The Synthesis of Prilocaine from Toluene

Prilocaine hydrochloride is a local anesthetic from the amide family. Commonly used in dental work as an injected topical anesthetic, prilocaine temporarily numbs and inhibits nerve endings in soft tissue for up to two hours, leading to a decrease in pain. The synthesis of prilocaine is a four step process which starts with a mono-nitration of toluene. The nitrated product is then reduced by catalytic hydrogenation to produce toluidine. O-toluidine hydrochloride is isolated by treating toluidine with acetic anhydride followed by an extraction for purification. The acetylated product was then mixed with 2-choloropropionyl chloride to produce the final prilocaine product. In an effort to make the reaction more environmentally friendly, diethyl ether was replaced by methoxycyclopentane in the mono-nitration of toluene

Access to health services in Western Newfoundland, Canada: Issues, barriers and recommendations emerging from a community-engaged research project

Research indicates that people living in rural and remote areas of Canada face challenges to accessing health services. This article reports on a community-engaged research project conducted by investigators at Memorial University of Newfoundland in collaboration with the Rural Secretariat Regional Councils and Regional Partnership Planners for the Corner Brook–Rocky Harbour and Stephenville–Port aux Basques Rural Secretariat Regions of Newfoundland and Labrador. The aim of this research was to gather information on barriers to accessing health services, to identify solutions to health services’ access issues and to inform policy advice to government on enhancing access to health services. Data was collected through: (1) targeted distribution of a survey to communities throughout the region, and (2) informal ‘kitchen table’ discussions to discuss health services’ access issues. A total of 1049 surveys were collected and 10 kitchen table discussions were held. Overall, the main barriers to care listed in the survey included long wait times, services not available in the area and services not available at time required. Other barriers noted by survey respondents included transportation problems, financial concerns, no medical insurance coverage, distance to travel and weather conditions. Some respondents reported poorer access to maternal/child health and breast and cervical screening services and a lack of access to general practitioners, pharmacy services, dentists and nurse practitioners. Recommendations that emerged from this research included improving the recruitment of rural physicians, exploring the use of nurse practitioners, assisting individuals with travel costs,  developing specialist outreach services, increasing use of telehealth services and initiating additional rural and remote health research.Keywords: rural, remote, healthcare, health services, social determinants of healt

Identification of novel chondroitin proteoglycans in Caenorhabditis elegans: embryonic cell division depends on CPG-1 and CPG-2.

Vertebrates produce multiple chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans that play important roles in development and tissue mechanics. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the chondroitin chains lack sulfate but nevertheless play essential roles in embryonic development and vulval morphogenesis. However, assignment of these functions to specific proteoglycans has been limited by the lack of identified core proteins. We used a combination of biochemical purification, Western blotting, and mass spectrometry to identify nine C. elegans chondroitin proteoglycan core proteins, none of which have homologues in vertebrates or other invertebrates such as Drosophila melanogaster or Hydra vulgaris. CPG-1/CEJ-1 and CPG-2 are expressed during embryonic development and bind chitin, suggesting a structural role in the egg. RNA interference (RNAi) depletion of individual CPGs had no effect on embryonic viability, but simultaneous depletion of CPG-1/CEJ-1 and CPG-2 resulted in multinucleated single-cell embryos. This embryonic lethality phenocopies RNAi depletion of the SQV-5 chondroitin synthase, suggesting that chondroitin chains on these two proteoglycans are required for cytokinesis

Efecte de la topografia en la variabilitat espacial del contingut de carboni total i d?òxids solubles de ferro i alumini a l?horitzó B del sòl a una catena forestal a Suècia

L'objecte d'aquest estudi és la variabilitat espacial i l'efecte de la topografia en un procés com és l'acumulació de sesquiòxids solubles de ferro i alumini juntament amb la matèria orgànica il·luviada a l'horitzó Bhs. La metodologia aplicada en l'estudi de la variabilitat espacial ha estat l'anàlisi geoestadística. Aquesta es va dur a terme a 96 mostres on es va valorar el carboni total, per l'analitzador elemental LECO, i els òxids solubles de ferro i alumini complexats a la matèria orgànica, extractats en pirofosfat sòdic 0,1N i valorats per ICP. L'anàlisi de la variància entre totes les variables analitzades ens mostra que hi ha diferències significatives (P-value: 0,0000), però si comparem els òxids solubles llavors les sèries són significativament semblants (P-value: 0,1839). La influència de l'hidromorfisme es va estudiar mitjançant ANOVA comparant els continguts analitzats tenint en compte l'estat de saturació d'aigua. Els resultats ens mostren que totes tres variables es troben afectades per l'hidromorfisme, però en especial els òxids solubles de ferro (P-value: 0,0000). Respecte a les relacions entre les variables, el carboni total i els òxids solubles d'alumini es troben amb una bona correlació (R2 = 0,74, P0 = 0,001). Segons l'ajust del semivariograma el paràmetre que té una variabilitat espacial més elevada són els òxids solubles de ferro, que tenen una correlació espacial amb un abast de 20 m. La raó d'aquesta variabilitat ve donada per l'efecte en el ferro de l'hidromorfisme que va ser localitzat a 26 dels 96 punts mostrejats, i a causa de a les característiques d'aquest element ha estat reduït i rentat de forma més fàcil que els sesquiòxids d'alumini o el carboni.El objeto de este estudio es la variabilidad espacial y el efecto de la topografía en un proceso como es la acumulación de sesquióxidos solubles de hierro y aluminio complejados a la materia orgánica iluviada en el horizonte Bhs en los suelos de una catena sueca. La metodología aplicada en el estudio de la variabilidad espacial ha sido el análisis geoestadístico. Éste se aplicó a 96 muestras en las que se valoró el carbono total, por el analizador elemental LECO, y los óxidos solubles de hierro y aluminio complejados a la materia orgánica, extractados en pirofosfato sódico 0,1N y valorados por ICP. El análisis de la varianza ANOVA entre las variables analizadas nos muestra que hay diferencias significativas (P-value: 0,0000), pero si comparamos los óxidos solubles entonces las series son significativamente similares (P-value: 0,1839). La influencia del hidromorfismo se estudió mediante la varianza ANOVA, comparando los contenidos analizados teniendo en cuenta el estado de saturación de agua. Los resultados nos indican que las tres variables están afectadas por el hidromorfismo pero en especial los óxidos solubles de hierro (P-value: 0,0000). El carbono total y los óxidos solubles de aluminio están bien correlacionados (R2 = 0,74, P0 = 0,001) y ambas series tienen semejanzas significativas y representativas. Según el ajuste del semivariograma teórico, el parámetro que tiene una variabilidad espacial más elevada son los óxidos solubles de hierro, que tienen una correlación espacial con un alcance de 20 m. La razón de esta variabilidad viene dada por el efecto en el hierro del hidromorfismo que fue localizado en 26 de los 96 puntos muestreados, y debido a las características de este elemento ha sido reducido y lavado de forma más fácil que los sesquióxidos de aluminio o el carbono.The object of this study is the spatial variability of and the effect of the topography on the accumulation of soluble iron and aluminium oxides togethen with the illuviated the organic matter in the Bhs horizon of the soil. The spatial variability has been analysed geostatistically. This has been done with 96 samples where total carbon has been measured using the elemental analysator LECO. The soluble oxides of iron and aluminium complexed to the organic matter were extracted in 0.1N Na-pyrophosphate and determined by ICP. A one-way ANOVA analisys of variance between the three series showed that there are significant differences (P-value: 0,0000), but if we compare the soluble oxides there are significant similarities (P-value: 0,1839). The influence of waterlogging was studied by ANOVA; the results are that all three variables are affected, but especially the soluble iron oxides (P-value: 0,0000). The relationship between the variables are well correlated as the total carbon and the the soluble oxides of aluminium (R2 = 0.74, P0 = 0.001). When the theoretical semivariogram is fitted, the parameter with the highest spatial variability is the soluble iron oxides content. This has a good spatial correlation in a range of 20 meters. The high spatial variability is due to the effect of the waterlogging on the iron, 26 of the 96 soil samples being waterlogged. Iron is more easily reduced and leached than the carbon or the aluminium sesquioxides

Strengthening 4-H Youth Consumer Decision-Making Skills: Contest to Community Service

The University of Minnesota Extension 4-H Consumer Decision Making program strengthens youth consumer decision-making skills by connecting the contest to service learning. The program uses experiential learning to teach youth to make wise consumer decisions. Youth participate in a judging contest where they rank consumer items based on criteria. Youth gain experience in organizing thoughts and defending decisions with oral reasons. Youth also participate in a group process activity where they gain experience with decision making as a team member. Participants are also involved in an educational activity with a community service-learning component that allows more in-depth learning

Washington\u27s War on the Visibly Poor: A Survey of Criminalizing Ordinances & Their Enforcement

Throughout the country, cities increasingly enact laws that punish behaviors necessary for survival. For those without shelter, there is no alternative but to conduct these behaviors in public. Camping outdoors, sleeping, going to the bathroom, receiving food, sitting or lying down on sidewalks — these laws target homeless people either in practice or outright. But until now, no one knew how widespread these laws are throughout Washington State, or how they are being enforced. This brief answers these questions. HRAP researchers surveyed the municipal codes of seventy-two cities across Washington to identify ordinances that essentially criminalize homelessness in each jurisdiction. From this survey, researchers created a chart tracking every ordinance they could find. Seven of the cities were selected as case studies for closer examination of the enforcement and citations of these ordinances. The findings reveal that homeless criminalization exists regardless of where you live. From densely populated urban cities to scattered rural townships, city councils are increasingly passing these laws, often drafting them in a way that raises serious legal and policy concerns about how Washington treats its most vulnerable residents. This brief shines a spotlight on the problems with these laws: how they are written, how they impact the homeless community, and how easily cities can fall into the trap of vilifying already vulnerable populations in the name of safety and public health. This report shows that the problem of criminalizing homelessness, so often buried in municipal codes, is both widespread and systemic. Keywords: public space, homelessness, race, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, LGBTQ, homeless, poverty, constitutional rights, civil rights, human rights, criminalization, neolibera

Testing the efficacy of a common visual perception test as a new method to diagnose unilateral spatial inattention with brain injury patients

Neglect or unilateral spatial inattention (USI) is defined as a condition where the patient fails to report, respond or orient to novel or meaningful stimuli presented to the side opposite of the brain lesion. 1 The Test of Visual Perceptual Skills non-motor Revised (TVPS-R) is a widely administered test of visual-analysis skills administered to brain injured patients to assess visual perception .. We hypothesized that USI could be diagnosed by administering the TVPS-R in the traditional horizontal format and in an experimental vertical format which would serve as a control. Our prediction being that more errors would be committed on the horizontal test items that were presented in the neglected hemi-field. We further hypothesized that by using a test we developed, the midline shift laser test, a measurable midline shift in an ipsilesional direction would be present in those subjects diagnosed with USI. We also planned to investigate the efficacy of the Star Cancellation test in paralleling the diagnoses of USI made by occupational therapists (OTs). Subjects for this investigation included those with recent brain injuries, both with neglect and without neglect. The diagnosis of neglect/US! was determined by licensed occupational therapists with experience in brain injury and neglect. The OTs then ran our series of tests, including the Star Cancellation test, two subtests of the TVPS-R in both a traditional horizontal format and an experimental vertical format, and finally the midline shift laser test. The results from all three tests were analyzed for recognizable patterns to confirm or disconfirm the study hypotheses. Results showed that subjects with neglect were not significantly more likely to miss the items in their neglected hemi-field on the TVPS-R subtests; however, they did show a greater rate of overall error compared to their non-neglect counterparts. All but one of the left neglect subjects had a significant midline shift to the right and of all three experimental methods the midline shift test appeared to be the most sensitive in diagnosing neglect. Further, the Star Cancellation test had an efficacy for diagnosing USI lower than previously reported. This study made clear that further research needs to be invested to determine the most accurate method for testing brain injured patients for USI diagnosis

Begging for Change: Begging Restrictions Throughout Washington

The act of panhandling, commonly known as begging, is a form of speech protected by the United States Constitution. But Washington’s cities are increasingly enacting laws that criminalize begging, despite courts finding these laws unconstitutional under both the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause. This brief surveys begging restrictions, assessing their scope and legality. This report offers the first statewide analysis of laws that restrict begging. Among the brief\u27s key findings is that the vast majority (86%) of Washington cities criminalize begging; the majority (83%) of these laws result in a criminal charge if violated, leading to serious collateral consequences that impact one’s eligibility for housing and employment. Many of these laws would not survive constitutional scrutiny