Electrochemical investigation of formic acid electro-oxidation and its crossover through a Nafion® membrane

This work studies formic acid as an anode fuel for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and investigates the electro-oxidation of formic acid on Pt/C. Fuel crossovers through the Nafion^® 115 membrane at different temperatures and concentrations are reported. A linear dependence of the crossover current on the temperature and concentration is obtained. It is found that the crossover can be reduced by five times and a higher performance can be rendered by formic acid when compared to methanol under the same conditions. Electrochemical impedance measurements are conducted to interpret the reaction mechanism of formic acid oxidation. The effect of the electrode potential on the impedance pattern is revealed and an impedance model incorporating the reaction kinetics information is developed to simulate the experimental impedance response.     

Comparison of Marker Intervals and Number of Sib Pairs Used for Linkage Analysis on Simulated Nuclear Family Data

Using a two‐stage global scan design, we analyzed general population replicates 1 and 42 of the Genetic Analysis Workshop (GAW) 12 simulated data set using three methods: revisited Haseman‐Elston (HER), maximum likelihood variance estimation (ML), and variance components (VC). Three marker densities, 5‐, 10‐, and 15‐cM intervals, were examined in the first‐stage scan. We found that the 10‐cM interval appears to be the most cost‐effective approach in genotyping without sacrificing power when using a first stage significance level of 0.01. Subsequently, we performed the second‐stage scan at 1‐cM intervals for those putative positive regions identified in the first‐stage scan at a significance level of 0.01. We also compared the power to detect linkage using different numbers of sib pairs for a genome‐wide scan at a 10‐cM interval and found that power decreases nonlinearly as the number of sib pairs decreases. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Effects ofTripterygium hypoglaucum (Lévl.) Hutch on male fertility

Tripterygium hypoglaucum (Lévl.) Hutch (TH) is a perennial used in Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and various skin disorders. One study showed that daily oral doses of TH significantly reduced the fertility of male rats without apparent toxicity. The effects of daily oral doses of TH on the fertility of men taking it for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis were evaluated. Sperm concentration, motility and motility grade all were significantly reduced in the 13 men taking TH compared to 11 untreated controls. TH therapy did not affect testosterone, FSH, LH levels, and its antifertility effects appeared to be reversible.

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Resumen Triperygium hypoglaucum (Lévl.) Hutch (TH) es una perenne usada en la medicina tradicional china para el tratamiento de artritis reumatoidea y de varios desórdenes de la piel. Un estudio demostró que orales diarias de TH reducían significativamente la fertilidad en ratas macho, sin toxicidad aparente. Se evaluaron los efectos de dosis diarias orales de TH en la fertilidad de hombres que le tomaban para el tratamiento de la artritis reumatoidea. La concentración de espermatozoides, la motilidad y el grado de motilidad, se encontraron significativamente reducidos en los 13 hombres tomando TH comparados con 11 controles no tratados. La terapia con TH no afectó los niveles de testosterona, FSH y LH y sus efectos antifertilidad parecían ser reversibles.

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Resumé LeTriperygium hypoglaucum Hutch (TH) est communément utilisé en médecine traditionnelle chinoise pour le traitement de la polyarthrite chronique évolutive (PCE) et de divers troubles cutanés. Une étude a montré que l'administation quotidienne de doses orales de TH réduisait considérablement la fécondité de rats mâles sans provoquer de toxicité apparente. On a évalué les effets de doses quotidiennes administrées par voie orale sur la fécondité d'hommes atteints de PCE et traités au TH. La concentration, la motilité et le degré de motilité du sperme avaient significativement diminué chez 13 hommes traités au TH par comparaison avec 11 témoins non traités. Le traitement au TH n'a eu aucun effet sur les niveaux de testostérone, FSH et LH et ses effets anti-fécondants semblent être réversibles.

     

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies with mitoxantrone in the treatment of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of mitoxantrone were studied in 15 patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after single intravenous rapid infusion (12 to 14 mg/m2). Mitoxantrone plasma concentrations and urinary excretion were measured specifically with the use of a high-performance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection at 242 and 658 nm. The pharmacokinetic parameters are described adequately by a three-compartment model with a terminal half-life of 71.5 +/- 40.1 hours and a volume of distribution of 5037 +/- 2377 l. The total plasma clearance was 743 +/- 462 ml/minute, and the renal clearance was 18.8 +/- 8.49 ml/minute. Within 72 hours, 1.8 +/- 0.6% of the administration dose was excreted in urine as mitoxantrone parent compound. From the urinary excretion rate data, glomerular filtration and possible tubular reabsorption were the mechanisms involved in the urinary excretion of mitoxantrone. The values for unbound fraction (%) in plasma at time 0 and 5 minutes were 2.88 +/- 0.91% and 3.25 +/- 1.19%, with an average of 3.04 +/- 1.01%. The degree of protein binding of mitoxantrone was not affected by concentration (P greater than 0.05) in Chinese patients with NPC. The response rate for mitoxantrone was poor in this study. Clinical studies have demonstrated that mitoxantrone was generally well tolerated. Only very low incidences of nausea, vomiting, and alopecia were observed. The mild and rapidly reversible dose-limiting hematologic toxic effects have proven leukopenia. Although the toxicities reported here were tolerated for most patients, other combination regimens including mitoxantrone or other administration routes may be considered and need to be evaluated carefully.     

顺丁烯二酸水溶液的热反应动力学

研究了不同温度、浓度条件下，顺丁烯二酸（顺酸）非催化反应网络，即顺酸可生成反丁烯二酸（反酸）和苹果酸，反酸与苹果酸存在可逆反应。建立了该反应网络的动力学模型。测定了不同反应条件下顺酸、反酸和苹果酸浓度随时间变化的规律，据此，动力学参数进行了估值。     

Identification of Leishmania donovani isolates from different kala-azar foci in China by kDNA hybridization.

kDNA sequence homology of Leishmania donovani isolates from three types of kala-azar foci in China were analyzed by using dot and Southern hybridization with biotin- and 32P-labelled probes. The results revealed kDNA sequence heterogeneity among Leishmania donovani isolates from the three kala-azar foci: sequence homology between isolates of hill and desert foci was higher than that between hill and plain foci isolates. The kDNA hybridization technique was also found to be specific and sensitive for direct identification of Leishmania in animal tissues. In a preliminary survey, kDNA hybridization of cutaneous tissue blots of 71 dogs from endemic regions showed a positive rate of 40.8%, and the rate of double positive cases (touch blot hybridization and bone marrow smear) reached 91.3%. The direct identification of Leishmania in tissues by kDNA hybridization seems to be a useful and convenient method for epidemiological study and clinical diagnosis, especially for species/strain characterization.     

选择性髂内动脉结扎与栓塞对盆腔血供的影响

目的：旨在探讨选择性髂内动脉结扎与栓塞两种方法对盆腔血供的影响。方法：将两组犬在膀胱上动脉分支以下之髂内动脉分别行结扎与栓塞，对比观察两组膀胱创面出血、盆腔动脉造影及盆腔脏器组织学变化，以确定其盆腔脏器的血供情况。结果：①结扎组膀胱创面出血明显大于栓塞组；②结扎组髂内动脉侧支循环建立时间明显早于且数目多于栓塞组；③两组盆腔脏器均未见缺血坏死。结论：栓塞组阻断髂内动脉侧支循环的数目多于结扎组，故对盆腔血供的影响大于结扎组。避免髂内动脉阻断范围过广可减少盆腔脏器缺血坏死的机会。     

Influence of anesthesia on the threshold of pacing-induced ischemia.

Increased myocardial oxygen demand, induced by increased heart rate, may cause myocardial ischemia in the presence of significant coronary artery disease. Alterations in anesthetic depth or technique might put at risk or protect myocardium with compromised blood flow. In 20 dogs with critical left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) stenosis, atrial pacing rates from 100 to 160 beats/min were achieved, with end-tidal halothane 0.7% (LowH) and 1.1% (HighH), end-tidal isoflurane 1.1% (LowI) and 1.5% (HighI), as well as with continuous fentanyl plus midazolam (FM) infusion anesthesia. Despite significantly different mean arterial and coronary perfusion pressures, rate-pressure product, and left ventricular dP/dtmax, the pacing rate at which systolic shortening decreased below the lower limit of the physiologic response, indicating regional dysfunction, was the same in all investigated anesthesia conditions (LowH: 127 +/- 4 beats/min; HighH: 128 +/- 5 beats/min; LowI: 125 +/- 4 beats/min; HighI: 122 +/- 5 beats/min; FM: 124 +/- 4 beats/min [mean +/- SEM], P greater than 0.05). None of the investigated anesthesia conditions either increased ischemia tolerance or showed a detrimental effect on myocardium with compromised coronary blood flow.     

Is there disproportionate impairment in semantic or phonemic fluency in schizophrenia?

Phonemic and semantic fluency involve the capacity to generate words beginning with particular letters or belonging to particular categories, respectively. The former has been associated with frontal lobe function and the latter with temporoparietal function, but neuroimaging studies indicate overlap of underlying neural networks. Schizophrenia patients may experience disproportionate semantic fluency impairment owing to abnormal semantic organization; however, executive dysfunction in schizophrenia suggests possible disproportionate phonemic fluency impairment. Moreover, little is known about the diagnostic specificity of either verbal fluency deficit to schizophrenia or their stability over time. We examined 83 schizophrenia patients, 15 bipolar disorder patients, and 83 normal controls. Both fluency types were impaired in schizophrenia patients. Schizophrenia patients as a whole manifested disproportionate semantic fluency impairment relative to bipolar disorder patients, but only a subset of schizophrenia patients manifested disproportionate semantic fluency impairment relative to controls. Few characteristics, except to some extent paranoid-nonparanoid subtype, meaningfully differentiated schizophrenia patients with and without this disproportionate impairment. Verbal fluency measures were moderately stable over a 4-year period in schizophrenia patients and controls (.48 < rs < .79). These results mirror a literature that overall suggests a small degree of disproportionate semantic fluency impairment in schizophrenia, but also some heterogeneity in fluency deficits.