STS-3 Induced Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM): Quick-look report

The STS-3/Induced Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM) mission is described. The IECM system performance is discussed, and IECM mission time events are briefly described. Quick look analyses are presented for each of the 10 instruments comprising the IECM on the flight of STS-3. Finally, a short summary is presented and plans are discussed for future IECM flights, and opportunities for direct mapping of Orbiter effluents using the Remote manipulator System

Study of the chemotherapy of leukaemia

Since the recognition of the disease one hundred years ago, the treatment of leukaemia has passed through two main phases. During the first fifty years treatment was by chemical agents. A ,large variety underwent clinical trial and some were found to temporarily influence the leukaemic process. Unfortunately many were highly toxic, and probably on account of this and our ignorance f their mode of action. they became known as cytotoxic agents. The discovery of x -rays in the early part of the Present century led to a new a_Dproach in treatment, and radiotherapy thereafter was generally accepted, by most clinicians, as the treatment of choice for the chronic variety of leukaemia. During the past decade, however, interest has been renewed in chemotherapy, and it seems likely that we are now on the threshold of a second era of chemotherapy. Since the Second World sudar a considerable amount of research in this subject has been carried out in the United Kingdom and the United States of America and to a lesser ;extent in other parts of the world. As a result 1 number of chemical agents have been discovered which materially influence not only patients with chronic leukaemia but also those with the more rapidly fatal acute disease. Their introduction has come about in one of three ways: (a) the observation that a compound being investigated for other reasons has a depressant effect on haemopoietic tissues - for example nitrogen mustard and urethane; (b) the synthesis of compounds related chemically to substances already known to be effective, such as in the case of triethylene melamine, triethylene phosphoramide, and 1:4- dimethanesulphonyloxybutane (Myeleran); and (c) the synthesis of analogues of nucleic acid precursors. Much attention is now being focussed on the last group of compounds. It is an entirely new field of research in chemotherapy and is considered by many investigators to be a more rational approach to the problem. Not only have some, e.g. the folic acid analogues and the purine analogue 6- mercaptopurine, resulted in dramatic 'remissions in patients with acute leukaemia, but with the aid of modern scientific techniques information has been obtained relating to their mode of action In addition their importance as a stimulus to research into biochemical processes connected with nucleic acid metabolism in the normal, leukaemic and neoplastic cell as a whole, probably outweighs their present therapeutic value.This thesis contains a study of the advances in chemotherapy which have taken place during the past ten years. For descriptive purposes it has been divided into four main sections. In the first the history of chemotherapy has been described. This is followed by a section devoted to a comprehensive review of modern chemotherapeutic agents available for the treatment of both acute and chronic leukaemia. Allied neoplastic disorders shown to be responsive to these compounds have also been included in the text. A third section describes metabolic studies in normal and leukaemic patients and animals. The metabolism of the folic acid analogue, amethopterin, with particular reference to the problem of drug resistance is principally dealt with. Studies in the metabolism of folic acid and the citrovorum factor are also included. The final section deals with the clinical evaluation, in fifty patients, of a new compound, 6-mercaptopurine

The arctic circle boundary and the Airy process

We prove that the, appropriately rescaled, boundary of the north polar region in the Aztec diamond converges to the Airy process. The proof uses certain determinantal point processes given by the extended Krawtchouk kernel. We also prove a version of Propp's conjecture concerning the structure of the tiling at the center of the Aztec diamond.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009117904000000937 in the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Differentiated Instruction in Art

https://research.library.kutztown.edu/ebooks/1004/thumbnail.jp

Cost effectiveness analysis of laparoscopic hysterectomy compared with standard hysterectomy: results from a randomised trial

Objective: To assess the cost effectiveness of laparoscopic hysterectomy compared with conventional hysterectomy (abdominal or vaginal). Design: Cost effectiveness analysis based on two parallel trials: laparoscopic (n = 324) compared with vaginal hysterectomy (n = 163); and laparoscopic (n = 573) compared with abdominal hysterectomy (n = 286). Participants: 1346 women requiring a hysterectomy for reasons other than malignancy. Main outcome measure: One year costs estimated from NHS perspective. Health outcomes expressed in terms of QALYs based on women's responses to the EQ-5D at baseline and at three points during up to 52 weeks' follow up. Results: Laparoscopic hysterectomy cost an average of pound401 ($708; C571) more (95$471789; E380 437). The, probability that laparoscopic hysterectomy is cost effective was below 50% for a large range of values of willingness to pay for an additional QALY. Laparoscopic hysterectomy cost an average of pound186 ($328; E265) more than abdominal hysterectomy, although 95$46 893; E37 813). If the NHS is willing to pay pound30 0 00 for an additional QALY, the probability that laparoscopic hysterectomy is cost effective is 56%. Conclusions: Laparoscopic hysterectomy is not cost effective relative to vaginal hysterectomy. Its cost effectiveness relative to the abdominal procedure is finely balanced

The eVALuate study: two parallel randomised trials, one comparing laparoscopic with abdominal hysterectomy, the other comparing laparoscopic with vaginal hysterectomy

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of laparoscopic hysterectomy and abdominal hysterectomy in the abdominal trial, and laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy in the vaginal trial. DESIGN: Two parallel, multicentre, randomised trials. Setting 28 UK centres and two South African centres. Participants 1380 women were recruited; 1346 had surgery; 937 were followed up at one year. PRIMARY OUTCOME: outcome Rate of major complications. RESULTS: In the abdominal trial laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with a higher rate of major complications than abdominal hysterectomy (11.1% v 6.2%, P = 0.02; difference 4.9%, 95% confidence interval 0.9% to 9.1%) and the number needed to treat to harm was 20. Laparoscopic hysterectomy also took longer to perform (84 minutes v 50 minutes) but was less painful (visual analogue scale 3.51 v 3.88, P = 0.01) and resulted in a shorter stay in hospital after the operation (3 days v 4 days). Six weeks after the operation, laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with less pain and better quality of life than abdominal hysterectomy (SF-12, body image scale, and sexual activity questionnaires). In the vaginal trial we found no evidence of a difference in major complication rates between laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy (9.8% v 9.5%, P = 0.92; difference 0.3%, − 5.2% to 5.8%), and the number needed to treat to harm was 333.We found no evidence of other differences between laparoscopic hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy except that laparoscopic hysterectomy took longer to perform (72 minutes v 39 minutes) and was associated with a higher rate of detecting unexpected pathology (16.4% v 4.8%, P = < 0.01). However, this trial was underpowered. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with a significantly higher rate of major complications than abdominal hysterectomy. It also took longer to perform but was associated with less pain, quicker recovery, and better short term quality of life. The trial comparing vaginal hysterectomy with laparoscopic hysterectomy was underpowered and is inconclusive on the rate of major complications; however, vaginal hysterectomy took less time

Sustainable Development Scenarios for the Richard B. Russell Parkway

For many years local elected officials, the state legislative delegation, and community leaders worked diligently to get Richard Russell Parkway extended to Interstate 75 and provide the Warner Robins area with a second interchange to serve the City and Robins AFB. The project became a reality in the spring of 2002 when the Georgia Department of Transportation awarded a construction contract for the Parkway\u27s extension. During the spring of 2003, with construction work progressing toward an October 31, 2004, completion date, the Mayor and City Council decided to explore alternative development concepts for the Parkway. The goal of this document is to highlight a number of different scenario\u27s and potential directions of growth and marketing. Each of the ideas can be adjusted and modified according to the communities needs and budget. A section of strategies for implementations has been added to assist the City of Warner Robins in prioritizing their needs and accomplishing their goals. It is hoped that the vision of the community becomes realized to create an entry corridor which is beautiful, memorable, and functional

A Linkage Map and QTL Analysis for Pyrethroid Resistance in the Bed Bug Cimex lectularius.

The rapid evolution of insecticide resistance remains one of the biggest challenges in the control of medically and economically important pests. Insects have evolved a diverse range of mechanisms to reduce the efficacy of the commonly used classes of insecticides and finding the genetic basis of resistance is a major aid to management. In a previously unstudied population, we performed an F2 resistance mapping cross for the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, for which insecticide resistance is increasingly widespread. Using 334 SNP markers obtained through RAD-sequencing, we constructed the first linkage map for the species, consisting of 14 putative linkage groups (LG), with a length of 407 cM and an average marker spacing of 1.3 cM. The linkage map was used to reassemble the recently published reference genome, facilitating refinement and validation of the current genome assembly. We detected a major QTL on LG12 associated with insecticide resistance, occurring in close proximity (1.2 Mb) to a carboxylesterase encoding candidate gene for pyrethroid resistance. This provides another example of this candidate gene playing a major role in determining survival in a bed bug population following pesticide resistance evolution. The recent availability of the bed bug genome, complete with a full list of potential candidate genes related to insecticide resistance, in addition to the linkage map generated here, provides an excellent resource for future research on the development and spread of insecticide resistance in this resurging pest species