Simulation of How Jack Pine Budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Affects Economic Returns From Jack Pine Timber Production in Michigan

The impact of jack pine budworm on economic returns from jack pine timber production in Lower Michigan and management actions that might be taken to reduce this impact were evaluated with a simulation model. Results indicate that current jack pine rotation ages arc excessive and should be reduced. Insecticide application is not a viable strategy for reducing jack pine budworm impact

The Essential HBO Reader

The founding of Home Box Office in the early 1970s was a harbinger of the innovations that transformed television as an industry and a technology in the decades that followed. HBO quickly became synonymous with subscription television and became the leading force in cable programming. Having interests in television, motion picture, and home video industries was crucial to its success. HBO diversified into original television and movie production, home video sales, and international distribution as these once-separate entertainment sectors began converging into a global entertainment industry in the mid-1980s. HBO has grown from a domestic movie channel to an international cable-and-satellite network with a presence in over seventy countries. It is now a full-service content provider with a distinctive brand of original programming and landmark shows such as The Sopranos and Sex and the City. The network is widely recognized for its award-winning, innovative and provocative programming, including dramatic series such as Six Feet Under and The Wire, miniseries such as Band of Brothers and Angels in America, comedies such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Def Comedy Jam, sports shows such as Inside the NFL and Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, documentary series such as Taxi Cab Confessions and Autopsy, and six Oscar-winning documentaries between 1999 and 2004. In The Essential HBO Reader, editors Gary R. Edgerton and Jeffrey P. Jones bring together an accomplished group of scholars to explain how HBO’s programming transformed the world of cable television and how the network continues to shape popular culture and the television industry. Now, after more than three and a half decades, HBO has won acclaim in four distinct programming areas—drama, comedy, sports, and documentaries—emerging as TV’s gold standard for its breakout series and specials. The Essential HBO Reader provides a comprehensive and compelling examination of HBO’s development into the prototypical entertainment corporation of the twenty-first century. Describes the complexities and ambiguities of the channel, its history, its unique business model, and its individual programs. Gary Edgerton and Jeffrey Jones have assembled a dream team of television scholars, some of whom have been paying attention to HBO since its debut in 1972. There are a lot of essay collections about television out there these days --Robert J. Thompson Director, Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture Sy This is a splendid collection of scholarship and critical thinking. The authors have managed to tame and corral a very important aspect of American media history and yet allowed it to remain daring and unconventional. --Terry Lindvall, author of Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C. S. Lewis In the ever-expanding universe of cable, satellite and digital broadcasting, the authors explore how HBO fights to remain the frontrunner in innovative programming. Essential reading! --Kathryn Fuller-Seeley, author of At the Picture Show: Small Town Audiences and Coeditors Edgerton and Jones have added a critical component to the study of television and American culture. The result is a fascinating book that is indeed essential reading for anyone with an interest in media history. --Mary Ann Watson, author of Defining Visions: Television and the American Experi Comprehensive and informative on a topic that deserves to be analyzed in-depth. HBO really did write an important new chapter in television history and has not received the scholarly attention that is its due. --Michael T. Marsden, coeditor of In the Eye of the Beholder: Critical Perspectives “An important assessment of the original programming HBO has created in the past few decades—how these programs are derived and what impact they have had. Recommended.”—Choice Because Edgerton and Jones offer such a thorough treatment of HBO\u27s programming, their volume is a useful addition to a growing number of books about American television in the \u27post-network\u27 era. --American Studieshttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_american_popular_culture/1014/thumbnail.jp

Control of the Diurnal Pattern of Methane Emission from Emergent Aquatic Macrophytes by Gas Transport Mechanisms

Methane emissions from Typha latifolia (L.) showed a large mid-morning transient peak associated with rising light levels. This peak was also associated with a steep decline in lacunal CH, concentrations near the stem base. This pattern contrasted sharply with emissions from Peltandra virginica (L.) that gradually rose to a peak in the mid-afternoon corresponding to elevated air temperatures. Internal CH4 concentrations within P. virginica stems did not change significantly over the diurnal period. Stomatal conductance appeared to correlate directly with light levels in both plant types and were not associated with peak CH4 emission events in either plant. These patterns are consistent with a convective throughflow and diffusive gas ventilation systems for Typha and Peltandra, respectively. Further effects of the convective throughflow in T. latifolia were evident in the elevated CH4 concentrations measured within brown leaves as contrasted to the near ambient levels measured within live green leaves. Experimental manipulation of elevated and reduced CO2 levels in the atmosphere surrounding the plants and of light/dark periods suggested that stomatal aperture has little or no control of methane emissions from T. latifolia

A Single Antibody based ELISA for the N-terminal sequence of BAG-75, a New Biomarker for Bone Formation [abstract]

Biomedical Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, & Medical Devices Poster SessionBone acidic glycoprotein-75 (BAG-75) is a secreted product of osteoblastic cells localized predominantly to areas of new bone formation. We have identified the N-terminal sequence of BAG-75 as LPVARYQNTEEEE and shown that anti-peptide antibodies against residues #3-13 only recognize the 75 kDa precursor and apparent 50 kDa fragment in serum and in osteoblastic cultures. Formation of the 50 kDa fragment is blocked by AEBSF, a serine protease inhibitor which we also showed blocks mineralization in osteoblastic cultures. Measurement of BAG-75 and its fragment concentration in serum represents a new method to estimate the rate of new bone formation in vivo. Our purpose was to establish an anti-VARYQNTEEEE peptide antibody based ELISA test to measure cross-reactive proteins released from bone into blood. Western blotting was performed using young rat serum from different ages, rats subjected to ovariectomy (OVX) or sham surgery, and normal human serum. Immunoreactive 50 kDa fragment peaked at 18 days after birth which parallels bone formation. Ovariectomized rats displayed a peak of 50 kDa immunoreactivty at 21 days after surgery which corresponds to a spike in bone formation in this model (~2.5-fold above controls). Comparable assays for osteocalcin showed only a 39% increase. Also, human serum contains a 50 kDa protein which cross-reacts with anti-VARYQNTEEEE antibodies. We then established a competitive 96-well ELISA using anti-peptide antibody and new sera at 21 days from ovariectomized or sham rats, a model for stimulated bone formation. VARYQNTEEEE peptide conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) was used as the bound antigen. KLH-peptide amount, primary antibody concentration, secondary antibody concentration, and blocking agent were optimized in a series of experiments. Optimal conditions were determined to be 2 µg input KLH-peptide per well, 1/5,000 dilution of primary anti-VARYQNTEEEE antibody, 1/10,000 dilution of secondary antibody, and gelatin as a blocking agent. Sera from OVX rats and sham-operated controls were compared to the standard curve (r = 0.9923) created with free KLH-peptide as competitor to determine the equivalent amount of KLH-peptide present. OVX sera (n=3) contained an average 2.6 x 10-4 (+/- 1.4 x 10-4) µg peptide equivalent versus 1.05 x 10-4 (+/- 0.68 x 10-4) µg for sham sera (n=3). The difference was not significant (t-test, p=0.157), however, doubling the sample size is predicted to yield significance. Conclusions: A. Cross-reactive 75 kDa and 50 kDa proteins are present in human and rat serum and increase in concentration when bone formation is stimulated. B. A new, single antibody based ELISA assay was established to quantitate antigen released from bone into blood. C. In contrast to other commercial bone formation assays (collagen peptides and osteocalcin), the size of cross-reactive protein (>50 kDa) should preclude kidney filtration and facilitate measurement. D. This serum biomarker undergoes a 2-3 fold average increase within 3 weeks after simulation of bone. This test may be useful to monitor the early response to stimulatory therapy in osteoporosis patients or to repressive glucocorticoid therapy in sarcoidosis patients. Currently, a 1% change in bone mineral density requires 12-18 months to detect by x-ray methods

The mechanisms and mediators of tooth eruption--models for developmental biologists

Tooth eruption is a localized process in the jaws which exhibits precise timing and bilateral symmetry. It involves resorption and formation of bone on opposite sides of the erupting tooth and these activities depend on the dental follicle, a thin connective tissue investment of the developing and erupting tooth. Biochemical studies have shown that during eruption cells, proteins and enzymes change in the dental follicle and several growth factors and proteins known to accelerate or retard eruption have been identified. This review discusses these aspects of tooth eruption and proposes testable hypotheses and strategies that can make studies of tooth eruption new experimental opportunities for developmental biologists

The ability of Hepascore to predict liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease: A meta-analysis

Background & Aims: Hepascore is a serum model that was developed to assess the severity of liver fibrosis. It has been well validated in common causes of chronic liver disease. This study performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the pooled diagnostic performance of Hepascore and to compare it for different aetiologies of chronic liver disease. Methods: Two reviewers searched electronic databases from October 2005 to September 2015 for studies that evaluated the diagnostic performance of Hepascore for liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease. Results: 21 studies were included. The AUROC was adjusted according to the distribution of fibrosis stages. The mean adjusted AUROC was 0.83 (95%CI, 0.81-0.85) for significant fibrosis, 0.89 (95%CI, 0.85-0.92) for advance fibrosis and 0.93 (95%CI, 0.91-0.95) for cirrhosis. A cut point of 0.50-0.55 achieved a summary sensitivity of 70% and a summary specificity of 79% to predict significant fibrosis. A cut point of 0.50-0.61 had a summary sensitivity of 81% and a summary specificity of 74% to predict advanced fibrosis. A cut point of 0.80-0.84 had a summary sensitivity of 72% and a summary specificity of 0.88% to predict cirrhosis. The accuracy of Hepascore was similar among all disease aetiologies for the prediction of cirrhosis. However, Hepascore had better diagnostic ability for significant and advanced fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis B and alcoholic liver disease than for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and HIV co-infected viral hepatitis. Conclusions: Hepascore is a clinically useful measure of liver fibrosis in patients with common causes of chronic liver disease