ZSM-12 in skeletal structure and molar This material is a step of preparing a mixture capable of forming a (a) said material, said mixture is an alkali or alkaline earth metal (M) source, an oxide of trivalent element (X), tetravalent oxides of the elements (Y), the steps comprising hydroxyl (OH ") ions, water, and organic mono- quaternary ammonium cation directing agent (R) and organic diquaternary ammonium structure blockers (R '); ( b) the mixture, a step of maintaining under conditions sufficient until crystals of said material are formed;. is produced by a step of recovering the crystalline material from step (c) (ii) the material it can be used as hydrocarbon conversion process catalysts. .BACKGROUND


BACKGROUND
Little is known about the associations between CD4(+) cell counts, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load, and human papillomavirus "low-risk" types in noncancerous clinical outcomes. This study examined whether CD4(+) count and HIV load predict the size of the largest anal warts in 976 HIV-infected women in an ongoing cohort.

METHODS
A linear mixed model was used to determine the association between size of anal wart and CD4(+) count and HIV load.

RESULTS
The incidence of anal warts was 4.15 cases per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.83-4.77) and 1.30 cases per 100 person-years (95% CI, 1.00-1.58) in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women, respectively. There appeared to be an inverse association between size of the largest anal warts and CD4(+) count at baseline; however, this was not statistically significant. There was no association between size of the largest anal warts and CD4(+) count or HIV load over time.

CONCLUSIONS
There was no evidence for an association between size of the largest anal warts and CD4(+) count or HIV load over time. Further exploration on the role of immune response on the development of anal warts is warranted in a larger study.


PURPOSE: An elastic material of pavement and filling material for artificial grass using rubber magnet chip for recycle of waste rubber magnet and generation of magnetic force are provided to improve the reliability of facilities by minimizing a bad effect due to a heavy metal. CONSTITUTION: An elastic material of pavement and filling material for artificial grass using rubber magnet chip for recycle of waste rubber magnet and generation of magnetic force are comprised of the steps: collecting waste rubber magnets and meting them(S10); adding tourmaline 3~7 parts by weight to the waste rubber magnet of 100 parts by weight(S20); extruding melted rubber magnet and cutting it into a certain size(S30); rotating the cut rubber magnet to be a spherical shape(S40); and hardening the rubber magnet(S50).


A book with just a few leaves, the leaves being soft and thick and made by inserting foam plastic or rubber into pockets of material. The exterior of the book is preferably made from a continuous web of material. The book, primarily intended as a toy or novelty item, may vary from small enough to be held in the hands of a small child to large enough to use as a piece of furniture.


Donor immune-mediated anti-neoplastic effects make the greatest contribution to the durable disease remissions obtained in hematological malignancies following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (a-HCT). Recent studies have demonstrated that clinically meaningful graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects can also be induced against select solid tumors following a-HCT. GVT effects have been most extensively documented in RCC, where response rates in the range of 20%–50% have been reported. Unfortunately, death from eventual disease progression and morbidity from graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) limit a broader application of a-HCT to manage this tumor. In order to explore mechanisms underlying GVT effects against RCC, and to optimize outcome following transplantation, we sought to establish a murine MHC-compatible, but mHA-disparate a-HCT model in mice with metastatic RCC. Recipient Balb/C (H-2d) mice were conditioned with a myeloablative regimen consisting of 950cGy total body irradiation and transplanted with bone marrow cells and splenocytes from either syngeneic (Balb/C) or allogeneic, mHA mismatched B10.d2 (H-2d) mice. Murine RCC cells (RENCA, 1x10 5 cells/mouse) were injected into the tail veins of both Balb/C recipient groups 3 days after transplantation and were followed for survival and the establishment of metastatic pulmonary lesions. Recipients of allo-HCT had improved survival (mean 54±2 days) compared to those receiving syngeneic transplants (mean 31±0 days: p Figure 1A ). A slight improvement in survival for allo-HCT recipients was also noted when Balb/C mice were injected subcutaneously with RENCA (1x10 5 cells) three days following transplantation (31±0 for syngeneic and 40±7 for allogeneic recipients; p=0.04). Serial measurements of subcutaneous tumor nodules ( Figure 1B ) revealed significantly slower tumor growth in allo-HCT recipients (mean volume = 272mm 3 , day 31) compared to recipients of syngeneic grafts (mean volume = 11mm 3 , day 31). Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) characterized by alopecia, weight loss and diarrhea occurred at a median 28±3 days after transplantation and was the primary cause of death in a-HCT recipients. Unlike previously reported murine a-HCT models for solid tumors, pre-transplant priming of donor mice with recipient splenocytes or tumor cells was not required for the generation of GVT effects. These data suggest donor immune responses against minor histocompatibility antigens can mediate potent GVT effects against RCC following allo-HCT. This murine model will serve as a platform for the development of tumor- targeted a-HCT strategies aimed at refining and enhancing GVT effects while mitigating GVHD.


This paper presents an overview of China's regional policy over the past thirteen years and analyses the policy's effects in the 1980s. It is argued that, although the decentralization process and the unbalanced regional policy stimulated some regions'rapid growth, it caused and exacerbated various distortions due to the fact that the administrative decentralization lacked the coordination of other reforms. These distortions found expressions in the following aspects: the decline of economic efficiency in the state sector, the loss of regional comparative advantage, the weakening of macroeconomic control, and the rent-seeking effects. A number of recently proposed policies addressing the central-local relation issues are also discussed.


The meiotic chromosomal pairing of tetraploid durum and timopheevii wheat was studied under different temperatures of vegetation. The temperature infl uence on the recombination process is determined by a genotype and depends on plant resistance to the considered factor. It was stated that durum wheat varieties have a denser synapsis as compared to T. timopheevii variety. The chromosomal pairing results of the timopheevii samples under temperature changes are more variable. This fact shows that T. timopheevii is a more adaptive species.


A b s t r a c t Objective: Since 1999, the Nursing Terminology Summits have promoted the development, evaluation, and use of reference terminology for nursing and its integration into comprehensive health care data standards. The use of such standards to represent nursing knowledge, terminology, processes, and information in electronic health records will enhance continuity of care, decision support, and the exchange of comparable patient information. Design: The working groups represented the nursing process as a dynamic sequence of phases, each containing information specific to the activities of the phase. They used Universal Modeling Language (UML) to represent this domain knowledge in models. An Activity Diagram was used to create a dynamic model of the nursing process. After creating a structural model of the information used at each stage of the nursing process, the working groups mapped that information to the HL7 RIM. They used a hierarchical structure for the organization of nursing knowledge as the basis for a hierarchical model for ''Findings about the patient.'' The modeling and mapping reported here were exploratory and preliminary, not exhaustive or definitive. The intent was to evaluate the feasibility of representing some types of nursing information consistently with HL7 standards. Measurements: The working groups conducted a small-scale validation by testing examples of nursing terminology against the HL7 RIM class ''Observation.'' Results: It was feasible to map patient information from the proposed models to the RIM class ''Observation.'' Examples illustrate the models and the mapping of nursing terminology to the HL7 RIM. Conclusion: It is possible to model and map nursing information into the comprehensive health care information model, the HL7 RIM. These models must evolve and undergo further validation by clinicians. The integration of nursing information, terminology, and processes in information models is a first step toward rendering nursing information machine-readable in electronic patient records and messages. An eventual practical result, after much more development, would be to create computable, structured information for nursing documentation. As electronic communications and data storage become increasingly important in health care, national and international efforts must collaboratively establish a robust and safe infrastructure for health care information. A key component of this infrastructure is health care data standards. National governments have adopted many of these standards or recommended them for adoption for use in their health systems. To assure the validity of the standards as representations of knowledge and information for patient care and public …


As the European Union EU) adjusts itself to its early years after creation of its Banking Union, the financial market discourse increasingly points towards the necessity of an enhanced competitiveness that, it is often held, cannot do without a complementing Capital Markets Union (CMU). This paper considers some of the leading legislative efforts which, going back to the early years of this century, have in fact been key underpinnings of whatever format the CMU may eventually take. It also views such legislation within a general context of better regulation.


Traditionally, a large number of silicon oxide materials are extensively used as various dielectrics for semiconductor industries. In general, silicon oxide cannot be used as resistance random access memory (RRAM) due to its insulating electrical properties. In this letter, we have successfully produced resistive switching and forming-free behaviors by zinc doped into silicon oxide. The current-voltage fitting data show that current transport mechanism is governed by Poole-Frenkel behavior in high-resistance state and Ohm's law in low-resistance state, consisting with filament theory. Additionally, good endurance and retention reliabilities are exhibited in the zinc-doped silicon oxide RRAM.


This study proposes a model-based method to extract relative humidity (RH) values from non-resonant photoacoustic gas spectroscopy (PAS) sensors without using an additional physical humidity sensor. PAS sensors detect gases by injecting optical power of a specific wavelength into a closed pressure chamber, where the target gas absorbs the energy and releases thermal energy through collision processes, leading to a pressure signal that is detected by a microphone. However, PAS sensors are prone to cross sensitivity, especially from humidity, which can alter relaxation paths and interfere with the measured sound signal. The proposed method combines an analytical model that calculates the thermal conductivity of the atmosphere inside the pressure chamber with measured values of the energy content of the transient microphone signal to determine the RH values. The study demonstrates that this method can be applied to complement the system with the capability to detect humidity as well, i.e., to establish a humidity sensor without adding additional components or sensors, but only by the smart evaluation of the PAS signal. The so-established RH sensor in PAS system exhibits an absolute mean error of smaller than 5 % RH and makes the PAS systems more reliable and robust.


Abstract Objective: To understand the home visit as an educational health care strategy to orient the self-care practices of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus .Methods: A qualitative study using 25 home visits to patients with diabetes mellitus , who did not attend the diabetes education program offered by the basic health care unit. Data were organized and categorized by content analysis.Results: Four thematic categories emerged: feelings; knowledge about the disease; adherence to meal plan and physical activity; and barriers to self-care.Conclusion: Home visit is an important strategy for health care education to orient patients with type 2 diabetes on self-care practices. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1982-0194201400006 Descritores Enfermagem em saude publica; Educacao em enfermagem; Enfermagem de atencao primaria; Diabetes mellitus tipo 2; Autocuidado Keywords Public health nursing; Nursing education; Nursing primary care; Diabetes mellitus type 2; Self care Submetido 16 de Janeiro de 2014


Acute exercise performance represents a major metabolic challenge for the skeletal muscle, but also for the liver as the most important source of energy. However the molecular adaptation of the liver to one single bout of exercise is largely unknown. C57BL/6 mice performed a 60 min treadmill run at high aerobic intensity. Liver, soleus and white gastrocnemius muscle were removed immediately after exercise. The single bout of exercise resulted in a very rapid and pronounced induction of hepatic metabolic enzymes and regulators of metabolism or transcription: glucose‐6‐phosphatase (G6Pase; 3‐fold), pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase‐4 (PDK4; 4.8‐fold), angiopoietin‐like 4 (2.1‐fold), insulin receptor substrate (IRS)‐2 (5.1‐fold), peroxisome proliferator activated receptor‐γ coactivator 1α (PGC‐1α; 3‐fold). In soleus and white gastrocnemius muscle the up‐regulation of IRS‐2 and PDK4 was less pronounced compared with the liver and no significant induction of PGC‐1α could be detected at this early time point. Activation of AMPK was found in both liver and white gastrocnemius muscle as phosphorylation of Thr‐172. The induction of endogenous insulin secretion by a glucose load directly after the exercise bout resulted in a significantly higher PKB/Akt phosphorylation in the liver of exercised mice. The markedly enhanced IRS‐2 protein amount, and presumably reduced serine/threonine phosphorylation of the IRS proteins induced by the acute exercise could be responsible for this enhanced action of insulin. In conclusion, acute exercise induced a rapid and pronounced transcriptional adaptation in the liver, and regulated hepatic IRS proteins leading to improved cellular insulin signal transduction.


Methadone is a synthetic opioid, which provides a longer lasting 'high' than most opioids, and one which is much less likely to be misused. It is usually prescribed as a substitute for heroin, and is associated with a more stable maternal lifestyle and less likelihood of stunted fetal growth or preterm birth. However, most babies born to mothers, who are prescribed it during their pregnancy, have significant withdrawal symptoms or neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). These symptoms are severe enough to warrant treatment in up to 80% of cases. The study assessed the eyesight of 20 children with vision problems whose mothers had taken methadone during pregnancy. Most of the children had also been exposed to either benzodiazepines (55%) or heroin (40%) while in the womb. Virtually all the children (95%) had poor eyesight in addition to which seven out of ten had nystagmus, while half presented delayed visual maturation.


Social responsibility is a moral principle of an organization or individual engaging in activities in order to improve the lives of others in society. The aim of this article is to provide insights of the existing body of literature on individual social responsibility and identify the most important studies in the field. A review of the literature in the field based on the international databases search has been carried out and 7 papers have been analyzed. The investigation revealed that there is little increase in the relevance of this issue within academia, despite its growing importance in everyday life. The contribution of this paper is the elaboration of a framework of individual social responsibility by systematizing the findings of the publications within this theme.


Boundary element methods (BEM) are often used for complex 3D capacitance extraction because of their efficiency, ease of data preparation, and automatic handling of open regions. BEM capacitance extraction, however, yields a dense set of linear equations that makes solving via direct matrix methods such as Gaussian elimination prohibitive for large problem sizes. Although iterative, multipole-accelerated techniques have produced dramatic improvements in BEM capacitance extraction, accurate sparse approximations of the electrostatic potential matrix are still desirable for the following reasons. First, the corresponding capacitance models are sufficient for a large number of analysis and design applications. Moreover, even when the utmost accuracy is required, sparse approximations can be used to precondition iterative solution methods. We propose a definition of electrostatic potential that can be used to formulate sparse approximations of the electrostatic potential matrix in both uniform and multilayered planar dielectrics. Any degree of sparsity can be obtained, and unlike conventional techniques which discard the smallest matrix terms, these approximations are provably positive definite for the troublesome cases with a uniform dielectric and without a groundplane.


The right to a healthy environment is one of the rights of peoples and present and future generations, especially in light of modern technological developments that have contributed greatly to the rate of environmental pollution, which has multiplied environmental damage, and to confront these environmental damages, there were many efforts at the international and internal levels. In keeping with comparative legislation, the legislator introduced the first law for the protection of the environment under Law 10/03 relating to the protection of the environment within the framework of sustainable development, which is characterized by its preventive and deterrent nature, but it did not provide for civil penalties related to compensation for environmental damage, which means the implementation of the traditional rules recognized in the field of Civil liability that is no longer appropriate given the specificity of environmental damage. Keywords: EEnvironmental Damage, Environment, Environmental Responsibility, Compensation, Environmental Pollution, Implementation, Sustainable Development


Various forms of medical and surgical therapy have been used in the treatment of Meniere's disease. Intracranial division of the 8th nerve was first suggested by Charcot" in 1894, but Ballance" and Frazier," in 1908, made the first clinical report of the end results of this operation. The procedure was popularized by the late Walter E. Dandy" who began, in 1924, to section the entire auditory nerve. In 1931 McKenzie7 sectioned only the vestibular portion of the 8th nerve in order to preserve hearing. This procedure was quickly adopted and repeatedly described by Dandy.S 9.10.11 The series reviewed in this paper continued up to the time of Dandy's death in 1946 and covered 587 patients with only two deaths. Both fatalities occurred in the immediate post-operative period and were caused by meningitis. The infecting organism was E. coli in one case and pneumococcus in the other. A follow-up study of this group of patients, to determine the late results of this procedure, was made. We were interested especially in finding how many patients who had partial section of the eighth nerve still had useful hearing in the affected ear ten to twenty years after operation. It is well known


High glycemic diet is a possible cause of acne. Glycemic load diet increases the blood glucose which increases insulin level and insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1) activity and decreases insulin growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), which leads to an increase of IGF-1 compounding its direct activation8. IGF-1 is involved in the pathogenesis of acne, it stimulates keratinocytes and sebocytes proliferation and lipogenesis. Both insulin and IGF-1 increase gonadal and adrenal androgen synthesis from ovary and testes, decrease sex hormone binding globulin and activate androgen receptors and increase the bioavailability of androgen which results in increased sebum production and acne pathogenesis. IGFBP-3 inhibits IGF-1 from binding to its receptor and IGFBP-3 is a strong proapoptotic factor in keratinocytes and corneocytes8. Therefore, a high glycemic load diet plays a role in the pathogenesis of acne.


Currently we see actively developing systems associated with distance learning, and such systems are based on new communication tools. They not only change the appearance of information space but also create special conditions for the formation of the modern distance learning system. The article describes requirements that must be established for an analyst teacher (a personality-technologist-analyst), whose training, in contrast to the training of a duty-holder teacher, comes to the fore, and who must be able to create technologies when adapting to new conditions of the constantly changing world, rather than to perform under pre-set technologies. The articles outline the substance of the creative method in teaching; it has been emphasized that teacher's activities are very close to those of an actor. Ways to resolve the issues of distance learning regarding acting as part of the teaching practice are outlined herein.


It is one thing to initiate a revolution; another to pass it on to future generations. Professor Gerald Strauss has recognized the paramount im portance of this latter task. In this book, appropriately subtitled Indoctrina tion of the Young in the German Reformation, he has asked how the Lutheran rulers and reformers intended to pass the reformation on to posterity and how successful they were in realizing their intentions. In asking and answering these questions Strauss has written one of the most important books on the German reformation to be published in decades. His find ings are fascinating and controversial, impressive in their detail and scope and provocatively judgemental about the educational intentions and techniques of sixteenth century Lutherans. His method and sources also pose a most modern question: what information does one need fairly to evaluate the success or failure of an educational enterprise? Today's educators are divided over the use of standardized testing to evaluate the success of public schooling. Historians of the reformation may end up equally divided on Strauss's use of sixteenth century visitation records to evaluate the success of religious pedagogy in Lutheran Germany. Strauss begins with the pedagogical theory, and views of childhood, youth and family, that the reformers brought with them to their task. Next he describes the ideal Christian the Lutheran pedagogues sought to create and the techniques of indoctrination they employed in his crea tion—including catechisms, schooling, a sense of shame and sinfulness and rigorous discipline. Finally, using visitation records from the late 1520s through the second decade of the seventeenth century he evaluates the success of the Lutheran educational venture. You need not get far into the book to realize that Strauss is at best am bivalent about the Lutheran educational enterprise. He may admire the determination of the Lutheran pedagogues in the face of disappointing failures. He definitely dislikes their techniques, their goals and their role in the formation of the early modern bureaucratic state. The Lutheran theology they aimed to inculcate is for him rife with inconsistency. Moreover, it possessed little attraction for the bulk of the population, and,


Increasingly, the appropriation of natural resources does not take place from harmonic and peaceful relations. The existence of different interests among the social actors working in a given territory are aimed at their material mastery and their symbolic control. On the other hand, they also generate strategies of defense and resistance related to the conditions of access and use of resources. In this scenario, there are conflicts with differentiated complexities implying a need to know the social, cultural, ecological, economic, territorial and environmental aspects that surround them. In one way or another, human activity is inherent in conflicts and environmental impacts. The understanding of geographic space involves the discussion of the forms of social control of the territory and of the interactions between man and the material basis of his existence, with a view to understanding occupation, environmental degradation and territorial planning initiatives. The discussion of environmental conflicts today corresponds to a key issue in understanding the contradictions in the current development model as it integrates ecological issues and social issues.


In this paper, the cause and calculation formulas of common-mode voltage of T-type three-level converter were introduced, then the common-mode voltage caused by traditional SPWM, SVPWM and two improved modulation strategies were compared. Through the comparisons in this article, it found that the improved modulation strategies have lower common-mode voltage compared with the traditional SPWM and SVPWM strategies. In order to eliminate the common-mode voltage completely, a modulation wave phase shifted PWM strategy was proposed. It has been proved that the common-mode voltage was eliminated completely under the new modulation strategy, but the THD of line voltage was also increased. Finally, all of the modulation strategies were simulated and verfied in Matlab/Simulink.


The central focus of this thesis is exploring pedestrian steering behaviors for small groups in virtual urban environments. I investigate how individuals and groups can be modeled in order to produce plausible collective walking behavior, including moving and standing formations. Control of walking behavior is distributed among a set of independent, goal-oriented processes, each responsible for some aspect of performance. I propose a framework that integrates these constraints to simulate the walking behavior of individual pedestrians and small groups of pedestrians. This control system is extended to include group navigation and the behavior of pedestrian groups standing around a pathway.
A control system that combines group walking behavior with group standing behavior, including transitions between the two behaviors, is tested with scenarios that demonstrate two-dimensional simulations of pedestrian behaviors on pathways. The experiments begin with simple path following and gradually add complexity in the form of obstacles, pathway constrictions, interactions with other pedestrians, and transitions between behaviors. In these tests simulated pedestrians move along a pathway, while avoiding obstacles and each other. Members of a group maintain a side-by-side formation while walking, and stop together in arc and ring configurations. In some cases results are improved by introducing state to temporarily suspend a behavioral constraint. State is also used to select situationally appropriate constraint sets when pedestrian behavior switches between walking and standing.


In this paper, to make an interceptor intercept a maneuvering target, a parallel approaching guidance law is developed. In order to estimate the target maneuver more accurately and reduce its influence on the guidance accuracy, a distance-scalar disturbance observer is employed. Specifically, the estimation accuracy of the designed observer is not affected by the relative distance. Finite-time prescribed performance is employed to ensure that the line-of-sight angular rate is capable of converging to a predetermined small region within the specified finite time. All signals of the interception system can guarantee an ultimately uniformly boundedness, as proven by Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the function of the parallel approaching guidance law is demonstrated using numerical simulation.


A new crystalline polymorph of cyclo-(Cp*Sb)4 has been crystallographically characterized that contains the mostly acutely angled four-membered, homoatomic ring system known (Sb−Sb−Sb = 76.1(1)°). In the previously reported form, the Cp* and Sb4 ring centroids (viewed along the C−Sb bond) are anti; in the new form the Cp* ring rotates over 100° to a more crowded gauche form. The new form melts at a temperature 72 °C higher than the one previously reported and is about 15% more dense. While the Sb−Sb ring distances are normal (2.836(1) A), the transannular Sb···Sb distances are the shortest known for antimony (3.518(1) A) and apparently provide a stabilization that compensates for the extreme ring distortion.


BACKGROUND
Nasal polyposis (NP) is characterized by an anomalous tissue growth with oedema and a lack of extracellular matrix. In this study, we investigated whether a mechanical disfunction of the forces that act in oedema formation is present in NP.

METHODS
We compared the interstitial hydrostatic pressure behaviour during a saline solution infusion between healthy nasal mucosa (inferior and middle turbinate from 10 patients) and inflamed nasal mucosa from NP patients (inferior, middle turbinate and a nasal polyp from 6 patients). We used Controlled Disc Stimulation equipment to compare the curve Pressure/Volume created during the saline solution infusion.

RESULTS
The pressure at 0.2 ml infusion was lower in the middle turbinate of NP patients than in the middle turbinate of control patients. The lowest P/V mean assessed was in the polypoid tissue.

CONCLUSIONS
The interstitial hydrostatic pressure showed different behaviour during liquid infusion in nasal mucosa from NP patients when compared with healthy nasal mucosa. This study allows us to cogitate on a new pathophysiological mechanism contributing to the development of the NP.


| Male infertility is one of the challenging problems encountered by human society worldwide. Several reports suggest a likely association between deteriorating reproductive male health and exposure to endocrine disruptors (ED). Tributyltin (TBT), a well-known ED, is an organotin compound that is highly toxic and widely used in industry, agriculture, and antifouling paints. This study aimed to assess the toxic impact of tributyltin on the testes of adult male albino rats and the possible protective role of green tea extract. Forty-two adult male albino rats were divided into five groups; Group I (control group), Group II (green tea treated group) each rat received green tea extract (150 mg/kg body weight) dissolved in 1 ml distilled water orally for 8 weeks, Group III (TBT treated group) each rat received the 1/20 of LD50 of tributyltin chloride (5 mg/kg/day) dissolved in1/2 ml corn oil orally for 8 weeks; Group IV (TBTand green tea group) each rat received green tea extract in the previous dose then tributyltin chloride in the same dose orally for 8 weeks; Group V (Follow up group) each rat received tributyltin chloride in the same dose for 8 weeks, then tributyltin chloride was stopped and rats were examined four weeks after its discontinuation. At the end of the study, animals were subjected to biochemical, histological, immunohistochemical, and seminal examination. The results revealed a statistically significant decrease in testosterone, FSH, LH, and serum glutathione peroxidase levels and a significant increase in serum Malondialdehyde in the TBT group when compared with the control group. Rats treated with tributyltin showed severe histopathological changes and decreased cell proliferation in the testes. Seminal analysis of the TBT group showed a significant affection of all parameters when compared to other groups. The follow-up group still showed the persistence of all changes. Green tea was found to ameliorate all of these hazardous effects nearly to the control values. In Conclusion, TBT induces oxidative stress and hormonal disturbance, leading to testicular degeneration. Green tea extract has a beneficial role in ameliorating TBT induced reproductive toxicity.


This paper studied the risk assessment of Hujiashan landslide by using Geo-slope software and experiential methods,forecasted the affected area,analyzed the unstable probability of the landslide's multiple hidden sliding surfaces according to landslide risk assessment practice both in China and abroad,and made geo-hazards detailed field survey,reconnaissance and analysis of physical and mechanical parameters for samples collected from Hujiashan landslide.Meanwhile,the authors analyzed the landslide hazards and vulnerability of elements at risk under three different conditions: natural state,once-in-ten-years and once-in-fifty-years rainfall state,respectively.On such a basis,the authors completed the Hujiashan landslide risk assessment and discussed the single landslide risk evaluating methods and its work flow.The results indicate that the maximum property risk is 1137100 RMB per year,the maximum people risk is 0.0648 person per year,which is beyond the tolerable risk criterion of the society.Therefore,it is necessary for local governments to strengthen such work as monitoring,relocation of local inhabitants and avoiding risk,and take engineering stabilizing methods for control,avoidance and reduction of risk.


The utility model relates to an assembly structure for a wood-bamboo column formwork. The assembly structure for the wood-bamboo column formwork is characterized by comprising the column formwork which is formed at the periphery of a square stand column to be poured, a plurality of sets of column hoops which are arranged at the position of the same section are arranged at the periphery of the column formwork in a binding mode, each column hoop is formed by two pieces of U-shaped steel in a perpendicular penetrating connection mode, the pieces of U-shaped steel are different in distance of U-shaped openings, groove bottoms of the two end portions of each piece of U-shaped steel are communicated so that a supporting base and a threaded rod can be connected with the position of connection between the groove bottoms of the two end portions of each piece of U-shaped steel, each supporting base is composed of a piece of angle iron and two pieces of parallel band iron which is welded to the angle iron and is perpendicular to the two angle iron surfaces of the angle iron, through holes are formed in every two pieces of parallel band iron, plug pins can conveniently penetrate through the through holes, a plurality of holes are correspondingly formed in U-shaped surfaces of the two end portions of each piece of U-shaped steel, plug pins can conveniently penetrate through the holes, a hole channel is formed in one angle iron surface of each piece of angle iron, and each threaded rod can conveniently penetrate through each hole channel. Due to the fact that the column hoops which are arranged at the position of the same section are directly arranged at the periphery of the column formwork in the binding mode, square wood does not need to be arranged between the column formwork and the column hoops in a nailed mode, the number of working procedures is reduced, time and labor are saved, and hoop connection is firm.


There are many different disturbances for hypersonic air vehicles due to complex flight environment and flight conditions of the high altitudes and Mach numbers. This paper analyses many kinds of disturbances such as aerodynamic interference, measurement noise, elevator disturbance and parametric uncertainty based on the fuzzy adaptive controller. Simulation results show that these disturbances obviously impact the flight tracking of height and velocity. However, the fuzzy adaptive controller is also able to effectively overcome these problems, and it has fine tracking performance and robustness.


the Lancashire and West Riding magistracy from the accusations of contemporaries and historians that they played an obstructive role in the enforcement of the early Factory Acts.1 He argues that, far from nullifying the intentions of the legislation by refusing to convict, magistrates were remarkably co-operative in their dealings with inspectors, a fact which is underscored by the high proportion of cases resulting in conviction and by the imposition of relatively high fines. Such a conclusion allegedly turns "received historical opinion" upon its head. Whether these findings do overturn conventional views is debatable. Arguably, the popular idea of the Factory Acts is that the Act of i833 was the first "successful" one. Although it is often conceded that there were early difficulties of implementation, only comparatively recently have questions been raised about the long-term problems of securing compliance.2 However, ideas about what constitutes "received opinion" no doubt vary; in this Comment I wish to concentrate upon Peacock's use of the factory prosecution statistics, to question his criticism of the value of inspectors' reports as historical evidence, and to touch upon the broader issue of the enforcement of regulatory law in general.


With an emphasis on the religious figuration of its heroine's chaste body, the present essay explores the political dynamics of The Rape of Lucrece. The poem draws on Roman religion and Christianity: Lucrece is an emblem of purity, with echoes of the flaminica or Vestal virgins, and her spotlessness anticipates Christ's. Seeing these qualities allows us to engage the poem's gender dynamics and its politics, with both of these being centered on issues of property. While The Rape of Lucrece has been enlisted as an artifact of late Elizabethan republican culture, its depiction of the expulsion of the Tarquins need not lead us to that conclusion. It is nonetheless a product of the political anxieties of Elizabeth's final years.


Successful aging can be enabled through a knowledge of what elders need to remain interdependent with their families, communities, and societies. But the rapid growth of the elderly populations in both the more and lesser developed countries is raising demands for eldercare and requiring brand new ways of assuring its success at these multiple levels of social organization. Two unifying themes in this special issue are (a) the relationships of health, illness, functionality, and disability to eldercare in old age; and (b) the evolving roles of family, community, and nation state in eldercare. All the articles in this special issue seek to foster new theory and new practice in eldercare. The authors believe that locally successful answers will promote global solutions when culturally appropriate adaptations are made. All cultures have much to teach.


This paper reports on a new series of photochromic azobenzene-containing molecular glasses which are investigated as blending materials to improve the photochromic response of photoaddressable polymers. In order to identify potential candidates for blending, a variety of molecular glasses are synthesized and screened with respect to their photochromic response. Various end groups at the azobenzene chromophore and different core compounds are employed to obtain high thermal stability and good glass-forming properties as well as high sensitivity and refractive-index modulation. The best combination of structural variations is chosen to tailor a photoaddressable material with optimized physical and photophysical properties. By doping this photochromic molecular glass former into a photoaddressable polymer we are able to combine the high stability of polymer systems with the faster response of molecular glasses, thus creating a system which has the advantages of both material classes. With this approach we achieve an increase of the low photochromic sensitivity of the polymer, which is the biggest problem of these materials. In order to obtain a better understanding of the influence of the photochromic molecular glass former on the photochromic response in a polymer system we conduct holographic experiments on a concentration series of the glass former in an inert polymer matrix. By inscribing the holographic gratings at elevated temperatures we are able to increase the sensitivity of our molecular glass further.


The meaning of sustainability is the subject of intense debate among environmental and resource economists. Perhaps no other issue separates more the traditional economic view of the natural world from the views of most natural scientists. The debate currently focuses on the substitutability between the economy and the environment or between "natural capital" and "manufactured capital"-a debate captured in terms of "weak" vs. "strong" sustainability. In this paper the various interpretations of these concepts are examined. In addition, the goal of weak sustainability is critically evaluated. Attention is devoted to, among other things, utility and lexicographic preferences, economic valuation, natural science perspectives on sustainability, and the notion of "consilience" as recently suggested by E.O. Wilson.


The purpose of this study is to produce a learning trajectory on the material of relations and functions in class VIII. This type of research is Design Research proposed by Gravemeijer & Cobb, carried out through 3 stages, namely the research preparation stage, research in the classroom, and retrospective analysis. The research was conducted at SMP Negeri 4 Mori Utara with the research subjects totaling 12 students and consisting of three meetings, namely 1) the first meeting: Relation Concept, Relationship Presentation and Domain Concept, Codomain and Range, 2) second meeting: Function Concept, Function Characteristics and Correspondence One-on-one and 3) third meeting: Notation and Function Value. The research instruments used are in the form of learning trajectory hypotheses and data collected through observations, sound recordings, and Student Activity Sheets. The results showed that the learning trajectory in the Relation and Function material with a RME approach designed to improve mathematical problem-solving ability can be applied in the learning process. The resulting learning path is in the form of a flow of activities and activities carried out by students in class in order to achieve the learning goals that have been previously set. Meanwhile, this study was conducted only to see the application of the hypothesis of the learning trajectory of the Relation and Function material in the RME approach.


Technology has pervaded all spheres of human endeavor and organizations. With the internet, the whole world has now become a global village. Against this background, this study interrogates the application of MIS in human resource management in Enugu State Civil Service. However, the researcher adopted system theory as the theoretical framework. The reason for adopting this theory hinges on the fact that man lives in a world of continuing changes thus, technological tradition has not only bred the system analytic approach to planning, but also underlined the system dynamics for different phenomena. The internet complexity views them as inter-linked, interacted and integrated. The findings reveal that Enugu State civil Service has not put in use management information system thereby crating a lot of gap in application in management information system in the civil Service system. Also the survey research design was adopted for this study because it deals with the practical application of already standardized theories available social sciences. To adequately use this research work effectively, the research has made some recommendations on the way forward for improvement in service delivery particularly in Enugu State Civil service.


Landslides and floods are among the most common disasters in Brazil and are responsible for losses on social, environmental, and economic scales, even resulting in deaths. Floods can negatively affect the structure and operations of a railway network, causing travel delays, train service cancellations, and major fines for the railway. The objective of this article is to conduct a bibliographic review of what is available in publications on natural disasters, particularly landslides and floods, big data techniques, and railroads, at international and national levels. A bibliometric analysis was carried out according to the "PRISMA Flow Diagram" guidelines. The analysis in this study was conducted through searches of the following reference databases: Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, and Google Scholar. After the keyword search was completed, the absence of available data and references relating to Brazil was verified. This justified the development of this and other related papers, and the efforts necessary to turn these data into useful information for the managers of cities and environmental institutions. The aim of this study is to fill the gap in the research, focusing on Brazil, related to big data, smart cities, and natural disasters (particularly, landslides and floods), and to propose other papers that can be developed in this subject area.


Does the preference for visual speed extend to motion perception when the eye moves? Current evidence from psychophysics and neuroscience is limited to small patches of image motion and stationary fixation. Active observers, however, are more likely to use large patches of retinal flow and extraretinal signals accompanying eye movement to judge motion. We therefore investigated whether speed remains a primary dimension during smooth pursuit using a "discrimination-contour" technique. Our results showed that observers struggled most when trying to discriminate pursued stimuli that traveled at the same speed but moved over different distances and durations. This remained the case when retinal flow was added, and when we isolated trials in which extraretinal signals were the only salient cue to motion. Our results suggest that preferential sensitivity for visual speed is quite general, supported by the many different types of motion mechanism used by active observers.


The problem of non-pharmacological treatment of arterial hypertension is receiving more and more attention, but many of its aspects and, moreover, specific recommendations for targeted prescription of certain therapeutic agents remain poorly studied. Sauna and balneo-procedures play a certain role among different variants of nonmedicamental treatment. The positive influence of sauna on the state of central hemodynamics in arterial hypertension is marked by a number of authors, but only single reports contain references (without detailed factual data) about the positive effect of simultaneous use of the swimming pool and sauna.
The aim of the work was to study the influence of the courses of the swimming pool and sauna on the parameters of central hemodynamics in hypertensive patients in the recreation center of an industrial enterprise, that is without discontinuing daily labor activity.


Please cite this paper as: Fleury A, Kushnir C, Giuntoli R, Spirtos N. Upper abdominal cytoreduction and thoracoscopy for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer: unanswered questions and the impact on treatment. BJOG 2012;119:202–206.


Due to the inherent difference between neural network and traditional software, it is very difficult to test it. At present, the use of fuzzing methods may be an effective exploration direction. We choose coverage-guided fuzzing as a method to test neural networks, and use neuron coverage as a coverage metric during execution. The effectiveness of neuron coverage will be demonstrated through experiments. On this basis, we designed a genetic algorithm-based fuzzing framework for neural networks, attempting to achieve greater coverage in a shorter time. And through the method of experimental comparison, the test efficiency of the framework is verified.


PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a β-copper phthalocyanine pigment having excellent pigment dispersibility from an α/β mixed crystal copper phthalocyanine. SOLUTION: The method for producing a β-copper phthalocyanine pigment comprises the polymerization of at least one kind of polymerizable unsaturated monomer (B) soluble in a non-aqueous solvent and changing to insoluble or sparingly soluble after polymerization in the presence of an α/β mixed crystal copper phthalocyanine, the non-aqueous solvent and a polymer (A) soluble in at least one kind of non-aqueous solvent and selected from the group consisting of a polymer (A-1) having a polymerizable unsaturated group, an alkyd resin (A-2) and an acrylic-modified alkyd resin (A-3). COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT


【Objective】To evaluate the safety and efficacy of transthoracic endoscopic sympathectomy in the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis.【Methods】From May 2003 to May 2008,bilateral thoracoscopic sympathectomy was performed in 50 cases.Palmar skin temperature was monitored simultaneously during operation and the efficacy was evaluated after operation.【Result】The selective thoracosopic sympathectomy was successfully performed in all the patients.Palmar skin temperature rose with a mean of 2.5 ℃ before sympathectomy and after sympathectomy.Palmar hyperhidrosis vanished in all the patients,and foot and armpit hyperhidrosis disappeared in 25 and alleviated in 2.Compensatory hyperhidrosis was found in 10 cases.All the patients were followed up for 1-2 years(mean,15 months) and no recurrence was found.【Conclusion】Thoracosopic sympathectomy is a safe and effective method for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis.


Introduction: Liposuction surgery is associated with a low incidence of infection. Abdominal liposuction is rarely performed in patients with a colostomy, which presents a possible source of infection. Case Report: A patient with a colostomy had 2 liposuction procedures performed without a postoperative infection. Conclusions: Liposuction surgery can be performed in patients with a colostomy. Risk of infection is minimized if proper sterile draping and prophylactic antibiotics are used.


A method allowing the simultaneous determination of the most essential for tobacco culture growth macro and trace elements (K, Ca, Mg, P, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) was developed by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP). H2SO4 and HClO4 were not applied as they provoked losses of the basic macro elements as a result of sludge deposition of hardly dissolved compounds. Acid consumption was significantly decreases and the analysis time was shortened.


There are two very important propositions to be considered in connection with electro-diagnosis, the first of which is, an adequate knowledge of electro-physics and electro-physiology, and the second, the need of the proper apparatus with which to conduct such investigation. The first proposition, or a proper understanding of the subjects named, is so obviously essential that it is scarcely necessary to discuss it. The apparatus required for accurate electro-diagnosis merits our careful consideration. While with an ordinary faradic battery and common electrodes the approximate condition of a nerve may be arrived at, our tests will be of only a proportionate value. The batteries, meter and controller that I use here to-day were made by Mr. Otto Fleming, of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, we have no definite standard in this country for our faradic coils, or for the size of our electrodes, hence the resulting confusion in comparative tests by different operators. It


1 Velez N, Khera P, English JC III. Eyebrow loss: clinical review. Am J Clin Dermatol 2007; 8:337–46. 2 Mataix J, Ba~ nuls J, Botella R et al. Brooke–Spiegler syndrome: an heterogeneous entity. Actas Dermosifiliogr 2006; 97:669–72. 3 Allende I, Truchuelo MT, Alc antara J, Boixeda P. Carbon dioxidelaser treatment of trichoepitheliomas in Brooke–Spiegler syndrome. Actas Dermosifiliogr 2011; 102:76–7. 4 Kazakov DV, Soukup R, Mukensnabl P et al. Brooke–Spiegler syndrome: report of a case with combined lesions containing cylindromatous, spiradenomatous, trichoblastomatous, and sebaceous differentiation. Am J Dermatopathol 2005; 27:27–33. 5 Bowen S, Gill M, Lee DA et al. Mutations in the CYLD gene in Brooke–Spiegler syndrome, familial cylindromatosis, and multiple familial trichoepithelioma: lack of genotype–phenotype correlation. J Invest Dermatol 2005; 124:919–20. 6 Pincus LB, McCalmont TH, Neuhaus IM et al. Basal cell carcinomas arising within multiple trichoepitheliomas. J Cutan Pathol 2008; 35 (Suppl. 1):59–64. 7 LoPiccolo MC, Sage RJ, Kouba DJ. Comparing ablative fractionated resurfacing, photodynamic therapy, and topical imiquimod in the treatment of trichoblastomas of Brooke–Spiegler syndrome: a case study. Dermatol Surg 2011; 37:1047–50. 8 Chaudhary S, Dayal S. Radiofrequency ablation: a safe and economical modality in treatment of Brooke–Spiegler syndrome. Dermatol Online J 2012; 18:7. 9 Rajan N, Trainer AH, Burn J, Langtry JA. Familial cylindromatosis and Brooke–Spiegler syndrome: a review of current therapeutic approaches and the surgical challenges posed by two affected families. Dermatol Surg 2009; 35:845–52.


Laser-assisted chemical vapour deposition (LCVD) of α-GaN onto sapphire (001) face is described. The bimolecular gas-phase reaction of trimethylgallium (TMG) with ammonia was employed under the influence of an ArF excimer laser (193 nm). The photolytic process permitted the single-phase deposition of GaN crystallites at lower temperatures. The stoichiometric growth was monitored by quadrupole mass analysis (QMA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), while the crystalline quality of the as-grown deposits was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), reflection electron diffraction (RED), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and luminescence measurements. The laser-induced transport process is discussed.


Jan. 15, 1996. 8 pgs.
Ex-prostitute professor rehired at Ryerson; new government bill gives officials the right to search private medical history; Medical students oppose proposals forcing new doctors to practice in under-serviced locations.
Contributers: Vanessa Benedek, Julie Brisson, Simone A. Brown, Bob Gold, Kersten Cholmar Kindt, MAC, Nasty Narrator, Pierre Naud, Leslie Stuart.
Editor-in-Chief: Patrick Joly
Assistant Editors: Suzanne Hinks, Robert Goldkind, Julie Gauvin
Arts Editor: Nathalie-Roze Fischer
Sports Editor: (open)
Features Editor: Tanya Marissen
Fiction and Poetry Editor: Michael F. Jursic
Photography Editors: Jane Gorley, John Wilson
Production: Andreia Bandeira, John Gazo
Revisions: Marie-Eve Blais
Typesetters: Lisa Walker
Advertising Manager: Amanda Loughran, David Sproull
Distribution Manager: Robert Goldkind
Article titles:
Via Rail exige des preuves
Glendonites baffled in FRLS
News in brief
Inc. on paper
Editorial: la facture
Cynic at large resolution dissolution
Prostitute prof back in classroom
Government cuts pit landlords against tenants
Assurance maladie: qui suis-je?
Quand les mauvaises personnes s'y prennent de la mauvaise maniere
Care to share your problems?
Mump and Smoot review
MED students want choice of where to practice
Poetry and fiction


Objectives. Identify the barriers that cause delays in the route of obstetric care in pregnant women of Yaxkukul, Yucatán, from January 2016 to May 2018. Methodology. Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional and retrospective study. Pregnant women who attended prenatal control at the rural health center of Yaxkukul were interviewed and reviewed their clinical record. Sociodemographic characteristics, prenatal control were studied and the critical route of obstetric care was described, under the model of the three delays. Percentages, measures of central tendency and dispersion were calculated; as well as square chi to look for association between delays and maternal morbidity. A 95% confidence level and a value of p <0.05 were used. Contribution. The present study contributes to the prevention of maternal and perinatal mortality. Knowing the barriers that cause delays in care can identify deficiencies in the obstetric emergency protocol established in rural health units, to improve the quality of obstetric care.


BACKGROUND
Hemorrhoids are the most common anorectal disorder in the Western World and are a major cause of active, relapsing or chronic rectal bleeding. Many treatment options have been proposed and tried for early-stage hemorrhoids. There is general agreement that rubber banding ligation (RBL) is safe and effective.

AIMS
To evaluate the effectiveness and complications associated with RBL performed in outpatients for symptomatic hemorrhoids using the O'Regan Disposable Bander device.

RESULTS
Sixty consecutive patients underwent hemorrhoid banding with the O'Regan Disposable Bander. The mean time required for one session was 6.2 min; the longest was 10 min. No major complications were noted. Minor early and late bleeding was reported in 10% and 6.7% respectively, but none was severe. Pain occurred in 6.7% but was not severe. In all cases, clinical and endoscopic (range and form scores) improvement was observed and patients of all ages, including the elderly, were found to be tolerant to the procedure.

CONCLUSION
RBL performed in outpatients for symptomatic hemorrhoids using the O'Regan Disposable Bander device is associated with a good response and low complication rate. We recommend the technique as a safe and reliable treatment option.


Processing of face images is an important branch of machine vision. In real scenarios, the quality of the acquired images often does not reach the ideal condition therefore producing wrong results. While face super-resolution and rotation are two different ways to enhance the quality of face images, these two methods have always existed independently. The super resolution of face is to improve the image quality and get high resolution image from low resolution face image, and the rotation of face is to get the image under different view of the target and enrich the target person information. Both techniques have different approaches, but both are designed to improve the image quality for easier processing such as classification, detection and recognition. Therefore, can we combine the two methods, convert an image from a low-resolution image to a high-resolution image, and then use face rotation to obtain images of other views of the target face. We can obtain a higher quality image compared with the two independent methods. In this paper, we use a supervised learning method for face super-resolution and a self-supervised face rotation method for combining experiments, and the results show the reliability of combining the two methods.


The article is devoted to the development, justification, software implementation and research of a text data recognition model based on the use of neural networks with a hybrid architecture. The proposed model allows you to gain new knowledge through a combination of different activities and methods of text analysis. The main tasks implemented in the work were to study the essence and relevance of text data recognition, determine the criteria for assessing the quality of recognition, design the architecture of the model and software application, develop and train a software model of text recognition. Software application testing and a comparative analysis of recognition quality in terms of accuracy, reliability, completeness and time were carried out with the involvement of other neural networks. As a criterion for assessing the quality of neural network training, the loss function was used, which characterized the normalized deviation of the results of the actual values obtained by the neural network from the expected ones. At the stages of training and testing, the model was tuned, the optimal number of training epochs was determined in terms of the reliability metric. Based on the results obtained, it can be argued that the proposed hybrid architecture of the ConvBiGRU neural network has the highest quality indicators, similar to the ConvBiLSTM model, but the time spent on the implementation of one epoch is less. There was also a tendency to equalize the times of realization of epochs for combined models compared to simple models when large arrays of text data were processed.


Tumor lysis syndrome(TLS)is an emergency in hematology and oncology department.It is a serious or fatal complication of malignancy patients.This article summarized its definition, etiology, pathogenesis and diagnosis.Early identification of its clinical manifestations, familiar with the risk factors and severity grading leading to TLS, and targeted early prevention and treatment can save the lives of the patients with TLS.

Key words:
Tumor lysis syndrome; Pediatrics; Leukemia; Lymphoma


Abstract Purpose Thoracic myelopathy caused by ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in the thoracic spine is usually progressive and responds poorly to conservative therapy, making surgery the only effective treatment option. A variety of surgical procedures have been developed to treat thoracic OPLL. However, the optimal surgical approach for removal of thoracic OPLL remains unclear. In the present study, we described a newly modified posterior approach for the removal of OPLL: circular decompression via dural approach, and complete removal of OPLL can be achieved under direct vision and without neurological deficit. Materials and methods Three patients with beak-type thoracic OPLL presented with progressive thoracic myelopathy and leg weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging showed the spinal cord severely compressed. The surgical management of the three patients involved the 'cave-in' circular decompression and transdural resection of OPLL. Results Transdural circumferential decompression was successfully performed in all three patients. Clinical outcome measures, including pre- and postoperative radiographic parameters, were assessed. All of the patients were followed up for an average of 12 months (ranging from 10 to 15 months), and no surgery-related complications occurred. Weakness relief and neural function recovery were satisfactorily achieved in all patients by the final follow-up. Conclusions Transdural circumferential decompression was an effective method for thoracic spinal stenosis caused by concurrent beak-type OPLL, by which OPLL could be safely removed. It is especially useful when there is a severe adhesion between the dura OPLL.


Stuart J. Schleiena,*, M. Tipton Rayb a Division of Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies, University of Minnesota, 1900 University Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA b1nc/usive and Therapeutic Recreation Consllitant, 807 Fairmont Avenlle, St. Palll, MN 55105, USA There is increasing recognition and acceptance that successful transition of youth with disabilities from school experiences occurs when they acquire and are able to demonstrate skills and behaviors related to several typical adult life activities including lifelong learning, home living, community participation, recreation participation, as weB as work. Finding meaningful employment upon graduation continues to be a central theme of transition planning efforts within secondary schools. However, increasing research, as weB as anecdotal reports from educators, families, and students themselves have highlighted the need to take a more broad-based approach to transition planning so that students are learning skills (e.g. social, self-determination) which may be used in a variety of non-vocational, as well as vocational environments. Federal education law now requires transition planning which supports these broad-based initiatives. This article presents a rationale and support for implementing comprehensive therapeutic recreation services within school settings to help students learn skills which may be used in both vocational and non-vocational environments, thus facilitating a quality transition to adulthood. The principle goals of therapeutic recreation services are identified foBowed by a model framework and six 'action steps' transition planners and key stakeholders can take to facilitate successful transition to community recreation environments. A case study is highlighted which iBustrates the implementation of a functional leisure education program for two young adults with developmental disabilities. Key points that transition planners should consider when providing community recreation programming are listed and discussed to conclude this article. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.


To the Editor.— In the May 1977 issue of theArchives(113:596-598) Rulon and Helwig described a previously unrecognized adnexal neoplasm, the papillary eccrine adenoma. We would like to report an additional case with a clinical photograph. Report of a Case.— A 43-year-old woman had a nodule on her right leg of at least 20 years' duration. There had been no recent change in the lesion. She had noted occasional discomfort, but no other symptoms. Fig 1.—Flesh-colored nodule rounded by hyperpigmentation. Fig 2.—Numerous various-sized ducts are lined by two-cell layer of epithelial cells with frequent intraluminal papillary projections (hematoxylin-eosin, original magnification ×15). On the anterior aspect of the right leg, there was a 1-cm freely movable, firm, flesh-colored nodule with some peripheral hyperpigmentation (Fig 1). The clinical diagnosis was dermatofibroma. The lesion was excised and had not recurred on follow-up at two months. The biopsy demonstrated a well-circumscribed dermal tumor


The question of Hebrew, the conditions and possibilities of its "renaissance" and its rebirth as a secular language and a source of modern national discourse, was one of the central concerns of the Zionist enterprise around 1900. In his famous letter of December 1926 dedicated to Franz Rosenzweig and titled "Bekenntnis über unsere Sprache," Gershom Scholem expressed his anxiety with the Zionist project and reveals his apocalyptic view of the future of the New Hebrew. The author of this essay attempts to reconstruct the historical, metaphysical, and philological context of Scholem's letter. The author discusses the letter's theological background (the Kabbalistic theory of God's names, the figure of the "demon") and its political implications and considers Scholem's dialogue with Rosenzweig and Bialik as an additional context for the understanding of its complexities. The author also provides a model of cultural criticism that explores the dialectic of Jewish secularization and exposes the paradoxes of theopolitics and modernism in Zionist thinking.


Seismologists from government and academia are finding that large chemical explosions are an excellent seismic source, not only for profiling the deep crust but also for imaging the shallower geologic targets of interest to the oil and gas industry. (For the purposes of this article, we define a "large" explosion as one that utilizes at least 100 kg—about 220 lbs—of ammonium nitrate or equivalent explosive. In general, shot sizes ranging from this minimum up to 2700 kg—about 3 tons—are used in deep crustal seismic profiling programs.)


Slab-coupled optical waveguide lasers (SCOWLs) and amplifiers (SCOWAs) are inherently low-confinement structures with large nearly-circular modes that are easily coupled to optical fibers or collimated for free-space applications. Recently SCOWL powers have increased to 3 W by increasing the cavity length to 1 cm and improving the heat removal. SCOWAs are coherently combined using active phase control to achieve a very high-brightness source. Our coherent beam combining system consists of single-pass amplifiers with angled-facet SCOWAs that suppress feedback. Single-pass, 5-mm long, SCOWAs have now been demonstrated with 1.5 W CW output with only 50 mW seed power. Arrays of 47 SCOWAs have demonstrated a raw power of 57 W with 50 mW of seed power per element. A coherent beam combining demonstration is currently being assembled.


Introduction: Preterm-born individuals are found to have higher blood pressure and are two-fold more likely to have sought medical care and been diagnosed with hypertension sufficient to need medication by the age of 30 years. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that elevated blood pressure in preterm-born young adults is associated with an enhanced antiangiogenic circulating blood profile, proportional to the degree of capillary rarefaction and independent of other associated cardiovascular measures. Methods: We studied 204 adults at mean age 25 years, including 102 who had been followed prospectively since very preterm birth (mean gestational age 30.3±2.5 weeks) and 102 born at term to uncomplicated pregnancies. Levels of soluble endoglin (sENG) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and compared between groups. It was then explored how these levels related to blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors. Associations between facto...


Anderson, Lindsay (2002), 'Angles of approach', Camera 1, winter, pp. 7-8 (reprint of article originally published in Sequence, winter 1947). Andrew, Geoff, Archer, John, Durgnat, Raymond, Julian, Isaac, Keiller, Patrick, Romney, Jonathan and Sugerman, Sara (2001), 'British cinema questionnaire', Cineaste 26: 4, pp. 64-6 (invited views on contemporary British cinema). Backus, Margot Gayle and Doan, James (2001), 'Riverine crossings: gender, identity and the reconstruction of national mythic narrative in The Crying Game ', Cultural Studies 15: 1, pp. 173-91. Baker, Monika (2001), 'Who's cooking?', black filmmaker 4: 13, September-October, p. 7 (on Gurinder Chadha). Benn, Susan (2002), 'Risk space for invention', Vertigo 2: 2, spring, pp. 26-7 (on Performing Arts Labs, an organisation for professional writers). Bottomore, Stephen (2002), 'Smith versus Melbourne-Cooper: an end to the dispute', Film History 14: 1, pp. 57-73 (continuing the debate over the authorship of the films of George Albert Smith). Brunsdon, Charlotte (2001), 'London films: from private gardens to utopian moments', Cineaste 26: 4, pp. 43-6. Cahir, Linda Costanzo (2001), 'The house of mirth: an interview with director Terence Davies and producer Olivia Stewart', Literature Film Quarterly 29: 3, pp. 166-71. Caine, Andrew James (2001), 'Calculated violence and viciousness: the British critical reaction to Elvis Presley's King Creole ', The Velvet Light Trap 48, fall, pp. 34-7. Chibnall, Stephen (2001), 'Britain's funk soul brothers: gender, family and nation in the new Brit-pics', Cineaste 26: 4, pp. 38-42.


Does the European Parliament adequately represent the views of European citizens? Drawing on a recent study, Miriam Sorace illustrates that while the Parliament is often criticised for being too distant from its voters, it is far more representative of the views of voters than commonly thought. Nevertheless, a lack of information about European election campaigns, as well as a tendency for some voters to cast protest votes, can lead to individual voters being less well represented.


In this paper we study some remarkable properties of para Kenmotsu (briefly p-Kenmotsu) manifolds satisfying the conditions R(X,Y).R=0, R(X,Y).P=0 and P(X,Y).R=0, where R(X, Y) is the Riemannian curvature tensor and P(X, Y) is the Weyl projective curvature tensor of the manifold. It is shown that a semi-symmetric p-Kenmotsu manifold (Mn, g) is of constant curvature and hence is an sp-Kenmotsu manifold. Also, we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition for a p-Kenmotsu manifold to be Weyl projective semi-symmetric and shown that the Weyl projective semi-symmetric p-Kenmotsu manifold is projectively flat. Finally we prove that if the condition P(X,Y).R=0 is satisfied on a p-Kenmotsu manifold then its scalar curvature is constant.


The effect of pH on the kinetics of photosynthesis, 2 inhibition of photosynthesis, and photorespiration was exaumined with mesophyll cellis olated from soybean (Glycine max IL.] Merr.) leaves. At constant, subuatng bicarbonate concentration (0.5 mM), 02 inhibiton of photosynthesis increased with increasing pH because high pH shft the CO,-bicarbonate equillbnrum toward bicarbonate, thereby reducing the CO2 concentration. At constant, substrating CO2 concentrations, ceil photorespiration decreased with increasing pH. This was indiated by decreases in the CO2 compensation concentration, 02 inhibition of photosynthesis, and glycine synthesis. Km(CO2) values for iolated cell pbotosynthesis and In vitro ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxyle activity decreased with increasing pH, while the KI(02) for both systems was similar at all pH values. The responses to pH of the corresponding kinetic constants of cell photosynthesis and in vitro RuDP carboxyglae with respect to CO2 and 02 were identical. This provides additional evidence that the relative rates of photosynthesis and photorespirtion in C3 plants are determined by the kinetic properties of RaDP carboxylae.


The authors argue for an interdisciplinary approach to the construct of empathy. Recognizing that the construct has a long history as a biological construct, the idea is placed in a context of new approaches in the medical field. The social psychological approach is taken from the symbolic interaction theory of George Herbert Mead. By developing such a perspective, the authors suggest that communication researchers and educators can understand how empathy is a combination of symbolic processes, which individuals accomplish through their genetic structure, and neurological actions. While the person is empathizing with the other, the brain undertakes an empathic process of its own. Mark Hickson, III & Christie M. Beck 361 Genetic, Neurological, and Social Bases of Empathy Writers and researchers have investigated the concept, known by a variety of names, which indicates that one individual can, in some way, comprehend the mind of another. Because humans and some animals have this capacity, they can "feel into" the emotions of an other. Even when individuals disagree, one can "understand the other's viewpoint." This construct is integral to human communication. It is one feature without which there would be no human communication. Aristotle (Cooper, 1932) stated as a maxim to public speakers: "The speaker, therefore, must feel his way to the subjects on which his audience has prepossessions, and guess how these came about, and then must express the same views, on the same subjects, as general truths" (p. 154, italics added). Kenneth Burke (1966) felt that humans could identify with one another, to a point where they could become consubstantial with one another. George Herbert Mead (1938) wrote that "meaning . . . arises in experience through the individual stimulating himself to take the attitude of the other in his reaction toward the object" (p. 545). Mead considered the ability to "take the role of the other" both a biological and a social process. While most of us consider empathy a symbolic and psychological phenomenon, Lipps (1907) indicated long ago that empathy is both a social and a biological process. Buck and Ginsburg (1997, p. 19), though, feel strongly that there is a "communication gene," and Ridley (1999) is convinced that the placement of such a gene is likely to be found in chromosome 7. De Waal (1996) believes that some mammals and birds have a similar talent. He has written: "Whether based on empathy or not, animal succorance is the functional equivalent of human sympathy, expected only in species that know strong attachment" (p. 41). Neubauer and Neubauer (1990) agree, quoting the work of Brothers (1989): "Empathy is a challenging concept to think of in genetic terms. One researcher, Leslie Brothers, makes it easier when she indicates that what may be called empathy among human beings is the same as 'socio-emotional communication (in animals and social signal processing in neurons'" (p. 47). Hauser (2000) disagrees writing: "Some authors think that animals experience the moral emotions, feelings such as guilt, shame, and embarrassment. I don't. Nor do I think animals experience empathy" (p. 250). It is not our role here to takes sides in regard to other animals, but we do believe that most people are capable of empathy. Universally considered pro-social and beneficial, empathy also has been proposed as a vital element for effective communication (Floyd, 1985; Gompertz, 1960; Redmond, 1985). However, the degree to which any one person can empathize with any other one person, in a particular setting, varies considerably. Herein we shall attempt to outline the concept of empathy in humans as the first phase in the communication process. The construction of an idea and that construction's interlock with symbols to create messages. The Dimensions of Empathy Originally the concept of empathy came from Einfuhlung or "feeling into" (Lipps, 1907). The idea of "feeling into" is a state in which feelings and changes in bodily states are directed at someone, whether internally or externally. The word, "empathy," was a translation first used by Edward Titchener (Kohn, 1990). In the past, most definitions have centered on the idea of one individual feeling into the situation of another. For Genetic, Neurological, and Social Bases of Empathy 362 example, Kohn (1990) claims empathy is the process of taking someone else's perspective. Perspective taking is a central theme in empathy. It is the cognitive part of the process of empathy that refers to the capacity of an individual to adopt the viewpoint of another and thus consider both or several sides of an issue. Taking the viewpoint of another leads to empathic concern, which influences emotional contagion and communicative responsiveness. Three constructs of empathy established by Richendoller and Weaver (1994) were empathic responsiveness, perspective taking, and sympathetic responsiveness. Empathic responsiveness has been defined as "an explicitly affective response parallel to, and as a result of, observing another person's actual or anticipated display of emotion" (Stiff, Dillard, Somera, Kim, & Sleight, 1988, p. 199). Perspective taking, in this construct, is defined as "a process that broadly involves imagining oneself in the place of another," (Davis, 1980, 1983a, 1983b; Tamborini & Mettler, 1990; Zillman, 1991). Seen as "acting in your head," imagining requires the enactment of a narrative from that person's point of view (Goldie, 1999, p. 397). Sympathetic responsiveness is feeling "sympathy for another with a problem, [however] you do not actually experience emotions parallel to theirs'; instead, you experience different emotions that are associated with concern or sorrow [for example] for another" (Weaver & Kirtley, 1994, p. 132). From this variety of categories, we will discuss only perspective taking and empathic responsiveness, leaving sympathy for others to tackle. The first is perspectivetaking or what George Herbert Mead has referred to as taking the role of the other. Mead (1934) has written: "The 'I' reacts to the self which arises through the taking of the attitudes of others. Through taking those attitudes we have introduced the 'me' and we react to it as an 'I'" (p. 174). Taking the perspective of the other means, in phenomenological terms, "bracketing" the "I." The concern of the individual is not what he is going to say, per se, but how the other will interpret what he is saying. To an extent, an analogy to a game may be appropriate here. Mead used a baseball game as his example, but virtually any game will do, where one of the roles of each of the players is to anticipate the other or others in the game. It is important to note, though, that such anticipation must be based on what you think the other would say or do. In addition to anticipating the moves of the other from his/her perspective, we must also take into account the definition of the situation. McHugh (1968) has written: "Remember that emergence includes, in the present, the changing of past events and future programs" (p. 35). For example, in a baseball game, a batter may realize that the pitcher has struck him out twice with a third strike that was low and inside. The pitcher, too, knows what he has done. In his third at bat, following two strikes, the batter may anticipate an inside, low strike. He shifts his body so that he can hit the low, inside strike. However, because the pitcher has anticipated that the batter knows what has happened in the past, he throws the ball low and outside, and the batter strikes out for the third time. The anticipation of deception is part, but only a part, of the empathic process. In a sense, the better empathizer "wins" (Neiva & Hickson, 2003). The Levels of Empathy Four levels of empathy occur as the brain develops through experience (Kohn, 1990). The first is global empathy, displayed by infants before they have a clear sense of Mark Hickson, III & Christie M. Beck 363 their individual identity. As a result, at this stage the empathic distress they experience may cause them to react as though what transpired with the other happened to them. Once children have a sense of personal identity, they enter into the egocentric empathy stage. At this stage they still lack a distinctive inner self and therefore assume that what they hold true within themselves holds true for others as well. Empathy for another's feelings comes once children gain the ability to respond to the cues of the feelings of others. Development at this point has heightened their ability to understand complex and even ambiguous emotions. The final stage is empathy for another's life condition, and this stage best embodies a sophisticated grasp of someone else's experiences and allows the individual to fully understand and respond to that person's general, unique, condition (Kohn, 1990). To reach this level of empathy, the limbic system and the neocortex must be present and working together. Perceptual Fields There appear to be binary types of decisions that one engages in when interacting. The first part of an interactive engagement is a decision about whether or not to engage. This is a binary decision. There is no question that most people make this decision rapidly and many make it without much reflection. Nevertheless there must be a decision to interact. A number of factors may enter into this decision. An important one is who the target person is. As an example, there may be many occasions for telling one's boss off. For most of us, we never make that decision. In fact, if anything, we choose an alternative target by telling a coworker at lunch or a spouse at dinner. Most often, though, an alternative target is chosen because the message itself is somewhat cathartic. But the target person is chosen initially because he or she is part of the salient perceptual field. The salient perceptual field is composed of those stimuli in our internal field and our external fie


The purpose of this paper is to report on the current status of special education of learning disabilities in Japan. The main issue is that the Ministry of Education still has not clearly defined their educational policy for children with learning disabilities. Although the Ministry of Education has promoted for a better understanding of learning disabilities among various schools, many classroom teachers in compulsory education experience difficulties when they have children with special needs in their own class. These difficulties are primarily due to not having the appropriate teaching skills can be attributed to a lack of appropriate teaching training. These are two factors to consider when addressing this problem with teacher training. First, on an international level, the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education was published after the international conference in 1994 organized by UNESCO and the Spanish Ministry of Education. This statement emphasizes the importance of the initial teacher training as an educational policy. Second, at a local level, Japan now has a great number of study groups researching learning disabilities and support groups for children with learning disabilities and their parents (e.g., hospitals, volunteer agencies) . The development of these groups emphasizes both the needs of this particular population and the unavailability of previous support for children with learning disabilities. A need for further reformation of initial teacher training is suggested.


Intrathecal (IT) drug delivery is a standard technique which involves direct injection of drugs into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled space within the spinal canal to treat many diseases of the central nervous system. Currently, in order to reach the therapeutic drug concentration at certain locations within the spinal canal, high drug doses are used. With no method to deliver the large drug doses locally, current IT drug delivery treatments are hindered with wide drug distributions throughout the central nervous system (CNS) which cause harmful side effects. In order to overcome the current limitations of IT drug delivery, we have developed the novel method of intrathecal magnetic drug targeting (IT-MDT). Gold-coated magnetite nanoparticles are infused into a physiologically and anatomically relevant in vitro human spine model and then targeted to a specific site using external magnetic fields, resulting in a substantial increase in therapeutic nanoparticle localization at the site of interest. Experiments aiming to determine the effect of key parameters such as magnet strength, duration of magnetic field exposure, location of magnetic field, and ferrous implants on the collection efficiency of our superparamagnetic nanoparticles in the targeting region were performed. Our experiments indicate that intrathecal magnetic drug targeting and implant-assisted IT-MDT are promising techniques for concentrating and localizing drug-functionalized nanoparticles at required target sites within the spinal canal for potential treatment of diseases affecting the central nervous system.© 2013 ASME


aminopeptidase, were obtained byselection forresistance toL-valyl-L-leucine amide. Mutants lacking a dipeptidase, peptidase D,were isolated fromapepNpepAstrain byselection forresistance toL-valyl-glycine. Starting with apepNpepApepDstrain, selection forresistance toL-valyl-glycyl-g lycine orseveral other valine peptides produced mutantsdeficient inanother aminopeptidase, peptidase B.Mutants resistant to L-valyl-L-prolin e lackpeptidase Q,an activity capable ofrapid hydrolysis ofXproline dipeptides. Using these selection procedures, astrain (CM89)lacking five different peptidases hasbeenisolated. Although still sensitive tovaline, this strain isresistant toavariety ofvaline di-andtripeptides. Theability ofthis strain to usepeptides assourcesofaminoacids ismuchmore restricted thanthatofwildtypeE.coli strains. Strains containing only one ofthefive peptidases missing in CM89havebeenconstructed bytransduction. Thepeptide utilization profiles of these strains showthateachofthefive peptidases can function during growth in thecatabolism ofpeptides. Theability ofEscherichia coli toutilize peptides asaminoacid sources hasbeenrecognized forsometime(18). Onlyrecently, however, has there beenanysystematic study ofthegenetics ofpeptide utilization. Mutants ofE.coli deficient inpeptide uptake havebeenisolated and characterized (1, 4).ThreeE.coli mutants deficient inpeptidases havealso beendescribed (5, 6,20). Moreextensive information isavailable concerning thegenetics ofSalmonella typhimurium peptidases. Salmonella strains containing mutations affecting three broad-specificity amino


Subtitle: Because of the trend towards computers in modern aircraft, many people think the flight engineer is no longer in use. Actually, that is far from true. There are still many airlines operating aircraft types that require flight engineers.


PBE Type i: Neither default nor political crisis If V ≤ χL, the costs of default are always larger than the costs of servicing the debt even for the benevolent government. Then in equilibrium, the government proposes to service the debt, which is accepted by the representative agent. Hence the debt is repaid and political crisis is avoided. Neither the benevolent government nor the self interested government has any incentive to propose default, regardless of whether such an announcement results in dismissal. In turn, the representative agent cannot possibly gain from dismissing the policymaker.


Though I have read Professor J.S. Scotts letter (February 19 p. 504) carefully several times I still find his logic questionable and his claims difficult to accept. The thesis that many women who are sterilized are best treated by hysterectomy is now generally acceptable as the result of individual experience and several publications but surely the case is overstated by Professor Scott when he says that in a patient without prolapse vaginal hysterectomy takes no longer than a laparoscopy that the patients are more mobile the following day and that complications are fewer. Laparoscopy takes 10-15 minutes and the patient can go home the next day. I have watched and assisted many expert vaginal hysterectomists and I often do the operation myself but it has always taken longer than this because of the need for care with the bladder ureters and vascular pedicles. In no case has the patient felt like going home the next day. It is clear that Professor Scott is a most skillful surgeon but I think herein lies the great danger of his publication for very many are not quite so skillful and if they embark on a policy of wholesale vaginal hysterectomy in young women as he suggests in preference to the minor operations for tubal occlusion I am certain they will come to regret it. Many patients asking for sterilization are relatively young and both they and their husbands believe it is a minor procedure without risk. I agree that the uterus should be removed if there is any evidence that it is abnormal and I also agree that it is usually best removed vaginally but I am not happy about this prophylactic hysterectomy idea. Victor Bonney wrote The load of responsibility that a surgeon shoulders every time he performs an operation is surely great enough without adding to it by meddlesom chippings and choppings.(Full text)


Contact Hamiltonian dynamics is a subject that has still a short history, but with relevant applications in many areas: thermodynamics, cosmology, control theory, and neurogeometry, among others. In recent years there has been a great effort to study this type of dynamics both in theoretical aspects and in its potential applications in geometric mechanics and mathematical physics. This paper is intended to be a review of some of the results that the authors and their collaborators have recently obtained on the subject.


An emergency monitoring system for the elderly, which uses acceleration data measured with an accelerometer, angular velocity data measured with a gyroscope, and heart rate measured with an electrocardiogram, is proposed. The proposed fall detection algorithm uses multiple parameter combinations in which all parameters, calculated using tri-axial accelerations and bi-axial angular velocities, are above a certain threshold within a time period. Further, we propose an emergency detection algorithm that monitors the movements of the fallen elderly person, after a fall is detected. The results show that the proposed algorithms can distinguish various types of falls from activities of daily living with 100% sensitivity and 98.75% specificity. In addition, when falls are detected, the emergency detection rate is 100%. This suggests that the presented fall and emergency detection method provides an effective automatic fall detection and emergency alarm system. The proposed algorithms are simple enough to be implemented into an embedded system such as 8051-based microcontroller with 128 kbyte ROM.


Technology trends prompting architects to consider greater heterogeneity and hardware specialization have exposed an increasing need for vertically integrated research methodologies that can effectively assess performance, area, and energy metrics of future architectures. However, constructing such a methodology with existing tools is a significant challenge due to the unique languages, design patterns, and tools used in functional-level (FL), cycle-level (CL), and register-transfer-level (RTL) modeling. We introduce a new framework called PyMTL that aims to close this computer architecture research methodology gap by providing a unified design environment for FL, CL, and RTL modeling. PyMTL leverages the Python programming language to create a highly productive domain-specific embedded language for concurrent-structural modeling and hardware design. While the use of Python as a modeling and framework implementation language provides considerable benefits in terms of productivity, it comes at the cost of significantly longer simulation times. We address this performance-productivity gap with a hybrid JIT compilation and JIT specialization approach. We introduce Sim JIT, a custom JIT specialization engine that automatically generates optimized C++ for CL and RTL models. To reduce the performance impact of the remaining unspecialized code, we combine Sim JIT with an off-the-shelf Python interpreter with a meta-tracing JIT compiler (PyPy). Sim JIT+PyPy provides speedups of up to 72× for CL models and 200× for RTL models, bringing us within 4-6× of optimized C++ code while providing significant benefits in terms of productivity and usability.


Objective To investigate the protein expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase- 2 (MMP- 2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase- 2 (TIMP- 2) in bone tissues of patients suffering glucocorticoid-induced necrosis of femoral head (GNFH), and to discuss the relationship between glucocorticoid, MMPs/ TIMPs system and GNFH. Methods Bone tissues of femoral head were collected as experimental samples from 35 patients suffering GNFH (experiment group) and 21 patients suffering femoral neck fracture(control group). The ratio of men and women in the two groups were 4:3. The average age was 55.34 years in the experimental group and 55.33 years in the control group(range, 41 to 70 years). The experimental group had received glucocorticoid treatment over three weeks or high-dose glucocorticoid therapy more than one week in recent two years, while the control group had never received hormone therapy more than one week. In these two groups,microstructure of bone tissue in femoral head was detected by HE stain, total protein of bone tissue was extracted and the expression levels of MMP- 2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP- 2 proteins were examined by western blot. Results In experiment group, HE stain showed that bone trabeculae and bone units were replaced by interrupted bone fragments, which were surrounded by inflammation and granulation tissue and few osteocytes were seen in bone lacunae. In control group, bone trabeculae and bone units were formed by complete lamellar bone which surrounded by blood vessels and osteocytes were seen in lacunae. Western blot showed the expression levels of MMP- 2, MMP-9 in experimental group were higher than those in control group (P0.05). The TIMP-1, TIMP- 2 protein expression level in experimental group was lower than that in control group. The differences were statistically significant (P0.05). Conclusions The glucocorticoid-induced necrosis of femoral head may be related to the expression levels of MMPs/ TIMPs in bone tissue.


In the present work, laminar flow of an incompressible thixotropic fluid is investigated numerically above a fixed semi-infinite plate. Assuming that the fluid of interest obeys Harris' thixotropic rheological model, vorticity/stream function formulation will be used to reduce equations of motion. The equations so obtained are then solved numerically using the finite difference technique. It is shown that for the Harris model to represent true thixotropic fluids (in a Lagrangian sense) the thixotropic parameter appearing in this fluid model should be negative. Numerical results obtained at a typical location (say, in the middle of the plate) show that for the viscosity to decrease by an increase in the thixotropic parameter of Harris model, this fluid property should be negative. Interestingly, an increase in the velocity gradient near the wall combined with a decrease in the viscosity of the fluid is predicted to give rise to an increase in the wall shear stress regardless of the fluid being thixotropic.


Hannes Groenewald was one of South Africa's first generation of intensivists and a former President of the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa. After obtaining his MB ChB at the University of Pretoria in 1960 he specialised in surgery at Stellenbosch University and was awarded the MMed in 1968. He planned and commissioned the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the new Tygerberg Hospital and ensured that it was equipped with the most advanced technology available at the time.