ABSTRACT Neoliberalism is a diffuse and contested term; however, as an art of government, drawing on Foucault's theorising, it posits personal responsibility as the basis of an ethical society. Neoliberalism mostly governs individuals through their freedom, where the concept of freedom presupposes a rational self that is motivated to improve and secure their life now and in the future. For those who are unable or unwilling to participate in securing a decent lifestyle within the norms of society, systematic modifications including social welfare policies that are punitive and freedom-depriving are used to attempt to modify individuals' behaviour. Direct social work practice with individuals also relies on individual autonomy as one of its central technologies guiding individuals towards choices that will improve their lives. Social work practitioners are seen to be part of an enabling network that assists individuals who are considered self-excluded due to their irresponsible choices to work on themselves to form an 'entrepreneurial self'. Social workers engage in the neoliberal art of governance through the 'conduct of conduct' of self and others in their direct practice with people. If individuals are understood as constituted through networks of power relations, then direct social work using a pastoral relationship can be a node of power where understanding of whom they are 'made to be' can enable engaging in individual and collective resistance to some of the perversions of neoliberal governance. Through pastoral care, resistance as both 'conduct of conduct' and 'counter conduct' is possible and necessary.


In an unusual case of myeloproliferative disease, the Ph 1 chromosome was found in association with persistently elevated levels of LAP activity. Clinical findings in this case included marked thrombocytosis, basophilocytosis, absence of splenomegaly and a preceding history of untreated ankylosing spondylitis. Cytogenetic findings were compatible with the existence of the Ph 1 chromosome in erythroid and megakaryocytic as well as granulocytic marrow precursors. This case illustrates the difficulties currently encountered in the clinical differentiation of myeloproliferative disorders and in interpreting the diagnostic significance of the Ph 1 chromosome. The co-existence in this case of the Ph 1 chromosome and elevated LAP does not support the concept of a direct relationship between Group G chromosomes and LAP activity.


A high level of knowledge in society will increase the level of participation, especially the participation of health. This impact on cultural behavior of public health, especially maternal and child health issues have started well. Most of the mothers in the Pasar Lama Muara Air Haji village already have a system of knowledge that is high enough on the problem of health care of pregnant women and their children. This is also supported by the role of midwives and health volunteers help disseminate health through education programs and integrated health services


Objective To compare the return of bowel movements in regionally anesthetized women undergoing cesarean section (C-section) given Early Oral Feeding (EOF) to that of women given Late Oral Feeding (LOF). Secondary outcomes of maternal satisfaction and gastrointestinal complications were also examined. Methods In a single-blinded randomized controlled trial (TCTR20181202001), 148 singleton pregnant women undergoing elective C-sections with regional anesthesia were assigned to receive either EOF or LOF. Participants began to sip water at 6–8 hrs or more than 12 hrs post-operation, for EOF or LOF respectively. Participants were then placed onto a stepping diet as tolerated. Participants failing to tolerate the stepping diet or those having surgical complications were excluded from the study. Results After exclusion, 69 women remained in the EOF group and 67 in the LOF group. The ages of participants ranged from 19 to 42, with a mean of 32.07. There was no-loss follow up and no significant difference in patient characteristics, except the site of the surgical incision. Participants given EOF were more likely to experience bowel sound the next morning than patients given LOF (EOF 87.0%, LOF 44.8%, P-value<0.001). However, there was no difference in time to passing flatus and time to passing stool. Maternal satisfaction regarding hunger (EOF 3.78±0.91, LOF 3.24±1.01, P-value 0.002) and maternal satisfaction with postoperative consumption (EOF 4.38±0.64, LOF 4.13±0.48, P-value 0.049) were significantly higher in the EOF group. There was no difference in gastrointestinal complications between the groups (P-value 0.978). Conclusion The EOF group experienced an earlier return of bowel movement and greater maternal satisfaction than the LOF group, with no difference in gastrointestinal complications. These findings support the recommendation of EOF for women who undergo uncomplicated C-sections under regional anesthesia.


Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a hallmark event during liver fibrogenesis. We have previously shown that the transcriptional modulator MRTF-A contributes to liver fibrosis by programming epigenetic activation of HSCs. In the present study we investigated the mechanism whereby MRTF-A expression is regulated in this process. We report here that MRTF-A protein levels, but not mRNA levels, were up-regulated in vivo in the livers of mice induced to develop hepatic fibrosis. Pro-fibrogenic stimuli (TGF-β and PDGF-BB) also activated MRTF-A expression post-transcriptionally in vitro in cultured HSCs. miR-206 bound to the 3′-UTR of MRTF-A presumably to inhibit translation. miR-206 levels were down-regulated in response to pro-fibrogenic stimuli in vivo and in vitro allowing MRTF-A proteins to accumulate. Mechanistically, histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) was induced by pro-fibrogenic stimuli and recruited to the miR-206 promoter to repress miR-206 transcription. HDAC4 stimulated MRTF-A expression and drove fibrogenesis in HSCs in a miR-206 dependent manner. Therefore, our data reveal an HDAC4-miR-206-MRTF-A axis that can play a potentially important role in HSC activation and liver fibrosis.


Abstract : Language , Pre School , Screening . Language skills are important for a child to be able to receive information and knowledge at school and in his home environment. This child's language skills should be an important concern of all elements involved with child education, including speech therapists in an effort to monitor the child's language development before entering school. This study aims to find out the language skills profile of pre-school children aged 4-6 years. Participants were recruited from Surakarta Kindergarten with a total of 36 children to participate in this study with an age range between 4-6 years. Screening is given to participants. It is the screening result that will reflect the receptive and expressive language profile of the child. There are six test items that can be used to screen the language skills of pre-school children: simple commands, expressive vocabulary, color names, answer questions, sentence memory, and digit memories. Internal correlation of simple command grain r = 0.791 (p = 0.000), expressive vocabulary grain r = 0.749 (p = 0.000), the item named color r = 0.739 (p = 0.000), the item answered r = 0.754 (p = 0.000) item memory sentence r = 0.879 (p = 0.000), and the item memory digit r = 0.816 (p = 0.000). The value of internal validity or correlation between items in the language development screen is good enough because all correlated items have correlations with low probability values. Keywords: Language, Pre School, Screening


Background

Albumin is an important protein that transports hormones, fatty acids, and exogenous drugs; it also maintains plasma oncotic pressure. Albumin is considered a negative active phase protein because it decreases during injuries and sepsis. In spite of other factors predicting surgical outcomes, the effect of pre and postoperative serum albumin to surgical complications could be assessed by calculating percentage decrease in albumin (Delta albumin). This study aimed to explore perioperative serum albumin as a predictor of adverse outcomes in major abdominal surgeries.
Methodology:

All adults' eligible participants from Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre Surgical Department were enrolled conveniently. Data were collected using study questionnaire. Full Blood Count (FBP), serum albumin levels preoperatively and on postoperative day 1 was measured abiding to Laboratory Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Data was entered and analyzed using STATA version 14. Association and extent of decrease in albumin levels as a predictor of surgical site infection (SSI), delayed wound healing and death within 30days of surgery was determined using ordinal logistic regression model. In determining the diagnostic accuracy, a Non-parametric Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) model was used. We adjusted for ASA classification which had negative confounding effect on the predictive power of percent drop in albumin to adverse outcomes.
Results

61 participants were studied; the mean age was 51.6 (SD16.3), majorities were males 40 (65.6%) and post-operative adverse outcome happened to 28 (45.9%) participants. In preoperative serum albumin values, 40 (67.8%) had lower than 3.4 g/l while 51 (91%) had postoperative albumin values lower than 3.4 g/l. Only 15 (27.3%) had high delta albumin with the median percentage value of 14.77%. Delta albumin was an independent significant factor associated with adverse outcome (OR: 6.68; 95% CI: 1.59, 28.09); with a good predictive power and area under ROC curve (AUC) of 0.72 (95% CI 0.55 0.89). The best cutoff value was 11.61% with the sensitivity of 76.92% and specificity of 51.72%.
Conclusion

Early perioperative decrease in serum albumin level may be a good, simple and cost effective tool to predict adverse outcomes in major abdominal surgeries.


Cancer is a new growth that arises from abnormal and uncontrolled division of cells that may go on to invade and destroy surrounding tissues. The eukaryotic cell cycle consists of a complex sequence of events that regulates cell division and responses to DNA damage. These processes rely upon several key enzymes, including the cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs), checkpoint kinases (Chk2) and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-l (PARP-1). CDKs are a family of protein kinases that control progression of the cell cycle, and are themselves regulated by a complex network of activating and inhibitory mechanisms. The vital importance of CDKs in regulating of the cell cycle, emphasise their importance as anti-cancer drug targets. CDKs inhibitors compete with the natural substrate ATP in a competitive manner. Hymenialdisine and kenpaullone have been identified as novel and potent CDK inhibitors both containing an unusual azepinone scaffold. Checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) is a novel target for anti-cancer drug design. The enzyme mediates cell proliferation in response to DNA damage by inducing cell cycle arrest, which facilitates the DNA repair pathways. Chk2 inhibition has been recognised as a potential target for the chemopotentiation of current anti-cancer treatments. Few Chk2 inhibitors are known, kenpaullone has been identified as a novel and selective ATP competitive Chk2 inhibitor (IC50 = 0.8 uM). Debromohymenialdisine (DBH) also containing an azepinone scaffold has also been reported to inhibit Chk2. Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-l (PARP-1) is activated in response to DNA damage, and inhibition can potentiate cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A PARP-1 inhibitor in combination with a cytotoxic agent should enhance drug activity by blocking the repair capabilities of PARP-1 in cancer cells. Although many types of inhibitors have been identified for each of these three enzymes, compounds containing a seven-membered lactam ring have been identified as key inhibitors for CDKs/Chk2/PARP-l. This study is entered upon developing the synthesis for a series of novel inhibitors of these three enzymes containing the essential lactam pharmacophore in their structures. The compounds synthesised in this study were assessed by a number of biological assays showing moderate or good growth or catalytic inhibitory activity against CDKs and PARP-1 respectively, while assays against Chk2 showed no inhibition.


Background : Diagnostic imaging following a new diagnosis of breast cancer remains an active area of research balancing value and outcomes. Decisions about surgical options and neo-adjuvant therapy depend greatly on the accuracy of these pre-operative assessments. BMRI use has increased tenfold from 2000 to 2011 (Stout et al, JAMA 2013) and estimation of sensitivity has been high but specificity has varied between 30-80%(Bluemke et al, JAMA 2004). BSGI is a novel molecular imaging technique that uses a gamma camera to track the uptake of a radio tracer (technitium Tc99m sestamibi) by breast cancer cells and has been used interchangeably with BMRI without rigorous evidence of equivalency (Khalkhauli, et al, J Nuc Med 2000).The majority of research into the sensitivity and specificity of these tests has been retrospective, only on women with known cancer, and potentially biased by post-biopsy changes to breast tissue. Methods : Therefore we performed a prospective study employing both techniques to image women with BIRADS 4 or 5 lesions on diagnostic mammogram prior to their planned breast biopsy. The BSGI and BMRI were reviewed by one of three dedicated breast radiologists and the pathology was reviewed on the biopsy or any additional biopsy/excision by one pathologist. We compared the BSGI and BMRI against the final pathology for sensitivity and specificity. In addition, we surveyed the women for quality of life measures 3 months later. Results : Between January 2012 and April 2014 we enrolled 74 women (ages 30-80) at 2 NAPBC accredited breast centers located in a community based setting in Portland, OR. The initial diagnostic mammographic studies resulted in 23 women (32%) with BIRADS 4A, 27 (37%) with BIRADS 4B, 8 women with 4C (11%) while 8 women (11%) had BIRADS 5 lesions prompting biopsy. All women were biopsied and 27 (37%) were found to have an invasive or in situ cancer while 5 (7%) had atypical hyperplasia or LCIS found. Sixteen women had additional biopsies performed, outside of the planned area, as a result of BMRI or BSGI, 11 (69%) were based on BMRI findings and 5 (31%) were areas seen on both BMRI and BSGI. In these additional biopsies 5 were in situ or invasive cancer and 2 were contra-lateral cancers, the rest were benign tissue. The sensitivity of BMRI was 84.0% and BSGI was 74.1%. The specificity was found to be 57.8% and 80.4% respectively. One patient withdrew and 3 women did not complete BMRI due to claustrophobia or body habitus. Quality of life data is still being analyzed. Conclusions : We report here the sensitivity and specificity of BMRI compared with BSGI in women with BIRADS 4 and 5 breast lesions on diagnostic mammography. Importantly imaging was done before biopsy and therefore not biased by any effect from that procedure. In this study we find BMRI appears to have better sensitivity but lower specificity than BSGI. We also observed that the use of BMRI and/or BSGI prompted 16 extra biopsies of which less than half were additional or contra-lateral cancer. The incorporation of these tests into the evaluation of suspected cancer should consider these findings as well as cost and quality of life. Citation Format: Alison K Conlin, Nicole Moxon, Helena Hoen, Christina Gougoutas-Fox, Maureen O Baxter, Amy Weinstein, Maritza Martel, Tracy L Kelly, Walter J Urba. Breast specific gamma imaging (BSGI) and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Comparison of sensitivity and specificity in women prior to breast biopsy with BIRADS 4 or 5 finding on mammography in a community setting [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-01-12.


Electrolytes help harness the energy from electrochemical processes by serving as solvents and transport media for redox-active ions. Molecular-level interactions between ionic solutes and solvent molecules – commonly referred to as solvation phenomena – give rise to many functional properties of electrolytes such as ionic conductivity, viscosity, and stability. It is critical to understand the evolution of solvation phenomena as a function of competing counterions and solvent mixtures to predict and design the optimal electrolyte for a target application. Probing oxygen environments is of great interest as oxygens are located at strategic molecular sites in battery solvents and are directly involved in inter- and intramolecular solvation interactions. NMR signals from 17O nuclei in battery electrolytes offer nondestructive bulk measurements of isotropic shielding, electric field gradient tensors, and transverse and longitudinal relaxation rates, which are excellent means for probing structure, bonding, and dynamics of both solute and solvent molecules. This article describes the use of 17O NMR spectroscopy in probing the solvation structures of various electrolyte systems ranging from transition metal ions in aqueous solution to lithium cations in organic solvent mixtures.

Keywords:

electrolytes;
17O NMR;
solvation structure;
NMR relaxation;
paramagnetic shift


In this paper the authors present an overview of the existing parallel architecture types, followed by a brief survey of the algorithms which have been developed for power system simulation utilizing various parallel processors. The authors present their main contribution in the final section by presenting recent efforts in the application of waveform relaxation methods to power systems. The authors correlate the physical properties of the power system to the rate of convergence of the numerical waveform iterations.


In the examination of imported malaria cases in Japan, the indirect fluorescent antibody test was confirmed as the most reliable serological technique in the diagnosis of individual malaria cases. Based on this finding, malaria serological assessment was carried out in endemic areas in Haiti, Indonesia, Sudan and in Brazil Amazon. The serological survey was useful in finding latent foci in a controlled area, for the assessment of past epidemics, in the differentiation of epidemiological features of moving populations, and also in the potential risk assessment in the Sudan Gezira. It should be stressed that the serological survey is not used simply for amplification of parasite survey. Epidemiological features which are not shown by parasite rate is revealed by means of serology studied at community level particularly after a successful malaria control operation. The newly developed malaria ABC-ELISA is a much simpler technique than the indirect fluorect fluorescent antibody test and will be useful in field surveys because the test can be made without electrical equipment. Through seroepidemiological studies the 47kD parasite molecule was noted. This parasite molecule was presented by the sera taken at the acute stage of infection. Detailed molecular and genetical studies are now being undertaken for the characterization of the high-lighted parasite substance.


For almost five decades Liudas Truikys, a Lithuanian artist (b. 1904), has devoted himself to searching a most exact expression of these interactions that by his creative imagination are born at the encounter of music and visual forms during an opera performance. Gradually giving up illustrations to the subject, he is striving, by means of plastic forms, for a greater disclosing of the powers creating the form of a musical performance and penetrating the universality of its purport. Interpreting and supplementing to opera scores, in consonances of the visible and audible, the artist reveals a new metaphorical character which extends the sense capacity in classical operas.


Bladder cancer (BC) is still characterized by a very high death rate in patients with this disease. One of the reasons for this is the lack of adequate markers which could help determine the biological potential of the tumor to develop into its invasive stage. It has been found that some microRNAs (miRNAs) correlate with disease progression. The purpose of this study was to identify which miRNAs can accurately predict the presence of BC and can differentiate low grade (LG) tumors from high grade (HG) tumors. The study included 55 patients with diagnosed bladder cancer and 30 persons belonging to the control group. The expression of seven selected miRNAs was estimated with the real-time PCR technique according to miR-103-5p (for the normalization of the results). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the feasibility of using selected markers as biomarkers for detecting BC and discriminating non-muscle invasive BC (NMIBC) from muscle invasive BC (MIBC). For HG tumors, the relevant classifiers are miR-205-5p and miR-20a-5p, whereas miR-205-5p and miR-182-5p are for LG (AUC = 0.964 and AUC = 0.992, respectively). NMIBC patients with LG disease are characterized by significantly higher miR-130b-3p expression values compared to patients in HG tumors.


Alcohol use disorder is a chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by the loss of ability to control alcohol (ethanol) intake despite knowledge of detrimental health or personal consequences. Clinical and pre‐clinical models provide strong evidence for chronic ethanol‐associated alterations in glutamatergic signaling and impaired synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). However, the neural mechanisms that contribute to aberrant glutamatergic signaling in ethanol‐dependent individuals in this critical brain structure remain unknown. Using an unbiased proteomic approach, we investigated the effects of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) exposure on neuroadaptations in postsynaptic density (PSD)‐enriched proteins in the NAc of ethanol‐dependent mice. Compared with controls, CIE exposure significantly changed expression levels of 50 proteins in the PSD‐enriched fraction. Systems biology and functional annotation analyses demonstrated that the dysregulated proteins are expressed at tetrapartite synapses and critically regulate cellular morphology. To confirm this latter finding, the density and morphology of dendritic spines were examined in the NAc core of ethanol‐dependent mice. We found that CIE exposure and withdrawal differentially altered dendrite diameter and dendritic spine density and morphology. Through the use of quantitative proteomics and functional annotation, these series of experiments demonstrate that ethanol dependence produces neuroadaptations in proteins that modify dendritic spine morphology. In addition, these studies identified novel PSD‐related proteins that contribute to the neurobiological mechanisms of ethanol dependence that drive maladaptive structural plasticity of NAc neurons.


Although declarations or predictions of a borderless world have become somewhat ubiquitous over the last twenty years, state borders remain one of the most basic and visible features of the international system. While it is true that a range of issues, like environmental change, migration, or international trade, highlight the growing interaction and interdependence between different places around the world, borders continue to play a central role in shaping, dividing, and uniting the world's societies, economies, and ecosystems. Reflecting their significance for scholars across the social sciences, a growing body of multidisciplinary research has investigated the continuing power of borders in our supposedly borderless world. This article examines some of the main lines of inquiry, research, and theory in this emerging field of border studies.


Recommender systems (RSs) are becoming widespread in different application domains to provide personalized items to given service users. Because of such an increasing adoption of RSs, it is becoming urgent to define a precisely curated and organized core set of concepts and practices, i.e., a Body of Knowledge (BOK), as already done in other disciplines, including software engineering and model-driven engineering. The opportunities related to the availability of an RSBOK are manifold, and different stakeholders would benefit from it including, developers, teachers, and newcomers to the RS community. Further than motivating a BOK for recommender systems and discussing corresponding envisioned opportunities and challenges, we also propose a methodology that can be employed to support the definition of an RSBOK.


A numerical code of finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method to solve a light scattering by irregular particles has been developed. Using a standard 2nd order FDTD scheme and an absorbing boundary condition by a perfectly matched layer (PML), it is found that the light scattering features for size parameter x<50 at wavelength 1.381tm for spherical ice particles have been successfully demonstrated by this FDTD code with spatial grid increment 8= 2./20. In the same numerical conditions, the light scattering calculations for hexagonal column aggregates are performed taking into account the particle's random orientation. The averaged phase function for the aggregate shows rather a flat angular dependence with no prominent peak features, which differs from the results of geometrical optics approximations for larger aggregate particles. Furthermore, a decrease of the side/back scattering efficiency and an increase of the asymmetry factor around the interference region of the particle's size are confirmed.


Objective
State prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) can help detect individuals with multiple provider episodes (MPEs; also referred to as doctor/pharmacy shopping), an indicator of prescription drug abuse and/or diversion. Although unsolicited reporting by PDMPs to prescribers of opioid analgesics is thought to be an important practice in reducing MPEs and the potential harm associated with them, evidence of its effectiveness is mixed. This exploratory research evaluates the impact of unsolicited reports sent by Massachusetts' PDMP to the prescribers of persons with MPEs.

Methods
Individuals with MPEs were identified from PDMP records between January 2010 and July 2011 as individuals having Schedule II prescriptions (at least one prescription being an opioid) from four or more distinct prescribers and four or more distinct pharmacies within six months. Based on available MA-PDMP resources, an unsolicited report containing the patient's 12-month prescription history was sent to prescribers of a subset of patients who met the MPE threshold; a comparison group closely matched on demographics and baseline prescription history, whose prescribers were not sent a report, was generated using propensity score matching. The prescription history of each group was examined for 12 months before and after the intervention.

Results
There were eighty-four patients (intervention group) whose prescribers received an unsolicited report and 504 matched patients (comparison group) whose prescribers were not sent a report. Regression analyses indicated significantly greater decreases in the number of Schedule II opioid prescriptions (P < 0.01), number of prescribers visited (P < 0.01), number of pharmacies used (P < 0.01), dosage units (P < 0.01), total days' supply (P < 0.01), total morphine milligram equivalents (MME; P < 0.01), and average daily MME (P < 0.05) for the intervention group relative to the comparison group. A post hoc analysis suggested that the observed intervention effects were greater for individuals with an average daily dose of less than 100 MMEs.

Conclusions
This study suggests that PDMP unsolicited reporting to prescribers can help reduce risk measures in patients' prescription histories, which may improve health outcomes for patients receiving opioid analgesics from multiple providers.


In this paper, we examine the effects of the implementation of electronic invoicing on buyer-seller relationships. We apply the framework by Cannon and Perreault [1] to analyze the changes in the relationship connectors between the two parties. Drawing on qualitative interview data from a single case study, we find that the implementation of electronic invoicing has a strong impact on the information exchange component as well as on the operational linkages component. In addition, we find that both parties have made adaptations due to the implementation of electronic invoicing. It was also concluded that the switching costs have increased and the commitment improved between the seller and its customers. While the investments in electronic invoicing usually reduce costs for the buyers, the sellers benefit from the implementation of electronic invoicing in creating long-lasting relationships and even dependence between the two parties.


The Bloch-like equations for the intracavity interaction of coherent light with semiconductors below the Mott density are derived. These equations include the many-body Coulomb effects. Steady state analysis reveals the characteristics of bistability and hysteresis in such systems. It is shown that the hysteresis loops increase and that the bistability can be realized more easily due to the many-body effects.


The locus Shd1, which we previously mapped to the long arm of chromosome 2 of Hordeum vulgare L., controls the differentiation of shoots from immature barley embryo callus. The locus has major effects and its action explains more than 65% of the total genetic variance in the shoot-differentiation rate. The allele of cultivar Kanto Nakate Gold designated Shd1K has a significant positive effect on the shoot-differentiation rate, whereas Shd1A of cultivar Azumamugi does not promote shoot differentiation. To identify gene products and characterize the function of Shd1, a set of near-isogenic lines is essential. In this study we produced BC5F1 plants by repeated backcrossing of 'Azumamugi' to F1 plants ('Azumamugi' x 'Kanto Nakate Gold'). The BC5F1 plants were examined for their RFLP genotype and for the shoot-differentiation ability of immature embryo-derived callus. The results indicated that the Shd1 locus was located in a chromosomal region between MWG2081 and MWG503 that flanks the MWG801, cMWG699, v (ear type), and MWG865 loci. Shd1K from 'Kanto Nakate Gold' functions effectively in the genetic background of 'Azumamugi', an indication that backcross breeding is possible for production of near-isogenic lines that would be very suitable for tissue culture.


OBJECTIVE
At-risk consumption of alcohol has increasingly become the focus of primary and secondary prevention efforts. Little is known about the co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders with at-risk drinking. We examined patterns of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, (DSM-IV) lifetime co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders in individuals in the general population with at-risk consumption of alcohol, alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence and moderate drinking/abstention, considering potential gender differences.

METHOD
Cross-sectional data of a representative general population-based study were analyzed. Based on DSM-IV criteria, participants aged 18-64 (N = 4,074; 2,045 men) were diagnosed using a standardized computer-assisted version of the Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI). Nonpsychotic Axis-I lifetime diagnoses were examined. At-risk consumption of alcohol was defined as an average of more than 20 g (0.71 oz) pure alcohol consumption per day for women and 30 g (1.06 oz) for men, with alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence excluded.

RESULTS
Almost 9% of participants were identified as at-risk drinkers. Prevalence rates for at-risk drinkers were 16.9% for affective, 18.1% for anxiety and 17.8% for somatoform disorders. Compared with moderate drinkers/abstainers, at-risk drinkers showed a twofold increased risk of having a psychiatric disorder. Subjects with alcohol abuse showed a comparable level of risk and individuals with alcohol dependence showed an even greater risk. Female at-risk drinkers were twice as likely to have a psychiatric disorder as their male counterparts. The odds ratios for psychiatric disorders in at-risk drinkers compared with moderate drinkers/abstainers, however, did not differ in men and women.

CONCLUSIONS
Rates of psychiatric co-occurrence among at-risk drinkers were considerably elevated when compared with moderate drinkers/abstainers. These findings underline the relevance of at-risk consumption of alcohol and represent an important challenge to public health efforts regarding screening of psychiatric disorders and referral to appropriate treatment services.


The words 'unconscious' and 'unconsciously' occur twenty times in Jane Austen's six novels, with various levels of meaning. The simplest instance is the 'unconscious Marianne' of Sense and Sensibility (p. 333), unconscious because she has fallen asleep. The word is applied in a similar way to the trees of Norland Park, in "Marianne's romantic imaginings about them after her departure: 'you will continue the same; unconscious of the pleasure or the regret you occasion, and insensible of any change in those who walk under your shade!'(p. 27) When Catherine Morland is despatched so unceremoniously from Northanger Abbey, and the post-chaise passes the turning to Woodston, she thinks of Henry Tilney 'so near, yet so unconscious' (p. 230), and her grief and agitation are excessive. In these instances 'unconscious' means inert, or unaware, or lacking the capability of awareness. On other occasions it applies to a state of abstraction, or of absorption in other things.


Lynn Matthews Anderson. The Easy-to-Read Book of Mormon: A Leaming Companion. Apple Valley, MN: Estes Book, 1995. 398 pp., with glossary. $16.95. Timothy B. Wilson. Mormon's Story: An Adaptation Based 011. the Book of Mormon. No place: no publisher, 1993. 645 pp. $29.95 Reviewed by Camille S. Williams Two simplified versions of the Book of Mormon are now available. Both Lynn Matthews Anderson and Timothy B. Wilson began paraphrasing scripture to help their respective children "read and understand the Book of Mormon [even] by themselves. "1 These adapters do not suggest that the Book of Mormon be replaced by simpler versions, but both feel that the "message "2 of scripture can be "cla rifi ed"3 by modernizing the forms of verbs and pronouns, by using simple sentences, by deleting phrasing they consider extraneous or redundant, by s ubstituting a simple r vocabulary, and by making referents and connectives more specific. They believe these simplified versions will help children and functionally illiterate adults gain a greater understanding and testimony of the sacred text. "For when a message is clear in one's mind, the Spirit is unrestricted in witnessing of its truthfulness" (Wilson, afterword).4 Mormon's Story: An Adaptation Based on the Book of Mormon places the simplified text in a column parallel to that of Lynn MatLhews Anderson. "Delighting in Plainness: Issues surrounding a Simple Modern English Book of Mormon," Sunstone (March 1993): 20. 2 Ibid .. 21. 3 Ibid . 4 Some might attribute that to the Spirit. rather lhan to the editor. 4 REVIEW OF BOOKS ON THE BOOK OF MORMON 7/ I (1995) the authorized text, which appears in smaller print.5 The side-byside format is intended to provide a " learn-by-comparison for mat, [so that] readers can fami liarize themselves with the language of holy writ and its meaning" (Wilson, introduction). The bright jungle print cover is designed to appeal to children. Only large or stout children, however, will find this hefty volume easy to hand le (the spine is 1 1/2 inches thick). For the most part, Wilson uses the vocabulary of the Book of Mormon; he simplifies primarily by simplifying syntax. While the texts are in parallel columns, the paragraphs in Mormon's Story do not correspond Lo verse divisions. He divides long complex sentences into short sentences and reduces the number of relative and subordinate clauses. He also repeats referents and deletes introductory interjections, binding conjunctions, and parenthetical phrases, such as behold, my beloved brethren, and now, wherefore,6 I say unto you, and that Latter-day Saint favorile. and it came to pass. Sometimes the deletions are striking, as in Alma 4:5. The Book of Mormon reads: And it came to pass in the seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred sou ls that united themselves to the church of God and were baptized. And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time. The same verse from Mormon's Story reads: 85 B.C. was a year of peace, during which 3,500 souls were baptized into the church of God. In the above case, the most significant portions missed by the paraphrase are that the converts actively united themselves to rhe church (as well as the passive-sounding were baptized) and that the judges were over the people of Nephi. In the paraphrasing of some other verses, however, it is arguable that the plain sense of 5 The 8 1/2 x I I-inch pages include column headings listing the range of verses on the page, e.g.. 2 Nephi 4: I 1-20, and the content or topic or l he verses, e.g .. "Lchi's last words. Nephi's psalm ... " (Wilson. 70). 6 For examples of these deletions. sec 2 Nephi 31: 14-32:6. ANDERSON, WILSON, SIMPLIFIED BOOK OF MORMON (WILLIAMS) 5 the passage is marred by the deletion of substantive material and the destruction of parallel syntax within the verse. In our day, we prize the concise sentence with active verbs as strong and direct. Intensification in scripture relies rather on expansion of the sentence through an accumulation of repetition and parallelism, as in I Nephi 17:30-31, which reads (bracketed phrases are portions deleted or changed by Wilson): [And notwithstanding] they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, [leading them] by day and giv ing light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient [for man to receive], they hardened their hearts [and blinded their minds!. and [reviled] against Moses and [against the true and livingJ God. And [it came to pass that according to] his word he did destroy them; and [according to] his word he di.d lead them; land according to his word he did do all things for them; and there was not any thing done save it were by his word]. The two verses in Mormon's Story read like this (added material is italicized): After being led by the Lord their God, their Redeemer, who went before them by day, who gave them light by night, and did all things for them chat they needed, they still hardened their hearts and rebelled against Moses and against God. And by the Lord's word, He destroyed the children of Israel in their rebellion, or by His word, He led and nourished them in the wilderness. Reviled becomes rebelled; nourished summarizes doing all things for them which were expedient for man to receive; in their rebellion provides an explicit causal link for the destruction; in the wilderness is repeated from a previous verse. Wilson's substitution of rebelled for reviled significantly changes the plain sense of the phrase and weakens the causal link he so carefully proposes in his paraphrase. In other passages, he arguably infuses more intensity; the relative strength of a statement is part of the message. Many 6 REVIEW OF BOOKS ON THE BOOK OF MORMON 7/ I ( 1995) reade rs will find these c hanges disconcerting, but easily evaluated by checking lhe authori zed text on the same page. It is puzzling, though, when a paraphrase adopts conte mporary phrasing that is significantly di fferent from the plain sense of the passage, as in Alma 5:26, where " if ye have felt to sing the song of redeemi ng love, ... can ye feel so now?" becomes " In the past, if you .. . have wanted Lo sing the song of redeeming love, how do you fee l now?" Or notice the turn given Alma 5:6, in which " have yo u suffic ientl y retained in re me mbrance the captivity of yo ur fathe rs?'' becomes "have you complete ly fo rgotte n your fa th e rs· captivity?" Not onl y is the sense significantly d iffe re nt, but the tie to the use of remembrance e lsewhere in the Book of Mormon, a nd in other books of scripture, is lost. Wi Ison marks the c hronology of the books by adding the year the recorded incidents occurred or the year the record was written. For example, I Nephi I : I is preceded by the italic ized year (600 B.C.); as is Words of Mormon I (385 A.D.) . In Ether I: I, historical information is inserted into the text: "Now I, Moroni , will begin e ngraving my account of those ancient people who li ved fo r about 1,600 years in the northern lands before annihilating themselves . "7 Quotation marks are inserted (not always accu rately) to aid the reader in disti nguishing between the narrat ive of the scribe and the recorded speeches or conversations of the ind ividuals in the account. For example, in Mosiah 12:2024 the priests o f King Noah ask Abinadi to interpret scripture. Double and sing le qu o tation marks are used to ind icate the speech by the priests a nd the passage quoted from Isaiah. While the use of quotati on ma rks may seem heavy-handed in a relatively short, d irect interc hange such as this, they serve as a d iscreet re minder to readers, some of whom may be read ing only short passages, o r sections of text ou t of sequence, to check to see who is being quoted. These are editorial decisions, of course; given the difference between writing what was said and directly quoting someone, the quotation marks should not be given undue authority. 7 Wil son uses annihilaring rhemselves. and adds a paraphrase o r Mormon 4:5: "The L-Ord allows the wicked to destroy the wicked." Ether I : I actual ly says that "those anciem inhabitants ... were destroyed by the hand of the Lord." ANDERSON, WILSON, SIMPLIFIED BOOK OF MORMON (WILLIAMS) 7 On the whole, Wilson's paraphrase leaves more of the Book of Mormon intact than does Lynn Matthews Anderson's The Easy10-Read Book of Mormon. In addition to the kinds of changes Wilson makes in the text, Matthews Anderson uses "simple, modern English [wordsj on approximately a fifth-grade reading level."8 She includes a paraphrase of the title page (p. ix), a paraphrase of portions of the Joseph Smith-History (pp. 381-84), a paraphrase of the respective testimonies of the three witnesses and the eight witnesses (p. 385), a glossary (pp. 386-92), and an a lphabetical lis ting of important stories and people (pp. 393-98). The design of the book is nor as he lpful as it mtght be. Her paraphrase is printed in double columns, with no column or page headings; chapter numbers are spelled out. She has revised selected passages to make them overtly gender inclusive by changing brethren to brothers [and sisters] but has deleted most of the earlier edition's feminist commentary from the "To the Reader" section. Although Matthews Anderson's years of work have resulted in a generally simple paraphrase of the Book of Mormon text, problems and inconsistencies remain. Matthews Anderson feels that there is little "poetic or beautifu I phraseology lost through updating and simplifying the Book of Mormon."9 For this reason, in Nephi's psalm (2 Nephi 4: 1630) the metaphorical and active sorroweth, grieveth, and g roaneth I 0 are al I rendered as is very sad; I am encompassed about becomes I am full of sadness; why should ... my soul linger in the valley of sorrow becomes why should ... my soul be sad. In addition


Natural history museums are irreplaceable tools to study and preserve the biological diversity around the globe and among the primary actors in the recognition of species and the logical repositories for their type specimens. In this paper we surveyed the consistency of the preserved specimens of amphibians and reptiles housed in the major Italian scientific collections, and verified the presence of threatened species according to the IUCN Red List, including the Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU) categories. Altogether, we analyzed 39 Italian zoological collections. We confirmed the presence of one extinct reptile (Chioninia coctei) and five extinct or extinct in the wild amphibian species (Atelopus longirostris, Nectophrynoides asperginis, Pseudophilautus leucorhinus, P. nasutus, and P. variabilis). Seven CR amphibians, fourteen CR reptile species and the extinct skink C. coctei are shared by more than one institution. Museums which host the highest number of threatened and extinct amphibian species are respectively Turin (17 CR and 1 EX), Florence (13 CR and 1 EX), and Trento (15 CR and 1 EW), while for reptiles the richest museums are those from Genoa (15 CR and 1 EX), Florence (11 CR and 1 EX), and Pisa (7 CR). Finally, we discussed the utility of natural history museums and the strategies to follow for the implementation of their functionality.


In this study, a GIS-based, simple and easily performed modelling approach was proposed to simulate storm runoff response processes with consideration of spatial and temporal variability of runoff generation and flow routing through the hillslope and river network. The watershed was discretized into grid cells, and the river network was delineated from the DEM by use of GlS. In the modelling approach, the US Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) method in its differential form was used to calculate surface runoff (or excess rainfall) for each grid cell. The surface runoff was then routed to the watershed outlet using an improved spatially distributed travel time method. The approach was applied to simulate eight storm runoff events in the Jiaokou Reservoir watershed, a sub-basin of the Yongjiang River basin in southeast China. The results showed that the proposed approach predicted the runoff processes with an average efficiency of 0.94.


Summary A new geological map covering over 1000 square km of n.w. Co. Mayo is presented. Metasediments, probably Moine and Dalradian in age, have been deformed and metamorphosed during the Caledonian orogeny together with the pre-Moine Erris Complex (Laxfordian? rocks). The gneissose Erris Complex is commonly preserved except where significant Caledonian reconstitution to schists has occurred. Rocks of the Erris Complex were tectonically emplaced within the metasediments as major anticlinal cores, and as transgressive thrust wedges during the first Caledonian deformation. A significant structural and metamorphic break occurs across the Corraun Fault which is probably the south-westward continuation of the Leannan Fault of County Donegal.


PURPOSE
Active smoking is associated with higher colorectal cancer risk, but its association with survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis is unclear. We investigated associations of smoking, before and after diagnosis, with all-cause and colorectal cancer-specific mortality among colorectal cancer survivors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
From a cohort of adults who were initially free of colorectal cancer, we identified 2,548 persons diagnosed with invasive, nonmetastatic colorectal cancer between baseline (1992 or 1993) and 2009. Vital status and cause of death were determined through 2010. Smoking was self-reported on the baseline questionnaire and updated in 1997 and every 2 years thereafter. Postdiagnosis smoking information was available for 2,256 persons (88.5%).

RESULTS
Among the 2,548 colorectal cancer survivors, 1,074 died during follow-up, including 453 as a result of colorectal cancer. In multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models, prediagnosis current smoking was associated with higher all-cause mortality (relative risk [RR], 2.12; 95% CI, 1.65 to 2.74) and colorectal cancer-specific mortality (RR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.50 to 3.07), whereas former smoking was associated with higher all-cause mortality (RR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.36) but not with colorectal cancer-specific mortality (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.10). Postdiagnosis current smoking was associated with higher all-cause (RR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.58 to 3.13) and colorectal cancer-specific mortality (RR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.15 to 3.21), whereas former smoking was associated with all-cause mortality (RR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.42).

CONCLUSION
This study adds to the existing evidence that cigarette smoking is associated with higher all-cause and colorectal cancer-specific mortality among persons with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer.


A simple neuronal model for medial axes codification in biological vision systems is presented which is based on the concept of the propagation of wavefronts along topographically organized cortical structures.


Pregnant women who acquire infection from Toxoplasma gondii usually remain asymptomatic, although they can still transmit the infection to their fetuses with severe consequences. Given the asymptomatic nature of most Toxoplasma infections, primary prevention in pregnant women may lower the risk of congenital toxoplasmosis. Both consumption of undercooked meat and unprotected contact with soil are independent risk factors for T. gondii seroconversion during pregnancy, while contact with cat litter may pose a risk in certain situations. However, many pregnant women lack knowledge of these risk factors. This article reviews toxoplasmosis infection in pregnancy, with an emphasis on risk factors and appropriate counseling of pregnant women. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Objective: To evaluate gynaecological features of a group of transfusion dependent beta-thalassemic women and to analyze their reproductive function with the morpho-functional features of genital female tract. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study in a University Hospital and Tertiary Care Center. Fifty-nine transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemic women in reproductive age, were divided into two groups: to group A were assigned women with spontaneous menarche (n=44), while to group B were allocated patients with inducted menarche. Data on demographic characteristics, iron overload in liver and heart (evaluated with T2* RMN method), chelation therapy, and reproductive function were collected. Difference in demographic characteristics, chelation therapy, iron status, and reproductive function between groups were assessed, together with correlation analysis of iron overload. Results: Patients in group B had a worse reproductive function and a higher myocardial iron overload, than patients in group A. Moreover multivariate logistic regression showed a significant correlation between uterine biometry, FSH, E2, parity and hearth iron T2*HSIV, but not with liver iron. Conclusion: The present data shows that myocardial iron loading could be putative of prolonged and severe iron overload in the female genital tract, impairing fertility and reproductive function in patients affected with beta-thalassemia major under chelation therapy.


In contrast to most other building materials the strength of glass is not a material parameter, but rather a combination of the material treatment and the load position effects. Structural glass elements are produced with heat treatment when compressive residual stresses are created on the surface. The loading position of glass specimen is also significant due to variations in material quality. These two parameters have an effect on the failure stress of glass specimens tested in bending. In this study, the importance of these two parameters is analyzed using a series of experimental data that was previously published. The data is utilized as a source for statistical analysis using the method of sweeping, least square algorithm and finally analysis of variance.


Cosmetics have been used to increase attraction since Ancient times whilst Compacts have been a symbol of love for generations but especially since the 1920s. In this fascinating book, vintage accessories' expert, Madeleine Marsh, discusses just what makes compacts so desirable and reveals their hidden secrets from cameras to cigarettes. Madeleine shows what to buy and where, what to spot when buying and how to make the most of your compacts, vintage cosmetics or beauty accessories.


In this paper, we propose a new scheme for image compression using neural networks. Image data compression deals with minimization of the amount of data required to represent an image while maintaining an acceptable quality. Several image compression techniques have been developed in recent years. We note that the coding performance of these techniques may be improved by employing adaptivity. Over the last few years neural network has emerged as an effective tool for solving a wide range of problems involving adaptivity and learning. A multilayer feed-forward neural network trained using the backward error propagation algorithm is used in many applications. However, this model is not suitable for image compression because of its poor coding performance. Recently, a self-organizing feature map (SOFM) algorithm has been proposed which yields a good coding performance. However, this algorithm requires a long training time because the network starts with random initial weights. In this paper we have used the backward error propagation algorithm (BEP) to quickly obtain the initial weights which are then used to speedup the training time required by the SOFM algorithm. The proposed approach (BEP-SOFM) combines the advantages of the two techniques and, hence, achieves a good coding performance in a shorter training time. Our simulation results demonstrate the potential gains using the proposed technique.


The article is a discussion of those factors affecting the 1972 valuation of farm land prices in North Dakota. Average farmland values in 1972 rose an estimated
nine per cent to a new high of $104 per acre by December 1, 1972. Major factors felt to influence the dramatic rise include substantial increases in farm commodity prices (reflected in both higher gross and net farm incomes), more loanable funds available, continued strong demand for farm expansion purposes, and not too many farms being offered for sale. The 1972 report was based on 133 general estimates of the 1972 farmland market and on detailed for 208 farm sales. In addition, technological developments have increased the productivity of the land and resulted in the expectations of increased income through more technological advances.


This paper deals with the issue of using multi-cameras for road traffic monitoring. The aim is to remove the classic monocular ambiguities and to retrieve the objects height. An efficient and simple calibration method is presented. It relies on the geometric constraints of the road. A high speed matching procedure is introduced. It is based on an altitude planar decomposition of the road scene. The method naturally achieves two tasks due to altitudes sampling. Match and reconstruction become simultaneous. Finally, experimental results are presented.


Purpose of reviewThe number of patients listed for lung transplantation largely exceeds the number of available transplantable organs because of both a shortage of organ donors and a low utilization rate of lungs from those donors. A novel strategy of donor lung management, ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), that keeps the organ at physiological protective conditions has shown great promise to increase lung utilization by re-evaluating, treating, and repairing donor lungs prior to transplantation. Recent findingsClinical trials using EVLP have shown the method to be well tolerated and it allows for reassessment and improvement in function from high-risk donor lungs from both brain death and cardiac death donors prior to transplantation. When these lungs were transplanted, low rates of primary graft dysfunction were achieved, and the early outcomes were similar to those with conventionally selected and transplanted lungs. Preclinical studies have also shown a great potential of EVLP as a platform for the delivery of novel therapies to repair injured organs ex vivo and thus further increase the donor lung utilization rate. SummaryDevelopment of an ex-vivo treatment arsenal ranging in complexity from pharmacologic to gene and cellular therapies will soon allow clinicians to utilize the full potential of the donor organ pool improving outcomes of lung transplantation.


I'm Tracy Beaker the great inventor of extremely outrageous dares. I thought I was going to live happily ever after with Cam as my foster-mum. Ha Ha! It hasn't turned out like that. Cam's so mean, she won't buy me designer clothes, so all the other kids at school laugh at me.


Economic statistics inform citizens of general conditions, while central leaders use them to evaluate local officials. Are economic data systematically manipulated? After establishing discrepancies in economic data series cross-nationally, this article examines Chinese sub-national growth data. It leverages variation in the likelihood of manipulation over two dimensions, arguing that politically sensitive data are more likely to be manipulated at politically sensitive times. Gross domestic product (GDP) releases generate headlines, while highly correlated electricity production and consumption data are relatively unnoticed. In Chinese provinces, the difference between GDP and electricity growth increases in years with leadership turnover, which is consistent with juking the stats for political reasons. The analysis points to the political role of information and the limits of non-electoral accountability mechanisms in authoritarian regimes.


Conditions are given which imply that a system X'(t) = F(t, X(g(t))) has a solution with some components which approach given limits with specified orders of convergence as t —► oo, while the other components have specified orders of magnitude. The integral smallness conditions on F permit conditional convergence of some of the improper integrals that occur, and it is not required that limt^oo


The effect of testosterone supplementation on testicular blood flow, testicular vasomotion, the number of polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN's) in testicular blood vessels and prostatic blood flow were studied in rats in which the Leydig cell had been destroyed specifically by a single injection of ethane dimethylsulfonate (EDS). Other rats were supplemented with testosterone by subcutaneous injection of 25 mg testosterone propionate on days 1, 3 and 6. In some experiments, the effect of a single injection of 25 or 125 mg testosterone was studied. Testicular and prostatic blood flow and the number of PMN's in testicular blood vessels decreased, and vasomotion disappeared in Leydig cell-depleted rats, but testosterone supplementation restored all parameters to normal values. Moreover, a single injection of testosterone was able to restore testicular and prostatic blood flow to normal levels but had an inconsistent effect on vasomotion. These results suggest that testosterone may play a role in the physiological control of the testicular microcirculation.


Although we are already in the new millennium, some architects still doubt about the discipline introduction of the Digital Graph in architects development. For that reason, it is important to put forward some reflections in the sigradi, that collaborate to establish and spread the digital graph as a disciplinary area of teaching architecture. The Digital Graph included in the University of Architecture and postgraduation, collaborates from the biginning in the discipline development, as long as it trains and teaches the new way of architecture representation and prefiguration that arise from the introduction of new tools.


The effects of in vivo administration of native prostaglandin E2 (PGE) on the cycling status of the granulocyte-monocyte progenitor cell (CFU-GM) were examined in a mouse model. In mice hematopoietically rebounding from a sublethal dose of cyclophosphamide, intravenous injection of PGE in doses ranging from 100 to 10(-4) micrograms/mouse/day over three days, significantly decreased the absolute number of CFU-GM per femur and the percentage of CFU-GM in the S-phase of the cell cycle. Administration of PGE2, 10 micrograms/mouse/day, over three days to steady-state mice resulted in significant suppression of the absolute number of CFU-GM per femur, but was without effect on CFU-GM cycling. However, when an additional PGE2 injection was included on day 4 and mice killed 6 h later, inhibition of both parameters was observed. Single bolus injection of PGE2 into steady-state mice was found to have the identical effect. Inhibition of the absolute number of CFU-GM per femur and percentage of CFU-GM in S-phase were apparent 6 h after injection of a single dose of 10 micrograms PGE, with a loss of effect on CFU-GM cycling status 12-14 h after injection. The inhibitory effect of PGE2 on the absolute number of CFU-GM per femur persisted for two days after injection. These studies confirmed the cell-cycle effects of PGE, heretofore demonstrated only in vitro; illustrated the importance of timing and dose analysis when examining the effects of hematopoietic inhibitors in vivo; and suggested that PGE2 may be useful as an adjunct to chemotherapy in ameliorating myelotoxicity. Furthermore, dose-response analysis revealed an enhanced in vivo sensitivity of macrophage progenitor cells (M-CFC) to the inhibitory effects of injected PGE2. Inhibition of in vivo incorporation of tritiated thymidine (3HTdr) into bone marrow CFU-GM by PGE could also be demonstrated.


The temperature dependence of the adenine nucleotide exchange in mitochondria has been determined by employing a rapid mixing, quenching and sampling apparatus and the inhibitor quench-back exchange method. Thus the exchange is resolved down to 0.1 s. Rates are evaluated from accumulating the time-dependent progress at about 10 points. The exchange rate in liver mitochondria was determined from -10 degrees C to + 10 degrees C in the presence of 20% glycol, from 0 degrees C to 25 degrees C, and from 20 degrees C to 40 degrees C under partial inhibition by carboxyatractylate. The total range between -10 degrees C to + 40 degrees C has only one temperature break at 13 degrees C. From the Arrhenius plot between -10 degrees C to + 13 degrees C, EA approximately equal to 140 kJ and above 13 degrees C, EA approximately equal to 56 kJ is evaluated, corresponding to a Q10 of 8 and 2 respectively. In beef heart mitochondria the exchange rate was measured between 0 degrees C and 20 degrees C, and between 15 degrees C and 30 degrees C under partial inhibition with carboxyatractylate. There is a temperature break around 14 degrees C with EA approximately equal to 143 kJ between 0 degrees C and 14 degrees C and EA approximately equal to 60 kJ from 15 degrees C to 30 degrees C. The extrapolated translocation rates at 37 degrees C are 500 and 1800 mumol min-1 (g protein)-1 for rat liver and for beef heart mitochondria respectively. The temperature break is suggested to reflect a conformation change since there is no reversed break at low temperature, the temperature break changes in sonic particles and no lipid phase transition at 14 degrees C in mitochondria has been reported.


A Beckman DK-2R spectroeflectometer has been modified for obtaining spectral energy distributions of various light sources in the spectral region between 300–2500 mμ. Measurements are made by comparing a test source to a standard source. By including in the circuitry a function generator, which introduces the known energy distribution of the standard source, direct reading of the energy distribution of the test source is obtained. The instrument has been successfully used to measure a variety of light sources, including tungsten lamps, fluorescent lamps, line sources, and natural daylight. It has enough response to measure also sources of intensity as low as one candlepower. Either relative or absolute energy data can be provided by the modified instrument.


Gemcitabine (Gemzar), paclitaxel (Taxol), docetaxel (Taxotere), and vinorelbine (Navelbine) are among the most active agents for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer and are generally more active than platinum compounds. When combined with a platinum compound, these agents have produced the best survival outcomes seen to date in non-small-cell lung cancer. More than 100 clinical trials have defined and expanded the role of gemcitabine, which has been combined with each of these agents to create novel combinations. Several new nonplatinum-based combinations compare favorably with platinum-based combinations with respect to toxicity and efficacy. Moreover, changing the schedule of gemcitabine administration from days 1, 8, 15 every 4 weeks to days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks seems to allow greater dose intensity with less severe toxicity and slightly greater efficacy. Coadministration of docetaxel, paclitaxel, or vinorelbine with gemcitabine on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks is a promising approach. In addition to a lower incidence of severe neutropenia, docetaxel, paclitaxel, and vinorelbine protect against gemcitabine-associated thrombocytopenia.


The small ruminants have always been and will remain the most important group of farm animals in Slovenia. An important share of agricultural grassland can only be used for grazing, particularly by small ruminants. Due to the great diversity of landscape and many types of grassland in Slovenia, the small ruminant production developed well over past centuries. This article will describe the endangered Animal genetic resources (AnGR) from the Bela Krajina, a region in the southeast of Slovenia where the Bela krajina sheep are bred, suggest how to establish the value of the breed, discus what were the reasons for decrease in the population number and finally give policy recommendations for conservation.


The prevalence of child and adolescent mental health disorders over the last 50 years has been increasing (Maras and Kutnick, 1999; Zubrick, et al., 2000) to the extent that it is now of major concern in Australia (Richardson and Prior, 2005; Stanley, 2007; Sawyer, 2004; Sawyer et al., 2000). Reports from Sawyer and colleagues (Sawyer, Arney et al. 2001; Sawyer, Miller-Lewis et al. 2007; Sawyer, Sarris et al. 1990) record the prevalence of mental health disorders for Australian children and adolescents at approximately 13 to 21 per cent, according to selfreport or parent information. In order to counter this trend, national initiatives, such as KidsMatter (Slee et al., 2009), have been trialled with the intention of improving the mental health outcomes for Australian primary school children.


The equilibrium binding of the antitumor compound DHAQ, or mitoxantrone [1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-bis[[2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethyl]amino]-9,10- anthracenedione], to various DNAs has been examined by optical titration and equilibrium dialysis methods. At low r (bound drug/DNA base pair) values, r less than 0.03, DHAQ binds, in a highly cooperative manner, to calf thymus and Micrococcus lysodeikticus DNAs. The binding isotherms for the interaction of DHAQ with Clostridium perfringens DNA and poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT) exhibit a small positive slope at low r values, suggestive of cooperative binding. In contrast, the binding of DHAQ to poly(dG-dC).poly(dG-dC) shows no evidence of cooperative binding even at very low r values. At higher r values (r greater than 0.05), the binding of DHAQ to all the DNAs studied is characterized by a neighbor-exclusion process. A model is proposed to account for the two modes of binding exhibited in the cooperative binding isotherms. The main feature of the proposed model is that local sequence and structural heterogeneity of the DNA give rise to sets of binding sites to which DHAQ binds in a highly cooperative manner, while the majority of the DNA sites bind DHAQ via a neighbor-exclusion process. This two-site model reproduces the observed binding isotherms and leads to the conclusion that DHAQ binds in clusters to selected regions of DNA. It is suggested that clustering may play a role in the physiological activity of drugs.


In order to enhance the resources limited wireless sensor network the volume of throughout and the transmission reliability, the paper introduce the multicast routing network code technology to the unicast routing wireless sensor network. In this foundation, the time delay and the energy expenses which will bring to the stochastic linear network code makes the improvement through the node cooperation. The simulation result indicated that, compares with the opportunity route data transmission method, the cooperation network code strategy full use space and time reusability, reduced the data transmission time delay, enhanced the wireless sensor network volume of throughout.


The Sixth International Conference on Computability and Complexity in Analysis, CCA 2009, took place on August 18 to 22, 2009, in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The conference is concerned with Computable Analysis, the theory of computability and complexity over real-valued data. The conference program consisted of 4 invited talks, 2 tutorials of three talks each, and 24 contributed talks. These proceedings contain the abstracts or extended abstracts of the invited talks, tutorials, and a selection of 22 contributed articles.


This paper looks at the use of synchronised sound in the American television series Lost (2004-2010). Here the score bypasses the conventional distinction between diegetic and nondiegetic sound, thus affecting the viewer's capacity to make sense of the narrative. I will show how this reflects a current tendency in the media towards the spectacularisation of reality and the fictionalisation of information. The inclusion in the plot of issues such as torture, terrorism or racism, which at the time of the screening were at the centre of the public debate, makes this use of the medium especially problematic. The effect of the score in Lost is not just one of disorientation, as it also contributes to the conviction that there is no available perspective that would grant an understanding of the countless mysteries that characterise the series; accordingly, the possibility itself of a rational explanation of the fictional events is often avoided through illogical turns in the plot. Background sounds play a role in generating this divergence between (fictional) reality and perception: if the fictional world is mystified, any means to know, understand and control it through our senses is frustrated, so that the spectator has to relinquish to the inexplicability of events. I will read this loss of perspective in the light of the theory of alienation, explaining how music is used in order to obtain a derangement of perception


Fourteen blue-green and green algae survived for widely different time periods ranging between 22–102 d in control culture medium. Irrespective of their long or short survival period in control cultures, their pro-or eukaryotic nature, their different morphological types or natural habitats, they all survived for a short time period ranging between 2–4 d in 20,000 ppm gammaxine, captan, DDT, 2, 4-D or detergent; 2–7 d in 20,000 ppm urea; 2–3 d in 20,000 ppm thiourea; ½-2 d in 20,000 ppm endosulfan; 2–7 d in 1,000 ppm Ni or Zn; 1–6 d in 1,000 ppm Cu; ½-4 d in 1,000 ppm Co; ½-3 d in 1,000 ppm Pb; ½-2 d in 1,000 ppm Hg; 2–5 d in 100% kerosene oil and ½-2 d in 100% petrol (showing the relative toxicity of different chemicals to different algae). Dilution decreased the toxicity of these agents very little, indicating that they all were very toxic to algae. None of the agent induced the formation of any reproductive or dormant cells. Gammaxine, captan, DDT, 2, 4-D, urea, detergent, petrol, kerosene, endosulfan, Ni, Zn, or Pb favored the formation of necridia cells in Phormidium bohneri/P. foveolarum/Microcoleus chthonoplastes/Lyngbya birgei and/or L. major filaments. Scenedesmus quadricauda shed off all spines earlier, Hormidium flaccidum fragmented less or not at all, Scytonema millei formed no false branch and heterocyst, Aphanothece pallida and Gloeocapsa atrata cells did not divide, Cosmarium granatum cells did not form any zygospore, and Oedogonium sp. not any oogonialike cells under all or most of treatments with 100-20,000 ppm gammaxine, captan, DDT, 2, 4-D, endosulfan, urea, thiourea, detergent; 1–1,000 ppm Ni, Cu, Co, Zn, Pb or Hg; 1–100% petrol and kerosene.


Telecare is increasingly used to remotely monitor long-term conditions such as congestive heart failure (CHF) and provide interventions based upon the data collected. In order to improve health care efficiency, there remains a need for decision support tools to automate this monitoring function and help guide interventions; this study sought to develop such a tool. Data was obtained from 45 elderly individuals with CHF who participated in a telecare trial for an average duration of 18 months. Physiological data along with subjective health perspectives and symptoms were reported. Clinicians responded to abnormalities in the data resulting in 154 key medical interventions/events. A multivariate logistic regression model was developed to predict these medical interventions/events. The developed model correctly predicted key medical events in 75% of cases with a specificity of 74% and an overall cross-validated accuracy of 74% [68-80%, 95% confidence interval]. Key predictors included: number of system alerts, self-rated mobility, self-rated health, and self-rated anxiety, strongly suggesting the utility of subjective measures in addition to physiological ones for prediction of health status. Overall this study demonstrates the potential of a multivariate decision-support model to enhance predictions of medical need in CHF patients using home-based telecare systems.


Background—In patients with symptoms of heart failure, elevations in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) accurately identify ventricular dysfunction. However, BNP levels are not specific for ventricular dysfunction in patients who do not have overt symptoms of heart failure, suggesting that other cardiac processes such as myocardial ischemia may also cause elevations in BNP. Methods and Results—To determine whether BNP elevations are associated with myocardial ischemia, we measured plasma BNP levels before performing exercise treadmill testing with stress echocardiography in outpatients with stable coronary disease. Of the 355 participants, 113 (32%) had inducible ischemia. Compared with participants in the lowest BNP quartile (0 to 16.4 pg/mL), those in the highest quartile of BNP (≥105 pg/mL) had double the risk of inducible ischemia (adjusted relative risk, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.6; P =0.008). The relation between elevated BNP levels and inducible ischemia was especially evident in the 206 participants who had a history of myocardial infarction (adjusted relative risk, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.5 to 3.7, P =0.002) and was absent in those without a history of myocardial infarction (adjusted relative risk, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.3 to 2.2; P =0.9). This association between BNP levels and inducible ischemia remained strong after adjustment for measures of systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Conclusions—Elevated levels of BNP are independently associated with inducible ischemia among outpatients with stable coronary disease, particularly among those with a history of myocardial infarction. The observed association between BNP levels and ischemia may explain why tests for BNP are not specific for ventricular dysfunction among patients with coronary disease.


In order to reduce hydrostatic pressure in oil wells and produce oil from dead oil wells, laboratory rig was constructed, by injecting LPG through pipe containing mixture of two to one part of East Baghdad crude oil and water. The used pressure of injection was 2.0 bar, which results the hydrostatic pressure reduction around 246 to 222 mbar and flow rate of 34.5 liter/hr fluid (oil-water), at 220 cm injection depth. Effects of other operating parameters were also studied on the behavior of two phase flow and on the production of oil from dead oil wells.


In a multicenter study across the United States, maternal illness, mode of delivery, and perinatal exposure to pesticides were associated with risk of pediatric multiple sclerosis. OBJECTIVE: To determine if prenatal, pregnancy, or postpartum-related environmental factors are associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) risk in children. METHODS: This is a case-control study of children with MS or clinically isolated syndrome and healthy controls enrolled at 16 clinics participating in the US Network of Pediatric MS Centers. Parents completed a comprehensive environmental questionnaire, including the capture of pregnancy and perinatal factors. Case status was confirmed by a panel of 3 pediatric MS specialists. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine association of these environmental factors with case status, adjusting for age, sex, race, ethnicity, US birth region, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Questionnaire responses were available for 265 eligible cases (median age 15.7 years, 62% girls) and 412 healthy controls (median age 14.6, 54% girls). In the primary multivariable analysis, maternal illness during pregnancy was associated with 2.3-fold increase in odds to have MS (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20–4.21, P = .01) and cesarean delivery with 60% reduction (95% CI 0.20–0.82, P = .01). In a model adjusted for these variables, maternal age and BMI, tobacco smoke exposure, and breastfeeding were not associated with odds to have MS. In the secondary analyses, after adjustment for age, sex, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, having a father who worked in a gardening-related occupation (odds ratio [OR] 2.18, 95% CI 1.14–4.16, P = .02) or any use in household of pesticide-related products (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.06–2.81, P = .03) were both associated with increased odds to have pediatric MS. CONCLUSION Cesarean delivery and maternal health during pregnancy may influence risk for pediatric-onset MS. We report a new possible association of pesticide-related environmental exposures with pediatric MS that warrants further investigation and replication.


Para-oesophageal hiatus hernia, a condition in which the fundus and part of the body of the stomach wrapped in a peritoneal sac herniate into the mediastinum, is a relatively uncommon entity. It tends to grow progressively and may become so large as to lead to symptoms of intrathoracic organ compression. In some exceptional cases, the entire stomach together with other abdominal viscera might herniate through the hiatus into the thorax. Paraesophageal hiatus hernias are characterised clinically by vague symptomatology, absent gastro-oesophageal reflux, and possible onset of gastric volvulus, generally without consequent incarceration of the portion of the herniated organ. Such an event is uncommon but dangerous and life-threatening. These cases often require resection of the incarcerated viscera, followed by hiatoplasty and Nissen fundoplication. The authors report on the case of a patient presenting with acute abdomen as a result of incarcerated and perforated para-oesophageal hiatus hernia.


In this paper, the optimisation of the PV static concentrator module PEC-44D for constant demand during the year is presented. The method used is based on simulation of the system performance during 10 years and the set of concentrator parameters that produces the lowest cost of the PV array is determined. We find that the optimised PEC-44D module can be 38% cheaper than a standard module. Experimental results were obtained for a prototype of the optimised PEC-44D to validate the theoretical analysis of the behaviour of the concentrator. We conclude that the daily irradiation measured on the cells correlates well with calculated values, and that the operating temperature of the bifacial cells in this static concentrator is slightly lower than that of the monofacial cells in a standard module. Copyright # 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Background: Brucellosis with different pictures is common in our country and should be noticed in high risk patients. Patient: A 23 years old male farmer, presented with headache, vomiting, and tremor. Disease had begun 6 months ago with right side orchitis, fever, chills, then, gradually illness, weakness, tremor, anorexia, vomiting, nonproductive cough, retrosternal pain and dysphagia, blurred vision, generalized muscular rigidity and disability in daily activities were added. In physical exam illness, weakness, fever, wet skin, tremor, generalized muscular rigidity, papillary edema were detected. He had positive Wright test (1/1250) and lymphocytic pleocytosis in CSF. Three drug regimen and steroid (1 month) were administered and he responded well to this initial therapy, however, during his 3 rd month follow up, he developed severe bilateral hearing loss unresponsive to steroids and 6 months later he had a self-limiting 20 hours left sided hemiparesis. Conclusion: Neurobrucellosis may present with parkinsonism (tremor and generalized muscular rigidity) and meningovascular involvement. This may even progress under 3 antibiotic regimen treatment.


The practice of girl-child marriage is a major impediment to women's health, empowerment, and gender equality within South Asia and Bangladesh in particular, which is home to an estimated 38 million child brides.1 Recognizing the adverse effects of child marriage, the Bangladesh Government recently committed to eliminating child marriage by 2041.2 To this effort, it has enacted new legislation, the 2017 Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA), that stipulates harsher penalties and includes several preventative measures against child marriage. However, the law has several countervailing elements that can potentially have the opposite impact on child marriage prevention.3,4 Specifically, it allows marriage before the legal age (18 years) under special circumstances if the marriage is deemed to serve "the best interest of the minor."4 Yet the law does not specify what constitutes "the best interest of the minor" nor does it suggest any minimum age for such marriage.4 In addition, it stipulates punishments for filing false complaints,4 which may deter people to report a child marriage to local authorities before the marriage is solemnized. Research shows that legal exceptions such as parental permission and customary or religious laws that supersede the minimum legal age of marriage may weaken child marriage prevention efforts.5 Hence, the special provision in the 2017 CMRA could potentially have a detrimental impact on eradicating child marriage in Bangladesh in the next two decades. Using available data, we examined trends in child marriage in Bangladesh following the enactment of the new law to inform policymakers working toward eliminating child marriage from the country.


A Continuous Performance Test (CPT) was incorporated into a smartphone application (App) to measure three symptom domains associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. The App was pilot tested on 11 healthy adults over three testing sessions. No differences in performance were found between testing sessions suggesting good test consistency. A decrement in performance over time was only found for one measure of attention and on one testing session. The CPT showed some sensitivity to ADHD-related symptoms where self-reported impulsive behaviour was related to the CPT measures of impulsivity and activity. User acceptability was good although some design improvements were suggested. Further pilot testing of the App in a clinical population is needed.


Abstract:This article examines the work of three women—Giorgina Craufurd Saffi, Sara Levi Nathan, and Jessie White Mario—who were active in the transnational networks of Italian unification and Victorian feminism as a case study. It reveals that nineteenth-century feminists achieved their most radical and egalitarian goals by using more traditional, conservative, or elitist language. To do so it examines how these women created marriages based on the ideals of partnership and equality, participated in the campaigns against state-regulated prostitution, and claimed an active role in Italian revolutionary politics. This examination of their rhetorical strategies reveals their use of traditional discourses of domesticity and maternity as well as their leverage of Protestant and English superiority in Italy. Acknowledging the realistic limits of mid-nineteenth century feminism, however, this article claims that we must focus not just on their language but also on the radical and feminist activities they engaged in using that language.


Background: Microtubules are highly dynamic polymers present in eukaryote cells that are essential components of cell cytoskeleton. They play an important role in intracellular transport, in maintaining organelle organization and function, and in transmitting mechanical forces within the myocardium. However, this intracellular network becomes disrupted during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion, and it has been proposed that microtubule disruption is an early sign of irreversible ischemic injury, and that prevention of microtubule disruption during ischemia-reperfusion could be beneficial. In this study we aimed to assess the effects of prevention of microtubule disruption with paclitaxel on ischemia/reperfusion injury in both isolated rat cardiomyocytes and isolated, Langendorff-perfused, rat hearts.

Methods and results: Isolated rat cardiomyocytes were submitted to normoxia (1h), or to 50 min of anoxia (pH 6.4, 0% O2, 37° C) and 15 min reoxygenation, without or with treatment during anoxia with the microtubule stabilizer paclitaxel (10 μM) or the inhibitor of microtubule polymerization colchicine (5 μM). The condition of microtubule network was assessed by immunofluorescence detection of α-tubulin. Anoxia/reoxygenation leads to disruption of the microtubule network before the onset of ischemic contracture (650±21 vs. 328±11 arbitrary units of fluorescence (auf), p≤0.05). Paclitaxel attenuated both microtubule disruption (377±15 auf, p≤0.05 vs. anoxia/reoxygenation) and the incidence of hypercontracture (31±7 % vs. 56±8 % in anoxia/reoxygenation, p≤0.05) induced by anoxia/reoxygenation, whereas treatment with colchicine mimicked the effects of anoxia/reoxygenation (fluorescence: 188±16 auf, p≤0.01 vs. anoxia/reoxygenation; hypercontracture: 65±7 %). In isolated rat hearts under normoxic conditions, paclitaxel induced a concentration-dependent increase in perfusion pressure and a decrease in heart rate and left ventricular developed pressure. Despite protection against cell hypercontracture, paclitaxel pretreatment did not modify infarct size (60.37±2.27 % in control hearts vs. 58.75±10.25, 55.44±10.32 and 50.06±10.14 % in hearts pretreated with 10-6, 3 10-6 and 10-5 M, of paclitaxel respectively), LDH release or functional recovery after 60 min of global ischemia and reperfusion in isolated rat hearts.

Conclusions: Microtubule stabilization with paclitaxel reduces hypercontracture in isolated rat cardiomyocytes but does not protect against infarction in isolated rat hearts.


Phocomelia, ie the absence or severe hypoplasia of the long tubular bones with more or less intact hands and or feet, is widely known to be the most spectacular finding of thalidomide embryopathy[1]. It may be complete in the form that proximal and distal bones of limb are absent or may be incomplete when either proximal or distal bones are missing. It is known to occur in some familial syndromes such as Roberts syndrome[10], the DK Phocomelia syndrome[8] and in a few other extremely rare syndromes. Phocomelia syndromes are multiple malformations syndrome that includes skeletal, genitourinary such as renal agenesis, gastrointestinal system, eye abnormalties eg cloudy corneas, craniofacial abnormalities including silvery blonde hair, extensive hemangiomas and hypoplastic nasal cartilage[11]. These syndromes include autosomal recessive form of VACTERL-hydrocephaly syndrome (David-O'Callaghan syndrome), X-linked recessive form (Hunter MacMurray) syndrome, DK-phocomelia (von Voss-Cherstvoy) syndrome and Laurin-Sandrow Syndrome (LSS).

The present report represents an instance of isolated lower limb phocomelia without other defects which is very rare. A 3 month, male child presented with complaints of malformed left lower limb since birth. Baby was normal vaginally delivered, full term with birth weight being 2.7 kg. Antenatal and perinatal history was uneventful, no history of any drug intake, radiation exposure or infections during pregnancy. First born baby died at the age of 10 postnatal day, cause is unknown, but he was apparently not having any congenital malformation. Physical examination revealed weight 4.8 kg, length 54.5 cm, head circumference 36.5 cm, no facial dysmorphism, spine normal. Only deformity was phocomelia of left lower limb (Fig. 1). Systemic examination was normal. X ray pelvis with both lower limbs showed left lower limb showed absent femur, tibia and fibula, a single tarsal bone visualized, distal foot appears grossly normal. Right hip and femur do not reveal any abnormality. Chest X ray was absolutely normal and abdominal sonography abdomen and cranianl showed no abnormality. 2-dimensional echocardiography was done to rule out congenital heart defect, which was also normal.

Fig. 1

Phocomelia of left lower limb in a case with isolated malformation

Phocomelia[2] in the complete form, the arm and forearm are absent in the upper limb and the thigh and leg are absent in the lower limb (the hands and feet sprout directly from the trunk). The deficiency may be proximal (arms and thighs missing) or distal (forearms and legs missing). This malformation was seen with thalidomide embryopathy or could be a part of some pseudo–thalidomide syndromes, which could be familial. Certain syndromes are reported where phocomelia is one of the features along with other congenital malformations ie Roberts syndrome[3], DK Phocomelia syndrome[4] Odontotrichomelic tetramelic ectodermal dysplasia[5], congenital hemidysplasia with ichthyosiform erythroderma and limb defects (CHILD) syndrome[6], Syndrome of spleno-gonadal fusion[7].

The Robert SC syndrome is associated with phocomelia and craniofacial abnormality including hypertelorism, hypoplastic nasal alae, cleft lip and palate and chromosomal abnormality in about half of the cases. Autosomal recessive inherited DK phocomelia syndrome is associated with phocomelia, oligodactyly, thrombocytopenia and heart, brain and kidney malformations; CHILD syndrome consists of phocomelia, icthyosis, brain and heart malformations. Another syndrome in this domain is limb/pelvis-hypoplasia/aplasia syndrome which is associated with unusual facies, thoracic dystrophy and deficiencies in upper and lower extremities[8, 9]. The case described in this report had only isolated lower limb phocomelia and no other malformations as described in above mentioned syndromes which makes this case rare and academically important.

In this case phocomelia is confined to only one lower limb with no other congenital defect. It does not seem to be familial. With proper prosthesis and other orthopedic rehabilitation, baby may live normal life. Isolated one limb phocomelia has better prognosis compared to other variety, needs attention in this report.


In a 3rd generation CT system, a single source projects the entire held of view (FOV) onto a large detector opposite the source. In multi-source CT imaging, a multitude of sources sequentially project a part of the FOV on a much smaller detector. These sources may be distributed in both the trans-axial and axial directions in order to jointly cover the entire FOV. For a full scan case, scan data from multiple sources in the axial direction provide complementary information. We previously proposed window-based 3D analytic cone-beam reconstruction and showed that multi-source CT can extend the axial scan coverage to 100mm without cone-beam artifacts. However for less than a full scan case, conjugate rays are not available most of time. We propose a cone-angle dependent weighting approach to combine multi-source data from less than full scan. We compute the amount of contribution from each longitudinal source to the each voxel by considering the X-ray beam collimation, the cone-angle from each source and the geometrical relationship between sources. The proposed techniques successfully reduce artifacts as illustrated by the experiments.


This qualitative study employs Communities of Practice (Lave& Wenger, 1991) framework to map out how female learner identity is built and negotiated within Post-colonial Pakistan. The study traces out the ongoing identity struggles of young Pakistani female ESL learners at The Institute of English Language and Literature (IELL), University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan, from a broadly poststructuralist perspective .Data analysis and interpretation were guided by CoP framework which views learner as essentially part and parcel of the learning environment within which learning takes places. The data revealed a complex picture of Female English Language Learner Identity (FELLI), as diverse subject positions emerged while the participants developed a sense of alignment with different CoP and displaying acts of resistance to counter discrimination. Higher education appeared as a site of identity negotiation and transition into new CoP for the participants. The participants demonstrated signs of social, linguistic and academic participation in as participating members of academic CoP.


The ability to survive hypoxic stress is an essential component of tumor development. Many rapidly proliferating solid tumors outgrow their vasculature while the abnormal tumor vasculature leads to small, transient pockets of hypoxic cells. In addition to being deprived of oxygen, these cells are also deprived of nutrients and unable to export harmful byproducts of cellular metabolism out of their immediate environment. One mechanism cancer cells employ to survive hypoxic stress is the stabilization and activation of the transcription factor hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), which translocates to the nucleus and induces pro-survival genes such as VEGF, Glut-1, and glycolytic enzymes. MiaPaCa-2 pancreatic carcinoma cells stably transfected with a 5X hypoxia response element (HRE) promoter regulating the firefly luciferase gene were generated, and shown to express luciferase only when HIF-1α was stabilized in hypoxia(1% O 2 ). Using these cells, a genome wide siRNA screen was performed using the Dharmacon 22,000 gene siRNA library under the conditions of normoxia, 16hr and 72 hr hypoxia, to discover novel effectors of the HIF-1α pathway. Luciferase expression was corrected for cell number using a WST-1 cell proliferation assay prior to luciferase detection. Several hits were identified including genes which, when silenced, both increased and decreased HIF-1α transcriptional activity. Genes whose inhibition increased HIF-1α transcriptional activity in normoxia, in some cases up to 19 fold, include members of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex which bind to and degrade HIF-1α under normal oxygen tensions, and also a number of other genes with uncharacterized function. There were also genes whose inhibition decreased hypoxia induced HIF-1α activity. Many were not well characterized, but there were a number of genes belonging to the MAP kinase pathway; the DNA repair pathway; the NF-κB pathway; and glycolysis genes, that were identified as necessary for HIF-1α transcriptional activity. Hits in these pathways were validated by secondary siRNAs and Western blots. It was discovered that silencing key genes involved in glycolysis inhibited HIF-1α transcriptional activity due to a decrease in HIF-1α protein levels. They include hexokinase-1, pyruvate dependent kinases-1,2 and 3, and 6-phosphofructo-1-kinase(M). These results suggest that increased glycolysis found in many tumors under aerobic conditions (the Warburg effect), which has been suggested to be caused by increased Myc expression, mutant Ras, mutant p53 and PI-3-kinase signaling, has an important role in increasing HIF-1α expression and activity. This stabilization and increase in activity then further induces the expression of target glycolytic genes and glycolytic activity in a feed-forward loop. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5505.


The modified Mallet classification is widely used to measure motor function in brachial plexus birth injuries. The aim of the study was to investigate agreement and reliability of this classification under three different evaluation conditions: face-to-face; live tele-assessment; and delayed video-based assessment. A total of 100 children aged 4-15 years were included. Children were assessed by two raters except for live tele-assessment, which was performed by four raters. Agreement between the three different assessment conditions for the same rater were between strong and excellent for both raters 1 and 2. The interrater reliability for raters 1 and 2 under different assessment conditions was strong to excellent. Interrater reliability among the four raters was moderate to strong in tele-assessment. The modified Mallet classification may have appropriate reliability to be used in remote medical follow-up.Level of evidence: III.