Asymmetric reactions of (arene)tricarbonylchromium acetal complexes.

Chapter 1. The nucleophilic addition of alkyl and arylmetals to 1 was examined. When the reaction was mediated by Ti(O iPr)4, diastereomeric excesses ranged from 77% to \u3e94%. X-ray crystallography suggested that the major diastereomer had the absolute configuration of S. Conjugate addition of alkylmetal nucleophiles was attempted on 2 and 3 without success. Chapter 2. The preparation of meta-disubstituted arenechromium tricarbonyl complexes was attempted. The initial phase of this research involved the directed ortho lithiation of 4, with thioether directing groups. In the case of the 4, carrying out the reaction in Et 20 led to the metallation in the ortho\u27 position. In THF lithiation occurred in both the meta and ortho\u27 position. Desulfurization was attempted on the unsubstituted thiophenyl complex 4. The use of both Raney Nickel and Nickel Boride led to the formation of the desulfurized complex and its decomplexed analogue in equal proportions. Chapter 3. A series of chromium tricarbonyl complexes with benzylic and non-benzylic alcohol functionalities were subjected to DMSO-TFAA and DMSO/SO3-pyridine. Yields of carbonyl complexes ranged from 61--80% for the DMSO-TFAA oxidation and from 60--81% for the DMSO/SO 3-pyridine oxidation. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 61-09, Section: B, page: 4728. Adviser: James Richard Green. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1999

Clinical and surgical management of holocervical spinal cord ependymomas.

Background:Spinal ependymomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system, and those spanning the entire cervical spine are atypical. Here, we present two unusual cases of holocervical (C1-C7) spinal ependymomas. Case Description:Two patients, a 32-year-old female and a 24-year-old male presented with neck pain, motor, and sensory deficits. Sagittal MRI confirmed hypointense lesions on T1 and hyperintense regions on T2 spanning the entire cervical spine. These were accompanied by cystic cavities extending caudally into the thoracic spine and rostrally to the cervicomedullary junction. Both patients underwent gross total resection of these lesions and sustained excellent recoveries. Conclusion:Two holocervical cord intramedullary ependymomas were safely and effectively surgically resected without incurring significant perioperative morbidity

Sub-cortical and brainstem sites associated with chemo-stimulated increases in ventilation in humans

We investigated the neural basis for spontaneous chemo-stimulated increases in ventilation in awake, healthy humans. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI was performed in nine healthy subjects using T2weighted echo planar imaging. Brain volumes (52 transverse slices, cortex to high spinal cord) were acquired every 3.9 s. The 30 min paradigm consisted of six, 5-min cycles, each cycle comprising 45 s of hypoxic-isocapnia, 45 s of isooxic-hypercapnia and 45 s of hypoxic-hypercapnia, with 55 s of non-stimulatory hyperoxic-isocapnia (control) separating each stimulus period. Ventilation was significantly (p < 0.001) increased during hypoxic-isocapnia, isooxic-hypercapnia and hypoxic-hypercapnia (17.0, 13.8, 24.9 L/min respectively) vs. control (8.4 L/min) and was associated with significant (p < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons) signal increases within a bilateral network that included the basal ganglia, thalamus, red nucleus, cerebellum, parietal cortex, cingulate and superior mid pons. The neuroanatomical structures identified provide evidence for the spontaneous control of breathing to be mediated by higher brain centres, as well as respiratory nuclei in the brainstem

The Interest Ecology of Financial Regulation: Interest Group Plurality in the Design of Financial Regulatory Policies

Existing literature has offered a variety of claims regarding why financial regulatory politics features a relative dominance of the regulated financial industry. In this article we explore the broader interest group environment in which financial industry advocacy operates. Using new data on interest group participation in financial regulatory consultations, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of the ecology of interest groups that populate financial regulatory policymaking. Through a new measure of ‘mobilized dissent’ we find evidence that the level of interest group pluralism in financial regulatory policymaking is constrained by the limited mobilization of voices outside of the business community. We analyze how mobilized dissent toward the regulated financial industry changes in response to different institutional environments. While technical complexity, institutional context, and the global financial crisis are found to impact the level of mobilized dissent, the impact of these environmental conditions varies across different groups. This analysis reveals not only that organized opposition to the financial industry is relatively weak but also that it is relatively disjointed

Addressing Tobacco Use in Adult Mental Health Service Programs

People with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) consume nearly half of all tobacco sold in the US (Lasser, Boyd, Woolhander, Himmelstein, McCormick, & Bor, 2000). Compared to the general population, individuals diagnosed with SMI are at greater risk of co-morbid health problems and premature death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002; National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, 2006). Often individuals with SMI are unaware of supportive services such as Quitlines, Nicotine Anonymous (NIC-A) meetings, and/ or Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). To compound matters, many states have cut tobacco cessation funding, and few mental health programs provide integrated approaches to tobacco cessation. Programs lack trained staff or peers to assist people with SMI who wish to quit or to learn about the harmful consequences of tobacco use (e.g. cigarettes, cigars, or chewing tobacco). However, evidence suggests that people with SMI can be successful in quitting. This Issue Brief describes our efforts to engage this population in tobacco cessation activities

Faint young Sun paradox remains

The Sun was fainter when the Earth was young, but the climate was generally at least as warm as today; this is known as the `faint young Sun paradox'. Rosing et al. [1] claim that the paradox can be resolved by making the early Earth's clouds and surface less reflective. We show that, even with the strongest plausible assumptions, reducing cloud and surface albedos falls short by a factor of two of resolving the paradox. A temperate Archean climate cannot be reconciled with the low level of CO2 suggested by Rosing et al. [1]; a stronger greenhouse effect is needed.Comment: 3 pages, no figures. In press in Nature. v2 corrects typo in author list in original submissio

Psychiatrist effects in the psychopharmacological treatment of depression.

Abstract Background: The National Institutes of Mental Health's (NIMH) 1985 Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program (TDCRP) reported that imipramine hydrochloride with clinical management (IMI-CM) was significantly more beneficial than placebo with clinical management (PLA-CM) for individuals undergoing treatment for depression. Unfortunately, in analyzing the NIMH TDCRP data, researchers ignored the potential effect that psychiatrists have on patient outcomes, thereby assuming that psychiatrists are equally effective. However, this assumption has yet to be supported empirically. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to examine psychiatrist effects in the NIMH TDCRP study and to compare the variation among psychiatrists to the variation between treatments. Method: Data from 112 patients [IMI-CM (n = 57, 9 psychiatrists); PLA-CM (n = 55, 9 psychiatrists)] from the NIMH TDCRP study were reanalyzed using a multi-level model. Results: The proportion of variance in the BDI scores due to medication was 3.4% (p b .05), while the proportion of variance in BDI scores due to psychiatrists was 9.1% (p b .05). The proportion of variance in the HAM-D scores due to medication was 5.9% (p b .05), while the proportion of variance in HAM-D scores due to psychiatrist was 6.7% (p = .053). Therefore, the psychiatrist effects were greater than the treatment effects. Conclusions: In this study, both psychiatrists and treatments contributed to outcomes in the treatment of depression. However, given that psychiatrists were responsible for more of the variance in outcomes it can be concluded that effective treatment psychiatrists can, in fact, augment the effects of the active ingredients of anti-depressant medication as well as placebo