Effect of atherogenic diet on chicken plasma lipids and lipoproteins

Adult male White Leghorn chickens were used in an experimental model system to study atherogenesis, and the effects of an atherogenic diet on plasma lipoprotein composition including carotenoids were determined. This model also included treatment with diazepam, a drug known to reduce formation of atherogenic plaques. After 6 wk consumption of a high-cholesterol, high-triglyceride diet, chickens had mean total plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, and carotenoid concentrations that were significantly increased over those from chicks that consumed the standard diet. Diazepam treatment had no significant effect on whole plasma concentrations of these lipids. Total body weight gain was unaffected by diet, but liver weight expressed as percentage of body weight was significantly increased in chickens that consumed the atherogenic diet. High density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) fractions were isolated from plasma samples by ultracentrifugation. The atherogenic diet increased the carotenoid, cholesterol, and protein content of the LDL fractions but not the HDL fractions.     

The effects of feedback on performance and retention of skill for a natural language interface

This study investigated the effectiveness of different types of on-line feedback following user errors for informing users of the information and functions available in a system with a natural language interface. Twenty-four individuals performed a task based on an industry cost savings program, in which they were given general goals to pursue with regard to the task. Three feedback levels which differed according to the type and amount of feedback provided, along with two levels of system complexity, were examined. In addition, subjects performed the task again after one week to determine the effects of feedback on retention. Results indicated that the subjects in the second level of feedback generally performed better with respect to accessing system functions and information than those in the first level. Although there was some performance improvement from the second to third level, it was not significant. However, the third level of feedback did significantly improve the efficiency with which subjects used information to complete the task during the return condition. Overall, feedback did not affect the errors made, though at certain more limited stages of the tasks this effect was observed.     

Ground antennas in NASA's deep space telecommunications

Ground antennas are the major visible components of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). The role, key characteristics, and performance of these antennas in deep-space telecommunications are described. The system analyses and tradeoffs to optimize the overall ground-to-spacecraft link and to define future missions are elaborated from an antenna perspective. Overall performance of receiving systems is compared using the widely accepted G/T figure-of-merit, i.e., net antenna gain divided by the operating system noise temperature. Performance of past, present, and future antennas and receiving systems is discussed, including the planned development of a world-wide network of 34-m diameter beam-waveguide antennas. The need for multifrequency operation, presently in the S- and X-bands, and in the future in the Ka-band, is discussed. The resulting requirements placed on antenna technology are highlighted. Beam-waveguide antenna performance to further improve performance and operational advantages is discussed     

Individuality of understanding and assessment of sensory attributes of foods, in particular, tenderness of meat

This study examines the extent to which variations in consumers' sensory assessments of food arise from the inability to report accurately sensory perceptions, from confusion regarding the criteria by which to assess samples, or from differences in their oral breakdown of the products.

Twenty consumers assessed the tenderness of a range of 8 hot, freshly roasted meat samples using Time Intensity (TI). Overall a significant correlation was found between the maximum recorded intensity (Imax) of their TI curves and single sensory scores given by a trained panel. Correlation was significant for only 42% of the consumers individually. Significant correlations were found between the amount of masticatory muscle activity undertaken during chewing (measured using electromyography) and Imax for all but 2 of the consumers. Thus subjects' perceptions were accurately described by their chewing work, suggesting between subject differences in perception arose from differences in the way chewing work was applied to break down the samples. The sensory input from the masticatory muscles may represent the major determinant of perceived tenderness of meat.     

Low phase noise millimeter-wave frequency sources using InP-basedHBT MMIC technology

A family of millimeter-wave sources based on InP heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) monolithic microwave/millimeter-wave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology has been developed. These sources include 40-GHz, 46-GHz, 62-GHz MMIC fundamental mode oscillators, and a 95-GHz frequency source module using a 23.8-GHz InP HBT MMIC dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) in conjunction with a GaAs-based high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) MMIC frequency quadrupler and W-band output amplifiers. Good phase noise performance was achieved due to the low 1/f noise of the InP-based HBT devices. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of millimeter-wave sources using InP-based HBT MMIC's     

Policy Analysis, Peer Reviewed: Evaluation of Bioaccumulation Factors in Regulating Metals

Regulations.     

A video codec LSI for high-definition TV systems withone-transistor DRAM line memories

A video codec LSI for high-definition television (HDTV) systems has been developed. By using a time-compressed integration encoding technique, it converts a 20.0-MHz bandwidth luminance signal and two 5.0-MHz chrominance signals into a compressed image signal at 48.6-MHz sampling frequency. It is useful in many HDTV application systems, such as 400-Mb/s digital transmission system, a video disk player system, or an analog transmission system. Over 288000 elements, including a 52-kb one-transistor DRAM (dynamic random access memory) line memory specially developed for this LSI, were integrated on a 12.16×12.10-mm² chip. A standard cell layout method and a 1.2-μm CMOS logic LSI process were used     

Prediction of psychoticlike symptoms in hypothetically psychosis-prone college students.

Correlates of psychotic and psychoticlike symptoms were examined in 60 college students who scored deviantly high on the Perceptual Aberration Scale. High scorers on this scale who also scored high on both the Impulsive Nonconformity Scale and the Depression subscale of the General Behavior Inventory (GBI) showed the most deviant psychotic and psychoticlike symptoms. Moreover, performance on a task of referential communication, the Password Task, was significantly related to such symptoms. The Perceptual Aberration Scale, the Impulsive Nonconformity Scale, and the GBI Depression subscale are recommended for concurrent use in mass screening to select individuals likely to exhibit psychotic or psychoticlike symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)