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The proximate compositions, total dietary fibre (TDF) content, textural properties and sensory acceptability of yeast breads formulated with 0%, 2%, 4% and 6% of cornsilk powder (CSP) were studied. The protein, ash and TDF contents of yeast breads were increased in line with the CSP level added whereas moisture content was decreased. Yeast bread added with 6% CSP recorded the highest content of TDF (5.91%), protein (9.76%) and ash (1.03%) compared to other formulation of yeast breads containing lower percentage of CSP. Besides, texture profile analysis (TPA) reported that the firmness, gumminess and chewiness of yeast breads increased directly proportional to the level of CSP added mainly due to higher content of TDF and lower content of moisture. However, for the yeast bread added with 2%CSP, there were no significant differences compared with control yeast bread. Among all cornsilk-based yeast bread, formulation containing 2% CSP had the highest scores for all attributes including overall acceptance and there were no significant differences with control yeast bread. The present study indicated that the addition of 2% CSP could be an effective way to produce functional yeast bread without changing negatively its desirable textural and sensory acceptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers a parallel system exposed to external intentional impacts caused by malicious attacks, and unintentional impacts caused by natural disasters or technological accidents. The defender distributes its resource between the deployment of false targets and the protection of genuine system elements. The deployment of false targets is intended to misinform the attacker so that it is not able to distinguish between the false targets and the genuine system elements, which leads to dissipating the attack resources. Different combinations of unintentional and intentional impacts sequences are considered. The vulnerability of each system element is determined by an attacker-defender and unintentional impact-defender contest success functions. A framework of solving the optimal defense resource distribution which minimizes the overall system vulnerability is suggested. Illustrative examples are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway construction projects involve major capital investments, and a slight variance in design could lead to a significant change in the total project cost. To achieve value for money, it is necessary to optimize the design as far as possible. However, in reducing costs, it is important that key project objectives such as system capacity and operational flexibility are not sacrificed. In this article, a value engineering methodology, with particular emphasis on maintaining project objectives and requirements, is introduced. It involves identifying major cost drivers, devising explicit knowledge representations for these cost drivers, and analysing how they could be optimized without compromising key requirements such as the passenger-carrying capacity. The methodology is illustrated using real-world examples taken from the West Rail project in Hong Kong, which was originally conceived to be a twelve-car railway and subsequently optimized to become a seven-car system initially, with provisions to grow into an eight-car and then a nine-car configuration, without compromising the planned carrying capacity. The savings achieved were in the order of billions of Hong Kong dollars. One novel aspect of the proposed methodology is the development of a structured representation for a cost driver, through which non-obvious but significant savings could be derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orbital hemangioblastomas of extraretinal origin are extremely rare and few cases have been reported. We describe a 48-year-old woman with progressive right visual loss and proptosis. Computed tomography showed an avidly enhanced transpatial solid mass in the right orbit with outward protrusion. The mass was presumed to be of extraretinal origin because of its unusually large size, but there was only mild involvement of the eyeball. The histopathologic characteristics of this tumor were identical to those seen in central nervous system hemangioblastomas. The hypervascularity of the lesion would have made surgical intervention difficult. Preoperative embolization was indicated and was performed by direct tumor puncture and injection of N-butyl cyanoacrylate with a satisfactory result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the models for software reliability analysis are based on reliability growth models which deal with the fault detection process. This is done either by assuming that faults are corrected immediately after being detected or the time to correct a fault is not counted. Some models have been developed to relax this assumption. However, unlike the fault-detection process, few published data sets are available to support the modeling and analysis of both the fault detection and removal processes. In this paper, some useful approaches to the modeling of both software fault-detection and fault-correction processes are discussed. Further analysis on the software release time decision that incorporates both a fault-detection model and fault-correction model is also presented. This procedure is easy to use and useful for practical applications. The approach is illustrated with an actual set of data from a software development project. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality and reliability measures of products and processes are frequently multidimensional, and the goal of various statistical studies and experiments is to find settings of design or process variables that optimize such products or processes. In many such situations, these measures of interest are further restricted by some physical secondary constraints of the process. These constraints may cause interdependencies among the factors. Moreover, the operability region imposed by the constraints is often unknown a priori, and hence, standard experimental strategy is not always feasible. In this paper, we study a radiography inspection process with dual conflicting radiograph quality measures, contrast sensitivity and spatial resolution, and an image density constraint. The paper presents a sequential approach to tackle this constrained optimization problem. We use and initial experiment to estimate the constraints, and then to account for the interdependencies between the factors more accurately, we use a sliding level design with sliding factors nested within multiple factors. We propose to use a nested effects modeling approach to analyze the experimental data and illustrate its benefits for this example. To optimize conflicting multiple responses, a goal optimization formulation based on this modeling approach is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have integrated data from linkage mapping, physical mapping and karyotyping to gain a better understanding of the sex-determining locus, SEX, in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). SEX has been mapped to Atlantic salmon linkage group 1 (ASL1) and is associated with several microsatellite markers. We have used probes designed from the flanking regions of these sex-linked microsatellite markers to screen a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library, representing an 11.7× coverage of the Atlantic salmon genome, which has been HindIII fingerprinted and assembled into contigs. BACs containing sex-linked microsatellites and their related contigs have been identified and representative BACs have been placed on the Atlantic salmon chromosomes by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). This identified chromosome 2, a large metacentric, as the sex chromosome. By positioning several BACs on this chromosome by FISH, it was possible to orient ASL1 with respect to chromosome 2. The region containing SEX appears to lie on the long arm between marker Ssa202DU and a region of heterochromatin identified by DAPI staining. BAC end-sequencing of clones within sex-linked contigs revealed five hitherto unmapped genes along the sex chromosome. We are using an in silico approach coupled with physical probing of the BAC library to extend the BAC contigs to provide a physical map of ASL1, with a view to sequencing chromosome 2 and, in the process, identifying the sex-determining gene. Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syphilitic myelitis is a very rare manifestation of neurosyphilis. The MRI appearance of syphilitic myelitis is not well documented and only a few cases have been reported. We present a 52-year-old woman with acute onset of paraplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine showed diffuse high signal intensity in the whole spinal cord on T2-weighted images. Focal enhancement was observed in the dorsal aspect of the thoracic cord on T1-weighted gadolinium-enhanced images. To our knowledge, diffuse spinal cord abnormality in syphilitic myelitis has not been reported in the international literature. Disappearance of the diffuse high-signal lesions with residual focal enhancement was noted after antibiotic therapy. The patient suffered significant neurological deficit despite improvement in the MR images. In this article we present the imaging findings and review the literature of this rare condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assess the traits that older adults associate with younger, middle-aged, and older adults in five Pacific Rim nations from Western and Eastern cultural traditions (Australia, People's Republic of China (PRC), Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand). We find cross-cultural trends which replicate patterns found in the US context. In most cultures, attractiveness, strength, activity, liberalism, health, and flexibility are seen to decline with increasing age. Kindness assessments are positively associated with age across cultures. Mixed patterns are found with assessments of wisdom and generosity, with respondents from the PRC and Hong Kong being notably more negative about increasing age than other respondents. Implications for the aging process across cultures are discussed, and suggestions made for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An acute aortic dissection involved the retroesophageal aortic diverticulum (RAD) and descending thoracic aorta in a patient with right aortic arch. The RAD, which was separated into false and true lumens by an intimal flap-the classic diagnostic sign of aortic dissection-was overlooked on transesophageal echocardiography and computed tomography but was clearly depicted on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It was found that MRI can delineate the anatomy of a congenital arch anomaly complicated by great vessels disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A double-blind, cross-over study was undertaken to compare inhalation of betamethasone valerate (BV, 800 microgram daily) with sodium cromoglycate (SCG, 80 mg daily) in twenty children requiring bronchodilators for perennial asthma. Each treatment period lasted 4 weeks but statistical comparisons were made only in respect of the last 14 days of each therapy. When the children were using BV they required not only less of the bronchodilator drugs but had fewer symptoms and higher daily peak expiratory flow rates when taking SCG. Statistically, all these differences were highly significant. For 2 weeks before the main trial each child was given a placebo aerosol (single-blind) to assess severity of asthma. In comparison with this period, SCG was associated with a significantly increased peak expiratory flow rate a lower symptom score by day but not by night, but their usage of bronchodilators followed a similar pattern. When the BV period was compared with the placebo period, patients had an even more significant rise in peak expiratory flow rate, less day and night symptoms, and took hardly any bronchodilators. The response to the two drugs did seem to depend upon which was given first. No monilial infections were found, nor any measurable defect in adrenal response from either treatment. Betamethasone valerate is considered to be superior to sodium cromoglycate as a treatment for childhood asthma insufficiently controlled on bronchodilators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents a letter to the editor about angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

We report a case of thoracic sclerosing haemangioma with concomitant pulmonary and mediastinal involvement in a 19-year-old girl who presented with haemoptysis and dyspnoea. CT showed a large oval mass in the left lower lobe and another larger dumbbell-shaped mass in the posterior mediastinum. Both masses were well-defined and harboured punctate calcifications. They exhibited inhomogeneous contrast enhancement and contained some cystic areas. In addition, an air meniscus sign was present around the pulmonary lesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]