Journal articles on the topic 'ATM Adaptation Layer Type 2'

(1) Background: Many factors can impact bacterial mechanical properties, which play an important role in survival and adaptation. This study characterizes the ultrastructural phenotype, elastic and viscoelastic properties of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 and the C-terminal protease A (ctpA) null mutant strain predicted to have a compromised cell envelope; (2) Methods: To probe the cell envelope, we used transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry (MS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) force spectroscopy, and time-dependent AFM creep deformation; (3) Results: TEM images show a compromised and often detached outer membrane for the ctpA mutant. Muropeptide characterization by HPLC and MS showed an increase in peptidoglycan dimeric peptide (GlcNAc-MurNAc-Ala-Glu-meso-DAP-Ala-meso-DAP-Glu-Ala-MurNAc-GlcNAc) for the ctpA mutant, indicative of increased crosslinking. The ctpA mutant had significantly larger spring constants than wild type under all hydrated conditions, attributable to more highly crosslinked peptidoglycan. Time-dependent AFM creep deformation for both the wild type and ctpA mutant was indicative of a viscoelastic cell envelope, with best fit to the four-element Burgers model and generating values for viscoelastic parameters k1, k2, η1, and η2; (4) Conclusions: The viscoelastic response of the ctpA mutant is consistent with both its compromised outer membrane (TEM) and fortified peptidoglycan layer (HPLC/MS).

SUMMARY One of the challenges in durability of posterior tooth-colored restorative materials is polymerization shrinkage, which results in gap formation between the restoration and tooth structure. The aim of the present study was to investigate marginal adaptation of Class II composite restorations using a self-etching and two etch-and-rinse adhesive systems in cavities prepared either with bur or Er,Cr:YSGG laser. A total of 45 extracted sound human premolars were selected. In each tooth, mesial and distal Class II cavities were prepared either by a diamond bur or by Er,Cr:YSGG laser with the margins 1 mm apical to the cemento-enamel junction. Then the teeth were randomly divided into three groups of 15 each, according to the type of the adhesive system used (Single Bond, Single Bond 2, and Adper Easy One adhesive systems). Subsequent to restoring the teeth, the specimens were subjected to thermal cycling between 5 ± 2°C and 55 ± 2°C for 500 cycles and were then cut longitudinally into two halves using a diamond disk. Marginal adaptation was evaluated using a stereomicroscope, and the values for gap widths were obtained in micrometers. Data were analyzed using two-factor analysis of variance and post hoc tests. There were statistically significant differences in mean marginal gap widths between the adhesive type and preparation groups (p<0.05). The interfacial gap width in bur-prepared cavities was significantly less than that in laser-prepared cavities, and the lowest gap width was observed in Adper Easy One regardless of the type of the preparation.

A transition metal ion Cr4+(3d2 spins) doped ZrO2 of small crystallites presents tailored magnetic, electrical and optical properties useful for magnetodielectric and spintronic applications. A liquid polymer precursor gel (Cr4+ and Zr4+ complex with glycerol) when heated in an autoclave at a small pressure 0.6-0.7 atm at 420–470 K results in a compound Zr0.8Cr0.2O2 with an average 5 nm crystallite size of a stabilized cubic (c)-ZrO2-type phase (after 2 h annealing at 773 K in air). A broad Raman band is observed at ~300 cm-1 in acoustic and transverse optic phonons characteristic of the c-ZrO2-type structure, with a prominent O–Cr–O stretching band at 878 cm-1 in a ferromagnetic order. A CrO2/Cr2O3 surface layer exhibits two weak bands at ~1011 cm-1 and 1032 cm-1. The sample exhibits an ‘S’-shaped ferromagnetic hysteresis loop (does not saturate below 60 kOe fields) at 5 K, with a magnetization M = 85.79 emu/g (in the CrO2 part) at 60 kOe and coercivity Hc = 100 Oe. With warming above 5 K, the loop converges progressively with only a weak ferromagnetism at room temperature, M = 9.08 emu/g and Hc = 54.2 Oe. As a pinning barrier, the uncompensated spins in the surface layer supports coercivity at low temperature. A model magnetic structure describes the magnetic properties in correlation to the microstructure.

AbstractClay mineral quantification by XRD is difficult when mixed-layer clay minerals and discrete clay types are both present. New procedures for peak decomposition and pattern simulation offer increased opportunities to obtain mineral abundance estimates. This proposed methodological sequence, for quantitative representation (QR) of complex clay samples, involves: (1) determination of layer type, mixed-layer proportion and order (R); (2) simulation of XRD patterns using MULCALC, an adaptation of NEWMOD; and (3) interpretation of the clay assemblage by fitting the whole pattern with CLAY++, a statistical program. The product is a QR of individual phases or a summation of layer types. The absence of quantitative reference standards means results cannot be checked for accuracy, but the statistical fit is highly reproducible and less prone to operator error. The QRs may be obtained with simulated or actual reference mineral patterns in the database. Results for freshwater marsh samples illustrate the approach.

Sensory adaptation serves to adjust awake brains to changing environments on different time scales. However, adaptation has been studied traditionally under anesthesia and for short time periods. Here, we demonstrate in awake rabbits a novel type of sensory adaptation that persists for >1 h and acts on visual thalamocortical neurons and their synapses in the input layers of the visual cortex. Following prolonged visual stimulation (10–30 min), cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) show a severe and prolonged reduction in spontaneous firing rate. This effect is bidirectional, and prolonged visually induced response suppression is followed by a prolonged increase in spontaneous activity. The reduction in thalamic spontaneous activity following prolonged visual activation is accompanied by increases in 1) response reliability, 2) signal detectability, and 3) the ratio of visual signal/spontaneous activity. In addition, following such prolonged activation of an LGN neuron, the monosynaptic currents generated by thalamic impulses in layer 4 of the primary visual cortex are enhanced. These results demonstrate that in awake brains, prolonged sensory stimulation can have a profound, long-lasting effect on the information conveyed by thalamocortical inputs to the visual cortex.

SUMMARY Introduction: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the application of calcium silicate materials (CSMs), after acid etching, on the longevity of the hybrid layer and marginal adaptation of composite restorations. Methods and Materials: Eighty human permanent molars received an intrapulpal pressure of 15 cm H2O. Sixty teeth received a mesial proximal slot preparation with the gingival margin extending 1 mm below the cemento-enamel junction. The samples were divided into two groups. Group 1 received restorations using two types of etch-and-rinse adhesives: ethanol based (Single Bond, 3M ESPE, St Paul, MN, USA) and acetone based (Prime & Bond NT, Dentsply, DeTrey GmbH, Germany). In group 2 samples, a commercially available CSM (ProRoot MTA) was allowed to set before grinding and placing into a distilled water solution. This solution was applied on the cavity floor after acid etching. The surface was washed after 30 seconds followed by application of adhesives and restorations as in group 1. The samples were stored in phosphate-buffered saline for six months, maintaining the intrapulpal pressure. An epoxy replica was made, and the marginal adaptation was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. The percentage of continuous margin (CM) was recorded for each group. Another 20 samples were used for hybrid layer evaluation. The crowns were ground to expose dentin. Intrapulpal pressure was applied. The samples were divided into two groups and restored similar to samples restored for marginal adaptation evaluation. The samples were longitudinally cut in 1-mm slices. The slices were stored under 15 cm of phosphate-buffered saline to simulate the pulpal pressure. After six months, the adhesive interface was evaluated using a scanning electron microscope. Statistical analysis was done with two-way analysis of variance with Holm-Sidak's correction for multiple comparisons. Results: Application of CSMs improved the marginal adaptation values in both adhesive groups. In group 1, there were areas of incomplete penetration of resins along with evidence of partial degradation of resin tags. Samples receiving CSM application after acid etching demonstrated long and regular resin tags with very few signs of degradation. Conclusions: Application of CSMs after acid etching can be a potential avenue in preserving the resin-dentin bonds.

Problem setting. Ukraine has chosen a course for European integration. The existing legal order in Ukraine is being reformed in accordance with European standards in order to improve the quality of legislation and, subsequently, the living standards of the population. The system of punishment is no exception. As it is not possible to get rid of crime completely, it is possible to improve the mechanisms that realize the main purpose of punishment, and through which crime will be reduced. The fight against crime in Europe is more effective than the experience of post-Soviet countries, so it can be argued that the adaptation of national legislation to European can be a positive phenomenon for Ukraine. Analysis of recent researches and publications. Various aspects of the problem of implementation of international standards in domestic practice in the field of serving sentences, in particular regarding imprisonment, were dealt with by a number of scientists, in particular Pripolova L.I., Golovkin B.M., Kushnir Ya.O., Smirnova A.V., Popko V.V., Ptashinsky O.V., Stepaniuk А.N., Farenyuk S.Ya. and others. Target of research. The aim of the article is to highlight the most important points in the modern national system of punishments, which contain shortcomings at the same time with the possibility of reforming them in accordance with European legislation. Article’s main body. According to Article 51 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in Ukraine there are 12 types of punishment. They are divided into basic and additional. Once a sentence has been imposed, it is not so important to classify it into basic and additional, so criminal executive law divides all sentences into isolation and non-isolation. Criminal and criminal-executive law of Ukraine is a national system of punishments, which includes the concept of punishment, types, limits of punishment and the order of their serving. This system is the result of many changes in Soviet legislation, following the experience of European countries, as Ukraine has chosen a course of European integration since the beginning of its independence. But it is not enough to simply bring the system of legislation of Ukraine in line with European norms, because it is the implementation of these norms that is important, which can create an obstacle in the reform of the penitentiary system. Therefore, the adaptation of national legislation to European legislation in the field of execution and serving sentences should meet the needs of the Ukrainian penitentiary system while eliminating the most significant shortcomings of this system. Conclusions and prospects for the development. Based on the analysis, it can be argued that it is appropriate to change the national system of punishment in accordance with international norms and practices of European countries. Emphasis is placed on gradual, comprehensive reform, which will ensure the formation of a quality mechanism for the implementation of all purposes of punishment. Changes are needed in general, starting with the terminology of certain not quite accurate concepts used by the legislator, ending with the mechanism of implementation of norms and maximum improvement of conditions of serving a sentence. A detailed examination of the shortcomings of some types of punishment confirms that Ukrainian legislation in certain institutions needs new legal regulation. This applies primarily to fines and imprisonment, as these punishments are the leading and, according to many scholars and legal practitioners, the most effective for punishment, and later correction of the person.

AbstractAdaptation of visual cortical cells' responses is observed following repeated presentation of grating stimuli. Grating adaptation is believed to exist only at the cortical level. The purpose of this study was to see if grating adaptation also occurs in the lateral geniculate nucleus. We studied the responses of 164 relay cells in layer A and A1 of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) to grating stimuli. Normal cats, as well as cats in which visual cortex was ablated, were studied. Adaptation was investigated using repeated presentation of gratings of different contrasts and orientations. The results showed the following: (1) Grating adaptation reduced the responses of 46% of the LGNd cells recorded. The responses normally decreased within 30 s and then stabilized. However, there was heterogeneity in the effects observed. About 38% of the cells studied were not affected by the adapting gratings. Some cells (16%) showed facilitation rather than habituation of their responses to test stimuli. (2) There was no significant difference between X and Y cells in their susceptibility to adaptation. This suggests that grating adaptation is a general property, independent of cell type. (3) The contrast-response curves of 57% of the LGNd cells studied shifted down after exposure to high-contrast adapting gratings. (4) Adapting gratings of the cells' preferred orientation decreased the orientation sensitivity of 56% of the orientation-sensitive cells. Adapting gratings at the nonpreferred orientation did not affect orientation sensitivity. (5) Prolonged grating adaptation also reduced the responses of 49% of the LGNd cells after inactivation of cortical inputs to the LGNd.

The structure of cronstedtite-1Mwas refined using a crystal from Eisleben (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany). The space group isCm,a= 5.5033 (3),b= 9.5289 (6),c= 7.3328 (5) Å, β = 104.493 (7)°, composition (Fe2+2.461Fe3+0.539)(Si1.461Fe3+0.539)O5(OH)4,Z= 2. Despite diffusely streaked characteristic polytype reflections, the refinement converged toRobs= 0.0242 for 1117 independent reflections. SeparateRobsvalues of 0.0183 and 0.0553 were obtained for 415 subfamily and 702 characteristic reflections, respectively. The structure is built of one edge-sharing octahedral (Oc) and one corner-sharing tetrahedral (Tet) sheet forming the 1:1 layer by sharing apical corners of theTetsheet. Consecutive layers are shifted bya/3 of the hexagonal cell, the polytype belongs to the subfamily (Bailey's group) A. There are two octahedral sitesM1 (atm),M2 (in a general position) both fully occupied by Fe. Since theM2 octahedron is larger thanM1, theOcsheet ismeso-octahedral. TheTetsheet contains one tetrahedral position,T1, occupied by Si and Fe in the ratio 0.731:0.269 (9). The ring of tetrahedra is strongly ditrigonalized, α = +12.7°; Franzini type A. Of three H atoms localized, two are involved in hydrogen bonds, linking OH groups of theOcsheet with basal O atoms of theTetsheet. The basal O atoms (acceptors) of theTetsheet are rotated close to OH groups (donors) of theOcsheet of an adjacent layer in order to achieve reasonable lengths and geometries of hydrogen bonds. The structure is interpreted as an example of the order–disorder (OD) structure of more than one kind of layer with a very low degree of desymmetrization.

Abstract Motivation Rapid advances in single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) have produced higher-resolution cellular subtypes in multiple tissues and species. Methods are increasingly needed across datasets and species to (i) remove systematic biases, (ii) model multiple datasets with ambiguous labels and (iii) classify cells and map cell type labels. However, most methods only address one of these problems on broad cell types or simulated data using a single model type. It is also important to address higher-resolution cellular subtypes, subtype labels from multiple datasets, models trained on multiple datasets simultaneously and generalizability beyond a single model type. Results We developed a species- and dataset-independent transfer learning framework (LAmbDA) to train models on multiple datasets (even from different species) and applied our framework on simulated, pancreas and brain scRNA-seq experiments. These models mapped corresponding cell types between datasets with inconsistent cell subtype labels while simultaneously reducing batch effects. We achieved high accuracy in labeling cellular subtypes (weighted accuracy simulated 1 datasets: 90%; simulated 2 datasets: 94%; pancreas datasets: 88% and brain datasets: 66%) using LAmbDA Feedforward 1 Layer Neural Network with bagging. This method achieved higher weighted accuracy in labeling cellular subtypes than two other state-of-the-art methods, scmap and CaSTLe in brain (66% versus 60% and 32%). Furthermore, it achieved better performance in correctly predicting ambiguous cellular subtype labels across datasets in 88% of test cases compared with CaSTLe (63%), scmap (50%) and MetaNeighbor (50%). LAmbDA is model- and dataset-independent and generalizable to diverse data types representing an advance in biocomputing. Availability and implementation github.com/tsteelejohnson91/LAmbDA Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were employed to characterize the electrophysiological properties of layer 5 pyramidal cells in slices of the prefrontal cortex (Area 46) of the rhesus monkey. Four electrophysiologically distinct cell types were discriminated based on distinctive repetitive action potential (AP) firing patterns and single AP characteristics: regular-spiking slowly adapting type-1 cells (RS1; 62%), regular-spiking slowly adapting type-2 cells (RS2; 18%), regular-spiking fast-adapting cells (FA; 15%), and intrinsically bursting cells (IB; 5%). These cells did not differ with regard to their location in layer 5 nor in their dendritic morphology. In RS1 cells, AP threshold and amplitude did not change significantly during a 2-s spike train, whereas in RS2 and FA cells, AP threshold increased significantly and AP amplitude decreased significantly during the train. In FA cells, complete adaptation of AP firing was observed within 600 ms. IB cells displayed an all-or-none burst of three to six APs, followed by RS1-type firing behavior. RS1 cells could be further subdivided into three subtypes. Low-threshold spiking (LTS) RS1 cells exhibited an initial doublet riding on a depolarizing potential at the onset of a spike train and a prominent depolarizing afterpotential (DAP); intermediate RS1 cells (IM) exhibited a DAP, but no initial doublet, and non-LTS RS1 cells exhibited neither a DAP nor an initial doublet. RS2 and FA cells did not exhibit a DAP or initial doublets. The distinctive firing patterns of these diverse layer 5 pyramidal cells may reflect different roles played by these cells in the mediation of subcortical neuronal activity by the dorsolateral PFC.

Limiting redundancy in the real-world sensory inputs is of obvious benefit for efficient neural coding, but little is known about how this may be accomplished by biophysical neural mechanisms. One possible cellular mechanism is through adaptation to relatively constant inputs. Recent investigations in primary visual (V1) cortical neurons have demonstrated that adaptation to prolonged changes in stimulus contrast is mediated in part through intrinsic ionic currents, a Ca2+-activated K+ current ( IKCa) and especially a Na+-activated K+ current ( IKNa). The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that the activation of adaptation ionic currents may provide a cellular mechanism for temporal decorrelation in V1. A conductance-based neuron model was simulated, which included an IKCa and an IKNa. We show that the model neuron reproduces the adaptive behavior of V1 neurons in response to high contrast inputs. When the stimulus is stochastic with 1/ f 2 or 1/ f-type temporal correlations, these autocorrelations are greatly reduced in the output spike train of the model neuron. The IKCa is effective at reducing positive temporal correlations at approximately 100-ms time scale, while a slower adaptation mediated by IKNa is effective in reducing temporal correlations over the range of 1–20 s. Intracellular injection of stochastic currents into layer 2/3 and 4 (pyramidal and stellate) neurons in ferret primary visual cortical slices revealed neuronal responses that exhibited temporal decorrelation in similarity with the model. Enhancing the slow afterhyperpolarization resulted in a strengthening of the decorrelation effect. These results demonstrate the intrinsic membrane properties of neocortical neurons provide a mechanism for decorrelation of sensory inputs.

1. The light responses from one type of ON-OFF amacrine cell were recorded intracellularly in the superfused rabbit retina under various conditions of light adaptation. These recordings were obtained from cells located in a central area. 5-7 mm inferior and directly below the optic nerve head. 2. ON-OFF amacrine cells responded to the initiation and termination of light stimuli with transient depolarizations. Their receptive fields were approximately 0.8-1 mm diam and did not exhibit antagonistic center-and-surround organization. 3. The cells received rod input because they responded to very dim scotopic stimuli. With prolonged dark adaptation, the cells became more sensitive to the initiation than termination of the stimulus, because the ON component of the light response had a lower threshold than the OFF component. 4. The cells continued to respond to test flashes when the retina was adapted to a background illumination of rod-saturating intensity. Thus ON-OFF amacrine cells also receive cone input. Under these photopic conditions, a secondary afterpotential was observed following the OFF component. Its characteristics were different from those of the rod aftereffect reported in other retinal cells of the rabbit because its latency and amplitude changed with increasing stimulus intensity. 5. Intracellular injections of horseradish peroxidase showed that the recordings were obtained from a class of ON-OFF amacrine cells whose wide-field, unistratified dendrites were rigorously confined to the middle of the inner plexiform layer or stratum 3. 6. The conspicuous rod and cone inputs into a class of amacrine cells that are connected neither to rod bipolars nor to All amacrine cells strongly support the idea that in the rabbit the rod pathway uses cone bipolars as interneurons to distribute scotopic signals to ganglion and cone-driven amacrine cells.

AbstractHuman epidemiological and animal studies have revealed the late consequences of malnutrition during gestation and early life on the health of the offspring. These studies have highlighted the inverse relationship between birth weight and the incidence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes later in life. The aim of this paper is to review the different means of achieving foetal malnutrition and its consequences even for a next generation, in animal models and to identify key area for further research. We address the impact of two models of maternal malnutrition (protein restriction and caloric restriction) as well as the impact of maternal diabetes, the three maternal conditions leading to perturbed foetal nutritional environment. Particular emphasis is given to the endocrine pancreas and the insulin sensitive tissues. More specifically, alterations of the foetal nutritional environment perturb the development of the endocrine pancreas and target the ß cell mass at birth. Some adaptations later in life may take place but stress situations such as pregnancy and ageing precipitate the animals to glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Even the next generation features alterations in the development of the endocrine pancreas. Some mechanisms by which the foetal ß cell mass is altered are approached in this review and specific attention is paid to the amino acid profile. The preventive role of taurine is discussed.

The effects of endothelin receptor subtype A (ETA) blockade on hemodynamics and hormonal adaptation during hemorrhage were studied in xenon/remifentanil-anesthetized dogs (n = 6) pretreated with an angiotensin II type 1 (AT1)-receptor blocker. Controls: after a baseline awake period, anesthesia was induced in the dogs with propofol and maintained with xenon/remifentanil (baseline anesthesia). Sixty minutes later, 20 mL·kg–1 of blood was withdrawn within 5 min and the dogs observed for another hour (hemorrhage). AT1 group followed the same protocol as controls except the AT1-receptor blocker losartan (i.v. 100 μg·kg–1·min–1) was started at the beginning of the experiment. AT1+ETA group was the same as AT1 group but with the addition of the ETA-receptor blocker atrasentan (i.v. 1 mg·kg–1, then 0.01 mg·kg–1·min–1). In controls, mean arterial pressure (MAP) remained unchanged during baseline anesthesia, whereas systemic vascular resistance (SVR) increased from 3282 ± 281 to 7321 ± 803 dyn·s·cm–5, heart rate (HR) decreased from 86 ± 4 to 40 ± 3 beats·min–1, and cardiac output (CO) decreased from 2.3 ± 0.2 to 0.9 ± 0.1 L·min–1 (p < 0.05), with no further changes after hemorrhage. In AT1-inhibited dogs, MAP (71 ± 6 mm Hg) and SVR (5939 ± 611 dyn·s·cm–5) were lower during baseline anesthesia and after hemorrhage, but greater than those in AT1+ETA (66 ± 7 mm Hg, 5034 ± 658 dyn·s·cm–5) (p < 0.05). HR and CO were not different between groups. Plasma concentration of vasopressin was highest with AT1+ETA inhibition after hemorrhage. Combined AT1+ETA-receptor blockade impaired vasoconstriction more than did AT1-receptor blockade alone, both during baseline xenon anesthesia and after hemorrhage. Even a large increase in vasoconstrictor hormones could not prevent the decrease in blood pressure and the smaller increase in SVR. Thus, endothelin is an important vasoconstrictor during hemorrhage, and both endothelin and angiotensin II are essential hormones for cardiovascular stabilization after hemorrhage.

The effect of free-range versus cage management system on corticosterone transfer into the eggs was studied in laying hens. Hungarian Yellow laying hens (age: 21 weeks, body weight: 2.0 ± 0.5 kg) were divided into two groups in the spring: Group I, free-range keeping (n = 15 layers, density: ≯ 0.5 bird/m2) in outdoor runs, with continuous access to a commercial layer feed; Group II, hens kept in battery cages (n = 17 layers, density: 2 birds/m2, natural light, continuous access to feed and water). Eggs were collected after a one-week adaptation period on days 2, 7 and 16. Corticosterone (CST) was extracted from homogenised egg samples using an ASE-200 Accelerated Solvent Extractor and then assayed by liquid chromatography linked with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) [Thermo Quest Surveyor high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) interfaced via Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionisation (APCI) ion source to Finnigan/Thermo Quest LCQ Deca MS/MS] using dexamethasone as internal standard with positive APCI ionisation. CST concentrations of whole eggs laid by free-range hens on days 2, 7 and 16 were 0.370 ± 0.218, 0.259 ± 0.066 and 0.915 ± 0.745 ng·g-1, respectively, while those of eggs laid by caged hens were 0.206 ± 0.157, 0.223 ± 0.165 and 0.184 ± 0.110 ng·g-1 at the above sampling times. It is concluded that in free-range laying hens the sharp changes of environmental weather conditions significantly increased the corticosterone content of eggs, while the environmentally controlled and closed battery cage management technology resulted in relatively uniform corticosterone concentrations in the whole eggs.

The primary oil processing product is a mixture of different hydrocarbons. One of the hard-to-process petroleum products is fuel oil. This paper considers a method to derive clear (light) fractions of petroleum products by the catalytic processing of fuel oil on a zeolite-containing catalyst at 1 atm under the technological conditions of aerosol nanocatalysis. The prospect of the catalytic processing of a viscous residue ‒ fuel oil ‒ has been analyzed and estimated. The process is carried out by dispersing the catalytically active component in a vibratory-fluidized layer. Chemical transformation occurs during the constant mechanochemical activation of catalyst particles by forming an aerosol cloud in the reactive volume. Natural zeolite catalyst of the type Y was selected for research. Methods for separating the gasoline and diesel fractions of light hydrocarbons and for analyzing the gas phase have been given. The effect of the concentration of zeolite catalyst aerosol on the composition of cracking products (the yield of the gasoline and diesel fractions of light hydrocarbons) has been studied. It is noted that the rate of the course of fuel oil processing in the aerosol of the catalyst is 1.5‒2 times higher than that in thermal processing. It has been found that in fuel oil processing based on the aerosol nanocatalysis technology, the concentration of the catalyst can be controlled to produce the final product. The study results have shown that the optimal conditions for processing fuel oil in the aerosol of the catalyst should be considered 773 K, a frequency of 5 Hz, a pressure of 1 atm. At the same time, a concentration of the catalyst of 1‒5 g/m3 should be considered optimal for the output of a light fraction of hydrocarbons. In this case, the yield is up to 80 % of the fraction in the laboratory. It was found out that during the processing of fuel oil, the concentration of the catalyst makes it possible to optimize the output of light oil products under the technological conditions of aerosol nanocatalysis

Intrapopulation variability of biochemical traits and cambial growth shows the adaptive ability of pine trees in different growth conditions. There is a genetically determined process of activation of defense systems in pine trees under unfavorable environmental conditions. Structural and functional rearrangement of the assimilating apparatus due to seasonal development ensures increased tree resilience and the passage of ontogenesis under the influence of stress factors within the reaction norm. This work aims at the study of adaptive ability of Pinus sylvestris L., which differs in the apophysis form of seed scales under conditions of prolonged excessive soil moistening in northern taiga. Studies were carried out in shrubby-sphagnum pine forests on boggy upland peat soils in the mouth of the Northern Dvina River. Trees with primary apophysis variations (forms) of seed scales were identified on the sample plots. Samples of 1, 2 and 3-year-old needles were taken in order to determine biochemical traits in 10 trees of each pine form isolated by type of apophysis, in different calendar periods (from May to December, 2016). The content of free proline, water-soluble proteins, and ascorbic acid was determined in the needles by the spectrophotometric method. Wood cores were sampled from 52 trees at a height of 1.3 m and width of the annual layer was determined in each selected form. Relative dendrochronological parameters were calculated along with the absolute value of radial growth. Meteorological parameters at the study sites (air temperature and precipitation) were determined from data of the Arkhangelsk Weather Station. The studies show the similarities and differences of trees of various forms in the seasonal dynamics of stress metabolites content in needles of different ages in relation to meteorological factors and phenological phases of pine vegetative organs in the Northern Dvina mouth. Trees with flat form of apophysis inherent more intensive accumulation of ascorbic acid and proline in 2-year-old needles in late October. This indicates increased activation of their protective reactions before overwintering compared to trees with convex form of apophysis. Patterns of variability in cambial growth of trees of different forms in time series were found. It was observed that trees with flat form of apophysis are more strongly affected by maladaptive (stressful) environmental factors.

Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) have emerged as a key technology for the next generation of wireless networking. Instead of being another type of ad-hoc networking, WMNs diversify the capabilities of ad-hoc networks. Several protocols that work over WMNs include IEEE 802.11a/b/g, 802.15, 802.16 and LTE-Advanced. To bring about a high throughput under varying conditions, these protocols have to adapt their transmission rate. This paper proposes a scheme to improve channel conditions by performing rate adaptation along with multiple packet transmission using packet loss and physical layer condition. Dynamic monitoring, multiple packet transmission and adaptation to changes in channel quality by adjusting the packet transmission rates according to certain optimization criteria provided greater throughput. The key feature of the proposed method is the combination of the following two factors: 1) detection of intrinsic channel conditions by measuring the fluctuation of noise to signal ratio via the standard deviation, and 2) the detection of packet loss induced through congestion. The authors show that the use of such techniques in a WMN can significantly improve performance in terms of the packet sending rate. The effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated in a simulated wireless network testbed via packet-level simulation.

In the retina, nitric oxide (NO) functions in network coupling, light adaptation, neurotransmitter receptor function, and synaptic release. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) is present in the retina of every vertebrate species investigated. However, although nNOS can be found in every retinal cell type, little is known about the production of NO in specific cells or about the diffusion of NO within the retina. We used diaminofluorescein-2 (DAF-2) to image real-time NO production in turtle retina in response to stimulation with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). In response to NMDA, NO was produced in somata in the ganglion cell and inner nuclear layers, in synaptic boutons and processes in the inner plexiform layer, in processes in the outer plexiform layer, and in photoreceptor inner segments. This NO-dependent fluorescence production quickly reached transient peaks and declined more slowly toward baseline levels at different rates in different cells. In some cases, the NO signal was primarily confined to within 10 μm of the source, which suggests that NO may not diffuse freely through the retina. Such limited spread was not predicted and suggests that NO signal transduction may be more selective than suggested, and that NO may play significant intracellular roles in cells that produce it. Because NO-dependent fluorescence within amacrine cells can be confined to the soma, specific dendritic sites, or both with distinct kinetics, NO may function at specific synapses, modulate gene expression, or coordinate events throughout the cell.

The article describes the finite-difference solution of the system of differential equations of the atmospheric boundary layer hydrothermodynamics adapted to the Northwestern Black Sea region. The research presents the description of the sequence of calculations schematically shown on the flowchart. The applied mathematical model was adapted in relation to five aspects: coast geomorphology (coastline shape), land geomorphology (actual terrain of the studied territory), thermal and physical characteristics of soil (density, specific gravity, porosity, thermal conductivity factor), roughness (roughness parameter) and optical characteristics (albedo) of the underlying surface. The coastline shape was described with consideration of water proportion available in the current cell of the spatial grid. If the proportion exceeded 50 %, it was assumed that such cell includes land, and vice versa. The terrain matrix was formed by removing the elevation values at each point of the calculated area from official electronic elevation maps. The thermal and physical characteristics of the soil were set depending on a type of soil observed at the current calculated point. The method of roughness elements double recording during growing and non-growing periods of the year was used to consider the roughness of the underlying surface. This method consists in the fact that, depending on the agricultural zoning and its subject content, there is a certain background weighted average value of roughness elements ensemble elevation that transforms into a roughness parameter through the proportionality factor. In such a case, the proportionality factor is linked to a type of a real roughness element at a specific point. Thus, a comprehensive assessment of roughness features of the territory under study was obtained. The albedo of the underlying surface was taken for three various periods of the year: growing period (April-September), post-growing period – months before winter and the first month of spring (October-November, March) and winter period (December-February). Nature of the external coating of the underlying surface related to optical properties should be also taken into account.

1. Dim backgrounds can enhance small-spot flicker responses of cat retinal horizontal cells by a factor of 2 or more. 2. Intracellular marking with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) reveals that this enhancement effect occurs in--but is not necessarily limited to--the cone-connected, A-type horizontal cell. 3. Flicker amplitudes decrease over a frequency range from 3 to 36 Hz of square-wave photic stimulation. There is little evidence of flicker-response enhancement at 3 Hz. Flicker-response enhancement is typically 2-6 times larger at 35 than at 6 Hz. 4. Inspection of flicker waveforms indicates both a scaling-up of response signals with backgrounds and a distortion composed of 2- to 5-ms-latency decrease, expressed primarily within a quick component of OFF-repolarization. 5. Flicker enhancement first increases as a function of background irradiance and then decreases. The increasing limb has the dynamic range and spectral sensitivity of cat rods (507-nm peak). Enhancement is maintained during rod after-effects. The decreasing limb of the background-versus-intensity function results from light adaptation of cat, long-wavelength (red) cones. 6. The flicker responses themselves peak spectrally at approximately 555 nm and reflect only the activity of cat long-wavelength (red) cones, without evidence of intermixing of other photoreceptor mechanisms. 7. Thus within the first synaptic layer of the cat visual system, rod signals interact with the flicker responses of red cones, both increasing cone-signal amplitudes and modifying cone-signal waveforms. 8. The results are closely analogous to "suppressive rod-cone interaction" (SRCI) as described in human psychophysics. 9. An outer-plexiform-layer circuit involving rods, horizontal cells and cones may mediate rod-induced enhancement of cone flicker. This being the case, notions of horizontal-cell feedback interactions with cones may have to be modified and extended. A specific feedback model is elaborated in the companion paper.

Ataxin-2 (human gene symbol ATXN2) acts during stress responses, modulating mRNA translation and nutrient metabolism. Ataxin-2 knockout mice exhibit progressive obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. Conversely, the progressive ATXN2 gain of function due to the fact of polyglutamine (polyQ) expansions leads to a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative process named spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) with early adipose tissue loss and late muscle atrophy. We tried to understand lipid dysregulation in a SCA2 patient brain and in an authentic mouse model. Thin layer chromatography of a patient cerebellum was compared to the lipid metabolome of Atxn2-CAG100-Knockin (KIN) mouse spinocerebellar tissue. The human pathology caused deficits of sulfatide, galactosylceramide, cholesterol, C22/24-sphingomyelin, and gangliosides GM1a/GD1b despite quite normal levels of C18-sphingomyelin. Cerebellum and spinal cord from the KIN mouse showed a consistent decrease of various ceramides with a significant elevation of sphingosine in the more severely affected spinal cord. Deficiency of C24/26-sphingomyelins contrasted with excess C18/20-sphingomyelin. Spinocerebellar expression profiling revealed consistent reductions of CERS protein isoforms, Sptlc2 and Smpd3, but upregulation of Cers2 mRNA, as prominent anomalies in the ceramide–sphingosine metabolism. Reduction of Asah2 mRNA correlated to deficient S1P levels. In addition, downregulations for the elongase Elovl1, Elovl4, Elovl5 mRNAs and ELOVL4 protein explain the deficit of very long-chain sphingomyelin. Reduced ASMase protein levels correlated to the accumulation of long-chain sphingomyelin. Overall, a deficit of myelin lipids was prominent in SCA2 nervous tissue at prefinal stage and not compensated by transcriptional adaptation of several metabolic enzymes. Myelination is controlled by mTORC1 signals; thus, our human and murine observations are in agreement with the known role of ATXN2 yeast, nematode, and mouse orthologs as mTORC1 inhibitors and autophagy promoters.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has become a vital societal problem as epidemiological studies demonstrate the increasing incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Lesions observed in the retina in the course of diabetes, referred to as diabetic retinopathy (DR), are caused by vascular abnormalities and are ischemic in nature. Vascular lesions in diabetes pertain to small vessels (microangiopathy) and involve precapillary arterioles, capillaries and small veins. Pericyte loss, thickening of the basement membrane, and damage and proliferation of endothelial cells are observed. Endothelial cells (monolayer squamous epithelium) form the smooth internal vascular lining indispensable for normal blood flow. Breaking its continuity initiates blood coagulation at that site. The endothelium controls the process of exchange of chemical substances (nutritional, regulatory, waste products) between blood and the retina, and blood cell passing through the vascular wall. Endothelial cells produce biologically active substances involved in blood coagulation, regulating vascular wall tension and stimulating neoangiogenesis. On the other hand, recent studies have demonstrated that diabetic retinopathy may be not only a microvascular disease, but is a result of neuroretinal degeneration. Neuroretinal degeneration appears structurally, as neural apoptosis of amacrine and Muller cells, reactive gliosis, ganglion cell layer/inner plexiform (GCL) thickness, retinal thickness, and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, and a reduction of the neuroretinal rim in minimum rim width (MRW) and functionally as an abnormal electroretinogram (ERG), dark adaptation, contrast sensitivity, color vision, and microperimetric test. The findings in early stages of diabetic retinopathy may precede microvascular changes of this disease. Furthermore, the article’s objective is to characterize the factors and mechanisms conducive to microvascular changes and neuroretinal apoptosis in diabetic retinopathy. Only when all the measures preventing vascular dysfunction are determined will the risk of complications in the course of diabetes be minimized.

Staphylococcus capraeis an emerging microorganism in human bone and joint infections (BJI). The aim of this study is to describe the features ofS. capraeisolates involved in BJI (H for human) compared with those of isolates recovered in goat mastitis (A for animal). Fourteen isolates of each origin were included. Identifications were performed using a Vitek 2 GP ID card,tufgene sequencing, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) Vitek MS. Molecular typing was carried out using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and DiversiLab technology. The crystal violet method was used to determine biofilm-forming ability. Virulence factors were searched by PCR. Vitek MS technology provides an accurate identification for the two types of isolates compared to that of gold-standard sequencing (sensitivity, 96.4%), whereas the Vitek 2 GP ID card was more effective for H isolates. Molecular typing methods revealed two distinct lineages corresponding to the origin despite few overlaps: H and A. In our experimental conditions, no significant difference was observed in biofilm production ability between H and A isolates. Nine isolates (5 H isolates and 4 A isolates) behaved as weak producers while one A isolate was a strong producer. Concerning virulence factors, the autolysinatlCand the serine aspartate adhesin (sdrZ) genes were detected in 24 isolates (86%), whereas the lipase gene was always detected, except in one H isolate (96%). Theicaoperon was present in 23 isolates (82%). Fibrinogen-binding (fbe) or collagen-binding (cna) genes were not detected by using primers designed forStaphylococcus aureusorStaphylococcus epidermidis, even in low stringency conditions. AlthoughS. capraeprobably remains underestimated in human infections, further studies are needed to better understand the evolution and the adaptation of this species to its host.

Abstract Restriction of protein calories during stages of immaturity has a major influence on glucose metabolism and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood. However, it is known that reduction of food intake alleviates insulin resistance. We previously demonstrated an improved insulin-induced glucose uptake in skeletal muscle of chronically undernourished adult rats. The purpose of this work was to investigate whether this condition is present during suckling, a period characterized by physiological insulin resistance as well as elucidate some of the underlying mechanisms. With this aim, 10-d-old pups from food-restricted dams were studied. We showed that undernourished suckling rats are glucose normotolerants, despite their depressed insulin secretion capacity. The content of the main glucose transporters in muscle, GLUT-4 and GLUT-1, was not affected by undernutrition, but fractionation studies showed an improved insulin-stimulated GLUT-4 translocation. p38MAPK protein, implicated in up-regulation of intrinsic activity of translocated GLUT-4, was increased. These changes suggest an improved insulin-induced glucose uptake associated with undernutrition. Insulin receptor content as well as that of both regulatory and catalytic phosphoinositol 3-kinase subunits was increased by food restriction. Insulin receptor substrate-1-associated phosphoinositol 3-kinase activity after insulin was enhanced in undernourished rats, as was phospho-glycogen synthase kinase-3, in line with insulin hypersensitivity. Surprisingly, protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B association with insulin receptor was also increased by undernutrition. These adaptations to a condition of severely limited nutritional resources might result in changes in the development of key tissues and be detrimental later in life, when a correct amount of nutrients is available, as the thrifty phenotype hypothesis predicts.

Persistent elevation in shear stress within conduit or resistance arteries causes structural luminal expansion, which serves to normalize shear stress while maintaining increased flow to the downstream vasculature. Although it is known that this adaptation involves cellular proliferation and remodeling of the extracellular matrix, the specific cellular events underlying these responses are poorly understood. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contribute to extensive remodeling of the extracellular matrix in conduit vessels and vein grafts exposed to high flow. However, involvement of MMPs in remodeling of small muscular collateral arteries, which are exposed to less severe increases in shear stress, has not been tested. We utilized an established model of outward remodeling in mesenteric collateral arteries to determine whether MMPs were upregulated during the remodeling response and to test whether MMP activity was required for luminal expansion. By 4 days, MMP-2 and membrane type 1 MMP (MT1-MMP), but not MMP-9, protein levels were significantly elevated in collateral arteries, as assessed by gelatin zymography and immunostaining. MMP-2 and MT1-MMP proteins, together with their respective transcriptional activators c-Jun and Egr-1 were localized predominantly to the smooth muscle layer of the collateral arteries. The general MMP inhibitor doxycycline prevented luminal expansion of collateral arteries but did not affect the endothelial cell proliferative or medial growth responses. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that MMP-2 and MT1-MMP are upregulated in collateral arteries exposed to elevated shear stress and that MMP activity is essential for the full remodeling response that leads to outward luminal expansion.

This paper discusses the surface-engineered nanomaterials (adaptive nano-structured physical vapor deposition (PVD) thin-film coatings) that can effectively perform under severely non-equilibrium tribological conditions. The typical features of these nanomaterials are: (a) Dynamically interacting elements present in sufficient amounts to account for its compositional/structural complexity; (b) an initial non-equilibrium state; (c) optimized micro-mechanical characteristics, and (d) intensive adaptation to the external stimuli. These could be considered as functionally graded nanomaterials that consist of two major layers: an underlying (2–3 microns) thin-film PVD coating, the surface on which an outer nanoscale layer of dynamically re-generating tribo-films is produced as a result of self-organization during friction. This tribo-film nanolayer (dissipative structures) was discovered to represent complex matter, which exhibits characteristic properties and functions common to naturally occurring systems. These include adaptive interaction with a severely non-equilibrium environment; formation of compounds such as sapphire, mullite, and garnet, similar to those that arise during metamorphism; ability to evolve with time; as well as complexity and multifunctional, synergistic behavior. Due to several nanoscale effects, this nanolayer is capable of protecting the surface with unprecedented efficiency, enabling extensive control over the performance of the entire surface-engineered system. These surface-engineered nanomaterials can achieve a range (speed and level) of adaptability to the changing environment that is not found in naturally occurring materials. Therefore, these materials could be classified as metamaterials. The second major characteristic of these materials is the structure and properties of the coating layer, which mostly functions as a catalytic medium for tribo-film generation and replenishment. A functioning example of this type of material is represented by an adaptive hard thin-film TiAlCrSiYN/TiAlCrN nano-multilayer PVD coating, which can efficiently work in an extreme environment, typical for the dry machining of hard-to-cut materials.

Abstract Background The esophagus is lined by a stratified epithelium in which basal cells can proliferate and undergo differentiation while migrating towards the lumen. In the basal layer, we also find Krt15+ stem cells that are multipotent, self-renewing and that have regenerative capacity. However, mechanisms that specifically control their functions remain unknown. Interestingly, RNA sequencing and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed an enrichment of a gene set associated with DNA repair in Krt15+ cells in comparison to Krt15- cells. We also observed that Msh2 (MutS homolog 2), a gene associated with the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) mechanism, is the most significantly upregulated gene in Krt15+ stem cells. Aims To determine the impact of Msh2 loss on self-renewal of esophageal organoids under normal and stress conditions. Methods Esophageal epithelial cells were isolated from a wild type mouse and grown as organoids, a 3D culture model that supports stem cell growth and morphologically reproduces the tissue of origin. To determine Msh2 role in esophageal epithelium, this gene was deleted through a CRISPR/Cas9 approach in mouse esophageal organoids. Invalidation was confirmed by Western Blot and immunofluorescence. Impact of Msh2 loss on self-renewal was measured under normal condition and following radiation. Results At baseline, loss of Msh2 decreases the organoid formation rate of esophageal organoids. Furthermore, following high-dose radiation, Msh2 deficient cells form less organoids than control cells. These results suggest that self-renewal capacity is reduced when Msh2 is depleted. Interestingly, following radiation, organoids depleted for Msh2 show higher residual levels of p-H2AX, a DNA damage marker, and p-ATM, a key kinase in DNA damage response, suggesting that their capacity to cope with DNA damages is reduced. Conclusions Our results suggest that Msh2 contributes to maintaining genomic integrity in esophageal cells and that contributes to maintaining self-renewal capacity of basal cells and possibly esophageal stem cells. Funding Agencies Canada Research Chair.

Alveolar epithelial (AE) surface area is closely correlated with body mass (BM) in mammals. The AE is covered by a surfactant layer produced by alveolar epithelial type II (AE2) cells. We hypothesized that the total number of AE2 cells and the volume of intracellular surfactant-storing lamellar bodies (Lb) are correlated with BM with a similar slope as AE surface area. We used light and electron microscopic stereology to estimate the number and mean volume of AE2 cells and the total volume of Lb in 12 mammalian species ranging from 2 to 3 g (Etruscan shrew) to 400–500 kg (horse) BM. The mean size of Lb was evaluated using the volume-weighted mean volume and the volume-to-surface ratio of Lb. The mean volume of AE2 cells was 500–600 μm3 in most species, but was higher in Etruscan shrew, guinea pig, and human lung. The mean volume of Lb per AE2 cell was 80–100 μm3 in most species, with the same exceptions as above. However, the total number of AE2 cells and the total volume of Lb were closely correlated with BM and exhibited an allometric relationship similar to the slope of AE surface area. The mean size of Lb was similar in all investigated species. In conclusion, the mean volume of AE2 cells and their Lb are independent of BM but show some interspecific variations. The adaptation of the intracellular surfactant pool size to BM is obtained by the variation of the number of AE2 cells in the lung.

Spodosol soil of Typic Placorthod sub-group of East Barito District is one of the problem soils with the presence of hardpan layer, low fertility, low water holding capacity, acid reaction and it is not suitable for oil palm cultivation without any properly specific management of land preparation and implemented best agronomic practices. A study was carried out to evaluate the soil characteristic of a big hole (A profile) and no big hole (B profile) system and comparative oil palm productivity among two planting systems. This study was conducted in Spodosol soil at oil palm plantation (coordinate X = 0281843 and Y = 9764116), East Barito District, Central Kalimantan Province on February 2014, by surveying of placic and ortstein depth and observing soil texture and chemical properties of 2 (two) oil palm's soil profiles that have been planted in five years. Big hole system of commercial oil palm field planting on the Spodosol soil area was designed for the specific purpose of minimizing the potential of a negative effect of shallow effective planting depth for oil palms growing due to the hardpan layer (placic and ortstein) presence as deep as 0.25 - 0.50 m. The big hole system is a planting hole type which was vertical-sided with 2.00 m x 1.50 m on top and bottom side and 3.00 m depth meanwhile the 2:1 drain was vertical-sided also with 1.50 m depth and 300 m length. Oil palm production was recorded from the year 2012 up to 2014. Results indicated that the fractions both big hole profile (A profile) and no big hole profile (B profile) were dominated by sands ranged from 60% to 92% and the highest sands content of non-big hole soil profile were found in A and E horizons (92%). Better distribution of sand and clay fractions content in between layers of big hole soil profiles of A profile sample is more uniform compared to the B profile sample. The mechanical holing and material mixing of soil materials of A soil profile among the upper and lower horizons i.e. A, E, B and C horizons before planting that resulted a better distribution of both soil texture (sands and clay) and chemical properties such as acidity value (pH), C-organic, N, C/N ratio, CEC, P-available and Exchangeable Bases. Investigation showed that exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K), were very low in soil layers (A profile) and horizons (B profile) investigated. The low exchangeable cations due to highly leached of bases to the lower layers and horizons. Besides, the palm which was planted on the big hole system showed good adaptation and response positively by growing well of tertiary and quaternary roots that the roots were penetrable into deeper rooting zone as much as >1.00 m depth. The roots can grow well and penetrate much deeper in A profile compared to the undisturbed hardpan layer (B profile). The FFB (fresh fruit bunches) production of the non-big hole block was higher than the big hole block for the first three years of production. This might be due to the high variation of monthly rainfall in-between years of observation from 2009 to 2014. Therefore, the hardness of placic and ortstein as unpenetrable agents by roots and water to prevent water loss and retain the water in the rhizosphere especially in the drier weather. In the high rainfall condition, the 2:1 drain to prevent water saturation in the oil palm rhizosphere by moving some water into the drain. Meanwhile, the disturbed soil horizon (big hole area) was drier than un disturbance immediately due to water removal to deeper layers. We concluded that both big hole and 2:1 drain are a suitable technology for Spodosol soil land especially in preparing palms planting to minimize the negative effect of the hardpan layer for oil palm growth.

In a soccer game the ability of humanoid robots that one needs to have is to see the ball object in real time. Development of the ability of humanoid robots to see the ball has been developed but the level of accuracy of object recognition and adaptation during matches still needs to be improved. The architecture designed in this study is Convolutional Neural Network or CNN which is designed to have 6 hidden layers with implementation of the robot program using the Tensorflow library. The pictures taken are used in the training process to have 9 types of images based on where the pictures were taken. Each type of image is divided into 2 classes, namely 2000 images for ball object classes and 2000 images for non-ball object classes. The test is done in real time using a white ball on green grass. From the architectural design and white ball detection test results obtained a success rate of 67%, five of the nine models managed to recognize the ball. The model can recognize objects with an image processing speed of a maximum of 13 FPS.Dalam pertandingan sepak bola kemampuan robot humanoid yang perlu dimiliki salah satunya adalah melihat objek bola secara real time. Pengembangan kemampuan robot humanoid untuk melihat bola telah dikembangkan tetapi tingkat akurasi pengenalan objek dan adaptasi saat pertandingan masih perlu ditingkatkan. Arsitektur yang dirancang pada penelitian ini yaitu Convolutional Neural Network atau CNN yang dirancang memiliki 6 hidden layer dengan implementasi pada program robot menggunakan library Tensorflow. Gambar yang diambil digunakan dalam proses training memiliki 9 jenis gambar berdasarkan tempat pengambilan gambar. Tiap jenis gambar terbagi menjadi 2 class yaitu 2000 gambar untuk class objek bola dan 2000 gambar untuk class objek bukan bola. Pengujian dilakukan secara real time dengan menggunakan bola berwarna putih di atas rumput hijau. Dari perancangan arsitektur dan hasil pengujian pendeteksian bola putih didapatkan persentase keberhasilan 67% yaitu lima dari sembilan model berhasil mengenali bola. Model dapat mengenali objek dengan kecepatan pengolahan gambar adalah maksimal 13 FPS.

Background:There are several metabolic pathways involved in cell metabolism, including glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and fatty acid (FA) oxidation. Metabolic flexibility has previously described as the ability to respond or adapt to changes in metabolic demand; assessed by the ability to switch from fat to carbohydrate oxidation. In the last years there is a growing interest to assess the influence of metabolic flexibility, as a mechanism to explain how lipids can accumulate in the tissue. During OA, it has been established a relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular damage due to impairments in mitochondrial function and metabolic flexibility. Several studies have suggested that fatty acids may play an important role in OA development and progression.Objectives:The aim of this work was to examine the differences in glucose and fatty acid metabolism, with special focus on metabolic flexibility, in cybrids from healthy (N) or OA donors.Methods:Cybrids were developed using 143B.TK-Rho-0 cell line (nuclear donor) and platelets (mitochondrial donors) from healthy (N) and OA donors. Glucose and FA metabolism were measured using D-[14C(U)]glucose and [1-14C]oleic acid respectively. Metabolic flexibility was evaluated by co-culturing with glucose and oleic acid acutely by using inhibitors against glucose and FA oxidation, 20µM UK5099 and 10µM etomoxir, respectively. Incorporation of FA into lipid droplet (LD) was evaluated by thin layer chromatography and LD were stained by LD540 and analyzed by confocal microscope and flow cytometry. Mitochondrial dynamics was measured by real-time PCR method. Percentage of mitochondrial Anion Superoxide (O2-) production was evaluated incubating cells with MitoSox® using Flow Cytometer. Appropriate statistical analyses were performed with GraphPad Prism v6.Results:There were no changes in basal glucose metabolism between cybrids. N cybrids had higher acid-soluble metabolites, reflecting incomplete FA β-oxidation than OA cybrids. Comparing glucose and FA metabolism showed that both types of cybrids preferred to oxidize glucose. Co-culturing with glucose and Oleic acid, increased total cellular uptake and oxidation of glucose in N compared to basal condition (Figure-1) and in this condition the OA cybrids showed an increase in mitochondrial O2-production. Inhibition of FA oxidation by etomoxir increased complete glucose oxidation of N cybrids but not in OA cybrids that had a preference to oxidize oleic acid compared to basal condition. Gene expression of mitofusin-2 (MFN2) was higher in N than OA cybrids under inhibiting conditions. Combine these data indicate that N cybrids are more metabolically flexible and have better adaptative response than OA. Cybrids presented different lipid distribution patterns. Lipid droplet (LD) formation increased in both groups incubated in presence of FA. Furthermore, N cybrids showed less LD formation than OA.Conclusion:The results indicated that cybrids from OA patients had reduced metabolic flexibility compared to N cybrids. These results enhance our understanding of the mitochondria metabolism in OA, suggesting a mitochondrial dysfunction and impairment of metabolic flexibility during the OA process.Disclosure of Interests:Andrea Dalmao-Fernandez: None declared, Jenny Lund: None declared, Tamara Hermida Gómez: None declared, Maria Eugenia Vazquez Mosquera: None declared, Ignacio Rego-Perez: None declared, Francisco J. Blanco Grant/research support from: Sanofi-Aventis, Lilly, Bristol MS, Amgen, Pfizer, Abbvie, TRB Chemedica International, Glaxo SmithKline, Archigen Biotech Limited, Novartis, Nichi-iko pharmaceutical Co, Genentech, Jannsen Research & Development, UCB Biopharma, Centrexion Theurapeutics, Celgene, Roche, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, Biohope, Corbus Pharmaceutical, Tedec Meiji Pharma, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, Ltd, Gilead Sciences Inc, Consultant of: Lilly, Bristol MS, Pfizer, Mercedes Fernandez-Moreno: None declared

ADAPTAÇÃO E AVALIAÇÃO DE EVAPOTRANSPIRÔMETROS PARA A OBTENÇÃO DO COEFICIENTE DE CULTURA BASAL (kcb) DO FEIJOEIRO (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Gerson Araujo de MedeirosDepartamento de Água e Solo, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola, UNICAMP, C. P. 6011, CEP 13.081-490, Campinas-SP. E-mail: gerson@agr.unicamp.brFlavio Bussmeyer ArrudaSeção de Irrigação e Drenagem, Instituto Agronômico, C. P. 28, CEP 13.001-970, Campinas - São Paulo. E-mail: farruda@cec.iac.br 1 RESUMO O estudo do coeficiente de cultura (kc) tem ganho grande impulso ao seu entendimento e estimativa, quando feito o seu desmembramento em coeficiente de cultura basal (kcb), dependente do desenvolvimento da planta, em um coeficiente solo-planta (ka), dependente do déficit de água no solo, e um coeficiente relacionado ao molhamento da superfície do solo (ks). Uma avaliação das condições de solo e planta foi realizada em quatro evapotranspirômetros de nível freático constante e em um experimento de campo com feijoeiro semanalmente irrigado sob duas densidades de plantio. O trabalho foi conduzido no Instituto Agronômico, Campinas, no período de agosto a novembro de 1994, em um solo argiloso. A fim de se evitar a evaporação direta do solo foi aplicada sobre a superfície de cada evapotranspirômetro uma camada de 1 cm de areia sob uma outra de 1 cm do solo original da área. Observações visuais, crescimento de planta e monitoramento da tensão de água no solo nas profundidades de 5 e 10 cm nos evapotranspirômetros, mostraram que a tensão nunca excedeu a 10 kPa em ambas as profundidades. A resistência estomática, nos evapotranspirômetros, variou de 0,4 a 1,0 s.cm-1, durante a maior parte do ciclo, excetuando-se a fase de senescência, nas condições de cultura irrigada essa variação foi de 0,5 a 2,7 s.cm-1. Desta forma, as condições exigidas para a obtenção do coeficiente de cultura basal, como recomendadas por Wright (1981), foram satisfeitas, e nas condições de campo essas não se mantiveram, mesmo em feijoeiro irrigado. UNITERMOS : coeficiente de cultura, evapotranspirômetro, evapotranspiração, feijoeiro. MEDEIROS, G. A., ARRUDA, F. B. Adaptation and evaluation of evapotranspirometer to determine the basal crop coefficient (kcb) of beans. 2 ABSTRACT Crop coefficient (kc) studies has gained a better understanding when it was decomposed in basal crop coefficient (kcb), dependent on crop development, in a soil-plant coefficient (ka), dependent on soil water deficit, and in a coefficient related to soil surface wetting (ks). An evaluation of soil and plant conditions was performed in a four constant water table type of evapotranspirometer and in a field experiment with two planting population densities of beans weekly irrigated (60 kPa at 15 cm). The work was conducted in the Institute Agronomico, Campinas, SP, from August to November of 1994, in a clayed tropical soil. In order to avoid direct soil evaporation it was applied an 1 cm layer of sand below an other 1 cm of original soil on surface of each evapotranspirometer. Visual observations, plant growth and monitoring soil water tension at 5 cm and 10 cm in the evapotranspirometers showed that tension never exceeded 10 kPa at both positions. Leaf stomata resistance of evapotranspirometer plants ranged from 0.4 to 1.0 s.cm-1 most of the crop life compared to 0.5 to 2.7 s.cm-1 of field irrigated plants. It was concluded that the evapotranspirometers were able to maintain a high water supply to a crop with reduced direct soil evaporation, as recommended by Wright (1981), to determine basal crop coefficient, a situation rather difficult to ascertain in the field even for irrigated beans. KEY-WORDS: crop coefficient, evapotranspirometer, evapotranspiration, bean.

ADAPTAÇÃO E AVALIAÇÃO DE EVAPOTRANSPIRÔMETROS PARA A OBTENÇÃO DO COEFICIENTE DE CULTURA BASAL (kcb) DO FEIJOEIRO (Phaseolus vulgaris L) Gerson Araujo de MedeirosDepartamento de Água e Solo, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola, UNICAMP, C. P. 6011, CEP 13.081-490, Campinas-SP. E-mail: gerson@agr.unicamp.brFlavio Bussmeyer ArrudaSeção de Irrigação e Drenagem, Instituto Agronômico, C. P. 28, CEP 13.001-970, Campinas - São Paulo. E-mail: farruda@cec.iac.br 1 RESUMO O estudo do coeficiente de cultura (kc) tem ganho grande impulso ao seu entendimento e estimativa, quando feito o seu desmembramento em coeficiente de cultura basal (kcb), dependente do desenvolvimento da planta, em um coeficiente solo-planta (ka), dependente do déficit de água no solo, e um coeficiente relacionado ao molhamento da superfície do solo (ks). Uma avaliação das condições de solo e planta foi realizada em quatro evapotranspirômetros de nível freático constante e em um experimento de campo com feijoeiro semanalmente irrigado sob duas densidades de plantio. O trabalho foi conduzido no Instituto Agronômico, Campinas, no período de agosto a novembro de 1994, em um solo argiloso. A fim de se evitar a evaporação direta do solo foi aplicada sobre a superfície de cada evapotranspirômetro uma camada de 1 cm de areia sob uma outra de 1 cm do solo original da área. Observações visuais, crescimento de planta e monitoramento da tensão de água no solo nas profundidades de 5 e 10 cm nos evapotranspirômetros, mostraram que a tensão nunca excedeu a 10 kPa em ambas as profundidades. A resistência estomática, nos evapotranspirômetros, variou de 0,4 a 1,0 s.cm-1, durante a maior parte do ciclo, excetuando-se a fase de senescência, nas condições de cultura irrigada essa variação foi de 0,5 a 2,7 s.cm-1. Desta forma, as condições exigidas para a obtenção do coeficiente de cultura basal, como recomendadas por Wright (1981), foram satisfeitas, e nas condições de campo estas não se mantiveram, mesmo em feijoeiro irrigado. UNITERMOS: Coeficiente de cultura, evapotranspirômetro, evapotranspiração, feijoeiro. MEDEIROS, G. A., ARRUDA, F. B. Adaptation and evaluation of evapotranspirometer to determine the basal crop coefficient (kcb) of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris l). 2 ABSTRACT Crop coefficient (kc) studies have gained a better understanding when it was decomposed in basal crop coefficient (kcb), dependent on crop development, in a soil-plant coefficient (ka), dependent on soil water deficit, and in a coefficient related to soil surface wetting (ks). An evaluation of soil and plant conditions was performed in a four constant water table type of evapotranspirometer and in a field experiment with two planting population densities of beans weekly irrigated (60 kPa at 15 cm). The work was conducted in the Institute Agronomic, Campinas, SP, from August to November of 1994, in a clayed tropical soil. In order to avoid direct soil evaporation it was applied an 1 cm layer of sand below an other 1 cm of original soil on surface of each evapotranspirometer. Visual observations, plant growth and monitoring soil water tension at 5 cm and 10 cm in the evapotranspirometers showed that tension never exceeded 10 kPa at both positions. Leaf stomata resistance of evapotranspirometer plants ranged from 0.4 to 1.0 s.cm-1 most of the crop life compared to 0.5 to 2.7 s.cm-1 of field irrigated plants. It was concluded that the evapotranspirometers were able to maintain a high water supply to a crop with reduced direct soil evaporation, as recommended by Wright (1981), to determine basal crop coefficient, a situation rather difficult to ascertain in the field even for irrigated beans. KEYWORDS: Crop coefficient, evapotranspirometer, evapotranspiration, bean.

The objective of this study is to build biomass and carbon stock map at several type of forest in Bach Ma National Park, Thua Thien Hue province. To accomplish that goal, field survey was accompanied with the interpretation result of remote satellite imagery in the GIS to determine biomass and carbon stock accumulation of forest. Landsat 8 satellite image year 2014 at 15 meters resolution was used for the analysis and classification of forest status. The results showed that the rich forest had the biggest amount biomass reserve in comparison with medium and restoration forest. It indicated that estimated biomass of rich forest was 144.16 tons/ha; meanwhile, biomass of medium and res- toration forest was reached at 43.17 tons/ha and 20.31 tons/ha, respectively. It means that the total biomass of rich forest was approximately three times as the total biomass of medium forest and seven times compared to restoration forest. Based on estimated biomass map, carbon stock map at Bach Ma National Park was calculated. The carbon stock reserve of differential forest types was unequal and considerable disparity between the rich forest and the rest. Carbon stock of rich forest was 264.53 tons/ha, which was higher nearly three times than medium forest and nearly seven times than restoration forest. The determination of biomass and carbon stock map from tree layer not only contributes to understand the status of forest conditions, but also provide a strategy in reducing emissions and adaptation to climate change. In addition, the research results could be the scientific reference for trade sell carbon certificates in the commercial market within the country and globally. Mục tiêu của nghiên cứu này là xây dựng được bản đồ sinh khối và trữ lượng cacbon của tầng cây gỗ tại một số trạng thái rừng thuộc vườn quốc gia Bạch Mã, tỉnh Thừa Thiên Huế. Để thực hiện được mục tiêu đó, nghiên cứu đã phối hợp kết quả phân loại ảnh với số liệu điều tra thực địa trong GIS để xác định sinh khối rừng, trữ lượng carbon tích lũy của tầng cây gỗ ở các trạng thái rừng thuộc vườn quốc gia Bạch Mã, tỉnh Thừa Thiên Huế. Ảnh vệ tinh landsat 8 năm 2014 có độ phân giải 15 mét được sử dụng để phân tích và phân loại hiện trạng rừng. Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy, trạng thái rừng giàu có sinh khối lớn hơn nhiều so với 2 trạng thái rừng còn lại, tổng sinh khối ước tính là144,16 tấn/ha. Sinh khối rừng trung bình đạt 43,17 tấn/ha, còn sinh khối rừng của rừng phục hồi là 20,31 tấn/ha. Tổng sinh khối rừng giàu xấp xỉ gấp 3 lần so với rừng trung bình và gấp 7 lần so với rừng phục hồi. Đối với trữ lượng carbon của các trạng thái rừng không đồng đều nhau và có sự chênh lệch khá lớn giữa rừng giàu và các trạng rừng còn lại. Trữ lượng carbon của rừng giàu là 264,53 tấn/ha cao hơn gần gấp 3 so với rừng trung bình và gấp gần 7 lần so với rừng phục hồi. Kết quả việc xác định sinh khối và trữ lượng carbon tầng cây gỗ của các trạng thái rừng cung cấp cơ sở khoa học và tạo điều kiện thuận lợi cho việc buôn bán chứng chỉ carbon trên thị trường thương mại trong phạm vi quốc gia và toàn cầu.

This article characterizes development trends in jazz piano from its origins in the “third-layer” (Konen, V., 1984) of music (ragtime and other “pre-jazz” forms) to the present time (avant-garde and retro styles of the late 20th – early 21st centuries). Main attention was devoted to the stylistic sphere, which represents an entirety of techniques and methods of jazz piano improvisation and combines genre and style parameters. In this context, the currently available information about jazz pianism and its sources (Kinus,Y., 2008; Stoliar, R., 2017) was reviewed, and sociocultural determinants, which contributed to the advent and changes of jazz piano styles were highlighted. Standing out among them at the first (traditional) stage are the schools and individual creative techniques known under generic name “stride piano” and based on the ragtime technique. At the second (contemporary) stage beginning from bebop, jazz piano stylistics gradually diverge from standardized textural formulas of homophonicharmonic type and attain fundamental diversity depending on creative attitudes of leading jazz pianists. The question of jazz piano stylistics is one of the least studied in jazz theory. The existing works devoted to this subject address mostly the sequence of the advent and changes of jazz piano styles along with the general characteristics of their representatives. Beginning from approximately the 1920s, jazz piano styles appeared and changed so fast that they left no time for their comprehension and perception (Kinus, Y., 2008). Only in the newest stylistics of the period after bebop, which divided the art of jazz into traditional and contemporary stages, did these styles attain a certain shape in new modifications and become the components of a phenomenon defined by the generic notion “jazz pianism”. It was stated that the genesis of this phenomenon is usually seen in the art of ragtime, carried in the United States of the late 19th – early 20th centuries by itinerant pianists. This variety of “third-layer” piano music playing produced a significant impact on the art of jazz in general, which is proved by its reproduction in the Dixieland and New Orleans styles as some of the first examples of jazz improvisation. The stylistics of ragtime influenced the entire first stage of jazz piano, which traces its origins back to approximately the 1910s. It combined mental features and esthetics of two traditions: European and Afro-American, which in the entirety produced the following picture: 1) popular and concert area of music playing; 2) gravitation toward demonstration of virtuosic play; 3) domination of comic esthetics; 4) objectivity of expression; 5) tendency toward the completeness of form; 6) inclination toward stage representation. In technological (texturalpianistic) aspect, ragtime, reproduced in the jazz stylistics of stride piano, demonstrated the tendency toward universalization of piano, which combined in the person of one performer the functions of solo and accompaniment, derived from the practice of minstrel banjoists related to the percussion-accented rhythmics of dance accompaniment (Konen, V., 1984). It was stated that ragtime as the transitional bridge to jazz piano existed simultaneously with other forms of “third-layer” music playing found in the Afro-American environment (unlike ragtime itself, which was an art of white musicians). These were semi-folklore styles known as “barrel house” and “honky-tonk(y) piano” cultivated in Wild West saloons. The subsequent development of jazz piano stylistic went along the lines of more vocal and specific directions related mostly to peculiarities of playing technique. Among the more global origins equal in significance to ragtime and stride pianists derivative, blues piano stylistics is worth noting. It represents an instrumental adaptation of vocal blues, which had the decisive influence over the melodics and rhythmics of the right hand party of jazz pianists (ragtime and stride piano highlighted and consolidated the typical texture of accompaniment, i.e., the left hand party). Blues piano style is a multicomponent phenomenon that shaped up as a result of efforts taken by a whole number of jazz pianists. It was developed, and continues to exist until presently, in two variants: a) as a solo piano variant, b) as a duet variant (piano and vocal). Along with blues piano, a style known as “boogie-woogie” was cultivated in jazz piano stylistics of the period before bebop as the new reminiscence of the pre-jazz era (with rock-n-roll becoming a consequence of its actualization in the 1950–1960s). A stylistic genre known as “Harlem piano style” (its prominent representatives include Luckey Roberts, James P. Johnson, Willie “the Lion” Smith, and Thomas “Fats” Waller) became a sort of compendium that combined genetic components of traditional jazz piano. This school has finally defined jazz piano as a form of solo concert music playing, which also determined the subsequent stylistic varieties of this art, the most noteworthy of which are “trumpet piano style”, “swing piano style” and “locked hands style”. Their general feature was interpretation of the instrument as a “small orchestra”, which meant rebirth at the new volute of a historical-stylistic spiral of the “image” of universal piano capable of reproducing the “sounds” of other instruments, voices and their ensembles. Outstanding pianists of various generations have been, and are, the carriers (and often “inventors”) of jazz piano styles. It should suffice to mention the names of such “legends” of jazz as Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Bill Evans, and also Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett (older generation), Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Brad Mehldau, Vadim Neselovskyi, Robert Glasper (middle generation), Eldar Djangirov, Tigran Hamasyan, Cory Henry (younger generation). Conclusions. The description of the stages of development of jazz piano pianism made in this article proves that its polystylistic nature is preserved, and the main representative of certain stylistic inclinations were and remain the texture. Textured formulas serve as the main objects of stylistic interpretations for jazz pianists of different generations. These readings are represented by two vectors – retrospective (revival of jazz traditions) and exploratory, experimental (rapprochement with the academic avant-garde). Of great importance are the styles of personalities, in which polystylistic tendencies are combined with the individual playing manners and improvisation, which, in general, is the most characteristic feature of the current stage of development of jazz piano art.

Objective: This study evaluated the in vitro bond strength of Class I restorations to dentin, using four restorative systems. Materials and Methods: Ninety-six molars were used, and a Class I cavity was prepared on the occlusal surface. Next, tooth were divided into 4 groups (n=24), Single Bond Universal + Filtek Z350 XT (SFZ); Single Bond Universal + Filtek Bulk Fill (SFB); AdheSE + Tetric N-Ceram (ATC) and AdheSE + Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill (ATB).Thus, the teeth were divided into 3 subgroups (n = 8): 1) storage in water for 24h (control); 2) submitted to thermocycling; 3) mechanical loading. After challenges, teeth were cut into beams 0.8mm², being 3 to 4 sticks per tooth. Then, the specimens were submitted to microtensile testing (μTBS). The data were submitted to Kruskal Wallis and Dunn tests for multiple comparisons, with a significance level of 5%. Results: No significant differences were observed between the restorative systems after thermal cycling challenge (p> 0.05). However, the SFZ group presented the highest μTBS values, with a statistical difference when compared to the ATC, SFB and ATB groups after mechanical loading (p> 0.05). Conclusion: The dentin bond strength of low-shrinkage composite resin restorations was negatively influenced by mechanical loading in class I cavities. Descriptors: Dental Materials; Permanent Teeth; Resin Composite; Restoration; Substrate Cycling. References Bedran-Russo A, Leme-Kraus AA, Vidal CMP, Teixeira EC. An overview of dental adhesive systems and the dynamic tooth-adhesive interface. Dent Clin N Am. 2017; 61:713-31. Rosatto CM, Bicalho AA, Veríssimo C, Bragança GF, Rodrigues MP, Tantbirojn D, et al. Mechanical properties, shrinkage stress, cuspal strain and fracture resistance of molars restored with bulk-fill composites and incremental filling technique. J Dent. 2015;43:1519-28. Ilie N, Bucuta S, Draenert M. Bulk-fill resin-based composites: an in vitro assessment of their mechanical performance. 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The method for predicting the levels of the easily hydrolysable nitrogen content in soils of various types of Polesie, Forest-steppe and Steppe climatic zones of Ukraine for the assessment of soil quality due to the background conditions, the influence of technological load (for the application of organo-mineral, organic and mineral fertilizer systems), and risk or influence of technogenic pollution by heavy metals (HM) is grounded. In the elaborated methodical approach is obtained a regression equation by the determination of new correlations of soil energy intensity indices (the calorific value of humus, soil energy reserves in a layer up to 20 cm) in conjunction with the humus state and the use of mathematical and statistical analysis for determining the value of easily hydrolysable nitrogen with the ability to predict the quality of soils of various genesis, with the further extension of the method algorithm for different soil types, climatic zones due to technogenic HM pollution and technological load. The technical result of the elaborated method: by improving the determination of the levels of the easily hydrolysable nitrogen content in soils of different genesis for the evaluation of their quality by identifying the most correlated, diagnostically applicable integral basic indicators of soil properties, which allow the informativeness to make managerial decisions and to predict the quality of soils of different genesis in the content of easily hydrolysable nitrogen, as a biogenic element, due to the background conditions and anthropogenic loads with increased accuracy, speed and informativeness. Elaborated method can find application in the ecological standardization of the content of biogenic macroelements, the normalization of loads (technogenic, technological) on the soil system, agroecology for solving the problems of organic agriculture, bioenergy and energy of soil formation; diagnostics, evaluation, forecasting of the soils nitrogen systems state; the quality of humus and macroelement status of soils on indicators of ecological and energy status; effective ecological management of soils due to the background conditions, as well as for various anthropogenic influences and in scientific research for the investigating of biogeochemistry and biogenic macroelements of soil cover. Separate provisions of the elaborated method became an integral part of the proposals on adaptation to the Nitrate Council Directive 91/676 / EEC of 12.12.1991 on the protection of water from pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources, as amended by Regulation (EC) № 1882/2003 Cross Nitrogen Balances Handbook. Prospective directions of research in the field of diagnostics, assessment, forecasting of the state of soils nitrogen systems and the normalization of the elemental composition quality, in particular, the content of nutrient nitrogen are determined. In order to overcome the biogenic pollution (excessive accumulation of nitrogen compounds) in the environment (plants, waters), the normalization of nitrogen content in soils of different genesis should include: a) determination of the maximum permissible levels of mobile mineral forms of nitrate nitrogen by the elaboration of environmental requirements for nitrates contamination with plant products; b) normalization of the content of labile easily hydrolysable nitrogen and / or a dose of nitrogen fertilizers in conditions of sufficient and excessive moistening, considering the rapid processes of transformation of nitrogen compounds in soils; c) normalization of the soil nitrogen mineral compounds content in conditions of insufficient moistening and slowing down the processes of circulation of nitrogen compounds of soils. Distinctive features and advantages of the proposed elaboration in comparison with known methods and approaches are: 1) the express obtain of the accurate projected levels of easily hydrolysable nitrogen as a nutrient in the soil with the improving the accuracy of soil diagnosis by the use of the basic integrated indicators; 2) providing opportunity for greater efficiency of forecasting data on the functioning of the nitrogen systems of different genesis soils, quality, environmental and energy state of soils due to the background conditions and anthropogenic loads while minimizing the cost of material resources; 3) empowerment of the user in determination of the easily hydrolysable nitrogen content in the soil without extensive chemical analysis by the choice of regression equations, based on the use of baseline soil properties of a particular type and subtype according to the available information; 4) versatility of the method by the suitability of detected dependencies of the proposed method for all soil types and subtypes, climatic zones and contaminants.

The aim of the article is to provide answers to two research questions. Firstly, what in business practice is needed to convert a contact into beneficial relationship. And secondly, whether numerous personal contacts, the so-called “connections” are sufficient to achieve sustained success in creating business relationships. The authors responded the questions by using the results of research conducted among 419 companies. As a result they proposed a scheme of the development process from contact to a beneficial relationship. Introduction Relationships are formed between entities conducting business as an effect of repeated interactions. Although crucial to the business, the notion of relationships is often not entirely understood, due to the fact that relationships are not limited to formal relations between companies. In practice of running business, relationships are seen as a remedy for the lack of opportunities for the development of the company, ensuring the expansion and success of the business. This, in turn, promotes the belief in the need to establish numerous contacts, which then have to transform into relationships being the source of many benefits. But in practice the transformation of contacts into relationships is not so simple. Hence, two research questions arise, the answer to which will be given by this article. First, what in practice of doing business is needed to transform a contact into a beneficial relationship? Second, are numerous contacts, i.e. so-called “connections” sufficient to achieve sustainable success in building business relationships? This paper will present the results of the research conducted among 419 companies of different sizes in Poland. The research “The global and local dimension of business networks” was carried out from November 2014 to June 2015. The structure of the analysed companies corresponds to the general structure of companies in Poland – 87 percent of them are small and medium-sized companies (the remaining 13 percent are large entities) and 74 percent are private entities with national capital. In the survey, we asked the representatives of management of companies about the characteristics and benefits of relationships connecting their companies with their most important key customers and key suppliers. This enabled indication of the essential conditions necessary for the creation of beneficial relationships. The essence of relationships between companies A relationship is a phenomenon that is formed during a long time and is developed through repeated interactions between entities [Easton, 1992]. Thus, a relationship is defined as an interdependent process of continuous interaction and exchange between at least two entities within a business network [Holmund, Törnroos, 1997] or as a mutual orientation of two companies towards each other, which means that the companies are prepared to work together and expect such actions from each other [Johanson, Mattsson, 1987]. During the process of development of a relationship, the entities create strong and wide, social, economic, service, and technological bonds, in order to reduce total costs over time, and to increasethe added value, thus achieving mutual benefits [Anderson, Narus, 1991]. An important characteristic of relationships is the fact that they need a longer time to be formed. The emergence of a relationship takes time and effort on the part of both entities [Forsgren, et al., 2015, Håkansson, Ford, 2002, Szymura- Tyc, 2015]. A long-term nature can be described as a reciprocal expectation on the part of entities that the relationship will continue [Ratajczak-Mrozek, 2009], although unexpected events can always lead to its break. Another typical features describing the real relationships, as opposed to usual contacts, include trust, commitment, and also loyalty [Leszczyński, 2014, Morgan, Hunt, 1994, Farrelly, Quester, 2003]. These features are related to the concept of the quality of a relationship, taking into account that from the perspective of the company, not every relationship is equally important. Relationships are developed only with a limited number of entities [Håkansson, Waluszewski, 1992], and there is also the claim that an average company has ten important relationships [Håkansson, Henders, 1992], and a limited number of relationships stems from the investments that are required in order to develop them [Ford, Håkansson, 2006]. These investments involve commitment of resources, including financial resources, as well as time. The assumption concerning a limited number of important business relationships means that the interactions themselves may or may not lead to the development of a relationship [Blois, 1997]. Hence, more important is the question about the conditions of transferring individual interactions, embodied by the network of one-off contacts, into relationships that bring benefits. Key features and benefits of relationships between companies To answer the question on what is necessary to transform a contact into a beneficial relationship in practice of running the business, the answers obtained from 419 companies, as mentioned above, have been analysed. The method applied involved a survey delivered by post and via the Internet, with both questionnaires including the same research questions, and the companies could receive the questionnaire only once. The address list has been prepared on the basis of a nationwide company database Kompass Poland, and the sampling frame included companies from all around Poland, representing all sectors and all sizes of companies. The sample was selected at random. The return rate of 11.8 percent was obtained in the case of surveys by post, and 2.4 for Internet surveys, which led to the total of 419 responses. The questions about key relationships of companies were answered by the representatives of management, which was to provide representative opinions on important relationships from the perspective of the entire company. In the first phase, the characteristics of relationships have been analysed (see Figure 1), which enables identification of the most important areas distinguishing the relationships from all contacts of the company, and allows to indicate what is necessary to convert contacts into relationships. It is widely believed that the formation of relationships takes time. The presented research confirms this dependency. For a relationship to be established, it is essential to develop informal standards of cooperation and trust, and it usually takes time. What is more, the fact of building trust is proved not only by the duration of interactions, but also by the conviction about the long-term attitude of the partners towards joint activities. It must be emphasised that these conditions apply both to the relationships with customers, as well as with suppliers. Also the quality of what is going on in the course of cooperation is important. A relationship connected with routine assignments once in a while will not necessarily bring a wide spectrum of benefits. Among other things, the transformation of a contact into a relationship can be accelerated by a frequent and regular cooperation. Whereas, it is essential for this frequency to be related not only with keeping contacts, but with actual offering of benefits. The research conducted shows that each time 59 percent of relationships, both with key customers and suppliers, is based on the economic calculation (not excluding, however, at the same time, the importance of other factors), which indicates that the relationship is not only an idealistic vision of cooperation. Generally, the companies guided by maximising profits are looking for the most economical and financially beneficial solutions. Thus, the question arises, what might be the motives of the companies to maintain the remaining 40 percent of relationships? If in their case the most important is not the simple economic calculation, than they must be associated with other than strictly direct financial benefits. Relationships can bring not only financial benefits but also imply the improvement of flexibility and speed of operation, reduction of transaction costs, risks, and uncertainty by the creation of routine proceedings, unwritten principles of cooperation, trust and mutual adaptation. As a consequence, the closer the cooperation is, the more difficult it becomes to change the partner. On the other hand, if for almost 60 percent of the companies the economic factor plays an important role, in their case it can mean either the lack of place for other reasons to build relationships or the lack of differences in the perception of the existing key business partners. The latter creates a special market opportunity for those companies, that have already possessed the ability to build long-term business relationships based on non-financial factors, as it allows to stand out against the closest competitors. In this context, the research conducted showed the main benefits achieved by the companies thanks to relationships with key customers and suppliers, which is the second stage of the research (Figure 2). Apparently, there is a certain group of common benefits for all relationships, regardless of the type of a partner. They are related to the widely understood development (which may be supported in terms of economics, technology, competence, reputation), creation of new products, trust, and risk mitigation associated therewith. Moreover, in the case of key customer relationships, there are benefits associated with sales – directly, its growth and factors supporting it (recommendations and prestige). In turn, in the case of relationships with key suppliers, there are benefits related with the costs of operation (directly, reduction of costs, greater flexibility, and an increase in the margin). The broad range of benefits achieved by relationships at the same time indicates the key condition that must be satisfied to convert the contacts into relationships. If one of the parties does not achieve benefits, it means that there is no interest in the development of long-term and close relationships. In such a case, the relation is a rather forced contact (for example, due to the lack of alternatives in choosing a supplier, impossibility of allowing oneself to lose the customer providing revenues). Hence, for a contact to result in a relationship, it is necessary to appropriately identify and offer benefits sought by the other party. Speaking of relationships, the importance of having connections in the business is often emphasized. Meanwhile, the research conducted shows that the personal contacts are of a limited importance and in the absence of significant benefits, business relationships gradually erode. Bearing in mind the respondents’ answers, it should rather be stated that it is the effort made in the longer period to maintain mutually beneficial relationships, including frequent contacts with customers, that promotes the widening and deepening of the existing connections, which consequently sometimes also have the chance to be continued on the business and non-business grounds. In the above situation, contacts between people play a role in creating quality of the already existing relationships. It will be expressed in the way of communication, the depth and scope of cooperation, the distinguishing feature of which will be, in particular, the informal, direct and quick solving of emerging conflicts of interest or current problems. It should be remembered that the condition for this is the presence of benefits valued by both parties. Otherwise, the effort made sooner or later will begin to be perceived by one or the other side as unjustified. It is worth to note here that due to the dominant share of financial benefits in business relationships indicated in the research, the time horizon within which the parties assess the relationships, can be relatively short. And this in turn may affect the growth of their dynamics, and can cause their low resistance to changing conditions. Therefore, as indicated above, numerous contacts do not have to convert into numerous and durable relationships of the company at all. Wide personal contacts are good as a starting point, enable breaking through formal barriers associated with complex organisational structures or the lack of resources, and establishing the first contact between the companies, but not necessarily translate into real and beneficial relationships. On the other hand, business relationships do not have to be permanent, especially if they are based only on achieving financial benefits. The process of developing a contact into a beneficial relationship Building relationships takes time and requires orientation towards a long-term cooperation. For a contact to develop into a relationship, one needs to remember about the benefits that can be offered and which are important to the future or existing partner. But such benefits cannot be provided to all customers and suppliers, thus, it is important to be selective. It does not mean being closed to new contacts, on the contrary. It is important, however, to search for such contacts for which a high potential to build relationships based on mutual benefits can be indicated. Selectivity is not just a matter of choosing of those with whom direct contacts will be established, but relates also to the scope of time and effort necessary to be borne in order to transform particular contacts into established relationships. It may be considered that the expected benefits will be greater in the case of sustained involvement in several selected contacts and building business bonds with them, than in the case of blind devotion to establishing numerous contacts, and then making cursory attempts to “build relationships” with everybody. In this context, a considerable involvement of time and resources in building bonds with customers and suppliers that are guided only by the economic calculation (in this case the only criterion will always be a lower price), who, guided by undisclosed premises showed a lack of loyalty or turned out to be opportunist entities, who value immediate benefits more than long-term cooperation, may be found doubtful. Based on the survey, several key conditions necessary for the transformation of the established contact with a potential partner into a long-term beneficial relationship can be distinguished. They include the selectivity in relation to contacts, focusing on the target group (not – the more the better), discovering of this group and offering significant benefits to them, and then devoting time and keeping appropriate frequency of contacts. At the same time, these conditions are reflected in the process of developing relationships, which can be divided into four main stages, as shown in Figure 3. How might this process look like in practice, for example, in relation to a company providing B2B (business-tobusiness) services? The first stage can pose some difficulties, especially when one does not have extensive““connections”, and the target group, which can be offered the most benefits, while maximising one’s own, has not been precisely defined. After gaining interest in a potential partner that meets certain criteria, where the personal contacts can turn out to be helpful, the company oriented towards building longterm relationships will be more focused on awakening and increasing confidence than on maximising their financial benefits in the short-term. Due to the lack of previous experience in working together, and the risk associated therewith, the first contacts may be limited to rather small assignments. The development of the relationship at this stage will be promoted by considerable commitment, frequent contacts between people, ensuring that certain benefits have been achieved, which in turn should build trust, which will allow for the continuation of cooperation and obtaining new, possibly larger assignments. They will be an opportunity to strengthen cooperation, mutual matching, simplifying and making the operations more routine, which will greatly reduce the costs incurred and will improve the profitability of orders. In turn, a well-established cooperation will promote building relationships aiming at achieving objectives other than purely financial (Figure 2). Summary and managerial implications The suggestions presented in this article are not a guarantee of success and building beneficial, long-term relationships with every business partner. The results of the research indicate, however, that the orientation towards the simultaneous achievement of financial and nonfinancial benefits by both sides of the relationship is not common, and therefore, it may become a significant factor differentiating the company from others operating on the given market. Above all, however, this will require time, added value offered to the other partner, selection of and concentration on the most prospective partners, and effort spent on searching for mutually beneficial solutions and maintenance of proper daily contacts. Sometimes, despite the efforts undertaken, there may appear disappointment, frustration and discouragement. This is due to the fact that the assessment of the benefits arising from business relationships may change together with changing circumstances, and even despite the best efforts of one of the partners, the overall balance of benefits may lead the other party to decide to terminate or limit the existing relationship. Potential benefits of permanent business relationships, indicated by the surveyed respondents, however, are high enough to fully justify this effort. On the other hand, it may be so large that despite its efforts the entity will be able to create only few or one strong relationship with its business partner. It is, therefore, recommended for this partner to be significant or at least with a large development potential. It is important to recognise that a personal feeling and gaining a direct contact to a decision-maker of a potential business partner does not necessarily mean that there will be a commercial transaction completed, and even more, that one managed to establish a lasting business relationship. As shown in the article, there is still a long way to go, and requires crossing a number of stages of the defined process of developing the contact into the beneficial relationship.

In the last decade the health of young people inUkraineas well as in many other countries of the world significantly deteriorated according to the results of screening tests. Because of this the main task of prophylactic medicine is development and introduction of new methods of early diagnostics of diseases. The aim of the work to assess the peculiarities of adaptation of students with different types of vegetative regulation.Material and methods: 415 second year students ofLuganskStateMedicalUniversitywere tested. The mechanisms of physiological functions of the body regulation were assessed by registration of cardiac rhythm variability (CRV). Analysis of CRV was performed by three methods: statistical, geometrical, and spectral analysis. The express method proposed by Shlyk, N.I. (2009) was later used to determine the prevailing type of vegetative regulation. To assess adaptability the method of R.M. Baevskij (1979) was used.Results: In the result of investigation 4 types of functional states of regulatory systems were determined: I type – 295 (71 %) of tested, II – in 14 (3 %), III – in 96 (23 %) and IV – only in 10 (2%). I type of functional state of regulatory systems in the wakeful state at rest was characterized by moderate prevalence of central regulation of heart rhythm (MPCR), decreased activity of autonomic regulation. It was noticed that some of the parameters of CRV (like R-R, SDNN, RMSSD and pNN50) which characterize autonomic regulation, were statistically lowere (р≤0.01) compared to type III, and some (like AMo and SI) higher, in both female and male students. Summarized spectrum capacity and components of its wave structure (HF, LF, VLF) which characterize central regulation were statistically significantly lower (р≤0.01) for the I type of regulation compared to the III one which is characterized by moderate prevalence of autonomic regulation of the heart rhythm. In female students with type I autonomic regulation compared to male students such CRV parameters as R-R and AМo were statistically significantly lower (р≤0.05), while the parameters of total potency (TP) and high frequency waves (HF) were higher (р≤0.05), which could point to more centralized heart rhythm regulation in male compared to female. The evaluation of regulatory systems overstress allowed to determine the state of adaptation and risk of overstress or breakdown in students with different types of autonomic regulation.Conclusions: Thus, evaluation of adaptation state in students with different types of autonomic regulation allows to characterize the current functional state and uncover the risk of disease development.

ABSTRACT Interspecific hybridization is a valuable tool for developing and improving brewing yeast in a number of industry-relevant aspects. However, the genomes of newly formed hybrids can be unstable. Here, we exploited this trait by adapting four brewing yeast strains, three of which were de novo interspecific lager hybrids with different ploidy levels, to high ethanol concentrations in an attempt to generate variant strains with improved fermentation performance in high-gravity wort. Through a batch fermentation-based adaptation process and selection based on a two-step screening process, we obtained eight variant strains which we compared to the wild-type strains in 2-liter-scale wort fermentations replicating industrial conditions. The results revealed that the adapted variants outperformed the strains from which they were derived, and the majority also possessed several desirable brewing-relevant traits, such as increased ester formation and ethanol tolerance, as well as decreased diacetyl formation. The variants obtained from the polyploid hybrids appeared to show greater improvements in fermentation performance than those derived from diploid strains. Interestingly, it was not only the hybrid strains, but also the Saccharomyces cerevisiae parent strain, that appeared to adapt and showed considerable changes in genome size. Genome sequencing and ploidy analysis revealed that changes had occurred at both the chromosome and single nucleotide levels in all variants. Our study demonstrates the possibility of improving de novo lager yeast hybrids through adaptive evolution by generating stable and superior variants that possess traits relevant to industrial lager beer fermentation. IMPORTANCE Recent studies have shown that hybridization is a valuable tool for creating new and diverse strains of lager yeast. Adaptive evolution is another strain development tool that can be applied in order to improve upon desirable traits. Here, we apply adaptive evolution to newly created lager yeast hybrids by subjecting them to environments containing high ethanol levels. We isolated and characterized a number of adapted variants which possess improved fermentation properties and ethanol tolerance. Genome analysis revealed substantial changes in the variants compared to the original strains. These improved variant strains were produced without any genetic modification and are suitable for industrial lager beer fermentations.

AbstractA Fe–3wt pctSi alloy was gas nitrided to study the effect of Si on the Fe nitride formation. Both ε-Fe3N1+x and γ′-Fe4N were observed at nitriding conditions only allowing to form single-phase γ′ layers in pure α-Fe. During short nitriding times, ε and γ′ simultaneously grow in contact with Si-supersaturated α-Fe(Si). Both nitrides almost invariably exhibit crystallographic orientation relationships with α-Fe, which are indicative of a partially displacive transformation of α-Fe being involved in the initial formation of ε and γ′. Due to Si constraining the Fe nitride growth, such transformation mechanism becomes highly important to the nitride layer formation, causing α-Fe-grain-dependent variations in the nitride layer morphology and thickness, as well as microstructure refinement within the nitride layer. After prolonged nitriding, α-Fe is depleted in Si due the pronounced precipitation of Si-rich nitride in α-Fe. The growth mode of the compound layer changes, now advancing by conventional planar-type growth. During nitriding times of 1 to 48 hours, ε exists in contact with the NH3/H2-containing nitriding atmosphere at a nitriding potential of 1 atm−1/2 and 540 °C, only allowing for the formation of γ′ in pure Fe, indicating that Si affects the thermodynamic stability ranges of ε and γ′.

The main actions of the renin angiotensin system to control blood pressure (BP) are mediated by the angiotensin type 1 receptors (AT 1 R). The major murine AT 1 R isoform, AT 1A is highly expressed in epithelial cells throughout the nephron, including the collecting duct (CD). The CD consists of two cell types, principal (PC) and intercalated cells (IC) with distinct functions. Activation of AT 1 R in PC stimulates solute reabsorption in the CD by increasing the activity of epithelial sodium channels. To examine the role of the AT 1A R in the PC to BP regulation and the development of hypertension in vivo , we generated inbred 129SvEv mice with cell-specific deletion of AT 1A R in PC (PC-KO, n=6). AQP2-Cre transgenic mouse line was used to excise the floxed Agtr1a allele in PC. mTmG reporter mouse line was used to confirm specific expression of AQP2-Cre transgene in PC, and found the pattern of expression to be predominantly in medullary CD. Using RT-PCR, mRNA levels for AT 1A R were reduced by ≈50% in the inner medulla of PC-KO mice ( P <0.05), but unaffected in cortex. Baseline BP measured by radiotelemetry was similar between PC-KO (122±1.6 mm Hg) and controls (122±1.6 mm Hg). During one week of feeding a low salt (<0.002% NaCl) diet, MAP fell significantly (P<0.05) and to a similar extent in both groups, (PC-KO: 116±1 mm Hg; Controls: 117±2 mm Hg). High salt (6% NaCl) diet increased BP (P<0.01), but was not different between groups (PC-KO: 129±2 mm Hg; Controls: 131±2 mm Hg). Finally, we induced hypertension with chronic infusion of Ang II (1000 ng/kg/min) by osmotic mini-pumps. During the initial phase (days 1-8), there was a modest but significant attenuation of hypertension in PC-KO (167±7 mm Hg) compared to controls (178±3 mm Hg, P<0.001). However, by day 9 levels of BP were indistinguishable between groups and there was no difference in BP in the later phase (days 9-14) of hypertension (PC-KO: 175±12 mm Hg; Controls: 177±7 mm Hg). Heart to body weight ratio after Ang II infusion was not different between groups. In summary, AT 1A R in PC of the medullary CD have little influence on BP, adaptation to changes in dietary salt intake or development of hypertension. We suggest that other mediators, such as aldosterone, may have a more important role to influence sodium handling in this nephron segment.

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background. Patients who underwent liver transplantation (LT) may suffer from heart disease that can be related to the liver disease itself or to other associated pathologies. It has been suggested that there is a specific heart disease associated with cirrhosis, termed cirrhotic cardiomyopathy which is characterized by the presence of increased baseline cardiac output, systolic and diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and increased in pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP). The aim of the study was to evaluate the cardiac structural and functional changes after LT and eventually to determine the improvement in PASP. Method. 51 patients were considered for the analysis who had a good quality pre and post LT echocardiograms. The echo-study was done preLT and repeated within 4 months and 3 years after LT. All studies were red of-line, global longitudinal stains (GLS) of the LV and right ventricle (RV) were analyzed using TOMTEC application. A Paired T-test was used to compare the echocardiographic parameters. The group was also divided according to tertiles of pre LT PASP for the evaluation of pulmonary pressure. Results . Patients` mean age was 58.1 ± 7.8 years, 32 (62.6%) men, mean time between the 2 echocardiographic studies was 529.2 ± 471 days. After LT all the patients were on immunosuppressant therapy (calcineurin inhibitors, ciclosporin and/or tacrolimus). After LT blood pressure (BP) (83.4 ± 16 vs 91.5 ± 14 mmHg, p = 0.009 for mean BP ), heart rate (72.5 ± 15.2 vs 80.6 ± 15.3 bpm, p = 0.004), increased as LV mass index (78.6 ± 21.1 to 91.4 ± 29, p= 0.003) and relative wall thickness (0.34 ± 0.06 to 0.39 ± 0.08, p = 0.001). LV ejection fraction did not change while there was a significant decrease in LV GLS (-20.9 ± 4.4% vs -17.4 ± 3.9%, p &lt; 0.0001), impaired diastolic function (E/A 1.12 ± 0.5 vs 0.94 ± 0.4, p = 0.002) and increase in LV diastolic filling pressure (E/E’ 7.7 ± 3.6 vs 8.9 ± 3.6, p = 0.018). PASP increased (26.6 ± 8 vs 30.8 ± 11 mmHg, p = 0.018) and TAPSE (24.1 ± 4.5 vs 21.6 ± 3.9 mm, p = 0.002) decresed. The pre and post echo data, were divided in preLT PASP to see if there was any tendency to decrease in PASP after LT. A progressive increase in LV remodeling and impaired diastolic function, RV- pulmonary arterial coupling decreased as an index of RV maladaptation to the increase PASP as tertiles of in PASP increased. Conclusion. Increased in BP has been found in patients after LT , likely related to immensuppressive therapy. LV remodeling, impaired diastolic function were likely a conseguence of increase in BP and the increased in PASP and worst RV- pulmonary circulation coupling was secondary to impaired diastolic function and increased filling pressure. After LT, patients require particular clinical attention and echocardiographic monitoring included GLS for target organ damage and prompt adequate therapy at least in terms of BP control to avoid later cardiovascular complications.

In this essay we challenge whether current conceptions of optimism, hope, and resilience are complete enough to account for the complexity and nuance of developing and maintaining these in practice. For example, a quick perusal of popular outlets (e.g., Forbes, Harvard Business Review) reveals advice to managers urging them to “be optimistic,” or “be happy” so that these types of emotions or feelings can spread to the workplace. One even finds simple advice and steps to follow on how to foster these types of things in the workplace (McKee; Tjan). We argue that this common perspective focuses narrowly on individuals and does not account for the complexity of resilience. Consequently, it denies the role of context, culture, and interactions as ways people develop shared meaning and reality. To fill this gap in our understanding, we take a social constructionist perspective to understand resilience. In other words, we foreground communication as the primary building block to sharing meaning and creating our worlds. In so doing, we veer away from the traditional focus on the individual and instead emphasise the social and cultural elements that shape how meaning is shared by peoples in various contexts (Fairhurst, Considering Context). Drawing on a communication, discourse-centered perspective we explore hope and optimism as concepts commonly associated with resilience in a work context. At work, leaders play a vital role in communicating ways that foster resilience in the face of organisational issues and events (e.g., environmental crises, downsizing). Following this lead, discursive leadership offers a framework that positions leadership as co-created and as the management of meaning through framing (Fairhurst, Power of Framing). Thus, we propose that a discursive leadership orientation can contribute to the communicative construction of resilience that moves away from individual perspectives to an emphasis on the social. From a discursive perspective, leadership is defined as a process of meaning management; attribution given by followers or observers; process-focused rather than leader-focused; and as shifting and distributed among several organizational members (Fairhurst Power of Framing). By switching from the individual focus and concentrating on social and cultural systems, discursive leadership is able to study concepts related to subjectivity, cultures, and identities as it relates to meaning. Our aim is to offer leaders an alternative perspective on resilience at the individual and group level by explaining how a discursive orientation to leadership can contribute to the communicative construction of resilience. We argue that a social constructionist approach provides a perspective that can unravel the multiple layers that make up hope, optimism, and resilience. We begin with a peek into the social scientific perspective that is so commonplace in media and popular portrayals of these constructs. Then, we explain the social constructionist perspective that grounds our framework, drawing on discursive leadership. Next, we present an alternative model of resilience, one that takes resilience as communicatively constructed and socially created. We believe this more robust perspective can help individuals, groups, and cultures be more resilient in the face of challenges. Social Scientific Perspectives Hope, optimism, and resilience have widely been spoken in the same breath; thus, in what follows we review how each is treated in common portrayals. In addition, we discuss each to point to further implications of our model proposed in this essay. Traditionally taken as cognitive states, each construct is based in an individual or an entity (Youssef and Luthans) and thus minimises the social and cultural. Hope Snyder, Irving, and Anderson define the construct of hope as “a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (1) agency (goal-directed energy) and (2) pathways (planning to meet goals)” (287). This cognitive set therefore is composed of the belief in the ability to create strategies toward a goal and the belief that those plans can be realised. Exploring hope can provide insight into how individuals deal with stress and more importantly how they use past experiences to produce effective routes toward goals (Brown Kirschman et al.). Mills-Scofield writing in Harvard Business Review mirrors this two-part hope structure and describes how to integrate hope into business strategy. Above all she emphasises that hope is based in fact, not fiction; the need to learn and apply from failures; and the need to focus on what is working instead of what is broken. These three points contribute to hope by reinforcing the strategies (pathways) and ability (agency) to accomplish a particular goal. This model of hope is widely held across social scientific and popular portrayals. This position, however, does not allow for exploring how forces of social interaction shape either how these pathways are created or how agency is developed in the first place. By contrast, a communication-centered approach like the one we propose foregrounds interaction and the various social forces necessary for hope to be fostered in the workplace. Optimism Optimism centers on how an individual processes the causality of an event (e.g., an organisational crisis). From this perspective, an employee facing significant conflict with his immediate supervisor, for example, may explain this threat as an opportunity to learn the importance of supervisor-subordinate relationships. This definition therefore explores how the individual interprets his/her world (Brown Kirschman et al.). According to Seligman et al. the ways in which one interprets events has its origins in several places: (1) genetics; (2) the environment in the form of modeling optimistic behaviours; (3) environment in forms of criticism; and (4) life experiences that teach personal mastery or helplessness (cited in Brown Kirschman et al.). Environmental sources function as a dialectical tension. On one hand the environment provides productive modeling for optimism behaviours, and on the other the environment, through criticism, produces the opposite. Both extremes illustrate the significance of cultural and societal factors as they contribute to optimism. Additionally, life experiences play a role in either mastery or helplessness. Again, interaction and social influences play a significant part in the development of optimism. Much like hope, due to the attention given to social and interactive forces, the concept of optimism requires a framework rooted in the social and cultural rather than the individual and cognitive. A significant drawback related to optimism (Brown Kirschman et al.) is the danger of unrelenting optimism and the possibility this has on producing unrealistic scenarios. Individuals, rather, should strive to acknowledge the facts (good or bad) of certain circumstances in order to learn how to properly manage automatic negative thoughts (Brown Kirschman et al.). Tony Schwartz writing in Harvard Business Review argues that “realistic optimism” is more than putting on a happy face but instead is more about telling what is the most hopeful and empowering of a given situation (1). Thus, a more interaction-based approach much like the model that we are proposing could help overcome some of optimism’s shortcomings. If the power of optimism is in the telling, then we need a model where the telling is front and center. Later, we propose such a model and method for helping leaders’ foster optimism in the workplace and in their communities. Resilience Resilience research offers several definitions and approaches in attempt to examine the phenomenon. Masten defines resilience as a “class of phenomena characterized by good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development” (228). Luthar, Cicchetti, and Becker argue that resilience is “a dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity” (543). Interestingly, resilience and developmental researchers alike have positioned resilience as an individual consistently meeting the expectations of a given society or culture within a particular historical context. Broadly speaking, two central conditions apply toward resilience: (1) the presence of significant threat or adversity; and (2) the achievement of positive adaptation (Luthar, Cicchetti, and Becker. Masten goes on to argue that resilience is however ordinary and naturally occurring. That is, the adaptive systems required during significant threat are already present in individuals and is not solely retained by a select few. Masten et al., argues that resilience does not come “from rare and special qualities, but from the operations of ordinary human systems in the biology and psychology of children, from the relationships in the family and community, and from schools, religions, cultures, and other aspects of societies” (129). Based on this, the emphasis of resilience should be within adaptive processes, such that are found in supportive relationships, emotion regulation, and environment engagement (Masten et al.), rather than on individuals. Of these varied interpretations of resilience, two research designs drive the academic literature— outcome- and process-based perspectives (Kolar). Those following an outcome-focused approach tend to concentrate on functionality and functional behaviour as key indicators of resilience (Kolar). Following this model, cognitive states such as composure, assurance, and confidence are examples of resilience. By contrast, a process-focused approach concentrates on the interplay of protective and risk factors as they influence the adaptive capacity of an individual (Kolar). This approach acknowledges that resilience is contextual and interactive, and is “a shared responsibility between individuals, their families, and the formal social system rather than as an individual burden (Kolar 425). This process-based approach toward resilience allows for greater inclusion of factors across individual, group, and societal levels (Kolar). The rigidity of outcome-based models and related constructs does not allow for such flexibility and therefore prevents exploring full accounts of resilience. A process-based approach allows for the inclusion of context throughout measures of resilience and acknowledges that interplay of risk and protective factors across the individual, social, and community level (Kolar). Bearing this in mind, what is needed are more complex models of resilience that account for a multiplicity of factors. An Alternate Framework: Social Construction of Reality Language is the tool storytellers use to generate interest and convey ideas. From a social constructionist standpoint, language is the primary mechanism in the construction of reality. Berger and Luckmann present language as a system that allows us to categorise subjective ideas, which over time accumulates into our “social stock of knowledge” (41). As our language creates the symbols that we use to make sense of the world around us, we add to our social knowledge thereby creating a shared vision of our own social reality. Because we accumulate varying levels and amounts of social knowledge, what we know of the world constantly changes. For example, in organisations, our discourse and on-going interactions with each other serve to shape what we consider to be real in our day-to-day lives. In this view, subjective experiences of individuals are central to our understanding of various events (e.g., organizational change, crises, conflict) and the ways in which we cope with such occurrences (e.g., through hope, optimism, resilience). Alternative Models of Resilience We take Buzzanell’s framework as inspiration for an alternative model of resilience. Her communication-centric model is based in messages, d/Discourse, and narrative where communication is an emergent process involving the interplay of messages and interaction (Buzzanell). Furthermore, the communicative construction of resilience involves “a collaborative exchange that invites participation of family, workplace, community, and interorganizational network members” (Buzzanell 9). This alternative perspective of resilience explores human communication resilience processes as the focal point rather than examining the person or entity. This is essentially a design change, where the focus shifts from the individual or singular toward the communication processes that enable resilience. Essentially, according to Poole, “in process, we can see resilience as dynamic, integrated, unfolding over time and through events, evolving into patterns, and dependent on contingencies” (qtd. in Buzzanell 2). Buzzanell describes five processes included in the communicative construction of resilience: (1) crafting normalcy; (2) affirming identity anchors; (3) maintaining and using communication networks; (4) legitimising negative feelings while foregrounding productive action; and (5) putting alternative logics to work. Here, we highlight two that most directly relate to the alternative model we propose. First, legitimising negative feelings while foregrounding productive action may sound like repression, but in fact it emphasises that negative feelings (nonproductive emotions) are real and that focusing on positive action enables success while facing significant threat. Furthermore, as a communicative construction, this process includes reframing of a situation both linguistically and metaphorically. This communicative process address a major drawback related to the optimism construct presented by Brown Kirschman and colleagues regarding the potential danger of unrelenting optimism. Similarly, putting alternative logics to work, in its practical application, creates resilient systems through (re)framing. Through (re)framing, individuals, groups, and communities can create their own logics that enable them to reintegrate when facing adverse experiences. That is, (re)framing provides an opportunity to endure unfavorable situations while creating communicatively creating conditions that enable adaptation. This idea can also be seen in popular press such as in the Harvard Business Review blog “Craft a Narrative to Instill Optimism” (Baldoni). According to Baldoni, leaders have a choice in creating the narrative of our world. Thus, leaders serve as the primary meaning managers in the workplace. Leadership and the Management of Meaning Kelly begins our discussion toward an ongoing discursive turn in leadership research. Much like hope, optimism, and resilience, Kelly proposes that leadership has been wrongly categorised and therefore has been inadequately observed. That is, due to focusing on trait-based leadership models espoused by leadership psychology the area of leadership has been left with significant deficits surrounding the very core of leadership. The lessons learned about the reductionist treatment of leadership can be applied to our understanding of resilience. Thus, we draw on discursive leadership because it provides an example for how leaders can foster resilience in various settings. The discursive turn stems from the incongruity seen in these traditional trait or style-based leadership approaches. From a social constructionist perspective, researchers are able to explore the forms in which leadership contributes to the meaning construction process, much in the same way that a communication perspective, outlined above, emphasises resilience as a process. This ontological shift in leadership research not only re-categorises leadership but also changes the ways in which leadership is studied. Kelly’s emphasis on a socially constructed view of leadership combined with alternative methodological approaches contributes to our aim to explore how a discursive leadership orientation can contribute to communicative construction of resilience. Discursive Leadership Discursive leadership views leadership as more of an art rather than a science, one that is contested and inventive (Fairhurst, Discursive Leadership). Where leadership psychology emphasises the individual and cognitive, discursive leadership highlights the cultural and the communicative (Fairhurst, Discursive Leadership). Leadership psychology is analogous to common, social scientific understandings of resilience that typically confines resilience into something easily attainable by individuals. The traditional leadership psychology literature attempts to determine causality among the cognitive, emotional, and behavioural elements of leader actors, whereas, discursive leadership takes discourse as the object of study to view how we think, see, and attribute leadership. Discursive leadership offers an optimal resource to view the communicative practices involved in the management of meaning and communicative construction of reality, including resilient systems and processes. Thus, we draw everything together now, and introduce practical interventions organisations can implement to foster hope, optimism, and resilience. An Alternate Model in Practice Attention to human capabilities and adaptive systems that promote healthy development and functioning have the potential to inform policy and programs that foster competence and human capital and aim to improve the health of communities and nations while also preventing problems (Masten 235). Masten’s words point to the tremendous potential of resilience. Thus, we wish to conclude with the implications of our perspective for individuals, groups, and communities. In what follows we briefly explain framing, and end with two interventions leaders can use to help foster resilience in the workplace. A common and practical example of language creating reality is framing. Fairhurst, in her book The Power of Framing explores framing as a leader’s ability to construct the reality of a subject or situation. A frame is simply defined as a mental picture where framing is the process of communicating this picture to others. Although words or language cannot alter any physical conditions, they may, however, influence our perceptions of them. Fairhurst goes on to “frame” leadership as co-created and not necessarily found in specific concrete acts. That is, leadership emerges when leader actors are deemed to have performed or demonstrated leadership by themselves and/or others. Leadership in this case is determined by attribution. For Fairhurst, leaders are able to shape and co-create meaning and reality by influencing the here and now. From this perspective interventions should be designed around the idea of creating alternative logics (Buzzanell) by emphasizing the elements of framing. For the sake of brevity, we wish to emphasise two fundamental areas surrounding process-oriented and communicative constructed resilience. It is our hope that leaders may use these takeaways and build upon them as they reflect how to position resilience at the individual and organisational level. First, interventions should focus on identifying the supportive adaptive systems at the individual, group, and societal level (e.g., family, work teams, community coalitions). This could be done through a series of dialogue sessions with an aim of challenging participants to not only identify systems but to also reflect upon how these systems contribute toward resilience. These could be duplicated in work settings and community settings (e.g., community forums and the like). Second, to emphasise framing, interventions should involve meaningful dialogue to help identify the particular conditions within a significant threat that will (a) lead to productive action and (b) enable individuals, groups, and communities to endure. Overall, an increased emphasis should be placed on helping participants understand how they are able to metaphorically and linguistically (Buzzanell) create the conditions surrounding adverse events. Our aim in this essay was to present an alternate model of various human processes that help people cope and bounce back from troubling times or events. Toward this end, we argued that media and popular portrayals of constructs such as hope, optimism, and resilience lack the complexity to account for how these can be put into practice. 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