Experiments on the Prevention and Relief of Parathyroid Tetany

Parathyroidectomized dogs given a five per cent solution of ammonium chloride in 100-cc. doses twice daily may be kept free from tetany for long periods. Once tetany appears, and the serum calcium falls below 7 mgm. per 100 cc., ammonium chloride brings about a recovery within two hours after administration. Calcium determinations show that the calcium has risen, on the average, 2.5 mgm. or to 8.5 mgm., which is above the level at which tetany appears

Sulphate Retention following Bilateral Adrenal Extirpation

Previous experiments by the senior writer have clearly shown that the cause of death following adrenal removal is an acid intoxication probably due to phosphoric and unknown organic acids. In the absence of the hormone of the adrenal cortex, the kidney fails to function properly with the result that marked acid and nitrogen retention occurs. In our previous work on the acid-base equilibrium the acid values of the serum protein, bicarbonate, chloride, and phosphorus were calculated. Total acid was taken as the sum of all the determined acids. Organic acid was calculated by subtracting total acid from total base and included the sulphate ion

A Sensitive Moving-Coil Galvanometer

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A temporal and spatial study of invertebrate communities associated with hard-bottom habitats in the South Atlantic Bight

Species composition, biomass, density, and diversity of benthic invertebrates from six bard-bottom areas were evaluated. Seasonal collections using a dredge, trawl, and suction and grab samplers yielded 432, 525, and 845 taxa, respectively. Based on collections wltb the different gear types, species composition of invertebrates was found to change bathymetrically. Inner- and mlddle-shelf sites were more similar to each other in terms of invertebrate species composition than they were to outer-shelf sites, regardless of season. Sites on the inner and outer shelf were grouped according to latitude; however, results suggest that depth is apparently a more important determinant of invertebrate species composition than either season or latitude. Sponges generally dominated dredge and trawl collections in terms of biomass. Generally, cnidarians, bryozoans, and sponges dominated at sites In terms of number of taxa collected. The most abundant smaller macrofauna collected in suction and grab samples were polychaetes, amphipods, and mollusks. Densities of the numerically dominant species changed botb seasonally and bathymetrically, with very few of these species restricted to a specific bathymetrlc zone. The high diversity of invertebrates from hard-bottom sites is attributed to the large number of rare species. No consistent seasonal changes in diversity or number of species were noted for individual stations or depth zones. In addition, H and its components showed no definite patterns related to depth or latitude. However, more species were collected at middle-shelf sites than at inner- or outer-shelf sites, which may be related to more stable bottom temperature or greater habitat complexity in that area. (PDF file contains 110 pages.

CARET analysis of multithreaded programs

Dynamic Pushdown Networks (DPNs) are a natural model for multithreaded programs with (recursive) procedure calls and thread creation. On the other hand, CARET is a temporal logic that allows to write linear temporal formulas while taking into account the matching between calls and returns. We consider in this paper the model-checking problem of DPNs against CARET formulas. We show that this problem can be effectively solved by a reduction to the emptiness problem of B\"uchi Dynamic Pushdown Systems. We then show that CARET model checking is also decidable for DPNs communicating with locks. Our results can, in particular, be used for the detection of concurrent malware.Comment: Pre-proceedings paper presented at the 27th International Symposium on Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation (LOPSTR 2017), Namur, Belgium, 10-12 October 2017 (arXiv:1708.07854

Deaf, Dumb, and Chatting Robots, Enabling Distributed Computation and Fault-Tolerance Among Stigmergic Robot

We investigate ways for the exchange of information (explicit communication) among deaf and dumb mobile robots scattered in the plane. We introduce the use of movement-signals (analogously to flight signals and bees waggle) as a mean to transfer messages, enabling the use of distributed algorithms among the robots. We propose one-to-one deterministic movement protocols that implement explicit communication. We first present protocols for synchronous robots. We begin with a very simple coding protocol for two robots. Based on on this protocol, we provide one-to-one communication for any system of n \geq 2 robots equipped with observable IDs that agree on a common direction (sense of direction). We then propose two solutions enabling one-to-one communication among anonymous robots. Since the robots are devoid of observable IDs, both protocols build recognition mechanisms using the (weak) capabilities offered to the robots. The first protocol assumes that the robots agree on a common direction and a common handedness (chirality), while the second protocol assumes chirality only. Next, we show how the movements of robots can provide implicit acknowledgments in asynchronous systems. We use this result to design asynchronous one-to-one communication with two robots only. Finally, we combine this solution with the schemes developed in synchronous settings to fit the general case of asynchronous one-to-one communication among any number of robots. Our protocols enable the use of distributing algorithms based on message exchanges among swarms of Stigmergic robots. Furthermore, they provides robots equipped with means of communication to overcome faults of their communication device

Do Surgical Trials Meet the Scientific Standards for Clinical Trials?

Unlike medications, the dissemination of surgical procedures into practice is not regulated. Before marketing, pharmaceutical products are required to be shown safe and efficacious in comparative clinical trials that use bias-reducing strategies designed to reduce the distortion of estimates of treatment effect by predispositions toward the investigational intervention or control. Unless an investigational device is involved, the corresponding process for surgical innovations is usually unregulated and therefore may not be based on adequate evidence. Given these differences, we sought to evaluate the state of clinical research on invasive procedures. We conducted a systematic review of publications from 1999 through 2008, which reported the results of studies evaluating the effects of invasive therapeutic procedures, focusing on trials that appeared to influence practice. Our objective was to determine what proportion of studies evaluating surgical procedures use a comparative clinical trial design and methods to control bias. This article reports our results and raises concerns about the methodologic, and therefore the ethical, quality of clinical research used to justify the implementation of surgical procedures into practice

Exploration for Golden Crab, Geryon Fenneri, in the South Atlantic bight : distribution, population structure, and gear assessment

Exploratory trapping for golden crab. Geryon fenneri, was conducted from 5 August 1985 to 21 February 1986 off South Carolina and Georgia. A buoyed system with strings of six traps three side-entry Fathoms Plus and three top-entry Florida traps) was fished in six depth strata: 274-366 m. 367-457 m. 458-549 m. 550-640 m. 641-732 m. and 733-823 m. A total of3,152 G. fenneri 12.661.9 kgl were collected at sampled depths between 296 and 810 m. The only other numerically important species caught was the jonah crab. Cancer borealis (864 individuals. 227.5 kgl. Catches of golden crab were highly variable between strata. Catch per trap increased from 1.6 crabs 11.67 kg! in the shallowest stratum sampled to a maximum abundance of22.3 crabs/trap 118.04 kg/trap) in the 458-549 m depth zone. Catches abruptly declined in the deeper strata sampled. Number of golden crab pel' trap (1.7:11 and weight per trap (1.6:11 in the Florida trap exceeded that in the Fathoms Plus trap for all completed sets. Traps yielded golden crab as small as 85 mm CW but the greatest proportion of crabs was >100 mm CWo Over 90~ of all individuals exceeded 114 mm CW which is the minimum size of red crab. G. quinquedens. accepted for commercial utilization. Male golden crab were more numerous and larger than females

Unzipping Kinetics of Double-Stranded DNA in a Nanopore

We studied the unzipping kinetics of single molecules of double-stranded DNA by pulling one of their two strands through a narrow protein pore. PCR analysis yielded the first direct proof of DNA unzipping in such a system. The time to unzip each molecule was inferred from the ionic current signature of DNA traversal. The distribution of times to unzip under various experimental conditions fit a simple kinetic model. Using this model, we estimated the enthalpy barriers to unzipping and the effective charge of a nucleotide in the pore, which was considerably smaller than previously assumed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, Accepted: Physics Review Letter