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We report a case of 63-year-old man with symmetrical joint swelling of the interphalangeal and metacarpal joints, associated with isolated hypogammaglobulinemia. Accessory glands biopsy revealed the presence of amyloidal deposits. PET/CT showed increased F-18 FDG activity in thickened soft tissues corresponding to amyloid arthropathy. Like multiple myeloma, PET/CT could be an interesting imaging in light-chain amyloidosis.

This study investigates nitrate contamination of a deep municipal drinking water production well in Ripon, CA to demonstrate the utility of natural groundwater tracers in constraining the sources and transport of nitrate to deep aquifers in the Central Valley. The goal of the study was to investigate the origin (source) of elevated nitrate and the potential for the deep aquifer to attenuate anthropogenic nitrate. The site is ideal for such an investigation. The production well is screened from 165-325 feet below ground surface and a number of nearby shallow and deep monitoring wells were available for sampling. Furthermore, potential sources of nitrate contamination to the well had been identified, including a fertilizer supply plant located approximately 1000 feet to the east and local almond groves. A variety of natural isotopic and dissolved gas tracers including {sup 3}H-{sup 3}He groundwater age and the isotopic composition of nitrate are applied to identify nitrate sources and to characterize nitrate transport. An advanced method for sampling production wells is employed to help identify contaminant contributions from specific screen intervals. Nitrate transport: Groundwater nitrate at this field site is not being actively denitrified. Groundwater parameters indicate oxic conditions, the dissolved gas data shows no evidence for excess nitrogen as the result of denitrification, and nitrate-N and -O isotope compositions do not display patterns typical of denitrification. Contaminant nitrate source: The ambient nitrate concentration in shallow groundwater at the Ripon site ({approx}12 mg/L as nitrate) is typical of shallow groundwaters affected by recharge from agricultural and urban areas. Nitrate concentrations in Ripon City Well 12 (50-58 mg/L as nitrate) are significantly higher than these ambient concentrations, indicating an additional source of anthropogenic nitrate is affecting groundwater in the capture zone of this municipal drinking water well. This study provides two new pieces of evidence that the Ripon Farm Services Plant is the source of elevated nitrate in Ripon City Well 12. (1) Chemical mass balance calculations using nitrate concentration, nitrate isotopic composition, and initial tritium activity all indicate that that the source water for elevated nitrate to Ripon City Well 12 is a very small component of the water produced by City Well 12 and thus must have extremely high nitrate concentration. The high source water nitrate concentration ({approx}1500 mg/L as nitrate) required by these mass balance calculations precludes common sources of nitrate such as irrigated agriculture, dairy wastewater, and septic discharge. Shallow groundwater under the Ripon Farm Services RFS plant does contain extremely high concentrations of nitrate (>1700 mg/L as nitrate). (2) Nitrogen and oxygen isotope compositions of nitrate indicate that the additional anthropogenic nitrate source to Ripon City Well 12 is significantly enriched in {delta}{sup 18}O-NO{sub 3}, an isotopic signature consistent with synthetic nitrate fertilizer, and not with human or animal wastewater discharge (i.e. dairy operations, septic system discharge, or municipal wastewater discharge), or with organic fertilizer. Monitoring wells on and near the RFS plant also have high {delta}{sup 18}O-NO{sub 3}, and the plant has handled and stored synthetic nitrate fertilizer that will have this isotopic signature. The results described here highlight the complexity of attributing nitrate found in long screened, high capacity wells to specific sources. In this case, the presence of a very high concentration source near the well site combined with sampling using multiple isotopic tracer techniques and specialized depth-specific techniques allowed fingerprinting of the source in the mixed-age samples drawn from the production well.

The objective of this study is to examine the relative contribution of three main factors (characteristics of services and service providers, characteristics of patients and caregivers, and impact of psychiatric illness) to caregiver satisfaction with services. Results of this study are based on the responses of 154 family caregivers of individuals with mental illnesses in Quebec, and indicate that these aspects play a predictive role in caregiver satisfaction with services. A multiple regression model explained 42% of the variance in satisfaction. Collaboration with professionals is the key determinant in the model, as it contributes more than any other variable to satisfaction. Results demonstrate the importance of obtaining a better understanding of caregivers’ satisfaction with services in order to increase their involvement in community integration.

RNA is increasingly recognized for its significant functions in biological systems and has recently become an important molecular target for therapeutics development. Aminoglycosides, a large class of clinically significant antibiotics, exert their biological functions by binding to prokaryotic ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and interfering with protein translation, resulting in bacterial cell death. They are also known to bind to viral mRNAs such as HIV-1 RRE and TAR. Consequently, aminoglycosides are accepted as the single most important model in understanding the principles that govern small molecule-RNA recognition, which is essential for the development of novel antibacterial, antiviral or even anti-oncogenic agents. This review outlines the chemical structures and mechanisms of molecular recognition and antibacterial activity of aminoglycosides and various aminoglycoside mimics that have recently been devised to improve biological efficacy, binding affinity and selectivity, or to circumvent bacterial resistance.

Adult nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by absent or mild portal chronic inflammation (CI); in children, portal CI may be predominant. This study correlated clinical features with portal CI. Centrally-graded biopsies and temporally-related clinical parameters from 728 adults and 205 children. From the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN) were evaluated. Mild, more than mild and no portal CI were found in 60%, 23% and 16% of adult biopsies and 76%, 14% and 10% of pediatric biopsies. Autoantibodies, and elevated alanine aminotransferase were not associated with portal CI. Clinical features associated with “more than mild” in adults were older age (P < 0.0001), female gender (P = 0.001), higher body mass index (P < 0.0001), elevated insulin levels (P = 0.001), higher homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance score (HOMA-IR) (P < 0.0001), and medications used for NAFLD (P = 0.0004), diabetes (P < 0.0001), and hypertension (P < 0.0001). “More than mild” in the pediatric biopsies correlated with younger age (P = 0.01), but not with body mass index, insulin or HOMA-IR. In both groups, lobular and portal inflammation scores had no association, but there was an association with definite steatohepatitis (P < 0.0001). Features associated in the adult biopsies with “more than mild” were steatosis amount (P = 0.01) and location (P < 0.0001), ballooning (P < 0.0001), and advanced fibrosis (P < 0.0001). In the pediatric biopsies, “more than mild” was associated with steatosis location (P = 0.0008) and fibrosis score (P < 0.0001), specifically, the portal/periportal fibrosis or greater fibrosis) (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Increased portal CI is associated with many clinical and pathologic features of progressive NAFLD in both adults and children, but not with ALT, autoantibodies, or lobular inflammation. More than mild portal CI in liver biopsies of untreated NAFLD may be considered a marker of advanced disease. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)

Emmanuel Levinas argues that justice is meaningful only to the extent that other persons are encountered in their individuality, as neighbors, and not merely abstract citizens of a political community. Further, he claims that equality before the law only emerges from this unequal, asymmetrical moral responsibility for others. Levinas writes, ‘The equality of all is borne by my inequality, the surplus of my duties over my rights. The forgetting of self moves justice.’1 Thus Levinas writes that the call to justice is a call to think the abstraction of law together with the uniqueness of every face, the call to think the equality of every citizen together with their inequality. The following is an exploration of Levinas’s views on justice. I will contend that, despite his revolutionary ideas about the origins of justice, Levinas ultimately appeals to a very traditional view of justice in which persons are considered equal and comparable, and responsibilities and rights are distributed evenly among them. In response to Levinas, I will argue that insofar as justice is constructed by and for the ethical relationship, it must also be deconstructed by that relationship. If one takes seriously Levinas’s claim that asymmetrical ethical responsibility is the origin of justice, then one must also reject Levinas’s suggestion that justice requires viewing persons and responsibilities as comparable and symmetrical.

Colleges and universities have adopted two main strategies for addressing academic dishonesty: the behavior modification strategy and the character development strategy. Both of these strategies are often lacking one important component: teaching students to think critically about values. This paper explores the importance of integrating critical thinking into academic dishonesty policies.

Pressure dependent angle-dispersive x-ray powder diffraction measurements of alpha-phase aluminum trifluoride (α-AlF3) and separately, aluminum triiodide (AlI3) were conducted using a diamond-anvil cell. Results at 295 K extend to 50 GPa. The equations of state of AlF3 and AlI3 were determined through refinements of collected x-ray diffraction patterns. The respective bulk moduli and corresponding pressure derivatives are reported for multiple orders of the Birch-Murnaghan (B-M), finite-strain (F-f), and higher pressure finite-strain (G-g) EOS analysis models. Aluminum trifluoride exhibits an apparent isostructural phase transition at approximately 12 GPa. Aluminum triiodide also undergoes a second-order atomic rearrangement: applied stress transformed a monoclinically distorted face centered cubic (fcc) structure into a standard fcc structural arrangement of iodine atoms. Results from semi-empirical thermochemical computations of energetic materials formulated with fluorine containing reactants were obtained with the aim of predicting the yield of halogenated products.

Background Older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) exhibit disease-related impairments such as compromised strength, balance, mobility, coordination, and quality of life (QOL). Exercise training as an intervention to reverse these conditions in older adults with MS is limited. Objective The objective of this pilot trial was to examine the effects of a DVD exercise intervention targeting flexibility, strength, and balance in older adults with MS in order to generate effect sizes to power a larger trial. Methods Participants were randomly assigned to a six-month DVD exercise intervention ( n = 24) or a healthy aging DVD control condition ( n = 24). Measures of physical function, physical activity, sedentary behavior, QOL and program satisfaction were assessed at baseline and at follow-up. Results The DVD exercise intervention was well received with no adverse events. Effects sizes ranged from small to modest reflecting improved function, increased physical activity, decreased sitting time, and improved QOL in the intervention condition compared to the control condition. Conclusion This pilot randomized controlled trial suggests that older adults with MS are receptive to an exercise program via DVD, and the program results in modest but potentially important improvements in function and physical activity.

Report of site-specific decommissioning in-process inspection activities at the University of Washington Research and Test Reactor Facility.

The management of massive rotator cuff tears in medically unfit, elderly patients is difficult. We prospectively assessed 17 patients with radiologically confirmed, nontraumatic, massive rotator cuff tears who were treated with an anterior deltoid rehabilitation program. All patients were medically unfit, with an average age of 80 years (range, 70-96 years). Patients were given standard detailed instruction and an illustrated guide. A video recording of shoulder motion was made before and after treatment. The Constant score increased from a mean of 26 (range, 8-41) before treatment to a mean of 60 (range, 43-77) at a minimum of 9 months after treatment. Range of motion in forward elevation improved from a mean of 40 degrees (range, 30 degrees -60 degrees ) at presentation to a mean of 160 degrees (range 150 degrees -180 degrees ) after the deltoid rehabilitation course. We recommend that a structured deltoid rehabilitation program is suitable for elderly patients with massive rotator cuff tears.

Introduction Few state or local health agencies have accurate local-level information on the prevalence of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NYC HANES) was designed as a new local surveillance initiative to determine the prevalence of health conditions among adult residents of New York City. Methods Modeled after the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the survey was initiated in June 2004 as a population-based cross-sectional study of New York City adults aged 20 and older. The survey was designed using a three-stage cluster sampling plan; 4026 households were randomly selected. Selected households were visited, and residents were given an initial eligibility screening questionnaire. Eligible participants were asked to schedule an appointment at an NYC-HANES–dedicated health center to complete the NYC HANES. A completed survey was defined as completion of a demographic interview and at least one examination component. Health conditions examined included cholesterol levels, diabetes status, blood pressure, environmental biomarkers, depression, anxiety, and antibodies to infectious diseases. Results Of the 4026 households approached, eligibility screening questionnaires were completed for 3388 (84%) households, and 3047 survey participants were identified. Of the 3047 participants, 76% made an appointment, and 66% completed the survey. The overall response rate was 55% (n = 1999). Conclusion NYC HANES is the first successful local-level examination survey modeled on NHANES. With periodic repetition, NYC HANES will provide surveillance information on leading causes of morbidity and mortality.

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS, E.C. 4.2.1.52) mediates the first unique reaction of (S)-lysine biosynthesis in plants and microbes-the condensation of (S)-aspartate-beta-semialdehyde ((S)-ASA) and pyruvate. It has been shown that DHDPS is partially feedback inhibited by (S)-lysine; it is suggested that this mechanism regulates flux through the DAP biosynthetic pathway. Others have characterised DHDPS from Escherichia coli with respect to (S)-lysine inhibition. They have concluded that, with respect to pyruvate, the first substrate of the reaction, DHDPS shows uncompetitive inhibition: as such, they further suggest that (S)-lysine inhibits DHDPS via interaction with the binding site for the second substrate, (S)-ASA. Yet, this finding is based on the assumption that (S)-lysine is a fully uncompetitive inhibitor. In light of crystallographic studies, which lead to the proposal that (S)-lysine affects the putative proton-relay of DHDPS, we re-evaluated the inhibition mechanism of DHDPS with respect to (S)-lysine by incorporating the observed hyperbolic inhibition. Our data showed that lysine is not an uncompetitive inhibitor, but a mixed inhibitor when pyruvate and (S)-lysine concentrations were varied. Thus, consistent with the crystallographic data, (S)-lysine must have an effect on the initial steps of the DHDPS reaction, including the binding of pyruvate and Schiff base formation.

Cs+ transport experiments carried out in columns packed with uncontaminated Hanford formation sediment from the SX tank farm provide strong support for the use of a multisite, multicomponent cation exchange model to describe Cs+ migration in the Hanford vadose zone. The experimental results indicate a strong dependence of the effective Cs+ Kd on the concentrations of other cations, including Na+ that is present at high to extremely high concentrations in fluids leaking from the Hanford SX tanks. A strong dependence of the Cs+ Kd on the aqueous Cs+ concentration is also apparent, with retardation of Cs+ increasing from a value of 41 at a Cs+ concentration of 10(-4) M in the feed solution to as much as 282 at a Cs+ concentration of 5x10(-7) M, all in a background of 1 M NaNO3. The total cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the Hanford sediment was determined using 22Na isotopic equilibrium exchange in a flow-through column experiment. The value for the CEC of 120 microeq/g determined with this method is compatible with a value of 121.9 microeq/g determined by multi-cation elution. While two distinct exchange sites were proposed by Zachara et al. [Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 66 (2002) 193] based on binary batch exchange experiments, a third site is proposed in this study to improve the fit of the Cs+-Na+ and Cs+-Ca+ exchange data and to capture self-sharpened Cs+ breakthrough curves at low concentrations of Cs+. Two of the proposed exchange sites represent frayed edge sites (FES) on weathered micas and constitute 0.02% and 0.22% of the total CEC. Both of the FES show a very strong selectivity for Cs+ over Na+ (K(Na-Cs)=10(7.22) and 10(4.93), respectively). The third site, accounting for over 99% of the total CEC, is associated with planar sites on expansible clays and shows a smaller Na+-Cs+ selectivity coefficient of 10(1.99). Parameters derived from a fit of binary batch experiments alone tend to under predict Cs+ retardation in the column experiments. The transport experiments indicate 72-90% of the Cs+ sorbed in experiments targeting exchange on FES was desorbed over a 10- and 24-day period, respectively. At high Cs+ concentrations, where sorption is controlled primarily by exchange on planar sites, 95% of the Cs+ desorption was desorbed. Most of the difficulty in desorbing Cs+ from FES is a result of the extremely high selectivity of these sites for Cs+, although truly irreversible sorption as high as 23% was suggested in one experiment. The conclusion that Cs+ exchange is largely reversible in a thermodynamic sense is supported by the ability to match Cs+ desorption curves almost quantitatively with an equilibrium reactive transport simulation. The model for Cs+ retardation developed here qualitatively explains the behavior of Cs+ in the Hanford vadose zone underneath a variety of leaking tanks with differing salt concentrations. The high selectivity of FES for Cs+ implies that future desorption and migration is very unlikely to occur under natural recharge conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate selective processing biases towards smoking-related stimuli in relation to acute abstinence and smoking history. Differences in the processing of smoking-related and control cues in current smokers, ex-smokers and never-smokers on the modified Stroop task were investigated, with smokers randomized to either abstain or smoke normally for a period of 24 h. The results indicated no significant effect of deprivation (abstinent versus non-abstinent smokers), or of smoking history (ex- versus never-smokers) on colour-naming times for smoking-related versus control words. However, there was a significant effect of smoking status (current versus non-smokers) on colour-naming times for smoking words compared to control words (i.e. slower colour-naming of smoking-related words in smokers). This effect approached significance when stimuli were presented in a masked exposure condition. Among smokers, colour-naming interference was associated with the personality trait of Sensitivity to Reward. These results indicate a processing bias for smoking-related cues in current smokers. However, this bias does not appear to be a permanent feature of nicotine addiction, given the lack of difference between ex-smokers and never-smokers.

A significant portion of the cost for DD is related to low-level waste disposal, decontamination, and final radiological survey. For that reason, a careful cost-benefit analysis must be performed weighing the cost of decontaminating and radiologically surveying the building media for release against the cost of disposing of the material as radioactive waste. This cost-benefit analysis visibly came into play at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site during the recent DD of two facilities.

We present SKIRT (Stellar Kinematics Including Radiative Transfer), a new Monte Carlo radiative transfer code that allows the calculation of the observed stellar kinematics of a dusty galaxy. The code incorporates the effects of both absorption and scattering by interstellar dust grains, and calculates the Doppler shift of the emerging radiation exactly by taking into account the velocities of the emitting stars and the individual scattering dust grains. The code supports arbitrary distributions of dust through a cellular approach, whereby the integration through the dust is optimized by means of a novel efficient trilinear interpolation technique. We apply our modelling technique to calculate the observed kinematics of realistic models for dusty disc galaxies. We find that the effects of dust on the mean projected velocity and projected velocity dispersion are severe for edge-on galaxies. For galaxies which deviate more than a few degrees from exactly edge-on, the effects are already strongly reduced. As a consequence, dust attenuation cannot serve as a possible way to reconcile the discrepancy between the observed shallow slopes of the inner rotation curves of LSB galaxies and the predictions of CDM cosmological models. For face-on galaxies, the velocity dispersion increases with increasing dust mass due to scattering, but the effects are limited, even for extended dust distributions. Finally, we show that serious errors can be made when the individual velocities of the dust grains are neglected in the calculations., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The varying dwarf galaxy populations in different environments poses a problem for Cold Dark Matter (CDM) hierarchical clustering models. In this paper we present results from a survey conducted in different environments to search for low surface brightness (LSB) dwarf galaxies., Comment: 2 pages to appear in proceedings of IAU symposium 220, 'Dark Matter in Galaxies', eds Stuart Ryder, D.J. Pisano, Mark Walker and Ken Freeman

Hereditary hyperferritinaemia-cataract syndrome (HHCS) (OMIM #600886) is a rare autosomal dominant condition identified by high serum ferritin levels with normal iron saturation and distinctive bilateral cataract. It may be misdiagnosed as haemochromatosis and such patients become anaemic as a result of inappropriate venesection. The elevated serum ferritin is due to a mutation in the iron-responsive element (IRE) of the l-ferritin gene, resulting in excessive l-ferritin production. We report the identification of three Australian pedigrees; one with a previously described mutation at position 40, a pedigree with a novel mutation at position 39 and an individual with a de novo mutation at position 32 of the l-ferritin IRE.

Many years ago it used to be claimed that one must ‘perform the play as Shakespeare wrote it’. Today the absurdity of this is more or less recognized: nobody knows what scenic form he had in mind. All that one knows is that he wrote a chain of words that have in them the possibility of giving birth to forms that are constantly renewed. There is no limit to the virtual forms that are present in a great text. A mediocre text may only give birth to a few forms, whereas a great text, a great piece of music, a great opera score are true knots of energy. Like electricity, like all sources of energy, energy itself does not have a form, but it has a direction, a power. (Peter Brook)1

Background Previous studies have yielded conflicting results and substantial uncertainty about any independent association of Helicobacter pylori infection with dyspepsia, and about any benefits of antibiotic treatments for nonulcer or uninvestigated dyspepsia. Objectives To perform a systematic review of the literature to determine whether chronic infection with H pylori is relevant to nonulcer or uninvestigated dyspepsia. Methods Observational studies of associations between H pylori and dyspepsia published before April 1999 and randomized trials of the effects of H pylori eradication on dyspepsia published before January 2000 were identified by computer-assisted literature searches of relevant journals, reference lists, and discussions with authors. Relevant data were abstracted from the published reports by 2 investigators according to a fixed protocol. Results Thirty relevant observational studies were identified involving approximately 3392 patients with nonulcer dyspepsia, and 11 separate observational studies were identified, involving 6426 patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia. Reports of strong associations in small observational studies without appropriate adjustment for potential confounding factors were not generally confirmed by larger and better-designed studies. No studies have been reported, however, that can reliably confirm or exclude the existence of any weak associations. Twenty-two randomized trials of treatments against H pylori were found involving a total of 2340 patients with nonulcer dyspepsia, almost all with positive H pylori test results. Only a few of these trials involved effective antibacterial regimens with prolonged follow-up, and even these studies were too small to assess the possibility of moderate benefits. Conclusion The available evidence indicates that there is no strong association between H pylori and dyspepsia, but there is insufficient evidence to confirm or refute the existence of a modest association.

It is hard not to be drawn in by the shocking claim that appears on the back cover of the book, “Somebody owns your genes.” Admittedly, the claim is misleading. As one discovers within the book, th...

98 Background: Many patients travel great distances, both for testing and for medical care. Previous studies have indicated that there can be significantly poorer quality of life in urban cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to determine any differences in support service use and quality of life in rural versus urban patients in Saskatchewan. Methods: This study is a survey based qualitative and quantitative analysis of women with breast cancer receiving treatment at the Saskatoon Cancer Center (SCC) in Saskatchewan, Canada. Surveys included demographic information, support service utilization and suggestions, as well as the WHO-QOL-bref quality of life assessment. Surveys were collected from 51 women with an age range of 43 to 87 years with a median age of 63. Participants travelled a mean distance of 99.2km to treatment center (range 1.9 – 307.6 km, SD 101 km) with 49% women travelling greater than 100 km (rural group) and 51% travelling less than 100 km (urban group). Results: Only 50% of urban participants and 56% of rural participants reported using support services at the SCC though this was found to be statistically non-significant by Fisher Exact Testing (p= 0.781). The support services reported to be most useful were nursing phone assessments, medication information, pharmacist support and mailing of medications. Further support services that participants would like to have available include: online support groups and blogs, local support groups, physician visits to rural communities and patient liaisons to help navigate the system. Overall, urban participants rated their quality of life on average at 3.96 with rural participants reporting 3.84 on a five-point scale, though non-significant by t-test (p=0.617). The WHO-QOL-bref study examines quality of life in 4 domains: physical health, psychological wellbeing, social and environment. Urban participants scored 68%, 72%, 76% and 77% in the 4 domains respectively while rural participants scored 61%, 73%, 79% and 78% in the 4 domains respectively. Conclusions: Our study did not find any significant difference between urban and rural patients in reported quality of life or support service use.

Background: Adjuvant trastuzumab therapy (ATT) in women with HER2 positive breast cancer has significantly improved survival. The current standard duration of ATT is one year. In order to prevent symptomatic cardiac dysfunction, periodic cardiac monitoring is recommended during ATT. Rural residents have to travel in excess of several hundred kilometers both for cardiac monitoring and treatment. The study aims to determine relationship between distance travelled to the cancer center and disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in women with HER2 positive breast cancer. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of women with early stage HER2 positive breast cancer treated in the province of Saskatchewan from 2005 to 2009. The study cohort was divided into two groups: group I (distance travelled Results: A total of 211 eligible women with median age of 54 yrs (range: 27-80) were identified. 70% were postmenopausal, 52% had node positive disease and 60% had ER or PR positive disease. 57% women were rural residents. A statistically significant difference was noted between the 2 groups with respect to age, rural residence, comorbid illness and delay in start of therapy. All women received adjuvant chemotherapy and ATT. 97% women completed adjuvant chemotherapy and 83% completed planned ATT. During the median follow-up period of 37.1 months, 30 women developed recurrent disease and 26 died. Median DFS of Group II was 63.09 months and has not reached in Group I (p=0.5). Median OS of both groups has not reached. 5 years estimated DFS of group I was 77% compared with 57% in Group II (p=0.5). ER/PR negative disease, hazard ratio (HR) 2.53 (95% CI: 1.14-5.64) and discontinuation of ATT, HR 2.3 (95% CI: 1.06-5.00) were significantly correlated with an increased risk of recurrence. With respect to survival younger age, HR 5.33 (95% CI: 1.72-16.52); ER/PR negative tumors, HR 6.6 (95% CI: 2.23-19.37); and premenopausal status, HR 8.18 (95% CI: 2.27-29.51) were correlated with an increased mortality. Conclusions: Although there was a trend toward increased risk of recurrence in women travelled longer distance, it was not statistically significant. Younger age, premenopausal status, ER/PR - tumors and discontinuation of ATT were correlated with inferior outcomes. Citation Format: Sarah Roberts, Sabuj Sarker, Richard Lee-Ying, Charanpreeti Ubhi, Shahid Ahmed. Prognostic significance of distance travelled to the cancer center in women treated with adjuvant trastuzumab. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 156. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-156

The overall effectiveness of nicotine replacement therapy could be greater if the therapy were targeted at those most likely to respond. Variants of the dopamine D2 receptor ( DRD2 32806 C/T) have been implicated in the initiation and maintenance of smoking,1 2 and these variants may also be related to response to nicotine replacement therapy.3 Additionally, mechanisms of nicotine addiction may differ in men and women.4 With this evidence in mind, we examined whether the response to nicotine replacement therapy is modified by sex and genotype. A randomised controlled trial of nicotine patches in 1991-2 recruited 1686 heavy smokers (≥15 cigarettes a day).5 The participants wore patches for 12 weeks. Abstinence from smoking was confirmed at one week by expired carbon monoxide concentration ≤ 10 ppm, and at 12, 24, and 52 weeks by salivary cotinine concentration ≤ 20 ng/ml (89% of cases) or by expired carbon monoxide concentration ≤10 ppm. In 1999-2000, we contacted 1532 of the 1625 participants still alive; the mean …

The electrosynthesis of water-insoluble products such as leuco-Methylene Green from soluble precursors can be accomplished using an emulsion formed via insonation so that the organic phase constantly extracts the product and simultaneously prevents the electrode passivation which would occur in aqueous solution alone.

Objectives: To provide a comprehensive description of the clinical presentations, cataract morphology, and molecular basis of hereditary hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome (HHCS) in 4 Australian pedigrees and to estimate its prevalence. Methods: All known cases of HHCS in southeastern Australia were ascertained. Family members provided a medical history and underwent physical examination, lens photography, and venipuncture for measurement of serum ferritin levels and DNA extraction. Sequence analysis of the iron-responsive element of the ferritin light chain on chromosome 19q13.3-qter was performed. Results: We investigated 26 affected individuals from 5 Australian pedigrees. Two pedigrees with HHCS ascertained independently were subsequently found to form 1 large kindred carrying the mutation A40G. The minimum estimated prevalence of HHCS is 1/200 000. One pedigree had the mutation G32C. Among 2 smaller pedigrees studied, one carried a novel mutation (C39A), and the other was identified through the 2-year-old propositus with cataract but no positive family history. The latter case was shown to be due to a de novo mutation (G32U). All cataracts were highly distinctive in morphology, consisting of slowly progressive flecks, vacuoles, and distinctive crystalline deposits scattered predominantly in the lens cortex but also in the nucleus. Eight of 18 affected individuals examined have required cataract extraction to date. No other identified clinical manifestations of HHCS were delineated. Conclusions: Cataract morphology in HHCS is highly distinctive. Longitudinal observation demonstrated slow progression of the cataracts. This study highlights that, although HHCS is an autosomal dominant condition, the diagnosis should be considered even in sporadic cataract of typical morphology. Furthermore, individuals with unexplained hyperferritinemia should be referred for ophthalmological assessment, as the cataract may be asymptomatic but lead to a correct diagnosis of HHCS. Clinical Relevance: Progressive cataracts of highly distinctive morphology are an important feature of HHCS. Evaluation for this type of cataract may be of diagnostic value in patients with unexplained hyperferritinemia. Hereditary hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome can be a cause of cataracts in pediatric patients even in the absence of any positive family history.

vg w is a homozygous lethal mutation killing embryos prior to formation of the syncitial blastoderm. In heterozygous condition it causes duplications of the posterior wing, ranging from very small duplications of the axillary cord and alar lobe to large duplications including much of the wing blade and the posterior row of bristles. No anterior margin structures are ever observed. The thorax is sometimes slightly abnormal, but rarely shows large duplications. The size of the wing is related to the number of pattern elements deleted or duplicated. Heterozygous vgw flies also show homoeosis of the haltere to wing. This occurs in the capitellum, where wing blade is observed, but no wing margin structures are found. As with the bithorax (bx) mutation which transforms anterior haltere to anterior wing this aspect of the phenotype is repressed by the Contrabithorax (Cbx) mutation. The transformed haltere discs show more growth than wild-type haltere discs. Flies heterozygous for vgw also show a high frequency of pupal lethality, those forming pharate adults generally show the most extreme vgw phenotype. No cell death has been observed in the imaginai discs of third instar larvae, suggesting that if the wing defects result from cell death this must occur early in development. The homoeosis in the haltere discs and duplications of the wing disc are reflected by the altered morphology and growth of these discs. There are some minor differences in the expressivity of the phenotype when flies are reared at different temperatures. Chromosome substitutions suggested that all aspects of the phenotype related to the vgw mutation and that other mutations had not occurred in the stock. Cytological analysis indicated that vgw is a deletion or inversion on the right arm of chromosome 2 from 47F/48A to 49C. Complementation studies with various mutants thought to be located within the deletion, or inversion and which affect wing morphology have been undertaken. Cbx causes transformations of wing to haltere; this occurs in the posterior compartment far more frequently than in the anterior compartment. Cbx; vgw flies have wings where one of the duplicates is no longer present, presumably transformed to haltere, though this is difficult to identify. One copy of the axillary cord, alar lobe etc, the structures commonly duplicated in vgw, are present, but they are the anterior duplicate rather than the original posterior copy of these structures. Thus Cbx acts upon genuine posterior structures but not those posterior structures in vgw which form in anterior wing locations, suggesting that although these structures differentiate into posterior wing, to the Cbx gene product the cells are still ‘anterior’.

The wing discs from larvae undergoing the moult from 1st to 2nd instar are able to differentiate some parts of the adult wing when forced to undergo a premature metamorphosis. The first structures which differentiate are parts of the wing hinge and the wing blade. As development proceeds and older discs are forced through metamorphosis, the capacity to differentiate moves out both proximally and distally until gradually all of the derivatives of a mature wing disc are formed. Individual structures often differentiate from young discs in an incomplete form and pattern elements, such as bristles or sensilla, are added as older discs are tested.

In recent years most marriage and family journals have expanded their coverage to include research and information on mental health, ethnic groups, sexuality, women, rape, family violence, and the elderly. Given the increasing number of such periodicals, it has become more and more important that behavioral and social sciences librarians develop some familiarity with the literature in this growing field. The following subject review lists fifty publications in the area, including professional journals, lay magazines, newsletters, and abstracting and review journals.

The vestigial (vg) mutant of Drosophila melanogaster shows reduced wing size and lacks margin structures from the wing blade. The expressivity is temperature-sensitive, more structures being formed at 29°C than at 25°C. There is cell death in the third instar wing disc which to some extent parallels the fate map locations of the structures absent in the adult. Vestigial wing discs are unable to regenerate margin structures even when given extra time for growth by culturing them in an adult abdomen before metamorphosis. If the region of cell death is excised from the disc before culture, there is still no regeneration of margin structures, indicating that the dead cells do not physically prevent regulation. Furthermore, by metamorphosing young vg wing discs, it was discovered that cells never acquire competence to make margin during wing disc development. Experiments mixing fragments of vg wing disc with non- vg wing disc fragments of ebony multiple wing hairs (e mwh) genotype showed that the vg cells interacted with the e mwh cells and wing blade was intercalated of both genotypes. However, structures such as wing margin, and alar lobe, usually affected in vg wings, were always made from e mwh cells and not from vg cells. Analysis of mutants which are unable to differentiate particular cell types may help us to understand the mechanism of pattern establishment in developing imaginal discs.

A new homoeotic mutant, I127, showing abnormal growths in the head region including homoeotic transformation of eye to genitalia and antenna to leg, was isolated in a screen designed to find new alleles of the tumourous head (tuh-3), mutation. Similarities in the phenotype and genetics of the mutant, and complementation studies with tuh-I; tuh-3, suggest that I127 is indeed an allele of tuh-3. In combination with the first chromosome modifier tuh-1, the mutant is temperature-sensitive during the third larval instar, giving an increased penetrance of the tumorous head phenotype when reared at 25 degrees C as opposed to 18 degrees C. The isolation of further alleles at the tumorous-head locus are essential. The type of morphological defects which can result from mutations at this locus would enable us to establish if this is a complex locus, and if null mutations are lethal during development. The interactions of the tumorous-head gene with first chromosome modifiers and other homoeotic mutations will only be understood if we are able to induce a number of mutations at this locus, and as a consequence begin to elucidate the role of the wild-type gene product in normal development.

The Cardiff Commitment Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme was a collaboration between Cardiff Council, Cardiff and Vale College and The Open University (OU). Initial contact with Cardiff Council’s Cardiff Schools Service (Cardiff Council) began with discussions around supporting teacher CPD needs through a co-designed teacher focussed workshop. The Global Covid19 Pandemic resulted in this collaboration being extensively redesigned to reflect the need for teaching staff to support their learners via a blended online distance learning model. Cardiff and Vale College also agreed to join the initiative. This programme ran between November ‘20 and March ‘21 with a total of 12 workshops and a sample of 32 teachers and lecturers from across 23 institutions. Key benefits identified to participating staff included the professional development and upskilling opportunity, input into the co-creation of resources for peers and the wider sector and effecting change within their organisation and wider cluster through peer to peer approach.

The voltammetry of the aqueous two-electron reduction of the phenothiazine dye methylene green, known to be passivating at platinum electrodes, is reported under simultaneous activation with each of the following techniques: thermal activation in the temperature range 15-80°C, pulsed microwave activation with a modified 800 W, 2.45 GHz domestic microwave oven, 10 Hz pulsed laser activation with a Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm, sonication, or ultrasonic activation where a 20 kHz ultrasonic horn probe is employed to generate an aqueous/ organic solvent emulsion. The relative merits of the five methodologies are compared and discussed in terms of surface activation and cleaning, mass-transport enhancement, and reduction mechanism elucidation. Comparisons are also drawn with the voltammetry of methylene blue, a dye of the same family. This is the first full report of both the effects of microwave heating on surface redox electrochemistry and of the sonoemulsion technique. © 1999 American Chemical Society.

In 1989 a consortium of the UK's leading construction companies invited selected universities to submit proposals for a new degree programme in Quantity Surveying to prepare graduates for the wider aspects of their commercial activities. The Department of Building Engineering at UMIST was chosen to develop the first programme, to be called Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying (CM&QS). Ashworth (1994) has indicated that it is essential for programme designers to identify what students will be expected to know and understand and what skills will be required of them when they enter into practice. The aim of the programme, together with Ashworth's comments, highlight the need to define commercial management and to identify the role of the commercial manager. As part of the review and monitoring processes associated with the programme development, a detailed investigation of the nature and context of commercial management was carried out by an occupational psychologist trained in interview and job analysis techniques.

Strontium sorption to amorphous silica and goethite was measured as a function of pH and dissolved strontium and carbonate concentrations at 25°C. Strontium sorption gradually increases from 0 to 100% from pH 6 to 10 for both phases and requires multiple outer-sphere surface complexes to fit the data. All data are modeled using the triple layer model and the site-occupancy standard state; unless stated otherwise all strontium complexes are mononuclear. Strontium sorption to amorphous silica in the presence and absence of dissolved carbonate can be fit with tetradentate Sr2+ and SrOH+ complexes on the β-plane and a monodentate Sr2+complex on the diffuse plane to account for strontium sorption at low ionic strength. Strontium sorption to goethite in the absence of dissolved carbonate can be fit with monodentate and tetradentate SrOH+ complexes and a tetradentate binuclear Sr2+ species on the β-plane. The binuclear complex is needed to account for enhanced sorption at hgh strontium surface loadings. In the presence of dissolved carbonate additional monodentate Sr2+ and SrOH+ carbonate surface complexes on the β-plane are needed to fit strontium sorption to goethite. Modeling strontium sorption as outer-sphere complexes is consistent with quantitative analysis of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) on selected sorption samples that show a single first shell of oxygen atoms around strontium indicating hydrated surface complexes at the amorphous silica and goethite surfaces. Strontium surface complexation equilibrium constants determined in this study combined with other alkaline earth surface complexation constants are used to recalibrate a predictive model based on Born solvation and crystal-chemistry theory. The model is accurate to about 0.7 log K units. More studies are needed to determine the dependence of alkaline earth sorption on ionic strength and dissolved carbonate and sulfate concentrations for the development of a robust surface complexation database to estimate alkaline earth sorption in the environment.