cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Space Simulation: A Symposium Held in New York City, New York May 1-3, 1972

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration served as a cosponsor of the Sixth Space Simulation Symposium. These proceedings were published as a NASA Special Publication in order to give the participants and attendees of the conference a permanent record of the material presented and to make the technology of space simulation available to others who may find in this technology solutions to problems extant in their respective fields. Space exploration has posed the most challenging technical difficulties man has yet faced and solved. The technology evolved by the space program has relevance to many other fields, especially to the area of environment control and modification. This latter field promises to be one of extreme importance in this decade. The technology of space simulation has evolved many solutions to problems of a similar nature to those now affecting our environment. NASA is pleased to cooperate with the Institute of Environmental Sciences, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Society for Testing and Materials in advancing the frontiers of knowledge in the important area of space simulation and to make these proceedings available to other areas of science and technology.
The Legal Environment Facing Economic Agents in Production

Agriculture has seen a steady movement toward the increased use of contracts. Agricultural contracts now guide the interrelationships of parties throughout the modern production system, extending well beyond the livestock sector. With this predominance come new issues that require us to reexamine contract theory and the roles of the parties. This review examines legislation, regulations, and recent court rulings in seemingly unrelated areas that have specific relationships to the development of contracts in production agriculture: environmental law and labor law.
Atomistic Modeling of Friction

Friction is a well-known, but poorly understood, phenomenon that affects virtually all aspects of daily life. In some cases, friction is desirable, e.g., high friction in clutches leads to the effective transmission of forces between an automobile’s engine and its wheels, while in other cases friction is a significant drawback, e.g., friction between the piston and cylinder wall decreases the efficiency of automobile engines. Although macroscopic friction laws were introduced a few centuries ago,1 and the existence of friction was recognized long before that, the underlying atomic-level mechanisms leading to friction have remained elusive. The identification of these mechanisms has emerged as a topic of significant interest, which has been driven by the miniaturization of mechanical devices, the peculiar behavior of condensed matter at the nanoscale, and advances in simulating chemically complex lubricants and surfaces with ever-increasing accuracy.2–4 Although a great deal of research has been directed towards elucidating the fundamental, atomic-level origins of friction in recent years, many key questions remain unanswered. Atomic-level simulation has been used extensively in the study of friction, not simply as a means of supplementing experimental studies, but as a powerful tool for gaining unique insight into the relevant processes. Indeed, simulations allow one to study well-defined systems under a variety of conditions that may be difficult, or even impossible, to examine in real laboratory experiments. As such, simulations have shed much-needed light on fundamental aspects of friction, and in some cases have even overturned conventional wisdom regarding the origins of friction. In this chapter,
Towards Integrated Model-Driven Verification and Empirical Validation of Reusable Software Frameworks for Automotive Systems

Software for automotive systems is rapidly increasing in complexity and scale, and leveraging reusable software frameworks in the development of these systems offers significant potential to reduce engineering costs and cycle times. However, the development of practical models and verification and validation techniques for automotive software built with reusable frameworks remains an open research challenge. This paper makes three main contributions to the state of the art in software engineering for automotive systems. First, it summarizes ways in which reusable software frameworks are relevant to automotive software engineering. Second, it describes an approach to verification and validation of reusable software frameworks which we have developed for other application domains. Third, it presents an evaluation of our approach in the context of an illustrative verification and validation scenario.
Characteristic image quality of a third generation dual-source MDCT scanner: Noise, resolution, and detectability.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to assess the inherent image quality characteristics of a new multidetector computed tomography system in terms of noise, resolution, and detectability index as a function of image acquisition and reconstruction for a range of clinically relevant settings. Methods: A multisized image quality phantom (37, 30, 23, 18.5, and 12 cm physical diameter) was imaged on a SOMATOM Force scanner (Siemens Medical Solutions) under variable dose, kVp, and tube current modulation settings. Images were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) and with advanced modeled iterative reconstruction (ADMIRE) with iterative strengths of 3, 4, and 5. Image quality was assessed in terms of the noise power spectrum (NPS), task transfer function (TTF), and detectability index for a range of detection tasks (contrasts of approximately 45, 90, 300, −900, and 1000 HU, and 2–20 mm diameter) based on a non-prewhitening matched filter model observer with eye filter. Results: Image noise magnitude decreased with decreasing phantom size, increasing dose, and increasing ADMIRE strength, offering up to 64% noise reduction relative to FBP. Noise texture in terms of the NPS was similar between FBP and ADMIRE (<5% shift in peak frequency). The resolution, based on the TTF, improved with increased ADMIRE strength by an average of 15% in the TTF 50% frequency for ADMIRE-5. The detectability index increased with increasing dose and ADMIRE strength by an average of 55%, 90%, and 163% for ADMIRE 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Assessing the impact of mA modulation for a fixed average dose over the length of the phantom, detectability was up to 49% lower in smaller phantom sections and up to 26% higher in larger phantom sections for the modulated scan compared to a fixed tube current scan. Overall, the detectability exhibited less variability with phantom size for modulated scans compared to fixed tube current scans. Conclusions: Image quality increased with increasing dose and decreasing phantom size. The CT system exhibited nonlinear noise and resolution properties, especially at very low-doses, large phantom sizes, and for low-contrast objects. Objective image quality metrics generally increased with increasing dose and ADMIRE strength, and with decreasing phantom size. The ADMIRE algorithm could offer comparable image quality at reduced doses or improved image quality at the same dose. The use of tube current modulation resulted in more consistent image quality with changing phantom size.
Recombinant factor VIIa in severe trauma: further study needed

Results Among 301 patients randomized, 143 blunt trauma patients and 134 penetrating trauma patients were eligible for analysis. In blunt trauma, RBC transfusion was significantly reduced with rFVIIa relative to placebo (estimated reduction of 2.6 RBC units, p = 0.02), and the need for massive transfusion (>20 units of RBCs) was reduced (14% vs. 33% of patients; p = 0.03). In penetrating trauma, similar analyses showed trends toward rFVIIa reducing RBC transfusion (estimated reduction of 1.0 RBC units, p = 0.10) and massive transfusion (7% vs. 19%; p = 0.08). Trends toward a reduction in mortality and critical complications were observed. Adverse events including thromboembolic events were evenly distributed between treatment groups.
Aproximaciones teóricas para el análisis de la transformación urbana. Urban regime analysis en el contexto europeo

La creciente complejidad en la que tiene lugar la trasformacion urbana europea requiere la utilizacion de nuevos instrumentos analiticos. En este contexto, urban regime analysis (URA) puede ser una herramienta de gran utilidad. El objetivo de esta comunicacion es presentar las categorias analiticas de esta emergente teoria surgida en el contexto norteamericano. Explicamos su genesis, su evolucion, su aplicacion y su complementariedad con otras aproximaciones teoricas.
Contributions of protein structure and gene position to the compartmentalization of the regulatory proteins σE and SpoIIE in sporulating Bacillus subtilis

At an early stage in endospore formation Bacillus subtilis partitions itself into two dissimilar compartments with unique developmental fates. Transcription appropriate to each compartment is initiated by the activation of compartment-specific RNA polymerase sigma subunits, sigma(E) in the mother cell and sigma(F) in the forespore. Among the possible factors contributing to the compartment specificity of sigma(E) and sigma(F) is the selective accumulation of the sigma(E) protein in the mother cell and that of SpoIIE, a regulatory phosphatase essential to the activation of sigma(F), in the forespore. In the current work, fluorescent microscopy is used to investigate the contributions of sigma(E) and SpoIIE's protein structures, expression and the genetic asymmetry that develops during chromosome translocation into the forespore on their abundance in each compartment. Time of entry of the spoIIE and sigE genes into the forespore was found to have a significant effect on the enrichment of their products in one or the other compartment. In contrast, the structures of the proteins themselves do not appear to promote their transfer to a particular compartment, but nonetheless contribute to compartmentalization by facilitating degradation in the compartment where each protein's activity would be inappropriate.
De la stigmatisation raciale à l’identité ethnique: le cas du métissage Russo-Africain / From Racial Stigma to Ethnic Identity: the case of the afro-russians’ mixed identity

Cet article porte sur la construction de l’identite ethnique “mixte” de jeunes Russo-Africains. La construction de l’identite ethnique est ici analysee en tant que produit d’interactions sociales a partir desquelles les pratiques sociales, la representation de soi et les reseaux sociaux jouent un role important. Nous essayons de demontrer que dans une societe avec un niveau de xenophobie assez important l’origine africaine devient un stigmate social, dans le sens de Goffman. La construction de l’identite ethnique est examinee tout d’abord a travers l’experience sociale de stigmatisation qui met en avant la dualite de l’origine des Russo-Africains, ainsi que leurs differences. Ensuite, c’est l’impossibilite d’epouser pleinement l’une des identites « pures », a savoir « russe » ou « africaine ». Finalement, on observe le processus de bricolage identitaire : la construction d’une identite « mixte » qui se produit a travers la selection d’elements distincts des deux representations culturelles. Nous montrons ensuite comment la creation des communautes et des reseaux sociaux contribuent au developpement d’une communaute ethnique russo-africaine, sans pour autant que l’on puisse la considerer comme un veritable groupe ethnique.
A survey of Cloud computing variable pricing models

Cloud computing has grasped the attention of scientific community and business industry towards the provisioning of computing resources as utility and software as a service over a network. Profitability and revenue maximization are the most important goals for any cloud service provider which can be employed through different pricing models. Historically, cloud providers were following the fixed pricing strategies while provisioning their services to the clients. However, these approaches have their own shortcomings resulting in resource wastage, lack of fairness and user satisfaction. With expansion of cloud users in market every day, provisioning of fair resource allocation with service differentiation and efficient pricing model is demand seeking, resulting in a shift from static to dynamic pricing models. In this paper, we discuss and investigate different pricing scheme with respect to their advantages, limitations and possible future directions. The study will open a way for vendors to seek new research directions in dynamic pricing schemes.
Relationships between water balance properties and habitat characteristics in the sibling Hawaiian Drosophilids, D. mimica and D. kambysellisi

Four populations of Drosophila mimica and 1 population of D. kambysellisi collected at sites which differed in wetness were examined for several water balance characteristics. Net water loss per hour increased as av (relative humidity/100) decreased in all populations, but the rate of increase was lower in populations from dry sites. When exposed to 0.70 av, D. kambysellisi, which were from a rain forest, lost water faster and died sooner than did D. mimica. Two D. mimica collecting sites were divided into smaller units based on substrate type at one site and on litter wettness at the other site. The D. mimica at the first site were homogeneous with respect to the water balance properties studied here, but in the second site, there was evidence of population differentiation associated with litter wettness.
Glycine and its synaptic interactions: functional and clinical implications.

Cys= : cysteine; GABA= : γ-aminobutyric acid; GlyR= : glycine receptor; KCC2= : K+, Cl− cotransporter 2; NKH= : nonketotic hyperglycinemia; NMDAR= : NMDA receptor; VGAT= : vesicular GABA transporter; VIAAT= : vesicular inhibitory amino acid transporter. Glycine is a major neurotransmitter of inhibitory neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem. In many of these neurons, glycine coexists with γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The synaptic availability of glycine is controlled by 2 different transporters, and its postsynaptic effects are mediated by a specific chloride (Cl−) channel receptor. In the adult nervous system, glycine exerts fast postsynaptic inhibition that is important for control of excitability of motor neurons, auditory processing, pain transmission in the dorsal horn, and other functions. Corelease of GABA may affect the temporal profile of the postsynaptic effects of glycine. Glycine is also a coagonist of glutamate on NMDA receptors (NMDARs). Studies in vitro and in knockout mouse models have provided insight on the complex synaptic interactions among glycine, GABA, and glutamate, and on the consequences of impaired regulation of glycinergic transmission in the nervous system. Excessive synaptic levels of glycine may explain the manifestations of nonketotic hyperglycinemia, whereas loss-of-function mutations impairing glycinergic signaling have been linked to familial hyperekplexia. Autoimmune disorders affecting the glycine receptor (GlyR) complex may also result in excessive motoneuron excitability. Pharmacologic blockade of a glycine transporter may constitute a novel approach to increase NMDAR activity in schizophrenia. Many of these topics have been recently reviewed.1,–,9 ### Synthesis and storage. Glycine is the primary neurotransmitter of many inhibitory interneurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, including the ventral horn and motor cranial nerve nuclei, dorsal horn and trigeminal nuclei, and auditory and vestibular systems; it also mediates inhibitory effects of some amacrine cells and Golgi cells of the cerebellum.1 Glycine also has an essential role in intermediate metabolism; for example, it is the precursor to the one-carbon pool of folic acid intermediates that are fundamental to many synthetic reactions. Glycine is catabolized via the glycine cleavage system, a group …
Elections as instruments for punishing bad representatives and selecting good ones

Many theories of democracy point out that voters make their choices based on two goals: the retrospective assessment of incumbents and the prospective choice between incumbents and challengers. Do voters react to malfeasance on the part of their elected representatives? If they abandon corrupt incumbents, are they able to select more virtuous replacements? In this paper, we assess the effects of corruption on voter loyalty and, conversely, of voter defection on subsequent malfeasance. We examine these relationships with data drawn from 169 elections across 72 countries. Our results show that malfeasance does indeed provoke voter defection, but that electoral volatility is not followed by lower levels of perceived corruption. We conclude by discussing the appropriate interpretation of our results, the future research they suggest, and their meaning for related, emerging literatures.
Hope from the perspective of homeless families

Homeless families represent one-third of the homeless population. These families have few resources and experience multiple stressors. This study explored the meaning of hope and the influence of specific characteristics on hope, and identified strategies that are used to foster hope in homeless families living in four homeless shelters. Using the technique of methodological triangulation (interview, Herth Hope Index, and Background Data Form), the author collected cross-sectional data on 52 homeless families and longitudinal data on 10 families over a 9-month period of time in order to provide a clearer understanding of the hope process. Hope was described as a power within the self that mobilizes one to move beyond the present situation and to envision a better tomorrow for one's self and others. Six hope-engendering strategies and four hope-hindering factors were identified based on the interview responses of adult family members. Overall hope levels in those residing in the homeless shelter were low and remained stable across the background variables with the exception of those receiving nurse-provided health care on the premises. Across time, hope levels were found to be low at interview time one, to rise significantly at time two, and to level off at time three. An understanding of hope from the perspective of the homeless family could provide a basis upon which to develop interventions that engender hope.
Food- and drug-reinforced responding: effects of DITA and d-amphetamine.

Intravenous pretreatment with DITA (0.1–1.0 mg/kg) decreased the rate of food-reinforced lever pressing in rhesus monkeys. Response rate decreases were dose-dependent but showed the development of tolerance. Self-administration of DITA was initiated and maintained in each of three monkeys when 30 lever presses were required to produce each injection. Maximal response rate during periods of drug availability was maintained by 0.03 mg/kg/injection while higher and lower doses (0.01 and 0.10 mg/kg/injection) maintained lower response rates. Response rate in periods of food availability immediately preceding drug periods was relatively constant across sessions; response rate in periods of food availability immediately following drug periods, however, decreased with increasing amounts of drug self-administered. Replication of initial self-administration doses produced results comparable to original determinations in contrast to the tolerance observed with DITA effects upon food-reinforced responding. DITA was about 3 times less potent than d-amphetamine in maintaining response rates in drug periods and in decreasing the rate of subsequent food-reinforced responding.
Asymptotic stability of distributed parameter systems with feedback controls

In this paper, the problem of stability in distributed parameter systems with feedback controls is formulated directly in the framework of partial differential equations without resorting to further approximations. Sufficient conditions for Lyapunov asymptotic stability are derived for particular classes of systems with distributed, mixed distributed, and boundary control laws, and also for systems with time delay. The applications of the main results are illustrated by examples.
Contemporary Concepts in Management of Acute Otitis Media in Children

Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common disease of childhood. AOM is most appropriately diagnosed by careful otoscopy with an understanding of clinical signs and symptoms. The distinction between AOM and chronic otitis media with effusion should be emphasized. Treatment should include pain management, and initial antibiotic treatment should be given to those most likely to benefit, including young children, children with severe symptoms, and those with otorrhea and/or bilateral AOM. Tympanostomy tube placement may be helpful for those who experience frequent episodes of AOM or fail medical therapy. Recent practice guidelines may assist the clinician with such decisions.
The relationship between perceived instructor communicator style, argumentativeness, and verbal aggressiveness

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships among perceived instructor communicator style, perceived instructor trait argumentativeness, and perceived instructor trait verbal aggressiveness in the college classroom. Participants were 236 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of communication courses at a large Eastern university. Results indicated that (a) perceived instructor trait argumentativeness was positively related to the perceived instructor communicator style attributes of impression leaving, contentious, open, dramatic, dominant, precise, relaxed, attentive, and animated; (b) perceived instructor trait verbal aggressiveness was positively related to the perceived instructor communicator style attributes of contentious and precise, and negatively related to the perceived communicator style attributes of impression leaving, relaxed, friendly, attentive, and animated; and (c) perceived instructor use of verbally aggressive messages was related in some way to the perceive...
SU‐FF‐T‐134: Commissioning Enhanced Dynamic Wedges Utilizing Mapcheck Device and Comparing with Film and Ion Chamber Dosimetry

Varian Enhanced Dynamic Wedge (EDW) is a wedge technique where no physical modifier is used to create a wedge dose profile. The wedge dose profile is created by sweeping one of the Y jaw from open to closed position while other Y jaw and the X jaws stand still throughout the treatment. Because of the collimator motion, different parts of the field are exposed to the primary beam for different lengths of time.The motion of the jaw is controlled by a computer and the dose vs. collimator relationship to be followed in treatment mode is contained in a dose vs. jaw position table called Segmented Treatment Table (STT). The EDW provides wedge angles of 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30°, 45° and 60° for both symmetric and asymmetric field sizes. EDW does not cause beam hardening and extra scatter to patients as compared to physical wedges. We measured the Wedge profiles using mapcheck device which contains 445 diodes in 2D array at various depths such as Dmax, 5cm, 10cm and 20cm. Dose profiles were also measured using EDR2 film and RIT software and 0.125cc ionization chamber. Profiles were compared with TPS generated profiles. We found that profiles measured with Mapcheck device agrees well within 1–4% with film & ionchamber measurements and TPS calculations. Mapcheck device is a very useful and time saving tool for commissioning and QA of EDW wedges.
Age-related motor and catecholomine alterations in mice on levodopa supplemented diet

Abstract Old mice reared on regular diet show reduced motor activity, decreased basal adenylate cyclase, and increased MAO activities compared to adults. Brain DDC and COMT activities, DA, NE levels and DA-stimulated adenylate cyclase remained unchanged. By contrast, mice fed levodopa for life did not develop decreased motor activity with aging, lived about 50% longer, had slightly elevated whole brain DA and NE levels and failed to develop the expected rise in MAO activity with aging. Levodopa did not alter the number of dopaminergic and muscarinic cholinergic receptors or the adenylate cyclase activity in the striatum during aging. On levodopa, hepatic and renal DA, dopa, and HVA increased but the latter two returned to basal levels by mid life. In liver, DDC was unchanged but MAO tended to be higher in levodopa-fed mice. Thus, motor impairment is an age-related phenomenon in mice associated with selective alterations in brain dopaminergic systems, which may be prevented by dietary levodopa. Extracerebral tissues, through possibly adaptive metabolic mechanisms, play a significant role in regulating brain catecholamines during chronic administration of large doses of levodopa.
Copper(II) methoxide: direct solventothermal synthesis and X-ray crystal structure

Copper methoxide has been prepared under fairly mild solventothermal conditions by direct reaction of copper(II) acetate monohydrate and methanol. The product has been structurally characterized for the first time by single crystal X-ray diffraction and found to possess a novel infinite one-dimensional chain structure in which copper atoms in distorted square planar coordination environments are linked by bridging methoxide ligands. The conversion of copper acetate to copper methoxide is essentially quantitative. The major byproduct of the synthesis is methyl acetate.
Mechanisms underlying the synergistic effect of SU5416 and cisplatin on cytotoxicity in human ovarian tumor cells

SU5416 is a selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors with anti-angiogenesis activity for human cancers. We have previously reported that SU5416 sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin via suppression of nucleotide excision repair activity. This study sought to gain further insights into the mechanisms underlying the synergistic effect of SU5416 and cisplatin on cytotoxicity in human ovarian tumor cells. Here, we show that SU5416 inhibited the expression of G1 cell cycle checkpoint regulators, p53, p21, p27 and MDM2 in ovarian carcinoma cells. We also demonstrate that SU5416 triggered the apoptosis of these cells, in addition to augmenting the apoptosis induced by cisplatin, as determined by a Sub-G1 profile analysis using a flow cytometer. Furthermore, we show that SU5416-induced apoptosis is associated with a decrease in the expression of the apoptosis inhibitors, MDM2 and Bcl-2, and an increase in the level of NF-kappaB inhibitor, IkappaBalpha. NF-kappaB is an anti-apoptotic transcription factor, which induces the apoptosis inhibitors, Bcl-XL and IAPs (inhibitor of apoptosis proteins), and IkappaBalpha is an inhibitor of NF-kappaB, which binds to the NF-kappaB and retains it in the cytoplasm. Finally, the compound was found to block cisplatin-induced increases in AP-1 expression and JNK activity, as well as Raf-1 protein level in these cells. Together, these results suggest that the chemosensitizing effect of SU5416 on ovarian tumor cells may be mediated, at least in part, through inhibiting G1 checkpoint control and up-regulating the apoptotic response to cisplatin.
Psychiatric disorders in primary care. Results of a follow-up study.

• Despite extensive documentation of high rates of psychiatric morbidity among primary care patients, there have been, to our knowledge, no US studies following up these patients over time. We analyzed data based on two administrations of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Lifetime version (SADS-L) six months apart to 166 attenders at a primary care clinic in Marshfield, Wis. In the short span between interviews, 35% of the study group exhibited at least one Research Diagnostic Criteria disorder, and almost two thirds of these individuals had significant changes in diagnostic status based on SADS-L data. Diagnosis of these transient and episodic cases by the primary care physicians was under 10%, demonstrating the need for careful evaluation of the psychiatric status of primary care patients.
Phosphorylation of α-crystallin in rat lenses is stimulated by H2O2 but phosphorylation has no effect on chaperone activity

Alpha crystallin ( α ), a phosphorylated structural protein of the lens, has been shown to be a chaperone preventing other lens proteins from aggregating. It is now demonstrated that with oxidative stress imposed on cultured rat lenses, the incorporation of labeled phosphate into the α polypeptide chains increased by two to four times over a 90-min period in comparison to control experiments. The phosphorylation rate of the B chain, α B , was twice that of the A chain, α A . However, phosphorylation of the α chains has an insignificant effect on the chaperone activity of α or the individual α A and α B chains as measured by suppressing the thermally induced aggregation of beta low or gamma crystallins. It was also found that the α A aggregates are more effective chaperones than the α B aggregates. The size of the macromolecules resulting from reaggregation of the isolated non-phosphorylated or phosphorylated α B chains are not markedly effected by phosphorylation. However, phosphorylation of the α A chain leads to a heterogeneous population with two major species, one similar in size to α A and another approximately twice as large. It is concluded that the phosphorylation of α is associated with some other function of the protein than that of chaperone activity and that this function may be linked to a protective response to oxidative stress.
Electrostatics of Deformable Lipid Membranes

It was recently demonstrated that significant local deformations of biological membranes take place due to the fields of charged peptides and ions, challenging the standard model of membrane electrostatics. The ability of ions to retain their immediate hydration environment, combined with the lack of sensitivity of permeability to ion type or even ion pairs, led us to question the extent to which hydration energetics and electrostatics control membrane ion permeation. Using the arginine analog methyl-guanidinium as a test case, we find that although hydrocarbon electronic polarizability causes dramatic changes in ion solvation free energy, as well as a significant change (∼0.4 V) in the membrane dipole potential, little change in membrane permeation energetics occurs. We attribute this to compensation of solvation terms from polar and polarizable nonpolar components within the membrane, and explain why the dipole potential is not fully sensed in terms of the locally deformed bilayer interface. Our descriptions provide a deeper understanding of the translocation process and allow predictions for poly-ions, ion pairs, charged lipids, and lipid flip-flop. We also report simulations of large hydrophobic-ion-like membrane defects and the ionophore valinomycin, which exhibit little membrane deformation, as well as hydrophilic defects and the ion channel gramicidin A, to provide parallels to membranes deformed by unassisted ion permeation.
Lithium Reduces Tau Phosphorylation but Not Aβ or Working Memory Deficits in a Transgenic Model with Both Plaques and Tangles

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) is a major kinase implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and reducing its activity may have therapeutic efficacy. Two variants exist, referred to as GSK-3 alpha and GSK-3beta. In addition to the latter's well-described role in the phosphorylation of tau, reports also suggest that GSK-3 alpha may regulate amyloid precursor protein processing and Abeta formation. The activities of both GSK-3 alpha and GSK-3beta are reduced by lithium, a well-tolerated drug used in humans to combat bipolar disorder. Here, we investigate the therapeutic efficacy of chronic lithium administration in aged 3xTg-AD mice that harbor both plaques and tangles. We found that lithium reduced tau phosphorylation but did not significantly alter the A beta load. Despite the reduction in phosphotau, lithium treatment did not improve deficits in working memory. Although other studies have investigated the effects of lithium on tau biochemistry, this study represents the first to address comprehensively its therapeutic potential on other critical aspects of AD including its effect on A beta and learning and memory. It remains to be determined from human clinical trials whether lithium treatment alone will improve the clinical outcome in AD patients. These results, however, suggest that the most efficacious treatment will be combining lithium with other anti-A beta interventions.
Different atmospheric effects in remote sensing of uniform and nonuniform surfaces

The atmospheric effect on the radiance of sunlight scattered from the earth-atmosphere system is greatly dependent on the surface reflectance pattern, the contrast between adjacent fields, and the optical properties of the atmosphere. In addition, the atmospheric effect is described by the range and magnitude of the adjacency effects, the atmospheric modulation transfer function, and the apparent spatial resolution of remotely sensed imagery. This paper discusses the atmospheric effect on classification of surface features and shows that surface nonuniformity can be used for developing procedures to remove the atmospheric effect from the satellite imagery.
Crystal Mangum as Hypervisible Object and Invisible Subject: Black Feminist Thought, Sexual Violence, and the Pedagogical Repercussions of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case

In March 2006 Crystal Mangum, a Black female exotic dancer, accused three White male Duke student-athletes of sexual violence, igniting a firestorm of media coverage. This article focuses on the public treatment of Mangum, before and after the case was legally resolved, illustrating how she became hypervisible as a vilified object and invisible as a credible subject. Drawing on Black feminist thought, we consider how representations of Mangum serve pedagogical functions, teaching Black female survivors to stay silent.
1020 HYPERAMMONEMIA IN LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS

Hyperammonemia (ammonia nitrogen level >90 umol/L) during the first week of life was observed in 5 of 9 infants weighing ≥1000 grams at birth. Ammonia nitrogen levels ranged between 40 and 214 umol/L. Liver function tests were normal. None of these infants had received either oral or parenteral protein supplement. All 9 infants were receiving assisted ventilation. As part of their supportive care, each infant received one or more transfusions of blood or blood products during the period prior to obtaining the serum ammonia nitrogen level. The following blood products were analyzed for their ammonia nitrogen content: Infants received between 5 and 16 umol ammonia nitrogen/Kg body weight. Regression analysis of serum ammonia nitrogen levels and transfused umol ammonia nitrogen/Kg body weight revealed a correlation coefficient of +0.85. The use of products with high ammonia content represents an exogenous source of ammonia which may contribute to elevated serum ammonia nitrogen levels in some low birth weight infants.
A Retrospective Case Study of the Incidence of Endogenous Fungal Endophthalmitis in Patients with Positive Blood Cultures for Systemic Fungemia: Review of the Literature

Aims: To determine the incidence of fungal ocular involvement, manifesting as chorioretinitis or endophthalmitis, in patients with positive fungal blood cultures in a tertiary care center. Study Design: Retrospective case series and literature review. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery–Section of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. August 2006 to October 2009. Methodology: Ophthalmology was consulted for evaluation of 100 adult and pediatric patients (47 men, 53 women; age range 10 days–84 years) with fungemia. Results: Of 100 patients, blood cultures most frequently grew Candida albicans (42%), followed by Candida parapsilosis (22%), and Candida glabrata (16%). One patient had Original Research Article Colina et al.; OR, Article no. OR.2014.5.005 251 clinical signs of fungal ocular involvement (1/100, 1%) but no ocular symptoms. Blood cultures in this case were positive for Candida glabrata, and the patient clinically improved after switching antifungal therapy to PO voriconazole. Two other patients (2%) had nonspecific fundus lesions that were not consistent with chorioretinitis or endophthalmitis. Conclusions: The incidence of ocular involvement in patients with fungemia is 1%, which is consistent with recent trends in literature. We believe that guidelines for screening criteria in at-risk inpatients for fungal chorioretinitis and endophthalmitis should be updated.
Atmospheric teleconnections for annual maximum ice cover on the Laurentian Great Lakes

Great Lake ice cover records for winters 1963–1990 were used to define anomalously high (low) average ice cover based on the seven highest (seven lowest) annual maximum ice covers. Analysis of the maximum ice cover reveals (i) a low (1964–1976); (ii) a high (1977–1982); and (iii) once again a low (1983–1990) ice cover regime. The high ice cover regime corresponded in part with a hiatus in El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and the beginning of an interdecadal change in Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation that started in the late 1970s. About 46% of the lowest quartile ice covers occurred during the mature phase (year+one winter) of El Nino. Only 1 year out of seven with the mature phase of El Nino between 1963 and 1990 was not associated with the lowest quartile ice cover, this was 1977, a pivotal year after which a new climatic regime in the Northern Hemisphere was established. Anomaly maps of 700 hPa geopotential height for the lowest quartile ice cover reveal a zonal flow pattern. Highest quartile ice cover was associated with meridonal circulation from the Arctic directed toward the Great Lakes. Significant differences occur for highest minus lowest quartile ice cover composite 700 hPa height anomaly maps in the Pacific Ocean, the west coast of North America, north Mexico, eastern North America, north central Siberia, western Europe and the adjacent North Atlantic. Correlations between first differences (year t+1 minus year t) of annual maximum ice cover and 700 hPa geopotential heights for winters 1963–1990 agrees with these teleconnections and were higher than the absolute time series correlations, indicating strong interannual teleconnections. Annual maximum ice cover was also significantly correlated with the tropical Northern Hemisphere teleconnection index. © 1998 Royal Meteorological Society
Reduction of cerebrospinal fluid phenylalanine after oral administration of valine, isoleucine, and leucine.

Summary: A supplement of the branched chain amino acids, valine, isoleucine, and leucine (VIL) was administered orally to patients with phenylketonuria, either together with unrestricted diet of natural protein or with a low phenylalanine diet. The VIL supplement brought about a significant reduction of the cerebrospinal fluid-serum ratio of phenylalanine from a mean value of 0.254 without VIL to 0.204 with VIL. The reduction varied from 15–40% (mean 21%). Concentrations of glycine, lysine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan, and tyrosine were within normal limits in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of infants with phenylketonuria. No amino acid imbalance was created by the supplement and no adverse effects from VIL were observed. Speculation: The branched chain amino acids and phenylalanine share a common transport system. High levels of phenylalanine in brain of children with phenylketonuria may be reduced by administration of a supplement of valine, isoleucine and leucine (VIL). Supplementation of the low-phenylalanine diet with VIL during the first 2 years of life may add a measure of protection to the developing brain beyond that which can be achieved by diet alone. In older children, VIL supplementation may permit liberalization of the diet without unfavorable behavioral consequences.
The protein identification resource and its applications

The Protein Identification Resource (PIR) was established at the National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF) in 1984 under the sponsorship of the Division of Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health. It was originated by the late Dr Margaret O. Dayhoff. Some 20 years ago, she began to collect all of the known protein sequences and to use the computer to store, analyse, and compare them. Under her leadership, the Protein Sequence Database was established and several volumes of the Arias of Protein Sequence and Structure were published ~. In 1980, she created the Nucleic Acid Sequence Database at the NBRF with an online retrieval system for the public; soon after that, the Protein Sequence Database also became available online. The PIR, which includes the databases of protein and nucleic acid sequences, can now be accessed directly by telephone or by telecommunication via TYMNET. The databases and computer programs of the PIR are available on magnetic tape and there are no restrictions on their use. This is a brief review of the PIR system and its applications in different disciplinary studies.
The effect of additional fused rings on the stabilities and the band gaps of heteroconjugated polymers

The aromatic (A) and quinoid (Q) forms of polythiophene (PT) have entirely different energy gaps: ∼0.5 eV for the quinoid form and ∼2 eV for the aromatic form, respectively. The energy gaps and stability of derivatives of PT are studied by total MNDO geometry optimization using energy band theory for the total energy calculations followed by a Huckel energy band calculations to approximate the energy band structure. Addition of fused rings to PT reverses the order of stability of the aromatic and quinoid isomers and the ordering in the size of the energy gaps. Small energy gap polymers are suggested on the basis of the calculations.
Enhancement of T cell localization in mammary tumors through transient inhibition of T cell myosin function

Adoptive immunotherapy is hampered by poor lymphocyte localization in tumors. The polarized, adhesive phenotype of activated lymphocytes may contribute to this problem by making the cells prone to trapping and damage in pulmonary microvasculature. We found that transient inhibition of T cell polarization prior to i.v. infusion reduces trapping and improves tumor localization. Activated T cells were rendered nonpolar and nonadhesive by treatment with myosin light-chain kinase inhibitor ML-7. Polarity, adhesiveness, and motility recovered by 6 h after treatment, cytotoxicity, and proliferation by 24 h. ErbB2-specific T cells were infused i.v. into mice bearing ErbB2-expressing mammary tumors. ML-7 pre-treatment reduced T cell arrest in lungs by a factor of eight, improved tumor localization by 4-fold, and increased lymph node homing. Although this improvement alone proved insufficient to alter outcome in an immunotherapy experiment, this study indicates that cytoskeletal modification is a promising strategy for altering the trafficking of infused lymphocytes.
Involvement of Niemann‐Pick Type C2 Protein in Hematopoiesis Regulation

Niemann-Pick type C2 (NPC2) protein has been characterized as a cholesterol-binding protein. Its loss leads to NPC2 disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder. When analyzing gene expression profile, we noticed high expression of both NPC2 and its receptor, mannose 6-phosphate receptor (MPR), in murine hematopoietic stem cells. NPC2 protein, in the presence of thrombopoietin (TPO), causes an increase in CFU-GEMM (colony-forming unit-granulocyte-erythroid-macrophage-megakaryocyte) and a decrease in CFU-GM (colony-forming unit-granulocyte-macrophage) colony number in colony-forming cell (CFC) assays. This effect is independent of cholesterol binding but does require the presence of MPR. With M07e cells, a TPO-dependent hematopoietic leukemia cell line, NPC2 can inhibit TPO-induced differentiation and enhance TPO-mediated anti-apoptosis effects. Strikingly, these results are not observed under the standard 20% O(2) level of the standard incubator, but rather at 7% O(2), the physiological oxygen level of bone marrow. Furthermore, NPC2 protein upregulates hypoxia inducible factor 1-alpha protein level at 7% O(2), but not at 20% O(2). Our results demonstrate that NPC2 protein plays a role in hematopoiesis at the physiologic bone marrow level of O(2).
The content of informal conversations as a function of interactants' interpersonal cognitive complexity

Subjects varying in level of interpersonal cognitive complexity engaged in ten minutes of unstructured informal conversation. These conversations were analyzed for the extent to which the talk concerned the participants themselves, the immediate context of interaction, or topics external to the immediate setting. Presumably because of their spontaneous cognitive organization of the encounter more in terms of person‐relevant dimensions, a higher proportion of the talk of high complexity subjects concerned the participants themselves; low complexity subjects’ conversations included a higher proportion of talk about external topics.
Blogging the Time Away? Young Adults' Motivations for Blog Use

The content of Weblogs ranges from personal diary entries to interactive content from news organizations. Employing the uses and gratifications framework, this study examined how much time young adults spend with blogs and how well traditional predictors of media trust fit a model of overall blog trust. Findings from data collections in 2005 and 2007 indicate that information seekers trust blog content more than those using blogs for entertainment purposes. However, traditional indicators of media trust, such as interest in current events, are negatively associated with blog trust. Implications are discussed.