The Ursinus Weekly, December 8, 1941

Guest vocalists and musical organizations will blend talents in Messiah presentation • Wenhold tells vespers that giving is one of most important virtues • First forum hears discussion of the post-war world • Gordon airs and novel tavern party to highlight gala senior weekend • President McClure calls for balance in time of crisis • Dr. N. W. Winkelman, Penn neurology prof, to address pre-meds • Michael named member of survey committee for secondary schools • Ursinus ranks high in grad school placements; stands 47th in survey of 215 leading colleges • Rec hall to have host, hostess; Appleget plans novelty events • Bomberger memorial maintains unceasing vigil as it celebrates completion of fiftieth year • Federal government to levy 10% tax on admissions to college activities • John and David Garvey present music recital in Bomberger Hall • Bear quintet faces Lehigh in season\u27s opener this Saturday • Twenty-one wrestlers prepare for opener against Kutztown Wednesday • Co-eds have last year\u27s team intact for season\u27s play • Jing Johnson announces athletic award winners • Captains elected! • 20 frosh candidates drill for season\u27s play under coach Pancoast • G-burg\u27s Bullets dominate bears opponent team; Petro unanimous • Bears make all teams of opponents and scribes • Giving: the spirit of Christmas • Vickland and Jamison to handle soprano, tenor parts in Messiahhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1772/thumbnail.jp

Influence of the LPM effect and dielectric suppression on particle air showers

An analysis of the influence of the Landau-Migdal-Pomeranchuk (LPM) effect on the development of air showers initiated by astroparticles is presented. The theory of Migdal is studied and compared with other theoretical methods, particularly the Blankenbecler and Drell approach. By means of realistic computer simulations and using algorithms that emulate Migdal's theory, including also the so-called dielectric suppression, we study the behavior of the relevant observables in the case of ultra-high energy primaries. We find that the LPM effect can significantly modify the development of high energy electromagnetic showers in certain cases.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, 1 table. To appear in Phys. Rev.

The Rachel Carson Letters and the Making of Silent Spring

Environment, conservation, green, and kindred movements look back to Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring as a milestone. The impact of the book, including on government, industry, and civil society, was immediate and substantial, and has been extensively described; however, the provenance of the book has been less thoroughly examined. Using Carson’s personal correspondence, this paper reveals that the primary source for Carson’s book was the extensive evidence and contacts compiled by two biodynamic farmers, Marjorie Spock and Mary T. Richards, of Long Island, New York. Their evidence was compiled for a suite of legal actions (1957-1960) against the U.S. Government and that contested the aerial spraying of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). During Rudolf Steiner’s lifetime, Spock and Richards both studied at Steiner’s Goetheanum, the headquarters of Anthroposophy, located in Dornach, Switzerland. Spock and Richards were prominent U.S. anthroposophists, and established a biodynamic farm under the tutelage of the leading biodynamics exponent of the time, Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. When their property was under threat from a government program of DDT spraying, they brought their case, eventually lost it, in the process spent US$100,000, and compiled the evidence that they then shared with Carson, who used it, and their extensive contacts and the trial transcripts, as the primary input for Silent Spring. Carson attributed to Spock, Richards, and Pfeiffer, no credit whatsoever in her book. As a consequence, the organics movement has not received the recognition, that is its due, as the primary impulse for Silent Spring, and it is, itself, unaware of this provenance

Lithium Treatment of APPSwDI/NOS2−/− Mice Leads to Reduced Hyperphosphorylated Tau, Increased Amyloid Deposition and Altered Inflammatory Phenotype

Lithium is an anti-psychotic that has been shown to prevent the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein through the inhibition of glycogen-synthase kinase 3-beta (GSK3β). We recently developed a mouse model that progresses from amyloid pathology to tau pathology and neurodegeneration due to the genetic deletion of NOS2 in an APP transgenic mouse; the APPSwDI/NOS2−/− mouse. Because this mouse develops tau pathology, amyloid pathology and neuronal loss we were interested in the effect anti-tau therapy would have on amyloid pathology, learning and memory. We administered lithium in the diets of APPSwDI/NOS2−/− mice for a period of eight months, followed by water maze testing at 12 months of age, immediately prior to sacrifice. We found that lithium significantly lowered hyperphosphorylated tau levels as measured by Western blot and immunocytochemistry. However, we found no apparent neuroprotection, no effect on spatial memory deficits and an increase in histological amyloid deposition. Aβ levels measured biochemically were unaltered. We also found that lithium significantly altered the neuroinflammatory phenotype of the brain, resulting in enhanced alternative inflammatory response while concurrently lowering the classical inflammatory response. Our data suggest that lithium may be beneficial for the treatment of tauopathies but may not be beneficial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Retrieval of aerosol optical depth over the Arctic cryosphere during spring and summer using satellite observations

The climate in the Arctic has warmed much more quickly in the last 2 to 3 decades than at the mid-latitudes, i.e., during the Arctic amplification (AA) period. Radiative forcing in the Arctic is influenced both directly and indirectly by aerosols. However, their observation from ground or airborne instruments is challenging, and thus measurements are sparse. In this study, total aerosol optical depth (AOD) is determined from top-of-atmosphere reflectance measurements by the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) on board ENVISAT over snow and ice in the Arctic using a retrieval called AEROSNOW for the period 2003 to 2011. AEROSNOW incorporates an existing aerosol retrieval algorithm with a cloud-masking algorithm, alongside a novel quality-flagging methodology specifically designed for implementation in the high Arctic region (≥ 72∘ N). We use the dual-viewing capability of the AATSR instrument to accurately determine the contribution of aerosol to the reflection at the top of the atmosphere for observations over the bright surfaces of the cryosphere in the Arctic. The AOD is retrieved assuming that the surface reflectance observed by the satellite can be well parameterized by a bidirectional snow reflectance distribution function (BRDF). The spatial distribution of AOD shows that high values in spring (March, April, May) and lower values in summer (June, July, August) are observed. The AEROSNOW AOD values are consistent with those from collocated Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements, with no systematic bias found as a function of time. The AEROSNOW AOD in the high Arctic was validated by comparison with ground-based measurements at the PEARL, OPAL, Hornsund, and Thule stations. The AEROSNOW AOD value is less than 0.15 on average, and the linear regression of AEROSNOW and AERONET total AOD yields a slope of 0.98, a Pearson correlation coefficient of R=0.86, and a root mean square error (RMSE) of =0.01 for the monthly scale in both spring and summer. The AEROSNOW observation of increased AOD values over the high Arctic cryosphere during spring confirms clearly that Arctic haze events were well captured by this dataset. In addition, the AEROSNOW AOD results provide a novel and unique total AOD data product for the springtime and summertime from 2003 to 2011. These AOD values, retrieved from spaceborne observation, provide a unique insight into the high Arctic cryospheric region at high spatial resolution and temporal coverage.</p

Current model capabilities for simulating black carbon and sulfate concentrations in the Arctic atmosphere: a multi-model evaluation using a comprehensive measurement data set

The concentrations of sulfate, black carbon (BC) and other aerosols in the Arctic are characterized by high values in late winter and spring (so-called Arctic Haze) and low values in summer. Models have long been struggling to capture this seasonality and especially the high concentrations associated with Arctic Haze. In this study, we evaluate sulfate and BC concentrations from eleven different models driven with the same emission inventory against a comprehensive pan-Arctic measurement data set over a time period of 2 years (2008–2009). The set of models consisted of one Lagrangian particle dispersion model, four chemistry transport models (CTMs), one atmospheric chemistry-weather forecast model and five chemistry climate models (CCMs), of which two were nudged to meteorological analyses and three were running freely. The measurement data set consisted of surface measurements of equivalent BC (eBC) from five stations (Alert, Barrow, Pallas, Tiksi and Zeppelin), elemental carbon (EC) from Station Nord and Alert and aircraft measurements of refractory BC (rBC) from six different campaigns. We find that the models generally captured the measured eBC or rBC and sulfate concentrations quite well, compared to previous comparisons. However, the aerosol seasonality at the surface is still too weak in most models. Concentrations of eBC and sulfate averaged over three surface sites are underestimated in winter/spring in all but one model (model means for January–March underestimated by 59 and 37 % for BC and sulfate, respectively), whereas concentrations in summer are overestimated in the model mean (by 88 and 44 % for July–September), but with overestimates as well as underestimates present in individual models. The most pronounced eBC underestimates, not included in the above multi-site average, are found for the station Tiksi in Siberia where the measured annual mean eBC concentration is 3 times higher than the average annual mean for all other stations. This suggests an underestimate of BC sources in Russia in the emission inventory used. Based on the campaign data, biomass burning was identified as another cause of the modeling problems. For sulfate, very large differences were found in the model ensemble, with an apparent anti-correlation between modeled surface concentrations and total atmospheric columns. There is a strong correlation between observed sulfate and eBC concentrations with consistent sulfate/eBC slopes found for all Arctic stations, indicating that the sources contributing to sulfate and BC are similar throughout the Arctic and that the aerosols are internally mixed and undergo similar removal. However, only three models reproduced this finding, whereas sulfate and BC are weakly correlated in the other models. Overall, no class of models (e.g., CTMs, CCMs) performed better than the others and differences are independent of model resolution

Topological Oxide Insulator in Cubic Perovskite Structure

The emergence of topologically protected conducting states with the chiral spin texture is the most prominent feature at the surface of topological insulators. On the application side, large band gap and high resistivity to distinguish surface from bulk degrees of freedom should be guaranteed for the full usage of the surface states. Here, we suggest that the oxide cubic perovskite YBiO3, more than just an oxide, defines itself as a new three-dimensional topological insulator exhibiting both a large bulk band gap and a high resistivity. Based on first-principles calculations varying the spin-orbit coupling strength, the non-trivial band topology of YBiO3 is investigated, where the spin-orbit coupling of the Bi 6p orbital plays a crucial role. Taking the exquisite synthesis techniques in oxide electronics into account, YBiO3 can also be used to provide various interface configurations hosting exotic topological phenomena combined with other quantum phases.close8

Inhibition of glucose metabolism selectively targets autoreactive follicular helper T cells.

Follicular helper T (TFH) cells are expanded in systemic lupus erythematosus, where they are required to produce high affinity autoantibodies. Eliminating TFH cells would, however compromise the production of protective antibodies against viral and bacterial pathogens. Here we show that inhibiting glucose metabolism results in a drastic reduction of the frequency and number of TFH cells in lupus-prone mice. However, this inhibition has little effect on the production of T-cell-dependent antibodies following immunization with an exogenous antigen or on the frequency of virus-specific TFH cells induced by infection with influenza. In contrast, glutaminolysis inhibition reduces both immunization-induced and autoimmune TFH cells and humoral responses. Solute transporter gene signature suggests different glucose and amino acid fluxes between autoimmune TFH cells and exogenous antigen-specific TFH cells. Thus, blocking glucose metabolism may provide an effective therapeutic approach to treat systemic autoimmunity by eliminating autoreactive TFH cells while preserving protective immunity against pathogens

A systematic review on the impact of leg ulceration on patients' quality of life

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A systematic review was conducted to analyse journal articles that describe or measure the impact of leg ulceration on patients' quality of life (QoL) in order to improve the content of an educational programme that aims to enhance self-care agency in leg ulcer patients.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Original articles published in English and German between 1990 and 2006 were included if the findings were analysed at the level of patients. Articles were excluded if (1) they investigated the impact of specific treatments or settings on QoL or (2) focused mainly on arterial ulcers or diabetic foot ulcers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-four original research articles met the inclusion criteria; 11 studies used a quantitative, 11 studies a qualitative, and 2 used a mixed method approach. The findings were collapsed into 5 core domains. Quantitative studies commonly investigated the parameters of pain, sleep, social isolation, and physical mobility. Patients had significantly more pain, more restrictions regarding social functioning, less vitality, and limitations with respect to emotional roles compared to the respective controls. Other problem areas identified were restrictions in work capacity, recreation, social interaction, psychological well-being, as well as problems caused by treatment regimes. Inconclusive results were obtained regarding pain intensity, physical restrictions, and gender effects.</p> <p>Limitations</p> <p>Numerous original studies neither undertook a differentiation of participants by ulcer aetiology nor did they analyse the results according to gender differences.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As leg ulceration has an impact on QoL, national guidelines on the treatment of leg ulceration need to more specifically address these far-ranging effects identified in this review.</p