In habitats such as temperate evergreen forests, fruit, and seed productivity is reported to exhibit marked changes in seasonal availability, such that fruit is most available in summer and seeds are most available in autumn. Primates living in these habitats, therefore, are expected to adjust their diets in response to the spatial and temporal variation in these food resources. We studied the diet and feeding behavior of a group of 42 Phayre's langurs (Trachypithecus phayrei) living in a northern (24°48′N) montane habitat (1,700–2,350 m) in Mt. Gaoligong, Yunnan, China from August 2012 to July 2013. The langurs were found to forage on 50 plant species, of which 28 species each accounted for more than 1% of their annual feeding time. Castanopsis echidnocarpa, the most abundant species in their habitat, accounted for 17.5% of the total forest trees, and contributed to the largest proportion of the annual langur diet. The primary component of the langur diet was composed of fruits (22.2%), seeds (18.7%), and buds and young leaves (41.5%). Mature leaves accounted for only 4.1% of their diet. Based on DBH and the percent of the crown containing edible food items, we found that the langurs changed their monthly diet according to the availability of fruits and seeds (Spearman rank correlation: r = 0.609, p = 0.035), and buds and young leaves (Spearman rank correlation: r = 0.837, p = 0.001). The seeds of C. echidnocarpa accounted for 12.5% of langur feeding time. A single tree produced a large seed and fruit crop, which likely reduced opportunities for within‐group feeding competition. We argue that the resource productivity of this northern montane enables Phayre's langurs to live in stable groups that are 3.6 times larger than reported for Phayre's langurs living in other habitats.


The article presents results of assessment of seasonal dynamics of morbidity rate of acute lymphoblastic leukemia among population younger than 29 years old in Azerbaijan. The materials of Scientific and Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusiology were used, including data of National register of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The observation had been realized retrospectively and covered data of 991 patients younger than 29 years old in 1998-2014. According used data, all patients were distributed according to seasons. The inter-seasonal differences in the cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia were estimated by single-factor analysis of variance. During 1998-2014 number of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases changed within the interval 10 - 20 in Spring, 10-27 in Summer, 10-29 Autumn and 8-19 cases in Winter. The median of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia consisted 13,3 in Spring, 15,4 in Summer, 13,7 in Autumn and 10 in Winter. The average number of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Spring was (15,49±1,13), in Summer (15,89±1,08) and in Autumn (15,71±1,21) practically were equal (р>0,05) and was significantly (р<0,05) higher than the same data in Winter (11,07±0,76). In total, during 1998-2014 number of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cases in Summer was higher than the same number in Winter up to 1,24 times. The risk of the incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia earlier than age of 29 years in Winter in Azerbaijan is relatively low. The increase of morbidity risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia is specific for Spring, Summer and Autumn are at the same degree. The seasonal risks of acute lymphoblastic leukemia morbidity are not universal. They change depending on conditions of the year. The seasonal risks of acute lymphoblastic leukemia morbidity are better to be assessed comparing morbidity cases per seasons of a year (winter, spring, summer and autumn), but not according summary of winter and summer seasons.


Introduction: The transition from pregnancy to postpartum period is associated with changes in sexual function which is considered a psychosocial crisis. Different social, cultural and religious status might be responsible for the various results related to the prevalence and risk factors of sexual dysfunction during postpartum period. Recognizing these problems and making a timely intervention is effective in improving the quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess sexual dysfunction and its related factors among breast feeding women during the first year after child birth. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 528 women in health centers of Ghaemshahr (1387-1388) with cluster random sampling. The inclusion criterion was breastfeeding women who had spent 2 to 12 months of postpartum period, who were not divorced, educated and consented to participate in the study. Those, who had been away from their husband for any reason, lost their baby or suffered from severe physical and psychological diseases, were excluded from the study. The Demographic and midwifery data were assessed with related questionnaires. Sexual function was evaluated with female sexual function index. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, Chi-square and t-test. Results: Findings show that nearly half of the women (41.4) had some degree of sexual dysfunction during the first year after the delivery, which was often mild (30.4). Severe dysfunction was more common in the first 3 months of postpartum period (71.4). Dysfunction prevalence decreased to 9 months and then increased slightly (p=0.01). Age, duration of marriage, more parity and children, infant with health problems and fatigue were significantly associated with sexual dysfunction. Conclusion: The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in postpartum period is more than the general population of women. Dysfunction is more common during the first 3 months and between 9 to 12 months of postpartum period. Since most women do not go to health centers for their problems, health providers must be aware of silent epidemiology of dysfunction and its risk factors to be able to provide preventive, therapeutic and counseling measures for females.


Resource-bounded genericity concepts have been introduced by Ambos-Spies, Fleischhack and Huwig [AFH84], [AFH88], Lutz [Lu~O], and Fenner [Fe91]. Though it was known that these concepts are incompatible, the relations among these notions were not fully understood. Here we survey these notions and clarify the relations among them by specifying the types of diagonalizations captured by the individual concepts. Moreover, we introduce new, stronger resource-bounded genericity concepts corresponding to the fundamental diagonalization concepts in complexity theory. In particular we introduce general genericity, which generalizes the previous concepts and captures both, standard finite extension arguments and slow diagonalizations. As we also point out, however, there is no strongest resource-bounded genericity concept. This is shown by giving a strict hierarchy of genericity notions corresponding to delayed diagonalizations. Finally we study some properties of the Baire category notions on E induced by the genericity concepts and we point out the relations between resource-bounded genericity and resource-bounded randomness.


ABSTRACT Continuing a line of thought begun by Havelock and Goody, often called the "literacy thesis," Olson has proposed in a series of articles several new ideas about how literacy may have altered human cognition to make modern scientific thinking possible. He attributes to literacy the development of explicit, autonomous prose, the ability to distinguish data from interpretation, and the growth of metalanguage, all of which are held to be essential to systematic thought. An examination of these proposals indicates that they lack sufficient evidence, coherence, and substance to support a case for any significant "cognitive consequences" of literacy. (Literacy and cognition, orality and literacy)


The pool of qualified teachers is dwindling and will not be sufficient to support the growing demands for highly qualified teachers. Increased graduation and certification requirements, technology changes, greater employment opportunities for minorities and a decline in academic abilities appear to contribute to the limited number of teachers. In addition to look to increasing the pool of applicants, school districts may want to consider investigating retention patterns of their teachers as well as variables that affect a teacher's decision to remain in the classroom and focusing on programs that reduce the attrition rate. However, small and rural schools face a distinct set of challenges with regard to locale, regional socio-economic conditions and trends, and attracting, retaining and supporting talented teachers. Often teachers in these communities are expected to have knowledge, skills and certification in multiple subject areas. The purpose for this study is to identify those variables that are significant indicators of teacher's reasons for remaining in a rural school district.


The Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (TDMA) technique coupled with aerosol humidification has been widely used for studying aerosol hygroscopicity. In this study, we evaluate the performance of a commercial Humidified TDMA (BMI HTDMA, Model 3002) with respect to DMA sizing, relative humidity (RH) control, and growth factor (GF) measurements. Unique features of this particular HTDMA include a diffusion-based particle humidifier, a DMA design allowing selection of particles up to 2 μm diameter at only 5600 volts, and the ability to study the complete deliquescence and efflorescence cycle. The sizing agreement between DMA 1 and 2 was within 2% over the 35 to 500 nm diameter range. The measured TDMA responses agreed well with theoretical calculations. The RH control and stability were tested at a suburban field site in Hong Kong. The system achieved RH equilibrium in less than 4 min when changing the RH set point. With indoor temperature changes of less than 1°C per hour, the RH control of the system was very stable at 90%, within 1% RH deviation, as confirmed by GF measurements on ammonium sulfate (AS) aerosols performed on separate days. The hygroscopic properties of various pure aerosols were examined and the results agreed well with model predictions. The application of the BMI HTDMA for field measurements was also demonstrated. Two modes were resolved from the GF distributions at 90% RH and variable hygroscopic growth with changing RH was observed. Copyright 2014 American Association for Aerosol Research


INTRODUCTION: Impaired renal function in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) is associated with adverse clinical outcome. Historically, the renal status is reported as serum creatinine (SCr) only. Introduction of novel agents (thalidomide, lenalidomide, bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin) in MM therapeutics has improved clinical responses and overall survival. An important question that remains largely unanswered is if these agents deliver equal benefit to patients with impaired renal function. Thus we investigate the overall benefit of novel agents in MM patients with renal impairment. METHODS: All MM patients treated between January 2000 and December 2007 at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) where included in this analysis. Extent of disease was assessed based on the Durie-Salmon staging system. We determined glomerular filtration rate (GFR) to asses renal function more accurately. GFR was calculated utilizing the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation. Patient cohorts were defined based on severity of renal impairment per the National Kidney Foundation-Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKD-KDOQI) guidelines based on the GFR value into normal >90, mild 60–89, moderate 30–59, severe 15–29 and kidney failure (GFR of 15–29 = 11 and GFR 15 = 13) , they were combined into a single cohort of severe renal impairment (GFR 30 = 24). We also defined patient cohorts based on a previously reported classification in MM wherein patients were divided based on severity of renal impairment into normal >80, mild 50–80, moderate 30–49 and severe RESULTS: A total of 175 patients (M=88, F=87) with a median age 60 years (range 34–88) were evaluated. Majority of patients had stage III disease (64%), 57.1% had IgG myeloma and lytic bone disease present in 67.4% of the patients. Median values for SCr, serum calcium, blood urea nitrogen, serum albumin and hemoglobin were 1.1mg/dl (range-0.5–10.3), 9.5 mg/dl (range-7.5- 7.2), 18 mg/dl (range-5–107), 4.0 g/dl (range-2.2–5.5) and 11.5 g/dl (range-6.8–17.1) respectively. SCr >2 mg/dl was seen in only 16% patients and 41.1% patients had GFR in the range of 60–89 ml/min/1.73m^2. Patients received an average of 2 treatments. Use of at least one of the novel agent was seen in 86.3% patients (Immunomodulatory drugs =130, Bortezomib = 97, Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin =65). Median survival for patients with SCr 2.0 was 67.4 months (45.4 – 92.7 months) and 38.4 months (15.3 months – not reached) respectively. Median survival for patients with normal GFR and mild, moderate and severe renal impairment based on the NKD-KDOQI guidelines was 76.1 months (37.5 months – not reached), 55.32 months (34.8 months – not reached), 67.4 months (45.4 months – not reached) and 24.9 months (15.3 months – not reached) respectively. Median survival for patient cohorts defined based on a previously reported classification in MM was similar to that seen with the NKD-KDOQI classification. We noted no significant survival advantage of normal renal function over renally impaired patients (Figure 1 & 2) despite evaluations based either by using the traditional approach of SCr (p = 0.15; log rank test) or by more sensitive renal function assessment by GFR (p = 0.21; log rank test) . CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in MM patients the previously reported and commonly perceived adverse prognosis imparted by impaired renal function can no longer be validated and that routine incorporation of novel agents has overcome this adverse prognosis. These findings are consistent with the impact of novel agents reported in context with MM with aggressive molecular profiles.


The authors have analysed first the evolution of the ideas concerning the phenomenon of the mentally ill throughout history, up to the modern concept of mental illness and disorder. This approach to the treatment of the material was necessary because it is clear that the contents, as well as the legal significance, of the institute of incompetency is heavily dependent on the prevalent concept of psychopathology. The authors assert that the current approach to the institute of mental incompetency, which was in the beginning determined by application of the biological method, appeared in the beginning of the nineteenth century, with the adoption of the then predominant psychiatric teachings on mental illness. Further in the text the authors highlight the advantages and disadvantages of this method. In an attempt to limit the growing psychiatric influence on criminal law, a new, psychological method for determining mental incompetency was conceived in time. Due to obvious shortcomings, this method has never managed to affirm itself, neither in theory, nor in criminal law. The authors have dedicated the final part of their work to the detailed examination of the biological-psychological method of determining mental incompetency, which was devised in reaction to the disadvantages of the previous two methods. They stress that, unlike these methods, the mixed method ensures legal certainty because it clearly divides jurisdiction between the judge and expert witness-psychiatrist in the proving of a person's mental incompetency. Finally, it also affirms one of the most important achievements of the modern criminal responsibility principle – the linking of criminal responsibility to a certain crime and the moment in which it was committed.


Background:The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread throughout the world causing a serious health issue. After the swine flu pandemic (also known as H1N1) of 2009-10, WHO had declared Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a global pandemic. This pandemic caused huge losses to the entire world. Most of the patients with mild symptoms were treated at home but patients with difficulty in breathing and various complications were treated at the hospital. Naturally produced antibodies or vaccination can only offer protection. The objective was to compare the antibody status after SARS-CoV-2 infection in hometreated and hospital-treated patients.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, BIRDEM General Hospital, from July, 2020 to June, 2021. A total of 77 patients (age 18 – 70 years) infected by SARS-CoV-2 were enrolled for this study. Among them, 37 were home treated and 40 were treated in hospital. The study subjects were non-vaccinated. For this study, serum IgG level was measured by the automated analyser. For statistical analysis, the Mann Whitney U test was done.
Results:The median value of serum IgG was significantly higher in hospital-treated patients than in hometreated patients (p < 0.001). Hospital treated patients with a history of comorbidity developed more amount of antibody in comparison to home treated patients.
Conclusion:Hospital treated patients develop higher antibodies in comparison to home treated patients.
BIRDEM Med J 2022; 12(1): 11-15


The purpose of this paper is to identify the principal determinants of foreign direct investment on a crosscountry basis. Using a large sample of both developed and developing countries, we find that traditional variables relating to the size and scale of economic activity in the host country are most significant in explaining foreign direct investment flows, while variables such as economic freedom, tax incentives and human capital are not at all significant. These findings are in line with similar research that shows market size, economic openness and quality of infrastructure to be key drivers of foreign direct investment, but are at variance with research that shows human capital and tax incentives to be key drivers.


A tortuous retroflexed innominate artery can simulate a right apical mass. Four cases are presented to illustrate the four fairly distinct appearances which can result. When the innominate artery buckles posteriorly and laterally, it occasionally impresses deeply into the lung and becomes almost completely surrounded by air. The artery will then look like a pulmonary mass on frontal radiographs. The lower margin of the mass is always more crisply defined than the upper margin, and the appearance on the lateral film is fairly characteristic. Aortography is recommended when the radiographic picture is equivocal. In a survey of 200 randomly selected patients over 50 years old, only one had an innominate artery that presented as an apparent pulmonary mass.


Usutu virus (USUV) is a Culex-associated mosquito-borne flavivirus of the Flaviviridae family. Since its discovery in 1959, the virus has been isolated from birds, arthropods and humans in Europe and Africa. An increasing number of Usutu virus infections in humans with neurological presentations have been reported. Recently, the virus has been detected in bats and horses, which deviates from the currently proposed enzootic cycle of USUV involving several different avian and mosquito species. Despite this increasing number of viral detections in different mammalian hosts, the existence of a non-avian reservoir remains unresolved. In Kedougou, a tropical region in the southeast corner of Senegal, Usutu virus was detected, isolated and sequenced from five asymptomatic small mammals: Two different rodent species and a single species of shrew. Additional molecular characterization and in vivo growth dynamics showed that these rodents/shrew-derived viruses are closely related to the reference strain (accession number: AF013412) and are as pathogenic as other characterized strains associated with neurological invasions in human. This is the first evidence of Usutu virus isolation from rodents or shrews. Our findings emphasize the need to consider a closer monitoring of terrestrial small mammals in future active surveillance, public health, and epidemiological efforts in response to USUV in both Africa and Europe.


Background
Placenta previa with placenta accreta spectrum is one of the most feared complications responsible for increased maternal morbidity and mortality. This study aims to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality by detecting risk factors, performing relevant investigations, and deciding appropriate management options.
Methods:
The study design is a descriptive case series, carried out on 72 patients of MAP of a tertiary care hospital, in a 6-years duration from January 2014 to December 2019. Patients of OPD and the emergency department were diagnosed for MAP by using grayscale ultrasounds, color Doppler USG's (in most cases), and MRI's (in only a few cases). Different management options were studied and maternal morbidities were observed.  In the majority of cases, patients had operative deliveries with planned/ emergency hysterectomies, except for some having conservative surgery.
Results:
In the period of 6 years, the total number of deliveries was 35940. Out of these, 22140 were spontaneous vaginal deliveries and 13800 were C-sections.  The incidence of MAP was 1 per 499 normal deliveries and 1 per 192 in C-sections. The criteria for MAP was fulfilled by 72 patients. MAP diagnosed in the antenatal period was 43% while 57% were diagnosed in an emergency. The majority of patients had a history of C-sections and many underwent emergency obstetric hysterectomies. Blood transfusions were given to all patients in our study. Only 4(5.5%) patients died in our study.
Conclusion:
Antenatal diagnosis of morbidly adherent placenta, followed by a well-planned surgical management, avoidance of placental separation and early caesarean hysterectomy ultimately result in a better maternal outcome.
Keywords:
Morbidly Adherent Placenta, Maternal Morbidity, Massive Obstetric Hemorrhage, Obstetric Hysterectomy.


The North American summer monsoon holds the key to understanding warm season rainfall variations in the region from northern Mexico to the Southwest and the central United States. Studies of the monsoon have pictured mosaic submonsoonal regions and different processes influencing monsoon variations. Among the influencing processes is the "land memory," showing primarily the influence of the antecedent winter season precipitation (snow) anomalies in the Northwest on summer rainfall anomalies in the South- west. More intriguingly, the land memory has been found to vary at the multidecadal time scale. This memory change may actually reflect multidecadal variations of the atmospheric circulation in the North American monsoon region. This notion is examined in this study by first establishing the North American monsoon regimes from relationships of summer rainfall variations in central and western North America, and then quantifying their variations at the multidecadal scale in the twentieth century. Results of these analyses show two monsoon regimes: one featured with consistent variations in summer rainfall in west Mexico and the Southwest and an opposite variation pattern in the central United States, and the other with consistent rainfall variations in west Mexico and the central United States but different from the variations in the southwest United States. These regimes have alternated at multidecadal scales in the twentieth century.Thisalternation of the regimes is found to be in phase with the North Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). In warm and cold phases of the AMO, distinctive circulation anomalies are found in central and western North America, where lower than average pressure prevailed in the warm phase and the opposite anomaly in the cold phase. Associated wind anomalies configured different patterns for moisture transport and may have contributed to the development and variation of the monsoon regimes. These results indicate that investigations of the effects of AMO and its interaction with the North Pacific circulations could lead to a better understanding of the North American monsoon variations.


Reviews the book, Transference and countertransference in non-analytic therapy: Double-edged swords by Judith A. Schaeffer (see record 2007-02321-000). According to Boag, the concepts of transference and countertransference are arguably some of the most important concepts that psychodynamic thinking has contributed to clinical practice. In the context of therapy, this involves the client transferring past attitudes, longings, and feelings onto the therapist. In turn, the therapist may transfer his or her own unresolved past onto the present client (countertransference). This book aims to serve as a resource for non-psychodynamically oriented (nonanalytic) clinicians to help identify transference and countertransference in therapy and provide suggestions for working with such issues. The book aims to be "as devoid of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic terminology as possible" and instead to discuss such psychodynamic concepts in nonanalytic language and thus help the nonanalytic clinician negotiate the issue of transference and countertransference in therapy. The book's scope is broad, addressing the theory and evidence of transference, the manifestations of transference in therapy, and the multitude of clinical approaches to working with transference. Snippets from case studies and vignettes are provided. The discussion is generally limited to nonpsychotic adult therapy, but the book demonstrates an awareness of the important issues of culture, cultural-based expectancies, and their potential impacts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)


Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS, UAV, or drones) have become an effective tool for applications in natural resources since the start of the 21st century. With their associated hardware and software technologies, UAS sensor data have provided high resolution and high accuracy results in a range of disciplines. Despite these achievements, only minimal progress has been made in (1) establishing standard operating practices and (2) communicating both the limitations and necessary next steps for future research. In this review of literature published between 2016 and 2022, UAS applications in forestry, freshwater ecosystems, grasslands and shrublands, and agriculture were synthesized to discuss the status and trends in UAS sensor data collection and processing. Two distinct conclusions were summarized from the over 120 UAS applications reviewed for this research. First, while each discipline exhibited similarities among their data collection and processing methods, best practices were not referenced in most instances. Second, there is still a considerable variability in the UAS sensor data methods described in UAS applications in natural resources, with fewer than half of the publications including an incomplete level of detail to replicate the study. If UAS are to increasingly provide data for important or complex challenges, they must be effectively utilized.


The class of problems represented by frustrated cluster loops, FCL, is a robust set of problems that spans a wide range of computational difficulty and that are easy to determine what their solutions are. Here, we use frustrated cluster loops to test the relative performance of the D-Wave without post-processing and the D-Wave with multi-qubit correction (MQC) post-processing. MQC post-processing has shown itself exceptionally beneficial in improving the performance of the D-Wave 2000Q when processing difficult FCL problems.


The main goal of this thesis is to identify and analyze some of the community benefits of arts and culture nonprofit organizations. Oftentimes, people view these organizations as entertaining but frivolous. In reality, these organizations are vital for a community, and they deserve more support. In this thesis, I will specifically focus on the economic, social, and therapeutic benefits of these organizations. In order to analyze this subject, I read and analyzed a variety of scholarly resources. After conducting research, it is evident that supporting and investing in the arts is a smart economic decision for any community. They generate a great deal of economic activity and benefit other local businesses. In addition, arts organizations attract businesses, residents, and visitors to a community, and they improve the quality of life in the area. Also, art has many therapeutic effects, and art therapy organizations help those with physical disabilities or emotional challenges to boost their confidence, build a support system, and cope with their emotions. All of these benefits have a great impact on the community, and could have a positive influence on education, business, and health fields in the area. Therefore, arts and culture nonprofit organizations are a powerful force in a community, and they require the support and investment of their communities.


In this paper, we investigate the Antenna Orientation (AO) and Antenna Orientation and Power Assignment (AOPA) problems concerning symmetric connectivity in Directional Wireless Sensor Networks (DWSNs) where each sensor node is equipped with 2 $\leq k\leq 5$ directional antennas having beamwidth $\theta\geq 0$. The AO problem for DWSNs is closely related with the well-known Euclidean Degree-Bounded Minimum Bottleneck Spanning Tree (EBMBST) problem where different cases for the degree bound have been studied. While current works on DWSNs focus on solving each case of $k(=2, 3, 4)$ separately, we propose a uniform approach for the AO problem that yields constant-factor approximation algorithms for the AO as well as the EBMBST problem where the degree bound is between 2 and 4. Our method achieves the same constant factors. For the AOPA problem, to the best of our knowledge, our paper provides the first results concerning this problem. We show that the problem is NP-hard when 2 $\leq k\leq 4$. We also establish the first constant-factor approximation algorithms for the problem. Finally, we perform some simulations to understand the practical performance of our algorithms.


The use of hydrogen in the energy sector of the United States is projected to increase significantly in the future. Current uses are predominantly in the petroleum refining sector, with hydrogen also being used in the manufacture of chemicals and other specialized products. Growth in hydrogen consumption is likely to appear in the refining sector, where greater quantities of hydrogen will be required as the quality of the raw crude decreases, and in the mining and processing of tar sands and other energy resources that are not currently used at a significant level. Furthermore, the use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel has been proposed both by automobile manufacturers and the federal government. Assuming that the use of hydrogen will significantly increase in the future, there would be a corresponding need to transport this material. A variety of production technologies are available for making hydrogen, and there are equally varied raw materials. Potential raw materials include natural gas, coal, nuclear fuel, and renewables such as solar, wind, or wave energy. As these raw materials are not uniformly distributed throughout the United States, it would be necessary to transport either the raw materials or the hydrogen long distances to the appropriate more » markets. While hydrogen may be transported in a number of possible forms, pipelines currently appear to be the most economical means of moving it in large quantities over great distances. One means of controlling hydrogen pipeline costs is to use common rights-of-way (ROWs) whenever feasible. For that reason, information on hydrogen pipelines is the focus of this document. Many of the features of hydrogen pipelines are similar to those of natural gas pipelines. Furthermore, as hydrogen pipeline networks expand, many of the same construction and operating features of natural gas networks would be replicated. As a result, the description of hydrogen pipelines will be very similar to that of natural gas pipelines. The following discussion will focus on the similarities and differences between the two pipeline networks. Hydrogen production is currently concentrated in refining centers along the Gulf Coast and in the Farm Belt. These locations have ready access to natural gas, which is used in the steam methane reduction process to make bulk hydrogen in this country. Production centers could possibly change to lie along coastlines, rivers, lakes, or rail lines, should nuclear power or coal become a significant energy source for hydrogen production processes. Should electrolysis become a dominant process for hydrogen production, water availability would be an additional factor in the location of production facilities. Once produced, hydrogen must be transported to markets. A key obstacle to making hydrogen fuel widely available is the scale of expansion needed to serve additional markets. Developing a hydrogen transmission and distribution infrastructure would be one of the challenges to be faced if the United States is to move toward a hydrogen economy. Initial uses of hydrogen are likely to involve a variety of transmission and distribution methods. Smaller users would probably use truck transport, with the hydrogen being in either the liquid or gaseous form. Larger users, however, would likely consider using pipelines. This option would require specially constructed pipelines and the associated infrastructure. Pipeline transmission of hydrogen dates back to late 1930s. These pipelines have generally operated at less than 1,000 pounds per square inch (psi), with a good safety record. Estimates of the existing hydrogen transmission system in the United States range from about 450 to 800 miles. Estimates for Europe range from about 700 to 1,100 miles (Mohipour et al. 2004; Amos 1998). These seemingly large ranges result from using differing criteria in determining pipeline distances. For example, some analysts consider only pipelines above a certain diameter as transmission lines. Others count only those pipelines that transport hydrogen from a producer to a customer (e.g., those pipelines designed for in-plant transport of hydrogen for use as feedstock or fuel are not counted). Operational status and hydrogen purity levels are also factors in defining these ranges. Hydrogen pipelines in the United States are predominantly along the Gulf Coast and connect major hydrogen producers with well-established, long-term customers. These hydrogen transmission systems pall by comparison with the 180,000-mile natural gas transmission pipeline. Since 1939, Germany has had a 130-mile pipeline carrying 20,000 lb/hour of hydrogen in a 10-inch pipe at 290 psi gauge (psig). The longest hydrogen pipeline in Europe is owned by Air Liquide and extends 250 miles from Northern France to Belgium. In theory, a blend of up to 20% hydrogen in natural gas can be transported without modifying natural gas pipelines (Oney et al. 1994). « less


Background: Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) commonly used to treat and prevent estrogen-receptor-positive (ERP) breast cancer. However, despite its established efficacy, recent studies indicate that 1 in 2 patients will discontinue use of the drug prior to completing the recommended five-year treatment cycle. The alleviation of unpleasant side effects through personalized targeting of tamoxifen dose and, as appropriate, concomitant administration of a CYP2D6 inhibitor could increase adherence and increase the likelihood that patients will receive the amount of the drug needed to protect them against disease onset and/or recurrence. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was implemented to assess whether overlapping therapy with highdose tamoxifen and CYP2D6 inhibitors influence medication adherence during the first 540 days of therapy. Subjects (N = 17,242) were identified in an integrated medical and pharmacy claims database and selected for inclusion in the study if they 1) filled a new tamoxifen prescription between 7/1/2008 and 6/30/2009 and 2) were continuously eligible to receive pharmacy benefits during the 6 months preceding and 12 months after initiation of therapy. Eligible participants were then cross-classified according to tamoxifen dose (NORMAL, HIGH) and CYP2D6 inhibitor status (NO, YES), and a Cox regression model was fitted to the data to obtain covariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals for each treatment combination relative to the HIGH/NO group. Results: The lowest and highest hazard ratios were observed in the NORMAL/YES [HR = 0.924 (0.88, 0.97)] and HIGH/NO [HR = 2.33 (2.07, 2.62)] categories. Moreover, the risk of discontinuation was significantly reduced when high-dose tamoxifen was administered in concert with a CYP2D6 inhibitor [HR = 1.31 (0.953, 1.802)]. Discussion: These study suggests that joint treatment with high-dose tamoxifen and a CYP2D6 inhibitor may improve tamoxifen adherence in breast cancer patients. The findings also highlight the need for 1) education and research regarding tamoxifen dosing and 2) careful consideration for when–and under what circumstances–concomitant medications should be prescribed to enhance patient tolerance of tamoxifen-related negative symptoms. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-02-15.


Factors associated with Africa's lack of progress in achieving socioeconomic development are explored. The author suggests that the solution does not lie in tackling the population problem, but in resolving the structural factors causing underdevelopment, such as the export of wealth, the burden of debt, and the unfavorable balance of payments. The need to replace inappropriate models of development based on Western experience with African models is also suggested.


Iontophoresis (iontotherapy) is sometimes employed to permit epidermal medication. Corticosteroids have been recently one of the most frequently employed, although the literature reports no scientific study demonstrating its effectiveness. This work reports our experimentation on steroid iontophoresis both in vitro and in vivo, to determine whether steroids pass through the skin. Using paper electrophoresis, we first studied the electrophoretic mobility of six water-soluble corticosteroids commercially available in Switzerland. Then an experimental model with two cylinders, one containing a steroid solution and the other filled with buffer solution separated by human skins was submitted to ionization. The in-vivo experimentation consisted in a study of steroid iontotherapy in four rabbits and in 188 patients. Our in-vitro and in-vivo studies failed to demonstrate the transcutaneous migration of corticosteroids.


For the mammalian olfactory epithelium to continually detect odorant, neuronal survival, apoptosis, and regeneration must be coordinated. Here, we showed that the proto‐oncogene BCL6, which encodes a transcriptional repressor required for lymphocyte terminal differentiation, contributes to the survival of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). In the olfactory epithelia of the BCL6 null mutant mice, many OSNs were positive for both OMP and GAP43. The epithelium was relatively thinner, showing many apoptotic signals. These characters were phenotypically similar to those of the wild‐type mice treated with nasal lectin irrigation, which acutely induces apoptosis of OSNs. Odorant receptors were expressed normally in the epithelia of the mutant mice, and their overall expression profile based on DNA microarray analyses was roughly similar to that of the apoptosis‐induced olfactory epithelia of the wild‐type mice. Experimental increase of BCL6 together with green fluorescent protein in OSNs using adenovirus‐mediated gene transfer made the epifluorescence last longer than the control fluorescence without exogenous BCL6 after the nasal lectin irrigation, indicating that BCL6 made the infected neurons survive longer. We conclude that BCL6 plays an active role in the survival of OSNs as an anti‐apoptotic factor and confers immature OSNs enough time to fully differentiate into mature ones. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 70: 424‐435, 2010


This paper studies the bit error probability of coded unitary space-time modulation with iterative decoding where neither the transmitter nor the receiver knows the channel fading coefficients. The tight error bound with respect to the asymptotic performance is first analytically derived for any given unitary constellation and mapping rule. Design criteria regarding the choice of unitary constellation and mapping are then established. Furthermore, using the unitary constellation obtained from orthogonal design with quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK or 4-PSK) and 8-PSK, two different mapping rules are proposed. The first mapping rule gives the most suitable mapping for systems that do not implement iterative processing, which is similar to a Gray mapping in coherent channels. The second mapping rule yields the best mapping for systems with iterative decoding. In particular, analytical and simulation results show that with the proposed mappings of the unitary constellations obtained from orthogonal designs, the asymptotic error performance of the iterative systems can closely approach a lower bound which is applicable to any unitary constellation and mapping


We present a signal compression scheme based on coding linear segments approximating the signal. Although the approach is useful for many types of signals, we focus in this paper on compression of electrocardiogram (EGG) signals. The ECG signal compression has traditionally been tackled by heuristic approaches. However, it has been demonstrated that exact optimization algorithms outclass these heuristic approaches by a wide margin with respect to the reconstruction error. The exact optimization algorithm extracts signal samples from the original signal by formulating the sample selection problem as a graph theory problem. Thus known optimization theory can be applied in order to yield optimal compression. This paper generalizes the exact optimization scheme by removing the interpolation restriction when applying piecewise linear approximation. This guarantees a lower reconstruction error with respect to the number of extracted signal samples. The method shows superior performance compared to traditional ECG compression methods.


We develop a complete state-space solution to H2-optimal decentralized control of poset-causal systems with state-feedback. Our solution is based on the exploitation of a key separability property of the problem that enables an efficient computation of the optimal controller by solving a small number of uncoupled standard Riccati equations. Our approach gives important insight into the structure of optimal controllers, such as controller degree bounds that depend on the structure of the poset. A novel element in our state-space characterization of the controller is an intuitive description of the controller as an aggregation of local control laws.


The extraction and isolation of four crude polysaccharides from Hedyotis diffusa Willd., as well as the evaluation of their antioxidant and anti-glycated activities in vitro were investigated. The whole plant of H. diffusa was extracted with hot distilled water and three fractions of crude polysaccharides, termed as 50P, 70P and 90P were obtained by graded ethanol precipitation, BP were gained by NaOH solution extracted followed by ethanol precipitation. All of the four polysaccharides were defatted with petroleum ether and protein was removed by the Sevag reagent. Preliminary antioxidant in vitro indicated that the four crude polysaccharides showed powerful and dose-dependent scavenging abilities on DPPH· and hydroxyl radicals. For the first time, the anti-glycated activities of the four samples were studied, and they had good potential in inhibiting the non-enzymatic glycation reaction with dose-dependent effects. In particular, 90P showed even better antioxidant and anti-glycated activities than corresponding positive control. Therefore, H. diffusa crude polysaccharides have potential value on the prevention and treatment of some diseases caused by oxidant and aging, and worthy of further research and development.


A broad survey of the literature on reptiles and amphibians reveals that the ambiguous term 'ovoviviparity' has been applied to a variety of reproductive patterns that have little in common. Among these are patterns that can more clearly be referred to as aplacental viviparity, oviparous egg-retention, egg-tending, pseudoviviparity, and lecithotrophy. Some of the uses of 'ovoviviparity' are based on invalid assumptions, and some are mutually exclusive; thus, particular care must be used in interpreting literature reports that lack operative definitions. To minimize confusion, future reports and reviews should avoid 'ovoviviparity' in favour of unambiguous alternatives that explicitly distinguish patterns defined on the basis ofreproductive products at deposition from patterns based on sources of nutrients for embryonic development.


This GIS data layer is a component of the U.S Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center's, Gulf of Mexico GIS database. The Gulf of Mexico GIS database is intended to organize and display USGS held data and provide on-line (WWW) access to the data and/or metadata.


Abstract Gammarids are one of the most successful invaders in freshwater ecosystems due to both their diet plasticity and high reproductive capability. The Balkanic amphipod, Gammarus roeselii Gervais, 1835, has colonised a small canal in the southern part of the sub-lacustrine Ticino River basin (Northern Italy), where it lives in sympatry and shares the same habitat with the native species Echinogammarus stammeri (Karaman, 1931). We surveyed the populations of the two species over 12 months (from July 2014 to June 2015) to investigate their structure and dynamics. The overall densities of the two populations were similar in the study area, but we observed marked differences in the population structure: G. roeselii was in fact more successful than the native gammarid in achieving the adult stage, and E. stammeri exhibited a rather limited reproductive period, which does not justify the stable occurrence of juvenile individuals. We hypothesise that the population of the native gammarid in this small habitat is supported by a continuous upstream immigration of individuals from the Ticino River, while G. roeselii exhibits a well-structured and self-reproducing population.


The costimulatory signal provided by the interaction between CD28 and its ligands, CD80 and CD86, is critical for T cell activation. The requirement of CD80 and CD86 in T cell activation for eosinophilia and IgE production was examined in mice infected with the nematode parasite Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. Combined treatment with anti-CD80 and anti-CD86 suppressed eosinophilia in the blood and the small intestine and suppressed IgE production. However, administration of either anti-CD80 or anti-CD86 alone had little effect on eosinophilia and on the elevation of IgE levels. These results suggest that CD80 and CD86 costimulation is required and either CD80 or CD86 can provide a sufficient costimulatory signal for induction of eosinophilia in mice infected with N. brasiliensis.


The problem of poverty is suspected as old as human life itself. While social scientists agree that the main cause of poverty was economic system prevailing in the society, but poverty itself is not the problem that manifested because of only the economic system. In fact, poverty is a manifestation of human interaction that involves virtually all aspects belonging to the human life, so that the problem is not endless. Problems that occur in urban poverty believed to be caused not only by low incomes, but also by the mindset of respondents that made respondents static. This mindset was reflected in a lifestyle that could be seen from the behavior of consumption, investment, use of leisure time and concern for the salvation of the souls of respondents (safety). It was expected to become the foundation to be used in solving the problems faced by the urban poor and what solutions can be given. With SPSS analysis tool that generated tabulation summarizes, arrangement or compilation of data in the form of numeric tables would explain how the characteristics and description from the lifestyle of the urban poor as a real form of the mindset of the respondents. The results of this study indicated that the majority of the urban poor over the age of 51 years and only educated to primary school. Environmental conditions and poor sanitation, inadequate nutrition fulfillment, availability of adequate clothing though limited, the recreation area around the city of Semarang and concern for the salvation of the souls of respondents who still lack was a general overview from the results of analyzes performed.


The aim of the present study was to investigate the thoracic part of the esophagus in the bronze turkey, using Masson's trichrome stain and Alcian blue-PAS staining. Thirty-six clinically healthy bronze turkeys (eighteen males and eighteen females) were studied. The groups of the birds were at age 1, 7, 14, 28, 35 and 49 days. Each group consisted of three male and three female birds. The histological features of the organ were similar in the studied groups. It consisted of tunica mucosa, tunica submucosa, tunica muscularis, and tunica serosa. There were no specifics in the organ regarding the sex and the age of the birds. The esophageal glands in all of the studied groups, demonstrated intensive PAS and AB reaction, because of the mucous, produced by the epithelial glandular cells. Lamina propria exhibited a weak PAS reaction, visible in all ages, either in males, either in females.


In this paper, the performance of safety management in building construction in China is summarily analyzed. Considered the factors of the underlying causes of the construction safety accidents including staff, equipment, material, technique and circumstance, and combined with the latest study achievement of construction safety management at home and abroad, the underlying causes of poor safety management and the frequency of construction-related accidents existing currently are to be studied through investigation at site, studying cases, questionnaire and interviewing experts etc. Based on this, the quantitative criterion system of safety management evaluation on construction site is built, and an SVM-based dynamic monitoring model is proposed, then the safety condition of the construction site can be predicted with evaluation criterion system and the SVM-based dynamic monitoring model. After proved at three construction sites, the model and monitoring system are applied to construction safety management of engineering for precontrolling, and the result shows the method is effective. Then a new approach to construction safety management is put forward


Abstract: Disc ridging operations in a loamy sand soil, at tillage speeds of 1.94 m/s, 2.22 m/s and 2.5 m/s, using trace tractor techniques, were conducted. The dependent and independent variables involved in the models were measured. The sensitivity of measured parameters was used for evaluating performance of developed models which described the tractors tyre-soil- interactions parameters. Results showed performance of the wheel-tractors tractive force models having sensitivity coefficients ranging from -0.00164 to 0.2505, -0.00698 to 0.0979 and -0.00258 to 0.2595 for Disc ridging, with all the independent variables at 1.94 m/s, 2.22 m/s and 2.50 m/s tillage speeds respectively. The lowest sensitivity coefficient of -0.00698 to 0.0979 was obtained at speed of 2.22 m/s. This indicates that tillage speed of 2.22 m/s is the best for disc ridging operation. Results showed that performance efficiencies increase with decreasing sensitivity coefficient values. Keywords: modelling, tractive force, disc ridging, performance, tillage, loamy, sand, soil, sensitivity measurement, soil moisture


The Classroom Communication Resource (CCR) intervention was developed to improve peer attitudes towards children who stutter (CWS). This pilot study will inform the feasibility of a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) through the following aims: 1. To analyse selected procedural aspects including recruitment, participation and retention rates and questionnaire-questionnaire completioncompletion trends 2. To observe treatment and cluster effect of the CCR intervention at one and six months post-intervention An experimental, quantitative cluster randomised trial design was used. Preintervention-post-intervention data was collected from control and intervention groups. The sample comprised 273 mixed-gender Grade 7 participants in the Western Cape (WC) Metro urban area in classrooms across quintiles. Data was collected and analysed at pre-intervention, one and six months postintervention. The Stuttering Resource Outcomes Measure (SROM) was used to measure attitude changes. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe the procedural aspects and treatment effect. A positive school-recruitment rate (90, 91%) was observed while the participation (59.6%) and retention rates (44.8%) decreased over time. Participants were excluded due to poorly completed questionnaires, consent, assent, absenteeism and administrative errors. Questionnaire completion trends at six months post-intervention showed that errors were noted on all items. These procedural challenges could be reduced in future studies through rigorous planning. The positive treatment effect was minimal at one month post-intervention, while more evident in magnitude and direction of change in attitude scores on the SROM at six months post-intervention. A constant group effect was noted at pre-intervention, one and six months postintervention. This study therefore concluded that a future RCT is feasible with several recommendations.


In this paper, we propose a new rewiring approach for distribution networks called randomized local rewiring (RLR). We evaluate the robustness of original and rewired distribution networks using new metrics and show that the choice of a network topology can affect its robustness considerably. Some supply and distribution networks exhibit characteristics similar to those of scale-free networks. Simulation results show that applying RLR to such distribution networks can improve the network robustness on the supply availability and network connectivity metrics when both random and targeted disruptions are likely to occur. A unique feature of our model is a tunable rewiring parameter, which makes it possible to design networks with the same performance on the supply availability, network connectivity, and average delivery efficiency metrics in the presence of both types of disruptions. This paper will describe the robustness metrics and the new approach, illustrate the experimental results in the context of a military logistic and a retailer's distribution network, and discuss the insights gained about choosing the right topology for achieving higher robustness.


SUMMARY Hurricane Katrina's winds and flood waters impacted nearly every library in the New Orleans metropolitan area. The author provides a brief commentary on the extent of damage at the academic libraries before describing in detail the destruction and recovery of the library at Xavier University. The article offers a series of questions that librarians in flood-prone areas might ask in order to prepare themselves and their staffs for the possibility of a major flood and its consequences.


The study incorporates work carried out by the Auckland Regional Child and Youth Engagement Project (ARCYE). The ARCYE project is part of the Auckland Sustainable Cities, 'Investing in Child and Youth Development' (ICYD) work strand which began in 2003 and was completed in June 2006. The researcher interviewed officers of the seven cities and district councils in the Auckland region and the Auckland Regional Council, all of whom had a child and youth focus within their organisation. The interviews examined the drivers for youth participation from a local government perspective. They shared their experiences in engaging youth to participate in Council sponsored or supported initiatives. The objective was to find out what the benefits of youth participation were for Councils and also for the participating youth. The research supports the proposition that for the Auckland region's economic growth to be sustainable, the next generation of leaders, skilled workers, entrepreneurs, educators and parents must be critically involved in today's discourse concerning the region's development. Therein is the rationale for local government to engage young people. The research posits that the 'whole of government' (central government and local government with community) focus on investing in child and youth development is not random. Rather it is a strategic effort to prepare young people to become responsive to their region's growth and development. The downstream benefits may see engaged youth as a captive audience being open to influence from adults. The value or benefit of including young people in decision-making opportunities therefore needs to be carefully considered within a context of young people's apparent diminished status within society. Youth participation with local councils needs to be real: Young people participating and contributing to the improvement of their communities. As a corollary youth rights within an adult-controlled and managed society requires careful monitoring to minimise the exploitation of young people by adults.


In 1891, Baron Maurice de Hirsch founded the Jewish Colonization Association (J.C.A.), through which he would manage a gigantic social welfare project concerning the immigration of thousands of people from the Russian Empire towards Argentina, and their settlement in agricultural colonies. In this paper, we evaluate the result of this project, which is generally qualified as a failure by historians on the subject. We hold an alternative hypothesis, wholly opposed to this conclusion: if the social evaluation of the project were carried out, taking into account the externality it generated, the conclusion would be that the project was highly successful; even though its private evaluation ,which implicitly is the usually made evaluation, would lead to the conclusion that it was a total failure. This externality is reflected in the number of immigrants arriving in the country independently of the J.C.A., but who would have never come here were it not be for Baron de Hirsch's project, since it placed Argentina on the map of East European Jewry, in a world in which the dissemination of information was slow and deficient.


Co-integration of GaAs MESFET and Si CMOS circuits is demonstrated using GaAs-on-Si epitaxial growth on prefabricated Si wafers. This is thought to be the first report of circuit-level integration of the two types of devices in a coplanar structure. A 2- mu m gate Si CMOS ring oscillator has shown a minimum delay of 570 ps/gate, whereas on the same wafer a 1- mu m gate GaAs MESFET buffered-FET-logic (BFL) ring oscillator has a minimum delay of only 70 ps/gate. A composite ring oscillator consisting of Si CMOS invertors and GaAs MESFET invertors connected in a ring has been successfully fabricated.<<ETX>>


bjective :The authors investigated the efficacy of the calcium sulfate(OsteoSet ® pellets) as an autograft extender when used to perform posterolateral lumbar fusions. patients who underwent lumbar posterolateral arthrodesis for various spinal diseases between October 1999 and March 2000 were evaluated. Arthrodesis was performed by transpedicular screw fixation and bone grafting with a mixture of autograft + calcium sulfate in a 1:1 ratio. At time intervals of 1, 2, 3, and 6 months, postoperative radiographs were obtained to review the resorption of calcium sulfate and the evidence of fusion. A modified Lenke scale was used to assess the status of the fusion. months operation, the average modified Lenke scale score for the OsteoSet ® pellets group was 3.8. However at 6 months after operation, the average modified Lenke scale score for the OsteoSet ® pellets group was 1.8. Resorption of calcium sulfate pellets was revealed in all cases at 6 months after surgery. Conclusion :It is presumed that a combination of calcium sulfate and autograft can play a role as an effective autograft extender in the posterolateral spinal fusion.


BACKGROUND
 Diagnostic error in ambulatory care, a frequent cause of preventable harm, may be mitigated using the collective intelligence of multiple clinicians. The National Academy of Medicine has identified enhanced clinician collaboration and digital tools as a means to improve the diagnostic process.

 OBJECTIVE
 This study aims to assess the efficacy of a collective intelligence output to improve diagnostic confidence and accuracy in ambulatory care cases (from primary care and urgent care clinic visits) with diagnostic uncertainty.

 METHODS
 This is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial of using collective intelligence in cases with diagnostic uncertainty from clinicians at primary care and urgent care clinics in 2 health care systems in San Francisco. Real-life cases, identified for having an element of diagnostic uncertainty, will be entered into a collective intelligence digital platform to acquire collective intelligence from at least 5 clinician contributors on the platform. Cases will be randomized to an intervention group (where clinicians will view the collective intelligence output) or control (where clinicians will not view the collective intelligence output). Clinicians will complete a postvisit questionnaire that assesses their diagnostic confidence for each case; in the intervention cases, clinicians will complete the questionnaire after reviewing the collective intelligence output for the case. Using logistic regression accounting for clinician clustering, we will compare the primary outcome of diagnostic confidence and the secondary outcome of time with diagnosis (the time it takes for a clinician to reach a diagnosis), for intervention versus control cases. We will also assess the usability and satisfaction with the digital tool using measures adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model and Net Promoter Score.

 RESULTS
 We have recruited 32 out of our recruitment goal of 33 participants. This study is funded until May 2020 and is approved by the University of California San Francisco Institutional Review Board until January 2020. We have completed data collection as of June 2019 and will complete our proposed analysis by December 2019.

 CONCLUSIONS
 This study will determine if the use of a digital platform for collective intelligence is acceptable, useful, and efficacious in improving diagnostic confidence and accuracy in outpatient cases with diagnostic uncertainty. If shown to be valuable in improving clinicians' diagnostic process, this type of digital tool may be one of the first innovations used for reducing diagnostic errors in outpatient care. The findings of this study may provide a path forward for improving the diagnostic process.

 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPOR
 DERR1-10.2196/13151


The retrieval of series of proxy data on the past climate will serve to acquire a deeper understanding of the climate system and a more accurate prediction of its future development, as a priority task for the scientific community. In particular, the analysis of climate data of the past is an essential tool for studying the dynamics of the earth's climatic system in conditions different from present ones, and irreplaceable for testing the validity of medium- and long-term forecasting models. The determination of the influence of anthropogenic impacts on the planet's environment is predicated on a clear understanding of the natural ways in which the earth's climate responds to the complex set of external forcings. Therefore, in recent decades, many national and international research groups have focused attention on the study of the climate evolution in late-Quaternary sediments from the Mediterranean area. By virtue of its close relationship with continental masses subject to different climatic processes, the Mediterranean basin permits the documentation of climate evolution both globally and in the Northern Hemisphere. Finally, it is worth noting that shallow sea (continental shelf) areas are natural repositories for the monitoring of short-term climate change and anthropogenic impacts on the marine system. To make available information on climate history and environment yielded by marine sediments, this WP will be dedicated to analyzing and, where possible, collecting cores of marine sediments, especially those drilled in shallow sea environments, and focusing on climate dynamics in the Mediterranean over past centuries. During its course, the project will analyse and, where possible, sample marine sediment cores in continental shelf environments and in different sectors of the Mediterranean basin. Previous studies have indicated them as key sites for the identification of major short-term climate fluctuations, due to global and local forces active during the Quaternary and particularly in the past thousand years. In fact, the possibility of enriching the databases referring to this time interval (to date, still limited to the Mediterranean) will provide new working hypotheses for the implementation of numerical models that attempt simulate how the Mediterranean, in particular the marine-coastal sector, has responded to past climate dynamics (Medieval Warm Period / Little Ice Age transition, Little Ice Age, the Industrial Age, and Modern Warming). The cores obtained will be the focus of multidisciplinary studies involving national and international research groups.


Tourism is considered as big industry which growing up faster compare to other industry in this recent year. It is reported that Indonesia received approximately 11.5 million of international tourists in 2016. Because the tourism shows significant trend in Indonesia and getting strong position in the third rank as the foreign revenue for this country, the government willing to boost up the factors that might contribute more on attracting international tourist. This study tried to analyse the determinant factors of international tourist in Indonesia by using Random Effect Model. The variables are GDPs origin and destination country, exchange rate of origin country, free visa impact and length of distance in Indonesia during the period of 2006 to 2016. The study found that all variables are statistically significant. GDPs origin and destination country and country with visa-free entry have positive effect to the number of international tourist arrival while the rest which is exchange rate of origin country and length of distance have negative effect to the international tourists. Hence, the government needs to promote aggressively to the international tourist by conducting important events, increasing the number of countries that receive Indonesia free visa and maintain the GDP in both origin and destination country.


The goal of our research was to assess whether the observation about deceptive texts having a lower positive tone than truthful ones in terms of sentiment could become operative and be used for building a classifier in the particular case of fraudster's letters written in Spanish. The data were the letters that CEOs address to company shareholders in their annual financial reports, and the task was to identify the letters of companies that committed financial misconduct or fraud. This case was challenging for two reasons: first, most of the research worked with spontaneous written or spoken texts, while these letters did not; second, most of the research in this area worked on English texts, while we validated the linguistic cues found as evidence of deception for Spanish texts. The results of our research confirm that an SVM trained with a bag-of-words model of frequent adjectives can achieve 81% accuracy because these adjectives bring the information about which positive or negative tone and which word combinations in a text turn out to be a characteristic of fraudster's texts.


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

AZD6244 is small-molecule inhibitor that targets the MAPK pathway, and is currently in phase I/II clinical evaluation. While some efficacy of these agents has been observed in phase I/II clinical trials, one of the hurdles of targeted therapy is the intrinsic and acquired resistance mediated by complex feedback pathways. Identifying downstream effectors required for cellular response to MEK inhibitors will help us understand the mechanism of resistance, possibly leading to the development of direct therapeutic targets. Explore the signaling responses after treatment with MEK inhibitors will also allow us to identify signaling feedback loops and cross talks. We used reverse phase protein array (RPPA) technology to determine which downstream effectors of MEK/ERK pathways critical for cell growth inhibition or apoptosis induced by MEK inhibitors, and to identify which signaling pathways are inhibited or activated when the pathways is blocked. RPPA is a antibody-based quantitative assay used to analyze nanoliter amounts of sample for 200 proteins to determine expression levels and protein modifications such as phosphorylation or cleavage. Experiments were carried out in 5 resistant and 5 sensitive cell lines with the MEK inhibitor, AZD6244. Cells were treated at different time points (0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours) and with various dosages (0, 0.3, 1, 3 and 10 µM). Cell lysates were collected and quantified for RPPA assays. The data was analyzed for the presence of clusters based on differential protein expression by using available methods with a statistical software package (StatSoft, Tulsa, OK). Significantly changed proteins were analyzed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Proteins Data from RPPA was further validated by using Western blotting with the same antibody used in the RPPA assay. The results showed that inhibition of MEK/ERK could activate multiple signaling pathways including AKT, SRC, STAT3 and IGF1R. Activation of those signaling pathway through signaling cross talk and feedbacks may involved in the intrinsic and acquitted resistance to MEK inhibitor. We also indentified a penal of molecules, such as BIM, P27, p53 and JNK were specifically induced only in the sensitive cells. Those molecules might be the mediators of MEK inhibitor induced cell apoptosis. The results will be helpful in understanding of the signaling cross talks and feedbacks and in the exploration of mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to the treatment with MEK inhibitors in lung cancer.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-347. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-347


: The Euromaidan revolution totally reoriented Ukraine's policy in both internal and external dimensions. The new Ukrainian authorities facing Russian aggression and domestic instability started to build a new national identity in order to consolidate social cohesion. Due to the fact that Kiev's new historical narrative glorifies the Ukrainian nationalists from the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) who contributed to the Holocaust of Jews and committed mass murders on the representatives of other nationalities, such a policy may be a serious obstacle in the context of Ukraine's external relations. The present article investigates particularly Israeli-Ukrainian relations after the Euromaidan revolution. The article analyses the impact of the new Ukrainian identity on bilateral relations as well as attempting to answer whether or not it may influence Kiev's cooperation with the European Union. The article contains a brief de-scription of the new identity building process in the post-Euromaidan Ukraine with special consideration of those elements of it, which are related to "Ukrainian Nationalism".


Land price sustainability issues have been addressed by many authors in the past. Most of these researchers used land prices (from land price maps) as the primary data source in their studies. Only a few papers analysed official land price maps, which are available very rarely. For this reason, we studied the spatial and temporal changes of land prices in the city of Olomouc based in an analysis of official land price maps from 1993 to 2017. We proposed several research hypotheses to confirm some general statements about land price changes. We concluded that some economic indicators had a significant impact on changes in land prices. In the residential and commercial areas and historical centre, land prices are significantly higher than in other monitored aspects (land-use types). We also concluded that no link existed between land-use stability and land price stability. Surprisingly, no long-term stable areas were found in the area of interest. The analysis also confirmed that land price and its change over time varied in different spatial aspects. Unexpectedly, the smallest influence was reflected in the economic aspect. Regarding natural events in recent decades, we observed a significant drop in land prices in the vicinity of watercourses threatened by flooding. These findings can assist in better understanding local development and changes in land price. The results of this study can help in gaining better understanding of economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainability of land price changes.


The problem of water shortages faced by many countries including the country that having sufficient water source needs to be provided a practical engineering solution. The reliability analysis of rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) installed at the commercial building of AEON Taman Universiti located in Johor Barhu city of Malaysia was based on the rainfall pattern, rainwater use and rainwater storage tank. The economic analysis using the net present value (NPV), return on investment (ROI) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR) was performed to assess the optimal management of RWHS installed during the period of construction and retrofitted after the operation of commercial building. The results showed that the balance of water supply and demand is reliable to implement the RWHS and the optimal management of 1000-m3 RWHS tank installed during the construction could be more promising than that retrofitted after the operation of AEON Taman Universiti commercial building. The operation of RWHS installed during the construction of building is obviously more feasible due to the values of NPV, ROI and BCR tend to be high. The reliability and economic analysis of RWHS installed during construction and that retrofitted after operation of commercial building demonstrated the benefit of RWHS installation will contribute to the future of building design for achieving an effective water management.


naturalists' trusts or the Otter Haven Project's work in this field. More too could have been said about the way in which the water authorities' schemes affect otter habitat, the opportunities which exist to reconcile the needs of land drainage and wildlife conservation, and the initiatives which some water authorities (for example, the Wessex and Welsh) have already taken. I am slightly uneasy about teaching the general public how to search for otter signs (chapter 10); increased disturbance was mentioned in chapter 9 as a possible reason for the otter's decline, and further disturbance by well-meaning otter-watchers may not be desirable. Philip Wayre's achievements in breeding otters in captivity are unsurpassed, and he writes about his work with an infectious enthusiasm. This is a fascinating introduction to otters, but could have given more information about the animal's conservation. ANGELA KING


Machining time estimation is essential for the due-date estimation of products as well as for production planning. Conventionally, machining time has been estimated by a computer aided manufacturing (CAM) system, which requires time and effort to create its numerical control (NC) program and requires machining expertise to operate it. In addition, among the problems with conventional methods, an error in the estimated machining time arises owing to the machine tool's control characteristics. In this study, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system capable of estimating machining time promptly and simply based on shape data without requiring any NC program is developed. The input data to the AI system are color information regarding the machined depths, which are used to estimate the rough-machining time, and color information regarding the machined surface curvature distributions to estimate the finish-machining time. Color information on the machined depths and machined surface curvature distributions is created using three-dimensional computer aided design (3D CAD) data. To build the AI system, the shape data and machining time data accumulated at the machining site are used, so that the machining time estimated reflects the machining method, machining expertise, and the machine tool characteristics employed.


An experimental method to select the number of principal components in minimum noise fraction (MNF) is proposed to process images measured by imagery sensors onboard aircraft or satellites. The method is based on an experimental measurement by spectrometers in dark conditions from which noise structure can be estimated. To represent typical land conditions and atmospheric variability, a significative data set of synthetic noise-free images based on real Multispectral Infrared and Visible Imaging Spectrometer images is built. To this purpose, a subset of spectra is selected within some public libraries that well represent the simulated images. By coupling these synthetic images and estimated noise, the optimal number of components in MNF can be obtained. In order to have an objective (fully data driven) procedure, some criteria are proposed, and the results are validated to estimate the number of components without relying on ancillary data. The whole procedure is made computationally feasible by some simplifications that are introduced. A comparison with a state-of-the-art algorithm for estimating the optimal number of components is also made.


To answer a question of how can one observed angular momentum radiation near null infinity, one can first transform the dynamical twisting vacuum solution and make it satisfy Bondi coordinate conditions in the asymptotical region of the null infinity. We then obtain the Bondi-Sachs news function and also find the relationship of how does the angular momentum contribute to the news functions from the exact solution sense. By using the Komar's integral of angular momentum, the gravitational angular momentum flux of the dynamical twisting space-time can be obtained. All of our results can be compared with the Kerr solution, Robbinson-Trautmann or Schwarzschild solution. This study can provide a theoretical basis to understand the correlations of gravitational radiations near a rotating dynamical horizon and null infinity.


Objective To determine the association between state legal mandates for data submission of central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with process and outcome measures. Design Cross-sectional study. Participants. National sample of level II/III and III NICUs participating in National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance. Methods State mandates for data submission of CLABSIs in NICUs in place by 2011 were compiled and verified with state healthcare-associated infection coordinators. A web-based survey of infection control departments in October 2011 assessed CLABSI prevention practices, ie, compliance with checklist/bundle components (process measures) in ICUs including NICUs. Corresponding 2011 NHSN NICU CLABSI rates (outcome measures) were used to calculate standardized infection ratios (SIRs). Association between mandates and process and outcome measures was assessed by multivariable logistic regression. Results Among 190 study NICUs, 107 (56.3%) were located in states with mandates, with mandates in place >3 years in 52 (49%). More NICUs in states with mandates reported ≥95% compliance to at least 1 CLABSI prevention practice (52.3%–66.4%) than NICUs in states without mandates (28.9%–48.2%). Mandates were predictors of ≥95% compliance with all practices (odds ratio, 2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.4–6.1). NICUs in states with mandates reported lower mean CLABSI rates in the ≤750-g birth weight group (2.4 vs 5.7 CLABSIs/1,000 central line–days) but not in others. Mandates were not associated with SIR <1. Conclusions State mandates for NICU CLABSI data submission were significantly associated with ≥95% compliance with CLABSI prevention practices, which declined with the duration of mandate but not with lower CLABSI rates. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(9):1133-1139


Henry A. Wallace challenged the bipartisan foreign policy of President Truman in 1948. The Progressive Citizens of America opposed Truman's "get-tough policy" (the Truman Doctrine, loyalty investigations, Universal Military Training, and the Marshall Plan) and founded the Progressive Party. Other "liberals" formed Americans for Democratic Action and supported Truman, who claimed that the Progressive Party was a Soviet construction. Wallace refused to participate in segregated meetings during his campaign in the South and was violently attacked. He advocated the need for federal measures to prohibit segregation, discrimination, the poll tax, and lynching. Wallace was resoundingly defeated but proved right in the long run: military means could not solve social problems. Instead, it spread hatred of the United States in many countries. The 1948 election determined U.S. foreign policy for over 50 years, resulting in missed opportunities to improve housing, education, and social security at home, which still has repercussions today. JEL Classifications: N42, F50


Vitus Lake, the ice-marginal basin at the southeastern edge of Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., is a site of modern, rapid, glacial-marine sedimentation. Rather than being a fresh-water lake, Vitus Lake is a tidally influenced, marine to brackish embayment connected to the Pacifie Ocean by an inlet, the Seal River. Vitus Lake consists of five deep bedrock basins, separated by interbasinal highs. Glacial erosion has cut these basins as much as 250 m below sea level. High-resolution seismic reflection surveys conducted in 1991 and 1993 of four of Vitus Lake's basins reveal a complex, variable three-component acoustic stratigraphy. Although not fully sampled, the stratigraphy is inferred to be primarily glacial-marine units of (1) basal contorted and deformed glacial-marine and glacial sediments deposited by basal ice-contact processes and submarine mass-wasting; (2) acoustically well-stratified glacial-marine sediment, which unconformably overlies the basal unit and which grades upward into (3) acoustically transparent or nearly transparent glacial-marine sediment. Maximum thicknesses of conformable glacial-marine sediment exceed 100 m. All of the acoustically transparent and stratified deposits in Vitus Lake are modern in age, having accumulated between 1967 and 1993. The basins where these three-part sequences of "present-day" glacial-marine sediment are accumulating are themselves cut into older sequences of stratified glacial and glacial-marine deposits. These older units outcrop on the islands in Vitus Lake. In 1967, as the result of a major surge, glacier ice completely filled all five basins. Subsequent terminus retreat, which continued through August 1993, exposed these basins, providing new locations for glacial-marine sediment accumulation. A correlation of sediment thicknesses measured from seismic profiles at specific locations within the basins, with the year that each location became ice-free, shows that the sediment accumulation at some locations exceeds 10 m year−1.


Bartonella rochalimae was first isolated from the blood of a human who traveled to Peru and was exposed to multiple insect bites. Foxes and dogs are likely natural reservoirs for this bacterium. We report the results of experimental inoculation of two dogs, five cats and six guinea pigs with the only human isolate of this new Bartonella species. Both dogs became bacteremic for 5–7 weeks, with a peak of 103–104 colony forming units (CFU)/mL blood. Three cats had low bacteremia levels (< 200 CFU/mL) of 6–8 weeks' duration. One cat that remained seronegative had two bacterial colonies isolated at a single culture time point. A fifth cat never became bacteremic, but seroconverted. None of the guinea pigs became bacteremic, but five seroconverted. These results suggest that dogs could be a reservoir of this strain of B. rochalimae, in contrast to cats and guinea pigs.


BACKGROUND
Diuron is widely used in agriculture but its deleterious effects on the reproductive system and mammary gland are still poorly understood. This study evaluated whether early-life-stage exposure to Diuron alters puberty onset or susceptibility to mammary carcinogenesis in female Sprague-Dawley rats.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Pregnant rats received basal diet or diet containing Diuron at 500, 750, and 1,250 ppm, from gestational day 12 to the end of lactation (postnatal day 21 [PND21]). After weaning, female offspring continued receiving basal diet or diet containing Diuron until PND 51. At PND 51, female Sprague-Dawley offspring received a single dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) for initiation of mammary carcinogenesis. The animals were sacrificed on PND 51, 75, and 226 to 233 (week 25) for mammary gland morphology, reproductive organs and tumor analysis, respectively. There were no significant differences among groups on vaginal opening, estrous cycle, mammary morphology, or carcinogenesis. However, reductions in ovary weight and corpora lutea were observed at PND 75 in the group treated with Diuron at 1,250 ppm.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggesting that Diuron exposure (1,250 ppm) may have been potentially toxic to the ovaries.


Self‐consistent calculations for the ground state potential curves and ionization energies are reported for the molecules H2, C2, N2, F2, and CO, using the recent proposed variational cellular method. For all these molecules the results are quite good. The calculated binding energies, equilibrium interatomic distances, and energy ionization spectra are in excellent agreement with the available experimental findings.


Apparatus (20) according to the invention, is connected to the equipment installed in the casing 16 is surrounded by a metal pipe 15 is configured to protect a portion of the wire (11). The apparatus (20), in the wires 11, and protects the portion extending from the end of the metal pipe 15 to the end of the casing (16). This should reserve 20 includes outer tubular member 21, the flexible tubular shield member (23), the first fixing member (30A) and a second fixing member (30B). An outer layer member 21, is made of a flexible insulator, it is disposed so as to extend to the end of the casing 16 from the end of the metal pipe 15. Shield member 23 is disposed along the inner surface of the outer layer member 21, it is provided integrally with the outer member 21. The shield member 23 is made of a conductive material. A first holding member (30A), in the inner surface of the shield member 23, is bonded to the first connecting portion (23A) in which a metal pipe 15 is connected. The second fixing member (30B), in the inner surface of the shield member 23, is bonded to the second connecting portion (23B) is a casing (16) is connected.


After the early observations of the disrupted asteroid P/2016 G1 with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and modeling of the dust ejecta, we have performed a follow-up observational campaign of this object using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during two epochs (2016 June 28 and July 11). The analysis of these HST images with the same model inputs obtained from the GTC images revealed a good consistency with the predicted evolution from the GTC images, so that the model is applicable to the entire observational period from 2016 late April to early July. This result confirms that the resulting dust ejecta was caused by a relatively short-duration event with onset about 350 days before perihelion and spanning about 30 days (HWHM). For a size distribution of particles with a geometric albedo of 0.15, having radii limits of 1 μm and 1 cm, and following a power-law with index −3.0, the total dust mass ejected is ∼2 × 107 kg. As was the case with the GTC observations, no condensations in the images that could be attributed to a nucleus or fragments released after the disruption event were found. However, the higher limiting magnitude reachable with the HST images in comparison to those from GTC allowed us to impose a more stringent upper limit to the observed fragments of ∼30 m.


Surface relief gratings (SRG) with anisotropic gratings in photo-cross-linkable liquid crystalline (LC) polymethacrylate films comprising 4-(4-methoxycinnamoyloxy)-biphenyl (MCB) side groups were fabricated by irradiating with a linearly polarized ultraviolet (LPUV) light through a grating photomask and subsequent annealing at LC temperature range of the film. A reorientation of the mesogenic groups accompanied the molecular diffusion after the annealing, although the molecular diffusion and the reorientation direction depended on degree of the photoreaction of the mesogenic groups and the polarization (E) of LPUV light. When the degree of the photoreaction was around 7 mol%, molecules moved from illuminated area to non-illuminated area, and the molecular reorientation direction was parallel to the grating line regardless of E of LPUV light. In contrast, the diffusion direction was determined from the non-illuminated area to the illuminated region, and the molecular reorientation direction was always parallel to E of LPUV light when the degree of the photoreaction was around 20 mol%. All the fabricated SRGs showed characteristics of the polarization dependent gratings due to the surface relief formation and the molecular reorientation direction. The diffraction properties of the SRGs were good agreement with theoretical analyses.


Fluorescence spectrum of mixed solution between chlorothalonil and typical fruit juice (apple juice and peach juice) were obtained with fluorescence spectrophotometer. It was found that there was a characteristic peak in 352 nm of chlorothalonil. Regression analysis was applied in the modeling of relationship between fluorescence intensity and chlorothalonil concentration. Estimation function of chlorothalonil concentration was deduced through fluorescence spectrum and its derivative fluorescence spectrum. The correlation coefficients of the exponential prediction model under two kinds of spectral patterns were higher than 0.99, which was better than the linear function model. For the two kinds of fruit juice, the average recoveries of the exponential model function under the original spectral pattern were 101% and 100% while the average recoveries of the linear model were 110% and 118%, respectively; The average recoveries of the exponential model function under the derivative spectral mode were 101% and 102%, and the average recoveries of the linear model were 109% and 120% respectively. The analysis results showed that fluorescence spectrometry can be used to detect and predict the chlorothalonil residue in fruit juice, and the performance of established exponential function model was better than the linear function model. At the same time, derivative fluorescence spectrometry method was found to have no significant advantage in the concentration prediction model of chlorothalonil residue in fruit juice, so the original fluorescence spectrum can be directly applied in the modeling analysis.


A MEMS-based, tunable optical filter with a transmission linewidth of 0.28 nm, continuously tu nable over a spectral range of 41.7 nm, is presented. The thin film interference filter employs a solid-state silicon cavity and silicon-based distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR). Tuning is achieved by varying the optical resonator thickness through thermal modulation. The filter is configured as a membrane and operates up to a temperature of 450 /spl deg/C. Such a filter is essential for monitoring and reconfiguration of optical data communication networks and is also applicable for gas sensing.


This paper focuses on comparing different heterogeneous computational designs for the calculation of Rainbow options prices using the Fourier-cosine series expansion (COS) method. We also propose a simple enough way to automatically decide ratio of load balancing at runtime. A GPGPU implementation of the two-dimensional composite Simpson rule free of conditional statements with some degree of loop unrolling is also introduced. We will also show how to reduce the integration domain of coefficients appearing in the option pricing and by doing so, achieve a substantial speed-up and improve accuracy when compared versus a straightforward implementation.


The protective effect of A, E, C, P vitamin complex has been experimentally proven to display in a decrease of animal death rate and in limiting the intensity of hemocoagulation shifts in thrombinemia. This effect is stipulated by a decrease in thrombocyte aggregation and in coagulation activity and by the increase of erythrocyte deformation properties. These changes seem to be caused by the effect of vitamins on the phospholipid spectrum, electrolyte transport of ATPases and erythrocyte membrane stability.


Background Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are an established treatment modality for postmenopausal hormone-responsive breast cancer. Many of AI-treated patients experience AI-induced musculoskeletal syndrome (AIMSS), which may adversely affect quality of life and treatment adherence. The etiology underlying this syndrome remains unknown. Therefore, a well-established mouse model of human rheumatoid arthritis, collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), was used to evaluate how AIs affect bone and joints in inflammatory joint disease. Material and methods Thirty-two female DBA/1 mice were divided into 2 groups of 16 mice each; ovariectomy (OVX) or sham operation was performed at 7 weeks of age (=day 0). At day 14, arthritis was induced in all mice by injection of chicken sternal cartilage type II collagen emulsified with an equal volume of Freund9s complete adjuvant, followed by a booster injection at day 21. Afterwards, mice were treated with letrozole or vehicle during 30 days. Mice were sacrificed at day 54. Parameters analyzed included clinical CIA score of paws, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, microCT of femora, histopathological examination of ankles and paws and IGF-I levels. Analysis was performed with ANOVA, post-hoc tests, general linearized and mixed models. Results As expected, OVX led to an increased lean and total body weight relative to the sham group. Repeated measurements analysis with mixed models suggested interaction between weight, time and arthritis severity. Serum IGF-I concentrations were significantly higher in the OVX group compared with the sham group, but no differences were observed between letrozole treatment and controls. Collagen immunization resulted in progressive inflammation of the paws including the ankles that increased up to day 54. Over time, clinical scores for arthritis severity were highest in the OVX/vehicle group. Both letrozole groups had an intermediate course and the lowest scores were seen in the paws of the sham/vehicle group, as expected. Histopathological examination of hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections were in line with these results. Subcapital BMD at the end of the arthritis experiments was significantly different between the four groups. Post-hoc test confirmed the negative effect of OVX versus sham procedure, in the presence or absence of letrozole treatment. MicroCT analysis showed that OVX induced a significant decrease in bone mineral density and content in both trabecular (volume and number) and cortical bone (volume, area, thickness and medullary area) compared to sham operation in vehicle-treated mice. In the letrozole group, only cortical bone (volume, area inside periost and medullary area) was significantly reduced following OVX. In addition, in the sham group, letrozole induced lower trabecular bone volume and less trabecular numbers compared to vehicle treatment. This was in contrast with the OVX groups; letrozole treatment resulted in significantly better trabecular bone parameters. Conclusion Not only bone loss but also severity of joint disease was increased by OVX. Remarkably, in contrast to what is observed in humans, letrozole treatment protected the bone and joints after OVX but had negative effects in its absence, thereby providing further evidence for a regulatory effect in joint and bone biology. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-13-06.