Digest of celestial X-ray missions and experiments

Information on instruments, the platforms that carried them, and the data they gathered is presented. Instrument selection was confined to detectors operating in the 0.20 to 300 keV range. Included are brief descriptions of the spacecraft, experiment packages and missions. Cross-referenced indexes are provided for types of instruments, energy ranges, time spans covered, positional catalogs and observational catalogs. Data sets from these experiments (NSSDC) are described

Dramatic Criticism: Theory and Practice

This paper is the result of four hours of senior level study, and as such completes the requirements of the honors program for graduating with honor. A brief explanation of it is certainly in order. I envisioned this paper as a series of essays, much along the same format as one of the Twain Series, or Twentieth Century Critical Reviews. As befits the title of this paper, they deal with both the theory and practice of Dramatic Criticism. In several places I have opted to use the vocabulary of the original author in order to avoid Pen Warren\u27s heresy of paraphrase. If this inconveniences anyone, then I am truly sorry, but I felt it best not to run the risk of misrepresentation. The best source for those who are confused is the original article. Also, those who have not read Harvey by Mary Chase are advised to do so. Cerati

Functional differences between neurochemically defined populations of inhibitory interneurons in the rat spinal dorsal horn

In order to understand how nociceptive information is processed in the spinal dorsal horn we need to unravel the complex synaptic circuits involving interneurons, which constitute the vast majority of the neurons in laminae I–III. The main limitation has been the difficulty in defining functional populations among these cells. We have recently identified 4 nonoverlapping classes of inhibitory interneuron, defined by expression of galanin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and parvalbumin, in the rat spinal cord. In this study we demonstrated that these form distinct functional populations that differ in terms of sst2A receptor expression and in their responses to painful stimulation. The sst2A receptor was expressed by nearly all of the nNOS- and galanin-containing inhibitory interneurons but by few of those with NPY and none of the parvalbumin cells. Many galanin- and NPY-containing cells exhibited phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases (pERK) after mechanical, thermal or chemical noxious stimuli, but very few nNOS-containing cells expressed pERK after any of these stimuli. However, many nNOS-positive inhibitory interneurons up-regulated Fos after noxious thermal stimulation or injection of formalin, but not after capsaicin injection; nor did parvalbumin cells express either activity-dependent marker after any of these stimuli. These results suggest that interneurons belonging to the NPY, nNOS and galanin populations are involved in attenuating pain, and for NPY and nNOS cells this is likely to result from direct inhibition of nociceptive projection neurons. They also suggest that the nociceptive inputs to the nNOS cells differ from those to the galanin and NPY populations

Filtration of broadly graded soils: the reduced PSD method

Granular filters are used in earth structures, such as embankment dams, to protect fine soils from erosion due to seepage forces. Successful filtration requires that the filter voids are fine enough to capture some of the coarse fraction of the base soil. These retained particles are then able to capture progressively finer base soil particles, and eventually a filter interface forms that is able to prevent any further erosion. This process is called self-filtration. Lafleur et al. (1989) examined self-filtration in cohesionless, broadly graded base soils. It was found that the extent of mass loss before selffiltration occurs was greater in broadly graded materials: hence a finer filter was required to reduce this mass loss. Filters for cohesive base soils are commonly designed using the Sherard & Dunnigan (1985) design criteria. While these criteria have been developed from extensive laboratory data, they may not be applicable to all fine base soils, particularly broadly graded materials. In this paper, a series of filtration tests on various base soils are described. Data from the current study, and the published results of laboratory tests from several sources are compared to examine the filtration of broadly graded base soils. Based on this analysis, a new design procedure is proposed for filters to protect fine base soils, which determines the ability of the coarse fraction of the base soil to retain the fine fraction (i.e. a self-filtering base soil)

Over-expressing the C3 photosynthesis cycle enzyme Sedoheptulose-1-7 Bisphosphatase improves photosynthetic carbon gain and yield under fully open air CO2fumigation (FACE)

Abstract Background Biochemical models predict that photosynthesis in C3 plants is most frequently limited by the slower of two processes, the maximum capacity of the enzyme Rubisco to carboxylate RuBP (Vc,max), or the regeneration of RuBP via electron transport (J). At current atmospheric [CO2] levels Rubisco is not saturated; consequently, elevating [CO2] increases the velocity of carboxylation and inhibits the competing oxygenation reaction which is also catalyzed by Rubisco. In the future, leaf photosynthesis (A) should be increasingly limited by RuBP regeneration, as [CO2] is predicted to exceed 550 ppm by 2050. The C3 cycle enzyme sedoheptulose-1,7 bisphosphatase (SBPase, EC 3.1.3.17) has been shown to exert strong metabolic control over RuBP regeneration at light saturation. Results We tested the hypothesis that tobacco transformed to overexpressing SBPase will exhibit greater stimulation of A than wild type (WT) tobacco when grown under field conditions at elevated [CO2] (585 ppm) under fully open air fumigation. Growth under elevated [CO2] stimulated instantaneous A and the diurnal photosynthetic integral (A') more in transformants than WT. There was evidence of photosynthetic acclimation to elevated [CO2] via downregulation of Vc,max in both WT and transformants. Nevertheless, greater carbon assimilation and electron transport rates (J and Jmax) for transformants led to greater yield increases than WT at elevated [CO2] compared to ambient grown plants. Conclusion These results provide proof of concept that increasing content and activity of a single photosynthesis enzyme can enhance carbon assimilation and yield of C3 crops grown at [CO2] expected by the middle of the 21st century. </jats:sec