Treatment of radiation-induced nervous system injury with heparin and warfarin

When radiation is used to treat nervous system cancer, exposure of adjacent normal nervous system tissue is unavoidable, and radiation-induced injury may occur. Acute injury is usually mild and transient, but late forms of radiation-induced nervous system injury are usually progressive and debilitating. Treatment with corticosteroids, surgery, and antioxidants is often ineffective. We treated 11 patients with late radiation-induced nervous system injuries (eight with cerebral radionecrosis, one with a myelopathy, and two with plexopathies, all unresponsive to dexamethasone and prednisone) with full anticoagulation. Some recovery of function occurred in five of the eight patients with cerebral radionecrosis, and all the patients with myelopathy or plexopathy. Anticoagulation was continued for 3 to 6 months. In one patient with cerebral radionecrosis, symptoms recurred after discontinuation of anticoagulation and disappeared again after reinstitution of treatment. We hypothesize that anticoagulation may arrest and reverse small-vessel endothelial injury--the fundamental lesion of radiation necrosis--and produce clinical improvement in some patients.     

Spin dynamics and implications for superconductivity: some problems with thed-wave scenario

We review the spin dynamics of the normal state of the cuprates with special emphasis on neutron data in both the YBa₂Cu₃O_7– and La_2–x Sr _x CuO₄ systems. When realistic models of the Fermi surface shapes are incorporated, along with a moderate degree of spin fluctuations, we find good semiquantitative agreement with experiment for both cuprates. Building on the success of this Fermi-liquid-based scheme, we explore the implications ford-wave pairing from a number of vantage points. We conclude that our present experimental and theoretical understanding is inadequate to confirm or refute thed-wave scenario.     

Ultrastructural and developmental toxicity of potato and tomato leaf extracts to beet armyworm,Spodoptera exigua (lepidoptera: noctuidae)

Beet Armyworm, Spodoptera exigua is a herbivorous moth and a serious pest of many economically important plants, which are used as food sources. Because of rigorous standards of food quality, usage of synthetic insecticides in crop protection, against pests, is limited. Solanaceae plant extracts may be a relatively cheap source of efficient natural insecticides that can limit usage of synthetic substances. Their biological activity is not fully known. In particular, ultrastructural studies, using transmission electron microscopy, are not usual. In the present article we describe the effects of sublethal concentrations of tomato and potato leaf extracts against S. exigua. Acute lethal effects were not observed. Both extracts exerted similar effects within midgut and fat body cells. Midgut cells were not significantly altered while fat body cells showed prominent swelling of nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum, vacuolization of mitochondria and fusion of fat droplets. These changes were much more intensive within groups exposed to potato than tomato extracts at highest concentration at least. Light microscopy was used to observe and document developmental alterations of S. exigua exposed to potato and tomato leaf extracts. Potato leaf extracts significantly decreased hatching success and caused morphological malformations of imagoes. Among them, malformations of wings were the most prominent. Interestingly, these effects were not observed within populations exposed to tomato extracts at highest concentration at least.     

Important Parameters for the Manufacture of Slow-Release Matrix Pellets With an Aqueous Dispersion of Quaternary Poly(meth)acrylates in the Rotary Fluidized Bed

ABSTRACT

The manufacture of slow-release matrix pellets with an aqueous dispersion of quaternary poly(meth)acrylates was investigated in the rotary fluidized bed. By considering the moisture content of the fluidized bed to be the key process parameter, it was measured on-line throughout the whole manufacturing process. A specially designed sampling device opened new ways to apply NIR spectrometry in laboratory scale processes. It was shown that reproducibly improved pellet properties can be achieved by reproducing the moisture content of the (rotary) fluidized bed. Moisture plateaus proved to be a suitable way to optimize the sphericity of the pellets. Premoisturizing was found to be a very effective tool to achieve slow-release dissolution of the model drug theophylline.     

The effect of gesture on speech production and comprehension

Hand gestures are ubiquitous in communication. However, there is considerable debate regarding the fundamental role that gesture plays in communication and, subsequently, regarding the value of gesture for telecommunications. Controversy exists regarding whether gesture has a primarily communicative function (enhancing listener comprehension) or a primarily noncommunicative function (enhancing speech production). Moreover, some have argued that gesture seems to enhance listener comprehension only because of the effect gesture has on speech production. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which gesture enhances listener comprehension and the extent to which the effect of gesture on listener comprehension is mediated by the effects of gesture on speech production. Results indicated that gesture enhanced both listener comprehension and speech production. When the effects of gesture on speech production were controlled, the relationship between gesture and listener comprehension was reduced but still remained significant. These results suggest that gesture aids the listener as well as the speaker and that gesture has a direct effect on listener comprehension, independent of the effects gesture has on speech production. Implications for understanding the value of gestural information in telecommunications are discussed. Potential applications of this research include the design of computer-mediated communication systems and displays in which the visibility of gestures may be beneficial.     

Nicotine decreases attentional bias to negative-affect-related Stroop words among smokers

The present study examined the hypothesis that nicotine is associated with reduced attentional bias to affective and smoking-related stimuli in a modified Stroop task. A total of 56 habitual smokers were each tested on 4 days with 14 mg nicotine patches and placebo patches, counterbalanced, as a within-subjects factor in a double-blind design. A modified Stroop using negative-affect words, smoking words, color words, and neutral words was presented via computer in blocked format. As predicted, nicotine, relative to placebo, was associated with decreased attentional bias to negative words. Nicotine speeded performance during smoking-word and color-word blocks to the same degree as during neutral words and thus appeared to also have a nonspecific performance-enhancing effect. In an exploratory analysis, nicotine-attention effects occurred only in the initial presentation of pairs of blocked word pages. Nicotine also was associated with improved mood. The results are discussed in terms of affect-attention and smoking literatures.     

Virtual Teams: Effects of Technological Mediation on Team Performance.

Recent advances in networking environments and telecommunications have led to the proliferation of teams that do not work face-to-face but interact over a computer-mediated communications network. Although some have asserted that virtual teams transcend boundaries of time or distance, others have claimed that working remotely in a mediated team environment differs in significant ways from working face-to-face. In this article, the authors examine the effects of technological mediation on team processes such as cohesiveness, status and authority relations, counternormative behavior, and communication. They discuss conditions under which distance matters in virtual team interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Über das Lagerverhalten von Kartoffelchips bei Belichtung und im Dunkeln I Analyse der durch Licht ausgelösten Veränderungen des Röstöls

Storage Behavior of Potato Chips Exposed to Light and in the Dark I: Analysis of Alterations of the Frying Oil Caused by Light Two aspects should be considered in evaluating potato chips produced commercially: quality control within the production plant at the time of manufacture, and detection of alterations on storage during the period of circulation. Currently, these products are packaged without taking protective measures to eliminate light and atmospheric oxygen. The investigations in the first part of this study were therefore devoted towards the determination of the action of these two parameters on the oxidation of the frying oil. Since the fat content of such products is as high as 45%, one might assume that the state of oxidation of the fat determines the quality of the entire product. Based on the kinetics of peroxide formation and oxygen uptake it is shown that the light sensitivity of refined peanut oil increases with increasing thermal stress in the frying equipment. A common consideration of the oxygen uptake as measured physically, the peroxide formation, the absorption at 232 nm, and the carbonyle content gives a deep insight into the course of the reaction. Due to the tocopherols present in the oil conjugated hydroperoxides are predominantly formed in a wide region of the oxidative process. The parallel reaction of peroxide decomposition, which yields carbonyls having intense taste, occurs to such a small extent that methods suitable for routine analysis are unable to differentiate the samples. Addition of antioxidants was found to be of little use for the quality retention under the action of light. Exact knowledge of the storage behavior might enable to draw consequences for the practice. For example, one might use a packaging, which not only fulfils the technical requirements but also justifies economic considerations.