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Notes: Fingerprint whorl patterns are formed during fetal life. In a group of 180 term infants, those with more fingerprint whorls tended to have a small abdominal circumference (P= 0.09) and high ratio of head to abdominal circumference (P= 0.008). These associations were independent of the relation between the whorl counts of the mothers and their infants. We also found an independent correlation between the babies’ whorl count and the combination of increasing subscapular (P= 0.03) and decreasing triceps (P= 0.02) skinfold thicknesses of the mothers. Whorl patterns are associated with adult hypertension; maternal nutritional status may influence their common origin during fetal development.

Notes: We examine the Morton and Pliska (1993) model for the optimal management of a portfolio when there are transaction costs proportional to a fixed fraction of the portfolio value. We analyze this model in the realistic case of small transaction costs by conducting a perturbation analysis about the no-transaction-cost solution. Although the full problem is a free-boundary diffusion problem in as many dimensions as there are assets in the portfolio, we find explicit solutions for the optimal trading policy in this limit. This makes the solution for a realistically large number of assets a practical possibility.

Notes: Historically, bronchioalveolar lavage (BAL) samples have been prepared by a direct smear (DS) technique. Recent advances in liquid-based cytology have led to a revolution in cytological specimen preparation. Cyto-SEDTM system (CS) is a manual liquid-based cytology system, designed for small-scale use. A total of 137 samples from patients with radiographically detectable lesions underwent BAL procedures at Papworth Hospital NHS Trust over a 4-month period. After preparation for diagnostic purposes with the DS method, the remaining sample was prepared using the CS system. The slides produced were allocated a blind study number and screened by three independent screeners. The cellular morphology was well preserved and comparable between both techniques. Of the 137 patients, 38% were confirmed as malignant by cytology or histology; 71% of these malignant diagnosis were confirmed by the DS technique and 91% confirmed by the CS. The results demonstrate that the CS is a viable alternative to the DS technique. The cytological detail is clearly defined without a loss of three-dimensional information, thus aiding the differential diagnosis of malignancy. Cyto-SEDTM cytology system yields a higher diagnostic accuracy than the conventional direct smear technique without compromising on cytological detail.

Notes: Abstract A field portable, steady-state gas-exchange system which measures both CO2 and water vapour exchange of single intact leaves during fumigations with SO2 is described.Within the leaf cuvette temperature, light, humidity and both CO2 and SO2 concentrations are controlled to preset levels. Gas flow and concentrations are controlled by mass flow controllers. Photosynthetic uptake of CO2 can be determined either by differential depletion or null balance measurement. Water vapour exchange is measured differentially and transpiration and conductance to water vapour determined. Sulphur dioxide is measured directly within the cuvette exhaust gas line by UV-pulse fluorescence.The performance of this system under field conditions is described and the physiological measurements compared with those obtained with other systems.

Notes: Given a choice of habitats in a laboratory experiment, whiting Merlangius merlangus preferentially spent most time over sand, then gravel and least time over a habitat with emergent structures. The introduction of a predator stimulus increased the preference for the sand habitat for large whiting, whereas small whiting had an increased preference for the habitat with emergent structures.

Notes: 1. Chronic antihypertensive treatment lowers cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The beneficial effect on the blood vessel wall may be due to the lowering of blood pressure (BP) and, hence, wall stress (WS), or to a treatment-induced change in wall structure.2. We have previously shown that, when evaluated at the same level of BP and WS, the stiffness of the aortic wall of old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) is higher than that of young and adult SHR and that of age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the intrinsic changes in wall composition and mechanics in old SHR can be modulated by long-term treatment with an angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor (captopril; 40 mg/kg per day) combined with a diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide; 20 mg/kg per day) and that treatment withdrawal would reveal whether such changes are maintained when BP and WS return to pretreatment levels.3. We evaluated aortic structure and mechanics in SHR following 1 week withdrawal of oral antihypertensive treatment from 3 to 15 months of age (n = 8). Results were compared with age-matched SHR that were maintained on treatment (n = 12) or were not treated (n = 13) and with WKY rats (no treatment n = 11; maintained n = 11; withdrawn n = 10).4. Isobaric aortic wall stiffness was estimated from the ratio of baseline aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) to BP and the slope relating aortic PWV to BP following sodium nitroprusside-induced hypotension. Relative wall stiffening was estimated as the ratio of elastic modulus (EM) to WS. We argued that if treatment produced a change in wall elastin or collagen content, with a subsequent decrease in isobaric wall stiffness, then this would be maintained when BP increased following withdrawal of treatment.5. In old SHR, treatment lowered isobaric wall stiffness (baseline PWV/BP 4.6 ± 0.3 cm/s per mmHg; slope relating PWV to BP 6.7 ± 0.4 × 10−3 cm/s per mmHg and EM/WS 4.1 ± 0.4 vs 6.1 ± 0.4 cm/s per mmHg, 9.7 ± 0.9 × 10−3 cm/s per mmHg and 8.9 ± 1.1, respectively, without treatment; all P 〈 0.05). After 1 weeks treatment withdrawal, the indices (5.7 ± 0.2 cm/s per mmHg, 9.1 ± 0.2 × 10−3 cm/s per mmHg and 7.2 ± 0.6) increased in parallel with the increase in WS to levels similar to those observed in untreated SHR. There were no significant differences among the WKY rat groups.6. Treatment increased the elastin and collagen contents of the aortic wall in both SHR (196 ± 13 and 128 ± 5 vs 111 ± 9 and 86 ± 4 mg/g wet weight, respectively, in untreated; P 〈 0.05) and WKY rats (190 ± 19 and 135 ± 4 vs 115 ± 7 and 114 ± 5 mg/g wet weight, respectively, in untreated; P 〈 0.05). This increase remained following withdrawal (213 ± 26 and 118 ± 4 vs 161 ± 14 and 127 ± 4 mg/g wet weight in SHR and WKY rats, respectively).7. In summary, 1 year of treatment with captopril plus hydrochlorothiazide increases wall elastin content and reduces WS and stiffness in old SHR. Following withdrawal, elastin content remains high, but wall stiffness parallels WS in a manner similar to that in untreated SHR.

Notes: Abstract— Near crack tip stress and displacement fields are obtained for anisotropic bimaterial interface cracks. A contact zone model is used in order to get rid of the unphysical oscillatory interpenetration between the edges of the crack. Semi-infinite and the finite crack problems have been studied. Using the near crack tip results of this model crack branching angles can be predicted. These results are illustrated by numerical results for various materials.