410 research outputs found

    Omega time transmissions and receiving requirements

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    A short history is given of the development of dual VLF time transmission techniques. The theory of time recovery from the relative phase of the dual frequency transmission is presented. The transmission and receiving requirements for cycle identification and cycle ambiguity resolution are described. Finally, an experiment to test the capability of time transmission of the OMEGA system is propose

    How Effective Are Hay Conditioners?

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    Tests here at Iowa State and elsewhere show that, with proper management, hay conditioning can result in better quality hay and decrease exposure risks. In good weather, conditioning can cut curing time almost in half

    Effects of chronic carbon monoxide exposure on fetal growth and development in mice

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced endogenously, and can also be acquired from many exogenous sources: ie. cigarette smoking, automobile exhaust. Although toxic at high levels, low level production or exposure lends to normal physiologic functions: smooth muscle cell relaxation, control of vascular tone, platelet aggregation, anti- inflammatory and anti-apoptotic events. In pregnancy, it is unclear at what level maternal CO exposure becomes toxic to the fetus. In this study, we hypothesized that CO would be embryotoxic, and we sought to determine at what level of chronic CO exposure in pregnancy embryo/fetotoxic effects are observed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Pregnant CD1 mice were exposed to continuous levels of CO (0 to 400 ppm) from conception to gestation day 17. The effect on fetal/placental growth and development, and fetal/maternal CO concentrations were determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Maternal and fetal CO blood concentrations ranged from 1.12- 15.6 percent carboxyhemoglobin (%COHb) and 1.0- 28.6%COHb, respectively. No significant difference was observed in placental histological morphology or in placental mass with any CO exposure. At 400 ppm CO vs. control, decreased litter size and fetal mass (p < 0.05), increased fetal early/late gestational deaths (p < 0.05), and increased CO content in the placenta and the maternal spleen, heart, liver, kidney and lung (p < 0.05) were observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Exposure to levels at or below 300 ppm CO throughout pregnancy has little demonstrable effect on fetal growth and development in the mouse.</p

    Calpain cleavage and subcellular characterisation of the ferlin family.

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    The ferlins are a family of C2-domain containing proteins. C2 domains regulate vesicle fusion in synaptotagmins, and animal models of ferlin deficiency display pathologies related to Ca2+-dependent vesicle fusion. Dysferlin mutations cause limb-girdle muscular dystrophy due to defective membrane repair. Our group has previously shown that Ca2+-dependent proteases, calpains, cleave dysferlin following membrane injury, releasing mini-dysferlinC72, that we hypothesise mediates membrane repair. Otoferlin mutations cause non-syndromic deafness, while no pathology causing mutations have been identified in other ferlins. My project establishes that dysferlin and myoferlin, type-I ferlins, are present at the plasma membrane and endo-lysosomal pathway while otoferlin and Fer1L6, type-II ferlins, are present at the plasma membrane and recycling trans-Golgi compartments. I also show that dysferlin is cleaved to mini-dysferlinC72 following injury in all cell types by the ubiquitous calpains-1 and -2 in the alternatively spliced exon 40a, indicating dysferlin cleavage is a fundamental response to membrane injury. Exon 40a-containing dysferlin recruits to sites of membrane injury in myotubes, indicating mini-dysferlinC72 may function directly at sites of injury. Finally, I have shown that calpains also cleave otoferlin and myoferlin. Cleavage of other ferlins indicates ferlin cleavage is an evolutionarily conserved event, predating the split between type-I and type-II ferlins

    Denominators of Eisenstein cohomology classes for GL_2 over imaginary quadratic fields

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    We study the arithmetic of Eisenstein cohomology classes (in the sense of G. Harder) for symmetric spaces associated to GL_2 over imaginary quadratic fields. We prove in many cases a lower bound on their denominator in terms of a special L-value of a Hecke character providing evidence for a conjecture of Harder that the denominator is given by this L-value. We also prove under some additional assumptions that the restriction of the classes to the boundary of the Borel-Serre compactification of the spaces is integral. Such classes are interesting for their use in congruences with cuspidal classes to prove connections between the special L-value and the size of the Selmer group of the Hecke character.Comment: 37 pages; strengthened integrality result (Proposition 16), corrected statement of Theorem 3, and revised introductio

    The strong thirteen spheres problem

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    The thirteen spheres problem is asking if 13 equal size nonoverlapping spheres in three dimensions can touch another sphere of the same size. This problem was the subject of the famous discussion between Isaac Newton and David Gregory in 1694. The problem was solved by Schutte and van der Waerden only in 1953. A natural extension of this problem is the strong thirteen spheres problem (or the Tammes problem for 13 points) which asks to find an arrangement and the maximum radius of 13 equal size nonoverlapping spheres touching the unit sphere. In the paper we give a solution of this long-standing open problem in geometry. Our computer-assisted proof is based on a enumeration of the so-called irreducible graphs.Comment: Modified lemma 2, 16 pages, 12 figures. Uploaded program packag

    Effects of hatchery broodstock collection on adult Muskellunge populations

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    Muskellunge Esox masquinongy stocking programs throughout North America rely on the collection of wild adult Muskellunge to acquire gametes for hatchery propagation. The process of collecting, transporting, confining, handling, and spawning broodstock Muskellunge may cause mortality that could alter Muskellunge density, size structure, and population survival rates. We used long‐term Muskellunge capture‐recapture data collected from the Iowa Great Lakes and Clear Lake in northern Iowa, USA to estimate the number and proportion of Muskellunge captured annually and initial mortality rates resulting from broodstock collection. We also evaluated whether Muskellunge apparent survival rates differed between individuals used as broodstock and those that were not captured annually. Finally, we evaluated whether the number of initial mortalities or the number of individuals captured were related to annual population survival estimates. Collectively, 7,010 adult Muskellunge (3,896 males and 3,114 females) captures occurred between 2001‐2017 and population densities within a system ranged from 0.11 to 0.39 fish/ha. An average of 33% (range: 13% ‐76%) of the population was captured during broodstock operations annually. Between 0 and 28 (0.0000 to 0.0191 fish/ha) Muskellunge died at each hatchery annually and more males died than females (total of 150 males and 68 females; 3.9% and 2.2% of captured fish, respectively). However, annual mortalities were generally a low proportion of Muskellunge in the lake (\u3c2%; \u3c0.001 fish/ha). There was some evidence of size selective mortality, particularly for males, where larger individuals (875‐975 mm) were more likely to die, but we found no evidence to suggest that broodstock collection affected annual population survival estimates. Muskellunge broodstock mortality appears to act in a compensatory manner with natural mortality, and other sources of population mortality are more likely to have a greater effect on the population

    Influence of fractional flow reserve on grafts patency: Systematic review and patient-level meta-analysis.

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    To investigate the impact of invasive functional guidance for coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) on graft failure. Data on the impact of fractional flow reserve (FFR) in guiding CABG are still limited. Systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis were performed. Primary objective was the risk of graft failure, stratified by FFR. Risk estimates are reported as odds ratios (ORs) derived from the aggregated data using random-effects models. Individual patient data were analyzed using mixed effect model to assess relationship between FFR and graft failure. This meta-analysis is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020180444). Four prospective studies comprising 503 patients referred for CABG, with 1471 coronaries, assessed by FFR were included. Graft status was available for 1039 conduits at median of 12.0 [IQR 6.6; 12.0] months. Risk of graft failure was higher in vessels with preserved FFR (OR 5.74, 95% CI 1.71-19.29). Every 0.10 FFR units decrease in the coronaries was associated with 56% risk reduction of graft failure (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.59). FFR cut-off to predict graft failure was 0.79. Surgical grafting of coronaries with functionally nonsignificant stenoses was associated with higher risk of graft failure
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