A new class of variable-radii diffraction optics for high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy at the National Ignition Facility (invited).

A new class of crystal shapes has been developed for x-ray spectroscopy of point-like or small (a few mm) emission sources. These optics allow for dramatic improvement in both achievable energy resolution and total throughput of the spectrometer as compared with traditional designs. This class of crystal shapes, collectively referred to as the Variable-Radii Spiral (VR-Spiral), utilize crystal shapes in which both the major and minor radii are variable. A crystal using this novel VR-Spiral shape has now been fabricated for high-resolution Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) experiments targeting the Pb-L3 (13.0 keV) absorption edge at the National Ignition Facility. The performance of this crystal has been characterized in the laboratory using a microfocus x-ray source, showing that high-resolution high-throughput EXAFS spectra can be acquired using this geometry. Importantly, these successful tests show that the complex three-dimensional crystal shape is manufacturable with the required precision needed to realize the expected performance of better than 5 eV energy resolution while using a 30 mm high crystal. An improved generalized mathematical form for VR-Spiral shapes is also presented allowing improved optimization as compared to the first sinusoidal-spiral based design. This new formulation allows VR-Spiral spectrometers to be designed at any magnification with optimized energy resolution at all energies within the spectrometer bandwidth.

Executive function in pathological gamblers and healthy controls.

Executive function (EF) deficits may underlie some of the impulse control problems seen in pathological gambling. Pathological gamblers (PGs, n = 45) and controls (n = 45) were compared on several measures of EF (including measures of response inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility and perseveration, planning and decision-making), as well as memory and intelligence tests to examine whether PGs evidence EF dysfunction. Compared with controls, PGs exhibited specific deficits on measures of planning and decision-making. PGs also exhibited relative deficits on a measure of perseveration, but this deficit was no longer significant after controlling for group differences in intelligence. These results suggest that PGs may experience deficits on specific components of EF.

Ionometallurgy: designer redox properties for metal processing.

The first electrochemical series in a deep eutectic solvent (DES) is described. Speciation resulting from the unusual chemistry of the choline chloride based DES is used to explain both similarities and differences from aqueous media. We give examples of how these differences can be exploited in technologically important systems.

Selected quality parameters of salmon and meat when fried with or without added fat.

AIM: To determine whether pan-frying (pork, beef and salmon) without oil or with different fats (olive oil, corn oil or a partially hydrogenated plant oil) or steaming (only salmon) have effects on the total fat content, the fatty acid pattern, lipid peroxidation, tocopherols and in particular for salmon on vitamin D(3) and astaxanthin. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pork, beef patties and salmon were pan-fried (6 min each), beef fillet was pan-fried (5 min) with an additional braising period of 90 minutes and salmon was steamed for 12 minutes. Each pan-frying treatment was done with the above mentioned fats and without fat. Total fat was determined gravimetrically, the fatty acid pattern with GC, the tocopherols, astaxanthin and vitamin D(3) by using HPLC. RESULTS: The effects on the fat quality and quantity in the final products were related to the pan-frying fat used, however, the power of the outcome was depending on the surface to volume ratio. The highest increase in total fat was observed for pork, followed by the beef patties and the braised beef. The same has been assessed for the fatty acid pattern. Tocopherols changed according to the oil used, in particular gamma-tocopherol significantly increased for each preparation after the use of corn oil. Only in pork an increase in lipid oxidation of the oil preparations has been observed. Vitamin D(3) in salmon significantly decreased after heat treatment, however a 150 g salmon portion would provide between 13.9 and 14.7 mug Vitamin D(3) which is around five times more than the average daily intake. CONCLUSION: Pan-frying without fat can be recommended for the daily use, since the total fat intake is too high in developed countries and one main task of nutritional recommendations is to reduce the total fat intake. When pan-fried with fat, the choice of the fat is of high importance since it directly influences the quality and the flavour of the final product. In order to increase the fat quality from nutritional point of view only oils of plant or vegetable origin should be used in households. Pan-fried salmon is a good source of Vitamin D(3).

DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling: reliability, validity, and classification accuracy.

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, validity, and classification accuracy of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling. Given the lack of a laboratory test to diagnose pathological gambling, two groups were recruited in order to test DSM-IV diagnostic classification accuracy, one which likely had the disorder and the other which likely did not have the disorder (121 men and women clients at a gambling treatment facility) (138 men and women selected at random from the Windsor, Ontario, community who had gambled in the past twelve months). The Gambling Behavior Interview was administered to both groups. The Gambling Behavior Interview was administered to both groups. The Gambling Behavior Interview includes items that measure the ten DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling as well as other gambling problem severity measures and scales that served as tests of convergent validity. The ten DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were found to exhibit satisfactory reliability, validity, and classification accuracy; however, lowering the cut score to four and using item weights yielded improved classification accuracy over the standard cut score of five. Some diagnostic criteria were found to have greater discriminatory power than other criteria. The results of this study suggest that the classification accuracy of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria can be improved upon with a lower cut score or using weighted criteria.

A comparison of depression and styles of coping in male and female GA members and controls.

Depression and maladaptive coping styles are important components of theories of pathological gambling and are frequently foci of treatment with individuals with gambling problems. The present study aimed to improve understanding and treatment of pathological gambling by comparing levels of depression and styles of coping in male and female members of Gamblers Anonymous (GA) to a group of non-pathological gambling controls matched according to gender, age, education, and income. Pathological gambling was measured by the South Oaks Gambling Scale, depression by the Beck Depression Inventory, and coping styles by the Problem-Focused Styles of Coping inventory. Results showed that GA members reported significantly higher levels of depression and more maladaptive styles of coping than controls. Pathological gamblers' greater use of maladaptive coping was evident even when variance attributable to depression was removed, suggesting that their coping deficits may be pervasive. Female subjects reported significantly greater levels of depression and maladaptive coping than their male counterparts. Implications for treating depression and coping styles in pathological gamblers are discussed.

Successful medical therapy for deeply invasive facial infection due to Pythium insidiosum in a child.

Pythiosis occurs in animals and humans who encounter aquatic habitats that harbor Pythium insidiosum. Drug therapy for deeply invasive infections with this organism has been ineffective in humans and animals; patients have been cured only by radical surgical debridement. A 2-year-old boy developed periorbital cellulitis unresponsive to antibiotic and antifungal therapy. The cellulitis extended to the nasopharynx, compromising the airway and necessitating a gastrostomy for feeding. P. insidiosum was isolated from surgical biopsy specimens of the affected tissue. On the basis of in vitro susceptibility studies of the isolate, the patient was treated with a combination of terbinafine and itraconazole. The infection resolved over a period of a few months. The patient remained well 1.5 years after completing a 1-year course of therapy. Cure of deep P. insidiosum infection is feasible with drug therapy.

First Year Impacts of Casino Gambling in a Community.

Gambling has become both a major pastime for Canadians and a multibillion dollar industry providing provincial governments with an increasing proportion of their annual revenues. The continuing trend toward the legalization of gambling has made research on the public health impacts of gambling increasingly important to citizens and decision-makers. This article presents first year results of a multi-year project to measure the impact of the opening of Casino Windsor on gambling behaviour in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. A random telephone survey of gambling behaviour was conducted with 2,682 adult residents of metropolitan Windsor prior to the opening of Casino Windsor, and was repeated with 2,581 residents one year later. There were no statistically significant changes in the rates of problem and pathological gambling among men, women, or the general population one year following the opening of the casino. Although there was some evidence of higher-spending gamblers within the post-casino sample, no statistically significant differences were found between pre- and post-casino per capita gambling expenditures. Implications of these results for the future measurement and treatment of problem and pathological gambling are discussed.

Comorbidity of pathological gambling in addiction treatment facilities.

Upon administering the South Oaks Gambling Screen to 328 clients with substance dependence problems in treatment facilities in Windsor, Ontario, it was found that high rates of pathological gambling occur comorbidity with substance dependence. Levels of problem and pathological gambling were found to be consistent with similar studies done in North America. Treatment professionals are urged to screen for pathological gambling when treating other addictions, as this growing cormorbid addiction can compound problems when undetected.

Effects of axonal injury on astrocyte proliferation and morphology in vitro: implications for astrogliosis.

Mechanisms inducing gliosis following injury in the central nervous sy stem are poorly understood. We evaluated the effect of axonal injury on astrocyte and Schwann cell proliferation and morphology in vitro. Purified rat dorsal root ganglion neurons grown on monolayers of rat neonatal cortical astrocytes (N-ASneonatal cultures) or sciatic nerve-derived Schwann cells (N-SC cultures) were mechanically injured. Non-injured cultures served as controls. Cell proliferation near lesions was monitored by autoradiography 1,2,4, and 8 days postinjury. Axonal injury caused a significant transient increase in astrocyte proliferation immediately proximal and distal to the lesion. The lesion did not induce marked changes in the intensity of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity. However, processes from GFAP-positive cells usually arranged in random fashion in noninjured cultures were aligned perpendicularly to the cut distal to lesions. Ultrastructural analysis in lesioned N-ASneonatal cultures indicated that proximal to the lesion filament-filled astrocytes were intermingled with axons. Distal to the lesion astrocyte processes formed layers, between which an increased amount of collagen-like material appeared with time postlesion. Axons distal to the lesion degenerated by 2 days, coinciding with the early disappearance of neurofilament immunoreactivity. In noninjured and proximally in injured N-SC cultures, Schwann cells extended processes, engulfing some axons. Distal to the lesion, Schwann cells appeared more rounded and neurites remained until 4 days postinjury. Media conditioned by injured or non-injured N-ASneonatal cultures did not affect neuron-induced Schwann cell proliferation. These findings demonstrate that axonal injury and degeneration cause a transient increase in astrocyte proliferation and induce morphological changes in astrocytes consistent with the onset of gliosis.

Gambling behavior of adolescent gamblers.

An adolescent version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen was administered to 965 high school students, aged 14 to 19 years, in the city of Windsor, Ontario. Ninety percent of the adolescents were involved in gambling activities and a substantial proportion of these were engaged in underage gambling. High levels of problem gambling behaviors were found. Problem gambling behaviors were found to be related to the number of different gambling activities and the amount of money gambled. Problem gambling was defined as a score of five or more on the SOGS-RA screen utilizing a scoring method that paralleled the SOGS scoring method. Problem gambling levels were estimated to be 8.1%±1.8% of the adolescent sample. There were significant gender differences in the level of problem gambling, but no significant difference with age was found.

Psychotherapy and symptom change.

Scores of 82 distressed university students receiving psychotherapy were compared on the SCL-90-R with those of 21 distressed students waiting for treatment and those of 126 nondistressed normative students. The Posttreatment group showed significant reductions in scores indicating distress, with 36 Posttreatment men reporting lower scores on hostility and suspiciousness than their 60 normative peers.

The effects of nicotine on basal and stimulated gastric secretions in the conscious cat and in isolated guinea pig gastric mucosal cells.

Intravenous (i.v.) administration of nicotine in conscious cats significantly stimulated basal gastric acid output. The effect was completely blocked by atropine and ranitidine. Submaximally stimulated gastric acid secretion was not further increased by nicotine. In isolated guinea pig parietal cells nicotine significantly increased basal acid secretion by about 20% and potentiated the response to maximally effective concentrations of histamine but had no influence on the carbachol response. In isolated parietal cells stimulated either by nicotine, histamine or both, atropine pretreatment increased or inhibited the acid response in concentration-dependent manner. From these data, it is concluded that nicotine had direct stimulatory effects on isolated parietal cells and potentiated the histamine mediated response in the isolated cell preparation but not in the intact animal model.

Are prostaglandins involved in somatostatin mediated inhibition of gastric secretion in the cat?

The role of prostaglandins in somatostatin mediated gastric inhibitory effects has been investigated in conscious cats. The effect of somatostatin on pentagastrin-, insulin- and histamine plus bethanechol-stimulated gastric acid and pepsin secretion was determined with and without indomethacin pretreatment. Somatostatin significantly inhibited acid and pepsin secretion and this effect was not diminished by cyclo-oxygenase inhibition. It is concluded that there is no evidence that endogenous prostaglandins mediate the inhibitory effects of somatostatin on gastric acid and pepsin secretion in the cat.

Histidine decarboxylase inhibition by O-methyl-3(+)catechin and gastric acid secretion in the cat.

In the conscious cat the histidine decarboxylase inhibitor O-methyl-3(+)catechin (Zy 15029) promoted a dose-dependent atropine-sensitive increase in basal acid output. Gastric acid secretion stimulated by food or insulin at different time intervals after pretreatment with Zy 15029 was dose and time dependently diminished up to 70% whereas acid output following pentagastrin stimulation was not reduced by doses effective against the former two stimuli. Only a high dose, which due to side effects has to be claimed as not tolerable in the cat, reduced acid output by about 40%, when application of Zy 15029 and stimulation were 90 min apart. It is suggested that in the cat gastric acid response following the three different stimuli was at least in part but to a variable extent mediated by endogenous histamine. Dose-dependent side effects of Zy 15029 might have been due to histidine decarboxylase inhibition in brain and changes in histaminergic neurotransmission.

Relationship between trait anxiety and leisure time activities: a comparison of the unidimensional and multidimensional models of anxiety.

97 undergraduate students were given the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the S-R Inventory of General Trait Anxiousness, and a leisure activity inventory to test the hypothesis that the multidimensional model of anxiety could account for the variance in reported leisure activity more adequately than did the unidimensional model. Analysis showed a significant variation in overall leisure activity which correlated significantly with scores on the S-R Inventory measure of physical danger anxiety for both the 42 male and 55 female subjects. The findings which indicate support for the multidimensionaL model of anxiety are discussed and implications for future research noted.

Mathematical modeling of the head and neck response to -Gx impact accelration (minimum articulation requirements).

Data on the dynamic response of the living human head and neck to -Gx impact acceleration was analyzed. The Calspan 3-D Computer Simulator of a Motor Vehicle Crash Victim was used to provide estimates of the head and neck response to be expected for the very specific deceleration profiles simulated. Two segments connected via a pivot were used to represent the head-neck system. The monitored T1 deceleration profile was used to drive this system and the simulation head-neck response was checked for accuracy in replicating motional characteristics and trends in the response mechanism. Two head pivot locations were considered. The first was the occipital condylar point and the second was a theorized hingepoint in the head which minimized the distance from this point to the T1 anatomical coordinate system over the range of body orientations observed in the photographic data. For the two geometrical representations, a successive approximation technique was employed to analyze the resulting data. This approach initially removed all constraints to head and neck motion, and the resulting simulation results were compared to the human data. Restrictions to head and neck motion were then successively added until an adequate replication of the human data was obtained. This approach made it possible to correlate specific events, such as loading of the head-to-neck dorsiflexion limiting angle, to head deceleration profile characteristics. Results were compared to calculations obtained for eight additional subjects and proved to be in good agreement.

Mechanism of head and neck response to -Gx impact acceleration: a math modeling approach.

Mathematical modeling has attained wider acceptance in recent years. In particular, the use of computer programs to simulate the dynamic response of a human in a crash situation has become an attractive alternative to full-scale experimental testing. This paper analyzes data on the dynamic response of the living human head and neck to -Gx impact acceleration, where the motion of the subject's head and neck in the midsagittal plane was monitored with inertial instrumentation and high-speed photography for confirmation. The Calspan "3D Computer Simulator of Motor Vehicle Crash Victims" was used to predict expected responses for the deceleration pulses employed. These estimates were compared to the fully instrumented human test runs. The standard 15-segment and 14-joint representation of the occupant was modified to include two sternoclavicular joints, increasing the articulation in the upper torso. Analysis of the data indicated that muscular activity in the head and neck seemed to be evident and does influence motion of the head, even at relatively high (10-G peak, 530 G/s onset) acceleration levels. Simulation of muscular contraction, using a spring-damper arrangement, improved the results significantly. Additionally, possible limitations to head-to-neck motion, such as ligament restrictions, were also modeled.