What About High-Moisture Corn for Hogs?

High-moisture corn is a satisfactory feedstuff for growing-finishing hogs, according to the results of a series of tests at Iowa State. But high-moisture corn calls for special storage and handling to maintain quality

Baby Pigs Have a Sweet Tooth!

Early gains are the cheapest. And you can get faster early gains by feeding a good pig starter. In this article, the others tell how pig starters can be made more palatable and also what should go into a good pig starter

Renminbi Internationalisation: Precedents and Implications

While it is commonly assumed that there are no known precedents against which to benchmark the internationalisation of the Renminbi (RMB), this paper argues that the PRCs own development experience provides a useful perspective on the internationalisation debate. In particular it indicates that lessons can be learnt from both the successes and the shortcomings of efforts to internationalise the RMB in the 1970s. During this period state-owned banks in Hong Kong played a central role in mobilising finance for foreign trade. Access to Hong Kong’s developed financial institutions allowed the PRC to maximise receipts from foreign trade as well as minimise the risks of undue swings in capital flows. The paper shows that although China no longer faces foreign exchange scarcity, economic reforms have not yet resolved vulnerabilities in China’s financial institutions and as such Hong Kong’s role in mitigating the risk of undue capital swings remains

Three-Nucleon Force Effects in Nucleon Induced Deuteron Breakup: Predictions of Current Models (I)

An extensive study of three-nucleon force effects in the entire phase space of the nucleon-deuteron breakup process, for energies from above the deuteron breakup threshold up to 200 MeV, has been performed. 3N Faddeev equations have been solved rigorously using the modern high precision nucleon-nucleon potentials AV18, CD Bonn, Nijm I, II and Nijm 93, and also adding 3N forces. We compare predictions for cross sections and various polarization observables when NN forces are used alone or when the two pion-exchange Tucson-Melbourne 3NF was combined with each of them. In addition AV18 was combined with the Urbana IX 3NF and CD Bonn with the TM' 3NF, which is a modified version of the TM 3NF, more consistent with chiral symmetry. Large but generally model dependent 3NF effects have been found in certain breakup configurations, especially at the higher energies, both for cross sections and spin observables. These results demonstrate the usefulness of the kinematically complete breakup reaction in testing the proper structure of 3N forces.Comment: 42 pages, 20 ps figures, 2 gif figure

Cholesterol-Dependent Anaplasma phagocytophilum Exploits the Low-Density Lipoprotein Uptake Pathway

In eukaryotes, intracellular cholesterol homeostasis and trafficking are tightly regulated. Certain bacteria, such as Anaplasma phagocytophilum, also require cholesterol; it is unknown, however, how this cholesterol-dependent obligatory intracellular bacterium of granulocytes interacts with the host cell cholesterol regulatory pathway to acquire cholesterol. Here, we report that total host cell cholesterol increased >2-fold during A. phagocytophilum infection in a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line. Cellular free cholesterol was enriched in A. phagocytophilum inclusions as detected by filipin staining. We determined that A. phagocytophilum requires cholesterol derived from low-density lipoprotein (LDL), because its replication was significantly inhibited by depleting the growth medium of cholesterol-containing lipoproteins, by blocking LDL uptake with a monoclonal antibody against LDL receptor (LDLR), or by treating the host cells with inhibitors that block LDL-derived cholesterol egress from late endosomes or lysosomes. However, de novo cholesterol biosynthesis is not required, since inhibition of the biosynthesis pathway did not inhibit A. phagocytophilum infection. The uptake of fluorescence-labeled LDL was enhanced in infected cells, and LDLR expression was up-regulated at both the mRNA and protein levels. A. phagocytophilum infection stabilized LDLR mRNA through the 3′ UTR region, but not through activation of the sterol regulatory element binding proteins. Extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) was up-regulated by A. phagocytophilum infection, and inhibition of its upstream kinase, MEK, by a specific inhibitor or siRNA knockdown, reduced A. phagocytophilum infection. Up-regulation of LDLR mRNA by A. phagocytophilum was also inhibited by the MEK inhibitor; however, it was unclear whether ERK activation is required for LDLR mRNA up-regulation by A. phagocytophilum. These data reveal that A. phagocytophilum exploits the host LDL uptake pathway and LDLR mRNA regulatory system to accumulate cholesterol in inclusions to facilitate its replication

The Msx1 Homeoprotein Recruits G9a Methyltransferase to Repressed Target Genes in Myoblast Cells

Although the significance of lysine modifications of core histones for regulating gene expression is widely appreciated, the mechanisms by which these modifications are incorporated at specific regulatory elements during cellular differentiation remains largely unknown. In our previous studies, we have shown that in developing myoblasts the Msx1 homeoprotein represses gene expression by influencing the modification status of chromatin at its target genes. We now show that genomic binding by Msx1 promotes enrichment of the H3K9me2 mark on repressed target genes via recruitment of G9a histone methyltransferase, the enzyme responsible for catalyzing this histone mark. Interaction of Msx1 with G9a is mediated via the homeodomain and is required for transcriptional repression and regulation of cellular differentiation, as well as enrichment of the H3K9me2 mark in proximity to Msx1 binding sites on repressed target genes in myoblast cells as well as the developing limb. We propose that regulation of chromatin status by Msx1 recruitment of G9a and other histone modifying enzymes to regulatory regions of target genes represents an important means of regulating the gene expression during development

Enzymatically Degradable Mussel-Inspired Adhesive Hydrogel

Mussel-inspired adhesive hydrogels represent innovative candidate medical sealants or glues. In the present work, we describe an enzyme-degradable mussel-inspired adhesive hydrogel formulation, achieved by incorporating minimal elastase substrate peptide Ala-Ala into the branched poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) macromonomer structure. The system takes advantage of neutrophil elastase expression upregulation and secretion from neutrophils upon recruitment to wounded or inflamed tissue. By integrating adhesive degradation behaviors that respond to cellular cues, we expand the functional range of our mussel-inspired adhesive hydrogel platforms. Rapid (<1 min) and simultaneous gelation and adhesion of the proteolytically active, catechol-terminated precursor macromonomer was achieved by addition of sodium periodate oxidant. Rheological analysis and equilibrium swelling studies demonstrated that the hydrogel is appropriate for soft tissue-contacting applications. Notably, hydrogel storage modulus (G) achieved values on the order of 10 kPa, and strain at failure exceeded 200% strain. Lap shear testing confirmed the materials adhesive behavior (shear strength: 30.4 ± 3.39 kPa). Although adhesive hydrogel degradation was not observed during short-term (27 h) in vitro treatment with neutrophil elastase, in vivo degradation proceeded over several months following dorsal subcutaneous implantation in mice. This work represents the first example of an enzymatically degradable mussel-inspired adhesive and expands the potential biomedical applications of this family of materials

Fantastically reasonable: ambivalence in the representation of science and technology in super-hero comics

A long-standing contrast in academic discussions of science concerns its perceived disenchanting or enchanting public impact. In one image, science displaces magical belief in unknowable entities with belief in knowable forces and processes and reduces all things to a single technical measure. In the other, science is itself magically transcendent, expressed in technological adulation and an image of scientists as wizards or priests. This paper shows that these contrasting images are also found in representations of science in super-hero comics, which, given their lowly status in Anglo-American culture, would seem an unlikely place to find such commonality with academic discourse. It is argued that this is evidence that the contrast constitutes an ambivalence arising from the dilemmas that science poses; they are shared rhetorics arising from and reflexively feeding a set of broad cultural concerns. This is explored through consideration of representations of science at a number of levels in the comics, with particular focus on the science-magic constellation, and enchanted and disenchanted imagery in representations of technology and scientists. It is concluded that super-hero comics are one cultural arena where the public meaning of science is actively worked out, an activity that unites “expert” and “non-expert” alike

Gene Expression Disruptions of Organism versus Organ in Drosophila Species Hybrids

Hybrid dysfunctions, such as sterility, may result in part from disruptions in the regulation of gene expression. Studies of hybrids within the Drosophila simulans clade have reported genes expressed above or below the expression observed in their parent species, and such misexpression is associated with male sterility in multigenerational backcross hybrids. However, these studies often examined whole bodies rather than testes or had limited replication using less-sensitive but global techniques. Here, we use a new RNA isolation technique to re-examine hybrid gene expression disruptions in both testes and whole bodies from single Drosophila males by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. We find two early-spermatogenesis transcripts are underexpressed in hybrid whole-bodies but not in assays of testes alone, while two late-spermatogenesis transcripts seem to be underexpressed in both whole-bodies and testes alone. Although the number of transcripts surveyed is limited, these results provide some support for a previous hypothesis that the spermatogenesis pathway in these sterile hybrids may be disrupted sometime after the expression of the early meiotic arrest genes

Robust Antigen Specific Th17 T Cell Response to Group A Streptococcus Is Dependent on IL-6 and Intranasal Route of Infection

Group A streptococcus (GAS, Streptococcus pyogenes) is the cause of a variety of clinical conditions, ranging from pharyngitis to autoimmune disease. Peptide-major histocompatibility complex class II (pMHCII) tetramers have recently emerged as a highly sensitive means to quantify pMHCII-specific CD4+ helper T cells and evaluate their contribution to both protective immunity and autoimmune complications induced by specific bacterial pathogens. In lieu of identifying an immunodominant peptide expressed by GAS, a surrogate peptide (2W) was fused to the highly expressed M1 protein on the surface of GAS to allow in-depth analysis of the CD4+ helper T cell response in C57BL/6 mice that express the I-Ab MHCII molecule. Following intranasal inoculation with GAS-2W, antigen-experienced 2W:I-Ab-specific CD4+ T cells were identified in the nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) that produced IL-17A or IL-17A and IFN-γ if infection was recurrent. The dominant Th17 response was also dependent on the intranasal route of inoculation; intravenous or subcutaneous inoculations produced primarily IFN-γ+ 2W:I-Ab+ CD4+ T cells. The acquisition of IL-17A production by 2W:I-Ab-specific T cells and the capacity of mice to survive infection depended on the innate cytokine IL-6. IL-6-deficient mice that survived infection became long-term carriers despite the presence of abundant IFN-γ-producing 2W:I-Ab-specific CD4+ T cells. Our results suggest that an imbalance between IL-17- and IFN-γ-producing CD4+ T cells could contribute to GAS carriage in humans