The effect of shock deformation on the anodic polarization behavior of polycrystalline nickel in 1N sulphuric acid

The results of anodic potentiostatic polarization of shocked nickel polycrystals in 1N H₂SO₄ are reported. With increasing shock pressure, passivation and Flade potentials shift in the cathodic direction, the critical current density decreases, and the passive current density decreases. These effects are discussed in terms of substructural changes accompanying shock loading.     

Localisation of light in disordered lattices

A short review of the basic concepts underlying localisation of light through multiple scattering in disordered media is provided, in conjunction with the ideas related to the universal features occurring during transport of waves and Anderson localisation. Progress in the area is described, including the recent experimental observation of localisation in photonic lattices upon which random perturbations are superimposed, which has constituted the first observation of Anderson localisation in any perturbed periodic system. Subsequently, some of the new intriguing concepts in the field of localisation of light are discussed, among them the combination of nonlinearity and disorder, and their effects on waves transport. Finally, being somewhat speculative, future directions in the area and their potential impact on the basic understanding of the universal phenomena associated with transport of waves are suggested.     

Touch relieves stress and pain

The contribution of non-biomedical factors to the experience of pain in the cancer patient has not been well established. Although intensity of pain reports cannot be fully explained by extent of identifiable nociception or neuropathy, behavioral factors have been only modest predictors of cancer pain report. Most studies that have demonstrated associations between pain and behavioral factors were conducted with highly selected groups of patients with all data collected concurrently. Thus the predictive value of the behavioral factors has been indeterminable. In this study, 358 bone marrow transplant patients (196 male, 162 female) completed pretransplant biomedical, physical functioning, psychological and social evaluations. For 25 days following transplantation, patients completed daily visual analogue scale oral pain reports and nurses recorded opioid use. At least once a week oral medicine staff completed a standardized, validated measure of observable oral mucositis as a measure of nociception. Results indicated that psychological and social variables were significant predictors of pain in this sample. Distress, particularly distress specific to the transplant, was the strongest predictor, while self-efficacy and coping style were weaker, but significantly associated with pain report for either men or women. While the psychological and social variables were significant predictors of pain, most of the variance in pain report was explained by biomedical variables rather than psychological or social variables. These results are consistent with those of previous research and indicate that biopsychosocial associations predate the onset of pain, but are at best modest predictors of cancer patients who will report greater or lesser pain. Clinical applications and limits of these data are discussed, particularly in relation to emotional distress, coping style and the differences found in predicting pain in men and women.     

MRI-radiofrequency tissue tagging in patients with aortic insufficiency before and after operation

We examined the relation between language dominance and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during the intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP). A previous report limited to three patients suggested that dominant rather than nondominant hemisphere IAP may have a differential effect on rCBF. Behavioral assessment during the IAP also suggests that dominant hemisphere injection results in a differential effect on memory and affective symptoms rather than nondominant injection. Thirteen patients were assessed using single-photon emission CT (SPECT) brain imaging during both left and right IAP. The SPECTs were coregistered with the individual's MRI. Changes in rCBF during each IAP were compared with the patient's baseline SPECT. Nine patients had left hemisphere dominance, two were right dominant, and two had bilateral speech representation. In the left dominant subjects, left-hemisphere injection had a consistently greater effect on rCBF than right-hemisphere injection in the anterior (p < 0.005) and posterior (p < 0.01) temporal neocortex. There was also a trend for greater hypoperfusion in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. rCBF in the ipsilateral hippocampus was not significantly different after each injection (p > 0.05). In the two patients with right hemisphere speech, the reverse pattern was seen, with greater hypoperfusion after right (dominant) hemisphere injection. There was no consistent asymmetry in the two patients with bilateral speech. Dominant hemisphere IAP results in significantly greater hypoperfusion than does nondominant injection. These data provide a physiologic basis for behavioral differences noted after dominant versus nondominant IAP.     

Validation of an automated fluorescein method for determining bromide in water

Surface, atmospheric precipitation and deionized water samples were spiked with μg l^?1 concentrations of bromide, and the solutions stored in polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene bottles. Bromide was determined periodically for 30 days. Automated fluorescein and ion chromatography methods were used to determine bromide in these prepared samples. Analysis of the data by the paired t-test indicates that the two methods are not significantly different at a probability of 95% for samples containing from 0.015 to 0.5 mg l^?1 of bromide. The correlation coefficient for the same sets of paired data is 0.9987. Recovery data, except for the surface water samples to which 0.005 mg l^?1 of bromide was added, range from 89 to 112%. There appears to be no loss of bromide from solution in either type of container.     

Preliminary report of the activity of docetaxel in advanced or recurrent squamous cell cancer of the cervix

Eighteen patients with squamous cell cancer of the cervix were treated with i.v. docetaxel 100 mg/m2 over 1 h every 21 days. No patient received prior chemotherapy, except as a radiation sensitizer. Median age was 42 years (range 30-58) and Zubrod performance status was 1 (0-2). Ten (59%) patients had prior surgery and 11 (65%) had prior radiation therapy. Sixteen patients were evaluable for response. Two patients had a partial response (13%; 95% CI 0-32%) and eight (50%; 95% CI 23-77%) had stable disease. Dose reduction to 75 mg/m2 was required in 10 patients and to 55 mg/m2 in one patient. Granulocytopenia was the major hematopoietic toxicity (31% grade 3 and 44% grade 4). Docetaxel is active in patients with squamous cell cancer of the cervix and may be tolerable at this dose schedule.