ECONOMIC REPLACEMENT OF A HETEROGENEOUS HERD

A model was developed and used to determine the optimal slaughter weights of pigs with heterogeneous growth raised in a 1,000 head barn and marketed in truckload groups. Explicitly recognizing the heterogeneity of pig weights and marketing the herd over time in truckload batches can substantially increase profit.Marketing,

Exploring the reactivity of distinct electron transfer sites at CVD grown monolayer graphene through the selective electrodeposition of MoO2 nanowires

The origin of electron transfer at Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) grown monolayer graphene using a polymer-free transfer methodology is explored through the selective electrodeposition of Molybdenum (di)oxide (MoO2). The electrochemical decoration of CVD monolayer graphene with MoO2 is shown to originate from the edge plane like- sites/defects. Edge plane decoration of MoO2 nanowires upon monolayer graphene is observed via electrochemical deposition over short time periods only (ca. −0.6 V for 1 second (vs. Ag/AgCl)). At more electrochemically negative potentials (ca. −1.0 V) or longer deposition times, a large MoO2 film is created/deposited on the graphene sheet, originating and expanding from the original nucleation points at edge plane like- sites/defects/wrinkles. Nanowire fabrication along the edge plane like- sites/defects of graphene is confirmed with Cyclic Voltammetry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Raman Spectroscopy. Monitoring the electrochemical response towards [Ru(NH3)6]3+/2+ and comparing the heterogeneous electron transfer (HET) kinetics at CVD grown monolayer graphene prior and post nanowire fabrication reveals key understandings into the fundamental electrochemical properties of carbon materials. The HET kinetics (k0obs) at MoO2 nanowire decorated monolayer graphene sheets, when edge plane like- sites/defects have been coated/blocked with MoO2, are significantly reduced in comparison to the unmodified graphene alternative. Interestingly, MoO2 nucleation originates on the edge plane like- sites/defects of the graphene sheets, where the basal plane sites remain unaltered until the available edge plane like- sites/defects have been fully utilised; after which MoO2 deposition propagates towards and onto the basal planes, eventually covering the entire surface of the monolayer graphene surface. In such instances, there is no longer an observable electrochemical response. This work demonstrates the distinct electron transfer properties of edge and basal plane sites on CVD grown monolayer graphene, inferring favourable electrochemical reactivity at edge plane like- sites/defects and clarifying the origin of graphene electro-activity

Acquisition of a large virulence plasmid (pINV) promoted temperature-dependent virulence and global dispersal of O96:H19 enteroinvasive Escherichia coli

Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) and Shigella are closely related agents of bacillary dysentery. It is widely viewed that EIEC and Shigella species evolved from E. coli via independent acquisitions of a large virulence plasmid (pINV) encoding a type 3 secretion system (T3SS). Sequence Type (ST)99 O96:H19 E. coli is a novel clone of EIEC responsible for recent outbreaks in Europe and South America. Here, we use 92 whole genome sequences to reconstruct a dated phylogeny of ST99 E. coli, revealing distinct phylogenomic clusters of pINV-positive and -negative isolates. To study the impact of pINV acquisition on the virulence of this clone, we developed an EIEC-zebrafish infection model showing that virulence of ST99 EIEC is thermoregulated. Strikingly, zebrafish infection using a T3SS-deficient ST99 EIEC strain and the oldest available pINV-negative isolate reveals a separate, temperature-independent mechanism of virulence, indicating that ST99 non-EIEC strains were virulent before pINV acquisition. Taken together, these results suggest that an already pathogenic E. coli acquired pINV and that virulence of ST99 isolates became thermoregulated once pINV was acquired

Phylogeographical Structure and Evolutionary History of Two Buggy Creek Virus Lineages in the Western Great Plains of North America

Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is an unusual arbovirus within the western equine encephalitis complex of alphaviruses. Associated with cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) as its vector and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as its amplifying hosts, this virus is found primarily in the western Great Plains of North America at spatially discrete swallow nesting colonies. For 342 isolates collected in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and North Dakota, from 1974 to 2007, we sequenced a 2076 bp region of the 26S subgenomic RNA structural glycoprotein coding region, and analyzed phylogenetic relationships, rates of evolution, demographical histories and temporal genetic structure of the two BCRV lineages found in the Great Plains. The two lineages showed distinct phylogeographical structure: one lineage was found in the southern Great Plains and the other in the northern Great Plains, and both occurred in Nebraska and Colorado. Within each lineage, there was additional latitudinal division into three distinct sublineages. One lineage is showing a long-term population decline. In comparing sequences taken from the same sites 8–30 years apart, in one case one lineage had been replaced by the other, and in the other cases there was little evidence of the same haplotypes persisting over time. The evolutionary rate of BCRV is in the order of 1.6–3.6 × 10–4 substitutions per site per year, similar to that estimated for other temperate-latitude alphaviruses. The phylogeography and evolution of BCRV could be better understood once we determine the nature of the ecological differences between the lineages

Phylogeographical Structure and Evolutionary History of Two Buggy Creek Virus Lineages in the Western Great Plains of North America

Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is an unusual arbovirus within the western equine encephalitis complex of alphaviruses. Associated with cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) as its vector and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as its amplifying hosts, this virus is found primarily in the western Great Plains of North America at spatially discrete swallow nesting colonies. For 342 isolates collected in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and North Dakota, from 1974 to 2007, we sequenced a 2076 bp region of the 26S subgenomic RNA structural glycoprotein coding region, and analyzed phylogenetic relationships, rates of evolution, demographical histories and temporal genetic structure of the two BCRV lineages found in the Great Plains. The two lineages showed distinct phylogeographical structure: one lineage was found in the southern Great Plains and the other in the northern Great Plains, and both occurred in Nebraska and Colorado. Within each lineage, there was additional latitudinal division into three distinct sublineages. One lineage is showing a long-term population decline. In comparing sequences taken from the same sites 8–30 years apart, in one case one lineage had been replaced by the other, and in the other cases there was little evidence of the same haplotypes persisting over time. The evolutionary rate of BCRV is in the order of 1.6–3.6 × 10–4 substitutions per site per year, similar to that estimated for other temperate-latitude alphaviruses. The phylogeography and evolution of BCRV could be better understood once we determine the nature of the ecological differences between the lineages

Electrochemical Decoration Of Additively Manufactured Graphene Macroelectrodes With Moo2 Nanowires: An Approach To Determine The Surface Morphology

Additive manufacturing (AM) provides a unique platform for the rapid design and fabrication of complex structures. Printed structures can be used as is or as templates to be decorated with electrochemical deposited nanomaterials, which may be utilised as electrocatalytic sensing platforms. Novel methods are required to determine the electrochemical deposited morphology present on the electrode surfaces. Additively manufactured graphene macroelectrodes (AM-GMs) were fabricated using a commercially available feedstock and molybdenum (di)oxide (MoO2) was successfully electrochemically deposited onto the electrode surface. The electrochemically deposited MoO2 was analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical interferometry, Raman spectroscopy and multifractal analysis (MFA). Although the electrochemical deposition of MoO2 nanowires were clearly visible using SEM, MFA enabled quantification of the MoO2 nanowires, deposited at a variety of time points (20 – 300 s). MFA was utilised to generate quantitative data, derived from ƒ(α) curves, to determine the area of the electrochemical deposited MoO2 nanowires, including coverage, density, dispersion and clustering. The AM-GMs which were subjected to 300 s (maximum time period) of MoO2 electrodeposition demonstrated the greatest percentage area coverage (20.14 %). The use of such mathematical systems offers an inexpensive method to characterise the parameters of electrochemically-deposited materials

Teaching Matters, Volume 2: Essays by the faculty and staff at the University of Maine at Farmington

Essays by the faculty and staff at the University of Maine at Farmington.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1087/thumbnail.jp

Characterising the application of the “progressive overload” principle of exercise training within cardiac rehabilitation: A United Kingdom-based community programme

Background: Recent concerns have cast doubt over the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation [CR] programmes for improving cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF] in patients with a history of cardiac disease in the United Kingdom [UK]. We aimed to characterise the weekly progression of exercise training dose over an 8-week Phase III CR programme as we felt this may be partly responsible for the lack of improvement in CRF reported in previous studies. Design: Observational study. Methods: We evaluated a community-based Phase III CR programme in the UK. During each training session, patients wore an Apple Watch and the weekly progression of exercise training dose/load was quantified. The analysis was based on 332 individual training sessions. Exercise intensity [% heart rate reserve] during the cardiovascular [CV] exercise training component [%HRR-CV], CV training duration; estimated changes in cardiorespiratory fitness [change in estimated metabolic equivalents (METs)]; session rating of perceived exertion [sRPE], sRPE training load [sRPE-TL], and exercise training impulse [TRIMP] were evaluated. Results: Thirty cardiac patients [83% male; age [SD] 67.0 [10.0] years; body mass index [SD] 28.3 [4.6] kg∙m-2] were recruited to an 8-week programme [16 sessions in total]. Bayesian repeated-measures ANOVA indicated anecdotal evidence for the alternative hypothesis for changes in %HRR-CV (BF10 = 0.61), sRPE (BF10 = 1.1), and change in estimated METs (BF10 = 1.2) during CR. Conversely, Bayesian repeated-measures ANOVA showed extreme evidence for changes in CV training duration (BF10 = 2.438e+26), TRIMP (BF10 = 71436), and sRPE-TL (BF10 = 779570). Conclusion: The key exercise training principle of progressive overload was only partially applied. Increases observed in exercise dose were due to increases in the duration of CV training, rather than combined with increases in exercise intensity [%HRR-CV and sRPE]. Accordingly, allied health professionals must ensure that exercise intensity is more consistently progressed to optimise the exercise stimulus and improvements in CRF and patient outcomes

The NIH-NIAID Filariasis Research Reagent Resource Center

Filarial worms cause a variety of tropical diseases in humans; however, they are difficult to study because they have complex life cycles that require arthropod intermediate hosts and mammalian definitive hosts. Research efforts in industrialized countries are further complicated by the fact that some filarial nematodes that cause disease in humans are restricted in host specificity to humans alone. This potentially makes the commitment to research difficult, expensive, and restrictive. Over 40 years ago, the United States National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH-NIAID) established a resource from which investigators could obtain various filarial parasite species and life cycle stages without having to expend the effort and funds necessary to maintain the entire life cycles in their own laboratories. This centralized resource (The Filariasis Research Reagent Resource Center, or FR3) translated into cost savings to both NIH-NIAID and to principal investigators by freeing up personnel costs on grants and allowing investigators to divert more funds to targeted research goals. Many investigators, especially those new to the field of tropical medicine, are unaware of the scope of materials and support provided by the FR3. This review is intended to provide a short history of the contract, brief descriptions of the fiilarial species and molecular resources provided, and an estimate of the impact the resource has had on the research community, and describes some new additions and potential benefits the resource center might have for the ever-changing research interests of investigators

Argonaute Utilization for miRNA Silencing Is Determined by Phosphorylation-Dependent Recruitment of LIM-Domain-Containing Proteins

As core components of the microRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC), Argonaute (AGO) proteins interact with TNRC6 proteins, recruiting other effectors of translational repression/mRNA destabilization. Here, we show that LIMD1 coordinates the assembly of an AGO-TNRC6 containing miRISC complex by binding both proteins simultaneously at distinct interfaces. Phosphorylation of AGO2 at Ser 387 by Akt3 induces LIMD1 binding, which in turn enables AGO2 to interact with TNRC6A and downstream effector DDX6. Conservation of this serine in AGO1 and 4 indicates this mechanism may be a fundamental requirement for AGO function and miRISC assembly. Upon CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout of LIMD1, AGO2 miRNA-silencing function is lost and miRNA silencing becomes dependent on a complex formed by AGO3 and the LIMD1 family member WTIP. The switch to AGO3 utilization occurs due to the presence of a glutamic acid residue (E390) on the interaction interface, which allows AGO3 to bind to LIMD1, AJUBA, and WTIP irrespective of Akt signaling