Introducing Misoprostol for the Treatment of Incomplete Abortion in Nigeria

Despite legal restriction, induced abortions and resulting complications are common in Nigeria. Misoprostol administration for incomplete abortion was introduced in 3 Nigerian hospitals. The feasibility of the hospitals, patient and provider acceptability were assessed using questionnaire and interview guides administered to 205 women and 17 providers respectively. Amongst the women, 194 (95%) were satisfied and very satisfied with misoprostol, 176 (86%) would choose misoprostol again if another incomplete abortion occurred and 191 (93%) would recommend it to another woman in a similar situation. Providers were highly satisfied with misoprostol. The ease of use and ability to redirect surgical resources to more complicated issues were positive features cited by them. The providers agreed that integration of misoprostol was straightforward and required few resources. Therefore, misoprostol for incomplete abortion is safe, efficacious and acceptable to providers and patients. In remote areas of Nigeria with limited post-abortion care (PAC), misoprostol administration is an important potential PAC treatment modality. Features of misoprostol-low cost, room temperature stability, and ease of introduction-render it an important treatment option, particularly in low resource and rural settings

Structure and absolute configuration of phenanthro-perylene quinone pigments from the deep-sea crinoid Hypalocrinus naresianus

Two new water-soluble phenanthroperylene quinones, gymnochrome H (2) and monosulfated gymnochrome A (3), as well as the known compounds gymnochrome A (4) and monosulfated gymnochrome D (5) were isolated from the deep-sea crinoid Hypalocrinus naresianus, which had been collected in the deep sea of Japan. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis including HRMS, 1D 1H and 13C NMR, and 2D NMR. The absolute configuration was determined by ECD spectroscopy, analysis of J-couplings and ROE contacts, and DFT calculations. The configuration of the axial chirality of all isolated phenanthroperylene quinones (2–5) was determined to be (P). For gymnochrome H (2) and monosulfated gymnochrome A (3), a (2′S,2″R) configuration was determined, whereas for monosulfated gymnochrome D (5) a (2′R,2″R), configuration was determined. Acetylated quinones are unusual among natural products from an echinoderm and gymnochrome H (2) together with the recently reported gymnochrome G (1) represent the first isolated acetylated phenanthroperylene quinones

Reflective self-attention: A more stable predictor of connection to nature than mindful attention.

There is much to be gained from understanding the individual differences that predict our connection to nature, as those that are more connected tend to be more caring towards the environment and benefit from better well-being. Study 1 (n=137) found that reflective self-attention and mindful attention significantly predicted connection to nature, while anxious self-attention had a borderline significant negative association. With the introduction of personality measures, study 2 (n=161) found that reflective self-attention and openness had a stronger relationship to nature connection than mindful attention. Study 3 (n=99) found reflective self-attention, rather than mindful attention, to be associated with an increase in connection to nature. A pre-reflective and intentional self-attention account of nature connectedness is proposed with intentional self-reflection being a stronger factor than mindful attention

Thermohydrodynamics in Quantum Hall Systems

A theory of thermohydrodynamics in two-dimensional electron systems in quantizing magnetic fields is developed including a nonlinear transport regime. Spatio-temporal variations of the electron temperature and the chemical potential in the local equilibrium are described by the equations of conservation with the number and thermal-energy flux densities. A model of these flux densities due to hopping and drift processes is introduced for a random potential varying slowly compared to both the magnetic length and the phase coherence length. The flux measured in the standard transport experiment is derived and is used to define a transport component of the flux density. The equations of conservation can be written in terms of the transport component only. As an illustration, the theory is applied to the Ettingshausen effect, in which a one-dimensional spatial variation of the electron temperature is produced perpendicular to the current.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

Magnetothermal Conductivity of Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite in the Quantum Limit

We report on the magnetic field (0T$\le B \le 9$T) dependence of the longitudinal thermal conductivity $\kappa(T,B)$ of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite in the temperature range 5 K $\le T\le$ 20 K for fields parallel to the $c-$axis. We show that $\kappa(T,B)$ shows large oscillations in the high-field region (B > 2 T) where clear signs of the Quantum-Hall effect are observed in the Hall resistance. With the measured longitudinal electrical resistivity we show that the Wiedemann-Franz law is violated in the high-field regime.Comment: 4 Figures, to be published in Physical Review B (2003

Studies of Potential Inhibitors of Sodium Aluminosilicate Scales in High-Level Waste Evaporation

The Savannah River Site (SRS) has 49 underground storage tanks used to store High Level Waste (HLW). The tank space in these tanks must be managed to support the continued operation of key facilities. The reduction of the tank volumes in these tanks are accomplished through the use of three atmospheric pressure HLW evaporators. For a decade, evaporation of highly alkaline HLW containing aluminum and silicates has produced sodium aluminosilicate scales causing both operation and criticality hazards in the 2H Evaporator System. Segregation of aluminum-rich wastes from silicate-rich wastes minimizes the amount of scale produced and reduces cleaning expenses, but does not eliminate the scaling nor increases operation flexibility in waste process. Similar issues have affected the aluminum refining industry for many decades. Over the past several years, successful commercial products have been identified to eliminate aluminosilicate fouling in the aluminum industry, but have not been utilized in a nuclear environment. Laboratory quantities of three proprietary aluminosilicate scale inhibitors have been produced and been shown to prevent formation of scales. SRNL has been actively testing these potential inhibitors to examine their radiation stability, radiolytic degradation behaviors, and downstream impacts to determine their viability within the HLW system. One of the tested polymers successfully meets the established criteria for application in the nuclear environment. This paper will describe a summary of the methodology used to prioritize laboratory testing protocols based on potential impacts/risks identified for inhibitor deployment at SRS

ANALYSIS OF THE LEACHING EFFICIENCY OF INHIBITED WATER AND TANK 23H SIMULANT IN REMOVING RESIDUES ON TANK 48H WALLS

Solid residues on two sets of thermowell pipe samples from the D2 riser in SRS Tank 48H were characterized. The residue thickness was determined using the ASTM standard D 3483-05 and was found to be three order of magnitudes below the 1mm thickness estimated from an earlier video of the tank cooling coil inspection. The actual estimated thickness ranged from 4 to 20.4 microns. The mass per unit area ranged from 1 to 5.3 milligrams per square inch. The residues appear to consist primarily of potassium tetraphenylborate (39.8 wt% KTPB) and dried salt solution (33.5 wt% total of nitrates, nitrites and oxalate salts), although {approx}30% of the solid mass was not accounted for in the mass balance. No evidence of residue buildup was found inside the pipe, as expected. The residue leaching characteristics were measured by placing one pipe in inhibited water and one pipe in DWPF Recycle simulant. After soaking for less than 4 weeks, the inhibited water was 95.4% effective at removing the residue and the DWPF Recycle simulant was 93.5% effective. The surface appearance of the pipes after leaching tests appeared close to the clean shiny appearance of a new pipe. Total gamma counts of leachates averaged 48.1 dpm/ml, or an equivalent of 2.35E-11 Ci/gm Cs-137 (dry solids basis), which is much lower than the 1.4 E-03 Ci/gm expected for Tank 48 dry slurry solids

Current-induced cooling phenomenon in a two-dimensional electron gas under a magnetic field

We investigate the spatial distribution of temperature induced by a dc current in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field. We numerically calculate the distributions of the electrostatic potential phi and the temperature T in a 2DEG enclosed in a square area surrounded by insulated-adiabatic (top and bottom) and isopotential-isothermal (left and right) boundaries (with phi_{left} < phi_{right} and T_{left} =T_{right}), using a pair of nonlinear Poisson equations (for phi and T) that fully take into account thermoelectric and thermomagnetic phenomena, including the Hall, Nernst, Ettingshausen, and Righi-Leduc effects. We find that, in the vicinity of the left-bottom corner, the temperature becomes lower than the fixed boundary temperature, contrary to the naive expectation that the temperature is raised by the prevalent Joule heating effect. The cooling is attributed to the Ettingshausen effect at the bottom adiabatic boundary, which pumps up the heat away from the bottom boundary. In order to keep the adiabatic condition, downward temperature gradient, hence the cooled area, is developed near the boundary, with the resulting thermal diffusion compensating the upward heat current due to the Ettingshausen effect.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure

The zinc finger domain of Wilms' tumor 1 suppressor gene (WT1) behaves as a dominant negative, leading to abrogation of WT1 oncogenic potential in breast cancer cells

Abstract Introduction There is growing evidence that the Wilms' tumor 1 suppressor gene (WT1) behaves as an oncogene in some forms of breast cancer. Previous studies have demonstrated that the N-terminal domain of WT1 can act as a dominant negative through self-association. In the studies presented here we have explored the potential for the zinc finger domain (ZF) of WT1 to also have dominant-negative effects, and thus further our understanding of this protein. Methods Using full-length and ZF-only forms of WT1 we assessed their effect on the WT1 and c-myc promoter using luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. The gene expression levels were determined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR, northern blot and western blot. We also assessed the effect of the ZF-only form on the growth of breast cancer cell lines in culture. Results Transfection with WT1–ZF plasmids resulted in a stronger inhibition of WT1 promoter than full-length WT1 in breast cancer cells. The WT1–ZF form lacking the lysine–threonine–serine (KTS) insert (ZF - KTS) can bind to the majority of WT1 consensus sites throughout the WT1 promoter region, while the ZF containing the insert (ZF + KTS) form only binds to sites in the proximal promoter. The abundances of endogenous WT1 mRNA and protein were markedly decreased following the stable expression of ZF - KTS in breast cancer cells. The expressions of WT1 target genes, including c-myc, Bcl-2, amphiregulin and TERT, were similarly suppressed by ZF - KTS. Moreover, WT1–ZF - KTS abrogated the transcriptional activation of c-myc mediated by all four predominant isoforms of WT1 (including or lacking alternatively spliced exons 5 and 9). Finally, WT1–ZF - KTS inhibited colony formation and cell division, but induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. Conclusion Our observations strongly argue that the WT1–ZF plasmid behaves as a dominant-negative regulator of the endogenous WT1 in breast cancer cells. The inhibition on proliferation of breast cancer cells by WT1–ZF - KTS provides a potential candidate of gene therapy for breast cancer