary models of semantic memory.


Background
There are relatively few prospective studies evaluating the combined effect of abdominal obesity and low muscle strength on mortality, hospitalization, and incident disability. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the prognostic value of dynapenic abdominal obesity on incident disability, hospitalization, and mortality in the population of the InCHIANTI study.

Methods
In 370 men and 476 women aged between 65 and 95 years, handgrip strength, waist circumference (WC), body mass index, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, education, medications, smoking status, and comorbidities were evaluated at the baseline. Difficulties in performing basic activities of daily living were assessed at baseline and at 3-, 6-, and 9-year follow-ups, using a standardized questionnaire. Hospitalization and mortality rates were evaluated during an 11-year follow-up. The study population was categorized as nondynapenic nonabdominal obese (ND/NAO, reference group), dynapenic nonabdominal obese (D/NAO), nondynapenic abdominal obese (ND/AO), and dynapenic abdominal obese (D/AO), according to handgrip strength/WC tertiles.

Results
D/AO participants presented more than a twofold increase in risk of worsening disability (odds ratio = 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14-3.88) and significantly higher risk of hospitalization (1.36; 95% CI: 1.04-1.78) compared with ND/NAO participants. After adjustment for potential confounders, the relative risk of death was 1.47 (95% CI: 1.09-1.97) for D/NAO compared with the ND/NAO group.

Conclusions
Dynapenic abdominal obese participants are at higher risk of worsening disability and hospitalization than ND/NAO participants. Mortality risk was higher in participants with dynapenia without central fat distribution compared with the reference group.


This paper draws upon both case-study and statistical materials, gathered in Tanzania, in an attempt to determine how industrial producer cooperatives might be promoted. A logistic pattern of cooperative growth is tested and found to dominate a view that the number of coops grows because of support organizations. Drawing upon an ecological model it is suggested that the factor which limits growth is the availability of management and, further, that the growth of the competing 'small-scale sector' is at the expense of the cooperative sector. Management nurtured in the cooperative sector moves into the small-scale sector. Case-study analysis using a Boolean analysis suggests that legitimate and capable management are essential to success of cooperatives particularly with technologies which generate production interdependencies. Finally, supporting evidence for the significance of management competence and interdependence in explaining performance is outlined using an augmented CobbDouglas production function framework.


Preface Chapter 1 Unwrapping the Gift 1.1 The Ubiquity of Computers and the Rapid Pace of Change 1.2 New Developments and Dramatic Impacts 1.2.1 Amateur Creative Works: Blogs and Video Sharing 1.2.2 Connections 1.2.3 Collaborative Efforts Among Strangers 1.2.4 E-commerce and Free Stuff 1.2.5 Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Motion 1.2.6 Tools for Disabled People 1.2.7 What Next? 1.3 An Introduction to Some Issues and Themes 1.3.1 Issues 1.3.2 Themes 1.4 Ethics 1.4.1 What Is Ethics, Anyway? 1.4.2 A Variety of Ethical Views 1.4.3 Some Important Distinctions Chapter 2 Privacy 2.1 Privacy and Computer Technology 2.1.1 Introduction 2.1.2 New Technology, New Risks 2.1.3 Terminology and Principles for Data Collection and Use 2.2 Big Brother Is Watching You 2.2.1 Databases 2.2.2 The Fourth Amendment, Expectation of Privacy, and Surveillance Technologies 2.2.3 Video Surveillance 2.3 Diverse Privacy Topics 2.3.1 Marketing, Personalization and Consumer Dossiers 2.3.2 Location Tracking 2.3.3 Stolen and Lost Data 2.3.4 What We Do Ourselves 2.3.5 Public Records: Access vs. Privacy 2.3.6 National ID Systems 2.3.7 Children 2.4 Protecting Privacy: Technology, Markets, Rights, and Laws 2.4.1 Technology and Markets 2.4.2 Rights and Law 2.4.3 Privacy Regulations in the European Union 2.5 Communications 2.5.1 Wiretapping and E-mail Protection 2.5.2 Designing Communications Systems for Interception 2.5.3 Secret Intelligence Gathering 2.5.4 Encryption Policy Chapter 3 Freedom of Speech 3.1 Changing Communications Paradigms 3.1.1 Regulating Communications Media 3.1.2 Free-Speech Principles 3.2 Controlling Offensive Speech 3.2.1 Offensive Speech: What Is It? What Is Illegal? 3.2.2 Internet Censorship Laws and Alternatives 3.2.3 Spam 3.2.4 Challenging Old Regulatory Paradigms and Special Interests 3.2.5 Posting and Selling Sensitive Material: Ethics and Social Concerns 3.3 Censorship on the Global Net 3.3.1 The Global Impact of Censorship 3.3.2 Yahoo and French Censorship 3.3.3 Censorship in Other Nations 3.3.4 Aiding Foreign Censors 3.4 Political Campaign Regulations in Cyberspace 3.5 Anonymity 3.5.1 Common Sense and the Internet 3.5.2 Is Anonymity Protected? 3.5.3 Against Anonymity 3.6 Protecting Access and Innovation: Net Neutrality or Deregulation? Chapter 4 Intellectual Property 4.1 Intellectual Property and Changing Technology 4.1.1 What Is Intellectual Property? 4.1.2 Challenges of New Technologies 4.2 Copyright Law and Significant Cases 4.2.1 A Bit of History 4.2.2 The Fair-Use Doctrine 4.2.3 Significant Cases 4.3 Copying and Sharing 4.3.1 Defensive and Aggressive Responses from the Content Industries 4.3.2 The DMCA vs. Fair Use, Freedom of Speech, and Innovation 4.3.3 Video Sharing 4.3.4 New Business Models and Constructive Solutions 4.3.5 Ethical Arguments About Copying 4.3.6 International Piracy 4.4 Search Engines and Online Libraries 4.5 Free Speech Issues 4.6 Free Software 4.6.1 What Is Free Software? 4.6.2 Should All Software Be Free? 4.7 Issues for Software Developers 4.7.1 Patents for Software? 4.7.2 Patents for Web Technologies 4.7.3 Copyright and Similar Software Products Chapter 5 Crime 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Hacking 5.2.1 What is Hacking? 5.2.2 Hacktivism, or Political Hacking 5.2.3 The Law: Catching and Punishing Hackers 5.2.4 Security 5.3 Identity Theft and Credit-Card Fraud 5.3.1 Stealing Identities 5.3.2 Responses to Identity Theft 5.3.3 Biometrics 5.4 Scams and Forgery 5.4.1 Auctions 5.4.2 Click Fraud 5.4.3 Stock Fraud 5.4.4 Digital Forgery 5.5 Crime Fighting Versus Privacy and Civil Liberties 5.5.1 Search and Seizure of Computers 5.5.2 The Issue of Venue 5.5.3 The Cybercrime Treaty 5.6 Whose Laws Rule the Web? 5.6.1 When Digital Actions Cross Borders 5.6.2 Arresting Foreign Visitors 5.6.3 Libel, Speech, and Commercial Law 5.6.4 Culture, Law, and Ethics 5.6.5 Potential Solutions Chapter 6 Work 6.1 Fears and Questions 6.2 The Impact on Employment 6.2.1 Job Destruction and Creation 6.2.2 Changing Skill Levels 6.2.3 A Global Workforce 6.2.4 Getting a Job 6.3 The Work Environment 6.3.1 Job Dispersal and Telecommuting 6.3.2 Changing Business Structures 6.4 Employee Monitoring 6.4.1 Background 6.4.2 Data Entry, Phone Work, and Retail 6.4.3 Location Monitoring 6.4.4 E-mail, Blogging, and Web Use Chapter 7 Evaluating and Controlling Technology 7.1 Information, Knowledge, and Judgment 7.1.1 Evaluating Information on the Web 7.1.2 Writing, Thinking, and Deciding 7.1.3 Computer Models 7.2 Computers and Community 7.3 The Digital Divide 7.4 Evaluations of the Impact of Computer Technology 7.4.1 The Neo-Luddite View of Computers, Technology, and Human Needs 7.4.2 Accomplishments of Technology 7.5 Making Decisions about Technology 7.5.1 Questions 7.5.2 The Difficulty of Prediction 7.5.3 Intelligent Machines and Superintelligent Humans - Or the End of the Human Race? 7.5.4 A Few Observations Chapter 8 Errors, Failures, and Risk 8.1 Failures and Errors in Computer Systems 8.1.1 An Overview 8.1.2 Problems for Individuals 8.1.3 System Failures 8.1.4 Safety-Critical Applications 8.1.5 Perspectives on Failure 8.2 Case Study: The Therac-25 8.2.1 Therac-25 Radiation Overdoses 8.2.2 Software and Design Problems 8.2.3 Why So Many Incidents? 8.2.4 Observations and Perspective 8.3 Increasing Reliability and Safety 8.3.1 What Goes Wrong? 8.3.2 Professional Techniques 8.3.3 Law, Regulation, and Markets 8.4 Dependence, Risk, and Progress 8.4.1 Are We Too Dependent On Computers? 8.4.2 Risk and Progress Chapter 9 Professional Ethics and Responsibilities 9.1 What Is Professional Ethics? 9.2 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals 9.2.1 Special Aspects of Professional Ethics 9.2.2 Professional Codes of Ethics 9.2.3 Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities 9.3 Scenarios 9.3.1 Introduction and Methodology 9.3.2 Protecting Personal Data 9.3.3 Designing an E-mail System with Targeted Ads 9.3.4 Specifications 9.3.5 Skipping Tests 9.3.6 Copyright Violation 9.3.7 Going Public 9.3.8 Release of Personal Information 9.3.9 Conflict of Interest 9.3.10 Kickbacks and Disclosure 9.3.11 A Test Plan 9.3.12 Artificial Intelligence and Sentencing Criminals 9.3.13 A Gracious Host Epilogue A The Software Engineering Code and the ACM Code A.1 The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice A.2 The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Index


Sensors incorporating Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) provide the greatest sensitivity for magnetic anomaly detection available with current technology, The Coastal Systems Station (CSS) has pioneered the use of superconducting magnetic sensors in the field operating onboard airborne and undersea moving platforms, where environmental and instrument noises present operational problems which are not encountered under laboratory conditions. Basic conceptual approaches for utilizing these sensors onboard moving platforms, including field deployable sensor configurations, are described. Environmental and instrumental technical issues are also addressed. A historical sketch of sensor development, current sensor capabilities, recent technology advances, and future trends is included. Naval applications and dual use opportunities for this technology are given based on experience developed at CSS.<<ETX>>


This paper discusses the limitations of current NO inhalation systems, based on the research in collocation of NO, inspection of NO/NO2 and synchronous working of NO inhalation systems with ventilators. And then, the developing trend of NO inhalation systems is put forward here too.


This paper describes the development of a management information system (MIS), named ASTARS, for the United States Air Force Wright Laboratory. The vision of this development is to provide a corporate MIS that is user friendly, and provides decision support to all levels of Laboratory personnel. The development included the following phases: organization needs analysis, requirements definition, prototyping, system design, coding, deployment, and operations. Three aspects of the ASTARS MIS program are described: (1) system description including hardware and software aspects; (2) spiral software development process was followed, including application of the principles of total quality management (TQM), and principles of corporate information management (CIM); (3) system performance metrics are used to track operational suitability; critical success factors metrics are used to track corporate status. The ASTARS Program is currently in the initial operational phase. There are over 200 frequent users (57 are "power" users). Even in the initial operational phase, management changes have been implemented and efficiencies realized. The ASTARS Program has provided valuable insights into the operations functioning of the organization, and offers potential for significant improvements in business practices.<<ETX>>


To cope with high levels of complexity, competition and change requirements, manufacturing enterprises (MEs) need to continuously improve their process and resource system performances. Enterprise Modelling (EM) is considered a prerequisite for enterprise integration and performance improvement because it can be used to capture relatively enduring knowledge about any specific business environment in which production systems will be deployed. With this prerequisite in mind, EM principles were deployed to capture and develop 'static' models of an SME. This provided detailed descriptions of enterprise production operations and their precedence relationships. A discrete event simulation tool was then used to develop time dependent 'dynamic' models of selected process segments of the specific case Enterprise Model. This allowed the computer execution of alternative production system designs to be assessed under SME specific changing scenarios and enabled suggestions for potential improvements to be made.


: The article presents a review of literature data on one of topical problems of contemporary endocrinology, developmental biology and gerontology--age-related changes of synthesis of adrenal androgens (dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate), and bioregulation of their production in man and monkeys.


This paper presents a novel deep learning enabled, video based analysis framework for assessing the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) that can be used in the clinic or at home. We report results from comparing the performance of the framework to that of trained clinicians on a population of 32 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. In-person clinical assessments by trained neurologists are used as the ground truth for training our framework and for comparing the performance. We find that the standard sit-to-stand activity can be used to evaluate the UPDRS sub-scores of bradykinesia (BRADY) and posture instability and gait disorders (PIGD). For BRADY we find Fl-scores of 0.75 using our framework compared to 0.50 for the video based rater clinicians, while for PIGD we find 0.78 for the framework and 0.45 for the video based rater clinicians. We believe our proposed framework has potential to provide clinically acceptable end points of PD in greater granularity without imposing burdens on patients and clinicians, which empowers a variety of use cases such as passive tracking of PD progression in spaces such as nursing homes, in-home self-assessment, and enhanced tele-medicine.


It is well established that all interactions are symmetric: when the effect of X on Y is conditional on the value of Z, the effect of Z must be conditional on the value of X. Yet the typical practice when testing an interactive theory is to (1) view one variable, Z, as the conditioning variable, (2) offer a hypothesis about how the marginal effect of the other variable, X, is conditional on the value of Z, and (3) construct a marginal effect plot for X to test the theory. We show that the failure to make additional predictions about how the effect of Z varies with the value of X, and to evaluate them with a second marginal effect plot, means that scholars often ignore evidence that can be extremely valuable for testing their theory. As a result, they either understate or, more worryingly, overstate the support for their theories.


ABSTRACT Nutrient depletion in soils adversely affects soil quality and reduces crop yield and consequently poses a potential threat to global food security and agricultural sustainability. With an emphasis on human-induced nutrient depletion, this paper described the causality among soil nutrient depletion, soil quality, crop production, socio-economic variables, and environmental condition. Then, global soil nutrient budgets of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were estimated for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare) production for the year 2000. As a result, there were unbalanced fertilization with surplus N in some developing countries and insufficient inputs in many developing and all least developed countries. Globally, soil nutrient deficits were estimated at an average rate (kg ha−1 yr−1) of 18.7 N, 5.1 P, and 38.8 K, covering 59%, 85%, and 90% of harvested area in the year 2000, respectively, and annual total nutrient deficit was 5.5 Tg (1 Tg = 1012 g) N, 2.3 Tg P, and 12.2 Tg K, coupled with a total potential global production loss of 1,136 Tg yr−1. Besides socio-economic factors, the soil nutrient depletion can be attributed to insufficient fertilizer use, unbalanced fertilization, and nutrient depletion-induced soil fertility problems. Soil fertility problems associated with human-induced nutrient depletion are widespread worldwide.


Despite the fact that land rental is restricted to varying degrees in India, the participation in this market is widespread and it is observed to operate relatively efficiently in 12 villages studied in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The estimated probit models predicted that the rental market transferred land to those with relatively smaller holdings, but greater ability to make productive use of land, more assets to invest, more adults available for labour and fewer off-farm opportunities. Also land is rented out predominantly to younger farmers and to farmers not involved in off-farm jobs. Renting in is predicted to be relatively higher in the villages which are remote and weakly integrated into mainstream infrastructure and institutions. Land rental markets make an important contribution towards land use redistribution in the villages where land rental is high and where land distribution without land rental is relatively more unequal. The study recommends that existing policies restricting land rental should be eased, and investment towards infrastructure development and off-farm employment generating projects expanded.


We revisit the public banks debate, survey the theoretical arguments and test the robustness (and expand) the existing empirical evidence. While we find some support for the view that public banks do not allocate credit optimally, we also report indicative evidence that they exert a positive influence on private bank efficiency, and may contribute to reduce credit procyclicality. Ultimately, we find that the recent criticism to public banks has generally been based on inconclusive cross-country evidence. More specific bank-level research is still needed to substantiate a case for or against public banks in developing economies.


This ethnographic research explores the concepts of religion and acculturation, and possible relationships between them, in the Greensboro, North Carolina Montagnard community. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. A range of acculturative and religious experiences were found. Gender, time in the United States, age at arrival in the United States, generation of arrival in the United States, and other factors contributed to the experience of acculturation for each participant. Implications and possibilities for further research are discussed.


Abstract Many kinds of oligosaccharides and sugar alcohols have been newly developed as bulking sugar substitutes that have beneficial health effects. A sugar substitute that is not digested and absorbed in the small intestine reaches the large intestine, where it is completely fermented by intestinal bacteria and produces short-chain fatty acids, which are converted to energy. The available energy of a nondigestible sugar substitute, which is completely fermented by intestinal microbes, is estimated as approximately 2 kcal/g. On the other hand, a sufficiently high ingestion of nondigestible sugar substitutes regularly causes overt diarrhea in human and animals. However, the diarrhea disappears within a few days because intestinal microbes, which readily utilize these saccharides, increase during ingestion. The maximum permissible dose, by which transitory diarrhea is not caused by the ingestion of nondigestible sugar substitutes, is estimated as approximately 0.3 g per kg body weight in single ingestion for Japanese adults. The value is varied by some factors, such as separate ingestion, repeat ingestion, test substance, and body condition, etc.


During the Snowball Earth events of the Neoproterozoic, tropical regions of the ocean could have developed a precipitated salt lag deposit left behind by sublimating sea ice. The major salt would have been hydrohalite, NaCl•2H2O. The crystals in such a deposit can be small and highly scattering, resulting in an allwave albedo similar to that of snow. The snow-free sea ice from which such a crust could develop has a lower albedo, around 0.5, so the development of a crust would substantially increase the albedo of tropical regions on Snowball Earth. Hydrohalite crystals are much less absorptive than ice in the nearinfrared part of the solar spectrum, so their presence at the surface would increase the overall albedo as well as altering its spectral distribution. In this paper, we use laboratory measurements of the spectral albedo of a hydrohalite lag deposit, in combination with a radiative transfer model, to infer the inherent optical properties of hydrohalite as functions of wavelength. Using this result, we model mixtures of hydrohalite and ice representing both artificially created surfaces in the laboratory and surfaces relevant to Snowball Earth. The model is tested against sequences of laboratory measurements taken during the formation and the dissolution of a lag deposit of hydrohalite. We present a parameterization for the broadband albedo of cold, sublimating sea ice as it forms and evolves a hydrohalite crust, for use in climate models of Snowball Earth.


DETERMINATION OF DEGRADATIVE GENE FREQUENCIES: APPLICATIONS IN POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS By Karen L. Mumy Aerobic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degradative pathways have been described in a wide variety of bacteria, fungi and algae. The occurrence and role of these pathways and their corresponding genes in natural attenuation in environmental systems remain poorly understood. The primary goal of this dissertation research was to determine the concentration and frequency of five degradative genes within natural microbial communities exposed to ambient, low and high levels of PAHs using a quantitative-competitive PCR approach adapted for microbial ecology use. PAH concentrations, total microbial biomass and microbial community structure for sediment samples were also determined using a coupled biochemical approach. Community structure analysis indicated that microeukaryotes may be indirectly responding to the contamination, suggesting the development of a PAH-based food web within the microbial communities. Gene frequencies and concentrations reflected increases with elevated levels of contamination. However, the measured frequencies for most genes indicated that only 0.1% or less of the microbial community had the genetic capacity to degrade the contaminants using described aerobic pathways and their corresponding genes and suggested these sequences are rare in these environmental samples. Metabolic assays indicated that the detected genetic capacity was sufficient to account for the overall biodegradative potential observed within the entire sediment microbial community. These data support that, although the reported frequencies were lower than those others have described, the determined frequencies are indicative of the genetic capacity of natural populations in these sediments. While it is likely that additional unidentified degradative pathways and genes exist and are operating in the environment, the data presented in this dissertation support that many of the well understood enzymes and pathways, while primarily studied and defined within laboratory settings, catalyze the majority of the metabolic activity observed in this environmental setting. DETERMINATION OF DEGRADATIVE GENE FREQUENCIES: APPLICATIONS IN POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS


Background Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and systemic sclerosis (SSc), have to cope with lifelong disease manifestation and impaired physical function. Limited physical activities along the disease will affect their quality of life (QoL). The QoL is recognized as an important factor of treatment strategy. This study aims to compare the quality of life of patient with SLE and SSc.
Method This study was a cross-sectional study and conducted in rheumatology outpatient clinic of Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung, Indonesia from January 2015 until March 2017. The respondents were patients diagnosed as SLE and SSc who regularly visit rheumatology outpatient clinic. Respondents were asked to complete the Short Form-36 (SF-36). Baseline characteristics, including age, gender, and duration of disease, were collected during the visit. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the comparison.
Result There were 242 patients who completed the SF-36 questionnaires, consisted of 193 SLE patients and 49 SSc patients. SLE patients were slightly younger and had a longer duration of disease compared to SSc. The SF-36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) score was significantly higher on SLE patients (40.6 vs 40.4, p = 0.0001), but the mean of Mental Component Summary (MCS) score was similar among both diseases.
Conclusion Physical functioning aspect on quality of life is better in SLE patients compared to SSc patients.  However, mental aspect for both diseases are relatively similar.
Keywords : systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, quality of life.


Introduction: Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) has gained popularity since its first description in 1974. At Community Health Network (CHN), the OPAT clinic was developed three years ago by an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist and includes pharmacist driven monitoring for all patients receiving OPAT. The pharmacist ensures labs are drawn weekly to assess for renal or hepatic function changes, medication levels are drawn and adjusted as needed, and repeat labs and levels are ordered to continue assessing therapy. There have not been any studies to date to investigate CHN's OPAT program both demographically and clinically. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to qualitatively determine the number of patients, types of infections, source organism, antibiotics utilized, duration of therapy, adverse effects, and number and types of interventions made to therapy by the OPAT clinical pharmacist. Methods: This study was conducted via retrospective chart analysis and included both demographic and clinical information such as infection type, source organism(s), antibiotic, duration of therapy, adverse effects, and successful completion of OPAT regimen. Information regarding number and type of pharmacist intervention were also recorded. Patients who received OPAT from January 2017 to January 2018 were included in the study. Results: 226 patients were included in the study. Over ten different types of infections were identified with osteomyelitis being most common (n=65). The majority of infections were attributed to Staphylococcus aureus both methicillin sensitive and methicillin resistant organisms with another large portion deemed culture negative. Antibiotics used in the OPAT program primarily consisted of vancomycin (n=67), ceftriaxone (n=60), and cefazolin (n=52). The mean total duration of treatment was 42.7 days and a mean of 33.45 of those occurred via OPAT once the patient was discharged. The pharmacist made a total of 138 interventions equaling about 0.6 interventions per patient. 93.4% of patients included successfully completed the OPAT program. Conclusion: CHN's OPAT program involved a wide variety of patients with diverse infections and antibiotic therapy. This study helped to successfully determine the demographic and clinical information from January 2017 to January 2018. High rates of success in CHN's OPAT program provides support for continued use in the future with pharmacist involvement.


Objective: Antonovsky´s concept 'Sense of coherence' (SOC) has shown to be related with health, and a person with high level of SOC has an adaptive health behavior. The aim was to investigate the individual distribution regarding 'Sense of coherence' and oral health in an adult population. Method: A random sample of 589 individuals from Jonkoping, Sweden, aged 20,30,40,50,60,70 and 80 years old, was used. Clinical and radio graphical examinations were performed and a questionnaire measuring attitudes, knowledge of oral health and SOC (13-items) was included. Total SOC score and the three components; comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness which SOC is built upon was analyzed. Results: A total of 526 individuals participated in the study, 263 men and 263 women. The individual SOC showed an increase with age, and the youngest group (20-year-olds) had a significantly lower SOC compared to the other age groups. Elderly men had a significantly higher SOC compared to women in the same age (60 and 70 age groups). Analysing the three components, comprehensibility has significantly lower mean, compared to manageability and meaningfulness for the 20-year-olds. When divided SOC score in low ( 76 points) SOC score, 55% among 20-years-old had low SOC score compared to 18% for 80-years-old. Preliminary results showed that individuals with high SOC score had significant more number of decayed and filled surfaces (DFS) compared to individuals with low SOC. Conclusion: The distribution of SOC score differed regarding age and gender. Younger people had a lower SOC score compared to elderly age groups. A clear association was found between SOC scores and oral health measured by number of DFS.


Energy and nutrient intakes were assessed in 136 children, aged 7-8 years and living in and around Edinburgh, using the 7 d weighed inventory technique. The results were compared with UK dietary reference values (DRV) for energy, macronutrients and micronutrients. NSP intakes were compared with a calculated reference value (CRV). Mean energy intakes were close to the estimated average requirement for both boys and girls. Mean percentages of food energy derived from fat and saturated fat were high in relation to DRV (37 and 14 compared with 35 and 11 respectively). Mean percentage of food energy derived from total carbohydrate was close to the DRV of 50 but intakes of starch appeared to be low and intakes of total sugars high (23 and 26% food energy respectively). Superficially, this suggests that there is a need to alter the balance of carbohydrate in favour of increasing starch and lowering total sugar. There was, however, a clear 'fat-sugar seesaw', i.e. children with a high percentage energy from total sugars had a low percentage energy from fat, and vice versa. In view of this finding, it is possible that efforts to reduce total sugar intake in children may result in a further increase in percentage energy from fat. Mean intakes of NSP were only 50% of the CRV, but this guideline may be set too high. Mean intakes of most micronutrients were above reference nutrient intakes. Reported low intakes of Zn and Se were treated with caution due to the perceived incompleteness of the data for these in the nutrient database. The authors concluded that targeting high intakes of total fat and saturated fat should be the health priorities in this age-group.


Equitable barriers to succession were not a unitary element in the law of Rome in antiquity. Unconscionable behaviour by the successor towards the deceased (or family members) were considered by the imperial laws (constitutiones) a factor in succession rights. There has been no shortage of attempts by Romanists to classify these factors into several categories. In this juridical regime, it should be noticed that such conduct does not entail disinheritance; It only precludes retaining inherited goods that passed to the state treasury (the aerarium and later, the fiscus) and, exceptionally, to the persons legally considered. Therefore, equitable barriers to succession were not absolute bars. The Roman state did not immediately acquire the goods, but had to bring an action to determine whether the facts attributed to the putative successor had been established and, if so, declare him barred. The defendant was permitted to defend himself, contesting the action and appealing against the adverse judgment. In Roman law, the list of acts that could result in preclusion were considered to be exhaustive, a this was also later the case in Portuguese law, a situation provoking the disagreement between those who who refuse their extension to similar behaviour, - admitting only analogia legis - and those who admit the analogia iuris, the only kind of analogy that contemporary, non-positivist methodology considers. Another situation that divides Portuguese doctrine has to do with the necessity or not of an action and what its nature is. Considering that the security of legal commerce and the defence of the dignity of the successor requires an action, it seems that this is a declaratory action of simple appreciation: the judge merely tries whether the defendant is the author of the behaviour of which he is accused and, if such is established, declares such conduct wrongful. Equitable has a general character and therefore applies to all kinds of succession, even legitimacy. In this case, as the person precluded from succession is associated with his wrongdoing for all legal purposes (article 2166, paragraph 2 of the Portuguese Civil Code), the latter may provide grounds for disinheritance which, in turn, may also be reflected in the remaining forms of succession.  Finally, the possibility that the author of the succession may rehabilitate the person barred from inheritance is not excluded, regard being had to the aforesaid association of preclusion with the wrongdoing in question. Palavras-chave: Indignidade, Capacidade, Incapacidade, Deserdacao, Delacao (delatio), Herdeiro, Legatario, Fideicomissario, Heranca, Legado, Fideicomisso, Aerarium, Ereptio, Acao (declarativa), Paterfamilias, Filiusfamilias, Heredes sui, Sc. Silanianum, Leges Iulia et Papia Poppaea, Vontade, Testador, De cuius, Sucessao, Reabilitacao, Feminae probrosae, Possuidor de ma fe, Taxatividade, Analogia


In this paper we are concerned with the degree to which modeling languages explicitly accommodate conceptual distinctions. Such distinctions refer to the precision and nuance with which a given modeling concept in a language can be interpreted (e.g., can an actor be a human, an abstraction, or a collection of things). We start by elaborating on the notion of conceptual distinctions, while also providing a list of common modeling concepts and related distinctions that are relevant to enterprise modeling. Based on this, we will then analyze a number of conceptual modeling languages to see whether they accommodate the explicit modeling of (potentially important) conceptual distinctions – that is, whether they have specific language elements to model conceptually distinct entities with. We conclude by discussing what impact our findings may have on the use (and creation) of modeling languages.


SDN and NFV have been creating paradigm shifts across major service
providers, governments, and industries. In most recent months, these
two novel frameworks created jitters and excitements across major
academic institutions and communities of practice. While these are
considered disruptive to major network infrastructures operating on
status quo, SDN and NFV nonetheless bring network resiliency,
scalability, manageability, and, most importantly, lower long-term
operational expenditures. They create opportunities for innovation
that engage key players from networks, security, and software to
develop new software controllers, APIs, networks, and technologies.
This document aims to propose a formal security architecture that
overarches important aspects of SDN and NFV 's frameworks. The
architecture can be elaborated and modified as these two frameworks
mature over time.


Building energy systems are designed to handle both permanent and temporary occupants. Permanent occupants are considered the base energy load while temporary occupants are considered a temporary or additional load. Temporary occupancy is potentially the most difficult to design as the number of temporary occupants varies more significantly than permanent occupants. This case study was designed to investigate the effect of occupancy on energy loads, i.e. the relationship between occupancy and building energy loads. This study estimated the building occupancy by using existing network infrastructure, such as Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet based on the assumption that the number of Wi-Fi connections and the wired Ethernet traffic were used as a proxy for total and stationary occupancy. The relationships were then examined using correlations and regression analyses. The results showed the following: 1. Stationary occupancy was successfully estimated using the network infrastructure; 2. There was a linear relationship between electricity use and total occupancy (and, thus, the use of network infrastructure); 3. Permanent occupants generated a higher impact on the electricity load than the temporary occupants; 4. There was a logarithmic relationship between electricity use and the Ethernet data traffic (a proxy of permanent occupants); and 5. The statistical and qualitative analyses indicated that there was no significant relationship between occupancy and thermal loads, such as cooling and heating loads.


Practitioner inquiry is an ethical process that begins from a stance of caring. When one cares about the principles of democratic participation and social justice, one wants to advocate for them through modelling them in practice. When teachers engage in practice-based research that is democratic and radical in its intent and process, they act as ethical role models. The aims of this inquiry were to explore ethical principles of practice through a 'students as researchers' approach to service learning at the high school campus of an international school in Central Switzerland. The research question that drove the inquiry was; 'How does meaningful teacher and student involvement as collaborative inquirers into service learning model a pedagogy for service learning?' The participatory methodology of practice-based, collaborative inquiry involved a teacher-researcher and student researchers engaging in a pedagogy that was based on mutual understanding and respect and critical reflection. A rich variety of qualitative, practice-oriented methods were employed within cycles of inquiry and spirals of action and reflection. Through modelling and reflecting on the pedagogical strategies that were part of the collaborative research process, a framework for a 'Pedagogy of CARE' was developed. The acronym CARE, whilst representing the underlying stance of caring, stands for the required and desired personal attributes within collaborative inquiry; one is conscious, active, responsible and experimental. At the same time, it also embodies pedagogical principles; one engages in a practice of consciousness, action, responsibility and experimentation. This framework, conceptualised as a non-hierarchical pyramid model, can be used by teachers and educational researchers within international education and beyond to inform a practice that is ethical in both its process and intent.


A key success for automotive suppliers relies on its on-time delivery and efficient manufacturing process. A case-study rubber seal manufacturer is using just in time (JIT) techniques, requiring efficient process flow with low wastes. However, the majority of the current processes still rely on workers' expertise that can lead to process errors. In 2011, 699 events of rubber supplying delays were found and 525 events or 75.11% of these delays are due to inappropriate ordering and management of the Kanban system in the rubber preparation process. The objective of this research is, therefore, to improve the rubber preparation process by developing a logical method to identify appropriate times for each step and designing information management for the Electronic Kanban System (E-Kanban) to be able to deliver effective and accurate signaling. This E-Kanban system must be able to automatically indicate when each step in the rubber preparation should start so that the rubbers are prepared and ready for the next moulding process by the time they are needed. We also design user interface for an effective use of the system in actual operation. After the developed E-Kanban system was implemented in the factory from July to October 2012, we found that the number of rubber supplying delays could be reduced to 86 events and only 11 events or 12.79% of these delays are from the rubber preparation process.


The United States is experiencing an epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) and overdose-related deaths. However, the genetic basis for the ability to discontinue opioid use has not been investigated. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of opioid cessation (defined as abstinence from illicit opioids for >1 year or <6 months before the interview date) in 1130 African American (AA) and 2919 European ancestry (EA) participants recruited for genetic studies of substance use disorders and who met lifetime Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) criteria for OUD. Association tests performed separately within each ethnic group were combined by meta-analysis with results obtained from the Comorbidity and Trauma Study. Although there were no genome-wide significant associations, we found suggestive associations with nine independent loci, including three which are biologically relevant: rs4740988 in PTPRD (pAA + EA = 2.24 × 10−6), rs36098404 in MYOM2 (pEA = 2.24 × 10−6), and rs592026 in SNAP25-AS1 (pEA = 6.53 × 10−6). Significant pathways identified in persons of European ancestry (EA) are related to vitamin D metabolism (p = 3.79 × 10−2) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling (p = 2.39 × 10−2). UK Biobank traits including smoking and drinking cessation and chronic back pain were significantly associated with opioid cessation using GWAS-derived polygenic risk scores. These results provide evidence for genetic influences on opioid cessation, suggest genetic overlap with other relevant traits, and may indicate potential novel therapeutic targets for OUD.


In recent years historians of the Renaissance and Enlightenment have paid increasing attention to the influence of Epicureanism upon European thought. As a result, Lucretius, the Roman who expounded Epicurean philosophy in his epic poem De rerum natura, has come to assume a foundational role in accounts of the development of modern science and philosophy. This change has been reflected within the world of Blake criticism, where, as scholars have become more interested in Blake's complex response to materialism, so the presence of Lucretius, as both a focus for Blake's hostility and as a shaping influence on his mythology, has become a subject of detailed scholarly investigation. We now have two studies specifically devoted to Blake and Lucretius. Stephanie Codsi has considered how Blake's hostility to Epicurean Deism could help to explain his depiction of absent fathers in Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Joshua Schouten de Jel, in a book-length study, develops a comprehensive account of the sources from which Blake could have learned about Lucretius and a detailed view of particular areas of his response (focused upon figures that he associated with Epicurean atheism, Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton, and on specific areas of thought, including epistemology and cosmology). Since these studies have shed much light on this area, I need to explain why we need another discussion of Blake and Lucretius. In focusing upon the grounds of Blake's hostility it is easy to overlook or underestimate the ambivalence that haunts his understanding of error and of prophecy. In this essay I shall argue that Blake saw in Lucretius not only a materialistic cosmology that he felt compelled to attack, but also a form of prophecy that represented an alluring alternative to his own prophetic mission, one whose malign influence could embroil those who tried to contain or oppose it—including John Milton. The work that deals with this issue most directly is Blake's creation myth, The Book of Los—a work that seems to be nobody's favorite, and that can appear frustratingly obscure.


This paper addresses the coconstruction of identities and emotions through the human/animal relationship, arguing that nonhuman animals can and do act as coagents in interspecies encounters. The paper narrates the extraordinary boundary-transgressing experiences of a particular kind of co(a)gency labeled "huminality" (the ongoing affective relationship of human and animal). An autoethnographic account of pet-visitation involving a woman, a West Highland white terrier named Fergus, and geriatric residents demonstrates the power of huminality to authorize the emergence and realization of different identities and selves. Examples include the intimate friend, the dignified self, the institutional resister, the gift-giver, and the available self. Huminality, in the emotional spacetime of the hospital, is rooted in empathy, concern, and affection. As ontological choreography, huminality takes us past the animal-Nature/human-culture frontier into uncharted territories of spacetime to engage in forms of life with nonhuman others. Encounters with animals, even on a geriatric ward, can transform our universe and our selves.


This paper estimates the visitation demand function for Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) in order to determine the conservation fee to charge South African residents to maximise park revenue. We conducted contingent behaviour experiments at KTP and three other national parks, which we assume are either substitutes or complements for visitors to KTP. Our random effects Tobit model shows that there is a wide variation in the own-price elasticities of demand between the parks, but they are generally not elastic. The cross-price estimates indicate that there is limited substitutability in visitation demand among the four parks. The study uses the unitary elasticity rule to demonstrate that there is a possibility of raising conservation fees to revenue-maximising levels at KTP, as well as the other parks, using methods such as a mandatory conservation fee increment or a community-bound voluntary donation above the regular conservation fee. Sharing conservation revenue with communities surrounding parks could demonstrate the link between ecotourism and local communities' economic development, promote a positive view of land restitution involving national parks, help address South Africa's heavily skewed distribution of income, and act as an incentive for the local communities to participate in conservation even more.


In our previous work the nano-sized hydroxyapatite (nano-HAP) with uniform morphology has been firstly synthesized by a wet chemical method based on dialysis, but the dialysis efficiency was not investigated in detail. In this paper, the removal efficiency of impurity ions such as NH4 + and NO3 - was respectively evaluated by calculating the concentration of the representative irons between the inner slurry and outer distilled water. Results showed that 99% NO3 - ions and 96.9% NH4 + - ions in the slurry has been eliminated. In the first dialysis time, the NH4 + ions diffuse faster than the NO3 - ions due to their smaller size. In the following dialysis times, the dialysis efficiency of NO3 - ions is higher than that of the NH4 + ions because of the presence of higher NO3 - ions concentration gradient. The final nano-HAP is also characterized by XRD, TEM, and FT-IR. It is revealed that the products are stick-like with a length of about 150nm and a diameter of about 20-50 nm. Current work suggests that dialysis is an efficient purified method for nano-HAP production and especially can be applied to industrial preparation of fine nano-sized HAP powders.


We have isolated a protein from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that binds specifically to a nucleotide sequence associated with the autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) ARS120, located in the telomeric region of a yeast chromosome. "Footprinting" analysis revealed that a 26-base-pair DNA sequence, 5'-CAAGTGCCGTGCATAATGATGTGGGT-3', was protected by this protein from DNase I digestion. A plasmid containing 48 direct tandem repeats of this oligonucleotide was constructed and used to affinity-purify the binding activity. The purified protein, OBF1 (origin binding factor), showed specific binding to ARS120. The 26-base-pair OBF1-protected sequence was sufficient for the recognition and binding of the protein, since the mobility of a DNA fragment containing the synthetic binding site was retarded in agarose gels when incubated with OBF1. By performing competition experiments with a number of different ARSs, we showed that OBF1 binds tightly to some but not all ARSs. Interestingly, OBF1 does not appear to have a discernible affinity for ARS1 or the ARSs associated with mating type loci, HML alpha and HMRa, which are substrates for a DNA-binding activity reported by others. Since OBF1 appears to bind to DNA associated with a number of ARSs, we suggest that this protein may have a function related to ARS activity, perhaps in the initiation of DNA replication at selected ARSs.


Many different artefacts can occur
during magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), some affecting the diagnostic
quality, while others may be confused
with pathology. An artefact is a feature
appearing in an image that is not
present in the original object. Artefacts
can be classified as patientrelated,
signal processing-dependent
and hardware (machine)-related.This
article presents an overview of MRI
artefacts and possible rectifying methods.


1. There is a lack of consensus in theoretical and empirical literature on whether height–diameter (H:D) relationships of canopy trees are asymptotic. 2. To investigate H:D allometry, particularly in the transition to the canopy, we focused on shadetolerant Abies balsamea, across steep physical gradients associated with elevation, and correlated biotically generated gradients of stem density, canopy height and canopy species composition. 3. We addressed these questions: A. What is the relation between H:D allometric form and emergence into the canopy? B. Is H:D allometry asymptotic? C. What aspects of the H:D relationship are most sensitive to environmental conditions? Using maximum likelihood, we compared the performance of alternative H:D forms (linear, power function, non-sigmoid asymptotic and sigmoid asymptotic), incorporating elevation and local canopy height as covariates. 4. Abies balsamea H:D allometric form was clearly sigmoid asymptotic, by a wide AIC margin, across all gradients, to an asymptote slightly above canopy height. The commonly used power function had essentially no empirical support (DAIC >> 10). 5. Canopy height decreased with elevation, but with much variation, so elevation was a poor predictor of the asymptote. Across environmental gradients, H:D allometries overlapped for trees far below the canopy, but diverged strongly for trees approaching different canopy heights. 6. Changes in resource allocation and modification of growth form that could generate asymptotic H:D allometries are consistent with known physical forces and diverse research findings in tree developmental biology and physiology. 7. Synthesis. The H:D asymptote and its tight relation to canopy height, unapparent in aggregated H:D data, became clear only when canopy height and elevation were included explicitly in allometric models. Asymptotic H:D allometries may be the norm, though often undetected, in unmanaged forests without recent catastrophic disturbance. Appropriate asymptotic H:D models may reduce error in forest carbon and biomass estimation and promote theoretical and empirical integration in the ecology and evolution of tree allometry.


In electrical systems, the small-signal stability analysis method is usually applied to synchronous machines by using the Park representation (d, q-components). This paper presents the generalization of a different approach for this method, based on a, b, c phase variables. This approach is essential to software systems using phase variables as state variables and its generalization yields a small-signal stability analysis tool which is fully modular. Two test cases are presented to showcase the application of this approach to elements such as synchronous machines, automatic voltage regulator (AVR), power system stabilizer of type IEEE PSS2B, penstock, Francis turbine and speed regulator.


BACKGROUND
Increasing evidence suggests that abnormal levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) are associated with ulcerative colitis (UC). It has been demonstrated that microRNA (miR)-142-5p was upregulated in UC patients. However, it remains unclear what the role of miR-142-5p is in UC.

METHODS
Samples from patients with active UC and healthy controls were performed with miRNA microarray to identify miRNAs involved in the pathogenesis of UC. The results of quantitative RT-PCR verified that miR-142-5p was upregulated in UC patients. Meanwhile, the decreased expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) was also detected at mRNA and protein levels. The regulatory effect of miR-142-5p on SOCS1 was evaluated by luciferase reporter assay. Levels of IL-6 or IL-8 were detected by quantitative RT-PCR or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in HT-29 cells to evaluate the roles of SOCS1 or miR-142-5p in the progression of UC.

RESULTS
The expression level of miR-142-5p was significantly upregulated and inversely correlated with SOCS1. Luciferase experiments showed that miR-142-5p interfered with the expression of SOCS1 by directly targeting its 3'-UTR. Furthermore, the level of miR-142-5p plays an important role in the secretion of IL-6 and IL-8. Moreover, lost function of SOCS1 reversed the miR-142-5p inhibitory effect.

CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that miR-142-5p improved the intestinal inflammation of active-UC patients by downregulating SOCS1 expression and increasing the cytokines IL-6 and IL-8 secretion.


A formal transformation between knowledge contained in Operations Support Systems (OSS) views is required to automate the deployment of OSS. This paper details progress towards the integration of policy languages at the business view of the TeleManagement Forum (TMF) Next Generation Operations Support System (NGOSS), with the specification of a formal language for the TMF's Shared Information and Data Policy Aggregated Business Entities.


 Inspired by the success of least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) in statistical learning, we propose an regularized maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) to estimate models with only a limited set of adaptation data to improve accuracy for automatic speech recognition, by regularizing the standard MLLR objective function with an constraint. The so-called LASSO MLLR is a natural solution to the data insufficiency problem because the constraint regularizes some parameters to exactly 0 and reduces the number of free parameters to estimate. Tested on the 5kWSJ0 task, the proposed LASSO MLLR gives significant word error rate reduction from the errors obtained with the standard MLLR in an utterance-by-utterance unsupervised adaptation scenario.


Shapes are considered to be related to different personality traits, and particularly, in terms of metaphorical associations, the round shape has been related to the warmth trait, and the square shape to the competence trait. The present study used a pre-post design to replicate these associations. Moreover, it was investigated whether round shapes enhanced the estimation of physical warmth as suggested by contemporary debates on cross-modal correspondences. The results indicated that the round shape increased the perception of warmth (p = .004) and the square shape enhanced the perception of competence (p = .025), which confirmed round-warm and square-competent associations. Furthermore, estimates of the room temperature were higher in the round condition, compared to the square condition (p = .023). The theoretical implications of these findings and directions for further research are discussed.


Male and female Sprague–Dawley rats were administered quinpirole (1 mg/kg, i.p.) or saline once daily from postnatal day (P)1 to P21. This drug treatment has been shown to produce long‐term priming of the D2 receptor. Beginning on P62, rats were administered the atypical antipsychotic olanzapine (2.5 mg/kg) or saline twice daily (i.p.) for 28 days. One day after olanzapine treatment ceased, rats were tested on the place and match‐to‐place versions of the Morris water maze (MWM) for seven consecutive days. Dopamine D2 receptor priming was verified through a yawning behavioural test, a D2 receptor‐mediated event, before olanzapine was administered as well as after olanzapine treatment and behavioural testing were complete. Results showed that neonatal quinpirole treatment induced D2 priming that was eliminated by olanzapine treatment. On the MWM place version, D2‐primed rats demonstrated a significant impairment that was eliminated by olanzapine treatment, but olanzapine treatment to animals neonatally treated with saline produced a significant deficit on the place version of the MWM. There were no significant deficits on the match‐to‐place version. Brain tissue analyses revealed that neonatal quinpirole treatment produced a significant decrease in hippocampal NGF, BDNF and ChAT that was eliminated by olanzapine treatment. Neonatal quinpirole treatment produced a significant decrease in BDNF and ChAT in the frontal cortex that was unaffected by olanzapine treatment. These results show that olanzapine eliminates D2 receptor priming and cognitive impairment and also alleviates decreases in neurotrophins and acetylcholinergic markers produced by D2 priming in the hippocampus.


Color image demosaicking is a key process in the digital imaging pipeline. In this paper, we present a rigorous treatment of a classical demosaicking algorithm based on alternating projections (AP). Since its publication, the AP algorithm has been wildly cited and served as a benchmark in a flurry of papers in the demosaicking literature. Despite its impressive performances, a relative weakness of the AP algorithm is its high computational complexity. In our work, we provide a rigorous analysis of the convergence of the AP algorithm based on the concept of contraction mapping. Furthermore, we propose an efficient noniterative implementation of the AP algorithm in the polyphase domain. Numerical experiments show that the proposed noniterative implementation achieves the same results obtained by the original AP algorithm at convergence, but is about an order of magnitude faster than the latter.