Object permanence in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

We evaluated the performance of 6 adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) on object permanence tasks. In Experiment 1, monkeys received search tasks that correspond to Stages 4, 5, and 6 of object permanence. Subjects were successful on tasks of visible displacements (Stages 4 and 5) but failed to find the object in invisible displacements (Stage 6). The monkeys adopted a search strategy of investigating a specific hiding location. In Experiment 2, monkeys were given a second opportunity to find the object if they investigated a location that was part of the displacement on their first search. Subjects relied on the same search strategy identified in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, the experimenter hid the object in her hand rather than a container. The monkeys failed to recover the object, and individual differences were found in the strategies used. These results suggest that the upper limit of object permanence in rhesus monkeys is Stage 5. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congenital and pediatric interstitial disease

Congenital and pediatric interstitial lung disease (ILD) is set in the context of the maturing lung and immune system, and thus differs completely from its adult equivalents in presentation, therapy, and outcome. We first establish the background by briefly reviewing normal maturational changes and then describe recent advances in diagnosis. We then highlight three specific topics: drugs and the lung (treatment and iatrogenic ILD); the histiocytic disorders of the lung; and congenital ILD (specifically congenital surfactant protein deficiency).     

Spontaneous and induced minisatellite instability

Minisatellites provide not only the basis for DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling but also extremely informative systems for analysing processes of tandem repeat turnover in the human genome. Minisatellite instability appears to involve distinct mutation processes in somatic and germline cells; in the germline, mutation is frequently dominated by inter-allelic conversion-like events most likely occurring at meiosis and apparently regulated by cis-acting mutation initiator elements. Attempts to define these initiators in transgenic mice have so far been thwarted by what appears to be a major human/mouse barrier to the inter-species transfer of repeat instability. Minisatellites not only show high frequency spontaneous mutation in the germline, but also appear to be very sensitive to mutation induction by ionizing radiation, both in experimentally irradiated mice and in human populations exposed following the Chernobyl disaster; the mechanisms of mutation induction by radiation remain enigmatic.     

Dielectric plug-loaded two-port transmission line measurementtechnique for dielectric property characterization of granular andliquid materials

There are numerous dielectric property characterization techniques available in the microwave regime each with its own uniqueness, advantages and disadvantages. The two-port completely-filled waveguide (transmission line) technique is a robust measurement approach which is well suited for solid dielectric materials. In this case, the dielectric material can be relatively easily machined to fit inside the waveguide and the subsequent measurement of the scattering parameters of this two-port device renders the dielectric properties of the material filling the waveguide. However, this technique is not well suited for measuring the dielectric properties of granular and liquid materials. These materials are used in the production of various composites which are increasingly replacing the use of metals in many environments. If this technique is directly applied to these types of materials, several approximations either in the measurement apparatus or the formulation must be made. To overcome this problem, this paper describes a modification to this measurement technique utilizing two dielectric plugs which are used to house the granular or the liquid dielectric material. In this approach no approximation to the measurement apparatus is made while the presence of the plugs are fully accounted for in the derivations. Using this technique, the dielectric properties of cement powder, corn oil, antifreeze solution and tap water, constituting low- and high-loss dielectric materials (granular and liquid) were measured. In addition, the important issue of measurement uncertainty associated with this technique is also fully addressed. The issue of optimal choice of various measurement parameters is also discussed as it relates to the measurement uncertainty     

A decreased metabolic clearance of glucose is involved in the hyperglycemic effect of a serum temperature induced factor (TIF)

We have studied the effects of a hyperglycemic temperature induced factor (TIF) on glucose metabolism, in 3 groups of Wistar rats: 10 rats injected with non-heated serum, 10 rats injected with heated serum and 10 rats injected with semi-purified TIF. Seric levels of insulin and glucagon were not modified in rats injected with heated serum. The injection of heated serum induced hyperglycemia (p < 0.0001), a decrease of lactate (p < 0.001) and pyruvate (p < 0.05) levels, and an increase of acetoacetate level (p < 0.001). The levels of beta hydroxybutyrate and amino acids (alanine and glutamine) were not changed. Glucose turn over rate (12.3 +/- 1.3 g/min/kg) and metabolic clearance of glucose (10.0 +/- 0.8 ml/min/kg) were significantly lower in rats treated with heated serum and purified TIF than in controls (respectively, p < 0.05 and p < 0.001). These data suggested that the hyperglycemic effect of heated serum and isolated TIF could correspond to an impaired metabolic clearance of glucose and to an increased gluconeogenesis.     

Built-in self-test of a CMOS ALU

A technique is proposed for implementing BIST (built-in self-test) in a CMOS arithmetic and logic unit (ALU). The approach covers single stuck-open faults and all functional faults that do not induce memory effects. The specific fault set covered by the test includes: (1) all single stuck-open faults on n and p transistors anywhere in the ALU (F1 faults); and (2) all functional faults that affect any single-bit slice of the (F2 faults), a functional fault being any fault that changes one combinational function into another. Functional faults in multiple slices are also detectable, as long as they do not generate identical responses in all even-numbered or odd-numbered ALU slices. With common techniques for test vector generation and response-verification, this BIST implementation provides higher fault coverage with only a small increase in surface area