A retrospective analysis has been made of 160 cases of postmenopausal bleeding. The women were at least 45 years old and the time lapse from the last menstruation was at least 2 years. The cause was a malignant neoplasm in 23·75%. The incidence of malignancy showed a definite rise with advancing age and with increasing duration of bleeding. It was nearly twice as high in women who stopped menstruation after the age of 55 years. Malignancy also seemed to be more frequent in patients with profuse bleeding and in those who had amenorrhoea lasting for 20 years or more. The most usual malignant lesions were endometrial and cervical carcinoma, the ratio of these two conditions being 1·6: 1. Oestrogen administration was the most common cause in the non-malignant group: 12·5%. No cause for bleeding could be demonstrated in 8·8%. The aetiology of postmenopausal bleeding is discussed.


Supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by abnormalities of development of the great vessels. SVAS is also commonly part of Williams syndrome. Linkage to the elastin gene on chromosome 7q11 has recently been reported in two kindreds with SVAS. Previous reports of patients with 7q11 deletions have noted great vessel abnormalities in some. We report on a family in which SVAS is cosegregating with a balanced reciprocal translocation, t(6:7) (p21.1;q11.23), providing further evidence that SVAS is the result of a mutation of elastin at 7q11.23 region. The propositus of the translocation family has some minor anomalies which occur in Williams syndrome, suggesting that elastin abnormalities may cause some of the abnormalities found in Williams syndrome.


Renal expression of klotho is reduced in hypertension. Experiments were performed to examine whether exogenous klotho protein supplementation ameliorates pressure natriuresis in early phase of hypertension, using stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (sp-SHR). The interactions between klotho protein and renal renin-Ang (angiotensin) system were examined with immunoprecipitation and cell culture methods. Uninephrectomy was performed in sp-SHRs to induce nephrosclerosis, and they were treated with exogenous klotho protein or vehicle. Exogenous klotho protein supplementation to sp-SHR decreased blood pressure, renal Ang II levels, AGT (angiotensinogen) expression, HIF (hypoxia-inducible factor)-1&agr; abundance, and medullary fibronectin levels, with increased renal klotho expression and serum and urine klotho levels. Klotho supplementation also reduced kidney weight, renal phosphorylated Akt, and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) abundance. Furthermore, klotho supplementation restored renal autoregulation of glomerular filtration rate and enhanced pressure-induced natriuresis in sp-SHR. Klotho protein bound to AT1R (Ang II type-1 receptor) and decreased the presence of AT1R on HK-2 (human proximal tubular) cells, attenuating inositol triphosphate generation. Klotho protein suppressed Ang II–induced increments of AGT expression in HK-2 cells. Collectively, the present data demonstrate that klotho binds with the AT1R to suppress Ang signal transduction, participating in inactivating renal renin-Ang system. Our results also suggest that exogenous klotho supplementation represses Akt-mTOR signaling to reduce renal hypertrophy and restore the autoregulatory ability of glomerular filtration rate in uninephrectomized sp-SHRs. Finally, the present findings implicate that klotho supplementation inhibits HIF-1&agr; pathway and medullary fibrosis, contributing to enhancements of pressure natriuresis and reduction in blood pressure.


Human activities have serious impacts on marine apex predators. Inadequate knowledge of the spatial and trophic ecology of these marine animals ultimately compromises the viability of their populations and impedes our ability to use them as environmental biomonitors. Intrinsic biogeochemical markers, such as stable isotopes, fatty acids, trace elements, and chemical pollutants, are increasingly being used to trace the spatial and trophic ecology of marine top predators. Notable advances include the emergence of the first oceanographic "isoscapes" (isotopic geographic gradients), the advent of compound-specific isotopic analyses, improvements in diet reconstruction through Bayesian statistics, and tissue analysis of tracked animals to ground-truth biogeochemical profiles. However, most researchers still focus on only a few tracers. Moreover, insufficient knowledge of the biogeochemical integration in tissues, fractionation and routing processes, and geographic and temporal variability in baseline levels co...


Background: The backstage of research projects is seldom presented to the general audience, in particular, how the research questions emerged, how the team interacted and how the methods and design were decided upon. Aim: In this paper we will recount the story behind an international practice-based research network for personalising health assessment, the joint journey of researchers and therapists from three different countries in creating the Individualised Patient-Progress System (IPPS). Results: We first describe how the idea of the IPPS emerged; then we show how IPPS is being piloted and integrated into clinical practice. Next, we present the views of therapists and researchers who have been part of this project. Conclusions: We discuss some lessons learned from this 14-year collaborative research programme.


Gross domestic product (GDP) and energy consumption in the economic evaluations of countries are seen as two basic concepts of development. The need for energy resources in recent years has brought countries closer to technology, but in some cases, it causes problems such as wars. It is also important to determine the economic feasibility of energy consumption as well as the feasibility of many aspects such as the origin, usage, and necessity of energy. When we look at the crises that have taken place in the last 20 years, it is once again seen that energy is the dynamism and indispensable necessity of the countries. If we look at the effect of the consumed energy on the country's economy, the first economic variable will be GDP. Interpretation and evaluation of GDP, which reveals steady growth, will give effective results on economic indicators of the country. A lot of research has been done in the literature between the amount of energy consumption (according to the sectors, type of energy used, supply, and etc.) and the GDP which is the most important indicator of the country's economy. The final relationship between these two variables has been examined in details for different countries and energy concepts. In previous studies, it is sometimes observed that energy consumption is a cause of GDP or vice versa, and sometimes a two-way causality between them is determined. On the other hand, a causality relationship can not be always determined between the variables. In this case, a suitable regression model can be established without looking for causality. In this study, the causality relationship between the GDP values, categorized by five income levels, and the energy consumptions of the countries between 1980 and 2014 is determined by using the Granger causality test. When we look at the results of the causality test, we find that only one causality relationship exists between high income level countries by GDP and the energy consumption of them. According to the causality test result, dependent and independent variable are determined before generalized estimating equations (GEE) method is used for modelling the data. In GEE method, the smallest values of QIC and QICC information criteria are found in the direction of causality relationships. The same causality assessment is done between gross national incomes (GNI) of countries categorized by income levels and energy consumptions, and it is concluded that the GEE models established according to the causality relationship direction are much better fit to the data.  This finding obtained from this study suggests that causality test is a guide for us when we have insufficient knowledge in determining dependent and independent variables before fitting regression models to the data.


As we approach Late Antiquity in the first decade of the twenty-first century, a number of questions arise. We must ask ourselves not simply what is it that we see – that is, what does Late Antiquity look like, how do we define it, what shape does it currently take? – but also why do we see what we see? To what degree does the way in which we approach Late Antiquity shape the picture that we receive? This leads to a deeper question: what drives us to approach Late Antiquity in the particular ways that we do? What are the historical and ideological underpinnings of the approaches that were taken in the past or that we now exploit? These last two questions are explored at length in the chapters by Papaioannou, Leyser, Vessey, Ando, Rebenich, and Brandt (and touched on in Trout, Francis, Harley, Burton, Gillett, Halsall, Drijvers, and Lim). It is on the second question (how does the way in which we approach Late Antiquity shape the picture that we receive?) and its related issues that I want to focus here. My purpose is to raise awareness of how our approach to the field is a significant factor in shaping our perception, to learn what kinds of questions to ask of what we see, and to provide some understanding of the limitations of the methodologies, approaches, and theories that we apply. In this respect, the chapter is at its heart a consciousness-raising exercise, a warning to those about to enter the world of Late Antiquity that everything may not be as it at first appears.


In the present study, two cultivars of pepper (Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens) at two maturity stages (green and red) were evaluated for total phenolic and flavonoid content, organic acids, vitamin C, β-carotene, vitamin E, capsaicin and the antioxidant and anticancer activities of their aqueous extracts. Total phenolic content was found to be ranged from 11.09-26.14 mg GAE/g DW, while total flavonoid content was ranged from 2.7 mg to 5.0 mg QE/g DW. Twenty six phenolic and aromatic compounds, twelve flavonoid compounds and eleven organic acids were identified in all samples by using of HPLC. Vitamin C, β-carotene, vitamin E and capsaicin contents were also estimated by HPLC and detected at high levels which were ranged from 500.0-645.5 mg/100 g DW, 6.56-35.69 mg/100 g DW, 10.44-19.36 mg/100 g DW and 37.46-69.90 mg/100 g DW, respectively. Antioxidant activities of pepper samples were carried out by using of both DPPH•-scavenging activity and total antioxidant capacity (ABTS•+) assays and the extracts exhibited high activities which were ranged from 96.95% to 98.64% and from 77.73% to 93.11%, respectively. Finally, the potential anticancer activity of pepper extracts and capsaicin standard was tested against prostate (PC-3) and breast (MCF-7) carcinoma cell lines in vitro. The results showed that sweet pepper had a higher anticancer activity against PC-3, in contrast, chilli pepper had a higher against MCF-7.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

The accumulation of the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of solid tumors contributes to increased tumor interstitial fluid pressure IFP), localized edema and reduced intratumoral blood flow. We recently reported that sustained enzymatic depletion of tumor HA with a pegylated recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (PEGPH20) decreases tumor IFP and water content, while significantly increasing vascular perfusion within HA-rich prostate PC3 tumors (Thompson et al, 2010). As localized tissue hypoxia reduces the effectiveness of radiation therapy (Baumgartner et al, 1998), we hypothesized that PEGPH20 treatment would reduce tumor hypoxia, thereby radio-sensitizing tumor cells. To evaluate whether PEGPH20 sensitizes HA-rich tumors, radiotherapy resistant human prostate PC3 cells (2×106) were inoculated into the right tibia periosteum of nude mice (NCR nu/nu) and tumor growth monitored with a high resolution 3D ultrasound. When the tumors reached ∼800 mm3 (n ≥ 8/group), mice were staged into 4 treatment groups: (1) vehicle control; (2) mono-radiotherapy at 2.5 Gy, q3d; (3) PEGPH20 monotherapy, 4.5 mg/kg, i.v. q3d; or (4) PEGPH20 plus radiotherapy. To increase intra-tumoral blood flow, PEGPH20 was administrated 3 hours prior to radiation therapy. Histological evaluation of a subset of mice confirmed that HA was completely degraded 3 hours post- PEGPH20 treatment. At study Day 15, tumor growth inhibition (TGI) with radiation alone or PEGPH20 alone was 99.2% (p=0.009) and 71.4% (p=0.08), respectively, relative to vehicle treated animals. PEGPH20 plus radiotherapy inhibited tumor growth by 140.6% (p=0.0002), relative to vehicle treated animals. The mean tumor size of the PEGPH20 plus radiotherapy group was reduced to ∼550 mm3, with 3-out-of-8 partial regressors (i.e. tumor size decrease to 50% or less of tumor staging size). These findings suggest that PEGPH20-mediated HA removal, and subsequent increase in tumoral blood flow, may increase the efficacy of radiation therapy in hyaluronan-rich tumors.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2501. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2501


Five pharmaceutical materials, including two salts and three neutral compounds, have been subjected to nanoindentation analysis on a single-crystal scale. The nanoindentation experiments were used to calculate a brittleness index for each of the five materials. These results were compared to the size reductions that were obtained on a pilot-plant scale mill. A good correlation between single crystal and large pilot-plant scale results was obtained for the range of materials studied.


Background: The iCoach approach to case selection focuses on innovative models of community-based primary healthcare (CBPHC) and their contexts. The aim of this study was to assess the possibilities and limitations of the approach based on Denmark, which differs in significant ways from the jurisdictions initially included. Theory and Methods: Case study research suggests the approach is an interesting attempt to standardise case selection based on literal replication. The study reviewed the national grey literature and interviewed key informants at national and local levels. Results: Applying the approach to Denmark required redefining selection criteria related to collaboration and context to capture its specific institutional and policy context. Selecting cases at the organisational level also required assessing how the system level contexts compared to those of the initial three jurisdictions included in iCoach. Discussion: The iCoach approach allows collecting broadly comparable cases of innovative models of CBPHC across jurisdictions. However, the analysis of underlying conditions of implementing innovative models requires a more interactive approach to case selection. Conclusion: Researchers need to be clearer about the specific purpose of the case selection. This is also highly relevant for practitioners to ensure that insights are applicable in specific local and national contexts.


Objective:Aim To study absorption characteristics of SM-1,a novel anti- tumor agent,to provide a research basis for the druggability evaluation of SM-1 and formulation design. Methods:Caco-2 cell monolayer model and in situ singlepass intestinal perfusion rat model were used to study the absorption characteristics of SM-1,and the absorption of SM-1 in vivo was evaluated through absolute bioavailability study in rats. Results:The results of cell monolayer model showed that cumulative absorption and efflux of SM-1 increased linearly with concentration(10~40mg·L-1). There were no significant differences in Papp with different concentrations(P 0.05). SM-1 was absorbed mainly through passive diffusion. The intestinal perfusion results showed that Ka and Peff of SM-1 had no significant differences(P0.05),when the concentrations ranged from 25 to 100 mg·L-1. SM-1 entered the systemic circulation mainly via on passive diffusion,indicating it is a compound with high permeability. The absorption of SM-1 in duodenum was superior toother intestinal segments(P0.05),there were no significant differences in the jejunum,ileum and colon(P0.05). The absolute bioavailability of SM-1 in rats was 29.3%. Conclusion:The membrane permeability of SM-1 is high and it can be absorbed by intestine well. The absorption mechanism of SM-1 is passive diffusion,and it possibly escapes from the efflux transporter protein. The absolute bioavailability of SM-1 in rats is low.


One way to support the development of new safety practices in testing and field failure situations of electric vehicles and their lithium-ion (Li-ion) traction batteries is to conduct studies simulating plausible incident scenarios. This paper focuses on risks and hazards associated with venting of gaseous species formed by thermal decomposition reactions of the electrolyte and electrode materials during thermal runaway of the cell. A test set-up for qualitative and quantitative measurements of both major and minor gas species in the vented emissions from Li-ion batteries is described. The objective of the study is to measure gas emissions in the absence of flames, since gassing can occur without subsequent fire. Test results regarding gas emission rates, total gas emission volumes, and amounts of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and CO2 formed in inert atmosphere when heating lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and lithium nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) dioxide/lithium manganese oxide (LMO) spinel cell stacks are presented and discussed. Important test findings include the large difference in total gas emissions from NMC/LMO cells compared to LFP, 780 L kg−1 battery cells, and 42 L kg−1 battery cells, respectively. However, there was no significant difference in the total amount of HF formed for both cell types, suggesting that LFP releases higher concentrations of HF than NMC/LMO cells.


In this paper, an autonomous orbit determination method for satellite using a large field of view star sensor is presented. The simulation of orbit under atmospheric drag perturbation are given with expanded Kalman filtering.The large field of view star sensor has the same precision as star sensor and a sufficient filed of view. Therefore ,the refraction stars can be observed more accurately in real time. The geometric relation between the refracted starlight and the earth can be determined by tangent altitude of the refraction starlight. And then the earth enter can be determined in satellite body frame. The simulation shows that the precision of the mean square deviation of satellite's position and velocity is 5m and 0.01m/s respectively. The calculated decrement of the semi-major axis in one day is close to the theoretical result, and the absolute error is in the range of decimeter when the altitude of orbit is 750 km. The simulateion of orbit of different initial semi-major axis shows that the higher the altitude of orbit is, the smaller the decrement of the semi-major axis is, and when the altitude of orbit is 1700 km the decimeter of the semi-major axis is 10-7km.


Due to decades of work by gay and lesbian people, in different parts of the world there is currently much debate about ways of acknowledging lesbian and gay relationships in similar ways to how heterosexual marriage is honoured. In Australia, just as the Federal Government is legislating to ensure that same-sex marriage cannot occur, the State Government of Tasmania has developed a novel approach to acknowledging relationships. This paper explains this approach and also contains a number of speeches given by members of lesbian and gay families in support of the Tasmanian legislation.


The paper describes the conceptual framework of the Waste Management Theory (WMT). WMT is a unified body of knowledge about waste and waste management, founded on the expectation that waste management is to prevent waste to cause harm to human health and the environment. The intersection of WMT with Industrial Ecology (IE) is presented and the mutual benefits of developing WMT alongside IE are described. A common interest of WMT and IE is to find a proper definition of waste. A radically new approach, based on an object-oriented modelling language is presented, to define the key concepts of the waste management domain. It is described how the goals and values of Industrial Ecology have been crucial to WMT development, by providing insights that are otherwise not considered in waste management. In turn, the Waste Management Theory acts as a filter to translate these goals and values to industrial systems, and helps selecting the tools by which they can be achieved.


The Andean margin of South America formed part of the proto-Pacific margin of Gondwana, and has been the site of long-lived subduction. The tectonic evolution of the margin has been influenced by the breakup of that supercontinent and interactions with the subduction zone and the subducting proto-Pacific plates. Since Late Jurassic times the margin has experienced two distinct tectonic regimes. The first was principally controlled by extension associated with Gondwana dispersal, resulting in the development of extensional basins along the length of the margin. The second regime, principally controlled by convergence with minor episodes of extension, initiated at different times along the margin and continues today. During this second period the margin experienced major uplift, leading particularly to the development of the Altiplano-Puna Plateau system, as well as numerous fold and thrust belts. The role of subduction along the proto-Pacific margin in contributing to the development of these events is quantitatively examined in the framework of a recently developed kinematic plate model. The absolute velocity of the overriding South American plate, the convergence velocity between the downgoing oceanic slab and the South American plate, and the age of the subducting slab are resolved along the margin back to 170 Ma to determine correlations between these parameters and deformation along the Andean margin. Any single parameter examined in isolation did not produce a correlation with deformation in the overriding plate, indicating that more complex interactions among several factors are required to produce the observed pattern of deformation. The development of extensional basins floored by mafic/oceanic crust was associated with periods when the motion of the South American plate was directed away from the trench in conjunction with the subduction of oceanic crust older than c.50 Myr. Contraction events, such as the development of fold and thrust belts and of the Altiplano-Puna Plateau, were associated with convergence velocities greater than 4 cm/yr. The absolute motion of South America was directed trenchward during these events, although the magnitude of motion was very small. The development of extensional basins that did not progress to the formation of mafic crust was accompanied by diverse conditions along the subduction zone, as were large magmatic fluxes leading to batholith emplacement, indicating that these events are not primarily controlled by any of the parameters investigated. In addition, no correlations could be established related to the structural style of fold and thrust belts. Whereas plate scale processes control the tectonic regime along the margin, other mechanisms that act within the overall context of the imposed plate setting can affect deformation at more regional or local scales. The Rocas Verdes Basin in southern Patagonia is an unusual setting as it is one of only two extensional basins floored by ocean crust in a string of Mesozoic extensional ensialic basins developed along the Andean margin. The Rocas Verdes Basin is interpreted to have undergone different evolutional histories along the length of the basin. Negative (i.e. extensional) convergence rates were present in the southern portion of the basin during opening, while positive convergence rates affected the north, are implicated as contributing factors resulting in different magnitudes of extension. The Cordillera Darwin metamorphic complex in southernmost Patagonia exposes amphibolite facies kyanite-staurolite metapelitic schist, the highest grade metamorphic rocks in the Andean chain south of Ecuador. Closure of the Rocas Verdes Basin in this area resulted in continental underthrusting beneath the arc, resulting in the amphibolite facies metamorphism. Thrust-controlled exhumation terminated metamorphism. Garnet in metapelitic schist has patchy textures where regions of clear grossular-rich garnet with fine-grained S1 inclusion trails are cut by turbid regions of spessartine-pyrope-rich garnet containing inclusions of biotite, muscovite, plagioclase, and quartz that align with S2 in the matrix. Aqueous micro-inclusions in the turbid regions suggest that garnet recrystallization to form the patchy textures was facilitated by fluid ingress; recrystallization appears contemporaneous with the growth of matrix kyanite and staurolite. Pseudosection modelling in Na2O–CaO–K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2– H2O–TiO2–Fe2O3 (NCKFMASHTO) describes a P-T path for rocks of the Cordillera Darwin of nearly isothermal decompression from 12 to 9 kbar at T≈620°C. Along this path, garnet mode is predicted to decrease from a maximum of c.5% to <1%, driving garnet dissolution. In situ ion-probe U-Th-Pb dating iii University of Sydney, PhD Thesis, Kayla T. Maloney, 2012. of S2 matrix monazite, texturally associated with the growth of S2 kyanite and staurolite, shows that exhumation of the Cordillera Darwin was underway by 72.6 ± 1.1 Ma. Later granitic intrusions produced contact aureoles including sillimanite bearing migmatites in the adjacent rocks at P≈6 kbar. The Seno Otway region lies midway between the comparatively well studied regions of Ultima Esperanza in the north, and Cordillera Darwin in the south. The area includes rocks that reflect the two distinct tectonic regimes of the South American margin: there is a complete record from the development of the Jurassic – Late Cretaceous Rocas Verdes marginal basin to the Cretaceous Magallanes foreland basin succession. Sedimentation into the Rocas Verdes Basin consisted of the hemipelagic mudstones and finegrained sandstones of the Zapata and Canal Bertrand formations. The formations are mudstone dominated with an increasing abundance of sand in the upper portions recording the onset of contraction and basin closure. Thrusting that obducted portions of the mafic marginal basin floor onto the South American continent was contemporary with the development of the Magallanes foreland basin. Sedimentation into this basin included repeated fining upward sequences of interbedded mudstone and sandstone turbidites called the Latorre formation, and the overlying Escarpada Formation, composed of interbedded sandstone, mudstone, and conglomerate. Emergent portions of the Rocas Verdes Basin and Late Jurassic volcanic rock, exposed through thrusting, were eroded to form parts of the Late Cretaceous sedimentary units. The Magallanes fold and thrust belt involved the metamorphic Paleozoic basement in this region. Folding styles are tight to isoclinal near the main obduction thrusts and broaden to become close to open toward the foreland. An accompanying axial planar cleavage is fine-scaled and pervasive in regions of tight folding and is only weakly developed toward the foreland. Metamorphic grade in the region does not exceed greenschist facies. Deformation in portions of the Latorre and Escarpada formations is low enough to allow for the preservation of original sedimentary features, including various paleocurrent indicators. These indicators record the presence of multiple submarine fans in the Magallanes foreland basin in the Late Cretaceous. The Andean margin of South America is commonly considered the type example of an ocean – continent convergent margin. Geological variability along its length provides a unique opportunity to validate macroscopic models for lithospheric weakening leading to the formation and destruction of marginal basins. During the Early Mesozoic most of the Andean margin lay below sea level as a series of extensional basins formed above a subduction zone. Cretaceous compression related to intraplate shortening resulted in basin inversion, with highly variable thickening and uplift. Crustal thickening in the area now known as Cordillera Darwin resulted in high-grade metamorphism from tectonic processes commonly associated with regions of continent – continent convergence. Such diversity in the Rocas Verdes Basin thus provides valuable insights into the evolution of a margin perhaps too commonly regarded as uniform and coherent. Basin development and inversion reflect related but distinct extensional and contractional regimes along the length of the Andean margin, and events in the history of the basin are demonstrably linked with plate-scale processes. iv University of Sydney, PhD Thesis, Kayla T. Maloney, 2012. This thesis is based on the following three papers, referred to by their roman numerals: I Maloney, K. T., G. L. Clarke, K. A. Klepeis, L. Quevedo, reviewed and ready for resubmission, The Late Jurassic to present evolution of the Andean margin: drivers and the geological record, Tectonics. II Maloney, K. T., G. L. Clarke, K. A. Klepeis, C. M. Fanning, and W. Wang (2011), Crustal growth during back-arc closure: Cretaceous exhumation history of Cordillera Darwin, southern Patagonia, Journal of Metamorphic Geology, 29(6), 649-672, doi:10.1111/j.1525-1314.2011.00934.x. III Maloney, K. T., G. L. Clarke, K. A. Klepeis, ready for submission, Tectonic inversion of Rocas Verdes marginal basin; the record in Seno Otway, Patagonia, Journal of South American Earth Sciences. v University of Sydney, PhD Thesis, Kayla T. Maloney, 2012.


Abstract Background: The early use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) can save lives by correcting lethal ventricular arrhythmias with minimal operator intervention. AED shock advisements also play a role in termination of resuscitation strategies. AED function is dependent on the accuracy of their shock advisement algorithms, which may differ between manufacturers. We sought to compare the shock advisement performance characteristics of several AEDs. Methods: We conducted a prospective, laboratory-based simulation study evaluating five commercially available AEDs from Cardiac Science, Defibtech, Medtronic, Philips, and Zoll. Shock advisement performance was evaluated for eight ECG rhythms {ventricular fibrillation (VF), ventricular tachycardia (VT), toursades de pointes (TdP), sinus rhythm (SR), atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter (AFL), idioventricular rhythm (IDV), and asystole} that were generated using the SimMan Classic Manikin and the LLEAP Simulator software (Laerdal Medical Inc., Norway). We recorded shock advisement decisions for each of the ECG rhythms three times per device. Shock advisements were coded as discordant if a shock was advised for a non-shockable rhythm or not advised for a shockable rhythm. Results: We analyzed 330 rhythm trials in total (66 per device), finding 28 (8.5%) discordant shock advisements overall. Discordance ranged from 6% to 11% among the five AED models. VF rhythm variants were the most frequent (43%) source of discordant advisements. No shocks were advised for any of the sinus rhythms, AFL, AF with QRS > 40, IDV, or asystole. Conclusions: Discordant shock advisements were observed for each AED and varied between manufacturers, most often involving VF. There may be implications for termination of resuscitation decision making.


Geophysical evidence has accumulated rapidly in the last few years for hypotheses of plate tectonics, which include the ideas of continental drift, sea-floor spreading, transform faulting, underthrusting of the lithosphere at island arcs and the coherent movements of large blocks of the crust and uppermost mantle. The success of these concepts in explaining and synthesizing a great amount of geophysical data strongly suggests that these ideas should have broad application in geology. Plate tectonics, which is largely a kinematic description of relative movements of the earth's surface, also has stimulated interest in the processes driving plates and in the mechanical properties of the upper mantle below the lithosphere.

To explore some of these new directions a Symposium on Mechanical Properties and Processes in the Mantle was held in Flagstaff, Arizona, June 29–July 3, 1970, under the auspices of the International Upper Mantle Project and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. This was the first major upper mantle symposium held in the United States. The scope of the conference included physical properties of materials likely to be present in the mantle, rocks of possible mantle origin and their mode of emplacement, convection currents, and other possible driving forces of global tectonics. The conference was not intended to be a review of geophysical evidence for plate movements, but rather to seek out new directions influenced by these ideas.h such special areas as satellite altimetry.


In this work, we analyze a proposal of a new intracorneal diffractive lens for presbyopia correction that could allow good, distance, intermediate and near vision. By using an adaptive optics visual simulator, we study the influence of two factors in the inlay performance: the spherical aberration (SA) and the potential errors of in thickness, induced in the manufacturing process. We show that the inlay through-the-focus imaging performance can be customized with the SA value, favoring either distance–intermediate or intermediate–near vision. Moreover, we found that with thickness variations of 10%, the inlay still maintains its trifocal nature.


Synonym groups can serve as resourceful linguistic metadata for information extraction and word sense disambiguation. Nevertheless, the reasons two words can be categorized into a particular synonym group need further study, especially when no explanation is available as to why any two words are synonymous. Lexical resources, such as the Chinese Synonym Forest (or Tongyici Cilin) (Mei et al. 1983), assemble lexical items into hierarchical categories via manual categorization. Other than this, statistical measures, such as co-existing probability, have been adopted widely to verify synonymous relationships. Nevertheless, a purely statistical method does not provide description that can help interpret why such a synonymous relationship occurs. We propose a novel method for the study of shared concepts within any synonym group by comparing co-existing words in the dictionary definition of each member in the group. The co-existing words are seen as the representatives of shared concepts that can be used for interpretating any hidden meaning among members of a synonym group. We also compare our results with the thesaurus function in the Sketch Engine (Kilgarriff et al. 2004), which uses statistical data in the form of Sketch scores. The results show that our method can produce concept words according to dictionary definitions, but this method also has its limitations, as it works only with a finite number of synonyms and under limited computing resources.


This paper describes a technique which improves the accuracy of pronunciation prediction for unit selection TTS. It does this by performing an orthography-based context-dependent lookup on the unit database. During synthesis, the pronunciations of words which have matching contexts in the unit database are determined. Pronunciations not found using this method are determined using traditional lexicon lookup and/or letter-to-sound rules. In its simplest form, the model involves a lookup based on left and right word context. A modified form, which backsoff to a lookup based on right context, is shown to have a much higher firing rate, and to produce more pronunciation variation. The technique is good at occasionally inhibiting vowel reduction; at choosing appropriate pronunciations in case of free variation; and at choosing the correct pronunciation for names. Its effectiveness is assessed by experiments on unseen data; by resynthesis; and by a listening test on sentences rich in reducible words.


A prospective survey of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) was conducted from 1985 to 1992. The survey used laboratory results to estimate incidence and alert infection control staff to a need for further action. The results were analysed with regard to the site, speciality and type of organism. The distribution by speciality of patients who had methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections was compared with the distribution of all patients with HAI. Although the surveillance was only partial, the data collected from year to year over the period of study seemed constant. The distribution of infection by type, location and bacterial cause was similar to results from other parts of the world. Notable differences were the high incidence of Acinetobacter sp., and the pattern of antimicrobial susceptibility to commonly used agents. Over half the Staphylococcus aureus isolates were methicillin resistant.


The prevalence of peri-implantitis varies between 1 and 47 % on a patient level. Treatment success of as low as 45.3 % has been noted after peri-implant surgery, and it has been suggested that the severity of peri-implant disease may affect disease progression and treatment outcome in peri-implantitis. The objective of the present study was to examine whether the extent of peri-implant bone loss before surgery impacts treatment outcome after surgical treatment of peri-implantitis. The study was performed retrospectively. 30 patients, with a total of 77 implants, previously surgically treated for peri-implantitis were included. The treated implants were divided into groups of different initial disease severity according to their radiographic bone level pre-surgery, i.e. implants demonstrating bone loss 1/3 of the implant length. Reductions in probing pocket depth (PPD) and bleeding/purulence on probing (BOP/PUS) 6 months after surgery were analyzed.Significant reductions in both PPD and BOP/PUS were shown in the group with less pronounced bone loss pre-surgery. In the group with more pronounced bone loss the reduction in BOP/PUS was significant although not the reduction in PPD.Initial severity of peri-implantitis in terms of pre-surgical bone loss seems to impact treatment outcome; implants with less advanced bone loss before surgery presented better treatment result than more severe cases. The results may be indicative of future treatment planning, although they need to be confirmed by further studies.


A drug-induced disease is the unintended effect of a drug, which results in mortality or morbidity with symptoms sufficient to prompt a patient to seek medical attention and/or require hospitalization. Since the first edition of this book was published in 2005, numerous drugs have been withdrawn from the market in the United States as a result of morbidity and/or mortality associated with drug-induced diseases. Despite best efforts to assure that all drugs are safe and effective, millions of patients each year develop drug-induced diseases. Every time a patient presents with a new disease or an exacerbation of an existing condition, the clinician should ask, Could this be drug-related?A" Now in its second edition, this essential and comprehensive resource provides a detailed analysis of how to identify, prevent, and manage drug-induced diseases. Edited by James E. Tisdale and Douglas A. Miller, with contributions from experts distinguished in their respective specialties, Drug-Induced Diseases is organized logically and is easy to use for pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and pharmacy students alike. Inside you'll find: * Chapters dedicated to over 50 disease states. * In-depth tables, including coverage of drugs implicated in drug-induced diseases, epidemiology, mechanisms, signs and symptoms, risk factors, prevention, and management are included in each chapter. * A new chapter on Drug Safety and Drug-Induced Diseases: The Legal, Regulatory, and Practice Environment. * A new chapter on Evaluating Patients for Drug-Induced DiseaseA". * The inclusion of the Levels of Evidence classification for identifying the strength of evidenceA" that links a listed drug to a specific drug-induced disease. * And much more.


The method of orbital interaction describing the intermolecular interaction is reformulated in terms of Green's function. The eigen-values and eigen-vectors for individual molecules obtained by block diagonalization of the original Hamiltonian, are sufficient to predict the next step of the reaction. The polarizabilities in the ordinary perturbation treatment is also effectively used. This procedure is further clarified by defining the effective coupling. The method is applied to a molecular compound between ethylene and H2.


Shallow skirted foundations can mobilize uplift resistance from end bearing in the short to medium term. However, uncertainty exists over the magnitude of reverse end bearing resistance compared with resistance in compression, and how this might be affected by a gap between the external face of the foundation skirt and the adjacent soil. The study presented in this paper explores this problem through centrifuge model tests, investigating the effect of skirt embedment ratio on (i) the magnitude of reverse end bearing capacity compared with compression capacity, (ii) the uplift displacement associated with spontaneous loss of suction during uplift, and (iii) the existence of a vertical gap along the external skirt-soil interface. The results show that (i) peak uplift capacity equivalent to compression capacity can be mobilized for a fully sealed foundation with an intact skirt-soil interface, (ii) suction required for reverse end bearing can be maintained through considerable foundation displacement, even for a low skirt embedment ratio, and (iii) the presence of a vertical gap along the external skirt-soil interface causes abrupt loss of suction beneath the top plate after minimal foundation displacement, with subsequent uplift capacity being markedly reduced.


A novel analog maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control IC based on Perturb and Observe (PAO) - arithmetic was proposed in this paper to obtain the maximum power drew from the photovoltaic (PV) array as well as to control small power PV systems more easily and conveniently. Not only is the IC involved in tracking the maximum power point (MPP) of the PV array rapidly, but it also detects the real-time output voltage and current of PV panel. The chip was designed and implemented in 1.5μm BCD (Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) technology. The simulation results showed that the dynamic response time to impulse of either temperature or solar radiation strength was less than 0.4ms and the static settling time was about 0.8ms with 99.8% tracking precision.


Abstract: The activity of adenosinetriphosphate:nicotinamide adenylyl‐transferase (EC 188.8.131.52) was measured in all the layers of monkey, rabbit, and ground squirrel retinas. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) kinase (EC 220.127.116.11) distribution was measured in monkey and rabbit retinas. An attempt was made to measure NAD synthetase (EC 184.108.40.206), but the activities in the retinal layers were too low to produce a reliable increment in the levels of endogenous NAD+. In monkey retina the adenylyl transferase was highest by far in the outer and inner nuclear layers, lower and variable in ganglion cell and fiber layers, and almost absent elsewhere. Rabbit retina differed in that activity was nearly absent in the outer nuclear layer, whereas in the ground squirrel outer nuclear layer activity was double that of the inner nuclear layer. The species differences suggest that adenylyl transferase is almost absent from cone cell nuclei and high in rod cell nuclei. NAD kinase distribution in monkey retina was almost the mirror image of that of adenylyl transferase.


We review some of our recent results on frequency upconversion. Frequency upconversion of laser pulses at 10.26 μm to those at 1.187 μm was measured in the presence of Nd:YAG laser pulses based on difference-frequency generation in a 10-mm-long GaSe crystal. The highest power conversion efficiency for the parametric conversion was determined to be 20.9%, corresponding to the photon conversion efficiency of 2.42%. This value is two orders of magnitude higher than the highest value reported on GaSe in the literature. The saturation of the output power at 1.187 μm as the input power at 10.26 μm was increased, due to the back conversion, i.e. 1.187 μm + 10.26 μm → 1.064 μm, was clearly evidenced. Besides the midinfrared region, we have also investigated frequency upconversion of the input signals at 1.27 μm and 1.57 μm in the presence of the pump beam at 1.064 μm in bulk periodically-poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) crystals. The quantum efficiencies of 11.2% and 13.2% have been achieved at these two input wavelengths. The detections of low-level photons at these two wavelengths are important to the NASA Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) mission.


Some natural clays and synthetic nanofibres present in the environment have a severe impact on human health. After several decades of research, the molecular mechanism of how asbestos induce cancers is not well understood. Different fibres, including asbestos, can penetrate and transform both, bacterial and eukaryotic cells. We found that sepiolite and asbestos cause double-strand breaks in bacteria when the incubation occurs under friction forces. Since antibiotics and clays are used together in animal husbandry, we propose that this mutagenic effect constitutes a pathway to antibiotic resistance due to the friction provided by peristalsis of the gut from farm animals. We also discuss the possibility that the same mechanism could generate bacteria diversity in natural scenarios with a role in the evolution of species. Finally, we provide a new model on how asbestos promotes mutagenesis and cancer based on the genotoxicity that we observe in bacteria.


BACKGROUND: Limited data are available on the outcomes of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) unresponsive to intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), as defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration. OBJECTIVE: To define the outcomes of patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. METHODS: This was a retrospective, single-institution observational cohort study. Records of patients managed at our institution for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC between 2005 and 2020 were reviewed and clinical outcomes evaluated. RESULTS: The study included 149 patients. Management was with initial radical cystectomy in 60 patients (40%) and initial bladder-sparing therapy (BST) in 89 patients (60% ). Overall survival was greater among patients undergoing RC than BST (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.04–3.22, p = 0.036), potentially due to patient selection, as no significant difference was noted for metastasis-free or cancer-specific survival. Patients opting for initial BST had high rates of treatment failure, with estimated 5-year cystectomy-free survival of only 42% . Patients who received additional lines of BST after a subsequent failure were at increased risk of having ≥pT3 or pN+ disease at cystectomy (42% for ≥2 lines BST, versus 18% for 1 line BST and 15% for initial cystectomy, p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: Among patients who underwent initial BST for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC, rates of treatment failure were very high. Patients who underwent delayed cystectomy after ≥2 lines of BST had elevated rates of extravesical disease. Our observations emphasize the importance of recent and ongoing clinical trials in this clinical space.


Mutagenic activities of new gel-forming substances proposed for the use in pharmacy and food industry were studied by the method of scoring mutations in test microorganisms. Sodium carboxy-methyl starch and sodium carboxy-methyl-cellulose did not induce gene mutations in Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100.


A new analytical expression for the surface tension of a planar liquid-vapour interface is obtained. It is based on the Fowler approximation and the statistical-mechanical perturbation approach in the theory of liquids. The expression obtained is explicit in the equilibrium liquid density. Theoretical predictions are shown to be consistent with the results of Monte Carlo and molecular-dynamics simulations of the Lennard-Jones fluid.


A chiral stationary phase (CSP) based on a pepsin from porcine stomach mucosa and chicken ovomucoid (OMCHI) from egg whites has been prepared for the separation of basic and uncharged enantiomers. The Pepsin and OMCHI were mixed immobilized onto the same porous aminopropyl-silica materials using an N, N' -disuccinimidyl carbonate reaction. The retentive and enantioselective properties of the mixed protein phase (MPP), Pepsin-OMCHI CSP, were compared with those of a Pepsin CSP and an OMCHI stationary phase. The Pepsin-OMCHI CSP showed a similar enantioselectivity with the Pepsin CSP. In addition, the Pepsin-OMCHI CSP was more stable than the Pepsin CSP for repetitive injections of samples and the continuous flow of an eluent. The MPP was further stabilized by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde.


An optical fiber infrasound sensor based on Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) is designed in this paper. Static performance of several sizes of membranes which are the core elements of the infrasound sensor are simulated with Finite Element modeling, and the results of strain gradients are shown. The relation expression between displacement of membrane and light intensity is deduced. The value of every parameter which will be used during the sensor fabrication through numerical simulation is ascertained, such as the radius of optical fiber, the membrane thickness, the size of membrane.


Designing multipliers that are of high-speed, low power, and regular in layout are of substantial research interest. Speed of the multiplier can be increased by reducing the generated partial products. Many attempts have been made to reduce the number of partial products generated in a multiplication process one of them is Wallace tree multiplier. Wallace Tree CSA structures have been used to sum the partial products in reduced time. In this paper Wallace tree construction is investigated and evaluated. Speed of traditional Wallace tree multiplier can be improve by using compressor techniques. In this paper Wallace tree is constructed by traditional method and with the help of compressor techniques such as 4:2 compressor, 5:2 compressor, 6:2 compressor, 7:2 compressor. Therefore, minimizing the number of half adders used in a multiplier reduction will reduce the complexity


Objective: In order to compare the use of highly purified (HP) follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) with recom- binant FSH (recFSH) in a developing country, research should not only focus on clinical data, but also on the evidence available in the literature from previous trials. Study Design: We performed a prospective clinical trial with 118 infertile females undergoing IVF: HP-FSH (n = 59); recFSH (n = 59). In addition, we performed a meta-analysis of RCTs comparing currently available HP-FSH vs. recFSH. The primary outcomes for both studies were live-birth rate and rate of ovarian hyperstimulation. Results: In the clinical trial, the response to ovarian hyperstimulation was similar in both groups including the number of oocytes retrieved and the number of ampoules of gonadotrophins. The live birth rate per woman was 30.51% vs. 35.59% in the HP-FSH and recFSH treated groups respectively (P = 0.70). The rate of OHSS was 5.09% in the HP-FSH compared to 6.78% in the recFSH treated groups (P = 1.00). Regarding the meta-analysis, the live-birth (O.R= 1.30, 95% CI= 0.92 to 1.84) and OHSS rates (O.R= 1.14, 95% CI= 0.32 to 4.04) were not significantly different between the two groups. There was significantly less treatment days and total dose (IU) in the HP-FSH group compared with the rFSH group. Conclusion: HP-FSH yields similar clinical outcome to recFSH in terms of oocytes retrieved and live-birth rate.


Background Community health workers (CHWs) are lay people from within the communities where they work, who share common characteristics with their members, such as ethnicity, culture, and language. They are frontline health workers who often serve socially and linguistically isolated populations. As trusted members of their communities, they provide critical links between community and systems of care. CHWs can empower community members with enhanced health knowledge, help navigating health systems, and access to care. This study examined the central role of CHWs in disseminating colorectal cancer screening guidelines in seven Asian immigrant communities (Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Lao, South Asian, and Vietnamese) in Chicago. Method The parent project was designed to use a community-centered dissemination model to promote the adoption of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening guidelines in seven Asian communities. In this study, we used social marketing campaign and CHWs as part of the intervention to disseminate CRC screening guidelines. Although social marketing campaigns can create public awareness, they rarely shape attitudes and bring behavior change. To take community members from awareness to commitment and then action, we used CHWs as influencers. All ten CHWs recruited in this study were bicultural and bilingual health professionals. In addition, all CHWs had at least a bachelor9s degree, had worked in the community for more than a year and well understood the social norms of the community. All CHWs were required to attend a 6-hour training course on CRC screening, motivational interviewing techniques, and the application of Stage of Change Theory. A CHW guidebook, which listed rationales and components of the intervention, was given to the CHWs. The roles and responsibilities of the CHW (outreaching, educating, navigating and collecting data) were also clearly stated in the guidebook. All CHEs were committed 20 hours/week for the project during the 12-week intervention period. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected during and after the CHW intervention through weekly activity logs, site visits notes, and focus groups with implementation CHWs at the end of the project. Results Our ten CHWs placed 320 posters (in English or native language) to promote CRC screening in different venues, such as restaurants, churches, temples, and grocery stores, that were frequented by local community members. They also sent out 4,665 CRC postcards to clients on their mail lists. Besides one-on-one counselling session, CHW also conducted 32 CRC information sessions (> 5 people). Across the seven communities, over 2,400 community residents were reached through one-on-one education or small group information sessions over the 12-week intervention period. Most of the CHWs used familiar places to do their outreach, such as in-house programs (e.g. senior services or immigrant programs) or other places that they have implemented programs before. They also used other opportunities, such when they were shopping at the community store or in a bible study, as well as family and friend gatherings, to disseminate CRC screening guidelines. Although not all people they encountered wanted to be screened, they felt that they at least got them thinking about CRC and had impact on them. For personal experience, most CHWs stated that the project increased their knowledge of CRC and they also felt valued. Discussion Participation of CHWs in this demonstration project was invaluable. Each CHW brought critical knowledge of their community, its language, values, norms, and health beliefs. CHWs are uniquely positioned to deliver culturally ad linguistically tailored intervention and can serve as a source of peer support and social influence. Citation Format: Karen Kim, Michael Quinn, Edwin Chandrasekar, Helen Lam. The role of community health workers in disseminating colorectal cancer guidelines in Asian Americans. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A30.


Objective: Few reports have evaluated postoperative continuous thoracic epidural analgesia on patients who received a lung transplant. This analgesic modality may facilitate extubation, early ambulation, and achieve adequate pain control with minimization of opioid use. An opioid sparing technique could minimize the side effects of opioids such as ileus, constipation, and somnolence.Methods: A retrospective chart review following local IRB approval was performed. A total of 97 patients' charts were collected, from April 2015 to March 2017. Forty-eight patients received T6-7 epidural, and forty-nine patients received standard intravenous (IV) analgesia. Outcome measures collected included length of intensive care unit stay, total duration of hospitalization, need for reintubation or noninvasive intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV), need for IV lidocaine gtt, and total narcotics consumption during hospitalization in milligrams of morphine equivalents (MME).Results: Both groups were comparable in age, BMI, and race/gender distribution. Additionally, patient pain requirements were comparable between groups. However, a significantly smaller proportion of thoracic epidural patients required NIPPV post-operatively, (20.4%, 53.2%: p = .0015). Further, the number of patients requiring reintubation was almost halved, (12.5%, 21.3%: NS). Patients receiving thoracic epidural also experienced shorter ICU times (p = .0335) and on average, an overall reduced length of stay by six days.Conclusions: For patients undergoing lung transplant, epidural analgesia is a viable alternative to IV pain control. Further, it significantly reduced respiratory depression and length of stay in the ICU. More refined comparisons can be made by conducting a precise prospective study with a more structured protocol in place.


The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of baseline anxiety and depression, using different definitions for caseness, on attrition and weight outcomes following a multidisciplinary weight management programme. The study design is a prospective observational study. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure anxiety and depression with 'caseness' scoring ≥11 and severity ≥14. The participants were all patients who began a weight management programme between 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2009 (n = 1838). The setting was the Glasgow and Clyde Weight Management Service (GCWMS), a specialist multidisciplinary service, which aims to achieve a minimum of ≥5 kg weight loss. The results were as follows: patients with HADS score ≥14 were referred to the integrated psychology service for psychological assessment or intervention. Patients with caseness (HADS ≥11) for anxiety (33%) and depression (27%) were significantly younger, heavier, more socio‐economically deprived and a higher proportion was female. There was a significant positive correlation between HADS anxiety and depression scores and increasing body mass index (r2 = 0.094, P < 0.001 and r2 = 0.175, P < 0.001, respectively). Attendance and completion was lower throughout follow‐up amongst patients with anxiety or depression. More patients with HADS score ≥11 achieved ≥5 kg or ≥5% weight loss and by 12 months those with anxiety had a significantly higher mean weight loss (P = 0.032). Participants who scored for severe anxiety (HADS ≥14) achieved similar weight loss to those without, whilst participants who scored for severe depression achieved significantly greater weight loss than non‐cases at 3, 6 and 12 months of follow‐up (P < 0.01). Despite a less favourable case‐mix of risk‐factors for poor weight loss, patients who scored caseness for severe anxiety or depression and were offered additional psychological input achieved similar or better weight loss outcomes.


Telomere shortening at every replication cycle is postulated to limit the life span of human somatic cells. In contrast, activation of telomerase is proposed to be an essential step for cancer cell immortalization. Head and neck cancer is the most common malignancy in the Indian population compared with Western countries. However, there are very few reports on telomerase activity and telomere length in head and neck cancer.


The first examples of through-space conjugated thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters based on a [2.2]paracyclophane (PCP) skeleton with stacked (coplanar) donor-acceptor groups have been synthesized. The optoelectronic properties are studied by the relative configuration, cis (pseudo-geminal) and trans (pseudo-para), of the donor and acceptor groups.


Background: The Subjective Well-Being Under Neuroleptic Treatment Scale short form (SWN-K) is a self-rating scale developed to measure mentally ill patients' well-being under the antipsychotic drug treatment. This paper reports on adaptation and psychometric properties of the instrument in an Estonian psychiatric sample. Methods: In a naturalistic study design, 124 inpatients or outpatients suffering from the first psychotic episode or chronic psychotic illness completed the translated SWN-K instrument. Item content analysis, internal consistency analysis, exploratory principal components analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to construct the Estonian version of the SWN-K (SWN-K-E). Additionally, socio-demographic and clinical data, observer-rated psychopathology, medication side effects, daily antipsychotic drug dosages, and general functioning were assessed at two time points, at baseline and after a 29-week period; the associations of the SWN-K-E scores with these variables were explored. Results: After having selected 20 items for the Estonian adaptation, the internal consistency of the total SWN-K-E was 0.93 and the subscale consistencies ranged from 0.70 to 0.80. Good test–retest reliabilities were observed for the adapted scale scores, with the correlation of the total score over about 6 months being r = 0.70. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the presence of a higher-order factor (general well-being) and five first-order factors (mental functioning, physical functioning, social integration, emotional regulation, and self-control); the model fitted the data well. The results indicated a moderate-high correlations r = 0.54 between the SWN-K-E total score and the evaluation how satisfied patients were with their lives in generally. No significant correlations were found between the overall subjective well-being score and age, severity of the psychopathology, drug adverse effects, or prescribed drug dosage. Conclusion: Taken together, the results demonstrated that the Estonian version of the SWN-K is a reliable and valid instrument with psychometric properties similar to the original English version. The potential uses of the scale in both research and clinical settings are considered.


It may be unusual to think of a physical examination as a technique, but what better "instruments" do we have than our eyes, our ears, and our hands? Therefore, I will describe several "techniques" that I felt should be included in this journal, but that do not warrant an article of their own. This article will cover some parts of the routine physical examination, correct positioning of cats and consequences of bad positioning, radiographic techniques that will help diagnose heart failure more consistently, examination of dogs with lower airway disease, and examination of cats with aortic thromboembolism (ATE). Several "pearls" that may get lost in the other information is sprinkled throughout the article.


Spondylodiscitis develops in people with attenuated resistance to infection, such as patients undergoing steroid treatment and those with diabetes mellitus. Most patients with nephrotic syndrome are administered long-term steroids and immunosuppressants use, thus exposing patients to high risk of spondylodiscitis. However, no report has been published thus far on this issue. We here report a case of spondylodiscitis complicated by chronic, treatment-dependent nephrotic syndrome due to focal glomerular sclerosis.


We present results from an analytical model for magnetic buoyancy and rotational instabilities in full spherical shell stellar tachoclines that include rotation, differential rotation of either solar or antisolar type, and toroidal field. We find that in all cases, for latitudes where the tachocline vertical rotation gradient is positive, toroidal fields can be stored against magnetic buoyancy up to a limit that is proportional to the square root of the local vertical rotation gradient. For solar magnitude differential rotation, this limit is about 9 kG. For fixed percentage differential rotation, storage capacity varies linearly with the rotation rate. Faster rotators with the same percentage differential rotation can store larger fields, and slower rotators can store smaller fields. At latitudes where the vertical rotation gradient is negative, vigorous magnetorotational instability for even weak (≪1 kG) toroidal fields prevents such storage. We infer from these results that for stars with solar-type latitudinal differential rotation (fast equator, slow poles), any starspots present should be found in low latitudes, similar to the Sun. For antisolar differential rotation, any spots present should be found in mid- and high latitudes, perhaps with a peak of occurrence near 55°. These results hopefully provide some guidance for making and interpreting observations of stellar activity and differential rotation on stars with convection zones and tachoclines.


We studied the effects of stand age on allocation and equation fitting of aboveground and below-ground biomass in four Quercus acutissima stands (14, 31, 46, and 63 years old) in the Central Loess Plateau of China. The stem wood, stem bark, branch, foliage, and belowground biomass of each of the 20 destructive harvesting trees were quantified. The mean total biomass of each tree was 28.8, 106.8, 380.6, and 603.4 kg/tree in the 14-, 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively. Aboveground biomass accounted for 72.25%, 73.05%, 76.14%, and 80.37% of the total tree biomass in the 14-, 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively, and stem wood was the major component of tree biomass. The proportion of stem (with bark) biomass to total tree biomass increased with stand age while the proportions of branch, foliage, and belowground biomass to total tree biomass decreased with stand age. The ratio of belowground biomass to aboveground biomass decreased from 0.39 in the 14-year-old stand to 0.37, 0.31, and 0.24 in the 31-, 46-, and 63-year-old stands, respectively. Age-specific biomass equations in each stand were developed for stem wood, stem bark, aboveground, and total tree. The inclusion of tree height as a second variable improved the total tree biomass equation fitting for middle-aged (31-year-old and 46-year-old) stands but not young (14 years old) and mature (63 years old) stands. Moreover, biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEFs) varied with stand age, showing a decreasing trend with increasing stand age. These results indicate that stand age alters the biomass allocation of Q. acutissima and results in age-specific allometric biomass equations and BCEFs. Therefore, to obtain accurate estimates of Q. acutissima forest biomass and carbon stocks, age-specific changes need to be considered.


In this paper, we suggest those two design plans for power supply method of Hot Standby Sparing System; one is the plan using MTBF based on Constant Failure Rate, and the plan using Reliability Function is the other. Traditionally, RBD (Reliability Block Diagram) is used for reliability prediction which is required to meet any requirements before system operation. However, the system that has redundancy, such as Hot Standby Sparing System, Is not suitable for system reliability modeling using combination model, such as RBD. In this paper, therefore, we demonstrate that for redundancy controller, redundancy modeling design toward fault occurrence design is more effective to build up a system with higher reliability and achieve the effectiveness of loss cost due to maintenance and failure occurred in operation, rather than combinational modeling design.


The changing of modern educational ideas requires a high-quality campus landscape planning and produces the new theories of landscape architecture. On the basis of the landscape planning design for new campus on Pukou district of Nanjing audit university, the writer discusses how to embody and express educational ideas in the landscape planning on the new campus of colleges and universities, and how to respect natural environment and historical culture to establish an opening campus.


Background. Season of birth (SOB) has been regarded as a risk factor for atopy. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between season of birth (SOB) and later development of atopic disease in children and adolescents. Methods. A total of 1,007 randomly selected subjects, 7 to 17 years of age, who were living in urban Copenhagen, Denmark were studied. All participants were interviewed about respiratory symptoms and possible risk factors for atopic disease. Skin test reactivity, serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE), and airway responsiveness were measured using standard techniques. Results. The overall risk of atopy, as judged by skin test reactivity and serum total IgE, was the same regardless of SOB. On the contrary, asthma was more common in subjects born in the autumn compared with subjects born during the remaining part of the year (12.4% vs. 5.6%), OR = 2.40, 95% CI (1.56–3.94), p < 0.001. This was observed both for atopic asthma OR = 2.41, 95% CI (1.25–4.64), p = 0.007, non-atopic asthma, OR = 2.35, 95% CI (1.14–4.83), p = 0.02, and house dust mite (HDM) sensitive airway hyperresponsiveness, OR = 3.00, 95% CI (1.44–6.24), p = 0.002. Rhinitis and pollen allergy were not significantly related to SOB. Conclusions. Atopy itself is independent of season of birth, whereas asthma is more prevalent among subjects born during the autumn. Regarding asthma, these results suggest that the first months of life enclose a period of particular vulnerability towards environmental risk factors, especially exposure to aeroallergens like HDM.


The fatigue behavior of polypropylene/coir fiber composites was investigated. Composites were prepared according to an experimental statistical design, in which the independent variables coir fiber and compatibilizer content were varied. The compatibilizer used was maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA). Compatibilizer free composites were also prepared. Composites were prepared in a corotating twin-screw extruder and the mechanical behavior of polypropylene/coir fiber composites were assessed through monotonic (tensile) and cyclic (fatigue) tests. Fatigue load controlled tests were conducted under tension–tension loads at a frequency of 6 Hz. The fracture mechanism was accompanied by surface fracture analyses using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicated the need for using compatibilizer in the composites; however, increase in compatibilizer content did not affect composite fatigue lifetime. Coir content was the variable with the strongest effect on composite properties; increasing this variable caused significant increase in fatigue life. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 53:2159–2165, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers


Avian type specimens collected in southern Africa between 18391856 by J.A. Wahlberg for the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm (Naturhistoriska riksmuseet; NRM) are listed. Each species account discusses collection sites, nomenclature, and taxonomy, and as needed, gives notes from Wahlbergs journal of travel routes and camp sites that correct or modify type localities.


As‐Se‐Cu glasses, with Cu content varying between 5 and 25 at. %, were produced by quenching from the melt. The values of resistivity and activation energy for conduction decreased continuously with increasing the copper content. Memory switching phenomena was observed in glasses containing Cu less than 20 at. %. Glasses containing higher Cu concentration showed a reverse switching cycle. Thermally induced changes in the structural properties have been examined using x‐ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The results were discussed on the basis of thermally induced transformations.


The effect of pressure on the galvanomagnetic properties of electron-irradiated n-Pb1-xSnxSe (0.07<or=x<or=0.125) has been investigated. The electron concentration as a function of pressure is used to determine the parameters of the band of radiation-induced resonant states and to reconstruct the energy spectrum of Pb1-xSnxSe alloys irradiated with electrons.


Objective

To explore insights of young people's experiences and motivations in Pokémon GO in Hong Kong. The perspectives of young people through qualitative focus group interviews.

Results

Eight focus group discussions with young people (n=45; age from 18-25 years old) recruited in Hong Kong. We analysed the discussions using a thematic approach. Five theme categories emerged from data analysis: missing out or self-regulation, childhood memories of Pokémon, extending virtual-reality exploration, spending more time outdoors for walking and exercise, gathering together and socially interacting with others. This study sets the way for a deeper analysis of motivation factors to young people that indicate the increasing playing location-based game (LBG) via smartphones worldwide among all cohorts of society. This relatively new phenomenon of LBG may impact players' movement, social activity, and behaviour to gain a common goal into the preferences and effects of playing LBG for young people.


The oil/water two-phase flow is a complicated two-component nonlinear system with time-variance, and the dynamic measuring system for water content in crude oil based on method of dielectric coefficient is affected by manufacturing technology of sensor itself and some non-object parameters, such as temperature and salinity content in oil-water mixture. Consequently, the sensor has serious non-linearity in its input-output characteristics, which is hard to be described by traditional mathematic models up to now. In this paper, a dynamic inverse model and its identification based on genetic neural network (GNN) is proposed for dealing with sensing mechanism under multi-factor influence, making full use of GNNpsilas advantages of nonlinear approximations with high accuracy, fast global convergence, self-adaptive and self-learning. The simulation result shows this method is effective to realize dynamic nonlinear error correction and eliminate the interference of non-object parameters and nonlinearity of sensor itself on the measurement, improving the nonlinear characteristics of the sensor and measuring accuracy for the dynamic testing system.


We set forth the data of experiments involving direct microtarget irradiation by the 12 second-harmonic beams (λ = 0.66 μm) of iodine laser radiation carried out on the Iskra-5 facility. For microtargets we employed glass shells ~500 μm in diameter with ~1-μm thick walls, which were filled with a DT mixture at a pressure pDT ≈ 3-4 atm. In one of these experiments, a tomographic image of the microtarget was recorded from the images obtained using pinhole cameras, which were arranged along seven different directions. The pinhole images were acquired in the X-ray radiation with photon energies above 1.5 keV. The procedure used for reconstructing the volume luminosity of the microtarget is described. An analysis of the tomographic image suggests that the compressed microtarget domain possesses a complex asymmetric shape; 20–30 μm sized structural elements being clearly visible. The resultant data set allowed us to estimate the initial nonuniformity of microtarget surface irradiation by the laser radiation. The rms nonuniformity of microtarget irradiance was estimated at ~60 %.


. Polar spots in Doppler Imaging maps of rapidly rotating late-type stars, especially the active components of RS CVn binaries, represent a major break with the solar paradigm, within which spots are only found at low latitudes. I examine critically the evidence for polar spots and point out that they are particularly sensitive to a number of systematic effects relating to determining reference "zero-points".


Visualization is a promising technique for both enhancing users' perception of structure in the Internet and providing navigation facilities for its large information spaces. This paper describes an application of the Document Explorer to the visualization of WWW content structure. The system provides visualization, browsing, and query formulation mechanisms based on documents' semantic content. These mechanisms complement text and link based search by supplying a visual search and query formulation environment using semantic associations among documents. The user can view and interact with visual representations of WWW document relations to traverse this derived document space. The relationships among individual keywords in the documents are also represented visually to support query formulation by direct manipulation of content words in the document set. A suite of navigation and orientation tools is provided which focuses on orientation and navigation using the visual representations of document set and term collection.


Sixty dairy heifers from seven Austrian herds, with high prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis, were used in this pilot study. Heifers were randomly allocated to two groups. The treatment group received at parturition intramuscularly 10 million i.u. of penethamate hydriodide and then 24 h later, 5 million i.u.; the control group received no treatment. Bacteriological examination was conducted on 7, 14, 21, 35 and 49 d post partum (pp) and milk yield data, fat and protein contents and SCC data were collected every 5th week for the first 200 d of lactation. Occurrence of retained placenta and endometritis were recorded, and the days open of both groups were compared. No effect was observed on the postparturient genital tract health and reproduction indicators. On day 7 pp, four intramammary infections (IMI; two severe clinical; one mild clinical; and one subclinical mastitis) were detected in the untreated control group, whereas there were no IMI in the antibiotic-treated group. At subsequent samplings, there were fewer IMI in the antibiotic-treated group, which were later in lactation, less severe and less persistent. Although SCC was numerically lower in the treatment group, significant differences in SCC between groups could not be detected. Antibiotic-treated heifers produced significantly more milk during the first 15 weeks of lactation than untreated heifers. Over the whole observation period (200 d), peripartum antibiotic-treated heifers produced 323 kg more milk than heifers in the untreated control. Periparturient antibiotic treatment of heifers with penethamate hydriodide prevented IMI during the first week after parturition and achieved a significant increase in milk yield, which was found to be economically beneficial.


In this paper, we present a low voltage, low power, 2.4-GHz frequency synthesizer designed in 0.35-pm CMOS technology. The frequency synthesizer is implemented with an Integer-N phase-locked loop (PLL). The PLL can achieve a frequency tuning step of I-MHz and is capable of covering the whole 2.4-GHz ISM band. The voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) output frequency is firstly divided by a novel tri-modulus current-mode prescaler. The prescaler output is converted to rail-to-rail swing and drives the true single phase clocked register (TSPC) CMOS counters. The loop filter is designed to be 2 nd order and implemented off-chip with passive devices. The post-layout simulation results show that the phase noise of the VCO is -107 dBclHz at I MHz offset, and the PLL reference spur level of the PLL is below -50 dBc.


Background.
Non-invasive cardiac output monitoring (NICOM) using bioreactance (BRT) in pregnancy is gaining interest but lacks validation. We compared simultaneous cardiac output (CO) measurements obtained using the NICOM ® (BRT-CO) and echocardiography (echo-CO), and assessed the relationship between maternal characteristics and myocardial performance.

Methods.
Paired stroke volume (SV) and CO readings were obtained using NICOM ® and echocardiography, in a group of healthy nulliparous women throughout a 15 min period. Agreement between NICOM ® and echocardiography was assessed using Bland-Altman analysis and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Left ventricular (LV) function was assessed using systolic strain and tissue Doppler velocities (S', E', and A' waves).

Results.
Thirty-five women with a median [interquartile range] age, weight, and gestation of 29 [26-34] yr, 71 [64-79] kg, and 28 [21-29] weeks, respectively, were enrolled. There was good agreement between NICOM ® -measured and echocardiographically measured SV [mean bias 6 ml (limits of agreement -18 to 29); ICC 0.8 (95% confidence interval 0.6-0.9), P <0.001] and CO [mean bias 0.2 litres (limits of agreement -1.3-1.7); ICC 0.8 (95% confidence interval 0.7-0.9), P <0.001; mean percentage error ±26%; coefficient of error (precision)=3.4%]. The mean ( sd ) LV S' was 9.7 (2.3) cm s -1 . The mean ( sd ) LV strain was -18.6 (2.6)%. There was a negative relationship between BMI and LV diastolic function measured using the E':A' ratio ( r  = -0.51, P <0.01).

Conclusions.
Stroke volume and CO measurements obtained using NICOM ® were comparable to those obtained using echocardiography, with acceptable limits of agreement. Increased maternal BMI negatively impacts LV diastolic function measured using tissue Doppler imaging.


This paper addresses the question of whether the effect of parental drinking on children's later consumption of alcohol - which is frequently found to be of positive sign - exhibits a certain pattern of heterogeneity. In particular, if this effect is more prominent in the upper tail than elsewhere in the distribution of children's alcohol consumption, conventional regression analyses that focus on the mean effect may substantially underrate parental drinking as a risk factor for children's later alcohol abuse. In our empirical application, we address this issue by applying censored quantile regression methods to German survey data. The supposed pattern of heterogeneity is indeed found in the data, at least for daily parental drinking. In addition, the intergenerational transmission of alcohol consumption exhibits gender-specific heterogeneity.


Learning is Life not just preparation for life. It is the life's experiences that facilitate learning rather than authoritarian instructions and we learn what we do and more often fail in doing all that we have learnt. Because, for learning to be lifelong and application oriented, it has to be learner centered and learner has to be internally motivated. However all the advancement in the pedagogical practices based on the different learning theories seem to be in contradiction to the term since pedagogy embodies teacherfocused education where learners are dependent, with pre-determined objectives, assumed to be inexperienced and uninformed and contributing little to the experience, learning chiefly being content centered and trainer/teacher a primary resource of ideas and examples. Unlike this, Andragogy – the art and science of helping adults learn is an alternative to pedagogy refers to learner-focused education. Here learner is a participant assumed to have experiences to contribute and learning is real life centered rather than subject/content centered where participants are seen as primary source for ideas and examples. The author in the present piece of work share the experience of using Andragogy as a teaching-learning model for facilitation workshops with in-service teachers and heads of schools in the area of school leadership development. The author is no way bidding farewell to pedagogy, however propose that teaching and learning exist along a continuum with pedagogy (directed learning) at one end and Andragogy (facilitated learning) at the other.


The Chinese health care system has suffered from severe tension between patients and doctors during the past decade. Patient-centered communication (PCC) may play a significant role in mitigating this problem. With a general basis of the pathway model linking communication to health, this paper illustrates social mechanisms that underlie how PCC improves health outcomes in China. Using three-wave panel data collected in China, the results showed that PCC failed to directly influence health. Instead, PCC at Wave 1 predicted patient satisfaction and patient trust at Wave 2, which in turn enhanced self-reported health outcomes at Wave 3. In addition, bonding social capital positively moderated the effect of PCC on patient trust.


Electrode temperature diagnostics and a two-dimensional electrode model have been developed to improve our understanding of electrode behaviour in ceramic metal halide lamps. Using transparent YAG arc tubes in dc and ac operation, anode and cathode characteristics, like the effective work function, anode fall and electrode input power, could be derived from the measured temperature profiles. It is found that Dy-iodide in the metal halide lamp filling has a strong so-called gas-phase emitter effect. In order to improve our understanding of the observed phenomena and to help design electrodes for future lamps, a rotational symmetric two-dimensional electrode model has been created. The model is completely phase resolved so that time-dependent effects can be studied (both ac and dc). Furthermore, it contains various options for calculating the power input distribution, including a complex cathode sheath model as well as a simple anode model. The model has been shown to predict spot/diffuse transitions (in Hg-lamps with heavy electrodes/low currents) very similar to the behaviour seen in real lamps.


The interaction of a resonant light field with a quantum two-level system is of key interest both for fundamental quantum optics and quantum technological applications employing resonant excitation. While emission under resonant continuous-wave excitation has been well-studied, the more complex emission spectrum of dynamically dressed states, a quantum two-level system driven by resonant pulsed excitation, has so far been investigated in detail only theoretically. Here, we present the first experimental observation of the complete resonance fluorescence emission spectrum of a single quantum two-level system, in form of an excitonic transition in a semiconductor quantum dot, driven by finite Gaussian pulses. We observe multiple emerging sidebands as predicted by theory with an increase of their number and spectral detuning with excitation pulse intensity and a dependence of their spectral shape and intensity on the pulse length. Detuning-dependent measurements provide additional insights into the emission features. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with theoretical calculations of the emission spectra, corroborating our findings.


Abstract Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important in abiotic stress tolerance. Here, we identified salt-responsive genes and lncRNAs in the roots and leaves of Betula platyphylla Suk. (birch), and characterized their lncRNAs functions. In total, 2660 mRNAs and 539 lncRNAs responding to salt treatment were identified using RNA-seq. The salt-responsive genes were substantially enriched in 'cell wall biogenesis' and 'wood development' in the roots and were enriched in 'photosynthesis' and 'response to stimulus' in the leaves. Meanwhile, the potential target genes of the salt-responsive lncRNAs in roots and leaves were both enriched in 'nitrogen compound metabolic process' and 'response to stimulus'. We further built a method for quickly identifying abiotic stress tolerance of lncRNAs, which employed transient transformation for overexpression and knock-down of the lncRNA, enabling gain- and loss-of-function analysis. Using this method, 11 randomly selected salt-responsive lncRNAs were characterized. Among them, six lncRNAs confer salt tolerance, two lncRNAs confer salt sensitivity, and the other three lncRNAs are not involved in salt tolerance. In addition, a lncRNA, LncY1, was further characterized, which improves salt tolerance by regulating two transcription factors, BpMYB96 and BpCDF3. Taken together, our results suggested that lncRNAs play important roles in the salt response of birch plants.


Background

Most foods displayed at supermarket checkouts are unhealthy and do not support healthy purchases. This study investigates the sales effects of introducing healthier alternatives at supermarket checkouts.
Methods

We performed two real-life quasi-experimental studies in supermarkets located in a disadvantaged urban area in the Netherlands. In Study 1, we examined the impact of substituting healthier options for all the unhealthy snacks at checkouts (n = 1 supermarket). In Study 2, we investigated the impact of placing healthier snacks at checkouts (placement intervention), as well as the impact of offering a discount on healthier checkout snacks (placement + price intervention), while continuing to display unhealthy snacks for sale (n = 2 supermarkets). Supermarket sales data were used to measure purchases.
Results

In Study 1, median weekly sales/1000 customers of checkout snacks were 2.3 times lower (SE: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.9–2.7) during the intervention period – when healthier options were substituted for the entire unhealthy snack assortment – (median: 10, IQR: 2.8), as compared to the control period (median: 24, IQR: 2.8). In Study 2, median daily sales/1000 customers of healthier snacks were 2.1 times higher (SE: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.3–3.3) during the placement-intervention period (median: 7.8, IQR: 4.6), as compared to the control period (median: 4.2, IQR: 4.6). Similarly, median daily sales/1000 customers of healthier snacks were 2.7 times higher (SE: 1.2, 95%CI: 2.0–3.6) during the placement + price-intervention period (median: 5.8, IQR: 2.2), as compared to the control period (median: 2.2, IQR: 4.7). There was no difference between the effect of the placement intervention and that of the placement + price intervention (ratio: 1.1, SE: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.7–1.9). Neither did we observe a decline in purchases of unhealthy snacks (ratio: 1.3, SE: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.1–1.5).
Conclusions

This study showed that if we want to promote healthier food purchases at supermarket checkouts the substitution of the unhealthy snacks with healthier alternatives is an effective intervention, which is not the case if the unhealthy snacks remain in place at the checkouts, even with discounts on the healthier snacks. Future research should assess the feasibility and willingness of eliminating unhealthy checkout snacks in supermarkets.


cision of the United States Supreme Court of February 26, 1951, holding the Wisconsin Compulsory Arbitration Statute unconstitutional makes studies like this one academic. Not only is there doubt that the Court's decree is equally applicable to all compulsory arbitration laws, but the decision itself rests on a doctrine of conflict with Federal law-a conflict easily removed by Congressional action. Of the seven states with this sort of legislation, these two were selected for study probably because of convenience, although New Jersey possibly has accumulated more experience in the administration of a compulsory arbitration statute than any other state. The inclusion of Pennsylvania adds little to the study because the Pennsylvania experience has been very limited. The Pennsylvania act has ben invoked only 7 times, with the procedure carried as far as an arbitration award in only 3 cases. The limited use of the Pennsylvania law is not explained by its newness since it has been in operation for virtually the


Recent studies indicate that maximal IL-8 protein expression requires activation of NF-kappaB as well as activation of the MAP kinases ERK, JNK, and p38. However, the precise relationship between NF-kappaB transactivation and MAP kinase activation remains unclear. We examined the requirements of NF-kappaB, ERK, JNK, and p38 for TNF-alpha-induced transcription from the IL-8 promoter in a human bronchial epithelial cell line. Treatment with TNF-alpha induced activation of all three MAP kinases. Using a combination of chemical and dominant-negative inhibitors, we found that inhibition of NF-kappaB, ERK, and JNK, but not p38, each decreased TNF-alpha-induced transcription from the IL-8 promoter. Inhibition of JNK signaling also substantially reduced TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappaB transactivation, whereas inhibition of ERK and p38 had no effect. On the other hand, ERK was required and sufficient for TNF-alpha-induced activation of activator protein (AP)-1 promoter sequences, which together function as a basal level enhancer. JNK activation was also required for AP-1 transactivation. Finally, inhibition of p38 attenuated IL-8 protein abundance, suggesting that p38 regulates IL-8 expression in a posttranscriptional manner. We conclude that, in human airway epithelial cells, MAP kinases may regulate IL-8 promoter activity by NF-kappaB-dependent (in the case of JNK) and -independent (ERK) processes, as well as by posttranscriptional mechanisms (p38).


It is important to develop and implement policies that are unique to nursing practice situations. To do so, nurses must participate in policy development that connects disciplinary knowledge with policy formulation. The purpose of this paper is to explore connections between nursing knowledge and transitional care. This is done with a discussion of transitional care definitions and models, along with connections to concepts and principles within extant nursing theories and models.


The microstructural and magnetic properties of Fe-Cu films were studied in terms of Cu content in the films. The results of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that the Cu content in the films increases as the Cu concentration in the electrolyte is increased. The increase of the Cu content in the films makes the film morphology seem cauliflower-like structure and the films with Cu have rougher surface than pure Fe films. The X-ray diffraction revealed that the films have bodycentered cubic structure of -Fe, and the Fe film has the (100) preferential texture whereas the Fe-Cu film containing 9.5 wt% Cu has the (110) preferential texture. The magnetic analysis carried out by vibrating sample magnetometer showed that the increase of the Cu content in the film results in the decrease of the saturation magnetization and the increase of the coercivity, and the easy-axis direction of the magnetization is parallel to the film plane. It is seen that the microstructural and magnetic properties of the Fe-Cu films changes depending on the film content.


A genomic library of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DNA was screened with a monoclonal antibody (MAb 2528) specific for the P. aeruginosa 60-kDa heat shock protein. A positive clone, pAS-1, was isolated. The gene coding for P. aeruginosa chaperonin (hsp60) was localized to a 2-kb EcoRI fragment subcloned in pAS-2. A sequence analysis of pAS-2 and parts of pAS-1 identified two open reading frames that encoded proteins with calculated molecular masses of 10 and 57 kDa. In amino acid sequence comparison studies the sequences of these proteins, which were designated GroES and GroEL, exhibited up to 78% homology with known prokaryotic sequences of 10- and 60-kDa heat shock proteins (hsp10 and hsp60). In order to map the epitope recognized by MAb 2528, a series of GroEL nested carboxy-terminal deletion clones were tested with MAb 2528. We identified the clone with the shortest insertion that was still recognized by MAb 2528 and the clone with the largest insertion that was not recognized by MAb 2528. The 3' ends of the insertions were determined by sequencing and were found to delimit a region that encoded 25 amino acid residues. Synthetic oligonucleotides that coded for peptides possibly resembling the epitope within this region were ligated into expression vector pGEX-3X, and fusion proteins expressed by these clones were tested for reactivity with MAb 2528. By using this method we determined that the decapeptide QADIEARVLQ (positions 339 to 348 on GroEL) was responsible for the binding of P. aeruginosa-specific MAb 2528.


In previous papers, we reported the antimicrobial activity of plants used in Argentine folk medicine against different micro-organisms. The present study deals with the screening of 11 of these plants against the opportunistic pathogen fungus Candida albicans. Aqueous extracts 6% p/v (6 mg dry plant per 100 ml of water) were checked against fungus cultures by the agar-well diffusion method. Five extracts showed antifungal activity.


Significant progress has been made in the development of an international network of gravitational wave detectors, such as TAMA300, LIGO, VIRGO, and GEO600. For these detectors, one of the most promising sources of gravitational waves are core collapse supernovae especially in our galaxy. Recent simulations of core collapse supernovae, rigorously carried out by various groups, show that the features of the waveforms are determined by the rotational profiles of the core, such as the rotation rate and the degree of the differential rotation prior to core-collapse. Specifically, it has been predicted that the sign of the second largest peak in the gravitational wave strain signal is negative if the core rotates cylindrically with strong differential rotation. The sign of the second peak could be a nice indicator that provides us with information about the angular momentum distribution of the core, unseen without gravitational wave signals. Here we present a data analysis procedure aiming at the detection of the second peak using a coherent network analysis and estimate the detection efficiency when a supernova is at the sky location of the galactic center. The simulations showed we were able to determine the sign of the second peak under an idealized condition of a network of gravitational wave detectors if a supernova occurs at the galactic center.