Vesta's surface is characterized by abundant impact craters, some with preserved ejecta blankets, large troughs extending around the equatorial region, enigmatic dark material, and widespread mass wasting, but as yet an absence of volcanic features. Abundant steep slopes indicate that impact-generated surface regolith is underlain by bedrock. Dawn observations confirm the large impact basin (Rheasilvia) at Vesta's south pole and reveal evidence for an earlier, underlying large basin (Veneneia). Vesta's geology displays morphological features characteristic of the Moon and terrestrial planets as well as those of other asteroids, underscoring Vesta's unique role as a transitional solar system body.

BACKGROUND In sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the health and functional status of older people who either themselves are HIV infected or are affected by HIV and AIDS in the family. This aim of this study was to describe health among older people in association with the HIV epidemic. METHODS The cross-sectional survey consisted of 510 participants aged 50 years and older, equally divided into five study groups including; 1) HIV infected and on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 1 year; 2) HIV infected and not yet eligible for ART; 3) older people who had lost a child due to HIV/AIDS; 4) older people who have an adult child with HIV/AIDS; 5) older people not known to be infected or affected by HIV in the family. The participants were randomly selected from ongoing studies in a rural and peri-urban area in Uganda. Data were collected using a WHO standard questionnaire and performance tests. Eight indicators of health and functioning were examined in an age-adjusted bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS In total, 198 men and 312 women participated. The overall mean age was 65.8 and 64.5 years for men and women respectively. Men had better self-reported health and functional status than women, as well as lower self-reported prevalence of chronic diseases. In general, health problems were common: 35% of respondents were diagnosed with at least one of the five chronic conditions, including 15% with depression, based on algorithms; 31% of men and 35% of women had measured hypertension; 25% of men and 21% of women had poor vision test results. HIV-positive older people, irrespective of being on ART, and HIV-negative older people in the other study groups had very similar results for most health status and functioning indicators. The main difference was a significantly lower BMI among HIV-infected older people. CONCLUSION The systematic exploration of health and well being among older people, using eight self-reported and objective health indicators, showed that basic health problems are very common at older ages and poorly addressed by existing health services. HIV-infected older people, however, whether on ART or not yet on ART, had a similar health and functional status as other older people.

Images obtained by the Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) cameras onboard the Rosetta spacecraft reveal that asteroid 21 Lutetia has a complex geology and one of the highest asteroid densities measured so far, 3.4 ± 0.3 grams per cubic centimeter. The north pole region is covered by a thick layer of regolith, which is seen to flow in major landslides associated with albedo variation. Its geologically complex surface, ancient surface age, and high density suggest that Lutetia is most likely a primordial planetesimal. This contrasts with smaller asteroids visited by previous spacecraft, which are probably shattered bodies, fragments of larger parents, or reaccumulated rubble piles.

High-resolution images of Mercury's surface from orbit reveal that many bright deposits within impact craters exhibit fresh-appearing, irregular, shallow, rimless depressions. The depressions, or hollows, range from tens of meters to a few kilometers across, and many have high-reflectance interiors and halos. The host rocks, which are associated with crater central peaks, peak rings, floors, and walls, are interpreted to have been excavated from depth by the crater-forming process. The most likely formation mechanisms for the hollows involve recent loss of volatiles through some combination of sublimation, space weathering, outgassing, or pyroclastic volcanism. These features support the inference that Mercury's interior contains higher abundances of volatile materials than predicted by most scenarios for the formation of the solar system's innermost planet.

Until recently fabrication techniques of Renaissance bronzes have been studied only with the naked eye, microscopically, videoscopically and with X-radiography. These techniques provide information on production techniques, yet much important detail remains unclear. As part of an interdisciplinary study of Renaissance bronzes undertaken by the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, neutron-imaging techniques have been applied with the aim of obtaining a better understanding of bronze workmanship during the Renaissance period. Therefore, an explanation of the fabrication techniques is given to better understand the data collected by these neutron-imaging techniques. The data was used for tomography studies, which reveal hidden aspects that could not at all or scarcely be seen using X-radiography. For this specific study, the representative bronze 'Hercules Pomarius' of Willem van Tetrode (ca 1520-1588) has been examined, along with 20 other Renaissance bronzes from the Rijksmuseum collection.

Abstract Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) on chromosome 19q13.4 regulate the function of not only human natural killer (NK) cells but also T cells. An increase in activating KIR- human leucocyte antigen ligand pairs has been associated with an additional risk to develop type 1 diabetes (T1D). T1D families [n = 184 (552 individuals); n = 176 (528 subjects)], unrelated T1D patients (n = 380; n = 394) and healthy controls (n = 315; n = 401) from Germany and Belgium, respectively, were genotyped for the rs2756923 polymorphism within the KIR gene cluster haplotype B in exon 8 of the KIR2DL2 gene. We observed in both Germans and Belgians an overtransmission of the allele 'G' of the KIR2DL2-rs2756923 polymorphism (64.2% vs 35.8%, P = 3 x 10(-4) and 60.0% vs 40.0%, P = 0.02, respectively). In addition, this allele was more frequent in German patients than in healthy controls (78.4% vs 21.6%, P = 1 x 10(-3)). Preliminary results from a cytotoxicity assay suggest that inhibition of NK-cell cytotoxicity may be impaired in individuals carrying the rs2756923 G allele. These data suggest a potential role of the KIR2DL2-rs2756923 polymorphism in T1D in Germans and Belgians.

The majority of lower limb arterial occlusions are located in the distal third of the thigh. However, the exact location of occlusions in relation to the surrounding anatomy has never been examined. Duplex ultrasound was used to determine the location of femoropopliteal occlusions in 50 patients by comparing the level of occlusions to the level of the adductor canal hiatus. We found that although the level of the adductor canal hiatus may vary, 72% of occlusions are related to the site of the adductor canal hiatus. Short occlusions were located in the hiatus region, longer occlusions extended mainly in the proximal direction.

Dynamic changes in curvature are expected in the femoropopliteal region during knee flexion. The location of the artery dorsal to the axis of movement implicates a relative length excess that may influence local morphology. To study arterial morphology in vivo, magnetic resonance angiography was performed in 22 healthy volunteers (aged 23-68 y). The curvature of the femoral vessels was studied and quantified in stretched and flexed positions. During knee flexion the vessel followed the movement of the leg and in the sagittal plane one curve was visible distal to the adductor hiatus. Three or more small curves were seen proximal to the knee joint in all volunteers. In the group aged under 30 y these minor curves were located proximal to the adductor hiatus as if the artery curls up in Hunter's canal. In the group aged over 45 y one or more curves were located distal to the adductor hiatus in the popliteal fossa. In volunteers aged 60 y and older some of these curves did not disappear during knee extension. In older individuals, natural elongation and loss of arterial elasticity will contribute to the formation of these curves. Impairment of the free gliding mechanism of the femoral vessels in the adductor canal could explain the differences in location of these minor curves between younger and older subjects. It is concluded that morphological changes in the femoral artery occur during knee flexion and that this tortuosity is age dependent. This may influence local haemodynamics and therefore possibly contribute to atherogenesis.

In the lower extremities, the adductor canal hiatus is a site of predilection for arterial stenoses and occlusions. The high incidence of vascular disease in this region is thought to be due to a local factor. To gain more insight into the mechanisms leading to such disease, the authors used ultrasound to locate the adductor canal hiatus in dissecting room preparations and in healthy volunteers.

To determine the optimal site for antegrade puncture of the femoral artery, the authors evaluated three cadaver specimens and computed tomographic (CT) scans of 50 patients. The relationships among the common femoral artery, the femoral artery bifurcation, the center of the femoral head, and the inguinal ligament were evaluated. CT showed that the center of the femoral head was always located caudal to the level of the inguinal ligament but cranial to the bifurcation of the common femoral artery. Therefore, the femoral head seems to provide a reliable landmark for entering the common femoral artery.