The postpubertal change in the playful defense of male rats depends upon neonatal exposure to gonadal hormones

Only 19 cases of metastases at the cannula insertion site after laparoscopy for gynecological malignancy have been reported in the literature. One case has been diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma, whereas the others have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumor. We present a novel case of laparoscopy-site abdominal wall metastasis from endometrial cancer after laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH). The 56-year-old female patient exhibited metastases of an abdominal wall trocar site and a perineal site after undergoing LAVH and laparoscopic-assisted (LA) bilateral pelvic lymph node sampling as well as LA para-aortic lymph node sampling for treating endometrial carcinoma, surgical staging IIIC, G3. The interval between the surgical extirpation of endometrial carcinoma and diagnosis of the tumor recurrence was 6 months, suggesting that overmanipulation of the diseased organ during laparoscopic surgery may have resulted in tumor spillage, intraperitoneal dissemination, and wound contamination. Although this procedure has been proven beneficial to patients with benign disease or early-stage gynecologic malignancies, laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy may not be efficacious to eradicate advanced gynecological malignancy.     

Cross-linked polymers based on 2,3,5,6-tetra-substituted pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DPP): Synthesis, optical and electronic properties

A series of 2,3,5,6-tetra-substituted pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione (DPP) derivatives carrying thienyl-, 3,4-ethylenedioxy-thienyl- (EDOT-) and 3,4-ethylenedithiathienyl- (EDTT-) substituent groups have been synthesized and electrochemically polymerized. The polymers were investigated using UV/vis absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. It was found that the growth of the polymers proceeded as random coupling of the thiophene groups in the 2-,3-,5-, and 6-positions of the DPP chromophore. In the cross-linked polymers, conjugated sequences were only built through coupling of thiophene groups in 3,6-positions, and separated by non-conjugated sequences through coupling with thiophene units in other positions of the DPP core.     

Miniature humidity micro-sensor based on organic conductive polymer - poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)

A resistive micro-sensor for humidity sensing based on a conductive polymer material that is deposited electrochemically is presented. The resistor is formed by filling a narrow air gap (12 mum) between two conductor pads with conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) polymer, and the resistance of the polymer micro-resistor thus formed is measured to be 41 Omega at a temperature of 20degC. The conductor pads are prepared with a thick layer (20 mum) of nickel using a multi-user microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) process. The area of the entire sensor is around 100 times 200 mum, making it very compact. The humidity sensor has been characterised within a sealed chamber where the relative humidity is controlled by different saturated salt solutions at a constant temperature of 20degC. The resistance of the sensor varies from 37 to 62 Omega from 22 to 99.9% of relative humidity at room temperature.     

Age, experience and the changing brain

In this review, various aspects of how environmental experience effects the structure of the cortex at different times in the age of the animal are summarized. The interactions of brain injury and sex on the age-dependent plastic changes in the cortex are also considered. Finally, we have attempted to reach some general conclusions that describe the effects of age, experience, sex, and injury on the cortex.     

Modelling the cost-effectiveness of sanitary landfill leachate control systems

Leachate leakage is a major risk associated with sanitary and hazardous waste landfills. This paper describes how two simple performance models, time to breakthrough and leachate leakage flux, can be used in conjunction with a cost model to develop cost-effectiveness relationships which can be used to assist the leachate control system design and planning decision-making process, and, thereby, reduce this risk.

Sensitivity and marginal analyses indicate that time to breakthrough (t_b) is most sensitive to liner hydraulic conductivity and thickness and that increasing liner thickness yields increasing marginal returns to fb. Leachate leakage flux (q_L) is sensitive to liner hydraulic conductivity and the leachate collection pipe spacing-liner thickness ratio. For a given pipe spacing, increasing liner thickness yields decreasing marginal returns to q_L.

Hypothetical cost-effectiveness relationships for t_b and q_L are developed analytically and numerically. As a means of introducing the concept of risk, a probability density function for liner hydraulic conductivity is introduced into these relationships.     

Neonatal and Pubertal, but Not Adult, Ovarian Steroids Are Necessary for the Development of Female-Typical Patterns of Dodging to Protect a Food Item.

Rats protect food by dodging horizontally away from a conspecific. Females and males use different movement and stepping patterns to execute a dodge. An unresolved question is whether exposure to ovarian steroids in females is necessary for the development of the female-typical pattern. Females ovariectomized neonatally and prior to puberty use a combination of male and female tactics. Pregnant females, however, use a female-typical pattern of dodging, suggesting that the patterns used by prepubertal ovariectomized females are not due to their increase in body mass. Thus, the contribution of ovarian steroids to the development of female-typical patterns of behavior needs to be studied further at both a behavioral and neural level with regard to the organization of movement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mapping the substrate for brain stimulation reward by means of current-number trade-off functions.

In previous studies using moveable electrodes to map the substrate for brain stimulation reward, reward effectiveness was estimated by varying either the current or the number of pulses per train. The resulting relationship between reward effectiveness and stimulation site is independent of the fixed parameter only if the current–number trade-off functions (TOFs) for all sites are parallel. This assumption was tested in the present experiment. Movement of an electrode through or near the ventral tegmental area did not always shift the TOFs in a parallel manner and sometimes caused them to intersect. To describe such effects, a current–number TOF must be obtained at each site in lieu of a single estimate of the required stimulation strength. Across-site changes in the parameters of these TOFs are interpreted in terms of differences in the density, excitability, or postsynaptic impact of the directly stimulated reward neurons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)