Abstract 178

In contrast to compacting chromatin into highly condensed mitotic chromosomes, the quite distinct process of global chromatin condensation culminating in enucleation that occurs during terminal erythroid development is still poorly understood. By examining the protein composition of the erythroid nucleus from early erythroblast to ultimate extrusion, I observed that extruded nuclei are largely depleted of all nuclear proteins. Given my previous observations that the highly-regulated but reportedly nonspecific nuclear export protein, Xpo7 or RanBP16, is highly induced during erythropoiesis and highly erythroid-specific, I hypothesized that its role may be to remove almost all nuclear proteins in order to allow the terminal erythroid chromatin to condense. Knockdown of Xpo7 using shRNA in primary fetal liver erythroid progenitors resulted in severe inhibition of chromatin condensation and enucleation but had little effect on hemoglobin accumulation or erythroid cell surface marker expression. As expected based on my hypothesis, proteomic analysis of nuclei from Xpo7-knockdown cells revealed largely all nuclear proteins, some of which may be responsible for the process of histone redistribution during chromatin condensation. Xpo7 is also highly regulated: besides its promoter being bound directly by the erythroid master regulators GATA1 and Klf1 (unpublished data), it is also the target of a miRNA whose level decreases during erythropoiesis, miR-181, and whose overexpression has been shown to result in the inhibition of terminal enucleation. Because chromatin condensation occurs in lower vertebrates without subsequent enucleation, I have also explored the localization and function of Xpo7 in zebrafish using in situ hybridization and morpholinos, respectively, and found that this export function is specific to mammalian chromatin condensation, providing evidence that condensation and enucleation are inextricably linked processes in mammals.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


A case of oral osseous choristoma of the buccal vestibule is presented. Of 27 reported cases, including this one, 24 occurred in the dorsum of the tongue, one in the ventral aspect of the tongue, and two in the buccal mucosa. There have been no recurrences reported after local excision.


The main recent evolutions of microwaves devices (MESFET, MODFET, HBT, MISFET, IMPATT diodes and TED) are presented. It appears that many new physical phenomena must be taken into account when we want to describe the behaviour of such devices and to simulate them. These effects occur not only in bulk materials but also in heterostructures. Three different types of models are presented: Monte Carlo simulation, two dimensional and one dimensional resolution of basic equations. Their respective advantages are precised.


The extinction spectra of size-selected, supported Ag20 and Ag55 clusters have been measured with surface cavity ring-down (s-CRD) spectroscopy under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. A single plasmonic resonance around 3.2 eV is observed. The reaction with benzenethiol shifts the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) by ≈0.3 eV to lower energies, which is attributed to an increased dielectric function of the surrounding medium as well as to a reduction of the free-electron density inside the silver clusters. The time dependence of the LSPR redshift under exposure to benzenethiol has a double exponential behavior. A rapid redshift is caused by chemisorption of benzenethiol from the gas phase via the formation of a sulfur–silver bond, whereas a slow redshift is caused by additional physisorption of benzenethiol. Comparative studies with benzene, which do not show any chemisorption but show physisorption character on silver, reveal that ≈0.2 eV of the overall redshift can be attributed to an increased...


Deltamethrin [(S)-α-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl (1R,3R)-cis-2,2-dimethyl-3-(2,2-dibromovinyl) cyclopropanecarboxylate] is a powerful pyrethroid insecticide which exhibits very high toxicity to aquatic organisms. Major routes of degradation or dissipation of parent deltamethrin in natural water are chemical and photochemical conversion to a mixture of inactive and active stereoisomers, and hydrolysis with subsequent oxidation of products. Chiral high performance liquid Chromatographic analyses revealed that the parent 1-deltamethrin in natural water in the dark is subject to cis/trans isomerization yielding the α-S, IS eis isomer 2'-deltamethrin, which is inactive against mice and insects. Sunlight photolysis of deltamethrin in natural water is only a partial detoxification step since although it produced the inactive 2'-deltamethrin isomer as well as the inactive α-S, IS trans isomer 4'-deltamethrin, it did produce in addition the α-S, 1R trans isomer 3-deltamethrin, which does retain some activity toward mice, insects and Daphnia magna , albeit less than the parent 1-deltamethrin.


Guided Transect Sampling is suggested for transect based surveys when sampling sparse and geographically scattered populations. It is a two-stage design in which wide strips are selected in the first stage followed by a subsampling procedure guided by prior information in the second stage. As a basis for the second stage, the target area is divided into grid-cells containing covariate data obtained, for example, by remote sensing. The general principle can be coupled with different transect based survey methods such as strip sampling or line transect sampling. Also, different strategies for the second stage guidance can be used, resulting in estimators with different properties. In this study, Guided Transect Sampling was compared with a traditional strip survey under different simulated forest conditions. The comparisons indicated that the proposed method can improve the efficiency of transect based inventories of sparse populations.


Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) is a medical imaging technology with the potential to locate focal epilepsy, monitor patients with traumatic brain injury and diagnose stroke. EIT usually images conductivity changes in time or in frequency of the applied current and measured voltages. While it is nowadays clinically used for monitoring lung ventilation, its application in head imaging is complicated by the geometry of the head, containing tissues with strongly varying conductivities. The aim of this thesis is to provide a novel framework for EIT head imaging by addressing the requirements for higher modelling accuracy throughout the imaging process. An introduction to EIT, its applications for head imaging and the two main components of EIT image reconstructions is given in chapter 2. A procedure for generating more accurate head models is presented in chapter 3 and is used to evaluate, whether subject specifc head models are required for EIT imaging. To speed up simulations of current fow through the head and the computation of the Jacobian matrix required for image reconstructions, a fast parallel forward solver is implemented and validated in chapter 4. Stability of time-diference image reconstructions with respect to electrode modelling errors is addressed in chapter 5, followed by an evaluation of modelling error impacts on multi-frequency imaging in chapter 6. The fndings of chapters 5 and 6 are fnally combined in chapter 7 to recover electrode positions in multi-frequency stroke imaging, thereby reducing image artefacts and making stroke diagnosis with EIT feasible.


In this issue of BioEssays, RemageHealey describes an elegant body of work demonstrating that estradiol, traditionally considered an ovarian hormone, is synthesized within the brain and affects local neuronal activity [1]. In zebra finches, hearing conspecific song induces estradiol release in the auditory forebrain, which rapidly alters firing properties both in that area and in downstream sensorimotor regions. The use of songbirds for this work magnifies its impact; historically, they have been among the most important models for studying the regulation of brain and behavior by steroids of gonadal origin. One of the first demonstrations of large-scale plasticity in the adult brain was the discovery in 1981 of seasonal changes in the circuits controlling courtship vocalizations in canaries [2]. That work gave rise to an explosion of research on how gonadal steroids affect communication pathways – not only in songbirds but also in fish, amphibians, and mammals. The prevailing view, which still makes a lot of sense, was that the rise in plasma gonadal steroids at the onset of the breeding season coordinates courtship vocalizations with reproductive readiness. Over the next 20 years, researchers studying birds began to question that view. Gonadectomy failed to reduce plasma estradiol [3], and it was ultimately discovered that the avian brain can produce estrogens de novo, without peripheral androgen precursors [4]. Membrane steroid receptors, as well as rapid actions of steroids on both behavior and neuronal activity, began to be reported (reviewed in ref. [5]). Today, evidence is overwhelming that the avian brain makes its own estradiol, and that estradiol has rapid effects on neural responses and behavior. That estradiol is a neuromodulator should not have come as a surprise. Estrogen-mediated signaling mechanisms are among the most ancient forms of intercellular communication, having evolvedmore than 600million years ago [6]. They are likely to function in all kinds of sensory processes, not just those involved in vocal communication. The phenomenon has already been demonstrated in visual cortex [7] and will likely prove ubiquitous in other sensory areas not previously thought to be regulated by steroids. We should expect that estradiol, like other neuromodulators, plays a fundamental role in learning and attention. In songbirds, the auditory forebrain is well-understood to respond selectively to behaviorally relevant sounds such as conspecific song, and this response includes estradiol release. It will be interesting to see whether other kinds of behaviorally relevant sounds, for example non-song sounds that have acquired meaning via associative learning, also engage estrogen signaling pathways. Estradiol is not the first hormoneturned-neuromodulator. Remage-Healey points out a parallel between estradiol and pituitary hormones such as oxytocin that are also synthesized and released in the brain. Oxytocin's neural effects on affiliation, which are limited to a few brain areas and clearly distinct from its peripheral effects, have led to mass confusion both in the scientific literature and in the popular press; the neuromodulator is now widely regarded as a ''love hormone'' that modulates social responses by crossing into the brain from the circulation. In this case, the roles of hormone and neuromodulator have been unfortunately lumped. Those of us who study the neural effects of estradiol, which unlike oxytocin can easily cross into and out of the brain, must be careful not to muddy our own waters by considering just one or the other source. Ongoing work with seasonally breeding species is showing that the ability to synthesize neurosteroids may be heavily influenced by endocrine state, in part defined by plasma levels of gonadal hormones [8]. The actions of estradiol and other steroids as neuromodulators are best interpreted in light of the whole picture – which includes both brain and gonads.


Lakes provide various ecosystem services that support biotic habitats and human life. In contrast, many lakes in the world are degraded due to pollutant supply from surrounding areas and human activities in the lake. Lake Toba, which is the largest lake in Indonesia, has indicated a polluted condition. However, the source and load of each pollutant are not yet known. A study has been conducted to determine nutrient and organic load levels entering the lake represented by Total Phosphorus (TP) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), respectively. Observations were carried out in November 2017 at 22 locations, i.e., at 12 inlet rivers debouching to the lake and 10 sites at the lake. The pollutant impact was assessed from water class criteria based on COD, waters trophic status based on TP, and vertical oxygen profile representing cage aquaculture (CA) and non-cage aquaculture (NCA) areas. Based on COD and government regulation number 82/2001, water quality at the lake inlets was class III and IV. In the lake area, water class in NCA was III, while in CA the water class tends to be III and IV. Estimated TP loading from the catchment area was 138 tonnes/yr, while that from cage aquaculture activity was 570.33 tonnes/yr. Pollutants have caused the worsening of water class, increasing water column anoxia in the hypolimnion layer and eutrophication in Lake Toba.


All patients with oncogenic driver mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are treated with a targeted agent will eventually develop resistance. In an effort to identify inhibitors of NTRK1 and ROS1, which are inappropriately activated in NSCLC, we created and screened a library of existing targeted drugs against BaF3 cells transformed with these oncogenes. This screen identified the FDA-approved drug cabozantinib as a potent inhibitor of CD74-ROS1 (IC50 = 9 nM), including the crizotinib-resistant mutants G2032R (IC50 = 26 nM) and L2026M (IC50 = 11 nM), with no inhibition of the parental BaF3 cells (IC50 > 10 μM). AP26113, a dual ALK/EGFR inhibitor undergoing phase I/II clinical trials, also potently inhibited CD74-ROS1 (IC50 = 4 nM), including the crizotinib-resistant mutants G2032R (IC50 = 206 nM) and L2026M (IC50 = 84 nM), with weak inhibition of the parental BaF3 cells (IC50 > 1 μM). Both cabozantinib and AP26113 inhibited ROS1 autophosphorylation and downstream ERK activation in CD74-ROS transformed BaF3 cells and in the ROS1-rearranged NSCLC cell line HCC78. The FGFR3 inhibitor dovitinib, which is in phase III clinical trials for renal cell carcinoma, potently inhibited NTRK1 compared to parental BaF3 cells (IC50 = 69 nM vs > 1 μM), and blocked NTRK1 autophosphorylation and ERK activation. While acquired resistance to targeted therapies is a major clinical problem, this study highlights other existing agents that may overcome resistance, and identifies several promising candidates for clinical trials. Citation Format: Curtis Chong, Dalia Ercan, Magda Bahcall, Marzia Capelletti, Nathanael Gray, Pasi Janne. Identification of existing targeted agents that inhibit NTRK and ROS1 in lung cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3644. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3644


The coverage problem is always important and difficult in WSN. This paper firstly analyzes the classical algorithm of the coverage-preserving nodes scheduling scheme (CPNSS) of the WSN. Then we propose a new improvement algorithm (NIA) which focuses on the problem of its low-efficiency and energy-imbalance. We divide all the nodes into several independent sets, and each set can cover all the area of the WSN. We also set a weight for each set by average energy according to the size of weight and then select the matched set proceeding work, so as to achieve the energy-balance of the nodes and prolong the lifespan of the network. At the end experiment results are given to display our application.


The objective of this experiment was to evaluate chemical composition, in vitro fermentation and digestibility of dried and ensiled indigofera, papaya and moringa leaves. The leaves were subjected to artificial drying in an oven at 60oC for 24 h and ensiling treatment for 30 d under room temperature. Dried and ensiled samples were determined for chemical composition, silage fermentation characteristics and in vitro rumen fermentation and digestibility. The experimental design was a factorial design 3 × 2 in which the first factor was different leaves (indigofera, papaya and moringa) and the second factor was conservation treatments (drying and ensiling). Determination of chemical composition was performed in duplicate whereas in vitro evaluation was conducted in three replicates. Results showed that ensiling treatment decreased CP contents of indigofera and moringa but not papaya leaves. Ensiling also decreased NDF and NDICP contents of all experimental leaves in comparison to drying treatment. The pH of all silages was high and they were characterized with high ammonia concentrations. Ensiled indigofera tended to have lower IVDMD and IVOMD as compared to dried indigofera (P<0.1). It can be concluded that ensiling of high protein forages leads to considerable extent of proteolysis.


Based largely on energy budget considerations and the observed cosmic-ray (CR) ionic composition, supernova remnant (SNR) blast waves are the most likely sources of CR ions with energies at least up to the "knee" near 1015 eV. Shocks in young shell-type TeV-bright SNRs are surely producing TeV particles, but the emission could be dominated by ions producing π0-decay emission or electrons producing inverse Compton gamma rays. Unambiguously identifying the GeV–TeV emission process in a particular SNR will not only help pin down the origin of CRs, it will also add significantly to our understanding of the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) mechanism and improve our understanding of supernovae and the impact SNRs have on the circumstellar medium. In this study, we investigate the Vela Jr. SNR, an example of TeV-bright non-thermal SNRs. We perform hydrodynamic simulations coupled with nonlinear DSA and non-equilibrium ionization near the forward shock to confront currently available multi-wavelength data. We find, with an analysis similar to that used earlier for SNR RX J1713.7−3946, that self-consistently modeling the thermal X-ray line emission with the non-thermal continuum in our one-dimensional model strongly constrains the fitting parameters, and this leads convincingly to a leptonic origin for the GeV–TeV emission for Vela Jr. This conclusion is further supported by applying additional constraints from observation, including the radial brightness profiles of the SNR shell in TeV gamma rays, and the spatial variation of the X-ray synchrotron spectral index. We will discuss implications of our models on future observations by the next-generation telescopes.


Abstract Objective: To determine the association between patient assessment of healthcare delivery and publicly reported asthma performance measures. Methods: We identified individuals 5–50 years old who had asthma quality measures reported to the Minnesota Community Measurement© (MCM©) by their clinic and sent them a postal survey which included within it the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness care (PACIC), a validated measure of patient perception of the quality of healthcare delivery. We performed a multivariable analysis to examine the association between PACIC scores and achievement of asthma care quality measures. Results: The response rate for the ACS was 102/367 (28%); a non-response bias analysis revealed no differences between responders and non-responders for age, gender and asthma control. Most responders (73%) reported taking asthma medications daily and most (71%) had poorly controlled asthma. The PACIC score was not associated with any of the asthma quality measures based on the data reported to MCM© by the clinic. A higher PACIC score was, however, associated with having an asthma action plan based on patient-reported data in the ACS (p < 0.0001) but not with patient-reported asthma control or emergency department/hospitalizations for asthma. Conclusions: Patient assessment of high quality asthma care delivery was associated with patient self-report of having an asthma action plan but was not associated with any of the publicly reported asthma performance measures.


Purpose: Tumor hypoxia is associated with poor prognosis and increased tumor aggressiveness. Carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX, an endogenous marker for tumor hypoxia, catalyzes the hydration of carbon dioxide into carbonic acid and contributes to the pH regulation of tumor cells. Therefore, CA IX might allow tumors to acclimate to a hypoxic microenvironment, promoting tumor cell proliferation. We hypothesized that CA IX expression is related to tumor cell proliferation and poor disease-free survival in patients with early-stage non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Experimental Design: CA IX expression was measured in 75 resected NSCLC tumors to assess prognostic implications for disease-free survival. The relationship of CA IX expression with microvessel density (MVD) and proliferation (Ki-67) index was assessed via colocalization analysis. Results: All patients had operable NSCLC (stage I, 58; stage II, 17). CA IX expression was present in 54 (72%) of 75 patients and was associated with tumor necrosis (P < 0.05). CA IX-positive tumor areas showed greater cell proliferation as measured by Ki-67 index (P < 0.05) and less MVD (P < 0.05) than did CA IX-negative areas in colocalization analysis. The percentage of CA IX-positive tumor cells was significantly related to postoperative recurrence and poor disease-free survival (P < 0.05). Ki-67 index and pathologic stage were also independent prognostic factors for worse disease-free survival (P < 0.05). Conclusions: CA IX expression of tumor cells may be an indicator for poor disease-free survival in early-stage NSCLC.


Sunset Yellow is a commonly used synthetic food additive in various food beverages. Over usage
of this colorant induce the anxiogenic behaviour in mice through oxidative stress. Vernonia cinerea reverses anxiogenic
behaviour by counteracting oxidative stress.

The study was designed to screen the protective effect of Vernonia cinerea extract against sunset yellow induced
anxiogenic behaviour in mice through counteracting oxidative damage.

The anxiogenic effect was induced by the administration of sunset yellow (20 mg/kg, p.o) for 30 days. Ethanol
extract of Vernonia cinerea (EEVC) aerial parts (400 mg/kg, p.o) administered, after 1 hour of sunset yellow treatment.
Diazepam (1 mg/kg, p.o) was used as a reference drug for comparisons.

 FT-IR studies of the extract were done by comparing with standards to determine the presence of phenols and
flavonoids. Vernonia cinerea significantly improved the altered anxiogenic behaviour of sunset yellow treated animals.
Significant increase in the brain antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and neurotransmitter
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) level and decrease the lipid peroxidation and glutamate neurotransmitter was observed
in Vernonia cinerea treated group and also this extract reversed the hippocampus CA3 region abnormalities such as
perivascular oedema, haemorrhage and severe vocalisation in sunset yellow group.

 The Vernonia cinerea possesses significant antioxidant, antiradical and GABA enhancing effects against
sunset yellow induced anxiogenic animals.


The objective of this study is to understand how
the integration of digital technology (DT) in the Bangladesh Film
industry has been responded to by its production, distribution and
exhibition related organisations. Since no research on digital
integration has been considered in a developing country context,
and specifically within the area of concentrating on the industry
rather than the films themselves, this research therefore addresses
the gaps within the knowledge field. The Bangladesh Film Industry
(BFI) used to be a centre for film production, distribution and
exhibition, but this traditional industry has been in decline for
decades. In response to the decline, the government started an
integration process of DT in 2003, yet eight years after the launch
only a fraction of the project has been completed. Apart from its
partial adoption in the film production sector, distribution and
exhibition have appeared to resist the adoption of new technology.
This thesis therefore sets out to explore the causes of partial
integration of DT in the film industry in Bangladesh through a
study of the workforce, business owners, practitioners, scholars,
government officials and executives functioning in and outside the
industry. With the mixed method approach and emphasis on
qualitative engagement (two case studies and 38 interviews), this
thesis explores current attitudes and beliefs and identifies
potential barriers to effective integration. In particular this
dissertation examines five areas: technology integration, training
for workforce development, production, distribution and exhibition
capabilities, and argues that the political factor was the most
important driver in integrating DT, while knowledge integration,
training, and development of digital production, distribution and
exhibition compatibility at individual and organisational levels
were ignored. Moreover, the greatest concern of losing a job or
business within the industry community due to inadequate knowledge,
skills and finance is impeding the possibility of full completion
of the integration process within the industry. Overall, two
important contributions of this research include 1) an exploration
of factors that impeded progress of the film industry in responding
to the DT and 2) a formulation of some suitable recommendations to
overcome the challenges in order to completely realise the
integration of DT within the Bangladesh Film Industry. However,
further research is recommended to investigate whether completion
of the integration process will save the industry from decline or
not.%%%%University of ManchesterMuhammad Shajjad
AhsanThesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of
Manchester As part of the requirement for the DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF
PHILOSOPHYIntegration of Digital Technology in the Film Industry of
Bangladesh: Readiness and Response Functions2nd February 2012The
objective of this study is to understand how the integration of
digital technology (DT) in the Bangladesh Film industry has been
responded to by its production,…


The public Nursing Colleges are interested in becoming Higher Education Institutions in order to be able to offer the new qualifications gazetted by the SANC. If they become part of the subsidy system of the Department of Higher Education and Training, it is important to understand what the implications are for their funding. The aim of this article is to explore the impact on College finances if they become registered Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and move to the subsidy system. A survey was done of four colleges representing three provinces to establish their current funding and student group. It was then calculated what their subsidy would have been in the same year if they were in the higher education system. It was found that some of the colleges would have done better and some worse in a new system. This variation exists even between the two colleges from the same province.


The liquor control school of thought of the 1890s–1930s offered a clear alternative to alcohol prohibition, much as today some strands of harm-reduction thinking are an alternative to drug prohibition. Liquor control studies were an elite concern, often unusually international in perspective. Characteristics of the thinking included a focus on the harms from drinking, whether or not drinking per se was affected; a pragmatic approach to structuring the market, to taxation policies, and to controls on the individual drinker, emphasizing the question 'what works?'; and an orientation to patterns in the whole population, rather than a focus just on the drunkard or alcoholic. The new public health approach to alcohol policy, which began to emerge in the 1970s, to some extent is a revival of the concerns and approaches of liquor control thinking, although without the emphasis on individual controls. A striking difference between both liquor control and the new public health approach to alcohol policy, on the one hand, and the modern drug harm-reduction movement, on the other, has been the latter's emphasis on treatment and social handling of heavy users. This partly reflects the impetus the HIV epidemic gave to drug harm reduction, and partly the political hegemony of drug prohibition, which did not invite alternative perspectives that looked beyond providing services to the already thoroughly marginalized and stigmatized.


Goal recognition aims to recognize the set of candidate goals that are compatible with the observed behavior of an agent. In this paper, we develop a method based on the operator-counting framework that efficiently computes solutions that satisfy the observations and uses the information generated to solve goal recognition tasks. Our method reasons explicitly about both partial and noisy observations: estimating uncertainty for the former, and satisfying observations given the unreliability of the sensor for the latter. We evaluate our approach empirically over a large data set, analyzing its components on how each can impact the quality of the solutions. In general, our approach is superior to previous methods in terms of agreement ratio, accuracy, and spread. Finally, our approach paves the way for new research on combinatorial optimization to solve goal recognition tasks.


An important stage in macromolecular crystallography is that of phase extension and refinement when initial phase estimates are available from isomorphous replacement or anomalous scattering or other methods. For this purpose, an alternative method called the twin variables (TwiV) method has been proposed. The algorithm is based on alternately transferring the phase information between the twin variable sets. The phase extension and refinement is evaluated with the crystallographic symmetry test by deliberately sacrificing the space-group symmetry in the starting set, then using its re-appearance as a criterion for correctness. Here we present a software program (CrysTwiV) that runs on the web (freely available at: http://btweb.aua.gr/crystwiv/) implementing the above-mentioned method.


This research develops a control scheme for visual servoing that explicitly takes into account the delay introduced by image acquisition and processing. For this purpose, a predictor block, i.e., an estimator that predicts several samples ahead of time, is properly included in the scheme. The proposed approach is analytically analyzed in terms of dynamics and steady-state errors, and compared to previous approaches. Furthermore, several simulations are comparatively shown in order to illustrate the benefits and limitations of the proposed control scheme. Finally, some experimental results using a turntable and a 3-d.o.f. Cartesian robot are provided in order to validate the analytical and simulation results.


Introduction: Nowadays patient's satisfaction concept has a significant importance in medical care. Consideration of patients' expectation is necessary in improving care quality and midwives are the essential members of health care team who have important role in antenatal and postnatal. They should be aware of client satisfaction rate. The aim of this study was assessing mothers' satisfaction rate in 4 aspects (physical, providing necessary information, ethical and emotional) of maternal care givers during hospitalization. Methods: This descriptive comparative study was conducted on 270 mothers who were admitted and had childbirth in Alzahra, Talegani and 29 Bahman hospitals of Tabriz in year 2009. Mothers' satisfaction of care givers (from admission till hospital discharge) was measured by a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 13, t-test, ANOVA and correlation tests. P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In teaching hospitals, mothers' satisfaction rate of providing necessary information from care givers were very low in labor phase (29) and postpartum (46). About emotional supports, lowest satisfaction rate was in labor phase (47) and delivery (53.5). Mothers' satisfaction of physical and ethical care and support in delivery room and postpartum were in high rate. And in labor phase, satisfaction rate of physical care and ethical support were 88.5 and 75.5, respectively. In Non-teaching maternity hospitals mothers' satisfaction rate of care givers in labor and delivery were high in 4 care and support aspects. In postpartum phase, mothers reported low satisfaction only of providing necessary information from care givers (35.7). Mothers' satisfaction in all 4 aspects showed a significant difference between teaching and non-teaching hospitals (p≤0.05). Conclusion: Satisfaction rate was lower in teaching hospitals than non-teaching hospitals. Also, Satisfaction rate of labor was lower than, delivery and postpartum phase.


Appendicitis, a common disease, has different presentations. This has made its diagnosis difficult. This paper aims to present two cases of missed appendicitis with completely urologic presentation and the way that helped us to reach the correct diagnosis. The first case with symptoms fully related to kidney and the second mimicking epididymorchitis hindered prompt diagnosis. Right site of the pain, relapsing fever, frequent physical examination, and resistance to medical treatment were main clues which help us to make correct diagnosis.