cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Cholinesterase Inhibitors on the Secretion of Beta-Amyloid Precursor Protein in Cell Cultures

One of the main characteristics of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the cerebrovascular deposition of the amyloid beta-peptide (A beta), which is derived from a larger beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta APP). The majority of beta APP is processed by either a secretory of lysosomal/endosomal pathway. Carboxyl-truncated soluble derivatives of beta APP (sAPP) are generated by the proteolytic processing of full-length beta APP by either alpha- or beta-secretase enzyme. Our objective is to determine whether the processing of beta APP can be regulated by cholinesterase inhibitors, some of which were shown to produce a moderate improvement in memory and cognitive functions in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Here we have analyzed the levels of sAPP derivatives in cultured cells treated with different drugs by immunoblotting samples of conditioned media. The immunoreactive protein bands were developed by probing with the monoclonal antibody 22C11. Treating neuroblastoma, pheochromocytoma and fibroblast cells with high dose of either 3,4-diaminopyridine, metrifonate, or physostigmine did not inhibit the secretion of sAPP. Treating glioblastoma with either 3,4-diaminopyridine or metrifonate showed an increase in secretion of sAPP. However, treatment of cells with tacrine reduced release of sAPP in conditioned media of cell lines studied. The difference in action of metrifonate, physostigmine, and tacrine on beta APP is independent of their anticholinesterase activities. Our results suggests that noncatalytic functions of cholinesterase inhibitors can be utilized to alter the metabolism of beta APP, which might in turn affect the process of deposition of A beta, a key component of the cerebrovascular amyloid detected in AD.
Citation analysis of Minnesota Department of Health official publications and journal articles: a needs assessment for the RN Barr Library.

Objective: The paper describes the information needs of a state public health agency, compares needs to its library's collection, and evaluates collection development policy accordingly. Methods: A citation analysis of journal articles authored by Minnesota Department of Health staff as well as official publications from 2002 to 2004 was conducted. Fifty-six publications fitting the criteria for inclusion in the study were identified using PubMed and library records. Information on each cited reference was recorded, including reference type, relative age of citation, and journal name, if applicable. The library's collection and collection development policies were analyzed in regard to the results. Results: As expected, journals were the most heavily cited format: 63% (n = 897) of all citations were to journal articles. Most cited materials were between 2 and 5 years old. The 897 journal citations represented 265 different journals. The top 10 cited journals (4% of all titles) accounted for 36% (n = 320) of all citations; 62% (n = 320) of journals were cited only once. Of the total journals cited, the library subscribed to 70% (n = 627). Discussion: Overall, no large gaps appeared in the RN Barr Library's journal collection. The analysis confirms that the library's collections budget for serials and books reflects the cited use of these materials.
Effects of housing on male and female rats: Crowding stresses males but calms females

Housing conditions affect behavioral and biological responses of animals. Effects of same-sex grouped, crowded, or individually housed conditions on plasma corticosterone levels of male and female Wistar rats were examined in two experiments. Experiment 1 examined the effects of individual vs. crowded housing conditions on corticosterone, a biochemical index of stress, in seven male and seven female rats. Experiment 2 extended the findings of Experiment 1 by separately manipulating spatial and population aspects of housing with 50 male and 50 female rats. Male rats had higher corticosterone levels under crowded conditions. In contrast, female rats had higher levels when individually housed. Spatial crowding was the key variable for males, whereas the number of other animals was more important for females. These results indicate that investigators must consider housing conditions as an intervening variable that is likely to differentially affect behaviors of male and female rats.
Racial and ethnic disparities in potentially avoidable delivery complications among pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries in South Carolina.

Objectives: To examine race and ethnicity differences in accessibility and effectiveness of health care during pregnancy. Methods: Data were 26,866 year 2000 Medicaid-insured deliveries from the South Carolina Office of Research and Statistics, and Area Resource File. The access indicator was Potentially Avoidable Maternity Complications (PAMCs). PAMC risks can be reduced through prenatal care, such as infection screening and treatment, and healthy behaviors it promotes. We compared PAMC risks of Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites. Analyses included PAMC rates, Chi-square, t-tests, multilevel logistic regression. Risks were estimated for ages 10–17, and 18+. Results: At ages 10–17 (n=2691), Blacks and Hispanics had notably higher unadjusted and adjusted PAMC risks (adjusted odds ratios, ORs, 2.26, p < .001; 3.29, p < .05, respectively). At ages 18+, adjusted odds for Hispanics were about half those of Whites (p < .05). Adjusted odds for adult Blacks and Whites did not differ. This may be due to controlling for many risk factors that are more prevalent among Blacks: Single, disabled, poverty, diabetes, hypertension, rurality; however, unadjusted PAMC prevalence also did not differ greatly (3.9 for Blacks, 3.4 for Whites, p < .1). Adjusted risks were high for adults with diabetes (OR 2.40, p < .001) and all rural women (teen OR 4.02, p < .05; adult OR 1.83, p < .001). Conclusions: Young Blacks and Hispanics have notably higher risks of delivery outcomes indicating less access to prenatal care of reasonable quality. Policies to reduce PAMCs in Medicaid should address needs of young Blacks and Hispanics; enhance diabetes treatment for adult women; and address rural access barriers for all women.
ELECTRON MICROSCOPE INVESTIGATION OF LACTIC DEHYDROGENASE AGENT.

THE lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) agent, detectable by increased levels of plasma or serum LDH in inoculated test mice, was found in association with a variety of transplanted murine tumours by Riley et al.1. Various estimations of its size by filtration methods have been suggested. These include diameters of 2 mµ, approximately 45 mµ, and 55 mµ (refs. 2, 3 and 4, respectively). In an attempt to resolve these conflicting observations, electron microscopic investigations of the LDH agent were initiated, and this report describes preliminary findings.
Chemical Biology Meets Biological Chemistry Minireview Series

Abstract What's the difference between "biological chemistry" and "chemical biology"? One of us (JMG) received his Ph.D. at an institution where the biochemistry building was called the Laboratory of Chemical Biology, but that was a long time ago and things have changed. Biological chemistry (or biochemistry), that is the study of life processes at the molecular level, is now quite distinct from chemical biology. According to Wikipedia, "Chemical biology is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry and biology that involves the application of chemical techniques and tools, often compounds produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and manipulation of biological systems." Throughout the 105-year history of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, papers using techniques of chemistry to understand biological processes have appeared in the Journal, and in fact, many papers describing the development of chemical reagents and small molecule enzyme inhibitors top the all-time most-cited list of JBC papers (see http://www.jbc.org/reports/most-cited). However, several new journals have now emerged to emphasize the growing importance of "chemical biology" as a unique discipline, albeit within the bounds of biological chemistry. The following minireviews emphasize the importance of uniting synthetic chemistry with biochemistry toward understanding complex biological processes; in other words, how relevant "chemical biology" is to "biological chemistry." These reviews highlight both the application of chemical techniques toward understanding life processes at the molecular level (i.e., biochemistry) and the development of synthetic compounds either as tools for research or as candidate therapeutics for human diseases. These topics are naturally within the scope of interest of the JBC.
Pressure drop in geometrically ordered packed beds of spheres

The pressure drop of water was measured when water flowed through a bed of stainless steel ball bearings packed in an ordered rhombohedral geometry. Experiments were carried out with eleven different packed beds, encompassing the entire range of the square-base array, in the same 10.85 by 10.85 by 30-in. rectangular test column in a forced circulation loop at modified Reynolds numbers up to 17,000. The test variables included water velocity, bed voidage, spacing between adjacent balls, ball diameter, and bed height. Curves of friction factor vs. Reynolds number are presented. An increase in the relative horizontal spacing between balls was found to have a more important effect than an increase in voidage in decreasing the pressure drop. A general correlation relating the mutual effects of bed voidage and ball spacing on pressure drop that would bring all the data points together, especially in the transition flow region, could not be found. As a result, the system appears to consist of two distinct parts separated at the minimum packing density. A correlation was found only for the first, but from a practical point of view more important, region. Data may be corrected for bed voidage, but only for small variations in ball spacing, by the ratios of (1 − e)/e3 at the two voidages. No entrance and exit effects could be measured beyond the first seven ball layers.
Peripheral Vascular Responses to General Anoxia.

SummaryInhalation of a mixture of 10% oxygen and 90% nitrogen produced a moderate increase in blood flow through the leg and forearm and a decrease through the hand. These changes in peripheral blood flow were associated with a significant augmentation in pulse rate, a slight increase in the amplitude or number of respirations and no definite change in blood pressure.
Impact of sarcoplasmic proteins on texture and color of silver carp and Alaska Pollock protein gels

Abstract Isoelectric solubilization and precipitation (ISP) relies on extreme pH shifts to solubilize, precipitate and recover myofibrillar protein (MP), whereas sarcoplasmic proteins (SP) are water soluble. SP were recovered from silver carp (SC) and added to ISP-recovered SC MP or Alaska Pollock (AP) to investigate the impact on texture and color of their cooked gels. MP was solubilized at pH 12.3 using Ca(OH) 2 and precipitated at pH 5.5 with acetic acid. Protein (ISP recovered SC MP or AP) was combined with transglutaminase (TGase) at 0 or 5 g, starch at 15 or 20 g, polyphosphates at 3 g, and SP at 0, 77 mg or 144 mg per kg final protein gel paste. Gels without added SP (5 g TGase only) were harder, gummier, chewier, more cohesive and resilient (p 0.05). This was likely due to the calcium content and endogenous TGase activity in ISP-recovered protein. Future studies comparing effects of SP and endogenous TGase on protein gels with different calcium content would be beneficial.
The fate of serotonin in the cell of the mussel Mytilus edulis

Abstract 1. 1. An enzyme has been prepared from the gill of the mussel Mytilus edulis which catalyzes the oxidation of serotonin to a colorless fluorescence material, a yellow pigment solubled in 70% saturated aqueous ammonium sulfate, and an insoluble brown pigment. 2. 2. Substances having similar characteristics with respect to migration on paper chromatograms, absorption spectra and fluorescence spectra were found ni extracts of untreated fresh gill, suggesting that the same degradation pathway occurs in vivo . 3. 3. The time course of the reaction for the utilization of serotonin, uptake of oxygen and development of pigments was determined. 4. 4. Tyrosine and epinephrine were found to compete with serotonin for oxydation in the same system. Tryptophan and phenylalanine were also oxidized to pigments but much more slowly than compounds having once or two hydroxy groups on the phenyl ring. 5. 5. Values of K m and V max were determined for serotonin and epinephrine. The enzyme was inhibited by cyanide but was not affected by an amine oxidase inhibitor. 6. 6. The addition of cytochrome-C enhanced oxygen uptake slightly but did not accelerate the utilization of serotonin. 7. 7. The data are discused with respect to systems in other tissues which degrade serotonin to pigments and the conclusion is reached that the degradation of serotonin in gill is similar to that of tyrosine by tyrosinase and that the gill enzyme is most likely a polyphenoloxidase.
Effect of dietary protein and supplemental soyabean oil fed during lactation on sow and litter performance through two parities

Abstract The effects of protein and/or energy intakes on sow and litter performance during a 21 day lactation were examined through two parities. A 2 × 2 factorial design with four replications per parity was used. Dietary treatments consisted of two dietary protein levels (14 or 16%) and two levels of soyabean oil (0 or 3%). One hundred and fifty-eight primiparous sows were utilized in Parity 1. Eighty-seven sows completed both parities. All females received 1.8 kg day−1 of a 14% crude protein (CP) diet during gestation. Sows were allotted to lactation treatment in Parity 1 and remained on the same treatment in Parity 2. No protein soya-bean oil interaction occurred for any of the criteria measured in either Parity 1 (P > 0.24) or Parity 2 (P > 0.07). Also, no diet by season interaction occurred (P > 0.18) for any criteria measured in either parity. In Parity 1, dietary protein or soya-bean oil had no effect (P > 0.12) on sow weight loss, sow backfat loss, pig survivability, weaning litter size, weaning litter weight, average pig weaning weight, or percentage of sows returning to estrus by Day 7 post-weaning. Also, neither dietary protein nor soya-bean oil had any effect on serum concentrations of urea, creatinine, or free fatty acids. Feed intake was depressed (P 0.59) by dietary addition of soya-bean oil. Dietary protein intake had no effect (P > 0.47) on daily feed intake or on the percentage of sows returning to estrus by Day 14 post-weaning. However, fewer sows on the 16% protein diet had returned to estrus by Day 28 post-weaning (P 0.10) on sow or litter performance, with the exception that sows receiving 3% soya-bean oil had a longer interval from wearing to estrus (P
Rough surface impact on spatial correlation: 30, 60 and 300 GHz

This paper investigates channel spatial correlation for promising frequency ranges. The surface roughness of the coverage area and partial line of sight is studied. Closed form solutions for the spatial cross-correlation between two receivers using the principles of Kirchhoff's theory are developed. The effects of roughness average height, transmitter-receiver distance, receiver height on spatial correlation are studied.
Intracellular calcium in cystic fibrosis heterozygotes

Increased intracellular calcium (Ca) has been reported in several cell types in cystic fibrosis (CF). Because CF is an autosomal recessive trait examination of asymptomatic obligate carriers (HZ) of the gene is a powerful way to determine the relevance of this observation to the abnormal gene product. We report here that Ca as determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in cultured skin fibroblasts and circulating lymphocytes is greater in HZ than in control cells. Since an intracellular Ca increase is expressed in HZ the Ca differences in CF likely reflect action of the gene product responsible for CF and not some secondary or tertiary effect of the disease.
Effects of visual distortions on motor execution as measured in a drawing test.

Summary.-The influence of visual distortions introduced by cylindrical lenses upon copying a geometric pattern of varying distortion was studied in 15 Ss. The experimental conditions specifically influenced shape bur nor size and regularity of drawings; the latter rather depend upon repetition of the task. The results are discussed as indicating some properties of a central selective mechanism for a visual sensorimotor model. The nature of visual perception and sitbsequent motor execution has often been explored by upsetting in some manner the natural interaction between the eye and the visual environment. Such experimentation in man has involved alteration of the visual field through illusions (Ames, 1949) or through lens or prism combinations introd~iced between the eye and the visual environment (Arnes, 1946; Burian, 1943; Helmholtz, 1866; Lippincott, 1917; Smith & Smith, 1962; Stratton, 1897; Wadsworth, 1876). Among the more recent experiments, the work of Held and Gottlieb (1958) and Held and Hein (1958) on human adaptation to visual re-arrangement induced by wedge-prisms has shown again the importance of re-afferent stimulation in perception. Of interest is the information flow model Held proposed to account for the effects of sensorimotor experience upon such adaptation (Held, 1961). Perception and perceptual phenomena are more often being framed in terms of such models (MacKay, 1962). By expanding the dimensions measured in visual sensorimotor experiments, such models may be made more adequate. Thus Held's model, which describes the long-term effects noted in his experiments, is a modification of a model originally proposed by Holst ( 1954) to describe an instantaneous process (see also Hein & Held, 1962). To uncover additional factors which might be of use in future information flow models of visual-motor coordination, we have attempted in this pilot study to examine other dimensions of visual perception. The problem initially was to find a task which was more complex than the target localization method of Held and which was at the same time quantifiable; this would make it unlike many of the earlier visual re-arrangement experiments. Such was the drawing test of Reed, et al. (1965) for testing motor execution; this task requires copying with pencil on paper a geometric pattern (Fig. 1, A) according to specific insuuc[ions; from each copy critical measurements are taken and, with the aid of a com
Diabetic ketoacidosis and infection: leukocyte count and differential as early predictors of serious infection

The records of 153 patients who presented to an emergency department with diabetic ketoacidosis were reviewed to determine whether any admission evaluation laboratory data could serve as a predictor of occult or coexisting infection. Ten patients with admission radiographs already demonstrating active infection (pneumonia or tuberculosis) and two patients with wet gangrene of an extremity were not included in subsequent statistical analysis, as their infections were diagnosed on initial evaluation. Analysis of readily available admission variables revealed that when age, sex, temperature, glucose, serum bicarbonate, pH, total leukocyte count, and differential are subjected to univariate and multivariate discriminant analysis, only an elevation in band neutrophils reliably predicted infection. Approximately half of our patients with elevated band counts (10 or greater) had a coexisting occult infection. An elevated band count was predictive of an occult coexisting major infection with a sensitivity of 100% (19/19) and a specificity of 80% (98/122).
Changes in the content of biologically active polyamines during beef loin storage and cooking.

Abstract Dietary polyamines putrescine (PUT), spermidine (SPD) and spermine (SPM) participate in numerous human physiological processes, including tumour growth. Reliable information on their contents in foods is thus needed. Data for processed beef are very limited. Nine experiments with beef loin ( longissimus lumborum ) were, therefore, carried out. Loin cuts were stored at −18 °C for 178 days or beef was stored aerobically, vacuum-packaged (VP) and packaged in a modified atmosphere (MA; 70% N 2 and 30% CO 2 , v/v) at +2 °C for 9, 21 and 21 days, respectively. The effects of three usual cooking treatments were also tested. Polyamines were determined after extraction with perchloric acid as dansyl derivatives using an HPLC method. Only SPM was detected at initial levels of 23.5–27.5 mg kg −1 , PUT and SPD contents were below the detection limits of 1.2 and 1.7 mg kg −1 , respectively. SPM content increased during the initial weeks of frozen storage and then gradually decreased to about 70% of the initial values at the end of the storage period ( P P
Cultural identity and the ideologies of translation in sixteenth-century Europe: Italian prologues to Spanish chronicles of the new world

This [effect of the discovery of the New World on Renaissance Europe] is among the most difficult problems which face us, and it is one to which I can see no clear answer. Some work has been done, and much more could be done, on the printing and translation of books relating to America in comparison with those on other parts of the globe. But unless we can find more about their readership, the printing statistics, however valuable in themselves, afford only a certain indicator of a highly complex phenomenon.
Large sample properties of simulations using latin hypercube sampling

Latin hypercube sampling (McKay, Conover, and Beckman 1979) is a method of sampling that can be used to produce input values for estimation of expectations of functions of output variables. The asymptotic variance of such an estimate is obtained. The estimate is also shown to be asymptotically normal. Asymptotically, the variance is less than that obtained using simple random sampling, with the degree of variance reduction depending on the degree of additivity in the function being integrated. A method for producing Latin hypercube samples when the components of the input variables are statistically dependent is also described. These techniques are applied to a simulation of the performance of a printer actuator.
Crystallization and Instabilities in Highly Anharmonic Crystals

A unified treatment of crystalline order and instabilities in highly anharmonic crystals at all temperatures is presented. This treatment is based on the study of singularities in the atomic-displacement correlation function or its Fourier transform (structure factor). As a result, it is rigorously shown that in the thermodynamic limit the mean-square fluctuations of the equilibrium position of a lattice particle are infinite in one and two dimensions at nonzero temperatures and in one dimension at zero temperature. This result, which is proved for an interacting many-body system without assuming the harmonic approximation, is obtained by using an exact Dyson equation for the displacement-response function. At finite temperatures, the demonstration of similar instabilities in a variety of condensed many-body systems of one and two dimensions is usually based on inequalities originally due to Bogoliubov. Since an analogous inequality can readily be extracted from the Dyson equation of the present approach, our method allows the extension of these results in anharmonic crystals to zero temperature. Finally, it is shown that additional dynamical information in this Dyson equality can be used to derive the relationship between elastic anomalies and sound absorption in the vicinity of critical points from the anomalous increase of the second derivative of the displacement-autocorrelation function.
THE IMPORTANCE OF UNION ACCEPTANCE FOR PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GOAL SETTING

Interviews were conducted with union business agents on conditions necessary for their support of a goal setting program. Subsequent to the interviews, goals were assigned to 39 truck drivers. The results were analyzed using a design that included a comparison group (N= 35). The results showed a significant increase in productivity for the drivers who received specific goals. When the conditions necessary for the union's support of the goal setting program were no longer met, there was a wildcat strike.
Influence of Various Factors on Density and Growth of Age-0 Walleyes in Escanaba Lake, Wisconsin, 1958–1980

Abstract In Escanaba Lake, Wisconsin during 1958–1980, significant negative correlations were found between the fall density of age-0 walleyes Stizostedion vitreum and both the standard deviation and coefficient of variation of the May water temperatures. Age-0 walleye density in fall over the 23-year period was not influenced by several other temperature relationships or by wind speed and direction, water level, adult density, or density of previous year classes. The first-year growth of walleyes in Escanaba Lake was positively related to the June and combined May-June water temperatures but was not significantly related to temperatures during May or the July-August and May-August periods.
Cure studies of interpenetrating networks by microdielectrometry

Microdielectrometry has been used to follow the cure kinetics of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs). The rate of formation of a polyurethane–poly(n-butyl acrylate) IPN has been characterized at three temperatures. The dielectric data indicate that the relative homonetwork formation rates dominate the resultant material properties.
Myosin-II Negatively Regulates Minor Process Extension and the Temporal Development of Neuronal Polarity

The earliest stage in the development of neuronal polarity is characterized by extension of undifferentiated “minor processes” (MPs), which subsequently differentiate into the axon and dendrites. We investigated the role of the myosin II motor protein in MP extension using forebrain and hippocampal neuron cultures. Chronic treatment of neurons with the myosin II ATPase inhibitor blebbistatin increased MP length, which was also seen in myosin IIB knockouts. Through live-cell imaging we demonstrate that myosin II inhibition triggers rapid minor process extension to a maximum length range. Myosin II activity is determined by phosphorylation of its regulatory light chains (rMLC), mediated by myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) or RhoA-kinase (ROCK). Pharmacological inhibition of MLCK or ROCK increased MP length moderately, with combined inhibition of these kinases resulting in an additive increase in MP length similar to the effect of direct inhibition of myosin II. Selective inhibition of RhoA signaling upstream of ROCK, with cell-permeable C3 transferase, increased both the length and number of MPs. To determine whether myosin II affected development of neuronal polarity, MP differentiation was examined in cultures treated with direct or indirect myosin II inhibitors. Significantly, inhibition of myosin II, MLCK, or ROCK accelerated the development of neuronal polarity. Increased myosin II activity, through constitutively active MLCK or RhoA, decreased both the length and number of MPs and, consequently, delayed or abolished the development of neuronal polarity. Together, these data indicate that myosin II negatively regulates MP extension, and the developmental time course for axonogenesis.
Using economic concepts in institutional research on higher education costs

Economics provides fertile ground, both theoretical and empirical, for institutional researchers interested in higher education costs.
Degradation and Transformation of Trichloroethylene in Miscible-Displacement Experiments through Zerovalent Metals

Fate and transport of chlorinated solvents flowing through reactive barriers containing zerovalent metals are influenced by advection, dispersion, adsorption, and transformation reactions. Batch experiments or resident concentration column experiments have been used extensively to study reactions of zerovalent metals and for the design of in situ flow-through reactive barriers. However, extending results from batch or resident concentration column experiments to zerovalent metal flow-through systems may be challenging because sorption and degradation are indistinguishable, and nonequilibrium adsorption−desorption may occur. This study presents the first reported miscible-displacement experiments to study the fate and transport of chlorinated solvents flowing through zerovalent metals. The miscible-displacement experiments resulted in simultaneous breakthrough curves of trichloroethylene (TCE) and its reduction daughter product, ethylene. Pulses of dissolved TCE were introduced, at three different flow rat...
DONATIONS TO THE NEEDY: CORRELATES OF FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DESTITUTE

The New York Times' 100 Neediest Cases were analyzed for a variety of factors that might be expected to affect the number of contributions to the needy. Indices of psychological disturbance and of moral transgression in such cases were negatively associated with the number of contributors. The presence of physical illness, however, was positively associated with number of contributions.
Diffusion of hydrogen in silicon : Diffusion-reaction model

A diffusion-reaction model is proposed as the mechanism for the diffusion of hydrogen in amorphous and crystalline silicon. In this model molecular hydrogen dissolves and diffuses interstitially in the open silicon structure. Dissolved molecular hydrogen reacts with silicon to form SiH groups. Equations derived for this model give profiles that fit well with experimental hydrogen profiles in amorphous silicon. Other experimental features, such as steps in hydrogen and deuterium concentrations at interfaces, exponential profiles at short times, and a decrease of the effective diffusion coefficient with increasing time, arise naturally in the diffusion-reaction model.
Effect of copper (II)—Glycine chelates on degradation of penicillin in mildly acid solution

This study was undertaken to elucidate by in vitro kinetic analysis the role that Cu (II) ions, through complexation with an amino acid, may have in the degradation of the penicillins and the formation of the penicilloyl determinant. The data obtained indicated that in the presence of the Cu (II)-glycine chelates, penicillin is quantitatively hydrolyzed to penicilloic acid. This finding is in direct contrast to the much slower reaction between penicillin and glycine in the absence of Cu (II), in which the major degradation product is the penicilloamide. The overall observed rate constant can be represented by: k0 = Km[M][OH−] + Kmg [MG][OH−] in which Km and Kmg are the catalytic coefficients for Cu (II) and the 1:1 Cu (II)-glycine chelate, respectively, and [M] and [MG] represent the concentrations of free Cu (II) and the 1:1 chelate, respectively. The postulated mechanism involves the rapid formation of a ternary penicillin-Cu (II)-glycine complex, followed by a rate-limiting hydroxyl-ion attack.
Hepatic lipid profiles in miniature pigs after alcohol feeding

Abstract Changes in lipid profiles have not been reported for the known increases in total lipid content in livers of alcoholics. We have reported a lowering of the β-oxidative capacity of alcoholic livers, and therefore would expect a lower turnover of fatty acids in these livers, and thus a change in lipid profile. The percentage composition of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in the liver of alcohol-fed miniature pigs versus the controls, as well as the function of distance from the main hepatic vein, have both been determined in this study involving the feeding of ethanol for one year. Livers of alcohol-fed miniature pigs contained more total lipids than those of controls. Results also indicated significantly higher percentages of free fatty acids and triglycerides in the alcohol-fed miniature pigs, and also an increase in percentage total neutral lipids. The effect of distance from the main blood source (and therefore oxygenation) gave a fatty acid profile that showed an increase in the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids with increasing distance from the right hepatic vein. This change in ratio was independent of alcohol feeding.
An Engineered Cysteine-Modified Diabody for Imaging Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule (ALCAM)-Positive Tumors

Purpose The purpose of this study was to generate and evaluate a positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer targeting activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM).
The Malthusian–Darwinian dynamic and the trajectory of civilization

Two interacting forces influence all populations: the Malthusian dynamic of exponential growth until resource limits are reached, and the Darwinian dynamic of innovation and adaptation to circumvent these limits through biological and/or cultural evolution. The specific manifestations of these forces in modern human society provide an important context for determining how humans can establish a sustainable relationship with the finite Earth.
On the role of material property gradients in noncontacting thermoelectric NDE

Abstract Inclusions and other types of imperfections in nonmagnetic metals can be nondestructively detected by noncontacting magnetic measurements that sense the thermoelectric currents produced by directional heating and cooling of the specimen. The detectability of small and/or weak imperfections is ultimately limited by the intrinsic anisotropy and inhomogeneity of the material to be inspected. This paper investigates the spurious magnetic signature produced by the simplest type of macroscopic inhomogeneity when the material properties exhibit a linear spatial variation in the cross section of a slender bar. An analytical method has been developed for calculating the normal and tangential magnetic fields produced by the resulting thermoelectric currents. Experimental results from a highly inhomogeneous artificial copper/brass sintered specimen were found to be in very good quantitative agreement with our theoretical predictions and fully verified our analytical model. Similar measurements on a weakly inhomogeneous Ti–6Al–4V titanium-alloy bar were also shown to be in very good qualitative agreement with the predictions of the analytical model although the unexpectedly high magnitude of the observed signatures could not be verified by conventional contact measurements, therefore further efforts are needed to better understand the underlying physical phenomenon and clarifying the relationship between the strength of the signature and the very complex microstructural features of this popular high-strength alloy.
Coupled diffusion and morphological change in solid polymers

Abstract Sorption of low molecular weight solutes in glassy polymers is known to often result in swelling of the polymer phase. The swollen polymer may on occasion crystallize. One thus has a phenomenon where three different rate processes take place simultaneously and are coupled with each other: diffusion, swelling and crystallization. Correspondingly, there are as many as four time scales: the one for diffusion, the swelling time, the crystallization time, and the relaxation time for the mass flux; the last is shown to be crucial to the possible development of discontinuities and quasi-discontinuities in the state of the polymer. A model has been developed to take into account all these phenomena, and experimental data are successfully compared with the model predictions. Specific numerical techniques have been developed to deal with the resulting quasi-linear hyperbolic equations.
Evolutionarily conserved function of Gbx2 in anterior hindbrain development.

The amino acid sequence across the DNA-binding homeodomain of Gbx2 is highly conserved across multiple species. In mice, Gbx2 is essential for establishment of the midbrain–hindbrain boundary (MHB), and in development of anterior hindbrain structures, rhombomeres (r) 1–r3, and the r2/r3-derived cranial nerve V. In contrast, studies in zebrafish have implicated gbx1 in establishment of the MHB. Therefore, we tested potential roles for gbx2 in anterior hindbrain development in zebrafish. gbx2 knockdown with antisense morpholino results in increased cell death in r2, r3, and r5 and a truncation of the anterior hindbrain, similar to the defect in Gbx2−/− mice. Moreover, there is abnormal clustering of cranial nerve V cell bodies in r2 and r3 indicative of defects in aspects of anterior hindbrain patterning. These phenotypes can be rescued by expression of the mouse GBX2 protein. These results suggest that gbx2/Gbx2 has an evolutionarily conserved role in anterior hindbrain development. Developmental Dynamics 240:828–838, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Phonatory effects of body fluid removal.

Adequate body and vocal fold hydration are believed to be critical to phonation. We hypothesized that body fluid reduction, without dehydration, would increase phonation threshold pressure (Pth) an...
The effect of interstitial impurities on radiation hardening and embrittlement in iron

Abstract Previous studies have shown that a transition to brittle behavior at low temperatures is produced in Ferrovac iron when tensile tested at low temperatures after a fast neutron exposure of 2 sx 10 18 nvt at approximately 340°K. This embrittlement phenomenon has not been observed after an identical exposure at 203°K. Irradiation at 523°K above an apparent threshold exposure of approximately 1–2 sx 10 18 nvt and post irradiation annealing at 523°K and above also prevent the occurrence of brittle behavior in iron. The 203°K and 523°K irradiation temperatures also reduced the amount of radiation hardening produced by this exposure level although iron irradiated at 340°K required post irradiation annealing temperatures of 573°–623°K to reduce this effect. These data indicate that point defects or simple combinations of them with carbon are responsible for the hardening effects in irradiated iron but that a complex carbon-vacancy defect produces embrittlement.
tRNA–guanine transglycosylase from E. coli: a ping-pong kinetic mechanism is consistent with nucleophilic catalysis

tRNA-guanine transglycosylase (TGT) is a key enzyme in the post-transcriptional modification of certain tRNAs with the pyrrolopyrimidine base queuine. TGT is required for pathogenicity in Shigella flexneri, a human pathogen, and therefore is potentially a novel antibacterial target. Previous work has indicated that the TGT reaction proceeds through a covalent enzyme-tRNA complex [Biochemistry 40 (2001) 14123]. To further substantiate this mechanism, the determination of the kinetic mechanism for the TGT reaction was undertaken. Computational and graphical analyses of initial velocity data are most consistent with a ping-pong kinetic mechanism. The modes of inhibition of 7-methylguanine with respect to both guanine (competitive) and tRNA (uncompetitive) indicate that tRNA binds first to the enzyme. This kinetic mechanism is consistent with the covalent intermediate chemical mechanism and with our earlier study of a mechanism-based inhibitor [7-fluoromethyl-7-deazaguanine, Biochemistry 34 (1995) 15539] in which TGT inactivation was dependent upon the presence of tRNA.
Nonlocal neurology: Beyond localization to holonomy

Summary The concept of local pathology has long served neurology admirably. Relevant models include self-organizing nonlinear brain dynamics, global workspace and dynamic core theories. However such models are inconsistent with certain clinical phenomena found in Charles Bonnet syndrome, disjunctive agnosia and schizophrenia, where there is disunity of content within the unity of consciousness. This is contrasted with the split-brain case where there is disunity of content and disunity of consciousnesses. The development of quantum brain theory with it nonlocal mechanisms under the law of the whole (“holonomy”) offers new possibilities for explaining disintegration within unity. Dissipative quantum brain dynamics and its approach to the binding problem, memory and consciousness are presented. A nonlocal neurology armed with a holonomic understanding might see more deeply into what clinical neurology has always aspired to: the patient as a whole.
Effects of Photosystem II extrinsic proteins on microstructure of the oxygen-evolving complex and its reactivity to water analogs

Abstract We used Triton-prepared PS II membranes in studies of the inactivation of O2 evolution and solubilization of Mn and specific PS II polypeptides by NH2OH, N- and O-substituted NH2OH derivatives, NH2NH2 and NH4Cl. The inactivation of O2-evolution, solubilization of Mn and the solubilization of the extrinsic PS II polypeptides (17, 23 and 33 kDa) proved closely correlated, half-maximal effects occurring with only 100 μM NH2OH. NH2OH (2 mM) and NaCl (1 M) extractions solubilized about one-half the amount of protein solubilized by 0.8 M Tris-HCl (pH 8.0). The inactivation of the Mn-S-state complex proceeded by apparent first-order kinetics, the rate constant dependent on NH2OH (CH3NHON) concentration and pH. In the range of micromolar concentrations of NH2OH, this inactivation did not occur via a cooperative type mechanism. Depletion of the 17 and 23 kDa proteins modified the pH dependency of inactivation (from pH 7.8 to 6.5) and also resulted in an approx. 2-fold maximum increase in the inactivation rate constant. Significantly, reconstitution of such NaCl-TMF-2 membranes with the 17 and 23 kDa proteins reverted both the pH dependency and the inactivation rate constant to that of TMF-2. A hierarchy of effectivity for solubilization of Mn and protein, which was highly correlated with inactivation of the Mn-S-state enzyme, was observed among NH2OH and its derivatives. This same hierarchy was observed irrespective of prior depletion of the 17 and 23 or the 17, 23 and 33 kDa proteins from TMF-2. The hierarchy of effectivity among derivatives was: NH2OH > CH3NHOH > NH2NH2, NH2OSO3 > NH2OCH3 ⪢ CH3NHOCH3, NH4Cl. The function(s) of the extrinsic PS II proteins as determinants of the reactivity of the Mn-S-state complex with polar amine vs other type compounds is discussed.
Statistical analysis of positioning error of a CNC milling machine

Abstract The characteristics of the positioning error of a NC milling machine were studied through statistical analysis. It was found that (1) the mean of the error is significantly affected by the table position, (2) the variances of the error at different table positions are from the same population, and (3) the effect of the feedrate on positioning error is not significant. Also, a software correction technique was applied and workpiece error was decreased by 40%.
Textural relations in melanosomes of selected specimens of migmatitic pelitic schists: Implications for leucosome-generating processes

Melanosome textures in several specimens of migmatitic pelitic schists are evaluated to test leucosome-generating reactions inferred independently on the basis of mineralogic and chemical relationships in the melanosomes. Systematic variations in grain numbers per unit volume, grain sizes, size distributions, and shapes, and grain contact frequencies within melanosomes can be attributed to leucosome generation. These variations support independent inferences of reactions based on modes and chemistry and, in one case, suggest a refinement of reactions inferred on these bases. In these specimens, at least, textures resulting from the leucosome-generating process have not been obliterated by later recrystallization and provide information regarding this process. These textures indicate that leucosome generation involved preferential reaction at mice-quartz and feldspar-quartz grain boundaries. This conclusion is in agreement with melting processes observed in short-term melting experiments.
Study of Polyphenyl Ether Fluid (5P4E) in Operating Elastohydrodynamic Contacts by Infrared Emission Spectroscopy

Infrared emission spectra of 5P4E polyphenyl ether were obtained from an operating elastohydrodynamic sliding contact at different speeds and loads by Fourier emission microspectrophotometry. The spectra were found to be polarized with respect to the direction of the conjunction line, especially at high shear rates. Film and metal surface temperatures were calculated from the spectra, and film thicknesses were determined under various operating conditions. Changes of polarized band structure above a critical shear rate, at which the slope of the film temperature versus shear curve changes abruptly and at which the film thickness assumes a minimum value, are consistent with a transition of the lubricant from a viscous liquid to a viscoelastic liquid or to an elastic solid.
Ultrastrong Field Ionization of Ne n+ (n≤8): Rescattering and the Role of the Magnetic Field

${\mathrm{Ne}}^{+}$ to ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{8+}$ ionization yields in ${10}^{14}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ to ${10}^{18}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ laser fields are reported over a ${10}^{9}$ dynamic range. A 3D relativistic rescattering model incorporating $(e,2e)$ and $(e,3e)$ electron impact ionization, single- and double-excitation is compared to the data. For double ionization the agreement is excellent; however, for higher charge states the model accounts for only 15% of multielectron nonsequential ionization. Rescattering is not affected by the laser magnetic field until ${10}^{17}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{W}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$.
Frequency tuning in the rat whisker barrel cortex revealed through RBC flux maps

Abstract The rodent whisker barrel cortex is ideal for studies related to sensory processing and neural plasticity in the brain. However, its small spatial dimensions challenge optical and other imaging technologies mapping cortical hemodynamics as functional resolution (the ability to spatially and selectively discriminate signals from microvascular compartments) limit measurement accuracy. To precisely map hemodynamic activity within the rat posteriomedial barrel subfield (PMBSF), we used functional Laser Doppler Imaging (fLDI) at high spatial resolution with optimized detection and analysis. In this configuration, we demonstrate prominent whisker deflection-induced fLDI hemodynamic responses from microvascular regions indicating the technique's specificity to smaller vessel compartments. Clusters of fLDI activation were confined within the PMBSF region during deflection of either single or all whiskers. Stereotaxic co-ordinate mapping was performed over all animals leading to an average maximum activity cluster at + 5.3, −3.5 from the Bregma. The maximum activity cluster during all whisker stimulation combined with the principal activation cluster during deflection of the C1 whisker were used as a reference to characterize the fLDI maps within the PMBSF. fLDI activation area increased with the frequency of whisker deflection. In a quantitative analysis, we reveal the increase in the spatial extent of fLDI activation with stimulation frequency as spatially non-uniform with a bias towards the caudal region for low and rostral region for higher stimulation frequencies.