A B S T R A C T The relationship between the dose of intravenously administered streptozotocin (a N-nitroso derivative of glucosamine) and the diabetogenic response has been explored by use of the following indices of diabetogenic action: serum glucose, urine volume, and glycosuria, ketonuria, serum immunoreactive insulin (IRI), and pancreatic IRI content. Diabetogenic activity could be demonstrated between the doses of 25 and 100 mg/kg, all indices used showing some degree of correlation with the dose administered. Ketonuria was only seen with the largest dose, 100 mg/kg. The most striking and precise correlation was that between the dose and the pancreatic IRI content 24 hr after administration of the drug, and it is suggested that this represents a convenient test system either for both related and unrelated beta cytotoxic compounds or for screening for modifying agents or antidiabetic substances of a novel type. Ability to produce graded depletion of pancreatic IRI storage capacity led to an analysis of the relationship between pancreatic IRI content and deranged carbohydrate metabolism. Abnormal glucose tolerance and insulin response were seen when pancreatic IRI was depleted by about one-third, while fasting hyperglycemia and gross glycosuria occurred when the depletion had reached twothirds and three-quarters, respectively. The mild yet persistent anomaly produced by the lowest effective streptozotocin dose, 25 mg/kg, exhibits characteristics resembling the state of chemical diabetes in humans and might thus warrant further study as a possible model. Finally, the loss of the diabetogenic action of streptozotocin by pretreatment with nicotinamide was confirmed and was shown to be a function of the relative doses of nicotinamide and streptozotocin and of the interval between injections.

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(today) SrRuO3 is a metallic ferromagnet. Its electrical resistivity is reported for temperatures up to 1000K; its Hall coefficient for temperatures up to 300K; its specific heat for temperatures up to 230K. The energy bands have been calculated by self-consistent spin-density functional theory, which finds a ferromagnetic ordered moment of 1.45µB per Ru atom. The measured linear specific heat coefficient γ is 30mJ/mole, which exceeds the theoretical value by a factor of 3.7. A transport mean free path at room temperature of ≈ 10Å is found. The resistivity increases nearly linearly with temperature to 1000K in spite of such a short mean free path that resistivity saturation would be expected. The Hall coefficient is small and positive above the Curie temperature, and exhibits both a low-field and a high-field anomalous behavior below the Curie temperature.65.40. Em,75.40.Cx,71.25.Pi,72.15.Eb,72.15.Gd

Abstract. -We show that the specific heat of the superconductor MgB2 in zero field, for which significant non-BCS features have been reported, can be fitted, essentially within experimental error, over the entire range of temperature to Tc by a phenomenological two-gap model. The resulting gap parameters agree with previous determinations from band-structure calculations, and from various spectroscopic experiments. The determination from specific heat, a bulk property, shows that the presence of two superconducting gaps in MgB2 is a volume effect.The discovery of superconductivity in MgB 2 [1] raised the questions of its nature and the origin of its relatively high transition temperature T c ∼ 40 K. Specific heat (C) is a powerful tool to aid in answering these questions and, more generally, to provide information on the thermodynamics of the transition. Several groups have reported such measurements on MgB 2 [2-10]. It is now established that C significantly deviates from the standard BCS behaviour. First, a large excess in C is observed in the vicinity of T c /4 [2-6]. Second, an exponential fit of C(T ) in the region T ≪ T c indicates a gap ratio 2∆ 0 /k B T c only onequarter to one-third of the isotropic BCS value [3,4,6]. This excess was interpreted as a possible sign of a second superconducting gap, whose existence is predicted by band-structure calculations [11][12][13]. The specific heat near T c is puzzling also with the jump ∆C at T c consistently smaller than the BCS weak-coupling lower bound. In this Letter, we present an empirical two-gap model that fits the experimental data over the whole range of temperature to T c . This model resolves the apparent contradiction between different analyses of the specific heat, and relevant parameters show good agreement with determinations based on independent experiments.We focus on two sets of specific-heat data obtained independently in two different laboratories. Experimental methods and results have been described elsewhere [2,3,5,6]. The unusual excess specific heat at ∼ T c /4, which denotes the presence of excitations within the c EDP Sciences

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SummaryReliable prediction of adverse outcomes in acute pulmonary embolism may help choose between in-hospital and ambulatory treatment. We aimed to identify predictors of adverse events in patients with pulmonary embolism and to generate a simple risk score for use in clinical settings. We prospectively followed 296 consecutive patients with pulmonary embolism admitted through the emergency ward. Logistic regression was used to predict death, recurrent thromboembolic event, or major bleeding at 3 months. Thirty patients (10.1%) had one or more adverse events during the 3-month follow-up period: 25 patients (8.4%) died, thromboembolic events recurred in 10 patients (3.4%), and major bleeding occurred in 5 patients (1.7%). Factors associated with an adverse outcome in multivariate analysis were cancer, heart failure, previous deep vein thrombosis, systolic blood pressure <100 mmHg, arterial PaO2 <8 kPa, and presence of deep vein thrombosis on ultrasound. A risk score was calculated by adding 2 points for cancer and hypotension, and 1 point each for the other predictors. A score of 2 best identified patients at risk of an adverse outcome in a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Of 180 low-risk patients (67.2%) (score ≤2), only 4 experienced an adverse outcome (2.2%), compared to 23 (26.1%) of 88 high-risk patients (score ≥3). A simple risk score based on easily available variables can accurately identify patients with pulmonary embolism at low risk of an adverse outcome. Such a score may be useful for selecting patients with pulmonary embolism eligible for outpatient care.

The plasma level of D-dimer, a fibrin degradation product (FDP), is nearly always increased in the presence of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Hence, a normal D-dimer level (below a cutoff value of 500 micrograms/L by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) may allow the exclusion of PE. To assess the negative predictive value of a D-dimer concentration below 500 micrograms/L in outpatients with suspected PE, and the safety of withholding anticoagulant treatment from such patients, we performed D-dimer assays, lower limb venous compression ultrasonography, and lung scans in 671 consecutive outpatients presenting in the Emergency Center of the Geneva University Hospital with suspected PE. Pulmonary angiography was reserved for patients with an inconclusive noninvasive workup. Patients with a normal D-dimer concentration were discharged without anticoagulant treatment and followed for 3 mo. The prevalence of PE was 29%, and D-dimer (using a cutoff of 500 micrograms/L) had a diagnostic sensitivity for PE of 99.5%. Overall diagnostic specificity of D-dimer was 41%, but it was lower among older patients. Of the 198 patients with a D-dimer concentration below the cutoff value, 196 were free of PE, one had a PE, and one had incomplete information because of loss to follow-up. Thus, the negative predictive value of D-dimer concentration fell between 197 of 198 and 196 of 198 cases of PE (99% [95% CI: 96.4 to 99.9]). Using a cutoff value of 4,000 micrograms/L, the overall specificity of D-dimer concentration for PE was 93.1%. In conclusion, a plasma D-dimer concentration below 500 micrograms/L allows the exclusion of PE in 29% of outpatients suspected of having PE. Withholding anticoagulation from such patients is associated with a conservative 1% risk of thromboembolic events during follow-up.

Helical CT should not be used alone for suspected pulmonary embolism but could replace angiography in combined strategies that include ultrasonography and lung scanning.