The Legal Regulation of Floats and Gliders—In Quest of a New Regime?

This article analyzes the legal status of unmanned instruments (particularly, floats and gliders) for observation purposes in the ocean environment. These new kinds of instruments are being deployed by the thousands into the oceans, not the least as part of the Argo Project of the International Oceanographic Commission. Their uncontrolled drifting has raised legal questions, especially when such instruments enter waters subject to the jurisdiction of foreign states. The authors argue that the current international legal framework is insufficient to address the pertinent issues, and that a new legal regime is needed.     

Successful disinfection of trumpet mouthpieces using domestic steam disinfection

There have been numerous reports in the literature describing the diversity of microbial flora isolated from woodwind and brass instruments, with potential infection risks for players, especially when such instruments are shared. Steam disinfection has become established as a trusted method of decontamination; however, there have been no reports on the employment of this technology to disinfect parts of musical instruments, hence it was the aim of this study to examine the fate of bacterial and yeast pathogens on artificially contaminated trumpet mouthpieces and to evaluate whether such disinfection is an effective method of disinfection for such instrument parts. Trumpet mouthpieces were artificially contaminated with 18 microbial strains (17 bacteria from four genera (Enterococcus, Escherichia, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus) and one yeast (Candida)), each at an inoculum density of approximately 1·5 × 10⁷ colony forming units and subjected to a disinfection cycle. The experiment was repeated including 50% (v/v) sterile sputum as soil. No bacteria or yeast organisms were recovered post disinfection, including following recovery and with nonselective cultural enrichment techniques.     

Differential effects of positive and negative proliferative stimuli on murine cytolytic and helper T-cell clones

Studies were performed to determine whether substances could be identified which exhibited differential regulatory effects--either positive or negative--on the growth of murine alloreactive cytolytic (Tc) and helper (Th) cloned T-cell lines. The following lines of evidence suggested that Tc and Th proliferate in response to the same growth factor (GF). (1) When GF-containing fluids from cultures of phorbol myristic acetate (PMA)-activated EL4 thymoma were fractionated by a variety of biochemical techniques. Tc and Th eluted together. (2) Absorption of GF-containing supernatants with either cloned Tc or cloned Th depleted GF activity for each to a similar extent, and GF eluted from either Tc or Th to which it had adsorbed supported the proliferation of Tc and Th equally well. (3) Lectin-depleted supernatants from cultures of concanavalin A (Con A)-activated Th stimulated the proliferation of Th as well as Tc. (4) Recombinant human interleukin (IL-2) supported the growth of Tc and Th with equal efficiency. On the other hand, the following observations indicated that Tc and Th differed in their responses to inhibitors of GF-driven proliferation. (1) Con A at greater than or equal to 0.3 micrograms/ml inhibited the GF-driven proliferation of each of three Th lines but not either of two Tc lines. To the contrary, Con A enhanced GF-dependent proliferation of Tc. (2) Like Con A, allogeneic splenocytes selectively depressed GF-driven proliferation of Th but not Tc. (3) A substance generated during the acid elution of GF from cells, possibly a modified fetal calf serum component, greatly reduced the GF-driven proliferation of Tc but not Th. These results suggest that differential control of the proliferation of Tc and Th in cellular immune responses may be achieved via negative regulatory signals and raise the possibility that substances which can selectively depress the proliferation of specific T-cell subsets might be found which would be of therapeutic value.     

Immunological aspects of retinoids in humans. II. Retinoic acid enhances induction of hemolytic plaque-forming cells

The effects of retinoic acid (RA) on the induction of antibody-producing cells from human tonsillar lymphocytes sensitized to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) have been evaluated. Our results indicated that 10(-5) to 10(-7) M RA caused up to a three-fold increase in the number of plaque-forming cells (PFC) and a qualitative increase in the size of the plaques during the induction of PFC in 5- to 7-day cultures. Enhancement also occurred when tonsil cells were preincubated with RA for 24 hr and then washed, or when RA was added any time in the first 4 days after initiation of the culture. When T- and B-cell fractions were pretreated with RA for 24 hr, washed, and recombined with SRBC, RA-induced augmentation of PFC occurred only in conjunction with RA treatment of the B-cell fraction. Pretreatment of the T-cell fraction had no effect on PFC induction or on the RA-enhanced response when the B-cell fraction was simultaneously treated with RA. Other experiments suggested that RA did not modulate PFC induction by influencing regulatory functions of adherent accessory cells. Our study demonstrates that RA can enhance human antibody responses and shows that this effect is not caused by increased activity of T cells or adherent accessory cells, but is instead the result of a direct effect of RA on B-cell populations.     

An Australian trial of ThinPrep: a new cytopreparatory technique

To evaluate the sensitivity and suitability of ThinPrep, a new slide preparation technique, 2026 paired cervical cytology slides were examined. After conventional Papanicolaou smears were prepared, the sampling instruments were rinsed in a fluid fixative. ThinPrep slides were then prepared in the laboratory from the surplus cells in the fixative. Compared with the Pap smears, ThinPrep slides were easier and quicker to screen, were inconclusive less often, and had similar rates for detecting abnormalities and infection. There were more unsatisfactory ThinPrep slides and more ThinPrep slides lacked endocervical cells. Both of these shortcomings were found to be linked to the choice of sampling implements. This study, in which a variety of sampling instruments was used, fails to confirm some of the previous claims made for the new technique.     

不同术前皮肤准备方案与手术切口感染的关系研究

目的:研究不同术前皮肤准备方案与手术切口感染(SSI)的关系,为降低临床SSI发生率提供参考。方法:选择自2015年1月～2019年12月在医院行手术治疗的患者1810例为本次研究对象。根据析因设计表,将因素A:是否剃毛(1不剃毛;2剃毛),B:清洁方式(1清水清洁;2肥皂水清洁),C:术前备皮时间(1术前1 d;2术前2 h)配对分为8个组:A1B1C1组226例,A1B2C1组229例,A1B1C2组216例,A1B2C2组232例,A2B1C1组221例,A2B2C1组241例,A2B1C2组221例,A2B2C2组224例,比较各组手术部位及切口类型分布、术后SSI发生率,并采用析因分析法分析术前皮肤准备后各组菌落计数的相关性及交互作用。结果:各组患者的手术部位及切口类型之间的差异不存在统计学意义(P0.05)。A1B1C1组及A2B1C1组的SSI发生率较高,分别为12.83%和14.48%。A1水平的SSI发生率是8.75%,与A2水平的8.27%相比,差异不存在统计学意义(P0.05)。B1、C1水平的SSI发生率分别是11.31%、10.03%,明显高于B2、C2水平的5.83%、6.94%,差异均存在统计学意义(P0.05)。各组术前皮肤准备后的菌落计数差异存在统计学意义(P0.05),析因分析结果显示,B、C单因素分析差异存在统计学意义(P0.05),且A与C,B与C间具有交互作用,而A、B、C间具有二级交互作用(P0.05)。结论:术前皮肤准备对降低SSI发生具有重要作用,实际操作时,建议在较短的时间内利用肥皂水或其他消毒水进行皮肤清洗并完成备皮。     

原发性子宫大B细胞淋巴瘤一例报告及文献复习

摘要 目的：总结原发性子宫恶性淋巴瘤的临床表现、影像及病理学特点,以期提高对原发性子宫恶性淋巴瘤的认识及诊治水平。方法：通过PubMed、万方、维普、中国知网数据库检索2001年1月至2019年12月报道的原发性子宫恶性淋巴瘤的文献,结合首都医科大学附属北京妇产医院收治的1例原发性子宫大B细胞淋巴瘤的病例资料,对此类患者临床表现、影像及病理学特点、治疗方案及预后进行总结。结果：患者女,64岁,发现盆腔肿物半月伴有绝经后阴道流血,盆腔CT提示：宫体与宫颈局部巨大团块状软组织密度灶,宫底及宫体上段可见内膜。宫腔镜下组织活检病理：（宫内物）符合低分化恶性肿瘤,结合免疫组化结果,诊断原发性子宫大B细胞淋巴瘤。行开腹全子宫及双侧附件、大网膜及腹膜后淋巴结清扫术,术后接受CHOP方案化疗六程,现治疗后随访17月,未发现复发。结论：原发性子宫恶性淋巴瘤极少见,组织学上以大B 细胞淋巴瘤为主,临床表现缺乏特异性。最终需要结合免疫组化确诊。该疾病恶性程度高,治疗上以根治性手术联合化疗为主,预后较差。     

Towards the integration of animal‐borne instruments into global ocean observing systems

Marine animals are increasingly instrumented with environmental sensors that provide large volumes of oceanographic data. Here, we conduct an innovative and comprehensive global analysis to determine the potential contribution of animal‐borne instruments (ABI) into ocean observing systems (OOSs) and provide a foundation to establish future integrated ocean monitoring programmes. We analyse the current gaps of the long‐term Argo observing system (>1.5 million profiles) and assess its spatial overlap with the distribution of marine animals across eight major species groups (tuna and billfishes, sharks and rays, marine turtles, pinnipeds, cetaceans, sirenians, flying seabirds and penguins). We combine distribution ranges of 183 species and satellite tracking observations from >3,000 animals. Our analyses identify potential areas where ABI could complement OOS. Specifically, ABI have the potential to fill gaps in marginal seas, upwelling areas, the upper 10 m of the water column, shelf regions and polewards of 60° latitude. Our approach provides the global baseline required to plan the integration of ABI into global and regional OOS while integrating conservation and ocean monitoring priorities.     

Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube High-Frequency Nanoelectronic Biosensor for Sensing in High Ionic Strength Solutions

The unique electronic properties and high surface-to-volume ratios of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) and semiconductor nanowires (NW) ^1-4 make them good candidates for high sensitivity biosensors. When a charged molecule binds to such a sensor surface, it alters the carrier density⁵ in the sensor, resulting in changes in its DC conductance. However, in an ionic solution a charged surface also attracts counter-ions from the solution, forming an electrical double layer (EDL). This EDL effectively screens off the charge, and in physiologically relevant conditions ~100 millimolar (mM), the characteristic charge screening length (Debye length) is less than a nanometer (nm). Thus, in high ionic strength solutions, charge based (DC) detection is fundamentally impeded^6-8.We overcome charge screening effects by detecting molecular dipoles rather than charges at high frequency, by operating carbon nanotube field effect transistors as high frequency mixers^9-11. At high frequencies, the AC drive force can no longer overcome the solution drag and the ions in solution do not have sufficient time to form the EDL. Further, frequency mixing technique allows us to operate at frequencies high enough to overcome ionic screening, and yet detect the sensing signals at lower frequencies^11-12. Also, the high transconductance of SWNT transistors provides an internal gain for the sensing signal, which obviates the need for external signal amplifier.Here, we describe the protocol to (a) fabricate SWNT transistors, (b) functionalize biomolecules to the nanotube¹³, (c) design and stamp a poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micro-fluidic chamber¹⁴ onto the device, and (d) carry out high frequency sensing in different ionic strength solutions¹¹.     

Permanent Cerebral Vessel Occlusion via Double Ligature and Transection

Stroke is a leading cause of death, disability, and socioeconomic loss worldwide. The majority of all strokes result from an interruption in blood flow (ischemia) ¹. Middle cerebral artery (MCA) delivers a great majority of blood to the lateral surface of the cortex ², is the most common site of human stroke ³, and ischemia within its territory can result in extensive dysfunction or death ^1,4,5. Survivors of ischemic stroke often suffer loss or disruption of motor capabilities, sensory deficits, and infarct. In an effort to capture these key characteristics of stroke, and thereby develop effective treatment, a great deal of emphasis is placed upon animal models of ischemia in MCA.Here we present a method of permanently occluding a cortical surface blood vessel. We will present this method using an example of a relevant vessel occlusion that models the most common type, location, and outcome of human stroke, permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). In this model, we surgically expose MCA in the adult rat and subsequently occlude via double ligature and transection of the vessel. This pMCAO blocks the proximal cortical branch of MCA, causing ischemia in all of MCA cortical territory, a large portion of the cortex. This method of occlusion can also be used to occlude more distal portions of cortical vessels in order to achieve more focal ischemia targeting a smaller region of cortex. The primary disadvantages of pMCAO are that the surgical procedure is somewhat invasive as a small craniotomy is required to access MCA, though this results in minimal tissue damage. The primary advantages of this model, however, are: the site of occlusion is well defined, the degree of blood flow reduction is consistent, functional and neurological impairment occurs rapidly, infarct size is consistent, and the high rate of survival allows for long-term chronic assessment.