Impact of high-intensity ultrasound on physical properties and degree of oxidation of lipase modified menhaden oil with caprylic acid and/or stearic acid

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of high-intensity ultrasound (HIU) on physical properties, degree of oxidation, and oxidative stability of structured lipids (SLs). Caprylic acid (C) and stearic acid (S) were incorporated into menhaden oil using Lipozyme® 435 lipase to obtain five samples: (1) LC 20 (menhaden oil with 20% of C), (2) LC 30 (menhaden oil with 30% C), (3) LS 20 (menhaden oil with 20% S), (4) LS 30 (menhaden oil with 30% S), and (5) Blend C (menhaden oil with 16.24% C and 13.04% S). Samples were crystallized for 90 min at the following temperatures: (1) LC 20 at 15.5°C, (2) LC 30 at 17.5°C, (3) LS 20 at 24°C, (4) LS 30 at 30°C, and (5) Blend C at 18.0°C, and HIU was applied at the onset of crystallization. Physical properties, degree of oxidation, and oxidative stability were evaluated in sonicated and nonsonicated samples. All SLs had statistically higher G′ after sonication. Sonicated LS 30, LC 30, and Blend C had a higher melting enthalpy than the nonsonicated ones, while enthalpy values in sonicated LS 20 and LC 20 samples were not statistically different than the nonsonicated ones. No significant difference between sonicated and nonsonicated samples was observed in peroxide values (1.2 ± 0.1 meq/kg, p > 0.05) and in the oxidative stability index (6.3 ± 0.2 h, p > 0.05). These results showed that HIU was effective at changing physical properties without affecting the oxidation of the samples.     

Sequential testing of sorted and transformed data as an efficient way to implement long GLRTs

It is often required to detect a long weak signal in Gaussian noise, and frequently, the exact form of that signal is parameterized but not known. A bank of matched filters provides an appropriate detector. However, in some practical applications, there are very many matched filters, and most are quite long. The consequent computational needs may render the classical bank-of-filters approach infeasibly expensive. One example, and our original motivation, is the detection of chirp gravitational waves by an Earth-based interferometer. In this paper, we provide a computational approach to this problem via sequential testing. Since the sequential tests to be used are not for constant signals, we develop the theory in terms of average sample number (ASN) for this case. Specifically, we propose two easily calculable expressions for the ASN: one a bound and the other an approximation. The sequential approach does yield moderate computational savings, but we find that by preprocessing the data using short/medium fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) and an appropriate sorting of these FFT outputs such that the most informative samples are entered to a sequential test first, quite high numerical efficiency can be realized. The idea is simple but appears to be quite successful: Examples are presented in which the computational load is reduced by several orders of magnitude. The FFT is an example of an energy-agglomerating transform, but of course, there are many others. The point here is that the transform need not match the sought signal exactly in the sense that all energy becomes confined to a single sample; it is enough that the energy becomes concentrated, and the more concentrated the better.     

Vitamin C elevates red blood cell glutathione in healthy adults

Pre-transplant nephrectomy was done in a 25-year-old man for calculous pyelonephritis using a retroperitoneal laparoscopic approach with a newly devised ligature applicator-dissector- kidney retractor.     

An extended panel of hamster-human hybrids for chromosome 2q

A hamster-human hybrid containing only the q arm of chromosome 2 has been used to construct a panel of hybrids bearing reduced regions of chromosome 2 using the technique of irradiation fusion gene transfer. The human chromosome 2 carried the Ecogpt gene and all hybrids were selected using this marker. The integrated Ecogpt gene was localized to the region 2q33-34, resulting in the selective retention of this region in the hybrids. These data were combined with another previously constructed panel of hybrids containing regions of 2q, which were enriched for the region 2q36-37. The combined hybrid panel is useful for the mapping of new markers to defined regions of chromosome 2 and for the cloning of genes located on 2q by a positional strategy.     

Organ preservation in anal and rectal cancers

For the past 10 to 15 years, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have played an increasingly important role in the treatment of various gastrointestinal malignancies, most prominently in anal and rectal cancer. Critical issues in the care of patients with anal and rectal cancer include not only local control and survival but organ preservation as well. For patients with carcinoma of the anal canal, external-beam irradiation with 5-fluorouracil and chemotherapy with mitomycin C have replaced surgery as primary therapy. Current studies are optimizing this therapy. In contrast, the management of distal rectal cancer is in evolution. Although the abdominoperineal resection has been long regarded as the definitive treatment of distal rectal cancer, it is associated with substantial morbidity (loss of anorectal function with a permanent colostomy and a high incidence of sexual and genitourinary dysfunction). As an alternative, treatment programs utilizing sphincter-preserving procedures with radiation therapy and chemotherapy are under active investigation. In selected patients, these strategies appear promising, and there have been reports of satisfactory local control and survival, as well as preservation of sphincter integrity.     

A predictive model for matrix and analyte effects in electrospray ionization of singly-charged ionic analytes

In electrospray ionization (ESI), droplets with a surface excess charge are created. The rate of production of surface excess charge is a constant and is equal to the rate of ion production. The ions appearing in the mass spectrum are postulated to be those that formed the surface excess charge at the time of droplet formation (or their collision products). An equilibrium model based on competition among the ions in the solution for the limited number of excess charge sites has been developed. This model accurately predicts the response curves of singly-charged ionic analytes as a function of the concentration of electrolyte and other analytes and provides an explanation for the selective effectiveness of ESI. At low concentrations of total analyte (micromolar and less), the response curves are linear, indifferent to the presence of other low concentration analytes, and suppressed by electrolyte concentrations in excess of the minimum required. At higher analyte concentrations, the response becomes independent of analyte concentration but highly affected by the presence of other analytes.     

Response of Plasmodium falciparum to chloroquine and Fansidar in vivo and chloroquine and amodiaquine in vitro in Uganda

The response of P. falciparum to chloroquine and pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine in vivo and chloroquine and amodiaquine in vitro was investigated in parasitaemic school children from six locations. Mean parasite sensitivity to chloroquine at day 7 was 74% (range 61-97) with parasite clearance rates between 2-3 days and complete defervescence in 85% of febrile children. Sensitivity declined in the four sites followed up to day 14 to 45% (range 37-53). Parasites were significantly more sensitive to pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine at 5/6 sites (100% day 7) but 5% of subjects became parasitaemic by day 14. In vitro isolates were significantly less sensitive to chloroquine than to amodiaquine with a mean 99% effective concentration of 348 mumol/L compared to 6.44 mumol/L. Clearly the role of chloroquine as the primary therapy for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria should be reconsidered especially in the light of increasing disease severity and resurgence. Amodiaquine may be suitable alternative with pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine as second line and for more severe malaria prior to referral. The cost of alternative antimalarials and the dynamic and deteriorating pattern of resistance are powerful arguments for more objective slide diagnosis to minimise drug pressure and a regular drug sensitivity surveillance system. We believe that the latter should concentrate on measuring clinical drug efficacy in symptomatic outpatients rather than in asymptomatic children while the former needs more pragmatic and economical strategies possibly centred on seasonality and risk.     

Early American neurologic textbooks

Although European treatises were translated and available to American doctors interested in neurology during the 19th century, the early American neurologic textbooks were distinctive in their comprehensive integration of basic and clinical science. William A. Hammond, in 1871, published the first comprehensive American textbook of neurology, preceding the manuals by Gowers (1886) and Oppenheim (1894) by more than a decade. Four other American adult neurologic textbooks expanded on Hammond's model and incorporated other important topics, including neurologic anatomy, the formal examination, neurochemistry, and complete bibliographies. Bernard Sachs' 1895 textbook was the first pediatric neurologic textbook published in America and made significant contributions to the organization of childhood neurologic disorders. These works functioned as centralized resources for neurologic information, were influential educational tools, and helped foster a growing appreciation of the American neurologic school both nationally and internationally.