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The article highlights the 6th Festival Du Film Asiatique De Deauville held in France from March 10 to 14, 2004. The festival featured 50 films, some of which were retrospective films, from different Asian countries. It includes "Running on Karma," directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ha Fai, "Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior," by Prachya Pinkaew and "The Legend of the Evil Lake," by Lee Kwang-Hoon.

The article highlights the Rotterdam International Film Festival held in the Netherlands from January 21 to February 1, 2004. The event was able to generate 335,000 audiences and some 540 journalists and 395 filmmakers from around the world. Various films were included in the festival including "The Missing," directed by Lee kang-sheng, "All Tomorrow's Parties," by Yu Lik-wai, "Uniform," by Diao Yinan and "Pirated Copy," by He Jianjun.

The influence of mantle compressibility and warping of the ocean surface on dynamical models of the geoid has been investigated. Topography and geoid kernels show that compressibility modifies the mantle-flow pattern and hence the geoid, whereas the deflection of the oceanic surface amplifies the geoid signal without affecting the global flow. The combined influence of these two effects is significant and depends on the viscosity profile in the mantle. Comparisons with incompressible dynamical geoids show that including the effects of compressibility and ocean warping improves the fit to the observed geoid. Thus these effects must not be neglected in dynamical computations of the geoid.

The Earth's non-hydrostatic gravity field, or geoid, provides a first-order constraint on mantle density structure and dynamics. Geodynamic models for the geoid have proliferated since the advent of seismic mapping of mantle heterogeneity structure (tomography) because the geoid offers perhaps the best-measured independent constraint on mantle density heterogeneity. However, dynamic geoid models involve a number of questionable physical assumptions and uncertainties whose effects need to be evaluated before geodynamic inferences based upon the geoid can be considered sound. Troubling issues include the appropriate surface boundary conditions (free-slip, no-slip, plates?) and parametrization of radial viscosity variations (how many layers can be resolved?), in addition to lateral viscosity variations, possible chemical layering of the mantle, phase transitions, etc. There are also uncertainties in the density heterogeneity models used as ‘input’ to dynamic geoid models, most of which are derived from seismic tomography and require weakly constrained, empirical conversion factors to go from seismic velocity variations to density variations. Here we address several of the most straightforward problems inherent in geoid modelling, namely the issues of viscosity structure resolution, uncertainties in appropriate boundary conditions, and differences among mantle heterogeneity models. A robust feature of all models is a lower-mantle viscosity at least a factor of 30 greater than that of the upper mantle, but there is little resolution with regard to finer details such as lithospheric or uppermost mantle (‘low-viscosity zone’) viscosity. Ironically, free-slip boundary conditions result in the best fits to the geoid in all cases, but all boundary conditions exhibit predictable trade-offs with the uppermost-mantle viscosity. Models with a single viscosity layer representing the lower mantle yield similar dynamic topography estimates of the order of 700–1000 m in amplitude, regardless of the finer details of upper-mantle viscosity structure, boundary conditions or input heterogeneity models. Comparing mantle heterogeneity models based on two independent seismological determinations (Harvard and Berkeley models) and on the history of subduction, we find that these models are virtually indistinguishable regarding inferences of mantle viscosity structure and amplitude of dynamic topography, and in terms of the effects of different boundary conditions. Uncertainties concerning which type of boundary condition is appropriate are much more important than which mantle heterogeneity model is chosen. Given other uncertainties in modelling the geoid, particularly the strong effects due to lateral viscosity variations for intermediate (<10 000 km) wavelengths, we conclude that the class of dynamic geoid models explored so far cannot reliably elucidate the details of upper-mantle viscosity structure.

Disubstituted diazo compounds such as (II) (13 examples) rapidly add to (I) at low temperature.

This study examined the relationships between hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and the routes of HCV transmission in 101 patients with chronic hepatitis C. Patients who received blood transfusions (43%) and those with chronic hepatitis C of unknown cause (37%) had similar mean ages, age distribution, and HCV genotype distribution (la, 19% vs. 14%; 1b, 52% vs. 54%; 3a, 10% vs, 9%; other, 19% vs. 23%). Intravenous drug users (IVnUs) were significantly younger and had a different genotype distribution (1a, 33%; 1b, 0; 3a, 63%; other, 5%; P < .001). Transmission of HCV 3a has been observed only over the past 20 years; other genotypes were transmitted up to 40 years ago. These results suggest that for 20 years there have been two independent ongoing hepatitis C epidemics. One affects persons who received blood transfusions or whose source of infection is unknown. These persons are older and are mainly infected by HCV 1b. The second type of infection occurs in IVDUs and infects younger persons, mainly with HCV 3a.

We compute Green functions relating mantle mass heterogeneities to geoid undulations using both incompressible and radially compressible mantle rheologies. Our results differ from those previously published by Forte & Peltier (1991) and Thoraval, Machetel & Cazenave (1994). This is due to two factors. Instead of taking gravity as constant throughout the mantle, we compute it self-consistently with the radial density profile. Secondly, we show that in the mathematical formulation of the compressible case, stresses are not continuous through a density jump. We then point out that the presence of a surface ocean has no additional effect on the geoid signal associated with internal mantle mass anomalies. We apply this formalism to a geodynamic model of mantle density variations and show that an excellent fit to the observed geoid can be obtained.

Parameters have been studied to predict responses to interferon (IFN) therapy for chronic hepatitis C, but the definition of a response, the times at which responses were assessed, and the pretreatment parameters considered differ markedly from study to study. Thus, 113 patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated 3–6 months with 3 MU ofIFN-α2a three times a week and assessed for pretreatment parameters predictive of responses to IFN. In a multivariate analysis, a biochemical response (normal aminotransferase activity) at the end of treatment was significantly associated with low body weight, normal γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity, and a pretreatment hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype other than 1. Six months after the end of treatment, a low virus burden and a lack of anti-HCV IgM core antibodies were independently associated with sustained virologic response (i.e., normal aminotransferase activity and HCV RNA negativity). Therefore, these pretreatment parameters should be taken into account when individual treatment protocols are designed.

A cohort of 103 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected persons with well-defined dates of seroconversion were studied to determine whether baseline plasma HIV RNA loads 6–12 months after seroconversion have prognostic value. Baseline plasma virus loads had predictive value for the disease-free survival rate and for the survival rate. The level of baseline HIV RNA also had a strong negative predictive value for the CD4+ T cell count during the fifth year of infection: A baseline load > 5 log was predictive of a CD4+ T cell count < 500/mm3 5 years after infection. Baseline HIV RNA load was a CD4+ T cell-independent predictor of progression to death. The major finding was that the disease outcome for HIV-1-infected persons is already determined during the first year of infection.