ANALYTICAL MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF THROUGH SILICON VIAS (TSVS) IN HIGH SPEED THREE-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Abstract: This paper gives a comprehensive study on the modeling and design challenges of Through Silicon Vias (TSVs) in high speed three-dimensional (3D) system integration. To investigate the propagation characteristics incurred by operations within the ultra-broad band frequency range, we propose an equivalent circuit model which accounts for rough sidewall effect and high frequency effect. A closed-form expression for TSV metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitance in both depletion and accumulation regions is proposed. The coupling of TSV arrays and near and far field effect on crosstalk analysis are performed using 3D Electro-Magnetic (EM) field solver. Based on the TSV circuit model, we optimize the TSVs’ architecture and manufacturing process parameters and develop effective design guidelines for TSVs, which could be used to resolve the signal integrity issues arising at high frequency data transmission in 3D Integrated Circuits (ICs).


GLOBAL EXISTENCE AND DECREASING PROPERTY OF BOUNDARY VALUES OF SOLUTIONS TO PARABOLIC EQUATIONS WITH NONLOCAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS


The Del1 deposition domain can immobilize 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in the extracellular matrix without interfering with enzymatic activity

Abstract: Developing methods that result in targeting of therapeutic molecules in gene therapies to target tissues has importance, as targeting can increase efficacy and decrease off target-side-effects. Work from my laboratory previously showed that the extracellular matrix protein Del1 is organized in the extracellular matrix (ECM) via the Del1 deposition domain (DDD). In this work, a fusion protein with DDD was made to assay the ability to immobilize an enzyme without disrupting enzymatic function. A prostatic cancer-derived cell line LNCap that grows in an androgen-dependent manner was used with 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 αHD), which catalyzes dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Plasmids encoding a 3αHD:DDD fusion were generated and transfected into cultured cells. The effects of 3αHD immobilized in the ECM by the DDD were evaluated by monitoring growth of LNCap cells and DHT concentrations. It was demonstrated that the DDD could immobilize an enzyme in the ECM without interfering with function.


General design of vehicle safety assistant system based on machine vision and electronic control steering

Abstract: In this paper, a general design of vehicle safety assistant system based on machine vision and electronic control steering system is presented. Machine vision system detects lane and obstacle (vehicle) on the highway environment. Electronic control steering system provides the realtime information of the steering operation, which represents the driver's purpose. If the real steering operation does not meet the safety operation requirement, a warning will be triggered to prevent Road Departure or Rear End.

2010 International Conference On Computer Design and Applications


Investigation ofant colonyalgorithm in multiple traffic flow environments

Abstract: The conventional approaches to routing and bandwidth allocation, the two major components of traffic engineering, have proved insufficient to address QoS requirements of flows while optimizing utilization for complex communication networks. In this paper we consider ant colony algorithms to address this problem. Our studies show that the ant-based routing models are sensitive to initial parameters settings. Only careful adjustments of these initial parameters results in an acceptable convergence behavior. The robust behavior of the real ant compared to the routing algorithms derived from it inspires us to investigate the reasons behind the shortcomings of these algorithms. We present results from an in-depth study of ant behavior in a quest for a robust algorithm. In this work we consider a realistic environment in which multiple source-destination flows compete for resources. We study the routing and load balancing behavior that emerges and show how the behavior relates to analytical approaches. We show the results using simulations in OPNET and derive recommendations on the improvement of the ant-like algorithms

Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2005.


CW 20-W AlGaN/GaN FET Power Amplifier for Quasi-Millimeter Wave Applications

Abstract: This paper describes an AlGaN/GaN FET power amplifier module delivering a continuous wave (CW) output power of more than 20 W at 26 GHz. To achieve high breakdown characteristics with reduced current collapse and high gain, we have developed a 0.2 µm-long recessed-gate AlGaN/GaN FET with a field-modulating plate (FP), achieving high operation voltage of 25 V even at quasi-millimeter wave frequencies. A single-ended AlGaN/GaN FP-FET amplifier module for quasi- millimeter wave frequency has been fabricated for the first time. The amplifier module developed using a 6.3-mm-wide single chip recessed-gate AlGaN/GaN FP-FET exhibited an output power of 20.7 W, a linear gain of 5.4 dB and a power-aided efficiency of 21.3% at 26 GHz. This is the highest output power in solid state power amplifiers at over 20 GHz.

2007 IEEE Compound Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Symposium


Benefits of precision scheduling and spacing for arrival operations

Abstract: Advances in arrival scheduling and controller aids for spacing have potential benefits of reducing aircraft delays and increasing airport arrival throughput. Schedulers use fixed arrival paths to estimate aircraft time-to-fly and assign them arrival slots based on the required separation plus a buffer. Concepts that reduce arrival time uncertainty can take advantage of advanced scheduling with smaller spacing buffers. These concepts have been successfully demonstrated with a handful of near to mid-term traffic demand scenarios and technologies using spacing buffers as low as 0.3 nmi. The analysis published here characterizes the observed arrival spacing behavior of 29 runways belonging to 15 airports within 8 of the busiest terminal areas across the United States for 32–60 days worth of traffic. The typical observed instrument arrival buffers ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 nmi would equate to roughly 10–20% increase in runway arrival capacity if buffers were reduced to 0.3 nmi. The effect of fixed arrival routing on terminal area flight time was also studied. Most runways studied had significant path stretch delay. This work estimates that 1–2 min of this delay could be reduced with precision scheduling and most of the remainder could be absorbed by speed control.

2012 IEEE/AIAA 31st Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC)


Design and implementation of an SMS based home security system

Abstract: The project presents a versatile security and alarm system which can be used by individuals, corporations and establishments which require a cheap but reliable security system. The idea behind this project is to provide its users with a simple, fast and reliable way to get help during emergency situations. The device can be placed at any remote location which can be easily accessed by the user. It uses a microcontroller for system control, GSM technology for communication and sends SMS containing the emergency message and the GPS location of the sender. The project consists of an 8-bit microcontroller ATmega16, GSM SIM900A module and two Android applications for user interface with the hardware. One of the application configures the device. On pressing the panic button, the emergency contact receives the emergency message along with the GPS location of the sender. The device has been made for less than 1300INR and it can be used anywhere irrespective of the place of deployment provided mobile network connectivity is available.

2015 IEEE International Conference on Electrical, Computer and Communication Technologies (ICECCT)


Thermal Analysis of Foil Wound Concentrated Coils for Use in Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Alternators


A fast structured regression for large networks

Abstract: Structured regression has been successfully used in many applications where explanatory and response variables are inter-correlated, such as in weighted attributed networks. One of structured models, Gaussian Conditional Random Fields (GCRF), utilizing multiple unstructured models to learn the non-linear relationships between node attributes and the structured response variable, achieves high prediction accuracy. However, it does not scale well with large networks. We propose a novel model, called Scalable Approximate GCRF (SA-GCRF), which integrates weighted attributed network compression with GCRF, with the aim of making GCRF applicable to large networks. The model consists of three steps: first, it compresses a network into a smaller one by generalizing nodes into supernodes and edges into superedges; then, it applies GCRF to the reduced network; and finally, it unfolds the predicted response variables into the original nodes. Our hypothesis is that the reduced network maintains most information of the original network such that the loss in prediction accuracy obtained by GCRF on the reduced network is minor. The comprehensive experimental results indicate that SA-GCRF was 150–520 times faster than standard GCRF and 11–29 times faster than state-of-the-art UmGCRF on large networks, and provided regression results where GCRF and UmGCRF were not applicable. Furthermore, SA-GCRF achieved a similar regression accuracy, 0.76, to the one obtained from the original real-world weighted attributed citation network, even after compressing the network to 10% of its size.

2016 IEEE International Conference on Big Data (Big Data)


Professional Practice Simulation For Undergraduate Engineers: A Tool For Engaging, Educating And Assessing

Abstract: We are developing a novel computer simulation game based on authentic engineering practices to give first-year engineering undergraduates a more complete and accurate understanding of the engineering profession. The game is student-focused in that it is tailored to the newest generation of engineering students who are more computer literate, electronically connected, and simulation game-oriented than any prior generation. The game also is epistemic frame-based in that it seeks to teach and assess the degree to which students acquire the skills, knowledge, values, identity, and epistemology (i.e., the epistemic frame) of the engineering profession. We anticipate that this approach will be highly engaging to first-year undergraduate engineering students and help promote the development of their engineering epistemic frame.


Biometrics authentication method using lip motion in utterance

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a biometrics authentication method using lip motion in utterance. The proposed authentication method authenticates persons using lip shape (physical trait) and lip motion accompanying utterance (behavioral trait). Hence, the proposed method can be realized with only a camera extracting lip area without the special equipment used in other personal authentication methods and can easily change the registration data. Conventional methods using a lip image use time differential coefficients of horizontal and vertical lip ranges, and their corresponding rates. However, these features cannot describe the lip motion in detail because the extraction of the exact lip shape is difficult. Therefore, the proposed authentication method uses features concerned with lip shape, which are extracted from a divided lip region, and extracts lip motion by dynamic time warping (DTW). Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve an authentication rate of more than 99.5 %.

2011 8th International Conference on Information, Communications & Signal Processing


Some Limitations of Public Sequence Data for Phylogenetic Inference (in Plants)

Abstract: The GenBank database contains essentially all of the nucleotide sequence data generated for published molecular systematic studies, but for the majority of taxa these data remain sparse. GenBank has value for phylogenetic methods that leverage data–mining and rapidly improving computational methods, but the limits imposed by the sparse structure of the data are not well understood. Here we present a tree representing 13,093 land plant genera—an estimated 80% of extant plant diversity—to illustrate the potential of public sequence data for broad phylogenetic inference in plants, and we explore the limits to inference imposed by the structure of these data using theoretical foundations from phylogenetic data decisiveness. We find that despite very high levels of missing data (over 96%), the present data retain the potential to inform over 86.3% of all possible phylogenetic relationships. Most of these relationships, however, are informed by small amounts of data—approximately half are informed by fewer than four loci, and more than 99% are informed by fewer than fifteen. We also apply an information theoretic measure of branch support to assess the strength of phylogenetic signal in the data, revealing many poorly supported branches concentrated near the tips of the tree, where data are sparse and the limiting effects of this sparseness are stronger. We argue that limits to phylogenetic inference and signal imposed by low data coverage may pose significant challenges for comprehensive phylogenetic inference at the species level. Computational requirements provide additional limits for large reconstructions, but these may be overcome by methodological advances, whereas insufficient data coverage can only be remedied by additional sampling effort. We conclude that public databases have exceptional value for modern systematics and evolutionary biology, and that a continued emphasis on expanding taxonomic and genomic coverage will play a critical role in developing these resources to their full potential.


Global Morbidity and Mortality of Leptospirosis: A Systematic Review

Abstract: Background ::: ::: Leptospirosis, a spirochaetal zoonosis, occurs in diverse epidemiological settings and affects vulnerable populations, such as rural subsistence farmers and urban slum dwellers. Although leptospirosis is a life-threatening disease and recognized as an important cause of pulmonary haemorrhage syndrome, the lack of global estimates for morbidity and mortality has contributed to its neglected disease status. ::: ::: Methodology/Principal Findings ::: ::: We conducted a systematic review of published morbidity and mortality studies and databases to extract information on disease incidence and case fatality ratios. Linear regression and Monte Carlo modelling were used to obtain age and gender-adjusted estimates of disease morbidity for countries and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) and WHO regions. We estimated mortality using models that incorporated age and gender-adjusted disease morbidity and case fatality ratios. The review identified 80 studies on disease incidence from 34 countries that met quality criteria. In certain regions, such as Africa, few quality assured studies were identified. The regression model, which incorporated country-specific variables of population structure, life expectancy at birth, distance from the equator, tropical island, and urbanization, accounted for a significant proportion (R2 = 0.60) of the variation in observed disease incidence. We estimate that there were annually 1.03 million cases (95% CI 434,000–1,750,000) and 58,900 deaths (95% CI 23,800–95,900) due to leptospirosis worldwide. A large proportion of cases (48%, 95% CI 40–61%) and deaths (42%, 95% CI 34–53%) were estimated to occur in adult males with age of 20–49 years. Highest estimates of disease morbidity and mortality were observed in GBD regions of South and Southeast Asia, Oceania, Caribbean, Andean, Central, and Tropical Latin America, and East Sub-Saharan Africa. ::: ::: Conclusions/Significance ::: ::: Leptospirosis is among the leading zoonotic causes of morbidity worldwide and accounts for numbers of deaths, which approach or exceed those for other causes of haemorrhagic fever. Highest morbidity and mortality were estimated to occur in resource-poor countries, which include regions where the burden of leptospirosis has been underappreciated


Duplicated rDNA sequences of variable lengths flanking the short type I insertions in the rDNA of Drosophila melanogaster.

Abstract: We describe cloned segments of rDNA that contain short type I insertions of differing lengths. These insertions represent a coterminal subset of sequences from the right hand side of the major 5kb type I insertion. Three of these shorter insertions are flanked on both sides by a short sequence present as a single copy in uninterrupted rDNA units. The duplicated segment is 7, 14 and 15 nucleotides in the different clones. In this respect, the insertions differ from the 5kb type I insertion, where the corresponding sequence is found only at the right hand junction and where at the left hand side there is a deletion of 9 nucleotides of rDNA (Roiha et al.,1981). One clone is unusual in that it contains two type I insertions, one of which is flanked by a 14 nucleotide repeat. The left hand junction of the second insertion occurs 380 nucleotides downstream in the rDNA unit from the first. It has an identical right hand junction to the other elements and the 380 nucleotide rDNA sequence is repeated on both sides of the insertion. We discuss the variety of sequence rearrangements of the rDNA which flank type I insertions.


HOW TO DEAL WITH THE ARROW OF TIME IN QUANTUM FIELD THEORY

Abstract: The formalism of Quantum Mechanics is based by definition on conserving probabilities and thus there is no room for the description of dissipative systems in Quantum Mechanics. The treatment of time-irreversible evolution (the arrow of time) is therefore ruled out by definition in Quantum Mechanics. In Quantum Field Theory it is, however, possible to describe time-irreversible evolution by resorting to the existence of infinitely many unitarily inequivalent representations of the canonical commutation relations (ccr). In this paper I review such a result by discussing the canonical quantization of the damped harmonic oscillator (dho), a prototype of dissipative systems. The irreversibility of time evolution is expressed as tunneling among the unitarily inequivalent representations. Canonical quantization is shown to lead to time dependent SU(1,1) coherent states. The exact action for the dho is derived in the the path integral formalism of the quantum Brownian motion developed by Schwinger and by Feynman and Vernon. The doubling of the phase-space degrees of freedom for dissipative systems is related to quantum noise effects. Finally, the role of dissipation in the quantum model of the brain and the occurrence that the cosmological arrow of time, the thermodynamical one and the biological one point into the same direction are shortly mentioned.


Effective use of Multi-Core Architecture through Multi- Threading towards Computation Intensive Signal Processing Applications

Abstract: With the advent of Multicore architecture availability, exploiting parallelism is posing certain trends and tides for application deployment. Earlier approaches to explore parallelism in applications were limited to either instruction level parallelism (ILP) or use of architectural redundant resources. In this paper, we attempted to use multicore processor to demonstrate the speedup in compute intensive tasks such as Convolution, primitive to most Digital Signal Processing algorithms. Further result of multithreaded application on Multicore processor compared with single core is demonstrated for lower and upper limit of granularity for application fragmentation. This work suggests the need for design of memory manager for Multithreading to exploit it more effectively. General Terms Multithreading multicore architectures

International Journal of Computer Applications


Use of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) plus recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) for the mobilization and collection of CD34+ cells in poor mobilizers

Abstract: The activity of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in enhancing CD34+ cell mobilization elicited by chemotherapy plus recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) was evaluated in 16 hard-to-mobilize patients, that is, those achieving a peak of circulating CD34+ cells 10/μL or less, or a collection of CD34+ cells equal to or less than 2 × 106/kg. Patients who had failed a first mobilization attempt with chemotherapy plus rhG-CSF (5 μg/kg/d) were remobilized with chemotherapy plus rhG-CSF and rhGH (100 μg/kg/d). As compared with rhG-CSF, the combined rhGH/rhG-CSF treatment induced significantly higher ( P ≤ .05) median peak values for CD34+ cells/μL (7 versus 29), colony-forming cells (CFCs)/mL (2154 versus 28 510), and long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-ICs)/mL (25 versus 511). Following rhG-CSF and rhGH/rhG-CSF, the median yields of CD34+ cells per leukapheresis were 1.1 × 106/kg and 2.3 × 106/kg ( P ≤ .008), respectively; the median total collections of CD34+ cells were 1.1 × 106/kg and 6 × 106/kg ( P ≤ .008), respectively. No specific side effect could be ascribed to rhGH, except a transient hyperglycemia occurring in 2 patients. Reinfusion of rhGH/rhG-CSF-mobilized cells following myeloablative therapy resulted in prompt hematopoietic recovery. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that in poor mobilizers addition of rhGH to rhG-CSF allows the patients to efficiently mobilize and collect CD34+ cells with maintained functional properties. (Blood. 2004;103: 3287-3295)


Two Clustering Diffusion Patterns Identified from the 2001 – 2003 Dengue Epidemic , Kaohsiung , Taiwan

Abstract: This study analyzed the spatio-temporal patterns of 4,587 (94% of the total) confirmed dengue cases in Kaohsiung and Fengshan Cities (a two-city area) that occurred in Taiwan from 2001 to 2003. The epidemic had two simultaneous distinct diffusion patterns. One was a contiguous pattern, mostly limited to 1 km from an initial cluster, reflecting that there was a rapid dispersal of infected Aedes aegypti and viremic persons. The second followed a relocation pattern, involving clusters of cases that diffused over 10 weeks starting from the southern and moving to the northern parts of the two-city area. The virus from one clustering site jumped to several distant areas where it rapidly dispersed through a series of human-mosquito transmission cycles to several localities. In both patterns, transmission of disease quickly enlarged the epidemic areas. Future dengue control efforts would benefit from a timely syndromic surveillance system plus extensive public education on how to avoid further transmission.

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene


Fragmentation Production of Ωccc and Ωbbb Baryons

Abstract: Abstract The Λ baryons with a single heavy flavor which transfer the quark polarization, have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. The Ξ 's with two heavy constituents are well treated in quark–diquark model. In this work we study the production of triply heavy baryons in the perturbative QCD regime and calculate the fragmentation functions for Ω ccc and Ω bbb in the c and b quark fragmentation, respectively. We then obtain the total fragmentation probability and the average fragmentation parameter for each cases.


Reduced adult endothelial cell EphB4 function promotes venous remodeling

Abstract: Reduced EphB4 expression is observed during vein graft adaptation and is associated with increased venous wall thickening. These findings suggest that EphB4 may mediate normal adult venous endothelial cell (EC) function and vein graft adaptation. We therefore tested the functional significance of EphB4 using EC with genetically reduced EphB4 signaling. EC were isolated from EphB4+/+ and EphB4+/− mice. In vitro function was assessed through EC proliferation, migration, nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, and chemokine production. A mouse vein graft model was used to correlate in vitro findings with in vivo vein grafts. Smooth muscle cells (SMC) were subjected to proliferation and migration assays using EphB4+/+ and EphB4+/− EC-conditioned medium. EphB4+/− EC exhibited diminished proliferation (P < 0.0001, n = 6), migration (P < 0.0001, n = 3), and NO production (P = 0.0012, n = 3). EphB4+/− EC had increased VEGF-A mRNA (P = 0.0006, n = 6) and protein (P = 0.0106, n = 3) as well as increased secretion of VEGF-A (P = 0.0010, n = 5), PDGF-BB (P < 0.0001, n = 6), and TGF-β1 (P < 0.0001, n = 6). EphB4+/−-conditioned medium promoted SMC proliferation (P < 0.0001, n = 7) and migration (P = 0.0358, n = 3). Vein grafts and EphB4+/− EC showed similarity with regard to VEGF-A and eNOS mRNA and protein expression. In conclusion, reduced venous EC EphB4 function is associated with a proangiogenic and mitogenic phenotype. EphB4+/− EC have increased secretion of SMC mitogens and reduced NO production that correlate with the thickened neointima formed during vein graft adaptation. These findings suggest that EphB4 remains active in adult venous EC and that loss of EphB4 plays a role in vein graft adaptation.

American journal of physiology. Cell physiology


Indifference or indecisiveness? Choice-theoretic foundations of incomplete preferences

Abstract: Abstract A commonly held belief in economics is that an individual's preferences that are revealed by her choices must be complete. This paper takes issue with this position by showing that one may be able to distinguish between indifference and indecisiveness of an agent upon observing her choice behavior. We relax the standard Weak Axiom of Revealed Preferences (WARP) and show that a potent theory of individual choice (with and without risk) can be founded on this weaker axiom when it is coupled with some other standard postulates. The most notable features here are that an agent is allowed to be indifferent between certain alternatives and indecisive about others. Moreover, an outside observer can identify which of these actually occur upon examining the (observable) choice behavior of the decision maker. As an application, we also show how our theory may be able to cope with the classical preference reversal phenomenon.


On the characterization of linear and linearizable automata by a superposition principle

Abstract: This paper deals with the superponability of linear and linearizable automata. Automata linear in GF(p),p2, with input and output sets {0, 1,⋯,p-1} and with arbitrary initial state are characterized as the class of automata superponable, i.e. permutable, with respect to a functionax+(1-a)x′. The casep=2 requires special considerations. The inputoutput behaviour of this automata can be described by generalized impulse responses. Using instead of GF(p) an arbitrary commutative field on the same basic set {0,1,⋯,p-1} some of the functions nonlinear in GF(p) are linear in this field. These functions are called linearizable. Linearizable functions are characterized by a functional equation and solvability conditions and as polynomials in GF(p). Thus the well known theory of linear automata can be extended to linearizable automata.


Evolutionary Algorithm for 3D Object Reconstruction from Images

Abstract: This work presents an evolutionary algorithm to reconstruct 3D objects based on images of them. In the proposed evolutionary algorithm, we describe a way to evolve 3D initial models to a target object by means of comparisons between images generated from the models and images of target object, in which the acquisition position is known. We proposed a modification in the standard evolutionary strategy algorithm that produced better and faster results in the class of problems at hand (i.e. when many genes must evolve mainly to a direction in the search space). Satisfactory results were achieved reconstructing simple 3D objects, such as an ellipsoid object and a pear from a sphere. Although performance decrease for more detailed objects such as a face, the proposed solution still converges.

2006 Ninth Brazilian Symposium on Neural Networks (SBRN'06)


External eating, impulsivity and attentional bias to food cues

Abstract: Cognitive and behavioural responses to food reward, such as attentional biases and overeating, have been associated with individual differences in reward-responsiveness and impulsivity. This study investigated relationships between external eating, impulsivity and attentional bias to food cues, assessed using the pictorial visual-probe task. As previously reported, attentional bias correlated positively with external eating. Additional novel findings were: (i) attentional bias for food cues was positively related to trait impulsivity, (ii) attentional bias remained related to attention impulsivity after controlling for external eating. Our findings highlight the relationship between the ability to control impulsive responding and selective attention to food cues.


Target Tracking with Efficient Sensors Scheduling Scheme over Fading� Channel for WSNs


Construction of a high-density, high-resolution genetic map and its integration with BAC-based physical map in channel catfish

Abstract: Construction of genetic linkage map is essential for genetic and genomic studies. Recent advances in sequencing and genotyping technologies made it possible to generate high-density and high-resolution genetic linkage maps, especially for the organisms lacking extensive genomic resources. In the present work, we constructed a high-density and high-resolution genetic map for channel catfish with three large resource families genotyped using the catfish 250K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. A total of 54,342 SNPs were placed on the linkage map, which to our knowledge had the highest marker density among aquaculture species. The estimated genetic size was 3,505.4 cM with a resolution of 0.22 cM for sex-averaged genetic map. The sex-specific linkage maps spanned a total of 4,495.1 cM in females and 2,593.7 cM in males, presenting a ratio of 1.7 : 1 between female and male in recombination fraction. After integration with the previously established physical map, over 87% of physical map contigs were anchored to the linkage groups that covered a physical length of 867 Mb, accounting for ∼90% of the catfish genome. The integrated map provides a valuable tool for validating and improving the catfish whole-genome assembly and facilitates fine-scale QTL mapping and positional cloning of genes responsible for economically important traits.

DNA research : an international journal for rapid publication of reports on genes and genomes


An M/G/1 Retrial Queue with Non-Persistent Customers, a Second Optional Service and Different Vacation Policies

Abstract: In this paper, we study an M/G/1 queue with two phases of heterogeneous service. A first essential service is provided to all arriving customers. Upon completion of this service, a customer can either opt for a second phase of service or can leave the system. A customer, who finds the server busy, either leaves the system with probability (1-α )o r joins an orbit with probability α. From the orbit the customer makes repeated attempts to obtain service. We assume the inter retrial times are exponential random variables. We also assume that upon completion of a service, the server either remains in the system with probability β0 or leaves the system for an ith type of vacation with probability


Minimal Triangulations for Graphs with "Few" Minimal Separators

Abstract: We give a characterization of minimal triangulation of graphs using the notion of "maximal set of neighbor separators". We prove that if all the maximal sets of neighbor separators of some graphs can be computed in polynomial time, the treewidth of those graphs can be computed in polynomial time. This notion also unifies the already known algorithms computing the treewidth of several classes of graphs.


Bacteremia with Aerococcus sanguinicola: Case Series with Characterization of Virulence Properties

Abstract: BACKGROUND ::: Since Aerococcus sanguinicola was designated as a species in 2001, only a few cases of bacteremia have been reported. The aim with this study was to describe the clinical presentation of A sanguinicola bacteremia and to determine the antibiotic susceptibility and the capacity of the bacteria to form biofilm and to induce platelet aggregation. ::: ::: ::: METHODS ::: Isolates of A sanguinicola from blood cultures were retrospectively identified from 2 clinical microbiology laboratories for 2006 to 2012. Species identity was confirmed through sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The medical charts of patients were reviewed. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for relevant antibiotics was determined. Biofilm formation was measured as the amount of crystal violet absorbed. Platelet aggregation was determined by aggregometry. ::: ::: ::: RESULTS ::: Eleven cases of A sanguinicola bacteremia were identified. All patients were male and the median age was 82 years (range 67-93). Nine patients fulfilled criteria for severe sepsis, and 2 patients died at hospital. Two patients were diagnosed with infective endocarditis. Most patients had underlying urinary tract diseases or an indwelling urinary tract catheter. Five patients suffered from dementia. None of the patients was treated with immunosuppressive medications. The MIC values of the isolates were in line with previous reports, with low MICs for penicillin, cefotaxime, and vancomycin. All 11 isolates produced biofilms but not all could induce platelet aggregation. ::: ::: ::: CONCLUSIONS ::: A sanguinicola can cause severe infections in elderly men with urinary tract abnormalities and the bacteria possess potential virulence mechanisms.


MODEL-BASED DESIGN RESEARCH: A PRACTICAL METHOD FOR EDUCATIONAL INNOVATIONS


Perfectionism and Academic Procrastination: The mediating role of rumination


Nanopackaging: Nanotechnologies and Electronics Packaging


Matrix model and β-deformed Script N = 4 SYM

Abstract: This work is the result of the ideas developed by Ken Yoshida about the possibility of extending the range of applications of the matrix model approach to the computation of the holomorphic superpotential of the β-deformed = 4 super Yang-Mills theory both in the presence of a mass term and in the massless limit. Our formulae, while agreeing with all the existing results we can compare with, are valid also in the case of spontaneously broken gauge symmetry.


Signal velocity, causality, and quantum noise in superluminal light pulse propagation

Abstract: Summary form only given. It is well known that the group velocity v/sub g/ of a light pulse can exceed c in an anomalously dispersive medium. As discussed many years ago by Sommerfeld and Brillouin, a group velocity greater than c does not violate causality because it is not the velocity of information transmission. They noted that the "frontal velocity," the velocity at which an infinitely sharp step-function-like disturbance of the light intensity propagates, can serve as a velocity of information transfer. We suggest here an operational definition of the signal velocity and apply it to the recently observed superluminal propagation of a light pulse in a gain medium.


Superlens as matching device

Abstract: The question is considered about possibility of overcoming diffraction limit at device, named superlens. This device is a flat slab, executed from material with index of refraction n,equal n=-1. It is shown, what this device really can focus the radiation to the spot, smaller than wavelength, but herewith superlens works not as optical instrument, based on the laws of geometric optics, but as certain matching device, for which does not exist diffraction limit. This is possible if thickness of superlens is comparable with wavelength, and distances from superlense to the wave source and to its image are also in order of wavelength.


Measurement induced entanglement for excitation stored in remote atomic ensembles

Abstract: We report the observation of heralded entanglement between remote atomic ensembles. The detection of an emitted photon projects the ensembles into an entangled state with one joint excitation stored in the whole system.


Momentum relaxation of a mobile impurity in a one-dimensional quantum gas

Abstract: We investigate the time evolution of the momentum of an impurity atom injected into a degenerate Tonks-Girardeau gas. We establish that given an initial momentum $p_0$ the impurity relaxes to a steady state with a non-vanishing momentum $p_\infty.$ The nature of the steady state is found to depend drastically on whether the masses of the impurity and the host are equal or not. This is due to multiple coherent scattering processes leading to a resonant interaction between the impurity and the host in the case of equal masses. The dependence of $p_\infty$ on $p_0$ remains non-trivial even in the limit of vanishing interaction between the impurity and host particles. In this limit $p_\infty(p_0)$ is found explicitly.


Technology Roadmap for Business Strategy and Innovation

Abstract: Companies to meet the needs of a highly competitive global market are utilizing product families and platform-based product development to increase the diverse variety of demand, shorten lead-times, and reduce costs. Current research in the area of product family design focuses on a market-driven approach aiming to cost-savings to search for the margin of profit and market share. The technology roadmap approach to sustain the modern business process is in the stake. The overall findings show that in the global marketplace scenario, the normative-driven approach plays a key role to support sustainable business practices along with market-driven and technology-driven approaches.


E2E: embracing user heterogeneity to improve quality of experience on the web

Abstract: Conventional wisdom states that to improve quality of experience (QoE), web service providers should reduce the median or other percentiles of server-side delays. This work shows that doing so can be inefficient due to user heterogeneity in how the delays impact QoE. From the perspective of QoE, the sensitivity of a request to delays can vary greatly even among identical requests arriving at the service, because they differ in the wide-area network latency experienced prior to arriving at the service. In other words, saving 50ms of server-side delay affects different users differently. This paper presents E2E, the first resource allocation system that embraces user heterogeneity to allocate server-side resources in a QoE-aware manner. Exploiting this heterogeneity faces a unique challenge: unlike other application-level properties of a web request (e.g., a user's subscription type), the QoE sensitivity of a request to server-side delays cannot be pre-determined, as it depends on the delays themselves, which are determined by the resource allocation decisions and the incoming requests. This circular dependence makes the problem computationally difficult. We make three contributions: (1) a case for exploiting user heterogeneity to improve QoE, based on end-to-end traces from Microsoft's cloud-scale production web framework, as well as a user study on Amazon MTurk; (2) a novel resource allocation policy that addresses the circular dependence mentioned above; and (3) an efficient system implementation with almost negligible overhead. We applied E2E to two open-source systems: replica selection in Cassandra and message scheduling in RabbitMQ. Using traces and our testbed deployments, we show that E2E can increase QoE (e.g., duration of user engagement) by 28%, or serve 40% more concurrent requests without any drop in QoE.


Hierarchical Bayesian Modelling for Wireless Cellular Networks

Abstract: With the recent advances in wireless technologies, base stations are becoming more sophisticated. Network operators are also able to collect more data to improve network performance and user experience. In this paper we concentrate on modeling performance of wireless cells using hierarchical Bayesian modeling framework. This framework provides a principled way to navigate the space between the option of creating one model to represent all cells in a network and the option of creating separate models at each cell. The former option ignores the variations between cells (complete pooling) whereas the latter is overly noisy and ignores the common patterns in cells (no pooling). Hierarchical Bayesian modeling strikes a trade-off between these two extreme cases and enables us to do partial pooling of the data from all cells. This is done by estimating a parametric population distribution and assuming that each cell is a sample from this distribution. Because this model is fully Bayesian, it provides uncertainty intervals around each estimated parameter which can be used by network operators making network management decisions. We examine the performance of this method on a synthetic dataset and a real dataset collected from a cellular network.


Trust in Group Decisions: a scoping review

Abstract: Trust is a critical component of competency committees given their high-stakes decisions. Research from outside of medicine on group trust has not focused on trust in group decisions, and “group trust” has not been clearly defined. The purpose was twofold: to examine the definition of trust in the context of group decisions and to explore what factors may influence trust from the perspective of those who rely on competency committees through a proposed group trust model. The authors conducted a literature search of four online databases, seeking articles published on trust in group settings. Reviewers extracted, coded, and analyzed key data including definitions of trust and factors pertaining to group trust. The authors selected 42 articles for full text review. Although reviewers found multiple general definitions of trust, they were unable to find a clear definition of group trust and propose the following: a group-directed willingness to accept vulnerability to actions of the members based on the expectation that members will perform a particular action important to the group, encompassing social exchange, collective perceptions, and interpersonal trust. Additionally, the authors propose a model encompassing individual level factors (trustor and trustee), interpersonal interactions, group level factors (structure and processes), and environmental factors. Higher degrees of trust at the individual and group levels have been associated with attitudinal and performance outcomes, such as quality of group decisions. Developing a deeper understanding of trust in competency committees may help these committees implement more effective and meaningful processes to make collective decisions.


Anisotropy of Differential Spectra of Gold Nanoparticle Absorption in a TiO2 Matrix: Electron Injection into the TiO2 Conduction Band

Abstract: The dynamics of the differential absorption spectra of spherical gold nanoparticles embedded in a TiO2 matrix and in water after the excitation of a plasmon resonance is studied by femtosecond laser spectroscopy. It is shown that spherical gold nanoparticles in a TiO2 matrix exhibit an anisotropic response, which is recorded in differential absorption spectra after their excitation by a femtosecond pulse into the plasmon resonance band of gold. The observed anisotropy of the signal is explained by the spherically nonsymmetrical distribution of the electron injected into the TiO2 matrix.


Factors of Success for Transitioning From a Scientific Role to a Supervisory Leadership Role in a Federal Public Health Agency, 2016


Exercise hypertension: Link to myocardial fibrosis in athletes?

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology


Cooperative Tertiary Amine/Chiral Iridium Complex Catalyzed Asymmetric [4+3] and [3+3] Annulation Reactions

Abstract: Asymmetric reactions merging organocatalysis and metal catalysis significantly broaden the organic synthesis. Nevertheless, the accomplishment of stereoselective annulations combining two types of dipole species, independently generated from the activations of organocatalysts and metal complexes, still remains as a challenging task. Here we report that Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates from isatins and carbamate-functionalized allyl carbonates could be chemoselectively activated by achiral Lewis basic tertiary amines and chiral iridium complexes, respectively. Thus, the in situ formed zwitterionic allylic ylides and 1,4-π-allyliridium dipoles are finely assembled in a highly stereoselective [4+3] annulation pattern. Similar cooperative catalytic strategy could be applied for the reactions of Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates and vinyl aziridines, furnishing an asymmetric [3+3] annulation reaction also with excellent stereocontrol.


[User Acceptance of an Online-Intervention for Improving Depressive Symptoms in Adults with Obesity - Results of a Pilot Study].

Abstract: OBJECTIVES ::: Investigating the user acceptance and associated factors regarding the use of an unguided online-intervention in people with obesity and comorbid depressive symptoms. ::: ::: ::: METHODS ::: Quantitative longitudinal pilot study with regard to user acceptance (Baseline before access to online-intervention; Follow-up after 3 months) with n = 46 subjects. ::: ::: ::: RESULTS ::: Moderate (usefulness, ease of use, satisfaction) to high (ease of learning) user acceptance was reported with regard to the online-intervention. Uptake-rates were 76.1 %, completion-rates were 22.9 %. Positive associations were found e. g. for people receiving invalidity pension and personality traits. ::: ::: ::: CONCLUSIONS ::: Online-interventions for people with obesity and comorbid depressive symptoms represent a complementary treating component. Associated factors of user acceptance should be taken into account when implementing online-interventions to support high fitting accuracy and to increase the benefit for program users.


Current advances in BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Abstract: ABSTRACTIntroduction: The current first line therapy for high grade (HG) non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is intravesical Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG). Patients who recur or progress de...


The Lipid Paradox Among Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients-A Retrospective Study of Outcomes and Complications

Abstract: Background and objectives: The Studies have suggested hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease. However, few of the studies with a small number of patients had tested the effect of hypercholesterolemia on the outcomes and complications among acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. We hypothesized that lipid disorders (LDs), though risk factors for AIS, were associated with better outcomes and fewer post-stroke complications. Materials and Method: We performed a retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (years 2003–2014) in adult hospitalizations for AIS to determine the outcomes and complications associated with LDs, using ICD-9-CM codes. In 2014, we also aimed to estimate adjusted odds of AIS in patients with LDs compared to patients without LDs. The multivariable survey logistic regression models, weighted to account for sampling strategy, were fitted to evaluate relationship of LDs with AIS among 2014 hospitalizations, and outcomes and complications amongst AIS patients from 2003–2014. Results and Conclusions: In 2014, there were 28,212,820 (2.02% AIS and 5.50% LDs) hospitalizations. LDs patients had higher prevalence and odds of having AIS compared with non-LDs. Between 2003–2014, of the total 4,224,924 AIS hospitalizations, 451,645 (10.69%) had LDs. Patients with LDs had lower percentages and odds of mortality, risk of death, major/extreme disability, discharge to nursing facility, and complications including epilepsy, stroke-associated pneumonia, GI-bleeding and hemorrhagic-transformation compared to non-LDs. Although LDs are risk factors for AIS, concurrent LDs in AIS is not only associated with lower mortality and disability but also lower post-stroke complications and higher chance of discharge to home.


Swine diets impact manure characteristics and gas emissions: Part I sulfur level

Abstract: Sulfur is an essential nutrient for animal growth but is also associated with odor and morbidity of animals from swine operations. A study was conducted to determine the effects of increasing dietary S levels in swine diets on DM, pH, C, N, S, VFA, indole, and phenol concentrations in the manure, and on the emissions of C-, N-, and S-containing gases. A total of 24 gilts averaging 152 kg BW were fed diets containing 0.19, 0.30, 0.43, or 0.64% dietary S, as supplied by CaSO4, for 31 d, with an ADFI of 3.034 kg d-1. Feces and urine were collected after each feeding and added to manure storage containers. At the end of the study, manure slurries were monitored for gas emissions and chemical properties. Increasing dietary S lowered manure pH by 0.3 units and increased DM, N, and S by 10% for each 1.0 g S increase kg-1 feed intake. Increased dietary S increased NH3, sulfide, butanoic, and pentanoic acid concentrations in manure. Carbon and N emissions were not significantly impacted by dietary S, but S emissions in the form of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) increased by 8% for each 1.0 g S increase kg-1 feed intake. Odor increased by 2% for each 1.0 g increase of S consumed kg-1 feed intake. Phenolic compounds and H2S were the major odorants emitted from manure that increased with increasing dietary S.


Editorial: understanding sex and gender dimorphism in chronic diseases may improve outcomes


Employing a User-Centered Design to Engage Mothers in the Development of a mHealth Breastfeeding Application.

Abstract: Breastfeeding has numerous health benefits; however, many mothers do not continue breastfeeding to the recommended 6 months of age. Breastfeeding support after discharge from the hospital is often lacking in the communities with the greatest need. Therefore, the Mother's Milk Connection mHealth application was designed to improve breastfeeding duration and access to support. This article describes a user-centered design process to engage mothers in the development of the Mother's Milk Connection application. Two phases of stakeholder and user studies were conducted. Phase 1 involved concept generation, prototype development, and usability testing. Phase 2 focused on prototype redesign and usability testing. We used a descriptive mixed-method approach with data collected using a demographic questionnaire, System Usability Scale, exit survey, and focus groups. Final features of the Mother's Milk Connection application included resources and education, peer support, automated activity tracking, and professional support via video conference. Stakeholder and user engagement indicated the integration of four distinct features is acceptable for use as a comprehensive mHealth intervention to improve access to breastfeeding support. mHealth has the potential to be a useful strategy for providing breastfeeding support, and a clinical trial regarding the efficacy of the Mother's Milk Connection application is needed.


Congenital hyperinsulinism disorders: Genetic and clinical characteristics

Abstract: Congenital hyperinsulinism (HI) is the most frequent cause of persistent hypoglycemia in infants and children. Delays in diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment contribute to a high risk of neurocognitive impairment. HI represents a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by dysregulated insulin secretion by the pancreatic beta cells, which in utero, may result in somatic overgrowth. There are at least nine known monogenic forms of HI as well as several syndromic forms. Molecular diagnosis allows for prediction of responsiveness to medical treatment and likelihood of surgically-curable focal hyperinsulinism. Timely genetic mutation analysis has thus become standard of care. However, despite significant advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of this disorder, the number of patients without an identified genetic diagnosis remains high, suggesting that there are likely additional genetic loci that have yet to be discovered.

American journal of medical genetics. Part C, Seminars in medical genetics


Inside back cover


Introduction: Face, identity and im/politeness. Looking backward, moving forward: From Goffman to practice theory


The Tribalism Index: Unlocking the Relationship Between Tribal Patriarchy and Islamist Militants

Abstract: Tribal dynamics have been strikingly prominent in the success or failure of militant Islamists, from Central Asia to North Africa. However, to date little systematic research has been undertaken on tribal culture and its interactions with militant Islamist groups. Part of the challenge is the absence of a quantitative measure of tribal culture that can gauge the degree of tribalism. A measure of this sort would assist in the exploration of relationships between tribalism and militant Islam, religiously motivated violence, or the export of that violence. In this article, we put forward such a measure, the Tribalism Index. This Tribalism Index is a predictor of religiously motivated violence, and is effective in parsing the varying relationships of Islam, Islamist militancy and tribal patriarchy to that violence. It is also helpful in predicting religiously motivated violence in diaspora communities in Western nations, and has proved effective in doing so in the United Kingdom. Regression models that include both Muslim population percentage and level of tribalism demonstrate that, in the absence of a clear tribal culture, adherence to Islam does not make for susceptibility to extremism. Furthermore, these models show that it is within tribal environments that Islamist movements are best nurtured. The Tribalism Index proves of greater utility than the Failed States Index for eliciting the dynamics of violence in tribal societies, while illuminating the inaccuracy of seeing militancy as a function of Islam as such.


Patents, Technology Adaptation, and Exports to Developing Countries

Abstract: This paper conducts a disaggregated analysis of high technology trade to determine which high technology goods, if any, developed countries export in the presence of stronger developing country patent rights. One argument for implementing strong patent rights in developing countries is that doing so will attract high technology exports from industrialized countries, which should consequently lead to economic growth. However, the impact of patent rights on high technology exports is not identical across all industries. This paper postulates that the role of developing country patent rights in increasing high technology imports depends on the production and adaptation costs of foreign innovating firms, and the usefulness of the high technology good in developing country production processes. When the cost of adapting a foreign innovation for use in developing countries is relatively low, and when the innovation is highly useful in the domestic production processes of developing countries, strengthening patent protection has little impact on attracting foreign innovations. However, when the cost of adapting the good for use in developing countries is relatively high, patent protection can be used as a policy tool to limit competition, raise the price received by innovating firms, and, ultimately, attract foreign high technology goods from abroad.


Impacts of the Exchange Rate and the Global Interest Rate on Real Output for Ten Selected Latin American Countries

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of currency depreciation or appreciation, the changing global interest rate and other related macroeconomic variables on real GDP for ten selected Latin American countries, namely, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The monetary policy reaction function is incorporated in the formulation of the model. There are several major findings. Currency depreciation hurts real GDP for Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela whereas the real exchange rate and real GDP exhibit a backward-bending relationship for Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru, suggesting that currency depreciation increases real GDP in early years whereas currency appreciation raises real GDP in recent years. Except for Bolivia and Paraguay, a higher global interest rate reduces real GDP. Expansionary fiscal policy is effective for Argentina, Mexico and Paraguay. Except for Chile, Paraguay and Venezuela, a higher expected inflation rate reduces real GDP. Hence, currency depreciation may be contractionary or expansionary, depending upon the level of real GDP or the state of economic development.


Reviewer acknowledgement


“Is Saving the World’S Poor Profitably” Good for Business and Good for the World’S Poor?


German University Professors’ salaries in the 20th Century. A Relative Income Approach

Abstract: Abstract This article presents a new estimate for the income of German university professors in the 20th century, using university archives as its main source. With these figures we reject the decline-perspective that has been predominant in the literature, influenced especially by Fritz K. Ringer’s book. We compare the professors’ salaries to those in leading occupations in private business, as well as state bureaucracy and find that relative income level developed in a similar fashion up to the 1970s. The 1970s were identified as a crucial turning point, as university professors started to fall behind their comparative social groups in alternative job markets. Making use of the literature on relative income, the article suggests the university professors changed their group of comparison in questions of remuneration during the course of the 20th century, so that the decreasing internal income-inequality affected their well-being more than the increasing gap to salaries outside universities.


Static Klein–Gordon–Maxwell–Proca systems in 4-dimensional closed manifolds

Abstract: Abstract We prove existence and uniform bounds for critical static Klein–Gordon–Maxwell–Proca systems in the case of 4-dimensional closed Riemannian manifolds.


In vivo/in vitro Studies of the Effects of the Type II Arabinogalactan Isolated from Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. ex Reissek on the Gastrointestinal Tract of Rats

Abstract: Type II arabinogalactan (AG) is a polysaccharide found in Maytenus ilicifolia (Celastraceae), a plant reputed as gastroprotective. Oral and intraperitoneal administration of the AG protected rats from gastric ulcers induced by ethanol. No alteration of mechanisms related to acid gastric secretion and gastrointestinal motility were observed. In vitro, the AG showed a potent scavenging activity against the radical of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) with an IC50 value of 9.3 μM. However, the mechanism of the gastroprotective action remains to be identified.


Making WTO Dispute Settlement Work for African Countries: An Evaluation of Current Proposals for Reforming the DSU

Abstract: Abstract Most African countries are WTO Members, and yet to date none has been a complainant in dispute settlement proceedings. One possible reason is that the WTO enforcement regime is not well suited to smaller complainants whose imports from a larger defendant represent only a small share of that defendant’s total exports. Because retaliation rights must be “equivalent” to damage caused, retaliation may not be sufficient to induce the defendant to comply with its obligations. As a result, there may be a chilling effect on smaller countries commencing trade disputes. This article analyses current proposals within the context of the WTO DSU Review that address this problem. It also compares the WTO enforcement regime to general international law on the proportionality of countermeasures and suggests ways to soften the “equivalence” requirement.


Debt and Democracy

Abstract: Tim Kane says that the patient suffers from economic symptoms but that the biological origins of the economic health problems are genetically based in the DNA of the U.S. Constitution. He suggests that fiscal policy be treated like monetary policy with a Super Committee like the Federal Reserve which is removed from short term electoral influences.


The effect of batting during the evening in cricket

Abstract: Abstract The team batting second in a day-night cricket match faces different playing conditions to the team batting first. This paper quantifies the effect on the runscoring ability of the team batting second by using the difference in differences estimator. This approach indicates that batting during the evening reduces the expected number of runs scored per over by 0.2. The effect explains around 12% of the total margin of loss for teams in the treatment group who lose the match. It is also found that batting during the evening increases the expected number of wickets lost at any given point in the innings.


Editorial Announcement

Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik


Markov Breaks in Regression Models

Abstract: This article develops a new Markov breaks (MB) model for forecasting and making inference in linear regression models with breaks that are stochastic in both timing and magnitude. The MB model permits an arbitrarily large number of abrupt breaks in the regression coefficients and error variance, but it maintains a low-dimensional state space, and therefore it is computationally straightforward. In particular, the likelihood function can be computed analytically using a single iterative pass through the data and thereby avoids Monte Carlo integration. The model generates forecasts and conditional coefficient predictions using a probability weighted average over regressions that include progressively more historical data. I employ the MB model to study the predictive ability of the yield curve for quarterly GDP growth. I show evidence of breaks in the predictive relationship, and the MB model outperforms competing breaks models in an out-of-sample forecasting experiment.


Ritual and Well-being in the Contemporary Shikoku- Pilgrimage: The “Spectrum of the Sacred”

Abstract: Abstract This article is an ethnographic study of contemporary ritual and well-being in the Buddhist 88-temple-pilgrimage on Shikoku Island, Japan, drawing on some findings of my PhD thesis. It will be shown how rituals are employed by pilgrims to gain this-worldly benefits and well-being, such as happiness, assurances about the future, success, and lives that can be lived free from problems and dangers, which mirror how contemporary pilgrims see their obligations and responsibilities in society. Further in-depth analysis of pilgrimage items and related rituals clarify what pilgrims deem ‘sacred’, and how they respond to this, why and through what experiences and actions they set things as ‘sacred’: ‘spaces’, items, and rituals are regarded as very sacred or more or less sacred. This research finds that there is a ‘sacred’ on a continuum, which it labels as ‘spectrum of the sacred’.


Doing more of less: what registry data tell us about death in PICU


Single-fraction versus hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery for medium-sized brain metastases of 2.5 to 3 cm

Abstract: Purpose ::: Given recently suggested utility of hypofractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in treating large brain metastases (BMs) > 3 cm, we sought to prospectively control tumor size variable to investigate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated SRS for medium-sized BMs (2.5 to 3 cm) compared with single-fraction SRS.


Multidrug-resistant organisms in urinary tract infections in children

Abstract: The global spread of multidrug-resistant organisms has led to an increase in urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children that are difficult to treat. This review explores the current literature regarding multidrug-resistant UTIs in childhood and proposes an approach to management. Multidrug-resistant organisms include a wide range of potential urinary tract pathogens and, while most literature on drug resistance in UTIs during childhood has focused on extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing organisms, in this review, we have included a discussion of multidrug resistance including and beyond beta-lactamase production. We provide definitions for multidrug-resistant organisms in line with current consensus guidelines and summarise clinically relevant mechanisms of resistance. Additionally, in this review, we outline the global epidemiology of multidrug-resistant UTIs in children, summarising published prevalence rates, which range from 5 to 90% in different settings. Finally, we also critically review the evidence on risk factors for colonisation and infection of the urinary tract with multidrug-resistant organisms, including prior antibiotic use, hospitalisation and underlying urological malformations. We also highlight multidrug-resistant UTI occurring in children without any identifiable risk factors, reflecting an increasing prevalence of colonisation with these organisms in the general community. Taken as a whole, this emphasises a need for careful and evidence-based use of antibiotics when treating UTIs in children and, to aide clinicians, we have outlined here potential management strategies for when infection with a multidrug-resistant organism is suspected or confirmed.


Synthesis and antioxidant properties of some N- and O-containing 2-isobornyl-6-methylphenol derivatives

Abstract: A series of 2-isobornyl-6-methylphenol derivatives bearing either hydroxymethyl, aminomethyl, or N-acetylaminomethyl group at the para-position with respect to the hydroxy group of phenol moiety was synthesized. Antioxidant properties of the obtained derivatives were comparatively evaluated using in vitro models.


Complete genomic sequence of bacteriophage P23: a novel Vibrio phage isolated from the Yellow Sea, China

Abstract: A novel Vibrio phage, P23, belonging to the family Siphoviridae was isolated from the surface water of the Yellow Sea, China. The complete genome of this phage was determined. A one-step growth curve showed that the latent period was approximately 30 min, the burst size was 24 PFU/cell, and the rise period was 20 min. The phage is host specific and is stable over a range of pH (5–10) and temperatures (4–65 °C). Transmission electron microscopy showed that phage P23 can be categorized into the Siphoviridae family, with an icosahedral head of 60 nm and a long noncontractile tail of 144 nm. The genome consisted of a linear, double-stranded 40.063 kb DNA molecule with 42.5% G+C content and 72 putative open reading frames (ORFs) without tRNA. The predicted ORFs were classified into six functional groups, including DNA replication, regulation and nucleotide metabolism, transcription, phage packaging, phage structure, lysis, and hypothetical proteins. The Vibrio phage P23 genome is a new marine Siphoviridae-family phage genome that provides basic information for further molecular research on interaction mechanisms between bacteriophages and their hosts.


Current achievements of young analytical chemists

Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly


Sizes, condition factors and sex ratios of the scattered populations of the small cichlid fish, Alcolapia grahami, that inhabits the lagoons and sites of Lake Magadi (Kenya), one of the most extreme aquatic habitat on Earth

Abstract: Alcolapia grahami is a small cichlid fish that inhabits the scattered lagoons and sites of Lake Magadi (Kenya). Exceptional physiological, morphological, biochemical and behavioural adaptations allow the fish to tolerate the harsh environmental conditions that exist in the locations, the most extreme milieus occupied by a species of fish on Earth. The temperature of the water is inordinately high for a fish; large diurnal fluctuations in the levels of the partial pressure of oxygen occur, with acute hypoxia happening during the night and hyperoxia during the day; the salinity of the water is ~60% of that of seawater and; the pH may be as high as 11. Having an average adult body length of less than 6 cm and a body mass of ~5 g, the fish is very small in size. Here, body mass, body length, condition factors (CFs) and sex ratios (SRs) were determined on fish sampled from nine accessible isolated populations. Except for the Cement Water Holding Tanks (CWHT) population, where the female-to-male SR was 4:1, overall, the number of male fish surpassed the female ones by a ratio of ~2:1. The male fish were heavier and longer compared to the female ones. The relatively lower ambient temperature in the CWHT (32 °C) may explain the female dominated population and the effect future increase in temperature may have on sex distribution in the various populations of A. grahami. In fish from the Fish Spring Lagoons B and D, the CFs were greater in the male fish relative to the female ones. Exhibiting poor-to-fair body states, the CFs of the different populations of A. grahami, that ranged from 1.1. to 1.8, were among the lowest that have been reported in fish living under natural setting. The skewed SRs and the markedly low CFs of A. grahami reported here may be ascribed to the harsh (stressful) environmental conditions the fish contends with. The values may signal prospective demise of the fish. Conservation measures are urgently needed to protect a very rare fish.


CCD UBVRI photometry of the open cluster Berkeley 8

Abstract: The poorly studied Berkeley 8 (Be8) open cluster is analysed from CCD UBVRI photometric data taken with the 0.90 m telescope at the Sierra Nevada Observatory. The Z = +0.008 PARSEC isochrone gave us a reddening of E(B-V) = 0.69 +- 0.03, a distance of 3410 +- 300 pc and an age of 2.8 +- 0.2 Gyr. Its median Gaia DR2 distance, d = 3676 +- 810 pc is in good agreement with our photometric distances, 3410 - 3620 pc within the uncertainties. The kinematic parameters of five likely members of Be 8 with the circular orbits, ecc = [0.23, 0.30] reflect the properties of the Galactic thin disc, which is also consistent with what is expected of its metal content ([M/H] = -0.27). Be8 with R > 9 kpc (co-rotation gap at 9 kpc) may have been originating from different galactic radius or different star formation region.


On gossip-based information dissemination in pervasive recommender systems

Abstract: Pervasive computing systems employ distributed and embedded devices in order to raise, communicate, and process data in an anytime-anywhere fashion. Certainly, its most prominent device is the smartphone due to its wide proliferation, growing computation power, and wireless networking capabilities. In this context, we revisit the implementation of digitalized word-of-mouth that suggests exchanging item preferences between smartphones offline and directly in immediate proximity. Collaboratively and decentrally collecting data in this way has two benefits. First, it allows to attach for instance location-sensitive context information in order to enrich collected item preferences. Second, model building does not require network connectivity. Despite the benefits, the approach naturally raises data privacy and data scarcity issues. In order to address both, we propose Propagate and Filter, a method that translates the traditional approach of finding similar peers and exchanging item preferences among each other from the field of decentralized to that of pervasive recommender systems. Additionally, we present preliminary results on a prototype mobile application that implements the proposed device-to-device information exchange. Average ad-hoc connection delays of 25.9 seconds and reliable connection success rates within 6 meters underpin the approach's technical feasibility.


3D Human Pose Estimation under limited supervision using Metric Learning.

Abstract: Estimating 3D human pose from monocular images demands large amounts of 3D pose and in-the-wild 2D pose annotated datasets which are costly and require sophisticated systems to acquire. In this regard, we propose a metric learning based approach to jointly learn a rich embedding and 3D pose regression from the embedding using multi-view synchronised videos of human motions and very limited 3D pose annotations. The inclusion of metric learning to the baseline pose estimation framework improves the performance by 21\% when 3D supervision is limited. In addition, we make use of a person-identity based adversarial loss as additional weak supervision to outperform state-of-the-art whilst using a much smaller network. Lastly, but importantly, we demonstrate the advantages of the learned embedding and establish view-invariant pose retrieval benchmarks on two popular, publicly available multi-view human pose datasets, Human 3.6M and MPI-INF-3DHP, to facilitate future research.


Label Propagation Ensemble for Hyperspectral Image Classification

Abstract: The imbalance between limited labeled pixels and high dimensionality of hyperspectral data can easily give rise to Hughes phenomenon. Semisupervised learning (SSL) methods provide promising solutions to address the aforementioned issue. Graph-based SSL algorithms, also called label propagation methods, have obtained increasing attention in hyperspectral image (HSI) classification. However, the graphs constructed by utilizing the geometrical structure similarity of samples are unreliable due to the high dimensionality and complexity of the HSIs, especially for the case of very limited labeled pixels. Our motivation is to construct label propagation ensemble (LPE) model, then use the decision fusion of multiple label propagations to obtain pseudolabeled pixels with high classification confidence. In LPE, random subspace method is introduced to partition the feature space into multiple subspaces, then several label propagation models are constructed on corresponding subspaces, finally the results of different label propagation models are fused at decision level, and only the unlabeled pixels whose label propagation results are the same will be assigned with pseudolabels. Meanwhile extreme learning machine classifiers are trained on the labeled and pseudolabeled samples during the iteration. Compared with traditional label propagation methods, our proposed method can deal with the situation of very limited labeled samples by providing pseudolabeled pixels with high classification confidence, consequently, the accurate base classifiers are obtained. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, LPE is compared with several state-of-the-art methods on four hyperspectral datasets. In addition, the method that only use label propagation is investigated to show the importance of ensemble technique in LPE. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can provide competitive solution for HSI classification.

IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing


On convergence of orbits to a fixed point for widely more generalized hybrid mappings


Discriminative response of numeric distance protection: minimum-distance response indices


CP Violation in Two Texture Zero Neutrino Mass Matrices


Observations On the Recovery of Continuity of Divided Arteries and Veins


Calibration Method of an Ultrasonic System for Temperature Measurement

Abstract: System calibration is fundamental to the overall accuracy of the ultrasonic temperature measurement, and it is basically involved in accurately measuring the path length and the system latency of the ultrasonic system. This paper proposes a method of high accuracy system calibration. By estimating the time delay between the transmitted signal and the received signal at several different temperatures, the calibration equations are constructed, and the calibrated results are determined with the use of the least squares algorithm. The formulas are deduced for calculating the calibration uncertainties, and the possible influential factors are analyzed. The experimental results in distilled water show that the calibrated path length and system latency can achieve uncertainties of 0.058 mm and 0.038 μs, respectively, and the temperature accuracy is significantly improved by using the calibrated results. The temperature error remains within ±0.04°C consistently, and the percentage error is less than 0.15%.


Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Is Associated with Changes in Salivary Inflammatory Genes Transcripts

Abstract: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a ubiquitous problem that affects public health and safety. A test that can reliably identify individuals that suffer from EDS is needed. In contrast to other methods, salivary biomarkers are an objective, inexpensive, and noninvasive method to identify individuals with inadequate sleep. Although we have previously shown that inflammatory genes are elevated in saliva samples taken from sleep deprived individuals, it is unclear if inflammatory genes will be elevated in clinical populations with EDS. In this study, salivary samples from individuals with sleep apnea were evaluated using the Taqman low density inflammation array. Transcript levels for 3 genes, including prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), were elevated in patients with sleep apnea. Interestingly, PTGS2 was also elevated in patients with EDS but who did not have sleep apnea. These data demonstrate the feasibility of using salivary transcript levels to identify individuals that self-report excessive daytime sleepiness.


Pressure Overload Increases GATA4 Binding Activity via Endothelin-1

Abstract: Background—The signaling cascades responsible for the activation of transcription factors in the hypertrophic growth of cardiac myocytes during hemodynamic overload are largely unknown. Several of the genes upregulated in the hypertrophied heart, including B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) gene, are controlled by the cardiac-restricted zinc finger transcription factor GATA4. Methods and Results—An in vivo model of intravenous administration of arginine8-vasopressin (AVP) for up to 4 hours in conscious normotensive rats was used to study the signaling mechanisms for GATA activation in response to pressure overload. Gel mobility shift assays were used to analyze the trans-acting factors that interact with the GATA motifs of the BNP promoter. AVP-induced increase in mean arterial pressure was followed by a significant increase in the BNP and c-fos mRNA levels in both the endocardial and epicardial layers of the left ventricle, whereas GATA4 and GATA6 mRNA levels remained unchanged. Pressure overload within 15...


development of a therapeutic approach to rare cancers in children: the Children's Oncology Group experience.

Abstract: Rare tumors are a heterogenous group of infrequent tumors with varied biology and clinical presentation. Although individually rare, in aggregate they account for 15% of all cancers in children younger than 20 years of age. The management of these tumors can be challenging, as there are no pediatric protocols or treatment guidelines. In an effort to improve the management of these rare tumors, the Children's Oncology Group rare tumor committee, brought together a panel of experts to develop therapeutic recommendations for these rare tumors. These recommendations are being presented in this journal issue.

Journal of pediatric hematology/oncology


Nutritional problems in patients treated with chronic dialysis

Abstract: A food with a protein content of 100-110 g a day determined for dialysis patients was analysed for total weight, water content, protein content, energy content, potassium content and phosphate content during 13 days. During this time 152 individual nutritive substances were offered, which were classified into the group of meats and sausages, egg, milk, milk-products, bakery-goods, potatoes and vegetables. It is to be stated that highly significant positive correlations between the weight of the daily taken food and its content of water, protein, energy, potassium and phosphate are existing, whereby a quantity of 1 kg a day is preferred. For the daily protein intake of 1.0-1.5 g/body weight-1.-d1 required in patients with chronic dialysis treatment, dependent upon dialysis technique and nutritional state, this simultaneously means a dependence of the total quantity of food to be taken in upon body weight, which again has effects on the dialysis regime and the ultrafiltration, since a more or less intensive intake of water, potassium and phosphate is connected with this. The removal of catabolic conditions is a scarcely soluble problem above all in dialysis patients with high optimum weight, by which the often existing inappetence inhibits the necessary increased food intake. The is furthermore rendered difficult in the peritoneal dialysis with peritonitis, since the ultrafiltration is reduced by the inflammation so that the water taken in with food cannot be excreted in a necessary degree.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Zeitschrift fur die gesamte innere Medizin und ihre Grenzgebiete


Understanding patient safety performance and educational needs using the ‘Safety-II’ approach for complex systems

Abstract: Participation in projects to improve patient safety is a key component of general practice (GP) specialty training, appraisal and revalidation. Patient safety training priorities for GPs at all career stages are described in the Royal College of General Practitioners' curriculum. Current methods that are taught and employed to improve safety often use a 'find-and-fix' approach to identify components of a system (including humans) where performance could be improved. However, the complex interactions and inter-dependence between components in healthcare systems mean that cause and effect are not always linked in a predictable manner. The Safety-II approach has been proposed as a new way to understand how safety is achieved in complex systems that may improve quality and safety initiatives and enhance GP and trainee curriculum coverage. Safety-II aims to maximise the number of events with a successful outcome by exploring everyday work. Work-as-done often differs from work-as-imagined in protocols and guidelines and various ways to achieve success, dependent on work conditions, may be possible. Traditional approaches to improve the quality and safety of care often aim to constrain variability but understanding and managing variability may be a more beneficial approach. The application of a Safety-II approach to incident investigation, quality improvement projects, prospective analysis of risk in systems and performance indicators may offer improved insight into system performance leading to more effective change. The way forward may be to combine the Safety-II approach with 'traditional' methods to enhance patient safety training, outcomes and curriculum coverage.

Education for primary care : an official publication of the Association of Course Organisers, National Association of GP Tutors, World Organisation of Family Doctors


Proceedings of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.


Photodynamic Therapy with the Phthalocyanine Photosensitizer Pc 4 of SW480 Human Colon Cancer Xenografts in Athymic Mice

Abstract: Photodynamic ::: therapy (PDT) using the silicon phthalocyanine photosensitizer Pc 4[ ::: HOSiPcOSi(CH 3 ) 2 (CH 2 ) 3 N-(CH 3 ) 2 ] ::: is an oxidative stress associated with induction of apoptosis in ::: various cell types. We assessed the effectiveness of Pc 4-PDT on SW480 ::: colon cancer xenografts grown in athymic nude mice. Animals bearing ::: xenografts were treated with 1 mg/kg body weight Pc 4 and ::: 48 h later were irradiated with 150 J/cm 2 672-nm light ::: from a diode laser delivered at 150 mW/cm 2 . Biochemical ::: studies were performed in xenografts resected at various time points up ::: to 26 h after Pc 4-PDT treatment, whereas tumor size was evaluated ::: over a 4-week period in parallel experiments. In the tumors resected ::: for biochemical studies, apoptosis was visualized by activation of ::: caspase-9 and caspase-3 and a gradual increase in the cleavage of the ::: nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) to a maximum of∼ ::: 60% of the total PARP present at ∼26 h. At that time all Pc ::: 4-PDT-treated tumors had regressed significantly. Two signaling ::: responses that have previously been shown to be associated with Pc ::: 4-PDT-induced apoptosis in cultured cells, p38 mitogen-activated ::: protein kinase and p21/WAF1/Cip1, were examined. A marked increase in ::: phosphorylation of p38 was observed within 1 h after Pc 4-PDT ::: without changes in levels of the p38 protein. Levels of p21 were not ::: altered in the xenografts in correspondence with the presence of mutant ::: p53 in SW480 cells. Evaluation of tumor size showed that tumor growth ::: resumed after a delay of 9–15 days. Our results suggest that: ::: ( a ) Pc 4-PDT is effective in the treatment of SW480 ::: human colon cancer xenografts independent of p53 status; ::: ( b ) PARP cleavage may be mediated by caspase-9 and ::: caspase-3 activation in the Pc 4-PDT-treated tumors; and ::: ( c ) p38 phosphorylation may be a trigger of apoptosis in ::: response to PDT in vivo in this tumor model.

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research


A comparative study of DC and AC microgrids in commercial buildings across different climates and operating profiles

Abstract: Bosch has developed and demonstrated a novel direct current (DC) microgrid system that maximizes the efficiency of locally generated photovoltaic energy while offering high reliability, safety, redundancy, and reduced cost compared to equivalent alternating current (AC) systems. Several demonstration projects validating the system feasibility and expected efficiency gains have been completed and additional ones are in progress. This paper gives an overview of the Bosch DC microgrid system and presents key results from a large simulation study done to estimate the energy savings of the Bosch DC microgrid over conventional AC systems. The study examined the system performance in locations across the United States for several commercial building types and operating profiles. It found that the Bosch DC microgrid uses generated PV energy 6%–8% more efficiently than traditional AC systems.

2015 IEEE First International Conference on DC Microgrids (ICDCM)


Dimethyl Sulfoxide Inhibits Platelet Aggregation in Partially Obstructed Canine Coronary Vessels

Abstract: Abstract : Both clinical and experimental studies suggest that platelets play a major role in the development of several cardiovascular disorders, particularly those related to ischemic heart disease. The results from numerous reports indicate that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) inhibits platelet aggregation in vitro, but there are few studies on its action in vivo. Since an agent that inhibits platelet aggregation should not be used as a diluent in experiments that test antiaggregatory activity of other agents, DMSO was tested in dogs with partially constricted coronary arteries to evaluate its effect on platelet aggregation in vivo.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences


Preparation and evaluation of lectin-conjugated PLGA nanoparticles for oral delivery of thymopentin

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate lectin-conjugated PLGA nanoparticles for oral delivery of thymopentin. Thymopentin loaded PLGA nanoparticles (TP5–NPs) were prepared by a double emulsion-solvent evaporation technique. Novel WGA–PLGA conjugates were synthesized by coupling the amino groups of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) to the carbodiimide-activated carboxylic groups of PLGA, and were incorporated into nanoparticles preparation to take mucoadhesive properties. Important characteristics such as particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, storage stability, as well as in vitro drug release behavior were investigated. The retention of biorecognitive activity of WGA after covalent coupling was confirmed by haemagglutination test. In vitro experiments with pig mucin (PM) demonstrated that the conjugation of WGA enhanced the interaction about 1.8–4.2 fold compared with that of the non-conjugated nanoparticles, and still exhibited sugar specificity. The pharmacodynamical studies on oral administration of WGA–TP5–NPs were performed in FACScan flow cytometry. The values of CD4+/CD8+ ratios were significantly increased compared with that of TP5–NPs (p < 0.01). The enhanced uptake was related to the increasing of WGA content on nanoparticles. These results confirmed that the conjugation of WGA onto PLGA nanoparticles effectively improved the intestinal absorption of TP5 due to specific bioadhesion on GI cell membrane.

Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society


Widely tunable time-division-multiplexed pumped fiber optical parametric oscillator

Abstract: We report a widely tunable dual-pump time-multiplexed fiber optical parametric oscillator (FOPO) system generating sources at both 1.2 μm and 1.7 μm, with a combined tuning range of over 480 nm in NIR and SWIR.

2016 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO)


Cache leakage management for multi-programming workloads

Abstract: Power consumption is becoming a critical design issue of embedded systems due to the popularity of portable device such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants. Leakage is projected to most amount of cache power budget in 70nm technology. In this paper, we utilize the task-level information to manage cache leakage power. We partition the caches among tasks according to their working set size. We then apply different leakage management policies to the cache regions allocated to active and suspended tasks, respectively. Our proposed policies effectively reduce L1 cache leakage energy by 84% on the average for the multi-programming workloads with only negligible degradations in performances.

Asia-Pacific Computer Systems Architecture Conference


Singlet oxygen production in photosynthesis

Abstract: A photosynthetic organism is subjected to photo-oxidative stress when more light energy is absorbed than is used in photosynthesis. In the light, highly reactive singlet oxygen can be produced via triplet chlorophyll formation in the reaction centre of photosystem II and in the antenna system. In the antenna, triplet chlorophyll is produced directly by excited singlet chlorophyll, while in the reaction centre it is formed via charge recombination of the light-induced charge pair. Changes of the mid-point potential of the primary quinone acceptor in photosystem II modulate the pathway of charge recombination in photosystem II and influence the yield of singlet oxygen production. Singlet oxygen can be quenched by beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol or can react with the D1 protein of photosystem II as target. If not completely quenched, it can specifically trigger the up-regulation of the expression of genes which are involved in the molecular defence response of plants against photo-oxidative stress.


Serum Magnesium in Rabbits during Various Shock Conditions2


KAPEAN: Understanding Affective States of Children with ADHD

Abstract: Introduction The school's experience for children with ADHD is challenging. This group of children presents problems to meet cognitive and behavioral levels expected in children of the same age and development (Romero-Ayuso, Maestu, Gonzalez-Marques, Romo-Barrientos & Andrade, 2006). Children diagnosed with ADHD present cognitive problems that make scholarly activities challenging. Because these children struggle identifying individual graphemes or constructing meaningful words they find it difficult to complete reading assignments. There are issues with their short time memory that contributes to their dyslexia or dysgraphia diagnosis (Pineda, 2009). Low average marks, failed grades, expulsions, dropout rates, and lower rate of undergraduate completion characterize the academic difficulties faced by children with ADHD (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). In addition, ADHD children present persistent symptoms related to inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that make it difficult to be socially integrated. Sometimes they adopt a self-defense position and are not aware of their physical strength that sometimes causes that a peer ends hurt, and thereof ignored or rejected for their schoolmates. For these children, teachers have to implement different approaches when assigning activities aiming to gain a student's interest and encourage peer interactions. In that regard some efforts have been focused to using digital technologies as the medium to create a better accepted learning experience, in some cases, for instance, digital technology which has been seen as a resource that can help teachers to deliver course content in a social story way. KAPEAN similarly uses a technology-based setting to let the child play with educational resources. While playing children practices some of their memory, attention and reasoning skills. In addition, KAPEAN collects information about the affective states that are present during the educational game as it aims to get understanding of how to take into account children emotions for future designs of adaptive tutoring tools. In the following sections we first review the literature that indicates the interest for developing affection-based adaptive learning tools. Next we describe the methodology followed to design the case study. Then a discussion of results from playing with KAPEAN is presented. Finally, conclusions and the future work for KAPEAN are given. Literature review At the school setting children are expected to achieve tasks with minimal distraction in such a way that pupils can acquire information, complete assignments and participate in classrooms activities and discussions. This level of behavior is most of the time however unachievable for children with ADHD. These children exhibit behaviors that make it difficult to maintain interactions with teachers and with peers. For this group of children the American Psychiatric Association defines a combination of behaviors that can be grouped into poor sustained attention and hyperactivity-impulsiveness (Jackson, 2004). Furthermore, children with ADHD can present other behavioral problems or learning disabilities. The design of successful instructional strategies and practices require from the teacher a careful study of the child's needs such as how, when and why the child is inattentive, impulsive and hyperactive. In that regard we observed that some work proposed the integration of digital technologies such as computers and mobile devices as the medium to deliver instructional resources. The use of multimedia applications can offer different advantages from its physical resource counterpart, especially when considering that children are within a digital landscape. Many children today stay at home watching TV, listening to music, playing videogames, chatting or surfing the Web. Xu, Reid and Steckelberg (2002) offers a review of the extent to which technology could be seen as effective tools to support computer-assisted instruction, cognitive training, biofeedback training, assessment, and behavior modification, something children with ADHD can positively be affected with. …


Formation and Stabilization of Noble Metal Nanoparticles

Abstract: The kinetics of homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation processes of metal (Ag, Pd) nanoparticles was studied by UV-VIS spectrometry. Silver nanoparticles were prepared in aqueous solution by homogeneous nucleation using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and sodium citrate as sterical stabilizers. Reduction was ensured by adding hydroquinone. According to kinetic functions, reduction is an autocatalytic process: a slow, continuous nucleation is followed by a fast, autocatalytic growth. The presence of polymer inhibits nucleation and retards the rate of particle growth. Formation of palladium nanoparticles was investigated in aqueous medium via reduction by hydrazine, using PVP and the clay mineral hectorite as stabilizers. Effects of the polymer and concentration of silicate and palladium ions on the particle formation rate were analyzed. The rate of reduction is decreased by increasing amounts of stabilizing agents and increased by increasing concentrations of precursor ions. The kinetics of heterogeneous nucleation was determined based on the adsorption of the palladium species at the clay mineral particles and the viscosity of the hectorite dispersion.


Foot-and-mouth disease virus can utilize the C-terminal extension of coxsackievirus A9 VP1 for cell infection


Mechanisms of resistance to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in cancer

Abstract: The tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is regarded as a potential anticancer agent. However, considerable numbers of cancer cells, especially some highly malignant tumors, are resistant to apoptosis induction by TRAIL, and some cancer cells that were originally sensitive to TRAIL-induced apoptosis can become resistant after repeated exposure (acquired resistance). Understanding the mechanisms underlying such resistance and developing strategies to overcome it are important for the successful use of TRAIL for cancer therapy. Resistance to TRAIL can occur at different points in the signaling pathways of TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Dysfunctions of the death receptors DR4 and DR5 due to mutations can lead to resistance. The adaptor protein Fas-associated death domain (FADD) and caspase-8 are essential for assembly of the death-inducing signaling complex, and defects in either of these molecules can lead to TRAIL resistance. Overexpression of cellular FADD-like interleukin-1β-converting enzyme-inhibitory protein (cFLIP) correlates with TRAIL resistance in several types of cancer. Overexpression of Bcl-2 or Bcl-XL, loss of Bax or Bak function, high expression of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, and reduced release of second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (Smac/Diablo) from the mitochondria to the cytosol have all been reported to result in TRAIL resistance in mitochondria-dependent type II cancer cells. Finally, activation of different subunits of mitogen-activated protein kinases or nuclear factor-kappa B can lead to development of either TRAIL resistance or apoptosis in certain types of cancer cells.