Trabecular bone structure correlates with hand posture and use in hominoids

Bone is capable of adapting during life in response to stress. Therefore, variation in locomotor and manipulative behaviours across extant hominoids may be reflected in differences in trabecular bone structure. The hand is a promising region for trabecular analysis, as it is the direct contact between the individual and the environment and joint positions at peak loading vary amongst extant hominoids. Building upon traditional volume of interest-based analyses, we apply a whole-epiphysis analytical approach using high-resolution microtomographic scans of the hominoid third metacarpal to investigate whether trabecular structure reflects differences in hand posture and loading in knuckle-walking (Gorilla, Pan), suspensory (Pongo, Hylobates and Symphalangus) and manipulative (Homo) taxa. Additionally, a comparative phylogenetic method was used to analyse rates of evolutionary changes in trabecular parameters. Results demonstrate that trabecular bone volume distribution and regions of greatest stiffness (i.e., Young's modulus) correspond with predicted loading of the hand in each behavioural category. In suspensory and manipulative taxa, regions of high bone volume and greatest stiffness are concentrated on the palmar or distopalmar regions of the metacarpal head, whereas knuckle-walking taxa show greater bone volume and stiffness throughout the head, and particularly in the dorsal region; patterns that correspond with the highest predicted joint reaction forces. Trabecular structure in knuckle-walking taxa is characterised by high bone volume fraction and a high degree of anisotropy in contrast to the suspensory brachiators. Humans, in which the hand is used primarily for manipulation, have a low bone volume fraction and a variable degree of anisotropy. Finally, when trabecular parameters are mapped onto a molecular-based phylogeny, we show that the rates of change in trabecular structure vary across the hominoid clade. Our results support a link between inferred behaviour and trabecular structure in extant hominoids that can be informative for reconstructing behaviour in fossil primates

Spitzer 70 Micron Source Counts in GOODS-North

We present ultradeep Spitzer 70 μm observations of GOODS-North (Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey). For the first time, the turnover in the 70 μm Euclidean-normalized differential source counts is observed. We derive source counts down to a flux density of 1.2 mJy. From the measured source counts and fluctuation analysis, we estimate a power-law approximation of the faint 70 μm source counts of dN/dS ∝ S^−1.6, consistent with that observed for the faint 24 μm sources. An extrapolation of the 70 μm source counts to zero flux density implies a total extragalactic background light (EBL) of 7.4 ± 1.9 nW m^−2 sr^−1. The source counts above 1.2 mJy account for about 60% of the estimated EBL. From fluctuation analysis, we derive a photometric confusion level of σc = 0.30 ± 0.15 mJy (q = 5) for the Spitzer 70 μm band

Facilitators and Barriers to Prescribing PreExposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for the Prevention of HIV

Background: What is PrEP and who gets it? PrEP is the use of medication by individuals to prevent HIV contraction, approved in 2012 after demonstrating safety and efficacy in the iPrEx study and Partners PrEP2 trials. HIV infection risk is 92% lower in patients using PrEP. Truvada®, a combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine taken orally daily, is the only approved PrEP regimen and is intended to compliment other prevention strategies such as condoms. HIV negative-individuals at risk for exposure to HIV have been identified as men who have sex with men (MSM), IV drug users, heterosexuals who have unprotected sex with partners of unknown HIV status, and those in serodiscordant relationships. Barriers to PrEP Implementation PrEP is effective when patients adhere; however, both the medical community and some high-risk populations have been slow to adopt it as an HIV prevention strategy. Surveys have shown clinicians perceived barriers to PrEP such as adverse side effects, viral drug resistance, increased high-risk behavior, cost, and training. HIV in Vermont New diagnoses of HIV among Vermont residents has remained relatively stable over the last twenty years. Vermont CARES, a non-profit, offers free and anonymous HIV tests and in-person risk-reduction counseling. Clients are increasingly asking about PrEP as a prevention strategy, but the response from the medical community is difficult to ascertain.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1235/thumbnail.jp

Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program - Space Rocks for Classrooms, Museums, Science Centers, and Libraries

NASA is eager for students and the public to experience lunar Apollo samples and meteorites first hand. Lunar rocks and soil, embedded in Lucite disks, are available for educators to use in their classrooms, museums, science centers, and public libraries for education activities and display. The sample education disks are valuable tools for engaging students in the exploration of the Solar System. Scientific research conducted on the Apollo rocks reveals the early history of our Earth-Moon system and meteorites reveal much of the history of the early solar system. The rocks help educators make the connections to this ancient history of our planet and solar system and the basic processes accretion, differentiation, impact and volcanism. With these samples, educators in museums, science centers, libraries, and classrooms can help students and the public understand the key questions pursued by many NASA planetary missions. The Office of the Curator at Johnson Space Center is in the process of reorganizing and renewing the Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program to increase reach, security and accountability. The new program expands the reach of these exciting extraterrestrial rocks through increased access to training and educator borrowing. One of the expanded opportunities is that trained certified educators from science centers, museums, and libraries may now borrow the extraterrestrial rock samples. Previously the loan program was only open to classroom educators so the expansion will increase the public access to the samples and allow educators to make the critical connections to the exciting exploration missions taking place in our solar system. Each Lunar Disk contains three lunar rocks and three regolith soils embedded in Lucite. The anorthosite sample is a part of the magma ocean formed on the surface of Moon in the early melting period, the basalt is part of the extensive lunar mare lava flows, and the breccias sample is an important example of the violent impact history of the Moon. The disks also include two regolith soils and orange glass from a pyroclastic deposit. Each Meteorite Disk contains two ordinary chondrites, one carbonaceous chondrite, one iron, one stony iron, and one achondrite. These samples will help educators share the early history of the solar system with students and the public. Educators may borrow either lunar or meteorite disks and the accompanying education materials through the Johnson Space Center Curatorial Office. In trainings provided by the NASA Aerospace Education Services Program specialists, educators certified to borrow the disk learn about education resources, the proper use of the samples, and the special security for care and shipping of the disks. The Lunar and Meteorite Sample Education Disk Program will take NASA exploration to more people. Getting Space Rocks out to the public and inspiring the public about new space exploration is the focus of the NASA disk loan program

A Two-Step Certified Reduced Basis Method

In this paper we introduce a two-step Certified Reduced Basis (RB) method. In the first step we construct from an expensive finite element “truth” discretization of dimension N an intermediate RB model of dimension N≪N . In the second step we construct from this intermediate RB model a derived RB (DRB) model of dimension M≤N. The construction of the DRB model is effected at cost O(N) and in particular at cost independent of N ; subsequent evaluation of the DRB model may then be effected at cost O(M) . The DRB model comprises both the DRB output and a rigorous a posteriori error bound for the error in the DRB output with respect to the truth discretization. The new approach is of particular interest in two contexts: focus calculations and hp-RB approximations. In the former the new approach serves to reduce online cost, M≪N: the DRB model is restricted to a slice or subregion of a larger parameter domain associated with the intermediate RB model. In the latter the new approach enlarges the class of problems amenable to hp-RB treatment by a significant reduction in offline (precomputation) cost: in the development of the hp parameter domain partition and associated “local” (now derived) RB models the finite element truth is replaced by the intermediate RB model. We present numerical results to illustrate the new approach.United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR Grant number FA9550-07-1-0425)United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD/AFOSR Grant number FA9550-09-1-0613)Norwegian University of Science and Technolog

Conservative self-organized extremal model for wealth distribution

We present a detailed numerical analysis of the modified version of a conservative self-organized extremal model introduced by Pianegonda et. al. for the distribution of wealth of the people in a society. Here the trading process has been modified by the stochastic bipartite trading rule. More specifically in a trade one of the agents is necessarily the one with the globally minimal value of wealth, the other one being selected randomly from the neighbors of the first agent. The pair of agents then randomly re-shuffle their entire amount of wealth without saving. This model has most of the characteristics similar to the self-organized critical Bak-Sneppen model of evolutionary dynamics. Numerical estimates of a number of critical exponents indicate this model is likely to belong to a new universality class different from the well known models in the literature. In addition the persistence time, which is the time interval between two successive updates of wealth of an agent has been observed to have a non-trivial power law distribution. An opposite version of the model has also been studied where the agent with maximal wealth is selected instead of the one with minimal wealth, which however, exhibits similar behavior as the Minimal Wealth model.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure

Green tea extract only affects markers of oxidative status postprandially: lasting antioxidant effect of flavonoid-free diet

Epidemiological studies suggest that foods rich in flavonoids might reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of green tea extract (GTE) used as a food antioxidant on markers of oxidative status after dietary depletion of flavonoids and catechins. The study was designed as a 2×3 weeks blinded human cross-over intervention study (eight smokers, eight non-smokers) with GTE corresponding to a daily intake of 18·6 mg catechins/d. The GTE was incorporated into meat patties and consumed with a strictly controlled diet otherwise low in flavonoids. GTE intervention increased plasma antioxidant capacity from 1·35 to 1·56 (P<0·02) in postprandially collected plasma, most prominently in smokers. The intervention did not significantly affect markers in fasting blood samples, including plasma or haemoglobin protein oxidation, plasma oxidation lagtime, or activities of the erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and catalase. Neither were fasting plasma triacylglycerol, cholesterol, α-tocopherol, retinol, β-carotene, or ascorbic acid affected by intervention. Urinary 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine excretion was also unaffected. Catechins from the extract were excreted into urine with a half-life of less than 2 h in accordance with the short-term effects on plasma antioxidant capacity. Since no long-term effects of GTE were observed, the study essentially served as a fruit and vegetables depletion study. The overall effect of the 10-week period without dietary fruits and vegetables was a decrease in oxidative damage to DNA, blood proteins, and plasma lipids, concomitantly with marked changes in antioxidative defenc

Human-Machine Interface for Tele-Robotic Operation: Mapping of Tongue Movements Based on Aural Flow Monitoring

2004 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), October, 2004 (Awarded “Best Paper in Conference”

Radio Observations of the Hubble Deep Field South Region III: The 2.5, 5.2 and 8.7 GHz Catalogues and Radio Source Properties

Deep radio observations of a wide region centred on the Hubble Deep Field South have been performed, providing one of the most sensitive set of radio observations acquired on the Australia Telescope Compact Array to date. A central rms of ~10 microJy is reached at four frequencies (1.4, 2.5, 5.2 and 8.7 GHz). In this paper the full source catalogues from the 2.5, 5.2 and 8.7 GHz observations are presented to complement Paper II, along with a detailed analysis of image quality and noise. We produce a consolidated catalogue by matching sources across all four frequencies of our survey. Radio spectral indices are used to investigate the nature of the radio sources and identify a number of sources with flat or inverted radio spectra, which indicates AGN activity. We also find several other interesting sources, including a broadline emitting radio galaxy, a giant radio galaxy and three Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum sources.Comment: Accepted by AJ. 13 figures and 13 table

Cadmium accumulation and interactions with zinc, copper, and manganese, analysed by ICP-MS in a long-term Caco-2 TC7 cell model

The influence of long-term exposure to cadmium (Cd) on essential minerals was investigated using a Caco-2 TC7 cells and a multi-analytical tool: microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Intracellular levels, effects on cadmium accumulation, distribution, and reference concentration ranges of the following elements were determined: Na, Mg, Ca, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, and Cd. Results showed that Caco-2 TC7 cells incubated long-term with cadmium concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 lmol Cd/l for 5 weeks exhibited a significant increase in cadmium accumulation. Furthermore, this accumulation was more marked in cells exposed long-term to cadmium compared with controls, and that this exposure resulted in a significant accumulation of copper and zinc but not of the other elements measured. Interactions of Cd with three elements: zinc, copper, and manganese were particularly studied. Exposed to 30 lmol/l of the element, manganese showed the highest inhibition and copper the lowest on cadmium intracellular accumulation but Zn, Cu, and Mn behave differently in terms of their mutual competition with Cd. Indeed, increasing cadmium in the culture medium resulted in a gradual and significant increase in the accumulation of zinc. There was a significant decrease in manganese from 5 lmol Cd/l exposure, and no variation was observed with copper. Abbreviation: AAS – Atomic absorption spectrometry; CRM– Certified reference material; PBS – Phosphate buffered saline without calcium and magnesium; DMEM – Dubelcco’s modified Eagle’s medium