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Aims To test the efficacy of a therapist-guided high-intensity internet intervention compared with an unguided low-intensity internet intervention among individuals with alcohol use disorder. Design A three-group randomized controlled trial with follow-up assessments post-treatment (12 weeks) and 6 months post-randomization (primary end-point). Settings General population sample in Sweden. Participants A total of 166 on-line self-referred adults (49% males) with a score of 14 (females)/16 (males) or more on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a preceding week alcohol consumption of 11 (females)/14 (males) or more standard drinks and an alcohol use disorder according to a diagnostic interview. Interventions and comparators Both the high- (n = 72) and low-intensity internet interventions (n = 71) consisted of modules based on relapse prevention. Controls were on a waiting-list (n = 23), and were only followed until the post-treatment follow-up. Participants were randomized at a 7 : 7 : 2 ratio. Measurements Primary outcome was self-reported alcohol consumption in the preceding week measured as (1) number of standard drinks and (2) number of heavy drinking days at the 6-month follow-up. Findings Alcohol use disorders were largely in the severe category (74.7%), with the majority of participants having had alcohol problems for more than 5 years. Attrition was 13 and 22% at the post-treatment and 6-month follow-up, respectively. At the 6-month follow-up, an intent-to-treat analysis showed no significant differences in alcohol consumption between the high- and low-intensity interventions [standard drinks d = -0.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.50 to 0.16; heavy drinking days: d = -0.07, 95% CI = -0.40 to 0.26]. Prevalence of negative effects was somewhat low (8-14%) in both intervention groups, as was deterioration (3-5%). Conclusions At 6-month follow-up, there were no significant differences between a therapist-guided high-intensity internet intervention and an unguided low-intensity internet intervention in reducing alcohol consumption among individuals with an alcohol use disorder.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the prognostic significance of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) upon diagnosis, and its impact on surgical outcome, among patients with advanced stage ovarian carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). METHODS A retrospective cohort study included all women with stage IIIC and IV ovarian carcinoma receiving NACT in Rabin Medical Center, Petah-Tikva, Israel; January 1, 2005, to June 30, 2017. Demographics and treatment outcome were compared between patients with NLR at diagnosis ≥6.0 and those with NLR

Objective This article develops an empirical model that tests whether in post‐communist Russia prior membership in a civil society organization (CSO) motivates civic activism. Revisiting Tocquevillian notions of a nurturing effect by formal civil society organizations of civic activism, we aim to help explain recent research findings showing that civic activism is sustainable and vital in Russia. Methods To test the main hypothesis of the study, we use the cross‐sectional survey of Russians aged 18 and older in the fall of 2014 (N = 1,500) representing 43 regions conducted by the Russian Civil Society Monitoring Survey of the Higher School of Economics' Centre for Studies of Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector (2006–). We use the propensity score matching (PSM) technique to estimate the main effects. We also show that the effect of unobserved factors on our PSM estimates is limited using Rosenbaum bounds analysis. Results The PSM analysis suggests that for all four indicators of civic activism, that is, willingness to integrate with other members of society, participation in tenant meetings, engagement in charity activities, and engagement in home improvement, CSO participation positively impacts civic activism. The impact varies from a 7.2 to 15.8 percent higher propensity of civic activism for CSO participants. Conclusion We conclude that prior participation in a CSO can have a motivating influence on civic activism such as charity work, residential home improvement, willingness to integrate with other members of the society, and participation in tenant meetings.

© 2020 The Authors. Plant Direct published by American Society of Plant Biologists and the Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd The multinational Arabidopsis research community is highly collaborative and over the past thirty years these activities have been documented by the Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee (MASC). Here, we (a) highlight recent research advances made with the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana; (b) provide summaries from recent reports submitted by MASC subcommittees, projects and resources associated with MASC and from MASC country representatives; and (c) initiate a call for ideas and foci for the “fourth decadal roadmap,” which will advise and coordinate the global activities of the Arabidopsis research community.

Strigolactones are a group of phytohormones that control developmental processes including shoot branching and various plant-environment interactions in plants. We previously showed that the strigolactone perception mutant more axillary branches 2 (max2) has increased susceptibility to plant pathogenic bacteria. Here we show that both strigolactone biosynthesis (max3 and max4) and perception mutants (max2 and dwarf14) are significantly more sensitive to Pseudomonas syringae DC3000. Moreover, in response to P. syringae infection, high levels of SA accumulated in max2 and this mutant was ozone sensitive. Further analysis of gene expression revealed no major role for strigolactone in regulation of defense gene expression. In contrast, guard cell function was clearly impaired in max2 and depending on the assay used, also in max3, max4, and d14 mutants. We analyzed stomatal responses to stimuli that cause stomatal closure. While the response to abscisic acid (ABA) was not impaired in any of the mutants, the response to darkness and high CO2 was impaired in max2 and d14-1 mutants, and to CO2 also in strigolactone synthesis (max3, max4) mutants. To position the role of MAX2 in the guard cell signaling network, max2 was crossed with mutants defective in ABA biosynthesis or signaling. This revealed that MAX2 acts in a signaling pathway that functions in parallel to the guard cell ABA signaling pathway. We propose that the impaired defense responses of max2 are related to higher stomatal conductance that allows increased entry of bacteria or air pollutants like ozone. Furthermore, as MAX2 appears to act in a specific branch of guard cell signaling (related to CO2 signaling), this protein could be one of the components that allow guard cells to distinguish between different environmental conditions.

Respiration in leaves and the continued elevation in the atmospheric CO(2) concentration cause CO(2)-mediated reduction in stomatal pore apertures. Several mutants have been isolated for which stomatal responses to both abscisic acid (ABA) and CO(2) are simultaneously defective. However, there are only few mutations that impair the stomatal response to elevated CO(2), but not to ABA. Such mutants are invaluable in unraveling the molecular mechanisms of early CO(2) signal transduction in guard cells. Recently, mutations in the Mitogen-Activated Protein (MAP) kinase, MPK12, have been shown to partially impair CO(2)-induced stomatal closure. Here we show that mpk12 plants, in which MPK4 is stably silenced specifically in guard cells (mpk12 mpk4GC homozygous double mutants), completely lack CO(2)-induced stomatal responses and have severely impaired activation of guard cell S-type anion channels in response to elevated CO(2)/bicarbonate. However, ABA-induced stomatal closure, S-type anion channel activation and ABA-induced marker gene expression remain intact in the mpk12 mpk4GC double mutants. These findings suggest that MPK12 and MPK4 act very early in CO(2) signaling, upstream of, or parallel to the convergence of CO(2) and ABA signal transduction. The activities of MPK4 and MPK12 protein kinases were not directly modulated by CO(2)/bicarbonate in vitro, suggesting that they are not direct CO(2)/bicarbonate sensors. Further data indicate that MPK4 and MPK12 have distinguishable roles in Arabidopsis and that the previously suggested role of RHC1 in stomatal CO(2) signaling is minor, whereas MPK4 and MPK12 act as key components of early stomatal CO(2) signal transduction.

Many factors contribute to social difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The goal of the present work was to determine whether atypicalities in how individuals with ASD process static, socially engaging faces persist when nonrigid facial motion cues are present. We also sought to explore the relationships between various face processing abilities and individual differences in autism symptom severity and traits such as empathy. Participants included 16 adults with ASD without intellectual impairment and 16 sex- and age-matched controls. Mean Verbal IQ was comparable across groups [t(30) = 0.70, P = 0.49]. The two groups responded similarly to many of the experimental manipulations; however, relative to controls, participants with ASD responded more slowly to dynamic expressive faces, even when no judgment was required; were less accurate at identity matching with static and dynamic faces; and needed more time to make identity and expression judgments [F(1, 30) ≥ 6.37, P ≤ 0.017, ηp2 ≥ 0.175 in all cases], particularly when the faces were moving [F(1, 30) = 3.40, P = 0.072, ηp2 = 0.104]. In the full sample, as social autistic traits increased and empathic skills declined, participants needed more time to judge static identity, and static or dynamic expressions [0.43

The comparison between seven reanalyses – ERA-Interim, National Centres for Environmental Predictions (NCEP)–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis, NCEP Department of Energy reanalysis, NCEP–Climate Forecast System Reanalysis, Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application (MERRA), MERRA-2 and JRA-55 – and assimilated radiosonde measurements was performed for eight radiosonde stations in the Baltic Sea region during 1980–2015 at five levels. In addition to raw radiosonde measurements, data sets corrected for temperature-dependence (TD) and time-lag errors in RS80-A humidity measurements were investigated. While temperature differences between reanalyses and radiosonde stayed below 0.1 °C at the higher levels, differences up to 1.2 and 2.3 °C were revealed for the 2 m level at 00 UTC and 12 UTC, respectively. At the same time, biases in relative humidity increased with height. The new techniques assimilated in reanalyses were found to be in a disagreement and in unison with radiosonde data, depending on the level, time of the day and reanalysis investigated. The RS80-A TD correction had a significant effect on tropospheric humidity measurements, increasing specific humidity up to 0.3 g kg−1 at the 2 m level. Based on the ranking results, JRA-55 is the most accurate reanalysis in representing the radiosonde measurements.

We analysed high-resolution tethersonde sounding data from the drifting ice station Tara in the Arctic Ocean in April to August 2007 to (a) better understand the multiple processes affecting the generation and properties of Arctic air temperature inversions and (b) to obtain insight into the vertical structure of the atmospheric boundary layer during the exceptional spring and summer 2007, which resulted in a historically low sea ice extent. A total of 95 profiles, up to the height of 2 km, were measured on 39 days. Inversions were present in 88% of the data, 13% of them being surface-based. Compared to winter, the occurrence and properties of summer inversions depended much less on surface net radiation and were mainly controlled by the surface melt and warm-air advection. Inversions occuring during snow/ice melt were located at low altitudes, frequently based at the surface, and were often as strong as winter inversions reported in previous studies. In general, the Tara inversions were shallow, and the deepest ones were observed when clouds occurred inside or partly above the inversion layer. Inversions were strongest under clear skies or in cases when the cloud top was above the inversion base. Related to cases of strong warm-air advection (up to 35 K day-1) in July, exceptionally high temperatures around the inversion top caused maximum inversion strengths up to 13 K. Inversions of this magnitude at this time of the year have been rarely documented previously.

This article examines how emergent bilingual students used gestures in science class, and the consequences of students’ gestures when their language repertoire limited their possibilities to expres ...

Organizing heterologous biosyntheses inside bacterial cells can alleviate common problems owing to toxicity, poor kinetic performance, and cofactor imbalances. A subcellular organelle known as a bacterial microcompartment, such as the 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartment of Salmonella, is a promising chassis for this strategy. Here we demonstrate de novo design of the N-terminal signal sequences used to direct cargo to these microcompartment organelles. We expand the native repertoire of signal sequences using rational and library-based approaches and show that a canonical leucine-zipper motif can function as a signal sequence for microcompartment localization. Our strategy can be applied to generate new signal sequences localizing arbitrary cargo proteins to the 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartments.

The capacity of the bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genome to tolerate introgression from related genomes can be exploited for wheat improvement. A resistance to powdery mildew expressed by a derivative of the cross-bread wheat cv. Tähti × T. militinae (Tm) is known to be due to the incorporation of a Tm segment into the long arm of chromosome 4A. Here, a newly developed in silico method termed rearrangement identification and characterization (RICh) has been applied to characterize the introgression. A virtual gene order, assembled using the GenomeZipper approach, was obtained for the native copy of chromosome 4A; it incorporated 570 4A DArTseq markers to produce a zipper comprising 2132 loci. A comparison between the native and introgressed forms of the 4AL chromosome arm showed that the introgressed region is located at the distal part of the arm. The Tm segment, derived from chromosome 7G, harbours 131 homoeologs of the 357 genes present on the corresponding region of Chinese Spring 4AL. The estimated number of Tm genes transferred along with the disease resistance gene was 169. Characterizing the introgression's position, gene content and internal gene order should not only facilitate gene isolation, but may also be informative with respect to chromatin structure and behaviour studies.

In this paper, we review research on how students’ interest in science changes through the primary to secondary school transition. In the literature, the findings generally show that primary students enjoy science but come to lose interest during secondary school. As this claim is based mainly on interview and questionnaire data, that is on secondary reports from students about their interest in science, these results are reexamined through our own extensive material from primary and secondary school on how interest is constituted through classroom discourse. Our results suggest the possibility that primary students do not lose their interest in science, but rather that an interest in science is never constituted. The overview indicates that studies relying on interviews and questionnaires make it difficult to ascertain what the actual object of interest is when students act in the science classroom. The possibility suggested should, if valid, have consequences for science education and be worthy of further examination.

The growing number of actors involved in China's international activities has led to fractured authority in foreign policy decision-making. Actors vie for the attention of senior officials to promote their interests on any specific issue. As a result, decision making is often a slow process; there are multiple channels of information, and actors appeal to public opinion to support their claims. Since 2012, Xi Jinping has taken charge of all foreign policy related decision-making bodies in what appears to be an attempt to improve coordination of interest groups. A slight shift to a more personified foreign policy than during the Hu or Jiang eras has also taken place. In this paper, we describe how foreign policy decisions should be made in China according to formal rules; next, we take into account the reality of how the Chinese political system deals with China's evolving international role. We conclude by assessing the risks of fragmentation, on the one hand, and Xi's efforts to recentralise foreign policy, on the other hand.

Internal debates continue in China and abroad about the meaning and significance of Chinese President Xi Jinping's position on a new Asian regional security order. Some observers insist that a strongly worded May 2014 speech Xi delivered in Shanghai reflects China's intensified determination to exercise an increasingly assertive posture toward the United States. Others suspect that such rhetoric is largely designed for internal consumption to appeal to nationalist sentiments about the need for China to stand up to the United States and take a leadership role in the region. Such differences in interpretation are extended to discussions about China's attitudes toward the United States’ continued strategic presence in Asia and about Washington's maintenance of its long-standing alliance network there. The truth is that a combination of Chinese aspirations for shaping a new regional security architecture tempered by the realities and constraints of what China can actually do at this point in time must be acknowledged by both Chinese policymakers and their foreign counterparts.

Objective Hirschsprung disease (HD) is a rare gastrointestinal disorder. Our aim was to study the prenatal ultrasound findings of children who were diagnosed with HD after birth. Methods The study population included children who suffered from HD between 1990 and 2008. Data of anomaly scan findings in prenatal ultrasound, demographic and post-natal physical abnormalities and treatment were retrieved from medical files and interviews with the parents. Results Twenty-two patients confirmed histopathological diagnosis of HD at age of 1 day to 15 months. Nineteen fetuses had anomaly scan during pregnancy, which revealed minor sonographic abnormalities in three fetuses; two of them had hyperechogenic bowel. One fetus with hyperechogenic bowel had polyhydramnion, and another had a family history of three brothers with HD. A third fetus had dilated pelvic kidney. None of them had sonographic evidence of bowel dilatation. After birth, six patients (31%) were found to have other structural anomalies: ventriculoseptal defect, atriseptal defect, atrio-ventricular septal defect, and pyloric stenosis. Conclusions Abnormal sonographic findings of fetal bowel are absent in the vast majority of fetuses who are diagnosed with HD after birth. In women with a family history of HD, a third trimester anomaly scan may be warranted. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dopamine transporter (DaT) imaging may be supportive in the initial clinical diagnostic workup in patients with suspected parkinsonian diseases, given that the method has the potential to detect dopaminergic degeneration. We investigated the diagnostic accuracy of visual assessment of the initial DaT single‐photon emission CT (DaT‐SPECT) with 123I‐FP‐CIT in a large group of early‐stage parkinsonian patients. After inclusion in a long‐term multidisciplinary population‐based prospective study, a baseline DaT‐SPECT was done in 171 incidental, L‐dopa‐naïve, parkinsonian patients (102 men and 69 women) and 37 healthy controls (19 men and 18 women). The results of the DaT‐SPECTs were linked to criteria‐based clinical diagnoses, which were set after a mean follow‐up of 4.6 (±1.7) years. The outcome of the visual assessment was also compared with that of a semiquantitative evaluation method using regions of interest to measure uptake ratios in the caudate and putamen. We found that visual assessment of DaT‐SPECT in clinically diagnosed incidental Parkinson's disease patients had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 92%, rendering a positive likelihood ratio of 11.75 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.07. The proportion of false positives was 1.4% and false negatives 4.8% at baseline. These figures were comparable to those of the semiquantitative method. This study demonstrates that visual interpretation of presynaptic dopamine imaging with 123I‐FP‐CIT offers reliable support in the diagnostic procedure of early parkinsonian diseases.

Disease-related malnutrition (DRM) represents a critical public health concern. Therefore, Fight Against Malnutrition (FAM) should be a state priority, but the degree to which this is true appears to differ considerably among European countries. The aim of this study was to put the problem into perspective by comparing the prevalence of malnutrition in countries from opposite parts of the continent. Six countries - Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, and Turkey - participated in the study. A short questionnaire was used to assess DRM: its prevalence, the current situation in hospitals, regulations for reimbursement, and general healthcare circumstances. Data from ESPEN's NutritionDay 2006 were used to broaden the perspective. At admission in October 2012, 4068 patients were assessed. The study was performed in 160 hospitals and 225 units with 9143 beds. The highest proportions of patients with 3 or more points on the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 were observed in Estonia (80.4%) and Turkey (39.4%), whereas the lowest were in Lithuania (14.2%). The provision of nutrition support was best in Turkey (39.4% required intervention, 34.4% received intervention) and Poland (21.9% and 27.8%, respectively). Nutrition support teams (NSTs) are active in some countries, whereas in others they virtually do not exist. The prevalence of malnutrition was quite high in some countries, and the nutrition approach differed among them. It could be the result of the lack of reimbursement, inactive or nonexistent NSTs, and low nutrition awareness. Those facts confirmed that the continuation of FAM activities is necessary.

The vertical structure of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), simulated with the mesoscale modelWeather Research and Forecasting (WRF) as well as with its polar optimized version Polar WRF, was compared to tethered balloon soundings and mast observations taken in March and April 2009 from two Arctic fjords in Svalbard. From twelve short (48 h) simulations, the Quasi-Normal Scale Elimination scheme for the ABL and the NOAH land surface scheme for the surface were found to perform best and were selected for one long (16 day) simulation. The differences in performance of the standard WRF and Polar WRF were marginal. A warm bias, especially near the surface, was found in the modelled temperature profiles related to underestimated temperature inversion strength and depth. The modelled humidity inversions were generally deeper but weaker than the observed, and often occurred independently of temperature inversions. The largest errors in temperature and humidity occurred under high pressure conditions. Multiple temperature and humidity inversions were usually not captured byWRF. Compared to the compact sea ice east of Svalbard, the modelled temperature and humidity inversions were weaker and less frequent over the fjords. The biases in modelled wind speed profiles were closely related to low-level jets (LLJs); the modelled LLJs were stronger and deeper, and typically located at higher altitudes than the observed LLJs. Errors in the near-surface variables were notably reduced by applying post-processing equations based on othermodelled variables.

Havik, M., Jakobson, A., Tamm, M., Paaver, M., Konstabel, K., Uusberg, A., Allik, J., Oopik, V. & Kreegipuu, K. (2012). Links between self-reported and laboratory behavioral impulsivity. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 216–223. A major problem in the research considering impulsivity is the lack of mutual understanding on how to measure and define impulsivity. Our study examined the relationship between self-reported impulsivity, behavioral excitatory and inhibitory processes and time perception. Impulsivity – fast, premature, thoughtless or disinhibited behavior – was assessed in 58 normal, healthy participants (30 men, mean age 21.9 years). Self-reported impulsivity as measured by Adaptive and Maladaptive Impulsivity Scale (AMIS) and behavioral excitatory and inhibitory processes as measured by Stop Signal Task were not directly related. Time perception, measured by the retrospective Time Estimation Task, was related to both. The length of the perceived time interval was positively correlated to AMIS Disinhibition subscale and negatively to several Stop Signal Task parameters. The longer subjects perceived the duration to last, the higher was their score on Disinhibition scale and the faster were their reactive responses in the Stop Signal Task. In summary our findings support the idea of cognitive tempo as a possible mechanism underlying impulsive behavior.

REM sleep is a unique brain state characterized by frontal deactivation alongside activation of the posterior association and limbic cortices. Human brain lesion studies have found that the loss of dreaming is characterized by damage to the frontal and posterior parieto-temporo-occipital association cortex. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the function of these brain regions might encapsulate the neural processes of dreaming. The aim of the following two experiments was to investigate the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCs), applied simultaneously to the frontal and right posterior parietal cortex during Stage 2 sleep, on dreaming. In Experiment 1, 17 healthy participants received tDCs (cathodal-frontal, anodal-parietal) and low-intensity tDCs as well as no tDCs (blank control) during Stage 2 sleep in a counterbalanced order across the night. Dream reports were collected upon awakening after each of the three conditions. In Experiment 2, 10 participants received tDCs (cathodal-frontal, anodal-parietal), no tDCs (blank control) and two additional control conditions (reversed polarity and other-cephalic tDCs). In both experiments a significantly greater number of imagery reports were found on awakening after tDCs (cathodal-frontal, anodal-parietal), compared to the blank control conditions. However, in Experiment 2 the frequency of imagery reports from the tDCs (cathodal-frontal, anodal-parietal) was not significantly different from the other two tDC conditions, suggesting a non-specific effect of tDCs. Overall, it was concluded that tDCs (cathodal-frontal, anodal-parietal) increased the frequency of dream reports with visual imagery, possibly via a general arousing effect and/or recreating specific cortical neural activity involved in dreaming.

Aim: Solid tumours constitute 40% of childhood malignancies. The Swedish Childhood Cancer Registry is population based and includes all children with cancer reported from the six paediatric oncolo ...

The atmospheric moisture budget in the Arctic in 1979–2001 was analysed on the basis of the ERA-40 reanalysis. Zonal variations in the profiles of specific humidity mainly occur at altitudes below 5 km. The moisture transport peaks at altitudes lower than previously suggested; the median peak level of meridional moisture flux (MMF) across 70°N is in winter at 930 hPa pressure level and in other seasons at 970–990 hPa level. Mean precipitable water for the polar cap (70–90°N) ranges from 2.4 mm in winter to 12.3 mm in summer. Transient eddies (TE) are responsible for most of the water vapour transport across 70°N by providing from 81% of MMF in winter to 92% of MMF in summer. The contribution by stationary eddies (SE) ranges from 5 to 9%, whereas the contribution of mean meridional circulation (MMC) ranges from 1% in summer to 12% in winter. Relative inter-annual variation in MMF components is highest for SE (standard deviation/mean = 133%), second highest for the MMC (61%) and smallest for TE (4%). The MMF across 70°N accounts for 59% of the annual precipitation. Averaged for the polar cap, the mean annual moisture flux convergence (192 mm) and net precipitation (179 mm) are close to each other, but local differences exceeding 200 mm occur at several places. Over the open ocean, the moisture flux convergence is considered more reliable. The Arctic Oscillation (AO) index correlates with MMF in spring and winter (correlation coefficient r = 0.75) and with net precipitation in spring (r = 0.61) and winter (r = 0.50). The AO and precipitable water correlate in Canada and Greenland in winter and spring (r = − 0.7) and in Europe in winter (r = 0.8). Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society

Glucose tolerance has been examined by means of a prednisone-glucose tolerance (PGT) test in 41 patients with clinically documented myocardial infarction 3 to 4 weeks after the attack and in age-matched control subjects without clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. In addition serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels have been determined and free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations measured prior to the PGT test and after administration of the glucose load. Abnormal glucose tolerance curves were obtained in 53.6% of the patients 3 to 4 weeks after the infarction and in 25.8% of the controls. Seventeen patients were retested approximately six months after the first test and glucose tolerance in seven patients with initially abnormal PGT curves was found to be within normal limits, while further impairment was observed in only four cases. A significant correlation between the PGT tests and serum cholesterol levels was found to exist only in patients over the age of 60, while no correlation could be observed between prednisone-glucose tolerance and serum triglycerides or fasting levels of FFA. The mean decrease of FFA 1 hour after the administration of glucose was slightly less in the patients with myocardial infarction than in the controls, while a decrease of FFA to levels below 200 μEq/1 was observed in approximately one third of the patients 1 and/or 3 hours after the glucose load. It is concluded that the impairment of glucose tolerance which frequently can be observed after recent myocardial infarction is probably due only in a minority of cases to a latent diabetic condition and that other factors which are known to influence carbohydrate metabolism must be taken into consideration in explaining the observed disturbances of glucose homeostasis.

The concentration from inhalation of trichloroethylene (TCE) in venous blood from female rats was studied. Exposure consisted of 200, 400 and 500 ppm for 6 hrs, or 50 and 100 ppm for 2 hrs. In each experiment, 1 rat was exposed at a constant concentration of TCE. Blood samples were obtained from an indwelling jugular cannula throughout the experiment. Combination effects with chloral hydrate (0.2 g/kg), ethanol (0.8 ml/kg), isopropanol (0.8 ml/kg), pyrazole (0.2 g/kg), tetraethylthiuram disulfide (TETD; 0.2 g/kg) or tetrachloroethylene (TTCE; 1 g/kg) given orally were observed. The experimental data on the uptake of TCE in blood were fitted, by use of nonlinear regression analysis, to a simple toxicokinetic model. TETD caused the greatest increase in the steady state concentration of TCE (3.7 X), compared to TCE alone at 200 ppm. Isopropanol, pyrazole and TTCE also produced pronounced effects, but chloral hydrate treatment resulted in no significant change. At 50 and 100 ppm TCE exposure for 2 hrs, a significant increase (almost 3 X) in the steady state concentration of TCE from both ethanol and isopropanol was observed.

After subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injection of 14C-pentachloro-phenol (14C-PCP) in the mouse (specific activity 1.6 μci/mg, dose 15–37 mg/kg body weight) the distribution of the activity in the body was determined by whole-body autoradiography and by analysis of the individual organs after oxidation to 14CO2. The highest specific activity was found in the gall bladder and its contents, the wall of the stomach fundus, the contents of the gastro-intestinal tract and the liver. This shows that there is both a gastric and a biliary secretion of PCP and/or its metabolites, and excretion in the faeces. Most of the activity (72–83 %) was excreted in the urine in four days, about half of the dose in 24 hours. Only traces (< 0.05 %) were detected in the expired air. Identification and estimation of metabolites were performed by paper chromatography and isotope dilution techniques. All the urinary activity in the first 24 hours was due to PCP and probably tetrachlorohydroquinone. At least PCP was excreted in both the free and the conjugated form.