This study aims at refining the synchronisation between the EPICA Dome C (EDC) and Vostok ice cores in the time interval 0-145 kyr BP by using the volcanic signatures. 102 common volcanic events were identified by using continuous electrical conductivity (ECM), di-electrical profiling (DEP) and sulfate measurements while trying to minimize the distortion of the glaciological chronologies. This is an update and a continuation of previous works performed over the 0-45 kyr interval that provided 56 tie points to the ice core chronologies (Udisti et al., 2004). This synchronisation will serve to establish Antarctic Ice Core Chronology 2012, the next synchronised Antarctic dating. A change of slope in the EDC-depth/Vostok-depth diagram is probably related to a change of accumulation regime as well as to a change of ice thickness upstream of the Lake Vostok, but we did not invoke any significant temporal change of surface accumulation at EDC relative to Vostok. No significant phase difference is detected between the EDC and Vostok isotopic records, but depth shifts between the Vostok 3G and 5G ice cores prevent from looking at this problem accurately. Three possible candidates for the Toba volcanic super-eruption similar to 73 kyr ago are suggested in the Vostok and EDC volcanic records. Neither the ECM, DEP nor the sulfate fingerprints for these 3 events are significantly larger than many others in the records.


Since the International Geophysical Year (1957/58), conservation of sites of biological and ecological significance has been an important objective for many nations active in the Antarctic. Although conservation, as such, was not considered in the original Antarctic Treaty provisions in 1961, it was soon introduced through the AgreedMeasures developed in 1964. The designation of particular areas, initially to protect scientific research and then to conserve key examples of Antarctic habitats, was a cause supported by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and agreed by Treaty Parties in the form of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and then Specially Protected Areas (SPA). At that stage non-biological sites could not be designated as SPAs and it took until 1989 for the Parties to recognize this might be necessary for outstanding geological sites and establish Specially Reserved Areas (SRA) of which only one the Dufek Massif in the Pensacola Mountains was ever designated. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty agreed in 1991 attempted to rationalize the protected area system by merging all the SSSI, SPA and SRA sites into a single system called Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) and redefined its scope to allow outstanding geological and geomorphological areas to be considered. This opened the way for earth scientists to propose geological sites for protection, such as important fossil sites for example, but there was concern that this approach might attract attention to important sites and result in increased damage and souveniring from tourism. Even so, geological heritage (or 'geo-heritage') remained almost completely outside the formal protected area system. With both tourism and researcher numbers increasing it was noticed that Antarctic fossils were being offered for sale indicating that potentially priceless material might be being pilfered from important Antarctic sites. There was also an increasing threat to the continent's geological values from human activities such as oversampling by scientists, damage by infrastructure construction and impact from foot or vehicular traffic as the number of scientific stations and tourism landing sites increased. The need for recognition, proactive protection and management of geo-heritage in the Antarctic was becoming increasingly obvious and pressing. Despite the opportunities presented by the Protocol little has been done in the past 25 years to protect geological sites in spite of the numerous excellent, and globally significant, examples worthy of recognition and protection. Of the 72 ASPAs currently agreed, only 7% were designated with geological features as the primary values for protection. With geo-conservation actively developing in many other parts of the world, the lack of initiative in the Antarctic might simply be due to a i) lack of widespread awareness of geological heritage values and issues, or ii) a reluctance amongst geoscientists to designate, promote and champion geologically significant places as ASPAs. To provide the up-to-date scientific input necessary to rectify this lack of progress, the Geological Heritage andGeo-conservationActionGroup has been established by SCAR. Tasked with developing a range of criteria for identifying and classifying geological, paleontological and geomorphological sites of significance within Antarctica, the group will also develop sustainable management strategies and a code of conduct for geological field activities, with a view to balancing scientific research needs with long term conservation of geo-heritage, providing advice directly to the Committee for Environmental Protection. This Action Group provides an opportunity for all geoscientists to promote Antarctic geological heritage values and ensure that these features are recognized, valued and respected by future generations of scientists and visitors. Broad participation from the Antarctic science community is needed now to make rapid and significant progress.


This document introduces a logical and physical file aggregation scheme for File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (FLUTE). The logical file aggregation mechanism is a generalized grouping mechanism, allowing to logically group files. The physical file aggregation scheme allows, additionally to a logical grouping, to more efficiently use Forward Error Correction (FEC) in the context of FLUTE, in particular when dealing with a large number of "small" files. Unlike a solution based on the creation of an archive, the object aggregation scheme (1) avoids the need to perform preliminary transformations on the content and (2) preserves the possibility to extract a subset of the content, which may be critical aspect with some partially reliable broadcasting test cases.


Introduction: On account of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we have explored the importance of azithromycin and zinc in the treatment of the coronavirus disease by studying the interaction between the cation Zn++ and azithromycin with the tools of the semi-empirical quantum mechanics PM3 method Methods: By this approach, the niche in which Zn++ is located was determined Zn++ creates a strong clastic binding between an amine and a hydroxyl group located on the amino-hexose side-chain Such an interaction serves as a shuttle and allows zinc cation to invade endocellular structures Results: In this triple collaborative association, the role of hydroxychloroquine would be more that of a chaotropic agent at plasmic membranes, which facilitates access to the azithromycin-Zn++ equipage into key internal compartments Conclusion: Finally, we show that both azithromycin and Zn++ are susceptible to play a direct role against the replication and the assembly of SARS-CoV-2 particles


Several non-invasive biomarkers of inflammation in asthma such as exhaled NO and eosinophil numbers in induced sputum have been developed. Their usefulness in experimental asthma models has been validated but there is less experience in their use in clinical practice. Because specific cooperation may be needed from the patient in producing samples from the airways for assay of biomarkers, younger children may not be suitable. Specific experience in these age groups is required. There remains a need to examine these biomarkers in patients from the mild asymptomatic to the more symptomatic difficult asthmatic in longitudinal studies. Is it useful to monitor these biomarkers as a response to treatment rather than the more conventional measures of symptoms and lung function measurements for prevention of exacerbations and long-term reduction in lung function? Answers to such issues will be crucial in adopting the routine measurement of certain biomarkers from the airways in the assessment of asthma severity and control.


This study aims at exploring the use of generalized maximum entropy for estimating the unknown parameters in macroeconomic panel data models with two special concerns. First, the macroeconomic empirical panel studies usually face to a problem of data limitations, where the exiting estimation methods are often hard to get a significant results. Hence, we consider the GME estimator as one of the effective solutions for this problem. Second, there is often a discontinuity found in a relationship between explanatory and response variables in the macroeconomic studies. Therefore, in this study, the panel regression kink design based on the GME estimator is proposed for examining a discontinuous slope of the relationship between variables especially when the data is limited. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated through simulation study and later in the empirical analysis of the foreign direct investment. Both experiments showed a satisfiable performance of the model as well as the considered estimation technique.


High protein intake produces an increase in net acid excretion, which in turn leads to an increase in urinary calcium. Effects of diet in urinary acid and calcium excretion depend not only on the protein content, but also may be modified by other constituents such as potassium and alkali equivalents of bicarbonate present in fruits and vegetables. Diets deficient in these potassium bases increase the acid load imposed by proteins. In conse- quence, diets with a high protein intake or poor in fruits and vegetables produce a low-grade systemic metabolic acidosis which exerts deleterious effects on the body, including growth retardation in children, decreased muscle and bone mass in adults, and kidney stone formation. This review intends to summarize the present evidence in relation to the effects of high protein diets in different organs and systems including hydroelectrolytic and acid base metabolism, bone metabolism, renal and endocrine function. Particular aspects that may exert a special influence in life extremes as childhood and old age are also addressed. An Venez Nutr 2009;22 (2): 95-104.


Native bunchgrasses like California oatgrass are valuable for enhancing biodiversity. Healthy stands can reduce invasion by exotic species yet exhibit a spatial distribution compatible with forbs (Maslovat 2001). Combined with other native grasses and forbs, California oatgrass improves habitat diversity for feeding, nesting, and hiding by songbirds (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 2000), as well as other animals. The grains are eaten by small birds and mammals (Mohlenbrock 1992). Prairies with California oatgrass as a definitive species are also unique refuges for other endemic organisms. For example, the Ohlone tiger beetle (Cicindela ohlone) is an endangered (federally listed) predatory insect known only to five remnant stands of California native grassland in Santa Cruz County (Santa Cruz Public Libraries 2003). These rare grasslands, including the coastal terrace prairies, remain biodiversity "hotspots" and are considered in need of protection (Stromberg et al. 2001).


OBJECTIVE
To improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of the disease on the basis of the clinical features and genetic characteristics of patients with Silver Russell syndrome (SRS).

METHOD
Patients diagnosed with SRS by Price criteria in 2006 to 2011 were reviewed for their clinical manifestations, physical signs, laboratory examinations and treatments.

RESULT
Twenty cases with SRS were 0.08-12.17 yr old. Fifteen were male and 5 were female. The clinical characteristics included more than 80% of cases had postnatal growth retardation 100% (20/20), craniofacial dysmorphism 100% (20/20), small for gestation age 95% (19/20), asymmetry and thinning of the face and/or limbs 90% (18/20), fifth finger clinodactyly 80% (16/20), BMI < -2 SDS 80% (16/20). Their height was obviously lagging behind in the bone age. HD SDS/average of bone retardation was 3.08. The two patients with the chief complaint of external genital abnormalities would have aggressive surgical treatment and they did not use the growth hormone (GH) treatment. Only six patients had used the GH treatment. GH treatment at a dose of 0.1 IU/(kg·d) used in 2 cases achieved a growth velocity (GV) 8 - 11 cm/yr but in another 2 cases < 5 cm/yr. In genetic study, 6 patients were found to have 11p15 low methylation, 1 had low and high methylation, 1 had duplication, no relation between clinical and methylation of 11p15 was found.

CONCLUSION
There were great variations of clinical features in SRS characterized by small for gestation age and/or postnatal growth retardation, craniofacial dysmorphism, asymmetry of the face and/or limbs or ultrafine limbs, fifth finger clinodactyly. Severely low BMI was seen and height was obviously lagging behind in the bone age. The findings of laboratory tests and imaging of SRS were not specific. Some of SRS had 11p15 imprinting defects. The treatment of SRS is mainly symptomatic.


Purpose To evaluate the results of the frontalis sling operation using a silicone rod for the correction of ptosis in patients with third nerve palsy with a focus on corneal safety. Methods Patients with third nerve palsy who underwent the frontalis sling operation using a silicone rod between 2008 and 2019 were included in this study. The medical records of all patients were reviewed, and their clinical characteristics and postoperative outcomes were analyzed. In this retrospective, interventional case series, the main outcome measures were eyelid contour, eyelid height by margin reflex distance, and corneal status. Results Twenty-four eyes of 18 patients (12 male and six female patients) were included. The mean age at the time of surgery was 35.1 years (range, 5–64 years). Twelve patients underwent a unilateral ptosis operation, and six patients received a bilateral ptosis operation. The mean follow-up period was 32.1 months (range, 2–87 months). Most patients (21 of 24 eyes, 88%) showed poor Bell's phenomenon on preoperative examination. Satisfactory eyelid height and eyelid contour were achieved in almost all patients (mean postoperative margin reflex distance, +1.2 mm) postoperatively. Although corneal erosions were detected for several months in eight of 24 eyes after surgery, these findings were well controlled medically with artificial tear eye drops and ointments. Conclusions Frontalis sling surgery using a silicone rod can safely and effectively correct ptosis without severe corneal complications in patients with third nerve palsy. Our study outlines a new method to define the postoperative safety outcome by specifically focusing on categorized corneal status.


With the rapid and the fast development of artificial intelligence technology, intelligent tutoring Systems (ITSs) are becoming one of the most important area of research and development. Intelligent tutoring Systems have very good impact for making computer-based instruction more adaptive and interactive. Intelligent tutoring Systems are becoming important aspect of educational systems that makes use of adaptive technologies to bring in aspects of a human-teacher delivering personalized and customized tutoring to a student, into online computer-based learning environments. Early Intervention Program (EIP) is very important to improve and enhance the overall development of children with Tiresome 21 (Down syndrome). Up till now, there is no ITS for Early Intervention for Down syndrome children. In order to help a child and parents in the implementation of Early Intervention Program, a proposed ITS framework has been developed. This ITS can help his/her parents assess and evaluate children's' skills in order to provide effective early intervention services to handicaps children according to their mental age and to evaluate their progress and learn. This paper explore the construction requirements to build ITS for Down syndrome children, and the points that differ the ITS for Down syndrome from the traditional ITSs.


The shrub layer provides important habitat for wildlife throughout the harsh environment of the arctic tundra landscape. Studies have shown that the shrub layer is expanding in tundra landscapes and changing habitat conditions due to climate warming. My research goal was to determine the spatial pattern of the shrub layer across the tundra and forest-tundra ecotone landscapes. Data were collected in 1x1 m contiguous quadrats along two 500 m long transects in open tundra and across the forest-tundra ecotone. Within each quadrat, I identified shrub species, recorded their cover and height, and also sampled explanatory variables (soil pH and microtopography). I used wavelet analysis to determine the locations of significant patches and gaps in the shrub layer. Results indicate that distance to a natural or created edge, and microtopography were the environmental variables that best explained the spatial pattern of shrubs across tundra and forest-tundra ecotone landscapes. Throughout both habitat types, shrub height and diversity increased closer to lakeshore edges. The pattern of the shrub layer in the tundra showed gradual changes with relatively uniform distributions of prostrate shrub species. The ecotone displayed a pattern of abrupt changes in shrub habitat with fine-scale variation in shrub diversity and height. The heterogeneity of the shrub layer in subarctic regions will likely continue to change with further climate change.


Abstract Understanding the demographic drivers of range contractions is important for predicting species' responses to climate change; however, few studies have examined the effects of climate change on survival and recruitment across species' ranges. We show that climate change can drive trailing edge range contractions through the effects on apparent survival, and potentially recruitment, in a migratory songbird. We assessed the demographic drivers of trailing edge range contractions using a long‐term demography dataset for the black‐throated blue warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) collected across elevational climate gradients at the trailing edge and core of the breeding range. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate the effect of climate change on apparent survival and recruitment and to forecast population viability at study plots through 2040. The trailing edge population at the low‐elevation plot became locally extinct by 2017. The local population at the mid‐elevation plot at the trailing edge gradually declined and is predicted to become extirpated by 2040. Population declines were associated with warming temperatures at the mid‐elevation plot, although results were more equivocal at the low‐elevation plot where we had fewer years of data. Population density was stable or increasing at the range core, although warming temperatures are predicted to cause population declines by 2040 at the low‐elevation plot. This result suggests that even populations within the geographic core of the range are vulnerable to climate change. The demographic drivers of local population declines varied between study plots, but warming temperatures were frequently associated with declining rates of population growth and apparent survival. Declining apparent survival in our study system is likely to be associated with increased adult emigration away from poor‐quality habitats. Our results suggest that demographic responses to warming temperatures are complex and dependent on local conditions and geographic range position, but spatial variation in population declines is consistent with the climate‐mediated range shift hypothesis. Local populations of black‐throated blue warblers near the warm‐edge range boundary at low latitudes and low elevations are likely to be the most vulnerable to climate change, potentially leading to local extirpation and range contractions.


Potassium pyroantimonate, when used as fixative (saturated or half-saturated, without addition of any conventional fixative) has been demonstrated to produce intracellular precipitates of the insoluble salts of calcium, magnesium, and sodium and to preserve the general cell morphology. In both animal and plant tissues, the electron-opaque antimonate precipitates were found deposited in the nucleus—as well as within the nucleolus—and in the cytoplasm, largely at the site of the ribonucleoprotein particles; the condensed chromatin appeared relatively free of precipitates. The inorganic cations are probably in a loosely bound state since they are not retained by conventional fixatives. The implications of this inorganic cation distribution in the intact cell are discussed in connection with their anionic counterparts, i.e., complexing of cations by fixed anionic charges and the coexistence of a large pool of inorganic orthophosphate anions in the nucleus and nucleolus.


The WHO classification of CNS tumors divides pineal parenchymal tumors (PPT) into pineocytoma (PC), pineoblastoma (PB) and mixed pineocytomapineoblastoma or PPT with intermediate differentiation. The reported incidence of mixed/intermediate PPT varies and this may reflect the difficulty in classifying tumors of this type. In an attempt to overcome the problem of the classification of PPT with intermediate differentiation, we describe the relationship between histological features and patient survival in a large cooperative series of 66 PPT from 12 neurosurgical centres. All tumors were studied with both light microscopy and immunohistochemically using antibodies against glial markers or neural/neuroendocrine markers. Our series included 11 PC, 39 mixed/intermediate PPT and 16 PB. A number of mitoses greater than 6 and the presence of necrosis were associated with a poorer outcome, while positive immunostaining for neurofilaments was associated with a better survival. We propose a new prognostic grading of 4 grades, grade I for PC, grade II for PPT with fewer than 6 mitoses and positive immunolabelling for neurofilaments, grade III for PPT with either 6 or more than 6 mitoses or fewer than 6 mitoses but without immunostaining for neurofilaments and grade IV for PB.


The rapid development of active acoustic metamaterials provides an alternative degree of freedom to manipulate scattering fields and acoustic radiation forces. With the multipole expansion method, acoustic radiation forces can be expanded in a series of coupling between adjacent pairs of scattering-field coefficients. Here, systems from two dimensional to one dimensional are explicitly considered. When shining a single acoustic plane wave, a necessary requirement to achieve negative force is that the particle has to be sufficiently active. A criterion of achieving the most negative or positive force by tuning the adjacent terms ``in phase'' or ``out of phase'' is derived. Thus, with the required scattering coefficients, the effective density and modulus corresponding to the largest pulling-pushing forces can be retrieved directly and function as a guide in the design of active metamaterials in one-dimensional systems. Our study can bridge the theoretical requirements of radiation force with the practical design of metamaterials.


User interface design is a complex activity, which makes it difficult to control and master. A well designed user interface can be seen as one where designers have correctly mapped the application domain onto the solution domain. This mapping, or bridge, may be helped or hindered by the design methodology and the success of any software engineering methodology depends on how good a bridge it provides between the application domain and the solution domain. A good match between the requirements and the implementation reduces the risk of having to make costly and major changes to the user interface at a late stage in development. Usage-Centered Design has been a very successful user interface design methodology. Although successful, there is no underlying theory as to why this should be the case. This paper uses semiotics to provide a better understanding of the models and the process of Usage-Centered Design.


Targeting of PP2A suggests a close link to tau-related cognitive and functional declines. However, little is known about how the expression of PP2A subunits and PP2A activity are dysregulated in the course of AD, precluding any specific targeting strategy for restoring PP2A in AD patients. Although the PP2A heterotrimer containing the regulatory subunit PR55/Bα (encoded by the PPP2R2A gene) is the major tau phosphatase, the involvement of other brain-specific PP2A regulatory subunits in tau dephosphorylation remains unknown. PR55/Bγ (encoded by the PPP2R2C gene) is a pivotal phosphatase in the brain, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PPP2R2C are involved in several mental disorders. By measuring the differential spatiotemporal expression patterns of PPP2R2C in Wt and transgenic AD mice, we revealed that PPP2R2C expression is downregulated in the aged AD mouse brain as compared to the Wt mouse brain. In cultured cells, PPP2R2C expression regulates PP2A activity and tau dephosphorylation. These results suggest that dysregulation of PPP2R2C expression may be involved in the onset of AD and that specifically targeting PPP2R2C expression or activity is a promising strategy against brain dementia disorders, including AD and other tauopathies.


would have been to Dom), but readers willing to wait for the picture to clear will fi nd many rewards. The interplay of the three boy characters is especially effective; each is developed as a strong and distinctive individual who contributes to the storyline. The well-written ending deals effectively with both the tragedy of Tin Pan Alley's death and Dom's eventual acceptance that his mother intentionally sent him alone. Young people are likely to fi nd this tale of youth survival both an empowering and enjoyable read. An author's note explains the family history on which the story is based. HM


Abstract Our perceptual experiences stretch across time to present us with movement, persistence and change. How is this possible given that perceptual experiences take place in the present that has no duration? In this paper I argue that this problem is one and the same as the problem of accounting for how our experiences occurring at different times can be phenomenally unified over time so that events occurring at different times can be experienced together. Any adequate account of temporal experience must also account for phenomenal unity. I look to Edmund Husserl's writings on time consciousness for such an account.


Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a unique disease which develops a high incidence of lymphoproliferative disorder such as monoclonal gammopathy or malignant lymphoma. In order to elucidate the mechanism of the progression from polyclonal to monoclonal lymphoproliferation in SS patient, we analyzed the monoclonal nature and the expression of bcl-2 protein in the salivary glands. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded salivary gland (labial salivary glands, 45; parotid glands, 6; submaxillary glands, 1) tissues or lung tissues (interstitial pneumonia in 2 patients with SS) were serially sectioned and evaluated using the standard avidin-biotin-peroxidase (ABC) technique. Murine monoclonal primary antibodies obtained from Dakopatts to B-cells (L26; CD20) and T-cell markers (UCHL1; CD45RO) and bcl-2 protein were employed. The bcl-2-positive areas were stained with T and B cell markers in serially sectioned specimens. Lymphocytes forming the LEL were mostly composed of CD20-positive B-cells and these cells expressed bcl-2 protein. In the lip biopsy specimens, 36 of 45 patients showed small areas of bcl-2 expression in periductal lymphocytes. The expression of bcl-2 protein in the cells plays a crucial role in the cells escaping apoptotic cell death, living long and resulting in autoantibody production, and obtaining the increased risk of monoclonal proliferation of the cells. These findings provide further evidence for understanding the mechanism of monoclonal transformation from polyclonal lymphoproliferation in autoimmune reaction.


Recurrent neural networks are widely used on time series data, yet such models often ignore the underlying physical structures in such sequences. A new class of physics-based methods related to Koopman theory has been introduced, offering an alternative for processing nonlinear dynamical systems. In this work, we propose a novel Consistent Koopman Autoencoder model which, unlike the majority of existing work, leverages the forward and backward dynamics. Key to our approach is a new analysis which explores the interplay between consistent dynamics and their associated Koopman operators. Our network is directly related to the derived analysis, and its computational requirements are comparable to other baselines. We evaluate our method on a wide range of high-dimensional and short-term dependent problems, and it achieves accurate estimates for significant prediction horizons, while also being robust to noise.


The abundance and size distribution of marine particles control a range of biogeochemical and ecological processes in the ocean, including carbon sequestration. These quantities are the result of complex physical‐biological interactions that are difficult to observe, and their spatial and temporal patterns remain uncertain. Here, we present a novel analysis of particle size distributions (PSDs) from a global compilation of in situ Underwater Vision Profiler 5 (UVP5) optical measurements. Using a machine learning algorithm, we extrapolate sparse UVP5 observations to the global ocean from well‐sampled oceanographic variables. We reconstruct global maps of PSD parameters (biovolume [BV] and slope) for particles at the base of the euphotic zone. These reconstructions reveal consistent global patterns, with high chlorophyll regions generally characterized by high particle BV and flatter PSD slope, that is, a high relative abundance of large versus small particles. The resulting negative correlations between particle BV and slope further suggests synergistic effects on size‐dependent processes such as sinking particle fluxes. Our approach and estimates provide a baseline for an improved understanding of particle cycles in the ocean, and pave the way to global, three‐dimensional reconstructions of PSD and sinking particle fluxes from the growing body of UVP5 observations.


Atherosclerosis and related cardiovascular diseases (CVD) represent one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide. The protection of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from apoptosis in the plaque has become an important therapeutic target for atherosclerotic plaque stabilization. A significant association of selenoprotein S (SelS) gene polymorphism with atherosclerotic CVD has been reported in epidemiologic studies, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In this paper, SelS expression in the thoracic aorta and its role in the protection of VSMCs from apoptosis have been studied. Western blot analysis showed that SelS was highly expressed in rat thoracic aorta. SelS gene silence by small interference RNA (siRNA) rendered VSMCs more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide‐ or tunicamycin‐ induced injury and apoptosis, as determined by MTT assay, Hoechst staining, and annexin V/propidium iodide staining. SelS silence aggravated hydrogen peroxide‐induced oxidative stress and phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) in VSMCs. Furthermore, SelS silence enhanced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced by hydrogen peroxide or tunicamycin, as showed by the increased protein levels of ER chaperone 78 kDa glucose‐regulated protein (GRP78), ER stress transducer phosphorylated protein kinase RNA like ER kinase (PERK), and the proapoptotic transcription factor C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). In conclusion, the present study suggested that SelS highly expressed in the blood vessel might protect VSMCs from apoptosis by inhibiting oxidative stress and ER stress. Our finding provided mechanistic insights for the potential preventive role of SelS in atherosclerotic CVD. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 106–117, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The development of a successful peritoneal dialysis program requires that the organization and structure of the program be carefully planned. Key ingredients include developing a robust chronic kidney disease education program, adequate training for physicians and nurses, full complement of supporting staff (including nurses, dietician, and social worker), appropriate continuous quality improvement programs, and a reasonable program size.


Reports on animal bones from archaeological sites often include information about the "kill-off pattern" for each species – i.e. the relative representation of different age-groups in the sample. Osteologists believe that this information can be used as evidence for whether an animal was wild or domesticated, and, if domesticated, about the way in which man managed the animal. In this paper a method is described for recording such data for sheep and goat using mandibles and mandibular teeth; the analysis and interpretation of such data is discussed using excavated samples from Aşvan Kale. When people keep sheep or goats, the age at which the animals are slaughtered depends on a range of factors: on the relative value placed on the different products, on the characteristics of the stock, and on a range of environmental factors – in particular, seasonal variation in the availability of grazing and feed. If meat production is the aim, most of the young males are killed when they reach the optimum point in weight-gain, only a few being kept for breeding.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Development of aromatase inhibitors (AIs) has significantly improved the treatment outcome of hormone responsive post-menopausal breast cancer. However, not all tumors respond initially and others eventually acquire resistance. Using our hormone sensitive human aromatase expressing MCF-7Ca xenograft model, we also saw that although AI letrozole provides a longer control over tumor growth, tumors eventually began to grow. Furthermore, we observed that Her-2 protein levels within the tumors were upregulated as early as 4 weeks (as tumors were responding). Her-2 levels increased further as the tumors became resistant. A cell line was isolated from these Long-Term Letrozole Treated tumors (LTLT-Ca), which showed increased Her-2 and reduction in ERα and aromatase. The increase in Her-2 protein levels was not accompanied by gene amplification but we observed that Her-2 protein in LTLT-Ca cells was more stable and had a longer half-life than that in MCF-7Ca cells. In addition, when MCF-7Ca cells were deprived of estrogen (E2W) or treated with letrozole, stability of Her-2 protein was immediately increased, suggesting that lower estrogen levels stabilize Her-2. In order to identify novel approaches to restoring sensitivity to AIs, we treated letrozole resistant MCF-7Ca tumors with histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor entinostat (ENT). Addition of ENT to either letrozole or exemestane in letrozole resistant MCF-7Ca tumors led to increased ERα expression, aromatase activity and significantly inhibited further tumor growth, along with downregulation of Her-2, p-Her-2, p-MAPK and p-Akt. Based on the observations made in letrozole resistant tumors treated with entinostat (with or without letrozole), we hypothesized that entinostat reverses letrozole resistance due to modulation of Her-2. Entinostat reduced interaction between HSP-90 and Her-2 in entinostat treated tumors, resulting in degradation of Her-2. Based on the findings that Her-2 is upregulated even when the tumors are responding, we evaluated the effect of adding entinostat to letrozole from the start of treatment in the MCF-7Ca xenografts. Tumors of MCF-7Ca cells were allowed to form in the presence of androstenedione (Δ4A), aromatizable substrate for estrogen. When the tumors reached ∼300mm3, the mice were grouped to receive Δ4A 100μg/day (control), letrozole (1μg/day), entinostat (50μg/day) or combination of entinostat plus letrozole. Mice receiving letrozole treatment had significantly lower tumor growth rate than control (p=0.0001), so did mice treated with the combination of entinostat plus letrozole (p<0.0001). The growth rate of tumors treated with entinostat + letrozole was similar to the growth rate of letrozole alone suggesting that in the absence of acquired or de novo resistance pathways the addition of entinostat did not provide benefit beyond the aromatase inhibitor alone.

Citation Format: Gauri J. Sabnis, Armina Kazi, Olga Goloubeva, Saranya Chumsri, Angela Brodie. HDAC inhibitor entinostat reverses letrozole resistance in MCF-7Ca xenografts through modulation of Her-2. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1314. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1314


Although the first publications in the field of chemometrics by Iranian researchers go back nearly 23 years, Iran's chemometrics has experienced significant growth after the year 2000. More than 1500 papers have been published by Iranian chemometricians between 2005 and 2012 which is about seven times more than those published before 2005. The aim of this review is to present a perspective about Iran's chemometrics developments. The role of enthusiastic students, motivated professors, annual workshops, and international collaborations is discussed in this work. After introducing the first papers in each field of chememotrics, the papers published during 2005–2012 were screened, and some of them were introduced. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Antley-Bixler syndrome (ABS) is an exceptionally rare genetic disorder presenting multiple malformations of bone requiring extensive medical and surgical management for survival. Current literature focuses on medical and surgical care without an emphasis on (re)habilitation. This case report describes the physical therapy (PT) care of a child with particularly complex ABS.

CASE DESCRIPTION
The child was a 3-year-old girl with ABS with a significant developmental delay. She received PT between the ages of 12 and 36 months within a specialized long-term care facility.

OUTCOMES
After treatment, she demonstrated change in her ability to assume and maintain developmental positions as noted during annual examinations. The standardized assessment tool used failed to capture change in functional abilities.

DISCUSSION
Further research was recommended to guide clinical reasoning and determine effectiveness of PT for children with ABS.

VIDEO ABSTRACT
For more insights from the author, access Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww.com/PPT/A86.


With globalisation, higher education in Quebec has suffered the same budget cuts as other public sectors. But does this mean that a more fundamental change will occur — a paradigmatic change? We begin by comparing Canadian university financing with that of other OECD countries. We then go on to look at the long term evolution of Canadian provincial financing, more specifically Quebec. We then analyse the situation of each Quebec university from the point of view of three theoretical models: Clark's collegiality, Ouchi's modes of control and Niklasson's paradigmatic analysis. We conclude with an analysis of the Quebec Ministry of Education's orientation within a longer temporal framework. In North America, Quebec seems to have an original model, even within the context of budget cuts. Strong links with the private sector are favoured. The private sector is occupying an increasingly larger place in financing, which also seems to confer a special position to the universities. Different from more globalising countries, they are conceived not as part of high-tech industrial development rather the Universities are seen as a support for national industries which are in turn part of the larger trends of economic and technological globalisation.


Climate change poses a problem for the economic system that fostered the polluting industrial revolutions of coal and oil. Today, the digital economy revolution offers significant hope for reducing pollution and promoting decarbonisation. However, the economic interest struggles of the powerful lobbies of the polluting sectors seem to reduce the potential for transformation of an economic system driven by the search for short-term profit. The major powers want to preserve their economic gains and are undertaking this revolution at a pace that suits them, which is not without conflict, given the urgency of action in the face of the harmful transformations undergone by eco-systems. Furthermore, the GAFAMs, the powerful providers of digital services and instruments, together with their Chinese competitors, have a considerable economic and strategic force that could undermine freedoms and human and citizens' rights. Finally, for the production of digital tools, rare earths are likely to pose new problems, those relating to the pollution involved in their production and their relative scarcity compared to the stocks known today.


This paper reports the first use of the abacus-groove structure to handle droplets in a wide microchannel, with no external forces integrated to the system other than the pumps. Microfluidic abacus channels are demonstrated for the sequential addition of droplets at the desired location. A control channel which is analogous to biasing in electronics can also be used to precisely determine the number of added droplets, when all other experimental conditions are fixed including the size of the droplets and the frequency of droplet-generation. The device allows programmable and autonomous operations of complex two-phase microfluidics as well as new applications for the method of analysis and computations in lab-on-a-chip devices.


OBJECTIVE
To identify and quantify the anatomic sites of foot lesions resulting in amputation among patients suffering from peripheral arterial disease with and without diabetes mellitus.

DESIGN
A retrospective study.

SETTING
Department of Orthopaedic Rehabilitation.

PATIENTS
A total of 212 recent lower limb amputees with diabetes mellitus (158) or peripheral arterial disease only (54) admitted for prosthetic rehabilitation.

RESULTS
In 62.2% of all amputees the site of lesion that led to amputation was located in the digits. A lesion under the metatarsal heads was reported in 8.0%, along the mid-foot and heel in 8.5%, on the dorsum of the foot in 3.3%, around the ankle joint and lower leg in 5.7%. Finally, 12.3% reported multiple lesions or were unable to recall the exact anatomic location.

CONCLUSIONS
Most foot lesions resulting in amputation are located around the digits. These high-risk sites, therefore, need the patient's and the health care team's special attention. The patient should be trained in self foot examination and meticulous daily care, whereas the role of the health care team is in foot evaluation and provision of protective foot wear.


BACKGROUND
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has been reported as a marker of atherosclerosis and of thrombi synthesis, but the relationship between HGF and proven coronary thrombi has not been described. The aim of this study was to investigate this relationship in patients with chest pain.

METHODS AND RESULTS
The study group comprised 107 patients with chest pain (61 acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 18 unstable angina, 15 stable angina, and 13 others; 65 males, 42 females; 66+/-11 years old). The presence of thrombi was evaluated by angiography, intravascular ultrasonography, angioscopy, and computed tomography. Serum HGF concentrations were measured using a new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum HGF was significantly higher in the patients with AMI (335.0 +/-197.5 pg/ml), unstable angina (269.1+/-152.7 pg/ml), acute aortic dissection (320.3+/-116.5 pg/ml), and pulmonary thromboembolism (292.5+/-101.9 pg/ml), than in those with stable angina (171.2+/-56.1 pg/ml). Serum HGF concentration was also higher in those patients with proven thrombi than in those patients without (326.7+/-189.7 pg/ml vs 226.9+/-110.8 pg/ml).

CONCLUSION
Increased serum HGF concentrations correlate with the presence of thrombi in patients with acute coronary syndrome, acute aortic dissection, and pulmonary thromboembolism.


We report measurements of the production cross sections of charged pions, kaons, and protons as a function of fractional energy, the event-shape variable called thrust, and the transverse momentum with respect to the thrust axis. These measurements access the transverse momenta created in the fragmentation process, which are of critical importance to the understanding of any transverse momentum dependent distribution and fragmentation functions. The low transverse momentum part of the cross sections can be well described by Gaussians in transverse momentum as is generally assumed but the fractional-energy dependence is non-trivial and different hadron types have varying Gaussian widths. The width of these Gaussians decreases with thrust and shows an initially rising, then decreasing fractional-energy dependence. The widths for pions and kaons are comparable within uncertainties, while those for protons are significantly narrower. These single-hadron cross sections and Gaussian widths are obtained from a $558\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$ data sample collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider.


Stress analyses of various materials in which cracks are generated have been investigated in these reports. Stress corrosion, fracture mechanics, and crack propagation are also researched. Mathematical models, rock mechanics, and computer programs have been excluded from these reports. (This updated bibliography contains 198 abstracts, all of which are new entries to the previous edition.)


Male outbred Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a choline-deficient diet containing 0.10% DL-ethionine for up to 30 weeks. Liver slices from rats killed 4, 6, 10, 14, 22 and 30 weeks after starting the treatment were histochemically analyzed for the following parameters: basophilia, expression of cytokeratin 19 (which in the liver is bile duct epithelial cell-specific), glycogen content and activities of glycogen synthetase (SYN), glycogen phosphorylase (PHO), glucose-6-phosphatase (G6PASE), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), glycerin-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH), 'malic enzyme' (MDH), alkaline phosphatase (ALKPASE) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT). The diet induced necrosis of single parenchymal cells and a massive proliferation of oval cells within 4-6 weeks; thereafter cholangiofibroses, cystic cholangiomas and some cholangiofibromas, but no cholangiocarcinomas, were observed. Oval cells, cholangiofibroses, cystic cholangiomas and cholangiofibromas expressed cytokeratin 19, whereas parenchymal cells, foci of altered hepatocytes and hepatocellular adenomas did not; this observation does not support a precursor-product relationship between oval and parenchymal cells. SYN, PHO, G6PASE, G6PDH, GAPDH, G3PDH, MDH, ALKPASE and GGT activities were detected in oval cells; cholangiofibrotic lesions, cystic cholangiomas and cholangiofibromas stained strongly for GAPDH, G3PDH and MDH. In livers from rats fed the diet for 10 weeks, single hepatocytes storing high amounts of glycogen appeared in the parenchyma. There was no indication of a transition from the oval cell population to hepatocytes storing glycogen in excess. Foci of glycogen-storing cells were scattered all over the lobes after 14 and 22 weeks; they had increased G6PASE, G6PDH, ALKPASE and GGT activities. Mixed cell foci and hepatocellular adenomas developed within 22-30 weeks and exhibited a remarkable decrease of G6PASE activity, a strong increase of G6PDH, GAPDH, G3PDH and MDH activities as well as extremely high ALKPASE and GGT activities. The data support the concept that during hepatocarcinogenesis, a number of sequential changes in the activities of various enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism occur and that a correlation between morphology and enzyme pattern in the focal lesions does in fact exist. Furthermore, our results suggest that two different cell lineages are involved in the development of cholangiocellular tumors from oval cells and hepatocellular tumors from hepatocytes.


Millimeter wave (mmWave) technology can achieve high-speed communication due to the large available spectrum. Furthermore, the use of directional beams in mmWave system provides a natural defense against physical layer security attacks. In practice, however, the beams are imperfect due to mmWave hardware limitations such as the low-resolution of the phase shifters. These imperfections in the beam pattern introduce an energy leakage that can be exploited by an eavesdropper. To defend against such eavesdropping attacks, we propose a directional modulation-based defense technique where the transmitter applies random circulant shifts of a beamformer. We show that the use of random circulant shifts together with appropriate phase adjustment induces (APN) in the directions different from that of the target receiver. Our method corrupts the phase at the eavesdropper without affecting the communication link of the target receiver. We also experimentally verify the APN induced due to circulant shifts, using channel measurements from a 2-bit mmWave phased array testbed. Using simulations, we study the performance of the proposed defense technique against a greedy eavesdropping strategy in a vehicle-to-infrastructure scenario. The proposed technique achieves better defense than the antenna subset modulation, without compromising on the communication link with the target receiver.


Epoxy polymer with micro, nano and micro + nano silica fillers have been evaluated for their electrical performance in high voltage insulation applications. The dielectric strength of these samples was measured in accordance with the ASTM D-149 standard. Dielectric spectroscopy was used to understand the role of space charge and interfaces in these materials. The results of dielectric spectroscopy suggest that significant improvement in the electrical performance can be expected by using samples containing nanofillers and micro + nanofillers when compared to materials containing only microfillers. However, the dielectric strength measurement showed no statistically significant improvement for the nanofilled samples. Techniques other than dielectric breakdown may be required to adequately characterize differences in the electrical performance of the dielectrics. For example, a partial discharge test using a highly non-uniform field may be more useful as it would correspond to simulate actual service conditions.


Strong, artificial pinning centres are required in superconducting films of large thickness for power applications in high magnetic fields. One of the methods for the introduction of pinning centres in such films is substrate decoration, i.e., growing nanoscale islands of certain materials on the substrate prior to the deposition of the superconducting film. Two other methods are building up a layered distribution of a second phase and homogeneous incorporation of second phase inclusions from a compositional target. In this paper, we compare the effectiveness of these methods in terms of the type of the self-assembly of nanoparticles. The comparison is made over a large set of YBa2Cu3O7 films of thickness up to 6.6 μm deposited with Au, Ag, Pd, LaNiO3, PrBa2Cu3O7, YBCO, BaZrO3 and Gd2Ba4CuWOy nanoparticles. It is found that substrate-decoration self-assembly is able to provide higher critical current in low magnetic field than the incorporation of homogeneous second phase in the sample microstructure. By specific modification of substrate decoration we achieved the self-field critical current per centimetre of width of 896 A/cm at 77.3 K and 1620 A/cm at 65 K in a film of thickness of 4.8 μm.


The present paper covers the teaching and learning process of English language teaching in government schools of Andhra Pradesh. As the aim of the syllabus by the SCERT, Andhra Pradesh, the learners of English are expected to achieve proper communication skills to apply it in the global context. Bright and Marc Gregor (1978) have remarked that "there is no language learning without exposure" At this juncture mere knowledge of English, based upon listening, speaking, reading and writing directed towards acquisition of communication skills among high school students. The present study intended to find out the lacuna of primary skills in English language among the students at high school level. An Oxford dictionary defines lacuna as 'an absent part'. This paper portrays the percentage of expected and achieved skills of the students which is technically the term called as 'Lacuna'. Most of the students are promoted to the next classes without achieving all the skills expecting by the SCERT. Gradually the difference between expected and achieved skills have been increasing by the students year by year. At this juncture, it is very much needed to fill the lacuna between expected and achieved skills among the students for the strong foundation of the students in the field of communication skills.


This study charts the imaginary of the "homegrown terrorist" in post-2010 literature to determine whether contemporary novels provide a critique of the national myths reinvigorated in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. To understand how contemporary literature speculates on the causes of terrorist behaviour and represents the mediation of public trauma, agency, and national identity, I selected four novels, which I read closely and comparatively (through the lens of additional literary, media, and state narratives): David Goodwillie's American Subversive, Pearl Abraham's American Taliban, Jarett Kobek's ATTA, and Paul Beatty's The Sellout. By interrogating the ideological assumptions these texts communicate, I examine how the struggle between resistance to and endorsement of the dominant culture shapes the contemporary imaginary.

The theories which have inspired these readings are cosmopolitanism and transnational literary studies, including Caroline Levander's global-facing reconceptualisation of American literature,Donald E. Pease's reworking of Jacqueline Rose's "state fantasy," and Orientalism and the imaginary of the racialised Other, as theorized by Richard Dyer and Toni Morrison. Each chapter reiterates four topics: the deterritorialization of the national imaginary, "America" as the post-lapsarian Homeland, the construction of alterity, and the interplay between fact and fiction.

By transgressing the singular historical moment of 9/11, this study contributes to the recent field of twenty-first-century literature by examining the aesthetics that make narratives of dissent – with their warnings against the white supremacist ideology of the "post-race" era and the oppressive workings of power in the ideal "America" – fascinating to the reader. The novels examined here explore how the literary present carries echoes of a mythological past and promises of a future charged with utopian potential. This thesis maps the aesthetic of diversity these novels offer and their ethical project to expand the imagination and cultivate empathy.


Abstract. Soil moisture is one of the most important indexes that affect crop growth and meteorological change. Widespread monitoring soil moisture is the forerunner of formulating better soil and water management measure and disaster mitigation strategies. Soil moisture (0–10cm) of SMAP L3 from April 2015 to April 2018 was cited in this paper. The accuracy of SMAP L3 was compared and evaluated by real-time products of CLDAS-V2.0 from CMA Land Data Assimilation system. The results show that SMAP L3 can reflect the objective regular of soil moisture. In addition, the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of soil moisture (0–10cm) at SMAP L3 are also analyzed, which show that the soil moisture is higher in the south than in the north and it is higher in the east than in the west of China. Moreover, the seasonal characteristics are as follows: The soil moisture is the highest in summer, and the second in autumn, while it is lower in winter and spring. Finally, based on the study of temperature and precipitation data from meteorological stations in China, it is found that there is a positive correlation between soil moisture and precipitation in south China, with a correlation coefficient of 0.5027. There is a negative correlation between soil moisture and precipitation in Northeast and northwest China and in Qinghai-Tibet region. What's more, soil moisture has a positive correlation with temperature, with an average correlation coefficient of 0.6813; the highest correlation coefficient is 0.7752 in Northeast China.


In this work we construct coherent superpositions of Gaussian and vortex modes which can be described to occupy the complex-plane. We demonstrate how these fields can be experimentally constructed in a digital, controllable manner with a spatial light modulator. Once these fields have been generated we illustrate, with three separate techniques, how the constituent components of these fields can be extracted, namely by measuring the intensity of the field at two adjacent points; performing a modal decomposition and a new digital Stokes measurement.


Through the tight-binding calculation, we demonstrate that magnetic and quantum confinements have a great influence on the low-energy band structures of one-dimensional (1D) armchair graphene ribbons. The magnetic field first changes 1D parabolic bands into the Hall-edge states which originate in the Landau wavefunctions deformed by one or two ribbon edges. The quantum confinement dominates the characteristics of the Hall-edge states only when the Landau wavefunctions touch two ribbon edges. Then, some of the Hall-edge states evolve as the Landau states when the field strength grows. The partial flat bands (Landau levels), related to the Landau states, appear. The magnetic field dramatically modifies the energy dispersions and it changes the size of the bandgap, shifts the band-edge states, destroys the degeneracy of the energy bands, induces the semiconductor–metal transition and generates the partial flat bands. The above-mentioned magneto-electronic properties are completely reflected in the low-frequency absorption spectra—the shift of peak position, the change of peak symmetry, the alteration of peak height, the generation of new peaks and the change of absorption edges. As a result, there are magnetic-field-dependent absorption frequencies. The findings show that the magnetic field could be used to modulate the electronic properties and the absorption spectra.


BACKGROUND
To date, all descriptions of legionellosis in neonates have emerged from a small number of isolated case reports in newborns with unusually severe pneumonia. In December 2008, a large outbreak of Legionella infection occurred in term neonates in Cyprus, providing new information on the epidemiological and clinical features of Legionellosis in this age group.

METHODS
An environmental investigation was performed at a small private hospital where the infected neonates were delivered. The medical records of the infected neonates were retrospectively reviewed to obtain clinical data on presentation, complications, and course of disease.

RESULTS
Nine of the 32 (28%) newborns who were exposed to the contaminated source at the private nursery were infected with Legionella. Six subjects had pulmonary infiltrates, but in 3 cases there were no abnormal radiological findings and clinical presentation was mild. In 4 neonates, pulmonary infiltrates at presentation were bilateral and extensive and 3 died, conferring a mortality rate of 50% in subjects with pulmonary infiltrates and an overall mortality of 33.3%. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 3 was recovered in neonatal biological samples, although in some patients there was implication of a second strain, serogroup 1. It was determined that the neonates were infected while in the nursery at the private hospital by aerosol produced by a recently installed cold-mist humidifier that was filled with contaminated water.

CONCLUSIONS
Use of humidifiers in nursery units must be avoided as the risk of disseminating Legionella in neonates is very high. In neonates legionellosis should be suspected when signs of infection first appear and take an unusual course, even when no pulmonary infiltrates appear.


We approach the problem of semantic multimedia retrieval as a supervised learning problem. Defining a lexicon of a small number of interesting semantic concepts we can handle a number of semantic queries. Since the number of interesting concepts available for training is usually small we explore discriminant learning techniques. In particular, we examine the use of kernel based methods and demonstrate impressive retrieval performance using semantic concepts like rocket, outdoor, greenery, sky and face. We also show that loosely coupled multimodal events can be detected based on the late fusion of detection of related auditory and visual concepts. Using a Bayesian network for inference we show how a rocket-launch event can be detected based on the detection of a related visual concept (rocket object) and a related auditory concept (explosion/blast-off).


Covers copyright issues in the United States including: the basics, copyright law, TEACH ACT (copyright and distance education), fair use, and intellectual property.


In a recent paper* the present writer considered the relation between the results of observations on various phenomena connected with the passage of β-particles through matter and the requirements of the quantum theory. A close quantitative comparison of the new quantum theory with experiment was, however, not made, because the theoretical requirements were not known with sufficient accuracy. The theoretical estimates were mainly based on calculations made by Gaunt in 1927, and in his calculations the effect of close collisions with impact parameter less than atomic dimensions were not adequately dealt with. These close collisions contribute appreciably to such phenomena as the stopping-power and ionisation, and in order to allow for them in such cases somewhat arbitrary assumptions concerning their effect had to be made. The differences between the theoretical values arrived at and the experimental values were not so large that they could be definitely dissociated from these assumptions, and for this reason no fundamental significance was attached to them. A treatment of collisions more complete than that of Gaunt was given recently by Bethe on the basis of Born's theory of collisions. Bethe's calculations deal with the effect of all collisions , and the formulae obtained by him for the stopping power, primary ionisation, etc., enable us to make a closer comparison of the new quantum theory with experiment than was possible before. This is done in the first part of the present paper. It is satisfactory that the new formulae, whilst agreeing in a general way with those previously used as a representation of the quantum theory, are in better quantitative accord with experiment. The present position is, however, not completely satisfactory. In some cases there are still large discrepancies. These discrepancies, if real, are, of course, more serious than those found in previous discussions because there is much less room for ascribing them to incompleteness or approximation in the theoretical calculations. The main assumptions made in Bethe's calculations are that the velocity, v , of the moving particle is large compared with the Bohr-orbit velocity, u , of the atomic electrons traversed, and that it is small compared with the velocity, c , of light ; quantities of the order of u 2/ v 2, and v 2/ c 2, being neglected. A third simplification which we must not overlook, especially in dealing with many-electron atoms, is the representation, in Bethe's calculations, of the atomic electrons by hydrogen-like wave-functions. As regards the first two assumptions, ½ mu 2 being roughly equal to the ionisation potential, J, the corresponding conditions of applicability of Bethe's results may be formally written u 2/ v 2 ≈ J/½ mv 2 ≪1, (1a) v 2/ c 2 ≪ 1. (1b) These conditions are adequately satisfied in most of the cases considered in the first part of this paper. The test of Born's theory of collisions under these simplifying conditions is very desirable, especially in view of the considerable contemporary work which is being done on slow electrons which do not satisfy (1a).


A study was carried out on the antioxidant property of Aframomum danelli extract in palm oil and soybean oil. The activity of A. danielli extract was compared with those of other antioxidants of other plant sources, rosemary extract and d- tocopherol, at different concentrations. A. danielli was as active as rosemary plant extract in reducing rate of peroxide formation in soybean oil at concentrations of 200 ppm and 300 ppm . A danielli was much more effective than tocopherol in reducing peroxidation in soybean oil and palm oil at the higher concentrations except at 50 ppm. The Journal of Food Technology in Africa Volume 6 No.4, 2001, pp. 135-137

 KEY WORDS: Antioxidant activity, Aframomum danielli spice, oils.


Architectural theories in western architecture have been considered as a basis for answering the fundamental questions of architectonics: proportion, symmetry, color, harmony and so on. Among those the architectural design theory is significant, since it affects the aesthetic evaluation of human perception. This paper gives an outline in applying the traditional design principles of architecture to contemporary architecture by 'unification through similarity' of architectural components such as form, scale, texture and color. As we see from this research, unification can be achieved in a design by the combination of the four components; that is, to balance between the four above-mentioned components in buildings, through the similarity of one or more of these components.


The total cross section and the differential cross section for the inelastic scattering of neutrons are considered. It is assumed that the compound nucleus is sufFiciently. excited so that the statistical model may be applied. If the statistical model may be applied as well to the residual nucleus, it is shown that the angular distribution of the inelastically scattered neutrons is isotropic. If only a few levels of the target nucleus can be excited, the angular distribution is anisotropic. Tables are provided which permit the calculation of the angular distribution if the incident and emergent neutron angular momenta are less than or equal to 35. Examples of the evaluation of total cross sections are given, providing examples of the sensitivity of the results to the quantum numbers of the excited state.


Cases of dental agenesis, supernumerary teeth and dental losses are presented in three species of South American Otariids: Arctocephalus australis (Zimmermann, 1783), A. tropicalis (Gray, 1872) and Otaria flavescens (Shaw, 1800). For the first time, congenital and acquired dental anomalies were comparatively diagnosed in skull samples from southern Brazil and nearby areas. The skulls and mandibles were accessed in the scientific collection of mammals of the Federal University of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Agenesis was found only among maxillary post-canine teeth, especially the distal ones (PC/6), due to an evolutionary trend towards reduction of the number of post-canine teeth in this family. Maxillary and mandibular supernumerary teeth were found in A. australis and A. tropicalis, but their positioning is unrelated to cases regarding phylogenetic and evolutionary implications. Dental losses were found in all species and different stages of alveolar obliteration suggest that this process is common in Otariids and does not affect their survival. The investigation of congenital and acquired dental anomalies in pinnipeds can provide information on dental formula evolution in Pinnipeds and in the phylogenetic relationships among Carnivora.


Accurately estimating the magnitude within the initial seconds after the P-wave arrival is of great significance in earthquake early warning (EEW). Over the past few decades, single-parameter approaches such as the τc and Pd methods have been applied to EEW magnitude estimation studies considering the first 3 s after the P-wave onset. However, these methods present considerable scatter and are affected by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and epicentral distance. In this study, using Japanese K-NET strong-motion data, we propose a machine-learning method comprising multiple parameter inputs, namely, the support vector machine magnitude estimation (SVM-M) model, to determine earthquake magnitudes and resolve the aforementioned problems. Our results using a single seismological station record show that the standard deviation of the magnitude prediction errors of the SVM-M model is 0.297, which is less than those of the τc (1.637) and Pd (0.425) methods. The magnitudes estimated by the SVM-M model within 3 s after the P-wave arrival are not obviously affected by the SNR or epicentral distance, and not overestimated for MJMA≤5. In addition, in an offline EEW application, the magnitude estimation error of the SVM-M model gradually decreases with increasing time after the first station is triggered, and the underestimation of event magnitudes for 6.5≤MJMA gradually improves. These results demonstrate that the proposed SVM-M model can robustly estimate earthquake magnitudes and has potential for EEW.


"The time has now come to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrong of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future" (Rudd 2008). When Australia's former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd addressed these words to the indigenous people of Australia in February 2008 he entered a new phase in Australia's history that should aim at 'closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians'. Due to different approaches to life and various scientific and ideological European theories, interracial relationships between indigenous people and the settlers of Australia have always been tensed – which can still be retraced in relationships today. An analysis of the changing approaches to cultural and ethnic differences in the Australian nation throughout more than two centuries, finally leading to the Rudd government's official apology, emphasises the significance of the issue determining Australian political and public life since more than two decades: reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. This work outlines pathways of compromise for a reconciled future.


Myocardial diseases and atherosclerosis are widely considered to be an immune mediated process. Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) contribute to the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses and have been implicated in human cardiovascular lesions. Major cell types involved in the pathogenesis of the diseases express FcγRs and their ligands such as immune complexes and C-reactive protein have been shown to activate FcγRs signal pathway. This review summarizes recent significant progress addressing the various roles of FcγRs in the disease pathogenesis which comes from the studies of FcγRs deficient animal models, clinical investigations and in vitro molecular and cellular studies. These new findings help us appreciate the emerging role of FcγRs in cardiovascular diseases, and suggest FcγRs as a potential therapeutic target for the diseases.


Isometric mapping, while highly uncertain, continues to be a preferred mapping method for continuous data in many of the physical and social sciences. Isometric method-produced uncertainty refers to the various map representations that result when different methods and/or specifications are used in the mapping process. This paper examines ways to communicate the nature and magnitude of isometric method-produced uncertainty to map readers so that they are encouraged to be uncertain when it is warranted. As a case study, we consider an extensive set of plant hardiness zone maps that result when different interpolation methods and sampling resolutions operate on the same set of data. Our results show that slightly different choices in the mapping process can result in very different looking isometric maps, and suggest that the manifestations of method-produced uncertainty are not as systematic, or straightforward, as suggested by interpolation accuracy assessments. We then explore the use of two existing visualization techniques, flickering and transparency, to communicate the nature and magnitude of isometric method-produced uncertainty.


Problem. Currently, there are about 150 manufacturers of mobile lifts with working platforms (MLWP), which constantly design and introduce into production new machines with expanded capabilities. Therefore, there is a need to determine the level of technical development of MLWP, which is not possible without the analysis of statistical data of their nomenclature depending on the classification features and operational parameters. Goal. The purpose of the work is to analyze the impact of classification features and operational parameters of MLWP on the level of their technical development. Methodology. The analytical methods of studying the statistical data were used. The methods of mathematical modulation were used to develop the general trend of the jib MLWP technical level. Results. As a result of the analysis the general trend of the technical level of the jib MLWP by the height of rise of the working platform depending on the weight of the machine, the general trend of the technical level of the jib MLWP by the magnitude of the working platform horizontal reach, and the general trend of the technical level of the jib MLWP by the height of rise of the working platform depending on the working platform horizontal reach were obtained. Originality. The telescopic and articulated lifts are usually considered as separate groups, although they have much in common, because at least one section of the jib of modern articulated lifts consists of retractable (telescopic) sections, so during the statistical analysis of the MLWP technical level, these machines were considered as a single group of jib machines. Practical value. With the help of the obtained statistical dependences of the jib MLWP technical level on the technological parameters of the machine, it is possible to assess the technical development of both an individual machine and a group of MLWP with the determination of trends for further development.


In this work we establish the limiting absorption principle for the two-dimensional steady-state elasticity system in an inhomogeneous anisotropic medium. We then use the limiting absorption principle to prove the existence of a radiation solution to the exterior Dirichlet or Neumann boundary value problems for such a system. In order to define the radiation solution, we need to impose certain appropriate radiation conditions at infinity. It should be remarked that even though in this paper we assume that the medium is homogeneous outside of a large domain, it still preserves anisotropy. Thus the classical Kupradze's radiation conditions for the isotropic system are not suitable in our problem and new radiation conditions are required. The uniqueness of the radiation solution plays a key role in establishing the limiting absorption principle. To prove the uniqueness of the radiation solution, we make use of the unique continuation property, which was recently obtained by the authors. The study of this work is motivated by related inverse problems in the anisotropic elasticity system. The existence and uniqueness of the radiation solution are fundamental questions in the investigation of inverse problems.


The paper presents an assessment of the possibility of using solar energy for heating a selected residential building. The influence of the thermal insulation standard of the outer casing and the air tightness of the building on technical solutions with conventional heat sources and a solar energy system was analysed. In Polish climate conditions, especially in November and December, the availability of solar energy is usually insufficient in relation to heating needs. Therefore, it is necessary to store heat when it is to be used for heating. Monthly and yearly periods of heat storage have been considered. The influence of the use of solar radiation energy on the change in the energy performance of the building and on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions was determined. Characteristics of heating systems and devices [9] as well as generally available meteorological data [5] were used for energy calculations.


Bis maleimide-terminated poly-L-lactide (M-PLLA-M) and bis furan-terminated poly-D-lactide (F-PDLA-F) were synthesized by isocyanate coupling reactions of mono maleimide-terminated PLLA (M-PLLA) and mono furan-terminated PDLA (F-PDLA) that had been prepared by the ordinary ring opening polymerization of L- and D-lactides with N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-maleimide and furfurylamine as the initiators, respectively. Both the M-PLLA-M and F-PDLA-F were dissolved in CH2Cl2 in 1:1 ratio and subjected to the ordinary electrospinning where the initial polymer concentration was increased up to 20 wt% because of the prepolymer state of the solute and the fiber diameter could be retained in nanometer to submicron size. The molecular weight of the polymers was found to have increased from 1.0 × 104 to 2.5 and 4.5 × 104 after the electrospinning and post annealing, respectively, due to the spontaneous chain extension taking place by the terminal Diels-Alder reaction of M-PLLA-M and F-PDLA-F to form a stereoblock polylactide. The as-spun fibers were amorphous or partially semi-crystalline, whereas the annealed fibers become fully crystalline due to the formation of the stereocomplex showing a melting temperature above 200oC.


Temperature-induced solder joint fatigue is a main reliability concern for aerospace and military industries whose electronic equipment used in the field is required to remain functional under harsh loadings. Due to the RoHS directive which eventually will prevent lead from being utilized in electronic systems, there is a need for a better understanding of lead-free thermomechanical behavior when subjected to temperature variations. As solder joints mechanical properties are dependent of their microstructural characteristics, developing accurate solder joint fatigue models means to correctly capture the microstructural changes that undergo the solder alloy during thermal cycling. This study reports the Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder joints microstructural evolution during damaging temperature cycles. Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis was conducted to assess the SAC305 microstructure corresponding to a specific damage level. Investigated microstructural features included the β-Sn grain size and crystallographic orientation, as well as the grain boundary misorientation and Ag3Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) size. As-reflowed and damaged components were also mechanically characterized using nanoindentation technique. The microstructural analysis of SAC305 solder joints prior to thermal cycling showed a highly textured microstructure characteristic of hexa-cyclic twinning with two β-Sn morphologies consisting of preferentially orientated macrograins known as Kara's beach ball, along with smaller interlaced grains. The main observation is that recrystallization systematically occurred in SAC305 solder joints during thermal cycling, creating a high population of misoriented grain boundaries leading to intergranular crack initiation and propagation in the high strain regions. The recrystallization process is accompanied with a progressive loss of crystallographic texture and twinning structure. Ag3Sn IMCs coalescence is another strong indicator of SAC305 solder damage since the bigger and more spaced the IMCs are the less dislocation pinning can prevent recrystallization from occurring.


For wind resource assessment projects, it is common practice to use a power-law relationship (U(z) ~ zα) and a fixed shear exponent (α = 1=7) to extrapolate the observed wind speed from a low measurement level to high turbine hub-heights. However, recent studies using tall-tower observations have found that the annual average shear exponents at several locations over the United States Great Plains (USGP) are significantly higher than 1=7. These findings highlight the critical need for detailed spatio-temporal characterizations of wind shear climatology over the USGP, where numerous large wind farms will be constructed in the foreseeable future. In this paper, a new generation numerical weather prediction model—the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, a fast and relatively inexpensive alternative to time-consuming and costly tall-tower projects, is utilized to determine whether it can reliably estimate the shear exponent and the magnitude of the directional shear at any arbitrary location over the USGP. Our results indicate that the WRF model qualitatively captures several low-level wind shear characteristics. However, there is definitely room for physics parameterization improvements for the WRF model to reliably represent the lower part of the atmospheric boundary layer.


While many aspects of the Future Internet are uncertain, one thing that is clear is that service demand will continue to rise. Also, advances in mobile devices and service technology will almost certainly cause service usage patterns to vary considerably. Another issue that the Future Internet community must be acutely aware of is the huge movement towards more sustainable forms of computing and communications technology. With the recent attention that has been put on IT energy consumption (data-centres in particular), all computing and communications systems need to consider their environmental impact from the outset. With that in mind, we propose a solution for determining the optimal placement of services in data-centre network, in order to maximize the overall renewable energy usage and minimize the cooling energy consumption. We then perform a series of experiments in order to evaluate our solution, incorporating dynamic service request profiles and actual weather and renewable energy production values.


Defining the minimum essential vaccine components required for protective immunity to HIV and FIV remains a major challenge. A recent study reported that recombinant HIV-1 capsid p24 vaccines conferred cross-protection against FIV in cats. Current studies were performed to confirm this protection and identify other protective HIV/FIV proteins. Pathogen-free cats were immunized 3X with HIV p24 (CA), HIV p66 (reverse transcriptase RT), FIV p24, FIV p66, FIV p15 (matrix MA), or combination in adjuvant (plus LPS/IL-12), and were challenged 3 wk later with FIV. Infection was monitored by immunoblot for FIV antibodies, and by FIV RT and PCR tests of lymphoid cells. Cellular immunity was monitored by virus-specific IFN-γ ELISPOT and CFSE-based proliferation of T cells. Protection rates were 2/8 cats for HIV p24, 2/8 HIV p24+p66, 3/7 HIV p66, 1/8 FIV p24, 0/3 FIV p15, 2/7 FIV p24+p66, 5/7 FIV p66, 2/4 HIV p24+FIV p66, and 0/8 adjuvant or PBS. Vaccinated cats had strong IFN-γ and CD4/CD8-CFSE responses to HIV or FIV peptides, but developed no virus neutralizing antibodies. Combined protection rates for current and previous studies are 40/64 cats for HIV p24, 4/25 FIV p24, 5/7 FIV p66, 3/7 HIV p66, 0/3 FIV p15, 0/22 adjuvant, and 0/37 PBS. Thus, cross-protective immunity between HIV-1 and FIV is achievable, and selection of vaccine proteins and epitopes based on structural homology that risk viral fitness is an effective strategy.


Man lived as a savage in ancient times. At that time, man wandered like an animal, not knowing how to make a home and what to wear and what to eat. Then he gradually became civilized and met his needs and got civilized life from animal life. What helped him to become civilized were the various professions in which he learned little by little.It can be said that the arts are all professions that contribute to the well-being of man. It is these arts that give beauty and pleasure to the human mind. The arts that are considered to be special can be divided into five, namely, architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and epic, and afterwards koothu and dramas are combined into seven. The arts flourished wherever civilized people lived.We can find evidence in the various temples and palaces that the Chola monks also gave prominence to these arts. During the Chola period women lived freely without any restrictions. During the Sangam era, Viraliyar and Panar continued to develop music and koothu and rejuvenated the society. There is ample evidence that the Cholas followed the arts in worship as well.


Summary form only given as follows. This paper focuses on the repair of a failed HPOF cable. The cable is oil filled, paper wrapped 1000 MCM, 700 Amp rated cable pressurized to a nominal 200 psi of noncirculating oil. The cable had been installed in 1972 and had been trouble free until August 2001, when a phase to ground fault occurred.


This paper proposes an innovative strain energy frame impact machine (SEFIM) designed to explore direct tensile behavior of high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCC) at high strain rates. The proposed system utilizes an energy frame to store a large amount of elastic strain energy as well as to suddenly generate high rate tensile impact pulse. The prototype of SEFIM demonstrated that the proposed energy frame could store enough elastic strain energy to fail a large-sized tensile specimen at high strain rates in direct tension. The tensile stress versus strain curve of HPFRCC under high rate impact was obtained by using the prototype with the aid of a high speed camera system and dynamic strain gauges attached on the surfaces of the transmitter bar.


Iron is an essential element playing a vital role in many cellular processes. This requirement is complicated by the fact that environmental iron is invariably present as insoluble Fe(3+) leading to poor bioavailability and toxicity, since even low concentrations of iron catalyse the production of damaging reactive oxygen species. As a result organisms have evolved efficient uptake and transport systems to extract iron from their environment as well as ferritins that store iron in a non-toxic form. In higher organisms, the first membrane barrier encountered is the apical surface of the duodenal enterocyte, a specialized absorptive cell of the intestinal epithelium that undertakes vectorial transport of iron. Iron is initially solubilized by reduction and Fe(2+) is transported across the cell membrane by a carrier-mediated transport process. This is followed by intracellular transfer of iron to the basolateral enterocyte membrane with subsequent transfer and release of iron to transferrin in the portal blood. A second site of iron transport is at the placento-fetal barrier where similar principles operate. In this review we describe recently identified transmembrane transporters and associated accessory proteins responsible for iron transport at these two sites.


A report by the House of Commons Health Committee into the influence of the UK pharmaceutical industry has recommended that companies should publish the results of all their trials and follow guidelines for responsible publication practice.1 Cynics may argue that such reports rarely have much influence over powerful commercial companies and that governments usually ignore their recommendations unless they support existing policies. But this call for greater transparency and responsibility echoes similar calls which, taken together, form a crescendo that is hard to ignore.

Earlier events that may have focused the minds of drug companies and made them more receptive to the latest recommendations include the fine of $240 million plus $152 million damages awarded against Pfizer/Warner-Lambert in May 2004 for promoting off-label use of its anticonvulsant gabapentin.2 Promotional activities criticized by the US court included having a publication strategy that encouraged the production and dissemination of anecdotal reports of dubious scientific value and the use of ghost-writers to prepare favourable articles which appeared under the names of opinion leaders.

Less than a month later, the New York Attorney General accused GlaxoSmithKline of failing to publish safety data about its antidepressant paroxetine. This case was settled out of court but the company agreed to post results from all its clinical trials on its website.3 Several other companies have followed suit,4 and the Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America (the US industry association) has set up a website for this purpose.5

Later in 2004, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors announced that, from mid-2005, journals edited by the 12 committee members would consider papers for publication only if the trial had been registered.6 Other journals have now adopted similar policies.7 In the USA, registration of trials in serious and life-threatening conditions has been required by the Food and Drug Administration for a few years, but the system has not been policed particularly thoroughly and it is not clear what happens if companies do not comply or provide incomplete information. In contrast, the journal editors' announcement not only included a sanction that companies would respect (i.e. the threat of not being able to publish in several prestigious journals) but has also been followed by clarification about the type of information required and warnings that journals will check companies' compliance.8

Support for trial registration and complete publication is also found in the latest revision of the Declaration of Helsinki which calls for the design of studies to be made available prospectively and for both negative and positive results to be published.9 Picking up these themes, the House of Commons report presents cogent arguments why publication bias, and, in particular, the suppression of negative findings, is harmful and supports demands for trial registration.

The question of ghost-writing has also received attention in both medical journals and newspapers for some time.10,11 Once again, the House of Commons Committee has added its voice to the debate by calling on companies to behave responsibly. The report refers to the guidelines issued recently by the European Medical Writers Association which seek to abolish ghost-writing by encouraging proper acknowledgement of medical writers' contributions to articles and their source of funding.12

One problem with the discussion over ghost-writing has been confusion over exactly what is meant by the term. In this respect, the House of Commons report is helpful in recognizing that it is acceptable for professional medical writers to help doctors write up their research but in condemning the practice of preparing articles with insufficient input from named authors and of covering-up the role of writers or funding companies. This distinction between the legitimate role of professional writers and authorship abuses by pharmaceutical companies has also been emphasized in a recent position statement from the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).13,14 The statement recommends that journals should make clear in their information for authors that medical writers can be legitimate contributors but that their roles and affiliations should be acknowledged.

The issues raised by the involvement of professional writers are also covered in the Good Publication Practice (GPP) guidelines which are strongly endorsed by the parliamentary Committee's report.15 These guidelines were developed in response to concerns that drug companies were skewing the medical literature by failing to publish unfavourable findings and by publishing positive results repeatedly. The GPP guidelines therefore call on companies to endeavour to publish results of all trials of marketed products. This suggestion is taken up by the report which calls on companies to make results of all trials available 'at launch as a condition of the marketing licence'. If the UK regulatory authorities act on this it might ensure the implementation of such codes which have, until now, been voluntary. However, European drug regulation is highly centralized, and it is unlikely that the UK would take unilateral action especially over a measure that might be resented by the industry.

The Committee also suggests that research ethics committees should 'require applicants to prove' that a proposed trial 'does not duplicate previous research' and to ensure 'that results will be published in full'. However, similar ideas were proposed over a decade ago,16 and have been aired more recently,17 suggesting that ethics committees are unable or unwilling to take on this extra burden.

While many of the recommendations relating to trial registration and publication simply echo or amplify statements from other groups, the Committee took a more radical approach to the drug licensing process. It was particularly critical of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA—the UK drug licensing authority), calling for a 'fundamental review' in view of its (unspecified) 'failings'. The report urges the MHRA to publish material submitted by companies to support licensing applications. This would be an important change from the current situation where such information is considered confidential. However, the secrecy of drug licensing and the lack of information available to prescribers about new products has been criticized for many years by other commentators,18 so it will be interesting to see whether this House of Commons Committee wields more influence.

Some of the reforms proposed by the Committee could constrain prescribing freedom, since it favours a system of limiting the prescribing of new products to hospital specialists and calls for increased monitoring of nurse and pharmacist prescribing. The report concludes that 'it is extraordinary that there are stricter controls on hospital specialists prescribing than on GPs' and recommends that 'tougher restrictions' should be placed 'on what non-specialists can prescribe' with 'greater vigilance to guard against excessive or inappropriate prescribing'. If these recommendations are followed, the UK might move to a system like that in the Republic of Ireland, where certain drugs may be prescribed only by specialists. I suspect that, if such prescribing restrictions are viewed as ways to reduce spending on new products (which tend to be costlier than old ones) the recommendations might win support from the Department of Health. However, they may be resisted by doctors' organizations. The report could also strengthen the role of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) which would presumably be responsible for reassessing products after their probationary period and recommending whether their licenses should be renewed and prescribing restrictions lifted.

This need for support in implementation underlies the inherent toothlessness of House of Commons Committees, whose recommendations tend to be adopted only if they find powerful champions. I therefore suspect that the Committee's calls for reforming the MHRA will be resisted unless a major drug safety scandal forces action. However, if the Department of Health and NICE back the Committee's proposals for restricting the prescribing of new drugs, this could come into force. In the case of the calls for increased transparency for clinical trial results and for trial registration, several powerful groups are already forcing companies in this direction—the report simply adds to the groundswell. Drug companies are increasingly realizing that irresponsible publication practices can generate negative publicity, and are therefore responding to pressure from journal editors and regulatory authorities to clean up their act. They are also starting to realize that lack of diligence over publications could affect their profits, which usually provides the most powerful motive for change and might mean that some of the Committee's recommendations are enacted.

Competing interests I am a co-author of Good Publication Practice for pharmaceutical companies and the EMWA guidelines on the role of medical writers in developing peer-reviewed publications.


Percutaneous ultrasound-guided Radiofrequencyablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive treatment that has been widely used as an alternative to surgery in the care of patients with malignant tumors of the liver, renal cell carcinoma, and other tumors. Recently, RFA is an alternative treatment modality for benign thyroid nodules instead of surgery, mainly for the cosmetic reasons, and limited cases of local recurrences or focal distant metastases of differentiated thyroid cancer in the high-risk reoperative condition or for the palliative purpose. However, RFA for the initial treatment of the DTC is rare. We report a case of RFA for the papillary thyroid microcarcinomain the high-risk surgical patient. A 49-years-old woman with congestive heart failure due to severe mitral valve regurgitation, chronic kidney disease, and type 2 diabetes was incidentally diagnosed with papillary microcarcinoma without metastasis. She underwent RFA. During 5-year follow-up, there is no recurrence of the findings.