The feasibility of opportunistic screening of urogenital infections with Chlamydia trachomatis was assessed in a cross-sectional study in 2012, in two cantons of south-western Switzerland: Vaud and Valais. Sexually active persons younger than 30 years, not tested for C. trachomatis in the last three months, were invited for free C. trachomatis testing by PCR in urine or self-applied vaginal swabs. Of 2,461 consenting participants, 1,899 (77%) were women and all but six (0.3%) submitted a sample. Forty-seven per cent of female and 25% of male participants were younger than 20 years. Overall, 134 (5.5%) of 2,455 tested participants had a positive result and were followed up. Seven per cent of all candidates for screening were not invited, 10% of invited candidates were not eligible, 15% of the eligible candidates declined participation, 5% of tested participants testing positive were not treated, 29% of those treated were not retested after six months and 9% of those retested were positive for C. trachomatis. Opportunistic C. trachomatis testing proved technically feasible and acceptable, at least if free of charge. Men and peripheral rural regions were more difficult to reach. Efforts to increase testing and decrease dropout at all stages of the screening procedure are necessary.


We discuss the efficacy of evolutionary method for the purpose of structural analysis of amorphous solids. At present, ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) based melt-quench technique is used and this deterministic approach has proven to be successful to study amorphous materials. We show that a stochastic approach motivated by Darwinian evolution can also be used to simulate amorphous structures. Applying this method, in conjunction with density functional theory based electronic, ionic and cell relaxation, we re-investigate two well known amorphous semiconductors, namely silicon and indium gallium zinc oxide. We find that characteristic structural parameters like average bond length and bond angle are within ∼2% of those reported by ab initio MD calculations and experimental studies.


The distribution and nasal clearance of 99Tcm-labelled albumin (18.5 MBq), used as a mucosal vaccine surrogate for FluMist, was determined in three volunteers. The subjects were randomized in a cross-over clinical study design to receive either large-particle aerosal (nasal spray) followed by nose drops, or nose drops followed by the nasal spray, 1 week apart. Gamma scintigraphy was used to measure the distribution and clearance. The 'vaccine' delivered as drops was cleared from the nose into the oesophagus and upper stomach at very variable rates. In contrast, the nasal spray was uniformly distributed and cleared from the nasopharynx with a 50% mean clearance time of 50 min (range 40-60 min) and was not detected in the lungs.


ABSTRACT It is difficult to identify patients with isolated dizziness caused by cerebrovascular events. The estimated risk of cerebrovascular events in isolated dizziness patients is not completely understood. We aimed to evaluate the association of the finger-to-nose test (FNT) in diagnosing cerebrovascular events in isolated dizziness patients in emergency departments (EDs). We combined 2 datasets from a single center for consecutive isolated dizziness patients, with the same inclusion and exclusion criteria. Those who met any of the following criteria were excluded: no FNT data, age < 16 years, and psychological trauma. The primary outcome was cerebrovascular event, which was defined as cerebral stroke due to cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, vertebral artery dissection, or transient ischemic attack. In the combined dataset, there were 357 patients complaining of isolated dizziness and 31 cerebrovascular events. After adjusted by 5 previously reported risk factors for cerebrovascular event, (age, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, nystagmus), a multivariable logistic model analysis showed that the existence of FNT abnormalities was significantly associated with cerebrovascular events (odds ratio, 25.3; 95% confidence interval, 7.3–88.2; p < 0.001). There was a significant increase in predictive accuracy, with an AUC increase of 0.116 in the in a ROC analysis (p = 0.023). The existence of FNT abnormalities is considered as a strong risk factor that could be useful for predicting cerebrovascular events in isolated dizziness patients. We recommend the FNT for screening isolated dizziness patients in EDs to judge whether they need to undergo further diagnostic evaluation.


HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS
A 64-year-old obese man had for 15 years suffered from exercise-independent retrosternal pressure sensation, radiating to the neck and back. Shortly after the onset of these symptoms he had undergone coronary angiography with negative results. But at that time the resting ECG showed discrete T wave negativity in the left precordial leads.

INVESTIGATIONS
At the present admission the ECG showed deeply inverted T waves in the left precordial and limb leads and a positive Sokolow-Lyon index of 4.8 mV. Left ventricular angiography demonstrated in enddiastole a circumscribed myocardial hypertrophy limited to the apex and of typical "ace of spade" shape.

DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND COURSE
Left-heart catheterization and angiocardiography provided the diagnosis of circumscribed apical left ventricular hypertrophy (ALVH). As the patient had only minor symptoms no treatment was given.

CONCLUSION
Circumscribed ALVH can show marked dynamic development in long-term observations. If there is marked T wave negativity, even with previously normal LV angiography, circumscribed ALVH should be included in the differential diagnosis. Patients with atypical angina pectoris and increasingly suggestive ECG changes should, even if previous coronary angiography had been negative, undergo transthoracic echocardiography with a high-frequency transducer, special attention being paid to muscular changes at the LV apex.


We have recently engaged on the challenging development of an agent to assist users in everyday office-related tasks. In particular, the agent needs to keep track of the state of their users so it can anticipate the user's needs and proactively address them. The state of the user may be easily available when the user directly interacts with their agent through a PC or PDA interface. However, when the user attends a meeting and interacts with other people, PC and PDA interfaces are not sufficient to give the agents a general view of the environment in which their users are interacting. In this paper, we introduce the CAMEO, the Camera Assisted Meeting Event Observer, which is a physical awareness system designed for use by an agent-based electronic assistant. We then present a particular aspect of CAMEO and main contribution of the paper, namely how CAMEO addresses the problem of extracting and reasoning about high-level features from real-time and continuous observation of a meeting environment. Contextual information about meetings and the interactions that take place with them is used to define Dynamic Bayesian Network classifiers to effectively infer the state of the users as well as a higher-level state of the meeting. We present and show results of the state inference algorithm.


BACKGROUND
Globally, life-threatening diseases are on the rise, indicating the need for palliative care, an approach of ensuring quality of life for the patient and his or her family. Education and training is one of the ways of ensuring staff competency in providing palliative care.

AIMS
This study sought to explore challenges faced by both public and private faith-based training institutions offering palliative care.

METHODS
This was a qualitative study in both public and private training institutions, which were selected randomly. Six institutions were selected for the study. One palliative care trainer in each institution was interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Information was recorded, transcribed and thematic analysis was done. Data were presented in the form of narration.

RESULTS
Many institutions had incorporated palliative care into their curricula. However, these institutions faced challenges, including few allocated hours and few members of staff trained in palliative care. Clinical area employees were not well equipped with knowledge on palliative care.

CONCLUSION
Challenges exist in both public and private institutions. Institutions should allow for more training hours in palliative care.


In recent years, deep learning has achieved remarkable empirical success for image reconstruction. This has catalyzed an ongoing quest for precise characterization of correctness and reliability of data-driven methods in critical use-cases, for instance in medical imaging. Notwithstanding the excellent performance and efficacy of deep learning-based methods, concerns have been raised regarding their stability, or lack thereof, with serious practical implications. Significant advances have been made in recent years to unravel the inner workings of data-driven image recovery methods, challenging their widely perceived black-box nature. In this article, we will specify relevant notions of convergence for data-driven image reconstruction, which will form the basis of a survey of learned methods with mathematically rigorous reconstruction guarantees. An example that is highlighted is the role of input-convex neural networks (ICNNs), offering the possibility to combine the power of deep learning with classical convex regularization theory for devising methods that are provably convergent. This survey article is aimed at both methodological researchers seeking to advance the frontiers of our understanding of data-driven image reconstruction methods as well as practitioners, by providing an accessible description of convergence concepts and by placing some of the existing empirical practices on a solid mathematical foundation.


We study exploration in stochastic multi-armed bandits when we have access to a divisible resource, and can allocate varying amounts of this resource to arm pulls. By allocating more resources to a pull, we can compute the outcome faster to inform subsequent decisions about which arms to pull. However, since distributed environments do not scale linearly, executing several arm pulls in parallel, and hence less resources per pull, may result in better throughput. For example, in simulation-based scientific studies, an expensive simulation can be sped up by running it on multiple cores. This speed-up is, however, partly offset by the communication among cores and overheads, which results in lower throughput than if fewer cores were allocated to run more trials in parallel. We explore these trade-offs in the fixed confidence setting, where we need to find the best arm with a given success probability, while minimizing the time to do so. We propose an algorithm which trades off between information accumulation and throughout and show that the time taken can be upper bounded by the solution of a dynamic program whose inputs are the squared gaps between the suboptimal and optimal arms. We prove a matching hardness result which demonstrates that the above dynamic program is fundamental to this problem. Next, we propose and analyze an algorithm for the fixed deadline setting, where we are given a time deadline and need to maximize the success probability of finding the best arm. We corroborate these theoretical insights with an empirical evaluation.


BACKGROUND
Handicapped persons living in nursing homes have special risks for oral diseases.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the specific factors related to the occurrence of dental caries and tooth extraction in patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (PSMI) residing in an institution.

METHODS
One hundred eighty-nine PSMI residing in a single institution in Japan were followed for 3 years. Oral examinations were conducted at baseline and 3 years later. The following items were investigated: age of subject at admission, period of institutionalization, age at baseline oral examination, status of rumination, drooling, type of ward, dietary mode, and etiology of the impairment. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with new dental caries and tooth extraction occurring during the study period.

RESULTS
By multivariate analysis, rumination and tube feeding were identified as significant factors associated with new dental caries. On the other hand, infancy or childhood impairment and drooling were identified as significant factors related to tooth extraction.

CONCLUSION
Some specific factors in this patient population affect the dental caries and tooth extraction and oral programs targeting these factors may reduce dental degeneration in these patients.


To the Editor. —The European Prevalence of Infection in Intensive Care (EPIC) study by Dr Vincent and colleagues 1 is, to our knowledge, the first study in which prevalence of intensive care unit (ICU) infections is estimated in more than 10 000 patients of 1417 ICUs in 17 European countries. This study provides an estimate of the magnitude of the problem of infections in ICUs as well as the sites and bacteria involved, using the 1-day prevalence techniques. A high variability of the prevalence of ICU-acquired infections among countries, from a minimum of 9.7% in Switzerland to a maximum of 31.6% in Italy, results from this study. Despite the many caveats expressed by the authors, those differences appear as an indicator of the efficacy of infection control and quality of care in the different countries. From this point of view, the high prevalence of infections in Italian ICUs created alarm


The chemical analyses were made on twenty four cryptomelanes, five manjiroites and two hollandites from northeastern Japan after the confirmation of their purity though X-ray and thermal studies. These results and analytical data on many for eign samples lead to the general formula A1±xMn8O16·nH2O, where A represents large ions such as K+, Na+, Ba2+, Ca2+, Pb2+etc., Mn is chiefly Mn4+ with a small quantity of medium and small-sized ions such as Mn2+, Mg2+, Fe3+, Al3+ etc. n is between 0 to 2 and the average 1.2. The value of 1+x ranges between 1.28 and 0.17 and the average is 0.88. X-ray diffraction patterns of Japanese cryptomelane-manjiroite series can be indexed in terms of a body-centered tetragonal unit cell. Lattice constant a0 of this series varies appreciably but somewhat systimatically with the variation in the Na/Na+K ratio, whereas c0 varies little. Heating experiments of cryptomelane, manjiroite and hollandite in air established the following process of thermal transformation:cryptomelane manjiroite hollandite → approx. 600°C α-Mn2O3 (bixbyite) → approx. 900°C tetr. Mn3O4 + X phase. (hausmannite)In th case of cryptomelane X phase had been considered to be the remnant of the small amount of untransformed cryptomelane, but the present study shows that the X phases of three heated minerals were the compounds belong to the systems K2O-, Na2O- and BaO-manganese oxide respectively.


Relationship between body and self-image is a well-known and frequently investigated process. Most especially among athletes, this area has been accentuated till the last decades in the literature. This paper focuses on investigating the attitude of people engaged in sports on a regular basis by concentrating primarily on the perception of their body image, the type and form of sport activities, and the consumption habits of food supplements. After a short literature review, the results of the primary research are introduced. People who took part in the research are engaged in sports on a regular basis, and they do sport activities at least once a week on their own free will. Paper Assisted Personal Interviews (PAPI) was used, primarily concentrating on the attitudes of the respondents. During the research, the following conclusions were made: subjectively perceived "normal" body shape category moving higher and the social judgement of overweight became more and more accepted. Owing to the ideal body shape presented by the consumer society, slimmer people want to become thicker while people with a stronger shape want to become leaner. Hence a social problem come into being that only exist in the athlete's mind. This phenomenon can fundamentally base the headway of food supplements since the producers offer solutions to all segments' real or putative problems. The mostly unreal body ideals boost the dissatisfaction of people towards their own bodies. Producers and distributors of food supplements not only emphasize and draw their customers' attention to the imperfection of their shape, but they also offer a solution to their real or putative problems. The more the consumer is hesitating, the more favourable it is for the producer as the possibility of purchasing is greater.


Background and aims Multiple causes including genetic factors have been attributed to the development of chronic pain following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This research investigates the influence of anaesthesia and genetic factors on acute and chronic pain after TKA. Methods In this ethical committee approved, double-blinded randomised study, patients undergoing elective TKA were randomized to receive either spinal anaesthetic (Group SP, n = 99) or a general anaesthetic with femoral block (Group GA, n=101). Information collected included age, gender, BMI, WOMAC® and S-LANSS. a blood sample was taken for genetic analysis. This was done on various single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the following genes: COMT, SCN9A, GCH1, KCNS1. Results Group SP had a larger decrease in this score at both intervals, but this was statistically significant only at 3 months (3 months: 7.4 vs 6, 95%CI= -0.06 to 2.5, p < 0.001). Chronic post-surgical pain at 6 months was lower in Group SP on multivariate analysis (OR 0.34, 95%CI = 0.11 to 0.96, p = 0.048). the rs4818 variant of the COMT gene, and rs11898284 were the only SNP to influence pain scores at 3 and 6 months. Carriers of the rs4818 fared worse. Conclusions The type of anaesthesia does not influence the development of persistent post-operative pain, as defined by a pain subset of WOMAC® of less than 5. Genetic factors seem to play a role in patient outcomes following TKA.


Cancer remains the leading cause of death worldwide despite advances in treatment options for patients. As such, safe and effective therapeutics are required. Short peptides provide advantages to be used in cancer management due to their unique properties, amazing versatility, and progress in biotechnology to overcome peptide limitations. Several appealing peptide-based therapeutic strategies have been developed. Here, we provide an overview of peptide conjugates, the better equivalents of antibody-drug conjugates, as the next generation of drugs for required precise targeting, enhanced cellular permeability, improved drug selectivity, and reduced toxicity for the efficient treatment of cancers. We discuss the basic components of drug conjugates and their release action, including the release of cytotoxins from the linker. We also present peptide-drug conjugates under different stages of clinical development as well as regulatory and other challenges.


The following article is informing about the experiences from a psychosocial project on Huntington's Disease (HD), a neuropsychiatric disorder with dominant inheritance. The project was running from July 1987 to October 1992 and was funded by the Robert-Bosch-Stiftung. During this project the authors contacted 78 involved families (131 persons), they offered psychotherapies, family-therapies, as well as meetings for patients and explored the subject by semi-structured interviews. The results of this project are presented in the following part.


The assembly of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters is mediated by complex machinery which, in Escherichia coli, is encoded by the iscRSUA-hscBA-fdx-ORF3 gene cluster. Here, we demonstrate the network of protein-protein interactions among the components involved in the machinery. We have constructed (His)(6)-tagged versions of the components and identified their interacting partners that were co-purified from E. coli extracts with a Ni-affinity column. Direct associations of the defined pair of proteins were further examined in yeast cells using the two-hybrid system. In accord with the previous in vitro binding and kinetic experiments, interactions were observed for the combinations of IscS and IscU, IscU and HscB, IscU and HscA, and HscB and HscA. In addition, we have identified previously unreported interactions between IscS and Fdx, IscS and ORF3, IscA and HscA, and HscA and Fdx. We also found, by site-directed mutational analysis combined with the two-hybrid system, that two cysteine residues in IscU are essential for binding with HscB but not with IscS. Despite the complex network of interactions in various combinations of components, heteromultimeric complexes were not observed in our experiments except for the putative oligomeric form of IscU-IscS-ORF3. Thus, the sequential association and dissociation among the IscS, IscU, IscA, HscB, HscA, Fdx, and ORF3 proteins may be a critical process in the assembly of Fe-S clusters.


Wooden foreign bodies in the orbit can extend into the intracranial cavity without diagnostic clues from the small eyelid entrance wound, from neurologic examination, and from imaging studies such as ultrasound, plain x-rays, or computed tomography (CT) scans. In cadaver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, dry wood in the orbit can be seen as a negative or hypointense image in contrast to orbital fat. We studied fresh, green wood in dogs to determine the reliability of CT and MRI scans to image hydrated wood. Wood was placed into each orbit of two dogs. After 24 h the wood was removed from one orbit, but not the other. The dogs were then scanned with CT and MRI. Radiologists were asked to determine if any wood had been left in either or both orbits. The fresh wooden foreign bodies could not be detected despite an intensive effort. MRI does not appear to reliably demonstrate fresh wood in the orbit. MRI can show dry wooden foreign bodies that have not become hydrated, but has not yet been reliable in the clinical situation to rule out the presence of wood in the orbit.


We present a general and tractable fading model for line-of-sight (LOS) scenarios, which is based on the product of two independent and non-identically distributed <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula> shadowed power envelopes. Simple closed-form expressions for the probability density function, cumulative distribution function and moment-generating function are derived, which are as tractable as the corresponding expressions derived from a product of Nakagami-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$ </tex-math></inline-formula> random variables. This model simplifies the challenging characterization of LOS product channels, as well as combinations of LOS channels with non-LOS ones. We leverage these results to analyze performance measures of interest in the contexts of wireless powered and backscatter communications, where both forward and reverse links are inherently of LOS nature, as well as in device-to-device communications subject to composite fading. In these contexts, the proposed model shows a higher flexibility when fitting field measurements with respect to conventional approaches based on product distributions with deterministic LOS, together with a more complete physical interpretation of the underlying propagation characteristics.


CRF is a classical computer vision model which is also useful for deep learning. There are two common CRF types: sparse and dense. Sparse CRF connects only the nearby pixels, while dense CRF has global connectivity. Therefore dense CRF is a more general model, but it is much harder to optimize compared to sparse CRF. In fact, only a certain form of dense CRF is optimized in practice, and even then approximately. We propose a new sparse non-local CRF: it has a sparse number of connections, but it has both local and non-local ones. Like sparse CRF, the total number of connections is small, and our model is easy to optimize exactly. Like dense CRF, our model is more general than sparse CRF due to non-local connections. We show that our sparse non-local CRF can model properties similar to that of the popular Gaussian edge dense CRF. Besides efficiency, another advantage is that our edge weights are less restricted compared to Gaussian edge dense CRF. We design models that take advantage of this flexibility. We also discuss connection of our model to other CRF models. Finally, to prove the usefulness of our model, we evaluate it on the classical application of segmentation from a bounding box and for deep learning based salient object segmentation. We improve state of the art for both applications.


Due to the large number of interrelated variables associated with the process, weld quality of the resistance spot welding is extremely operation-dependent and thus requires on-line monitoring and control of appropriate process variables that can reflect weld quality. One of such variables is instantaneous resistance variation curve during the weld formation. In this paper the dynamic resistance variation is monitored and utilized for a microprocessor-based welding process control. The control objective is to track a desired resistance variation curve (reference dynamic resistance) during the welding process to assure uniform quality of the weld joint regardless of variation of welding conditions. For this purpose a current controller is designed to generate the welding control current, and two types of control algorithms are implemented and tested through a microcomputer: (1) proportional control (P) (2) proportional plus integral control (PI). Tracking performance of these controllers is evaluated through a series of experiments conducted under various welding conditions.


: An open comparative and multicentric trial was carried out to assess the activity of sulbactam ampicillin combination against no treatment, as a prophylactic agent of post-surgical infection in ob-gyn practice. 100 patients were included in the trial and distributed in two groups. sulbactam/ampicillin 0.5/1.0 g, i.v. was administrated during the surgery and the dose was repeated 6 h. later. No cases of post-surgical infection was detected in the group of sulbactam/ampicillin, while 4 cases were observed in the no treatment group. Sulbactam/ampicillin is an effective and well tolerated antimicrobial agent in the prophylaxis of post-surgical infections.


Flow cytometry analysis has been utilized since the late 1970s for the analysis of small particles, initially viruses before extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the 1990s. Despite its long-established use, a lack of standardization has resulted in a growing body of literature that is cannot be easily interpreted, validated, and reproduced between instrumentation. This inconsistency in data reporting greatly impacts the progress of the small particle field by making it difficult for researchers to make objective assessments on assays and instrumentation for small particle analysis. The methods and reagents for fluorescence and light scatter standardization are not novel. In this pilot study, we demonstrate calibration of small particle data with commercially available materials, published methods, and freely available software tools. We show that light scatter, fluorescence, and concentration can be calibrated and result in highly concordant data between flow cytometry platforms independent of instrument collection angle or gain/voltage; providing a means of cross-comparison in standard units.


This study examines the dynamics of inter-organizational relationships enabled by the application of Internet technologies in a newly formed large Chinese telecom enterprise. It employs an interpretive case study approach that involved collection of qualitative data through semi-structured interviews and observations. This paper illustrates the importance of national and corporate cultures in shaping those relationships within the cultural and wider industrial network context. Guanxi, a particular relationship dimension of Chinese culture, is important for the understanding of the various ways in which business relationships are managed in Chinese-based business. The findings also indicate that it is not suitable to apply foreign experiences to China without considering the cultural context.


This study was designed to examine parenting self-efficacy beliefs as correlates of mothers' competence in parenting toddlers and as predictors of toddlers' behavior and development. Sixty-eight predominantly middle-class mother–toddler pairs participated in this study. Mothers completed questionnaires, toddlers were administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II), and each dyad participated in the Crowell Procedure, which is designed to observe parent and toddler behaviors in a semistructured laboratory context. Although domain-general and domain-specific parenting self-efficacy beliefs were not associated with parenting competence, domain-specific beliefs were significantly related to toddlers' scores on the Mental Scale of the BSID-II and several behaviors observed during the Crowell Procedure (Affection Towards Mother, Avoidance of Mother, Compliance, Enthusiasm, and Negativity). Implications of the findings are discussed. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.


Abstract This article explores the way in which surrealist techniques and assumptions underpin spatial representations in Ballard's Concrete Island. With much of Ballard's fiction using spatiality as an ideologically charged instrument to articulate a critique that underpins postcapitalist culture, it seems important to focus on exactly the kind of spaces that he creates. This paper will investigate the means by which spatiality is conceptualized in Ballard's fiction, with special emphasis on places situated on the borders between realism and fantasy. Ballard's spaces, often positioned on the edgelands of cities or centers of civilization, can be aligned with the surrealist project as presented not only by the Situationalist International, but of psychogeographical discourse in general. What the various Ballardian spaces—motorways, airports, high-rises, deserts, shopping malls, suburbs—have in common is a sense of existing outside stable definitions or what, following Marc Augé, we would call non-places, which by their definition are disconnected from a globalized image society, thus generating a revolutionary idea of freedom. As these places exist outside the cognitive map we impose on our environment, they present a potentially liberating force that resonates in Ballard's fiction.


The article coincides with the jubilee of Yakov L. Shrayberg, a prominent Russian scientist, Doctor of Science in Engineering, Professor, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, corresponding member of Russian Academy of Education, founder and president of the International Association of Users and Developers of Electronic Libraries and New Information Technologies (ELNIT Association) National Library Association "Libraries of the Future" (NALF). The author reviews various aspects of Dr. Shrayberg's professional activities, in particular, development of International Library, Information and Analytical Center (ILIAC) in Russia and the USA, planning and orchestration of international scientific and practical conferences "Crimea" and LIBCOM, and, within their framework, the intellectual show game "What? Where? When? in Library, Information, Book and Publishing Space", and authoring the memorial three-volume book "My friend Katya Genieva", etc. The author recalls with warm feelings the milestones of his joint work with the celebrant and congratulates him on his birthday.


Chemotherapeutic resistance is one of the major factors contributing to cancer mortality. Although evidence supports a mechanistic link between metabolic enzyme polymorphisms and drug sensitivity, little is known about the metabolic changes tumor cells undergo when treated with a chemotherapeutic agent. Moreover, the metabolic consequences of exposure to these agents may provide essential adaptive functions contributing to chemotherapeutic resistance. Here we used metabolic flux analysis to identify metabolic changes accompanying and potentially accounting for docetaxel resistance in DU145 prostate cancer cells. We focused on the utilization of glucose and glutamine, the two most abundant extracellular nutrients, which together account for the bulk of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in tumor cells. Docetaxel resistant (DOCETR) cells consumed glutamine more avidly and secreted glutamate and ammonia at a greater rate than sensitive parental cells. Surprisingly, contribution of glutamine carbon into the TCA cycle was unchanged in DOCETR cells despite the higher glutamine utilization. Transfer of glutamine carbon into both the intracellular and extracellular glutamate pools, on the other hand, was higher in DOCETR cells, indicating that the DOCETR cells had an increased ability to convert glutamine to glutamate and then to secrete the glutamate. Accordingly, these cells also had increased expression and activity of glutaminase, the major enzyme responsible for glutamine deamidation. Because glutaminase activity does not yield energy unless the resulting glutamate is further oxidized, we hypothesized that this metabolic transition served a non-bioenergetic role, possibly supporting enhanced rates of glutathione synthesis for modification and secretion of docetaxel. Consistent with this idea, DOCETR cells displayed an increase in de novo synthesis of glycine, which is required for the production of glutathione. Importantly, a glutaminase inhibitor re-sensitized DOCETR cells to docetaxel, strongly suggesting that their enhanced glutamine metabolism was involved in resistance to the drug. We speculate that alterations in glutamine metabolism provide a general and targetable mechanism for xenobiotic resistance in cancer cells. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1248. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1248


Background and aim – Challenging behaviour, such as aggression towards oneself, others, or objects, arises in interaction with the environment and may prevent individuals from participating in society and enjoying a high quality of life (QoL). Literature suggests that architects can contribute to prevention, by influencing challenging behaviour before rather than after its occurrence. The objective is to explore how architecture can contribute to the quality of life of intellectually impaired (and autistic) individuals showing challenging behaviour (CB). Methods – The case study is based on interviews with residents and care providers, and direct observations of their daily life. Results – Residents turn out to be dependent on the (visual) connection with the care provider and may experience stress from the behaviour of fellow residents. They also may experience stress when faced with unexpected situations and by sensory overload. Originality – The relevance of architecture for CB reduction is new to this particular field of healthcare. Practical or social implications – If these preliminary findings can be confirmed, they provide a basis for developing guidelines to design better environments for intellectually impaired individuals showing CB. Architecture might promote choice in interpersonal distance, by generous floorplans, a variety of spaces, and escape possibilities. Predictability might be enhanced by providing visual overview and previews into rooms. Finally, architecture that promotes sensory adjustment might improve the QoL of individuals showing CB by preventing sensory overload, and by doing so, mitigate related behaviours. Type of paper – Research paper.


The purpose of this study is to evaluate of the outdoor thermal environment by building scale and block type as variable factors. In this study, 18 cases of office in central business district that have different condition are compared about their surface temperature, HIP(Heat Island Potential), and MRT(Mean Radiant Temperature). They are simulated with 3-dimension numerical simulation software named Hoyano-model. The output results contain visualized distribution chart and numerical data. The results of evaluation are as follows. (1)The surface temperature of the building becomes higher as building coverage ratio is higher but floor area ratio is lower. In same conditions, unified block type is maximum higher than divided block type. (2)HIP shows different daily pattern as block type. During daytime, divided block type is much higher than unified block type but after sunset, it is changed. (3)MRT shows different distribution pattern as sunlight moves expecially at noon. (4)As the results of this study, cases that have high floor area ratio condition show lower surface temperature by tendency to stay low indoor temperature in office building and big rate of windows on building surface.


India and Pakistan should negotiate to convert the existing line of control into a permanent international border, and hold an internationally supervised plebescite in the Kashmir Valley to grant the people the right of self-determination. This solution is more appealing in the context of building a regional community. If the idea of regional community is taken seriously, the Kashmir dispute would require a new meaning. Instead of fighting over it, India and Pakistan may designate Kashmir as the first cooperative zone in the new subcontinent.


Dediazoniation of o-methylbenzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate was investigated in SDS/BuOH/H2O (SDS = sodium dodecyl sulfate) reverse micelles, RMs, and, for comparison, in binary BuOH/H2O mixtures by employing a combination of spectrophotometric and chromatographic techniques. RMs were characterized by steady-state fluorescence; the data indicate that the aggregation number of the RMs increase upon increasing [SDS], while the radius of the water pool is mainly controlled by the amount of water in the system, and that the thickness of the interfacial region increases upon increasing the amount of BuOH in the system, in agreement with literature reports. Experimental evidence suggests that dediazoniation mainly takes place in the interfacial region of the RMs. Kinetic data show that a turnover from the heterolytic to the homolytic mechanism takes place about pH = 5; the variation of the observed rate constants, k(obs,) with pH following an S-shaped curve. At pH approximately 2, k(obs) values are insensitive to solvent composition both in RMs and in the binary mixture; however, k(obs) values in RMs are slightly lower than those in BuOH/H2O, probably due to the presence of SDS. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses of the reaction mixture indicate, in both RMs and in binary mixtures, the main dediazoniation products are the heterolytic ArOH and ArOBu, their yields depending on the composition of the system, and only small (<10%) amounts of the reduction ArH product were detected. The data at low pH are interpreted in terms of a DN + AN dediazoniation mechanism, i.e., a rate-limiting formation of an extremely reactive aryl cation that further reacts with available nucleophiles in the solvation shell.


This work is concentrated on elucidating the mechanism of the electric field enhanced water dissociation. A simple model was established for the theoretical current-voltage characteristics in water dissociation process on a bipolar membrane based on the existence of a depletion layer and Onsager's theory. Particular attention was given to the influence of applied voltage on depletion thickness and the dissociation constant. The factors on the water splitting process, such as water diffusivity, water content, ion exchange capacity, temperature, relative permittivity, etc. Were adequately analysed based on the derived model equations and several suggestions were proposed for decreasing the applied voltage in practical operation. The water dissociation tests were conducted and compared with both the theoretical calculation and the measured current-voltage curves reported in the literature, which showed a very good prediction to practical current-voltage behavior of a bipolar membrane at high current densities when the splitting of water actually commenced.


Shallow water models, which assume the incompressibility of water and hydrostatic pressure distribution, serve as effective mathematical tools to describe dynamics of surface water flows. The 2-D shallow water equations (2-D SWEs) are among the most effective one. Solutions to the 2-D SWEs are sensitive to the choice of the friction slopes, the terms for turbulence and friction forces on side-walls. This paper carries out comparative numerical analysis on two Manning's friction slope formulae, a conventional water depth-based one and a hydraulic radius-based one, in order to see their influences on the solutions to the 2-D SWEs. Computational results of the hydraulic bores reveal relatively high accuracy of the hydraulic radius-based formula compared to the water depth-based counterpart.


For a small sandur in the Canadian Arctic, trend surface analysis of fifty-three samples shows that less than 40% of clast size variation is explained by downsandur fining. Further variations are explained by considering different levels of the sandur surface separately. In the main flow area, which carries water even during periods of low flow, channel deposits are invariably coarser than bar deposits although the difference lessens and overall sorting improves with distance downsandur. The flood surface area, which carries water only during high discharges, is less affected by downsandur fining than the rest of the sandur, and the bar-channel relationship is weaker. The high flood surface which occupies most of the proximal zone of the sandur is probably an abandoned main flow surface, as indicated by clast size characteristics similar to those on the present main flow surface.


The prohibitins, Phb1 and Phb2 are highly conserved proteins in eukaryotic cells that are present in multiple cellular compartments. Initial investigations focused on the role of Phb1 as an inhibitor of cell proliferation hence the original name prohibitin. However both proteins appear to have a diverse range of functions and recent evidence suggests that the prohibitins have very similar but as yet only partially understood functions. In addition to their role as chaperone proteins in the mitochondria, and their ability to target to lipid rafts, their is now compelling evidence that both prohibitins are localized in the nucleus and can modulate transcriptional activity by interacting with various transcription factors, including the steroid hormone receptors, either directly or indirectly. In addition Phb1 and Phb2 are present in the circulation and can be internalized when added to cultured cells suggesting that the circulating prohibitins may have some regulatory role. This review presents some of the recent developments in prohibitin research and focuses on the similarities in the structure and function of these interesting proteins.


To investigate the relationship of S waves with R waves and/or Q waves in the ECGs of patients with acute myocardial infarction, 20 patients with anterior Q‐wave infarcts had serial 49‐lead precordial maps and simultaneously recorded standard ECGs on admission and at 13 predetermined time intervals, extending to their discharge from the hospital. The sums of S waves (ΣS) from ECG leads of both precordial maps and standard ECGs showing ST‐segment elevation on admission were correlated with the corresponding sums of R waves ($$R) and/or Q waves ($$Q). Correlation of $$S by the precordial maps and the $$S by the standard ECG was good (r=0.88). However, correlation of $$S with $$R and $$Q by both the precordial maps and standard ECG were poor (r values ranged between –0.02 and –0.32). Fair correlations were found between $$S + $$Q and the corresponding $$R by both ECG systems (r=–0.36, precordial map and r= –0.40, standard ECG). The present study demonstrates (1) that precordial (consequently partial) ECG mapping systems have no advantage over standard precordial ECG, and (2) that quantitative data from S waves correlate weakly with similar information from corresponding R waves or Q waves, but fairly with the latter two combined, as recorded by the two ECG systems employed.


The attributes of the organic materials have made them more prominent in a wide range of applications engaged for large or small purpose such as the solar cells or the displays in the mobile devices. The solar cells developed using the organic semiconductors are more advantageous due to their flexibility and their easy installation. Despite the versatile nature of the and easy implementation the organic semiconductors still suffers from low efficiency in term of cost, performance and size. The proposed method incorporates the nanomaterials in the organic solar cell to improvise efficiency (performance) and to minimize the cost as well as the size of the solar cells. The proposed method replaces the semiconductor that is organic by incorporating the organic semiconductors with the nanoparticle additives to have a perfect blending in solution to improve the crystallizations of the semiconductor, and the uniformity thus improvising the power conversion efficiency in the solar cells and minimizing the size and the cost . The result acquired through evaluation proves the performance improvements to 19% form 3.5% in the solar cells.


Abstract Background The cultural and social norms in India stipulate that family and preferably children of the older person, provide the support and care that is needed. In recent years, we have witnessed an overall upsurge in interest in informal care from all countries in the developed world considering their ageing populations. The older people living alone group is, especially interesting in this matter, since it seems to deviate from the expectations of extended family living. Objective The aim was to describe older persons' experiences of informal care when living alone in India. Methods The study has a hermeneutic design, analysing interviews of older persons living alone in India. Results Findings revealed informal care as the thematic patterns: Informal care as a fundamental human responsibility, an obligation and thereby a way to act in 'common sense'. It was a way of 'paying‐back' care that they had received from others in their life history, motivated by governmental care was not presented as an option. Informal care also created safety by the provision of alert and actionable care by loved ones, including spatial safety. Most of the informants experienced themselves as informal caregivers assisting others in need even if they themselves were old and fragile. Providing self care was also seen as a part of informal care conducted by capable and worthy persons. They also pointed out their own obligation to seek informal care and even to listen to the suggestions of younger generations regarding the type and scope of care. Conclusions/Implications for practice Informal care in India is not only dependent on having children who ensure that you receive the care you need. Extended family, neighbours and friends feel a basic human obligation to care for the older people in their environment. This responsibility is deeply rooted even within the older people who become fragile in old age.


The island of Taiwan is affected by intense seismic activity, which includes large events as the disastrous 1999 Chi‐Chi earthquake. To improve seismic hazard assessment in this area, we estimate the effect of both interseismic loading and major events since 1736 on the state of stress of major active faults. We focus our approach on western Taiwan, which is the most densely populated part of Taiwan. We pay a specific attention to faults geometry and to both interseismic and coseismic slip distributions. Our results suggest that both earthquakes and interseismic loading before 1999 increase the Coulomb stress in the north‐western part of the Chelungpu fault, a region which experienced the highest coseismic slip during the Chi‐Chi earthquake. More importantly our results reveal a Coulomb stress increase in the southern part of the Changhua thrust fault, below a densely populated area.


Analysis of disease and defect data from a national meat inspection database for very young calves slaughtered in New Zealand up to 1987 revealed low prevalences of diseases and defects but relatively high condemnation rates within particular disease and defect categories. Calves slaughtered between 1987 and 1992 showed a decrease in the total condemnation rate of carcasses from 2.20% to 1.17%. The greatest reductions in condemnation rates were seen in the categories of wounds and bruises and "other" reasons; navel ill (omphalophlebitis) was initially included in the latter category and condemnations due to this condition persisted as the most frequent cause of wastage. The decrease in condemnation rates occurred subsequent to implementation of a national farm-gate quality assurance programme and a scientific investigation of traditional meat inspection carcass condemnation criteria. The former led to an increase in the quality of calves submitted for slaughter and the latter to changes in specifications for meat inspection judgments for several localised and resolved diseases and defects. Alterations to the disease and defect recording categories of the database have resulted in more appropriate national statistics and such a database can be used to identify inconsistencies in the application of meat inspection judgments between slaughterhouses.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spatial changes of groundwater phosphate concentrations using geostatistical methods based on data from 10 groundwater wells. One of the conventional tools in decision making on the groundwater management is geostatistical method. To evaluate the spatial changes of phosphate concentrations in groundwater, the universal kriging method with cross-validation was used for mapping and estimating groundwater phosphate concentrations in Eyvan Plain, Iran. Phosphate concentration followed a log-normal distribution and demonstrated a moderate spatial dependence according to the nugget ratio (60%). The experimental variogram of groundwater phosphate concentration was best-fitted by a spherical model. Cross-validation errors were within an acceptable level. According to the spatial distribution map, phosphate pollution in the groundwater occurred mostly in the west of the plain because of the phosphate discharge from the industrial effluents.


The effect of using a realistic triton wavefunction and a consistent transfer interaction on the magnitude of the two neutron transfer cross-sections in (p, t) reations is surveyed. The results of DWBA analyses of 208Pb(p, t)206Pb and 18O(p, t)16O reactions with the triton wavefunction of Strayer and Sauer are presented. More complete analyses which also include a realistic two neutron overlap function with the extended basis shell model method of Feng et al. on the reactions 18O(p, t)16O, 48Ca(t, p)50Ca and 90Zr(t, p)92Zr are presented. The latter show an excellent agreement between the theoretical cross-sections and experiment implying that DWBA provides a satisfactory description of these reactions.


We provide an overview on the state-of-the-art in transition-metal complexes formed with water-soluble NHC ligands. Paths to introducing water solubility by ligand design are elucidated and some general properties of water-soluble NHC complexes are highlighted. The enhanced hydrophilicity of water-soluble catalysts offers advantages in applications. While studies based on C-C coupling reactions still dominate the field, recent reports show water-soluble NHC complexes can be applied in metathesis and hydrogenation reactions and turn out to be among the best performing catalysts known. Nevertheless, wide areas of this young field remain to be investigated, offering great potential for future research.


Makepeace Hatfield, the heroine of Marcel Theroux's 2009 novel Far North, is one of the last survivors of a Siberian settlement. Her father was an early settler: an American Quaker who fled a decadent world for a frontiersman's life. In the Siberian summer, he discovered fertile terrain, purple and brown, and water that "heaved with salmon," as Makepeace recalls. "Nothing I've known in the Far North resembles the land of ice that people expected him to find here."


ABSTRACT: The route of transmission is important in the epidemiology of protozoan and helminth parasites, with water, soil, and food being particularly important pathways of dissemination. Both the potential for producing large numbers of infective stages and their environmental robustness poses persistent threats to public and veterinary health. Increased demands made on natural resources increases the likelihood of encountering environments and consumables that are contaminated with parasites. The aim of the present work was to study the prevalence and some potential risk factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections linked to the soil that is found in and around water points, and to relate the data obtained with the infective forms of parasites found in fecal samples of preschool children in a randomly chosen urban quarter of Yaoundé, Cameroon. Six of the 20 soil samples collected in and around wells contained parasites in Elig Edzoa quarter, whereas there was an average of 2.4 of 12 soil samples in the other 5 quarters analyzed that harbored infective forms of the intestinal pathogens. The pathogens isolated, identified, and enumerated in the soil samples were Ascaris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma duodenale, Taenia spp., Trichuiris trichiura, Entamoeba spp., Enterobius vermicularis, and Hymenolepis nana. Analysis of fecal samples in children below 5 years of age revealed the presence of Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba hartmani, Taenia spp., Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium spp., Trichomonas sp., and Tricocephalus.


Many mechanisms have been developed to solve the free-rider problem in private public good provision. Most of these mechanisms were designed to have good static (Nash) equilibrium properties. I present in this paper a new class of mechanisms, the Conditional Contribution Mechanisms (CCM), which are designed to have good dynamic equilibrium properties instead. The CCMs give all agents the possibility to condition their contribution on the total level of contribution provided by all agents. Their dynamic incentive structure makes the CCMs particularly suited for repeated public goods. I prove for a very general class of environments that all equilibria of the CCMs under a new variant of Better Response Dynamics, called Unexploitable Better Response Dynamics (UBRD), are Pareto efficient. I further present a first experimental study of one mechanism's performance compared to the performance of the Voluntary Contribution Mechanism. In an environment with binary contribution and linear valuations, agents play the mechanisms in a repeated setting. I test one case of complete information and homogeneous valuations and a second case with incomplete information and heterogeneous valuations. In both cases a significantly higher contribution rate can be observed when the CCM is used. Furthermore, all stable outcomes of the CCM, which are observed in the experiment, are in line with the prediction of UBRD.


The adsorption of two different organic molecules cyanidin glucoside (C21O11H20) and TA-St-CA on anatase (101) and (001) nanowires has been investigated using the standard and the range separated hybrid density functional theory calculations. The electronic structures and optical spectra of resulting dye–nanowire combined systems show distinct features for these types of photochromophores. The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the natural dye cyanidin glucoside is located below the conduction band of the semiconductor while, in the case of TA-St-CA, it resonates with the states inside the conduction band. The wide-bandgap anatase nanowires can be functionalized for solar cells through electron-hole generation and subsequent charge injection by these dye sensitizers. The intermolecular charge transfer character of Donor-π-Acceptor type dye TA-St-CA is substantially modified by its adsorption on TiO2 surfaces. Cyanidin glucoside exhibits relatively stronger anchoring on the nanowires through its hydroxyl groups. The atomic structures of dye–nanowire systems re-optimized with the inclusion of nonlinear solvation effects showed that the binding strengths of both dyes remain moderate even in ionic solutions.


A method is presented for finding the optimum LC combination for power factor compensation at linear loads in the presence of voltage source harmonics while the total voltamperes of the compensator capacitor and reactor is constrained. The end product is displayed in graph form where for any given compensator voltampere rating or cost, the maximum possible power factor and corresponding LC combination can be found. Examples are included showing that the cost of such an LC compensator may be less than that of a purely capacitive optimum compensator achieving the same power factor.


The definition of soil quality encompasses physical , hemical and biological characteristics, and it is related to fertility and soil health. Man y indicators can be used to describe soil quality, but it is important to take into account s en itivity, required time, and related properties, than can be explained. Properties relat ed to organic matter content, such as C/N ratio, organic carbon fractions (humic acids, fulvi c fraction); enzymatic activity ( β glucosidase, urease, aryl sulfatase, phosphatases) or aggregate stability, can be used as soil quality indicators. They provide early information about mineralization processes, nutrient availability and fertility, as well as effects resu lting from changes in land use, or agricultural practices (e.g. tillage or application of different types of organic matter). In this context, biological properties have been used as soil qualit y indicators, because of their relationship with organic matter content, terrestrial arthropofa un , lichen, microbial community (biomass or functional groups), metabolic products as ergost er l or glomalin and soil activities as microbial respiration and enzyme production.


Consumer Law in the UK has '"growed like Topsy". It has been decided by our current government that now is the time for a clearing up, a clarification and a simplification. There is also a EU Directive to be implemented. So here it comes, the Consumer Rights Bill. The government officials have already been told that their plans would need a Bill of about 400 clauses and that if they really mean business they should propose one of about 50. So we anticipate a short Bill and a lot of secondary legislation. In the Queen's Speech on the 8th of May we were promised a draft Bill. It is thought that this may appear later in the summer. This article considers some of their agenda items.


We present a survey of the polarization properties of mm-wavelength methanol masers, comprising both classes, and transitions from 84.5 to 157.0 GHz. Linear polarization is found in more than half of the observed objects, and circular polarization is tentatively detected in two sources. Class I and class II CH3OH masers show similar polarization properties. The largest linear polarization is found in the 133 GHz class I maser towards L 379 (39.5%), and in the 157 GHz class II maser towards G 9.62+0.19 (36.7%). The spectral profiles of the polarization angle of class I masers are mostly flat, except for two sources showing a linear slope. Since the mm-line methanol masers are expected to be weakly (or not) saturated, we suggest that the stronger fractional polarizations found by us are enhanced by anisotropic pumping and radiative losses. In NGC 7538, we find, for both maser classes, a good agreement between our polarization angles, and those measured for the submillimeter dust continuum. This can be taken as evidence for magnetic alignment of dust grains. It is also possible that an unsaturated maser with equally populated magnetic substates simply amplifies polarized continuum seed radiation. For class II masers, the polarization properties of the various velocity components towards a given source with detectable polarization are quite homogeneous. A possible explanation is discussed. Since methanol is non-paramagnetic, the circular polarization of the unsaturated maser emission can only be due to variations of the angle between the magnetic field and the line of sight along the maser propagation path.


We report a depth‐resolved analysis of the microstructure of a bulge‐like failure in a medical grade ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) implant material induced by a cyclic load. The depth‐dependent arrangement of the crystalline lamellae was analyzed by cross‐sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The failure emerges at the top wear surface as an amorphous bulge with a maximum thickness of approximately 300 µm. A sharp interface below the bulge consists of an approximately 0.1 µm thick boundary layer with stacked lamellae with an outstanding degree of orientation perpendicular to the wear surface. The boundary layer is separated from the intact, unmodified base material with random lamellar orientation by an approximately 5 µm thick transition zone with a lamellar alignment perpendicular to the wear surface, which decreases toward the center of the UHMWPE test specimen. We further observed an overall decrease of lamellar thickness toward the wear surface within the influence zone. This indicates the strength and heterogeneity of the local dynamic stress field during cyclic wear and the ease for lamellar rearrangements presumably facilitated by a locally elevated temperature. We propose the bulge to originate from either wear material dragged along the wear surface or from a retransfer from the articulating counter surface, and discuss implications on the degree and relevance of adhesive wear. This study stresses the importance of the UHMWPE transfer material under such dynamic load conditions. Our approach seems suitable for investigating the mechanical aspect of failure mechanisms at the UHMWPE polymer biointerface under cyclic load.


Post-marketing quality surveillance was carried out to assess the quality of uterotonics (Oxytocin and Ergometrine) on the Ghanaian market between August and September 2012. A total of 303 samples— 185 Oxytocin injection, 103 Ergometrine injection, and 15 Ergometrine tablets—were sampled from both public and private hospitals, clinics, medical stores, pharmaceutical outlets, and the informal sector across the ten regions of Ghana. The samples were assessed with respect to: Source and registration (marketing authorization) status; Cold chain status (for injectables) at the time of sampling from the distribution channel; Recommended storage conditions by the manufacturer; and, Content of active pharmaceutical ingredient (assay) and sterility. Eighty-six percent (86%) of the Oxytocin samples found on the market were manufactured in China, whereas 90.68% of Ergometrine samples were manufactured in India. Of those collected and tested, 8.11% of Oxytocin samples and 57.63% of Ergometrine samples had been issued marketing authorizations: Two companies supplying Oxytocin and one company supplying Ergometrine injection. All the samples of Ergometrine tablets were from companies that did not hold marketing authorizations. The origin of 10% of the Oxytocin samples and 4.24% of the Ergometrine samples could not be established. It was observed that almost all of the injectables were not stored according to the recommended storage conditions (2 o –8 oC) either of some manufacturers or of the official compendia, the U.S. Pharmacopeia and British Pharmacopeia; the only exception was one Regional Medical Store. In addition, the storage conditions recommended by the manufacturers of more than 50% of both the Oxytocin and Ergometrine injections were not consistent with recommendations in the official compendia. This indicates a lack of awareness of the appropriate storage conditions for these uterotonic products. Twenty (20) samples of both Oxytocin and Ergometrine had no labeling information providing batch number manufacture and expiry dates, making it difficult to establish their authenticity and valid shelf-life. Out of the 169 Oxytocin samples assayed, 55.62% failed. Of the 99 Ergometrine injection samples, 73.74% failed, and all of the 11 (100%) Ergometrine tablets tested failed assay. Two (2) samples of Oxytocin injection and three (3) samples of Ergometrine tablets (two of the three Ergometrine tablets had the same batch number) were determined to be counterfeit products. Due to resource constraints, a random sample of 80 products (40 Oxytocin and 40 Ergometrine injections) was subjected to sterility testing. Of the 40 Oxytocin samples randomly selected for sterility testing, 97.5% failed either Assay or Sterility testing, or both; 94.87% of the 40 Ergometrine injection samples tested for sterility failed either Assay or Sterility testing, or both. The results of this project established that an extremely high percentage of uterotonics available on the Ghanaian market do not meet required standards of quality. This situation could have serious implications for maternal mortality in the country. A number of regulatory actions have been taken by the Ghana FDA, including product recalls, and those suspected of being involved in criminal acts have been referred to the police.


Body shape and weight concerns and more extreme clinical conditions such as Eating Disorders (ED) and Obesity (OB) are considered serious health problems. Despite evidence of shared risk factors between ED and OB, the two fields of prevention appear to work independently with little or no interaction. Can systems thinking act as a mediator between the ED and OB field? Using Jackson's System of Systems Methodologies as a theoretical framework, this article starts by discussing the unitary and than moves to pluralist and coercive approaches, to show how different methodologies can help to further understand the spectrum of weight-related problems. Systems thinking can act as a third party to connect the fields of ED and OB. It can help to capture the complexity of weight-related problems, as well as further explore shared prevention strategies. Furthermore, it helps to ensure fairness and diversity within the fields when implementing prevention interventions.


The first of the following cases reported was one in which the symptoms of cystitis were most severe and resembled tuberculous cystitis. The bacteriologic examination and animal inoculation showed no tubercle bacilli, but did show the pseudodiphtheria bacillus in pure culture. Text-books on genito-urinary subjects do no more than mention the pseudodiphtheria bacillus as "an organism occasionally found in the urinary tract" and attach no importance to it pathologically. In reviewing the literature I find a case reported by Rosenow, in which the pseudodiphtheria organism was proved to be the etiologic factor. This organism is frequently associated with the gonococcus in chronic gonorrheas. I offer these facts as a reason for presenting the following case histories, summary of literature and report on the bacteriologic examination of eighty specimens of apparently normal urine. Case 1. —In January, 1911, a man, aged 21, unmarried, a farm hand, consulted me for dysuria and


A widely supported effort to modernize the United States power system has led to an engineering initiative variously known as 'smart grid', 'intelligrid', "gridwise", "modern grid", "perfect grid", "future grid", and similarly denominated programs. These efforts generally include features of: self-healing from power disturbance events, enabling active participation by consumers, assuring resilient operation against physical and cyber attack, delivering power quality for digital economy, accommodating all generation and storage options, enabling new products, and optimizing the use of assets. This paper addresses the question as to where engineers needed to address the smart grid will be educated, how they should be trained, and to what levels of comprehension in integrative fields they must be educated.


This paper reports the observation of stochastic Coulomb blockade for the coupled silicon dots. The device was fabricated from the highly doped dual recess structured silicon channel by means of stress induced pattern-dependent oxidation. Sparsely placed Coulomb oscillation characteristics were observed from the transport characteristics at a low temperature and these irregularities decreased linearly as temperature increased. These characteristics were interpreted as the stochastic Coulomb blockade effect, which occurs due to the mismatch between individual dots in the energy spectrum ladder of the serially connected dots


Background/Aim: The diagnostic value of serum DUPAN-2 level has been reported; however, the relationship between preoperative DUPAN-2 level and recurrence pattern has not been fully investigated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 50 patients with PDAC who underwent pancreatectomy. The relationships between clinicopathologic factors and site-specific disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Results: The tumor location was the pancreatic head in 31 patients and the body/tail in 19 patients. Of the 50 patients, 34 had recurrence (median DFS, 11 months). Fifteen patients had hematogenous recurrence, and 16 had locoregional recurrence. In multivariate analysis, adjuvant chemotherapy [p=0.01; odds ratio (OR)=8.10; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.58-41.6] and venous invasion (p=0.01; OR=8.33; 95%CI=1.53-45.4) were significant factors for hematogenous recurrence-free survival, whereas the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (p=0.03; OR=2.57; 95%CI=1.10-5.98) and DUPAN-2 level (p<0.01; OR=1.00; 95%CI=1.000-1.002) were significant factors for locoregional recurrence-free survival. In ROC curve analysis, the area under the curve of DUPAN-2 level was 0.613 for hematogenous recurrence and 0.682 for locoregional recurrence. In the log-rank test, the hematogenous and locoregional recurrence-free survival rates of patients with higher DUPAN-2 levels were significantly worse than those with lower DUPAN-2 level. Conclusion: Elevation of preoperative DUPAN-2 level independently predicts locoregional recurrence after surgery. Patients with elevated preoperative DUPAN-2 level may benefit from neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy to avoid postoperative locoregional recurrence.


Conditions were established for the self-assembly of milligram amounts of purified Saccharomyces cerevisiae tubulin. Microtubules assembled with pure yeast tubulin were not stabilized by taxol; hybrid microtubules containing substoichiometric amounts of bovine tubulin were stabilized. Yeast microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) were identified on affinity matrices made from hybrid and all-bovine microtubules. About 25 yeast MAPs were isolated. The amino-terminal sequences of several of these were determined: three were known metabolic enzymes, two were GTP-binding proteins (including the product of the SAR1 gene), and three were novel proteins not found in sequence databases. Affinity-purified antisera were generated against synthetic peptides corresponding to two of the apparently novel proteins (38 and 50 kDa). Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that both these proteins colocalize with intra- and extranuclear microtubules in vivo.


We report the magnetotransport properties of HoSb, a semimetal with antiferromagnetic ground state. HoSb shows extremely large magnetoresistance (XMR) and Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation at low temperature and high magnetic field. Different from previous reports in other rare earth monopnictides, kinks in $\ensuremath{\rho}(B)$ and ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{xy}(B)$ curves and the field dependent resistivity plateau are observed in HoSb, which result from the magnetic phase transitions. The fast Fourier transform analysis of the SdH oscillation reveals the split of Fermi surfaces induced by the nonsymmetric spin-orbit interaction. The Berry phase extracted from SdH oscillation indicates the possible nontrivial electronic structure of HoSb in the presence of magnetic field. The Hall measurements suggest that the XMR originates from the electron-hole compensation and high mobility.


Objective To describe the experience of parents of critically ill infants and children who require highly technical therapy and to identify interventions that parents might find helpful during the experience. Design Nonexperimental 8-yr descriptive study. Setting Pediatric intensive care unit within a children's hospital. Patients Parents of infants and children who were supported on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Interventions Questionnaires, mailed 4-months after ECMO support, inquired about parent preparation and emotional responses, concerns, family-staff communication related to ECMO, and whether, retrospectively, parents would have consented again to ECMO. Measurements and Main Results Two hundred seventy-two parents responded. More than 25% of parents reported being reassured by the hope of therapy. Sixty percent reported they felt they really did not have a choice but to consent to ECMO, given the severity of their child's condition. Upon first seeing their child on ECMO support, most parents reported feeling relieved to see their child alive and being as well prepared as possible. Although some parents remained anxious throughout the ECMO course, talking with care providers and observing the child's daily progress lessened parental fears. Although parents in the nonsurvivor group recalled discussing death before ECMO, 22% remembered first hearing about the possibility of death only after their child failed to improve while undergoing ECMO. During the process of ECMO withdrawal, nearly one fourth of the nonsurvivor group expected their child to fool everyone and to live. After their child's death, 93% felt comforted by follow-up contact with hospital personnel. Compared with the survivor group, fewer parents of nonsurvivors reported that they would again consent to ECMO. Conclusions Researched-based family-driven care requires an understanding of parental experience and worries, and interventions that parents themselves identify as helpful. Continued sensitive individualized care is warranted.


The result of the more wide spread use of abdominal imaging procedures has lead to reveal more incidentally discovered adrenal masses. In this review we evaluated the different biological an radiologic procedures to explore such tumors. We finally, presented a proposal of diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm for patients with incidental adrenal mass.


Acardiac twin or Twin Reversed Arterial Perfusion sequence (TRAPS) is a unique and
 extreme complication seen in monochorionicmultifetal pregnancies. It comprises
 an often normal twin pumping deoxygenated arterial blood in retrograde
 through an acardiac, dysmorphic counterpart. Recently, a 2.6% incidence among
 monochorionic twins has been cited. For the pump/donor twin, mortality often
 exceeds 50% commonly from heart failure and prematurity. Acardiac twinning
 with a surviving donor twin has yet to be described in our setting. We describe
 a 28-year-old para 0+1 presenting in the second trimester with a twin pregnancy
 complicated by polyhydramnios of the donor viable twin and a non-viable recipient
 twin inadvertently diagnosed as a single fetal demise of a grossly malformed twin.
 The case was expectantly managed resulting in spontaneous preterm delivery and
 survival of the donor twin. TRAPS necessitates a high index of suspicion and a
 thorough sonographic evaluation in monochorionicmultifetal pregnancies.


Alliances are often presumed to serve the dual purpose of restraint and deterrence, though few existing studies examine their relationship and the connection with defense burden-sharing. This research employs a three-player game-theoretic model, which endogenizes the process of alliance formation and arms buildups, to demonstrate how intra-alliance burden-sharing allows the alliance to preserve the status quo. The results suggest that alliance burden-sharing may exert the deterrence and restraining effects, while at most one effect is observable at a time because the effects occur in separate parameter spaces. If a prospective ally's cost of arms buildups is relatively low, a status-quo-oriented superpower may form an alliance even by shouldering a disproportionately heavy burden to dissuade the ally from overturning the status quo ( the restraining effect). Conversely, if the cost is relatively high, the superpower may form an alliance to protect the ally from external threats ( the deterrence effect). However, to prevent being exploited by this ally, the superpower provides only the units of armed forces that are sufficient to incentivize the ally to bolster its military capabilities to deter the threats. Their alliance entails power aggrandizement, but it does not provoke a non-signatory as the ally remains too weak to act unilaterally.


Abstract For older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), treatment adherence is essential to prevent and delay dementia. Older adults with MCI should maintain treatment for chronic diseases, exercise regularly, and adhere to treatment to maintain health status. There is a lack of comprehensive interventions to promote treatment adherence (medication adherence and physical activity) for older adults with MCI. The purpose of this study was to develop an internet of things (IoT)-based real-time treatment adherence for old adults with MCI and examine the effectiveness of the program. This study was a randomized controlled trial. The patients were enrolled from the neurology outpatient department clinic at a hospital in Korea. The subjects were 18 in the experimental group and 20 in the control group. This study intervention was IoT-based medication adherence device and real-time monitoring sever plus wrist wearable device. The study consists of a 10-week intervention period. The intervention program was provided for only the experimental group and the control group with a wearable device and usual care. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 6 weeks, and 10-weeks. A mixed-effects model was used in the analysis to evaluate the program. The IoT-based treatment adherence intervention was effective in improving medication adherence over time (β =11.465, p<.001), physical activity (K-PASE) (β =27.376, p<.001) and average the number of steps per week (β=3202.53, p<.001). Health care providers can use this program to improve treatment adherence for chronic disease management and dementia prevention of older adults with cognitive impairment.


BACKGROUND
A possible mechanism by which hyperthermia enhances tumor immunogenicity is the induction of NKG2D ligands on tumor cells. Although the expression of MHC class I chain-related protein A and B (MICA/B) has previously been reported in different carcinomas, there is no information about MICA/B expression in liposarcomas.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate MICA/B induction in a human liposarcoma cell line (SW-872) after thermotherapy.

METHODS
SW-872 and HeLa cell lines were subjected to thermal stress for 1 h at 42, 44 and 46C, and after 2, 4 and 6 h of incubation at 37C, MICA/B expression was assessed at the mRNA and protein levels.

RESULTS
Despite high levels of MICA/B transcripts in SW-872 cells at baseline, the expression of these genes decreased significantly at both the mRNA and protein levels after almost all thermal treatments.

CONCLUSION
Our data conclude that thermotherapy under 42-46 C had no effect on MICA/B induction on SW-872 liposarcoma cell line but the effects of fever-range temperatures remain to be tested on this cell line.


Background: Seven to 12% of foreign-born patients in the United States has experienced torture. We aimed to teach medical students to identify and care for asylum seekers/torture survivors. Description: One hundred twenty-five students participated in a program consisting of a workshop covering sequelae of torture, asylum law, and an approach to patient evaluation; twice-monthly clinical sessions; and mentored preparation of medical affidavits. We observed clinical encounters; evaluated medical affidavits; and assessed students' knowledge, attitudes, and skills pre- and postcurriculum. Evaluation: Students successfully performed physical and psychological evaluations and prepared affidavits resulting in 89% asylum application approval. We observed improvement in student attitudes toward working with survivors (p < .05), knowledge of sequelae of torture (p < .001), and self-efficacy in clinical evaluation (p < .001). Conclusions: Medical students learned necessary skills to provide services for survivors, which will also serve them in caring for other vulnerable populations. As an advocacy, cultural competency, and domestic global health opportunity, this training was feasible and achieved its educational goals.


Recently, the demand of low cost large scale storage increases. We developed VLSD (Virtual Large Scale Disks) toolkit for constructing virtual disk based distributed storages, which aggregate free spaces of individual disks. However, in order to construct large-scale storage, more than or equal to 3 fault tolerant RAID is important. In this paper, we propose MeshRAID that is 3 fault tolerant orthogonal RAID. And, we implement MeshRAID using VLSD. It is easy to implement MeshRAID using various classes in VLSD. From the viewpoint of its features, MeshRAID is addressed between RAID55 and NaryRAID.


For the recent years, highway safety control under extreme natural hazards in China has been facing critical challenges because of the latest extreme climates. Highway is a typical linear project, and neither the traditional single landslide monitoring and early warning model entirely dependent on displacement data, nor the regional meteorological early warning model entirely dependent on rainfall intensity and duration are suitable for it. In order to develop an efficient early warning system for highway safety, the authors have developed an early warning method based on both monitoring data obtained by GNSS and Crack meter, and meteorological data obtained by Radar. This early-warning system is not each of the local landslide early warning systems (Lo-LEWSs) or the territorial landslide early warning systems (Te-LEWSs), but a new system combining both of them. In this system, the minimum warning element is defined as the slope unit which can connect a single slope to the regional ones. By mapping the regional meteorological warning results to each of the slope units, and extending the warning results of the single landslides to the similar slope units, we can realize the organic combination of the two warning methods. It is hopeful to improve the hazard prevention and safety control for highway facilities during critical natural hazards with the progress of this study.


The adhesive and cohesive strength of the emulsion residue used as the binder in a chip seal is directly related to when the chip seal can be opened to traffic after construction. This strength is usually judged subjectively during construction by experienced personnel. Unfortunately, this experience is often gained by trial and error, the error leading to vehicle damage when residues that have not gained sufficient strength release chips under traffic loads. This research was conducted to help eliminate the subjectivity involved in determining when a chip seal can be safely opened to traffic without undue chip loss. The study began with the hypothesis that the existing ASTM D7000 sweep test could be used for this purpose. The ASTM procedure was evaluated and it was determined the test would be adequate for relative comparison of different emulsions for the same aggregates, but not sufficient to evaluate different aggregates for the same or different emulsions. The reason for this is because D7000 uses a template to establish residue depth. Chip gradation is roughly controlled so embedment depth is relatively equal for different chips but variability remains high so predicting actual times to traffic are not feasible. Therefore, a revision of the D7000 test was done to eliminate these variables so that actual project materials could be used and time to trafficking could be estimated. Results indicate the amount of water remaining in the emulsion is directly related to residue strength, as expected. Therefore, by establishing the relationship between water content and chip loss in the revised sweep test the time required in the field before traffic is allowed on the fresh chip seal can be estimated in advance. Results indicate little correlation between emulsion particle charge and aggregate type and also that chip loss is directly related to aggregate moisture content upon embedment.


Background and Objective There is little long-term outcome data regarding acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Chinese older populations (>80 years old). Long-term outcomes of older patients with ACS maybe associated with increased coronary artery lesion severity. Methods and Results We classified 536 consecutive older patients with ACS based on the Gensini score into 4 groups: a control group (group 1), a group with Gensini score < 20 (group 2), a group with Gensini score from 21 to 60 (group 3), and a group with Gensini score > 61 (group 4). Survival and MACE rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate Cox regression was used to identify mortality predictors. There were 66 (12.3%), 141 (26.3%), 167 (31.2%) and 162 (30.2%) patients in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The average follow-up was 27.1 ± 16.0 months. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP), eject fraction (EF), blood glucose level, e-GFR, morbidity from old myocardial infarction, smoking, ACS type, and GRACE score were the determinants of coronary artery lesion severity. Increasing coronary artery lesion severity was associated with increased long-term mortality and MACE rates. The overall long-term mortality rate was 9.1% and increased from 3.0% in group 1 to 16.7% in group 4. Age, gender, heart rate, SBP, chronic renal failure, e-GFR, GRACE score, Gensini score, and ACS type were the independent predictors of long-term mortality. Conclusions Long-term mortality of older patients with ACS was associated with increased coronary artery lesion severity. Gender and chronic renal failure were the major risk factors for long-term mortality.


In western mental health systems, the involvement of user organisations has become an important dimension of contemporary policy development. But the processes constituting users as a relevant/irrelevant group have received little investigation, especially outside the English-speaking world. Drawing on Luhmann's theory of society, this article presents a reconstruction of involvement initiatives in mental health policy in Chile between 1990 and 2005. It is based on 17 oral history interviews with policy-makers, highlevel professionals, involved users, ex-users, and family activists, drawing also on relevant policy documents. Five processes are identified. In the early 1990s, the relevance of family groups as care providers in the context of deinstitutionalisation shaped the first encounters between psychiatry and community. Later, user groups became relevant as political supporters of the Mental Health Department's funding requests, and in their capacity to legitimise decisions on involuntary treatment. The first National User Organisation resulted, in 2001. Its relevance was quickly undermined, however, by the AUGE health reform which restricted the definition of diseases and treatments with reference to evidence and costs. The legitimation of users was no longer needed and efforts to involve them subsided. Thus, we argue that the way in which the mental health system observes the voices of users is less a result of the actual status of users' organisations than of the changing needs of mental health policy for 'user representation'. By highlighting the contingency of policy shifts, we suggest that this historical and systemic perspective provides grounds for the strategic irritation and transformation of mental health systems through users' activism. Chilean Mental Health Policy and the role of users For most of Chile's history, the asylum constituted the dominant institutional response to those deemed 'mad'. The creation of the National Health Service in 1952 increased the reach of services, but psychiatry was still understood as a legal/penal field (Minoletti, Rojas, & Sepúlveda, 2010). From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, coinciding with a strong condemnation of the living conditions of psychiatric inmates, alternative approaches were explored throughout Latin America, following Franco Basaglia's deinstitutionalisation process in Trieste and the 'Movement of Community Psychiatry' in the USA (Maass, Mella, & Risco, 2010; Scheper-Hughes & Lovell, 1986). ARTICLE HISTORY received 28 February 2017 accepted 30 October 2017


Assembling aliens to explore the Solar System

After analysing the school curricula until 7th grade (13 years old), we concluded that, at least in Portugal, there is a limited coverage of astronomy subjects. This situation is also often accompanied by limited training of primary and medium school teachers and limited availability of resources in their mother tongues, as language can also be a barrier for the use of existing resources. In addition, some astronomy concepts require a level of abstract thinking that might be discouraging for some children. The end result is that some children will have a low interest in astronomy, not only because of their personal preferences but as a consequence of low exposure to the subject or a negative perception towards it. To address this situation, the Science Communication Group of Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) developed a board game about the Solar System, aimed at children from 6 to 12 years old, and adapted to both formal and informal educational contexts. This project, “Help your Alien – A Solar System Game”, was funded in 2019 by the Europlanet Society through its Public Engagement Funding Scheme.

Why a board game?

By opting for a board game instead of a digital platform, we made the conscious decision of valuing the power of storytelling and social interaction as engaging and focus-promoting learning strategies, unlike the information and stimuli overload sometimes present in digital environments. Another choice made to make the game as appealing and relatable to our target public as possible was to start with a more familiar perspective, biology, as children of this age group will certainly be familiar with “animals” and their characteristics. We made a leap forward towards astrobiology, and created imaginary aliens somehow adapted to their planets and moons. While trying to assemble these imaginary creatures, in a 3-piece puzzle, the game players have to gather information about different objects of the Solar System and discover the home planet of their assembled aliens.  Another reason for creating a board game was the possibility of reaching different publics, in particular those perhaps not immediately interested in astronomy. With “ET – A Solar System Adventure”, we hope to engage children but also their families (parents, grandparents, siblings…), just for the sake of playing, while exposing them to knowledge about the Solar System.

Development of the game

The game was developed in a collaborative creative process by members of the Science Communication Group and researchers in Planetary Sciences of the IA, combining knowledge in science communication and different publics with scientific knowledge. Even though the game mechanics was inspired in already existing and well-tested games, the whole process of creating this game involved many challenges, from defining the level of complexity while keeping the game engaging, to the adventure of “creating” aliens somehow physiologically adapted to different planets and moons of the Solar System. Mistakes were made and the team had to adapt to the unexpected challenging situation of a pandemic. This resulted in many lessons learned that we hope to share with the community. The game is now at its final stages of production, with the prototype being converted into a polished version with professional illustration and design. A “Print and Play” version in Portuguese and English will soon be made available online on our website. Physical copies will also be produced depending on funding.

In our presentation, we will present our game, as well as the premises and goals behind it, its development process, the challenges found along the way, the lessons learned and some strategies to cope with the “new normality” imposed by Covid-19, while advancing the project. We hope the presentation of “ET – A Solar System Adventure” in the EPSC2021 will help to promote this tool for planetary science education among formal and informal educators and to find international collaborations for the translation and local promotion of the game, as well as additional funding for the production of physical copies in different languages.


The necessity for 60 GHz band development in Japan, the features of millimeter wave (MM-wave) indoor LAN, developments needed for its realization, and propagation studies to implement indoor LAN are reviewed. This paper describes a MM-wave minimum delay spread LAN under development in Japan, results of its propagation simulation, absorbable construction materials being considered for the system, and MMIC devices needed for the system.


The objective of this study is to describe the neurologic, neurocognitive, and functional outcomes of children aged under 6 years supported on the Berlin Heart EXCOR ventricular assist device (VAD) followed in the Complex Pediatric Therapies Follow-up Program (CPTFP). Sixteen patients were prospectively followed through this longitudinal, developmental program. The patients were evaluated with neurologic physical examination. Intelligence quotients (IQ) and functional outcome scores (ABAS-II scores) were obtained. Neuroimaging reports from before, during, and after VAD implantation were retrospectively reviewed for reported brain injury (BI). Twelve patients (75%) had neuroimaging documented BI at some point in their life (i.e., before, during, or after VAD support). Five patients (31%) had neuroimaging evidence of acute BI incurred while on the VAD. The high overall number of patients with neuroimaging documented BI at any point in their life illustrates that the risk for BI also exists outside the window of VAD support. Patients with abnormal neurologic physical examination at follow-up had lower IQ and ABAS-II scores compared with patients with normal neurologic physical examination (mean full-scale IQ 66.9 vs. 95.0, p = 0.001; mean ABAS-II 66.3 vs. 94.2, p < 0.001).


Gastrointestinal and thoracic oncologists have long struggled with an ugly truth about esophageal cancers: as a whole, these cancers have an unfortunate tendency to progress and recur in the short- and medium-term. The most important predictor of this propensity is the presence of nodal metastases (1,2). It would follow that systemic intervention should be targeted to those patients who have residual nodal metastases identified on pathology after neoadjuvant treatment and resection. However, this has not been instituted on a wide scale due to a paucity of high-level evidence supporting such directed interventions (3).


Regulation of the Salmonella typhimurium metJ gene was examined by measuring beta-galactosidase activity in Escherichia coli strains lysogenic for a phage carrying a metJ-lacZ gene fusion. The results indicated that the metJ gene is regulated by its own gene product and by methionine supplementation to the growth medium. This autoregulatory mechanism involved two tandem promoters, pJ1 and pJ2, separated by approximately 65 base pairs. Deletion analysis permitted the assessment of the activity of promoters pJ1 and pJ2 individually. Promoter Pj1 was negatively regulated by the metJ gene product and by methionine. Although Pj2 regulation remained unclear, evidence is presented which suggests that it is not negatively regulated like pJ1.


Self medication practices among people tend to increase nowadays. Pharmacists have an important role and responsibility in order to gain a safe and rational self medication practiced by pharmacy consumers. The aim of this study was to determine the mefenamic acid self medication services profile at 83 parmacies in West Surabaya. This research was cross sectional study, conducted at the pharmacies in West Surabaya. A simulated patient collected the data from pharmacy staffs who served her while asking mefenamic acid at the pharmacy. Instruments used were the study protocol, scenario, and checklist that have been tested the validity and reliability. Of the 83 pharmacy staffs who served the patient, only 20.50% performed patient assessment, all (100.00%) recomended the drug product, but only 9.60% involved the patient in drug selection. Only 1.20% pharmacy staff provided drug information, while 98.80% had informed after a teaser questions. All pharmacy staffs gave information: drug indication, drug dose, and time of consumption. 97.60% about side effect, 28.80% about lenght of use and 1.20% about contraindication. No pharmacy staff gave information about things to consider while taking the drug, the drug storage means, how to treat the rest of medicine, and how to recognize deteriorate drugs. Whereas non drug information provided by 6.00% the pharmacy staffs. Mefenamic acid self medication services at the pharmacies in West Surabaya showed pharmacist performance has not been optimal. It needs to improve pharmacy services, especially self medication services in order to achieve safe that drugs given to patients guaranteed safe, proper and rational self medication practices.