Restoration challenges for urban rivers.

Urban sources account for significant quantities of important diffuse pollutants, and urban watercourses are typically badly polluted. As well as toxic metals, hydrocarbons including PAHs, and suspended matter, priority urban pollutants include faecal pathogens and nutrients. Can urban watercourses be restored by sufficient reductions in pollution loads? Case studies in the UK and Sweden provide insights and some grounds for optimism. A major trans-Atlantic review of the performance of best management practices (BMPs) is informing BMP planning. New approaches such as the maximisation of self-purification capacity in the receiving waters may also need to be developed, alongside BMPs at source. Other initiatives in Europe, USA and China, including collaborative projects, are trying to address the intractable issues such as persistent pollutants from transport and urban infrastructure. The challenge is daunting, but there are clear ways forward and future research needs are evident.     

Patients'' psychological and cosmetic experience after immediate breast reconstruction

To prepare freshmen dental students for clinical experiences, standardized patients (SPs) were used to teach basic skills in communication, examination, and record keeping. SPs allow students to practice and be assessed in a realistic, predetermined, and controlled setting. The SP cases integrated the clinical content from freshman "Preventive Periodontics" with the behavioral content taught in "Basic Patient Management." Six SP cases were developed: two oral hygiene instruction cases, two medical and dental history cases, and two head and neck examination cases. One case of each type was used for instructing the students, and the others were used for assessing student competency at the end of the course. The SP methodology was evaluated by comparing the performance of freshmen, who had taken the course, with sophomores, who had only traditional clinical experiences. To make the comparison, sophomores participated in the same SP assessment as the freshmen. Scores for both groups were analyzed in three skill areas: interpersonal, technical, and record keeping. Freshmen scored higher in all three skill areas, with significant differences of 21% in technical skills and 31% in record keeping skills.     

Surveyance of disease frequency in a population by linkage to diagnostic laboratory databases. A system for monitoring the incidences of hyper- and hypothyroidism as part of the Danish iodine supplementation program

In Denmark an increase in iodine intake through salt iodization has been introduced in 1998. In parallel a program for surveyance of thyroid diseases in the population was developed as recommended by UNICEF and WHO. OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate a computer based system to identify and register new cases of hyper- and hypothyroidism in a well defined cohort, by linkage to diagnostic laboratory databases. DESIGN AND RESULTS: (1) Two sub cohorts for monitoring were defined (n=535,859), and evaluated to minimize loss of new cases. Collaboration was established with laboratories covering thyroid hormone analyses in the cohort; (2) a diagnostic algorithm was defined and evaluated against clinical practice; (3) evaluation of the laboratory methods employed by the four participating laboratories, to ensure they would reach the same diagnosis in a patient; (4) a register database was developed which used data imported from the laboratory databases to automatically identify previously unknown cases of hyper- and hypothyroidism and record diagnostic activity in the area. All parts of the registration were carefully evaluated. CONCLUSION: We describe for the first time a computer based system for prospective measuring the incidence rate of hyper- and hypothyroidism. The system is particularly useful for monitoring of iodine supplementation programmes.     

Morphology and cytology of the nasal cavity and vomeronasal organ in juvenile and adult blind mole rats (Spalax ehrenbergi)

The blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) is a fossorial solitary rodent which exhibits extensive intraspecific aggression and uses scent markings to deter contraspecific invaders. Mole rats of different ages were captured near Tel Aviv, Israel, and sacrificed by an overdose of Xylazine hydrochloride. Olfactory epithelium sites from the nasal cavity (NC) and the vomeronasal organ (VNO) were dissected and fixed for light and electron microscopy. The mole rat's olfactory epithelium of the NC consists of several cell types, of which two types are supporting cells that comprise both microvilli and cilia but differ in staining and the presence of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The third type has no cilia. Secretory goblet cells were frequent among supporting cells of adults alone. Two types of receptor cells protrude into the NC with olfactory knobs at their apical region; one type has up to 177.6 +/- 9.4 cilia per knob plus microvilli, while the other type has only microvilli. The third type of sensory cell has no knob and contains microvilli only. The basal epithelium layer consists of short-bodied cells with round nuclei. The VNO of the mole rat is situated beneath the nasal septum, consisting of supporting, sensory, and basal cell types, with many cilia at the apical portion. At its anterior part, the VNO is connected to the NC by narrow canals. The abundance of cilia and microvilli in the mole rat olfactory cells provides the first anatomical evidence for their olfactory acuity. Such acuity is important in mole rats, compensating for their loss of vision and enabling them to detect and avoid rivals prior to potential aggressive encounters as well as to select food plants during foraging.     

Using dual‐polarized ALOS PALSAR data for detecting new fronts of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazônia

This study shows the use of dual‐polarized L‐band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data acquired by the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array type L‐band Synthetic Aperture Radar sensor (PALSAR) system for differentiation between primary forest and new deforestation fronts. Results showed that the new deforested areas are not unequivocally detected in either of the single bands individually. Although most of the recent deforestation appears brighter than mature forests in the HH band, the identification of new deforestation using only this band depends on the stage of the clearing process. Then, the contribution of the HV band through a normalized difference index (NDI) is important for detection of the new deforested fronts. Results indicate that the method can be used as the basis for an operational programme to monitor deforestation in the Brazilian Amazônia.     

The Global Rain Forest Mapping project - A review

The Global Rain Forest Mapping (GRFM) project is an international endeavour led by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), with the aim of producing spatially and temporally contiguous Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data sets over the tropical belt on the Earth by use of the JERS-1 L-band SAR, through the generation of semi-continental, 100 m resolution, image mosaics. The GRFM project relies on extensive collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) and the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) for data acquisition, processing, validation and product generation. A science programme is underway in parallel with product generation. This involves the agencies mentioned above, as well as a large number of international organizations, universities and individuals to perform field activities and data analysis at different levels. The GRFM project was initiated in 1995 and, through a dedicated data acquisition policy by NASDA, data acquisitions could be completed within a 1.5-year period, resulting in a spatially and temporally homogeneous coverage to encompass the entire Amazon Basin from the Atlantic to the Pacific; Central America up to the Yucatan Peninsular in Mexico; equatorial Africa from Madagascar and Kenya in the east to Sierra Leone in the west; and south-east Asia, including Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. Over the Amazon and Congo river basins, the project aimed to provide complete cover at two different seasons, featuring the basins at high and low water. In total, the GRFM acquisitions comprise some 13000 SAR scenes, which are currently in the course of being processed and compiled into image mosaics. In March 1999, SAR mosaics over the Amazon Basin (one out of two seasonal coverages) and equatorial Africa (both seasonal coverages) were completed; the data are available on CD-ROM and, at a coarser resolution, via the Internet. Coverage of the second-season Amazon and Central America will be completed during 1999, with the south-east Asian data sets following thereafter. All data are being provided free of charge to the international science community for research and educational purposes.     

Results of atrioventricular synchronous pacing with optimized delay in patients with severe congestive heart failure

To verify that atrioventricular (AV) synchronous pacing (DDD) with short AV delay improves the condition of patients with severe congestive heart failure, we implanted DDD pacemakers in 10 patients with severe heart failure (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class III to IV). One day after pacemaker implantation, the AV delay was optimized by Doppler echocardiographic measurements over the aortic outflow tract. Patients were evaluated regarding NYHA class, stroke volume, cardiac output, ejection fraction, and quality of life at 1, 3, and 6 months after pacemaker implantation. Although the optimized AV delay was associated with short-term improvement in stroke volume and cardiac output (baseline stroke volume = 22 +/- 7 ml, day 1 = 28 +/- 12 ml; p = 0.03: baseline cardiac output = 1.9 +/- 0.6 L/min, day 1 = 2.2 +/- 1.1 L/min; p = 0.10), the mean stroke volume, cardiac output, NYHA class, and ejection fraction did not change significantly after 1, 3, and 6 months of pacing compared with baseline values. Three patients improved in NYHA class during the follow-up. A consistent improvement in stroke volume, cardiac output, NYHA class, and ejection fraction was observed in only 1 patient. In conclusion, we found no beneficial effects of AV-synchronous pacing with optimized AV delay in patients with severe heart failure.     

Phase equilibria in the pyrometallurgy of sulfide ores

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Although reaction kinetics and process dynamics may greatly affect the engineering of pyrometallurgical processes, the limits of what can be achieved...     

Humoral factors underlying maternal behavior at parturition: Cross transfusion between freely moving rats.

Used 64 female Charles River CD rats to develop a new method for cross-transfusing blood between freely active rats in order to study humoral factors involved in the induction of maternal behavior. Chronically implanted heart catheters mounted on the S's neck were attached to flow-through swivels and a peristaltic pump to shunt blood between Ss. Blood was cross-transfused for 6 hr. between pairs of virgins and between mothers and virgins, beginning at 24 hr. before parturition, 30 min. after parturition, and 24 hr. after parturition. Pups remained with the virgins from the beginning of the transfusion. Only blood from newly parturient mothers induced maternal behavior (all components except nest building in a significant proportion of virgins; prepartum blood was slightly more effective than blood transfused 24 hr. after parturition. Cross-transfusion resulted in the shortest mean latency for the appearance of maternal behavior (e.g., retrieving) found thus far (14.5 hr.). (38 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cost-effective high solids epoxy binder for protective coatings

Conclusion  From the foregoing it can be concluded that Epikote DX-874 can be used with a variety of curing agents for specific end-use requirements. A solids content of 85–90% by weight can be obtained by careful formulation of the paint. Performance equal to that of a traditional solvent-borne solid epoxy resin — polyamide curing agent binder system can be obtained when the incorporation of an aliphatic flexible part in the epoxy resin is compensated for by a part aromatic or cycloaliphatic component in the curing agent. By an example it is demonstrated that a lower cost can be obtained compared with that of traditional solvent-borne systems. Further cost savings in paint manufacturing, transport and application can be envisaged.