Fluoride tolerance of laying hens

Myogenic precursor cells withdraw irreversibly from the cell cycle as they differentiate into mature myotubes. Cell cycle exit occurs early during the differentiation program and is required for normal expression of the contractile phenotype. Differentiated myocytes also display a decreased propensity to undergo apoptotic cell death. The upregulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 and the dephosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein (pRb) appear to be critical regulatory events for the establishment of both the postmitotic and apoptosis-resistant states. The coordinated regulation of cell proliferation and death provides the developing embryo with a mechanism for controlling muscle mass and thereby the size of individual motor units.     

On the relationship between reading, listening and speaking: it's different for people's names

Two experiments are reported that tested predictions derived from the framework of face, object, and word recognition proposed by Valentine, Brennen, and Brédart (1996). The findings were as follows: (1) Production of a celebrity's name in response to seeing the celebrity's face primed a subsequent familiarity decision to the celebrity's printed name. The degree of repetition priming observed was as great as that observed when a familiarity decision to the printed name was repeated in the prime and test phases of the experiment. (2) Making a familiarity decision to an auditory presentation of a celebrity's name primed a familiarity decision to the same celebrity's name presented visually. The magnitude of cross-modality priming was as great as the magnitude of within-modality repetition priming. This result for people's names contrasted with the effects observed in lexical decision tasks, in which no reliable cross-modality priming was observed. The results cannot be accounted for by previous models of face and name processing. They show a marked contrast between processing people's names and processing words. The results support the framework proposed by Valentine et al. (1996). The implications for models of speech production, perception, and reading are discussed, together with the potential of the methodology to elucidate our understanding of proper name processing.     

Family socialization and the IQ test performance of traditionally and transracially adopted Black children.

Compared mean IQ test performance and response styles to cognitive demands of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) among 23 Black children (aged 7–10 yrs) who had been adopted by middle-class White families (i.e., transracially adopted) and 23 age-matched Black children who had been adopted by middle-class Black families (i.e., traditionally adopted). Findings indicate that while the traditionally adopted Ss received normal IQ scores, transracially adopted Ss showed nearly 1 standard deviation Full-Scale Scoring advantage over them. A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated significant differences in the styles of responding to test demands demonstrated by the 2 groups of Ss, which were conceptualized as contributors to the difference in average test score observed between them. Multivariate analysis of the helping behaviors adopted mothers exhibited when helping their children solve a difficult cognitive task revealed significant differences between Black and White mothers, which were conceptualized as culturally determined. White adopted mothers tended to release tension by joking, grinning, and laughing, while Black adoptive mothers more often released tension in less positive ways such as scowling, coughing, and frowning. White adoptive mothers were more likely than Black adoptive mothers to provide positive evaluations of their children's problem solving efforts. It is concluded that the ethnicity of the rearing environment exerts a significant influence on children's styles of responding to standardized intelligence tests and on their test achievement. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of potential on the friction and wear of mild steel in a model aqueous lubricant

An electrochemical cell has been designed, based on a Cameron-Plint friction machine, which enables measurement of friction and wear under conditions of controlled potential. For mild steel in a pH 9 aqueous solution of sodium octanoate, varying the potential of the steel over the range –1 to + 1 V vs SHE produced three distinct friction-wear regimes: high friction/low wear, low friction/high wear, and low friction/low wear. These regimes were ascribed to potential dependent changes in the coverage and stability of a lubricating octanoate film on the surface of the steel. Increasing the contact stress amplified the effect of potential on wear, and confirmed that the surface film retained its lubricity at contact stresses capable of causing plastic deformation of the steel.     

Dynamic animation: Interaction and control

The use of the dynamics equations of motion offers a means of constraining animated motion to physical reality.Dynamic simulation treats objects as masses acting under the influence of forces and torques. Motion is derived by solving the dynamics equations of motion, rather than being exactly specified by an animator. Though dynamic simulation can create complex motion with less user input than strictlykinematic (Position-based) methods, it is also computationally expensive and difficult to control. The equations of motion are, in themselves, not difficult to program, but adding constraints for controlled motion is complex. The control issues are now being further explored. These include: low-level control issues such as collision response, elasticity, friction, joint limits, damping, and general motion constraints; user-interface issues such as interface design, menu options, and integration into a general animation system; and high-level control issues such as the automatic generation of coordinated, goal-directed motion. This paper concentrates on the first two of these areas, and describes an animation system,Kaya, developed to explore them.This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant number CCR-8606519     

A didactic computer simulation of the environmental impact of a pollution discharge

Algorithms for simulating the response of a benthic animal community and several abiotic environmental variables to organic pollution are described. An IBM PC compatible computer program incorporating these methods has been written. The program simulates the abundance response of 23 species, the redox potential depth profile and several other sediment variables at any distance from a point source of pollution. The program has been designed as a teaching tool and examples of its use to study pollution biology and biometrics are given.     

The usefulness of CD64, other monocyte-associated antigens, and CD45 gating in the subclassification of acute myeloid leukemias with monocytic differentiation

Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry is widely used in the diagnosis and subclassification of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). CD14 is the monocyte-associated antigen most widely used to identify AML with monocytic differentiation (French-American-British classes M4 and M5); however, we observed that CD14 expression is frequently diminished or absent in such cases. To identify monocyte-associated antigens that might improve recognition of AML M4 and M5, we used 3-color flow cytometry and a panel of antibodies reported to distinguish cells of monocytic lineage in 44 cases of AML. In addition, CD45 vs logarithmic side scatter plots were analyzed in all cases. As expected, CD14 was highly specific but was only moderately sensitive for monocytic differentiation. CD64 had the best-combined sensitivity and specificity for AML M4 and M5. CD45 vs logarithmic side scatter analysis showed a higher percentage of monocytes in AML M4 and M5 compared with nonmonocytic AML. CD64 was expressed in 5 of 5 cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia (AML M3), but the intensity of staining was significantly less in AML M3 than in AML M4 and M5. Our findings show that addition of CD64 and CD45 vs logarithmic side scatter analysis to CD14 greatly improves flow cytometric detection of AML with monocytic differentiation and that CD64, also expressed in AML M3, may help distinguish AML M3 from other subtypes.     

Carotenohematoporphyrins as tumor-imaging dyes. Synthesis and in vitro photophysical characterization

Spermatogenesis is a complex system leading to the formation of male gametes. Development of the spermatogenic cell lineage occurs throughout most of the pre- and post-natal lifetime of male mammals, and involves progression through a well-characterized series of stages and cell types. This progression is based on programmed gene expression. The mechanisms by which this tissue-, cell-type, and developmental-stage specific gene expression is regulated form the focus of an active area of investigation. In this review, I will summarize our efforts to elucidate these mechanisms through molecular analyses of the uniquely accessible mouse spermatogenic cell lineage.