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_Objective:_ Leprosy post-exposure prophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin (SDRPEP) has proven effective and feasible, and is recommended by WHO since 2018. This SDR-PEP toolkit was developed through the experience of the leprosy postexposure prophylaxis (LPEP) programme. It has been designed to facilitate and standardise the implementation of contact tracing and SDR-PEP administration in regions and countries that start the intervention. _Results:_ Four tools were developed, incorporating the current evidence for SDRPEP and the methods and learnings from the LPEP project in eight countries. (1) the

AIM: To assess the relevance and generalizability across countries of concepts of the impact of Dravet syndrome beyond seizures, as recognized by families. METHOD: Caregivers of children with Dravet syndrome in four countries (Australia [n=8]; USA, UK, and Italy [all n=4]) participated in 1-hour qualitative telephone interviews, identifying key Dravet syndrome concepts. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and, where necessary, translated into English for thematic analysis. Conceptual saturation was assessed and findings compared to the previously developed French conceptual disease model. RESULTS: The most common seizure types reported by caregivers were tonic-clonic, absence, or focal-impaired awareness (localized/partial). Fever and physical activity were the most commonly reported triggers. Patient-relevant impacts included impairment in cognition, motor skills, communication, social skills, and behavioural functioning. Caregivers consistently reported negative social, physical, and family impacts. Concepts identified in the interviews showed similarity with the French conceptual model. Minor differences between countries are likely to reflect variations in health care systems. INTERPRETATION: Findings in Italy, Australia, UK, and USA confirm that the key impacts of Dravet syndrome on children and caregivers identified in France are generalizable across countries. Key symptom and impact concepts relevant to children and parents should be targeted as critical outcomes in new therapy evaluations. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Relevance of the impact of Dravet syndrome on children and caregivers was confirmed across countries. Patient and caregiver-relevant Dravet syndrome impacts contribute to poorer health-related quality of life. Indirect seizure impacts were reported to be as important as direct impacts. Country-specific differences in concepts probably reflect differences in health care systems.

BACKGROUND: Clinical audit may improve practice in cancer service provision. The UK National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA) collects data for all new cases of thoracic cancers. AIM: To collect similar data for our Victorian patients from six hospitals within the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and associated Western and Central Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective audit of all newly diagnosed patients with lung cancer and mesothelioma in 2013 across the six Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre/Western and Central Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service hospitals. The objectives were to adapt the NLCA data set for use in the Australian context, to analyse the findings using descriptive statistics and to determine feasibility of implementing a routine, ongoing audit similar to that in the UK. Individual data items were adapted from the NLCA by an expert steering committee. Data were collated from the Victorian Cancer Registry, Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset and individual hospital databases. Individual medical records were audited for missing data. RESULTS: Eight hundred and forty-five patients were diagnosed across the sites in 2013. Most were aged 65-80 (55%) and were male (62%). Most had non-small-cell lung cancer (81%) with 9% diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and 2% with mesothelioma. Data completeness varied significantly between fields. For those with higher levels of completeness, headline indicators of clinical care were comparable with NLCA data. The Victorian population seem to lack access to specialist lung cancer nurse services. CONCLUSION: Lung cancer care at participating hospitals appeared to be comparable with the UK in 2013. In future, prospective data collection should be harmonised across sites and correlated with survival outcomes. One area of concern was a lack of documented access to specialist nursing services.

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the gene ATP1A3 have recently been identified to be prevalent in patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC2). Based on a large series of patients with AHC, we set out to identify the spectrum of different mutations within the ATP1A3 gene and further establish any correlation with phenotype. METHODS: Clinical data from an international cohort of 155 AHC patients (84 females, 71 males; between 3 months and 52 years) were gathered using a specifically formulated questionnaire and analysed relative to the mutational ATP1A3 gene data for each patient. RESULTS: In total, 34 different ATP1A3 mutations were detected in 85 % (132/155) patients, seven of which were novel. In general, mutations were found to cluster into five different regions. The most frequent mutations included: p.Asp801Asn (43 %; 57/132), p.Glu815Lys (16 %; 22/132), and p.Gly947Arg (11 %; 15/132). Of these, p.Glu815Lys was associated with a severe phenotype, with more severe intellectual and motor disability. p.Asp801Asn appeared to confer a milder phenotypic expression, and p.Gly947Arg appeared to correlate with the most favourable prognosis, compared to the other two frequent mutations. Overall, the comparison of the clinical profiles suggested a gradient of severity between the three major mutations with differences in intellectual (p = 0.029) and motor (p = 0.039) disabilities being statistically significant. For patients with epilepsy, age at onset of seizures was earlier for patients with either p.Glu815Lys or p.Gly947Arg mutation, compared to those with p.Asp801Asn mutation (p < 0.001). With regards to the five mutation clusters, some clusters appeared to correlate with certain clinical phenotypes. No statistically significant clinical correlations were found between patients with and without ATP1A3 mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Our results, demonstrate a highly variable clinical phenotype in patients with AHC2 that correlates with certain mutations and possibly clust

Age and the greenness of leaves have been frequently used as indicators for selecting herbarium specimens for molecular studies. Although plant DNA extraction and amplification have been common lab procedures for the past 20 years, no studies specifically investigated the success of these indicators. Here the predictive value of age and the greenness for extraction and amplification success is assessed, using a large number of herbarium specimens from different plant groups. The investigation of these indicators is important because herbarium material is a precious commodity, and is often the only remaining floral record of now extinct ecosystems. In cases where little leaf material is available, most researchers still attempt to extract DNA. This study shows that age and greenness of leaves are unreliable indicators of extraction and amplification success, although together they can have limited usefulness. Furthermore, we found that the amount of extracted DNA from herbarium specimens decreases with c. 1% per year in age of the specimens. Therefore, researchers sometimes should refrain from using old rare specimens because chances of success are unpredictable and precious herbarium material might be wasted. The uncritical use of indicators such as age or leaf colour is therefore not recommendable. Furthermore, botanists should annotate how specimens were collected and dried because this information is essential for successful DNA extraction. Hopefully, similar studies will be reported in order to identify the best approaches to extract DNA from herbarium specimens.

A summary is given of the EU copper risk assessment report on the emissions from the production, use and disposal of copper products, copper(I) oxide, copper(II) oxide, copper oxychloride and copper(II)sulphate pentahydrate. Exposure levels for humans are considered in relation to toxicity and environmental concentrations predicted by life-cycle analysis are compared with those found in water, sediments and soils., A summary is given of the EU copper risk assessment report on the emissions from the production, use and disposal of copper products, copper(I) oxide, copper(II) oxide, copper oxychloride and copper(II)sulphate pentahydrate. Exposure levels for humans are considered in relation to toxicity and environmental concentrations predicted by life-cycle analysis are compared with those found in water, sediments and soils.

Introduction: Posterior quadrantic dysplasia (PQD), a developmental malformation involving the temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes of one cerebral hemisphere, leads to intractable epilepsy. Objective: To characterize the clinical features of 19 patients with PQD and analyze the postsurgical outcome of those who underwent resection of dysplastic tissue. Methods: The extent and nature of the malformation were primarily assessed with high-resolution brain imaging. Fourteen patients underwent complete or partial temporoparieto-occipital resection or temporal resection associated with parieto-occipital disconnection. Postoperative follow-up period ranged from 8 months to 7 years. The authors used the Engel classification for postoperative outcome. Results: All patients were sporadic. Clinical features included infantile spasms, partial seizures, mental retardation, mild hemiparesis, and visual field defects. Neuroimaging localized the malformation within the posterior cerebral quadrant contralateral to the neurologic deficit and demonstrated hemihemimegalencephaly in 14 of 19 patients and multilobar cortical dysplasia in 5 of 19 patients. The authors observed class I outcome in six patients. Two patients had class II and four patients had class III outcome. Class IV outcome was seen in two patients. After surgery, two patients developed mild hemiparesis, and two developed a visual field defect. Conclusions: Widespread cortical dysplasia is more frequent in the posterior quadrant. In our series, posterior quadrantic dysplasia represents either hemi-hemimegalencephaly or multilobar cortical dysplasia. Individuals with posterior quadrantic dysplasia share a spectrum of clinical features. The intractable epilepsy in these patients may be alleviated by a large quadrantic temporoparieto-occipital resection.

Editors: Aug. 1859-July 1865, J. D. White, J. H. McQuillen, G. J. Ziegler.--Aug. 1865-Dec. 1871, J. H. McQuillen, G. J. Ziegler.--Jan. 1872-May 1891, J. W. White.--July 1891-Apr. 1930, E. C. Kirk (with L. P. Anthony, Dec. 1917-Apr. 1930).--May 1930-Dec. 1936, L. P. Anthony., Vols. 1-13 are called "new series.", Merged in Jan. 1937 with: Journal of the American Dental Association, ISSN 1048-6364, to form: Journal of the American Dental Association and dental cosmos, ISSN 0375-8451., The Dental cosmos; a monthly record of dental science. [Vol. 52] : Vol 52 : Issue 5, Page(s) 609, (dlps) volume: 0527912.0052.001, (dlps) article: 0527912.0052.001:361, http://quod.lib.umich.edu/t/text/accesspolicy.html

Editors: Aug. 1859-July 1865, J. D. White, J. H. McQuillen, G. J. Ziegler.--Aug. 1865-Dec. 1871, J. H. McQuillen, G. J. Ziegler.--Jan. 1872-May 1891, J. W. White.--July 1891-Apr. 1930, E. C. Kirk (with L. P. Anthony, Dec. 1917-Apr. 1930).--May 1930-Dec. 1936, L. P. Anthony., Vols. 1-13 are called "new series.", Merged in Jan. 1937 with: Journal of the American Dental Association, ISSN 1048-6364, to form: Journal of the American Dental Association and dental cosmos, ISSN 0375-8451., The Dental cosmos; a monthly record of dental science. [Vol. 51] : Vol 51 : Issue 1, Page(s) 35-40, (dlps) volume: 0527912.0051.001, (dlps) article: 0527912.0051.001:7, http://quod.lib.umich.edu/t/text/accesspolicy.html

Thirty bull and 30 heifer Hereford x Simmental calves were weaned at approximately 5 mo of age and assigned randomly to one of the following treatments: intact, conventionally castrated or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone-immunized (LHRH). All animals were slaughtered at 16 mo of age and the right side of each carcass was electrically stimulated (ES) or restimulated (RES). Yield and quality grades were determined on both right and left sides after 24 h chilling. Longissimus muscles (LD) were obtained at 7 d postmortem for objective color measurements, chemical analysis, shear force and trained sensory panel evaluation. Semitendinosus muscles (ST) were also obtained at 7 d postmortem for shear evaluation. Differences among the three male groups in quality grade scores and lean color were nonsignificant, but bull and LHRH-bull carcasses were leaner with a higher percentage protein when compared with steer carcasses. Shear values for both LD and ST muscles indicated that steers had more tender meat than bulls and LHRH-treated males. Collagen content and sensory panel scores for tenderness were only slightly in favor of the steers. Ovariectomized heifers had less subcutaneous fat and were rated more tender by the sensory panel than intact and LHRH-treated females. The LHRH-treated females had higher shear values for the LD muscle. These were the only differences in carcass and meat characteristics among the three female groups. Females had slightly higher yield grades, higher USDA quality grades and were fatter than steers. Electrical stimulation resulted in less severe 'heat ring' formation, more youthful lean maturity scores, brighter lean color and improved shear values of ST meat. Electrical stimulation had no effect on tenderness of LD meat, Sex × stimulation interactions were due to a better response of steers to ES than in the other groups.

The thermal shrinkage temperature (Ts) of bull muscle collagen was higher (Ps from bull muscles increased from 12 to 15 mo and decreased from 15 to 18 mo of age, whereas that of steer muscles did not change with age (age × sex interaction, Ps. Carcass electrical stimulation did not affect collagen Ts in steer muscle, but there was a trend toward reduction of Ts in collagen of bull muscle.

Castration has long been a traditional practice in the United States. Research studies indicate that intact males grow more rapidly, utilize feed more efficiently and produce a higher-yielding carcass with less fat and more edible product. The disadvantages of the intact male include aggressive behavior (bull and boar); undesirable odors and flavors (boar and ram); lower quality grade (bull); lower meat tenderness (bull and ram) and undesirable meat color (bull and ram). Research is needed to develop antemortem and(or) postmortem handling procedures that offset the disadvantages of the intact male so that the meat and livestock industry can take advantage of their rapid growth and favorable lean production traits. This paper reviews the growth characteristics, carcass traits and consumer acceptance of meat from intact males.

Seventy-seven tleifers weighing about 200 kg were assigned randomly to 1) intact control (C), 2) ovariectomized (OVX), 3) immunized against estradiol (BSA-E), 4) BSA-E + trenbolone acetate (BSA-E+TBA), 5) TBA or 6) ovx + TBA groups. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of ovariectomy, immunoneutralization of estradiol and trenbolone acetate treatment on growth rate and carcass merit. Heifers were fed a corn-corn silage diet and were slaughtered when treatment groups attained live-animal weights of 433 kg. Observations of rate of growth, efficiency of feed conversion, characteristics of carcasses and characteristics of organoleptic properties of the cooked meat were made. Average daily gains (ADG) were similar in the control and OVX groups and tended to be less than in other treatment groups (P<.36). Although not statistically significant, the observed mean for the BSA-E+TBA treatment suggests improved ADG and TDN per unit of gain, indicating a possible immunization X TBA interaction. Data also suggested that heifers implanted with TBA had increased ADG and efficiencies of gain. Possibly, immunoneutralization of endogenous estradiol can improve ADG as compared with control and OVX groups. Treatments had no effect on color or texture of lean muscle at the 12th rib interface. The OVX + TBA group had less (P<.O1) 12th rib fat cover than other groups and lower percent fat in the rib than C. The BSA-E+TBA and TBA groups also possessed larger (P<.02) longissimus muscle areas than the control group. Observations of juiciness, tenderness and flavor were similar among all treatments. Results indicate that implanting heifers with TBA and (or) immunizing against endogenous estradiol may provide opportunities to increase gains, feed conversions and lean-to-fat ratios in heifers.

An experimental investigation was conducted to develop an aluminum alloy for service at elevated temperatures. The development work was divided into three parts to determine: (1) The effects of heat treatment and exposure to elevated temperatures on the tensile properties of the various alloys subsequently cooled to room temperature; (2) the effect of various alloy additions on the room-temperature and elevated-temperature properties of aluminum, 6-percent-magnesium alloys; and (3) the improvement in high-temperature creep properties of some of the optimum compositions. From the results of the investigation an experimental alloy that appeared to be optimum was found. The composition of this alloy and an approximate comparison of its properties with two commercial alloys are presented in tabular form.

This paper presents data on the tensile strength, fatigue strength, creep properties, and thermal expansion of forged aluminum alloys XBl8S, 185, 24S, and 325, which are pertinent to the application of these alloys in the temperature range from 700 to 8Q%O F. Included arc data taken from published sources, unpublished material made available through the courtesy of the Aluminum Company of America and the National Bureau of Standards, and original data, obtained at Battelle Memorial Institute, which extend this previous information. The work also contains a critical discussion of the data and their application to design of aircraft engine.

The digitization of this collection was funded by a gift from EBSCO Industries.

The digitization of this collection was funded by a gift from EBSCO Industries.