Are fifth-degree equations over GF(5 m ) solvable by radicals?

Irreducible quintics over finite fields are solvable in closed form with the possible exception of characteristic 5 fields. It is shown that this is equally true for fifth-degree equations overGF(5 ^m ). The result follows from an Artin-Schreier theorem that yields explicit expressions for the roots ofx ⁵–x–a. In addition to what at present is known for all other finite fields, any quintic can be solved in closed form.This work was financially supported in part by Politecnico di Torino from grant No. POLI4169-87-Cap11205A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the Oberwolfach meeting on Informations-theorie, April 5–11, 1992     

Modeling with features

Existing freeform modeling methods do not address the needs of sculptors and animators, which differ from those of engineers. The authors' modeler fills this gap, allowing users to build shapes by adding bumps, dents, or twists anywhere on a parametric surface     

The independent metabolic effects of halothane and isoflurane anaesthesia

Twelve healthy, unpremedicated women scheduled for total abdominal hysterectomy were given either isoflurane (n = 6) or halothane (n = 6) anaesthesia. They all received general anaesthesia for a period of 3 h, with surgery being carried out only in the last hour. The anaesthesia consisted of thiopentone, pancuronium and a mixture of oxygen-enriched air (FiO2 = 34%) supplemented with 1 MAC of either isoflurane or halothane. The patients were maintained normothermic, and with an arterial SaO2 above 95% throughout the period of the study. The following measurements were made before, during and after anaesthesia (with and without surgery): oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2); circulating concentrations of various hormones (insulin, growth hormone and cortisol); various metabolites; selected amino acids and albumin; forearm arterio-venous concentration difference of glucose, lactate, free fatty-acids and selected amino acids (four patients in each group). Whole body VO2 decreased significantly by over 20% during anaesthesia (with or without surgery), P < 0.05). Although the circulating concentration of most amino acids showed little or no change during anaesthesia alone, there was a tendency for the flux of most metabolites to decrease, and this persisted during surgery (P < 0.05). During anaesthesia alone there was a twofold reduction in the plasma cortisol concentration (P < 0.05), and a decrease in albumin concentration (P < 0.01). With the onset of surgery, plasma cortisol concentration increased rapidly (in association with several other hormones and metabolites) but hypoalbuminemia persisted.     

Increased chemosensitivity to doxorubicin of intrinsically multidrug-resistant human colon carcinoma cells by prolonged exposure to verapamil

Resistance modifying agents (RMA) such as verapamil (VER) have proved effective in reversing multidrug resistance (MDR) in many in vitro experimental models, but clinical results with RMA have been disappointing. To clarify this apparent discrepancy we have evaluated the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin (DOX) plus VER in four human colon carcinoma (HCOC) cell lines (LoVo, DLD-1, SW948, SW1116). These lines were selected on the basis of their levels of mdr1 mRNA being similar to those expressed by HCC obtained from non-drug-treated patients. In all cell lines the sensitising effect of VER on DOX cytotoxicity was schedule-dependent and maximal potentiation of DOX cytotoxicity was obtained by exposure to VER for a time > or = the cells' population doubling time.     

ALL-1 gene at chromosome 11q23 is consistently altered in acute leukemia of early infancy

Early infancy (< 1 year of age), massive tumor cell burden, and extremely poor prognosis are characteristic features of a particular subset of childhood acute leukemias (AL). In these cases, chromosome aberrations at the 11q23 band are the most frequently reported cytogenetic abnormalities. We have recently cloned a genetic locus named ALL-1, in which DNA breakpoints are clustered in leukemic patients with 11q23 aberrations. Analysis of the ALL-1 genomic configuration in DNA from 15 infants with AL showed specific ALL-1 rearrangements in 12 cases (80%), including 5 with normal karyotypes. These findings indicate that a consistent genetic defect underlies this particular leukemic subset.     

No changes of peripheral insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome after long-term reduction of endogenous androgens with leuprolide

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between plasma insulin levels, peripheral insulin sensitivity and androgen secretion in ten patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and in six obese women as compared with six normal-weight control subjects. During a euglycemic-hyper-insulinemic clamp no significant change of testosterone, androstenedione or dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate plasma levels was observed in the two groups of patients or in the control subjects; insulin sensitivity was clearly reduced and was similar in polycystic ovary patients and in obese women, in spite of the different plasma androgen levels. A long-term (5 months) androgen suppression with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist leuprolide was not able to improve significantly the insulin sensitivity. These results demonstrate that the short-term hyperinsulinemia achieved with the clamp technique does not affect androgen secretion and that insulin resistance, measured with the same technique, is not influenced by long-term suppression of plasma androgen levels in polycystic ovary syndrome.     

High cancer susceptibility and embryonic lethality associated with mutation of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene in mice

BACKGROUND: Germ-line and sporadic mutations in the tumor suppressor gene PTEN (also known as MMAC or TEP1), which encodes a dual-specificity phosphatase, cause a variety of cancers such as Cowden disease, glioblastoma, endometrial carcinoma and prostatic cancer. PTEN is widely expressed, and Cowden disease consistently affects various organ systems, suggesting that the PTEN protein must have an important, although as yet poorly understood, function in cellular physiology. RESULTS: Homozygous mutant mice lacking exons 3-5 of the PTEN gene (mPTEN3-5) had severely expanded and abnormally patterned cephalic and caudal regions at day 8.5 of gestation. Embryonic death occurred by day 9.5 and was associated with defective chorio-allantoic development. Heterozygous mPTEN3-5 mice had an increased incidence of tumors, especially T-cell lymphomas; gamma-irradiation reduced the time lapse of tumor formation. DNA analysis of these tumors revealed the deletion of the mPTEN gene due to loss of heterozygosity of the wild-type allele. Tumors associated with loss of heterozygosity in mPTEN showed elevated phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt kinase), thus providing a functional connection between mPTEN and a murine proto-oncogene (c-Akt) involved in the development of lymphomas. CONCLUSIONS: The mPTEN gene is fundamental for embryonic development in mice, as mPTEN3-5 mutant embryos died by day 9.5 of gestation, with patterning defects in cephalic and caudal regions and defective placentation. Heterozygous mice developed lymphomas associated with loss of heterozygosity of the wild-type mPTEN allele, and tumor appearance was accelerated by gamma-irradiation. These lymphomas had high levels of activated Akt/PKB, the protein product of a murine proto-oncogene with anti-apoptotic function, associated with thymic lymphomas. This suggests that tumors associated with mPTEN loss of heterozygosity may arise as a consequence of an acquired survival advantage. We provide direct evidence of the role of mPTEN as a tumor suppressor gene in mice, and establish the mPTEN mutant mouse as an experimental model for investigating the role of PTEN in cancer progression.     

Young people's perceptions of traffic injury risks, prevention and enforcement measures: a qualitative study

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate young people's perceptions, in Barcelona, Spain, about the evolution, magnitude, causes and determinants of traffic crashes, to describe their opinions on road safety regulations, and to explore their suggestions and proposals. Interviews were conducted with 43 key informants and 12 focus groups involving 98 participants. Discussion guides were designed to get insight on perceptions of relevance and trends in road traffic injuries, determinants of these, regulations and enforcement, as well as to gather their own ideas for reducing traffic injuries. Young people are aware that traffic injuries are a relevant and increasingly serious problem. The main determinants identified are: driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, fatigue, night driving, unsafe infrastructures, age of drivers and lack of public transport alternatives. Young people admit that fines, speed cameras and alcohol breath testing reduce risky driving. They prefer community work to fines. They have a poor image of public administrations in charge of prevention of traffic injuries. They demand information on traffic regulations and politicians' decisions, and a considerable increase in weekend and night time public transport. Effectiveness of interventions to reduce traffic injuries can be improved by taking the recipients' perceptions into account.     

Removal of total phenols from olive-mill wastewater using an agricultural by-product, olive pomace

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sorption of total phenols, which are contained in olive-mill wastewater (OMWW), on solid by-products of olive pomace processing mills. Preliminary batch experiments were conducted using three different types of olive pomace, dried olive pomace (OP-1), dried and solvent extracted olive pomace (OP-2) and dried, solvent extracted and incompletely combusted olive pomace (OP-3). According to the results, OP-3 showed high performance for total phenols sorption and stability. For sorbent concentration of 10 g L⁻¹ and sorbate concentration of 50 mg L⁻¹, more than 40% of initial total phenols concentration was removed. Sorption kinetics was well described by the pseudo-second order rate model (R² > 0.99). Total phenols removal efficiency was improved by increasing sorbent concentration and solution's pH or decreasing particle size of the sorbent material. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms sufficiently described OP-3 sorption capacity for the concentration range studied (50–500 mg L⁻¹). Fixed bed sorption experiments showed that lower flow rates and smaller particle size of sorbent resulted in longer column exhaustion time and higher initial removal efficiency. Experiments with thermally or chemically regenerated OP-3 showed that sorption capacity deteriorated after regeneration.     

Feasibility of pressurization to speed up enzymatic hydrolysis of biological materials for multielement determinations

The feasibility of pressurized solvents (liquids at a high pressure and/or high temperature without the subcritical point being reached) has been newly investigated to accelerate enzymatic hydrolysis processes of mussel tissue for multielement determinations. The target elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Pb, Se, Sr, V, and Zn) were released from dried mussel tissue by action of two proteases (pepsin and pancreatin), and they have been evaluated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Variables inherent to the enzymatic activity (pH, ionic strength, temperature, and enzyme mass) and factors affecting pressurization (static time, pressure, and number of cycles) were simultaneously studied by applying a Plackett-Burman design (PBD) as the screening method. Results showed that pH, ionic strength, and temperature were the most statistically significant factors (confidence interval of 95%) under pressurized conditions for pepsin, while pH and ionic strength affected pancreatin activity. This means that metal extraction is mostly attributed to enzymatic activity. The static time (enzymatic hydrolysis time) was found statistically nonsignificant for most of the elements, meaning that the hydrolysis procedure can be finished within a 2-15 min range. For pepsin, optimized conditions (pH 1.0, temperature 40 degrees C, pressure 1500 psi, static time 2 min, and number of cycles 3) gave quantitative extractions for As, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Li, Mn, Pb, Se, Sr, V, and Zn. The pepsin mass was 0.05 g, and the solution was Milli-Q water at pH 1.0 (adjusted with hydrochloric acid). For pancreatin, quantitative recoveries were only reached for As, Cd, Cu, Li, Pb, and Sr at room temperature, at a pressure of 1500 psi, for a static time of 2 min and a number of cycles of 3. The extraction solution was a 0.3 M potassium dihydrogen phosphate/potassium hydrogen phosphate buffer at a pH of 7.5 working at room temperature. Around 0.5 g of diatomaceous earth was used as dispersing agent for hydrolyses with either enzyme. Analytical performances, such as limits of detection and quantification and repeatability of the overall procedure, have been established. Finally, accuracy of the methods was assessed by analyzing seafood certified reference materials (GBW-08571, DORM-2, DOLT-3, TORT-2), fatty tissues certified reference materials (BCR 185, NIST 1577b), and fibrous certified reference materials (BCR 62, GBW-08501).