An ethical analysis of clinical triage protocols and decision-making frameworks: what do the principles of justice, freedom, and a disability rights approach demand of us?

Background: The expectation of pandemic-induced severe resource shortages has prompted authorities to draft and update frameworks to guide clinical decision-making and patient triage. While these documents differ in scope, they share a utilitarian focus on the maximization of benefit. This utilitarian view necessarily marginalizes certain groups, in particular individuals with increased medical needs.

1-D and 2-D NMR-based metabolomics of earthworms exposed to endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate in soil.

One-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics was used to investigate the toxic mode of action (MOA) of endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, and its degradation product, endosulfan sulfate, to Eisenia fetida earthworms in soil. Three soil concentrations (0.1, 1.

Coelomic fluid: a complimentary biological medium to assess sub-lethal endosulfan exposure using ¹H NMR-based earthworm metabolomics.

Endosulfan is an environmentally persistent pesticide and has been shown to be genotoxic, neurotoxic and carcinogenic to surrounding organisms. Earthworms are widely used in environmental metabolomic studies to assess soil ecotoxicity. Previous nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomic studies have analyzed earthworm tissue extracts after exposure to endosulfan and identified some key metabolic indicators that can be used as biomarkers of stress.

Neurocognitive variability in high-functioning individuals: implications for the practice of clinical neuropsychology.

Knowledge of neurocognitive performance patterns of normal, healthy individuals is necessary, as clinicians may not always take into account normal intra-individual variability, demonstrated here in a sample of 20 healthy individuals with particularly high educational achievement (i.e., holding doctorate degrees).

Age and dementia related differences in spatial navigation within an immersive virtual environment.

Background: Immersive virtual reality (VR) is an innovative tool that can allow study of human spatial navigation in a realistic but controlled environment. The purpose of this study was to examine age- and Alzheimer's disease-related differences in route learning and memory using VR.

Material/methods: The spatial memory task took place in a VR environment set up on a Computer Workstation.

Molecular interactions of pesticides at the soil-water interface.

High-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy combined with saturation-transfer double difference (STDD) NMR can be used to analyze the molecular-level interactions of pesticides and whole soils occurring at the soil-water interface. Here 1H HR-MAS STDD NMR has been applied to some common pesticides (trifluralin, acifluorfen, and (4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl) phenol) and a pesticide degradation product (1-naphthol). Results indicate that dipolar interactions, H-bonding, hydrophobic associations, and potentially pi-pi interactions are the predominant sorption mechanisms for these molecules at the soil-aqueous interface.

Application of saturation transfer double difference NMR to elucidate the mechanistic interactions of pesticides with humic acid.

Elucidation of mechanistic interactions of anthropogenic chemicals is critical to understanding and eventually predicting their behavior in the environment Here, a recently developed technique, saturation transfer double difference (STDD) NMR spectroscopy is employed to determine the interactions of pesticides with humic acid (HA) at the molecular level. The degree of interaction at each NMR observable nucleus in the pesticide can be quantified in the form of an epitope map, which depicts the mechanism of the pesticide-HA interaction. Our results indicate that, at pH 7, halogen atoms (F and Cl) in water-soluble pesticides (diflufenzopyr, acifluorfen, and chlorsulfuron) play a dominant role in influencing binding to HA, whereas carboxyl groups likely play a secondary role when halogen atoms are also present in the molecule, as observed with diflufenzopyr and acifluorfen.

Microbially derived inputs to soil organic matter: are current estimates too low?

Soil microbes are central to many soil processes, but due to the structural complexity of soil organic matter, the accurate quantification of microbial biomass contributions continues to pose a significant analytical challenge. In this study, microbes from a range of soils were cultured such that their molecular profile could be compared to that of soil organic matter and native vegetation. With the use of modern NMR spectroscopy, the contributions from microbial species can be discerned in soil organic matter and quantified.

Variation in phenanthrene sorption coefficients with soil organic matter fractionation: the result of structure or conformation?

Sorption of phenanthrene to varying soil types was investigated to better understand sorption processes. Humic acid and humin fractions were isolated from each soil sample, and sorption coefficients were measured by batch equilibration. Samples were characterized by carbon analysis and 13C cross polarization magic angle spinning (CP/ MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

The application of 1H high-resolution magic-angle spinning NMR for the study of clay-organic associations in natural and synthetic complexes.

The preferential sorption of model compounds to calcium-exchanged montmorillonite surfaces was investigated using 1H high-resolution magic-angle spinning (HR-MAS) and liquid-state NMR. Synthetic mixtures, representing the major structural categories abundant in natural organic matter (NOM), and two soil extracts were sorbed to montmorillonite. The NMR spectra indicate that, of the organic components observable by 1H HR-MAS NMR, aliphatic components preferentially sorb to the clay surface, while carbohydrates and amino acids mainly remain in the supernatant.

Identification of mobile aliphatic sorptive domains in soil humin by solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance.

Many sorption studies aim to elucidate organic matter structure and contaminant sorption relationships. Through this pursuit, a great deal of insight has been gained about contaminant interactions with humic fractions, namely the fulvic and humic acid isolates. Comparatively, less is known about the structure and environmental reactivity of the humin fraction; however, researchers have reported that the humin fraction consistently produces higher sorption coefficients than the corresponding source material and other humic fractions.

Posterior cortical atrophy.

Background: The term posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) was introduced in 1988 to describe five patients with fairly homogeneous, but otherwise unclassified, symptoms. These patients showed signs of a slowly progressive dementia bearing behavioral and physiologic similarities to Alzheimer's disease, but with notable distinctions. Specifically, PCA is characterized by an early onset of visual agnosia, followed by some or all components of Balint's syndrome, Gerstmann's syndrome, and transcortical sensory aphasia.

The identification of plant derived structures in humic materials using three-dimensional NMR spectroscopy.

Here we demonstrate the application of 3-D NMR spectroscopy to structural studies of humic substances, the most abundant of organic compounds on earth. The increased spectral dispersion provided by the additional dimension is proven to be highly advantageous in separating the overlapping signals observed in 2-D spectra. Assignments of the major aliphatic structures and selected aromatic moieties are given as examples.

Surgical sterilization of free-ranging wolves.

The objective of the study was to determine whether surgical sterilization of both males and females in wolf pairs alters basic wolf social and territorial behaviors. Wolves were located from the air by snow-tracking methods and were tranquilizer-darted from a helicopter. Surgeries were performed either in a tent at the capture site or in a heated building in a nearby village.

Selective loss of early suppression in the dentate gyrus precedes kainic acid induced electrographic seizures.

The role of inhibitory and facilitatory processes in the induction of seizures was studied in a kainic acid (KA) model of epilepsy. The dentate gyrus (DG) response to paired-pulse stimulation of the perforant path (PP) was monitored prior to and immediately following the initial KA induced afterdischarge (AD) in rats chronically prepared with stimulation recording electrodes. The subjects received a 1-h program of stimulation consisting of repeated sequences of pulse pairs at a short (20-30 ms), intermediate (45-90 ms), and long (200-300 ms) interpulse interval (IPIs).

Open field activity and human interaction as a function of age and breed in dogs.

Open field (OF) activity was studied in kennel reared purebred beagles from two separate colonies (2-13 years in age) and pound source mixed breed dogs (9 months to 10 years in age). Dogs were observed for 10 min sessions and records were taken of: locomotion, urination, sniffing, grooming, rearing, vocalizing, jumping frequencies and inactivity (16). Since dogs are uniquely social towards people, we also measured human interaction (HI), which recorded the same behaviors as during OF when a person was present in the room.

Phrasing influences the recognition of melodies.

One critical step in the processing of complex auditory information (i.e., language and music) involves organizing such information into hierarchical units, such as phrases.

Using a parity-sensitive sieve to count prime values of a polynomial.

It is expected that any irreducible polynomial with integer coefficients assumes infinitely many prime values provided that it satisfies some obvious local conditions. Moreover, it is expected that the frequency of these primes obeys a simple asymptotic law. This has however been proven for only a few special classes of polynomials.

Cytokeratins in the liver of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) before and after metamorphosis.

Cytokeratins of the liver were examined during the lamprey life cycle. This organ transforms, at metamorphosis, from a ductal larval structure to an aductal adult organ lacking the biliary passageways. Specifically, the relationship between liver morphology and cytokeratins 7, 18, and 19, and several unidentified cytokeratins was compared in larvae, transformers, and adults.

Structural features of crayfish phasic and tonic neuromuscular terminals.

We examined the fine structure of terminals of the phasic and tonic excitatory axon to the crayfish limb extensor muscle. The phasic terminals are known to release 50-100 times more transmitter for a small length of terminal for a single impulse. Phasic terminals labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were relatively thin and contained a single unbranched mitochondrion; tonic terminals were much thicker, and their varicosities contained several multibranched mitochondria.

Synaptic structural complexity as a factor enhancing probability of calcium-mediated transmitter release.

1. In a model synaptic system, the excitatory neuromuscular junction of the freshwater crayfish, the nerve terminals possess synapses that vary in structural complexity, with numbers of active zones ranging from zero to five. Active zones on individual synapses show a wide range of separation distances.

Frequency dependence of long-term potentiation and depression in the dentate gyrus of the freely moving rat.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD) can be produced in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus with high-or low-frequency stimulation trains, respectively. Although LTP can be elicited in a variety of preparations, we know of no reports of LTD unaccompanied by seizure activity in the awake rat. In this experiment, test pulses at alternating high (95% of maximum response) and moderate (50-75% of maximum) intensities were presented at 0.

A simple and rapid test of sensorimotor function in the aged rat.

A total of 107 Fischer 344 rats (male and female, 2 to 29 months old) were tested on three tasks designed to measure sensorimotor function. In the first task, a new test of sensorimotor function, animals were required to maintain their balance on a stationary inclined Plexiglas plane for 5 s. Performance was evaluated with a series of increasing angles ranging from 25 degrees to 50 degrees in 1 degree increments (four trials/angle).

Conceptual perspective-taking and children's interpretation of pronouns in reported speech.

This study examines the role of cognitive development in children's use of pragmatic cues for anaphora resolution. Reported speech sentences like Minnie told Dorothy that she knew Superman are biased toward the matrix subject. This bias is claimed to depend on two conceptual shifts, first to the speaker's and then to the listener's perspective.