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Rock mass characterization plays an essential role in rock engineering activities. Presently several approaches for digitally measuring rock mass discontinuities are available. This study summarizes some of the main technological approaches, together with comparative quantitative evaluations of discontinuity measurements. For the steeply inclined Engelswand outcrop in Tyrol, Austria, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was used to acquire a series of photographic images in order to generate a true color georeferenced point cloud and derivative 3D models. Discontinuity orientations were measured by manual, assisted and automated digital approaches. Orientations of individual discontinuity planes and the statistics of the overall discontinuity structure were evaluated. The manual and assisted measurement methods provide compatible results and are considered highly relevant in the context of rock engineering. While automated measurement methods are able to provide an overall indication of the dominating discontinuity pattern, discrimination of individual discontinuity sets is not feasible. While this is a major limiting factor in terms of extracting useful data for rock engineering practice, a dual digital measurement approach is considered prudent when large data sets are being evaluated. This involves conducting rapid automated measurements to obtain an overall representation of the rock mass structure, followed by supplementary manual or assisted measurements to more precisely extract pertinent structural data.

La valeur en sante, consistant a produire de meilleurs resultats tout en maitrisant les couts, necessite d’etablir des mesures normees des resultats, prenant en compte ce qui importe aux patients. Le but etait de construire ce type de questionnaire pour le parcours de soins des patients atteint d’un cancer du pancreas. Methodologie Un groupe de travail multidisciplinaire (GTM), associant des patients a fait une revue systematique des resultats utilises dans les essais cliniques a partir de clinicaltrials.gov., et a selectionne les plus pertinents. Un comite international multidisciplinaire associant des patients a valide par methode Delphi le questionnaire. Resultats 570 etudes cliniques ont ete selectionnees et 3370 parametres ont ete repertories (cliniques = CROM, et de qualite de vie = PROM). De janvier 2018 a juin 2018, parmi ces parametres, le GTM a propose une liste de 102 parametres (92 CROM et 10 PROM) au comite international. Un ensemble de 78 variables a ete retenu apres les 4 etapes du vote Delphi pour constituer le questionnaire final incluant des PROM par l’utilisation de « Fact-Hep ». Conclusions Pour la premiere fois, un questionnaire standardise concernant le cancer du pancreas, axes sur le patient, a ete mis etabli, permettant desormais son deploiement.

Caffeine is the most commonly used substance to enhance athletic performance; however, the ideal dosage of caffeine to improve long anaerobic exercise is unknown. The purpose of this study was to i...

(2008). Myths and Truths from Exercise Physiology. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol. 79, No. 8, pp. 23-25.

Salmonella typhimurium synthesizes cobalamin (vitamin B12) de novo under anaerobic conditions. Of the 30 cobalamin synthetic genes, 25 are clustered in one operon, cob, and are arranged in three groups, each group encoding enzymes for a biochemically distinct portion of the biosynthetic pathway. We have determined the DNA sequence for the promoter region and the proximal 17.1 kb of the cob operon. This sequence includes 20 translationally coupled genes that encode the enzymes involved in parts I and III of the cobalamin biosynthetic pathway. A comparison of these genes with the cobalamin synthetic genes from Pseudomonas denitrificans allows assignment of likely functions to 12 of the 20 sequenced Salmonella genes. Three additional Salmonella genes encode proteins likely to be involved in the transport of cobalt, a component of vitamin B12. However, not all Salmonella and Pseudomonas cobalamin synthetic genes have apparent homologs in the other species. These differences suggest that the cobalamin biosynthetic pathways differ between the two organisms. The evolution of these genes and their chromosomal positions is discussed.

BACKGROUND Blood pressure and total peripheral resistance increase with age. However, the effect of age on vasodilatory capacity has not been characterized. METHODS AND RESULTS To delineate the effects of aging, gender, and physical training on peripheral vascular function, we measured blood pressure during submaximal and maximal treadmill exercise and measured blood pressure, calf blood flow, and calf conductance (blood flow/mean blood pressure) at rest and during maximal hyperemia in 58 healthy sedentary subjects (men aged 25 +/- 5 and 65 +/- 3 years and women aged 27 +/- 5 and 65 +/- 4 years) and in 52 endurance exercise-trained subjects (men aged 30 +/- 3 and 65 +/- 4 years and women aged 27 +/- 3 and 65 +/- 3 years). Systolic and mean blood pressures were higher at rest, during maximal calf hyperemia, and during submaximal exercise of the same intensity in the older than in the younger subjects of the same gender and exercise training status (p less than 0.01). The magnitude of the age-related effect on blood pressure during exercise was greater in women than in men (p less than 0.01). Diastolic blood pressure during submaximal exercise was also higher in the older than in the younger subjects (p less than 0.05) but not in women treated with estrogen replacement. In contrast, systolic and mean blood pressures during submaximal work were lower in physically conditioned subjects than in sedentary age- and gender-matched subjects (p less than 0.05) but not in older women. Increased age was associated with reduced maximal calf conductance in women (p less than 0.01) but not in men. However, calf vasodilatory capacity was higher in trained than in untrained subjects (p less than 0.01), regardless of age and gender. There was a significant inverse relation between maximal calf conductance and systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressures during submaximal exercise (r = -0.31 to -0.53, p less than 0.01) and a direct relation between maximal calf conductance and maximal oxygen uptake (r = 0.66, p less than 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Thus, for healthy subjects between the ages of 25 and 65 years, there is an interactive effect between age and gender and an independent effect of physical training on peripheral vascular function.

The continuously growing rodent incisor develops mainly along its antero-posterior axis. The labio-lingual asymmetry which characterizes this tooth is initiated at the cap stage and increases further during the cap to bell transition (ED14 to ED16) when histogenesis of the enamel organ proceeds. Histology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and immunostaining were used to document the changes in the basement membrane (BM) as well as the modifications of epithelial cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions during this period. The expression of plakoglobin, desmoglein and E-cadherin at ED14 suggested that the main cell-cell junctional complexes were adherens junctions. The expression of desmoglein and TEM observations suggested a progressive antero-posterior stabilization of the enamel organ by means of desmosomes from ED14 to ED18. alpha6 integrin, BP 230 and laminin gamma2 chain were all expressed in the developing incisor but were not always co-distributed. Immunostaining and TEM suggested that only primitive type II hemidesmosomes were present. At ED14, cells of the enamel knot (EK) did not show any specific expression for antigens involved in cell-cell interaction. However, strong staining for the laminin gamma2 chain characterized the BM in contact with EK cells. The BM in the labial part of the cervical loop demonstrated ultrastructural changes: the presence of loops of the lamina densa in this region preceeded the differential expression of the integrin alpha6 subunit and that of the laminin gamma2 chain in the labial/lingual parts of the cervical loop. Apoptosis was transiently observed in the contiguous mesenchyme. This affected osteoblasts and also nerve cells close to the labial part of the cervical loop.

Phagosomes are key organelles for the innate ability of macrophages to participate in tissue remodeling, clear apoptotic cells, and restrict the spread of intracellular pathogens. To understand the functions of phagosomes, we initiated the systematic identification of their proteins. Using a proteomic approach, we identified >140 proteins associated with latex bead–containing phagosomes. Among these were hydrolases, proton pump ATPase subunits, and proteins of the fusion machinery, validating our approach. A series of unexpected proteins not previously described along the endocytic/phagocytic pathways were also identified, including the apoptotic proteins galectin3, Alix, and TRAIL, the anti-apoptotic protein 14-3-3, the lipid raft-enriched flotillin-1, the anti-microbial molecule lactadherin, and the small GTPase rab14. In addition, 24 spots from which the peptide masses could not be matched to entries in any database potentially represent new phagosomal proteins. The elaboration of a two-dimensional gel database of >160 identified spots allowed us to analyze how phagosome composition is modulated during phagolysosome biogenesis. Remarkably, during this process, hydrolases are not delivered in bulk to phagosomes, but are instead acquired sequentially. The systematic characterization of phagosome proteins provided new insights into phagosome functions and the protein or groups of proteins involved in and regulating these functions.

The enamel knot (EK), located in the center of cap-stage tooth germs, is a transitory cluster of non-dividing epithelial cells, eventually linked to the outer dental epithelium by the enamel septum (ES). It might act as a signaling center providing positional information for tooth morphogenesis and could regulate the growth of tooth cusps through the induction of secondary signaling EKs. The EK undergoes apoptosis, which could constitute a mechanism whereby the signaling functions of this structure are terminated. Recently, we demonstrated the segregation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) negative inner dental epithelial (IDE) cells of the EK into as many individual groups of cells as cusps will form and suggested a morphogenetic role for these particular IDE cells. Using Z-VAD-fmk, a specific caspase inhibitor, apoptosis in the primary EK of first mouse lower cap-staged molars and lower incisors cultured in vitro was abrogated. No obvious histological alterations were observed in the incisors, whereas a prominent EK and an ES connecting the outer dental epithelium (ODE) and the BrdU negative IDE cells capping cusp L2 were observed in the molars. EK specific transcription (Shh, Msx-2, Bmp-2, Bmp-4) was down-regulated in the body of these structures with the exception of the associated IDE cells. In these experimental conditions, segregation of non-dividing transcriptionally active IDE cells occurred and a normal cusp pattern was expressed.

The development of the lower incisor in the mouse was investigated from histological sections using computer-aided 3D reconstructions. At ED 13.0, the incisor was still at the bud stage. At ED 13.5, the initial cap was delimited by a short cervical loop, the development of which proceeded on the labial side, but was largely retarded on the medial side. This difference was maintained up to ED 15.0. From ED 16.0, the bell stage was achieved. Metaphases had a ubiquitous distribution both in the enamel organ and in the dental papilla from the bud to early bell stage. Apoptosis gradually increased in the mesenchyme posteriorly to the labial cervical loop from ED 13.5 to 14.0 and then disappeared; this apoptosis was not related to the posterior growth of the incisor. From ED 13.5, a high apoptotic activity was observed in the stalk. A focal area of apoptosis was observed at ED 13.5 in the enamel organ, approaching the epithelio-mesenchymal junction at the future tip of the incisor. There, the inner dental epithelium formed a bulbous protrusion towards dental papilla, reminiscent of the secondary enamel knot of mouse molars. This epithelial protrusion was still maintained at the bell stage. The enamel knot in the incisor demonstrated specific features, different from those characterizing the enamel knot in the molar: the concentric arrangement of epithelial cells was much less prominent and the occurrence of apoptosis was very transitory in the incisor at ED 13.5. The disappearance of the enamel knot despite a low apoptotic activity and the maintenance of the protrusion suggested a histological reorganization specific for rodent incisor.

More and more children with special health care needs are living at home, making it crucial that their families and providers are prepared for possible medical emergencies. Parents, physicians, and emergency medical services personnel need to team up and take a number of steps to ensure a child's continued health.

We demonstrate that TFA deprotection of trityl-protected N-terminal asparagine is incomplete under normal conditions, resulting in low yields or impure products. This phenomenon does not occur if the asparagine is internal, nor for trityl-protected N-terminal glutamine. Studies on the deprotection of H Asn(Trt)OH show that the incomplete deprotection is due to the extremely slow removal of a trityl group close to an amino group. The use of the new methyl-trityl protecting group overcomes this problem resulting in rapid and complete deprotection.

A THOUGH Aeschylus' and Euripides' tragedies of Philoctetes are no longer extant, enough of them, especially of the latter, 1--X-is known from fragments and from two essays by Dio of Prusa' to afford a comparison and contrast with Sophocles' Philoctetes. Such a comparison brings to view two opposed conceptions of arete and ranges the poets on opposite sides of the enduring question of human conduct. It shows the greater depth of understanding possessed by Sophocles and with what sort of premises he exercises that dramatic art by which he is recognized to be one of the poets most surely touched with universality. Sophocles' play is the latest of the three2 and in externals owes something to each of his predecessors and particularly to Euripides. The fact that we can estimate this debt and draw comparisons we owe to our ability to interpret the fragments of the lost plays in the light of Dio's essays. But Dio's information is incomplete; he assumed in his reader a knowledge of the text of the plays. How could he have dreamed that his modest essays would outlive two of the three classics he was criticizing? The details of plot that he mentions are incidental to his main interest in character and style. Thus mere information about the plays is deficient; what is worse, it is uneven, at least in the case of Aeschylus and Euripides-where it matters most. We are told much more about their beginnings than about their endings and are left groping as to how they turn out. And, finally, Dio has confused two methods of procedure. Though he treats the plays in chronological order, he tries also to contrast their virtues and defects by anticipating the discussion of Euripides' play in his discussion of Aeschylus'. In this way he sometimes obscures the sequence of events followed by either author.

This pilot project describes a method using data from the clinical setting to assist nurse educators in the selection of technical nursing skills to teach for competency within the basic nursing program. Based on Dr. Dorothy del Bueno's proposal that skills taught should be those which are most frequently performed and considered most important in the community where new graduates are employed, five registered nurses in 16 metropolitan hospitals were asked to rate 154 technical nursing skills for frequency and importance. Findings for medical-surgical, intensive care, obstetric and pediatric areas, as well as for all groups combined, are described as skills ranking from 1) most frequent to least frequent, 2) most important to least important, and 3) most important/most frequent to least important/least frequent. Examination of skills placement within the rankings assisted faculty within an associate degree program to decide which skills to select and which to eliminate from the program.

Thirty-four patients seen over a 10-year period with internal pancreatic fistulas are reported. In 22 patients the fistula was into the peritoneal cavity and they presented with pancreatic ascits. In 7 patients the fistula tracked up through the mediastinum into a pleural cavity, and they presented with pancreatic pleural effusions. Five patients presented with both pancreatic ascites and pancreatic pleural effusions. Diagnosis was made by finding a markedly elevated amylase and protein content in the ascitic and pleural fluids. Serum amylase was usually, but not always, elevated. Over one half of the patients had no history of inflammatory pancreatic disease. Initial treatment was non-operative using nasogastric suction, diamox, atropine, and multiple paracenteses or thoracenteses. This was successful in 48% (12/25). If non-operative therapy failed, surgery was performed to drain or resect the internal fistula. Surgery was successful in 82% (14/17). The internal pancreatic fistula was successfully demontrated in most instances by preoperative, operative, or postmortem pancreatography, or by gross observation at the time of surgery.

Relationships between cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions and enamel organ histomorphogenesis were examined by immunostaining and electron microscopy. During the cap-bell transition in the mouse molar, laminin-5 (LN5) disappeared from the basement membrane (BM) associated with the inner dental epithelium (IDE), and nondividing IDE cells from the enamel knot (EK) underwent a tooth-specific segregation in as many subpopulations as cusps develop. In the incisor, the basement membrane (BM) in contact with EK cells showed strong staining for LN5 and integrin alpha 6 beta 4. LN5 seems to provide stable adhesion, while its proteolytic processing might facilitate cell segregation. In both teeth, immunostaining for antigens associated with desmosomes or adherens junctions was similar for EK cells and neighboring IDE cells. Outside the EK, IDE cell-BM interactions changed locally during the initial molar cusp delimitation and on the labial part of the incisor cervical loop. Conversely, cell-cell junctions stabilized the anterior part of the incisor during completion of morphogenesis. Time and space regulation of cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions might thus play complementary roles in allowing plasticity during tooth morphogenesis and stabilization at later stages of epithelial histogenesis.