This report investigates the buildup region of the depth-dose curve for broad parallel beams of 60Co and lower energy photons incident on slabs of tissue as defined by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) and other materials. The EGS Monte Carlo system was used to simulate the transport of photons and electrons in the materials. Calculated buildup regions of the depth-dose curves are presented for photons incident on ICRU tissue. For 60Co beams, the primary and scatter dose components are presented, both for the buildup region and at depth in the phantom. Effects of beam radius were investigated and found to have only a small effect in the buildup region of the central axis depth-dose curve. The calculated effects of beam radius are larger at depth and in good agreement with experiment. Effects of scatter and attenuation in a small miniphantom of water were investigated as a function of photon energy and were found to cancel within 0.8%. The mean distance of electron transport was calculated for 60Co beams incident on carbon, water, polystyrene, aluminum, and lead.


Due to catastrophic disasters induced by forces of nature like flooding or tsunamis, terrorism or nuclear power plant accidents, understanding the dynamics of urban evacuation systems has elicited massive interest over the past years. While discrete event simulations of evacuation models become prohibitively complex dealing with the time, space and individual behavior, multiagent based models have revealed to be a potentially more effective. This paper introduces models of configurations of social agents at a massive scale, which, together with the most recent supercomputing technology, allows for a simulation analysis of realistic evacuation models at the level of large cities (106 -108 agents). Agent based models of demographics and the morphology of cities together with population densities, mobility patterns, individual decision making, and agent interactions are implemented into a tool chain which ultimately generates Repast HPC code, which is then executed on a 2,048 node shared memory multiprocessor server (SGI Altix UV-1000). We demonstrate how different evacuation strategies can be assessed based on costly, yet feasible simulation runs - thus evidencing, that a whole class of demanding, very complex simulation problems has found a convincing solution.


Abstract. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an essential grain for human consumption owing to its high protein content, nutritional quality and energy-efficient production. The aim of this study was to compare the protein extracts of 24 chickpea genotypes by biochemically characterising the storage proteins. The storage protein content was characterised by protein separation with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and visualisation of the banding patterns, which revealed considerable genetic variability within and between genotypes in this chickpea collection. High performance liquid chromatography showed that all genotypes had balanced amino acid content and some were rich in seven amino acids. Two chickpea genotypes, Flip97-171C and Elite, representative of the kabuli and desi types, respectively, were chosen for total proteome analysis. Two-dimensional electrophoresis and subsequent mass spectrometry were used to identify 454 protein spots from the Flip97-171C and Elite proteomes. By using Mascot Server software, 37% of the spots were identified as 47 different proteins involved in a large range of metabolic functions. Most proteins from both proteomes were assigned to nutritional storage activity. Chickpea proteome analysis is essential in reaffirming the quality of this grain protein for human nutrition, and will be important in future nutriproteomics and plant-breeding studies.


In this study, some theses about modernity, which is the main research object of sociology, will be discussed. Not all theses on modernity will be discussed. Because within the bounds of such an article, it is not possible to express all the discussions about modernity in the literature. In this paper we will try to sum up two theses on modernity in sociological context. After evaluating the historical and etymologic origin of the concept of modernity, the first of the discussions we will approach is about the fact that modernity symbolizes a break from the past and that it is unique. For the first discussion in this study, the views of two thinkers, Jürgen Habermas and Hans Blumenberg, will be expressed. The second thesis on modernity argues modernity's continuity with the past and its historicity. The views of some of the thinkers who defended the latter will also be discussed. These thinkers are Karl Löwith, Jacob Taubes, Carl Schmitt, Eric Voegelin and Michael Gillespie, respectively. As sociologist Giddens has said, "sociology is the science of modernity". In this context, theses on modernity, and essence of modernity set a theoretical and intellectual framework for today's sociologist's research on society. Therefore, at the end of the study, the contribution of philosophical debates on modernity to sociology will be evaluated additionally.


Introduction Renal allograft compartment syndrome (RACS) is a complication that infrequently occurs after renal transplantation. Tight muscle closure may lead to RACS due to compression of renal parenchyma or kinking of the renal vessels. Many techniques have been proposed in an attempt to achieve tension-free closure, which can be specially challenging in child recipients. We present our experience with Tutoplast® Fascia Lata (RTI Surgical Tutogen Medical GmbH Industriestrasse 6, 91077 Neunkirchen am Brand, Germany) closure. Methods All pediatric patients who underwent renal transplantation in our center between 2012 and 2021 were reviewed. Eight patients with Tutoplast® Fascia Lata placed at the time of initial transplantation were identified. Donor and recipient characteristics, Doppler ultrasound findings, and overall patient and graft survival rates were analyzed. Results Doppler ultrasound was performed intra-operatively after abdominal wall closure. If any sign of vascular compromise was seen, the abdominal wall was opened and the graft was revised. The Tutoplast® Fascia Lata implant was used to perform tension-free fascia closure and, afterwards, a Doppler ultrasound was performed to confirm the optimal renal artery perfusion and venous patency. Three of the renal transplantations were from a cadaver donor, with two of them en bloc. Living donor transplantation was performed in four cases. Among which, there was a case of auto-transplantation due to bilateral renal artery stenosis. None of the patients presented any complications of either short or long term that was derived from the abdominal closure with Tutoplast® Fascia Lata. There was also no record of graft failure till datum. Conclusions Restricted volume of the recipient pelvic cavity and the size discrepancy between the recipient pelvic cavity space and the donor adult kidney may lead to RACS. Other situations that occur more infrequently, i.e., as en bloc or auto-transplantation, are prone to suffer the same problem. Tutoplast® Fascia Lata is a safe option for these patients.


This paper researches the way that physical layer of CAN bus affects the signal transmission. The analysis is based on the physical model of twisted-pair wire. According to this model, the effect of different wire physical parameters is discussed. Besides that, it reasons the cause of signal reflection, and brings method to solve the problems of signal transmission of CAN signal. In this way, references could be provided for the design of CAN system.


A small array composed of four slot elements has been investigated [Nakayama and Nakano, 1995]. This array, for which the feed system is designed using a decoupling technique, operates as a dual linear polarization antenna. The decoupling technique is found to be useful for obtaining high input port isolation. This paper presents large array antennas composed of 16 and 64 slots. Stacked and coplanar feed systems adopting the decoupling technique are fabricated to excite these arrays. The radiation characteristics of the arrays are measured and discussed.


Two impact modifiers, based respectively on polybutadiene (PB) and poly(butyl acrylate-co-styrene) (PBA), are compared in blends with four glassy polymers: polycarbonate (PC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (PSAN), and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Dynamic mechanical tests show glass transitions at about -80 °C in PB and -15 °C in PBA. Both modifiers have grafted PMMA shells, which are seen in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) to be about 10 nm thick. The two-stage PB particles have 200-nm-diameter polybutadiene cores, whereas the three-stage PBA particles have 260-nm-diameter PMMA cores, with 20-nm thick PBA rubber inner shells. Under tension, the PB particles cavitate to form single voids on reaching a critical volume strain, and subsequently offer little resistance to dilatation. By contrast, tensile tests performed in situ in the TEM show that the PBA shells form fibrils that are anchored to the rigid core, and act as constraints on further dilatation: the stresses developed in the PBA fibrils can be sufficient to draw fibrils from both the PMMA core and the PSAN matrix. There is evidence that the PMMA shells can debond from the matrix both in cryogenic fracture and in fatigue at 23 °C. Tensile dilatometry shows that the PB particles cavitate at higher strains than the PBA particles, but that the PB particles then cause a rapid volume increase, leading to a low strain at break. By contrast, the PBA particles produce a more controlled dilatation, and higher strains to break. Later papers in this series treat the mechanical and rheological behavior of these blends in more detail.


SUMMARY In this paper, a velocity space method of motion planning for nonholonomic systems is presented. This method, based on Lie algebraic principles and locally around consecutive current states, plans a motion towards a goal. It is effective as most of the computations can be carried out analytically. This method is illustrated on the unicycle robot and the inverted pendulum.


From a network perspective, the major challenge in providing seamless connectivity whilst maintaining the required level of QoS to users results from the negative interactions that occur between mobility and QoS. These interactions, particularly those of mobility and QoS, have been the subject of much research. In this paper, we discuss the various approaches that have already been taken to combine QoS and mobility mechanisms, and present a new framework to combine such mechanisms with the aim of reducing the negative interactions that might arise between them. We propose the concept of enhanced nodes which is a special IP router with an extra sub-layer of mobility, QoS and security features. Our framework is illustrated with an example of a QoS-based mobility selection mechanism.


Men are the primary decision maker in the household and their participation plays crucial role in improving maternal health. Although Bangladesh has achieved MDGS's maternal morality related goals already, still there's a lot to do to accomplish the adequate level of spousal participation especially during wife's labor and child birth time. The present study used secondary data from Bangladesh Urban Health Survey 2013 to investigate different factors associated with spousal participation in different parts of the urban Bangladesh. In City Corporation areas, respondent's education level and employment status were found to have some sort of association with spousal participation. Respondent's age, types of school attended, education level and media exposure had association with spousal participation in other urban areas.


OTX homeobox (HB) genes are expressed during embryonic morphogenesis and during the development of olfactory epithelium in adult organisms. Mutations occurring in these genes are often related to tumorigenesis in human. No data are available today regarding the possible correlation between OTX genes and tumors of the nasal cavity. The aim of this work is to understand if OTX1 and OTX2 can be considered as molecular markers in the development of nasal tumors. We selected nasal and sinonasal adenocarcinomas to investigate the expression of OTX1 and OTX2 genes through immunohistochemical and real-time PCR analyses.Both OTX1 and OTX2 were absent in all the samples of sinonasal Intestinal-Type Adenocarcinomas (ITACs). OTX1 mRNA was identified only in Non-Intestinal Type Adenocarcinomas (NITACs) while OTX2 mRNA was expressed only in Olfactory Neuroblastomas (ONs). We have demonstrated that the differential gene expression for both OTX1 and OTX2 genes might be a useful molecular marker to distinguish the different types of sinonasal tumors.


Femoropopliteal bypass is a surgical procedure used in the advanced stages of peripheral arterial disease on lower limb arteries. The most common cause of arterial peripheral disease is the atherosclerotic plaque, which significantly narrows the vascular lumen. This kind of lesion is treated with vascular interventions. Those are divided into endovascular percutaneous interventions and into classic surgical interventions. In addition there is emerging a new endoscopic method in vascular bypass operations as an alternative to the already existing classic surgical intervention. Endoscopic vein harvesting is a minimally invasive surgical technique that enables vein dissection and its usage for vascular bypass with the help of videoscopic equipment. The case report presents a 68-years old male with diagnosed peripheral arterial disease. He was a suitable candidate for surgical treatment, therefore a femoropopliteal bypass was done in his right lower extremity. The distinctive note of this operation was the usage of anewer technique, that is, endoscopic vein harvesting of the greater saphenous vein.


ABSTRACT Previously we demonstrated sex differences in episodic memory in healthy elderly and suggested that normative data be separated by sex. The present study extended the exploration of sex differences on memory measures into two clinical populations, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Seventy-six subjects with MCI and 101 subjects with AD diagnosed by a multidisciplinary team were included. These two groups were also compared to a group of 177 healthy elderly control participants. Sex differences on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT; total and delayed recall) raw scores and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test–Revised (BVMT–R) were demonstrated within the healthy but not the MCI or AD groups. Calculating z scores by sex for both dementing groups based on the healthy controls suggested a larger performance gap between healthy and dementing women than between healthy and dementing men. MCI females were on average 0.48 standard deviations lower for total verbal learning compared to healthy female controls than were MCI males when compared to healthy male controls. For verbal delayed recall the gap was even larger (SD = 1.09). Similarly, on the BVMT–R, a measure of visual memory, the difference was 0.60 standard deviations for total visual learning and 0.99 standard deviations for delayed recall. This same sex difference, with females showing greater impairment compared to the controls group than did the males, was also present within the AD group. The greater memory impairment in dementing females rather than males when compared to sex-matched healthy controls was unlikely to be due to more severe illness since females performed equivalently to males on the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale, Mini-Mental Status Examination, and Dementia Rating Scale, and were also similar for age, education, and apolipoprotein status. The present study suggested relatively greater memory impairment in females with MCI or AD than in controls.


The Iran depicted in the headlines is a rogue state ruled by ever-more-defiant Islamic fundamentalists. Yet inside the borders, an unheralded transformation of a wholly different political bent is occurring. A liberal renaissance, as one Iranian thinker terms it, is emerging in Iran, and in this pamphlet, Danny Postel charts the contours of the intellectual upheaval. "Reading "Legitimation Crisis" in Tehran" examines the conflicted positions of the Left toward Iran since 1979, and, in particular, critically reconsiders Foucault s connection to the Iranian Revolution. Postel explores the various elements of the subtle liberal revolution and proposes a host of potential implications of this transformation for Western liberalism.He examines the appeal of Jurgen Habermas, Hannah Arendt, and Isaiah Berlin among Iranian intellectuals and ponders how their ideas appear back to us when refracted through a Persian prism. Postel closes with a thought-provoking conversation with eminent Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo. A provocative and incisive polemic highly relevant to our times, "Reading "Legitimation Crisis" in Tehran" will be of interest to anyone who wants to get beyond alarmist rhetoric and truly understand contemporary Iran. "


Objective: To examine whether low managerial quality predicts risk of depressive disorders. Methods: Using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analyses we examined the prospective association of individual-level and workplace-mean managerial quality with onset of depressive disorders among 5244 eldercare workers from 274 workplaces during 20 months follow-up. Results: Low managerial quality predicted onset of depressive disorders in both the individual-level (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.25 to 2.76) and the workplace-mean analysis (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.06 to 2.07). Low individual-level managerial quality predicted onset of depressive disorders when workplace-mean managerial quality was high (OR = 3.10, 95% CI = 1.71 to 5.62) but not when it was low (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.87). This interaction was statistically significant (P = 0.03). Conclusions: Both low individual-level and low workplace-mean managerial quality predicted risk of depressive disorders. The association was strongest among individuals reporting low managerial quality at workplaces with high workplace-mean managerial quality.


The revival of Jewish culture in post-Soviet Moscow manifested itself in tremendous interest in Yiddish music among both Jewish and non-Jewish artists and viewers. Large-scale in their scope and original in their unorthodox interpretations, performances of Yiddish music filled the largest concert halls of Moscow in the early 2000s. What do the production, content, and reception of these shows teach us about post-Soviet Jewish identity? This article examines works by Efim Alexandrov and Alexander Tsaliuk, contemporary Russian artists who chose to devote their careers to the revival of Yiddish music in post-Soviet Russia.


The Extra-tropical Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (Ex-UTLS) is a complex region of the atmosphere that provides an extended transition between the stratosphere and the troposphere, and between the tropics and polar regions. The region contains the tropopause, a strong stability gradient and hence dynamic barrier to transport seen in tracer profiles. The Ex-UTLS couples to the troposphere chemically through constituent transport of e.g. ozone, dynamically by coupling stratospheric processes to tropospheric wave patterns, and radiatively by the presence of optically thick clouds and clear sky gradients of radiatively active gases. A picture of the Ex-UTLS is sketched that brings together several different definitions of the tropopause and many observed and simulated features of the UTLS using satellites, in-situ observations and models. An integral view recognizes that thermal gradients and dynamic barriers are necessarily linked, and that there are radiative feedbacks that help maintain the structure of the UTLS. The Ex-UTLS structure leads to stability gradients, that govern transport pathways and thus determine tracer gradients. Different chemical gradients reflect the structure of the Ex-UTLS and the processes responsible for transport mixed with different tracer sources and sinks. The distribution and correlation of trace species in the ExUTLS chemically mirrors the dynamical transition character between the stable stratosphere and the convectively mixed (turbulent) troposphere. This perspective places disparate observations and approaches in context, and permits a deeper understanding of the role of the Ex-UTLS. The impacts of 21st century anthropogenic changes to the atmosphere due to ozone recovery and increasing greenhouse gases will be felt in the Ex-UTLS, and recent simulations of the effects of these forcings on UTLS structure and chemistry are summarized and placed in context.


New applications of information systems need to integrate a large number of heterogeneous databases over computer networks. Answering a query in these applications usually involves selecting relevant information sources and generating a query plan to combine the data automatically. As significant progress has been made in source selection and plan generation, the critical issue has been shifting to query optimization. This paper presents a semantic query optimization (SQO) approach to optimizing query plans of heterogeneous multidatabase systems. This approach provides global optimization for query plans as well as local optimization for subqueries that retrieve data from individual database sources. An important feature of our local optimization algorithm is that we prove necessary and sufficient conditions to eliminate an unnecessary join in a conjunctive query of arbitrary join topology. This feature allows our optimizer to utilize more expressive relational rules to provide a wider range of possible optimizations than previous work in SQO. The local optimization algorithm also features a new data structure called AND-OR implication graphs to facilitate the search for optimal queries. These features allow the global optimization to effectively use semantic knowledge to reduce the data transmission cost. We have implemented this approach in the PESTO (Plan Enhancement by SemanTic Optimization) query plan optimizer as a part of the SIMS information mediator. Experimental results demonstrate that PESTO can provide significant savings in query execution cost over query plan execution without optimization.


In this study, application of experiential learning into graduate and undergraduate curricula of a industrial system simulation course is presented. Simulation has been among the courses against which students feel uncomfortable or frightened due to heavy software use, prerequisite of probability, and statistics knowledge, and its application requirements. To minimize this fear and improve student's understanding about the subject matters and have them develop ample skills to build complex models, a project-based learning approach is proposed and used in undergraduate and graduate teaching settings. To achieve the project-based learning goals, a 15-week curriculum is designed to have a balanced lecture and lab sessions, which are specifically designed to address the needs of the term project as the semester continues. In the term project, groups of 2-3 students were asked to form a group, where each group was expected to work on a real system to 1) understand, conceptualize, and model the existing system as a mental, then software-model; 2) validate the existing system model statistically; 3) identify areas for improvement (in addition to the ones given by the supervisor); 4) complete the project with testing out system improvement scenarios and conducting cost/benefit analysis. The effectiveness of project-based learning is surveyed and studied based on the course learning outcomes. The results indicated that the proposed project-based learning approach was found to be effective in students' learning experience and critically supportive on reaching the learning outcomes, and it was found that students' learning and skills of simulation modeling and application are improved regardless of their grade.


SUMMARY: We measured and analysed serum and urinary lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] in 73 patients with various renal diseases, and 168 control subjects. the results revealed that serum Lp(a) levels were significantly elevated in patients with mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, membranous nephropathy, chronic renal failure and diabetic nephropathy, except patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) with gross haematuria. Serum Lp(a) concentrations were found to be significantly correlated with serum albumin (r=−0.5033, P<0.001) and urinary protein excretion (r= 0.3541, P<0.005), while not with serum creatinine (r=−0.0144, P >0.05). Patients with selective urinary protein excretion had a lower serum Lp(a) level than those with non‐selective urinary protein excretion. the correlation between serum albumin and serum Lp(a) levels remained significant (P<0.001) after adjustment for serum creatinine, urinary protein excretion and the selectivity of urinary protein by multivariate regression analysis. Urinary Lp(a) excretion was decreased and related to the serum creatinine level (r=−0.312, P<0.01). Our conclusion is that renal patients with proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia tend to have elevated levels of Lp(a) which are more significantly correlated to serum albumin levels than other parameters such as serum 24‐h urinary protein, selectivity of urinary protein and serum creatinine; while urinary Lp(a) excretion varies inversely with serum creatinine levels.


Introduction: Smoking is a major public health problem and is the single largest cause of preventable death in the world, contributing to >5 million deaths a year. The persistence of smoking can be attributed to multiple diverse causes, the most important being genetic risk factors contributing to smoking behavior. Aim: It has been demonstrated that genetic factors account for approximately 40–75% of the variation in smoking initiation, 70–80% of the variation in smoking maintenance, about 50% of the variance in cessation success and 30–50% of the variance in risk of withdrawal symptoms. Methods: We have attempted to shed light into the possible correlation of genomic variants with (a) smoking addiction, and (b) response to smoking cessation treatment with varenicline, a prescription medication used to treat nicotine addiction. Genomic DNA was isolated from saliva, obtained with consent from 80 smokers, 60 non-smokers and 100 ethnically matched control individuals of Hellenic origin. We have subsequently genotyped these individuals for the following markers: rs1329650 and rs1028936 in the CHRNA3 gene, previously correlated with nicotine dependence, rs6265 in the BDNF gene and rs1051730 in the DBH gene, previously correlated with smoking initiation and cessation, respectively, and the rs555018, rs1190449, rs6495309, in the CHRN gene family, which were previously reported as pharmacogenomic biomarkers to predict adverse reactions in varenicline treatment. Conclusion: Data related to the correlation of these genomic biomarkers with smoking addiction, and response to smoking cessation treatment with varenicline will be presented.


The present invention relates to a mobile digital broadcast receiver. The invention is applied to a mobile terminal having a digital broadcast receiving function. While watching receives the digital broadcast according to the present invention, if the if the temporary interruption of the digital broadcasting request, stores the digital broadcast to that point from the broadcast viewing resumable time and broadcasting viewing resuming the request stored up to that point reproducing the broadcast to the display, and at the same time real-time storage of the broadcast that is received from that time, and a set of previously when stored in the broadcast data reproduction and display is done after reaching the broadcast data stored from the reproducing and display and the time of the stored broadcast data, carried out by alternating the operation is repeated. Thus, the short-term as well as the implementation is the ability to broadcast who do not continue to watch closely watched in real time over a long period of time. A digital broadcast terminal, record, play, display,


This study assesses retrospectively the clinical and economic impact of gemcitabine monotherapy on the management of inoperable stage 11 I/I V non-small cell lung cancer in Germany. Based on current methods of clinical practice and using the best outcome data available, the costs and benefits of gemcitabine were compared to a dual therapy (Ifosfamide/etoposide). While the two treatments showed broadly equivalent efficacy in terms of tumour response rate and survival, a cost analysis showed the potential for savings with gemcitabine. These largely related to hospital hotelling costs, due to the fact that gemcitabine may be given as an out-patient therapy. Further savings were found in investigative procedures and the management of treatment toxicity. Excluding the cost of the chemotherapy, gemcitabine was associated with potential savings of DM3,026 over two cycles of therapy, which included a 40% decrease in hospitalization costs and a 54% decrease in the cost of managing adverse events. We conclude that gemcitabine monotherapy could offer considerable cost savings while offering the potential for improved quality of palliative treatment compared to existing in-patient treatments, and it may have a place in shifting care from an in-patient to an out-patient setting in line with recent health care reforms.


The current experiment was carried out in a clay soil at Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt during the two seasons of 2013 and 2014 to study the effect of irrigation and potassium fertilizer forms on squash productivity and some water relations. Four irrigation treatments: traditional irrigation (I0), irrigation according to class A pan evaporation (I1), irrigation according to Hargreaves equation 1981, (I2) and irrigation according to Ibrahim equation 1980, (I3) were tested. Five K-fertilizer forms;100% potassium mineral fertilizer (K1), 75% potassium mineral fertilizer and 25% rock feldspar (K2), 50% potassium mineral fertilizer and 50% rock feldspar (K3), 25% potassium mineral fertilizer and 75% rock feldspar (K4) and 100% rock feldspar (K5) were tested. The important findings could be summarized as follows: 1The highest overall mean values of water applied (IW) and water consumptive use (CU) were recorded under the control treatment (irrigation without any stress during the growing season, treatment, I0) where the values were 48.89 cm (2053.5 m 3 fed -1 ) and 42.44 cm for WI and CU, respectively, but consumptive use efficiency (Ecu, %) recorded under I1 had a mean value 93.44%. Irrigation with I1, I2 and I3 saved irrigation water by 12.05, 20.59 and 16.75 % for IW. The linear regression equations between irrigation water applied and K-fertilizers forms proved that the relation between IW and CU was more reliable in the two seasons. 2Productivity of irrigation water (PIW kgm) on fresh yield basis increased with more frequent irrigation application, while water productivity (WP kgm -3 ) was the highest under I2 with overall mean value of 12.35 kgm -3 . 3Vegetative parameters (shoots and dry weight, plant height, number of leaves per plant and leaf area) were significant for both irrigation and K-forms, as the interaction between I and K had significant effect, except plant height and the number leaves per plant in the second season which were non-significant. Increasing irrigation applied increased all vegetative growth parameters. 4Results also showed that irrigation water applied and K-fertilization forms had significant effects on yield and its quality. The best combination of treatments was I0*K3 with 149.5 and 160.0 g, for weight of fruit, 5.90 and 6.28 ton fed -1 for total yield, 22.65 and 23.55 ton fed -1 , 5.58 and 5.90 ton fed -1 for early yield, 15.20 and 15.60 mg100g -1 fresh weight for vitamin C and 4.92 and 4.67 % for TSS in the first and second seasons, respectively. 5The values of N P K and chlorophyll content in the leaves were significantly affected by I and K. Also, the interaction between I*K showed highly significant effect on the above mentioned studied parameters.


This study deals with the feedforward active control of sound transmission through a simply supported rectangular panel using vibration actuators. The control effect largely depends on the excitation method, including the number and locations of actuators. In order to obtain a large control effect at low frequencies over a wide frequency, an active transmission control method based on single structural mode actuation is proposed. Then, with the goal of examining the feasibility of the proposed method, the (1, 3) mode is selected as the target mode and a modal actuation method in combination with six point force actuators is considered. Assuming that a single input single output feedforward control is used, sound transmission in the case minimizing the transmitted sound power is calculated for some actuation methods. Simulation results showed that the (1, 3) modal actuation is globally effective at reducing the sound transmission by more than 10 dB in the low-frequency range for both normal and oblique incidences. Finally, experimental results also showed that a large reduction could be achieved in the low-frequency range, which proves the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.


The year 2013 certainly wasn't good for the stud breeding industry. Apart from the economic factors and climate, the prices fetched at almost all the national auctions were low. Add to that the chaos presiding in the Registrar's office, and only a few breeders have fond memories of 2013. It is even more upsetting that this trend has been presenting itself for some time now, perhaps even more in some breeds.


In this paper I describe the use of social cartographies as a tool for design students in a social innovation process with communities. I show the process since the first approach to the communities until the end of the cartographic process and its outcomes. I present the advantages of using social cartographies when facilitating social innovation processes: the high involvement of the participants, how it helps to construct a common language, how it allows to understand the community and how it helped the design students to apprehend the tool for their design practice.


We demonstrate growth and characterization of carbon nanowall (CNW) films on silicon substrates by the surface-wave microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. The grown CNWs in the film show orientation anisotropy. A CNW is composed of well-crystallized nanographite. The deposition of CNW films, in particular the film thickness and nanographite domain size, strongly depends on the carbon feedstock concentration, deposition pressure, distance between substrate and plasma, and deposition duration. The deposition rate of CNWs in terms of CNW film thickness is approximately 1 μm min−1. We propose a charged particle-induced growth mechanism of the CNW film, which also follows the thermodynamic nucleation model. Nitrogen gas sorption measurements show that the CNW films have approximately 100 m2 g−1 Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area and micro–mesopores.


An efficient resonant absorption of MHD waves in a double step inhomogeneous plasma is shown to exist provided that a number of parameters is suitably chosen. The absorption mechanism is based on two phenomena: first, the incident and totally reflected MHD wave excites MHD surface modes at the farther boundary by tunneling into the nontransparent section; second, these surface modes are irreversibly transformed into local MHD bulk waves at locations where corresponding frequency matching conditions are satisfied. The calculated absorption coefficient of incident MHD waves may reach unity if the wave parameters are adequately chosen.


This paper studies the end coupling between a magnetic loop and a dielectric resonator housed in an evanescent metallic waveguide. A theoretical and experimental analysis of the variations of the external quality factor as a function of the distance between the loop and the resonator is presented. The influence of the interstage coupling between two dielectric resonators on the end coupling will be also evaluated.


As we further our studies on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), via both theoretical models and observational tools, more and more options begin to open for exploration of its physical properties. As GRBs are transient events primarily dominated by synchrotron radiation, it is expected that the synchrotron photons emitted by GRBs should present some degree of polarization throughout the evolution of the burst. Whereas observing this polarization can still be challenging due to the constraints on observational tools, especially for short GRBs, it is paramount that the groundwork is laid for the day we have abundant data. In this work, we present a polarization model linked with an off-axis spreading top-hat jet synchrotron scenario in a stratified environment with a density profile n(r) ∝ r −k . We present this model's expected temporal polarization evolution for a realistic set of afterglow parameters constrained within the values observed in the GRB literature for four degrees of stratification k = 0, 1, 1.5, and 2 and two magnetic field configurations with high extreme anisotropy. We apply this model and predict polarization from a set of GRBs exhibiting off-axis afterglow emission. In particular, for GRB 170817A, we use the available polarimetric upper limits to rule out the possibility of an extremely anisotropic configuration for the magnetic field.


Erythema multiforme (EM), a cutaneous or mucocutaneous disorder, occurs primarily in young adults. To evaluate the precipitating factors, clinical courses, and treatment of this disease in children, 30 cases aged from 1 month old to 15 years of age were studied retrospectively from Jan 1988 to Aug 1998. Twenty-three cases were diagnosed as minor type; the other 7 were of major type (Stevens-Johnson syndrome). Mycoplasma infection was identified in 4 patients, and adenovirus in one patient with EM minor. Cytomegalovirus was found in one EM major patient. Anticonvulsant administration before the skin lesions were recorded in 5 EM major patients and 2 EM minor patients. All cases received supportive treatment during admission. Besides, 6 of 7 patients with EM major, and 11 of 23 EM minor (Group A) received systemic corticosteroid at a dose equal to prednisolone 1-2 mg/kg/day for 3-14 days. One EM major patient and 11 patients with EM minor (Group B) received supportive care only. One EM minor patient with acute idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin. The mean duration of course of EM minor was 11.8 +/- 2.9 days, and it was 25.1 +/- 9.8 days for EM major. No mortality and no sequelae were noted. The average disease course and hospitalization time were not significantly different between Group A and B: (11.4 +/- 3.1 days vs 12.4 +/- 2.9 days, p = 0.45); (5.4 +/- 2.0 days vs 6.3 +/- 3.1 days, p = 0.47). This study demonstrated that infections, especially mycoplasma, and anticonvulsants play important roles in childhood EM. The skin lesions of EM minor subsided within 2 weeks, and EM major recovered completely within 6 weeks. Systemic corticosteroid may be beneficial to EM major, but probably is unnecessary for patients with EM minor.


During the Roman Imperial period huge quantities of black pepper arrived into the Empire from southern India and were employed in a range of contexts, from the culinary and medicinal, to the religious. This article seeks to examine the popularity of black pepper in the Roman Empire and test the theory that its consumption was not simply restricted to elite circles, but reached a wider spectrum of the population. In particular, price and wage data from the Edict of Maximum Prices is examined to see how feasible it was for those lower down the socio-economic spectrum to make such purchases.


Small particulate matter pollution (PM 2.5) is an urgent public health concern, killing approximately 30,000 people in the US per year and reducing the lifespan of an average American by about 2 months. PM 2.5 reductions result from most Clean Air Act regulations, some directly intended to target PM 2.5, others not, and these reductions are powerful weights in favor of protective regulations, even after these benefits have been subjected to cost-benefit analysis methodologies that systematically deflate the value of reducing pollution. Thus, when EPA includes the benefits of incidental PM 2.5 reductions (often called "co-benefits") in its cost-benefit analyses, this inclusion makes it more difficult to justify rolling back Obama-era CAA protections.

A leading argument for excluding PM 2.5 co-benefits from CBAs is that any PM 2.5 exposures at levels below EPA's current NAAQS standards are presumptively "safe" and therefore shouldn't be counted. But this argument contradicts the current CBA guidelines, one of the tenets of which is that both intentional and unintentional costs and benefits must be counted. These CBA methodological guidelines are systematically skewed to produce results that tend to discourage protective environmental regulation. Given that the current administration so often invokes these guidelines to justify deregulatory policies, it would seem to be bound to follow them and include "accidental" benefits in the same way it includes costs that are not a goal of the regulation. And deaths from PM 2.5 demonstrably do occur in areas in compliance with the NAAQS.

In addition, the Trump EPA has unavoidable statutory obligations to promulgate certain rules that aren't completely deregulatory, and so it still needs to rely on co-benefits to justify its own regulations—at least sometimes. For example, Trump virtually eliminated the monetized value of averted climate damage when he eviscerated the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC). When it took these steps to make regulations directed at climate change less attractive by reducing the monetized value of greenhouse gas reductions, however, the Trump administration put itself in an awkward spot.

For its rollback of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan to have its best chance of surviving judicial scrutiny, the Trump EPA had to provide an alternative means of addressing the very serious climate change problem that EPA described in prior rulemakings. The combination of the already anti-regulatory methodologies being using in CBA and a dramatically lower SCC left the Trump administration with the prospect of having to report that its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule may impose industry compliance costs that are not offset by benefits. No administration wants to report that its regulations will reduce social welfare. Hence, in its CBA of the (less protective) ACE rule, EPA included the benefits of incidental PM 2.5 reductions to make the rule cost-benefit justified, even though it had criticized the Obama EPA for including the value of PM 2.5 reductions in the CBA of its Clean Power Plan.

It is unlikely that the current, deregulatory EPA would want to abandon the existing set of methodologies being used in agency CBAs, a set of guidelines that produce reliably anti-regulatory effects. But with inclusion of PM 2.5 values being inconvenient in some CBAs (such as the CBA for EPA's rollback of the Obama-era Mercury and Air Toxics Standards) but still necessary to justify other rules (such as the ACE rule), PM 2.5 is creating a major methodological dilemma for the Trump EPA.


Phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) is a cGMP and cAMP degrading PDE isozyme that is highly expressed in the brain striatum where it appears to play an important role in cognition and psychomotor activity. PDE10 inhibitors are being developed for the treatment of schizophrenia and Huntington9s disease and are generally well tolerated, possibly because of low expression levels in most peripheral tissues. We recently reported high levels of PDE10 in colon tumors and that genetic silencing of PDE10 by siRNA or inhibition with small molecule inhibitors can suppress colon tumor cell growth with a high degree of selectivity over normal colonocytes (Li et al., Oncogene 2015). These observations suggest PDE10 may have an unrecognized role in tumorigenesis. Here we report that the concentration range by which the highly specific PDE10 inhibitor, Pf-2545920 (MP-10), inhibited colon tumor cell growth parallels the concentration range required to increase cGMP and cAMP levels, and activate PKG and PKA, respectively. Moreover, PDE10 knockdown by shRNA reduced the sensitivity of colon tumor cells to the growth inhibitory activity of Pf-2545920. Pf-2545920 also inhibited the translocation of β-catenin to the nucleus, thereby reducing β-catenin mediated transcription of survivin, which resulted in caspase activation and apoptosis. This was determined to be through a PKG mediated pathway through the use of small molecule inhibitors of PKG and PKA. PDE10 mRNA was also found to be elevated in colon tumors compared with normal tissues in a cDNA array. We also report the increase in PDE10 mRNA in 50% of a small collection of human clinical specimens collected at the Mitchell Cancer Institute (n = 13). In addition, novel PDE10 inhibitor, MCI-030, reduced tumor size and activated PDE10 signaling mechanisms in vivo. These findings suggest that PDE10 can be targeted for cancer therapy or prevention whereby inhibition results in cGMP elevation and PKG activation to reduce β-catenin-mediated transcription of survival proteins leading to the selective apoptosis of cancer cells. Citation Format: Kevin J. Lee, Ashley S. Lindsey, Luciana Madeira da Silva, Alisa Trinh, Bernard Gary, Joel Andrews, Veronica Ramirez-Alcantara, Adam B. Keeton, Wen-Chi Chang, Margie Clapper, Gary A. Piazza. Beta-catenin nuclear translocation in colorectal cancer cells is suppressed by PDE10A inhibition, cGMP elevation, and activation of PKG. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 331.


A glass nanopipette functionalized with ATP-responsive gold nanoparticle assemblies was developed for ATP detection in single-cells and used for analysing the content change of ATP during electrostimulus (ES)-induced apoptosis. The variation of ATP content in single normal cells and cancer cells during apoptosis was detected by the method.


Within rural Africa, communal boreholes fitted with handpumps (HPBs) are likely to remain the main source of improved water supplies for decades to come. Understanding how the performance of these supplies can be improved will be central to achieving improved water security. The functionality of community HPBs relies on a range of elements which include not only groundwater resource availability, correct siting and construction of the borehole and handpump mechanism, but also equitable and enabling management arrangements.

Since the 1980s – the first UN 'Water Decade' – Community Based Management (CBM) has been the policy prescription par excellence for operationalising participatory development in the rural water supply sector. The cornerstone of the CBM model is the creation of a local water point committee or similar community organisation, which is charged with the operation and maintenance of the borehole. Despite its popularity and endurance, there is a relative lack of evidence on how the management capacity of communities relates to the functionality of their boreholes, and a growing recognition among development practitioners and academics that CBM of rural water supply has struggled to deliver on many of its promises.
Here we present the findings from a survey of six hundred communities across rural Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi to examine the extent to which community water management capacity is related to borehole functionality. The capacity of water management arrangements (WMA) was assessed according to four dimensions: finance system; affordable maintenance and repair; decision making, rules, and leadership; and external support. HPB performance was assessed using on a nuanced definition of borehole functionality, which captures different tiers of functionality from a simple binary 'yes/no' working, to capturing the level of functionality performance and reliability.

The findings reveal that whilst over two thirds of WMA are of medium to high capacity in communities, there is no strong relationship between the WMA capacity and the functionality of the borehole. Of the four management dimensions, affordable maintenance and repair was the best predictor of borehole functionality. However, the capacity of this dimension was seen to be lowest overall, with nearly two thirds of sites having weak or non-existent capacity in this respect. These findings provide evidence to support the growing claim that, in many instances, CBM by itself does not ensure improved functionality performance.


There are some water basins in Iran. The Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea are the best examples. Also there are some rivers in Iran that are originated from them, for example: The Karoon river and Kore river. The The Karoon river is the biggest one in Iran. It passes from Khuzestan state cities. In Shushtaras an aincient city in Khuzestan, this river has a meander through itself and so a setting dam was built in its route. The setting dam named "Bande Mizzan" divides the The Karoon water flowing to another artificial crevasee named "Gar-Gar". The shape and area of the windows on the dam for controlling water currents follow hydraulic and civil engineering concepts. By this, it would be possible to prevent destruction of the coastal zone in Shushtarand coastal erosion has been decreased notably. In fact there are 9 gates as controlling windows on the face of the The Band-e-Mizzan with a scientific engineering view. The hydraulic pattern used in building the dam is followed for other setting dams in Iran. It has been useful to protect coastal zone in cities near rivers and use river water in life and agricultural well. Deby of water flowing through the gates in the dam is calculated and sedimentation has a very small value. Following civil engineering regulations would be useful in building coastal cities and ports like Shushtar In this paper, we model dominant current deby in the meander in rout of the The Karoon river, Shushtar domain


The method used to test lightweight aggregate concrete for its resistance to freezing and thawing is different in each country. In Korea, the method of KS F 2456 on normal concrete is adopted for lightweight aggregate concrete, while the testing method of ASTM C 330 lightweight aggregates for structural concrete is used in the majority of overseas countries. In this study, we identified differences between KS F 2456 and ASTM C 330 in terms of the testing method for freezing and thawing resistance, and we studied the influence of this on the freezing and thawing resistance of lightweight aggregate concrete. The results of this study were as follows: Blocked lightweight aggregates had a slight collapse of shape and lost weight by repeated freezing and thawing, but unblocked lightweight aggregates were badly collapsed. And while the freezing and thawing resistance tests of normal concrete showed similar results despite the difference in the KS and ASTM testing method, the results for lightweight aggregate concrete were very different. So the KS test method shows evaluation results that are much lower than the ASTM test method.


The physico-chemical aspects in the gradient zone of the Vellar Estuary, Tamil Nadu, India were studied for a period of two years from January 1977 to December 1978. Water samples were collected at high and low tides of both day and night. Rainfall was very high during the period of investigation and this brought lot of changes in the physico-chemical and biological parameters of this estuary. Tidal range was low ( 2 m). Variation in water temperature was mostly influenced by the atmospheric temperature rather than tidal influence. Variation in salinity was more conspicuous ( 1 ppt to 36 ppt) during early postmonsoon late premonsoon and some collections in monsoon season, but during summer, homogenous conditions prevailed. Dissolved oxygen showed invariably high values during low tides of day time. However, the variation between high and low tide was not significant. Light attenuation coefficient was low during summer when the estuary was dominated by clear neritic water and high during monsoon season owing to the heavy freshwater flow. Although no definite tidal variation in light attenuation coefficient was noticed, the values were generally higher during low tides. pH showed no definite seasonal or tidal variation. The surface-bottom difference in all the parameters was insignificant owing to the shallowness of the estuary


Cell-type specific transcriptional programs are regulated by the activity of tissue-specific transcription factors and enhancer elements within structurally defined topologically associating domains (TADs). The coordinated and dynamic changes in chromatin architecture are highly regulated as transcriptional output is influenced by chromatin accessibility, histone modification, promoter enhance interactions, and recruitment of transcriptional co-activator complexes. The genes which contribute to transcriptional regulation, including members of the cohesin complex, are frequently mutated in human cancers, including leukemias, Ewing sarcoma, and glioblastoma multiforme. Despite this, the mechanistic role of STAG2 in gene regulation, hematopoietic function, and tumor suppression has not been delineated.
 We show that somatic Stag2 deletion in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPC) results in altered hematopoietic function, increased self-renewal, and impaired differentiation across all three lineages consistent with myelodysplasia. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing of Stag2-deficient HSPCs revealed that Stag2 and Stag1 have both shared and non-redundant cistromes with Stag1/2 common binding sites enriching at TAD boundaries with CTCF occupancy. This maintains TAD integrity in the setting of Stag2 loss of function which we confirmed with Hi-C chromosome capture. High resolution of the Hi-C data at 10kB resolution identified a specific role for Stag2, but not Stag1, in maintaining short-range chromatin interactions, specifically at genes with PU.1 and IRF8 motifs.
 While co-deletion of Stag2 and Stag1 resulted in synthetic lethality, Stag2 loss alone resulted in decreased chromatin accessibility and reduced transcriptional output at key PU.1 target loci involved in lineage-specification, including reduced Ebf1 and Pax5 expression resulting in impaired B-lineage differentiation. We investigated whether expression of PU.1 could overcome the non-permissive chromatin state at these key downstream targets and rescue hematopoietic differentiation; however, PU.1 expression could not restore Ebf1 expression or B cell differentiation and did not attenuate the serial replating capacity of Stag2 deficient hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). Given this transcriptional "choke-point" we investigated whether expression of Ebf1 would have a more significant impact on Stag2 deficient cells. Indeed Ebf1 rescue restored B cell colony formation/differentiation in vitro and in vivo and abrogated serial replating of Stag2 deficient HSPCs. These data highlight the non-hierarchical and non-redundant relationship between transcription factors and chromatin architecture and demonstrate a key role for Stag2-regulated local interactions in transcription factor output and hematopoietic differentiation.
 Nonetheless, the mechanistic underpinnings of the structural basis for transcriptional regulation remain associative. We have recently been able to reduce the cell input for Hi-C assays such that we can now analyze the chromatin architecture of purified populations and model the structural transition from Lin- Sca-1+ Kit+ hematopoietic stem cells to committed granulocyte macrophage precursor cells both in normal hematopoiesis and in the Stag2 deficient setting. Previous studies using in vitro systems have shown that complete cohesin depletion results in the loss of structural loop components; however, cohesin levels are reduced, but not absent, in cancer cells. As such, our studies highlight a key role for locus-specific alterations in gene regulation and DNA interactions in Stag2 deficient cells, which results in altered gene expression and contributes to transformation.
 Taken together, these data identify a key role for Stag2 loss in transcriptional dysregulation distinct from its shared role with Stag1 in chromosomal segregation. Moreover, we illustrate a critical link between cohesin, chromosomal contacts, and gene regulation that contributes to hematopoietic transformation.

 Viny: Mission Bio: Other: Sponsored travel; Hematology News: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Dekker:Arima Genomics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Levine:Imago Biosciences: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Lilly: Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Prelude Therapeutics: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; C4 Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Isoplexis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Qiagen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Loxo: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.


The present study aimed at exploring the relation between Omani students' percep-tions of writing strategies and their own writing performance. Three types of key universal strategies (metacognitive, cognitive, social-affective), in master's degree research, were assumed as effective in promoting students' successful writing processes. A strategy questionnaire in or-der to map Omani EFL students' perception of strategy use as well as a writing test to identify students' actual writing performance was constructed. The present study reported that the par- ticipants perceived the metacognitive strategy of selective attention as prevailing in their writing practice. They also demonstrated interest in the social affective strategy of cooperation. Cogni-tive strategy use, however, seemed to be complex and challenging, and was perceived as the least apparent. Furthermore, the study reported inefficiency of strategy use, as obtained by the questionnaire, which corresponded with students' very poor performance in the writing test. The test scores indicated that 84.40% of the participants failed the writing test, which means that they are far away from being successful language writers.


The purpose of this study was to determine the physical, chemical characteristic and organoleptic of jack fruit fast food which marketed in Palu city. This study used a Randomized Block Design (RBD) consisting of 4 locations selling of jack fruit in Palu city and each locations is represented by 4 seller as a group. So there are 16 experimental units. The parameter consisted of flavor, texture, color, taste, fresh weight of fruit and water content. Analysis of the data using another test, if there are significant differences between the result of the analyze then tested by using advanced testing Honestly Significant Different (HSD) of 5% level. The result showed that location selling of jack fruit influential real toward flavor, texture, color, and taste, but nothing influential real toward fresh eight and water content. Key Words : Characteristic, Jack fruit.


Ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) are widely studied for their potential as electromechanical sensors and actuators. Bending of the IMPC depends on internal ion motion under an electric potential, and the addition of an ionic liquid and ionic self-assembled multilayer (ISAM) conductive network composite (CNC) strongly enhances bending and improves lifetime. Ion conducting polyelectrolytes poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) and Nafion® were incorporated into an ISAM CNC film with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and anionic gold nanoparticles actuators to further improve bending. CNC films were optimized for bending through pH adjustments in PAH and adding NaCl to the PAMPS and Nafion® solutions. PAMPS-containing actuators showed larger and faster bending than those containing Nafion® in the CNC. The IPMC actuator was also evaluated for its potential as a humidity sensor based on its relative humidity (RH) dependent steady-state current. The detection range is at least 1080%RH, with 5%RH increment differentiation and likely better resolution. Effects of CNC presence and thickness were studied, in conjunction with ionic liquid at a range of RH values. A thin CNC (pH 4.0 PAH) produced the greatest current differentiation between RH values. The current's response speed to a large RH decrease was approximately 4 times faster than that of a fast commercial digital hygrometer. Additionally, the presence of a CNC and ionic liquid improved the current response time. These results indicate that an IPMC based humidity sensor using a CNC and ionic liquid is very promising and merits further study. Ion Conducting Polyelectrolytes in Conductive Network Composites and Humidity Sensing Applications for Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite Actuators


Characterizing the epidemiology of HIV-1 infection in Northern Thai opiate users is important in developing control strategies in this ethnically diverse and culturally distinct region. A cross-sectional survey of drug users first admitted between 1993 and 1995 at the Northern Drug Dependence Treatment Center, Mae Rim, Thailand, was conducted. Patients (n = 4197) were interviewed at intake about their history of drug use when they provided serum specimens for HIV-1 antibody testing. The HIV-1 prevalence was 18.6%, with men having a fourfold higher prevalence than women. Wide diversity in HIV-1 prevalence was seen by ethnicity; the HIV-1 prevalence among Thai lowlanders was four times greater than that among ethnic minorities (hill tribes). Differences in HIV-1 prevalence were the result of differences in opiate use; hill tribes frequently smoked or ingested opium, whereas Thai lowlanders injected heroin. The high HIV-1 prevalence suggests that preventive interventions for risk reduction are urgently needed in these populations. Education about the risks of injection drug use (IDU) as well as information concerning needle disinfection and expansion of drug treatment are required to reduce the risk of HIV-1 transmission associated with sharing injection equipment. Further, increasing sources of sterile needles should be considered for active users, especially for those in more remote settings.


Background: The risk of breast cancer is at least doubled in young women with a family history of breast cancer. Pregnancy has a dual effect on breast cancer risk; a short-term increase followed by a long-term protection. It has been hypothesized that women with a genetic predisposition for breast cancer are particularly susceptible to physiological changes during childbearing that may influence short term risk. Materials & methods: We followed a cohort of women aged 15 to 44 years between 1963 and 2009 identified in Swedish registers. Family history was defined as having a mother or sister with breast cancer. In a case-cohort analysis, we estimated incidence rate ratios of breast cancer during pregnancy and time intervals up to 10 years post-delivery. Results: In 3,452,506 women, there were 15,548 cases of breast cancer (1,208 were pregnancy-associated (PABC), defined as breast cancer during or within 2 years of pregnancy). Compared to nulliparous women, the risk of breast cancer was decreased during pregnancy, similar during 1st year and increased during 2nd year post-delivery. The pattern was similar in women with or without family history of breast cancer. A peak in risk was observed 5-6 years following the first birth regardless of family history. After a second birth, this peak was only present in women with a family history. Conclusions: Our results indicate that women with a family history of breast cancer do not have a different breast cancer risk during and within 10 years following pregnancy compared to women without a family history. Citation Format: Lambe M, Johansson ALV, Andersson TM, Hsieh C-C, Cnattingius S, Dickman PW. Family history and risk of pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-10-07.


This paper reports on an experiment to add concurrency to the Cyclone programming language, in order to get a safe concurrent language. The basic model considered is that of FairThreads in which synchronous and asynchronous aspects are mixed. The language Loft implements the FairThreads model in C. In this paper, one uses Cyclone instead of C in the implementation of Loft. Using the multi-threaded version of Boehm's GC, one gets an extension of Cyclone to concurrency which is as safe as Cyclone for sequential code, with some additional safety verifications for concurrent code. Key-words: Reactive programming, Safe programming, Cyclone ∗ with support from ACI Securité Informatique, ALIDECS project


46 Abstract— E-Learning is the use of technology to enable people to learn anytime and anywhere. E-Learning can include training, the delivery of just-in-time information and guidance from experts. It has become an increasingly popular learning approach in higher educational institutions due to the rapid growth of Internet technologies. E-Learning allows users to fruitfully gather knowledge and education both by synchronous and asynchronous methodologies to effectively face the need to rapidly acquire up to date know-how within productive environments. There is also present various limitations in E-Learning. This review work discusses on various E-Learning Objectives, methodologies and tools and limitation of E-Learning. The main focus of e-learning methodologies is on both asynchronous and synchronous methodology. The paper looked into the three major e-learning tools .The paper also looked E-Learning limitation in particular related with technologies, personal issues, comparison with traditional campus learning, design issues, and other issues .Finally the paper suggests that synchronous tools should be integrated into asynchronous environments to allow for "any-time" learning model and also given a remark that E-Learning needs to improve from various barriers.


Ferromagnetic resonance equations in a single-crystal film with a (111) plane have been newly derived using the energy method. The derivations were performed when an applied static field is rotated in both (i) the vertical (110) plane containing the film normal and a (112) axis and (ii) the film plane or the (111) plane. The angular variations of the resonance field at 34 GHz are numerically calculated for a FCC Co film with an anisotropy parameter of K1/M=-0.5 kOe, saturation magnetization of 4 pi M=17.6 kG and magnetogyric factor of gamma /2 pi =3.10 GHz kOe-1.


Salivary and pancreatic amylases (encoded by AMY1 and AMY2 genes, respectively) are responsible for digesting starchy foods. AMY1 and AMY2 show copy number variations that affect differences in amylase amount and activity, and AMY1 copies have been associated with adiposity. We investigated whether genetic variants determining amylase gene copies are associated with 2-year changes in adiposity among 692 overweight and obese individuals who were randomly assigned to diets varying in macronutrient content. We found that changes in body weight (BW) and waist circumference (WC) were significantly different according to the AMY1-AMY2 rs11185098 genotype. Individuals carrying the A allele (indicating higher amylase amount and activity) showed a greater reduction in BW and WC at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months than those without the A allele (P < 0.05 for all). The association was stronger for long-term changes compared with short-term changes of these outcomes. The genetic effects on these outcomes did not significantly differ across diet groups. In conclusion, the genetic variant determining starch metabolism influences the response to weight-loss dietary intervention. Overweight and obese individuals carrying the AMY1-AMY2 rs11185098 genotype associated with higher amylase activity may have greater loss of adiposity during low-calorie diet interventions.


Background: Prior to a feasibility study evaluating compression gloves in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we searched AMED (1985- April 2013) and MEDLINE (1988 - April 2013) to identify reliable methods of evaluating objective measures of hand joint swelling, finger motion and hand function. As data were being collected by therapists as part of their usual glove provision, measures needed to be brief, replicable in practice, and use easily obtainable, low-cost equipment. The feasibility study included multiple assessors, therefore we evaluated inter- and intra-rater reliability of measures.

Methods: We selected the Figure of Eight method (hand swelling), composite finger flexion (CFF) to the distal palmar crease (DPC) (finger motion), and the Grip Ability Test (GAT, hand function). During piloting (n=3), therapists had difficulty performing the Figure of Eight and CFF (DPC) methods and we changed to measuring metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joint (MCPJs, PIPJs) circumference using a pressure garment tape measure and CFF to the distal wrist crease (DWC). The GAT measures function bilaterally with the dominant hand performing most actions. As gloves can be prescribed for one hand only, we revised instructions to repeat the GAT for both left and right hands and further standardised instructions. A hand assessment manual was developed. Eleven therapists completed reliability testing. Following training, they practiced the measures with each other and two patient research partners for 1.5 hours, then were tested twice at one hour intervals on subjects' right hands. Ten performed the GAT. Paired t-tests were used to identify differences between therapists' test 1 and 2 (T1,T2) measurements (intra-rater reliability). Intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated (two-way random, consistency model) using ICC (2,11) across the 11 assessors (ICC(2,10), for the GAT) (inter-rater reliability).

Results: For all joint swelling measures, there were no significant differences between tests indicating good intra-rater reliability (e.g., 2nd-5th MCPJ swelling: T1 = 18.75 (SD 0.13); T2 = 18.77 (SD 0.14); p = 0.72). Inter-rater reliability (ICC (2,11)) varied from 0.19 (poor) for the wrist to 0.91 (almost perfect) for the 2nd PIPJ. For CFF, there were no significant differences between tests, indicating good intra-rater reliability (e.g., 2nd digit T1=9.38 (SD 0.31), T2=9.40 (SD 0.29); p = 0.74). Inter-rater reliability (ICC(2,11) ranged from 0.76 - 0.93 (i.e. strong to almost perfect). For the GAT, there were no significant differences indicating good intra-rater reliability (T1=24.66 (SD 4.24), T2= 24.59 (SD 4.20); p = 0.82). Inter-rater reliability (ICC (2,10) was 0.98 (almost perfect).

Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first reliability testing of joint circumference measured using pressure garment tape measures in RA and CFF to the DWC. Joint circumference, CFF and GAT measures had good intra- and mostly good inter-rater reliability.


Recent studies of the single-airport ground-holding problem use static or dynamic optimization to manage uncertainty about future airport capacities. Scenario trees of airport capacity profiles provide the basis for formulating multistage recourse problems. In this paper, methodologies are presented for generating scenario trees from empirical data, and the performance of scenario-based models is examined with the scenario trees. Most U.S. airports have capacity profiles that can be classified into some nominal scenarios, and for many airports, these scenarios can be naturally combined into scenario trees. The delay costs yielded from using dynamic optimization are consistently and considerably lower than from static optimization. The results illustrate the benefit of the wait-and-see strategy in a real-world setting and suggest the need for further research on implementing scenario-based dynamic strategies.


ABSTRACT: This paper deals with non‐invasive erbium: yttrium aluminium garnet (Er:YAG) laser drug delivery methods, i.e. laser optoacoustic (OA) impregnation, enhanced laser OA impregnation, laser injection, and laser OA injection. Preliminary in vitro experiments on stratum corneum laser ablation, enhanced diffusion, brilliant green laser injection into both gelatinous gel and an autopsy piglet skin, and research on laser OA injection have been conducted. The vacuum suction mechanism of laser drug injection is discussed.


summary
The fungicide 'Rovral' (iprodione) was applied in granular form in an attempt to reduce VA mycorrhizal infection of plants during the early stages of secondary plant succession, namely the first year of colonization of bare ground. In 7 out of 11 plant species examined, infection levels were reduced by the fungicide. Four of these also showed reduced cover abundance as a result of fungicide application. Since three were annual forbs, which as a plant life-history grouping comprised 73 % of the community, total cover of the vegetation (as measured by point quadrats) was significantly reduced by the fungicide. In three species, reduced infection levels did not appear to result in reduced vegetation cover. The reasons for this are discussed in relation to the dependency of plants on mycorrhizal infection. It was found that fewer plant species recruited into communities where iprodione was applied. The implications of these results, in terms of the role that mycorrhizas play in the structuring of early successional plant communities, are discussed.


Frontotemporal Lobar Dementia (FTLD) is a clinically and pathologically complex disease. Advances in neuroimaging techniques have provided a specialized set of tools to investigate underlying pathophysiology and identify clinical biomarkers that aid in diagnosis, prognostication, monitoring, and identification of appropriate endpoints in clinical trials. In this chapter, we review data discussing the utility of neuroimaging biomarkers in sporadic FTLD, with an emphasis on current and future clinical applications. Among those modalities readily utilized in clinical settings, T-1 weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) are best supported in differential diagnosis and as targets for clinical trial endpoints. However, a number of non-clinical neuroimaging modalities, including diffusion tensor imaging and resting state functional connectivity MRI, show promise as biomarkers to predict progression and as clinical trial endpoints. Other neuroimaging modalities including amyloid PET, Tau PET, and arterial spin labeling MRI are also discussed, though more work is required to establish their utility in FTLD in clinical settings.


Peru is favored by a stable and growing economy and the availability of indigenous sources of energy for electricity generation, hydro and natural gas. Installed capacity in Peru in 2006 was 6658 MW, of which 48 percent was hydro-based. However, regarding new investment in generation, there is reason for concern. Demand growth over the past five years has been 5-10 percent, with no signs of slowing down. At the rate of 10 percent demand growth, 400 MW of new generation capacity is necessary each year, representing at least US$250 million annually of new investment. The present study on small hydropower contains the following sections: (i) introduction; (ii) technical potential for development of small hydropower in Peru; (iii) economic and financial viability of small hydro development in Peru; (iv) institutional and regulatory environment; (v) identification of barriers to small hydropower development and mitigation measures; (vi) international experience with small hydropower development; (vii) the potential impact of the Renewable Energy Decree; and finally, (vii) conclusions and recommendations.


The magnetic field response of an electrochemistry process, such as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), provides not only a strategy for enhanced catalytic activity by applying an external field but also a platform for revealing the functionality of the multiple degrees of freedom of the catalyst. However, the mechanism of the magnetic field tuneable OER is controversial. The strong correlation between the d and p orbitals of transition metal and oxygen still puzzles the dominant role of spin in an OER process. Here in this study, we have employed the manganite La0.7Sr0.2Ca0.1MnO3 as the ferromagnetic OER catalyst, which has a ferromagnetic/paramagnetic transition (TC) around the room temperature. It is found that the overpotential can be reduced by ∼18% after applying a 5 kOe magnetic field. Furthermore, this magnetic field can trigger a further improvement of the OER performance, and it demonstrates a strong temperature dependence which is incongruent with its magnetoresistive behavior. So our experiments suggest that the observed magnetic response originates dominantly from the triplet state of the O2, where the spin-polarized d and oxygen p orbitals lower the Gibbs free energy for every reaction step in OER. This study offers experimental evidence on comprehending the spin degree in the OER process, meanwhile benefiting the further design and engineering of the promising magnetic electrochemistry catalysts.


Immobilization of contaminants from electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) is essential for the safe stacking and reuse of EMR. This study provides experiment results for the simultaneous immobilization of NH4+ and Mn2+ from EMR using Na3PO4·12H2O and MgSO4·7H2O (PS) agents, as well as Na3PO4·12H2O and MgO (PO) agents. The optimum reaction conditions, characteristics of immobilization, mechanism and the economy of alternative chemicals were determined and are discussed. The results indicated that the immobilization efficiencies of NH4+ and Mn2+ were 92.4% and 99.9% respectively under the following conditions: a MgSO4·7H2O : Na3PO4·12H2O : EMR mass ratio of 0.113 : 0.175 : 1, a CaO : EMR mass ratio of 0.03 : 1 and a reaction time of 1 h using PS agents. The concentration of NH4+ in the leach liquor reduced from 1264 to 98 mg L−1 after immobilization. The concentration of heavy metal ions decreased sharply in the leach liquor and met the Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard of China (GB8978-1996). The characteristics of immobilization indicated that NH4+ was immobilized to form NH4MgPO4·6H2O and that Mn2+ was immobilized to form Mn5(PO4)2(OH)4, Mn3(PO4)2·3H2O and Mn(OH)2. An economic evaluation showed that using PS agents had lower associated cost than using PO agents.


Abnormal microcirculation is a feature of many neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases. Physiological variables that characterize tissue microcirculation (capillary permeability and the volume of the extravascular extracellular fluid) are altered in pathological states. Pharmacokinetic analysis of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) has found a widespread use in the assessment of abnormal microcirculation due to the direct link between the contrast agent kinetics and underlying microcirculatory properties. A representation of temporal variation of contrast agent concentration in blood plasma (Cp(t)) is central to this analysis. In clinical applications of DCE-MRI, signal intensity curves derived from rapidly enhancing lesions often display a sigmoid shape during the initial phase of contrast uptake and rapid arrival at the equilibrium phase. In this work, the features of two principal methods for pharmacokinetic analysis of DCE-MRI which allow for theoretical representation of Cp(t) are examined and combined to improve analysis of this particular class of DCE-MRI curves. The proposed method allows the representation of the initial sigmoid part of the enhancement profiles whilst retaining a realistic representation of Cp(t) based on previously published measurements obtained in healthy volunteers. The results of the computer simulations indicate that in rapidly enhancing lesions, with the transfer constant Ktrans greater than 0.1 min−1, the DCE-MRI acquisition can be restricted to 5 min post-injection and a mono-exponential representation of Cp(t) decay is sufficient. Furthermore, non-ideal bolus delivery can be represented as a short constant rate infusion when the tissue under investigation exhibits a sigmoid pattern of contrast uptake.


The study attempted to explore the methods that fathers tend to apply when parenting their children, particularly from their own perceptions and experiences of applying their fortes or strengths. In the study, six fathers residing in Busan and Southern Gyeongsang Province located in South Korea. As a studying method, the researchers implemented a 'focus group interview' with the six participants in which a series of in-depths discussions occurred to draw their opinions and ideas as they made interactions. The researchers placed three participants in each of two groups, and each group had two 2-hours-long sessions. The results reflected how the participants perceive their fortes, which then had been categorized into four aspects: namely, i) full usage of fortes when parenting, ii) discovering their fortes and successfully playing their roles, iii) reinforcing their fortes and supplementing weaknesses, and iv) adapting to the fast-changing social requirements for fathers. The findings implied that rather than performing a problem-solving approach, the supports for fathers need to be based on their fortes.


This paper aims to propose a reading of [des] political order in Colombia, using as a theoretical source of Douglass North's reflections on the economic formation of political institutions. The contributions of this letter are very preliminary in nature and can better be understood taking into account two objectives of the research project: (1) explain why, in Colombia there are very limited conditions for coordinating collective action, (2) what direct and indirect effects on the [des] political order has been armed conflict and civil war.


The manuscript addresses the research question if bacterial communities in eutrophic coastal areas will be affected by elevated CO2 concentration. The topic is highly relevant given the possible effects of changes in oceanic carbon chemistry on bacterioplankton communities and subsequent biogeochemical nutrient cycles. The authors state that they found "insignificant effects of elevated CO2 on bacterioplankton communities)", however their methodology and experimental setup is poor and insufficient to test the hypothesis. The major criticisms of the manuscript is that the bacterial community composition (BCC) resulted from contamination of tubing and material used,


Microwave spectrometers have unique advantages in the ability to determine high-resolution features that are specific to a given chemical. Very sharp lines which correspond to quantum states of the chemical allow for unique identification of the chemical. Recent advances have shown the possibility of room-temperature microwave spectroscopy analysis in which the data are collected in a short amount of time using broadband chirp pulse Fourier transform microwave (CP-FTMW) spectroscopy. In this paper, we explore the design of reduced-size spectrometers focusing on the reduction of the microwave analysis cell, where the chemical is analyzed at room temperature. Through optimization of the features of the test cell, it is shown that a much smaller analysis cell can be utilized. In combination with the established trends towards system on chip high-frequency devices, this technique demonstrates the possibility of a nonlaboratory-based implementation of a high-resolution sensor.


The first examples of oxacalix[4]arenes and [1(4)]oxacyclophanes bearing 1,8-naphthyridine units are reported, and these systems function as molecular tweezers containing inner-cavity hydrogen bond acceptors.


Video data and output data that need to be output in synchronization therewith are synchronized. When an output of video data is later than an output of output data synchronized with the video data, at step S273, a process for one access unit is caused to be skipped. At step S275, it is determined whether the video data are referenced when other video data are decoded according to au_ref_flag of video data of the access unit whose process has been caused to be skipped. When the video data of the access unit whose process has been caused to be skipped are not referenced when the other video data are decoded, at step S277, the access unit whose process has been caused to be skipped is skipped. The present invention can be applied to for example a game device that uses a DVD.


ABSTRACT Women are generally seen as less inclined to join trade unions. This study matches firm–worker data from the Swedish cigar and printing industries around 1900 and examines information on men and women holding the same jobs; such data are rare but important for understanding gender gaps. The results explain the gender gap in union membership among compositors, but not among cigar workers. Differences in union membership varied considerably across firms, with the largest differences found in low-union-density cigar firms where indirect costs (that is, uncertainty and risk) accrued in particular to women workers. The lack of gender differences in mutual aid membership indicates that women were not hard to organize but avoided organizations associated with greater risk for employer retaliation and uncertain returns according to a cost–benefit analysis.


It has been shown previously that a proportion of chicks fed on a high salt diet from hatching developed a severe diffuse cystic dilation of their seminiferous tubules. In an effort to determine whether such testes could produce spermatozoa, birds with cystic testes were selected by direct inspection of their gonads at laparotomy and then maintained until sexual maturity when they were killed and their testes examined histologically. A variety of pathological features was found in the seminiferous tubules but spermatogenesis could be demonstrated in the majority of gonads, thus indicating that although severely damaged at 4 weeks of age considerable epithelial recovery is possible, even though these birds were maintained on a high salt diet for the entire experimental period of 40 weeks.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the needs of HIV/AIDS care and to develop the job description of HIV/AIDS Counselling nurse in Korea. Methods: The needs assessment was done by focus group interview with HIV/AIDS care recipients who are 16 persons living with HIV/AIDS and four their family members, seven persons from HIV/AIDS high risk group, and five nurses working on HIV/AIDS clinics. Based on the result of needs assessment, job description was developed using the DACUM. Mail survey was done to identify the frequency, importance, and difficulty of duties, tasks, and task elements. Results: The job description was classified under 8 duties, 36 tasks, and 290 task elements. Duties were categorized as needs assessment, health promotion and quality of life, improvement of treatment compliance, symptom care, health education, resource network, administrative activity, and career development. The importance of all duties and tasks showed high score from the survey, but the frequency and the performance level were middle range. Conclusion: It is suggested that the special training program based on the job description needs to be developed. In the political aspects, the introduction of HIV/AIDS nurse specialist certification could be considered.


This note describes an effort to detect additional stellar sources in known transiting exoplanet (TEP) systems, which are unresolved or barely resolved in the Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) catalogue. The presence of multiple unresolved stars in photometric and spectroscopic observations of a transiting planetary system biases measurements of the planet's radius, mass, and atmospheric conditions. In addition to the effect on individual planetary systems, the presence of unresolved stars across the sample of known exoplanets biases our overall understanding of planetary systems, due to the systematic underestimation of both masses and radii. This work uses the Astrometric Goodness of Fit in the Along-Scan direction (GOF_AL) and the Astrometric Excess Noise as indicators of poorly-resolved binaries. Many known close binaries in the exoplanet host star sample have highly significant GOF_AL and Astrometric Excess Noise values, such as WASP-20AB with Astrometric Excess Noise significant at $4720\sigma$ and GOF_AL=124.


The discontinuous Galerkin time domain (DGTD) methods are now widely used for the solution of wave propagation problems. Able to deal with unstructured meshes past complex geometries, they remain fully explicit with easy parallelization and extension to high orders of accuracy. Still, modal or nodal local basis functions have to be chosen carefully to obtain actual numerical accuracy. Concerning time discretization, explicit non-dissipative energypreserving time-schemes exist, but their stability limit remains linked to the smallest element size in the mesh. Symplectic algorithms, based on local-time stepping or local implicit scheme formulations, can lead to dramatic reductions of computational time, which is shown here on two-dimensional acoustics problems.


The production of W bosons decaying into a tau lepton and a neutrino with the tau lepton decaying hadronically has been observed in LHC pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV with the CMS detector. The selection criteria provide a statistically significant signal on the top of QCD multi-jet and electroweak backgrounds. A data-driven method for the estimation of the QCD multi-jet background has been employed. Presented at Moriond/EW: Rencontres de Moriond on "EW Interactions and Unified Theories" ar X iv :1 10 8. 10 89 v1 [ he pex ] 4 A ug 2 01 1 1


Biodiversity conservation in low-income economies is a vital issue and hence needs to be addressed for development and poverty eradication. A variety of empirical works exist on the subject, but the focus is often limited on the search for possible causes of biodiversity erosion. Research on the "driving forces" that influence biodiversity conservation effort is still largely missing, especially for developing countries. In this study, we seek to address this gap. We test, using different models, the impact of some domestic and external factors on countries' conservation effort measured by the Ecoregion score. We examine specifically whether strategic interactions matter in conservation policymaking at the country level. The model is tested on a data set comprising 48 sub-Saharan African countries spanning over the period 1990-2009. Through the obtained results, we give empirical evidence that, in the context of underdevelopment especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening governance is an effective mean to support the promotion of biodiversity conservation. In addition, we find that countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are in?uenced by their contiguous neighbors in environmental policy for biodiversity management. Finally, the results suggest that tourism development is a valuable incentive to raise governments' dedication to conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa.


Abstract The effect of age on the hematopoietic system has always been an area of clinical interest. Alterations in lymphocyte immunophenotype and function with age have been clearly demonstrated as has a decrease in neutrophil function. However, controversy continues to surround the significance of unexplained anaemia in the elderly patient and the extent to which this could be a physiological occurrence. The weight of evidence from animal and human studies would suggest that anaemia is not a physiological occurrence but may have a multifactorial pathogenesis. Are older patients therefore, appropriate candidates for high dose therapy, including autologous stem cell transplantation? The loss of telomeric DNA from hematopoietic progenitor cells with aging implies that stem cell collections from an older patient may have compromised replicative capacity with a reduced response to hematopoietic growth factors. Recent studies, however, show that age is not an obstacle for the collection of a stem cell product, which is capable of restoring normal hematopoietic function. A study of autologous stem cell transplantation has shown comparable neutrophil and platelet recovery times between younger and older patients.


This is the second article documenting the development of guideline factors for the evaluation of spine injuries by a committee supported by the Division of Industrial Accidents (DIA) in the State of California. The committee was asked to develop guidelines that incorporated cervical and thoracic spine injuries into the original guidelines developed for lumbar spine injuries (Clark et al, Spine 1988; 13:332). Multiple Independent Medical Examiners (IMEs) were requested to rate disability on 42 case reports submitted to the DIA. A tremendous variation existed in the disability rating recommended by physicians given the same set of facts. One hundred eighty-five IMEs then were asked to evaluate a series of potential factors influencing disability. Each factor was listed according to its perceived importance in determining disability. These factors then were subjected to an intensive search of the medical and scientific literature to determine their validity. A final list of 28 factors for the cervical and thoracic spine were developed and combined with the previously published factors for the lumbar spine. This led to the development of 37 factors or guidelines for the evaluation of spine disability. Testing of this schedule was performed by reviewing 159 submitted disability consultation reports. This review showed that there were no factors in the reports that were not included in the schedule. An average of 3.1 subjective factors and 2.3 objective factors were noted in the reports, with a very poor relationship between the number of factors and the level of disability given by the assessing physician. It is thought that the incorporation of the proposed guideline factors into the current disability rating system would allow for a more reproducible evaluation of disability and allow Workers' Compensation judges and administrators to make disability decisions based on documentable and reliable facts.


ORION is a practical proposal for removing the 150,000 pieces of manmade space debris in the 1- to 10-cm size range now orbiting the Earth below 1500 km altitude which threaten large space systems in low Earth orbit. It is based on using the thrust produced by pulsed laser ablation of a thin layer on the debris surface to drop its perigee sufficiently for reentry and burnup. Applied when the object is rising between about 45 and 15-degree zenith angle, the necessary (Delta) v is of order 100 m/s. A laser of 30 kW average power at 10-ns pulsewidth and a 6-m mirror with adaptive optics can clear near-Earth space of these debris in 2 years of operation. Technical challenges faced by such a system include: heavy demands on detection, tracking and adaptive optics arising from the tiny optical cross section of the smallest debris and the required pointing accuracy and steering rate, stimulated Raman conversion and nonlinear refraction of the laser beam in the atmosphere, uncertainty of momentum coupling coefficients (Cm) for some materials, and high-average-power laser development. It is crucial that the system we propose be developed under international aegis, to insure that its installation does not increase international tensions. It should be viewed as a single-pay lifetime insurance policy for the World's space assets whose premium is less than 1% of the protected asset value, an excellent rate for such contracts.


The axial-mode instability of a tunable external-cavity semiconductor laser was studied experimentally and theoretically. Optical and radio-frequency (rf) spectra and time-domain traces show the laser output in progressive stages of instability. The optical sidemode ratio was used to experimentally characterize the wavelength and current dependencies of the instability. Measurements show a strong tendency for the sidemode ratio to degrade when the laser was tuned within wavelength bands occurring at the periodicity of the laser diode mode spacing. The probability of instability also increased with injection current. Analysis of the single-mode strong feedback rate equations shows that stability of an external-cavity mode is determined by the sign of the chirp reduction factor. A model for the physical origin of instability is provided. Calculations show that for facet reflectivities above a threshold value dependent on the external feedback level and the linewidth broadening factor, unstable and stable axial modes coexist in wavelength regions whose locations agree with regions where sidemode ratio degradation is observed. The stability boundary at which unstable axial modes appear is shown as a surface in the parameter space of facet reflectivity, feedback level, and linewidth broadening factor. >