Synaptic proteome changes in the superior frontal gyrus and occipital cortex of the alcoholic brain

Cognitive deficits and behavioral changes that result from chronic alcohol abuse are a consequence of neuropathological changes that alter signal transmission through the neural network. To focus on the changes that occur at the point of connection between the neural network cells, synaptosomal preparations from post‐mortem human brain of six chronic alcoholics and six non‐alcoholic controls were compared using 2‐D differential in‐gel electrophoresis (DIGE). Functionally affected and spared regions (superior frontal gyrus, SFG, and occipital cortex, OC, respectively) were analyzed from both groups to further investigate the specific pathological response that alcoholism has on the brain. Forty‐nine proteins were differentially regulated between the SFG of alcoholics and the SFG of controls and 94 proteins were regulated in the OC with an overlap of 23 proteins. Additionally, the SFG was compared to the OC within each group (alcoholics or controls) to identify region‐specific differences. A selection was identified by MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry revealing proteins involved in vesicle transport, metabolism, folding and trafficking, and signal transduction, all of which have the potential to influence synaptic activity. A number of proteins identified in this study have been previously related to alcoholism; however, the focus on synaptic proteins has also uncovered novel alcoholism‐affected proteins. Further exploration of these proteins will illuminate the mechanisms altering synaptic plasticity, and thus neuronal signaling and response, in the alcoholic brain.     

Modal approximation for the electromagnetic field of a near-field optical probe

A formalism is given in which the optical field generated by a near-field optical aperture is described as an analytic expansion over a complete set of optical modes. This vectoral solution preserves the divergent behavior of the near field and the dipolar nature of the far field. Numerical calculation of the fields requires only evaluation of a well behaved, one-dimensional integral. The formalism is directly applicable to experiments in near-field scanning optical microscopy when relatively flat samples are evaluated.     

Four-laser airborne infrared spectrometer for atmospheric trace gas measurements

We describe the four-laser airborne infrared (FLAIR) instrument, a tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer designed for simultaneous high-sensitivity in situ measurements of four atmospheric trace gases in the troposphere. The FLAIR spectrometer was employed during the large-scale airborne research campaign on tropospheric ozone (TROPOZ II) in 1991 and was used to measure CO, H(2) O(2), HCHO, and NO(2) in the free troposphere where detection limits below 100 parts in 10(12) by volume were achieved.     

High-performance aromatic polyimide fibres

A new polyimide has been synthesized from 3,3,4,4-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 2,2-dimethyl-4,4-diaminobiphenyl (DMB). A high-strength, high-modulus, high-temperature fibre has been developed from this polyimide via a dry-jet wet spinning method. The tensile strength of BPDA-DMB fibres is 3.3 GPa and the tensile modulus is around 130 GPa. The compressive strength of the fibres has been investigated through a tensile recoil test (TRT), while the fibre morphology after compression has been studied via polarized light microscopy (PLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From the TRT measurements, we have observed that the compressive strength of this fibre is 665 (±5) MPa, which is higher than those of other aromatic polymer fibres. The effect of fibre diameter on the compressive strength of BPDA-DMB fibres is not substantial. The critical compressive strain for this fibre at which the kink bands start appearing under the observation of PLM is at 0.51–0.54%. Subglass relaxation processes have been observed and the measure of an apparent relaxation strength may serve as one of the factors which significantly affect the compressive strength of the fibres. Tensile tests of pre-compressed fibres reveal a continuous loss in tensile strength (up to 30%) with increasing the compressive strain (up to 2.6%). PLM and SEM observations show that during the compression BPDA-DMB fibres form regularly-spaced kink bands at ±60 ° (±2 °) with respect to the fibre axis. The kink band density initially increases with the compressive strain, and reaches a maximum at around 1.1%. Further increase of the compressive strain decreases this density due to the merge of the neighbouring bands. The size of kink bands also correspondingly increases within this compressive strain region. The morphological observation via SEM implies the existence of a skin-core structure and microfibrillar texture which are common features in polymer fibres.     

The formation and evolution of the Society of Nuclear Medicine

The Society of Nuclear Medicine was created and constructed by persons from many branches of medicine and the physical sciences, but it originated mostly in the mind of a chemist-physicist-engineer named Norman "Jeff" Holter. Because most medical organizations seemed to care little about the use of radioactive materials for medical purposes, Holter believed a new organization was necessary for their promotion. From its origin in 1954 as the Pacific Northwest Society of Nuclear Medicine, The Society of Nuclear Medicine became a national, multidisciplinary organization in 1956. Rapidly gathering strength with an expanding membership, it employed an administrator in 1959. With this administrator and a dedicated volunteer editor, publication of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine began. Over the next several years the Society evolved into an active force in the development of the application of radioactivity to medical applications. It generated significant internal initiatives and participated in the generation of several important external institutions. The Society of Nuclear Medicine developed a tradition of annual meetings with strong educational programs for all members. By nurturing and embracing the Technologist Section, the Society became a robust and representative organization for all who serve nuclear medicine. From these beginnings came the vigorous Society of Nuclear Medicine of today. Jeff Holter (1914-1983) would be justifiably proud.     

Signal transduction in vertebrate growth cones navigating in vivo

Navigating growth cones need signal transduction machinery to amplify and transmit the effects of extracellular signals throughout the growth cone. In culture, many drugs that affect second messengers are known to modulate neurite extension (with different effects on different neurons), and gradients of calcium influx and cyclic nucleotide analogs can cause growth cones to turn. However, it is not clear which of these responses are physiologically relevant, as axons grow through much more complex environments in vivo. The "exposed brain" preparation in Xenopus embryos provides an experimentally tractable system in which it is possible to study growth, pathfinding, and target recognition of retinal growth cones in vivo, while pharmacologically manipulating their signal transduction systems. These growth cones can also be easily studied in explant culture. We describe preliminary results of parallel in vivo and in vitro experiments using an array of drugs that perturb transduction molecules. Surprisingly, calcium ionophores and cyclic nucleotide analogs have no significant effect on retinal axon growth or pathfinding. Several agents including herbimycin A, ML-7, mastoparan, and RHC80267 inhibit retinal axon growth, both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that tyrosine kinases, myosin, heterotrimeric G-proteins, and diacylglycerol lipase are important for retinal growth cones navigating in the optic pathway.     

AC powder electroluminescent displays

Abstract— The current status of AC powder electroluminescent (ACPEL) displays is reviewed with particular emphasis given to color and lifetime. The printing of the displays in forward and reverse architectures is also discussed, in addition to the fabrication of ACPEL displays with interdigitated electrodes, and different types of ACPEL phosphors and materials for back electrodes, transparent conducting electrodes, binders, and dielectrics are considered. Furthermore, shape conformable and highly flexible ACPEL displays are surveyed.     

Systematic review of the relationship between quick returns in rotating shift work and health-related outcomes

A systematic literature search was carried out to investigate the relationship between quick returns (i.e. 11.0 hours or less between two consecutive shifts) and outcome measures of health, sleep, functional ability and work–life balance. A total of 22 studies published in 21 articles were included. Three types of quick returns were differentiated (from evening to morning/day, night to evening, morning/day to night shifts) where sleep duration and sleepiness appeared to be differently affected depending on which shifts the quick returns occurred between. There were some indications of detrimental effects of quick returns on proximate problems (e.g. sleep, sleepiness and fatigue), although the evidence of associations with more chronic outcome measures (physical and mental health and work–life balance) was inconclusive.

Practitioner Summary: Modern societies are dependent on people working shifts. This study systematically reviews literature on the consequences of quick returns (11.0 hours or less between two shifts). Quick returns have detrimental effects on acute health problems. However, the evidence regarding effects on chronic health is inconclusive.     

A systematic investigation of geostatistical image fusion for the improvement of the spectral fidelity and spatial detail in Landsat MS imagery

This is the first systematic investigation into the assumptions of image fusion using regression Kriging (RK) – a geostatistical method – illustrated with Landsat MS (multispectral) and SPOT (Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre) panchromatic images. The efficiency of different linear regression and Kriging methods in the fusion process is examined by visual and quantitative indicators. Results indicate a trade-off between spectral fidelity and spatial detail preservation for the GLS (generalized least squares regression) and OLS (ordinary least squares regression) methods in the RK process: OLS methods preserve more spatial detail, while GLS methods retain more spectral information from the MS images but at a greater computational cost. Under either OK (ordinary Kriging) or UK (universal Kriging) with either OLS or GLS, the spherical variogram improves spatial details from the panchromatic image, while the exponential variogram maintains more spectral information from the MS image. Overall, RK-based fusion methods outperform conventional fusion approaches from both the spectral and spatial point of view.