In Memory: Bruce D. Leopold

This In Memory article honors the life and contributions of Bruce D. Leopold

Register and Charge: Using Synonym Maps to Explore Connotation

To help students think carefully about specific words and their uses, Darren Crovitz and Jessica A. Miller conceive a diagram that visually expresses the spaces and ties between words. Students eagerly explore contextual connotations and defend subtle shifts in word meaning, discovering how time, use, and circumstance all influence meaning

Integrating Wildlife Conservation with Commercial Silviculture — Demography of the Swainson’s Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii), a Migrant Bird of Conservation Concern in Southern Pine Forests, USA

Intensively managed pine (Pinus spp.) forests encompass over 15.8 million hectares in the southeastern United States and provide an important source of wood products and an economic return to landowners. Given the extent of this landscape and the diversity of management goals and stakeholders, understanding how these forests can also be managed for biological diversity is important. Swainson’s warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii; SWWA), a species of high conservation priority, has been documented occupying young, unthinned pine plantations (a novel habitat type), but demographic assessment is lacking. We compared breeding phenology and reproductive success of SWWA in commercial loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands versus bottomland hardwood forest (the historical habitat type). Timing of nesting, clutch size, and hatching rates were not significantly different with 59% (n = 32) of eggs hatching in pine versus 69% in bottomland hardwood (n = 52). Mayfield estimates of nesting success were similar in pine (27%) versus hardwoods (32%) within and across years. These results indicate that closed-canopy, short-rotation pine stands can provide suitable breeding habitat for SWWA. We also review the value of intensively managed pine landscapes for avian conservation in general

3D-XY critical fluctuations of the thermal expansivity in detwinned YBa2Cu3O7-d single crystals near optimal doping

The strong coupling of superconductivity to the orthorhombic distortion in YBa2Cu3O7-d makes possible an analysis of the superconducting fluctuations without the necessity of subtracting any background. The present high-resolution capacitance dilatometry data unambiguously demonstrate the existence of critical, instead of Gaussian, fluctuations over a wide temperature region (+/- 10 K) around Tc. The values of the amplitude ratio A+/A-=0.9-1.1 and the leading scaling exponent |alpha|<0.018, determined via a least-squares fit of the data, are consistent with the 3D-XY universality class. Small deviations from pure 3D-XY behavior are discussed.Comment: 11 pages including three figure

Method of phosphate ester hydrolysis

A method of phosphate ester hydrolysis including incubating a solution of an aqueous phosphate ester with a metallotexaphyrin complex under conditions and for a time sufficient to hydrolyze the phosphate ester. The metal is a metal cation having catalytic activity for ester bond hydrolysis in aqueous solution. Phosphate ester substrates include nucleic acid such as RNA, phosphoric anhydrides, phospholipids, and alkyl phosphate esters.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the postnatal developing primate brain transcriptome.

Developmental changes in the temporal and spatial regulation of gene expression drive the emergence of normal mature brain function, while disruptions in these processes underlie many neurodevelopmental abnormalities. To solidify our foundational knowledge of such changes in a primate brain with an extended period of postnatal maturation like in human, we investigated the whole-genome transcriptional profiles of rhesus monkey brains from birth to adulthood. We found that gene expression dynamics are largest from birth through infancy, after which gene expression profiles transition to a relatively stable state by young adulthood. Biological pathway enrichment analysis revealed that genes more highly expressed at birth are associated with cell adhesion and neuron differentiation, while genes more highly expressed in juveniles and adults are associated with cell death. Neocortex showed significantly greater differential expression over time than subcortical structures, and this trend likely reflects the protracted postnatal development of the cortex. Using network analysis, we identified 27 co-expression modules containing genes with highly correlated expression patterns that are associated with specific brain regions, ages or both. In particular, one module with high expression in neonatal cortex and striatum that decreases during infancy and juvenile development was significantly enriched for autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related genes. This network was enriched for genes associated with axon guidance and interneuron differentiation, consistent with a disruption in the formation of functional cortical circuitry in ASD

Extensive spontaneous plasticity of corticospinal projections after primate spinal cord injury.

Although axonal regeneration after CNS injury is limited, partial injury is frequently accompanied by extensive functional recovery. To investigate mechanisms underlying spontaneous recovery after incomplete spinal cord injury, we administered C7 spinal cord hemisections to adult rhesus monkeys and analyzed behavioral, electrophysiological and anatomical adaptations. We found marked spontaneous plasticity of corticospinal projections, with reconstitution of fully 60% of pre-lesion axon density arising from sprouting of spinal cord midline-crossing axons. This extensive anatomical recovery was associated with improvement in coordinated muscle recruitment, hand function and locomotion. These findings identify what may be the most extensive natural recovery of mammalian axonal projections after nervous system injury observed to date, highlighting an important role for primate models in translational disease research

Ultrafast Mid-IR Laser Scalpel: Protein Signals of the Fundamental Limits to Minimally Invasive Surgery

Lasers have in principle the capability to cut at the level of a single cell, the fundamental limit to minimally invasive procedures and restructuring biological tissues. To date, this limit has not been achieved due to collateral damage on the macroscale that arises from thermal and shock wave induced collateral damage of surrounding tissue. Here, we report on a novel concept using a specifically designed Picosecond IR Laser (PIRL) that selectively energizes water molecules in the tissue to drive ablation or cutting process faster than thermal exchange of energy and shock wave propagation, without plasma formation or ionizing radiation effects. The targeted laser process imparts the least amount of energy in the remaining tissue without any of the deleterious photochemical or photothermal effects that accompanies other laser wavelengths and pulse parameters. Full thickness incisional and excisional wounds were generated in CD1 mice using the Picosecond IR Laser, a conventional surgical laser (DELight Er:YAG) or mechanical surgical tools. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy showed that the PIRL laser produced minimal tissue ablation with less damage of surrounding tissues than wounds formed using the other modalities. The width of scars formed by wounds made by the PIRL laser were half that of the scars produced using either a conventional surgical laser or a scalpel. Aniline blue staining showed higher levels of collagen in the early stage of the wounds produced using the PIRL laser, suggesting that these wounds mature faster. There were more viable cells extracted from skin using the PIRL laser, suggesting less cellular damage. β-catenin and TGF-β signalling, which are activated during the proliferative phase of wound healing, and whose level of activation correlates with the size of wounds was lower in wounds generated by the PIRL system. Wounds created with the PIRL systsem also showed a lower rate of cell proliferation. Direct comparison of wound healing responses to a conventional surgical laser, and standard mechanical instruments shows far less damage and near absence of scar formation by using PIRL laser. This new laser source appears to have achieved the long held promise of lasers in minimally invasive surgery

Variant repeats within the DMPK CTG expansion protect function in myotonic dystrophy type 1

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that variant repeat interruptions (RIs) within the DMPK CTG repeat tract lead to milder symptoms compared with pure repeats (PRs) in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Methods: We evaluated motor, neurocognitive, and behavioral outcomes in a group of 6 participants with DM1 with RI compared with a case-matched sample of 12 participants with DM1 with PR and a case-matched sample of 12 unaffected healthy comparison participants (UA). Results: In every measure, the RI participants were intermediate between UA and PR participants. For muscle strength, the RI group was significantly less impaired than the PR group. For measures of Full Scale IQ, depression, and sleepiness, all 3 groups were significantly different from each other with UA &gt; RI &gt; PR in order of impairment. The RI group was different from unaffected, but not significantly different from PR (UA &gt; RI = PR) in apathy and working memory. Finally, in finger tapping and processing speed, RI did not differ from UA comparisons, but PR had significantly lower scores than the UA comparisons (UA = RI &gt; PR). Conclusions: Our results support the notion that patients affected by DM1 with RI demonstrate a milder phenotype with the same pattern of deficits as those with PR indicating a similar disease process

The association of health literacy and blood pressure reduction in a cohort of patients with hypertension: The heart healthy lenoir trial

Lower health literacy is associated with poorer health outcomes. Few interventions poised to mitigate the impact of health literacy in hypertensive patients have been published. We tested if a multilevel quality improvement intervention could differentially improve Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) more so in patients with low vs. higher health literacy