Revising old child support orders: The Wisconsin experience

In an effort to make Wisconsin's child support cases more equitable and up-to-date, child support staff reviewed "old" child support orders in thirteen of the state's seventy-two counties. (Reviewing old child support orders is now mandatory under the provisions of the Family Support Act of 1988.) Of the reviewed cases, only 21 percent were revised. Primary reasons for non-revision were the economic circumstances of the noncustodial parent (among welfare cases) and a lack of permission by the custodial parent to proceed (among non-welfare cases). Revised orders increased substantially, an average of $116/month (77 percent). An alternative method of keeping orders current is to express them as a percentage of the noncustodial parent's income; these orders are kept up-to-date automatically and are associated with large increases in collections.

An elementary proof of uniqueness of the particle trajectories for solutions of a class of shear-thinning non-Newtonian 2D fluids

We prove some regularity results for a class of two dimensional non-Newtonian fluids. By applying results from [Dashti and Robinson, Nonlinearity, 22 (2009), 735-746] we can then show uniqueness of particle trajectories

Long-term caffeine consumption exacerbates renal failure in obese, diabetic, ZSF1 (fa-facp) rats

Long-term caffeine consumption exacerbates renal failure in obese, diabetic, ZSF1 (fa-facp) rats.BackgroundOur preliminary studies indicate that chronic caffeine consumption has adverse renal effects in nephropathy associated with high blood pressure and insulin resistance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early (beginning at 8 weeks of age) and long-term (30 weeks) caffeine treatment (0.1% solution) on renal function and structure in obese, diabetic ZSF1 rats.MethodsMetabolic and renal function measurements were performed at six-week intervals and in a subset of animals (N = 6 per group) heart rate (HR) and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) were monitored by a radiotelemetric technique. At the end of the study acute, measurements of renal hemodynamics and excretory function were conducted in anesthetized animals.ResultsCaffeine produced a very mild increase (4 to 5%) of MABP and HR, but greatly augmented proteinuria (P < 0.001), reduced creatinine clearance (P < 0.05) and had a mixed effect on metabolic status in obese ZSF1 rats. Caffeine significantly reduced body weight, glycosuria, fasting glucose and insulin levels and improved glucose tolerance, had no effect on elevated plasma triglycerides levels and significantly increased plasma cholesterol level (P < 0.001). Acute measurements of renal function revealed increased renal vascular resistance (95.1 ± 11 vs. 50.7 ± 2.4 mm Hg/mL/min/g kidney, P < 0.01) and decreased inulin clearance (0.37 ± 0.11 vs. 0.97 ± 0.13 mL/min/g kidney, P < 0.002) in caffeine-treated versus control animals, respectively. Caffeine potentiated the development of more severe tubulointerstitial changes (P < 0.05) and increased focal glomerulosclerosis (14.7 ± 1.7 vs. 6.5 ± 0.9%, caffeine vs. control, P < 0.002).ConclusionThe present study provides the first evidence that caffeine (despite improving insulin sensitivity) exacerbates renal failure in obese, diabetic ZSF1 rats. Further mechanistic studies of adverse renal effects of caffeine in chronic renal failure associated with metabolic syndrome are warranted

CCNF mutations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are overlapping, fatal neurodegenerative disorders in which the molecular and pathogenic basis remains poorly understood. Ubiquitinated protein aggregates, of which TDP-43 is a major component, are a characteristic pathological feature of most ALS and FTD patients. Here we use genome-wide linkage analysis in a large ALS/FTD kindred to identify a novel disease locus on chromosome 16p13.3. Whole-exome sequencing identified a CCNF missense mutation at this locus. Interrogation of international cohorts identified additional novel CCNF variants in familial and sporadic ALS and FTD. Enrichment of rare protein-altering CCNF variants was evident in a large sporadic ALS replication cohort. CCNF encodes cyclin F, a component of an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase complex (SCF(Cyclin F)). Expression of mutant CCNF in neuronal cells caused abnormal ubiquitination and accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins, including TDP-43 and a SCF(Cyclin F) substrate. This implicates common mechanisms, linked to protein homeostasis, underlying neuronal degeneration

Sexually dimorphic behavioral responses to prenatal dioxin exposure.

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats received a single oral dose of 0, 20, 60, or 180 ng/kg 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on day 8 of gestation. Each litter contributed a single male-female pair trained to press a lever to obtain food pellets under two operant behavior procedures. Initially, each lever press was reinforced. The fixed-ratio (FR) requirement was then increased every four sessions from the initial setting of 1 to values between 6 and 71. We then studied responses for 30 days under a multiple schedule combining FR 11 and another schedule requiring a pause of at least 10 sec between responses (DRL 10-sec). TCDD evoked a sexually dimorphic response pattern. Generally, TCDD-exposed males responded at lower rates than control males. In contrast, exposed females responded at higher rates than controls. Each response measure from the mult-FR DRL schedule yielded a male-female difference score. We used the differences in response rate to calculate benchmark doses based on the relative displacement from modeled zero-dose performance of the effective dose at 1% (ED(01)) and 10% (ED(10)), as determined by a second-order polynomial fit to the dose-effect function. For the male-female difference in FR rate of responding, the mean ED(10) was 2.77 ng/kg with a 95% lower bound of 1.81 ng/kg. The corresponding ED(01) was 0.27 ng/kg with a 95% lower bound of 0.18 ng/kg. For the male-female difference in DRL rate, the mean ED(10) was 2.97 ng/kg with a 95% lower bound of 2.02 ng/kg. The corresponding ED(01) was 0.30 ng/kg with a 95% lower bound of 0.20 ng/kg. These values fall close to, but below, current estimates of human body burdens of 13 ng/kg, based on TCDD toxic equivalents

Барботажные химические эффекты: их виды, механизмы возникновения и геохимические проявления

Експериментально досліджено зміни значень pH і Eh у воді і водних розчинах NaCl при 20 ºС під час пропускання чистих газів (N2, O2, повітря без CO2) в різних режимах барботажу. Результати проаналізовано з врахуванням сучасних уявлень про структуру рідкої води і її поверхні (інтерфейсу). Як правило, барботажний процес складається із двох етапів: I – перші 10 хвилин із швидким збільшенням значення рН і зменшенням значення Eh внаслідок вимивання розчинених CO2 і O2; II – до 2–3 годин, коли значення Eh продовжує повільно зменшуватись, а значення pH може як зростати (лужний БХЕ) так і зменшуватись (кислотний БХЕ), що вказує на кислотний характер поверхні газ/вода і утворених при барботажі аерозолів. Спеціальні досліди на магнітній мішалці показали, що помітні зміни pH і Eh починаються лише після переходу перемішування із ламінарного режиму в турбулентний, що приводить до значного підвищення структурної температури води і відповідного зменшення розчинності кисню та величини Eh. Це і є основна причина змін на першому етапі барботажу, який можна назвати турбулентним БХЕ. Окремо потрібно виділити диференціацію йонів під час барботажу у змішаних розчинах солей. Для пояснення явища йонного БХЕ запропонована і обґрунтовано гіпотезу нейтральних йонних пар, яка задовільно пояснює генезис і властивості морських аерозолів.The changes of pH and Eh in water and aqueous NaCl – solutions at 20 °C during the transmission of pure gases (N2, O2, air, CO22) in different modes of barbotage are experimentally investigated. The results are analyzed taking into account modern notions of the structure of liquid water and its surface (interface). Generally, the barbotage process consists of two stages: I – the first 10 minutes with the rapid increasing in pH and decreasing in Eh due to leaching of dissolved CO2 and O2; II – up to 2-3 hours when Eh continues to decrease slowly, but pH can increase (alkaline BCE) or decrease (acid BCE), indicating the acidic nature of gas/water surface and aerosols produced during barbotage. Special experiments on the magnetic stirrer showed that noticeable changes in pH and Eh begin only after the transition from laminar regime of mixing to turbulent, which leads to a significant increasing of the structural temperature of water and a corresponding reduction in the solubility of oxygen and Eh values. This is the main reason for the changes at the first step of barbotage, which can be called as the turbulent BCE. We must highlight the differentiation of ions during barbotage in mixed salt solutions. To explain this phenomenon of ion BCE, the hypothesis of neutral ion pairs has been proposed and substantiated, which satisfactorily explains the genesis and properties of marine aerosols.Экспериментально исследованы изменения значений pH и Eh в воде и водных растворах NaCl при 20 ºС во время пропускания чистых газов (N2, O2, воздуха без CO2) в различных режимах барботажа. Результаты проанализированы с учетом современных представлений о структуре жидкой воды и ее поверхности (интерфейса). Как правило, барботажный процесс состоит из двух этапов: I – первые 10 минут с быстрым увеличением значений рН и уменьшением Eh, вследствие вымывания растворенных CO2 и O2; II – до 2-3 часов, когда Eh продолжают медленно уменьшаться, а pH может как расти (щелочной БХЕ) так и уменьшаться (кислотный БХЕ), что указывает на кислотный характер поверхности раздела фаз газ/вода и аэрозолей, образованных при барботаже. Специальные опыты на магнитной мешалке показали, что заметные изменения значений pH и Eh начинаются только после перехода перемешивания из ламинарного режима в турбулентный, что приводит к значительному повышению структурной температуры воды и соответствует уменьшению растворимости кислорода и величины Eh. Это и есть основная причина изменений на первом этапе барботажа, который можно назвать турбулентным БХЕ. Отдельно нужно выделить дифференциацию ионов при барботаже в смешанных растворах солей. Для объяснения этого явления ионного БХЕ предложена и обоснована гипотеза нейтральных ионных пар, которая удовлетворительно объясняет генезис и свойства морских аэрозолей

Automated quantification of steatosis: agreement with stereological point counting

Background: Steatosis is routinely assessed histologically in clinical practice and research. Automated image analysis can reduce the effort of quantifying steatosis. Since reproducibility is essential for practical use, we have evaluated different analysis methods in terms of their agreement with stereological point counting (SPC) performed by a hepatologist. Methods: The evaluation was based on a large and representative data set of 970 histological images from human patients with different liver diseases. Three of the evaluated methods were built on previously published approaches. One method incorporated a new approach to improve the robustness to image variability. Results: The new method showed the strongest agreement with the expert. At 20× resolution, it reproduced steatosis area fractions with a mean absolute error of 0.011 for absent or mild steatosis and 0.036 for moderate or severe steatosis. At 10× resolution, it was more accurate than and twice as fast as all other methods at 20× resolution. When compared with SPC performed by two additional human observers, its error was substantially lower than one and only slightly above the other observer. Conclusions: The results suggest that the new method can be a suitable automated replacement for SPC. Before further improvements can be verified, it is necessary to thoroughly assess the variability of SPC between human observers

Development of a lightweight cryogenic insulating system Final report, 30 Jun. 1964 - 31 May 1966

Lightweight external panel insulation systems for thermal protection of cryogenic launch vehicle propellant tank