Reaction studied of steam with niobium and tantalum

Study reveals the kinetics of niobium and tantalum with steam at elevated temperatures to determine the suitability of high melting metals for fabrication of equipment for temperature steam environments. Niobium obeyed linear kinetics from 1050 degrees to 1500 degrees C but tantalum followed a paralinear rate law

The effect of the GLP-1 analogue Exenatide on functional connectivity within an NTS-based network in women with and without obesity.

ObjectiveThe differential effect of GLP-1 agonist Exenatide on functional connectivity of the nucleus tractus solitaries (NTS), a key region associated with homeostasis, and on appetite-related behaviours was investigated in women with normal weight compared with women with obesity.MethodsFollowing an 8-h fast, 19 female subjects (11 lean, 8 obese) participated in a 2-d double blind crossover study. Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at fast and 30-min post subcutaneous injection of 5 μg of Exenatide or placebo. Functional connectivity was examined with the NTS. Drug-induced functional connectivity changes within and between groups and correlations with appetite measures were examined in a region of interest approach focusing on the thalamus and hypothalamus.ResultsWomen with obesity reported less hunger after drug injection. Exenatide administration increased functional connectivity of the left NTS with the left thalamus and hypothalamus in the obese group only and increased the correlation between NTS functional connectivity and hunger scores in all subjects, but more so in the obese.ConclusionsObesity can impact the effects of Exenatide on brain connectivity, specifically in the NTS and is linked to changes in appetite control. This has implications for the use of GLP-1 analogues in therapeutic interventions

A Survey of Anuran Breeding Activity in the Lower Coastal Plain of South Carolina Using the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program

2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Exploring Opportunities for Collaborative Water Research, Policy and Managemen

Altered functional connectivity within the central reward network in overweight and obese women.

Background/objectivesNeuroimaging studies in obese subjects have identified abnormal activation of key regions of central reward circuits, including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), in response to food-related stimuli. We aimed to examine whether women with elevated body mass index (BMI) show structural and resting state (RS) functional connectivity alterations within regions of the reward network.Subjects/methodsFifty healthy, premenopausal women, 19 overweight and obese (high BMI=26-38 kg m(-2)) and 31 lean (BMI=19-25 kg m(-2)) were selected from the University of California Los Angeles' Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress database. Structural and RS functional scans were collected. Group differences in grey matter volume (GMV) of the NAcc, oscillation dynamics of intrinsic brain activity and functional connectivity of the NAcc to regions within the reward network were examined.ResultsGMV of the left NAcc was significantly greater in the high BMI group than in the lean group (P=0.031). Altered frequency distributions were observed in women with high BMI compared with lean group in the left NAcc (P=0.009) in a medium-frequency (MF) band, and in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (P=0.014, <0.001) and ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) (P=0.034, <0.001) in a high-frequency band. Subjects with high BMI had greater connectivity of the left NAcc with bilateral ACC (P=0.024) and right vmPFC (P=0.032) in a MF band and with the left ACC (P=0.03) in a high frequency band.ConclusionsOverweight and obese women in the absence of food-related stimuli show significant structural and functional alterations within regions of reward-related brain networks, which may have a role in altered ingestive behaviors

History of early life adversity is associated with increased food addiction and sex-specific alterations in reward network connectivity in obesity.

Background:Neuroimaging studies have identified obesity-related differences in the brain's resting state activity. An imbalance between homeostatic and reward aspects of ingestive behaviour may contribute to obesity and food addiction. The interactions between early life adversity (ELA), the reward network and food addiction were investigated to identify obesity and sex-related differences, which may drive obesity and food addiction. Methods:Functional resting state magnetic resonance imaging was acquired in 186 participants (high body mass index [BMI]: ≥25: 53 women and 54 men; normal BMI: 18.50-24.99: 49 women and 30 men). Participants completed questionnaires to assess ELA (Early Traumatic Inventory) and food addiction (Yale Food Addiction Scale). A tripartite network analysis based on graph theory was used to investigate the interaction between ELA, brain connectivity and food addiction. Interactions were determined by computing Spearman rank correlations, thresholded at q < 0.05 corrected for multiple comparisons. Results:Participants with high BMI demonstrate an association between ELA and food addiction, with reward regions playing a role in this interaction. Among women with high BMI, increased ELA was associated with increased centrality of reward and emotion regulation regions. Men with high BMI showed associations between ELA and food addiction with somatosensory regions playing a role in this interaction. Conclusions:The findings suggest that ELA may alter brain networks, leading to increased vulnerability for food addiction and obesity later in life. These alterations are sex specific and involve brain regions influenced by dopaminergic or serotonergic signalling

A long-term experimental study of the reactivity of basement rock with highly alkaline cement waters: reactions over the first 15 months

A series of long-term laboratory experiments was started in 1995 to investigate longer-term dissolution/precipitation reactions that may occur in the alkaline disturbed zone surrounding a cementitious repository for radioactive waste. They consist of samples of UK basement rock reacting with either Na-K-Ca-OH water (‘young’ cement porewater) or Ca-OH water (‘evolved’ cement porewater) at 70°C. This paper summarizes results of reactions occurring over the first 15 months. Experiments of both fluid types showed many similar features, though primary mineral dissolution and secondary mineral precipitation were more extensive in the experiments involving Na-K-Ca (younger) cement porefluids compared to more evolved (Ca-rich) cement porefluids. Dissolution of dolomite, and to a lesser extent silicates (probably K-feldspar, but also possibly mica) occurred relatively rapidly at 70°C. Dolomite dissolution may have been a key factor in reducing pH values, and may be a key mineral in controlling the extent of alkaline disturbed zones. Dissolution was followed by precipitation of brucite close to dolomite grains, at least two generations of C-S-H phases (which may have contained variable amounts of K, Al and Mg); overgrowths of calcite; small crystals of hydroxyapophyllite; and elongate crystals of celestite. Though hydroxyapophyllite was observed (a phase commonly associated with zeolites), there was no evidence for the formation of zeolites in the experiments. Fluid chemical changes track the mineralogical changes, with C-S-H phases being a major control on fluid chemistry. In the ‘young’ porewater experiments there were decreases in pH, and K, Ca and Mg concentrations, together with transitory increases in SiO2 concentrations. In the ‘evolved’ porewater experiments there were decreases in pH, Mg, Ca and Sr concentrations, together with small increases in K and SiO2 concentrations. A number of experiments are still running, and will be sampled in coming years

Healthcare Barriers of Residents at a Subsidized Housing Community

Introduction: Despite expanded healthcare programs, the low income and elderly lack coverage of vision, hearing, and dental services. Community services are often asked to fill these gaps. To evaluate the situation in Burlington, VT, we surveyed staff and residents in Burlington Housing Authority (BHA) subsidized housing to (1) identify gaps in healthcare coverage and (2) assess barriers to accessing those services in this population.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1207/thumbnail.jp

Exploring Viral Genomics at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

This summer I had the privilege of working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the Nonproliferation, Homeland and International Security Directorate in the Chemical and Biological Countermeasures Division. I worked exclusively on the Viral Identification and Characterization Initiative (VICI) project focusing on the development of multiplexed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. The goal of VICI is to combine several disciplines such as molecular biology, microfluidics, and bioinformatics in order to detect viruses and identify them in order to effectively and quickly counter infectious disease, natural or engineered. The difficulty in such a countermeasure is that little is known about viral diversity due to the ever changing nature of these organisms. In response, VICI is developing a new microfluidic bioanalytical platform to detect known and unknown viruses by analyzing every virus in a sample by isolating them into picoliter sized droplets on a microchip and individually analyzing them. The sample will be injected into a channel of oil to form droplets that will contain viral nucleic acids that will be amplified using PCR. The multiplexed PCR assay will produce a series of amplicons for a particular virus genome that provides an identifying signature. A device will then detect whether or not DNA is present in the droplet and will sort the empty droplets from the rest. From this point, the amplified DNA is released from the droplets and analyzed using capillary gel electrophoresis in order to read out the series of amplicons and thereby determine the identity of each virus. The following figure depicts the microfluidic process. For the abovementioned microfluidic process to work, a method for detecting amplification of target viral nucleic acids that does not interfere with the multiplexed biochemical reaction is required for downstream sorting and analysis. In this report, the successful development of a multiplexed PCR assay using SYBR Green I as a fluorescent dye to detect amplification of viral DNA that can later be integrated into microfluidic PCR system for sorting and analysis is shown

Oscillations in radioactive exponential decay

Several older and recent reports provided evidence for the oscillatory character of the exponential decay law in radioactive decay and attempted to explain it with basic physics. We show here that the measured effects observed in some of the cases, namely in the decay of 226Ra, 32Si in equilibrium, and 36Cl, can be explained with the temperature variations