RRS Discovery Cruise 223, VIVALDI '96, was a contribution to the UK WOCE Community Research Programme. The pattern of SeaSoar sections was designed to enable the upper ocean circulation in the Subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic to be mapped and in particular the course of the North Atlantic and Irminger Currents within the region to be determined. The sparse deep CTD survey was required to complement the upper ocean survey and provide estimates of total mass transport and an 'oceanographic opinion poll' of water mass properties, including CFCs.

The cruise commenced by repeating the well-established Rockall Trough CTD Section from Barra Head to Rockall Island. This was then extended north to Lousy Bank from where a CTD section measured before by Saunders across the Iceland Basin was repeated. From then onwards the cruise consisted principally of SeaSoar/ADCP sections interspersed with deep CTD casts (see track plot, Fig.1). These were placed on the 'Vivaldi Grid' (round 3° of latitude and multiples of 300 km west of 20°W) where possible, though the complex topography was taken into account. East of Greenland a more intense CTD section of 6 stations (12995-13001) was made along 60°N to cut the East Greenland Current. In addition 7 profiling floats were deployed in the Irminger Basin.


Management of the airway for sufferers of SDB is the newest field in dentistry and is growing at a very rapid rate. An understanding of sleep medicine and physiology as well as the techniques for clinically managing the patients is necessary and complex. Dentists interested in managing these patients properly should consider membership in the SDDS and should pursue continuing education through their auspices. This field offers dentists opportunities to participate in a tremendously rewarding area of medicine, but requires due diligence to participate responsibly in that field.


The European Union's (EU) mission has been and continues to be the establishment of a single, internal market for financial services comprising the entire territory of its fifteen Member States. Achieving a single market was historically dependent on provision of market access and development of a comprehensive securities regulatory regime to displace or otherwise harmonize disparate national laws. Excluding the United Kingdom, the Member States prior to the 1990s had no significant retail securities markets, virtually no comprehensive securities regulation, and, consequently, no national securities commissions. Their stock exchanges were self-regulated with minimal, if any, governmental oversight. As a result, the EU's challenges have been to legislate access, to legislate virtually the entire field of securities law, and to legislate regulatory harmony. Harmonization proved the most difficult and most improbable of these preconditions to a single market in financial services. Fortunately, the forces driving its achievement never yielded to the anti-harmonization view that a single, harmonized regulatory system would deny investors optimal choices among diverse national regimes and thus eliminate the supposed benefits of regulatory competition. Rather, the EU has steadfastly pursued the ultimate goal of maximum harmonization, both to unify fifteen markets into one and to prevent refragmentation of the emergent single market as a result of diverse nationalistic regulatory philosophies. In a meaningful sense, commonality has triumphed over diversity. This symposium essay first addresses the evolutionary history of harmonization of the Member States' financial systems. After briefly evaluating the various directives aimed toward harmonization, the focus turns to contemporary measures aimed to achieve more expedient and efficient responses to the accelerating, evolutionary changes in European financial markets. While recognizing the EU's considerable ongoing success in regulating and integrating its financial markets, the author concludes with recommendations for improvements in the legislative and regulatory processes aimed toward the continued development of regulatory harmonization.


The abstention doctrines have received much attention by the United States Supreme Court over the last decade. These doctrines are represented by judicial rules that require federal trial courts, in appropriate circumstances, to abstain from exercising subject matter jurisdiction although they clearly have the power to do so. As a result, the particular case is shunted back into a state judicial system for determination.
The most confusing of these doctrines is the one arising in major part from Younger v. Harris. In short, this case stands for the rule that, once a state criminal prosecution has been initiated, a federal court may not interfere with that proceeding except under extraordinary circumstances. One result of this is that a defendant in a state criminal prosecution may not obtain equitable relief in federal court even by showing the likelihood that the state law underlying that proceeding is in violation of the United States Constitution.
Further, the Supreme Court has stretched and pulled the Younger rule until the various facets of that rule no longer seem logically consistent. Because it is no longer restricted to state criminal proceedings or even to state proceedings initiated prior to the commencement of the federal action, achieving a comprehensive perspective of the doctrine represented by the Younger case is difficult. For these reasons, thorough analysis of the Younger rule and the doctrine it represents is necessary to reveal the thread of logical consistency which ties together its seemingly disparate facets.


Determination of the youngest active domains in fault zones that are not overlain by Quaternary sedimentary cover are critical for evaluating recent fault activity, determining the current local stress field, and mitigating the impacts of future earthquakes. Considering the exhumation of a fault zone, the youngest active domain in a fault zone is supposed to correspond to the activity at the minimum fault depth of a buried fault, such that the most vulnerable area, which possesses the lowest rock/protolith density ratio, is assumed to be indicative of this recent fault activity. However, it is difficult to measure the density of fault rocks and map the rock/protolith density ratio across a given fault zone. Here we utilize medical X-ray computed tomography (CT), a non-destructive technique for observing and analyzing materials, to investigate the fault characteristics of several fault zones and their surrounding regions in Japan, and attempt to determine the youngest active domain of a given fault zone based on its CT numbers, which are a function of the density and effective atomic number of the fault rock and protolith. We first investigate the density, void ratio, and effective atomic number of active and inactive fault rocks, and their respective protoliths. We then calculate the CT numbers after reducing the beam-hardening effects on the rock samples, and study the relationships among the CT number, density, and effective atomic number. We demonstrate that the density, effective atomic number, and CT number of the fault rock decrease as the youngest active zone is approached, such that the region with the lowest CT number and rock/protolith density ratio defines the youngest active domain of a given fault zone.


Geodetic results from very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), satellite laser ranging (SLR), and the Global Positioning System (GPS) are used to estimate angular velocities between the Sierran microplate, Pacific plate, and North American plate. The Sierra-Pacific pole of rotation lies nearer to the San Andreas fault than does the Pacific–North America pole of rotation and leads to different tectonic implications than if the latter is used. The angular velocities show that the San Andreas fault system and central California Coast Ranges accommodate motion of 39 ± 2 mm/yr, mainly by strike-slip faulting. (All confidence limits following ± signs in this paper are 95% confidence limits.) Fault-normal motion is small, is mainly convergent (at rates up to 3.3 ± 1.0 mm/yr), and varies along the coast, but is divergent (at 2.6 ± 1.2 mm/yr) across San Pablo Bay and associated topographic lows across which the Sierran and Central Valley watershed drains to the Pacific Ocean. The mountain ranges tend to be larger where the fault-normal convergence rates are larger. The low convergence rate (0.5 ± 1.8 mm/yr) normal to the San Andreas fault in the Carrizo Plain differs sharply from that previously inferred (8.2 ± 1.2 mm/yr and 4.9 ± 1.6 mm/yr) by Feigl et al. (1993). The difference is due to differences between their and our elastic strain accumulation models and between how their and our Pacific plate reference frames are defined.

The ranges in most places require a minimum of 4 +2/–1 m.y. of fault-normal convergence at the present rate to attain their present cross-sectional area if erosion is neglected, more if it is not. The amount of convergence previously estimated from a balanced cross section across the Diablo Range in central California requires 10 +8/–3 m.y. of convergence at the present rate. The former is consistent with widely held views about the onset of the Coast Range orogeny, but the latter is not. Both are consistent, however, with the recent plate reconstructions by S. Cande, J. Stock, and colleagues, which indicate that Pacific plate motion relative to North America changed to a more convergent direction, 20°–25° clockwise of its prior direction, at ca. 8 to 6 Ma and not at 3.5 Ma, as had been previously inferred. The inferred change in direction of plate motion is large compared with the present angle of convergence across the straight and narrow segment of the San Andreas fault of 0.7°–4.7°, from which we infer that the Sierran microplate changed motion relative to North America at the same time (ca. 8 to 6 Ma) as did the Pacific plate. We further infer that the motion accommodated across the Great Basin must also have changed at the same time.

We also examine the hypothesis that stable sliding occurs along the San Andreas fault and other northwest-striking strike- slip faults in central California where the fault-normal convergence rate is low or negative, and that these faults are unstable where the fault-normal convergence rate is high. Such a relationship appears to hold in general, but fails in detail. In particular, there are substantial sections of fault with small inferred rates of fault-normal convergence across which the San Andreas fault is locked. Moreover, the creeping section of the San Andreas fault (i.e., the section between Parkfield and the Calaveras junction) is the locus of greater fault-normal convergence (3.2 ± 1.4 mm/yr) than is the locked part of the fault (0.5 ± 1.8 mm/yr) south of Parkfield. Thus, this hypothesis is at best a partial explanation for the observed distribution of locked and nonlocked sections of the fault.


The paper is aimed at defining the concepts needed in the discussion of so-called 'support (≈ light) verbs' and presenting a way of describing them in the lexicon in terms of Lexical Functions [= LFs]. It develops the following six points :1. A genuine support verb is semantically empty (or 'emptied' in the context of its keyword).2. There are just three types of 'pure' support verbs — Oper, Func, and Labor — distinguished according to the syntactic role fulfilled by their keyword.3. Two sorts of meanings are often combined with support verbs : phasic meanings ('begin,' 'stop,' 'continue') and causative meanings ('cause') ; such a meaning plus a support verb form a complex LF.4. There exist other sorts of meanings (especially, intensification) that can bear on the predicative noun but are expressed together with the support verb : they form, with the latter, a configuration of LFs.5. A family of semantically full collocational verbs show the same syntactic behavior as support verbs : these are called realization verbs.6. Using support verbs and their encoding in terms of LFs, it is possible to construct a universal Deep-Syntactic paraphrasing system. Several examples of DSynt-paraphrasing rules are given.The discussion is carried out based on French.


The interlinking of commit and issue data has become a de-facto standard in software development. Modern issue tracking systems, such as JIRA, automatically interlink commits and issues by the extraction of identifiers (e.g., Issue key) from commit messages. However, the conventions for the use of interlinking methodologies vary between software projects. For example, some projects enforce the use of identifiers for every commit while others have less restrictive conventions. In this work, we introduce a model called PaLiMod to enable the analysis of interlinking characteristics in commit and issue data. We surveyed 15 Apache projects to investigate differences and commonalities between linked and non-linked commits and issues. Based on the gathered information, we created a set of heuristics to interlink the residual of non-linked commits and issues. We present the characteristics of Loners and Phantoms in commit and issue data. The results of our evaluation indicate that the proposed PaLiMod model and heuristics enable an automatic interlinking and can indeed reduce the residual of non-linked commits and issues in software projects.


The purpose of the study was to examine the mediation roles of student satisfaction and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in the nexus between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial self-competencies within a social enterprise context. The study used a cross-sectional survey design, with a sampled population of 185 business students from three universities (Accra Technical University, Cape Coast Technical University and the University of Ghana) in Ghana. A PLS-SEM approach was used to examine the relationships among the independent–dependent constructs in the study. Entrepreneurial education had positive and significant relationships to student satisfaction and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, but it showed an insignificant relationship to entrepreneurial self-competencies. Student satisfaction was also found to relate positively and significantly to entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial self-competencies. Furthermore, both student satisfaction and entrepreneurial self-efficacy were found to fully mediate the nexus between entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial self-competencies. The study highlights the crucial roles of student satisfaction and self-efficacy in the implementation of entrepreneurial education in higher education institutions. In a discipline that is characterised by paucity, this study provides a unique and original assessment of the important roles of student satisfaction and student self-confidence in building entrepreneurial competencies among students.


In The Social History of the Cloister Elizabeth Rapley goes beyond the monastic rulebooks, legal and notarial records, and memoirs of famous women who passed through monastery doors to the chronicles, letters, and other little-known writings produced by nuns for and about themselves. Working from these accounts, Rapley is able to provide a far more complex picture of women who, as a whole, were much less otherworldly than the older convent literature would have us believe, much less thwarted and unhappy than their detractors have long maintained, and much less irrelevant than some historians have assumed. She chips away at the dehumanizing stereotypes that have often been used to describe these nuns to show the essential humanity of these women.


Effective photocatalytic degradation of thiamethoxam (THX) at low concentration was achieved by using perlite supported TiO2 composite material (PST). Box–Behnken experimental design method was employed in order to evaluate the effect of process parameters and also optimize them. Accordingly, effects of three process parameters (pH, load of PST [PT {g/L}], and air flow rate [AF {L/h}]) were investigated on two responses: (i) the THX degradation percentage after 270 min (DEG270 [%]) and (ii) the electric energy per order (EE/O [kWh/m3]). THX degradation was improved by decreasing pH value and increasing air flow rate. Increasing load of PST increased the degradation percentage until a critical value of about 8 g/L, then caused a decrease. Statistically significant second-order polynomial models were developed by regression analysis of experimental data. Optimum conditions were obtained as follows: pH 4, PT 8.30 g/L and AF 18 L/h for an initial THX concentration of 1.46 ppm. These conditions led to a response of 87% ± 5% for DEG270 and 120 ± 21 kWh/m3 for EE/O. Control experiments confirmed a good optimized process and reusability of PST without any regeneration step.


Wound infection status is a relevant diagnostic parameter to enhance wound treatment towards better healing rate. Impedance evaluation is a powerful tool to measure the inflammatory response like the released DNA of neutrophils. In our research we investigated the dielectric behaviour of neutrophils settled on electrodes in vitro. The cells have been stimulated to react in the same way as in a wound infection. The result is a significant impedance deviation of about 50% with comparable amount of cells like in an infected wound. Microscopic fluorescence verifications acknowledge these findings.


Naval Research Laboratory has been developing measurement devices to study the dynamic response of the human body, commonly known as GelMan technologies in publications. This technology is currently being extended to upper extremity designs (GelMan-Upper Extremity, Figure 1a), consisting of upper arm and forearm with surrogate bones connected by a spherical joint and surrounded by generalized surrogate tissue. Computational low speed localized impact tests on the arm surrogate have been performed and compared to corresponding experiments. The outcome of this analysis can simulate the structural response of the arm, thus providing insight into preventing or mitigating injuries sustained from car accidents, sports and/ or battlefield injuries. A modal analysis and low speed impact transient analysis have also been performed on the arm surrogate constrained at the shoulder using the finite element program ABAQUS (Figure 1b). Linear elastic material properties from open literature are used for each arm component for the analysis using three dimensional, 8-noded hexahedral elements. Modes of vibration below 500 Hertz and strain-based frequency response have been obtained. A transient analysis of the arm is also being performed; von Mises stress contours, displacements and pressures inside the arm and total arm kinematics are extracted. These computational models have been validated with low speed, localized impact experiments using surrogate arm. Impacts of 10 N peak load are applied to upper arm and forearm of the surrogate model for 1 to 3 millisecond duration. Mode shapes of the arm are observed using a high speed camera and strain based frequency response curves are obtained. Experimental data (pressure and displacements) from transient test of the arm is compared to computational analysis. Agreement between the computational and experimental arm models provides a means for more advanced arm designs and loading situations.© 2008 ASME


Cyber‐physical systems (CPS) refer to the next generation of Information and Communication Technology systems that mainly integrate sensing, computing, and communication to monitor, control, and interact with a physical process to provide citizens and businesses with smart applications and services: health care, smart homes, smart cities, and so on. In recent years, health care has become one of the most important services due to the continuous increases in its costs. This has motivated extensive research on health care CPS, and some of that research has focused on describing the software architecture behind these systems. However, there is no secondary study to consolidate the research. This paper aims to identify and compare existing research on software architectures for health care CPS in order to determine successful solutions that could guide other architects and practitioners in their health care projects. We conducted a systematic literature review and compared the selected studies based on a characterization schema. The research synthesis results in a knowledge base of software architectures for health care CPS, describing their stakeholders, functional and non‐functional features, quality attributes architectural views and styles, components, and implementation technologies. This systematic literature review also identifies research gaps, such as the lack of open common platforms, as well as directions for future research.


This study seeks to analyze the presence method and quantity of pore during hybrid laser-tungsten inert gas arc (TIG) Welding of Magnesium Alloy AZ31B by radiography, optical microscopy and electron probe microanalysis (EMPA). At the same time, it identifies both the mechanism of pore formation and a remedy for this problem. The experimental results indicate that lacking of shielding gas for laser beam is the dominant cause of macro-porosity formation during the hybrid of laser-TIG welding of magnesium Alloys AZ31B plate, and hydrogen is not main cause to form large pores. A favorable weld without porosity can be obtained by appending lateral shielding gas for laser beam.


This paper presents, a pervasive mobile health device that can help patients with life-threatening allergies to manage their health in normal life and in emergency scenarios. With mobile context-aware smartphone technology, personal wireless networks and Web-based interfaces, it is being designed to encourage the patient and their carers to learn about and safely manage their allergies and health. The design also includes an alarm that can be generated from sensed context so that if an anaphylactic reaction occurs, carers could be alerted or emergency services could be contacted.


A low pressure recombining Ar plasma to which mixtures of N2 and O2 were added has been studied to explore the relevance of surface related processes for the total chemistry. The abundances of the stable molecules N2, O2, NO, N2O and NO2 have been measured by means of a combination of infrared tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. A gas phase chemical kinetics model was developed in chemkin to investigate the contribution of homogeneous interactions to the conversion of the feedstock gases N2 and O2. At a partial pressure of N2 plus O2 less than 8 Pa, significant discrepancies between measured and calculated concentrations of N2O and NO2 were observed, indicating that heterogeneous processes are dominating the chemistry in this pressure range. At a partial pressure of N2 plus O2 higher than 40 Pa and a relatively high fraction of admixed O2 we observed a fair agreement between measured and calculated concentrations of NO molecules, indicating that homogeneous processes (notably Natom induced) are more dominant than heterogeneous processes. PACS numbers: 52.70.Kz, 82.33.Xj, 52.40.Hf, 52.50.Nr Surface contributions to molecule formation in N2/O2 plasma 2


The reliability of device drivers is of critical importance to the overall stability of computer systems. This paper presents the software architecture used for userlevel device drivers in the Mungi operating system. We argue that this framework provides a safer environment in which to run device drivers, while making device driver implementation easier and more flexible, thus improving overall reliability of the system.


The contributions of human medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures to perceiving and remembering visuospatial features of the environment were investigated from the perspective of human cognitive neuropsychology. The experimental chapters focussed on three main issues: the contribution of the right-sided MTL to spatial awareness the roles of the right MTL and hippocampus in spatial and non-spatial scene perception and memory and the role of the hippocampus in anterograde memory for different types of memoranda. Visual neglect (a failure of spatial awareness), was investigated after lesions of the right medial occipitotemporal lobe. Lesion analyses and diffusion tensor imaging demonstrated that the lesions associated with neglect interrupted a white matter pathway connecting the parahippocampal gyrus with the parietal lobe. The interaction of these areas may be critical to subserve normal spatial awareness. Perception and short-term retention of spatial and non-spatial aspects of visual scenes were investigated using a new task - the 4 Mountains Test. Right MTL damage impaired both spatial perception and memory. Hippocampal damage impaired spatial memory but had little impact on scene perception. Damage to these areas did not affect non-spatial perception or memory, suggesting a role for the hippocampus in the short-term retention of allocentric spatial information. A rather similar pattern of performance was documented in patients with possible Alzheimer's disease. The role of the hippocampus in anterograde memory was investigated in two patients using recognition tests for words, scenes and faces. Receiver operating characteristics analyses were used to assess the contribution of recollection and familiarity to performance. Hippocampal damage impacted upon scene and word recognition but not face recognition. In terms of scene recognition, the hippocampus may be critical to make recognition judgements based on both recollection and highly confident feelings of familiarity.


Abstract : At the request of the US Army's Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) a device was built to measure the suspension parameters of any military wheeled vehicle. This is part of an ongoing effort to model and predict vehicle dynamic behavior. The new machine is called the Suspension Parameter Identification and Evaluation Rig (SPIdER) and has a capacity intended to cover all of the military's wheeled vehicles. The machine operates by holding the vehicle body nominally fixed while hydraulic cylinders move an axle frame in bounce or roll under each axle being tested. Up to two axles may be tested at once. Forces at the tires and motions of the wheel centers in three dimensions and two angles are measured. Other motions of the suspension and the minimal motions of the vehicle body are measured. For steer axles the steering ratio, Ackerman steer characteristics, and kingpin orientation are measured.


Abstract In 1940, the Indian population resident in Japan was estimated at over 500. With the potential for war with Japan increasing, the British embassy in Tokyo advised locally resident British subjects to leave in October 1940 and again in February 1941. However, some, including a number of Indians, chose not to leave. This article considers the evacuation of the Indian population from Japan before December 1941 as well as those who departed as part of the wartime Anglo-Japanese Civilian Exchange. In doing so, it discusses the use of the SS Anhui to evacuate British subjects and also the lack of safe conduct for the City of Paris, which carried the Indian repatriates back to Bombay. Video Abstract Read the transcript Watch the video on Vimeo © 2021 South Asian Studies Association of Australia


As police records expand with big data analytics, so too has the range of non-conviction information seeping into the public domain through criminal background checks. Numerous studies have documented the negative effects of background checks for those with criminal convictions, but less understood are the effects of non-conviction records. We draw on 8 focus groups and 52 interviews to understand how the release of non-conviction records are: (1) creating new institutional risk management pressures for police institutions, (2) expanding the role of employers as arbiters of risk, (3) redefining understandings of 'the risky subject' to include victims, those with mental health challenges and other innocent individuals subject to police contact and (4) raising critical legal questions about privacy and presumptions of innocence.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the ocular surface changes in patients with laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy.

METHODS
Seven consecutive patients with LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy were studied prospectively and compared to a control group (seven consecutive patients who had LASIK- but without neurotrophic epitheliopathy). Bilateral sequential LASIK was performed at a 1-week interval; the first operated eye of each patient was considered for statistical analysis. Blinking, corneal sensitivity, tear break-up time, tear secretion and clearance were measured preoperatively (T0) and postoperatively at 1 week after surgery on the first eye (T1), and 1 week (T2), 1 month (T3), and 3 months (T4) after surgery was performed on the second eye.

RESULTS
Laser in situ keratomileusis-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy occurred bilaterally in all patients. During follow-up, patients with LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy showed a significant decrease in blinking (P = .0002), which was not observed in cases without LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy [corrected] Compared to eyes without LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy, those with LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy revealed lower values of sensitivity in the central cornea preoperatively and early postoperatively (T0, P = .004; T1, P = .003; T2, P = .003). A trend towards reduced sensitivity was also detected in the central cornea in late follow-up and in the superior, temporal, and nasal sectors of the flap at all examinations. No significant differences were observed in break-up time, tear secretion, or clearance within or between the two groups.

CONCLUSION
Decreased blinking seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of LASIK-induced neurotrophic epitheliopathy. The reduction probably depends on the lower levels of corneal sensitivity and induces the epitheliopathy by increasing the ocular surface exposure.


This article examines the approaches to classifiers within the Western tradition, ranging from the earliest accounts of the languages of Mesoamerica and East Asia from the 16th-17th centuries to ongoing discussions regarding their semantic motivation and functionality. I show that in spite of the limited attention they attracted before the 1970s, classifiers have played an important role in discussions concerning such notions as the functions of grammatical categories, the distinction between grammar and lexicon as well as the cognitive and cultural correlates of linguistic structure. In addition, I attribute common assumptions about classifiers to projections of typical properties of grammatical gender and, more generally, semantic and morphosyntactic properties of non-classifier languages.


Background BTS guidelines (2008) states that "local anaesthesia (LA) should be used for all arterial blood gas (ABG) specimens except in emergencies1 as it improves the patient experience. A survey conducted in 2012 revealed only 5% of junior doctors regularly use LA with ABGs.2 We were interested to determine if this has improved and establish whether medical students are being orientated to this practice. Methodology This is a multicentre prospective study. A questionnaire survey was distributed to 4th year medical students and junior doctors affiliated with UCL Medical School. Questions related to their actual experiences of using LA with ABGs and barriers to using LA. Results 94 medical students completed the questionnaire. Students used LA 17% of the time out of 54 supervised procedures. 29% were actively discouraged from using LA by their supervising doctor. 10% felt the general culture amongst supervising doctors was resistant to using LA. Amongst the 86 surveyed doctors, 91% never or rarely (<10% of the time) used LA, 5% sometimes (<25% of the time) and 3% used it regularly (>75% of the time). 65% of doctors were not aware that LA was advised in national guidance. 40% of respondents felt it would not reduce the pain of the procedure and 38% did not know the technique involved of using LA. Conclusion The use of LA is extremely poor as has been found previously.1 The reasons reflect a lack of awareness and a culture that is experienced from the moment the enter the clinical environment as medical students. In order to improve the patient experience we have introduced an intervention at the level of the medical school and junior doctor teaching which includes mandatory training and encouraging affiliated trusts to help create a culture where giving LA is the norm. We will fully report on the results and success of our interventions. References O'Driscoll, Howard LS, Davison AG. BTS guideline for emergency oxygen use in adult patients. Thorax. 2008; 63 (Suppl VI):vi1–vi73 Khan F et al. The Use of Local Anaesthesia For Arterial Blood Gas Sampling – A Multicentre Survey. Thorax 2012;67:A167-A168


Background:
 The community hospital as a part of a large health care system participates in the Ohio Coverdell Stroke Program. The Coverdell Goals are to improve the quality of patients' care transitions, reduce avoidable complications, and support the reduction of patients' unnecessary readmissions. The purpose of the project was to evaluate if the tools, Patient Activation Assessment (PAA), Personal Health Record (PHR), and the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) improve transitions from the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) to home, without patients experiencing an unnecessary readmission. The nurse used the tools to teach patients stroke fundamentals and self-management strategies.

 Methods:
 The population consisted of all stroke patients discharged home from the IRF over twelve months (n=177). The intervention was patient stroke education based on the PAM and the PAA scores while utilizing the PHR. The nurse taught stroke fundamentals within the structure of the PAA four pillars directed to the patient and the care advocate.

 Results:
 The project goal to transition stroke patients safely from the IRF to home with a decrease in unnecessary readmissions was met. The patients in the project experienced a 50% decrease in readmissions in less than thirty days from patients discharged the previous year (n=172). The team compared stroke patients' PAM and PAA scores prior to discharge instruction, after instruction, and then prior to discharge to home with a significant improvement in the PAA scores P < 0.005. Patients with a PAA score of 7 and above were discharged to home. Similarly patients with a PAM of 40 and above were discharged home.

 Conclusions:
 The initial three month phase of the project demonstrated an improvement in the PAM and PAA scores. There was a trend of increased patients' activation scores related to discharge disposition, and a decrease in readmission rates. Therefore the use of the PAM, PAA, and PHR was incorporated into the IRF nursing practice for all stroke patients. The nurses focus their stroke teaching on patients with lower activation scores with the goal of increasing the scores and improving patients' ability to return home and avoid an unnecessary readmission. The results over one year mirror the original three month pilot project.


The amount of money needed to run a competitive congressional campaign is staggering, with special interests playing a central role in raising these funds. Also of concern is the declining competitiveness of House elections. And while recognition of the need to reform campaign financing is widespread, partisan and House/Senate differences over what these changes should be have complicated legislative efforts.Almost $450 million was spent in both the 1986 and 1988 congressional campaigns, much of it coming from wealthy contributors and political action committees (PACs). Increasing criticism of the current system will undoubtedly force Congress to keep campaign finance reform on it's legislative agenda.Using public opinion, election and campaign spending data, extensive interviews, and a knowledge of practical politics, Magleby and Nelson examine the central issues in the campaign financing debate: the cost of congressional campaigns, financial participation by the political parties and PACs, existing and proposed limits on contributions and expenditures, public financing, and the role of the Federal Election Commission. They propose a comprehensive package of reforms that will undoubtedly serve as a guide for future legislation.


Honey is one of the most products has been used as an antimicrobial agent since the ancient times. The potential antimicrobial activity of honey is arise from its physiochemical proprieties such as high osmotic pressure, low pH, in addition to other factors and enzymes that work as antimicrobial agents. All these components and characteristics of honey led to consider it as one of the most efficient, useful and natural antimicrobial agents. From this point of view, recent study aim to evaluate the antibacterial activity of bee honey on some common species of pathogenic bacteria. The study included some of both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus spp.) and gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneunoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The antibacterial action of honey in three different concentrations (100%, 70% and 50%) was assessed. The results found that honey has the similar antibacterial effect as antibiotics effect. Additionally, the concentration of 100% was the most effective concentration in the inhibition of bacterial growth, and this concentration gave the best result of antibacterial effect. Furthermore, the results showed that as the concentration of honey decreased the effect of inhibition decrease as well. Finally, the study established that there is no significant different between the gram-positive and the gram-negative bacteria in the term of inhibition activity.


The elasticity mixed boundary values problems dealing with half-space contact are generally well resolved. A large number of these solutions are obtained by using the integral transformation method and methods based the integral equations. However, the problems of finite layer thicknesses are less investigated, despite their practical interests. This study resolves a quasi-stationary problem of an isotropic elastic layer compressed by two rigid cylinders with flat ends. Hankel transformation and auxiliary functions with boundary conditions reduce the differential equation to an algebraic equations system, which can be solved in a numerical way. The contact efforts equations are established. From the general method, solutions of particular cases are also resolved. A particular case is studied, the contact zone pressure and stresses distribution curves are presented.


Silicon-oxygen and silicon-nitrogen heterodehydrocoupling catalyzed by the commercially available cyclopentadienyl dicarbonyl iron dimer [CpFe(CO)2]2 (1) under photochemical conditions is reported. Reactions between alcohols and PhSiH3 with catalytic 1 under visible-light irradiation produced silyl ethers quantitively. Reactions between either secondary or tertiary silanes and alcohols also produced silyl ethers, however, these reactions were marked by their longer reaction times and lower conversions. Reactions of either primary or secondary amines and silanes with catalytic 1 demonstrated mixed efficiency, featuring conversions of 20-100%. Mechanistic study indicates that an iron silyl compound is unimportant in the bond-formation step and argues for either a nucleophilic alkoxide or amide intermediate. Most important, mechanistic study reveals that the most immediate hurdle in the catalysis is the poor activation of 1, demonstrating the necessity to fully activate the catalyst to realize the potential of iron in this reactivity.


This document describes an architecture for extending pseudowire
emulation across multiple packet switched network segments. Scenarios
are discussed where each segment of a given edge-to-edge emulated
service spans a different provider's PSN, and where the emulated
service originates and terminates on the same providers PSN, but may
pass through several PSN tunnel segments in that PSN. It presents an
architectural framework for such multi-segment pseudowires, defines
terminology, and specifies the various protocol elements and their
functions.


A model of precursor manifestation mechanisms, stimulated by tectonic activityand some peculiarities of observer strategy, whose main task is the effective measurement of precursors in the spatial area of their occurrence on the Earth's daylight, are considered. In particular, the applicability of Dobrovolsky's approximation is analyzed, when an unperturbed medium (characterized by the simple shear state) and the area of tectonic activity (local inhomogeneity caused by the change only of shear modulus) are linearly elastic, and perturbation, in particular, surface displacement is calculated as a difference of the solutions of two independent static problems of the theory of elasticity with the same boundary condition on the surface. Within the framework of this approximation a formula for the spatial distribution (offirst component) of magnetic field variations caused by piezomagnetic effect in the case of perturbed regular medium, which is in simple shear state is derived. Cogent arguments in favor of linear dependence between the radon spatial distribution and conditional deformation are obtained. Changes in magnetic field strength and radon concentrations were measured along a tectonomagnetic profile of the total length of 11 km in the surroundings of the "Academician Vernadsky" Station on the Antarctic Peninsula (W 64 16', S 6515'). Results showed a positive correlation between the annual surface radonconcentration and annual changes of magnetic field relative to a base point, and also the good coincidence with theoretical calculation.


Population aging results in urgent needs of interventions aimed at ensuring healthy senescence. Exercise often results in healthy aging, yet many molecular mechanisms underlying such effects still need to be identified. We here investigated whether the age-dependent accumulation of oxidative and methylglyoxal- (MG-) related molecular damage could be delayed by moderate exercise in the mouse ovary, an organ that first exhibits impaired function with advancing age in mammals. CD1 female mice underwent two- or four-month treadmill-based running through the transition from adult to middle age, when ovaries show signs of senescence, and markers of protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and MG were measured. The long-term exercise reduced the protein oxidative damage in the ovaries (P < 0.01), and this was linked to the preservation of the glutathione peroxidase protection against ROS (P < 0.001), as well as to the increased glutathione availability (P < 0.001). Conversely, even though the age-related deactivation of the MG-targeting systems was partially prevented by the long-term running programme (P < 0.001), exercised mice were not protected from the age-dependent glycative burden. In summary, lately initiated regular and moderate exercise limited some changes occurring in the ovaries of middle-aged mice, and this might help to develop nonpharmacological cointerventions to reduce the vulnerability of mammalian ovaries towards redox dysfunctions.


The frequency of micronucleated polychromatic (MPCE), normochromatic erythrocytes (MNCE), and polychromatic/normochromatic erythrocyte ratio (PCE/NCE), was studied in the bone marrow of mice orally administered with 0, 200, 225, 250, 275 and 300 mg/kg body weight of hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Aegle marmelos (AME). Treatment of mice with AME, once daily for 5 consecutive days, before exposure to 2 Gy resulted in a significant decline in the frequency of MPCE when compared to the non-drug-treated irradiated control. The greatest reduction in MPCE was observed for 250 mg/kg body weight AME, accompanied by the highest polychromatic erythrocyte to normochromatic erythrocyte ratio, in comparison with the non-drug-treated irradiated control. Therefore, further studies were carried out using this dose of AME, where the animals were administered with 250 mg/kg body weight of AME before exposure to 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Gy of γ-radiation and evaluated at 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours post-irradiation. Whole body irradiation of mice to different doses of γ-radiation resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the frequency of MPCE at all post-irradiation times. Treatment of 250 mg/kg AME orally (p.o.) before irradiation significantly reduced the frequency of MPCE at all post-treatment times. The frequency of MPCE increased with time, reached a peak level at 24 hours, and declined thereafter. The occurrence of MNCE has also shown a pattern similar to MPCE, except that the MNCE frequency reached a peak level by 48 hours. The AME significantly reduced the frequency of MNCE at all post-irradiation times, when compared to the non-drug-treated irradiated group. Treatment of mice with AME before exposure to different doses of γ-radiation resulted in the inhibition of a radiation-induced decline in the PCE/NCE ratio, when compared with the concurrent irradiated controls. To gain insight into the mechanism of action, AME was tested for its antioxidant effects in cell-free chemical systems using H2O 2/FeSO4 to generate hydroxyl (◦OH) radicals, which were measured by a fluorescent probe, 2V, 7V-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH/DA). Xanthine/xanthine oxidase was used to generate superoxide (O2 ◦- ) anion radical, which was measured by a fluorescent probe dihydroethidium (DHE). AME significantly reduced fluorescence in a concentration dependent manner, indicating its efficacy to scavenge free radicals. Our results demonstrate that one of the mechanism of reduction in the radiation-induced DNA damage in mice bone marrow by AME may be due to scavenging of free radicals and elevation in the antioxidant status, as previously reported. Human & Experimental Toxicology (2007) 26, 111-124


For the TOTAL E&P Angola (TEPA) PAZFLOR field development, the decision was taken at the tender stage to propose an innovative diverless Bend Stiffener Fixation system (BSF) to connect the flexible risers to the FPSO. Avoiding diving intervention was driven primarily in order to minimize weather downtime during this critical offshore installation phase.Technip decided to develop its own system to retain full control of the design process and ensure it fulfilled all the installation constraint requirements. The patented system consists of a 3 part clamp activated by a hydraulic motor controlled from topside. An innovative disconnection device is used to release the riser pulling head once the bend stiffener is clamped to the I-tube. The development of the BSF was handled by an integrated team as a "project within the project". From the start a robust design gate review process was applied to rapidly freeze the design of the system main components and enable the initial order placement of the long lead items. This was critical to ensure on time delivery to the FPSO Contractor. Extensive full scale testing was performed to ensure good reliability of all the system components. This testing enabled further optimization of parts of the system, particularly the items mounted on the risers to provide the maximum operability. Finally the involvement of the installation team from the onset ensured that robust installation procedures and operations were developed. The hook-up operations for the 21 risers was conducted safely with no weather downtime and with a riser connection cycle faster than planned.This proves that implementation of innovative design solutions can be successfully managed from initial concept to final installation within a project environment, ultimately enabling faster hand over for first oil.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Increasing experience with transhiatal esophagectomy (THE) has brought with it a good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the technique. As in our case, diaphragmatic hernias after THE may result from excess manipulation and extension of the hiatus during surgery. The varying nature of the clinical presentation may cause delay in diagnosis. We report our case and discuss how to diagnose and manage this complication under the sum of cases reported previously in English literature.


This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of caries detector dyes and/or cavity cleanser on composite bonding and etching patterns of enamel and dentin. One hundred and eight non-carious premolars were divided into six groups according to the enamel and dentin pretreatment investigated. The different pretreatment were as follows: Group I: teeth with prophylaxis only, Group II: Sable seek caries detector dye, Groups III: chlorhexidine cavity cleanser, Group IV: the caries detectors dye followed by prophylaxis, Group V: the cavity cleanser followed by the caries detector dye, and Group IV: Snoop caries detector dye. The shear bond strength of composite resin bonded to enamel and dentin was evaluated by the Instron Universal testing machine while, the topographic details of enamel and dentin were examined by the SEM following the different pretreatment and acid etching. Results of the shear bond strength showed no statistically significant difference among the six groups, with no substantial differences in SEM results. It is concluded that using the caries detector dyes and/or chlorhexidine cavity cleanser before acid etching does not significantly affect composite bonding to enamel and dentin.


Abstract Cooperative-adaptive cruise-control (CACC) offers the potential to increase roadway capacity by decreasing the size of gaps between vehicles. However, smaller gaps may reduce drivers' ability to safely enter CACC strings. Two driving simulator experiments explored merging in CACC strings (also known as CACC platoons). In Experiment 1, drivers attempted to merge into a continuous stream of simulated CACC vehicles using either a CACC vehicle with merge assist, a CACC vehicle without merge assist, or a manually driven vehicle. All merges made using merge assist were successful. In contrast, one-third of CACC drivers without merge assist and half of manual drivers were involved in a collision during their first merge attempt. The crash rate appeared to be largely due to participants' expectation that CACC vehicles would create a larger gap to accommodate their merging vehicle. Experiment 2 explored the validity of this expectation. Participants encountered two merge events while traveling in a CACC string: a successful merge that occurred immediately in front of their vehicle and an unsuccessful merge attempt that resulted in a crash in their travel lane. Responses to merging vehicles were influenced by the gap size their vehicle maintained, but not by their preferred following distance. The vast majority of participants traveling in a CACC string did not create larger gaps during the typical merge, and instead only took over longitudinal control when in immediate danger of a collision. The finding suggests that features, such as merge assist, could help ensure the safety of vehicles entering CACC strings.


Colchicum autumnale is commonly known as the autumn crocus, wild saffron and naked lady. In local language here in southern Karnataka, it is known as gowri gedde. It contains alkaloid colchicine that is antimitotic, blocking the mitosis by preventing DNA synthesis and tubulin polymerization. The clinical manifestation of colchicine poisoning is present in three phases following a latent period of 4-12 hours. The first phase is characterized by peripheral leukocytosis, gastrointestinal symptoms with fluid losses and hypovolemic shock. During 24-72 hours, the second stage of intoxication, life threatening complications occur such as arrhythmias, heart failure, renal failure, hepatic injury, respiratory distress, coagulopathies, bone marrow suppression and neuromuscular involvement. Second phase usually lasts for 5-7 days. Third phase is characterized by leukocytosis and alopecia. Colchicine is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and is primarily metabolized in the liver in a first order process. There is also significant biliary excretion and enterohepatic recirculation. Renal excretion is only responsible for about 20% of unchanged colchicine elimination. We present here a case of fatal poisoning with colchicum autumnale in a middle aged lady who finally succumbed to death due to multi-organ dysfunction.


Abstract Optical matching of ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) satellite image pairs is used to determine the surface velocities of major glaciers across the central Karakoram. The ASTER images were acquired in 2006 and 2007, and cover a 60×120km region over Baltoro glacier, Pakistan, and areas to the north and west. The surface velocities were compared with differential global position system (GPS) data collected on Baltoro glacier in summer 2005. The ASTER measurements reveal fine details about ice dynamics in this region. For example, glaciers are found to be active over their termini even where they are very heavily debris-covered. The characteristics of several surge-type glaciers were measured, with terminus advances of several hundred meters per year and the displacement of trunk glaciers as surge glaciers pushed into them. This study is the first synthesis of glacier velocities across this region, and provides a baseline against which both past and future changes can be compared.


: A. personal computer-based information system meeting the requirements of the RF Ministry of Health on mass fluorographic examinations is proposed for introduction in wide practice. The system provides significant and complete data on the population subject to preventive check-ups, raises the efficacy of the latter, makes automatic planning.


Old people and their pecularities have been the object of writers since the beginning of Western literature. The aim of this study is to verify the social and juridical significance of senile dementia in ancient Rome. Among the few relevant sources the 10th satire of Juvenal attracts attention. It describes a demented patient who revises his succession in favour of a lady with bad reputation. Logically, we wonder whether such dispositions were possible and after all legally binding. Or did Juvenal exaggerate? A look at the Roman legislation shows: Since the Twelve Tablet Law there were instruments to control or to help demented people. This meant care in the sense of the today's curatorship or guardianship. These measures were supposed to prevent extravagancy or doing business and legal acts like marriages or last wills in the state of diminished responsibility. Nevertheless, it must be assumed that there was a considerable discrepancy between juridical theory and daily practice, because the position of the "pater familias" was virtually untouchable, the individual freedom of the full citizen was firmly underlined and the Roman civil law allowed only little executive interferences. Juvenal's bizarre example should not only be taken as good literary fiction. It might reflect the sad, but nevertheless probable reality of the people directly concerned. Apart from that it has to be said that senile dementia played only a minor role in Roman legislation. Mainly because there were considerably less very old people - and in particular people with senile dementia - than today.


Ferrum is one of the important nutrient sources for algae in lakes. The changes of concentration in water body have great effect on the formation of dominant algae. Microcystis aeruginosa, Scenedesmus quadricauda and Cyclotella were examined in M11 culture medium which included different Fe2+ and Fe3+ concentration. Growth curves of these three algae were fitted by logistic growth-model, respectively. The maximum biomass K, inflection t and growth rate µ of those algae were investigated. The effects of Fe2+ and Fe3+ on the growth of algae were investigated by using the Monod equation. The semi-saturation constants were calculated. The results showed that the maximum biomass of these three algae did not increase with the increasing of Fe2+ and Fe3+ concentration. Low concentration of Fe2+ (200-500 mg/L) and high concentration of Fe3+ (2000-5000 mg/L) were more suitable to the growth of three algae. The sequence of the maximum biomass was: Scenedesmus quadricauda>Microcystis aeruginosa>Cyclotella.


: The term "countersuit" is taking on an enchanting status to physicians, as if it were a miracle drug to cure the malpractice malady. Despite the fact that insurance industry studies show few nefarious malpractice suits, many physicans are convinced that there would be fewer claims if patients and their attorneys knew they might be back in court as defendants for instituting a nonmeritorious suit. Eliminating these few spurious suits, which are very difficult to establish at best, would have little impact on the overall problem. One countersuit may beget another. Although a few physician have been successful, a review of reported cases reveals that most countersuits have ultimately gone against the physician. Additional problems arise when medical societies attempt to alleviate the physician's financial burden by fostering countersuit funds. The funds may relieve the legal expenses, but in turn are fraught with formidable legal consequences, including conspiracy to intimidate prospective litigants and appearance of encouraging litigation. Physicians should proceed with deliberate caution in creating funds and undertaking countersuits.


Mutations in the tumor suppressor gene, p53, lead to intracellular accumulation of abnormal p53 protein and are associated with p53 autoantibodies. p53 also accumulates in autoimmune diseases and Hashimoto s thyroiditis, but it is unknown if p53 autoantibodies occur in the latter. We measured p53 autoantibodies in the sera of 93 patients with thyroid disease and 19 patients without thyroid disease. Anti-p53 antibodies were detected in the sera from 4.2% (2/48) of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease, including one patient with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (3.7%, 1/27) and one with Graves' disease (4.8%, 1/21). A third patient with pseudohypo parathyroidism, but without thyroid disease, was also positive (1/19; 5.2%). None of 19 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer had anti-p53 antibodies. We conclude that anti-p53 antibodies can be detected in the sera from approximately 4% of patients with autoimmune thyroid disease. This finding suggests that increased DNA damage and apoptosis may be associated with autoimmune thyroid disease.


We present a comparison between accurate ab initio calculations and a high-quality experimental data set (1986\char21{}2002) of electric-field gradients of $\mathrm{Cd}$ at different sites on $\mathrm{Ni}$, $\mathrm{Cu}$, $\mathrm{Pd}$, and $\mathrm{Ag}$ surfaces. Experiments found a systematic rule to assign surface sites on (100) and (111) surfaces based on the main component of the electric-field gradient, a rule that does not work for (110) surfaces. Our calculations show that this particular rule is a manifestation of a more general underlying systematic behavior. When looked upon from this point of view, (100), (111) and (110) surfaces behave in precisely the same way. The physical mechanism behind the systematics of the EFG for other $5sp$ impurities $(\mathrm{Cd}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{Ba})$ at different fcc surfaces sites is revealed, showing in a natural way why the first half of the $5\mathit{p}$ elements shows a coordination dependence that is opposite with respect to the second half.


Abstract The prospect of a profound transformation in the relationship between the UK and the European Union has raised a range of economic, social and political concerns (Dhingra et al., 2016; Booth et al., 2015; Irwin, 2015; Ebell and Warren, 2016). Whilst the ultimate shape of a negotiated post-Brexit settlement is uncertain, the potential loss or reduction in access to EU funding streams, educational mobility, EU labour market access, and changes to employment rights and regulations will impact significantly upon young people across the UK. Underlining this, the transition between education and employment has been evidenced as a period when young people experience increased risk of poverty and social exclusion (MacDonald, 2011; Furlong and Cartmel, 2004; Ellison, 2014; ILO, 2016). This article provides an analysis of the role of EU funding streams and operational programmes directed at young people's transitions between education and employment across the UK. The co-ordinated use of EU funding instruments aimed at rebalancing economic and social inequalities between wealthier and poorer regions and groups within the EU is evidenced as improving labour market outcomes for young people living in the most disadvantaged regions of the UK. In light of this, the article contends that future post-Brexit UK governments will need to develop redistributive investment strategies within coherent policy architectures and inclusive forms of governance to ensure the continued delivery of operational programmes for young people which are relevant, effective and sustainable at a local level.


At the end of last century in 1999, the Cluetrain Manifesto (cluetrain.com) messages herald the end of business as usual for companies discovering the web and point corporates strongly towards the notion "markets are conversations". Over a decade later, companies are participating in business online but are still none the wiser this century when trying to deal with connected customers as real people and often have no long term plans for social media activities. In light of this, the End of Business as Usual is not only a timely book in 2012 but also a potential compass for business leaders and communications professionals feeling disorientated by the proliferation of social media technologies. Of course, some might rightly believe "business as usual is an oxymoron" (a hat tip for the book publication by Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid).


We present here a study in which a digital-based communication platform is used for collaborative work in the learning and teaching processes. In this case, we focused on Facebook as the online social network to help motivate high-school students to become well prepared for their Bagrut (matriculation) exam in mathematics. To this end, the Center for Educational Technology (CET) established a "virtual review session" on Facebook before the exam in which 614 students and 16 teachers participated. We aimed to answer two questions: what learning and teaching opportunities can Facebook offer to prepare students for the mathematics matriculation exam? and how do students and teachers perceive learning processes via social networks? Our analysis was qualitative. The findings indicate that Facebook, for one, can offer excellent learning and teaching opportunities as a result of the interactions that evolve between the students themselves and between the students and teachers. For the students, this digital social platform helps promote peer evaluation, exposes them to a wide range of questions and solutions, and fosters the development of mathematical thinking and creativity. For the teachers, it helps expand their technological and pedagogical-mathematical knowledge.


The noise source distribution of a short-cowl coaxial jet operating at different velocity ratios is described in this work. This was motivated by an ongoing research about noise prediction of coaxial jets through Acoustic Analogy with purposes of industrial engine application. This research has been carried out between Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Brazil and the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) at Southampton University, UK. The numerical approach employed is originally based on Lighthill Acoustic Analogy. This technique, although likely known, is associated with an improved energy transfer time-scale, used in the turbulence two-point correlation function, in order to enhance the source model. The source model is coupled with the aerodynamic calculation of flow through turbulence quantities evaluated by using a standard k-e turbulence modeling. The Computational Fluid Dynamics data have also been used to provide complementary information about the coaxial jet noise production mechanisms. Experimental data were used in order to corroborate the results from the current model. Good agreement has been found, showing that high and low frequency contributors to the radiated noise for low velocity ratio are aggregated in a region about seven to ten secondary diameters downstream, while at higher velocity ratios sources are continuously spread from about one up to ten secondary diameters from the jet exit.


: Placing the anthropology of tax and taxation in conversation with the anthropology of ethics yields productive insights into both subfields. This is because discussions and disputations about tax and taxation reveal the ways in which people articulate and evaluate their relations with others, with the state, with 'ought' and 'is', and in terms of ownership and responsibility. They open up the complex relationship between legal obligations construed as moral and ethical understandings that are grounded in reflection and seek to articulate and enact particular understandings of the 'good' and 'right'. This afterword draws on my own research with English right-wing activists, the articles that make up this special issue, and key discussions in the anthropology of ethics.


Handwashing is a basic infection control practice that needs to be performed correctly to be effective. In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, its correct practice is emphasized by public health institutions. However, turning a practice into a habit requires acceptance for adoption of the twenty-second proper procedure to which difficulty remains. To promote and convince the average user, we developed the "APD Handwash app" as a home-use demonstration/education tool to the pitfalls and need of proper handwashing practices through the detection of assigned clean or dirty areas on the hand in a quantitative manner to provide a gauge to the effectiveness of washing when used before and after washing.


Approximate 70-80% of breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive (ER+), and the ERα plays essential role in breast cancer growth. Therefore, many ERα ligands have been developed for hormone drugs, such as tamoxifen, which is the first line drug for the treatment of ER(+) breast cancer. Unfortunately, endocrine therapy is ineffective for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which lacks of expression of ER, PR and HER-2, representing about 20% of breast cancers. Current treatment option for TNBC is still limited to cytotoxic chemotherapy, and histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) was used as novel therapeutic strategy for TNBC. HDACi can induce functional ERα re-expression and re-sensitize cells of TNBC to estradiol activator and tamoxifen antagonist. More than ten clinical trials of HDACi are underway for the treatment of TNBC, and most of HDAC inhibitors have the hydroxamic acid moiety, a typical zinc-binding group. However, these inhibitors do not show significant anticancer effects on TNBC compared to SAHA, which is the first HDACi approved by FDA. Hydroxamic acids usually have pharmacokinetic and metabolic problems, and also SAHA shows considerable toxicity to healthy cells. Therefore, much effort has been undertaken to develop an "ideal HDACi", more effective and less toxic. We recently found that zinc-binding group of HDACi is selenocyanide (named as SelA), which shows strong anti-HDAC1, HDAC6 and HDAC8. These three isoforms have been found to be critical for the invasion and migration of both ER(+) breast cancer and TNBC activities, with a nanomolar range of IC50, and demonstrate high selectivity for HDAC6; moreover, SelA also displays significant anti-proliferative effect on both ER(+) breast cancer and TNBC both in vitro and in vivo. In summary, selenocyanide compound represents a novel HDACi for the treatment of TNBC, and the structure-activity relation is pursuing. Citation Format: Chu Tang, Yang Du, Jie Tian. Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel selenocyanide histone deacetylase inhibitor as anti-triple negative breast cancer agents [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-067. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-LB-067


Wuhan is an important city in central China, with a rapid development that has led to increasingly serious land subsidence over the last decades. Most of the existing Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) subsidence monitoring studies in Wuhan are either short-term investigations—and thus can only detect this process within limited time periods—or combinations of different Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) datasets with temporal gaps in between. To overcome these constraints, we exploited nearly 300 high-resolution COSMO-SkyMed StripMap HIMAGE scenes acquired between 2012 and 2019 to monitor the long-term subsidence process affecting Wuhan and to reveal its spatiotemporal variations. The results from the Persistent Scatterer Interferometric SAR (PSInSAR) processing highlight several clearly observable subsidence zones. Three of them (i.e., Houhu, Xinrong, and Guanggu) are affected by serious subsidence rates and non-linear temporal behavior, and are investigated in this paper in more detail. The subsidence in Houhu is caused by soft soil consolidation and compression. Soil mechanics are therefore used to estimate when the subsidence is expected to finish and to calculate the degree of consolidation for each year. The COSMO-SkyMed PSInSAR results indicate that the area has entered the late stage of consolidation and compression and is gradually stabilizing. The subsidence curve found for the area around Xinrong shows that the construction of an underground tract of the subway Line 21 caused large-scale settlement in this area. The temporal granularity of the PSInSAR time series also allows precise detection of a rebound phase following a major flooding event in 2016. In the southern industrial park of Guanggu, newly detected subsidence was found. The combination of the subsidence curve with an optical time-series image analysis indicates that urban construction is the main trigger of deformation in this area. While this study unveils previously unknown characters of land subsidence in Wuhan and clarifies the relationship with the urban causative factors, it also proves the benefits of non-linear PSInSAR in the analysis of the temporal evolution of such processes in dynamic and expanding cities.


COVID-19 has caused challenges in traveling, sales activities, and teleconferencing is at the moment the main communication tool in industry. Various technologies have been introduced during the last a couple of years to increase the immersion of remote presence. Technologies, that can be called as a virtual reality social platform (VRSP) such as Glue, MootUp, Breakroom, LearnBrite, Virtway Events, Engage, AltspaceVR, and VirBELA are robust solutions for a small group of people to participate in the same event. In July 2021, both Microsoft CEO and Facebook CEO published their visions for remote presence, teleconferencing, and much more. Microsoft plans to build an enterprise metaverse (combining technologies such as AltspaceVR, Mesh, Teams, and HoloLens). Facebook in turn intends to transit their business from social media platform to metaverse provider. In February 2021, much before the metaverse enhancement of the big tech giants, Turku University of Applied Sciences started the development of its own metaverse technology. According to Nevelsteen (2018) metaverse is a virtual universe shared amongst its users allowing them to interact with each other within the boundaries of the platform. For TUAS the metaverse concept is a combination of social communication, hands on experiencing and digital twin integration. None of the mentioned VRSP technologies include all these three features neither Microsoft or Facebook have this type of vision. Moreover existing VRSP technologies typically have challenges such as update management, number of simultaneous users, usability, user experience, license policies, customization but also limited user interaction and user data gathering. In this paper, we will introduce our own metaverse technology. Research conducted at TUAS tested existing VRSPs, compared Unity and Unreal game engines in metaverse development and based on industry trend analysis revealed that Epic Games intends to focus on metaverse software development tools. On the other hand the use of Unreal limits user groups for VR and PC users. This research approach presented in this paper provides metaverse experiences to be used with various ways from VR/AR/XR to PCs and mobile phones. This way, users who have limited resources available are able to participate in metaverse applications where the user experience will vary based the available device. This paper introduces the TUAS metaverse technology, the first experiences of developing it and how the first prototype version of this technology has been used in various maritime sector projects. To demonstrate the technology a harbor area has been selected as a test environment. In the first test, AltspaceVR technology was used to develop the environment itself with features needed in virtual exhibition called Match XR. This will be followed by an experiment where the harbor environment with same functionalities will be moved to the TUAS metaverse technology. Finally, the paper reports how multiplayer concepts such as MarISOT command bridge training scenarios can be developed utilizing the TUAS metaverse technology.


Frequency control is considered to be an important function
of multi-terminal HVDC (MTDC) systems. Sharing frequency containment reserves
(FCRs) among interconnected AC systems using flexible HVDC technology is
particularly attractive in the European context. However, coordination of the
contribution between systems with different sizes, quality requirements and dynamic characteristics requires harmonized rules and well-defined control
strategies. If the controllers are not properly designed, they can lead to
disproportional supports, noncompliance with the existing regulation framework,
or even degradation of the frequency quality. This paper analyzes several frequency
control solutions for MTDC systems in terms of the adequacy of the expected
contribution to the frequency containment process. The performance analyses are
then confirmed using load-frequency models coupled with a three-terminal DC
system. It is revealed that certain control solutions result in insufficient performance
with respect to the desired FCR provision. The proposed distributed solution
for each pair of converters can be the most compliant with the existing
framework while keeping the highest degrees of freedom.


Agricultural commercialisation is a critical pathway for economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the lack of market information may impede this development. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to examine market information and preferences for soybean quality in a developing-world context. We seek to understand the nature of information markets associated with the nascent soybean trade in Sub-Saharan Africa in order to inform the market and policy of previously unknown key marketing information. The research involves a discrete choice experiment with 228 buyers of soybean involving five key soybean quality attributes. The sample represents three distinct classes of buyer/traders: wholesalers, processors and retailers. Traders significantly discount the price of soybean attributes such as off-colour, small grain size, low oil levels and high contamination with foreign material, such as stones. Foreign material ranks highest of the attributes that we examined, in terms of the discount level, at 22%. The study finds significant preference heterogeneity among traders, explained partly by the socioeconomic and trade characteristics of the respondents. We identified three distinct classes of traders per the latent class logit (LCL) results, namely 'high price discounters', 'big bean supporters', and 'oil sceptics'. Our findings improve soybean market information, transparency and signalling. This will lead farmers to be more efficient and allow policymakers to understand better how the market actually prices grain at the farm gate.


In a remote corner of West Texas in 1942, the dreaded western diamondback rattlesnake, was awarded the unique distinction of having a mighty airfield named in his honor. Although the installation originally bore the official title of Pyote Army Airfield, the massive quantity of serpents encountered during the construction of the base quickly earned it the nickname of "The Rattlesnake Bomber Base." For the thousands of military men and women who served on the airfield and the additional thousands of civilians who worked there, what is now only a ghostly ruin will always be a vibrant and undying monument to a brief time when men and snakes and giant silvery bombers all came together on the West Texas desert to share a legendary chapter of American history. This book tells the story of what happened when an American bomber base aptly named for a serpent arose, Brigadoon-like, from the sun-baked caliche desert located just east of the fabled Pecos River and just west of nearly every place else. Although the huge airfield was eventually to sprawl over nearly three thousand acres of Texas hardscrabble, its important and colorful history should by no means be considered merely a regional wartime episode. What happed at Pyote, Texas, before, during, and after World War II represents instead a microcosm of what took place all across the North American continent.


Long-term stability of orthopaedic and dental implants depends on the integration of the artificial material into the surrounding bone tissue. The physical and chemical properties of implants, including those made of metals such as titanium, are thought to influence osseointegration. Despite the known importance of this interface, little is known about the factors that promote its formation. In this study, chick embryonic calvarial osteoblasts were cultured in vitro on smooth, rough-textured and porous-coated titanium surfaces and examined for morphology, biosynthesis of extracellular matrix and mineralization as a function of culture time. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that osteoblasts adhered securely to the titanium surface and frequently bridged the uneven surface by means of cellular processes. The osteoblast phenotype was retained in the cell cultures on titanium. In addition, the synthesis of extracellular matrix and subsequent mineralization were both substantially enhanced in the cultures on rough-textured and porous-coated titanium. These results strongly suggest that porous or rough titanium implant surfaces may act like "natural" substrata to permit microscopic tissue/cell ingrowth to improve clinical implant fixation.


BACKGROUND
The potential role of superantigens in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly Crohn disease, has been broached in studies of the functions of T cell receptors. Staphylococcal cells have been found in intestinal lymph follicles of IBDs. To clarify a role of staphylococcal superantigens in IBD, we attempted to determine whether Staphylococcus aureus could be detected in intestinal mucosa, including surgical specimens and lymph follicles of initial cases.

METHODS
One-hundred-and-six colonic and ileal specimens were obtained from 38 Crohn disease, 25 ulcerative colitis and 36 non-IBD patients through therapeutic surgery or endoscopic biopsy. In Crohn disease, 23 surgical specimens and 11 biopsy specimens from initial cases were included. DNA was extracted with phenol-chloroform after homogenization and proteinase K treatment in 73 mucosal specimens. Using an inverted microscope, lymph follicle tissue was microdissected from the remaining 33, mostly biopsy, specimens. DNA was then extracted by freeze-thawing. A coagulase gene characteristic of S. aureus was sought. A nested polymerase chain reaction was performed utilizing primers that amplify a region of the coagulase gene. Polymerase chain reaction products were analyzed with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

RESULTS
Only one surgically resected colonic specimen, from a 42-year-old male ulcerative colitis patient, registered positive staphylocoagulase amplification.

CONCLUSIONS
Staphylococcal superantigens are not involved in either the early lesions or the established lesions of Crohn disease. However, S. aureus infection occasionally may occur during the course of IBD.


Acute ethanol administration can cause impulsivity, resulting in increased preference for immediately available rewards over delayed but more valuable alternatives. The manner in which reward size and delay are represented in neural firing is not fully understood, and very little is known about ethanol effects on this encoding. To address this issue, we used in vivo electrophysiology to characterize neural firing in the core of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in rats responding for rewards that varied in size or delay after vehicle or ethanol administration. The NAcc is a central element in the circuit that governs decision-making and importantly, promotes choice of delayed rewards. We found that NAcc firing in response to reward-predictive cues encoded anticipated reward value after vehicle administration, but ethanol administration disrupted this encoding, resulting in a loss of discrimination between immediate and delayed rewards in cue-evoked neural responses. In addition, NAcc firing occurring at the time of the operant response (lever pressing) was inversely correlated with behavioral response latency, such that increased firing rates were associated with decreased latencies to lever press. Ethanol administration selectively attenuated this lever press-evoked firing when delayed but not immediate rewards were expected. These effects on neural firing were accompanied by increased behavioral latencies to respond for delayed rewards. Our results suggest that ethanol effects on NAcc cue- and lever press-evoked encoding may contribute to ethanol-induced impulsivity.


An upper gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage resulting from an aortocystoduodenal fistula developed in a patient with a pancreatic pseudocyst. The fistula was exposed through a duodenotomy, necrotic material was debrided from the pseudocyst and the aortic wall, the aortic defect was closed primarily, and the pseudocyst was drained through a cystoduodenostomy. The case is discussed as a rare hemorrhagic complication of pancreatic pseudocysts and as an illustration that under certain circumstances of infection in areas where aortic bypass can be difficult to perform, primary vascular repair can be a successful method of managing aortoenteric fistulas.


A general scheme of neuroendocrine factors influencing the onset of puberty is presented. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is secreted in pulsatile fashion by the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. Amplitude and probably frequency of the secretory pulses of GnRH increase at the time of puberty, stimulating the secretion of pituitary gonadotropins (LH and FSH). In turn, the gonadotropins induce the maturation of the ovarian follicles in the girls, spermatogenesis in the boys, and the secretion of estradiol or testosterone. The increase of the pulsatile secretion of GnRH is sufficient for explaining the onset of puberty. The response of the pituitary gonadotropins to GnRH would depend on the presence of sex steroids through the feedback mechanisms. The secretion of GnRH may be influenced by neurotransmitters. Norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine would stimulate GnRH secretion. Such effect, in fact, depends on the steroid milieu. Opposite effects can be observed in absence of estradiol. Serotonin has a negative effect on the GnRH secretion. Melatonin appears also to block GnRH secretion at the time of puberty. Finally, beta-endorphins decrease the frequency of GnRH secretion only in the presence of steroids. It is probable that stress and underweight act in blocking the pubertal development through the action of neurotransmitters, in particular catecholamines and beta-endorphins.


India has survived with an increasingly mediocre higher education system for decades. Now as India strives to compete in a globalized economy in areas that require highly trained professionals, the quality of higher education becomes increasingly important. So far, India's large educated population base and its reservoir of at least moderately well-trained university graduates have permitted the country to move ahead. But the competition is fierce. China in particular is heavily investing in improving its best universities with the aim of making a small group of them world class in the coming decade; and making a larger number internationally competitive research universities. The largest international student population is from China. The number from China is about 4 lakhs. China allows this large number to go out for higher education, inspite of the massive facilities created within China only because they realize that in the larger interests of the country, the young men and women have to seek educational opportunities outside the borders of China. Surprisingly Tamil Nadu has not taken a comprehensive view of higher education through an appropriate committee since independence. The neighbouring states have done the exercise. It is necessary for Tamil Nadu to examine comprehensively the opportunities available for higher education and research; the opportunities needed to be created and policy decisions to be taken for the future. It is not the responsibility of the party power alone. Every political party that worth the name must accept responsibility in this direction.

 Key words: Higher education, research, national knowledge commission, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), foreign exchange, economic policy.


In general, PETCO2 is well correlated with PaCO2 during spontaneous and conventional mechanical ventilation in normal lungs. However, it is known that during high frequency jet ventilation, PETCO2 may underestimate PaCO2 because of inadequate washout of the anatomical dead space by a small tidal volume and the relatively slow response time of infrared CO2 analyzers. The validity of PETCO2 as a reflection of PaCO2 was assessed during HFJV in 40 patients undergoing laryngeal microsurgery. HFJV was applied through an injector inserted into the trachea 6 cm below the vocal cord. PETCO2 was obtained from a sampling line placed 2 cm below the injector. Both PETCO2 and PaCO2 were measured simultaneously after decreasing the frequency from 100 beats per minute to 15 beats per minute 10 and 20 minutes after the commencement of HFJV. There was a strong correlation (r = 0.955, P < 0.001) and a good correspondence between the mean PETCO2 and PaCO2 values with an average difference of 1.93 +/- 1.21 mmHg and a limit of agreement from -0.49 to 4.35 mmHg. It is suggested that the PETCO2 obtained following a decrease in the jet frequency during HFJV could closely reflect PaCO2.


Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless. --Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) Advertisements on the current Internet computer network are not common because of the network's not-for-profit origins. --Trotter Hardy, The Proper Legal Regime for "Cyberspace," 1994 I. INTRODUCTION The sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail, or spam, to Internet users has been a major problem since the early days of the Internet. By shifting the costs involved with the sending of bulk email, unscrupulous advertisers have been able to mass market their products for a nominal cost and in doing so, have attracted the wrath of individual users, Internet service providers and various interested groups, agencies and organizations. A cursory examination of some of the statistics associated with unsolicited commercial e-mail is a helpful starting point in identifying some of the problems associated with this phenomenon and its regulation. A 1998 Novell report estimated that the annual cost of spam to British and Irish business, in terms of wasted time, was in the region of 5 billion [pounds sterling]. (1) The European Commission proposes a figure of 10 billion [euro] per year as the cost of spam to Internet users worldwide. (2) With regard to volume, Ian Lloyd notes that some 3.4 trillion e-mails were sent in the U.S. in 1998. (3) Of these, 2.7 trillion were commercial in nature, 96% of which could be regarded as spam. (4) Brightmail, a spam-filter company, has noted a recent sharp rise in the volume of spam being sent, estimating a 100% increase in the first half of 2002. (5) This trend accords with the findings of Jupiter Media Matrix, an Internet-based market researcher, who predict that 206 billion unsolicited commercial e-mails will be sent in the U.S. in 2006--this figure corresponds to 1,400 junk emails per Internet user, compared to 700 this year. (6) The most striking aspect of these statistics is the staggering volume of unsolicited commercial e-mail being disseminated annually and there follows the additional issue of being able to calculate the size of the problem in hand. In this regard, most parties affected by the problem of junk e-mail have adopted the pragmatic mindset of concentrating their efforts on the control of the problem, rather than undertaking the near-impossible task of calculating the exact cost of it, an approach which will be followed throughout this Article. Perhaps a greater problem which emerges from the above statistics is that of the classification and definition of spam e-mail. Wye-Keen Khong (7) notes that the utopian definition of spam will include all e-mails which are of no benefit to the recipient from the point of view of the recipient. But this quickly becomes problematic when looked at in practical terms. The first barrier that can be identified occurs when one attempts to control 'unsolicited bulk e-mail' as has been attempted in Australia. (8) By classifying spam as all e-mail that is both unsolicited and bulk in nature, restrictive regulation is likely to conflict with the rights of citizens' free speech, where the e-mail in question is not commercial in nature. As will be seen below, this has caused legal difficulties for anti-spam legislation in the U.S., where the degree of constitutional protection for commercial speech is lower than that for political speech. Khong also notes that definitional problems subsist when the term "unsolicited commercial e-mail" is applied. (9) He correctly notes that different jurisdictions may apply widely different interpretations to the term "commercial." (10) The problem is particularly acute when attempting to define traditionally public services, such as education or health care, which may have been semi-privatized and for which a fee is paid. One major concern of legislators within the European Union is that the negative publicity surrounding unsolicited commercial e-mail will impinge directly upon the legitimate activities of bona fide online commercial enterprises. …


Philobiblion is a relational database for the cataloguing and study of the primary textual sources, manuscript and printed, for the study of medieval and early modern culture. alo.ng with the institutions and persons who created them. Here we present some of the problems we encountered in fitting the data into a relational dbms format (Advanced Revela tion) as well as the solutions devised : (1) sorting manu scripts and texts in topographical order; (2) explicitly noting the contingent nature of the data as well as its source; (3) using a data type field to classify sets of associated multi valued fields; (4) establishing views into two different tables from a single field; (5) devising mechanisms to allow dissemination in printed and networked form as well as on diskette or CD-ROM disk; (6) subject access . Unsolved problems include: (1) deciding how to define a 'text'~ (2) establishing compatibility with previous standards; (3) nor ~ malized searching on unnormalized text; (4) defining rec!.P rocal but asymmetrical relationships; (5) remote data entry; (6) balancing the need for complexity and completeness against interactive usability.


We designed heteroleptic ruthenium complexes RD16− RD18 containing fluoro-substituted and thiophene-based benzimidazole ligands for dye-sensitized solar cells. Whereas the substitution of only fluorine in the RD12 device has an effect of enhancing the open-circuit voltage (VOC), additional substitution of thiophene in the RD16−RD18 sensitizers showed a slightly decreased VOC. Systematic enhanced shortcircuit current density (JSC) and efficiency (η) of power conversion of the devices had the order RD18 > RD17 > RD16 > RD12 > N719, attributed to the increasing light-harvesting ability and the broadened spectral features with thiophene-based ligands. Measurements of charge extraction and intensity-modulated photovoltage spectra indicate that thiophene substitution shifts downward the TiO2 potential and accelerates charge recombination, but inclusion of a long hexyl chain on the thiophene moiety retards charge recombination to account for the variation of VOC in the series. For a duration test of device performance at ambient temperature, only ∼2% degradation of cell performance was found for the devices of RD18 and RD12 over 2000 h, but a 10% decrease in overall efficiency was observed in the N719 device.


Based on the creep testing results of geogrids, a three-parameters viscoelastic constitutive model of the geogrids is established, and their applicabilities and reliabilities are evaluated by using the utmost optimization theory. It is illustrated that the three-parameters viscoelastic model of geogrids established can relatively accurately reflect the two-stage attenuation creep properties of geogrids at a low stress. Then, a constitutive model of reinforced soil considering viscoelasticity of geogrids is established, and the constitutive model parameters of reinforced soil are solved based on the utmost optimization theory. Finally, the variation regularities of stress-strain characteristics of reinforced soil with the changes of different influencing factors is studied.


We have previously identified an androgen-responsive gene in rat prostate that shares homology with the aci-reductone dioxygenase (ARD/ARD') family of metal-binding enzymes involved in methionine salvage. We found that the gene, aci-reductone dioxygenase 1 (ADI1), was downregulated in prostate cancer cells, whereas enforced expression of rat Adi1 in these cells caused apoptosis. Here we report the characterization of human ADI1 in prostate cancer. Androgens induced ADI1 expression in human prostate cancer LNCaP cells, which was not blocked by cycloheximide, indicating that ADI1 is a primary androgen-responsive gene. In human benign prostatic hyperplasia specimens, epithelial cells expressed ADI1. Immunohistochemistry of prostate tumor tissue microarrays showed that benign regions expressed more ADI1 than tumors, suggesting a suppressive role for ADI1 in prostate cancer. Bacterial lysates containing recombinant ADI1 produced a five-fold increase in aci-reductone decay over controls, demonstrating that ADI1 has ARD activity. We generated point mutations at key residues in the metal-binding site of ADI1 to disrupt ARD function, and we found that these mutations did not affect intracellular localization, apoptosis, or colony formation suppression in human prostate cancer cells. Collectively, these observations argue that ADI1 may check prostate cancer progression through apoptosis and that this activity does not require metal binding.