The Prominin-1-Derived Peptide Improves Cardiac Function Following Ischemia

Myocardial infarction (MI) remains the leading cause of death in the western world. Despite advancements in interventional revascularization technologies, many patients are not candidates for them due to comorbidities or lack of local resources. Non-invasive approaches to accelerate revascularization within ischemic tissues through angiogenesis by providing Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in protein or gene form has been effective in animal models but not in humans likely due to its short half-life and systemic toxicity. Here, we tested the hypothesis that PR1P, a small VEGF binding peptide that we developed, which stabilizes and upregulates endogenous VEGF, could be used to improve outcome from MI in rodents. To test this hypothesis, we induced MI in mice and rats via left coronary artery ligation and then treated animals with every other day intraperitoneal PR1P or scrambled peptide for 14 days. Hemodynamic monitoring and echocardiography in mice and echocardiography in rats at 14 days showed PR1P significantly improved multiple functional markers of heart function, including stroke volume and cardiac output. Furthermore, molecular biology and histological analyses of tissue samples showed that systemic PR1P targeted, stabilized and upregulated endogenous VEGF within ischemic myocardium. We conclude that PR1P is a potential non-invasive candidate therapeutic for MI.     

Comparison of three techniques used to measure diffusive gas exchange from sheltered aquatic surfaces

Three approaches commonly used to quantify diffusive gas exchange across aquatic surfaces were compared in a densely treed, low-wind environment Diffusive surface fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) from a small boreal reservoir were estimated using (i) surface water concentrations, the thin boundary layer (TBL) equation, and gas transfer velocities (k) calculated using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6); (ii) surface water concentrations, the TBL equation, and k estimated from wind speed; and (iii) static floating chambers (FCs). Comparisons were made during three different approximately 10-day intervals (August 2000, June and September 2001). CO2 and CH4 fluxes estimated from SF6-derived k were on average 1-3 times greater than those determined from wind-estimated k Overall agreement between FC CO2 and CH4 flux estimates and those based on SF6 and wind speed derived kvalues was much weaker, with FC CO2 and CH4 flux estimates ranging from -9 to 23 times those based on SF6 and wind-estimated k values. Chamber deployment likely enhanced gas transfer through disturbance of the surface boundary layer, and results of this study suggest that caution must be exercised concerning the use of FCs on very still water surfaces. Furthermore, findings of this study contradict the common belief that use of wind speed to approximate k is inappropriate for small bodies of water characterized by low winds and surface obstructions.     

A 30-mW 8-b 125-MS/s pipelined ADC in 0.13-μm CMOS

An 8-b pipelined ADC constructed in 0.13-μm CMOS is described. This ADC uses a dual-supply technique to yield 8-b performance at a sampling rate of 125 MS/s while consuming 30 mW from 1.8-V and 1.2-V supplies. Active area is 0.4 mm². Numerous challenges associated with this choice of process technology were overcome, such as limited dynamic range, copper metallization and the effects of gate oxide leakage.     

Blood lead (Pb) levels: Further evidence for an environmental mechanism explaining the association between socioeconomic status and psychophysiological dysregulation in children.

Objective: The authors recently reported that blood lead (Pb) was a significant mediator for the positive association between socioeconomic status (SES) and peripheral vascular responses to acute stress in children (B. B. Gump et al., 2007). The present study considers the possibility that Pb may also mediate an association between SES and cortisol responses to acute stress. Design: Early childhood Pb exposure was tested as a mediator for cross-sectional associations between SES and cortisol responses. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was cortisol responses to acute stress in 9.5-year-old children (N = 108). Results: Lower family income was associated with significantly greater cortisol levels following an acute stress task. A mediational analysis confirmed that Pb was a significant mediator for this association. Conclusion: These results reaffirm the importance of considering the chemical environment as well as social and psychological environment when evaluating psychophysiological effects of low SES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of the initial dose of foot-and-mouth disease virus on the early viral dynamics within pigs

This paper investigates the early viral dynamics of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) within infected pigs. Using an existing within-host model, we investigate whether individual variation can be explained by the effect of the initial dose of FMD virus. To do this, we consider the experimental data on the concentration of FMD virus genomes in the blood (viral load). In this experiment, 12 pigs were inoculated with one of three different doses of FMD virus: low; medium; or high. Measurements of the viral load were recorded over a time course of approximately 11 days for every 8 hours. The model is a set of deterministic differential equations with the following variables: viral load; virus in the interstitial space; and the proportion of epithelial cells available for infection, infected and uninfected. The model was fitted to the data for each animal individually and also simultaneously over all animals varying only the initial dose. We show that the general trend in the data can be explained by varying only the initial dose. The higher the initial dose the earlier the development of a detectable viral load.     

Divergent thinking ability is related to faster relatedness judgments.

Creativity is commonly defined as the novel and useful combination of concepts previously thought to be unrelated. Fundamentally, this process rests on the ability to judge relatedness between concepts. The authors conducted an experiment to test the connection between divergent thinking ability and the speed of judging relatedness. Our results demonstrated that people with higher divergent thinking ability are faster in judging whether two concepts are related or unrelated. In real life, this can lead to a substantial advantage in the number of potentially useful relationships that could be assessed per unit of time. Equally important, there was no link between IQ and speed of judging relatedness. These results are interpreted in relation to a recently proposed model of creative cognition suggesting that creative people are faster in information processing under conditions of low ambiguity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integration of superconducting magnets with cryogen-free dilution refrigerator systems

There has been much recent research interest into “cryogen-free” dilution refrigerators. Cryogen-free systems have some advantages from a safety and convenience point of view as liquid cryogens are unnecessary. However, this also makes integrating the low-temperature system with a high magnetic field environment much more challenging. Here we shall describe recent successes of integrating superconducting magnets and dilution refrigerators into one system requiring a single pulse tube cooler. The resulting environment provides experimental temperatures between 7 mK and 30 K and magnetic fields up to 12 T. We shall describe the effects of AC loss heating in such systems on the pulse tube refrigerator when the field is ramped and also the effects of eddy current heating on the mixing chamber in sweeping fields.     

Small signal frequency response studies for plasma electrolytic oxidation

Plasma assisted electrochemical treatments provide new possibilities in surface modification of various materials including light weight alloys. However, their large-scale application is still restricted, mainly due to poor understanding of the process mechanisms and consequent limitations in process control and automation. This problem can be resolved if the frequency response (FR) of the system is known and applied for process diagnostics. Our previous work has shown the effectiveness of the large signal mode for FR studies of plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of aluminium. This research is dedicated to FR measurements during PEO of Al in the small signal mode corresponding to small perturbations of voltage signal around large DC values. The study was carried out during PEO of Al at DC voltages which were varied from 450 to 600 V. The FR obtained is a frequency dependent admittance of the PEO electrolyser; this complex number is represented by a modulus and a phase angle. Under potentiostatic conditions, the modulus evolution strongly correlates with the average current value; therefore, it bears insufficient amounts of independent information. The FR phase angle measured within this study was never obtained before. Depending on the frequency, it varies between 0° and 70 ° in the capacitive domain. One of the most notable features of this characteristic is low values at 500-5000 Hz when microdischarges appear during PEO. The other feature is a correlation with the coating growth. As a result, a new diagnostic tool was developed and shown to be effective for evaluation of microdischarges and surface properties during the treatment, thus decreasing the uncertainty in the system.     

Genetic parameters for carcass composition and performance data in crossbred lambs measured by Video Image Analysis

A total of 7074 crossbred lambs, produced by mating crossbred Mule ewes with terminal sire rams were used in this study. Of these, 630 were scanned using a Video Image Analysis (VIA) to estimate carcass quality traits. Genetic parameters for average daily gain (ADG), scanning live weight (SW), ultrasonic measures of muscle (UMD) and fat (UFD) depths, cold carcass weight (CCW) and VIA measurements of primal carcass joint weights (LEG, CHUMP, LOIN, BREAST and SHOULDER) were estimated using multivariate animal models. Additionally, VIA traits were evaluated under a repeatability model, considering the primal joints as repeated measures of the same trait. Direct heritability estimates were low to moderate (0.08–0.26) for VIA measurements of primal joints. Repeatability estimates for VIA traits were high (>0.90). Moderate to high heritability estimates (0.25–0.55) were found for performance traits (ADG, SW, UMD and UFD) and CCW. Genetic correlations between VIA traits and ADG were strong (0.75–0.93). Most of the VIA traits were highly correlated to SW (0.60–0.97). UFD was significantly negatively correlated with UMD (−0.22), ADG (−0.18) and CCW (−0.18). The results of this study suggest that selection on performance and carcass traits, measured by VIA, could possibly improve primal meat yield of carcass cuts without increasing the overall carcass fatness. High repeatability estimates of VIA traits and moderate heritabilities of the most valuable carcass joints suggests that including VIA information in breeding programs would be useful in order to improve carcass quality.     

Design issues in a mandatory greenhouse gas emissions registry for the United States

On March 10, 2009, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule, Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases. When final, the rule would compel most large sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to report their emissions to EPA as well as fossil fuel suppliers and vehicle engine manufacturers to report their fuel sales and engine emissions rates, respectively. We suggest a number of improvements to the rule that would enhance compatibility with expected future climate legislation and enable a broader range of policies and analysis: (1) lower the threshold for reporting to a level more consistent with expected future legislation, (2) require reporting of electricity use along with direct emissions, (3) require reporting of emissions per unit output for a small number of selected sectors, (4) include a system of identifying corporate ownership of reporting facilities, and (5) identify a path toward coverage for sectors that were left out of the proposal due to underdeveloped reporting protocols.