Book Reviews

The Law Practice of Alexander Hamilton By Julius Goebel, Ed. and Associate Editors New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1964. Pp. XXV, 898. reviewer: Elliot E. Cheatham ============================== Lawyers in Politics: A Study in Professional Convergence By Heinz Eulau and John D. Sprague Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill,1964. Pp. 164. $1.95. reviewer: Joseph B. Board, Jr. =============================== Occupational Disability and Public Policy Edited by Earl F. Cheit and Margaret S. Gordon. New York: John Wiley and Sons,Inc., 1963. Pp. xii, 446. reviewer: Monroe Berkowit

The Hubble Space Telescope high speed photometer

The Hubble Space Telescope will provide the opportunity to perform precise astronomical photometry above the disturbing effects of the atmosphere. The High Speed Photometer is designed to provide the observatory with a stable, precise photometer with wide dynamic range, broad wavelenth coverage, time resolution in the microsecond region, and polarimetric capability. Here, the scientific requirements for the instrument are examined, the unique design features of the photometer are explored, and the improvements to be expected over the performance of ground-based instruments are projected

Comment on: Aquatic adaptation in the skull of carnivorous dinosaurs (Theropoda: Spinosauridae) and the evolution of aquatic habits in spinosaurids. 93: 275–284

In a recent paper, the contention that spinosaurine theropods were semi-aquatic was supported by Arden et al., (2019) and they provided a hypothetical sequence of acquisition of traits that had evolved in line with this lifestyle. However, we find that the presented traits were either loosely defined and/or are clearly distinct from those traits seen in extant animals with adaptations to life in water. Some spinosaurs may have spent extensive time in water, but the data to support this is currently insufficient and other hypotheses for their behaviour also fit the available data

Single cell transcriptomics reveals opioid usage evokes widespread suppression of antiviral gene program

Chronic opioid usage not only causes addiction behavior through the central nervous system, but also modulates the peripheral immune system. However, how opioid impacts the immune system is still barely characterized systematically. In order to understand the immune modulatory effect of opioids in an unbiased way, here we perform single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from opioid-dependent individuals and controls to show that chronic opioid usage evokes widespread suppression of antiviral gene program in naive monocytes, as well as in multiple immune cell types upon stimulation with the pathogen component lipopolysaccharide. Furthermore, scRNA-seq reveals the same phenomenon after a short in vitro morphine treatment. These findings indicate that both acute and chronic opioid exposure may be harmful to our immune system by suppressing the antiviral gene program. Our results suggest that further characterization of the immune modulatory effects of opioid is critical to ensure the safety of clinical opioids.Published versio