Effects of Progesterone Treatments on Delayed Implantation in Mink

Author Institution: Department of Zoology and Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, OhioOva nidation took place in female mink treated with progesterone from the 2nd through the 30th day after mating. When treatments were stopped, the females began to resorb fetuses. Perhaps the treatments partially inhibited natural corpora production of hormones and, when treatments ceased, the corpora could not maintain all the embryos. A lack of progesterone may also have prevented proper breast development, for all kits died within a day or two after birth. The females did not appear to be producing milk. Female mink maintained on progesterone treatments until average gestation length had passed, resorbed or aborted all embryos. Perhaps the treatment was sufficient to inhibit natural production of hormones and was not enough to maintain pregnancy. Treatments of females for one and two days with injected or oral progestins did not inhibit kit production. Some animals that were treated had blastulae implanting or adhering to the uterine endometrium at 18 days after mating. Most of these animals had active corpora and their endometria were moderately developed

Employment of Family Members

The use of family labor in the farm or ranch operation can pose a number of challenges for farm managers as they try to sort through the vast quantity of regulations. While the day-to-day human-relations components of managing family members in the farm/ranch operation will differ substantially from that of non-family labor, the focus of this fact sheet will address the income tax and regulatory aspects of employing family members. Generally, the wages that you pay to family members who are also your employees are subject to social security (FICA) and Medicare taxes, federal income tax withholding, and under certain circumstances, federal and state unemployment (FUTA/SUTA). Certain exemptions may apply for your child, spouse, or parent.1In addition, employers who pay less than $150 to one individual per year, or employers who pay less than$2,500 to all employees in one year may be exempt but there are exceptions to this rule. It is important that you understand these exceptions as noted in IRS publication 51.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/rural_tax/1007/thumbnail.jp

NUCLEOTIDE EXCISION REPAIR: IMPACTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CARCINOGENS AND ITS ROLE IN CANCER SUSCEPTIBILITY IN APPALACHIAN KENTUCKY

Lung cancer is a particularly devastating disease, accounting for the most deaths among all cancer types in the United States. Despite a reduction in the country’s smoking rates, cigarette smoking remains the number one risk factor for lung cancer. Additionally arsenic exposure, which occurs primarily through contaminated drinking water in the U.S., is associated with increased lung cancer incidence. The nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway is critical for maintenance of genomic fidelity, removing DNA lesions that could otherwise promote DNA mutations and drive carcinogenesis. Tobacco smoking introduces significant amounts of DNA damage and produces characteristic DNA mutations found in lung cancers of smokers, and arsenic increases lung cancer risk in smokers beyond the risk of smoking along. The contributions of these chemicals to DNA damage and cancer have been well documented, but few studies have examined their effects on DNA repair pathways, particularly the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. Arsenic, while not directly mutagenic, promotes the carcinogenicity of other compounds including agents that produce DNA damage that is repaired by the NER pathway. In this dissertation I investigated the effects of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC, a whole-smoke tobacco surrogate) and arsenic on NER. I observed that CSC or arsenic treatment inhibited NER as measured by a slot-blot assay using UV-induced photolesions as model substrates to measure NER. The abundance of Xeroderma Pigmentosum complementation group C (XPC), a critical NER protein, was significantly reduced in all lines treated with either chemical, while XPA protein was unaffected. CSC and arsenic also affected RNA levels of certain NER genes. Finally, proteasome-regulated XPC turnover was affected by CSC and arsenic treatment, suggesting a potential mechanism for XPC protein inhibition. The observed impairment of NER by CSC is critically important in tobacco cancer etiology – CSC introduces DNA damage, some of which is repaired exclusively by NER, and CSC inhibits the NER pathway as well, providing a two-sided assault on cellular genetic fidelity. I then adapted the NER assay to measure repair in lymphocytes isolated from human subjects of a study investigating the high incidence of lung cancer in Appalachian Kentucky. I observed an age-dependent decline in NER efficiency that was modulated by subject smoking status and a reduced NER efficiency among current smokers in the lung cancer patient population compared to control subjects in the youngest age group, suggesting individual DNA repair capacity measured with this repair assay may be a biomarker for lung cancer susceptibility

The clinical implications of dissolutioned adoption : a theoretical intersection of the neurosequential model of therapeutics and attachment theory

This theoretical investigation of adoption dissolution integrates psychodynamic theory and the neurodevelopmental impact of trauma into clinical practice with children. After providing an in depth review of available literature on adoption dissolution, the focus will shift to the chosen theories. The two theory chapters within this research utilize attachment theory as the core psychodynamic theory and the neurosequential model of therapeutics to provide a neurodevelopmental perspective and treatment interventions as related to dissolutioned adoptions. A discussion chapter will critique the chosen theories and integrate the research into practice by utilizing a case study, and lastly provide recommendations for individual therapy with children and child welfare policy

Self-Organizing Maps Algorithm for Parton Distribution Functions Extraction

We describe a new method to extract parton distribution functions from hard scattering processes based on Self-Organizing Maps. The extension to a larger, and more complex class of soft matrix elements, including generalized parton distributions is also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to be published in the proceedings of ACAT 2011, 14th International Workshop on Advanced Computing and Analysis Techniques in Physics Researc

Red-Winged Blackbird Nestling Growth Compared to Adult Size and Differential Development of Structures

Author Institution: Department of Biology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska and Department of Science Education, University of Toledo, Toledo, OhioRed-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) were studied at Toledo, Ohio, in an upland habitat in 1964 and 1965, and at Battle Creek, Michigan, in a marsh habitat in 1965. Nestlings were weighed and measured each day. In 1966 at Wooster, Ohio, adults were weighed and measured to obtain figures for comparison with nestling sizes at different stages in nest life. Mean weight of 18 neonates was 3.19 g, which was 7.5 percent of 18 adult female weights (41.6 g) and 79 percent of 18 fresh egg weights (4.02 g). Male nestlings showed higher values for mean weight and mean length of other body parts than females, but females reached a greater percent of adult size faster than males. All mean body weights and measurements increased in absolute size from hatching until day 10 except for gape width, which reached maximum size on day six and then decreased in width. The differential increase of size in different body parts shows a distinct correlation with their function while in the nest; those which were used during nest life developed in the first five days and those required after fledging developed in the last, five days. Rapid growth in weight occurred before rapid feather growth. Reduction in increases of weight each day is probably due to expenditure of more energy for feather growth and for maintenance of endothermy. The same phenomena are shown for many other species.

Moving towards a resilient supply chain

The nature of supply chain management—global in scope, the existence of interdependent activities in the various processes, the need for collaborative relationships between members, and the uncertainty that is inherent in both supply and demand - makes it vulnerable to unexpected events that have the potential to disrupt operations as planned. Disruptions to the supply chain can have a profound effect on the firm ranging from loss of revenue to increased costs when operations don’t proceed as planned. Firms realized that it was critical to their business interests to proactively manage, and even mitigate, the risks that are inherent in global supply chains