Interior servicing platform simplifies maintenance of storage tanks

Rapid synchronization of phase-locked oscillators is best achieved by the swept-frequency acquisition technique, wherein the Voltage-Controlled Oscillator /VCO/ is linearly swept through the uncertainty band. The theoretically predicted sweep rates of this technique and the observed experimental results differ by less than seven percent

Greenhouse Evaluation of Air-Assisted Delivery Parameters for Mature Poinsettias

Understanding the performance characteristics of application equipment is important for helping make the most efficacious applications. While handguns making high volume applications are common in greenhouse production, it is difficult to achieve uniform distribution of product in a timely manner. Broadcast applications made using air-assistance can help aid canopy penetration and the volume of carrier required to make applications. The objectives of this research were to determine how air-assist sprayer application parameters influence spray deposits on the undersides of leaves in a mature poinsettia canopy. Bench-top trials were conducted using a motorized boom inside a greenhouse to treat a mature and dense poinsettia canopy. Sprayer treatments applied a tank mix of water and fluorescent tracer. Nylon screen targets were secured to the underside surfaces of leaves in the upper and lower elevation of target plants. A five-port, air-assist nozzle with flat fan nozzle tips was used to make the applications. Three air outlet speeds, two travel speeds, and three nozzle flow rates were evaluated. Each treatment was replicated three times. Spray deposits were highly variable. Upper elevation spray deposits were significantly greater than lower elevation deposits. Individually, higher air outlet speed (36.0 m s(-1)), slower travel speed (3.2 km h(-1)), and higher nozzle flow rate (1.17 L min(-1)) tended to produce higher sprayer deposits on the underside surfaces of leaves. The combination of travel speed and nozzle flow rate that produced the highest application rate (900 L ha(-1)) also produced the highest deposits. There was a 500% increase in underside leaf surface deposits in the lower canopy area for a corresponding 500% increase in application rate. However, the main effects produced no significant differences in spray deposits in the lower canopy area. Further improvements in directing sprays or providing canopy turbulence are necessary to improve deposition and management of insect pests feeding on the underside of poinsettia leaves

Stability of nuclear and mitochondrial reference genes in selected tissues of the Ambrosia beetle Xylosandrus germanus

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The ambrosia beetle Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) is a destructive wood-boring insect of horticultural tree crops. A fungal mutualist is cultivated within host trees that provides the sole source of nutrition for the larvae and adults of this beetle. Female X. germanus adults use a pouch-like structure (i.e., mycangium) to maintain and transport spores of their fungal mutualist. To facilitate future studies examining gene expression of X. germanus’ mycangium, the identification of stable genes unaffected by experimental treatments is needed to provide a standard reference during gene expression studies. Selected tissue types were dissected from laboratory-reared and field-collected specimens of the ambrosia beetle X. germanus to evaluate the stability of five reference genes, namely, 28S ribosomal RNA (28S rRNA), arginine kinase (AK), carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 2-aspartate transcarbamylase-dihydroorotase (CAD), mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1), and elongation factor-1α (EF1α). The reference genes CO1 and AK were identified as primary and secondary reference genes. By contrast, EF1α was considered unsuitable for use as a reference gene during gene expression studies with X. germanus. These results will aid in normalizing the expression of target genes during studies with X. germanus. ABSTRACT: The fungus-farming ambrosia beetle Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) uses a pouch-like structure (i.e., mycangium) to transport spores of its nutritional fungal mutualist. Our current study sought to identify reference genes necessary for future transcriptome analyses aimed at characterizing gene expression within the mycangium. Complementary DNA was synthesized using selected tissue types from laboratory-reared and field-collected X. germanus consisting of the whole body, head + thorax, deflated or inflated mycangium + scutellum, inflated mycangium, and thorax + abdomen. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR reactions were performed using primers for 28S ribosomal RNA (28S rRNA), arginine kinase (AK), carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 2-aspartate transcarbamylase-dihydroorotase (CAD), mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1), and elongation factor-1α (EF1α). Reference gene stability was analyzed using GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, ΔCt, and a comprehensive final ranking by RefFinder. The gene CO1 was identified as the primary reference gene since it was generally ranked in first or second position among the tissue types containing the mycangium. Reference gene AK was identified as a secondary reference gene. In contrast, EF1α was generally ranked in the last or penultimate place. Identification of two stable reference genes will aid in normalizing the expression of target genes for subsequent gene expression studies of X. germanus’ mycangium

A Multidimensional Approach to Pain Assessment in Critically Ill Infants During a Painful Procedure

Objectives: Inferring the pain level of a critically ill infant is complex. The ability to accurately extract the appropriate pain cues from observations is often jeopardized when heavy sedation and muscular blocking agents are administered. Near-infrared spectroscopy is a noninvasive method that may provide the bridge between behavioral observational indicators and cortical pain processing. We aimed to describe regional cerebral and systemic hemodynamic changes, as well as behavioral reactions in critically ill infants with congenital heart defects during chest-drain removal after cardiac surgery. Methods: Our sample included 20 critically ill infants with congenital heart defects, less than 12 months of age, admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit after surgery. Results: Cerebral deoxygenated hemoglobin concentrations significantly differed across the epochs (ie, baseline, tactile stimulus, noxious stimulus) (P=0.01). Physiological systemic responses and Face Leg Activity Cry Consolability (FLACC) pain scores differed significantly across the events (P<0.01). The 3 outcome measures were not found to be associated with each other. Mean FLACC pain scores during the painful procedure was 7/10 despite administration of morphine. Midazolam administration accounted for 36% of the variance in pain scores. Discussion: We demonstrated with a multidimensional pain assessment approach that significant cerebral, physiological, and behavioral activity was present in response to a noxious procedure in critically ill infants despite the administration of analgesic treatment. Considering that the sedating agent significantly dampened pain behaviors, assessment of cerebral hemodynamic in the context of pain seems to be an important addition.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01EB001659)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant K24NS057568)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R21HD056009)National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.)Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.

Hormone replacement therapy in women with cancer and risk of cancer-specific mortality and cardiovascular disease : A protocol for a cohort study from Scotland and Wales.

Funding This work was supported by Cancer Research UK (reference C37316/A29656). The funder had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation or writing the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells (Nfat) Transcription Factor Nfatp (Nfatc2) Is a Repressor of Chondrogenesis

Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) transcription factors regulate gene expression in lymphocytes and control cardiac valve formation. Here, we report that NFATp regulates chondrogenesis in the adult animal. In mice lacking NFATp, resident cells in the extraarticular connective tissues spontaneously differentiate to cartilage. These cartilage cells progressively differentiate and the tissue undergoes endochondral ossification, recapitulating the development of endochondral bone. Proliferation of already existing articular cartilage cells also occurs in some older animals. At both sites, neoplastic changes in the cartilage cells occur. Consistent with these data, NFATp expression is regulated in mesenchymal stem cells induced to differentiate along a chondrogenic pathway. Lack of NFATp in articular cartilage cells results in increased expression of cartilage markers, whereas overexpression of NFATp in cartilage cell lines extinguishes the cartilage phenotype. Thus, NFATp is a repressor of cartilage cell growth and differentiation and also has the properties of a tumor suppressor

Provider Counseling, Health Education, and Community Health Workers: The Arizona WISEWOMAN Project

Background: The Arizona Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) project used provider counseling, health education, and community health workers (CHWs) to target chronic disease risk factors in uninsured, primarily Hispanic women over age 50. Methods: Participants were recruited from two Tucson clinics participating in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Women were randomly assigned into one of three intervention groups: (1) provider counseling, (2) provider counseling and health education, or (3) provider counseling, health education, and CHW support. At baseline and 12 months (1998–2000), participants were measured for height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and blood pressure. Blood tests were conducted to check blood glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. At each time point, participants also completed 24-hour dietary recalls and questionnaires focusing on their physical activity levels. Results: A total of 217 women participated in baseline and 12-month follow-up. Three fourths were Hispanic. All three intervention groups showed an increase in self-reported weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, with no significant differences between the groups. Significantly more women who received the comprehensive intervention of provider counseling, health education, and CHW support progressed to eating five fruits and vegetables per day, compared with participants who received only provider counseling or provider counseling plus health education. Conclusions: All three interventions increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity but not fruit and vegetable consumption. The intervention group with provider counseling, health education, and CHW support significantly increased the number of women meeting national recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption