Detection and quantification of residues in sheep exposed to trace levels of dietary zilpaterol HCl

Study objectives were to determine zilpaterol residues in urine and tissues of sheep fed dietary zilpaterol HCl, at levels commensurate with feed contamination, using common and novel screening and quantitative analytical methods. Sheep (50.0 ± 2.7 kg) were offered feed (1.75 kg/d) containing 0.0075 (L), 0.075 (M), or 0.75 (H) mg kg−1 of zilpaterol for 12 days and were slaughtered with 0-day (L-0, M-0, H-0; n = 4 each) or 3-day (H-3; n = 4) withdrawal periods. Rapid immunochromatographic assays (ICA) consistently detected urinary zilpaterol (LOD = 1.7 ng mL−1) in L-0 (54.2%), M-0 (96.0%), and the H-0 (100%) treatment groups but only detected zilpaterol in tissues (LOD ~2.4 ng g−1) from the H-0 group. Advanced MS-based technologies detected zilpaterol in some, but not all, tissues of M-0, H-0, L-0, and H-3 sheep. Analytical techniques commonly used to ensure compliance with show-animal rules, import/export guidelines, and regulatory statutes routinely detected residues in animals exposed to zilpaterol at doses insufficient to elicit growth response

A Context-based Approach to Robot-human Interaction

AbstractCARIL (Context-Augmented Robotic Interaction Layer) is a human-robot interaction system that leverages cognitive representations of shared context as a basis for a fundamentally new approach to human-robotic interaction. CARIL gives a robot a human-like representation of context and an ability to reason about context in order to adapt its behavior to that of the humans around it. This capability is “action compliance.” A prototype CARIL implementation focuses on a fundamental form of action compliance called non-interference -- “not being underfoot or in a human's way”. Non-interference is key for the safety of human-co-workers, and is also foundational to more complex interactive and teamwork skills. CARIL is tested via simulation in a space-exploration use-case. The live CARIL prototype directs a single simulated robot in a simulated space station where four simulated astronauts are engaging in a variety of tightly-scheduled work activities. The robot is scheduled to perform background tasks away from the astronauts, but must quickly adapt and not be underfoot as astronaut activities diverge from plan and encroach on the robot's space. The robot, driven by CARIL, demonstrates non-interference action compliance in three benchmarks situations, demonstrating the viability of the CARIL technology and concept

Triacylglycerol synthesis by PDAT1 in the absence of DGAT1 activity is dependent on re-acylation of LPC by LPCAT2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>Arabidopsis thaliana dgat1 </it>mutant, <it>AS11</it>, has an oil content which is decreased by 30%, and a strongly increased ratio of 18:3/20:1, compared to wild type. Despite lacking a functional DGAT1, <it>AS11 </it>still manages to make 70% of WT seed oil levels. Recently, it was demonstrated that in the absence of <it>DGAT1</it>, <it>PDAT1 </it>was essential for normal seed development, and is a dominant determinant in <it>Arabidopsis </it>TAG biosynthesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Biochemical, metabolic and gene expression studies combined with genetic crossing of selected <it>Arabidopsis </it>mutants have been carried out to demonstrate the contribution of <it>Arabidopsis </it>PDAT1 and LPCAT2 in the absence of DGAT1 activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Through microarray and RT-PCR gene expression analyses of <it>AS11 </it>vs. WT mid-developing siliques, we observed consistent trends between the two methods. <it>FAD2 </it>and <it>FAD3 </it>were up-regulated and <it>FAE1 </it>down-regulated, consistent with the <it>AS11 </it>acyl phenotype. <it>PDAT1 </it>expression was up-regulated by <it>ca </it>65% while <it>PDAT2 </it>expression was up-regulated only 15%, reinforcing the dominant role of <it>PDAT1 </it>in <it>AS11 </it>TAG biosynthesis. The expression of <it>LPCAT2 </it>was up-regulated by 50-75%, while <it>LPCAT1 </it>expression was not significantly affected. <it>In vitro </it>LPCAT activity was enhanced by 75-125% in microsomal protein preparations from mid-developing <it>AS11 </it>seed <it>vs </it>WT. Co-incident homozygous knockout lines of <it>dgat1</it>/<it>lpcat2 </it>exhibited severe penalties on TAG biosynthesis, delayed plant development and seed set, even with a functional PDAT1; the double mutant <it>dgat1/lpcat1 </it>showed only marginally lower oil content than <it>AS11</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Collectively, the data strongly support that in <it>AS11 </it>it is <it>LPCAT2 </it>up-regulation which is primarily responsible for assisting in PDAT1-catalyzed TAG biosynthesis, maintaining a supply of PC as co-substrate to transfer <it>sn</it>-2 moieties to the <it>sn</it>-3 position of the enlarged <it>AS11 </it>DAG pool.</p

Single-Chip T/R Module for 1.2 GHz

A single-chip CMOS-based (complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductorbased) transmit/receive (T/R) module is being developed for L-band radar systems. Previous T/R module implementations required multiple chips employing different technologies (GaAs, Si, and others) combined with off-chip transmission lines and discrete components including circulators. The new design eliminates the bulky circulator, significantly reducing the size and mass of the T/R module. Compared to multi-chip designs, the single-chip CMOS can be implemented with lower cost. These innovations enable cost-effective realization of advanced phased array and synthetic aperture radar systems that require integration of thousands of T/R modules. The circulator is a ferromagnetic device that directs the flow of the RF (radio frequency) power during transmission and reception. During transmission, the circulator delivers the transmitted power from the amplifier to the antenna, while preventing it from damaging the sensitive receiver circuitry. During reception, the circulator directs the energy from the antenna to the low-noise amplifier (LNA) while isolating the output of the power amplifier (PA). In principle, a circulator could be replaced by series transistors acting as electronic switches. However, in practice, the integration of conventional series transistors into a T/R chip introduces significant losses and noise. The prototype single-chip T/R module contains integrated transistor switches, but not connected in series; instead, they are connected in a shunt configuration with resonant circuits (see figure). The shunt/resonant circuit topology not only reduces the losses associated with conventional semiconductor switches but also provides beneficial transformation of impedances for the PA and the LNA. It provides full singlepole/ double-throw switching for the antenna, isolating the LNA from the transmitted signal and isolating the PA from the received signal. During reception, the voltage on control line RX/TX (raised bar) is high, causing the field-effect transistor (FET) switch S1 to be closed, forming a parallel resonant tank circuit L1||C1. This circuit presents high impedance to the left of the antenna, so that the received signal is coupled to the LNA. At the same time, FET switches S2 and S3 are open, so that C2 is removed from the circuit (except for a small parasitic capacitance). The combination of L2 and C3 forms a matching network that transforms the antenna impedance of 50 ohms to a higher value from the perspective of the LNA input terminal. This transformation of impedance improves LNA noise figure by increasing the received voltage delivered to the input transistor. This allows lower transconductance and therefore a smaller transistor, which makes it possible to design the CMOS LNA for low power consumption. During transmission, the voltage on control line RX/TX (raised bar) is low, causing switch S1 to be open. In this configuration, the combination of L1 and C1 transforms the antenna impedance to a lower value from the perspective of the PA. This low impedance is helpful in producing a relatively high output power compatible with the low CMOS operating potential. At the same time, switches S2 and S3 are closed, forming the parallel resonant tank circuit L2||C2. This circuit presents high impedance to the right of the antenna, directing the PA output signal to the antenna and away from the LNA. During this time, S3 presents a short circuit across the LNA input terminals to guarantee that the voltage seen by the LNA is small enough to prevent damage

A Novel Approach to Improve the Estimation of a Diet Adherence Considering Seasonality and Short Term Variability – The NU-AGE Mediterranean Diet Experience

In this work we present a novel statistical approach to improve the assessment of the adherence to a 1-year nutritional intervention within the framework of the NU-AGE project. This was measured with a single adherence score based on 7-days food records, under limitations on the number of observations per subject and time frame of intervention. The results of the NU-AGE dietary intervention were summarized by variations of the NU-AGE index as described in the NU-AGE protocol. Food and nutrient intake of all participants was assessed by means of 7-days food records at recruitment and after 10 to 14 months of intervention (depending on the subject availability). Sixteen food groups and supplementations covering the dietary goals of the NU-AGE diet have been used to estimate the NU-AGE index before and after the intervention. The 7-days food record is a reliable tool to register food intakes, however, as with other tools used to assess lifestyle dietary compliance, it is affected by uncertainty in this estimation due to the possibility that the observed week is not fully representative of the entire intervention period. Also, due to logistic limitations, the effects of seasonality can never be completely removed. These variabilities, if not accounted for in the index estimation, will reduce the statistical power of the analyses. In this work we discuss a method to assess these uncertainties and thus improve the resulting NU-AGE index. The proposed method is based on Hierarchical Bayesian Models. This model explicitly includes country-specific averages of the NU-AGE index, index variation induced by the dietary intervention, and country based seasonality. This information is used to evaluate the NU-AGE index uncertainty and thus to estimate the “real” NU-AGE index for each subject, both before and after the intervention. These corrections reduce the possibility of misinterpreting measurement variability as real information, improving the power of the statistical tests that are performed with the resulting index. The results suggest that this method is able to reduce the short term and seasonal variability of the measured index in the context of multicenter dietary intervention trials. Using this method to estimate seasonality and variability would allow one to obtain better measurements from the subjects of a study, and be able to simplify the scheduling of diet assessments

Tolerance of allogromiid Foraminifera to severely elevated carbon dioxide concentrations : implications to future ecosystem functioning and paleoceanographic interpretations

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global and Planetary Change 65 (2009): 107-114, doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2008.10.013.Increases in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in the atmosphere will significantly affect a wide variety of terrestrial fauna and flora. Because of tight atmospheric-oceanic coupling, shallow-water marine species are also expected to be affected by increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. One proposed way to slow increases in atmospheric pCO2 is to sequester CO2 in the deep sea. Thus, over the next few centuries marine species will be exposed to changing seawater chemistry caused by ocean-atmospheric exchange and/or deep-ocean sequestration. This initial case study on one allogromiid foraminiferal species (Allogromia laticollaris) was conducted to begin to ascertain the effect of elevated pCO2 on benthic Foraminifera, which are a major meiofaunal constituent of shallow- and deep-water marine communities. Cultures of this thecate foraminiferan protist were used for 10-14-day experiments. Experimental treatments were executed in an incubator that controlled CO2 (15 000; 30 000; 60 000; 90 000; 200 000 ppm), temperature and humidity; atmospheric controls (i.e., ~375 ppm CO2) were executed simultaneously. Although the experimental elevated pCO2 values are far above foreseeable surface water pCO2, they were selected to represent the spectrum of conditions expected for the benthos if deep-sea CO2 sequestration becomes a reality. Survival was assessed in two independent ways: pseudopodial presence/absence and measurement of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is an indicator of cellular energy. Substantial proportions of A. laticollaris populations survived 200 000 ppm CO2 although the mean of the median [ATP] of survivors was statistically lower for this treatment than for that of atmospheric control specimens. After individuals that had been incubated in 200 000 ppm CO2 for 12 days were transferred to atmospheric conditions for ~24 hours, the [ATP] of live specimens (survivors) approximated those of the comparable atmospheric control treatment. Incubation in 200 000 ppm CO2 also resulted in reproduction by some individuals. Results suggest that certain Foraminifera are able to tolerate deep-sea CO2 sequestration and perhaps thrive as a result of elevated pCO2 that is predicted for the next few centuries, in a high-pCO2 world. Thus, allogromiid foraminiferal “blooms” may result from climate change. Furthermore, because allogromiids consume a variety of prey, it is likely that they will be major players in ecosystem dynamics of future coastal sedimentary environments.This work was funded by US Department of Energy grant # DE-FG02-03ER63696 (to J. Kennett and J. Bernhard), NSF OCE-0725966, and the WHOI Summer Student Fellow Program, which is funded by NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Program grant #OCE-0139423

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Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma: A Unique Model to Improve Lung Cancer Research

Lung cancer represents a major worldwide health concern; although advances in patient management have improved outcomes for some patients, overall 5-year survival rates are only around 15%. In vitro studies and mouse models are commonly used to study lung cancer and their use has increased the molecular understanding of the disease. Unfortunately, mouse models are poor predictors of clinical outcome and seldom mimic advanced stages of the human disease. Animal models that more accurately reflect human disease are required for progress to be made in improving treatment outcomes and prognosis. Similarities in pulmonary anatomy and physiology potentially make sheep better models for studying human lung function and disease. Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) is a naturally occurring lung cancer that is caused by the jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus. The disease is endemic in many countries throughout the world and has several features in common with human lung adenocarcinomas, including histological classification and activation of common cellular signaling pathways. Here we discuss the in vivo and in vitro OPA models that are currently available and describe the advantages of using pre-clinical naturally occurring OPA cases as a translational animal model for human lung adenocarcinoma. The challenges and options for obtaining these OPA cases for research purposes, along with their use in developing novel techniques for the evaluation of chemotherapeutic agents or for monitoring the tumor microenvironment in response to treatment, are also discussed