Medical treatment for sphincter of oddi dysfunction:Can it replace endoscopic sphincterotomy?

AIM:To report the results of a medical management of sphincter of oddi dysfunction(SOD) after an intermediate follow-up period.METHODS:A total of 59 patients with SOD(2 men and 57 women,mean age 51 years old) were included in this prospective study.After medical treatment for one year,the patients were clinically re-evaluated after an average period of 30 mo.RESULTS:The distribution of the patients according to the Milwaukee's classification was the following:11 patients were type 1,34 were type 2 and 14 were type 3.Fourteen patients underwent an endoscopic sphincterotomy(ES) after one year of medical treatment.The median intermediate follow-up period was 29.8 ± 3 mo(3-72 mo).The initial effectiveness of the medical treatment was complete,partial and poor among 50.8%,13.5% and 35%,respectively,of the patients.At the end of the follow-up period,37 patients(62.7%) showed more than 50% improvement.The rate of improvement in patients who required ES was not significantly different compared with the patients treated conservatively(64.2% vs 62.2%,respectively).CONCLUSION:Our study confirms that conservative medical treatment could be an alternative to endoscopic sphincterotomy because,after an intermediate follow-up period,the two treatments show the same success rates.

NOISE AMPLIFICATION ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF TWO PERIODIC NONUNIFORM SAMPLING RECONSTRUCTION METHODS USED IN DPCA SAR

General Sampling Expansion Reconstruction Method (GSERM) and Digital Spectrum Reconstruction Method (DSRM), which prove effective to reconstruct azimuth signal of Displaced Phase Center Apertures (DPCA) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system from its Periodic Non-Uniform Sampling (PNUS) data sequences, would amplify the noise and sidelobe clutter simultaneously in the reconstruction. This paper formulates the relation of the system transfer matrixes of the above two methods, gives the properties, such as periodicity, symmetry, and time-shift property, of their Noise and Sidelobe Clutter Amplification Factor (NSCAF), and discovers that DSRM is more sensitive than GSERM in the white noise environment. In addition, criteria based on initial sampling point analysis for the robust PRF selection are suggested. Computer simulation results support these con-clusions.

Removal of Dominant Adrenal Lateralized by Glucagon-Stimulated Adrenal Venous Sampling Alleviates Hypertension in Bilateral Pheochromocytoma

In bilateral pbeochromocytoma, localization of the dominant adrenal is challenging but highly important since the removal of dominant side can markedly improve cardiovascular outcomes. To demonstrate the usefulness of glucagon-stimulated BAVS （bilateral adrenal venous sampling） in determining the dominant adrenal to be removed, the authors reviewed records of patients who underwent BAVS with glucagon stimulation from 1997-2010. Nineteen out of 44 patients were diagnosed with bilateral pheochromocytoma. Mean age at diagnosis was 33 ± 14 years. Duration of hypertension was 5 ± 6 years with highest systolic BP （blood pressure） of 186 ±30 mmHg and diastolic BP of 113 ±18 mmHg. Headache （68%） is the most common symptom followed by paroxysmal hypertension （58%）. Majority were taking 〉 3 anti-hypertensive drugs. On glucagon-stimulated BAVS, 63% had right adrenal dominance. Three patients, who were hypertensive for 1, 6 and 12 years, underwent removal of the dominant adrenal. On follow-up （mean period = 36 months）, there was marked improvement in BP control [pre-op vs. post-op： （systolic） 160-240 mmHg vs. 120-150 mmHg; （diastolic） 90-110 mmHg vs. 70-90 mmHg] and reduction in number of anti-hypertensive medications （from 3-5 to 2 classes of drugs）. BAVS with glucagon stimulation is a valuable tool in the identification of the dominant adrenal to be removed in patients with bilateral pheochromocytoma to alleviate chronic hypertension.

Intraseasonal variability of summer monsoon rainfall over the lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin

This work investigates the boreal-summer intraseasonal variability(ISV)of the precipitation over the lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin(LYRB)during 1979–2016,based on daily Climate Prediction Center global precipitation data.The ISV of the summer monsoon rainfall over the LYRB is mainly dominated by the lower-frequency 12–20-day variability and the higher-frequency 8–12-day variability.The lower-frequency variability is found to be related to the northwestwardpropagating quasi-biweekly oscillation(QBWO)over the western North Pacific spanning the South China Sea(SCS)and Philippine Sea,while the higher-frequency variability is related to the southeastward propagating midlatitude wave train(MLWT).Moreover,not each active QBWO(MLWT)in the SCS(East Asia)can generate ISV components of the precipitation anomaly over the LYRB.The QBWO can change the rainfall significantly with the modulation of mean state precipitation,while the quasi-11-day mode mainly depends on the intensity of the MLWT rather than the mean precipitation change.These findings should enrich our understanding of the ISV of the East Asian summer monsoon and improve its predictability.

New key-stream generation scheme based on Henon chaotic system

As known to all that Henon chaotic system is not appropriate for generating the key-streams because it has non-uniformly distributed output signal, a new key-stream generation scheme based on Henon chaotic system is presented. In order to get the key-streams with good statistics and long enough cycle length, a specific method for dividing the enon attractor into numerous non-overlapping sub-regions, and a new one-to-one mapping strategy between the divided sub-regions and elements of dynamically generated matrix consisting of O＇s and l＇s are proposed. Experimental results demonstrate that the generated key-streams are with long enough cycle length and very sensitive to the initial values and secret keys. For example, key-streams with the cycle length of 10^32 can easily be obtained. Moreover, even if the fluctuation to the initial values or secret keys is as small as 10^- 14 uncorrelated key-streams will be generated. Experimental results also demonstrate that the generated key-streams have good randomness and they can pass all the standard criteria specified in FIPS PUB 140^-2 with no less than 98%.

Use of High Content Fish Silage Wet Food in Final Growth out of PacQ （Piaractus mesopotamicus, Holmberg 1887）in Northeast Argentina

The effect of two diets containing fish acid silage were studied, the first one offered as dry diet and the second one as a wet diet, in final culture cycle of PactS. Previous experiences showed that diets without fishmeal maintain same growth rate in semi intensive system, compared to diets containing 8% and 20% fish meal. Feeding trials were carried out in CENADAC （27°32′ S, 58030＇ W） in a semi intensive pond culture system for 122 days. Two experimental feed including fish silage, a liquid product obtained of fish residues treated by enzymes action, were formulated. Fish silage was prepared by mincing and blending fish viscera with sufficient formic acid （2.11% v/w） to attain a stable pH of 3.5. Fish were daily fed initially with the dry ration at 1.3% bw/d and at a rate of 0.55 g of protein/100 g of fish with the wet ration. At the end of the experience the average weight observed for dry fed fish was 1,513.5 g and 1,560.3 g for those wet fed. The daily growth was 3.69 g/d for the first group and 3.9 g/d for the second one. The final FCR was 2.72 and 3.01 for each group without significant differences. These results showed that it is possible to grow out paco with wet self made feed without fish meal and with similar growth that those fed dry diet.

Low cycle fatigue behavior of zirconium−titanium−steel composite plate

The low cycle fatigue behavior of zirconium−titanium−steel composite plate under symmetrical and asymmetric stress control was studied.The effects of mean stress and stress amplitude on cyclic deformation,ratcheting effect and damage mechanism were discussed in detail.The results show that under symmetric stress control,the forward ratcheting deformation is observed.Under asymmetric stress control,the ratcheting strain increases rapidly with mean stress and stress amplitude increasing.Under high stress amplitude,the influence of mean stress is more significant.In addition,by studying the variation of strain energy density,it is found that the stress amplitude mainly promotes the fatigue damage,while the mean stress leads to the ratcheting damage.In addition,fractographic observation shows that the crack initiates in the brittle metal compound at the interface,and the steel has higher resistance to crack propagation.Finally,the accuracy of life prediction model considering ratcheting effect is discussed in detail,and a high-precision life prediction model directly based on mean stress and stress amplitude is proposed.

Minimax Estimation Problem for Periodically Correlated Stochastic Processes

The problem of optimal linear estimation of the functional Aξ =10^∞a（t）ζ（（t）dt depending on the unknown values of periodically correlated stochastic process ζ（t） from observations of this process for t 〈 0 is considered. Formulas that determine the greatest value of mean square error and the minimax estimation for the functional are proposed for the given class of admissible processes. It is shown that one-sided moving average stationary sequence gives the greatest value of the mean square error.

Statistical Properties and Confidence Limits about the Mean Time between the Failures (MTBF) in Failure-free Period Life Test (FFPLT)

On the basis of strict mathematical description about Failure_Free Period Life Test (FFPLT), the statistical properties of the tests and optimal confidence limit of the parameter are discussed in detail and corresponding calculating formulae are found out.

主要农产品国际价格周报

小麦、大豆、食糖和棕榈油价格小幅下跌 美国芝加哥商品交易所小麦和大豆最近期货合约收盘周均价每吨分别为177美元和381美元,环比分别跌3%和2%,同比分别高13%和4%;国际糖料理事会原糖周均价每磅12.80美分（每吨282美元）,环比跌2%,同比低30%;马来西亚棕榈油荷兰鹿特丹港到岸周均价每吨674美元,环比跌1%,同比低10%。

主要农产品国际价格周报

豆油、大豆、棉花和棕榈油价格小幅上涨美国芝加哥商品交易所豆油和大豆最近期货合约收盘周均价每吨分别为700美元和379美元,环比均涨2%,同比分别低2%和高1%;国际棉花指数（SM级）周平均每磅91.75美分（每吨2023美元）,环比涨2%,同比高7%;马来西亚棕榈油荷兰鹿特丹港到岸周均价每吨663美元,环比涨2%,同比低13%。食糖、玉米环比持平国际糖料理事会原糖周均价每磅13.00美分（每吨287美元）,环比持平,同比低36%;美国芝加哥商品交易所玉米最近期货合约收盘周均价每吨144美元,环比持平,同比低1%。

鲜活农产品市场交易周报

多数大宗农产品价格上涨泰国100%B级和5%破碎率大米曼谷离岸周均价每吨分别为474美元和448美元,环比均涨5%,同比分别高24%和20%;美国芝加哥商品交易所小麦、大豆和玉米最近期货合约收盘周均价每吨分别为158美元、363美元和139美元,环比分别涨2%、2%和1%,同比分别高1%、低6%和低3%;

主要农产品国际价格周报

豆油、棕榈油、棉花和大米价格小幅上涨 美国芝加哥商品交易所豆油最近期货合约收盘周均价每吨750美元,环比涨3%,同比低5%;马来西亚棕榈油荷兰鹿特丹港到岸周均价每吨733美元,环比涨1%,同比低32%;国际棉花指数（SM级）周平均每磅82.93美分（每吨1828美元）,环比涨1%,同比高3%;泰国100%B级和5%破碎率大米曼谷离岸周均价每吨分别为414美元和393美元,环比分别涨1%和持平,同比分别高10%和6%。

主要农产品国际价格周报

多数大宗农产品价格小幅下跌马来西亚棕榈油荷兰鹿特丹港到岸周均价每吨662美元,环比跌3%,同比低17%;国际糖料理事会原糖周均价每磅13.83美分（每吨305美元）,环比跌3%,同比低25%;美国芝加哥商品交易所大豆和小麦最近期货合约收盘周均价每吨分别为358美元和145美元,环比分别跌3%和1%,同比分别低5%和2%;泰国100%B级和5%破碎率大米曼谷离岸周均价每吨分别为433美元和408美元,环比均跌1%,

鲜活农产品市场交易周报

据农业部监测,2017年第46周（11月13-19日,下同）＂农产品批发价格200指数＂为97.41（以2015年为100）,比前一周降0.34个点;＂‘菜篮子’产品批发价格200指数＂为96.71（以2015年为100）,比前一周降0.41个点。重点监测的50家批发市场60个品种交易总量为58.52万吨,比前一周减1.1%。

Double Periodic Cubic Spline Spaces over Non-Uniform Type-2 Triangulations

In this paper, the dimension of the double periodic cubic C^1 spline space over non-uniform type-2 triangulations is determined and a local support basis is given.

HOMOGENIZATION OF SEMILINEAR PARABOLIC EQUATIONS IN PERFORATED DOMAINS

This paper is devoted to the homogenization of a semilinear parabolic equation with rapidly oscillating coefficients in a domain periodically perforated byε-periodic holes of size ε. A Neumann condition is prescribed on the boundary of the holes.The presence of the holes does not allow to prove a compactness of the solutions in L2. To overcome this difficulty, the authors introduce a suitable auxiliary linear problem to which a corrector result is applied. Then, the asymptotic behaviour of the semilinear problem as ε→ 0 is described, and the limit equation is given.

Dynamics of surface motion on a rotating massive homogeneous body

It is of great interest to study the dynamical environment on the surface of non-spherical small bodies, especially for asteroids. This paper takes a simple case of a cube for instance, investigates the dynamics of a particle on the surface of a rotating homogeneous cube, and derives fruitful results. Due to the symmetrical characteristic of the cube, the analysis includes motions on two different types of surfaces. For each surface, both the frictionless and friction cases are considered. (i) Without consideration of friction, the surface equilibria in both of the different surfaces are examined and periodic orbits are derived. The analysis of equilibria and periodic orbits could assist understanding the skeleton of motions on the surface of asteroids. (ii) For the friction cases, the conditions that the particle does not escape from the surface are examined. Due to the effect of the friction, there exist the equilibrium regions on the surface where the particle stays at rest, and the locations of them are found. Finally, the dust collection regions are predicted. Future work will extend to real asteroid shapes.

Fiscal Cycles and the Low-Level Equilibrium under the Qing:A Comparative Analysis

This article questions the recent scholarship that attempts to draw parallels between Qing China before 1800 and the so-called fiscal-military states in early modem Europe. Beginning with a survey of＂fiscal cycles＂ in China from the 1640s to the 1850s, the author argues that border wars and territorial expansion had little impact on the Qing state＇s tax system and bureaucracy. Contrary to the high level of taxation necessitated by escalation in military spending among the contemporary European states, the Qing pursued the policy of light taxation by freezing land tax rates and practicing universal tax exemption. What prevailed in the Qing fiscal system thus was a ＂low-level equilibrium,＂ in which the fixed amount of revenues was sufficient to cover the state＇s fixed amount of regular expenditures and generate a sizeable amount of surpluses.