A total of four Martian samples, one surface and one subsurface sample at each of the two Viking landing sites, Chryse Planitia and Utopia Planitia, have been analyzed for organic compounds by a gas chromatograph‐mass spectrometer. In none of these experiments could organic material of Martian origin be detected at detection limits generally of the order of parts per billion and for a few substances closer to parts per million. The evolution of water and carbon dioxide, but not of other inorganic gases, was observed upon heating the sample to temperatures of up to 500°C. The absence of organic compounds seems to preclude their production on the planet at rates that exceed the rate of their destruction. It also makes it unlikely that living systems that behave in a manner similar to terrestrial biota exist, at least at the two Viking landing sites.

Two surface samples collected from the Chryse Planitia region of Mars were heated to temperatures up to 500 degrees C, and the volatiles that they evolved were analyzed with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Only water and carbon dioxide were detected. This implies that organic compounds have not accumulated to the extent that individual components could be detected at levels of a few parts in 10(9) by weight in our samples. Proposed mechanisms for the accumulation and destruction of organic compounds are discussed in the light of this limit.

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of self-reports of symptom intensity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and factors that might influence recall of that intensity.Thirty COPD (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) 36¡17% predicted) subjects recorded their dyspnoea and fatigue intensity scores on a 0-10 scale for 14 consecutive days. On the fourteenth day, subjects recalled their average, greatest and least symptom intensity for the previous 14 days. General cognitive function, spirometry, and oxygenation were also measured.No significant differences were found between actual and recalled scores for dyspnoea or fatigue. General cognitive function, measured by the Mini Mental State Exam, correlated with the greatest and least dyspnoea and average fatigue difference scores (recall-actual) and contributed to the variance in the average and least dyspnoea recalled scores. The greatest contributor to the variance in the recall scores of both symptoms was the symptom intensity level on the day of recall.These results highlight the importance of current levels of symptom intensity and cognitive function when appraising symptoms in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

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Self-management offers a way of helping people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to play an active role in managing their condition. Barlow, Wright, Sheasby, Turner, and Hainsworth have defined self-management as the "individual's ability to manage the symptoms, treatment, physical and psychosocial consequences and life style changes inherent in living with a chronic condition." Although commonly used in other chronic health conditions, there has been relatively little exploration of the role of self-management in dementia or MCI. This review aimed to identify group-based psychosocial interventions for people with dementia or MCI that incorporate significant elements of self-management. Fifteen interventions were included in the review: 12 for people with dementia and 3 for participants with MCI. In both the dementia and MCI interventions, the most commonly included self-management components were information, communication, and social support, and skills training. The review findings indicate that components of self-management have been incorporated into group-based interventions for people with dementia and MCI. Further studies are needed to address the methodological limitations of the included studies and to determine the effectiveness of self-management interventions with these populations.

By combining equations for salt concentration by water removal from porous bodies with those for freezing point depression in normal solutions, equations are developed for calculating freezing point depression shifts due to the gradual removal of water upon freezing in porous bodies. The same equations can be used for the calculation of shifts in the osmotic potential of the water in drying porous bodies by using a simple conversion factor. Graphs relating the remaining water content to the freezing point shift for various initial soluble salt contents are given. Good agreement is found between the measured freezing point depression shifts for a silty clay soil treated with three concentrations of sodium chloride and with dimethyl sulfoxide at various contents of unfrozen water and the calculated values. The order of magnitude of the shifts expected in various natural conditions is discussed.

Self-management interventions are increasingly offered to people with chronic health conditions. However, there has been limited exploration of how applicable such an approach is in early stage dementia. In this study we explored the views of people with dementia and family caregivers on the use of self-management in dementia. We conducted semistructured interviews with 13 people with early stage dementia and 11 caregivers. We analyzed transcripts using thematic analysis. We found eight themes in the analysis, and they indicated that self-management occurs in the context of peoples' family and social relationships as well as relationships with professional services. Six of the themes involved barriers to and facilitators of self-management. It is evident from these findings that people with dementia and caregivers use self-management techniques. Their use of such techniques could be enhanced by the development of interventions designed to help people with dementia to develop their self-management skills.

A clay‐water paste was compressed between a porous filter and a column of mercury and, by means of capillaries, the change in volume of the paste and the volume of water forced through the filter were observed simultaneously. From these observations a plot was made of the volume of the clay‐water paste against the weight of water in the paste. The slope of the line at any water content is the reciprocal of the density of the last increment of water. By this method, it was found that the density decreased continuously as the clay surface was approached. At distances of about 10Å, the densities of the water on lithium, sodium, and potassium bentonites were 0.975, 0.972 and 0.981, respectively. Thus, the adsorbed water is less dense than free water.