cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Buying Stories: Ancient Tales, Renaissance Travelers, and the Market for the Marvelous

Why did Renaissance writers continue to repeat ancient descriptions about the distant places of the world, even after the arrival of new eyewitness accounts from contemporary travelers? Scholars have usually presented the survival of ancient reports as a reactionary clinging to "ancient authority" in the face of "modern experience." However, both ancient and modern descriptions purported to be based on direct observation, supplemented by hearsay, a claim that gave both sources some, but not undisputed, authority. Furthermore, modern explorations, although rendering certain ancient reports increasingly suspect, also provided confirmation about the wonders possible at the edges of the earth. Renaissance writers excluded some ancient and modern claims on the basis of superior understanding and standards of plausibility, but in general tried to include as much information as possible to provide readers with a full (if tentative) geographical picture and satisfy expectations about the existence of the marvelous. The confrontation between "ancient authority" and "modern experience" was manufactured in this period by select writers with a stake in the European expansion, who sought thereby to prove their indispensability.
The Tarbiyat Girls' School of Tehran: Iranian and American Baha'i Contributions to Modern Education

This article, which examines the thirty-year history of the Tarbiyat Girls' School of Tehran from the late Qajar to the Reza Shah period, sheds light on the nature of contact between Iranian and American Baha'is and the changing communal and organizational development of Baha'is in the early twentieth century. Through the efforts of the Persian-American Educational Society (PAES), American Baha'is financed the school and oversaw its operations and teaching staff during a period when girls' schools were first emerging in Iran. As the school grew in size, its diminishing American influence coincided with the rise of Iranian Baha'i institutions and an emerging public identity for Iranian Baha'is that clashed with the dictates of the state's centralizing, secularizing, and nationalizing reforms.
Sequential entry and deterrence with competitive spatial price discrimination

Abstract This paper analyzes sequential entry with perfect foresight in a competitive spatial price discrimination model, with both an exogenous and an endogenous number of firms. The SPNE locations do not coincide with the social cost minimizing locations.
Regulation of sodium transport by alteration of chloride conductance.

Abstract A previously undescribed in vivo Na+ transport regulatory mechanism is demonstrated in skin of frogs. This adaptive response, produced by preconditioning in high salt environment, is mediated by decrease in passive Cl− permeability or conductance. It is independent of aldosterone suppression and of the presence of Na+ in the conditioning medium.
Capillary electrophoresis: An introduction

Abstract Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an instrumental version of conventional electrophoresis in which separations are carried out in an exceptionally narrowbore capillary tube. CE was born out of a synthesis of the concepts and technologies used in capillary gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and conventional electrophoresis. The guiding philosophy in the development of CE has been to provide all of the separation modes of conventional electrophoresis, but to increase the separation power, speed up and automate the process, and increase the sensitivity and linearity of detection. In other words, the goal has been to create the electrophoretic analog of modern GC and HPLC. Many of these goals have now been-realized, and today CE is a viable method for analysis of an amazingly wide range of analytes. In fact, CE has been successfully used to analyze a more diverse range of substances than conventional electrophoresis was ever applied to.
Applied quantum chemistry: Spectroscopic detection and characterization of the F2BS and Cl2BS free radicals in the gas phase.

In this and previous work [D. J. Clouthier, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 244309 (2014)], the spectroscopic signatures of the X2BY (X = H, halogen, Y = O, S) free radicals have been predicted using high level ab initio theory. The theoretical results have been used to calculate the electronic absorption and single vibronic level (SVL) emission spectra of the radicals under typical jet-cooled conditions. Using these diagnostic predictions, the previously unknown F2BS and Cl2BS free radicals have been identified and characterized. The radicals were prepared in a free jet expansion by subjecting precursor mixtures of BF3 or BCl3 and CS2 vapor to an electric discharge at the exit of a pulsed molecular beam valve. The B(2)A1-X(2)B2 laser-induced fluorescence spectra were found within 150 cm(-1) of their theoretically predicted positions with vibronic structure consistent with our Franck-Condon simulations. The B(2)A1 state emits down to the ground state and to the low-lying A(2)B1 excited state and the correspondence between the observed and theoretically derived SVL emission Franck-Condon profiles was used to positively identify the radicals and make assignments. Excited state Coriolis coupling effects complicate the emission spectra of both radicals. In addition, a forbidden component of the electronically allowed B-X band system of Cl2BS is evident, as signaled by the activity in the b2 modes in the spectrum. Symmetry arguments indicate that this component gains intensity due to a vibronic interaction of the B(2)A1 state with a nearby electronic state of (2)B2 symmetry.
Replication and extension of association between common genetic variants in SIM1 and human adiposity.

Haplo-insufficiency of the bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) transcription factor single-minded 1 (SIM1) causes severe obesity in mice and humans. We hypothesized that common genetic variations in/near SIM1 could exert more subtle effects on its function and associate with human adiposity. First, SIM1 coding regions were sequenced in severely obese subjects, and two common nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in complete linkage disequilibrium (LD) were identified: Pro352Thr (rs3734354) and Ala371Val (rs3734355). We next carried out a SNP association study of five adiposity traits (BMI, % body fat, abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat, and leptin concentrations) in 1,699 whites and 1,173 blacks. TagSNPs covering SIM1 and nearby conserved regions, and the only common nsSNP in SIM1's binding partner aryl-hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator 2 (ARNT2) (Gly679Ser/rs4072568), were investigated. The effects of rs3734355/4 on SIM1 activity were tested using an in vitro reporter assay. We replicated previous observations that homozygosity for the 371Val allele was associated with higher BMI in white males (P = 0.003). Together with previous findings in white males (combined n = 3,479), BMI was increased by 1.10 kg/m2 in 371Val homozygotes (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.25–1.95 kg/m2, P = 0.01). In vitro, the 352Thr-371Val haplotype impaired SIM1 transcriptional activity by 22% (P < 0.0001). TagSNP analysis of SIM1 revealed two SNPs in the 3′ region (rs9390322 and rs7746743) and another in intron 5 (rs3734353) to be significantly associated with various adiposity measures in ethnicity- and sex-specific manners after multiple testing correction. In white males, rs4072568 in ARNT2 was also associated with BMI (P = 9 × 10−4) and % body fat (P = 0.001). Our findings implicate heritable defects of the SIM1-ARNT2 axis in the predisposition to human obesity.
Evaluation of human spermatozoa in cervical mucus: comparison of different microscopic and extraction techniques

Abstract This study was designed to describe an accurate and consistent microscopic technique for the assessment of sperm number and motility in sperm–cervical mucus samples, such as those of postcoital tests (PCTs), and to identify a suitable method to extract functional spermatozoa from cervical mucus (CM). Sperm–CM preparations containing various sperm concentrations were counted using three different microscopic illuminations. The dark field-Makler technique was compared with the more classical bright field-slide technique currently used by our clinicians. Several sperm extraction techniques were applied first to bovine (BCM) and then to human (HCM) cervical mucus. Dark field microscopic illumination provided accurate, fast, and easy sperm identification. Counting variability was significantly greater with bright field-slide than with dard field-Makler, while sperm motility was always higher with this latter methodology. A high degree of agreement (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.965) among three raters, i.e., low interobserver variability, was obtained only with dark field-Makler. Extraction procedures based on “swim-out,” Percoll, trypsin, an enzyme cocktail, and mercaptoethanol resulted in small sperm yields in BCM. Mercaptoethanol and trypsin also showed poor sperm recovery in HCM. Among the protocols with the largest yields, the mechanical technique had the largest amount of residual CM, and bromelain reduced sperm motility. The extraction with dithiothreitol (DTT) showed the best results with a mean sperm recovery of 76% and enhanced sperm motility. Sperm viability as well as spontaneous and induced acrosome reaction were conserved in all techniques. In conclusion, use of the dark field-Makler counting technique in combination with DTT extraction of spermatozoa from CM samples, such as those of PCTs, would allow accurate and functional assessment of spermatozoa for preliminary contraceptive efficacy or infertility evaluation.
The role of nonlinear gradients in parallel imaging: A k-space based analysis

Sequences that encode the spatial information of an object using nonlinear gradient fields are a new frontier in MRI, with potential to provide lower peripheral nerve stimulation, windowed fields of view, tailored spatially-varying resolution, curved slices that mirror physiological geometry, and, most importantly, very fast parallel imaging with multichannel coils. The acceleration for multichannel images is generally explained by the fact that curvilinear gradient isocontours better complement the azimuthal spatial encoding provided by typical receiver arrays. However, the details of this complementarity have been more difficult to specify. We present a simple and intuitive framework for describing the mechanics of image formation with nonlinear gradients, and we use this framework to review some the main classes of nonlinear encoding schemes.
THE INTERNATIONAL FLOW OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS

The international flow of television programs has been a focus of many communication scholars since publication of the United Nations Declaration on Freedom of Information in 1946. An unbalanced flow of T.V. programs between nations has maintained this policy interest. Two competing intellectual paradigm emerged during the 1960s and 1970s to explain and evaluate this phenomenon: (1) the free flow of information, versus (2) American hegemony. However, each paradigm was concerned primarily with the outcomes of unbalanced flows, and so the process by which flows occurred remained unexplored. Here the authors identify cases where international television flows cannot be explained fully by either of the competing paradigms. A middle-range approach is presented with four structural conditions and two catalytic actions serving to determine flows.
Nb Contacts to GaAs: Thermal Stability and Phase Formation

The applicability of Nb as a Schottky barrier on GaAs depends to a large extent on the thermal stability of the contacts. In this study, bulk diffusion couple and phase diagram studies in addition to thin film studies were completed to understand the stability of and the reactions at the Nb/GaAs interface. Nb thin films were deposited onto GaAs substrates by dc magnetron sputtering and were annealed in the temperature range 300 to 1000°C. Analysis was done using plan-TEM and XTEM. The Nb/GaAs interface was found to break down into a series of binary compounds above 500°C. Bulk diffusion couples annealed at 600°C were analyzed using an electron microprobe. The stable sequence of phases formed in the couple, i.e., the diffusion path, was determined and was used to rationalize the observed compound formation in the thin film contact system.
Low-Cost Daily Pacemaker Monitoring System

To reduce the cost of pacemaker monitoring, we developed an inexpensive cardiac pacemaker interval monitor that detects electromagnetic radiation of the electrical pulse generated by an implanted pacemaker. The pulse interval is timed by logic systems and a piezoelectric crystal. Pulse interval is computed to the nearest 0.1 msec. The device is battery powered and can be used at home by the patient to monitor pulse interval daily with little cost after the initial expenditure. The unit may also be used by the physician to detect the stability or constancy of random variation of the pulse interval. From a daily record of measurements of the pulse interval, limits are set by the physician to predict impending battery exhaustion. Eight patients have been monitored for up to 24 months.
Allogeneic natural killer cells for refractory lymphoma

We reported that IL-2 activated autologous NK cells can induce, but not maintain durable remissions in lymphoma patients. We hypothesized that allogeneic NK cells may overcome class I MHC-mediated inhibition of NK cell killing. In a pilot study, we evaluated infusion of haploidentical donor NK cells for antitumor efficacy. Six patients with advanced B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) received rituximab, cyclophosphamide, and fludarabine as immunosupression to permit homeostatic NK cell expansion, followed by CD3-depleted NK cell-enriched cell products followed by subcutaneous IL-2 administration (10 x 10(6) units every other day x 6 doses). At 2 months, four patients showed an objective clinical response. We observed early donor cell persistence in two patients (blood and in tumor-bearing node), but this was not detectable beyond 7 days. All patients demonstrated substantial increases in host-regulatory T cells (Treg) after NK cell and IL-2 therapy (180 +/- 80 cells/microl vs. baseline: 58 +/- 24 cells/microl, p = 0.04) which may have limited donor cell expansion in vivo. These findings suggest safety and feasibility of allogeneic NK cell therapy in patients with lymphoma; however host Treg and inadequate immunodepletion may contribute to a hostile milieu for NK cell survival and expansion. Cell therapy trials should incorporate novel strategies to limit Treg expansion.
Deep borehole in northern Illinois

An opportunity has arisen to investigate deep Pre-cambrian structure in northern Illinois. A 1500-m hole, 7.5 cm in diameter, is being drilled near the town of Winslow, in Stephenson County. Researchers interested in geological and geophysical studies on this hole should contact Bezalel Haimson, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, by March 17. He can be reached at 608/262-2563, 262-3732, or 262-1478, or at 1509 University Avenue, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706.
Gene Regulation: Gene Control Network in Development

Controlling the differential expression of many thousands of genes is the most fundamental task of a developing organism. It requires an enormous computational device that has the capacity to process in parallel a vast number of regulatory inputs in the various cells of the embryo and come out with regulatory outputs that are tissue specific. The regulatory genome constitutes this computational device, comprising many thousands of processing units in the form of cis-regulatory modules. The interconnected cis-regulatory modules that control regulatory gene expression create a network that is the underlying mechanism of specification. In this review we use the gene regulatory network that governs endomesoderm specification in the sea urchin embryo to demonstrate the salient features of developmental gene regulatory networks and illustrate the information processing that is done by the regulatory sequences.
Lithium treatment -- moderate dose use study (LiTMUS) for bipolar disorder: rationale and design.

Background Recent data indicate that lithium use for bipolar disorder has declined over the last decade and that lithium largely has been replaced with alternate, commercially promoted medications that may or may not result in better outcomes.Purpose This article describes the rationale and study design of LiTMUS, a multi-site, prospective, randomized clinical trial of outpatients with bipolar disorder. LiTMUS seeks to address whether initiating therapy at lower doses of lithium as part of optimized treatment (OPT, guideline-informed, evidence-based, and personalized pharmacotherapy) improves outcomes and decreases the need for other medication changes across 6 months of therapy.Methods LiTMUS will randomize 284 adults with bipolar disorder (Type I or II) across 6 study sites. The co-primary outcomes are overall illness severity on clinical global improvement scale for bipolar disorder and a novel measure, necessary clinical adjustments. This metric provides a composite that reflects both clinical respons...
Search for negative refraction and focusing at optical wavelengths: Imaging of quantum dots fluorescence in opal photonic crystals

Summary form only given. The talk overviews the efforts to achieve negative refraction (NR) in visible and IR by systems, having negative group velocity: photonic crystals (PC) and other systems with strong spatial dispersion of dielectric function, such as gyrotropic crystals and polaritonic media. To search the NR in PCs the fluorescence of CdS and CdSe quantum dots (QD) impregnated into porous silica and polysterene opal photonic crystals have been compared for QDs of different sizes. Spatial distribution of light is visualized by confocal fluorescent microscopy for QDs emitting in blue, green and red spectral bands and compared for PCs matrices having photonic band gaps in different spectral bands. It is found that spatial distribution of fluorescence emission from single QDs and small aggregates of QD is significantly different for QD with fluorescent lines below, within and above PBG frequency in [111]direction. We discuss this different spatial fluorescent patterns in terms of negative refraction in upper photonic bands, which have negative group velocity. The light from QD in the upper band creates patterns, which can be interpreted as due to focusing by the interface between media with positive and negative refraction. We analyze the fluorescence patterns of same size QD in inverted opals, and opals with strong disordering.
GLASS TRANSITION AS A FUNCTION OF COOLING RATE

The method is described for calculating structural relaxation in glasses cooled very rapidly. The major obstacle for the calculation was the assumption in the original model of Arrhenius behavior for the equilibrium viscosity. In this paper the Macedo-Litovitz' hybrid equation is used for the equilibrium viscosity. The glass transition region is shown to shift to higher temperatures and to broaden as the cooling rate increases. Glasses with higher Tg e.g. SiO2 are shown to have broader glass transition region than glasses with lower Tg but similar activation energy.
The Two Functions of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 ICP0, Inhibition of Silencing by the CoREST/REST/HDAC Complex and Degradation of PML, Are Executed in Tandem

ICP0, an α (immediate-early) protein of herpes simplex virus 1, performs at least two key functions. It blocks inhibition of viral-gene expression by interferon, a function dependent on the degradation of the ND10 components PML and SP100 by the ubiquitin ligase expressed by the RING finger (RF), and it blocks silencing of viral DNA mediated by the HDAC1/2-CoREST-REST complex. In the latter case, a mutant CoREST lacking the HDAC1 binding site compensates totally or in part for the absence of ICP0 in a cell-type-dependent manner. Here, we compare the phenotypes of an ICP0 mutant containing disabling amino acid substitutions in the RF with those of a mutant with substitutions in the CoREST binding site (R8507). We report the following: (i) the onset of replication of both mutants was delayed, but the RF mutant yields did not reach wild-type virus levels even as late as 48 h after infection, and (ii) in infected cells, PML is rapidly degraded by wild-type virus, with some delay by the R8507 mutant, and is spared by the RF mutant. The translocation of ICP0 to the cytoplasm is impaired in cells infected with the RF mutant or delayed in cells infected with the R8507 mutant. Finally, in contrast to wild-type viruses, both mutants are inhibited by alpha or gamma interferon. The results indicate that both sets of events, the degradation of PML and the blocking of silencing, are interdependent and in large measure dependent on events in the ND10 nuclear bodies.
Effect of Swab Composition and Use of Swabs versus Swab-Containing Skim Milk-Tryptone-Glucose-Glycerol (STGG) on Culture- or PCR-Based Detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Simulated and Clinical Respiratory Specimens in STGG Transport Medium

To detect Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization, the nasopharynx is sampled using a swab placed in skim milk-tryptone-glucose-glycerol (STGG) transport medium, and then the swab specimen or STGG medium is cultured or subjected to PCR. We evaluated the effect of swab composition and compared the sensitivities of detection of culture and PCR using swabs and swab-containing medium. Calcium alginate, Dacron polyester, or rayon-tipped swabs were inoculated with pneumococci or were immersed in nasal wash specimens from children and then placed in STGG medium. Swabs and medium inoculated with pneumococci were cultured. Swabs grew significantly more colonies than medium. The number of colonies cultured from rayon swabs or medium was significantly higher than the number cultured from the calcium alginate swab or medium. The number of colonies from both the Dacron polyester swabs and medium were significantly lower than with either calcium alginate or rayon swabs. When DNA was separately extracted from the calcium alginate swab and medium and subjected to PCR for pneumococcal detection from either S. pneumoniae-inoculated swabs or clinical specimens that grew S. pneumoniae, the sensitivity was at least 10 times higher using the swab. With Dacron polyester or rayon-tipped swabs, there was no consistent difference between the sensitivity of PCR using swabs and that of PCR using medium. Thus, calcium alginate swabs may be superior to STGG medium for the culture and PCR-based detection of S. pneumoniae. For culture, rayon swabs are superior and Dacron polyester swabs are inferior. The sensitivity of the swab and swab-containing medium for culture or PCR detection of S. pneumoniae varies with swab composition.
Corneal Cross Linking for Keratoconus

Riboflavin-induced ultraviolet light (UV) cross linking has received a significant amount of attention in recent years. It is currently approved in Europe as a treatment for keratoconus and is also being used for other corneal disorders. The goal of this paper is to review in detail seminal papers and studies that have been done to support cross linking as a safe and effective treatment for patients with early stages of keratoconus.
Laser surgery for angle closure glaucoma

The angle closure glaucomas are defined by iridotrabecular contact, trabecular dysfunction, and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Laser iridotomy successfully eliminates the relative pupillary block component of the angle closure process, regardless of whether the underlying angle closure is related primarily to pupillary block or another mechanism. For those eyes with angle closure originating at an anatomic level posterior to the iris, such as plateau iris, lens-induced angle closure, or posterior segment processes, argon laser peripheral iridoplasty is often useful to further open the angle. The purpose of this article is to review the indications and techniques for laser iridotomy and laser iridoplasty in clinical practice.
Designing culturally sensitive dietary interventions for African Americans: review and recommendations

Despite consensus that dietary intervention programs should be culturally sensitive, relatively little is known about approaches to developing culturally sensitive interventions. With a focus on African Americans, the present review summarizes the existing literature on cultural considerations when working with this population and suggests strategies for the development of culturally sensitive interventions to modify the dietary practices of African Americans. Interventions to improve dietary behaviors and nutritional status among African Americans are needed urgently in order to reduce morbidity and mortality from diet-related diseases in this population. Findings are intended to serve as a guide for future research and practice on culturally sensitive approaches for effecting such changes.
Floodplain restoration enhances denitrification and reach-scale nitrogen removal in an agricultural stream.

Streams of the agricultural Midwest, USA, export large quantities of nitrogen, which impairs downstream water quality, most notably in the Gulf of Mexico. The two-stage ditch is a novel restoration practice, in which floodplains are constructed alongside channelized ditches. During high flows, water flows across the floodplains, increasing benthic surface area and stream water residence time, as well as the potential for nitrogen removal via denitrification. To determine two-stage ditch nitrogen removal efficacy, we measured denitrification rates in the channel and on the floodplains of a two-stage ditch in north-central Indiana for one year before and two years after restoration. We found that instream rates were similar before and after the restoration, and they were influenced by surface water NO3− concentration and sediment organic matter content. Denitrification rates were lower on the constructed floodplains and were predicted by soil exchangeable NO3− concentration. Using storm flow simulations, we found that two-stage ditch restoration contributed significantly to NO3− removal during storm events, but because of the high NO3− loads at our study site, <10% of the NO3− load was removed under all storm flow scenarios. The highest percentage of NO3− removal occurred at the lowest loads; therefore, the two-stage ditch's effectiveness at reducing downstream N loading will be maximized when the practice is coupled with efforts to reduce N inputs from adjacent fields.
Sol—Gel Processing of SiC‐Whisker‐Reinforced Silica‐Based Ceramic Composites

SiC whiskers were added to reinforce a gel-derived SiO2–Al2O3–Cr2O3 matrix. Alumina and chromia were added to induce reaction sintering of the composites. A maximum of ∼90% of theoretical density was achieved after firing in argon for 2 h at 1400°C. The optimum amounts of alumina, chromia, and SiC were 26.5, 1.6, and 4.1 vol%, respectively. It was shown that the chromium acetate hydroxide, used as a precursor for chromia, acted as a gelling agent and as a sintering additive. The effect of producing gaseous products such as SiO, CO and/or CrO3 became significant above 1400°C where mullite formation also occurred. However, the measured mechanical properties were remarkable, considering the experimental conditions applied.
Optimizing reproductive phenology in a two-resource world: a dynamic allocation model of plant growth predicts later reproduction in phosphorus-limited plants.

† Background and Aims Timing of reproduction is a key life-history trait that is regulated by resource availability. Delayed reproduction in soils with low phosphorus availability is common among annuals, in contrast to the accelerated reproduction typical of other low-nutrient environments. It is hypothesized that this anomalous response arises from the high marginal value of additional allocation to root growth caused by the low mobility of phosphorus in soils. † Methods To better understand the benefits and costs of such delayed reproduction, a two-resource dynamic allocation model of plant growth and reproduction is presented. The model incorporates growth, respiration, and carbon and phosphorus acquisition of both root and shoot tissue, and considers the reallocation of resources from senescent leaves. The model is parameterized with data from Arabidopsis and the optimal reproductive phenology is explored in a range of environments. † Key Results The model predicts delayed reproduction in low-phosphorus environments. Reproductive timing in low-phosphorus environments is quite sensitive to phosphorus mobility, but is less sensitive to the temporal distribution of mortality risks. In low-phosphorus environments, the relative metabolic cost of roots was greater, and reproductive allocation reduced, compared with high-phosphorus conditions. The model suggests that delayed reproduction in response to low phosphorus availability may be reduced in plants adapted to environments where phosphorus mobility is greater. † Conclusions Delayed reproduction in low-phosphorus soils can be a beneficial response allowing for increased acquisition and utilization of phosphorus. This finding has implications both for efforts to breed crops for lowphosphorus soils, and for efforts to understand how climate change may impact plant growth and productivity in low-phosphorus environments.
Glutathione Conjugation and Contaminant Transformation

The recent identification of a novel sulfonated metabolite of alachlor in groundwater and metolachlor in soil is likely the result of glutathione conjugation. Glutathione conjugation is an important biochemical reaction that leads, in the case of alachlor, to the formation of a rather difficult to detect, water-soluble, and therefore highly mobile, sulfonated metabolite. Research from weed science, toxicology, and biochemistry is discussed to support the hypothesis that glutathione conjugation is a potentially important detoxification pathway carried out by aquatic and terrestrial plants and soil microorganisms. A brief review of the biochemical basis for glutathione conjugation is presented. We recommend that multidisciplinary research focus on the occurrence and expression of glutathione and its attendant enzymes in plants and microorganisms, relationships between electrophilic substrate structure and enzyme activity, and the potential exploitation of plants and microorganisms that are competent in glut...
New Clinical and Research Programs in Particle Beam Radiation Therapy: The University of California San Francisco Perspective

Author(s): Roach, Mack; Schulte, Reinhard; Mishra, Kavita; Faddegon, Bruce; Barani, Igor; Lazar, Ann; Blakely, Eleanor A
From Metaphor to Iconicity in a Poetic Text

This paper is a brief sketch of the development of cognitive poetic theory from traditional to cognitive accounts of metaphor to poetic iconicity, as they can be traced in the interpretation of one Dickinson poem.
The Fine Structure of Sickled Hemoglobin in Situ

The sickling of susceptible erythrocytes from patients with sickle cell anemia has been related in previous studies to the intracellular precipitation of reduced sickle hemoglobin (Hb S). Though this knowledge has been available for many years, the form assumed by insoluble reduced Hb S in intact sickled cells has not been previously demonstrated. In the present study, glutaraldehyde incubated with susceptible cells at 37 C. was found to promote the sickling phenomenon as well as preserve the structural form assumed by Hb S after polymerization. Sickled erythrocytes were filled with filaments and rods. The severity of erythrocyte distortion was closely related to the amount of Hb S converted to the rod form and the extent of parallel association of the rods. Cytoplasmic organization in cells sickled by reduced oxygen tension or sodium bisulfite prior to aldehyde fixation was identical to that observed in cells exposed to glutaraldehyde alone. The rods formed by polymerization of Hb S in situ are not morphologically identical to microtubules, but their response to physical and chemical agents suggests that the two types of protein polymers are markedly similar.
An evaluation of penicillin therapy in acute hematogenous osteomyelitis.

A study of seventy-one cases of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, made duiring the past four years, has indicated that penicillin is a powerful and effective antibiotic in this disease. This finding has not only radically changed our ideas concerning the most satisfactory methods of management, but has altered our interpretation of the significance of some of the roentgenographic changes occurring during the course of the disease. When administered early and adequately, penicillin reduced mortality and morbidity, controlled the infection, minimized local destruction of the bone and resuiltant deformities, permitted spontaneous absorption of the involved bone, healing, and early return of normal or nearly normal function. Follow-up studies indicated that healing of the bone has been very satisfactory in the great majority of instances, with restoration of its architecture to normal or near normal and with considerably less osteoscierosis, sequestration, and impairment of function of the adjacent joints. The number of recurrences has been low, and limited almost entirely to those cases in which the amount of penicillin administered was too small, the duration of treatment too short, the intervals between injections too long, the beginning of treatment seven or more days after the onset of the disease, or the use of immobilization absent or inadequate.
A human quadrupedal gait following poliomyelitis: From the Dercum-Muybridge collaboration (1885).

Background: Beginning in the late 1870s, before the invention of movie cameras or projectors, pioneering English American photographer Eadweard Muybridge photographed iconic image sequences of people and animals in motion using arrays of sequentially triggered single-image cameras. In 1885, Philadelphia neurologist Francis Dercum initiated a collaborative relationship with Muybridge at the University of Pennsylvania to photograph sequential images of patients with various neurologic disorders of movement, including an acquired pathologic quadrupedal gait in a young boy that developed as a consequence of poliomyelitis. Methods: This pathologic human quadrupedal gait was compared with other quadrupedal gaits filmed by Muybridge, including a toddler girl and an adult woman crawling on hands and knees, an adult woman bear crawling on hands and feet, and a baboon walking. Results: All of the human quadrupedal gaits were lateral sequence gaits, whereas the baboon9s walking gait was a diagonal sequence gait. Modern studies have confirmed the nonpathologic quadrupedal gait sequences of humans and nonhuman primates. Conclusion: Despite Dercum9s assertion to the contrary, the limb placement pattern of the boy with a pathologic quadrupedal gait after poliomyelitis was not the typical gait of a primate quadruped, but rather was the typical gait sequence for normal human developmental and volitional quadrupedal gaits.
Thermophysical and system integration considerations in aerobraking design

The aerobraking concept for decelerating spacecraft into low-energy orbits is summarized. Data and comparisons are given for aerobraking approaches to Venus, Earth, Mars, and Titan. Calculations are based on adaption of a craft similar to the Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar vehicle to an aerobraking configuration. Special attention is given to integration of the aerobraking parts into the system and protection of the craft from heat loads due to the aerobraking maneuvers.
Study on molecular typing by pulsed-filed gel electrophoresis of Listeria monocytogenes isolates and their correlation with serovar

Objective:To study the molecular typing by pulsed-filed gel electrophoresis of Listeria monocytogenes isolates and their Correlation with serovar.Methods:PFGE protocol was optimized for genomic analyses of Lm.Chromosomal DNA from 17 isolates were digested in seakem gold agrose with restriction enzyme ApaI or AscI and plugs were then analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis(PFGE) patterns of L.monocytogenes isolates were clustered using BioNumerics software.Results:Of 17 Lm strains analyzed,the enzymes AscI and ApaI established 14 and 13 unique restriction endonuclease digestion profiles(REDP),respectively.All the Lm strains were divided into 5 serovar.Conclusion:PFGE analysis is a reproducible and highly discriminating method for characterizing Lm.Data indicates that genotypic data generated by PFGE can be directly related to phenotypic data generated by serotyping for establishing the overall relatedness of isolates.And PFGE is better than serotyping.Distinct genomic divisions by ApaI of Lm are correlated with the flagellar(H) antigen type.
Theory analysis of 2μm laser output based on PPLN

In order to generate 2μm laser,a novel method was adopted with periodically poled lithium niobate(PPLN) as a nonlinear crystal in optical parametric oscillator(OPO).From the Sellmeier function of PPLN,given the momentum conservation and energy conservation,series of theoretical analysis and numerical calculation are conducted.Firstly,it was obtained that the polarization period of PPLN was 31.35μm at 120℃ Then the curves of the relations between the wavelength and polarization period,between the wavelength and the incident angle were drawn.Finally,starting from the phase synchronization factor sinc2(ΔKl/2),the allowance angle,allowance polarization period and allowance temperature were calculated.This method not only can overcome walk-off effect of birefringence and dispersion,but also make full use of the maximum effective nonlinear coefficient of the crystals,so the efficiency of the conversion can be increased.These theoretical results provide the foundation for the future experimental study about PPLN-quasi-phase matching-OPOs.
Velar palatalization in Chilean public speech

This is a socio-phonetic study that employs an acoustic analysis and a speech accommodation analysis following a variationist sociolinguistic framework. The acoustic analysis provides a phonetic characterization of the variation of /x/ in Chilean Spanish using spectrographic support, which fills a gap in current literature on this specific sound change. The linear regression analysis and speech accommodation analysis work together to identify the motivators for velar palatalization in this variety of Spanish and its acquisition of overt prestige. The results of this study update previous literature on Chilean palatalization regarding internal and external motivators, while adding variant usage patterns based on interlocutor age effects and speech style differences. Public speech data is used in this study to show the extension of velar palatalization into the most formal registers of Chilean Spanish.
Regulation of Plasmodesmal Transport and Modification of Plasmodesmata During Development and Following Infection by Viruses and Viral Proteins

Plant cells are encased in cellulose precluding direct contact. To enable intercellular communication, plants evolved cell wall-spanning channels called plasmodesmata. Plasmodesmata are essential to facilitate transport of small molecules such as photosynthate, as well as critical signaling macromolecules such as transcription factors and RNAs. Plasmodesmata are indispensible for all stages of plant development, from embryogenesis, through vegetative and reproductive development. Plasmodesmata are not passive channels, but instead they are highly dynamic and change their apertures in response to intracellular signals such as reactive oxygen species, hormones, and chloroplast and mitochondrial homeostasis. To date the best-known mechanism for controlling the degree of plasmodesmata transport is the reversible deposition of callose polysaccharides in the cell wall immediately surrounding plasmodesmata channels. Plant viruses have evolved to counteract innate plasmodesmata regulatory mechanisms and are well-known pirates of plasmodesmata during infectious spread.
Maghrebi Crossings: North African Authorship and the Media in France

Based on research recently completed for a book manuscript, this paper analyzes ways in which novels written by the children of North African immigrants to France (commonly called beurs) have been debated and discussed on mainstream television. With its rich heritage of literary programming on the airwaves, France is a fruitful domain of study. Authors are frequently invited to appear in interviews, and this medium is a crucial way for them to make a larger public aware of their work. Through close readings of both the novels under study as well as the ways in which they have been promoted on television, it becomes clear that the authors who are invited to make the rounds of interviews fulfill certain expectations: that they address contemporary sociopolitical concerns and that they offer some sort of insider perspective on these matters. These conversations thus reveal both the frames of reference used to understand the North African community in France as well as the ways in which these authors are situated in the literary field and in French society more broadly.
How genetics works? An illustrative case report

In this communication, we report the case of a four year old boy who presented with reduced vision in the right eye. He had visual acuity of light perception right eye and 6/12 in the left eye and anterior segment examination was normal. Fundus examination of the right eye showed a falciform retinal fold extending from the optic nerve temporally involving the entire retina with exudates within the falciform fold and dense pigmentation peripherally. The left eye showed mild macular temporal dragging of the vessels and 360° of peripheral laser scars. In addition he also had some characteristic systemic features such as developmental delay, obesity, dysmorphic facies and tapered fingers. Using this case as an example, we present a systematic, logical approach to a patient with a possible genetic disorder. The growing field of ocular genetics now allows for improved diagnosis using step-wise cost efficient testing as demonstrated herein.
Selective Deletion of Astroglial FMRP Dysregulates Glutamate Transporter GLT1 and Contributes to Fragile X Syndrome Phenotypes In Vivo.

How the loss of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) in different brain cell types, especially in non-neuron glial cells, induces fragile X syndrome (FXS) phenotypes has just begun to be understood. In the current study, we generated inducible astrocyte-specific Fmr1 conditional knock-out mice (i-astro- Fmr1 -cKO) and restoration mice (i-astro- Fmr1 -cON) to study the in vivo modulation of FXS synaptic phenotypes by astroglial FMRP. We found that functional expression of glutamate transporter GLT1 is 40% decreased in i-astro- Fmr1 -cKO somatosensory cortical astrocytes in vivo , which can be fully rescued by the selective re-expression of FMRP in astrocytes in i-astro- Fmr1 -cON mice. Although the selective loss of astroglial FMRP only modestly increases spine density and length in cortical pyramidal neurons, selective re-expression of FMRP in astrocytes significantly attenuates abnormal spine morphology in these neurons of i-astro- Fmr1 -cON mice. Moreover, we found that basal protein synthesis levels and immunoreactivity of phosphorylated S6 ribosomal protein (p-s6P) is significantly increased in i-astro- Fmr1 -cKO mice, while the enhanced cortical protein synthesis observed in Fmr1 KO mice is mitigated in i-astro- Fmr1 -cON mice. Furthermore, ceftriaxone-mediated upregulation of surface GLT1 expression restores functional glutamate uptake and attenuates enhanced neuronal excitability in Fmr1 KO mice. In particular, ceftriaxone significantly decreases the growth rate of abnormally accelerated body weight and completely corrects spine abnormality in Fmr1 KO mice. Together, these results show that the selective loss of astroglial FMRP contributes to cortical synaptic deficits in FXS, presumably through dysregulated astroglial glutamate transporter GLT1 and impaired glutamate uptake. These results suggest the involvement of astrocyte-mediated mechanisms in the pathogenesis of FXS. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Previous studies to understand how the loss of function of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) causes fragile X syndrome (FXS) have largely focused on neurons; whether the selective loss of astroglial FMRP in vivo alters astrocyte functions and contributes to the pathogenesis of FXS remain essentially unknown. This has become a long-standing unanswered question in the fragile X field, which is also relevant to autism pathogenesis. Our current study generated astrocyte-specific Fmr1 conditional knock-out and restoration mice, and provided compelling evidence that the selective loss of astroglial FMRP contributes to cortical synaptic deficits in FXS, likely through the dysregulated astroglial glutamate transporter GLT1 expression and impaired glutamate uptake. These results demonstrate previously undescribed astrocyte-mediated mechanisms in the pathogenesis of FXS.
Altered Lipid Metabolism and Serum Lipids in Kidney Disease and Kidney Failure

The non-nephrotic chronic kidney disease (CKD) or ESRD results in marked reductions of lipoprotein lipase and VLDL receptor in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, downregulation of hepatic lipase, LDL receptor-related protein, Apo-A1 and LCAT in the liver, up-regulation of ACAT in the liver, renal and arterial tissues, reduction of plasma HDL, oxidative modification of LDL and HDL, and impaired antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and reverse cholesterol transport capacities of HDL. Together these abnormalities lead to impaired clearance of chylomicrons and VLDL, accumulation of proinflammatory and atherogenic chylomicron and VLDL remnants, formation of small dense LDL, hypertriglyceridemia, reduced availability of lipid fuel for energy production and storage. These events contribute to systemic inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis, cachexia, and impaired exercise capacity. Plasma cholesterol is usually within or below the normal limits and only occasionally elevated in patients with ESRD or non-nephrotic CKD. This accounts for the reported failure of the randomized clinical trials of cholesterol-lowering agents to reduce the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes and overall mortality in hemodialysis patients.
Shī'ī Islam: (Nizārī) Ismā‘īlism Reconstituted

This chapter focuses on the mobilization of Nizārī Ismā‘īlī communities by the Aga Khans from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries. The first section traces the Aga Khans’ efforts to reinscribe and consolidate their authority over the Khojas and other historically Ismā‘īlī communities. These efforts, which benefited from British colonial policies, had to overcome a Khoja communal identity that was grounded in caste as opposed to religious considerations. The second section documents the Aga Khans’ embrace of transnationalism through the creation of a network of nongovernmental organizations. These served both to extend the scope of their authority to disparate and isolated Ismā‘īlī populations and to establish them as powerful nonstate players with broad international influence. In the contemporary period, the Aga Khans play dual and perhaps contradictory roles as (i) political heads of a nonterritorial community advocating European values and (ii) authoritative Imāms of a religious community whose members are largely non-European. The Rise of the Aga Khans Reinscribing Authority When the Aga Khan arrived in India in the 1840s, he encountered a Khoja community firmly entrenched in local religious and political structures. In terms of religion, the Khojas adhered to the Satpanth (True Path) tradition that “employed terms and ideas from a variety of Indic religious and philosophical currents, such as the Bhakti, Sant, Sufi, Vaishnavite, and yogic traditions to articulate its core concepts.” They straddled the lines among a variety of identities without conforming to the Muslim–Hindu dichotomy that would come to dominate India under British colonial rule.