Hypnotic control of anticipatory emesis in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy.

Nausea and vomiting in anticipation of chemotherapy often develop in patients undergoing cancer treatment. In this study, deep muscle relaxation hypnosis controlled these conditioned reactions in 6 female patients (aged 24–56 yrs). Anticipatory emesis recurred when hypnosis was not used. During subsequent sessions in which hypnosis was reinstated, anticipatory emesis was again controlled. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Novel Thermosensitive Poly(methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate)

The thermosensitive properties of aqueous poly(methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate) (PMAA) solutions were investigated in the absence or presence of sodium sulfate. Poly(methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate) with a molecular weight of 23,000 (PMAA-1) exhibited the cloud point. On heating the PMAA-1 solution, the transmittance began to decrease from near 34°C and increased again after the minimum value was shown at 36.0°C. The minimum transmittance increased linearly with an increasing concentration of the polymer although the minimum-transmittance temperature did not depend on polymer concentration. The minimum transmittance was affected by the pH and the 1-butanol added. This finding suggests that the cloudiness is controlled by a delicate balance of hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity and by intra- and/or inter-molecular hydrogen bonding. Poly(methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate) with a molecular weight of 15,000 (PMAA-2) did not exhibit cloudiness in distilled water. However, the addition of sodium sulfate caused cloudiness to appear. The cloud point of a PMAA-2 solution depended on concentrations of polymer and salt added. It decreased with an increase in polymer and salt concentrations. The salting-out constants were determined from the relationship between the cloud point and concentrations of polymer and salt.     

The influence of titanium dioxide on the rheological and extrusion properties of polymer melts

An experimental study of the influence of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) on the rheological and extrusion properties of five polymer melts (two low-density polyethylenes, two high-density polyethylenes, and a polystyrene) has been carried out. Increasing TiO₂ loading increases the shear viscosity η, with the extent of increase being greater at lower shear rates. At moderate and high TiO₂ loadings, the filled melts may possess yield values. Empirical equations relating viscosity to filler loading have been developed. The first normal stress difference was measured for the melts and found to increase with increasing TiO₂ loading. However, the extent of increase was less than found for the viscosity function and interpretation in terms of the theory of viscoelasticity suggests that the characteristic relaxation time of the melts decreases with increasing TiO₂ level. Empirical equations relating the first normal stress difference coefficient to volume fraction of the filler have been developed. Addition of TiO₂ is found to decrease extrudate swell and retard the occurrence of extrudate distortion.     

Integration of a microextraction system on a glass chip: ion-pair solvent extraction of Fe(II) with 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolinedisulfonic acid and tri-n-octylmethylammonium chloride

An ion-pair solvent extraction was performed in a microchannel fabricated in a quartz glass chip. the aqueous solution of Fe-bathophenanthrolinedisulfonic acid complex and the chloroform solution of tri-n-octylmethylammonium chloride were introduced into the microchannel, and a parallel two-phase laminar flow was formed. The ion-pair product extracted in chloroform was monitored by the thermal lens microscope. The ion-pair product was gradually extracted from aqueous solution into chloroform when the flow was very slow or stopped, while nothing was extracted into chloroform when the flow was fast. The time for extraction in the present 250 microns microchannel, 45 s, roughly coincided with the molecular diffusion time, and the extraction time was at least 1 order shorter compared with the ordinary extraction time using a separatory funnel and mechanical shaking. The microspace in the microchannel was characterized by the large specific interface area and short diffusion distance, and these characteristics may contribute to highly efficient extraction without mechanical shaking. The success of this molecular transport may lead to the integration of more complicated separation and chemical operations on a microchip and more applications.     

Profile of breastfeeding in children under 2 years old in the city of Itupeva, SP, Brazil

The objective of this study was to estimate the frequency of breastfeeding and to identify variables associated with median breastfeeding length. It is a cross-sectional population-based study carried out in a representative sample of 261 children under 2 years old randomly selected in the urban area of Itupeva city, SP, Brazil. The breastfeeding patterns recommended by WHO were used. The frequency and the median length of breastfeeding were estimated by life tables technique. The Wilcoxon test was used to identify association between breastfeeding and the categorical variables (p<0.05) in the bivariate analysis. For the multivariate analysis, the variables associated with the breastfeeding length (Wilcoxon test; p<0.10) were inserted in a Cox Regression model. Almost 100% of the children have initiated breastfeeding and 41.0% were in breastfeeding at the moment of the interview. The median length of breastfeeding was 7.2 months and exclusive breastfeeding was only 28 days. It was observed association between the breastfeeding length and the following variables: father's schooling, mother's marital status, number of children, sequence of birth, bottle-feeding and pacifier use. The Cox regression model selected as significant variables: sequence of birth (HR=1.68; IC95%=1.03-2.73), bottle-feeding use (HR=15.20; IC95%=3.69-62.01) and pacifier use (HR=2.84; IC95%=1.95-4.19). The current pattern of breastfeeding in Itupeva is still far from the WHO recommendations; therefore, encouragement and support to breastfeeding need to be intensified. Variables influencing breastfeeding should be considered in the attempt to increase breastfeeding. Health workers should dedicate all their efforts to increase the exclusive breastfeeding period in children under 6 months of age and increase the total breastfeeding period.     

Lasing wavelengths of index-guided AlGaInP semiconductor lasers as functions of off-angle from [100] plane of GaAs substrate

The lasing wavelengths of AlGaInP semiconductor lasers are investigated as functions of the off-angle in the direction of [110] from the [100] plane of the GaAs substrate. The lasing wavelengths decrease to about 650 nm as the off-angle increases to 10-15 degrees . The influence of the off-angle on the laser transverse mode is also discussed.<>     

Infrared spectroscopic studies of thermotropic polyamides

Summary Poly (3,3, 5,5-tetraethyldiphenylmethane-1, 18-octadecanedi carboxamide) (poly(TEDPM-ODDA)) and poly(diphenylmethane-1, 18-octadecanedicarboxamide) (poly(DPM-ODDA)) are newly synthesized and found mesomorphic phase between 493 and 502 K for the former and no mesomorphic phase for the latter by use of DSC measurements and polarizing microscope observation. In the IR spectra of enantiotropic mesomorphic poly(TEDPM-ODDA), the stepwise high frequency shift of the hydrogen-bonded N-H stretching vibration in crystalline-mesomorphic and mesomorphic-isotropic liquid phase transition suggest formation of the mesomorphic state due to balancing interchain hydrogen bonding and other interchain forces. On the contrary, nonmesomorphic poly(DPM-ODDA) the N-H bands shifts to higher frequency at melting to isotropic liquid at a stretch.     

A novel phospholipase C delta4 (PLCdelta4) splice variant as a negative regulator of PLC

It has been reported that there are two alternatively spliced variants of phospholipase C-delta4 (PLCdelta4), termed ALT I and II, that contain an additional 32 and 14 amino acids in their respective sequences in the linker region between the catalytic X and Y domains (Lee, S. B., and Rhee, S. G. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 25-31). We report here the isolation and characterization of a novel alternative splicing isoform of PLCdelta4, termed ALT III, as a negative regulator of PLC. In ALT III, alternative splicing occurred in the catalytic X domain, i.e. 63 amino acids (residues 424-486) containing the C-terminal of the X domain and linker region were substituted for 32 amino acids corresponding to the insert sequence of ALT I. Although the expression level of ALT III was found to be much lower in most tissues and cells compared with that of PLCdelta4, it was significantly higher in some neural cells, such as NIE-115 cells and p19 cells differentiated to neural cells by retinoic acid. Interestingly, recombinant ALT III protein did not retain enzymatic activity, and the activity of PLCdelta4 overexpressed in COS7 cells was markedly decreased by the co-expression of ALT III but not by ALT I or II. Moreover, N-terminal pleckstrin homology domain (PH domain) of ALT III alone could inhibit the increase of inositol-1,4, 5-trisphosphate levels in PLCdelta4-overexpressing NIH3T3 cells, whereas a PH domain deletion mutant could not, indicating that the PH domain is necessary and sufficient for its inhibitory effect. The ALT III PH domain specifically bound to phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns)-4,5-P2 and PtdIns-3,4,5-P3 but not PtdIns, PtdIns-4-P, or inositol phosphates, and the mutant R36G, which retained only weak affinity for PtdIns-4,5-P2, could not inhibit the activity of PLCdelta4. These results indicate that PtdIns-4,5-P2 binding to PH domain is essential for the inhibitory effect of ALT III. ALT III also inhibited PLCdelta1 activity and partially suppressed PLCgamma1 activity, but not PLCbeta1 in vitro; it did inhibit all types of isozymes tested in vivo. Taken together, our results indicate that ALT III is a negative regulator of PLC that is most effective against the PLC delta-type isozymes, and its PH domain is essential for its function.