Nopp140 is a highly phosphorylated protein that resides in the nucleolus of mammalian cell and is involved in the biogenesis of the nucleolus. It interacts with a variety of proteins related to the synthesis and assembly of the ribosome. It also can bind to a ubiquitous protein kinase CK2 that mediates cell growth and prevents apoptosis. We found that Nopp140 is an intrinsically unfolded protein (IUP) lacking stable secondary structures over its entire sequence of 709 residues. We discovered that mitoxantrone, an anticancer agent, was able to enhance the interaction between Nopp140 and CK2 and maintain suppressed activity of CK2. Surface plasma resonance studies on different domains of Nopp140 show that the C-terminal region of Nopp140 is responsible for binding with mitoxantrone. Our results present an interesting example where a small chemical compound binds to an intrinsically unfolded protein (IUP) and enhances protein-protein interactions.


In this paper we want to contribute to a theoretical framework suited for analysing and understanding infrastructural change in Africa, and to explore how such a framework may offer a different, mo ...


European standards had already set Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) as the current and mandatory goal for the construction market. Thus, several design strategies have been developed, in order to define the best practices towards NZEB targets: high performances of construction components, integrated with high energy-efficiency solutions for building systems. The Active House Vision and evaluative approach on buildings summarize the current protocols, accounting the three principles of Comfort, Energy and Environment to parametrically design and assess buildings until their "as-built" status. However, at that point of the design process, this evaluation relies mainly on design simulations, which do not properly consider the occupants' component, resulting in a gap between forecast and real performances. Since predictive models of users-building interactions are underway, the paper focuses on the building operation stage of existing and validated NZEBuildings, addressing the performance-gap as related to the final users' mismanagement of the building system (envelope and installations). Referring to cognitive buildings as sensors-equipped and smart Active Houses, the method proposes a user-friendly visualization of (big) real-data as a possible solution for the final-user training and awareness. This approach has been applied to the case study of VELUXlab, a real building prototype of Politecnico di Milano, already validated as the first Italian NZEB inside a university campus and "as-built" Active House. The outcomes of the paper enhance the potentials of the current knowledge and design practice to achieve a sustainable and healthier built environment, looking at the future but working today.


ABSTRACT:  Tax software is commonly used in the preparation of U.S. federal and state income tax returns. A common feature of tax return preparation software is the prepayment-position status bar, which automatically calculates an updated refund/tax-due position. This paper examines whether the prepayment-position status bar, influences taxpayer decision making. This study utilizes a 2 × 2 experimental design, manipulating the taxpayers' prepayment position (refund/tax-due) and manipulating whether the prepayment-position status bar is present or absent. Using experienced taxpayers as study participants, the results of the experiment show that taxpayers are more aggressive when they are in a tax-due position compared to a refund position and that this effect is exaggerated when the tax software contains a prepayment-position status bar.


Double Fed Induction Generators (DFIG) has been widely used for the past two decades in large wind farms. This paper presents control and analysis of the doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) connected to variable speed horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT). The detailed wind turbine (WT) model, DFIG dynamic model in d-q-synchronous reference frame, power electronic converters, and controllers are presented. The reactive and active power of the DFIG can be precisely decoupled by controlling the rotor side converter (RSC). The field-oriented control (FOC) strategy and the proportional-integral (PI) controllers were used to control the RSC of the DFIG. Furthermore, a space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) was utilized to generate pulsing signals required to drive three phases DC-AC converter (inverter). The proposed control method of DFIG based on HAWT was verified by simulation in MATLAB-SIMULINK software. The obtained simulation results showed the capability and effectiveness of the proposed control method.


Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): National Science Centre Poland NCN (UMO-2021/41/B/NZ7/03716).

 Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia and environmental conditions are one of its risk factors. The "Polish smog" that occurs in Eastern Poland - due to its composition and the conditions in which it is formed - is characterized by extremely adverse health effects.

 To assess the relationship between Polish smog and the occurrence of AF episodes.

 The study area included voivodeship cities of Eastern Poland. Data on hospitalizations for 2016-2020 were obtained from regional departments of the National Health Fund. In the statistical analysis, a case-crossover study (CCO) method was used.

 During the analyzed period, a total of 40,471 hospitalizations for AF were recorded, including 18,139 emergency ones. The main pollutant affecting the occurrence of AF episodes was NO2 – a 10 μg/m3 increase in NO2 concentrations (OR=1.047, 95% CI 1.026-1.068; P<0.001) resulted in an increase in emergency hospitalizations for AF. The effect of NO2 on AF was greater in the cold season than in the warm season (ORcold=1.562 95%CI 1.222-1.997, P<0.001 vs ORwarm=1.055 95%CI 1.018-1.093, P<0.001; P<0.001). No age and sex differences in the influence of NO2 were observed. However, when it comes to the lag effect, the impact of NO2 was significantly greater among men than women on lag1 ORman=1.036 95%CI 1.007-1.066, P=0.01 vs ORwomen=0.978 95%CI 0.951-1.006, P=0.12; P<0.001).

 Variations in air pollution levels, especially NO2, can increase the risk of acute AF incidents. We associate the more pronounced adverse health effects noted during the heating season with the particularly toxic effects of Polish smog.


The most widely used structural element in civil engineering structures are reinforced concrete plates.. In the available literature, numbers of design guidelines are available for proportioning the plate systems and mostly, these guidelines have been suggested on the basis of the results of an extensive series of tests and the well established performance record of various plate systems. However, its behavior is not fully understood. In the present paper, an attempt has been made to study the effect of beam stiffness on the moment field and crack pattern appearing in the plate under a uniform lateral load. To validate the analytical results, these are compared with the experimental results available in the literature and are found to be in good agreement.


Phytotoxicity of wild plants is sometimes utilized in the control of weeds. Their effects on crops are however not extensively documented. Effects of aqueous extracts of Olax subscorpioidea Oliv. were thus examined on seeds and seedlings of maize. Two experiments were laid out in complete randomized designs (CRD) and replicated five times. Ten seeds of maize were initially placed in separate petri-dishes and moistened daily with two (2) ml water extracts of different parts of Olax sp. while 2 ml of distilled water served as control. Secondly, maize seedlings growing on top soil in experimental pots were treated with 100 ml of extracts at seven days intervals for eight weeks. Data were collected on number of germinated seeds daily, and lengths of five randomly selected plumules and radicles at 7 days after sowing (DAS). Number of leaves, plant height, root dry weight and shoot dry weight of seedling were measured using standard methods. Analysis of variance and Duncan's Multiple Range Test were conducted to statistically determine significant means at P=0.05. Mean germination of (0.71±0.00) was observed at 2 DAS and 2.81±0.10 at 7 DAS. Leaf extracts significantly reduced germinability, but significantly increased number of leaves, plant height (26±1.28), root dry weight (10.30±3.24) and shoot dry weight (14.99±2.13). The results Original Research Article Olubode and Ayoola; JAERI, 21(5): 22-28, 2020; Article no.JAERI.57183 23 showed that Olax subscorpioidea has alloallelopathic (phytotoxic) effects on maize seeds, but stimulated growth of maize seedlings. Its use as a bio-herbicide or growth stimulant in should be well-timed.


Techniques have previously been developed to allow shaped satellite Earth-coverage patterns to be synthesized by either direct numerical optimization on the control point settings, or by synthesizing a rigid reflector profile to the same pattern specification, and then best-fitting the mesh surface to this to yield the control point settings for the mesh. This work has been extended by the authors to include the synthesis of nulls in the antenna pattern, so that in addition to the specification of the high-gain coverage region of the pattern, one or more angles may be specified at which the antenna pattern gain is to be minimized. An extension of this technique has also been developed, which allows low sidelobe levels to be enforced over specified areas of the pattern. >


Abstract Objective Public health investigations require rapid assessment, response, and initiation of control measures. In 2012, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services used digital pens to rapidly acquire epidemiologic data during a gastrointestinal illness outbreak. Methods Menus were obtained and a standard questionnaire was administered to exposed persons using digital pens. Questionnaire data were downloaded into an electronic file for analysis. Results Sixty-nine (74%) of 93 exposed persons completed a questionnaire. Of 6389 data entries made on digital paper, 218 (3%) required correction; of these, 201 (92%) involved a free-form variable and 17 (8%) involved a check-box variable. Digital pens saved an estimated 5 to 6 hours of data-entry time. Conclusions This outbreak provided an opportunity to assess the value of digital pens for decreasing data-entry burden and allowing more timely data analysis in an emergent setting. Depending on the size of the outbreak and complexity of the survey, there is likely a threshold when use of digital pens would provide a clear benefit to outbreak response. As new technology becomes available for use in emergency preparedness settings, public health agencies must continuously review and update response plans and evaluate investigation tools to ensure timely disease control and response activities. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:349–353)


In this Paper, we propose an Energy Efficient Time Synchronization technique based on WUSB (Wireless USB) over WBAN (Wireless Body Area Networks) protocol required for Wearable Computer systems. For this purpose, the proposed Time Synchronization algorithm minimizes power consumption and estimates time information with accuracy. It is executed on the basis of WUSB over WBAN protocol at each sensor node comprising peripherals of a wearable computer system. It minimizes power consumption by exchanging time stamp packets and forming a hierarchical structure.


The utility model discloses a self-contained dehumidification air conditioner of external-melt ice-thermal-storage humidity conditioning and underground water temperature regulation, which comprises an underground water well, a ground-source ice storage heat pump main unit, an external-melt ice type energy storage tank, an independent dehumidification fresh-air unit and an indoor dry-type radiation air conditioner terminal. The independent dehumidification fresh-air unit is formed by a precooling heat exchanger and an independent dehumidification heat exchanger. The self-contained dehumidification air conditioner adopting the technical scheme realizes independent dehumidification inside the independent dehumidification fresh-air unit by utilizing the capacity of continuously outputting low-temperature water via external-melt ice thermal storage, regulates temperature by utilizing the underground water source as high-temperature icing water, simultaneously optimizes indoor air conditioner parameters all year round, realizes low-temperature icing dehumidification via the external-melt ice thermal storage, blows air at low temperature and uses the cheap underground cold water to sustain sensible heat load by adopting the exiting principle of air conditioner comfort, thereby realizing the air condition means of independent dehumidification and high-temperature icing water cooling.


Abstract : The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Motor Carrier Act (MCA) of 1980 on the ability of USAF cargo shipping agencies to expedite shipments under contingency conditions. In addition to the primary focus, the study also examined whether certain characteristics of the subset of for-hire motor carriers of property for the DOD corresponded to the aggregate industrial trends. To determine the impact of the MCA on the service shippers, the study evaluated the process of contracting cargo shipments. The study examined the two basic rate categories for making shipments, LTL and TL. The process of contracting a shipment differs for LTL or TL. The process of contracting a shipment differs for LTL or TL loads under existing guidance. While the shipping process operates reasonably well under peacetime conditions, a low level conflict or declared mobilization could present problems for service shippers based on changes in the motor carrier industry since the MCA. HQ MTMC data was analyzed for differences between two periods, pre-MCA and post-MCA. The nonparametric analyses examined the number of carriers seeking DOD shipments; the number of distinct carriers who actually performed shipments for the DOD; and the number of carriers who discontinued DOD service. A final analysis examined whether the total for-hire motor carrier population differed significantly between the two eras.


The authors propose a reexamination of the conditioning effect of political sophistication on economic voting in U.S. presidential elections. Replicating Gomez and Wilson's (2001) analysis with survey data from the past five American presidential elections (1988—2004), they show that low sophisticates strictly rely on sociotropic economic judgments in their intention to support the incumbent party's candidate. For their part, high sophisticates appear to use both sociotropic and pocketbook evaluations in their voting intention, but only in elections where the sitting incumbent is running for reelection (1992, 1996, and 2004). Most of these findings do not hold, however, once the postelectoral reported vote is used as the dependent variable. Indeed, the authors find that pocketbook evaluations do not have a significant impact on high sophisticates' reported vote choice, and they also find important variance in economic voting effects among low sophisticates. The results indicate that high sophisticates continue to use sociotropic evaluations in their voting decision, but only in incumbent elections. Overall, the analysis raises doubts about some of the previous studies' conclusions and underlines the importance of considering the moderating role of contextual factors such as incumbency and political campaigns in economic voting studies.


The formation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in aqueous supersaturated solutions has been intensively studied over the past decades, because of its significance for a number of processes of industrial and environmental interest. In the oil and gas production industry the deposition of calcium carbonate affects adversely the productivity of the wells. Calcium carbonate scale deposits formation causes serious problems in water desalination, CO2 sequestration in subsoil wells, in geothermal systems and in heat exchangers because of the low thermal coefficient of the salt. Amelioration of the operational conditions is possible only when the mechanisms underlying nucleation and crystal growth of calcium carbonate in the aqueous fluids is clarified. Given the fact that in oil production processes water miscible and immiscible hydrocarbons are present the changes of the dielectric constant of the fluid phase has serious impact in the kinetics of calcium carbonate precipitation, which remains largely unknown. The problem becomes even more complicated if polymorphism exhibited by calcium carbonate is also taken into consideration. In the present work, the stability of aqueous solutions supersaturated with respect to all calcium carbonate polymorphs and the subsequent kinetics of calcium carbonate precipitation were measured. The measurements included aqueous solutions and solutions in the presence of water miscible (ethylene glycol, MEG) and water immiscible organics (n-dodecane). All measurements were done at conditions of sustained supersaturation using the glass/ Ag/AgCl combination electrode as a probe of the precipitation and pH as the master variable for the addition of titrant solutions with appropriate concentration needed to maintenance the solution supersaturation. Initially, the metastable zone width was determined from measurements of the effect of the solution supersaturation on the induction time preceding the onset of precipitation at free-drift conditions. The rates of crystal growth were measured as a function of the solution supersaturation using the highly accurate and reproducible methodology of constant supersaturation. The dependence of the rates of crystal growth on supersaturation suggested surface diffusion controlled mechanism. At constant supersaturation it was possible to extend the time period for the growth of the initially forming polymorph, in a way that sufficient amount is precipitated for characterization with X-ray diffraction (XRD). Moreover, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for the characterization of the morphology of the precipitated solid. In all cases and depending on the solution supersaturation vaterite formed first from solutions of high supersaturation while at low supersaturations calcite formed exclusively. The presence of dodecane reduced the stability of the supersaturated solutions with the crystals forming at the oil-water interface. The presence of ethylene glycol (concentrations between 10-80%) also affected the stability and the kinetics of calcium carbonate precipitation. The morphology of the formed crystals showed habit modifications: Spherical formations consisting of aggregated nanocrystals and calcite crystals with profound pits on the faces were the characteristic feature in the presence of dodecane.


The human visual system is remarkably efficient at extracting useful information, especially in detecting objects in our environment. Many models have been developed over the years to account for this amazing ability, most following the sensible hierarchy of detecting features first and then integrating them to build objects (1, 2). A notable exception to this general scheme is the theory of topological perception proposed by Lin Chen (3). During the last 25 years, Lin Chen and colleagues have argued for the importance of extracting global topological properties as primitives in object perception (4). The emphasis on global properties in perception is not new [e.g., Gestalt theory of perception (5)], but the topological perception theory specifically defines the global properties as topological invariants. In addition, this theory states that the primitives of visual form perception are geometric invariants at different levels of structural stability under transformations. Thus, a more stable property would be more primitive and more important to extract early in the process. Topological properties are the most stable in relation to other geometrical properties such as projective, affine, and Euclidean properties. In a recent issue of PNAS, Lin Chen and colleagues (6) reported the intriguing discovery that the human visual system's sensitivity to topological properties is superior in the left hemisphere, at least for right-handers (Fig. 1).


Using multi-wave band data for 195 Fermi blazars(116 FSRQs and 79 BL Lac objects) with high degree of confidence,we have studied the possible correlation between emission flux(FR、FIR、FO、FX、Fγ) in the radio,infrared,optical,X-ray,and γ-ray wave band in the average state.We find that there are good positive correlation between Fγ and FIR and between Fγ and FR.From these results we suggest that γ-rays are produced possibly by diverse radiation mechanism.


On the evening of 24 August 1814, British troops burned down much of official Washington. Two weeks prior, President Madison had informed the recessed Congress that the "weighty concerns" of war required its return to the capital for a special session, "the 19th day of September next." Thus, Congress arrived within weeks of the invasion to face not only the scarred remains of Washington's public buildings, but the national humiliation connected with a foreign invasion on America's seat of government. By 26 September, the House of Representatives was already considering the merits of removing the federal government to another location, at least temporarily. After several close votes, the bill was defeated on 15 October. The issue resurfaced in February 1815 during the Senate's debate over funding for the construction and repair of federal buildings, but by that time the momentum had faded. The Senate made the appropriations, and the federal government remained in Washington—permanently. Often what does not transpire is of little historical interest and the defeat of the House removal proposal is no different. Two popular histories on the 1814 destruction of Washington, Les Standiford's Washington Burning and Anthony S. Pitch's Burning of Washington, gave the subject light mention. Of books written


This study aimed to investigate a gap in research regarding the contemporary experiences of individuals who identify as both LGBT+ and Traveller through an intersectional lens in post-Brexit Britain. To fully explore this issue three research questions were formulated; Question 1: What are the experiences of individuals that identify with the LGBT+ community and the Traveller community? Question 2: What are the perceptions of Travellers in the LGBTQ+ community? These questions were explored through both qualitative and quantitative data gathered by two online surveys, which consisted of responses from both LGBT+ Travellers and LGBT+ Non-Travellers who were recruited by the method of snowball sampling via social media, the quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data was analysed using thematic coding. The results presented a negative experience for LGBT+ Travellers who felt the need to hide their identity and experienced discrimination in the identified theme of stereotyping in LGBT+ spaces. This research identified a lack of visibility of LGBT+ Traveller identity, in both Traveller and British society which has led to a negative impact upon this intersectional identity, predominantly causing an inability to authentically participate in either community.


Abstract Extract It has been shown that serum obtained from normal sheep or from sheep immunized with Salmonella typhimurium contains a number of proteins that have antibody activity against Salm. typhimurium (Jonas, 1969a, b, c). In addition to the antibody proteins, the involvement of part of the sheep complement (C) system in the reaction of sheep serum with Salm. typhimurium has also been demonstrated (Jonas, 1970).


Adopt the Ethernet transceiver chip DP83640 which specially integrated the function of IEEE1588 precision time ptotocol hardware support introduced by national semiconductor,mark PTP colck synchronization message transmission and arrival times in physical layer,to realize the function of high-precision clock synchronization by connecting to the TMS320DM642 chip as the media access controller(MAC) of T1's build-in Ethernet.


Background: Nutritional support of the burn patient is essential to optimize, host immune defenses and to promote prompt wound healing. Furthermore, the increased needs in calorie requirement of burned patients, the composition of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in their diet is important. The purpose of this study was to evaluate energy, macronutrient and micronutrient intake and comparing with Reference Daily Intake (RDI) in adult burn patients. Methods: Sixty thermally injured patients who were hospitalized in a burn care Imam Reza hospital in Mashhad, Iran, were included in this cross-sectional study. Information about actual intake was collected by �nutrient intake analysis (NIA) through direct observation. Individual nutritional intakes were assessed with the use of nutritionist 4 software and Data was analyzed by SPSS version 18. Results: The mean of energy, carbohydrate and protein intake was significantly lower than the mean total energy requirement and carbohydrate and protein RDA (p<0.001). While the mean fat intake was inside the range of RDI (20.5±8.3). The mean of vitamins A and folate and C intake were significantly lower than the RDI (All p<0.001). Conclusions: This study showed that the energy, protein and carbohydrate intake in patients with major burn were lower than the RDA but the amount of fat intake was inside the range of RDA. In addition, we found that the vitamins and minerals intake in adult with major burn was lower than RDI and may decelerate wound healing and increase the duration of hospitalization.


The characterization of large biomolecules, including the determination of their size and molecular mass (Mr), is important for understanding fundamental aspects of their biochemical behavior. Even though MS has dominated this type of analysis, another similar technique based on nanoelectrospray ion mobility spectrometry, referred to as gas phase electrophoretic mobility molecule analysis (GEMMA) has received less attention, even though it has shown several benefits. The objective of this study was to evaluate GEMMA for its capability to determine the size and Mr of proteins and protein complexes, and to compare it with several established techniques such as quasi elastic light scattering (QELS), multiangle laser light scattering (MALLS), MALDI-MS and nES-MS, in terms of sensitivity, accuracy, reproducibility and other measurement characteristics.


The experimental facts on the physiologic action of the ultraviolet rays may be divided into three outstanding groups of theoretical and practical importance: the effect on growth and nutrition, the inhibitive action on bacterial growth, and the influence on the antimicrobic resistance of higher organisms. Experimental work of recent years has been focused almost exclusively on the first problem, and these investigations on the action of ultraviolet rays on growth, nutrition and germination have yielded many conclusive results. On the other hand, the more ancient investigations on light as an anti-infectious and anti-inflammatory agent have not revealed much information of an exact nature. Most of the latter work has been based on clinical observations, but, convincing as clinical evidence may be in demonstrating the effectiveness of actinic rays in climatic cures, such experiments always fall short of proving scientifically the value of each individual factor in climatic treatment. While there


Grimes criticizes the use of quality adjusted life years (QALYs) to allocate funds within Britain's National Health Service. Developed by health economists at the University of York, the QALY system determines how many years of patient life, adjusted for quality, a given treatment is likely to generate. QALYs tend to favor younger patients and acute conditions, because the longer a patient survives after treatment (with a given quality of life), the better value for the money, and a single treatment is less expensive than continuing care. Because QALYs are intended to aid macroallocation decisions rather than to be applied to individual patients, additional factors must be taken into account when rationing care. Grimes concludes that neither physicians, administrators, economists, nor politicians are willing to face the problems of justly allocating resources among individual patients, and that this unwillingness is detrimental to the "poor, the weak, and the inarticulate."


Note: Photograph commissioned by the Toronto Star showing a group of officers standing around a body. This photograph illustrates a prominent theme in the history of the Don Valley: the perception of the valley as a place of crime, death, and other things "best kept out of the public eye."


The use of two new assays was evaluated for predicting the response to interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The genotype of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was establishe by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay based on genotype‐specific recombinant peptides of the NS4 region (genotyping ELISA). The concentration of HCV RNA was measured by a branched DNA assay (bDNA assay). Seventy‐eight patients received the same regimen of IFNα2a. Of the 74 patients assessed who completed the program, 38 (51.4%) were responders; i.e., their serum aminotransferase levels remained normal for 6 months or longer after stopping IFN, while 36 (48.6%) were nonresponders. The results of the HCV genotype determined by the genotyping ELISA and by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay based on genotype specific primers were similar. The serum concentrations of HCV RNA as measured by the bDNA assay and by the competitive PCR assay correlated closely and significantly (r = 0.82, P< 0.0011. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the serum concentration of HCV RNA determined by the bDNA assay, the HCV genotype determined by the genotyping ELISA, and the histology activity index (HAI) of the liver were independently associated with IFN efficacy. By using these three variables in combination, a predictive rate of 82.4% was obtained. A lower level of HCV RNA, genotype 2 and a lower HAI score for liver histology were predictive of a favorable response to IFN. Thus, the genotyping ELISA and the bDNA assay appear to be useful for clinical management of patients receiving IFN therapy. © 1995 Wiiey‐Liss, Inc.


The aim of this thesis is to present the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), which was developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA) for the authentication of electronic documents, and the elliptic curve equivalent of the DSA (ECDSA), which was first introduced by Scott Vanstone in 1992.
A Digital Signature is a mathematical scheme for demonstrating the authenticity of a digital document. A digital signature is generated using a set of rules and a set of parameters that allow the recipient to verify the identity of the signatory, the origin, the integrity and non-repudiation of the document. Digital signature's security is based on an intractable problem such as the discrete logarithm problem, the factorization of integers, etc.
This thesis first presents the basic concepts of cryptography and number theory that are necessary for the understanding of the algorithms used to solve the discrete logarithm problem (DLP), upon which the security of DSA and ECDSA signatures is based. Then, the time required for the implementation of each algorithm is analysed.
Reference is also made to the theory of elliptic curves over finite fields and and to solving the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP).
Finally, the ElGamal digital signature scheme is presented (on which is based the creation of DSA and ECDSA signatures), along with the DSA and ECDSA schemes.


A wealth of classical studies on the thalamus pointed out a key role of the reticular thalamic nucleus (Rt) in sleep regulation. Since the discovery of the orexin (Orx)/ hypocretin peptides in 1998, a key role in wakefulness stability has been ascribed to Orx neurons, which reside in the lateral hypothalamus. Rt neuron efferents, which are inhibitory, are distributed to nuclei of the dorsal thalamus. Orx neuron efferents, which are excitatory, are distributed widely in the neuroaxis but concentrated in the thalamus along the midline. Current views seem to consider these systems as separate networks. We here wondered whether these networks meet instead in the diencephalon, and in particular whether Rt and Orx synaptic endings converge on the same neuronal cell bodies or reach separate neurons of the paraventricular thalamic nucleus (PVT) of the thalamic midline. To answer this question, PVT neurons were here investigated in confocal microscopy by means of multiple immunofluorescent labelling: calretinin labelling of PVT cell bodies; Orx + synaptophysin for the labelling of Orx synaptic endings; parvalbumin + synaptophysin for the labelling of Rt synaptic endings. Striking results on the convergence of the two sets of synapses on the same neurons were obtained, since almost 100% of Orx synaptic boutons were apposed to PVT neurons which also received Rt synaptic boutons. Rt axon terminals were more abundant in PVT than Orx ones, and also reached neurons which did not receive Orx input. The present findings on the synaptic wiring of PVT neurons therefore points to the dorsal thalamic midline as a "meeting point" of sleep-wake-regulatory diencephalic networks. PVT efferents reach the prefrontal cortex, and limbic targets represented by the nucleus accumbens and amygdala. The synaptic convergence here demonstrated could thus place PVT neurons at the core of sleep-wake-related modulation of cognitive functions and emotional, affective behaviour.


In this paper, the theoretical foundations of near-field-farfield transformations with spiral scannings are revisited and a unified theory is provided. This is accomplished by introducing a sampling representation of the radiated electromagnetic field on a rotational surface from the knowledge of a nonredundant number of its samples on a spiral wrapping the surface. The obtained results are general, since they are valid for spirals wrapping on quite arbitrary rotational surfaces, and can be directly applied to the pattern reconstruction via near-field-far-field transformation techniques. Numerical tests are reported for demonstrating the accuracy of the approach and its stability with respect to random errors affecting the data.


In the study of the of functions of several complex variables,Hua Loo-Keng discovered and proved the following determinant inequality: If A,B are n×n complex matrices and I-AA~H and I-BB~H are Hermitian positive definite matrices,then det(I-AA~H)det(I-BB~H)+|det(A-B)|~2|det(I-AB~H)|~2,with equality only if A=B.In this paper,necessary and sufficient conditions that the equality holds for Hua Loo-Keng inequality of determinant are presented.


Community pharmacy in Indonesia must implement Good Pharmacy Practice and meet the requirements of establishment listed in Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Republik Indonesia Nomor 9 Tahun 2017 (Community Pharmacy Decree). As time progresses, the concept of value-added pharmacy services emerged to meet the needs of community. Therefore, pharmacies are required to change, especially in facilities and services. This study aims to identify facilities in community pharmacies that support value-added pharmaceutical services. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 30 community pharmacies in East Surabaya area. All pharmacies agree to change towards value-added pharmacy services and about the importance of facilities in pharmacy services, but there is a gap between the urgency and availability of facilities in pharmacies because of space in the pharmacy, financial and human resources.


On the analysis of the task driven teaching pattern of database principle problems, on the basis of focus from preparation before class, classroom practice, analysis summary part studied the flip class after class and task driven database principle of combining teaching activities, the corresponding teaching mode is designed.


Choosing the best scientific venue for the submission of a manuscript, with the aim of maximizing the impact of the future publication, is a frequent task faced by scholars. In this paper, we show that the Impact Factor (IF) of a journal allows to rationally achieve this goal. We take advantage of a comprehensive bibliographic and citation dataset of about 2.5 million articles from 16,000 journals, and demonstrate that the probability of receiving more citations in one journal compared to another is a universal function of the IF values of the two journals. The relation is well described by a modified logistic function, and provides an easy-to-use rule to guide a publication strategy. The benefit of publishing in a journal with a higher IF value, instead of another with a lower one grows slowly as a function of the ratio of their IF values. For example, receiving more citations is granted in 90\% of the cases only if the IF ratio is greater than $\sim$6, while targeting a journal with an IF 2$\times$ higher than another brings in marginal citation benefit.


KINNAGOE BAY, CO. DONEGAL: La Trinidad Valencera. Colin Martin of the Institute of Maritime Archaeology, University of St. Andrews, reports that two more organic deposits were excavated in 1978 (c£ Post-Medieval Archaeol., 10 (1976), 161). The fmds included a wooden lantern, pike staves, musket and arquebus stocks, wooden powder flasks, a tambourine, various turned wooden vessels and utensils, barrel staves and ends, and roughly cut handspikes. A considerable quantity of leather and fabric was also recovered, together with anum ber of butchered animal bones, mainly pig. New pottery types included several plain albarelli and a fragment of decorated stoneware. Concretions included a number of morions and corslets, some of which retain etched surface decoration in the negative mould. A brass candlestick, a brass pharmaceutical mortar, several pewter vessels, helmet fittings, lace points, coins, religious medals and a buckle were also found.


The Ageing of the Population – Indice of the rural Repulsiveness. Romanian exemple . This study follows some previous research (Muntele, 1994; 1996 etc.) about the population restructuring process, based on the age criteria, during the last decades. Population ageing has been used as an indicator for the rural spaces repulsiveness. Regional analysis based on the last census (there are 13749 places officially registered) lead to the conclusion about the strong relation between the ageing process and the repulsiveness of some rural spaces even if there are also some regional particularities and distortions. The future demographic developmental axes are coming into view, being separated by the areas labeled by the depopulation imminence.  The presented typology proves the contraction process of the population system, as a consequence of the demographic decline.


This study was conducted to compare the usage of buffalo milk either raw, pasteurized or pasteurized with starter culture in the manufacture of Egyptian soft Domiati cheese. In addition, studing the chemical, microbial characterization and evaluation of biogenic amines throughout the ripening. The results revaled that organoleptic and chemical properties of the manufactured cheese were different. Soluble nitrogen, salt as well as pH values were higher in raw milk cheese in comparison with pasteurized milk cheese and pasteurized milk cheese with starter culture. Considerable changes had occurred in raw milk cheese during the storage period more than these with pasteurized milk cheese and pasteurized milk cheese with starter culture. Cheese made from raw milk showed higher microbial counts during ripening than those made from pasteurized milk. Raw milk cheese showed remarkably higher biogenic amines compared with pasteurized milk cheeses. Therefore, pasteurization of milk led to a decrease in final biogenic amine content of cheese as a result of the reduction of its microbial population. The obtained results suggest that, pasteurization greatly improves the keeping quality of soft Domiati cheese and increases its shelf life and decreases the formation of biogenic amines.


In contrast to sympathetic and sensory neurons in the peripheral nervous system, the neurotrophic requirements for neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) have not been clearly identified. The inactivation of specific neurotrophic factors and their receptors by gene targeting has shown that there are no major changes in neuron numbers in the CNS. This suggests an overlap between the action of different neurotrophic factors in the brain during development. Here we have studied the survival of hippocampal neurons prepared from embryonic rats, using different culture conditions. Whereas the hippocampal neurons survive well in culture when plated at high density, they die at lower cell densities in the absence of appropriate neurotrophic factors. Under the latter conditions, both insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) and the neurotrophins—brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin‐3 (NT‐3) and neurotrophin‐4 (NT‐4)—rescued a large proportion of cultured neurons. In addition, hippocampal neurons from BDNF knockout mice exhibited enhanced cell death compared with cells from wild‐type animals. BDNF and IGF‐1 both increased the survival of the hippocampal neurons lacking BDNF, showing complementary action for these factors in supporting survival. Blocking antibodies against NT‐3 and IGF‐1 decreased hippocampal neuron survival at low cell densities, showing autocrine or paracrine action of the factors. At higher cell densities, however, the antibodies had no effect, demonstrating that there is a sufficient amount of endogenous factors supporting survival under these conditions. The present results show that hippocampal neurons depend for survival on local neurotrophic factors such as IGF‐1, BDNF and NT‐3, which act in an autocrine/paracrine manner. The multifactorial support of hippocampal neurons ensures a maximal degree of neuron survival even in the absence of an individual factor.


INTRODUCTION The paper by Guerin et al. from Sarah Robertson's group in this issue of Biology of Reproduction reports a major advance in our understanding of the mechanism(s) by which male semen may protect the implanting semi-allogeneic embryo against rejection by maternal innate and adaptive immune defenses. BALB/c (H-2) males were used with C56BL6 (H-2) females [1]. Following mating, the lymph nodes draining the uterus, (draining lymph nodes, DLN or para-aortic lymph nodes PALN) enlarge; this enlargement is greater when the male is allogeneic. i.e. histoincompatible with the female, and generation of anti-paternal cytotoxic T cells is suppressed [2]. The sequence of events is depicted in Figure 1. Seminal plasma (SP) and spermatozoa (S) ejaculated into the uterine lumen at the time of mating on gestation day 0 (GD 0) act on the uterine epithelium, sub-endothelial macrophages (Mph) and dendritic cells (DC). This leads to trafficking of cells (and perhaps the predominant chemokine CCL19) via afferent lymphatics to para-aortic lymph nodes draining the uterus (DLN or PALN). There, CCL19 recruits circulating regulatory T cells (Treg, identified by the presence of FOXP3) acting via the CCR7 receptor (and possibly CCR5) . DC may present antigens from SP (blue dots) or spermatozoa (red dots). Activated Treg cells exit the lymph nodes and home tothe uterine lining by GD day 3.5, again mediated for the most part by CCL19 binding to CCR7. Interestingly, measuring mRNA for Foxp3 showed an increase that was reduced by about half if SVX males lacking seminal plasma (SP) or VAS males lacking spermatazoa (S) were used, suggesting spermatozoa could activate Foxp3 mRNA in uterine cells without significantly increasing CCL19-dependent Treg cell recruitment, although both S+SP were required for maximal activation. On GD 4.5, the semi-allogeneic blastocyst, potentially susceptible to rejection directed against minor paternal histocompatibility antigens [2], implants. Guerin et al. argue that the regional generation and local recruitment of Treg cells to the uterus in advance of implantation acts to protect the implanting embryo against maternal immune rejection. In support of this contention, they noted an increase in CD4CD25 cells in the DLN that did not express FOXP3 and which could represent activated effector T cells.


The hourtohour change of transpiration rate, net photosynthesis rate, stoma resistance of Lycium barbarum L. and sprin g wheat were measured with CIRAS1 photosynthesis measure system, meanwhile, il lumination,effective radiation of photosynthesis, leaf and air temperature, humidity and breeze in the field were also tested. The study was conducted to d iscover the differences of leaf net photosy nthesis rate, transpiration rate, conductivity of stoma, solar radiation, leaf a nd air temperature,humidity, concentration of CO\-2 and wind speed between Ly cium barbarum L. and spring wheat. The results showed that the leaf NPR of  Lycium barbarum L. was higher than that of spring wheat, but was dropped at no on. Its leaf transpiration rate was a bit higher than spring wheat in whole day, and kept in a relatively high and steady level at noon. Its stoma conductivity was lower than spring wheat. Rediation and air temperature were the main factors that affected the drop of NPR at noon. The relative humidity in the lower canop y was higher than the upper canopy; however, the law of wind speed was on the co ntrary. There was no remarkable valley of CO\-2\ absorption in the field of Ly cium barbarum L.


The maritime activity of India is datable to the Bronze Age, if not earlier, but the information on shipbuilding, crew and other details are well documented from the early historical period onwards. Ancient Indian literature mentions types of boats, but no precise information is available on the kind of timber used in construction. However, the Harappans must have used teak (Tectona grandis) for construction of boats. The Astadhyayi of Panini (5th century BC) has mentioned the use of a variety of timbers in the shipbuilding industry. Indian teak is considered the most valued timber because of its wood qualities, namely durability, elasticity, strength and dimensional stability; also it does not crack or split. The worthiness of Indian teak for ship and boat-building and its other uses have been referred to in most of the Indian literature as well by the travellers. In order to confirm the above-mentioned facts, it is essential to analyse timber remains found during maritime archaeological explorations. India is one of the oldest maritime nations of the world and several Indian-built ships have been wrecked both in Indian and foreign waters. Moreover, shipwrecks prior to the European period have neither been found nor explored in Indian waters. In India, shipwrecks have been explored in Sunchi Reef, St George's Reef, Amee Shoals, Sail Rock off Goa, Minicoy Island off Lakshadweep and Poompuhar off Tamil Nadu coast, and these shipwrecks are dateable to the post 17th century AD. Among these shipwrecks, timber remains have been noticed from St George's Reef shipwreck and were analysed thoroughly for the wood species. Similarly, during exploration of shipwrecks off Minicoy Island, brass door hinges with timber remains, porthole and other artefacts have been collected. Minicoy Island is the second largest and southernmost inhabited island in Lakshadweep. It lies on the international sea route (Figure 1). Ships sailing either from Colombo and Maldives to Aden or the other way around go close to Minicoy Island. Many ships have been wrecked in Minicoy and other islands of Lakshadweep, but only a few are documented in the Marine Records and other related documents. The records state that ships have been wrecked on the reefs of these islands because of night navigation, cyclones and absence of light houses. Minicoy Island, Byramgore and Cheriapani reefs are the major shipwreck zones of this region. Archival records and published sources mention that between 1862 and 1910, there have been five shipwrecks in shallow waters off Minicoy, including the SS Colombo in 1862, SS Thrunscoe in 1899, Duffryn Manor in 1909, SS Delagoa in 1910 and the sailing ship Tolna in 1900, which was scuttled off Minicoy while on a world cruise. SS Colombo steamer was an iron screw barque, rerigged with 2127 tonnes gross, with two funnels and belonged to the Peninsular and Oriental Company. The ship left Point de Galle (Sri Lanka), for Suez on 17 November 1862. The weather was stormy and cloudy on the early


This work focuses on how to provide the best virtual desktop technology, virtualization performance and hardware in the computer classroom. There are using the three popular virtualization technologies in the same environment to establish the same conditions, pure performance comparison: VMware Horizon, Citrix XenDesktop, and Microsoft VDI. Test software used to the current popular software, system performance including a test CPU and RAM PassMark Performance Test,and observe the vCenter Server performance changes and record statistics, to determine the advantages and disadvantages of various virtualization technologies. Finally, hardware support exclusive GPU virtualization product - Nvidia GRID K2 through GPU virtualization technology sharing and vGPU to carry on VMware vSphere, via Cinebench, YouTube 1080p high-quality video for bandwidth flow test, and use 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme to enhance the performance of virtual desktop, and bring users to enjoy higher-quality cloud services. The results of this study show that virtual desktop technologies are good in different field. On the other hand, the hardware performance breakthrough Moore's Law of this era, the single CPU has more number of cores, and the memory capacity of the larger single,and provided by the GPU for graphics acceleration processing capabilities, the performance of server has been perfect than the previous. Therefore, the quality of cloud services is also greatly improved. The study shows that the virtual test can be imported into the classroom through the stress test in the experiment. To make sure the its performance and cost are really suitable for classroom imported desktop virtualization system.


The utility model discloses a steering tie rod arm. A rod surface of the steering tie rod arm adopts an equal-depth groove hollowing structure. According to the steering tie rod arm, the rod surface of the steering tie rod arm adopts the equal-depth groove hollowing structure, and a crossed part of a corner of an equal-depth groove and the rod surface of a steering knuckle arm adopts large fillet transition, so that smooth transition of the structure is realized, the weight of the steering tie rod arm is effectively reduced, overall stress distribution is balanced, and stress concentration is reduced. Meanwhile, the connection part of the steering tie rod arm and a steering knuckle adopts a spigot structure, so that the steering tie rod arm can be effectively fixed and prevented from bouncing, and the stress concentration at connection parts of bolts is reduced.


This paper presents a voltage amplitude control of a brushless excitation synchronous starter/generator (S/G) machine, while functioning as a generator. This type of machine is commonly used in the aircraft domain due to its autonomy and robustness. The aim of the control is to maintain constant voltage amplitude on the load terminals by controlling the exciter excitation current. The proposed control is based on hysteresis regulator. This is owed to its robustness towards the variations of the machinepsilas parameters. The control algorithm was implemented on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) in order to ensure fast computation with an execution time only of a few microseconds. The proposed control was experimented on a low scale model prototyping platform, which emulates the brushless excitation synchronous machine of an aircraft. Numerous experimental results are given in order to illustrate the efficiency of the used FPGA-based solution to achieve high performance control of the brushless excitation synchronous generator.


Purposefulness is the basic determinant of human activities and the prerequisite for any successful result. It enables raising awareness, and any conscious action. The awareness, amongst others, implies recognition and successful rational activity based thereupon. Analysis of numerous sources suggest that many pedagogues, teachers in particular, generally have no teleological competences, which negatively affects the successful realization of school curricula and the general efficiency of school systems, as well as the epistemology of pedagogy. This assertion has been the light motive for theoretical consideration of teleological competences, considered as one of the basic educational competences of teachers. The paper considers teleological competencies' determinants, perceived as general intellectual competence, and its purpose in teacher's pedagogical activities. Through the concrete examples based on pedagogical theory and praxis, the thesis on inadequate teleological competence of teachers, is argued. Pursuant to the analyses of relevant pedagogical and lexicographical sources, including and providing practical examples, both theoretic and colloquial conceptual confusion, is settled. Next part shows methodical and methodological implementation procedure, as well as the goal-and-task determining, in structuring, implementation and evaluation of school curriculum. The conclusion highlights the need to insert into the pedagogical modules curricula at teacher-training faculties, contents and activities that would train students for teleological competencies.


Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(8) important as it results in clearer diagnostic criteria that better reflect the nature of the symptom as well as schizophrenia itself. This in turn will help better inform treatment and rehabilitation options for individuals with FTD. While we acknowledge that these top-level changes unfortunately do not happen quickly, there are some measures that can be adopted in the interim. First, it would be beneficial to avoid use of the term 'disorganised thoughts' in positive symptom classifications of schizophrenia to avoid confusion with 'thought disorder'. This would better facilitate the identification of FTD as being of a different nature. Second, distinctions between positive and negative FTD should continue to be recognised and adopted. Finally, continued examination of the cognitive mechanisms underlying individual FTD symptoms, particularly longitudinal work, would help in further fine-tuning the growing understanding of the disorder and strengthen the case for nosological change.


Reengineering of production is a process of continuous innovation and advancement of existing products, technologies, manufacturing processes and systems, and the survival of numerous manufacturing and business systems depend on the efficiency of their application. In the paper are spoken about reengineering and new manufacturing philosophy, it presents of competitive capability, simulations and expert systems application at reengineering.


RANKL and BSP are upregulated in several bone resorptive disorders. However, the mechanisms by which these two factors might induce osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption synergistically under pathological conditions remain largely unknown.


Another primary visual cortex Most functional studies in the visual system have focused on the cortical representation of the geniculo-striate pathway that links the retina to the cortex. The parallel collicular pathway is believed to sparsely project throughout the visual cortex and have a modulatory role on cortical responses to visual stimuli. Beltramo and Scanziani found a visual cortical area that is entirely dedicated to the superior colliculus. This area can discriminate moving visual stimuli that the "classical" primary visual cortex cannot. Thus, the superior colliculus, a phylogenetically ancient structure, has its own projection in neocortex that provides this area with exquisite feature-detection abilities not found in the classical primary visual cortex. Science, this issue p. 64 An additional primary visual cortex that is capable of motion discrimination is identified in mammalian brains. Visual responses in the cerebral cortex are believed to rely on the geniculate input to the primary visual cortex (V1). Indeed, V1 lesions substantially reduce visual responses throughout the cortex. Visual information enters the cortex also through the superior colliculus (SC), but the function of this input on visual responses in the cortex is less clear. SC lesions affect cortical visual responses less than V1 lesions, and no visual cortical area appears to entirely rely on SC inputs. We show that visual responses in a mouse lateral visual cortical area called the postrhinal cortex are independent of V1 and are abolished upon silencing of the SC. This area outperforms V1 in discriminating moving objects. We thus identify a collicular primary visual cortex that is independent of the geniculo-cortical pathway and is capable of motion discrimination.


We propose a method for extracting frequent sequence patterns including the expression of ambiguous charac- ters from sequence databases. The proposed method is bottom-up approach that sequentially enumerate element included in power set to the mismatch cluster from the small size, and search for the enumeration tree. At the stage of the search process, extract sequential patterns with least minimum generalization from mismatch clusters by computing a most general pattern from each enumerated set, pruning some needless parts of enumeration tree, and removing redundant patterns. We report experimental results about experiment by using some data sets to confirm the usefulness of the proposed method.


An otherwise healthy 46-year-old man complained with sudden visual loss and a black spot in his left eye. The patient referred a recent stressful episode and was not using corticosteroids. Best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 and 20/40 in the right eye and left eye, respectively. Applanation tonometry and anterior segment examination of both eyes were unremarkable.

Fundus examination of the left eye revealed a serous elevation of the retina in the macular area, with loss of foveal reflex. There was also a peculiar, large aberrant superotemporal venule branching inferiorly and crossing the horizontal raphe with several tributaries, two of which passed through the macula, but not involving the fovea. The right fundus was normal. Fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) of the left eye showed a few microaneurysms in the capillary network of the perifoveal area and an ink blot pattern of leak in the temporal juxtafoveal area with diffuse spreading of the stain accumulating under the retina at the late stage with the typical aspect of …


CMV infection is an important risk factor in the post-transplant (Tx) recovery phase for HSCT recipients. Despite significant advances in formulation and delivery of anti-virals, their use complicates and extends post-Tx recovery and risk for CMV disease. Considering these caveats, we are pursuing a novel therapeutic strategy that focuses on priming or enhancing CMV-specific adaptive immunity in HSCT donors and recipients. 3 generations of attenuated poxvirus vectors (modified vaccinia Ankara or MVA) have been constructed to evaluate the minimal required antigenic targets to attain successful control of CMV infection. The 1 st generation vector strongly expresses both pp65 and IE1, and it has been successfully demonstrated to elicit potent recall CD4 T-help and CD8 CTL responses in PBMC from CMV-positive healthy volunteers as well as stimulate primary cellular immune responses in humanized HLA transgenic mice, simultaneously for both antigens. Towards the goal of using this vector for adoptive immunotherapy, MVA infection was investigated and found to be permissive for immature myeloid DC generated with GM-CSF and IL4, as well as DC matured with TNF-α. High level expression of pp65 and IE1 insert antigens was confirmed by Western Blot (WB) for both DC populations. MVA-infected DC were also found to be efficient APC to stimulate recall CTL and CD4 T-help from CMV-positive healthy donors. The recombinant MVA, after multiple rounds of passage is stable by the criteria of antigen expression and immunogenicity. This vector is a strong candidate for clinical evaluation based on the observed protective function of pp65 and IE1 CTL in clinical trials. It is currently being manufactured under cGMP for clinical development in Germany. A 2 nd generation vector that co-expresses glycoprotein gB has also been constructed, and WB confirms high level expression of each antigen. Immunologic evaluation of this vector to stimulate both pp65 and IE1-specific CTL and CD4 T-help in PBMC from CMV-positive research subjects shows similar robust stimulation as the first generation vector. In addition, studies in humanized mice demonstrate simultaneous attainment of both cellular immunity to pp65 and IE1 while humoral immunity to CMV-gB that neutalizes CMV strains in vitro was also elicited. A 3 rd generation virus has been constructed which co-expresses five CMV antigens: the tegument proteins pp65 and pp150, the nuclear antigens IE1 and IE2 as a fusion gene and the polymerase subunit UL44. Immunogenicity studies of these gene products will be presented that shows simultaneous stimulation of both CTL and CD4 T-help populations from the PBMC of healthy research subjects. This vector has also been shown to prime de novo cellular immunity to all of the insert antigens in HLA transgenic mice. This vector expresses immunodominant antigens that cover >90% of HLA types in most ethnic populations and would serve as the broadest and most inclusive candidate vaccine for all ethnicities. Clinical testing of these vectors as vaccines or for adoptive immunotherapy may reveal whether a requirement for greater than 2 antigens is necessary for successful limitation of viremia and disease in HSCT recipients.


Multilingual Language Models offer a way to incorporate multiple languages in one model and utilize cross-language transfer learning to improve performance for different Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks. Despite progress in multilingual models, not all languages are supported as well, particularly in low-resource settings. In this work, we investigate the linguistic representation of different languages in multilingual models. We start by asking the question which languages are supported in popular multilingual models and which languages are left behind. Then, for included languages, we look at models' learned representations based on language family and dialect and try to understand how models' learned representations for~(1) seen and~(2) unseen languages vary across different language groups. In addition, we test and analyze performance on downstream tasks such as text generation and Named Entity Recognition. We observe from our experiments that community-centered models -- models that focus on languages of a given family or geographical location and are built by communities who speak them -- perform better at distinguishing between languages in the same family for low-resource languages. Our paper contributes to the literature in understanding multilingual models and their shortcomings and offers insights on potential ways to improve them.


A practical and reliable design scheme which employs FPGA as controller and flash memory K9F1G-08UOM as memory device is introduced. The system is used to memorize and broadcast digitalized phonetic signal data,and it has high performance and low system cost.


The visualization front-end of a Decision Support System (DSS) also includes an analysis engine linked to vehicle telemetry, and a database of learned models for known behaviors. Because the display is graphical rather than text-based, the summarization it provides has a greater information density on one screen for evaluation by a flight controller.This tool provides a system-level visualization of the state of a vehicle, and drill-down capability for more details and interfaces to separate analysis algorithms and sensor data streams. The system-level view is a 3D rendering of the vehicle, with sensors represented as icons, tied to appropriate positions within the vehicle body and colored to indicate sensor state (e.g., normal, warning, anomalous state, etc.). The sensor data is received via an Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) client that connects to an external server for real-time telemetry. Users can interactively pan, zoom, and rotate this 3D view, as well as select sensors for a detail plot of the associated time series data. Subsets of the plotted data can be selected and sent to an external analysis engine to either search for a similar time series in an historical database, or to detect anomalous events. The system overview and plotting capabilities are completely general in that they can be applied to any vehicle instrumented with a collection of sensors. This visualization component can interface with the ISP for data streams used by NASA s Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center. In addition, it can connect to, and display results from, separate analysis engine components that identify anomalies or that search for past instances of similar behavior. This software supports NASA's Software, Intelligent Systems, and Modeling element in the Exploration Systems Research and Technology Program by augmenting the capability of human flight controllers to make correct decisions, thus increasing safety and reliability. It was designed specifically as a tool for NASA's flight controllers to monitor the International Space Station and a future Crew Exploration Vehicle.


Gansu is the main pepper producing district in China,and it has a long cultivated history.In order to promote the pepper's industry development furtherly,the author analysed the present situation and problems in the industry development of Zanthoxylum bunlzeanum in Gansu province,and the strategic approaches of industrialization development of Zanthoxylum bunlzeanum in Gansu were further discussed.


The utilization of multi-antenna transmitters relying on full frequency reuse has proven to be an effective strategy towards fulfilling the constantly increasing throughput requirements of wireless communication systems. As a consequence, in the last two decades precoding has been a prolific research area, due to its ability to handle the interference arising among simultaneous transmissions addressed to different co-channel users. The conventional precoding strategies aim at mitigating the multi-user interference (MUI) by exploiting the knowledge of the channel state information (CSI). More recently, novel approaches have been proposed where the aim is not to eliminate the interference, but rather to control it so as to achieve a constructive interference effect at each receiver. In these schemes, referred to as symbol-level precoding (SLP), the data information (data symbols) is used together with the CSI in the precoding design, which can be addressed following several optimization strategies. In the context of SLP, the work carried out in this thesis is mainly focused on developing more advanced optimization strategies suitable to non-linear systems, where the per-antenna high-power amplifiers introduce an amplitude and phase distortion on the transmitted signals. More specifically, the main objective is to exploit the potential of SLP not only to achieve the constructive interference at the receivers, but also to control the per-antenna instantaneous transmit power, improving the power dynamics of the transmitted waveforms. In fact, a reduction of the power variation of the signals, both in the spatial dimension (across the different antennas) and in the temporal dimension, is particularly important for mitigating the non-linear effects. After a detailed review of the state of the art of SLP, the first part of the thesis is focused on improving the power dynamics of the transmitted signals in the spatial dimension, by reducing the instantaneous power imbalances across the different antennas. First, a SLP per-antenna power minimization scheme is presented, followed by a related max-min fair formulation with per-antenna power constraints. These approaches allow to reduce the power peaks of the signals across the antennas. Next, more advanced SLP schemes are formulated and solved, with the objective of further improving the spatial dynamics of the signals. Specifically, a first approach performs a peak power minimization under a lower bound constraint on the per-antenna transmit power, while a second strategy minimizes the spatial peak-to-average power ratio. The second part of this thesis is devoted to developing a novel SLP method, referred to as spatio-temporal SLP, where the temporal variation of the transmit power is also considered in the SLP optimization. This new model allows to minimize the peak-toaverage power ratio of the transmitted waveforms both in the spatial and in the temporal


Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurologic disorder that impacts critical domains of daily living. Movement, autonomic, cognitive, and behavioral problems can significantly impair quality of life. In addition, medical treatment is complex and its progressive course requires long-term care. Given this, it represents a model disease to study with reference to healthcare strategies aimed at improving quality of life for chronic debilitating illness in our aging society. This article will examine the evolution of care for PD, beginning with the medical model, followed by a rehabilitation model. Finally, a patient-centered approach is presented that explores concepts of wellness in the setting of illness, and individualizes personal management rather than primary symptom treatment. This divergence from disease-centered to patient-centered care allows this approach to be generalized to the care needs of society's aging population that live with functional disability or chronic illness.


angle of cut near the M1 cut, we coupled the first overtone of the flexural mode (F1 mode) with the fundamental vibration of the torsional mode (To mode) and could make both the 1st- and 2nd-orderfrequency-temper ature coefficients zero. The frequency-temper ature characteristics (f-T characteristics ) of this resonator disperse due to the dispersion of the coupling resulting from the dimensional dispersion in the manufacturing processes. We established the adjustment method of the f-T characteristics by adding or reducing the mass at the vibrational node of the F1 mode. matters of the f-T characteristics and the adjustment of the f-T characteristics. Analysis Model of calculations We theoretically analysed the matters of the coupling, f-T characteristics and the adjustment of the f-T characteristics with the computer program of the finite element method called NASTRAN. The tuning fork is divided into the finite hexahedron elements as shown in Fig. l. Fig. 2 represents the coordinate system.- Detailed calculation method is referred to the appendix in the literature .l


Tubular atrophy resulting from epithelial cell loss is one of the characteristic features in the development of chronic renal interstitial fibrosis. Although the trigger(s) and mechanism for tubular cell loss remain undefined, the hyperactive transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 signaling has long been suspected to play an active role. Here we demonstrate that although TGF-β1 did not induce cell death per se, it dramatically potentiated renal tubular cell apoptosis initiated by other death cues in vitro. Pre-incubation of human kidney epithelial cells (HKC) with TGF-β1 markedly promoted staurosporine-induced cell death in a time- and dose-dependent manner. TGF-β1 dramatically accelerated the cleavage and activation of pro-caspase-9, but not pro-caspase-8, in HKC cells. This event was followed by an accelerated activation of pro-caspase-3. To elucidate the mechanism underlying TGF-β1 promotion of tubular cell death, we investigated the signaling pathways activated by TGF-β1. Both Smad-2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase were rapidly activated by TGF-β1, as demonstrated by the early induction of phosphorylated Smad-2 and p38 MAP kinase, respectively. We found that overexpression of inhibitory Smad-7 completely abolished Smad-2 phosphorylation and activation induced by TGF-β1 but did not inhibit TGF-β1-induced apoptosis. However, suppression of p38 MAP kinase with chemical inhibitor SC68376 not only abolished p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation but also obliterated apoptosis induced by TGF-β1. These results suggest that hyperactive TGF-β1 signaling potentiates renal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis by a Smad-independent, p38 MAP kinase-dependent mechanism.


409 SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF POVERTY AMONGST FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP Tshediso Joseph Sekhampu North-West University (South Africa) Dr E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com ─Abstract ─ The study reported here used household level data to analyse determinants of household poverty amongst female-headed households in a South African Township of Bophelong. Poverty is defined and then measured for the sampled population. A Logistic regression was estimated based on this data with the economic status (that is poor and non-poor) as the dependent variable and a set of demographic variables as explanatory variables. The results show that household size, the age and employment status of the head of household significantly explain variations in the likelihood of being poor. Household size was positively associated with the probability of being poor, whereas the age and employment status of the head of the household reduces the probability of being in the poor category. It is of interest to note that the educational attainment of the household head is not important in reducing the chances of being a poor household. Information provided through this study is at household level and extends on existing findings on poverty in South Africa by modelling and determining the various socio-economic and demographic household level indicators responsible for female poverty. Key Words: Poverty, Female-Headed Households, Township, South Africa JEL Classification: D12, I32, J11, J16. 1. INTRODUCTION Enquiry into the socio-economic challenges of women is not new. In the 1970s, the UN declared the 1970s a women's decade as a result of various women pressure groups. The UN's General Assembly urged governments to formulate policies that incorporate women in the planning process (Venter & Marais, 2005). The growing attention to gender issues has been propelled by a growth in households headed by female. This growth has been observed in both developed and developing nations. In the United States of America (USA) the number of females raising up children on their own more than doubled from 13% to 30% in


Calli of Eucommia ulmoidues was subcultured on medium MS+ NAA 0.5 mg/L+6-BA 0.5 mg/L+KT 1.0 mg/ L. The results showed that proliferating circle was 24 days, growing curve was "S" type, the soluble protein content and the activities of peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in different stages of proliferating circle had significant difference, and the growing curves of calli cultured in bright and dark were similar. The soluble protein content was the highest at 18th day, and the activities of POD and SOD were also reached peak at the same day.


PurposeDisruptions and shortages of drugs have become severe problems in recent years, which has triggered strong media and public interest in the topic. However, little is known about the factors that can be associated with the increased frequency of shortages. In this paper, the authors analyze the drivers of drug shortages using empirical data for Germany, the fourth largest pharmaceutical market.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a dataset provided by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte [BfArM]) with 425 reported shortages for drug substances (DSs) in the 24-month period between May 2017 and April 2019 and enrich the data with information from additional sources. Using logistic and negative binomial regression models, the authors analyze the impact of (1) market characteristics, (2) drug substance characteristics and (3) regulatory characteristics on the likelihood of a shortage.FindingsThe authors find that factors like market concentration, patent situation, manufacturing processes or dosage form are significantly associated with the odds of a shortage. The authors discuss the implications of these findings to reduce the frequency and severity of shortages.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the empirical research on drug shortages by analyzing the impact of market characteristics, DS characteristics and regulatory characteristics on the reported shortages. The authors' analysis provides a starting point for better prioritizing efforts to strengthen drug supply as it is currently intensely discussed healthcare authorities.


Abstract Background: Previous reports found that cinnamaldehyde has effects on anti-respiratory syncytial virus (ARSV). However, their results are still contradictory. Therefore, this study will systematically address the effects of cinnamaldehyde on ARSV. Methods: The following electronic bibliographic databases will be retrieved from their outset to the March 31, 2020: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Technology Periodical Database, China Biology Medicine, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. No language and publication time limitations will be exerted in this study. All relevant case-controlled studies or randomized controlled studies exploring the effects of cinnamaldehyde on ARSV will be included. Study quality of case-controlled studies will be assessed by Newcastle–Ottawa scale, and that of randomized controlled studies will be identified by Cochrane risk of bias tool. All data pooling and analysis will be performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Results: This study will summarize the up-to-date high-quality evidence to synthesize outcome data on the effects of cinnamaldehyde on ARSV. Conclusion: Findings of this study may provide beneficial evidence for both clinicians and future studies regarding the effects of cinnamaldehyde on ARSV. Systematic review registration: INPLASY202040074.


A case study of a transportation system management program for the Santa Barbara, California, central business district is reviewed in order to indicate the breadth and scope that similar programs might take in other small urban areas. Three alternative scenarios for transportation management are outlined--maximizing nonautomobile access, and maximizing internal circulation opportunities. The evaluation of more specific options within these categories, according both to potential levels of goal achievement and to local community preferences, is described, and components of a recommended transportation management program are outlined. Conclusions are drawn regarding the applicability of case study concepts and methods to other areas. /Author/


A reliable knowledge of cell parameters like the state-of-charge (SoC) is essential for the optimization of battery-powered applications. Usually, during relaxation (the phase of no or low loads) the SoC is determined based on the measurement of the battery's electro-motive force (EMF). To obtain a reliable measurment, it is required that the battery voltage transient is in a well-relaxed state, which is rarely reached in practice (e.g. due to periodic discharge activities). In this paper, a predictive methodology is presented which is able to forecast the EMF and therewith the SoC already during a not well-relaxed state of the voltage transient. A nonlinear relaxation voltage model is reformulated such that the problem can be treated as a linear least squares estimation problem. Based on this estimation, the performance is evaluated with respect to the following aspects: prediction time, current rate influence, SoC influence, cell-to-cell deviation, or rather aging and temperature effects. Experimental results are presented for a fixed-point implementation of the estimation scheme on a CY8CKIT-050 PSOC5 programmable system on chip. For validation, measurements of 2.25Ah Sanyo UR18650A lithium cells have been used. It is shown that the presented approach offers an improved re-initialization methodology for the Coulomb counting method, and that it clearly outperforms the usual EMF-measurement based SoC determination method.


Population declines and extinctions of amphibians have been attributed to the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), especially one globally emerging recombinant lineage ('Bd‐GPL'). We used PCR assays that target the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of Bd to determine the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bd in South Korea, where Bd is widely distributed but is not known to cause morbidity or mortality in wild populations. We isolated Korean Bd strains from native amphibians with low infection loads and compared them to known worldwide Bd strains using 19 polymorphic SNP and microsatellite loci. Bd prevalence ranged between 12.5 and 48.0%, in 11 of 17 native Korean species, and 24.7% in the introduced bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus. Based on ITS sequence variation, 47 of the 50 identified Korean haplotypes formed a group closely associated with a native Brazilian Bd lineage, separated from the Bd‐GPL lineage. However, multilocus genotyping of three Korean Bd isolates revealed strong divergence from both Bd‐GPL and the native Brazilian Bd lineages. Thus, the ITS region resolves genotypes that diverge from Bd‐GPL but otherwise generates ambiguous phylogenies. Our results point to the presence of highly diversified endemic strains of Bd across Asian amphibian species. The rarity of Bd‐GPL‐associated haplotypes suggests that either this lineage was introduced into Korea only recently or Bd‐GPL has been outcompeted by native Bd strains. Our results highlight the need to consider possible complex interactions among native Bd lineages, Bd‐GPL and their associated amphibian hosts when assessing the spread and impact of Bd‐GPL on worldwide amphibian populations.


ABSTRACT THE soil erosion process is presently considered acceptable whenever the predicted mean of the soil erosion distribution is equal to or less than the soil loss tolerance. Another criterion is proposed, which limits the soil erosion to a specified range with an acceptable degree of risk. The rationale, required assumptions, and methods are discussed for determining this criterion, which is a function only of soil productivity. Because of this difficulty in simulation soil erosion, for the time implied by this criterion, a method is suggested for determining a short term erosion criteria


Leadership plays an important role in shaping employee morale but organizations are facing the challenges of dealing low morale of employees. Studies have shown that poor leadership and heartless management are among numerous reasons for low morale among employees in the organizations and recent trends towards organizational downsizing and restructuring have negatively impacted employee morale leading to low organizational productivity and thus organizational transformation must be accompanied with maintaining moral responsibility. In this regard, the researchers explore the emerging aesthetic leadership style on how it might help to foster positive employee morale and found that aesthetic leadership style builds positive work environment which is crucial for employee morale at the workplace. It also creates positive feelings around the organizations by emphasizing on empathy, emotions, ethics, value-based and moral behavior. This paper analyzes the aesthetic leadership style with the implications for future leadership preparation to harness positive employee morale at the workplace and concludes that by considering aesthetic leadership style can boost positive employee morale necessary for enhancing organizational performances.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objectives: We can learn something about how Veterans value the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) versus community providers by observing Veterans' choices between VHA and Medicare providers after they turn 65. For a cohort of Veterans who were newly age-eligible for Medicare, we estimated the change in VHA reliance (VHA outpatient visits divided by total VHA and Medicare visits) associated with specific events: receiving a life-threatening diagnosis, having a Medicare-paid hospitalization, or moving further from the VHA. Research Design: A longitudinal cohort study of VHA and Medicare administrative data. Subjects: A total of 5932 VHA users who completed a health survey in 1999 and became age-eligible for Medicare from 1998 to 2000 were followed through 2016. Principal Findings: More Veterans chose to rely on the VHA than Medicare (64% vs. 36.%). For a VHA-reliant Veteran, a Medicare-paid hospital stay was associated with a decrease of 7.8 percentage points (pps) (P<0.001) in VHA reliance in the subsequent 12 months, but by 36 months reliance increased to near prehospitalization levels (−1.5 pps; P=0.138). Moving further from the VHA, or receiving a diagnosis of cancer, heart failure, or renal failure had no significant association with subsequent VHA reliance; however, a diagnosis of dementia was associated with a decrease in VHA reliance (−8.6 pps; P=0.026). Conclusions: A significant majority of newly Medicare-eligible VHA users voted with their feet in favor of sustaining the VHA as a provider of comprehensive medical care for Veterans. These VHA-reliant Veterans maintained their reliance even after receiving a life-threatening diagnosis, and after experiencing Medicare-provided hospital care.


Traceless genetic programming (TGP) is a genetic programming (GP) variant that is used in cases where the focus is on the output of the program rather than the program itself. The main difference between TGP and other GP techniques is that TGP does not explicitly store the evolved computer programs. Two genetic operators are used in conjunction with TGP: crossover and insertion. In this paper, we will focus on applying TGP to solving multi-objective optimization problems, which are quite unusual in GP. Each TGP individual stores the output of a computer program (tree), representing a point in the search space. Numerical experiments show that TGP is able to solve the considered test problems both rapidly and accurately.


Deaminated neuraminic acid[2-keto-3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-nononic acid(KDN)] was found in rainbow trout egg polysialoglycoprotein(PSGP) by Nadano et al. in 1986 [Nadano, D., Iwasaki, M., Endo, S., Kitajima, K., Inoue, S., and Inoue, Y. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 11550-11557]. Since KDN residues bind to the nonreducing termini of oligo-polysialyl chains in PSGP and are resistant against sialidases, these have been considered to regulate biosynthesis and degradation of oligopolysialyl chains. For the function of poly-sialyl chains, the case of neural cell adhesion molecules(N-CAM) has been well characterized. N-CAM is a polysialoglycoprotein promoting cell to cell adhesion by its homophilic binding and it has been shown that the length of polysialyl chains was conelated with the adhesion activity of N-CAM and the development of a chick embryo: longer polysialyl chains in N-CAM block the N-CAM-mediated cell adhesion through electrostatic repulsion between polysialyl groups while shorter polysialyl chains do not [Cunningham, B. A., Herperly, J. J., Murray, B. A., Prediger, E. A., Brackenburg, R., and Edelman, G. M. (1987) Science 236, 799-806; Rutishauser, U., Acheson, A., Hall, A. K., Mann, D. M., and Sunshine, J. (1988) Science 240, 53-57]. In this paper, novel a-2, 8-linked oligo(KDN) chains were found in deaminated neuraminic acid-rich glycoprotein (KDN-gp) which resided in rainbow trout egg vitelline envelope. KDN-gp (>106 kDa) consists of a 500 kD polypeptide chain, to which a number of 0-linked glycans are attached. The 0-linked glycans were released by alkaline borohydride treatment of KDN-gp and purified by anion-exchange chromatography and an latrobeads column to eight fractions. The chemical structures of these oligosaccharides were determined by composition analysis, methylation analysis, alkali-catalyzed "peeling" reactions, periodate oxidation, 400 MHz oneand twodimensional 1H-NMR spectroscopy, and molecular secondary ion mass spectrometry. All oligosaccharide units contain a common core trisaccharide GalB 1-3GalNAca 1-3Ga1NAc. At 0-3 of the Gal residue one KDN residue binds, and at 0-6 of the proximal GalNAc residue a-2, 8-linked oligo(KDN) chains bind. These oligosaccharides contain no sialic acid residues. The present finding of the oligo(KDN)chains suggests that KDN residues play roles not only to regulate the metabolic process of polysialyl chains mentioned above, but also to function as an oligomer like the polysialyl chains. In fact, the auデ ア ミノ ノ イ ラ ミン酸 (KDN)は1986年Nadanoら に よっ て ニ


GRAIL (gene related to anergy in lymphocytes, also known as RNF128), an ubiquitin–protein ligase (E3), utilizes a unique single transmembrane protein with a split‐function motif, and is an important gatekeeper of T‐cell unresponsiveness. Although it may play a role in other CD4 T‐cell functions including activation, survival and differentiation, GRAIL is most well characterized as a negative regulator of T‐cell receptor responsiveness and cytokine production. Here, we review the recent literature on this remarkable E3 in the regulation of human and mouse CD4 T‐cell unresponsiveness.


In this paper the Unsupervised Active Learning Method (UALM), a novel clustering method based on the Active Learning Method (ALM) is introduced. ALM is an adaptive recursive fuzzy learning algorithm inspired by some behavioral features of human brain functionality. UALM is a density-based clustering algorithm that relies on discovering densely connected components of data, where it can find clusters of arbitrary shapes. This approach is a noise-robust clustering method. The algorithm first blurs the data points as ink drop patterns, then summarizes the effects of all data points, and finally puts a threshold on the resulting pattern. It uses the connected-component algorithm for finding clusters. Then determines cluster centers by intersecting the narrow-paths. Experimental results confirmed the superiority of our proposed method compared to the two most well-known density-based clustering algorithms, DBSCAN and DENCLUE.


Ideological and political education plays very important role in maintaining social stability,calling forces of different quarters into action,providing spiritual energy,and solving problems independently in dealing with unexpected accidents.To give full play to these roles,we should stick to the principles of human-orientation,efficiency the first,coping with in unification,relying on the leading of our Party organizations,with positive guidance of all kinds of media and set the demonstration education as example and attach importance to psychological health education in unexpected accidents.


Untreated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been dispersed in two benzoxazine precursors following an easy procedure. The strong intrinsic interactions of CNTs with a selected precursor give rise to the formation of a reinforced network with outstanding thermo-mechanical properties.


We study the dynamics of the interaction between two weak light beams mediated by a strongly coupled quantum dot-photonic crystal cavity system. We demonstrate switching between two weak pulsed beams (40 ps pulses), observing an increase of the systems transmission when the signal and the control pulses overlap inside the cavity. Our results show that the quantum dot-nanocavity system enables fast, controllable optical switching at the single-photon level.


They are the result of crossing when apple trees are pollinated, he explains. Almost all apple trees require cross pollination for the fruit to develop. An example of this is a Red Delicious tree pollinated by a Golden Delicious. Red Delicious apple trees need the pollen from another variety to produce abundant fruit. This is why horticulturists recommend planting a minimum of two different apple trees in a yard.


Weighted voting games are subject to a method of manipulation, called merging. This manipulation involves a coordinated action among some agents who come together to form a bloc by merging their weights in order to have more power over the outcomes of games. We conduct careful experimental investigations to evaluate the opportunities for beneficial merging available for strategic agents using two prominent power indices:Shapley-ShubikandBanzhafindices. Previous work has shown that finding a beneficial merge is NPhard for both the Shapley-Shubik and Banzhaf power indices, and leaves the impression that this is indeed so in practice. However, results from our experiments suggest that finding a beneficial merge is relatively easy in practice. Furthermore, while it appears impossible to stop manipulation by merging for a given game, controlling the quota ratio is desirable. Thus, we deduce that a high quota ratio reduces the percentage of beneficial merges. Finally, we conclude that the Banzhaf index may be more desirable to avoid manipulation by merging, especially for high quota ratios.


AbstractAlthough people in the West have changed their view of the Chinese economy for the better, many still hold a negative opinion. In this paper I will give two examples. The first is from a top-rated economics journal in the United States. The second is from a top-rated economics magazine in the United Kingdom. Both publications have published high-quality articles in areas other than the Chinese economy…


This paper summarizes a completed, but not yet published study on an EU-wide research project describing and analysing the development of broadband markets in Europe with the aim to facilitate the realization of the broadband targets set for 2020 in the Digital Agenda for Europe.The project started with a country cases study on The Netherlands, reported at TPRC 2009. This was followed by a cross-case analysis of Belgium-Flanders and The Netherlands, reported at ITS Vienna 2012. The project evolved to include twelve longitudinal country case studies, being documented and analysed by in-country experts, placed in the context of EU policy and regulation. The focus of the case study period is 2000-2013. The countries covered are: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom. The project concludes with a cross-case analysis to identify the emerging patterns and the unique case features.The research findings are reported along the lines of the major actors and factors that are influencing broadband development, including: the role the European Union vis-a-vis the Member States; the differences in role perception of central governments, from the 'regulatory' to the 'developmental' state; the role of infrastructure endowments, with a distinction between the role of fixed in the older Member States versus mobile in the newer Member States; the role of infrastructure-based competition, in particular the large diversity in the role of cable-TV networks across Europe; the results from access-based competition, the role of unbundling and reaching the final rung of the 'ladder of investment'; the role of the central government stimulating the demand and/or supply side; the role of municipalities in removing administrative barriers; the role of municipalities in initiating fibre deployments; the role of third actors, breaking the strategic waiting game in a technology-duopoly; the role of bottom-up initiatives by private actors, allowing technology leap-frogging; the role of governments in bringing broadband to the rural areas, with the central government as 'chief architect'; and the role of municipalities as 'investor of last resort'.One of the most important conclusions from this research project is that for the next stage of broadband infrastructure and digital economy development, there is no single policy pathway to success. Each country's unique legacy may be the most important factor in determining the set of policies and practices necessary to implement the EU Digital Agenda objectives. A common model of policy reform, such as the liberalization model that has been widely applied with significant success in the past, is no longer sufficient. The most important determinants of success will be government policies and industry investment programs that build on each country's historical development, and its current economic and governmental structure.


While this moment leaves the audience feeling profoundly disturbed and somewhat nauseated, a more powerful critique may have surfaced by tempering the constantly mounting tension with moments of levity. Instead of attempting to maintain a nearly impossible level of intensity from the outset, allowing the audience to return to a sense of comfort may have resulted in our clearer identification with a more passive, consumptive television viewing audience.


Mice infected with Babesia rodhaini can be cured with a single injection of Diampron and are immune to challenge with the same species. Mice infected with B. microti recover naturally from their infections and are also immune to challenge. The immunity extends to the heterologous species in both infections. In some cases parasites persist at a low level after recovery but in others the immunity is of a true sterile type. Immunity once established is unaffected by splenectomy in mice which have recovered from B. rodhaini and challenged with either B. rodhaini or B. microti. We wish to express our thanks to May and Baker Ltd. who kindly provided us with the Diampron used in these experiments.