Candide Becomes a Doctor

It has been shown that things cannot be otherwise; since everything was created for a purpose, this purpose must inevitably be the best possible. Observe that noses were made to wear spectacles and so we have spectacles. Legs were obviously intended to wear breeches and so we have breeches. Stones were made to be cut and to be made into mansions. That is why His Lordship has such a very fine mansion. The greatest baron in the province should be the best housed. Pigs were made to be eaten, so we eat pork all the year round. Therefore, people who told us merely that everything was well ordained were talking nonsense. They should have said, “Everything is ordained for the best.”¹     

PMR analysis of alkenoic esters using shift reagents

The use of the deuterated shift reagent, Eu(FOD) ₃-d₃₀, has enabled an identification to be made of the 8- to 12-isomers of methyl trans-octadecenoate from PMR measurements at 100 or 220 MHz. The δ-values observed were in good agreement with those calculated from a method employing the lanthanide-induced shifts (LIS) in methyl stearate and the deshielding effects of the double bond. Use was made of the δ-value of the methyl ester absorption as an internal reference to allow corrections to be made for changes in measuring conditions. It is concluded that all positional isomers of both cis and trans methyl octadecenoates may be identified by this method.     

Inaccuracies in Measurement of Dried Milk Powders

Infant feeds made up from dried milk are known to be hazardous if the mixture is too concentrated. Tests with five commercial brands of dried milk showed that nurses, midwives, and mothers often made up feeds incorrectly; in most cases the amount of powder used was excessive.Fewer mistakes would be made if scoops were standardized or, better, if the milk was made up in small, accurately weighed packets.     

Professor Dr: Dr h.c. Ernst G. Pringsheim: 1881–1970

A study of the fine structure of Oocystis apiculata W. West has been made. The internal cytology has been described and, where appropriate, comparisons have been made with the externally similar alga, Glaucocystis. Particular attention has been paid to the structure and composition of the wall; the microfibrils immediately external to the plasmalemma are shown to be highly oriented; they are also shown by freeze-etching to close in to a ‘pole’. A brief discussion on the size difference in microfibrils as determined by shadowing and staining is also made.     

Morphological changes in theSaimiri sciureus ovarian follicles as detected by laparoscopy

Over 600 laparoscopic examinations of the ovaries inSaimiri sciureus were made following an ovulation induction regime. Examinations were made 10 to 16 hours after the last injection and again 24 hours after the first examination. The preovulatory follicles had clear gelatinous domes and the indentation of the dome was found to be characteristic of post ovulation. Slight morphological changes noted over a 6 hour period of time made it easy to diagnose ovulation in this species.     

Bone remodelling around the tibia due to total ankle replacement: effects of implant material and implant–bone interfacial conditions

Abstract

One of the major causes of implant loosening is due to excessive bone resorption surrounding the implant due to bone remodelling. The objective of the study is to investigate the effects of implant material and implant–bone interface conditions on bone remodelling around tibia bone due to total ankle replacement. Finite element models of intact and implanted ankles were developed using CT scan data sets. Bone remodelling algorithm was used in combination with FE analysis to predict the bone density changes around the ankle joint. Dorsiflexion, neutral, and plantar flexion positions were considered, along with muscle force and ligaments. Implant–bone interfacial conditions were assumed as debonded and bonded to represent non-osseointegration and fully osseointegration at the porous coated surface of the implant. To investigate the effect of implant material, three finite element models having different material combinations of the implant were developed. For model 1, tibial and talar components were made of Co–Cr–Mo, and meniscal bearing was made of UHMWPE. For model 2, tibial and talar components were made of ceramic and meniscal bearing was made of UHMWPE. For model 3, tibial and talar components were made of ceramic and meniscal bearing was made of CFR-PEEK. Changes in implant material showed no significant changes in bone density due to bone remodelling. Therefore, ceramic appears to be a viable alternative to metal and CFR-PEEK can be used in place of UHMWPE. This study also indicates that proper bonding between implant and bone is essential for long-term survival of the prosthetic components.     

The effects of nitrogen source upon respiration of Neurospora crassa

$\text{Neurospora crassa}$ exhibits two forms of respiration: 1) cyanidesensitive; and 2) cyanide-resistant, salicyl hydroxamate-sensitive. The respiration of wild-type conidia can be made to resemble that of the conidia of extrachromosomal mutants by the appropriate selection of the preculture medium. This effect is not permanent, however; the normal wild-type respiratory pattern is re-established in growing mycelia. Moreover, the respiration of stationary phase wild-type mycelia can be made to mimic that of extrachromosomal mutant conidia. The nitrogen source and concentration appear to regulate the amount and form of respiration in wild-type. The mutants appear to be altered in such regulation.     

Should living wills be legalized?

Living wills allow patients to state their wish to die and not be kept alive through the use of medications, artificial means or "heroic" measures. They have been made legal documents in 38 states in the United States. Living wills permit advance expression of a patient''s wishes, promote effective communication and demonstrate respect for the patient as a person. Problems with legal recognition of such wills include the need for agreement on fundamental terms, possible restriction of patients'' rights, limitation of options in decision-making and possible negative effects on the physician-patient relationship. Before legislation is enacted, public and professional attitudes toward the care of terminally ill patients should be assessed. All health care professionals should receive better education in this area, and palliative care services should be made more widely available. Only if these measures fail should living wills be made legal documents in Canada.     

Temporal recalibration of vision

Our sense of relative timing is malleable. For instance, visual signals can be made to seem synchronous with earlier sounds following prolonged exposure to an environment wherein auditory signals precede visual ones. Similarly, actions can be made to seem to precede their own consequences if an artificial delay is imposed for a period, and then removed. Here, we show that our sense of relative timing for combinations of visual changes is similarly pliant. We find that direction reversals can be made to seem synchronous with unusually early colour changes after prolonged exposure to a stimulus wherein colour changes precede direction changes. The opposite effect is induced by prolonged exposure to colour changes that lag direction changes. Our data are consistent with the proposal that our sense of timing for changes encoded by distinct sensory mechanisms can adjust, at least to some degree, to the prevailing environment. Moreover, they reveal that visual analyses of colour and motion are sufficiently independent for this to occur.     

Light-driven proton transport of bacteriorhodopsin incorporated into long-term stable liposomes of a polymerizable sulfolipid

The chromoprotein bacteriorhodopsin from Halobacterium halobium has been incorporated into liposomes made of a fully synthetic, polymerizable lipid. Bacteriorhodopsin is found to be active in these polymer liposomes. The advantage in the use of such polymer systems concerning long-term stability in comparison with liposomes made of natural lipid is demonstrated.     

EVOLUTIONARY TRENDS IN DION (ZAMIACEAE)

Distribution, ecology, and morphology of the species of Dion are presented. The genus Dion is distributed in Mexico and in Honduras, where it is generally scattered and restricted to rocky, steep habitats. On the basis mainly of the morphology of the seeds, of the seedlings, and of the female cones, three natural groups were recognized. The first group, which is the most distinct morphologically, is made up of D. mejiae endemic to Honduras. The second group is made up of D. spinulosum and D. rzedowskii, whose distribution is restricted to a very small area in Mexico. They appear to be the only Dion spp. to be adapted to moist and shaded habitats. The third group is made up of the remaining spp. of Dion, all Mexican in distribution. They appear to be well adapted to open and dry habitats generally. Stems, female cones, and seeds show the trends to decreasing size from south to north in this group. A key of the genus is given.     

Effects of near-bed current speeds on the distribution and behaviour of the lobster, Homarus gammarus (L.)

The distribution of the lobster, Homarus gammarus (L.) appears to be limited to areas of the sea bed with rocky outcrops. It seems likely that this limitation operates because lobsters need to be able to avoid currents created by tidal and wave action and that it is size selective. A series of experiments was made with lobsters in a flume tank, to observe the effects of a range of current speeds and substratum types on lobster behaviour. In addition, depth profiles of flow rates were made by Pitot tube measurements to estimate flow rates within the boundary layer immediately above the sea bed. Predictions of the influence of natural water currents on lobster behaviour have been made using available data on near-bed current speeds. The implications of these predictions to fisheries management and reef construction plans are discussed.     

A ‘WATCH’ census of common British butterflies

In summer 1981, members of WATCH made a quantitative survey of common butterflies throughout Britain. Adult numbers were recorded along standardized transects on 670 sites, covering most commonplace biotopes. Butterflies were identified into families, except for five conspicuous species.

Ten common biotopes were sufficiently well sampled for general conclusions to be made about their value. Although garden flowers attracted the few species of butterfly that are very mobile, sedentary species were virtually absent from gardens especially in urban areas. Improved pasture also contained few sedentary species, but road verges and woods held moderate densities. Abandoned railway tracks and wasteland supported large numbers of common butterflies, but the highest counts were made in unimproved pasture. Numbers along hedges differed little from the open fields that they bordered.

The method was modified in 1982 so that sponsored counts could be made in the richest biotopes. These raised about £4000 for conservation.     

A novel scoring schema for peptide identification by searching protein sequence databases using tandem mass spectrometry data

Background  

Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is a powerful tool for protein identification. Although great efforts have been made in scoring the correlation between tandem mass spectra and an amino acid sequence database, improvements could be made in three aspects, including characterization ofpeaks in spectra, adoption of effective scoring functions and access to thereliability of matching between peptides and spectra.     

THE RATE OF GROWTH OF THE DAIRY COW : V. EXTRAUTERINE GROWTH IN LINEAR DIMENSIONS.

Barring fluctuations due to the cyclic phenomena, the extrauterine course of growth in linear dimensions and in weight of the dairy cow follows an exponential law having the same form as the law representing the course of monomolecular change in chemistry. This suggests the interpretation that the general course of growth is limited by a monomolecular chemical process, and that the cyclic phenomena are due to subsidiary processes in the fundamentally exponential course of growth. The fact that growth follows or tends to follow an exponential course may be stated more simply as follows: if the unit of time is taken sufficiently large so that fluctuations due to the cyclic phenomena are balanced or eliminated, then the amount of growth made during the given unit of time at any age tends to be a constant percentage of the growth made during the preceding unit of time. Thus, the growth in height at withers made during any year is about 34 per cent of the growth made during the preceding year. Similarly the growth in weight made during any year is about 56 per cent of the growth in weight made during the preceding year. This is in accordance with expectations if it is assumed that each animal begins life with a definite endowment of limiting substance necessary for the process of growth, and that this endowment is used up at a constant rate (or percentage) of itself.     

Parents' meetings in two neonatal units: a way of increasing support for parents.

For a combined total of three years meetings have been held regularly on two neonatal units for parents with infants requiring neonatal intensive care. These meetings give parents an opportunity to meet each other and members of staff in an informal atmosphere in the hope that mutual support will be gained. Initial assessment shows that the parents gain confidence in their ability to look after such small babies. The staff have gained a greater insight into the parents'' anxieties and problems and changes have been made in the procedures on these units. If new insight is to result in changes that benefit the parents their views must be made known and taken into account when policy decisions are made.     

Mycorrhizal associations in Hong Kong Fagaceae

A rapid method of screening has been devised whereby the large seeds (acorns) of Castanopsis, Lithocarpus and Quercus growing in Hong Kong can be germinated in the presence of a variety of known mycorrhizal fungi and observations made on the initiation of host/fungal associations. Early stages of Hartig net formation could be detected in bleached roots, and an observation was made on the antibiotic activity of the mycorrhizal fungus, Pisolithus tinctorius. The method offers a simple and effective means of assessing the potential of fungi to form mycorrhizal associations under non-sterile conditions.     

Discovery of alcohol dehydrogenase from mushrooms and application to alcoholic beverages

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main microorganism used in alcoholic beverage brewing, because this microbe has alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity. We have recently discovered that some genera of mushrooms produce alcohol dehydrogenase, and made wine, beer and sake using mushrooms in place of S. cerevisiae. The highest alcohol concentrations in the wine, beer and sake were achieved with Pleurotus ostreatus (2648 mM, 12.2%), Tricholoma matsutake (1069 mM, 4.6%) and Agaricus blazei (1736 mM, 8.0%). In the case of wine made using A. blazei, the same alcohol concentration (1736 mM, 8.0%) was produced under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. This wine produced by A. blazei contained about 0.68% β- -glucan, which is known to have preventive effects against cancer. The wine made using Flammulina velutipes showed thrombosis-preventing activity, giving a prolonged thrombin clotting time 2.2-fold that of the control. Thus, alcoholic beverages made using mushrooms seem to be a functional food source which can be expected to have preventive effects against cancer and thrombosis.     

Recent insights into the role of glia and oxidative stress in Alzheimer's disease gained from Drosophila

Here, we discuss findings made using Drosophila on Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk and progression. Recent studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying glia-mediated neuroprotection in AD. First, we discuss a novel mechanism of glial lipid droplet formation that occurs in response to elevated reactive oxygen species in neurons. The data suggest that disruptions to this process contribute to AD risk. We further discuss novel mechanistic insights into glia-mediated Aβ42-clearance made using the fly. Finally, we highlight work that provides evidence that the aberrant accumulation of reactive oxygen species in AD may not just be a consequence of disease but contribute to disease progression as well. Cumulatively, the discussed studies highlight recent, relevant discoveries in AD made using Drosophila.