cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methane-eating microbes

Future Arctic methane emissions depend partly on interactions between soil carbon released during permafrost thaw and microbial physiology. Now, a model shows potential increased methane produced from thawing permafrost carbon could be offset by increased consumption by upland methanotrophs.
Intravitreal safety profiles of sol-gel mesoporous silica microparticles and the degradation product (Si(OH)4).

Mesoporous silica has attracted significant attention in the drug delivery area; however, impurities can be a source of toxicity. The current study used commercial microparticles produced at large scale in a well-controlled environment. Micrometer sized mesoporous silica particles were acquired through a commercial vendor and pore structures were characterized by SEM. The three silica particle formulations had a diameter of 15 micrometers and three different pore sizes of 10 nm, 30 nm, and 100 nm. The fourth formulation had particle size of 20-40 micrometers with 50 nm pores. Before in vivo tests, an in vitro cytotoxicity test was conducted with silicic acid, derived from the sol-gel particles, on EA.hy926 cells. Low concentration (2.5 µg/mL) of silicic acid showed no cytotoxicity; however, high concentration (25 µg/mL) was cytotoxic. In vivo intravitreal injection demonstrated that 15 um silica particles with 10 nm pore were safe in both rabbit and guinea pig eyes and the particles lasted in the vitreous for longer than two months. Formulations of with larger pores demonstrated variable localized vitreous cloudiness around the sol-gel particle depot and mild inflammatory cells in the aqueous humor. The incidence of reaction trended higher with larger pores (10 nm: 0%, 30 nm: 29%, 50 nm: 71%, 100 nm: 100%, p < .0001, Cochran Armitage Trend Test). Sol-gel mesoporous silica particles have uniform particle sizes and well-defined pores, which is an advantage for implantation via a fine needle. Selected formulations may be used as an intraocular drug delivery system with proper loading and encapsulation.
Preclinical Models to Study Obesity and Breast Cancer in Females: Considerations, Caveats, and Tools

Obesity increases the risk for breast cancer and is associated with poor outcomes for cancer patients. A variety of rodent models have been used to investigate these relationships; however, key differences in experimental approaches, as well as unique aspects of rodent physiology lead to variability in how these valuable models are implemented. We combine expertise in the development and implementation of preclinical models of obesity and breast cancer to disseminate effective practices for studies that integrate these fields. In this review, we share, based on our experience, key considerations for model selection, highlighting important technical nuances and tips for use of preclinical models in studies that integrate obesity with breast cancer risk and progression. We describe relevant mouse and rat paradigms, specifically highlighting differences in breast tumor subtypes, estrogen production, and strategies to manipulate hormone levels. We also outline options for diet composition and housing environments to promote obesity in female rodents. While we have applied our experience to understanding obesity-associated breast cancer, the experimental variables we incorporate have relevance to multiple fields that investigate women’s health.
Leadership and Character(s): Behavioral Business Ethics in ‘War and Peace’

Leo Tolstoy was on to behavioral ethics before there was such as a thing as behavioral ethics. Three scenes from his magnum opus, War and Peace, demonstrate that Tolstoy diagnosed some of the same problems that occupy modern behavioral ethics: confirmation bias, slippery-slope reasoning, and illusions of control. However, whereas modern behavioral ethics has done more to diagnose problems than to prescribe solutions, Tolstoy’s theories of moral psychology and leadership provide direction for human moral self-cultivation. This analysis of War and Peace also suggests that literary fiction can depict worlds at least as fertile as the real world for studying business ethics. Building upon this example, in an age and field which seems too often to prioritize scientific wisdom over that of the humanities, I speculate about how literary fiction can expand our research into more diverse actors and worlds of modern capitalism.
Radical sovereignty, rhetorical borders, and the everyday decolonial praxis of Indigenous peoplehood and Two-Spirit reclamation

As settler colonialism has forcibly constricted vast expanses of Indigenous lands, criss-crossing them with superimposed borders, it has sought to redraw the boundaries of Indigenous identity by im...
The importance of fit: a predictive model of cause marketing effects

A predictive model was developed to help brands improve cause-related marketing campaigns by identifying the most impactful relationships among important campaign variables. The largest effect in t...
Acid-Catalyzed Hydrothiolation of gem-Difluorostyrenes to Access α,α-Difluoroalkylthioethers.

The substitution of hydrogen atoms with fluorine in bioactive molecules can greatly impact physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic properties. However, current synthetic methods canno...
Adhesion Strength of PDMS to Polyimide Bonding with Thin-film Silicon Dioxide

Polyimide and PDMS are the most common materials used in the packaging of flexible electronics. Silicon dioxide being photolithographically patternable, can be used to selectively bond polyimide (PI) to PDMS to realize flexible microsystems integrating fluidic and electronic components. In this work, we characterize the plasma bond strength of polyimide (Kapton) to PDMS with thin-film SiO 2 as an intermediate bonding layer. Peel strengths of samples prepared with different types of deposition methods – sputtering, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and atomic layer deposition (ALD) were evaluated. The measured forces (normalized to the width of the bonded area), required to separate the PDMS and Kapton films, either due to adhesive or cohesive failures, were 174-860 N/m, 79-179 N/m, and 7-12 N/m for samples bonded with sputtered, PECVD and ALD oxide, respectively. The strength of the sputtered oxide bond is comparable to the strength of the best chemical adhesive method available.
Constitutionalizing Access: How Courts Weigh State Constitutional Claims in Open-Government Litigation

State constitutions receive relatively little academic attention, yet they are the source of significant substantive rights—and, when compared to the U.S. Constitution, they are relatively easily amended to comport with contemporary needs and values. Unlike the constitutions of dozens of other nations, the U.S. Constitution contains no explicit recognition of a right to information from the government, and the Supreme Court has declined to infer that such a right exists, apart from narrow exceptions. Conversely, seven states expressly memorialize the public’s right of access to government meetings and records in their constitutions. In this paper, the authors examine case law applying the constitutional right of access, concluding that the right is somewhat underutilized and rarely seems to produce an outcome clearly different from what a litigant could expect relying on state statutory rights alone.
Tracking urban heartbeat and policy compliance through vision and language-based sensing

Sensing activities at the city scale using big data can enable applications to improve the quality of citizen life. While there are approaches to sense the urban heartbeat using sound, vision, radio frequency (RF), and other sensors, capturing changes at urban scale using such sensing modalities is challenging. Due to the enormous amount of data they produce and the associated annotation and processing requirement, such data can be of limited use. In this paper, we present a vision-to-language modeling approach to capture patterns and transitions that occur in New York City from March 2020 to August 2020. We use the model on ~1 million street images captured by dashcams over 6 months. We then use the captions to train a language model based on Latent Dirichlet Allocation [4] and compare models from different periods using probabilistic distance measures. We observe distribution shifts in the model that correlate well with social distancing policies and are corroborated by different data sources, such as mobility traces. This language-based sensing introduces a new sensing modality to capture dynamics in the city with lower storage requirements and privacy concerns.
CATALOGUES: A METAPHOR FOR COMPUTER APPLICATION DELIVERY

This paper presents the mail-order catalogue as a metaphor for the delivery of application software in an integrated work environment. It also describes, Catalogue, an adjunct to the Rooms multiple virtual workspace environment, which employs this metaphor. This mechanism can be used (1) to give users “instant starts” by letting the user's select a standard setup, (2) to allow users to assemble their own environment from standard components, (3) to parameterize a standard component, and (4) to load applications ready to run.
Working in competitive sport: What coaches and athletes want psychologists to know.

Abstract Work with competitive athletes is rewarding and challenging. Understanding the unique aspects of the elite sport environment can enhance psychological consultation. This paper begins with several case examples, then background characteristics common to many athletes are described, e.g., early involvement in sport participation, reliance on sport specific behavioral norms. It is suggested that paying particular attention to athletes' sport history, time demands, and sport characteristics will increase satisfaction with sport psychology services. The important role that coaches and the media play in athletes' lives is also described. Discussion of these points is essential because psychologists who gain familiarity with elite sport environments will better serve their competitive athlete Clients in need of psychological services.
ALTERED RHYTHM OF PHOTORECEPTOR OUTER SEGMENT PHAGOCYTOSIS IN β5 INTEGRIN KNOCKOUT MICE

In the retina photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE cells) are in close contact. The outer segment portions of photoreceptors consist of stacked membranous disks containing the phototransduction machinery. These disks are permanently produced thereby lengthening outer segments. To maintain constant outer segment length photoreceptors eliminate their most aged tips by daily shedding (Young, 1967).
High-Resolution Neutron Radiography Analysis of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Neutron radiography enables direct visualization and quantification of many water transport phenomena in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The advantage of the technique is that neutrons have a long penetration length through most common PEMFC materials of construction (with a 1/e length of about 11 cm for aluminum), while having a relatively short 1/e length for water (of order 3 mm). This sensitivity to water enables precise measurements via neutron radiography of the water content in an operating PEMFC that are primarily limited by systematic measurement uncertainties. Recent advances in the spatial resolution of neutron detector technology enable direct measurement of the through-plane water content. This new data provides gas diffusion layer water profiles that can serve as input or comparison data for a large class of one-dimensional PEMFC models. In this article, the technique of neutron radiography is discussed, with an emphasis on the quantitative image analysis of the through-plane water content.
A Signaling Theory of Managerial Turnover

This paper extends the career concerns literature by showing how career concerns can lead to managerial turnover. A model of turnover based on team production and asymmetric information is constructed. Team production makes it difficult, if not impossible, for market participants to learn a manager's individual ability level. Turnover provides an opportunity to further learn managerial ability. As such, high ability managers signal their ability levels by engaging in turnover. The probability of managerial turnover is shown to be decreasing in the cost of turnover, increasing in the variance of firms' perceived abilities, and increasing in the variance of a manager's perceived ability. The predictions of the model are supported by recent empirical work on managerial turnover.
Formal Modeling of Communication Protocols

Interest in more rigorous definition and analysis of communication protocols is increasing. This paper surveys the current state of the art in protocol specification and verification. Methods for specification such as abstract machines, Petri nets, formal languages, abstract data types, and programs are described and compared. Verification methods including state exploration, symbolic execution, structural induction, and program proof are discussed. Work is progressing rapidly in many of these areas, and no clearly superior method has emerged yet. At least in the area of specification, some of these methods are ready for use by a wider community of protocol designers and users.
An image preprocessing algorithm for illumination invariant face recognition

Face recognition algorithms have to deal with significant amounts of illumination variations between gallery and probe images. State-of-the-art commercial face recognition algorithms still struggle with this problem. We propose a new image preprocessing algorithm that compensates for illumination variations in images. From a single brightness image the algorithm first estimates the illumination field and then compensates for it to mostly recover the scene reflectance. Unlike previously proposed approaches for illumination compensation, our algorithm does not require any training steps, knowledge of 3D face models or reflective surface models. We apply the algorithm to face images prior to recognition. We demonstrate large performance improvements with several standard face recognition algorithms across multiple, publicly available face databases.
Chapter 5 Neurobiology and behaviour of the scallop

Compared to other bivalves, scallops have complex sense organs and sophisticated central nervous systems. In nearly all scallops, the mantle margins of the valves bear dozens to hundreds of image-forming eyes. These eyes are among the very few in the natural world that use a curved mirror to form a focused image. Another unusual feature of these eyes is their possession of two separate retinas that differ from each other morphologically and physiologically. The distal retina contains ciliary photoreceptors that depolarise in response to decreased amounts of light (off-receptors), whereas the proximal retina consists of rhabdomeric photoreceptors that depolarise when light levels increase (on-receptors). Consistent with their physiological differences, the distal and proximal photoreceptors detect light using distinct sets of molecular components. The distal receptors employ a phototransduction cascade involving Go-coupled opsins; in contrast, the proximal receptors operate using Gq-coupled opsins similar to those found in the cephalic eyes of other molluscs. Axons from the photoreceptors of the distal and proximal retinas travel to the parietovisceral ganglion (PVG), a large nerve centre – absent in other bivalves – that is located on the ventral surface of the adductor muscle. Electrophysiological recordings indicate that the lateral lobes of the PVG process information gathered by the dozens of image-forming eyes on the mantle. Behavioural experiments suggest that scallops use spatial information about light to influence a wide range of activities. Based on the physiological differences between them, it has been hypothesised that scallops use their two retinas for separate sets of tasks: for example, scallops may use their distal retinas for tasks that require the detection of movement (e.g. the detection of predators) and their proximal retinas for tasks that require information about relative levels of light intensity (e.g. the detection of preferred types of habitat). Some of these visually influenced behaviours are quite dramatic because scallops, unlike other bivalves, are able to swim for short distances using a simple form of jet propulsion. Because most bivalves lack complex eyes and ganglia and are unable to swim, scallops may be a promising system in which to study the co-evolution of image-forming eyes, centralised nervous systems and new forms of locomotion.
CORR Insights®: d-amino Acid Inhibits Biofilm but not New Bone Formation in an Ovine Model

C omplex musculoskeletal injuries are complicated by infections in as many 30% of traumatized patients [2], depending on the type of injury and the timing of the interventions. Biomaterials often are necessary components to restore function and promote healing in injuries where muscle, nerve, and bone damage present challenges to healing. While biomaterials serve critical functions in repairing defects, they also increase the risk of infection. This is in part due to the promotion of biofilm formation on the surface of implants, and in particular, the presence of persister cells (dormant cells that survive exposure to antimicrobials) within biofilm. Biofilm microorganisms and persister cells have altered metabolic function that make them resistant to traditional antibiotic therapy and require antimicrobial concentrations several orders of magnitude higher for complete eradication than those necessary for killing planktonic counterparts [9]. Basic science studies of biofilm and persister-cell biology have led to the discovery of a number of molecules that specifically target these phenotypes. D-amino acids (D-AAs), cis 2decenoic acid, and farnesol are among these recently discovered biofilm inhibitors that have been shown to prevent biofilm formation, disperse existing biofilm, and revert persister cells to a more active and antimicrobial-susceptible state [4, 7, 8]. While in vitro results using D-AAs are encouraging, clinical use of these biofilm inhibitors remains investigational. Dose considerations and compatibility with bone and soft tissue must be established for safety. Since systemic delivery of D-AAs and other biofilm inhibitors may be ineffective, local delivery carriers for D-AAs are an advantageous strategy for clinical use.
Predicted performance of n/sup +/p indium phosphide solar cells under laser illumination

The predicted performance of a high-efficiency n/sup +/p InP solar cell under laser illumination is described. This work is based on the modeling work of R. K. Jain and D. J. Flood, using the PC-1D computer code to simulate the I-V characteristics of the highest-efficiency (19.1% AMO, 25 degrees C) homoepitaxial InP cell grown by the MOCVD (metal-organic chemical vapor deposition) process. The calculated performance of an optimized InP cell (with prismatic cover, series resistance 0.01 Omega -cm/sup 2/) versus source wavelength (25 degrees C, 1 W/cm/sup 2/) is shown. It is concluded that indium phosphide solar cells offer a great potential as a radiation-hard photovoltaic receiver with high conversion efficiencies for laser power beaming applications. >
Excited state absorption and optical limiting of platinum(II) 4'-arylterpyridyl acetylide complexes

The excited state absorption and optical limiting of a series of platinum(II) 4'-arylterpyridyl acetylide complexes have been investigated. These complexes possess relatively long triplet excited state lifetime that varies from tens of nanoseconds to several microseconds; and exhibit broad triplet excited state absorption in most of the visible to near infrared spectral region. Nonlinear transmission experiments demonstrate that all of the complexes show pronounced optical limiting for ns laser pulses at 532 nm. The photophysical properties and optical limiting characteristics are influenced significantly by the nature of 4'-aryl substituent and the acetylide ligand.
Effect of experimentally induced synovitis on amikacin concentrations after intravenous regional limb perfusion.

Objectives To determine the effects of experimentally induced synovitis of the radiocarpal joint on the intra-articular pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of amikacin after intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP). Study Design Randomized crossover experimental design. Animals Adult horses (n = 8). Methods Horses were randomly assigned into 2 trials: synovitis and no-synovitis. Radiocarpal joint synovitis was induced with lipopolysaccharide 6 hours before IVRLP. IVRLP (5-mg/kg amikacin qs 60 mL) was performed with a pneumatic tourniquet under general anesthesia. Synovial fluid was obtained before and 0.5, 1, 3, 5, 12, 24, 48 hours after IVRLP. Amikacin concentrations at each time point and pharmacokinetic values were compared between synovitis and no-synovitis trials with Student's t-test. Results Amikacin synovial fluid concentrations indicated suspected tourniquet failure on 3 occasions (2 synovitis, 1 no-synovitis) on 3 different horses. Data from both trials in these 3 horses were excluded from further analysis. Observed time to maximal concentration (Tmax; mean ± SD = 54 ± 13.42 min) was reached earlier in synovitis joints (5/5, 30 min) than in no-synovitis joints (1/5, 30 min and 4/5, 1 h; P = .0476) (P = .0161). Mean observed maximal concentration (Cmax) was higher in synovitis joints (144.48 ± 43.17 μg/mL) than in no-synovitis joints (60.02 ± 28.81 μg/mL; P = .0301). The recommended Cmax: minimum inhibitory concentration ratio of 8 was achieved in 3/5 of the successfully perfused joints with induced synovitis, but this ratio was not achieved in any of the clinically normal joints. Conclusion Synovitis of the radiocarpal joint resulted in an earlier observed Tmax and higher observed Cmax of intra-articular amikacin after IVRLP compared with normal joints.
The Old, the New, and the Redefined: Identifying the Discourses in Contemporary Bisexual Activism

Activists working on behalf of any social movement utilize multiple discourses to communicate with other activists as well as movement outsiders. This research studies the discourses and frames present in contemporary bisexual activism using data from a variety of sources. The findings reveal that activists are continuing to use frames that respond to some discourses that have been present in the movement for a long time, whereas other frames are constructed to address discourses that have emerged more recently. Based on the old and new discourses found within and without the movement itself, bisexual activists are redefining frames about bisexuality to encourage coalition and inclusivity. Understanding the relationship between movement frames and discourses, as well as how they relate to discourses present in larger society and other movements, has implications for the political efficacy and success of the movement.
Wavefront Sensing in Strong Scintillation with a Self-Referencing Interferometer Wavefront Sensor

Recently the Starfire Optical Range has been developing a self-referencing interferometer wavefront sensor for applications requiring laser propagation in strong scintillation. This presentation describes the status of the development effort.
Effect of progabide on serum phenytoin and carbamazepine concentrations

Progabide (PGB) is a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-agonist drug undergoing clinical evaluation for the treatment of spasticity, movement disorders, and epilepsy. Drug interactions were studied during a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial of the efficacy and toxicity of PGB in patients with partial seizures taking phenytoin (PHT) and carbamazepine (CBZ). In twenty-two of 32 patients (69%) receiving PGB, PHT dosage was reduced, while only four patients (12%) had their dosage reduced during placebo treatment (p less than 0.001). Carbamazepine dosage was decreased in five of 32 patients (16%) during the active treatment, while two patients (6%) had a dosage reduction when receiving placebo (p greater than 0.75). The mean PHT concentrations at the end of baseline, PGB, and placebo treatments were significantly different: 17.5, 20.4, and 16.8 mg/L, respectively (p less than 0.05). Nevertheless, careful adjustment of PHT dosage maintained serum concentration within +/- 25% of target values in both the PGB and placebo periods. Among patients who first received PGB and then placebo, PHT concentrations remained elevated relative to dose suggesting that PGB exerts a prolonged effect on PHT disposition. The addition of PGB to regimens including PHT results in a significant increase in serum PHT concentrations. This drug interaction most likely occurs as a result of PGB mediated inhibition of hepatic microsomal enzymes.
The Distribution of an Arbitrary Studentized Residual and the Effects of Updating in Multiple Regression

Abstract It is shown that in multiple regression the quantity has a t distribution with n − p − 1 degrees of freedom, where τn is the nth studentized residual. The effects on the residuals and the sum of the squared residuals by adding a new data point to a multiple regression problem are investigated.
DISCITIS: NEW DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES

The diagnosis of discitis is difficult because it often mimics other diseases such as tenosynovitis, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis. Intervertebral disc space narrowing, the hallmark of this disease, may not be radiologically evident for 8-10 weeks. Although discitis is considered an infectious process, biopsies are generally obtained late in the disease, are culture negative, and show nonspecific inflammation. In a 3-year prospective analysis of 9 patients with suspected discitis, 7 were confirmed as discitis, 1 had sacroiliac septic arthritis, and 1 had Guillain-Barre syndrome. The mean age was 3.3 yr and 5/7 were girls. Routine spine x-rays were not positive for 6-10 weeks. Gallium citrate and technetium diphosphanate scans were diagnostic (9/9) within 7 and 14 days of symptoms, respectively. Scans were diagnostic on 7 occasions when standard x-rays were not. Anaerobic diphtheroids were isolated from one disc space and streptococci from another. Spica casts were used in 6/7 patients to encourage immobilization, antibiotics in 2/7, and 1 received no specific therapy. All patients recovered. The present study is the first known prospective analysis of discitis. These data suggest that this disease is more common than previously recognized and that radiopharmaceuticals may be used to accurately diagnose discitis. Pediatricians are urged to consider this diagnosis in any child with fever, irritability, and vague abdominal, leg, or back complaints whose etiology is not identified.
Oxidative stress and autophagy: Crucial modulators of kidney injury

Both acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) that lead to diminished kidney function are interdependent risk factors for increased mortality. If untreated over time, end stage renal disease (ESRD) is an inevitable outcome. Acute and chronic kidney diseases occur partly due to imbalance between the molecular mechanisms that govern oxidative stress, inflammation, autophagy and cell death. Oxidative stress refers to the cumulative effects of highly reactive oxidizing molecules that cause cellular damage. Autophagy removes damaged organelles, protein aggregates and pathogens by recruiting these substrates into double membrane vesicles called autophagosomes which subsequently fuse with lysosomes. Mounting evidence suggests that both oxidative stress and autophagy are significantly involved in kidney health and disease. However, very little is known about the signaling processes that link them. This review is focused on understanding the role of oxidative stress and autophagy in kidney diseases. In this review, we also discuss the potential relationships between oxidative stress and autophagy that may enable the development of better therapeutic intervention to halt the progression of kidney disease and promote its repair and resolution.
Management of onychomycosis with oral terbinafine.

Abstract The safety and efficacy of oral terbinafine in the treatment of finger onychomycosis caused by Trichophyton rubrum were evaluated in an open study including 11 patients. Treatment consisted of 125 mg of terbinafine given twice daily for 6 months or until the infection cleared. At the end of the treatment period, all patients were clinically and mycologicaliy normal, with the drug acting as a fungal barrier to prevent further distal fungal invasion into the nailplate. Mild gastric discomfort in one patient was the only side effect reported during this study. No laboratory abnormalities were detected.
A calibrated recording and analysis of the pitch, force and quality of vocal tones expressing happiness and sadness; and a determination of the pitch and force of the subjective concepts of ordinary, soft and loud tones.

(1935). A calibrated recording and analysis of the pitch, force and quality of vocal tones expressing happiness and sadness; and a determination of the pitch and force of the subjective concepts of ordinary, soft, and loud tones. Speech Monographs: Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 81-137.
EPSP synthase inhibitor design IV. New aromatic substrate analogs and symmetrical inhibitors containing novel 3-phosphate mimics.

Abstract New 4-deoxy aromatic analogs of S3P and EPSP have been synthesized as potential substrate-based inhibitors of EPSPS to evaluate various 3-phosphate replacements in combination with the aromatic ring system. These studies identified 3-malonate ethers and α-hydroxymethylphosphonates as suitable 3-phosphate mimics in this series and led to the discovery of two unexpectedly potent symmetrical aromatic inhibitors 6 and 7.
A computer program for determining particle size distribution and soil textural class

Abstract A computer program was written to determine particle size distribution and soil textural class by the U.S.D.A. system. The program, written in WATFIV, is based on the hydrometer method of particle size analysis.
Retinal neuroprotection in dry age-related macular degeneration

Dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a slowly progressive visual disorder that is a leading cause for severe visual impairment in the elderly population. Clinical options to prevent disease development and progression are very limited at this time. Recently, research on dry AMD has begun to focus on retinal neuroprotection strategies to prevent apoptosis and necrosis, reduce oxidative injury and understand the molecular and cellular response to neuroprotective agents. Here we review the most recent advances in basic and clinical research in neuroprotection as it relates to dry AMD.
PROFESSOR CHARLES C. FRIES

I first knew Mr. Fries in the summer of 1937 at the Linguistic Institute of the Linguistic Society of America meeting at Ann Arbor, Michigan. He believed-he later told me-that an Institute where leaders in the field were drawn together in common interest would in fact get involved in discussions which would stimulate all. He therefore sponsored and directed the Institute in its formative years. As a young student I got drawn into this atmosphere as iron filings are drawn by a strong magnet. The time proved to be formative for me, as it did for others. Mr. Fries gathered little for himself from the Institute except hard work-and satisfaction at opening doors for others to walk through. This kind of altruism typified the years that I knew him. He also founded the English Language Institute-though with different aims and methods from those of the Linguistic Institute-and by it blazed a trail for many to follow. The local I1ELI" is no longer alone in the country, but one of many at home and abroad. H i s influence in such matters is so profound that it no longer seems fitting or possible to acknowledge it by page and paragraph in the grammatical and pedagogical works related to the work of the Institute. Yet, when his specific academic competence had been stretched to its human limits, this influence had but just begun. Beyond the horizons of direct personal involvement were students who continued to receive encouragement to work steadily when they might otherwise have stopped growing. The Summer Institute of Linguistics Inc. (Santa Anna, Calif.), for example, is profoundly indebted to his warmth 05 interest for being able to persist in its academic growth while continuing its efforts in behalf of 400 tribal groups. He was able to visit only one or two of these but his impact went beyond his own ability to follow by sight.
Genomic adaptation of admixed dairy cattle in East Africa.

Dairy cattle in East Africa imported from the U.S. and Europe have been adapted to new environments. In small local farms, cattle have generally been maintained by crossbreeding that could increase survivability under a severe environment. Eventually, genomic ancestry of a specific breed will be nearly fixed in genomic regions of local breeds or crossbreds when it is advantageous for survival or production in harsh environments. To examine this situation, 25 Friesians and 162 local cattle produced by crossbreeding of dairy breeds in Kenya were sampled and genotyped using 50K SNPs. Using principal component analysis, the admixed local cattle were found to consist of several imported breeds, including Guernsey, Norwegian Red, and Holstein. To infer the influence of parental breeds on genomic regions, local ancestry mapping was performed based on the similarity of haplotypes. As a consequence, it appears that no genomic region has been under the complete influence of a specific parental breed. Nonetheless, the ancestry of Holstein-Friesians was substantial in most genomic regions (>80%). Furthermore, we examined the frequency of the most common haplotypes from parental breeds that have changed substantially in Kenyan crossbreds during admixture. The frequency of these haplotypes from parental breeds, which were likely to be selected in temperate regions, has deviated considerably from expected frequency in eleven genomic regions. Additionally, extended haplotype homozygosity based methods were applied to identify the regions responding to recent selection in crossbreds, called candidate regions, resulting in seven regions that appeared to be affected by Holstein-Friesians. However, some signatures of selection were less dependent on Holsteins-Friesians, suggesting evidence of adaptation in East Africa. The analysis of local ancestry is a useful approach to understand the detailed genomic structure and may reveal regions of the genome required for specialized adaptation
Study of ion specific interactions of alkali cations with dicarboxylate dianions.

Alkali metal cations often show pronounced ion-specific interactions and selectivity with macromolecules in biological processes, colloids, and interfacial sciences, but a fundamental understanding about the underlying microscopic mechanism is still very limited. Here we report a direct probe of interactions between alkali metal cations (M+) and dicarboxylate dianions, –O2C(CH2)nCO2– (Dn2–) in the gas phase by combined photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and ab initio electronic structure calculations on nine M+–Dn2– complexes (M = Li, Na, K; n = 2, 4, 6). PES spectra show that the electron binding energy (EBE) decreases from Li+ to Na+ to K+ for complexes of M+–D22–, whereas the order is Li+ < Na+ ≈ K+ when M+ interacts with a more flexible D62– dianion. Theoretical modeling suggests that M+ prefers to interact with both ends of the carboxylate −COO– groups by bending the flexible aliphatic backbone, and the local binding environments are found to depend upon backbone length n, carboxylate orientation, and ...
Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Properties of a Quenched Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride-Trifluoroethylene) Copolymer.

The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of melt-quenched unoriented poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (73 : 27) copolymer films as a function of the number of poling cycles have been studied. The investigation revealed that quenched films exhibit a decrease in D-E hysteresis behavior as the number of poling cycles increases when the samples are poled at room temperature. Corresponding decreases in remanent polarization, Pr, as well as small increases in the coercive field, Ec, were observed as the material was subjected to successive poling cycles. The piezoelectric coefficients, d31 and e31, also decreased as the number of poling cycles increased. In addition, a clear reduction in the “apparent” Curie transition temperature between unpoled and poled material was observed. Preliminary evidence indicates that films quenched from the melt to below Tc do not form a stable ferroelectric crystal phase as previously believed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 2671–2679, 1997
Influence of anthropogenic combustion emissions on the deposition of soluble aerosol iron to the ocean: Empirical estimates for island sites in the North Atlantic

The results of several recent studies challenge the reigning paradigm that continental soil dust provides the only significant atmospheric source of dissolved iron to the surface ocean. This evidence includes correlations between the operational solubility of aerosol iron and atmospheric loadings of black carbon and aluminum-normalized vanadium and nickel, each of which are associated with emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel oil. These observations suggest that the relative solubility of aerosol iron, hence the eolian flux of soluble iron to the surface ocean, may be significantly impacted by anthropogenic oil combustion products. Using recent field data from the Bermuda region, we have developed an empirical method to estimate the solubility of aerosol iron using bulk aerosol concentrations of Fe, V and Al. We apply this method to a large body of published data from the AEROCE program for North Atlantic island sites on Tenerife, Barbados, Bermuda and Ireland, where the relative proportions of anthropogenic aerosols range from minor to major, respectively. Our aerosol iron solubility estimates suggest that anthropogenic emissions contribute approximately 70% and 85% of the annual dry deposition of soluble iron to the surface ocean near Bermuda and Ireland, respectively, implying that human activities have profoundly affected the iron budget of the North Atlantic region. The annual mean dry deposition of soluble iron at Barbados and Izana is dominated by soil dust. The anthropogenic contribution at these two sites ranges from 12% to 30% and is highly dependent on the soil dust solubility of Fe employed in the model. The low end (∼12%) estimate appears to be more representative of these high-dust sites.
SOUTHERN ANALYSIS OF BT-R1, THE MANDUCA SEXTA GENE ENCODING THE RECEPTOR FOR THE CRY1AB TOXIN OF BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS

Various subspecies of the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis are known to produce a wide array of insecticidal crystal proteins (ICPs) upon sporulation. These ICPs act primarily on the brush border of midgut epithelial cells of susceptible larvae. Recently, a protein of 210 kDa, isolated from the midgut of Manduca sexta, has been demonstrated to bind the Cry1Ab toxin produced by B. thuringiensis subsp. berliner and is therefore postulated to be involved in mediating the toxicity of Cry1Ab. The cDNA encoding the 210 kDa protein, termed BT-R1 (Bacillus thuringiensis receptor-1), was recently cloned, and shows limited homology to the cadherin superfamily of proteins. Quite naturally, there is a great deal of interest in the characterization of BT-R1, the gene encoding the 210 kDa Cry1Ab binding protein. The studies presented here involve the use of various restriction fragments prepared from the cDNA encoding BT-R1 as probes of Southern blots bearing M. sexta genomic DNA cleaved with a variety of restriction endonucleases. These Southern blot data reveal that there are two discrete regions within the M. sexta genome which encode sequences homologous to BT-R1. On the basis of the signal intensities seen on Southern blots, it appears that only one of these genes encodes BT-R1, whereas the other is a closely related homologue.
Conscience, Contraception, and Catholic Health-Care Professionals

Abstract The Church's teachings are often very challenging. Those who are involved in the health-care professions and who conduct their practices in accord with Church teaching can expect misunderstanding and even rejection from their colleagues and patients. One of the most difficult teachings of the Church is its condemnation of contraception. In 1968 Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae vitae, which hit the world like a bomb. In it he affirmed the Church's longstanding teaching on human sexuality and condemned contraception in particular. Today scientific advances such as in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem-cell research, as well as the challenges in making moral decisions about end-of-life care, make it increasingly difficult for health-care professionals to practice in accord with their deeply held moral convictions. Developing a properly formed conscience, which is the voice of God, is essential in dealing with these contemporary issues and making right choices. This essay outlines the...
Effects of ADP, ethanol and acetaldehyde on the relaxing complex of human muscle and its adsorption by polystyrene particles.

Abstract The ATPase activity and interaction of actin with myosin were altered by ADP, ethanol, and acetaldehyde in partially purified human muscle actomyosin. By contrast, reconstituted actomyosin from purified actin and myosin did not exhibit a similar response to these compounds. The addition of regulatory proteins, tropomyosin and the troponin complex, under controlled conditions, restored the response to ADP, ethanol, and acetaldehyde. When tropomyosin and/or troponin were adsorbed on the surface of polystyrene Lytron particles, ADP, ethanol, and acetaldehyde were found to influence calcium binding of the regulatory complex by altering the number of calcium binding sites. These results may explain, at least in part, the physiological effects of these agents on the contractile protein system of muscle.
Fault-tolerance of a neural network solving the TSP

Summary form only given, as follows. Results are presented of a fault-injection experiment that simulates a neural network solving the traveling salesman problem (TSP). The network is based on a modified version of Hopfield's and Tank's original method. The authors define a performance characteristic for the TSP that allows an overall assessment of the solution quality for different city distributions and problem sizes. Five different 10-, 20-, and 30-city cases are used for the injection of up to 13 simultaneous stuck-at-0 and stuck-at-1 faults. The results of more than 4000 simulation runs show the extreme fault tolerance of the network, especially with respect to stuck-at-0 faults. One possible explanation for the overall surprising result is the redundancy of the problem representation. >
Translational control of IS10 transposition

We present genetic evidence that insertion sequence IS10, the active element in transposon Tn10, can negatively control expression of its own transposase protein at the translational level. This control process is manifested in trans in a phenomenon called "multicopy inhibition": the presence of a multicopy plasmid containing IS10 inhibits transposition of a single copy chromosomal Tn10 element by reducing its ability to express transposition functions. Fusion analysis suggests that expression is reduced at the translational and not the transcriptional level. Only the outer 180 bp of IS10-Right are required on the plasmid for full inhibition. Plasmid-encoded transposase protein is not involved. The genetic structure of the essential plasmid region and the effects of point and deletion mutations on multicopy inhibition lead us to propose that inhibition of transposase translation occurs by direct pairing between the transposase messenger RNA and a small, complementary, regulatory RNA specified by the IS10-encoded pOUT promoter.
Influence of Heat, Force, and Secondary Factors on Electrical Contact Resistance in Microscale Gold Contacts

Micromechanical switches for RF communications often use gold as a contact material. While significant data exists for such contacts at contact forces larger than 200 mN and smaller 1 mN, little data exists at medium forces between these extremes. Moreover, previous studies have been unclear about the use of contact heating, particularly since voltages less than 100 mV can cause significant heating. This paper presents contact resistance data for both heated and unheated contacts with force from 0.01 to 1000 mN. Without heating, 1–10 mN of force is required to produce low, predictable resistance. However, with heating, forces as small as 0.05 mN produce low-resistance contacts, suggesting that contact heating is a valuable tool in removing insulating films and creating low-resistance, predictable contacts.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
ULTRASOUND PREDICTION OF PARTURITION IN QUEENS

Eight pregnancies in five queens were followed with serial ultrasound examinations. Measurements of head and body diameter were made throughout pregnancy. These measurements were used to produce individual growth curves for each pregnancy and average curves for both head and body diameter. Formulas based on the slope of the growth curves were derived. These formulas were then used to predict parturition dates based on single measurements of fetal head and/or body diameter in eight additional queens. Predicted date of parturition was then compared to actual queening dates. Ultrasound prediction of parturition date was accurate to within two days in seven of eight queens.
Efficient dielectric function for FDTD simulation of the optical properties of silver and gold nanoparticles

We have developed an efficient parameterization of the dielectric properties of Au and Ag in the energy range between 0.6 eV and 6.6 eV. The resulting time-domain dielectric function can be used for finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations of the optical properties of nanoparticles. We present FDTD calculations of the extinction spectra of various Au and Ag nanoparticles and show that the calculated spectra agree very well with exact calculations using experimentally measured dielectric functions.
Popliteal cysts in a pediatric patient

A 12-year-old boy with recurrent complaints of knee pain and swelling for six months, but without diagnosed rheumatological disease, presented with calf swelling and knee pain of several days duration. Examination revealed findings consistent with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and a ruptured Baker's cyst. This is the sixth reported case of ruptured Baker's cyst reported in a child less than 14 years old and should alert emergency physicians that calf pain and swelling secondary to a ruptured popliteal (Baker's) cyst may be an early manifestation of junvenile rheumatoid arthritis.