A survey of the optometric practice in the Armed Forces

Military optometry was examined through a review of literature and 183 returned questionnaires from practicing Air Force, Army, and Navy optometrists. The survey asked questions about the background, present practice, and attitudes of the optometrists. The results showed that the average military optometrist offered routine refractions with limited contact lens and screening work. The optometrists had a good working relationship with other health professionals and were happy with the military. Half of the optometrists stated they would encourage other optometrists to join the military. The reasons given in favor of joining were job security, health benefits, travel, and experience. Reasons given not to become a military optometrist were unfair pay anl promotion, lack of freedom to practice, frequent moves, and diffuculty in getting poor equipment replaced in reasonable time

Different Forms of Vanadate on Sugar Transport in Insulin Target and Nontarget Cells

The effects of several vanadates (ie, orthovanadate, pervanadate, and two stable peroxovanadium compounds) on basal and insulin-stimulated 2-DG transport in insulin target and nontarget cell lines are reported, herein. In nontarget cells, exposure to vanadates (5 × 10(−6) to 10(−4) mol/L) resulted in 2-DG transport stimulatory responses similar to those observed in 2-DG transport post exposure to 667 nmol/L insulin alone, or insulin in combination with vanadates. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes and L6 myotubes, exposure to a vanadate compound or 67 nmol/L insulin, stimulated 2-DG transport dramatically. Again, this effect on stimulated transport was similar to 2-DG transport post-treatment with the effective vanadates in combination with insulin. While pervanadate or stable peroxovanadates stimulated 2-DG transport at 10(−5) to 10(−6) mol/L, orthovanadate up to 10(−4) mol/L was not effective in stimulating 2-DG transport in any of the cell lines tested. The data indicate that the various peroxovanadates are clearly superior insulin mimetics while a more limited insulin mimesis is observed with orthovanadate over a wide variety of cell types

Progress toward the production of transgenic grapevines by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

Grape possesses the basic prerequisites for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation it is a host for Agrobacterium and plant regeneration can be induced from cultured grape explants. Leaf explants were cocultivated with disarmed Agrobacterium vectors carrying kanamycin resistance and GUS genes and cultured on shoot-inducing medium containing kanamycin. After 21 d, intense and sharply-defined blue regions were observed, including some blue organized meristematic structures, consistent with plant-driven GUS gene expression. No GUS activity was detected in control explants. Among single leaf tips excised from over 200 regenerated shoots, one was GUS positive. The recovery of transgenic shoots might be improved by increasing the frequency or modifying the site of transformation and/or regeneration

Phosphorus Dynamics Near Bald Cypress Roots in a Restored Wetland

Core Ideas Previous tree exposure to saturated conditions limited root death after ponding. Root growth and death had no apparent effect on concentrations of Fe2+, DOC, or DTP. Concentrations of Fe2+ were related to water table levels and redox status. Phosphorus concentrations were controlled by iron reduction and oxidation. Phosphorus (P) dissolution occurs commonly in wetland soils restored from agricultural land. Associated with P release are high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and Fe2+. This field study evaluated the effect of a fluctuating water table on the root dynamics of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum L. Rich.) to determine whether root death created soil reduction microsites, potentially contributing to P dissolution. The study site is a restored Carolina bay wetland with organic soils. Root growth and death were monitored on 16 6-yr-old bald cypress using minirhizotrons. Root dynamics, water table levels, and soil porewater chemistry and redox potential in the root zone were monitored for 2 yr. Soil solution samples were analyzed for Fe2+, pH, DOC, and P. High rates of root growth occurred during dry conditions, whereas root death occurred during sustained periods of saturation, particularly within 20 cm of the surface. Cyclic changes in concentrations of Fe2+, DOC, and dissolved total P (DTP) were related to water table position but not to changes in root numbers. After sustained periods of saturated conditions, redox potential decreased to 0 mV, Fe2+ increased to 1.75 mg Fe2+ L–1, and DOC increased to 350 mg L–1, resulting in peak DTP concentrations of 750 μg L–1, compared with 100 μg L–1 during dry periods. This study showed that in these high-C soils (∼20% organic C) rooting dynamics had minimal impact on changes in P concentrations and that P dissolution was largely controlled by Fe reduction processes occurring within the C-rich soil matrix

The effect of moderate intensity exercise in the postprandial period on the inflammatory response to a high-fat meal: an experimental study

Citation: Teeman, C. S., Kurti, S. P., Cull, B. J., Emerson, S. R., Haub, M. D., & Rosenkranz, S. K. (2016). The effect of moderate intensity exercise in the postprandial period on the inflammatory response to a high-fat meal: an experimental study. Nutrition Journal, 15, 13. doi:10.1186/s12937-016-0134-4Background: Consuming a high-fat meal (HFM) may lead to postprandial lipemia (PPL) and inflammation. Postprandial exercise has been shown to effectively attenuate PPL. However, little is known about the impact of postprandial exercise on systemic inflammation and whether PPL and inflammation are associated. The purpose of this study was to determine whether moderate intensity exercise performed 60 min following a true-to-life HFM would attenuate PPL and inflammation. Methods: Thirty-nine young adults (18-40 year) with no known metabolic disease were randomized to either a control group (CON) who remained sedentary during the postprandial period or an exercise (EX) group who walked at 60 % VO2peak to expend approximate to 5 kcal/kgbw one-hour following the HFM. Participants consumed a HFM of 10 kcal/kgbw and blood draws were performed immediately before, 2 h and 4 h post-HFM. Results: At baseline, there were no differences between EX and CON groups for any metabolic or inflammatory markers (p > 0.05). Postprandial triglycerides (TRG) increased from baseline to 4 h in the EX and CON groups (p 0.05). There was an increase in soluble vascular adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1) from baseline to 4 h (p = 0.027) for all participants along with a group x time interaction (p = 0.020). Changes in TRG were associated with changes in interleukin-10 (IL-10) from 0 to 2 h (p = 0.007), but were not associated with changes in any other inflammatory marker in the postprandial period (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Despite significant increases in PPL following a HFM, moderate intensity exercise in the postprandial period did not mitigate the PPL nor the inflammatory response to the HFM. These results indicate that in populations with low metabolic risk, PPL and inflammation following a HFM may not be directly related

Force-Extension Relation and Plateau Modulus for Wormlike Chains

We derive the linear force-extension relation for a wormlike chain of arbitrary stiffness including entropy elasticity, bending and thermodynamic buckling. From this we infer the plateau modulus $G^0$ of an isotropic entangled solution of wormlike chains. The entanglement length $L_e$ is expressed in terms of the characteristic network parameters for three different scaling regimes in the entangled phase. The entanglement transition and the concentration dependence of $G^0$ are analyzed. Finally we compare our findings with experimental data.Comment: 5 pages, 1 eps-figure, to appear in PR

Critical Dynamics of Gelation

Shear relaxation and dynamic density fluctuations are studied within a Rouse model, generalized to include the effects of permanent random crosslinks. We derive an exact correspondence between the static shear viscosity and the resistance of a random resistor network. This relation allows us to compute the static shear viscosity exactly for uncorrelated crosslinks. For more general percolation models, which are amenable to a scaling description, it yields the scaling relation $k=\phi-\beta$ for the critical exponent of the shear viscosity. Here $\beta$ is the thermal exponent for the gel fraction and $\phi$ is the crossover exponent of the resistor network. The results on the shear viscosity are also used in deriving upper and lower bounds on the incoherent scattering function in the long-time limit, thereby corroborating previous results.Comment: 34 pages, 2 figures (revtex, amssymb); revised version (minor changes