Government debt (also known as public debt and national debt) is the debt owed by a central government. (In the U.S. and other federal states, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a state or provincial government, municipal or local government). By contrast, the annual "government deficit" refers to the difference between government receipts and spending in a single year, that is, the increase of debt over a particular year. Government debt is one method of financing government operations, but it is not the only method. Governments can also create money to monetize their debts, thereby removing the need to pay interest. But this practice simply reduces government interest costs rather than truly canceling government debt, and can result in hyperinflation if used unsparingly. Governments usually borrow by issuing securities, government bonds and bills. Less creditworthy countries sometimes borrow directly from a supranational organization (e.g. the World Bank) or international financial institutions). As the government draws its income from much of the population, government debt is an indirect debt of the taxpayers. Government debt can be categorized as internal debt (owed to lenders within the country) and external debt (owed to foreign lenders). Sovereign debt usually refers to government debt that has been issued in a foreign currency. Another common division of government debt is by duration until repayment is due. Short term debt is generally considered to be for one year or less, long term is for more than ten years. Medium term debt falls between these two boundaries. A broader definition of government debt may consider all government liabilities, including future pension payments and payments for goods and services the government has contracted but not yet paid.


INTRODUCTION
 Nelfinavir is a highly lipophilic, first generation HIV-protease inhibitor (HIV-PI) approved for HIV treatment. It has largely been replaced by next-generation HIV-PI with increased specificity and efficacy for HIV therapy, partly reflecting the significant rate of the off-target activity of nelfinavir. Increasing preclinical and clinical evidence shows that nelfinavir has broad anti-cancer activity as a single agent and in combination, potentially related to its off-target activity in mammalian cells. Nelfinavir is particularly effective in the treatment of proteasome inhibitor-refractory multiple myeloma (MM), where the combination of nelfinavir+bortezomib+dexamethasone yielded an overall response rate (ORR, PR or better) > 65% in a Phase II clinical trial. The targets and molecular mechanism of action of nelfinavir in MM are unknown. This hampers both, a rational clinical repositioning and development of nelfinavir as antineoplastic drug, as well as the design, synthesis and testing of next generation nelfinavir-like compounds with optimized antineoplastic activity and improved specificity or pharmacologic properties. We therefore aimed to take an unbiased target-identification approach to identify molecular targets of nelfinavir in human malignant cells and link them to cell biological processes and mechanisms that mediate sensitivity or resistance to nelfinavir treatment.
 METHODS
 Proteome-wide affinity-purification of targets binding the nelfinavir active site was combined with genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9-based screening to identify protein partners interacting with nelfinavir and candidate genetic contributors affecting nelfinavir cytotoxicity. Multiple intracellular reporter systems including RUSH system, ATP/ADP constructs; FRAP microscopy, Seahorse measurements, flow cytometry, qPCR, metabolic labelling, lipidomics and viability assays were used to dissect functional alterations in pathways related to nelfinavir targets.
 RESULTS
 We identified a common set of proteins interacting specifically with the active site of nelfinavir. These proteins are embedded in intracellular, lipid-rich membranes of mitochondria (VDAC1,2,3, ANT2), endoplasmic reticulum (BCAP31, CANX, SRPRB) and nuclear envelope (PGRMC2) and are consistent across multiple cancer cell types. ADIPOR2, a key regulator gene of membrane lipid fluidity, was identified as a key nelfinavir resistance gene, while genes involved in fatty acids (FAs) and cholesterol metabolism, vesicular trafficking and mitochondria biogenesis are candidate sensitivity genes. We further show that via binding to proteins in lipid-rich membranes nelfinavir affects membrane composition and reduces membrane fluidity, leading to induction of FAs synthesis and the unfolded protein response (UPR). Via its structural interference with membrane fluidity, nelfinavir impairs the function and mobility of a diverse set of membrane-associated proteins and processes, such as glucose flux and processing, mitochondria respiration, energy supply, transmembrane vesicular transport and ABCB1-mediated drug efflux, as we show in different reporter systems in live MM cells. These functional effects are prevented by addition of metabolically inert lipids to be incorporated in membranes, supporting a direct structural activity of nelfinavir. The adaptive biology of proteasome inhibitor (PI)-resistant myeloma relies on metabolic reprogramming and changes in lipid composition, drug export and down-modulation of the UPR. Modulation of membrane fluidity and depletion of FAs/cholesterol is synergistic with proteasome inhibitors in PI-resistant MM. Thus, the mechanism of action of nelfinavir perfectly matches with the biology of PI-resistant MM, serving as a molecular rational for its significant clinical activity.
 CONCLUSION
 We here demonstrate in vitro that the activity of nelfinavir against MM cells is triggered through changes in lipid metabolism and the fluidity of lipid-rich membranes. Pharmacologic targeting of membrane fluidity is a novel, potent mechanism to achieve anti-cancer activity, in particular against PI-refractory MM. This mechanism explains the clinical activity of nelfinavir in MM treatment as well as the key side effects of nelfinavir during antiretroviral therapy.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and measurement results of a two-dimensional electromagnetic scanning micromirror actuated by radial magnetic field. The scanner is realized by combining a gimbaled single-crystal-silicon micromirror with a single turn electroplated metal coil, with a concentric permanent magnet assembly composed of two concentric permanent magnets and an iron yoke. The proposed scanner utilizes the radial magnetic field rather than using a lateral magnetic field oriented 45deg to the horizontal and vertical scan axes to achieve a biaxial magnetic actuation. The single turn coil fabricated with electroplated copper achieves a nominal resistance of 1.2 Omega. A two-dimensional scanner with mirror size of 1.5 mm in diameter was fabricated. Maximum optical scan angle of 8.8deg in horizontal direction and 8.3deg in vertical direction were achieved. Forced actuation of the gimbal at 60 Hz and resonant actuation of the micromirror at 19.1-19.7 kHz provide slow vertical scan and fast horizontal scan, respectively. The proposed scanner can be used in raster scanning laser display systems and other scanner applications.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) protein inhibitor JQ1 on expression of autoimmune-related genes in CD4+T cells from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
 Methods: Peripheral CD4+T cells were isolated by positive selection with CD4 microbeads. The percentage of CD4+T cells were detected by flow cytometry. CD4+T cells were treated by JQ1 at 100 nm/L for 6, 24, 48 h. The expression of T cell-related genes was measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The secretion levels of cytokines in culture supernatant were measured by ELISA at 48 h.
 Results: The percentage of CD4+T cells isolated by CD4 microbeads is 97.2%. Compared with the control group, the mRNA expression levels of IFNG, IL-17F, IL-21, CXCR5 and FOXP3 were down-regulated at 6, 24 and 48 h (P<0.05), and IL-17A mRNA level was decreased at 6 and 24 h (P<0.01); while IL-4 mRNA level was up-regulated at 24, 48 h (P<0.01), and TGF-β1 mRNA level was up-regulated at 6 and 48 h (P<0.05) in SLE CD4+T cells treated with JQ1. The secretion levels of IFN-γ and IL-21 in JQ1-treated group were decreased significantly (P<0.05), while the secretion levels of IL-4 and TGF-β were up-regulated compared with control group (P<0.05).
 Conclusion: JQ1 can reverse the immune dysregulation and improve the immunity homeostasis in CD4+T cells from patients with SLE.


Patients with bladder (urothelial) cancer undergoing urinary diversion (UD) experience physical changes that require important adjustments in their daily lives. This integrative review aims to identify factors that influence adult adaptation to life after cystectomy with the creation of a UD. A review of primary research articles published between 1990 and 2014 was conducted using the PubMed and CINAHL Plus electronic databases. Results of the studies were summarized into 5 categories: (1) individual and family factors, (2) technical aspects related to the individual's ability to care for his or her UD, (3) perioperative nursing care, (4) educational needs, and (5) symptom experience. Bladder cancer patients treated with a cystectomy with a UD have a complex set of needs during postoperative adaptation to their reconstructed urinary system. This integrative review summarizes existing knowledge of factors that affect adaptation to a UD in patients with bladder cancer and may guide future studies. Research on this is limited and more studies are needed.


Predictions for Service Oriented Architectures SOA to deliver transformational results to the role and capabilities of IT for businesses have fallen short. Unforseen challenges have often emerged in SOA adoption. They have fallen into two categories: technical issues stemming from service components reuse difficulties and organisational issues stemming from inadequate support or understanding of what is required from the executive management in an organisation to facilitate the technical rollout. This special issue of IJIIT presents a collection of papers which attempt to resolve some of these issues. This paper first explores and analyses the hindrances to the full exploitation of SOA.


: The pottery village of Kasongan is located in the Village of Bangunjiwo, the Sub district of Kasihan, approximately 4 km North of Bantul City. This tourism village produces household products such as plates,bowls,Gucci, and etc made of clay. Visitors not only can do shopping but can also enjoy the making process of the pottery while interviewing the craftsmen.


Summary
Analyses of flower-visitor interaction networks allow application of community-level information to conservation problems, but management recommendations that ensue from such analyses are not well characterized. Results of modularity analyses, which detect groups of species (modules) that interact more with each other than with species outside their module, may be particularly applicable to management concerns.
We conducted modularity analyses of networks surrounding a rare endemic annual plant, Eriogonum visheri, at Badlands National Park, USA, in 2010 and 2011. Plant species visited were determined by pollen on insect bodies and by flower species upon which insects were captured. Roles within modules (network hub, module hub, connector and peripheral, in decreasing order of network structural importance) were determined for each species.
Relationships demonstrated by the modularity analysis, in concert with knowledge of pollen species carried by insects, allowed us to infer effects of two invasive species on E. visheri. Sharing a module increased risk of interspecific pollen transfer to E. visheri. Control of invasive Salsola tragus, which shared a module with E. visheri, is therefore a prudent management objective, but lack of control of invasive Melilotus officinalis, which occupied a different module, is unlikely to negatively affect pollination of E. visheri. Eriogonum pauciflorum may occupy a key position in this network, supporting insects from the E. visheri module when E. visheri is less abundant.
Year-to-year variation in species' roles suggests management decisions must be based on observations over several years. Information on pollen deposition on stigmas would greatly strengthen inferences made from the modularity analysis.
Synthesis and applications: Assessing the consequences of pollination, whether at the community or individual level, is inherently time-consuming. A trade-off exists: rather than an estimate of fitness effects, the network approach provides a broad understanding of the relationships among insect visitors and other plant species that may affect the focal rare plant. Knowledge of such relationships allows managers to detect, target and prioritize control of only the important subset of invasive species present and identify other species that may augment a rare species' population stability, such as E. pauciflorum in our study.


Cloud computing is a good platform for research and application of data mining, for the reason that it provides powerful capacities of storage and computing, excellent resource management based on virtualization and resource sharing model, and comprehensive service system. However, investigation on data mining in cloud computing environment is still in its infancy. In this paper, solvent of classification rules mining with resources in cloud is developed, and an innovative classification rules mining model with genetic algorithm in cloud computing is proposed considering characteristics of cloud computing. An illustrative example is analyzed to show feasibility and effectiveness of the suggested model.


Background: Breast implant procedures are commonly performed using general anesthesia; however, patient apprehension, the potential for improved safety, lower costs, and faster recovery times have increased interest in the use of conscious sedation in plastic surgery. The authors examined the safety and efficacy of breast implant procedures performed under conscious sedation over a 6-year period using their standardized institutional protocol. Methods: Between 2002 and 2008, 461 consecutive patients underwent breast implant procedures under conscious sedation using a protocol of preoperative intravenous diazepam along with intraoperative midazolam, fentanyl, and local anesthetic. All operative and follow-up data were recorded. Augmentation mammaplasty patients were further analyzed for conscious sedation medication dosing. Results: The study population was divided into two groups (years 1 to 3 and years 4 to 6 of the study period) to analyze changes to the authors' regimen over time. In years 4 to 6, higher preoperative doses of diazepam (p = 0.01) allowed more effective local anesthesia administration, thereby reducing intraoperative fentanyl requirements (p < 0.0001). Midazolam doses and operating times did not differ significantly between groups. No patient required conversion to a deeper method of anesthesia. The overall complication rate was 4.34 percent. Conclusions: The authors' study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of conscious sedation in breast implant procedures. Higher preoperative doses of diazepam have significantly reduced fentanyl requirements, resulting in shorter recovery times, decreased postoperative nausea/vomiting, and elimination of unintended admissions. These benefits are obtained without increasing operative times or complications. The authors conclude that conscious sedation is the preferred method of anesthesia for most patients undergoing breast implant procedures.


1.1 This test method covers the quantitative determination of oxygenates: methyl-t-butylether (MTBE), di-isopropyl ether (DIPE), ethyl-t-butylether (ETBE), t-amylmethyl ether (TAME), methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EtOH), 2-propanol (2-PrOH), t-butanol (t-BuOH), l-propanol (I-PrOH), 2-butanol (2-BuOH), i-butanol (i-BuOH), l-butanol (lBuOH); benzene, toluene and Cs-C~2 aromatics, and total aromatics in finished motor gasoline by gas chromatography/Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (GC/FTIR). 1.2 This test method covers the following concentration ranges: 0.1-20 volume % per component for ethers and alcohols; 0.1-2 volume % benzene; 1-15 volume % for toluene, 10-40 volume % total (C6-CI2) aromatics. 1.3 The method has not been tested by ASTM for refinery individual hydrocarbon process streams, such as reformates, fluid catalytic cracking naphthas, etc., used in blending of gasolines. 1.4 SI units of measurement are preferred and used throughout this test method. 1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.


The Electroencephalogram (EEG) is the brain signals which are most normally debased by Electromyogram (EMG) antiquities. The presence of these EMG antiquities covers the necessary information in an EEG signal. In this paper, we have proposed another strategy named as Multi-channel Singular Spectrum Analysis (MSSA) in light of Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to expel muscle or EMG antiquities from multi-channel EEG signals. At first, the orthogonal eigenvectors of multi-channel data are estimated by performing SVD which are acquired from the covariance matrix. Since the frequency variations of eigenvectors related to EEG signal are quite low when compared to the EMG signal, so we fix some peak frequency threshold to find out the frequencies related to EEG signal, then the frequencies related to EMG signals are suppressed and the artifact free Multi-channel EEG signal is extracted. Finally, our proposed technique is applied on a noisy sinusoidal signals to test the performance of the proposed method and then it is applied on synthetic EEG signals mixed with the EMG artifacts. Simulation results are then compared with Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) to show that the proposed method eliminates EMG antiquities more adequately without amending the required data.


The performance of vision-based control systems, in particular, of highly dynamic vision-based motion control systems, is often limited by the low sampling rate of the visual feedback caused by the long image processing time. In order to overcome this problem, the networked visual servo control (NVSC), which integrates networked computational resources for cloud image processing, is considered in this paper. The main contributions of this paper are the following: 1) a real-time transport protocol for transmitting large-volume image data on a cloud-computing platform, which enables high-sampling-rate visual feedback; 2) a stabilizing control law for the NVSC system with time-varying feedback time delay; and 3) a sending rate scheduling strategy aiming at reducing the communication network load. The performance of the NVSC system with sending rate scheduling is validated in an object-tracking scenario on a 14-DOF dual-arm robot. Experimental results show the superior performance of our approach. In particular, the communication network load is substantially reduced by means of the scheduling strategy without performance degradation.


Abstract This presentation provides an overview of the process of information transfer in a typical area of the medical device industry, that of medical imaging. The medical device industry must translate technological trends into ideas for new methods for diagnosis and treatment. The feasibility of such ideas has to be evaluated carefully, inasmuch as large amounts of money are sometimes invested in product development. Moreover, the knowhow obtained from research must be protected long enough to enable the industry to complete development and market the product.


Should a monetary policy maker following a Taylor-type rule set a higher policy rate than the level suggested by the rule because of a possibility of an asset price bust in the near future? Our answer to this question for monetary policy makers who have two scenarios of 'boom–bust cycle' and 'stable growth' is yes if the following two conditions are satisfied. First, early warning indicators based on credit and residential investment data show a high probability of a boom–bust cycle occurring. Second, the policy rate path that minimizes the boom–bust probability-based expected value of a social loss associated with inflation and the output gap over the two scenarios is higher than the rate path by the Taylor-type rule. Our counterfactual analysis shows that the Fed should have raised the federal funds rate by a small amount over and above the level suggested by a Taylor-type rule in the early 2000s.


Continuing the programme of constructing the backreacted solution corresponding to smeared anti-D3 branes in the warped deformed conifold, we solve analytically the equations governing the space of first-order deformations around this solution. We express the results in terms of at most three nested integrals. These are the simplest expressions for the space of -invariant deformations, in which the putative solution for smeared anti-D3 branes must live. We also explain why one cannot claim to identify this solution without fully relating the coefficients of the infrared and ultraviolet expansions of the deformation modes. The analytic solution we find is the first step in this direction.


ABSTRACT While a substantial amount of destination image research has been performed, few researchers have explored image perception gaps between tourists and government promotions. This study examines the perception gap between blogs and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) promotions by introducing a four-quadrant diagnostic tool: the Perception-Promotion Matrix (PPM). This case study collected data from 168 domestic and 64 international blogs, and 70 Chinese and 36 English official Kaohsiung City promotional websites to investigate image gap. The findings revealed significant "Tourist Infrastructure" image perception gaps, both from domestic and international traveler perspectives. The PPM suggests Kaohsiung City DMOs successfully promote an image of culture by hosting events and festivals. However, analysis indicates failure on the part of these DMOs to promote an image of Kaohsiung as an Ocean capital. Recommendations resulting from this study are provided for Kaohsiung City DMO consideration.


Adjustable sit-stand workstations, which are designed to allow workers to sit and stand autonomously while working, were examined to identify the effects on workers' musculoskeletal discomfort, alertness and performance. Twenty-four healthy subjects participated in the study. The subjects were required to do an English transcription task for 150 min under the following conditions: 1) sitting at standard workstations (Standard), 2) sitting on a chair with the work surface elevated to standing position (High-chair) and 3) a combination of 10-min sitting and 5-min standing with the same setting as that in the high-chair condition (Sit-stand). The subjective musculoskeletal discomfort scores indicated that High-chair and Sit-stand resulted in relatively higher discomfort levels than the Standard condition. Although the ratio between low-frequency (0.04-0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (0.15-0.4 Hz) components of heart rate variability (LF/HF ratio) in Sit-stand was higher than that in other conditions, there were no significant differences in subjective sleepiness among the three conditions. As for work performance, there was a tendency to be steadily high under the Sit-stand condition compared with other conditions, but not a significant difference. This study revealed that although the use of sit-stand workstations can contribute to keeping workers' arousal level steady, it has an adverse effect in light of musculoskeletal discomfort.


OBJECTIVE
Nasopharyngeal branchial cleft cysts are rare, and only case reports have been published. We present a patient whose nasopharyngeal cyst contained a malignant lymphoma, and we review previous reports of this condition.

METHODS
Case report with a relevant literature review.

RESULTS
Sixteen case reports of nasopharyngeal branchial cleft cysts in 24 patients were included. The average age was 36 years; most cysts were on one side. Five patients underwent aspiration, 18 underwent surgery. The cyst wall was lined by stratified squamous epithelium in seven patients and by ciliated colomunar epithelium in 14. All previous cysts showed benign pathology. Our case is the first report of a malignant disease hidden in a nasopharyngeal branchial cleft cyst.

CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, malignant lymphoma in a nasopharyngeal branchial cleft cyst has not been reported previously. Nevertheless, the possibility of this finding should be kept in mind when evaluating patients with nasopharyngeal cystic lesions.


The paper examines the conceptual context of cultural diversity in Sweden. It describes the background in which the former Social Democratic Government declared 2006 as the Year for Cultural Diversity. A related concern is scrutinizing whether in fact this year would be a starting point for more deeply engaged diversity programs or if such policy definitions remain mere symbolic acts of window dressing. The study is based on analysis of official documents, diversity events and agendas, and interviews with different actors and diversity consultants, and participation in seminars and conferences on the topic of diversity and integration as the main topics. A major concern is whether the current interest on cultural diversity may lead to its institutionalization in the Swedish cultural and social organizations (Hamde, 2002a) and address the virtues of diversity, such as diversity for profitability and competence in workplaces, social justice concerns, and finally, societal cohesion. Alternatively, the paper explores if the debate on diversity merely remains a 'traveling' idea to appear occasionally and then occur in fashion-like manner as many management ideas do, leaving little traces on peoples' lives.


Organizational and legal mechanisms of environmental protection are defined by the author of the article as a mechanism of organization and system of activities of state executive power bodies and local self-government bodies in the field of environmental public relations arising in connection with environmental protection and environmental safety provision. The rules of administrative law are its legal basis, alongside with the norms of environmental law. The former designed to reflect the specifics of the subject, objects, subjects and principles of legal regulation of social relations in this area. The latter define common goals, objectives and functions of state public relations management nature.


Inconel 617 is a candidate tube material for high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR). The microstructure and mechanical properties of Inconel 617 were studied after exposure at high temperature of 1050oC. The dominant oxide layer was Cr-oxide. The internal oxide and Crdepleted region were observed below the Cr-oxide layer. The major second phases are M23C6 and M6C types of carbides. The composition of M23C6 and M6C were determined to be Cr21Mo2C6 and Mo3Cr2(Ni,Co)1C, respectively, by EDS. These carbides are coarsened during exposure. M6C carbide is more stable than M23C6 at high temperature. There was not much change in mechanical properties after exposure at 1050oC for 1000 h.


We evaluated the impact of donor age on the efficacy of myocardial cellular therapy for ischemic cardiomyopathy. Characteristics of smooth muscle cells (SMC), bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs), and skeletal muscle cells (SKMCs) from young, adult, and old rats were compared in vitro. Three weeks after coronary ligation, 3.5 million SMCs (n = 11) or MSCs (n = 9) from old syngenic rats or culture medium (n = 6) were injected into the ischemic region. Five weeks after implantation, cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography and the Langendorff apparatus. In the in vitro study, the numbers and proliferation of MSCs from fresh bone marrow and SKMCs from fresh tissue but not SMCs were markedly diminished in old animals (P < 0.05 both groups). SKMCs from old animals did not reach confluence. After treatment with 5-azacytidine (azacitidine), the myogenic potential of old MSCs was decreased compared with young MSCs. In the in vivo study, both SMC and MSC transplantation induced significant angiogenesis compared with media injections (P < 0.05 both groups). Transplantation of SMCs but not MSCs prevented scar thinning (P = 0.03) and improved ejection fraction and fractional shortening (P < 0.05). Load-independent indices of cardiac function in a Langendorff preparation confirmed improved function in the aged SMC group (P = 0.01) but not in the MSC group compared with the control group. In conclusion, donor age adversely impacts the efficacy of cellular therapy for myocardial regeneration and is cell-type dependent. SMCs from old donors retain their ability to improve cardiac function after implantation into ischemic myocardium.


The c-Myc protein is up-regulated in many different types of cancer, suggesting that a detailed understanding of Myc function is an important goal. Our previous studies have focused on determining the mechanism by which Myc activates transcription using the target gene cad as an experimental model. Previously, we found that Myc activates cad transcription at a post-RNA polymerase II recruitment step and that the Myc transactivation domain interacts with a number of cdk-cyclin complexes. We now extend these studies to determine the role of these cyclin-cdk complexes in Myc-mediated transactivation. We have found that cyclin T1 binding to Myc localizes to the highly conserved Myc Box I, whereas cdk8 binding localizes to the amino-terminal 41 amino acids of the Myc transactivation domain. We showed that recruitment of cdk8 is sufficient for activation of a synthetic promoter construct. In contrast, the ability of Myc to activate transcription of thecad promoter correlates with binding of cyclin T1. Furthermore, recruitment of cyclin T1 to the cad promoter via a Gal4 fusion protein or through protein-protein interaction with the HIV-1 Tat protein can also activate cad transcription. These results suggest that Myc activates transcription by stimulating elongation and that P-TEFb is a key mediator of this process.


OBJECTIVE
We report our experience with CT-guided percutaneous catheter drainage of loculated thoracic air collections in mechanically ventilated patients with acute lung injury or acute respiratory distress syndrome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Nine critically ill patients had 17 air collections (13 pneumothoraces, three pneumatoceles, one tension pneumomediastinum) that either developed despite the presence of standard surgical chest tubes or were in loculated sites that were difficult to access. All nine patients were ventilated mechanically for a clinical diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Catheter size ranged from 7- to 28-French. Response was measured by imaging follow-up, ventilatory parameters, and clinical outcome.

RESULTS
On follow-up imaging studies, all 17 air collections were shown to have been evacuated successfully. Catheters remained in place for a mean of 11 days (range, 4-28 days). No major complications occurred. Sixteen air collections were treated successfully with CT-guided catheter placement alone; the remaining air collection, a pneumothorax, was treated with subsequent placement of a chest tube by the surgeon at the patient's bedside. No surgery was undertaken for the air collections. Improvement in gas exchange was documented by increase in the hypoxemia ratio (arterial oxygen pressure divided by the inspired fraction of oxygen) in seven of 12 drainages; the other drainages were accompanied either by no improvement or by deterioration. Eight (89%) of the nine patients eventually were extubated and discharged from the hospital. The ninth patient died.

CONCLUSION
CT-guided percutaneous catheter drainage provided effective treatment for loculated thoracic air collections and obviated surgical intervention in these critically ill, high-surgical-risk patients.


The goal of this paper is to present an optimal resource allocation model for the regional allocation of public service inputs. The proposed solution leads to maximise the relative public service availability in regions located below the best availability frontier, subject to exogenous budget restrictions and equality of access for equal need criteria (equity-based notion of regional needs). The construction of non parametric deficit indicators is proposed for public service availability by a novel application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models, whose results offer advantages for the evaluation and improvement of decentralised public resource allocation systems. The method introduced in this paper has relevance as a resource allocation guide for the majority of services centrally funded by the public sector in a given country, such as health care, basic and higher education, citizen safety, justice, transportation, environmental protection, leisure, culture, housing and city planning, etc.


We prospectively investigated 30 healthy subjects with normal CD4+ T cell counts in blood and normal findings of spirometry and chest radiography for the presence of Pneumocystis jirovecii, by performing polymerase chain reaction on sputum specimens. Fifty patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were investigated at the same time in the same manner; this group was used as controls for the diagnosis of pulmonary colonization with P. jirovecii. None of the healthy subjects had positive test results, whereas the fungus was detected in 8 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The results suggest that in our region (Amiens, France), P. jirovecii is apparently uncommon in healthy subjects and that this population, therefore, plays a minor role in circulation of the fungus within human communities.


We are grateful for the interest of Dr Shibata in our work and appreciate his comments. Although we are partially in agreement with them, we cannot ascertain why he has not noticed, by reading our work, that we obtained similar conclusions. We retrospectively analyzed data from 108 patients with severe head injury defined by a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 8 at admission or deterioration in the first 48 hours after injury who underwent an MR imaging examination in the first 30 days after trauma. From this group of patients with severe trauma, we selected those presenting with identifiable brain stem lesions on MR imaging (51 patients). Imaging was performed in the subacute stage of trauma on a 1.5T scanner. The MR imaging protocol consisted of T1, T2, FLAIR, and gradient-echo T2 images in the 3 orthogonal planes. Data were obtained by using 4-mm-thick sections with a 1-mm skip. Our series is somewhat different from that presented by Shibata et al, because they just included 17 patients with brain stem injury having all degrees of head injury (GCS scores of 14 –3; five patients having mild or moderate head injury). In their series, MR imaging was performed within the first 6 days after trauma by using a 0.5T scanner. Images of continuous 10-mm sections in transaxial planes were obtained by using only T1and T2weighted images. Although the series are different, conclusions are in some aspects similar. As Dr Shibata pointed out, this study and previous publications of our work group state that the best predictor of good outcome is the presence of no injuries detectable at MR imaging. However, as stated by the work of Shibata et al, the mere presence of a brain stem injury does not determine a poor outcome. If there is an identifiable injury in the brain stem, the combination of nonhemorrhagic, anterior, and unilateral injuries determines a better outcome. The mechanism of that injury would be most probably related to direct contusion of the cerebral peduncle, as we stated in our article. Patients presenting with bilateral, hemorrhagic, and posteriorly located brain stem lesions experienced a worse outcome. Our results are not in disagreement with the data published by Shibata et al, in which only superficial (n 3) and ventrally located lesions had a good prognosis. Lesions situated dorsally but in a deep location or those superficial but associated with a supratentorial diffuse axonal injury (DAI) had a poor prognosis. Of course, lesions present in the subacute stage of trauma are most probably related to a more severe injury. In the series of Shibata et al, MR imaging was performed in the acute stage. They acknowledged that superficial lesions detectable in the first days after trauma can disappear or diminish in most patients. In their series, MR imaging was repeated later after injury in 8 patients, and in 5 of them, superficial lesions had disappeared. Therefore, most probably, we are not detecting, at MR imaging, superficial lesions not related to DAI but identifying only deep posteriorly located lesions related to severe DAI. We do not agree with Dr Shibata's comments on the lack of information regarding the origin of brain stem injuries because this is discussed in our article. In our series, all patients with brain stem injury had supratentorial lesions related to DAI, such as corpus callosum and subcortical white matter lesions. Therefore, most patients would have primary brain stem injury and not secondary brain stem damage due to supratentorial herniation. In our series, only those lesions located anteriorly had a better prognosis; as we stated, these are most probably related to direct contusion of the mesencephalon with the dura of the tentorium. Posterior brain stem lesions, deeply located and related to other diffuse axonal injuries, had a poor prognosis. We pointed out that nonhemorrhagic lesions have a better prognosis so that we could show that not all brain stem injuries determine a poor prognosis. Hemorrhagic lesions show a worse prognosis because they are related to more intense and greater damage to such important and delicate structures.


Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have transformed the discovery of common susceptibility alleles for a wide spectrum of cancers. GWAS have been a highly successful approach for discovering common susceptibility alleles. Already, over 220 regions have been conclusively established (i.e., achieving genome-wide significance) in two-dozen cancers1. GWAS have uncovered new clues to biological insights as a consequence of collaboration between epidemiologists, statisticians, and geneticists. Since GWAS can be effectively scaled to accelerate discovery, the major challenge ahead is to determine how to establish the critical connection between the genetic markers and carcinogenic processes that underlie complex phenotypes, such as cancer. The rapid pace of discovery using the GWAS approach has not been matched by research to interpret and understand the functional significance of different alleles that are correlated with cancer phenotypes. The gap between the number of new independent markers and a biological understanding of the loci continues to widen, at an accelerated pace. The success of GWAS as a tool for discovery has raised a new series of questions. It is now possible to begin to estimate the underlying genetic architecture of genetic susceptibility alleles for specific cancers and explore both their main effect and interaction with either other genetic variants or environmental exposures. There are a few examples of GWAS findings that have lead to new insights into processes that could be targets for either prevention or treatment. Based on sound scientific insights, new approaches will begin to emerge and contribute to novel strategies for prevention and therapy. Citation Format: Stephen J. Chanock. The promise of GWAS studies to assess cancer prevention. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr PL04-01.


Although there is clear evidence that smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States today, almost one third of American adults continue to smoke. To promote public awareness of smoking's adverse effects, we applied a previously established methodology to estimate the impact of cigarette smoking in New York State. Using New York State-specific mortality data, cigarette smoking prevalence rates, and total health care costs, we found that cigarette smoking caused almost 27,000 deaths in 1985, resulting in 335,000 years of potential life lost (mean, 12 years per person). The estimated annual cost of smoking totaled +4.7 billion, including direct (health care) and indirect (lost income and productivity) costs from smoking-attributable deaths and illness. The New York State Department of Health publicized these findings to gain support for a statewide regulation for smoking control in public places. This methodology can easily be applied elsewhere to assess the adverse impact of smoking and to support smoking control activities.


Small Engineering Workshops of Howrah M P Ghosh BELILIOUS ROAD, with its teeming small and tiny workshops, I had once earned the city of Howrah the name, 'India's Sheffield'. Those small scale industries which had once flourished are now engaged in a life-and-death struggle to merely survive. But even in their present miserable state, some of the older 'mistrys' of Belilious Road retain their unique skills.


The production of this forecast is supported by the Institute's Corporate Members: Bank of England, Barclays Bank plc, Dixons plc, GlaxoSmithKline, INVESCO Europe Ltd, Marks and Spencer plc, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (Europe) Ltd, Morley Fund Management, The National Grid Company plc, Nomura Research Institute Europe Ltd, Pearson plc, The Post Office, Rio Tinto plc, Standard Chartered Bank, UBS Warburg, Unilever plc and Willis Corroon Group plc.


One of the biggest challenges facing current methods for classifying music by genre or artist is that features of the sound are computed on very small temporal scales (20 to 50 milliseconds), while the labels need to be assigned at relatively large temporal scales (3 to 5 minutes). We address this challenge by partitioning songs into smaller pieces and classifying each one separately. Our choice of features together with an AdaBoost.MH classifier proved to be the most effective method for genre classification at the recent MIREX 2005 international contests in music information extraction, and the second-best method for recognizing artists. This paper describes our method in detail, from feature extraction to song classification, and presents an evaluation of our method on three genre databases and two artist-recognition databases. Furthermore, we present evidence that the method of partitioning songs is better than classifying either entire songs or individual features, using a variety of popular features and classifiers.


Genetic factors contribute to the individual variability in weight gain caused by several antipsychotic drugs. The FTO gene is associated with obesity in the general population; we have investigated whether a common risk polymorphism (rs9939609) in this gene is associated with antipsychotic drug-induced weight gain and obesity. Two samples were studied: (1) 93 first-episode patients receiving antipsychotic drugs for the first time and having body weight monitored for up to 12 months; (2) 187 chronic patients with schizophrenia assessed for measures of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. No association of FTO genotype with weight gain was found in initially drug-naive patients. The chronically treated patients had a significant association of genotype with body mass index (BMI), reflected in associations with waist circumference, waist:hip ratio and the frequency of central obesity. These findings indicate that FTO genotype has a major effect on body weight determined by BMI in chronically treated patients with schizophrenia.


The average time necessary to add numbers by local parallel computation is directly related to the length of the longest carry propagation chain in the sum. The mean length of longest carry propagation chain when adding two independent uniform random n bit numbers is a well studied topic, and useful approximations as well as an exact expression for this value have been found. My thesis searches for similar formulas for mean length of the longest carry propagation chain in sums that arise when a random n-digit number is multiplied by a number of the form 1 + 2d. Letting Cn,d represent the desired mean, my thesis details how to find formulas for Cn,d using probability, generating functions and linear algebra arguments. I also find bounds on Cn,d to prove that Cn,d = log2 n + O(1), and show work towards finding an even more exact approximation for Cn,d.


Puppets as a pedagogical tool in teaching are a unique way to provide a different educational learning experience for preschool children. The use of puppets is to encourage children to express their feeling, interacting with other children and to help them to improve their intrapersonal and interpersonal skill. This research was conducted in two phases. Phase I: The development of a module entitled "Modul Dramatika Boneka Kanak-kanak" based on the modification Instructional Design Model by Heinich, Molenda, Russell and Smaldino (2002) and Development Module Approach by Rusell (1974). This phase is to identify the design of module with (i) analyze the needs of children and state the module objective, (ii) the design of the module content, (iii) confirmation of the validity of the experts and the achievement of the module and (iv) attempt module and reliability module. Phase II: The Implementation and Evaluation phase was to implement and to evaluate the module. The phase set out to study the use of the module by preschool teachers. It also identified the responses of children using the module, specifically on how children used the puppets to interact with one another and whether using the puppets affected any change in the children's intrapersonal and interpersonal skill. The samples of this research were three preschool teachers and eighteen preschool children from three different classes from Ministry of Education, Malaysia. Data were analyzed through triangulation data likes observation, interview, review of document and another extra element that is survey, to explore phenomena puppets as pedagogical tools. The finding of phase I showed that "Modul Dramatika Boneka Kanak-kanak" where able to be developed based on children's
vi
characteristics likes gender, age, socioeconomic level and learning style. The objective of the module is to encourage children's interaction and improve their intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. The design of the module content consisted nine learning project which were (i) puppet making project (ii) puppet stage making project (iii) characterizes and emotion project (iv) music and movement project (v) story exposition and rising action project (vi) story climax and falling action project (vii) performance rehearsal project (viii) performance project and (ix) review performance project. These projects were based on the six elements in the Constructivist Learning Design by Gagnon and Collay (2006) that focused on (i) situation, (ii) groups, (iii) bridge, (iv) task, (v) exhibit and (vi) reflection. Validity of module was confirmed by early childhood educationist and drama in education experts. Reliability module through survey form and value Cronbach's alpha 0.664. The findings of Phase II research showed that although the use of the module were different for the each three teachers, nevertheless, they were able to implement all nine learning projects in their teaching and learning. Children's feedbacks were very encouraging. The findings showed that the children immersed actively and worked together to finish given tasks. The children also interacted well by individual, partners or in group either to speak, sing or play with puppets while and after module. The interaction between children became more frequently with the use of the puppets. For children attitude, this study showed that using puppets among preschool children improved children's intrapersonal and interpersonal skill.


This article has two aims. First, to offer a critical review of the literatures on two well-known single-component solutions to the problem of a gap between moral knowledge and moral action: moral identity and moral emotions. Second, to take seriously the rising interest in Aristotle-inspired virtue ethics and character development within the social sciences: approaches that seem to assume that the development of phronesis (practical wisdom) bridges the gap in question. Since phronesis is a multi-component construct, the latter part of this article offers an overview of what those different components would be, as a necessary precursor to operationalising them if the phronesis hypothesis were to be subjected to empirical scrutiny. The idea of a neo-Aristotelian multi-component solution to the 'gappiness problem' invites comparisons with another multi-component candidate, the neo-Kohlbergian four-component model, with which it shares at least surface similarities. Some space is thus devoted to the proposed theoretical uniqueness of a phronesis-based multi-component model vis-à-vis the neo-Kohlbergian one. Our main conclusion is that – weaknesses in its developmental psychological grounding notwithstanding – operationalising the phronesis model for the purposes of instrument design and empirical inquiry would be a feasible and potentially productive enterprise.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Sarcoma of the oral cavity is rare accounting for around 1% of all malignant oral tumors. The purpose of this study was to find important prognostic factors for patients with oral sarcoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The study included 1,643 patients examined from April 1980 to March 2010 at the Departments of oral and maxillofacial surgery at multi-institutions who had a histopathological diagnosis of malignant oral tumors.

RESULTS
Sarcoma accounted for 19 of 1,643 cases (1.16%) in malignant oral tumors. Histologically, osteosarcoma was most common in 6 of the 19 patients, followed by 3 cases each of leiomyosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma, 2 of rhabdomyosarcoma and 1 each of angiosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, malignant schwannoma, malignant rhabdoid tumor and undifferentiated sarcoma. Irrespective of the histological type, tumor diameter on initial examination was >50 mm in 8 patients, 7 of whom died. Tumor diameter was <50 mm in 11 patients, 6 of whom survived. Distant metastasis was present in 11 patients, 10 of whom died. The local control rate was 42.1% and 5-year survival rate was 36.8%.

CONCLUSION
Treatment of patients with tumors over 50-mm long in diameter and distant metastasis is extremely difficult. The incidence of oral sarcoma is very low. However, tumor diameter and presence of distant metastasis are important prognostic factors for oral sarcoma according to this multi-institutional study.


A SYNDROME of encephalopathy and fatty liver has been the subject of recent reports in the pediatric literature. 1-3 This encephalitis-like illness has rather characteristic clinical and pathological findings which are not new and were descrbed by Brain et al in 1929. 4 Whether or not the combination of acute encephalopathy and fatty change in the liver is specific and deserves consideration as an entity is open to question. Using an illustrative case from our own material, we should like to review the clinical, laboratory, and anatomic features of similar cases available in the literature. Report of a Case Three days prior to admission July 21, 1965, a 3-year-old white boy developed an upper respiratory tract infection with cough. Two days prior to admission, he began to vomit and was febrile. On the day of admission, he progressed from irritability to drowsiness and coma. His temperature was 103 F (39.4


In addition to the sea level (SL) change, or anomaly (SLA), due to ocean thermal expansion, total steric SLA (SSLA, all change to the existing volume of ocean water) is also affected by ocean salinity variation. Less attention, however, has been paid to this halosteric effect, due to the global dominance of thermosteric SLA (TSLA) and the scarcity of salinity measurements. Here, we analyze halosteric SLA (HSLA) since 2005, when Argo data reached near-global ocean coverage, based on several observational products. We find that, on global average, the halosteric component contributes negatively by ~5.8% to SSLA during the 2005–2015 period, and reveals a modest correlation (~0.38) with ENSO on the inter-annual scale. Vertically, the global ocean was saltier in the upper 200-m and fresher within 200 to 600-m since 2005, while the change below 600-m was not significantly different from zero. The upper 200-m changes dominate the HSLA, suggesting the importance of surface fresh water flux forcing; meanwhile, the ocean dynamic might also play a role. The inconsistent pattern of salinity trend between upper 200-m and 200 to 600-m implies the importance of ocean dynamics. Our analysis suggests that local salinity changes cannot be neglected, and can even play a more important role in SSLA than the thermosteric component in some regions, such as the Tropical/North Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and the North Atlantic Ocean. This study highlights the need to better reconstruct historical salinity datasets, to better monitor the past SSLA changes. Also, it is important to understand the mechanisms (ocean dynamics vs. surface flux) related to regional ocean salinity changes.


The importance of genetics and epigenetic changes in the pathogenesis of non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasingly recognized. Adiponectin has a central role in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism and controlling inflammation in insulin-sensitive tissues and low adiponectin levels have been linked to NAFLD. APPL1 and APPL2 are adaptor proteins that interact with the intracellular region of adiponectin receptors and mediate adiponectin signaling and its effects on metabolism. The aim of our study was the evaluation of a potential association between variants at APPL1 and APPL2 loci and NAFLD occurrence. The impact on liver damage and hepatic steatosis severity has been also evaluated. To this aim allele frequency and genotype distribution of APPL1- rs3806622 and -rs4640525 and APPL2-rs 11112412 variants were evaluated in 223 subjects with clinical diagnosis of NAFLD and compared with 231 healthy subjects. The impact of APPL1 and APPL2 SNPs on liver damage and hepatic steatosis severity has been also evaluated. The minor-allele combination APPL1-C/APPL2-A was associated with an increased risk of NAFLD (OR = 2.50 95% CI 1.45–4.32; p<0.001) even after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglycerides and adiponectin levels. This allele combination carrier had higher plasma alanine aminotransferase levels (Diff = 15.08 [7.60–22.57] p = 0.001) and an increased frequency of severe steatosis compared to the reference allele combination (OR = 3.88; 95% CI 1.582–9.531; p<0.001). In conclusion, C-APPL1/A-APPL2 allele combination is associated with NAFLD occurrence, with a more severe hepatic steatosis grade and with a reduced adiponectin cytoprotective effect on liver.


Background: In Japan, pulmonary Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) disease is highly prevalent. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Jiinshihoto (JST) for treating pulmonary MAC disease. Methods: Twenty-four patients, not receiving standard treatment for pulmonary MAC disease, were enrolled in this study; of these, 21 patients (3 patients dropped out of the study) were eligible and selected to participate. They were administered JST (3.0 g; Tsumura Co., Tokyo, Japan) three times per day for 12 months. Their weight, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test (CAT) score, NK cell activity, chest computed tomography (CT) results, blood sample results, Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores were measured: (i) before JST administration, (ii) after 3 months, and (iii) at the end of the study. Results: Before JST administration, the exacerbation group (n = 10 patients; 6 patients with worsened conditions at the end of the study and 4 patients who were switched to standard treatment during the study because of exacerbation) had a significantly low body mass index (BMI), mild depression, and high anxiety. The overall patient population showed no significant differences in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment score, body weight, or natural killer cell activity after 3 months of treatment; however, the SDS score improved significantly. At the end of treatment, the nutritional scores had worsened, but the SDS score improved significantly. Specifically, the SDS scores improved significantly only in the non-exacerbation group (n = 11 patients), and natural killer cell activity improved in the non-exacerbation group. Additionally, a comparison of the data of both groups before and after JST administration showed that the exacerbation group had significantly lower BMI and worse CT scores when using a BMI cutoff of 18.4 (sensitivity, 81.8%; specificity, 70%). Conclusion: Patients with a high BMI and low CT score at the time of initial diagnosis may benefit from JST treatment, which may significantly improve depression and immunity and prevent disease progression. Therefore, JST may be an effective treatment in selected pulmonary MAC patients.Trial registration: This study has been registered in the UMIN-Clinical Trials Registry (000033590, August 1, 2018).


: In natural plant populations, a fine-scale spatial genetic structure (SGS) can result from limited gene flow, selection pressures or spatial autocorrelation. However, limited gene flow is considered the predominant determinant in the establishment of SGS. With limited dispersal ability of bacterial cells in soil and host influence on their variety and abundance, spatial autocorrelation of bacterial communities associated with plants is expected. For this study, we collected genetic data from legume host plants, Chamaecrista fasciculata, their Bradyrhizobium symbionts and rhizosphere free-living bacteria at a small spatial scale to evaluate the extent to which symbiotic partners will have similar SGS and to understand how plant hosts choose among nodulating symbionts. We found SGS across all sampled plants for both the host plants and nodulating rhizobia, suggesting that both organisms are influenced by similar mechanisms structuring genetic diversity or shared habitat preferences by both plants and microbes. We also found that plant genetic identity and geographic distance might serve as predictors of nodulating rhizobia genetic identity. Bradyrhizobium elkanii was the only type of rhizobia found in nodules, which suggests some level of selection by the host plant.


The research entitled "studies into enhancing productivity of hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) under various agro-management practices" was sown at Post Graduate Agricultural Research Station, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in two sets of field trials during Kharif 2005 and 2006. First experiment comprised of three levels of nitrogen viz. 150, 200 and 250 kg ha-1 and six duration of weed crop competition i.e., 0 (weed free control), 2, 3, 4, 5 or 15 weeks (weedy check), then plots were maintained weed free till harvest. The second experiment, "utilization of allelopathy for reducing herbicide dose in maize sown at different plant densities" comprised of three plant densities (98765, 65884, and 49383 plants ha-1) and five weed control methods. Weed control methods were weedy check, Primextra gold 720 SC (atrazine 320 g L-1 + s-metalochlor 400 g L-1) at 1440 g a.i. ha-1 as pre-emergence, hand hoeing twice (20 and 40 DAS), one hand hoeing + earthing up (20 and 40 DAS respectively), Primextra gold 720 SC (atrazine 320 g L-1 + smetalochlor 400 g L-1) at 720 g a.i. ha-1 (50 % reduced dose) + sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) water extracts each at 15 L ha-1 as preemergence.In both the experiments, the crop was sown on 67.5 cm spaced ridges in plots measuring 2.7m x7.0 m with the help of dibbler during 1st. week of August. The results of the experiments in brief are:
In first experiment, nitrogen levels from 150-250 kg ha-1 increased total weed density up to 26 % while their fresh weight 35% and that of weed dry weight up to 33%.Crop maturity was delayed by 3 days. Yield contributing factors like plant height (9%), kernel weight per cob (9-12%), 1000 kernel weight (4%), and thus final kernel yield (26%) was also enhanced with the higher doses of fertilizer-nitrogen. Therefore, for as the competition durations were concerned, they had positive effect on weed dynamics but negative effect on crop meaning thereby that more the weed crop competition duration lower the crop yield due to poor growth and yield contributing factors. Although the increased durations of weed crop competition resulted in yield losses, however, these losses were maximum (67%) in plots which received lower quantities of nitrogen (150 kg ha-1) and maximum weed crop competition i.e., 105 days (up to crop maturity) which indicated that more intensive weed management system is required under low fertility levels.It is pertinent to mention that the presence of weeds had minimum effect on crop growth at initial stages provided it is supplied with sufficient amounts of available nutrients like application of nitrogen at 250 kg ha-1. Nitrogen levels had positive impact on quality of kernel (oil, protein, and starch) while duration of weed-crop competition had negative effect on quality of kernel.
In second experiment, there was negative correlation between the densities of maize and weeds. The maize crop sown at density of 98765 plants ha-1 reduced the weeds per unit area (weed density) to the extent of 20% (40 DAS) and 24% (105 DAS). Similarly, the reduction in dry weight was 26% (40 DAS) and 20% (105 DAS).Maximum LAI (7.95), LAD (418 days), and CGR (23.69) were recorded under higher plant densities. Although the kernel weight per cob (79.96 g) and thousand kernel weight (242.93 g) were reduced when the crop was planted at higher densities but the final kernel yield was maximum (7.17 t ha-1). The best weed control method was one hoeing (20 DAS) in combination with earthing up (40 DAS), but application of reduced dose (50 %) of atrazine + S-metalochlor at 720 g a.i. ha-1 (half of label dose) in combination with sorghum + sunflower water extracts each at 15 L ha-1 proved to be economical as its MRR (3424 %) was maximum.


In this paper we investigate the experiences of elementary school children over a two-year period during which they engaged with a hybrid Adventure Learning program. In addition to delineating Adventure Learning experiences, we report on educational technology implementations in ecologically valid and complex environments, while drawing inferences on the design of sustainable and successful innovations. Our research indicates that the Adventure Learning experience over the two-year period was dynamic, participatory, engaging, collaborative, and social. Students eagerly became part of the experience both inside and outside of the classroom, and it quickly became apparent that they saw themselves as valued members of the unfolding storyline that mediated their learning. Our recommendations for future research and practice include a call to evaluate "authenticity," focus on the learner experience and narrative, and consider the interplay between pedagogy, technology, and design.


Hydrocephalus, defined as a bicaudate index above the 95th percentile for age, was found in 34 (20%) of 174 prospectively studied patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) who survived the first 24 hours and who underwent computerized tomography (CT) scanning within 72 hours. The occurrence of acute hydrocephalus was related to the presence of intraventricular blood, and not to the extent of cisternal hemorrhage. The level of consciousness was depressed in 30 of the 34 patients. Characteristic clinical features were present in 19 patients, including a gradual obtundation after the initial hemorrhage in 16 patients and small nonreactive pupils in nine patients (all with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 7 or less). In the remaining 15 patients (44%), the diagnosis could be made only by CT scanning. After 1 month, 20 of the 34 patients had died: six from rebleeding (four after shunting), 11 from cerebral infarction (eight after an initial improvement), and three from other or mixed causes. Only one of nine patients in whom a shunt was placed survived, despite rapid improvement in all immediately after shunting. The mortality rate among patients with acute hydrocephalus was significantly higher than in those without, with the higher incidence caused by cerebral infarction (11 of 34 versus 12 of 140 cases, respectively; p less than 0.001). Death from infarction could not be attributed to the extent of cisternal hemorrhage, the use of antifibrinolytic drugs, or failure to apply surgical drainage, but could often be explained by the development of hyponatremia, probably accompanied by hypovolemia.


What judges think they are doing has considerable effect on what they actually do. Accordingly, the appointment of Dyson Heydon to the High Court of Australia is a useful occasion on which to examine the connection between one judge's thought and his actions. Heydon's extra-judicial writings call for a nostalgic return to the formalist virtues of an earlier era. However, his early judicial opinions on the High Court not only demonstrate the intellectual shortcomings of such a formalist approach, but also emphasise that adjudication is an inescapably political and contested activity - judicial conservatism is no less ideological than its activist counterpart.


Canada's Aboriginal peoples face a number of social and health issues. Research shows that Aboriginal youths are over-represented in the criminal justice system and youth forensic psychiatric programmes. Within the literature on sex offending youth, there appears to be no published data available to inform clinicians working with adjudicated Aboriginal youth. Therefore, the present study examines the background, offence characteristics, and criminal outcomes of Aboriginal (n = 102) and non-Aboriginal (n = 257) youths who engaged in sexual offending behaviour and were ordered to attend a sexual offender treatment programme in British Columbia between 1985 and 2004. Overall, Aboriginal youths were more likely than non-Aboriginal youths to have background histories of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), substance abuse, childhood victimization, academic difficulties, and instability in the living environment. Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youths had a tendency to target children under 12-years-old, females, and non-strangers. Aboriginal youths were more likely than non-Aboriginal youths to use substances at the time of their sexual index offence. Outcome data revealed that Aboriginal youths were more likely than their non-Aboriginal counterparts to recidivate sexually, violently, and non-violently during the 10-year follow-up period. Furthermore, the time between discharge and commission of all types of re-offences was significantly shorter for Aboriginal youths than for non-Aboriginal youths. Implications of these findings are discussed with regards to the needs of Aboriginal youth and intervention.


The validity of assuming that the fundamental frequency load flow conditions of an AC-DC conversion plant are unaffected by the presence of harmonics is questioned, and an algorithm is derived which is capable of determining the true load flow conditions in the presence of harmonics. The algorithm is unique in its three phase approach to the problem, which is essential if normally unfiltered uncharacteristic harmonics are to be represented. Results of a realistic and relevant test system are used to demonstrate the interaction which exists between the fundamental and harmonic frequencies in the power converter. >


Silicon-core carbon-shell nanoparticles have been widely studied as promising candidates for the replacement of graphite in commercial lithium-ion batteries. Over more than 10 years of R&D, the many groups actively working in this field have proposed a profusion of distinctive nanomaterial designs. This broad variety makes it extremely challenging to establish mechanistic insight into how fundamental material structure and properties affect battery performance. In particular, the interplay between the character of the carbon encapsulation layer and the electrochemical performance of the composite is still poorly understood. In this work, we aim to address this lack of knowledge through the development of a modified chemical vapor deposition approach that enables precise control of the degree of graphitization of the carbon coating. We provide a comparison between core-shell structures maintaining identical silicon cores with different types of carbon shells, i.e. graphitic carbon and amorphous carbon. A highly graphitic carbon layer is not only characterized by higher electrical conductivity but markedly favors the transport of lithium ions into the silicon core with respect to an amorphous one. This advantageous property confers better cycling stability to the composite material. We also demonstrate that the graphitic-carbon-coated particles display excellent electrochemical performance even when used as a simple "drop-in" additive in graphite-dominant anodes for current generation Li-ion batteries. Replacement of 10% by weight of graphite in the electrode composition results in an increase of 60% in the storage capacity, with a first cycle Coulombic efficiency of 91% and capacity retention over 100 cycles of 81%.


This invention relates to a process for transitioning between incompatible polymerization catalyst systems. Particularly, the invention relates to a process for transitioning from an olefin polymerization reaction utilizing a traditional Ziegler-Natta catalyst system to a metallocene-olefin polymerization reaction.


Along with urbanisation and modernisation, the use of second homes has increased in the Western world. This can be seen as part of the increasing mobility of people in society, but also as part of a search for stillness and escape from modern urban society. Recently, scholars in geography and other disciplines have argued that mobility and fixity are two sides of the same coin. This paper aims to explore the complex, manifold and often paradoxical relationship between mobility and immobility in practices of dwelling and seeking stillness in a highly mobile society. It elaborates on how mobility and stillness, in both space and time, are intertwined and mutually influence each other by analysing second home usage of old cottages that formally were dwelling houses of poor tenant smallholdings in Sweden. How do mobility and stillness exist and interact at these cottages and what parts do the cottages themselves have in this? This is studied through interviews with cottage users on their daily life practices and encounters with history and materiality at the cottages. These cottages are easily thought of as places of immobility where time has stood still. However, the paper shows that these cottages are places that continuously emerge through entanglements of mobility and stillness and of present and past times. The practices and experiences of mobility and stillness at the cottage are much integrated in and directed by the cottages' specific geography, history and materiality, and the activities and thinking of their users because of these characteristics. The users go to the cottage to be at a place where they, with the help of the preserved materiality and history of the cottages, can feel rooted and still. At the same time the cottages offer imaginary time travels and experiences of other times and lifestyles.


Recent interest in the use of dual modality imaging in the field of optical Near Infrared (NIR) Tomography has increased, specifically with use of structural information, from for example, MRI. Although MRI images provide high resolution structural information about tissue, they lack the contrast and functional information needed to investigate physiology, whereas NIR data has been established as a high contrast imaging modality, but one which suffers from low resolution. To this effect, the use of dual modality data has been shown to increase the qualitative and quantitative accuracy of clinical information that can be obtained from tissue. Results so far have indicated that providing accurate apriori structural information is available, such dual modality imaging techniques can be used for the detection and characterization of breast cancer in-vivo, as well as the investigation of brain function and physiology in both human and small animal studies. Although there has been much interest and research into the best suitable and robust use of a-priori structural information within the reconstruction of optical properties of tissue, little work has been done into the investigation of how much accuracy is needed from the structural MRI images in order to obtain the most clinically reliable information. In this paper, we will present and demonstrate the two most common application of a-priori information into image reconstruction, namely soft and hard priori. The effect of inaccuracies of the a-priori structural information within the reconstructed NIR images are presented showing that providing that the error of the a-priori information is within 20% in terms of size and location, adequate NIR images can be reconstructed.


What is Red Art? Or rather: what could Red Art be in today's post-communist, post-utopian world, a world shaken by conflicts engendered by contrary beliefs and ideologies which have little to do with communism? A world in which countries and societies are disrupted by territorial disputes, and by bloody fights about questions of religious identity, national identity, and ideology? Where communism has been overrun by capitalism with rare exception; where the European left movement is weak. Where the post-industrial era has produced an economic reality that is orders of magnitude more complex, transnational and therefore more difficult to control or change, than history has ever seen. In this situation, can there (still) be art that deals with ideas of communism constructively, or does contemporary art look at communist ideals only with nostalgia?


A retrospective analysis of the medical records of 86 children in prolonged remission from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was performed to calculate changes in the rate of increase in height and weight gain. The rate of increase in height decreased during initial treatment, and the potential for final adult height was not regained. Weight gain was excessive; this started during treatment and persisted into the remission years. Values of weight adjusted for height did not return to values found before treatment until eight years after diagnosis. Several factors can account for this weight gain, but there is a practical need to provide dietary advice, particularly when chemotherapy is stopped.


Safety navigation for the Blind people by using RFID system. IN this Project RFID system plays main role, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) providing Bus information to the particular Blind person. so many projects available for the Blind people but this project providing information about the Bus in particular Distance. For example: 1.GPS satellites revolving around the earth, which gives continuous updates on where we are and where we are heading. There will be GPS receivers installed or with a person which will receive signals from the satellite and helps the user to navigate to their desired location. 2. This project providing stick to the blind people for obstacle detection and water detection with alarm. Limitation of this project is Blind person must come to the nearest location. But RFID system helps to the Blind people is a technology that use wireless radio frequency Transmission to identify the specific object, item or person.


Cisplatin is a widely used anticancer drug but, it can produce undesirable effects such as hepatotoxicity even in therapeutic doses. The underlying mechanism in hepatotoxicity has been attributed to free oxygen radicals. The present study was de- signed to determine the possible protective effects of grape seed extract (GSE) and Origanum onites essential oil (OOEO) on liver toxicity induced by cisplatin. Ninetysix-male Wistar albino rats were divided into eight groups, twelve in each (Cont- rol, GSE, OOEO, GSE+OOEO, Cisplatin, GSE+ Cisplatin, OOEO+ Cisplatin, GSE+OOEO+ Cisplatin) and followed up for 10 days. Cisplatin and OOEO were injected intraperitoneally. GSE was administered with gavage. The histopathological exami- nation of liver tissues was performed by light microscope. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined in liver tissues. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were measured in serum. Cisplatin-induced considerable hepatocyte damage under micros- copic examination, and an increase in MDA levels as well as a decrease in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including SOD, GSH-Px in liver tissues and an increase in serum ALT and AST (p< 0.001). The addition of GSE and/or OOEO signi- ficantly prevented microscopic tissue damage, reversed oxidative stress parameters and biochemical values compared to the cisplatin group (p< 0.001). In conclusion GSE and OOEO may be used in adjuvant therapy to prevent cisplatin-induced hepatotoxicity, but further studies using various doses, different time intervals, and a larger number of animals need to be carried out.


In the present paper, the size and temperature effects on lattice distortion of Ag and Pt nanoparticles have been investigated in terms of atomic mean bond length using the molecular dynamics simulations and the modified analytic embedded atom method. It is found that the lattice contraction ratio decreases linearly with the reciprocal of the particle size. The average value of lattice contraction over the whole system is larger than that of the experimental data, and the average value of lattice contraction in the inner core has a better agreement with the experiment results. This phenomenon is mainly resulted by inhomogeneous lattice distortion. The surface distortion and the size effect on the inner core distortion are remarkable. As the grain size increases to a certain degree, the inhomogeneous surface lattice distortion is mainly localized to the outer shell with a thickness of 2-3 lattice parameters.


Cores of organic-rich muds from the tropical meteorite crater Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana, contain laminae of authigenic calcite polyhedra and aragonite needles, as well as scattered diagenetic calcite, Mg-calcite spherulites, and aggregates of dolomite crystals. Their respective origins are traced by analyses of oxygen and carbon stable isotopes. Anoxic dolomite and Mg-calcite formed in pore waters reflecting highest degrees of evaporative concentration and high rates of methanogenesis. Carbon dioxide reduction must have been the dominant methanogenic pathway, producing diagenetic carbonates with ..delta../sup 13/C values up to + 27% PDB. This example shows the inherent problems of interpreting bulk samples with progressive mineralogical sequences of calcite to Mg-calcite to aragonite to dolomite merely in terms of Mg/sup 2 +//Ca/sup 2 +/ in lake waters. It provides a model for the interpretation of ancient lacustrine carbonates from organic-rich environments.


Melanoma is considered one of the most lethal cancers and surgical therapy of its pulmonary metastases is rarely indicated. The only hope for a successful surgical treatment of secondaries from melanoma is a radical resection. Considering the very frequent multiorgan involvement of melanoma metastases, surgery is usually possible in less than 5% of cases. Nevertheless, in selected cases without lymph nodal involvement a 5-year survival rate of 31% has been reported. In any way, it must be remembered that about 10% of lung tumours thought to be metastases are primary cancers. In this occurrence surgery could be a rescuing solution. So, a pulmonary resection is always imperative when some diagnostic doubt exists.


Post-dural puncture headache is a distressing complication that may occur after lumbar puncture or unintentional dural puncture. Risk factors in the pediatric population have not been well elicited, and the true incidence is unknown. Conservative management includes conservative physical measures and medical therapies. Epidural blood patch remains the gold standard for managing severe refractory headache, but greater occipital nerve blocks and sphenopalatine ganglion blocks have been used with success. Sphenopalatine ganglion blocks are easy to perform, minimally invasive and, in the postoperative setting where epidural analgesia is utilized, provide an alternative that should be considered.


The Network Time Protocol version 4 (NTPv4) defines the optional usage
of extension fields. An extension field, as defined in RFC 5905, is an
optional field that resides at the end of the NTP header and that can
be used to add optional capabilities or additional information that is
not conveyed in the standard NTP header. This document updates RFC
5905 by clarifying some points regarding NTP extension fields and
their usage with Message Authentication Codes (MACs).


Money for the garrison. The Maastricht government finances explored
Already before 1600 war had destroyed what was left of the prestigious Maastricht medieval textile industry. The city's income was generated largely by levies on the transport on the river Meuse. As a blessing in disguise came the upscaling of the military presence and the fortifications in particular after 1632, when Dutch troops conquered the town to make Maastricht one of the most important strongholds of the Dutch Republic. Economic life within the city walls adapted to the presence of the numerous soldiers, their families and servants. Their numbers fluctuated depending on the military operations in the region. Yet these people contributed largely to the municipal tax income. Money for building projects, soldier's payments and equipment for warfare poured into the local economy. The citizens were by tradition obliged to provide housing and furniture for the troops for free and this burden shifted gradually from the private purse to the towns treasury. However, the bulk of the cost of the military presence was paid for by the United Provinces of the Dutch Republic and not by the city of Maastricht. Maastricht successfully exploited its new status as a military stronghold. From the early 17th century local tradespeople created a living by servicing the garrison and supplying the surrounding countryside. This earnings model persisted far into the 19th century.


: Six biological specimens, including BCG obtained from Mycobacterium tuberculosis or animal tissues in accordance with an original procedure were studied. Their protective efficiency in tuberculosis infection was evaluated by the magnitude of allergic reactions and by pathological tissue changes 5 months after animal immunization and infection. The drug PKP-3 was found to be most effective and its further study is promising.


Differentiation of materials in optical method is significant and widely applied in engineering. The target of detection is usually not a light source, therefore, we differentiate materials of target by analyzing the information of the scattered light from the surface of the target which is lighten by given light source or natural light. The analysis of the information in the scattered light becomes the most important issue in this condition. Based on the discussion of several kinds of optical differentiation method of materials, a measuring experiment has been developed to the scattering characteristics of given materials which could be described by the modeling given in this paper. The experimental result indicates that the application of optical differentiation method of materials could be widely expanded by using suitable materials' scattering characteristics modeling method. Relative modeling methods of material scattering characteristics and their possibility of applying in materials differentiation engineering are also be discussed.


This paper provides an extensive survey of nonlinear parametric upconversion infrared (IR) imaging, from its origin to date. Upconversion imaging is a successful innovative technique for IR imaging in terms of sensitivity, speed, and noise performance. In this approach, the IR image is frequency upconverted to form a visible/near-IR image through parametric three-wave mixing followed by detection using a silicon-based detector or camera. In 1968, Midwinter first demonstrated upconversion imaging from short-wave-IR (1.6 μm) to visible (484 nm) wavelength using a bulk lithium niobate crystal. This technique quickly gained interest, and several other groups demonstrated upconversion imaging further into the mid- and far-IR with significantly improved quantum efficiency. Although a few excellent reviews on upconversion imaging were published in the early 1970s, the rapid progress in recent years merits an updated comprehensive review. The topic includes linear imaging, nonlinear optics, and laser science and has shown diverse applications. The scope of this article is to provide in-depth knowledge of upconversion imaging theory. An overview of different phase matching conditions for the parametric process and the sensitivity of the upconversion detection system are discussed. Furthermore, different design considerations and optimization schemes are outlined for application-specific upconversion imaging. The article comprises a historical perspective of the technique, its most recent technological advances, specific outstanding issues, and some cutting-edge applications of upconversion in IR imaging.


Even though highly distributed environments such as Clouds and Grids are increasingly used for e-Science high performance applications, they still cannot deliver the robustness and reliability needed for widespread acceptance as ubiquitous scientific tools. To overcome this problem, existing systems resort to fault tolerance mechanisms such as task replication and task resubmission. In this paper we propose a new heuristic called Resubmission Impact to enhance the fault tolerance support for scientific workflows in highly distributed systems. In contrast to related approaches, our method can be used effectively on systems even in the absence of historic failure trace data. Simulated experiments of three real scientific workflows in the Austrian Grid environment show that our algorithm drastically reduces the resource waste compared to conservative task replication and resubmission techniques, while having a comparable execution performance and only a slight decrease in the success probability.


A modelling system is presented and used to analyse the effects of EU dairy policy reform (Agenda 2000 and milk quota abolition with and without decoupled direct income payments) on Dutch agriculture and economy. The modelling system consists of a regionalised, agri-environmental, partial equilibrium, mathematical programming model of agriculture supply in the Netherlands integrated into a mixed input-output model. It was e.g. found that decoupling of direct income payments gives an extra stimulus to milk production after milk quota abolition. However, the increase in milk production is restricted by nutrient and manure policies in the Netherlands. It is also found that, although the total effect on Dutch GDP is limited, the income effects for individual industries can be large. Moreover, economy wide effects for non-agricultural industries exceed changes for agriculture.


New Zealand recommends exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age, but not routine infant vitamin D supplements, although some countries recommend vitamin D 'to prevent rickets' in breastfed infants. A study of 94 healthy breastfed New Zealand infants aged 2–3 months found marked seasonal variation. The median vitamin D level was 53 nmol/L but the range was 14–100. Vitamin D deficiency, defined as <27.5 nmol/L, was found in 23 infants (24%), mainly in winter. There was no significant difference in levels in European and non-European infants. The authors recommended considering routine vitamin D supplementation of breastfed infants. However, a study from birth to age 24 months of 21 initially breastfed Malawi infants who were not vitamin D supplemented found that the children's vitamin D levels were 36% of adult levels at birth, 60% at 2 months old, but equal to adult levels at 12 months and maintained at 24 months. Vitamin D levels in breast milk were low. Although breastfed infants' vitamin D levels are low in early infancy, the Malawi study suggests that levels will rise with time and that supplementation is unnecessary.


The connection between the public library and local government derives from the former's genetic heritage. The case of Sweden would appear to be exemplary in this regard. Our interest derives not only from the evident connection between the development of library services and the high level of autonomy of local bodies, but also from the administrative policy choices implemented to enable local authorities to exercise the autonomy conferred efficiently and on these administrative initiatives' repercussions on library legislation. Sweden has a long-standing tradition of autonomy. Lay and ecclesiastical institutions intermingled until the two administrative spheres were separated in 1862. Simultaneously, town and provincial councils were endowed with powers to levy taxes for their administrative activities and to draw up their own budgets. The wide-ranging reforms introduced since the 1950s have drastically reduced the number of local authorities. This process was engendered by the awareness that an efficient response at local level to the request for services deriving from a modern industrial society entails first and foremost a concentration of resources, possible only for territorial bodies endowed with a sufficiently large population to assure, through taxes, adequate revenues. As regards libraries, state subsidies to town libraries were suspended in 1965, while provincial (or county) libraries are disciplined by a law of 1966 which envisages joint financing by the state and the provincial administration. The new library law enacted in 1996 (no. 1596 of 20 December 1996) is what we in Italy would call a "framework" law and consists of only ten incisive sections. This is a guideline law containing statements of principles, aimed above all at public libraries. The establishment of both town and county libraries is mandatory. As regards financing, local councils fund town library and school library services, while the counties, assisted by the state, fund the provincial library services. The state finances the university libraries, lending centres and special projects. The law pays specific attention to handicapped users and ethnic minorities.


South Africa9s past apartheid inequities create unique challenges in achieving water delivery goals. The South African government implemented the free basic water (FBW) policy in July 2001 to ensure all South Africans had access to a basic amount of safe water by 2004. The FBW policy entitles all people to a free lifeline supply of 6000 ls/6 kilolitres (kl) (1 kl = 1000 l) of water per household per month. Despite being heralded as a way of ensuring access of lifeline water services to low-income households, fundamental policy flaws exist. The FBW allocation does not meet the basic water requirements and special water requirements of the majority of low-income households. Low-income households require more than the 6 kl allocation and are thereby expected to pay the full cost for their water service. The affordability crisis has not been addressed as tariff structures and cross-subsidisation mechanisms remain inadequate. The financial sustainability of the FBW policy is reliant on the equitable share, an unconditional grant from national government and user-fees, which the extensive low-income sector cannot afford to pay. The FBW policy is analysed, via a case study, conducted in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, within the Msunduzi municipal jurisdiction, which draws on low-income household experience of the policy.


Because several studies have implicated serotonin as a regulator of bone mass, we here explore its potential association on fracture risk and falls, as on bone mineral density (BMD) and muscle strength, in humans. Serum levels of serotonin were analyzed in 950 men (aged 69 to 81 years), participating in the Gothenburg part of the population‐based study MrOS Sweden. Men taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) had a mean value of 31.2 μg/L compared with 159.4 μg/L in those not taking SSRIs. SSRI users were excluded from further analysis. During 10‐year follow‐up, 224 men exhibited fractures, including 97 nonvertebral osteoporotic fractures (57 hip fractures), and 86 vertebral fractures. Serotonin was associated with hip fracture in linear analysis (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.58) and to all fractures in a nonlinear manner, when quintiles of serotonin was included in quadratic terms (HR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.04–1.21). Men in serotonin quintile 5 had, in multivariable analysis, a HR of 2.30 (95% CI 1.31–4.02) for hip fracture and 1.82 (95% CI 1.17–2.85) for nonvertebral fractures compared with men in quintiles 1 to 4. Men in quintile 1 had, in multivariable analysis, a HR of 1.76 (95% CI 1.03–2.99) for nonvertebral fractures compared with men in quintiles 2 to 4. No association was found with vertebral fractures. Individuals in serotonin quintile 1 had higher prevalence of falls compared with quintiles 2 to 5 (odds ratio = 1.90, 95% CI 1.26–2.87). Serotonin was positively associated with hand‐grip strength (r = 0.08, p = 0.02) and inversely with hip BMD (r = −0.10, p = 0.003). To assess the association between SSRIs and falls and fractures, the total MrOS Sweden cohort was examined (n = 3014). SSRI users (n = 90) had increased prevalence of falls (16% versus 33%, p = 0.0001) and increased rate of incident fractures (28.0 versus 44.7 per 1000 person‐years, p = 0.018). We present novel data showing that high levels of serotonin predict an increased risk for hip fracture and nonvertebral osteoporotic fractures. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.


Three-dimensional (3D) gel dosimetry has a unique role to play in safeguarding conformal radiotherapy treatments as the technique can cover the full treatment chain and provides the radiation oncologist with the integrated dose distribution in 3D. It can also be applied to benchmark new treatment strategies such as image guided and tracking radiotherapy techniques. A major obstacle that has hindered the wider dissemination of gel dosimetry in radiotherapy centres is a lack of confidence in the reliability of the measured dose distribution. Uncertainties in 3D dosimeters are attributed to both dosimeter properties and scanning performance. In polymer gel dosimetry with MRI readout, discrepancies in dose response of large polymer gel dosimeters versus small calibration phantoms have been reported which can lead to significant inaccuracies in the dose maps. The sources of error in polymer gel dosimetry with MRI readout are well understood and it has been demonstrated that with a carefully designed scanning protocol, the overall uncertainty in absolute dose that can currently be obtained falls within 5% on an individual voxel basis, for a minimum voxel size of 5 mm. However, several research groups have chosen to use polymer gel dosimetry in a relative manner by normalizing the dose distribution towards an internal reference dose within the gel dosimeter phantom. 3D dosimetry with optical scanning has also been mostly applied in a relative way, although in principle absolute calibration is possible. As the optical absorption in 3D dosimeters is less dependent on temperature it can be expected that the achievable accuracy is higher with optical CT. The precision in optical scanning of 3D dosimeters depends to a large extend on the performance of the detector. 3D dosimetry with X-ray CT readout is a low contrast imaging modality for polymer gel dosimetry. Sources of error in x-ray CT polymer gel dosimetry (XCT) are currently under investigation and include inherent limitations in dosimeter homogeneity, imaging performance, and errors induced through post-acquisition processing. This overview highlights a number of aspects relating to uncertainties in polymer