cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mid-infrared photothermal spectroscopy with phase analysis

Mid-infrared spectroscopy and imaging has attracted significant interest due to the presence of characteristic vibrational resonances of numerous molecular compounds in the fingerprint region. However, the imaging resolution in the midinfrared can be significantly weakened by the relatively large spot sizes of the beam used to target the absorption resonances of the sample. Photothermal spectroscopy and imaging as a label-free and nondestructive technique has shown great potential for pushing the imaging resolution to values below the mid-infrared diffraction limit while offering enhanced chemical sensitivity and specificity. Mid-infrared photothermal spectroscopy relies on a pump-probe setup, in which a shorter wavelength probe (removed from the targeted resonances) is co-aligned with the resonant pump beam. The modulated photothermal signal is then detected by a lock-in amplifier, whose output can provide information on the signal amplitude as well as phase. However, most commonly, amplitude images have been evaluated, without considering the recorded photothermal phase. We will provide a detailed analysis of the mid-infrared photothermal amplitude and phase information from a melamine bead sample embedded in a 2.5 μm-thick 4-Octyl-4’-Cyanobiphenyl (8CB) liquid crystal environment. Studies related to thermal transport phenomena as well as increases in imaging sensitivity will be presented for sub-diffraction limited resolution, label-free imaging. The concept of wavelength optimization to minimize thermal blurring effects at the zerocrossing for the out-of-phase contribution is introduced as a novel approach to enhance spatial resolution and sensitivity in mid-infrared label-free photothermal imaging.
IL-17 promotes inflammation associated tumor development (100.14)

The mechanism for inflammation associated tumor development is a central issue for tumor biology and immunology. IL-17 is an important cytokine for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Although IL-17 producing cells are detected in cancer patients and tumor bearing mice, the role of IL-17 mediated inflammation in tumor development remains to be determined. In the current studies, we showed that IL-17 receptor-A gene deficient mice (IL-17R-/-) were resistant to chemical induced carcinogenesis in the skin. Moreover, the defect in IL-17R reversed the increased susceptibility of IL-12p35 deficient mice to tumor development. Analysis showed that angiogenesis and infiltration of myeloid cells were inhibited whereas the infiltration of CD8 T cells was increased in the inflamed skin of IL-17R-/- mice. The development of myeloid derived suppressor cells was inhibited in IL-17R-/- mice. Inflammation induced Cox-2 activity and S100A8/A9 proteins were inhibited and inflammation associated epidermal hyperplasia were suppressed in IL-17R-/- mice. Furthermore, the production of tumor promoting inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α were reduced. These findings demonstrate that IL-17 signals are required for inflammation associated tumor development. The study provides insights into a novel mechanism by which IL-17 mediates tumor promoting inflammation and induces tumor escape from immune surveillance. It has major implications for targeting IL-17 in prevention and treatment of tumors.
Terrestrial lidar scanning reveals fine-scale linkages between microstructure and photosynthetic functioning of small-stature spruce trees at the forest-tundra ecotone

Abstract The forest-tundra ecotone (FTE) is exhibiting myriad responses to rapid environmental change. Microstructural variability (at cm to m length scales) of vegetation canopies and geomorphic features may modulate the response of FTE vegetation to regional climate changes. Understanding the influence of microstructure on tree function at the FTE is particularly relevant during vulnerable early growth stages. During these stages, individual trees are tightly coupled to conditions of the surface boundary layer, which can be more conducive to growth than the conditions above the boundary layer. Until recently, however, it has been difficult to characterize microstructure in a replicable, transferable manner. This study builds upon substantial research on ecological responses of trees at the FTE to growth environment conditions by integrating high-resolution terrestrial lidar scanning (TLS) to characterize microstructure. Our main goal was to use TLS technology to understand the effects of microstructure on photosynthetic functioning (i.e., chlorophyll fluorescence) of small-stature white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) trees at the FTE. Our specific objectives were to: 1) determine how much variance in photosynthetic functioning is explained by microstructure; 2) identify microstructural metrics that most strongly control variance in photosynthetic functioning; and 3) determine the scales at which microstructural metrics most strongly drive variance in photosynthetic functioning. Random Forest modeling demonstrated that 28% of variance in photosynthetic functioning can be explained through variation in fine-scale environmental conditions that are modulated by microstructure alone. Insolation and canopy roughness were the most important predictors of photosynthetic functioning, and the sensitivity of photosynthetic functioning to canopy roughness was scale-dependent. This suggests that microstructure affects spatial heterogeneity in the boundary layer that may influence carbon assimilation of small-stature spruce trees. This research emphasizes the importance of quantifying microstructure in study systems where fine-scale heterogeneity of the growth environment may modulate plant responses to regional climate change.
Applications of Tranexamic acid in benign gynecology.

Purpose of reviewBleeding at the time of benign gynecologic surgery, as well as from benign gynecologic conditions, is a major source of morbidity for many women. Few nonhormonal medical options exist for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding, and to reduce surgical bleeding during major gynecol
The Victim’s Personal Rights

Kinship or friendship should not prevent actions to stop harm to oneself or others. A person with psychopathic characteristics may act in way that will harm others, perhaps even violating the law or the moral principles of society, friends, or family. No personal characteristic justifies imposing unjust harm to or usurping the legal rights of anyone else. The definition of morality is influenced and shaped by the particular context. The victim of harm from psychopathic conduct has a legal and moral right to exact a remedy from the miscreant. Victims should be mindful that modern society does not encourage imprudent self-help.
Avaliação da influência nutricional nas atividades de atletismo, natação e futebol da Academia da Força Aérea Brasileira (AFA): uma abordagem utilizando Focus Group

Because of the coercion of aesthetic standards presented by the society nowadays and the demand for fitness by the militaries and sports activities of the Brazil Air Force Academy, many cadets feel that they need to intake diets and consume supplements to enhance work in bodybuilding activity. This study aimed to evaluate and analyze the level of knowledge about nutrition for bodybuilders cadets from AFA. A research was made with 156 cadets’ practitioners of this activity. The results showed that the cadets have a good idea about how to feed themselves meeting the needs of the body during the day. However, was observed that some care in nutrition focused on weight training were not observed in a significant portion of the cadets, especially regarding the use of supplements and nutrient supply to enhance protein synthesis in some periods of the day. A nutritional guidance for further clarification regarding the use of supplements and best diet direction is needed due to some demands that this activity requires.
Patients with History of Colonoscopy Are Less Likely to Achieve High Quality Preparation After Implementing Split-Dose Bowel Preparation.

BACKGROUND Anecdotally, we observed that patients who had previous colonoscopies were less likely to follow newly implemented split-dose bowel preparation (SDBP) instructions. We investigated whether the indication for colonoscopy is an independent factor for achieving high quality bowel preparation among patients asked to follow SDBP. METHODS We performed a retrospective study of data from 1478 patients who received outpatient colonoscopies in 2014 (the year of SDBP implementation) at our Veterans Affairs Medical Center. We collected information related to demographics and factors known to affect bowel preparations. Reasons for colonoscopy were dichotomized into surveillance (previous colonoscopy) vs. non-surveillance (positive occult blood test or screening). Bowel preparation quality was scored using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS), and was categorized as either excellent vs. not excellent (BBPS≥7 vs. BBPS<7), or adequate vs. inadequate (BBPS≥6 vs. BBPS<6). RESULTS Bowel preparation quality was excellent in 60% of colonoscopies and adequate in 84% of colonoscopies. Thirty-six percent (535) were surveillance colonoscopies. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, more patients in the non-surveillance group achieved excellent (OR 0.8 ; 95% CI [0.7-0.8], P <0.0001) and adequate (OR 0.8 ; 95% CI [0.7-0.9], P <0.006) bowel preparation than did patients in the surveillance group. CONCLUSION Patients with a prior colonoscopy might not follow the split-dose bowel preparation instructions. Educational interventions emphasizing the benefits of SDBP in this group of patients may help ensure compliance and prevent the habitual use of day-before preparations.
Use of Botulinum Toxin in the Genitourinary System.

Botulinum toxin injection has been widely accepted by the urology and urogynecology medical communities as a safe and effective treatment for refractory urinary incontinence. There are two approved genitourinary indications for botulinum toxin. OnabotulinumtoxinA (onaBoNTA) 200 U for the treatment of urinary incontinence due to detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition (e.g., spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis) in adults who have an inadequate response to or are intolerant of an anticholinergic medication. In addition, onaBoNTA 100 U is used for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urinary incontinence, urgency, and frequency, in adult patients who have an inadequate response to or are intolerant of an anticholinergic medication. We will discuss the application of botulinum toxin for genitourinary indications with a focus on bladder injection and on potential use of BoNT use in the prostate and pelvic floor.
Corneal Surgery: The Cornea – How It Works

The cornea is the clear front surface of the eye. It lies directly in front of the iris and pupil, and it allows light to enter the eye. It provides approximately 65 to 75 percent of the focusing power of the eye. The horizontal diameter of the cornea typically measures about 12 millimeters (mm), and the vertical diameter is 11 mm. The cornea has five layers from the front to the back; the epithelium, Bowmans layer, the stroma, Descemet membrane and the endothelium.
Adrenal Metastases as Sanctuary Sites in Advanced Renal Cancer

Involvement of the adrenal gland in kidney cancer represents a unique site of metastasis with a distinct clinical course. The cases are typically resistant to immune therapy and need local therapy management. A case series of patients with adrenal metastases was reviewed to highlight the nuances of clinical course and therapy. We reviewed renal cancer carcinoma (RCC) cases with adrenal metastases at Karmanos Cancer Center, Detroit MI. Medical records were reviewed to collect relevant case information. Next-generation sequencing, tumor mutation burden testing, and programmed death ligand biomarkers were evaluated in five cases. Twelve cases were reviewed; all were males with a median age of 49.5 years. Three patients presented with adrenal metastases only and were treated with local therapy. Three received interleukin-2 (IL-2). One patient relapsed with bilateral adrenal lesions after 11 years of remission, post-IL-2 therapy. Five cases received immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) and one received antivascular therapy. ICI therapy was followed by ablation of residual adrenal metastases in three patients. Genomic profiling was available in five cases. All were BAP1 and PD-L1 negative.Pathogenic mutations in PBRM1, SETD2, and VHL were noted. All patients with residual adrenal metastases responded to antivascular therapies or to local ablation. One patient died 17 years after diagnosis and 11 patients are alive at a median follow-up of 9.5 years. Adrenal metastases in RCC have a distinct clinical course. They can represent a sanctuary site of relapse/residual disease following treatment with immune therapy. Management with local therapy can induce durable remissions. Systemic management with antivascular therapies also demonstrated favorable responses. Further investigation should focus on the unique clinical course and optimal management of adrenal metastases in kidney cancer.
Systemic inflammation and chronic kidney disease in a patient due to the RNASEH2B defect.

Aicardi-Goutieres (AGS) is a rare immune dysregulated disease due to mutations in TREX1, RNASEH2A, RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, SAMHD1, ADAR1, or IFIH1. Clinical features include basal ganglia calcifications, white matter abnormalities, and cerebral atrophy. Severe systemic inflammation and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are extremely rare in AGS. Herein, we report a patient presenting with systemic inflammation and CKD to broaden the clinical phenotype spectrum of the RNASEH2B defect. All testing and molecular genetic analysis were performed after obtaining the informed consent of the parents. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory findings were abstracted from outpatient and inpatient encounters. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scans, and renal biopsy histopathology reports were reviewed and summarized. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed on peripheral blood cells. After exposure to cGAMP in vitro for 24 h, mRNA expression of 12 IFN-stimulated cytokine genes in PBMCs was assessed. Serum cytokine levels were detected by Milliplex. A 11-year-old girl presented with recurrent aseptic fever, arthritis, chilblains, failure to thrive, mild hearing loss, and neurological manifestations. Laboratory and immunologic findings demonstrated lymphopenia, low complement levels, positive autoantibodies, elevated levels of acute-phase reactants and inflammatory cytokines. Cerebral imaging showed cerebral atrophy, white matter abnormalities, and intracranial calcification. Renal biopsy showed glomerular sclerosis in 3 of 14 glomeruli, infiltration of lymphocytes and other mononuclear cells. WES revealed a homozygous and heterozygous mutations in RNASEH2B. Over-expression of IFN-stimulated cytokine genes was observed, including IFI44, IFI27, IFIT1, IFIT2, IFIT3, ISG15, OAS1, and SIGLEC1. To date, only two cases with AGS have been reported to have renal disease. Here, we describe a patient with both homozygous and heterozygous variants in RNASEH2B, presenting with neurological manifestations, persistently systemic autoinflammation, and CKD. CKD has never been reported in patients with AGS due to the RNASEH2B defect. Not applicable; this was a retrospective study.
Exploring Neural Network Models for LncRNA Sequence Identification

Distinguishing long non-coding RNA from protein-coding RNA is important to molecular and cellular biology. The problem can be addressed with machine learning in general and with artificial neural networks in particular. We explore the effects of various network design choices on the accuracy of human LncRNA identification. Perceptron-based neural network models were found to be almost as accurate as more complex recurrent neural networks, and K-mer representations of the data seemed to assist both. Size selection of training data affected results. These explorations could assist in neural network design for RNA analysis.
Prospect Theory: Introduction

Publisher Summary Prospect theory is a theoretical framework that Kahneman and Tversky (1979) designed to capture the four features. It is a descriptive framework of choice in the face of risk. The theory has three components, a utility function over gains and losses, a weighting function, and a mental accounting structure that includes a reference point from which gains and losses are measured in each account. People do not typically behave in accordance with expected utility maximization. Rather, they violate expected utility in systematic ways. Some of the major violations are the common ratio effect and the common consequence effect. In addition, the concavity of the utility function implies that people who reject actuarially favorable gambles with small stakes will also reject gambles that combine a modest loss with a huge gain. In this respect, prospect theory is a descriptive framework, meaning that its purpose is to describe actual choice patterns. By no means is prospect theory intended to be a normative theory, which would be a theory of how people should make choices. Indeed, one of the aims of prospect theory is to explain why people are prone to making inferior choices. Prospect theory is the subject of this chapter. It describes elements of the studies that Kahneman–Tversky used to develop their theory.
Low-cost interventions for promoting forgiveness

It is a truism of social and clinical psychology that norm-violating interpersonal behavior can cause behavioral, psychological, health-related problems for victims. Serious life events caused by other people—violent crime, for example—can of course have long-standing effects, but even less overtly harmful events such as hurt feelings (Leary, Springer, Negel, Ansell, & Evans, 1998), social exclusion (Leary, Cottrell, & Phillips, 2001; Twenge, Catanese, & Baumeister, 2003), and rejection (Nolan, Flynn, & Garber, 2003) can elicit sadness, depression, anger, anxiety, and other negative outcomes. For example, discovering that one’s spouse has been sexually unfaithful is associated with a sixfold increase in the likelihood of being diagnosed with a major depressive disorder (Cano & O’Leary, 2000) and being humiliated is associated with a 70% increase in the likelihood of major depressive disorder (Kendler, Hettema, Butera, Gardner, & Prescott, 2003). Perhaps because of the pervasive norm of reciprocity (Gouldner, 1960), which dictates that people respond in kind when others harm them, transgressions frequently stimulate two negative motivations: the motivation to avoid and the motivation to seek revenge against the transgressor (McCullough et al., 1998; McCullough, Worthington, & Rachal, 1997). These transgression-related interpersonal motivations, or TRIMs, may be accompanied by reduced benevolent motivation toward the transgressor (McCullough et al., 1997). Although these motivational reactions to transgressions may be present in the human behavioral repertoire because they are (or were) functional (Bushman, Baumeister, & Phillips, 2001; Lerner, Gonzalez, Small, & Fischoff, 2003; McCullough, Bellah, Kilpatrick, & Johnson, 2001), they can have insidious societal and relational effects: Feeling avoidant and vengeful toward one’s transgressor impedes the restoration of that relationship (McCullough et al., 1998). In addition, feeling vengeful after suffering a perceived interpersonal harm underlies a considerable amount of destruction and human aggression (Baumeister, 1996), including workplace aggression (Douglas & Martinko, 2001), school violence/adolescent aggression (Delveaux & Daniels, 2000; Pfefferbaum & Wood, 1994), driver aggression (Wiesenthal, Hennessy, & Gibson, 2000), and even arson (Masayuki, 1995; Prins, 1995; Swaffer & Hollin, 1995).
Doxycycline shows dose-dependent changes in hernia repair strength after mesh repair

Ventral hernia is a commonly occurring surgical problem. Our earlier studies have shown that a 30 mg/kg dose of doxycycline can significantly impact the strength of polypropylene (PP) mesh in a rat hernia repair model at 6 and 12 weeks. The objective of the present study was to investigate the dose dependence of doxycycline treatment on hernia repair strengths in rats. Fifty-six Sprague-Dawley rats underwent hernia repair with either PP mesh (n = 28) or sutures only (primary; n = 28); both groups were further divided into four doxycycline groups of seven animals each: control (0 mg/kg), low (3 mg/kg), medium (10 mg/kg), and high (30 mg/kg). One day before hernia repair surgery, animals received doxycycline doses by gavage and continued receiving daily until euthanasia. After 8 weeks, rats were euthanized and tissue samples from hernia repaired area were collected and analyzed for tensile strength using a tensiometer (Instron, Canton, MA, USA), while MMPs 2, 3, and 9, and collagen type 1 and 3 were analyzed by western blotting. In mesh-repaired animals, medium and high doxycycline dose repaired mesh fascia interface (MFI) showed significant increase in tensile strength when compared to control. In the primary repaired animals, there was no significant difference in MFI tensile strength in any dose group. In medium-dose MFI, there was a significant reduction in MMPs 2, 3, and 9. In this animal group, MFI showed significant increase in collagen 1 and significant reduction in collagen type 3 when compared to control. It is possible to improve the strength of mesh-repaired tissue by administering a significantly lower dose of the drug, which has implications for translation of the findings.
Fractional-N and Basic Synthesizers

This chapter contains sections titled: First-Order Fractional-N Second-Order Fractional-N Higher Order Fractional-N Spectrums with Constant Sampling Rate Summary of Spectrums Summary
An Investigation via Simulation and Measurements to Assess Vehicle Impact on Personal Privacy Device Antenna Radiation Patterns

This article presents a study of the radiation pattern of a personal privacy device (PPD) antenna on a fabricated vehicle and three commercial vehicles. Initially, electromagnetic modeling of the PPD antenna on the fabricated vehicle in three distinct antenna locations and two orientations per location was performed. Measurements were then conducted to gauge the accuracy of the simulations. Next, the same PPD antenna was placed in three locations and two orientations per location on three commercial vehicles to create 18 unique configurations. The maximum right hand circularly polarized gain vs. theta angle was analyzed. The results show that electromagnetic modeling of antennas mounted inside a vehicle differ significantly from measurements of the same scenario but acceptable agreement was achieved for exterior-mounted antennas on a vehicle. It also provides a vehicle efficiency value corresponding to the vehicle body frame's impact on a component-level PPD antenna radiation pattern over theta angles. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Navigation.
Vector Space Models of Word Meaning and Phrase Meaning: A Survey

Distributional models represent a word through the contexts in which it has been observed. They can be used to predict similarity in meaning, based on the distributional hypothesis, which states that two words that occur in similar contexts tend to have similar meanings. Distributional approaches are often implemented in vector space models. They represent a word as a point in high-dimensional space, where each dimension stands for a context item, and a word's coordinates represent its context counts. Occurrence in similar contexts then means proximity in space. In this survey we look at the use of vector space models to describe the meaning of words and phrases: the phenomena that vector space models address, and the techniques that they use to do so. Many word meaning phenomena can be described in terms of semantic similarity: synonymy, priming, categorization, and the typicality of a predicate's arguments. But vector space models can do more than just predict semantic similarity. They are a very flexible tool, because they can make use of all of linear algebra, with all its data structures and operations. The dimensions of a vector space can stand for many things: context words, or non-linguistic context like images, or properties of a concept. And vector space models can use matrices or higher-order arrays instead of vectors for representing more complex relationships. Polysemy is a tough problem for distributional approaches, as a representation that is learned from all of a word's contexts will conflate the different senses of the word. It can be addressed, using either clustering or vector combination techniques. Finally, we look at vector space models for phrases, which are usually constructed by combining word vectors. Vector space models for phrases can predict phrase similarity, and some argue that they can form the basis for a general-purpose representation framework for natural language semantics.
Nano‐Bio Science

During the last 15 years, the field of nanotechnology has provided a set of tools that has enabled us to image single molecules and atoms and measure interaction forces between these basic structures of matter. Due to such innovations, we are now able to study the function and regulation of bio-molecules at the single molecule level – this is essential, for our understanding of many biological processes requires such detailed information. Standard physical and chemical methods always deal with many molecules at a time with the draw back that it is not possible to synchronise all molecular structures in a test tube. Therefore, only the equilibrium states are analysed, but not the molecular process. An analysis of the time course of a molecular process is possible only at the single molecule level. Local-Probe methods are the nano-technological tools enabling such research and become even more powerful for the study of molecular structures and their function, when combined with other single molecule techniques, such as fluorescence measurements or the single channel recording developed in electrophysiology to study single ion channels. Local-Probe methods comprise a number of physical methods to image surfaces with resolution in the nanometer range.
Radiative Lifetimes of the A 2 Π State of CO

The radiative lifetime of the A2Π state of CO+ for the vibrational levels υ′ = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 have been measured at six pressures. The lifetimes extrapolated to zero pressure were 3.97±0.12, 4.11±0.27, 3.16±0.57, 3.95±0.09, 4.11±0.27, and 3.98±0.12 μs, respectively. The corresponding oscillator strengths for the (1,0), (2,0), (3,0), (4,0), (5,0), and (6,0) transitions were 0.458 × 10−3, 0.659 × 10−3, 0.682 × 10−3, 0.571 × 10−3, 0.409 × 10−3, and 0.259 × 10−3, respectively.
Theoretical phase calculation approach for N simultaneous signals

This paper presents a generalized theoretical analysis of Tsui's phase measurement approach for the situation in which there are N simultaneous signals, where one of the signals is strong and N - 1 signals are weak. Signal amplitudes are normalized to the amplitude of the strongest signal. This approach provides the capability to extract values of the signal parameters. The capability for up to N = 4 simultaneous signals is desired in the design goal for electronic warfare receivers.
Annual Report and Editorial Commentary for The Accounting Review

The article discusses "The Accounting Review" periodical's annual report for the fiscal year that ended on May 31, 2016, and it mentions the journal's editorial process, as well as hirings involving editors such as Rodrigo S. Verdi and Dawn A. Matsumoto and editorial assistant Stephanie Austin. The annual activity for the periodical from 2009 to 2016 is examined, along with information about annual outcome summaries, processing time for submission reviews, and ex-employee Elizabeth Garrett.
A decade-spanning high-resolution asynchronous optical sampling terahertz time-domain and frequency comb spectrometer

We present the design and capabilities of a high-resolution, decade-spanning ASynchronous OPtical Sampling (ASOPS)-based TeraHertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (THz-TDS) instrument. Our system employs dual mode-locked femtosecond Ti:Sapphire oscillators with repetition rates offset locked at 100 Hz via a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) operating at the 60th harmonic of the ∼80 MHz oscillator repetition rates. The respective time delays of the individual laser pulses are scanned across a 12.5 ns window in a laboratory scan time of 10 ms, supporting a time delay resolution as fine as 15.6 fs. The repetition rate of the pump oscillator is synchronized to a Rb frequency standard via a PLL operating at the 12th harmonic of the oscillator repetition rate, achieving milliHertz (mHz) stability. We characterize the timing jitter of the system using an air-spaced etalon, an optical cross correlator, and the phase noise spectrum of the PLL. Spectroscopic applications of ASOPS-THz-TDS are demonstrated by measuring water vapor absorption lines from 0.55 to 3.35 THz and acetonitrile absorption lines from 0.13 to 1.39 THz in a short pathlength gas cell. With 70 min of data acquisition, a 50 dB signal-to-noise ratio is achieved. The achieved root-mean-square deviation is 14.6 MHz, with a mean deviation of 11.6 MHz, for the measured water line center frequencies as compared to the JPL molecular spectroscopy database. Further, with the same instrument and data acquisition hardware, we use the ability to control the repetition rate of the pump oscillator to enable THz frequency comb spectroscopy (THz-FCS). Here, a frequency comb with a tooth width of 5 MHz is generated and used to fully resolve the pure rotational spectrum of acetonitrile with Doppler-limited precision. The oscillator repetition rate stability achieved by our PLL lock circuits enables sub-MHz tooth width generation, if desired. This instrument provides unprecedented decade-spanning, tunable resolution, from 80 MHz down to sub-MHz, and heralds a new generation of gas-phase spectroscopic tools in the THz region.
Glucocorticoids regulate protein synthesis in hippocampal slices under mild heat shock conditions.

Glucocorticoid hormones potentiate the toxic effects of neuronal stressors. Alteration of gene expression by glucocorticoids could contribute to neuronal susceptibility by downregulating the synthesis of proteins necessary to adapt to challenge. Using heat shock of hippocampal slices as a model for cellular insult, protein synthesis has been examined in response to acute glucocorticoid administration to rats. Incubation of hippocampal slices at 39°C produces a heat-shock pattern of protein synthesis in that total incorporation of labeled amino acid is diminished, whereas synthesis of the major heat-shock proteins, HSP90 and HSP70, is increased. Prior administration of corticosterone to rats does not affect subsequent synthesis of HSP90 or HSP70 in slices. However, at 4 or 24 h following a single corticosterone injection, the synthesis of two acidic proteins is found to be altered: a 25-kDa protein is downregulated in the nuclear and synaptosomal-mitochondrial fraction of the hippocampus, and a 47-kDa protein is downregulated in all three fractions of the hippocampus, cortex, and cerebellum. These effects are mimicked by administration of RU-28362, a specific glucocorticoid (GR or Type II) receptor agonist. Since decreased synthesis of p25 and p47 is the only glucocorticoid-mediated response observed in slices under heat-shock conditions, these proteins may be related to the adaptation to heat shock.
Local irradiation alters bone morphology and increases bone fragility in a mouse model.

Abstract Insufficiency fracture following radiation therapy (RTx) is a challenging clinical problem and typical bone mass measures fail to predict these fractures. The goals of this research were to develop a mouse model that results in reduced bone strength following focal irradiation, quantify morphological and strength changes occurring over time, and determine if a positive correlation between bone morphology and strength is retained after irradiation. Right hind limbs of 13 week-old female Balb/c mice were irradiated (5 or 20 Gy) using a therapeutic X-ray unit. Left limbs served as control. Animals were euthanized at 2, 6, 12, or 26 weeks. Axial compression tests of the distal femur were used to quantify whole bone strength. Specimen-specific, non-linear finite element (FE) analyses of the mechanical tests were performed using voxel-based meshes with two different material failure models: a linear bone density–strength relationship and a non-linear ‘embrittled’ relationship. Radiation resulted in a dose dependent increase in cortical bone density and marked loss of trabecular bone, measured using micro-CT. An early (2 week) increase in bone volume was associated with an increase in bone strength following irradiation; at 12 weeks there was a loss of bone strength despite higher bone volume for irradiated limbs. There was a positive correlation between bone volume bone and strength in control (r2=0.63) but not irradiated femora (r2=0.08). FE analysis with a constant strain failure model resulted in improved prediction of bone strength for irradiated limbs (r2=0.34) and this was improved further with the embrittled material model (r2=0.46). In summary, focal irradiation leads to substantial changes in bone morphology and strength with time, where there is a decreased bone strength following irradiation in the face of increasing bone mass; FE models with a non-linear embrittled material model were most successful in simulating these experimental findings.
Learning to read: An unnatural act.

The six-year-old's sight is as good as the adult's (Amigo 1972), and his hearing is nearly so (Elliott and Katz 1980). The child has an excellent memory (Mandler, in press), and his learning ability is remarkable. Even a conservative estimate of the size of his vocabulary will show that he must have learned, on average, more than four new words every day since his first birthday (Carey 1978). He has already learned to speak and understand his native language with remarkable fluency. The average American six-year-old can already produce and recognize more than a dozen vowels and nearly 30 consonants of English. He can produce and understand literally thousands of different words, and he can comprehend virtually any sentence that one can form with those words. To be sure, his language acquisition is not complete. Over the next decade he may have to smoothe out some rough spots in his phonology (Templin 1953), his vocabulary will grow by many more thousands of words (Oldfield 1963), and he must capture a few syntactic niceties which still escape him (Chomsky 1969). But his mastery of English would be the envy of any college graduate learning English as a second language. Yet for all his cognitive and linguistic talents, the child has one peculiar linguistic shortcoming: he cannot read a word. Indeed, that is one of the primary reasons why we now send him to elementary school. His teacher
High Prenatal and Postnatal Lead Exposure Associated Lead Encephalopathy in an Infant

An 11-month-old child presented with persistent seizures requiring ventilator support. The child had global developmental delay, was staying in the premises of battery manufacturing unit, had microcytic and hypochromic anemia with basophilic stripling on peripheral smear, lead line on radiograph of the long bones and BLL of 244 μg/dl. The CT scan of the brain revealed cerebral atrophy. The mother also had high BLL and lead line in the radiograph of the long bones. The child was managed with chelation therapy. Given the continuing lead exposure among occupational and general populations in India, this case study highlights the need for prompt environmental preventive actions as well as nutritional and preventive counseling for occupational populations.
Biosynthesis of the actinomycin chromophore. Studies with dl-[7α-14C]tryptophan andl-[Me-14C]methionine

Abstract 1. Growing cultures of S. antibioticus preferentially incorporated the radioisotope of dl -[ 7 α- 14 C]tryptophan into the phenoxazinone chromophore of actinomycin. The amino acids present in the peptides of the antibiotic were devoid of radioactivity. 2. [ Me - 14 C]sodium acetate was also incorporated into the actinomycin molecule, but only 4% of the radioactivity was present in the chromophore. 3. Experiments with l -[ Me - 14 C]methionine reveal that this amino acid provides a biochemical source for the methyl groups of the phenoxazinone nucleus and may also be involved in the N-methylation reactions leading to the synthesis of N-methylvaline and sarcosine.
LUTHERAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

∗This paper was prepared at the suggestion and under the direction of Prof. F. H. Swift, of the College of Education. University of Minnesota, to whom the author freely acknowledges his indebtedness.
Observation of Pure Nuclear Diffraction from a Fe/Cr Antiferromagnetic Multilayer.

We report the observation of nuclear resonant diffraction of synchrotron radiation from a ${}^{57}$Fe/Cr multilayer. The multilayer consists of 25 ${}^{57}$Fe(17 \AA{})/Cr(10 \AA{}) bilayers with the Cr layer thickness chosen so as to exhibit antiferromagnetic (AF) coupling of the ${}^{57}$Fe layers. Because of the AF alignment of the layers, the magnetic periodicity of the multilayer is twice the electronic periodicity, resulting in a pure nuclear Bragg reflection that appears during nuclear resonant diffraction. The pure nuclear Bragg reflection presents a means of filtering synchrotron radiation to the level of 1${0}^{\char21{}8}$ eV at the nuclear resonance energy of 14.4 keV.
Brief Child Psychiatric Evaluation: Parental Satisfaction and Compliance

Traditional methods of child psychiatric evaluation are lengthy and parents all too often do not follow treatment recommendations. This paper describes a brief evaluation model with implications for patient care, teaching and cost-efficient service. A follow-up study indicated a high rate of parental satisfaction (83%) and initial compliance with major recommendations (80%).
Research Spotlight: Could the cold winter of 2009–2010 have been predicted?

[1] In parts of North America and Europe, the winter of 2009–2010 was one of the coldest and snowiest in recent history. These extreme weather patterns were likely the result of the strongly negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Researchers wondered whether this negative NAO could have been predicted. Jung et al. explored the origin and predictability of the unusually cold winter using numerical simulations and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts monthly forecasting system. They analyzed the possible role of various forcing mechanisms, including anomalies in sea surface temperature and sea ice, tropical atmospheric circulation, incoming solar radiation, and near-surface temperatures. The researchers found that none of these factors could account for the observed NAO anomaly, which could explain why most operational forecasting systems had trouble predicting the strongly negative NAO winter. The researchers suggest that internal atmospheric variability was primarily responsible for the negative NAO during the 2009–2010 winter. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2011GL046786, 2011)
α1-Adrenergic Blockers and Intraoperative Floppy-Iris Syndrome

JAMA Association Between Tamsulosin and Serious Ophthalmic Adverse Events in Older Men Following Cataract Surgery Chaim M. Bell, MD, PhD; Wendy V. Hatch, OD, MSc; Hadas D. Fischer, MD; Geta Cernat, MD, MSc; J. Michael Paterson, MSc; Andrea Gruneir, PhD; Sudeep S. Gill, MD, MSc; Susan E. Bronskill, PhD; Geoffrey M. Anderson, MD, PhD; Paula A. Rochon, MD, MPH Context: Both benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and cataract formation are common in older men. The α-adrenergic receptor blocker tamsulosin is frequently prescribed to treat BPH, and research suggests this drug may increase the intraoperative difficulty of cataract surgery. No studies have documented whether use of tamsulosin or other α-blocker drug therapies affect the risk of serious postoperative adverse events. Objective: To assess the risk of adverse events following cataract surgery in older men prescribed tamsulosin or other α-blocking drugs used to treat BPH. Design, Setting, and Patients: Nested case-control analysis of a population-based retrospective cohort study using linked health care databases from Ontario, Canada. We included all men aged 66 years or older who had cataract surgery between 2002 and 2007 (N = 96 128). Main Outcome Measures: A composite of procedures signifying retinal detachment, lost lens or lens fragment, or endophthalmitis occurring within 14 days after cataract surgery. The risk of these adverse events was compared between men treated with tamsulosin or other α-blockers and men with no exposure to these medications in the year prior to cataract surgery. We separately examined the association of drug exposure that was either recent (within the 14 days before surgery) or previous (15-365 days before surgery). Results: Overall, 3550 patients (3.7%) in the cohort had recent exposure to tamsulosin and 7426 patients (7.7%) had recent exposure to other α-blockers. Two hundred eighty-four patients (0.3%) had an adverse event. We randomly matched 280 of the cases to 1102 controls according to their age, surgeon, and year of surgery. Adverse events were significantly more common among patients with recent tamsulosin exposure (7.5% vs 2.7%; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22-4.43) but were not associated with recent exposure to other α-blockers (7.5% vs 8.0%; adjusted OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.54-1.54) or to previous exposure to either tamsulosin (1.8% vs 1%; adjusted OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.27-3.34) or other α-blockers (2.9% vs 2.1%; adjusted OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.47-2.48). This corresponds to an estimated number needed to harm (NNH) of 255 (95% CI, 99-1666). Conclusions: Exposure to tamsulosin within 14 days of cataract surgery was significantly associated with serious postoperative ophthalmic adverse events. There were no significant associations with exposure to other α-blocker medications used to treat BPH. JAMA. 2009;301(19):1991-1996..
Moon-related surface activity of bannertail (Dipodomys spectabilis) and fresno (D. Nitratoides) kangaroo rats

Abstract Temporal aspects of nocturnal activity of bannertail kangaroo rats were measured in the field. Maximum activity was about twenty minutes aftyer sunset, thereafter declining throughout the night. Activity was about three times greater when the moon was down than when it was up. Activity shifted somewhat from the open to vegetation cover when the moon was up. Laboratory measures of activity from captive bannertails were also obtained. The activity of bannertails kept in small pens resambled corresponding aspects of the field data. Activity in wheels was unlike activity in the field, and the effects of a laboratory ‘moon’ were opposite to those of the real moon upon bannertails in the field.
Particle bridging between oil and water interfaces.

Particle bridging between a water drop and a flat oil−water interface has been observed when the drop is brought into contact with the interface, leading to the formation of a dense particle monolayer of disc shape (namely, particle disc) that prevents the drop from coalescing into the bulk water phase. Unlike previous observations where particles from opposite interfaces appear to register with each other before bridging, the present experiment demonstrates that the particle registry is not a necessity for bridging. In many cases, the particles from one of the interfaces were repelled away from the contact region, leaving behind the particles from the other interface to bridge the two interfaces. This is confirmed by particle bridging experiments between two interfaces covered with different sized particles, and between a particle-covered interface and a clean interface. The dynamics associated with the growth of the particle disc due to particle bridging follows a power law relationship between the radi...
Effects of N-hydroxyethyl-pyrrolidinium methiodide, a choline analogue, on passive avoidance behaviour in mice.

N-Hydroxyethyl-pyrrolidinium methiodide (pyrrolcholine) administered intraventricularly impaired passive avoidance learning in mice. This effect of pyrrolcholine was antagonized by choline and hemicholinium-3, potentiated by scopolamine, and depending upon the time of injection, either potentiated or antagonized by physostigmine. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that pyrrolcholine disrupts central cholinergic pathways by a presynaptic mechanism. Based on metabolism studies, both in vitro and in vivo, it is postulated that the action of pyrrolcholine is mediated via acetylpyrrolcholine, a putative cholinergic false transmitter
A central role for peripheral dendritic cells in the induction of acquired thymic tolerance.

Abstract Despite extensive negative selection in the thymus, numerous clones of self-reactive T cells are normally exported to the periphery. In most instances, autoimmunity is prevented by regulatory T (Tr) cells, many of which are also of recent thymic origin. We have demonstrated recently that natural killer (NK) Tr thymocytes (THYr) can be induced by the injection of antigen into the eye, an immunologically privileged site; and that the intravenous infusion of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) from such animals also induces NKT THYr. Furthermore, we have also observed that some of these APCs migrate to the thymus as CD11c + dendritic cells (DCs). Other authors have correlated the migration of DCs to the thymus with the generation of CD4 + CD25 + THYr. We therefore propose a novel tolerance induction pathway by which tolerogenic DCs routinely transport antigen (both self and nonself) from the periphery to the thymus, where they positively select THYr. We also propose that the ability of tolerogenic DCs to induce acquired thymic tolerance on demand might have important implications for the immunotherapy of autoimmunity and allotransplantation.
Update of atypical Parkinsonian disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This timely update discusses novel diagnostic approaches, recently identified genes, and innovative experimental symptomatic treatments for these devastating disorders. RECENT FINDINGS Differential patterns in the basal ganglia transcranial sonography, magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging regional apparent diffusion coefficients in the brainstem, basal ganglia T2-weighted gradient echo sequences combined with fluid attenuated inversion recovery, or saccades error rates in single and mixed-task blocks could help differentiate the various parkinsonian disorders. In addition to the familial tauopathies (frontotemporal dementia associated with chromosome 17) presenting with an atypical parkinsonian phenotype, 'TDP-43opathies' and 'tataboxbinding or ataxinopathies', depending on the protein deposited in the brain, widen the scope of the familial atypical parkinsonian disorders. Recent identification of novel deep brain stimulation targets such as the pedunculopontine nucleus may help treat the balance and gait disorder in atypical parkinsonian disorders in the near future. SUMMARY These new findings are important for diagnosis, help better understanding of the nosology of these disorders, and will likely in the near future impact our clinical practice.