A Pre-Landing Assessment of Regolith Properties at the InSight Landing Site

This article discusses relevant physical properties of the regolith at the Mars InSight landing site as understood prior to landing of the spacecraft. InSight will land in the northern lowland plains of Mars, close to the equator, where the regolith is estimated to be ≥3--5 m thick. These investigations of physical properties have relied on data collected from Mars orbital measurements, previously collected lander and rover data, results of studies of data and samples from Apollo lunar missions, laboratory measurements on regolith simulants, and theoretical studies. The investigations include changes in properties with depth and temperature. Mechanical properties investigated include density, grain-size distribution, cohesion, and angle of internal friction. Thermophysical properties include thermal inertia, surface emissivity and albedo, thermal conductivity and diffusivity, and specific heat. Regolith elastic properties not only include parameters that control seismic wave velocities in the immediate vicinity of the Insight lander but also coupling of the lander and other potential noise sources to the InSight broadband seismometer. The related properties include Poisson’s ratio, P- and S-wave velocities, Young’s modulus, and seismic attenuation. Finally, mass diffusivity was investigated to estimate gas movements in the regolith driven by atmospheric pressure changes. Physical properties presented here are all to some degree speculative. However, they form a basis for interpretation of the early data to be returned from the InSight mission.Additional co-authors: Nick Teanby and Sharon Keda

Dexamethasone intravitreal implant in previously treated patients with diabetic macular edema : Subgroup analysis of the MEAD study

Background: Dexamethasone intravitreal implant 0.7 mg (DEX 0.7) was approved for treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) after demonstration of its efficacy and safety in the MEAD registration trials. We performed subgroup analysis of MEAD study results to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DEX 0.7 treatment in patients with previously treated DME. Methods: Three-year, randomized, sham-controlled phase 3 study in patients with DME, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 34.68 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters (20/200.20/50 Snellen equivalent), and central retinal thickness (CRT) 65300 \u3bcm measured by time-domain optical coherence tomography. Patients were randomized to 1 of 2 doses of DEX (0.7 mg or 0.35 mg), or to sham procedure, with retreatment no more than every 6 months. The primary endpoint was 6515-letter gain in BCVA at study end. Average change in BCVA and CRT from baseline during the study (area-under-the-curve approach) and adverse events were also evaluated. The present subgroup analysis evaluated outcomes in patients randomized to DEX 0.7 (marketed dose) or sham based on prior treatment for DME at study entry. Results: Baseline characteristics of previously treated DEX 0.7 (n = 247) and sham (n=261) patients were similar. In the previously treated subgroup, mean number of treatments over 3 years was 4.1 for DEX 0.7 and 3.2 for sham, 21.5 % of DEX 0.7 patients versus 11.1 % of sham had 6515-letter BCVA gain from baseline at study end (P = 0.002), mean average BCVA change from baseline was +3.2 letters with DEX 0.7 versus +1.5 letters with sham (P = 0.024), and mean average CRT change from baseline was -126.1 \u3bcm with DEX 0.7 versus -39.0 \u3bcm with sham(P < 0.001). Cataract-related adverse events were reported in 70.3 % of baseline phakic patients in the previously treated DEX 0.7 subgroup; vision gains were restored following cataract surgery. Conclusions: DEX 0.7 significantly improved visual and anatomic outcomes in patients with DME previously treated with laser, intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide, or a combination of these therapies. The safety profile of DEX 0.7 in previously treated patients was similar to its safety profile in the total study population

EXCLUSION OF 2 CANDIDATE GENES, SPNB-2 AND DDC, FOR THE WOBBLER SPINAL MUSCULAR-ATROPHY GENE ON PROXIMAL MOUSE CHROMOSOME-11

LENGELING A, ZIMMER WE, GOODMAN SR, et al. EXCLUSION OF 2 CANDIDATE GENES, SPNB-2 AND DDC, FOR THE WOBBLER SPINAL MUSCULAR-ATROPHY GENE ON PROXIMAL MOUSE CHROMOSOME-11. MAMMALIAN GENOME. 1994;5(3):163-166

Adenosine A2A receptors are involved in physical dependence and place conditioning induced by THC.

A2A adenosine and CB1 cannabinoid receptors are highly expressed in the central nervous system, where they modulate numerous physiological processes including adaptive responses to drugs of abuse. Both purinergic and cannabinoid systems interact with dopamine neurotransmission (through A2A and CB1 receptors, respectively). Changes in dopamine neurotransmission play an important role in addictive-related behaviours. In this study, we investigated the contribution of A2A adenosine receptors in several behavioural responses of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) related to its addictive properties, including tolerance, physical dependence and motivational effects. For this purpose, we first investigated acute THC responses in mice lacking A2A adenosine receptors. Antinociception, hypolocomotion and hypothermia induced by acute THC administration remained unaffected in mutant mice. Chronic THC treatment developed similar tolerance to these acute effects in wild-type and A2A-knockout mice. However, differences in the body weight pattern were found between genotypes during such chronic treatment. Interestingly, the somatic manifestations of SR141716A-precipitated THC withdrawal were significantly attenuated in mutant mice. The motivational responses of THC were also evaluated by using the place-conditioning paradigm. A significant reduction of THC-induced rewarding and aversive effects was found in mice lacking A2A adenosine receptors in comparison with wild-type littermates. Binding studies revealed that these behavioural changes were not associated with any modification in the distribution and/or functional activity of CB1 receptors in knockout mice. Therefore, this study shows, for the first time, a specific involvement of A2A receptors in the addictive-related properties of cannabinoids.Comparative StudyJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tFLWINinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe