On the Periphery of the Russo-Japanese War - Part I

Chapman: Major defects in British naval intelligence were the absence of an effective central department, an inferior network of naval attachés in major capitals prior to 1902 and the lack of secure direct cable communications with Northeast Asia. The performance of the Naval Intelligence Department was changed for the better by the efforts of Lord Selborne as First Lord of the Admiralty (1900-5). Selborne's promotion of Britain's alliance with Japan was conditional on a close working relationship with the administration of Theodore Roosevelt.Nish: There was considerable uncertainty and indecision about whether China would take part in the Russo-Japanese war. Finally under considerable outside pressure she declared strict neutrality. Since the civil administration in her Three Eastern Provinces (Manchuria) was in Chinese hands, she inevitably had a role in the war; and her people suffered much.The Portsmouth treaties that ended the war could only be implemented with China's agreement. Foreign Minister Komura had to conclude new treaties with China at the Peking Conference on 22 December 1905.Japan, China, Russia, Manchuria, Britain, Admiralty, Fisher, Selborne, Balfour, Uchida, Komura, Yuna Shikai, Great Northern Telegraphs, Naval Intelligence, Portsmouth Conference, Peking Conference.

Olfactory Processing in the Piriform Cortex of Awake, Freely Moving Mice

The piriform cortex (PC) has long been established as the primary cortical recipient of olfactory information in the mammalian brain. In rodents, information extracted from recordings of PC neurons can accurately decode the identity of odors, leading to delineation of PC as the primary cortical region involved in the formation of odor perception. Unfortunately, due to technical limitations, many of the prior studies establishing these coding principles were performed without the ability to track the responses of the same cells over time. Additionally, recordings have often relied on head-fixation to minimize diffusion of odor stimuli, limiting movement range and natural behavior of subjects in the process. The primary goal of the work presented in this dissertation was to expand on these prior studies by implementing tools to record from or manipulate conserved PC populations during naturalistic odor experience and odor-driven behavior. We found that, despite an immense volume of background PC activity in freely moving animals, odor responses can be isolated from recordings and contain sufficient information to decode odor identity within a session. Across days, however, the tuning of individual cells was often inconsistent, leading to decreases in classification accuracy. Importantly, attention to the odor was correlated with greater response consistency across days, indicating a role for behavioral state of the animal in modulating odor coding. Our results support recent evidence of representational drift in PC, but also indicate the possibility that animal behavior can influence response profiles. In a separate experiment, manipulation of olfactory bulb (OB) feedback from PC was unable to disrupt odor discrimination but did impair acquisition of a fear memory. This supports prior work from other labs indicating a role for PC in olfactory learning, expanding its role in olfactory processing. In total, this work highlights the need for more studies to clarify the coding strategies implemented by PC in olfactory processing

Blood pressure responses in healthy older people to 50 g carbohydrate drinks with differing glycaemic effects

The aim of the present study was to determine the effects on blood pressure response of 50 g carbohydrate drinks with differing glycaemic effects in ten healthy elderly subjects (age >65 years; randomized crossover design). Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP) and mean arterial (MAP) blood pressure, heart rate and plasma glucose levels were determined following ingestion of equal volumes (379 ml) of water and 50 g carbohydrate drinks with differing reported glycaemic indices (GI) (surrogate marker for glycaemic effect): (1) low-GI: Apple & Cherry Juice; (2) intermediate-GI: Fanta Orange; (3) high-glucose. Glucose (SBP and DBP P,0·001; MAP P¼0·005) and Fanta Orange (SBP P¼0·005; DBP and MAP P,0·001) ingestion caused a significant decrease in BP whilst blood pressure increased (SBP P¼0·008; MAP P¼0·005) from baseline following Apple & Cherry Juice ingestion. Water had no significant effect on postprandial blood pressure. Fanta Orange and Apple & Cherry Juice caused similar (P¼0·679) glycaemic effects, which were significantly greater than water, but lower than glucose (P,0·001). There was no significant correlation between the glycaemic effect of the carbohydrate drinks and there was no change in blood pressure from baseline (SBP r 20·123, P¼0·509; DBP r 20·051, P¼0·784; MAP r 20·069, P¼0·712). Apple & Cherry Juice and Fanta Orange had similar glycaemic effects, but differing effects on blood pressure. Therefore, it is unlikely that the glycaemic effect of a drink can be used to predict the subsequent cardiovascular response.Renuka Visvanathan, Richard Chen, Michael Horowitz and Ian Chapma

Cognitive enhancers derived from edible crops

The concept of an effective cognitive boosting nootropic supplement is gaining traction with consumers, neuroscientists and regulators alike and it is therefore unsurprising that scientifically validated Nootropics are highly prized. New research demonstrates edible crops could be useful sources to mine for new nootropics; plant extracts enriched with an array of cognitive enhancing metabolites. There is merit in investigating these plant species. Metadata has identifies consuming specific fruit and vegetables positively affects cognitive function; therefore these same edible crop plants present as opportunities for developing nootropic formulations. This hypothesis is supported by positive data obtained through clinical testing [e.g. extracts of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), herbs from the Genus Salvia, cocoa (Theobroma), tea (Camellia sinensisor) and coffee (Coffea Arabica). This review will discuss clinically tested cognitive enhancers derived from edible crop species and discuss their use alongside other classes of nootropics

Beneath the Baselines: Detecting Molecular Emission from Submillimeter Galaxies with the GBT

We report the first detection of a submillimeter galaxy (SMG) in CO(1 →0) emission using the GBT. We identify a line with Δv_(FWHM) ~1000 kms^(−1) in the 1 cm spectrum of SMM J13120+4242 at z = 3.408, which is significantly greater than the width of the previously detected CO(4→3) line. If the observed CO(1→0) line profile arises from a single object and not several merging objects, the CO(4 →3)/CO(1→0) brightness temperature ratio of ~0.26 suggests n(H_2) > 10^3 cm^(−3) and the presence of sub-thermally excited gas. The 10σ integrated line flux implies a cold molecular gas mass M(H2) ~10^(11)M_⊙, comparable to the dynamical mass estimate and four times larger than the H_2 mass found from the CO(4 →3) line. While our observations confirm that this SMG is massive and highly gas-rich, they also suggest that J_(upper) > 3 transitions of CO may not accurately trace cold, diffuse molecular gas in SMGs

Evidence for extended, obscured starbursts in submm galaxies

We compare high-resolution optical and radio imaging of 12 luminous submm galaxies at z=2.2+/-0.2 observed with HST and the MERLIN and VLA at comparable spatial resolution, 0.3" (2kpc). The radio emission traces the likely far-infrared morphology of these dusty, luminous galaxies. In ~30% of the sample the radio appears unresolved, suggesting that the emission is compact: either an obscured AGN or nuclear starburst. However, in the majority, ~70% (8/12), the radio emission is resolved by MERLIN/VLA on scales of ~1" (10 kpc). For these galaxies the radio morphologies are broadly similar to their restframe UV emission seen by HST. We discuss the probable mechanisms for the extended emission and conclude that their luminous radio and submm emission arises from a large, spatially-extended starburst. The median SFRs are 1700Mo/yr occuring within a ~40kpc^2 region, giving a star formation density of 45Mo/yr/kpc^2. Such vigorous and extended starbursts appear to be uniquely associated with the submm population. A more detailed comparison of the distribution of UV and radio emission shows that the broad similarities on large scales are not carried through to smaller scales, where there is rarely a one-to-one correspondance. We interpret this as resulting from highly structured internal obscuration, suggesting that the vigorous activity is producing wind-blown channels through the obscuration in these galaxies. If correct this underlines the difficulty of using UV morphologies to understand structural properties of this population and also may explain the surprising frequency of Ly-alpha emission in their spectra. [Abridged]Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Molecular Probe Optimization to Determine Cell Mortality in a Photosynthetic Organism (Microcystis aeruginosa) Using Flow Cytometry

Microbial sub populations in field and laboratory studies have been shown to display high heterogeneity in morphological and physiological parameters. Determining the real time state of a microbial cell goes beyond live or dead categories, as microbes can exist in a dormant state, whereby cell division and metabolic activities are reduced. Given the need for detection and quantification of microbes, flow cytometry (FCM) with molecular probes provides a rapid and accurate method to help determine overall population viability. By using SYTOX Green and SYTOX Orange in the model cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa to detect membrane integrity, we develop a transferable method for rapid indication of single cell mortality. The molecular probes used within this journal will be referred to as green or orange nucleic acid probes respectively (although there are other products with similar excitation and emission wavelengths that have a comparable modes of action, we specifically refer to the fore mentioned probes). Protocols using molecular probes vary between species, differing principally in concentration and incubation times. Following this protocol set out on M.aeruginosa the green nucleic acid probe was optimized at concentrations of 0.5 μM after 30 min of incubation and the orange nucleic acid probe at 1 μM after 10 min. In both probes concentrations less than the stated optimal led to an under reporting of cells with membrane damage. Conversely, 5 μM concentrations and higher in both probes exhibited a type of non-specific staining, whereby 'live' cells produced a target fluorescence, leading to an over representation of 'non-viable' cell numbers. The positive controls (heat killed) provided testable dead biomass, although the appropriateness of control generation remains subject to debate. By demonstrating a logical sequence of steps for optimizing the green and orange nucleic acid probes we demonstrate how to create a protocol that can be used to analyse cyanobacterial physiological state effectively

Characterization of the Interaction between the Herpes Simplex Virus Type I Fc Receptor and Immunoglobulin G

Herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) virions and HSV-1-infected cells bind to human immunoglobulin G (hIgG) via its Fc region. A complex of two surface glycoproteins encoded by HSV-1, gE and gI, is responsible for Fc binding. We have co-expressed soluble truncated forms of gE and gI in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Soluble gE-gI complexes can be purified from transfected cell supernatants using a purification scheme that is based upon the Fc receptor function of gE-gI. Using gel filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation, we determined that soluble gE-gI is a heterodimer composed of one molecule of gE and one molecule of gI and that gE-gI heterodimers bind hIgG with a 1:1 stoichiometry. Biosensor-based studies of the binding of wild type or mutant IgG proteins to soluble gE-gI indicate that histidine 435 at the CH2-CH3 domain interface of IgG is a critical residue for IgG binding to gE-gI. We observe many similarities between the characteristics of IgG binding by gE-gI and by rheumatoid factors and bacterial Fc receptors such as Staphylococcus aureus protein A. These observations support a model for the origin of some rheumatoid factors, in which they represent anti-idiotypic antibodies directed against antibodies to bacterial and viral Fc receptors

Anabolic steroids for rehabilitation after hip fracture in older people (Protocol)

THIS IS NOT THE MOST RECENT VERSION OF THIS PROTOCOL please see: http://hdl.handle.net/2328/39182 Copyright © 2010 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This review is made available in accordance with Cochrane Database of Systematic Review's repositories policyThis is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To examine the effects of anabolic steroids on functional outcome (independence, mobility and activities of daily living) after surgical treatment of hip fracture in older people. The following main comparisons are intended, set in the context of usual or conventional care: Anabolic steroids versus no or placebo intervention Anabolic steroids with other intervention (either nutrition or exercises or both) versus no or placebo interventio