The Concept of Mainstream Medicine for All Californians—Part I Fifth Progress Report of the Committee on Role of Medicine in Society

This Fifth Progress Report is to be printed in three parts in California Medicine. Following the appearance of Part III the report will be bound in a pamphlet which may be ordered at $1 a copy from 693 Sutter Publications, Inc., 693 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California 94102.     

THE INSECTICIDES—Their Hazard in Industry and in the Home Part I—Chemistry and Pharmacology

Chemical, pharmacologic and toxicologic properties of the chlorinated hydrocarbon and organic phosphate insecticides have been reviewed. The chlorinated group present problems if there is either acute or chronic exposure, whereas the problems associated with the organic phosphates develop only in event of acute exposure.Chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides accumulate in body fat depots and cause both liver and kidney damage while being metabolized and excreted. Organic phosphates destroy cholinesterase and produce effects related to overstimulation of the cholinergic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Barbiturates control the convulsions produced by the chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides. Atropine blocks most of the effects of the organic phosphate insecticides. These compounds may be grouped in the following order of decreasing toxicity: TEPP, HETP, parathion, OMPA, ENP, aldrin, chlorophenothane, toxaphene, gamma benzene hexachloride, malathon and chlordane.     

The Concept of Mainstream Medicine for All Californians—Part II Fifth Progress Report of the Committee on Role of Medicine in Society

This Fifth Progress Report is being printed in three parts in California Medicine. Following the appearance of Part III the report will be bound in a pamphlet which may be ordered at $1 a copy from 693 Sutter Publications, Inc., 693 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California 94102.     

PERIPHERAL ARTERIOSCLEROSIS—Arterial Grafting Procedures—Indications and Results—Part I: Arteriosclerotic Aneurysms

In 32 cases aneurysms of the aorta and peripheral arteries were resected and replaced by grafts. The results from the use of homografts in 18 cases were more satisfactory than with the use of Ivalon in 14 cases. The abdominal aorta was the most frequent location of aneurysms.The current mortality rate of 5.5 per cent for resection of unruptured abdominal aneurysms indicates that resection and grafting are an effective means of reducing the high mortality of untreated aneurysms. Five ruptured aneurysms were excised, with a mortality rate of 40 per cent. The uniformly fatal outcome of untreated ruptured abdominal aneurysms makes it obligatory for the surgeon to operate immediately after the diagnosis is first made.     

The Concept of Mainstream Medicine for All Californians—Part III (Conclusion) Fifth Progress Report of the Committee on Role of Medicine in Society

This Fifth Progress Report is being printed in three parts in California Medicine. Following the appearance of Part III the report will be bound in a pamphlet which may be ordered at $1 a copy from 693 Sutter Publications, Inc., 693 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California 94102.     

Human Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: Part I—Structure,Function, and Role in Neuromuscular Transmission and CNS Functioning

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are the ligand-gated ion channels important for intercellular signaling. These receptors are abundant in...     

Aboriginal ‘Difference’ and ‘Autonomy’ Then and Now: Four Decades of Change in a Western Desert Society

In just a few decades, Aboriginal people living near Australia's Western Desert fringe have experienced an extraordinarily intense trajectory of change: from a highly autonomous nomadic existence, through ‘first contacts’, the pastoral and mission frontiers, the devastating impacts of alcohol and of Western lifestyle diseases, the outstation movement, resource exploration and mining, a long but largely successful struggle for native title, and much else. In this paper, notions of ‘difference’ and ‘autonomy’ are used to explore these transformations. The situation among the Mardu is here linked to the gulf between government policies and lived Aboriginal experience. If the self‐management thrust of 1970s policies achieved partial restoration of Aboriginal autonomy, recent Federal Government policies are intent on intervention to reduce difference and claw back some of that autonomy. Their determination to force Aboriginal people out of their ‘dysfunctional’ ‘cultural museums’ (homeland settlements) and into greater economic engagement ignores the crucial underpinnings of security and identity among remote Aborigines. The retention of difference, albeit at considerable social cost and entrenched disadvantage, is still strongly preferred by Mardu to the kinds of engagement with the dominant society that not only assault their sense of self but also threaten to overwhelm whatever autonomy remains to them.     

Review: Ethanol production at elevated temperatures and alcohol concentrations: Part I – Yeasts in general

There are a number of process advantages which could be exploited through the use of thermophilic microorganisms for ethanol production. Energy savings through reduced cooling costs, higher saccharification and fermentation rates, continuous ethanol removal and reduced contamination have stimulated a search for routes to thermophilic or thermotolerant yeasts. These routes have included screening existing culture collections, temperature adaptation, mutagenesis and molecular techniques and finally isolating new strains. Varying success has been achieved, however, the most thermotolerant yeasts have come from fresh isolations from environments which experience high temperatures. Thermotolerant yeasts have been investigated for the following potential applications: simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cellulose, where the high fermentation temperature allows more rapid and efficient enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis; whey fermentation, where high salt and low fermentable substrate concentrations make conditions difficult; and fermentation of D-xylose and cellobiose, which is essential for efficient conversion of woody biomass to ethanol. Ethanol and temperature tolerance are important characteristics for commercial yeast strains. Both characteristics are interactive and generally decrease with increasing temperature and ethanol concentration. Considerable research has been directed towards investigation of fatty acid composition changes in response to these stresses and the role of heat shock proteins in tolerance mechanisms. If thermotolerant yeasts are to be used in commercial processes, bioreactor configuration will play an important part in the design of production processes. Batch and fed-batch systems have been shown to be useful in some circumstances as have continuous flow systems, however, some of the newly isolated thermotolerant yeasts such as Kluyveromyces marxianus do not show the high growth rate under anaerobic conditions that is characteristic of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Various immobilization techniques appear to offer a means of presenting and maintaining high biomass in anaerobic continuous flow reactors.