Economics of Homeland Security: Carcass Disposal and the Design of Animal Disease Defense

In an effort to bolster confidence and protect the nation the U.S. government through agencies like the Department of Homeland Security is identifying vulnerabilities and evolving strategies for protection. Agricultural food supply is one identified vulnerable area, and animal disease defense is one of the major concerns there under. Should an outbreak of animal disease occur, it is likely to have a mass slaughter and disposal of animal carcasses. The current existing policy, mainly including slaughter policy and strict movement bans, may be not sufficient to control disease spread at reasonable cost. We address the issue modeling vaccination as a supporting strategy with later slaughter of animals and argue that vaccination can decrease slaughter and disposal cost in the case of emergency. Our results show that (a) Vaccination gains time to slow down the flow of slaughter, thereafter the disposal operation of animal carcasses. By smoothing slaughter/disposal flow, vaccination likely decreases slaughter and disposal cost; (b) Vaccination likely reduce the total amount of slaughter and disposal of animals mainly because vaccinated animals shed less and disease spread slower; and (c) Vaccination becomes more valuable in reducing slaughter and disposal costs when the marginal cost of vaccination falls, the even size of disease outbreak is larger, the disease is more contagious and spreads faster, and/or vaccines are more effective in controlling disease spread.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Concurrent behavioral and electrophysiological longitudinal recordings for in vivo assessment of aging

Electrophysiological and behavioral alterations, including sleep and cognitive impairments, are critical components of age-related decline and neurodegenerative diseases. In preclinical investigation, many refined techniques are employed to probe these phenotypes, but they are often conducted separately. Herein, we provide a protocol for one-time surgical implantation of EMG wires in the nuchal muscle and a skull-surface EEG headcap in mice, capable of 9-to-12-month recording longevity. All data acquisitions are wireless, making them compatible with simultaneous EEG recording coupled to multiple behavioral tasks, as we demonstrate with locomotion/sleep staging during home-cage video assessments, cognitive testing in the Barnes maze, and sleep disruption. Time-course EEG and EMG data can be accurately mapped to the behavioral phenotype and synchronized with neuronal frequencies for movement and the location to target in the Barnes maze. We discuss critical steps for optimizing headcap surgery and alternative approaches, including increasing the number of EEG channels or utilizing depth electrodes with the system. Combining electrophysiological and behavioral measurements in preclinical models of aging and neurodegeneration has great potential for improving mechanistic and therapeutic assessments and determining early markers of brain disorders

Multi-Channel Distributed Coordinated Function over Single Radio in Wireless Sensor Networks

Multi-channel assignments are becoming the solution of choice to improve performance in single radio for wireless networks. Multi-channel allows wireless networks to assign different channels to different nodes in real-time transmission. In this paper, we propose a new approach, Multi-channel Distributed Coordinated Function (MC-DCF) which takes advantage of multi-channel assignment. The backoff algorithm of the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF) was modified to invoke channel switching, based on threshold criteria in order to improve the overall throughput for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) over 802.11 networks. We presented simulation experiments in order to investigate the characteristics of multi-channel communication in wireless sensor networks using an NS2 platform. Nodes only use a single radio and perform channel switching only after specified threshold is reached. Single radio can only work on one channel at any given time. All nodes initiate constant bit rate streams towards the receiving nodes. In this work, we studied the impact of non-overlapping channels in the 2.4 frequency band on: constant bit rate (CBR) streams, node density, source nodes sending data directly to sink and signal strength by varying distances between the sensor nodes and operating frequencies of the radios with different data rates. We showed that multi-channel enhancement using our proposed algorithm provides significant improvement in terms of throughput, packet delivery ratio and delay. This technique can be considered for WSNs future use in 802.11 networks especially when the IEEE 802.11n becomes popular thereby may prevent the 802.15.4 network from operating effectively in the 2.4 GHz frequency band

Stamp transferred suspended graphene mechanical resonators for radio-frequency electrical readout

We present a simple micromanipulation technique to transfer suspended graphene flakes onto any substrate and to assemble them with small localized gates into mechanical resonators. The mechanical motion of the graphene is detected using an electrical, radio-frequency (RF) reflection readout scheme where the time-varying graphene capacitor reflects a RF carrier at f=5-6 GHz producing modulation sidebands at f +/- fm. A mechanical resonance frequency up to fm=178 MHz is demonstrated. We find both hardening/softening Duffing effects on different samples, and obtain a critical amplitude of ~40 pm for the onset of nonlinearity in graphene mechanical resonators. Measurements of the quality factor of the mechanical resonance as a function of DC bias voltage Vdc indicate that dissipation due to motion-induced displacement currents in graphene electrode is important at high frequencies and large Vdc

Induction of Autophagy by Cystatin C: A Mechanism That Protects Murine Primary Cortical Neurons and Neuronal Cell Lines

Cystatin C (CysC) expression in the brain is elevated in human patients with epilepsy, in animal models of neurodegenerative conditions, and in response to injury, but whether up-regulated CysC expression is a manifestation of neurodegeneration or a cellular repair response is not understood. This study demonstrates that human CysC is neuroprotective in cultures exposed to cytotoxic challenges, including nutritional-deprivation, colchicine, staurosporine, and oxidative stress. While CysC is a cysteine protease inhibitor, cathepsin B inhibition was not required for the neuroprotective action of CysC. Cells responded to CysC by inducing fully functional autophagy via the mTOR pathway, leading to enhanced proteolytic clearance of autophagy substrates by lysosomes. Neuroprotective effects of CysC were prevented by inhibiting autophagy with beclin 1 siRNA or 3-methyladenine. Our findings show that CysC plays a protective role under conditions of neuronal challenge by inducing autophagy via mTOR inhibition and are consistent with CysC being neuroprotective in neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, modulation of CysC expression has therapeutic implications for stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders

Multi-Channel Multi-Radio Using 802.11 Based Media Access for Sink Nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks

The next generation surveillance and multimedia systems will become increasingly deployed as wireless sensor networks in order to monitor parks, public places and for business usage. The convergence of data and telecommunication over IP-based networks has paved the way for wireless networks. Functions are becoming more intertwined by the compelling force of innovation and technology. For example, many closed-circuit TV premises surveillance systems now rely on transmitting their images and data over IP networks instead of standalone video circuits. These systems will increase their reliability in the future on wireless networks and on IEEE 802.11 networks. However, due to limited non-overlapping channels, delay, and congestion there will be problems at sink nodes. In this paper we provide necessary conditions to verify the feasibility of round robin technique in these networks at the sink nodes by using a technique to regulate multi-radio multichannel assignment. We demonstrate through simulations that dynamic channel assignment scheme using multi-radio, and multichannel configuration at a single sink node can perform close to optimal on the average while multiple sink node assignment also performs well. The methods proposed in this paper can be a valuable tool for network designers in planning network deployment and for optimizing different performance objectives

Promoting the clearance of neurotoxic proteins in neurodegenerative disorders of ageing.

Neurodegenerative disorders of ageing (NDAs) such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, frontotemporal dementia, Huntington disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis represent a major socio-economic challenge in view of their high prevalence yet poor treatment. They are often called 'proteinopathies' owing to the presence of misfolded and aggregated proteins that lose their physiological roles and acquire neurotoxic properties. One reason underlying the accumulation and spread of oligomeric forms of neurotoxic proteins is insufficient clearance by the autophagic-lysosomal network. Several other clearance pathways are also compromised in NDAs: chaperone-mediated autophagy, the ubiquitin-proteasome system, extracellular clearance by proteases and extrusion into the circulation via the blood-brain barrier and glymphatic system. This article focuses on emerging mechanisms for promoting the clearance of neurotoxic proteins, a strategy that may curtail the onset and slow the progression of NDAs

Macroautophagy—a novel β-amyloid peptide-generating pathway activated in Alzheimer's disease

Macroautophagy, which is a lysosomal pathway for the turnover of organelles and long-lived proteins, is a key determinant of cell survival and longevity. In this study, we show that neuronal macroautophagy is induced early in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and before β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits extracellularly in the presenilin (PS) 1/Aβ precursor protein (APP) mouse model of β-amyloidosis. Subsequently, autophagosomes and late autophagic vacuoles (AVs) accumulate markedly in dystrophic dendrites, implying an impaired maturation of AVs to lysosomes. Immunolabeling identifies AVs in the brain as a major reservoir of intracellular Aβ. Purified AVs contain APP and β-cleaved APP and are highly enriched in PS1, nicastrin, and PS-dependent γ-secretase activity. Inducing or inhibiting macroautophagy in neuronal and nonneuronal cells by modulating mammalian target of rapamycin kinase elicits parallel changes in AV proliferation and Aβ production. Our results, therefore, link β-amyloidogenic and cell survival pathways through macroautophagy, which is activated and is abnormal in AD

Results from the fly’s eye experiment

We report recently analyzed results on the energy spectrum, and composition of cosmic rays above 0.3 EeV. We observe a break in the spectrum at 3 EeV and a changing composition. The results can be explained by a simple two component model: galactic cosmic rays dominated by heavy primaries and an extragalactic component dominated by light primaries. The observed isotropic arrival direction distribution is consistent with the predictions of this model. A 320 EeV event was also recorded. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87516/2/839_1.pd

High-Resolution Imaging of the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer in Normal Eyes Using Adaptive Optics Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy

To conduct high-resolution imaging of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in normal eyes using adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AO-SLO).AO-SLO images were obtained in 20 normal eyes at multiple locations in the posterior polar area and a circular path with a 3-4-mm diameter around the optic disc. For each eye, images focused on the RNFL were recorded and a montage of AO-SLO images was created.AO-SLO images for all eyes showed many hyperreflective bundles in the RNFL. Hyperreflective bundles above or below the fovea were seen in an arch from the temporal periphery on either side of a horizontal dividing line to the optic disc. The dark lines among the hyperreflective bundles were narrower around the optic disc compared with those in the temporal raphe. The hyperreflective bundles corresponded with the direction of the striations on SLO red-free images. The resolution and contrast of the bundles were much higher in AO-SLO images than in red-free fundus photography or SLO red-free images. The mean hyperreflective bundle width around the optic disc had a double-humped shape; the bundles at the temporal and nasal sides of the optic disc were narrower than those above and below the optic disc (P<0.001). RNFL thickness obtained by optical coherence tomography correlated with the hyperreflective bundle widths on AO-SLO (P<0.001)AO-SLO revealed hyperreflective bundles and dark lines in the RNFL, believed to be retinal nerve fiber bundles and Müller cell septa. The widths of the nerve fiber bundles appear to be proportional to the RNFL thickness at equivalent distances from the optic disc