cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Action of gramicidin on mitochondia. I. Ion-dependent mitochondrial volume changes energized by adenosine 5'-triphosphate.

Abstract In the presence of permeant cations, permeant anions, and gramicidin, the addition of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) under the conditions described initiates a mitochondrial swelling-contraction cycle which is accompanied by a constant rate of ATP hydrolysis. The extents of swelling and contraction, the configuration of the swellingcontraction cycle, and accompanying ATPase activity are modified by variation of concentrations of ATP, various permeant cations and anions, gramicidin and antimycin A; and also by variation of tonicity and ratio of concentrations of Tris-Cl to sucrose of reaction mixtures. Monovalent cation specificity for ATP-energized volume changes is not an invarient property of the action of gramicidin since ion specificity for activity may be altered by inhibition of respiratory chain electron transport or by addition of p -hydroxymercuribenzoate (PHMB). Under carefully defined conditions Na + and NH 4 + are inactive as permeant cations and inhibit activities associated with permeant cations. Inhibitory effects of Na + are increased by inhibition of respiratory chain electron transport. Although Na + inhibits swelling-contraction cycles and ATPase activities associated with K + , Rb + , or Cs + , Na + does not inhibit activity in the presence of Li + . Na + or NH 4 + behave as permeant cations if low concentrations of PHMB are added. Mg + is inhibitory, and this inhibition can be overcome by increasing the concentration of K + , sulfate, or ATP. The anionic requirement for swelling-contraction cycles may be satisfied by sulfate, l -malate, succinate, maleate, acetate, oxalate, malonate, or methylphosphate. Pyrophosphate, glutarate, pimelate, or phthalate are inactive and inhibit activity associated with permeant anions. The inhibitory effect of pyprophosphate may be overcome by increasing the concentration of either K + , sulfate, or ATP. Pyrophosphate inhibition is markedly enhanced by addition of inhibitors of electron transport. Addition of PHMB to the gramicidin system results in damped harmonic oscillatory volume changes in the presence of K + . Addition of inhibitory cations, 2,4-dinitrophenol, rutamycin, or pyrophosphate after completion of swelling accelerates the contractile segment of the cycle. Addition in a similar manner of phthalate, an inhibitory anion, inhibits the contractile segment of the swelling-contraction cycle. These findings are discussed in relation to a proposed hypothesis which relates ion-dependent, gramicidin-induced volume changes to a cationic requirement of various suggested anionic intermediates of respiratory chain oxidative phosphorylation.
The Myth of Plutonium Toxicity

Plutonium is constantly referred to by the news media as “the most toxic substance known to man.” Ralph Nader has said that a pound of plutomium could cause 8 billion cancers, and former Senator Ribicoff has said that a single particle of plutonium inhaled into the lung can cause cancer. There is no scientific basis for any of these statements as I have shown in a paper in the refereed scientific journal Health Physics (Vol. 32, pp. 359–379, 1977). Nader asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to evaluate my paper, which they did in considerable depth and detail, but when they gave it a “clean bill of health” he ignored their report. When he accused me of “trying to detoxify plutonium with a pen,” I offered to eat as much plutonium as he would eat of caffeine, which my paper shows is comparably dangerous, or given reasonable TV coverage, to personally inhale 1000 times as much plutonium as he says would be fatal, or in response to former Senator Ribicoff’s statement to inhale 1000 particles of plutonium of any size that can be suspended in air. My offer was made to all major TV networks but there has never been a reply beyond a request for a copy of my paper. Yet the false statements continue in the news media and surely 95% of the public accept them as fact although virtually no one in the radiation health scientific community gives them credence. We have here a complete breakdown in communication between the scientific community and the news media, and an unprecedented display of irresponsibility by the latter. One must also question the ethics of Nader and Ribicoff; I have sent them my papers and written them personal letters, but I have never received a reply.
Utility of frozen section analysis for fungal organisms in soft tissue wound debridement margin determination.

Zygomycetes cause different patterns of infection in immunosuppressed individuals, including sino-orbito-cerebral, pulmonary, skin/soft tissue infection and disseminated disease. Infections with Zygomycetes have a high mortality rate, even with prompt treatment, which includes anti-fungal agents and surgical debridement. In some centers, clear margins are monitored by serial frozen sections, but there are no specific guidelines for the use of frozen sections during surgical debridement. Studies in fungal rhinosinusitis found 62.5–85 % sensitivity of frozen section analysis in margin assessment. However, the utility of frozen section analysis for margin evaluation in debridement of skin/soft tissue infection has not been published. We present a case of zygomycosis of decubitus ulcers in which we assessed statistical measures of performance of frozen section analysis for presence of fungal organisms on the margin, compared with formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) sections as gold standard. A total of 33 specimens (94 blocks) were sectioned, stained with H&E and evaluated by both frozen and FFPE analysis. Negative interpretations were confirmed by Gomori methenamine silver stain on FFPE sections. H&E staining of frozen sections had 68.4 % sensitivity and 100 % specificity for assessing margins clear of fungal organisms. The negative and positive predictive values were 70.0 % and 100 %, respectively. Using presence of acute inflammation and necrosis as markers of fungal infection improved sensitivity (100 %) at the expense of specificity (42.9 %). Use of intraoperative assessment of skin and soft tissue margins for fungal infection is a valuable tool in the management of skin and soft tissue fungal infection treatment.
Ethanol Inhibition of Up-States in Prefrontal Cortical Neurons Expressing the Genetically Encoded Calcium Indicator GCaMP3

Background The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critically involved in working memory, cognition and decision-making; processes significantly affected by ethanol. During quiet restfulness or sleep, prefrontal cortical neurons show synaptically-evoked oscillations in membrane potential between hyperpolarized down-states and depolarized up-states. Previous studies from this laboratory used whole-cell electrophysiology and demonstrated that in individual neurons, ethanol inhibited PFC up-states at concentrations associated with behavioral impairment. While those studies monitored activity in one or two neurons at a time, it is likely that in vivo, larger networks of neurons participate in the complex functions of the prefrontal cortex. In the present study, we used imaging and a genetically encoded calcium sensor to examine the effects of ethanol on the activity of multiple neurons simultaneously during up-states.
Novel lipoprotein density profiling in healthy dogs of various breeds, healthy miniature schnauzers, and miniature schnauzers with hyperlipidemia

Despite the importance of abnormalities in lipoprotein metabolism in clinical canine medicine, the fact that most previously used methods for lipoprotein profiling are rather laborious and time-consuming has been a major obstacle to the wide clinical application and use of lipoprotein profiling in this species. The aim of the present study was to assess the feasibility of a continuous lipoprotein density profile (CLPDP) generated within a bismuth sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (NaBiEDTA) density gradient to characterize and compare the lipoprotein profiles of healthy dogs of various breeds, healthy Miniature Schnauzers, and Miniature Schnauzers with primary hypertriacylglycerolemia. A total of 35 healthy dogs of various breeds with serum triacylglycerol (TAG) and cholesterol concentrations within their respective reference intervals were selected for use as a reference population. Thirty-one Miniature Schnauzers with serum TAG and cholesterol concentrations within their respective reference intervals and 31 Miniature Schnauzers with hypertriacylglyceridemia were also included in the study. The results suggest that CLPDP using NaBiEDTA provides unique diagnostic information in addition to measurements of serum TAG and cholesterol concentrations and that it is a useful screening method for dogs with suspected lipoprotein metabolism disorders. Using the detailed and continuous density distribution information provided by the CLPDP, important differences in lipoprotein profiles can be detected even among dogs that have serum TAG and cholesterol concentrations within the reference interval. Miniature Schnauzers with serum TAG and cholesterol concentrations within the reference interval had significantly different lipoprotein profiles than dogs of various other breeds. In addition, it was further established that specific lipoprotein fractions are associated with hypertriacylglyceridemia in Miniature Schnauzers. The results of the present study suggest that density gradient ultracentrifugation using NaBiEDTA is a useful screening method for the study of lipoprotein profiles in dogs. Therefore, this method could potentially be used for diagnostic purposes for the separation of dogs suspected of having lipoprotein abnormalities from healthy dogs.
CD4+ T cells promote antibody production but not sustained affinity maturation during Borrelia burgdorferi infection.

CD4 T cells are crucial for enhancing B cell-mediated immunity, supporting the induction of high-affinity, class-switched antibody responses, long-lived plasma cells, and memory B cells. Previous studies showed that the immune response to Borrelia burgdorferi appears to lack robust T-dependent B cell responses, as neither long-lived plasma cells nor memory B cells form for months after infection, and nonswitched IgM antibodies are produced continuously during this chronic disease. These data prompted us to evaluate the induction and functionality of B. burgdorferi infection-induced CD4 TFH cells. We report that CD4 T cells were effectively primed and TFH cells induced after B. burgdorferi infection. These CD4 T cells contributed to the control of B. burgdorferi burden and supported the induction of B. burgdorferi-specific IgG responses. However, while affinity maturation of antibodies against a prototypic T-dependent B. burgdorferi protein, Arthritis-related protein (Arp), were initiated, these increases were reversed later, coinciding with the previously observed involution of germinal centers. The cessation of affinity maturation was not due to the appearance of inhibitory or exhausted CD4 T cells or a strong induction of regulatory T cells. In vitro T-B cocultures demonstrated that T cells isolated from B. burgdorferi-infected but not B. burgdorferi-immunized mice supported the rapid differentiation of B cells into antibody-secreting plasma cells rather than continued proliferation, mirroring the induction of rapid short-lived instead of long-lived T-dependent antibody responses in vivo. The data further suggest that B. burgdorferi infection drives the humoral response away from protective, high-affinity, and long-lived antibody responses and toward the rapid induction of strongly induced, short-lived antibodies of limited efficacy.
Depression treatment preferences of VA Primary care patients

The authors identified veterans' depression treatment preferences and explored relationships between preferences, process of care, and clinical outcomes. Patients entering a collaborative depression intervention trial in primary care completed an assessment of treatment preferences. Medical record review was used to identify treatments offered and received over a 12-month period. Of 314 patients, 32% preferred antidepressants; 19%, individual counseling; 18%, antidepressants plus counseling; 7%, group counseling; and 25%, "watchful waiting." Although the treatment that was offered was associated with treatment preferences, being offered preferred treatment was not associated with receiving treatment or with changes in depression severity or satisfaction over time.
A Thermodynamic Foundation for Modeling the Moist Atmosphere

Abstract With advances in numerical modeling of the atmosphere, we have experienced that the return to the first principles of physics often enables a model to cope more easily with the complexities of the real atmosphere. The return to the primitive equations of motion from historical balance approximations is an example. This paper proposes a way to return to the “primitive” form of moist themodynamics, in which prediction is made strictly in terms of conservative properties, such as mass and entropy. There is no conservation law that would apply directly to temperature or pressure. These intensive properties, therefore, should be diagnostically determined by thermodynamics, from the predicted conservative properties. The scope of the paper is limited to the thermodynamics of reversible processes. Irreversible processes, which would make a model alive with real weather, are not discussed here, since each of them requires a separate empirical treatment. It is shown, however, that the proposed formulation...
Recycling waste: exploiting wrong-path execution to improve branch prediction

Despite continuous improvement in branch prediction algorithms, branch misprediction remains a major limitation on microprocessor performance. As pipelines are widened or stretched deeper, branch prediction will become even more crucial. This paper taps into a currently wasted resource, wrong-path execution, to help improve branch prediction. Due to control independence, often the outcomes of branches that are executed along the wrong-path match the outcomes on the correct-path. Current branch prediction methods rely on correlation between branches on the correct path, therefore leaving potentially useful wrong-path branch information unexploited. We present in this paper a new, very simple, and very effective method that extends branch prediction to allow the recycling of wrong-path branch outcomes at the fetch stage. Simulations of deeply pipelined processors using a selected set of SpecInt 2000 and other benchmarks, with more than 5 branch mispredictions per thousand micro-operations, show that branch misprediction rate can be reduced by up to 30%. Depending on the pipeline depth, the corresponding average performance improvement varies from 5% to 20%.
An analysis of book versus article productivity based on top researchers careers

This study analyzed the productivity of top scholars in the field in terms of published books in order to (1) equate the relative value of published books in comparison to published research articles, and (2) provide a scholarship ranking which takes into consideration both published books and published research articles. The list of the top 102 researchers in the field, as identified by Hickson, Stacks, and Bodon (1999) and 29 additional researchers identified by Funkhouser (1996) as the top “most cited”; researchers served as the parameters for this study. The total number of articles from those researchers (2,687) was divided by the number of books they had written (426), producing an article‐to‐book ratio of 6.3. Each book was multiplied by that coefficient and that number was added to the number of articles for each author to produce a ranking of the top 100 prolific researchers in communication, based on a combination of both articles and books published.
What Women Want: The Ideas of the Movement

The women's movement is perhaps the most baffling of the recent social reforms to sweep the United States. It is composed of numerous distinct groups, each with specific interests and goals, each with individual leaders and literature. What are the philosophies behind these groups? Who are their leaders and how have their ideas evolved? Do they have a vital connection with the women's movement of the past? And where are today's groups headed? In this study that brilliantly illuminates the literature and purposes of contemporary feminists, "What Women Want: The Ideas of the Movement," Gayle Graham Yates has produced the first comprehensive history of contemporary women's groups.Concentrating chiefly on the movement from 1959 to 1973, when it erupted in such activist groups as the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Women's Equity Action League (WEAL), and the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), the author analyzes in detail their literature, factions, and issues. Her survey encompasses virtually every major expression of the movement's multiple facets, from "The Feminine Mystique," "Born Female," and "Sexual Politics," to "Sex and the Single Girl" and "Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen." In a significant breakthrough, the author discerns the pattern underlying this diversity, which should contribute to a fuller understanding of future developments in the women's struggle. She accomplishes this by identifying three key attitudes informing the movement: the feminist, the women's liberationist, and the androgynous or cooperative male-female relationship.The author provides a sensitive, yet critical analysis of the chief spokeswomen in contemporary America, activists like Gloria Steinem, Shulamith Firestone, and Ti-Grace Atkinson. She treats each of the feminist ideologies with balance and respect, yet is refreshingly unafraid to criticize new developments. She bolsters her own conclusions in support of an androgynous or equal sexual society with a judicious spirit. Scholars and the general public alike will find Yates' book not only an indispensable contribution to women's studies, but also a strong and timely addition to contemporary American life and thought."
Identification of negative and positive estrogen response elements in human GnRH upstream promoter in the placental JEG-3 cells

Abstract Results from our previous studies have demonstrated regulatory effects of estradiol on human gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene expression in human placental cells. The present study was designed to determine the molecular mechanisms whereby estrogens regulate the human GnRH gene expression in the placenta. The effects of estradiol on human GnRH upstream promoter activity in JEG-3 cells depends on the amounts of estrogen receptor (ER) alpha expression vector co-transfected, with the maximal effect obtained at the amount of 1.0 μg of ER expression vector cotransfected. Estriol, an isoform of estradiol, also possesses a regulatory effect on the upstream promoter activity, while estrone, another isoform, does not. Serial deletion studies revealed two estrogen responsive elements in the GnRH upstream promoter region. One element (−987 to −968 bp, E4 element) confers a negative estradiol response, while another one (−827 to −730 bp) is responsible for a positive estradiol effect. Replacement of these two elements with unrelated DNA sequences could abolish the responsiveness to estradiol treatment. Furthermore, footprinting and gel shift assays demonstrated that nuclear protein from estradiol-treated JEG-3 cells, but not from control cells, could bind to a 41 bp DNA fragment (−824 to −784 bp) within the estrogen positive responsive element. Results of gel-shift assay demonstrated that other protein(s) might also be involved in interacting the E4 element to mediate the negative effect of estradiol on the hGnRH upstream promoter activity in JEG-3 cells.
Prosurvival and proapoptotic functions of ERK1/2 activation in murine thymocytes in vitro

Abstract The extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) are serine/threonine-selective protein kinases involved in proliferation and differentiation of cells, including thymocytes. The requirement of ERK1/2 for thymocyte differentiation and maturation has been well established; however, their role in regulating thymocyte survival and apoptosis has not been resolved. Here, we asked whether ERK1/2 affected thymocyte survival in vitro in response to apoptotic stimuli. The results show that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment (with or without ionomycin) and serum starvation (s/s) induced sustained ERK1/2 activation in murine thymocytes. Importantly, pharmacological treatment of thymocytes with the MEK inhibitor UO126 revealed that PMA-induced ERK1/2 activation was proapoptotic, whereas serum starvation-induced ERK1/2 activation inhibited apoptosis and promoted cell survival. While basal MEK activity was required for both s/s- and PMA-induced ERK1/2 activation, MEK activity increased only in response to PMA. The results show that the suppression of ERK1/2 phosphatases was responsible for s/s-induced sustained ERK1/2 activation. Unexpectedly, neither s/s-induced proapoptotic nor PMA-induced anti-apoptotic functions of ERK1/2 depended on the Bcl-2 family phosphoprotein Bim EL , which was previously implicated in thymocyte apoptosis. Lastly, etoposide treatment of immature thymocytes induced both p53 and ERK1/2 activation, but ERK1/2 activity did not affect the phosphorylation and stabilization of p53. Thus, ERK1/2 has a dual role in promoting cell survival and cell death in thymocytes in the context of different stimuli.
Crossed-beam studies of the reaction of O− with allene

Abstract Product energy and angular distributions have been measured for the exoergic reaction O − + C 3 H 4 (allene) → OH − + C 3 H 3 over the relative energy range 4.6–10.8 eV (6.5–15.3 eV lab). The reaction mechanism is found to be direct and well-approximated by the spectator-stripping model. We see no evidence of carbanions being produced in this energy region.
Region merging using homogeneity and edge integrity for watershed-based image segmentation

A new joint region-merging criterion for watershed-based image segmentation is proposed. The proposed method combines, in a weighted fashion, criteria based on region homogeneity and edge integrity, which have each been applied separately in image and video segmentation with some success. However, each criterion has shown some significant drawbacks when applied independently. The new criterion takes joint advantage of these two methods, giving a final segmentation that is more visually appropriate. Additionally, a nonlinear pre- and postfiltering procedure is proposed for reducing oversegmentation in the watershed algorithm. This procedure preserves the location of the watershed boundaries and yields a merging procedure that requires fewer steps to produce a final segmentation. Experimental results are presented showing the advantages of the new merging criterion and the pre- and postfiltering method.
Selection for higher yields and heat resistance in Pima cotton has caused genetically determined changes in stomatal conductances

Gas exchange analysis was used to characterize photosynthetic and stomatal responses to key environmental stimuli in five commercial lines of Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) which represent a gradient of selection for higher yields and heat resistance, and a primitive, uncultivated G. barbadense. At constant light and vapor pressure deficit, stomatal conductance increased linearly with air temperature in the 23 to 36$C range in all five commercial lines, and conductance at each temperature increased as a function of selection. In contrast, photosynthetic rates had a low sensitivity to temperature in the 23 to 36$C range, particularly in the advanced lines. In a segregating F2 population from a cross between the advanced line, Pima S-6, and the primitive cotton, B368, the slope of the stomatal response to temperature in each F2 plant was positively correlated with the stomatal conductance measured at 40$C. An analysis of the frequency distribution of stomatal conductance in F1 and F2 progeny of the cross showed that the differences in stomatal conductance between lines were genetically determined. These data indicate that selection for higher yield and heat resistance in Pima cotton has caused genetically determined changes in stomatal properties. Characterization of the relationship between the altered stomatal properties and the attained increases in heat resistance and yields could make it possible to use these physiological traits as selection criteria in future breeding programs.
Conditions for the generalized numerical range to be real

Abstract Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for the C-numerical range of a matrix A to be a subset of the real axis. In particular, it is shown that both A and C must be translates of hermitian matrices.
Progress towards materials science above 1000 GPa (10 Mbar) on the NIF laser

Solid state dynamics experiments at extreme pressures, P > 1000 GPa (10 Mbar), and ultrahigh strain rates (1.e6-1.e8 1/s) are being developed for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser. These experiments will open up exploration of new regimes of materials science at an order of magnitude higher pressures than have been possible to date. Such extreme, solid state conditions can be accessed with a ramped pressure drive. The experimental, computational, and theoretical techniques are being developed and tested on the Omega laser. Velocity interferometer measurements (VISAR) establish the high pressure conditions generated by the ramped drive. Constitutive models for solid state strength under these conditions are tested by comparing simulations with experiments measuring perturbation growth from the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in solid state samples of vanadium. Radiography techniques using synchronized bursts of x-rays have been developed to diagnose this perturbation growth. Experiments on Omega demonstrating these techniques at peak pressures of {approx}1 Mbar will be discussed. The time resolved observation of foil cracking and void formation show the need for tamped samples and a planar drive.
Surface and crater-exposed lithologic units of the Isidis Basin as mapped by coanalysis of THEMIS and TES derived data products

[1] The stratigraphy and mineral heterogeneity of surface and crater-exposed deposits in the southwestern portion of the Isidis Basin were investigated using spatial, spectral, visible, and thermophysical data sets from both the Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions. Four THEMIS spectral surface units were identified progressing from the Libya Montes highlands to the inner lowland plains of Isidis Planitia. Lithologic determinations of these spectral units were made by linear deconvolution analysis of TES data. Olivine-rich surface materials correlate with a well-documented high-thermal inertia unit. Based on spatial and stratigraphic relationships interpreted from both crater-exposed and surface exposures, the olivine-rich unit was determined to have formed subsequent to the Isidis Basin forming event. Morphology, occurrence, and linear deconvolution of this unit suggests that it may represent Noachian age to Hesperian age picritic lavas that erupted as early-stage lavas originating from sources such as Syrtis Major, beneath Isidis, and as far as Tyrrhena Patera. These lavas are suggested to have partially filled the basin, based on crater-exposed occurrences, and were subsequently buried by further evolved olivine-poor lavas. Later, these lavas were exposed by erosion and subsequent impacts into the basin. Crater scaling suggests significant infilling of the basin by these lavas that may account for craters with very high d/D ratios and the well-developed positive mass anomaly associated with the basin. This study also demonstrates that the remote sensing of impact craters, in conjunction with surface mapping, is a potent mapping tool for understanding stratigraphy and the petrogenesis of the Martian crust.
Comparison of acute endotoxin-induced lesions in A/J and C57BL/6J mice

Resistance to the action of endotoxin varies among inbred strains of mice, indicating that a component of this resistance has a genetic basis. Different responses to endotoxin that are characteristic of individual inbred strains represent phenotypes that can be used to genetically map the response modifier genes. This study compares the acute histologic lesions in 8-week-old male A/J and C57BL/6J (B6) mice injected intraperitoneally with endotoxin of E. coli O265:B6 (15 mg/kg). Animals of both strains exhibited splenitis, splenic lymphoid hyperplasia, splenic lymphoid necrosis, and sequestration of neutrophils in the pulmonary alveoli. The B6 mice showed increased margination of white blood cells to the pulmonary vascular endothelium relative to A/J mice. A large number of degenerating neutrophils was observed in the liver sinusoids of most B6 animals, while this lesion was much less severe in A/J mice. This difference was quantified, demonstrating a highly significant difference in neutrophil infiltration in B6 mice relative to A/J mice. Analysis of this phenotype in F1 mice demonstrates that major genes encoding the trait are not X-linked, imprinted, or maternally inherited and do not show the codominant inheritance expected if Lps(d) were primarily responsible. The distinctive, quantitative nature of these differences provides a useful assay for mapping genes that modify endotoxin responsiveness using the AXB and BXA recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from A/J and B6 mice.
Pumping insulin during exercise: what healthcare providers and diabetic patients need to know.

IN BRIEF: Exercise can decrease insulin resistance in most people. Insulin pumps deliver precise insulin adjustments that improve fuel availability and provide glycemic control to help diabetic patients overcome obstacles to exercise. Diabetic patients, their physicians, and their healthcare providers should be familiar with the features and nuances of specific pump models and follow some basic guiding principles for exercise to create the most normal metabolic response possible.
Religious Influences on the art of Jean-Louis Forain

One of the most significant characteristics of the development of modern European art has been the comparative absence of religious subject matter.1 The reasons for this are not hard to find, and a gradual weakening of religious inspiration in the representational arts may be traced back to the Renaissance. The result has been to make really modern examples of biblical art seem rare and unusual. The work produced for the Church, though large in quantity, has been uniformly pale and lifeless, and has not attracted the attention of important or progressive artists. It is thus a matter of more than passing interest to find genuinely beautiful and profound pictures dealing with the themes which were once the mainstay of western art. The religious etchings and lithographs of Jean-Louis Forain constitute just such a body of material, and although they have already received the critical acclaim which is their due, little attention has been devoted to the problem of their origin. Exceptions are interesting in any...
Membrane current of crab muscle.

THE electrophysiology of crab muscle fibres appears to be different from that of other skeletal muscles in that crab muscle ordinarily does not support a propagated action potential. Instead, local end plate potentials initiate and abolish muscle contraction1,2. To determine the relationship between transmembrane potential, current, and time, experiments were performed on the closer muscle of the walking legs of crab (Cancer magister) collected at the University of Washington Laboratories at Friday Harbor, Washington. The artificial saline solution used contained sodium chloride 466 mM, potassium chloride 8 mM, magnesium chloride 12 mM, calcium chloride 20 mM.
A high pressure ionization chamber to observe ββ-decay in 136Xe

Abstract The energy resolution of liquid ionization detectors is limited by the initial recombination of ions and electrons formed by δ-electrons along the ionization track. We have constructed a high pressure ionization chamber in which the recombination problem has been overcome by reducing the density of the medium. Energy resolution is 2% at 1 MeV in argon at 108 atm and a drift field of 0.7 kV/cm and 5% in xenon at 30 atm. We measure the pressure-dependent effects of electronegative impurities. We will use this detector to do a ββ-decay experiment in 136 Xe.
A content and social network approach of bibliometrics analysis across domains

Bibliometrics data contain rich co-authorship network, text and temporal information. In this work, we employ a hybrid approach that incorporating content and social network similarity to conduct a bibliometrics analysis across the information retrieval and World Wide Web domains using the DBLP dataset.
Gustatory control of feeding behavior in goldfish

The present study tests the effects of gustatory quality on feeding behaviors exhibited by goldfish. Goldfish were trained to feed on gelatin pellets, then tested with pellets containing potentially aversive taste stimuli (quinine or caffeine), or mixtures of aversive and appetitive components (amino acids or food). Goldfish feeding includes: initial intake of food particles, a sorting phase consisting of rinsing and backwashing, and a final phase terminating in either rejection or ingestion. Pellets flavored with quinine or caffeine were rejected at concentrations above 10(-5) and 10(-3) M, respectively. Pellets containing a mixture of quinine and ground food or quinine and either L-alanine or L-proline were ingested more frequently than pellets flavored only with quinine. These pellets with mixed chemical components also produced extended sorting behaviors, including prolonged periods of rinsing and backwashing. The prolonged sorting of quinine-food mixtures enabled the animals to separate mechanically the food from the gelatin matrix. These results show that goldfish use chemical cues to drive the intraoral sorting and rejection/ingestion behaviors.
Frustration in ferromagnetic materials

We examine the theory of micromagnetics developed by W. F. Brown. We show that in the case often considered, with exchange energy omitted, the minimum of the free energy is not attained for uniaxial materials but is attained for cubic materials. A study of the minimizing sequences reveals that these accurately model many features of observed domain structure. Finally, we reexamine the so-called “coercivity paradox” from the viewpoint of nonlinear stability theory.
Radioimmunoassay of rat apolipoprotein B peptides in lipoproteins and tissues.

Abstract Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS-PAGE) separates rat apoliprotein B (apoB) into one lower and two higher molecular weight components. Of the latter, peptide I (PI) corresponds to human B-100, while the slightly faster-migrating peptide II (PII) lacks a human counterpart; the smaller species peptide III (PIII) corresponds to human B-48. We describe here a competitive radioimmunoassay which separately measures the amounts of total (i.e., PI + PII + PIII) and larger (i.e., PI + PII) rat apoB peptides, with the amounts of PIII obtained by difference. Standard rat PIII and combined PI + PII (PI,II) were isolated by high-pressure gel filtration liquid chromatography in the presence of SDS, and the PI,II was used as an immunogen to raise rabbit antisera which were capable of binding all three forms of rat apoB. However, Scatchard analysis showed this binding to represent two distinct types of antibodies: one high-affinity class which bound only PI,II and a second class which bound all apoB peptides with equal but lower affinity. Thus, since 125 I-labeled PIII was displaced equally effectively by PI,II and PIII, but 125 I-labeled PI,II was displaced only by PI,II, the unabsorbed antiserum could be used to measure either total apoB or PI,II alone, depending on the choice of labeled ligand. The validity of the assay for apoB peptides in very-low-density and low-density lipoproteins and in liver microsomes was verified by comparison with peptide determinations by SDS-PAGE.
Modo-UG, a marsupial nonclassical MHC class I locus

Modo-UG is a class I gene located in the MHC of the marsupial Monodelphis domestica, the gray, short-tailed opossum. Modo-UG is expressed as three alternatively spliced mRNA forms, all of which encode a transmembrane form with a short cytoplasmic tail that lacks phosphorylation sites typically found in classical class I molecules. The three alternative mRNAs would encode a full-length form, an isoform lacking the α2 domain, and one lacking both α2 and α3 domains. Genotyping both captive-bred and wild M. domestica from different geographic regions revealed no variation in the residues that make up Modo-UG’s peptide-binding groove. Modo-UG’s low polymorphism is contrasting to that of a nearby class I locus, Modo-UA1, which has a highly polymorphic peptide-binding region. Absence of functional polymorphism in Modo-UG is therefore not a general feature of opossum class I genes but the result of negative selection. Modo-UG is the first MHC linked marsupial class I to be described that appears to clearly have nonclassical features.
Format change in US grocery retailing

Examines the cross‐shopping patterns of 300 US consumers for five different grocery formats including conventional supermarkets, supercentres, warehouse clubs, convenience stores and limited line discount stores. The extent to which each channel extracts customers from every other channel is assessed and analysed in light of continuing structural change in grocery retailing. As a fairly new retail format in the US market, supercentres have moved quickly in attracting customers from each of the other formats. Discusses major players in the supercentre phenomenon in light of these changing market conditions.
Researching Critical Literacy: A Critical Study of Analysis of Classroom Discourse.

Studying critical literacies includes examining how research practices influence what is learned about classroom activity and the world. This article highlights the processes and practices used in studying 1 classroom conversation. The data, drawn from an elementary school classroom of a Critical Literacy in Action teacher-researcher group member, features 2 girls exploring issues of hairstyle, race, and cultural identity. Data were analyzed using 3 lenses—grounded theory, existing typologies for content analysis, and critical discourse analysis. Findings highlight how the students drew on and used diverse textual resources, sources of knowledge, and critical practices, as well as how participants situated themselves within larger social discourse. These findings were then collectively analyzed to further understand the nuances of using each analytic tool and the implications for this classroom and critical literacy research at large. Our research design, experiences, and findings invite further explorati...
Current management of migraine in US emergency departments: an analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

BackgroundPublished data from 1998 revealed that most patients treated for migraine in an emergency department received opioids. Over the intervening years, a large body of evidence has emerged demonstrating the efficacy and safety of non-opioid alternatives. Expert opinion during these years has cautioned against use of opioids for migraine. Our objectives were to compare current frequency of use of various medications for acute migraine in US emergency departments with use of these same medications in 1998 and to identify factors independently associated with opioid use.MethodsWe analyzed National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data from 2010, the most current dataset available. The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey is a public dataset collected and distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is a multi-stage probability sample from randomly selected emergency departments across the country, designed to be representative of all US emergency department visits...
Different effects of three aldosterone treatments on plasma aldosterone and salt intake

Abstract Adrenalectomized male rats received a nominal dose of 47.6 μg/day aldosterone for 14 days by daily injections, osmotic minipumps, or controlled-release pellets. Plasma aldosterone concentrations were barely detectable ( 500 to 75 pg/ml during the first week after implantation of controlled-release pellets. For the most part, the effects of the different treatments on NaCl intake were related to their effects on plasma aldosterone levels according to a U-shaped function. However, NaCl intake was dissociated from plasma aldosterone levels when treatment first began or was discontinued. NaCl intake may be a function of the amount of aldosterone delivered but not necessarily plasma aldosterone concentration.
Modification by choline of adrenergic transmission in rat mesenteric arteries

Abstract 1. The action of choline on the vasoconstrictor responses of the perfused mesenteric arteries of the rat to sympathetic nerve stimulation and to injected noradrenaline has been investigated. 2. The infusion of choline (500 μg/ml), for periods of 15 s, increased the response to sympathetic nerve stimulation, whereas the infusion of the same concentration for 20 min greatly reduced the response to nerve stimulation. Choline (up to 500 μg/ml), infused either for short or long periods, did not alter the response to injected noradrenaline. 3. The inhibitory action of choline on the response to nerve stimulation was abolished either by an increase in the calcium concentration from 1·8 to 5·4 mM or by simultaneous infusion of (+)-amphetamine or atropine. 4. The results suggest that choline in concentrations of 500 μg/ml has the same effect on adrenergic transmission in mesenteric arteries as acetylcholine at concentrations of 5 ng/ml.
Abstract 818: Repurposing Artemisinins for treatment of acute leukemias

More effective, less toxic treatments are needed to improve quantitative and qualitative outcomes for patients with acute leukemias. Drug repurposing has been validated as a productive approach in which the pharmacologic and safety information available for established drugs promotes their rapid translation to human clinical trials for a new indication. Artesunate (ART), the current WHO-recommended drug for severe malaria, is a semi-synthetic derivative of the natural compound Artemisinin. ART has broad anti-cancer activity in vitro, and is inexpensive, safe, and can be parenterally or orally administered in humans. We sought to characterize the anti-leukemic activity of ART and ART-838 (a novel potent analog) and to evaluate these drugs in combination with several current and emerging anti-leukemic drugs. We assessed the growth inhibitory effects of ART and ART-838 against a panel of 24 acute leukemia (Acute Myeloid Leukemia [AML], Precursor B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia [B-ALL], and T cell ALL) cell lines via alamarBlue assays. Both ART (mean IC50: 5.4 μM; median IC50: 4.1 μM) and ART-838 (mean IC50: 0.12 μM; median IC50: 0.06 μM) were active against all 24 cell lines, indicating efficacy against the major types of acute leukemia. Primary leukemia cases, grown on hTERT-immortalized bone marrow stromal cells, were sensitive over a similar concentration range. Both ART (≤10 μM) and ART-838 (≤0.25 μM) reduced or completely inhibited clonigenicity of all 4 acute leukemia cell lines tested in methylcellulose colony-forming assays. In contrast, clonigenicity of normal CD34+ hematopoietic stem-progenitor cells was unaffected by concentrations of ART and ART-838 that inhibited all tested acute leukemia cell lines and primary cases, suggesting high therapeutic indices. ART exhibited additive or synergistic interactions with several anti-neoplastic agents (including Cytarabine, Doxorubicin, Etoposide, Lestaurtinib, Midostaurin, and Sorafenib) against KOPN8 (B-ALL), MOLM14 (AML), and MV4;11 (biphenotypic AML/B-ALL) leukemia cell lines, suggesting the potential for successful integration of ART or ART-838 into existing or novel combination chemotherapy regimens. 24h treatment with ART or ART-838 caused a marked reduction in BrdU-labeled S-phase cells and a large increase in Annexin-V positive (apoptotic) cells. Finally, both ART and ART-838 inhibited leukemia development in immunodeficient NSG mice transplanted with KOPN8 cells. Based on these data, we propose that ART and ART-838 have high potential to be developed as anti-leukemic agents that could be paired with current standard and/or novel anti-leukemic drugs. Citation Format: Jennifer M. Fox, James R. Moynihan, Gary H. Posner, Patrick Brown, Curt I. Civin, Xiaochun Chen. Repurposing Artemisinins for treatment of acute leukemias. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 818. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-818
Indices of Pituitary and Thyroid Gland Function in Growing Calves

Summary A procedure for the concurrent estimation of thyroxine secretion rates (TSR's) and thyroid-stimulating hormone secretion rates (TSH-SR's) is described. Basically, the procedure consists of obtaining a six-day release of thyroidal-I 131 under the influence of a goitrogen which is administered throughout the experiment. Then thyroxine is injected in increasing levels until thyroidal-I 131 release is blocked. This TSR level of thyroxine is continued and TSH is administered for six-day periods until a release rate equivalent to the normal is produced. This level is considered the TSH-SR. Utilizing this technique, seven growing calves had a mean TSR of 0.214mg thyroxine/100lb body weight during both spring and the following fall. The TSH-SR was decreased from a mean of 829m μ , during spring to 764m μ TSH/100lb body weight during fall, which was not a statistically significant reduction in TSH-SR with increasing temperature. The blood half-life of TSH-I 131 and thyroxine-I 131 was determined during the late fall to early winter. The mean half-life of TSH-I 131 was 72.59min and of thyroxine-I 131 was 44.85 hr. It was concluded that TSR, TSH-SR, and half-life of thyroxine are valid indices for measuring pituitary-thyroid function, as they were significantly correlated. However, half-life of TSH-I 131 was not correlated to the other indices used and is, therefore, presented with reservations which are discussed.
Madness and folly: Peter Bruegel the elder's Dulle Griet.

Provocative and puzzling, the iconography of Peter Bruegel the Elder's Dulle Griet has been explained in a number of different ways. The large, striding female near the center of the painting has been seen as a figure of Fortune,1 a “personification of covetousness,”2 and even simply as a depiction of the quarrelsome woman as she appeared in folklore.3 Painted in mid-career, just before his move from Antwerp to Brussels in 1563,4 the Dulie Griet is one of Bruegel's most complex pictures—reminiscent of the fantastic paintings of Hieronymus Bosch—and composed of dozens of seemingly unrelated details (Fig. 1). In the following contextual analysis it will be suggested that underlying this complexity there is, in fact, a comprehensive scheme that unites all these details in a coherent and rational way.
Impulse produced by vacuum evaporation on exposure to pulsed lasers

Abstract Anisimov's analysis has been used to calculate impulse under vacuum conditions when solid substances are exposed to short-duration laser pulses.
Outer planet magnetospheres: a tutorial

Outer planetary magnetospheres represent giant laboratories for testing our ideas of how magnetospheres behave. In this tutorial review we examine the role of external and internal pressure in determining the size and shape of the magnetosphere. We examine the relative roles of reconnection with the solar wind magnetic field and the mass addition inside the magnetosphere in driving the circulation of plasma in the magnetosphere. We also examine how the jovian magnetosphere maintains a steady state in an average sense despite the continued addition of mass deep in the magnetosphere. (C) 2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.