On Setting Limits on Bodily Fluids for Classifying Individuals as Pathological

The problem solved in this paper is that of determining the minimum sample size for setting the ‘normal’ range for bodily fluids. The proportions of too low and too high values which are considered ‘abnormal’ are chosen based upon medical considerations. The criterion used to determine the minimum sample size is that the proportions of the too low and too high values will be not exceeded by more than a prescribed amount with a given probability. The resulting limits are β-expectation tolerance limits with the added condition just noted, and are labeled β-expectation inner tolerance limits.     

Solution-Phase, parallel synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of acylguanidine derivatives as potential sodium channel blockers

Solution-phase synthesis of various acylguanidine derivatives and the evaluation of a small library of compounds as potential sodium channel blockers are described.     

Metabolism of phenols by Ochromonas danica

Abstract This study investigated the catabolic potential of a eukaryotic alga to degrade one of the most common organic pollutants, phenol. The alga, Ochromonas danica (993/28), was selected for study after screening for its heterotrophic capabilities. The catabolic versatility of the alga was elucidated by incubating with a variety of phenolic compounds. The alga removed phenol, all the cresol isomers and 3,4-xylenol from its incubation media, with phenol being removed more rapidly than any of its methylated homologues. Consequently, the alga was found to have a greater specificity for phenol than for o - or p -cresols. This study shows that O. danica could catabolize phenol and its methylated homologues.     

A comparison of blood gases and acid-base measurements in arterial, arterialized venous, and venous blood during short-term maximal exercise

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between blood gases and acid-base measurements in arterial, arterialized venous, and venous blood measured simultaneously during short-term maximal exercise. Ten well-trained male cyclists performed a graded maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine the power output corresponding to their peak oxygen consumption (test I), and a short-term maximal test on a cycle ergometer at peak power output (test II). During test II arterial, arterialized venous and venous blood were sampled simultaneously for determination of partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide, pH, bicarbonate (HCO3-), base excess (BE), and lactate (La). Samples were taken at rest, the end of 1 min of exercise (1 ME), at the end of exercise (EE), and at 2 min of recovery (REC). During test II, subjects maintained a peak power output of 370.6 (62.1) W [mean (SD)] for 4.5, SD 1.6 min. Except at rest venous and arterialized venous measurements tended to be the same at all sampling intervals, but differed significantly from measurements in arterial blood (P less than 0.05). BE was the only variable that rendered consistently significant correlations between arterial and arterialized venous blood at each sampling interval. The pooled correlation coefficient between arterial and arterialized venous BE was r = 0.83 [regression equation: BEa = (0.84 BEav)-0.51]. Arterial La was significantly higher than venous La at 1 ME (2.8, 0.7 vs 0.8, 0.3 mmol.l-1) and higher than both venous and arterialized venous La at EE.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

5-(2-Pyrimidinyl)-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines are antibacterial agents targeting the ATPase domains of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV

Dual inhibitors of bacterial gyrB and parE based on a 5-(2-pyrimidinyl)-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine template exhibited MICs (μg/mL) of 0.06–64 (Sau), 0.25–64 (MRSA), 0.06–64 (Spy), 0.06–64 (Spn), and 0.03–64 (FQR Spn). Selected examples were efficacious in mouse sepsis and lung infection models at <50 mg/kg (PO dosing).     

Fatal SV40‐associated pneumonia and nephropathy following renal allotransplantation in rhesus macaque

Recrudescence of latent and dormant viruses may lead to overwhelming viremia in immunosuppressed hosts. In immunocompromised hosts, Simian virus 40 (SV40) reactivation is known to cause nephritis and demyelinating central nervous system disease. Here, we report SV40 viremia leading to fatal interstitial pneumonia in an immunosuppressed host following renal allotransplantation.     

Not the End of the World? Post-Classical Decline and Recovery in Rural Anatolia

Between the foundation of Constantinople as capital of the eastern half of the Roman Empire in 330 CE and its sack by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 CE, the Byzantine Empire underwent a full cycle from political-economic stability, through rural insecurity and agrarian decline, and back to renewed prosperity. These stages plausibly correspond to the phases of over-extension (K), subsequent release (Ω) and recovery (α) of the Adaptive Cycle in Socio-Ecological Systems. Here we track and partly quantify the consequences of those changes in different regions of Anatolia, firstly for rural settlement (via regional archaeological surveys) and secondly for land cover (via pollen analysis). We also examine the impact of climate changes on the agrarian system. While individual histories vary, the archaeological record shows a major demographic decline between ca .650 and ca. 900 CE in central and southwestern Anatolia, which was then a frontier zone between Byzantine and Arab armies. In these regions, and also in northwest Anatolia, century-scale trends in pollen indicate a substantial decline in the production of cereal and tree crops, and a smaller decline in pastoral activity. During the subsequent recovery (α) phase after 900 CE there was strong regional differentiation, with central Anatolia moving to a new economic system based on agro-pastoralism, while lowland areas of northern and western Anatolia returned to the cultivation of commercial crops such as olive trees. The extent of recovery in the agrarian economy was broadly predictable by the magnitude of its preceding decline, but the trajectories of recovery varied between different regions.