BackgroundLate-onset sepsis in the premature infant is frequently revealed by severe, unusual and recurrent bradycardias. In view of the high morbidity and mortality...Full Text Available
A rare, true aneurysm of a branch of the right subclavian artery is described. Transcatheter coil embolization of the feeder artery was successful in obliterating blood flow into the aneurysm and the mass reduced in size. However, the aneurysm reenlarged over the next week of follow-up due to development and enlargement of the collateral vascular network. Extirpation of the aneurysm was performed. Histopathological examination revealed a true aneurysm. PMID:11833847
The thymus is a key organ of the immune system in most vertebrates and, for this reason, it has been used in this paper for the generation of a normalized cDNA library from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), one of the most extensively cultured species in South Mediterranean aquaculture. A total of 1632 ESTs from this library were initially analysed for sequence quality and vector sequences and, after this control, 1264 (77% of total clones sequenced) high-quality ESTs were further processed. The total collection of D. labrax thymus ESTs has been deposited in the EBI-GenBank-DBJ database (GenBank accession numbers from FN565576 to FN566839). The functional classification of ESTs was performed by Gene Ontology and KEGG annotation and, successively, the sequences were analysed using the Immuno...
The European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax is a marine teleost important in Mediterranean aquaculture. The development of the entire digestive tract of D. labrax, including the pharynx, was investigated from early embryonic development to day 5 post hatching (dph), when the mouth opens. The digestive tract is initialized at stage 12 somites independently from two distinct infoldings of the endodermal sheet. In the pharyngeal region, the anterior infolding forms the pharynx and the first gill slits at stage 25 somites. The other three gill arches and slits are formed between 1 and 5 dph. Posteriorly, in the gut tube region, a posterior infolding forms the foregut, midgut and hindgut. The anus opens before hatching, at stage 28 somites. Associated organs (liver, pancreas and gall bladder) ar...
BackgroundFood supply from the ocean is constrained by the shortage of domesticated and selected fish. Development of genomic models of economically important fishes should assist...Full Text Available
Polygenic sex determination, although suspected in several species, is thought to be evolutionarily unstable and has been proven in very few cases. In the European sea bass, temperature is known to...Full Text Available
Recurrence of microbial keratitis in the presence of protozoal infection is very rare and infrequently reported unless predisposing factors are present. The association of recurrent microbial keratitis...Full Text Available
European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) is a marine species of great economic importance, particularly in Mediterranean aquaculture. However, numerous pathogenic viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites affect the species, causing various infectious diseases and thereby leading to the most heavy losses in aquaculture production of sea bass. In this respect, knowledge on molecular and genetic mechanisms of resistance to pathogens and specific features of immune response against various infectious agents should greatly benefit the development of effective vaccines and proper vaccination strategies in marker-assisted selection of fish resistant to a range of infections. To date, genetic knowledge on sea bass immune regulatory genes responsible for resistance to pathogens is relatively poor ...
The transport of liquid water and gaseous reactants through a gas diffusion layer (GDL) is one of the most important water management issues in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In this work, the liquid water breakthrough dynamics, characterized by the capillary pressure and water saturation, across GDLs with and without a microporous layer (MPL) are studied in an ex-situ setup which closely simulates a real fuel cell configuration and operating conditions. The results reveal that recurrent breakthroughs are observed for all of the GDL samples tested, indicating the presence of an intermittent water drainage mechanism in the GDL. This is accounted for by the breakdown and redevelopment of the continuous water paths during water drainage as demonstrated by Haines jumps. For GDL ...
A 46-year-old man was referred to us after he presented to his local physician complaining of difficulty eating. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a tumor at the esophagogastric junction (EGJ), and moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma was diagnosed from the biopsy findings. Computed tomography (CT) showed apparent enlargement of the pretracheal lymph nodes, the lymph nodes around the bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerves, and the lower thoracic paraesophageal lymph nodes, confirming metastasis. Since the disease was far advanced esophagogastric cancer with marked lymph node metastases throughout the mediastinum, curative resection would have been unlikely. Thus, he was commenced on systemic chemotherapy with cisplatin (90 mg/body, day 8) + S-1 (120 mg/body/day, given for 3 weeks...
Objective Over recent years the Internet has become an increasingly popular source of support and information for infertility, with a growing number of online support groups now available to individuals affected by fertility problems. The aims of the present study were therefore to explore the online experiences of individuals accessing infertility support groups via the Internet. Methods Ninety-five participants who were recruited from several online infertility support groups completed an online questionnaire containing a series of open-ended questions. Responses to the open-ended questions were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results The thematic analysis revealed five recurrent themes, which were labelled: `unique features of online social support', `improved relationship w...
IntroductionSpontaneous recurrent pneumothorax during pregnancy is a rare condition. Few cases have been reported previously in the literature. There is no universal guideline for...Full Text Available
To define the prognostic factors after surgical resection and evaluate the effectiveness of Post Operative Radiotherapy (PORT) in cases with cholangiocarcinoma, 44 cases with proximal cholangiocarcinoma were examined. The mean observation period was 20.6 months, and the survival rates 1, 3 and 5 years after the resection were 79.9%, 59.8% and 39.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that the presence of lymph node metastasis and absence of PORT were significant poor prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis revealed that the absence of PORT was a significant poor prognostic factor. The survival rates for 1 and 3 years after the resection were 80.0% and 40.0% in the curable A/B and PORT (-) group, and 100% and 53.3% in curable C and PORT (+) group. There were no local reccurences in the pathologically classified hm2 and em2 patients who underwent PORT. Even when the surgical margin is positive for the carcinoma pathologically, it is ...
Methods: Systemic irradiation of neuroaxis is an essential part in the management of medulloblastoma, stPNET and intracranial germ cell tumors. The introduction of quality assurance programs in radiooncology assures a precise radiotherapy of target volumes and is a prerequisite to improve survival. Results: Hyperfractionated radiotherapy has the potential of increasing dose to tumor more safely without increasing the risk for late adverse effects. Pilot studies revealed excellent tumor control in medulloblastoma with acceptable acute toxicity and a long-term survival of up to 96%. In medulloblastoma stereotactic radiation techniques reveal an acceptable toxicity and promising results in tumor control in recurrent disease or as primary treatment. They are now part of future treatment protocols in case of persisting residual tumor. Radiotherapy alone in pure germinoma is continuously yielding high cure rates. In secreting ...
This study is for chemoradiotherapy of unresectable and recurrent cholangiocarcinoma (CCC). Between April 2005 and March 2007, 5 patients were evaluated for unresectable and recurrent CCC. All patients were performed percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) and treated with chemoradiotherapy. The radiation method was an external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and remote after loading system (RALS). The chemotherapy was 5-fluorouracil (FU) and gemcitabine by intravenous injection. Three patients had unresectable and 2 had recurrent CCC. As for the side effects, 4 patients had a slight neutropenia and 1 had an uncontrollable gastric bleeding. No patient had cholangitis. The mean survival time for unresectable and recurrent CCC was 13.7 months and 17 months, respectively. Our results indicated that chemoradiotherapy had been consistent with efficacy in patients with unresectable and ...
BackgroundInflammatory markers may be associated with recurrent vascular events after stroke. We aimed to: (1) determine the association between interleukin-6, C-reactive...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe optimal treatment for locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) is still a matter of debate. This study assessed the outcome of LRRC patients treated with multimodality...Full Text Available
BackgroundIdentification of urinary biomarkers for detection of bladder cancer recurrence would be beneficial to minimize the frequency of cystoscopy. Our objective was to determine...Full Text Available
Peptic ulcer bleeding is a common disease and recurrent bleeding is an independent risk factor of mortality. Infusion with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) prevents recurrent bleeding after successful...Full Text Available
The authors describe the different types of postoperative carcinoma recurrences, as seen on CT examinations of the chest, in 38 patients who underwent different surgical procedures for bronchogenic carcinoma (12 pneumonectomies, 22 lobectomies, 2 segmentectomies, and 2 atypical resections). The recurrences were classified as follows: 1) recurrence in the bronchial stump; 2) limph node enlargement; 3) recurrence in the thoracic wall; 4) recurrence in the residual lobe; 5) pleural effusion; 6) nodule in the contralateral lung. The CT findings, Correlated with those from plain chest radiographs and clinical simptoms, indicate a higher incidence of recurrences in the hilar region, either in the bronchial stump or as node after total and subtotal resection are separately analyzed. While after pneumonectomy plain chest radiographs fail to demonstrate the ...
ObjectivePersons with chronic or recurrent pain frequently visit the emergency department (ED), yet little research examines this experience. We conducted this national survey to...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that perioperative transfusion of allogeneic and autologous red blood cells (RBCs) stored for a prolonged period speeds biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE To present our initial experience of thulium laser resection via a flexible cystoscope for recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (ThuRBT), as transurethral resection for bladder tumour (TURBT) is regarded as the reference standard for treating this disease, but alternative laser resection or ablation is suitable especially for recurrent tumours. PATIENTS AND METHODS From January 2005 to October 2005, 32 patients with early recurrent bladder tumour (recurrent within a year after TURBT) were treated with ThuRBT via a flexible cystoscope. The follow-up included urine analysis, ultrasonography and cystoscopy every 3 months. RESULTS All patients were treated successfully with ThuRBT in one session, with no bladder haemorrhage, obturator nerve reflex or vesicle perforation. Rand...
339 CT und 95 MRT examinations in 210 partients were evaluated retrospectively to determine the value of CT and MRT for follow-up of head and neck tumors and for diagnosing recurrences. Semi-quantitative evaluation of tumor extent during and after radiotherapy showed advantages for MRT since changes induced by treatment, particularly oedema, produced less contrast loss in the images. CT had a sensitivity of 81% for the recognition of recurrences; this was 92% for MRT. Specificity for CT was 76% and for MRT 86%. Concerning the reliability of individual diagnostic criteria, space occupying lesions were the most valuable in CT diagnosis. For MRT, space occupying lesions and infiltration into neighbouring structures were of equal value. Because of differences in the nature of the signals, MRT proved better than CT in characterising recurrent masses and this improved the differentiation between scarring and local tumour ...
We evaluated the relation between the lipiodol accumulative pattern on CT 1 month after 1st Lp-TAE and the effect of Lp-TAE and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in 70 cases undergoing Lp-TAE twice. The lipiodol accumulative pattern on CT can be classified into four types (I: homogeneous, II: defect, III: inhomogeneous, IV: no or slight). In the type I, recurrence of the main tumor was 26.7%, daughter was 73.7%, suggesting a good effect of Lp-TAE. In the types II, III and IV, recurrence of the main tumor was seen in 66.7%, 83.3% and 83.3%, respectively, suggesting that the effect of Lp-TAE was worse according to the lipiodol accumulative pattern on CT. The lipiodol accumulative pattern on CT is useful for the detection of recurrence and assessment of the effect of Lp-TAE. (author).
The objective was to characterize imaging findings of benign notochordal cell tumors (BNCTs). Clinical and imaging data for 9 benign notochordal cell tumors in 7 patients were reviewed retrospectively. Conventional radiographs (n = 9), bone scintigrams (n = 2), computed tomographic images (n = 7), and magnetic resonance images (n = 8) were reviewed. Eight of the 9 lesions were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and microscopically examined. There were 3 male and 4 female patients with an age range of 22 to 55 years (average age, 44 years). Two patients had two lesions at different sites. The lesions involved the cervical spine in 4 patients, the lumbar spine in 2, the sacrum in 2, and the coccyx in 1. The most common symptom was mild pain. The lesions of 2 patients were found incidentally during imaging studies for unrelated conditions. Five patients underwent surgical procedures. One patient died of surgical complications. All other patients have been well without ...
Malformations in farmed fish are a prime research topic as it has a major impact on fish welfare and on the economical value of the product. In this study, the genetic component of spine deformities was estimated in European sea bass, a major species of Mediterranean aquaculture, with the use of a posteriori reconstruction of pedigree with microsatellites. Our population exhibited a very high malformation rate (81%), probably due to intense swimming of fish during pre-growing. The heritability of global spine deformities was evaluated to be 0.21?0.04 on the underlying scale (0.33?0.06 for lordosis, 0.13?0.04 for scoliosis). Deformities scored by an internal or external examination turned out to be genetically the same trait (genetic correlations>0.9), although phenotypic correlations were ...
Endogenous opioid peptides (EOP) are molecules affecting many biological functions influencing productive and reproductive performance. They increase in stress conditions and interact with specific opioidergic receptors (OR): delta, kappa and mu. Several studies in other animal species suggest that they can also affect sperm cell motility. In fish the ionic external environment modulates the increase of intracellular calcium ion that is required to activate sperm motility after spawning. In mammals OR are functionally associated to calcium channels and in fishes calcium is highly required for fish sperm activation. In this study the presence of OR on spermatozoa of two Perciform fish, the sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus puntazzo, family Sparidae) and the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labr...
Twenty-five patients with ovarian carcinoma who had been operated and treated with chemotherapy underwent clinical examination and CT before reintervention (second-look laparotomy) to detect the presence of eventual recurrences. The prediction of recurrence based on CT and clinical findings was compared with the surgical findings at reintervention. CT proved to be more accurate than clinical examination in detecting recurrences; this was especially true for masses in the abdominal cavity, with the exception of small peritoneal nodules. The authors suggest the use of CT for staging the patients candidate to reintervention. This might help to avoid reintervantion in patients with persistent disease and to plan treatment.
Assessment of the results of laminectomy for lumbar disc lesions is unsatisfactory, but it seems that some degree of recurrent pain is virtually inevitable. The clinical features and incidence of the...Full Text Available
Objective: To explore the interventional method to treat biliary recurrent jaundice after T tube drainage in patients with malignant obstructive jaundice due to cholangiocarcinoma. Methods: 7 biliary metallic stents were placed in 7 patients with recurrent jaundice after T-tube drainage in cholangiocarcinoma cases. Results: Stent placement was once successful in all 7 cases with successful rate of 100%. For all cases, TBIL, ALT, GTP and AKP values 7 days postoperatively were significantly lower than that of preoperation together with subsidence of jaundice satisfactorily for 100% after the treatment. Conclusions: Percutaneous placement of biliary metallic stents was effective economic, minimal invasive and safe for palliation of biliary recurrent jaundice after T tube drainage in cholangiocarcinoma-induced obstructive jaundice
Plate-boundary earthquakes have occurred repeatedly in the past several thousand years at the Cascadia subduction zone, where they are widely recorded ... ...
To evaluate the predictive factors for treatment response and prognostic factors affecting survival outcomes after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma. Medical records of forty two patients with histologically confirmed analsquamous cell carcinoma, who had complete CCRT between 1993 and 2008, were reviewed retrospectively. Median age was 61.5 years (39-89 years), and median radiotherapy (RT) dose was 50.4 Gy (30.0-64.0 Gy). A total of 36 patients had equal to or less than T2 stage (85.7%). Fourteen patients (33.3%) showed regional nodal metastasis, 36 patients (85.7%) were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus mitomycin, and the remaining patients were treated by 5-FU plus cisplatinum. The median follow--up time was 62 months (2-202 months).The 5-year overall survival, locoregional relapse-free survival, disease-free survival, and colostomy-free survival rates were 86.0%, 71.7%, 71.7%, 78.2%, respectively. Regarding overall survival, the ...
Purpose: Efficacy and safety of the own single-center experience with moderately dosed radiosurgery (SRS) for limited (one to four) brain metastases were analyzed and correlated with patient- and treatment-related variables. Patients and Methods: Between 05/1998 and 10/2006, 93 patients received SRS for a total of 142 brain metastases. The median number of brain metastases treated per patient was one (range, one to four). 46 patients (49%) received initial SRS alone, 13 patients (14%) SRS with up-front whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT), and 34 patients (37%) SRS for recurrent metastases after WBRT. Median dose was 16 Gy (range, 10-20 Gy). Results: Median overall survival (OS) was 7.5 months. The actuarial 6- and 12-month data for OS were 60% and 35%, for local brain control (LBC) 87% and 79%, and for distant brain control (DBC) 48% and 37%, respectively. Only ten of 46 patients (22%) with initial SRS alone ultimately received WBRT. Ten patients suffered from seizures ...
Earth`s history has been witness to recurrently alternating phases of catastrophic evolution and dominant tectonic deformations, contractions and extension of rifting and spreading leading to quasi-cyclic changes in sedimentary environment and various earth processes. Recent studies have shown quasi-periodicities of 32{+-}2 Million years (Myr) in various endogenic (geomagnetic reversals, magmatic events, mantle convection, various tectonic activities, climate change and biological extinctions) and exogenic (impact catering) processes indicating a remarkable kinship. A time series analysis is presented of the available CO{sub 2} record over the past 250 Myr decoded from global CaCO{sub 3} accumulation rates in sedimentary environment. The time series analysis reveals an intriguing evidence of a dominant periodicity of 33{+-}2 Myr which matches closely with a `common catastrophic periodicity` of 32 Myr identified in various terrestrial and ...
Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is typically a clonal neoplasm of epidermotropic CD4+ T-lymphocytes that includes the entity mycosis fungoides (MF). After identification of patients with recurrent MF treated...Full Text Available
We consider the numerical discretization of the time-domain Maxwell's equations with an energy-conserving discontinuous Galerkin finite element formulation. This particular formulation allows for higher order approximations of the electric and magnetic field. Special emphasis is placed on an efficient implementation which is achieved by taking advantage of recurrence properties and the tensor-product structure of the chosen shape functions. These recurrences have been derived symbolically with computer algebra methods reminiscent of the holonomic systems approach.
Cholangiocarcinoma may be associated with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis as a complication of longstanding proliferative cholangitis in the presence of intrahepatic stones. Sonographic and CT findings of six patients with cholangiocarcinoma of the liver associated with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis are presented. The cases were among 128 patients who underwent partial resection of the liver because of recurrent pyogenic cholangitis and its complication. On sonogram the mass was depicted in four patients as an ill-defined heterogenously echogenic mass and in one patient as a bulging contour; in the remaining one case the mass was not detected. There were small or large, shadowing or non shadowing stones within the tumor in five cases. In one case, the stone was in the duct proximal to the tumor. On CT scans of four patients, the tumors were depicted as an ill-defined, irregular low attenuation masses with variable contrast ...
MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) has been widely used in the diagnosis of primary carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, it has had limited clinical application in diagnosing persistent or recurrent CTS. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of this imaging modality in patients who had previously undergone open carpal tunnel release without relief of symptoms, and assess the correlation of MRI with intra-operative findings upon re-exploration. MRI studies were performed on 17 wrists (16 patients) presenting with recurrent/persistent symptoms and signs of CTS in whom repeat nerve conduction studies were also performed. Surgical re-exploration was undertaken on 16 wrists in which a 100% correlation was noted between MRI and intra-operative findings of an incompletely released or re-grown tran...
Partial words are sequences over a finite alphabet that may contain wildcard symbols, called holes, which match or are compatible with all letters; partial words without holes are said to be full words (or simply words). Given an infinite partial word w, the number of distinct full words over the alphabet that are compatible with factors of w of length n, called subwords of w, refers to a measure of complexity of infinite partial words so-called subword complexity. This measure is of particular interest because we can construct partial words with subword complexities not achievable by full words. In this paper, we consider the notion of recurrence over infinite partial words, that is, we study whether all of the finite subwords of a given infinite partial word appear infinitely often, and we establish connections between subword complexity and recurrence in this more general framework.
PurposeAlthough the safety and feasibility of partial adrenalectomy in patients with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome have been established, long-term outcomes have not been examined. In this study we evaluate the recurrence and functional outcomes in a von Hippel-Lindau syndrome cohort treated for pheochromocytoma with partial adrenalectomy with a followup of at least 5 years. Materials and MethodsWe reviewed the records of patients with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome treated with partial adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma at the National Cancer Institute. Demographic, germline mutation status, surgical indication, oncologic and functional outcome data were collected. Local recurrence was defined as radiographic evidence of recurrent tumor on the ipsilateral side of partial adrenalectomy. Patients ...
BackgroundEpilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent electrophysiological activities, known as seizures. Without the appropriate detection strategies,...Full Text Available
For the evaluation of diseases of salivary origin, ultrasound and/or sialography is recommended instead of MRI. In cases of salivary tumor, ultrasound may be helpful in delineating superficial tumors. For small tumors no further imaging is needed. When dealing with a large tumor or a tumor in the deep lobe of the parotid gland, MRI is the preferred imaging method. Not only does MRI provide a large variety of soft tissue signal differences, but also the multiplanar facilities are helpful in delineating the extent of the tumor, whether located in the submandibular, sublingual, or parotid gland. Skull base invasion is often well seen by MRI. Subtle changes may be missed and in those cases CT is recommended to exclude or prove destruction of the skull base. For the evaluation of patients presenting with a recurrent pleomorphic adenoma, MRI is recommended in all patients. MRI delineates the extent and number of recurrent tumors better than palpation ...
Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has become the standard treatment modality for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nonetheless, the clinical outcomes in patients with unresectable...Full Text Available
Recurrent or primary carcinoma of the breast en cuirasse, which may involve the skin of the entire thorax and abdomen, cannot be controlled by means of surgery or conventional local irradiation. The...Full Text Available
Study DesignA retrospective study.PurposeTo determine the feasibility and effectiveness of revisional percutaneous full endoscopic discectomy for...Full Text Available
Polymers are required to use in radiation environments as insulation materials. However, they often suffer from tracking failure. There is an increasing demand to evaluate radiation effects on dielectric performance. This paper presents a recurrence plot (RP) approach to analyse surface discharge sequences of gamma-ray irradiated polymer materials based on tracking test. Studying the non-linear characteristics of discharge sequences can assist in understanding the underlying mechanism of the discharge process. Discharge sequences of the test are extended to m-dimensional phase space by using the phase space reconstructed method. As test samples, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polybutylene naphthalate (PBN) were irradiated to 100 kGy and then up to 1 MGy with a dosage rate of 10 kGy h{sup -1} by using a {sup 60}Co gamma source. The tracking tests were carried out according to the test method described in IEC60112. It is found that the RPs can give visual ...
Variant alleles of the mannose binding lectin (MBL) gene are associated with increased susceptibility to infection and polymorphisms of tumour necrosis factor and lymphotoxin alpha genes (TNF, LTA)...Full Text Available
The T-loop motif is an important recurrent RNA structural building block consisting of a U-turn sub-motif and a UA trans Watson–Crick/Hoogsteen base pair. In the presence of...Full Text Available
Recurrent tumour after radical pancreaticoduodenectomy may cause obstruction of the small bowel loop draining the liver. Roux-loop obstruction presents a particular therapeutic challenge, since the...Full Text Available
The objective of this article is to evaluate two-year clinical and radiological follow-up results for patients who were treated with microdiscectomy and posterior dynamic transpedicular stabilisation...Full Text Available
The case of an unusual late metastasis of neuroblastoma to the calcaneum, appearing as a sole recurrence 9 years after surgery, is reported. The radiographic features of the osseous lesion were very suggestive of primary bone malignancy, Ewing's sarcoma as the first option, with extraosseous spread to the soft tissues. (orig.).
While genomic alterations identified in human tumors using techniques such as comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) may be recurrent, they frequently encompass large regions, in some cases...Full Text Available
During the past decade idiopathic venous thromboembolism has become a separate entity, a chronic illness which has required prolonged anticoagulation and other prevention strategies to avoid recurrences....Full Text Available
Large-scale invariant sets such as chaotic attractors undergo bifurcations as a parameter is varied. These bifurcations include sudden changes in the size and/or type of the set. An explosion is a bifurcation in which new recurrent points suddenly appear at a non-zero distance from any pre-existing recurrent points. We discuss the following. In a generic one-parameter family of dissipative invertible maps of the plane there are only four known mechanisms through which an explosion can occur: (1) a saddle-node bifurcation isolated from other recurrent points, (2) a saddle-node bifurcation embedded in the set of recurrent points, (3) outer homoclinic tangencies, and (4) outer heteroclinic tangencies. (The term ``outer tangency'' refers to a particular configuration of the stable and unstable manifolds at tangency.) In particular, we examine different types of tangencies of stable and unstable manifolds ...
The radiographic appearance of Ewing's sarcoma was studied retrospectively in 22 patients who survived 5 years or longer after diagnosis and treatment. Expected changes from treatment, including regression of the extraosseous soft tissue mass, periostitis, and reconstitution of the cortex, occurred in all patients. Local recurrence occurred in one patient 10 years after complete remission whereas secondary osteosarcoma occurred more than 5 years after complete remission in two other cases. Both recurrent and secondary tumors presented as new lytic foci at the site of the original primary lesion. Lytic changes from radiation (radiation osteitis) may develop more than 2 years after treatment and in this sample; such findings were widely distributed in the radiation port. The authors conclude that bone remodeling and postradiation changes occur slowly over 2 years after treatment, and that any localized lysis at the primary site is suspicious for ...
PurposeDistant metastasis and recurrence are major prognostic factors associated with breast cancer. Both lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and blood vessel invasion (BVI) are important...Full Text Available
Ewing sarcoma (ES) is the second most common type of primary bone malignancy in children and young adults. Survival rates for localized ES have improved to upwards of 70% with aggressive chemotherapy...Full Text Available
ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to compare clinical and radiological outcomes of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) and open lumbar microdiscectomy (OLM) for...Full Text Available
BackgroundWide resection with tumor-free margins is necessary in soft-tissue sarcomas to minimize local recurrence and to contribute to long-term survival. Information about treatment...Full Text Available
We report a case of a female patient who was operated at the third relapse of an atrial myxoma caused by Carney complex. The difficult operation was performed without any complications despite extensive...Full Text Available
BackgroundBiomarkers play a key role in risk assessment, assessing treatment response, and detecting recurrence and the investigation of multiple biomarkers may also prove useful...Full Text Available
Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare cause of recurrent acute pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis in middle-aged patients, and is characterised by a marked infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma...Full Text Available
Antiplatelet resistance has been proposed as a possible mechanism to explain recurrent cardiovascular events in patients who have coronary artery disease and who are undergoing dual antiplatelet therapy....Full Text Available
A 13 year- old girl presented to the department with sternomental contractures as a result of facial burns from kerosene explosion. Difficult airway was envisaged. Over the period of time she developed...Full Text Available
Methods: Systemic irradiation of neuroaxis is an essential part in the management of medulloblastoma, stPNET and intracranial germ cell tumors. The introduction of quality assurance programs in radiooncology assures a precise radiotherapy of target volumes and is a prerequisite to improve survival. Results: Hyperfractionated radiotherapy has the potential of increasing dose to tumor more safely without increasing the risk for late adverse effects. Pilot studies revealed excellent tumor control in medulloblastoma with acceptable acute toxicity and a long-term survival of up to 96%. In medulloblastoma stereotactic radiation techniques reveal an acceptable toxicity and promising results in tumor control in recurrent disease or as primary treatment. They are now part of future treatment protocols in case of persisting residual tumor. Radiotherapy alone in pure germinoma is continuously yielding high cure rates. In secreting ...
The radiotherapy is the prime treatment for the cavum cancer. It is also useful to treat the tumor recurrences, in this case the reirradiation stays the only efficient therapy option to give a correct local control. The reirradiation, exclusive or in association with other therapies can contribute to the local control of cavum cancer recurrences with a survival rate at five years of 36 to 58%. (N.C.)
Back pain from osteoporosis is commonly related to compression fractures. The patient with vertebral compression fractures additionally suffers from an ongoing risk of recurrent fractures and postural abnormalities that can result in impaired respiratory function, leading to increased risk of morbidity. Weakened back muscles, especially the back extensor group, are felt to contribute significantly to this risk. The combination of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions, through physical activity, exercise, and modalities, are potential interventions that could be used to help reduce the pain of osteoporotic compression fractures as well as potentially reducing recurrent fracture rates.
Background and Purpose: In an earlier phase II study, irradiation together with razoxane was shown to improve local control in recurrent rectal cancer. Therefore, the Austrian Society of Radiooncology (OeGRO) initiated a randomized controlled trial in 1992 to compare this combined treatment versus radiation therapy alone. Patients and Methods: Between 1992 and 1999, 36 patients with localized recurrences of rectal cancer were randomized to receive radiotherapy without (group A) or with razoxane (group B). The prognostic variables of the two groups were similar except for a longer median latency period from initial surgery to local recurrence in group A. High-energy photons with daily fractions between 170 and 200 cGy were used. The median total radiation dose was 60 Gy in each group. The patients in group B received a median razoxane dose of 9.6 g (range, 5-12 g). Main outcome measures were local control, overall survival, ...
In this article the methodology followed to diagnose the performance of the equipment where heat is transferred from the feed water, condensate and circulation water systems in fossil power plants (FPP). The data collection is made with the unit in normal operation, using local instrumentation without taking the equipment out of service for its installation. The equipment diagnosis is made through the analysis of the collected data in actual operation and the design data; for this purpose a thermal balance of the interested systems is performed to obtain all the conditions an operation data. Later on the performance indicative parameters (PIP) of actual operation and design are calculated and compared one against the other. Such a comparison reveals the performance deterioration and the possible equipment faults. The data obtained and the supplementary information are stored in a data base whose objective is that Comision Federal de Electricidad has on hand a ...
{sup 99m}Tc-N-pyridoxyl-5-methyl-tryptophan (PMT) scintigraphy, which exhibits highly specific for the diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), was performed for recurrent HCC following non-surgical treatment. Eighty-four patients (total 351 examinations) were selected for the study. The ability of PMT scintigraphy to diagnose recurrent HCC after treatment was compared with that of computed tomography, ultrasonography and angiography. The results showed that sixty-three (75%) of 84 cases demonstrated positive findings during our follow-up period, most of the tumors initially showing positive findings remained PMT positive when they recurred and PMT studies shortly after treatment demonstrated wider tracer uptake rather than the actual tumor area. In conclusion, PMT scintigraphy for patients with HCC after non-surgical treatment exhibited high accuracy in identifying viable HCC only for tumors indicating positive findings. (author)
To increase further the accuracy of flow regime and considering the non-stationary characteristics of differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow, the flow regime identification method based on recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) and multi-sensor data fusion techniques is put forward. First of all, the recurrence quantification analysis method is used to extract the nonlinear feature parameters of the differential pressure fluctuation signals of gas-liquid two-phase flow, and data fusion of feature layer is conducted by QRA feature parameters of differential pressure signals of three pressure measure intervals, and composes the fusion feature vectors. The fused characteristic vector are input into the support vector machine for identify flow regime. The identification results for four typical flow regimes of air-water two-phase flow in horizontal pipe has shown that the reliability of the identification result is ...
Summary Background Treatment of localised renal cell carcinoma consists of partial or radical nephrectomy. A substantial proportion of patients are at risk for recurrence because no effective adjuvant therapy exists. We investigated the use of an autologous, tumour-derived heat-shock protein (glycoprotein 96)-peptide complex (HSPPC-96; vitespen) as adjuvant treatment in patients at high risk of recurrence after resection of locally advanced renal cell carcinoma. Methods In this open-label trial, patients were randomly assigned to receive either vitespen (n=409) or observation alone (n=409) after nephrectomy. Randomisation was done in a one to one ratio by a computer-generated pseudo-random number generator, with a block size of four, and was stratified by performance score, lymph node stat...
Recently we have made measurements of thermonuclear burst energetics and recurrence times which are unprecedented in their precision, largely thanks to the sensitivity of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. In the "Clocked Burster", GS 1826-24, hydrogen burns during the burst via the rapid-proton (rp) process, which has received particular attention in recent years through theoretical and modelling studies. The burst energies and the measured variation of alpha (the ratio of persistent to burst flux) with accretion rate strongly suggests solar metallicity in the neutron star atmosphere, although this is not consistent with the corresponding variation of the recurrence time. Possible explanations include extra heating between the bursts, or a change in the fraction of the neutron star over which accretion takes place. I also present results from 4U 1746-37, which exhibits regular burst trains which are interrupted by "out of phase" bursts.
PurposeTo conduct a retrospective analysis within a large university teaching hospital, comparing outcomes between patients receiving either radical surgery or radiotherapy as curative treatment for bladder cancer.Patients and MethodsBetween March 1996 and December 2000, 169 patients were treated radically for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Data were collected from patient notes. Statistical analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to compare radiotherapy and surgical outcome data.ResultsThere was no difference in overall, cause-specific, and distant recurrence-free survival at 5 years between the two groups, despite the radiotherapy group being older (median age, 75.3 years vs. 68.2 years). There were 31 local bladder recurrences...
Abstract Aim- Conventional outcomes such as survival, tumour recurrence and complication rates after surgery for rectal cancer have been rigorously assessed, but the importance of maintaining quality of life (QOL) after surgery for rectal cancer has received less attention. The aim of the current study was to analyse QOL and the occurrence of pelvic dysfunction after the surgical treatment of rectal cancer. Method- Between May 2005 and May 2008, 150 patients with rectal cancer underwent abdominoperineal resection (APR) or anterior resection (AR). Seventy-four answered two preoperative questionnaires. At a follow up of 1-year, 65 were alive without sign of recurrence and answered the same questionnaires: (a) validated RAND 36-item health survey QOL questionnaire; and (b) self-administered d...
The optimal management of men with very favorable clinicopathological factors who develop biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP) has not been previously reported. Both local and systemic recurrences are unlikely in this cohort. This study examines their management and outcomes. Between October 2000 to March 2010, 1627 men underwent open RP by a single surgeon. In all, 448 (27.5%) met the following criteria for extremely low risk disease: preoperative PSA level <10?ng?ml?1, clinical stage T1c/T2a, Gleason score ?6, estimated cancer volume in the surgical specimen ?5% and no evidence for positive surgical margin. Undetectable PSA was defined as ?0.04?ng?ml?1. BCR was defined as PSA ?0.2?ng?ml...
Purpose. We report a case of Ewing's sarcoma in the right distal femur in a 6-year-old male to demonstrate how dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DEMRI) findings predicted histopathology. Materials and methods. DEMRI was performed at presentation and during and after completion of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Histopathologic studies were done at presentation, at 77 weeks (20 weeks after a pathological fracture), and from the en bloc resection at 104 weeks. Results. DEMRI predicted the early tumor response, absence of tumor recurrence, presence of necrosis and lack of fracture healing, confirmed by histopathology. Conclusion. DEMRI is a clinically useful tool in managing Ewing's sarcoma. (orig.)
Twenty-two patients with vertebral primaries were registered in the Intergroup Ewing's Sarcoma Study between 1973 and 1977. The radiation doses to the primary tumors ranged between 3800 and 6200 rad. All patients received intensive combination chemotherapy. After a followup ranging between 14 and 62 months, 14 patients remained disease-free. All patients with primary tumor of the cervical and dorsal spine remained disease-free. Of eight patients with lesions in the distal spine, (sacrococcygeal region) six developed recurrence, in three a local recurrence was observed despite doses of 6000 rad or higher. Doses of 5000 rad or less (in addition to combination chemotherapy as used in the Intergroup Ewing's Study) appear adequate in controlling the primary tumors of the proximal segments of the spinal column.
A new recurrent neural network power system stabilizer (RNNPSS) based on genetic algorithm (GA) was presented. It shows faster convergence than the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) stabilizer in a multi-machine power system, because the proposed GA based neural network was first trained off-line to determine the optimal values of the learning rates. Otherwise, the RNNPSS consists of just two layers. As such, the time consumption of the damping oscillations is lower than with conventional methods. In addition, the operating range of the RNNPSS is greater than that of the LQR and conventional three layer neural networks, since the RNNPSS can greatly reduce system complexity and effectively damp system oscillations. 9 refs., 7 figs.
Fifty-nine patients underwent free flap osteocutaneous reconstruction that consisted of flaps of the dorsum of the foot in 26 patients and iliac crest flaps in 33 with a success rate of 92 percent and a mortality rate of 1.6 percent. These flaps, which require the expertise of microvascular surgeons, are time-consuming and complicate operating room and time management, but they represent a remarkable advance in reconstruction that can facilitate cosmetic and functional recovery of the patient. In particular, they promote healing in radiation-recurrent oral cancer and represent a definitive form of management for established radionecrosis of the mandible. The large volume of tissue available with iliac crest osteocutaneous grafts permits the management of patients with extensive cancer involving the skin, mucosa, and bone, but cancer control may still be disappointing and there is a need for improved adjuvant chemotherapy protocols. This technique appears to be a ...
A 21-year-old woman developed midesophageal stricture two weeks after ingestion of aluminium phosphide (AlP) tablets. Aluminium phosphide is a lethal protoplasmic toxin and is also the most common cause of suicidal poisoning in northern India. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) showed a tight esophageal stricture 29?cm from the incisors with a circumferential ulcer. Dilatation up to 17?mm was done using Savary-Gilliard dilators. She had repeated dilatations three times at nearly two-week intervals. In view of the resistant stricture, a silicone Polyflex stent was placed across the stricture and removed after 3?months; there was no recurrence of stricture even after three months of follow-up. Patients with recurrent esophageal stricture and those with fistula may benefit from silicone ...
Ewing's sarcoma and Triton's tumor are two uncommon bone tumors of the skull that have nonspecific clinical and imaging features. However, imaging methods are important in the detection of the lesions during the diagnostic investigation in order to evaluate the extent of the bone lesions, involvement of the soft tissues and brain, and to determine the presence of local recurrence and metastases. The confirmatory diagnosis relies on histological studies and immunohistochemistry. The authors report two cases of patients with these tumors and present the radiological findings. (author)
Background and ObjectivesClopidogrel resistance or low-responsiveness may be associated with recurrent atherothrombotic events after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. We prospectively...Full Text Available
The paper is concerned with the results of a morphological study following chemoradiotherapy in 25 patients with Ewing's sarcoma and 14 patients with reticulum cell carcoma. The signs of therapeutic pathomophosis were observed in the first 3 days, and substitution of the connective tissue for a necrotized tumor started by the 3rd-4th week after the initiation of therapy. In some cases tumor growth and recurrences at the site of a treated tumor were observed.
To alleviate recurrent pericardial effusion secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus, pericardio-peritoneal window was performed. Subsequently, end stage renal disease developed and the patient required peritoneal dialysis. Patency of the pericardio-peritoneal window was demonstrated by intraperitoneal injection of Tc-99m SC through a Tenckhoff catheter, which prompted special counsel to the patient in order to prevent infectious pericarditis potentially complicating peritoneal dialysis induced-peritonitis. PMID:7554664
The ?new variant famine? hypothesis posits links between HIV/AIDS and new patterns of impoverishment, food insecurity and hunger, in southern and eastern Africa. This paper explores the relevance of the NVF hypothesis to understanding Swaziland?s recurrent food crises and high HIV prevalence. Evidence exists that all four markers of NVF are present in Swaziland. The national government and the international community will have to contend with this phenomenon in future planning for the wellbeing of Swazi citizens.
Given a countable set X (usually taken to be the natural numbers or integers), an infinite permutation, \\pi, of X is a linear ordering of X. This paper investigates the combinatorial complexity of infinite permutations on the natural numbers associated with the image of uniformly recurrent aperiodic binary words under the letter doubling map. An upper bound for the complexity is found for general words, and a formula for the complexity is established for the Sturmian words and the Thue-Morse word.
We reviewed retrospectively the magnetic resonance (MR) images of 14 soft-tissue lesions of fibromatosis (desmoid tumors) encountered in 11 patients. The lesions were typically inhomogeneous in texture and round to oval in configuration. Margins were well-defined in 78% of the lesions at presentation and were infiltrating in all recurrences. (orig./DG).
It is well known that the zeros of orthogonal polynomials interlace. In this paper we study the case of multiple orthogonal polynomials. We recall known results and some recursion relations for multiple orthogonal polynomials. Our main result gives a sufficient condition, based on the coefficients in the recurrence relations, for the interlacing of the zeros of neighboring multiple orthogonal polynomials. We give several examples illustrating our result.
The authors describe the various human error encountered during Daya bay refueling overhaul, and the subsequent root cause evaluation and protective measure. Authors consider transparency is the key in reducing human error and event recurrence. Additional y, event transparency will enhance the effectiveness if experience feedback and reduce event consequence
Intrathecal _1_9_8Au colloid and methotrexate were administered to 27 children (between 1972 and 1981) with non-lymphatic leukaemia, 21 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and two with Ewing's sarcoma to prevent CNS involvement. In one boy with non-lymphatic leukaemia a stable remission after a three-year period of cytostatic treatment ended with isolated CNS involvement. No isolated CNS recurrence occurred in children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma receiving regular radiogold administration. Combined iris and CNS recurrence occurred in one child with non-Hodkin lymphoma. Eleven of 21 children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma have been in complete initial remission for 4-39 months without cytostatic treatment. Late cerebral complications have not been observed after _1_9_8Au colloid and methotrexate. (orig.).
MRT criteria have been developed to distinguish between tumour and implant material following examination of 50 patients who had transsphenoidal hypophysectomies for tumours. Judgements were based on the postoperative hormonal status and the operation notes. Following contrast injection of Gd-DTPA and using T[sub 1] weighted spin-echo sequences, implant material appeared as sandwich-like, linear or circular structures. Residual recurrent tumour produced homogenous or non-homogenous aspects without marginal enhancement in 84% of cases. Postoperative displacement of the infundibulum to the opposite side was observed in 73% of patients with tumour remnants. Sensitivity of MRT was 70%, specificity 95%. There was a positive predictive value of 94% and a negative predictive value of 72% with an accuracy of 81%. This provides assistance in differentiating between tumour remnants and implant material. MRT is recommended as a method of examination for hypophyseal tumours to ...
MRT criteria have been developed to distinguish between tumour and implant material following examination of 50 patients who had transsphenoidal hypophysectomies for tumours. Judgements were based on the postoperative hormonal status and the operation notes. Following contrast injection of Gd-DTPA and using T_1 weighted spin-echo sequences, implant material appeared as sandwich-like, linear or circular structures. Residual recurrent tumour produced homogenous or non-homogenous aspects without marginal enhancement in 84% of cases. Postoperative displacement of the infundibulum to the opposite side was observed in 73% of patients with tumour remnants. Sensitivity of MRT was 70%, specificity 95%. There was a positive predictive value of 94% and a negative predictive value of 72% with an accuracy of 81%. This provides assistance in differentiating between tumour remnants and implant material. MRT is recommended as a method of examination for hypophyseal tumours to ...
Between 1984 and 1988, seven women with breast cancer were treated with intraoperative electron beam therapy (IOEBT). All patients were Caucasian. Patient age ranged from 37 to 62 (median 53) years. Histopathology was infiltrating duct carcinoma (6/7) or medullary carcinoma (1/7). Four tumors were staged T1 N0 MO, one T1 N1 MO, one T2 N1 MO, and one lesion was recurrent. At the time of primary lumpectomy or axillary node dissection, a dose of 10 or 15 Gy IOEBT was administered to the tumor bed with 6 or 9 MeV electrons through the lumpectomy wound. All patients received 45 or 50 Gy over five to six weeks with 6 MV photons to the breast and, in four patients, to the regional nodes. Three patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and tamoxifen. No post-operative complications were observed. All patients are alive as of August, 1989, with no evidence of recurrent disease. Excellent cosmesis is the rule. Clinical and technical aspects of treatment ...
Bone matrix gelatin, prepared by sequential chemical treatment including decalcification with 0.6 N hydrochloric acid [9], was used as an alloimplant for the treatment of benign bone tumours, tumorous conditions of bone, acetabular dysplasia, delayed union, traumatic bone defects and other disorders. The bone matrix gelatin implanted into bone defects was incorporated successfully in 98% of implantations, excluding cases of infection, tumour recurrence and recurrence of tumorous conditions. The material was also implanted into ten bone sites as an onlay but in five it was resorbed without new bone formation. The incorporation of the bone matrix gelatin into the recipient bed was completed from 6 to 33 months (average 14.9 months) after implantation. Wound infection complicated 5 of 165 implantations (3%) in previously uninfected sites. Low grade fever persisting after the tenth post-operative day (a probable sign of immunological reaction) ...
An overall view of the 1982 plant operating performance is presented. All periods of ON-FEED operation, UNSCHEDULED SHUTDOWNS, and SCHEDULED SHUTDOWNS are accounted for and tabulated. Causes of UNSCHEDULED SHUTDOWNS are identified and discussed. Plant solutions aimed at reducing the effect of similar future shutdowns or preventing recurrence of such shutdowns are explained. Details of repeated, major maintenance problems with various pieces of equipment are presented. Discussion of each problem and solutions found during 1982 are given, where applicable.
The phase space beam analyzer is a measurement instrument that is applied in laser technology to perform analyses of the spatial and angular distribution of rays. We are interested in this instrument as a means to characterize non-coherent light sources. In this context, a closer look at the tolerances of this optical instrument was considered useful. Having a so-called quadrupole lens as a key element, the phase space beam analyzer is a device that features anamorphic optical properties. To describe these anamorphic properties, recurrence was made to a description by extended ray-transfer matrices. This formalism allows for an analysis of the alignment tolerances of the phase space beam analyzer and facilitates a study of the sensitivities of the instrument. The analysis is complemented using numerical ray tracing.
Abstract Background- Vitiligo, characterized by destruction of melanocytes, causes a patchy depigmentation of the skin. It has been hypothesized to have an autoimmune pathogenesis. Autoimmune disorders are more common among women and may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as recurrent abortions, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and pre-eclampsia. Objective- The purpose of this study was to investigate whether patients with vitiligo have increased rates of gestational complications. Methods- A retrospective comparative study was undertaken comparing pregnancy complications of patients with and without vitiligo. The population was composed of all singleton deliveries that occurred at the Soroka University Medical Center in Israel during the years 1988-2006. Women lack...
Forty-three patients with basal and squamous cell carcinomata arising on the pinna were treated radically using a 10 MeV electron beam. The technique and dosage are described and discussed. Primary cancer control with retention of the pinna was achieved in 34 patients. Salvage pinnectomy was performed in four patients for recurrence and one patient for radiation necrosis. Two patients with large primary tumours failed to resolve and died of their disease. The advantages for the patient of the policy of primary radical electron beam therapy are discussed.
Computed tomography (CT) has already proved extremely effective both in cerebral and abdominal pathology. Several recent publications describing first heterogeneous series [1, 2, 7, 11-17], then studies of a single type of lesion [3-6, 8] have illustrated its usefulness in the study of bone lesions. This report deals with 41 cases of Ewing's sarcoma studied by CT at the Institut Gustave Roussy from October 1977 to July 1981, and tries to show both the limitations and indications of this technique for the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of Ewing's sarcoma as well as in the diagnosis of any eventual recurrence. (orig.).
Seafloor mapping and morphometric analysis of landslide scars can provide useful insights for marine geo-hazard assessment, as demonstrated by several studies performed on different geological settings. The availability of high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and long-range side scan sonar data on the submarine portions of Stromboli Volcano allow us to map and characterize the main mass-wasting features that affect, on the whole, about the 90% of its submarine extension. In particular, two main kinds of tsunamigenic landslides have been recognized and analyzed. Large-scale sector collapses (Fig. 1) are catastrophic events that mobilize 1-2 cubic kilometers of material, generating huge tsunami waves that may affect Stromboli and propagate in surrounding areas; related hazard is not very high, as they show recurrence periods of some (or more) thousand years. Conversely, medium-scale landslides are more hazardous, as they occur at higher frequency with respect to the ...
Purpose: To conduct a retrospective analysis within a large university teaching hospital, comparing outcomes between patients receiving either radical surgery or radiotherapy as curative treatment for bladder cancer. Patients and Methods: Between March 1996 and December 2000, 169 patients were treated radically for muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Data were collected from patient notes. Statistical analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to compare radiotherapy and surgical outcome data. Results: There was no difference in overall, cause-specific, and distant recurrence-free survival at 5 years between the two groups, despite the radiotherapy group being older (median age, 75.3 years vs. 68.2 years). There were 31 local bladder recurrences in the radiotherapy group (24 solitary), but there was no significant difference in distant recurrence-free survival. In a more ...
Urinary acidification, bone metabolism and urinary excretion of calcium and citrate were evaluated in 10 recurrent stone formers with incomplete renal tubular acidosis (iRTA), 10 recurrent stone formers with normal urinary acidification (NUA) and 10 normal controls (NC). Patients with iRTA had lower plasma standard bicarbonate after fasting (P <0.01) and lower urinary excretion of titratable acid (P <0.05) and citrate (P <0.01) compared with NUA patients and NC, and higher urinary excretion of ammonia (P <0.05) compared with NC (P <0.05). Hypercalciuria was found in 6 of 10 patients with iRTA compared with 3 of 10 with NUA, and 0 of 10 NC. The citrate/calcium ratio in urine was significantly reduced in iRTA compared with the value in NUA (P <0.01), and in NUA compared with NC (P <0.05). Biochemical markers of bone formation (serum osteocalcin) and bone resorption (urinary hydroxyproline) were significantly increased in iRTA ...
Each disease affecting the bile ducts tends to produce characteristic pattern of biliary dilatation: recurrent pyogenic cholangitis causes dilatation and straightening of the larger (central) intrahepatic ducts: clonorchiasis causes dilatation of the smaller (peripheral) intrahepatic ducts; and carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts causes (proportional) dilatation and tortuosity of both larger and smaller intrahepatic ducts. To evaluate the specificity of the pattern and morphology of the dilated biliary tree on CT scans (CT characterization) three independent radiologists who were unifamiliar with the cases were asked to classify 62 CT scans in patients with obstructive jaundice. The case population consisted of 14 cases with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis, 18 cases with clonorchiasis and 30 cases with carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts, which were intermixed randomly. Classification was made only on the basis of CT characterization: ...
Each disease affecting the bile ducts tends to produce characteristic pattern of biliary dilatation: recurrent pyogenic cholangitis causes dilatation and straightening of the larger (central) intrahepatic ducts: clonorchiasis causes dilatation of the smaller (peripheral) intrahepatic ducts; and carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts causes (proportional) dilatation and tortuosity of both larger and smaller intrahepatic ducts. To evaluate the specificity of the pattern and morphology of the dilated biliary tree on CT scans (CT characterization) three independent radiologists who were unifamiliar with the cases were asked to classify 62 CT scans in patients with obstructive jaundice. The case population consisted of 14 cases with recurrent pyogenic cholangitis, 18 cases with clonorchiasis and 30 cases with carcinoma along the extrahepatic ducts, which were intermixed randomly. Classification was made only on the basis of CT characterization: ...
Total 125 patients with primary and metastatic Ewing's sarcoma were treated in various ways between 1963 to 1977. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the treatment methods. Group 1 was nonprotocol patients with or without chemotherapy. Total 58 patients were entered. Group 1 was divided into 2 subgroups. 33 patients were treated locally without chemotherapy and 25 patients were treated with local therapy and nonprotocol chemotherapy. Group 2 was treated with local therapy and plus T-2 regimen multiagent chemotherapy. 29 patients were entered. Group 3 was treated with local therapy and T-6 regimen multiagent chemotherapy. 38 patients were entered. Local treatments for primary tumor were surgery and/or radiation therapy. Radiation dose ranged between 2,000 and 8,000 rad. Patients with pulmonary metastases received bilateral pulmonary RT. Local recurrence rate was analyzed according to treatment groups and was 16.8%. Total 15 yr survival was 33% and 8 yr ...
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors, with 1043 failures, are a good example. Also, categorization by size and voltage reveals such frequencies of occurrence as ...
In the treatment of prostatic cancer using a newly proposed intermittent multiportal therapy (DIMT), acute reactions, change in tumor marker levels, and complications more than 6 months after treatment were evaluated. From June 1989 to September 1990, 26 patients with prostatic cancer (stage A2, 3 patients; B, 9; C, 2; D, 10; recurrence, 2) were treated. Fifteen patients were followed up for more than one year, with a mean period of 11.6 months. The treatment schedule is 52.5 Gy in 16 fractions in 4 weeks for radical treatment, and 30.0 Gy in 8 fractions in 2 weeks for palliative treatment. The 360 degree rotation about the patient was divided into 16 fractions, and 2 opposing fractions were used in one day as parallel opposed portals to treat the target volume. The fractions were serially treated one per day, so that 8 treatment days produced a total dose of distribution similar to that for conventional conformational therapy. The size of the irradiation field ...
Identification of factors that determine individual patient risk for recurrence and progression in superficial papillary carcinoma of the bladder is a subject of extensive research as it would be a major outcome in patient management. It has been well recognized that traditional prognostic markers as tumor grade and stage are not accurate enough in predicting biological behavior. A large number of markers have been investigated as potential prognostic factors and relatively few can help in predicting outcome. Material and Methods: Forty-nine cases undergoing complete transurethral resection for primary superficial papillary transitional cell carcinoma were subjected to clinicopathologic evaluation as well as immunohistochemical staining for p53, bcl-2, cytokeratin 20 and Ki-67. The CAS-200 image analyzer was used to estimate the Ki-67 labeling index. Results: Recurrence was observed in 19 cases (38.8%) and progression in 7 cases (14.3%) with a ...
Early recognition of recurrence and work-up of clinically indeterminate lesions may be impaired after reconstruction with silicone implants due to superimposition of the implant or to scarring. This study was undertaken to evaluate the use of contrast-enhanced MRI in patients with silicone implant after breast cancer. Contrast-enhanded MRI was offered to 169 patients. Comparative two- to three-view mammography was also performed in 169 patients, as well as comparative sonography in 144 patients. Conventional imaging and clinical examination detected only 8/13 recurrences, whereas 12/13 were detected by MRI. One recurrence had been visible as a strongly enhancing 2-mm dot in a previous examination (2 years before), but was not called. It was therefore counted as false negative. In addition, multicentricity was detected by MRI alone in two of three cases. MRI correctly diagnosed scar tissue in all cases with indeterminate ...
Introduction The progressive growth of malignancies is accompanied by a decline in the immune response through mechanisms which are poorly understood. Apoptosis and induction of inflammation by tumor released cytokines as tumor escape mechanisms have been proposed to play an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis. Methods Expression of Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-?) was analyzed in colorectal cancer specimen and the cancer cell line HT-29 by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. TNF-? expression on protein and mRNA level were correlated with clinical characteristics and impact on survival. TNFR-1 was co-labelled with TNF-? and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells in immunofluorescence double staining experiments. Results: 94% (n?=?98/104) of the patients with CRC expressed TNF-?. High TNF-? express...
Radio-frequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of the distal pulmonary veins is increasingly being used to treat recurrent or refractory atrial fibrillation that doesn't respond to pharmacologic therapy or cardioversion. Successful RFCA of atrial al fibrillation depends on the pre-procedural understanding of the complex anatomy of the distal pulmonary veins and the left atrium. Aim of this parer is to describe the technical main features that characterise the multidetector helical computed tomography in the evaluation of this anatomic region before and after RFCA procedure. The 3D post-processing techniques useful for pre-RFCA planning are straightforward.
We compute the limiting distribution, as n approaches infinity, of the number of cycles of length between gamma n and delta n in a permutation of [n] chosen uniformly at random, for constants gamma, delta such that 1/(k+1) <= gamma < delta <= 1/k for some integer k. This distribution is supported on {0, 1, ... k} and has 0th, 1st, ..., kth moments equal to those of a Poisson distribution with parameter log (delta/gamma). For more general choices of gamma, delta we show that such a limiting distribution exists, which can be given explicitly in terms of certain integrals over intersections of hypercubes with half-spaces; these integrals are analytically intractable but a recurrence specifying them can be given. The results herein provide a basis of comparison for similar statistics on restricted classes of permutations.
Purpose To evaluate disease failure patterns and overall survival (OS) of women with triple-negative (TN) breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving therapy (BCT) and to understand the relationship of TN tumors with other prognostic factors. Patients and Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry identified 562 women diagnosed and/or treated with unilateral invasive breast cancer during 2003?2004 at three Emory hospitals. After medical record review, 193 eligible women, with all tumor types, received BCT. Primary endpoints (local, regional, and distant recurrences) and secondary endpoint (OS) were evaluated using chi-square tests and Cox proportional hazards models. Results Of the 193 women, 33 (17.1%) had TN tumors and 160 (82.9%) had non-TN tumors. Patient...
The surgical management of osteoradionecrosis of the temporal bone has met with limited success because of the difficulty in accurate assessment of the viability of nonnecrotic bone intraoperatively. Failure to resect all nonviable bone results in recurrence of a necrotic focus. With the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to stabilize marginal bone and oral tetracycline to label viable bone preoperatively, removal of all nonviable bone can be accomplished. Postoperatively, a second course of hyperbaric therapy enhances wound healing, thus assuring a successful outcome. This article details a successful systematic approach that was developed to resect a necrotic focus in the temporal bone of a 10-year-old boy who had undergone a full course of radiotherapy for treatment of a rhabdomyosarcoma.
Seventy-one patients with intestinal injury secondary to pelvic irradiation had predominantly large bowel lesions. Seventeen cases were treated conservatively and 54 came to surgery, 28 patients having more than one operation. Following this essentially salvage surgery there were more ileal than colonic anastomotic leaks. Thirty-four patients died during the follow-up period (2-12 years), 19 from recurrent malignancy, and nine as a result of continuing radiation effects. Seventy per cent of the patients who had a radiation fistula died as a result of malignancy. Of 42000 cases of pelvic malignancy treated by irradiation over the decade 1972-1982, surgical referrals for complications constituted 1.7%, with an overall radiation-related mortality of 0.2%. It is our opinion that colostomy alone has little part to play in this condition, and a policy based on excisional surgery is suggested.
The initial management of nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenomas (NFAs) is usually surgery; however, a significant proportion of NFAs may require further treatment. Radiotherapy is currently used in patients with residual tumour and achieves excellent long-term control, but there are concerns about potential late toxicity. Stereotactic radiotherapy, both in the form of radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, has been developed as a more accurate technique of irradiation with more precise tumour localization and consequently a reduction in the volume of normal tissue, particularly the brain, irradiated to high radiation doses. A review of the literature suggests that new radiation techniques offer safe and effective treatment for recurrent or residual pituitary adenomas; how...
A recurrent idea in the study of complex systems is that optimal information processing is to be found near bifurcation points or phase transitions. However, this heuristic hypothesis has few (if any) concrete realizations where a standard and biologically relevant quantity is optimized at criticality. Here we give a clear example of such a phenomenon: a network of excitable elements has its sensitivity and dynamic range maximized at the critical point of a non-equilibrium phase transition. Our results are compatible with the essential role of gap junctions in olfactory glomeruli and retinal ganglionar cell output. Synchronization and global oscillations also appear in the network dynamics. We propose that the main functional role of electrical coupling is to provide an enhancement of dynamic range, therefore allowing the coding of information spanning several orders of magnitude. The mechanism could provide a microscopic neural basis for psychophysical laws.
Industrial radiography accounts for approximately half of all the reported accidents for the nuclear related industry, in both developed and developing countries. This Safety Report is the result of a review made of a large selection of accidents in industrial radiography reported by regulatory authorities, professional associations and scientific journals. A small, representative selection of 43 accident descriptions has been used to illustrate the primary causes of radiography accidents, and a set of measures provided to prevent the recurrence of such accidents or to mitigate the consequences of those that do occur. These accident descriptions were categorized by primary causes as follows: inadequate regulatory control; failure to follow operational procedures; inadequate training; inadequate maintenance; human error; equipment malfunction or defect; design flaws; and wilful violation. The information in this Safety report is intended for use by those regulatory ...
Electric supply industry is facing deregulation all over the world. Under deregulated power supply scenario, power transmission congestion has become more intensified and recurrent, as compared to conventional regulated power system. Congestion may lead to violation of voltage or transmission capacity limits, thus threatens the power system security and reliability. Also the growing congestion may lead to unanticipated divergent electricity pricing. Owing to these facts congestion management has become a crucial issue in the deregulated power system scenario. Fast and precise prediction of nodal congestion prices in real time deregulated/spot power market may enable market participants and system operators to keep pace with the congestion by taking preventive measures like transaction resc...
Abstract Copy number variants (CNVs) are known to be associated with complex neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia and autism) but have not been explored in the isolated features of aggressive behaviors such as intermittent explosive disorder (IED). IED is characterized by recurrent episodes of aggression in which individuals act impulsively and grossly out of proportion from the involved stressors. Previous studies have identified genetic variants in the serotonergic pathway that play a role in susceptibility to this behavior, but additional contributors have not been identified. Therefore, to further delineate possible genetic influences, we investigated CNVs in individuals diagnosed with IED and/or personality disorder (PD). We carried out array comparative genomic hybridizati...
The aim of this article is to report our experience in the diagnosis of two cases of iliac artery endofibrosis or arteriopathy, a rare entity occurring in high-performance athletes, presenting with intermittent claudication (right-sided in both) after maximal exercise. External iliac artery endofibrosis or arteriopathy is a likely diagnosis in competitive athletes free of cardiovascular risk factors who present with leg claudication. Arteriography and a papaverine-assisted mean pressure gradient across the iliac arteries of more than 10 mmHg is a useful diagnostic approach. Moreover, balloon angioplasty of the iliac artery in that patient, in whom a pressure gradient was detected, resulted in symptomatic relief for 2 months followed by mild symptom recurrence. Thus, although balloon angioplasty is feasible and safe, it might not be adequate to treat this entity and, thus, its value remains undefined.
In a recent paper [4], Duarte and Jutten investigated the Blind Source Separation (BSS) problem, for the nonlinear mixing model that they introduced in that paper. They proposed to solve this problem by using information-theoretic tools, more precisely by minimizing the mutual information (MI) of the outputs of the separating structure. When applying the MI approach to BSS problems, one usually determines the analytical expressions of the derivatives of the MI with respect to the parameters of the considered separating model. In the literature, these calculations were mainly reported for linear mixtures up to now. They are more complex for nonlinear mixtures, due to dependencies between the considered quantities. Moreover, the notations commonly employed by the BSS community in such calculations may become misleading when using them for nonlinear mixtures, due to the above-mentioned dependencies. We claim that the calculations reported in [4] contain an error, because they did not take ...
Abstract Purpose: To compare the safety and efficiency of conventional monopolar, plasmakinetic and holmium laser transurethral resection of bladder tumor (CM-TURBT, PK-TURBT and HoL-TURBT) while managing primary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Patients and Methods: From 2005 to 2009, 173 patients with primary non-muscle invasive bladder cancer underwent endoscopic surgery. Among them, 51 patients underwent CM-TURBT, 58 patients underwent PK-TURBT, and 64 patients underwent HoL-TURBT. All patients were divided into three risk groups (low, intermediate, and high) based on the European Association of Urology guidelines and prognostic factors of recurrence. Clinical data, included preoperative, operative, and postoperative management and follow-up, were recorded. Results: Patient demograp...
On 10 dialysis patients we performed 12 balloon dilatations, 2 catheter lyses, 6 stent implants (Palmaz stent) and one atherectomy of central venous stenoses or occlusions (v. subclavia, v. brachiocephalica) at the shunt arm of the patient. The primary success rate was, in balloon PTA and lysis, 12/14 interventions, and in stent placement and atherectomy 7/7. The angiographical and clinical primary result after stent implantation was significantly better than after conventional dilatation. After 66% of the balloon dilatations recidivation occurred within the first year; this can be treated by means of repeated PTA. Whether long-term exclusion of recurrence can be achieved by stent implantation, must be established by means of follow-up studies that are at present in progress. (orig.).
Automatic ultrasonic testing is presented as a method for recurrent inspections of pressure gas vessels, from validation to practical testing to customised test applications. National and international regulations and standards are presented along with related implementation problems. [German] Es wird die automatisierte Ultraschallpruefung im Bereich der wiederkehrenden Pruefung von Druckgasbehaeltern, als Alternative zur herkoemmlichen, klassischen Wasserdruckpruefung, vorgestellt. Von der Validierung ueber die praktische Erprobung bis hin zur kundenspezifisch entwickelten Pruefapplikation. Es werden die Anforderungen aus nationalen und internationalen Vorschriften und Normen sowie die damit zusammenhaengenden Umsetzungsprobleme behandelt.
The Elman artificial neural network (ANN) (feedback connection) was used for seismic data filtering. The recurrent connection that characterizes this network offers the advantage of storing values from the previous time step to be used in the current time step. The proposed structure has the advantage of training simplicity by a back-propagation algorithm (steepest descent). Several trials were addressed on synthetic (with 10% and 50% of random and Gaussian noise) and real seismic data using respectively 10 to 30 neurons and a minimum of 60 neurons in the hidden layer. Both an iteration number up to 4000 and arrest criteria were used to obtain satisfactory performances. Application of such networks on real data shows that the filtered seismic section was efficient. Adequate cross-validation test is done to ensure the performance of network on new data sets.
Records of 154 patients with Ewing's sarcoma treated at the National Cancer Institute were reviewed to assess the incidence and risk of developing isolated central nervous system (CNS) Ewing's sarcoma. Sixty-two of the 154 patients had received CNS irradiation and intrathecal (i.t.) methotrexate as part of their initial therapy to prevent the occurrence of isolated CNS Ewing's sarcoma. The risk of developing isolate CNS Ewing's sarcoma was greatest within the first two years after diagnosis and was approximately 10%. The overall risk of CNS recurrence in the group of patients receiving DNS treatment was similar to the group receiving no therapy directed to the CNS. The occurrence of isolated CNS involvement was not prevented by the use of CNS irradiation and i.t. methotrexate. Because of a lack of efficacy to the CNS irradiation regimen, current treatment regimens do not include therapy directed to CNS.
We perform a recursive reduction of one-loop n-point rank R tensor Feynman integrals [in short: (n,R)-integrals] for n{<=}6 with R{<=}n by representing (n,R)-integrals in terms of (n,R-1)- and (n-1,R-1)-integrals. We use the known representation of tensor integrals in terms of scalar integrals in higher dimension, which are then reduced by recurrence relations to integrals in generic dimension. With a systematic application of metric tensor representations in terms of chords, and by decomposing and recombining these representations, we find the recursive reduction for the tensors. The procedure represents a compact, sequential algorithm for numerical evaluations of tensor Feynman integrals appearing in next-to-leading order contributions to massless and massive three- and four-particle production at LHC and ILC, as well as at meson factories. (orig.)
We wanted to evaluate the usefulness of a new type of a complex expandable nitinol stent that was designed to reduce the stent's propensity to migration during the treatment of malignant gastroduodenal obstructions. Two types of expandable nitinol stent were constructed by weaving a single thread of 0.2mm nitinol wire in a tubular configuration: an uncovered stent 18mm in diameter and a covered stent 16mm in diameter. Both ends of the covered stent were fabricated by coaxially inserting the covered stent into the tubular uncovered stent and then attaching the two stents together with using nylon monofilament. Under fluoroscopic guidance, the stent was placed in 29 consecutive patients (20 men and 9 women, mean age: 65 years) who were suffering with malignant gastric outlet obstruction (n=20), duodenal obstruction (n=6) or combined obstruction (n=3). Clinical improvement was assessed by comparing the food intake capacity before and after the procedure. The complications were ...
Colerectal cancer (CRC) is the second commonest cancer in the Western World. Successful treatment relies significantly on accurate detection and staging of primary disease as well as the early identification of the presence and extent of recurrence. Morphological imaging techniques, particularly computed tomography (CT), are well established and widely available to carry out these tasks in addition to predicting and monitoring response to therapy. This review analyses the current inadequacies for imaging CRC and critically assesses the potential role of functional imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). It was reviewed the current literature, to use the experience from the firs 1000 PET studies carried out at the institution and the perspective of surgical colleagues. It was found little evidence for the use of 2-["1"8F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET for screening asymptomatic individuals and current modalities appear better suited for detection of ...
A sensitive radio-assay for ferritin was developed and used to examine serum ferritin levels in 105 patients with recurrent oral ulceration (ROU), 41 patients with Behcet's syndrome (BS), 42 with other ulcerative oral lesions, 35 patients with non-ulcerative oral lesions and in 78 controls. Ferritin levels increased with age and were significantly higher in males than females. The mean ferritin concentrations in male patients with ROU, BS or with other oral ulcers were significantly reduced in comparison with controls, and in female patients were significantly reduced in those with major aphthous ulcers. The prevalence of low serum ferritin levels was about 8% in patients with ROU, 15% in BS and 9.5% in patients with other ulcerative oral lesions, compared with less than 3% in patients with non-ulcerative oral disorders and in controls. Most of the iron-deficient patients were female. Serum ferritin levels did not directly correlate with serum iron levels ...
Clinical information is indispensable for swift and cost-effective clarification of diseases of the larynx. While quality clarification of neurological changes in the area of the posterior cranial fossa and in the course of the vagus nerve as a cause of glottis malfunction is possible with MRI, localized disease of the larynx can more effectively be assessed with low-artifact CT. In the particularly difficult assessment of the post-operative larynx, a recurrence can be diagnosed only after a baseline study has been carried out after the end of therapy. With knowledge of the pretherapeutic findings, the findings immediately post-therapy, and the operation technique used, the optimal CT examination, which can be carried out quickly, will be able to provide more information about recurrence. (orig.) [Deutsch] Zur schnellen und kostenguenstigen Abklaerung von Erkrankungen des Larynx ist die klinische Information unabdingbar: Wenn neurologische ...
This report deals with the preliminary results of trials in the DATECA project with stage I, II and III patients with non-seminomatous germ cell tumours. Stage 1 patients were randomized between infradiaphragmatic irradiation and observation. No significant difference in recurrence rates has been observed as yet. Eighteen of 95 patients had recurrence with a median time to relapse of 3 months. Fifteen patients achieved complete remission after treatment by combination chemotherapy while 3 patients are still undergoing treatment. Stage II patients received 6 series of cis-platinum, bleomycin, and vinblastine. The patients were initially randomized to receive chemotherapy alone versus chemotherapy plus irradiation. Irradiation led to increased toxicity and decreased doses of the antineoplastic drugs. Fifty-one patients were studied. The overall complete remission rate was 89 per cent including 7 patients who achieved complete remission after ...
This report deals with the preliminary results of trials in the DATECA project with stage I, II and III patients with non-seminomatous germ cell tumours. Stage 1 patients were randomized between infradiaphragmatic irradiation and observation. No significant difference in recurrence rates has been observed as yet. Eighteen of 95 patients had recurrence with a median time to relapse of 3 months. Fifteen patients achieved complete remission after treatment by combiantion chemotherapy while 3 patients are still undergoing treatment. Stage II patients received 6 series of cis-platinum, bleomycin, and vinblastine. The patients were initially randomized to receive chemotherapy alone versus chemotherapy plus irradiation. Irradiation led to increased toxicity and decreased doses of the antineoplastic drugs. Fifty-one patients were studied. The overall complete remission rate was 89 per cent including 7 patients who achieved complete remission after ...
The results of 144 previously untreated cases of primary Ewing's sarcoma of bone are reported with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. This series was treated between 1972 and 1982 at Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli with a combined therapy. The local control of the disease consisted of amputation (ten cases), resection followed by radiation therapy (35-45 Gy) (48 cases) and radiation therapy alone (40-60 Gy) (86 cases). Adjuvant chemotherapy, rigorously standardized, was performed according two different protocols: the first (85 cases treated in the period 1972-1978) consisted of vincristine (VCR) Adriamycin (doxorubicin) (ADM), and cyclophosphamide (EDX); the second (59 cases treated in the period 1979-1982) of VCR, ADM, EDX and dactinomycin (DACT). At a follow-up of 5 to 16 years (median, 9), 59 patients (41%) are continuously disease-free (CDF), 81 (56%) developed metastatic disease and/or local recurrence, and four (3%) had a second malignancy. Three factors seem to be ...
The clinical results of electron beam therapy using intraoral cone in 8 cases of primary and recurrence carcinoma of tongue (T1 and smaller T2) were reported. The primary and recurrence cases were 5 and 3, respectively. In the 5 cases, a total dose of 10-30 Gy external radiation therapy were combined prior to electron beam therapy. The total dose of electron beam therapy varied from 40 to 60 Gy. In all cases, tumor showed good response and disappeared clinically. Radiation stomatitis, pain of the tongue with masticatory disturbance due to tenderness were complicated in all cases. These complications gradually disappeared 2 to 6 months after treatment. However, loss of body weight and bone exposure were not recognized in any case. Intraoral-cone electron beam therapy is thought to be available and has less complications comparing interstitial irradiation therapy from the review of literature. Within 6 months after radiation, submandibular ...
A questionnaire survey undertaken among 142 schoolteachers in North Staffordshire revealed most of the respondents did not feel confident when teaching children who had epilepsy and a minority considered...Full Text Available
the revealed stage of T Tauri star evolution, is only a mere shadow of its former self. Once primary accretion starts, one has the (poorly quantified) ...
Evolution in Space Radio Telescopes Reveal Youngest Stellar Corpse Gas Clouds in Whirlpool Galaxy Yield Important Clues Supporting Theory on Spiral Arms Starbust-driven Winds...
The invention of the microscope disclosed a whole new world, that of the hitherto invisibly small. Histologic evidence as revealed by the microscope has become a cornerstone of medical diagnosis, and...Full Text Available
The rapidly emerging science of epigenetics and epigenomic medicine promises to reveal novel insights into the susceptibility to and the onset and progression of epileptic disorders. Epigenetic...Full Text Available
14C-dated Holocene coastal uplift, conventional and satellite geodetic measurements, and coseismic and aseismic fault slip reveal the pattern of distributed deformation at Taiwan resulting...Full Text Available
9 9 simulated Purex waste oxides was investigated as a function of Na/sub 2/O, CaO and P/sub 2/O/sub 5/ content. All compositions lost some sulfate at 50 to 100 deg C above the softening point. In generai the volatility decreased with increase of either Na/ sub 2/O or CaO relative to P/sub 2/O/sub 5/, but no simple correlation Was indicated. Softening temperatures were lowered by inc ease in Na/sub 2/O vs CaO. Ceramic solids were obtained but no true glasses. Attempts to produce glasses by addition of varying combinations of Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/, PbO, BaO, and B/sub 2/O/ sub 3/ to simulated Pure x waste plus phosphite were unsuccessful. The use of 0.005 M Na/sub 2/C/O/sub 3/ to precipitate calcium from wastes containing up to 3 ppm of phosphate was demonstrated in four pilot plant runs and produced a decrease in the hardness of the waste leaving the clarifier. An inadvertent Sr/ sup 90/ and Cs/sup 137/ breakthrough occurred during one run which was caused ...
Of 1850 patients with cholelithiasis diagnosed in the past 17 years, 1116 female and 734 male, 598 patients (32.3%) presented with one or more of three major symptoms, i.e., abdominal pain, fever and jaundice, whereas the remainder (67.7%) had none of these symptoms. The proportion of the asymptomatic patients was similar in all age groups, being around 70%. Only 20 per cent of 680 asymptomatic patients, followed for 10 to 17 years (median 13.3 years), developed biliary symptoms. Older patients over 70 years of age had a higher rate of change to the symptomatic group, as compared with younger patients under 70, 29.5% vs. 19.3%, respectively. During this period, carcinoma of the gallbladder developed in one of the asymptomatic patients (0.1%). Oral dissolution therapy was successful in only 4.2 per cent of attempted cases and associated with a recurrence rate of as high as 20%. We conclude that asymptomatic gallstone patients should only be followed up by ultrasound ...
The microbial transport simulator (MTS) is a three-dimensional, three-phase, multiple-component numerical model that permits the study of the transport of microorganisms and nutrients in porous media. Microbial parameters incorporated into MTS include: Microbial growth and decay, microbial deposition, chemotaxis, diffusion, convective dispersion, tumbling, and nutrient consumption. Governing equations for microbial and nutrient transport are coupled with continuity and flow equations under conditions appropriate for a black oil reservoir. The model`s mathematical formulations and preparation procedures of data files for conducting simulations using MTS are described. A general background of microbial transport simulation is given in Section I and the governing equations, mechanisms, and numerical solutions of MTS are given in Section II. Explanations for preparing an input data file with reservoir and microbial transport data are described in Section III, and ...
Preventing recurrence of surface mining accidents in the coal industry remains a top priority requiring constant vigilance and a substantial commitment from all involved in open pit mining operations. Open pit wall failures, loose rocks rolling down slopes, ground water and stockpiling procedures are common sources of risks in open cut coal operations. This video aims to equip workers with the necessary skills and knowledge to assess and react to the geomechanics hazards in open pit coal operations. Workers need to have the competencies to manage geomechanics hazards to facilitate their own and their workmates' safety. No matter how good the operating systems are, the first line of defence against accidents is the experience, skill and knowledge-based judgment of each individual mine worker. The video covers: Open pit coal mine risk management and geomechanical issues; Terminology, mining cycle, and explanation of pit slope hazards; and Understanding of ...
We report the results of a worldwide campaign to observe WZ Sagittae during its 2001 superoutburst. After a 23-year slumber at V=15.5, the star rose within 2 days to a peak brightness of 8.2, and showed a main eruption lasting 25 days. The return to quiescence was punctuated by 12 small eruptions, of ~1 mag amplitude and 2 day recurrence time; these "echo outbursts" are of uncertain origin, but somewhat resemble the normal outbursts of dwarf novae. After 52 days, the star began a slow decline to quiescence. Periodic waves in the light curve closely followed the pattern seen in the 1978 superoutburst: a strong orbital signal dominated the first 12 days, followed by a powerful /common superhump/ at 0.05721(5) d, 0.92(8)% longer than P_orb. The latter endured for at least 90 days, although probably mutating into a "late" superhump with a slightly longer mean period [0.05736(5) d]. The superhump appeared to follow familiar rules for such phenomena in dwarf novae, with ...
In the years 2004 and 2005, Korea became a prospective nation noteworthy in the world through the epochal development of genetic engineering in our country. Obstinate or incurable diseases were expected to be healed in a few years by a Korean geneticist. So many worldwide patients of obstinate or incurable diseases took notice of the research outcomes and organized an aid association to collect supporting funds. World renowned journals such as 'Nature' and 'Science' published Dr. Hwang's theses. A long and distant way remedy to obstinate diseases seemed to be closer at hand so early. However, a stem cell fraud case emerged throughout the world in late 2005, the pride of the Korean people was destroyed. With this as a momentum, voices of self reflection by scientific circles were raised. The purpose of this study is not in finding the truth of the stem cell research but to propose an effective management and control measures for the future in planning, implementing, monitoring and ...
Up to this time the sigmoid colostomy has been widely accepted and conventional treatment for radiation-injured rectum, but patients without residual malignancy strongly desire to live without colostomy. We have tried to remove the involved rectal segments by sphincter-saving procedures. Four patients underwent these procedures, pull-through procedure in three and low anterior resection in one. Among sphincter-saving procedures, pull-through procedure was most adequate. Provided the following five conditions are fulfilled, pull-through procedure should be considered for severe radiation-injured rectum. (1) No recurrence of initial malignancy in the pelvis. (2) More than 2 cm intact rectal segment above dentate line may be preserved. (3) No radiation-injured segment in upper sigmoid. (4) No severe radiation damage in small intestine. (5) Patients under 70 year-old, with normal tonus of anal sphincter.
Two local repair procedures, one without (9) and the other with (14) a bulbocavernosus muscle graft were performed on 20 patients with a radiation induced rectovaginal fistula. Four patients had two procedures successively. The initial success rate of both procedures was 7/9 and 14/14 respectively. Though the initial result of the bulbocavernosus graft was obviously better, in many of the local repair procedures, subclinical radiation damage progressed, resulting in recurrence of rectovaginal fistula (5), rectovesical fistula (4), pararectal abscess (2) etc. After a mean follow up of around 10 years, the success rate of fistula repair decreased to 5/9 and 13/14 and only 2/9 and 6/14 finally remained without a colostomy. A local repair operation should be restricted to carefully selected cases. The musculus gracilis is proposed as a better vascular graft. If the general condition of the patient does not allow more aggressive reconstructive procedures, fistula repair ...
Primary adenocarcinomas of the urinary bladder are uncommon, and the molecular pathways are currently not well defined. In this study, we assessed the association between biologic markers and clinicopathologic characteristics in a cohort of 21 patients with primary urinary bladder adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining for cell cycle-specific markers, including p53, p21, p27, Ki-67, and cyclin E, were performed on sections of a tissue microarray construct. The tumors were high grade in 12 (57%) and pT2 or higher in 18 (86%); lymph nodes were involved in 6 cases (29%); and there was pathologic evidence of schistosomiasis in 14 (67%). The best prognostic combination of markers was combined alterations in p27 and Ki-67 and was associated with stage (P = .012), grade (P = .005), DNA ploidy (P = .005), and lymph node involvement (P = .04). Stage, lymph node involvement, combined alterations of p27 and Ki-67, and combined alterations of all 5 biomarkers were associated with increased ...
Sonography, subtraction scintigraphy, computed tomography and MRI were compared in 100 patients who had surgery 105 times for hyperparathyroidism (HPT). Surgical and pathological data were available for all operations. A total of 105 MR, 77 CT, 84 sonograms and 70 subtraction scintigrams were performed. The ability of the imaging modalities, individually and in combination, to detect HPT, histology, size, concomitant thyroid disease and location of the diseased glands has been evaluated. For primary HPT, sensitivity ranged from 68% for MRI to 40% for scintigraphy but was much lower for tertiary HPT with all modalities. The ability to identify diseased glands was strongly size dependent for all methods. If patients had had previous neck surgery, the most sensitive methods were MRI and scintigraphy and this also held true for patients with concomitant thyroid disease and ectopically located glands. The findings presented suggest that while sonography may be the only imaging examination ...
The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of long-term subcutaneous application of low-dose IL-2 in children with malignancies at very high risk of relapse who underwent highly T cell and B cell depleted HLA-identical (MUD) or full haplotype mismatched related hematopoetic stem cell transplantation. We studied 11 patients with acute leukemias/myelodysplastic syndrome and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (active disease and/or second stem cell transplantation, n = 8; >=CR 2, n = 2) and relapsed or progressive Ewings sarcoma (n = 2) who received prophylactic IL-2 treatment for a high probability of disease recurrence after allo-HSCT. Toxicities from IL-2 were transient fever, fatigue and local inflammation. In one patient GvHD grade III with no clear association to IL-2 adm...
The present study was undertaken in 27 children with localized Ewing's sarcoma treated at our hospital. In 9 cases the lesion was central and in 18 peripheral. Treatment consisted of: 1) Chemotherapy with 6 drugs (vincristine, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, bleomycin, dactinomycin and doxorubicin) for one year in all patients; 2) Radiotherapy in 24 patients at a dose of 30-40 Gy in the entire bone with a booster dose of 10-15 Gy in the lesion. In 7 patients debulking surgery was performed followed by irradiation. Two cases with tumor in expendable bones and one with extensive destructive lesion in the tibia underwent radical surgery. One patient suffered local recurrence (femur) and 6 developed distant metastases. The remaining 20 (74%) patients were alive and tumor-free after follow-up periods of 17-80 months. Among the 12 patients with extremity lesions who were alive, 7 (58%) had minimal or mild treatment sequelae, 2 moderate, and 3 severe sequelae but no ...
Until recently no active treatment for advanced or metastatic gastrointestinal stroma tumors (GIST) was available. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib has revolutionized the treatment of this disease and the median overall survival now reaches 5 years. The standard dose of imatinib is 400 mg per day. Locally advanced GIST should be treated with systemic therapy prior to surgical resection. Imatinib was recently licensed for adjuvant therapy following complete surgical removal of GIST in patients with a significant risk of recurrence. (orig.) [German] Bis vor einigen Jahren existierte keine wirksame systemische Therapie fuer fortgeschrittene oder metastasierte gastrointestinale Stromatumoren (GIST). Der Tyrosinkinaseinhibitor Imatinib hat die Behandlung dieser Tumoren revolutioniert, die mediane Ueberlebenszeit liegt heute bei etwa 5 Jahren. Die Standarddosierung von Imatinib betraegt initial 400 mg/Tag. Lokal fortgeschrittene Tumoren werden primaer systemisch ...
From 1964 to 1973 at the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, Havana City, 18 clinical histories were studied, all of them from patients with Erwing's sarcoma, histologically diagnosticated by biopsy. Age, sex, race, traumatism background, hemogram disturbances, radiographic signs, primary tumor localization, and early treatment, were exposed. Early treatment in 14(83%) patients as radiotherapy. Local recurrence or metastasis was presented in 10(55,5%) patients during the two first years following attack treatment. Five (35,7%) patients was the survival rate within five years starting early treatemt. After five years, three (21,4%) patients were alive: for 18 and 14 year, and 64 month period; two patients died at 62 and 64 months. It is concluded that this survival may be increased by initial behaviour enclosed at the technologic therapeutic patterns of the the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, of Havana City. (author).
Two cases of primary Ewing's sarcoma of the rib are reported, in which radiation therapy was quite effective. Case 1 was an 18-year-old female who had had an operation and radiation therapy for Ewing's sarcoma of the left 7th rib. She was referred to our hospital after a recurrent tumor was found. Radiation therapy (tumor dose 46.2 Gy) and chemotherapy were given. The tumor disappeared and there has been no relapse for 1 year and 3 months after the treatment. Case 2 was a 2-year-old-infant. Radiation therapy (tumor dose 74 Gy) was given for primary Ewing's sarcoma of the left 6th rib. The tumor became small and was successfully removed at operation. There has been no relapse or distant metastasis for 8 months following the operation. We emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary treatment in case 1 and the usefulness of preoperative radiotherapy in case 2. (author).
As yet, the role of Computed Tomography (CT) as a routine imaging technique in the staging and follow-up of thoracic Hodgkin's disease has not been assessed. The authors reported the results obtained in 120 patients affected with thoracic Hodgkin's disease, staged and followed by means af chest X-rays and CT. CT better identified intrathoracic involvement of mediastinal nodes, of lung parenchyma, of pleura, and of pericarcial and chest walls in 54/120 patients (45%), with staging modifications in 18 (15%) of them only. Treatment was changed only in 12 patients (19%) where radiation therapy had been planned. The clinical value of the additional information yielded by CT was especially evident in the follow-up: CT allowed the correct evaluation of persistent/ recurrent disease in 51/117 patients (43.5%), a figure high enough to suggest the use of CT in the routive follow-up of patients affected with thoracic Hodgkin's disease.
Between 1973 and 1978 combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy were given to 22 patients with histologically proven Ewing's sarcoma. The combined chemotherapy consisted of cyclophosphamide, vincristin, adriamycin, as well as dacarbazine in some cases. The neoplasm was a localized one at the beginning of treatment in 14 of the 22. These patients received high-voltage rediotherapy to the primary focus at a focal dose between 42 and 55 Gray (4200-5500 rad), followed by chemotherapy. After 6-8 treatment cycles, adriamycin was replaced by methotrexate. Nine of the 14 patients survived without recurrence for 12 to over 59 months. Eight patients had extensive metastases at the beginning of treatment: they at first received only chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy or operation, as indicated. Full clinical remission was achieved in five of them: in three this remission has now lasted for more than 18, 40 and 44 months, respectively. These results indicate that (1) ...
Citrate is an important naturally occurring inhibitor of calcium stone formation in urine. Urinary citrate excretion was examined in 43 consecutive patients with recurrent idiopathic calcium nephrolithiasis and in 50 normal controls by a specific enzymatic technique. Hypocitraturia (<1.6 mmol/24h) was found in 14 (33%) stone formers compared to 6 (12%) normal controls (p = 0.03). Citrate excretion expressed as citrate-creatinine ratio in 24 hour urine samples was significantly lower in the stone formers than in the healthy controls (p = 0.03), and significantly lower in healthy men, compared to healthy females (p = 0.006). There was a great variability in urinary citrate levels in both groups, and a considerable overlap in the urinary citrate excretion between normal subjects and stone formers. Factors other than urinary citrate excretion must therefore be of importance in the pathophysiology of calcium stone formation. Citrate-calcium ratio in urine proved to ...
Direct radionuclide cystography is known to be sensitive and safe in children with suspected vesical-ureteral reflux. In this study we have investigated the utility of direct radionuclide cystography in renal transplant recipients with a recent history of pyelonephritis or recurrent urinary infections. Direct radionuclide cystography is a simple test, however it requires a rigorous methodology in order to obtain images during fill-in as well as during voiding in both men and women. The images must be interpreted using a rigorous image display methodology. Twenty-eight radionuclide cystographies were performed in 17 patients. Among the 17 tests performed for the initial diagnosis of reflux , 12 were positive. Four patients with positive results and four patients with negative results were also investigated by radiologic cystography. Similar results were obtained in those patients. Nine scintigraphies were done after treatment by surgery or teflon injection ; six of ...
In August 1982, a 44-year-old man was diagnosed as having rectal cancer, histologically diagnosed as well differentiated adenocarcinoma, and abdominoperineal resection and colostomy were performed. Postoperatively, he received chemotherapy with mitomycin C up to a total dose of 100 mg. In September 1986, lung metastasis occurred and he was treated with a combination chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, pirarubicin and 5-fluorouracil. In the following year, radiation treatment (total: 6900 rad) was given for a recurrent pelvic lesion. Peripheral blood on April 30, 1988, showed anemia, thrombocytopenia and appearance of myeloblasts, and a diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia (FAB: M1) was made. Combination chemotherapy (including aclarubicin, vincristine, behenoyl ara-C, daunorubicin, 6-mercaptopurine, cytarabine, etoposide and prednisolone) failed to induce remission and the patient died in June 1988. This case was thought to be one of secondary leukemia ...
This paper reports on the detection of optical novae in our neighbour galaxy M31 based on digitized historical Tautenburg Schmidt plates. The accurate positions of the detected novae lead to a much larger database for searches for recurrent novae in M31. We conducted a systematic search for novae on 306 digitized Tautenburg Schmidt plates covering a time span of 36 years from 1960 to 1996. From the database of both ~ 300 000 light curves and about one million detections on only one plate per colour band, nova candidates were efficiently selected by automated algorithms and subsequently individually inspected by eye. We report the detection of 84 nova candidates. In detail we found 55 nova candidates from the automated analysis of the light curves. Among these, 22 were previously unknown, 12 were known but have not been identified on Tautenburg Schmidt plates before and 21 novae have been discovered on Tautenburg plates previously. An additional 29 known novae could ...
The clinical courses of heterotopic ossification (HO) as a consequence of trauma and central nervous system insults have many similarities as well as dissimilarities. Detection is commonly noted at two months. The incidence of clinically significant HO is 10%-20%. Approximately 10% of the HO is massive and causes severe restriction in joint motion or ankylosis. The most common sign and symptom are decreased range of motion and pain. The locations are the proximal limbs and joints. Sites of HO about a joint may vary according to the etiology of the HO. Roentgenographic evolution of HO occurs during a six-month period in the majority of patients. Treatment modalities include diphosphonates, indomethacin, radiation, range of motion exercises, and surgical excision. Surgical timing differs according to etiology: traumatic HO may be resected at six months; spinal cord injury HO is excised at one year; and traumatic brain injury HO is removed at 1.5 years. A small number of patients have ...
The clinical courses of heterotopic ossification (HO) as a consequence of trauma and central nervous system insults have many similarities as well as dissimilarities. Detection is commonly noted at two months. The incidence of clinically significant HO is 10%-20%. Approximately 10% of the HO is massive and causes severe restriction in joint motion or ankylosis. The most common sign and symptom are decreased range of motion and pain. The locations are the proximal limbs and joints. Sites of HO about a joint may vary according to the etiology of the HO. Roentgenographic evolution of HO occurs during a six-month period in the majority of patients. Treatment modalities include diphosphonates, indomethacin, radiation, range of motion exercises, and surgical excision. Surgical timing differs according to etiology: traumatic HO may be resected at six months; spinal cord injury HO is excised at one year; and traumatic brain injury HO is removed at 1.5 years. A small number of patients have ...
Purpose: The lifelong persistence of foreign bodies within the arteries may contribute to restenosis. Thus,biodegradable devices might decrease recurrence rates. Methods: Eleven polyhydroxybutyrate biodegradable stents and 13 tantalum stents were implanted into the iliac arteries of New Zealand white rabbits for up to 30 weeks. After killing the animals,the specimens were harvested, fixed in formalin, processed in paraffin,and stained. Results: Polyhydroxybutyrate instigated intense inflammatory and proliferative reactions with an increase in collagen (2.4- to 8-fold vs native segments), thrombosis and in-stentlumen narrowing (375.5-606.6 mm vs 655.6 #+-# 268.8 mm in native segments). The elastic membranes were destroyed in all specimens. The tantalum stents increased the in-stent lumen progressively (769.7 #+-# 366.6 mm vs 1309.9 #+-# 695.3 mm),penetrated the external elastic membrane, and increased mural collagen content (6- to 8.6-fold vs native segments). ...
To compare the accuracy in the detection and staging of various malignant tumors with high resolution whole-body MRI using parallel imaging with whole-body dual-modality PET-CT. Preliminary results of an interim analysis from a prospective, blinded study are presented, in which 20 patients (mean age 59 years, range 27-77 years) with different oncological diseases underwent whole-body dual modality FDG-PET-CT screening for tumor search or staging in case of confirmed or suspected metastatic disease. All patients also underwent whole-body MRI imaging with the use of parallel imaging (iPAT). High-resolution coronal T1w- and STIR-sequences of 5 body levels with 512 x 512 matrix, axial fast T2w imaging of lung and abdomen (HASTE), contrast-enhanced dynamic and static T1w-sequences of liver, brain, abdomen, and pelvis were performed. Using a 32-channel whole-body MRI scanner (Magnetom Avanto, Siemens Medical Solutions) with a total field of view of 205 cm and free table movement, all ...
BackgroundPuccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici is a fungal pathogen causing stripe rust, one of the most important wheat diseases worldwide. The...Full Text Available
Auditory neurons in the superior colliculus (SC) respond preferentially to sounds from restricted directions to form a map of auditory space. The development of this representation is shaped...Full Text Available
Forward and reverse genetic experiments have both played important roles in revealing critical aspects of mammalian signal transduction pathways in cell culture experiments. Only recently have we begun...Full Text Available
Research reported here reveals that the reduction of CO{sub 2} emissions into the atmosphere, is mainly dependent on the decrease of the use of fossil fuels, but also on the development of environment-friendly technology and greening of the environment. 2 refs.
BackgroundDinoflagellates are unicellular, often photosynthetic protists that play a major role in the dynamics of the Earth's oceans and climate. Sequencing of dinoflagellate nuclear...Full Text Available
The bovine syncytial virus, a member of the retroviral subfamily Spumavirinae, causes a persistent, asymptomatic infection in cattle. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the viral genome revealed two overlapping...Full Text Available
The temperature dependence of the dislocation mobility threshold is investigated on the basis of a dislocation model suggested by Frenkel-Kontorova. The critical value is obtained for the stress/temperature, corresponding to the dislocation depinning from its equilibrium position. The universal behaviour of a barrier height at finite stress and temperature is revealed and investigated.
Assessments of drinking water safety rely on the assumption that ingestion represents the principal route of exposure. A review of the experimental literature revealed that skin penetration rates for...Full Text Available
A community health survey of 438 individuals was taken to detect health problems related to high voltage electrical transmission among an adjacent residential population. Results revealed no significant...Full Text Available
BackgroundHigh complexity is considered a hallmark of living systems. Here we investigate the complexity of temporal gene expression patterns using the concept of Permutation Entropy...Full Text Available
BackgroundSensitization to house dust mite allergens is strongly correlated with asthma. Der p 7 elicits strong IgE antibody and T-cell responses in mite allergic...Full Text Available
How does complex social behavior evolve? What are the developmental building blocks of division of labor and specialization, the hallmarks of insect societies? Studies have revealed the developmental...Full Text Available
Assembly of infectious adenovirus particles requires seven functionally redundant elements at the left end of the genome, termed A repeats, that direct packaging of the DNA. Previous studies revealed...Full Text Available
Previous studies have revealed marked differences in the incidence of leukemia between rats and mice exposed to 1,3-butadiene that do not appear to be readily explained on the basis of pharmacokinetics...Full Text Available
This presentation from the 2006 PTEC Conference presents education research on topics in thermodynamics. Student responses to conceptual thermodynamics questions, and the conceptions they reveal, are presented. Tutorial materials developed to help students gain a better understanding of the topic are also presented.
SUMMARYThe cytolytic activity of natural killer (NK) cells is regulated by inhibitory receptors that detect the absence of self molecules on target cells. Structural studies of...Full Text Available
... M. Taylor, T. Kurt Kyser. (2009) Feather isotope analysis discriminates age-classes of Western, Least, and Semipalmated sandpipers when plumage ... ...
Background: In North America and Europe, 80% of invasive skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma while 20% are squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In contrast, African studies reveal a preponderance...Full Text Available
The brain maintains internal models of its environment to interpret sensory inputs and prepare actions. While behavioral studies demonstrated that these internal models are optimally adapted...Full Text Available
Early on, intriguing biological activities were found associated with the EETs using in vitro systems. Although the EETs other than the 5,6-isomer, are quite stable chemically,...Full Text Available
alpha-actinins are actin microfilament crosslinking proteins. Vertebrate actinins fall into two classes: the broadly-expressed actinins 1 and 4 (actn1 and actn4)...Full Text Available
The specific white matter location of all the spinal pathways conveying penile input to the rostral medulla is not known. Our previous studies using rats demonstrated the loss of low but not high threshold...Full Text Available
Hibernators are unique among mammals in their ability to survive extended periods of time with core body temperatures near freezing and with dramatically reduced heart, respiratory, and metabolic rates...Full Text Available
The anatomy of the labyrinth and the structure of the macula utriculi of the teleost fish (burbot) Lota vulgaris was studied by dissection, phase contrast, and electron microscopy....Full Text Available
The sequence information available for homeodomains reveals that salt bridges connecting pairs 19/30, 31/42, and 17/52 are frequent, whereas aliphatic residues at these sites are rare and mainly restricted...Full Text Available
A recent EPA-sponsored study of sediment and seafood contamination in Quincy Bay revealed elevated levels of several complex organic pollutants frequently of concern in human health assessments. A seafood...Full Text Available
A 4.5-year-old Holstein-Friesian cow underwent surgery because of left abomasal displacement. Intra-operative palpation of the pyloric region revealed a phytobezoar. The abomasum containing the phytobezoar...Full Text Available
BackgroundSynonymous sites are freer to vary because of redundancy in genetic code. Messenger RNA secondary structure restricts this freedom, as revealed by previous findings in...Full Text Available
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in clinical material cannot replicate efficiently in vitro until it has adapted by mutation. Consequently, wild-type HCMV differ fundamentally from the passaged strains...Full Text Available
We have established a cartilaginous fish cell line [Squalus acanthias embryo cell line (SAE)], a mesenchymal stem cell line derived from the embryo of an elasmobranch, the spiny dogfish...Full Text Available
We reviewed 9 cases of pyogenic spondylodiscitis following percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD). Microbiologic cultures revealed 6 causative organisms. Five patients were managed conservatively...Full Text Available
Earlier studies of white London busmen revealed that the ischaemic heart disease experience of conductors is better than that of drivers. Various factors which might be related to this difference have...Full Text Available
Some strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum have the ability to catabolize indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Examination of this catabolism in strain 110 by in vivo experiments has revealed an enzymatic activity...Full Text Available
Experimental metastases in the brain of mice are infiltrated by microglia, and parabiosis experiments of green fluorescent protein (GFP+) and GFP- mice revealed that these microglia...Full Text Available
Electrophoretic analysis of protein variation at the coagulation F13B locus has previously revealed three alleles, with alleles 1, 2, and 3 each being at high frequency in European,...Full Text Available
To confirm that Mycobacterium tuberculosis chaperonin 10 (Cpn10) is secreted outside the live bacillus, infected macrophages were examined by electron microscopy. This revealed that...Full Text Available
Vulnerability to abused drugs is influenced by multiple genes unique to each drug as well as to risk genes for polydrug abuse. If several inbred mouse strains respond to different drugs similarly,...Full Text Available
The identification of predictive biomarkers is at the core of modern toxicology. So far, a number of approaches have been proposed. These rely on statistical inference of toxicity response from either...Full Text Available
Sibling Paenibacillus dendritiformis bacterial colonies grown on low-nutrient agar medium mutually inhibit growth through secretion of a lethal factor. Analysis of secretions reveals...Full Text Available
A 30-year-old man with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and Kaposi's sarcoma had a palpable thyroid mass and cervical lymphadenopathy. Nuclear medicine and ultrasound scans revealed multiple thyroid nodules. Results of biopsy showed Kaposi's sarcoma metastatic to the thyroid.
Hematopoiesis is the cumulative result of intricately regulated signaling pathways that are mediated by cytokines and their receptors. Studies conducted over the past 10 to 15 years have revealed that...Full Text Available
[Leu]- and [Met]enkephalin from thoracic ganglia of the shore crab Carcinus maenas have been purified to homogeneity by a reversed-phase HPLC procedure. Automated gas-phase sequencing revealed a primary...Full Text Available
Marine sediments are frequently covered by mats of the filamentous Beggiatoa and other large nitrate-storing bacteria that oxidize hydrogen sulfide using either oxygen or nitrate, which...Full Text Available
The gram-negative plant-pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria is the causative agent of bacterial spot disease in pepper and tomato plants, which leads to economically...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp) is the causative agent of the human disease melioidosis. To understand the evolutionary mechanisms...Full Text Available
Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy. It is an emerging infectious disease that...Full Text Available
Bovine embryos can be generated by in vitro fertilization or somatic nuclear transfer; however, these differ from their in vivo counterparts in many aspects and exhibit a higher proportion of developmental...Full Text Available
Transcription factors drive organogenesis, from the initiation of cell fate decisions to the maintenance and implementation of these decisions. The Drosophila embryonic salivary gland...Full Text Available
The role of pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) in the regulation of pheromone biosynthesis of several female moth species is well elucidated, but its role in the males has been a...Full Text Available
BackgroundEpidemiological studies showed that physical exercise, specifically moderate lifelong training, is protective against cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Most experimental...Full Text Available
BackgroundNew technology allows more precise definition of structural alterations of all retinal layers although it has not been used previously in cases of optic...Full Text Available
Data reveal that sodium pentobarbital anesthesia does not depress glucose uptake of neutrophils stimulated by the addition of live E. coli. E. coli viability was reduced equally in blood obtained before and after sodium pentobarbital anesthesia. Pre- and ...
Rumen-cannulated cows (n = 4) were fed successively silage made from either conventional or genetically modified (GM) maize. Results revealed no effects of GM maize on the dynamics...Full Text Available
Analysis of gestation length in an obstetric population of indigenous African women revealed a mean pregnancy duration of 274.8 days, which is similar to values recorded in women of African descent...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe transcription factor Pax6 is essential for the development of the central nervous system and it exerts its multiple functions by regulating the expression of downstream...Full Text Available
Many pathogens colonize different anatomical sites, but the selective pressures contributing to survival in the diverse niches are poorly understood. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is...Full Text Available
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:In view of increasing therapeutic efficacy, the delivery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral treatment is expected to increase. Yet practical experience reveals...Full Text Available
A 23-year-old woman presented to our hospital with nonspecific pain in the abdomen. She underwent radiological investigations, which revealed a solid and cystic mass in the tail end of the pancreas....Full Text Available
AbstractX-ray diffraction analysis of pressure-induced structural changes in the Aequorea yellow fluorescent protein Citrine reveals the structural basis for the continuous...Full Text Available
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated to play key roles in normal physiological functions, and altered expression of specific miRNAs has been associated with a number of diseases. It is of great interest...Full Text Available
BackgroundInterest in lycopene metabolism and regulation is growing rapidly because accumulative studies have suggested an important role for lycopene in human health promotion....Full Text Available
BackgroundStructured noncoding RNAs perform many functions that are essential for protein synthesis, RNA processing, and gene regulation. Structured RNAs can be detected by comparative...Full Text Available
Computer-assisted analysis revealed a striking sequence similarity between the putative 24-kDa protein (p24) encoded by open reading frame (ORF) 5 of beet yellows closterovirus and the coat protein...Full Text Available
This study examined the genetic basis of hypertension and renal disease in Dahl SS/Mcwi (Dahl Salt-Sensitive) rats using a complete chromosome substitution panel of consomic rats in which each of the...Full Text Available
Molecular analysis of the amo gene cluster in Nitrosococcus oceani revealed that it consists of five genes, instead of the three known genes, amoCAB....Full Text Available
DYF-13, originally identified in C. elegans within a collection of dye-filling chemosensory mutants, is one of several proteins that have been classified as putatively involved...Full Text Available
In Iran, microscopic examination of skin scrapings from 2202 individuals with clinically diagnosed cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) lesions revealed the presence of amastigotes in 1123 cases (51.0%). Bacteriological...Full Text Available
We used tryptophan auxotrophs of the dicot Arabidopsis thaliana (wall cress) to determine whether tryptophan has the capacity to serve as a precursor to the auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Quantitative...Full Text Available
BackgroundHistone post-translational modifications are critical for gene expression and cell viability. A broad spectrum of histone lysine residues have been identified in yeast...Full Text Available
During formation of the optic projection in astray/robo2 mutant zebrafish, optic axons exhibit rostro-caudal pathfinding errors, ectopic midline crossing and...Full Text Available
BackgroundThe successful interaction of bacterial pathogens with host tissues requires the sensing of specific chemical and physical cues. The human gut contains a huge number of...Full Text Available
A correlation investigation was carried out on the series of atomic coordinates (MPV) and temperature factor (T {sub f}), respectively for human hemoglobin and HIV-1 protease protein main chains. The MPV series revealed resemblances to the corresponding T {sub f} series. Each minor or major peak in a series had a corresponding peak in the related series. This brings a qualitative evidence for the connection of the two parameters. The series were further subjected to spectral and detrended fluctuation analysis which all revealed long-range correlation properties. This combined analysis revealed that the data were controlled both by the correlation of stationary fluctuation and trends or non-stationary contribution to correlation. The correlation of all MPV series was found to be much less sensitive to ligand binding than the corresponding T {sub f} series. Thus the long-range correlation properties of the protein main chain ...
A correlation investigation was carried out on the series of atomic coordinates (MPV) and temperature factor (T _f), respectively for human hemoglobin and HIV-1 protease protein main chains. The MPV series revealed resemblances to the corresponding T _f series. Each minor or major peak in a series had a corresponding peak in the related series. This brings a qualitative evidence for the connection of the two parameters. The series were further subjected to spectral and detrended fluctuation analysis which all revealed long-range correlation properties. This combined analysis revealed that the data were controlled both by the correlation of stationary fluctuation and trends or non-stationary contribution to correlation. The correlation of all MPV series was found to be much less sensitive to ligand binding than the corresponding T _f series. Thus the long-range correlation properties of the protein main chain structure and ...
KLF1 regulates a diverse suite of genes to direct erythroid cell differentiation from bipotent progenitors. To determine the local cis-regulatory contexts and transcription factor networks...Full Text Available
BackgroundProteins may evolve through the recruitment and modification of discrete domains, and in many cases, protein action can be dissected at the domain level. PDZ domains are...Full Text Available
Recent health care policies and regulations have impacted the manner in which patient data – especially protected health information (PHI) – are handled in both the clinical...Full Text Available
Picocyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus are important contributors to marine primary production and are ubiquitous in the world's oceans. This genus is genetically diverse, and...Full Text Available
A search for homologs of the Bacillus subtilis PhoP response regulator in the group A streptococcus (GAS) genome revealed three good candidates. Inactivation of one of these, recently...Full Text Available
Results of a survey conducted by Concawe on 75 oil refineries in Europe show that the total quantity of waste requiring disposal in 1986 was 0.5 million metric tons. This quantity of waste is but 0.13% of the total refinery throughput of 387 million metric tons during 1986. The survey revealed a wide range of disposal costs, depending on the particular properties of the waste and local conditions. A summary of total waste generation and how the waste is disposed of is shown. Details on the types of waste disposed, the disposal methods used, and the costs of disposal are detailed in this excerpt from the Concawe survey.
Attention is paid to the production mechanisms of light scalars that reveal their nature. We reveal the chiral shielding of the \\sigma(600) meson. We show that the kaon loop mechanism of the \\phi radiative decays, ratified by experiment, points to the four-quark nature of light scalars. We show also that the light scalars are produced in the two photon collisions via four-quark transitions in contrast to the classic P wave tensor q\\bar q mesons that are produced via two-quark transitions $\\gamma\\gamma\\to q\\bar q$. The history of spontaneous breaking of symmetry in quantum physics is discussed in Appendix.
Analysis of data on seedling traits from 20 diverse genotypes revealed significant differences fro most of the seedling traits. Significant estimates of broad-sense heritability were observed for VI, ERI, FRTW, DRTW and R/S ratio. Genetic advance was maximum for VI,ERI and E%. The correlation of VI with ERI and R/S ratio was negative and significant, whereas it was positive and significant with E%, FSHW and DSHW. Characterization of the sorghum genotypes according to Anderson's Metro glyph Statistics revealed five different groups for seedling trails. (authors)
In this paper, we review some of the work our group has done in the past few years to obtain the electron self-energy of high temperature superconductors by analysis of angle-resolved photoemission data. We focus on three examples which have revealed: (1) a d-wave superconducting gap, (2) a collective mode in the superconducting state, and (3) pairing correlations in the pseudogap phase. In each case, although a novel result is obtained which captures the essence of the data, the conventional physics used leads to an incomplete picture. This indicates that new physics needs to be developed to obtain a proper understanding of these materials.
Characterization and performance testing of a prototype DWPF Melter No.2 Dome Heater Bus Bar are described. The prototype bus bar was designed to address the design features of the existing system which may have contributed to water leaks on Melter No.1. Performance testing of the prototype revealed significant improvement over the existing design in reduction of both bus bar and heater connection maximum temperature, while characterization revealed a few minor design and manufacturing flaws in the bar. The prototype is recommended as an improvement over the existing design. Recommendations are also made in the area of quality control to ensure that critical design requirements are met.
This contribution analyzes elastic-backscatter lidar data and temperature and humidity profiles from radiosondes acquired in Barcelona in July 1992. Elastic-backscatter lidar data reveal the distribution of aerosols within the volume of atmosphere scanned. By comparing this information with temperature and humidity profiles of the atmosphere at a similar time, we are able to asses de relationship among aerosol distribution and atmospheric stability or water content, respectively. Comparisons have shown how lidar`s revealed layers of aerosols correspond to atmospheric layers with different stability condition and water content.
Purpose: Patients with mycosis fungoides [cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)] may benefit from adjuvant therapy after completing total skin electron beam therapy (TSEBT). We report the results for (T1(T2)) CTCL patients treated with adjuvant oral psoralen plus ultraviolet light (PUVA) with respect to overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), salvage of recurrence, and toxicity. Methods and Materials: Between 1974 and 1993, TSEBT was administered to a total of 213 patients with CTCL. Records were reviewed retrospectively, and a total of 114 patients were identified as having T1 or T2 disease. Radiotherapy was provided via a 6-MeV linac to a total of 36 Gy, 1 Gy/day, 4 days/week, for 9 weeks. Beginning in 1988, patients were offered adjuvant PUVA within 2 months of completing TSEBT. This was started at 0.5-2 J/m"2, 1-2 treatments/week, with a taper over 3-6 months. Therapy then continued once per month. There were 39 T1 and 75 T2 patients. Six T1 (15%) and ...
Purpose: To assess the prognostic value of biologic (p53, Ki-67) and clinical factors in squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx after radical surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (RT). Methods and Materials: Between 1985 and 1995, a total of 102 patients with 104 tumor sites were entered onto the study. Fifty-five primary tumors (53%) involved the tonsils, 26 (25%) the soft palate, and 23 (22%) the base of the tongue. Median age was 53 years (range 36-80 years). The clinical T- and N-categories (UICC 1997) were: T1 (30), T2 (47), T3 (22), T4 (5), N0 (33), N1 (28), N2 (42), and N3 (1). Histologically-clear margins were achieved in all patients by initial surgery. Postoperative RT to the primary and regional lymphatics was given, to a total of 60 Gy in 6 weeks, and single daily fractions of 2 Gy. The expression of the nuclear p53- and Ki-67-labeling index (LI) was investigated by immunostaining using the monoclonal antibodies DO-7 and MIB 1. The nuclear p53-intensity (p53-I) was ...
This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Nature uses chlorophyll and other porphyrinic pigments to capture and transfer light energy as a preliminary step in photosynthesis. The design of synthetic assemblies of light harvesting and energy directing pigments has been explored through synthesis and characterization of porphyrin oligomers. In this project, pigment electronic and vibrational structures have been explored by electrochemistry and dynamic and static optical measurements. Transient absorption data reveal energy transfer between pigments with lifetimes on the order of 20--200 picoseconds, while Raman data reveal that the basic porphyrin core structure is unperturbed relative to the individual monomer units. These two findings, along with an extensive series of experiments on the oxidized oligomers, reveal that ...
In this study, Cu{sub 2}O/Cu composite particles were synthesized using an innovative chemical reduction method without any template and surfactant. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the product mainly consisted of Cu{sub 2}O phase coexisting with a Cu phase. FE-SEM images showed that the octahedral shaped particles were Cu{sub 2}O. The electrochemical performance of the Cu{sub 2}O/Cu particles was investigated with regards to the working electrode material in alkaline solution. The particles had a maximum discharge capacity of 222.9 mAh/g at a discharge current density of 60 mA/g and a high value of 109.1 mAh/g after 50 charge-discharge cycles. Cyclic voltammetry revealed that the reaction between Cu{sub 2}O and Cu is the major electrochemical reaction during the charging and discharging process. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that the formation of Cu{sub 2}O on the surface of Cu particles ...
Success in improving treatment outcomes in childhood cancer has been achieved almost exclusively through multicenter and multidisciplinary clinical and applied research over several decades. While biologically rational as well as empirical approaches have led to combination chemotherapy and multimodality approaches to therapy, which have given rise to evidence-based practice standards, similar scientific rigor has not always been as evidently applied to modalities utilized to assess initial disease burden and, more important, response to investigational approaches to therapy. As the empirical approach to therapeutic advances has likely maximized its benefit, future progress will require translation of biologic discovery most notably from the areas of genomics and proteomics. Hence, attempts to improve efficacy of therapy will require a parallel effort to minimize collateral damage of future therapeutic approaches, and such a parallel approach will mandate the continued dependence on ...
The endovascular treatment of atherosclerotic intracranial arterial stenoses has previously been based on balloon dilatation or the deployment of a balloon expandable stent. Both methods have advantages (balloon: flexibility; balloon expandable stent: high radial force) and drawbacks (balloon: risk of elastic recoil and dissection; balloon expandable stent: limited flexibility, risk of injury to the vessel due to excessive straightening, overexpansion at ends of stent). A new combination of balloon dilatation, followed by the deployment of a self-expanding microstent has been applied in 15 patients with atherosclerotic arterial stenoses, symptomatic despite medical treatment. An anatomically and clinically adequate result was achieved in all patients. The initial degree of stenosis was 72% (mean). Balloon dilatation resulted in an average residual stenosis of 54% (mean), reduced further to a mean of 38% after stent deployment. Arterial dissection, occlusion of the target artery or ...
The role of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of preoperative and postoperative complications caused by acquired cholesteatomas will be described in this paper. The pre- and postoperative imaging of the temporal bone was performed with HRCT and MRI. HRCT and MRI were performed in the axial and coronal plane. MRI was done with T2 weighted and T1 weighted sequences both before and after the intravenous application of contrast material. All imaging findings were confirmed clinically or surgically. The preoperative cholesteatoma-caused complications depicted by HRCT included bony erosions of the ossicles, scutum, facial canal in the middle ear, tympanic walls including the tegmen tympani, and of the labyrinth. The preoperative cholesteatoma-caused complications depicted by MRI included signs indicative for labyrinthitis, and brain abscess. Postoperative HRCT depicted bony erosions caused by recurrent ...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of postoperative radiotherapy in a case of perihilar cholagiocarcinoma by analyzing overall survival rate, patterns of failure, prognostic factors for overall survival, and toxicity. Between January 1998 and March 2008, 38 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma underwent a surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. The median patient age was 59 years (range, 28 to 72 years), which included 23 men and 15 women. The extent of surgery was complete resection in 9 patients, microscopically positive margins in 25 patients, and a subtotal resection in 4 patients. The tumor bed and regional lymphatics initially received 45 Gy or 50 Gy, but was subsequently boosted to a total dose of 59.4 Gy or 60 Gy in incompletely resected patients. The median radiotherapy dose was 59.4 Gy. Concurrent chemotherapy was administered in 30 patients. The median follow-up period was 14 months (range, 6 to 45 months). The 3-year overall survival and 3-year ...
To assess the efficacy and resulting complications of tetracycline sclerotherapy in renal, hepatic, ovarian, and perivesical cysts. We retrospectively reviewed 23 cases of benign cysts (16 renal, 4 hepatic, 2 ovarian, and 1 perivesical) in 22 patients in whom the condition was diagnosed or confirmed by either ultrasound, CT, or cytology, and who underwent percutaneous tetracycline sclerotherapy. Using a 21-gauge Chiba needle, the target cyst was punctured under ultrasound guidance. Prior to the injection of 1500 mg of tetracycline diluted in 5 ml of normal saline, almost all the cystic content was aspirated, and at the end of the procedure the tetracycline was left in the cyst. During a period of between 3 and 22 months, 18 of the 23 cases were followed up. In six of the 18 cases followed up, the cysts either decreased in size by 10%, or collapsed completely. In seven cases a collapse of over 50% was noted, and in the remaining five the cyst recurred. In one of these, complete collapse ...
We wanted to determine the technical and clinical efficacy of placing a self-expandable PTFE-covered nitinol stent for the management of inoperable malignant biliary obstruction. Thirty six patients with inoperable malignant biliary obstructions were treated by placement of self-expandable PTFE-covered nitinol stents (S and G Biotech Corporation, Seongnam, Korea). Clinical evaluation was done with assessment of the serum bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase levels, which were measured before and after stent placement within 1 week, at 1 month and at 3 months. The patient survival rate and stent patency rate were calculated with performing Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Successful stent placement was achieved in all the patients without procedure-related complication. Pancreatitis as an early complication occurred in two cases. The serum bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly decreased after the procedure. During the follow-up, recurrent ...
The role of radiation therapy in local tumor control and decreased incidence of pulmonary metastasis is reported in 271 patients who were entered into the Intergroup Ewing's Sarcoma Study with more than one year follow-up and on whom all radiotherapy records were reviewed. The majority of the patients were irradiated to the primary tumor with doses of 4500 to 6500 rad in five to six weeks in combination with systemic administration of three drugs (vincristine, actinomycin-D and cyclophosphamide) or four drugs (vincristine, actinomycin-D, cyclophosphamide and adriamycin). One of the groups of patients was treated with three drugs and bilateral pulmonary irradiation (1500 rad, uncorrected dose, in two weeks). Preliminary analysis shows an overall local primary tumor control of 89%. Patients with lesions in the pelvis had a local failure rate of 17% (9 of 52) and in the humerus 23% (7 of 31). Factors affecting local recurrences are analyzed in detail. Distant ...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICCA) in a small, nonrandomized series. From February 2004 to July 2008, six patients (four men and two women; mean age 69.8 years [range 48 to 83]) with ICCA underwent percutaneous US-guided RFA. Preintervetional transarterial embolization was performed in two cases to decrease heat dispersion during RFA in order to increase the area of ablation. The efficacy of RFA was evaluated using contrast-enhanced dynamic computed tomography (CT) 1 month after treatment and then every 3 months thereafter. Nine RFA sessions were performed for six solid hepatic tumors in six patients. The duration of follow-up ranged from 13 to 21 months (mean 17.5). Posttreatment CT showed total necrosis in four of six tumors after one or two RFA sessions. Residual tumor was observed in two patients with larger tumors (5 and 5.8 cm ...
The Eagle Flat basin, an intermontane basin in Trans-Pecos Texas, is being considered as a possible site for the Texas repository of low-level radioactive wastes. Intermontane basins and associated normal faults formed in response to Basin and Range tectonism that began about 24 Ma ago. The most active late Tertiary and Quaternary faults occur within the Hueco Bolson (HB) and the Salt Basin/Salt Flat/Lobo Valley, west and east, respectively, of the proposed repository. Several faults of the southeast HB which are within 50 km of the site, displace middle Pleistocene deposits 10 to 24 m. The most recent surface rupture in the southeast HB probably occurred on the Amargosa fault during the Holocene. Upper Pleistocene deposits are offset 2.5 to 4.5 m, and middle Pleistocene deposits are displaced 24 m. Fault scarps within 50 km east of the proposed repository are associated with faults bounding the Salt Basin/Salt Flat/Lobo Valley. In the southern Salt Basin and northern Salt Flat, faults ...
To evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stent insertion in central venous steno-occlusion. Between August 1992 and January 1998, 11 patients with symptomatic central venous steno-occlusion (six stenoses and five occlusions) underwent pereutaneous treatment. Eleven PTAs were performed and stents were introduced in two patients because of incomplete PTA. During follow-up, a total of eight revisions were performed in five patients with recurrence (six stenoses and two occlusions). Success and long term patency rates were evaluated. The length and degree of the lesion and degree of residual stenosis, as well as pressure gradient through the lesion and decrease of the gradient after PTA, were correlated with patency rates. Complications during the procedures and follow-up period were evaluated. The overall success rate was 89.5%;those of primary and revision intervention were 90. 9% and 87.5%, respectively. Primary and revision ...
Full text: Many factors including drug efficacy, compliance and antibiotic resistance may influence HP eradication rates. The "1"4C urea breath test is a sensitive method of confirming HP colonisation and eradication. The aim was to study the relationships between the peak "1"4CO_2 counts on the breath test prior to treatment, smoking and HP eradication, and to assess if persistent or recurrent symptoms implied failure of eradication. 117 patients with DU and HP colonisation proved on biopsy or rapid urease test who underwent "1"4C urea breath tests at least one month after eradication treatment was ceased were studied (69 male, 48 female, mean age 41, range 26-87 y). Questionnaire assessment of treatment regimen, smoking history and dyspeptic symptoms was made at the time of the breath test. A sub-group of 43 patients who had pre- and post-treatment breath tests was studied to assess if high peak "1"4CO_2 counts on the pre-treatment breath test related to ...
Recurrent variceal bleeding due to liver cirrhosis led to treatment with a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in a pregnant woman at 20 weeks` gestation. Fetal radiation exposure was estimated to be less than 10 mSv. The use of a graduated catheter allowed measurement of field size and reliable determination of the patient`s entrance dose. Radiation exposure of an approximated fetal dosage of 5.2 mSv did not justify abortion for medical reasons. Therefore, TIPS procedure is not generally contraindicated during pregnancy itself. TIPS placement may be a therapeutic option related to the severity of the underlying maternal disease, after radiation exposure of the fetus has been estimated. (orig.) [Deutsch] Bei rezidivierender Oesophagusvarizenblutung auf dem Boden einer Leberzirrhose wurde bei bestehender Schwangerschaft der 20. Woche ein transjugulaerer portosystemischer Stent-Shunt (TIPS) neu angelegt. Praeinterventionell wurde die zu erwartende ...
Mucociliary transport so critical in nasal, paranasal sinus, and middle ear physiology is impaired in chronic sinsusitis and otitis media by factors such as increased mucus viscoelasticity, decreased ciliary area, and primary or secondary ciliary immotility. We reviewed the pathophysiology of primary ciliary dyskinesia, otitis media with effusion, chronic sinusitis, and allergic rhinitis in terms of mucociliary transport. Subjects with primary ciliary dyskinesia may experience recurrent middle ear infection, chronic airway infection, predominantly lower-lobe bronchiectasis, male sterility, or situs inversus. Primary ciliary dyskinesia is sometimes difficult to diagnose in cases without situs inversus. Nasal nitric oxide concentration in such patients decreases, although why is unclear. Mutations may involve dynein arm intermediate chain 1 (DNAI1) or dynein arm heavy chain 5 (DNAH5). Mucociliary clearance decreases more in those with otitis media with effusion than ...
To evaluate the feasibility and clinical effectiveness of using a polyurethane-covered expandable nitinol stent in the palliative treatment of malignant duodenal obstruction. Under fluoroscopic guidance, a polyurethane-covered expandable nitinol stent was placed in 12 consecutive patients with malignant duodenal obstructions. All presented with severe nausea and recurrent vomiting. The underlying causes of obstruction were duodenal carcinoma (n=4), pancreatic carcinoma (n=4), gall bladder carcinoma (n=2), distal CBD carcinoma (n=1), and uterine cervical carcinoma (n=1). The sites of obstruction were part I (n=1), part II (n=8), and III (n=3). Due to pre-existing jaundice, eight patients with part II obstructions underwent biliary decompression prior to stent placement. An introducer sheath with a 6-mm outer diameter and stents 16 mm in diameter were employed, and to place the stent, and after-loading technique was used. Stent placement was technically successful in ...
Purpose: To identify results and prognostic factors on long-term survival and local control following treatment of localized Ewing's sarcoma. Patients and Methods: Between 1979 and 2004, a total of 60 children and young adults with Ewing's sarcoma were treated. Patients with distant metastases at presentation (n = 6) and recurrent cases (n = 2) were excluded from this analysis. Patients were exclusively treated within ongoing national and international protocols CESS-81, CESS-86, EICESS-92, EURO-EWING-99. All patients received local irradiation with a total dose of 45-60 Gy; in addition, 41 (79%) of the patients had local surgical procedures, 27 (52%) of them with clear margins. Results: Overall survival rates at 5 and 10 years were 56% and 45%, respectively. Patients #<=# 14 years at diagnosis had overall survival rates of 66% and 61% at 5 and 10 years compared to older patients with corresponding survival rates of 47% and 31%, respectively (p = 0.05). Patients ...
The utilization of health care services in children and adolescents with chronic benign pain was studied in a Dutch population sample of 254 chronic pain sufferers aged 0-18 years. Children and adolescents who had reported chronic pain (continuous or recurrent pain >3 months) in our previous prevalence study were asked to keep a 3-week diary on their pain and to fill out questionnaires on background factors, health care use and the impact of pain. Parent ratings were used for children aged 0-11 years, self-report was used in adolescents (12-18 years). In a 3-month period, in 53.4% of the cases medication was used for pain, and general practitioners and specialists were consulted for pain in 31.1% and 13.9% of subjects, respectively. Physiotherapists, psychologists and alternative health providers were visited by 11.5, 2.8, and 4.0%, respectively. In the preceding year, 6.4% had been hospitalized due to pain. The most important factors linked to utilizing medical ...
Continental facies of Scythian-early Anisian age (Buntsandstein) of East of the Paris Basin form the underground gas storage reservoir exploited by Gaz de France in the area of Nancy (east of France). An accurate sedimentological study and the application of Genetic Stratigraphy principles lead to the understanding of the deposition of fluvial, which form the reservoirs, and to the reconstruction of their geometries. The subsurface data are calibrated on outcrops. Three types of fluvial systems (braided, sinuous to straight and anastomosed) are defined. A special focus on anastomosed channels permits to differentiate a proximal and a distal facies. Study of laterally continuous outcrops induces recurrent cycles of thickness, velocity and time variations (few tens to hundred ka). These correspond to the highest frequence stratigraphic units, i.e. parasequences or genetic units. Maximum of channel and levee presentation occurs during base-level rise: base-level fall ...
Background and purpose: Local treatment for non-metastatic Ewing's sarcoma family tumors (ESFTs) is controversial. Results achieved in a single institution in patients with ESFT of the humerus are presented. Materials and methods: Patients treated between 1983 and 2000 for ESFT of the humerus were included. The impact of local treatment (surgery, radiotherapy or both) on outcome was assessed. Results: 55 patients: 34 males (62%); 21 females (38%); mean age: 17.9 (range: 3-40). Local treatment: surgery in 27 patients (49%), radiotherapy in 17 (31%) and surgery followed by radiotherapy in 11 (20%). After a mean follow-up of 15 years (range: 7-25 years), 27 patients (49%) remained continuously disease free, 27 (49%) relapsed and one died of chemotherapy toxicity. The local recurrence rate was 13% overall: 18% (3/17) after radiotherapy, 7% (2/27) after surgery and 19% (2/11) after surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (p = ns). On the contrary, the 10-year EFS ...
Cervix cancer is the most common female cancer in Korea. In spite of their relatively local invasive tendency, still 44% of patient will develop recurrent cancer This result suggests that more aggressive local treatment may increase the cure rate but increased complication risk also cannot be avoidable. Various institutions proposed different treatment regimen, but recommended dose were about 4500 cGy for whole pelvis and 8000 cGy at point A, even though they agreed that those doses may not be satisfactory for control of bulky disease. 96 cases of invasive cervical cancer, treated with postoperative or primary radiation therapy were analyzed to determine the complication rate and prognostic factor in our treatment regimen which is 500-1000 cGy higher than other institution. Mean follow up duration was 21 months. Symptomatic patients including mild but persistent abdominal discomfort was 46%, but only 1 patient (1%) had operative treatment because of incomplete ...
Thirty-nine previously untreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue were treated by irradiation or a combination of irradiation and surgery, with or without chemotherapy, between January 1971 and December 1980. All of the patients had a follow-up period of at least nine years. Twenty-two patients were men and 17 were women. The average age was 50.1 years, with a range of 30 to 74 years. The absolute five-year survival rate was 82.1% and the cumulative ten-year survival rate 76.9% for these 39 patients. Cervical node metastases were clinically found on admission in 14 patients whose five-year survival rate was 64.3%, whereas it was 92.0% for 25 patients without metastasis. The absolute five-year survival rate decreased from 92.3% for patients with stage I lesions to 90.9%, 87.5% and 42.9% for those with stage II, stage III and stage IV lesions, respectively. Most of the patients received external irradiation and intraoral electron beam therapy. External irradiation was ...
Mutations in the FGD1 gene have been shown to cause Aarskog-Scott syndrome (AAS), or facio-digito-genital dysplasia (OMIM#305400), an X-linked disorder characterized by distinctive genital and skeletal developmental abnormalities with a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes. To date, 20 distinct mutations have been reported, but little phenotypic data are available on patients with molecularly confirmed AAS. In the present study, we report on our experience of screening for mutations in the FGD1 gene in a cohort of 60 European patients with a clinically suspected diagnosis of AAS. We identified nine novel mutations in 11 patients (detection rate of 18.33%), including three missense mutations (p.R402Q; p.S558W; p.K748E), four truncating mutations (p.Y530X; p.R656X; c.806delC; c.1620delC), one in-frame deletion (c.2020_2022delGAG) and the first reported splice site mutation (c.1935+3A>C). A recurrent mutation (p.R656X) was detected in three independent families. ...
We wanted to evaluate the long-term results of a dual expandable nitinol stent for the palliative treatment of malignant gastroduodenal strictures. The dual stent consists of two stents; an outer partially nylon covered stent and an inner bare nitinol stent. The outer stent was placed into the stricture and this was followed by coaxial placement of the inner bare stent. Using fluoroscopic guidance, dual expandable stents were placed in 86 patients with inoperable malignant gastroduodenal strictures. The technical and clinical success, the complication, survival and the stent patency were evaluated during the follow-up period. Stent placement was technically successful in 83 of the 86 patients. After stent placement, 74 of the 85 patients showed improvement of their symptoms. During the mean follow-up period of 133 days, 24 patients (28%) developed recurrent symptoms due to incomplete expansion (n=1), stent migration (n=4), food impaction (n=2), granulation tissue ...
Monthly sampling of slightly alkaline arsenic-rich stream in the Mokrsko gold deposit revealed seasonal variations in dissolved Zn, Cu, As and Mo. Concentrations of trace metal cations (Zn, Cu) increased as much as 330 and 178%, respectively, from minimum mean values at autumn to maximum mean values at spring. In contrast, concentrations of trace element oxyanions (As, Mo) revealed opposite seasonal pattern with increase to 189% (As) and 123% (Mo) during summer?autumn, indicating that in-stream biogeochemical process(es) played the main role in controlling the seasonal variations of these trace elements. The trace elements were mainly scavenged by low crystalline Mn oxyhydroxide and Fe oxyhydroxide (ferrihydrite). Results are consistent with sorption and coprecipitation processes controlli...
Several recent studies have documented that non-human primates can individuate objects according to property and/or kind information in much the same way as human infants do from around one year of age when they begin to acquire language. Some studies suggest, however, that only some properties are used for the individuation of food items: color, but not shape. The present study investigated whether these findings reveal a true competence problem with shape properties in the food domain or whether they merely reveal a performance problem (e.g., lack of attention to shapes). We tested 25 great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas) in two food individuation tasks. We manipulated subjects? experience with differences in color and shape properties of food items. Results indicated (i) that a...
Premature Failure of a Riata Defibrillator Lead. A 63-year-old woman with a St. Jude Medical Riata 1570 right ventricular lead complained of intermittent hiccups 2 months after implant. Interrogation revealed elevated pacing threshold and diaphragmatic stimulation. Pacing and shock lead impedances remained stable. No inappropriate sensing was noted. Fluoroscopic examination of the lead revealed a thin radio-opaque wire seen between the 2 defibrillator coils away from the main body of the lead. After extraction, a tear in the insulation of the lead was noted allowing the inner wire to protrude. This case illustrates a novel mechanism of insulation failure without inappropriate sensing or impedance change.-(J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 22, pp. 1070-1072, September 2011)
Synthesis, morphology, structural and optical characteristics of SiC NWs and SiC/C nanocomposites with an inverse opal lattice have been investigated. The samples were prepared by carbothermal reduction of silica (SiC NWs) and by thermo-chemical treatment of opal matrices (SiC/C) filled with carbon compounds which was followed by silicon dioxide dissolution. It was shown that the nucleation of SiC NWs occurs at the surface of carbon fibers felt. It was observed three preferred growth direction of the NWs: [111], [110] and [112]. HRTEM studies revealed the mechanism of the wires growth direction change. SiC/C- HRTEM revealed in the structure of the composites, except for silicon carbide, graphite and amorphous carbon, spherical carbon particles containing concentric graphite shells (onion-like particles).
This paper reports the use of molecular methods to characterize the coprophilous fungal communities (CFC) that inhabit the dung of four species of mammalian herbivores at two sites, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in New Mexico and Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) in South Dakota. Results reveal that CFC from domesticated cattle (Bos taurus) at SNWR, and bison (Bison bison) and black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) at WCNP were diverse but dominated primarily by members within eight taxonomic orders, including the rarely cultured and anaerobic order Neocallimastigales. In addition, 7.7% (138 of 1,788) of the sequences obtained from all dung samples were at least 97% similar to root-associated fungal (RAF) sequences previously described from blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis...
Transmission electron microscopy studies on solution-annealed Alloy 800 revealed small (100-200 nm), spherical-shaped titanium carbide (face centered cubic structure) and large (200 nm-5 #mu#m), faceted titanium nitride (hexagonal structure) particles randomly distributed in the austenite matrix. The volume fraction of former particles was found to be greater than that of the latter. Corrosion studies of the alloy in acidic, chlorides and acidic chloride environments at room temperature indicated that the passivity of Alloy 800 was adversely affected by the addition Cl"- ions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the surface film formed on the alloy at the onset of passivity consisted of Cr"3"+ (as Cr_2O_3), without any Fe"3"+/Fe"2"+ or Ni"2"+. Scanning electron microscopy studies indicated initiation of pitting at large, faceted particles, not at small, spherical-shaped ones.
A concentric reducer tube, which was a part of the top exit roughing hydraulic descaler in a hot strip mill failed prematurely under working pressure. A detailed metallurgical investigation comprising physical examination, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalysis was carried out to find out the genesis of the failure. Physical examination revealed cracks located symmetrically around the circumference of the tube that ran along its full length, up to the weld beads at both ends. Optical microscopy of etched samples revealed a banded ferrite-pearlite structure and the existence of forging folds near the change-in-section(160? fillets). Cracks were found to initiate from these forging folds. No structural abnormalities were found in the weld beads and...
A rare case of primary splenic cyst is shown in a young woman who had a left subcostal abdominal pain. Abdominal echography and CT scan revealed a cyst of the anterior aspect of the spleen. A sorologic test for hidatic disease was negative. On the basis of a presumed diagnostic of nonparasitic cyst, the patient was referred to a laparoscopic decapsulation with excision of the cysts wall not covered by splenic tissue. The patient was discharged 24 hours later. Histological report revealed epidermoid cyst. The laparoscopic approach has being recently considered an effective and less invasive alternative in the treatment of splenic diseases. We demonstrated that it should be considered for the treatment of splenic cysts present in a superficial location, with the advantage of organ preservation. (author)
The subscale Varestraint test has been used to determine the relative hot cracking susceptibility of the fusion zone in four commercial heats of alloy 800. Although all four heats were susceptible to cracking, one heat exhibited a significant increase in cracking relative to the other three. Optical metallography revealed that nearly all the cracking was localized along fusion zone grain boundaries. Microprobe analysis of the grain boundaries detected high concentrations of titanium, silicon, and niobium resulting from partitioning during solidification. The fusion zone hot cracking mechanism in alloy 800 involves the complex interaction of titanium, silicon, niobium, and carbon along the solidification boundaries. SEM and Auger analyses of the hot crack fracture surfaces revealed the presence of (Ti, Nb)-rich carbides, suggesting that these particles precipitate from the liquid which solidifies last on the fracture surface. 23 references.
Irradiation processing of food in the prepackaged form may affect chemical and physical properties of the plastic packaging materials. The effect of #gamma#-irradiation doses (2.5-10.0 kGy) on polypropylene (PP)-based retortable food packaging materials, were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis, which revealed the changes happening to these materials after irradiation. The mechanical properties decreased with irradiation while oxygen transmission rate (OTR) was not affected significantly. Colour measurement indicated that Nylon 6 containing multilayer films became yellowish after irradiation. Thermal characterization revealed the changes in percentage crystallinity.
A destructive spondyloarthropathy is reported in four patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis for chronic renal disease. In a separate investigation a controlled, prospective radiographic study of the cervical spine revealed this spondyloarthropathy in 4 (15%) of 26 long-term dialysis patients. A single disk level was involved in three patients, and two disc levels were involved in one patient. This spondyloarthropathy correlated with the duration of dialysis but not with the radiographic evidence of renal osteodystrophy or severity of laboratory abnormalities associated with hyperparathyroidism. Three of these four patients also had discovertebral erosions or destruction involving the lumbar spine. Cervical spine flexion views revealed evidence of ligamentous laxity or instability in three (12%) dialysis patients, all with vertebral resorption and disc space narrowing. It is postulated that this instability may contribute to the ...
A 33-year-old male of proven fertility suffered six attacks of malaria while resident in an African country. For this he received anti-malarial drugs. Semen analysis performed after the fourth attack, and repeated during the following 2 years after his return to Israel, revealed severe oligozoospermia, necrozoospermia and occasionally even azoospermia. Immunological examination of the patient revealed an inverse ratio of T-cell subsets and mast cell degranulation in response to palludrin. Twenty-five months after the last attack of malaria a significant improvement was found in semen quality and there was an increase in the ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor cytotoxic cells. These observations indicate that although malaria and its treatment may affect spermatogenesis, recovery may be expected eventually. PMID:3500921
The goal of the present study was to describe the clinical, haematological and ultrasonographic findings and treatment of 17 cattle with pyelonephritis. Fifteen cattle had an abnormal general condition, which varied in severity; five animals had signs of colic. The urine was brownish-red in 11 animals and cloudy in 13. Clumps of purulent material were seen in the urine of nine animals and clots of blood in two. The specific gravity was lower than normal in 13 animals and ranged from 1.005 to 1.020. A urine test strip revealed protein in 16 animals, blood in 16 and leukocytes in 12. Bacteriological examination of urine yielded Corynebacterium renale in 11 animals, Arcanobacter pyogenes in two and Escherichia coli in one. Rectal examination revealed abnormalities of the urinary tract in 11 a...
High purity W and W-0.9La2O3 (wt.%) nanopowders were produced by a wet chemical route. The precursor was prepared by the reaction of ammonium paratungstate (APT) with lanthanum salt in aqueous solutions. High resolution electron microscopy investigations revealed that the tungstate particles were coated with oxide precipitates. The precursor powder was reduced to tungsten metal with dispersed lanthanum oxide. Powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1300 and 1400degreeC to suppress grain growth during sintering. The final grain size relates to the SPS conditions, i.e. temperature and heating rate, regardless of the starting powder particle size. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that oxide phases were mainly accumulated at grain boundaries while the tungsten matrix ...
In the present work, bulk amorphous and nanocrystalline Al83Fe17 alloys were obtained by consolidation of mechanically alloyed powders. Mechanical alloying of Al-17% Fe powder mixture yielded powder with an amorphous structure. Thermal behaviour of the milling product was examined using differential scanning calorimetry. This investigation revealed that the amorphous phase crystallised above 380^oC. The amorphous powder was compacted under a pressure of 7.7GPa in different conditions: at 380^oC for 600s and at 1000^oC for 180s. Structural investigations of the bulk material revealed that the amorphous structure was retained after consolidation process applied at 380^oC. Compaction under high pressure at 1000^oC caused crystallisation of the amorphous phase and appearance of metastable nano...
UO/sub 2/(OH)xReO/sub 4/xH/sub 2/O, UO/sub 2/(OH)ReO/sub 4/x0.5H/sub 2/O and UO/sub 2/(OH)ReO/sub 4/ were produced and their physical and chemical properties were studied for the first time. The chemical analysis was carried out and pycnometric density of the initial crystallohydrate and basic uranyl anhydrous perrhelate wos determined. The two-step mechanism of the dehydration of uranyl hydroxoperrhenate monohydrate was revealed. Values of interplane distances were calculated for a number of roentgenogram lines of the basic uranyl perrhenate and its crystallohydrates. IR spectra of all revealed compounds in the region of 4000-250 cm/sup -1/ were studied.
We have employed Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis to study the microstructural evolution of acrylic latex stabilised with a novel polysaccharide derived from agricultural waste. The analysis revealed that the micro structure of the latex in the 'wet' state consists of individual particles and clusters. Upon evaporation a discontinuous film is formed, with voids present within its structure, which is inconsistent with the conventional descriptions of film formation. Further ESEM examination of 'dry' specimens revealed that aging resulted in the formation of dendritic structures on the surfaces of the latex films, which EDX analysis confirmed to have been formed via crystallisation of salt. The experimental evidence suggests that the clusters, which are part of the structure of the latex, may act as nucleation centres that would allow the dendrites to ...
Although caloric restriction (CR) has been shown to increase lifespan in various animal models, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not yet been revealed. We developed an in vitro...Full Text Available
Davidsons paratactic account of indirect speech exploits the fact that `that' can be either a demonstrative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction. Davidson thinks that the fact that it is plausible to think that it inherited the latter function from the former lends support to his account. However, in other languages the two functions are performed by unrelated words, which makes the account impossible to apply to them. I argue that this shows that, rather than revealing the underlying form of indirect reports, the account reflects only a quirk of English.
Spontaneous pneumothoraces are believed to arise when air from the supplying airway exit via a ruptured visceral pleural bleb into the pleural cavity. Endobronchial one-way valves (EBVs) allow air exit...Full Text Available
Hyperosmotic stress is known to significantly enhance net uptake of inorganic ions into plant cells. Direct evidence for cell turgor recovery via such a mechanism, however, is still lacking. In the...Full Text Available
Reasons were revealed for the fresh water resistance of sediments of hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile obtained from interaction of it with Fe/sup 3 +/, Ca/sup 2 +/ and Cu/sup 2 +/ cations which are in the saline solutions of these metals.
A community health survey of 438 individuals was taken to detect health problems related to high voltage electrical transmission among an adjacent residential population. Results revealed no significant or consistent relationships between exposure to a high voltage DC power line and the perceived health problems that were measured. The sample was not, however, large enough to draw statistically significant conclusions regarding possible health effects with a very low incidence.
The evolution of a family of airfoil sections designed to be used as blade elements of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is described. This evolution consists of extensive computer simulation, wind tunnel testing and field testing. The process reveals that significant reductions in system costs-of-energy and increases in fatigue lifetime may be expected for VAWT systems using these blade elements.
By dissolution of iron (2) carbonate in rhenium acid iron (2) perrhenate of the Fe(ReO/sub 4/)/sub 2/x4H/sub 2/O composition is obtained. By the method of thermal analysis the limits of tetra-, dihydrate and anhydrous iron (2) perrhenate stability are revealed. By means of X ray phase and IR spectroscopic analysis methods modification of structure in the process of synthesized salt dehydration is shown.
Surface photometry of bulges and elliptical galaxies is reviewed. The properties of cores and nuclei as revealed by improvements in seeing and the use of CCDs are examined, and newly discovered structural details such as dust, shells, and dynamical subsystems which show the importance of accretion events in galactic evolution are addressed. Improved constraints on galaxy formation resulting from better measurements of parameter scaling laws are discussed, and accurate measurements of departures from elliptical isophotes and of color gradients obtained with CCDs are considered.
The structure of the P-2, S-1 accelerator mode with one step, S-1, on double period, P-2 for systems, described by the Harper mapping as well as by standard mapping, is analyzed. Detailed analysis of stability criteria is given and comparison with the results of numerical analysis is performed. Three-period compression of the P-2, S-1 island is revealed in the standard mapping. Refs. 7, figs. 7.
Structure of ferrite in drawn pearlitic steel containing 0.9 mass% C was investigated with X-ray diffraction technique using synchrotron radiation. In the detailed analysis of diffraction peaks of ferrite during the drawing process, it was experimentally revealed that the transformation of ferrite from bcc to bct due to the supersaturation of carbon in ferrite of heavily drawn pearlitic steel.
Structure of ferrite in drawn pearlitic steel containing 0.9 mass% C was investigated with X-ray diffraction technique using synchrotron radiation. In the detailed analysis of diffraction peaks of ferrite during the drawing process, it was experimentally revealed that the transformation of ferrite from bcc to bct due to the supersaturation of carbon in ferrite of heavily drawn pearlitic steel.
Matrilin-1 is expressed predominantly in cartilage and co-localizes with matrilin-3 with which it can form hetero-oligomers. We recently described novel structural and functional features of the matrilin-3...Full Text Available
The authors have used limited proteolysis of affinity-labeled estrogen receptors (ER), coupled with antireceptor antibody immunoreactivity, to assess structural features of ER and the relatedness of ER from MCF-7 human breast cancer and rat uterine cells. MCF-7 ER preparations covalently labeled with ["3H]tamoxifen aziridine (["3H]TAZ) were treated with trypsin (T), #alpha#-chymotrypsin (C), or Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease prior to electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels. Fluorography revealed a distinctive ladder of ER fragments containing TAZ for each protease generated from the M/sub r/ 66,000 ER. Immunoblot detection with the primate-specific antibody D75P3#gamma# revealed that all immunoreactive fragments corresponded to TAZ-labeled fragments but that some small TAZ-labeled fragments were no longer immunoreactive. In contrast, use of the antibody H222SP#gamma# revealed a correspondence between TAZ-labeled ...
There are about fifty SET domain protein methyltransferases (PMTs) in the human genome, that transfer a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) to substrate lysines on histone tails or other peptides. A number of structures in complex with cofactor, substrate, or inhibitors revealed the mechanisms of substrate recognition, methylation state specificity, and chemical inhibition. Based on these structures, we review the structural chemistry of SET domain PMTs, and propose general concepts towards the development of selective inhibitors.
We provide an analytic study of the dynamics of semiconductor lasers with injection (pump) of spin-polarized electrons, previously considered in the steady-state regime. Using complementary approaches of quasi-static and small signal analyses, we elucidate how the spin modulation in semiconductor lasers can improve performance, as compared to the conventional (spin-unpolarized) counterparts. We reveal that the spin-polarized injection can lead to an enhanced bandwidth and desirable switching properties of spin-lasers.
α7 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7-nAChR) form Ca2+-permeable homopentameric channels modulating cortical network activity and cognitive processing....Full Text Available
Gas and stars in spiral galaxies are modelled with the DUAL code, using hydrodynamic and N-body techniques. The simulations reveal morphological differences mirroring the dual morphologies seen in B and K' band observations of many spiral galaxies. In particular, the gaseous images are more flocculent with lower pitch angles than the stellar images, and the stellar arm-interarm contrast correlates with the degree of morphological decoupling.
BackgroundLand plant genomes contain multiple members of a eukaryote-specific gene family encoding proteins with pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) motifs. Some PPR proteins were shown...Full Text Available
High-spin states in {sup 202}Pb and {sup 203}Pb have been investigated by in-beam {gamma}-ray spectroscopy following the reaction {sup 198}Pt({sup 9}Be,xn). A search for magnetic rotational bands in these isotopes confirmed one of the two bands previously assigned to {sup 202}Pb and revealed a new band in this isotope. No evidence for magnetic rotation has been found in {sup 203}Pb. (orig.)
Literature summarizing a study on the Saudi Arabian solar controlled environment agriculture system is presented. Specifications and performance requirements for the system components are revealed. Detailed performance and cost analyses are used to determine the optimum design. A preliminary design of an engineering field test is included. Some weather data are provided for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (BCS)
The addition of titanium to eutectic braze compositions causes these alloys to readily wet and bond to A1N ceramics. Electron microscopic characterizations of the metal-ceramic interfaces reveal the presence of TiN, along with other Ti- and Al-containing phases. The formation of such interfacial reaction products is an additional thermodynamic driving force for the creation of useful metal-ceramic bonds. 12 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.
A survey carried out in 2005 among members of a healthy population of children living in Bolivia and Peru revealed that fecal carriage of Escherichia coli strains resistant to expanded-spectrum...Full Text Available
Histone H3 mRNAs were found in polyA(+) fractions of total RNA prepared from alfalfa plants, calli and somatic embryos. The sequence analysis of cDNAs revealed the presence of a polyA tail on independent...Full Text Available
DescriptionThe recent sequencing of the complete genomes of several streptomycete species revealed the presence of a large number of cryptic' secondary metabolic gene clusters, and led to the realisation that these organisms have the ability to produce many more natural products than had previously been recognised. One of the aims of our work is to identify the physiological signals and regulatory mechanisms responsible for the activation of these 'cryptic' pathways, thus unleashing the full biosynthetic p [continued...
After slow progress in the efforts to develop phase plates for electron microscopes, functional phase plate using thin carbon film has been reported recently. It permits collecting high-contrast images...Full Text Available
Broiler chickens from eight commercial farms in Southern Finland were analyzed for the structure of their gastrointestinal microbial community by a nonselective DNA-based method, percent G+C-based...Full Text Available
Several Mg-Y binary ribbons with Y content up to {approx}17.9 at.% were fabricated by melt-spinning. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the phase structure changes with increasing Y content from extended solid solution to partially amorphous, and then fully intermetallic Mg{sub 24}Y{sub 5}. Anodic potentiodynamic polarization performed in 0.01 M NaCl electrolyte (pH=12) revealed improved anodic passivity behavior compared to pure Mg for all the Mg-Y alloys. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the improved passivity of Mg-Y was more related to the elemental oxidation state rather than the concentration of the surface components. To study the effect of Cl{sup -} ion on the passivity behavior, anodic potentiodynamic and potentiostatic polarization were performed on Mg-17.9 at.% Y in alkaline (pH=12) NaCl electrolytes containing Cl{sup -} ion in the concentration range from 0.00 to 0.50 M. The passive films ...
Several Mg-Y binary ribbons with Y content up to #approx#17.9 at.% were fabricated by melt-spinning. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the phase structure changes with increasing Y content from extended solid solution to partially amorphous, and then fully intermetallic Mg_2_4Y_5. Anodic potentiodynamic polarization performed in 0.01 M NaCl electrolyte (pH=12) revealed improved anodic passivity behavior compared to pure Mg for all the Mg-Y alloys. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the improved passivity of Mg-Y was more related to the elemental oxidation state rather than the concentration of the surface components. To study the effect of Cl"- ion on the passivity behavior, anodic potentiodynamic and potentiostatic polarization were performed on Mg-17.9 at.% Y in alkaline (pH=12) NaCl electrolytes containing Cl"- ion in the concentration range from 0.00 to 0.50 M. The passive films formed in 0.01 M ...
Plantago ovata Forsk - an economically important medicinal plant - was analyzed for trace elements and chlorophyll in a study of the effects of gamma radiation on physiological responses of the seedlings. Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique was used to quantify trace elements in unirradiated and gamma-irradiated plants at the seedling stage. The experiments revealed radiation-induced changes in the trace element and chlorophyll concentrations.
Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements are made in horizontal planes in a simplified scale model of a spray dryer using water as fluid. The sample rate was sufficient to resolve phenomena at lower frequencies. Data reveal asymmetric velocity fields in both mean fields and dynamics. Data were analysed using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD). An important periodic event is an elongation of the jet core cross section that results in a downstream displacement of the jet towards the chamber wall.
Positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies were performed on a case of neuro-Behcet's syndrome. In accordance with the clinical signs, FDG PET (using /sup 18/F-labeled 2-F-2'-desoxyglucose) revealed disseminated storage defects in the cerebrum and cerebellum. Focal regions of enhanced signal intensity were demonstrated in the parietal white matter of the cerebrum in T2-weighted images and in the brain stem by MRI. (orig.).
It is shown that de-noising a measured time signal by wavelet technique produces a rather good result in time domain, while it has unwanted consequences in spectrum estimation. Therefore it can be used for reconstruction of the picture of the physical process, but it should be avoided, when the aim is to reveal eigenfrequencies or transient behaviour of the spectra.
This report summarizes the information gathered by CONCAVE in a 1993 survey of waste generation and disposal by the oil refineries in Western Europe. The survey covered the types of waste produced, their quantities, disposal routes and costs of disposal. The results are compared with those from a 1986 survey, but because of the increased numbers of refineries reporting, comparison is difficult. The survey revealed wide variations in disposal costs depending on waste type and local circumstances.
A 13.1-kb DNA fragment carrying Pseudomonas denitrificans cob genes has been sequenced. The nucleotide sequence and genetic analysis revealed that this fragment contained five different cob genes named...Full Text Available
It is shown that low-frequency elastic vibrations of near-surface planar defects cause high-frequency ultrasonic radiation in surrounding air. The frequency conversion mechanism is concerned with contact nonlinearity of the defect vibrations and provides efficient generation of air-coupled higher-order ultraharmonics, ultrasubharmonics, and combination frequencies. The nonlinear air-coupled ultrasonic emission is applied for location and high-resolution imaging of damage-induced defects in a variety of solid materials.
We exploit theoretically a class of rectangular cylindrical devices for noise shielding by using acoustic metamaterials. The function of noise shielding is justified by both the far-field and near-field full-wave simulations based on the finite element method. The enlargement of equivalent acoustic scattering cross sections is revealed to be the physical mechanism for this function. This work makes it possible to design a window with both noise shielding and air flow. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)
BackgroundThe large sensitivity, high reproducibility and essentially unlimited dynamic range of real-time PCR to measure gene expression in complex samples provides the opportunity...Full Text Available
Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-{gamma} (PPAR{gamma}) regulates metabolic homeostasis and adipocyte differentiation, and it is activated by oxidized and nitrated fatty acids. Here we report the crystal structure of the PPAR{gamma} ligand binding domain bound to nitrated linoleic acid, a potent endogenous ligand of PPAR{gamma}. Structural and functional studies of receptor-ligand interactions reveal the molecular basis of PPAR{gamma} discrimination of various naturally occurring fatty acid derivatives.
Recent GWAS studies focused on uncovering novel genetic loci related to AD have revealed associations with variants near CLU, CR1, PICALM and BIN1....Full Text Available
Frequency response measurements are used to determine the carrier lifetime of 1.3-..mu..m InGaAsP buried heterostructure lasers between 1 mA and threshold. The data confirm previous results on the radiative and Auger recombination coefficients and reveal the presence of a nonradiative current which dominates at low currents and contributes 4 mA at threshold.
We reported three cases of acute intracranial tuberculosis including miliary tuberculosis, basal meningitis, tuberculomas and neuritis of cranial nerves. All patients had native and contrast enhanced CT and MRI scans. MRI revealed more granulomas and a better imaging contrast in the detection of basal meningitis. Neuritis was diagnosed only with the MRI. MRI scans should be prefered as the imaging procedure in clinically presumed intracranial tuberculosis. (orig.).
The structural changes attendant on intermartensitic transformation in a Ni-Mg-Ga shape memory alloy are considered using magneto-optical visualization with the help of ferrite-garnet monocrystalline films. It is established that on the intermartensitic transformation the complete reorganization of martensite macrostructure fails. Martensite crystals resulted from the basic transformation change somewhat their sizes on intermartensitic transition. The existence of large-scale labyrinth magnetic domain structure is revealed
Mice lacking Kv1.1 Shaker-like potassium channels encoded by the Kcna1 gene exhibit severe seizures and die prematurely. The channel is widely expressed in...Full Text Available
X-ray scattering methods suitable for the investigation of the morphology and chemical composition of self-organized quantum dots and quantum wires are reviewed. Their application is demonstrated in experimental examples showing that a combination of small angle X-ray scattering with high-resolution X-ray diffraction can reveal both the shape and the chemical composition of the self-organized objects. (author)
Energy spectra of the Bragg reflection of the Moessbauer ..gamma..-radiation from the /sup 57/Fe/sub 3/BO/sub 6/ weakly ferromagnetic monocrystal are studied. A strong effect of the interference transitions in iron nuclei, being in non-equivalent positions, on the spectra form is revealed. The measurement results are compared with theoretical calculations.
Lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) nanopowders with chemical compositions x/65/35 PLZT (x = 6 - 10 mol%) were prepared by sol-gel method. PLZT ceramics was obtained by the conventional sintering method and utilizing the hot pressing method. The investigations of dielectric and ferroelectric measurements of as obtained PLZT ceramics have revealed the influence of lanthanum concentration on the properties of PLZT electroceramics. (author)
The influence of MeV electrons irradiation on the gate oxide layers of hydrogenated polysilicon thin film transistors (TFTs) was investigated by measuring gate leakage currents and threshold voltages. The experimental data revealed a decrease of oxide trap density and increase of positive oxide charge. Improvement in the interface roughness and in the oxide quality near the bottom interface was observed.
The influence of MeV electrons irradiation on the gate oxide layers of hydrogenated polysilicon thin film transistors (TFTs) was investigated by measuring gate leakage currents and threshold voltages. The experimental data revealed a decrease of oxide trap density and increase of positive oxide charge. Improvement in the interface roughness and in the oxide quality near the bottom interface was observed.
PtdIns4P is the major precursor for the synthesis of the multifunctional plasma membrane lipid, PtdIns(4,5)P2. Yet PtdIns4P also functions...Full Text Available
This paper presents the results of experimental investigations of the ignition and combustion of plant biofuels (wood particles, date stones) and products of their mechanical and thermal treatment (pellets, charcoal) at temperatures typical of the burning process in nonforced furnaces and fixed-bed and fluidized-bed gas producers. The influence of the furnace heat treatment of a fuel on its inflammation and combustion has been revealed. The results have been compared with the known data on the burning of pellets, brown coals, and anthracites and with the calculation by the classical diffusion-kinetic model.
We have performed precision measurements in a magneto-optical trap of the 7P1/2 hyperfine structure of the isotopes 209-210Fr. The ratio of these hyperfine constants to the previously measured 7S1/2 ground state values reveals a significant hyperfine anomaly. This anomaly results from the different radial dependence of the electron density in the two atomic levels. The measurements are sensitive to changes in the radial distribution of the neutron magnetism.
In this work, the ability of a number of Zr-containing intermetallic compounds with the Zr{sub 2}Me stoichiometry, including Zr{sub 2}Fe, Zr{sub 2}Ni, Zr{sub 2}Co and Zr{sub 4}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 0.6}, to participate in the Hydrogenation-Disproportionation-Desorption-Recombination process was investigated, revealing for the first time that the HDDR route can be employed successfully for all these compounds. 24 refs.
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited retinal degenerations caused by mutations in at least 45 genes. Using homozygosity mapping, we identified a ∼4 Mb homozygous region...Full Text Available
BackgroundEstrogen receptors alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ) are transcription factors (TFs) that mediate estrogen signaling and define the hormone-responsive phenotype...Full Text Available
We have isolated the human prointerleukin 1 (proIL-1) beta gene from leukocyte and fetal liver libraries. The nucleotide sequence and its gene organization reveals that the proIL-1 beta gene is composed...Full Text Available
BackgroundCotton fiber development undergoes rapid and dynamic changes in a single cell type, from fiber initiation, elongation, primary and secondary wall biosynthesis, to fiber...Full Text Available
BackgroundCotton, with a large genome, is an important crop throughout the world. A high-density genetic linkage map is the prerequisite for cotton genetics and breeding. A genetic...Full Text Available
Cyclic strength of #alpha#+#beta#-titanium alloy BT3-1 is studied under load frequencies of 33 and 300 Hz. The increase in the cyclic strength with growing frequency is caused by formation of FCC interphase layers of titanium hydrides. Their formation is one of possible ways of raising the fatigue strength of titanium alloys. Peculiarities of FCC interlayer formation in #alpha#+#beta# phases under loading frequency variation are revealed.
The properties of Mn-doped GaAs layers grown by laser deposition were investigated with measurements of Hall effect and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). The electrical and magnetic parameters of the layers were defined by growth temperature and quantity of sputtered Mn. It was shown that room-temperature ferromagnetism is revealed by MOKE and, after ruby laser 25 ns pulse annealing, by Hall effect measurements.
An 8-year-old child presented with severe chest pain and respiratory distress after he accidentally bit an automobile tyre tube which burst into his mouth. The chest radiograph revealed left-sided pneumothorax....Full Text Available
Previous studies reveal that dark-induced closure of Samanea leaflets is accompanied by H+ secretion from flexor motor cells. We now report that flexor tissue excised in...Full Text Available
The purpose of this study was to reveal the mechanism of wafer touch polishing using a high purity colloidal silica slurry containing organic surfactants such as hydroxyl-ethyl cellulose. The effect of the surfactant concentration on wafer touch polishing was studied to improve the roughness of wafer surfaces after polishing. The haze level and the micro-roughness decreased with decreasing surfactant concentration.
In this paper, we extend the diversity and multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) analysis from point-to-point channels to cellular systems to evaluate the impact of inter-cell interference on the system reliability and efficiency. Fundamental tradeoff among diversity order, multiplexing gain and inter-cell interference intensity is characterized to reveal the capability of multiple antennas in cellular systems. And the detrimental effects of the inter-cell interference on the system performance of diversity and multiplexing is presented and analyzed.
The proteins encoded by polar-localized mRNAs play an important role in cell fate specification along the anteroposterior axis of the Drosophila embryo. The only maternally synthesized mRNA known previously...Full Text Available
For verification of cow fertility a /sup 3/H radioimmunoassay of progesterone in milk and blood plasma was developed. It is of high specificity and accuracy as well. Extraction of progesterone from milk was facilitated by application of alcohol. Suggested differences in milk and plasma progesterone levels between pregnant and nonpregnant cows could be revealed.
Brucellosis is a common worldwide zoonotic disease. Cutaneous manifestations are not specific and affect 1-14% of patients with brucellosis. Here, we describe 49-year-old female with fever and a diffuse maculopapular rash due to Brucella melitensis infection. Histopathology of skin biopsy revealed leukocytoclastic vasculitis; positive blood cultures for B. melitensis established the diagnosis of brucellosis. We provide a review of the relevant literature. PMID:21772606
Computed tomographic findings in developmental brain anomalies are more easily classified when the system used is based on embryogenesis related to morphology. Analysis of computed tomographic findings in a series of 154 patients with brain anomalies (Chiari malformation not included) revealed that specific examples of abnormalities occurring in major stages of brain development may be recognized by computed tomography. This paper deals with a group of patients with abnormalities that reflect a disturbance in neuronal migration. (orig.).
A 21-year-old male patient was transferred to the emergency room of our hospital after suffering seat belt abdominal injury in a traffic accident. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a massive hematoma...Full Text Available
BackgroundATRX is a tightly-regulated multifunctional protein with crucial roles in mammalian development. Mutations in the ATRX gene cause ATR-X syndrome, an X-linked...Full Text Available
The biological activity of coir fibre, coir ash and their components were investigated in vitro by measuring the haemolytic activity and macrophage cytotoxicity. In vivo studies carried out by injecting guinea pigs intratracheally with coir fibres resulted in resolving granulomas. The observed haemolytic activity and macrophage cytotoxicity was more marked with coir ash compared with coir fibres. Chemical analysis of coir ash revealed the presence of toxic chemical constituents in appreciable amounts. PMID:6283694
Nucleotide sequence analysis of the Escherichia coli chromosomal DNA inserted in the plasmid pLC33-5 of the Clarke and Carbon library [Clarke & Carbon (1976) Cell 9, 91-99] revealed the existence...Full Text Available
The goal of the present study was to describe the clinical, haematological and ultrasonographic findings and treatment of 17 cattle with pyelonephritis. Fifteen cattle had an abnormal general condition, which varied in severity; five animals had signs of colic. The urine was brownish-red in 11 animals and cloudy in 13. Clumps of purulent material were seen in the urine of nine animals and clots of blood in two. The specific gravity was lower than normal in 13 animals and ranged from 1.005 to 1.020. A urine test strip revealed protein in 16 animals, blood in 16 and leukocytes in 12. Bacteriological examination of urine yielded Corynebacterium renale in 11 animals, Arcanobacter pyogenes in two and Escherichia coli in one. Rectal examination revealed abnormalities of the urinary tract in 11 animals; there was dilatation of the left ureter and/or enlargement of the left kidney in eight cases, and dilatation of the right ureter and/or enlargement of ...
In this paper a study is made of the structure and mechanical properties of the #beta# alloy system Ti-Mo-Zr-Sn (the composition of which is equivalent to the #beta# III alloy used abroad) containing different amounts of carbon. Study of the #beta#-titanium alloy containing 0.1% C revealed the presence of particles of titanium carbide. Separation of the titanium carbide promotes a reduction in impact strength, an increased tendency toward cold shortness, and poorer workability. (author).
Adenine DNA glycosylase catalyzes the glycolytic removal of adenine from the promutagenic A {center_dot} oxoG base pair in DNA. The general features of DNA recognition by an adenine DNA glycosylase, Bacillus stearothermophilus MutY, have previously been revealed via the X-ray structure of a catalytically inactive mutant protein bound to an A:oxoG-containing DNA duplex. Although the structure revealed the substrate adenine to be, as expected, extruded from the DNA helix and inserted into an extrahelical active site pocket on the enzyme, the substrate adenine engaged in no direct contacts with active site residues. This feature was paradoxical, because other glycosylases have been observed to engage their substrates primarily through direct contacts. The lack of direct contacts in the case of MutY suggested that either MutY uses a distinctive logic for substrate recognition or that the X-ray structure had captured a noncatalytically competent ...
The results obtained by studying double-front extensive air showers in which more than 107 particles are contained and in which the fronts are separated by a time interval of #DELTA#t #approx# 100 ns are presented. Serious difficulties in explaining 'delayed' showers are revealed. In this connection, a hypothesis that the 'leading' showers are initiated by tachyons produced in the first interaction of primary particles is proposed.
TRF-CUT, an ARB-implemented tool, was developed to predict in silico the terminal restriction fragments of aligned small-subunit rRNA gene or functional gene sequences. Application of this new tool...Full Text Available
Surveys of the antigenic properties of a wide range of variants of the H3N2 (Hong Kong) influenza virus subtype have revealed complex patterns of variants cocirculating during each of the main epidemic...Full Text Available
A series of translocation break points found in a subset of human acute leukemias have one of the breaks on human chromosome 11q23. This region has recently been cloned and a large gene, ALL-1, with...Full Text Available
We identify emission lines of post-iron peak elements in very high signal-to-noise spectra of a sample of planetary nebulae. Analysis of lines from ions of Kr and Xe reveals enhancements in most of the PNe, in agreement with the theories of s-process in AGB star. Surprisingly, we did not detect lines from Br even though s-process calculations indicate that it should be produced with Kr at detectable levels.
Electron microscopic observations of neutron irradiated Nb_3Sn revealed the presence of highly disordered regions of size approximately 35 A in a much less disordered matrix. This observation is shown to provide a means of explaining quantitatively many superconducting properties of irradiated A-15 compounds. In particular Tsub(c) of the irradiated materials could be easily predicted using the mathematical formulations developed for the proximity effect. (Auth.).
Environmental and occupational exposures to heavy metals such as methylmercury (MeHg) and cadmium (Cd) pose significant health risks to humans, including neurotoxicity. The underlying mechanisms of...Full Text Available
The electronic structure of UPd_3 has been determined by means of XPS and BIS experiments. The core level line shapes and the valence band spectra of occupied and empty states clearly reveal the localized character of the 5f electrons in this actinide compound. From these spectra their Coulomb correlation energy is found to be about 2 eV. (author).
Based on our cryogenic FT-IR spectroscopic studies of hydrogen bonds in cholic acid, the two-dimensional FT-IR spectroscopy was applied to enhance our understanding of the hydrogen bonds. Fine spectral structures were revealed by asynchronous 2D FT-IR spectra. The co-relationship among various bands was discussed according to the synchronous 2D FT-IR spectra. .
Defects are produced in zinc by 6.1 MeV #alpha#-particle irradiation at 4.2 K and the subsequent recovery between 4.2 and 22 K. No evidence is found for free migration of an interstitial in the temperature range investigated. The recovery spectra reveal a series of substages which are ascribed to recombination of close Frenkel pairs. (author).
To evaluate the efficacy of newly designed covered and non-covered coated colorectal stents for colonic decompression. Twenty-six patients, (15 palliative cases and 11 preoperative) underwent treatment for the relief of colorectal obstruction using metallic stents positioned under fluoroscopic guidance. In 24 of the 26, primary colorectal carcinoma was diagnosed, and in the remaining two, recurrent colorectal carcinoma. Twenty-one patients were randomly selected to receive either a type A or type B stent; for the remaining five, type C was used. Type A, an uncovered nitinol wire stent, was lightly coated to ensure structural integrity. Type B (flare type) and C (shoulder type) stents were polyurethane covered and their diameter was 24 and 26mm, respectively. The rates of technical success, clinical success, and complications were analyzed using the chi-square test, and to analyse the mean period of patency, the Kaplan-Meier method was used. Thirty of 31 attempted ...
Purpose: The occurrence of extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma (ES) in deep soft tissues has been well described, but cases in which this tumor occurs in a primary cutaneous or subcutaneous site have rarely been reported. The superficial variant may be less aggressive than are the more common bony and deep soft tissue counterparts with an apparently favorable outcome. A retrospective review of patients with cutaneous or subcutaneous ES was conducted to analyze outcome and patterns of failure. Methods and Materials: Between July 1985 and March 1997, 14 patients with cutaneous or subcutaneous ES were treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The median age at presentation was 16 years (range 7-21 years). Anatomic locations included trunk and pelvis (7), upper or lower extremity (4), and head and neck (3). The median size of the lesion was 3 cm (range, 1-12 cm). Thirteen had definitive surgical resections, and one had biopsy of the mass at the time of referral. They were enrolled on ...
The parmbsc0 force field was applied to study in detail the binding of netropsin, at a salt concentration of 0.28M Na^+, to the minor groove of an 8-mer (5'CCAATTGG)2 DNA duplex forming a netropsin.DNA complex which previously has been characterized by X-ray crystallography, albeit with the use of closely related DNA duplexes. The X-ray structure revealed that the terminal guanidinium and amidinium groups of netropsin interact with the extreme ends of the palindromic AATT sequence of the receptor DNA. The parmbsc0 parameters of B-DNA and AMBER v9 parameters of netropsin generated a stable 6ns molecular dynamics (MD) trajectory for a 1:1 class I binding motif of this complex. Trajectory analysis for the salt and hydration effects on the binding of netropsin to the 8-mer DNA duplex revealed ...
A study examined the concept of interpersonal communication competence in order to construct a more refined instrument than those currently used to measure competence. Using 70 items drawn from several existing measures of competence, 660 volunteer subjects from undergraduate communication courses at a large midwestern university provided their conception of adept and inept communicators, defined respectively as the best and worst communicators they know. Direct and multiple step-wise discriminant analyses were performed to determine the extent to which these items best discriminated between subjects' conceptions of adept and inept communicators, and to determine which of the 70 items best discriminated between these conceptions. Canonical discriminant functions revealed that the subjects clearly distinguished between adept and inept communicators. Classification results revealed that nearly 97% of the cases were classified correctly. Results ...
The thermal desorption of stearic acid on superhydrophobic zinc oxide nanotowers has been investigated. The stearic acid passivated zinc oxide nanotowers provide a very high contact angle of {approx}173 {+-} 1.1 deg. with a very low hysteresis of {approx}1.4 {+-} 0.5 deg. due to the presence of a binary structure composed of several nanosteps on each nanotower of height {approx}700 nm that eventually reduces the area of contact between the drop and the nanotowers and trapping more air as revealed by the field emission scanning electron microscopy images. The superhydrophobic performance of these nanotowers, however, declines following annealing at elevated temperatures. Fourier transform infrared spectra show a reduction in the intensity of stearic acid -CH{sub n} peaks at elevated temperatures revealing the cause of the decrease in contact angle and confirming the occurrence of thermal desorption at 184 deg. C. The corresponding activation ...
The electronic band structure, transport properties, and lattice dynamics in AuX_2 (X = Al, Ga and In) under high pressure have been extensively studied with full potential linearized augmented plane wave and pseudopotential plane wave methods. The theoretical results for the electronic band structure and Fermi surface reveal pressure-induced electronic topological transitions (ETTs) in AuGa_2 and AuIn_2, while they are absent in AuAl_2, in excellent agreement with the experimental observations. Moreover, calculations of the transport properties at different pressures reveal subtle changes in the band structure close to the Fermi surface of the three intermetallic compounds. It is clear that the anomalies in transport properties are due to ETTs. Interestingly, a pressure-induced soft transverse acoustic (TA) phonon mode is identified only in AuGa_2. The TA phonon instability at the Brillouin zone boundary L point might be responsible for the ...
Escherichia coli spheroplast protein y (EcSpy) is a small periplasmic protein that is homologous with CpxP, an inhibitor of the extracytoplasmic stress response. Stress conditions such as spheroplast formation induce the expression of Spy via the Cpx or the Bae two-component systems in E. coli, though the function of Spy is unknown. Here, we report the crystal structure of EcSpy, which reveals a long kinked hairpin-like structure of four ?-helices that form an antiparallel dimer. The dimer contains a curved oval shape with a highly positively charged concave surface that may function as a ligand binding site. Sequence analysis reveals that Spy is highly conserved over the Enterobacteriaceae family. Notably, three conserved regions that contain identical residues and two LTxxQ motifs are placed at the horizontal end of the dimer structure, stabilizing the overall fold. CpxP also contains the conserved sequence motifs and has a predicted ...
We present our discovery of a narrow-line Baldwin effect, an anti-correlation between the equivalent width (EW) of a line and the flux of the associated continuum, in 5-20$\\mu$m mid-infared lines from a sample of 68 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), located at z$<$0.5, observed with the Infrared Spectrograph on the {\\it Spitzer Space Telescope}. Our analysis reveals a clear anti-correlation between the EW of the [SIV] 10.51$\\mu$m, [NeII] 12.81$\\mu$m, and [NeIII] 15.56$\\mu$m lines and their mid-IR continuum luminosities, while the Baldwin effect for [NeV] 14.32$\\mu$m is not as obvious. We suggest that this anti-correlation is driven by the central AGN and not circumnuclear star formation in the host galaxy. We also find that the slope of the narrow-line Baldwin effect in the mid-infrared does not appear to steepen with increasing ionization potential. Examining the dependence of the EW to the Eddington Ratio ($L/L_{Edd}$) we find no strong relationship for ...
In this work, we query the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii copper regulon at a whole-genome level. Our RNA-Seq data simulation and analysis pipeline validated a 2-fold cutoff and 10 RPKM (reads per kilobase of mappable length per million mapped reads) (~1 mRNA per cell) to reveal 63 CRR1 targets plus another 86 copper-responsive genes. Proteomic and immunoblot analyses captured 25% of the corresponding proteins, whose abundance was also dependent on copper nutrition, validating transcriptional regulation as a major control mechanism for copper signaling in Chlamydomonas. The impact of copper deficiency on the expression of several O2-dependent enzymes included steps in lipid modification pathways. Quantitative lipid profiles indicated increased polyunsaturation of fatty acids on thylakoid membrane digalactosyldiglycerides, indicating a global impact of copper deficiency on the photosynthetic apparatus. Discovery of a putative plastid copper chaperone and a membrane ...
The results of a combined investigation of splat-quenched Fe-Csub(x) (x<0.05) alloys by resistivity, X-ray diffraction and Moessbauer spectroscopy are presented. The residual resistivity increases linearly with the carbon content (#DELTA#rho=5#mu##OMEGA#cm/at.%) with a slope identical to that observed in the dilute ferritic phase. X-ray diffraction reveals the presence of a martensite structure in addition to a small fraction of residual austenite; the dependence of the a and c lattice parameters on xsub(c) agrees with earlier measurements. A detailed investigation of the relative reflexion intensities shows that the as-quenched martensites consist of a mixing of massive martensite and tetragonal martensite for low carbon content and of tetragonal martensite only for xsub(c) approximately 0.05. The Moessbauer spectra reveal 3 or 4 magnetically non equivalent iron sites. From a detailed analysis of the intensity dependence of the subspectra ...
Semiconductor properties of passive films formed on the Fe-18Cr alloy in a borate buffer solution (pH = 8.4) and 0.1 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} solution were examined using a photoelectrochemical spectroscopy and an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Photo current reveals two photo action spectra that derived from outer hydroxide and inner oxide layers. A typical n-type semiconductor behaviour is observed by both photo current and impedance for the passive films formed in the borate buffer solution. On the other hand, a negative photo current generated, the absolute value of which decreased as applied potential increased in the sulfuric acid solution. This indicates that the passive film behaves as a p-type semiconductor. However, Mott-Schottky plot revealed the typical n-type semiconductor property. It is concluded that the passive film on the Fe-18Cr alloy formed in the borate buffer solution is composed of both n-type outer hydroxide and inner ...
Semiconductor properties of passive films formed on the Fe-18Cr alloy in a borate buffer solution (pH = 8.4) and 0.1 M H_2SO_4 solution were examined using a photoelectrochemical spectroscopy and an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Photo current reveals two photo action spectra that derived from outer hydroxide and inner oxide layers. A typical n-type semiconductor behaviour is observed by both photo current and impedance for the passive films formed in the borate buffer solution. On the other hand, a negative photo current generated, the absolute value of which decreased as applied potential increased in the sulfuric acid solution. This indicates that the passive film behaves as a p-type semiconductor. However, Mott-Schottky plot revealed the typical n-type semiconductor property. It is concluded that the passive film on the Fe-18Cr alloy formed in the borate buffer solution is composed of both n-type outer hydroxide and inner oxide ...
Emerging evidence suggests that E3 ligases play critical roles in diverse biological processes, including innate immune responses in plants. However, the mechanism of the E3 ligase involvement in plant innate immunity is unclear. We report that a rice gene, OsBBI1, encoding a RING finger protein with E3 ligase activity, mediates broad-spectrum disease resistance. The expression of OsBBI1 was induced by rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, as well as chemical inducers, benzothiadiazole and salicylic acid. Biochemical analysis revealed that OsBBI1 protein possesses E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro. Genetic analysis revealed that the loss of OsBBI1 function in a Tos17-insertion line increased susceptibility, while the overexpression of OsBBI1 in transgenic plants conferred enhanced resi...
In this article, the isotope geochemical study for Iceland is reviewed. Iceland is geologically unique because it is a subaerial exposure of Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is caused by the interaction between the ridge and the Icelandic hot spot. To investigate what is happening beneath Iceland, many geochemical studies have been done. The geochemical studies using conventional Sr, Nd, Pb, He and O isotope tracers revealed the heterogeneity not only of the oceanic mantle, but also of the Icelandic hot spot mantle itself. Furthermore, the oxygen isotope studies revealed the reworking of the Icelandic crust which is altered by meteoritic water. The characterization of the Icelandic hot spot from the isotope geochemistry is very important in testing the hypothesis of the mantle-crust recycling. In near future, new tracers such as Li, B or Ce will be applied to this problem, and new constraints will be obtained. 37 refs., 7 figs.
Electrodeposition of tertiary alumina/yttria/carbon nanotube (Al2O3/Y2O3/CNT) nanocomposite by using pulsed current has been studied in this investigation. Coating process has been performed on nickel sulphate bath and nanostructure of obtained compound layer is examined with high precision figure analysis of SEM nanographs. The effects of process variables, i.e., Y2O3 concentration, treatment time, frequency and duty cycle, have been experimentally studied. Statistical methods are used to achieve the minimum of corrosion rate and average size of nanoparticles. Finally the contribution percentage of different effective factors is revealed and confirmation run shows the validity of obtained results. Also it has been revealed that by changing the size of nanoparticles, corrosion properties o...
For diagnosis of loosening or infection after implantation of a single-side or double-side total hip endoprosthesis 59 patients being in pain were investigated by a combination of bone scan (Technetium-99m DPD) and leucocyte scan (Indium-111 labelled leucocytes). The correlation between clinical results and scintigraphic findings revealed: bone scintigraphy detects loosening of prostheses with 95% sensitivity (45/47); bone scintigraphy excludes an instable prosthesis with 89% specificity (3/27). 45% of the loosened prostheses revealed an infection (21/47): leucocyte scintigraphy could detect 17 correct positive. Three leucocyte scans of 53 prostheses without clinical signs of infection were false positive. Therefore, leucocyte scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 94% for detecting infection. Bone scintigraphy can detect loosening of prostheses with 93% accuracy, Indium-111 labelled leucocyte scintigraphy can detect ...
This study aimed to reveal that severe disturbance of attachment relationship with primary care-giver can affect functional and anatomical brain development by measuring cerebral perfusion on "9"9"mTc-ECD brain SPECT and correlative MRI. We included 18 children aged 31 to 76 months who met the diagnostic criteria of RAD as defined in DSM-IV and ICD-10 and SSP and CARS. "9"9"mTc-ECD SPECT was performed using CERASPECT. MRI was performed in all patients. SPECT data were visually assessed. 15 of 18 children had abnormal perfusion on SPECT, revealing decreased perfusion of Lt.thalamus (7/15) and Rt.thalamus (3/15), and bilateral thalami (5/15). Perfusion of basal ganglia was decreased in 8 children. Decreased perfusion of Lt. parietal area was seen in 2. Whereas, all patients had normal MR findings. Perfusion abnormalities involving thalamus, BG in most children with RAD were found in this study. These results suggest that brain development of ...
The aim of this study as to determine the mechanisms involved in using ammonium fluoborate as a reducing atmosphere when preheating a high magnesium content aluminium alloy. Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) has been the major technique used in the analysis of samples, it revealed significant reduction in both the diffusion of magnesium to the surface and the calculated oxide thickness in the presence of NH{sub 4}BF{sub 4}. At temperatures above 500 deg C in air, SEM images revealed depressions and voids due to incipient melting at various stages, around the grain boundaries. Grain boundaries effectively acted as pipes aiding the diffusion of magnesium to the surface. These results have been verified through compositional analysis with both RBS and auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Results from NH{sub 4}BF{sub 4} atmosphere preheat conditions showed significant improvements. It was verified experimentally that above 500 deg C , AA5182 alloys ...
Tests with a 61 cm diameter fluidized-bed combustor revealed that raw cotton gin trash could be efficiently burned while satisfying Federal standards for particulate emissions. Certain chemicals within cotton gin trash zone can cause slagging or caking of ash and bed particles in the combustion zone. They can also corrode and accumulate on the heat recovery equipment. These problems are not considered insurmountable and methods of control are being studied. Raw cotton gin trash was also converted into a low Btu gas using fluidized-bed technology. Tests with a 30 cm diameter gasifier revealed that raw gin trash could be converted to a combustible gas, containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The heating value of the gas ranged from 3.65 to 5.29 MJ/m3 and about 50 percent of the heat value of the raw trash was converted to combustible gases. Economic analyses have shown that these techniques can be economically competitive with present fuels in ...
The results of a comprehensive infrared imaging search for the putative 0.06 M{sub {circle_dot}} astrometric companion to the 4.4 pc white dwarf van Mannen 2 are reported. Adaptive optics images acquired at 3.8 {micro}m reveal a diffraction limited core of 0.09 inch and no direct evidence of a secondary. Models predict that at 5 Gyr, a 50 M{sub J} brown dwarf would be only 1 magnitude fainter than van Maanen 2 at this wavelength and the astrometric analysis suggested a separation of 0.2 inch. In the case of a chance alignment along the line of sight, a 0.4 mag excess should be measured. An independent photometric observation at the same wavelength reveals no excess. In addition, there exist published ISO observations of van Maanen 2 at 6.8 {micro}m and 15.0 {micro}m which are consistent with photospheric flux of a 6750 K white dwarf. If recent brown dwarf models are correct, there is no substellar companion with T{sub eff} {approx}> 500 ...
The microstructure of the secondary deformation zone (SDZ) near the cutting surface in metal chips of Ti-6Al-4V formed during machining was investigated using focused ion beam (FIB) specimen preparation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging. Use of the FIB allowed precise extraction of the specimen across this region to reveal its inhomogeneous microstructure resulting from the non-uniform distribution of strain, strain rate, and temperature generated during the cutting process. Initial imaging from conventional TEM foil preparation revealed microstructures ranging from heavily textured to regions of fine grains. Using FIB preparation, the transverse microstructure could be interpreted as fine grains near the cutting surface which transitioned to coarse grains toward the free surface. At the cutting surface a 10 nm thick recrystallized layer was observed capping a 20 nm thick amorphous layer.
Transmission electron microscopy studies on solution-annealed Alloy 800 revealed small (100-200 nm), spherical-shaped titanium carbide (face centered cubic structure) and large (200 nm-5 {mu}m), faceted titanium nitride (hexagonal structure) particles randomly distributed in the austenite matrix. The volume fraction of former particles was found to be greater than that of the latter. Corrosion studies of the alloy in acidic, chlorides and acidic chloride environments at room temperature indicated that the passivity of Alloy 800 was adversely affected by the addition Cl{sup -} ions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the surface film formed on the alloy at the onset of passivity consisted of Cr{sup 3+} (as Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3}), without any Fe{sup 3+}/Fe{sup 2+} or Ni{sup 2+}. Scanning electron microscopy studies indicated initiation of pitting at large, faceted particles, not at small, spherical-shaped ones.
The goal of the present study is to elucidate the effect of lipid domain formation on activities of Naja naja atra and Bungarus multicinctus phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) enzymes. Sphingomyelin inhibited enzymatic activity and membrane-damaging activity of PLA(2) against egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EYPC), while cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate abrogated the inhibitory effect of sphingomyelin. The ability of cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate to abolish the inhibitory effect of sphingomyelin was closely related to their capacity to induce domain formation in EYPC/sphingomyelin vesicles. Laurdan fluorescence measurement revealed that membrane packing of EYPC/sphingomyelin vesicles was differently affected by cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate. Unlike cholesterol, cholesterol sulfate was unable to promote domain formation in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicles. Cholesterol increased but cholesterol sulfate reduced PLA(2) activity against DPPC. ...
We report results from a 50 ks XMM-Newton observation of the dust-reddened broad-line quasar FTM 0830+3759 (z=0.413) selected from the FIRST/2MASS Red Quasar survey. For this AGN, a very short 9 ks Chandra exposure had suggested a feature-rich X-ray spectrum and HST images revealed a very disturbed host galaxy morphology. Contrary to classical, optically-selected quasars, the X-ray properties of red (i.e. with J-Ks> 1.7 and R-Ks> 4) broad line quasars are still quite unexplored, although there is a growing consensus that, due to moderate obscuration, these objects can offer a unique view of spectral components typically swamped by the AGN light in normal, blue quasars. The XMM-Newton observation discussed here has definitely confirmed the complexity of the X-ray spectrum revealing the presence of a cold (or mildly-ionized) absorber with Nh ~10^{22} cm^-2 along the line of sight to the nucleus and a Compton reflection component accompanied ...
Gel filtration of human erythrocyte (RBC) lysate incubated with labeled thyroxine (Tu) or triiodothyronine (Tt) revealed co-elution of a major iodothyronine-binding fraction (R-2) and hemoglobin. Solutions of purified human hemoglobin and Tt also showed co-elution of hormone and hemoglobin. Because hematin and protoporphyrin were shown to bind labeled Tt, the oxygen-binding site on hemoglobin was excluded as the site of iodothyronine-hemoglobin interaction. Analysis of hormone binding by heme and globin moieties showed Tt binding to be limited to the heme fraction. Addition of excess unlabeled Tt to hemoglobin or heme incubated with labeled Tt indicated 75% to 90% of hormone binding was poorly dissociable. These observations suggested that the presence of hemoglobin in RBC lysate or in serum could influence the measurement of Tu and Tt by specific radioimmunoassay (RIA). Subsequent studies of the addition to serum of human hemoglobin revealed a ...
'The use of personal protective clothing that covers the head is a common practice in many industries. Such personal protective clothing will impact the sound pressure level and the frequency content of sounds to which the wearer will be exposed. The use of such clothing, then, may impact speech and alarm audibility. A measure of the impact of such clothing is its insertion loss. Insertion loss measurements were performed on four types of personal protective clothing in use by Westinghouse Savannah River Company personnel which utilize cloth and plastic hood configurations to protect the head. All clothing configurations tested at least partially cover the ears. The measurements revealed that insertion loss of the items tested was notable at frequencies above 1000 Hz only and was a function of material stiffness and acoustic flanking paths to the ear. Further, an estimate of the clothing''s noise reduction rating ...
Nine coals from Spanish, British, German and American mining basins were hydrogenated using Fe catalyst precursors (red mud and FeSO{sub 4}), without solvent at 300, 350, and 400 {degree}C and 10 MPa of H{sub 2}. Overall conversion and product distribution are related to the textural characteristics of the original coals and are studies throughout the distinct hydrogenation processes. Results reveal that with FeSO{sub 4} as a catalyst precursor, conversions increase with coal surface area. However, when red mud (RM) is used, conversions are independent of coal textural characteristics. Higher conversions are obtained with FeSO{sub 4} than with RM at 300 and 350 {degree}C whereas at 400 {degree}C higher conversions are obtained with RM. This different catalytic activity is also reflected in the changes of the textural characteristics observed in each case. Up to 350 {degree}C, the residues from FeSO{sub 4}-catalyzed processes reveal increased ...
The temperature effect on corrosion behaviors of PbCaSnCe alloy in 4.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} solution was investigated by using potentiodynamic curve, electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), Mott-Schottky plot and photocurrent response methods. It was found that PbCaSnCe alloy was in passive state in sulfuric acid solution, a passive film can be formed on alloy surface. The compositions of passive films formed at 0.9 V for 2 h under different temperatures were detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the film resistance and the transfer resistance decreased with the increment of the solution temperature. Mott-Schottky analysis and the photocurrent response revealed that the passive film exhibited n-type semi-conductive character, the donor density of the passive film decreased with increasing the solution temperature. Photocurrent response revealed that the photocurrent increased with increasing temperature. ...
Nobel Prizes are commonly seen to be among the most prestigious achievements of our times. Based on mining several million citations, we quantitatively analyze the processes driving paradigm shifts in science. We find that groundbreaking discoveries of Nobel Prize Laureates and other famous scientists are not only acknowledged by many citations of their landmark papers. Surprisingly, they also boost the citation rates of their previous publications. Given that innovations must outcompete the rich-gets-richer effect for scientific citations, it turns out that they can make their way only through citation cascades. A quantitative analysis reveals how and why they happen. Science appears to behave like a self-organized critical system, in which citation cascades of all sizes occur, from continuous scientific progress all the way up to scientific revolutions, which change the way we see our world. Measuring the "boosting effect" of landmark papers, our analysis ...
Symplastic transport occurs between neighbouring plant cells through functionally and structurally dynamic channels called plasmodesmata (PD). Relatively little is known about the composition of PD or the mechanisms that facilitate molecular transport into neighbouring cells. While transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides 2-dimensional information about the structural components of PD, 3-dimensional information is difficult to extract from ultrathin sections. This study has exploited high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) to reveal the 3-dimensional morphology of PD in the cell walls of algae, ferns and higher plants. Varied patterns of PD were observed in the walls, ranging from uniformly distributed individual PD to discrete clusters. Occasionally the thick walls of the giant alga Chara were fractured, revealing the surface morphology of PD within. External structures such as spokes, spirals and mesh were observed ...
The Drosophila hairy gene encodes a basic helix- loop-helix protein that functions in at least two steps during Drosophila development: (1) during embryogenesis, when it partakes in the establishment of segments, and (2) during the larval stage, when it functions negatively in determining the pattern of sensory bristles on the adult fly. In the rat, a structurally homologous gene (RHL) behaves as an immediate-early gene in its response to growth factors and can, like that in Drosophila, suppress neuronal differentiation events. Here, the authors report the genomic cloning of the human hairy gene homolog (HRY). The coding region of the gene is contained within four exons. The predicted amino acid sequence reveals only four amino acid differences between the human and rat genes. Analysis of the DNA sequence 5[prime] to the coding region reveals a putatitve untranslated exon. To increase the value of the HRY gene as a genetic marker and to assess ...
Metabolic engineering of photosynthetic organisms is required for utilization of light energy and for reducing carbon emissions.Control of transcriptional regulators is a powerful approach for changing cellular dynamics, because a set of genes is concomitantly regulated. Here, we show that overexpression of a group 2 ? factor, SigE, enhances the expressions of sugar catabolic genes in the unicellular cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Transcriptome analysis revealed that genes for the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway and glycogen catabolism are induced by overproduction of SigE. Immunoblotting showed that protein levels of sugar catabolic enzymes, such as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glycogen phosphorylase, and isoamylase, are increased. Glycogen levels are reduced in the SigE-overexpressing strain grown under light. Metabolome analysis revealed that metabolite levels of the TCA cycle and ...
The basic theoretical milestones were the Sakata SU(3) symmetry, the Goldberg-Ne'eman composite model with SU(3) triplets having baryon number (1/3) and the Nambu color gauge Lagrangian. The transition was led in right and wrong directions by experiments interpreted by phenomenology. A "good" experiment on $\\bar p p$ annihilation at rest showed that the Sakata model predictions disagreed with experiment. A "bad" experiment prevented the use of the Goldberg-Ne'eman triplet model to predict the existence and masses of the of the $\\Xi^*$ and $\\Omega^-$. More "good" experiments revealed the existence and mass of the $\\Xi^*$ and the $\\Omega^-$ and the absence of positive strangeness baryon resonances, thus confirming the "tenfold way". Further "good experiments" revealed the existence of the vector meson nonet, SU(3) breaking with singlet-octet mixing and the suppression of the $\\phi \\to \\rho \\pi$ decay. These led to the quark triplet ...
The nature of the electrolyte strongly influences the electrode kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and electrochemical ozone production (EOP) mainly by affecting the degree of coverage by the intermediates of both processes. The anomalous behaviour of the Tafel coefficient, b, as a function of temperature was attributed to surface adsorption of the electrolyte species, and the competition between them, as well as gas bubble adherence. Comparison of the current efficiencies of the EOP, PHI_E_O_P, determined for different temperatures and supporting electrolyte compositions, showed the presence of fluorinated anions increases PHI_E_O_P. The influence of the anion nature on PHI_E_O_P, when analysed in the light of the proposed electrode mechanism, reveals introduction into the electrolyte of anions having a high electronegativity changes the double layer structure resulting in an increase of surface concentration of the active centres leading to EOP. The ...
Kaolinite intercalated with potassium acetate is of great interest in the areas of environmental remediation and industrial application; however, its exact atomic structure and the changes which occur when heated have remained largely elusive. Here, neutron pair distribution function analysis is used to investigate the local structural characteristics of this complex material, revealing that hydrated potassium acetate exists as a single layer in the interlamellar spacing of kaolinite. Furthermore, the potassium ions within the intercalated complex are most likely associated with the resonance structure of the acetate molecules, and upon heating (and decomposition of the carbon containing molecules), these ions become strongly associated with the negative charge located on the oxygen atoms in the alumina layers of dehydroxylated kaolinite. Several possible orientations of hydrated potassium acetate within the interlamellar spacing of kaolinite have been proposed and ...
Holmium doped barium based hexaferrites BaFe12-2xHo2xO19 with (x=0.0-1.0) were synthesized by solid state reaction method. Structural and magnetic characterization of these ferrites provide significant information about their reactive physical properties. X-ray analysis reveals that in all samples M-type structure exist with few secondary phases. Scanning electron microscope revealed the grain size of the specimen. The results show that grain size decreases with the substitution degree of Holmium. Thus rare earth element Holmium Ho^3^+ acts as a grain growth inhibitor. The magnetic hysteresis loops show the variation in the values of magnetic parameters like saturation magnetization (Ms), remanent magnetization (Mr) and coercivity (Hc) were observed by changing Ho^3^+ content in BaFe12-2xH...
Holmium doped barium based hexaferrites BaFe_1_2_-_2_xHo_2_xO_1_9 with (x = 0.0-1.0) were synthesized by solid state reaction method. Structural and magnetic characterization of these ferrites provide significant information about their reactive physical properties. X-ray analysis reveals that in all samples M-type structure exist with few secondary phases. Scanning electron microscope revealed the grain size of the specimen. The results show that grain size decreases with the substitution degree of Holmium. Thus rare earth element Holmium Ho"3"+ acts as a grain growth inhibitor. The magnetic hysteresis loops show the variation in the values of magnetic parameters like saturation magnetization (M_s), remanent magnetization (M_r) and coercivity (H_c) were observed by changing Ho"3"+ content in BaFe_1_2_-_2_xHo_2_xO_1_9 ferrites. Coercivity showed a maximum value of 2230 Oe for (x = 0.4) and then decreasing trend were observed in the values of ...
EPR and FT-IR absorption measurements have been performed for xCuO.(100-x)[2Bi2O3.B2O3] glass system, with 0?x?50 mol%. The mode in which the addition of the copper ions influences the structure of 2Bi2O3.B2O3 glass matrix was analyzed. The EPR absorption spectra revealed the presence in the glass structure of Cu2+ ions in axially distorted octahedral environments. EPR data pointed out the simultaneous presence of Cu2+ and Cu+ ionic species in the glasses with x?5 mol%. For x>10 mol%, the Cu2+ ions participate in the superexchange magnetic interactions, which increase with CuO content. The FT-IR spectra showed the presence of some bands that are assigned to vibrations of Bi-O bonds from BiO3 pyramidal and BiO6 octahedral units and B-O bonds from BO3 and BO4 units. The data obtained by these measurements reveal the structural changes in the 2Bi2O3.B2O3 glass matrix by controlled doping of CuO.
Regulation of transcription initiation by RNA polymerase II requires TFIID, a multisubunit complex composed of the TATA binding protein (TBP) and at least seven tightly associated factors (TAFs). Some TAFs act as direct targets or coactivators for promoter-specific activators while others serve as interfaces for TAF-TAF interactions. Here, we report the molecular cloning, expression and characterization of Drosophila dTAFII60 and its human homolog, hTAFII70. Recombinant TAFII60/70 binds weakly to TBP and tightly to the largest subunit of TFIID, TAFII250. In the presence of TAFII60/70, TBP and TAFII250, a stable ternary complex is formed. Both the human and Drosophila proteins directly interact with another TFIID subunit, dTAFII40. Our findings reveal that Drosophila TAFII60 and human TAFII70 share a high degree of structural similarity and that their interactions with other subunits of TFIID are conserved.Images
Recent investigations of wood plastic composites have revealed a detrimental effect of using lubricant systems in production. This includes nullifying part or all of the mechanical benefit of using a polar compatibilizer, maleic anhydride polypropylene (MAPP), in the composite formulation. This investigation utilizes lubricants labeled with deuterium in conjunction with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to allow for the separation of individual lubricants from all other material constituents. All of the deuterium labeled lubricants, used without MAPP, revealed their expulsion from the wood interface during crystallization. MAPP coupling agent was found to exist near the wood, but it is unclear if any covalent bonding with the hydroxyl functionality on the wood surface occurred. The addition of zinc stearate lubricants appears to nullify the activity of the anhydride functionality near the wood surface as evidenced by a shift in ...
We reported the radio-protective effect of DTT. The treatment of DTT increased cell survival after gamma-irradiation, decreased in the frequencies of micronucleus, and reduction in DNA fragmentation and apoptotic cells. Induction of apoptosis after UV-C irradiation was revealed by the changes in the relative cell death, increase in the relative amount of apoptotic cells, and the induction of DNA fragmentation. About 100 medicinal plants were purchased and methanol extract samples were prepared. Radio-protective and radio-sensitizing activities of these samples were screened. Seven samples showed above 20% radio-protective activities: Salvia miltiorrhiza, Areca catechu, Cornus officinalis, Alpiniae officinari rhizoma, Meliae fructus, Alpiniae katsumadaii semen, Betulae cortex. Acanthopanax sessiliflous showed the highest radio-sensitizing effect and 10 other samples revealed moderate activities: Melia japonica, Agastache rugosa, Platycodon ...
Modern digital radiographic 'flat panel' detectors can exhibit a progressive form of image degradation arising from non-functioning pixels. The effect of these 'dead pixels' on the quantitative image quality measures of modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) is investigated by a simulated degradation of images obtained from an Hologic EPEX system. The effects on the semi-quantitive measures obtained from contrast threshold test objects and resolution gratings are also investigated. Results suggest that the contrast-detail tests often employed in quality assurance measures are not sufficient to reveal the presence of dead pixels until well beyond the recommended replacement point for the flat panel detector. However, measurements of spatial resolution using a line pairs phantom were found to be more sensitive to pixel loss. Measurement of the MTF, NPS and DQE can ...
Modern digital radiographic 'flat panel' detectors can exhibit a progressive form of image degradation arising from non-functioning pixels. The effect of these 'dead pixels' on the quantitative image quality measures of modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) is investigated by a simulated degradation of images obtained from an Hologic EPEX system. The effects on the semi-quantitive measures obtained from contrast threshold test objects and resolution gratings are also investigated. Results suggest that the contrast-detail tests often employed in quality assurance measures are not sufficient to reveal the presence of dead pixels until well beyond the recommended replacement point for the flat panel detector. However, measurements of spatial resolution using a line pairs phantom were found to be more sensitive to pixel loss. Measurement of the MTF, NPS and DQE can reveal small changes ...
Objective: To investigate the feasibility of low-dose single-slice helical CT in pulmonary CT scan and evaluate the clinical application. Methods: Thirteen cases were selected out of 132 cases, in which low-dose (50mAs) single-slice helical CT scan of chest was performed. This set of cases included 7 cases of multiple metastatic nodules; 3 of solitary pulmonary, nodule; and 3 of pulmonary patchy lesions. Regular dose (170mAs) CT scan was also performed on all those patients. The regular dose and low dose CT scan were compared on sensitivity of detecting the lesions; the performance in demonstrating the details of the abnormalities; and the capability of revealing the segmental bronchi as well. Results: The same number and size of the pulmonary nodules were revealed with scan modalities loaded with different doses. No significant difference in demonstrating the details of the nodules and the segmental bronchi was found between both modalities ...
Ammonia adsorption on the external surface of C_3_0B_1_5N_1_5 heterofullerene was studied using density functional calculations. Three models of the ammonia-attached C_3_0B_1_5N_1_5 together with the perfect model were optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G"* level. The optimization process reveals that dramatic influences occurred for the geometrical structure of C_3_0B_1_5N_1_5 after ammonia adsorption; the B atom relaxes outwardly and consequently the heterofullerene distorts from the spherical form in the adsorption sites. The chemical shielding (CS) tensors and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants of B and N nuclei were calculated at the B3LYP/6-311G"*"* level. Our calculations reveal that the B atom is chemically bonded to NH_3 molecule. The B atom in the NH_3-attached form has the largest chemical shielding isotropic (CSI) value among the other boron nuclei. The C_Q parameters of B nuclei at the interaction sites are significantly decreased after ...
A personal computer based single specimen unloading technique has been demonstrated using a nuclear grade pressure vessel material, A533B Class I steel, and an #alpha#-#beta# titanium alloy, CORONA-5. Experimental parameters investigated in the case of steel include the effect of test temperature, loading rate and neutron irradiation. Results revealed the effect of dynamic strain aging (DSA) as a drop in the critical crack initiation fracture toughness (Jsub(q)); the minimum in Jsub(q) shifts to higher temperatures at higher test speeds as predicted from DSA models. In CORONA-5, the effects of microstructure and heat treatment for two different sizes of equiaxed #alpha# morphology in a #beta#-matrix heat treated to different yield strengths were investigated. It is found that the observed higher values of Jsub(q) and tearing modulus result from a greater tortuosity of the crack path and ease of crack blunting. The largest increase in Jsub(q) occurred in fine ...
We present a new Chandra observation of supernova remnant (SNR) G350.1-0.3. The high resolution X-ray data reveal previously unresolved filamentary structures and allow us to perform detailed spectroscopy in the diffuse regions of this SNR. Spectral analysis demonstrates that the region of brightest emission is dominated by hot, metal-rich ejecta while the ambient material along the perimeter of the ejecta region and throughout the remnant's western half is mostly low-temperature, shocked interstellar/circumstellar medium (ISM/CSM) with solar-type composition. The data reveal that the emission extends far to the west of the ejecta region and imply a lower limit of 6.6 pc on the diameter of the source (at a distance of 4.5 kpc). We show that G350.1-0.3 is likely in the free expansion (ejecta-dominated) stage and calculate an age of 600-1200 years. The derived relationship between the shock velocity and the electron/proton temperature ratio is ...
A study was made into microstructure and hardening in austenitic stainless steel 0Kh18N10T irradiated with neon ions (230 MeV) and neutrons (E_n > 0.1 MeV). The experiments were accomplished using an external beam of U-400 cyclotron (Dubna) and EWA reactor (Poland). The dependences of tensile properties, hardening index, microstructure, dislocation density on damaging dose were determined. An attempt is made to reveal the correlation between an yield strength increment and defect cluster accumulation. The interpretation of variations of mechanical properties and microstructure under irradiation is given.
A single-crystal x-ray study under pressure reveals a phase transition from an in-plane 2x2 commensurate potassium superstructure to a new ..sqrt..3x..sqrt..3 commensurate superstructure. This is the first such transition to be observed; it is related to the recently discovered staging transition of KC/sub 8/ under pressure. In addition this staging transition was observed to occur more slowly and at much lower pressures than in the reported neutron-scattering experiment on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite samples. 13 references, 2 figures.
"The focus of this study was to examine the structural, social, and attitudinal factors that influence an individual?s decision to choose an IT career. The findings revealed many differences among male and female high school students? attitudes and intentions. Although many stereotypes existed among the male and female students, perceptions appeared to be similar within the population. For boys, computer and technical skills had a stronger association with attitudes toward IT than for girls. For girls, social issues showed a strong association with attitudes toward IT. Overall, the intention to pursue IT as a career was most likely to prevail within the population of the high school boys."
The vortex-excited dynamics of a uniform pivoted cylinder in uniform and sheared flow was investigated experimentally. The experiments were numerically simulated using a diffusive Van der Pol oscillator model developed by Balasubramanian & Skop recently. Salient features of the experimental investigations and the numerical simulations are presented here. Comparisons between the experimentally recorded and numerically predicted structural response to vortex-excited vibrations, power spectral density measurements of near-wake velocity fluctuations and lock-in ranges are made. A comparison of the numerical predictions and the experimental data reveals good agreement.
Four classrooms of two secondary schools located around Lyon in France have been monitored. The objectives are to analyse the quality of the indoor air and the thermal comfort and also the behaviour of the occupants towards opening of the windows. This paper briefly describes the context and the nature of the monitoring campaign, and presents the results of the measurements with direct interpretation of the ventilation needs. Results from this study show that allowable CO{sub 2} levels are overpassed several times in a school day. The presence of a mechanical ventilation system leads to lower peaks but the fresh airflow is too small to prevent an indoor confining, that is also revealed by the aerobiological analysis. (author)
A method of patterning n-type GaAs, InP, InGaAs, and InGaAsP by photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching in conjunction with a submicron focused ion beam (FIB) at low dose is described. The ion beam is used to produce damage in a desired pattern in the material. Subsequent PEC etching of the material reveals the ion induced features in relief. The procedure is highly sensitive, requiring a dose of only 5 x 10/sup 9/ ions/cm/sup 2/ for the differential etch to become apparent. The sensitivity allows rapid pattern generation in our FIB system.
This paper examines the availability and adequacy of schools' infrastructural facilities for implementation of the Universal Basic Education program in Nigeria. Adopting the "ex post facto" design, the researchers used existing school data on physical facilities, including a survey of key stakeholders in the education sector. Data analysed revealed inadequacy of physical facilities for effective implementation of the UBE program. It was accordingly recommended that government at the national, state and local levels show better commitment to the implementation of the Universal Basic Education program. (Contains 3 figures and 4 tables.)
Thermal analysis testing revealed slight weight changes, which were a function of gamma irradiation, in a highly reduced Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) simulated waste glass. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed on this glass to determine if the weight change corresponded to microstructural variations. TEM analyses showed that no microstructural changes were attributable to gamma irradiation. Exposure of the samples to the electron beam in the TEM did cause changes in the glass microstructures in some cases. These changes were likely due to localized heating of the glass due to interactions with the transmitted electrons.
The paper presents results of measurements of the natural radioactivity of tap water where samples were taken in front of, and behind the ceramic filter commonly used in houses for the purification of tap water. Altogether, 289 samples were taken, processed and measured during 1985-1986 in Kuwait. Results reveal the fact that ceramic filters reduce substantially the natural radioactivity in water (the 'gross' alpha activity reduced by the factor 2.18 #+-# 18%; the 'gross' beta by 1.53 #+-# 1.6%. (author).
This study examines the degree of price-integration of equity indices between the major markets of Africa, namely Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia and South Africa with the European markets of London and Paris. Vector Autoregressive and Autoregressive Distributed Lag methods reveal that African markets are largely price-segmented. The only markets that are price-integrated have shared economic and financial institutions, such as Namibia and South Africa, and Egypt, Tunisia and France. The evidence suggests that development policy should be focussed on enhancing existing institutions rather than embarking prematurely on regional integration.
The assumed linear relationship between exposure to radiation and cancer incidence is questioned in this article. The current research data on radiation effects at the cellular level is reviewed, as are epidemiological studies of background radiation effects and health effects of populations exposed to low levels of radiation exposure via employment or medical treatments. Statistics reveal that threshold levels currently in force need to be reviewed. Some evidence of beneficial effects of low level radiation exposure effects of low level radiation exposure is also presented, and so regulations should be reviewed at an international level. (UK).
This paper investigates whether China has reached postnatal nutrient intake equality between boys and girls, despite an exceptionally high ratio of boys to girls at birth, after dramatic technological advances in prenatal sex determination, rapid increases in income, and improved educational opportunities for females. Dominance methods applied to data from the Chinese Health and Nutrition Surveys (selected years 1991-2004) reveal no bias in calorie consumption between girls and boys. We find some weak evidence of protein bias toward boys in 1991, but it disappeared by 2004. (JEL I32, O15, N35)
Of the radionuclides with physical properties most suited for use with monoclonal antibody for tumor imaging or therapy, few are more available or desirable than Pb-203, 212 and Bi-212. Yet no clinical studies have as yet been possible solely due to the lability in vivo of known complexes. We now report that bismuth complexes of the ligands p-SCN-Bz-DOTA and p-SCN-Bz-trans-cyclohexylDTPA are effective at protecting Bi-206 from release when linked to immunoproteins. Practicable, efficient ligand syntheses will be reported. Initial studies reveal that antibody is labeled efficiently with radiolead DOTA complexes. Preliminary studies indicate stability in vivo.
This paper presents a systematic study on the stability of a two-dimensional vibration isolation floating raft system with a time-delayed feedback control. Based on the generalized Sturm criterion, the critical control gain for the delay-independent stability region and critical time delays for the stability switches are derived. The critical conditions can provide a theoretical guidance of chaotification design for line spectra reduction. Numerical simulations verify the correctness of the approach. Bifurcation analyses reveal that chaotification is more likely to occur in unstable region defined by these critical conditions, and the stiffness of the floating raft and mass ratio are the sensitive parameters to reduce critical control gain.
we report an ultrafast synchrotron x-ray phase contrast imaging study of the primary breakup mechanism of a coaxial air-assisted water jet. We demonstrate that there exist great similarities in the phenomenology of primary breakup with that of the secondary breakup. Especially, a membrane-mediated breakup mechanism dominates the breakup process for a wide range of air speeds. This finding reveals the intrinsic connections of these two breakup regimes and has deep implications on the unified theoretical approach in treating the breakup mechanism of high speed liquid jet.
Primary B-cell lymphoma of thymus is uncommon. We describe the case of a 23-year-old woman with a history of shortness of breath and distended neck veins of 1-month duration. A chest roentgenogram and computed tomographic chest scan of the showed a large anterior mediastinal mass. Tru-cut biopsy revealed primary B-cell lymphoma of thymus. She underwent chemotherapy with no symptomatic improvement. Post-chemotherapy computed tomographic scan of the chest showed no appreciable reduction in tumor size. Surgical excision was carried out with excellent results.
The design of the lead/lag network in a conventional power system stabilizer (PSS) is intended to provide the correct compensation in order to obtain an electrical torque component in phase with the speed variation. It is shown that, for a multimachine system, the conventional design analysis and synthesis tend to oversimplify the system representation and hence the interaction effects. A more rigorous approach is preferred considering four torque (or power) components instead of the conventional single component. Based on modal analysis, the significance of these other components is revealed, the more comprehensive treatment using a generalized multimachine representation is justified and a reliable means for optimizing the PSS parameters is explained.
The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) quantification of several vaginal bacterial groups in healthy women and patients developing asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV) and candidiasis (CA) was performed. Statistical analysis revealed that the BV condition is characterised by a great variability among subjects and that it is associated with a significant increase of Prevotella, Atopobium, Veillonella and Gardnerella vaginalis, and a drop in Lactobacillus. On the contrary, the vaginal microflora of healthy women and patients developing CA was found to be homogeneous and stable over time. PMID:18762999
The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) quantification of several vaginal bacterial groups in healthy women and patients developing asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV) and candidiasis (CA) was performed. Statistical analysis revealed that the BV condition is characterised by a great variability among subjects and that it is associated with a significant increase of Prevotella, Atopobium, Veillonella and Gardnerella vaginalis, and a drop in Lactobacillus. On the contrary, the vaginal microflora of healthy women and patients developing CA was found to be homogeneous and stable over time.
This article considers the appeal of cognitive neuroscience research to the general public within the context of the deep puzzles involved in using our minds to understand how our minds work. It offers a few promising examples of findings that illuminate the ways of the mind and reveal these workings to be counter-intuitive with our subjective experience. However, this promise is tempered by the powerful role that perception, attention, and cognition play in how we reason about evidence. It argues that the interplay between what we believe about the nature of our minds and what the findings suggest constitutes a primary challenge in encouraging public understanding of cognitive neuroscience findings.
Data breaches, regularly in the news thanks to absent-minded employees or malicious hackers, are a real threat about which any company involved in the storing or transfer of data needs to be aware. And this isn't just about reputation and privacy - it has a real financial impact, too. In March 2010 the Ponemon Institute revealed that the cost of a data breach has risen for the third consecutive year. It found that the average data breach incident cost UK organisations @$1.9m or @$71 per record, an increase of 13% on 2009, and 18% on 2008. We all know how important it is to protect our data. Clearly, customers need to be choosy about whom they trust.
In this paper we studied the behavior of commercially pure niobium immersed in molten aluminum. The experiments were carried out 800 and 900 deg C during 2 to 128 hours. Chemical and metallographic analyses, as well as microhardness measurements of the niobium specimens were accomplished. An increase of niobium content in the aluminum bath with time was observed. Metallographic observations revealed the formation of Nb Al{sub 3} external intermetallic compound. During dissolution, fragments of this compound settled at the bottom of the crucible. This behaviour was also observed at 900 deg C, nevertheless with higher intensity. (author) 10 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.
The effect of pigments on the development of corrosion products between the painting system and metal surface when exposed to marine environments has been discussed. The pigments studied were: red mud zinc chromate, zinc chromate, red oxide zinc phosphate, manganese phosphate barium chromate and basic lead silico chromate. Moessbauer spectroscopy revealed that the upper rust layer in all the cases consisted of #gamma#-Fe_2O_3, #gamma#-FeOOH and #alpha#-FeOOH. The lower rust layer immediately in contact with the metal surface consisted of an asymmetrical doublet due to #gamma#-FeOOH. (Auth.).
Current multi-scale computational models of ventricular electromechanics describe the full process of cardiac contraction on both the micro- and macro- scales including: the depolarization of cardiac cells, the release of calcium from intracellular stores, tension generation by cardiac myofilaments, and mechanical contraction of the whole heart. Such models are used to reveal basic mechanisms of cardiac contraction as well as the mechanisms of cardiac dysfunction in disease conditions. In this paper, we present a methodology to construct finite element electromechanical models of ventricular contraction with anatomically accurate ventricular geometry based on magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging of the heart. The electromechanical model couples detailed repres...
Using disaggregated data from the Brazilian stock market, we calculate default probabilities for 30 different economic sectors. Empirical results suggest that domestic macroeconomic factors can explain these default probabilities. In addition, we construct the Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) and the ultrametric hierarchical tree with the MST based on default probabilities to disclose common trends, which reveals that some sectors form clusters. The results of this paper imply that macroeconomic variables have distinct effects on default probabilities, which is important to take into account in credit risk modeling and the generation of stress test scenarios.
This invention refers to the organic geochemistry and can be used in prospecting for oil and gas. The method includes taking samples of rocks, extracting from them the chloroform bitumoid and its thermal processing. In order to improve the accuracy, the equal quantities of bitumoid taken are exposed to gradual thermal treatment to temperatures exceeding the thresholds of thermal stability of sulfur-containing compounds, in each temperature interval, the content of hydrogen sulfide released in this case is revealed, and by its drastic increase at temperatures corresponding to the temperatures of the productive part of the section, a conclusion is drawn about the epigenetic nature of the bitumoid. The method makes it possible to improve the resolution of the bituminological prospecting for oil and gas.
Studied are the mechanical properties of welded joints and heat affected zones of the Kh8N10T steel and OT4 and VT1-2 titanium alloys on welding in Ar+deltaF_6 and Ar+CCl_2F_2 mixtures contributed to a decrease of porosity. Tensile and impact tests of welded joints have revealed that additions of sulfur hexafluoride into argon causes a decrease of impact strength in titanium alloy when the tensile strength does not depend on the composition of a halogen-containing atmosphere. Freon (CCl_2F_2) additions decrease only slightly the impact strength of the investigated alloys.
This research investigates the impact of national culture and several institutional factors on the safety performance of society and establishes statistically significant relationships between those variables. As expected, the research results reveal that some cultural variables such as uncertainty avoidance, gender orientation and institutional variables such as the degree of law avoidance can directly influence the safety performance of the society. The findings also support the inverted u-curve (Safety Kuznet curve) hypothesis indicating even if we expect a negative trend at the beginning stage of industrialization, we can expect a positive trend in safety performance as their income level continues to improve beyond a certain point.
We have successfully grown single crystalline Formula Not Shown with the range of Formula Not Shown using the floating-zone method. All compounds show orthorhombic symmetry in this substitution range, but the difference between lattice constants a and b decreases with increasing Sr concentration and becomes almost zero at Formula Not Shown . Characteristic temperatures, which correspond to antiferromagnetic ordering and structural transition, decrease with increasing Sr concentration. The value of the magnetic susceptibility below 30K increases with increasing Sr concentration. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity revealed that Sr substitution significantly suppresses the highly anisotropic electric structure of Formula Not Shown .
The central nervous system is involved in 10-20% of cases in Lyme disease. The neurological symptoms, time course of the disease and imaging findings are multifaceted. We report two patients with cervical radiculitis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed strong enhancement of the cervical nerve roots on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. These imaging patterns of borrelia-associated radiculitis have not been reported before. Knowledge of these imaging features may help to diagnose neuroborreliosis, which presents with non-specific symptoms. (orig.)
We have developed a novel laser ray-tracing method to measure aberrations in optical systems. It consists of delivering narrow laser pencils (by a laser scanner), recording the spots that are formed on the image plane (with a CCD camera), and computing the position of each centroid. This approach could be considered an experimental (approximate) implementation of standard numerical ray tracing. Several tests and experiments, including a direct comparison with a Hartmann-Shack wave-front sensor, provided highly satisfactory results that confirmed the validity of the method and revealed potential advantages. PMID:18073906
This study shows that the physical conditions necessary for thermal waves to materialize in Dual-Phase-Lagging porous media conduction are not attainable in a porous slab subject to a combination of constant heat flux and temperature (Neumann and Dirichlet) boundary conditions. It is demonstrated that the approximate equivalence between Dual-Phase-Lagging (DuPhlag) heat conduction model and the Fourier heat conduction in porous media subject to Lack of Local Thermal Equilibrium (La Lotheq) that suggested the possibility of thermal oscillations and resonance reveals a condition that cannot be fulfilled because of physical constraints. (author)
The effects of {alpha} particle irradiation on a passive film formed on a 304 type stainless steel are studied in situ. The experimental arrangement minimizes the radiolysis effects due to the electrolyte. Under irradiation, a modification of the electronic structure of the oxide layers is revealed by photo-electrochemistry and impedance measurements. The influence of irradiation on the corrosion resistance of the passive film is investigated. Comparing the rest potential and the breakdown potential respectively under and without irradiation, a drop in the passivity range under irradiation is shown. this is interpreted as a decrease in the corrosion resistance. (author).
The effects of #alpha# particle irradiation on a passive film formed on a 304 type stainless steel are studied in situ. The experimental arrangement minimizes the radiolysis effects due to the electrolyte. Under irradiation, a modification of the electronic structure of the oxide layers is revealed by photo-electrochemistry and impedance measurements. The influence of irradiation on the corrosion resistance of the passive film is investigated. Comparing the rest potential and the breakdown potential respectively under and without irradiation, a drop in the passivity range under irradiation is shown. this is interpreted as a decrease in the corrosion resistance. (author).
Comparative sequence analysis of the human and the pufferfish Fugu rubripes (fugu) genomes has revealed several novel functional coding and noncoding regions in the human genome. In particular, the fugu genome has been extremely valuable for identifying transcriptional regulatory elements in human loci harboring unusually high levels of evolutionary conservation to rodent genomes. In such regions, the large evolutionary distance between human and fishes provides an additional filter through which functional noncoding elements can be detected with high efficiency.
In a free electron laser (FEL), the electron bunch energy profile at the undulator entrance can have temporal structures. In this paper, we derive analytical expressions for the FEL in the undulator, in the case of the electron bunch having both energy chirp and energy curvature. The FEL properties are studied analytically by convoluting a Gaussian seed laser with the FEL Green's function obtained by solving the coupled Vlasov-Maxwell equations. In particular, for different ratios of the temporal duration of the seed laser and that of the Green's function, interesting behavior is revealed.
Forward contracts play a vital role in all electricity markets, and yet the details of the market for forward contracts are often opaque. In this paper we review the existing literature on forward contracts and explore the contracting process as it operates in Australia. The paper is based on interviews with participants in Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM). The interviews were designed to understand the contracting process and the practice of risk management in the Australian energy-only pool market. This survey reveals some significant gaps between the assumptions made in the academic literature and actual practice in the Australian market place. (author)
Structural changes of a Ni-P amorphous alloy under focused-ion-beam (FIB) irradiation have been examined using transmission electron microscopy. On the irradiated plane, the formation of crystallographically orientated nanosized crystals (NCs), with the particle size of approximately 10 nm, was observed. A series of electron diffraction analyses have revealed that NCs have a face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure and the following orientation relationships between the NCs and the FIB direction were found. These are, irradiated plane//(111)_f_c_c and FIB direction//_f_c_c.
Almost every electric utility company involved in nuclear plant construction has experienced difficulty as a result of the deteriorating condition of the nuclear industry as a whole. The thrust of a growing number of lawsuits brought against electric companies for alleged violations of federal securities laws is that the companies failed to reveal cost overruns, delays, and the risk of cancellation and write-off of nuclear plants in their annual reports and registration statements. A review of several suits and the disclosure requirements of securities statutes concludes that, although investors have known about utility problems, they have just become aware this year that the entire financial viability of the electric companies is threatened.
We present the case of a 12-year-old girl who presented with a pathological fracture through a benign-appearing osteolytic lesion that was presumed to represent fibrous dysplasia. The fracture healed, and over the next 2.5 years there was further refracturing and healing with progressive osteolysis. A biopsy was performed and revealed Ewing's sarcoma. The disease was locally controlled by neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The patient is disease free with excellent function 6 years following the discovery of the lesion. We illustrate and discuss the sequence of events. (orig.)
Here I provide a brief overview of recent experimental gas-phase measurements using the Selected-Ion Flow Tube or SIFT technique at 294#+-#2 K with helium buffer gas at 0.35 Torr for reactions which remove electrons from the C_6_0 molecule or donate electrons to singly and multiply-charged C_6_0 cations. The results of these measurements have provided new insight into physicochemical aspects of electron transfer and have revealed the occurrence of unprecedented electron transfer reactions at thermal energies. (author).
The authors use a Glauber multiple-collision model to examine the dynamics of nucleus-nucleus collisions. The model introduces a stopping law, which describes how a baryon loses energy in a baryon-baryon collision, and a particle production law, which is based on the baryon energy loss. The model gives results on the longitudinal energy loss which compare well with the recent WA80 experimental data for /sup 16/O on various targets at 60 and 200 GeV per nucleon. The stopping law that is needed to fit the experimental zero-degree spectra reveals that the degree of stopping in these high-energy nuclear collisions is high.
Comparison of dosimetry measured in a noncylindrical Rando-Alderson phantom by two-field, four-field, and six-field total-skin electron-beam therapy (TSEBT) techniques with our dual-field rotational (DFR) technique reveals a superior dosimetry for the latter. Our technique of dual-field rotational DFR-TSEBT is described in detail, and its advantages and indications for the primary management of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) are discussed.
A statistical evaluation of rotor blade damage in axial steam turbines affords an insight into the extent of the repair costs incurred and reveals the types of defects and shortcomings which cause such damage. The great amount of rotor blade damage discovered during control inspections will surprise even many turbine experts. The statistical evaluation is followed by a review of the more frequent causes of damage and their characteristic features, illustrated on the basis of practical examples. This contribution is intended as an aid to both the manufacturers and operators of steam turbines in preventing the oft almost classic types of faults which constantly recur. (orig.).
Computerized tomography of the adrenal glands was performed in 10 patients with Cushing's syndrome using a G.E. 8800 CT/T Body Scanner. The tomographic findings of unilateral adrenal masses in 4 patients were confirmed by surgery. In the remaining 6 patients, computerized tomography did not identify any masses, and both glands were well visualized and showed normal shape. In these patients, measurement of the adrenal glands revealed both normal (n=1) and enlarged glands (n=5). The findings of adrenalectomy (n=4) or transphenoidal surgery and follow-up (n=2) established the diagnosis of adrenal phyperplasia in all patients. (Author).
Light microscopy was used to analyze the effects of added catalyst at different conditions (temperature and reaction times) in liquefaction testing of a low pyritic sulfur bituminous coal. Quantitative changes in vitrinite/vitroplast reflectance of coal and liquefaction residues were shown to be useful markers in analyzing and understanding the role of catalyst during the initial stage of coal particle hydrogenation. Lower reflectance values corresponded to increased conversions up to about the 60 min and 375{degrees}C experimental conditions. Microscopical observation of liquefaction residues also revealed the presence of `wall scales` of varying width.
We present a case of cerebral aspergillosis in an immunocompetent patient. The MRI signal characteristics were compared with the histologic findings. Irregular low-signal zones were demonstrated between the wall of the abscess and the central necrosis on T2-weighted images; the pathology specimen revealed concentrated iron in these transitional zones but no hemosiderin. Iron is an essential element for the growth of fungal hyphae. The low-signal zones may represent the areas where there was active proliferation of aspergillus, and the unique location of the low signal may be a helpful imaging characteristic for the diagnosis of an aspergillus abscess. (orig.)
Three bonding agents were evaluated to determine which were most effective in enhancing the bond of resin composite to stainless steel. A light-activated resin composite was bonded to a total of 60 stainless steel specimens using Panavia, Cover-Up, or Silicoating. Tensile bond strength measurements revealed that all three agents provide a satisfactory means of increasing adherence of the esthetic veneer without decreasing bonding through thermocycling of the specimens. Panavia and Cover-Up were significantly more effective than Silicoating and appear to be easier to use. PMID:8297460
This paper deals with an artificial neural network (ANN) based adaptive conventional power system stabilizer (PSS). The ANN comprises an input layer, a hidden layer and an output layer. The input vector to the ANN comprises real power (P) and reactive power (Q), while the output vector comprises optimum PSS parameters. A systematic approach for generating training set covering wide range of operating conditions, is presented. The ANN has been trained using back-propagation training algorithm. Investigations reveal that the dynamic performance of ANN based adaptive conventional PSS is quite insensitive to wide variations in loading conditions.
The emergence of bacterial antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, yet the variables that influence the rate of emergence of resistance are not well understood. In a microfluidic device designed to mimic naturally occurring bacterial niches, resistance of Escherichia coli to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin developed within 10 hours. Resistance emerged with as few as 100 bacteria in the initial inoculation. Whole-genome sequencing of the resistant organisms revealed that four functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms attained fixation. Knowledge about the rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance in the heterogeneous conditions within the mammalian body may be helpful in understanding the emergence of drug resistance during cancer chemotherapy. PMID:21940899
This paper presents a supernetwork equilibrium model integrating supply chain networks with a transport network, namely, a supply chain-transport supernetwork equilibrium model. The model takes into account the behaviour of freight carriers and transport network users to endogenously determine the transport costs generated in the supply chain networks. The interaction between transport network and supply chain networks can also be examined. Results of the numerical tests reveal that the improvement of transport network could enhance the efficiency of supply chain networks. The paper makes contributions to modelling of supply chain networks as well as to that of transport networks.
The objective of the present study is to reveal thermal characteristic of microcapsulated lauric acid slurry in circular pipe. Test were performed with microcapsulated lauric acid slurry in a heating test section with a constant heat flux boundary condition. Local Nusselt number and the effective thermal capacity were measured. As the size of microcapsulated lauric acid were increased, local Nusselt number of microcapsulated lauric acid slurry were increased. The effective thermal capacity of microcapsulated lauric acid slurry was 0.5 times than it of water.
Network reconfiguration is an operation problem, which entails altering the topological structure of the distribution feeders by rearranging the status of switches in order to obtain an optimal configuration in order to minimise the system losses. This paper presents a new reconfiguration algorithm that enhances voltage stability and improves the voltage profile besides minimising losses without incurring any additional cost for installation of capacitors, tap changing transformers and related switching equipment in the distribution system. Test results on a 69 node distribution system reveal the superiority of this algorithm.
We encountered a case of Ewing's sarcoma. The patient was a 19 year-old girl, who visited a local physician because of pain in the left scapular region, and was referred to us. Roentgenograms of her left scapula revealed an irregular moth-eaten shadow which was suspected to be a malignant bone tumor. The histological diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma was comfirmed by needle biopsy. The initial stage of treatment consisted of radiation therapy (6000 rads) and chemotherapy (VAC and ADR). At the end of the initial stage, the symptoms were improved, the size of the local lesion was reduced on the roentgenogram and there was no evidence of distant metastases. (author).