Fair‐Weather Friends: Evidence of Lipoxin Dysregulation in Neurodegeneration

Lipoxins (LXs) are autacoids, specialized proresolving lipid mediators (SPMs) acting locally in a paracrine or autocrine fashion. They belong to a complex superfamily of dietary small polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)–metabolites, which direct potent cellular responses to resolve inflammation and restore tissue homeostasis. Together, these SPM activities have been intensely studied in systemic inflammation and acute injury or infection, but less is known about LX signaling and activities in the central nervous system. LXs are derived from arachidonic acid, an omega‐6 PUFA. In addition to well‐established roles in systemic inflammation resolution, they have increasingly become implicated in regulating neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative processes. In particular, chronic inflammation plays a central role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) etiology, and dysregulated LX production and activities have been reported in a variety of AD rodent models and clinical tissue samples, yet with complex and sometimes conflicting results. In addition, reduced LX production following retinal injury has been reported recently by the authors, and an intriguing direct neuronal activity promoting survival and homeostasis in retinal and cortical neurons is demonstrated. Here, the authors review and clarify this growing literature and suggest new research directions to further elaborate the role of lipoxins in neurodegeneration.     

Real-time organic aerosol chemical speciation in the indoor environment using extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Understanding the sources and composition of organic aerosol (OA) in indoor environments requires rapid measurements, since many emissions and processes have short timescales. However, real-time molecular-level OA measurements have not been reported indoors. Here, we present quantitative measurements, at a time resolution of five seconds, of molecular ions corresponding to diverse aerosol-phase species, by applying extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS) to indoor air analysis for the first time, as part of the highly instrumented HOMEChem field study. We demonstrate how the complex spectra of EESI-MS are screened in order to extract chemical information and investigate the possibility of interference from gas-phase semivolatile species. During experiments that simulated the Thanksgiving US holiday meal preparation, EESI-MS quantified multiple species, including fatty acids, carbohydrates, siloxanes, and phthalates. Intercomparisons with Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer suggest that EESI-MS quantified a large fraction of OA. Comparisons with FIGAERO-CIMS shows similar signal levels and good correlation, with a range of 100 for the relative sensitivities. Comparisons with SV-TAG for phthalates and with SV-TAG and AMS for total siloxanes also show strong correlation. EESI-MS observations can be used with gas-phase measurements to identify co-emitted gas- and aerosol-phase species, and this is demonstrated using complementary gas-phase PTR-MS observations.     

Context-Processing Deficits in Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

Research suggests that schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is a part of the spectrum of schizophrenia-related illnesses. This article hypothesizes that a deficit in the representation and maintenance of context is a core cognitive disturbance in schizophrenia and that SPD individuals should demonstrate context-processing deficits. To test this hypothesis, the authors administered 3 versions of their AX-CPT task, designed to assess context processing, to 35 healthy controls and 26 individuals with DSM-IV SPD. They also administered working memory and selective attention tasks. SPD individuals displayed context representation deficits similar to those found in schizophrenia but did not show the same additional deficits in context maintenance. Context processing was strongly associated with working memory and selective attention performance in the SPD individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Advances in the stabilization of flexible PVC by using a liquid calcium‐zinc technology

The global market for liquid mixed‐metal stabilizers is migrating toward heavy‐metal‐free products, Historically, these systems have not been performance and cost competitive. High efficiency calcium‐zinc stabilizers have the potential to replace heavy‐metal‐based products. The intrinsic value of non‐phenolic lubricating calcium intermediates and calcium‐zinc stabilizers is discussed.     

移动终端软件的成功要素

移动终端是一种采用先进通信协议栈的复杂系统,它需要具有与许多网络供应商设备的互操作性、支持先进而丰富的多媒体应用程序,而且,所有这些都必需在一个资源有限的嵌入式系统的约束条件下实现。提供一个满足上述要求的软件解决方案需要考虑许多方面的问题并经历诸多阶段。成功的要素是:平台质量、应用程序集成质量和产品质量。平台质量能让制造商用来生成多种设计方案的移动手机参考设计,必须提供一个用于制造高品质终端用户产品的优质平台。移动手机软件包括三个关键部分——协议栈、应用程序架构和应用程序。协议栈毫无疑问是最为复杂的…     

A novel metal-insulator-metal structure for field-programmabledevices

A metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure has been developed for use in field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) as a voltage-programmable link (VPL). The structure relies on a combination of a refractory metal and aluminum as the lower electrode, and either a similar combination or aluminum alone as the top electrode. The insulator is prepared by means of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). It comprises a sandwich of nearly stoichiometric silicon dioxide interposed between two like layers of silicon-rich silicon nitride. The structure has displayed characteristics desirable for use in emerging FPGA technology, including high density, low on-resistance, reduced capacitance, and low programming voltage