Characterization of blood drawn rapidly for use in blood volume expansion studies: An animal model for simulated weightlessness

It was demonstrated that up to 8ml of blood can be drawn from donar rats without significantly increasing volume and stress sensitive hormones, and thus can be used for volume expansion studies. Infusion of whole blood allows more physiological changes that can be seen with volume expansion by saline or other ionic solutions. The infusion of whole blood to induce hypervolemia may provide an improved model to study the fluid balance and control mechanisms operative in weightlessness. Blood samples were drawn as quickly as possible from femoral artery catheters chronically implanted in Sprague Dawley rats and analyzed for hematocrit, plasma sodium, potassium, osmolality, corticosterone, epinepherine, norepinephrine, and vasopressin. The levels were found to be comparable to those of normal rats

Using Diffusion of Innovation Theory to Help Predict the Adoption of New Technologies in Retailing

New technologies are constantly being tested by retailers to determine their applicability to business operations. This paper examines diffusion of innovation theory and its applicability to assisting retailers in making decisions about the implementation of these new technologies. This paper concentrates on one form of biometric technology that is currently being tested by several retailers—fingerprint authentication at point-of-sale. The purpose of the paper is to identify components and processes, based on diffusion of innovation theory, that could be tested to better determine how consumers will react to the introduction and implementation of new technologies in retail stores

Growth, Food Habits, and the Relative Effectiveness of Stocking Rainbow Trout (Salmo gairdneri) in South-Central South Dakota

The effectiveness of stocking rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) in 47 selected stock ponds in south-central South Dakota was analyzed in 1977 and 1978. Rainbow trout were captured in 31 (66.0%) ponds during the study. Twenty-five of the 31 ponds (80.6%) appeared to have excellent rainbow trout populations. Rainbow trout stocked in ponds with a resident largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) population had poor survival. The growth rates and condition factors for 93 and 463 rainbow trout in 1977 and 1978, respectively, were excellent. The average total length for age-groups I and II rainbow trout in 1977 was 195 and 224 mm, respectively. The values for age-groups I, II, III, and V rainbow trout in 1978 were 184, 290, 366, and 499 mm, respectively. The average coefficient of condition value for all rainbow trout in 1977 was 1.04 and 1.07 for all trout in 1978. Stomachs were removed from 463 rainbow trout in 1978. Hemipterans and gastropods were the dominant food organisms eaten. Other organisms frequently consumed were coleopterans, dipterans, odonates, and cyprinids. Odonates and cyprinids were more frequently consumed by larger trout. The maximum surface temperatures recorded were 26.0 C in 1977 and 28.5 C in 1978. All ponds contained water with temperatures and dissolved oxygen levels within the reported tolerance ranges of rainbow trout. Several ponds, however, contained marginal levels and may have been responsible for our failure to capture rainbow trout in 16 ponds

Warfare, Fiscal Capacity, and Performance

We exploit differences in casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to estimate the impact of fiscal capacity on economic performance. In the past, states fought different amounts of external conflicts, of various lengths and magnitudes. To raise the revenues to wage wars, states made fiscal innovations, which persisted and helped to shape current fiscal institutions. Economic historians claim that greater fiscal capacity was the key long-run institutional change brought about by historical conflicts. Using casualties sustained in pre-modern wars to instrument for current fiscal institutions, we estimate substantial impacts of fiscal capacity on GDP per worker. The results are robust to a broad range of specifications, controls, and sub-samples

Plastic Surgery Innovation Through War, Disaster and Pandemic

Introduction and Objectives: Mass casualties from modern warfare in World War I and advancements in medicine resulted in survivors with deformities. The field of Plastic Surgery developed from a need to reconstruct soft tissue injuries in these soldiers. Wars and disasters provide unique situations which push the development of new techniques that impact the field. The objective of this work was to identify innovations in plastic surgery that emerged from disasters.    Project Methods: The PubMed and Ovid databases were searched for articles documenting origination of plastic surgery ideas during a disaster with the terms “disaster”, “war”, “plastic”, “burn”, “terror”, and/or “novel”. Types of disasters considered include: war, terrorism, accident and natural disaster. Articles were included if they discussed novel therapies published emerging from a disaster.    Results: Twenty-one articles meeting inclusion criteria. Eleven papers described innovations during war including use of k-wires in hand fractures, gender affirmation surgery, delayed wound closure, cleft lip repair, vascular repair of acute trauma, sulfamylon antibiotics, and portable vacuum-assisted-closure (VAC) devices. Two articles resulted in surgical staff collaboration modeling and rapid recruitment from terrorist attacks. Five manuscripts defined accidents that brought about ideas of cultured epithelial autografts, VAC for burns, and targeted muscle reinnervation to decrease chronic pain in amputees. Natural disasters that caused change were depicted in three articles discussing adequate burn treatments for resource poor areas and using telemedicine for outpatient care and academic meetings.    Conclusions and Potential Impact: The field of Plastic Surgery continues to advance from innovations developed during disasters. Our study found war resulted in the greatest novel advancements. Terrorism and natural disasters have emerged as sparking innovation during the last few decades. Physicians should be encouraged to look for opportunities of innovation using their ingenuity when faced with disaster. What progress will COVID-19 bring?&nbsp

Fiscal Centralization, Limited Government, and Public Revenues in Europe, 1650-1913

Old Regime polities typically suffered from fiscal fragmentation and absolutist rule. By the start of World War I, however, many such countries had centralized institutions and limited government. This article uses a new panel data set to perform a statistical analysis of political regimes and public revenues in Europe from 1650 to 1913. Panel regressions indicate that centralized and limited regimes were associated with significantly higher revenues than fragmented and absolutist ones. Structural break tests also suggest close relationships between major turning points in revenue series and political transformations

MSH2 missense mutations alter cisplatin cytotoxicity and promote cisplatin-induced genome instability

Defects in the mismatch repair protein MSH2 cause tolerance to DNA damage. We report how cancer-derived and polymorphic MSH2 missense mutations affect cisplatin cytotoxicity. The chemotolerance phenotype was compared with the mutator phenotype in a yeast model system. MSH2 missense mutations display a strikingly different effect on cell death and genome instability. A mutator phenotype does not predict chemotolerance or vice versa. MSH2 mutations that were identified in tumors (Y109C) or as genetic variations (L402F) promote tolerance to cisplatin, but leave the initial mutation rate of cells unaltered. A secondary increase in the mutation rate is observed after cisplatin exposure in these strains. The mutation spectrum of cisplatin-resistant mutators identifies persistent cisplatin adduction as the cause for this acquired genome instability. Our results demonstrate that MSH2 missense mutations that were identified in tumors or as polymorphic variations can cause increased cisplatin tolerance independent of an initial mutator phenotype. Cisplatin exposure promotes drug-induced genome instability. From a mechanistical standpoint, these data demonstrate functional separation between MSH2-dependent cisplatin cytotoxicity and repair. From a clinical standpoint, these data provide valuable information on the consequences of point mutations for the success of chemotherapy and the risk for secondary carcinogenesis