FDTD solution of Maxwell's equations for an edge slot penetratingadjacent broadwalls of a finite wall thickness waveguide

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is applied to predict reflection coefficients for edge slots penetrating the adjacent broadsides of thick nailed rectangular X-band waveguides. Measured and calculated values S₁₁ are compared to experiment for waveguides terminated by shorted loads     

Fractal physiology

The nature of fractals and the use of fractals instead of classical scaling concepts to describe the irregular surfaces, structures, and processes exhibited by physiological systems are described. The mathematical development of fractals is reviewed, and examples of natural fractals are cited. Relationships among power laws, noise, and fractal time signals are examined     

The development and benefits of nursing protocols for fractured neck of femur patients

In this article the authors discuss the development, use and auditing of nursing care protocols, which have been implemented and form a guide for nurses caring for patients with fractured neck of femur in Southend Health Care NHS Trust. The development of these protocols occurred after an initial medical audit, which was followed by a far larger multidisciplinary audit, and both of these revealed there was need for changes in the clinical management of such patients; subsequently a large multidisciplinary working group worked together to develop care protocols/pathways to enable closure of the audit loop. The reasons for focusing on fractured neck of femur as a high priority condition are also discussed. All professional groups caring for these patients were involved in the multidisciplinary working group, which was formed to close the audit loop and to improve clinical practices by increasing the systemization and coordination of care. The development of the nursing protocols represented an extremely important part of this process, and the care of about 700 patients was examined during this work. The audit and associated subsequent work have resulted in direct improvements to both patient care and health outcomes, and the authors conclude that there is great value in developing multidisciplinary protocols, particularly those involving nurses, because they spend more time with patients whilst they are in hospital than any other professional group. The benefits of these nursing protocols have been multifold, in particular they have facilitated a clearer flow of patients through the hospital, increased awareness of responsibilities and reduced duplication of effort, and ensured patients receive the best possible care over the 24-hour period.     

Collection of peripheral blood progenitor cells after the administration of cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor: an analysis of 497 patients

BACKGROUND: There is great interpatient variability in the number of peripheral blood stem cells collected, as measured by CD34+ cell content, after the administration of chemotherapy and a growth factor. The ability to predict patients who fail to yield adequate quantities of CD34+ cells would be of value. However, very few reports include large numbers of patients treated in an identical fashion. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Between 1991 and 1995, 497 consecutive patients with a variety of malignant diseases received cyclophosphamide (4 g/m2), etoposide (600 mg/m2), and granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (6 micrograms/kg/day) for mobilization and collection of a target dose > or = 2.5 x 10(8) CD34+ cells per kg. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with failure to achieve this target harvest. RESULTS: A median of 14.71 x 10(6) CD34+ cells per kg (range, 0.08-137.55) was harvested with a median of 2 (range, 1-11) apheresis procedures. Ninety-one percent of patients yielded > or = 2.5 x 10(5) CD34+ cells per kg. Patients with Stage II-III breast cancer, who had pretreatment platelet counts > or = 150 x 10(9) per L and patients who underwent < or = 1 prior chemotherapy regimen had improved CD34+ cell yields. However, most patients with adverse risk factors yielded > or = 2.5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells per kg. CONCLUSION: A regimen of cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor led to the successful collection of adequate numbers of CD34+ cells in most patients without excessive toxicity. These observations confirm previous reports that intense prior therapy adversely affects the quantity of CD34+ cells harvested. Pretreatment and posttreatment variables did not predict with any certainty the small fraction of patients who fail to yield > or = 2.5 x 10(6) CD34+ cells per kg via multiple apheresis procedures.     

塔河油田三叠系水平井地质导向技术研究

针对塔河油田三叠系碎屑岩油气藏油层薄、储集层非均质性较强、泥质和低渗致密夹层纵横向变化大的地质特点，在分析、研究不同区块多口水平井资料的基础上，探讨了水平井不同地质情况下斜井段及目的层砂顶的预测和判别技术，以实例阐述了井眼轨迹调整方法，首次形成了一套适合于该地区碎屑岩非均质薄层油气藏水平井录井地质导向技术，在塔河油田水平井钻探开发中取得了显著的成效。     

Purification and characterization of an alpha1,2,-L-fucosyltransferase, which modifies the cytosolic protein FP21,from the cytosol of Dictyostelium

A novel fucosyltransferase (cFTase) activity has been enriched over 10(6)-fold from the cytosolic compartment of Dictyostelium based on transfer of [3H]fucose from GDP-[3H]fucose to Galbeta1,3 GlcNAc beta-paranitrophenyl (paranitrophenyl-lacto-N-bioside or pNP-LNB). The activity behaved as a single component during purification over DEAE-, phenyl-, Reactive Blue-4-, GDP-adipate-, GDP-hexanolamine-, and Superdex gel filtration resins. The purified activity possessed an apparent Mr of 95 X 10(3), was Mg2+-dependent with a neutral pH optimum, and exhibited a Km for GDP-fucose of 0.34 microM, a Km for pNP-LNB of 0.6 mM, and a Vmax for pN-P-LNB of 620 nmol/min/mg protein. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the Superdex elution profile identified a polypeptide with an apparent Mr of 85 X 10(3), which coeluted with the cFTase activity and could be specifically photolabeled with the donor substrate inhibitor GDP-hexanolaminyl-azido-125I-salicylate. Based on substrate analogue studies, exoglycosidase digestions, and co-chromatography with fucosylated standards, the product of the reaction with pNP-LNB was Fucalpha1, 2Galbeta1,3GIcNAcbeta-pNP. The cFTase preferred substrates with a Galbeta1,3linkage, and thus its acceptor substrate specificity resembles the human Secretor-type alpha1,2- FTase. Afucosyl isoforms of the FP21 glycoprotein, GP21-I and GP21-II, were purified from the cytosol of a Dictyostelium mutant and found to be substrates for the cFTase, which exhibited an apparent K(m) of 0.21 microM and an apparent V(max) of 460 nmol/min/mg protein toward GP21-II. The highly purified cFTase was inhibited by the reaction products Fucalpha1,2Galbeta1,3GlcNAcbeta-pNP and FP21-II. FP21-I and recombinant FP21 were not inhibitory, suggesting that acceptor substrate specificity is based primarily on carbohydrate recognition. A cytosolic location for this step of FP21 glycosylation is implied by the isolation of the cFTase from the cytosolic fraction, its high affinity for its substrates, and its failure to be detected in crude membrane preparations.     

Substrate specificity of the Escherichia coli RuvC protein. Resolution of three- and four-stranded recombination intermediates

The specificity of the Escherichia coli RuvC Holliday junction resolvase has been investigated in vitro. RuvC protein cleaves synthetic DNA substrates that model three- or four-stranded recombination intermediates but fails to act upon Y junctions, G/A mismatches, heterologous loop structures, or two-stranded branched junctions. RuvC therefore differs from endonuclease VII of bacteriophage T4 which exhibits broad range specificity. Using related three- and four-stranded synthetic DNA junctions, we show that RuvC cleaves both junctions at the same DNA sequence and requires a region of homology at the junction point. The action of RuvC on three- and four-stranded recombination intermediates made by RecA was also investigated. We found that RuvC fails to resolve three-stranded intermediates in the presence of RecA, although four-stranded intermediates are resolved under the same conditions. However, both three- and four-stranded intermediates are substrates for the nuclease after removal of RecA. We interpret these differences in terms of the contiguity of the RecA nucleoprotein filament which may, under certain conditions, limit access to the Holliday junction resolvase.     

Error-free 10 Gbit/s transmission using individual Fabry-Perot modes of low-noise quantum-dot laser

A comb-generating laser suitable for DWDM application is demonstrated on the basis of a multimode quantum-dot laser. Bit error rate < 10^-13 at 10 Gbit/s external modulation was measured for 10 longitudinal modes owing to low (<0.3% over 0.001-10 GHz) relative intensity noise of each individual mode.     

Dominance, prosocial orientation, and female preferences: Do nice guys really finish last?

Three multimethod studies (total N?=?348) probed the hypothesis that women's attraction to men would be influenced by male prosocial orientation. In Study 1, prosocial men were rated as more physically and sexually attractive, socially desirable, and desirable as dates than were nonprosocial men. Dominant men were no more attractive than low-dominance men, and male dominance did not interact with male prosocial orientation in eliciting attraction from women. In Study 2, prosocial orientation was manipulated to avoid "personalism," but still affected attraction. Across all measures attraction was an interactive function of dominance and prosocial tendencies. Dominance alone did not increase any form of attraction measured. In Study 3, male prosocial tendencies and dominance interacted to affect women's attraction to men. Results are discussed in terms of the place of altruism and dominance in evolutionary approaches to human interpersonal attraction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)