In 1994, the risk/benefit ratio when using antidepressant drugs for the treatment of mood disorders has become very difficult to assess. From the medical standpoint, frequent nosographical modifications generated new clinical entities (brief recurrent depression, subsyndromal depression, mixed anxiety and depression according to the ICD 10, dysthymia). Within these entities, mood appears modified in duration and severity and belongs to extremely different structures. The obvious link between antidepressants and typical depression has to be thoroughly assessed for these new forms of illness. But the evolution of medical and economical assessment techniques progressively turns the attributed risk into a global index based on group results far from the dual patient-physician relationship in which the risk/benefit ratio is assessed according to idiosyncratic criteria. The development of a dimensional clinical field could, if misused, be reduced to an addition of "target treatments". Finally, some antidepressants are no longer presented for their main antidepressive effects (for which their use is authorized) but for peripheral properties: treatment strategies (particularly duration) remain unclear for these latter effects. From a sociological point of view, consequences of consumerism, social and economical crisis and modifications of the image of the psychiatry, play a role in the evaluation of this risk/benefit ratio.


Pulse X-ray diagnostics is capable of
reducing the radiation exposure considerably. As for pulse X-ray diagnostic machines,
which form pulses with the duration of 0.1 μs, using them one can get
outstanding results in this area. This fact can be explained by the long period
of luminophor persistence in intensifying X-ray luminescent screens. In this
paper we present experimental data, comparing radiation doses, measured at
pulse X-ray apparatus and apparatus of constant radiation.


This Processor embodies 15 basic instructions involving Arithmetic, Logical, Data Transfer and control instructions. To implement these instructions the design incorporates various design blocks like Control Unit (CU), Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU), Accumulator, Program Counter (PC), Instruction Register (IR), Memory and additional logic. To summarize, the processor is designed to enhance its performance by considering few things like the simple construction and small instruction set, basic design to achieve faster executions and simplified control logic design. In this work, various stages are described like the design and implementation of 32 bit processor like implementation of simple 32-bit, design of individual modules in the above 32-bit processor architecture using Hardware Description Language(HDL) and synthesizing those individual modules to extract Gate level net list. For the simulation Xilinx is used and the language adopted is VHDL.


In this study, levels of acrylamide in different bread samples obtained from a Turkish market were investigated. Acrylamide contents of the samples were determined by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method. The samples (n = 43) were commonly consumed, different types of breads, including white wheat bread, stone oven wheat bread, wheat bran bread, rye bread, whole grain bread, and whole wheat bread. Results revealed that the acrylamide contents of the samples show a considerable variation among different types of breads as well as within the same type. Crumb-crust ratio of the samples was also considered during the experiments. The contents of acrylamide in breads ranged from below the limit of quantification to 695 μg kg−1 and the mean acrylamide content was 225 μg kg−1. The highest mean level of acrylamide was detected in whole wheat bread.


In this study, carbon steel (A53) is used as the material for the pipes in a marine plant and ship industry. Welds are necessary to join the carbon steel, and the effect of this welding on the properties of the carbon steel has been studied by many researchers. In this study, the dynamic behavior of welded carbon steel was studied using an acoustic emission (AE) technique, which is a nondestructive test. There are numerous AE parameters that can be used to analyze the damage behavior of carbon steel by external loading. The AE parameters of energy, cumulative count, amplitude, and AE event were used, and each parameter was differentiated according to the degree of damage to the carbon steel. The energy showed a high level at the elastic range of the load curve, while the amplitude had the highest value at the hardening region. The cumulative count showed a growth tendency similar to the loading curve. In addition, an ultrasonic technique and hardness test were applied to evaluate the mechanical properties according to the base zone, HAZ region, and weld zone of the weld specimen. The velocity and attenuation ratio showed little change between zones. and an evaluation of the ultrasonic waves on each zone of the specimen was found to be a useful method to clarity the mechanical properties of the carbon steel.


In data-mining applications, we are frequently faced with a large fraction of missing entries in the data matrix, which is problematic for most discriminant machine learning algorithms. A solution that we explore in this paper is the use of a generative model (a mixture of Gaussians) to compute the conditional expectation of the missing variables given the observed variables. Since training a Gaussian mixture with many different patterns of missing values can be computationally very expensive, we introduce a spanning-tree based algorithm that significantly speeds up training in these conditions. We also observe that good results can be obtained by using the generative model to fill-in the missing values for a separate discriminant learning algorithm.


Microdevices produced by machining silicon can offer a variety of control functionality on a miniature scale,1,2 with general advantages connected to not only reduced size (less invasive), but also lower power requirements, lower cost, and reproducibility of manufacturing. Micromachining has already made impacts in a number of technical areas, and it promises to be an increasingly important and broadly applicable technology. In the general field of sensors, micromachining has had its biggest impact, to date, in physical sensing. Commercialized devices include accelerometers and pressure sensors. This paper, however, focuses on the capabilities micromachined structures offer in the area of chemical sensing. It demonstrates how the inherently complex phenomena encountered in chemical sensing can be more completely probed using micromachined devices and arrays. The specific array devices described here consist of replicated low-mass suspensions we call "microhotplates", where each element is covered with a sensing film. Two concepts are discussed. The first concept is the use of rapid heating of these low-mass devices to introduce "kinetic selectivity". The second concept is the use of compositionally different surfaces and their varied interactions with gas phase molecules to introduce "materials selectivity". While temperature control and the use of differing active materials (be they partially or highly selective) have been applied to chemical sensing for many years, what we wish to emphasize here is the enabling powers of these miniaturized structures and arrays in employing these concepts in entirely new ways. The approach provides a capability for "tuning", through selection of film suites and operating programs, and thereby can address a wide range of gas and vapor sensing applications (in areas such as automated process control, environmental monitoring, and personal safety). The same generic base configuration can be used for varied applications, and fabrication aspects of the technology make it quite adaptable for manufacturing. While other transduction modes may be considered for micromachined chemical sensors, for example, capacitance changes or calorimetric effects, we will focus on conductometric sensing. The approach is based on the technology that underlies Taguchi sensors developed decades ago. In our case, however, the semiconducting oxide materials such as SnO2 and ZnO are applied as planar films, which are modified to enhance their sensing characteristics by surface-dispersing very low coverages of catalytic metals, for example, Pd and Pt. The paper is structured as follows. First we indicate the basis for thermally controlled sensing by describing the importance of temperature-dependent processes in solid-state transduction. We next indicate the approach employed to incorporate materials and kinetic selectivity to the microhotplates, and then describe the fabrication procedures as well as the characteristics of these micromachined devices. Self-lithographic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is then presented as an efficient method for depositing active sensing films which lends itself readily to manufacturing. The next sections illustrate response characteristics (including temperature programmed analyte "signatures") and an example of how training and predictive modeling are used to optimize performance. The closing sections then summarize benefits of the technology and indicate levels of adaptibility and research needs.


Shelterin plays critical roles in maintaining and protecting telomeres by regulating access of various physiological agents to telomeric DNA. We present single molecule measurements investigating the impact of the POT1 and a four-component shelterin complex on the accessibility of human telomeric DNA overhangs with physiologically relevant lengths (28-150 nt), which to our knowledge is the first direct approach to measure this effect on such telomeric constructs. To quantify telomere accessibility, we monitored transient binding events of a short peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe that is complementary to telomeric overhangs using FRET-PAINT. Although POT1 has a mild G-quadruplex unfolding activity, it reduced accessibility of the PNA probe by ∼2.5 fold, indicating that POT1 effectively binds to and protects otherwise exposed telomeric sequences. In comparison, a four-component shelterin reduced the accessibility of telomeric overhangs by ∼5-fold. This enhanced protection suggests shelterin restructures the region between single and double stranded telomere, which is otherwise the most accessible part of the overhang, by a synergistic cooperation of shelterin components located on single and double stranded telomere.


you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms Introduction/objectives: To prospectively assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients affected by undifferentiated connective tissue diseases (UCTDs) and to identify factors associated with changes over time. Patients and methods: A total of 46 consecutive UCTD patients completed the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire at presentation and then yearly. At each 6-month visit, all patients underwent a detailed history taking and a laboratory and physical assessment, in order to follow the evolution of the disease over time and to assess the the coexistence of fibromyalgia. Results: At presentation, scores lower than the average of the general population were detected in 34 (74%) and 41 (89%) patients in the physical and mental domains, respectively. No difference between patients with and without Raynaud's phenomenon was detected. Fibromyalgia was the only independent variable associated with an impaired physical component summary score (p = 0.0009). No patient feature was found to be associated with the basal mental component summary score. During 24 months of follow-up, a significant improvement (ie, a change ≥5 from baseline) in physical component summary and mental component summary scores was observed in 14 (33.3%) and 20 (43.4%) patients, respectively. Patients who significantly improved in the physical domain more frequently had a history of glucocorticoids intake (p < 0.001), while those who improved in the mental component more frequently had a history of either glucocorticoids (p = 0.043) or immunosuppressors (p = 0.037) intake during follow-up. Conclusion: UCTD patients perceive a worse QoL, regardless of Raynaud's phenomenon Fibromyalgia is one of the major contributors of physical QoL, whereas no factor influencing mental component has been identified. An improvement in QoL can be observed in less than half of patients over a 2-year follow-up. Larger studies are needed to identify factors influencing QoL and to define the role of pharmacological treatments.


Trichomes provide an excellent model for studying cell differentiation and proliferation. The aboveground tissues of plants with long dense trichomes (LDTs) can cause skin itching in people working in a zucchini field, in which management, pollination, and fruit harvesting are difficult. In this study, an F2 population was constructed with the LDT inbred line "16" and the sparse micro trichome (SMT) inbred line "63" for QTL analysis of type I and II trichome density. Two QTLs were identified on chromosomes 3 and 15 using the QTL-seq method. Additionally, 191 InDel markers were developed on 20 chromosomes, a genetic map was constructed for QTL mapping, and three QTLs were identified on chromosomes 3, 6, and 15. Two QTLs, CpTD3.1 and CpTD15.1, were identified in both QTL-seq and genetic map-based QTL analyses, and CpTD15.1 was the major-effect QTL. The stability of CpTD3.1 and CpTD15.1 was confirmed using data from F2 plants under different environmental conditions. The major-effect QTL CpTD15.1 was located between markers chr15-4991349 and chr15-5766791, with a physical distance of 775.44 kb, and explained 12.71%–29.37% of the phenotypic variation observed in the three environments. CpTD3.1 was located between markers chr3-218350 and chr3-2891236, in a region with a physical distance of 2,672.89 kb, and explained 5.00%–10.64% of the phenotypic variation observed in the three environments. The functional annotations of the genes within the CpTD15.1 region were predicted, and five genes encoding transcription factors regulating trichome development were selected. Cp4.1LG15g04400 encoded zinc finger protein (ZFP) and harbored nonsynonymous SNPs in the conserved ring finger domain between the two parental lines. There were significant differences in Cp4.1LG15g04400 expression between "16" and "63", and a similar pattern was found between germplasm resources of LDT lines and SMT lines. It was presumed that Cp4.1LG15g04400 might regulate trichome density in zucchini. These results lay a foundation for better understanding the density of multicellular nonglandular trichomes and the regulatory mechanism of trichome density in zucchini.


Dry powder inhalers (DPI), used as a means for pulmonary drug delivery, typically contain a combination of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and significantly larger carrier particles. The microsized drug particles—which have a strong propensity to aggregate and poor aerosolization performance—are mixed with significantly large carrier particles that cannot penetrate the mouth-throat region to deagglomerate and entrain the smaller API particles in the inhaled airflow. Therefore, a DPI's performance depends on the carrier-API combination particles' entrainment and the time and thoroughness of the individual API particles' deagglomeration from the carrier particles. Since DPI particle transport is significantly affected by particle-particle interactions, particle sizes and shapes present significant challenges to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelers to model regional lung deposition from a DPI. We employed the Particle-In-Cell method for studying the transport/deposition and the agglomeration and deagglomeration for DPI carrier and API particles in the present work. The proposed development will leverage CFD-PIC and sensitivity analysis capabilities from the Department of Energy laboratories: Multiphase Flow Interface Flow Exchange and Dakota UQ software. A data-driven framework is used to obtain the reliable low order statics of the particle's residence time in the inhaler. The framework is further used to study the effect of drug particle density, carrier particle density and size, fluidizing agent density and velocity, and some numerical parameters on the particles' residence time in the inhaler.


Abstract Top- and sub-soil (0–15; 15–100 cm) samples were collected from nine acid soil series of Ultisols and Oxisols from high rainfall areas, Southeast Coastal region of Thailand. Most of them had low soil pH in water (pH < 5.0), and had high exchangeable acidity. Their available phosphorus (<20 mg PBrayII kg–1), CEC (⩽17 cmol kg-1) and exchangeable Ca (⩽3.0 cmol kg-1) were low. Their phosphorus sorption maximum (Smax) varied greatly depending on the type of soil parent material. The soils were incubated from 0 to 112 days with three Thai phosphate rocks (PR), which differed in the type of phosphate mineral present. Finely ground Ratchaburi-PR (Rat-PR) (hydroxyapatite), Kanchanaburi-PR (Kan-PR) (hydroxyapatite and crandallite), and Roi-Et-PR (Roi-PR) (variscite and crandallite) were mixed through the soils. A reference North Carolina-PR (NCR-PR) (francolite) and monocalcium phosphate (MCP) were included in the incubation. Dissolution of phosphate in the PR in 2% formic acid, 2% citric acid, and neutral ammonium citrate was NCR-PR > Rat-PR > Kan-PR > Roi-PR. Increases in bicarbonate-extractable P (&Dgr;PBC) in soil incubated with PR and MCP were highest at 14 days. Stepwise regression indicated that there was no single soil property that adequately predicted the increases in extractable P (&Dgr;PBC) because of addition of PR and MCP. Soil properties that were most closely and positively related to &Dgr;PBC were the ability of soils to provide hydrogen ions for PR dissolution and the initial amount of available P in the soils.


With a new method based on the notion of genetic algorithm and the explicit enumeration of orders, we prove that all orders on at most 10 elements are circle orders. This theorem represents the best partial result on Sidney-Sidney-Urrutia Conjecture.


Objectives The need for palliative care is constantly growing worldwide. Palliative care is typically provided by a multidisciplinary team in community-based facilities. As part of this team, physiotherapists can effectively address prevalent symptoms, such as pain, breathing difficulties and reduced functional capacity. A few studies reported low physiotherapy services' utilisation by people who require palliative care. Israel was rated among countries having the highest level of palliative care integration in the array of basic medical services in a global survey. This study's purpose was to explore, for the first time, the scope of palliative physiotherapy treatments that home dwelling people receive in Israel. Methods A retrospective chart review of people who had been referred to home hospice care during the year 2019. Results A total of 1587 people were included in this study, of which only 34.7% received community-based physiotherapy treatments during the last 6 months of their lives. People treated by palliative physiotherapy usually received a short intervention of 1–3 treatments, with an average of 5.37 treatments. No differences were found regarding age, gender and geographical location in relation to metropolitan area between people who had received such treatments and people who had not. A high socioeconomic place of residence rating and the presence of chronic life-limiting illness or progressive neurological disorder significantly predicted the possibility of receiving physiotherapy treatments. Conclusions Future studies should explore the inhibiting and promoting factors for receiving palliative physiotherapy treatments, focusing on persons' comorbidities and their sociodemographic characteristics.


Many parameters treated as constants in traditional physiologically based pharmacokinetic models must be formulated as time-varying quantities when modeling pregnancy and gestation due to the dramatic physiological and anatomical changes that occur during this period. While several collections of empirical models for such parameters have been published, each has shortcomings. We sought to create a repository of empirical models for tissue volumes, blood flow rates, and other quantities that undergo substantial changes in a human mother and her fetus during the time between conception and birth, and to address deficiencies with similar, previously published repositories. We used maximum likelihood estimation to calibrate various models for the time-varying quantities of interest, and then used the Akaike information criterion to select an optimal model for each quantity. For quantities of interest for which time-course data were not available, we constructed composite models using percentages and/or models describing related quantities. In this way, we developed a comprehensive collection of formulae describing parameters essential for constructing a PBPK model of a human mother and her fetus throughout the approximately 40 weeks of pregnancy and gestation. We included models describing blood flow rates through various fetal blood routes that have no counterparts in adults. Our repository of mathematical models for anatomical and physiological quantities of interest provides a basis for PBPK models of human pregnancy and gestation, and as such, it can ultimately be used to support decision-making with respect to optimal pharmacological dosing and risk assessment for pregnant women and their developing fetuses. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. AUTHOR SUMMARY Physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling is a well-known technique for making predictions about internal time-course concentrations of a substance that has entered an organism. This tool is widely used in both pharmaceutical research and human health risk assessment because it harnesses one of the fundamental tenets of both pharmacology and toxicology: it is the concentrations of an active chemical that reach internal target tissues, rather than externally applied "doses", that govern the extent of the response (whether beneficial or adverse). Constructing physiologically based pharmacokinetic models for pregnancy and gestation presents a considerable challenge because many of the required parameters (such as blood flow rates or tissue volumes) that are typically assumed to be constant in adult models or short-duration simulations cannot be assumed to be constant when modeling pregnancy. Here we present models, stated as functions of gestational age, for anatomical and physiological changes that occur in a human mother and fetus during pregnancy and gestation. We evaluated and selected models by applying a consistent statistical technique, and where possible, we compared results produced by our models to those produced by previously-published models. The collection of pregnancy parameter models presented here represents the most comprehensive such collection to date.


Background Accero is an innovative, fully visible, self-expanding braided stent with platinum–nitinol composite wire technology, produced by Acandis. Objective To assess the technical success and safety of this new stent by evaluating the intraprocedural behavior and complication rate, and the short-term follow-up results. Methods Forty-one consecutive patients suitable for stent-assisted coiling were selected for the use of Accero in an 11-month period. Clinical, procedural, and angiographic data, as well as 30-day morbidity, were recorded. The angiographic results, clinical follow-up at 30 days, and early imaging follow-up at 3 or 6 months were analyzed, when available. Results Forty-one aneurysms were treated with stent-assisted coiling. All cases were elective, of which 19 were previously untreated aneurysms and 22 were recurrent aneurysms. Aneurysm location was anterior communicating artery complex (16), basilar (12 cases), middle cerebral artery bifurcation (9 cases), and internal cerebral artery (4 cases). The stent was successfully deployed and aneurysm occlusion with coils achieved in 100% of our patients. One case of on table in-stent thrombosis occurred, which resolved after administration of glycoprotein IIB/IIIA inhibitor, with no clinical consequence, and one case of postoperative hematoma at the arteriotomy site, which was managed conservatively. On early follow-up, available for 37 patients, the complete occlusion rate was 76%, with only two recurrences needing further treatment. Satisfactory aneurysm occlusion was therefore achieved in 95% of cases. Conclusion Stent-assisted coiling with the Accero braided stent proved safe and effective.


Based on a case operated in our clinic the paper discusses the various applications of robotic surgery in the surgical treatment of the hepatic hydatid cyst. We present the case of a 29year-old patient who presented to our clinic with chronic abdominal pain (8 months) localized in the right upper quadrant, without irradiation and showing no other accompanying phenomena. The patient was hospitalized and after clinical and laboratory investigations we confirmed the diagnosis of hepatic multilocular hydatid cyst located in the V, VI and VIII segments. Surgery was performed under general anesthesia and with the help of the STANDARD da Vinci robotic system equipped with four arms. The parasite was intactivated, a partial pericystectomy was done and the remaining cavity was drained. The patient's postoperative evolution was favorable and she was discharged in the 8th postoperative day. The 8 month follow-up showed no complications or pathological changes. In conclusion, robotic surgery can be successfully used in the treatment of the hepatic hydatid cyst.


Introduction Induction of hyperammonaemia from glutaminase action in the small intestine1 or systemic catabolism of oral amino acids23 is well recognised but, although suggested in 1959 by Walser and Bodenlos,4 ureolysis resulting in hyperammonaemia has not been demonstrated from urea delivered to the colon. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is now thought to be caused by cerebral oedema. Aim We hypothesised that if hyperammonia is a key factor in hepatic encephalopathy, induced hyperammonaemia from oral amino acid or urea challenge would lead to transient changes in brain water distribution and metabolite concentration. Method Amino acid (mixture of equal parts of glycine, serine and threonine) or urea challenges were undertaken in 18 patients with stable cirrhosis 5 of whom gave a history of hepatic encephalopathy. Sequentail blood ammonia concentration was determined with the ammonia checker and brain water and metabolites with magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging and spectroscopy. Results Oral urea and amino acids (delivered to the colon by coating) resulted in peak increments in blood ammonia of 146±SD 164 and 55±51 μmol/l while for uncoated amino acids the mean increment was 58 (±41) μmol/l. The latter was accompanied by a significant increase in ADC of 9% (p=0.004). Increased ADC was significantly correlated with blood ammonia (r=0.58, p=0.04). The change in ammonia levels also correlated with the increase in glutamine levels (r=0.78, p=0.002). Myo -inositol concentration decreased significantly by 0.7 (±0.7) mMol/l between scans and this correlated with the mean difference in ADC (r=0.59, p Conclusion These results show that hyperammonia can be derived from nitrogenous substrates in the colon and can directly drive changes in brain water distribution as a mechanism for cerebral oedema development. Since cerebral astrocytes contain glutamine synthetase, our MRS data suggests intracerebral formation of glutamine from ammonia. Developments in therapy for hepatic encephalopathy need to focus on amelioration of colonic ammonia formation.


Endoscopic treatment (ET) of vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) is becoming the new gold standard for surgical correction. ET for VUR using newly available bulking agents is a reliable and safe alternative procedure to open ureteral reimplantation for the treatment of VUR in children. We retrospectively reviewed our experience over 10 years of patients with primary VUR who underwent ET and had at least one year of follow-up at our center from 1998 to 2008. We looked at laterality, success rate, need for a second procedure and complication rate. We observed 321 patients with ET for VUR during this period; 115 (35.8%) of them were males and the total intervened ureters were 480. Correction of VUR was defined as either the resolution of reflux or a downgrading to grade 1 revealed with a follow-up voiding cystourethrogram and no ipsilateral renal or ureteric dilatation detected on renal ultrasound. At two to three months of follow-up, VUR was corrected in 393/480 (81.8%) refluxing ureters after a single endoscopic injection. With a second, repeated injection in the failed cases, VUR was corrected in a total of 418 (87.1%) refluxing ureters. Only three patients had post-operative complications (<1%). We conclude that our study suggests that the majority of patients will be cured after undergoing, as out-patients, this endoscopic procedure. We believe that the widely reported safety of bulking agents and the short learning curve will make ET the standard treatment for VUR once surgical correction is warranted.


Dopamine receptors are responsible for diverse effects within and outside the central nervous system. The five dopamine receptors that have been cloned (D1A, D1B also known as D5, D2, D3, and D4) belong to two major families; the D1 like and D2 like dopamine receptors. The D1 like receptors are linked to the stimulation while D1 like receptors are linked to the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. The physiologic role of the dopamine receptors has been difficult to decipher because several of the subtypes co-exist in the same tissue. However, studies of receptors artificially expressed using transfected cDNA have revealed some of the biochemical mechanisms unique to each dopamine receptor subtype.


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to measure the factors affecting the performance of employee by discussing impact of employee empowerment on job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: Being descriptive study, survey method was adopted for data collection to find out the factors.The methodology comprised research design, Target population for the study, sampling techniques, sampling Method, sample size determination etc. Data was analyzed by using Cronbach?s Alpha, correlation and regression in SPSS software. Findings: The independent variable empowerment was weakly moderate correlated with dependent variable job satisfaction.Hence it is concluded that employee empowerment has a positive impact on the job satisfaction. Originality/value – The paper reveals there exist relationship between the performance of employee and factors affecting in employee performance in Bahawalpur . Keywords: Performance of employee, job satisfaction, training, empowerment. Paper type: Research paper


Background Evaluating urinary uric acid excretion (UUE) has important clinical utilities [1]; however, 24-h urine collection is usually required and this is both cumbersome and prone to sampling errors. Several simplified methods of evaluating UUE have been proposed, such as the urine uric acid (UA) to creatinine concentration ratio (Uu/Ucr), but correlations between these and the 24-h measured UUE (mUUE) have not been ideal [1-3]. Objectives To develop an equation that can reliably estimate UUE, providing a better tool to identify uric acid overexcretors. Methods Based on the fact that the ratio of urinary excretion of UA to creatinine equals to the Uu/Ucr ratio, and using the Cockcroft-Gault equation to estimate creatinine clearance [4], the following equation can be derived to calculate estimated UUE (eUUE): eUUE (mg/24 hr) = (140-age) x body weight (kg) x [0.85 if female] x Uu/Ucr x 0.2 To validate the equation, we analyzed the data from 6 different phase I studies consisting of 194 healthy volunteers and 38 gout patients. The urine samples were collected in the clinic during the 24-h period prior to the administration of experimental drugs, and the samples were collected in 3 time blocks: 0-6, 6-12, and 12-24 h. Results The Uu/Ucr ratio and the eUUE using our equation were calculated on urine samples from all 3 time blocks, and they were correlated to the 24-h mUUE. The graph/table show the results for calculations based on the urine samples from the 12- to 24-h period. The Pearson's correlation coefficients for the eUUE vs the 24-h mUUE were all markedly higher compared with those for the Uu/Ucr ratio vs the 24-h mUUE, with associated 95% CI that were either non-overlapping for healthy subjects and the combined sample, or barely overlapping in the sample of gouty subjects where the sample size was small. Similar advantages for the eUUE over the Uu/Ucr ratio were also observed when the calculations of eUUE and the Uu/Ucr ratio were based on the 0-6 and 6-12 h urine samples (data not shown). Conclusions This novel equation for estimating 24-h UUE includes age, body weight, and gender, which are factors correlated with muscle mass [5], therefore providing corrections for differences in urinary creatinine excretions among individuals. As a result, the 24-h eUUE correlates better with the 24-h mUUE than the Uu/Ucr ratio does. By using this equation, treating physicians could relatively easily assess whether a patient is an overexcretor of uric acid without the need for a 24-h urine collection. This allows for better management of gout patients and subjects with hyperuricemia. Additional clinical studies are underway to further validate the equation. References Simkin PA. J Rheumatol 2001; 28:1207-10. Wortmann RL, Fox IH. Ann Intern Med 1980; 93:822-5. Moriwaki Y, et al. J Rheumatol 2001; 28:1306-10. Cockcroft DW, et al. Nephron 1976; 16: 31-41. Gault MH, et al. Nephron 1992; 62:249-56. Acknowledgements Research sponsored by Ardea Biosciences/AstraZeneca. Disclosure of Interest S. Liu Employee of: Ardea Biosciences, Inc, D. Hyndman Employee of: Ardea Biosciences, Inc, M. Cravets Employee of: Ardea Biosciences, Inc, J. Miner Employee of: Ardea Biosciences, Inc DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.4351


ABSTRACT This paper was presented as the Keynote Speech at the 1999 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Children's Residential Centers in Portland, Oregon. In this paper, a number of contemporary challenges in the field of residential care are described. These include the requirements of collaborative work, confronting public policy criticisms of residential care, effective work with task groups, and working with professional staff members. The challenges also include the development of a supportive business climate, finding effective ways to work with other agencies, boards, staffs, and providing leadership.


Today several tasks in applications ranging from biology and medicine to microsystems technology demand for high-precision handling techniques. Transport and manipulation of biological cells or assembly of micromechanical parts are important applications for microrobots. A lot of these tasks have to be carried out by humans, but the manual capabilities are restricted to certain tolerances. So manual operation imposes severe restrictions on high quality production because of drastically miniaturised mechanical systems. In the last five years, researchers have developed new micromanipulation systems for applications in industry, biology or medicine. All of them work as telemanipulation systems and the robot, with miniaturised end effectors, is directly operated by the user. The aim of this work-in-progress manuscript is to present the state of our work in the micromanipulation control of a micro gripper. Due to the high resolution restrictions, this micro gripper is based in piezoceramic material and the control system is performed using fuzzy logic techniques.


Patient-centered communication, defined as providing clear, understandable information with active patient participation, can be especially challenging in the return of germline sequencing results for cancer patients. In this session, Dr. Plon will review some of the recently developed projects that involve performing whole exome or genome sequencing of pediatric and adult cancer patients including the return of germline results to patients/families as part of the study design. Several trials are well underway through the NHGRI Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research Consortium including the Baylor College of Medicine Advancing Sequencing in Childhood Cancer Care (BASIC3) study which examines the clinical utility of tumor and germline WES in the setting of solid tumor (both CNS and non-CNS pediatric oncology patients). Issues that investigators need to consider which will be discussed include: (1) consenting patients/parents to clinical genomics, (2) the range of pathogenic mutations related to the patient9s phenotype being returned, (3) how to handle variants of uncertain significance in cancer genes, (4) how to approach the return of incidental findings, (5) planning for the possibility of patient demise prior to return of results and (5) what forms of validation are being used prior to returning results including the issue of the potential for inferring germline results in tests that are designed to be "tumor only". Dr. Plon will provide their experience with disclosure of germline whole exome sequencing results to parents of recently diagnosed childhood cancer patients in the BASIC3 study. The WES are disclosed to families by the patient9s pediatric oncologist and one of two study genetic counselors. The disclosure visits (over 150 to date) are audio-recorded, transcribed and the text analyzed by Dr. Richard Street and his team using previously validated methodologies. The transcripts are analyzed for both the number of statements made by practitioners and families as well as more detailed analysis of disclosures with clinically important findings. The primary findings were: (a) the oncologists from this single large childhood cancer center varied greatly in how they utilized the genetic counselors during the encounters for discussion of both tumor and germline findings (b) genetic counselors made more recommendations based on the WES findings than did oncologists; (c) clinicians engaged in more partnership-building and supportive talk after they gained more experience presenting WES reports; and (e) checking for parent understanding was infrequent. Through this analysis we have developed a more streamlined format for disclosure which is generalizable to other germline findings and will be discussed in the session including: (1) there is substantial interest from families in obtaining germline findings when embarking on tumor sequencing, (2) families are less concerned about separating tumor and germline findings - their primary emphasis is on those genomic findings that result in specific actions for the patient or family members and (3) discussion of the more technical but less clinically relevant findings such as variants of uncertain significance can be minimized in disclosing genomic results. Supported by NHGRI/NCI 1U01HG006485. Citation Format: Sharon E. Plon. Returning germline results to cancer patients. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr ED02-04.


6Li and (13)C NMR spectroscopic studies were carried out on [(6)Li]n-BuLi and [(6)Li]PhLi (RLi) in toluene-d(8) containing the following diamines: N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA), N,N,N',N'-tetraethylethylenediamine, 1,2-dipyrrolidinoethane, 1,2-dipiperidinoethane, N,N,N',N'-tetramethylpropanediamine, trans-(R,R)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethylcyclohexanediamine, and (-)-sparteine. Dimers of general structure (RLi)(2)S(2) (S = chelating diamine) are formed in each case. Treatment of RLi with two different diamines (S and S') affords homosolvates (RLi)(2)S(2) and (RLi)(2)S'(2) along with a heterosolvate (RLi)(2)SS'. Relative binding constants and associated free energies for the sequential solvent substitutions are obtained by competing pairs of diamines. The high relative stabilities of certain heterosolvates indicate that solvent binding to the RLi dimer can be highly correlated. Rate studies of both the 1,2-addition of RLi/TMEDA to the N-isopropylimine of cyclohexane carboxaldehyde and the RLi/TMEDA-mediated alpha-lithiation of the N-isopropylimine of cyclohexanone reveal monomer-based transition structures, [(RLi)(TMEDA)(imine)], in all cases. The complex relationships of solvent binding constants and relative reactivities toward 1,2-additions and alpha-lithiations are discussed.


In this paper, we are concerned with the existence of traveling waves in a class of delayed higher dimensional lattice differential systems with competitive interactions. Due to the lack of quasimonotonicity for reaction terms, we use the cross iterative and Schauder's fixed-point theorem to prove the existence of traveling wave solutions. We apply our results to delayed higher-dimensional lattice reaction-diffusion competitive system.


Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is faced as an opportunity for Brand Equity and there are many companies which invest a considerable percentage of their budget on different CSR activities in order to enhance their image. A very popular CSR strategy is Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) according to which the profit-making companies form strategic partnerships with non-profit organizations for mutual benefits. One of the most dynamic corporations in Cyprus in terms of CSR as well as CRM strategies is the Bank of Cyprus which has build a strong partnership with the Cyprus Anti-Cancer Society. In this paper, the research findings of a survey among 75 customers of the Bank are presented, indicating the positive effects of the Bank's Cause Related Marketing strategy on the most important market stakeholders of the Bank; its customers.


Simple Summary: Canine and human co-evolution have disclosed remarkable morphological plasticity in dogs. Brachycephalic dog breeds are increasing in popularity, despite them suffering from well-documented conformation-related health problems. This has implications for the veterinary caseloads of the future. Whether the recent selection of dogs with progressively shorter and wider skulls has reached physiological limits is controversial. The health problems and short life expectancies of dogs with extremely short skulls suggests that we may have even exceeded these limits. Veterinarians have a professional and moral obligation to prevent and minimise the negative health and welfare impacts of extreme morphology and inherited disorders, and they must address brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS) not only at the level of the patient, but also as a systemic welfare problem. Abstract: This article, written by veterinarians whose caseloads include brachycephalic dogs, argues that there is now widespread evidence documenting a link between extreme brachycephalic phenotypes and chronic disease, which compromises canine welfare. This paper is divided into nine sections exploring the breadth of the impact of brachycephaly on the incidence of disease, as indicated by pet insurance claims data from an Australian pet insurance provider, the stabilization of respiratory distress associated with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS), challenges associated with sedation and the anaesthesia of patients with BOAS; effects of brachycephaly on the brain and associated neurological conditions, dermatological conditions associated with brachycephalic breeds, and other conditions, including ophthalmic and orthopedic conditions, and behavioural consequences of brachycephaly. In the light of this information, we discuss the ethical challenges that are associated with brachycephalic breeds, and the role of the veterinarian. In summary, dogs with BOAS do not enjoy freedom from discomfort, nor freedom from pain, injury, and disease, and they do not enjoy the freedom to express normal behaviour. According to both deontological and utilitarian ethical frameworks, the breeding of dogs with BOAS cannot be justified, and further, cannot be recommended, and indeed, should be discouraged by veterinarians.


Abstract The problem of the motion induced by a sinusoidal thermal wave propagating in a horizontal layer of fluid is investigated in the limit of small Prandtl number. An exact solution of the nonlinear equations is derived in a special case. The mean flow corresponding to this particular solution is vanishing for all values of the wavenumber, the phase speed, and the amplitude of the wave. More general solutions with non-vanishing mean flow are obtained by a perturbation approach based on the exact solution. In addition it is found that mean flows of either sign occur in the form of an instability, even in the case when the temperature field is stationary.


General aspects of the Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of long-line and spear fishermen on seven fish species of the Serranidae family (habitat use, maximum size and popular names) and on the main marine environmental changes were investigated in Babitonga Bay, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. In general, LEK on fishes corroborates the ichthyology literature, bringing original information in a local scale. Neighbor fishermen communities can develop different local species nomenclature and different LEK for fishery resources at the same area. We have verified that the fishing ban legislation on Epinephelus itajara in Brazil does not consider local species denominations, turning impossible its interpretation by local fishermen and generating conflicts on the law's applicability. The main environmental changes registered were: decreasing abundance of fishery resources in general (and in particular that of the "Parambiju" (Cobia) Rachycentron canadum ), and the effects of the anthropogenic interruption of the "Linguado Channel" on the hydrological and sedimentological characteristics of the Babitonga Bay (channel-bed shallowing and increased water turbidity).


This report describes a simplified suprathreshold tone decay test procedure (STAT). The sustained test signal is presented for 60 seconds at 110 dB sound pressure level. The patient is asked to respond as long as he hears the sound. If the patient responds for the full 60-second test period, the result is negative. If, however, he fails to respond for the full 60 seconds, the result is considered positive for eighth-nerve site. Clinical experience with the new test procedure suggests that it minimizes false alarms without sacrificing accuracy of identification of eighth-nerve site.


In this article, with some methodological dilemmas, an attempt is made to speak more clearly from a certain historical perspective about the current Serbian and Croatian political conceptions towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, which "produce" an almost permanent political crisis in this area - from Dayton to today. The continuity and current effects of these policies, which have their roots in some dark historical depths and myths, never changing their essence and their goals, were pointed out. In the current Serbian and Croatian political conceptions, Bosnia and Herzegovina is treated as a "sphere of interest", which should be mastered as much as possible in peace, if it did not succeed in the war. Serbia and Croatia, in the historical sense, since they have existed as political entities, have been opposed to each other in almost everything. The only thing on which there was a high degree of agreement was the question of the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina, again depending on historical circumstances and other circumstances. (to mention only Tudjman and Milosevic). In the last few years, intensive cooperation and a high degree of "agreement" between Serbian and Croatian politics have been noticed, again "regarding" Bosnia and Herzegovina, its status and the definitive post-Dayton division. In this sense, it is not difficult to recognize several common characteristics of both policies. In this article, the author focuses on the following: the first is a declarative and formal public declaration of both to respect the integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while in practical politics this sovereignty is continuously violated and "trampled", acting as its "rulers". . Another common feature is the belittling and labeling of all pro-Bosnian political forces, reducing them to "political Sarajevo" in the pejorative sense of the word, with multiple offensive and deeper meanings, which, in addition to Milorad Dodik (to make the absurd even greater, as president or member of the Presidency of BiH) from the Serbian one, Zoran Milanović, the current president of Croatia, until yesterday a declared friend of Bosnia and the pro-Bosnian SDP, is increasingly expressing himself in his own way. Obstruction of the process of reforms and rapprochement of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the European Union and NATO membership is the third session of the characteristics of Serbian and Croatian politics (albeit in different versions), while the fourth, denial of decisions and verdicts of the Hague Tribunal for crimes and atrocities is dominant over Bosniaks (again in a different version): Serbs deny genocide verdicts, and Croats deny convictions for the Joint Criminal Enterprise. In addition to common characteristics, this paper highlights some special features of the current Serbian and Croatian policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, again, boils down to one goal: to strengthen (make independent) the Republika Srpska and cantons with a Croat majority, as well as the position of Croats in Federation with the aim of forming a third entity and at the same time weaken the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina until the question of the meaning of its existence is raised. The state's inability to organize the procurement of coronavirus vaccines is just one of the latest proofs that these destructive political forces have succeeded to a great extent. This article points out the consequences of such a policy and emphasizes the need to stop further degradation and collapse of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state. Such forces exist, they just have to be activated.


Historically, women sports journalists encounter frequent instances of objectification, harassment, and discrimination from sources, colleagues, and higher ups (Hardin & Shain, 2005), and women in the current sports journalism industry remain greatly outnumbered compared to their counterparts who are men (Lapchick et al., 2021). This study examines the challenges new women sports journalists face during their first few years in the sports journalism industry in a current, postfeminist context utilizing Joan Acker's theory of gendered organizations to analyze gendered practices within the field. Challenges experienced by new women sports journalists found in this research suggest ongoing explicit and implicit genderbased harassment, discrimination, and obstacles to their professional endeavors; however, these challenges do not always persist in the same form as those seen by women in the past and are more indicative of a current, postfeminist sports journalism field. The positive professional experiences of new women sports journalists indicate growing acceptance of the presence and upward mobility of women in sports journalism, as well as the breaking down of previous traditional assumptions of male superiority and female inferiority within the industry.


An appropriately contoured lumbar support is widely regarded as an essential component of a comforatble auto seat. A frequently stated objective for a lumbar support is to maintain the sitter's lumbar spine in a slightly extended, or lordotic, posture. Although sitters have been observed to sit with substantial lordosis in some short-duration testing, long-term postural interaction with a lumbar support has not been documented quantitatively in the automotive environment. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate driver posture with three seatback contours. Subjects from four anthropometric groups operated an interactive laboratory driving simulator for one-hour trials. Posture data were collected by means of a sonic digitizing system. The data identify driver-selected postures over time for three lumbar support contours. An increase of 25 mm in the lumbar support prominence from a flat contour did not substantially change lumbar spine posture. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 875189.


BACKGROUND
Critical access hospitals (CAHs) play an important role in providing access to care for many patients in rural communities. Prior studies have shown that these facilities are able to provide timely and quality care for patients who undergo various elective and emergency general surgical procedures. However, little is known about the quality and reimbursement of surgical care for patients undergoing surgery for hip fractures at CAHs compared with non-CAH facilities.

QUESTIONS/PURPOSES
Are there any differences in 90-day complications, readmissions, mortality, and Medicare payments between patients undergoing surgery for hip fractures at CAHs and those undergoing surgery at non-CAHs?

METHODS
The 2005 to 2014 Medicare 100% Standard Analytical Files were queried using ICD-9 procedure codes to identify Medicare-eligible beneficiaries undergoing open reduction and internal fixation (79.15, 79.35, and 78.55), hemiarthroplasty (81.52), and THA (81.51) for isolated closed hip fractures. This database was selected because the claims capture inpatient diagnoses, procedures, charged amounts and paid claims, as well as hospital-level information of the care, of Medicare patients across the nation. Patients with concurrent fixation of an upper extremity, lower extremity, and/or polytrauma were excluded from the study to ensure an isolated cohort of hip fractures was captured. The study cohort was divided into two groups based on where the surgery took place: CAHs and non-CAHs. A 1:1 propensity score match, adjusting for baseline demographics (age, gender, Census Bureau-designated region, and Elixhauser comorbidity index), clinical characteristics (fixation type and time to surgery), and hospital characteristics (whether the hospital was located in a rural ZIP code, the average annual procedure volume of the operating facility, hospital bed size, hospital ownership and teaching status), was used to control for the presence of baseline differences in patients presenting at CAHs and those presenting at non-CAHs. A total of 1,467,482 patients with hip fractures were included, 29,058 of whom underwent surgery in a CAH. After propensity score matching, each cohort (CAH and non-CAH) contained 29,058 patients. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess for differences in 90-day complications, readmissions, and mortality between the two matched cohorts. As funding policies of CAHs are regulated by Medicare, an evaluation of costs-of-care (by using Medicare payments as a proxy) was conducted. Generalized linear regression modeling was used to assess the 90-day Medicare payments among patients undergoing surgery in a CAH, while controlling for differences in baseline demographics and clinical characteristics.

RESULTS
Patients undergoing surgery for hip fractures were less likely to experience many serious complications at a critical access hospital (CAH) than at a non-CAH. In particular, after controlling for patient demographics, hospital-level factors and procedural characteristics, patients treated at a CAH were less likely to experience: myocardial infarction (3% (916 of 29,058) versus 4% (1126 of 29,058); OR 0.80 [95% CI 0.74 to 0.88]; p < 0.001), sepsis (3% (765 of 29,058) versus 4% (1084 of 29,058); OR 0.69 [95% CI 0.63 to 0.78]; p < 0.001), acute renal failure (6% (1605 of 29,058) versus 8% (2353 of 29,058); OR 0.65 [95% CI 0.61 to 0.69]; p < 0.001), and Clostridium difficile infections (1% (367 of 29,058) versus 2% (473 of 29,058); OR 0.77 [95% CI 0.67 to 0.88]; p < 0.001) than undergoing surgery in a non-CAH. CAHs also had lower rates of all-cause 90-day readmissions (18% (5133 of 29,058) versus 20% (5931 of 29,058); OR 0.83 [95% CI 0.79 to 0.86]; p < 0.001) and 90-day mortality (4% (1273 of 29,058) versus 5% (1437 of 29,058); OR 0.88 [95% CI 0.82 to 0.95]; p = 0.001) than non-CAHs. Further, CAHs also had risk-adjusted lower 90-day Medicare payments than non-CAHs (USD 800, standard error 89; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Patients who received hip fracture surgical care at CAHs had a lower risk of major medical and surgical complications than those who had surgery at non-CAHs, even though Medicare reimbursements were lower as well. Although there may be some degree of patient selection at CAHs, these facilities appear to provide high-value care to rural communities. These findings provide evidence for policymakers evaluating the impact of the CAH program and allocating funding resources, as well as for community members seeking emergent care at local CAH facilities.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level III, therapeutic study.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 18-22, 2009; Denver, CO

B7-H3 has been known as an immunoregulatory protein with both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on the activation of T-cells. However, the finding that the protein is expressed in cell lines and tissue samples from a wide range of tumor types indicated that it is a tumor associated antigen. With our focus on malignant melanoma, we have studied the biological function of B7-H3 in melanoma cell lines and its expression in tissue samples from melanoma patients. We have recently reported that the B7-H3 protein has a potential role in the metastatic process based on our preclinical findings that knock down of B7-H3 in melanoma cells resulted in a significant inhibition of cell migration and invasion, and in parallel the expression of IL-8 and MMP-9 was significantly reduced. As IL-8 expression induces MMP-9 expression which is involved in extracellular matrix degradation, this suggests that B7-H3 might play a role in metastasis through interaction with IL-8 and MMP-9. Previously, correlations have been reported between high B7-H3 expression and lymph node metastasis and tumor infiltration in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and gastric cancer, but the effects were ascribed to the putative immunoregulatory function of B7-H3. We have evaluated by IHC the expression in tissue samples from patients with different stages of malignant melanoma as well in benign nevi. Notably, strong membrane as well cystoplasmic staining was seen in the melanomas, with variation in intensity and intratumoral distribution. In benign nevi, the staining was more faint and with areas lacking expression. The results will be correlated to clinical data on progression. Furthermore, as malignant melanoma is known as an extremely chemoresistant tumor type, we examined the effect of dacarbazine (first line treatment of malignant melanoma) in melanoma cell lines with reduced B7-H3. Our results show that compared to non-transfected cells different melanoma cell lines were more sensitive to dacarbazine when the expression of B7-H3 was reduced by the use of siRNA. Mechanistic studies aiming at elucidating the molecular events implicated in the increased sensitivity have so far indicated that the activating transcription factor 2 (ATF-2) is involved. ATF-2 is known to be up-regulated in late stage melanoma where it is associated with chemoresistance, and in accordance with this we see a decreased phosphorylation of ATF-2 in the B7-H3 knock down cells. Furthermore, we observe that the expression level of Fas/FasL, the primary death-signaling cascade in late-stage melanoma and which reduced expression is involved in the development of chemoresistance, was restored in B7-H3 knock down cells. The alterations in ATF-2 and the Fas/FasL system make the cells more susceptible to apoptosis, and may hence explain the increased sensitivity. It is concluded that B7-H3 may prove to be a novel marker of tumor progression and chemosensitivity, and a possible target for new therapeutic strategy.

Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 5557.


The successful application of general reinforcement learning algorithms to real-world robotics applications is often limited by their high data requirements. We introduce Regularized Hierarchical Policy Optimization (RHPO) to improve data-efficiency for domains with multiple dominant tasks and ultimately reduce required platform time. To this end, we employ compositional inductive biases on multiple levels and corresponding mechanisms for sharing off-policy transition data across low-level controllers and tasks as well as scheduling of tasks. The presented algorithm enables stable and fast learning for complex, real-world domains in the parallel multitask and sequential transfer case. We show that the investigated types of hierarchy enable positive transfer while partially mitigating negative interference and evaluate the benefits of additional incentives for efficient, compositional task solutions in single task domains. Finally, we demonstrate substantial data-efficiency and final performance gains over competitive baselines in a week-long, physical robot stacking experiment.


It is now over a year since I began the use of liquid air in the hospitals of New York, and less than a year since I published in the Medical Record a preliminary report of the results obtained by its use up to that time; and I am led to-day to accept your invitation to present this subject to your Section, no less by the pleasant recollections of the last time I appeared before you, than by the many communications I have received since publishing my report, from all parts of the world, demonstrating the lack of knowledge of the public as well as physicians as to what liquid air really is. I have received requests from physicians from nearly all parts of the United States, from Mexico, from Germany and even from New Zealand, asking that a small package be sent and all expense would be paid at


Utilizing micro-computed tomography images, the hierarchical structure, interbranch segment lengths and diameters of a hepatic artery, a portal vein, and two biliary trees from intact rat liver lobes were characterized. The data were investigated by analyzing the geometric properties of the vascular structures, such as how interbranch segment diameters change at bifurcation points. In the case of the hepatic artery and portal vein trees (in which the flow rate is high by comparison with that in the biliary tree), the vascular geometry is consistent with a fluid transport system which aims to simultaneously minimize both the power loss of laminar flow, and a cost function proportional to the total volume of material needed to maintain the system (lumenal contents). In comparison, the biliary tree (which has a low flow rate and an opposite flow direction to that of the hepatic artery and portal vein) was found to have a geometry in which the lumen cross-sectional area is maintained at bifurcations. These findings imply that the histological makeup and therefore the pathophysiology of biliary tree vasculature are likely very different from that of the vasculature within the systemic arterial tree. The extent to which the characteristic variability/scatter in the data may have resulted from imaging and/or measurement errors was examined by simulating such errors in a theoretical tree model and comparing the results with the measured data.


The purpose was to determine whether publications pertaining to adapted physical activity (APA) pedagogy in the core serials from 1988 to 1998 adhere to library science laws. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on 770 articles in 259 serials selected from 4,130 serials initially identified in four databases (Article First, ERIC, Medline, Sport Discus). Results indicated that 1,720 authors have constructed the early APA pedagogy literature. Of these, only 11 contributed four or more articles. The scatter of APA pedagogy literature over four zones, with 4, 15, 64, and 176 journals in the zones, respectively, supports Bradford's law of scattering. Price's law was not supported because most authors contributed only one article. Most pedagogy articles (n = 184) were published in Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, Physician and Sports Medicine, and Palaestra. Graduate education should include exposure to bibliometrics and collaboration with library and information...


Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry as a new possibility for rapid identification of bacteria and fungi revolutionized the clinical microbiological diagnostics. It has an extreme importance in the routine microbiological laboratories, as identification of the pathogenic species rapidly will influence antibiotic selection before the final determination of antibiotic resistance of the isolate. The classical methods for identification of bacteria or fungi, based on biochemical tests, are influenced by many environmental factors. The matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry is a rapid method which is able to identify a great variety of the isolated bacteria and fungi based on the composition of conserved ribosomal proteins. Recently several other applications of the method have also been investigated such as direct identification of pathogens from the positive blood cultures. There are possibilities to identify bacteria from the urine samples in urinary tract infection or from other sterile body fluids. Using selective enrichment broth Salmonella sp from the stool samples can be identified more rapidly, too. The extended spectrum beta-lactamase or carbapenemase production of the isolated bacteria can be also detected by this method helping the antibiotic selection in some cases. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry based methods are suitable to investigate changes in deoxyribonucleic acid or ribonucleic acid, to carry out rapid antibiotic resistance determination or other proteomic analysis. The aim of this paper is to give an overview about present possibilities of using this technique in the clinical microbiological routine procedures.


Using argon as the transporting gas, freestanding macroscopic ZnO strands have been synthesized by evaporating metal zinc pellets at 900 °C in a quartz tube. Scanning electron microscopy images show that the macroscopic ZnO strands are self-twined by ZnO nanowires with a diameter in the range of 20–30 nm. A ZnO strand synthesized under larger argon flux contains more oxygen vacancy, which will result in a stronger green emission at 2.43 eV. Under illumination with a power of 10 W, the photosensitivity of the ZnO strand is found to be about 800 at the bias voltage of 20 V. It is also experimentally demonstrated that the recovery time of the ZnO strand is relatively long due to the dominating surface process.


The anti-tuberculosis Bacille de Calmette et Guérin (BCG) vaccine was developed between 1905 and 1921 at Pasteur Institutes of Lille in France, and was adopted by many countries. BCG strains comprise natural mutants of major virulence factors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and that BCG sub-strains differ markedly in virulence levels. The tuberculosis became endemic in Korea after the Korean War (1950s). The BCG strain, which was donated by Pasteur Institutes, was brought to Korea in 1955, and the first domestic BCG vaccine was produced by the National Defense Research Institute (NDRI), current Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), in 1960. Since 1987, BCG manufacture work was handed over to the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis (KIT), the freeze-dried BCG vaccine was manufactured at a scale required to meet the whole amount of domestic consumption. However, since 2006, the manufacture of BCG vaccine suspended and the whole amount of BCG was imported at this point of time. Now KIT is planning to re-produce the BCG vaccine in Korea under the supervision of KCDC, this will be render great role to National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) and provide initiating step for developing new tuberculosis vaccines in Korea.


457 Background: The human S100 proteins are a calcium-binding protein comprising around 20 sort, at least 16 of these genes included pseudogenes are clustering to chromosome 1q21 , known as the epidermal differentiation complex. We have reported that S100A1 and A10 are expressed in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (Teratani T et al; Cancer Lett 2002, Teratani T, et al; BBRC 2002, Domoto, et al Cancer Sci. 2007). Diminished expression of S100A2 has been reported in some kinds of cancers (ex. lung, breast, prostate), but not reported in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The aim of the present study is to evaluate the expression level S100A2 mRNA in human renal cell carcinoma.

METHODS
Sixty-one patients, pathologically diagnosed for clear cell RCC performed nephrectomy, were used in this study. Genomic DNA and RNA were extracted from RCC part and matched normal part in each patient. First-strand cDNA was synthesized from 2 micrograms RNA using Superscript-2 reverse transcriptase (Invitorgen), and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed using specific primers for S100A2. We also check the CpG methylation in the promoter region of the S100A2 gene using COBRA assay (combined bisulfite restriction analysis).

RESULTS
45 cases (73%) showed decreased S100A2 expression in RCC parts. In53 cases of clear cell RCC, S100A2 expression decreased in fourty-two (79%) cases. In contrast clear cell RCC, 5 cases showed expression S100A2 in non-clear RCC (8cases; 62%), and 2 cases of clear cell RCC in VHL disease patients also had expression of S100A2. 30 cases of clear cell RCC were used in COBRA assay, S100A2 methylation were seen in all cases.

CONCLUSIONS
Diminished expression of S100A2 is frequently shows in RCC, especially clear cell RCC. It suggests that property of clear cell RCC is different from other type of RCC.


With the rapid development of the e-government, citizens could enjoy much more service from e-gov web sites. However, the academic research in the field of assessing e-gov service quality is handful. Developed by A. Paramana et al., E-S-QUAL and E-Recs-QUAL are scales used to evaluate the service quality delivered by B2C web sites. In this article, Basing on E-S-QUAL and E-RecS-QUAL and taking the idiosyncrasies of the service delivered by e-gov web sites into account, scales named E-G-S-QUAL and E-G-RecS-QUAL were developed to evaluate the service quality of e-gov web sites. E-G-S-QUAL is a 22-item scale of four dimensions: efficiency, fulfillment, system availability, and privacy, and E-G-RecS-QUAL is a 10-item scale of three dimensions: responsiveness, compensation, and contact.


Magnetic properties of stage 2 CocNi1-cCl2 graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) for 0<or=c<or=1 have been studied by DC magnetic susceptibility. These compounds can be considered to approximate two-dimensional randomly mixed ferromagnets with XY spin symmetry. As a function of Co concentration c the average effective magnetic moment Peff, and the Curie-Weiss temperature Theta have been determined. The measurements indicate that Co2+ and Ni2+ spins are distributed randomly on triangular lattice sites of each intercalate layer. It is found that the intraplanar exchange interaction J(Co-Ni) between the different spins is larger than that between like spins, J(Co-Co) or J(Ni-Ni):J(Co-Ni):=1.2(J(Co-Co)J(Ni-Ni))12/. As a function of concentration, the susceptibility shows a rounding effect at the magnetic phase transition for a series of compounds with c=0.1, 0.19, 0.35, 0.40, 0.52, 0.63, 0.80 and 1.0. The authors have assumed a Gaussian distribution of transition temperatures to determine the average value of transition temperature (Tc), the distribution of transition temperature sigma and the critical exponent beta . It appears that the critical exponent beta is unchanged for 0.35<or=c<or=1.0: beta =0.09+or-0.01. They obtain for the initial slope of (Tc) versus c at c=0 the value -1.21+or-0.02. The ratio sigma /(Tc) shows a broad peak centred at c=0.5 which is explained here qualitatively by both finite size effect and macroscopic Co concentration gradient within the intercalate layer.


PURPOSE
To evaluate and describe the precautions involved in the technique of intravitreal injection of antiangiogenic drugs adopted by the ophthalmologists who are members of the Brazilian Society of Retina and Vitreous (SBRV).

METHODS
A questionnaire containing 22 questions related to precautions taken before, during, and after intravitreal injection was sent electronically to 920 members of SBRV between November 15, 2013 and April 31, 2014.

RESULTS
352 responses (38%) were obtained. There was a predominance of men (76%) from the southwest region of Brazil (51%). The professional experience varied between 6 and 15 years after medical specialization (50%). Most professionals (76%) performed an average of 1 to 10 intravitreal injections a week, and 88% of the procedures were performed in the operating room using povidone iodine (99%), sterile gloves, and blepharostat (94%). For inducing topical anesthesia, usage of anesthetic eye drops was the most used technique (65%). Ranibizumab (Lucentis®) was the most common drug (55%), and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was the most treated disease (57%). Regarding the complications treated, 6% of the ophthalmologists had treated at least one case of retinal detachment, 20% had treated cases of endophthalmitis, 9% had treated cases of vitreous hemorrhage, and 12% had encountered cases of crystalline lens touch.

CONCLUSION
Intravitreal injection is a procedure routinely performed by retina specialists and has a low incidence of complications. Performing the procedure in the operating room using an aseptic technique was preferred by most of the respondents. Ranibizumab was the most used drug, and AMD was the most treated disease.


While regulatory programs are extensively studied at the level of transcription, elements that are involved in regulation of post-transcriptional processes are largely unknown, and methods for systematic identification of these elements are in early stages. Here, using a novel computational framework, we have integrated sequence information with several functional genomics data sets to characterize conserved regulatory programs of trypanosomatids, a group of eukaryotes that almost entirely rely on post-transcriptional processes for regulation of mRNA abundance. This analysis revealed a complex network of linear and structural RNA elements that potentially govern mRNA abundance across different life stages and environmental conditions. Furthermore, we show that the conserved regulatory network that we have identified is responsive to chemical perturbation of several biological functions in trypanosomatids. We have further characterized one of the most abundant regulatory RNA elements that we discovered, an AU-rich element (ARE) that can be found in 3′ untranslated region of many trypanosomatid genes. Using bioinformatics approaches as well as in vitro and in vivo experiments, we have identified three ELAV-like homologs, including the developmentally critical protein TbRBP6, which regulate abundance of a large number of trypanosomatid ARE-containing transcripts. Together, these studies lay out a roadmap for characterization of mechanisms that modulate development and metabolic pathways in trypanosomatids.


In order to solve the problems of the communication among various metering devices in the traditional wireless meter reading system, Smart Message Language (SML) which is the definition of the German national standard for Automatic Meter Reading System is introduced. In this paper, the Wireless Meter Reading system is developed based on WI-FI, with the monitoring terminal of the hardware platform made up of Marvell 88W8686, the ARM7 processor and peripheral circuits, using μC/OS-¿operating system and LwIP protocol. VC++ and MDB database is used to develop a management software. SML protocol is adopted to design the format of the data frame to create a unified data structure for data procurement. This system archives the function of reading meter data from hardware, data processing and storage. The experiment result proves that this type of data structure improves the transmission efficiency and the performance of the system and is suitable for implementation in low-power embedded systems.


Model calibration and validation are critical in hydrological model robustness assessment. Unfortunately, the commonly used split‐sample test (SST) framework for data splitting requires modelers to make subjective decisions without clear guidelines. This large‐sample SST assessment study empirically assesses how different data splitting methods influence post‐validation model testing period performance, thereby identifying optimal data splitting methods under different conditions. This study investigates the performance of two lumped conceptual hydrological models calibrated and tested in 463 catchments across the United States using 50 different data splitting schemes. These schemes are established regarding the data availability, length and data recentness of continuous calibration sub‐periods (CSPs). A full‐period CSP is also included in the experiment, which skips model validation. The assessment approach is novel in multiple ways including how model building decisions are framed as a decision tree problem and viewing the model building process as a formal testing period classification problem, aiming to accurately predict model success/failure in the testing period. Results span different climate and catchment conditions across a 35‐year period with available data, making conclusions quite generalizable. Calibrating to older data and then validating models on newer data produces inferior model testing period performance in every single analysis conducted and should be avoided. Calibrating to the full available data and skipping model validation entirely is the most robust split‐sample decision. Experimental findings remain consistent no matter how model building factors (i.e., catchments, model types, data availability, and testing periods) are varied. Results strongly support revising the traditional split‐sample approach in hydrological modeling.


Man's relationship with technology dates back many thousands of years. However, it is only relatively recently that scholarly attention has been given to this relationship. Whilst recent conceptualisations of the socio-material or socio-technical have given rise to such metaphors as ensemble, entanglement, and assemblage, these offer limited insight into the dynamic nature of this relationship. The concept of homeostasis offers an alternative perspective focusing upon how stability is achieved, it being assumed that technology exists in a stable relationship with man. This paper examines homeostasis, drawing upon relevant literatures as well as evaluating the case-study of use of a laptop. The findings demonstrate that the notion that homeostasis in terms of homeostatic mechanisms, provide a valid and useful epistemological device to explain the stable nature of relationship between man and (information) technology. Moreover, that homeostasis underpins the resilience of such relationships.


CO2 huff and puff is an effective EOR technology for tight reservoirs. However, the mass transfer between CO2 and oil makes the reservoir fluid phase behavior very complex and affects the reservoir recovery. Through the visual injection experiment, phase equilibrium calculation model and thermodynamic parameter entropy, this paper researches the change characteristics of oil phase behavior during CO2 injection. In this paper the oil phase behavior is divided into four stages and reveal the mechanism of oil phase behavior changes. The results show that in the first stage of CO2 injection, CO2 dissolves in the oil and the volume of oil expands. In the second stage, CO2 dissolves, replaces and extracts the components of the oil, forming the third phase oil-gas transition zone, so that the volume of the oil decreases rapidly. In the third stage, the mass transfer of oil-gas components slows down, and CO2 extraction effect becomes the main factor, so the oil-gas transition zone almost disappears, and the volume of the oil decreases slowly. In the fourth stage, the mass transfer of oil and CO2 stops, and due to the compression effect the volume of oil decreases linearly. Because of the effects of extraction and compression, excessive injection of CO2 is not conducive to enhanced EOR. These results can furnish an in-depth understanding of the complicated mechanisms of the CO2 huff and puff in unconventional reservoirs.


Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is known as carbohydrate intolerance first detected during pregnancy. Pregnancy is periods of intense hormonal changes. The aim of the present study was to investigate a possible relation between the changes in serum hormones such as Luteinizing hormone (LH) , follicle stimulating hormone(FSH), Progesterone, and Prolactin with gestational diabetes mellitus. Thirty patients with gestational diabetes mellitus aged (22 -40) year attending the national center for treatment and research of diabetes/ AL-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad and 29 controls aged (20-39) year were participated. Hormonal tests including, FSH, LH, Progesterone, and Prolactin were detected by using Enzyme Linked Fluorescent Assay (ELFA) kits. The demographic characteristics of gestational diabetes mellitus indicated  that the most commonly affected age at (20-29) year (50%) ,60% of patients had Body Mass Index(BMI)  at ≥ 30kg/m2+, 76.6% of patients at  first trimester of pregnancy, 23.3% had previous abortion,60% at the first pregnancy ,and 46.6%  of patients  had urine protein with one plus. A highly significant increase (p≤0.001) in Fasting serum glucose(FSG), LH, FSH, progesterone, and prolactin were observed in sera of gestational diabetes mellitus patients in comparison to that of control pregnancy group. A non-significant correlation of FSG with age, BMI, LH, FSH, and progesterone were demonstrated. While a significant positive correlation of FBS with prolactin was found. It is conclude that higher prolactin level in pregnancy possibly played a role in gestational diabetes mellitus partly by impairing the functions of insulin, and result in hyperglycemia.
Keyword: Gestational diabetes, FSH, LH, Progesterone, Prolactin.


Norovirus-like particles were imaged using atomic force microscopy. The mechanical stability of the virus-like particles (VLPs) was probed by nanoindentation at pH values ranging from 2 to 10. This range includes pH values of the natural environment during the life cycle of noroviruses. The resistance of VLPs to indentation was constant at acidic and neutral pH. The Young's modulus was of the order of 30 MPa. At basic pH the compliance of the capsid increased along with an increase in diameter. This specific pH-dependent mechanical response of the capsid may be related to mechanisms controlling uptake and release of the RNA during infection. Consecutive indentations with pressures ≤ 300 bar demonstrated the ability of the capsids to fully recover from deformations comparable with the size of the capsid. The capsids can be viewed as nanocontainers with an inbuilt self-repair mechanism. At pH 10 the capsids lost their stability and were irreversibly destroyed after one single indentation.


The serum IgE response to the synthetic polypeptide antigen L-glutamic acid60-L-alanine30-L-tyrosine10 (GAT) was investigated. The present study details the experimental conditions required to elicit optimal IgE anti-GAT antibody titers, the genetics controlling this response, and the ability of anti-suppressor cell treatments to affect the magnitude and duration of IgE anti-GAT levels in responder and nonresponder strains of mice. Significant IgE anti-GAT titers were obtained in BALB/c (IgG responder) mice after administration of 1 to 100 µg of GAT in adjuvant (Maalox or Maalox-pertussis), with optimal secondary IgE titers after challenge with 1 or 10 µg doses. All IgE responses were transient in comparison to IgG antibody levels. IgE anti-GAT immunity was found to be regulated by a gene(s) in the I-A/I-B subregion of the H-2 complex, in agreement with earlier studies on serum IgG or cell-mediated immunity. Mice bearing the H-2ja, p, q, s haplotypes were nonresponders, and treatment of SJL (H-2s) or DBA/1 (H-2q) mice with cyclophosphamide or low dose irradiation to remove suppressor cells failed to permit IgE anti-GAT responses, while markedly augmenting IgE anti-TNP responses in the same mice, and IgE anti-GAT responses in BALB/c mice. However, the presence of functional GAT-specific IgE B cells in nonresponder strains was established by demonstrating IgE anti-GAT responses to GAT complexed with methylated serum albumin in these mice. The implications of these data with respect to H-2 linked Ir gene function and class-specific regulation of antibody responses are discussed.


During recent West Nile Virus (WNV) epidemics in the USA, virus transmissions through transfusion of blood components have been observed, also raising concerns about the safety of plasma derivatives. To verify the safety margins of these products, as initially shown using model viruses very similar to WNV, virus inactivation procedures incorporated into their manufacturing processes were re-investigated using WNV directly. The results show that WNV behaves exactly as had been predicted based on available data for similar ("model") viruses, i.e. it is readily inactivated by e.g. pasteurisation of human albumin, solvent-detergent treatment of intravenous immunoglobulin and factor VIII, vapour heating of factor VIII inhibitor by-passing activity, and incubation of intravenous immunoglobulin at low pH. Our investigation thus verifies the safety margins of plasma derivatives against Flaviviruses in general, and now WNV in particular. Also, use of the model virus concept was confirmed to be well capable of predicting the behaviour of a certain virus based on available data for closely related viruses.


The self-sustainable winery was conceived in 2006 and the intention was to create a building and its related utility systems that would operate independently from the energy and water grids and to eliminate hydrocarbon fuels from its operation, capture and sequester the carbon dioxide from its fermentations and create a zero carbon footprint facility. The winery was the highest scoring LEED building at any university when it was completed and the first LEED Platinum Winery in the USA. The adjacent Jess Jackson sustainable winery building is a highly passive research and utility space that will house the advanced energy and water systems that make this off-grid performance possible. Together these buildings will operate every daily in energy and water positive modes and at capacities, which exceed the demands even during the harvest season. The data system incorporated into these buildings for one hundred and fifty research fermentors, fourteen teaching fermentors will also monitor all energy, water and building activities in a secure, cloud-based software system that supports both web and handheld access, with the potential for bidirectional date and control functions. This data network has been extended to include real time monitoring of temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds in five production areas within two commercial winery sites and two creamery facilities, located more than 100 km from Davis. This now provides an example of a distributed dynamic network for the monitoring of the built environment in remote commercial food and wine facilities.


The effect of a magnetic field on the formation of structural domains at martensitic transition in the intermetallic system Ni/sub 2+x/Mn/sub 1-x/Ga was studied. For the compositions x whose temperatures of structural and magnetic transitions are close this effect is most pronounced. In the field of 0.2 to 1 T the increase in the transition temperature is linear with the coefficient of 0.015 K/T. Estimates of the transition temperature shift based on thermodynamic calculations are in good agreement with the experimental data. It is shown that the switching on the magnetic field at some critical temperature induces partial transformation of austenite into martensite.


Abstract Data has become a critical trans-national and cross-border resource. Yet, the lack of a well-defined approach to using it poses challenges to harnessing its value. This article explores the increasing importance of global data governance due to the rapid growth of data, and the need for responsible data practices. The purpose of this paper is to compare approaches and identify patterns in the emergent data governance ecosystem within sectors close to the international development field, ultimately presenting key takeaways and reflections on when and why a global data governance framework may be needed. Overall, the paper provides information about the conditions when a more holistic, coordinated transnational approach to data governance may be needed to responsibly manage the global flow of data. The report does this by (a) considering conditions specified by the literature that may be conducive to global data governance, and (b) analyzing and comparing existing frameworks, specifically investigating six key elements: purpose, principles, anchoring documents, data description and lifecycle, processes, and practices. The article closes with a series of final recommendations, which include adopting a broader concept of data stewardship to reconcile data protection and promotion, focusing on responsible reuse of data to unlock socioeconomic value, harmonizing meanings to operationalize principles, incorporating global human rights frameworks to provide common North Stars, unifying key definitions of data, adopting a data lifecycle approach, incorporating participatory processes and collective agency, investing in new professions with specific roles, improving accountability through oversight and compliance mechanisms, and translating recommendations into practical tools.


Pathogen inactivation tests on anaerobically digested and dewatered sludge consisted of long-term incubation/storage of a mixture of sludge solids and lime at various doses in closed containers at several temperature levels. The containers simulated anoxic conditions that would exist in a landfill or a sludge monofill. After rapid initial increase of pH, and due to containment of the sludge, the alkaline conditions prevailed during the remainder of the storage. This led to inactivation of pathogen indicators at doses much below those traditionally recommended for alkaline disinfection and production of biosolids, i.e. properly treated sludge. Fecal coliform and Salmonella bacteria were inactivated to the US EPA's class A levels at quicklime doses as low as 20 g CaO/kg TS or about 6 g CaO/kg of wet solids. The pH 12 lasted for the entire storage time in containers with lime doses at or above 120 g/kg TS, regardless of the incubation temperature. Such high pH allowed elimination of the spores of pathogenic Cl. perfringens bacteria from the solute.


It is often assumed that stable water isotopes (dD and d18O) provide redundant information for a given sample of water. In this note we illustrate that the choice of isotope used may influence the resultant hydrograph separation. This is especially true in light of the spatial and temporal variability in the isotopic composition of rainfall water at the catchment scale. We present several possible hydrograph separations based on both dD and d18O observed in rainfall for a single runoff event occurring in the southwest USA. This study demonstrates the potential of using both stable water isotopes by showing that dD and d18O may provide unique information for catchment hydrologists. We also report on the utility of new technology capable of simultaneous measurements of both dD and d18O using off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) methods. This may be of interest to catchment hydrologists seeking to incorporate this type of equipment into their laboratory. Copyright  2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Perhaps the most unusual aspect of Avant-Garde Politician is its ambitious attempt to combine global governance and individual self-realization under a common theme. The execution of such a broad dual focus obviously carries a high degree of difficulty. The author, Yehezkel Dror, misses the landing on one of these themes but sticks the other, although not without some wobbles. Dror's main argument in this book is that the world needs better political leaders, and they must be better in very specific ways that coincide with the unique circumstances they will face. To support his recommendations regarding these qualities, Dror draws on a career's worth of experience observing and consulting for political leaders at the highest levels. Dror locates his book within the classical ''mirrors for princes'' tradition of educating political leaders, of whichMachiavelli's The Prince is the best known example. However, in contrast to the traditional ''mirrors,'' Dror distinguishes his approach by adopting the future of the human species as the main perspective for the new vanguard of leaders. Dror is correct to draw attention to this distinction. The validity of many recommendations in this book hinges upon the assumption that the future of the human species can plausibly serve as the main perspective for avant-garde politicians. Dror does not provide much justification for this assumption, so the extent to which one deems it to be credible will be a matter of personal taste. With this book, Dror aims to reach a vast audience— ''all those who are or should be interested in politics and


A case of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) with polymorphous features and an unknown differential diagnosis was presented. It appeared, without any pain, in the right maxillary sinus of a 47 year-old man. A variety of histopathological patterns were found, including glandular, cribriform, tubular and solid ones. However, the typical features of ACC, such as cribriform pattern associated with pseudocyst and tubular formations were rather scarce. A single cell strand appearance, so-called "Indian file arrangement", and papillary cystic formation were also noted, which are often associated with polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA). Immunohistochemistries of EMA, CEA and musclespecific actin showed also similar staining patterns to those of PLGA in some areas. Our case could not be regarded as PLGA; but this case with features of PLGA as well as those of ACC might suggest an entity of transitional type between ACC and PLGA.


DOI No: 10.36713/epra13526 Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra13526 This research paper explores the feasibility and potential implications of implementing a single global currency. Drawing on existing literature and empirical studies, we analyze the economic, political, and social implications of creating a single global currency, and examine the challenges and benefits of transitioning to such a system. Our analysis suggests that while a single global currency could have significant benefits in terms of greater economic integration and increased efficiency, there are also significant challenges that must be carefully considered and addressed. These challenges include issues related to sovereignty, coordination among countries, and the potential impact on international trade and investment. We conclude with recommendations for future research and policy development, including the need for further research to better understand the potential benefits and drawbacks of a single global currency, and strategies for addressing the challenges that would arise from


Once a software library is deployed, it is extremely difficult to modify published types. Every new version has to preserve backward compatibility with existing applications. This limits the number of changes that may be applied to the public classes defined in the library. We present a tool that assists developers in maintaining the consistency of a shared library with the existing software. It allows for greater flexibility in evolving the library's functionality by supporting a wide range of changes