Comparison of Methods for Evaluation of Chemical Lipid Content in the Longissimus Muscle

For the range of fat content found in pork, the two chemical procedures studied for the estimation of intramuscular fat (IMF), Soxhlet and total lipid (TL), are highly correlated and values for the Soxhlet procedure are slightly lower. No significant (P\u3c.05) differences existed between the two methods. Hence, both methods can be recommended for the determination of IMF in pork. The Soxhlet method, however, may be more indicative of marbling than the TL procedure

Evaluation of Real-time Ultrasound and Carcass Characteristics for Assessing Carcass Composition in Swine

Results of this study indicate that correlations between real-time ultrasound loin depth and carcass loin muscle area and between carcass loin depth and carcass loin muscle area are high. However, using carcass loin muscle area as the true value, the standard error of prediction for real-time ultrasound loin muscle area was lower than those for loin muscle areas predicted from either real-time ultrasound loin depth or carcass loin depth. Real-time ultrasound and carcass depth or length or a combination thereof is a less accurate predictor of carcass loin muscle area than simply real-time ultrasound loin muscle area alone

Differential medial temporal lobe morphometric predictors of item- and relational-encoded memories in healthy individuals and in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION:Episodic memory processes are supported by different subregions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL). In contrast to a unitary model of memory recognition supported solely by the hippocampus, a current model suggests that item encoding engages perirhinal cortex, whereas relational encoding engages parahippocampal cortex and the hippocampus. However, this model has not been examined in the context of aging, neurodegeneration, and MTL morphometrics. METHODS:Forty-four healthy subjects (HSs) and 18 cognitively impaired subjects (nine mild cognitive impairment [MCI] and nine Alzheimer's disease [AD] patients) were assessed with the relational and item-specific encoding task (RISE) and underwent 3T magnetic resonance imaging. The RISE assessed the differential contribution of relational and item-specific memory. FreeSurfer was used to obtain measures of cortical thickness of MTL regions and hippocampus volume. RESULTS:Memory accuracies for both item and relational memory were significantly better in the HS group than in the MCI/AD group. In MCI/AD group, relational memory was disproportionately impaired. In HSs, hierarchical regressions demonstrated that memory was predicted by perirhinal thickness after item encoding, and by hippocampus volume after relational encoding (both at trend level) and significantly by parahippocampal thickness at associative recognition. The same brain morphometry profiles predicted memory accuracy in MCI/AD, although more robustly perirhinal thickness for item encoding (R2 = 0.31) and hippocampal volume and parahippocampal thickness for relational encoding (R2 = 0.31). DISCUSSION:Our results supported a model of episodic memory in which item-specific encoding was associated with greater perirhinal cortical thickness, while relational encoding was associated with parahippocampal thickness and hippocampus volume. We identified these relationships not only in HSs but also in individuals with MCI and AD. In the subjects with cognitive impairment, reductions in hippocampal volume and impairments in relational memory were especially prominent

Science with the Keck Interferometer ASTRA Program

The ASTrometric and phase-Referenced Astronomy (ASTRA) project will provide phase referencing and astrometric observations at the Keck Interferometer, leading to enhanced sensitivity and the ability to monitor orbits at an accuracy level of 30-100 microarcseconds. Here we discuss recent scientific results from ASTRA, and describe new scientific programs that will begin in 2010-2011. We begin with results from the "self phase referencing" (SPR) mode of ASTRA, which uses continuum light to correct atmospheric phase variations and produce a phase-stabilized channel for spectroscopy. We have observed a number of protoplanetary disks using SPR and a grism providing a spectral dispersion of ~2000. In our data we spatially resolve emission from dust as well as gas. Hydrogen line emission is spectrally resolved, allowing differential phase measurements across the emission line that constrain the relative centroids of different velocity components at the 10 microarcsecond level. In the upcoming year, we will begin dual-field phase referencing (DFPR) measurements of the Galactic Center and a number of exoplanet systems. These observations will, in part, serve as precursors to astrometric monitoring of stellar orbits in the Galactic Center and stellar wobbles of exoplanet host stars. We describe the design of several scientific investigations capitalizing on the upcoming phase-referencing and astrometric capabilities of ASTRA.Comment: Published in the proceedings of the SPIE 2010 conference on "Optical and Infrared Interferometry II

Gene discovery using massively parallel pyrosequencing to develop ESTs for the flesh fly Sarcophaga crassipalpis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Flesh flies in the genus <it>Sarcophaga </it>are important models for investigating endocrinology, diapause, cold hardiness, reproduction, and immunity. Despite the prominence of <it>Sarcophaga </it>flesh flies as models for insect physiology and biochemistry, and in forensic studies, little genomic or transcriptomic data are available for members of this genus. We used massively parallel pyrosequencing on the Roche 454-FLX platform to produce a substantial EST dataset for the flesh fly <it>Sarcophaga crassipalpis</it>. To maximize sequence diversity, we pooled RNA extracted from whole bodies of all life stages and normalized the cDNA pool after reverse transcription.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We obtained 207,110 ESTs with an average read length of 241 bp. These reads assembled into 20,995 contigs and 31,056 singletons. Using BLAST searches of the NR and NT databases we were able to identify 11,757 unique gene elements (E<0.0001) representing approximately 9,000 independent transcripts. Comparison of the distribution of <it>S. crassipalpis </it>unigenes among GO Biological Process functional groups with that of the <it>Drosophila melanogaster </it>transcriptome suggests that our ESTs are broadly representative of the flesh fly transcriptome. Insertion and deletion errors in 454 sequencing present a serious hurdle to comparative transcriptome analysis. Aided by a new approach to correcting for these errors, we performed a comparative analysis of genetic divergence across GO categories among <it>S. crassipalpis</it>, <it>D. melanogaster</it>, and <it>Anopheles gambiae</it>. The results suggest that non-synonymous substitutions occur at similar rates across categories, although genes related to response to stimuli may evolve slightly faster. In addition, we identified over 500 potential microsatellite loci and more than 12,000 SNPs among our ESTs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data provides the first large-scale EST-project for flesh flies, a much-needed resource for exploring this model species. In addition, we identified a large number of potential microsatellite and SNP markers that could be used in population and systematic studies of <it>S. crassipalpis </it>and other flesh flies.</p

Variation of Muscle Quality Parameters within the Longissimus Muscle

Results of this study indicate that significant variation exists for muscle quality traits within the longissimus muscle. It is important to follow a rigidly standardized protocol when obtaining samples for use in pork quality research. The decision on which section to use as an estimate of the composite is not as important as is procedure. Relationships among sections with composite values are high for most quality traits

Performance and Body Composition of Gilts from Differing Genetic Lines as Affected by Nutritional Program

Gilts restricted fed a high-protein ration were slower growing (P\u3c.05) than gilts ad libitum fed a high- and moderate-protein diet. Gilts ad libitum fed a moderateprotein diet with added fat had significantly (P\u3c.05) more fat accretion than gilts ad libitum fed and restricted fed a high-protein diet. A genetic line by diet interaction (P\u3c.05) was observed for average daily gain. Also, gilts with the presence of a terminal breed in their ancestry were leaner and heavier muscled (P\u3c.05) than gilts with no presence of a terminal breed in their ancestry

Efficacy of Using Real-time Ultrasound to Predict Intramuscular Fat in the Longissimus Muscle of Live Swine

Results of this study indicate that real-time ultrasound can be useful in predicting intramuscular fat (IMF) in the longissimuss muscle of live swine. The addition of tenth rib backfat measurements and sex as independent variables to IMF prediction equations increases prediction accuracy. Improvements in data collection and image analysis should further enhance prediction accurac

Review process and quality assurance in the EBR-II probabilistic risk assessment

A Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) of the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II), a Department of Energy (DOE) Category A reactor, has recently been completed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Within the scope of the ANL QA Programs, a QA Plan specifically for the EBR-II PRA was developed. The QA Plan covered all aspects of the PRA development, with emphasis on the procedures for document and software control, and the internal and external review process. The effort spent in the quality assurance tasks for the EBR-II PRA has reciprocated by providing acceptance of the work and confidence in the quality of the results

First Faint Dual-field Off-axis Observations in Optical Long Baseline Interferometry

Ground-based long baseline interferometers have long been limited in sensitivity in part by the short integration periods imposed by atmospheric turbulence. The first observation fainter than this limit was performed on 2011 January 22 when the Keck Interferometer observed a K = 11.5 target, about 1 mag fainter than its K = 10.3 atmospherically imposed limit; the currently demonstrated limit is K = 12.5. These observations were made possible by the Dual-Field Phase-Referencing (DFPR) instrument, part of the NSF-funded ASTrometry and phase-Referenced Astronomy project; integration times longer than the turbulence time scale are made possible by its ability to simultaneously measure the real-time effects of the atmosphere on a nearby bright guide star and correct for it on the faint target. We present the implementation of DFPR on the Keck Interferometer. Then, we detail its on-sky performance focusing on the accuracy of the turbulence correction and the resulting fringe contrast stability