An extensive phenotypic characterization of the hTNFα transgenic mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is implicated in a wide variety of pathological and physiological processes, including chronic inflammatory conditions, coronary artery disease, diabetes, obesity, and cachexia. Transgenic mice expressing human TNFα (hTNFα) have previously been described as a model for progressive rheumatoid arthritis. In this report, we describe extensive characterization of an hTNFα transgenic mouse line.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In addition to arthritis, these hTNFα transgenic mice demonstrated major alterations in body composition, metabolic rate, leptin levels, response to a high-fat diet, bone mineral density and content, impaired fertility and male sexual function. Many phenotypes displayed an earlier onset and a higher degree of severity in males, pointing towards a significant degree of sexual dimorphism in response to deregulated expression of TNFα.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results highlight the potential usefulness of this transgenic model as a resource for studying the progressive effects of constitutively expressed low levels of circulating TNFα, a condition mimicking that observed in a number of human pathological conditions.</p

Financial Structure and Economic Welfare: Applied General Equilibrium Development Economics

This review provides a common framework for researchers thinking about the next generation of micro-founded macro models of growth, inequality, and financial deepening, as well as direction for policy makers targeting microfinance programs to alleviate poverty. Topics include treatment of financial structure general equilibrium models: testing for as-if-complete markets or other financial underpinnings; examining dual-sector models with both a perfectly intermediated sector and a sector in financial autarky, as well as a second generation of these models that embeds information problems and other obstacles to trade; designing surveys to capture measures of income, investment/savings, and flow of funds; and aggregating individuals and households to the level of network, village, or national economy. The review concludes with new directions that overcome conceptual and computational limitations.National Science Foundation (U.S.)National Institutes of Health (U.S.)Templeton FoundationBill & Melinda Gates Foundatio

Power Quality/Harmonic Detection: Harmonic Control in Electric Power Systems for the Telecommunications Industry

The control of harmonics in power systems continues to be a major concern in the telecommunications industry. AC/DC telecommunication conversion equipment has rarely been thought of as playing a major role in the harmonic interaction problem. Yet, in today's sensitive electronics, the input conversion is likely to generate high harmonic currents upstream into the power source. The output side may be expected to handle a non-sinusoidal current and is to do so without causing voltage distortion. This paper reviews the origin and causes of harmonics, the bad effects of harmonics, the acceptable harmonic distortion limits in the telecommunication power system and the best methods for harmonic detection and mitigation

The Geographic Concentration of Enterprise in Developing Countries

A nation's economic geography can have an enormous impact on its development. In Thailand, we show that a high concentration of enterprise in an area predicts high subsequent growth in and around that area. We also find spatially contiguous convergence of enterprise with stagnant areas left behind. Exogenous physiographic conditions are correlated with enterprise location and growth. We fit a structural, micro-founded model of occupation transitions with fine-tuned geographic capabilities to village data and replicate these salient facts. Key elements of the model include costs, credit constraints on occupation choice, and spatially varying expansion of financial service providers. Copyright 2011, Oxford University Press.

Composition of fatty acids in milk fat from milk obtained from cows grown in cowsheds in summer and winter season periods

Skład i jakość mleka zależą od różnych czynników, m.in. uwarunkowań genetycznych, środowiskowych, stanu fizjologicznego zwierząt oraz pory roku. Wpływ pory roku uwidocznia się sezonowością w produkcji mleka (sezon zimowy - żywienie oborowe; sezon letni - żywienie pastwiskowe). Jednak w ostatnich latach zmieniają się warunki chowu bydła mlecznego, które polegają na przechodzeniu na całoroczne alkierzowe utrzymanie krów, w którym żywienie pastwiskowe zastąpione jest systemem PMR. Może to się wiązać ze zmianą składu mleka, w tym profilu kwasów tłuszczowych. W celu zweryfikowania tej hipotezy, podjęto badania mające na celu analizę tłuszczu mleka z sezonu letniego oraz zimowego, pobranego z dużego gospodarstwa rolnego stosującego żywienie systemem PMR. Tłuszcz z mleka ekstrahowano metodą Rösego-Gottlieba, zaś estry metylowe kwasów tłuszczowych w wyodrębnionym tłuszczu przygotowano według metody IDF Standard. Rozdział estrów metylowych wykonano metodą chromatografii gazowej, stosując chromatograf gazowy wyposażony w detektor płomieniowo-jonizacyjny (FID). Stwierdzono, że w okresie letnim tłuszcz pozyskanego mleka zawierał więcej nienasyconych, a w okresie zimowym - więcej nasyconych kwasów tłuszczowych. Różnice te spowodowane były przede wszystkim wzrostem zawartości kwasu oleinowego, stearynowego oraz wielonienasyconych kwasów tłuszczowych, a także zmniejszeniem zawartości kwasów palmitynowego, mirystynowego i laurynowego w okresie letnim. Ponadto wykazano, że pomimo zastosowania alkierzowego sposobu utrzymaniu krów, w profilu kwasów tłuszczowych nadal występują zmiany, które są charakterystyczne dla sezonu letniego oraz zimowego.The composition and quality of milk depend on various factors, among other things, on genetic and environmental conditions, physiological status of animals, and season of the year. The effect of season of the year is reflected by the seasonality of milk production (winter season: indoor feeding; summer season: pasture feeding). However, in recent years, the conditions of dairy farming have changed, i.e. cows are kept in cowsheds all year long and the pasture feeding has been replaced by a PMR feeding system. This could be linked with changes in milk composition, including changes in the profile of fatty acids. In order to verify this hypothesis, a research study has been undertaken and focused on the analysis of fat in milk from the summer and winter periods. The milk studied was provided by a large farm applying a PMR feeding system. The milk fat was extracted using a Röse-Gottlib method; the methyl esters of fatty acids in the fat extracted were prepared according to an IDF Standard method. The separation of methyl esters was performed by gas chromatography with the use of a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID). It was found that the fat from milk obtained in summer had more unsaturated fatty acids and the fat in milk from winter contained more saturated fatty acids. Those differences resulted from, primarily, the increased content of oleic, stearic, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as from the decreased content of palmitic, myristic, and lauric acid in the summer period. Additionally, it was proved that despite the raising of cows in cowsheds, still, there were changes in the profile of fatty acids appearing characteristic for the summer and winter period