A microbial symbiosis factor prevents intestinal inflammatory disease

Humans are colonized by multitudes of commensal organisms representing members of five of the six kingdoms of life; however, our gastrointestinal tract provides residence to both beneficial and potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Imbalances in the composition of the bacterial microbiota, known as dysbiosis, are postulated to be a major factor in human disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease. We report here that the prominent human symbiont Bacteroides fragilis protects animals from experimental colitis induced by Helicobacter hepaticus, a commensal bacterium with pathogenic potential. This beneficial activity requires a single microbial molecule (polysaccharide A, PSA). In animals harbouring B. fragilis not expressing PSA, H. hepaticus colonization leads to disease and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in colonic tissues. Purified PSA administered to animals is required to suppress pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 production by intestinal immune cells and also inhibits in vitro reactions in cell cultures. Furthermore, PSA protects from inflammatory disease through a functional requirement for interleukin-10-producing CD4+ T cells. These results show that molecules of the bacterial microbiota can mediate the critical balance between health and disease. Harnessing the immunomodulatory capacity of symbiosis factors such as PSA might potentially provide therapeutics for human inflammatory disorders on the basis of entirely novel biological principles

Effects of Potassium Source and Secondary Nutrients on Potato Yield and Quality in Southcentral Alaska.

Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S) are required for the growth and development of all higher plants. They are commonly referred to as secondary nutrients because they are less often limiting to plant growth than the primary nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), although secondary nutrients are as critical for crop growth and development as the primary nutrients. There is limited information available concerning secondary nutrient requirements of potatoes grown in southcentral Alaska. Laughlin (1966) conducted studies between 1961 and 1963 comparing potassium chloride (KCl) and potassium sulfate (K2SO4) as potassium sources for Green Mountain potatoes, and determined the effects of varying rates of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and K2SO4 on Kennebec potatoes. Since these studies were conducted without irrigation and at production levels about one-half those obtained by top producers in the Matanuska Valley today, it was considered appropriate to expand upon the previous work using current production practices. Potassium was supplied as KCl and K2 SO4 to explore the need for additional S under local potato production conditions and to determine the effects of the chloride (Cl) and sulfate (SO4) anions on production and quality of potato tubers. In addition, Mg and Ca were added to determine whether the background levels of these nutrients were adequate for optimum production

A Review of "A Field Guide to the Information Commons"

10.1080/15367960903170611Book reviewThis is a review of the book, A Field Guide to the Information Commons, by Forrest, C. and Halbert, M. (Eds.). (2009). Latham, MD: Scarecrow Press

A Review of “Library of Walls: The Library of Congress and the Contradictions of Information Society”

Author Posting. (c) June L. DeWeese, 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of 'Copyright Holder' for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Access Services, Volume 7 Issue 2, April 2010. doi:10.1080/15367961003626981 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15367961003626981)This article offers a review of Collins, S. G. (2009). Library of Walls: The Library of Congress and the Contradictions of Information Society. Duluth, MN: Litwin Books

Analysis and Design of Standard Telerobotic Control Software

The Robotics and Automation Center for Excellence (RACE) has defined an open telerobotics control architecture. This architecture, called the Unified Telerobotic Architecture Project (UTAP), is a proposed standard for all Air Force telerobotic systems. Implementation of UTAP will reduce the cost of robotic applications by increasing software modularity, portability, and reusability. This thesis continued the effort to prove the feasibility of UTAP. In December, 1995, 1st Lt Anchor implemented a portion of the UTAP specification on a PUMA robot. The UTAP-compliant controller exhibited some degradation in the system performance. However, the performance degradation was not fully measured. This thesis extended the measurements of Anchor\u27s implementation. Additionally, a portion of the UTAP specification was implemented on an Adept 550 manipulator and the performance effects were measured. The implementation included portions of the generic, robot/axis servo control, tool control, sensor control, programmable 10, subsystem task level control, task description and supervision, parent task program sequencer, task program sequencer, and object knowledge modules. Performance measurements of this implementation indicated that, although performance was adversely affected, the degradation was caused by the interface between the UTAP-compliant application and the non-UTAP-compliant operating system. There was little difference between the complaint and non-compliant applications. Successful implementation of the UTAP specification on the PUMA and Adept manipulators proves that it is a feasible telerobotic architecture. Further study of the specification is recommended. Specifically, the development of a UTAP-compliant operating system should be continued

An analysis of twelve standardized reading readiness tests

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University This item was digitized by the Internet Archive