A Primer to Relativistic MOND Theory

We first review the nonrelativistic lagrangian theory as a framework for the MOND equation. Obstructions to a relativistic version of it are discussed leading up to TeVeS, a relativistic tensor-vector-scalar field theory which displays both MOND and Newtonian limits. The whys for its particular structure are discussed and its achievements so far are summarized.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure, to appear in proceedings of IAP05 in Paris: Mass Profiles and Shapes of Cosmological Structures, G. Mamon, F. Combes, C. Deffayet and B. Fort (eds), (EDP-Sciences 2005

Protecting cattle from horse flies (1996)

Horse flies (insect family Tabanidae) are probably the most severe fly pests of cattle on Missouri pasture and range. Only the females 'bite,' but the blood-feeding activities of these large, agile insects can constitute a serious threat to economical cattle performance when populations are large.New June 1996 -- Extension website

TeVeS/MOND is in harmony with gravitational redshifts in galaxy clusters

Wojtak, Hansen and Hjorth have recently claimed to confirm general relativity and to rule out the tensor-vector-scalar (TeVeS) gravitational theory based on an analysis of the gravitational redshifts of galaxies in 7800 clusters. But their ubiquitous modeling of the sources of cluster gravitational fields with Navarro-Frenk-White mass profiles is neither empirically justified out to the necessary radii in clusters, nor germane in the case of TeVeS. Using MONDian isothermal sphere models consistently constructed within MOND (equivalent to TeVeS models), we can fit the determined redshifts no worse than does general relativity with dark halos. Wojtak, Hansen and Hjorth's work is further marred by confusion between the primitive mu-function of TeVeS and the MOND interpolation function.Comment: 7 pages, 2 pdf figure

The onsite manufacture of propellant oxygen from lunar resources

The Aerojet carbothermal process for the manufacture of oxygen from lunar materials has three essential steps: the reduction of silicate with methane to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen; the reduction of carbon monoxide with hydrogen to form methane and water; and the electrolysis of water to form hydrogen and oxygen. The reactions and the overall process are shown. It is shown with laboratory experimentation that the carbothermal process is feasible. Natural silicates can be reduced with carbon or methane. The important products are carbon monoxide, metal, and slag. The carbon monoxide can be completely reduced to form methane and water. The water can be electrolyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen. A preliminary engineering study shows that the operation of plants using this process for the manufacture of propellant oxygen has a large economic advantage when the cost of the plant and its operation is compared to the cost of delivering oxygen from Earth

Design of a cold neutron source for the MIT reactor

Also issued as a Sc. D. thesis in the Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, MIT, 1970Includes bibliographical references (leaves 211-212

Evidence for Quasar Activity Triggered by Galaxy Mergers in HST Observations of Dust-reddened Quasars

We present Hubble ACS images of thirteen dust reddened Type-1 quasars selected from the FIRST/2MASS Red Quasar Survey. These quasars have high intrinsic luminosities after correction for dust obscuration (-23.5 > M_B > -26.2 from K-magnitude). The images show strong evidence of recent or ongoing interaction in eleven of the thirteen cases, even before the quasar nucleus is subtracted. None of the host galaxies are well fit by a simple elliptical profile. The fraction of quasars showing interaction is significantly higher than the 30% seen in samples of host galaxies of normal, unobscured quasars. There is a weak correlation between the amount of dust reddening and the magnitude of interaction in the host galaxy, measured using the Gini coefficient and the Concentration index. Although few host galaxy studies of normal quasars are matched to ours in intrinsic quasar luminosity, no evidence has been found for a strong dependence of merger activity on host luminosity in samples of the host galaxies of normal quasars. We thus believe that the high merger fraction in our sample is related to their obscured nature, with a significant amount of reddening occurring in the host galaxy. The red quasar phenomenon seems to have an evolutionary explanation, with the young quasar spending the early part of its lifetime enshrouded in an interacting galaxy. This might be further indication of a link between AGN and starburst galaxies.Comment: 18 pages, 6 low resolution figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Sedation improves early outcome in severely septic Sprague Dawley rats

Introduction Sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response to infective etiologies, has a high mortality rate that is linked both to excess cytokine activity and apoptosis of critical immune cells. Dexmedetomidine has recently been shown to improve outcome in a septic cohort of patients when compared to patients randomized to a benzodiazepine-based sedative regimen. We sought to compare the effects of dexmedetomidine and midazolam, at equi-sedative doses, on inflammation and apoptosis in an animal model of severe sepsis. Methods After central venous access, Sprague Dawley rats underwent cecal ligation and intestinal puncture (CLIP) with an 18 G needle without antibiotic cover and received either saline, or an infusion of comparable volume of saline containing midazolam (0.6 mg.kg(-1).h(-1)) or dexmedetomidine (5 ug.kg(-1).h(-1)) for 8 hours. Following baseline measurements and CLIP, blood was sampled for cytokine measurement (tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6; n = 4-6 per group) at 2, 4 and 5 hours, and animal mortality rate (MR) was monitored (n = 10 per group) every 2 hours until 2 hours had elapsed. In addition, spleens were harvested and apoptosis was assessed by immunoblotting (n = 4 per group). Results The 24 hour MR in CLIP animals (90%) was significantly reduced by sedative doses of either dexmedetomidine (MR = 20%) or midazolam (MR = 30%). While both sedatives reduced systemic levels of the inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha (P < 0.05); only dexmedetomidine reduced the IL-6 response to CLIP, though this narrowly missed achieving significance (P = 0.05). Dexmedetomidine reduced splenic caspase-3 expression (P < 0.05), a marker of apoptosis, when compared to either midazolam or saline. Conclusions Sedation with midazolam and dexmedetomidine both improve outcome in polymicrobial severely septic rats. Possible benefits conveyed by one sedative regimen over another may become evident over a more prolonged time-course as both IL-6 and apoptosis were reduced by dexmedetomidine but not midazolam. Further studies are required to evaluate this hypothesis.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000272225600033&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Critical Care MedicineSCI(E)PubMed33ARTICLE4R1361

Effect of urinary pH and diatrizoate on Bence Jones protein nephrotoxicity in the rat

Effect of urinary pH and diatrizoate on Bence Jones protein nephrotoxicity in the rat. Both low urinary pH and radiocontrast agents may intensify myeloma nephrotoxicity. To study the effects of these factors, we determined inulin clearances (CIn) before and after infusions of human Bence Jones protein (BJP) in male Sprague-Dawley rats in a dose previously shown to be nephrotoxic. Rats that drank 0.15 M NaHCO3 for 48 hr before study had no change in CIn (+ 3 ± 20%) after BJP unlike those that drank 0.15 M NH4Cl (- 33 ± 14%, P < 0.05); urinary pH differed (7.6 ± 0.1 vs. 6.2 ± 0.1, P < 0.05), but urinary flow rates did not. The acidifying regimen was used in all subsequent groups. Infusion of diatrizoate (DTZ) after BJP produced a further decrease in CIn (- 85 ± 8%, P < 0.05). In contrast, infusion of albumin, which raised plasma protein concentration to that seen in BJP-infused rats, did not change CIn (+ 39 ± 17%). Infusion of beta-lactoglobulin also led to a greater decrease in CIn after DTZ (- 35 ± 9 vs. - 67 ± 8%, P < 0.05), but myoglobin did not (- 58 ± 7 vs. - 54 ± 12%). Urinary pH and flow rate did not differ between any DTZ-infused group and its appropriate control. These data suggest that aciduria independent of urinary flow rate increases the nephrotoxicity of BJP. In this setting, DTZ further intensifies the nephrotoxicity of BJP as well as some but not all filterable proteins.Effet du pH urinaire et du diatrizoate sur la néphrotoxicité de la protéine de Bence Jones chez le rat. Un pH urinaire bas et les produits de contraste peuvent accroître la néphrotoxité du myélome. Pour étudier les effets de ces facteurs, nous avons déterminé les clearances de l'inuline (CIn) avant et après perfusion de protéine de Bence Jones humaine (BJP) chez des rats mâles Sprague-Dawley à dose préalablement montrée néphrotoxique. Les rats qui buvaient 0,15 M NaHCO3 pendant 48 hr avant l'étude n'avaient pas de modification de CIn (+ 3 ± 20%) après BJP à la différence de ceux qui buvaient 0,15 M NH4Cl (- 33 ± 14%, P < 0,05); les pH urinaires différaient (7,6 ± 0,1 contre 6,2 ± 0,1, P < 0,05), mais non les débits urinaires. Le régime acidifiant a été utilisé chez tous les groupes ultérieurs. La perfusion de diatrizoate (DTZ) après BJP a entraîné une diminution supplémentaire de CIn (- 85 ± 8%, P < 0,05). A l'opposé une perfusion d'albumine, qui augmentait la protidémie à la valeur observée chez les rats perfusés avec BJP ne modifiait pas CIn (+ 39 ± 17%). Une perfusion de béta-lactoglobuline a également entraîné une plus forte baisse de CIn après DTZ (- 35 ± 9 contre - 67 ± 8%, P < 0,05), mais non de la myoglobine (- 58 ± 7 contre - 54 ± 12%). Le pH et le débit urinaires ne différaient pas entre aucun des groupes perfusés par le DTZ et leur contrôle approprié. Ces données suggèrent que l'acidurie, indépendamment du débit urinaire, augmente la néphrotoxicité de la BJP. Dans ce schéma, DTZ accentue encore la néphrotoxicité de la BJP, de même que certaines, mais non toutes les protéines filtrables

Association between benzodiazepine use and exacerbations and mortality in patients with asthma: a matched case-control and survival analysis using the United Kingdom Clinical Practice Research Datalink

Purpose: To investigate the association between the GABAergic drugs, benzodiazepines or zopiclone, and the occurrence of asthma exacerbations and subsequent mortality in a cohort of asthma patients. Methods: 105,747 patients without asthma exacerbation and 25,895 patients with exacerbated asthma were included. A nested case-control study probed the association between benzodiazepines or zopiclone and occurrence of asthma exacerbation (primary outcome) using conditional logistic regression. Cox regression was used to determine the association between the drugs and all-cause mortality in patients with recorded asthma exacerbation. Adjusted matched odds ratios (adj mOR), and adjusted hazard ratios (adj HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are presented. Results: Current benzodiazepine use was associated with increased occurrence of asthma exacerbation (adj mOR 1.49; 1.15-1.93; P=0.001) as was current zopiclone use (adj mOR 1.59; 95% CI 1.37-1.85; P<0.001). In patients with an asthma exacerbation, current benzodiazepine use was associated with increased all-cause mortality during a median follow-up of 2 years (adj HR 2.78; 95% CI 1.26-6.12; P=0.011), and the association between zopiclone use and all-cause mortality showed borderline statistical significance (adj HR 1.58; 95% CI 0.98-2.54; P=0.058). Conclusion: Benzodiazepines and zopiclone may increase the likelihood of asthma exacerbation and benzodiazepines may also increase the likelihood of mortality following exacerbation. These data suggest that caution should be exercised when prescribing benzodiazepines to patients with asthma