Organization of somatosensory areas I and II in marsupial cerebral cortex: parallel processing in the possum sensory cortex.

Organization of somatosensory areas I and II in marsupial cerebral cortex: parallel processing in the possum sensory cortex. Controversy exists over the organization of mammalian thalamocortical somatosensory networks. An issue of particular contention is whether the primary and secondary somatosensory areas of cortex (SI and SII) are organized in a parallel or serial scheme for processing tactile information.

Transforming growth factor-beta and suppression of humoral immune responses in HIV infection.

We reported previously that PBMC from HIV+ patients spontaneously release increased levels of TGF beta 1, contributing to defects in cellular immune responses. This study defines the implications of TGF beta overexpression for humoral immunity in HIV infection. We found that upon Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I (SAC) stimulation of cells from HIV+ donors, B-lymphocyte proliferative responses were decreased.

The objective structured clinical examination in undergraduate psychiatry.

Inadequate attention has been given to verifying the psychometric attributes of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), yet its popularity has been increasing in recent years. Our 6 years' experience in Nigeria showed that OSCE is practicable in undergraduate psychiatry assessment and there is evidence over consecutive years that it has satisfactory reliability and criterion-based validity. The importance of students' feedback in assessing the quality of examination is reinforced, and subtle, less tangible elements which determine students' performance, such as social interactional mystique and some personality traits, are worthy of evaluative research.

Dynamic light scattering and angular dissymmetry for the in situ measurement of silicon dioxide particle synthesis in flames.

Particle size measurements have been made of silica formation in a counterflow diffusion flame reactor utilizing dynamic light scattering and angular dissymmetry methods. The results suggest that the techniques compare quite favorably in conditions of high signal to noise. However, the dynamic light scattering technique degrades rapidly as the signal strength declines, resulting in erroneously small particle diameters.