Use of Oral Sodium Phosphate Colonic Lavage Solution by Canadian Colonoscopists: Pitfalls and Complications

Oral sodium phosphate (NaP) has become an attractive alternative to polyethylene glycol (PEG) for colonic cleansing before colonoscopy, but it potentially has greater complications. This study surveyed members of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) to determine how these colonic lavage agents are used and what complications have been encountered. The Dillman survey technique produced responses from 67% of the 400 members who perform colonoscopy. For the larger out-patient group, respondents used NaP more frequently than PEG (46% versus 35%, respectively, P<0.015). Respondents used NaP and PEG with similar frequencies for the in-patient group (44% versus 43%). Of respondents using NaP, 45% reported excluding its use in patients with renal failure, 30% with heart disease, 13% with incomplete bowel obstruction and 9% with extreme age. Symptoms suggestive of hypovolemia were reported in 9% of those using NaP compared with 3% using PEG (P<0.02). Three patients receiving NaP developed acute renal failure. A greater proportion of those using NaP had small unexplained aphthous ulcers (16%) and excessive luminal bubbling (24%) compared with PEG users (3%, P<0.00001 and 14%, P<0.03, respectively). These data demonstrate that members of CAG use NaP more frequently than PEG as the colonic lavage solution before colonoscopy. A greater number reported complications with NaP versus PEG, and a significant proportion of the respondents appeared to be unaware of the potential for these complications in specific clinical circumstances

The change in distance acuity as a function of cosmetic spectacle lens tint

Current trends towards fashion tints and tinted lens prescription writing for today\u27s eye wear has prompted a need for an evaluation of the effect that the tint will have on acuity. In this study, subjects were provided best visual acuity spectacle correction for their refractive error and tested f under two lighting conditions (10 fL and 0.1 fL) and eight contrast levels (95.2% and 11.0%). Acuity measurements were taken using Snellen acuity letters having approximately the same error scores. Three color tints of CR-39 (blue, brown, and grey) at two color densities (#1 and #2) were studied. A clear lens was. used as a control. Subjects records were analyzed in five age group categories. At the l0 fL luminance level, neither of the blue tints showed a marked effect on acuity at the higher contrast levels, but did show an increasing effect as the contrast level was reduced. The brown tints induced a similar but more pronounced effect than the blue tints at the l0 fL luminance level while the findings through the grey tints were inconsistent. Decreasing the luminance level to 0.1 fL had the most dramatic effect on visual acuity. The effects of the colors on visual acuity were studied and found not significant under these achromatic test conditions. The loss of visual acuity has been found to be directly related to the decrease in transmittance of the tinted lenses

A Method to Allow Software Detection of Multiple Different Chassis Types That Use a Common PCA

Many computer system designs today implement a common printed circuit board assembly that is used in more than one mechanical chassis. This invention describes a design method that allows software to identify in which chassis the PCA has been installed. The system software is able to determine the chassis type be detecting a set of mounting screw connections that are unique for each particular chassis

Statistical Mechanics of Torque Induced Denaturation of DNA

A unifying theory of the denaturation transition of DNA, driven by temperature T or induced by an external mechanical torque Gamma is presented. Our model couples the hydrogen-bond opening and the untwisting of the helicoidal molecular structure. We show that denaturation corresponds to a first-order phase transition from B-DNA to d-DNA phases and that the coexistence region is naturally parametrized by the degree of supercoiling sigma. The denaturation free energy, the temperature dependence of the twist angle, the phase diagram in the T,Gamma plane and isotherms in the sigma, Gamma plane are calculated and show a good agreement with experimental data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, model improve

Toxicity of dietary methylmercury to fish: Derivation of ecologically meaningful threshold concentrations

Threshold concentrations associated with adverse effects of dietary exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) were derived from published results of laboratory studies on a variety of fish species. Adverse effects related to mortality were uncommon, whereas adverse effects related to growth occurred only at dietary MeHg concentrations exceeding 2.5 µg g −1 wet weight. Adverse effects on behavior of fish had a wide range of effective dietary concentrations, but generally occurred above 0.5 µg g −1 wet weight. In contrast, effects on reproduction and other subclinical endpoints occurred at dietary concentrations that were much lower (<0.2 µg g −1 wet wt). Field studies generally lack information on dietary MeHg exposure, yet available data indicate that comparable adverse effects have been observed in wild fish in environments corresponding to high and low MeHg contamination of food webs and are in agreement with the threshold concentrations derived here from laboratory studies. These thresholds indicate that while differences in species sensitivity to MeHg exposure appear considerable, chronic dietary exposure to low concentrations of MeHg may have significant adverse effects on wild fish populations but remain little studied compared to concentrations in mammals or birds. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 1536–1547. © 2012 SETACPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92130/1/etc_1859_sm_SupplReferences.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92130/2/1859_ftp.pd

Scintillation Observations and Response of The Ionosphere to Electrodynamics (SORTIE) Mission First Light

At low and middle latitudes, wave-like plasma perturbations are thought to provide the seeds for larger perturbations that may evolve non-linearly to produce irregularities, which in turn have deleterious effects on HF communications and global positioning systems. Unfortunately, there is currently no comprehensive atlas of measurements describing the global spatial or temporal distribution of wave-like perturbations in the ionosphere. The SORTIE mission, a CubeSat experiment with team members from ASTRA, AFRL, UTD, and Boston College, was designed to help map and further understand the wave-like plasma perturbation distributions throughout the ionosphere. The SORTIE 6U CubeSat sensor package measures key in-situ plasma parameters, and includes an ion velocity meter and a planar Langmuir probe. SORTIE will provide (1) the initial spectrum of wave perturbations which are the starting point for plasma instabilities; (2) measured electric fields which determine the magnitude of the instability growth rate near the region where plasma bubbles are generated; (3) initial observations of irregularities in plasma density which result from plasma instability growth. The SORTIE spacecraft was deployed from the ISS in February 2020 and began data collections shortly after orbit insertion. The measurements are expected to continue for at least a year. In this presentation we present the first light results of the SORTIE mission, as well as reviewing the science objectives and providing an overview of the spacecraft and instruments

The emerging structure of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: where does Evo-Devo fit in?

The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) debate is gaining ground in contemporary evolutionary biology. In parallel, a number of philosophical standpoints have emerged in an attempt to clarify what exactly is represented by the EES. For Massimo Pigliucci, we are in the wake of the newest instantiation of a persisting Kuhnian paradigm; in contrast, Telmo Pievani has contended that the transition to an EES could be best represented as a progressive reformation of a prior Lakatosian scientific research program, with the extension of its Neo-Darwinian core and the addition of a brand-new protective belt of assumptions and auxiliary hypotheses. Here, we argue that those philosophical vantage points are not the only ways to interpret what current proposals to ‘extend’ the Modern Synthesis-derived ‘standard evolutionary theory’ (SET) entail in terms of theoretical change in evolutionary biology. We specifically propose the image of the emergent EES as a vast network of models and interweaved representations that, instantiated in diverse practices, are connected and related in multiple ways. Under that assumption, the EES could be articulated around a paraconsistent network of evolutionary theories (including some elements of the SET), as well as models, practices and representation systems of contemporary evolutionary biology, with edges and nodes that change their position and centrality as a consequence of the co-construction and stabilization of facts and historical discussions revolving around the epistemic goals of this area of the life sciences. We then critically examine the purported structure of the EES—published by Laland and collaborators in 2015—in light of our own network-based proposal. Finally, we consider which epistemic units of Evo-Devo are present or still missing from the EES, in preparation for further analyses of the topic of explanatory integration in this conceptual framework

The Spitzer Spectroscopic Survey of S-type Stars

S-type AGB stars are thought to be in the transitional phase between M-type and C-type AGB stars. Because of their peculiar chemical composition, one may expect a strong influence of the stellar C/O ratio on the molecular chemistry and the mineralogy of the circumstellar dust. In this paper, we present a large sample of 87 intrinsic galactic S-type AGB stars, observed at infrared wavelengths with the Spitzer Space Telescope, and supplemented with ground-based optical data. On the one hand, we derive the stellar parameters from the optical spectroscopy and photometry, using a grid of model atmospheres. On the other, we decompose the infrared spectra to quantify the flux-contributions from the different dust species. Finally, we compare the independently determined stellar parameters and dust properties. For the stars without significant dust emission, we detect a strict relation between the presence of SiS absorption in the Spitzer spectra and the C/O ratio of the stellar atmosphere. These absorption bands can thus be used as an additional diagnostic for the C/O ratio. For stars with significant dust emission, we define three groups, based on the relative contribution of certain dust species to the infrared flux. We find a strong link between group-membership and C/O ratio. We show that these groups can be explained by assuming that the dust-condensation can be cut short before silicates are produced, while the remaining free atoms and molecules can then form the observed magnesium sulfides or the carriers of the unidentified 13 and 20 micron features. Finally, we present the detection of emission features attributed to molecules and dust characteristic to C-type stars, such as molecular SiS, hydrocarbons and magnesium sulfide grains. We show that we often detect magnesium sulfides together with molecular SiS and we propose that it is formed by a reaction of SiS molecules with Mg.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Hierarchy Theory of Evolution and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: Some Epistemic Bridges, Some Conceptual Rifts

Contemporary evolutionary biology comprises a plural landscape of multiple co-existent conceptual frameworks and strenuous voices that disagree on the nature and scope of evolutionary theory. Since the mid-eighties, some of these conceptual frameworks have denounced the ontologies of the Modern Synthesis and of the updated Standard Theory of Evolution as unfinished or even flawed. In this paper, we analyze and compare two of those conceptual frameworks, namely Niles Eldredge’s Hierarchy Theory of Evolution (with its extended ontology of evolutionary entities) and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (with its proposal of an extended ontology of evolutionary processes), in an attempt to map some epistemic bridges (e.g. compatible views of causation; niche construction) and some conceptual rifts (e.g. extra-genetic inheritance; different perspectives on macroevolution; contrasting standpoints held in the “externalism–internalism” debate) that exist between them. This paper seeks to encourage theoretical, philosophical and historiographical discussions about pluralism or the possible unification of contemporary evolutionary biology

Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the evolution of form and function in the amniote jaw.

The amniote jaw complex is a remarkable amalgamation of derivatives from distinct embryonic cell lineages. During development, the cells in these lineages experience concerted movements, migrations, and signaling interactions that take them from their initial origins to their final destinations and imbue their derivatives with aspects of form including their axial orientation, anatomical identity, size, and shape. Perturbations along the way can produce defects and disease, but also generate the variation necessary for jaw evolution and adaptation. We focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate form in the amniote jaw complex, and that enable structural and functional integration. Special emphasis is placed on the role of cranial neural crest mesenchyme (NCM) during the species-specific patterning of bone, cartilage, tendon, muscle, and other jaw tissues. We also address the effects of biomechanical forces during jaw development and discuss ways in which certain molecular and cellular responses add adaptive and evolutionary plasticity to jaw morphology. Overall, we highlight how variation in molecular and cellular programs can promote the phenomenal diversity and functional morphology achieved during amniote jaw evolution or lead to the range of jaw defects and disease that affect the human condition