Direct simulation for a homogenous gas

A probabilistic analysis of the direct simulation of a homogeneous gas is given. A hierarchy of equations similar to the BBGKY hierarchy for the reduced probability densities is derived. By invoking the molecular chaos assumption, an equation similar to the Boltzmann equation for the single particle probability density and the corresponding H-theorem is derived

Premarital screening of 466 Mediterranean women for serum ferritin, vitamin B12, and folate concentrations

Background/aim: Iron, folate, and vitamin B12 serum levels are closely related with dietary habits and have an essential role in the healthy development of a fetus. We aimed to investigate hemoglobin, ferritin, folate, and vitamin B12 levels in preconceptional women in an area where a plant-based diet referred to as Mediterranean cuisine is commonly used. Materials and methods: The study population included 466 women between the ages of 18 and 45 years admitted for thalassemia screening. Sociodemographic variables and history of menometrorrhagia, pica, and dietary habits were collected. Serum vitamin B12, folate, ferritin, and hemoglobin levels were measured. Ferritin of <12 μg/L, vitamin B12 of <200 pg/mL, and folate of <4 ng/mL were accepted as deficiencies. Hemoglobin level of <12 g/dL was classified as anemia. Results: Polymenorrhea was present in 11.7% and hypermenorrhea in 24.8% of women. Anemia was detected in 24.9% and thalassemia trait in 3.0% of women. Low ferritin levels were observed in 46.1%, vitamin B12 in 21.6%, and folate in 3.4% of women. In the group with low vitamin B12, decreased meat consumption was more prevalent (27.5% vs. 16.9%; P = 0.019). Conclusion: Vitamin B12 and iron are the main micronutrients depleted in our community. This necessitates implementing a public health program for women consuming a Mediterranean diet. © TÜBİTA

Patients With Kidney Cancer

To develop a preoperative prognostic model in order to predict recurrence-free survival in patients with nonmetastatic kidney cancer.A multi-institutional data base of 1889 patients who underwent surgical resection between 1987 and 2007 for kidney cancer was retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative variables were defined as age, gender, presentation, size, presence of radiological lymph nodes and clinical stage. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the variables were performed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model. A model was developed with preoperative variables as predictors of recurrence after nephrectomy. Internal validation was performed by Harrells concordance index.The median follow-up was 23.6 months (1222 months). During the follow-up, 258 patients (13.7) developed cancer recurrence. The median follow-up for patients who did not develop recurrence was 25 months. The median time from surgery to recurrence was 13 months. The 5-year freedom from recurrence probability was 78.6. All variables except age were associated with freedom from recurrence in multivariate analyses (P 0.05). Age was marginally significant in the univariate analysis. All variables were included in the predictive model. The calculated c-index was 0.747.This preoperative model utilizes easy to obtain clinical variables and predicts the likelihood of development of recurrent disease in patients with kidney tumors

Neodymium and Erbium Coordination Environments in Phosphate Glasses

The local structures of Nd3+ and Er3+ ions in two series of rare-earth (RE) phosphate glasses with nominal compositions xR203-(1-x)P2O5, where R=Nd and Er and 0.05≤x≤0.28, have been characterized by LIII-edge extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (EXAFS). The RE coordination number depends on the R2O3 content, decreasing from 9.0 (10) oxygen nearest neighbors in ultraphosphate compositions (x\u3c0.15) to 6.4 (9) oxygen nearest neighbors for the metaphosphate (x∼0.25) compositions. The average Er-O bond distance decreases from 2.29 (1) to 2.23 (1) Å, and the average Nd-O bond distance decreases from 2.40 (1) to 2.37 (1) Å over the same compositional range. The changes in coordination environments are consistent with the conversion of isolated RE polyhedra to clustered RE polyhedra sharing common oxygens as the number of available terminal oxygens per RE ion decreases with increasing x

Non-invasive detection of biliary leaks using Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR cholangiography: Comparison with T2-weighted MR cholangiography

Objective: To evaluate the added role of T1-weighted (T1w) gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) compared with T2-weighted MRC (T2w-MRC) in the detection of biliary leaks. Methods: Ninety-nine patients with suspected biliary complications underwent routine T2w-MRC and T1w contrast-enhanced (CE) MRC using Gd-EOB-DTPA to identify biliary leaks. Two observers reviewed the image sets separately and together. MRC findings were compared with those of surgery and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiopancreatography. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the techniques in identifying biliary leaks were calculated. Results: Accuracy of locating biliary leaks was superior with the combination of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRC and T2w-MRC (P < 0.05).The mean sensitivities were 79 % vs 59 %, and the mean accuracy rates were 84 % vs 58 % for combined CE-MRC and T2w-MRC vs sole T2w-MRC. Nineteen out of 21 patients with biliary-cyst communication, 90.4 %, and 12/15 patients with post-traumatic biliary extravasations, 80 %, were detected by the combination of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRC and T2w-MRC images, P < 0.05. Conclusions: Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRC yields information that complements T2w-MRC findings and improves the identification and localisation of the bile extravasations (84 % accuracy, 100 % specificity, P < 0.05). We recommend Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRC in addition to T2w-MRC to increase the preoperative accuracy of identifying and locating extravasations of bile. Key Points: • Magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) does not always detect bile leakage and cysto-biliary communications. • Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRC helps by demonstrating extravasation of contrast material into fluid collections. • Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRC also demonstrates the leakage site and bile duct injury type. • Combined Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced and T2w-MRC can provide comprehensive information about biliary system. • Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRC is non-invasive and does not use ionising radiation. © 2013 The Author(s)

A systematic review of nutrition-based practices in prevention of hypertension among healthy youth

The aim of this systematic review was to analyze the results of observational and interventional research/studies on nutrition-based practices in the prevention of hypertension among healthy youth. The MEDLINE/PubMed database was searched using the key words, "hypertension," "nutrition/diet," "prevention" and "youth." Inclusion criteria were: 1) sample with a majority of adolescents, defined as 10-24 years of age, or findings for adolescents reported separately from other age groups; 2) primary research reports; 3) studies with normotensive participants; and 4) studies that focused on preventing hypertension/lowering blood pressure through at least one nutritional practice. Results of the analysis indicated that increased consumption of unsaturated fats, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dietary products, decreased consumption of dietary sodium and beverages containing caffeine, and breastfeeding were found to have preventive effects against high blood pressure in later years of life. The effects of training given during youth to encourage a healthy lifestyle and behavior changes based on diet and physical activity were also noted.publisher versio

Oxygen and Phosphorus Coordination Around Iron in Crystalline Ferric Ferrous Pyrophosphate and Iron-phosphate Glasses with UO₂ or Na₂O

Fe K-edge x-ray absorption fine-structure (XAFS) measurements were performed on glass samples of (Fe3O4)0.3(P2O5)0.7 with various amounts of Na2O or UO2. Near-edge and extended-XAFS regions are studied and comparisons are made to several reference compounds. We find that iron in the base glass is ~25% divalent and that the Fe2+ coordination is predominantly octahedral, while Fe3+ sites are roughly split between tetrahedral and octahedral coordinations. Also, we measure roughly one FeñOñP link per iron. Substitution of Na2O or UO2 up to 15 mo1% primarily affects the first FeñO shell. The results are compared to data from the related material Fe3(P2O7)2

<シンポジウム>科学研究の移り変わりと米国外交 : 1920年代から1950年代まで

WOS: 000274393100041PubMed ID: 19589584OBJECTIVES To examine, in a multicenter validation study designed under the guidance of the Uro-Oncology Society, the predictive accuracies of the 1998 and 2006 Kattan preoperative nomograms in Turkish patients. These 2 preoperative Kattan nomograms use preoperative parameters to estimate disease recurrence after radical prostatectomy. METHODS A total of 1261 men with clinically localized prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy were included. The preoperative prostate-specific antigen level, biopsy Gleason score, clinical stage, number of positive and negative prostate biopsy cores, and postoperative recurrence status of all patients were studied. The predicted values using the Kattan nomograms and the observed values were compared. RESULTS The patient characteristics in the cohort were comparable with those of the cohorts used to create the Kattan nomograms. The 5-year probability of freedom from recurrence was 73% using Kaplan-Meier analysis and was similar to that of the 1998 Kattan nomogram cohort. However, the 10-year probability of freedom from recurrence was 67%, slightly lower than the same estimate from the 2006 nomogram cohort. The predicted values of recurrence using Kattan nomogram and the observed rates in our cohort were similar. The estimated concordance index value was 0.698 and 0.705 for 1998 and 2006 nomograms, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The Kattan preoperative nomograms can be used with adequate success in Turkey, because the predicted and observed rates in our cohort were similar. Our results have demonstrated satisfactory concordance index values, suggesting that both the 1998 and the 2006 Kattan preoperative nomograms can safely be used in Turkish patients with similar accuracy. Although the 2006 nomogram had slightly better discrimination, the 1998 nomogram was a little more calibrated. UROLOGY 74: 1289-1295, 2009. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc