An expert decision support system for network routing: a case study

The paper presents a case study of the development of an expert decision support system which uses simple heuristic methods for fast determination of routes for simultaneous signals in a transmission network of limited capacity. It illustrates how heuristic solutions can be embodied in a model-based DSS and how the standard decision support literature, although intuitively appealing, provides little practical assistance in system construction or classification     

Effects of diversion and reperfusion of pancreaticobiliary juice on amylase release from isolated rat pancreas

Excitability of functionally different alpha-motoneurons was studied in 62 patients with gunshot injuries of nervous trunks of lower extremities both before and during process of rehabilitation by means of physical factors. The correlation of reactions of spinal cord motoneurons and the degree of injuries of nervous trunks was observed. Neuroapraxia of nervous trunks was accompanied by multidirectional alterations in reflex activity of large and small alpha-motoneurons. It was depressed in axonothermesis and lost in simultaneous full anatomic interruption of ischiatic nerve and trunks of both fibular and tibial nerves. Under influence of physical factors the function of motoneurons was normalized in neuroapraxia and was improved in axonothermesis of nervous trunks.     

Nursing performance measures go public

Over 100 years ago, Florence Nightingale showed caregivers how to analyze mortality data to improve their clinical processes. The nurses of today are facing a new performance measurement challenge. Consumers of health care services want information that will help them compare quality among providers. This article describes the types of nursing performance measures most appropriate to include on these public-oriented report cards and several issues that influence report card design and dissemination.     

Multifrequency tympanometry in chinchillas

Multifrequency tympanometry (MFT), using probe frequencies ranging from 226-2,000 Hz, was performed on normal chinchillas to obtain normative data against which to compare results from animals with middle ear pathology. A series of validating experiments was conducted to determine the effects of anatomical alterations of the middle ear on MFT. These included artificially extending the ear canal, opening the bulla, injecting saline into the middle ear, and disrupting the ossicular chain. The results indicate that MFT characteristics of chinchilla ears are qualitatively similar to those observed in normal humans and patients with middle ear disease, and MFT provides information that is not available from the 226-Hz tympanogram.     

p21WAF1/Cip1 expression is associated with cell differentiation but not with p53 mutations in squamous cell carcinomas of the larynx

The anti-metastatic effect of Z-100, an immunomodulatory arabinomannan extracted from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, was investigated in mice bearing B16 melanoma cells. Treatment of BF10 mice implanted with high metastatic B16F10 melanoma cells with a 10 mg/kg dose of Z-100 resulted in the reduction of experimental pulmonary metastasis as compared with that of BF10 mice treated with saline. The number of pulmonary metastatic colonies in BF1 mice (mice implanted with low metastatic B16F1 melanoma cells) was greatly increased after the inoculation of CD4+ CD11b+ CD281+ TCR alphabeta+ type 2 T cells (F10-Th2 cells) derived from BF10 mice, while only a few metastatic colonies were demonstrated in lungs of BF1 mice inoculated with naive CD4+ T cells. However, the numbers of metastatic colonies in BF1 mice were not increased when they were inoculated with the F10-Th2 cell fraction derived from Z-100-treated BF10 mice and the generation of F10-Th2 cells in BF10 mice was effectively suppressed by the Z-100 treatment. These results suggest that Z-100 inhibits pulmonary metastasis of B16 melanoma through the regulation of tumor-associated Th2 cells, which are a key cell in the acceleration of tumor metastasis.     

Degradation of organophosphorus pesticides in aqueous extracts of young green barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L)

The degradation of the organophosphorus pesticides malathion, chlorpyrifos, guthion, diazinon, methidathion and parathion in an aqueous extract of young green barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L) was monitored by gas chromatography. Aqueous solutions of various amounts of freeze‐dried young barley leaves containing 5.75 mg l⁻¹ of malathion were incubated at 37 °C and pH 7.4 over prolonged time periods. Over 95% of the malathion degraded in 4 h in a 3% (30 g l⁻¹) solution of young green barley leaves. When the barley solution was autoclaved at 120 °C for 25 min prior to the addition of malathion, no degradation of malathion was observed. When 10 mg l⁻¹ each of the above six pesticides was incubated in a 15% (150 g l⁻¹) solution of young green barley leaves for 3 h at 37 °C and pH 7.4, malathion and chlorpyrifos degraded 100%, whereas parathion (75%), diazinon (54%), guthion (41%) and methidathion (23%) showed lesser degrees of degradation. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry