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First Paper (first + paper)
Selected AbstractsRediscovering MDMA (ecstasy): the role of the American chemist Alexander T. ShulginADDICTION, Issue 8 2010Udo Benzenhöfer ABSTRACT Aims Alexander T. Shulgin is widely thought of as the ,father' of +/,3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). This paper re-assesses his role in the modern history of this drug. Methods We analysed systematically Shulgin's original publications on MDMA, his publications on the history of MDMA and his laboratory notebook. Results According to Shulgin's book PIHKAL (1991), he synthesized MDMA in 1965, but did not try it. In the 1960s Shulgin also synthesized MDMA-related compounds such as 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MMDA) and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDE), but this had no impact on his rediscovery of MDMA. In the mid-1970s Shulgin learned of a ,special effect' caused by MDMA, whereupon he re-synthesized it and tried it himself in September 1976, as confirmed by his laboratory notebook. In 1977 he gave MDMA to Leo Zeff PhD, who used it as an adjunct to psychotherapy and introduced it to other psychotherapists. Conclusion Shulgin was not the first to synthesize MDMA, but he played an important role in its history. It seems plausible that he was so impressed by its effects that he introduced it to psychotherapist Zeff in 1977. This, and the fact that in 1978 he published with David Nichols the first paper on the pharmacological action of MDMA in humans, explains why Shulgin is sometimes (erroneously) called the ,father' of MDMA. [source] Counting the COST: a European collaboration on the efficiency of psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with eating disordersEUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 3 2005Hans Kordy Abstract In 1993, a European collaboration on the efficiency of psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with Eating Disorders was initiated. The European Union supported it under the name COST Action B6 from 1994,2001. This unique opportunity to co-ordinate research and to exchange clinical experience eventually attracted more than 200 researchers and clinicians from 19 European countries. This is the first paper of a series of five through which we report on the general background, the organizational structure, the objectives, the design, the main findings, and specific methodological developments of COST Action B6. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source] IS EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY STRATEGIC SCIENCE?EVOLUTION, Issue 1 2007Thomas R. Meagher There is a profound need for the scientific community to be better aware of the policy context in which it operates. To address this need, Evolution has established a new Outlook feature section to include papers that explore the interface between society and evolutionary biology. This first paper in the series considers the strategic relevance of evolutionary biology. Support for scientific research in general is based on governmental or institutional expenditure that is an investment, and such investment is based on strategies designed to achieve particular outcomes, such as advance in particular areas of basic science or application. The scientific community can engage in the development of scientific strategies on a variety of levels, including workshops to explicitly develop research priorities and targeted funding initiatives to help define emerging scientific areas. Better understanding and communication of the scientific achievements of evolutionary biology, emphasizing immediate and potential societal relevance, are effective counters to challenges presented by the creationist agenda. Future papers in the Outlook feature section should assist the evolutionary biology community in achieving a better collective understanding of the societal relevance of their field. [source] Reflections on information systems practice, education and research: 10 years of the Information Systems JournalINFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL, Issue 1 2001David Avison Abstract. This paper celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the Information Systems Journal (ISJ) and the Editors reflect on the papers that have been published over that period and the changes that have occurred in the discipline of information systems. In the opening paper of ISJ, we suggested that the ,launch of a new journal in information systems prompts thought and debate concerning the state of the subject area and some contemplation of its past and future'. We discussed three areas of this ,not-yet-established discipline': practice, education and research. In this follow-up paper, we forgo our convention of ISJ editors not publishing in the Journal. We examine the issues raised in the first paper and consider what has happened in the intervening years as charted in the ISJ. The overview is necessarily selective, probably Anglocentric (with, perhaps, a slight Francophile tinge), sometimes downright opinionated, as well as over-estimating, perhaps, the contribution of one particular IS journal. [source] Global analysis of runs of annual precipitation and runoff equal to or below the median: run magnitude and severityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Murray C. Peel Abstract Fluctuations of wet and dry years have long been investigated in the climatology and hydrology literature. In this, the second of two papers investigating runs of consecutive dry years, the magnitude, also known as the intensity, and severity (length × magnitude) of dry runs are investigated. In the first paper the length of dry runs was investigated. Periods of consecutive dry years are associated with drought and the attendant physical and economic stresses that are placed on society. Run magnitudes of consecutive years equal to or below the median were analysed for 3863 precipitation and 1236 runoff stations from around the world. For both annual precipitation and runoff, run magnitude was found to be predominately related to interannual variability and to a lesser extent skewness. Run magnitude of annual runoff was observed to be greater than that for annual precipitation, due to annual runoff having a higher coefficient of variation than annual precipitation. Continental differences in run magnitude of annual runoff were observed and were consistent with continental differences in interannual variability reported previously. Annual run severity was also investigated and found to be independent of run length and strongly related to run magnitude. These findings differ from previously published work; this difference is primarily due to the methodology of comparing run metrics between stations (used in this paper) rather than at a station (previous research). The relationships between run magnitude, severity and interannual variability highlight the importance of adequately reproducing interannual variability within global climate models for future modelling of drought scenarios, as well as having economic implications for drought relief and management policy-making. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Breeding in high-elevation habitat results in shift to slower life-history strategy within a single speciesJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2009H. Bears Summary 1Elevational gradients create environmental variation that is hypothesized to promote variation in life-history strategies. We tested whether differences in life-history strategies were associated with elevation in a songbird, the dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis; Aves; A.O.U. 1998). 2We monitored birds in four replicated sites per elevation, at 2000 m a.s.l. (high elevation) and 1000 m a.s.l. (low elevation), in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. 3Over 5 years, we measured the following traits and vital rates: egg-laying schedules, morphological indicators of reproductive stage, seasonal reproductive success, indicators of competitive class (age, size, arrival time), and survival rates. 4We found two main patterns: with an increase in breeding elevation, dark-eyed juncos delayed the development of structures necessary for reproduction (e.g. cloacal protuberance in males) and reduced the duration of their reproductive period to less than half of the time used by low-elevation birds; and 5Juncos at high-elevation sites had 55,61% lower annual reproductive success and 15 to 20% higher survival rates. While adult juncos at high elevations produced fewer offspring, those offspring were in better condition. Proportions of age and size classes in high- compared to low-elevation populations were similar, suggesting that a life-history trade-off is present, rather than competition forcing inferior competitors to breed in a peripheral habitat. The apparent trade-off between reproduction and survival corresponded to a shorter period of favourable weather and available food in high- compared to low-elevation habitats. 6Thus, elevation had a strong influence on life-history characteristics of a single species over a short spatial distance, suggesting a shift in life history from a high reproductive strategy at lower elevations to a high survivor strategy at high elevations. 7This is the first paper to show a shift in avian life-history strategies along an elevational gradient (in both genders, of multiple age classes) when region (latitude) and phylogenetic histories are controlled for. [source] Identification of Lactobacillus crispatus by polymerase chain reaction targeting S-layer protein geneLETTERS IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 1 2002M. Horie Aims: ,This study aimed to develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to identify Lactobacillus crispatus . Methods and Results: ,A primer set (CbsA2F,CbsA2R) for amplifying conserved regions of S-layer genes was designed to identify Lact. crispatus and the specificity of this set was compared with that of another primer set (Cri 16SI,Cri 16SII) which has been reported as a species-specific primer set targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Among species in the Lact. acidophilus A1,A4 groups, when KOD polymerase was used for amplification, the primer set CbsA2F,CbsA2R gave PCR products with Lact. crispatus strains only. However, when Taq polymerase was used, this primer set gave products with one Lact. amylovorus strain as well as with Lact. crispatus strains. The primer set Cri 16SI,Cri 16SII gave PCR products with Lact. crispatus strains and two Lact. acidophilus strains, regardless of whether the polymerase used was KOD or Taq . Conclusions: ,A PCR targeting the S-layer gene and amplified with KOD polymerase can identify Lact. crispatus accurately and rapidly. Significance and Impact of the Study: ,To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to provide a PCR method for the specific identification of Lact. crispatus . [source] Use of structural alerts to develop rules for identifying chemical substances with skin irritation or skin corrosion potentialMOLECULAR INFORMATICS, Issue 3 2005Etje Hulzebos Abstract In this paper structural alerts for acute skin lesions were categorized as irritation or corrosion or a combination of corrosion/irritation alerts. Categorizing the alerts according to their mechanisms of skin irritation and corrosion and connecting them with physicochemical property limits characterizing their domain of applicability provides strategies to save test animals and costs. These alerts can be used for positive classification of chemicals causing skin irritation or skin corrosion according to EU and OECD guidelines. This paper is the third in the series of four papers describing practical, user-friendly and mechanism-based approaches for predicting when chemicals are likely to irritate or corrode the skin. In the first paper the mechanisms of skin irritation and corrosion were described. In the second paper the physicochemical property limit values for chemicals not causing skin irritation and corrosion were given. In the third paper, described here, structural alerts associated with chemicals causing skin irritation and corrosion were identified and characterized. In the fourth paper, the Skin Irritation Corrosion Rules Estimation Tool (SICRET) was described that allows users to classify chemicals as either not causing skin irritation and corrosion based on physicochemical property limit values or irritating or corrosive to the skin based on structural alerts. [source] Use of Physicochemical Property Limits to Develop Rules for Identifying Chemical Substances with no Skin Irritation or Corrosion PotentialMOLECULAR INFORMATICS, Issue 9 2004Ingrid Gerner Abstract This is believed to be the first paper to promote the use of rules based on (quantitative) structure-activity relationship [(Q)SAR] models for identifying chemicals that are not likely to cause a specific adverse health effect, viz., skin irritation or corrosion. The purpose of this paper is to describe limit values for specific physicochemical properties that are appropriate for identifying chemical substances that have no skin irritation or corrosion potential. These physicochemical properties include melting point, molecular weight, octanol-water partition coefficient, surface tension, vapour pressure, aqueous solubility and lipid solubility. Based on analyses of 1833 chemicals, physicochemical properties for limits were defined to determine that when a chemical's physicochemical properties were either greater or less than these limits that these chemicals would have no skin irritation or corrosion potential. To facilitate classification and labeling, the application domains of these limits were constructed to correspond with the European Union's risk phrases for chemicals classified for skin irritation/corrosion, viz., R 34, R35 or R38. This is the second paper of four companion papers. The first paper discussed mechanisms that can lead to significant skin irritation or corrosion after acute exposures to chemicals. The third paper described the application of structural alerts to identify chemical substances with skin irritation or corrosion potential. The fourth paper described the Skin Irritation Corrosion Rules Estimation Tool (SICRET), a user-friendly tool that allows non-(Q)SAR experts to identify chemical substances with skin irritation or corrosion potential based on physicochemical property limits and structural alerts. [source] The ionization of the emission-line gas in young radio galaxiesMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2009J. Holt ABSTRACT This paper is the second in a series in which we present intermediate-resolution, wide-wavelength coverage spectra for a complete sample of 14 compact radio sources, taken with the aim of investigating the impact of the nuclear activity on the circumnuclear interstellar medium (ISM) in the early stages of radio source evolution. In the first paper (Holt, Tadhunter & Morganti), we presented the kinematic results from the nuclear emission-line modelling and reported fast outflows in the circumnuclear gas. In this paper, we use the line fluxes to investigate the physical conditions and dominant ionization mechanisms of the emission-line gas. We find evidence for large electron densities and high reddening in the nuclear regions, particularly in the broader, blueshifted components. These results are consistent with the idea that the young, recently triggered radio sources still reside in dense and dusty cocoons deposited by the recent activity triggering event (merger/interaction). In addition, we find that the quiescent nuclear and extended narrow components are consistent with active galactic nucleus (AGN) photoionization, split between simple-slab AGN photoionization and mixed-medium photoionization models. For the nuclear broader and shifted components, the results are less clear. Whilst there are suggestions that the broader components may be closer to shock plus precursor models on the diagnostic diagrams, and that the electron temperatures and densities are high, we are unable to unambiguously distinguish the dominant ionization mechanism using the optical emission-line ratios. This is surprising given the strong evidence for jet,cloud interactions (broad emission lines, large outflow velocities and strong radio-optical alignments), which favours the idea that the warm gas has been accelerated in shocks driven by the radio lobes expanding through a dense cocoon of gas deposited during the triggering event. [source] The SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey , II.MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2001m data: evidence for cold dust in bright IRAS galaxies This is the second in a series of papers presenting results from the SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey. In our first paper we provided 850-,m flux densities for 104 galaxies selected from the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample and we found that the 60-, 100-,m (IRAS) and 850-,m (SCUBA) fluxes could be adequately fitted by emission from dust at a single temperature. In this paper we present 450-,m data for the galaxies. With the new data, the spectral energy distributions of the galaxies can no longer be fitted with an isothermal dust model , two temperature components are now required. Using our 450-,m data and fluxes from the literature, we find that the 450/850-,m flux ratio for the galaxies is remarkably constant, and this holds from objects in which the star formation rate is similar to our own Galaxy, to ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) such as Arp 220. The only possible explanation for this is if the dust emissivity index for all of the galaxies is ,2 and the cold dust component has a similar temperature in all galaxies . The 60-,m luminosities of the galaxies were found to depend on both the dust mass and the relative amount of energy in the warm component, with a tendency for the temperature effects to dominate at the highest L60. The dust masses estimated using the new temperatures are higher by a factor of ,2 than those determined previously using a single temperature. This brings the gas-to-dust ratios of the IRAS galaxies into agreement with those of the Milky Way and other spiral galaxies which have been intensively studied in the submm. [source] The pulsar synchrotron: coherent radio emissionMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: LETTERS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009I. Contopoulos ABSTRACT We propose a simple physical picture for the generation of coherent radio emission in the axisymmetric pulsar magnetosphere that is quite different from the canonical paradigm of radio emission coming from the magnetic polar caps. In this first paper, we consider only the axisymmetric case of an aligned rotator. Our picture capitalizes on an important element of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) representation of the magnetosphere, namely the separatrix between the corotating closed-line region (the ,dead zone') and the open-field lines that originate in the polar caps. Along the separatrix flows the return current that corresponds to the main magnetospheric electric current emanating from the polar caps. Across the separatrix, both the toroidal and poloidal components of the magnetic field change discontinuously. The poloidal component discontinuity requires the presence of a significant annular electric current which has up to now been unaccounted for. We estimate the position and thickness of this annular current at the tip of the closed line region, and show that it consists of electrons (positrons) corotating with Lorentz factors on the order of 105, emitting incoherent synchrotron radiation that peaks in the hard X-rays. These particles stay in the region of highest annular current close to the equator for a path-length of the order of 1 m. We propose that, at wavelengths comparable to that path-length, the particles emit coherent radiation, with radiated power proportional to N2, where N is the population of particles in the above path-length. We calculate the total radio power in this wavelength regime and its scaling with pulsar period and stellar magnetic field and show that it is consistent with estimates of radio luminosity based on observations. [source] Qualitative methodologies II: a brief guide to applying interpretative phenomenological analysis in musculoskeletal careMUSCULOSKELETAL CARE, Issue 2 2008Elizabeth D. Hale BA, MSc CPsychol Abstract In this paper, we conclude our two-part series discussing how readers of Musculoskeletal Care might employ qualitative methods. In the first paper of the series, we focused upon some issues surrounding the distinctions and similarities between qualitative and quantitative approaches, and outlined the origins, typology and limitations of qualitative methods. We introduced one particular qualitative research process which readers may find useful: interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). In this paper, we provide a guide to applying IPA via the design of an interview, a methodology with which it is particularly suited. We discuss some specific interview and interviewing processes and also some necessary ethical issues, including personal protection and participant well-being. We also discuss how to proceed through analysis while considering questions about the generalizability, reliability, validity and application of results. Finally, we question the overall direction of qualitative research, which we hope will fuel debate among readers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Presence of Lythrum salicaria enhances the bodyguard effects of the parasitoid Asecodes mento for Filipendula ulmariaOIKOS, Issue 3 2007Johan A. Stenberg This paper reports significant effects of a co-occurring plant species (Lythrum salicaria, Lythraceae) on the reproductive success of the perennial herb Filipendula ulmaria (Rosaceae). We studied 15 Filipendula populations in the Skeppsvik Archipelago; seven of which were monospecific and eight mixed with Lythrum. All the Filipendula populations studied harbored the chrysomelid beetle Galerucella tenella, and in 2005 seed set was strongly negatively correlated with the percentage leaf area consumed. Moreover, data from 2004 showed that 25,100% of the G. tenella larvae were parasitized by the hymenopteran parasitoid Asecodes mento, and we found a strong cascading top-down effect of parasitism in 2004 on Filipendula seed set in 2005. In 2004, parasitism (at the population level) was negatively correlated with percentage leaf area consumed and positively correlated with seed set in 2005. The parasitoid Asecodes also parasitized G. calmariensis, which is monophagous on Lythrum. Mixed populations of Filipendula and Lythrum supported higher densities of their shared ,bodyguard'Asecodes. Further, Y-tube bioassays showed that floriferous Filipendula attracted more than twice as many gravid Asecodes females as floriferous Lythrum. Taken together, these findings suggest that coexistence of the two plants results in ,associational resistance' for Filipendula and ,associational susceptibility' for Lythrum. This scenario was supported for Filipendula since, for this species, we found lower leaf consumption followed by higher seed production in mixed than in monospecific populations. Considered together, our results show that bodyguards may increase the reproductive fitness of a perennial herb, and that the strength of the cascading ,bodyguard' effect can be strongly influenced by co-occurring plants through ,apparent competition'. This is the first paper to demonstrate that, in the wild, plant species may use odors to compete for ,bodyguards', thereby causing asymmetrical ,apparent competition' between the herbivores involved. Our data emphasize the need to consider community factors in studies of trophic interactions. [source] Industrial solidification processes in polybutene-1.POLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 1 2003Part I, quiescent melts In the first paper of this series the principles for solidification of crystallizable polymers under heat transfer conditions are discussed for the case of the absence of flow. For industrial polymers, which, in general, are forced to crystallize at large undercoolings, the pertinent kinetic data are extremely rare. In the present paper the growth speeds of spherulites and the number of nuclei per unit volume are presented as functions of temperature for two industrial polybutene-1 grades. [source] TRUE WORLD INCOME DISTRIBUTION, 1988 AND 1993: FIRST CALCULATION BASED ON HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS ALONETHE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 476 2002Branko Milanovic The paper derives world income or expenditure distribution of individuals for 1988 and 1993. It is the first paper to calculate world distribution for individuals based entirely on household surveys from 91 countries, and adjusted for differences in purchasing power parity between countries. Measured by the Gini index, inequality increased from 63 in 1988 to 66 in 1993. The increase was driven more by differences in mean incomes between countries than by inequalities within countries. The most important contributors were rising urban-rural differences in China, and slow growth of rural incomes in South Asia compared to several large developed economies. [source] MIXED DUOPOLY, PRIVATIZATION AND SUBSIDIZATION IN AN ENDOGENOUS TIMING FRAMEWORK,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 1 2010YOSHIHIRO TOMARU This is the first paper to consider the endogenous timing in mixed duopoly with subsidization. Pal (Economics Letters, Vol. 61 (1998), pp. 181,185) shows that private leadership is always an equilibrium outcome in a mixed duopoly without any subsidy. By including the production subsidy, we observe that private leadership may disappear from equilibrium and that Cournot and public leadership become the likely equilibrium outcomes. Furthermore, we find that when firms have identical technologies the first-best allocation can be attained by the same subsidy before and after privatization even though firms' production timings are endogenized. Finally, we examine privatization with lobbying activities and show that such privatization leads to the deterioration of social welfare. [source] Representation of 3D heterogeneous cloud fields using copulas: Theory for water cloudsTHE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 636 2008Peter M. Norris Abstract It is shown that a general representation of GCM column cloud fraction within probability density function (PDF)-based statistical cloud parametrizations can be obtained using statistical functions called copulas that encapsulate the dependence structure of rank statistics in a multivariate system. Using this theory, a new Gaussian copula formulation of GCM cloud overlap is obtained. The copula approach provides complete flexibility in the choice of the marginal PDF of each layer's moisture and temperature, and, compared with earlier approaches, including the ,generalized overlap' approach, allows a far more general specification of the correlation between any pair of layers. It also allows easy addition of new layer variables, such as temperature, into the modelled grid-column statistics. As a preliminary test of this formulation, its ability to statistically describe a cloud-resolving model simulation of a complex multi-layer case-study, including both large-scale and convective clouds, is examined. The Gaussian copula cloud fraction is found to be significantly less biased than other common cloud overlap methods for this case-study. Estimates of several nonlinear quantities are also improved with the Gaussian copula model: the variance of condensed water path and the fluxes of solar and thermal radiation at atmospheric column boundaries. This first paper, though limited to the simpler case of water clouds, addresses subgrid-scale variability in both moisture and temperature. This work is envisaged as a first step towards developing a generalized statistical framework for GCM cloud parametrization and for assimilating statistical information from high-resolution satellite observations into GCMs and global analyses. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Normal Development of the Muscular Region of the Interventricular Septum.ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 3 2009Summary In a first paper, we concluded that the muscular region of the interventricular septum is developed by the trabecular branches and showed evidence that the developing interventricular septum elongates in a direction opposite to that of atria. Nevertheless, to date the literature is lacking precise information on the importance of myocardial proliferation not only in this process but also in the morphogenesis of the ventricular cavities. The aim of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of high-intensity foci of cycling myocytes in the ventricular region of the heart of chicken embryos during cardiac septation. Histological studies, detection of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen by light and confocal microscopy and flow cytometric analysis were carried out. The results corroborate that the developing interventricular septum grows in a direction opposite to that of atria. A remoulding mechanism that results in fenestrated trabecular sheets and trabecular branching is discussed. Our findings allowed us to summarize the normal morphogenesis of the muscular region of the interventricular septum in a way that is different from that suggested by other researchers. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||