An Investigation Into a New England Fisheries Development Project: Towards the Expansion of the Whiting Fishery

In 1973, the New England Fishery Development Program (NEFDP), an industry/government partnership was formed to offset a portion of the economic decline of the New England fishing industry while encouraging the development of underutilized species and nontraditional fishery products. The purpose of this paper is to examine one of the NEFDP\u27s development projects and to comment on its apparent success. This paper attempts to determine if domestic processors can be expected to produce whiting fillet blocks that can compete in the market place with foreign imports. Several aspects of the problem are favorably resolved-an abundant whiting resource is available; the domestic fleet has the capability to harvest the resource; a domestic processor has proven his ability to produce a high quality product; a significant demand for the product exists.The economic efficiency of full-scale commercial production has not been proven, however. Whether or not the production of whiting blocks can be a profitable venture for both the processor and the fisherman is still unknown

Cardiac maladaptation in term pregnancies with preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVES: To study biventricular cardiac changes with conventional echocardiography and new echocardiographic speckle tracking technologies such strain, twist and torsion in pregnant women with preeclampsia at term and normotensive control term pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN: For this prospective single centre case-control study, we consecutively recruited 30 women with preeclampsia at term as cases and 40 healthy control term pregnant women. All women underwent transthoracic echocardiographic examination at the time point of inclusion into the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Signs of systolic and/or diastolic cardiac maladaptation to the increased volume load associated with pregnancy. RESULTS: Conventional echocardiography revealed mild left sided diastolic impairment in the form of significantly increased E/E' in preeclampsia (7.58 ± 1.72 vs. 6.18 ± 1.57, p = 0.001) compared to normotensive controls, but no evidence of systolic impairment. With speckle tracking analysis, significant decreases in left ventricular global (-13.32 ± 2.37% vs. -17.61 ± 1.89%, p < 0.001), endocardial (-15.64 ± 2.79% vs. -19.84 ± 2.35%, p < 0.001) and epicardial strain (-11.48 ± 2.15% vs. -15.73 ± 1.66%, p < 0.001) as well as left ventricular longitudinal strain rate (-0.84 ± 0.14 s-1 vs. -0.98 ± 0.12 s-1, p < 0.001) and left ventricular early diastolic strain rate (0.86 ± 0.30 s-1 vs. 1.24 ± 0.26 s-1, p < 0.001) could be observed in women with term preeclampsia. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study demonstrate that pregnant women with term preeclampsia with minimal functional changes on conventional echocardiography, demonstrated significant subclinical myocardial changes on speckle tracking analysis

Recent Decisions

Comments on recent decisions by Alfred Kaelin, John F. Beggan, Arthur J. Perry, Jerome M. Lynes, Robert E. Curley, Nicholas J. Neiers, Gordon C. Ho, Donald A. Garrity, F. James Kane, and Matthew T. Hogan

Additivity of the mechanical properties of Al-Sn pseudoalloys

The influence of deformation on the mechanical properties of sintered Al-Sn composites was investigated. It was found that under compression test the strength of investigated materials is an additive value and determined by the rule of mixture. After processing by ECAP the strength of sintered Al-Sn composites increases by more than 2 times but remains additive value. During ECAP, the strengthening of the composites is caused by grinding of the grain structure of the aluminum matrix

Mutation analysis of HIF prolyl hydroxylases (PHD/EGLN) in individuals with features of phaeochromocytoma and renal cell carcinoma susceptibility

Germline mutations in the von Hippel–Lindau disease (VHL) and succinate dehydrogenase subunit B (SDHB) genes can cause inherited phaeochromocytoma and/or renal cell carcinoma(RCC). Dysregulation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) transcription factors has been linked to VHL and SDHB-related RCC; both HIF dysregulation and disordered function of a prolyl hydroxylase domain isoform 3 (PHD3/EGLN3)-related pathway of neuronal apoptosis have been linked to the development of phaeochromocytoma. The 2-oxoglutarate-dependent prolyl hydroxylase enzymes PHD1 (EGLN2), PHD2 (EGLN1) and PHD3 (EGLN3) have a key role in regulating the stability of HIF-a subunits (and hence expression of the HIF-a transcription factors). A germline PHD2 mutation has been reported in association with congenital erythrocytosis and recurrent extra-adrenal phaeochromocytoma. We undertook mutation analysis of PHD1, PHD2 and PHD3 in two cohorts of patients with features of inherited phaeochromocytoma (nZ82) and inherited RCC (nZ64) and no evidence of germline mutations in known susceptibility genes. No confirmed pathogenic mutations were detected suggesting that mutations in these genes are not a frequent cause of inherited phaeochromocytoma or RCC

Incorporation of copper into indium gallium selenide layers from solution

A chemical method for the incorporation of copper into indium gallium selenide (IGS) layers has been developed. The resulting copper-containing precursor layers have been annealed in the presence of selenium vapour with the goal of forming Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) layers. It is found that copper ions in solution are incorporated into IGS layers during immersion, resulting in the formation of a precursor layer containing both copper selenides and IGS. When aqueous solutions are used for this process, corrosion of the molybdenum back contact occurs by reduction of copper ions in the solution. Use of an ethylene glycol solution prevents corrosion of the Mo and allows higher process temperatures, corresponding to higher reaction rates. During annealing, the precursor layers are converted into CIGS and the morphology of these layers is strongly affected by the availability of selenium whilst the substrate temperature is ramped up

Electronic compressibility and charge imbalance relaxation in cuprate superconductors

In the material SmLa$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_{4-\delta}$ with alternating intrinsic Josephson junctions we explain theoretically the relative amplitude of the two plasma peaks in transmission by taking into account the spatial dispersion of the Josephson Plasma Resonance in $c$ direction due to charge coupling. From this and the magnetic field dependence of the plasma peaks in the vortex solid and liquid states it is shown that the electronic compressibility of the CuO$_2$ layers is consistent with a free electron value. Also the London penetration depth $\lambda_{ab} \approx 1100 {\rm \AA}$ near $T_c$ can be determined. The voltage response in the $IV$-curve of a Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ mesa due to microwave irradiation or current injection in a second mesa is related to the nonequilibrium charge imbalance of quasiparticles and Cooper pairs and from our experimental data the relaxation time $\sim 100 {\rm ps}$ is obtained.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, phc-proc4-auth.cls, to be published in Physica C as a proceeding of M2S-HTSC Rio 200

Imagined paralysis reduces motor cortex excitability.

Mental imagery is a powerful capability that engages similar neurophysiological processes that underlie real sensory and motor experiences. Previous studies show that motor cortical excitability can increase during mental imagery of actions. In this study, we focused on possible inhibitory effects of mental imagery on motor functions. We assessed whether imagined arm paralysis modulates motor cortical excitability in healthy participants, as measured by motor evoked potentials (MEPs) of the hand induced by near-threshold transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex hand area. We found lower MEP amplitudes during imagined arm paralysis when compared to imagined leg paralysis or baseline stimulation without paralysis imagery. These results show that purely imagined bodily constraints can selectively inhibit basic motor corticospinal functions. The results are discussed in the context of motoric embodiment/disembodiment

Chemical incorporation of copper into indium selenide thin-films for processing of CuInSe2 solar cells

A chemical method of incorporating copper into indium selenide thin-films has been investigated, with the goal of creating a precursor structure for conversion into CuInSe2 layers suitable for solar cell processing. The precursor and converted layers have been investigated with scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. From these measurements, the incorporation of copper into the indium selenide layers is concluded to proceed by an ion-exchange reaction. This reaction results in the formation of a precursor layer with a graded compositional depth-profile containing the crystalline phases In2Se3 and Cu2-xSe. Selenization of the precursor layer homogenises the composition and forms chalcopyrite CuInSe2. These CuInSe2 layers exhibit a dense microstructure with rough surface morphology, which is ascribed to a non-optimal selenization process. Solar cells with the structure ZnO:Al/i-ZnO/CdS/CuInSe2/Mo/Glass have been processed from the selenized layers and have exhibited efficiencies of up to 4% under simulated AM1.5 illumination

Lower uterine segment placental thickness in women with abnormally invasive placenta.

Introduction Ultrasound signs of abnormal placental invasion are subjective in nature. We tested the hypothesis that placental thickness in the lower uterine segment is increased when there is abnormally invasive placenta (AIP) in women with a low‐lying placenta. Material and methods Retrospective analysis of data of placental thickness in women with ultrasound evidence of major placenta previa or a low‐lying anterior placenta was done. The diagnosis of AIP was confirmed both intraoperatively and on histopathology for those managed by partial myometrial excision with uterine conservation or by hysterectomy. Results In all, 131 records were available for analysis after exclusion of 33 cases due to unsuitable images and eight cases without pregnancy outcomes. The diagnosis of AIP was confirmed in 28 (21.4%) of the 131 cases. The lower segment placental thickness was significantly higher in women with AIP (median = 50.3 mm, IQR: 42.7‐64.3) than in those with normal placentation (median = 30.9 mm, IQR: 22.9‐42.2, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that previous cesarean section and placental thickness on ultrasound were independent predictors for AIP. Conclusions Lower uterine segment placental thickness is increased in women with AIP compared with those with noninvasive placentation. This association constitutes a pragmatic objective sign and may be of clinical value in improving prenatal detection of AIP in women with placental implantation in the lower uterine segment. Prospective studies are necessary to ascertain lower segment placental thickness as a predictor for AIP