Genetic Associations of Alcohol Dehydrogenase With Alcohol Use Disorders and Endophenotypes in White College Students.

Associations of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene polymorphisms (ADH1B*2 and ADH1C*1) with a lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) were examined in White college students. Alcohol-related endophenotypes likely to be influenced by elevations in acetaldehyde were also assessed. Individuals with an ADH1B*2 allele had lower rates of AUDs, consumed a lower maximum number of drinks in a 24-hr period, reported a greater level of response to alcohol, were more likely to have experienced alcohol-induced headaches following 1 or 2 drinks, and reported more severe hangovers than those lacking this allele. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that enhanced sensitivity to alcohol and lower levels of alcohol use reflect the mechanism by which ADH1B*2 protects against developing an AUD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

ESTIMATION OF MULTIVARIATE TIME SERIES

Abstract. The algorithm proposed here is a multivariate generalization of a procedure discussed by Pearlman (1980) for calculating the exact likelihood of a univariate ARMA model. Ansley and Kohn (1983) have shown how the Kalman filter can be used to calculate the exact likelihood function when not all the observations are known. In Shea (1983) it is shown that this algorithm is much quicker than that of Ansley and Kohn (1983) for all ARMA models except an ARMA (2, 1) and a couple of low-order AR processes and therefore when we have no missing observations this algorithm should be used instead. The Fortran subroutine G13DCF in the NAG (1987) Library fits a vector ARMA model using an adaptation of this algorithm. Experience in the use of this routine suggests that having reasonably good initial estimates of the ARMA parameter matrices, and in particular the residual error covariance matrix, can not only substantially reduce the computing time but more important improve the convergence properties of the minimization procedure. We therefore propose a method of calculating initial estimates of the ARMA parameters which involves using a generalization of the concept of inverse cross covariances from the univariate to the multivariate case. Finally theory is put into practice with the fitting of a bivariate model to a couple of real-life time series.     

N2- and C8-substituted oligodeoxynucleotides with enhanced thrombin inhibitory activity in vitro and in vivo

2'-Deoxyguanosine (G) analogues carrying various hydrophobic substituents in the N2 and C8 positions were synthesized and introduced through solid-phase synthesis into 15-mer oligodeoxynucleotide, GGTTGGTGTGGTTGG, which forms a chairlike structure consisting of two G-tetrads and is a potent thrombin inhibitor. The effects of the substitutions at N2 and C8 of the G-tetrad-forming G residues on the thrombin inhibitory activity are relatively small, suggesting that these substitutions cause relatively small perturbations on the chairlike structure formed by the oligodeoxynucleotide. Introduction of a benzyl group into N2 of G6 and G11 and naphthylmethyl groups into N2 of G6 increased the thrombin inhibitory activity, whereas other substituents in these positions had almost no effect or decreased the activity. Particularly, the oligodeoxynucleotide carrying a 1-naphthylmethyl group in the N2 position of G6 showed an increase in activity by about 60% both in vitro and in vivo. Substitutions on the N2 position of other G residues had little effect or decreased the activity. Introduction of a relatively small group, such as methyl and propynyl, into the C8 positions of G1, G5, G10, and G14 increased the activity, presumably due to the stabilization of a chairlike structure, whereas introduction of a large substituent group, phenylethynyl, decreased the activity, probably due to the steric hindrance.     

A Critical Evaluation of Conventional Partial Discharge Measurement Techniques for Discrete Capacitors

New ircuitry for PD analysis is proposed to overcome shortcomings of conventional measurement techniques at higher voltages.     

Plastic deformation of polycrystalline binary and ternary beta brass alloys

The tensile deformation of binary and ternary beta brass polycrystals has been investigated in the range 25 to 300°C. Addition of manganese restricted cross-slip while nickel addition enhanced wavy glide. The yield stress of each composition studied exhibited a peak at some intermediate temperature. Manganese and nickel respectively increased and decreased the temperature of the peak. The peak is believed to result from the influence of alloying and temperature on the nature of slip and the effectiveness of grain boundaries as barriers to slip propagation. Formerly NDEA Fellow, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute     

Assessing organic contaminants in fish: comparison of a nonlethal tissue sampling technique to mobile and stationary passive sampling devices

As concerns mount over the human health risks associated with consumption of fish contaminated with persistent organic pollutants, there exists a need to better evaluate fish body burdens without lethally sampling many of the important commercial and sport species of interest. The aim of this study was to investigate two novel methods for estimating organic contaminants in fish that are a concern for both fish and human health. The removal of fish adipose fins, commonly done in mark-recapture studies with salmonid species, was evaluated as a nonlethal sampling technique to estimate concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris), relative to those found in muscle fillets of the same fish. We also assessed the efficacy of using poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as a mobile passive sampling device (PSD) attached directly to wild flathead catfish for assessing location-specific exposure of the fish to waterborne contaminants. The results of this study have demonstrated for the first time that organic contaminant concentrations in adipose fin were highly correlated (R2 = 0.87) with muscle fillet concentrations, indicating that the adipose fin of certain fishes may be used to accurately estimate tissue concentrations without the need for lethal sampling. Moreover, mobile PSDs attached directly to fish and used here for the first time accurately estimated ultratrace concentrations of waterborne PCBs and OCPs without any apparent harm to the fish, indicating that there are no practical or physical barriers to the use of mobile passive samplers attached to aquatic organisms. Among the many practical implications of this research, two potential priority items include the analysis of organic contaminants in farm-raised and sport fish intended for human consumption, without the economic and population losses associated with lethally sampling fish to obtain tissues, and identifying specific areas where fish may be accumulating large portions of their contaminant burden.