Individual variation for in vitro fertilization success in dairy bulls

Individual semen samples from 29 bulls in routine artificial breeding service were tested for their capability to achieve in vitro fertilization. Ejaculated semen was diluted, .1 ml of semen in 2 ml of a modified Tyrode's medium with an osmolality of 340 mOsmol/kg, washed thrice, incubated 3 h at 37 degrees C before being used for in vitro fertilization, or incubated 4 h and 8 h before assessment of motility, capacitation, and acrosome integrity. The degree of variability in percentage of oocytes fertilized was assessed along with several factors that might contribute to this variation. Variation among bulls was not significantly different. Variation from one replicate to another was high. Variation was found in motility, capacitation, and frequency of acrosome reaction, but these variables were not significantly correlated to fertilization rate in vitro.     

A low noise 230 GHz sis receiver

We report the construction of a 230GHz superconductor insulator superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction receiver utilizing a full height rectangular waveguide mixer with two tuning elements i.e. an E plane and backshort tuner. Preliminary results indicate that the receiver exhibits a best double side-band response of 114K±15K (averaged over a 500 MHz IF bandwidth) at a frequency of 228GHz and at an ambient temperature of approximately 2.4K. With the exception of a region in the vicinity of 250GHz, the receiver shows an excellent response over an RF input range of 200 to 290GHz. Finally, the receiver has been successfully employed on the new Caltech Submillimeter Observatory 10m antenna on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.     

Dispersion-induced ultrafast pulse reshaping in 1.55-/spl mu/m InGaAs-InGaAsP optical amplifiers

Using the Foreman effective mass Hamiltonian, the electronic structure of the valence band and the interband dipole matrix elements in In/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As-In/sub y/Ga/sub 1-y/As/sub z/P/sub 1-z/ quantum-well optical amplifiers are calculated, taking into account the valence band mixing and the biaxial strain. The optical field of the amplified pulse is calculated by solving the wave equation with the computed polarization as a source term. A novel wavelet transform is introduced in analyzing the pulse chirp imposed by the optical amplifier. In the linear propagation regime, the spectrum of the amplified pulse can be either red-shifted or blue-shifted with respect to its initial center frequency, depending on the local gain dispersion spanned by the pulse spectrum. The output pulse shape can be retarded or advanced, depending on the local gain and group velocity dispersion. Furthermore, an initially unchirped pulse centered in the tail of the gain spectrum is significantly reshaped after propagating 600 /spl mu/m, and its spectrum is broadened and distorted considerably. In the spectral region where both gain and group velocity change rapidly, the frequency chirp for a linearly chirped input pulse is significantly weakened after propagation.     

Autoactivation of procaspase-9 by Apaf-1-mediated oligomerization

Activation of procaspase-9 by Apaf-1 in the cytochrome c/dATP-dependent pathway requires proteolytic cleavage to generate the mature caspase molecule. To elucidate the mechanism of activation of procaspase-9 by Apaf-1, we designed an in vitro Apaf-1-procaspase-9 activation system using recombinant components. Here, we show that deletion of the Apaf-1 WD-40 repeats makes Apaf-1 constitutively active and capable of processing procaspase-9 independent of cytochrome c an dATP. Apaf-1-mediated processing of procaspase-9 occurs at Asp-315 by an intrinsic autocatalytic activity of procaspase-9 itself. We provide evidence that Apaf-1 can form oligomers and may facilitate procaspase-9 autoactivation by oligomerizing its precursor molecules. Once activated, caspase-9 can initiate a caspase cascade involving the downstream executioners caspase-3, -6, and -7.     

The Charing Cross Hospital experience with temozolomide in patients with gliomas

Temozolomide, a new oral cytotoxic agent, was given to 75 patients with malignant gliomas. The schedule used was for the first course 150 mg/m2 per day for 5 days (i.e. total dose 750 mg/m2), escalating, if no significant myelosuppression was noted on day 22, to 200 mg/m2 per day for 5 days (i.e. total dose 1000 mg/m2) for subsequent courses at 4-week intervals. There were 27 patients with primary disease treated with two courses of temozolomide prior to their radiotherapy and 8 (30%) fulfilled the criteria for an objective response. There were 48 patients whose disease recurred after their initial surgery and radiotherapy and 12 (25%) fulfilled the criteria for an objective response. This gave an overall objective response rate of 20 (27%) out of 75 patients. Temozolomide was generally well tolerated, with little subjective toxicity and predictable myelosuppression. However, the responses induced with this schedule were of short duration and had relatively little impact on overall survival. In conclusion, temozolomide given in this schedule has activity against high grade glioma. However, studies evaluating chemotherapy in primary brain tumours should include a quality-of-life/performance status evaluation in addition to CT or MRI scanning assessment.     

Further Archeological and Ethnological Findings on the Obscure, Late 20th Century, Quasi-Religious Earth Group Known as "the Therapists" (A Fantasy About the Future of Psychotherapy).

This article reviews the history of the field of therapy from the perspective of an extraterrestrial archeological survey team. By the time of their visit in the distant future, a collision between a comet and the planet Earth has wiped out civilization as a whole. The group discovers, however, that the field of mental health died out long before this cataclysm. A scheme for classifying the various schools of therapy is developed on the basis of the aliens' understanding of Earth religions and philosophical traditions. The emergence and eventual disappearance of the field is then explored and explained according to principles of evolutionary biology (including overpopulation, ecological competition, assimilation, and genetic drift). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Off-design analysis of SOFC hybrid system

This paper sets out the results of mathematical modeling and numerical simulations of the off-design (part-load) operation of the solid oxide fuel cell hybrid system (SOFC-HS).