National and local vulnerability to climate-related disasters in Latin America: the role of social asset-based adaptation.

The Latin American region is particularly prone to climate-related natural hazards. However, this article argues that natural hazards are only partly to blame for the region's vulnerability to natural disasters with quantitative evidence suggesting instead that income per capita and inequality are main determinants of natural disaster mortality in Latin America. Locally, the region's poor are particularly susceptible to climate-related natural hazards.

Geometrical effects on the tuning of Chinese and Korean stone chimes.

The vibrational mode frequencies and mode shapes of ancient stone chimes are analyzed and their dependence on stone shapes are discussed. Mode shapes and frequencies of several chime models are determined by using finite element methods, and these show good agreement with mode shapes and frequencies observed in Korean pyeongyeong chime stones using holographic interferometry and experimental modal testing. The dependence of mode shapes and frequencies on vertex angle and base curvature suggests that the geometries used in late Chinese bianqing and Korean pyeongyeong may have been selected to give the best sound.

Sound radiation from Caribbean steelpans.

Besides radiating sound from the note area being struck, a steelpan radiates from neighboring note areas that vibrate sympathetically, from the areas between notes, and from the skirt [Rossing et al., Phys. Today 49(3), 24-29 (1996)].

Reed vibration in lingual organ pipes without the resonators.

Vibrations of plucked and blown reeds of lingual organ pipes without the resonators have been investigated. Three rather surprising phenomena are observed: the frequency of the reed plucked by hand is shifted upwards for large-amplitude plucking, the blown frequency is significantly higher than the plucked one, and peaks halfway between the harmonics of the fundamental frequency appear in the spectrum of the reed velocity. The dependence of the plucked frequency on the length of the reed reveals that the vibrating length at small vibrations is 3 mm shorter than the apparent free length.

Pharmacokinetics and tolerability of an antiangiogenic ribozyme (ANGIOZYME) in healthy volunteers.

The pharmacokinetics and tolerability of a chemically stabilized synthetic ribozyme (ANGIOZYME) targeting the Flt-1 VEGF receptor mRNA were evaluated in healthy volunteers. In a placebo-controlled, single-dose escalation study, ribozyme was administered as a 4-hour i.v.

Vibrational mode shapes in Caribbean steelpans. I. Tenor and double second.

Vibrational mode shapes have been studied in several tenor (soprano range) and double-second (alto range) steelpans by three well-known makers. Normal modes are determined from operating deflection shapes recorded by means of electronic TV holography. Vibrational modes of the various note areas are designated by the number of radial and circumferential nodal lines.

Acute bronchodilation with an intravenously administered leukotriene D4 antagonist, MK-679.

Descriptive studies suggest an association between the release of the cysteinyl leukotrienes and clinical asthma. To help clarify this association, we tested the hypothesis that an intravenous infusion of a potent and specific investigational LTD4 receptor antagonist, MK-679, would cause rapid bronchodilation. In a three-period, randomized, double-blind, crossover study, single doses of MK-679, 125 and 500 mg, and placebo were given intravenously by bolus infusion to nine patients with moderate, stable asthma (FEV1 40 to 80% predicted) on individual study days separated by a week.

Practice patterns in the treatment of acutely ill hospitalized asthmatic patients at three teaching hospitals. Variability in resource utilization.

Study Objective: Our objective was to determine the extent to which patterns of diagnostic and therapeutic practice differ among hospitals caring for acutely ill hospitalized asthmatic patients in a single city.

Design: Our study comprised a retrospective review of the records of patients admitted to the hospital for the treatment of acute asthma.

Setting: Three large teaching hospitals in Boston were the setting.

The role of serum proteins in acid-base equilibria.

Serum proteins act as weak acids and participate in acid-base balance. Their effects are imprecisely quantified; in particular, the roles of albumin and globulins need reevaluation. We approached the problem in three steps.

The effects of deep inhalation on maximal expiratory flow during intensive treatment of spontaneous asthmatic episodes.

Asthmatic patients who came to hospital for treatment of severe attacks were assessed for level of obstruction and the effects of a deep inhalation (DI) on degree of obstruction at various stages of their treatment and after recovery over several days. The more severe the obstruction, the greater was the constrictor effect of a DI; as lung function improved with intensive treatment, including corticosteroids, the constrictor effect diminished. Thus, we believe the constrictor effects of a DI relate to the degree of inflammation in the obstructive process.

Acid-base disorders in critical care medicine.

In critically ill patients, nonrespiratory (metabolic) alkalosis is the most common acid-base disturbance; it is caused by hypochloremia and/or by hypoproteinemia. Information on the concentration of plasma proteins should be included when evaluating acid-base status.

Hyperventilation with hypoproteinemia.

Hypoproteinemia by itself produces a metabolic alkalosis. It is not clear whether a respiratory compensation (hypercapnia) develops with this alkalosis; patients with liver cirrhosis, most of them with hypoproteinemia, are known to hyperventilate. We studied 23 clinically stable patients with hypoproteinemia, with very low albumin-to-globulin ratios (range 0.

Effects of milrinone on contractility of the rat diaphragm in vitro.

We studied the effects of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, milrinone, on isometric force production in the isolated, directly stimulated rat diaphragm. Milrinone (500 micrograms/ml) significantly increased force during twitch stimulation and submaximal tetanic stimulation (p less than 0.05); force during maximal tetanic stimulation was significantly reduced by milrinone (p less than 0.

Acoustic comparison of soprano solo and choir singing.

Five soprano singers were recorded while singing similar texts in both choir and solo modes of performance. A comparison of long-term-average spectra of similar passages in both modes indicates that subjects used different tactics to achieve somewhat higher concentrations of energy in the 2- to 4-kHz range when singing in the solo mode. It is likely that this effect resulted, at least in part, from a slight change of the voice source from choir to solo singing.

Comparative oxidative microbicidal activity of human blood monocytes and alveolar macrophages and activation by recombinant gamma interferon.

The relative oxidative and microbicidal activities of human blood monocytes compared with those of alveolar macrophages (AM) are poorly defined. Furthermore, the comparative efficiency of recombinant gamma interferon (rIFN gamma) to enhance microbicidal function of these 2 cell populations is uncertain. In this study, blood monocytes and AM were obtained concomitantly from 10 healthy, nonsmoking human subjects.

Effects of signal envelope on the pitch of short complex tones.

Envelope-induced pitch shifts were measured for exponentially decaying complex tones consisting of two sinusoidal components with frequencies f1 = nf0 + 50 Hz and f2 = (n + 1) f0 + 50 Hz, where n equals 3, 4, or 5 and exponential decay rates were 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 dB/ms. Four subjects adjusted a sinusoidal comparison tone to match the virtual pitch of the (missing) fundamental and the pitches of the lower and upper partials f1 and f2.

Acid-base effects of altering plasma protein concentration in human blood in vitro.

We altered the concentration of plasma proteins in human blood in vitro by adding solutions with [Na+], [K+], and [Cl-] resembling those in normal blood plasma, either protein-free or with a high concentration of human albumin. After equilibrating the samples with a gas containing 5% CO2-12% O2-83% N2 at 37 degrees C, we measured pH, PCO2, and PO2; in separated plasma, we determined the concentrations of total plasma proteins and albumin and of the completely dissociated electrolytes (strong cations Na+, K+, Mg2+ and anions Cl-, citrate3-). With PCO2 nearly constant (mean = 35.

The tuberculin test. Studies of the dynamics of reactivity to tuberculin and Candida antigen in institutionalized patients.

To determine the importance of the recall phenomenon ("booster effect") in chronically hospitalized patients, we performed three sequential tuberculin and Candida antigen skin tests in patients at two hospitals. Twenty of 162 patients (12.3%) demonstrated a significant reaction on the initial tuberculin test, and 9 additional patients (5.

Effects of milrinone on contractile responses of guinea pig trachea, lung parenchyma and pulmonary artery.

The effects of milrinone, a bipyridine with known vasodilator activity, on guinea pig tracheal-spirals, lung parenchymal strips and pulmonary artery rings in vitro were compared with the effects of isoproterenol and aminophylline on these tissues. The concentration of milrinone that produced 50% relaxation (IC50) of tracheal spirals constricted by carbachol was 3.6 X 10(-5) M.

Acoustic comparison of voice use in solo and choir singing.

An experiment was carried out in which eight bass/baritone singers were recorded while singing in both choral and solo modes. Together with their own voice, they heard the sound of the rest of the choir and a piano accompaniment, respectively. The recordings were analyzed in several ways, including computation of long-time-average spectra for each passage, analysis of the sound levels in the frequency ranges corresponding to the fundamental and the "singer's formant," and a comparison of the sung levels with the levels heard by the singers.

Effects of signal envelope on the pitch of short sinusoidal tones.

The pitch of short sinusoidal tones with exponentially rising or decaying envelopes is judged higher than the pitch of a gated tone of the same frequency, duration, and energy. The upward pitch shift depends on the rise or decay rate, the intensity, and the frequency. The effect, which requires a nonlinearity in the auditory system, cannot be adequately explained by existing models of hearing.