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Biomedical subjects

B L Welch

Publications and source records attributed to B L Welch.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1980

Nuclear power risks: challenge to the credibility of science.

For a quarter of a century the Federal Government and the nuclear industry have deliberately deceived the American public about the risks of nuclear power. Facts have been systematically withheld, distorted, and obscured, and calculations have been deliberately biased in order to present nuclear power in an unrealistically favorable light. Most persistent and flagrant have been: (a) attempts to "normalize" public perception of nuclear accident casualties with those of more familiar accidents by emphasizing only acute fatalities and ignoring or downplaying the major effects of nuclear accidents, namely, health impairment and death years delayed; and (b) the cloaking of the objectively undocumentable faith of the atomic energy establishment that a nuclear accident is extremely unlikely in a smokescreen of invalid, pseudoquantitative statistical probabilities in order to convince the public that the chance of an accident is negligible. Prime examples of these abuses are found in the Rasmussen report on nuclear reactor safety and in its representation to the public. The deceptive practices used in promoting nuclear power have seriously shaken public faith in government, technology, and science. The scientific community has a special responsibility to minimize such future political abuses of science. For those who were responsible for the deliberate breeches of public trust which resulted in this loss of faith, mere professional disdain will not suffice. They should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Ethics↗
PubMed1974

Norepinephrine uptake into cerebral cortical synaptosomes after one fight or electroconvulsive shock.

Membrane affinity for the neurotransmitter norepinephrine is rapidly but reversibly decreased in nerve terminals of the cerebral cortex by intense nervous stimulation. This should adaptively facilitate alerting during acute emergency and stress. The Michaelis constant (K(m)) for the high-affinity active uptake of norepinephrine into crude synaptosome-rich homogenates of the cerebral cortices of mice was increased 68 percent after 15 minutes of intense fighting and 110 percent 5 minutes after a single electroconvulsive shock. These changes were no longer evident 18 to 20 hours later.

Aggression↗
PubMed1973

Catecholamine uptake in cerebral cortex: adaptive change induced by fighting.

Kinetics of the catecholainine uptake process in brain were altered by fighting. Significant increases in the apparent Michaelis constant (Km) for the uptake of norepinephrine into cerebral cortical homnogenates and significant increases in the inhibition constant (Ki) for d-amphetamnine inhibition of this uptake occurred in group-caged mice living under chronic attack from aggressive cage mates. Also, significant increases in the apparent Km and maximum velocity (Vmax) for norepinephrine uptake were observed 18 to 20 hours after the last of a series of short intense daily fights between male mice previously made aggressive by long-term individual caging. These results suggest that the natural stress of fighting leads to (i) lowered affinity for reuptake of norepinephrine into nerve endings of the cerebral cortex, (ii) an increase in the number of uptake sites, and (iii) lowered affinity for d-amphetamine.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1972

Adaptation of the adrenal medulla: sustained increase in choline acetyltransferase by psychosocial stimulation.

Sustained increases were produced in adrenal choline acetyltransferase of individually caged mice by placing them into groups for 10 or 15 minutes daily for 7 to 10 days. They were left undisturbed in their individual cages for the remainder of each day. As in previous experiments of similar design, adrenal catecholamines and adrenal weight were also increased, although body weight was not affected.

Acetyltransferases↗