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A casual reading of the SPE/WPC (World Petroleum Congresses) Petroleum Reserves Definitions (1997) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) definitions (1978) would suggest very little, if any, difference in the quantities of proved hydrocarbon reserves estimated under those two classification systems. The differences in many circumstances for both volumetric and performance-based estimates may be small. In 1999, the SEC began to increase its review process, seeking greater understanding and compliance with its oil and gas reserves reporting requirements. The agency's definitions had been promulgated in 1978 in connection with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 and at a time when most publicly owned oil and gas companies and their reserves were located in the United States. Oil and gas prices were relatively stable, and virtually all natural gas was marketed through long-term contracts at fixed or determinable prices. Development drilling was subject to well-spacing regulations as established through field rules set by state agencies. Reservoir-evaluation technology has advanced far beyond that used in 1978; production-sharing contracts were uncommon then, and probabilistic reserves assessment was not widely recognized or appreciated in the U.S. These changes in industry practice plus many other considerations have created problems in adapting the 1978 vintage definitions to the technical and commercial realities of the 21st century. This paper presents several real-world examples of how the SEC engineering staff has updated its approach to reserves assessment as well as numerous remaining unresolved areas of concern. These remaining issues are important, can lead to significant differences in reported quantities and values, and may result in questions about the "full disclosure" obligations to the SEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first report of coinfection by Mycobacterium thermoresistible and Mycobacterium fortuitum and only the fifth case of human infection by M. thermoresistible reported in the world literature.

Spindle cell hemangioendothelioma (SCH) is a rare vascular neoplasm characterized by cavernous spaces, thrombi, phleboliths, and spindle cells. The lesions may arise at sites of vascular injury. We describe a 38-year-old man with multiple subcutaneous and penile SCHs. Patients with SCH should be screened for Maffucci's syndrome.

The structure-activity relationships of some tetracyclic heterocycles related to Brequinar were explored. Activities as inhibitors of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase and the mixed lymphocyte reaction are related to ring system, heteroatom placement, and pendant ring substitution.

A 24-year-old man presented to a dermatology clinic complaining of a "smelly" rash on his feet. The rash had developed during a period of intense training for a 20-km forced road march. He reported that the rash was asymptomatic, but that the odor was embarrassing at times.

A residential gardener complained of immediate stinging when a "fuzzy tan caterpillar" fell across his fingers. He presented with painful hemorrhagic papules on the dorsal aspect of his right hand. Lepidopterism from contact with Megalopyge opercularis is described.

The pharmacologic effects of intrathecal sufentanil (ITS) beyond what is clinically administered (10 microg) are not known. We observed 18 healthy, young, adult female volunteers who received 12.5, 25, or 50 microg of ITS in a randomized, double-blind fashion for 11 h. Analgesia was assessed by pressure algometry at the tibia. Respiratory function was assessed by pulse oximetry, respiratory rate, arterial blood gas, the ventilatory response to CO2, and a respiratory intervention score (RIS). The incidence and severity of side effects also were documented. Serum sufentanil levels were measured for 4 h after ITS administration. We found that ITS produced statistically significant changes in algometry, doubling the pressure required to produce moderate pain. However, doses of ITS greater than 12.5 microg failed to produce proportionate increases in the duration or intensity of analgesia. All doses of ITS produced significant respiratory depression, but only the RIS was significantly related to ITS dose. Neither respiratory rate nor sedation reliably predicted hypoxemia. Supplemental oxygen by nasal cannula consistently prevented pulse oximeter readings below 90%. Serum sufentanil concentrations were related to ITS dose in a statistically significant manner, reached clinically significant concentrations, and followed a time course similar to analgesia and measures of respiratory depression. However, there was no significant increase in measured analgesia associated with the increases in serum sufentanil concentrations. We conclude that in our volunteer model of lower extremity pain, administering ITS in doses larger than 12.5 microg does not improve the speed of onset, magnitude, or duration of analgesia and only causes dose-related increases in serum sufentanil concentrations, which may augment respiratory depression.

Aims: To describe differences between general practice prescribed and dispensed medications in terms of patient characteristics and category of drug., Methods: Computerised prescribing records and prescriptions presented to pharmacies were retrospectively reviewed. All prescriptions generated from the computers of 13 practices over a 12 week period in 1992 were compared with prescriptions dispensed. Data from the two sources were matched and unmatched items were analysed to determine whether patient demography or category of drug prescribed influenced the rate of prescription dispensing. The nine most commonly prescribed drug categories were examined in detail., Results: A total of 49 756 items were prescribed to 19 299 people and 43 302 (87.0%) of these were dispensed. Antibiotics were the most commonly prescribed category of the drug accounting for 17.6% of nondispensed items. There was no significant difference by gender in the proportion of people (9.8%) failing to claim prescribed items, nor in the number of items (13.0%) prescribed but not dispensed. Differences in dispensing rates by community services card (CSC) status of patients were statistically significant for both numbers of people failing to uplift their medications and for numbers of items not dispensed (p<0.001). There were also significant differences by high user health card (HUH) eligibility (p<0.005) and age (p<0.001)., Conclusions: There is a high rate of nondispensing of medicines prescribed in general practice. Patients eligible for government subsidies are more likely than other patients to have their prescriptions filled. Current pharmaceutical subsidies may be inadequately targeted. There are no gender differences, while increasing age is associated with lower nondispensing rates. General practitioners need to be aware of these factors when making prescribing decisions.