cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decreased complex II respiration and HNE-modified SDH subunit in diabetic heart.

Several lines of research suggest that mitochondria play a role in the etiopathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy, although the mechanisms involved are still debated. In the present study, we report that State 3 oxygen consumption decreases by ∼35% with glutamate and by ∼30% with succinate in mitochondria from diabetic rat hearts compared to controls. In these mitochondria the enzymatic activities of complex I and complex II are also decreased to a comparable extent. Western blot analysis of mitochondrial protein pattern using antibodies recognizing proteins modified by the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxynonenal indicates the FAD-containing subunit of succinate dehydrogenase as one of the targets of this highly reactive aldehyde. In rats diabetic for 6 or 12 weeks, insulin supplementation for 2 weeks decreases the level of protein modified by 4-hydroxynonenal and restores mitochondrial respiration and enzyme activity to control level. Taken together, these results: (1) indicate that 4-hydroxynonenal is endogenously produced within diabetic mitochondria and forms an adduct with selective mitochondrial proteins, (2) identify one of these proteins as a subunit of succinate dehydrogenase, and (3) provide strong evidence that insulin treatment can reverse and ameliorate free radical damage and mitochondrial function under diabetic conditions.
Neuroembryogenesis of ventral hypothalamus transplanted to kidney capsule.

Parts of the floor of the hypothalamus were microsurgically isolated from 12-day rat embryos and transplanted beneath the kidney capsule (KC) of adult hosts. The grafts became vascularized with extensive areas of neural tissue developing from 17 days through 33 days. Host animals were either hypophysectomized or intact, and no significant morphological differences could be detected in the transplants. Neural tissue developed with a high degree of organization, with neurons and glial cells, and an abundance of dendritic and axonal processes clustered among glial processes. Glial processes with junctional attachments formed a complete layer at the basal lamina of the neural tissue which prevented nerve endings from making direct contact with the basal lamina. Small clusters of synaptic vesicles were common in nerve endings and in addition some endings contained synaptic vesicles and 600–900A diameter dense-core granules. Junctional complexes ranged from well-formed synapses of the adult type to areas of membrane contact having minimal specialization. Synapses appeared increased in number, and to assume more mature features, with longer growth periods. The results indicate that the morphologically undifferentiated floor of the hypothalamus of the 12-day rat embryo can undergo morphological differentiation along lines similar to normal development even in an ectopic site such as the KC.
Modeling Planarization With Polymers

When a patterned surface is coated with a polymer solution and dried or cured, the resulting surface is not completely flat (contrary to most drawings illustrating the planarization layer in multilayer resist schemes.) In order to understand the thickness variation of the polymer film, it is useful to define local planarization as the reduction in height of a single step and global planarization as the long range effects of different pattern densities. It has been determined that the efficiency of planarization depends on the thickness of the polymer coating, the shrinkage of the polymer solution, the flow properties of the polymer during the cure cycle, and the dimensions of the patterns on the surface. The degrees of both local and global planarization can be predicted by straightforward calculations.
What have we learned about coronary artery disease from high-frequency epicardial echocardiography?

We have used a high frequency epicardial echocardiographic technique to visualize and measure coronary artery lumens and walls in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. A 12 MHz probe (Surgiscan, Biosound Corp.) is sterilized and placed on the exposed epicardial coronary arteries. Transverse cross-sectional views are obtained from the arteries on the anterior surface of the heart: the right coronary artery to the cardiac margin and the left anterior descending coronary artery to the cardiac apex.
Radioisotopic angiography in the selection of patients for cerebrovascular reconstructive surgery

Summary Cerebral blood flow studies using Tc 99m were performed in twenty-five patients with cerebrovascular disease documented radiographically. Interpretations of the radioisotopic flow studies were then correlated with the clinical signs and symptoms of the patient and changes in the pre- and postoperative dye contrast studies. The serial scintiphotos obtained with this technic correlated well with both the clinical and the radiologic picture. The isotopic flow studies can be safely and quickly performed as often as desired without discomfort to the patient. They are a useful adjunct to conventional methods of selecting patients who will benefit from reconstruction of the extracranial blood vessels, and are a valuable means of following patients postoperatively.
Influence of Cooking Procedures on Properties of Cottage Cheese Curd

Abstract Cheese was made by the direct acid set method in laboratory-size batches with careful control of processing variables. Total solids in unwashed curd increased linearly with heating time (between 20 and 142 min) and temperature (between 42 and 64 C). Total solids in unwashed and washed curd at a given heating temperature increased with heating rate (between .18 and .50 C/min). Heating rate influenced the relation between percent total solids in unwashed and washed curd. In comparison with a low heating rate (.18 C/min), higher heating rates (.30 and .50 C/min) yielded a firmer washed curd when the sample was taken at the same heating temperature and also with the same percent total solids, within ranges used commercially. Healing time (between 5 and 30 min) and time of holding curd in whey (between 0 and 40 min) at cooking temperature did not influence total solids of unwashed curd. Increasing the rate of agitation increased total solids in the curd, breakage of curd particles, and amount of sedimentable solids in the whey. Cooking conditions are critical in determining total solids in cottage cheese curd, and they influence other curd properties such as firmness and size distribution.
Further applications of the ATD model for color vision

Previous and recent revisions of the ATD model for color perception and visual adaption are incorporated into the version that is fully described in this paper.
Beagle puppy model of perinatal asphyxia: Blockade of excitatory neurotransmitters

Abstract The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist MK801 has been reported to prevent neuronal change in models of ischemia in adult animal systems. We studied the hypothesis that blockade of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor would prevent the depression of cerebral high-energy phosphates found in perinatal asphyxia without producing alterations in cerebral blood flow, and thus prevent neuropathologic damage. Newborn beagle puppies were anesthetized, tracheotomized, ventilated, and randomized to asphyxial insult (I = discontinuation of ventilatory support for 5 min) or no insult (NI) and drug treatment with MK801 (10 mg/kg intravenously) or an equal volume of saline (S). Puppies received MK801 or saline 15 min prior to I/NI. In S/I pups during insult, blood flow increased to brainstem structures but decreased elsewhere. MK801 had no effect on cerebral blood flow in either control or insulted puppies. 1 H NMR studies demonstrated no effect of the MK801 on NI brains. Phosphocreatine levels were 1.7 ± 0.1, 0.6 ± 0.1, and 0.9 ± 0.1 mmole/kg (mean: ± S.D.) for the S/NI, S/I, and MK801/I pups, respectively. Cerebral lactate was 1.3 ± 0.2, 3.0 ± 0.7, and 2.0 ± 0.4, respectively. The pH fell 0.8 units in the S/I puppies, compared to 0.4 units in the MK801/I puppies. We conclude that pretreatment with the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist MK801 in part protects the developing brain against severe metabolic insult.
A thin section and freeze-fracture study on membrane specializations in spermatozoa of the isopod, Armadillidium vulgare.

Mature spermatozoa of the Isopod, Armadillidium vulgare , were examined following tannic acid processing, thin section, and freeze-fracture techniques. They reveal a moderately thick glycocalyx and a typical random distribution of 5- to 10-nm-size, plasmalemmal, PF-face particles. Seven distinct areas of particulate membrane specializations occur in the spermatozoa. Five regions occur in the plasmalemma and two occur in the acrosomal membrane. The plasmalemmal specializations include: (1) clusters of 8- to 10-nm-size, PF-face particles found along a line made by the posterior margin of the acrosomal membrane; (2) orthogonal arrays of 4- to 6-nm-size EFface particles similarly disposed; (3) a linear array of 8- to 10-nm-size, PF-face particles extending the length of the acrosome, along the region where the paddle-shaped acrosome becomes thinner; (4) a cluster of 8- to 10-nm-size, PF-face particles on the cytoplasmic hood, which surrounds the insertion region of the cross-striated, tail-like appendage; and (5) a cross-linear array of 6- to 8-nm-size, PF-face particles which repeat every 67 nm along the cross-striated tail-like appendage, mimicking the cross-striated repeat period exhibited by the filamentous component as seen in thin sections. The acrosomal membrane specializations include: (1) tightly packed, 8- to 10-nm-size, EF-face particles limited to the thin portion of the paddle-shaped acrosome; and (2) linear arrays of periodically repeating (25–26 nm), 8- to 10-nm-size, PF face particles limited to the thick portion of the acrosome whose periodic repeat mimics the paracrystalline order of the internally directed portions of the unit membrane in this region. The results of this study are discussed in terms of the functional significance of such specializations. It is concluded that the function of each group of particle arrays is unique, and is in fact a reflection of either their topographical relationships with other membrane specializations or their possible role in fertilization. Particular attention is drawn to the functional significance of the following groups of particles: (1) the double set of particle arrays in the postacrosomal region, (2) the cross-linear arrays which mimic the cross-striated repeat pattern of longitudinally oriented filaments in the cross-striated appendage seen in thin sections, and (3) the two sets of particles in the PF and EF faces of the acrosomal membrane.
Modeling and analyzing NBTI in the presence of Process Variation

With continuousscaling of transistors in each technology generation, NBTI and Process Variation (PV) have become very important silicon reliability problems for the microprocessor industry. In this paper, we develop an analytical model to capture the impact of NBTI in the presence of PV for use in architecture simulations. We capture the following aspects in the model: i) variation in NBTI related to stress and recovery due to workloads, ii) temporal variation in NBTI due to Random Charge Fluctuation (RCF) and iii) Random Dopant Fluctuation (RDF) due to process variation. We use this model to analyze the combined impact of NBTI and PV on a memory structure (register file) and a logic structure (Kogge-Stone adder). We show that the impact of the threshold voltage variations due to NBTI and PV over the nominal degradation can hurt the yield of the structures. Due to the combined effect of NBTI and PV across different benchmarks, 26 to 117 bits fail in a 8Kb size register file and the execution delay increases by 18% to 28% in a Kogge-Stone adder. We then discuss the implications of these results for architecture-level reliability techniques.
A method of calculating physiologically relevant joint reaction forces during forward dynamic simulations of movement from an existing knee model.

In the commonly used SIMM software, which includes a complete musculoskeletal model of the lower limbs, the reaction forces at the knee are computed. These reaction forces represent the bone-on-bone contact forces and the soft tissue forces (e.g. ligaments) other than muscles acting at the joint. In the knee model integrated into this software, a patellotibial joint rather than a patellofemoral joint is defined, and a force acting along the direction of the patellar ligament is not included. Although this knee model results in valid kinematics and muscle moment arms, the reaction forces at the knee calculated do not represent physiologic knee joint reaction forces. Hence our objectives were to develop a method of calculating physiologic knee joint reaction forces using the knee model incorporated into the SIMM software and to demonstrate the differences in the forces returned by SIMM and the physiologic forces in an example. Our method converts the anatomically fictional patellotibial joint into a patellofemoral joint and computes the force in an inextensible patellar ligament. In our example, the rectus femoris was fully excited isometrically, with the knee and hip flexed to 90°. The resulting SIMM tibiofemoral joint reaction force was primarily shear, because the quadriceps force was applied to the tibia via the fictional patellotibial joint. In contrast the physiologic tibiofemoral joint reaction force was primarily compression, because the quadriceps force was applied through the patellar ligament. This result illustrates that the physiologic knee joint reaction forces are profoundly different than the forces returned by SIMM. However physiologic knee joint reaction forces can be computed with postprocessing of SIMM results.
Stimuli-responsive hydrogel hollow capsules by material efficient and robust cross-linking-precipitation synthesis revisited.

Monodisperse stimuli-responsive hydrogel capsules were synthesized in the 100-nm-diameter to 10-μm-diameter range from poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) and poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) through a simple, efficient two-step cross-linking-precipitation template method under conditions of a good solvent. In this method, the core–shell particles were obtained by the deposition (heterocoagulation mechanism) of the cross-linked P4VP, PEI, or their mixtures on the surfaces of the template colloidal silica particles in nitromethane (for PEI) or a nitromethane–acetone mixture (for P4VP and P4VP–PEI mixtures) in the presence of cross-linker 1,4-diiodobutane. The cross-linked polymeric shell swollen in a good solvent stabilized the core–shell colloids. This mechanism provided the conditions for the synthesis of core–shell colloids in a submicrometer range of dimensions with an easily adjusted shell thickness (wall of the capsules) ranging from a few to hundreds of nanometers. The chemical composition of the shell was tuned ...
Vocalizations of Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi)

Abstract Vocalizations of Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) were recorded during the summer of 1982 near Tioga Pass in the central Sierra Nevada of California. Sonagrams were made and call parameters were measured. Discriminant function analyses revealed that multiple-note calls (‘trills’) differed acoustically depending on whether they occurred in response to a predator, or were given by males following copulations. The post-copulatory trills of males were individually distinctive. Among anti-predator trills there was no evidence of predator-specificity within the narrow range of predators tested: trills given to two species of (stuffed) weasels (Mustela), to dogs and to humans were statistically indistinguishable. Sonagrams of trills occurring in agonistic contexts suggest that a third general category of trills may exist, but agonistic trills were more variable than either anti-predator or post-copulatory trills. The ground squirrels also gave single-note calls in the three contexts described above, either repetitively (‘chirps’) or singly (‘whistles’). Neither chirps nor whistles encoded any obvious situation-specific information, except that whistles were typically associated with rapidly-moving predators, usually raptors. The post-copulatory chirps of males were individually distinctive. Vocalizations of Belding's ground squirrels may not vary among contexts as much as do the analogous calls of California ground squirrels (S. beecheyi).
Electrical capture and lysis of vaccinia virus particles using silicon nano-scale probe array.

A probe array with nano-scale tips, integrated into a micro-fluidic channel was developed for the capture and lysing of small number of vaccinia virus particles using dielectrophoresis. The nano-scale probe array was fabricated in Silicon on Insulator (SOI) wafers, and sharpened with repeated oxidation steps. The gap between each probe ranged from 100 nm to 1.5 μm depending on fabrication parameters. The probe array was used to capture vaccinia virus using positive dielectrophoresis (DEP) from a flow within the microfluidic channel, and then the same probe array was used to apply high electric field to lyse the virus particles. It was shown that under electric field strengths of about 107 V/m, the permeability of ethidium bromide into the vaccinia virus particles was increased. Upon SEM analysis, the particles were found to be damaged and exhibited tubules networks, indicating disintegration of the virus outer layer. In addition, elongated strands of DNA were clearly observed on the chip surface after the application of the high electric field, demonstrating the possibility of electrical lysis of virus particles.
Denser and More Stable SRAM Using FinFETs With Multiple Fin Heights

We present the optimization of multiple-fin-height FinFET static random access memory (SRAM) to reduce cell leakage and improve the stability and density of SRAM. Using a taller fin FinFET for the pull-down device increases the read static noise margin of the SRAM and can potentially reduce the SRAM cell area. A reasonable amount of channel doping in all the transistors can be used to reduce the cell leakage current without appreciably degrading the stability of the SRAM cell. Increasing the channel doping of the access transistor simultaneously improves the read stability and decreases the cell leakage current of the SRAM cell.
The effect of greenhouse gas policy on the design and scheduling of biodiesel plants with multiple feedstocks

With the increasing attention to the environmental impact of discharging greenhouses gases, there has been a growing public pressure to reduce the carbon footprint associated with the use of fossil fuels. In this context, one of the key strategies is the substitution of fossil fuels with biofuels such as biodiesel. The design of biodiesel production facilities has traditionally been carried out based on technical and economic criteria. Greenhouse gas (GHG) policies (e.g., carbon tax, subsidy) have the potential to significantly alter the design of these facilities, the selection of the feedstocks, and the scheduling of multiple feedstocks. The objective of this article is to develop a systematic approach to the design and scheduling of biodiesel production processes while accounting for the effect of GHG policies in addition to the technical, economic, and environmental aspects. An optimization formulation is developed to maximize the profit of the process subject to flowsheet synthesis and performance modeling equations. Furthermore, the carbon footprint is accounted for with the help of a life cycle analysis (LCA). The objective function includes a term which reflects the impact of the LCA of a feedstock and its processing to biodiesel. A multiperiod approach is used to discretize the decision-making horizon into time periods. During each period, decisions are made on the type and flowrate of the feedstocks, as well as the associated design and operating variables. A case study is solved with several scenarios of feedstocks and GHG policies.
Super-resolution imaging of C-type lectin spatial rearrangement within the dendritic cell plasma membrane at fungal microbe contact sites

Dendritic cells express DC-SIGN and CD206, C-type lectins (CTLs) that bind a variety of pathogens and may facilitate pathogen uptake for subsequent antigen presentation. Both proteins form punctate membrane nanodomains (~80 nm) on naive cells. We analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution of CTLs following host-fungal particle contact using confocal microscopy and three distinct methods of cluster identification and measurement of receptor clusters in super-resolution datasets: DBSCAN, Pair Correlation and a custom implementation of the Getis spatial statistic. Quantitative analysis of confocal and super-resolution images demonstrated that CTL nanodomains become concentrated in the contact site relative to non-contact membrane after the first hour of exposure and established that this recruitment is sustained out to four hours. DC-SIGN nanodomains in fungal contact sites exhibit a 70% area increase and a 38% decrease in interdomain separation. Contact site CD206 nanodomains possess 90% greater area and 42% lower interdomain separation relative to non-contact regions. Contact site CTL clusters appear as disk-shaped domains of approximately 150-175 nm in diameter. The increase in length scale of CTL nanostructure in contact sites suggests that the smaller nanodomains on resting membranes may merge during fungal nanodomain structure, or that they become packed closely enough to achieve sub-resolution inter-domain edge separations of < 30 nm. This study provides evidence of local receptor spatial rearrangements on the nanoscale that occur in the plasma membrane upon pathogen binding and may direct important signaling interactions required to recognize and respond to the presence of a relatively large pathogen.
Environmental literacy: the ultimate goal for environmental education

More than half of the world population has a number of common environmental problems related to such factors as their ecological conditions, lack of economic vitality, and poverty. Although these factors also exist in industrial countries, their magnitude and impact are more severe in the agrarian world. These less–privileged communities face environmental degradation through detrimental management of their natural resources. Almost 800 million people are also non– or low literate. However, they are natural resources manager in their communities which involves decision making, critical thinking, and problem solving - goals of education. This paper focuses on the need for exploring levels of environmental literacy in low literate communities of the world, leading to appropriate programme planning and development.
Giant Hiatal Hernia

A giant hiatal hernia (HH) is a hernia that includes at least 30% of the stomach in the chest, although a uniform definition does not exist; most commonly, a giant HH is a type III hernia with a sliding and paraesophageal component. The etiology of giant HH is not entirely clear, and two potential mechanisms exist: (1) gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) leads to esophageal scarring and shortening with resulting traction on the gastroesophageal junction and gastric herniation; and (2) chronic positive pressure on the diaphragmatic hiatus combined with a propensity to herniation leads to gastric displacement into the chest, resulting in GERD. The short esophagus and GERD are key concepts to understanding the pathophysiology of giant HH, and these concepts are critical to address this problem appropriately. A successful repair of giant HH requires adherence to basic hernia repair principles (ie, hernia sac excision, tension-free repair), recognition and correction of a short esophagus, and a well-performed antireflux procedure. Recurrence rates for open giant HH repairs in expert hands range between 2% and 12%; large series have demonstrated that meticulous laparoscopic surgical technique can emulate the results of open giant HH repair.
Ergosterol as a Quantifiable Biomass Marker for Diaporthe phaseolorum and Cercospora kikuchii

The relationship between ergosterol content and biomass was determined for the soybean fungal pathogens Diaporthe phaseolorum (Cooke & Ellis) Sacc. var. sojae, causal agent of Phomopsis seed decay, and Cercospora kikuchii (Matsumoto & Tomoy.), causal agent of leaf blight and purple seed stain. Biomass was manipulated by varying incubation period, and ergosterol was quantified by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Fungal dry mass was linearly correlated with ergosterol content (r2 = 0.90, P < 0.05 for D. phaseolorum, and r2 = 0.95, P < 0.01 for C. kikuchii). In vitro ergosterol content of fungi was 3.16 μg/mg for D. phaseolorum and 2.85 μg/mg for C. kikuchii. Ergosterol content of inoculated seed was qualitatively correlated with observed seed colonization by both pathogens. Soybean variety had a significant effect on fungal colonization by D. phaseolorum and ergosterol content. Results show that ergosterol content can be used to quantify colonization of soybean seed by both pathogens.
The need to move toward virtualized and more resilient disaster-recovery architectures

Due to growing concerns around natural disasters, information technology (IT) complexity, increasing cyber-attacks, and the sensitivity of financial systems such that corporations may lose millions of dollars per minute if key business processes are not available, corporations are finding the need to develop more resilient disaster-recovery (DR) architectures. For many years, corporations have critical business functions that have relied on tape methods for DR. However, due to pressures from regulatory groups such as the FFIEC (Federal Financial Insurance Examination Council), there is a growing requirement to recover business functions faster than offered by tape solutions. As a result, application owners are challenged with more aggressive recovery-time objectives that necessitate the development of recovery solutions that offer a faster, near-continuous recovery of critical business function. However, moving mission-critical workloads from tape to a near-continuous method can be very expensive. This is true when dealing with legacy, multisite, heterogeneous workloads that have a business process and governance model that prevents workloads from moving to a cloud-computing model. Nevertheless, to offset DR costs, emerging technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization can be used, along with existing underutilized server capacity, to form effective and affordable DR solutions that can accommodate heterogeneous and legacy workloads.
Growth Dynamics of the Convectively Mixed Layer

Abstract A model for the growth of a convectively mixed layer is derived by layer integrating the basic equations and parameterizing unknown terms in the mixed layer turbulence kinetic energy equation by means of free convection similarity theory. When shear generation of turbulence energy is neglected in the turbulent inversion layer capping the mixed layer, the model essentially reduces to that of Tennekes. This shear generation is found to be important only in cases of significant baroclinicity and shallow mixed layer depth or small free flow stratification.
Ethnocultural cleavages and the growth of church membership in the United States, 1860–1930

Recent research on the expansion of overall church membership in the United States has led to conflicting conclusions as to whether religious diversity or monopoly increases participation. This investigation helps resolve the debate by distinguishing among different religious traditions. It is hypothesized that differences in participation can be traced to racial, ethnic, and doctrinal divisions, and moreover, that these divisions also provide the contingent conditions under which competition or monopoly effects operate. Using pooled cross-sectional time series, comparisons center on Catholics, Baptists, and Mainline denominations. Separate analyses are presented for white and black Baptists, and for the Northern Baptist Convention that emerged in the early 20th century as a relatively liberal Baptist denomination. The results suggest that ecumenical and liberal religious traditions did accompany religious diversity, but membership in such churches grew very slowly. In contrast, groups that faced discrimination as well as those that shielded themselves from progressive currents of modernism sustained high rates of growth. Their monopoly situations are evident in the low religious diversity of counties in which they grew (as well as by low ethnic or racial diversity) and by their increasing spatial concentration over time.
Why does the relationship between sinking flux and planktonic primary production differ between lakes and oceans

The fraction of primary production lost to sinking (the export ratio) increases with productivity in the ocean and decreases slightly with productivity in lakes. To explore why this distinction exists, we compared marine and freshwater regressions relating chlorophyll concentrations in the euphotic zone to each of the three variables that define the export ratio: primary productivity, carbon sinking fluxes, and euphotic zone depth. Chlorophyll was found to predict these three variables well (r2 = 0.54–0.90) in both lakes and the ocean. The differences between the marine and freshwater export ratio—productivity relationships stem primarily from a discrepancy in the primary productivity—Chl relationships. On average, a >10-fold difference in Chl-specific productivity exists between the most oligotrophic lakes (Chl = 0.2 mg−3) and oceanic regions with similar Chl concentrations. This difference disappears at higher concentrations of Chl because primary productivity: Chl ratios increase with productivity in lakes. In addition, carbon sinking rates average 2–3-fold higher in the oceans than in lakes with similar concentrations of Chl. The trends of marine and freshwater export ratio-production can be qualitatively reproduced with Chl-based predictions of euphotic zone primary productivity, depth, and carbon sinking losses from regressions. Marine and freshwater ecosystems may differ systematically in the efficiency of nutrient recycling processes in the water column and in the nature of settling material.
Effect of Composition on Glass-Metal Interface Reactions and Adherence

Reduction-oxidation reactions and enhanced wetting or spreading of Na2FexSi2O5+x, and Na2NixSi2O5+x glasses on substrates of Fe, Co, Ni, Ni-Fe, and Ni-Co were observed at 1000°C at low partial pressures of O2 and Na as the O/Si ratio of the glass increased. When the substrate had a higher oxidation potential than the metal of one of the cations in the glass, e.g. CoO-containing glass on Fe, metallic precipitates formed by redox reactions under all conditions. A redox reaction based on reduction of the valence of a cation in the glass, e.g. Fe3+ to Fe2+, also occurred. Adherence developed between substrates and glasses containing amounts of substrate oxide, either in the starting composition or formed by redox reactions, approaching saturation.
Remote Enzyme Microsurgery

Enzymes achieve astounding rate enhancements of even difficult reactions. They often covalently modify their substrates by their own functional groups, a tactic that enables them to access mechanistic pathways that would not be feasible in solution. The standard amino acid building blocks of enzymes are replete with nucleophiles to use in this “covalent catalysis,” but they are essentially devoid of useful electrophiles. An enzyme can bind an exogenous cofactor such as pyridoxal 5′-phosphate in its active site to correct this deficiency. An elegant alternative is the in situ construction of an electrophile, subsequent to protein synthesis, from amino acids in the active site ( 1 ). On page 1392 of this issue, Jensen et al. reveal how a particularly intricate example of this enzyme microsurgery is accomplished (see the figure) ( 2 ).
Pseudocolor enhancement of single-band images

Pseudocolor display of high contrast, single-band images has been suggested as a method of enhancing image interpretability by increasing the number of distinguishable intensity levels. Pseudocolor scales, whose design is often based on characteristics of color perception, are most often evaluated using subjective criteria, i.e. does the color scale appear to increase sensitivity to the image. In order to determine whether pseudocolor scales quantitatively improve acquisition of image information, a two- alternative, forced-choice experiment was performed to evaluate the effect of pseudocolor display on target detection in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. A black-white-red scale and a black-white-blue scale were chosen for testing on the basis of subjective evaluation. A black-white-red (or black-white-blue) scale begins at black for low image values, increases in intensity to white and then increases in saturation to red (or blue) and displays the targets, which have high image values, in color. The black-white-red scale, black-white-blue scale and a control gray scale were tested using a set of 53 SAR images pairs (53 images with targets and 53 images without targets). Each of five observers performed one set of trials (53 forced- choice trials with a single color scale) with each color scale. Analysis of Variance revealed no significant difference in performance as a function of color scale. These results are in agreement with a similar study using medical images and are consistent with the hypothesis that pseudocolor display of single-band images does not enhance target detectability.
Peripheral neuropathy and antiretroviral drugs

Patients treated with nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) develop a varying degree of myopathy or neuropathy after long-term therapy. Zidovudine (AZT) causes myopathy; zalcitabine (ddC), didanosine (ddl) and lamuvidine (3TC) cause neuropathy; stavudine (d4T) and fialuridine (FIAU) cause neuropathy or myopathy and lactic acidosis. The tissue distribution of phosphorylases responsible for phosphorylation of NRTIs relates to their selective tissue toxicity. The myopathy is characterized by muscle wasting, myalgia, fatigue, weakness and elevation of CK. The neuropathy is painful, sensory and axonal. In vitro, NRTIs inhibit the gamma-DNA polymerase, responsible for replication of mtDNA, and cause mtDNA dysfunction. In vivo, patients treated with AZT, the best studied NRTI, develop a mitochondrial myopathy with mtDNA depletion, deficiency of COX (complex IV), intracellular fat accumulation, high lactate production and marked phosphocreatine depletion, as determined with in vivo MRS spectroscopy, due to impaired oxidative phosphorylation. Animals or cultured cells treated with NRTIs develop neuropathy, myopathy, or cell destruction with similar changes in the mitochondria. There is evidence that the NRTI-related neuropathy is also due to mitochondrial toxicity. The NRTIs (AZT, ddC, ddl, d4T, 3TC) contain azido groups that compete with natural thymidine triphosphate as substrates of DNA pol-gamma and terminate mtDNA synthesis. In contrast, FIAU that contains 3'-OH groups serves as an alternate substrate for thymidine triphosphate with DNA pol-gamma and is incorporated into the DNA causing permanent mtDNA dysfunction. The NRTI-induced mitochondrial dysfunction has an influence on the clinical application of these agents, especially at high doses and when combined. They have produced in humans a new category of acquired mitochondrial toxins that cause clinical manifestations resembling the genetic mitochondrial disorders.
Abstract 4327: Development of pancreatic cancer specific targeting agents as imaging agents

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC In the “one bead one compound” combinatorial library method, millions of In the “one bead one compound” combinatorial library method, millions of random peptides can be generated rapidly, such that each bead displays only one peptide entity. When live cancer cells are co-cultured with these peptide-bead libraries, beads with cell adhesion peptides will be covered entirely by the cells. Low passage human pancreatic cancer (PDAC cells;XPA1, XPA3) and immortalized normal pancreas cells were used for this study. Positive peptide-beads were then isolated for sequence analysis. Using this high throughput screening approach, we evaluated four different peptide libraries and identified several peptides that bind to pancreatic cancer cells. To test their binding specificity, these peptides were labeled with fluorophor or biotinylated, and used as reagents for in vivo imaging. Athymic nude mice were used to induce pancreatic xenografts and very low uptake in liver. One of the cyclic peptide (PCa-pep6) targets pancreatic xenografts selectively. Based on the antibody blocking assay, PCa-pep6 binds to alpha-2 and alpha-6 integrins which are over expressed in pancreatic cancer. Therefore it may potentially be used as lead compounds for the development of high affinity and high specificity therapeutic and imaging agents for pancreatic cancers. This work is supported by grant RO3-CA129786 Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4327.
Production of sugars from wood using high‐pressure hydrogen chloride

Saturating wood particles with HCl gas under pressure was found to be an effective pretreatment prior to subjecting wood to dilute acid hydrolysis. Pretreament is necessary to release sugars from wood because of the tight lattice structure of cellulose. The HCl gas makes the cellulose more susceptible to subsequent acid hydrolysis and the glucose yield is doubled when dilute acid hydrolysis is preceded by HCl saturation at high pressure. The saturation was most effectively performed in a fluidized bed reactor, with pure HCl gas fluidizing an equal volume of ground wood plus inert particles. The fluidized bed effectively dissipated the large amount of heat released upon HCl absorption into the wood. Batch reaction times of 1 h at 315 psia gave glucose yields of 80 degrees and xylose yields of 95 degrees after dilute acid hydrolysis. A model was developed which proposed gas diffusing through the solid as limiting the reaction rate and this was found to effectively describe the HCl-wood reaction in the fluidized bed. The HCl was found to form a stable adduct with the lignin residue in the wood, in a ratio of 3.33 mole of lignin monomer. The adduct was broken upon the addition of water.
Rain Production in Convective Storms

Convective systems can, in addition to generating strong winds, hail, and lightning, produce large amounts of rainfall. In some cases, it is the heavy rain itself that distinguishes the storm, even when the rain is accompanied by one or more of the other defining features of severe storms (Maddox et al. 1979; Changnon 1999). Whereas rain is usually a favorable product of moist convection in the atmosphere, excessive amounts or rates of rainfall can lead to surface erosion, property or crop damage, and devastating floods (e.g., Pontrelli et al. 1999). Rain production carries with it atmospheric implications, as well, so it is important that we understand the physical processes that give rise to precipitation-size hydrometeors in convective systems (Ludlam 1963).
Runway performance as a function of rate and number of rewards per trial, goalbox size, and consummatory and nonconsummatory goalbox behavior

Sixty-six water-deprived albino rats were trained to traverse a straight alley which terminated in a goalbox equipped with a liquid dipper (to deliver successive rewards), a stabilimeter floor (to measure activity), and photocells (to measure time spent near or away from the dipper). The Ss were assigned to one of eight groups produced by the factorial combination of the “number” (N) of dipper presentations of water per trial (2 vs 10), “interval” (I) between rewards (4 vs 10 sec), and “goalbox” (GB) size (small vs large). Running and goal speeds increased, while activity in the GB and the percentage of time spent away from the dipper decreased, as I decreased. This supports a competing response hypothesis and a “two-process” interpretation of reinforcement (Cilluffo & Black, 1970). There was no significant relationship between N and runway performance, confirming an earlier finding (Cilluffo & Black, 1970). Additional evidence, indicating that, as N decreased, activity and the percentage of time spent away from the dipper increased, was in disagreement with the two-factor interpretation. Varying GB size did not provide a means to manipulate GB behavior in a direct manner as was expected. A need for further research and theoretical modifications was discussed.
Difficult OptEase Filter Retrievals After Prolonged Indwelling Times

Purpose The OptEase vena cave filter (Cordis, Piscataway, NJ) is commercially available as a retrievable or permanent filter with short recommended indwelling time, presumably due to extensive contact of the filter side struts with the inferior vena cava wall and subsequent neointimal hyperplasia leading to incorporation. Our purpose was to evaluate OptEase filter retrievals with a long indwelling time period that required unconventional retrieval techniques.
Reactive plasma spraying of wear-resistant coatings

A method for producing wear-resistant, carbide-reinforced coatings has been investigated. A conventional low-pressure plasma gun has been modified with a downstream reactor into which carbon-containing gases are mixed, heated, and disassociated. The disassociated gas ions—H* and C* —are subsequently brought into contact with heated, molten metal matrix powders. Experiments with NiCr/Ti blends and W powders have shown that uniformly dispersed carbides such as, TiC, Cr^Cy, WC, and W2C were formed in situ on the metal precursor powders during deposition. The in situ formed particles, being formed directly from the matrices, show excellent matrix cohesion and lead to high and uniform deposit microhardnesses. The process is described and several evaluations of materials, reactive gases, and spray conditions are reported. Microanalysis of the coatings are presented, microhardness values are reported, and XRD identifies the in situ formed phases.
Facile synthesis of zinc aluminate nanostructures through an epoxide driven sol–gel route

Abstract ZnAl 2 O 4 nanostructures have been synthesized following a facile epoxide addition, sol–gel route. Upon gelation, these highly amorphous materials can be annealed at 600 °C to yield purely crystalline ZnAl 2 O 4 nanostructures. This method allows for control of desired physical properties such as high surface area, high porosity and small crystallite size.
Enhancing lignan biosynthesis by over-expressing pinoresinol lariciresinol reductase in transgenic wheat

Lignans are phenylpropane dimers that are biosynthesized via the phenylpropanoid pathway, in which pinoresinol lariciresinol reductase (PLR) catalyzes the last steps of lignan production. Our previous studies demonstrated that the contents of lignans in various wheat cultivars were significantly associated with anti-tumor activities in APC(Min) mice. To enhance lignan biosynthesis, this study was conducted to transform wheat cultivars ('Bobwhite', 'Madison', and 'Fielder', respectively) with the Forsythia intermedia PLR gene under the regulatory control of maize ubiquitin promoter. Of 24 putative transgenic wheat lines, we successfully obtained 3 transformants with the inserted ubiquitin-PLR gene as screened by PCR. Southern blot analysis further demonstrated that different copies of the PLR gene up to 5 were carried out in their genomes. Furthermore, a real-time PCR indicated approximately 17% increase of PLR gene expression over the control in 2 of the 3 positive transformants at T(0) generation. The levels of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside, a prominent lignan in wheat as determined by HPLC-MS, were found to be 2.2-times higher in one of the three positive transgenic sub-lines at T(2 )than that in the wild-type (117.9 +/- 4.5 vs. 52.9 +/- 19.8 mug/g, p <0.005). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that elevated lignan levels in a transgenic wheat line has been successfully achieved through genetic engineering of over-expressed PLR gene. Although future studies are needed for a stably expression and more efficient transformants, the new wheat line with significantly higher SDG contents obtained from this study may have potential application in providing additive health benefits for cancer prevention.
Gravity‐induced stresses near axisymmetric topography of small slope

An approximate, analytical solution is found for the gravity-induced stresses in the neighbourhood of an axisymmetric topographic feature on an elastic half-space. The solution is in the form of a perturbation expansion in powers of the characteristic slope, ϵ. The leading order problem, at O(1), is for a distributed normal load on a plane half-space. The O(ϵ) correction is due to a distributed shear traction. The vertical variation of the near-surface stress perturbation and the rotation of the principal stress directions are O(ϵ) effects, and thus include contribution s of like order from both the normal and shear loads. The method requires general solutions for axisymmetric, normal and shear tractions of arbitrary radial distribution, and these are found in terms of Hankel transforms.
The Conformation of a Signal Peptide Bound by Escherichia coli Preprotein Translocase SecA

Abstract To understand the structural nature of signal sequence recognition by the preprotein translocase SecA, we have characterized the interactions of a signal peptide corresponding to a LamB signal sequence (modified to enhance aqueous solubility) with SecA by NMR methods. One-dimensional NMR studies showed that the signal peptide binds SecA with a moderately fast exchange rate (Kd ∼ 10–5 m). The line-broadening effects observed from one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR spectra indicated that the binding mode does not equally immobilize all segments of this peptide. The positively charged arginine residues of the n-region and the hydrophobic residues of the h-region had less mobility than the polar residues of the c-region in the SecA-bound state, suggesting that this peptide has both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions with the binding pocket of SecA. Transferred nuclear Overhauser experiments revealed that the h-region and part of the c-region of the signal peptide form an α-helical conformation upon binding to SecA. One side of the hydrophobic core of the helical h-region appeared to be more strongly bound in the binding pocket, whereas the extreme C terminus of the peptide was not intimately involved. These results argue that the positive charges at the n-region and the hydrophobic helical h-region are the selective features for recognition of signal sequences by SecA and that the signal peptide-binding site on SecA is not fully buried within its structure.