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The article offers information on the study that focuses on the application of a sandwich hybridisation assay (SHA) for rapid detection of the Northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis. It outlines the materials and methods used in the study including larval rearing, field sampling, and probe design.

People with dementia represent a significant and growing proportion of patients, but little is known about their involvement in making choices about their health or social care. This study explored the experiences of French older patients with dementia and their caregivers about their participation in decision-making. Individual semi-directive interviews were conducted with patients (n= 21) and their primary carer focusing on a recently made decision (to accept professional help at home, to attend a day centre, or to move into residential care). Five aspects of decision-making were explored: information received; being listened to; expression of opinion; time allowed to reflect on decision; and possibility of changing one's mind. Carers tended to be more satisfied than patients on most criteria. Many patients felt they had not been listened to sufficiently, and had limited freedom to participate in decision-making. Continuing education may help professionals to improve their ability to involve patients with dementia in decision-making concerning their care arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual precocity concerns 2% of the general population, according to the international classification standards. The goal of this study was to review and describe the schooling and professional pathways of a sample of 28 older intellectually gifted adults (aged 65 years or more) recruited through the French Mensa association (members must have achieved IQ test scores greater than 132). We compared these indicators with existing data from the international literature on gifted people, and with data from the general French population (INSEE census data from 1999). Our data indicates that the educational pathways of gifted people were similar to those described in the literature (chronological age of learning to read, skipping classes, school failure, behavioural issues). However, the data concerning the educational level of gifted people were different to those found in the general population in the INSEE census; specifically, more than 70% of the Mensa members attained a university-level education, and 10% primary school level. Furthermore, these gifted people had higher than average socio-economic status, and this may explain their relatively high levels of life satisfaction reported in a previous study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An understanding of the forces acting between individual particles is important because these forces dominate the behavior of fine particles in air and liquid. This understanding will facilitate improvements in particulate processes such as dispersion and agglomeration. Here we report on the development of an instrument, based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) technology, that enables the quantification of inter-particle force as a function of separation distance. The advantage of the instrument over commercial AFMs is in its greater flexibility and modest cost. The construction and calibration of the instrument are described along with details of a powerful arrangement for data acquisition. The issues of instrument calibration and manipulating individual particles of a few microns in size are addressed. The precision of the instrument for force measurement is estimated to be ±8%. The measurable force has a range of less than 1 nN to 100 μN depending on the magnitude of the cantilever spring constant selected for the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the reliability of scoring written items of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) using different communication modes: face to face, fax and videoconferencing. A total of 99 MMSEs were recovered from the records of a community mental health team for the elderly. The written parts of the examination (sentence and pentagrams) were scored--in person, using a faxed copy or over the video-link--according to published criteria. Relative to in-person scoring, sentences could be scored reliably when faxed (kappa = 0.80), as could pentagrams (kappa = 0.71). Sentences could be reliably scored over the videoconferencing link (kappa = 0.70), but pentagrams could not (kappa = 0.47). Caution is required before accepting the results of scoring such tests over video-links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that developed a high-dose dexamethasone suppression test that can be administered overnight with a single dose and that can be used in the differential diagnosis of patients with Cushing's syndrome. Dosage of the treatment; Percentage of patients who indicated a diagnosis of the disease; Reliability of the test.

Forty three patients with cystic fibrosis, aged 8-44 years (median 16 years), were examined for evidence of vitamin A deficiency. Eight patients had abnormal dark adaptation tests and three had conjunctival xerosis. Serum vitamin A and retinol binding protein concentrations were significantly lower in the affected patients who were also more likely to have abnormal liver function tests. Five patients were treated with 100,000-200,000 IU water miscible vitamin A orally and their daily vitamin supplements were increased to maintain normal concentrations. In four patients dark adaptation tests were repeated. Three were normal, but one patient required three further doses of water miscible vitamin A and a daily supplement of 12,000 IU vitamin A before her dark adaptation threshold returned to normal. Adolescents with cystic fibrosis are liable to develop night blindness and conjunctival xerosis, particularly if they have liver disease or fail to take daily vitamin supplements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have evaluated the 'two minute walking distance' in children with cystic fibrosis as an objective measurement of exercise tolerance. There was a strong correlation between walking distance and height in 89 normal children (r = 0.72). Fifty children with cystic fibrosis showed a similar correlation (r = 0.56) with a mean result of 94% of that expected for height compared with the normal children. There was a training effect in the normal children with the second walk being significantly better than the first, but this was not evident in children with cystic fibrosis. The test was reproducible with no significant change in 12 children retested after one to three months. Sixteen children with cystic fibrosis admitted for treatment of chest disease showed a significant improvement in walking distance with treatment. Children as young as 5 years old can perform a walking distance test. It seems to be an objective way of assessing exercise tolerance and can help in evaluating response to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known [1; pp. 333–339, 2; pp. 181–183] that the quadrics of S4 through a normal elliptic quintic curve 1C5 form a homaloidal system, and that this gives rise to an interesting Cremona transformation T2, 3 of S4 into S4′ for which the reverse system consists of the (Segre) cubic primals of S4′ that contain an elliptic quintic scroll 1R5. Less well known, though the fact was noted by one of us many years ago, is that the quadrics of S6 through the most general type of normal elliptic septimic scroll 1R7 likewise form a homaloidal system giving rise to a T2, 4 of S6 into S6′. We show in this paper that the latter transformation has properties no less remarkable than those of the above mentioned T2, 3. We propose also to show in a subsequent note that T2, 3 and T2, 4 are the initial members of a sequence of Cremona transformations T2, k+2 of S2k+2 (k = 1,2, …) of which the general member is generated by the homaloidal system of quadrics of S2k+2 that contain an elliptic ruled variety 1Rk2k+3, locus of an elliptic pencil of [k − 1]'s. Since the T2, 4 of S6, however, has certain cyclic properties peculiar to itself, we have thought it best to describe it separately in the present paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Let V = V2n be the Segre product variety of two n–dimensional complex projective spaces. Then any Cremona transformation of Sn into (regarded as an irreducible algebraic system of ∞n ordered pairs of points) is represented on V by an irreducible n-dimensional subvariety H which satisfies (on V) the algebraic equivalencewhere Si, j is a subvariety of V and m1, …, mn–1 are positive integers. We call m1, …, mn–1 the characters of T noting that, numerically, [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

If f(z) is a function of the complex variable z, regular in a neighbourhood of z = 0, with f (0) = 0 and f' (0) ≠ 0, then the equation w = f(z) admits a unique solution, regular in some neighbourhood of w = 0, given bywhere C is an appropriate contour encircling z = 0. These formulae are well-known, being stages in the proof of the classical reversion † formuladue to Lagrange. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a recent paper [1], we have given some account of theories of equivalence and intersection on a singular algebraic surface and have shown that such theories share many of the simple properties enjoyed by corresponding theories on non-singular surfaces. Another paper [2], now in preparation, will extend this work to singular varieties of arbitrary dimension. In the meantime, Zobel [3] has drawn attention to some suspect arguments of Samuel [4] concerning the specialization of intersections on a singular variety. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An ordered triangle in the plane S2 is defined as a sextuple (PlP2, P3; l1, l2, l3) consisting of three points Pi and three lines lj restricted by the relations of incidence Pi Ì lj (i ¹ j) If we map unrestricted sextuples by the points of a V12—Segre product of six planes—we obtain an image-manifold Ω6 for ordered triangles as the appropriate subvariety of V12. The variety Ω6 possesses an ordinary double threefold ɸ3 whose points map the totally degenerate triangles (i.e. those for which P1 ═ P2 ═ P3 and l1 ═ l2 ═ l3); Ω6 is therefore unsuitable as a basis for the construction of an enumerative calculus for triangles, for equivalence theory is as yet developed satisfactorily only on non-singular varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A triangle, in the sense of Schubert [1], is an entity in the plane S2 consisting of(a) an ordered triad of points (P1, P2, P3);(b) an ordered triad of lines (l1, l2, l3) connected with the points Pi by the incidence relations Pi ⊂ lj (i ≠ j); and(c) a three base-point net Φof conies with the Pi as base-points. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we shall set out the generalization, for n-dimensional space Sn, of some recent results about complete quadrics and complete collineations in S2, S3 and S4. For the results about complete conies in S2, originally introduced by Study [1], we refer the reader to papers by Severi ([2], [3]), van der Waerden [4], Semple [5]; for those about complete quadrics in S3, to Semple ([6], [7]); for the extension to S4 to Alguneid [8]; for the general concept of complete collineations in Sn, and for results in S2 and S3, to Semple [9]. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Thousands of toxic chemicals, many of which pollute marine ecosystems, potentially cause diseases, but building a consensus view of the significance of human body burdens of environmental chemicals is proving difficult. Causative mechanisms are often lacking. Older members of the population, of which there are increasing numbers worldwide, accumulate higher body burdens than the young, and may be especially at risk. It also remains unclear when crucially sensitive periods for chemical exposures occur across the life course. Very early exposures may lead to diseases much later on. The current lack of robust science upon which to base high quality expert advice is hampering effective policymaking that leads to further reductions in marine pollution, greater protection of marine life and lowering of risks to human health. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]