Some Aspects of the Biology of a Predaceous Anthomyiid Fly, \u3ci\u3eCoenosia Tigrina\u3c/i\u3e

The results of a two-year study in Michigan on the incidence of Coenosia tigrina adults under different onion production practices is presented. In Michigan, C. tigrina has three generations and is more abundant in organic agroecosystems than chemically-intensive onion production systems

Spall And Dynamic Yielding Of Aluminum And Aluminum Alloys At Strain Rates Of 3X10(6) S(-1)

We have explored the role that grain size, impurity particles and alloying in aluminum play in dynamic yielding and spall fracture at tensile strain rates of similar to 3x10(6) We achieved these strain rates shocking the aluminum specimens via laser ablation using the Z-Beamlet Laser at Sandia National Laboratories. The high purity aluminum and 1100 series aluminum alloy produced very different spall strengths and nearly the same yield strengths. In contrast, various grain-sized Al + 3 wt. % Mg specimens presented the lowest spall strength, but the greatest dynamic yield strength. Fracture morphology results and particle analysis are presented along with hydrodynamic simulations to put these results in context. Impurity particles appeared to play a vital role in spall fracture at these fast strain rates. Alloying elements such as Mg seem to be the dominant factor in the dynamic yield results.Mechanical Engineerin

Increased glycation and oxidative damage to apolipoprotein B100 of LDL cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes and effect of metformin

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate whether apolipoprotein B100 of LDL suffers increased damage by glycation, oxidation, and nitration in patients with type 2 diabetes, including patients receiving metformin therapy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS For this study, 32 type 2 diabetic patients and 21 healthy control subjects were recruited; 13 diabetic patients were receiving metformin therapy (median dose: 1.50 g/day). LDL was isolated from venous plasma by ultracentrifugation, delipidated, digested, and analyzed for protein glycation, oxidation, and nitration adducts by stable isotopic dilution analysis tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS Advanced glycation end product (AGE) content of apolipoprotein B100 of LDL from type 2 diabetic patients was higher than from healthy subjects: arginine-derived AGE, 15.8 vs. 5.3 mol% (P < 0.001); and lysine-derived AGE, 2.5 vs. 1.5 mol% (P < 0.05). Oxidative damage, mainly methionine sulfoxide residues, was also increased: 2.5 vs. 1.1 molar equivalents (P < 0.001). 3-Nitrotyrosine content was decreased: 0.04 vs. 0.12 mol% (P < 0.05). In diabetic patients receiving metformin therapy, arginine-derived AGE and methionine sulfoxide were lower than in patients not receiving metformin: 19.3 vs. 8.9 mol% (P < 0.01) and 2.9 vs. 1.9 mol% (P < 0.05), respectively; 3-nitrotyrosine content was higher: 0.10 vs. 0.03 mol% (P < 0.05). Fructosyl-lysine residue content correlated positively with fasting plasma glucose. Arginine-derived AGE residue contents were intercorrelated and also correlated positively with methionine sulfoxide. CONCLUSIONS Patients with type 2 diabetes had increased arginine-derived AGEs and oxidative damage in apolipoprotein B100 of LDL. This was lower in patients receiving metformin therapy, which may contribute to decreased oxidative damage, atherogenicity, and cardiovascular disease

Combined extracellular matrix cross-linking activity of the peroxidase MLT-7 and the dual oxidase BLI-3 is critical for post-embryonic viability in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>

The nematode cuticle is a protective collagenous extracellular matrix that is modified, cross-linked, and processed by a number of key enzymes. This Ecdysozoan-specific structure is synthesized repeatedly and allows growth and development in a linked degradative and biosynthetic process known as molting. A targeted RNA interference screen using a cuticle collagen marker has been employed to identify components of the cuticle biosynthetic pathway. We have characterized an essential peroxidase, MoLT-7 (MLT-7), that is responsible for proper cuticle molting and re-synthesis. MLT-7 is an active, inhibitable peroxidase that is expressed in the cuticle-synthesizing hypodermis coincident with each larval molt. mlt-7 mutants show a range of body morphology defects, most notably molt, dumpy, and early larval stage arrest phenotypes that can all be complemented with a wild type copy of mlt-7. The cuticles of these mutants lacks di-tyrosine cross-links, becomes permeable to dye and accessible to tyrosine iodination, and have aberrant collagen protein expression patterns. Overexpression of MLT-7 causes mutant phenotypes further supporting its proposed enzymatic role. In combination with BLI-3, an H2O2-generating NADPH dual oxidase, MLT-7 is essential for post-embryonic development. Disruption of mlt-7, and particularly bli-3, via RNA interference also causes dramatic changes to the in vivo cross-linking patterns of the cuticle collagens DPY-13 and COL-12. This points toward a functionally cooperative relationship for these two hypodermally expressed proteins that is essential for collagen cross-linking and proper extracellular matrix formation

An Evaluation of the Idaho Plate Method for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes and Limited Health Literacy in Rural West Virginia

This capstone project evaluated the Idaho Plate Method (IPM) as an effective nutrition self-management program for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with limited health literacy (LHL) in one rural clinic in West Virginia. A one-way pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the effects of the program on food choices, confidence, and HbA1c. A convenience sample of 30 volunteers participated in the program with 3-month follow-up data collected on 22 volunteers. A Wilcoxon test was conducted to evaluate choices of fruits, vegetables, and fatty foods and participant confidence in making healthful food choices. Data analysis found significant differences in fruit intake (z = -1.98, p 0.05); vegetables intake (z = -2.58, p .01); and skim milk intake (z = -2.094, p .04). There was a decrease intake of French-fries and fried potatoes (z = -2.26, p .02); butter or margarine on bread or pancakes (z = -2.494, p .01); regular fat hot dogs (z = -2.693, p\u3c0.01); and total fat consumption ( z = -2.50, p .01). A significant increase in confidence was found in participants ability to prepare or share food with non-diabetics (z = -3.10, p .002); to choose appropriate foods when hungry (z = -2.72, p = .006); to eat smaller portions at dinner (z = -2.46, p .014); and to add less fat than a recipe calls for (z = -2.10, p .035). Paired t-test analysis compared pretest-posttest HbA1c results with a very nearly significant difference between the HbA1c pretest ( M = 7.96, SD = 1.83) and posttest (M = 7.34, SD = 1.60), t (24) = 2.02, p .055). Limitations of the study included the study design, lack of participants with LHL, high attrition rate, and study time restraints. Conclusions found, despite limitations, adults in rural WV with T2DM increased confidence in making healthy food choices, choosing healthy foods, and improving their glycemic control using the IPM

Interpersonal and affective dimensions of psychopathic traits in adolescents : development and validation of a self-report instrument

We report the development and psychometric evaluations of a self-report instrument designed to screen for psychopathic traits among mainstream community adolescents. Tests of item functioning were initially conducted with 26 adolescents. In a second study the new instrument was administered to 150 high school adolescents, 73 of who had school records of suspension for antisocial behavior. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 4-factor structure (Impulsivity α = .73, Self-Centredness α = .70, Callous-Unemotional α = .69, and Manipulativeness α = .83). In a third study involving 328 high school adolescents, 130 with records of suspension for antisocial behaviour, competing measurement models were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. The superiority of a first-order model represented by four correlated factors that was invariant across gender and age was confirmed. The findings provide researchers and clinicians with a psychometrically strong, self-report instrument and a greater understanding of psychopathic traits in mainstream adolescents

Measurement of Microstructure of Snow from Surface Sections

A new approach to modelling the microstructure of snow is presented. The features involved in this formulation include skeletonising of the granular material and the modelling of the necks as a system of truncated cones. The skeletonising involves the process of representing the granular structure by a series of lines describing the grains and the necks and bonds. The value associated with any point on the skeleton is determined by the closest distance from the point to a grain boundary or neck boundary, whichever is smaller. This approach allows for easy visualisation of the material and efficient data storage. The use truncated cone model for the necked regions represents a more accurate physical description of the necks and should provide for a better relationship between microstructure and material properties. Preliminary results of one case study are presente

Mixture Theory of Mass Transfer Based upon Microstructure

A mixture theory has been developed to model equitemperature metamorphism of snow. This formulation is a volume fraction theory which models the inter change of mass between the constitueats making up the mixture. The formulation has been developed so that the microstructure of the materialis included to correctly describe the mechanical and thermal processes. The second law of thermo dynamics is used to impose restrictions upon the various constitutive relations. These constitutive relationsare then described in terms of microstructure of the material. The micsostructure of each constituentis represented by constituent size (mean grain size, intergranular bond size), intergranular neckgeometry, specific free surface area and dispersed density. The resulting formulation is then used to model equitemperature metamorphism of snow by determining the time-dependent changes in thedistribution of grain size, neck size and dispersed densities of each of the constituents. The resultsobtained show that the formulation can describe how the material changes under equitemperatureconditions. However, it is noted that since microstructure significantly affects the rate of metamorphism,an accurate determination of the microstructure (including grain and neck size distribution) is necessary for this approach to accurately predict changes in the material due to metamorphism

Glycation marker glucosepane increases with the progression of osteoarthritis and correlates with morphological and functional changes of cartilage in vivo

Background: Changes of serum concentrations of glycated, oxidized, and nitrated amino acids and hydroxyproline and anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody status combined by machine learning techniques in algorithms have recently been found to provide improved diagnosis and typing of early-stage arthritis of the knee, including osteoarthritis (OA), in patients. The association of glycated, oxidized, and nitrated amino acids released from the joint with development and progression of knee OA is unknown. We studied this in an OA animal model as well as interleukin-1β-activated human chondrocytes in vitro and translated key findings to patients with OA. Methods: Sixty male 3-week-old Dunkin-Hartley guinea pigs were studied. Separate groups of 12 animals were killed at age 4, 12, 20, 28 and 36 weeks, and histological severity of knee OA was evaluated, and cartilage rheological properties were assessed. Human chondrocytes cultured in multilayers were treated for 10 days with interleukin-1β. Human patients with early and advanced OA and healthy controls were recruited, blood samples were collected, and serum or plasma was prepared. Serum, plasma, and culture medium were analyzed for glycated, oxidized, and nitrated amino acids. Results: Severity of OA increased progressively in guinea pigs with age. Glycated, oxidized, and nitrated amino acids were increased markedly at week 36, with glucosepane and dityrosine increasing progressively from weeks 20 and 28, respectively. Glucosepane correlated positively with OA histological severity (r = 0.58, p < 0.0001) and instantaneous modulus (r = 0.52–0.56; p < 0.0001), oxidation free adducts correlated positively with OA severity (p < 0.0009–0.0062), and hydroxyproline correlated positively with cartilage thickness (p < 0.0003–0.003). Interleukin-1β increased the release of glycated and nitrated amino acids from chondrocytes in vitro. In clinical translation, plasma glucosepane was increased 38% in early-stage OA (p < 0.05) and sixfold in patients with advanced OA (p < 0.001) compared with healthy controls. Conclusions: These studies further advance the prospective role of glycated, oxidized, and nitrated amino acids as serum biomarkers in diagnostic algorithms for early-stage detection of OA and other arthritic disease. Plasma glucosepane, reported here for the first time to our knowledge, may improve early-stage diagnosis and progression of clinical OA