Real-time organic aerosol chemical speciation in the indoor environment using extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Understanding the sources and composition of organic aerosol (OA) in indoor environments requires rapid measurements, since many emissions and processes have short timescales. However, real-time molecular-level OA measurements have not been reported indoors. Here, we present quantitative measurements, at a time resolution of five seconds, of molecular ions corresponding to diverse aerosol-phase species, by applying extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) to indoor air analysis for the first time, as part of the highly instrumented HOMEChem field study. We demonstrate how the complex spectra of EESI-MS are screened in order to extract chemical information and investigate the possibility of interference from gas-phase semivolatile species. During experiments that simulated the Thanksgiving US holiday meal preparation, EESI-MS quantified multiple species, including fatty acids, carbohydrates, siloxanes, and phthalates. Intercomparisons with Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer suggest that EESI-MS quantified a large fraction of OA. Comparisons with FIGAERO-CIMS shows similar signal levels and good correlation, with a range of 100 for the relative sensitivities. Comparisons with SV-TAG for phthalates and with SV-TAG and AMS for total siloxanes also show strong correlation. EESI-MS observations can be used with gas-phase measurements to identify co-emitted gas- and aerosol-phase species, and this is demonstrated using complementary gas-phase PTR-MS observations.     

The day of the week when you were born in 700 ms: Calendar computation in an autistic savant.

Some individuals are able to determine the weekday of a given date in a few seconds (finding for instance that June 12, 1900, was a Tuesday). This ability has fascinated scientists for many years because it is predominantly observed in people with limited intelligence and may appear very early in life. Exceptional visual memory, exceptional concentration abilities, or privileged access to lower levels of information not normally available through introspection have been advanced to explain such phenomena. In the present article, the authors show that a simple cognitive model can explain all aspects of the performance of Donny, a young autistic savant who is possibly the fastest and most accurate calendar prodigy ever described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Foetal alcohol syndrome in Saskatchewan: unchanged incidence in a 20-year period

Ethers and thioethers of monosaccharides have been synthesised which show potent toxicity to mouse (LD50 > or = 4 g.kg-1 O.W. and 0.2 to 1.5 g.kg-1 I.P.W.). A study of calcium antagonist activity for the full series of compounds indicated that the activity was similar for both O- and S- ethers and maximum activities were observed for monoacetoneglucose ethers possessing carbon chain close to 8 carbons.     

Effects of clozapine and haloperidol on baseline levels of vacuous jaw movements in aged rats

BACKGROUND: IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to latex proteins has become a significant clinical problem over the last decade. Nursing and medical staff are at risk because of their occupational exposure to latex. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of type I hypersensitivity to latex allergens in the nursing staff of an Australian hospital. METHODS: A questionnaire which asked about symptoms associated with the use of latex gloves was completed by 140 nurses working in the Alfred Hospital (72 in general medical wards, 68 in intensive care units). Skin prick tests with eluates of five different types of latex glove as well as common aeroallergens (rye pollen and house dust mite) and banana extract were performed. RESULTS: Thirty-one nurses (22%) were skin prick test positive to at least one of the five latex glove eluates. All of these nurses were atopic, having positive skin prick tests to rye pollen or house dust mite. Symptoms of local dryness, itch and erythema associated with glove use were reported by more than half the study group, but not more frequently by those who were skin prick test positive to latex. Urticaria associated with glove use was reported more frequently by those with positive latex skin prick tests (13% vs 4%, p = 0.05). Eighty-seven per cent of the nurses who were latex skin test positive were also positive to banana extract. CONCLUSIONS: IgE-mediated hypersensitivity to latex is common in nurses working in an Australian hospital. Glove associated symptoms were frequently reported, but in most cases the symptoms were more typical of irritant or contact dermatitis rather than type I hypersensitivity reactions. However, the extent of subclinical sensitisation to latex found in this study suggests that symptomatic latex allergy is likely to emerge as an increasing problem for nursing staff in this country.     

Korsakoff's syndrome, cognition and clonidine

Eighteen patients suffering from Alcoholic Korsakoff's Syndrome participated in a placebo-controlled double-blind cross-over trial of clonidine 0.3 mg b.d. for two weeks versus matched placebo for two weeks. A detailed neuropsychological assessment was carried out at the end of each treatment phase and staff ratings of behaviour were also obtained. Clonidine treatment resulted in no significant improvement over placebo on any of the cognitive measures employed. The results contradict previous smaller studies which had suggested that chronic treatment with clonidine had a memory-enhancing effect in Korsakoff's syndrome.     

The effect of the length of a malarial epitope on its antigenicity and immunogenicity in an epitope presentation system using the Pseudomonas aeruginosa outer membrane protein OprF as the carrier

The phenotypic characteristics of three Serpulina pilosicoli strains isolated from humans with diarrhoea (WesB, Kar, Hrm7) and two porcine S. pilosicoli strains isolated from pigs with intestinal spirochaetosis (1648, 3295), were compared with the type strain of the species P43/6/78T (T = type strain) and other intestinal spirochaetes within the genus Serpulina. All S. pilosicoli strains had a characteristic ultrastructural appearance, displayed similar growth rates, hydrolysed hippurate, lacked beta-glucosidase activity, utilised D-ribose as a growth substrate, and had similar sensitivities to rifampicin and spiramycin. The only consistent phenotypic characteristic that differentiated human strains from porcine strains of S. pilosicoli was that the human strains all utilised the pentose sugar D-xylose. These distinguishing phenotypic traits appear useful for identifying S. pilosicoli.     

Neurophysiological Model of the Normal and Abnormal Human Pupil

A model of the pathways controlling the size of the human pupil is presented. Computer simulation of this model demonstrates the role played by each of the elements in the pupil pathways. Simulations of the effects of drugs and a few common abnormalities in the system also help to illustrate the workings of the internal processes. Computer models of this type can be used as teaching aids or as tools for testing of hypotheses regarding the system.