Effect of chronic ethanol on enkephalin in the hypothalamus and extra-hypothalamic areas.

Background: Ethanol may be consumed for reasons such as reward, anxiety reduction, or caloric content, and the opioid enkephalin (ENK) appears to be involved in many of these functions. Previous studies in Sprague-Dawley rats have demonstrated that ENK in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) is stimulated by voluntary consumption of ethanol. This suggests that this opioid peptide may be involved in promoting the drinking of ethanol, consistent with our recent findings that PVN injections of ENK analogs stimulate ethanol intake.

[Characteristics and mechanism of Cu2+ removal by zero-valent iron (ZVI) from aqueous solution].

The influencing factors and kinetics of copper ions removal from aqueous solution by zero-valent iron (ZVI) was investigated, the mechanism of Cu2+ removal was analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The experimental results showed that ZVI had been turned out to be an effective tool for the removal of Cu2+ from aqueous solution. More than 99% of Cu2+ could be removed at an initial concentration of 300 mg/L by ZVI at the dosage of 1 g/L.

Two-channel hyperspectral LiDAR with a supercontinuum laser source.

Recent advances in nonlinear fiber optics and compact pulsed lasers have resulted in creation of broadband directional light sources. These supercontinuum laser sources produce directional broadband light using cascaded nonlinear optical interactions in an optical fibre framework. This system is used to simultaneously measure distance and reflectance to demonstrate a technique capable of distinguishing between a vegetation target and inorganic material using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) parameters, while the range can be obtained from the waveform of the echoes.

Inverse relationships between selenium and mercury in tissues of young walleye (Stizosedion vitreum) from Canadian boreal lakes.

The concentrations of total mercury (Hg), methylmercury (MeHg) and total selenium (Se) were determined in muscle, liver and brain tissues of young-of-the-year walleye (Stizosedion vitreum) specimens collected from 8 boreal lakes that are located within 107km around the Sudbury smelters in Ontario, Canada. Dry weight basis concentrations of Hg were highest in muscle and lowest in brain (p<0.05), those of MeHg were higher in muscle than in liver and brain but there was no significant difference between liver and brain (p<0.

Natural attenuation processes applying to antimony: a study in the abandoned antimony mine in Goesdorf, Luxembourg.

The processes leading to the attenuation of the antimony concentration in the water draining from the abandoned antimony mine in Goesdorf, Luxembourg, have been studied. Antimony has been mined in Goesdorf since Roman times from a stibnite-rich mesothermal vein system hosted in metasedimentary schist. The draining waters have pH values between 7 and 8 because the mineralization itself contains calcite and dolomite.

Enhanced UV photoresponse in nitrogen plasma ZnO nanotubes.

The photoresponse behavior of one-dimensional ZnO nanowires (NWs) and nanotubes (NTs) grown on ITO-coated glass substrates via a wet-chemical route was investigated. The photoluminescence spectra exhibited a decrease in the deep-level intensity, indicating that the oxygen defects and impurities are occupied by the presence of N ions in the ZnO NT matrix after a nitrogen plasma treatment. I-V tests demonstrate an enhanced dark current (4.

Sliced fluorescence imaging: a versatile method to study photo-induced dynamic processes.

To reduce the image blurring which originates from contributions of a cylindrical array of photolysis events in a photo-induced experiment, a variant of fluorescence imaging techniques has been developed to study photodissociation dynamics and collisional relaxation processes in the bulk. The experimental arrangement utilizes sliced imaging techniques of photofragments by the laser-induced fluorescence detection scheme. An unconventional procedure is employed to guide the photolysis laser in the viewing direction of the imaging detector with an appropriate obstruction.

Selenium accumulation in sea ducks wintering at Lake Ontario.

Numbers of wintering sea ducks, including buffleheads (Bucephala albeola; BUFF), common goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula; COGO), and long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis; LTDU), increased substantially at Lake Ontario after Dreissenid mussels (Dreissena bugensis and D. polymorpha) colonized the Great Lakes. Invertebrates, including Dreissenid mussels, are major diving duck prey items that can transfer some trace elements, such as selenium (Se) to higher trophic levels.

Psychosocial adjustment and attention in children with developmental coordination disorder using different motor tests.

This study examined the consistency between the findings of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) as identified by the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC), and explored the psychosocial and attention characteristics of children with DCD identified by the two motor tests, respectively. Participants were 270 children (male: 161, female: 109; age 7.74+/-0.

Crystal structure of Ara h 3, a major allergen in peanut.

The prevalence of food allergy has increased dramatically in recent years. Tremendous research progress has been made in understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of allergy and in identifying and characterizing food allergens. Peanut is a major food allergen source and Ara h 3 is a major peanut allergen.

Improvements of reliability for methylmercury determination in environmental samples.

The determination of methylmercury (MeHg) in environmental samples by ethylation derivation-gas chromatography-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (ED-GC-AFS) is associated with an intimate problem of water moisture accumulation introduced in the ethylation step, which enters the detection system and cause a spectroscopic interference. With a simple modification on the GC-AFS system, this problem was eliminated and the analytical quality of the measurements was significantly improved. The presence of dissolved sulfide in samples can also cause serious chemical interference in the ethylation step resulting in lower or total loss of the MeHg signal.

Abiotic formation of elemental selenium and role of iron oxide surfaces.

The possible abiotic reduction of selenite to form elemental Se was studied under controlled conditions in the presence of ferrous iron. The reduction of selenite and formation of Se (0) was found to be a surface-mediated reaction by iron oxides. Without the presence of the reactive surface of freshly precipitated iron oxides, the reduction reaction could not be detected, even under a well controlled low oxygen environment (30 ppmv).

Massive bilateral pleural effusion associated with use of pioglitazone.

Background: Pioglitazone is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist that decreases insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, it has been associated with fluid retention, peripheral edema, and congestive heart failure, which has become of particular concern. There are no reports in the literature of severe pleural effusions in a patient with normal cardiac function.

Multiple strategies of bloom-forming Microcystis to minimize damage by solar ultraviolet radiation in surface waters.

The occurrence of bloom-forming cyanobacteria is one of the most obvious sign of eutrophication in freshwaters. Although in eutrophic lakes water transparency in the ultraviolet (UV) region is strongly reduced, bloom-forming cyanobacteria are exposed to high solar UV radiation at the surface. Here, we show that, in a natural phytoplankton community from a very eutrophic lake, Microcystis synthesizes UV sunscreen compounds identified as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs).

Purification and characterization of the 7S vicilin from Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis).

Pine nuts are economically important as a source of human food. They are also of medical importance because numerous pine nut allergy cases have been recently reported. However, little is known about the proteins in pine nuts.

The competitive role of organic carbon and dissolved sulfide in controlling the distribution of mercury in freshwater lake sediments.

The detailed distribution of mercury was studied in sediments and porewaters of two freshwater lakes, which were selected because of the contrasting conditions they present at their respective sediment-water interface (SWI). One lake is characterized by a SWI that remains oxic all year long whereas the other one shows a clear seasonal variation with the evolution of strongly anoxic conditions through the summer season. The results of the study clearly identify the importance of redox conditions on the geochemical behaviour of Hg at the SWI of both lakes but a very limited influence of an oxidized layer enriched in Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides at the top of the sediment of the oxic lake.

Effects of percutaneous ethanol injection therapy on subsequent parathyroidectomy.

Background: Although percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) is an alternative to surgery for patients with secondary or tertiary hyperparathyroidism, it also has been conjectured to make subsequent parathyroidectomy more difficult.

Methods: The records of 37 patients with end-stage renal disease managed between September 2000 and August 2005 were reviewed retrospectively. All patients had hyperparathyroidism intractable to medical treatment, and all eventually underwent parathyroidectomy.

Reliability study of measurements for lymphedema in breast cancer patients.

Objective: Water displacement, circumference measurement, and tissue tonometry are important methods to evaluate the status of lymphedemous limbs in breast cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliabilities, and define the limits for clinical change indicative of clinical improvement with respect to these three measures.

Design: Fourteen patients were recruited for water displacement and circumference measurement, and 17 for tissue resistance by tonometry.

Marked elevation of liver transaminases after high-dose fluvastatin unmasks chronic hepatitis C: safety and re-challenge.

The statins, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, have emerged as the drugs of choice for patients with dyslipidemia and have been shown to reduce major cardiovascular adverse events in large-scale clinical trials for both primary and secondary prevention. Statins are generally safe; however, the results of clinical trials do demonstrate possibilities of significant adverse effects in liver and muscle. Moreover, the numbers from the trials may not reflect the real situation in daily practice because individuals at increased risk for hepatotoxicity are usually deliberately and carefully excluded in clinical trials.

Extraction and determination of elemental selenium in sediments--a comparative study.

This paper proposes a new technique to extract elemental Se from soil and sediment samples. In this study, we have identified that the purchased red elemental selenium standard (PF-Se) was impure and rather consisted of a mixture of CS2 soluble amorphous elemental Se (ca. 10%, w/w), water soluble oxidized Se (ca.

Validation of intracranial area as a surrogate measure of intracranial volume when using clinical MRI.

Background And Purpose: We sought to determine whether mid-sagittal intracranial area (ICA) is a valid surrogate of intracranial volume (ICV) when using retrospective data with relatively thick (6-7 mm) sagittal slices.

Methods: Data were retrospectively analyzed from 47 subjects who had two MRI scans taken at least nine months apart. Twenty-three subjects had manual segmentation of ICV on the T2-weighted sequence for comparison.

Thrombolytic therapy in acute cerebral infarction complicating diagnostic cardiac catheterization.

Diagnostic and interventional percutaneous coronary catheterization is associated with stroke. Many of such strokes are asymptomatic, but some are devastating. Once the diagnosis of acute cerebral infarction is confirmed, thrombolytic therapy should be administrated within the time window of 3 hours.

Detoxification of selenite and mercury by reduction and mutual protection in the assimilation of both elements by Pseudomonas fluorescens.

A study on the assimilation and detoxification of selenium and mercury and on the interaction between these two elements was conducted on Pseudomonas fluorescens. P. fluorescens was able to convert separately both elements to their elemental forms, which are less toxic and biologically less available.

[Filtering capacity of Anodonta woodiana and its feeding selectivity on phytoplankton].

Lake eutrophication associated with algal bloom has become a major environmental challenge in China. Filter feeding organisms, e.g.