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Structural modifications of mitochondria-targeted chlorambucil alter cell death mechanism but preserve MDR evasion. Multidrug resistance (MDR) remains one of the major obstacles in chemotherapy, potentially rendering a multitude of drugs ineffective. Previously, we have demonstrated that mitochondrial targeting of DNA damaging agents is a promising tool for evading a number of common resistance factors that are present in the nucleus or cytosol. In particular, mitochondria-targeted chlorambucil (mt-Cbl) has increased potency and activity against resistant cancer cells compared to the parent compound chlorambucil (Cbl). However, it was found that, due to its high reactivity, mt-Cbl induces a necrotic type of cell death via rapid nonspecific alkylation of mitochondrial proteins. Here, we demonstrate that by tuning the alkylating activity of mt-Cbl via chemical modification, the rate of generation of protein adducts can be reduced, resulting in a shift of the cell death mechanism from necrosis to a more controlled apoptotic pathway. Moreover, we demonstrate that all of the modified mt-Cbl compounds effectively evade MDR resulting from cytosolic GST- upregulation by rapidly accumulating in mitochondria, inducing cell death directly from within. In this study, we systematically elucidated the advantages and limitations of targeting alkylating agents with varying reactivity to mitochondria.
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Planning of manipulator joint trajectories by an iterative method SUMMARY Manipulator joint trajectories are planned to make an arbitrary cost function as good as possible in consideration of physical constraints based on kinematics and dynamics of a manipulator system. An algorithm presented in this paper is an iteratively improving method using the local controllability of B spline. It can be also applied to the case that some points are specified and joint trajectories must pass through those points. This algorithm is applied to an example of trajectory planning of a manipulator with two links and two degrees of freedom.
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The cytopathology of middle ear effusions (a new technique). This article describes a simple technique for the dissolution of the mucus elements within middle ear effusions and the subsequent separation of the cells contained. After the mucus and mucopolysaccharides within middle ear effusions have been dissolved, the cells can be separated allowing for absolute cell counts with automated counters, smears for examination with light microscopy and differential cell counts, and transmission electron microscopic examination of the cell population. Transmission electron microscopy was utilized in this study to evaluate the amount of cellular distortion and artifact that resulted from the separation of these cells from the middle ear effusions and to evaluate the relative status of preservation of these cells. The ability to preserve, count, and identify the cellular component of middle ear effusions will be of value in attempting to understand the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion.
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Correlation between bacterial population and axillary and plantar bromidrosis: study of 30 patients. Although studies on the chemistry of odors are expanding to identify the chemical structures of odorous substances, there are no universal standards as yet to measure odor and intensity of bromidrosis. Clinical evaluation can be made on a subjective scoring from 0 to 3 prior to prescription of an antiseptic soap. In order to appreciate the correlation between the intensity of bromidrosis (BI) and bacterial activity, a study was carried out with both clinical and bacterial assessment in thirty patients with axillary or plantar BI. Odor intensity was evaluated by two physicians using a score from 0 to 3 (i.e. absent, minor, moderate, major), meanwhile bacterial composition and density were assessed before and after 10 days of hygiene using an antiseptic detergent (trichlocarbanilide) provided on the first visit. Baseline count of diphtheroids/cm2 was 35.104 and baseline micrococci average was 32.104/cm2. At the end of the study, the reduction of odor intensity was observed in 20 patients (67%) without any change in sweat production. The clinical improvement correlated with a reduction of both micrococci (70%) or diphtheroids (73%) as compared with initial data. In patients presenting persistant bromidrosis, the bacterial count/cm2 did not significantly decrease and remained above 104 diphtheroids/cm2. Thus, this study suggests that body odor may be at least indirectly correlated to microbia counts with a bacteria threshold of BI ranging around and above 104.
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1,2-Diarylimidazoles as inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2: a quantitative structure-activity relationship study. The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme inhibition activity of derivatives of 1,2-diarylimidazole is analysed through Fujita-Ban and Hansch approaches. The analyses have helped to ascertain the role of different substituents in explaining the observed inhibitory potency of these analogues. From both approaches it is revealed that the more hydrophobic X-substitutions that are present at the 3- and 4-positions of the aryl ring and are also non-hydrogen acceptor in character improve inhibitory action of a compound. The smaller substituent either H or F is preferred at the 2-X position as it is involved in steric interaction. Likewise, the substituent-NH2 instead of Me at R is advantageous. Further, for a data set of 35 congeners, the selectivity ratio related to the constitutive COX-1 isozyme is also analysed through the Fujita-Ban approach. The derived contributions of parent moiety and various substituents have helped to predict the substitution pattern in the design of more effective compounds that were not in the original data set.
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Retraction: Chronic Intoxication with Cobalt following Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty Chronic intoxication with cobalt in a male implanted with an uncemented total hip arthroplasty (THA) with a ceramic-on-ceramic bearing. Three years postoperatively the acetabular ceramic liner fractured necessitating revision. The bearing couple was revised to a metal-on-polyethylene articulation. 20 months postoperatively, the patient represented with a dislocated THA. The patient presented with symptoms and signs of chronic intoxication with heavy metals, including quadriparesis, hypothyreosis, cardiomyopathy and perceptive amblyacousia. Severe metallosis was discovered at revision. High concentrations of cobalt, chromium and titanium were found in the serum, blood, pericardial exudate, urine and hair. On the basis of this experience the authors recommend always using a ceramic-on-ceramic pairing when revising fractured ceramic bearings.
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Circular Housing Retrofit Strategies and Solutions: Towards Modular, Mass-Customised and Cyclable Retrofit Products The building sector consumes 40 % of resources globally, produces 40 % of global waste and 33 % of CO2 emissions. Creating a circular built environment is therefore of paramount importance to a sustainable society. The housing stock can be made more circular through circular retrofitting. However, strategies and solutions integrating circularity within housing retrofit are lacking. This paper focusses on developing a circular housing retrofit strategy and solution for Dutch housing constructed between 1970 and 1990. Through literature study, potential circular retrofit approaches are identified and translated into a general strategy. By developing a concrete retrofit solution, we illustrate how this general strategy can be applied in practice. It is found that in the Dutch context all-in-one sustainable retrofits are difficult to realise. By applying modular (allowing component-by-component retrofit), mass-customisable, and cyclable retrofit products, natural maintenance moments can be employed to gradually create a circular housing stock. As an example of such a product we describe the Circular Kitchen (CIK), which was developed together with industry. The CIK applies a plug-and-play design, separating components based on lifespan. The CIK supply-chain arranges relooping of the CIK in a return-street and return-factory. The CIK business model applies financial arrangements such as lease and sale-with-deposit, motivating the return and re-looping of the CIK after use. In conclusion, the strategy presented in this paper has the potential to support circular housing retrofit in the Dutch context and for housing with similar characteristics. However, development of more circular retrofit products is necessary to create a fully circular housing stock over time. Introduction The building sector consumes 40 % of natural resources globally, produces 40 % of global waste and 33 % of emissions. The Circular Economy (CE) proposes an alternative to the current linear economy by decoupling economic growth from resource consumption. The CE can be summarised in the following three principles: preserving and enhancing natural capital by controlling finite stocks and balancing renewable resource flows; optimizing resource yields by circulating products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times in both technical and biological loops and fostering system effectiveness by revealing and designing out negative externalities. Due to its high impacts, the transition to a circular built environment is pivotal to achieve a resource 'effective' and sustainable society. The existing housing stock, as an important part of the built environment, can be used more circular through retrofitting. However, the natural retrofit moments can also be employed to make the stock circular at all levels: the housing stock, dwelling, components, parts and materials. Strategies and concrete solutions integrating circularity within housing retrofit are still lacking. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop a circular housing retrofit strategy and solution, focussing on Dutch housing constructed between 1970 and 1990. This part of the stock constitutes 24 % of Dutch housing and will be in need of retrofitting in the coming decades, which makes it a logical case to focus our efforts on. This stock is characterised by (mostly) low-rise dwellings, diversified designs, fragmented ownership and mixed tenures. Most housing is in a 'decent' state of maintenance with -on average -an energy label D or C. Although the stock is not (yet) in disrepair, there is need for adaptations and improvements, and there are substantial ambitions to improve the energy efficiency of the stock. However, the diversity, fragmentation and state of the housing makes the commonly applied 'all-in-one' sustainable retrofits difficult to realise. Hence, Meulendijks, Ubink and van der Steeg, and Brinksma propose three requirements for retrofit solutions for the Dutch 70's and 80's housing stock. Retrofit solutions should be able to spread the retrofit investment over multiple retrofit cycli; should accommodate different retrofit needs and practices from professional landlords and private owners through customisation; should be adaptable to accommodate future changes. We propose to extend the latter requirement so it does not only include future adaptability into the retrofit solution but requires circularity to be considered as well. Therefore, the retrofit solution should be able to accommodate the loops of the circular economy (i.e., maintenance, re-use, refurbishment, and recycling ). To determine key elements for a circular housing retrofit strategy and solution, we analysed existing circular building approaches (section 2). Through literature study and brainstorming we identified circular design strategies and principles. Subsequently, we identified existing building approaches which applied (some of) these circular design strategies and principles. The selected circular building approaches were analysed by identifying which of the circular design strategies and principles were applied. In doing so, the analysis identified gaps in existing approaches and elements which could be applied in the development of a circular retrofit strategy for the Dutch context (section 3). To illustrate and test if this strategy is also achievable, a concrete retrofit solution was developed to the level of a prototype: The Circular Kitchen (CIK) (see section 4). In section 5, we reflect upon the developed strategy and solution, and the conclusions are summarised in section 6. Analysis of 'circular' building approaches In this section, we elaborate on the analysis of circular building approaches. The circular design strategies and principles identified through the literature study and brainstorming are included in columns 2 and 3 of Table 1. The strategies and principles were organised into three categories: 'narrowing, slowing or closing resource loops'. Strategies which 'narrow resource loops' aim to reduce resource use; strategies which 'slow resource loops' aim to slow down the flow of resources through extension or intensification of the utilization period of the (building)product; strategies which 'close resource loops', aim to facilitate recycling of materials at the end of life. Indicates that the circular design strategy is applied in the approach. The analysis shows that most of the analysed (pr)circular building approaches remain fragmented: they focus either on narrowing and closing the loop, or slowing the loop. For example, the circular approaches 2.1-2.3, narrow and close resource loops locally. Ultimately, recycling is important to achieve material circularity. However, no strategies are implemented to slow resource loops on building or component level. Hence, premature obsolesce is not prevented. Subsequently, material depletion, emissions and waste generation are not fully minimized. Similarly, focussing only on slowing the loop will still result in material depletion, emissions and waste, just at a slower pace. From all the approaches, Table 2. Description pr-circular building approaches Name approach Origin Approach description Cases Avant-gardist designs of ever-evolving cities applying permanent mega-structures and interchangeable infill. Stichting Architecten Research (SAR) & Open building -1961 Reaction to the inability of residents to influence the post-war built environment. Built environment is separated into layers (e.g., tissue, support, infill) to allow for user customisation and future adaptations. Lean construction -1993 In reaction to economic and environmental inefficiency of traditional construction. Application of lean manufacturing principles to optimise product and process to reduce material and energy use. Shearing layers - Building on theories of ecologist and system theorist. To improve adaptability and prevent premature obsolesce, the building is divided into 6 layers based on expected lifespan. Industrial, flexible and demountable building (IFD) -1999 Building on SOB principles, IFD aimed to better fulfil clients demands in a construction project. IFD unites industrialisation of the building process, flexibility (i.e., customisation), and demountability to allow future changes. Slimbouwen In reaction to the economic and environmental inefficiency of traditional construction. A strategy separating the building into layers -especially decoupling piping -to improve adaptability and reduce material use. Conceptual building In reaction to the inefficiency (cost & process) of traditional construction and to the supplyoriented industry unable to customise solutions. Client-friendly construction process in which buildings are constructed with standardised, customisable building components. Mass-customisation in dwelling construction Uniting principles of mass-production and customisation in construction. Open & closed source concept dwellings or components which are (to an extent) standardised, customisable and mass-producible. LEGOlisation in construction LEGOlisation is a reaction to the traditional and project-based construction industry. Buildings are constructed (and renovated) with customisable, standardised, prefabricated, demountable components. The components are subdivided into sub-components, parts, etc. LEGO-lisation can improve and optimise the building process, increase adaptability and reduce material use. Circular recycling in housing demolition Instead of full demolition, housing is disassembled (as much as possible) with the aim to re-use these components and materials locally. Circular recycling in housing renewal and renovation Focusses on local re-use and recycling of components and materials in housing renovation and renewal (i.e., housing demolition and new built). A figurative 'fence' is placed around the site: what is demolished is re-used on site. Next to cycling building material streams locally, the approach is often combined with reduction and local self-sufficiency of other material and energy streams (e.g., water, food, and energy). Bio-based construction systems Housing construction and retrofit systems which reduce environmental impact and facilitate closing the loop by applying bio-based materials. In some cases, the systems are also modular, standardised and (to some extend) adaptable to future changes. Mass-customisable, 'cyclable' building systems Standardised building systems which can be customised to fit the wishes of the client. The system applies circular materials to narrow and close the loop of the building and its materials. Modularity is applied to facilitate fast construction and not so much to increase future adaptability. Modular, mass-customisable and 'cyclable' building systems Highly modular building systems which integrate mass-customisation and circular design principles to narrow, slow and close the loop of the building, (sub)components and materials. the 'modular, mass-customisable, 'cyclable' building system' (2.7) approach integrates -by far -the most strategies to narrow, slow and close the loop. However, none of the analysed approaches have yet applied all principles. The analysed approaches do provide useful elements to develop a circular retrofit strategy and solution for the Dutch context. All of the analysed cases provide concrete examples of how circular design principles can be integrated in retrofit solutions. In particular, the 'Bilt House' and the 'Circle House' -although new-built systems -provide convincing approaches. They differ from other cases in the level on which standardisation and modularity is achieved, namely on sub-component level. This seems to provide the most potential for standardisation, customisation, and adaptability. Circular housing retrofit strategy: modular, mass-customisable and 'cyclable' retrofit products By combining and specifying elements of circular building approaches in synergy to the requirements identified in the introduction, we developed a circular retrofit strategy for the Dutch context. This strategy proposes that the housing stock is retrofitted with products which are modular, masscustomisable and 'cyclable' (see Figure 1). A modular retrofit solution, as opposed to 'all-in-one' retrofit, can facilitate component-by-component retrofit. Buildings consist of many components such as installations, kitchens and facades, which could be replaced with circular retrofit products to gradually improve and create a circular housing stock. Moreover, modularity allows to spread the retrofit investment over multiple retrofit cycli. This provides an answer to the financial feasibility challenges posed by fragmented mixed-ownership and the 'minor improvements' needed in the stock. A retrofit solution suitable for 'mass-customisation' combines the advantages of mass-and industrial production with the advantages of product customisation. Mass-customisation can accommodate the different retrofit needs of professional landlords and private owners, increase affordability, and synergises with circular design principles such as: improving product quality, product and (sub)component standardisation, and offering (update) choices to users. A 'cyclable' retrofit solution is designed, applying circular design strategies and principles, to integrally narrow, slow and close the loops on building, building component, part and material level. A circular (technical) design requires an integral approach to ensure the design can be, and is (used) circular along and beyond its life cycle [9,. In an integral design a technical model, business model, and industrial model are developed in cohesion with each other. This means that for the modular, mass-customisable and 'cyclable' retrofit products, a supporting business model is needed which incentivises the narrowing, slowing and closing of the loops. New contract models based on 'product service systems', such as: retrofit product lease, sale-with-take-back after use, sale-with-buy-back after use, and contracts with service and updates included, can provide an interesting value proposition for all involved stakeholders. This includes a similar or lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for housing owners and tenants, more customisation options and future adaptability for users, a steadier revenue stream for manufacturers and (service)providers of retrofit products, long-term partnerships with clients, and a more sustainable product. Similarly, a supporting supply chain model is needed which organises the narrowing, slowing and closing loop activities. By (re)forming partnerships the needed (loop)activities -and the facility in which these takes place -can be determined. A circular housing retrofit solution: The Circular Kitchen To illustrate and test if the proposed strategy is achievable, an exemplary modular, 'mass-customisable', and 'cyclable' retrofit product -the Circular Kitchen (CIK) -was developed in co-creation with the TU Delft, AMS-institute, housing associations (as initial target group) and industry partners. The CIK was developed 'integrally' including not only the technical model (design), but also the supply chain and business model. The CIK applies a modular design which facilitates various circular loops by separating parts based on lifespan (see Figure 2). The kitchen consists of a docking station in which kitchen modules can be easily plugged in and out, allowing for customisation and future changes in lay-out. The kitchen modules themselves are also divided in a long-life frame to which 'module infill' (e.g., appliances and closet interiors) and 'style packages' (e.g., front, countertop, handles) can be easily attached using click-on connections. To narrow the loop, the CIK minimises material through separating the constructive 'frame' and the 'style package'. As the panels of the style package are optional and thinner (nonconstructive), material use is reduced. Furthermore, the choice of materials for the kitchen -a lowimpact, formaldehyde-free plywood with separable HPL coating -reduces the environmental impact and facilitates refurbishment and recycling. The supporting business model of the CIK is separated in a business-to-business (B2B) and businessto-consumer (B2C) side. The kitchen producer sells the docking station and modules directly to housing companies with a take back guarantee and maintenance subscription. This arrangement offers a clear incentive for the manufacturer to make products which are easy to repair and to give a second life, or more. A dealer offers extra kitchen modules and style packages to tenants through a variety of financial arrangements that motivate returning the product after use, such as: lease and sale-with-deposit. After use, products are collected in a local 'Return-Street' and are sorted to be traded, resold, lightly refurbished or sent back to the kitchen producer. Products that come back to the producer are sorted in their 'Return-Factory' to be refurbished, remanufactured or recycled. The design of the CIK was validated with a preliminary LCA (Life Cycle Analysis), material consumption analysis, and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) analysis. The TCO analysis showed that the CIK could have a slightly lower TCO as the regular kitchen, due to the design based on lifespan. The material consumption analysis showed that, compared to the regular kitchen, the CIK could reduce material input with 25 % or more. The LCA showed that the CIK reduces the CO 2eq emissions with 75 % and eco-costs with 50 %. The CIK was tested for economic viability with housing associations, industry, and users. A prototype has been developed for further testing and refinement (see Figure 3). Discussion The developed CIK provides a concrete example of a modular, mass-customisable, 'cyclable' retrofit product. Through its preliminary validation, the proposed circular retrofit strategy presented in this paper has showed its potential to support circular housing retrofit in practice, both in the Dutch context and for housing elsewhere with similar characteristics. However, several limitations should be noted. First, the selection of (pr-)circular building approaches which we analysed, although extensive, was not complete. Other (pr-)circular approaches could provide valuable insights. Furthermore, a similar analysis can be made for the supporting industrial and business models. Also, future research is needed to refine and validate the developed strategy and solution. More retrofit products would need to be developed and tested (through implementation in demonstration projects) to validate the proposed strategy. To support the refinement of the CIK and to support industry in developing other circular retrofit products, a circular assessment method is needed. The assessment method should help select the most circular design variant in terms of design value, environmental impact, material consumption, and Total Costs of Ownership/Use. Further research can contribute to develop such assessment tool(s). Conclusion The goal in this paper was to develop a circular housing retrofit strategy and solution, focusing on Dutch housing constructed between 1970 and 1990. It was found that in this context 'all-in-one' sustainable retrofits are difficult to realise due to the fragmented ownership, the state of the housing stock and diversified dwelling designs. An alternative circular retrofit strategy was developed which applies modular (allowing component-by-component retrofit), 'mass-customisable', and 'cyclable' retrofit products, allowing natural maintenance moments to be employed to gradually create a circular housing stock. As an example and test, the Circular Kitchen (CIK) was described. The strategy presented in this paper has the potential to support circular housing retrofit in practice, both in the Dutch context and for housing elsewhere with similar characteristics. However, development and testing of (more) circular retrofit products is necessary to create a fully circular housing stock over time.
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. The clinical course of HIV-infection was analysed in a group of homosexual patients (n = 76, 72%) compared to intravenous drug abusers (IVDA, n = 30, 28%) in a retrospective cross-sectional study. The mean age of homosexual patients was 37.5 years compared to 28 years for IVDA. The following diseases are found significantly more frequently in homosexual patients compared to IVDA: Pneumocystis-carinii pneumonia (PCP) 17.1% vs. 0% (p < 0.05); Kaposi' sarcoma 16% vs. 0% (p < 0.05); diarrhoea 47.4% vs. 23.3% (p < 0.05); oral candidiasis 51.3% vs. 23.3% (p < 0.01); non-specific pneumonia of bacterial aetiology or due to unknown organisms 30% vs. 0% (p < 0.001) und seborrhoeic dermatitis 13.2% vs. 0% (p < 0.05). In contrast, viral hepatitis, non-specific abscesses and gonorrhoea were seen significantly more often in IVDA. The data show clearly that the spectra of HIV-associated diseases and HIV-unconnected diseases are significantly different in the two main groups. A risk-oriented preventive prophylaxis of HIV-related diseases and other infections is therefore required for each of these groups.
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Area functionals in plane grid generation II The area functional has played an important role in discrete variational grid generation. When minimized, it is expected to lead to a convex grid; however, this goal is achieved only for simple regions. In the rst part of this work a new area functional was introduced; it's minimization over an irregular plane region produces a convex quadrilateral grid. In this second part we provide theoretical foundations for our algorithm. Structured quadrilateral grid generation is useful in the numerical solution of partial diierential equations using nite-diierence methods. All the quadri-laterals must be convex and smoothness is a desired property. In the discrete variational approach, a function of the inner points is designed and its minimum is expected to be attained in a grid with good geometrical properties; a large scale optimization algorithm is used. This kind of functions are called discrete functionals. The rst studies using this approach were done by Castillo and Steinberg ((4]), who introduced the Length and Area functionals. Several works have been developed in this topic, among them we can mention those of Barrera, P erez and Castellanos ((1],,2], 3]). The methods developed by them failed to obtain convexity when the region was not simple. Tinoco and Barrera ((9], 10]) introduced a new family of functionals, named Adaptive Smoothness Functionals, whose optimization produces smooth and convex grids over general plane regions, regardless of whether the initial grid is convex or not. The authors introduced a procedure to reduce an eeect that is inherent to the smoothness functionals, namely the appearance of some cells with large areas. Theoretical results on the eeectiveness of this method were presented. In a recent paper ((11]), convex and smooth grids with good area control were obtained via the optimization of a new area functional. Experimental results were presented showing the performance of the method. In this paper theoretical foundations are given for that procedure. For the sake of clarity most of the previous work is reproduced here. The following material is organized as follows. Section 1 contains notation and deenitions. Section 2 introduces the adaptive area functional, and our
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Two Cases of Proximal Subungual Onychomycosis Caused by Trichophyton rubrum in HIV-negative Patients During Treatment with TNF- Inhibitors Combined with Methotrexate. Proximal subungual onychomycosis (PSO) is a rare subtype of onychomycosis with a clinical presentation characterized by proximal leukonychia in the lunular area of the nail. PSO is associated with immunosuppression and regarded a sign of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection when caused by Trichophyton (T.) rubrum. We present two cases of PSO caused by T. rubrum developed during treatment with TNF- inhibitors combined with methotrexate (MTX).
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Liver lipid content in broilers as affected by time without feed or feed and water. The purpose of this study was to determine if length of time of feed withdrawal of broilers prior to slaughter could affect the lipid content of their livers. Seven-week-old male broilers were allocated to three treatments: 1) no feed and water, 2) no feed, and 3) feed and water ad libitum. Those in the first treatment were held in plastic coops and those in the latter two treatments were kept in floor pens. Eight birds were randomly sampled initially and eight birds from each treatment at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 24 hr after the start of the study. The birds were weighed, killed, and the livers removed and analyzed for lipid content. The regression slopes of the two treatments without feed for body weight, liver weight, liver weight per unit body weight, and liver fat per unit body weight were significantly different from the control treatment. The slopes for liver fat were not significantly different among treatments. No obvious differences in the gross appearance of the livers were detected. The occasional problems with fatty livers in commercial broilers apparently cannot be accounted for by the length of time of feed withdrawal before slaughter.
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Pilates and dance to breast cancer patients undergoing treatment: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial MoveMama study Background: Breast cancer is a global public health issue and the side effects of the clinical treatment can decline the quality of life of these women. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle is essential to minimize the physical and psychological side effects of treatment. Physical activity has several benefits for breast cancer women and Pilates solo and belly dance can be an enjoyable type of physical activity for breast cancer women undergoing clinical treatment. The purpose of the study will be to provide a Pilates solo and a belly dance protocol (3x/16 weeks) for women undergoing breast cancer treatment and compare its effects with the control group. Methods: The participants will be allocated to either the intervention arm (Pilates solo or belly dance classes 3x/week for 16 weeks) or a control group (receipt of a booklet on physical activity for breast cancer patients and maintenance of habitual physical activity routine). The Pilates solo and belly dance classes will be divided into three stages: warm-up and stretching; the main stage and relaxation. Measurements of study outcomes will take place at baseline, post-intervention, 6-, 12- and 24-months (maintenance period). The data collection for both groups will occur with a questionnaire application and tests, covering general and clinical information, primary outcome will be quality of life (EORT QLQ C30 and BR23), secondary outcomes will be physical aspects as cardiorespiratory fitness (6-minute walk test and cycle ergometer), lymphedema (sum of arm circumference), physical activity (IPAQ short version), disabilities of the arm (DASH), range of motion (goniometer test), strength (dynamometer test) and flexibility (sit and reach test) and psychological aspects as depressive symptoms (BECK Inventory), body image (Body Image After Breast Cancer Questionnaire), self-esteem (Rosenberg), fatigue (FACT-F), pain (VAS), sexual function (FSFI) and sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index). Discussion: In view of the high prevalence of breast cancer among women, the implementation a specific protocol of Pilates solo and belly dance for patients with breast cancer is important considering the needs to improve the quality of life, physical and psychological aspects of their life. Pilates solo and belly dance are two kinds of physical activity that involves mental and body concentration, music, upper limb movements, femininity, and social involvement. An intervention with these two physical activities could offer a choice of supportive care to breast cancer women undergoing treatment to improve quality of life, physical and psychological aspects. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03194997 Background Cancer has been considered a global public health issue. Among the different types of cancer, breast cancer, specifically, is the most common among women worldwide. In Brazil, breast cancer is also considered the most common type of cancer among women. Following the many advances in breast cancer treatment, there has been an increase in the five-year survival rate from 78% to 87% over the past years in Brazil. Despite the increase in the survival rate, breast cancer is a significant occurrence in the patient's life because of the serious side effects of the clinical treatment, which compromise the functional capacity, and directly affect the quality of life of the patient. Living with these symptoms can result in emotional and physical exhaustion for these women, so a healthy lifestyle that involves good nutrition and regular physical activity is essential to minimize the psychological and physical side effects of treatment. Considering this context, physical activity after the diagnosis of breast cancer, besides being a protector factor, is also auxiliary to the clinical treatment, minimizing the collateral effects and improving the patients' recovery. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week for patients with cancer. Resistance training twice a week is also recommended to improve general physical health. A metanalysis that analyzed 33 clinical trials regarding the benefits of physical exercise on psychological and physical aspects of women after breast cancer and recommended the physical activity at all treatment stages. Among all the types of physical activity that can relate to the healthcare of women with breast cancer, exercise that involves mind and body can be beneficial for these women, as Pilates and dance. These two types of activities are pleasant activities that can promote emotional connections and can be considered a moderate physical activity according to the ACSM recommendation. The Pilates solo includes resistance and stretching exercises, synchronized with breathing and it respects the principles of control, precision, centering, fluidity of movement and concentration. It promotes physical benefits for patients regarding functional capacity and muscle strength, and most exercises are performed in a position of dorsal decubitus with control of the speed, precision and movement quality promoting the relaxation of the body. Aspects that are considered consequences of breast cancer treatments, and therefore, their recovery becomes essential. Dance accompanist with the music promotes movements with awareness of the body rhythms. Belly dance, specifically, is directed only for women and is considered as a form of exercise that associates body and mind through body movements, involving specially the upper limbs, performed to the sound of traditional Arabic music. Because it is a dance that involves the worship of the earth and the woman's uterus, as well as the feminine sensuality, it can act in the rescue of femininity, softness and beauty, exploring self-confidence and self-esteem of patients. It is a modality of upper limb movement, by controlling the arms using veils, tambourines, vessels, and in this way, it can promote physical benefits, considering the consequences of surgery and treatment which pass through these patients. Both the Pilates solo and dance have been the target of studies investigating physical exercise in patients after the diagnosis of breast cancer. Clinical trials that address the Pilates solo method demonstrate its benefits in several aspects, such as improving quality of life, functional capacity and depressive symptoms, benefits in muscle strength, pain and upper limb functionality after eight weeks of treatment. Also, the improvement in external rotation and shoulder abduction in patients submitted to axillary emptying and improvement in shoulder range of motion, quality of life, body image and mood after 12 weeks of intervention. None of these studies had published protocols in Pilates solo methods for breast cancer women. There are several studies in the literature-involving the effects of dance in breast cancer [15,17,22,26,. However, published protocols for this population have not been identified; only two of these studies are characterized as randomized controlled trials. The modalities investigated include specific dance therapy methods; classical ballet and jazz; traditional Greek dance associated with the muscular strength training of the upper limbs; also, the practice of circular dance and ballroom dance for couples. Belly dance is also investigated as a pilot study of our research group, identifying benefits in depressive symptoms, fatigue and quality of life of breast cancer women undergoing treatment and after treatment stage. Thus, it is important to implement a specific protocol of dance and Pilates solo for patients with breast cancer since it has already been positively correlated with the health of women after diagnosis. For this study, belly dance was chosen as the modality of dance included in the protocol, considering the necessity of preserving the femininity of women during the disease. Belly dancing can also address the physical and psychological needs of patients. Furthermore, this type of dance is a form of physical activity that associates the body and mind through movement, particularly involving the upper limbs, to the sound of traditional Arabic music. This type of dance can also enhance the emotional aspects of women after the diagnosis of breast cancer since this practice involves expressive movements that facilitate the preservation of femininity, softness, beauty, trust, and security. The Pilates solo was chosen because its favors lymphatic and blood drainage, improves posture, intensifies flexibility, and increases range of motion and muscular strength. When breathing exercises are added, the proposed exercises stimulate the thoracic lymphatic system, and thus, they can promote a reduction in lymphedema, which improves muscle function and consequently improves quality of life. This study protocol describes a randomized controlled trial of Pilates solo and belly dance (3x/week) for women after the diagnosis of breast cancer and compare its effects with the group without intervention. The hypothesis is that the Pilates solo and belly dance protocol will promote improvement in primary (quality of life) and secondary (psychological and physical) outcomes in women after the diagnosis of breast cancer, providing a beneficial activity option for women with breast cancer. Our second hypothesis is that Pilates will have better improvements on the physical variables as belly dance will improve psychological variables. Study design This is a single-center prospective, three-arm randomized clinical trial to assess the Pilates solo and belly dance effects on the primary outcome quality of life, and secondary outcomes as physical aspects, such as cardiorespiratory fitness, lymphedema, physical activity, disabilities of the arm, range of motion, strength and flexibility and psychological aspects as depressive symptoms, body image, self-esteem, fatigue, pain, sexual function, sleep quality of women undergoing clinical treatment of breast cancer. Participants will be randomized into either a Pilates solo intervention group, belly dance intervention group or the control group. This study was conducted according to SPIRIT 2013 Checklist: Recommended items to address in a clinical trial protocol and related documents (Supplementary material). Ethical approval This study will be conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki subjects. Also, the trial participants, trial registries and the journal submitted will be informed. Participants The study will be conducted in the city of Florianopolis -State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, the participants of the study will be women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and who will be undergoing treatment in the Oncology Research Center (CEPON) at the time of data collection. The group will receive an explanation of the stages of the study and after give the consent to participate, will sign an informed consent form and then be provided with an initial paper questionnaire for data collection. Eligibility criteria The inclusion criteria comprise: Women aged 18 years or older; Clinical stage 0 to III breast cancer; Be in adjuvant treatment with hormone therapy in CEPON at any time of the treatment cycle; Receive the release of the oncologist responsible for the practice of physical activity or the Physical Therapy sector of CEPON. Exclusion criteria include the diagnosis of some orthopedic or neurological limitation that prevents the practice of physical activity, as Parkinson disease, Alzheimer's or use of a wheelchair. Sample size To calculate the sample size, the method of distinguishing between the means was used, being n = ( + ) 2 2 / d2. The values of alpha ( = 0.05) and beta ( = 0.80) were adhered to, which according to the Gauss curve table values of 1.64 and 0.84, respectively, were used. The difference between the means was obtained through the pilot study, and a variable considered for the calculation was a quality of life, in which an average of the difference between all the scales in the pre and post periods was found. This value of the expected selection was 6.15 ± 9.4. The expected variance (2) was 89.49. At the end of the analysis, after the inclusion of a 30% margin of sample loss, a sample of 19 patients was selected for each group. Randomization and blinding process The randomization of the sample will be performed by one of the researchers, who should have access to a list of patients with breast cancer (stage 0 -III) who were in adjuvant treatment with hormone therapy at CEPON in the past three years, with the intention to achieve adequate participant enrolment to reach the target sample size. From this list, a randomization will be hold in a website (http://www.randomization.com), which will predict the allocation of patients in the three groups: group A: intervention with belly dance; group B: intervention with Pilates solo; group C: control group, who will be requested to maintain their routine activities. The randomization will be stratified by age, dividing the patients between those younger and those over 60 years of age. Considering those older The data from the patients will be maintained only with the principal researcher to protect confidentiality before, during, and after the trial. Since the protocol is difficult to blind for the subjects and the instructors due no proper way to sham physical exercise, all the data analysis will be performed by an external researcher. In this way, at least the data analysis will not receive interference. Pilates solo intervention The women allocated to this group will participate in the Pilates solo protocol. The 16week protocol will be implemented in 60-minute Pilates solo classes, three afternoons per week under supervision of an exercise science professional and a physiotherapist. The Pilates protocol will be divided in three stages: Warm-up and stretching: Including breathing, imprint and release, hip release, spinal rotation, cat stretch, hip rolls, scapula isolation, arm circles, head nods, elevation and depression of scapulae exercises during warm-up in all sessions. The main stage: A brief explanation of the purpose of the class will be provided and the exercises will take place as detailed in Table2. To increase the load during the protocol, TheraBand and toning ball exercises will be added at the 10th session, in the 20th will be added the exercise in the arms and from the 24th session the exercise of the spinal rotation will be realized with weight of 1 kg. Exercises will be performed according to each patient's ability (principle of sports training) to avoid pain (during and after exercising) and embarrassment associated with possible physical or even psychological and emotional difficulties. Relaxation: For this stage of the class, the patients will be invited to sit on the ball, spine stretch forward on the ball, self-stretching of cervical muscles on the ball (upper trapezius and scalene muscles), and active mobilization of the cervical spine. At the end of each class, a brief discussion will hold on the women's perceptions regarding the objectives discussed in the beginning of class and whether they were achieved, and this data will be recorded by a third researcher to identify whether the participants enjoyed the class and felt that they achieved the objectives of the class. Belly dance intervention Women allocated to this group will participate in the belly dance protocol. The 16-week protocol will be implemented in 60-minute belly dance classes, three afternoons a week under supervision of an exercise science professional and a physiotherapist. The classes will be divided into three stages: Warm-up and stretching: The beginning of the class will include songs with up to 80 beats per minute (bpm), thus identified as slow pace. The sequence of movements for this class stage will cover large movements for specific joints, including flexion, extension, abduction, adduction and rotation, initiated by the upper body until it reaches the lower limbs, lasting 10 minutes. The main stage: A brief explanation of the purpose of the class will be provided (i.e. the theory of dance or the specific step to be developed), followed by the practical part of the technical learning. The aim of this part will be for participants to learn the movements of the belly dance technique, to stimulate motor coordination, rhythm, and body awareness, as well as to improve aspects of flexibility and range of motion (ROM) of the upper limbs. The practice of the movements will be explored using individual, pair, or group dynamics, involving movements corresponding to the rhythm of music or the rhythm stipulated for the women. The participants will have the artistic freedom to create their own pattern of movement based on the belly dance technique, while respecting their own body awareness and allowing the expression of feelings. The evolution of the belly dance technique will be applied as outlined in Table 1. For this part of the classes, medium-paced music with up to 120 bpm will be use, as well as fast-paced music with up to 150 bpm. This part of the class will have an average duration of 40 minutes. Relaxation: This stage will be developed from slow-moving practices, with music up to 80 bpm, usually the same songs used in the initial warm-up and stretching. With heartrate normalization, this part will last 10 minutes. At the end of each class, a brief discussion will hold on the women's perceptions regarding the objectives discussed in the beginning of class and whether they were achieved, and this data will be recorded by a third researcher to identify whether the participants enjoyed the class and felt that they achieved the objectives of the class. Verification of the songs' rhythm was performed by measure the beats per minute (bpm), according to the ballroom dance protocol used in the study by Braga et al. The songs will be categorized in groups: slow (up to 80 bpm), medium (up to 120 bpm), and fast (up to 150 bpm). The performance score was calculated using the bpm Detector Pro application. Safety and intensity To control the intensity of the Pilates methods protocol and belly dance protocol assuring that all the patients experience the same intensity of the intervention and to promote the safety of the practice of physical activity in these breast cancer patients, the heart rate (HR) control will be performed in every session using a Polar pro trainer 5. HR values will be checked in four moments of the class as after the beginning of the class, after the warming and stretching, after the main stage and at the end of the class. The safety of the intervention will be assessed every session, according to HR and patient's own report. If participants do experience an adverse event, this will be brought immediately to the attention of the researchers. Adverse events will be evaluated by the researchers who will make the decision to stop the study early, and researchers will take responsibility and provide all care to patients included in the study. Control group Women allocated in this group will be asked to continue their routine activities during the 16-week intervention period. They will be contacted every two months by telephone. It will be also offered to this group three meeting during the 16 weeks of intervention, the first meeting will focus on stretching exercise to be performed at home on a regular basis, a second meeting will be about self-esteem and the last meeting will be about prevention of lymphedema. These meetings will occur with the purpose of promoting an environment where these women could talk and share their experiences with other women with breast cancer and make sure that they also receive health educational information, as they will not receive the exercise intervention in the first phase of the study. These meetings were an exigence of the Ethics Committee of the CEPON, hospital that will take place the study in Brazil to ensure that the control group also receive possible benefits of the study. Likewise, this strategy can improve the adherence of the control group as they will feel as a group and make social binds. Both groups, experimental (Pilates solo and belly dance) and control group, will receive, after the 16 weeks of intervention, an explanatory booklet on the benefits of practicing physical activity after the breast cancer diagnosis, as well instruction on the prevention of lymphedema. As a strategy to improve adherence of the subjects on the trials, all the patients will be invited to social meetings, groups in social medias, thematic classes according with specific dates (E.g Carnival, Easter, Halloween, Christmas), and receive a T-shirt from the Project at the first meeting. Additionally, direct contact with the subjects that miss a class will occur via SMS and phone calls. These activities are planned to make the subjects feel familiar with the trial environment. For the 2-year follow up, the intervention and control group will be invited to a physical activity program organized by the university. They will also be contacted through social media and SMS once in a month to motivate the practice of physical activity and to remind of future data collections. After the end of the study besides the publication in academic journals, the main results will be presented at the Hospital in Brazil and shared with the patients in brochure format. Other outcome measures As secondary outcomes will be evaluated the physical and psychological variables associated with the quality of life. The physical outcomes are cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity, lymphedema, disabilities of the arm, range of motion, strength, flexibility and physical activity. In addition, the psychological outcomes are depressive symptoms, pain, fatigue, body image, self-esteem, sexual function and sleep quality. Cardiorespiratory fitness To assess the cardiorespiratory fitness, a submaximal incremental exercise test (85% of maximum heart rate -HRmax) will be performed using a cycle ergometer (Lode Excalibur Sport, Groningen, the Netherlands). The protocol will start with a power of 20W, and in every 3 minutes, 15W will be added, until the patient reaches 85% of his HRmax, which will be identified through the equation (207 -0.7 * age). In the initial three minutes of the test, the patient will be asked to remain in a rest position, accommodated in the cycle ergometer, to identify the values of resting heart rate and oxygen consumption. Patients will be asked to maintain the rotation per minute (RPM) of the cycle ergometer always above 60 RPM. Expiratory gases and flow volume will be collected during the test and analyzed by calibrated metabolic system (Quark CPET Ergo, Cosmed, Rome, Italy) to provide measurements of oxygen consumption. The heart rate will be monitored by a POLAR mark frequency and will be observed within the first three minutes of the test and at the end of each minute of the three-minute test stages. Also, every three minutes, the patient will be questioned about her perception of the exercise, through the Subjective Perception Scale of Effort -Borg Scale 6-20 points. This scale ranges from six to 20 points, where the sixth position would be the perception of "very easy" and 20 the "exhaustive". The 6-minute walk test measures the distance a person can travel on a flat, rigid surface in six minutes. Its main objective is to determine the tolerance to exercise and oxygen saturation during a submaximal exercise. Patients are asked to walk at their own pace as fast as possible during the six minutes, being allowed to walk slowly, stop and / or rest when necessary, and return to walking when they feel fit. Lymphedema The evaluation of lymphedema will be performed by calculating the arm volume, performed by measuring the circumferences of both upper limbs, at five points distributed along the arm and forearm: at 21 cm and 11.5 cm above the olecranon; to 7.5 cm, 14 cm and 24 cm below the olecranon. The circumference will be obtained, with the patient sitting, keeping the arm in abduction, flexed forearm and hand resting on the chest. These measures are used to calculate the approximate volume of the five truncated cones formed at the points of circumference measurements. The sum of these five parts gives the total limb volume.. Range of motion To verify the range of motion, evaluations of flexion, abduction, and external rotation of the shoulder according to previous studies with breast cancer patients will be carried using the digital goniometer (Absolute Axis 360°). The protocol used by Marques to perform the range motion assessment will be performed. The shoulder flexion movement will be performed with the subject lying down, the flexion movement will be performed with the palm facing medially parallel to the sagittal plane, the fixed arm of the goniometer will be placed along the axillary line of the trunk and the movable arm placed Strength of the upper limb The muscle strength of the upper limb on both arms will be measured by the Chatilln® portable digital dynamometer, which can measure overall appendicular muscle strength and all body segments. This equipment provides the value of the peak of isometric maximum force exerted by the evaluated segment, and for this it requires a generation of fast force, that does not fatigue the muscle. The maximum force generated is registered in Newtons. The muscle groups responsible for flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, internal and external rotation of the shoulder will be evaluated. The dynamometer will be placed over the specific location and patients will be asked to perform force against the equipment for up to five seconds. Each muscle group will be evaluated three times, and the mean value of these evaluations will be used, with a thirty second interval between the tests, and bilaterally. In all cases, the patients will be instructed before the start and during the repetitions, on the specific position. Flexibility "Sit and Reach" test, which allows assessing the flexibility of the coxofemoral joint. The Sit and Reach box should be supported on a wall, and for evaluation the patient is asked to keep the knees extended, bare feet resting the Sit and Reach box, and hands overlapped on the horizontal surface of the box. It should be performed with an anterior flexion of the spine, keeping the head between the arms, without flexing the knees, revealing a pause in the moment it reaches the maximum of the dotted line. Three replicates are performed, and it is considered the best mark among the three. Physical activity The physical activity level will be investigated through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ -short version). The Brazilian validation and reproducibility were performed by Matsudo Depressive symptoms Investigated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), that is a self-report questionnaire originally developed by Beck et al.. It was validated in Brazil and factorially validated for cancer patients, indicating a Cronbach alpha of 0.82. Contains 21 multiple-choice objective questions related to depressive symptoms, in detail: sadness, pessimism, feeling of failure, dissatisfaction, guilty feelings, punishment feelings, self-dislike, self-criticism, suicidal thoughts, crying, irritability, withdrawal from family or friends. Each question provides four response options, ranging from zero to three. The sum of the scores of each question provides a total score, ranging from zero to 63, and the closer to 63, the greater the presence of depressive symptoms, indicating a higher degree of depression, and the greater the proximity to the zero greater absence of depressive symptoms. Pain The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used. VAS is a one-dimensional measure for assessing pain intensity. Composed of a 10 cm line, with anchors at both ends, at one end of the line is marked "no pain" and the other "worst pain imaginable". The magnitude of the pain is indicated by marking the line and a ruler is used to quantify the measurement on a scale of 0-100mm. showing an internal consistency of 0.91 for fatigue, and 0.92 for the total FACT-F and the total Cronbach's alpha 0.92. It is a self-report instrument aimed at patients with cancer that includes 13 items related to the perception of fatigue. Investigated by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Fatigue instrument (FACT-F). Validated in Brazil Individuals will be asked to respond to each item with a score of 0 to 4, where 0 to 4, where 0 = not at all, 1 = a little bit, 2 = somewhat, 3 = quite a bit, and 4 = very much. In the total score the possible interval is between 0 and 52, being that, a higher score indicates a level of less perceived fatigue. Body image Addressed by the Body Image After Breast Cancer (BIBCQ) questionnaire originally developed in Canada which was translated, validated and culturally adapted in Brazil transparency, and concerns about the arm. In the end, the higher the score reaches, more compromised is the patient body image. Self-esteem The Self-Esteem Scale (EAR) developed by Rosenberg will be used. This scale was validated for the population with cancer, and in Brazil. It also received a validation review with Cronbach alpha of 0.90. It is a one-dimensional measure consisting of ten statements related to a set of feelings of self-esteem and selfacceptance that determine the global self-esteem. The total scale score varies from 10 to 40 points, and the following form is used as categorization: satisfactory or high selfesteem, those that presented a score greater than 31 points; mean self-esteem, those that resulted in their total score between 21 and 30 points; and unsatisfactory or low self-esteem, those with scores lower than 20 points. It is understood in this way, that the greater the value reached by the woman on the scale the better her self-esteem. Sexual function Evaluated by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) with cross-cultural validation, revealing a Cronbach alpha of 0.96. Also validated internationally for patients with breast cancer with Cronbach alpha of 0.70. This questionnaire consists of 19 questions, grouped into six areas: desire, excitement, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain. The sexual function score, at the end of the analysis, can vary from two to 36 points, considering that the higher the score obtained, the better the sexual function of the woman. Sleep quality Evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Validated with Cronbach alpha 0.76. This instrument is composed of seven sleep-related areas: subjective quality, latency, duration, habitual efficiency, disturbances, use of sleeping medication and daytime sleepiness. Scores range from zero to 21 and correspond to overall sleep quality. In the end, scores up to five determine a good sleep quality and scores greater than five points distinguish poor sleep quality. Descriptive and control variables The descriptive and control variables were divided into clinical variables (cancer stage, characteristics of treatment, previous clinical treatment, characteristics of surgical intervention, mammary reconstruction, date of surgery, presence of lymphedema, physiotherapy and other diseases), sociodemographic variables (age, education, marital status, economic level and occupation) and anthropometric measures (height and body mass). The descriptive and control variables will be acquired by self report. The variables of the study regarding the Pilates solo and belly dance protocol are present in Table 3 and in Figure 2. Data collection Data will be collect using an interview format with a paper questionnaire and physical tests. The principal investigator of the study, who received previously training, will conduct a 50-minute interview. The questionnaire will cover general and clinical information, quality of life and psychological variables. The physical variables will be investigated by the specific tests. All data collection will be administered before the beginning of the intervention (baseline collection) and after the conclusion of the 16-week protocol (post-intervention collection), also, 6-month, 12-month and 24-month after intervention (maintenance collection). (See Figure 1). The maintenance collection will take place considering the health behavioral change that the belly dance and Pilates solo intervention can promote in breast cancer women. For the control group, data collection will be conduct using the same paper-based questionnaire and tests applied to the intervention group, with data on general and clinical information, quality of life, physical and psychological variables. The collection will be schedule with the participants and will take place at the same intervals as for the experimental group, before the start of the intervention (baseline collection) and after conclusion (post-intervention collection) by the same principal investigator, also, 6-month, 12-month and 24-month after intervention (maintenance collection). All the data collection of intervention and control group will occur at Santa Catarina State University. Patients that discontinue intervention or control group that did not show for meeting, will be collect as well and analyzed as intention to treat group. During the intervention and data collection the researchers will collect spontaneously feedback from the patients to guarantee that the study will not have any adverse events. Data from all groups (experimental and control) will be held according to the Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and the Declaration of Helsinki and will be treated with confidentiality, following the current privacy policy. Statistical Analysis First, a spreadsheet will be created using the Excel 2016, from which the data will be transfer to SPSS version 20.0 for the analysis. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and percentage) for the characteristics of the sample will be computed. To investigate the relationship between general and health information of the control and experimental groups, Chi-Square or Fisher's exact tests will be used. To analyze differences in the experimental and control groups in the baseline, post intervention, and in the maintenance periods, a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures and Sydak comparison tests will be conduct. Confounders variables will be considered in the analyses, as type of treatment, type of surgery, age and weight status. The analysis will occur according to the protocol and to intention to treat, meaning that all the patients will be evaluated according to the randomization process. For handle with missing data it will be used the multiple imputation method. The significance level of 5% will be two-sided. Discussion We presented a 16-weeks Pilates solo and belly dance protocol for women after breast cancer diagnosis. In the literature, the benefits of physical activity for breast cancer women are well established. The systematics reviews reported improved quality of life and cardiorespiratory capacity and reduced fatigue after practice of physical exercise during breast cancer treatment [12,. The proposal of this study is present a protocol of Pilates solo and belly dance (3x/week) for women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and compare its effects with the group without intervention, considering that these are two kinds of activities that valorize mind and body, and can bring different outcomes and benefits for breast cancer women. Dance can represent both psychotherapeutic treatment and a form of physical activity, based on body awareness, expression, and acceptance, to facilitate physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual integration. Moreover, through the socialization context promoted by dance, benefits are revealed in relation to decreased feelings of loneliness and misunderstandings with others. Pilates as well, was created by Joseph Pilates as a method based on Eastern mind-body-spirit theories combined with Western theories, according to the following six principles: centralization, control, concentration, fluidity, breathing, and precision. Its practice provides shoulder and pelvis stability and improves posture, stretching capacity, muscular strength, and mind-body connection. In a systematic review of dance and breast cancer published by our group, we identified dance as a viable alternative of adjuvant treatment for patients who have passed through breast cancer, as well as claiming that it can promote psychological benefits and improve strength and range of motion of the upper limbs. In this scenario, studies involving dance and breast cancer may involve specific dance therapy methods; traditional dance techniques, such as classical ballet and jazz; the practice of traditional Greek dance associated with the training of the upper limbs; as well as circular dance and ballroom dance. However, none of these studies presented published protocols, demonstrating the importance of a belly dance protocol for women after the diagnosis of breast cancer. And further publication of a belly dance protocol will improve the possibility of generalization of the study, assuring the external validity. The use of the Pilates method in patients with breast cancer was evaluated by a systematic review of four studies and determined that the method causes an improvement in patients' range of motion, pain and fatigue. Other evidences related to the benefits of the Pilates method for the health of these women reported improved quality of life, reduced pain and fatigue, decreased lymphedema, and increased upper limb functionality. These studies published on Pilates interventions but there is no protocol study for women with breast cancer. Also, the further publication of a Pilates solo protocol will improve the possibility of generalization of the study, assuring the external validity. Methods of dance therapy are generally similar, taking advantage of subjective approaches to the perceptions of body and movement fluency in relation to feelings. These methods can comprise the use of conscious walks and drives, verbal feedback, exploration of specific body parts, the use of different movement intensities (light and slow to energetic and active), and the work in pairs. These studies have shown positive results in relation to psychological and physical aspects of women after the diagnosis of breast cancer. However, they do not include the validation of a protocol, which, therefore, does not allow the study to be replicated by other researchers and does not indicate the frequency, duration, or intensity of the movements, as well as the beats per minute of the music used. The belly dance protocol presented in this study addresses a form of dance that has predetermined movements and specific techniques and was developed following a specific progression to the correct learning model. In this sense, belly dance has been chosen as the model for the intervention protocol for being an enjoyable practice that involves an intimate relation between movement and emotion. Also preserves the female identity and awakens a spontaneous body language, with beneficial movements that respect the individuality of each practitioner. Belly dance is also characterized as a practice that offers intense movement of the upper limbs, which directly benefits women; addressing limitations caused by the disease, such as the development of lymphedema and decrease of range of motion. A pilot study was developed by the research group itself and has been shown to be an effective possibility for interventions with breast cancer patients. In the pilot study, the intervention was only performed for 12 weeks, often twice weekly and with 60 minutes of duration per session, but already demonstrated benefits in breast cancer on quality of life, depressive symptoms and fatigue. Also, the adherence was 78,6% (IC95%: 71.3 -85.9). The Pilates intervention protocol presented here has not been yet performed in women with breast cancer, and it is of great relevance as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of these women. The protocol was developed to achieve the great benefits reported in the international literature, including improvement in quality of life and reduction in the physical and psychological effects of adjuvant breast cancer treatment. In addition, this protocol influences and encourages the practice and maintenance of physical activity after treatment, as the practice of physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer recurrence. The exercises include stretching of the upper and lower limbs, upper limb mobility, and strengthening of the upper and lower limbs and abdomen, with consideration and respect for each patient's limit and most exercises are performed in the supine position, avoiding impact to the joints. The time of intervention of 16 weeks for this protocol was chosen considering the pilot study and the systematic review of breast cancer and dance and Pilates. The pilot study of 12 weeks showed psychological benefits to breast cancer women, and the classes were performed in 24 sessions. Therefore, to improve physical and psychological aspects in this protocol it was decided to explore twice the number of sessions, leading to a 48 sessions protocol, in 16 weeks. In the systematic review of dance and breast cancer it was demonstrated that interventions were performed with a range of three to 24 weeks, with one to three sessions a week and one to three hours per session. It was also observed that most of the studies identified in the systematic review about Pilates and breast cancer had their interventions with a total duration of eight weeks, frequency of three times weekly and sessions of 45 to 60 minutes. Thus, as average of these findings we also propose 16 weeks with three 60-min sessions per week. Due to the lack of a systematic and specific protocol for patients with breast cancer and the importance of acting with adjunctive treatment, a Pilates solo and a belly dance intervention protocol was developed to improve quality of life, as well as to mitigate the psychological and physical outcomes of women after breast cancer diagnosis. For being two kinds of physical activity that is known worldwide, there is the possibility of application in other locations. Finally, Pilates solo and belly dance are characterized as important physical activity option for this population that can minimize the side effects of the disease and its treatment, assisting in the patients' recovery. modifications will be communicated not only to CEPH but also for the trial participants, trial registries and the journal submitted. It will be obtained written informed consent from all participants in the study. Consent for publication Not applicable. Availability of data and materials Data are available on request to the authors. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding The main investigator of this study was financed in part by the Coordenao de Aperfeioamento de Pessoal de Nvel Superior -Brasil (CAPES) -Finance Code 001. The PhD student financed is responsible for the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript. Author's contributions LB conceived of the study, initiated the study design, developed the methodology, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; TBF conceived of the study, initiated the study design, developed the methodology, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; MCSV initiated the study design, developed the methodology; GSP initiated the study design, developed the methodology, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; JM initiated the study design, developed the methodology, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; FFS initiated the study design, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; AB initiated the study design, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; FB initiated the study design, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; MD initiated the study design, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript; ACAG initiated the study design, commented on initial drafts of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Figure 1 Flow diagram of the study participants according to CONSORT 2010. Figure 2 Template of recommended content for the schedule of enrolment, interventions, and assessments. Supplementary Files This is a list of supplementary files associated with the primary manuscript. Click to download. SPIRIT_Fillable-checklist-.doc
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Hyperthermia: effect on exercise prescription. Ten healthy male university students pedaled a bicycle ergometer (Monark) for three sessions each lasting 30 minutes. Each subject worked at an individually predicted work load corresponding to approximately 40% of maximal aerobic capacity. The same predicted work load was conducted at 24 degrees C, 44 degrees C and 54 degrees C for each subject. For practical purposes, the results reveal approximately a one beat per minute increase in exercise heart rate for each 1 degree C increase in ambient temperature above neutral (24 degrees C). The practice of exercising cardiac patients in hot ambient temperatures which produce potentially hazardous heart rate levels was challenged. Seasonal reevaluation of exercise heart rate prescriptions is of importance. Hopefully, these findings will also be of some importance to various community gymnasiums and to self-motivated joggers.
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Interstitial cells of Cajal: is their role in gastrointestinal function in view of therapeutic perspectives underestimated or exaggerated? This manuscript reviews the current views on morphology and function of the distinct subpopulations of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the digestive tract and their interrelationships with surrounding cells. Three different functions have been postulated so far, i.e. a pacemaker role, a mediator in enteric excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission and a mechanosensor. Attention will also be paid to the interstitial cells of Cajal and their possible involvement in pathophysiological conditions. Finally, perspectives for interstitial cells of Cajal as targets for therapeutic intervention will be discussed.
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Three relapses after a haploidentical transplantation in a pediatric patient: Cure with no further transplantation Isolated extramedullary relapse (EMR) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a highly fatal condition that creates uncertainty regarding treatment options. Although certain approaches such as repeat HSCT and donor lymphocyte infusion are recommended, we report a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who had three isolated EMRs after HSCT at different locations and at different times that were responsive to local and systemic therapies, without the need for a second transplantation.
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Wearable chemical sensors: Characterization of heart rate electrodes using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy A series of experiments was conducted in order to determine the reaction kinetics of various types of heart rate monitoring electrodes. In addition, nonmotion on-body measurements were performed in order to gauge how the difference in reaction kinetics translates to the electrocardiogram signal. Standard solid-gel Ag/AgCl single use monitoring electrodes are used here as the gold standard to which textile electrodes can be compared. The test method created here will serve as a basis to evaluate future heart rate monitoring electrodes.
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INSAR-BASED DETECTION AND MAPPING OF SEISMICALLY INDUCED GROUND SURFACE DISPLACEMENT AND DAMAGE IN PAMPANGA, PHILIPPINES On April 22, 2019, an earthquake with a magnitude MW 6.1 struck the municipality of Castillejos in Zambales, the Philippines, and severely affected the province of Pampanga, which caused damage to commercial and residential structures reaching over 40 victims. This paper presents an approach for creating a pixel-based proxy damage assessment and displacement field maps to delineate the extent of ground surface displacements due to an earthquake. Specifically, this paper explored two change detection methods: the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique and the coherence difference analysis method, using an open-source remote sensing software package and free SAR image data acquired by Sentinel-1 missions. Ground truth data were collected to substantiate the findings of the generated maps after the earthquake. Out of 7 surveyed damaged structures that were included in the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) of the Philippines Situational Report, four damaged structures were successfully targeted using the proxy damage assessment map that had a coherence difference value ranging from 0.7-0.9 and damage grades of 3-5 based on the European Macroseismic Scale 1998 (EMS-98) damage classification system. This study confirms that change detection methods applied to C-band Sentinel-1 SAR data are valuable for mapping damaged areas and estimating ground surface displacements toward better hazard mitigation and disaster response.
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Enhanced H₂ Sensitivity in Ultraviolet-Activated Pt Nanoparticle/SWCNT/Graphene Nanohybrids A surface engineering approach is exploited to enhance the performance of H2 sensors consisting of a single-wall carbon nanotube film/graphene 3D electrode decorated with catalytic Pt nanoparticles using atomic layer deposition (Pt-NPs/SWCNTs/Gr). Specifically, C-band ultraviolet (UVC) radiation has been applied on the Pt-NPs/SWCNTs/Gr sensors for up to 20 minutes to activate the carbon surface and enhanced H2 sensitivity and response speed have been obtained. Remarkably, at the optimal UVC irradiation of 10 minutes (intensity of 4.6 mW/cm2), the H2 gas response was enhanced by up to 4.3 fold, together with an enhanced response speed by 3.6 times as compared to that of the as-made Pt-NPs/SWCNTs/Gr sensors before the UVC irradiation. Specifically, a high H2 response up to 32% has been achieved at 10% H2 concentration. This enhancement can be attributed to desorption of residual molecules adsorbed on the SWCNTs and graphene surfaces during the sensor fabrication using UVC irradiation. This result illustrates the importance of the carbon surface activation in development of high-performance H2 sensors using carbon nanostructures. The obtained high performance in the Pt-NPs/SWCNTs/Gr sensors can be attributed to the large sensing surface area of SWCNT films with carbon surface activated using UVC treatment, the catalytic benefit of the conformally coated Pt-NPs, and high mobility signal transport through graphene. In addition, this result demonstrates that the UVC irradiation can provide an effective, non-destructive, and facile method to activate the carbon surface on sensors composed of carbon nanostructures.
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Ergodic Stochastic Optimization Algorithms for Wireless Communication and Networking Ergodic stochastic optimization (ESO) algorithms are proposed to solve resource allocation problems that involve a random state and where optimality criteria are expressed in terms of long term averages. A policy that observes the state and decides on a resource allocation is proposed and shown to almost surely satisfy problem constraints and optimality criteria. Salient features of ESO algorithms are that they do not require access to the state's probability distribution, that they can handle nonconvex constraints in the resource allocation variables, and that convergence to optimal operating points holds almost surely. The proposed algorithm is applied to determine operating points of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing broadcast channel that maximize a given rate utility.
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Marriage Guidance, Women and the Problem(S) of Returning Soldiers in Finland, 19441946 When former military chaplains began to give marital guidance to troubled couples after the end of hostilities with the Soviet Union (19411944) in Finland, new information about the causes and experiences of marital problems and divorces emerged during guidance sessions. Even lengthy marriages were seen to be burdened due to the stress of reunion and mens wartime infidelity, increased inclination to drinking and aggressive behaviour. The article discusses the meaning and construction of marital expectations with respect to the development of post-war marital dissolution, and argues that wives in particular tried to adjust their marital expectations in accordance with the general developments in personal life and society. Especially in the case of older marriages, for the majority of women, divorce was seen more as means of personal survival than of seeking happiness, even in the urban areas. Although contemporaries feared that the marital institution was disintegrating, the majority of wives were willing to work to save, or endure, even troubled marriages.
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Vertical Lip Position and Thickness in Facial Reconstruction: A Validation of Commonly Used Methods for Predicting the Position and Size of Lips This study examined several methods used to estimate oral fissure position, lip margin position, and lip thickness recommended by Angel, George, Lebedinskaya, Taylor, Wilkinson et al., Balueva and Veselovskaya. A sample of 86 lateral head cephalograms of adult subjects from central Europe were measured and the actual and predicted dimensions were compared. The best estimation for oral fissure position was opposite the lower mark of maxillary incisors (error of 1.3 mm). Upper lip margin was predicted best by upper mark of maxillary incisors (error of 1.7 mm), and lower lip margin by cementumenamel junction of mandibular incisors (error of 2.3 mm). The regression equations of Wilkinson et al. displayed least error (1.3 mm and 1.8 mm, respectively) for upper and lower lip thickness, and method of George (error of 3.4 mm) for total lip thickness.
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Can You Test Me Now? Equivalence of GMA Tests on Mobile and NonMobile Devices As technology continues to evolve, organizations seek to use personal electronics like smartphones for selection and assessment. While this promises to increase access to a more diverse applicant pool, research is needed to examine whether commonly used assessments function similarly on these devices as on a conventional computer. Contrary to past research, we did not find meaningful differences in general mental ability (GMA) test scores between device groups. We also observed few differences in item functioning between devices. Screen size had a positive, but marginal effect on test scores. These results are optimistic for the use of mobile devices in GMA testing, but additional research is needed to examine the functioning of alternative GMA tests administered on mobile devices.
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Preparatory set associated with pro-saccades and anti-saccades in humans investigated with event-related FMRI. Previous studies have shown that the BOLD functional MRI (fMRI) signal is increased in several cortical areas when subjects perform anti-saccades compared with pro-saccades. It remains unknown, however, whether this increase is due to an increased cortical motor signal for anti-saccades or due to differences in preparatory set between pro- and anti-saccade trials. To address this question, we measured event-related fMRI in a paradigm that allowed us to separate instruction-related brain activity from saccade-related brain activity. In this paradigm, the instruction to either generate a pro-saccade or an anti-saccade was conveyed by a switch in the color of the central fixation stimulus and preceded the presentation of a peripheral stimulus by either 6, 10, or 14 s. Cortical areas were functionally mapped using the general linear model comparing standard pro- and anti-saccade blocks with fixation blocks. When the trials were aligned on the onset of the instruction stimulus, bilateral frontal eye fields and right hemisphere dorsolateral prefrontal cortex showed an increased signal during the instruction period on anti-saccade trials as compared with pro-saccade trials. When the trials were aligned on the movement stimulus and the instruction period activity was subtracted, there were no differences between pro- and anti-saccades. This finding suggests that the increased cortical activation found in previous blocked designs originates predominately from differences in preparatory set and not from differences in the motor signal between pro- and anti-saccades.
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Evaluating rules for phonological reduction in In this paper, pronunciation variation in Swedish due to speaking style and speech rate is discussed. A tentative rule system for segment-level reduction is currently being evaluated by letting subjects assess the naturalness of synthetic speech generated from canonical transcriptions and transcriptions reduced by the system, respectively. Results from experiments using short sentences with explicit control over the rules applied have shown that reduced forms are preferred at high speech rates (rates above the synthesis default rate), while there is no significant bias in preference between canonical and reduced forms at the synthesis default speech rate. Presently, longer and less controlled passages of synthetic speech are being evaluated using the same experiment set-up. Using text passages of varying degree of formality, this experiment allows for testing the effects of text formality on perceived naturalness.
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Group differential games for multiparameter singularly perturbed systems Abstract In this paper, a group differential game problem is formulated using the system model of multiparameter singularly perturbed systems (MSPS). The case that there exist two groups of players with a conflict interest in the game is considered, and the players in each group must make their own decisions by taking into account the group interest. A method is proposed to find the approximate strategy for every player which will lead to an O (||||) near saddlepoint equilibrium.
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EEG-based Mental Workload Estimation using Encoder-Decoder Networks with Multilevel Feature Fusion In this paper, we propose a model that combines the multilevel feature fusion algorithm and encoder-decoder structure for evaluation of mental workload using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The encoder-decoder structure was used to reduce additive noise and subject variations of EEG data. The encoder is structured by incorporating a 3D convolutional neural network (3DCNN) and multilevel feature fusion concept, which extracts unified key features from combining the low-level and high-level features. The decoder consists of simple 3DCNN layers to recover the input EEG image from the latent vector. The proposed model can achieve higher performance by mitigating feature variations. We evaluate our network with EEG data obtained through the Sternberg task to estimate mental workload, which has 91.6% accuracy and outperforms the conventional algorithm.
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Brain-to-Brain Interaction at a Distance: A Global or Differential Relationship? Background: The main objective of this exploratory study was a confirmation of the results obtained by Giroldini et al, 2016, relative to the possibility of identifying a long-distance connection between the EEG activities of two totally sensory shielded subjects, one of whom was stimulated with light and sounds. Furthermore, this study sought to answer the following questions: - What is the relationship between the power of the EEG signal in the stimulated partner and that of the other distant partner? - Is the relationship between the EEG activities of the stimulated and distant isolated partners global (i.e., an undifferentiated response), or is it differentiated and thus displays variations depending on the characteristics of the stimulation applied to the stimulated pair? Methods: Five adults chosen for their experience in mind control techniques and their mutual friendships took part in this study. Each participant took turns in being both the stimulated partner and the isolated non-stimulated partner with each of the others, making a total of 20 pair combinations. The stimulated partner received three blocks of 32 visual-auditory stimulations lasting 1 second modulated at 10 Hz, 12 Hz, and 14 Hz respectively, with a constant inter-stimulus interval of 4 seconds. The EEG activity of each pair was recorded at 128 samples/sec over 14 channels and analyzed by measuring traditional steady-state potentials and the Pearsons linear correlation between all possible signal pairs with an innovative algorithm. Results: From the results of the twenty pairs, we found an increase in the correlation among the EEG channels of the isolated distant partners, corresponding to frequencies of the steady-state visual and auditory potentials used for the stimulated partner. Furthermore, we did not find a correlation between the response intensity elicited in the stimulated partners and that observed in the non-stimulated one suggesting that this physical characteristic cannot be transferred between isolated partners. Discussion: A mental connection at distance can allow connection of informational rather than physical characteristics of the shared signals. Introduction The possibility that the brain activities of two physically distant, but emotionally and mentally connected individuals, display a correlation in the absence of any normal sensory connection, has been supported by Giroldini et al.,, independently confirmed by Radin, and further approximately thirty studies (see Table S1 in the study of a). In a typical study of this kind, two members of a pair are separated (varying from meters to kilometers) and sensorially isolated from each other. One member is stimulated with either structured (e.g. images) or unstructured (e.g. lights and sounds) information, and the correlation between their respective EEG activities is measured. For example, if the sensorially isolated partner's EEG shows a variation correlated to the stimulated partner's EEG, we can assume (unless potential artefacts are discovered) that it is proof of a non-local (long-distance) connection between the two brains. Even if, from a phenomenological point of view, this correlation seems to show a causal effect of the stimulated partner upon the sensorially isolated one, some authors believe it to be a form of biological entanglement similar to what occurs in quantum physics (see for example Walach, Tressoldi, & Pederzoli, 2016), and therefore is an expression of an acausal correlation. However, to date, the relationship between the quality and intensity of the stimulated partner's (SP) signal and the same parameters seen in the isolated non-stimulated distant partner (NSP) have yet to be examined in depth, except for the fact that the latter's signal is much weaker (by approximately a factor of ten). This study is an exploratory contribution to better understand this relationship. We specifically sought to answer the following questions: --What is the relationship between the intensity (or power) of the observed EEG signal between the stimulated partner and the isolated distant partner? --Is the relationship between the EEG activities of the stimulated and distant isolated partners global (i.e., an undifferentiated response), or is it differentiated and therefore exhibits changes depending on the characteristics of the stimuli applied to one of the pair? The first answer is important in understanding whether or not a correlation exists between the recorded EEG signal intensities of the stimulated partner and the isolated one, with all the related consequences of honing in on this relationship not just within groups but between pairs of subjects as well. The second answer, however, is important in recognizing which physical characteristics of the signal can be identified from this strange distant correlation, for their possible future development and even technological application. Participants Five adults -two women and three men -took part in this study, with an average age of 38.3 years (SD = 7.5), chosen for their experience in mind control techniques (mainly meditation) and their mutual friendships. We consider these pre-requisites essential for an adequate "mental and emotional connection" between the pairs. Each participant took turns in being both the stimulated partner (SP) and the non-stimulated partner (NSP) with each of the others, making a total of 20 pair combinations. Statement of Ethics The use of experimental subjects is in accordance with ethical guidelines as outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, and the study has been approved by the Ethical Committee of the University of Padova's Department of General Psychology, prot. n. 63, 2012. Before taking part in the experiment, each subject gave his/her informed consent in writing after having read a description of the experiment. EEG equipment Two Emotiv Epoc™ EEG devices were used, modified to allow connection (via multi-contact connectors) to professional Bionen headsets (See Figure S1 in the Supplemental Information) to ensure high quality EEG signals. The system's accuracy and signal quality were thoroughly checked and ascertained. The sample frequency was 128 samples/sec over 14 channels connected to locations Fp1, F3, C3, P3, O1, F7, T5, Fp2, F4, C4, P4, O2, F8, T6. The instruments were provided with a built-in fifth order low-pass digital filtre (bandwidth from 0.2 to 45 Hz), as well as two notch filtres at 50 and 60 Hz respectively as protection against noise produced by the local electricity network. Signal acquisition by the two EEG devices was controlled by a specially designed software program with an acquisition synchronicity precision better than 1/128 second and which ensured total electrical independence and separation between the two devices (see a). The experiment was conducted at the EvanLab laboratory in Florence (Italy), which is comprised of two separate sound-and lightproof rooms with no electromagnetic disturbances (see Figure 1). Visual-auditory stimulation The visual-auditory stimulations were conducted in three blocks of 32 simultaneous stimulations lasting 1 second, at the same time on-off modulated at 10 Hz, 12 Hz, and 14 Hz respectively, with a constant inter-stimulus interval of 4 seconds. The audio modulation was performed on a 900 Hz sinusoidal carrier (80 dB). This method of stimulus administration, with a modulation frequency from 4 to 20 Hz, is also called "Steady-State" (Pastor, Artieda, Arbizu, Valencia, & Masdeu, 2003;Picton, John, Dimitrijevic, & Purcell, 2003). The interval between the three blocks was randomly varied at between 40 and 90 seconds. The visual stimulus was provided by an array of 16 red LEDs positioned about 30 cm from the SP's closed eyes, while the sound was sent directly to the ears via 32 ohms impedance earphones. The three frequency blocks were given randomly without repetition of the same frequency. The raw data are available at: http://tiny.cc/owzyly Procedure The SP was given the following instructions: "When you are ready, relax and be prepared to receive a visual and auditory stimulus connecting mentally and with positive emotions with your partner. Limit your body movements to prevent interference with your EEG activity. You will perceive three blocks of 32 stimulations of 1 second each, the blocks will be separated by long random pauses in order to avoid predictable rhythms. The experiment will last about 15 minutes." The NSP was given the following instructions: "When you are ready, relax and connect mentally with positive emotions with your partner, who is receiving visual and auditory stimulations. Keep your body still to prevent interference with your EEG activity. The experiment will last about 15 minutes." At the end of each trial involving pairs their roles were reversed. Timing of the stimuli Tests performed later on the data acquisition process showed a slight shift of the presentation of the stimulus with respect to the theoretical instant of stimulation. This shift is caused by the software program's execution features due to the operating system (Windows 10). The shift is equal to around 10 samples (~ 0.08 secs) and can easily be compensated for during data analysis. In addition, this shift displays a jitter (equal to about 3 samples); this is because, since Windows is a multitasking operating system, programs and system services run simultaneously and compete with each other for the microprocessor. This jitter is small, however, and does not cause problems. The image on the left in Figure 2 are obtained by measuring the signals from a photodiode in front of the stimulus LEDs to obtain time references, which are then fed back into the Emotiv Epoc™. From these measurements, it is possible to completely compensate for the shift. The signal obtained from a BPW34 photodiode in front of the illuminator lights shows a delay between the stimulus command and its actualization (about 10 samples, or 0.08 secs). It is taken into account by adding up the time at the start of the stimulation period. In the image, the stimulus was at 12 Hz. On the right is a diagram showing placement of the EEG's 14 electrodes. Data analyses Since each recording contained 32 stimulations for each of the three different frequencies, each of the three was processed the same way. One of the first types of analysis used was the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform), applied to a pre-stimulus 1 second period, a 1 second stimulus, and then a 1 second post-stimulus period, and then averaged over all stimuli (32 for each frequency in each of 20 files). Next the FFT differentials were calculated -that is, the differences between the stimulus period and the pre-stimulus period. The post-stimulus period was ignored. SP EEG data analysis Generally, in directly stimulated subjects, the FFT shows peaks very close to the stimulus frequencies (10, 12, and 14 Hz) and their potential harmonics although they are only 10 -15% bigger than the baseline, see Figures 3, 4, and 5. This means the stimulation effect is not strong enough to be seen without appropriate processing. So as to better highlight the effects, the differences between the two situations (stimulus and prestimulus) were calculated and, once amplified, the stimulation frequencies became clear. All three stimulation frequencies show a strong reduction in the subjects' spontaneous Alpha frequency (the well-known typical Alpha-block). Figure 3: On the left is the FFT (between 1 and 42 Hz) of the pre-stimulus, stimulus, and poststimulus periods. On the right are differential graphs showing the loss of spontaneous Alpha and presence of stimulus frequency (10 Hz) including two of its harmonics, 20 Hz and 30 Hz. Note that the top right graph effectively represents the absolute value of the difference between the stimulus and pre-stimulus, whereas bottom right graph represents the signed difference. Figure 4: On the left is the FFT (between 1 and 42 Hz) of the pre-stimulus, stimulus, and poststimulus periods. On the right are differential graphs showing loss of spontaneous Alpha and presence of stimulus frequency (12 Hz), as well as its first harmonic, 24 Hz. Figure 5: On the left is the FFT (between 1 and 42 Hz) of the pre-stimulus, stimulus, and poststimulus periods. On the right are differential graphs showing loss of spontaneous Alpha and presence of stimulus frequency (14 Hz) as well as its first harmonic, 28 Hz. A small peak at 28 Hz appears only in SPs probably due to a weak disturbance at 50 Hz from the power source for the LED array used for visual stimuli or a second harmonic of 14 Hz. The 28 Hz peak is however eliminated by the differential FFT. Analysis of SP EEG data using the GW6 method. All EEG signals were pre-processed as outlined in Giroldini et al. (2016b), then narrow band filtered (1 Hz width) centered at the stimulation frequency (10 Hz, 12 Hz or 14 Hz -see Figure 6) by a fourth-order band-pass Butterworth filter. We chose to implement a time-reversal filtre to ensure a zero phase delay: the effective filtre order was 8. Therefore, the classic ERP was identified in SPs through simple averaging, calculating the power, and finally extracting a multiple correlation value between EEG channels in accordance with the GW6 method. A MatLab version is available at: http://tiny.cc/owzyly To outline the fundamentals of this method, it is based on calculating Pearson's linear correlation between all possible signal pairs, from which pairs of fixed duration data segments of about 250 ms are extracted. These segment pairs (sliding windows) are then slid along the time axis of the two signals, generating a series of curves R(I, X), where I represents pair combinations (I = 91 in this case) and X is time. Subsequently this series of curves is processed to produce a single graph Sync(x), that basically represents the global variations of correlation (or synchronisation) between all EEG channels, using suitable pre-and post-stimulus periods as a baseline. This method was applied to each stimulus period, examining 4 seconds of data (1.5 s pre-stimulus, 1 second stimulus, 1.5 s post-stimulus). The EEG signals were filtred in a narrow band (1 Hz width) centered at the stimulation frequency (i.e. 10 Hz, 12 Hz, 14 Hz -see Figure 6). The GW6 graph, the ERP's Power and the signal power were calculated as the average of all stimuli and all subjects. Taking together all the graphs obtained with the GW6 method and shown in Figure 6, it is possible to clearly see the normal response to the stimuli, for example the power of classic ERP, or the signal power. It is also important to stress that the greatest SP response is obtained by effectively filtreing the signal at the true stimulus frequency (e.g. 9.5-10.5 Hz for the steady-state frequency of 10 Hz). If we filtre within a frequency range even slightly shifted (e.g. 10.0-11.0 Hz), the response is always reduced. In short, in the SPs the greatest steady-state response exactly coincides with the stimulus frequency. From Figure 6, we note that the curve's height increases as it moves from 10 to 14 Hz, probably because the stimulation frequency moves away from that of the spontaneous Alpha band frequencies (~ 8-12 Hz). The continuous red line together with the green curve generated by GW6 represent the random expectation (calculated using a method described later). In all cases, we see that the GW6 graph greatly exceeds the random "zero curve". In particular, by simply calculating the power of the filtred signal within a narrow band (1 Hz bandwidth) at 10 Hz, 12 Hz, and 14 Hz, it is possible to classify -almost always correctly -the frequency of each of the three groups of stimuli given to the SPs. Analysis of NSP EEG data. Data analysis of the NSP data does not evidence any significant peaks at stimulation frequencies in differential FFT graphs equivalent to those in Figures 3, 4 and 5. Furthermore, on average there is no peak resembling a classic ERP, even when power is taken into account. In the EEG signal power, there are only weak and variable fluctuations and therefore there is no response which can be definitely correlated to that obtained in SPs. The only graph showing any significant variation with respect to baseline EEG activity is that obtained using GW6, by filtering half a Hz below the stimulus one (see Figure 7). For example, in order to identify a more significant variation in the band around 10 Hz, it was necessary to filtre (using the same band-pass filtre described for SPs) in the range from 9.0 to 10.0 Hz. The same applies to other stimulation frequencies (e.g. 11-12 Hz for 12 Hz stimulus and 13-14 Hz for 14 Hz stimulus). This frequency shift in the NSPs response does not appear to be due to the software, because the same program, when applied to SPs, shows the maximum response peak exactly at the stimulation frequency. Note that the typical ERP curve and the ERP power curve are virtually flat. Only the GW6 method reveals significant deviations from what is expected from chance alone (red curve), mainly in the global Sync1 curve. By applying the GW6 algorithm to each subject for each stimulus condition, a Sync1 curve was produced, making a total of 20 x 3 = 60 Sync1 curves. Then the average of the curves of each subject, relative to the same stimulation conditions, was calculated, producing 3 global Sync1 curves. Additionally, an overall Sync1 curve was obtained by averaging the 3 global Sync1 curves. From these resulting 4 curves, the maximum correlation value for each frequency was calculated, then from these values the average in the stimulation zone was determined. Furthermore, the accuracy (Standard Deviation and 95% Confidence Intervals) of the Sync1 curves was estimated with a bootstrap method using 10.000 resamples. The results are displayed in Table 1. According to GW6 algorithm, the Sync1 curve is computed from epoched data with respect to the stimulus onset. In order to compare these observed values with a random estimate, for each subject and for each stimulus condition, on the raw datasets we created "fake" stimulus identifiers in the same quantity of real stimulus identifiers (32 identifiers for each stimulus condition), obtaining a so-called "random dataset". The time-features of such "fake" identifiers are similar to real ones, that is, randomly distributed with minimal distance between adjacent identifiers greater than 10 s. The random dataset is processed in the same way as the real one, obtaining a "fake random max correlation" Sync1 curve. For each subject and for each stimulus condition we created 60 random Sync1 curves. As we did for the observed max correlation, for each frequency and their average, we estimated the precision of the random max correlation. The results are displayed in the following Table 2: maximum correlation would be equal to or greater than the observed one. The results are displayed in Table 3: The above results suggest that there is a probable global relationship between the EEG activity of the SPs and NSPs, associated with a less probable response in relation to the 14 Hz stimulation. A comparison using Bayes Factors and paired t-test of the observed and fake max correlation, yielded the results presented in Table 4. Bayes Factors were estimated by using the software JASP 0.8.2.0 (Jasp Team, 2017), with a default Cauchy prior of.76. The Bayes Factors values, suggest that the observed max correlation have a moderate level of probability to be higher than the fake ones for the 10 Hz, 14 Hz and average frequencies. Another way of analyzing the results, is to compare the average of the observed maximum correlation of each of the 20 participants with the fake max correlation values. Raw data are available at: http://tiny.cc/owzyly The results are presented in Table 5. The Bayes Factors, confirmed by robustness checks, clearly suggest that for all three frequencies the probability that the mean values of the max correlation observed in the twenty participants is greater than the estimated fake max correlation, ranges from 14/1 for the 14 Hz frequency, to 210/1 for the 10 Hz frequency. The differences between the results reported in Table 3, Table 4 and Table 5, suggest the importance of taking into account individual differences instead of the estimated overall averages. As indicated in the introduction, the second aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the strengths of the EEG signals between the stimulated partner and the isolated distant partner. This relationship was analyzed by simple binary correlations between the values of the maximum correlations obtained with the GW6 algorithm of the SP and NSP pairs. The values of the Kendall's tau-b correlations are presented in Table 6. Is it evident that the values of the correlations are very low, ranging from a minimum of -0.04 to a maximum of -.33, indicating an almost null correlation between the strength of the signals of the pairs of participants. In evaluating the results, it is very important to determine not only the statistical significance, but also and especially the effect size, i.e., the quantitative measure of the strength of the phenomenon being examined. Regarding the SP data, during the stimulus the variation in the Pearson correlation between the different electrode combinations is greater by about 10-15% with respect to the pre-stimulus period. Consequently, with regard to these steady state potentials induced by direct stimulations, no statistical analysis is needed to understand this difference compared to the expected chance value. In the case of a response in NSP EEG activity induced by a distant mental connection, it is instead normal to expect a decidedly smaller effect-size, which can be estimated as the difference between the experimental maximum and the random value, for example: 1.98 -1.37 =.61 (Table 1 and Table 2, line 1). The result varies roughly between.6% and 1.2%, but the value relative to the single NSP is greater than 2%. This new experiment, conducted with the Steady-State method, confirms the results of Giroldini et al. (2016a) in which a sinusoidal sound frequency of 500 Hz and the same red LED array were used for stimulation, but neither of them was modulated. Discussion The primary objective of this study was to confirm that the brain activities of two physically distant but emotionally and mentally connected individuals display a correlation in the absence of any normal sensory connection, as well as to obtain more information on the characteristics of their EEG signals. Specifically, as mentioned in the introduction, we aimed at acquiring more information on the relationship between the observed signal intensity in the EEG activities of the SPs and NSPs, as well as the possibility that this relationship between each partner's EEG activity is either undifferentiated (i.e., global), or differentiated, thus varying depending on the type of stimulation applied to the SPs. Regarding the relationship between the strength of the EEG activities of the SPs and NSPs, our results suggest that there is no such relationship and hence that this parameter cannot be communicated at a distance. On the other hand, our results confirm the relationship between EEG signal characteristics of both the SP and NSP, at least regarding the frequency parameter in the 10 to 15 Hz band, when taking into consideration the maximum correlation values as estimated by applying the GW6 algorithm. Indeed, in some preliminary tests SPs were stimulated with two frequencies, 15 and 18 Hz, repeated 100 times. From analysis of the NSP's EEG recordings, we found significant results for both (see Supplemental Information). At this stage of our studies we are unable to accurately determine which areas of the brain are the most sensitive to remote stimuli, even though we believe this may be due to the limitations of our mathematical analysis tools in distinguishing the actual signal from a strong background noise. We emphasize that this is an exploratory study and results were obtained after a series of unplanned post hoc choices, such as the extension of the filtration band (1 Hz rather than 1.2 or.8 Hz), the size of the GW6 method's sliding window, the choice of individual vs overall values, etc. Conclusions Nonetheless, despite its limits, the information that emerge from this study can, if confirmed, provide important details about the relationship between the EEG activities of two physically distant and mentally connected partners. To summarize, we can tentatively affirm that the EEG activity in NSPs generates a weak response with a signal to noise ratio of around 1% that changes little as a function of the intensity of the response generated in the SPs. We can also affirm that the NSP's response seems to be specific to the frequency induced in the EEG activity of SPs. The GW6 method as well similar ones based on the correlation of the EEG signals (e.g. Radin, 2017), seems suitable for this purpose, but we believe more refined tools are necessary, for example, those based on machine learning algorithms (;Stober, Sternin, Owen, & Grahn, 2016), especially if we wish to detect signals after only a single stimulation and not, as we have done until now, after multiple repetitions of the same stimulation. It seems right to theorize then that a mental connection at distance can allow connection of some informational, rather than physical, characteristics of the shared signals. This seems plausible, given that we cannot theorize about any information transmission based on conventional electromagnetic waves. This interpretation fits well with a quantum-like mental and biological entanglement as predicted by the Generalized Quantum Theory (Walach, Tressoldi, & Pederzoli, 2016) which predict quantum-like phenomena in areas outside quantum physics, such as biology and psychology. Figure S1: EEG headset and modified Emotiv Epoc™ Pilot investigation using 15 and 18 Hz frequencies This is a summary of the preliminary research in preparation for the study representing the aim of this work. This preliminary research allowed us to better choose the frequencies to use in the definitive study and to improve experimental conditions, so much so that the final data produced proved to be excellent quality. The same experimental method as that described under Materials and Methods was used, but somewhat simplified, so that a higher number of tests could be performed in less time: in particular, only the EEG activity of the non-stimulated subjects were recorded. Furthermore, the stimuli (about 100 for each SP) were provided with the Steady-State modality at the modulation frequencies of 15 Hz and 18 Hz. The sensory and electrical separation of the two subjects was good, but sometimes external noises could still reach them. Because the applied stimuli were numerous and on-off modulated, we believe these noises did not pose any significant influence on final results. Data were collected from 20 pairs of subjects who all got along well (mostly friends) and the results are described in Figures S2 and S3, which only show graphs from the GW6 method, in that values relative to power and normal ERPs were shown to be insignificant (as in graphs from Figure 7). Graphs from Figures S2 and S3 show a large response (green curve) compared to what is expected by chance (red curve). The corresponding average values are presented in the Table S1. Keeping these results in mind we decided to carry out the actual experiment at frequencies considerably less than 18 Hz, considering that the SP -NSP connection at this frequency becomes appreciably weaker. We wanted to insert one frequency (10 Hz) which is well within the Alpha range, to see if it was discernable against the EEG 'noise' typical of this band. The other two frequencies (12 and 14 Hz) are within a band thought to be relatively undisturbed by Alpha waves and low enough to not be seriously weakened in the SPs.
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The Renin Academy Summit: advancing the understanding of renin science. s from the presentations given at the Renin Academy Summit were published in a supplement to the March issue of this journal (March 2008, Volume 9, Supplement 1). In the supplement, we raised a number of critical questions within renin science, such as: Does the (pro)renin receptor finally provide a role for prorenin, without being converted to renin? Can the (pro)renin receptor really be blocked by the handle-region peptide? How is it possible that the effect of DRIs lasts several weeks after stopping treatment? What are the implications of the rise in renin during direct renin inhibition? Based on the extremely valuable discussions at the Renin Academy Summit, here we provide responses to these questions. Spotlight on Renin
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Investigation on the intense fringe formation phenomenon downstream hot-image plane. The propagation of a high-power flat-topped Gaussian beam, which is modulated by three parallel wirelike scatterers, passing through a downstream Kerr medium slab and free spaces is investigated. A new phenomenon is found that a kind of intense fringe with intensity several times that of the incident beam can be formed in a plane downstream the Kerr medium. This kind of intense fringe is another result in the propagation process of nonlinear imaging and it locates scores of centimeters downstream the predicted hot image plane. Moreover, the intensity of this fringe can achieve the magnitude of that of hot image in corresponding single-scatterer case, and this phenomenon can arise only under certain conditions. As for the corresponding hot images, they are also formed but largely suppressed. The cause of the formation of such an intense fringe is analyzed and found related to interference in the free space downstream the Kerr medium. Moreover, the ways it is influenced by some important factors such as the wavelength of incident beam and the properties of scatterers and Kerr medium are discussed, and some important properties and relations are revealed.
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Magnetite Versus Quartzite: Potential Candidates for Thermocline Energy Storage The objective of this work is to investigate magnetite storage performances using thermocline packed-bed single tank concept and confront it with the quartzite commonly used as TESM in this area. To achieve this purpose dual phase model for thermal energy storage (TES) is developed for describing heat and masse transfer inside the porous packed-bed contained in the storage tank. After validation, the developed model is used to simulate the thermal behavior discharging process and then to evaluate system performances by calculating discharge efficiency and storage efficiency for two TESMs: magnetite and quartzite coupled with Colza oil as a heat transfer fluid (HTF). This paper presents and discusses results of discharge efficiency and storage efficiency obtained for both TESM and highlights the impact of TESM choice on TES efficiency.
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Middle-Upper Miocene stratigraphy of the Velarde Graben, North-Central New Mexico: Tectonic and paleogeographic implications A BSTRACT. Geologic mapping and correlation of tephras in and near the Velarde graben supports the southward extension of the Cieneguilla member of Leininger into the graben, refines the stratigraphic relationships of various lithostratigraphic units, and has produced better estimates of vertical stratigraphic displacement on several graben faults. The Velarde graben is a 6-10 km-wide, northeast-trending extensional feature in the northern Espaola Basin of the Rio Grande rift. It coincides with a 19 km-long gravity low between the north tip of Black Mesa and the town of Hernandez to the southwest. In the general area of the Velarde graben, the Santa Fe Group is differentiated into seven lithostratigraphic units assigned to the Tesuque Formation. Some of these units were originally assigned to the Chamita Formation in previous studies. However, we propose abandoning the Chamita Formation, and reassigning its strata to the Tesuque Formation, because 1) strata assigned to the Tesuque Formation correlate into the Chamita type section, and 2) in the absence of the Ojo Caliente Sandstone Member it is not possible to map a contact between the Chamita and Tesuque formations with confidence. Vertical stratigraphic displacements along the border faults of the Velarde graben since 7.7-8.4 Ma range from as low as 65 m on the Rio de Truchas fault to 435 m on the Santa Clara fault. On the southern tip of Black Mesa, comparison of vertical slip rates for the Santa Clara fault over two time periods yields slightly higher vertical slip rate values for 3-8 Ma (48-56 m/Myr) compared to 0-3 Ma (35-48 m/Myr). On the gravity high separating the Velarde graben from another gravity low to the south, a vertical slip rate calculated for the Santa Clara fault gives 48-50 m/Myr for time after 9.9 Ma. Increasing slip rates on the Velarde graben faults in the late Miocene may have induced west-northwestward progradation of alluvial slope facies (lithosome A) derived from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
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On the origin of the thermoluminescence of Al2O3:Cr,Ni The recently discovered high-intensity thermoluminescence (TL) emission in Al2O3 doped with Cr and Ni is analysed more deeply by measuring the effects of x-ray irradiation on the optical absorption in parallel with the TL process, together with the effect of optical bleaching. It is proposed that the high-intensity peak is due to oxygen vacancies, induced by the presence of Ni. The main recombination centre is Cr.
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Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Activities of Cyanobacteria. Present study screened ten Cyanobacterial extracts for antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity (against human cervical carcinoma cells Hela and SiHa) & GC-MS for chemical composition. Cyanobacterial extracts were subjected to Agar Well Diffusion Assay at concentration of 100g. well -1 and incubated at 37 + 2 o C. Inhibition zone was measured in millimetres (mm) after 18-24 hour. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by using the broth microdilution method in 96-well microtitre plates. Drug dilutions were performed using cation adjusted Mueller Hinton Broth (MHB) in a concentration range of 128-0.25 g.ml -1. Cytotoxicities were assessed using MTT assay. GCMS analysis was carried out on a GCMS-QP 2010 Plus Shimadzu system having RTX-5 column (Restek, USA) (60 m, ID 0.25mm, film thickness 0.25 m). Cyanobacterial extracts exhibited significant antibacterial effect on clinical isolates of S.aureus MRSA & MRSE whereas selectively inhibited Gram-negative. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were in the range between 64 to 128 g/ml. Activity Index of active extracts ranged from 0.33 to 1.50. Activity Index and Zone of Inhibition were significantly correlated with p>0.03.GC-MS detected distinct groups of active compounds with pronounced presence of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Pharmaceutically important compounds like sesquiterpenoids (Farnesol), dicarboxylic acids, imidazole, indolinones, -tocopherol, phenolics, phytosterols, heptadecane, tetradecane and 9-octadecenal were moderately present. Extracts also exhibited cytotoxic effect on human cervical carcinoma cells lines with LD50 values ranging from 34 to 146g/ml. Cyanobacterial species have distinct active group metabolites which are promising sources of antiproliferative and antimicrobial compounds.
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Efficacy and safety of miconazole for oral candidiasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of miconazole for treating oral candidiasis. Twelve electronic databases were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating treatments for oral candidiasis and complemented by hand searching. The clinical and mycological outcomes, as well as adverse effects, were set as the primary outcome criteria. Seventeen trials were included in this review. Most studies were considered to have a high or moderate level of bias. Miconazole was more effective than nystatin for thrush. For HIV-infected patients, there was no significant difference in the efficacy between miconazole and other antifungals. For denture wearers, microwave therapy was significantly better than miconazole. No significant difference was found in the safety evaluation between miconazole and other treatments. The relapse rate of miconazole oral gel may be lower than that of other formulations. This systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that miconazole may be an optional choice for thrush. Microwave therapy could be an effective adjunct treatment for denture stomatitis. Miconazole oral gel may be more effective than other formulations with regard to long-term results. However, future studies that are adequately powered, large-scale, and well-designed are needed to provide higher-quality evidence for the management of oral candidiasis.
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A preliminary estimate of the Stokes dissipation of wave energy in the global ocean The turbulent Reynolds stresses in the upper layers of the ocean interact with the vertical shear of the Stokes drift velocity of the wave field to extract energy from the surface waves. The resulting rate of dissipation of wind waves in the global ocean is about 2.5 TW on the average but can reach values as high as 3.7 TW, making it as important as the dissipation of wave energy in the surf zones around the ocean margins. More importantly, the effect of Stokes dissipation is felt throughout the mixed layer. It also contributes to Langmuir circulations. Unfortunately, this wave dissipation mechanism has hitherto been largely ignored. In this note, we present a preliminary estimate of the Stokes dissipation rate in the global oceans based on the results of the WAVEWATCH III model for the year 2007 to point out its potential importance. Seasonal and regional variations are also described.
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Endoparasitic diseases cause losses of cattle and lambs Coccidiosis in beef and dairy calves Ketosis and fatty liver syndrome causing a variety of clinical signs in dairy cattle Nematodirosis causing losses in lambs Pandemic H1N1/09 influenza virus in pigs predisposing to Streptococcus suis septicaemia Deaths of roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) caused by predator attacks These are among matters discussed in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency's (VLA's) disease surveillance report for June
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Electrostatic free energy of weakly charged macromolecules in solution and intermacromolecular complexes consisting of oppositely charged polymers. When oppositely charged polyelectrolytes are mixed in water, attraction between oppositely charged groups may lead to the formation of polyelectrolyte complexes (associative phase separation, complex coacervation, interpolymer complexes). Theory is presented to describe the electrostatic free energy change when ionizable (annealed) (macro-)molecules form a macroscopic polyelectrolyte complex. The electrostatic free energy includes an electric term as well as a chemical term that is related to the dissociation of the ionic groups in the polymer. An example calculation for complexation of polyacid with polybase uses a cylindrical diffuse double layer model for free polymer in solution and electroneutrality within the complex and calculates the free energy of the system when the polymer is in solution or in a polyelectrolyte complex. Combined with a term for the nonelectrostatic free energy change upon complexation, a theoretical stability diagram is constructed that relates pH, salt concentration, and mixing ratio, which is in qualitative agreement with an experimental diagram obtained by Bungenberg de Jong for complex coacervation of arabic gum and gelatin. The theory furthermore explains the increased tendency toward phase separation when the polymer becomes more strongly charged and suggests that complexation of polyacid or polybase with zwitterionic polymer (e.g., protein) of the same charge sign (at the "wrong side" of the iso-electric point) may be due (in part) to an induced charge reversal of the protein.
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Extended Analysis of the Sn V Spectrum The spectrum of palladium-like Sn V excited in a vacuum spark has been studied in the 200500 wavelength region. More than 200 new spectral lines of the 4d95s - 4d96p, 4d95s - 4d85s5p, 4d95p - 4d97s and 4d95p - 4d96d transitions were identified and about 80 levels of the 4d97s, 4d96p, 4d96d and 4d85s5p configurations were found. The number of known Sn V lines and levels was increased by a factor of 2. 16 lines with measurable autoionization widths were observed in the 200209 region and identified as the 4d95s - (4d85s6p + 4d85s4f) transitions.
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Examples of semirings of endomorphisms of semigroups Semirings of endomorphisms of semigroups form an important class of semirings. All examples which can be found in the literature concern semigroups with a subcommutative operation. We show that there exists a non-subcommutative semigroup whose endomorphisms form a semiring (this answers a question raised by Professor A. H. Clifford). We also give an example of a semigroup whose set of endomorphisms is not embeddable into a semiring; however it is the disjoint union of two semirings, but one of these semirings is not embeddable into a semiring with identity.
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Where Economics Went Wrong Milton Friedman once predicted that advances in scientific economics would resolve debates about whether raising the minimum wage is good policy. Decades later, Friedman's prediction has not come true. This book argues that it never will. Why? Because economic policy, when done correctly, is an art and a craft. It is not, and cannot be, a science. The book explains why classical liberal economists understood this essential difference, why modern economists abandoned it, and why now is the time for the profession to return to its classical liberal roots. Carefully distinguishing policy from science and theory, classical liberal economists emphasized values and context, treating economic policy analysis as a moral science where a dialogue of sensibilities and judgments allowed for the same scientific basis to arrive at a variety of policy recommendations. Using the University of Chicagoone of the last bastions of classical liberal economicsas a case study, the book examines how both the MIT and Chicago variants of modern economics eschewed classical liberalism in their attempt to make economic policy analysis a science. By examining the way in which the discipline managed to lose its bearings, the authors delve into such issues as the development of welfare economics in relation to economic science, alternative voices within the Chicago School, and exactly how Friedman got it wrong. Contending that the division between science and prescription needs to be restored, the book makes the case for a more nuanced and self-aware policy analysis by economists.
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Interner Bericht Fb 10 Abteilung Semantik Modular, Changeable Requirements for Telephone Switching in Csp-oz Requirements documents for software need not only be written, but they also need to be maintained afterwards. In telephone switching, there arise particular problems due to the strong mutual dependences of telephone features and due to the current rapid change in this area. We attempt to avoid or at least reduce feature interaction problems during the extension or change of a requirements document through a suitable requirements document structure. We perceive all variants and revisions as a single requirements family, documented together. Our approach to requirements speci cation grew out of the Functional Documentation approach, also known as \Parnas tables". We now apply and extend this approach using the formal description technique CSP-OZ, taking advantage of its built-in support for inheritance and parallel composition. We structure the requirements in a modular way suitable to our application area; and we present a way to compose the partial speci cations. A preliminary case study demonstrates our approach and shows that CSP-OZ can indeed be used for it. More work is required. Besides an extension of the case study, several aspects of the incremental speci cation formalism still need to be worked out.
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Efficient integrated weed management practices for higher productivity and profitability in vegetable pea ( Pisum sativum var. hortense ) A field experiment was conducted on vegetable pea ( Pisum sativum L. var. hortense ) at Vegetable Research Station, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur during 201417 to develop efficient integrated weed management practices. Seven different treatments, viz. pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha (pre-emergence), pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha (pre-emergence) + one hand weeding at 40 DAS, glyphosate @1.0 kg a.i./ha 15 days before sowing, glyphosate @1.0 kg a.i. /ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS, mulching with black polythene, straw/grass mulch, hand weeding thrice at 20, 40 and 60 DAS were tested against two checks, i.e. weed free and weedy check (no weeding) in randomized block design with three replications. Vegetable pea variety Azad Pea-3 was used in the experiment. Crop was raised with recommended package of practices except treatments. Based on pooled data, among different treatments excluding weed free check, pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha (pre-emergence) + one hand weeding at 40 DAS recorded highest plant height (58.75 cm), seed weight/plant (12.73 g), number of seeds/pod (6.55), 100-seeds weight (31.93 g), seed yield (15.96 q/ha), seedling length (17.76 cm), seed vigour indexI (1619.92) and seed vigour index- II (13.17). In case of net return the same treatment also recorded significantly highest B:C ratio (2.30). Thus, pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha(pre-emergence) + one hand weeding at 40 DAS proved to be most profitable integrated weed management practice for vegetable pea. Vegetable pea (Pisum sativum var. hortense) is an important vegetable crop. It is grown in almost all agroclimatic zones during rabi season in plains and summer season in hills as cash crop. It is mainly grown for its tender green pods as a fresh vegetable. It is a rich source of protein, calcium, phosphorous, iron and vitamins. The vegetable pea productivity is severely affected by various biotic and abiotic factors. Among them, heavy weed infestation is the major biotic factor and constraint responsible for low seed yield as well as poor seed quality. Weeds compete with main crop for the use of nutrients, moisture, sunlight, space etc. hence, resulting in lower yield and poor quality (). Both grassy as well as broad leaved weeds infest the crop which results in significant yield losses in commercial crops (). Peas are poor competitors, particularly at the seedling stage but critical period for crop-weed competition varies from 40-60 days after sowing, hence, avoiding early season weed interference is critical (, ). Due to weed competition more than 40% yield reductions in pea have been reported (). Some authors reported yield reduction in the range of 37.3-64.4% (,, Harker 2001. The integrated weed management is becoming popular among the farmers as they continue to realize the usefulness of herbicides along with few manual weeding. Bakht et al. found that newspaper and black mulch are effective tools to control weed. Application of pre-emergence herbicides effectively decreased weed density and resulted in higher pod yield (). Vaishya et al. reported that the post-emergence herbicides have long persistence and wide spectrum of weed control. Application of various herbicides significantly increased vegetable pea yield (79.6-85.1%) (). Keeping this in view, the present study was undertaken to develop efficient integrated weed management practices for pea. MATERIALS AND METHODS The field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 and Technology, Kanpur, India located at 26.4912° N latitude, 80.3071° E longitude at an elevation of 133 m amsl. Seven different treatments, viz. pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha (pre-emergence), pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha (pre-emergence) + one hand weeding at 40 DAS, glyphosate @1.0 kg a.i. /ha at 15 days before sowing, glyphosate @1.0 kg a.i. /ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS, mulching with black polythene, straw/grass mulch, hand weeding thrice (at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) were tested against two checks, i.e. weed free and weedy check (no weeding) in randomized block design replicated thrice. Vegetable pea variety Azad Pea-3 was used in the experiment. Crop was raised with recommended package of practices except treatments. The recommended doses of nitrogen (40 kg/ha), phosphorus (60 kg/ha) and potassium (50 kg/ha) were applied. The crop was sown in the month of November during all three years at 30 10 cm spacing with the seed rate of 85 kg/ha. The observations were recorded as per the standard procedure. Further, observations on seed quality parameters were observed as per standard procedure (ISTA 1993). Vigour index of the seeds was assessed based on germination percentage, seedling length and seedling dry weight as suggested by Abdul-Baki and Anderson. Germination %, seedling length, seedling dry weight and vigour index (I & II) were calculated by using the following formulae: Number of normally germinated seeds 100 Total number of seeds Seedling length: Root and shoot length of five fresh seedlings was measured in centimeters up to one decimal. Total seedling length was calculated by adding root and shoot length. Seedling dry weight: The seedlings used for recording were oven dried at 103°C+1°C for 12 h. Measurement of dried samples was record on an electronic balance up to three decimals in mg. Vigour Index (I) = Germination percentage Seedling length (cm) Vigour Index (II) = Germination percentage Dry weight (mg) RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Growth and yield attributes: Vegetable pea growth and yield attributes were influenced significantly by different treatments (Table 1). Herbicide alone or along with one hand weeding, mulching and hand weeding thrice (at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) proved better for growth and yield attributes than the weedy check. Among seven tested treatments, pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS recorded significantly highest plant height of 58.75 cm. It was followed by hand weeding thrice and mulching with black polythene. In case of seed weight/plant also, pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS showed highest seed weight/plant (12.73 g) followed by straw/grass mulch and hand weeding thrice. Similar trend was also observed in case of number of seeds/pod and 100-seeds weight. The results of the study revealed that the growth and yield attributes of vegetable pea increased significantly with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS. It might be due to better weed management during the cropping period, which helped in minimum competition between crop plant and weed for moisture and nutrients as these are basic requirements for healthy plant growth. Sultana et al. and Rana et al. in vegetable pea also reported similar results. Brijbhooshan et al. also reported that one hand weeding at 25 DAS reduced the density and dry matter of weeds significantly and increased the yield attributes and seed yield. The growth and yield attributes of vegetable pea performed well to hand weeding thrice (at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) which might be due to effective weed management. Similar results were obtained by Muhammad et al. in chickpea and conveyed that three-hand weeding in a crop period effectively controlled weed density up to 96.22% in chickpea. The lower values of growth and yield attributes under the treatment of glyphosate alone or along with one hand weeding were mainly due to toxic effect of glyphosate, which is broad-spectrum herbicide and hinder the photosynthetic activity of plant leads to reduced growth and yield attributes. The weedy check recorded minimum values of all traits due to excess weed population, which leads to more competition with crop plant for moisture and nutrient. Seed yield: Seed yield of the vegetable pea was influenced significantly by different treatments (Table 2). Herbicide alone or along with one hand weeding, mulching and hand weeding thrice also proved better for seed yield than the weedy check. Among seven different tested treatments, pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS recorded significantly highest seed yield of 15.96 q/ha followed by hand weeding thrice (at 20, 40 and 60 DAS) and mulching with straw/grass. Although, the seed yield was maximum in weed free check (16.73 q/ha) however was statistically at par with pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS. The yield enhancement under the treatment of pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS over the treatment of weedy check was to the tune 5.96 q/ha or 59.6%. These results were similar to the outcomes of Mathukia et al.. Seed quality parameters: The pooled analysis showed that the seed quality parameters were significantly affected by different weed management practices (Table 2 and 3). Among tested treatments, pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS also recorded higher values of seed quality parameters, viz. seedling length (17.76 cm), seed vigour index-I (1619.92) and seed vigour index-II (13.17) followed by hand weeding thrice (at 20, 40 and 60 DAS). Similar trend was also observed in case of germination %. Kumar and Singh also found the same result while using pendimethalin @0.5 kg/ha along with one hand weeding. Economics: Net return is the resultant of gross income and cost of cultivation where gross income dominated cultivation cost in present study. Pre-emergence application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha + one hand weeding at 40 DAS registered significantly highest B:C ratio (2.30) followed by pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i. /ha alone. It might be due to higher gross income in these treatments. Although, the seed yield was maximum in weed free check but B:C ratio of this weed management practice is very poor as more manpower requirement increases the cost of cultivation. It can be inferred that pre-emergence (PE) application of pendimethalin @0.75 kg a.i./ha alone or along with one hand weeding at 40 DAS are profitable weed management practices in vegetable pea for agro-climatic condition of Zone-IV.
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Localized delivery of ibuprofen via a bilayer delivery system (BiLDS) for supraspinatus tendon healing in a rat model The high prevalence of tendon retear following rotator cuff repair motivates the development of new therapeutics to promote improved tendon healing. Controlled delivery of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs to the repair site via an implanted scaffold is a promising option for modulating inflammation in the healing environment. Furthermore, biodegradable nanofibrous delivery systems offer an optimized architecture and surface area for cellular attachment, proliferation, and infiltration while releasing soluble factors to promote tendon regeneration. To this end, we developed a bilayer delivery system (BiLDS) for localized and controlled release of ibuprofen (IBP) to temporally mitigate inflammation and enhance tendon remodeling following surgical repair by promoting organized tissue formation. In vitro evaluation confirmed the delayed and sustained release of IBP from Labrafilmodified poly(lacticcoglycolic) acid microspheres within sintered poly(caprolactone) electrospun scaffolds. Biocompatibility of the BiLDS was demonstrated with primary Achilles tendon cells in vitro. Implantation of the IBPreleasing BiLDS at the repair site in a rat rotator cuff injury and repair model led to decreased expression of proinflammatory cytokine, tumor necrotic factor, and increased antiinflammatory cytokine, transforming growth factor1. The BiLDS remained intact for mechanical reinforcement and recovered the tendon structural properties by 8 weeks. These results suggest the therapeutic potential of a novel biocompatible nanofibrous BiLDS for localized and tailored delivery of IBP to mitigate tendon inflammation and improve repair outcomes. Future studies are required to define the mechanical implications of an optimized BiLDS in a rat model beyond 8 weeks or in a larger animal model.
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Characteristic quasi-polynomials of ideals and signed graphs of classical root systems With a main tool is signed graphs, we give a full description of the characteristic quasi-polynomials of ideals of classical root systems ($ABCD$) with respect to the integer and root lattices. As a result, we obtain a full description of the characteristic polynomials of the toric arrangements defined by these ideals. As an application, we provide a combinatorial verification to the fact that the characteristic polynomial of every ideal subarrangement factors over the dual partition of the ideal in the classical cases. INTRODUCTION In recent years, the "finite field method" for studying hyperplane arrangements have been developed, extended and put into practice. Roughly speaking, suppose that the real hyperplane arrangement A(R) associated to a list A of elements in Z ℓ is given, we can take coefficients modulo a positive integer q and get an arrangement A(Z/qZ) of subgroups in (Z/qZ) ℓ. The central theorem in the theory asserts that when q is a sufficiently large prime, the arrangement A(Z/qZ) now is defined over the finite field F q, and the cardinality of its complement #M(A; Z ℓ, Z/qZ) coincides with A(R) (q), the evaluation of the characteristic polynomial A(R) (t) of A(R) at q (e.g., ). Later on, Kamiya-Takemura-Terao showed that #M(A; Z ℓ, Z/qZ) is actually a quasi-polynomial in q, and left the task of understanding the constituents of this quasi-polynomial to be an interesting problem. A number of attempts have been made in order to tackle the problem (e.g.,,, ), especially, two interpretations for every constituent via subspace and toric viewpoints have been found. The mentioning establishments open a new direction for studying the combinatorics and topology of hyperplane and toric arrangements in one single quasi-polynomial. Much of the motivation for the study of the hyperplane and toric arrangements comes from the arrangements that are defined by irreducible root systems. Apart from the theoretical aspects, the "finite field method" and its toric analogue proved to have efficient applications to compute the characteristic (quasi-)polynomials of several arrangements arising from these vector configurations (e.g.,,,,, ). More concrete computational results have also been derived to assist the observation of interesting coincidences, which we choose to mention some important examples in our study. The surprising connection between independent calculations on the Ehrhart quasi-polynomials and the characteristic quasi-polynomials produced a main flavor to the analysis on the deformations of root system arrangements in. Combining the computation on the arithmetic Tutte polynomials of classical root systems with the previously mentioned calculations provided the authors in with the key observation of the identification between the last constituent of the characteristic quasi-polynomial and the corresponding toric arrangement. Passing from global to local, one may wish to compute the characteristic quasi-polynomials of subsets of a given root system. A particularly well-behaved class of the subsets is that of ideals with the associated ideal subarrangements are proved to be free in the sense of Terao. As a consequence, the characteristic polynomial of every ideal subarrangement factors over the integers with the roots are described combinatorially by the dual partition of the ideal. However, some combinatorial explanations for the factorization may have been hidden because of the freeness. The main goal of this paper is to compute the characteristic quasi-polynomials of the ideals of classical root systems with respect to two different choices of lattices. We were inspired and motivated by the ideas and techniques used in that will greatly help us in doing so. In addition, we wish to provide more combinatorial insights to the understanding of the constituents in connection with the signed graphs. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we recall definitions and basic facts of the characteristic quasi-polynomials, irreducible root systems and their ideals. We also recall the constructions of the classical root systems together with the properties of the associated signed graphs. In Section 3, with a combinatorial ingredient is signed graphs, we compute the characteristic quasi-polynomial of every ideal of a given classical root system with respect to the integer and root lattices. As a result, we obtain a full description of the characteristic polynomials of the toric arrangements defined by the ideals. We will also provide a direct verification to the factorization of the characteristic polynomial of every ideal subarrangement in the classical cases without using the freeness (Theorem 3.12). 2. PRELIMINARIES 2.1. Characteristic quasi-polynomials. Let:= Z ℓ. Let A be a finite list (multiset) of elements in. Let q ∈ Z >0. For each = (a 1,..., a ℓ ) ∈ A, define the subgroup H,Z/qZ of (Z/qZ) ℓ by Then the list A determines the q-reduction arrangement in (Z/qZ) ℓ The complement of A(Z/qZ) is defined by It is proved in that #M(A; Z ℓ, Z/qZ) is a monic quasi-polynomial in q for which A is a period. The quasi-polynomial is called the characteristic quasi-polynomial of A (or of A(Z/qZ)), and denoted by quasi A (q). More precisely, there exist monic polynomials f k. It is known that (e.g.,, ) the 1-constituent f 1 A (t) coincides with A(R) (t) the characteristic polynomial (e.g., ) of the real hyperplane arrangement (or R-plexification in the sense of 2.2. Root systems and signed graphs. Our standard reference for root systems is. Let V be an ℓ-dimensional Euclidean space with the standard inner product (, ). Let be an irreducible (crystallographic) root system in V. Fix a positive system + ⊆ and the associated set of simple roots (base) ∆:= { 1,..., Notation: For simplicity of notation, we use the same symbol M for the realization of the matrix M of size ℓ m as the finite list of elements in = Z ℓ whose elements are the columns of M. For each ⊆ +, we assume that an ℓ # integral matrix In other words, S is the coefficient matrix of with respect to the base ∆. Denote (Z/qZ):= Z/qZ {0}. We then call quasi S (, q) the characteristic quasi-polynomial of with respect to the root lattice, and interpret it by the formula is the hyperplane orthogonal to. It is not hard to see that H is the Rplexification of S i.e., H = S (R). Note also that H + is called the Weyl arrangement of +, and H is a Weyl subarrangement. In the remainder of the paper, we are mainly interested in the root system of classical type (ABCD). Let us recall briefly the constructions of these root systems 1 following. Let { 1,..., ℓ } be an orthonormal basis for V. If ℓ ≥ 2 then with #(B ℓ ) = 2ℓ 2 is an irreducible root system in V of type B ℓ. We may choose a positive system for the coefficient matrix of with respect to the orthonormal basis. We then call quasi T (, q) the characteristic quasi-polynomial of with respect to the integer lattice. The 1 We decided to omit the construction of type A root systems as the calculation on this type follows from those on the other types (e.g., see formula (3.1)). matrices T and S are related by T = P (B ℓ ) S, where P (B ℓ ) is an unimodular matrix of size ℓ ℓ given by Similarly, let ℓ ≥ 2, an irreducible root system of type C ℓ is given by Finally, let ℓ ≥ 3, an irreducible root system of type D ℓ is given by From the constructions above, we obtain the comparison of the height placements of positive roots in (B ℓ ), (C ℓ ) and (D ℓ ) as in Table 1. In the language of signed graphs following, we can associate with the set of positive edges extract information from by using G(), we associate to it an unordered sequence of nonnegative integers, denoted SG(): Let us recall the recent advance towards the study of the ideals. Let (k) ⊆ + be the set consisting of positive roots of height k. Let I be an ideal of + and set M:= max{ht() | ∈ I}. The height distribution of I is defined as a sequence of positive integers: where i k:= # (k) for 1 ≤ k ≤ M. The dual partition DP(I) of (the height distribution of) I is given by a sequence of nonnegative integers: where notation (a) b means the integer a appears exactly b times. Although the definition of the dual partition seems to esteem the (increasing) order of components in the sequence, this requirement is not important in this paper. Two dual partitions of an ideal are conventionally identical if the partitions differ only by a re-ordering of the components. COMPUTATION ON IDEALS In the remainder of the paper, we assume that is of classical type. We summarize some easy cases that the computation of the characteristic quasi-polynomials is manageable thanks to Corollary 2.2. The minimum period coincides with the LCM-period. So the minimum period of quasi. For other cases, the minimum period of quasi S I (, q) is at most 2; hence we know the 1-constituents: We are left with the task of determining f 2 S I (, t), or equivalently, quasi S I (, q) when q is even, and is of type B, C or D. Turning the problem around, we would like to verify Corollary 2.2 by using the information of ideals via signed graphs without relying on the freeness, which we will do in Theorem 3.12. The partitions give a partition of I which we call it the B-partition, as follows: If i + j / ∈ I for all i, j (type A), then for all q ∈ Z >0, Now assume that some i + j ∈ I with 1 ≤ i < j ≤ ℓ. In particular, Thus R is an ideal of the root subsystem of (B ℓ ) of type B ℓ−s+1 with a base given by ∆(B ℓ−s+1 ) = { s,..., ℓ }. Furthermore, for all q ∈ Z >0, we have Then it suffices to consider s = 1 i.e., 1 ∈ I. For such ideals, d Proof. The proof of (a) is straightforward by the definition of ideals. The proof of (b) follows from the height placements in Table 1. Theorem 3.2. Under the Lemma 3.1's assumptions, if q ∈ Z >0 is even, Proof. The proof of the first equality is similar to (but more general than) that of. We have used the following changes of variables The second equality follows from Lemma 3.1 and Corollary 2.2. Let be an irreducible root system of type B ℓ−1 with a base given by We define a sequence of subsets {U k } ℓ k=1 (depending on I) of + (B ℓ−1 ) classified into two types as follows: 3 This fact is true for any root system, which is a consequence of, e.g.,. Proof. With the notion of contraction lists (e.g., ), we can write quasi For all q ∈ Z >0, by applying the Deletion-Contraction formula recursively, we get In Lemma 3.8 and Theorem 3.9 below, we use the same assumption and notation as in Lemma 3.7. Lemma 3.8. For even q ∈ Z >0, we have Proof. This follows from the height placements in Table 1. With a recent study on characteristic quasi-polynomials and toric arrangements, our computation gives a full description of the characteristic polynomials of the toric arrangements defined by the ideals. We complete this section by giving a direct verification of Corollary 2.2 when is any classical root system. We restrict the discussion to type D root systems as the other cases are easy. For any ideal I ⊆ + (D ℓ ) with SG(I) = (p 1,..., p ℓ ) defined in (3.4), we write for each 1 ≤ i ≤ ℓ. It is easily seen that DP(I) = (d 1,..., d ℓ ) with Here we agree that p (+) 0 = 0. Acknowledgements: The author is greatly indebted to Professor Masahiko Yoshinaga for drawing the author's attention to the characteristic quasipolynomials of the ideals and for many helpful suggestions during the preparation of the paper. The author wishes to thank Professor Michele Torielli for helpful comments concerning the signed graphs and thank Ye Liu for stimulating conversations. He also gratefully acknowledges the support of the scholarship program of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) under grant number 142506.
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