Department of Cardiac Function in LCAD Deficient Mice After a Single Bout of Endurance Exercise

Fatty acids are the primary fuel source for cardiac tissue in both humans and animals. These become especially important during times of starvation and long bouts of exercise. Fatty acids are broken down into smaller, useable acyl-CoA subunits through a process called beta-oxidation. The first step in this process must be catalyzed by one of four acyl-CoA dehydrogenase enzymes depending on the length of the fatty acid to be metabolized. The enzyme that catalyzes the break-down of long-chain fatty acids, long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCAD), was examined. The objective of this study was to determine how a single bout of endurance exercise impacts cardiac function in LCAD deficient mice as well as to assess whether recovery from exercise is adversely affected. Mice were separated into four groups for testing: LCAD, non-exercised; LCAD, exercised; control, non-exercised; and control, exercised. Mice were exercised by forced running at a speed of 31m/min with increasing grade (2%) each 20 min. Twenty-four hours post-exercise, the mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (40 ml/kg body weight,) and ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and cardiac output values were determined in both groups. It was determined that exercise had no effect on cardiac function or recovery in either the LCAD or control group. There was, however, a significant difference between the LCAD and control group for fractional shortening (p\u3c0.05) and cardiac output (p\u3c0.05). It was concluded that a single bout of endurance exercise had no significant effect on the cardiac function of LCAD deficient mice during recovery, although the disease did negatively affect cardiac function when compared to the control group

Creating Stronger Diversity Initiatives in Employment Settings

This article explores the common problems associated with ineffective diversity initiatives and what steps a firm can take to cultivate a successful plan. Diversity dilemmas in the workplace have long frustrated advocates who desire not only to see greater representation of minorities and women in firms, but also that those people are integrated across the firm and accepted as valued, productive members, of the firm’s culture. Knowing how an initiative fails to achieve diversity goals and learning from successful examples will enable firms to create a better work environment, capitalize on market opportunities, and enjoy many other benefits

Visibly irreducible polynomials over finite fields

H. Lenstra has pointed out that a cubic polynomial of the form (x-a)(x-b)(x-c) + r(x-d)(x-e), where {a,b,c,d,e} is some permutation of {0,1,2,3,4}, is irreducible modulo 5 because every possible linear factor divides one summand but not the other. We classify polynomials over finite fields that admit an irreducibility proof with this structure.Comment: 11 pages. To appear in the American Mathematical Monthl

Canonical rings of Q-divisors on P^1

The canonical ring $S_D = \bigoplus_{d \geq 0} H^0(X, \lfloor dD \rfloor)$ of a divisor D on a curve X is a natural object of study; when D is a Q-divisor, it has connections to projective embeddings of stacky curves and rings of modular forms. We study the generators and relations of S_D for the simplest curve X = P^1. When D contains at most two points, we give a complete description of S_D; for general D, we give bounds on the generators and relations. We also show that the generators (for at most five points) and a Groebner basis of relations between them (for at most four points) depend only on the coefficients in the divisor D, not its points or the characteristic of the ground field; we conjecture that the minimal system of relations varies in a similar way. Although stated in terms of algebraic geometry, our results are proved by translating to the combinatorics of lattice points in simplices and cones.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

Strategic HR: Outsource Yourself?

[Excerpt] Human Resources has undergone a major transformation over the past three decades. Instead of solely pursuing a functional approach of delivering services, HR professionals now seek to develop and support the critical firm capabilities that drive business strategy. This shift indicates an important change in the way HR contributes to the achievement of an organization’s objectives. And yet responsibility for the older, functional aspects of HR still resides within the field, intertwining two components with considerable differences