Predicting fleece weight from the difference in live weight pre- and post-shearing

Radio frequency identification (RFID) and automated weighing platforms facilitate the practicality and ease with which individual live weight (LW) can be recorded. This raises the possibility for the difference in recorded LW of sheep between pre- and post-shearing to provide an estimate of fleece weight (eFW) which, in turn, could allow selection pressure to be applied for improved wool production. The eFW of yearling ewes (n=98), yearling rams (n=274) and mixed-age ewes (n=305) were compared with their recorded fleece weight (FW). Positive linear correlations (P<0.001 for all stock classes) were observed between eFW and FW and also the eFW rank and FW rank. Although some variability between stock classes existed, for all data combined, FW rank was able to account for 42% of the variation in eFW rank. Further, selecting individuals on eFW was able to retain an average of 64% of the selection differential obtained using recorded FW. Overall, these results suggest eFW calculated from the difference in LW between pre- and post-shearing, in combination with RFID and automated weighing platforms, may provide a useful and practical tool to assist with selection for improved wool production in a commercial setting

Toward homochiral protocells in noncatalytic peptide systems

The activation-polymerization-epimerization-depolymerization (APED) model of Plasson et al. has recently been proposed as a mechanism for the evolution of homochirality on prebiotic Earth. The dynamics of the APED model in two-dimensional spatially-extended systems is investigated for various realistic reaction parameters. It is found that the APED system allows for the formation of isolated homochiral proto-domains surrounded by a racemate. A diffusive slowdown of the APED network such as induced through tidal motion or evaporating pools and lagoons leads to the stabilization of homochiral bounded structures as expected in the first self-assembled protocells.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

The mTORC1 inhibitor everolimus prevents and treats Eμ-Myc lymphoma by restoring oncogene-induced senescence

MYC deregulation is common in human cancer. IG-MYC translocations that are modeled in EμMyc mice occur in almost all cases of Burkitt lymphoma as well as in other B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. Deregulated expression of MYC results in increased mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. As tumors with mTORC1 activation are sensitive to mTORC1 inhibition, we used everolimus, a potent and specific mTORC1 inhibitor, to test the requirement for mTORC1 in the initiation and maintenance of EμMyc lymphoma. Everolimus selectively cleared premalignant B cells from the bone marrow and spleen, restored a normal pattern of B-cell differentiation, and strongly protected against lymphoma development. Established EμMyc lymphoma also regressed after everolimus therapy. Therapeutic response correlated with a cellular senescence phenotype and induction of p53 activity. Therefore, mTORC1-dependent evasion of senescence is critical for cellular transformation and tumor maintenance by MYC in B lymphocytes

Análise técnica e econômica do equipamento Stump Harvester

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Ricardo Anselmo MalinovskiMonografia (graduação) - Universidade Federal do Paraná,Setor de Ciências Agrárias, Curso de Engenharia Florestal.Resumo: As atividades de colheita florestal comumente geram uma grande quantidade de resíduos em plantios florestais de Pinus spp. e Eucalyptus spp, prejudicando as operações silviculturais. Dentre todos os tipos de resíduos florestais, os tocos constituem um grande dificultador das operações de implantação florestal como subsolagem, fertilização, plantio e manutenção. A redução da qualidade das operações pode levar à uma redução na área de efetivo plantio, reduzindo o número de árvores plantadas por hectare e subutilizando o sítio. Diante disso, buscam-se alternativas para remoção e aproveitamento de resíduos florestais. Quanto a remoção de tocos, uma alternativa atual é o equipamento stump harvester que consiste em um implemento específico para a remoção de tocos montado em uma escavadeira hidráulica. Diante disso, o presente trabalho avaliou técnica e economicamente o equipamento stump harvester para a reforma e realinhamento de plantios de Pinus taeda e Eucalyptus dunnii em uma empresa florestal do norte de Santa Catarina. Foram avaliados a produtividade, custos, receitas e indicadores econômicos no intuito de avaliar a viabilidade do investimento no equipamento. Como resultado de produtividade obteve-se uma média de 3,88 e 3,19 tocos/min para o Pinus taeda e Eucalyptus dunnii, respectivamente. O custo de remoção foi calculado em 1.521,47 R$/ha para o Pinus taeda e 1.778,72 R$/ha para o Eucalyptus dunnii. Foram estimadas diversas situações de aumento de receitas com a utilização do equipamento. Quando utilizado somente para fins de reforma e realinhamento o uso do equipamento é inviável a uma taxa mínima de atratividade de 10%. Recomenda-se, entretanto, a quantificação e qualificação do material extraído para a produção de biomassa, pois, segundo literatura especializada, existe um grande potencial energético nesse material

ActEarly: a City Collaboratory approach to early promotion of good health and wellbeing

Economic, physical, built, cultural, learning, social and service environments have a profound effect on lifelong health. However, policy thinking about health research is dominated by the ‘biomedical model’ which promotes medicalisation and an emphasis on diagnosis and treatment at the expense of prevention. Prevention research has tended to focus on ‘downstream’ interventions that rely on individual behaviour change, frequently increasing inequalities. Preventive strategies often focus on isolated leverage points and are scattered across different settings. This paper describes a major new prevention research programme that aims to create City Collaboratory testbeds to support the identification, implementation and evaluation of upstream interventions within a whole system city setting. Prevention of physical and mental ill-health will come from the cumulative effect of multiple system-wide interventions. Rather than scatter these interventions across many settings and evaluate single outcomes, we will test their collective impact across multiple outcomes with the goal of achieving a tipping point for better health. Our focus is on early life (ActEarly) in recognition of childhood and adolescence being such critical periods for influencing lifelong health and wellbeing

Status on the Michigan‐MIT ultra‐cold polarized hydrogen jet target

Progress on the Mark‐II ultra‐cold polarized atomic hydrogen gas Jet target for the experiments NEPTUN‐A and NEPTUN at UNK is presented. We describe the performance and the present status of different components of the jet.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87525/2/698_1.pd

A dynamical model of lipoprotein metabolism

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Transformation-induced changes in the DNA-nuclear matrix interface, revealed by high-throughput analysis of DNA halos

In higher eukaryotic nuclei, DNA is periodically anchored to an extraction-resistant protein structure, via matrix attachment regions. We describe a refined and accessible method to non-subjectively, rapidly and reproducibly measure both size and stability of the intervening chromatin loops, and use it to demonstrate that malignant transformation compromises the DNA-nuclear matrix interface

Cultural experience tourist motives dimensionality : a cross-cultural study

This empirical research of tourists&rsquo; cultural experiences aims to advance theory by developing a measurement model of tourists&rsquo; motives towards attending cultural experiences for samples of Western and Asian tourists visiting Melbourne, Australia. Drawing upon Iso-Ahola&rsquo;s (1989) seeking/avoiding dichotomy theory for tourist motivation dimensions, the hypothesized dimensions primarily included escape and seeking-related dimensions, and some hedonic dimensions because of their relevance to aesthetic products (Hirschman &amp; Holbrook, 1982; Holbrook &amp; Hirschman, 1982), which are the context for this study. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to crossvalidate the underlying dimensionality structure of cultural experience motives. A four-factor model was extracted from the EFA consistent with some theoretical formulations and was retained in the CFA. Specific cultural language group differences for the motive dimensions were also hypothesized between Western and Asian tourist samples, and within the Chinese- and Japanese-speaking Asian tourist samples, but not within the different cultural groups of English-speaking Western tourists. These cross-cultural hypotheses were tested for the motive dimension measurement model using invariance testing in CFA. The findings for the motive dimensions differing by cultural group were not as expected. Significant cultural differences between Western and Asian tourists were not found, but a new finding of this study was significant differences between English-speaking tourists in their motives for attending cultural experiences. Marketing implications of these findings are also presented.<br /