Abstract In the great majority of animal taxa, males do not participate in parental care, but substantial paternal care is common across avian species. We examined male and female incubation contributions in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), quantifying the incubation behavior of free-living, individually color-banded parents during 47 nesting cycles. We also measured the relative warmth of male and female incubation surfaces. Females spent more time incubating than their male partners, and female time incubating served as the best single predictor for hatching success. Considered alone, male time incubating correlated negatively with hatching success, but that effect was nullified when female incubation was taken into account. Females had warmer abdomens than males, a difference that may reflect greater development of brood patch and effectiveness of incubation in that sex. Here, male badge size was not demonstrably associated with either male or female incubation patterns or hatching success. División de Labores: Incubación y Cuidado por Ambos Progenitores en Passer domesticus


In this paper, we formally demonstrate that incorrectly issued patents can survive in the market without judicial review, even when the invention is neither novel nor non-obvious. We support this contention by presenting a game theoretic model that studies the interaction between the patentee and an alleged infringer/challenger. Using this model, we demonstrate the impact of the transaction costs in the patent system at the administrative stage in the Patent Office and at the enforcement stage in the courts, and highlight the inability in our current system to mount effective challenges to improperly granted patents in the current system. We also evaluate how changes in patent litigation costs and the quality of adjudication in the courts affect the incentives to challenge patents thereby affecting the probability of securing a patent. We show that there is a need to advance new mechanisms to improve the administrative processes employed by the Patent Office. Specifically, we support including administrative challenges, such as patent oppositions, in order to improve Patent Office functioning by correcting and limiting the number of improperly granted patents. We describe and analyze the characteristics of such an opposition system, including the costs of such a process, the timing of the process with respect to patent issuance, and the scope of the estoppel granted to such a process for both subsequent oppositions and court challenges to the patent. We conclude that a low-cost, post-grant, opposition process based primarily on written submissions with a limited estoppel effect and administered by Administrative Opposition Judges (AOJs) will serve as an effective instrument for improving the quality of patents that are issued and enforced. In other words, including these incentives for producing better quality patents will decrease the number of incorrectly issued patents. These incentives will improve overall social welfare thereby reducing the incentives for strategic conduct and aggressive patenting in many technology areas. Finally, we present empirical results from an exciting patent reform experiment taking place in Japan in the past four years and compare these results to the insights obtained from our model. Since April 2000, Japan has embraced a dual patent invalidation system that permits patent challenges in both the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) and their District Courts. Our empirical data on dual invalidation processes in Japan from 2000-2003 demonstrate that there are sound economic and institutional reasons for maintaining the ability to raise patent validity challenges in both the Patent Office and the courts since both mechanisms are complementary and necessary.


This document is addressed to manufacturers of solar thermal systems. It describes the main criteria for a successful integration of solar thermal systems in buildings and proposes a methodology for the design of systems specifically conceived for building integration. For each specific sub-technology, it provides a comprehensive set of practical recommendations that should lead to the production of new systems appealing to architects.


While we would expect secularisation to have important consequences for voting behaviour, data limitations in previous studies leave the specific implications of secularisation for Canadian electoral politics unclear. Using a data set covering the period between 1975 and 2005, this study examines which aspects of secularisation have affected the partisan balance of the electorate by estimating the effects of religious belonging, behaving, and believing on party preferences. The results show that while the effects of religion (and other social identities) have not changed over time, changes in the composition of the electorate resulting from the growing share of non-religious Canadians holding liberal views on questions of personal morality has benefited the NDP and undercut support for the Conservatives.


The emerging precision medicine approach aims to tailor disease prevention and treatment to each patient on the basis of individual variability, environmental factors and lifestyle. Fundamental achievements in the last few decades have converged to offer nowadays the compelling opportunity to move towards this innovative approach: i) unprecedented improvements in disease modeling in silico, in vitro and in vivo; ii) acquisition of a wide range of biomedical information combined with the development of computational toolsets for flexible and integrative analyses of multi-assay datasets. Our deeper understanding of oncogenic mechanisms has finally begun to have a crucial impact on clinical decisions at several steps, from cancer prevention and diagnosis to therapeutic intervention. However, precision oncology still encounters several unresolved hurdles including tumour heterogeneity and recurrence as well as unexplained drug resistance and lack of effective ways to monitor response to therapeutic treatments. Notably, limitations in biomedical research regulation and governance represent additional debatable issues that need careful consideration.


Background: The results of international randomized clinical trials emphasize the expediency of maintenance therapy following auto-HSCT. However, these studies did not assess such important issues as the need for maintenance therapy in patients who have achieved complete remission (CR) or stringent CR following auto-HSCT. Probably, the results of studying MRD following auto-HSCT will allow receiving a substantiated answer to this question.
 Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of maintenance therapy following auto-HSCT depending on MRD in patients with multiple myeloma.
 Patients and methods: Over the period from January 2012 to April 2018, 70 MM patients (24 males and 46 females) aged 32 to 65 years (median=56) were enrolled into a prospective study. The disease stage according to the International Staging System (ISS) was I, II and III in 28, 19 and 23 patients, respectively. All patients received induction therapy with bortezomib; immunomodulatory drugs were used in 10 cases. After the induction therapy, a single and tandem auto-HSCT were performed in 57 and 13 patients, respectively. On Day 100 following auto-HSCT, bone marrow examination was carried out in order to determine MRD using six-color flow cytometry with a panel of antigens: CD38, CD138, CD45, CD56, CD117, CD19. MRD-negative status was diagnosed in case of detection of <20 clonal plasma cells among 2,000,000 white blood cells (<0.001%; detection limit 10-5). On Day 100 after the auto-HSCT, all patients achieved CR of the disease and were randomized to receive maintenance therapy with lenalidomide 15 mg/day from Day 1 to Day 21 of a 28-day course within a year or no such therapy. The follow-up period since the moment of MRD determination was 2-28 months (median 15). Survival curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Statistical analysis was done using Statistica 10.
 Results: 37 patients were randomized to receive maintenance therapy with lenalidomide following auto-HSCT, including 23 patients in whom plasma cell immunophenotyping showed the lack of MRD and 14 patients in whom MRD-positive status was confirmed. Thirty-three patients were followed-up without further treatment after the auto-HSCT, including 24 cases with MRD-negative status and 9 cases with the presence of abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow. The compared groups were comparable in respect of such parameters as age and the ISS stage.
 The differences between two-year PFS rates in MM patients with MRD-negative status following auto-HSCT who received (n=23) or didn't receive (n=24) the maintenance therapy, showed no statistical significance (p=0.3) and were 88% and 74%, respectively (Fig.1a). In patients with MRD-positive status following auto-HSCT who received lenalidomide, two-year PFS rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher and was 92% versus 45% in the group of patients who didn't receive the maintenance therapy (Fig.1b).
 Conclusion: Achievement of MRD-negative status following auto-HSCT was accompanied by high values of PFS regardless of the use or not use the maintenance therapy with lenalidomide (88% versus 74%, p=0.3). Prescription of the maintenance therapy to patients with MRD-positive status following auto-HSCT improves the PFS.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


The last decades have seen a major gain in understanding the action of cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system in reward processing and the development of addictive behavior. Cannabis-derived psychoactive compounds such as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and synthetic cannabinoids directly interact with the reward system and thereby have addictive properties. Cannabinoids induce their reinforcing properties by an increase in tonic dopamine levels through a cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor–dependent mechanism within the ventral tegmental area. Cues that are conditioned to cannabis smoking can induce drug-seeking responses (ie, craving) by eliciting phasic dopamine events. A dopamine-independent mechanism involved in drug-seeking responses involves an endocannabinoid/glutamate interaction within the corticostriatal part of the reward system. In conclusion, pharmacological blockade of endocannabinoid signaling should lead to a reduction in drug craving and subsequently should reduce relapse behavior in addicted individuals. Indeed, there is increasing preclinical evidence that targeting the endocannabinoid system reduces craving and relapse, and allosteric modulators at CB1 receptors and fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors are in clinical development for cannabis use disorder. Cannabidiol, which mainly acts on CB1 and CB2 receptors, is currently being tested in patients with alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder.


Publication is a part of the project: Regional Center for International Debate in Lodz 2017–2018
Project co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs


A change detection experiment for an invasive species, saltcedar, near Lovelock, Nevada, was conducted with multidate Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) hyperspectral datasets. Classification and NDVI differencing change detection methods were tested. In the classification strategy, a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on single‐date CASI imagery separately in the visible bands and NIR bands. Then the first five PCs from the visible bands and the first five PCs from the NIR bands were used to classify six to eight cover types with a maximum likelihood classifier. A complete matrix of change information and change/no‐change maps were produced by overlaying two single‐date classification maps. In the NDVI differencing strategy, a linear regression model was developed between two Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images to normalize the index differences caused by factors not related to land cover change. Then the actual time 2 NDVI image was subtracted by the predicted time 2 NDVI image to obtain the differencing image. The NDVI differencing image was further processed with a new threshold method into change/no‐change of saltcedar. By testing the single‐date classification results and validating the change/no‐change results, both change detection results indicated that CASI hyperspectral data have the potential to map and monitor the change of saltcedar. However, the accuracy assessment and change/no‐change validation results (overall accuracy 91.56% and kappa value 0.618 for the classification method against corresponding values of 93.04% and 0.684 for the NDVI differencing method) indicate that the NDVI differencing method outperformed the classification method in this particular study. In addition, use of the new method of determining thresholds for differentiating change pixels from no‐change pixels from the NDVI differencing image improved the change detection accuracy compared to a traditional method (kappa value increased from 0.813 to 0.888 from a test sample). Therefore, according to the criteria of higher accuracy of change/no‐change maps and fewer spectral bands, the NDVI differencing method is recommended for use if a suitable spectral normalization between multi‐temporal images can be carried out before performing image differencing.


Sampling decisions must emphasize not only data collection and analysis, but also data use in decisions made for protection and management of aquatic ecosystems. Although data gathering is often the main focus of an investigation, it only provides the opportunity for generating information. The quality of this information is dependent upon the method of data acquisition and analysis, and the effectiveness of the decision made depends on the entire process-not only sampling. The basic problem with analyzing aquatic ecosystems is their complexity which may not be adequately displayed if the sampling program is not carefully designed. Furthermore, even the most effectively designed program may not achieve the desired objectives if the sampling program design does not recognize the way the information will be used. This paper discusses the limitation of common experimental designs and sampling methods including the use of structural and functional measures, the sampling of natural and artificial substrates, and use of appropriate statistical tests. Certain sampling regimes, including sampling over a single annual cycle, may underestimate ecosystem variability. The use of artificial substrates for collections may be misleading if the behavior of the substrate over time is not understood. Nevertheless, artificial substrates may show greater replicability and reliability than collections from naturally heterogeneous substrates. Generators of information should understand the uses that will be made of the data and that the limitations of the data should be understood by those who must make decisions with it. A simple checklist is provided for use of investigators to ensure adequate preparation of hypotheses, selection of sampling methods, and use of statistical tests.


Primary cutaneous endometriosis is a rare condition. It appears without a prior history of surgical procedure and the umbilicus is the most frequently involved area. Primary umbilical endometriosis, or Villar's nodule, usually presents as a painful nodule. Its differential diagnosis may be challenging. Although histopathological assessment represents the gold standard for diagnosis, cutaneous ultrasonography may be useful in guiding the surgical treatment. Ultrasonographic features of cutaneous endometriosis have not yet been fully explored in the literature. Hence, we report peculiar ultrasonographic findings of primary umbilical endometriosis


We will in this paper report on suggestive similarities between density fluctuation power versus wavenumber on small (mm) and large (Mpc) scales. The small scale measurements were made in fusion plasmas and compared to predictions from classical fluid turbulence theory. The data is consistent with the dissipative range of 2D turbulence. Alternatively, the results can be fitted to a functional form that can not be explained by turbulence theory. The large scale measurements were part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxy redshift examination. We found that the equations describing fusion plasmas also hold for the galaxy data. The comparable dependency of density fluctuation power on wavenumber in fusion plasmas and galaxies might indicate a common origin of these fluctuations.


Abstract:Research on mis has been guided by the belief that the building and use of definitional frameworks should precede theoretical and experimental studies, with applications or uses of these results coming last. A reversal of this sequence is proposed, with uses of mis being scientifically studied first, leaving the search for definitions for the future. The success of this strategy is illustrated with the history of the derivative as a broad analog of the mis concept.


How can we explain variation in the volume and character of transnational collective action on climate change? This paper presents original qualitative and quantitative data to document how transnational activism on climate change has changed over time. The author draws attention to the role of transnational social movement spillover—a process by which ideas, activists, and tactics are diffused from one movement to another—in explaining this evolution. The article examines the spillover of the global justice movement to the climate justice movement from 2007 to 2009, linking this spillover to changes in the nature of activism. In contrast to previous approaches, this work shows that transnational social movement spillover can result in the expansion of contention without radicalizing those actors already involved. This case demonstrates the theoretical importance of the spillover process and offers lessons for future climate activism.


Porcelain thermal expansion behavior is a function of leucite content, and leucite changes can produce porcelain-metal incompatibilities. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether isothermal anneal treatments (such as are encountered during "post-soldering" operations) could result in alterations of leucite content of dental porcelain. Six commercial dental porcelains and the "Component No. 1" frit of the Weinstein et al. patent (1962) were studied. Twenty-eight coupon specimens of each porcelain were fired and divided randomly into seven groups of four specimens each. One group served as a control, while the other six groups were subjected to isothermal anneal treatments-three groups at 500°C and three groups at 750°C, for 4, 8, and 16 min, respectively. Leucite volume fraction was measured via quantitative x-ray diffraction. From an equation for the growth of particles in competition for diffusing material, an expression was derived for the potential simultaneous processes of leucite crystallization and reaction of leucite + glass to form sanidine or other compounds. This exponential growth/decay curve was fit through the experimental data for each porcelain by minimization of the sum of the squares of the residuals through iteration. For each porcelain, a statistically significant correlation was obtained between leucite volume fraction and isothermal anneal duration at 750°C (p < 0.01), whereas at 500°C, only CII exhibited a statistically significant correlation (p < 0.01). The control (non-annealed) leucite volume fractions for the commercial porcelains ranged from (mean ± SD) 0.155 ± 0.002 for WIL to 0.442 ± 0.003 for Component No. 1. The 750°C isothermal anneal increased the leucite volume fraction by between 6.1% and 21.3%. These increases in leucite could be responsible for the porcelain fracture that sometimes occurs during post-soldering.


by obstetric ultrasound. A 19-year-old primigravid woman was referred at 38 weeks of gestation for an obstetric ultrasound examination because of upper abdominal calcifications. Sonographic scan revealed a live fetus appropriate to the gestational age and no apparent structural abnormalities except for multiple non-shadowing echogenic mass within the upper abdomen. The echogenic mass was located only at fetal gallbladder region. Fetal gallstones were suspected and the couple was informed about the situation. The woman gave birth to a healthy, 3500 g, female newborn at 40 weeks. Postnatal ultrasound showed a dilatated gallbladder and multiple echogenic gallstones. Physical examination as well as laboratory studies were all within normal range. Conservative treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid has been initiated and follow-up scheduled. The baby is now two months of age and is doing well. We conclude that fetal gallstones should be considered in the differential diagnosis of localized calcifications within the fetal liver. Conservative management with ursodeoxycholic acid should be the choice of treatment.


The aim of this study was to develop Greek yogurt flavored with pequi and to assess its physicochemical and microbiological characteristics, as well as its shelf-life, sensory acceptance and purchase intent. Four yogurt formulations were prepared: no addition of Pequi pulp (control - treatment 1), 1% pequi pulp (treatment 2) 2% pequi pulp (treatment 3) and 3% pequi pulp (treatment 4). The levels of fat, moisture and ash showed no difference between formulations. For protein, Greek style yogurt with 2% pequi pulp showed the highest values. Clear yellowish color was observed in yogurts, with a tendency to red and green. All yogurt samples prepared with up to 22 days of storage showed pH and acidity values in accordance with Brazilian legislation. Microbiologically, yogurts were stable and with satisfactory sanitary conditions for consumption. Greek style yogurt with type 2% pequi pulp showed the greatest acceptance by consumers. In conclusion, Greek style yogurt flavored with pequi is a good food alternative, because in addition to market innovation, it has high nutritional value and good acceptance by consumers. Keywords: Fruits from the cerrado region, sensory acceptance, concentrated yogurt, fruit pulp, physicochemical characteristics African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(37) 3797-3804


Hearing loss is one of the pathologies with the highest prevalence in newborns. If it is not detected in time, it can affect the nervous system and cause problems in speech, language and cognitive development. The recommended methods for early detection are based on otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and/or auditory brainstem response (ABR). In this work, the design and implementation of an automated system based on ABR to detect hearing loss in newborns is presented. Preliminary evaluation in adults was satisfactory.


Australian processes for recognising Indigenous sacred sites and, in some cases, land ownership, often offer claimants an invidious, lose-lose choice. On the one hand, claimants can support their claim by producing evidence of religious knowledge that they may be culturally required to keep secret. On the other hand, as a series of landmark cases has demonstrated, the material, once revealed, runs the risk of being rejected as not religious enough. The representation of Indigenous religion in Durkheim's Les formes elementaires de la vie religieuse arguably contributed to these impasses. But the same work, particularly when read in conversation with his moral and political writings, also offers a way forward—not as an ethnographic source, but more for its theoretical conception of the relationship between individuals, religion, society, and state.


Nearly all Western writings contain a Eurocentric bias that springs from the assumption that all the branches of modern civilization have originated in the West. The corollary to this is that all or nearly all the ideas, institutions, habits and objects that define the life of a modern person (or Westerner) are of Western origin. In a playful manner, this essay shows this is not true. By simply following your average college student through her daily activities, you will quickly discover the diverse sources of her ideas, artifacts and culture.


Indications of a climatic change on a global scale are increasingly calling into question what we know about and what to expect from our own local climates. A changing climate means the traditional method of using historical hydro-climatic conditions as expected conditions in water planning and management may be unwise. New methods for determining and characterizing expected local hydro-climatic conditions should consider an evaluation of how historical local hydro-climatic conditions have changed over time. In this sense, an evaluation of hydroclimatic trends in the Southeastern US has been developed using historical records from weather gages. Trends for monthly precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures, evaporation, and stream flow have been developed for various historic time intervals during 1909 to 2009. The historic hydro-climatic trends have been plotted and mapped in a manner to easily show seasonal and regional shifts that have occurred in the past 50 and 100 years. These trends vary by season and location, and there are few trends that appear to be region-wide and no trends that appear year-round. In the past 100 years the annual temperature records region-wide indicate a cooling trend strongest during winter and fall and weakest during summer months. However 50-year trends indicate a warming trend in almost all months region-wide. The 100-year trends of precipitation indicate an increase in annual precipitation in most areas, however, a decrease during the driest summer months. The 50-year trends indicate a decrease in annual precipitation and increased evaporation in almost all regions. Identification and illustration of these trends is an important step in debunking the traditional notion that "what was, will be" and moving towards a non-stationary hydro-climatic approach to water planning and management.


The cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) collection of primitive accessions is underutilized for cotton improvement because they are photoperiodic. Dayneutrality can be achieved by crossing with a dayneutral cultivar and selection in the F 2 generation. Our objective was to determine the relationship among four backcross generations and parents using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. We evaluated five populations (F 6, BC1F6, BC2 F6, BC3 F6, BC4 F6) of day-neutral plants derived from crossing and backcrossing accessions T 78, T 174, T 326, and T 1149 as recurrent parents, respectively, with 'Deltapine 16' (DPL 16) as the donor day-neutral flowering parent. Genetic distances were determined using 43 AFLP primer combinations that produced 251 polymorphic AFLP markers among the five parents and 91 to 129 polymorphic markers within each of the five populations of the four sets of crosses and backcrosses. Among the 20 backcross populations, recovery of markers from accession parents was 27 to 92%, while the recovery of markers from DPL 16 was 71 to 91%. Genetic distance of populations from the recurrent parent was 0.35 to 0.75 among backcross populations. Genetic distance from the non-recurrent parent DPL 16 was 0.16 to 0.38. Many AFLP markers tended to stay together as linked blocks and were selected with the day-neutral flowering phenotype. This finding indicates that linkage drag was occurring during introgression of the day-neutral flowering trait. These results indicate that the day-neutral populations selected after one backcross to the accession parents could be used to add genetic diversity to applied breeding programs.


The trap centers and distributions in TlInS2 were studied in the temperature range of 100–300 K by using thermally stimulated currents technique. Experimental evidence was found for the presence of three trapping centers with activation energies 400, 570, and 650 meV. Their capture cross-sections were determined as 6.3 × 10−16, 2.7 × 10−12, and 1.8 × 10−11 cm, respectively. It was concluded that in these centers retrapping is negligible as confirmed by the good agreement between the experimental results and the theoretical predictions of the model that assumes slow retrapping. An exponential distribution of hole traps was revealed from the analysis of the thermally stimulated current data obtained at different light excitation temperatures. This experimental technique provided a value of 800 meV/decade for the trap distribution.


Sediment on the bottom of borehole forms a major part which is often responsible for reducing the bearing capacity of pile. The normal method of measuring sediment thickness by ultrasonic signal is to measure the sound time and intensity of echo signal. This paper presents a novel measurement method by estimating the ultrasonic channel. Wiener filter is applied to estimate the ultrasonic optimal channel under minimum mean square error criteria. Experiments of estimating channel based on Wiener filter have been conducted with given signals and actual ultrasonic detection echo. The influence of noise in the signal has been discussed. The results show that, during signals high SNR, the estimated channel is corresponding to the sharp changes in the actual signal and can be used to determine the sediment thickness.


To identify the environmental changes responsible for the declines in abundance shown by many granivorous bird species, the demographic mechanism through which the changes have acted must be determined. Ring-recovery data were used to estimate the annual survival rates (since 1962) of six seed-eating bird species with contrasting population trends to identify whether variations in survival could have been the mechanism behind population change. The survival rates of Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula, Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis, Greenfinch C. choris, Linnet C. cannabina and House Sparrow Passer domesticus were estimated using models allowing age- and time-specificity in survival (reporting rates could be assumed to be constant). Three tests of the importance of variations in survival in determining population trend were conducted: (1) simple population models with constant productivity showed whether temporal changes in survival were sufficient alone to explain observed trends in abundance, (2) survival models incorporating changes in abundance as a covariate identified whether annual survival rates were associated with population changes, and (3) mean survival rates found in objectively identified periods of increase, decline and stability in each species' population trend were compared. These analyses suggested that environmental change has led to the observed population trends for Goldfinch and House Sparrow largely through effects on survival. Weaker relationships between variations in survival and population trend were found for Bullfinch, Chaffinch and Linnet, but other factors such as breeding success are likely to have been at least as important for these species, and also for Greenfinch. Checking analyses incorporating density-dependence did not alter these conclusions.


This study analyses and shows how the history of the Co mmu nist Party of Lithuania (Lietuvos komunistų partija, LKP) was constructed as the history of an organised labour movement in Soviet historiography. Most studies on Lithuanian workers and labour unions written between 1960 and 1988 searched for connections between the LKP and the labour movement, analysed the impact of the LKP on the workers and unions, and sometimes used the terms 'workers' or 'labouring men' as synonyms for members of the LKP. According to Soviet Lithuanian historians, labour unions, strikes, workers, and the whole organised labour movement that sympathised with Moscow, helped to gain influence among the citizens of Lithuania prior to the occupation in 1940. Because the labour history of Soviet Lithuania was tied to the history of the Lithuanian Communist Party, it is still hard to draw a line between the history of the workers and the history of the LKP, since the studies on workers, the labour movement and the history of the LKP written during Soviet times are treated as a product of the ideology. It is argued that Soviet Lithuanian labour history must be properly reviewed in order to reevaluate its relationship with contemporary historiography and today's perception of the labour movement itself.


We present a new domain-specific programming language suitable for extending both interactive and non-interactive ray tracing systems. This language, called ldquoray tracing shading languagerdquo (RTSL), builds on the GLSL language that is a part of the OpenGL specification and familiar to GPU programmers. This language allows a programmer to implement new cameras, primitives, textures, lights, and materials that can be used in multiple rendering systems. RTSL presents a single-ray interface that is easy to program for novice programmers. Through an advanced compiler, packet- based SIMD-optimized code can be generated that is performance competitive with hand-optimized code. This language and compiler combination allows sophisticated primitives, materials and textures to realize the performance gains possible by SIMD and ray packets without the low-level programming burden. In addition to the packet-based Manta system, the compiler targets two additional rendering systems to exercise this flexibility: the PBRT system and the batch Monte Carlo renderer Galileo.


The Danlos-Ehlers syndrome is also called cutis hyperelastica and dermatorrhexis. Persons with this disorder constitute an undetermined percentage of professional contortionists and exhibitionists; they are spoken of as "india rubber men." Ehlers 1 was the first to describe a case, and Danlos 2 established the syndrome. The condition is considered very infrequent. Prior to December 1939 only about 60 cases could be culled from the literature. 3 There are four primary signs: (1) hyperelasticity of the skin, (2) hypermotility of the joints, (3) a tendency to form abnormal and deficient scar, and (4) small tumors of the skin. Coe and Silvers 4 recently reviewed the literature and included as minor symptoms chilblains and acrocyanosis. The cause of the condition is unknown. It is classified in the group of congenital dystrophic anomalies. 3 Biopsy of the skin reveals an increase in the elastic elements. 5 Three families have been described in


Model fairness is an essential element for Trustworthy AI. While many techniques for model fairness have been proposed, most of them assume that the training and deployment data distributions are identical, which is often not true in practice. In particular, when the bias between labels and sensitive groups changes, the fairness of the trained model is directly influenced and can worsen. We make two contributions for solving this problem. First, we analytically show that existing in-processing fair algorithms have fundamental limits in accuracy and group fairness. We introduce the notion of correlation shifts, which can explicitly capture the change of the above bias. Second, we propose a novel pre-processing step that samples the input data to reduce correlation shifts and thus enables the in-processing approaches to overcome their limitations. We formulate an optimization problem for adjusting the data ratio among labels and sensitive groups to reflect the shifted correlation. A key benefit of our approach lies in decoupling the roles of pre- and in-processing approaches: correlation adjustment via pre-processing and unfairness mitigation on the processed data via in-processing. Experiments show that our framework effectively improves existing in-processing fair algorithms w.r.t. accuracy and fairness, both on synthetic and real datasets.


Despite intense efforts to identify cancer‐initiating cells in malignant brain tumours, markers linked to the function of these cells have only very recently begun to be uncovered. The notion of cancer stem cell gained prominence, several molecules and signalling pathways becoming relevant for diagnosis and treatment. Whether a substantial fraction or only a tiny minority of cells in a tumor can initiate and perpetuate cancer, is still debated. The paradigm of cancer‐initiating stem cells has initially been developed with respect to blood cancers where chronic conditions such as myeloproliferative neoplasms are due to mutations acquired in a haematopoietic stem cell (HSC), which maintains the normal hierarchy to neoplastic haematopoiesis. In contrast, acute leukaemia transformation of such blood neoplasms appears to derive not only from HSCs but also from committed progenitors that cannot differentiate. This review will focus on putative novel therapy targets represented by markers described to define cancer stem/initiating cells in malignant gliomas, which have been called 'leukaemia of the brain', given their rapid migration and evolution. Parallels are drawn with other cancers, especially haematopoietic, given the similar rampant proliferation and treatment resistance of glioblastoma multiforme and secondary acute leukaemias. Genes associated with the malignant conditions and especially expressed in glioma cancer stem cells are intensively searched. Although many such molecules might only coincidentally be expressed in cancer‐initiating cells, some may function in the oncogenic process, and those would be the prime candidates for diagnostic and targeted therapy. For the latter, combination therapies are likely to be envisaged, given the robust and plastic signalling networks supporting malignant proliferation.


This paper proposes a direct adaptive control method for stable path tracking of mobile robots using self recurrent wavelet neural network (SRWNN). As the proposed SRWNN is a modified model of the wavelet neural network (WNN), the SRWNN includes the basic ability of the WNN such as fast convergence. Besides the SRWNN has a property, unlike the WNN, that the SRWNN can store the past information of the network because a mother wavelet layer of the SRWNN is composed of self-feedback neurons. Accordingly, the SRWNN can easily cope with the unexpected change of the system. For the control problem, two SRWNNs are used as each direct adaptive controller for generating two control inputs, the translational and rotational displacement of the mobile robot. Specially, the gradient-descent method with adaptive learning rates (ALRs) is applied to train the parameters of the SRWNN controllers. The ALRs are derived from the discrete Lyapunov stability theorem out of consideration for the model of mobile robots, which are used to guarantee the stable path tracking of mobile robots. Finally, through computer simulations, we demonstrate the effectiveness and stability of the proposed controller.


Background TRPV1 is a ligand gated ion channel activated by a range of physiological factors such at Temperature, pH, and osmotic stress. In the nose, the TRPV1-expressing sensory c-fibres are thought to play a key role in the development of nasal hyper-responsiveness resulting in symptoms in NAR patients. We hypothesise that topical antagonism with a selective TRPV1 antagonist would offer substantial symptom control. SB705498 is a potent selective TRPV1 antagonist in animal and human models. Methods 40 M&F NAR patients were enrolled into a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled, 2 period crossover study of either 12mg SB705498 i.n. or placebo for 14 days with a 4 week washout. The study was conducted in a validated Environmental Challenge Chamber (Cetero) where patients were exposed to Cold Dry Air (CDA) at 14c, 15% RH, air speed 5 feet/sec. Exposure was over the winter months in Canada. Diary card symptoms were analysed during home dosing on days when the temp was less than 14c. Two chamber sessions of 1hr duration, as well as medical history and neg skin prick testing, at screening were performed to establish a consistent diagnosis with a single challenge on Day 1+1hr, Day14+1hr and Day 14+24hr to establish the drug response. Post dose TSS (rhinorrhoea, congestion, PND), sneezing and ocular symptoms were recorded, as was acoustic rhinomanometry, RQLQ, PK and Safety monitoring. Results The primary outcome of weighted mean TSS over the challenge period or the maximum TSS was not impacted by administration of SB705498 relative to placebo (see figure). There was no impact on sneezing, ocular symptoms, acoustic rhinimanometry, or RQLQ Compared with placebo, repeated doses of SB705498 did not alleviate TSS triggered by cold in a multistimuli wild type setting. PK analysis supported an o.d. regimen with 2 fold accumulation over the dosing period. Abstract P154 Figure 1 Conclusions In a robust clinical model of non-allergic rhinitis, intranasal SB705498 12mg o.d. for 14 days did not alleviate the symptoms of NAR triggered by the most common provocation agent: Cold Dry Air. We conclude that despite engagement of the TRPV1 receptor there was no translation to clinical efficacy, suggesting redundancy in symptom pathways.


A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T https://jpst.irost.ir Ministry of Science, Research & Technology Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST)


This paper proposes a solution to the problem of cooperative exploration using an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). More specifically, the UGV navigates through the free space, and the UAV provides enhanced situational awareness via its higher vantage point. The motivating application is search and rescue in a damaged building. A camera atop the UGV is used to track a fiducial tag on the underside of the UAV, allowing the UAV to maintain a fixed pose relative to the UGV. Furthermore, the UAV uses its front facing camera to provide a birds-eye-view to the remote operator, allowing for observation beyond obstacles that obscure the UGV's sensors. The proposed approach has been tested using a TurtleBot 2 equipped with a Hokuyo laser ranger finder and a Parrot Bebop 2. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach. This work is based on several open source packages and the generated code is available on-line.


High selective polymers are bound to exhibit low intrinsic permeability. To mitigate this issue, thin film composite (TFC) membrane has been proposed whereby high selectivity, low permeability thin polymer layers are deposited on top of a thicker, highly permeable (even porous) materials. Nevertheless, deposition of thin film can be complicated on these structures due to limitation of fabrication methods (pore intrusion and support resistance to thin film solvent) and/or reduction of permeation efficiency (lateral diffusion). In this work, the potential of commercial Oxyplus® hollow fibre membrane as support-gutter layer was studied. Polymethylpentene (PMP), the material of the dense skin in Oxyplus has high gas permeability yet glassy enough to be selfstanding, making it a possible candidate as a combined support-gutter layer. Ten fibres were potted together, assembled into a module, and tested in dead-end mode under 1–5 bar transmembrane pressure for CO2, CH4 and N2 gases. The permeances were registered at 607.3 ± 31.3 GPU, 156.0 ± 13.1 GPU, and 84.6 ± 6.2 GPU, respectively, equivalent to a separation factor of 7.4 ± 0.4 (CO2/N2), 4.0 ± 0.2 (CO2/CH4) and 0.6 ± 0.1 (N2 /CH4). With dense skin layer thickness of 0.1 ± 0.1 μm, these values are comparable to the PMP results in literatures and are suitable as support-gutter layer for low permeability polymers such as P84® polyimide.


Electronic dumping is a global challenge and fortunately majority of these wastes could be recycled can provide an economically viable and healthy environment as well as offer new insights on how potential sources of environmental hazards could be transformed into useful products. In this paper, we present data used during the creation of an automated power outlet system from electronic wastes. Automated power control and distribution systems are important in reducing the cost of energy utilization in homes, offices, and in industrial environment. Usually, as energy utilization increases, the costs increases. The need to prioritize and conserve scarce energy becomes imminent especially in low income earning environments. Often times, the cost of acquisition of such devices may be high. This paper reflects on how components extracted from electronic wastes could be harnessed to produce computer-controlled power outlet system.


My first reaction on reading Tom Hurstbourne or A Squatter's Life was surprise. When I first met them, the novel's editors, Gerard Benjamin and Gloria Grant had been very forthcoming about how they came by the manuscript – an intriguing saga in itself. However (and I hope they don't mind me saying this), I remember that they were deliberately a bit cagey about what the book was like as a work of fiction. What little they did say led me to expect something like a pioneering saga, with a straightforward life-narrative, probably beginning with the hero's childhood in the Old Country, then moving quickly to the Australian outback where the hero would undergo a series of challenges, hardships and adventures, suffering a bit along the way but emerging more or less triumphant at the end, sometimes with a wife, children and extensive landholdings. Quite a few Australian novels of this kind were published in the second half of the nineteenth century, and even more in the early decades of the twentieth – books like Miles Franklin's All That Swagger, Mary Durack's Kings in Grass Castles, Brian Penton's Landtakers, Roy Connolly's Southern Saga, Jeanie Gunn's We of the Never Never, and many others by lesser known authors.


Background and Purpose: Health Information is one of the major factors contributing to better management of patient, insure patient safety and improve the quality of research. Cameroon as African Countries in general who intend to fill the gap in the field of Health education and research, demonstrates through using IT tools,  improvement in the field of health education among the community of medical  lecturers and trainees. Methods : Over a period of two years (2012-2013), we conducted an observational study in the teaching hospitals and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Yaounde 1. We analyzed e-learning program. Results: Several e-courses of post graduate training have been developed since the creation of medical and surgical subspecialties at the faculty of medicine of Yaounde in 2010. (55 post graduate courses are available on the Dudal plate form). Many lecturers of the faculty of medicine have shown positive implication to online courses and the pedagogic orientation of the faculty is currently directed to the use of IT as the main tool in the training program of medical students and post graduate trainees. A structured post graduate e-learning program has been defined with six fields: Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, General surgery and Internal Medicine. This e-learning program was supported by collaboration of African countries (Cameroon, Mali, Senegal, Madagascar) and European countries (Switzerland, France). Also, special virtual communities have been created to strengthen the training and collaboration in several fields with the contribution of Africa Build project. Conclusions: Collaborative multilateral e-learning program for post graduate trainees seems to be helpful in our setting. Keywords: e-learning, Education, Post graduate


Pile-soil stress ratio is defined as the average stress ratio of the head of pile to the soil around of piles, which is a very important indicator to reflect the level of the together-work of pile and the soil, also a major parameter of calculation of capacity of composite foundation and settlement. How to choose pile-soil stress ratio is still a problem unsolved. Bearing performance of the DJM pile composite foundation is studied by way of field static load tests and pile-soil stress ratio tests. This paper is to analyze the bearing performance of the DJM pile composite foundation in the Yellow River Delta region with the plane strain finite element method and gain the load-sharing ability of soil and regulations of pile-soil stress ratio with the changes of effecting factors.


Since the advent of antiretroviral treatment against HIV, their use as post-exposure prophylaxis, in health care workers as well as after non professional exposures, is still increasing. Although their efficacy is well documented in selected indications, one should always keep in mind that in most exposures, the risk of side effects and the cost of such an intervention is probably much higher than the low probability of HIV transmission. By balancing the risks and the potential benefits of post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV after a given exposure, if needed with help from a specialist, overprescription can in this way be avoided. The patient's fear about having contracted HIV should finally not drive one to forget the risk of transmission of other communicable disease, like viral hepatitis, tetanus and STD.


Backgrounds: Single attempt of stent retrieval during endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) seems to be associated with favorable clinical outcomes of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), but the relationship between single attempt and clinical outcomes or complications have not been characterized. In addition, the factors related to single retrieval attempts during EVT are undefined. Here, we investigated the relationship between single attempt of stent retrieval and the clinical outcomes or complications after EVT, and further investigated the factors associated with single attempt of stent retrieval in AIS patients. Methods: This study enrolled consecutive patients with AIS treated by EVT with second-generation stent retriever devices from April 2016 to April 2019. Attempts of EVT were classified as single or multiple attempts of stent retrieval after filtrating all enrolled patients based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. We analyzed the clinical outcomes and complications between single attempt of stent retrieval and multiple attempts of stent retrieval, and the factors independently associated with a single attempt were identified through logistical regression analysis. Results: We enrolled 143 patients, including 69 patients with single attempt of stent retrieval and 74 patients with multiple attempts of stent retrieval. More patients with single attempt of stent retrieval reached favorable clinical outcomes ( p =0.016; adjusted OR 95%CI: 2.652 1.204-5.843 ), and patients with single attempts of stent retrieval showed as a lower incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) ( p =0.046; adjusted OR 95%CI: 0.192 0.038-0.973 ). Diabetes mellitus ( p =0.026; adjusted OR 95%CI: 2.871 1.137-7.249 ) was independently associated with single attempt of EVT with stent retrieval. Conclusions: Single attempt of stent retrieval during EVT can decrease incidence of sICH and improve favorable clinical outcomes of patients with AIS. Those with diabetes mellitus may be more prone to single attempt of stent retrieval during EVT .


In many educational institutions across the world, from elementary schools to colleges, robotics is being used as a rewarding and engaging tool to involve students in science and technology. However, an often raised criticism refers to the lack of a proper curriculum that could blend robotic experiments to more traditional course work. In this column, Prof. Dimitris Alimisis of the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (Greece) reports on the experience of the European Project Teacher Education on Robotics-Enhanced Constructivist Pedagogical Methods (TERECoP). This project aims at providing teachers with the technical and educational background to use robotics in innovative courses, and to overcome the above criticism.


Small businesses play a vital role towards world economic development as they contribute between 40% to 50% of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as 70% to 90% of employment. However, besides their critical role, small business failure rate is alarming, ranging between 50% and 95% in their early years of existence. To reverse this trend, business incubators have provided required build capacity to start-up entrepreneurs and innovators thereby assuring their survival and growth. Having their roots in the 1950s and 1960s, business incubators have offered mentorship, skills building, technical support, training, facilities and venture capital. Globally there are over 7,000 incubators concentrating in various fields from science, economics, technology, marketing to business management. The success rate of businesses incubated is evident with 84% of graduates settling permanently in the community where they start businesses. The success rate of incubated businesses is evident in different countries such as New Zealand (87%), United States of America (85%) and Germany (90%) while South Africa and Brazil both have 80% success rate. Besides the success rate of businesses incubated, the failure rate of incubator businesses is alarming being as high as 90%. The failure is associated with lack of professional management, no sustainable growth plans, inappropriate technology and funds misappropriation. However, having played the role of the missing linking between business failure and success, incubators cannot be neglected. The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of incubators, benefits, challenges and keys for their success. Based on empirical research, this paper gives an overview of the current state of incubators worldwide and their difficulties. The paper concludes with a case study of the National Environment Trust Fund (NETFUND) Incubation Centre which is a government initiative that has successfully support the development and promotion of green enterprises.


The dorsal vagal complex (DVC) in the hindbrain, composed of the area postrema, nucleus of the solitary tract, and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, plays a critical role in modulating satiety. The incretins glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) act directly in the brain to modulate feeding, and receptors for both are expressed in the DVC. Given the impressive clinical responses to pharmacologic manipulation of incretin signaling, understanding the central mechanisms by which incretins alter metabolism and energy balance is of critical importance. Here, we review recent single-cell approaches used to detect molecular signatures of GLP-1 and GIP receptor–expressing cells in the DVC. In addition, we discuss how current advancements in single-cell transcriptomics, epigenetics, spatial transcriptomics, and circuit mapping techniques have the potential to further characterize incretin receptor circuits in the hindbrain.


For nonstationary signal classification, e.g., speech or music, features are traditionally extracted from a time-shifted, yet short data window. For many applications, these short-term features do not efficiently capture or represent longer term signal variation. Partially motivated by human audition, we overcome the deficiencies of short-term features by employing modulation-scale analysis for long-term feature analysis. Our analysis, which uses time-frequency theory integrated with psychoacoustic results on modulation frequency perception, not only contains short-term information about the signals, but also provides long-term information representing patterns of time variation. This paper describes these features and their normalization. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our long-term features over conventional short-term features in content-based audio identification. A simulated study using a large data set, including nearly 10 000 songs and requiring over a billion audio pairwise comparisons, shows that modulation-scale features improves content identification accuracy substantially, especially when time and frequency distortions are imposed.


ABSTRACT: Most data on species associations and vector potential of mosquitoes in relation to arboviral infections in South Africa date back from the 1940s to late 1990s. Contextual information crucial for disease risk management and control, such as the sampling effort, diversity, abundance, and distribution of mosquitoes in large parts of South Africa still remains limited. Adult mosquitoes were collected routinely from two horse farms in Gauteng Province; two wildlife reserves in Limpopo Province, at Orpen Gate in Kruger National Park (KNP) and Mnisi Area in Mpumalanga Province between 2014–2017, using carbon dioxide-baited light and tent traps. Mosquito diversity and richness are greater in untransformed natural and mixed rural settings. In untransformed wilderness areas, the most dominant species were Culex poicilipes, Anopheles coustani, and Aedes mcintoshi, while in mixed rural settings such as the Mnisi area, the two most abundant species were Cx. poicilipes and Mansonia uniformis. However, in peri-urban areas, Cx. theileri, Cx. univittatus, and Cx. pipiens sensu lato were the most dominant. Aedes aegypti, Ae. mcintoshi, Ae. metallicus, Ae. vittatus, Cx. pipiens s.l., Cx. theileri, and Cx. univittatus had the widest geographical distribution in northern South Africa. Also collected were Anopheles arabiensis and An. vaneedeni, both known malaria vectors in South Africa. Arbovirus surveillance and vector control programs should be augmented in mixed rural and peri-urban areas where the risk for mosquito-borne disease transmission to humans and domestic stock is greater.


A Raman acousto-optic frequency shifter (AOFS) based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) is presented. It consists of a double-ended SAW resonator and optical waveguide system. The structure parameters of the SAW resonator are optimized using COM software and the optical waveguide system is designed using an effective index method. The AOFS prototype fabricated using MEMS technology is detected. The optical beat signals superimposed by ±1st-order and ±2nd-order diffracted beams are detected. The frequency shift of 78.2201 MHz related to the 1st-order diffracted beams and 156.2306 MHz related to the 2nd-order diffracted beams are obtained respectively.


Litigation as a formal way of dispute resolution is time consuming, costly, adversarial and damages,
if not destroys, relationships and reputations. There are many alternative forms to litigation and
arbitration, also in Kuwait different organisations prepared regulations for different forms of
alternative dispute resolution. These forms have been rarely used due to cultural difficulties and to
lack of awareness of these forms of dispute resolution.
In addition to exploring the advantages of using the alternative dispute resolution forms with
construction projects disputes, this paper presents the findings of what alternative dispute resolution
strategies are currently been implemented by different organisations in Kuwait. These finding are
reinforced by interviews conducted in Kuwait, with workers in the construction industry, to identify
the main reasons, in terms of culture and awareness aspects, for not adopting ADR in construction
disputes. The barriers to use mediation are found to be, mainly, lack of awareness and another six
cultural aspects. However, elimination instruments to the barriers were revealed in this study.


Each one of the major linguistic schools takes a different compartment of language as the main building block which shapes the totality of a language. The claim is that most of the linguistic theories have ceded to the prominence of lexicon as one major component of language. Through introducing the concept of lexical features, into the Minimalist Program, Chomsky has acknowledged the fact that lexicon features determine a word's meaning, its morphological shape and its syntactical behavior in syntax. Constructions are based on particular lexical items which have been acknowledged as crucial in SLA although with different labels such as holophrases, prefabricated patterns, formulaic speech, formulae, sequences in SLA, chunks, and formulaic expressions or utterances. By adopting a lexical approach in studying language and language teaching and learning, the need for a new teaching methodology has always been felt, a demand which has never been satisfied.


Mobile ad-hoc networks are dynamic networks which are decentralized and autonomous in nature. Many routing algorithms have been proposed for these dynamic networks. It is an important problem to model Quality of Service requirements on these types of algorithms which traditionally have certain limitations. To model this scenario we have considered a reinforcement learning algorithm SAMPLE. SAMPLE promises to deal effectively with congestion and under high traffic load. As it is natural for ad-hoc networks to move in groups, we have considered the various group mobility models. The Pursue Mobility Model with its superiormobilitymetrics exhibits better performance. At the data link layer we have considered IEEE 802.11e, a MAC layer which has provisions to support QoS. As mobile ad-hoc networks are constrained by resources like energy and bandwidth, it is imperative for them to cooperate in a reasonably selfish manner. Thus, in this paper we propose cooperation with a moderately punishing algorithm based on game theory. The proposed algorithm in synchronization with SAMPLE yields better results on IEEE 802.11e.


The best impact modifiers for coatings and engineering plastics include fixed morphology core-shell particles. For the present work, natural rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene) was chosen, for its elasticity, resilience, and toughening effect for most brittle materials and has been used to prepare the core of the desired particles. The solution-emulsification technique was used to produce artificial latices based on natural rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene). Conventional emulsification techniques aswell as 'miniemulsification'methods have been investigated. In both cases, a larger volume of polymer is reduced into tiny rubber balls in the nano scale using an ultrasonic homogenizer. The difference between conventional emulsification and miniemulsification resides in stabilizing the system. For the conventional emulsification method, an equimolar mixture of anionic (Potassium palmitate) and nonionic (polyoxyethylene (100) stearyl ether, Brij 700) surfactants was found to be the optimal surfactant system. For the miniemulsification method, a combination of Potassiumpalmitate as a surfactant and hexadecane or cetyl alcohol as a costabilizer was the most suitable system. Both conventional emulsification and miniemulsification lead to latices with monomodal particle size distributions and volume-average diameters ranging from300 to 400 nm, determined with light scattering techniques.


In the oncology specialty, many factors can result in occupational stress in nursing professionals. As an attempt to controlling this situation, individuals may use coping strategies. Coping is a cognitive and behavioral effort one uses to face a stressful situation. The aims of this study were to identify the stressful factors regarding oncology nurses, and to verify what coping strategies they use. Two questionnaires were used: a demographic data inventory, designed by the researcher, and the Folkman and Lazarus coping strategies inventory. The results showed that the main stressful factors for oncology nurses are patient death (28.6%), emergency situations (16.9%), relationship issues with the nursing team (15.5%), and work-process situations (15.5%). In the studied population, the main coping strategy used was positive reappraisal.


Abstract In our previous study, we demonstrated that the ethanol extracts of Artemisia dubia (A. dubia) and Aster scaber (A. scaber) have anti-nosemosis activity. In our present study, we intend to establish the anti-nosemosis activity of aqueous, ethyl acetate (EA), and butanol (BuOH) extracts of A. dubia and A. scaber. In order to determine the optimal dose, we performed both in vitro and in vivo toxicity for all the extracts and also carried out anti-nosemosis experiments. Although all of the extracts (aqueous, EA, and BuOH) showed in vitro and in vivo anti-nosemosis activity in a dose-dependent manner, the aqueous extracts of A. dubia and A. scaber showed more potent anti-nosemosis activity than the EA and BuOH extracts. Moreover, an aqueous extract of A. dubia + A. scaber demonstrated stronger anti-nosemosis activity compared with the aqueous extracts of either A. dubia or A. scaber alone. Although the main ingredients in A. dubia and A. scaber remain unclear, our results suggest that the active components of A. dubia and A. scaber could dissolve in the aqueous fraction.


This thesis critically analyses the problematization of adaptation to climate change that has emerged at the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP). It finds that its problematization is based on a techno-scientific ontology and epistemology that occludes social forms of knowledge and social contingency. Its political rationale accounts for adaptation as a planned, pre-emptive decision based on existing objectives. This problematization is supplemented by conceptual elements that recognize irreducible uncertainty and social capacity to change which are related to socio-contextual and socio-emergent accounts of adaptation. In articulating these supplementary elements as moments, UKCIP's problematization appears to have broadened, but the nature of this articulation also functions as a 'limit point' (Derrida 1976). Through rendering the contingency and constitution of UKCIP's problematization of adaptation visible, this research enables critical engagement with UKCIP's current discourse and practices. The research builds on existing academic discourses of adaptation and the tools of analysis provided by a Foucaultian-based account of discourse. It operationalizes these at the level of conceptual and linguistic articulation using techniques of analysis from critical discourse analysis, discourse analysis and discourse theory, including Laclau and Mouffes' taxonomy of discourse as constituted by the articulation of elements as moments (Laclau and Mouffe 2001). It also utilizes Derrida and Ranciere's conceptions of the supplement (Derrida 1976, Ranciere 2001] to analyse the effect of this articulation on conceptual inclusion/exclusion. The objectives contributing to this critical analysis are: First, to identify the contingency of emergence of UKCIP's discourse of adaptation; Second, to provide an account of the problematization at the core of this discourse in terms of its content and structure; Third, to explore how the problematization relates to other discourses of adaptation established in the wider literature and determine if, how, and with what implications, these are combined within UKCIP's problematization.


This clinical case study reports on dry mouth symptoms in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) who was treated with laser phototherapy (LPT). A 60-year-old woman diagnosed with SS was referred to the laboratory for lasers in dentistry to treat her severe xerostomia. A diode laser (780 nm, 3.8 J/cm2, 15 mW) was used to irradiate the parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands, three times per week, for a period of 8 months. The salivary flow rate and xerostomia symptoms were measured before, during, and after LPT. Dry mouth symptoms improved during LPT. After LPT, the parotid salivary gland pain and swelling were no longer present. Treatment with LPT was an effective method to improve the quality of life of this patient with SS.


Whole-farm simulation provides a tool for evaluating long-term impacts of nutrient conservation technologies and
strategies on dairy farms. A farm simulation model was verified to predict the production and nutrient flows of the De Marke
experimental dairy farm in the Netherlands. On this farm, technologies such as a low ammonia emission barn floor, enclosed
manure storage, manure injection into the soil, and intraseeding of a grass cover crop on corn land were used to reduce
nitrogen loss and improve nutrient recycling. This experimental farm was simulated over the 1996 to 2003 weather years
where predicted production and use of feeds were within 15% of values measured on the actual farm. Simulated nitrogen and
phosphorus flows through the farm and losses from the farm were generally within 10% of actual. After this process-based
model was found to accurately represent the nutrient conservation technologies used at De Marke, simulation was used to
evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of their use on representative farms in southern Pennsylvania. Total
nitrogen loss from the farms, primarily in the form of ammonia emission, was reduced by 24% to 55% with a 7% to 45%
reduction in P runoff loss. The highest reductions were obtained on a 1,000-cow farm where initial losses were high due to
a greater number of animals per unit of cropland. The cost of this technology was greater than the value of the nutrients saved,
causing a reduction in the annual net return of $88/cow for a 100-cow farm and $64/cow for the 1,000-cow farm.


It is known that the difference equations of Kalman filtering and smoothing recursively factor and invert the covariance of the output of a linear state-space system driven by a white-noise process. It is shown that similar recursive techniques factor and invert the inertia matrix of a multibody robot system. The random field models are based on the assumption that all of the inertial (D'Alembert) forces in the system are represented by a spatially distributed white-noise model. They are easier to describe than the models based on classical mechanics, which typically require extensive derivation and manipulation of equations of motion for complex mechanical systems. With the spatially random models, more primitive locally specified computations result in a global collective system behavior equivalent to that obtained with the deterministic models. The primary goal in investigating robot dynamics from the point of view of random field estimation is to provide a concise analytical foundation for solving robot control and motion planning problems. >


The results of a fi eld investigation on the structure and species composition of Taxus baccata L. forests in Sardinia (Italy) is given. The species, that occupies a wide range of altitudes from 50 to 1550 m a.s.l., but prefers to live from 800 to 1200 m a.s.l., was found to be the dominating tree in mesophylous forests, here described as new associations: 1) Cyclamino repandi-Taxetum baccatae ass. nova, at the top of Sardinian mountains, with 4 subassociations corresponding to local variation of geological substratum; 2) Polyst icho set i fer i-Taxetum baccatae ass. nova, at intermediate altitudes, near streams, in northern slopes of central Sardinian mountains. Moreover, in contact with mountain oak forests, the new sub-associations Saniculo europaeae-Quercetum i l ic is taxetosum baccatae subass. nova and Glechomo sardoae-Quercetum congestae taxetosum baccatae subass. nova have been described. The multivariate analysis of plant assemblages showed a signifi cant separation among the four different communities. Contrary to previous studies, our fi ndings support the evidence for the presence of pure or yew-dominated woods in Sardinia. In particular, the Cyclamino repandi-Taxetum baccatae, has a relic character and a great biogeographic importance. The scattered distribution of the two habitats suitable for the yew in Sardinia can be considered the main current ecological trait that plays a fundamental role in the process of population isolation. To preserve the existing Mediterranean yew woods, we recommend not only measures directed to the species conservation, but also actions that should accomplish the phytocoenotic diversity highlighted by this investigation.


A well-defined conceptual framework helps identify a program's central tasks, such as helping teachers become intellectual leaders, promoting the primacy of experience and/or developing a progressive social vision in teachers. This type of conceptual clarity provides guidance to teacher educators in program development and evaluation by identifying issues or tasks that specific programs should address (Feiman-Nemser, 1990). Conceptual orientations research has typically relied on the analyses of course syllabi to infer a program's emphases. The degree to which a program fosters knowledge acquisition in a particular area may or may not conform to these course/program descriptions. Direct data gathered from students can help address the issue of espoused versus enacted curriculum. However, students' voices have been noticeably absent from conceptual orientation research within teacher education programs. This paper describes the instrument development and process for assessing conceptual orientations using a structured questionnaire with student teachers. Qualitative data that was used to help validate the survey as well as the statistical properties that attest to the soundness of the instrument will also be presented. The discussion outlines various applications of the developed instrument and proposes future areas of research.


The clinical practice guideline published as a supplement to the online version of this issue of the Annals of Family Medicine (http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/content/full/3/4/378/DC1) combines elements both unique and ubiquitous. The guideline, "Trial of Labor After Cesarean (TOLAC), Formerly Trial of Labor Versus Elective Repeat Cesarean Section for the Woman With a Previous Cesarean Section," is unique in that it reflects family medicine's patient-centered approach to care. At the same time, it embodies the AAFP's dedication to promoting evidence-based medical practice—a hallmark of all clinical practice guidelines the Academy produces.

The TOLAC guideline and its recommendations offer guidance for pregnant women and their families, health professionals and facilities that provide maternity care, and health policy makers with an interest in this area of maternity care. An executive summary of the guideline, including the practice recommendations, appears in Table 1 ▶.

Table 1.

Executive Summary of AAFP Clinical Practice Guideline on Trial of Labor After Cesarean

The rigorous process the Academy uses to develop its clinical practice guidelines begins with the identification of clinically relevant topics. The AAFP Commission on Clinical Policies and Research (CCPR) has established criteria it uses to select topics important to family physicians and their patients.

The next step is to perform or obtain a systematic review of all the available evidence on a given topic. To this end, the Academy usually avails itself of the services of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and its Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs).

AHRQ partners with private and public organizations to support their efforts to improve the quality, effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care delivery in the United States. Professional societies, health systems, employers, insurers, consumer groups, and others may nominate topics for scientific analysis and evidence synthesis. AHRQ supports about 9 evidence reports each year.

These organizational partners are, in turn, expected to serve as resources to the EPCs as they develop the evidence reports related to the nominated topics, including serving as external peer reviewers of draft evidence reports. The organizations also commit to timely translation of the evidence reports into clinical practice guidelines, performance measures, educational programs, and/or reimbursement policies. Finally, the partners agree to disseminate these derivative products to their memberships.

In the case of the TOLAC guideline, the topic was nominated to AHRQ independently by both the Academy and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The evidence synthesis, performed by AHRQ's Oregon EPC (Oregon Health & Science University in Portland), was released in March 2003. The executive summary of that evidence report, titled "Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)," is available at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/vbacsum.htm.

Specific questions examined during the VBAC evidence synthesis addressed such issues as the frequency of successful vaginal delivery in women who undergo a trial of labor (TOL) after a previous low transverse cesarean; accuracy of risk-assessment tools in identifying patients likely to have a successful vaginal delivery after a TOL; and relative harms associated with a TOL versus repeat cesarean, including the incidence of uterine rupture.

AAFP guideline panels are composed of members of the CCPR and additional experts in content and methodology. The goal is to convene a panel of family physicians representing both community and academic practice settings to ensure the clinical relevance of the resulting practice guideline for all family physicians. In the case of the TOLAC guideline, a panel of family physicians with particular expertise in this area of maternity care reviewed the VBAC report findings, conducted a systematic update of the evidence by reviewing studies published since the report was released and created the guideline.

Components of the TOLAC guideline include background information: the rationale for developing the guideline; a review of the methodology used to create the guideline; results of the evidence review; a set of practice recommendations, including summaries of the quality of evidence for each recommendation; and suggestions for future research in this area.

Once an AAFP clinical practice guideline panel has completed its work, the guideline is peer-reviewed by members of the CCPR and other content experts as appropriate. The full CCPR and the AAFP Board of Directors must approve the guideline before it becomes official Academy policy. AAFP clinical policies are reviewed every 5 years and are at that time reaffirmed, revised, or removed.

Whenever practicable, the AAFP collaborates with other specialty medical organizations—primarily those whose members deliver primary health care services—and occasionally with subspecialty medical and even patient advocacy groups to permit development of a single clinical practice guideline that can be applied in various primary care settings. The rationale for this process: Creating a single set of comprehensive, evidence-based practice guidelines reduces the burden on busy practicing physicians and avoids the potential for patient confusion posed by differing guidelines.

Generally, the Academy collaborates with the American College of Physicians (ACP) on guidelines relating to adults. Most recently, AAFP and ACP published jointly developed guidelines for atrial fibrillation and migraine headache. The 2 organizations are currently developing joint guidelines on 3 different topics: diagnosis and management of venous thromboembolism, pharmacologic management of dementia, and management of impaired glucose tolerance.

For guidelines relating to children, the Academy collaborates with the American Academy of Pediatrics. The 2 groups most recently published jointly developed guidelines on managing acute otitis media and on treatment for otitis media with effusion.

See Table 2 ▶ for additional information on evidence-based clinical practice guidelines developed by the AAFP either alone or in conjunction with other groups. All of the Academy's clinical policy statements and recommendations may be accessed at http://www.aafp.org/x132.xml.

Table 2.

Clinical Practice Guidelines Developed by the AAFP Either Alone or in Conjunction With Other Groups


Approved: _____________________________________________________ Theo Dreher A compound series capable of reversing the antiviral effect of Ribavirin (RBV) against H1N1 was identified from a high throughput screen designed to discover compounds capable of increasing the fidelity of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDRP) n ribovirus quasispecies. Two lead compounds, RIC-1 (EC50 of 78.4 nM) and RIC-2 (EC50 of 217 nM), returned viral growth to control levels by completely inhibiting the antiviral activity of RBV. Both compounds demonstrated a loss of activity when incubated at 37°C in media only, losing functionality within 3 hours. Incubation of RIC-1 or RIC-2 with cells for only 2.5 minutes, however, was able to maintain viral growth by inhibiting RBV for the full 72 hour growth period. Subsequent testing showed the RIC series was not effective against a second mutagen, 5-fluorouracil, and RIC-2 did not prevent or slow the development of antiviral resistance when viral populations were grown in the presence of Zanamivir. Furthermore, RIC-1 was ineffective in alleviating inhibition of the inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) pathway by the inhibitor mycophenolic acid (MPA). Anti-RBV activity was relieved by increasing the concentration of RBV, suggesting the RIC series acts to competitively inhibit RBV. The mechanism of action associated with the RIC compound series is still unclear; however, it appears to act independent of the intended function of RDRP fidelity modification.


Karst features pervade the outcrop belts of Triassic, Ordovician, and Cambrian rocks in the Frederick Valley region of Maryland's western Piedmont. Detailed stratigraphic analysis and geologic and karst mapping demonstrate that individual stratigraphic units have differing susceptibilities of karst feature creation. Although the Triassic Leesburg Member of the Bull Run Formation and Rocky Springs Station Member of the Cambrian Frederick Formation have many surface depressions within their outcrop belts, the Lime Kiln Member of the Frederick Formation and the Ceresville, Fountain Rock, and Woodsboro members of the Ordovician Grove Formation have the greatest potential for development of catastrophic collapse sinkholes. Although these four members have the highest relative susceptibility, human activity can increase the potential for sinkhole activation in all units. Rerouting of surface drainage patterns, unlined drainage, and storm-water management areas and removal of significant overburden deposits significantly increase sinkhole development, but mainly, these units are inherently more susceptible to begin with.


We analytically determine two of the mechanisms which cause chaotic dynamics to appear in a model of the forced and damped Sine-Gordon equation. In particular, we find orbits homoclinic to periodic orbits, and orbits homoclinic to fixed points which satisfy conditions sufficient to guarantee the existence of nearby chaotic invariant sets. One of these homoclinic orbits is a so-called Silnikov-type loop. A proof the existence of a symmetric pair of such loops is our main result. This proof consists of a modified Melnikov perturbation analysis, augmented by some techniques from the field of geometric singular perturbation theory.


Low density vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cell cultures maintained on extracellular-matrix(ECM)-coated dishes and plated in the presence of either plasma or serum will proliferate actively when serum-containing medium is replaced by a synthetic medium supplemented with three factors: high density lipoprotein (HDL, 250 micrograms protein/ml); insulin (2.5 micrograms/ml) or somatomedin C (10 ng/ml); and fibroblast growth factor (FGF, 100 ng/ml) or epidermal growth factor (EGF, 50 ng/ml). The omission of any of these three factors from the synthetic medium results in a lower growth rate of the cultures, as well as in a lower final cell density once cultures reach confluence. When cells are plated in the total absence of serum, transferrin (10 micrograms/ml) is also required to induce optimal cell growth. The effects of the substrate and medium supplements on the life span of VSM cultures have also been analyzed. Cultures maintained on plastic and exposed to medium supplemented with 5% bovine serum underwent 15 generations. However, when maintained on ECM-coated dishes the serum-fed cultures had a life span of at least 88 generations. Likewise, when cultures were maintained in a synthetic medium supplemented with HDL and either FGF or EGF, an effect on the tissue culture life span by the substrate was observed. Cultures maintained on plastic underwent 24 generations, whereas those maintained on ECM-coated dishes could be passaged repeatedly for 58 generations. These experiments demonstrate the influence of the ECM-substrate only in promoting cell growth but also in increasing the longevity of the cultures.


This project aims to reconstruct historic fossil fuel derived CO₂ (CO₂ff) emissions from two closely located point sources in Taranaki, New Zealand. The Vector gas processing plant and the Ballance agri-nutrients ammonia urea plant have combined emissions of ~0.16 TgC yr⁻¹ since 1970 and 1982 respectively. Previous work found 2–5 ppm CO₂ff in short term integrated samples collected 600m downwind of the Vector plant. This study extends the dataset back 30 years using radiocarbon measurements in tree rings.  Trees incorporate CO₂ from the local atmosphere into their annual growth rings. Measurements of ¹⁴C in polluted and clean air trees were compared to the Baring Head Δ¹⁴CO₂ atmospheric record. As CO₂ff emissions are devoid of ¹⁴C addition of CO₂ff will cause a decrease in ¹⁴C directly related to the amount of CO₂ff present.  Trees growing immediately downwind of the Vector plant and from clean air locations in Taranaki and Baring Head Wellington, were cored and cut into one year growth increments. Two cellulose preparation methods were tested to confirm effectiveness at removing mobile extractive components and lignin. Radiocarbon and stable isotope results showed that the ANSTO method was more effective than the Rafter method. The clean air trees compare well with the Baring Head atmospheric record whereas trees growing downwind of the Vector plant demonstrate lower ¹⁴C content consistent with CO₂ff addition. Historic CO₂ff emissions were reconstructed for the polluted trees, with 1–3ppm of CO₂ff in the Luscombe chestnut tree and 4–7 ppm CO₂ff in the Vector pine tree. CO₂ff observations were compared with reported emissions from the Vector and Ballance plants. Observed CO₂ff increased by 10% in the Vector pine tree for the period 1994–2012 relative to pre-1994 levels, whereas combined CO₂ff emissions increased by 64%. No increase was observed in the Luscombe chestnut tree for the same time period. Meteorological analysis was performed to assess the relative contribution of CO₂ff from the sources to the trees. It is proposed that the trend observed in the Vector pine is due to the dominance of emissions from the Ballance plant and a relatively minor contribution from the Vector plant.


To evaluate the nutritional value of palm kernel meal on the performance Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), five isonitrogenous (30% crude protein), isoenergetic (2800 kcal/kg of digestible energy), and isofibrous (10% crude fiber) diets, with increasing levels of palm kernel meal (0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35%). were ad libitum fed to fingerlings with initial body weight of 1.52g ±0.04, housed per 120 days in 35 aquarium of 60 liters with fingerlings each. The environmental culture condition were monitored during all experimental period. Statistical analyses of recorded data were performed through polynomial regression models. To determine the apparent digestibility, macroscopic analysis of viscera and microscopic analysis of intestine epithelium were performed. The obtained results indicated that the inclusion of palm kernel meal up to 35% Nile tilapia diets did not affects the apparent digestibility and did not induce any pathological effects on viscera and intestinal epithelium.


Information and communication technologies offer great potential for society to quickly adopt e-services for economic and social development. Healthcare activities based on these technologies (e-health) are probably the most prominent of these e-services. However, e-health is evolving into such entities as m-health (mobile) or u-health (ubiquitous), which focus on applications that provide healthcare to people anywhere, anytime using broadband and wireless mobile technologies. This semantic-service-discovery mechanism considers relevant parts of the organizational context in which e-health services are used, to improve a service-discovery system's usability in medical emergencies


The study evaluated popular functional Christologies among the Christians of Ndia in Kirinyaga West sub-county, Kenya. Popular Christologies reflect people's real understanding of Jesus Christ. The objectives of the study were to establish social, political and economic functional Christologies among Ndia. The target population comprised of all churches in Ndia, which comprised of 25 Catholic, 29 Anglican, six Lutheran, six Presbyterian, 40 Pentecostal and ten Afro-Pentecostal congregations with an estimate population of 11,600 faithfuls.. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The data showed that social, economic and political functional Christologies were well balanced. The study recommends that churches in Ndia encourage people to appreciate the relationship between work and wealth and medicine and healing. It is envisaged that the results of the study will be useful to social workers, scholars, churches, other non-governmental organizations and government agencies intending to or already working with the Ndia people.


Objectives Previous studies have shown that chemicals used in plastics manufacture are correlated with adverse health effects in humans, including reproductive abnormalities. Despite this growing evidence, little attention has been given to the potential health impact of highly exposed pregnant women employed in the plastics industry. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of cryptorchidism and hypospadias among boys born to mothers employed in the plastics industry using nationwide registers to extract maternal occupation and the child malformations of cryptorchidism and hypospadias. Methods The cohort included 864 747 boys born to a mother in employment during her pregnancy in Denmark from 1980–2007. These boys were followed for cryptorchidism and hypospadias from 1980–2009 comparing risks among sons of mothers working in the plastics industry (n = 5060) with sons of mothers working in other occupations (n = 717 921), including healthcare assistants and kitchen workers as references. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated using multiple logistic regression, adjusting for parental age, birth years, parity, and geographical region. Results Preliminary results show sons of women employed in the plastics industry were not at increased risk of cryptorchidism (107 cases; OR 1.15, 95% CI: 0.95–1.40) or hypospadias (28 cases; OR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.56–1.19) compared to boys of women in other occupations (18 338 cases) and (3099 cases), respectively. Conclusions This nationwide cohort study did not find an increased risk of cryptorchidism or hypospadias amongst sons of mothers working in the plastics industry.


The present study is carried out in Ladakh to document the indigenous knowledge on bio-resources management. People here practice various indigenous techniques for storage, use and management of their local resources. Some of the indigenous practices for storage of cultivated crops ( i.e. , food grains, vegetables, and fruits), fuel, fodder and several other bioresources in nutshell are described in this paper. The present study not only established the validity of traditional knowledge but also indicates the urgency to use and keep them in a sustainable mode. Indigenous knowledge if not conserved properly will be seriously threatened under pressure of modernization and especially on account of the apathy among the new generation.


Mental health professionals who counsel Muslim women are well positioned to offer guidance on working with this underserved population. A basic interpretive qualitative research design was utilized to explore mental health professionals' ( N = 5) experience of providing counselling services to Muslim women. Analysis yielded four areas of consideration in the provision of counselling services to Muslim women: (a) difficulty of seeking help; (b) lack of awareness as a barrier; (c) need for community outreach, psychoeducation, and cross-cultural training; and (d) centrality of trust and careful application of modalities and orientations. Findings are described alongside implications for counselling practice, and directions for future research are identified.


Abstract. High levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in East Asia often exceed local air quality standards. Observations from the Korea United States-Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) field campaign in May and June 2016 showed that development of extreme pollution (haze) occurred through a combination of long-range transport and favorable meteorological conditions that enhanced local production of PM2.5. Atmospheric models often have difficulty simulating PM2.5 chemical composition during haze, which is of concern for the development of successful control measures. We use observations from KORUS-AQ to examine the ability of the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to simulate PM2.5 composition throughout the campaign and identify the mechanisms driving the pollution event. In the surface level, the model underestimates campaign average sulfate aerosol by −64 % but overestimates nitrate aerosol by 36 %. The largest underestimate in sulfate occurs during the pollution event in conditions of high relative humidity, where models typically struggle to generate the high concentrations due to missing heterogeneous chemistry in aerosol liquid water in the polluted boundary layer. Hourly surface observations show that the model nitrate bias is driven by an overestimation of the nighttime peak. In the model, nitrate formation is limited by the supply of nitric acid, which is biased by +100 % against aircraft observations. We hypothesize that this is due to a missing sink, which we implement here as a factor of five increase in dry deposition. We show that the resulting increased deposition velocity is consistent with observations of total nitrate as a function of photochemical age. The model does not account for factors such as the urban heat island effect or the heterogeneity of the built-up urban landscape resulting in insufficient model turbulence and surface area over the study area that likely results in insufficient dry deposition. Other species such as NH3 could be similarly affected but were not measured during the campaign. Nighttime production of nitrate is driven by NO2 hydrolysis in the model, while observations show that unexpectedly elevated nighttime ozone (not present in the model) should result in N2O5 hydrolysis as the primary pathway. The model is unable to represent nighttime ozone due to an overly rapid collapse of the afternoon mixed layer and excessive titration by NO. We attribute this to missing nighttime heating driving deeper nocturnal mixing that would be expected to occur in a city like Seoul. This urban heating is not considered in air quality models run at large enough scales to treat both local chemistry and long-range transport. Key model failures in simulating nitrate, mainly overestimated daytime nitric acid, incorrect representation of nighttime chemistry, and an overly shallow and insufficiently turbulent nighttime mixed layer, exacerbate the model's inability to simulate the buildup of PM2.5 during haze pollution. To address the underestimate in sulfate most evident during the haze event, heterogeneous aerosol uptake of SO2 is added to the model which previously only considered aqueous production of sulfate from SO2 in cloud water. Implementing a simple parameterization of this chemistry improves the model abundance of sulfate but degrades the SO2 simulation implying that emissions are underestimated. We find that improving model simulations of sulfate has direct relevance to determining local vs. transboundary contributions to PM2.5. During the haze pollution event, the inclusion of heterogeneous aerosol uptake of SO2 decreases the fraction of PM2.5 attributable to long-range transport from 66 % to 54 %. Locally-produced sulfate increased from 1 % to 46 % of locally-produced PM2.5, implying that local emissions controls would have a larger effect than previously thought. However, this additional uptake of SO2 is coupled to the model nitrate prediction which affects the aerosol liquid water abundance and chemistry driving sulfate-nitrate-ammonium partitioning. An additional simulation of the haze pollution with heterogeneous uptake of SO2 to aerosol and simple improvements to the model nitrate simulation results in 30 % less sulfate due to 40 % less nitrate and aerosol water, and results in an underestimate of sulfate during the haze event. Future studies need to better consider the impact of model physical processes such as dry deposition and boundary layer mixing on the simulation of nitrate and the effect of improved nitrate simulations on the overall simulation of secondary inorganic aerosol (sulfate+nitrate+ammonium) in East Asia. Foreign emissions are rapidly changing, increasing the need to understand the impact of local emissions on PM2.5 in South Korea to ensure continued air quality improvements.