We acquired a pair of Timor Redwinged Parrots (Aprosmictus jonquillaceus jonquillaceus) in May 1989 from a private party who had purchased them through quarantine a year prior. This individual had decided to concentrate his efforts on the larger cockatoos and thus sold off the smaller birds. We were unable to find much information about this particular species other than what is found in Joseph M. Forshaw's Parrots of the World, i.e. that the Timor is native to the island of Timor in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. The birds we purchased had been surgically sexed and were approximately 2-1/2 years old. They had not been previously mated with other birds. We set them up in our garage for the next eight months while we were working on our aviaries at our warehouse. During this time they were set up with Vita-Lights which were set to turn on and off automatically with natural sunsrise and sunset. Once a day they were fed a mixture of seven different fresh fruits and vegetables and large hookbill seed. On February 11, 1990 we set them up in their permanent cage in our breeding facility where they were housed in one unit of a four-unit cage. Their unit measured 4' x 3' x 3' with wooden panels sandwiched between their unit and the adjoining ones. At this particular time these were the only South Pacific birds we owned and the birds in the other units were Amazons. We originally hung a wooden nest box measuring 10" square by 14" high that was lined with pine shavings. On March 2, 1991 we found two eggs in the nest and a third the following day. The eggs measured 1.014 mm wide by 1.235 mm long. We candled at ten days and all three were found to be fertile. At 2-1/2 weeks we again checked the eggs and found numerous cracks in the shells and the chicks dead. We examined the shells closer and noted that they were very thin. On April 5th, 7th, and 9th, 1991, the hen again laid fertile eggs. The same problem occurred with the cracks and soft shells and all three chicks died. We determined that one of the problems was with the nestbox, as the eggs bumped against the sides of the box whenever the hen moved. At this point we decided to add extra vitamin D-Cal-Fos to the seed mixture. We also decided to change the nest box to an 1-shaped box measuring 10" square and 14" high with a 14" length to the boot. We felt this would eliminate her jumping on the eggs whenever she entered the box. At this time we also decided to change the nesting material to Eucalyptus shavings. On June 1st, 3rd and 6th, 1991, three more eggs were found. When we opened the box to check on the eggs they almost fell out as they were sitting directly at the opening of the boot. Fertility was obvious by seven days and we opted again to leave the eggs with the hen. We candled them every five days and were pleased to note that the chicks were growing nicely. You could tell by the light that these shells were harder than the first two clutches. Since we were not sure of the incubation period we started to add papaya to the birds' diet on the 20th day of incubation. We do this with all our pairs of birds since papaya carries a lot of natural vitamins and enzymes. The chicks hatched on June 23rd, 24th and 26th, 1991 and we had no problems with the parents feeding them. The male would feed the hen who would then in turn feed the chicks. The chicks were pulled on July 8, 1991 for handfeeding. They were fed Pretty Bird Hand Rearing formula (12 percent) which was very watered down for the first two days. On the 3rd day the formula was mixed as directed and fed this way until the babies reached five weeks. At five weeks of age we supplemented the formula with commercial jars of baby food (banana, papaya, squash, beans, peas, etc.) and at six weeks plates of finely chopped apples, oranges, potato, cooked beans, rice and frozen mixed vegetables were introduced. The chicks tried these immediately. All three babies weaned at approximately eight weeks of age and fledged on August 2, 1991. The largest problems we have had owning the pair and subsequently have chicks is the confusion of the species. Most bird owners consider them Crimson-winged Parrots or some sub-species of them. Since the hatch of the chicks we have tried unsuccessfully to locate additional birds to increase our stock. We cannot find anyone who has the species. We contacted Zoogen for DNA testing and had to pull blood from the parents in order to get a line for Timor Red-winged Parrots. This allows us to have the chicks sexed as they are not sexually dimorphic until much later. By visually checking at the age of six months we believe we have two males and one female. The samples of the parents came back clear so the babies are in the process of being done. Another problem is the lack of information on the species. The most we have found in any source is description and location. No nesting, incubation or egg information is available. We kept one of the chicks as a semi pet and the other two were kept in the same cage at the breeding facility. At about five months of age, the two were fighting constantly, and had to be separated as each was being plucked by the other. These are the two we believe to be males. They had become completely plucked. An interesting note - the one we have kept as a pet is housed in the same room with our pet Amazons and cockatoo. By 6-1/2 months the bird began to talk and whistle. The sound is similar to a cockatiel but is clear just the same. •


Modeling arsenic in domestic well water highlights large data gaps in testing Severe public health consequences of worldwide geogenic arsenic occurrence in groundwater have been recognized since the late 1990s (1). The population affected by groundwater arsenic from domestic well supplies has been frequently stated to exceed 100 million. However, this compilation is fraught with uncertainties due to incomplete and unreliable records on domestic wells that supply drinking water and incomplete testing for arsenic. On page 845 of this issue, Podgorski and Berg use statistical models to estimate that 94 million to 220 million people, with 94% in Asia, are at risk of drinking well water containing arsenic concentrations >10 µg/liter (2). In Bangladesh, a 2009 national drinking-water quality survey found that about 20 million and 45 million people were exposed to concentrations greater than 50 and 10 µg/liter, respectively, with an arsenic-related mortality rate of 1 in every 18 adult deaths (3). This global threat demands multisector solutions.


The main motivation of this paper is to study the impact of the composition of creditors on the probability of default and the risk premium on sovereign bonds, when there is debtor moral hazard. In the absence of any legal enforcement, relational contracts work only when there are creditors who have a repeated relationship with the borrower. We show that ownership structures with a larger fraction of long term lenders are associated with a lower default probability and lower risk premia. Moreover, competitive markets structures lead to loss in efficiency as well when there is moral hazard, in contrast to the case with perfect enforceability and information.


AbstractIn the Hebrew Bible, sacrifices are described as food for Yahweh and thus the sacrificial system corresponds with the general Ancient Near Eastern system of the "care and feeding of the gods" At the same time, human-divine commensality is problematized in narrative texts such as Judges 6 and 13, where the burnt offering is stressed as the only and necessarily different way the deity may consume food. Finally, some passages, such as Psalm 50, quoted above, explicitly reject the notion that sacrifices and offerings should be required as sustenance for Yahweh since he is the creator and owner of the world and everything in it.This article offers a survey of various views on sacrifice as food for the deity in the Hebrew Bible and discusses these views in their Ancient Near Eastern context. It is suggested that the main understanding of sacrifice as meal in the Hebrew Bible is one that emphasizes difference through commensality and stresses the incompatibility of the human and the divine sphere through...


1. Enyart JJ, Jones RJ. Low-dose warfarin for prevention of symptomatic thromboembolism after orthopedic surgery. Ann Pharmacother 2005; 39:1002-7. Epub 10 May 2005. DOI 10.1345/aph.1E536 2. White RH, Romano PS, Zhou H, Rodrigo J, Bargar W. Incidence and time course of thromboembolic outcomes following total hip or knee arthroplasty. Arch Intern Med 1998;158:1525-31. 3. Comp PC, Spiro T, Friedman RJ, Whittsett TL, Johnson GJ, Gardiner GA Jr, et al. Prolonged enoxaparin therapy to prevent venous thromboembolism after primary hip or knee replacement. Enoxaparin Clinical Trial Group. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2001;83-A:336-45. 4. Moher D, Schulz KF, Altman DG, for the CONSORT Group. The CONSORT statement: revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel-group randomised trials. Lancet 2001;357:1191-4. 5. Geerts WH, Pineo GF, Heit JA, Bergqvist D, Lassen MR, Colwell CW, et al. Prevention of venous thromboembolism: the Seventh ACCP Conference on Antithrombotic and Thrombolytic Therapy. Chest 2004;126(3 suppl):338S-400S.


In a review of the classical complications of corticotherapy the aouthors tried, in the light of the literature, to take into consideration the ideas received as compared with the numerical conclusions of statistical studies on large series. Then they presented the patient treated with corticoids, faced with the surgical intervention. They tried to demonstrate that adrenal insufficiency, if present, is only exceptional and that all of the incidents, observed during and immediately after surgery must not be attributed to it.


Background and Objective: The eating disorder is one of the most psychological disorders in women. There are many causes of eating disorder , which include perfectionism, body mass index (BMI) and body dissatisfaction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design and test a model of perfectionism, BMI as precedents for eating disorder with mediating the role of body dissatisfaction among female students of university. Materials and Methods: The designed model in this descriptive study was tested in a sample of 302 female students of Shiraz University in the academic year 2013-2014. Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26), Perfectionism Ahvaz Scale and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-8D) were used to assess eating disorder, perfectionism and body dissatisfaction. The proposed model was tested based on structural equations modeling (SEM). In order to test the mediating effects of the proposed model and determine their significance, Cohen and Cohen method was used. Results: The findings indicated that the proposed model is suitable. The results also supported the mediating role of body dissatisfaction in the relationship between BMI, perfectionism and eating disorder. Conclusion: The perfectionism and BMI were good precedents and body dissatisfaction was good mediator for eating disorder in female students. Due to the impact of these disorders on physical and mental health of young people, the lifestyle, environmental, and social aspects influencing the development eating disorders and body dissatisfaction in this group should be monitored. Key words: Body Mass Index, Body dissatisfaction, Eating disorder, Perfectionism, Female students of university Funding: This study did not have any funds. Conflict of interest: None declared. Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of  Shiraz University approved the study. How to cite this article: Rezaei M, Aflakseir A, Mohammadi N, Yavari AH, Ghayour M. Study of the Perfectionism Role and Body Mass Index in Prediction of Eating Disorders with Mediating the Role of Body Dissatisfaction among Female Students of University. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2015 14(3): 223-34 [Farsi]


Preferential flow is known to influence hillslope hydrology in many areas around the world. Most research on preferential flow has been performed in temperate regions. Preferential infiltration has also been found in semi‐arid regions, but its impact on the hydrology of these regions is poorly known. The aim of this study is to describe and quantify the influence of preferential flow on the hillslope hydrology from small scale (infiltration) to large scale (subsurface stormflow) in a semi‐arid Dehesa landscape. Precipitation, soil moisture content, piezometric water level and discharge data were used to analyse the hydrological functioning of a catchment in Spain. Variability of soil moisture content during the transition from dry to wet season (September to November) within horizontal soil layers leads to the conclusion that there is preferential infiltration into the soils. When the rainfall intensity is high, a water level rapidly builds up in the piezometer pipes in the area, sometimes even reaching soil surface. This water level also drops back to bedrock within a few hours (under dry catchment conditions) to days (under wet catchment conditions). As the soil matrix is not necessarily wet while this water layer is built up, it is thought to be a transient water table in large connected pores which drain partly to the matrix, partly fill up bedrock irregularities and partly drain through subsurface flow to the channels. When the soil matrix becomes wetter the loss of water from macropores to the matrix and bedrock decreases and subsurface stormflow increases. It may be concluded that the hillslope hydrological system consists of a fine matrix domain and a macropore domain, which have their own flow characteristics but which also interact, depending on the soil matrix and macropore moisture contents. The macropore flow can result in subsurface flow, ranging from 13% contribution to total discharge for a large event of high intensity rainfall or high discharge to 80% of total discharge for a small event with low intensity rainfall or low discharge. During large events the fraction of subsurface stormflow in the discharge is suppressed by the large amount of surface runoff. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The lack of uptake of science subjects in Post-Primary Schools (High Schools) is a continuous concern, both in Ireland and the international community. In the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation Report, the Irish government stresses the need for a greater focus on investigative approaches, assessing practical work and effectively using Information and Communications Technology. This mirrors the international move towards inquiry and more authentic student experience of the sciences. A review of the Irish Science Syllabi is ongoing to find possible solutions. This paper proposes a Virtual Chemistry Laboratory (VCL) as a practical infrastructure to tackle these issues and facilitate change. This work describes the views of educational stakeholders on the potential integration of a VCL into the Irish Chemistry Syllabus and the use of a VCL by 5 Science teachers, highlighting how a VCL can address and raise awareness of many contemporary issues in science and teacher education.


Novel phosphorothioate-modified oligodeoxynucleotides (S-ODNs) containing a deoxyuridine derivative bearing a spermine moiety at the C-5 position were synthesized. The study of the thermal stability and the thermodynamic stability showed that the modified S-ODNs have been able to form the stable duplexes with the complementary DNA. It was also found that the duplex composed of the modified S-ODN and its complementary RNA strand is the substrate for Escherichia coli RNase H, and the cleavage of the RNA strand by the enzyme was almost similar as in the case of the unmodified one.


An important problem in target tracking is the detection and tracking of targets in very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments. In the past, several approaches have been used, including maximum likelihood. The major novelty of this work is the incorporation of a model for fluctuating target amplitude into the maximum likelihood approach for tracking of constant velocity targets. Coupled with a realistic sensor model, this allows the exploitation of signal correlation between resolution cells in the same frame, and also from one frame to the next. The fluctuating amplitude model is a first order model to reflect the inter-frame correlation. The amplitude estimates are obtained using a Kalman filter, from which the likelihood function is derived. A numerical maximization technique avoids problems previously encountered in "velocity filtering" approaches due to mismatch between assumed and actual target velocity, at the cost of additional computation. The Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) is derived for a constant, known amplitude case. Estimation errors are close to this CRLB even when the amplitude is unknown. Results show track detection performance for unknown signal amplitude is nearly the same as that obtained when the correct signal model is used.


Foreword: Vladimir Ashkenazy Editorial procedure: The translations Russian dates Acknowledgements Preface : Simon Nicholls Cultural context Biographical elements The Writings of Skryabin (Russkie propilei, Moscow, 1919) [Note by Mikhail Gershenzon] A Note by Boris de Schloezer on the Preliminary Action 4 The Notebooks: I. A single sheet, written at the age of about sixteen II. Period of the First Symphony, around 1900 III. Chorus from Symphony No. 1 IV. Libretto for an opera, after the First Symphony but before 1903 V. Notebook, summer 1904, Switzerland VI. Notebook, 1904-5 VII. Notebook, 1905-6 VIII. The Poem of Ecstasy IX. [The Preliminary Action]: 1. Initial version, full text 2. Final, fair copy of the text, unfinished The Growth of Skryabin's Thought Simon Nicholls A 'philosopher-musician'? The influence of philosophy: Music and philosophy Skryabin's reading Ernest Renan Greek philosophy German Idealism Russian philosophy and Russian Symbolism Conference at Geneva The influence of Theosophy Indian culture Skryabin's philosophy of music Skryabin's 'teaching' Thought in words, music, colour: Skryabin's developing Symbolist practice Skryabin's poetic language The Poem of Ecstasy: text and music (1905-1908) Prometheus: music, colour and the word (1908-1910) The Preliminary Action: A preliminary to what? - 'The idea of the Mystery' (Leonid Sabaneyev) Performance as sacrament The music for the Preliminary Action People and publications: Leonid Sabaneyev Mikhail Gershenzon and Russkie propilei Supplementary texts by Alexander Skryabin: I. Reminiscences of youth II. Text to an unfinished Ballade for piano (1887) III. Romance (1891) IV. An early statement of aspiration (1892) Letters to Natal'ya Sekerina: V. [June 1892] VI. [July 1892] VII. [May/June 1893] VIII. [June 1893] Letters to Margarita Morozova: IX. April 1904 X. [April/May 1906] Letters to Tat'yana de Schloezer: XI. [January 1905] XII. [December 1906] XIII. Poem to accompany Sonata No. 4. XIV. Open Letter to A. N. Bryanchaninov: 'Art and Politics' (1915) Biographical notes Bibliography


The problem of dipole transition-matrix element calculation for optical transitions in multiply charged one-electron diatomic quasimolecules with unequal nuclear charges Z1 and Z2 has been stated and solved. The quasimolecule Z1eZ2 is a unique example of a two-center system for which the energy terms and dipole transition moments have been calculated precisely in the frame of a nonrelativistic approach. Particular examples for the optical transitions with Z1 = 1.5, 2 , 2.5, 3 and Z2 = 1 and with the principal quantum number of the united ion nu =1,2,3,4 have been tabulated. The scaling rules make it possible to determine the matrix elements for quasimolecules having nuclear charge ratios such as 2:1, 3:1, 3:2, and 5:2. Zeros at intermediate R and zero limiting values at large R are the highlighted features of the matrix elements. The heteronucleus case generates a large number of asymptotically forbidden transitions corresponding to transitions of an electron from one ion to another.


It has recently been proposed that chromogranin A (CgA), a 50-kilodalton acidic glycoprotein that is costored and cosecreted with hormones and neurotransmitters in a variety of tissues, mediates glucocorticoid inhibition of ACTH secretion from AtT20/D16v mouse anterior pituitary corticotroph tumor cells by an undefined autocrine mechanism. We used AtT20/D16v cells, RIAs for murine CgA and ACTH, complementary DNA probes for CgA and POMC, the precursor of ACTH, antiserum that reacts with murine CgA, highly purified bovine CgA, and synthetic rat and porcine pancreastatin, a bioactive cleavage product of CgA in some systems, to study the kinetics of the effect of glucocorticoids on CgA and ACTH synthesis and secretion and of CgA's subsequent effects on ACTH secretion. Exposure to 100 nM dexamethasone (DEX) did not alter the size of CgA or POMC messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts but increased cell CgA mRNA content 42% by 3 h and 192% by 48 h. DEX decreased cell POMC mRNA content 22% by 6 h and 57% by 48 h. These divergent effects of DEX on steady state mRNA levels were accompanied by similar divergent effects on the production of CgA and ACTH protein. Thirty-minute exposure to 10 nM ovine CRF increased CgA and ACTH release to 300% and 360% of basal levels, respectively. One-hour DEX pretreatment inhibited CRF-stimulated CgA and ACTH release 58% and 49% at 30 min and 67% and 66% at 60 min, respectively. There was a positive correlation between CgA and ACTH release under all conditions at both times (r = 0.976 and 0.964, respectively, P < 0.001), consistent with costorage and cosecretion of the two proteins. The ratio of secreted ACTH to CgA decreased progressively with DEX treatment. Purified bovine CgA (100 nM) had little or no effect on basal or CRF-stimulated ACTH secretion from AtT20/D16v cells, 100 nM synthetic pancreastatin had no significant effect on basal or CRF-stimulated ACTH release from AtT20/D16v cells or dispersed normal male rat anterior pituitary cells, and anti-CgA sera had no significant effect on basal or CRF-stimulated ACTH release from AtT20/D16v cells. These results indicate: 1) that DEX stimulates CgA synthesis, whereas it inhibits POMC synthesis; 2) that CgA and ACTH are cosecreted; 3) that DEX increases CgA secretion relative to ACTH secretion, but decreases the absolute secretion of both proteins; and 4) that neither CgA nor its proteolytic product, pancreastatin, inhibits ACTH secretion. Thus, CgA does not mediate the inhibitory effect of DEX on ACTH secretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Fuzzy logic control schemes related by linguistic control rules have been gaining much attention as a method of intelligent control in recent years. However, a fuzzy controller is, in itself, a nonlinear controller having several parameters to be properly determined. In this paper, the authors propose a fuzzy learning controller which has an ability of generating and modifying the control rule-base, and tuning input/output gains for the iterative task. Through simulation studies on a linear time-invariant (LTI) single-input single-output (SISO) system, and a 2-link robot manipulator, the authors evaluate the performance of the proposed controller.<<ETX>>


Author(s): Sheppard, Jennifer Rhiannon | Advisor(s): Taruskin, Richard | Abstract: Recently, the most exciting productions of operas have attracted attention by rebelling against established ideas of the opera's text and stagings - Peter Sellars' New York settings of Mozart operas are just one example among many. Likewise, the most stimulating developments in opera criticism have been in the area of performance, where a much-needed sharpening of opera-production theory has formed around such extraordinary re-stagings. This focus on performance is a welcome one, particularly for opera, where the visual component is of no less importance than the aural. Yet the nearly exclusive attention on extraordinary productions and a concomitant valorization of the provocative is troubling. Such selectivity, particularly when founded on loaded criteria such as "strong" and "innovative" runs the risk of creating more canons of "great works" or "great men."This dissertation will seek to redress some of the problems with current methodologies for studying opera productions, illustrated with case studies of four of Leos Janacek's operas: Kat'a Kabanova, The Cunning Little Vixen, The Makropulos Case, and From the House of the Dead. My thinking on this subject has been filtered through work on Janacek's operas which, I have found, fit uneasily into existing models of opera studies. Unlike the Italian, German, and French operas that form the canon of opera criticism, Janacek's were notoriously slow starters. Only the premieres of his last few operas could be considered important musical events and even then only within the Czech Republic. Works such as Makropulos and The House of the Dead have acquired significance in international opera houses only relatively recently. The unusual relationship these pieces have with the operatic performance canon required developing new approaches to their study. First, I propose supplementing any examination of opera production with the very different information reception history provides. Alone, neither production nor reception can completely represent the impact of performance: on the one hand, the visual traces of productions, particularly those pre-dating video recording, are frustratingly ephemeral; on the other, the written texts that usually comprise reception history tell only part of the story. Bringing the two together, can fill in some of the pieces missing in either alone. Second, the myopic effect caused by focusing on single productions should be countered: as Gundula Kreuzer has recently argued, studies of newer productions often lack historical perspective. Thus I suggest along with Kreuzer, that the chronological purview of any such study be radically expanded to include stagings from the premiere up to recent years. Lastly, I suggest a shift in focus from difference to sameness. Reception histories in music have typically concentrated on changes in a work's meaning as indicators of shifts in broader historical, social, or political contexts. The problem with looking exclusively for difference is, as Jim Samson has argued, that a work's meanings may become so unstable as to render them meaningless. Tracing sameness or, to borrow from Jan Broeckx, "residual layers of receptional insight" through the history of an opera's production and reception not only reintroduces stability through continuously regenerated meanings of the work, but also provides us with new insights.


BACKGROUND
Thyroid hormone plays a critical role in fetal development. In pregnancy, increased thyroid hormone synthesis is required to meet fetal needs, resulting in increased iodine requirements.

OBJECTIVE
This article outlines changes to thyroid physiology and iodine requirements in pregnancy, pregnancy specific reference ranges for thyroid function tests and detection and management of thyroid conditions in pregnancy.

DISCUSSION
Thyroid dysfunction affects 2-3% of pregnant women. Pregnancy specific reference ranges are required to define thyroid conditions in pregnancy and to guide treatment. Overt maternal hypothyroidism is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes; thyroxine treatment should be commenced immediately in this condition. Thyroxine treatment has also been shown to be effective for pregnant women with subclinical hypothyroidism who are thyroid peroxidase antibody positive. Gestational thyrotoxicosis needs to be differentiated from Graves disease and rarely requires thionamide treatment. Postpartum thyroiditis most commonly presents with isolated hypothyroidism but a biphasic presentation and isolated hyperthyroidism can occur: a high index of suspicion is warranted for diagnosis.


This letter determines the dimensional profile of a periodic metallic surface that minimizes the electromagnetic energy scattering of an incident plane-wave back in the incident direction, irrespective of the plane-wave incidence angle. Simple Fourier series is used to describe the surface height variation and it is shown that a small number of design parameters are required to obtain the optimal profile of the surface. Experimental validations are presented and a very good agreement with electromagnetic simulation results is achieved.


PURPOSE
To establish the characteristics and prognosis of newly diagnosed patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), who were carriers of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viral infection.

METHODS
542 patients with NHL, diagnosed and treated in the University Hospital "Sv. Georgi", Plovdiv, were retrospectively analysed. Two NHL patient groups were created - the study group, consisting of 33 patients with NHL positive for HBV and HCV, and the control group, consisting of 40 randomly assigned patients with NHL and negative serology for hepatitis. Study and control groups were compared for basic characteristics and survival.

RESULTS
The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among newly diagnosed patients was 5.72% and of HCV 1.84 %. Association with hepatitis viruses was more frequent in indolent than in aggressive NHLs (p=0.044). Liver dysfunction was registered more often in the study group (p=0.002). Reactivation of HBV infection was registered in 5 patients (12.19%) from the study group. There was no statistically significant difference between survival rate of patients in the study group and in the control group (p=0.738).

CONCLUSION
Hepatitis virus carrier state did not alter significantly the clinical course and disease prognosis (remission rates and survival) in our patient group. We recommend the routine testing for hepatitis infection in patients newly diagnosed with NHL in order to collect more data needed for the establishment of a possible causal relationship between hepatitis viruses and NHL. Since antiviral prophylaxis could positively impact the course of lymphoma treatment, national guidelines for the management of patients with hepatitis infection and NHL will prove to be necessary for the clinical practice.


Rationale: Intradiploic meningiomas are a subset of extradural meningiomas that arise in the skull. They are mostly localized in the frontoparietal and orbital regions, and they are often mistaken for primary bone tumors. Patient concerns: The patient was a 48-year-old man with headache and a 12-year history of frontal cranium occupation, which was first discovered in 2005 and enlarged in 2009. The patient had a history of fracture in his frontal cranium 12 years ago. The computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an occupation and intracranial invasion in frontal cranium. And the angiography showed an occlusion at the anterior part of sagittal sinus. Interventions: Bilateral frontal craniotomy, intracranial tumor resection, and cranioplasty were performed. Diagnosis: Histologic examination confirmed an intradiploic ectopic meningioma (World Health Organization Grade I). Outcomes: He was discharged with no neurological deficits 3 days after surgery. At the 6-month clinical follow-up, there was no tumor recurrence or other complaints. Lessons: In this study, we present the case of a frontal intradiploic meningioma with progressive intracranial invasion and review the radiographic and clinical findings of patients with primary intraosseous meningioma.


Introduction Older adults in municipal residential care are among the most vulnerable and in need of most care. The prevalence of negative events, such as falls and malnutrition, is increased among these older adults. The need for strategies to prevent falls and malnutrition is emphasized in guidelines and systematic, individualized risk assessments are prerequisites for adequate interventions. Objectives The overall purpose of this study was to investigate the assessed risks of, and risk factors for, falling and malnutrition and the correlations between these assessed risks among older women and men in residential care. Further, the purpose was to investigate the consistency between planned and performed interventions among women and men assessed as at risk. Methods A cross-sectional registry study based on risk assessment data in the Swedish national quality registry, Senior Alert. Altogether, 5,919 older adults ≥65 in nursing homes and dementia care units in 19 municipalities in Sweden were included. Results Of the older adults, 77% were at risk of falls, and 59% were at risk of malnutrition. The most prevalent risk factors for falls were previous falls and not being cognitively oriented; and for malnutrition were having mild or severe dementia or depression. A significant positive correlation between the risk of falling and the risk of malnutrition was found. Less than half of the planned interventions for falls and malnutrition were performed. Care staff's least common interventions to prevent falls were balance, muscular function, and strength training, which contrasts with the recommendations; interventions to prevent malnutrition were only partially adhering to recommendations. Conclusions This cross-sectional registry study points towards the importance of using an evidence-based approach, based on adherence to recommended guidelines, in the prevention of falling and malnutrition. Further, the implementation of clinical practice guidelines is needed, which requires educational training for care staff and supportive leadership.


A quasi-equilibrium statistical theory is used to investigate the low density limit to the rate of the three body ionic recombination process X+ + Yˉ + Z → [XY] + Z, the interaction between the third body and an ion being taken to be of the Langevin form. It is shown that the recombination coefficient α is, to a close approximation, equal to the sum of two partial recombination coefficients, α13 and α23 the former describing recombination due only to X+ — Z collisions and the latter describing recombination due only to Yˉ — Z collisions. Results are presented which enable α to be found for a wide range of values of the temperature, the masses of the three species involved, the two Langevin hard-sphere radii and the polarizability of the third body. In the case of equal masses (for which it was designed) the well-known theory of Thomson is remarkably successful with regard to its predictions on the dependence of α on the temperature and on the interactions.


This article examines the issues and challenges involved for institutions, policy makers, and law-makers in less developed countries in their efforts to implement asset securitization techniques in their financial markets. Challenges and issues in the areas of market development, legislation, accounting, regulation and structuring are examined in the light of recent developments in securitization techniques.


Background : Although a number of studies are related to QA improvement, there are few studies applied various method of QA tools. This study reviewed the availability of general quality assurance(QA) tools according to ten steps in performing quality improvement activities at emergency room of a tertiary teaching hospital which has more than 1,000 beds. Methods : All patients in emergency room from 15th Oct. 1997 to 5th Sep. 1998 were surveyed. The survey data based on the patient's records of emergency room were evaluated according to length of stay, and we tried to identify problems with management of emergency room. To solve the problems, our team applied general QA tools(brainstorming, flow chart, nominal group technique, benchmarking, cause-and-effect diagram, run chart, control chart) to quality improvement activities and discussed the availability of the tools. Results : After the activities such as changes of staffing, the establishment of local area network and chest pain clinic, application of triage and so on, the percentage of patient who had stayed more than six hours was reduced from 56.0% to 46.8%. The mean number of patients per day in emergency room was increased from 49 to 62. But the reporting time for laboratory test was not changed after these activities. Conclusion : Each QA tool has unique benefit and limitation, but we can implement and evaluate the quality improvement activities more scientifically and systematically by applying these tools to practice according to QA ten steps.


This paper describes the design, construction and testing of a matrix converter permanent magnet motor drive for an electro-hydrostatic aircraft actuator (ERA). The converter has been built using a 35Amp Eupec matrix converter module with closed loop vector control. The commutation time has been minimized to avoid any unnecessary waveform distortion. Practical results from the testing of this converter are presented.


This paper proposes a Magneto Rheological linear clutch for use in human safe robotic applications. The force transmitted to the links of the robot must be precisely controlled for any manipulator if it has to be operated safely alongside humans. The traditional approaches to this problem is using various compliant actuating schemes like Series Elastic Actuators, Joint Torque Control etc. Research on the usage of smart materials that change their properties on application of electrical or magnetic fields for human safe robots have gained momentum recently. Studies on the feasibility of Magneto-Rheological actuators has been done already. This paper introduces a MR clutch which can control the force transmitted by a linear actuator. The electromechanical model of the linear clutch has been developed, implemented in hardware, and tested using a prototype one Degree of Freedom arm. The design of the clutch is detailed and the performance is characterized thorough a series of experiments. The results suggest that the linear clutch serves well for the precise force control of a linear actuator.


Effective dosing of isavuconazole in patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is important due to the role of isavuconazole as a first-line treatment in patients with influenza- and COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis. To date, robust pharmacokinetic data in patients supported by ECMO are limited. Therefore, it is unknown whether ECMO independently impacts isavuconazole exposure. We measured isavuconazole plasma concentrations in two patients supported by ECMO and estimated individual pharmacokinetic parameters using non-compartmental analysis and two previously published population pharmacokinetic models. Furthermore, a narrative literature review on isavuconazole exposure in adult patients receiving ECMO was performed. The 24 h areas under the concentration–time curve and trough concentrations of isavuconazole were lower in both patients compared with exposure values published before. In the literature, highly variable isavuconazole concentrations have been documented in patients with ECMO support. The independent effect of ECMO versus critical illness itself on isavuconazole exposure cannot be deduced from our and previously published (case) reports. Pending additional data, therapeutic drug monitoring is recommended in critically ill patients, regardless of ECMO support.


A consensus is emerging in the IETF that very long tenure in
leadership roles is not in the best interests of the community. While,
in theory, that advice could simply be given to the NomCom, there is
reason to believe that a different model for consideration of renewal
or replacement for members of the leadership would be more efficient
for the NomCom and would impose less hardship on incumbents and the
community. This document outlines that alternate method.


Who is La Malinche/Doña Marina/Malintzin? La Malinche has long symbolized the conquest of the Mexican Indians by Europeans: of invaluable service to the Spaniards, a traitor to her own people. Retracing the construction of her portrayal over time amounts to a paradigm of translation. Varying contexts and interpretations from different periods have assigned her attributes that are positive or negative, sometimes inflating, sometimes deflating her importance. In this article I undertake a re-reading of the myth of La Malinche in writings extending from those of Hernán Cortés to the works of Chicana authors such as Norma Alarcón, Sandra Messinger Cypess, Lucha Corpi, Carmen Tafolla and Gloria Anzaldúa. Through the reinterpretation of numerous texts written by both men and women and ranging from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries, the aim of the article is to recover a significant figure in the history of translation. The polyhedral portrayal that has built up around La Malinche reopens the debate about the implications of the various gender-related labels ascribed to her over time.


A generation of a d.c. electric field at ferromagnetic resonance or the magnetoelectric effect in magnetic semiconductors is studied theoretically in the whole magnon wave vector space. The magnetoelectric effect in the classical regime kl < 1 and contributions of different electron-magnon interactions to the magnon drag effect in the quantum regime kl > 1 are calculated. All the calculated static electric fields are compared with experimental results. At low-microwave power levels the non-linear electrodynamic interaction due to a mixing of the oscillating magnetization (k = 0) and the induced electric field seems to dominate the magnetoelectric effect. In some cases the classical drag effect may also be significant. At sufficiently high power levels the quantum mechanical magnon drag can make the largest contribution. It is shown that in the magnon drag effect the induced static electric field is proportional to the damping coefficient of magnons.


Scolecophidian snakes have long posed challenges for scholars interested in elucidating their anatomy. The importance, and relative paucity, of high‐quality anatomical data pertaining to scolecophidians was brought into sharp focus in the late 20th century as part of a controversy over the phylogeny and ecological origin of snakes. The basal position of scolecophidians in the phylogeny of snakes makes their anatomy, behavior, ecology, and evolution especially important for such considerations. The depauperate fossil record for the group meant that advances in understanding their evolutionary history were necessarily tied to biogeographic distributions and anatomical interpretations of extant taxa. Osteological data, especially data pertaining to the skull and mandible, assumed a dominant role in shaping historical and modern perspectives of the evolution of scolecophidians. Traditional approaches to the exploration of the anatomy of these snakes relied heavily upon serial‐sectioned specimens and cleared‐and‐stained specimens. The application of X‐ray computed tomography (CT) to the study of scolecophidians revolutionized our understanding of the osteology of the group, and now, via diffusible iodine‐based contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (diceCT), is yielding data sets on internal soft anatomical features as well. CT data sets replicate many aspects of traditional anatomical preparations, are readily shared with a global community of scholars, and now are available for unique holotype and other rare specimens. The increasing prevalence and relevance of CT data sets is a strong incentive for the establishment and maintenance of permanent repositories for digital data.


The long-term effect of sacral rhizotomy in 24 patients with coccygodynia was evaluated. Prior to section of both the S-4 and S-5 roots all patients had coccygeal pain and tenderness which had not responded to severe conservative and surgical therapeutic measures. In 8 patients the coccalgia (S-4 S-5 pain) was associated with unilateral pain in the S-3 area, in another 8 patients it was associated with disabling lumbago and in the remaining group of 8 patients coccalgia occurred without pain in neighbouring areas. Only 6 patients responded well to sacral rhizotomy. All these patients belonged to the final group of 8 patients with pain distribution limited to the S-4 S-5 area. Serious complications occurred after 6 of the 24 rhizotomies. Five of these patients belonged to the two groups who besides coccalgia also had disabling lumbago or signs of rhizopathy about the S-4 level. A restrictive attitude to sacral rhizotomy in coccalgia is recommended especially when it is associated with pain in neighbouring areas and also if there is any reason to believe that there are factors present predisposing to the development of arachnoiditis.


The solubilized perivitelline layer (PL) of the chicken ovum contains one or more components which behave in a manner analogous to sperm-receptors. Electrophoretic analyses of solubilized PL confirmed the existence of three major glycoproteins having apparent molecular weights of 33,000, 53,500 and greater than 200,000. The role of carbohydrate in sperm receptor activity was evaluated by extensive deglycosylation of the solubilized PL with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TFMS). Sperm receptor activity as measured by an in vitro competition assay was extremely sensitive to TFMS. Pretreatment of spermatozoa with solubilized PL exposed only to TFMS buffers inhibited sperm attachment and digestion of intact PL by 81% (9.67 +/- 1.76 sperm/mm2) as compared with the controls (i.e., no pretreatment of spermatozoa with solubilized PL; 51.33 +/- 6.24 sperm/mm2), a value similar to that observed with spermatozoa exposed to untreated solubilized PL (0.17 +/- 0.17 sperm/mm2). In comparison, PL treated with TFMS inhibited sperm attachment and digestion of intact PL by less than 26% (38.33 +/- 5.88 sperm/mm2) as compared with the control. These data indicate that removal of both N- and O-linked oligosaccharides from components of the chicken PL results in elimination of its sperm receptor activity.


Current advances in manufacturing systems engineering have led to the development of tools and techniques that support enterprises to remain in business, be competitive and at the same time deliver products that meet the needs of their customers. Some commonly identified tools and techniques observed in literature today are: Cost Modelling techniques such as Activity Based Costing, Parametric, Expert judgment, Analogy, etc; System Modelling Techniques such as Knowledge Based Engineering; Enterprise Modelling and Behavioural Modelling tools using IT systems (Static, Dynamic and DES models) to help understand and represent systems.

Although current tools and techniques have demonstrated significant benefits to enterprises, the following challenges are observed in literature; (i) the lack of an integrated engineering and cost modelling technique during early design stages, (ii) lack of a systematic execution of engineering models into existing cost modellers to extend its capabilities to include new processes is not well documented. Which means that currently, most cost modellers are only capable of estimating cost with existing inbuilt models which depend on domain experts modification, (iii) engineering cost estimation tools that only generates manufacturing cost of products which does not include design and installation cost for new products that requires new processes. Addressing these challenges may lead to the development of dedicated and more integrated tools for useful collaborative analyses during early design phases. Also, this may lead to the development and improvement of digital modelling tools that represent actual conditions of production systems and facilities. Furthermore, this may also support organisations with the capturing of engineering knowledge to help understand processes as well as to have a better overview of capital investments.

This research proposes a Product-Process-Resource (PPR) Cost Estimation Framework to satisfy the above challenges. The proposed framework is developed through three interlinked techniques.

The first technique is a "product-process-resource modelling technique for capturing engineering knowledge and cost values" addresses challenge (i) above. This technique uses data modelling approach for capturing engineering knowledge and extracts cost information for assessing product (P), process (P) and resources (R) design cost during early design stages. Engineering knowledge in this context refers to an understanding of engineering processes and resources that are consumed or expected to be consumed to realize a particular product or features on a product. This technique makes use of business process modelling notations (BPMN) to illustrate the integration of process and resources. Furthermore, a computer representation of the process with its workstation are generated in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format, which are both human-readable and machine-readable to be used in the next stage of the proposed methodology. Also, a PPR Design Cost Calculator is developed for capturing cost of design using standard cost accounting algorithms. The calculator enables engineers to visualise cost values of product, process and resource design and changing cost parameters to see its effect on the total cost. This technique is based on the assumption that product features can be associated with process capabilities which then can be mapped onto resource competencies and capacities.

The second technique is a "technique for extending cost modeller capabilities to include a new process for cost assessment" addresses challenge (ii) above. This solution is based on identifying cost modeller requirements and then developing and implementing compatible product, process and resource models to extend the cost modeller's capabilities. These models as discussed in the first approach becomes input for extending the capabilities of a cost modeller for costing a specific feature on a product 3D model.

Finally, challenge (iii) is addressed by introducing a "technique for integrating P-P-R-Production cost values to support engineering decisions". This is a unique technique that integrates PPR design cost models, installation cost model and production cost database to generate visible cost values as a cost summary. The cost summary contains cost algorithms and equations, modelled to reflect the effect of time, rate, annual production volume, material and batch size changes to the total cost.

The proposed PPR Cost Estimation Framework has been verified and validated with an industrial case study of an automotive sheet metal door assembly process, a novel Remote Laser Welding (RLW) case application for its rigorousness and future industrial applicability.


Purpose: Pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (XFG) is often associated with a higher rate of intraoperative complications and failure. This study aims to compare the long-term clinical and surgical outcomes of cataract surgery alone versus combined surgery in XFG. This was a retrospective comparative case series. Methods: All patients with XFG who underwent either cataract surgery alone [group 1: either phacoemulsification, PHACO/small-incision cataract surgery (SICS), n = 35] or combined surgery (group 2: phacotrabeculectomy, PHACOT or SICS + trabeculectomy, n = 46) from 2013 to 2018 by a single trained surgeon were screened and recalled for a detailed clinical examination, including Humphrey visual field analysis at 3-monthly intervals for a minimum of 3 years. Surgical success (intraocular pressure, IOP, <21 mm Hg and >6 mm Hg with (qualified success) or without medicines, complete success, survival rates, visual field changes, and need for additional procedures/medicines for IOP control were compared between groups. Results: A total of 81 eyes of 68 patients with XFG were included in this study (groups 1–35 eyes and groups 2–46 eyes each). Both groups achieved 27–40% IOP reduction from preoperative IOP levels, P < 0.001. Surgical success rates were similar in both groups (complete success 66% vs 55%, P = 0.4), qualified success 17% vs 24%, P = 0.8, in groups 1 and 2). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed a marginally better survival rate for group 1, 75% (55–87%), than group 2, 66% (50–78%), at 3 and 5 years which was not significantly different. The number of eyes that progressed at 5 years after surgery (5–6%) was similar in both groups. Conclusion: Cataract surgery can be as effective as combined surgery in XFG eyes with regards to final visual acuity, long-term IOP profile, and visual field progression, and complications/survival rates are comparable between the two procedures.


Engineers and earth scientists have successfully used the concept of fractal theory to better analyze the roughness of soil and/or rock particles, and how it affects the permeability, structure and distribution of pores in sedimentary rocks and their influence on strength. Use of fractals as a way to describe irregular or rough objects has been highlighted in articles by researchers working in fields such as powder mechanics, rock and soil mechanics, sedimentary petrography and geoenvironmental applications. Fractal scaling has been found appropriate to express such scale independence for collection of soil particles and aggregates. In many aspects, soil is a fractal medium and fractal models are available for the fragmentation of aggregates with fractal pore space, and with fractal surface. Applications of fractal concepts encompass description of soil physical properties such as pore-size distribution, pore surface area, and grain-size distribution. The roughness of particulate soils is an important characteristic that affects the mass behavior of the soil. The area-perimeter technique was used to predict the fractal dimension using image analysis system. This paper presents the effects of the roughness and sorting of the sand patterns with different shapes on fractal dimension. Results confirmed the significance of the roughness effect on fractal dimension.


Five competing explanations for why white evangelicals hold right-of-center political attitudes are examined using data from the 2000–2004 National Election Studies. Dependent variables include attitudes about abortion, homosexuality, immigration, national defense, and social spending. The five competing explanations accounting for conservative positions are: religiosity, moral standards traditionalism, gender and family ideology, class culture, and cultural geography. Moral standards traditionalism attenuated the evangelical effect on attitudes about abortion, homosexuality, and social spending. Religiosity and male-dominant gender ideology attenuated the effect on abortion and homosexuality only. In a second set of models, which include members of all major religious groups, these three variables, together with low levels of education, were significantly associated with conservative attitudes. Moral standards traditionalism demonstrated the most consistent, and generally the strongest, effects across dependent variables.


The fine powdered form T. terrestris seeds, was extracted with n-hexane by soxhlet apparatus. The aim of the study was to analyze the T. terrestris seed oil (sample-A) by electron ionization Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (EI-GC-MS) using full scan method within mass range from 40-700 charge to mass ratio (m/z). Out of 102 compounds (1A-102A) 11 compounds (30A, 32A, 37A, 45A, 47A, 48A, 49A, 64A, 83A, 101A and 102A) could not be identified and 91 were identified by classical interpretation of the mass spectrum and by using NIST14 library with match factor > 95 of mass spectrums. While among the 91 identified compounds 18 were found common therefore finally 73 compounds were identified in the present EI-GC-MS analysis of sample-A.


According to the multi sensors in the actual environment are susceptibly disturbed, and also the traditional evidence theory has the limitations in the data fusion, presents an improved information fusion method. Information the belt conveyor sensor acquisition is fuzzed, fusion is performed according to a certain proportion, so as to realize the comprehensive judgment in the conveyor performance. Experiments show that the method can improve security and reliability of the conveyor.


Abstract The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a didactic stress management program, group counselling, and a control group on school counsellors' stress coping strategies. Thirty-four school counsellors were randomly assigned to either a didactic stress management group, group counselling, or a control group. The didactic stress management group and the group counselling for stress management group were conducted concurrently for 10 consecutive weeks. A control group received no treatment. The Ways of Coping Inventory was administered to all participants at three different stages: pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. The results indicated that both the didactic stress management group and the group counselling for stress management group showed a significant reduction in the use of helpless coping strategies and a significant increase in the optimistic coping strategies at post-treatment. At follow-up, there were obvious group differences in the use of helpless coping strategies. Only those who were treated using group counselling exhibited a decrease in helpless coping strategies at the follow-up assessment.


COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a major incurable global health burden and will become the third largest cause of death in the world by 2020. It is currently believed that an exaggerated inflammatory response to inhaled irritants, in particular cigarette smoke, causes progressive airflow limitation. This inflammation, where macrophages, neutrophils and T-cells are prominent, leads to oxidative stress, emphysema, small airways fibrosis and mucus hypersecretion. The mechanisms and mediators that drive the induction and progression of chronic inflammation, emphysema and altered lung function are poorly understood. Current treatments have limited efficacy in inhibiting chronic inflammation, do not reverse the pathology of disease and fail to modify the factors that initiate and drive the long-term progression of disease. Therefore there is a clear need for new therapies that can prevent the induction and progression of COPD. Animal modelling systems that accurately reflect disease pathophysiology continue to be essential to the development of new therapies. The present review highlights some of the mouse models used to define the cellular, molecular and pathological consequences of cigarette smoke exposure and whether they can be used to predict the efficacy of new therapeutics for COPD.


Colombian girls are not encouraged from playing sport due to gendered roles that idealize girls as "delicate" and reserve sport as an activity for boys. Since the early and mid-2000s girls living in two marginalized communities in Colombia have had the unique opportunity to participate in a sport for development and peace organization. Drawing on six months of ethnographic research, this paper explores how these young women are negotiating gender through their complex and limited participation in the organization. We argue these young women display an ambivalent position towards femininity and practice implicit feminism, which challenges gender norms. However, despite their feelings of agency and a creation of a "new" normal within their social bubble, evidence reveals traditional social structures continue to maintain the gender status quo.


Lung is one of the high-risk organs for radiation-induced carcinogenesis, but the risk of secondary lung-cancer development after particle-beam therapy and the underlying mechanism(s) remain to be elucidated. To investigate the effects of particle-beam radiation on adjacent normal tissues during cancer therapy, 7-week-old male and female B6C3F1 mice were irradiated with 0.2–4 Gy of gamma rays (for comparison), carbon ions (290 MeV/u, linear energy transfer 13 keV/µm), or fast neutrons (0.05–1 Gy, mean energy, ∼2 MeV), and lung-tumor development was assessed by histopathology. Mice irradiated with ≥2 Gy of carbon ions or ≥0.2 Gy of neutrons developed lung adenocarcinoma (AC) significantly sooner than did non-irradiated mice. The relative biological effectiveness values for carbon ions for lung AC development were 1.07 for male mice and 2.59 for females, and the corresponding values for neutrons were 4.63 and 4.57. Genomic analysis of lung ACs revealed alterations in genes involved in Egfr signaling. Hyperphosphorylation of Erk and a frequent nuclear abnormality (i.e., nuclear groove) were observed in lung ACs of mice irradiated with carbon ions or neutrons compared with ACs from non-irradiated or gamma-ray-irradiated groups. Our data indicate that the induction of lung AC by carbon ions occurred at a rate similar to that for gamma rays in males and approximately 2-to 3-fold greater than that for gamma rays in females. In contrast, the effect of neutrons on lung AC development was approximately 4- to 5-fold greater than that of gamma rays. Our results provide valuable information concerning risk assessment of radiation-induced lung tumors after particle-beam therapy and increase our understanding of the molecular basis of tumor development.


Profound deafness affects orienting of visual attention. Until now, research focused exclusively on covert attentional orienting, neglecting whether overt oculomotor behavior may also change in deaf people. Here we used the pro- and anti-saccade task to examine the relative contribution of reflexive and voluntary eye-movement control in profoundly deaf and hearing individuals. We observed a behavioral facilitation in reflexive compared to voluntary eye movements, indexed by faster saccade latencies and smaller error rates in pro- than anti-saccade trials, which was substantially larger in deaf than hearing participants. This provides the first evidence of plastic changes related to deafness in overt oculomotor behavior, and constitutes an ecologically relevant parallel to the modulations attributed to deafness in covert attention orienting. Our findings also have implications for designers of real and virtual environments for deaf people and reveal that experiments on deaf visual abilities must not ignore the prominent reflexive eye-movement orienting in this sensory-deprived population.


Elexiko is a lexicological-lexicographic, corpus-guided German Internet reference work (cf. www.elexiko.de). Compared to printed dictionaries, in elexiko, restrictions on space disappear. Specific comments on the use of a word do not need to be given in traditional abbreviated forms, like the so-called field labels or usage. In this paper, I will show its advantages for the description of the particular pragmatic characteristics of a word: I will argue that traditional labelling such as formal, informal, institutional, etc. cannot account for the comprehensive pragmatic dimension of a word and that these are not transparent, particularly for non-native speakers of German. The main focus of the paper will be on an alternative approach to this dictionary information-as suggested by elexiko. I will demonstrate how narrative, descriptive and user friendly notes can be formulated for the explanation of the discursive contextual embedding or tendencies of evaluative use. I will outline how lexicographers can derive such information from language data in an underlying corpus which was designed and compiled for specific lexicographic purposes. Both, the theoretical-conceptual ideas and their lexicographic realisation in elexiko will be explained and illustrated with the help of relevant dictionary entries.


Subjects with sickle cell disease (SCD) have a chronic baseline inflammation and higher incidence of lung disease – airway hyper-reactivity predominates in children and restrictive lung disease in adults. The degree of inflammation, reflected in leukocytosis and leukocyte activation, correlates with higher mortality (Platt, NEJM, 1994). Stuart and colleagues have shown high plasma and urinary leukotriene (LT)-B4 at steady state, and even higher levels during acute sickle events and acute chest syndrome (J Lab Clin Med 2002). DeBaun and colleagues have shown high levels of urinary LT-E4 in this patient population (Am J Hematol, 2008). LT-B4 is one of the most potent activator of neutrophils, while cysteinyl leukotrienes (cys-LT), LT-C4, LT-D4 and LT-E4, promote bronchial smooth muscle constriction and asthma. LT are produced from arachidonic acid through a series of metabolic steps, with two critical steps catalyzed by five-lipoxygenase (5LO) and 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (FLAP). We have previously shown that that placenta growth factor (PLGF) is produced at high levels from the hyperplastic erythroid compartment in SCD and thalassemia and induces a strong proinflammatory cytochemokine response from monocytes (Perelman et al, Blood 2003; Selvaraj et al, Blood 2003). PLGF levels were high in subjects with SCD, and associated with activated mononuclear cells with augmented expression of pro-inflammatory cytochemokines (Perelman et al, Blood 2003). We now show PLGF induces FLAP expression. FLAP mRNA was significantly higher in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) of subjects with SCD at steady state, compared to healthy controls. PLGF activated PBM to increase FLAP expression and LT-B4 formation. It also increased Cys-LT production from PBM and the THP-1 monocytic cell line. PLGF-mediated increased FLAP expression was attenuated by PI-3 kinase inhibitor and PTEN; and by NADPH-oxidase inhibitor and p47phox siRNA in THP-1 cells. An in silico analysis of the FLAP promoter showed presence of hypoxia response elements, CEBP and NFκB sites. We found that FLAP induction by PLGF was mediated via HIF-1α. PLGF induced HIF-1α mRNA expression. Silencing with HIF-1α siRNA attenuated PLGF mediated FLAP expression, while over expression of HIF-1α had the converse effect. PLGF augmented FLAP-promoter luciferase activity by several folds, and this effect was abrogated upon mutation of hypoxia-response element (HRE), but not the NF-κB binding site in the FLAP proximal promoter. These studies indicate the role of HIF-1α motif in inducing FLAP expression, which was confirmed by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis further confirmed the role of HIF-1a in regulating PLGF-mediated FLAP expression. Our studies identify, for the first time, HIF-1α as a hypoxia-independent target of PLGF, which then upregulates FLAP and increases LT formation. Our studies define a mechanism of increased LT in SCD. The intrinsic elevated levels of PLGF seen in SCD could explain the increased leukotriene levels observed in patients with SCD, thereby contributing to the baseline inflammation and pulmonary pathology present in this disease. LT inhibitors are FDA approved in asthma, and could be used as a new modality to ameliorate inflammation and lung complications in SCD.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) mediated signaling in breast cancer cells (BCCs) are critical for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis. The mutual interactions between tumor cells and MSCs via direct contact or paracrine interaction through the recruitment of growth factors, cytokines and chemokines are thought to modulate tumor growth, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. Therefore, the cell-cell interactions that control the behaviour of cancer cells are targets with as much potential for the development of effective therapies as the tumor cells themselves. To this end, co-culture of BCCs with MSCs is critical to understand the role of MSCs on breast cancer progression. However, establishing co-culture of these cells with BCCs is challenging as the variation in culture condition can compromise the viability and functionality of co-cultured cells. In the present study, we have developed an in vitro co-culture method for controlling the interaction of BCCs with MSCs using biocompatible synthetic materials. We used cationic and anionic polymers to create stable and consistent surfaces. After that, these polymers were screened for the selective adhesion of cells, to create the patterned co-culture of BCCs and MSCs. Unlike other synthetic and natural polymers, one of the greatest advantages of screened polymers is that they are biologically inactive material for BCCs and MSCs cells, thus, do not alter the gene or protein expression profile of BCCs and MSCs. Therefore, the results obtained using this method provide true interaction of BCCs with MSCs in co-culture system without interference of interaction of cells with matrix. In addition, the in vitro co-culture model established in this study provides advantage on random co-culture by spatially organise cells in definite patterns, thereby, controlling the number and interaction of BCCs with MSCs. Also, provides an opportunity to study direct (through E-cadherin) and indirect (through cytokines) interaction in a single system which is important to study collective response of interaction BCCs and MSCs on breast cancer biology. After established co-culture model, we investigated MSCs mediated signaling in BCCs. qRT-PCR, western blotting and immunostaining data suggested that MSCs induce the expression of oncogene, increased proliferation of BCCs and up or downregulate the gene related to the drug resistance.

Citation Format: Amita Daverey, Allison Drain, Karleen Crone, Srivatsan Kidambi. Engineering of highly controlled in vitro co-culture model to study the mesenchymal stem cells mediated signaling in breast cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3303. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3303


Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is the major cause of death from prostate cancer. Biomarkers to improve early detection and prediction of CRPC especially using non-invasive liquid biopsies could improve outcomes. Therefore, we investigated the plasma exosomal miRNAs associated with CRPC and their potential for development into non-invasive early detection biomarkers for resistance to treatment. RNA-sequencing, which generated approximately five million reads per patient, was performed to identify differentially expressed plasma exosomal miRNAs in 24 treatment-naive prostate cancer and 24 CRPC patients. RT-qPCR was used to confirm the differential expressions of six exosomal miRNAs, miR-423-3p, miR-320a, miR-99a-5p, miR-320d, miR-320b, and miR-150-5p (p = 7.3 × 10−8, 0.0020, 0.018, 0.0028, 0.0013, and 0.0058, respectively) firstly in a validation cohort of 108 treatment-naive prostate cancer and 42 CRPC patients. The most significant differentially expressed miRNA, miR-423-3p, was shown to be associated with CRPC with area under the ROC curve (AUC) = 0.784. Combining miR-423-3p with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) enhanced the prediction of CRPC (AUC = 0.908). A separate research center validation with 30 treatment-naive and 30 CRPC patients also confirmed the differential expression of miR-423-3p (p = 0.016). Finally, plasma exosomal miR-423-3p expression in CRPC patients was compared to 36 non-CRPC patients under androgen depletion therapy, which showed significantly higher expression in CRPC than treated non-CRPC patients (p < 0.0001) with AUC = 0.879 to predict CRPC with no difference between treatment-naive and treated non-CRPC patients. Therefore, our findings demonstrate that a number of plasma exosomal miRNAs are associated with CRPC and miR-423-3p may serve as a biomarker for early detection/prediction of castration-resistance.


RTejournal - Fachforum fur Rapid Technologien, Vol. 2018, Iss. 1 - A new method creating 3D objects within photopolymer resin has been developed which promises quality enhancement in the field of 3D printed transparent objects. In contrast to common additive manufacturing techniques the volumetric object is not build layer by layer at the surface of the resin. Instead the object is built up within the volume of the resin. This method, called Multi Laser Volume Stereolithography (MLVS), enables hardening of the resin only at the exterior surface of an object. All focus points of six lasers are overlapped in one voxel to cure the resin. Moving this overlap area around the contour of the object hardens the outer shell of the object and leaves the inner material fluid. The method promises higher productivity and higher resolution than current layer by layer techniques. The process and its validation by experiments are presented.


We investigated the connection between plant species diversity and climate by using a process‐based, generic plant model. Different 'species' were simulated by different values for certain growth‐related model parameters. Subsequently, a wide range of values were tested in the framework of a 'Monte Carlo' simulation for success; that is, the capability of each plant with these parameter combinations to reproduce itself during its lifetime. The range of successful parameter combinations approximated species diversity. This method was applied to a global grid, using daily atmospheric forcing from a climate model simulation. The computed distribution of plant 'species' diversity compares very well with the observed, global‐scale distribution of species diversity, reproducing the majority of 'hot spot' areas of biodiversity. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the predicted pattern is very robust against changes of fixed model parameters. Analysis of the climatic forcing and of two additional sensitivity simulations demonstrated that the crucial factor leading to this distribution of diversity is the early stage of a plant's life when water availability is highly coupled to the variability in precipitation because in this stage root‐zone storage of water is small. We used cluster analysis in order to extract common sets of species parameters, mean plant properties and biogeographic regions (biomes) from the model output. The successful 'species' cannot be grouped into typical parameter combinations, which define the plant's functioning. However, the mean simulated plant properties, such as lifetime and growth, can be grouped into a few characteristic plant 'prototypes', ranging from short‐lived, fast growing plants, similar to grasses, to long‐lived, slow growing plants, similar to trees. The classification of regions with respect to similar combinations of successful 'species' yields a distribution of biomes similar to the observed distribution. Each biome has typical levels of climatic constraints, expressed for instance by the number of 'rainy days' and 'warm days'. The less the number of days favourable for growth, the greater the level of constraints and the less the 'species' diversity. These results suggest that climate as a fundamental constraint can explain much of the global scale, observed distribution of plant species diversity.


Abstract In this study, we report the basic characteristics of the Rhipicephalus simus mitochondrial genome, including structural organization and base composition of the rRNAs, tRNAs and protein-coding genes. The total length of the mitogenome was 14,929 bp, included 37 genes and with a genome structure similar to other ticks.


In this paper a novel technique for detecting and correcting errors in the RNS representation is presented. It is based on the selection of a particular subset of the legitimate range of the RNS representation characterized by the property that each element is a multiple of a suitable integer number m. This method allows to detect and correct any single error in the modular processors of the RNS based computational unit. This subset of the legitimate range can be used to perform addition and multiplication in the RNS domain allowing the design of complex arithmetic structures like FIR filters. In the paper, the architecture of a FIR filter with error detection and correction capabilities is presented showing the advantages with respect to filters in which the error detection and correction are obtained by using the traditional RNS technique.


Abstract The theoretical self‐healing capacity of new sulfenamide‐based disulfides is estimated by using theoretical methods of quantum chemistry. Starting from previously studied aromatic disulfides, the influence of inserting a NH group between the disulfide and the phenyl ring (forming the sulfenamide), as well as the role of the phenyl ring in the self‐healing process is analyzed. Three parameters are used in the evaluation of the self‐healing capacity: i) the probability to generate sulfenyl radicals, which is the first step of the process; ii) the effect of the hydrogen bonding, which affects the mobility of the chains; and iii) the height of the exchange reaction barrier. The insertion of the NH group notably decreases the bond dissociation energy and, therefore, increases the probability to produce sulfenyl radicals and helps the approach of these radicals to neighboring disulfides, favoring the self‐healing process. The role of the phenyl rings is clearly observed in the reaction barriers, where the π–π stacking interactions notably stabilize the transition states, resulting in larger rate constants. Nevertheless, this stabilization is somewhat reduced in the aromatic sulfenamides, owing to a less effective π–π interaction. Therefore, the sulfenamide‐based aromatic disulfides may be considered as promising candidates for the design of efficient self‐healing materials.


In cases of death by asphyxia, such as strangulation, hanging, drowning, lack of oxygen, compression of the chest, and carbon monoxide poisoning, the frequency of the liquid and coagulated state of blood in the heart was examined. Coagulated blood in the right heart can be found in cases of strangulation, hanging, and drowning, if simultaneously an elevated blood alcohol was present. The diagnostic significance of this result is discussed.


In this paper, an effective adaptive real-parameter simulated annealing genetic algorithm (ARSAGA) that is applied to cope with mixed-integer nonlinear programming problems. The proposed method synthesized the merits of both genetic algorithm and simulated annealing. Adaptive mechanisms are also included to make the evolutionary scheme active and result in improving the hill-climbing ability and the convergence speed. The performances of this proposed algorithm are demonstrated in several large parameter optimization functions. Due to their versatile characteristics, these examples are suitable to test the ability of the proposed algorithm. The results of this novel hybrid algorithm under different population sizes and frozen numbers were discussed and appropriate parametric combinations of both parameters were also suggested in this paper. ARSAGA also shows excellent performances in large parameter mixed-integer optimization problems.


Unintentional childhood injuries are a largely unrecognized and underfunded problem in public health. The burden of childhood injury in mortality and morbidity relative to that of infectious disease has been growing steadily over the past few decades. Prevention efforts are disconnected and competing messages abound, confusing children, parents, and caregivers about safety practices. There is also a dearth of research into the effectiveness of injury prevention strategies, making the implementation of evidence‐based interventions difficult. The purpose of this project was the creation of educational presentation materials for health educators serving Charlie's House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing childhood injuries in the greater Kansas City area. This was accomplished through a review of journal articles and online materials pertinent to childhood injury prevention strategies and interventions, as well as the inclusion of input of content experts. The main unintentional injury risks to children are motor vehicle accidents, where children are injured as passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians; drowning; fires and burns; suffocation; and poisoning. Injury morbidity and mortality risks are further stratified by age: children under 1 year old tend to die from unintended suffocation or accidental strangulation; children aged 1‐4 are most likely to die from drowning; and older children mostly die from traffic injuries, as occupants, pedestrians, or cyclists. Educational materials were designed to be compelling, accessible, and modifiable to fit the needs of diverse audiences. As the foundation of much of public health, education is a valuable tool to inform the public about potential risks and safety measures, and can help change attitudes and behaviors. This, in turn, can create a community culture of safety and heighten awareness of the environmental and policy changes needed to effectively protect children from unintentional injuries.


Modification of river flow from engineering activities often affects salinity and the mixing of fresh and saltwater in tidal rivers. In this study, an empirical relation between subtidal salinity and gradually varying freshwater inflow at a given station in the Apalachicola River, Florida, was developed and tested with field observations. A time series of subtidal salinity was obtained by low-pass filtering of the instantaneous salinity to eliminate the tidal signal. Based on the one-dimensional balance theory between advection and diffusion of salt, the time series of subtidal salinity was directly correlated to the gradually varying freshwater input by an exponential equation. With field observations obtained from the Apalachicola River, the empirical constants were obtained by regression. The correlation between observations and the results from the empirical equation were very good. This simple empirical relation may be used by water resource engineers and managers in preliminary studies to quickly estimate the potential impact of water resource planning on subtidal salinity at a given location in a tidal river.


The aims of the Muscular Dystrophy Group of Great Britain are first to form a friendly link between sufferers and their families, and second to make available funds for medical research in muscular dystrophy and other muscle diseases. Recently the Research Committee decided to support all disorders affecting muscles, whether of the muscle cell itself or of its innervation, and such conditions as myasthenia gravis and spinal muscular atrophy are now also its concern. This volume contains the 33 papers (collected into 5 chapters) presented at the Fourth Symposium held in January 1968, and also an edited version of the discussion which followed the individual papers. Chapter I consists of the Joan Vincent Memorial Lecture, established in memory of the first secretary of the Group and given by F. J. Nattrass, who classifies the 'pure' muscular dystrophies, reviews modern developments, and gives some fascinating biographical details about Duchenne-'a strange, sauntering mariner-like figure' from Boulogne. In Chapter II (clinical and genetic studies) there are four papers of particular interest to the reviewer. (1) The correlations between myasthenia gravis and disorders of the thyroid gland (J. A. Simpson)-and these are by no means only confined to thyrotoxicosis; (2) second thoughts on classification of the muscular dystrophies (J. N. Walton and D. Gardner-Medwin) in which the non-progressive and ill-understood congenital myopathies (such as central core disease and nemaline myopathy with its affinities with Marfan's syndrome) are discussed in some detail and compared with the better known progressive types; (3) a description of the important benign X-linked muscular dystrophy (A. E. H. Emery); and (4) the exciting discovery that by crossinnervation of the two fibre types (fast and slow), the histochemical pattern of human skeletal muscle can be changed, suggesting that the dystrophies may prove eventually to be an aberration of neural influences rather than primary muscle disorders (Dubowitz). In Chapter III (anatomical and pathological studies), two papers are selected for comment. The first questions whether the two major types of nerve lesion, Wallerian degeneration (as exemplified by isoniazid neuropathy) and segmental demyelination without axon damage (e.g. alloxan diabetic neuropathy), are in fact distinct entities, and the authors (Hildebrand, Joffroy, and Coers) suggest that the two forms may merely be the result of differences in the severity of the disease process. The second deals with the structure and fine structure of the intramuscular nerve endings in dystrophia myotonica, and the authors (Allen, Johnson, and Woolf) show that though the architecture of the motor end plates is largely normal, yet there is a tendency for them to be unusually elaborate, suggesting that the number of available binding sites for acetylcholine and the amount of acetylcholinesterase present would be increased. It is of great interest that somewhat similar findings are found in two quite different conditions, namely amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and myasthenia gravis, the latter in some ways being the reciprocal of dystrophia myotonica. In Chapter IV (biochemical studies) there is a paper (W. H. S. Thomson) critically assessing the reliability of the biochemical identification of the carrier-state in X-linked muscular dystrophy, and there is emphasis on the importance of bearing in mind the diumal variation of the enzyme creatine phosphokinase. When this is done the tests are satisfactory, for of 9 undoubted heterozygotes only 1 gave normal serum enzyme values (despite a suggestive EMG) in every circumstance. One of the heterozygotes investigated was found to have microsymptoms shown by incapacity to sustain rope skipping as a schoolgirl. Finally in Chapter V (neurophysiological studies) there are two papers (D. Gardner-Medwin and R. G. Willison) on the problems encountered when using electromyography to try and detect carriers of the Duchenne type of dystrophy. These pitfalls should be widely known by registrars and others who ask for 'EMG studies, please' and feel disappointed when the reports are equivocal. The book is in the usual good value Pitman style and is strongly recommended, being of use both to general physicians and also to neurologists, biochemists, and neurophysiologists-and the discussions following the papers round off the topics particularly well. C. A. CLARKE


Objective This study aimed to determine the frequency of mouthwash use and its association to oral sex practice in heterosexuals. Design A cross-sectional study. Setting Data obtained from a sexual health clinic in Victoria, Australia, between March 2019 and April 2019. Participants Heterosexual men and women attending the sexual health clinic answered a survey using computer-assisted self-interview. Primary and secondary outcome measures Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were performed to examine the association between frequent mouthwash use (ie, daily or weekly mouthwash use) and oral sex practices (including tongue kissing, fellatio, cunnilingus and insertive rimming). Results There were 681 heterosexuals included in the analysis: 315 (46.3%) men and 366 (53.7%) women. Of participants, 302 (44.3%) used mouthwash frequently, 173 (25.4%) used mouthwash infrequently and 206 (30.2%) never used mouthwash. There was no significant difference in the proportion of frequent mouthwash users between men and women (46.4% of men vs 42.6% of women; p=0.329). The proportion of frequent mouthwash users increased with increasing age groups (39.3% in ≤24 years, 45.2% in 25–34 years and 52.8% in ≥35 years or older; ptrend=0.039) with those aged ≥35 years having a 1.80 times (95% CI: 1.12 to 2.89) higher odds of being a frequent mouthwash user than those aged ≤24 years. There were no significant associations between frequent mouthwash users had sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk after adjusting for age and country of birth. Conclusion Older heterosexuals are more likely to use mouthwash. Given the high proportion and associations of mouthwash use in heterosexuals, future investigations related to oral STIs in this group should include mouthwash use.


We discuss a new approach to strong coupling expansion and dual representations for non-abelian lattice gauge theories. The Wilson gauge action is decomposed into a sum over "abelian color cycles" (ACC), which are loops around plaquettes visiting different colors at the corners. ACCs are complex numbers and thus commute such that a dual representation of a non-abelian theory can be obtained as in the abelian case. We apply the ACC approach to SU(2) and SU(3) lattice gauge theory and exactly rewrite the two partition sums in a strong coupling series where all gauge integrals are known in closed form.


Wastewater and by-product treatments are substantial issues with consequences for our society, both in terms of environmental impacts and economic losses. With an overall global objective of sustainable development, it is essential to offer eco-efficient and circular solutions. Indeed, one of the major solutions to limit the use of new raw materials and the production of wastes is the transition toward a circular economy. Industries must find ways to close their production loops. Electrodialysis (ED) processes such as conventional ED, selective ED, ED with bipolar membranes, and ED with filtration membranes are processes that have demonstrated, in the past decades and recently, their potential and eco-efficiency. This review presents the most recent valorization opportunities among different industrial sectors (water, food, mining, chemistry, etc.) to manage waste or by-product resources through electrodialysis processes and to improve global industrial sustainability by moving toward circular processes. The limitations of existing studies are raised, especially concerning eco-efficiency. Indeed, electrodialysis processes can be optimized to decrease energy consumption and costs, and to increase efficiency; however, eco-efficiency scores should be determined to compare electrodialysis with conventional processes and support their advantages. The review shows the high potential of the different types of electrodialysis processes to treat wastewaters and liquid by-products in order to add value or to generate new raw materials. It also highlights the strong interest in using eco-efficient processes within a circular economy. The ideal scenario for sustainable development would be to make a transition toward an eco-circular economy.


Change point detection has recently gained popularity as a method of detecting performance changes in software due to its ability to cope with noisy data. In this paper we present Hunter, an open source tool that automatically detects performance regressions and improvements in time-series data. Hunter uses a modified E-divisive means algorithm to identify statistically significant changes in normally-distributed performance metrics. We describe the changes we made to the E-divisive means algorithm along with their motivation. The main change we adopted was to replace the significance test using randomized permutations with a Student's t-test, as we discovered that the randomized approach did not produce deterministic results, at least not with a reasonable number of iterations. In addition we've made tweaks that allow us to find change points the original algorithm would not, such as two nearby changes. For evaluation, we developed a method to generate real timeseries, but with artificially injected changes in latency. We used these data sets to compare Hunter against two other well known algorithms, PELT and DYNP. Finally, we conclude with lessons we've learned supporting Hunter across teams with individual responsibility for the performance of their project.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

While lung cancer is largely caused by tobacco smoking, inherited genetic factors play a role in its etiology. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in Europeans have robustly demonstrated only three polymorphic variations influencing lung cancer risk. Tumor heterogeneity may have hampered the detection of association signal when all lung cancer subtypes were analyzed together. In a GWAS of 5,355 European smoking lung cancer cases and 4,344 smoking controls, we conducted a pathway-based analysis in lung cancer histologic subtypes with 19,082 SNPs mapping to 917 genes in the HuGE-defined "inflammation" pathway. We identified a susceptibility locus for squamous cell lung carcinoma (SQ) at 12p13.33 (RAD52, rs6489769), and validated it in three independent samples totaling 3,359 SQ cases and 9,100 controls (odds ratio=1.20, Pcombined=2.3×10−8). The combination of pathway-based approaches and information on disease specific subtypes can improve the identification of cancer susceptibility loci in heterogeneous diseases.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2931. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2931


96 high and low self-accepting Ss were divided into 8 treatment groups: (a) a low group who received facilitating feedback for self-reinforcing responses; (b) a group comparable to the previous one but who also were given positive feedback on social comparison; (c) a low group who received inhibiting feedback for negative self-reinforcement responses; and (d) a group of low-control Ss. The remaining four groups were Ss high in self-acceptance; they were treated in a comparable fashion to the first four groups but instead given feedback designed to decrease their self-reinforcement rate. Ss were given the California Personality Inventory and the Berger measure of self-acceptance as well as self-ratings of creativity and intelligence before and after treatment. There were few significant changes for the post-measures following the conditioning treatment. The major outcome is questioning some hypotheses from past research concerning the relationship between self-reinforcement and self-acceptance.


In 1993 a field study commenced to determine the impact of vegetative cover and slope on runoff, erosion, and water quality at 3 open-cut coal mine sites. Runoff, sediment, and water quality were measured at two scales: plot (0.01 ha) where 3 slope gradients (10, 20, 30%) with pasture and tree treatments were imposed on soil and spoil material, and on small catchments (0.4 to 1.0 ha). The greatest soil erosion occurred before pasture cover established, when a large surface area of soil (>0.5 plot area) was exposed to rainfall and overland flow. Once buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) colonised soil plots there were negligible differences in soil erosion between slope gradients. Where spoil crusted there was poor vegetative growth and unacceptable large runoff and erosion rates throughout the study Additional


The sera of 401 patients admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases [U.S.L. (Unità Sanitaria Locale) 10 D] in Florence in one year were screened for the presence of markers of hepatitis A and B viruses. On the basis of clinical and serological data, the diagnosis of viral hepatitis was confirmed for 302 patients. Among the se, 73 (24.18%) were affected by hepatitis A, 182 (60.26%) by hepatitis B and 47 (15.56%) by nonA nonB hepatitis. The prevalence of B nonA nonB hepatitis in 133 drug addicts was 69.37% and 25.51% respectively. A previous infection with hepatitis A virus, as demonstrated by the presence of anti A antibodies of the IgG idiotype in the sera, was demonstrated in 201 of 328 patients (62.03%) not affected by hepatitis A. Only 14% of them reported data related to a possible former acute hepatitis. Markers of B virus were found in 62 of 167 sera of patients (37.12%) not affected by acute B hepatitis or chronic HBsAg positive hepatitis. However the prevalence of virus B markers increases up to 50% in the sera of drug addicts. According to our data the spreading of virus hepatitis in the area of Florence is similar to that observed in other Regions of Central and Northern Italy with fairly good social and hygienic conditions. High prevalence of nonA nonB hepatitis and of HBsAg carriers among the drug addicts are noteworthy.


BJECTIVES To describe our experiences with nephrocutaneous bypass and to assess the role of this procedure as a mean of urinary diversion in patients with incurable ureteral obstruction who are not appropriate candidates for subcutaneous pyelovesical bypass. ETHODS Nephrocutaneous bypass was performed on 15 (12 male, 3 female) patients with incurable ureteral obstruction of malignant (n 13; 87%) or benign (n 2; 13%) etiology. Only patients with a significant disturbance of the bladder/sphincter-system were eligible for the procedure. ESULTS In total, 29 stents were applied using this technique. No major complications were observed perioperatively. The operating time for bilateral nephrocutaneous bypass was 74 (46-102) minutes and for unilateral bypass (1 patient) 38 minutes. Time of indwelling percutaneous nephrostomy before application of nephrocutaneous bypass was 190 (40-870) days. The patients who survived have a mean follow-up of 27 months, whereas for those patients who died the mean follow-up was 7.8 months. Nephrocutaneous bypass resulted in an improved renal function in all patients. Quality of life improvement was reported by all patients, and the objective criteria of "useful life" were met by 13 patients (87%). ONCLUSIONS Nephrocutaneous bypass is a safe and feasible method to provide effective pyelovesical drainage of urine in patients who have a short-term life expectancy, who are in poor general conditions, or otherwise would need a permanent nephrostomy drainage. The technique offers patients a higher mobility, increased independence resulting in higher quality of life during their final period of life, and may also be applied in nonmalignant patients after careful consideration of alternative urinary diversions. UROLOGY 76: 480–487, 2010. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.