Maternal-fetal disease information as a source of exercise motivation during pregnancy.

Objective: A Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) framework was used to examine whether information about the role of exercise in preventing maternal-fetal disease served as a meaningful source of exercise motivation. Design: Pregnant women (n = 208) were randomly assigned into one of three conditions: PMT, attention control, and noncontact control. Women in the PMT group read a brochure about the benefits of exercise during pregnancy incorporating the major components of PMT; perceived vulnerability (PV), perceived severity (PS), response efficacy (RE), and self-efficacy (SE). Participants in the attention-control condition read a brochure about diet. Following treatment, all participants completed measures of their beliefs toward maternal-fetal disease and exercise, goal intention (GI), and implementation intention (IMI). One week later, a measure of self-reported exercise behavior was collected. Main Outcome Measures: Main outcome measures were PMT variables (PV, PS, RE, and SE), GI, IMI, and follow-up physical activity. Results: Participants assigned to the PMT-present group reported significantly higher PS, RE, SE, GI, and increased exercise behavior. PS, RE, and SE predicted GI, GI predicted IMI, and IMI predicted exercise behavior. Conclusion: Information grounded in PMT is effective in influencing pregnant women’s beliefs and intentions as well as changing their initial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ‘Cash-Point’ Service: A Verification Case Study Using STeP

STeP, the Stanford Temporal Prover, supports the computer-aided formal verification of concurrent and reactive systems based on temporal specifications [MBB99]. Automated model checking is combined with computer-aided deductive methods to allow for the verification of a broad class of systems, including parameterised (N-component) circuit designs, parameterised (N-process) programs, and programs with infinite data domains. Received February 2000 / Accepted in revised form December 2000     

Flavor Chemistry of Cocoa and Cocoa Products—An Overview

Cocoa originates from beans of the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao L.) and it is an important commodity in the world and the main ingredient in chocolate manufacture. Its value and quality are related to unique and complex flavors. Bulk cocoas (Forastero type) exhibit strong basic cocoa notes, whereas fine varieties (Criollo, Nacional) show aromatic, floral, or smoother flavor characteristics. About 600 various compounds (alcohols, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and pyrazines) have been identified as odor‐active components. The specific cocoa aroma arises from complex biochemical and chemical reactions during the postharvest processing of raw beans, and from many influences of the cocoa genotype, chemical make‐up of raw seeds, environmental conditions, farming practices, processing, and manufacturing stages. There has been much research on cocoa flavor components. However, the relationships between all chemical components that are likely to play a role in cocoa flavor, their sensory properties, and the sources and mechanisms of flavor formation are not fully understood. This paper provides an overview on cocoa flavor from a compositional and a sensory perspective. The nonvolatile and volatile chemical components of cocoa and chocolate flavor, and their sensory properties correlated to the main influences involved in flavor formation, are reviewed.     

Prostaglandin E2 Receptor 4 (EP4) Affects Trophoblast Functions via Activating the cAMP-PKA-pCREB Signaling Pathway at the Maternal-Fetal Interface in Unexplained Recurrent Miscarriage

Implantation consists of a complex process based on coordinated crosstalk between the endometrium and trophoblast. Furthermore, it is known that the microenvironment of this fetal–maternal interface plays an important role in the development of extravillous trophoblast cells. This is mainly due to the fact that tissues mediate embryonic signaling biologicals, among other molecules, prostaglandins. Prostaglandins influence tissue through several cell processes including differentiation, proliferation, and promotion of maternal immune tolerance. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential pathological mechanism of the prostaglandin E2 receptor 4 (EP4) in modulating extravillous trophoblast cells (EVTs) in unexplained recurrent marriage (uRM). Our results indicated that the expression of EP4 in EVTs was decreased in women experiencing uRM. Furthermore, silencing of EP4 showed an inhibition of the proliferation and induced apoptosis in vitro. In addition, our results demonstrated reductions in β- human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), progesterone, and interleukin (IL)-6, which is likely a result from the activation of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)- cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA)-phosphorylating CREB (pCREB) pathway. Our data might provide insight into the mechanisms of EP4 linked to trophoblast function. These findings help build a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of EP4 on the trophoblast at the fetal–maternal interface in the first trimester of pregnancy.     

The ClasSi coefficient for the evaluation of ranking quality in the presence of class similarities

Evaluationmeasures play an important role in the design of new approaches, and often quality is measured by assessing the relevance of the obtained result set.While many evaluation measures based on precision/recall are based on a binary relevance model, ranking correlation coefficients are better suited for multi-class problems. State-of-the-art ranking correlation coefficients like Kendall’s τ and Spearman’s ρ do not allow the user to specify similarities between differing object classes and thus treat the transposition of objects from similar classes the same way as that of objects from dissimilar classes. We propose ClasSi, a new ranking correlation coefficient which deals with class label rankings and employs a class distance function to model the similarities between the classes. We also introduce a graphical representation of ClasSi which describes how the correlation evolves throughout the ranking.     

Impact of fault ride‐through requirements on fixed‐speed wind turbine structural loads

The emphasis in this article is on the impact of fault ride‐through requirements on wind turbines structural loads. Nowadays, this aspect is a matter of high priority as wind turbines are required more and more to act as active components in the grid, i.e. to support the grid even during grid faults. This article proposes a computer approach for the quantification of the wind turbines structural loads caused by the fault ride‐through grid requirements. This approach, exemplified for the case of a 2MW active stall wind turbine, relies on the combination of knowledge from complimentary simulation tools, which have expertise in different specialized wind turbines design areas. Two complimentary simulation tools are considered i.e. the detailed power system simulation tool PowerFactory from DIgSILENT and the advanced aeroelastic computer code HAWC2, in order to assess of the dynamic response of wind turbines to grid faults. These two tools are coupled sequently in an offline approach, in order to achieve a thorough insight both into the structural as well as the electrical wind turbine response during grid faults. The impact of grid requirements on wind turbines structural loads is quantified by performing a rainflow and a statistical analysis for fatigue and ultimate structural loads, respectively. Two cases are compared i.e. one where the turbine is immediately disconnected from the grid when a grid fault occurs and one where the turbine is equipped with a fault ride‐through controller and therefore it is able to remain connected to the grid during the grid fault. Copyright copy; 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ceramic interface properties evaluation based on contact angle measurement

The ceramic interface properties and morphology were estimated based on contact angle measurements. The contact angle, θ, was measured using different liquids (glycerol, NaCl 3.5% solution, oleic acid and ultra pure water) with known surface tensions. Correlations of the contact angle with the chemical bonds and morphology of thin films are presented. The thin films, deposited via Spray Pyrolysis Deposition (SPD) are TiO₂ (dense, porous) and WO₃ (dense, porous) films.The interface properties of the ceramic layers were explained using the topography images obtained with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and by measuring the contact angles and surface tensions.The contact angles method is sensitive at high θ values. The experiments indicated that the recommended testing liquid is pure water, both for TiO₂ and WO₃ thin films, allowing a clear difference between dense and porous surfaces. The measurements were done at the initial moment of the contact drop-sample and with 1 s step up to 30 min. The presented results can be further used in optimizing the layer-by-layer deposition of thin films.     

Fault ride-through capability of DFIG wind turbines

This paper concentrates on the fault ride-through capability of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines. The main attention in the paper is, therefore, drawn to the control of the DFIG wind turbine and of its power converter and to the ability to protect itself without disconnection during grid faults. The paper provides also an overview on the interaction between variable-speed DFIG wind turbines and the power system subjected to disturbances, such as short circuit faults. The dynamic model of DFIG wind turbine includes models for both mechanical components as well as for all electrical components, controllers and for the protection device of DFIG necessary during grid faults. The viewpoint of the paper is to carry out different simulations to provide insight and understanding of the grid fault impact on both DFIG wind turbines and on the power system itself. The dynamic behaviour of DFIG wind turbines during grid faults is simulated and assessed by using a transmission power system generic model developed and delivered by the Danish Transmission System Operator Energinet.dk in the power system simulation toolbox PowerFactory DIgSILENT. The data for the wind turbines are not linked to a specific manufacturer, but are representative for the turbine and generator type used in variable-speed DFIG wind turbines with pitch control.     

Preliminary Mechanical Characterization of Thermal Filters for the X-IFU Instrument on Athena

The X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU) is one of the two instruments of the Athena astrophysics space mission approved by ESA in the Cosmic Vision Science Program. The X-IFU consists of a large array of TES microcalorimeters that will operate at?~?50 mK inside a sophisticated cryostat. A set of thin filters, highly transparent to X-rays, will be mounted on the cryostat thermal shields in order to attenuate the IR radiative load, to attenuate RF electromagnetic interferences, and to protect the detector from contamination. In this paper, we present the current thermal filters design, describe the filter samples developed/procured so far, and present preliminary results from the ongoing characterization tests.