Methyl hydrazinocarboxylate as a practical alternative to hydrazine in the Wolff–Kishner reaction

Herein we describe a facile protocol for the reduction of aromatic ketones and aldehydes to the corresponding methylene unit. The procedure involves isolation of a carbomethoxyhydrazone intermediate that is easily decomposed to the reduced product without the requirement for large quantities of pernicious hydrazine

Recent Decisions

Recent Decisions Admiralty--Maritime Wrongful Death Action--A Maritime Wrongful Death Action for Unseaworthiness Alleging Loss of Support, Services, Society and Funeral Expenses is not Barred by Decedent\u27s Recovery of Damages for Personal Injuries during His Lifetime Stanley D. Miller ============================ Constitutional Law--Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure--Without Consent, Warrant or Probable Cause, A Roving Patrol Search of a Vehicle Twenty-Five Miles from Border is an Unreasonable Search and Seizure within Meaning of Fourth Amendment G. Cranwell Montgomery ============================== Jurisdiction--Securities Exchange Act of 1934--Section 10(b) applies to Fraudulent Transaction in Unlisted Foreign Securities when the Only Conduct within the United States is the Use of the Mails and the Telephone Douglas Ian Friedma

The omnivorous Tyrolean Iceman: colon contents (meat, cereals, pollen, moss and whipworm) and stable isotope analyses

The contents of the colon of the Tyrolean Iceman who lived Ga. 5300 years ago include muscle fibres, cereal remains, a diversity of pollen, and most notably that of the hop hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia) retaining cellular contents, as well as a moss leaf (Neckera complanata) and eggs of the parasitic whipworm (Trichuris trichiura). Based almost solely on stable isotope analyses and ignoring the work on the colon contents, two recently published papers on the Iceman's diet draw ill- founded conclusions about vegetarianism and even veganism. Neither the pollen nor the moss is likely to have been deliberately consumed as food by the Iceman. All the available evidence concerning the Iceman's broad-based diet is reviewed and the significance of the colon contents for matters other than assessment of food intake is outlined

Evaluation of a nudge intervention providing simple feedback to clinicians of the consequence of radiation exposure on demand for computed tomography: a controlled study

Computerised tomography (CT) is readily available in developed countries. As one of the side-effects includes an increased risk of cancer, interventions that may encourage more judicious use of CT scans are important. Behavioural economics theory includes the use of nudges that aim to help more informed decisions to be made, although these have been rarely used in hospitals to date. We aimed to evaluate the impact of a simple educational message appended to the CT scan report on subsequent numbers of CT scans completed using a controlled interrupted time series design based in two teaching hospitals in X. The intervention was the addition of a non-directional educational message on the risk of ionising radiation to all CT scan reports. There was a statistically significant reduction in the number of CT scans requested in the intervention hospital compared to the control hospital (-4.6%, 95% confidence intervals -7.4 to -1.7, p = 0.002) in the 12 months after the intervention was implemented. We conclude that a simple, non-directional nudge intervention has the capacity to modify clinician use of CT scans. This approach is cheap, and has potential in helping support doctors make informed decisions

Alkenone producers inferred from well-preserved 18S rDNA in Greenland lake sediments

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 111 (2006): G03013, doi:10.1029/2005JG000121.The 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences of haptophyte algae were successfully amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from water filtrate, surface sediments, and a late-Holocene sediment sample (∼1000 years old) from a group of lakes in the Søndre Strømfjord region of west Greenland. The DNA of the algal primary producer is extremely well preserved in the laminated lake sediments which have been deposited in cold (1°–2°C), anoxic, and sulphidic bottom water. Phylogenetic analyses of the Greenland haptophyte rDNA sequences suggest that alkenones in the Greenland lake sediments are produced by haptophyte algae of the class Prymnesiophyceae. The 18S rDNA sequences from the Greenland samples cluster within a distinct phylotype, differing from both marine haptophytes and from those reported previously from Ace Lake, Antarctica. The similarity of haptophyte rDNA sequences among all samples in this study suggests a single alkenone-based temperature calibration may be applied to these lakes for at least the past 1000 years. These sedimentary archives hold great promise for high-resolution, alkenone-based paleotemperature reconstruction of southern west Greenland, a region sensitive to atmospheric-oceanic climate phenomena such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF0081478, 0318050, 0318123, 0402383, 0520718), NASA (NAG5-10665, NNG04GJ34G) and the American Chemical Society, Petroleum Research Fund (ACS-PRF38878-AC2) to Y. Huang

Larger and More Prominent Graphic Health Warnings on Plain-Packaged Tobacco Products and Avoidant Responses in Current Smokers: a Qualitative Study

Background: The introduction of tobacco plain packaging legislation in Australia meant that all tobacco products were to be sold in plain dark-brown packaging with 75 % front-of-pack graphic health warnings and standardised font type and size for brand name and product variant. The change in the size and prominence of the warnings has been proposed as a reason for behaviour change in smokers in terms of increased intentions to quit and quit attempts. Purpose: The current research examined attitudes and beliefs of cigarette smokers toward the increased size and prominence of the warnings and effects on their behaviour. Method: Participants (N = 160) completed open-ended responses to questions on beliefs, attitudes and responses to plain packaging. Responses were subjected to inductive thematic content analysis for key themes. Results: Four themes emerged from the analysis: emotional response to packaging, scepticism of health warnings, warnings and cessation behaviour, and avoidant coping behaviours. Participants reported increased negative emotional responses to the packaging and made specific reference to the graphic health warnings. Some participants attempted to discredit the messages. Others reported increased intentions to quit or quitting attempts. There were pervasive reports of avoidant responses including covering or hiding the warnings. Conclusion: Consistent with theories of illness perceptions and coping, current findings indicate that the larger, prominent graphic health warnings on plain-packaged tobacco products had pervasive effects on threat perceptions and subsequent behavioural responses. While some of the reported responses were adaptive (e.g. attempts to quit), others were maladaptive (e.g. avoiding the warnings)

Color afterimages in autistic adults

It has been suggested that attenuated adaptation to visual stimuli in autism is the result of atypical perceptual priors (e.g., Pellicano and Burr in Trends Cogn Sci 16(10):504–510, 2012. doi:10.​1016/​j.​tics.​2012.​08.​009). This study investigated adaptation to color in autistic adults, measuring both strength of afterimage and the influence of top-down knowledge. We found no difference in color afterimage strength between autistic and typical adults. Effects of top-down knowledge on afterimage intensity shown by Lupyan (Acta Psychol 161:117–130, 2015. doi:10.​1016/​j.​actpsy.​2015.​08.​006) were not replicated for either group. This study finds intact color adaptation in autistic adults. This is in contrast to findings of attenuated adaptation to faces and numerosity in autistic children. Future research should investigate the possibility of developmental differences in adaptation and further examine top-down effects on adaptation