Transgenic animal models: new avenues in cardiovascular physiology

Coryneform bacteria and yeasts of 21 brick cheeses from six German dairies, produced by using undefined ripening cultures, were identified. Arthrobacter nicotianae, Brevibacterium linens, Corynebacterium ammoniagenes, Corynebacterium variabilis and Rhodococcus fascians were found in significant numbers. Out of 148 coryneform isolates 36 could not be identified at the species level. With the exception of a large rennet cheese, the coryneform microflora of rennet and acid cured cheeses were similar, but the cheeses had clearly different yeast populations. Debaryomyces hansenii and Galactomyces geotrichum prevailed in rennet cheeses while Kluyveromyces marxianus and Pichia membranaefaciens were the main species found in acid cured cheese. The dominance of Yarrowia lipolytica probably indicates an improper yeast population, resulting in poor cheese quality. Some of the species identified are potential candidates for designing a defined ripening culture for rennet red smear cheese.     

Integrating CAM and process simulation to enhance on-line analysisand control of IC fabrication

The integration of a process simulator with a commercial computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system to provide a set of powerful tools for process analysis, diagnosis, and control is described. The CAM system acts as the interface to the simulator and maintains the simulation control data as part of the process specification. Making process simulation available in a manufacturing environment allows engineers to intuitively investigate the process, thus aiding their understanding of the interrelation of process steps. A microprocessing scenario in an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) facility is used to demonstrate how the system can be used to analyze options for corrective processing. It can also be used for documenting processes, to simplify process transfer and implementation, and for investigating the effect of corrective processing on device reliability     

Assessment of dietary exposure to ochratoxin A in the UK using a duplicate diet approach and analysis of urine and plasma samples

The approach to assess exposure to ochratoxin A from the diet by the analysis of human plasma and urine samples has been developed. Composite duplicate diet samples from 50 individuals and corresponding plasma and urine samples were obtained over 30 days. Samples were analysed using sensitive methods capable of measuring ochratoxin A at 0.001ng g -1 in food, 0.1ng ml -1 in plasma and 0.01ng ml -1 in urine. Analysis of the foods indicated ochratoxin A levels contributing to an average intake in the range 0.26-3.54ng kg -1 bw day -1 over the 30 days. Ochratoxin A was found in all plasma samples and in 46 urine samples. The correlation between the plasma ochratoxin A levels and ochratoxin A consumption was not significant (95% confidence limit). However, a significant correlation was found between ochratoxin A consumption and the urine ochratoxin A concentration expressed as the total amount excreted. This new work offers the possibility of using ochratoxin A in urine as a simple and reliable biomarker to estimate exposure to this mycotoxin.     

Negative priming for obsessive-compulsive checkers and noncheckers.

Negative priming—the slowing of a response to an item that was recently ignored—was investigated in three groups: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) checkers, OCD noncheckers, and nonclinical control participants. All groups performed both a standard negative priming task, selecting targets based on a perceptual feature (i.e., color), and a modified negative priming task, selecting targets based on a semantic feature (i.e., referent size). All three groups demonstrated significant negative priming in both tasks, although the negative priming was much larger in the novel, semantic task than in the common perceptual one. The findings suggest that patients with OCD do not demonstrate impairments in negative priming, contrary to earlier claims (Enright & Beech, 1990, 1993a, 1993b; Enright, Beech, & Claridge, 1995). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intraindividual variability is related to cognitive change in older adults: Evidence for within-person coupling.

In this study, the authors addressed the longitudinal nature of intraindividual variability over 3 years. A sample of 304 community-dwelling older adults, initially between the ages of 64 and 92 years, completed 4 waves of annual testing on a battery of accuracy- and latency-based tests covering a wide range of cognitive complexity. Increases in response-time inconsistency on moderately and highly complex tasks were associated with increasing age, but there were significant individual differences in change across the entire sample. The time-varying covariation between cognition and inconsistency was significant across the 1-year intervals and remained stable across both time and age. On occasions when intraindividual variability was high, participants' cognitive performance was correspondingly low. The strength of the coupling relationship was greater for more fluid cognitive domains such as memory, reasoning, and processing speed than for more crystallized domains such as verbal ability. Variability based on moderately and highly complex tasks provided the strongest prediction. These results suggest that intraindividual variability is highly sensitive to even subtle changes in cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensitivity analysis of handoff algorithms on CDMA forward link

We analyze the performance of different handoff algorithms on the forward link or downlink of a code-division multiple-access (CDMA) cellular system. Unlike the reverse link, soft handoff on the forward link requires additional resources such as CDMA codes and transmit power and also causes additional interference. If handoff requests can be processed and completed instantaneously, transmission from the base station with the best link to the user would achieve a significant fraction of the macrodiversity gain without utilizing additional resources. However, in practical systems, there is a nonzero handoff completion delay and soft handoff provides the required robustness to delays, although it comes at the expense of additional network resources. Thus, there is a tradeoff between the extent of soft handoff required and the handoff execution delay. We compare the performance of hard and soft handoff schemes and study their sensitivity to the delay in the execution of the handoff. Outage probability and the total average power required are used as performance metrics. We present an analytical framework to study this tradeoff and also discuss simulation results with field data. The results provide insights on the conditions under which soft handoff can be eliminated and on the effect of relevant handoff thresholds on the performance.     

Intravascular lymphomatosis: a case presenting with encephalomyelitis and reactive haemophagocytic syndrome diagnosed by renal biopsy

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of characteristics associated with unprotected heterosexual intercourse in HIV infected adults in an urban area. DESIGN: Retrospective comparison of sexual risk transmission behaviour between HIV infected men and women from a drug treatment site and between women from the drug site and HIV infected women from an urban medical centre. METHODS: HIV infected women and men were asked questions on sexual behaviour for a 1 year period before enrollment. The outcome variable was heterosexual risk behaviour (HRB) defined as having vaginal sex at least once in the previous year and not always using condoms. RESULTS: 73% of the drug clinic females, 72% of the drug clinic males, and 42% of the medical centre female engaged in HRB. Using logistic regression analysis, women and men in drug treatment engaged in similar rates of HRB; however, women in drug treatment were four times (95% CI = 2.0-8.3) more likely to engage in HRB risk behaviour than women from the medical centre. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that a surprisingly large portion of HIV infected patients under treatment engaged in HRB, especially former drug users. Without specifically targeted interventions, the heterosexual spread of HIV in urban areas will continue to be a serious problem.     

On the natural enrichment of cadmium and molybdenum in the sediments of Ucluelet Inlet, British Columbia

Cadmium concentrations in Ucluelet Inlet sediments are usually high compared with most marine environments, ranging up to 8 micrograms g-1. The distribution of the element is closely correlated with Mo, organic carbon and total nitrogen in depth profiles at three stations. Paradoxically, organic carbon concentrations are high in inlet sediments, reaching up to 9 wt.%, although the sedimentation rate determined from 210Pb measurements is low at all three sites (less than 0.03 to 0.28 cm year-1). C:N ratio data indicate a mixed marine-terrigenous provenance for the organic material and a relatively recent increase in the terrigenous proportion which probably represents wood debris associated with logging and log booming activity in the area. The complete absence of Mn enrichments in surface sediments, coupled with qualitative observations that H2S is present at very shallow depths, strongly suggest that the deposits are anoxic very near the sediment-water interface. The Cd and Mo enrichments are not due to anthropogenic inputs but are instead ascribed to diffusion of the dissolved metals from overlying seawater into the slowly-accumulating, organic-rich, anoxic sediments and their fixation in the solid phase as CdS and as a coprecipitate with FeS, respectively.     

The intoxicated witness: Effects of alcohol on identification accuracy from showups.

The effect of alcohol on identification accuracy is potentially an important topic. This study examined the effects of alcohol consumption on identification accuracy from showups, the identification procedure most likely to be used by police with intoxicated witnesses. The blood alcohol level of people exposed to a target was measured. In the target-present showup condition, blood alcohol level was not significantly related to correct identification rate. In the target-absent showup condition, the higher the blood alcohol level, the more people were likely to make a false identification. Implications for law enforcement and future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)