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Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is considered to be one of the most promising key technologies in the context of a successful carbon dioxide management, since CO2 and CH4 can effectively be utilised to obtain a syngas with a low H2/CO ratio. CO-rich syngas mixtures are an important feedstock for various petrochemical products, such as formic acid, acetic acid, polycarbonates, phosgene, dimethyl ether and oxo products. However, the high endothermicity of the DRM process and the strong deactivation tendency of the DRM catalysts under industrially relevant reaction conditions, mainly driven by sintering and coking, make the industrial large-scale realisation of the DRM process challenging. To overcome these issues, research focussed on catalyst design strategies to prevent coking and sintering, either by targeting the design of the environment of active metal species or by the modification of specific properties of the support material.

Morris Eagle has made a significant contribution to the critical literature of psychoanalytic concepts with his book Core Concepts in Classical Psychoanalysis: Clinical, Research Evidence and Conce...

MOSCED (modified separation of cohesive energy density) is a solubility parameter method that offers an improved treatment of association interactions. Solubility parameter methods are well known for their ability to both make quantitative predictions and offer a qualitative description of the underlying molecular-level driving forces, lending themselves to intuitive solvent selection and design. Currently, MOSCED parameters are available for 130 organic solvents, water, and 33 imidazolium-based room temperature ionic liquids (ILs). In this work, we expand MOSCED to cover 66 additional ILs containing the pyridinium, quinolinium, pyrrolidinium, piperidinium, bicyclic, morpholinium, ammonium, phosphonium, and sulfonium cations using 10,052 experimental limiting activity coefficients. The resulting parameters may readily be used to predict the phase behavior in mixtures involving ILs.

Although Glyphosate-based herbicides are often marketed as environmentally friendly and easily biodegradable, its bioavailability and risks to wildlife raise significant concerns. Among non-target organisms, earthworms which live in close contact with the soil can be directly exposed to pesticides and harmed. We investigated soil contamination and the exposure of earthworms to glyphosate, its metabolite AMPA, and glufosinate in an arable landscape in France, both in treated (i.e. temporary grasslands and cereal fields under conventional farming), and nontreated habitats (i.e. hedgerows, permanent grasslands and cereal fields under organic farming) (n = 120 sampling sites in total). Glyphosate, AMPA and glufosinate were detected in 88%, 58% and 35% of the soil samples, and in 74%, 38% and 12% of the earthworm samples, respectively. For both glyphosate and AMPA, concentrations in soils were at least 10 times lower than predicted environmental concentrations. However, the maximum glyphosate soil concentration measured (i.e., 0.598 mg kg

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:18:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-03-01 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Administration of progesterone (P4) after estradiol is usually performed to prepare non-cyclic mares as embryo recipients. However, there are successful pregnancy reports after embryo transfer in non-cyclic mares treated only with progestins. The objective of this study was to evaluate endometrial gene expression and immunostaining for estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), beta (ERβ) and progesterone receptor (PR) in seasonal anestrous mares treated with long acting P4 (LA P4). Endometrial tissue from eight seasonal anestrous mares was collected immediately before administration of 1.5 g of LA P4 and five days after. The receptors protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and the percentage of the immunostained area was determined by ImageJ software. Transcripts abundance for ERα ERβ and PR were determined by RT-qPCR. Blood samples were collected daily to measure plasma P4 concentrations. Protein expression for ERα was greater (p < 0.05) after LA P4 administration, although gene expression was not affected by treatment (p > 0.05). There was no difference for ERβ protein expression (p = 0.07) and ERβ gene expression was reduced (p < 0.05) after treatment. Gene and protein expression for PR was not altered (p > 0.05). In conclusion, endometrial PR and ERα expression patterns after LA P4 administration were similar to those previously found in protocols using estradiol prior to LA P4 to prepare non-cyclic mares as embryo recipients. UNESP-Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Animal Reproduction and Veterinary Radiology School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNITRI- Centro Universitário do Triângulo UNESP-Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Clinical Science School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP- Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP-Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Animal Reproduction and Veterinary Radiology School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP-Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Clinical Science School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP- Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science FAPESP: 2012/00298-7

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:11:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2017-07-15 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) To test the hypothesis that the administration of 2.5 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB) followed by 1500 mg of long acting progesterone (LA P4) causes similar uterine changes and molecular dynamics in anovulatory mares to those observed in cyclic ones, we evaluated the changes of estrogen (ERα and ERβ) and progesterone receptors (PR) in anestrous, transitional and cyclic mares by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry. In addition, we evaluated uterine edema, tonus and estrogens and progesterone plasma profile. Endometrial biopsies were taken from anestrous and transitional mares immediately before EB injection, 48 h after EB administration and five days after LA P4 was given. In cyclic mares, biopsies were collected at estrus and at five days after ovulation. Similar estrogen peaks were achieved after the injection of the single EB dose between treated and cyclic groups, as well as maximum uterine edema. Uterine tone was increased to diestrus levels after administration of 1500 mg of LA P4. Changes in relative abundance of transcripts for PR, ERα and ERβ when progesterone stimulated endometrium was compared to estrogen stimulated endometrium were similar between cyclic and non-cyclic treated mares. However, apparent decreased PR in the endometrial glandular epithelium was not observed in non-cyclic mares five days after LA P4 administration as observed at five days after ovulation in cyclic mares. The protocol produced similar endometrial edema, uterine tonus and changes in relative abundance of PR, ERα and ERβ transcripts to those observed in cyclic mares during late estrus and early diestrus, as well as similar estradiol and estrogen conjugate plasma concentrations. UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Animal Reproduction and Veterinary Radiology School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Clinical Science School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Animal Reproduction and Veterinary Radiology School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Clinical Science School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu UNESP – Univ. Estadual Paulista Campus de Botucatu Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science FAPESP: 2012/00298-7

In ultrasound imaging with arrays the frame rate is limited by the number of insonifications of the inspected medium. In the limit, a single omnidirectional or plane wave insonification (OWI or PWI, respectively) would provide the maximum frame rate. However, since focusing is applied in reception only, this method yields a poor image quality (resolution, SNR, sidelobe levels, etc.). By contrast, multi-insonification techniques, such as the Total Focusing Method (TFM) or Multi-Plane Wave Imaging (M-PWI) provide the highest quality images, although they require more acquisition time. This work tries to achieve the image quality of TFM and M-PWI with a single plane-wave insonification to provide ultra-fast imaging at frame rates of tens of KHz. This is achieved by weighting the plane wave image with a phase coherence factor that keeps in-focus indications and suppresses spurious signals. The bases of the new Plane Wave with Phase Coherence Imaging (PWPCI) are described. Experimental work is also carried out to contrast the image quality with that provided by the well established gold standard TFM. This work demonstrates that the proposed PWPCI technique provides similar or superior image quality than TFM at significantly higher frame rates.

Coming from a more comparative point of view as far as Theology of Religions and Interreligious Studies are concerned – though to a certain extent as well as a pluralist in the sense of hope for universal understanding and well-being – I want to ask how Interreligious and Intercultural Hermeneutics are a necessary tool when we try to set up minimal standards for a Global Ethics in the reality of nowadays multicultural societies. I introduce for Ethics as well as for Hermeneutics the concept of ‘Responsible Interim’ – the latter reflecting the fact that human beings do have universals only under the ‘eschatological reserve’ (in Christian terminology), as ‘Suchness in Emptiness’ (in Buddhist terminology). I will proceed from universal truth questions and more general questions of philosophy of religion towards questions of cultural i.e. religious contexts shaping ethical and religious view(s) and convictions. Can smallest common denominators be found? How does legal rule help to establish and keep them? How does society, how do individuals change by starting from a spiritual, creative and holistic and maybe even transpersonal point of view – a view of co-creation and incarnatio continua in religious, i.e. in Christian terminology again?

Janet MacKenzie Rioch’s (1943) classic article, written more than 70 years ago, is perhaps timelier and more accessible today than it was then. At the least large swaths of it will resonate with a ...

The Total Focusing Method (TFM) yields a focused image in emission and in reception while Phased Array (PA) imaging provides Dynamic Depth Focusing (DDF) in reception only. Besides, most NDE applications have two propagation media, where refraction at the interface complicates time-of-flight (TOF) and focal law computations. This affects especially TFM, which must compute the TOFs from all elements to image pixels and use them to select the data for imaging. A new method with real-time Dynamic Depth Full Focusing (DDFF), in emission and reception, is proposed in this work. It is called Total Focusing Phased Array (TFPA) because it uses concepts of TFM and PA. Omnidirectional emissions are used to create a synthetic aperture as in TFM, while beamforming is carried out along scan lines as in PA, simplifying the delay calculation in the presence of interfaces and providing an efficient hardware implementation. Refraction at the interface between two media is eliminated by a Virtual Array (VA) that converts such scenario into a simple homogeneous medium. Propagation can be considered along scan lines from the virtual array at constant speed, as in homogeneous media. Strict dynamic focusing is performed in real-time, an important difference with other approaches that require iterative Fermat search to get the focal laws for every imaged point. With TFPA only 3 parameters per element and scan line are required to perform this task. Experiments are carried out to compare the three techniques, PA, TFM and TFPA. TFM and TFPA yield similar image quality, offering improved depth of field and resolution over PA. On the other hand, TFPA avoids most of the burden for computing TOFs and operates in real time with one or two media propagation.

Phased array ultrasonic imaging of arbitrarily shaped components at high scanning speed demands computing an adapted set of focal laws before each new image. This requires computing the individual time-of-flight (TOF) from array elements to foci in a two media scenario. Most precedent approaches to this problem were based on iterative search for the minimum TOF in a sampled interface (Fermat׳s principle). This work follows a different approach by implementing a specialized processor that performs TOF computations. Several algorithms are implemented using High Level Synthesis (HLS) for state-of-theart FPGAs: Fermat iterative search, Newton–Raphson, Illinois and a combination of the latter.

[EN] In nondestructive evaluation (NDE) a coupling medium (wedge) is frequently inserted between the array probe and the object being evaluated. In this situation, focal law computing is complicated by the refraction effects at the interface. Furthermore, there are not known techniques to perform dynamic focusing by hardware in these conditions. This work addresses these problems by following a two-step procedure. First, a virtual array that operates in a single medium with nearly equivalent time-of-flight to the foci is obtained. Then, simple hardware is proposed to perform dynamic focusing in real-time. It operates with arrays of any geometry as required by the virtual array in presence of arbitrarily shaped interfaces. The paper describes the theory and evaluates the timing errors of the approximations made. These errors are low enough to allow use of the new technique in most NDE and some specific medical applications. The new technique is validated by simulation and experimentally, This work has been founded by the project DPI-2010-17648 of the Spanish National R&D&I Plan 2008-2011.

The author reviews Schafer's contributions to psychological testing, emphasizing his development of the test battery, his significant contributions to psychoanalytically oriented Rorschach interpretation, and his understanding of the complex interpersonal dynamics involved in psychological test interpretation. The author also discusses his use of Schafer's writing in his own teaching and academic work, noting that Schafer's contributions have not only provided innovative methods for examining test data, but have also promoted a respectful, humanistic, and individualized approach to the patient in testing and treatment. The author asserts that Schafer's later seminal contributions to psychoanalysis had their origins in his early career as a psychologist applying psychoanalytic ideas to testing.

Ultrasound is used for breast cancer detection as a technique complementary to mammography, the standard screening method. Current practice is based on reflectivity images obtained with conventional instruments by an operator who positions the ultrasonic transducer by hand over the patient’s body. It is a non-ionizing radiation, pain-free and not expensive technique that provides a higher contrast than mammography to discriminate among fluid-filled cysts and solid masses, especially for dense breast tissue. However, results are quite dependent on the operator’s skills, images are difficult to reproduce, and state-of-the-art instruments have a limited resolution and contrast to show micro-calcifications and to discriminate between lesions and the surrounding tissue. In spite of their advantages, these factors have precluded the use of ultrasound for screening. This work approaches the ultrasound-based early detection of breast cancer with a different concept. A ring array with many elements to cover 360◦ around a hanging breast allows obtaining repeatable and operator-independent coronal slice images. Such an arrangement is well suited for multi-modal imaging that includes reflectivity, compounded, tomography, and phase coherence images for increased specificity in breast cancer detection. Preliminary work carried out with a mechanical emulation of the ring array and a standard breast phantom shows a high resolution and contrast, with an artifact-free capability provided by phase coherence processing.

This work presents an innovative ultrasound technique designed to detect and quantify flats formed in the rolling surface of railway wheels. Differently from other approaches, ultrasonic pulses (Rayleigh waves) are sent over a measuring rail. The variations in the round-trip time of flight (RTOF) of the ultrasound pulse to the rail-wheel contact point allow detecting and quantifying the wheel-flats. In spite of the wear state of the irregularity, the method provides the loss of material and the length of the flat originally formed by abrasion. A theoretical background supports the technique which offers many advantages for railway maintenance. Simulations and experimental results match the expected ones.

Ultrasound detection and evaluation of flaws in materials showing structural noise (austenitic steels, titanium alloys, composites, etc.) is difficult because of the low flaw-to-grain noise ratio. Much research has been performed looking for methods to improve flaw detection in grained materials. Many approaches require a cumbersome tuning process to select the correct parameter values or to use iterative techniques. In this work, the technique of phase coherence imaging is proposed to improve the flaw-to-grain noise ratio. The technique weights the output of a conventional beamformer with a coherence factor obtained from the aperture data phase dispersion. It can be simply implemented in real-time and it operates automatically, without needing any parameter adjustment. This paper presents the theoretical basis of phase coherence imaging to reduce grain noise, as well as experimental results that confirm the expected performance.

A special NDE system built into a low-cost FPGA has been developed for detecting railway wheelflats. The system operates with the train moving at low-speed over a measuring rail. Ultrasonic surface wave pulses are sent at regular intervals and echoes are acquired and processed by the system. The variations in the round trip time-of-flight (RTOF) of the ultrasonic pulse allow to detect and quantify the flats size. The logic design optimizes the storage capabilities by keeping only the rail-wheel contact echo and its environment. For this purpose, a wheel tracking algorithm has been implemented. It allows reducing the data volume by controlling the delay time from pulse emission to the acquisition window following the running wheel. Furthermore, since signals are masked by the rail structural noise, they are processed before executing the tracking algorithm. This work presents the architecture and performance of the developed system with experimental data.

This work presents a strict timing-coherent digital signal processing architecture. The fundamental requirement is that programmable events can be produced within predictable time intervals with tight accuracies (timing errors

This work addresses three key subjects to the image quality with phased arrays: timing accuracy, beamforming strategy and post-processing for increased resolution and suppression of grating and side lobes. Timing accuracy is achieved by defining a modular and scalable architecture which guarantees low timing errors, whatever is the system size. The proposed beamforming methodology follows the progressive focusing correction technique, which keeps low focusing errors, provides a high information density and has a simple implementation for real-time imaging in modular architectures. Then, phase coherence imaging is defined to suppress grating and sidelobe indications, simultaneously increasing the lateral resolution.

This work addresses three key subjects to the image quality with phased arrays: timing accuracy, beamforming strategy and post-processing for increased resolution and suppression of grating and side lobes. Timing accuracy is achieved by defining a modular and scalable architecture which guarantees timing errors of a few tens of picoseconds, whatever is the system size. The proposed beamforming methodology follows the progressive focusing correction technique, which keeps low focusing errors, provides a high information density and has a simple implementation for real-time imaging. Then, phase coherence imaging is defined to suppress grating and sidelobe indications and increasing the lateral resolution.

A new inspection system for railway wheels using the Doppler Effect is presented in this work. The proposed system analyses the rail-wheel contact by frequency and phase shifts. Cracks on the wheel tread are determined while the train moves at a low speed. A special rail is used to propagate monochromatic surface waves. When a wheel on the measuring rail moves at constant speed, the received signal will present a regular frequency shift related with the movement speed. The difference between the emitted and the received frequencies will change if any defect on the wheel tread is detected.

A simple input protection circuit for ultrasound pulse-echo applications is described. Its performance is analyzed with regard to other widely used arrangements. Besides the primary function of showing high impedance during the transducer excitation time and a low impedance path to the amplifier in reception, issues of harmonic distortion, insertion losses, bandwidth, power dissipation, transient response, and noise are addressed. It is shown that the proposed circuit has many advantages, operating without any control signals or bias voltages. It is small and can be considered a good general-purpose protection circuit alternative.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T17:06:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2016-10-15 Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) The present study evaluated the influence of different regimens of estradiol benzoate (EB) treatments followed by a single dose of long-acting progesterone (LA P4) on plasma estrogen and P4 concentrations in noncyclic mares prepared as embryo recipients. Twenty-one anestrous mares were distributed into three groups (n = 7 mares per group), according to the EB dose received (single dose of 2.5 mg, total of 5 mg in decreasing doses, and total of 10 mg in decreasing doses), which was followed by a single administration of 1500 mg of LA P4 in all groups. Mares were reevaluated during the ovulatory phase and seven of them became part of the cyclic nontreated control group. Ultrasonography was performed to monitor endometrial edema, and blood samples were collected to measure estradiol (E2), estrogen conjugate (EC), and P4 by RIA. Maximum uterine edema was achieved 24 hours after administration of EB in all treated groups. Maximum E2 concentrations were observed 24 hours after the first EB injection in treated groups and there were no differences (P > 0.05) among treatments. Maximum EC concentration was observed 24 hours after the single EB injection in the 2.5-mg group, whereas in the 5- and 10-mg groups EC peaks were observed 48 hours after the first EB administration. Maximum P4 concentrations were detected 24 hours after LA P4 injection, although higher P4 concentrations were observed in the group treated with 2.5 mg of EB than in that treated with 10 mg of EB (P < 0.05). Because P4 concentrations were reduced after administration of high doses of EB, we also measured 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OH-P) to test the hypothesis that high concentrations of EB would accelerate the conversion of P4 to 17-OH-P. However, 17-OH-P concentrations paralleled P4 profile in all groups, irrespective of EB doses. In summary, the three EB treatment regimens induced similar E2 peaks, although the observation of EC peaks 24 hours after E2 peaks in the 5- and 10-mg groups indicate that an excess of E2 was given, which was converted into EC to be inactivated. Administration of 10 mg of EB reduced P4 concentrations 24 hours after LA P4 was given. We demonstrated that the mechanism by which this reduction occurred was not by an increase in P4 metabolism to 17 alpha-OH-P. In conclusion, the use of 2.5 mg of EB followed by 1500 mg of LA P4 appears to be a more appropriate regimen to treat noncyclic mares, although additional studies are needed to verify embryo survival with this treatment dose. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Univ Estadual Paulista, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Anim Reprod & Vet Radiol, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Calif Davis, Dept Anim Sci, Davis, CA 95616 USA Univ Estadual Paulista, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Vet Hyg & Publ Hlth, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Vet Clin Sci, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Anim Reprod & Vet Radiol, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Vet Hyg & Publ Hlth, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Vet Clin Sci, Botucatu, SP, Brazil FAPESP: 2014/08207-6

We propose two regularizations techniques for a bent-ray (BR) tracing algorithm to reconstruct the speed of sound maps of breast tissues in an Ultrasound Computed Tomography (USCT) system. When high frequencies are employed, the use of BR is a good approximation to describe the propagation of the front of the pressure wave. The quantitative accuracy of the images reconstructed with the BR algorithm was evaluated without any kind of regularization, and with two regularization methods. The regularizations were based on some available a priori information, namely the known higher and lower values of the speed of sound expected in the breast tissues, and the maps of the internal structures obtained from the standard reflection ultrasound (US) imaging. The use of the proposed regularizations in the implemented algorithm improves the convergence and quality of the resulting images, although further improvements are still possible. These methods will help obtaining quantitative US images in a reasonable amount of time, expanding the possibilities and applications of this technique.

A hardware architecture for fast imaging (multi-beamforming) with auto-focusing capabilities is presented. Auto-focusing is carried out without the knowledge of probe-part geometry, which is obtained by ultrasound measurements. The proposed technique and hardware achieves a high throughput that allows autofocus in real-time (for instance, in part scanning applications). The paper yields some figures of performance and other preliminary results.

Harold Searles’s (1955) brilliant, groundbreaking paper “The Informational Value of the Supervisor’s Emotional Experiences” is stunning to reread 50 years later. What we take for granted in the 21s...

This paper proposes a novel passive focusing system for Air-Coupled Ultrasonic (ACU) piezoelectric transducers which is inspired by the Newtonian-Cassegrain (NC) telescope concept. It consist of a primary spherical mirror with an output hole and a flat secondary mirror, normal to the propagation axis, that is the transducer surface itself. The device is modeled and acoustic field is calculated showing a collimated beam with a symmetrical focus. A prototype according to this design is built and tested with an ACU piezoelectric transducer with center frequency at 400 kHz, high-sensitivity, wideband and 25 mm diameter flat aperture. The acoustic field is measured and compared with calculations. The presented prototype exhibit a 1.5 mm focus width and a collimated beam up to 15 mm off the output hole. In addition, the performance of this novel design is compared, both theoretically and experimentally, with two techniques used before for electrostatic transducers: the Fresnel Zone Plate - FZP and the off-axis parabolic or spherical mirror. The proposed NC arrangement has a coaxial design, which eases the transducers positioning and use in many applications, and is less bulky than off-axis mirrors. Unlike in off-axis mirrors, it is now possible to use a spherical primary mirror with minimum aberrations. FZP provides a more compact solution and is easy to build, but presents some background noise due to interference of waves diffracted at out of focus regions. By contrast, off-axis parabolic mirrors provide a well defined focus and are free from background noise, although they are bulky and more difficult to build. Spherical mirrors are more easily built, but this yields a non symmetric beam and a poorly defined focus.

In this fascinating, thought-provoking paper, Perry, Sigal, Boucher, and Pare use case-based data from a long–term follow–up of orphans raised under conditions of gruesome abuse and deprivation to answer important questions on the effects of institutional care on later development. Their narrowly defined question is, “How influential are the child’s innate strengths, traumas and other adverse experiences, and the adults who intervene during childhood as precursors to the chapters of late adulthood.” Through anecdotal report on past experience and data obtained by rating follow–up interviews for current functioning, the authors make the case that the expected interaction between environment and heredity can be seen in the outcome data of the cases reviewed. They found that individuals with more than four childhood strengths fared better than those without such characteristics. They probably correctly assume that these strengths represent temperamental/genetically determined characteristics. Another expected finding was that for those individuals with the fewest childhood strengths, level of experienced trauma was a good predictor of (negative) outcome. There were two surprising findings. The first is that some of the subjects without appreciable childhood strengths and with significant trauma nevertheless had important positive adult experiences when they “found a supportive partner or spouse.” The second is that “childhood attachments had little direct effect on adult functioning.” The authors conclude with the hope that their findings will inform caregivers of orphaned and abandoned children. In my reading of these empirically informed case studies, their principal value will not be to educate those who care for orphaned and abandoned children. These outcome data are not needed to recognize that the abusive and depriving, neglectful and destructive aspects of humankind need to be civilized for the good of those who are most vulnerable. From a psychodynamic perspective, answers to such questions were essentially resolved fifty years ago with the pioneering work of Spitz (1945), Bowlby (1960), Provence and Ritvo (1961), and others. They found that infants fail to thrive under conditions that do not nurture their psychological needs, even when biological needs are met by Psychiatry 69(4) Winter 2006 302

Purpose To assess whether eligibility to an adjuvant chemotherapy protocol in itself represents a good prognostic factor after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Patients and Methods Between April 1984 and May 1989, our institution entered 35 patients with invasive bladder cancer into the Swiss Group for Clinical and Epidemiological Cancer Research (SAKK) study 09/84. They were randomly assigned to either observation or three postoperative courses of cisplatin monotherapy after cystectomy. This study had a negative result. The outcome of these 35 patients (protocol group) was compared with an age- and tumor-stage–matched cohort (matched group; n = 35) who also underwent cystectomy during the same period, but were not entered into the SAKK study, as well as the remaining 57 patients treated during the study period for the same indication (remaining group). Results Median overall survival decreased from 76.3 months in the protocol group to 52.1 months in the matched group and to 20.3 months in the remaining group. The respective times of median recurrence-free survival were 67.2, 16.0, and 9.4 months. Tumor progression occurred in 46% of the protocol group compared with 69% in the matched group and 65% in the remaining group (P < .05). Cancer-related death was noted in 40% of the protocol group, 57% in the matched group, and 56% in the remaining group. Conclusion These data suggest that being willing and fit enough for a chemotherapy protocol is a good prognostic factor for invasive bladder cancer. This eligibility bias emphasizes the need for prospective, randomized trials, and indicates that single-group studies using historical or matched controls have to be interpreted with caution.

Penelope Hollander’s first-person account of the outcome of sexual trauma provides an important opportunity to view how a sophisticated writer with knowledge of psychoanalytic theory can understand the experience of sexual abuse. As discussants of this work, first we thank Ms. Hollander for her willingness to allow the scientific community access to her experience, her reflections, and her scholarly ideas about her experience. We are privileged to have the opportunity to join with Ms. Hollander in thinking about the many complications that arise when a parental role is perverted and the child is used inappropriately as “the wife of the father and the best friend to mother.” While Ms. Hollander is painfully familiar with the many negative effects of her experience, including vomiting, migraines, and adolescent acting out and underachievement, this paper is about how the experience affected her capacity for attachment. In particular, she explores the difficulty distinguishing subjectively between a real and a fictionalized attachment. She is aware of what she calls the paradoxical response to the trauma in which she has developed a fierce desire for attachment and implied, strong erotic heterosexual passions. The intensification of the erotic wish fulfillment, which she believes was a sequala of the father-daughter incest, leads to a dissociative experience in which the pain associated with the memory of the original traumatic relationship is defended against through the reconstruction of another relationship, presumably derived from the conflicts associated with the original. She has interesting ideas about how relationships with adult women can be reparative for a woman who has suffered from the trauma of an overstimulating father and a dependent mother as they provide new experiences of relating and allow for the reworking of some elements of the trauma. We will take two of the many different aspects of the paper that could serve as the basis for a commentary. The first is related to the author’s central question of how her experience of the sexual abuse generated a powerful erotic striving and at the same time “crippled” her relationships with men. From our point our view, an aspect of the traumatic experience remained operative in sexual relationships that could not be transformed into mature functioning of adult sexuality and object relations. In adding our ideas to Ms. HolPsychiatry 67(3) Fall 2004 239

Summary Background Conventional treatment of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) causes morbidity and/or disfigurement in some patients because of the location (e.g. mid-face) and size of the lesion. Objectives Following reports that such difficult-to-treat BCC lesions have been treated successfully with topical methyl aminolaevulinate (MAL) photodynamic therapy (PDT), a multicentre study was performed to determine the response of such BCC to MAL-PDT. Methods An open, uncontrolled, prospective, multicentre study was conducted comprising patients with superficial and/or nodular BCC who were at risk of complications, poor cosmetic outcome, disfigurement and/or recurrence using conventional therapy. Patients were given one or two cycles within 3 months of topical MAL-PDT, each consisting of two treatments 1 week apart. Tumour response was assessed clinically at 3 months after the last PDT, with histological confirmation of all lesions in clinical remission. The cosmetic outcome was rated. Patients with a BCC in remission will be followed up for 5 years for recurrence, of which the 24-month follow-up is reported here. Ninety-four patients with 123 lesions were enrolled and treated with MAL-PDT at nine European primary care and referral university hospitals. An independent blinded study review board (SRB) retrospectively excluded nine patients and a total of 15 lesions from the efficacy analysis, for not having a difficult-to-treat BCC according to the protocol. Results The lesion remission rate at 3 months was 92% (45 of 49) for superficial BCC, 87% (45 of 52) for nodular BCC, and 57% (four of seven) for mixed BCC, as assessed by clinical examination, and 85% (40 of 47), 75% (38 of 51), and 43% (three of seven), respectively, as assessed by histological examination and verified by the SRB. At 24 months after treatment, the overall lesion recurrence rate was 18% (12 of 66). The cosmetic outcome was graded as excellent or good by the investigators in 76% of the cases after 3 months follow-up, rising to 85% at 12 months follow-up, and 94% at 24 months follow-up. Conclusions Topical MAL-PDT is effective in treating BCC at risk of complications and poor cosmetic outcome using conventional therapy. MAL-PDT preserves the skin and shows favourable cosmetic results.

RNA sequences required for assembly into rod-shaped virions of RNA-1 and RNA-2 of Peanut clump virus (PCV) were mapped by testing the ability of different RNA-1 and -2 deletion mutants to be encapsidated in vivo in an RNase-resistant form. Encapsidation of RNA-1 was found to require a sequence domain in the 5'-proximal part of the P15 gene, the 3'-proximal gene of RNA-1. On the other hand, the subgenomic RNA which encodes P15 was not encapsidated, suggesting that other features of RNA-1 are important as well. Two sequences which could drive encapsidation of RNA-2 deletion mutants were located. One was in the 5'-proximal coat protein gene and the other in the P14 gene near the RNA 3' terminus. There were no obvious sequence homologies between the different assembly initiation sequences.

To define the molecular mechanisms underlying the intestinal adaptive response after partial small bowel resection, we previously identified a cohort of genes regulated in the remnant adaptive ileum. One is PC4/TIS7, an immediate early gene preferentially up-regulated during the first 48 hours after resection. To further the mechanisms that regulate gut adaptation, we sought to identify upstream regulators of PC4/TIS7 expression.PC4/TIS7 expression in adaptive versus transection control mouse gut was examined at 48 hours after 50% intestinal resection, and its cellular localization was determined by immunohistochemistry. The effects of intestinotrophic peptides and growth factors on PC4/TIS7 expression were examined in vitro in the crypt epithelial cell line IEC 18 and in vivo in the mouse.PC4/TIS7 was expressed in the cytoplasm of IEC 18 cells and in adaptive mouse ileal crypt and villus enterocytes. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) increased PC4/TIS7 mRNA levels in postconfluent, quiescent IEC 18 cells, but insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and nerve growth factor (NGF) had no effect. A stable derivative of glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2), r(gly2)GLP-2, was most potent in increasing PC4/TIS7 expression; however, stimulation of proliferation and differentiation were not observed. To determine the effect of GLP-2 on PC4/TIS7 expression in vivo, r(gly2)GLP-2 was administered intraperitoneally to mice. PC4/TIS7 mRNA expression was increased in small bowel in response to GLP-2 compared with vehicle control.These results suggest that PC4/TIS7 plays a role in intracellular signaling in the intestinal epithelium during the adaptive response, possibly as a common downstream effector for several intestinotrophic growth factors.

10 páginas, 10 figuras, 1 tabla., Breast cancer screening is based on X-ray mammography, while ultrasound is considered a comple- mentary technique with improved detection in dense tissue. However, breast cancer screening requires a technique that provides repeatable results at the inspection interval which cannot be achieved with manual breast exploration. During the last years there have appeared several approaches to overcome this limitation by means of automated ultrasonic tomography performed with motorized probes or with a large set of array trans- ducers. This work addresses these problems by considering a quite simple and low-cost arrangement, formed with a ring of conventional medical-grade array probes which are multiplexed to the electronics to build Full Angle Spatially Compounded (FASC) images. The work analyzes the performance of such arrange- ment in terms of resolution and isotropy, showing by numerical modelling and experimentally that it provides high resolution and homogeneity in the whole imaged region. The implementation of this technique would provide more than one circular FASC per second and a whole breast volume image in 1–2 minutes with conventional technology, a process fast enough to be clinically useful. Moreover, the automated technique is repeatable and can be used by the clinician to perform immediately the diagnosis without requiring additional data processing, This work has been supported by the project DPI2013-42236-R founded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the project S2013/MIT-3024 funded by the Madrid Community and the EU