We report observations with the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) of six submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) within 3 arcmin of the Distant Red Core (DRC) at z = 4.0, a site of intense cluster-scale star formation, first reported by Oteo et al. We find new members of DRC in three SMG fields; in two fields, the SMGs are shown to lie along the line of sight towards DRC; one SMG is spurious. Although at first sight this rate of association is consistent with earlier predictions, associations with the bright SMGs are rarer than expected, which suggests caution when interpreting continuum overdensities. We consider the implications of all 14 confirmed DRC components passing simultaneously through an active phase of star formation. In the simplest explanation, we see only the tip of the iceberg in terms of star formation and gas available for future star formation, consistent with our remarkable finding that the majority of newly confirmed DRC galaxies are not the brightest continuum emitters in their immediate vicinity. Thus, while ALMA continuum follow-up of SMGs identifies the brightest continuum emitters in each field, it does not necessarily reveal all the gas-rich galaxies. To hunt effectively for protocluster members requires wide and deep spectral-line imaging to uncover any relatively continuum-faint galaxies that are rich in atomic or molecular gas. Searching with short-baseline arrays or single-dish facilities, the true scale of the underlying gas reservoirs may be revealed.


The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of the variable thermal conductivity and the inclined uniform magnetic field on the plane Poiseuille flow of viscous incompressible electrically conducting fluid between two porous plates Joule heating in the presence of a constant pressure gradient through non-uniform plate temperature. It is assumed that the fluid injection occurs at lower plate and fluid suction occurs at upper plate. The governing equations of momentum and energy are transformed into coupled and nonlinear ordinary differential equations using similarity transformation and then solved numerically using finite difference technique. Numerical values for the velocity and temperature have been iterated by Gauss Seidal iteration method in Matlab programming to a suitable number so that the convergent solutions of velocity and temperature are considered to be achieved. Numerical results for the dimensionless velocity and the temperature profiles for different governing parameters such as the Hartmann Number (M) angle of inclination of magnetic field (α), suction Reynolds number (Re) Prandtl Number (Pr), Eckert number (Ec) and variable thermal conductivity (ԑ) have been discussed in detail and presented through graphs.


Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can lead to chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Vaccination against the virus plays an important role in its prevention. Health personnel at risk of infection are recommended to receive the vaccine and to check their immune status thereafterObjective:   To determine Hepatitis B Immune status among vaccinated health personnel in Khartoum state, Sudan.A total of 106 health personnel from different hospitals and doctors'mess in Khartoum and from different jobs were surveyed and their HBV surface antibodies levels were determined by HBsAb (Quantitative) ELISA Kits.Methods: Of the 106 participants in this study, the majority were females 72.6%. The mean age of those involved was 27.69 years, and nurses made for more than 50% of those surveyed. About 56.6% (60) of the health personnel involved took three or more doses of HBV vaccine while the rest received one or two doses. The results of the participants who received three or more doses of the vaccine represented immunity by 70%. In general, about 47.2% (50) of the participants in this study did show excellent immune response (> 100 mIU/mL) and 18.9% (20) had weak protective levels (between 10 and 100 mIU/mL)So, we concluded that HBV post-vaccination immunity status of health personnel in Khartoum state is lower than post-vaccination HBV immunity in other parts of the world. There is an urgent need for a national protocol of HBV vaccination to improve the immunization status of health personnel with a regular checkup of HBV immunity and easy access to a good-quality vaccine.
Keywords: hepatitis B vaccines; healthcare workers; immune response


In this paper we present a novel method for extracting affective information from movies, based on speech data. The method is based on a 2-D representation of speech emotions (Emotion Wheel). The goal is twofold. First, to investigate whether the Emotion Wheel offers a good representation for emotions associated with speech signals. To this end, several humans have manually annotated speech data from movies using the Emotion Wheel and the level of disagreement has been computed as a measure of representation quality. The results indicate that the emotion wheel is a good representation of emotions in speech data. Second, a regression approach is adopted, in order to predict the location of an unknown speech segment in the Emotion Wheel. Each speech segment is represented by a vector of ten audio features. The results indicate that the resulting architecture can estimate emotion states of speech from movies, with sufficient accuracy.


Aim and objectives: the aim of this work is to investigate prevalence of subjective and objective factors in patients with TMJ disorders.

Material and methods: this investigation is a part of a prospective study which was started in autumn of 2018. The investigation was performed in Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics in the Department of Maxillofacial surgery and in the Department of Orthodontics. Investigation comprised of three parts – extraoral and intraoral investigation and two questionnaires about the patient's symptoms and health. There were 14 questions in patient's symptoms questionnaire about self-reported pain. In the questionnaire about health there were 9 questions about stress which was felt by the patient. Statistical analysis was performed using "Microsoft Office Excel" and "IBM SPSS Statistics 25" software programs. To determine the statistical relationship between independent variables t-test and χ2 test were used.

Results: from October 4th, 2019 to February 4th, 2020 72 subjects were reffered to the Department of Maxillofacial surgery, Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Kaunas Clinics. 50 eligble subjects were included into this research. Other data of additional 50 subjects was taken from the available earlier database. 80% of the subjects were female and 20% were male. 49% of the subjects were younger than 30 years old. 86,60% of included subjects suffered from pain in the temporomandibular joint area, in 2/3 of them pain was chronic. 97% of the subjects were diagnosed with TMJ disorders, for 49,98% of them had disc dislocation with reduction was diagnosed and for 50,52% – disc dislocation without reduction. All patients experienced stress. For 82,47% of them stress did not have an effect or had only a small effect on their daily life, for 17,53% stress affected their daily life a lot. The most common malocclusion for all types of TMJ disorders was Angle class II malocclusion.

Conclusions: there was a wide range of subjective and objective factors in patients with TMJ disorders. Angle class II malocclusion was the most common in all TMJ disorders.


OBJECTIVES
To identify community characteristics associated with children having elevated blood lead levels (> or = 10 micrograms/dL) and examine whether these characteristics can be used to identify children with elevated blood lead levels.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING
A total of 20,296 children in Monroe County, New York (< 6 years old) who had blood lead testing in the first 12 months after statewide mandated reporting of blood lead tests began.

DESIGN
A logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of children's blood lead levels and community characteristics by using community characteristics of 653 census block groups.

RESULTS
The following community level variables were associated with increased risk of elevated blood lead levels in children: residence within the city [odds ratio (OR), 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.6, 2.7]; block groups with a higher proportion of individuals of Black race (OR, 1.6; CI, 1.4, 2.0); higher screening rate (OR, 1.9; CI, 1.6, 2.4); lower housing value (OR, 1.6; CI, 1.2, 2.0); housing built before 1950 (OR, 1.5; CI, 1.3, 1.8); higher population density (OR, 1.5; CI, 1.3, 1.8); higher rates of poverty (OR, 1.4; CI, 1.2, 1.8); lower percent of high school graduates (OR, 1.3; CI, 1.1, 1.6), and lower rates of owner-occupied housing (OR, 1.2; CI, 1.0, 1.4). Community characteristics were comparable with clinic-based individual risk assessment to identify children with elevated blood lead levels.

CONCLUSIONS
These data demonstrate that community characteristics can be used to develop screening strategies to identify children who have elevated blood lead levels and shift our efforts toward identifying houses containing lead hazards before occupancy and before children are unduly exposed.


Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) within the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME) support normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). However, the heterogeneity of human MSCs has limited the understanding of their contribution to clonal dynamics and evolution to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). We combined three MSC cell surface markers, CD271, VCAM-1 (Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1) and CD146, to isolate distinct subsets of human MSCs from bone marrow aspirates of healthy controls (Control BM). Based on transcriptional and functional analysis, CD271+CD106+CD146+ (NGFR+/VCAM1+/MCAM+/Lin-; NVML) cells display stem cell characteristics, are compatible with murine BM- derived Leptin receptor positive MSCs and provide superior support for normal HSPCs. MSC subsets from 17 patients with MDS demonstrated shared transcriptional changes in spite of mutational heterogeneity in the MDS clones, with loss of preferential support of normal HSPCs by MDS-derived NVML cells. Our data provide a new approach to dissect microenvironment-dependent mechanisms regulating clonal dynamics and progression to MDS.


We investigated the relationship between endocan (a marker of systemic inflammation) and the development of coronary collateral circulation (CCC) as evaluated by coronary angiography in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris. A total of 90 patients (32 poor CCC and 58 good CCC) were included in this study. Endocan levels were determined using a commercially available sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit with high sensitivity and specificity for detection of human endocan. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, low endocan levels were independently associated with good CCC (P < .001). Moreover, low high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were also independently associated with good CCC (P = .020). We found an optimal cutoff point for endocan of 1.7 ng/mL; it predicted the presence of good CCC with a sensitivity of 72.4% and specificity of 65.6% (P < .001). The results of the present study suggest that measurement of endocan level may help clinicians to predict the development of CCC in patients with stable coronary artery disease.


Social applications are one of the fastest growing areas in the Web. However, privacy issues ensue if all information of all users of these applications is stored on a single computer system. With small extensions to Semantic Web technologies and Linked Data concepts, a distributed approach to the social web is possible, where users retain fine-grained control over their data and are still able to combine their data with users on different systems. We describe our concept of a Policy-enabled Linked Data Server (PeLDS) obeying user-defined access policies for the stored information. PeLDS also supports configurationfree distributed authentication. Access policies are expressed in a newly developed compact notation for the Semantic Web Rule Language. Authentication is performed using SSL certificates and the FOAF+SSL verification approach. We evaluate our concept using a prototype implementation and a distributed address book application.


This paper deals with the effect of cutting speed on chip fracture strain in high speed cutting. Firstly, a chip-fracture-strain-measuring device is designed and made according to chip breaking principle. Secondly, experiments are performed by the chip-fracture-strain-measuring device. The experiment results show that chip fracture strain increases first and then diminishes as cutting speed increasing in high speed cutting while feedrate and depth of cut are constant values. Lastly, the effect of cutting speed on chip fracture strain is theoretically analysed from three main factors which affect chip fracture strain. The study above lays a theory and basis for future investigation of chip fracture strain of the other metals and for future investigation the mechanism and chip breaking forecast system of 3-D groove insert in high speed cutting.


In order to meet the ever-increasing bandwidth demand of the users, new "digital subscriber line" (DSL) technologies are being developed. In addition to the traditional differential mode of the telephone line, telecom operators are now looking in to the exploitation of the phantom-mode signal. New transmission line models, using the multiconductor transmission lines theory, were developed to support this extended use. In this paper, it is shown that the phantom mode is an eigenmode of the quad cable system, and hence, according to the theory, there is no crosstalk between this mode and the differential mode.


ABSTRACT:The Northern Plains is a region in central North America where the more humid and fertile prairies of the Midwest transition to the arid and mountainous American West. The point "where the West begins" has captured the imagination of many writers, artists, and sociologists, who have noted that cultural attributes of the residents change along with important divisions in soil composition, flora, fauna, precipitation, and air moisture. However, the degree to which cultural attributes change along with these biophysical characteristics has not received close empirical scrutiny. Agricultural producers are uniquely tied to the landscape, and identifying the values and practices employed by these producers sheds light on how various climatic and physical features shape attitudes toward the environment, the community, and land-use practices. A mail survey (N = 517) to agricultural producers across three Northern Plains states analyzes how environmental attitudes, place attachment, and supplementary land-use preferences to agricultural activity are related to geographic, biophysical, and sociodemographic characteristics associated with the transition zone. Additionally, this study contributes to the literature regarding sociocultural differences between the American West and Midwest, acknowledges weaknesses in this approach, and offer suggestions for future research.


Electrocardiogram (ECG) is an efficient diagnostic tool to monitor the electrical activity of heart. One of the most vital benefit of using telecommunication technologies in medical field is to provide cardiac health care at a distance. Telecardiology is the most
efficient way to provide faster and affordable health care for the cardiac patients located at rural areas. Early detection of cardiac disorders can minimize cardiac death rates. In real time monitoring process, ECG data from a patient usually takes large storage space in the order of gigabytes (GB). Hence, compression of bulky ECG signal is a common requirement for faster transmission of cardiac signals using wireless technologies. Several
techniques such as the Fourier transform based methods, wavelet transform based methods, etc., have been reported for compression of ECG data. Though Fourier transform
is suitable for analyzing the stationary signals. An improved version, the wavelet transform allows the analysis of non-stationary signal. It provides a uniform resolution for all the scales, however, wavelet transform faces difficulties like uniformly poor resolution
due to limited size of the basic wavelet function and it is nonadaptive in nature. A data adaptive method to analyse non-stationary signal is based on empirical mode
decomposition (EMD), where the bases are derived from the multivariate data which are nonlinear and non-stationary. A new ECG signal compression technique based on
EMD is proposed, in which first EMD technique is applied to decompose the ECG signal into several intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Next, downsampling, discrete cosine transform (DCT), window filtering and Huffman encoding processes are used sequentially to compress the ECG signal. The compressed ECG is then transmitted as short messageservice (SMS) message using a global system for mobile communications (GSM) modem. First the AT-command '+CMGF' is used to set the SMS to text mode. Next, the GSM modem uses the AT-command '+CMGS' to send a SMS message. The received text SMS messages are transferred to a personal computer (PC) using blue-tooth. All text
SMS messages are combined in PC as per the received sequence and fed as data input to decompress the compressed ECG data. The decompression method which is used to reconstruct the original ECG signal consists of Huffman decoding, inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) and spline interpolation. The performance of the compression and decompression techniques are evaluated in terms of compression ratio (CR) and percent root mean square difference (PRD) respectively by using both European ST-T database and Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Beth Israel Hospital (MIT-BIH) arrhythmia
database. The average values of CR and PRD for selected ECG records of European ST-T database are found to be 23.5:1 and 1.38 respectively. All 48 ECG records of
MIT-BIH arrhythmia database are used for comparison purpose and the average values of CR and PRD are found to be 23.74:1 and 1.49 respectively. The reconstructed
ECG signal is then used for detection of cardiac disorders like bradycardia, tachycardia and ischemia. The preprocessing stage of the detection technique filters the normalized signal to reduce noise components and detects the QRS-complexes. Next, ECG feature extraction, ischemic beat classification and ischemic episode detection processes are applied sequentially to the filtered ECG by using rule based medical knowledge. The
ST-segment and T-wave are the two features generally used for ischemic beat classification. As per the recommendation of ESC (European Society of cardiology) the ischemic episode detection procedure considers minimum 30s duration of signal. The performance of the ischemic episode detection technique is evaluated in terms of sensitivity (Se) and positive predictive accuracy (PPA) by using European ST-T database. This technique achieves an average Se and PPA of 83.08% and 92.42% respectively.


In this article, (NH4)2TiF6, SrNO3 and H3BO3 were used as raw materials to prepare the precursor solution with the ratio of AHFT/SN/BA=1:1:3. The thin films of SrTiO3 were fabricated on the functional silicon substrates (100) by self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with the liquid phase deposition (LPD). This article also studied the effects of wet state and the deposition temperature of the precursor solution before and after the functionalization of silicon substrate on the thin film growth. The results indicated that after the immersion in OTS for 30min, the surface contact angle of the silicon substrate changed from 24.64° to 100.91°. The substrate appeared hydrophobic property and it was irradiated by UV light for 30min. Then the surface contact angle of the substrate decreased to 5.00°. The substrate appeared hydrophilicity. The concentration of the precursor solution was 0.025 mol/L, the deposition temperature was 40°C and the deposition time was 9h, which were all helpful to SrTiO3 crystallization. XRD and SEM were used to characterize the physical phase of thin film and surface morphology at 600 °C with annealing and heat retaining for 2h. The results indicated that the thin film prepared by the mono-crystal Si substrate was SrTiO3 thin film with better crystalline. On the crystal surfaces of (110), (100), (200) and (211), there appeared the obvious diffraction peaks. The SrTiO3 grains on the surface had the clear outline and were regular and long columnar crystals.


We consider steady potential heat conduction of a cylindrical composite material with the special geometry. The matrix is modelling by the unit disc with di®erent conductivity of six equal sectors. Inclusions (having di®erent conductivity too) are symmetrically situated discs non-intersecting boundary of sectors. Mixed boundary conditions on parts of the boundary of matrix and matrix-inclusions leads to di®erent model of composite materials. A new method to study the corresponding mathematical model is proposed. It is based on the reduction of the problem to the vector-matrix boundary value problem for analytic vectors. The method is connected with the approach by Zhorovina and Mityushev to the study of R-linear boundary value on a fan-shaped domain.


We report the investigation of the reduction of the group velocity propagation resulting from the steep change of the refractive index by the coherent population oscillation in an erbium ion-doped optical fiber. We study fully the influences of the ion density and the temperature on the fractional and time delay. We find that the fractional delay can be decreased at high or low temperature. Moreover, we conclude that the temperature can be used as a control parameter to reduce distortion.


Preseptal cellulitis is a worrying condition in children. One of the commonest causes is from insect bite. The Charlie ant or Paederus fuscipes has been reported as a dermatitis-causing agent due to its toxin, pederin. The aim is to report a case of preseptal cellulitis secondary to Charlie ant insect bite. A two-year-old girl presented with bilateral eyelid swelling, redness, and pain for two days. The Charlie ant was at the nasal bridge before the presentation. There was presence of generalised bilateral eyelid swelling, redness with multiple pustules, excoriated skin, and eye discharge. She was admitted and started on antibiotics. The pustules ruptured, left the skin exposed, and her condition improved. Preseptal cellulitis is a contiguous spread of infection. An attack by Charlie ant has become a public health concern. There is no specific treatment for this condition. Early detectionmay prevent complications.


Neural networks were evolved through genetic algorithms to focus minimax search in the game of Othello. At each level of the search tree, the focus networks decide which moves are promising enough to be explored further. The networks effectively hide problem states from minimax based on the knowledge they have evolved about the limitations of minimax and the evaluation function. Focus networks were encoded in marker-based chromosomes and were evolved against a full-width minimax opponent that used the same evaluation function. The networks were able to guide the search away from poor information, resulting in stronger play while examining fewer states. When evolved with a highly sophisticated evaluation function of the Bill program, the system was able to match Bill's performance while only searching a subset of the moves.


Whole-cell hydrolysates were prepared from 58 strains of nocardiae and streptomycetes. Strains morphologically intermediate between the two genera and morphological variants of the same strains were included. Paper chromatograms made from the whole-cell hydrolysates clearly demonstrated meso-diaminopimelic acid as a major constituent of cultures of Nocardia spp., and LL-diaminopimelic acid as a major constituent of cultures of Streptomyces spp. In cultures of ten strains of N. madurae and of three of N. pelletieri, meso-diaminopimelic acid predominated, thereby supporting the assignment of these species to the genus Nocardia.


The Office of Communications (Ofcom), established by an Act of Parliament in 2003, is a new sector wide regulator in the UK, required to further the interests of what has been termed the 'citizen-consumer'. Using a critical discursive approach, this article charts the unfolding debate among stakeholders in the new regulatory environment as they attempt to define the interests of citizens, consumers and the citizen-consumer. Ofcom has preferred to align the terms 'citizen' and 'consumer' so that the interests of both may be met, as far as possible, through an economic agenda of market regulation. Among civil society groups, there is growing concern that the citizen interest is becoming marginalised as the consumer discourse becomes more widespread. We conclude by advocating the development of a positive definition of the citizen interests, distinct from the consumer interests, for the media and communications environment.


Methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs) are metalloenzymes that cleave the N-terminal methionine from newly synthesized peptides and proteins. These MetAP enzymes are present in bacteria, and knockout experiments have shown that MetAP activity is essential for cell life, suggesting that MetAPs are good antibacterial drug targets. MetAP enzymes are also present in the human host and selectivity is essential. There have been significant structural biology efforts and over 65 protein crystal structures of bacterial MetAPs are deposited into the PDB. This review highlights the available crystallographic data for bacterial MetAPs. Structural comparison of bacterial MetAPs with human MetAPs highlights differences that can lead to selectivity. In addition, this review includes the chemical diversity of molecules that bind and inhibit the bacterial MetAP enzymes. Analysis of the structural biology and chemical space of known bacterial MetAP inhibitors leads to a greater understanding of this antibacterial target and the likely development of potential antibacterial agents.


The current CAPP system has complicated operation, not high degree of intelligence, can not meet the needs of many varieties of small batch production. This paper combines the method of parts surface elements describing and method of parts coding. Formed by the 20-bit code to establish a hybrid coding system, used rough set to extract the parts feature, used the information system method to reduce the rule of processing, and from match the feature and the expert knowledge base, Automatic selection processing methods to generate process routes; use database technology to build parts diagrams and other databases, semi-automatic process documentation.


Background: Regular use of dental services has been associated with optimal oral health. Reports in some parts of Nigeria have shown the poor utilization of dental services, but there is a paucity of information relating to oral health care seeking behavior in the South-South region of Nigeria. Aim: To determine the pattern of utilization and identify barriers to utilization of dental services among children. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done among children aged 12-15 years in secondary schools in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Information was elicited by means of a self-administered structured questionnaire. These included sociodemographic characteristics, views on dental visits, reported visits during the previous year, pattern of dental visits, and the barriers to utilization. Demographic variables and associations were tested using Chi-squared tests with the level of statistical significance set at P < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. Results: There were 200 school children; 98 (49%) males and 102 (51%) females with a mean age of 13.3 (΁1.1) years. Dental visits were deemed important by 187 (93.5%) children, and 32.0% respondents suggested that visits should be when there are symptoms. Only 42 (21%) pupils had been to the dentist in the last 12 months. The barriers to utilization of dental services majorly included no perceived needs (64.3%). Demographic variables had no significant association with reported visits and pattern of visits. Conclusion: Utilization of dental services among these school children was low and the major barrier was no perceived need. Oral health awareness needs to be improved on the importance of a regular checkup.


Green initiatives are everywhere. Bio-fuels, wind energy, renewable fibers are just a few of the environmental initiatives that have recently made headlines. Meanwhile some of the greatest innovations have been in the development and utilization of high performance, environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs). This paper/presentation focuses on the innovations, features, benefits, strengths and limitation of the different types of EALs. It explores classification of base fluids and additives as well as the requirements of finished lubricants. It compares the performance of conventional petroleum products and biolubricants. The different definitions of environmental acceptability why that is important will be explored. The regulatory driving forces will be identified as well as the requirements for each. The considerations for choosing the type of EAL that is most applicable to specific applications will be studied. Finally, the best maintenance practices to ensure long fluid and equipment life will be discussed.


Biological effects of ultrasound with reference to possible toxic effects on the fetus. K. J. W. Taylor and Mary Dyson (introduced by L. Stimmler). (Department of Anatomy, Guy's Hospital, London SEl 9RT.) Ultrasound is widely used for diagnosis in obstetrics using the short-pulse echo technique (sonar). This may be used at a very early stage of gestation. Fetuses may also be irradiated with Doppler machines, either to detect fetal circulation or to monitor the fetal heart during labour. With increased dosage, ultrasound can produce damage in many ways by nonthermal, noncavitational mechanisms. One dramatic effect of a simulated Doppler regimen is complete red cell stasis. Using longer pulses than in sonal regimen, severe damage may be shown to blood vessels, lysosomes, and to the cell membrane. At present, no thresholds can be established for these effects. With current diagnostic techniques, local intensities may be greatly increased by technical malfunction, focusing effects from the bony pelvic concavity, reflection by air in the intestine, and standing wave formation. The neonatal paediatrician is in a unique position to observe the results of antenatal irradiation. Experiments are in progress on the effects of irradiation with simulated sonar and Doppler machines on chick embryonic development. This should yield information about the effects of ultrasonically-induced streaming during differentiation of the embryo.


The C57BL mouse is the centrepiece of efforts to use gene-targeting technology to understand cerebellar pathology, thus creating a need for a detailed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) atlas of the cerebellum of this strain. In this study we present a methodology for systematic delineation of the vermal and hemispheric lobules of the C57BL/6J mouse cerebellum in magnetic resonance images. We have successfully delineated 38 cerebellar and cerebellar-related structures. The higher signal-to-noise ratio achieved by group averaging facilitated the identification of anatomical structures. In addition, we have calculated average region volumes and created probabilistic maps for each structure. The segmentation method and the probabilistic maps we have created will provide a foundation for future studies of cerebellar disorders using transgenic mouse models.


While comprehensive and ongoing competitive intelligence (CI) is employed in a variety of industries to provide valuable input for broad strategic decisions, the construction industry lags behind in adopting this technique. This paper presents a CI model for use in the construction contractor selection process, which is a critical element of construction project management and one that inherently entails risk and risk management. The use of CI for contractor selection is an important development in light of the realization on the part of many companies that the diffuse nature of the information and lack of robust analysis create numerous inconveniences during the decisionmaking process. Based on the application of the CI method for a competitive environment, the proposed model has the potential to improve the process for assessing and selecting contractors. This paper describes the proposed model, including background information, structural details, guidelines for its use and implementation, and key data analysis findings.


BACKGROUND: Although community pharmacists have historically been paid primarily for drug distribution and dispensing services, medication therapy management (MTM) services evolved in the 1990s as a means for pharmacists and other providers to assist physicians and patients in managing clinical, service, and cost outcomes of drug therapy. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA 2003) and the subsequent implementation of Medicare Part D in January 2006 for the more than 20 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the Part D benefit formalized MTM services for a subset of high-cost patients. Although Medicare Part D has provided a new opportunity for defining the value of pharmacist-provided MTM services in the health care system, few publications exist which quantify changes in the provision of pharmacist-provided MTM services over time. OBJECTIVES: To (a) describe the changes over a 7-year period in the primary types of MTM services provided by community pharmacies that have contracted with drug plan sponsors through an MTM administrative services company, and (b) quantify potential MTM-related cost savings based on pharmacists' self-assessments of the likely effects of their interventions on health care utilization. METHODS: Medication therapy management claims from a multistate MTM administrative services company were analyzed over the 7-year period from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2006. Data extracted from each MTM claim included patient demographics (e.g., age and gender), the drug and type that triggered the intervention (e.g., drug therapeutic class and therapy type as acute, intermittent, or chronic), and specific information about the service provided (e.g., Reason, Action, Result, and Estimated Cost Avoidance [ECA]). ECA values are derived from average national health care utilization costs, which are applied to pharmacist self-assessment of the reasonable and foreseeable outcome of the intervention. ECA values are updated annually for medical care inflation. RESULTS: From a database of nearly 100,000 MTM claims, a convenience sample of 50 plan sponsors was selected. After exclusion of claims with missing or potentially duplicate data, there were 76,148 claims for 23,798 patients from community pharmacy MTM providers in 47 states. Over the 7-year period from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2006, the mean ([SD] median) pharmacy reimbursement was $8.44 ([$5.19] $7.00) per MTM service, and the mean ([SD] median) ECA was $93.78 ([$1,022.23] $5.00). During the 7-year period, pharmacist provided MTM interventions changed from primarily education and monitoring for new or changed prescription therapies to prescriber consultations regarding cost-efficacy management (Pearson chi-square P less than 0.001). Services also shifted from claims involving acute medications (e.g. penicillin antibiotics, macrolide antibiotics, and narcotic analgesics) to services involving chronic medications (e.g., lipid lowering agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitors, and beta-blockers; P less than 0.001), resulting in significant changes in the therapeutic classes associated with MTM claims and an increase in the proportion of older patients served (P less than 0.001). These trends resulted in higher pharmacy reimbursements and greater ECA per claim over time (P less than 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: MTM interventions over a 7-year period evolved from primarily the provision of patient education involving acute medications towards consultation-type services for chronic medications. These changes were associated with increases in reimbursement amounts and pharmacist-estimated cost savings. It is uncertain if this shift in service type is a result of clinical need, documentation requirements, or reimbursement opportunities.


When developing critical control system it is appropriate to resort to modeling, simulation and rapid prototyping tools since the early design phases. A design approach based on the rapid prototyping of the plant model can be effectively adopted when non-conventional or new control systems have to be developed, or when the required performance are very demanding. Furthermore, such an approach is the only one viable when the plant is not available yet and/or the testing on-site is very risky, which is usually the case for fusion experimental reactors (tokamaks). This paper presents a flexible architecture for the model-based design of control systems, which permits to perform rapid prototyping and hardware-in-the-loop validation. The proposed architecture has been recently adopted for the rapid prototyping of the Central Safety System for Nuclear Risk of the ITER tokamak.


The ammoniogenetic capacity of some L-amino acids in rat heart muscle was studied. It was shown that [15N]leucine, [15N]glutamate and [15N]aspartate are involved in ammonia production without being the major source of this compound. The amount of [15N]ammonia produced by [15N]amino acids makes up to 0.25% of its total content. The deamination of L-[15N]leucine catalyzed by 2-oxoglutarate occurred at the highest rate. The [15N]aspartate and [15N]glutamate appeared to be less efficient precursors of ammonia. The bulk of amino nitrogen of L-[15N]amino acids was incorporated into the proteins and free amino acids in heart muscle.


Drawing on the expertise and experience of contributors from a wide range of academic, professional and judicial backgrounds, this handbook critically analyses the laws, policies and practices that govern detention, punishment and the enforcement of sentences in the international criminal justice context. Comprehensive and innovative, it also explores broader normative questions related to international punishment and makes recommendations for the international penal system's development.


Allergic asthma is an inflammatory lung disease driven by Th2. We have shown that both Th1 and Th2 sensitization to inhaled OVA depend on the presence and concentration of LPS, where high concentrations (LPShi) induce Th1 and low concentrations (LPSlo), Th2. Stromal cells (SCs), such as airway SCs, exacerbate established airway disease; however, little is known about their role early during sensitization. In this study, using bone marrow chimeric mice to restrict TLR4 signaling to either the SC compartment (SC+HPC−) or the hematopoietic cell (HPC) compartment (SC−HPC+), we report that HPC TLR4 is necessary and sufficient for Th1 sensitization to OVA-LPShi, whereas TLR4 in both compartments is required for Th2 sensitization to OVA-LPSlo. Surprisingly, although SC+HPC− mice were unable to generate a Th1 response to OVA-LPShi, they instead mounted a robust Th2 response, indicating that in the presence of higher concentrations of LPS, SC TLR4 is sufficient for Th2 sensitization. We show that the SC TLR4 response to LPS leads to induction of Th2-inducing dendritic cells that upregulate Notch ligand Jagged-1 but not Delta-4. Furthermore, airway SCs upregulate thymic stromal lymphopoietin in response to exposure to both OVA-LPSlo and OVA-LPShi. These studies demonstrate that SC TLR4 signaling is critically involved in Th2 but not Th1 sensitization to inhaled Ag.


Abstract We examine the effects of the interaction between lobbying and legislative bargaining on policy formation. Two systems are considered: a US-style congressional system and a European-style parliamentary system. First, we show that the policies generated are not intermediate between policies that would result from pure lobbying or from pure legislative bargaining. Second, we show that in congressional systems the resulting policies are strongly skewed in favor of the agenda-setter. In parliamentary systems they are skewed in favor of the coalition, but within the coalition there are many possible outcomes (there are multiple equilibria) with the agenda-setter having no particular advantage. Third, we show that equilibrium contributions are very small, despite the fact that lobbying has a marked effect on policies.


Chiral N,N'-disubstituted squaramide has been found to undergo self-assembly in a variety of alcoholic solvents at low concentrations leading to the formation of novel nanostructured supramolecular alcogels. The gels responded to thermal, mechanical, optical and chemical stimuli. Solubility studies, gelation ability tests and computer modeling of a series of structurally related squaramides proved the existence of a unique combination of non-covalent molecular interactions and favorable hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance in that drive the anisotropic growth of alcogel networks. The results have also revealed a remarkable effect of ultrasound on both the gelation kinetics and the properties of the alcogels.


Melatonin, a pineal hormone, because of its wide activity spectrum, is a subject of much current interest for biologists and physicians. It has been demonstrated that pineal gland is not an exclusive source of melatonin synthesis. Melatonin synthesis has been found in different sites of the organism, and a major source of extrapineal melatonin is the gastrointestinal tract. The role of melatonin in gastrointestinal functions is considered in the present review.


Despite tremendous progress in using additives to enhance the power conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaic devices, significant challenges remain in controlling the microstructure of the active layer, such as at internal donor-acceptor interfaces. Here, we demonstrate that the addition of low molecular weight poly(3-hexylthiophene)s (low-MW P3HT) to the P3HT/fullerene active layer increases device performance up to 36% over an unmodified control device. Low MW P3HT chains ranging in size from 1.6 to 8.0 kg/mol are blended with 77.5 kg/mol P3HT chains and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) fullerenes while keeping P3HT/PCBM ratio constant. Optimal photovoltaic device performance increases are obtained for each additive when incorporated into the bulk heterojunction blend at loading levels that are dependent upon additive MW. Small-angle X-ray scattering and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy imaging reveal that domain sizes are approximately invariant at low loading levels of the low-MW P3HT additive, and wide-angle X-ray scattering suggests that P3HT crystallinity is unaffected by these additives. These results suggest that oligomeric P3HTs compatibilize donor-acceptor interfaces at low loading levels but coarsen domain structures at higher loading levels and they are consistent with recent simulations results. Although results are specific to the P3HT/PCBM system, the notion that low molecular weight additives can enhance photovoltaic device performance generally provides a new opportunity for improving device performance and operating lifetimes.


Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive malignant brain tumor characterized by rapid proliferation and propensity to infiltrate healthy brain tissue. Despite aggressive standard of care therapy GBM always recur, mainly because of its high invasiveness and chemoresistance to alkylating drugs. In this Thesis, we evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and safety of the nanomedicine hydrogel Lauroyl-gemcitabine lipid nanocapsule (GemC12-LNC) for the local treatment of GBM. GemC12-LNC was prepared by a phase-inversion technique process. It is injectable, adapted for brain implantation and able to sustainably release the drug in vitro. In healthy mice brain, no inflammation, apoptosis or microglia activation was observed after exposure to the hydrogel suggesting that this system is well tolerated and suitable for an application in the brain. Intratumoral injection of GemC12-LNC hydrogel in a U87subcutaneous and orthotopic GBM model significantly reduced tumor growth and increased the animal's median survival compared to the controls, respectively. Moreover, to mimic the clinical setting, a reproducible tumor resection technique of U87 GBM and 9L gliosarcoma was developed and the GemC12-LNC hydrogel slowed down the formation of recurrences in mice and rats brain, respectively. In conclusion, the feasibility efficacy and safety of GemC12-LNC have been shown in vitro and in several preclinical in vivo models showing that this nanomedicine hydrogel is a promising and innovative delivery system for the local treatment of GBM. This gel can be directly injected in the GBM resection cavity, has a very simple formulation and combines the properties of nanomedicines and hydrogels.


This paper provides an identification method for three-parameter models i.e. first order with dead time models (FODT) and second order with dead time (SODT) models. The proposed identification method is based on step response and can be easily implemented using digital microprocessors. The proposed method first identifies the order of the plant i.e. first order or second order from the behavior of the plant with constant input. After the order of the plant is determined, a test step input is applied to the system and the three parameters of the plant are obtained from the corresponding response of the plant. The output of the plant need not to be zero when the test signal is applied. The efficacy of proposed algorithms is verified through simulation.


PURPOSE
To assess corneal structure and the effects of acute hyperglycemia on corneal function in subjects with type 1 diabetes.

METHODS
Twenty-one diabetic and 21 nondiabetic volunteers of similar age were recruited. Baseline measurements of intraocular pressure (IOP), corneal thickness (CT), corneal autofluorescence (CAF), corneal sensitivity (CST), central and temporal endothelial cell density (DenC and DenT), and coefficient of variation in cell area (CVC and CVT) were taken. Corneal edema was induced, and the percent recovery per hour (PRPH) from hypoxic edema and endothelial permeability to fluorescein were determined. These procedures were done twice in the diabetic subjects under controlled euglycemic (EG) and hyperglycemic (HG) conditions, and once in control subjects while they were fasting.

RESULTS
Substantial differences in baseline measurements were found for IOP, CT, CAF, CST, DenC, and CVT. The mean +/- SE corneal swelling in the HG diabetic subjects (51.6 +/- 2.3 microm) was less when compared to the swelling in the EG diabetic subjects (56.2 +/- 1.87 microm, P = 0.05) and the control subjects (58.9 +/- 1.56 microm, P = 0.011). During euglycemia, the mean +/- SE PRPH was less in diabetic subjects than in control subjects (65.0 +/- 3.20 versus 73.8 +/- 1.81%/hour, P = 0.02) but did not differ in diabetic subjects under EG and HG conditions (65.0 +/- 3.20 versus 67.7 +/- 3.1%/hour, P = 0.56). No significant differences were noted between groups in endothelial permeability.

CONCLUSIONS
In addition to differences in baseline corneal structure, diabetic subjects showed less corneal swelling and reduced corneal recovery from hypoxia than did control subjects. During acute hyperglycemia, corneal swelling was less than during euglycemia in diabetic subjects, which suggests that hyperglycemia affected corneal hydration control.


Abstract This content analysis, grounded in social cognitive theory, examined the nutritional quality of food, the outcomes associated with consuming food, the characters who reference food, and the context of food on narrative tween (9–14 year olds) television programs shown on Disney, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Teen Nick, and Cartoon Network in the 2004–2013 seasons. Nutritious foods were portrayed more frequently than non-nutritious foods, and the outcomes of consuming food were mostly neutral, followed by positive, and then negative outcomes. Attractive characters most frequently experienced positive outcomes for consuming nutritious foods, whereas average-looking characters most frequently experienced negative outcomes for consuming nutritious food. Significant two-way interactions were found for nutritional quality with both food purpose and food occasion. Results are discussed in light of the healthful messages portrayed on tween television and the potential for modeling effects among tweens.


Assembling methods using 2-azidoacrylamides having a nucleophilic amino group are disclosed. Divergent transformations of the amine-type trivalent platform were accomplished with a wide variety of electrophiles to obtain a broad range of 2-azidoacrylamides involving a fluorosulfonyl group-containing trivalent platform. Consecutive click conjugations including triazole formation, thiol-ene-type 1,4-addition, and SuFEx reactions realized the efficient assembly of easily available simple modules.


This thesis provides an analysis of the proposed currency union of the fifteen countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The study attempts to answer the following questions: (1) is ECOWAS an optimum currency area? In other words, are ECOWAS countries good candidates for a currency union? (2) are the ECOWAS countries ready for an independent currency union? And (3) are the economic benefits to the ECOWAS countries justifiable for a currency union?
To address these research questions we applied the framework of the Optimum currency area theory pioneered by Mundell (1961), McKinnon (1963) and Kenen (1969). To investigate the impact of currency union and exchange rate volatility on intra-ECOWAS trade we estimate the augmented version of the gravity model of international trade using panel data over the period 1980-2012. After controlling for zero trade we found that currency union has a negative and non-significant impact on exports and imports and negative and significant impact on total trade. Whatever trade measure we use, both before and after controlling for zero trade, there is no evidence to support the trade creation argument of currency union in the decades of WAEMU existence. We found the effect of exchange rate volatility to be negative and significant on exports, imports and total trade before controlling for zero trade but the effect on all the three trade measures becomes statistically insignificant after the control for zero trade. We carried out perturbations with different exchange rate volatility measures and found our results to be insensitive and robust in all cases. We also found that while ECOWAS countries trade extensively with the rest of the world, trade with each other is very low. With a cluster analysis methodology we found a high degree of heterogeneity in ECOWAS countries' macroeconomic characteristics especially those that are not members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). While the eight WAEMU countries clustered together, the others are in fragmented clusters indicating the degree of dissimilarity. These findings are robust even with the use of alternative agglomerative methods of merging the countries.
We conclude from our findings that ECOWAS is not an optimum currency area and that the countries are not good candidates for a currency union which makes them at this stage not ready for a full-fledged currency union. The thesis provides no evidence that the level of trade within ECOWAS justifies the formation of a currency union.


The article focused on the teaching materials of the sixth grade mathematics field and selected four units with the topics of "measurement and actual calculation" of figures and space to design the mathematical trail teaching activities with the characteristics of the school and expect to provide mathematical trail teaching activities for the sixth grade students and connect the mathematical courses in the classroom with the lives of the surrounding for increasing the students' interests and effects on mathematics. Key word: Mathematical trail, mathematics learning, elementary student ********** Mathematics should be closely connected with everyone's life. American educational philosopher John Dewey had the claim of "education is life". We can say that "mathematics is life". Freudenthal (1973) proposed the idea of realistic mathematics and indicated that mathematical education should be based on cognitive development in children, and treat realistic situations in their lives as a core allowing children the ability to apply mathematical knowledge through the activities of life and recognize the mathematical relation and laws from experience to further internalize the concept. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000) also emphasized that mathematics education at school should be based on the children's informal mathematical concept and experience developed in living situations, and the mathematical knowledge learned from school to design the question situations for children to discuss, solve, reason, prove and communicate. The grade 4-9 curriculum outline proposed by The Ministry of Education of Taiwan "treated the students as the subjects", "focused on life experience" and cultivated the students the "mobile" basic capacities so that students could look for related clues from life experience and connect the academic subjects by a meaningful topic. In this situation, knowledge is involved in the experience, the students' learning interests are enhanced and more abilities are stimulated (Ministry of Education of Taiwan, 2003). Thus, teachers should try to guide students with the issues "related to the students' daily life experience" and look for materials connected with the students' lives in order to design teaching materials to trigger students' motivations. The "Mathematical trail" was the teaching material meeting the students' life experience and functioned as the teachers reference (Tsai, 2000). The "Campus mathematical trail" used the present environmental resources on campus as the teaching materials. Through concrete teaching activities and following the units of teaching activities, it edited proper teaching material activities and employed the findings and solutions of mathematical problems as the teaching method of mathematics involved in lives. When the teachers led the students to walk on the mathematical trail outside the classroom, the habitual restriction of the teachers' instruction was lost. Since the teachers didn't have black or white boards, verbal descriptions and students' interaction would increase strengthening the diversity of mathematical teaching and learning. The mathematical problems specifically presented by the mathematical trail were actually very unique and these questions could not be found elsewhere. It selected the local unique hardware model and turned the materials related to mathematics into mathematical questions so that the students would feel that they were surrounded by mathematics-related materials. (Huang, 2005). This article focuses on the teaching materials of the sixth grade mathematics field. It selects four units with the topics of "measurement and actual calculation" of figures and space to design the mathematical trail of teaching activities with the characteristics of the school. It expects to provide mathematical trail teaching activities for the sixth grade students and connect the mathematical courses in the classroom with the lives of the surrounding for the purpose of increasing students' interests and effects on mathematics. …


Cruciferous vegetables are a major source of glucosinolate-derived bioactive compounds such as isothiocyanates, which have been shown in animal and in vitro studies to inhibit cancer growth and progression. Few studies have investigated cruciferous vegetable intake after diagnosis and breast cancer outcomes. Using data from the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project, which includes prospective data from U.S. and Chinese breast cancer survivors, we evaluated the association of cruciferous vegetables with breast cancer outcomes. Analyses included 11,390 women diagnosed with stage I–III invasive breast cancer (1990–2006) from four cohorts. Cruciferous vegetable intake (g/day) was assessed using food frequency questionnaires (mean of 22 months postdiagnosis). Study heterogeneity was evaluated by the Q statistic; hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using delayed-entry Cox regression models stratified by study. After a median follow-up of 9.0 years, 1,725 deaths and 1,421 recurrences were documented. In pooled analyses using study-specific quartiles, cruciferous vegetable intake was not associated with breast cancer outcomes, adjusting for known clinical prognostic factors and selected lifestyle factors. HRs (95% CIs) by increasing quartiles (reference = lowest quartile) were 1.08 (0.93–1.25), 1.01 (0.87–1.18), and 1.10 (0.95–1.28) for recurrence (Ptrend = 0.34) and 1.01 (0.88–1.15), 0.97 (0.84–1.11), and 0.99 (0.86–1.13) for total mortality (Ptrend = 0.84). No associations were observed for subgroups defined by estrogen receptor status, stage, or tamoxifen therapy. Cruciferous vegetable intake at approximately two years after diagnosis was not associated with recurrence or mortality. Our results do not support an association between postdiagnosis cruciferous vegetable intake and breast cancer outcomes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(8); 1451–6. ©2013 AACR.


Abstract The increase in demand for the limited raw water resources in the Palestinian Territories has led to the proposals for use of treated wastewater as one alternative for alleviating water shortages and for optimizing the use of water resources. Wastewater reuse is a multi-discipline and important element of water resources development. Wastewater usage releases high quality water for drinking and other purposes. Quantitative, economic, and social aspects related to wastewater reuse in the West Bank are discussed. Through analyses of the estimated cost and expected water quantities, the paper investigates the economic feasibility of wastewater reuse. Social acceptance is elicited by means of questionnaires, which have been applied to farmers and inhabitants in different areas of the West Bank. Wastewater reuse can compensate for about 10 percent of irrigated agriculture, which contributes 35 percent of the total value of the Palestinian agricultural sector. The paper presents an analysis of the main aspects of wastewater reuse and defines an approach to the beneficial use of wastewater as a component that should be considered in the strategy for the overall management of water resources in the Palestinian Territories.


Because of their intrinsic ability to induce physiological effects in humans
at low doses, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a unique group of emerging
environmental pollutants. A number of studies have confirmed the occurrence of different PPCPs in
the environment, which raises concerns about possible adverse effects on humans and wildlife. The
removal of PPCPs from wastewaters has become a major activity to reduce pollution due to their adverse
effects on humans and aquatic ecosystems.

This study aimed to design a Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) model
for the removal of 57 PPCPs from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of historical data obtained
from plants located in South Korea. The target compounds of PPCPs were optimised geometrically
using a Forcite-Geometry code, assembled in Material Studio 2016.

The removal efficiency of PPCPs is dependent on several preliminary molecular descriptors
including rotatable bonds (RBs), hydrogen bond donor (HBD), total molecular mass (TMM), binding
energy (BE), atom count (AC), element count (EC), total energy (TE), total dipole (TD), highest occupied
molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). A Genetic
Function Approximation (GFA) method was adopted to perform regression analysis and create correlation
between experimental data (literature) and measured data (QSAR model).

A QSAR model equation was established and used to predict removal efficiency of 57
PPCPs; the results obtained showed goodness of fit, R2 greater than 0.90 indicating that the internal
and external validations were also performed on the model.


Jenike's radial solution, widely used in the design of materials-handling equipment, is a similarity solution of steady-state continuum equations for the flow under gravity of granular material through an infinite, right-circular cone. In this paper we study how the geometry of the hopper influences this solution. Using perturbation theory, we compute a first-order correction to the (steady-state) velocity resulting from a small change in hopper geometry, either distortion of the cross section or tilting away from vertical. Unlike for the Jenike solution, all three components of the correction velocity are nonzero; i.e., there is secondary circulation in the perturbed flow.


A series of six novel disulfide-bond-linked Gemini amphiphiles have been synthesized using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as hydrophilic units and alkoxy aryl moieties as hydrophobic units. The self-assembling behaviour of the resulting amphiphiles was studied using fluorescence spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The inner hydrophobic core with an alkyl and fluoroalkyl chain aggregates differently in aqueous medium as evidenced by a cryo-TEM study. Also they are found to be capable of encapsulating a lipophilic guest. The encapsulation behaviour was studied using Nile red as a model hydrophobic dye and extended further by including curcumin and an anti-cancerous drug doxorubicin. Furthermore, for biological evaluation, their cytotoxicity and cellular uptake were studied. The presence of stimuli responsive disulfide linkages and the ester functionality provides the possibility of redox responsive and enzymatic release of the encapsulated cargo, which was studied by using various concentrations of glutathione (GSH) and an immobilized lipase Novozym 435.


Abstract A large literature assessing personality across the lifespan has used the Big Five as an organizing framework, with evidence that variation along different dimensions predicts aspects of psychopathology. Parent reports indicate that these dimensions emerge as early as preschool, but there is a need for objective, observational measures of personality in young children, as parent report can be confounded by the parents' own personality and psychopathology. The current study observationally coded personality dimensions in a clinically enriched sample of preschoolers. A heterogeneous group of preschoolers oversampled for depression (N = 299) completed 1–8 structured observational tasks with an experimenter. Big Five personality dimensions of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience were coded using a "thin slice" technique with 7,820 unique ratings available for analysis. Thin slice ratings of personality dimensions were reliably observed in preschoolers ages 3–6 years. Within and across-task, consistency was also evident, with consistency estimates higher than found in adult samples. Divergent validity was limited, with coders distinguishing between three (extraversion/openness; agreeableness/conscientiousness; and neuroticism) rather than five dimensions. Personality dimensions can be observationally identified in preschool-age children and offer reliable estimates that stand across different observational tasks. Study findings highlight the importance of observational approaches to assessing early personality dimensions, as well as the utility of the thin slice approach for meaningful secondary data analysis.


BACKGROUND
Appearance, aging, and disorders of the breast are multifactorial. There are intrinsic, patient-specific characteristics, such as breast growth during puberty and propensity for breast cancer, which are primarily inherited. There are also environmental factors, which can be potentially controlled. Monozygotic twins provide an excellent research opportunity to examine the role of extrinsic factors in subjects with identical genetic predispositions.

OBJECTIVES
The authors investigate the role and significance of various environmental and acquired factors on breast aesthetics.

METHODS
Identical female twins were recruited during the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, in 2009 and 2010. After consent was obtained, enrolled subjects completed a comprehensive survey on their medical and personal history. Standardized digital photographs were taken by medical photographers. Sixteen aesthetic breast features were subjectively rated by 6 plastic surgery residents blinded to the survey results. These ratings were then analyzed against survey data to determine the significance of different exogenous factors on breast appearance.

RESULTS
A total of 161 pairs of identical female twins (n = 322) with a mean (SD) age of 47.6 (14.5) years were recruited. Twins who moisturized their skin daily had significantly fewer rhytids (P = .002). Twins who received hormone replacement therapy after menopause had more attractive breast shape, size, projection, areolar shape, and areolar size (P < .03). However, twins who had a higher body mass index, greater number of pregnancies, and larger cup sizes had significantly less attractive breasts (P < .05). Twins who smoked cigarettes and consumed alcohol also had significantly less attractive breasts (P < .05). Twins who breastfed had less attractive areolar size and shape but better skin quality than their counterparts who never breastfed (P < .03). Finally, there was a significantly higher incidence of breast pain in twins who primarily slept on their sides compared with twins who primarily slept on their backs (P < .008).

CONCLUSIONS
This study implicates several environmental factors that significantly affect the aesthetic quality of breasts.


Parabolic pulses in optical fibers have stimulated an increasing number of applications. We review here the physics underlying the generation of such pulses as well as the results obtained in a wide range of experimental configurations.


On the basis of analyzing technology processes and control demands of concrete mixing station, a design of control system for this construction machinery based on SIEMENS S7-300 PLC and eView touch screen was introduced in this paper, including hardware selection, PLC LAD diagram programming and HMI design, etc. All expected demands for weighing, batching, deposit, mixing, unloading, conveying of the whole technology processes of concrete mixing are reached, and a totally automatic production can be realized also. The practical operation verifies that the control system is highly reliable and stable, and it greatly enhances the control accuracy and meets the equipments requirements of energy-saving.


Three novel metabolites of the benzazepine SK&F 86466 (6-chloro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-3-methyl-1H-3-benzazepine) have been isolated from dog urine and characterized by tandem mass spectrometry, using fast atom bombardment and thermospray ionization, and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The parent drug undergoes oxidation to yield an N-oxide or N-demethylation to yield the primary metabolite SK&F 101055 (6-chloro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine). This desmethyl metabolite then undergoes N-sulfoconjugation to yield 6-chloro-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepine-3-N-sulfonate. Two glucuronide conjugates derived from the desmethyl metabolite were also isolated and characterized. One glucuronide is formed from an intermediate carbamic acid, formally derived from the addition of CO2 to the desmethyl benzazepine. A second glucuronide is derived from an intermediate hydroxylamine metabolite. Methodology for characterizing the carbamyl glucuronide was developed, using an ethanolysis reaction to give a stable ethyl carbamate derivative that can then be characterized by GC-MS. This methodology should prove useful in establishing whether such carbamylation reactions occur with other amines.


Dr. Paul Okunieff has been named director of the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center and chairman of the UF College of Medicine department of radiation oncology, effective Dec. 1, 2009. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Okunieff is currently the Philip Rubin professor in radiation oncology and chair of the department of radiation oncology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he leads a successful radiation oncology clinical practice and research program. He also is director of the university's Robert A. Flavin Radiosurgery Center. Prior to his appointment at Rochester in 1998, Okunieff served as branch chief of radiation oncology at the National Cancer Institute, overseeing clinical-translational research for the intramural NCI program. Okunieff is board-certified in therapeutic radiology and is among the pioneers of in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of tumors. In addition to his experience in building a large and highly collaborative clinical oncology program, he will bring with him tens of millions of dollars in active federal and other extramural grant funding. Many members of his research team will join him in Gainesville. Okunieff succeeds Dr. Joseph V. Simone, an internationally recognized leader in cancer care, research and education who headed the Cancer Center and helped to advance an alliance with UF, Shands HealthCare and the Moffitt Cancer Center that was forged in 2008, and Dr. Robert J. Amdur, a professor and interim chair of the department of radiation oncology since 2006. "Dr. Okunieff is a perfect match for the University of Florida and Shands HealthCare," said Dr. David S. Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs at UF's Health Science Center and president of the UF&Shands Health System. "At a time when we are opening a new Cancer Hospital, developing our already world-renowned Proton Beam Therapy Institute in Jacksonville with a plan to add a radiosurgery center at that site, enhancing our research program with a focus on translational and clinical research, and establishing a National Cancer Center consortium arrangement with Moffit Cancer Center, Paul's extensive background in all of these areas and his extraordinary record of achievement are just what we need in Florida." Okunieff's research includes a novel method to measure radiation-induced DNA fragments in the bloodstream to estimate radiation exposure, and the identification of molecules that provide genetically based protection against radiation hazards. In addition, he has planned and active protocols to study the treatment of metastatic cancers with radiosurgery, with plans to establish radiosurgery protocols using proton therapy. UF's Proton Therapy Institute is one of six proton beam facilities in the country. He holds three patents, one for a method of predicting and treating brain tumor spread using MRI and external beam radiation, one for Esculentoside A, an agent that has been studied for its anti-inflammatory effects and one for the use of certain drugs that block interleukin-1 activity in the prevention of and therapy for radiation toxicity of normal tissues. "One of the main reasons I'm coming to Florida is that there is a unique opportunity - with the scientists and clinicians that are at the University of Florida both in Gainesville and Jacksonville, and with the proton beam and the cooperative cancer venture with Shands HealthCare and the Moffitt Cancer Center - to actually identify categories of patients with metastasis who are still curable, and identify approaches to following patients with cancer so as to have early detection of any metastatic disease," Okunieff said. "The notion that together we can identify opportunities to cure people that currently are not given that hope and actually achieve that in a fairly substantial number of patients because we have technologies like the proton beam, because there is so much excellence in clinical care and such a history of that at UF, and because the university is so broad in scope and has so many facets that can be brought to bear to achieve the needed technologies, to do the breakthrough science needed to implement a new paradigm for the treatment of cancer ... that's the main reason I wake up in the morning and why I want to come to Florida." Okunieff's arrival is expected to help build additional opportunities for UF, Shands HealthCare and Moffitt Cancer Center to collaborate across the spectrum of cancer patient care, research and educational activities. That includes offering new clinical trials to large numbers of Floridians that will likely speed discoveries that benefit these patients, he said. "It will be an unparalleled opportunity; there won't be any other cancer center collaboration with that scope," Okunieff said, adding that he also has an interest in the centers' mutual interest in cancer survivorship programs. Okunieff will further invigorate UF and Shands' cancer programs, said Dr. Michael Good, interim dean of the UF College of Medicine. "His approaches to radiation treatments will save lives for our patients, particularly those with multiple metastases, and shape the treatments prescribed in the future," Good said. "He and his research teams are working in exciting areas to better understand how to measure the effects of radiation - both intended and unintended - on humans. Because they are genetically based, the technologies he is developing have the potential to diagnose not just cancer, but other diseases as well." Okunieff is an outstanding clinician and health-care provider as well as a world-renowned researcher, said Timothy Goldfarb, Shands HealthCare CEO, who added, "He will help us bring the most innovative and unique therapies to the patients and communities we serve through our Gainesville and Jacksonville academic medical centers. This is an exciting time for the UF and Shands HealthCare system as we open the Shands Cancer Hospital at UF and further our resolve in the fight against cancer." Okunieff completed a postdoctoral fellowship in medicine at Harvard Medical School, followed by a fellowship in radiation medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He also holds bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and in biological science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was an assistant professor in radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School from 1988 to 1993. Okunieff has published widely in the literature and is a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. He is radiation oncology chair for the Southwest Oncology Group, one of the largest of the NCI-supported cancer clinical trials cooperative groups in the United States. He also is a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners and serves on several committees that oversee the safety and quality of therapeutic radiation delivery. In addition, he is a past president of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue. He also is past a member of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group's executive committee and a past chair of its translational research program. He is a sought-after speaker in his field and has delivered dozens of lectures nationally and internationally. "I particularly enjoy growing people's careers, that is, identifying stars and helping them to achieve their best," Okunieff said. "That's one of my drives for wanting to be the Cancer Center director - having academic children, if you will."


Presented here are experimental results obtained from a brief investigation of the appearance, penetration, and dispersion of oil sprays injected into a chamber of highly heated air at atmospheric pressure. The development of single sprays injected into a chamber containing air at room temperature and at high temperature was recorded by spray photography equipment. A comparison of spray records showed that with the air at the higher temperature, the spray assumed the appearance of thin, transparent cloud, the greatest part of which rapidly disappeared from view. With the chamber air at room temperature, a compact spray with an opaque core was obtained. Measurements of the records showed a decrease in penetration and an increase in the dispersion of the spray injected into the heated air. No ignition of the fuel injected was observed or recorded until the spray particles came in contact with the much hotter walls of the chamber about 0.3 second after the start of injection.


In apartment house Impact Sound through floors causes many complaints of dwellers. To solve this problem many surveys and researches have been conducted. But the evaluation method of Impact Sound insulation Performance is not yet established, so we confront many difficulties in improving it.The aim of this study is to review the actual condition of interior noise in apartment house and to suggest the basic data for the evaluation method of Impact Sound Insulation Performance by comparing the physical measurement values with the dwellers' subjective response.


Pacific salmon inhabit a vast ecosystem that encompasses the rivers within and the ocean between coastal countries. From steep, cold snowmelt streams to major tributaries, from estuaries to the deep ocean, the range of Pacific salmon includes the Tachia River in Taiwan, the permafrost zone of Chukotka that flows to the Chukchi Sea, the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean between Japan and California, the streams and rivers of the Yukon Territory and British Columbia, and the myriad waterways in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California, as far south as Rio Santo Domingo in Baja California. The North Pacific Rim nations--the United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, China, and the Koreas--enjoy vastly different economic, ecological, and cultural relationships with salmon and, until now, the types of data available to assess the abundance and biodiversity of these fish were almost as varied as the scientists who collect them. Atlas of Pacific Salmon is the first book to apply a common, newly calibrated yardstick to measure, across this broad ecosystem, the state of Pacific salmon, which have suffered precipitous declines in abundance and diversity in recent decades. The only map-based assessment of distribution and risk of extinction for seven species of Pacific salmon at one consistent scale, under one authorship, the Atlas is the result of five years' work by Xanthippe Augerot and other foremost experts in the field. Using state-of-the-art GIS mapping tools, this book offers a multidimensional view of Pacific salmon populations from a watershed perspective, through the natural boundaries in which the fish migrate, spawn, and mature. More than three dozen stunning full-page maps overlay the human, climatic, geological, and environmental impacts on salmon populations.


The positions of hedgers and speculators are correlated with returns in a number of futures markets, but there is much debate as to the interpretation of such a relationship – whether it reflects private information, liquidity, or trend-chasing behavior. This paper studies the relationship between positioning of hedgers and speculators and returns in equity futures markets. I propose a novel test of the private information hypothesis: analyzing the effect of public announcements about futures positions on prices, using high-frequency data in short windows around the announcements. I find that the revelation of speculators' positions is informative to investors more broadly, supporting the private information view.


In this paper, a new technique to measure daily human body motion without using cameras and video images is presented. The change in the electric potential of the human body that is caused by the daily performance induces an electrostatic induction current in the electrode placed at a distance of a few meters from the human body. Using this technology, I have developed an effective non-contact technique for the detection of human daily performance by detecting the change in this human-generated body charge. This technique based on the detection of an electrostatic induction current of the order of approximately sub-picoamperes flowing through an electrode that is placed at a distance of 5 m from the subject. It is shown that the characteristics of the individual are included in walking motion, sitting on a chair and retiring motion. This technique effectively explains the behavior of the waveform of the electrostatic induction current flowing through a given measurement electrode through a capacitance model of the human body.


Despite the widening use of the carbon fiber wound composite gas cylinder, the research on its structure is mainly focused on the experiment method. In this paper, the APDL language in ANSYS was used to create a model of carbon fiber wound aluminum alloy liner composite gas cylinders with the thickness and the wound angle of both heads varied. The autofrettage process of the cylinder was analyzed and the range of autofrettage pressure value was determined by the DOT CFFC standard. It is expected that the finite element analysis results would be conducive to the engineering practice.


ABSTRACT Academic librarians from six different institutions of higher learning were interviewed regarding their experiences with cataloging of Internet resources for inclusion into online public access catalogs. They discussed selection procedures and how they began cataloging these resources. They identified problems which have been encountered in the process, described their efforts at maintaining web addresses, and discussed access to web resources both through the catalog and library web pages. They also shared philosophical thoughts on the catalog and the need to catalog electronic resources.


In the papers of the Irish poet Dora Sigerson (1866–1918) is an unpublished poem called 'The Second Wife', a satirical ballad dating from 1916 to 1918. The poem addresses the marital arrangements of Thomas and Florence Hardy, friends of Sigerson and her husband, Clement Shorter. This chapter examines the poem and the relations between the Shorters and the Hardys in relation to Anglo-Irish literary attitudes to the Irish rebellion against the British in 1916. Shorter also published Yeats, being the first to print 'Easter, 1916'. Sigerson wrote a number of poems in her last volumes, The Sad Years, Sixteen Dead Men, and The Tricolour, about these events. The chapter considers how these poems reflect not just her anger against the lack of sympathy for the Irish cause in the liberal England in which she was based, but also her extreme imaginative projection on to the sacrifice of 1916.


An increasing body of evidence demonstrates a close interplay between lipoprotein metabolism and sepsis. Sepsis results in an increase of plasma triglycerides within VLDL as a consequence of an enhanced hepatic VLDL production and/or inhibited peripheral and hepatic VLDL clearance. In contrast, sepsis decreases plasma cholesterol within LDL and mainly HDL. The decrease in HDL is accompanied by a loss of mainly apoAI-containing particles, an almost total loss of apoCI, and an increase in apoE-containing HDL, as related to the effect of LPS on a wide range of apolipoproteins, plasma enzymes, lipid transfer factors, and receptors that are involved in HDL metabolism. Reciprocally, all lipoprotein classes have been shown to bind LPS and to attenuate the biological response to LPS in vitro and in rodents. Moreover, triglyceride-rich lipoproteins protect rodents against death from LPS and bacterial sepsis. Accumulating evidence indicates that apolipoproteins such as apoE and apoAI, and not the lipid moieties of the particles, may be responsible for these protective effects of lipoproteins. Therefore, to increase our understanding of the complex interaction between lipoprotein metabolism and sepsis, further studies that address the specific roles of apolipoproteins in sepsis are warranted.


In 1978, when the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, second edition (AACR2) were published, libraries recognized that these significantly different rules would require an extensive relearning process, both for catalogers applying these rules for descriptive cataloging and for those librarians interpreting catalog entries for library users. In Minnesota, an independent volunteer group of librarians who had been participants in the ALA Preconference Introductory Program on AACR2 in Dallas, TX held in 1979 formed the core group of AACR2 instructors in Minnesota. This group became known as the "Minnesota AACR2 Trainers" and held a variety of workshops throughout Minnesota. For these training sessions, the trainers developed 15 separate manuals illustrating the AACR2 rules and these were published by Soldier Creek Press, with the funds received from sales used to underwrite these AACR2 workshops. The work reviewed here is a compilation of all of these original manuals, with some of the less legible title page photocopies closely duplicated as to layout and typography on an Apple Macintosh computer. The book is an excellent example of using today's desktop publishing software (Microsoft Word, Aldus Pagemaker, Altsys Fontographic software) produced using an Apple LaserWriter printer. The two volumes use landscape orientation, with their paper bound covers bound along the 8.5.inch edge so that a title page and/or verso or other matter can be presented alongside the cataloging card copy example. Many of the examples also have MARC tagged examples using the OCLC system as the foundation for those examples. To use these volumes to learn AACR2, one needs to also have the AACR2 rules at hand, as the volumes give rule citations and other cataloging interpretations at the bottom of each example of the catalog card copy. This reviewer is not a specialist in cataloging, but rather is a systems specialist who has had to work with bibliographic records in machine readable form both prior to and after the advent of the MARC formats. I have had most of my direct experience with editing the serials entries in the first edition of the Minnesota Union List of Serials which I designed in which some 37,000 serials were converted to MARC format. And, prior to that I cataloged and indexed thousands of classified and unclassified technical reports while employed in an industrial special library. Therefore, this reviewer placed herself in the position of a librarian who needed to learn about AACRZ in detail so that this review could be done from the standpoint of the purpose of these volumes, i.e., to help librarians or others learn AACR2 rule application through close examination of actual examples applying specific rules, LC cataloging rule interpretations, and such for descriptive cataloging. These volumes contain sixteen chapters, ten of which are in the initial volume. The chapters deal with the following material types: (1) Printed Materials, (2) Technical Reports, (3) Early Printed Materials, (4) Cartographic Materials, (5) Manuscripts, (6) Music, (7) Sound Recordings, (8) Motion Pictures and Video Recordings, (9) Graphic Materials, (10) Three Dimensional Artefacts and RealiaKits, (11) Computer Files, (12) Microforms, (13) Serials, (14) "In" Analytics, (15) Legal Materials, (16) Liturgical Works. I noted that there are some typographic errors, particularly in the chapter introductory text, which should have been caught by a spelling check run but apparently were not. This unfortunately gave the impression of haste in assembling this work from the original manuals. However, in the actual examples which I used and checked, I came across really very few errors or what I perceived as possible errors in the examples themselves when examining the title page reproductions, the catalog copy, and rule citation material. Since AACR2 is a descriptive cataloging code the examples do not contain subject heading or classification entries. A few examples of the sorts of errors or possible errors I found in my examination follows. On page 7, the tracing for the author on the title page which reads "William R. Sanford" is given as "I. Sanford, William A. (William Reynolds)." The initial A is a typographic error, but despite such an error I was able to use the example to show me what the proper form for this name entry should be. Another example of an error occurs on page 69 where one MARC tagged example precedes the title page to which it belongs, yet I saw this immediately as the other examples all follow the title page to which they refer. On page 323 the title page carries the spelling "Bill" in the author surname while the example spelling is "Brill." Similarly on page 208 a Roman numeral date has a typographic error. Some dozen others were similarly spotted, which is not very many in a work of this length with over 700 examples. It would have been nice if the compilers would have put a header on page 18 when they began their AACR2 Level 2 examples as one must look carefully at the elements to know that Level 2 examples have started. The examples selected by the original manual compilers are all excellent at showing subtle aspects of these rules governing the description, main entry, added entries, choice of entry, form of entry, LC rule interpretations, options, uniform titles, cross-references, and Cataloging Service Bulletin information. Very few of the remaining photoreproductions of the title pages remain difficult to read, but there still are a few which were not reproduced using the computer generated fonts. Since most of my experience with materials has been in the Serials and Technical Reports areas, I naturally examined these in detail and found them very well done. The Early Printed Materials and the Manuscripts chapters also were excellent for the purpose of this volume as were the Legal Materials and Liturgical Works chapters. The examples themselves contain many Minnesota regional related items, such as the sound recording example of "Memories of Snoose Boulevard," the Anne-Charlotte Harvey recording of Scandinavian songs from Minneapolis' own Snoose Boulevard Festival held in the Cedar-Riverside community near the University of Minnesota campus. It would have been nice if the compilers would have added some additional MARC tagged examples and would have insisted that the publisher use a buckram binding on these volumes as


—While the prospect of a static climate is no longer tenable, the direction of change for particular localities is not yet clear. Modelling vulnerability of silvicultural options to various scenarios of climate change requires a modelling system that can represent major processes affected by climatic variability. The Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), through its Keywords and Event Monitor commands modifying the underlying model, can be used for such analyses. In this report, we document an FVS-based analysis of four scenarios of climate change: warmer-dryer, warmer-wetter, cooler-dryer, and cooler-wetter. Regeneration rates and species composition of regeneration and rates of mortality and accretion are expected to respond differently under the four scenarios. Development of forest stands in the example locales (north-western Montana and central Washington) is strongly influenced by fire, and conversely, fire behavior is influenced by stand structure. We describe how analyses illustrating the interplay of these hypotheses were formulated using FVS and its Fire and Fuels Extension (FFE). Our hypotheses of how processes might change in response to varying climate are qualitatively consistent with our understand-ing of the ecosystem represented. Furthermore, the present range of weather variability is sufficient to test each of the component hypotheses independently by monitoring how their rates change in response to weather variation.


Spatial patterns in parasite communities of freshwater fish are often characterized as low in diversity and unpredictable. Whether or not this view is a true reflection of community patterns is unclear, in particular when comparing studies of parasite communities of fish occurring in man-altered ecosystems. To understand the structure of a fish parasite community, I first described the parasite fauna of 13 species of freshwater fish from 19 islolated lakes on the Caribou Mountains plateau in northern Alberta. After my initial broad-scale survey, I selected the diverse and complex community of parasites in whitefish, (Coregonus clupeaformis) for further analysis. This host had the most diverse parasite community of any species of fish on the plateau and was disproportionally important in the dissemination of parasites to the other species of fish. Ten parasite species infected whitefish in the 7 large lakes on the plateau; 7 were core species (i.e found in every lake) and 9 were salmonid specialists. Parasite intensities were much higher (>100 per host) in the Caribou Mountains than elsewhere in Canada, as was community similarity (>70%). Ordination analyses showed that 48% of the variation in parasite intensities between lakes could be explained by factors associated with aquatic productivity (e.g. chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus). Low-intensity lakes were characterized by low productivity and high colour and high-intensity lakes had high productivity and low colour. Patterns of high similarity between lakes, together with the association between aquatic productivity and community structure shows that the spatial structure of parasite communities can be predicted on the basis of a common suite of specialist, core species.


: This paper reviews the development of mental health services in the Cayman Islands throughout a twelve-year period (1989 to 2001). I was appointed the resident consultant psychiatrist to the islands in 1989, after which time a consultative process between the Ministry of Health, Senior Management of the George Town Hospital and myself allowed the development and establishment of a comprehensive community-based mental health service delivery system (MHSDS), specifically designed to suit the needs of the Cayman Islands. The components of the MHSDS and their evolution in the absence of adequate facilities are reported. The framework for the service is outlined, and the concerns and objectives of the MHSDS are discussed, along with short-term and long-term goals.


Using a new method for the direct measurement of the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecule poly(I).poly(C12, U) in plasma, levels of 100 X 10(-9) g of drug were routinely quantified. The samples were digested by proteinase K in a buffered solution containing 0.1% of Brij-35 and deoxycholate detergents. The digestions were terminated after 1 h by the addition of Brij-58 and boiling saturated NaI (1.67 g/ml). Serially diluted samples were filtered onto nitrocellulose and the filters washed and hybridized. Levels of the hybridized-radioactive probe, synthesized de novo in an RNA dependent DNA transcription system, were determined by liquid scintillation spectrophotometry and quantified by comparison to a standard curve. The efficiency of hybridization declined when the plasma concentration in the reaction fell below 1.0 mg/ml. Incubation and denaturation temperatures significantly altered the amount of radioactive probe hybridized; results varied in the extent of hybridization and in the concentration range of dsRNA showing a linear response. Elevated temperature during proteinase K digestion showed reduced hybridization efficiencies: 100% at 25, 80% at 37, 35% at 45, and 25% at 55 degrees C. Incubation at elevated temperatures, prior to the addition of NaI, caused a decline in the amount of radioactivity hybridized, but did not have an effect during hybridization.


Background Most patients with hereditary hemochromatosis in the Caucasian population are homozygous for the p.C282Y mutation in the HFE gene. The penetrance and expression of hereditary hemochromatosis differ largely among cases of homozygous p.C282Y. Genetic factors might be involved in addition to environmental factors. Design and Methods: In the present study, we analyzed 50 candidate genes involved in iron metabolism and evaluated the association between 214 single nucleotide polymorphisms in these genes and three phenotypic outcomes of iron overload (serum ferritin, iron removed and transferrin saturation) in a large group of 296 p.C282Y homozygous Italians. Polymorphisms were tested for genetic association with each single outcome using linear regression models adjusted for age, sex and alcohol consumption. Results We found a series of 17 genetic variants located in different genes with possible additive effects on the studied outcomes. In order to evaluate whether the selected polymorphisms could provide a predictive signature for adverse phenotype, we re-evaluated data by dividing patients in two extreme phenotype classes based on the three phenotypic outcomes. We found that only a small improvement in prediction could be achieved by adding genetic information to clinical data. Among the selected polymorphisms, a significant association was observed between rs3806562, located in the 5'UTR of CYBRD1, and transferrin saturation. This variant belongs to the same haplotype block that contains the CYBRD1 polymorphism rs884409, found to be associated with serum ferritin in another population of p.C282Y homozygotes, and able to modulate promoter activity. A luciferase assay indicated that rs3806562 does not have a significant functional role, suggesting that it is a genetic marker linked to the putative genetic modifier rs884409. Conclusions While our results support the hypothesis that polymorphisms in genes regulating iron metabolism may modulate penetrance of HFE-hereditary hemochromatosis, with emphasis on CYBRD1, they strengthen the notion that none of these polymorphisms alone is a major modifier of the phenotype of hereditary hemochromatosis.