Reduced insulin-like growth factor-I after acute feed restriction in lactating dairy cows is independent of changes in growth hormone receptor 1A mRNA

Growth hormone receptor (GHR) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) mRNA decrease in the liver of dairy cows at parturition. Epinephrine is released and feed intake is decreased at the same time. The objective of this study was to determine whether feed restriction and (or) administration of epinephrine could recapitulate the changes in the hepatic GHR 1A and IGF-I mRNA that occur at parturition. Eight lactating cows were randomly assigned to one of two rations (ad libitum or restricted). The cows assigned to the restricted ration were fed 75, 60, 60, and 25% of feed consumed by the ad libitum cows on successive days to mimic the changes in feed intake around parturition. Liver samples were collected by needle biopsy before and after feed restriction. Cows received either 0.02 mg/kg of epinephrine or saline approximately 24 h before the second liver biopsy so that a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was created. Feed restriction increased plasma nonesterified fatty acids and liver triglyceride percentages and decreased plasma IGF-I concentrations. The decrease in plasma IGF-I after feed restriction was associated with a decrease in IGF-I mRNA in feed-restricted cows. The amount of GHR 1A mRNA did not change after feed restriction. Epinephrine treatment did not affect the amount of GHR 1A or IGF-I mRNA. We conclude that the decrease in feed intake at parturition may be partially responsible for the decrease in IGF-I but may not cause the decrease in GHR 1A.     

Phospholipid bilayer coatings for the separation of proteins in capillary electrophoresis

The double-chained, zwitterionic phospholipid 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine (DLPC, C12) was investigated for its use as a wall coating for the prevention of protein adsorption in capillary electrophoresis. DLPC forms a semipermanent coating at the capillary wall, which allows excess phospholipid to be removed from the capillary prior to electrophoretic separation. A DLPC-coated capillary allowed for the separation of both cationic and anionic proteins with efficiencies as high as 1.4 million plates/m. Migration time reproducibility was less than 1.3% RSD from run to run and less than 4.0% RSD from day to day. Protein recovery was as high as 93%. Cationic and anionic proteins could be separated over a pH range of 3-10, all yielding good efficiencies (N up to 1 million plates/m). The chain length of the phospholipid affected the performance of the wall coating. The C10 analogue of DLPC (DDPC) did not form a coating on the capillary wall while the C14 analogue of DLPC (DMPC) formed a stable coating that prevented protein adsorption to the same extent as its C12 counterpart.     

Two-dimensional restoration of motion-degraded intensified CCD imagery

A Wiener filter-based deconvolution algorithm is developed to restore vibration-degraded video imagery from an intensified CCD camera. The method is based on the use of azimuth and elevation angular optical line-of-sight data recorded from external sensors to estimate a two-dimensional vibration-blur impulse response on a per frame basis. Flight conditions are reproduced in the laboratory by use of prerecorded in-flight vibration data. The performance of the algorithm varies from frame to frame, following the time-varying characteristics of the vibration-blur impulse response. However, real-time display of the restored video minimizes these effects because of eye integration, and near-full restoration of the original uncorrupted imagery is observed for both high-light- and low-light-level conditions with minimal amplification of noise.     

Chemical and microbiological quality of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) slaughtered by different methods

The effect of two slaughter methods (immersion in ice-water slurry and electrical stunning followed by ice slurry asphyxiation) on chemical and microbiological parameters of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) stored in ice for 20 days was evaluated. No differences in total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), pH, carbohydrate or protein content of mucus were observed between the slaughter methods. Ice-slaughtered fish had lower bacteria counts at the beginning of storage, but higher counts than fish slaughtered by electricity at the end of storage (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences in the shelf life were observed between the slaughter methods evaluated (limit of acceptability – counts > 3 × 10⁶ CFU g⁻¹ – attained after 13–16 days). Results indicated that the chemical parameters evaluated have a limited applicability to assess the shelf life of grass carp stored in ice, since pH limit (6.8) was exceeded after 4 days, while TVB-N limit (30 mg%) was not attained after 20 days of storage.     

The growth of international VSAT: Satellite-based solutions for data,voice and video

Emerging countries are installing digital satellite transmission systems that eliminate the cost and geographic problems of traditional telecommunication systems and give them the switching and connectivity capabilities of more advanced countries.     

Limitations imposed by stimulated Raman scattering of 1550 nmhigh-energy pulse transmission

The limitations imposed by stimulated Raman scattering on 1550 nm high-energy pulse transmission in single-mode optical fiber are investigated. The generation of a Stokes pulse from an input pulse with peak power up to 60 W and duration on the order of 10 ns is experimentally studied and numerically simulated. This is the first demonstration of Stokes pulse generation in optical fiber from pump pulses within the 1550 nm telecommunications window. Experiment and theory show that there is an optimum input power for a given pulse duration and distance that maximizes the energy transmitted over long fibers     

Effects of dietary amino acid pattern on food preference behavior of rats.

Conducted an experiment with 46 male Holtzman rats in which Ss offered a diet in which there was an imbalance of amino acids together with a protein-free diet ate very little of the imbalanced diet. However, when Ss that were selecting the protein-free diet were fed in single meal (1-3 gm.) of a diet in which the imbalance was corrected, their preference was reversed, but only temporarily. The fact that the sensory properties of the imbalanced and corrected diets were very similar suggests that (a) the S associated a beneficial effect with ingestion of the corrected diet; (b) S did not immediately thereafter recognize the imbalanced diet as a novel diet; and (c) subsequently, ingestion of the imbalanced diet was associated with an undesirable effect and aversion to the imbalanced diet again developed. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Controlled ultrasound tissue erosion

The ability of ultrasound to produce highly controlled tissue erosion was investigated. This study is motivated by the need to develop a noninvasive procedure to perforate the neonatal atrial septum as the first step in treatment of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. A total of 232 holes were generated in 40 pieces of excised porcine atrial wall by a 788 kHz single-element transducer. The effects of various parameters [e.g., pulse repetition frequency (PRF), pulse duration (PD), and gas content of liquid] on the erosion rate and energy efficiency were explored. An Isppa of 9000 W/cm2, PDs of 3, 6, 12, and 24 cycles; PRFs between 1.34 kHz and 66.7 kHz; and gas saturation of 40-55% and 79-85% were used. The results show that very short pulses delivered at certain PRFs could maximize the erosion rate and energy efficiency. We show that well-defined perforations can be precisely located in the atrial wall through the controlled ultrasound tissue erosion (CUTE) process. A preliminary in vivo experiment was conducted on a canine subject, and the atrial septum was perforated using CUTE.     

Factors affecting the temporal stability of semipermanent bilayer coatings in capillary electrophoresis prepared using double-chained surfactants

Surfactants such as didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) adsorb onto fused-silica capillaries to form semipermanent bilayer coatings. However, such coatings must be regenerated between runs to maintain efficiency and reproducibility. In this paper, chemical and physical factors affecting the stability of DDAB coatings are investigated. Chemical factors such as ionic strength and the nature of the buffer anion (e.g., from acetate to phosphate), which decrease the critical micelle concentration of DDAB, improve the coating stability. Increasing buffer pH also increases the coating stability. Finally, reducing the capillary diameter and reducing the volume of buffer flushed through the capillary enhance the coating stability. Using 50 mM acetate, pH 5.0, in a 25-microm-i.d. capillary, cationic proteins were separated with efficiencies of 1.05 million plates/m and a run-to-run migration time reproducibility of 0.6-0.8% RSD for 10 successive runs without regeneration of the DDAB coating between runs.     

Effect of composition on DC conductivity of co-evaporated Cu-GeO2 thin cermet films

Thin films containing 0 to 100 vol%Cu was prepared by thermal co-evaporation. The samples were 200 nm thick, deposited at 600 K at a rate of 0.8 nm/s. DC conductivity measurements were carried out using the van der Pauw four probe technique for 0 to 100 vol%Cu films in the temperature range 150 to 600 K. Samples containing 60 vol%Cu exhibited a metallic-like behaviour with positive TCR whereas lower concentrations exhibited an activated conduction mechanism with negative TCR.