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Purpose of Review: Recently, photon-counting computed tomography (PCCT) has been introduced in clinical research and diagnostics. This review describes the technological advances and provides an overview of recent applications with a focus on imaging of bone. Recent Findings: PCCT is a full-body scanner with short scanning times that provides better spatial and spectral resolution than conventional energy-integrating-detector CT (EID-CT), along with an up to 50% reduced radiation dose. It can be used to quantify bone mineral density, to perform bone microstructural analyses and to assess cartilage quality with adequate precision and accuracy. Using a virtual monoenergetic image reconstruction, metal artefacts can be greatly reduced when imaging bone-implant interfaces. Current PCCT systems do not allow spectral imaging in ultra-high-resolution (UHR) mode. Summary: Given its improved resolution, reduced noise and spectral imaging capabilities PCCT has diagnostic capacities in both qualitative and quantitative imaging that outperform those of conventional CT. Clinical use in monitoring bone health has already been demonstrated. The full potential of PCCT systems will be unlocked when UHR spectral imaging becomes available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The incidence of osteoporotic pelvic fractures is increasing. The broken anterior pelvic ring is preferentially fixed with long intramedullary screws, which require a good understanding of the patient-specific anatomy to prevent joint perforation. The aim of this study was to assess the variability of the superior pubic ramus and the supra acetabular corridors' length and width using statistical shape modelling. Materials and methods: A male and female statistical shape model was made based on 59 forensic CT scans. For the superior pubic ramus and the supra acetabular corridor the longest and widest completely fitting cylinder was created for the first 5 principal components (PC) of both models, male and female pelvises separately. Results: A total of 59 pelvises were included in this study of which 36 male and 23 female. The first 5 principal components explained 75% and 79% of the pelvic variation in males and females, respectively. Within 3 PCs of the female statistical shape model (SSM) a superior pubic ramus corridor of < 7.3 mm was found, 5.5 mm being the narrowest linear corridor measured. Both corridors in all PCs of the male SSM measured > 7.3 mm. Conclusion: Within females a 7.3 mm and 6.5 mm screw won't always fit in the superior pubic ramus corridor, especially if a flat sacrum, a small pelvis or a wide subpubic angle are present. The supra acetabular corridor did not seem to have sex-specific differences. In the supra-acetabular corridor there was always enough space to accommodate a 7.3 mm screw, both in males and females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subchondral bone remodeling, mediated by osteocytes within the lacuno-canalicular network, plays a crucial role in osteoarthritis (OA) progression. Following cell death, lacunae preserve integrity, offering insights into bone remodeling mechanisms. Limited and controversial data on osteocyte lacuna morphology in OA result from small sample sizes and two-dimensional (2D) techniques that have been used thus far. This study aimed to quantify three-dimensional (3D) osteocyte lacunar characteristics at well-defined tibial plateau locations, known to be differently affected by OA. Specifically, 11 tibial plateaus were obtained from end-stage knee-OA patients with varus deformity. Each plateau provided one sample from the less affected lateral compartment and two samples from the medial compartment, at minimum and maximum bone volume fraction (BV/TV) locations. High-resolution desktop micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) at 0.7 μm voxel resolution imaged the 33 samples. Lacuna number density (Lc.N/BV) and lacuna volume density (Lc.TV/BV) were significantly lower (p < 0.02) in samples from the medial side with maximum BV/TV compared to lateral side samples. In the medial compartment at maximum local BV/TV, mean lacuna volume (Lc.V), total lacuna volume (Lc.TV), and Lc.TV/BV were significantly (p < 0.001) lower than in the region with minimum BV/TV. Lc.N/BV was also significantly lower (p < 0.02) at the maximum local BV/TV location compared to the region with minimum BV/TV. Our findings suggest that subchondral bone lacunae adapt to the changing loads in end-stage OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity adversely affects bone and fat metabolism in mice and humans. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) have been shown to improve glucose metabolism and bone homeostasis in obesity. However, the impact of omega-3 PUFAs on bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) and bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) metabolism has not been intensively studied yet. In the present study we demonstrated that omega-3 PUFA supplementation in high fat diet (HFD + F) improved bone parameters, mechanical properties along with decreased BMAT in obese mice when compared to the HFD group. Primary BMSCs isolated from HFD + F mice showed decreased adipocyte and higher osteoblast differentiation with lower senescent phenotype along with decreased osteoclast formation suggesting improved bone marrow microenvironment promoting bone formation in mice. Thus, our study highlights the beneficial effects of omega-3 PUFA-enriched diet on bone and cellular metabolism and its potential use in the treatment of metabolic bone diseases. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids improve bone quality by decreasing accumulation of bone marrow adipose tissue. They also improve bone marrow stem cell metabolism in a mouse model of obesity, thereby providing a better microenvironment for bone formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Femoroplasty is a procedure where bone cement is injected percutaneously into a weakened proximal femur. Uncertainty exists whether femoroplasty provides sufficient mechanical strengthening to prevent fractures in patients with femoral bone metastases. Finite element models are promising tools to evaluate the mechanical effectiveness of femoroplasty, but a thorough validation is required. This study validated a voxel-based finite element model against experimental data from eight pairs of human cadaver femurs with artificial metastatic lesions. One femur from each pair was left untreated, while the contralateral femur was augmented with bone cement. Finite element models accurately predicted the femoral strength in the defect (R2 = 0.96) and augmented (R2 = 0.93) femurs. The modelled surface strain distributions showed a good qualitative match with results from digital image correlation; yet, quantitatively, only moderate correlation coefficients were found for the defect (mean R2 = 0.78) and augmented (mean R2 = 0.76) femurs. This was attributed to the presence of vessel holes in the femurs and the jagged surface representation of our voxel-based models. Despite some inaccuracies in the surface measurements, the FE models accurately predicted the global bone strength and qualitative deformation behavior, both before and after femoroplasty. Hence, they can offer a useful biomechanical tool to assist clinicians in assessing the need for prophylactic augmentation in patients with metastatic bone disease, as well as in identifying suitable patients for femoroplasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enthesis allows the insertion of tendon into bone thanks to several remarkable strategies. This complex and clinically relevant location often features a thin layer of fibrocartilage sandwiched between tendon and bone to cope with a highly heterogeneous mechanical environment. The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether mineralized fibrocartilage and bone close to the enthesis show distinctive three-dimensional microstructural features, possibly to enable load transfer from tendon to bone. As a model, the Achilles tendon-calcaneus bone system of adult rats was investigated with histology, backscattered electron imaging and micro-computed tomography. The microstructural porosity of bone and mineralized fibrocartilage in different locations including enthesis fibrocartilage, periosteal fibrocartilage and bone away from the enthesis was characterized. We showed that calcaneus bone presents a dedicated protrusion of low porosity where the tendon inserts. A spatially resolved analysis of the trabecular network suggests that such protrusion may promote force flow from the tendon to the plantar ligament, while partially relieving the trabecular bone from such a task. Focusing on the tuberosity, highly specific microstructural aspects were highlighted. Firstly, the interface between mineralized and unmineralized fibrocartilage showed the highest roughness at the tuberosity, possibly to increase failure resistance of a region carrying large stresses. Secondly, fibrochondrocyte lacunae inside mineralized fibrocartilage, in analogy with osteocyte lacunae in bone, had a predominant alignment at the enthesis and a rather random organization away from it. Finally, the network of subchondral channels inside the tuberosity was highly anisotropic when compared to contiguous regions. This dual anisotropy of subchondral channels and cell lacunae at the insertion may reflect the alignment of the underlying collagen network. Our findings suggest that the microstructure of fibrocartilage may be linked with the loading environment. Future studies should characterize those microstructural aspects in aged and or diseased conditions to elucidate the poorly understood role of bone and fibrocartilage in enthesis-related pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining high-resolution scans of bones and joints for clinical applications is challenging. HR-pQCT is considered the best technology to acquire high-resolution images of the peripheral skeleton in vivo, but a breakthrough for widespread clinical applications is still lacking. Recently, we showed on trapezia that CBCT is a promising alternative providing a larger FOV at a shorter scanning time. The goals of this study were to evaluate the accuracy of CBCT in quantifying trabecular bone microstructural and predicted mechanical parameters of the distal radius, the most often investigated skeletal site with HR-pQCT, and to compare it with HR-pQCT. Nineteen radii were scanned with four scanners: (1) HR-pQCT (XtremeCT, Scanco Medical AG, @ (voxel size) 82 μm), (2) HR-pQCT (XtremeCT-II, Scanco, @60.7 μm), (3) CBCT (NewTom 5G, Cefla, @75 μm) reconstructed and segmented using in-house developed software and (4) microCT (VivaCT40, Scanco, @19 μm-gold standard). The following parameters were evaluated: predicted stiffness, strength, bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), separation (Tb.Sp) and number (Tb.N). The overall accuracy of CBCT with in-house optimized algorithms in quantifying bone microstructural parameters was comparable (R2 = 0.79) to XtremeCT (R2 = 0.76) and slightly worse than XtremeCT-II (R2 = 0.86) which were both processed with the standard manufacturer's technique. CBCT had higher accuracy for BV/TV and Tb.Th but lower for Tb.Sp and Tb.N compared to XtremeCT. Regarding the mechanical parameters, all scanners had high accuracy (R2 [Formula: see text] 0.96). While HR-pQCT is optimized for research, the fast scanning time and good accuracy renders CBCT a promising technique for high-resolution clinical scanning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hormonal changes during lactation are associated with profound changes in bone cell biology, such as osteocytic osteolysis, resulting in larger lacunae. Larger lacuna shape theoretically enhances the transmission of mechanical signals to osteocytes. We aimed to provide experimental evidence supporting this theory by comparing the mechanoresponse of osteocytes in the bone of lactating mice, which have enlarged lacunae due to osteocytic osteolysis, with the response of osteocytes in bone from age-matched virgin mice. The osteocyte mechanoresponse was measured in excised fibulae that were cultured in hormone-free medium for 24 h and cyclically loaded for 10 min (sinusoidal compressive load, 3000 µε, 5 Hz) by quantifying loading-related changes in Sost mRNA expression (qPCR) and sclerostin and β-catenin protein expression (immunohistochemistry). Loading decreased Sost expression by ~ threefold in fibulae of lactating mice. The loading-induced decrease in sclerostin protein expression by osteocytes was larger in lactating mice (55% decrease ± 14 (± SD), n = 8) than virgin mice (33% decrease ± 15, n = 7). Mechanical loading upregulated β-catenin expression in osteocytes in lactating mice by 3.5-fold (± 0.2, n = 6) which is significantly (p < 0.01) higher than the 1.6-fold increase in β-catenin expression by osteocytes in fibulae from virgin mice (± 0.12, n = 4). These results suggest that osteocytes in fibulae from lactating mice with large lacunae may respond stronger to mechanical loading than those from virgin mice. This could indicate that osteocytes residing in larger lacuna show a stronger response to mechanical loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of Review: The bone is able to adapt its structure to mechanical signals via the bone remodeling process governed by mechanosensitive osteocytes. With aging, an imbalance in bone remodeling results in osteoporosis. In this review, we hypothesized that changes in lacunar morphology underlie the decreased bone mechanoresponsiveness to mechanical loading with aging. Recent Findings: Several studies have reported considerable variations in the shape of osteocytes and their lacunae with aging. Since osteocytes can sense matrix strain directly via their cell bodies, the variations in osteocyte morphology may cause changes in osteocyte mechanosensitivity. As a consequence, the load-adaptive response of osteocytes may change with aging, even when mechanical loading would remain unchanged. Summary: Though extensive quantitative data is lacking, evidence exists that the osteocyte lacunae are becoming smaller and more spherical with aging. Future dedicated studies might reveal whether these changes would affect osteocyte mechanosensation and the subsequent biological response, and whether this is (one of) the pathways involved in age-related bone loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise failure mechanisms of bone implants are still incompletely understood. Micro-computed tomography in combination with finite element analysis appears to be a potent methodology to determine the mechanical stability of bone-implant constructs. To assess this microstructural finite element (μFE) analysis approach, pull-out tests were designed and conducted on ten sheep vertebral bodies into which orthopedic screws were inserted. μFE models of the same bone-implant constructs were then built and solved, using a large-scale linear FE-solver. μFE calculated pull-out strength correlated highly with the experimentally measured pull-out strength ( r2 = 0.87) thereby statistically supporting the μFE approach. These results suggest that bone-implant constructs can be analyzed using μFE in a detailed and unprecedented way. This could potentially facilitate the development of future implant designs leading to novel and improved fracture fixation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The femoral neck is a relevant and sensitive site for studying the degree of osteopenia. Engineering principles predict that bone structural parameters, like cross-sectional geometry, are important determinants of bone mechanical parameters. Mechanical parameters are also directly affected by the material properties of the bone tissue. However, the relative importance of structural and material properties is still unknown. The aim of this study was to compare bone competence and structural parameters between a murine strain showing a low bone mass phenotype, C57BL/6 (B6), and another one showing a high bone mass phenotype, C3H/He (C3H), in order to better determine the role of bone structure and geometry in bone failure behavior. Murine femora of 12- and 16-week-old B6 and 12- and 16-week-old C3H inbred strains were mechanically tested under axial loading of the femoral head. In order to assess the structural properties, we performed three-dimensional morphometric analyses in five different compartments of the mouse femur using micro-computed tomography. The mechanical tests revealed that B6 femora became stiffer, stronger, and tougher at 12–16 weeks, while bone brittleness stayed constant. C3H bone stiffness increased, but strength remained constant, work to failure decreased, and bone became more brittle. These age effects indicated that B6 did not reach peak bone properties at 16 weeks of age and C3H did reach maximal skeletal biomechanical properties before 16 weeks of age. Our investigations showed that 83% of the strength of the femoral neck in the B6 strain was explained by cortical thickness at this location; in contrast, in C3H none of the mechanical properties of the femoral neck was explained by bone structural parameters. The relative contributions of bone structural and material properties on bone strength are different in B6 and C3H. We hypothesize that these different contributions are related to differences at the ultrastructural level of bone that affect bone failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a computational model of the metabolic process in bone that confirms that cell coupling is governed by feedback from mechanical load transfer. Role of the bone resorption cells (osteoclasts) and bone formation cells (osteoblasts) in a coupled hemostatic process of remodelling; Explanation of the emergence and maintenance of trabecular bone architecture as an optimal mechanical structure and its adaptation to alternative external loads.

This study focuses on the relationship between teacher–text–child interactions during shared picturebook reading and its effect on children's narrative comprehension. Using a micro-analytic approach, we studied nine large-group bookreading sessions of one experienced teacher and her classroom of 17 preschoolers from low-income backgrounds over a school year. We coded the bookreading interactions according to the level of analytic rigor demanded by the questions the teacher asked (literal, simple inferential, complex inferential), the children's responses to these questions (incorrect, adequate, correct), and the teacher's follow-up responses (evaluative, elaborative), including additional follow-up questions and prompts elicited by the children's responses. We examined whether picturebook difficulty (low, medium, high) was related to the demand level of the teacher's questions and the children's responses. We also examined whether children's participation in these interactions was associated with children's narrative comprehension, which was tested at the beginning and end of the school year. Overall, the teacher consistently asked a higher proportion of inferential (80%) than literal questions (20%). Medium-difficulty level books elicited more complex inferential questions than easier or harder books. Children correctly answered such questions from medium-difficulty books more often than easy or difficult ones. Increases in children's narrative comprehension from pretest to posttests were related to the children's frequency of active participation and the accuracy of their responses. These results have implications for how picturebook choice and type of discussion can promote narrative comprehension among preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of unstable combinations of elastic and Stokes optical modes of the LIGO Voyager gravitational wave detector, frequencies and spatial distributions of displacement vectors of elastic modes of the mirrors were calculated. The values of overlap factors for unstable modes up to ninth-order optical modes were calculated, taking into account the azimuthal condition of parametric instability. An analysis of the influence of the temperature dependence of the Young's modulus of the mirror material on the number of unstable modes in the Fabry–Perot cavity was performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For common diseases such as lung cancer, patients often use the internet to obtain medical information. As a result of advances in artificial intelligence and large language models such as ChatGPT, patients and health professionals use these tools to obtain medical information. The aim of this study was to evaluate the readability of ChatGPT-generated responses with different readability scales in the context of lung cancer. The most common questions in the lung cancer section of Medscape® were reviewed, and questions on the definition, etiology, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of lung cancer (both NSCLC and SCLC) were selected. A set of 80 questions were asked 10 times to ChatGPT via the OpenAI API. ChatGPT's responses were tested using various readability formulas. The mean Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning FOG Scale, SMOG Index, Automated Readability Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Linsear Write Formula, Dale-Chall Readability Score, and Spache Readability Formula scores are at a moderate level (mean and standard deviation: 40.52 ± 9.81, 12.56 ± 1.66, 13.63 ± 1.54, 14.61 ± 1.45, 15.04 ± 1.97, 14.24 ± 1.90, 11.96 ± 2.55, 10.03 ± 0.63 and 5.93 ± 0.50, respectively). The readability levels of the answers generated by ChatGPT are "collage" and above and are difficult to read. Perhaps in the near future, the ChatGPT can be programmed to produce responses that are appropriate for people of different educational and age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a high prevalence of upper limb musculoskeletal pain among robotic surgeons. Poor upper limb ergonomic positioning during robotic surgery occurs when the shoulders are abducted, and the elbows are lifted off the console armrest. The validated rapid upper limb assessment can quantify ergonomic efficacy. Surface electromyography and hand dynamometer assessment of strength are the most common methods to assess muscle fatigue. A literature review was performed to find evidence of ergonomic interventions which reduce upper limb musculoskeletal pain during robotic surgery. There is a paucity of studies which have reported on this topic. In other occupations, there is strong evidence for the use of resistance training to prevent upper extremity pain. Use of forearm compression sleeves, stretching, and massage may help reduce forearm fatigue. Microbreaks with targeted stretching, active ergonomic training, improved use of armrest, and optimal hand controller design have been shown to reduce upper limb musculoskeletal pain. Future studies should assess which interventions are beneficial in reducing surgeon upper limb pain during robotic surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excess death estimates have great value in public health, but they can be sensitive to analytical choices. Here we propose a multiverse analysis approach that considers all possible different time periods for defining the reference baseline and a range of 1 to 4 years for the projected time period for which excess deaths are calculated. We used data from the Human Mortality Database on 33 countries with detailed age-stratified death information on an annual basis during the period 2009–2021. The use of different time periods for reference baseline led to large variability in the absolute magnitude of the exact excess death estimates. However, the relative ranking of different countries compared to others for specific years remained largely unaltered. The relative ranking of different years for the specific country was also largely independent of baseline. Averaging across all possible analyses, distinct time patterns were discerned across different countries. Countries had declines between 2009 and 2019, but the steepness of the decline varied markedly. There were also large differences across countries on whether the COVID-19 pandemic years 2020–2021 resulted in an increase of excess deaths and by how much. Consideration of longer projected time windows resulted in substantial shrinking of the excess deaths in many, but not all countries. Multiverse analysis of excess deaths over long periods of interest can offer an approach that better accounts for the uncertainty in estimating expected mortality patterns, comparative mortality trends across different countries, and the nature of observed mortality peaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetrakis(l,3-dihydrobenzoxazine) calix[4]resorcinarenes 4–6 were synthesized via the Mannich reaction from the corresponding resorcin[4]arenes 1–3 with S-(−)-α-methylbenzylamine or R-(+)-α-methylbenzylamine and formaldehyde (aq.). The products were well characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectroscopies and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Molecular structures of compounds 4, 5 and 6 showed the same R/S configuration to the starting amines. Compounds 4–6 are stabilized by a collar of intramolecular hydrogen bonding networks between the hydroxy groups and the oxygens from the benzoxazine rings. Compounds 4 and 5 could encapsulate the guest molecules of acetone and dichloromethane, respectively. The UV and 1H NMR titration experiments were performed to study the host-guest chemistry between compound 4 and small acetone molecules, indicating that compound 4 exhibited encapsulation behavior towards acetone molecules through hydrogen bonding interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The free edges of layered structures require special attention in design processes. Due to the discontinuous material properties, singular stress concentrations occur where the layer interfaces meet the free edge. These bi-material points have to be closely examined as possible starting points for delamination processes. In the present study, we propose an efficient approximate closed-form method to analyze the interlaminar shear stresses in symmetric angle-ply laminates under uniform axial extension and homogeneous thermal loading. The method bases on a higher-order layerwise displacement approach. The resulting displacement and stress distributions of a first-order and a third-order analysis are compared and validated against numerical reference data gained by a self-developed finite element formulation. Especially, the results of the third-order analysis show a good agreement to the reference data along the interface, even if the singular behavior of the stresses in the very close vicinity of the free-edge cannot be reproduced exactly. A comparison of the displacement and stress distributions in thickness direction shows the benefit of the third-order over the first-order approach. In addition, the influence of the ply angle on the results is reproduced by both approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to find a method with higher efficiency to cluster acoustic emission events. The acoustic emission signals of composite laminates with different interfacial fiber orientations were captured during the double cantilever beam (DCB) experiments. Through feature selection of the preprocessed data using the Relief F algorithm, it was found that most of the information in the acoustic emission signals can be represented by the amplitude, inverse frequency, center frequency, peak frequency and so on. Subsequently, principal component analysis and expectation-maximization and Gaussian mixture models were adopted to cluster the data with reduced dimensions. This method can not only distinguish among different damage mechanisms but also show the level of damage concentration according to their types. Furthermore, once the clusters were assigned to different damage mechanisms, they could be identified precisely using both the amplitude and peak frequency. Finally, based on the loading curves of the four types of specimens, the cumulative events and energies of the acoustic emission were compared and analyzed, and different damage mechanisms were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of Review: This paper aims to discuss the various work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMDs) among urologists and provide an overview of the latest recommendations to improve awareness of ergonomic principles that can be applied in the operating room, with special consideration of challenges faced during pregnancy. Recent Findings: Urologists suffer from a large burden of WRMDs. The main drivers of pain associated with the various surgical approaches include repetitive movements, static and awkward body positions, and the use of burdensome equipment. Pregnant surgeons are at an even greater risk of WRMDs and face high rates of pregnancy complications. Summary: Laparoscopy, endoscopy, robot-assisted surgeries, and open surgeries present unique ergonomic challenges for the practicing urologist. Proper posture and equipment use, optimal operating room setup, intraoperative stretching breaks, and an emphasis on teaching ergonomic principles can reduce the risk of WRMDs. Surgeons are also at increased risk of WRMDs during pregnancy but may continue to operate while taking measures to limit physical exertion and fatigue. Improving awareness of and incorporating ergonomic principles early in a urologist's career may reduce the risk of injury and improve operative performance and longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the utilization of fish effluents as irrigation water and nutrient sources to close the crop yield gap and increase Swiss chard productivity in a closed-loop sandponics system. The experiment was operated using desalinated water from a Reverse Osmosis plant. The study followed a completely randomized design with four variants, i.e., an aquaponic system (T1) and three sandponics systems; October (T2), Benu Suef (T3) and Fayoum (T4). Results indicated that T2 and T4 significantly recorded the highest plant heights in all cuts. The number of leaves per plant decreased with the increase in cut number. Leaf area and chlorophyll was significantly different between the treatments. T1 significantly had low biomass yields in cuts one and two, almost 40% less than T3 and T4. The various systems efficiently minimized water consumption ranging from 1.5 to 1.96 L/m2/day. The crop protein content ranged from 11.84 to 18.72 mg/100 g dry weight. Mineral composition in cut one was significantly higher compared to cuts two and three. The study recommends a novel technique for increasing crop production using fish effluents under sandponics systems while increasing water and fertilizer efficiency to close the crop yield gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite the legalization of same-sex marriage, gay and lesbian people still lack full rights and equality in the USA. People in the USA who adhere to conservative religion and politics continue to create obstacles to full equality for gay and lesbian citizens. Methods: Through semi-structured, qualitative interviews, I provide an exploratory look at the shifting views toward gay and lesbian equality by highlighting the stories of six Mississippi Christians' over a 6-year period. Results: Overall, the six Mississippi Christians who agreed to participate in a follow-up interview in 2019 all became more accepting of gay and lesbian people and more open to gay and lesbian equality in the USA to various degrees. Conclusions: Continued social contact with gay and lesbian people, along with policy changes in the USA, led to more acceptance of gay and lesbian Americans by southern Christians. Policy Implications: Striving to bring conservative Christians along on this journey toward more acceptance and support of gay and lesbian equality is not a futile effort. Christians who are "on-the-fence" are slowly progressing toward more acceptance. While religion may serve as a negative feature that deters the positive benefits of social contact, knowing someone who identifies as gay or lesbian remains a vital component of bringing more moderate Christians to acceptance of gay and lesbian people and rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we employ quantum algorithms to attack the reduced-round AES based on the meet-in-the-middle attack proposed by Demiric and Selcuk (DS-MITM). Technically, we adopt the Grover's algorithm and the quantum claw-finding algorithm respectively to implement the attack based on the Q1 model (quantum computers perform offline computations, and classical methods perform online queries). Then we propose a data/memory/time trade-off to optimize the new quantum algorithm, which can further reduce the time complexity of the attack. Compared to the DS-MITM, the new algorithm can significantly reduce the complexities, and it can also be applied to AES-128. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business Process Standardization (BPS) is a strategy for improved efficiency and effectiveness of business processes. However, BPS approaches are known to vary much in practice, can consume inordinate time and resources, and are ill-understood. This study applies an exploratory analysis of BPS literature to identify alternative BPS strategies. The analysis identified three key decision-points when strategizing: (i) Approach to standardization (Bottom-up or Top-down), (ii) Choice of Master Process (Internal Exemplar, Internal Best-of-Breed, or External Exemplar), and (iii) Optimization of the Master Process (Yes or No). These alternative choices, in combination, yield 12 BPS strategies, which are described herein and instantiated by mapping 21 published BPS cases against the 12 strategy types. The resulting typology of BPS strategies can serve as a useful tool for researchers investigating BPS and may provide insight for practitioners when considering an appropriate BPS strategy, or in better understanding their existing implicit or explicit strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron-sulfur (FeS) proteins are ancient and fundamental to life, being involved in electron transfer and CO2 fixation. FeS clusters have structures similar to the unit-cell of FeS minerals such as greigite, found in hydrothermal systems linked with the origin of life. However, the prebiotic pathway from mineral surfaces to biological clusters is unknown. Here we show that FeS clusters form spontaneously through interactions of inorganic Fe2+/Fe3+ and S2− with micromolar concentrations of the amino acid cysteine in water at alkaline pH. Bicarbonate ions stabilize the clusters and even promote cluster formation alone at concentrations >10 mM, probably through salting-out effects. We demonstrate robust, concentration-dependent formation of [4Fe4S], [2Fe2S] and mononuclear iron clusters using UV-Vis spectroscopy, 57Fe-Mössbauer spectroscopy and 1H-NMR. Cyclic voltammetry shows that the clusters are redox-active. Our findings reveal that the structures responsible for biological electron transfer and CO2 reduction could have formed spontaneously from monomers at the origin of life. Iron-sulfur (FeS) proteins are involved in electron transfer and CO2 fixation. Here, the authors show that FeS clusters can form spontaneously in the presence of the amino acid cysteine, in conditions similar those expected in Hadean alkaline hydrothermal vents, suggesting a plausible mechanism of their emergence at the origin of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this study was to examine whether an exercise program and standardized operating room positioning protocol (EOPP) would improve surgeon muscle workload and/or surgeon perception of mental/physical workload for nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM). Methods: This prospective study analyzed muscle workload by EMG of four surgeons performing NSM before and after an EOPP. Surveys were administered assessing surgeon perception of mental/physical workload. EMG data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, controlling for surgeon, first assistant, duration and difficulty of procedure, left or right side, and sequence of the procedure. Results: A total of 56 NSM cases performed by 3 surgeons were analyzed. One surgeon was excluded because of muscle injury and undergoing active physical therapy during the study period. After implementation of the EOPP, the left (P = 0.005) and right (P = 0.020) upper trapezii muscles had a significant decrease in overall ergonomic workload but there was no significant change in overall ergonomic workload for the bilateral cervical erector spinae, anterior deltoid, and lumbar erector spinae muscle groups. When analyzing muscle group exertion by surgeon, there was significant variability in all muscles except the left cervical erector spinae. Following the EOPP, surgeons reported that the procedures were more physically (P = 0.01) and mentally (P = 0.002) demanding and visualization (P = 0.04) was worse. The breast laterality and sequence did not affect muscle exertion. Conclusions: An EOPP decreased the overall ergonomic workload of one muscle group for surgeons performing NSM but did not impact surgeon perception of mental/physical workload. Further investigation is needed to improve surgeon ergonomics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Earthquake of Mw 9.3 on Dec 26, 2004 in the Andaman Sumatra subduction zone in the eastern Indian Ocean and the 27th November 1945 M8.0–8.2 Makran earthquake in the western Indian Ocean triggered tsunami causing large scale damage. Though, great tsunamigenic earthquakes are rare from the Makran subduction zone, the possibility of one off event exceeding M 8.0 cannot be overlooked. The record of historical tsunami has not been well documented, as there is very little data available from these two subduction zones, though few reports on tsunami impact on the Indian coasts are available. The devastating impact of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami has generated great interest amongst the scientific community and changed the perception of the hazard associated with tsunami in the region. Several researchers from different parts of the world have worked in understanding and quantifying the tsunami propagation and inundation due to the 2004 Tsunami. In this paper different questions on the propagation of tsunamis over ridges, island, along the east and west coast, tsunami forces on different beaches and also the effect of varying bathymetry in the Indian Ocean have been discussed in the form of case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cauvery Basin at the southeastern tip of the Indian plate was an Albian to Danian marine embayment. The Dalmiapuram Formation is composed of bioclastic wackestone and coral boundstone. Benthic foraminifera and calcareous algae are relatively common in the Dalmiapuram Formation. The fossils support an age range of upper Albian to Cenomanian, which complements previously reported nannofossils that suggest an early Albian to Turonian age. The low diversity assemblage of foraminifera and calcareous algae and other organisms in the Dalmiapuram Formation is characteristic of a near-shore carbonate shelf or ramp. The low diversity and abundance of planktic species with coral and coral-algal buildups suggests more offshore conditions, probably within storm wave-base. The δ13C and δ18O values vary greatly. The absence of correlation between Mn and Sr indicates that these limestones retain their primary isotopic signatures. Gray shale/limestone unit has positive carbon isotope excursion (CIE) of ~ 0.8 to 1.0‰ that correlate with OAE 1c event. Similarly, significant positive CIE noticed in the lower part of the coral algal limestone is attributed to OAE 1d event. This suggests that oceanic conditions that created deep-water low oxygen conditions affected the shallow-water photic zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authorship attribution attempts to identify the authors behind texts and has important applications mainly in digital forensics, cyber-security, digital humanities, and social media analytics. A challenging yet realistic scenario is cross-domain attribution where texts of known authorship (training set) differ from texts of disputed authorship (test set) in, for example, topic or genre. In this paper, we propose the use of transfer learning based on pre-trained neural network language models and a multi-headed classifier. A series of experiments is reported to compare the effectiveness of our approach on cross-topic, cross-genre, and cross-fandom conditions with state-of-the-art methods. We also demonstrate the crucial effect of the normalization corpus (an unlabeled corpus used to adjust the output of our classifier) in cross-domain attribution and the usefulness of shallower layers of pre-trained models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is highly prevalent worldwide and results in a high disease burden. The efforts to monitor and predict treatment outcome in participants with obesity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) depends on the reliability of the investigated task-fMRI brain activation. To date, no study has investigated whole-brain reliability of neural food cue-reactivity. To close this gap, we analyzed the longitudinal reliability of an established food cue-reactivity task. Longitudinal reliability of neural food-cue-induced brain activation and subjective food craving ratings over three fMRI sessions (T0: 2 weeks before surgery, T1: 8 weeks and T2: 24 weeks after surgery) were investigated in N = 11 participants with obesity. We computed an array of established reliability estimates, including the intraclass correlation (ICC), the Dice and Jaccard coefficients and similarity of brain activation maps. The data indicated good reliability (ICC > 0.6) of subjective food craving ratings over 26 weeks and excellent reliability (ICC > 0.75) of brain activation signals for the contrast of interest (food > neutral) in the caudate, putamen, thalamus, middle cingulum, inferior, middle and superior occipital gyri, and middle and superior temporal gyri and cunei. Using similarity estimates, it was possible to re-identify individuals based on their neural activation maps (73%) with a fading degree of accuracy, when comparing fMRI sessions further apart. The results show excellent reliability of task-fMRI neural brain activation in several brain regions. Current data suggest that fMRI-based measures might indeed be suitable to monitor and predict treatment outcome in participants with obesity undergoing bariatric surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirosoma linguale is a gram-negative, coiled bacterium belonging to the family Cytophagaceae. Its coiled morphology is unique in contrast to closely related bacteria belonging to the genus Spirosoma, which have a short, rod-shaped morphology. The mechanisms that generate unique cell morphology are still enigmatic. In this study, using the Spirosoma linguale ATCC33905 strain, we isolated β-lactam (cefoperazone and amoxicillin)-resistant clones. These clones showed two different cell morphological changes: relatively loosely curved cells or small, horseshoe-shaped cells. Whole-genome resequencing analysis revealed the genetic determinants of β-lactam resistance and changes in cell morphology. The loose-curved clones commonly had mutations in Slin_5958 genes encoding glutamyl-tRNA amidotransferase B subunit, whereas the small, horseshoe-shaped clones commonly had mutations in either Slin_5165 or Slin_5509 encoding pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) components. Two clones, CFP1ESL11 and CFL5ESL4, which carried only one mutation in Slin_5958, showed almost perfectly straight, rod-shaped cells in the presence of amoxicillin. This result suggests that penicillin-binding proteins targeted by amoxicillin play an important role in the formation of a coiled morphology in this bacterium. In contrast, supplementation with acetate did not rescue the growth defect and abnormal cell size of the CFP5ESL9 strain, which carried only one mutation in Slin_5509. These results suggest that PDH is involved in cell-size maintenance in this bacterium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Thanks to our reviewers" is a list of individuals who have contributed to the quality of the journal Biomechanics & Modeling in Mechanobiology in 2023. The list includes a diverse range of reviewers from various backgrounds and affiliations. The purpose of the article is to acknowledge and express gratitude to these individuals for their valuable contributions. The article does not provide any additional information beyond the list of reviewers. [Extracted from the article]

Lactic acid has been proved to inhibit the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria in the fermentation process. To shed light on the cell cycle alterations in acidic conditions, the cell division of Lactobacillus bulgaricus sp1.1 in batch culture was analyzed directly by implementing of the intracellular fluorescent tracking assay in different pH adjusted by lactic acid. Cell proliferation and cell division were investigated to be negatively controlled by the decrease of pH, and pH 4.1 was the critical condition of downregulating cell division but retains cell culturability. The cell area and cell length in pH 4.1 were examined by using fluorescent labeling, and they reduced to about 29.18–34.89% and 32.67–40% of cells cultured in the unacidified medium, respectively. The DNA replication initiation was undergoing prompted by the low extent of DNA condensation and higher expression of the dnaA gene in this critical pH. The results indicated that the cell cycle progressions of Lactobacillus bulgaricus sp1.1 in acidic conditions were arrested at intracellular biomass accumulation and cell division stage. These findings provide fundamental insight into cell cycle control of the acidic environment in Lactobacillus bulgaricus sp1.1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gravitational waves emitted from the coalescence of neutron star binaries open a new window to probe matter and fundamental physics in unexplored, extreme regimes. To extract information about the supranuclear matter inside neutron stars and the properties of the compact binary systems, robust theoretical prescriptions are required. We give an overview about general features of the dynamics and the gravitational wave signal during the binary neutron star coalescence. We briefly describe existing analytical and numerical approaches to investigate the highly dynamical, strong-field region during the merger. We review existing waveform approximants and discuss properties and possible advantages and shortcomings of individual waveform models, and their application for real gravitational-wave data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a condition that results in the build-up of phenylalanine in the blood. This can cause severe brain damage and neurological issues if left untreated. Management can be complex and many individuals may turn to the internet to access further information. It is important that resources are understood as misinterpretation could result in harm to health. The aim of this study was to assess the readability of online resources for PKU and to assess their visual appearance using a communication sciences assessment framework. We searched the top five websites through Google using the search term "phenylketonuria/PKU". We then analysed the text content of the identified websites using five readability formulae to determine the USA and UK reading grade. The median readability level across the five websites was US grade/UK grade 10.6/11.6, with individual grades ranging from 10/11 to 13.3/14.3. We found wide differences in the focus, layout and general appearance of the websites. The readability of resources was much higher than the recommended US 6th grade level. Online resources for PKU need to be simplified to ensure they can be easily understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sour gas reservoirs have faced critics for environmental concerns and hazards, necessitating a novel outlook to how the produced sour gases could be either utilized or carefully disposed. Over the years of research and practice, several methods of sour gas processing and utilization have been developed, from the solid storage of sulfur to reinjecting the sour gas into producing or depleted light oil reservoir for miscible flooding enhanced oil recovery. This paper seeks to investigate the impact of injection parameters on the performance of sour gas injection for enhance oil recovery. In designing a miscible gas flooding project, empirical correlations are used and the key parameter which impacts the phase behavior is identified to be the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP). A compositional simulator was utilized in this research work to study the effect of injection parameters such as minimum miscibility pressure, acid gas concentration, injection pressure and injection rate on the performance of miscible sour gas injection for enhanced oil recovery. The findings showed that methane concentration had a significant impact on the MMP of the process. Additionally, an increase in acid gas concentration decreases the MMP of the process as a result of an increase in gas viscosity, consequently extending the plateau period resulting in late gas breakthrough and increased overall recovery of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unfortunately the online version of the original article contains several citations of Jannis et al. 2018, where the first and last name was accidently mix up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the interrelatedness of Islamic and Jewish intellectual history relies largely on the manuscript materials preserved in the various Geniza collections. The Firkovitch manuscripts in particular provide ample material for an analysis of the different patterns of reception/transmission/cross-pollination between Jewish and Muslim scholars, though the bulk of the relevant material still needs to be cataloged and studied. This essay discusses four cases, each exemplifying a different pattern, namely, Muʿtazilī kalām and its reception among the Karaites, the case of David ben Joshua Maimonides (d. 1415), the thirteenth-century Jewish philosopher Ibn Kammūna and his reception among Jews and Muslims, and an anonymous refutation by a Rabbanite Jew against the anti-Jewish polemical work Ifḥām al-yahūd by the twelfth-century Jewish convert to Islam Samawʾal al-Maghribī. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To determine the performance of texture analysis and conventional MRI parameters in predicting tumoral response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to assess whether a relationship exists between texture tissue heterogeneity and histological type of uterine cervix cancer. Method and materials: Twenty-eight patients with local advanced cervical cancer (FIGO IB2-IIIB), underwent MRI before chemotherapy. Texture analysis parameters were quantified on T2-weighted sequences, as well as the maximum diameter expressed in mm. ADC values were obtained on the ADC map. Statistical analysis included unpaired t test and ROC curve. Results: No statistical correlation was found between conventional parameters and response to NACT. Mean and skewness showed a strong correlation with the histological type: Adenocarcinomas presented higher mean and skewness values (69.8 ± 10.5 and 0.55 ± 0.19) in comparison with squamous cell carcinomas. Using a cutoff value ≥ 29 for mean it was possible to differentiate the two histological types with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 81%. Kurtosis showed a positive correlation with tumor response to NACT resulting higher in responders (v.m. 5.7 ± 1.1) in comparison with non-responders (2.3 ± 0.5). The optimal Kurtosis cutoff value for the identification of non-responders tumors was ≤ 3.7 with a sensitivity of 92% and a specificity of 75%. Conclusion: Texture analysis applied to T2-weighted images of uterine cervical cancer exceeded the role of conventional prognostic factors in predicting tumoral response; moreover, they showed a potential role to differentiate histological tumor types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IR spectra of alunite-group minerals formed on Pauzhetka–Kambalnyi–Koshelevskii (South Kamchatka) thermal fields were studied. Vibrational spectra were interpreted using correlation diagrams for the mineral structures. The IR-active ν3 bands shifted on going from [AlO6] to [FeO6] from 600, 630, and 670 cm–1 to 500, 530, and 630 cm–1; Raman-active ν1 bands, from 530 to 470 cm–1. Bands of [SO4] vibrations were active in both spectra and practically did not shift on going from MIAl3(SO4)2(OH)6 to MIFe3(SO4)2(OH)6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet is a major source of health information for gynecologic cancer patients. In this study, we systematically explore common Google search terms related to gynecologic cancer and calculate readability of top resulting websites. We used Google AdWords Keyword Planner to generate a list of commonly searched keywords related to gynecologic oncology, which were sorted into five groups (cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer) using five patient education websites from sgo.org . Each keyword was Google searched to create a list of top websites. The Python programming language (version 3.5.1) was used to describe frequencies of keywords, top-level domains (TLDs), domains, and readability of top websites using four validated formulae. Of the estimated 1,846,950 monthly searches resulting in 62,227 websites, the most common was cancer.org . The most common TLD was *.com. Most websites were above the eighth-grade reading level recommended by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). The SMOG Index was the most reliable formula. The mean grade level readability for all sites using SMOG was 9.4 ± 2.3, with 23.9% of sites falling at or below the eighth-grade reading level. The first ten results for each Google keyword were easiest to read with results beyond the first page of Google being consistently more difficult. Keywords related to gynecologic malignancies are Google-searched frequently. Most websites are difficult to read without a high school education. This knowledge may help gynecologic oncology providers adequately meet the needs of their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide spillage of fossil fuels causes an ever-increasing environmental concern due to their resistance to biodegradation and toxicity. The diesel fuel is one of the derivative forms of petroleum that is widely used in the world. Its composition has many aromatic compounds and long hydrocarbons chains, both persistent and hazardous, thus requiring complex microbial dynamics to achieve full biodegradation. At this point, biodiesel has advantages because it is produced from renewable sources. It also has a relatively fast biodegradation. Biodiesel formulation chemically varies according to the raw material used for its production. While vegetable oils tend to have homogeneous proportions of linoleic and oleic fatty acids, animal fats have an heterogeneous distribution of stearic, palmitic and oleic fatty acids. As some studies have already detected the toxic potential of biodiesel from vegetable oil, this study sought information on the phytotoxic and genotoxic potential of animal fat-based biodiesel and compare it with fossil fuel as diesel fuel and crude petroleum. The impacts on the microbial activity of soils contaminated with biodiesel, diesel fuel and crude petroleum were performed by the dehydrogenase activity. Phytotoxicity tests were performed with Eruca sativa seeds and genotoxicity bioassays with Allium cepa seeds. The results showed a rapid assimilation of biodiesel by the autochthonous soil microorganisms. Soil contaminated with either diesel or crude petroleum inhibited the root and hypocotyl elongation of E. sativa. Overall, petroleum contaminated soils showed higher genotoxic potential. Biodiesel from animal fat was rapidly assimilated by soil microorganisms and did not present significant phytotoxic or genotoxic potential, but significantly reduced the mitotic index of A. cepa roots. Our results showed that biodiesel from animal fat have rapid biodegradability. Biodiesel also led to less impacts during seed development and lower genotoxic potential when compared to crude petroleum and diesel fuel. In addition, biodiesel from animal fat does not present the same toxicity demonstrated by biodiesel from soybean-based biodiesel described in current literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study two variants of the Balanced Tree Partition (BTP for short) problem, whose goal is to find the minimum number of edges such that a partition of vertices into sets of equal size can be obtained after deleting those edges. We consider the BTP problem over trees with virtual nodes, which is motivated by the real applications in storing tree structured data distributively. Different from the traditional BTP problem, after deleting an edge from the tree, two virtual nodes must be added to provide the ability to recover the edge when computing, which will increase the size of some set in the partition and the set may become too large and need further splitting. Depending on whether or not to consider the partition set number k to be a parameter, to investigate the balanced tree partition methods over trees with virtual nodes, we formally defined two specific problems, k -VBTP and VBTP. The computational complexity and inapproximability of k -VBTP are analyzed, for the VBTP problem, a polynomial time algorithm is designed to find the optimal solution based on dynamic programming. Finally, the connections between k -VBTP and VBTP are built, and based the algorithm for VBTP, we design a heuristic algorithm for k -VBTP with performance guarantee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MRI plays important roles in endometrial and cervical cancer assessment, from detection to recurrent disease evaluation. Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common malignant tumor of the female genital tract in Western countries. EC patients are divided into risk categories based on histopathological tumor type, grade, and myometrial invasion depth. EC is surgically staged using the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system. Since FIGO (2009) stage correlates with prognosis, preoperative staging is essential for tailored treatment. MRI reveals myometrial invasion depth, which correlates with tumor grade and lymph node metastases, and thus correlates with prognosis. Cervical cancer (CC) is the second most common cancer, and the third leading cause of cancer-related death among females in developing countries. The FIGO Gynecologic Oncology Committee recently revised its CC staging guidelines, allowing staging based on imaging and pathological findings when available. The revised FIGO (2018) staging includes node involvement and thus enables both therapy selection and evaluation, prognosis estimation, and calculation of end results. MRI can accurately assess prognostic indicators, e.g., tumor size, parametrial invasion, pelvic sidewall, and lymph node invasion. Despite these important roles of MRI, radiologists still face challenges due to the technical and interpretation pitfalls of MRI during all phases of endometrial and cervical cancer evaluation. Awareness of mimics that can simulate both cancers is critical. With careful application, functional MRI with DWI and DCE sequences can help establish a correct diagnosis, although it is sometimes necessary to perform biopsy and histopathological analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws upon ethnographic accounts of female potters’ movement and intermarriage into multi-ethnic Pueblo communities in the U.S. Southwest to illustrate how marriage networks created opportunities for innovation through the production, distribution, and consumption of boundary objects. These objects did not define boundaries but facilitated boundary crossing or bridging by potters. I argue that the concept of boundary objects is more useful than hybridity for understanding the processes of culture contact and material culture diffusion. Archaeological evidence for late twelfth through thirteenth century migrations from the Four Corners to the southern Colorado Plateau is used to make a case for a high degree of intermarriage and post-marital movement of women. Such patrilocality challenges normative views of post-marital residence, including those employed by early ceramic sociologists working in the same area of the Southwest and even at the same sites. The case that I discuss provides a contrast to other Southwest examples in which conformist transmission was more common, and helps to solve a paradox in explanations of the Southwest Pueblo Sprachbund. I conclude that the concept of boundary objects complements formal social network approaches in archaeology by bringing out the active role of objects in linking social actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is one of the key resources for the normal life and is used extensively in many industries. The sugar industry is one of the largest water users and producers in food processing sector. This paper presents the analysis of freshwater used and wastewater discharged in a sugar manufacturing process. Also, this paper presents an analysis of cooling water system. The part of the barometric condenser, mill turbine and electric power turbine units were chosen for analysis and synthesis of cooling water systems. In order to reduce the load of the cooling water system, the system was modified to an open recirculation cooling water system. The analysis used water pinch analysis method and mathematical optimization techniques by resource conservation networks spreadsheet software. Analysis of sugarcane hot water balance shows that the water content of sugarcane itself is more than sufficient for internal processing. Analysis of the excess condensate internal water and the discharged water from cooling water system showed that the quantity of freshwater used for cooling system requirement is 121 t/h and the wastewater generation is 24.93 t/h when using BOD as a contaminant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]