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Human impact is considered the major threat to the global decline of biodiversity, especially for threatened endemic species in karst ecosystems. Studies assessing a species' demography based on temporal and spatial indicators of population size, density and structure are expected to evaluate the level of impact of threats and are therefore becoming increasingly important for species conservation efforts. Goniurosaurus huuliensis, an endemic species in Vietnam, is one of the most threatened reptiles in the world. This karst–adapted species is classified by the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered and listed under CITES Appendix II due to habitat loss and over–exploitation for the international pet trade. Here we provide the first evaluation of the population status of G. huuliensis. We applied a 'capture mark–recapture' method to estimate the population size and identify the population density and structure. The total population size was estimated to comprise a maximum of 1,447 individuals in integrated suitable habitats, possibly reaching up to 2,855 individuals exclusively in karst habitats within the total extension of occurrence. This is exceedingly lower than the threshold for a minimum viable population. Furthermore, G. huuliensis is documented to occur in extremely small mean population densities of only 6.4 indiv./km and 2.5 indiv./km/day along the surveyed transects. Based on the demographic information, the ongoing severe human impact (e.g. wildlife exploitation and limestone quarrying) is driving G. huuliensis to the brink of extinction. In situ conservation measures are therefore urgently required. We recommend that in-situ actions should be increased, and a plan should be developed to establish a species and habitat conservation area for G. huuliensis.

State-of-the-art flood hazard maps in coastal cities are often obtained from simulating coastal or pluvial events separately. This method does not account for the seasonality of flood drivers and their mutual dependence. In this article, we include the impact of these two factors in a computationally efficient probabilistic framework for flood risk calculation, using Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) as a case study. HCMC can be flooded subannually by high tide, rainfall, and storm surge events or a combination thereof during the monsoon or tropical cyclones. Using long gauge observations, we stochastically model 10,000 years of rainfall and sea level events based on their monthly distributions, dependence structure and cooccurrence rate. The impact from each stochastic event is then obtained from a damage function built from selected rainfall and sea level combinations, leading to an expected annual damage (EAD) of $1.02 B (95th annual damage percentile of $2.15 B). We find no dependence for most months and large differences in expected damage across months ($36–166 M) driven by the seasonality of rainfall and sea levels. Excluding monthly variability leads to a serious underestimation of the EAD by 72–83%. This is because high-probability flood events, which can happen multiple times during the year and are properly captured by our framework, contribute the most to the EAD. This application illustrates the potential of our framework and advocates for the inclusion of flood drivers' dynamics in coastal risk assessments.

We investigate the effects of the electron-electron interactions on the quantum transport through a charge Kondo circuit. The setup consists of a quantum dot sandwiched between two leads by two nearly transparent single mode quantum point contacts. The size of the interacting area $L$ in the Luttinger liquid formed in the vicinities of the narrow constrictions is assumed to be much smaller compared to the size of the quantum dot $a$. We predict that the interplay between the electron-electron interactions in the Luttinger liquid and the fingerprints of the non-Fermi liquid behavior in the vicinity of the two channel Kondo intermediate coupling fixed point allows one to determine the interaction strength through the power-law temperature scaling of the electric conductance., 7 pages, 1 figure

Sampling genetic material from rare and often secretive mammals can be difficult in challenging environments such as tropical rainforests. Large-scale sampling is important however for resolving species' taxonomic uncertainties, as well as to help provide genetic material for reference databases that can be used with DNA forensics to combat the illegal wildlife trade. Environmental DNA (eDNA) and invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) offer a promising way to overcome this sampling bottleneck, though to date e/iDNA studies have been primarily used to obtain information about species presence using barcoding or metabarcoding approaches. In this study, we collected 4,710 terrestrial leeches across six protected areas in the Annamite Mountains of Viet Nam and Laos and sequenced fragments (223–694 bp) of mt-Cytb and/or mt-Dcr of the mitogenomes from six species that are frequently found in the illegal wildlife trade. Although amplification success was generally low (

International audience; Prediction of human skull shape from head is acomplex and challenging engineering task for the development of ahome-based facial rehabilitation system. The present study aimed todevelop a novel approach based on deep learning models toreconstruct the human skull shape from head. A head-to-skullgeneration workflow was developed and evaluated. A database ofcomputed tomography images of 209 subjects was used. 3D headand skull geometries were reconstructed and then their respectivedescriptors (head/skull volumes, sampling feature points and point-to-center distances, head-skull thickness, Gaussian curvatures) wereextracted. Traditional regression neural network and long-shortterm memory (LSTM)) were implemented and evaluated. The meanerror between the DL-predicted skull shapes and CT-based skullshapes ranges from 1.67 mm to 3.99 mm by using the regressiondeep learning model and the best learning configuration. Thevolume deviation between predicted skull shapes and CT-based skullshapes is smaller than 5%.The present study suggested thatregression deep learning model allows human skull to be predictedfrom a given head with a good level of accuracy. This opens newavenues for the rapid generation of human skull shape from visualsensors (e.g. Microsoft Kinect) toward a computer-aided visionsystem for facial mimic rehabilitation

Histamine is considered to be a hazard in fish sauce, and histamine poisoning usually causes symptoms such as a runny nose, asthma (bronchospasm), urticaria, rash, itching, swelling (eyelids, puffy lips), inflammation, and redness of the conjunctiva. In this study, Cat Hai fish sauce, one of the major traditional fish sauce manufacturers in Vietnam, was used to investigate the variation in histamine content during the fermentation process and to isolate histamine-producing bacteria. Six Dich Chuop samples corresponding to the first sixth months from the beginning of fermentation were collected for these purposes. The results showed that the content of histamine in the six samples corresponding to the first six months from the beginning of fermentation tended to increase during fermentation, reaching the highest rate of 604.85 ppm in the fifth month. A total of 50 isolates were collected from TSA medium and used for screening histamine-producing bacteria on HBI medium. Among these bacteria, four isolates (CH2.4, CH3.3, CH4.4, and CH5.1) were capable of producing histamine, and the highest producing isolate, CH5.1 (from 5th month), was identified as Tetragenococus halophilus. Furthermore, this Tetragenococus halophilus was determined to have the highest histamine production in HBE supplemented with 1% histidine at 50°C, pH 6.0, and 25% NaCl.

Information on geographic patterns of species genetic diversity is often needed to inform conservation strategies. Obtaining data over large geographic areas can be difficult, especially for rare or elusive species. Here, we explore the use of invertebrate‐derived DNA (iDNA) obtained from terrestrial leeches to assess genetic diversity of the Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi, a little‐known and highly threatened lagomorph endemic to the Annamites ecoregion of Vietnam and Laos. We collected 4,877 leeches pooled into 651 leech bulk samples from eight study areas across the northern and central Annamites. Using metabarcoding, we detected Annamite striped rabbit DNA in 11 leech bulk samples from five of the study areas. We amplified up to 3,000 bp of six mitochondrial DNA loci of Annamite striped rabbit from nine of the 11 bulk samples. Haplotype network analyses showed five shared haplotypes among these samples. Phylogenetic trees constructed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference showed little geographic structuring among the Annamite striped rabbit populations across the five study areas. Our results provide information that can be directly used to inform planned ex situ conservation measures for the Annamite striped rabbit. We discuss our results within the context of using iDNA to noninvasively obtain data to assess species genetic diversity, and the potential of this approach to be applied to other species and systems.

Laboratories from 14 countries (with different levels of expertise in radionuclide measurements and

Mixed beryllium-tungsten-deuterium (Be-W-D) layers (4.4–28.4 at.% W) were codeposited in a magnetron discharge in D2-Ar atmosphere at pressures of 0.8 Pa, 2.7 Pa, and 8 Pa and a substrate temperature of 373 ± 15 K. The composition of the layers was determined using nuclear reaction analysis and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. D trapping states in the layers were examined using thermal desorption spectroscopy. At all pressures used, the D concentration in the layers has a non-monotonic dependence on the W concentration, with the maximum occurring at 4.4–7.3% W. In this case, the D concentration is about two times greater than that in a Be-D layer; in W-D layers the D concentration is more than one order of magnitude smaller. Increase of pressure during deposition results in an increase of the D concentration in Be-D and Be-W-D (4.4–7.3% W) layers and is linked with the appearance of sharp low-temperature D release peaks near 450 K and 500 K. Increase of pressure also results in steeper decrease of the D concentration with increasing W concentration beyond 7.3%. It is concluded that for the layers deposited at 450 K and above, the effect of the presence of W (4.4–28.4%) on the D retention becomes small.

One of the major topics in photogrammetry is the automated extraction of building from data acquired by airborne sensors. What makes this task challenging is the very heterogeneous appearance and dense distribution of buildings in urban areas. While many dataset has been established, none of them pay attention to developing cities where buildings are not well planned. To complement the development of building extraction algorithms, a dataset of high resolution satellite image is constructed in this paper covering Cau Giay district, Hanoi, Vietnam. The dataset consists of 2100 images of size 1024× 1024 pixels extracted from Google Earth. Shape, size, and construction material differ greatly from building to building, thus make it challenging for state-of-the-art algorithm to accurately extract building location. Some baselines are provided using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Experimental results show that U-Net model trained with Mean Square Error loss is able to achieve comparable results (OA = 92.04).

International audience; This paper presents experimental and numerical results of the hybrid members with several encased steel profiles subjected to bending and shear. These results are compared with each other on the load-bearing capacity, the strain distribution, the stress distribution, the slip distribution, the crack pattern, the failure modes. These steel-concrete composite structural elements belong to the so-called “hybrid” structures which are neither reinforced concrete structure in the sense of Eurocode 2, nor steel-concrete composite structures in the sense of Eurocode 4. Currently, there is no design calculation guide of the resistance for this type of structure in international standards. Therefore, the comparison between numerical and experimental results is performed to point out the mechanism of the load transfer and failure taking place within the hybrid members subjected to bending and shear. It is the basis for calibrating the proposed design method for hybrid members reinforced by several steel profiles. The six hybrid member specimens were prepared and tested at the Structures Laboratory of INSA Rennes, France. The structural response of all hybrid members specimens were simulated by a full 3D finite element model using the Abaqus software. © 2018, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

In this research, a low damping force shear-mode magneto-rheological (MR) damper that can replace conventional passive damper of a front-loading washing machine is designed and experimentally evaluated. In the design of the MR damper, required damping force, off-state friction force, size, and low cost of the MR damper are taken into account. Firstly, a suppression system for washing machines featuring MR dampers is proposed considering required damping force, available space, and cost of the system. Optimization of the proposed MR suspension system is then performed considering required damping force, off-state friction force, size, power consumption, and low cost of the MR damper. From the optimal results, simulated performance of the optimized MR damper is obtained and presented with discussions. A detailed design of the MR damper is then conducted, and a prototype MR damper is manufactured. In addition, experimental results on the prototype MR damper are obtained and compared with simulated ones. Finally, discussions on performance and application of the MR suspension system for front-loading washing machines are given.

Carbonate reservoirs hold 50 to 60% of the world's conventional hydrocarbons and are therefore of major economic significance. Solids production from poorly consolidated carbonate reservoir rocks is a common factor in many wells during production stages and especially in the later life of a reservoir under depletion conditions. While there are several well-estblished technuues to predict sand production in sandstone reservoirs, there are not many field-proven case studies on the applicability of these techniques for solids production assessment in carbonate rocks. In this study, we present a case study on the application of a widely-used sanding evaluation technique in a carbonate gas reservoir, offshore Vietnam. We show production, core and well data from several production and appraisal wells in three nearby gas fields to investigate the cause of well productivity reduction in one well through a systematic geomechanical assessment of solids production. The findings are used to optimize gas production in existing wells, determine maximum solids-free drawdown for a planned infill well, and completion decisions for two new development wells to be drilled and completed in 2018 in a field with no production to date. Rock mechanics tests conducted on several carbonate samples confirmed the low strength and high heterogeneity nature of the reservoir carbonates. Core-log calibration of rock mechanics paramters revealed reasonably strong correlations between rock strength and porosity logs which were used to generate continuous log-derrived rock strength profiles. Applicability of a well-established poro-elastic sanding predction model for carbonate reservoirs was investigated by a logical solids production analysis in a cased and perforated explorationwell and two open hole production wells. Production, well testsand fluid sampling data were used to calibrate and verify the solids production model. Analysis showed no risks of solids production for the weakest reservoirs at initial and current reservoir pressures with the current applied drawdowns, and the drawdown can indeed increase in exsiting wells by another ~200 psi without the risk of solids production. The results however indicated that as the reservoir pressure reduces the solids-free drawdowndecreases rapidly and will approache zero when the reservoir pressure dropsby another600-800 psi. Therefore, solids control measures are essential to prevent solids production at later life of the field. The results of the study and historical knowledge of the field reservoir and production were used for completion design of two vertical infill wells with the aim of increasing production from one of the major gas-producing blocks for Vietnam's domestic gas supply. The infill vertical wells will be completed open hole with external gravel pack and screen as the solids control measures.

This paper presents a numerical method for the Fokker-Planck Equation (FPE) based on mesoscopic modelling of dilute polymer solutions using Radial Basis Function (RBF) approaches. The stress is determined by the solution of a FPE while the velocity field is locally calculated via the solution of conservation Differential Equations (DEs) [1,2]. The FPE and PDEs are approximated separately by two different Integrated RBF methods. The time implicit discretisation of both FPE and PDEs is carried out using collocation methods where the high order RBF approximants improve significantly the accuracy of the numerical solutions and the convergence rate. As an illustration of the method, the time evolution of a start-up flow is studied for the Finitely Extensible Nonlinear Elastic (FENE) dumbbell model.

Climate variability is contributing to water-scarcity problems in Kenya and to extreme flooding and drought in Vietnam. This paper compares diversity-based climate adaptation approaches in current land use in the Cam Xuyen district, Ha Tinh province, Central Vietnam and in the Kapingazi river watershed in Embu district, Eastern province, Kenya, in order to understand local responses to climate variability and examine the potential for policy support of diversity management by local people. Literature reviews and trend analysis of local time series of rainfall and temperature were combined with stakeholder interviews and workshops to identify technology and policy options for dealing with current and future climate variability. At all study sites, diversity in land use at farm level and along agriculture–forestry landscape gradients was a key strategy. Policy options to support such an approach could include legalization of agroforestry in Vietnam and a combination of regulations and incentive-based approa...

A new approach of using emulsifier-free emulsion polymerisation to prepare magnetic nanoparticles coated by poly-methacrylic acid (PMAA) was followed. The results showed the formation of PMAA shells covering magnetite cores. The shell thickness was customised by varying the synthesis parameters such as mass ratio of monomer to magnetic particles, temperature and reaction time. The experimental investigations indicate that the polymerisation is dominated by the homogeneous nucleation in solutions and the later growth into the uniform polymeric layer occurs at the surface of solid particles. The resulting PMAA coated particles presented significantly higher saturation magnetisation compared to that in other studies with the presence of surfactants or emulsifiers.

The analytic expressions of the mean nearest neighbour distance, the free energy, the absolute stabilizing temperature of alloy state and the melting temperature for substitution alloy AB with interstitial atom C and body-cantered cubic structure under pressure are derived by the statistical moment method. The theoretical results are applied to alloy FeCrC. Our calculated results are compared with other calculations and experimental data.

The analytic expressions for the thermodynamic quantities such as the mean nearest neighbor distance, the free energy, the isothermal compressibility, the thermal expansion coefficient, the heat capacities at constant volume and at constant pressure of binary interstitial alloy with body-centered cubic (BCC) structure and the small concentration are derived by the statistical moment method. The theoretical results are applied to the interstitial FeC alloy in the interval of temperature from 50 to 1000K and in the interval of interstitial atom concentration from 0 to 5%. In special cases, we obtain the thermodynamic quantities of the main Fe metal. Our calculated results for the thermal expansion coefficient and the heat capacity under constant pressure of main metal Fe are in good agreement with experiments.

The TIGER-3 radar is being developed as an “all digital” radar with 20 integrated digital transceivers, each connected to a separate antenna. Using phased array antenna techniques, radiated power is steered towards a desired direction based on the relative phases within the array elements. This paper proposes an accurate phase measurement method to calibrate the phases of the radio output signals using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. The method sequentially measures the phase offset between the RF signal generated by each transceiver and a reference signal operated at the same frequency. Accordingly, the transceiver adjusts its phase in order to align to the reference phase. This results in accurately aligned phases of the RF output signals and with the further addition of appropriate phase offsets, digital beamforming (DBF) can be performed steering the beam in a desired direction. The proposed method is implemented on a Virtex-5 VFX70T device. Experimental results show that the calibration accuracy is of 0.153 degrees with 14 MHz operating frequency.

A long-term study (1998 to 2009) was initiated on eleven tile-drained field plots, ranging in size from 0.19 to 0.47 ha, to investigate the effects of poultry manure application on subsurface drainage water quality in Iowa under a corn-soybean rotation system. The experimental treatments included poultry manure at rates of 168 kg N ha-1 (PM) and 336 kg N ha-1 (PM2), each with three replications; nitrogen application from chemical fertilizer, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), at a rate of 168 kg N ha-1 with four replications; and a control treatment that received 0 kg N ha-1. Subsurface drainage (tile) flow volume was monitored, and drainage samples were collected and analyzed for nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). The results from this 12-year study show that NO3-N losses with tile drainage were more likely to occur during the early stages of crop production (April to June) and were more related to the monthly distribution of precipitation than the total rainfall amount. The overall results of this study indicate that applying poultry manure at 168 kg N ha-1 resulted in significantly lower flow-weighted nitrate concentrations (PM < UAN < PM2) and the lowest nitrogen losses to subsurface drain water compared to UAN and PM2 application(PM < UAN < PM2), as well as higher crop yields compared to UAN application. Therefore, it can be concluded that poultry manure application at a rate of 168 kg N ha-1 is an environmentally sound N application practice with good yield potential for corn and soybean production systems with poorly drained soils in the upper Midwest. Future work is recommended to identify new practices and technologies to reduce nitrate loss to water systems.

In this paper, we study the temperature field associated with the propagation of a fatigue crack in a very high cycle fatigue regime during ultrasonic fatigue testing. We use a Paris\textendashHertzberg crack growth law to compute the evolution of the crack and a perfectly elastic\textendashplastic constitutive law to compute the plastic dissipation per cycle at the tip of the crack. A thermomechanical finite element model is proposed to estimate the evolution of the temperature field during the crack propagation. Numerical results obtained agree fairly well with experimental results.

This work is devoted to the study of nanoparticles based on amphiphilic meso-arylporphyrins and spherical amorphous nanoparticles (SANp), consisting of birch bark triterpenoids mixture. Nanoparticles were investigated by electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, UV spectroscopy and fluorimetry. It was shown the efficiency of the inclusion of porphyrin sensitizer to the nanoparticles and the use of these nanoparticles as drug delivery system.

This work is devoted to the study and obtaining of new radioprotective agents based on natural flavonoid genistein and spherical amorphous nanoparticles (SANPs) produced from a mixture of birch bark triterpenoids. The physicochemical characteristics of the nanoparticles were studied by electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and UV-VIS spectroscopy. The radioprotective efficacy of the nanodrug in vivo and the possibility of its use as a radioprotective agent was shown.

Ti-6Al-4V implants formed with a sintered porous surface for implant fixation by bone ingrowth were prepared with or without the addition of a thin surface layer of calcium phosphate (Ca-P) formed using a sol-gel coating technique over the porous surface. The implants were placed transversely across the tibiae of 17 rabbits. Implanted sites were allowed to heal for 2 weeks, after which specimens were retrieved for morphometric assessment using backscattered scanning electron microscopy and quantitative image analysis. Bone formation along the porous-structured implant surface, was measured in relation to the medial and lateral cortices as an indication of implant surface osteoconductivity. The Absolute Contact Length measurements of endosteal bone growth along the porous-surfaced zone were greater with the Ca-P-coated implants compared to the non-Ca-P-coated implants. The Ca-P-coated implants also displayed a trend towards a significant increase in the area of bone ingrowth (Bone Ingrowth Fraction). Finally, there was significantly greater bone-to-implant contact within the sinter neck regions of the Ca-P-coated implants.

Effects of growth conditions and buffer structures on crystal quality of 1.9-eV In

Virtual screening has proven very effective on grid infrastructures. Operating a dedicated virtual screening platform on grid/cloud resources requires optimizing the scheduling policy. We focus on finding platform scheduling policy for pilot-agent platform shared by many virtual screening users. They need a suitable scheduling algorithm at platform level to ensure a certain fairness between users. Optimal criterion used in our research is the stretch, a measure for user experience on the platform. From our latest research (Quang et al. 2013), simulation result and experimentation on real pilot agent platform showed that SPT policy is the best policy in 4 different existing scheduling policies (FIFO, SPT, LPT and Round Robin) for optimizing the stretch. However, research on real grid workload (Medernach 2005) showed that there are two types of grid user: normal users who submit frequently little jobs to grid and data challenge users who submit occasionally large number of jobs to grid. And SPT policy, in particularly, is not appropriate for data challenge user because they have to wait always normal user. In this paper, we proposed a new policy named SPT-SPT which uses multi-level queue scheduling technique for scheduling in pilot agent platform. In SPT-SPT policy, administrator creates two separate user groups in platform: Normal group and Data Challenge group. Each group has their own task queue in platform and SPT policy is applied on it. A parameter p (p Iµ [0,1]) is assigned to one task queue and 1-p for the other one. This parameter is the probability that task queue is chosen to send pilot agent their task. Simulation result showed that new policy is better than original SPT policy to optimize both group stretches. It improves user experience for Data Challenge group and do not impact very much for Normal group.

Using in vivo microdialysis in the frontal cortex of the freely moving rat we evaluated the effects of chronic treatment with the serotonin specific reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine in the presence and absence of the 5-HT1A/β-adrenergic antagonist (±)pindolol. Chronic vehicle treated animals produced no significant response to a challenge with fluoxetine (10 mg kg−1) on day 8 and 15. Alternatively, a significant (P

The resistance of an experimental sealer (KT-308) to bacterial ingress was assessed in six beagle dogs. In four mandibular premolars per dog, canals were prepared, filled with condensed gutta-percha and either KT-308 or Roth 801 cement (n = 24 roots), and the pulp chambers inoculated with plaque. Two additional premolars per dog were similarly root-filled, but not inoculated (n = 12 and 11, respectively). One incisor per dog was inoculated, but not root-filled (n = 6). Dogs were terminated after 6 months, and jaw blocks were retrieved and processed for light microscopic examination of the periapical tissues. Inflammation about the inoculated roots was significantly lower (p0.03) for KT-308 (17%) than Roth 801 cement (46%). Inflammation about the noninoculated roots did not differ significantly between KT-308 (8%) and Roth 801 cement (36%). This study demonstrated a better functional efficacy of KT-308 than of Roth 801 cement, and validated this in vivo model for assessment of root filling materials.

The Tri Auto ZX (J. Morita Co., Kyoto, Japan) is a cordless endodontic handpiece with a built-in apex locator that is programmed to reverse the direction of rotation when the file reaches a predetermined apical level or when torque becomes excessive.The purpose of this investigation was to examine the apical extent of rotary canal instrumentation and the ability to maintain apical constriction with the Tri Auto ZX at different automated settings.In 60 extracted teeth, canals were measured to the apical constriction, first visually and then electronically with the Tri Auto ZX; then they were instrumented with nickel titanium rotary files. For the instrumentation, the automatic apical reverse mechanism of the handpiece was set to 1, 1.5, or 2; these settings correspond to different distances from the apical foramen. Instrumentation was carried out apically until rotation was reversed by the automatic apical reverse function; the instrumented length was then measured, and the canal was filled with gutta-percha and sealer. The integrity of the apical constriction was assessed by exposing the apical 4 mm of the canal and observing the dentin-cementum junction. Paired t-tests were used to compare the visually measured length, the electronically measured length, and the instrumented length for each tooth.On average, the electronically measured length was 0.54 mm shorter than the visually measured length (p0.05). When the automatic apical reverse mechanism's setting was 1, the instrumented length was 0.1 mm shorter than the electronically measured length; when the setting was 1.5, the instrumented length was 0.36 mm shorter than the electronically measured length (p0.01). Results were inconsistent when the setting was 2.Instrumentation with the automatic apical reverse feature set at 1 consistently approximated the apical constriction; however, the constriction was frequently enlarged.

This paper presents a novel antenna impedance matching system used in the latest Australian SuperDARN class HF radar, at Buckland Park, South Australia. Earlier radar designs used an off-the-shelf log-periodic wideband antenna that is significantly easier to match over the SuperDARN frequency band, but expensive to buy and mount, and had limited capability for azimuthal beamforming. The newer TTFD antenna, used in many recent SuperDARN radars, offers improvement in these areas, but is in essence a narrow band antenna. It is capable of wideband operation at the cost of being difficult to match, frequency dependant, high-impedance and complex load. Previous TTFD matching transformers utilising toroids have been measured and evaluated for their suitability for the Buckland Park radar. A new system based on an LC matching network circuit has been devised to replace them. The design approach and results of the new matching circuit are detailed.

Previously we have shown that the zinc finger transcription factor Egr-1 is essential for and restricts differentiation of hematopoietic cells along the macrophage lineage, raising the possibility that Egr-1 actually plays a deterministic role in governing the development of hematopoietic precursor cells along the monocytic lineage. To test this hypothesis, we have taken advantage of interleukin-3-dependent 32Dcl3 hematopoietic precursor cells which, in addition to undergoing granulocytic differentiation in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, were found to be induced for limited proliferation, but not differentiation, by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. It was shown that ectopic expression of Egr-1 blocked granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-induced terminal granulocytic differentiation, consistent with previous findings. In addition, ectopic expression of Egr-1 endowed 32Dcl3 cells with ability to be induced by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor for terminal differentiation exclusively along the macrophage lineage. Thus, evidence that Egr-1 potentiates terminal macrophage differentiation has been obtained, suggesting that Egr-1 plays a deterministic role in governing the development of hematopoietic cells along the macrophage lineage.

The TIGER-3 radar is being developed as an “all digital” radar with 20 integrated digital transceivers, each connected to a separate antenna. Accurate coordination of all 20 transceivers is essential for both generation of transmit signals and collection and merging of receive data to form a standard Su-perDARN data set. This paper proposes a clock synchronisation method to coordinate the operation of the entire system using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. The method is a co-operation between hardware and software to achieve the necessary clock quality and synchronisation requirements. It is extremely important that the clock signals are kept aligned in time within specified bounds. To achieve this a 125Mhz common master clock is sent from a clock controller to a clock buffer, which then distributes the signals to the transceivers. In turn, each transceiver sends back a clock signal which is a buffered version of the common clock in the same bundle. In order to synchronise clocks on the transceivers, phase delays of round-trip clock paths are measured on the clock controller board with the accuracy of 31.25ps. The measurement is performed by shifting the common clock phase at a resolution of 1/256 of the clock period until the return clock and the common clock are in phase. Once the measurement cycle is complete, each transceiver adjusts the phase of its clock as directed by the clock controller. Experimental results show that the phase noise of the transmit signal generated from the synchronised clocks at transceivers is less than −100 dBc/Hz, while the SNR of the transmit signal is ≈ 90 dB for the entire 8–20 MHz range.

Introduction. By 2013, approximately 15,000 MMT patients were being treated in Vietnam. The national goal is to have 80,000 patients on MMT by 2015. While increasing the number of patients, retaining patients on MMT is equally important. Methods. The Drop-out ratio was calculated and reasons for drop out identified based on program monitoring during 2011-2013. The cumulative number of patients included in this analysis was 6213 at 17 clinics in 6 provinces. Results. The rate of patient drop-out was less than 4% monthly in all clinics, but cumulatively up to 24% of patients enrolled in treatment dropped out the 3 year period. Reasons for drop included patients arrested by police (25%), moved to other clinics (4%), returned to rehabilitation (3%), and voluntarily stopping treatment (3%). The reason was unknown for a high proportion of loss to follow-up (55%). Conclusions. Drop-out is serious threat to the success of the MMT program in Vietnam. MMT clinic staff should provide education and counseling for patients to avoid illegal activities, arrest and interruption of MMT. Research should be conducted to understand the characteristics of drop-out patients and develop more effective interventions for improving retention.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase, the enzyme required for GABA synthesis, exists as distinct isoforms, which have recently been found to be encoded by different genes. The relative expression of messenger RNAs encoding two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 67,000 and Mr 65,000) was measured at the single-cell level in neurons of the rat basal ganglia with in situ hybridization histochemistry. Both messenger RNAs were expressed in neurons of the striatum, pallidum, and substantia nigra pars reticulata, but marked differences in the relative level of labelling were observed with the two probes. In striatum, efferent neurons were more densely labelled for the messenger RNA encoding glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 65,000) than for the messenger RNA encoding glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 67,000), whereas the reverse was observed for GABA-ergic interneurons. Neurons of the entopeduncular nucleus were much more densely labelled for messenger RNA encoding glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 65,000) than for messenger RNA encoding glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 67,000). In addition, labelling for messenger RNA encoding glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 65,000) was higher in the entopeduncular nucleus (internal pallidum) than in the globus pallidus (external pallidum), a structure which expressed similar levels of both mRNAs. In contrast to neurons of the internal pallidum, efferent neurons of the substantia nigra pars reticulata expressed slightly more messenger RNA encoding glutamic acid decarboxylase (Mr 67,000) than that encoding the other isoform of the enzyme. The results suggest a differential expression of the messenger RNAs encoding the two isoforms of glutamic acid decarboxylase in subpopulations of basal ganglia neurons in rats.

The precise definition and physical interpretation of a tunneling time is a fundamental problem in quantum mechanics. The lack of a well‐defined time operator in quantum theory precludes the calculation of time in terms of an expectation value. Consequently, model calculations and simulation studies have been proposed and used to determine the time for a particle to traverse a quantum‐mechanical barrier. The results offer both qualitatively and quantitatively, disparate predictions. One of the more commonly used approaches is the phase method, which we have applied to several one‐dimensional model potentials to show that the tunneling time is characterized by the ratio of the typical decay length in the barrier to the incident velocity, τ∼(1/κ)/v0. We also show that the phase and the spin precession methods are equivalent when the magnetic field is applied throughout the space containing the particle wave function and the tunneling barrier. In principle, the spin precession method can be regarded as an operational definition of the tunneling time. It also has been shown that a tunneling time can be defined operationally for a time‐dependent barrier, for which the model calculations predict a tunneling time given by the mean barrier width divided by the magnitude of the imaginary velocity of the particle in the barrier, τ∼d/‖v‖. This pseudokinematic result has been inferred by magnetic field dependent tunneling through heterostructures and computer simulation of wave packet tunneling through one‐dimensional square barriers. Other tunneling time theories predict one or the other of the above mentioned characteristic times; several theories predict both. We interpret these different results for τ to mean that a tunneling time is not uniquely defined as a function of particle energy and the barrier shape unless the process in which the tunneling is involved is also specified. That is, the tunneling time is a meaningful and unique concept only for particular tunneling processes or definite operational procedures.

Work in communities such as component-based development, model-driven engineering, and software architecture deal with quality assurance in different levels of design. Techniques such as component model, transformation, and architectural description language help to improve development costs, time and partially quality of systems. However, we argue that it is necessary to take a global and open approach for quality analysis by considering behavioral, deployment and non-functional qualities in the same design method. This paper presents our approach to building the architecture in RM-ODP's engineering viewpoint by using architectural figure concept with analysis tool. The concept is inspired from the software pattern and the software style but provides more capacities for quality properties analysis and for transformation of systems architecture.

Clinical augmentation strategies have shown that some improvement in antidepressant efficacy can be achieved by combining the β-adrenergic/serotonin (5-HT)1A/1B receptor antagonist (±)pindolol with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). This has lead to the hypothesis that a combination of a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist with an SSRI will lead to a faster onset of antidepressant action. Although there is a significant accumulation of acute preclinical data supporting this rationale, until recently, there have been no investigations examining the chronic effects of combining an SSRI with a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist. Here, we determined the chronic effects of fluoxetine (10 mg/kg o.d.), administered in combination with the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635 (1 mg/kg b.i.d.), on serotonergic neurotransmission in the frontal cortex using in-vivo microdialysis. Following chronic administration of fluoxetine ± WAY-100635, functional changes in serotonergic neurotransmission, as well as 5-HT1A autoreceptors, were assessed by administering fluoxetine or (±) 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin [(±) 8-OH-DPAT] 24 h after the last chronic dose. Chronic administration of WAY-100635 alone produced no detectable change in the functional status of the 5-HT1A receptor. However, fluoxetine alone produced a time-dependent adaptation in serotonergic transmission such that fluoxetine (acutely administered on day 15) was able to produce a two fold increase in extracellular 5-HT levels but the decrease in response to 8-OH-DPAT was completely attenuated. These data indicate that the fluoxetine-induced adaptation was mediated by desensitization of the 5-HT1A receptor. WAY-100635 given chronically in combination with fluoxetine blocked the SSRI-induced desensitization of the 5-HT1A receptor. Furthermore, chronic treatment with this combination produced no tolerance in terms of its ability to acutely increase forebrain 5-HT levels. These data suggest that augmentation of an SSRI by combined pharmacotherapy with a 5-HT1A antagonist would be effective upon prolonged exposure.

Introduction. Since 2008, nine Methadone clinics have provided free clinical services in Hai Phong, Vietnam. In January 2014, the clinics began collecting a patient co-pay fee (USD $0.50 daily) to compensate for decreases in available funding. The following month, a survey measured patient satisfaction with component services and evaluated effects of the transition from free-service to a co-pay model. It also assessed patients' preferred fee collection schedules. Methods. All patients enrolled in the 9 clinics during February 19-21, 2014, were invited to participate and were given a short self-administrated, structured questionnaire. Participants completed and returned questionnaires into sealed boxes. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Results. The response rate was 80% (2,227 participants). The proportion of patients answering "Satisfied" or "Very satisfied" to each service was as follows: reception (70.6%), medical examination (75.0%), counseling (76.9%), methadone dispensing (75.2%), security (67.9%) and sanitary condition (67.6%). The proportions of patients answering "Dissatisfied" or "Very dissatisfied" ranged from 5.9% (counseling) to 10.4% (security). 77.3% preferred to pay monthly, 15.9% quarterly, 1.9% semi-annually; 1.7% annually; and 3.1% other payment schedules. Conclusion. Results were used to recommend several service quality improvements for Methadone Maintenance Treatment Programs and to recommend a monthly fee collection schedule.

Introduction. Longer retention in drug abuse treatment is associated with better patient outcomes. This study is to evaluate the drop-out rates and the reasons for the early drop-out of patients in the SMART TA methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics in Vietnam. Methods. Data from the monthly reports between 2011 and 2013 was collected from 17 clinics in 9 provinces for this retro-prospective data analysis. The number of drop-outs was calculated by using the number of patients who have ever enrolled into the program and total number of dropped out patients by the end of time period. The reasons for early drop-out were also analyzed. Results. A total of 1471 cumulative patients dropped out of the MMT program, indicating a drop-out rate of less than 4% per month per clinic. Among those who dropped out, 24% moved to other clinics, 9% died, and 67% dropped out completely. Reasons for permanent drop-out includes: returned to 06 centers (3%), arrested (25%), moved to other places (4%), other and unknown reasons (69%) Conclusion. Results of the study suggested that the rate of dropped out patients was low compared to other neighboring countries, and there is need to improve the loss to follow up.

We report pulse shaping experiments in the 20-fs range using a 512-element phase-only liquid crystal modulator array. The results demonstrate the potential for significantly improved spectral resolution compared to 128-element liquid crystal modulators previously used for pulse shaping. Furthermore, we show that subtle nonlinear spatial dispersion has a profound effect on replica pulses arising due to the pixellated nature of the liquid crystal modulator and may dramatically reduce their (already low) peak intensity.

Using in vivo microdialysis in the frontal cortex of the freely moving rat we evaluated the effects of chronic treatment with the serotonin specific reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine in the presence and absence of the 5-HT(1A)/beta-adrenergic antagonist (+/-)pindolol. Chronic vehicle treated animals produced no significant response to a challenge with fluoxetine (10 mg kg(-1)) on day 8 and 15. Alternatively, a significant (P0.05) decrease in extracellular 5-HT was observed in control animals upon challenge with the 5-HT(1A) agonist 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT; 0.03 and 0.1 mg kg(-1)). Conversely, animals treated with fluoxetine (10 mg kg(-1) o.d.) for 7 and 14 days produced a significant (P0.05) 2 fold increase in extracellular 5-HT when challenged with fluoxetine (10 mg kg(-1)) on day 8 and 15. Moreover, no significant decrease in extracellular 5-HT was observed upon challenge with either dose of 8-OH-DPAT. Animals chronically treated with (+/-)pindolol (10 or 20 mg kg(-1) b.i.d.) produced a significant dose-related increase in extracellular 5-HT upon challenge with fluoxetine on day 15 only. Furthermore, both doses produced a significantly blunted response to the low dose challenge of 8-OH-DPAT (0.03 mg kg(-1)). In addition, 20 mg kg(-1) (+/-)pindolol treated animals also had no response to the higher 0.1 mg kg(-1) dose of 8-OH-DPAT. Animals treated for 14 days with a combination of (+/-)pindolol (10 or 20 mg kg(-1)) and fluoxetine were not significantly different from vehicle treated animals when challenged with fluoxetine or 8-OH-DPAT. Taken together it would therefore appear that although (+/-)pindolol alone has sufficient intrinsic activity to produce a desensitization of the 5-HT(1A) receptor, when given in combination with fluoxetine it is able to prevent the desensitization induced by not only fluoxetine but also itself. This may suggest that the clinical augmentation of antidepressant action by pindolol, when co-administered with a SSRI, is via antagonism of the 5-HT(1A) receptor.

Although the 5-HT6 receptor subtype was identified some 5 years ago, very little is known about its function within the brain. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, the neurochemical effects of a selective 5-HT6 receptor ligand. Using in vivo microdialysis in the freely moving rat, we evaluated the effects of the selective 5-HT6 receptor antagonist SB-271046 by simultaneous measurement of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine (DA), noradrenaline (NA), glutamate and aspartate from the striatum and frontal cortex. SB-271046 did not alter basal levels of 5-HT, DA and NA in either brain region. Similarly, there was no change basal levels of either of the excitatory amino acids within the striatum. In contrast, administration of SB-271046 (10 mg kg−1 s.c.) produced a significant (P

Hyperthermic isolated hepatic perfusion (IHP) has been shown to cause significant regression of advanced unresectable liver metastases in patients. Although there are different agents and treatment modalities used in IHP, the contribution of perfusion hyperthermia is unknown.A large animal model of unresectable liver metastases and a technical standard for IHP in this model were established. This model was used to assess the effects of hyperthermia on vascular permeability of tumors and normal liver tissue during IHP.Sixty-five New Zealand White rabbits were used in a series of experiments. Disseminated liver tumors were established by direct injection of 1 x 10(6) VX-2 cells into the portal vein by laparotomy in anesthetized animals. Several surgical perfusion techniques were explored to determine a reliable and reproducible IHP model. Vascular permeability in tumor versus liver was then assessed with Evan's Blue labeled bovine albumin under normothermic (tissue temperature 36.5 degrees C +/- 0.5 degree C), moderate hyperthermic (39 degrees C +/- 0.5 degree C), or severe hyperthermic (41 degrees C +/- 0.5 degree C) conditions.Tumor model and perfusion techniques were successfully established with inflow through the portal vein and outflow through an isolated segment of the inferior vena cava. A gravity driven perfusion circuit with stable perfusion parameters and complete vascular isolation was used. Vascular permeability was higher in tumor than in normal tissues (P = .03) at all time points during IHP. Hyperthermia resulted in a significant (up to 5-fold) increase in permeability of neovasculature; when severe hyperthermia was used, tumor vascular permeability was increased even more than normal liver permeability (P = .01).The VX-2/New Zealand White rabbit system can be used as a reproducible large-animal model for IHP of unresectable liver metastases. It can be used to characterize the contribution and mechanism of action of different treatment parameters used in IHP. Hyperthermia preferentially increases vascular permeability in tumors compared with liver tissue in a dose-dependent fashion, thus providing a mechanism for its presumed benefit during isolated organ perfusion.

Nd:YAG laser-induced modification of the root surface may inhibit development of external inflammatory resorption in replanted teeth. This study tested this hypothesis in vivo. The pulp chambers of six mandibular premolars in each of two dogs were accessed, inoculated with plaque, and sealed (Groups 1, 2). Two additional premolars in each dog were endodontically treated without inoculation (Groups 3, 4). After 2 weeks, teeth were hemisected and extracted. Each root had a 2 x 3 mm surface area denuded of cementum on the buccal and lingual surface. In Groups 1 (n = 12 roots) and 3 (n = 4), the denuded surfaces were wiped with 15% EDTA, coated with black ink, and irradiated with Nd:YAG laser (0.75 W, 15 pps, 300 microns tip, 20 s). In Groups 2 (n = 12) and 4 (n = 4), the surfaces were wiped with 15% EDTA, and rinsed with sterile saline for 20 s. Roots were replanted within 5 min. The dogs were perfusion-euthanised 10 weeks after replantation. Block specimens were removed, decalcified, embedded and horizontally sectioned (6 microns) at 180-microns intervals, resulting in 10 to 14 cross-sections of each root. From these, the middle five consecutive sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and observed by light microscopy for occurrence of surface, inflammatory and replacement resorption on the denuded surfaces. No obvious differences were noted between the laser-irradiated and non-irradiated surfaces. Inflammatory resorption was frequent in Groups 1 and 2, and absent in Groups 3 and 4. Replacement resorption was minimal in Groups 1 and 2, and frequent in Groups 3 and 4. Differences between Groups 1 and 2, and between Groups 3 and 4 were not significant, whereas the differences between the two pairs of groups were statistically significant (chi-square and two-way ANOVA, P < 0.006). These results did not support the hypothesis, and questioned the clinical validity of the surface modification in Nd:YAG laser-irradiated dentin. Therefore, the clinical application of Nd:YAG laser to the root surfaces of replanted teeth is not warranted.

Future Marine Corps warfighting concepts will make it more difficult to locate casualties, which will complicate casualty evacuation, lengthen casualty wait times, and require infantrymen or corpsmen to provide more extensive treatment. In these future scenarios, information flow and communications will be critical to medical functions. We asked, for Navy medical support to the Marines, what information will future combat medicine require and what technologies should supply those information needs? Based on analyses of patient data streams, focus groups of Navy medical personnel, and our estimates of the cost and feasibility of communications systems, we recommend the following: (1) increase medical training for some fraction of Marines, especially in hemorrhage control; (2) augment corpsmen's training; (3) furnish data systems for evacuation and supply that would provide in-transit visibility and simplify requests; (4) provide all ground medical personnel with access to treatment information systems and limited voice communications; and (5) exploit e-mail systems to reduce reliance on voice communications. Implementation time frames are discussed.