The tragic events of 9/11 and the concerns about the potential for a terrorist or hostile state attack with weapons of mass destruction have led to an increased emphasis on risk analysis for homeland security. Uncertain hazards (natural and engineering) have been successfully analyzed using probabilistic risk analysis (PRA). Unlike uncertain hazards, terrorists and hostile states are intelligen...

The effectiveness of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as a weight-loss nutraceutical continues to be debatable, suggesting that there may be value in exploring the physiological effects of the lesser-known isomers. The effects of the minor isomer, trans-8, cis-10 (t8, c10)-CLA, in the form of an equimolar mixture with the cis-9, trans-11 (c9, t11) isomer, on body weight and body composition, circ...

This study compared the growth inhibitory effects of pure conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers [cis(c)9,c11-CLA, c9,trans(t)11-CLA, t9,t11-CLA, and t10,c12-CLA] on human colon cancer cell lines (Caco-2, HT-29 and DLD-1). When Caco-2 cells were incubated up to 72 h with 200 microM, each isomer, even in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), cell proliferation was inhibited by all CLA is...

NATO’s strategic transformation will have an important impact on the Alliance’s approach to the Mediterranean and on the future of its Mediterranean Initiative. During the Cold War, NATO’s strategy, doctrine, and military capabilities were oriented toward deterring a military threat from the Soviet Union. Today, the threats and challenges are more diverse—and more indirect. They range from ethn...

Standard procedure for monosegmental anterior spondylodesis often combines anterior stabilization with autologous iliac crest graft. Recent publications defined a minimum size of the graft as a technical specification for this procedure. The cross sectional area of the graft to be transplanted should be at least 23.9% of the cross sectional area of the vertebral bodies to be fused. We investiga...

INTRODUCTION Giant intradural extramedullary schwannomas of the thoracic spine are not common. Schwannomas, that is, tumors derived from neoplastic Schwann cells, and neurofibromas represent the most common intradural extramedullary spinal lesions. We report the case of a patient with a giant thoracic schwannoma presenting unusually with acute abdominal pain and with delayed neurological impair...

The reticulospinal tract (RtST) descends from the reticular formation and terminates in the spinal cord. The RtST drives the initiation of locomotion and postural control. RtST axons form new contacts with propriospinal interneurons (PrINs) after incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI); however, it is unclear if injured or uninjured axons make these connections. We completely transected all traced ...

We consider the analytic continuation of the transfer function associated with a 2×2 operator matrix having unbounded couplings into unphysical sheets of its Riemann surface. We construct a family of non-selfadjoint operators which factorize the transfer function and reproduce certain parts of its spectrum including the nonreal (resonance) spectrum situated in the unphysical sheets neighboring ...

PURPOSE To evaluate the renal function in healthy dogs submitted to nonselective and preferential COX-2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy. METHODS Twenty four healthy dogs were distributed into four groups (G) (n=6): ketoprofenG--treated with ketoprofen; nimesulideG--treated with nimesulid; meloxicanG--treated with meloxican; and etodolacG--treated with etodolaco. All the do...