cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methylphenidate and pemoline do not cause depletion of rat brain monoamine markers similar to that observed with methamphetamine.

Abstract Methyl-phenidate (Ritalin) and pemoline (Cylert) are central nervous system stimulants which are widely prescribed for attention deficit and other psychiatric disorders. Several other related stimulants, including amphetamine and methamphetamine, have been shown to cause long lasting decreases in monoamine markers in rat brain, characteristic of axonal degeneration. To assess the neurotoxic potential of methylphenidate and pemoline, we compared the effects of multiple injections (sc, bid for up to 4 days) of methylphenidate (21 and 50 mg/kg) and pemoline (20 and 70 mg/kg) with methamphetamine (5 and 15 mg/kg) on rat brain norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin levels and transport sites. While decreases were observed in all brain monoamine markers measured in rats treated with methamphetamine, no changes were observed in animals treated with methylphenidate as compared to saline-treated controls. Pemoline failed to induce significant changes in the level of monoamine transport sites; however, a wide array of changes were observed in the levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, dopamine, and norepinephrine in various brain areas after a 3-day treatment regimen with a high dose (70 mg/kg) of pemoline. The lack of changes in monoamine transport sites following the repeated administration of high doses of methylphenidate and pemoline suggests that these drugs do not affect axonal integrity. However, the pattern of changes observed in the levels of monoamines after pemoline treatment may have relevance to the self-injurious behavior seen in these animals.
Stimulation of bile acid independent bile flow with bromo‐cyclic guanosine monophosphate

The second messenger, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), mediates the actions of nitric oxide, natriuretic peptides, and microbial toxins on cellular contractility and electrolyte movement. Because both hepatocellular contractility and electrolyte secretion participate in bile formation, we investigated the actions of cGMP on this process in intact liver. In rat liver perfused with 8-bromo-cyclic GMP (bcGMP) at 0.5 and 3 micromol/min, bile flow increased by 5% and 31%, respectively. The biliary excretion of the bile acid, taurocholate ([3H]-labeled; 1 micromol/min) and of the organic anion, bromosulfophthalein ([35S]-labeled; tracer dose), was unchanged. The paracellular and transcytotic pathways of biliary excretion, assessed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP), were unaffected. BcGMP was concentratively secreted into bile and the accompanying 30% increase in the biliary clearance of erythritol suggested that the choleresis was primarily osmotic in nature. Unlike cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which stimulates bile acid dependent bile flow and transcytosis, bcGMP increased bile acid independent bile flow mainly as a result of its concentrative biliary secretion.
Photophysics of 9,10-Anthracenediol and a Bifunctional Sacrificial Template in Solution and Xerogels:

Site selectively templated and tagged xerogels (SSTTX) represent a new sensing platform. Although this platform has several attractive features, the template formation process is not fully understood. To address this issue we have explored the photophysics of two model compounds (9,10-anthracenediol and a bifunctional sacrificial template (BST)) when dissolved in solution and when sequestered within a xerogel. The solution experiments show that the carbamate tethers on the BST (which are eventually cleaved to form the analyte responsive sites that make up the SSTTX) do not alter the anthracene residue's intrinsic photophysics. In contrast, 9,10-anthracenediol and BST molecules sequestered within a xerogel sense and report from a distribution of microenvironments. The distribution mean values are very similar, but the variance is statistically greater for the BST-doped xerogel in comparison to the 9,10-anthracenediol-doped xerogel. The most likely causes of this behavior are heterogeneity and electron and energy transfer processes that are controlled by differences in the position/orientation of the anthracene moiety at the pore surface in the Class I (9,10-anthracenediol) and Class II (BST) xerogels. These results also suggest that the initial template sites produced during the SSTTX formation process are not discrete; they are intrinsically more diverse (maybe 30%) in comparison to the types of template sites created by traditional molecular imprinting strategies. However, our previously reported SSTTX binding studies do not reveal any evidence for a distribution of analyte-to-SSTTX binding. This apparently anomalous behavior may result because the relative standard deviation of the binding process is intrinsically small and/or one or more of the steps that follow template site formation attenuate the final template site distribution within the SSTTX.
Value dimensions in American counseling: A Taiwanese–American comparison.

This paper is a discussion of prevailing American value dimensions in counseling theory and practice in general and a comparison of Taiwanese-Chinese and American counseling value dimensions in particular. Whereas most studies on cross-cultural issues to date have focused on American majority-minority value conflicts, this paper discusses a new level of value conflict, that between cultures, between nations.
Incident Atrial Fibrillation Among Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites

Background—Because the association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and race has only been rigorously compared in population-based studies that dichotomized participants as white or black, it is unclear whether white race confers elevated AF risk or black race affords AF protection. Methods and Results—The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project was used to identify patients receiving hospital-based care in California between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2009. The association between race and incident AF was examined using Cox proportional hazards models. Interaction analyses were performed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the race-AF association. Among 13 967 949 patients, 375 318 incident AF episodes were observed over a median 3.2 (interquartile range 1.8–4.3) years. In multivariable Cox models adjusting for patient demographics and established AF risk factors, blacks (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.82–0.85; P<0.001), Hispanics (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.77...
Serum estrogen metabolites and systolic blood pressure among middle-aged and older women and men.

Systolic blood pressure (SBP) increases with age among both men and women. The slope of this increase is steeper among men before age 60 but this pattern reverses after age 60 (ref. 1). As a result, hypertension is more prevalent among men at younger ages2 and among women at older ages.3 This pattern is consistent with age- and sex-related differences in 17β-estradiol (E2) production, a hormone with known vasodilatory effects.4 The mechanisms by which E2 influences vascular tone include genomic and nongenomic effects on endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs).5 Genomic effects on vascular endothelium include increased mitogen-activated protein kinase–induced endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase gene expression and NO production, as well as increased endothelial cell production.5 Nongenomic effects of E2 on endothelial cells include increased endothelial NO synthase activity, increased NO generation, enhanced prostacyclin production, and reduced free radical (superoxide) formation.5 NO and prostacyclin from the endothelium have vasodilatory effects on VSMCs. In VSMC, E2 inhibits growth factor-mediated activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase, impairs gene transcription, and reduces VSMC growth and proliferation.5 Nongenomically, E2 reduces Ca2+ influx into VSMCs, thereby inhibiting Ca2+-dependent myosin light chain phosporylation and VSMC contraction.5 Several estrogen metabolites (EMs), including D-ring metabolites such as 16α-hydroxyestrone (OHE1), bind to both α and β estrogen receptors.6 This metabolite induces endothelial cell prostacyclin production to a greater extent that E27 and inhibits oxidation of low-density lipoproteins,8 suggesting it may have vasculoprotective effects. The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between endogenous serum estrogen concentrations and SBP in a population-based sample of middle-aged and older adults. Given the established vascular effects of 17β-E2 and the potential vasculoprotective effects of 16α-hydroxyestrone (16α-OHE1), we hypothesized significant inverse relationships between these estrogens and SBP in our study population.
Distributed subunit interactions in CheA contribute to dimer stability: a sedimentation equilibrium study

Abstract The structural domains of the Escherichia coli CheA protein resemble ‘beads on a string’, since the N-terminal phosphate-accepting (P) domain is joined to the CheY/CheB-binding (B) domain through a flexible linker, and the B domain is in turn joined to the C-terminal dimerization/catalytic/regulatory domains by a second intervening linker. Dimerization occurs primarily via interactions between two dimerization domains, which is required for CheA trans-autophosphorylation. In this study, sedimentation equilibrium was used to demonstrate significant subunit interactions at secondary sites in the two naturally occurring (full-length and short) forms of CheA (CheA1–654 or CheAL, and CheA98–654 or CheAS) by contrasting the dimerization of CheAL and CheAS to CheAT, an engineered form that lacked the P domain entirely. The estimated dimer dissociation constant (K1,2) for CheAT (3.1 μM) was weaker than K1,2 for CheAL (0.49 μM), which was attributed to the P domain–catalytic domain interactions that were present in CheAL but not CheAT. In contrast, CheAS dimerization was unexpectedly stronger (K1,2∼20 nM), which arose through interactions between two P domain remnants in the CheAS dimer. This conclusion was supported by the results of sedimentation equilibrium experiments conducted with P domains and P domain remnants expressed in the absence of the dimerization/catalytic/regulatory domains. The P domain remnant had a measurable tendency to self-associate; the full-length P domain did not. Hydrophobic forces probably drive this interaction, since hydrophobic amino acids buried in the intact P domain are solvent-exposed in CheAS. Also, the nascent N-terminus of CheAS bound to the phosphatase (CheZ) more effectively, a conclusion based on the demonstrably greater ability of the P domain remnant to co-sediment CheZ, compared to the intact P domain.
Free radicals and senescence

There is a significant body of experimental evidence that a rise in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) contributes to senescence. Here we review experiments where entry into senescence has been evaluated in cells whose intracellular ROS levels have been modulated by growth in either high or low ambient oxygen concentrations, or where the cellular antioxidant status has been perturbed. In addition, we discuss the observations that senescence triggered by oncogene expression also appears to be in part mediated by a rise in ROS levels. Finally, we discuss the emerging evidence that in vivo senescence might also be triggered by a rise in cellular oxidant levels. Although these data tend to support a role for ROS in mediating senescence, significant questions remain as to whether ROS act in a random or specific fashion and what precise oxidant species acts as the potential senescence trigger.
A graphical method for valuing switching options

This paper introduces a graphical method for valuing options on real asset investments that allow the investor to switch between different operating modes at a single point-in-time. The technique uses mixtures of truncated exponential functions to approximate both the probability density function for project value and the expressions for option value of each alternative. The distribution for project value is transformed into an expected cash flow function for the option under each mode of operation. After determining an optimal exercise strategy, these functions are used to determine the option value. The graphical method allows the option exercise strategy to be communicated effectively through a graphical representation of the expected cash flow functions. A comparison of this approach to the existing binomial lattice method is presented. The efficiency of the graphical method is comparable to the binomial lattice and in some cases accurate solutions can be obtained with less CPU time.
A note on inflation uncertainty and monetary policy

Abstract In this note we analyze the policy implications of a negative effect from inflation uncertainty on output. The negative effect is formalized by introducing inflation uncertainty effects into the aggregate supply function generated by Fischer's model of overlapping wage contracts. This modification brings about two major changes in the usual results. The long-run neutrality of monetary policy is lost, and the case for intervention is weakened. These changes follow since monetary policy will affect the variance of inflation and, hence, real output through its effect in the labor market.
Looking to care or caring to look? technology and the rise of spectacular nursing

New technologies, such as ultrasonography and vital function monitoring, have made nursing care more spectacular. Nurses now watch, in addition to watching over, their patients. Nursing practice increasingly shapes and is shaped by simulations and representations of the real. Visualist technologies represent a new way of knowing in nursing and a new area of nursing informatics. They also raise all the esthetic, political, and ethical dilemmas associated with looking. They raise the question: Do nurses look to care, or care to look?
Becoming biliterate: First language influences

Abstract Since schooling is an important determinant of specific literacy capabilities, it is reasonable to assume that a student's educational background will have an effect on the development of literacy skills. However, in addition to learning the forms and functions of literacy in school, students also learn how to learn literacy skills. As a result, readers and writers develop a sense from their first language educational experiences both of what being literate means, as well as of what becoming literate entails. This paper will explore ways in which first language literacy learning strategies can be understood as either enhancing or complicating acquisition of second language literacy skills. Three aspects of literacy development for Japanese and Chinese elementary and secondary school students will be discussed: (1) the social context of schooling; (2) the cognitive considerations of the written code; and (3) the pedagogical practices most often used in teaching reading and writing. Implications for second language writing classrooms will be considered.
Multiply charged anionic metal clusters

Abstract The stability and decay channels of multiply charged anionic metal clusters are studied using the uniform jellium background model and the local density approximation, with self-interaction corrections when necessary. Shell effects are introduced using an adaptation of the nuclear Strutinsky method. Singly charged anions are stable for all sizes, but multiply charged negative ions are stable against spontaneous electron decay only above certain critical sizes. Below the border of stability, the anions are metastable against electron tunneling through a Coulombic barrier. Lifetimes for such decay processes are estimated. Fission channels may compete with the electron autodetachment and are studied for the case of doubly charged anions.
Diffusion of neutral molecules in charged pores

Abstract Possible effects of the electrostatic double layer on the diffusion of neutral solutes in aqueous pores were examined theoretically and experimentally. A mathematical analysis, based on the physics of orientable particles diffusing perpendicular to a strong electric field, was developed and predicts that the dipole-electric field couple produces only a very small perturbation to the mean mobility and spatial distribution of a neutral solute molecule in a charged pore even if its dipole moment is as large as 20 D. Our analysis, however, neglected any possible effect of the double layer, either by the field strength or by the highly nonuniform ion concentration profiles, on interactions between solute and solvent. Diffusion experiments were performed with track-etched membranes with 300-A radius pores whose walls were negatively charged. The measured diffusion coefficients for solutes with dipole moments ranging from 1.6 to 15 D were found to be independent of solution ionic strength in the range 10−4 to 10−1 M and equal in each case to the literature value for bulk phase diffusion. It was concluded from these experimental and theoretical results that the diffusion coefficient of neutral solutes, even those locally charged such as zwitterions, is unaffected by the presence of a double layer.
Suppression of the PGO-related lumbar motoneuron IPSP by strychnine

Intracellular recordings from lumbar motoneurons in chronic unanesthetized cats revealed that a distinct inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) occurs following pontogeniculooccipital (PGO) waves during active sleep. Strychnine, when applied juxtacellularly by microiontophoresis, was found to block this IPSP. These data suggest that glycine is likely to be the neurotransmitter that is responsible for the inhibition of lumbar motoneurons that occurs in conjunction with the PGO waves of active sleep.
Effect of Occluded Hydrogen on the Rigidity of Metals

AN investigation of the above effect was prompted by an inquiry into the nature of the earth's interior. The existence of a very definite core of radius half that of the earth seems established beyond reasonable doubt by seismology. The nature of this core is puzzling. Tidal phenomena and the Eulerian nutation demand that this core be less rigid than the crust. The noticeable absence, of the shear wave on earthquake records of quakes sufficiently distant for the waves to pass through the core (and this, despite the presence of very pronounced compressional waves of the same quake on the record), was taken to mean that the core could not transmit a shear wave. A liquid core was therefore quite generally held to fit in with all known phenomena. However, during the past few years several seismic investigators, after exhaustive study of records, feel reasonably sure that the shear wave does pass through the core, but with greatly diminished energy. This would seem to imply either that a fluid under high pressure can transmit a shear wave, or that the core of the earth is a solid of very low rigidity. The idea suggested itself that a solid solution might satisfy this picture of a solid of low rigidity.
Massively parallel neural circuits for stereoscopic color vision

Past work demonstrated how monochromatic visual stimuli could be faithfully encoded and decoded under Nyquist-type rate conditions. Color visual stimuli were then traditionally encoded and decoded in multiple separate monochromatic channels. The brain, however, appears to mix information about color channels at the earliest stages of the visual system, including the retina itself. If information about color is mixed and encoded by a common pool of neurons, how can colors be demixed and perceived?We present Color Video Time Encoding Machines (Color Video TEMs) for encoding color visual stimuli that take into account a variety of color representations within a single neural circuit. We then derive a Color Video Time Decoding Machine (Color Video TDM) algorithm for color demixing and reconstruction of color visual scenes from spikes produced by a population of visual neurons. In addition, we formulate Color Video Channel Identification Machines (Color Video CIMs) for functionally identifying color visual processing performed by a spiking neural circuit.Furthermore, we derive a duality between TDMs and CIMs that unifies the two and leads to a general theory of neural information representation for stereoscopic color vision. We provide examples demonstrating that a massively parallel color visual neural circuit can be first identified with arbitrary precision and its spike trains can be subsequently used to reconstruct the encoded stimuli. We argue that evaluation of the functional identification methodology can be effectively and intuitively performed in the stimulus space. In this space, a signal reconstructed from spike trains generated by the identified neural circuit can be compared to the original stimulus.
Growth of MgO by Metal-Organic Molecular Beam Epitaxy

MgO thin films were deposited on (100) Si substrates by metal-organic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE). Magnesium acetylacetonate was used as the precursor and an oxygen RF plasma was used as the oxidant. The films were characterized by a combination of transmission electron microscopy, Auger spectrometry and atomic force microscopy. Analyses indicate that the films directly deposited on Si substrates are stoichiometric, phase-pure, polycrystalline MgO with a [100] texture. Carbon contamination of the films resulting from precursor decomposition was not observed within detection limits. Furthermore, the growth rate of MgO has been systematically investigated as a function of growth temperature.
Improving the reconstruction of the velocity potential and primordial density fluctuations by choice of smoothing windows

Recently considerable attention has been focused on improving algorithms for restoring primordial density fluctuations in the universe or investigating large-scale velocity fields by going to higher order approximations relating nonlinear states to their initial conditions. An alternative approach is to investigate the use of alternative smoothing windows within the context of first-order approximations. I present evidence that the universally used Gaussian smoothing window is far from optimal. A sharp truncation P(k) = 0 for k greater than k(c) leads to a much more direct connection to initial conditions for either 'Gaussianization' methods or use of the Zel'dovich approximation, as discussed in the text.
Enzyme-catalyzed polymerization of 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonate by In situ nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

In this report, we describe the use of in situ NMR spectroscopy to elucidate the mechanism of horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed oxidative free-radical coupling of phenols. We demonstrate the potential of the technique for the polymerization of 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonate (HQS). Based on the structural changes, we establish the involvement of ortho- and para-position protons (to the hydroxyl group) in the oxidative free-radical coupling polymerization with their relative preferences. For example, in HQS, we establish that the positions 2, 4, and 7 are involved in the chemical bonding with the order of preference being 7 ≥ 2 > 4. Analyses of 13 C-NMR data suggest the formation of C-C- and C-O-C-type coupling bonds during enzymatic polymerization.
Clean grain boundaries in aluminium nitride ceramics densified without additives by a plasma-activated sintering process

Abstract High-purity aluminium nitride (AlN) powders of submicron size were consolidated to almost theoretical density in minutes at 1800°C using a plasma-activated sintering (PAS) process. The structure and microchemistry of grain boundaries in this polycrystalline material (average grain size, about 0.43 μm), sintered without additives commonly used in the densification of ceramics, was examined by high-resolution electron microscopy and high-spatial-resolution electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). The grain boundaries were ‘clean’ down to atomic-scale resolution and revealed AIN grain-to-grain contacts throughout the material; EELS data show no evidence for significant oxygen at grain boundaries or at grain triple junctions. A low density of oxygen-containing inversion domain boundaries were found in the grains, and they are thought to be formed to accommodate small amounts of oxygen (about 0.82 at.%) during the PAS consolidation process. The observed clean grain boundaries suggest that the plasma ...
The niobium(V) propyl 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoato species in solution

Abstract Niobium(V) 1-propanolate will react with propyl 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoate in a buffered solution (pH 10.5) to produce a complex species. By means of spectro-photometric measurements, it was established that a 1 : 1 metal-to-ligand ratio existed as the ligand concentration was varied from 1.0 × 10−5 to 5.5 × 10−5M with the metal concentration kept constant at 5.0 × 10−7M. The stoichiometric formation constant for this species was calculated to be 3.04 × 103. A solid ammonium salt of this complex species was isolated.
Neuropeptide Y fails to normalize food intake in zinc-deficient rats.

Zinc deprivation results in decreased and cyclic food intake in rats. We determined the response of zinc-deprived rats to neuropeptide Y (NPY). In a preliminary experiment, rats were fed a low (-Zn; <1 mg/kg) or adequate zinc diet (+Zn; 100 mg/kg) for 4 days. NPY (5 or 10μg) was then administered via an intracerebroventricular (ICV) cannula and food intake measured for 4h. NPY stimulated food intake in all rats, but the difference in food intake due to zinc deprivation persisted. In a subsequent experiment, rats were fed the low zinc and adequate zinc diets for 4, 5 or 6 days. Food intake was suppressed in rats fed the low zinc compared to the adequate zinc diet on all of these days. When NPY (10 μg) was administered at the onset of the light cycle, the food intake was approximately 2.5-fold greater regardless of dietary zinc status, but the amount of food consumed by rats fed low zinc was approximately one-half the quantity consumed by NPY-stimulated zinc-adequate rats. NPY administered at the onset of d...
Costs and Returns of Education in Five Agricultural Areas of Eastern Brazil

This study tests the hypothesis that education has a major role in agricultural development by estimating costs and returns of schooling and extension in areas at various modernization levels. Public and private costs are estimated from secondary information and farm surveys. Value-added and auxiliary equations, estimated from farm-level data, are used to derive annual returns of education. Although based on weak statistical results, schooling returns are negative or low, but increase with modernization level. Extension returns are generally high for individuals, but cover social costs in only two geographic areas. This suggests education's role in development may be limited.
Erfahrungen in der funktionskieferorthopädischen Nachbehandlung chirurgisch korrigierter Unterkieferfalschstände

Unsere Erfahrungen in der funktionskieferorthopadischen Nachbehandlung chirurgisch korrigierter Unterkieferfalschstande. die nach Vorschlagen von Schrudde und Wunderer 3 Wochen post operationem einsetzte, haben gezeigt, das eine fruhzeitige funktionelle Einflusnahme eine gunstige Wirkung auf den Umbauprozes im Zahn-, Kiefer- und Muskelbereich ausubt. Als kieferorthopadischer Behelf hat sich in der ersten Phase der funktionellen Nachbehandlung ein Aktivator mit flachem Hypomochlion und in der zweiten Phase ein das Seitenzahngebiet nur wenig (1 mm) sperrender, ausgeschliffener Aktivator als gunstig erwiesen, der in den ersten 5–6 Wochen gemeinsam mit intermaxillaren Gummizugen oder einer Kopfkinnkappe getragen wird. Eine zusatzliche zweckmasige Sprachtherapie ist in den Fallen anzuraten, bei denen schon vor der Operation eine bestehende oder nach der Operation entstandene Fehlleistung des Sprachsystems zu finden ist—oder nach der Unterkiefereinstellung nur ein knapper Uberbis bzw. Kopfbis erreicht werden konnte. Ohne eine sorgfaltige morphologische, vor allem funktionelle Analyse des Kau-Sprachorganes vor der Operation scheint uns jedoch heute eine tiefere Erkenntnis des Wesens der Dysgnathie und damit die individuell einzuschlagende Therapie nicht mehr moglich. (Die hier gezeigten Patienten entstammen dem Krankengut der Universitats-Zahn- und Kieferklinik Halle und wurden in der Zeit behandelt, als ich noch dort tatig war. Die Operationen wurden von Herrn Prof. Dr. Dr. E. Reichenbach, die Sprachbehandlungen von Herrn Prof. Dr. Krech und die Kieferorthopadische Behandlung von mir durchgefuhrt.) Beschliesen mochte ich diese Ausfuhrungen nicht, ohne mich bei meinem verehrten Lehrer und fruheren Chef. Herrn Prof. Dr. Dr. Reichenbach, fur die Erlaubnis zu bedanken, diese Bilder veroffentlichen zu durfen.
Production and characterization of polygalacturonase fromGeotrichum candidum

An extracellular polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15) fromGeotrichum candidum ATCC 34614 grown onsauerkraut brine was produced and characterized. Polygalacturonic acid markedly increased the enzyme yield in the brine. The fungus produced the highest activity (290 U/l) in brine with 0.3% (w/v) polygalacturonic acid. The pH and temperature optima of the enzymes were 4.5 to 5.0 and 30°C, respectively. It was stable from pH 4.0 to 5.8 and at 30°C but lost its activity at higher temperatures. The Km and Vmax values for polygalacturonic acid were 4.2 mg/ml and 0.19mm galacturonic acid/min, respectively. The enzyme was not substrate inhibited.
Antimicrobial activity and in vitro corneal epithelial toxicity of antimicrobial agents for gram-positive corneal pathogens.

We assessed in vitro the antimicrobial activity of four agents (vancomycin, teicoplanin, mupirocin, and imipenem) which are effective against Gram-positive cocci causally associated with bacterial keratitis, as well as their corneal epithelial cytotoxicity. Minimal inhibitory concentrations inhibiting 90% of strains (MIC90s) against 10 strains each of methicillin-sus-ceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, penicillin-susceptible and -resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, and viri-dans group streptococci were as follows: vancomycin (MIC90s 0.25–2 μg/ml), teicoplanin (MIC90s 0.25–4 μg/ml, mupirocin (MIC90s 0.12–4 μg/mJ), and imi-penem (MIC90s 0.008–0.25 μg/ml, except for methicillin-resistant staphylococci with MIC90 of 16 μg/ml). Cytotoxicity was assayed by uptake of 3H-thymidine by rabbit corneal epithelial cell cultures at drug concentrations of 12.5–100 mg/ml for vancomycin and teicoplanin, 1–8 mg/ml for mupirocin and 0.125–8 mg/ml for imipenem, with exposure times of...
Phase Misalignment between Suprachiasmatic Neuronal Oscillators Impairs Photic Behavioral Phase Shifts But Not Photic Induction of Gene Expression

The ability of the circadian pacemaker within the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) to respond to light stimulation in a phase-specific manner constitutes the basis for photic entrainment of circadian rhythms. The neural basis for this phase specificity is unclear. We asked whether a lack of synchrony between SCN neurons, as reflected in phase misalignment between dorsomedial (dmSCN) and ventrolateral (vlSCN) neuronal oscillators in the rat, would impact the ability of the pacemaker to respond to phase-resetting light pulses. Light pulses delivered at maximal phase misalignment between the vlSCN and dmSCN oscillators increased expression of Per1 mRNA, regardless of the circadian phase of the dmSCN. However, phase shifts of locomotor activity were only observed when the vlSCN and dmSCN were phase aligned at the time of stimulation. Our results fit a model in which a vlSCN oscillator phase gates its own response to light and in turn relays light information to a dmSCN oscillator. This model predicts that the phase misalignment that results from circadian internal desynchronization could preserve the ability of light to induce gene expression within the master circadian clock but impair its ability to induce behavioral phase shifts.
Abstract 3230: Fenofibrate-mediated energy crisis and apoptotic cell death of glioblastoma

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Glioblastomas are one of the most aggressive brain tumors which are characterized by rapid cell growth, infiltration of the Central Nervous System (CNS), and resistance to all known anticancer regiments. Therefore, the development of new more effective therapies against Glioblastoma is the major challenge for modern medicine. Fenofibrate, a drug widely utilized to lower lipid concentration in the blood, is one of the very promising anti-cancer treatments with low systemic toxicity. This potent agonist of PPARδ is thought to shift energy metabolism from glycolysis to fatty acid α-oxidation and, therefore, it may be toxic to glycolysis -dependent brain tumor cells (Warburg effect). While the toxicity to cancer cells appears to be clear, the precise mechanism/s of fenofibrate action against brain tumors seems to be much more complex and remains to be elucidated. To understand metabolic basis of the anti-cancer action of fenofibrate, we have analyzed extracellular acidification (ECAR) and oxygen consumption (OCR) using XF 24 Extracellular Flux Analyzer (Seahorse Bioscience), mitochondrial membrane potential as well as ATP level in different glioblastoma cell lines (LN229, U87MG, T98G). Surprisingly, we found that basal oxygen consumption (OCR) decreased significantly in Glioblastoma cells pretreated with fenofibrate, and the addition of metabolic toxins did not change their metabolic profile. Decreased oxygen consumption was due to the direct interaction of fenofibrate with complex I, a protein involved in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. We additionally found that, in parallel to the metabolic changes, fenofibrate triggers cell cycle arrest followed by apoptosis. The mechanisms involve a PPARδ-mediated effect, which leads to the energy crisis and apoptosis, as well as a PPARδ-independent pathway which results in FOXO3a nuclear translocation and activation of the proapoptotic protein Bim. Overall our data strongly support an anticancer action of fenofibrate by shifting the glycolitic-dependent cell metabolism to fatty acids α-oxidation with subsequent energy crisis and apoptotic cell death. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3230. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3230
Sociologists and American prohibition: a study of early works in the American Journal of Sociology 1895-1935

Sociology, since its inception, has regarded itself as an agency for investigating social change. Alcohol reform during American Prohibition has been studied from status-politics and politico-economic perspectives. This work delineates what sociologists of the early twentieth-century observed and wrote about the American experiment with Prohibition in the early American Journal of Sociology. Overall, these sociologist gave limited attention to Prohibition. Why AJS sociologists had so little to contribute can be understood by situating the answer in the early sociohistorical context of the social pathology perspective and the Chicago School of sociology.
GS 3 : scalable self-configuration and self-healing in wireless sensor networks

We present GS3, a distributed algorithm for scalable self-configuration and self-healing in multi-hop wireless sensor networks. The algorithm enables network nodes in a 2D plane to configure themselves into a cellular hexagonal structure where cells have tightly bounded geographic radius and the overlap between neighboring cells is low. The structure is self-healing under various perturbations, such as node joins, leaves, deaths, movements, and state corruptions. For instance, the structure slides as a whole if nodes in many cells die at the same rate. Moreover, its configuration and healing are scalable in three respects: first, local knowledge enables each node to maintain only limited information with respect to a constant number of nearby nodes; second, local self-healing guarantees that all perturbations are contained within a tightly bounded region with respect to the perturbed area and dealt with in the time taken to diffuse a message across the region; third, only local coordination is needed in both configuration and self-healing.
Atmospheric tides and the resonant rotation of Venus

Venus spin-orbit resonance resulting in consistent inferior conjunction with earth, suggesting solar atmosphere tidal influence
Solar particle acceleration and propagation

The research performed in the period 1983-1986 on solar-particle acceleration and propagation is discussed. Special attention is given to satellite-based observations of large solar energetic particles and (He-3)-rich events; measurements of solar gamma rays, neutrons, and low-energy (1-100-keV) electrons; and observations related to the interplanetary propagation of fast particles. Consideration is also given to theoretical acceleration models based on satellite measurements of accelerated ions.
Polymorphisms of the HTR1a allele are linked to frontal brain electrical asymmetry

Polymorphic variations in genes related to serotonin synthesis, transport, recognition, or degradation may convey subtle changes in serotonin system architecture that may place an individual at risk for psychopathology when faced with life stressors. The relationship between three key serotonin alleles and frontal brain electrical asymmetry, a putative endophenotype of depression, was examined. Risk alleles were hypothesized to predict relatively greater right frontal brain activity regardless of current clinical state. A sample of 313 college-age individuals, spanning a range of depressive severity from no symptomotology to clinically meaningful levels, participated. Resting encephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded from 64 scalp sites on four occasions separated by at least 24h (two 8-min recording sessions occurring at each occasion). Alpha power asymmetry scores between homologous sites were calculated for each session and then averaged to form a trait metric of asymmetry for each pair. PCR based genotyping was conducted for the HTR1a, HTR2a, and HTTLPR genes. Variations in the HTR1a gene were related to trait EEG asymmetry, regardless of any history of depression. Compared to subjects with at least one non-risk allele, subjects with homozygous HTR1A risk alleles had significantly greater relative right frontal activity at sites F7/F8, F5/F6, and F1/F2. In conclusion, variation in HTR1a can influence trait level brain activity, which may ultimately be indicative of risk for psychopathology.
Tricalcium phosphate and tricalcium phosphate/polycaprolactone particulate composite for controlled release of protein

Abstract β-Tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) with three different particle size ranges was used to study the effects of particle size and surface area on protein adsorption and release. Polycaprolactone (PCL) coating was applied on the particle systems to investigate its effect on particulate system properties from both structural and application aspects. The maximum loading of 27 mg/g was achieved for 100 nm particles. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) loading amount was controlled by varying the BSA loading solution concentration, as well as the sample powder's surface area. Increasing the surface area of the delivery powder significantly increased loading and release yield. Unlike the samples with low surface area, the lowest particle size samples showed sigmoidal release profile. This indicated that release was governed by different mechanisms for particles with different sizes. While the majority of samples showed no more than 50% release, the 550 nm particles demonstrated 100% release. PCL coating showed no significant ability to attenuate burst release in PBS. However, it led to a steadier release profile as compared to the bare TCP particles. FTIR analysis also proved that the secondary structure of BSA did not change significantly during the adsorption; however, minor denaturation was found during the release. The same results were found when PCL coating was applied on the TCP particles. We envision potential use of TCP and TCP + PCL systems in bone growth factor or orthopedic drug delivery applications in future bone tissue engineering application.
“Who Can't Pray With Me, Can't Love Me”: Toleration and the Early Jacobean Recusancy Policy

On March 24, 1603, the day on which Elizabeth was both dead and alive, James VI not only inherited the English throne, but also the Queen's Catholic subjects and the policy which she and her council had devised to contain and render neutral a potentially rebellious minority. Unlike religious minorities on the continent, however, the recusants were not an armed force waiting to defend their freedom to worship. Rather, they were a minority considered dangerous because of their potential as rebels. In dealing with that potentially rebellious group James's policy differed from continental solutions to the problem of religious minorities. His policy was based on his firm belief that the human conscience was inviolable and that “force never helped in religious matters and that gallant men should not be forced to die as martyrs.” These beliefs led James to attempt to introduce religious toleration in England. Previous treatments of the first three years of James's reign and previous analyses of the Oath of Allegiance of 1606 have failed to see that James was using the oath as the basis of religious toleration. The oath solved both the problem of religious authority and the problem of fidelity to a monarch with whom one differed in religion, because the oath recognized the King's God-given authority as a monarch while not denying that the Bishop of Rome did have a spiritual authority over the Englishmen who belonged to his church. If Catholic subjects accepted that oath, James would grant them a limited form of toleration.
Improving parent satisfaction: an intervention to increase neonatal parent-provider communication.

The objective of the study was to assess whether a targeted intervention improved the satisfaction of neonatal parents with primary medical provider communication. The study design was a survey assessment of parents in a neonatal intensive care unit regarding their satisfaction with physician and nurse practitioner communication. Serial cohorts were surveyed before and after an intervention, including educating providers about family communication, distributing contact cards to families and showing a poster of providers in the unit. More subjects in the post-intervention cohort (n=33) were satisfied (95%) with provider communication than in the pre-intervention cohort (n=50, 74%; P<0.01). Parents who reported talking with a provider in the previous 7 days were more satisfied than parents who did not (P<0.001). After the intervention, fewer families (36 versus 65%) reported a desire for more frequent provider contact (P<0.01). A targeted intervention improved parent satisfaction with provider communication. Improving the quality and quantity of parent–provider communication increased parent satisfaction with communication with their baby's medical providers.
Promoting functioning and well-being in older CKD patients: review of recent evidence.

Osteoporosis, falls, sleep difficulty, cognitive impairment, and depressed mood are major clinical concerns in the geriatric population that are physiologically and psychologically based and are often interrelated. All of these issues have implications for patients’ daily functioning and quality of life (QOL). This review synthesizes recent evidence about these prominent issues in geriatric care and related implications for care of older patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Recent evidence about pre-dialysis and dialysis treatment strategies that may help to optimize management of older patients is also considered. Although elderly patients often report better psychosocial adjustment to dialysis than do younger patients, physical functioning and cognitive functioning losses challenge the QOL of many elderly persons. Early management of CKD and attention to anemia, consideration of the benefits of peritoneal dialysis compared with hemodialysis, and inclusion of some form of exercise or regular physical activity in routine care provide key opportunities to enhance the functioning and well-being of older patients.
The Digital Body: Telegraphy as Discourse Network

This article considers the use of flag telegraphy by the US Signal Corps during the Civil War as it functioned as a proto-technical medium that preceded wire telegraphy as a military communications technology. Not only was flag telegraphy a historical step towards contemporary technical media, it was also an early iteration of the digitization of communication. Our treatment ties together three main theoretical threads as a way of seeing ‘the digital’ in material communication practices: (1) Friedrich Kittler’s concept of technical media as a remediation between the 19th and 20th centuries, (2) Foucault’s docile bodies as means of reproducing culture, and (3) James Carey’s argument that the telegraph reconfigured communication. The Signal Corps is a rich historical moment in terms of media history and history of technology because it illustrates the convergence of historical exigencies at work in the war machine: mobility, secrecy, precision, and speed. Each contributes, we argue, to a digital telos that ...
Infrared spectra of AlF3 in solid argon

Abstract Three infrared absorptions are assigned to AlF3 isolated in solid argon: ν2 = 286.2 cm−1, ν3 = 909.4 cm−1, and ν4 = 276.9 cm−1. The multiplet pattern previously reported near 950 cm−1 is not present in carefully isolated AlF3. Our spectra do not conclusively rule out a pyramidal structure for AlF3; however, no infrared absorptions can be confidently assigned to ν1, the symmetric stretch.
Silica-replaced oolites, bedded shelf cherts and Paleozoic changes in the silica cycle

Abstract Oolites that were replaced by early diagenetic silica and were not reworked from their original depositional setting can serve as a useful tool to evaluate a previously suggested retreat of biosiliceous facies from peritidal environments to deeper water settings in the Early Paleozoic. The silica-replaced oolites suggest that the retreat was largely over by the Middle Ordovician, which is consistent with emerging compilations of the spatial and temporal distribution Ordovician cherts. Whether the retreat was a function of declining concentration of dissolved silica in shallow marine waters or of radiation of faunas from nearshore into offshore settings or some combination of both is an issue that may be clarified with improved resolution of the timing of the retreat. A small Upper Carboniferous peak in silica-replaced oolite abundance coincides with a minor rebound in shelf chert accumulation and the common presence of coastal flint deposits in Upper Carboniferous cyclothems, suggesting that cherty facies returned to shallow water environments at this time.
Research at Grass Roots: A Primer for the caring professions

The combination of this new research textbook with Johan Mouton's understanding of Social Research is the solution for research in the caring professions of social sciences. *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.
An inexpensive, battery powered and portable instrument for the optical detection of pathogens

In order to satisfy an emergent demand in point of care (POC) diagnostics as well as low resource settings such as in developing countries, we have integrated optical and bio-medical engineering to implement a device, which detects pathogens and displays test results using cell phones. The device employs DNA amplification and off-the-shelf components to obtain the diagnosis.
Effects of Schizophrenia Risk Variation in the NRG1 Gene on NRG1-IV Splicing During Fetal and Early Postnatal Human Neocortical Development

Mapping the transcriptional and genetic regulation of NRG1s during normal human brain development could help identify a potential mechanism of early risk for schizophrenia at the NRG1 locus.