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Background:The center-center technique for syndesmosis fixation has been described as an improved and reliable technique for proper reduction of the syndesmosis during ankle fracture repair. Concurrently, the use of flexible fixation with a suture button is becoming an established means of syndesmosis stabilization. The purpose of this cadaveric study was to assess for medial structure injury during the placement of a suture button using the center-center technique for ankle syndesmosis repair at 3 insertion intervals.Methods:Simulated open syndesmosis repair was performed on 10 cadaveric specimens. Three intervals were measured at 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm proximal to the level of the distal tibial articular surface along the fibula. Proper longitudinal alignment of the center-center technique was completed under fluoroscopic guidance and was marked on the medial aspect of the tibia. The 3 intervals were drilled in the appropriate technique trajectory. The suture button was subsequently passed through each drill-hole interval. A single observer used a digital caliper to measure the distance from each suture button aperture with respect to the tibialis anterior tendon, tibialis posterior tendon, and greater saphenous vein and nerve.Results:A total of 30 interval measurements (10 cadavers with 3 suture button segments each) were used for data analysis. Direct impingement on the greater saphenous vein was seen in 11 of 30 (36.6%) interval measurements. Six of the 11 (54.5%) observed saphenous structure impingement events occurred at the 10-mm drill hole.Conclusion:The results of the present study suggest that the use of the center-center technique for syndesmosis repair with suture button fixation risks preventable injury to the greater saphenous neurovasculature.Clinical Relevance:To understand the medial ankle anatomy, as it pertains to insertion of flexible syndesmotic fixation in a cadaveric model, to aid in prevention of clinical iatrogenic injury.

This case study describes the failure analysis of an automotive lower ball joint that fractured under normal driving conditions. Through spectroscopy, the material was determined to be SAE-AISI 5135H steel. The metallographic examination revealed a tempered martensitic structure, and hardness measurements radially across the surface of the cut ball stud suggested that the stud was through hardened. Scanning electron microscopy of the fracture surfaces indicated fatigue as the main failure mechanism. Finite element analysis was used to analyze the performance of the part under a normal loading condition. A detailed fatigue analysis to determine the effect of various loads on the life of the ball joint was completed using three methods: S-N curve approximation using hardness values, S-N approach using Basquin’s equation, and a linear elastic crack-growth model. The cause of failure was determined to be from surface cracks forming in the high stress concentration neck region where the ball and stud are joined. The presence of a small surface flaw in this region was shown to significantly reduce the fatigue life of the ball joint.

Drawing on a thematic analysis of relevant policy documents, the aim of this paper is to comment on an apparent disconnect between two associated contemporary UK policy areas: planning for heatwaves and community resilience. Regional and national policy documents that plan for heatwaves in the UK tend to focus on institutional emergency responses and infrastructure development. In these documents, although communities are mentioned, they are understood as passive recipients of resilience that is provided by active institutions. Meanwhile, contemporary discussion about community resilience highlights the potential for involving communities in planning for and responding to emergencies (although the concept is also the subject of critique). Within this context, the paper proposes that – through engagement with the ‘community resilience’ policy agenda and its critique – effort should be made to articulate and realise greater participation by individuals, and voluntary and community sector groups in heatwave preparation, planning and response.

Summary Background Proximal medial gastrocnemius release (PMGR) is the newest technique for addressing clinically significant gastrocnemius contracture, whose safety and efficacy has been evaluated in several modern case series. Material & Methods This anatomic study evaluated the safety of a PMGR technique modification by testing the hypothesis that the lateral border of the semimembranosus would be easily identified under surgical conditions and would localize the approach safely away from popliteal structures. Results & Conclusions The results of this study revealed that although the semimembranosus was easily referenced, it localized the approach with a much narrower margin for safety than suggested by previous literature.

Peroneal tendon disorders are a common cause of persistent posterolateral ankle pain. The diagnosis of peroneal tendon pathology is frequently overlooked by the referring clinician, who is often unfamiliar with this pathology. In this chapter, we discuss our nonoperative protocol as well as our surgical management of peroneal tendon repair, tenolysis, tenodesis, SPR repair/fibular groove deepening for tendon instability, excision of an os peroneum, and tendon reconstruction with autograft/allograft transfers. Also discussed is our postoperative protocol as well as pearls/pitfalls during surgery

When Paul Lapidus described his technique for arthrodesis of the 1st TMT (tarsometatarsal) joint in 1934, he was building on the work of others (most notably Albrecht and Truslow. Lapidus felt that the basis of the hallux abducto valgus deformity was centered at the TMT joint and was related to hypermobility. The recommendations by Dr. Lapidus at the time were to take down and prepare the 1st TMT joint as well as the interspace between the 1st and 2nd MT (metatarsal). Correction was to address the transverse and sagittal deformities and fixate the joint in the new position.

Arthropods comprise an amazingly diverse group of life forms that are extensively studied in almost every field of the biological sciences. Given that the vast majority of animals are arthropods (primarily insects, arachnids, and crustaceans), knowledge of the specific methods to collect and preserves these organisms for scientific purposes can be indispensable. The application of this research can play major roles in fundamental aspects of human society, including agriculture and medicine. With something on the order of 5-10 million or more arthropod species in existence, it is a challenge for any biologist to attempt to assess and document biodiversity, but many of us find ourselves in a position to either perform this task, or assist others in doing so. It is therefore of utmost importance that proper collection and preservation techniques are used for arthropods which are then made available to scientists for diverse fields of research. The actual practical details of collection and preservation are nearly as diverse as the organisms themselves, so we can only attempt to give basic guidelines here, discussing equipment, trapping techniques, preservation methods, and documentation methods necessary for scientists inexperienced in arthropod collecting to preserve research-quality specimens.

Arthropods comprise an amazingly diverse group of life forms that are extensively studied in almost every field of the biological sciences. Given that the vast majority of animals are arthropods (primarily insects, arachnids, and crustaceans), knowledge of the specific methods to collect and preserves these organisms for scientific purposes can be indispensable. The application of this research can play major roles in fundamental aspects of human society, including agriculture and medicine. With something on the order of 5-10 million or more arthropod species in existence, it is a challenge for any biologist to attempt to assess and document biodiversity, but many of us find ourselves in a position to either perform this task, or assist others in doing so. It is therefore of utmost importance that proper collection and preservation techniques are used for arthropods which are then made available to scientists for diverse fields of research. The actual practical details of collection and preservation are nearly as diverse as the organisms themselves, so we can only attempt to give basic guidelines here, discussing equipment, trapping techniques, preservation methods, and documentation methods necessary for scientists inexperienced in arthropod collecting to preserve research-quality specimens.

Background: Ankle fractures are among the most common lower extremity injuries. Proper care requires evaluation for syndesmotic ligament disruption. Ankle arthroscopy has been proposed as an intraoperative tool that can evaluate stability. Our focus was to evaluate the amount of displacement produced in the coronal, sagittal, and transverse planes visualized through ankle arthroscopy in a cadaveric model. Methods: Seven below-knee specimens were mounted in a traction tower. Four groups were evaluated: no ligamentous disruption; anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament and interosseous ligament disruption; above plus anterior talofibular ligament and calcaneofibular ligament disruption; and posterior inferior tibiofibular ligament and transverse ligament disruption. Force was applied and measured using a digital scale. The amount of displacement of the fibula in relation to the center of the incisura was measured under arthroscopic evaluation using a calibrated probe. Results: An intact syndesmosis and lateral ankle ligaments provided multiplanar stability. In group 2, syndesmosis diastasis was appreciated in the transverse-external rotation plane with as little as 6 lb of force. In group 3, a greater amount of displacement was appreciated with less force. Multiplane instability was visible in every specimen with as little as 2 lb of force. Group 4 specimens were completely disrupted and so grossly unstable that testing was impossible. Conclusion: Ankle arthroscopy has the potential to evaluate even partial disruption of the syndesmotic ligament complex. Instability in the sagittal and transverse planes was encountered early in the spectrum of disruption. Traditional evaluation methods have poor sensitivity for instability in these planes. Clinical Relevance: Arthroscopic evaluation of subtle displacement in multiple planes may assist the surgeon in understanding the extent of the syndesmotic injury. Further studies are necessary to determine to what extent instability requires fixation as well as the role for arthroscopy in assessing anatomic reduction of the syndesmosis after fixation is performed.

Objective To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a scalable obesity treatment program integrated with pediatric primary care (PC) and delivered using interactive voice technology (IVR) to families from underserved populations. Design and Methods Fifty parent-child dyads (child 9-12 yrs, BMI > 95th percentile) were recruited from a pediatric PC clinic and randomized to either an IVR or a wait-list control (WLC) group. The majority were lower-income, African-American (72%) families. Dyads received IVR calls for 12 weeks. Call content was informed by two evidence-based interventions. Anthropometric and behavioral variables were assessed at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Results Forty-three dyads completed the study. IVR parents ate one cup more fruit than WLC (P 75% agreed that the calls were useful, made for people like them, credible, and helped them eat healthy foods. Conclusion An obesity treatment program delivered via IVR may be an acceptable and feasible resource for families from underserved populations.

Background: The “tibiofibular line” is a new axial computed tomography parameter for assessing syndesmosis reduction, which references the flat anterolateral surface of the fibula and anterolateral tibial tubercle. These same bony landmarks are easily visualized via a lateral approach to the fibula. This cadaveric study assessed the practical aspects of measuring the tibiofibular line intraoperatively. Methods: Three observers simulated the tibiofibular line using operative rulers in 3 measurement series utilizing 10 cadaveric specimens: intact syndesmosis, syndesmosis reduction, and fixation after application of lateral plate and screws to the fibula, and post syndesmosis reduction and fixation without plate and screws. Results: The majority (78%) of clinical tibiofibular line measurements were within the “normal” range (0-2 mm). However, there was a general trend toward malreduction (>2 mm) across measurement series. Intraobserver variability ranged from poor to excellent (intraclass correlation range, 0.12-0.85, Fleiss kappa range, 0.19-0.40) and interobserver reliability was only generally in the fair range (intraclass correlation range, 0.49-0.61; Fleiss kappa range, 0.19-0.40). Conclusion: Taken as a whole, these findings found that the technique was feasible but clearly indicated that further refinement of this protocol, including the use of computed tomography, would be needed to determine if better control of confounding variables would reveal better observer reliability. Clinical Relevance: The CT-based TFL technique for syndesmosis reduction assessment could not reliably be translated into an intraoperative open technique because of the confounding effects of subjectivity and operator error.

Volar plating of distal radius fractures was introduced as a means to circumvent some of the issues with dorsal-based plating but has been shown not to be a complete panacea, as other advantages and challenges have subsequently been discovered. Careful attention and proper technique must be utilized to restore and maintain volar tilt. This study reports a technique of using a locking screw as a proximal peg to reliably obtain the volar tilt in a simple fashion.

Background: Electromagnetic bone growth stimulators have been found to biologically enhance the bone healing environment, with upregulation of numerous growth factors. The purpose of the study was to quantify the effect, in vivo, of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) on growth factor expression and healing time in fifth metatarsal nonunions. Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind trial of patients, cared for by 2 fellowship-trained orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons. Inclusion criteria consisted of patients between 18 and 75 years old who had been diagnosed with a fifth metatarsal delayed or nonunion, with no progressive signs of healing for a minimum of 3 months. Eight patients met inclusion criteria and were randomized to receive either an active stimulation or placebo PEMF device. Each patient then underwent an open biopsy of the fracture site and was fitted with the appropriate PEMF device. The biopsy was analyzed for messenger-ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels using quantitative competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (QT-RT-PCR). Three weeks later, the patient underwent repeat biopsy and open reduction and internal fixation of the nonunion site. The patients were followed at 2- to 4-week intervals with serial radiographs and were graded by the number of cortices of healing. Results: All fractures healed, with an average time to complete radiographic union of 14.7 weeks and 8.9 weeks for the inactive and active PEMF groups, respectively. A significant increase in placental growth factor (PIGF) level was found after active PEMF treatment ( P = .043). Other factors trended higher following active PEMF including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) -7, and BMP-5. Conclusion: The adjunctive use of PEMF for fifth metatarsal fracture nonunions produced a significant increase in local placental growth factor. PEMF also produced trends toward higher levels of multiple other factors and faster average time to radiographic union compared to unstimulated controls. Level of Evidence: Level I, prospective randomized trial.

Underwater acoustic tag telemetry was used to assess behavioural differences between juvenile wild-type (i.e. non-transgenic, NT) and growth hormone (GH) transgenic (T) coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch in a contained simulated ocean environment. T O. kisutch were found across days to maintain higher baseline swimming speeds than NT O. kisutch and differences in response to feeding were detected between T and NT genotypes. This is the first study to assess behaviour of GH transgenic salmonids in a marine environment and has relevance for assessing whether behavioural effects of GH overexpression seen in freshwater environments can be extrapolated to oceanic phases of the life cycle.

International audience; In Part I of this paper, we developed asymptotic approximations for single photon scattering in thick, highly heterogeneous, "Log-Levy" multifractal clouds. In Part II, theoretical multiple scattering predictions are numerically tested using Monte Carlo techniques, which show that, due to long range correlations, the photon paths are "subdiffusive" with the corresponding fractal dimensions tending to increase slowly with mean optical thickness. We develop reasonably accurate statistical relations between N scatter statistics in thick clouds and single scatter statistics in thin clouds. This is explored further using discrete angle radiative transfer (DART) approach in which the radiances decouple into non-interacting families with only four (for 2-D clouds) radiance directions each. Sparse matrix techniques allow for rapid and extremely accurate solutions for the transfer: the accuracy is only limited by the spatial discretization. By "renormalizing" the cloud density, we relate the mean transmission statistics to those of an equivalent homogeneous cloud. This simple idea is remarkably effective because two complicating effects act in contrary directions: the "holes" which lead to increased single scatter transmission and the tendency for multiply scattered photons to become "trapped" in optically dense regions, thus decreasing the overall transmission. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report Raman scattering measurements on the spin ladder compound (C5H12N)2CuBr4. Pronounced multiphonon scattering is observed up to eighth-order, arising from the Franck?Condon process. Furthermore, a two-magnon continuum is seen with frequencies around 18?cm?1 at low temperatures. Its symmetric line shape suggests a substantial hopping of triplets along the leg of the ladder. Thus, the studied system is considered to represent a two-leg ladder with coupling constants in the intermediate regime between the strong and the isotropic limit.

An experiment was conducted to determine the interactive effects of Eimeria acervulina infection and phytase in male broiler chicks. Chicks were standardized from 0 to 4 d posthatching, and the assay period was 5 to 15 d. Treatments were replicated with 6 pens of 5 chicks each. The initial and final BW were 67 and 363 g. A corn-soybean meal diet formulated to provide 1.26% total Lys and 3,200 kcal of ME/kg was used, and it was adequate in all other nutrients except Ca and nonphytate P (NPP) when appropriate. The treatments were in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement: adequate Ca and NPP (1.0% Ca and 0.45% NPP) or inadequate Ca and NPP (0.80% Ca and 0.25% NPP), 0 or 600 phytase units/kg of diet, and uninfected or infected with 400,000 E. acervulina oocysts on d 0, 3, and 6 of the experiment. Daily gain, average daily feed intake, and gain:feed (GF) were reduced (P < 0.01) by the coccidial infection and the reduction in Ca and NPP. Phytase addition increased (P < 0.02) average daily gain and average daily feed intake, regardless of the Ca and NPP contents of the diet or the presence of coccidiosis. The GF was increased by phytase but only in uninfected chicks (phytase x coccidiosis, P < 0.02). Toe and tibia ash percentages were decreased (P < 0.01) in chicks fed diets deficient in Ca and NPP, but tibia ash was decreased more by Ca and NPP in healthy chicks than in infected chicks (coccidiosis x Ca and NPP, P < 0.02). Phytase increased (P < 0.02) toe and tibia ash but only in diets deficient in Ca and NPP (phytase x Ca and NPP, P < 0.01). Phytase increased toe ash percentage of healthy chicks fed diets deficient in Ca and NPP, but it had less of an effect in infected chicks fed diets deficient in Ca and NPP (coccidiosis x Ca and NPP x phytase, P < 0.08). Also, phytase was less effective in increasing tibia ash percentage in coccidiosis-infected chicks than in uninfected chicks (phytase x coccidiosis, P < 0.02). These data indicate that phytase is effective in the presence of a coccidial infection, but based on GF and tibia ash percentage, it may not be as effective as in uninfected chicks. Also, phytase increased average daily gain and average daily feed intake in uninfected chicks fed diets formulated to be adequate (or in excess) in all nutrients for male broiler chicks.

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a hydrologic model that was developed to predict the long-term impacts of land use change on the water balance of large catchments. Stochastic models are used to generate the daily rainfall sequences needed to conduct long-term, continuous simulations with SWAT. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performances of three daily rainfall generation models. The models evaluated were the modified Daily and Monthly Mixed (DMMm) model, skewed normal distribution (SKWD) model and modified exponential distribution (EXPD) model. The study area was the Woady Yaloak River catchment (306 km2) located in southwest Victoria, Australia. The models were assessed on their ability to preserve annual, monthly, and daily statistical characteristics of the historical rainfall and runoff. The mean annual, monthly, and daily rainfall was preserved satisfactorily by the models. The DMMm model reproduced the standard deviation of annual and monthly rainfall better than the SKWD and EXPD models. Overall, the DMMm model performed marginally better than the SKWD model at reproducing the statistical characteristics of the historical rainfall record at the various time scales. The performance of the EXPD model was found to be inferior to the performances of the DMMm and SKWD models. The models reproduced the mean annual, monthly, and daily runoff relatively well, although the DMMm and SKWD models were found to preserve these statistics marginally better than the EXPD model. None of the models managed to reproduce the standard deviation of annual, monthly, and daily runoff adequately.

Milk-processing plants generate significant quantities of wastewater with relatively high organic matter concentrations on a daily basis. In addition to environmental damage that can result from the discharge of these wastewaters into the natural waterways, the presence of products such as milk solids into wastewater streams represents a loss of valuable product for the plants. This paper presents a review of wastewater management practices employed by six milk-processing plants in Victoria, Australia. In all six plants investigated, milk powder represents a major product. During the milk powder production, water is evaporated, condensed and can be reused for various purposes with a significant impact on water usage. Other major products are anhydrous milk fat, cheese, butter, and UHT milk. The effectiveness of the practices was assessed through two main criteria: first through the water to milk intake ratio, and the waste volume coefficient. Both parameters characterise the plant efficiency in regard of water consumption and water reuse. Information on cleaning chemical usage and recovery was also assessed as part of the review. Significant discrepancies emerge between the plants first due to the products manufactured and water reuse possibilities available in each plant. Second the type of treatment technologies used for condensate and cleaning solution influences the figures. One of the investigated plants is almost self-sufficient for water, emphasising the benefits gained from the use of technologies like membrane separations for condensate and cleaning solution treatment. In some cases, less cost-intensive technologies such as a clarifier are successful to improve cleaning agent recovery.

The zero sound attenuation of normal liquid 3He has been studied over a range of temperatures from slightly above the superfluid transition temperature, T c, to approximately 10 mK at the constant pressures of 1 and 5 bar. Using longitudinal LiNbO3 transducers, operating both on and off resonance, the experiment was performed at 15 discrete frequencies located in several broadband frequency windows, including 16–25, 60–70, and 105–111 MHz. The results are compared to Landau's prediction for the attenuation of zero sound in the quantum limit, (k B T≪ħω≪k B T F), where α 0(P,T, ω)= α′(P) T 2{1+(ħω/2πk B T)2}. Calibration of the received zero sound signals was performed by measuring the temperature dependence of the first sound attenuation from 30 to 800 mK at those same frequencies and pressures. The data are compared to previous results.

Patients undergoing procedures under general anaesthesia as day cases are routinely given a set of instructions regarding activities to avoid in the first 24 h after discharge. Day surgery units generally specify the need for a responsible carer from time of discharge for a period of 24 h. This study looks at the compliance of 240 patients with postoperative instructions. Of the patients studied, 4.1% drove, 1.7% made important decisions, 3.3% drank alcohol, 0.8% took sedatives and 10% cooked, ironed or looked after children. All patients were discharged into the care of a responsible adult. However, 13.3% failed to have a carer with them for 24 h and 1.3% spent the night alone at home. Of our cohort, 25% were unable to comply with the postoperative instructions in full. The majority of non-compliance occurred on the day following surgery, suggesting that patients may feel that the advice is excessively cautious.

Mixed organic/inorganic Langmuir−Blodgett (LB) films have been prepared in which the polar network is a manganese phosphonate continuous lattice and the organic network contains a substituted tetrathiafulvalene amphiphile. The bis(phosphonic acid) amphiphile, 2,3-bis[(4‘-phosphonobutyl)thio]-6,7-bis(tetradecylthio)tetrathiafulvalene, 1, has been synthesized and deposited from an aqueous Mn2+ subphase to form Y-type LB films with stoichiometry Mn2(1)(H2O)2. Since the amphiphile is a bis(phosphonate), the inorganic network forms the Mn(O3PR)H2O structure known in other manganese phosphonate LB films and layered solids. The film becomes magnetic near 11.5 K when the manganese phosphonate network orders as a canted antiferromagnet. Attempts to subsequently oxidize the tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) network did not result in stable phases. Structural characterization was aided by the synthesis of a solid-state manganese bis(phosphonate) model compound, Mn2(2)(H2O)2, where 2 is the ligand 2,3-bis[(2‘-phosphonoethyl)t...

An amphiphilic tetrathiafulvalene derivative, with two alkylphosphonic acid substituents, has been prepared and used to form a mixed organic/inorganic Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film containing a TTF-based organic network and a manganese phosphonate continuous lattice inorganic network. The inorganic network is isostructural with known manganese phosphonate layered solids, and undergoes magnetic ordering to a canted antiferromagnetic ground state. A model TTF derivative containing the alkylphosphonic acids, but without hydrophobic alkyl tails, was also synthesized and a manganese phosphonate solid, isostructural with the LB film, was prepared and characterized.

The advent of ultra-fast (half-cycle), compact, remote controllable and cost effective circuit breakers suitable for deployment on rural lateral lines provides opportunities for new approaches to protecting these lines. This paper will present a novel scheme that provides significant benefit to operators of rural overhead MV distribution networks in terms of reliability improvement and minimizing the risk of electrical faults causing ignition of wild fires. Firstly, the key criteria for reliability optimization and mitigation of electrical faults causing ignition of fires are presented. An assessment of the performance of a number of typical lateral line protection schemes is conducted. All traditional approaches have a number of deficiencies, primarily related to preventing wild fires. New ultra-fast circuit breaker technology is introduced that enables a new approach to the optimal protection of rural lateral lines. A novel protection scheme is presented and is shown to represent the optimal solution for both reliability performance and prevention of electrical faults causing wild fire ignition on extreme weather days. For fault levels typical on rural lateral lines, when switched off in less than a half cycle, there is inadequate energy in the arc to cause fire ignition. This alternate protection mode can be remotely commanded over SCADA to allow rapid network response to extreme weather. An example is presented to clarify the expected performance.

The magnetization, M(H < = 30 T, 0.7

The zero-temperature limit of the energy gap, Delta(P,T-->0), of superfluid 3He-B has been measured at T/T(c) less, similar0.25, near 0.1 and 4.8 bars, and in zero magnetic field. The energy gap was determined from the 2Delta pair-breaking edge of an acoustic signal obtained by novel, pulsed Fourier-Transform ultrasonic spectroscopy. Our results are independent of the temperature scale and the theoretical model of the gap. The values for Delta(P,T-->0) are lower than predicted by the weak-coupling-plus theory, and the Delta(P approximately 0.1 bars,T-->0) values are lower than predicted by BCS theory. The data indicate that Delta(P,T-->0) of superfluid 3He-B is not well modeled at the lowest pressures.

Pulsed Fourier-Transform (FT) ultrasonic spectroscopy has been developed for the purpose of studying 3 He at ultralow temperatures. Our method is analogous to pulsed FT NMR and possesses several advantages over conventional time-of-flight acoustic techniques. For use at low temperatures, the most significant advantage is the ability to observe the frequency spectrum while the temperature, pressure, and magnetic field may be independently tuned. More specifically, using longitudinal LiNbO 3 transducers operating both on- and off-resonance, we are able to study several broadband windows of frequency, namely 16-25 MHz, 60-70 MHz, and 105-111 MHz, The determination of the energy gap of 3 He-B is presented as an effective application, and other novel uses are discussed.

Identification of the factors controlling spatial and temporal variability of phytoplankton production is a major issue in biological oceanography. Although the interest in primary production has a long history, recent technological developments have enabled new approaches to the problem of its measurement. With the availability of new methods, the approach has shifted from gross estimation of primary production to include studying the control processes influencing individual phytoplankton cells. The effect of environmental factors on the metabolic activity and growth at the species level is a key to understanding large-scale patterns of production and distribution of phytoplankton in the ocean.

An investigational tetravalent combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccine and measles-mumps-rubella and varicella vaccines at separate injection sites given at the same visit were evaluated with respect to safety and cell-mediated and humoral immune responses at 6 weeks and 1 year after vaccination. Varicella seroconversion rates and lymphocyte proliferation responses were 100% for both vaccine groups at 6 weeks and 1 year. However, the antibody titer to varicella was lower in the combined vaccine group at 6 weeks, but there was no statistical difference in cell-mediated immune responses. One-year geometric mean titers were not statistically different. Seroconversion rates for measles, mumps, and rubella were 100% for both vaccine at 6 weeks and 1 year. Long-term follow-up of these immune responses is planned.

A method of determination of thermodynamic properties of metastable and unstable fluid states by molecular simulation is presented. As illustrative examples spinodal and binodal states are calculated for the Lennard-Jones fluid, ethane, and n-butane using the optimized potentials for liquid simulations for the representation of the real molecules.

Objective To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a scalable obesity treatment program integrated with pediatric primary care and delivered using interactive voice technology (IVR) to families from underserved populations. Design and Methods Fifty parent-child dyads (child 9–12 yrs, BMI >95th percentile) were recruited from a pediatric primary care clinic and randomized to either an IVR or a wait-list control (WLC) group. The majority were lower-income, African-American (72%) families. Dyads received IVR calls for 12 weeks. Call content was informed by two evidenced-based interventions. Anthropometric and behavioral variables were assessed at baseline and 3 mo follow-up. Results Forty-three dyads completed the study. IVR parents ate 1 cup more fruit than WLC (p < .05). No other groups differences were found. Children classified as high users of the IVR decreased weight, BMI and BMI z-score compared to low users (p75% agreed that the calls were useful, made for people like them, credible, and helped them eat healthy foods. Conclusion An obesity treatment program delivered via IVR may be an acceptable and feasible resource for families from underserved populations.

There is a significant, established, record of academic discussion of Himalayan pilgrimages, which when taken together, direct understandings of pilgrimage in this region in a way that draws attention to some aspects of the landscape of Himalayan pilgrimage while ignoring others. This paper seeks to add something new to the everexpanding literature on pilgrimage in this region by disrupting this process through the presentation of a collaborative autoethnography, which focuses on the landscape of a locally important, yet hitherto internationally ignored, Himalayan pilgrimage: the Manimahesh pilgrimage of the Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh. It emerges that, while fellow pilgrims mutually constitute each other's pilgrimage experience, the exact nature of that experience varies depending on the pilgrim's skill to reckon with the environment that they are entering into. What is more, the conflic-ting nature of pilgrimage experiences becomes intensified after the pilgrimage during the pilgrims' structured attempts to narrativise their experience for others.