cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Has Commercialization Made Us Gentler? The Enlightenment Aspiration and the the Latest Market Meltdown

At least since the bursting of the “South Sea Bubble” in 1720, economic crises have periodically compelled advanced commercial societies to reconsider their fundamental way of life. Have the emancipation of the pursuit of wealth, and of the consumption of luxury goods, proven beneficial overall? We will consider, in particular, the prevailing Enlightenment view that commercialization - for all its moral, social, and economic drawbacks - would make individuals and societies more gentle, soft, mild, peaceable, and tolerant. Among the most distinguished advocates of this “doux commerce” theory were Bernard Mandeville, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and David Hume; opponents of comparable stature included Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Ferguson. The debates surrounding doux commerce are multi-faceted, linking the rise of commerce to many other social changes often associated with modernization. For our purposes here, we will bracket many important Enlightenment claims regarding softening, including the prominent claim that wars would be less frequent. Instead, we will focus on a central set of claims regarding the softening of private mores - namely, that increasing commerce would generate habits and mindsets that are more prudent, this-worldly, unprejudiced, and focused on mutual utility. We will first develop these arguments thematically, and then consider the prominent criticism of them leveled by Rousseau. In concluding we will find some common ground, and consider empirical evidence that the everyday lives of most commercialized people have in fact become gentler, in the sense of less prone to murder.
Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics

A ‘fracture mechanics’ approach to predicting failure essentially boils down to a very simple concept: one calculates a parameter that characterizes the distribution of stresses and strains near the crack tip, and assumes that the crack will extend when this parameter reaches a critical value that depends only on the material or interface properties at hand. As one might expect, the calculated parameter will depend on the geometry of the component, the geometry of the crack, any external loads (be they mechanical or imposed temperature fields) and the constitutive law of the material (i.e., its modulus, Poisson's ratio etc.) The power of the approach is that while the calculated parameter depends on the problem at hand, the critical value is a material or interface property that does not. The critical parameter is the toughness of the material or interface – it is measured, not predicted. Thus, one can measure the critical value of the fracture parameter in an experiment based on a convenient geometry, but assess the crack stability in a totally different geometry, provided one can calculate the intensity parameter for that geometry. The key to the enormous success of fracture mechanics is this tight connection between the experimental measurement of the critical value of the intensity parameter and the evaluation of the intensity parameter for other structural geometries and loadings of interest. Fracture can occur in three different modes , which refer to the relative motion of the crack faces very close to the crack tip as the crack advances. These are shown in Figure 3.1; mode I is often referred to as the opening mode, mode II is typically called the shear or sliding mode, and mode III is also a shearing mode often called the tearing mode. In many problems of interest mode III (the tearing mode) does not come into play, but there are exceptions that will be discussed in later chapters. For homogenous materials with isotropic fracture behavior, the nature of the separation process at the crack tip tends to select a mode I trajectory when the crack advances, and this explains the heavy emphasis placed on mode I behavior and mode I toughness in many structural applications. However, the films, coatings and layered materials of primary interest in this book have interfaces which can greatly alter fracture behavior.
A Case of Purple Urine Bag Syndrome in a Patient with an Ileal Conduit

Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS) is typically a benign condition in which the urine in a Foley bag becomes purple. This situation is thought to arise from a series of steps involving the conversion of tryptophan to pigmented indigo and indirubin. While there are multiple factors associated with PUBS, no definitive causative agent has been identified. Presented here is the case of a patient with an ileal conduit who developed purple urine during his hospitalization.
An argument for permitting amphetamines and instant-release methylphenidate.

Veljko Dubljevic (2013) argues that Adderall and some forms of Ritalin should be available to healthy adults, but amphetamine and instant-release forms of methylphenidate should not be available be...
Blue nevus of the prostate: ultrastructural study

A case of blue nevus of the prostate in a sixty-five-year-old black patient was studied by light and electron microscopy. In the melanocytes only fully melanized melanosomes were present; melanosomes in early stages of development were entirely absent. It was concluded that the formation of melanosomes within the melanocytes in blue nevus of the prostate is probably under genetic control.
Risk and Protective Factors for Alcohol and Marijuana Use among African-American Rural and Urban Adolescents

The purpose of this study was to examine individual, family, peer, and community risk and protective factors associated with past-30-days alcohol and marijuana use among African-American adolescents living in rural and urban communities. This study used data collected from 907 tenth- and twelfth-grade African-American students who completed the 2005 Community Youth Survey. Peer and individual risk/protective factors were more influential for urban youths while family and community risk/protective factors were more influential for rural youths. This pattern held for alcohol and marijuana use. Implications for substance use prevention programming are discussed.
Antifungal Prophylaxis for Solid Organ Transplant Recipients: Seeking Clarity Amidst Controversy

Organ transplant recipients comprise a growing and an increasingly important group of immunocompromised hosts. Between the period 1990-1993 and the period 1994-1997, the number of transplantation procedures performed in the United States alone increased 41% for liver, 81% for kidney-pancreas, 102% for pancreas, 120% for lung, and 136% for intestinal transplantations [1]. Invasive fungal infections remain one of the most significant infectious complications among organ transplant recipients. Although mycelial fungi (e.g., phaeohyphomycetes) have emerged as important pathogens within the last decade, most invasive fungal infections in these patients are due to Aspergillus and Candida [2-4]. Management of invasive mycoses, particularly aspergillus infections, has proven remarkably challenging. Antifungal prophylaxis for solid organ transplant recipients remains a complex and controversial issue. There is a striking paucity of randomized trials in the literature. Consequently, institutional practices involving antifungal prophylaxis vary widely. Nevertheless, knowledge accrued regarding epidemiology and risk factors and published data, albeit largely from cohort studies and case series, can contribute substantially toward devising rational antifungal prophylactic strategies. In this overview, I discuss the demographic characteristics and predisposing variables for fungal infections that are the pathophysiological basis for my recommendations and the approaches I outline, the disadvantages of antifungal prophylaxis, and, finally, briefly outline directions for future studies.
Internal mammary artery embolization for hepatic tumors

Purpose To prospectively identify patients with collateral internal mammary artery (IMA) supply to hepatic tumors, and to embolize the IMA as part of palliative hepatic artery embolization (HAE).
Current status and future of hot giant dipole studies

Abstract The study of the giant dipole resonance (GDR) built on highly excited states continues to be a useful tool to explore basic nuclear properties at finite temperatures and angular momenta. More and more exclusive measurements gating on, for example, evaporation residues, angular momenta or discrete low energy γ-ray transitions are able to study the behavior of the GDR in much more detail than previously possible. The dependence of the GDR width as a function of temperatures and angular momentum continues to be a topic of discussion. In the future, second generation rare isotope facilities together with high efficiency arrays should make the study of the GDR in hot exotic nuclei feasible.
Exploratory Photochemistry of Polyfluorinated 2-Naphthyl Azide

The photochemistry of perfluoro-2-naphthylazide was examined. At low temperature (77 K), photolysis of the azide produces a persistent triplet nitrene which can be characterized by UV−vis and EPR s...
Left ventricular dysfunction of isolated working rat hearts after chronic alcohol consumption

The mechanical, haemodynamic, and energetic functions of isolated perfused working hearts from chronic alcoholic and control rats were studied. Male Long-Evans rats were fed a nutritionally-complete liquid diet containing 38 % of daily calories as ethanol (isocaloric replacement with dextrin-maltose for controls) for 34 to 48 weeks. Alcoholics and controls received either 7.4 % (low-fat) or 21.0% (high-fat) of calories from lipid. Animals were matched by dry heart weight for comparisons and hearts were evaluated at a constant heart rate in an improved isolated ejecting heart perfusion preparation. Ventricular function curves and the response to 10−7 mol·litre−1 dobutamine HCl were obtained during normoxic and hypoxic perfusion. In normoxia, the hearts from the high- and low-fat alcoholic animals exhibited a significantly lower response of left ventricular maximum systolic pressure, left ventricular maximum rate of pressure rise and maximum ejection velocity to dobutamine than did the controls. In hypoxia, the left ventricular maximum systolic pressure of the low-fat alcoholic hearts was slightly, but significantly, lower than that of the low-fat control hearts at the three filling pressures studied. Also in hypoxia, the increase in left ventricular maximum rate of pressure rise with dobutamine was significantly less in the alcoholic hearts than in controls. These data suggest that long-term consumption of moderate amounts of alcohol even along with a nutritionally-adequate diet can result in depressed myocardial contractility and pump function that may be manifest when the heart is subjected to stress conditions.
Housing and Health: A Social Ecological Perspective on the US Foreclosure Crisis

Abstract This study adds to the literature linking housing and health by illustrating how poor health can increase the risk of foreclosure, and how the threat of foreclosure can negatively affect mental health. Our findings support the social ecological model of health and housing disparities and point to health care, employment, and social welfare policies as fundamental social causes that place populations at risk for foreclosure and illness. Medical debt, illness and injury, lack of adequate health insurance, as well as caring for extended family are triggers for mortgage delinquency and risk of home loss. Poor health becomes a key point of entry into mortgage delinquency and foreclosure. Changes in mental health may result from the stress and anxiety of financial hardship, from efforts to remedy the situation, and from loss of ontological security. These effects may worsen prospects for avoiding foreclosure by impairing decision-making, straining marriages to the point of divorce, and reducing homeown...
Systematics of heavy-ion fusion hindrance at extreme sub-barrier energies

The recent discovery of hindrance in heavy-ion induced fusion reactions at extreme sub-barrier energies represents a challenge for theoretical models. Previously, it has been shown that in medium-heavy systems, the onset of fusion hindrance depends strongly on the ``stiffness'' of the nuclei in the entrance channel. In this work, we explore its dependence on the total mass and the Q-value of the fusing systems and find that the fusion hindrance depends in a systematic way on the entrance channel properties over a wide range of systems.
Classical maple syrup urine disease and brain development: Principles of management and formula design

Branched-chain ketoacid dehydrogenase deficiency results in complex and volatile metabolic derangements that threaten brain development. Treatment for classical maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) should address this underlying physiology while also protecting children from nutrient deficiencies. Based on a 20-year experience managing 79 patients, we designed a study formula to (1) optimize transport of seven amino acids (Tyr, Trp, His, Met, Thr, Gln, Phe) that compete with branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) for entry into the brain via a common transporter (LAT1), (2) compensate for episodic depletions of glutamine, glutamate, and alanine caused by reverse transamination, and (3) correct deficiencies of omega-3 essential fatty acids, zinc, and selenium widespread among MSUD patients. The formula was enriched with LAT1 amino acid substrates, glutamine, alanine, zinc, selenium, and alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3). Fifteen Old Order Mennonite children were started on study formula between birth and 34 months of age and seen at least monthly in the office. Amino acid levels were checked once weekly and more often during illnesses. All children grew and developed normally over a period of 14-33 months. Energy demand, leucine tolerance, and protein accretion were tightly linked during periods of normal growth. Rapid shifts to net protein degradation occurred during illnesses. At baseline, most LAT1 substrates varied inversely with plasma leucine, and their calculated rates of brain uptake were 20-68% below normal. Treatment with study formula increased plasma concentrations of LAT1 substrates and normalized their calculated uptakes into the nervous system. Red cell membrane omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and serum zinc and selenium levels increased on study formula. However, selenium and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) levels remained below normal. During the study period, hospitalizations decreased from 0.35 to 0.14 per patient per year. There were 28 hospitalizations managed with MSUD hyperalimentation solution; 86% were precipitated by common infections, especially vomiting and gastroenteritis. The large majority of catabolic illnesses were managed successfully at home using 'sick-day' formula and frequent amino acid monitoring. We conclude that the study formula is safe and effective for the treatment of classical MSUD. In principle, dietary enrichment protects the brain against deficiency of amino acids used for protein accretion, neurotransmitter synthesis, and methyl group transfer. Although the pathophysiology of MSUD can be addressed through rational formula design, this does not replace the need for vigilant clinical monitoring, frequent measurement of the complete amino acid profile, and ongoing dietary adjustments that match nutritional intake to the metabolic demands of growth and illness.
Young Bilingual Children's Perceptions of Bilingualism and Biliteracy: Altruistic Possibilities

Abstract This article depicts thirteen bilingual children's perceptions of their own bilingualism and biliteracy by sharing conversations, drawings, and collages. Children expressed the notion that their bilingualism/biliteracy is embedded in altruistic helping relations while revealing issues of identity. The concluding discussion centers on issues of social justice and equity in a post-monolingual society.
Tunicamycin inhibition of (3H) glucosamine incorporation into yeast glycoproteins: binding of tunicamycin and interaction with phospholipids.

Abstract Protoplasts of Saccharomyces strain 1016 took up [ 3 H]glucosamine in the presence of an energy source; mannose was chosen to minimize randomization. It accumulated in the soluble intracellular pool primarily as UDP- N -acetyl[ 3 H]glucosamine along with a small amount of [ 3 H]glucosamine 6-phosphate. The antibiotic tunicamycin (TM) at 10 μg/ml did not affect the levels of these metabolites or inhibit the formation of the N acetylglucosamine polymer, chitin, but did prevent the incorporation of [ 3 H]glucosamine into mannan peptides and the synthesis of invertase. In vitro incorporation of [ 14 C]mannose from GDP-[ 14 C]mannose into mannan in a membrane preparation was not sensitive to 100 μg of TM/ml. TM appears to inhibit an N -acetylglucosaminyl transferase essential for glycoprotein biosynthesis. Binding of [ 3 H]TM reflects its association with the plasma membrane fraction. This material could be recovered in an unaltered form by extraction with chloroform/methanol. If 0.2% phosphatidyl choline or phosphatidyl serine was added simultaneously with the [ 3 H]TM, the binding of [ 3 H]TM was greatly reduced, and the inhibitory effects of TM on protoplasts were prevented; however, addition of phospholipid 20 min later did not eliminate the inhibition, although about 80% of the bound [ 3 H]TM was removed. TM interacts with lipophilic membrane components as well as inhibiting glycoprotein synthesis.
Dynamic mechanical relaxation effects in some poly(arylene sulfones)

Poly-4,4′-oxydiphenylenesulfonyl and poly-4,4′-methylenediphenylenesulfonyl were synthesized by an electrophilic substitution polymerization of the arylene monosulfonyl chloride monomers. The glass-transition temperatures Tg of these polymers were determined by calorimetric and dynamic mechanical measurements, and the number-average molecular weights were determined by vapor-pressure osmometry. Both polymers were found to have the same Tg at equivalent molecular weight; the limiting value at high molecular weight is 238°C. Both polymers have two dynamic mechanical relaxation peaks at temperatures far below Tg. One is in the neighborhood of 0°C, and the other is at −110°C. Plausible origins for these relaxations, and the absence of any near 0°C in poly(4,4′-isopropylidenediphenylene-co-4,4′-sulfonyldiphenylene dioxide), are discussed.
Liquidus equilibria of some primary lunar and terrestrial melts in the garnet stability field

Melting experiments conducted at 28 and 30 kbar on synthetic starting materials with compositions appropriate to terrestrial (depleted) and lunar mantles (undifferentiated and cumulate) show that (1) low-degree melts of mantles with lherzolitic mineral assemblages (olivine + orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + garnet) will be (picritic) tholeftic to transitional in character; (2) the melting equilibrium is o1 + gar + cpx = opx + liq over a wide range of MgO/FeO; (3) the clinopyroxene coexisting with low-degree melts is low in CaO (∼7 wt%), as predicted by Bertka and Holloway (1993); (4) the solubility of aluminous components in pyroxene is much greater than at low pressure; and (5) the CaO concentration in clinopyroxenes coexisting with olivine and garnet in various runs ranges continuously from 7 to 16 wt%. The data place the following constraints on magma genesis: (1) polybaric fractional fusion of lunar and depleted terrestrial sources with olivine, two pyroxenes, and an aluminous phase will produce pooled melts that crystallize olivine, augite, and plagioclase before low-Ca pyroxene at low-pressure (i.e., tholeiites); (2) the absence of tholeftic lavas or cumulates on the Moon indicates high-degree melts and/or no residual aluminous phase in lunar source regions; and (3) the low-Ca clinopyroxene on the high-pressure lherzolite solidus is a super-critical clinopyroxene that appears on the anhydrous lherzolite solidus with increasing pressure when the of + pig + aug liquidus boundary curve develops a critical end point. This critical end point terminates the high-Al2O3 end of the of + pig + aug liquidus curve. As the critical end point migrates to the Opx-Wo join, it progressively eliminates the of + pig + aug liquidus curve, which disappears entirely by about 20 kbar.[/a]
β-3-furylalanine, a new analog of phenylalanine

Abstract β-3-Furylalanine has been synthesized and has been found to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli , ATCC strain 9723; Escherichia coli , ATCC strain 9723f; and Lactobacillus arabinosus 17-5. In each strain of E. coli , in the presence of exogenous phenylalanine, β-3-furylalanine was more toxic than β-2-furylalanine. Reversal of inhibition caused by high levels of β-3-furylalanine required, in addition to phenylalanine, either leucine or methionine. In L. arabinosus the β-2-isomer was more toxic than the β-3-isomer.
Model for the diagnosis of CIM equipment

Abstract This paper presents a model for the diagnosis of CIM (computer integrated manufacturing) equipment. The model uses the deep knowledge of state transitions in the manufacturing process, for fault isolation and determination of the causal agent. This requires the use of valid sensory information. The model utilizes a sensor validation approach which incorporates diagnostic expectation and exclusion techniques. Furthermore a generic mechanism classification is used to reduce the effort in encoding test procedures for each subsystem. The model is developed in details using a workcell with a SCARA robot performing pick-and-place operations. The implementation of the model is done using Intellicorp's Knowledge Engineering Environment on a Symbolics 3640 computer.
Optimal tax policy under habit formation and capital utilization

Abstract Our objective is to investigate, how the combination of habit formation with endogenous capital utilization decisions affects the process of economic growth. We find that in the presence of positive productivity growth, habit formation in consumption reduces the rate of capital utilization while increasing the long run stock of capital. We show in the Chamley–Judd result of zero income capital taxation is robust to the presence of endogenous capital utilization. The result even extends to the short-run as long as there are no depreciation allowances, but breaks if those are present. Our policy simulations show that steady state level of capital utilization is not affected by changes in income tax, but its reduced on impact to accommodate for the constance of capital stock Our numerical simulations also show important differences in the time adjustment followed by key variables, as a response to tax policy.
Matching Images Using Linear Features

We describe techniques for matching two images or an image and a map. This operation is basic for machine vision and is needed for the tasks of object recognition, change detection, map up-dating, passive navigation, and other tasks. Our system uses line-based descriptions, and matching is accomplished by a relaxation operation which computes most similar geometrical structures. A more efficient variation, called the ``kernel'' method, is also described. We give results on complex aerial images which contain many image differences, caused by varying sun position, different seasons, and imaging environments, and also structural changes caused by man-made alterations such as new construction.
Fpga-based data acquisition system for a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner

Modern Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are capable of performing complex discrete signal processing algorithms with clock rates of above 100MHz. This combined with FPGAs low expense, ease of use, and selected dedicated hardware make them an ideal technology for a data acquisition system for positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. Our laboratory is producing a high-resolution, small-animal PET scanner that utilizes FPGAs as the core of the front-end electronics. While this scanner uses an Altera ACEX1k and has limited complexity, we are also developing a new set of front-end electronics based on an Altera StratixII. This next generation scanner utilizes many of the features of modern FPGAs to add significant signal processing to produce higher resolution images. One such process we discuss is sub-clock rate pulse timing. We show that timing performed in the FPGA can achieve a resolution that is suitable for small-animal scanners, and will outperform the analog version given a low enough sampling period for the ADC
Editorial: Carotid body: a new target for rescuing neural control of cardiorespiratory balance in disease.

Significant insight into the mechanisms involved in chronic heart failure (CHF) have been provided by Schultz and his associates at the University of Nebraska Medical Center with the use of pacing-induced heart failure rabbits. Critical among the CHF mechanisms was the role of the carotid body (CB). The stimulated CB produces a wide array of systemic reflex responses; certainly those in the cardiopulmonary (CP) system are the most important in CHF. This generates a question as to whether the CB could serve as a target for some kind of treatment to reestablish control of cardiorespiratory balance in CHF. Any treatment would have to be based on a solid understanding of the mechanisms of chemosensing by the CB as well as the transducing of that sensing into neural activity sent to the medullary centers and regions of autonomic outflow to the periphery. Two avenues of treatment could be to (1) silence or attenuate the CB's neural output pharmacologically and (2) excise the CBS. There is a long history of CB removal mostly as a remedy for chronic obstructive lung disease. Results have been inconclusive as to the effectiveness of this procedure. But if carefully planned, the procedure might be a helpful treatment.
Condensation of Submerged Vapor Jets in Subcooled Liquids

A theoretical investigation of turbulent condensing vapor jets submerged in subcooled liquids was conducted. A model of the process was developed employing the locally homogeneous flow approximation of two-phase flow in conjunction with a k-e-g model of turbulence properties. The model was evaluated using existing data for turbulent condensing water, ethylene glycol and iso-octane vapor jets with liquid to vapor density ratios in the range 324–31,200, initial jet Reynolds numbers greater than 15,000 and negligible effects of buoyancy. Good predictions of vapor penetration lengths were obtained using conventional turbulence model constants established for single phase flows.
Integrated nanosystems with junctionless crossed nanowire transistors

Junctionless field-effect transistors (FETs) are promising emerging devices with simple doping profiles. In these devices, the channel is uniformly doped without the need for extremely good lateral doping abruptness or high thermal budget at source/channel and drain/channel junctions. This implies that device customization requirements are simplified compared to conventional enhancement-mode FETs. However, junctionless FETs have been discussed exclusively in the context of MOSFET replacement assuming other CMOS manufacturing, circuit and interconnect paradigms to be preserved intact. In this paper we argue for integration of junctionless devices into emerging nanofabrics. We propose junctionless crossed-nanowire FETs (xnwFETs) as the active devices for the Nanoscale Application Specific Integrated Circuits (NASICs) crossed nanowire fabric. We show that in addition to reducing customization requirements for individual nanodevices, the simpler device doping profile enables a scalable manufacturing pathway for NASICs where alignment and overlay requirements are minimized. In this pathway, a uniform 2-D nanowire grid may be assembled using unconventional or self-assembly based approaches without any overlay constraints. Overlay requirements exist only for subsequent photolithography steps, which is expected to be very precise (3σ = ±3.3nm for 16nm technology node).
Recent Historical Novels

ALTHOUGH the popularity of fiction based, however slightly, on history hardly ever flagged after the impetus given it by the Wizard of the North, the past decade or so would appear to have seen the genre flourish more luxuriantly than at any time since Scott. What Scott himself would think of some modern historical novels is perhaps impertinent here, but scarcely doubtful: certainly Amy was no Amber, though she could be made so with Boston and Hollywood in mind. Naturally enough, except to members of the Mediaeval Academy, most current historical novels deal with times subsequent to the Middle Ages, and in the United States with our own local and relatively recent affairs. Nevertheless, a surprisingly large number are mediaeval in matter. The editors of SPECULUM, with the complicity of the reviewer, have decided to risk a charge of frivolity by giving space to a group of historical novels* ranging from the time of Helena, mother of Constantine, to that of Mary Tudor. More people, after all, are led to history by way of fiction than through lectures and monographs, and even mediaevalists need not feel so complacent today as to ignore any means of recruiting their ranks. The scholarship that scorns fancy and imagination may find itself in solitary scholarship. The present bag is a mixed one, and includes legendary history, folk history, imaginary history, accurate history, period-piece history, and, indeed, no history. Two of the stories (Judith of France and King's Man) were frankly written for children, and are by no means the worst of the lot; another (The Good Yeomen) deals with characters usually written about for children; three (The Gallant Years, Merchant of Valor and The Strong Room) were written for readers whose literary sophistication is not over-developed; one (The Living Wood) was apparently written for the moving pictures; two (Within the Hollow Crown and James and Joan) are honest, workmanlike, adult fiction; one (The Well of the Unicorn) is an ably written piece with its history made out of whole cloth, and with a pro-
Synthesis and characterisation of glucosamine-NSAID bioconjugates.

Strategies to couple non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to a glucosamine hydrochloride salt via an amino acid linker are investigated and a series of novel NSAID–glucosamine bioconjugates have been prepared.
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (protirelin) inhibits potassium-stimulated glutamate and aspartate release from hippocampal slices in vitro.

Abstract Excess excitatory amino acid release is involved in pathways associated with seizures and neurodegeneration. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH; protirelin), a brain-derived tripeptide, has shown efficacy in the treatment of such disorders, yet its mechanism of neuroprotection is poorly understood. Using superfused hippocampal slices, we tested the hypothesis that TRH could inhibit evoked glutamate/aspartate release in vitro. Rat hippocampal slices were first equilibrated in oxygenated Krebs buffer (KRB) (120 min) then superfused for 10 min with KRB (control), or KRB containing 0.1, 1, or 10 μM TRH respectively, prior to and during 5 min depolarization with high potassium KRB (50 mM [K+] ± TRH). Fractions (1 min) were collected during the 5 min stimulation and for an additional 10 min thereafter and analyzed for glutamate and aspartate by HPLC. TRH had no effect on baseline glutamate/aspartate release, while all three TRH doses significantly (P
Optimization for design problems having more than one objective

Abstract Abstract. This paper presents a class of design optimization problems where an outer optimization is constrained by an inner one. In the first part of the paper, we show that a major subclass of this type of problem is the multiple criteria (vector-valued) decision making problem. This subclass was the requested review topic for this paper; we discuss it extensively. The paper concludes by discussing the more general problem, indicating its importance to design and exploring its potential very unpleasent nonconvex behavior. We introduce a single level solution algorithm that shows promise for finding a local optimum very quickly.
Auger relaxation processes in semiconductor nanocrystals and quantum wells

Abstract Auger recombination rates in mesoscopic semiconductor structures have been studied as a function of energy band parameters and heterostructure size. It is shown that nonthreshold Auger processes stimulated by the presence of heteroboundaries become the dominant nonradiative recombination channel in nanometer size semiconductor structures. The size dependence of luminescence quantum yields in nanostructures and microcrystals are discussed. Auger-like collisions of electrons and heavy holes are shown to serve as “accelerators” of thermalization processes in semiconductor quantum dots.
Studies on the metabolism of adipose tissue. VIII. Alterations produced by biotin deficiency in the rat.

Abstract A comparison of the metabolism of glucose in vitro by adipose tissue from normal, biotin-deficient, and biotin-restored rats has been made. Insulin enhances the uptake of glucose by tissue from all three types of animals. In the biotin-deficient animal, 41% of the glucose is converted to lactic acid as compared to 7% in the normal. A corresponding decrease in the net CO 2 production is observed in the biotin-deficient animal signifying a lowered fatty acid synthesis. A single injection of 300 μg. biotin results in a rapid restoration of the metabolic pattern toward the normal.
Therapies for coronaviruses. Part 2: inhibitors of intracellular life cycle

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus emerged from an animal reservoir in 2002 and has the potential to reemerge, as shown by the occurrence of non-laboratory-associated ...
Osteoporosis in men

Osteoporosis in men causes significant morbidity and mortality. Bone health declines gradually, often insidiously; and in light of the advancing aging population poses a serious public health issue that is not well recognized. Studies of the past decade have expanded our understanding of the events within, as well as the regulation of, bone remodeling and provided better insight into the physiology and pathophysiology specific to the adult male skeleton. The clinical measurement of bone mineral density using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry remains the gold standard for diagnosis of osteoporosis in males; and fracture risk assessment is now recognized as a preferred approach to guide treatment decisions. Utilizing surrogate end-points such as increasing bone mineral density and decreasing concentrations of bone resorption markers, clinical trials have demonstrated efficacy in pharmacological treatment of osteoporosis in the adult male. Unfortunately, few studies have evaluated the anti-fracture benefits in this population. Measurement of bone turnover markers may be an additional tool to monitor therapeutic responsiveness in addition to the measurement of bone mineral density.
Caenorhabditis elegans: A new model organism for studies of axon regeneration

Axonal regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans was first reported five years ago. Individual green fluorescent protein-labeled axons can be severed using laser microsurgery and their regrowth followed in vivo. Several neuron types display robust regrowth after injury, including motor and sensory neurons. The small size and transparency of C. elegans make possible large-scale genetic and pharmacological screens for regeneration phenotypes.
New Circuits for Old Memories: The Role of the Neocortex in Consolidation

Studies of learning and memory have provided a great deal of evidence implicating hippocampal mechanisms in the initial storage of facts and events. However, until recently, there were few hints as to how and where this information was permanently stored. A recent series of rodent molecular and cellular cognition studies provide compelling evidence for the involvment of specific neocortical regions in the storage of information initially processed in the hippocampus. Areas of the prefrontal cortex, including the anterior cingulate and prelimbic cortices, and the temporal cortex show robust increases in activity specifically following remote memory retrieval. Importantly, damage to or inactivation of these areas produces selective remote memory deficits. Additionally, transgenic studies provide glimpses into the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cortical memory consolidation. The studies reviewed here represent the first exciting steps toward the understanding of the molecular, cellular, and systems mechanisms of how the brain stores our oldest and perhaps most defining memories.
Using wavelets to design gradient-index interference coatings

This paper proposes that wavelet construction of the gradient-index refractive index be used to design optical interference coatings. The basic wavelet used is a localized apodized rugate. By incorporating scaled and shifted copies of the basic wavelet, which are other elements of a basis set according to wavelet theory, a variety of interference coatings can be designed.
Caffeine-induced monaster cycling in fertilized eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus

Caffeine has several highly visible effects on mitosis in eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. It increases the cell cycle length in a dose-dependent manner and at a concentration between 5 and 10 mM it prevents the normal separation and function of the mitotic centers, resulting in periodic monaster formation rather than division. If fertilized eggs are placed in seawater containing 10 mM caffeine at prometaphase, the spindle rapidly shrinks, moving the mitotic centers to the middle of the metaphase plate in less than 10 min. Within 30 min the eggs recover their ability to polymerize microtubules to form a large monaster, and from this time on they continue to cycle monasters in the presence of caffeine, with a period of about 150 min, where the normal second division time is 55 min. Other cell cycle functions, such as chromosome condensation, nuclear membrane breakdown and reformation, attempted furrowing and surface membrane addition continue for at least several cycles, but at the slower rate. Although the evidence strongly suggests that the rapid breakdown of the prometaphase spindle results from a calcium release induced by caffeine, these experiments do not rule out other physiological effects of caffeine on the longer-term changes in cycle length, centriole function, and ultimately on cell survival.
An infrared study of the physisorption and reaction of molybdenum hexacarbonyl on γ-alumina

Abstract The infrared spectra of molybdenum hexacarbonyl adsorbed on two types of γ-alumina have been determined after initial adsorption at 25°C and after activation in flowing helium at 100°C to produce Mo(CO)3ads. Nearly fully hydroxylated alumina (HA), partially dehydroxylated alumina (PDA, pretreated at 450–500°C), and nearly fully dehydroxylated alumina (DA, pretreated at 1000°C) were employed. Reaction between physisorbed Mo(CO)6 and the surface of alumina commences at 25°C or slightly above. It is proposed that surface O2− (σ-O−) or OH− (σ-OH) add to the carbon atom of one CO ligand with consequent labilization of other CO ligands for displacement by σ-O− or σ-OH. An infrared absorption band for Mo(CO)3ads was observed on HA, PDA, and DA at near 1580 cm−1 but only weakly with HA. On HA it is proposed that Mo(CO)3ads is primarily (σ-OH)3Mo(CO)3, and on DA, species like (σ-O)3Mo(CO)2(C00-σ). On PDA, (σ-O)3 would be replaced by (σ-O)2(σ-OH) or (σ-O)(σ-OH)2.
Structural characterization of calcitonin gene-related peptide purified from rabbit intestine

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) immunoreactive material has been found in extracts of the intestine, however, the structure of intestinal CGRP is not known. Analytical reverse phase HPLC and ion-exchange FPLC revealed one predominant immunoreactive CGRP peak in rabbit intestinal extracts. This material was purified from rabbit intestine by sequential steps of reverse phase HPLC and ion-exchange FPLC. Microsequence and mass spectral analysis of the purified peptide and its chymotryptic fragments were consistent with the structure: GCNTATCVTHRLAGLLSRSGGMVKSNFVPTNVGSEAF-amide. Rabbit intestinal CGRP is identical to human CGRP-II in 35 of 37 amino acid residues. Two amino acid differences were detected at position 1, with Gly in rabbit CGRP instead of Ala in human CGRP-II, and at position 35, with Glu instead of Lys, respectively. Rabbit CGRP differed from human CGRP-I by three additional amino acids at positions 3, 22, and 25. This report shows that a CGRP form which closely resembles human CGRP-II, by means of chemical characterization, is the predominant form in rabbit intestine. Rabbit CGRP is the only CGRP form which has Gly as the amino terminal amino acid. Since the amino terminus of CGRP seems to be important for expression of bioactivity, the biological activity of rabbit CGRP may differ from human, rat and porcine CGRP.
The metabolic state of cancer stem cells—a valid target for cancer therapy?

In the 1920s Otto Warburg first described high glucose uptake, aerobic glycolysis, and high lactate production in tumors. Since then high glucose uptake has been utilized in the development of PET imaging for cancer. However, despite a deepened understanding of the molecular underpinnings of glucose metabolism in cancer, this fundamental difference between normal and malignant tissue has yet to be employed in targeted cancer therapy in the clinic. In this review, we highlight attempts in the recent literature to target cancer cell metabolism and elaborate on the challenges and controversies of these strategies in general and in the context of tumor cell heterogeneity in cancer.
Myocardial lysosome stability in the early stages of acute ischemic injury

Abstract The stability of myocardial lysosomes in the right and left ventricles of the dog heart was decreased after a 4 hour period of acute total ligation of the left circumflex coronary artery. Lysosomes isolated from the site of uniform Ischemic injury in the left posterior papillary muscle either had much less enzymatic activity or were disrupted. Cells at this site exhibited other signs of severe injury, such as significant glycogen depletion and potassium loss. Hypoxie right ventricular loci which evidenced glycogen loss but no potassium depletion also demonstrated significant lysosome involvement. The extent of lysosome disruption was compared to the degree of change in subcellular indexes of hypoxic and Ischemic myocardial injury. The evidence suggests that alterations in lysosome stability may be among the earliest structural changes that occur during the process of Ischemic myocardial injury; and the presence of lysosome involvement in hypoxic sites that lost glycogen but not potassium indicates that the intracellular release of acid hydrolases occurs before cellular death and may contribute to the initiation of the process of cellular injury.
Social justice and human caring: A model of caring science as a hopeful paradigm for moral justice for humanity.

The only true standard of greatness of any civilization is our sense of social and moral responsibility in translating material wealth to human values and achieving our full potential as a caring society. -The Right Honorable Norman Kirk, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
A Spur-Frequency-Boosting PLL with a −74dBc reference-spur rejection in 90nm digital CMOS

An architectural solution for designing a low-reference-spur PLL is presented. A spur frequency-booster block is inserted between the phase-frequency-detector and the charge pump to boost the charge pump's input frequency. Hence, the reference-spurs theoretically vanish. The proposed technique adds additional degrees of freedom in the design of PLLs to reduce the spur level without sacrificing neither the loop bandwidth nor the voltage-controlled oscillator's gain. A prototype is fabricated using UMC 90nm digital CMOS technology and achieves −74dBc reference-spur suppression along with (K VCO /f ref ) ratio of 17 at a (f BW /f ref ) ratio of 1/20.
History of asthma deaths from antiquity.

Abstract Death from asthma has been known to occur since its original descriptions in ancient times. Even in the eighteenth century some risk factors for death, such as delayed or inadequate treatment, were recognized. Autopsies performed on some patients dying of asthma in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries did not show the characteristic gross pathologic findings, suggesting that some inappropriate therapy might have contributed to the demise of the patients. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, before 1920, death from asthma was considered to be rare by many leading authorities. However, asthma mortality rates in young people were stable for a century before the "epidemic" of asthma deaths in the latter 1960s. Since then, despite many advances made in our understanding of the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms and in our ability to treat with newer drugs, deaths from asthma in young patients have not declined and in some areas of the world have indeed increased.
The influence of the metameric pattern in the mesoderm on migration of cranial neural crest cells in the chick embryo

Abstract In recent studies of chick embryos, the cranial paraxial mesoblast was found to be patterned into segmental units termed somitomeres. Anterior to the first segmental cleft, seven contiguous segments are aligned, with somitomeric interfaces forming grooves at right angles to the midline. In this study, the morphological relationship between the migratory pathways of cranial neural crest cells and patterned primary mesenchyme was analyzed with the scanning electron microscope, utilizing stereo imaging. In addition, the development of neuromeres in the adjacent neural tube was monitored. It was found that cranial neural crest first appears along the dorsal midline as a ridge of cells which loosens from the wall of the neural tube and migrates laterally as discrete populations. The mesencephalic crest appears first, immediately following neural tube fusion at that level, and migrates over the dorsal surface of the adjacent third somitomere and into the grooves formed by its juncture with the second and fourth somitomeres. Later, the addition of prosencephalic and rostral rhombencephalic crest extends the mesencephalic population to form a shelf of crest which spreads over the dorsal surface of the first four somitomeres. Component cells of this most cranial crest shelf become oriented and mimic the metameric pattern of the subjacent somitomeres. Crest cells adjacent to the fifth somitomeres appear along the midline, but do not migrate, creating a gap anterior to the otic crest. By stage 9, a narrow finger-like segment of the otic crest migrates from a specific neuromere into the grooved interface between the fifth and sixth somitomeres, delimiting the rostral border of the otic placode in the ectoderm above. By the end of stage 9, crest cells delimiting the caudal border of the placode have migrated along the interface of the seventh and eighth somitomeres. The crest cells adjacent to the sixth and seventh somitomeres, between the rostral and caudal otic populations, appear but do not migrate, remaining condensed along the midline. Thus, otic crest cells form a ring which circumscribes the invaginating otic placode. This study suggests that the precise distribution of cranial neural crest cells may result from their introduction at specific times, as specific populations from specific brain regions (neuromeres), onto a patterned mesodermal layer.