Creatine kinase isoenzymes in serum from cord blood and the blood of healthy full-term infants during the first three postnatal days

Isoenzymes of creatine kinase (ATP:creatine phosphotransferase; EC 2.7.3.2; CK) were measured by electrophoresis in serum from cord blood and skin-puncture blood taken from 45 healthy full-term infants during the first three postnatal days. Mean total CK activities (in U/L at 30 degrees C) were 185 in cord samples, 536 in samples taken between 5--8 h postnatally, 494 between 24--33 h, and 288 in the 72-100 h samples. Values for all three isoenzymes increased to a peak over this period, with the highest values generally being found in the samples taken 5--33 h after birth; the subsequent decline was most rapid for CK-BB. Serum CK isoenzymes in cord samples and those taken at 72--100 h in the 11 babies delivered by cesarian section did not differ significantly from those of babies delivered vaginally. However the postnatal increases in total CK, CK-MM, and CK-MB (but not in CK-BB) were significantly greater in those patients born by vaginal delivery. The reasons for the increases in CK isoenzymes after birth are not clear, but our results and reported studies on the ontogeny of CK suggest that CK-MB cannot be regarded as a "cardiac-specific" isoenzyme in the neonatal period.     

Combination of variable frequency train stimulation and K/sup +/ channel blockade to augment skeletal muscle force

Several innovative approaches are being used to optimize the input-output relationship of muscle, including nonlinear stimulation paradigms and altering muscle membrane ion channel conductances. We tested the hypothesis that the combination of the K+ channel blocker, 3,4-diaminopyridine (DAP), and variable frequency train (VFT) stimulation improves muscle force to a greater extent than either modality alone. Studies were done in vitro on rat diaphragm muscle and contractions were quantified with respect to peak force, mean force, and force area. DAP increased all three force parameters by >50% during conventional 10-20-Hz stimulation, whereas VFT stimulation improved contractile performance for peak force only. When combined, DAP and VFT stimulation augmented peak force to a significantly greater extent than either modality alone. However, this came at a cost of a moderate decline in force area relative to DAP alone, although mean force was preserved. These force increases were generally well-maintained over the course of short-term repetitive stimulation. Thus, VFT stimulation and K+ channel blockade interact in a complex manner to modulate skeletal muscle force. The utility of the combined intervention for functional electrical stimulation may be greatest for mechanical tasks requiring high force levels early during the contraction.     

A Meta-Analysis of Massage Therapy Research.

Massage therapy (MT) is an ancient form of treatment that is now gaining popularity as part of the complementary and alternative medical therapy movement. A meta-analysis was conducted of studies that used random assignment to test the effectiveness of MT. Mean effect sizes were calculated from 37 studies for 9 dependent variables. Single applications of MT reduced state anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate but not negative mood, immediate assessment of pain, and cortisol level. Multiple applications reduced delayed assessment of pain. Reductions of trait anxiety and depression were MT's largest effects, with a course of treatment providing benefits similar in magnitude to those of psychotherapy. No moderators were statistically significant, though continued testing is needed. The limitations of a medical model of MT are discussed, and it is proposed that new MT theories and research use a psychotherapy perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thermal stability study of a new guanidine suppressor for the next-generation caustic-side solvent extraction process

Cesium stripping performance of thermally stressed solvent worsens slowly over time in batch tests of the Next-Generation Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction (NG-CSSX) process. NG-CSSX is currently used in full-scale equipment at the Savannah River Site for the selective removal of caesium from high-level salt waste. Recently, a new guanidine, N,N’,N”-tris(3,7-dimethyloctyl)guanidine (TiDG), was chosen for use as the suppressor, a lipophilic organic base needed for stripping, and the present study was undertaken to address the question of its stability. The NG-CSSX process solvent was evaluated for a period of three months under a variety of temperature and storage conditions. The performance of the solvent was tested at 30-day increments using an extraction, scrub, strip and extraction (ES₂S₃E) sequence. The results provide insights into the effects of storage and process conditions, the stripping behaviour of TiDG and the stability of the new solvent composition.     

Residents' preferences for private amenities and trade-offs associated with various spatial densities and patterns

ABSTRACT

Northwest Arkansas planning policies, like a number of communities across the country, have identified goals working toward more sustainable, livable, and subsequently denser development patterns. However, the understanding of residents’ perceptions of such living arrangements is limited. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of Northwest Arkansas residents’ spatial preferences through a survey of residents’ preferences for private amenities and their trade-off with various spatial densities and patterns in support of sustainability. Results of the survey indicate a preference for, and experience with, single-family residential living arrangements and amenities, with the preponderance (80%) of survey respondents currently living in single-family housing. There is a preference for low-density neighborhoods even if it means sacrificing other amenities. This study is in alignment with previous research suggesting that people may learn to prefer where they live. Additionally, while the majority of survey respondents indicated a preference for communal greenspaces, renters are more likely to prefer communal greenspaces when compared to homeowners. This study indicates that attached, multi-family development and renter development in Northwest Arkansas should consider the provision of communal green spaces, walkable access to transit, and walkable access to services as desired amenities for those residents.     

A provably secure and efficient two‐party password‐based explicit authenticated key exchange protocol resistance to password guessing attacks

Password‐based two‐party authenticated key exchange (2PAKE) protocol enables two or more entities, who only share a low‐entropy password between them, to authenticate each other and establish a high‐entropy secret session key. Recently, Zheng et al. proposed a password‐based 2PAKE protocol based on bilinear pairings and claimed that their protocol is secure against the known security attacks. However, in this paper, we indicate that the protocol of Zheng et al. is insecure against the off‐line password guessing attack, which is a serious threat to such protocols. Consequently, we show that an attacker who obtained the users' password by applying the off‐line password guessing attack can easily obtain the secret session key. In addition, the protocol of Zheng et al. does not provide the forward secrecy of the session key. As a remedy, we also improve the protocol of Zheng et al. and prove the security of our enhanced protocol in the random oracle model. The simulation result shows that the execution time of our 2PAKE protocol is less compared with other existing protocols. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consumer communications and networks: interest continued to grow - [guest editorial]

Presents four additional articles on the general topic of Consumer Communications and Networking. The first set of articles appeared in the December 2008 issue.     

Selective separation of hydroxide from alkaline nuclear tank waste by liquid-liquid extraction with weak hydroxy acids

Recovery and recycle of caustic reagents in industrial processes offer potential means of pollution prevention, as investigated herein for particular needs related to the cleanup of alkaline nuclear waste. Specifically, the recovery of hydroxide from alkaline media by liquid-liquid extraction can be effected utilizing weak hydroxy acids, as demonstrated for NaOH utilizing a series of lipophilic fluorinated alcohols and alkylated phenols dissolved in 1-octanol. Extraction efficiency follows the expected order of acidity of the hydroxy acids, the phenols being the most efficient extractants among the compounds tested. After extraction, NaOH is effectively recoverable from the organic phase upon contact with water. The weakest hydroxy acids are the most efficiently stripped, NaOH recovery being nearly quantitative in a single contact. In competitive extraction experiments, good selectivity for hydroxide recovery over other anions such as nitrate and chloride was demonstrated. Since the order of extraction favors larger anions, the exceptional preference for hydroxide implies that the extraction occurs by deprotonation of the hydroxy acids in a cation-exchange process. Stripping therefore occurs by hydrolysis to regenerate the neutral hydroxy acid, liberating NaOH to the aqueous phase. Since hydroxide equivalents rather than actual hydroxide ions are transferred to the solvent, the process is termed "pseudohydroxide extraction." Hydroxide recovery from a simulant of alkaline nuclear tank waste (Hanford DSSF simulant) was also demonstrated in repeated extraction and stripping cycles.     

Classism is overrated: Comment.

Comments on "Psychotherapy, classism, and the poor: Conspicuous by their absence" by Laura Smith (see record 2005-11834-002). This article might have improved Smith's argument that prejudice and oppression (classism) are significant obstacles preventing the poor from receiving psychological services if she had presented evidence to substantiate her claim that "psychology has fallen short in its services" (p. 687) to the poor in the first place. In fact, there is reason to believe that psychotherapists are meeting the mental health needs of the poor in some areas of the country. In Maine, the poor are eligible for Medicaid, which allows for mental health benefits that are more generous in some cases than those provided by private insurance. In addition, the poor in southern Maine may take advantage of programs that pay for mental health services in ways that the middle class cannot. Many psychologists in Maine do provide mental health services to the poor. This is not to say that barriers do not exist or that the mental health needs of the poor are being met. However, I think it is fair to challenge the premise of Smith's (2005) article that the poor either are not being served or are being disproportionately served compared with the nonpoor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhancement of CsNO3 extraction in 1,2-dichloroethane by tris(2-aminoethyl)amine triamide derivatives via a dual-host strategy

A systematic study of a dual-host system exhibiting pairwise anion/cation separations has been performed for CsNO3 extraction. Tripodal triamides 1-4 and 9 derived from condensation of hexanoic (for 1), octanoic (for 2), decanoic (for 3), lauric (for 4), and p-tert-butylbenzoic (for 9) acid with tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (tren) were used together with tetrabenzo-24-crown-8, a well-known Cs+ cation receptor. By using 5 mM crown ether in the organic phase and 10 mM CsNO3 with 0.1 mM HNO3 in the aqueous phase, tripods 1, 2, and 9 enhance CsNO3 extraction by factors of 2.4, 1.7, and 4.4, respectively (for 50 mM amide concentration), while the corresponding monoamide controls 5-8 derived from n-propylamine (5, 6) or N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine (7, 8) and hexanoic (5, 7) or octanoic (6, 8) acid derivatives gave no significant enhancement under the same conditions. This behavior may be ascribed to nitrate complexation by the triamides, which lowers the overall thermodynamic barrier for the salt transfer to the organic phase. The nitrate binding was confirmed by 1H NMR titration of receptor solutions, using tetrabutylammonium nitrate. Association constants for the formation of the anion-nitrate complexes were found to vary between 33 and 52 M-1 for the more soluble triamides. The synergistic effects for CsNO3 extraction are in reasonable agreement with the values predicted theoretically from the measured association constants. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry confirmed the predominant formation of 1:1 tripod-nitrate complexes. Monoamide controls gave no evidence of anion complexation.