Report of the proceedings of the ... biennial Convention of the International Fur Workers Union of the United States & Canada.

Mode of access: Internet.

Connectionist-based rules describing the pass-through of individual goods prices into trend inflation in the United States

This paper demonstrates a mechanism whereby rules can be extracted from a feedforward neural network trained to characterize the inflation "pass-through" problem in American monetary policy, defined as the relationship between changes in the growth rate(s) of individual commodities and the economy-wide rate of growth of consumer prices. Monthly price data are encoded and used to train a group of candidate connectionist architectures. One candidate is selected for rule extraction, using a custom decompositional extraction algorithm that generates rules in human-readable and machine-executable form. Rule and network accuracy are compared, and comments are made on the relationships expressed within the discovered rules. The types of discovered relationships could be used to guide monetary policy decisions.

Overweight duration in older adults and cancer risk: a study of cohorts in Europe and the United States

Recent studies have shown that cancer risk related to overweight and obesity is mediated by time and might be better approximated by using life years lived with excess weight. In this study we aimed to assess the impact of overweight duration and intensity in older adults on the risk of developing different forms of cancer. Study participants from seven European and one US cohort study with two or more weight assessments during follow-up were included (n = 329,576). Trajectories of body mass index (BMI) across ages were estimated using a quadratic growth model; overweight duration (BMI ≥ 25) and cumulative weighted overweight years were calculated. In multivariate Cox models and random effects analyses, a longer duration of overweight was significantly associated with the incidence of obesity-related cancer [overall hazard ratio (HR) per 10-year increment: 1.36; 95 % CI 1.12-1.60], but also increased the risk of postmenopausal breast and colorectal cancer. Additionally accounting for the degree of overweight further increased the risk of obesity-related cancer. Risks associated with a longer overweight duration were higher in men than in women and were attenuated by smoking. For postmenopausal breast cancer, increased risks were confined to women who never used hormone therapy. Overall, 8.4 % of all obesity-related cancers could be attributed to overweight at any age. These findings provide further insights into the role of overweight duration in the etiology of cancer and indicate that weight control is relevant at all ages. This knowledge is vital for the development of effective and targeted cancer prevention strategies.

Coal Seam Gas Water from Maramarua, New Zealand: Characterisation and Comparison to United States Analogues

Groundwater from Maramarua has been identified as coal seam gas (CSG) water by studying its composition, and comparing it against the geochemical signature from other CSG basins. CSG is natural gas that has been produced through thermogenic and biogenic processes in underground coal seams; CSG extraction requires the abstraction of significant amounts of CSG water. To date, no international literature has described coal seam gas water in New Zealand, however recent CSG exploration work has resulted in CSG water quality data from a coal seam in Maramarua, New Zealand. Water quality from this site closely follows the geochemical signature associated with United States CSG waters, and this has helped to characterise the type of water being abstracted. CSG water from this part of Maramarua has low calcium, magnesium, and sulphate concentrations but high sodium (334 mg/l), chloride (146 mg/l) and bicarbonate (435 mg/l) concentrations. In addition, this water has high pH (7.8) and alkalinity (360 mg/l as CaCO3), which is a direct consequence of carbonate dissolution and biogenic processes. Different analyte ratios ('source-rock deduction' method) have helped to identify the different formation processes responsible in shaping Maramarua CSG water

How terrorist campaigns end : The Rode Jeugd in the Netherlands and the Symbionese Liberation Army in the United States

This study explores the decline of terrorism by conducting source-based case studies on two left-wing terrorist campaigns in the 1970s, those of the Rode Jeugd in the Netherlands and the Symbionese Liberation Army in the United States. The purpose of the case studies is to bring more light into the interplay of different external and internal factors in the development of terrorist campaigns. This is done by presenting the history of the two chosen campaigns as narratives from the participants’ points of view, based on interviews with participants and extensive archival material. Organizational resources and dynamics clearly influenced the course of the two campaigns, but in different ways. This divergence derives at least partly from dissimilarities in organizational design and the incentive structure. Comparison of even these two cases shows that organizations using terrorism as a strategy can differ significantly, even when they share ideological orientation, are of the same size and operate in the same time period. Theories on the dynamics of terrorist campaigns would benefit from being more sensitive to this. The study also highlights that the demise of a terrorist organization does not necessarily lead to the decline of the terrorist campaign. Therefore, research should look at the development of terrorist activity beyond the lifespan of a single organization. The collective ideological beliefs and goals functioned primarily as a sustaining force, a lens through which the participants interpreted all developments. On the other hand, it appears that the role of ideology should not be overstated. Namely, not all participants in the campaigns under study fully internalized the radical ideology. Rather, their participation was mainly based on their friendship with other participants. Instead of ideology per se, it is more instructive to look at how those involved described their organization, themselves and their role in the revolutionary struggle. In both cases under study, the choice of the terrorist strategy was not merely a result of a cost-benefit calculation, but an important part of the participants’ self-image. Indeed, the way the groups portrayed themselves corresponded closely with the forms of action that they got involved in. Countermeasures and the lack of support were major reasons for the decline of the campaigns. However, what is noteworthy is that the countermeasures would not have had the same kind of impact had it not been for certain weaknesses of the groups themselves. Moreover, besides the direct impact the countermeasures had on the campaign, equally important was how they affected the attitudes of the larger left-wing community and the public in general. In this context, both the attitudes towards the terrorist campaign and the authorities were relevant to the outcome of the campaigns.

Gait and behavior in an IL1β-mediated model of rat knee arthritis and effects of an IL1 antagonist.

Interleukin-1 beta (IL1β) is a proinflammatory cytokine that mediates arthritic pathologies. Our objectives were to evaluate pain and limb dysfunction resulting from IL1β over-expression in the rat knee and to investigate the ability of local IL1 receptor antagonist (IL1Ra) delivery to reverse-associated pathology. IL1β over-expression was induced in the right knees of 30 Wistar rats via intra-articular injection of rat fibroblasts retrovirally infected with human IL1β cDNA. A subset of animals received a 30 µl intra-articular injection of saline or human IL1Ra on day 1 after cell delivery (0.65 µg/µl hIL1Ra, n = 7 per group). Joint swelling, gait, and sensitivity were investigated over 1 week. On day 8, animals were sacrificed and joints were collected for histological evaluation. Joint inflammation and elevated levels of endogenous IL1β were observed in knees receiving IL1β-infected fibroblasts. Asymmetric gaits favoring the affected limb and heightened mechanical sensitivity (allodynia) reflected a unilateral pathology. Histopathology revealed cartilage loss on the femoral groove and condyle of affected joints. Intra-articular IL1Ra injection failed to restore gait and sensitivity to preoperative levels and did not reduce cartilage degeneration observed in histopathology. Joint swelling and degeneration subsequent to IL1β over-expression is associated limb hypersensitivity and gait compensation. Intra-articular IL1Ra delivery did not result in marked improvement for this model; this may be driven by rapid clearance of administered IL1Ra from the joint space. These results motivate work to further investigate the behavioral consequences of monoarticular arthritis and sustained release drug delivery strategies for the joint space.

Host determinants of HIV-1 control in African Americans.

We performed a whole-genome association study of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) set point among a cohort of African Americans (n = 515), and an intronic single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the HLA-B gene showed one of the strongest associations. We use a subset of patients to demonstrate that this SNP reflects the effect of the HLA-B*5703 allele, which shows a genome-wide statistically significant association with viral load set point (P = 5.6 x 10(-10)). These analyses therefore confirm a member of the HLA-B*57 group of alleles as the most important common variant that influences viral load variation in African Americans, which is consistent with what has been observed for individuals of European ancestry, among whom the most important common variant is HLA-B*5701.

Heats of formation of some hydrates /|nA. Phillipson. -- 260 St. Catharines, Ont. : [s. n.],

A great deal of data on the heats of formation of various hydrates has been compiled i n the J.A.N.A.F. and other tables such as the National Bureau of Standards circulars. Comparison of the heat of f ormation of a hydrate with that of the corresponding anhydrate exposes anomalies i n a surprising number of cases. Some of the results are so discordant that i t is apparent that one or the other value is seriously mistaken. No attempt has been made i n this work to determine which value may be correct, but measurements have been made of the difference between these two values. The procedure adopted has been to dissolve the hydrate and the anhydrate, to achieve the same final concentration of the compound in solution, and so to measure the difference in heats of solution .. Measurements were made at OOC in a modified Bunsen ice calorimeter, well insulated and surrounded by an icewater mixture . The observed differences in heats of solut ion were corrected t o 25°0 by using appropriate heat capacity data. These differences offer a direct measure of the enthalpy involved in binding a mole of water into the crystal structure and so should shed light on the nature of binding involved. The following hydrates were studied : MgS04.nH20 (n = 1,4,7), MnC12.nH20 (n = 1, 2), LiI. nH20 (n = 1,3), MnS04. nH20 (n = 1,4), CaC12. nH20 (n = 2,6) , K2C03.1~H20, LiCl.H20, LiBr.2H20, CdC12.2t H2o, and N2H4eH20.

Factores que influyen en la actividad de trasplantes en Colombia año 2013. Desde la perspectiva de pacientes renales y de expertos en trasplante de riñón, hígado y corazón

Antecedentes: Se encuentran datos oficiales sobre trasplante de órganos en Colombia desde 2005 del Instituto Nacional de Salud y desde 2008 para riñón por la Cuenta de Alto Costo. Los datos no ofrecen explicación del número de inscritos en lista de espera para trasplante renal, al comparar con otros países: Colombia 4,68% vs. Argentina 27,58% o Estados Unidos 21,73%. Por otra parte no existen datos acerca de factores que influyen en el seguimiento pos-trasplante y no se tienen de sobrevida del receptor y del injerto. Metodología: Investigación de metodología mixta cuantitativa y cualitativa a partir de la información disponible en los informes oficiales y teniendo como fuente primaria pacientes y expertos en el cuidado de paciente antes y después del trasplante. Resultados: Los factores para acceder o no a lista de espera y seguimiento más mencionados son sistema de salud, aspectos éticos en cuanto remisión y autorización. Emerge como categoría la necesidad de un sistema de vigilancia en trasplantes. En la parte cuantitativa se trasplantan más personas si viven en una ciudad con grupo de trasplante 17,6 vs. 8,05%, si pertenecen al régimen contributivo O.R 3,37 p<0,00001, si no tienen diabetes O.R 3,22 p<0,0001 ni hipertensión arterial O.R 2,42 p<0,0001. No se encontró diferencia en cuanto a género O.R 1,01 p 0,57. Conclusiones: Se proponen ajustes al sistema de salud, de la normatividad, de la educación de la promoción de la donación y trasplante en todos los niveles del público y del personal de salud.

Use of FIA systems for on-line dilution in multielement determination by ICP-MS

A flow-injection (FI) system to match concentrations was used as an auto-diluter in multielement determination by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The flow system comprised loop-based injection or a timed valve that introduced a variable sample volume info a spray chamber through a standard Meinhard nebulizer of an ICP-MS. Routinely analyzed samples such as water, plant, and steel were selected. The accuracy of multielement determination was checked against water standard reference material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (1643d), plant standard reference material from the National Bureau of Standards (1572 citrus leaves), and steel standard reference material from the National Bureau of Standards (AISI 4340). The measuring system was calibrated with a multielement solution, yielding a linear plot with good precision [relative standard deviation (RSD) < 3%, n = 12]. The results were in agreement at a 95% confidence level with the certified values for the reference materials and also with those obtained by continuous aspiration and by (FI) with a discrete volume. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Photon-induced multiple particle emissions of Zr90 and natZr from 10 to 140 MeV

A comprehensive analysis of electrodisintegration yields of protons on Zr90 is proposed taking into account the giant dipole resonance, isovector giant quadrupole resonance (IVGQR), and quasideuteron contributions to the total photoabsorption cross section from 10 to 140 MeV. The calculation applies the MCMC intranuclear cascade to address the direct and pre-equilibrium emissions and another Monte Carlo-based algorithm to describe the evaporation step. The final results of the total photoabsorption cross section for Zr90 and relevant decay channels are obtained by fitting the (e,p) measurements from the National Bureau of Standards and show that multiple proton emissions dominate the photonuclear reactions at higher energies. These results provide a consistent explanation for the exotic and steady increase of the (e,p) yield and also a strong evidence of a IVGQR with a strength parameter compatible with the E2 energy-weighted sum rule. The inclusive photoneutron cross sections for Zr90 and natZr, derived from these results and normalized with the (e,p) data, are in agreement within 10% with both Livermore and Saclay data up to 140 MeV. © 2007 The American Physical Society.

Surface properties and color stability of an acrylic resin combined with an antimicrobial polymer

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effects of short-term immersion and brushing with different denture cleansers on the roughness, hardness, and color of two types of acrylic resin

Purpose: To investigate the cumulative effects of brushing (B) or immersion (I), using different cleansing agents, on the surface roughness, hardness and color stability of a heat-polymerized denture resin, Lucitone 550 (L), and a hard chairside reline resin, Tokuyama Rebase Fast II (T). Methods: A total of 316 specimens (10 x 2 mm) were fabricated. The specimens (n= 9) were divided into brushing or immersion groups according to the following agents: dentifrice/distilled water (D), 1% sodium hypochlorite (Na0C1), Corega Tabs (Pb), 1% chlorhexidine gluconate (Chx), and 0.2% peracetic acid (Ac). Brushing and immersion were tested independently. Assays were performed after 1, 3, 21, 45 and 90 blushing cycles or immersion of 10 seconds each. Data were evaluated statistically by repeated measures ANOVA. Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) post-hoc test was used to determine differences between means (a= 0.05). Results: For L there was no statistically significant difference in roughness, except a significant decrease in roughness by brushing with D. T showed a significant effect on the roughness after 90 immersions with Ac. Hardness values decreased for L when specimens were immersed or brushed in Na0C1 and Pb. The hardness of T decreased with increases in the repetitions (immersion or brushing), regardless of the cleaning method. Values of color stability for L resin showed significant color change after brushing with and immersion in Ac and Pb. Brushing with D exhibited a higher incidence of color change. For T there were no significant differences between cleaning agents and repetitions in immersion. A color change was noted after three brushings with the Ac, Chx, and D. Brushing with dentifrice decreased roughness of L. Immersion in or brushing with Na0C1 and Pb decreased the hardness of L. For T, hardness decreased with increases in immersions or brushing. Color changes after the immersion in or brushing with cleaning agents were clinically acceptable according to National Bureau of Standards parameters for both resins.