The influence of various lighting regimes and exogenous adrenal hormones upon blood glucose and electrolyte levels in chicks

The objectives of this study were to (1) determine rhythmic changes in blood glucose and electrolytes as influenced by different lighting regimes, (2) determine the influence of exogenous adrenal hormones and ACTH upon blood glucose and electrolyte levels of normally lighted birds, (3) compare blood glucose and electrolyte levels of non~treated birds from different lighting re-gimes to the blood levels of the treated, normally lighted birds, (4) make some conclusions regarding adrenal gland activity of the various experimental groups, using blood glucose and electrolyte levels as indicators of adrenal function. Groups of two-day old male and female chicks were sub-jected to lighting regimes of constant light, constant darkness, and normal light, i,e,, 12—hours light;12—hours dark. Likewise, groups of both sex were exposed to nor-mal illumination, but given daily dosages of adrenocortical hormones. The experimental period lasted 21 days. On day 22, blood samples were drawn at 4 hour intervals dur-ing a 24 hour period. Serum was extracted and stored via deep freeze until analysis could be performed. Serum samples were analyzed for chloride, bicarbonate, sodium, calcium, potassium, and glucose levels. This was accomplished by means of a sequential multiple analyzer (SMA-660) machine and an atomic absorption-emission spectrophotometer. An attempt was made to compare the data of the hormone treated groups to that of the various light regime groups. The results indicated that constant light and constant darkness stimulated adrenal function. This was evidenced by the fact that there was an increased retention of sodium and bicarbonate, and an increased excretion of calcium in birds exposed to constant light or darkness. Also, it ap-peared that normal circadian electrolyte and glucose rhy-thms were altered by constant light and darkness. It was also apparent that sexes responded differently to the var-ious treatments

Explaining unintended consequences of differential reinforcement of alternative behavior procedures using behavioral momentum theory

Behavioral momentum theory is a model that aids in the explanation of why behaviors that undergo popular intervention procedures, such as differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) and noncontingent reinforcement (NCR), have been found to increase in persistence and become more resistant to change, even with a reduction in frequency. The present study utilized a multiple concurrent schedule with a boy with autism who was non-verbal to increase his usage of an augmentative communication device to appropriately request for attention. Using the device was reinforced both in a context associated with reinforcement for inappropriate requests as well as in a separate context in which the inappropriate requests had never been reinforced. Then during an extinction test, discriminative stimuli from the novel context was combined with the discriminative stimuli in the target behavior context. Strengthening a response in a separate context using DRA resulted in less resistance to extinction than DRA that was implemented in a context associated with reinforcement of target behavior

AFM-Patterned 2-D Thin-Film Photonic Crystal Analyzed by Complete Angle Scatter

The purpose of this research was to use an atomic force microscope (AFM) to generate a 2-D square array of sub-wavelength surface features from a single material over a region large enough to permit optical characterization. This work is an extension of previous AFIT nano-patterning work and is in response to the small subunit sizes demanded for the production of optical metamaterials and photonic crystals. A diamond nano-indentation AFM probe was used to produce a 325-μm by 200-μm array of indentations in a 120-nm thick polystyrene film deposited on silicon. Indentation spacing of 400 nm produced well-defined surface features with a maximum height of 140 nm. The full size array was achieved by tiling together single arrays, limited in size by the AFM scanner range, through the use of the AFM\u27s translation stage. A Complete Angle Scatter Instrument (CASI) was used (beam focused to 140 μm) to determine scatter at incident angles ranging from 0 to 80 degrees. Two wavelengths were investigated (633 and 544 nm) at both s and p-polarization. Negative first order diffraction peaks were observed for both wavelengths and were consistent with feature spacing. This is the first demonstration of an AFM-patterned surface to behave as a 2D photonic crystal and has potential DoD applications in laser eye protection, enhanced solar cell efficiency, satellite thermal management, and anti-reflection coatings for high power laser optics

Degradation of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer and Graphite by Laser Heating

The availability of high power, diode pumped solid state and fiber lasers at powers 10 kW and shorter wavelengths (1.07 micrometer) has invigorated the development of tactical laser weapons. This shift to tactical missions greatly increases the variety of potential targets including carbon fiber reinforced polymers and related materials. The complexity of laser-material interactions has driven a historical reliance on live-fire testing and empirical models, but this becomes more difficult as the number of target materials grow. This dissertation combines thermal imagery and existing thermal models of the fire response of composite materials to develop a hybrid modeling approach of laser-induced material heating and degradation. The resulting approach is used to develop thermal models of carbon fiber reinforced polymer and graphite materials and applied to the modeling of remaining composite compressive strength after laser irradiation. The dependence of laser-induced surface ignition on surface temperatures and the concentrations of combustible decomposition products is also explored

Economic Comparisons for Harvesting, Storing, and Feeding Dry Forages to Beef Animals

The purpose of this study was to analyze the costs of harvesting, storing, and feeding dry forages for beef cows. The emphasis was upon large package hay machines and associated equipment. These machines have been available for less than ten years and gained popularity in the past five years. The harvesting of corn stover has enhanced their use..

Temporal Variability of Urinary Phthalate Metabolite Levels in Men of Reproductive Age

Phthalates are a family of multifunctional chemicals widely used in personal care and other consumer products. The ubiquitous use of phthalates results in human exposure through multiple sources and routes, including dietary ingestion, dermal absorption, inhalation, and parenteral exposure from medical devices containing phthalates. We explored the temporal variability over 3 months in urinary phthalate metabolite levels among 11 men who collected up to nine urine samples each during this time period. Eight phthalate metabolites were measured by solid-phase extraction–high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the between- and within-subject variance apportionment, and the sensitivity and specificity of a single urine sample to classify a subject’s 3-month average exposure. Five of the eight phthalates were frequently detected. Monoethyl phthalate (MEP) was detected in 100% of samples; monobutyl phthalate, monobenzyl phthalate, mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), and monomethyl phthalate were detected in > 90% of samples. Although we found both substantial day-to-day and month-to-month variability in each individual’s urinary phthalate metabolite levels, a single urine sample was moderately predictive of each subject’s exposure over 3 months. The sensitivities ranged from 0.56 to 0.74. Both the degree of between- and within-subject variance and the predictive ability of a single urine sample differed among phthalate metabolites. In particular, a single urine sample was most predictive for MEP and least predictive for MEHP. These results suggest that the most efficient exposure assessment strategy for a particular study may depend on the phthalates of interest

Design of an RSFQ Control Circuit to Observe MQC on an rf-SQUID

We believe that the best chance to observe macroscopic quantum coherence (MQC) in a rf-SQUID qubit is to use on-chip RSFQ digital circuits for preparing, evolving and reading out the qubit's quantum state. This approach allows experiments to be conducted on a very short time scale (sub-nanosecond) without the use of large bandwidth control lines that would couple environmental degrees of freedom to the qubit thus contributing to its decoherence. In this paper we present our design of a RSFQ digital control circuit for demonstrating MQC in a rf-SQUID. We assess some of the key practical issues in the circuit design including the achievement of the necessary flux bias stability. We present an "active" isolation structure to be used to increase coherence times. The structure decouples the SQUID from external degrees of freedom, and then couples it to the output measurement circuitry when required, all under the active control of RSFQ circuits. Research supported in part by ARO grant # DAAG55-98-1-0367.Comment: 4 pages. More information and publications at http://www.ece.rochester.edu:8080/users/sde/research/publications/index.htm