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Kinds of Traces Selected AbstractsLEARNING PRECONDITIONS FOR PLANNING FROM PLAN TRACES AND HTN STRUCTURECOMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Issue 4 2005Okhtay Ilghami A great challenge in developing planning systems for practical applications is the difficulty of acquiring the domain information needed to guide such systems. This paper describes a way to learn some of that knowledge. More specifically, the following points are discussed. (1) We introduce a theoretical basis for formally defining algorithms that learn preconditions for Hierarchical Task Network (HTN) methods. (2) We describe Candidate Elimination Method Learner (CaMeL), a supervised, eager, and incremental learning process for preconditions of HTN methods. We state and prove theorems about CaMeL's soundness, completeness, and convergence properties. (3) We present empirical results about CaMeL's convergence under various conditions. Among other things, CaMeL converges the fastest on the preconditions of the HTN methods that are needed the most often. Thus CaMeL's output can be useful even before it has fully converged. [source] MYTHOLOGY AND TRACES OF RITUALSACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA, Issue 1 2009Article first published online: 5 JUL 2010 First page of article [source] The earliest evidence of host,parasite interactions in vertebratesACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 2009evics, ns Luk Abstract Traces of parasite action have been discovered in the Middle,Upper Devonian fish from Estonia, Latvia and European Russia. Such traces are known in heterostracan Psammolepis venyukovi, antiarchs Asterolepis radiata and Bothriolepis ciecere, sarcopterygians Holoptychius sp., Ventalepis ketleriensis and Eusthenodon sp. nov. The traces include evidence of parasitic fixation and penetration as well as dwelling traces. Pathologies are developed as (1) round fossulae on the external surface of bones and scales; (2) oval fossulae with a slight elevation in the centre of the pit; (3) hollow swellings (possible galls); (4) openings (perforations) that have been repaired to various degrees; (5) variously shaped buttresses on the visceral surface of sarcopterygian scales; and (6) porous spongy formations on the non-overlapped surface of sarcopterygian scales. The round fossulae in sarcopterygian, placoderm and psammosteid skeletal elements could be produced by parasites that are similar to copepod crustaceans. Gall formation in Asterolepis is most likely to be caused by a larva, possibly of a trematode. The perforations of scales (and dermal bones) might arise from the attacks of ectoparasites (copepods?) or different worms. The spongy formations on the Holoptychius scales could be the result of invasion of a unicellular parasite. [source] Field mapping and digital elevation modelling of submerged and unsubmerged hydraulic jump regions in a bedrock step,pool channelEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 6 2006Brett L. Vallé Abstract High-resolution tacheometric field surveying was integrated with computer-assisted drafting to visualize and contrast three-dimensional bed and water surface digital elevation models (DEMs) for submerged and unsubmerged hydraulic jump regions in a bedrock step,pool channel. Measurements were conducted for two discharge conditions. Since previous applica-tions of three-dimensional field mapping and digital elevation modelling of stream channels have been limited to smoothly contiguous gravel-bedded systems, surveying was optimized by topographic setting and scaled to localized bed and water surface discontinuities. Traces and visualizations of the jump regions indicated that dichotomous decimetre shifts in water surface topography occurred for both jump regions from lower to higher discharges. Systematic removal of the survey points and DEM differencing indicated that point densities of ten points per square metre, in conjunction with a survey structure targeting grade breaks of 0·3,0·5 m, were required to capture decimetre form variations of the natural jump regions. The DEMs highlight the importance of recognizing the relationship between transcritical flow structures and localized topographic heterogeneities in bedrock channels. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Analysis and Speciation of Traces of Arsenic in Environmental, Food and Industrial Samples by Voltammetry: a ReviewELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 9 2004Andrea Cavicchioli Abstract Voltammetric approaches for the determination of arsenic and speciation at trace levels are critically appraised in a review covering the literature from 1970 to 2002. Special attention is devoted to stripping modes and to issues related to the choice of working material and supporting electrolyte. A section is dedicated to the management of real samples and aspects of sample preparation. An extensive compilation, organized by real sample type, gathers essential experimental conditions. Potentiometric stripping analysis is introduced for sake of comparison. The coupling of voltammetric detection or preaccumulation with FIA, chromatography, capillary electrophoresis and ICP techniques is also addressed. [source] Determination of Ytterbium Traces by Cathodic Stripping VoltammetryELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 1 2003Marina Mlakar Abstract The method of ytterbium(III) trace concentration in the presence of 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) and polyethyleneglycol (PEG) in ammonium chloride is described. The adsorption was performed at the HMDE at ,1.0,V using linear scan voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry. The relationship between properties of the SW response of the mixed ligand complex and parameters of a charge transfer were analyzed using theoretical data of SW redox processes. [source] Lebensspuren holzzerstörender Organismen an fossilen Hölzern aus dem Tertiär der Insel Lesbos, GriechenlandFOSSIL RECORD-MITTEILUNGEN AUS DEM MUSEUM FUER NATURKUNDE, Issue 1 2001Herbert Süss Abstract Lebensspuren (Schadbilder) holzzerstörender Organismen an fossilen Holzresten aus dem Untermiozän von Lesbos (Griechenland) werden beschrieben. Von pflanzlichen Holzzerstörern konnten Bakterien, imperfekte Pilze, Weiß- und Braunfäulepilze und in das Holz eingewachsene Wurzeln nachgewiesen werden. Von tierischen Holzzerstörern wurden Termitenfraß, durch Pflanzensauger (Homopteren) verursachtes Wundgewebe, Larvenfraß der Kambium-Minierfliege Palaeophytobia (Agromyzidae, Diptera) und Fraßgänge mit Koprolithen verschiedener Käferarten (Anobiiden?) und Milben (Acari) gefunden. Außerdem werden durch Kristallisationsvorgänge im Holz verursachte kugelförmige Gebilde beschrieben. Traces of wood destroying organisms on fossil wood from the Lower Miocene of Lesbos (Greece) are described. Among nonanimal wood destroyers evidence is presented of bacteria, Fungi imperfecti, whiterot and brownrot fungus and penetrating roots. Animal wood destroyers include termite feeding traces, wound tissues produced by plant suckers (Homoptera), larval feeding traces of the cambium miner Palaeophytobia (Agromyzidae, Diptera) and feeding channels, with coprolites, of several beetle species (Anobiidae?) and Mites (Acari). In addition globe-like structures produced in the wood through crystallization processes are described. [source] Synthesis of Monosaccharide-Derived Spirocyclic Cyclopropylamines and Their Evaluation as Glycosidase InhibitorsHELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA, Issue 9 2003Christian Blüchel The glucose-, mannose-, and galactose-derived spirocyclic cyclopropylammonium chlorides 1a,1d, 2a,2d and 3a,3d were prepared as potential glycosidase inhibitors. Cyclopropanation of the diazirine 5 with ethyl acrylate led in 71% yield to a 4,:,5,:,1,:,20 mixture of the ethyl cyclopropanecarboxylates 7a,7d, while the Cu-catalysed cycloaddition of ethyl diazoacetate to the exo -glycal 6 afforded 7a,7d (6,:,2,:,5,:,3) in 93,98% yield (Scheme,1). Saponification, Curtius degradation, and subsequent addition of BnOH or t- BuOH led in 60,80% overall yield to the Z- or Boc-carbamates 11a,11d and 12a,12d, respectively. Hydrogenolysis of 11a,11d afforded 1a,1d, while 12a,12d was debenzylated to 13a,13d prior to acidic cleavage of the N -Boc group. The manno - and galacto -isomers 2a,2d and 3a,3d, respectively, were similarly obtained in comparable yields (Schemes,2 and 4). Also prepared were the differentially protected manno- configured esters 24a,24d; they are intermediates for the synthesis of analogous N -acetylglucosamine-derived cyclopropanes (Scheme,3). The cyclopropylammonium chlorides 1a,1d, 2a,2d and 3a,3d are very weak inhibitors of several glycosidases (Tables,1 and 2). Traces of Pd compounds, however, generated upon catalytic debenzylation, proved to be strong inhibitors. PdCl is, indeed, a reversible, micromolar inhibitor for the ,- glucosidases from C. saccharolyticum and sweet almonds (non-competitive), the , -galactosidases from bovine liver and from E. coli (both non-competitive), the , -galactosidase from Aspergillus niger (competitive), and an irreversible inhibitor of the , -glucosidase from yeast and the , -galactosidase from coffee beans. The cyclopropylamines derived from 1a,1d or 3a,3d significantly enhance the inhibition of the ,- glucosidase from C. saccharolyticum by PdCl, lowering the Ki value from 40,,M (PdCl) to 0.5,,M for a 1,:,1 mixture of PdCl and 1d. A similar effect is shown by cyclopropylamine, but not by several other amines. [source] Traces of Roman Offshore Navigation on Skerki Bank (Strait of Sicily)INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Christian Weitemeyer For a long time historians have been discussing to what extent offshore routes were used in the ancient Mediterranean. In 20 years of almost annual expeditions we found Roman remains dating from different centuries around Keith Reef on Skerki Bank in the Strait of Sicily. These finds include material from several sunken ships as well as many single lead anchor-stocks. We conclude from our finds that a sizeable part of the traffic between Carthage and Rome followed a direct course across the sea. © 2009 The Authors [source] Traces of the FlâneuseJOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006From Roman Holiday to Lost In Translation This article critically considers the trope of the nineteenth-century flâneur/flâneuse as found in two films: Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953) and Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003). Both films construct a traditional narrative from the adventures of a single female protagonist as she negotiates urban space. In tracing the references to the flâneur/the flanuese as found in these two films, one can begin to map a certain trajectory of contemporary gender relations in respect to urban space from the post,World War II era to the present, as well as to understand the context in which the "city" itself is seen as a site for such transformations. [source] Inventing Mastery: Patriarchal Precedents and the Legal Status of Indigenous People in AustraliaJOURNAL OF HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2000Pavla Miller The paper discusses some aspects of Aboriginal legal status in Australia from the perspective of survival, transformation and reinvention of early modern legal codifications of household mastery. Traces of masters' and husbands' entitlement to the labour of servants, children and wives, as well as their magistracy over household dependents, not only survive in today's laws and social relations; at times, they have been reinvented in a process which reversed the presumed movement from contract to status. The original dispossession of Australia's Indigenous peoples by British settlers set the stage for a particularly destructive instance of such process. Its legacy continues to shape contemporary struggles for Aboriginal rights. [source] GC-MS analysis of organic compounds in wastewater and sewage sludgeJOURNAL OF SEPARATION SCIENCE, JSS, Issue 1 2008Axel Patrick Ligon Abstract A multimethod based on liquid,liquid extraction and solid,liquid extraction for the analysis of persistent organic pollutants in water and sludge from sewage treatment plants has been established. Traces of 22 organic compounds used in industry and personal care products (PCPs) were analyzed by GC/MS. The LODs for the analytes were less than 2.3 ng/L for wastewater and 31 ,g/kg (dry weight matter) for sewage sludge. Satisfactory recoveries (70,130%) were achieved. The validated method permits the analysis of water and sludge samples at various stages of the treatment from different sewage treatment plants. Thus, the distribution between water and sludge as well as the dissipation of the compounds analyzed were balanced. By this means, the efficiency of different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be evaluated and measures can be taken to optimize the treatment process at different stages. [source] Long-term post-fire changes in the northeastern boreal forest of QuebecJOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 6 2000Louis De Grandpré Abstract. Natural dynamics in the boreal forest is influenced by disturbances. Fire recurrence affects community development and landscape diversity. Forest development was studied in the northeastern boreal forest of Quebec. The objective was to describe succession following fire and to assess the factors related to the changes in forest composition and structure. The study area is located in northeastern Quebec, 50 km north of Baie-Comeau. We used the forest inventory data gathered by the Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec (MRNQ). In circular plots of 400 m2, the diameter at breast height (DBH) of all stems of tree species greater than 10 cm was recorded and in 40 m2 subplots, stems smaller than 10 cm were measured. A total of 380 plots were sampled in an area of 6000 km2. The fire history reconstruction was done based on historical maps, old aerial photographs and field sampling. A time-since-fire class, a deposit type, slope, slope aspect and altitude were attributed to each plot. Each plot was also described according to species richness and size structure characteristics. Traces of recent disturbance were also recorded in each plot. Changes in forest composition were described using ordination analyses (NMDS and CCA) and correlated with the explanatory variables. Two successional pathways were observed in the area and characterized by the early dominance of intolerant hardwood species or Picea mariana. With time elapsed since the last fire, composition converged towards either Picea mariana, Abies balsamea or a mixture of both species and the size structure of the coniferous dominated stands got more irregular. The environmental conditions varied between stands and explained part of the variability in composition. Their effect tended to decrease with increasing time elapsed since fire, as canopy composition was getting more similar. Gaps may be important to control forest dynamics in old successional communities. [source] Traces of Sobolev functions with one square integrable directional derivativeMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 2 2006M. Gregoratti Abstract We consider the Sobolev spaces of square integrable functions v, from ,n or from one of its hyperquadrants Q, into a complex separable Hilbert space, with square integrable sum of derivatives ,,,,v. In these spaces we define closed trace operators on the boundaries ,Q and on the hyperplanes {r,, = z}, z , ,\{0}, which turn out to be possibly unbounded with respect to the usual L2 -norm for the image. Therefore, we also introduce bigger trace spaces with weaker norms which allow to get bounded trace operators, and, even if these traces are not L2, we prove an integration by parts formula on each hyperquadrant Q. Then we discuss surjectivity of our trace operators and we establish the relation between the regularity properties of a function on ,n and the regularity properties of its restrictions to the hyperquadrants Q. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Mozart Among the TheologiansMODERN THEOLOGY, Issue 4 2000David J. Gouwens The essay compares and contrasts the philosophical, theological, and aesthetic approaches to Mozart in the writings of Søren Kierkegaard's aesthete A (Either/Or, I), Karl Barth (primarily Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), and Hans Küng (Mozart: Traces of Transcendence). Whereas Kierkegaard's A outlines a non-religious ,daemonic Mozart', Barth and Küng depict two contrasting theological understandings of Mozart's music. Barth's Mozart reflects a Reformed aesthetic, with Mozart as a ,parable' of gospel, whereas Küng's Mozart reflects a Roman Catholic ,sacramental' vision of music and religious faith. The essay explores how these different visions of Mozart are shaped by both their theological and aesthetic commitments. [source] RESEARCH ARTICLES: Traces of a Lost Language and Number System Discovered on the North Coast of PeruAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 3 2010Jeffrey Quilter ABSTRACT, Sometime in the early 17th century, at Magdalena de Cao, a community of resettled native peoples in the Chicama Valley on the North Coast of Peru, a Spaniard used the back of a letter to jot down the terms for numbers in a local language. Four hundred years later, the authors of this article were able to recover and study this piece of paper. We present information on this otherwise unknown language, on numeracy, and on cultural relations of ethnolinguistic groups in pre- and early-post-Conquest northern Peru. Our investigations have determined that, while several of the Magadalena number terms were likely borrowed from a Quechuan language, the remainder record a decimal number system in an otherwise unknown language. Historical sources of the region mention at least two potential candidate languages, Pescadora and Quingnam; however, because neither is documented beyond its name, a definite connection remains impossible to establish. RESUMEN, En los inicios del siglo diecisiete, en el sitio de Magdalena de Cao, una comunidad de indígenas reducidos en el valle de Chicama en la costa norte del Perú, un español usó el reverso de una carta para anotar las palabras que traducían números en un idioma local. Cuatrocientos años después, la carta fue recuperada y estudiada por los autores de este artículo. Presentamos información acerca de este idioma desconocido, tanto como sobre los conceptos numéricos, y sobre las relaciones culturales de grupos etnolinguísticos en la costa norte del Perú antes y después de la conquista español. Nuestras investigaciones habían determinado que, mientras algunas de las palabras numéricas son probablemente prestadas de un idioma quechua, los demás vienen de un sistema numérico decimal de un idioma hasta ahora desconocido. Las fuentes históricas en la región mencionan al menos dos idiomas como candidatos potenciales, o sea Pescadora y Quingnam, pero como no sabemos sino esos dos nombres, es imposible identificar a que idiomas pertenecieron. [source] Of Clues and Signs: The Dead Body and Its Evidential TracesAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 1 2009Zoe¨ Crossland ABSTRACT Taking the conflict over the remains of Ned Kelly as a starting point, in this article I trace the various conceptions of the, body as evidence within the intertwined histories of anthropology, criminology, and medicine to explore how anthropological practice brings the dead into being through exhumation and analysis. I outline the popular rhetorical tropes within which evidentiary claims are situated, exploring how the agency of people after death is understood within the framework of present-day forensic anthropological practice and how this is underwritten by a particular heritage of anatomical analysis. [Keywords: archaeology, forensic anthropology, materiality, semiotics of the body] [source] Traces of the secondary Geography curriculumNEW ZEALAND GEOGRAPHER, Issue 2 2005Lex Chalmers Abstract:, Expressions of dissatisfaction about the post-compulsory Geography curriculum in the early 1970s were unusually concerted, leading to the creation of a National Geography Curriculum Committee. This essay reviews this history and the resulting Syllabus for Schools: Geography Forms 5,7 as a prelude to a discussion of contemporary curriculum development. The essay argues that curriculum development from 1975 and the ,education reforms' of the late 1980s failed to produce conditions in which satisfactory outcomes for a Geography curriculum can be assured in 2005, and that a new and concerted period of participation in curriculum discussion is required. Some goals for this process are outlined in the final section of the paper. [source] Solitude and the Restlessness of the Immemorial: Levinasian Traces in the Discourse of Patrick ModianoORBIS LITERARUM, Issue 4 2004Karen D. Levy Emmanuel Levinas contested Western ontology's insistence on the importance of individual autonomy and systematized knowledge, developing a new description of how identity and intersubjectivity are constructed. In the early De l'existence à l'existant and Le Temps et l'autre, he explains how the effort of existing is assumed, creating a sense of mastery but also of solitude, for the ego and the self are tied to one another, but it is not until Totalité et Infini that he elaborates on the ethical encounter with the face as discourse. In his last major work Autrement qu'être ou au-delà de l'essence, he focuses on the consequences of this epiphany for the subject, and relates this to the trace, a special kind of sign that focuses not so much on the relationship between sign and referent as on the irreversible passing of those who left them. The paired texts of Patrick Modiano's Voyage de noces and Dora Bruder most strikingly inscribe the simultaneous self-absorption and tedium of existing, but also depict how traces from the immemorial shatter the subject's autonomy. Modiano is haunted by the missing person ad's description of a runaway girl who disappeared in December 1941, was interned in Drancy the following summer and then deported to Auschwitz. He first wrote Voyage de noces to exorcise the spell the ad cast upon him, was eventually compelled to respond directly to the summons by composing Dora Bruder. Modiano tries to retrieve fragments of the adolescent Dora's past and rescue her from oblivion, but his efforts prove largely futile, for there is no memory to retrieve. His insistence on Dora's decision to remain in Drancy with her father makes it possible for him to forgive his own father's failings and acknowledge his admiration both for him and all those who defied Occupation hypocrisy. Lastly, Modiano's text calls upon us as readers to become the guardians of the pleas that French authorities ignored and thereby accept the summons of the immemorial ourselves. [source] Traces, Codes, and Clues: Reading Race in Crime Fiction.THE JOURNAL OF POPULAR CULTURE, Issue 4 2006Maureen T. Reddy No abstract is available for this article. [source] A comparative geochemical study of bituminous boat remains from H3, As-Sabiyah (Kuwait), and RJ-2, Ra's al-Jinz (Oman)ARABIAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND EPIGRAPHY, Issue 1 2005Jacques Connan This paper presents a geochemical analysis of fragments of bituminous amalgam from H3, As-Sabiyah (Kuwait), and RJ-2, Ra's al-Jinz (Oman). The fragments bear barnacles on one side and reed impressions on the other, and are thought to have been part of the coating of reed-bundle boats. The material from H3 dates to between 5300,4900 BC, while that of RJ-2 dates to 2500,2100 BC. Samples from both sites were geochemically compared to archaeological and ethnographic material from Kosak Shamali (northern Syria, c.5000,4400 BC), RH-5 (Oman, 4400,3500 BC) and Baghdad (central Iraq, 1900 AD). The composition of the bituminous amalgams was studied in detail. Rock-Eval Pyrolysis gave a measure of Total Organic Carbon in the samples, and allowed an initial comparison of the data sets using various parameters. Examination of the proportions of soluble and insoluble organic matter allowed an assessment of the quantity of vegetal matter added to the bitumen to make the bituminous amalgam. The composition of the Ra's al-Jinz material was studied using X-Ray Diffraction analysis and thin-section petrography, in order to assess the proportions of various minerals in the bituminous amalgams. It was concluded that the recipe for the bituminous mixture used to coat reed-bundle and wooden boats did not differ significantly from that commonly used to make ,mortar' for architectural purposes in Mesopotamia. Traces of animal fats or fish oils were not found in the analysed Ra's al-Jinz material, in contrast to previous hypotheses regarding the composition of the mixture. Comparison of the gross composition of extractable organic matter (the constituents of pure bitumen, soluble in chloroform or dichloromethane) showed the progressive effects of weathering on the samples. The isotopic composition of the bituminous material from H3 and the other sites was then compared to that of bitumen seeps and crude oils from Mesopotamia, Iran and Oman. The most significant result is that the material from As-Sabiyah originated in Kuwait, at a surface seep at Burgan, while the material from Ra's al-Jinz had a source in northern Mesopotamia. [source] DNA AND PROTEIN RECOVERY FROM WASHED EXPERIMENTAL STONE TOOLS,ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 4 2004O. C. SHANKS Traces of protein and DNA are preserved on stone tools used to process animals. Previous research documents the identification of protein residues from tools sonicated in 5% ammonium hydroxide, but it remains untested whether the same treatment yields useable DNA. In this study we report both DNA and protein recovery using 5% ammonium hydroxide from residues on stone tools. We extracted 13-year-old residues from experimentally manufactured stone tools used to butcher a single animal. We also show that surface washing procedures typically used to curate stone tools remove only a small fraction of the DNA and protein deposited during animal butchery. [source] Kinematics and metallicity analysis for nearby F, G and K starsASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 1 2009S. Vidojevi Abstract A sample containing 1 026 stars of spectral types F, G, and K, mainly dwarfs, from the solar neighbourhood with available space velocities and metallicities is treated. The treatment comprises a statistical analysis of the metallicity and velocity data and calculation of galactocentric orbits. Sample stars identified as members of the galactic halo are detached from the rest of the sample based on the values of their metallicities, velocity components and galactocentric orbits. In identifying halo stars a new, kinematical, criterion is proposed. Except one, these halo stars are the metal-poorest ones in the sample. Besides, they have very high velocities with respect to LSR. On the other hand, the separation between the thin disc and thick one is done statistically based on LSR space velocities, membership probability (Schwarzschild distribution with assumed parameters) and galactocentric orbits. In the metallicity these two groups are not much different. For each of the three subsamples the mean motion and velocity ellipsoid are calculated. The elements of the velocity ellipsoids agree well with the values found in the literature, especially for the thin disc. The fractions of the subsystems found for the present sample are: thin disc 93%, thick disc 6%, halo 1%. The sample stars established to be members of the thin disc are examined for existence of star streams. Traces of both, known and unknown, star streams are not found (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Review of the first 1502 cases of ECG-ST waveform analysis during labour in a teaching hospitalBJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 10 2007V Doria Objective, To assess the impact of introduction of the STAN monitoring system. Study design, Prospective observational study. Setting, Tertiary referral labour ward, St George's Hospital, London. Population, High-risk term pregnancies. Methods, We report all consecutive cases of intrapartum monitoring using the STAN S 21 fetal heart monitor. Cases with adverse neonatal outcome were evaluated in relation to the ST waveform analysis and cardiotocography (CTG). Main outcome measures, Cord artery metabolic acidosis, neonatal encephalopathy (NNE) and reasons behind cases with poor outcome. Results, Between 2002 and 2005, there were 1502 women monitored by STAN. Based on combined STAN analysis in the 1502 women, action was indicated in 358 women (23.8%), while in 1108 women (73.8%) no action was indicated. Traces were not interpretable in 36 women (2.4%). Of the 836 cases (55.7%) where cord blood gases were available, there were 23 cases (2.8%) of metabolic acidosis and 16 of these (70%) were identified by STAN. Overall, there were 14 cases of NNE monitored by STAN. Retrospective analysis of these highlights human errors, such as poor CTG interpretation, delay in taking appropriate action and not following the guidelines. Conclusions, Our experience suggests the need for more intense training on interpretation of CTG and strict adherence to guidelines. [source] Gastropods Associated with Fossil Traces from Yacoraite Formation (Maastrichtian-Danian), and its Paleoenvironmental Significance, Jujuy, Northwestern ArgentinaACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 5 2009Carlos A. CÓNSOLE GONELLA Abstract: We present results tending to characterize the new records of invertebrates from the Yacoraite Formation (Maastrichtian-Danian). The fossils reported come from two stratigraphic sections exposed in the surroundings of Maimará and Jueya, province of Jujuy, northwestern Argentina. The selection was based on geological and paleontological evidence. The recovered fossils include gastropods and invertebrate fossil traces, including Planolites, Skolithos and Gastrochanoelites ichnogenus. As result of our review, we discussed the possibility of assigning the analyzed gastropods to the family Zygopleuridae (gene. et. sp. indet.), as an approximation to the taxonomic resolution of this fossil fauna. The trace fossils were assigned to the archetypical Glossifungites ichnofacies. The study of the fossil assemblage allowed us to define a shallow depositional environment, characteristic of a marine context with high-energy conditions. [source] The endothelial cells downregulate the generation of factor VIIa through EPCR bindingBRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Cristina Puy Summary Traces of activated factor VII (FVIIa) are required to maintain haemostasis. Activated factor X (FXa) is the main activator of FVII in the absence of tissue factor. However, little is known about how this mechanism is regulated. We and others reported the interaction between FVII and the endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR). We have analysed the role of EPCR in the FXa-dependent FVIIa generation. Activation was performed on the surface of human aortic endothelial cells in the presence or absence of a blocking anti-EPCR monoclonal antibody (mAb). Western-blot analyses revealed that FVII activation was increased twofold upon EPCR blocking. Kinetic analyses revealed that blocking doubled the catalytic efficiency for activation. Protein C was unable to mimic the effect of the anti-EPCR mAb on activation. Surface plasmon resonance experiments revealed that binding of EPCR and phospholipids to FVII were mutually exclusive. The 50% inhibitory concentration value for phospholipids to reduce the binding of FVIIa to EPCR was 57·67 ± 0·11 ,mol/l. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that EPCR and phosphatidylserine are located at different regions of the cell surface. We propose that EPCR downregulates FVII activation by moving it from phosphatidylserine-rich regions. In summary, this study described a new anticoagulant role for EPCR. [source] Preferential Hydrolysis of Benzylic/Allylic Dithianes and Dithiolanes Using o-Iodoxybenzoic Acid (IBX) in DMSO Containing Traces of Water.CHEMINFORM, Issue 48 2002Yikang Wu Abstract For Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text. [source] Chiral sign selection on the J-aggregates of diprotonated tetrakis-(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin by traces of unidentified chiral contaminants present in the ultra-pure water used as solventCHIRALITY, Issue 4 2009Zoubir El-Hachemi Abstract Traces of biological contaminants that cannot be detected, but are expected to be present, in ultra-pure water suffice to select the emerging chiral sign in the spontaneous mirror symmetry breaking that takes place during the formation of the J-aggregates of the amphiphilic diprotonated tetrakis-(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (H4TPPS42,). This is demonstrated by competition experiments with a chiral cationic surfactant. The sensitivity of the detection depends on the hierarchical control of the H4TPPS42, self-aggregation. Chirality 21:408-412, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Autonomic nervous system functions in children with breath-holding spells and effects of iron deficiencyACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 9 2005Abdülkerim Kolkiran Abstract Aim: To analyse the activity of the autonomic nervous system during breath-holding spells, we assessed the ECG changes, including ventricular repolarization parameters before and during the spell. We also analysed the effects of iron deficiency on these ECG parameters. Methods: The study group consisted of 37 children with breath-holding spells (30 cyanotic, 7 pallid) (mean age±SD: 12.9±10.8 mo). Twenty-six healthy children (mean age±SD: 14.4±8.6 mo) served as a control group. All patients and controls had standard 12-lead simultaneous surface ECG. All patients had ECG recordings during at least one severe breath-holding spell obtained by "event recorder". Traces obtained by "event recorder" were analysed in terms of mean heart rate and the frequency and duration of asystole during the spell. Results: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia on standard ECGs and asystole frequency during spells were higher in patients with pallid breath-holding spells. Patients with iron deficiency had a lower frequency of respiratory sinus arrhythmia and prolonged asystole time during the spell. There was no difference in terms of ventricular repolarization parameters (QT/QTc intervals and QT/QTc dispersions) between patients and controls and between patient subgroups (cyanotic versus pallid). Conclusion: These results confirmed the presence of autonomic dysregulation in children with breath-holding spells. Iron deficiency may have an impact on this autonomic dysregulation. Ventricular repolarization was unaffected in patients with breath-holding spells. [source] HPCTOOLKIT: tools for performance analysis of optimized parallel programs,CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 6 2010L. Adhianto Abstract HPCTOOLKIT is an integrated suite of tools that supports measurement, analysis, attribution, and presentation of application performance for both sequential and parallel programs. HPCTOOLKIT can pinpoint and quantify scalability bottlenecks in fully optimized parallel programs with a measurement overhead of only a few percent. Recently, new capabilities were added to HPCTOOLKIT for collecting call path profiles for fully optimized codes without any compiler support, pinpointing and quantifying bottlenecks in multithreaded programs, exploring performance information and source code using a new user interface, and displaying hierarchical space,time diagrams based on traces of asynchronous call path samples. This paper provides an overview of HPCTOOLKIT and illustrates its utility for performance analysis of parallel applications. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] |