Disciplinary Proceedings by the S. E. C. Against Attorneys

The securities and exchange commission, created by Section 4 (a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, has from its earliest days proclaimed its right to determine who may appear before or transact business with it in a representative capacity and in Rule 2 (e) of its present Rules of Practice has reserved to itself the right, in its discretion, to deny, temporarily or permanently, the privilege of appearing or practicing before it in any way to any person who is found by the Commission after notice of and opportunity for hearing in the matter (1) not to possess the requisite qualifications to represent others, or (2) to be lacking in character or integrity or to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct

Can Chromatography Occur in Nature?

Adsorption of calcium and magnesium on a sandstone from a bicarbonate solution has been demonstrated. On elution with water saturated with carbon dioxide, the magnesium passes off first. The chromatographic separation of magnesium from calcium can thus occur under conditions which can prevail in nature

Determining the Relative Shear Behavior of Coarse Concrete Aggregate and Associated Matrix

A study of the bond characteristics of carbonate aggregates was made by applying shear stresses to 1/8-inch thick slices of highway concrete. It was found that aggregates can be classified as strong, indeterminate, and weak relative to the matrix of the concrete, when accurate lithological cataloging of the aggregates from the source quarry section is made prior to the shear study. Definite classification can only be made in older concretes (7-15 years in age) since newer concretes tend to fail in the aggregate-matrix bond zone, making it difficult to observe the relative aggregate strength. The method provides a basis for further study of the aggregates as classified, and a basis for correlating important factors revealed by the studies with the observed quality. Such studies might then be extrapolated to evaluate other quarry sections

Managing idiopathic short stature: role of somatropin (rDNA origin) for injection

Idiopathic short stature (ISS) is a term that describes short stature in children who do not have growth hormone (GH) deficiency and in whom the etiology of the short stature is not identified. Between 1985 and 2000, more than 40 studies were published regarding GH therapy for ISS. Only 12 of these had data to adult height, of which only 4 were controlled studies. A subsequent placebo-controlled study that followed subjects to adult height indicated that there was a gain of 3.7–7.5 cm in height with GH treatment. In 2003, the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved GH for treatment of short stature. Even before FDA approval, patients with ISS made up about 20% of patients in GH databases, which is largely unchanged since FDA approval. There remains some controversy as to whether GH should be used to treat ISS. This controversy centers on the fact that there has been no definitive demonstration that short stature results in a disadvantage or problems with psychological adjustment, and thus, no demonstration that GH therapy results in improvement in quality of life

Emerging options in growth hormone therapy: an update

Growth hormone (GH) was first used to treat a patient in 1958. For the next 25 years it was available only from cadaver sources, which was of concern because of safety considerations and short supply. In 1985, GH produced by recombinant DNA techniques became available, expanding its possible uses. Since that time there have been three indications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for GH-deficiency states and nine indications approved for non-GH-deficiency states. In 2003 the FDA approved GH for use in idiopathic short stature (ISS), which may indirectly cover other diagnoses that have short stature as a feature. However, coverage for GH therapy is usually more reliably obtainable for a specific indication, rather than the ISS indication. Possible future uses for GH therapy could include the treatment of syndromes such as Russell–Silver syndrome or chondrodystrophy. Other non-short-stature indications could include wound healing and burns. Other uses that have been poorly studied include aging and physical performance, in spite of the interest already shown by elite athletes in using GH. The safety profile of GH developed over the past 25 years has shown it to be a very safe hormone with few adverse events associated with it. The challenge for the future is to follow these patients into adulthood to determine whether GH therapy poses any long-term risks

Frequency Content of Heart Sounds and Systolic Murmurs in Patients with Porcine Bioprosthetic Valves: Diagnostic Value for the Early Detection of Valvular Degeneration

The frequency content of heart sounds and murmurs in patients with implanted bioprosthetic valves may reveal evidence of degenerative changes before such changes are clinically apparent. An increased dominant frequency of the heart sound caused by a bioprosthetic valve in either the aortic or mitral positions suggests stiffening of the leaflets. While a musical systolic murmur of a bioprosthetic valve in the mitral position suggests flutter from a torn, insufficient leaflet, limited observations of musical systolic murmurs in the aortic position do not seem to indicate a degenerated valve

Protectors of Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Roles for Gratitude and Tragic Optimism in a UK-Based Cohort

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a global threat to physical and mental health worldwide. Research has highlighted adverse impacts of COVID-19 on wellbeing but has yet to offer insights as to how wellbeing may be protected. Inspired by developments in wellbeing science and guided by our own theoretical framework (the GENIAL model), we examined the role of various potentially protective factors in a sample of 138 participants from the United Kingdom. Protective factors included physical activity (i.e., a health behaviour that helps to build psychological wellbeing), tragic optimism (optimism in the face of tragedy), gratitude (a prosocial emotion), social support (the perception or experience of being loved, cared for, and valued by others), and nature connectedness (physical and psychological connection to nature). Initial analysis involved the application of one-sample t-tests, which confirmed that wellbeing (measured by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale) in the current sample (N = 138; M = 46.08, SD = 9.22) was significantly lower compared to previous samples (d = −0.36 and d = −0.41). Protective factors were observed to account for up to 50% of variance in wellbeing in a hierarchical linear regression that controlled for a range of sociostructural factors including age, gender, and subjective social status, which impact on wellbeing but lie beyond individual control. Gratitude and tragic optimism emerged as significant contributors to the model. Our results identify key psychological attributes that may be harnessed through various positive psychology strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of hardship and suffering, consistent with an existential positive psychology of suffering

Feed Planning - Methods Used by “Expert” Farmers

Although formal feed planning has been heavily promoted in New Zealand, relatively few farmers have adopted this approach (Nuthall & Bishop-Hurley, 1999). Reasons for non-adoption have been identified, but little is known about how farmers manage their pastoral farms in the absence of formal feed planning. To this end, the feed management processes used by three successful (expert) farmers were investigated

miR-1-5p targets TGF-βR1 and is suppressed in the hypertrophying hearts of rats with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The microRNA miR-1 is an important regulator of muscle phenotype including cardiac muscle. Down-regulation of miR-1 has been shown to occur in left ventricular hypertrophy but its contribution to right ventricular hypertrophy in pulmonary arterial hypertension are not known. Previous studies have suggested that miR-1 may suppress transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signalling, an important pro-hypertrophic pathway but only indirect mechanisms of regulation have been identified. We identified the TGF-β type 1 receptor (TGF-βR1) as a putative miR-1 target. We therefore hypothesized that miR-1 and TGF-βR1 expression would be inversely correlated in hypertrophying right ventricle of rats with pulmonary arterial hypertension and that miR-1 would inhibit TGF-β signalling by targeting TGF-βR1 expression. Quantification of miR-1 and TGF-βR1 in rats treated with monocrotaline to induce pulmonary arterial hypertension showed appropriate changes in miR-1 and TGF-βR1 expression in the hypertrophying right ventricle. A miR-1-mimic reduced enhanced green fluorescent protein expression from a reporter vector containing the TGF-βR1 3'- untranslated region and knocked down endogenous TGF-βR1. Lastly, miR-1 reduced TGF-β activation of a (mothers against decapentaplegic homolog) SMAD2/3-dependent reporter. Taken together, these data suggest that miR-1 targets TGF-βR1 and reduces TGF-β signalling, so a reduction in miR-1 expression may increase TGF-β signalling and contribute to cardiac hypertrophy