Disposition of phenol in rat after oral, dermal, intravenous, and intratracheal administration

The absorption and elimination of [14C]-phenol (63.5 nmol) after oral, dermal, intratracheal, or intravenous administration in rat was rapid and extensive. Urinary elimination of radioactivity predominated, with a range of 75-95% of the dose detected in urine by 72 h post-exposure. Washing the dermal site 72 h post-exposure removed 14% of the dose. Two per cent of the dose was detected in the skin. The urinary metabolites at 4 and 8 h after administration by the four routes included phenyl sulphate and lower amounts of phenyl glucuronide. Phenol was poorly retained in the body after administration by the four routes. Phenol remaining in the body was widely distributed, with accumulation primarily in the liver, lung, and kidney.     

Opposite-channel-based charge injection in SOI MOSFET's under hotcarrier stress

By operating one channel of a typical SOI MOSFET in avalanche while keeping the opposite channel accumulated, charge injection into the opposite gate takes place. Three independent experiments are described that demonstrate the occurrence of this opposite-channel based charge injection. The experimental results are in agreement with PISCES numerical simulations     

Pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation: Unvalidated assumptions, anomalies, and suggestions for future research.

Questions several assumptions about the rationale for pharmacological therapies for smoking cessation, including whether (1) future smokers will be those more dependent on nicotine and thus in greater need of nicotine replacement or other pharmacotherapy, (2) transdermal nicotine and nicotine gum work by reducing withdrawal symptoms, and (3) clonidine works by decreasing sympathetic arousal. After describing currently available pharmacotherapies, the article also describes several unexpected findings that need to be taken into consideration by clinicians: (1) Transdermal nicotine is effective when given without psychological therapy, (2) transdermal nicotine and nicotine gum do not consistently decrease postcessation weight gain, (3) high level of nicotine dependence does not consistently predict better response to transdermal nicotine, and (4) clonidine is effective in women but not in men. The article poses other questions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal communication in parent-adolescent dyads: A brief report on the effects of a social skills training program.

Hypothesized that social skills training could improve communications between adolescents and parents while enhancing improvement in perceived communication and problem-solving behaviors. 25 parent–adolescent dyads (all members of the Church of the Latter Day Saints) participated in a pre- and posttest experimental and control group design. The 18 experimental dyads completed a social skills program. Analyses revealed significant training effects on all social skills in the program, but perceived improvement was slightly higher for parents than for adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pain drawings in the assessment of nerve root compression: a comparative study with lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective comparative study of pain drawings with findings on lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging. OBJECTIVES: To assess the ability of the pain drawing to predict the presence of nerve root compression. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Most research work has concentrated on the ability of the pain drawing to act as a screening method for psychological distress with less work directed at the influence the anatomic abnormality has on the pain drawing. METHODS: One hundred thirty-four consecutive outpatients attending for lumbar magnetic resonance imaging in the investigation of back and leg pain completed pain drawings and psychological testing immediately before the examination. The pain drawing was analyzed by previously reported criteria, and the magnetic resonance imaging was assessed independently for the presence of nerve compression by three radiologists. Multivariate stepwise discriminant analysis was used to identify patients with nerve compression on the basis of their pain drawing. RESULTS: Nerve compression was predicted by numbness in the anterolateral aspect of the foot. There was considerable overlap in the appearances of the pain drawings between patients with and without nerve compression, and the pain drawing correctly classified only 58% of patients with nerve compression. CONCLUSIONS: The pain drawing is not a good predictor of nerve compression on magnetic resonance imaging in a group of patients investigated for back and leg pain. It should be interpreted with caution and in light of the full clinical picture.     

Investigation of I1-imidazoline receptors using microphysiometry and molecular modelling

A truncated form of SAG1, the immunodominant surface antigen of Toxoplasma gondii, has been produced in the methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris. By construction, the recombinant protein lacks C-terminal residues 308-336 which, in native SAG1, encompass the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchorage site. Secretion of anchor-less SAG1 proceeded via the yeast prepro alpha-mating factor signal peptide and yielded two immunoreactive protein species having apparent molecular masses of 31.5 and 34.5 kDa, respectively, and differing only by N-glycosylation of the single Asn-X-Ser site present in the molecule. Purification of the anchor-less SAG1 was achieved by a combination of ion-exchange and size-exclusion chromatographies. N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the products indicated the presence of additional residues glutamic acid--alanine at the N-terminal end of the products. Despite incomplete processing and unnatural glycosylation, anchor-less SAG1 proteins apparently adopted a suitable conformation recognized by monoclonal and human serum-derived antibodies, specific for the native SAG1. In addition, the recombinant anchor-less SAG1 proved competent for inducing proliferation, in vitro, of mononuclear cells from seropositive individuals. Finally, properly adjuvanted anchor-less SAG1 was able to induce protection of mice against a lethal challenge with T. gondii tachyzoites.     

The influence of advanced age on the outcome of assisted reproduction

This study investigates within-subject variations and associations of salivary viscosities and flow rates in a test panel of healthy adults. After several practice sessions, unstimulated and stimulated whole saliva samples were collected 5 times daily (at 0800, 1100, 1400, 1700, and 2000 h) from 30 university students. There was a significant within-subject variation in viscosity and flow rate of unstimulated saliva (P<0.001). Intra-item correlations were significantly different for salivary flow rates (r= 0.82 for unstimulated, r= 0.88 for stimulated, P< 0.001) and viscosity of unstimulated saliva (r= 0.54, P< 0.05), but viscosity of stimulated saliva was different in this respect. Our results indicate that there is a significant within-subject variation in viscosity of unstimulated saliva.     

A neuron membrane mesh representation for visualization of electrophysiological simulations

We present a process to automatically generate three-dimensional mesh representations of the complex, arborized cell membrane surface of cortical neurons (the principal information processing cells of the brain) from nonuniform morphological measurements. Starting from manually sampled morphological points (3D points and diameters) from neurons in a brain slice preparation, we construct a polygonal mesh representation that realistically represents the continuous membrane surface, closely matching the original experimental data. A mapping between the original morphological points and the newly generated mesh enables simulations of electrophysiolgical activity to be visualized on this new membrane representation. We compare the new mesh representation with the state of the art and present a series of use cases and applications of this technique to visualize simulations of single neurons and networks of multiple neurons.     

From ethnographic record to system design

This paper explores the issues involved in moving from ethnographic explorations of work in context to a practical contribution to system design. It does so using the example of an interdisciplinary research project involving sociologists and computer scientists in the domain of air traffic control systems. It forms a pair with another paper (Sommerville et al., 1992) exploring these questions from the perspective of our computer science partners. We characterise ethnography as a research method, and consider the differences between undertaking it for strictly sociological or anthropological purposes by contrast with interdisciplinary and design purposes. We summarise some of our results in ethnographic explications of the work of air traffic controllers, and the sociality which it manifests. We describe the dialogues involved in rendering these observations informative for systems design, and the mutual translations implied in attempting to reconcile sociological with software engineering questions about supporting the work. We conclude by specifying some features of cooperative work which an engineering approach is in danger of overlooking; the ways, and limits, in which ethnographers can form a bridge between users and designers; and some of the conflicts of interest entrained in generating technical change.The research is funded by the UK MRC/SERC/ESRC Cognitive Science/HCI Initiative with the title Social Analysis of Control Systems for HCI Design, grant number SPG 8931598. The computer science partners are Professor Ian Sommerville, Dr Tom Rodden, Dr Pete Sawyer and Mr Richard Bentley. Thanks are due to Val King, Kjeldt Schmidt, Ian Sommerville and Tom Rodden for very helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.