In order to enhance the corrosion and wear resistance of the STVAX alloy, the CrN film has been deposited by UBM(unbalanced magnetron) sputtering. In this study, the influence of process parameters, such as N2 gas concentration and Cr interlayer insertion, on the adhesive strength was investigated. By increasing the concentration of N2 gas from 30% to 33%, the microstructure of the coating layer was changed from hexagonal Cr2N to cubic CrN. By increasing N2 gas concentration to 38%, a CrN coating layer with a preferred orientation of <111> plane was formed. Nanoindentation testing showed that the mechanical properties of coatings varied according to the coating type and crystallographic orientation. Superior adhesive strength was obtained at the of N2 gas concentration of 38%, and higher hardness at 33% concentration. The adhesive strength of the coating film was higher with a Cr interlayer than that without. These findings showed that the Cr interlayer between the CrN coating and the STAVAX substrate significantly improved the adhesive strength of coating to the substrate.


BACKGROUND
Pyrazinamide is a paradoxical frontline tuberculosis drug characterized by high sterilizing in vivo activity but poor in vitro activity. Pyrazinamide is thought to act by the entrapment of pyrazinoic acid in the bacterial cell, leading to acidification and membrane damage. Consequently, the effects of weak acids and molecules affecting membranes added to pyrazinamide were studied.

OBJECTIVES
To examine the effects of weak acids, UV, oxidative stress and additional energy inhibitors on pyrazinamide activity in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as the effect of pyrazinamide on Escherichia coli ampicillin persisters.

METHODS
Drug exposure experiments followed by cfu counts were performed to determine the effects of the above various factors on pyrazinamide activity in vitro against M. tuberculosis.

RESULTS
Some weak acids such as benzoic acid, sorbic acid and propyl hydroxybenzoic acid could enhance the activity of pyrazinamide in vitro against old tubercle bacilli but not young bacilli whereas other weak acids such as salicylic acid and lactic acid did not appear to enhance pyrazinamide activity. While energy inhibitors carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone and dinitrophenol enhanced pyrazinamide activity for old tubercle bacilli but not young bacilli, valinomycin and KCN increased pyrazinamide activity for both young and old bacilli. Oxidative stresses due to H2O2 and menadione did not have a significant effect on pyrazinamide activity. UV, which presumably damages the membrane, enhanced the activity of pyrazinamide. Pyrazinamide, which otherwise has no activity against actively growing E. coli bacteria, could kill non-growing starved E. coli and also ampicillin-tolerant persisters.

CONCLUSIONS
Some weak acids, UV and various energy inhibitors were found to enhance the activity of pyrazinamide in vitro against M. tuberculosis. Pyrazinamide shows preferential activity against both M. tuberculosis and E. coli persisters over the growing forms.


Water oxidation and reduction over semiconductor-based photocatalysts intrinsically occur at different spatial sites. Modulation of the reaction sites and charge transfer between them are logically important in speeding up the reaction. Here, we demonstrate that divorcing a CdSe–CdS–Pt donor–acceptor system on different surface sites of TiO2 can significantly increase the H2 generation rate. The increase is derived from an effective reset of water oxidation and reduction sites. Widening of the site distance by employing a TiO2 membraniform acceptor effectively decreases the electron–hole recombination especially for a membrane of TiO2 nanotube arrays. The oriented charge transfer characteristic of TiO2 nanotube arrays benefits long-range electron transport, thereby increasing the electron lifetime and reaction rate. When more conductive carbon nanotube arrays serve as an electron acceptor to replace TiO2, the electron transport is greatly improved, resulting in an ultrahigh H2 generation rate of 1270 mmol g−1 h−1. This work provides a basis for the design and construction of highly efficient photocatalysts through rational modulation of reaction sites and charge transport.


We think of the expected real interest rate for ten OECD countries (our counterpart of the world economy) as determined by the equation of aggregate investment demand to aggregate desired saving. Stock-market returns isolate shifts to investment demand, and changes in oil prices, monetary growth, and fiscal variables isolate shifts to desired saving. In this paper, we estimated the reduced form for GDP-weighted world averages of the expected short-term real interest rate and the investment ratio over the period 1959-88. The estimates reveal significant effects in the predicted direction for world stock returns, oil prices, and world monetary growth, but fiscal variables trurned out to be unimportant. Structural estimation implies that an increase by 1% in the expected real interest rates raises the desired saving rate by one-third of a percentage point. Simulations of the model indicate that fluctuations in world stock returns and oil prices explain a good deal of the time series for the world average of expected real interest rates, specifically, why the rates were low in 1974-79 and high in 1981-86. The model also explains the fall in real rates in 1987-88 and the subsequent upturn in 1989. The fitted relation forecasts an increase in the world average of real interest rates in 1990 to a value, 5.6%, that is nearly a full percentage point above the highest value attained in the entire prior sample, 1958-89. We estimated systems of equations for individual countries' expected real interest rates and investment ratios. One finding is that each country's expected real interest rate depends primarily on world factors, rather than own-country factors, thereby suggesting a good deal of integration of world capital and goods markets.


Decision‐making in weed management involves consideration of limited budgets, long time horizons, conflicting priorities, and as a result, trade‐offs. Economics provides tools that allow these issues to be addressed and is thus integral to management of the risks posed by weeds. One of the critical issues in weed risk management during the early stages of an invasion concerns feasibility of eradication. We briefly review how economics may be used in weed risk management, concentrating on this management strategy.


Two spectrophotometric methods described for determination of, Gliclazide and Glibenclamide in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms using insitu generated bromine as oxidizing agent and either methylene blue or methyl orange as chromogenic agents. Drugs are treated with known excess of bromine and residual unreacted bromine is determined by treating with fixed amount of either methylene blue or methyl orange then measuring absorbance at 669 nm and 508 nm, respectively. The amount of bromine reacted corresponds to the amount of each drug. Effects of acidity, bromate - bromide volume and reaction time, on the absorption were studied. Calibration curves were linear over ranges of 3–10 μg.ml-1 for Gliclazide, 4- 24 μg.ml-1 for Glibenclamide in case of methylene blue and of 2–6 μg.ml-1 for Gliclazide, 4-12μg.ml-1 for Glibenclamide in case of methyl orange. The methods were validated and satisfactory applied for the determination of drugs in both bulk and in tablet form and results were compared statistically with reported methods.


DeLellis RA, Sternberger LA, Mann RB, Banks PM, Nakane PK. Immunoperoxidase technics in diagnostic pathology. Report of a workshop sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. Am J Clin Pathol 1979;71: 483-8. 2 Darmady EM, Maclver AG. Renal pathology. London: Butterworths, 1980. 3 Druet P, Bariety J, Bellon B, Laliberte F. Nephrotoxic serum nephritis in the rat. Ultrastructural localisation of nephrotoxic rabbit antibodies using peroxidaselabelled conjugates. Lab Invest 1972;27 :157-64. 4Kuhlmann WD, Avrameas S, Ternynck T. A comparative study for ultrastructural localization of intracellular immunoglobulins using peroxidase conjugates. J Immunol Methods 1974;5:33-48. 5 Davies DR, Clark AE. Demonstration of immunoglobulin containing deposits in glomerular basement membrane in experimental chronic serum sickness using horseradish peroxidase labelled antiserum. Br J Exp Pathol 1975;56:28-33. 6 Hoff HF, Gaubatz JW. Ultrastructural localization of plasma lipoproteins in human intracranial arteries. Virchows Arch [Pathol Anat] 1975 ;369 :111-21. 7Laliberte F, Sapin Catherine, Duret P, Bariety J. Ultrastructural study by immunoperoxidase of a rat membranous glomerulonephritis. J Ultrastruct Res 1975; 50:150-8. 8 Hoedemaeker PJ, Donga J, Fleuren GJ. Immunoelectron microscopic studies of experimental glomerulonephritis using peroxidase as a label. INSERM Symposium, No 2. In: Feldmann G, Druet P, Bignon J, Avrameas S, eds. Immunoenzymatic techniques. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company, 1976. 9 Sternberger LA. Immunocytochemistry. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1974. 10 Huang SH, Minassian H, More DJ. Application of immunofluorescent staining on paraffin sections improved by trypsin digestion. Lab Invest 1976;35:383-90. Curran RC, Gregory J. The unmasking of antigens in paraffin sections by trypsin. Experientia 1977;33: 1400-1. 12 Mepham BL, Frater W, Mitchell BS. The use of proteolytic enzymes to improve immunoglobulin staining by the PAP technique. Histochem J 1979;11:345-57. 13 MacIver AG, Giddings June, Mepham BL. Demonstration of extracellular proteins in formalin fixed renal biopsies. Kidney Int 1979 ;16:632-6. 14 Vogt A, Takamiya H, Kim WA. Some problems involved in postembedding staining. INSERM Symposium, No 2. In: Feldmann G, Druet P, Bignon J, Avrameas S, eds. Immunoenzymatic techniques. Amsterdam: NorthHolland Publishing Company, 1976. '5 Rodning CB, Erlandsen SL, Coulter HD, Wilson ID. Immunohistochemical localization of IgA antigens in sections embedded in epoxy resin. J Histochem Cytochem 1980;28:199-205. 16 Mayor HD, Hampton JC, Rosario B. A simple method for removing the resin from epoxy-embedded tissue. J Biophys Biochem Cytol 1961 ;9:909-10. 17 Graham RC, Karnovsky MJ. The early stages of absorption of injected horseradish peroxidase in the proximal tubules of mouse kidney: ultrastructural cytochemistry by a new technique. J Histochem Cytochem 1966;14: 291-302. 18 Goldman M. Fluorescent antibodi' methodv. New York: Academic Press, 1968.


It is generally assumed that individual sets of coplanar and colinear deformation structures form together during events that are of relatively short duration (1–5 m.y.). The record of deformation in a sequence of Late Cretaceous to Holocene sedimentary rocks from the northern Salinian block of California spans at least 30 m.y. and illustrates that this assumption is sometimes incorrect. At different localities, geometrically and kinematically identical contractional structures either predate or postdate local unconformities of varying age within the succession, so that it is possible to define at least four chronologically distinct, but otherwise indistinguishable, deformation episodes. In the absence of the unconformities, the punctuated nature of the deformation would not be apparent, therefore suggesting that subparallel structures may form during successive, distinct deformations spread out over long time periods. In the northern Salinian block, the inferred contractional strain field is approximately normal to the adjacent San Andreas fault and appears to have been consistently oriented in this direction during deformation events recorded over the past 30–45 m.y. The strain pattern is most easily explained by efficient partitioning of transpressional strains into fault-normal shortening and right-lateral faulting during episodic regional deformations. We propose that reactivation of preexisting structural anisotropies controls the observed partitioning of deformation in many transpression zones.


A novel representative of the yeast genus Pichia has been recovered 190 times during the period 1971 to 1976. We regard this organism as belonging to a new species, Pichia cactophila. Strains were found in the necrotic tissue of 16 species of cactus and in the crops of 3 species of Drosophila which utilize the cacti as host plants. Isolates were obtained from widely separate geographic localities (throughout Mexico, Southwestern United States, and Hawaii). The new species forms predominantly two-spored asci. Both homothallic and heterothallic strains were observed. The metabolic capability of P. cactophila, like that of P. membranaefaciens, is limited to oxidative utilization of only a few compounds. P. cactophila can be differentiated from P. membranaefaciens by its strong growth on D-glucosamine and by the lower guanine-plus-cytosine content (36.3 to 37.5 mol%) of its nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid. The type strain of P. cactophila is UCD-FST 76-243A (= ATCC 34932 = CBS 6926).


Human creativity relies to a large part on our ability to recognize and match patterns, to transpose these patterns into different domains, and to find analogies in new domains to known facts in old domains. In the realm of geometrical proofs and geometrical art, such analogies can carry concepts and methods from spaces that are easy to deal with, e.g. drawings in a 2-dimensional plane, into higher dimensions where model making and visualization are much harder to carry out. Students in a graduate course on geometric modeling are challenged with open-ended design exercises that introduce them to this analogical reasoning and, hopefully, enhance their creative thinking abilities. Examples include: constructing a Hilbert curve in 3D-space, finding an analogous constellation to the Borromean rings with four or more loops, or developing 3D shapes that capture the essence of the 2D Yin-Yang figure or of a logarithmic spiral. The proffered solutions lead to interesting discussions of fundamental issues concerning acceptable analogies, the role of symmetry, degrees of freedom, and evaluation criteria to compare the relative merits of the different proposals. In many cases, the solutions can also be developed into attractive geometrical sculptures. Figure 1: a) Borromean Rings, b) Hilbert Curve, c) Yin-Yang.


The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the strong interrelations that developed among economic and urban programs in the early 1950s. A particular attention is devoted to the case of big Latin American cities, since it was there - even more than in Europe or North America - that the multifaceted programming effort gained its greater momentum. The need for wide interventions for economic and urban development after World War II found of course its first application during the European Recovery period. The Marshall Plan on one side, and regional plans for territorial reorganization which were set on in countries like Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Germany, on the other side, were clear examples of the widespread new programming approach to development of European countries. The plan was the main tool, common to economic as well as to urban policies, while equilibrium was the principal concept, which framed the elaboration and the implementation of any development plan. As for economics, many scholars and analysts developed the so-called theory of balanced growth, where the breaking of vicious circles of poverty and the success of critical efforts toward development could not avoid to consider interdependences between supply and demand sides, urban and rural sectors, different industries. As for territorial policies, the equilibrated development of urban tissues and resources was the concrete, material shape of social progress. These ideas and suggestions had a great opportunity of implementation in the newborn so-called Third World, and many professional advisers devoted themselves to development of backward countries. We identified in Colombia a case worthy of study, since it catalyzed attention of both economists and urban planners. In fact, Colombia was the first backward country to host a general survey mission by the World Bank, which was expected to be the pattern for further Bank's actions toward less developed countries. The mission's leader, Lauchlin Currie, former special economic advisor to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, eventually decided to reside in Colombia, where he implemented many development plans. In the same years, some amongst the most important architects travelled to Latin America, where they thought they could realize urban plans to a scope that had not been possible in Europe. What is particularly interesting to the aims of the present paper, is the fact that Le Corbusier and Jose Luis Sert, president of CIAM (International Congresses of Modern Architecture), both worked in Colombia. Furthermore, Sert and Currie established an active collaboration upon the development plan for the city of Bogota. Economic and urban planning merged together in a comprehensive development plan.


This PhD dissertation includes four articles with their impact factor and a series of works carried out during the pre-doctoral period of the author. These papers study different aspects of the intonation in areas from the Canary Islands and Cuba. The majority of compiled studies are based on the methodological guidelines of the AMPER macro project, from the types of corpus studied to the acoustic analysis programs, and even the methods of comparison of the different linguistic areas. However, new techniques for studying data had been added to the original methodology, such as the phonetic or phonological labeling of FO curves, the use of thresholds to test the perceptive relevance of the obtained data or certain strategies to carry out applied studies beyond the traditional description of intonation in different varieties, such as the conduction of diverse types of perceptual tests. After the General Introduction, where the four assessable works are presented highlighting their thematic unity, in section 1.2. are listed the antecedents and the state of the art of the intonation and prosody studies, taking into account especially those referring to the Cuban and Canarian varieties of Spanish. This section is followed by the Objectives chapter (section 2.), already outlined in the PhD dissertation project, that specifies which of the included papers fulfill all or part of each goal proposed. The description of the Methodology in section 4. is fundamental in a PhD thesis that studies and collects data of multiple parameters in different types of corpus taking into account variables such as gender or level of studies and that includes a great amount of measurements of acoustic parameters and statistical results. At this point we detail the different types of software and techniques used to describe and characterize the intonational patterns obtained from the speakers in the areas under study. In this very section we also describe the tools and procedures to obtain information from the listeners through the conducted perception tests. Sections 5. and 6. compose the main core of the work and contain the compendium of evaluable papers as they were published, each one preceded by their relevant evaluation, impact factor and databases were they are indexed. In addition,we decided to include other works of consideration that exceed the regulations to be evaluable but that might help to define the solidity of the PhD candidate research activity. This determination is fundamented in the lack of differentiation related to the methodology used or the objectives pursued in these studies against the publications that do fulfill the normative. Subsequently, the general results of the works included are summarized in section 7. considering the objectives proposed in section 2. and relating them to the relevant data obtained in each study presented. Afterwards a discussion (section 8.) of some of the key points of the dissertation is proposed. In this section we tried to confront all the data obtained during the predoctoral period of the author according to different variables and formulate them to illustrate more clearly all the knowledge obtained about the intonation of the Canarian and Cuban speakers in the different types of corpora considered, as well as to evaluate the applicability of these results to different fields. The display, comparison and review of all the data collected culminates in the final Conclusions (section 9.), which are followed by a list of future works under the same line of research waiting to be completed. The writing of this thesis conclude with the section of acknowledgments, where all the people and entities that have facilitated the research work of the author are referenced. Finally, the bibliography cited in the writing of the dissertation is presented, which is fundamental in this line of research and differs in part from the references contained in each summarized paper.


Systemic mastocytosis (SM) either presents as a malignant neoplasm with short survival or as an indolent disease with normal life expectancy. In both instances, neoplastic mast cells (MCs) harbor D816V-mutated KIT, suggesting that additional oncogenic mechanisms are involved in malignant transformation. We here describe that Lyn and Btk are phosphorylated in a KIT-independent manner in neoplastic MCs in advanced SM and in the MC leukemia cell line HMC-1. Lyn and Btk activation was not only detected in KIT D816V-positive HMC-1.2 cells, but also in the KIT D816V-negative HMC-1.1 subclone. Moreover, KIT D816V did not induce Lyn/Btk activation in Ba/F3 cells, and deactivation of KIT D816V by midostaurin did not alter Lyn/Btk activation. siRNAs against Btk and Lyn were found to block survival in neoplastic MCs and to cooperate with midostaurin in producing growth inhibition. Growth inhibitory effects were also obtained with 2 targeted drugs, dasatinib which blocks KIT, Lyn, and Btk activation in MCs, and bosutinib, a drug that deactivates Lyn and Btk without blocking KIT activity. Together, KIT-independent signaling via Lyn/Btk contributes to growth of neoplastic MCs in advanced SM. Dasatinib and bosutinib disrupt Lyn/Btk-driven oncogenic signaling in neoplastic MC, which may have clinical implications and explain synergistic drug interactions.


Fifteen patients with childhood onset of Hodgkin's disease were studied for prevalence and quantity of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibody to learn about the relationship between infection with EBV and Hodgkin's disease. Findings indicated that, compared with normal child control subjects, prevalence of EBV antibody is not increased in Hodgkin's disease, but the quantity of antibody increases as the duration of Hodgkin's disease increases. It seems that EBV plays no role in the cause of Hodgkin's disease and that production of greater amounts of antibody relates to immunoregulatory defects associated with Hodgkin's disease.


A P URPOSE – The aim of this paper is to describe the use of sequence analysis to model trajectories of life-course economic activity status, within a broader research agenda aimed at improving understanding of the relationship between socioeconomic position and health. D ESIGN / METHODOLOGY / APPROACH The analysis used data on 288 participants of the Boyd Orr Stratified Sub-Sample, comprising a combination of prospective and retrospective information on economic activity status, as well as health in early old age. Economic activity was coded as a time- based sequence of states for each participant based on six-month periods throughout their lives. Economic activity was classified as: pre-labour market; full-time employment; part-time employment; housewife; made redundant; stopped work due to illness; retired; other unemployed; or not applicable. Optimal matching analysis was carried out to produce a matrix of distances between each sequence, which was then used as the basis for cluster analysis. F INDINGS – The optimal matching analysis resulted in the classification of individuals into five economic activity status trajectories: full-time workers (transitional exit), part-time housewives, career breakers, full-time workers (late entry, early exit), and full-time housewives. The paper presents the case for using sequence analysis as a methodological tool to facilitate a more interdisciplinary approach to the measurement of the life-course socioeconomic position, in particular attempting to integrate the empirical emphasis of epidemiological research with the more theoretical contributions of may in turn help generate a framework within which to examine the relationships between life-course socioeconomic position and outcomes such as health in later life.


Background: Physicians have prescribed anticholinergic agents such as benztropine, procyclidine, biperiden and trihexyphenidyl for treatment and prophylaxis of antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) for decades. Anticholinergic agents can however worsen tardive dyskinesia and cause many adverse effects, including cognitive impairment. Previous studies of anticholinergic discontinuation in patients with schizophrenia receiving antipsychotics have yielded a wide range of EPS relapse rates. Improvement in cognition after anticholinergic withdrawal was observed in some studies. Objective: This study evaluated the effect of anticholinergic discontinuation on movement disorders, cognition and general psychopathology after a 4-week taper in 20 outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder treated with antipsychotics. Results: Eighteen of twenty patients successfully discontinued their anticholinergic medication; two did not because of akathisia. Repeated measures analysis of variance did not show a significant effect of anticholinergic discontinuation on total Extrapyramidal Symptoms Rating Scale score or on the Parkinsonism, Akathisia, Dystonia or Tardive Dyskinesia subscales. However, significant improvement was found on the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia composite z score at weeks 6, 8 and 12 compared with baseline. Significant improvements were seen on the motor and the symbol-coding tasks. No significant effects were observed on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Clinical Global Impression – Severity and Clinical Global Impression – Improvement scales. Conclusion: In this 12-week study of anticholinergic discontinuation in 20 outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, gradual decrease and discontinuation of anticholinergics led to a positive effect on cognition. There were no adverse consequences on general psychopathology and no significant differences for 18 of 20 subjects on movement disorders.


Purpose

Since mid-2000s, hospitals have begun implementing radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in order to improve their operations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of RFID technology in improving the traceability of surgical instruments in a hospital environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study is conducted at a teaching hospital in Montreal, Canada. Business process reengineering approach and simulation techniques are used to assess the realistic potential of the RFID technology. The application of different scenarios and how they influence the efficiency of process flow between the central sterilization department and operating rooms of the hospital is investigated.

Findings

Research outcomes demonstrated how tagging individual instruments or their sets lead to reduction of the time spent in re-processing the soiled instrument as well as the reduction of costs related to staff. Furthermore, specific key performance indicators are identified and eventual issues related to implementation of the re-designed processes are discussed.

Originality/value

Implementing RFID-enabled solutions in hospital context is still an emerging phenomenon that involves various stakeholders in a change management project. While implementing RFID technology can benefit hospitals by improving business processes and workflows, the adoption is still slow, especially for managing surgical instruments. It is, hence, crucial to compare the advantages and drawbacks of RFID-enabled surgical instruments solutions with other well-established traceability technologies such as barcoding.


Purpose The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First the researcher wants to investigate the gradation of information needs, in order to made a classification of important information and communication aspects of the focal organisation EnerSearch. Secondly, in order to state a classification of information, a vocabulary is developed that could help actors to understand the situation under investigation. Method The methodology used is partly an action research methodology, where the researcher plays an active role in interpreting and understanding the situation together with the actors of the focal organisation. The research exerts from a hermeneutic perspective, where activities in the focal organisation are interpreted and concepts are developed that can help actors of the investigation, to understand their situation. For the investigation a case study is taken and the researcher has an active role in the case study. Conclusion The found data is summarised by using ideal types that characterise persons in the focal organisation. The ideal types used are: clients (members of the management and financiers), involved and individualists (both operating core). These three groups have different needs of information, communication and objectives. With help of these groups a classification of information distributed in the organisation is made, based on a division between: information based on destination (to whom the message is sent) and content (what is the content of the information sent). This division is used in order to find the most suitable media that could be used for transmitting this information and this is done with help of the information richness theory of Daft & Lengel (1990). By distributing information and by communicating with each other, one could also state that coordination is party stimulated with these results. Furthermore, the results found can be implemented in an information system that is adjusted to the requirements of the participants of the focal organisation. For this reason a primitive design of an information system is proposed that could support the aforementioned classification and that could support communication and information distribution in the focal organisation.


To test the hepatic specificity of gamma-glutamyl transferase in the cow, the tissue distribution of this enzyme was studied in 10 healthy adult cows. It was located mainly in kidney, pancreas, and liver. The relative hepatic specificity of this enzyme indicated that measurement of its activity in serum could be a valuable test of hepatic damage in the cow. The blood activity measured within 54 plasmas and 54 serums of apparently healthy animals was almost the same, 17.7 +/- 5.7 U/liter for plasma and 18.6 +/- 6.2 U/liter for serum.


Purpose: The article aims to present the implementation of scientific projects on the example of "the Young Discoverer's University" – in Polish "Uniwersytet Mlodego Odkrywcy" (further in the text referred to as the UMO). In 2016-2017, the project was financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and in 2018-2021 by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD). The objectives, insights, and significance of science projects are presented. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper presents the types and structure of the project pyramid to characterize the affiliation between the ongoing project and the group. The research is based on a case study as a research method, focus interviews, and a literature review. The research objective of the paper is to evaluate the implementation of scientific projects on the example of the UMO based on the author's own experience. The research contributes to the formulation of the research aim if there is a regular pattern for implementing scientific projects on the example of the UMO. Findings: The research results allow the author to verify the research hypothesis. The subjective scope of evaluation includes both young people participating in implementing projects from the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and academic staff. The subject of evaluation pertains to the implementation of scientific projects. Practical Implications: The case study relating to the phenomenon in question at a specific time, place, and conditions on the target population is used to obtain the relevant data to verify the validity of the research hypothesis. Originality/Value: According to the research, there is a regular pattern for implementing scientific projects on the example of UMO; therefore, it is worthwhile to engage in such initiatives. The choice of the topic is due to the current issues related to applying for various types of funding from various institutions, i.e., the National Science Center (NSC), the National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD), the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MSHE) and Associations, which are increasingly crucial for scientific units.


How does white supremacy look in 2009? What are the challenges and what are the opportunities we face in a time when some people are saying that if a black man can be elected president we have become a postracial society? How do we encourage white people to take responsibility for challenging specific forms of white privilege built around issues of land, labor, education, housing, and self-identity? Let's move beyond generalities about racism and white privilege and move into responsibility for addressing concrete issues of racial justice.  10th Annual White Privilege Conference Keynote Thursday, April 2, 2009 Memphis, Tennessee To purchase a DVD of this keynote contact the WPC office at 719-255-4764.


Brandenburg v. Ohio is thought by many to offer very robust speech protections, but the true threat exception to the First Amendment can swallow up much of the protection that Brandenburg offers. Regrettably, the Court has failed to offer guidelines to help determine when Brandenburg rather than true threat analysis applies, which has caused lower courts to reach radically different results in relevantly similar cases. Unless the Court addresses the current inconsistencies in the jurisprudence, the interests in security and in robust debate will both continue to be sacrificed.


Tuberous sclerosis (Morbus Bourneville-Pringle) is a rare, multisystemic,autosomal dominant disease, associated with a mutation of either of two genes TSC1 and TSC2, responsible for synthesis of proteins hamartin and tuberin - tumor growth suppressing factors, involved in cell proliferation and differentiation processes. Perhaps the most common findings of TS are angiophibromas - cutaneous manifestations of the disease, serving as clinical pointers to the diagnosis. Different methods are being used to treat facial angiofibromas with little or no success. Treatment with CO2 laser ablation can provide fruitful results in removing facial angiofibromas. Presented is a case of a 40 year-old female patient, diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis with multiple facial angiofibromas, subjected to CO2 laser ablation.


In enteric bacteria, the kinase LsrK catalyzes the phosphorylation of the C5-hydroxyl group in the linear form of 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (DPD), the precursor of the type II bacterial quorum sensing molecule (AI-2). This phosphorylation is required for AI-2 sequestration in the cytoplasm and subsequent derepression of AI-2-related genes necessary for quorum development. While LsrK is a critical enzyme within the DPD quorum sensing relay system, kinetic details of this kinase have yet to be reported. A continuous UV-vis spectrophotometric assay was developed that allowed steady-state kinetic analysis of LsrK to be undertaken with the substrates ATP and DPD. The data was most consistent with a rapid equilibrium ordered mechanism with ATP binding first: kcat (7.4 ± 0.6 s(-1)), Km,ATP (150 ± 30 μM) and Km(app),DPD (1.0 ± 0.2 mM). The assay also allowed a DPD substrate profile to be conducted, which provided an unexpected biochemical disconnect between the previous agonist/antagonist cell-based reporter assay and the LsrK assay presented herein. Together these findings raise the importance of LsrK and lay the foundation not only for further understanding of this enzyme and its critical biological role but also for the rational design of regulatory molecules targeting AI-2 quorum sensing in pathogenic bacteria.


Many clinical studies demonstrate that complete revascularization with total arterial grafts leads to the best late surgical results. Though off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting( CABG) is superior to on-pump CABG (ONCABG) in morbidity and mortality, some coronary surgeons feel it difficult to revascularise multi-vessel disease completely without cardiopulmonary bypass( CPB). Acute conversion from off-pump to on-pump results in increased major complications and high mortality. For the patients with high risk for CPB, coronary revascularization should be performed without CPB even if completeness is failed. It seems to be reasonable to adopt ONCABG for low risk patients who need many anastomoses in the posterior wall of the heart.


A chromatic root is a zero of the chromatic polynomial of a graph. At a Newton Institute workshop on Combinatorics and Statistical Mechanics in 2008, two conjectures were proposed on the subject of which algebraic integers can be chromatic roots, known as the ``$α +n$ conjecture'' and the ``$nα$ conjecture''. These say, respectively, that given any algebraic integer α there is a natural number $n$ such that $α +n$ is a chromatic root, and that any positive integer multiple of a chromatic root is also a chromatic root. By computing the chromatic polynomials of two large families of graphs, we prove the $α +n$ conjecture for quadratic and cubic integers, and show that the set of chromatic roots satisfying the nα conjecture is dense in the complex plane.


PURPOSE
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) targeting plus endocrine therapy (ET) improved clinical benefit in HER2-positive, hormone receptor (HR)-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC) versus ET alone. Dual HER2 blockade enhances clinical benefit versus single HER2 blockade. The ALTERNATIVE study evaluated the efficacy and safety of dual HER2 blockade plus aromatase inhibitor (AI) in postmenopausal women with HER2-positive/HR-positive MBC who received prior ET and prior neo(adjuvant)/first-line trastuzumab (TRAS) plus chemotherapy. This updated article reflects minor numerical corrections in some secondary efficacy analyses that resulted from programming errors and that do not change the major conclusions of the study.

METHODS
Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive lapatinib (LAP) plus TRAS plus AI, TRAS plus AI, or LAP plus AI. Patients for whom chemotherapy was intended were excluded. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS; investigator assessed) with LAP plus TRAS plus AI versus TRAS plus AI. Secondary end points were PFS (comparison of other arms), overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), clinical benefit rate (CBR), and safety.

RESULTS
Three hundred fifty-five patients were included in this analysis: LAP plus TRAS plus AI (n = 120), TRAS plus AI (n = 117), and LAP plus AI (n = 118). Baseline characteristics were balanced. The study met its primary end point; superior PFS was observed with LAP plus TRAS plus AI versus TRAS plus AI (median PFS, 11 v 5.6 months; hazard ratio, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.45 to 0.88]; P = .0063). A consistent PFS benefit was observed in predefined subgroups. ORR, CBR, and OS also favored LAP plus TRAS plus AI. The median PFS with LAP plus AI versus TRAS plus AI was 8.3 versus 5.6 months (hazard ratio, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.62 to 1.17]; P = .3159). Common adverse events (AEs; ≥ 15%) with LAP plus TRAS plus AI, TRAS plus AI, and LAP plus AI were diarrhea (69%, 9%, and 51%, respectively), rash (36%, 2%, and 28%, respectively), nausea (22%, 9%, and 22%, respectively), and paronychia (30%, 0%, and 15%, respectively), mostly grade 1 or 2. Serious AEs were reported similarly across the 3 groups, and AEs leading to discontinuation were lower with LAP plus TRAS plus AI.

CONCLUSION
Dual HER2 blockade with LAP plus TRAS plus AI showed superior PFS benefit versus TRAS plus AI in patients with HER2-positive/HR-positive MBC. This combination offers an effective and safe chemotherapy-sparing alternative treatment regimen for this patient population.


We develop an equilibrium model of wages and estimate it using administrative data from Norway. Coworkers interact through a task-assignment model, and wages are determined through multi-lateral bargaining over the surplus that accrues to the workforce. Seniority affects wages through workplace output and relative bargaining power. These channels are separately identified by imposing equilibrium restrictions on data observing all workers within workplaces. We find joint production is important. Seniority affects bargaining power but is unproductive. We reinterpret gender and firm-size effects in wages in light of the rejection of linearly separable production.


Background: CD34-positive plaque-like dermal fibroma (PDF) is a poorly characterised benign dermal neoplasm that has a wide differential diagnosis. It can be mistaken for other entities on superficial biopsy and be overtreated, leading to unnecessary worry and extensive surgery. Objective: To report on an uncommon presentation of this entity, the histopathologic differential diagnosis of PDF, and a novel treatment method. Methods: Clinical and histopathological information was obtained for a PDF lesion on a 75-year-old man. Results: On superficial biopsy, the PDF lesion was misinterpreted as a possible neurothekeoma. Successful Mohs surgery and genetic testing confirmed the diagnosis of PDF, and the patient received appropriate tissue-sparing surgical management. Conclusion: This case adds to our current knowledge about PDF and highlights the importance of early recognition of these lesions to direct appropriate diagnostic testing (full-thickness biopsy) and management. This case confirms successful management with Mohs surgery.


We present a spectroscopic campaign to follow-up red colour-selected candidate massive galaxies in two high redshift proto-clusters surrounding radio galaxies. We observed a total of 57 galaxies in the field of MRC 0943−242 (z = 2.93) and 33 in the field of MRC 1138−262 (z = 2.16) with a mix of optical and near-infrared multi-object spectroscopy. We confirm two red galaxies in the field of MRC 1138−262 at the redshift of the radio galaxy. Based on an analysis of their spectral energy distributions, and their derived star formation rates from the Hα and observed frame 24 μm flux, one object belongs to the class of dust-obscured star-forming red galaxies, while the other is evolved with little ongoing star formation. This result represents the first red and mainly passively evolving galaxy to be confirmed as companion galaxies in a z > 2 proto-cluster. Both red galaxies in MRC 1138−262 are massive, of the order of 4−6 × 10 11 M� . They lie along a colour−magnitude relation which implies that they formed the bulk of their stellar population around z = 4. In the MRC 0943−242 field we find no red galaxies at the redshift of the radio galaxy but we do confirm the effectiveness of our JHKs selection of galaxies at 2.3 < z < 3.1, finding that 10 out of 18 (56%) of JHKs-selected galaxies whose redshifts could be measured fall within this redshift range. We also serendipitously identify an interesting foreground structure of 6 galaxies at z = 2.6 in the field of MRC 0943−242. This may be a proto-cluster itself, but complicates any interpretation of the red sequence build-up in MRC 0943−242 until more redshifts can be measured.


Once upon a time there were three bears, seven dwarfs, five gorillas, a frog prince, some sleeping beauties, a wolf, a dinosaur, a mad hatter, a steamboat, four firemen on a fire engine, a considerable number of giant beanstalks - and a little boy named Jeremiah Obadiah Jackenory Jones. Jeremiah lives in the Dark Woods with his grandma, who is brave enough to fight off crocodiles with her bare hands and her handbag. But her legs aren't so good, so when her jam tarts are stolen she sends Jeremiah into the woods to find the culprit...This is another highly entertaining story from Janet and Allan Ahlberg, which will delight both children and parents


The ketone bodies, especially β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB), derive from fatty acid oxidation and alternatively serve as a fuel source for peripheral tissues including the brain, heart, and skeletal muscle. β-HB is currently considered not solely an energy substrate for maintaining metabolic homeostasis but also acts as a signaling molecule of modulating lipolysis, oxidative stress, and neuroprotection. Besides, it serves as an epigenetic regulator in terms of histone methylation, acetylation, β-hydroxybutyrylation to delay various age-related diseases. In addition, studies support endogenous β-HB administration or exogenous supplementation as effective strategies to induce a metabolic state of nutritional ketosis. The purpose of this review article is to provide an overview of β-HB metabolism and its relationship and application in age-related diseases. Future studies are needed to reveal whether β-HB has the potential to serve as adjunctive nutritional therapy for aging.


In this presentation, the presenter will review what was done at Kennedy Space Center to deploy and implement PTC MathCAD and PTC Workgroup Manager in a multi-org system. During the presentation the presenter will explain how they configured PTC Windchill to create custom soft-types and object initialization rules for their custom numbering scheme and why they choose these methods. This presentation will also include how to modify the EPM default soft-type file in the PTC Windchill server codebase folder. The presenter will also go over the code used in a start up script to initiate PTC MathCAD and PTC Workgroup Manager in the proper order, and also set up the environment variables when running both PTC Workgroup Manager and PTC Creo. The configuration.ini file the presenter used will also be reviewed to show you how to set up the PTC Workgroup Manager and customized it to their user community. This presentation will be of interest to administrators trying to create a similar set-up in either a single org or multiple org system deployment. The big take away will be ideas and best practices learned through implementing this system, and the lessons learned what to do and not to do when setting up this configuration. Attendees will be exposed to several different sets of code used and that worked well and will hear some limitations on what the software can accomplish when configured this way.


Following changes to educational psychology training, the research aimed to examine whether the new training is considered "fit for purpose", using a mixed-methods design. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via semi-structured online questionnaires completed by recently qualified educational psychologists (RQEPs) who completed training programmes in 2009 and 2010, and principal educational psychologists (PEPs). 64 RQEPs and 15 PEPs responded to the online questionnaires distributed through the Educational Psychology Network (EPNET) and the National Association of Principal Educational Psychologists (NAPEP) forums, as well as via all initial professional training providers in the UK (excluding Scotland). Frequency counts were calculated for quantitative data. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data. Findings suggest that RQEPs gain skills and competencies that are used and valued by services, specifically, professional and interpersonal competencies to face demanding roles. Gaps were identified in relation to providing RQEPs with therapeutic competencies that they and PEPs would value. Discrepancies between the training provided and the realistic educational psychologist (EP) role were highlighted, in addition to the impact these seem to have on RQEPs. Facilitators and barriers to implementation of training were identified. The restructured initial professional training appears to have provided RQEPs with relevant training that is used and valued by services. It seems that some level of "mismatch" in training and job requirements will remain until a consistent educational psychology identity can be formed, either through the profession itself or due to enforced Government changes to the role. Recommendations for RQEPs, Educational Psychology Services, including PEPs, and future programme providers are presented.


In this chapter I approach three automatic methods for the evaluation of summaries from narrative and expository texts in Spanish. The task consisted of correlating the evaluation made by three raters for 373 summaries with results provided by latent semantic analysis. Scores assigned by latent semantic analysis were obtained by means of the following three methods: 1) Comparison of summaries with the source text, 2) Comparison of summaries with a summary approved by consensus, and 3) Comparison of summaries with three summaries constructed by three language teachers. The most relevant results are a) a high positive correlation between the evaluation made by the raters (r= 0.642); b) a high positive correlation between the computer methods (r= 0.810); and c) a moderate-high positive correlation between the evaluations of raters and the second and third LSA methods (r= 0.585 and 0,604), in summaries from narrative texts. Both methods did not differ significantly in statistical terms from the correlation among raters when the texts evaluated were predominantly narrative. These results allow us to assert that at least two holistic LSA-based methods are useful for assessing reading comprehension of narrative texts written in Spanish.


TGF-β has been implicated as a major pathogenic factor in diabetic nephropathy. This randomized, double-blind, phase 2 study assessed whether modulating TGF-β1 activity with a TGF-β1-specific, humanized, neutralizing monoclonal antibody (TGF-β1 mAb) is safe and more effective than placebo in slowing renal function loss in patients with diabetic nephropathy on chronic stable renin-angiotensin system inhibitor treatment. We randomized 416 patients aged ≥25 years with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, a serum creatinine (SCr) level of 1.3-3.3 mg/dl for women and 1.5-3.5 mg/dl for men (or eGFR of 20-60 ml/min per 1.73 m2), and a 24-hour urine protein-to-creatinine ratio ≥800 mg/g to TGF-β1 mAb (2-, 10-, or 50-mg monthly subcutaneous dosing for 12 months) or placebo. We assessed a change in SCr from baseline to 12 months as the primary efficacy variable. Although the Data Monitoring Committee did not identify safety issues, we terminated the trial 4 months early for futility on the basis of their recommendation. The placebo group had a mean±SD change in SCr from baseline to end of treatment of 0.33±0.67 mg/dl. Least squares mean percentage change in SCr from baseline to end of treatment did not differ between placebo (14%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 9.7% to 18.2%) and TGF-β1 mAb treatments (20% [95% CI, 15.3% to 24.3%], 19% [95% CI, 14.2% to 23.0%], and 19% [95% CI, 14.0% to 23.3%] for 2-, 10-, and 50-mg doses, respectively). Thus, TGF-β1 mAb added to renin-angiotensin system inhibitors did not slow progression of diabetic nephropathy.


Clinicians are interested in the estimation of robust and relevant genetic signatures from gene sequencing data. Many machine learning approaches have been proposed trying to address well-known issues of this complex task (feature or gene selection, classification or model selection, and prediction assessment). Addressing this problem often requires a deep knowledge of these methods and some of them demand high computational resources that may not be affordable. In this paper, an exhaustive study that includes different types of feature selection methods and classifiers is presented, providing clinicians an useful insight of the most suitable methods for this purpose. Predictions assessment is performed using a bootstrap cross-validation strategy as an honest validation scheme. The results of this study for six benchmark datasets show that filter or embedded methods are preferred, in general, to wrapper methods according to their better statistical significant results, in terms of accuracy, and lower demand for computational resources.


Abstract. We present an integrated system for measuring atmospheric concentrations of CO2, O2, CH4, CO, and N2O in central Siberia. Our project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing long-term, continuous, high precision atmospheric measurements to elucidate greenhouse gas processes from a very remote, mid-continental boreal environment. Air is sampled from five heights on a custom-built 300-m tower. Common features to all species' measurements include air intakes, an air drying system, flushing procedures, and data processing methods. Calibration standards are shared among all five measured species by extending and optimising a proven methodology for long-term O2 calibration. Our system achieves the precision and accuracy requirements specified by the European Union's "CarboEurope" and "ICOS" (Integrated Carbon Observing System) programmes in the case of CO2, O2, and CH4, while CO and N2O require some further improvements. It was found that it is not possible to achieve these high precision measurements without skilled technical assistance on-site, primarily because of 2–3 month delays in access to data and diagnostic information. We present results on the stability of reference standards in high pressure cylinders. It was also found that some previous methods do not mitigate fractionation of O2 in a sample airstream to a satisfactory level.


This thesis examines the work, culture and protest of the Yorkshire miners between
1786-1839. The original contribution of this work is to emphasise the intimate connection
between protest, mainly trade union co-ordinated strikes, and living standards. In doing so,
this work brings together areas of investigation into protest history, social history, and
economic history, which have in recent years become divorced from one another. For many
years historians have accepted that protest was an indicator of discontent, proof of
exploitation, and evidence of oppression. This thesis offers an alternative argument. It
shows that protest was used strategically, and with a growing level of sophistication, to win
real wage increases in a high-wage industry that prospered across the period. This thesis
also adds to existing debates around working class radicalism and conservatism. It argues
that the Yorkshire miners were conservative loyalists across the entire 1786-1839 period.
 Chapters 2 and 3 examine the work and culture of the Yorkshire miners. The former
emphasises the experience of labour for miners, taking stock of why the industry paid such
high wages, which the colliers' trade unions capitalised on. The latter makes sense of their
culture, emphasising how the nature of their work and their high wages engendered a
competing alehouse and chapel culture. The alehouse and the chapel played an important
role in creating and maintaining trade unions. Chapters 4-8 examine instances of protest
chronologically. Chapter 4 considers the years 1786-1801, which witnessed a rise in the cost
of living and the growth of miners' trade unionism. Chapter 5 explores how and why the
Yorkshire miners combined under the Combination Laws. It highlights the role of friendly
societies in maintaining living standards when trade declined. Chapter 6 assesses the first
regional colliers' strike in 1819 to raise wages when living standards had fallen to their
lowest level in the decade. Chapter 7 illuminates 1820-32, years of prosperity, when the
cost of living fell and strikes for higher wages became more frequent. Chapter 8 investigates
trade unionism in the pre-Chartist years, when wages were unprecedentedly high. It
focusses on the violent strike at Wakefield and disputes at Earl Fitzwilliam's collieries.


A case-control study of gall stone disease in women in relation to use of contraceptives, reproductive history, and concentrations of endogenous hormones was undertaken. The study population comprised 200 hospital patients with newly diagnosed gall stone disease, 182 individually matched controls selected from the community, and 234 controls who were patients in hospital. Use of oral contraceptives was associated with an increased risk of developing gall stones among young subjects but a decreased risk among older subjects. The risk of developing gall stone disease increased in association with increasing parity, particularly among younger women. The risk fell with increasing age at first pregnancy, independent of parity. Mean urinary excretion over 24 hours of oestrone, but not of pregnanediol, was significantly (p less than 0.05) greater for postmenopausal patients than controls. The age dependence of the relative risk associated with exposure to oral contraceptives and pregnancy suggests that there are subpopulations of women susceptible to early formation of gall stones after exposure to either oral contraceptives or pregnancy.


Introduction: Flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) takes its origin by two heads: humero ulnar and radial.. The FDS is considered to be potential flexor of proximal interphalangeal, metacarpophalnageal and wrist joints through its insertion to the middle phalanges of lateral 4 fingers. Aim of the study was to conduct a morphometric study on FDS and to evaluate its variants in cadaveric limbs. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 25 right and 23 left upper limbs belonging to formalin fixed adult cadavers. Lengths of humeral, ulnar, radial heads of the muscle as well as its tendons were separately measured using digital caliper. Mean length of muscle bellies of humeral head, tendinous length and musculotendinous length tabulated. Results: A unique muscle belly arising from the deeper surface of left FDS as a tendon, proximal to flexor retinaculum, entering in the palm after passing through the carpal tunnel was observed. The muscle was inserted into the middle phalanx of index finger. Conclusion: Studies on absolute length of FDS are rare. The present study has significant influence on length tension relationship of afore mentioned muscle. The hazardous effects of anomalous belly of FDS and its consequences were also discussed.


ZnO nanowires are excellent candidates as building components for a novel generation of miniaturized electronic circuits, which can be exploited in particular as UV photodetectors and gas sensors. However, the large-scale applicability of ZnO nanowire devices is currently hindered by the limited control over their electrical properties. This thesis addresses in particular three main issues, which are discussed in distinct chapters: 1) the determination of the defect states in such devices and their impact on the below band gap photoconductivity, 2) the origin of the persistent photoconductivity after UV excitation, 3) the impact of doping by ion beam implantation as well as thermal annealing and plasma treatments on the photoconductivity and the detection of hydrogen molecules. 1) The analysis reveals the contribution of interfacial levels located between the nanowire and the gate oxide to the below band gap photoconductivity. Furthermore, in ZnO nanowire based field effect transistors the gate voltage can control the occupation of such defect levels. 2) A quantitative model is proposed, in order to investigate the recombination dynamics of the photogenerated charge carriers. The model is based on the so-called Elovich equation, which describes the adsorption of oxygen molecules on the nanowire surface and the simultaneous trapping of photogenerated electrons. 3) Doping by implantation of aluminum ions induces a drastic enhancement of the persistent photoconductivity, which is caused by the generation of defect levels during the implantation process. Plasma treatments in argon and oxygen atmospheres lead to vanishing hydrogen sensitivity, while thermal annealing in oxygen has a beneficial effect. The optimization of the thermal annealing conditions is also discussed.


Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is a promising new method of treatment for patients with coronary artery disease. Inflation of a balloon located at the tip of a catheter is used to dilate stenoses. In the first year of the use of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty at the Mayo Clinic, it was applied in 34 selected patients whose severe angina pectoris was related to a single, high-grade coronary artery stenosis. Successful dilation (stenosis opened by 40% or more of the normal luminal diameter) was achieved in 22 patients (65% of the total). Early postangioplasty assessment indicated relief of angina in all of these patients except for one patient who demonstrated coronary spasm that was responsive to medication. Median hospital stay was 3 days. Failure of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in the remaining 12 patients was usually due to an inability to manipulate the balloon catheter across the stenotic segment. Eleven of these patients had saphenous vein bypass graft surgery, as planned, immediately after the attempted angioplasty. There have been no deaths, but three patients sustained a transmural myocardial infarction. This initial experience with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty indicates that it is a relatively safe and a frequently effective method of relieving coronary stenosis in selected patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease.


Green hydrogen is becoming an increasingly important energy supply source worldwide. The great potential for the use of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source makes it an attractive energy carrier. In this paper, we discuss the potential of producing green hydrogen in Jordan. Aqaba, located in the south of Jordan, was selected to study the potential for producing green hydrogen, due to its proximity to a water source (i.e., the Red Sea). Two models were created for two electrolyzer types using MATLAB. The investigated electrolyzers were alkaline water (ALK) and polymeric electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. The first model was used to compare the required capacity of the PV solar system using ALK and PEM from 2022 to 2025, depending on the learning curves for the development of these technologies. In addition, this model was used to predict the total investment costs for the investigated electrolyzers. Then, a techno-economic model was constructed to predict the feasibility of using this technology, by comparing the use of a PV system and grid electricity as sources for the production of hydrogen. The net present value (NPV) and levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) were used as indicators for both models. The environmental effect, according to the reduction of CO2 emissions, was also taken into account. The annual production of hydrogen was 70.956 million kg. The rate of hydrogen production was 19.3 kg/s and 1783 kg/s for ALK and PEM electrolyzers, respectively. The LCOH was 4.42 USD/kg and 3.13 USD/kg when applying electricity from the grid and generated by the PV system, respectively. The payback period to cover the capital cost of the PV system was 11 years of the project life, with a NPV of USD 441.95 million. Moreover, CO2 emissions can be reduced by 3042 tons/year by using the PV as a generation source, instead of fossil fuels to generate electricity. The annual savings, with respect to the reduction of CO2 emissions, was USD 120,135.


Objective To assess the degree of concordance between Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews with meta-analyses of physical activity interventions. Study Design and Setting We conducted a matched-pair analysis with individual meta-analyses as the unit of analysis, comparing Cochrane reviews of randomised controlled trials of physical activity interventions with non-Cochrane reviews. Meta-analyses were matched based on the intervention, condition, outcome and publication year. Matched pairs were contrasted statistically in terms of differences between effect estimates, their precision, and number of citations using Wilcoxon two-sample test and agreement using Bland-Altman plots. Results Our search yielded 24 matched meta-analyses. Matched pairs were similar in terms of the number of included studies, sample sizes and publication year but only half (51.7%) of 545 individual clinical trials were included in both the Cochrane and non-Cochrane paired reviews. Effect estimates from non-Cochrane reviews were larger for 15 (62.5%) pairs, smaller for 8 (33.3%) and equal to Cochrane reviews for one (4.2%) pair. On average, effect estimates from non-Cochrane reviews were 0.12 log units (or 13%) higher compared with matched Cochrane reviews (z-score −2.312, P=0.012). We observed discrepancies with regard to the statistical (n=6) and clinical interpretation (n=4) of effect estimates, with non-Cochrane reviews reporting more often a statistically significant result (4/6) and effect sizes favouring intervention of greater than a two-fold (4/4) compared with Cochrane matches. Non-Cochrane reviews were also more frequently cited irrespective of whether the results agree or disagree in their statistical conclusion but this finding did not reach statistical significance at the traditional 0.05 threshold. Conclusion On average, meta-analyses from non-Cochrane reviews reported higher effect estimates and were more likely to show significant effects favouring the intervention compared with meta-analyses from Cochrane reviews. Though differences were small, they were sufficient to result in important discrepancies in statistical and clinical interpretations between a number of reviews. What is new? Key findings: Findings demonstrate non-Cochrane reviews on average report larger effect estimates and have discrepancies in statistical and clinical interpretation more likely to favour physical activity interventions. Potential sources underpinning discrepant review findings are explored in an accompanying sister paper. What this adds to what was known? The first assessment of systematic differences between paired Cochrane and non-Cochrane meta-analyses examining the role of physical activity interventions for preventing and treating major chronic disease What is the implication and what should change now? Authors should be aware of the need of protocol registration to minimise unnecessary duplication and be mindful of potential discrepant findings depending on the source of review evidence.


The Çalköy high plateau settlement, located in a pristine landscape, is thought to have considerable potential for recreation and nature tourism. This study focused primarily on the natural and cultural values of the area and their prospective utility for recreation and tourism. Additionally, the behaviours and activities of local people in terms of recreation and those of visitors in terms of tourism were examined and their environmental impacts were assessed. Interviews were conducted with four different groups comprising visitors, local people, local administrators and public authorities. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis was employed to determine the key aspects that could be used to inform the planning of local, ecologically based recreation and tourism. The method enables stakeholders and local people to give their perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the area along with opportunities and threats. These factors were then applied to a TOWS (Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Strengths) matrix to identify those features that need to be strategically enhanced or ameliorated in the planning context. The result of the study, according to the SWOT/TOWS analysis, is that Çalköy village pasture is one of the suggested places for high plateau tourism. Çal village plateau has exposed a variety of current and future challenges. There will be an increase in tourism activities in Çalköy village.


Abstract Mild steel continues to be the most extensively used construction material in several industries. However, steels suffer from corrosion in aqueous solutions. Coating is one of the common measures to circumvent corrosion. Silane coating is among the recent and promising measures to improve the corrosion resistance of metallic materials in corrosive environments. Silane coatings are becoming increasingly popular particularly over the traditional chromate conversion coatings that have harmful effects on human health and the environment and hence face increasingly regularity restrictions. This study has been conducted to evaluate the influence of silane treatments on corrosion resistance of mild steel in sodium chloride environment and the mitigation of microbial influenced corrosion (MIC) of mild steel due to sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB). The optimum conditions (viz; pHs of hydrolysis and condensation, hydrolysis time, dipping time and application method) of single/two step silane coatings of Bis-[triethoxysilyl]ethane (BTSE), bis-[trimethoxysilylpropyl]amine (bis-amino silane), 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride (quaternary ammonium silane) and octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODTMS) silanes have been investigated for improving corrosion resistance of mild steel in aggressive chloride solution (similar to sea water). The influence of silane coatings on corrosion performance of mild steel has been explained on the basis of electrochemical and analytical characterizations using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization test, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical measurements showed that the corrosion resistance of mild steel improved due to the BTSE silane coatings that were deposited at an optimum pH 4 of deposition. The longer the dipping time the better is the corrosion resistance of BTES-coated mild steel in the chloride solution. The time of hydrolysis of 3 h for octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODTMS) in water alcohol solution at pH 4 was found to be optimum for producing the stable and fully hydrolysed silane. Thus, the silane film developed under this condition was found to provide considerable corrosion resistance up to 24 h in 0.6 M NaCl solution. The significant decrease in corrosion resistance with increase in time of pre-immersion in corrosive solution was attributed to the ingress of corrosive media to the metal surface. As seen from the electrochemical tests, two step ODTMS coating enhanced the inhibition action of mild steel against corrosion in NaCl solution. However; the two step ODTMS coating is still permeable. Similar to what has been reported for the long aliphatic silane films deposited on other metals and alloys, the ODTMS coating on mild steel is suggested to possess defects, such as interconnected pores. Although, quaternary ammonium silane coatings have been used to improve the antimicrobial activity of coated surfaces, the interaction of the positively-charged ammonium group with water causes degradation of silane film when exposed to corrosive environments. The present work addresses the effect of two step silane coatings containing different concentrations of quaternary ammonium silane on corrosion resistance of mild steel in 0.6 M NaCl solution. The two step silane coatings were formed by dipping the mild steel coupons in non-functional silane solution [bis[triethoxysilyl]ethane (BTSE)] followed by dipping either in quaternary ammonium silane alone or in a silane mixture composed of bis-functional and quaternary ammonium silanes. For the second alternative, different silane mixtures were prepared by mixing of bis-[trimethoxysilylpropyl]amine (bis-amino silane) with different concentrations of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride in different mixing ratios (1:1, 3:1and 5:1 V/V). Based on electrochemical measurement results, the corrosion resistance improved as a result of coatings developed upon two step silane treatments of BTSE followed by the mixture of bis-amino and quaternary ammonium silane. But, the corrosion resistance decreased significantly (and was even lower than that uncoated mild steel) when the quaternary ammonium silane alone was used as the top coating for BTSE-coated mild steel. After determination of the optimum conditions of silane treatments to achieve the best corrosion resistance of mild steel in NaCl solution, the optimum conditions for silane coating to mitigate the microbial influenced corrosion of mild steel in the presence of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) have been investigated. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization and cyclic polarization tests were used to evaluate the enhancement in corrosion resistance of mild steel pre-exposed to biotic (media inoculated with SRB) and abiotic environments. To characterize the deposits on mild steel surface before and after MIC process; FTIR analysis were used. The coupons were examined for their surface biofilms and corrosion features, using SEM/EDX technique. Generally, the silane-coated mild steel suffered less acceleration in corrosion in the presence of SRB, as seen from the corrosion potential, which moved less towards cathodic direction compared to that of uncoated specimens. Electrochemical investigations showed that the coating developed upon two step treatment of octadecyltrimethoxysilane had the least corrosion current density and the highest impedance among the investigated coatings. The least tendency to pitting was observed for the coating, developed upon two step silane treatments of BTSE, followed by the mixture of bis-amino and quaternary ammonium silanes in mixing ratios of 5:1 (V/V). BTSE treatment alone did not improve the corrosion resistance of mild steel in the presence of SRB.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) involves both an initial primary insult to the brain and a delayed secondary injury in the hours and days thereafter. The delayed nature of secondary brain injury leaves open the possibility for a window of therapeutic intervention to prevent neurodegeneration. As there are currently no approved drugs for the treatment and prevention of secondary injury after TBI, my approach has been to first identify molecular pathways associated with a differential outcome from injury, followed by validation of these pathways by targeting them with a variety of therapeutic strategies ranging from genetic manipulation to novel drug compounds, and dietary supplementation. The Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene has three major alleles, APOE2, APOE3 and APOE4, the latter of which confers risk for poor outcome following TBI. Using quantitative Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, large proteomic datasets can be generated, and the difference in protein expression in response to TBI between transgenic mice expressing APOE3 or APOE4 can reveal changes that reflect a "better" or "worse" outcome, respectively. Analyzing such datasets from APOE3 and APOE4 transgenic mice at a wide range of time points, we examined the differential response to TBI and identified several protein pathways of interest, including: CD40 signaling, NF-kB signaling, and APP related proteins. Optimizing several behavioral I testing paradigms (Rotarod, Morris Water Maze, and Barnes Maze), we characterized spatial memory and motor function deficits resulting from TBI in order to quantify a "good" or "poor" response. Using a variety of targeted intervention strategies (CD40L knockout, administration of (-)-Nllvadipine, or anatabine) to modulate the protein pathways of interest, we showed improvement in response to TBI. Overall, these experiments provide demonstrate the effectiveness of using a systems biology approach to find potential targets for therapeutic intervention.


Would you believe what a robot tells you? A robot is essentially a high functioning computer and so, on the one hand, you should have no problem believing the information it provides. But on the other hand, what robots look like have been to shown to affect how you would feel about them. Robots that look almost—but not quite—human have been shown to elicit feelings of unease and mistrust. How much do these feelings of mistrust in turn make these humanlike robots believed less? Across two experiments, we answered that question by showing people a video of a crime and then having them read a witness statement containing misleading information. This statement was ostensibly prepared by a robot that appeared human, robotic, or a morph of the two. Contrary to our predictions, what a robot looks like did not affect how misled people were, even when we drew attention to how much people trusted their robot source. These results suggest that even though people may not like, or trust, certain robots, they will still believe what they say.


Numerous European programmes and initiatives have been instrumental in identifying a large (and increasing) number of examples of best practice (or good practice) in the field of spatial planning. In fact, there is now a profligacy of best practice, which means that many policy-makers are confronted with too much information if they try to assemble all the examples of best practice. However, the identification and dissemination of best practices remains central to many areas of European policy, including sustainable development and the urban environment. The underlying assumption in these documents appears to be that best practices are equally applicable and effective in another setting, and that the development and dissemination of best practice will help to lead to improvements in policy and practice in other countries, regions or cities. This paper argues that such a belief is too simplistic. The reality is that best practices have a more limited role in policy-making processes: other influences are more important. The value of exchanging European best practices is limited since there are huge differences in the technological, economic, political or social situation between countries in the European Union. This is particularly true when considering the transfer of best practices between 'new' and 'old' member states, where the social and economic situation, as well as the institutional frameworks, are often very different in the 'borrowing' and 'lending' countries. This paper focuses on the implications and importance of best practices for spatial planning. The paper begins by reviewing recent European policy documents on cross-border and inter-territorial cooperation, and examines the importance these documents attach to the identification and dissemination of best practices. Next, the paper identifies some of the main reasons why governments have been increasingly active in developing (or claiming) innovative policies that represent best practice: reasons include image, prestige, power and funding. The paper then reviews literature on how best practices are actually viewed and used by government officials, and examines the extent to which best practices are influential in changing the direction of policy. This paper examines the extent to which best practices in spatial planning are transferable, especially between eastern and western Europe.


BACKGROUND
Whether menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) protects against cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE
To assess atherosclerosis progression and CVD risk factors after MHT initiated in early menopause.

DESIGN
Randomized, controlled trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00154180).

SETTING
Nine U.S. academic centers.

PARTICIPANTS
Healthy menopausal women aged 42 to 58 years between 6 and 36 months from last menses without prior CVD events who had a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score less than 50 Agatston units and had not received estrogen or lipid-lowering therapy for at least 90 days.

INTERVENTION
Oral conjugated equine estrogens (o-CEE), 0.45 mg/d, or transdermal 17β-estradiol (t-E2), 50 mcg/d, each with 200 mg of oral progesterone for 12 days per month, or placebo for 48 months.

MEASUREMENTS
Primary end point was annual change in carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT). Secondary end points included changes in markers of CVD risk.

RESULTS
Of 727 randomly assigned women, 89.3% had at least 1 follow-up CIMT and 79.8% had CIMT at 48 months. Mean CIMT increases of 0.007 mm/y were similar across groups. The percentages of participants in whom CAC score increased did not differ significantly across groups. No changes in blood pressure were observed with o-CEE or t-E2. Low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels improved and levels of C-reactive protein and sex hormone-binding globulin but not interleukin-6 increased with o-CEE. Insulin resistance decreased with t-E2. Serious adverse events did not differ by treatment.

LIMITATION
Power to compare clinical events was insufficient.

CONCLUSION
Four years of early MHT did not affect progression of atherosclerosis despite improving some markers of CVD risk.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE
Aurora Foundation.


Here, we report highly transparent and flexible AgNW/SWCNT hybrid networks on PET substrates combined with plasmonic welding for securing ultrahigh stability in mechanical and electrical properties under severe bending. Plasmonic welding produces local heating and welding at the junction of AgNWs and leads strong adhesion between AgNW and SWCNT as well as between hybrid structure and substrate. The initial sheet resistance of plasmon treated AgNW/SWCNT hybrid film was 26 Ω sq(-1), with >90% optical transmittance over the wavelength range 400-2700 nm. Following 200 cycles of convex/concave bending with a bending radius of 5 mm, the sheet resistance changed from 26 to 29 Ω sq(-1). This hybrid structure combined with the plasmonic welding process provided excellent stability, low resistance, and high transparency, and is suitable for highly flexible electronics applications, including touch panels, solar cells, and OLEDs.


&NA; Bayesian hierarchical models produce shrinkage estimators that can be used as the basis for integrating supplementary data into the analysis of a primary data source. Established approaches should be considered limited, however, because posterior estimation either requires prespecification of a shrinkage weight for each source or relies on the data to inform a single parameter, which determines the extent of influence or shrinkage from all sources, risking considerable bias or minimal borrowing. We introduce multisource exchangeability models (MEMs), a general Bayesian approach for integrating multiple, potentially non‐exchangeable, supplemental data sources into the analysis of a primary data source. Our proposed modeling framework yields source‐specific smoothing parameters that can be estimated in the presence of the data to facilitate a dynamic multi‐resolution smoothed estimator that is asymptotically consistent while reducing the dimensionality of the prior space. When compared with competing Bayesian hierarchical modeling strategies, we demonstrate that MEMs achieve approximately 2.2 times larger median effective supplemental sample size when the supplemental data sources are exchangeable as well as a 56% reduction in bias when there is heterogeneity among the supplemental sources. We illustrate the application of MEMs using a recently completed randomized trial of very low nicotine content cigarettes, which resulted in a 30% improvement in efficiency compared with the standard analysis.


In this, the second edition of A Social History of England, Francois Bedarida has added a new final chapter on the last fifteen years. The book now traces the evolution of English society from the height of the British Empire to the dawn of the single European market. Making full use of the Annales school of French historiography, Bedarida takes his inquiry beyond conventional views to penetrate the attitudes, behaviour and psychology of the British people.


AIMS
The pyogenic infection of the sternoclavicular joint is a rare disease. The treatment can be conservative (antibiotics) or surgical (exposure and drainage of the joint or its resection). The authors analyze the causative and predisposing factors, the symptoms, the diagnosis, the questions of the therapy and its efficiency.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
In the 6 cases (5 male, 1 female, average age: 56.8 years) the cause of the disease were trauma or metastatic septic focus in 2-2 cases and intraarticular injection or preceding radiotherapy in 1-1 case. Predisposing diseases (diabetes mellitus, gout, chronic alcoholism, liver cirrhosis) could be proved in two cases. The most frequent symptoms were the swelling and erythema of the joint, fever, pain and limitation of motion. In all cases the CT scan proved the destruction of the joint. In one case after unsuccessful conservative therapy and in 1-1 case after debridement and drainage because of concomitant multiple septic focuses and mediastinitis resection of the sternoclavicular joint was applied in a later second step. In the other three patients primary resection of the joint was performed.

RESULTS
Both the conservative and drainage managements were insufficient. On the other hand the radical joint resection caused complete recovery in all cases. No intra and postoperative complications were observed. On an average 28.2 months after the radical operation the functional results were excellent.

CONCLUSIONS
Relying upon the results, radical resection is supposed to be the most effective method. Conservative treatment or drainage are recommended only for cases associated with severe complications. Resection is worthy performing after the recovery of the concomitant illnesses.


Dark tourist facilities are a modern tourism phenomenon. Although dark tourism is conceptually associated with the legal inconsistency of tourism, it is based on content related to human suffering. Tourist interest in dark tourist products is growing, and such contents have become a part of standard tourist packages in the markets where such offer exists. Despite their proven contribution to destination differentiation and competitiveness, potential resources for the development of dark tourist facilities are often neglected due to tourist workers lacking the knowledge requisite for the development of specialized tourism products. Unsustainable approach to the development of specialized tourism products results in focus on content, that ignores the broader benefits of an integrated destination product. In the case of dark tourism products, socio-cultural and tantalogic consequences are particularly problematic, as dark tourist offer is particularly sensitive to the ethical standards of the general public. The result is that visitors and organizers of such tourist packages are frequently given negative publicity. In spite of  the growing global interest in the dark tourism offer, its development is slow and modest due to the above-mentioned risks and insufficient education in the tourist industry. The existing global supply often ignores some of the potential benefits of implementation of such content into a destination's and national integrated tourism product. In an attempt to clear up doubts, and provide examples of positive and negative experiences from the global tourism practice, the authors carried out several studies based on which they devised a framework model for the development of a dark tourism product with recommended variables of significant impact.


Approximately 600,000 tons of maize were produced annually in Nigeria. Maize was the main grain crop in southern Nigeria and its production in the middle belt was rapidly increasing. Most of the crop was eaten as dry grain, a little before maturity. A preference was recorded for floury varieties of maize in southern Nigeria. This preference depended on the greater yield of flour per unit weight of grain in the floury varieties over flint and dent varieties. Grain type, plant height, time to maturity and grain colour allowed distinction of four local maize types. Some of the newly introduced maize types from Central America outyielded the local varieties by a wide margin: 1200-1500 lb per acre for the local varieties and 2500-3000 lb for the introduced ones. Once. this difference proved to be due to greater longevity of the top leaves of an introduced variety. Information on the agronomy, distribution and utilization of maize was used to draw up aims for a Nigerian maize breeding programme. One of the aims, a yellow flint maize of medium duration, was achieved in a synthetic variety ESI through an intravarietal gametic selection for combining ability. Later observations showed that advanced-stage inbred lines from several sources should be utilized.


This dissertation focuses on two open questions in operating vaccination clinics in low and middle income countries. First, as a result of limited ``open vial life," clinicians face difficult tradeoffs between opening a multi-dose vial to satisfy a potentially small immediate demand versus retaining the vial to satisfy a potentially large future demand. Second, in low and middle income countries, governmental health organizations face tradeoffs between locating (additional) clinics or conducting outreach trips to vaccinate patients in remote locations.

To answer the first question, we formulate Markov decision process models that determine when to conserve vials as a function of the time of day, the current vial inventory, and the remaining clinic-days until the next replenishment. The objective is to minimize ``open-vial waste" while administering as many vaccinations as possible. For the base model, we analytically establish that the optimal policy is of a threshold type; conduct extensive sensitivity analysis on model parameters; develop a practical heuristic policy; suggest operational approaches that do not overly inconvenience patients; define metrics for determining appropriate operating hours and sessions per inventory replenishment cycle; and study the impact of random vial yield. We then generalize the base model by considering a positive probability of return for patients who are not vaccinated on their first visit and incorporating non-stationary arrival rates. To study these enhancements, we perform extensive numerical experiments at the clinic level for a single replenishment cycle and then extrapolate to multiple clinics and the entire world on an annual basis. The results indicate potential savings on the order of millions of doses per year.

To answer the second question, given a network of population centers we develop a mixed integer linear programming model that determines clinic locations and outreach activities. The model minimizes cost over a specified period of time subject to constraints on coverage, trip distance, trip size, trip frequency and patient travel. We address demand uncertainty; perform sensitivity analysis on key model parameters; compare the performance of the optimal solution to heuristic policies; and conclude that while counterintuitive it is often suboptimal to locate clinics in the largest population centers.


In industrialized countries, wages between migrants and natives usually differ. Previous studies that mostly focused on human capital theory and cross-sectional wage differences failed to fully explain the wage gap. We offer a new explanation and assume that differences in the employment trajectories of migrants and natives contribute to diverging wages after labor market entrance. Utilizing longitudinal data for Germany, we analyze the job mobility of migrants and natives and distinguish among voluntary, involuntary, and internal job changes. Indeed, we find evidence for differences in transition patterns and — using several fixed-effects regressions — are able to explain a substantial part of the gap in hourly wages. The results suggest that the higher number of involuntary changes among migrants increases the wage gap. In contrast, support for more voluntary and internal job changes among migrants should help to counteract diverging earnings trajectories.


The late Dr. Gershon-Cohen was the pioneer of modern mammography in the United States, and was in large part responsible for the acceptance of this technique in this country. His book, which is a combination of atlas and text, is the fruit of many years' work not only developing radiologic techniques, but also demonstrating the clinical usefulness of mammography. While recognizing that most of the roentgenograms reproduced in this book were made before the advent of the new molybdenum target tubes and specially designed mammography equipment, it must be stated that the quality of the films is excellent and great care was taken in reproducing them. A succinct, but certainly more than adequate, discussion of technical considerations involved in obtaining satisfactory mammograms includes many meticulous details which only the experience of 30 years of mammographic study and more than 50,000 exams can provide. Dr. Gershon-Cohen worked very closely with pathologist,


Knowing the metabolic balance of an ecosystem is of utmost importance in determining whether the system is a net source or net sink of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. However, obtaining these estimates often demands significant amounts of time and manpower. Here we present a simplified way to obtain an estimation of ecosystem metabolism. We used artificial neural networks (ANNs) to develop a mathematical model of the gross primary production to community respiration ratio (GPP:CR) based on input variables derived from three widely contrasting European coastal ecosystems (Scheldt Estuary, Randers Fjord, and Bay of Palma). Although very large gradients of nutrient concentration, light penetration, and organic-matter concentration exist across the sites, the factors that best predict the GPP:CR ratio are sampling depth, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, and temperature. We propose that, at least in coastal ecosystems, metabolic balance can be predicted relatively easily from these three predictive factors. An important conclusion of this work is that ANNs can provide a robust tool for the determination of ecosystem metabolism in coastal ecosystems.


One of the important aspects of modern power system security assessment is the consideration of any contingencies arises due to unplanned or planned line outages leading to system overloads or abnormal system voltages. Several methods have been developed in the past few years to address this problem but computation time has been identified as the constraint making the process inefficient. Utilities today are in need of tools, techniques and also the methods that will enable them to predict the dynamic stability and reliability of the grid in the real-time. A power system is secure against a given contingency if it operates within tolerable operating limits before and after the occurrence of the contingency. In practice, it is not possible to secure a power system against all possible contingencies. Therefore, only the most critical contingencies (imminent disturbances) are considered. Contingency ranking attempts to estimate the impact of various contingencies without actually solving the power network. Existing methods of contingency ranking methods suffer from masking effects in approximate methods and slow execution in more accurate ranking methods. This paper presents an exact and precise method of contingency ranking. The method used here takes due consideration of both apparent power overloading and voltage violations simultaneously to find indices which in turn used to rank the contingencies. Here 1P1Q solution is used to find the post contingency voltages and power flows. The proposed work is simulated on IEEE-14 and IEEE30 bus test systems in MATLAB environment. The method used is based on realistic approach taking practical situations into account. Besides taking real situations into consideration, this method is fast enough to be considered for on-line security analysis.


Gardner syndrome (GS) is a genetic disease with high penetrance characterized by a signal triad of colonic polyposis, multiple osteomas and mesenchymal tumors in the soft tissues and skin. The colonic polyposis is associated to the development of malignant disease. Patients also may present maxillomandibular alterations such as impacted teeth, supernumerary teeth, congenital missing teeth and odontomas. Bone lesions and maxillomandibular alterations usually precedes the gastrointestinal alterations; hence dentists should be aware of GS syndrome main radiographic signals  , in order to detect the disease and proper referred the patient to medical treatment and surveillance. Thus, in this report, it is demonstrated a case of GS in a male patient, as well as discussed GS features.


Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are now recognised as a real and growing threat to population health and development; Developing countries are often disproportionately burdened by both NCDs and disasters in comparison to higher income countries. While disasters can exacerbate existing NCDs, suboptimal management during and after a disaster not only has immediate health effects, but can also have lasting social and health ramifications. Greater advocacy and awareness surrounding NCDs and emergencies is vital.


The 3D-numerical model to simulate the toxic gas dispersion on industrial sites and inflow of toxic gas into the industrial room after accident ejections was developed. The model is based on the K-gradient transport model and equation of potential flow. The results of numerical experiment are presented.