MAMMALS IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES IN 1969

The number of each species of mammal reported on Form 3-177 for importation into the United States in 1969 is listed and discussed. The major groups of mammals reported for importation are compared with lists of mammals used in research, lists of rare and endangered species, lists of mammals whose importation is restricted, and lists of mammals imported in 1968. For some time, thousands of live mammals have been imported each year into the United States, for zoos, for research institutions, for the pet trade, and for private citizens. No listing of these importations was made before 1966, when Federal regulations made accounting mandatory. Since then, annual summaries of the total numbers of live mammals and other wildlife declared at ports of entry have been prepared by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife as Wildlife Leaflets. Also since 1966, the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources (National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences) has provided some information on the number of mammals used for research. This information was obtained from questionnaires returned by breeders, dealers, and users of laboratory animals. A list of mammals imported into the United States in 1968 was presented by Jones (1970). The purpose of this report is to list, by species, the number of mammals declared for importation into the United States in 1969. Scientists and others may be interested in this list because: it will indicate pressures exerted on certain populations of wild mammals and the need for their conservation; it may reveal species that could become pests if established in the wild after escape; it will help mammalogists determine the source of exotic species found in the wild; it will indicate taxa of mammals that must be identified at ports of entry to prevent importation of prohibited mammals; it may suggest improvements in procedures of recording declarations of imported wildlife; and it may indicate the availability of species that are useful in research. Comparison of this list with that issued for 1968 (Jones, 1970) and with lists to be issued in the future, may indicate trends or changes in importance of various species in research

A voltage limiter circuit for indoor light energy harvesting applications

A voltage limiter circuit for indoor light energy harvesting applications is presented. This circuit is a part of a bigger system, whose function is to harvest indoor light energy, process it and store it, so that it can be used at a later time. This processing consists on maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and stepping-up, of the voltage from the photovoltaic (PV) harvester cell. The circuit here described, ensures that even under strong illumination, the generated voltage will not exceed the limit allowed by the technology, avoiding the degradation, or destruction, of the integrated die. A prototype of the limiter circuit was designed in a 130 nm CMOS technology. The layout of the circuit has a total area of 23414 mu m(2). Simulation results, using Spectre, are presented

Imaging fractional incompressible stripes in integer quantum Hall systems

Transport experiments provide conflicting evidence on the possible existence of fractional order within integer quantum Hall systems. In fact integer edge states sometimes behave as monolithic objects with no inner structure, while other experiments clearly highlight the role of fractional substructures. Recently developed low-temperature scanning probe techniques offer today an opportunity for a deeper-than-ever investigation of spatial features of such edge systems. Here we use scanning gate microscopy and demonstrate that fractional features were unambiguously observed in every integer quantum Hall constriction studied. We present also an experimental estimate of the width of the fractional incompressible stripes corresponding to filling factors 1/3, 2/5, 3/5, and 2/3. Our results compare well with predictions of the edge-reconstruction theory

Phase I dose-escalation and pharmacokinetic study of a novel folate analogue AG2034

The novel folate analogue AG2034, which was designed as an inhibitor of GARFT (glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase), was evaluated in this phase I study under the auspices of The Cancer Research Campaign, UK. AG2034 blocks de novo purine synthesis through inhibition of GARFT. A total of 28 patients with histologically proven intractable cancers were enrolled. AG2034 was administered as a short intravenous infusion once every 3 weeks. 8 dose levels ranging from 1–11 mg/m2 were evaluated with patients receiving up to 6 cycles. Dose-limiting toxicities in the form of mucositis, diarrhoea and vomiting were observed at doses of 6 mg/m2 and above. Significant levels of thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and anaemia were also recorded. Other sporadic toxicities included fatigue and myalgia. The MTD with this schedule of AG2034 was 5 mg/m2. Most side effects occurred more frequently with cumulative dosing. In keeping with this, pharmacokinetic analysis revealed evidence of drug accumulation. The AG2034 AUC0–24 increased by a median of 184% (range 20–389%) from cycle 1 to 3 in all 10 patients examined. No objective antitumour responses were observed in the study. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Microbial community dynamics in phyto‑thermotherapy baths viewed through next generation sequencing and metabolomics approach

7openInternationalItalian coauthor/editorPhyto‑thermotherapy is a treatment consisting in immersing oneself in baths of self‑heating alpine grass, to benefit of the heat and rich aromatic components released by the process. The aim of this study was to characterize the bacterial and fungal diversity of three phyto‑thermal baths (PTB) performed in three different months, and to compare the data with the profile of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of the process. All the data collected showed that PTBs were structured in two stages: the first three days were characterised by an exponential rise of the temperature, a fast bacterial development, higher microbial diversity and higher concentrations of plant aliphatic hydrocarbons. The second stage was characterised by a stable high temperature, shrinkage of the microbial diversity with a predominance of few bacterial and fungi species and higher concentrations of volatiles of microbial origin. Erwinia was the dominant microbial species during the first stage and probably responsible of the self‑heating process. In conclusion, PTBs has shown both similarities with common self‑heating processes and important peculiarities such as the absence of pathogenic bacteria and the dominance of plant terpenoids with health characteristics among the VOCs confirming the evidence of beneficial effects in particular in the first three days.openFranciosi, E.; Narduzzi, L.; Paradiso, A.; Carlin, S.; Tuohy, K.; Beretta, A.; Mattivi, F.Franciosi, E.; Narduzzi, L.; Paradiso, A.; Carlin, S.; Tuohy, K.; Beretta, A.; Mattivi, F

Neural responses to facial and vocal expressions of fear and disgust

Neuropsychological studies report more impaired responses to facial expressions of fear than disgust in people with amygdala lesions, and vice versa in people with Huntington's disease. Experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have confirmed the role of the amygdala in the response to fearful faces and have implicated the anterior insula in the response to facial expressions of disgust. We used fMRI to extend these studies to the perception of fear and disgust from both facial and vocal expressions. Consistent with neuropsychological findings, both types of fearful stimuli activated the amygdala. Facial expressions of disgust activated the anterior insula and the caudate-putamen; vocal expressions of disgust did not significantly activate either of these regions. All four types of stimuli activated the superior temporal gyrus. Our findings therefore (i) support the differential localization of the neural substrates of fear and disgust; (ii) confirm the involvement of the amygdala in the emotion of fear, whether evoked by facial or vocal expressions; (iii) confirm the involvement of the anterior insula and the striatum in reactions to facial expressions of disgust; and (iv) suggest a possible general role for the perception of emotional expressions for the superior temporal gyrus

Population coding by globally coupled phase oscillators

A system of globally coupled phase oscillators subject to an external input is considered as a simple model of neural circuits coding external stimulus. The information coding efficiency of the system in its asynchronous state is quantified using Fisher information. The effect of coupling and noise on the information coding efficiency in the stationary state is analyzed. The relaxation process of the system after the presentation of an external input is also studied. It is found that the information coding efficiency exhibits a large transient increase before the system relaxes to the final stationary state.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, revised version, new figures added, to appear in JPSJ Vol 75, No.