Acute effects of inspiratory pressure threshold loading upon airway resistance in people with asthma

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.Large inspiratory pressures may impart stretch to airway smooth muscle and modify the response to deep inspiration (DI) in asthmatics. Respiratory system resistance (Rrs) was assessed in response to 5 inspiratory manoeuvres using the forced oscillation technique: (a) single unloaded DI; (b) single DI at 25 cmH2O; (c) single DI at 50% maximum inspiratory mouth pressure [MIP]; (d) 30 DIs at 50% MIP; and (e) 30 DIs at 50% MIP with maintenance of normocapnia. Rrs increased after the unloaded DI and the DI at 25 cmH2O but not after a DI at 50% MIP (3.6 ± 1.6 hPa L s−1 vs. 3.6 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1; p = 0.95), 30 DIs at 50% MIP (3.9 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1 vs. 4.2 ± 2.0 hPa L s−1; p = 0.16) or 30 DIs at 50% MIP under normocapnic conditions (3.9 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1 vs. 3.9 ± 1.5 hPa L s−1; p = 0.55). Increases in Rrs in response to DI were attenuated after single and multiple loaded breaths at 50% MIP

Effects of mechanically separated dairy cow slurry on grazing performance

No abstract available

Morphic and principal-ideal group rings

We observe that the class of left and right artinian left and right morphic rings agrees with the class of artinian principal ideal rings. For $R$ an artinian principal ideal ring and $G$ a group, we characterize when $RG$ is a principal ideal ring; for finite groups $G$, this characterizes when $RG$ is a left and right morphic ring. This extends work of Passman, Sehgal and Fisher in the case when $R$ is a field, and work of Chen, Li, and Zhou on morphic group rings.Comment: 21 page

Digital inclusion and techno-capital in Austin, Texas

Concerns about the ability of marginalized groups to use the Internet in a meaningful way have factored in discussions of the social impact of the Internet and technology policy since the 1990s. Although mainstream policy has emphasized the costs of using the Internet, such as hardware and Internet service, additional barriers to meaningful use persist. These barriers can include language, familiarity with computer systems, a lack of social support, and limited knowledge of services available online. Although these higher-level and cultural barriers have been framed in terms of skills or literacies, this study situates its results and analysis in Bourdieu’s notions of field, habitus, and multiple forms of capital, specifically extending the notion of capital to the technology field with the concept of techno-capital. By using Bourdieu’s conceptual framework, this study endeavors to situate Internet use in its broader social context, arguing that inequalities in Internet use are the product of deep inequalities in social power, which extend to access to education, government services, and information. This project explores how a richer theory of social inequality, based on Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, and multiple forms of capital can be used to frame a secondary data analysis of a survey conducted by a local government. Based on data collected by the City of Austin in 2010, it first provides an overview of differences in Internet connections and use among segments of society before moving on to more complex analyses related to techno-capital. In particular, it examines the relationship between the social contexts of use and the ability to make meaningful use of the Internet, finding that techno-capital is linked with access at institutional sites such as work and school. The study then turns to comparing techno-capital between demographic groups, by users of specific technologies, and by use in social contexts. It finally uses multivariate analysis to identify which factors may be most critical in developing techno-capital. Broader social factors such as institutional use and educational attainment appear to have more power nurturing techno-capital than availability of an Internet connection, questioning dominant assumptions about digital inclusion.Radio-Television-Fil

Stability analysis of polarized domains

Polarized ferrofluids, lipid monolayers and magnetic bubbles form domains with deformable boundaries. Stability analysis of these domains depends on a family of nontrivial integrals. We present a closed form evaluation of these integrals as a combination of Legendre functions. This result allows exact and explicit formulae for stability thresholds and growth rates of individual modes. We also evaluate asymptotic behavior in several interesting limits.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, Late

Applying the mesolens to microbiology : visualising biofilm architecture and substructure

Biofilms pose a public health risk due to their ability to protect bacteria from mechanical, environmental and chemical factors. Thereby they can confer resistance to their constituent bacteria and serve as a vehicle for spread of antimicrobial resistance [1]. Understanding the structure of bacterial communities is critical to developing novel methods of biofilm eradication. Current techniques for imaging live biofilms are limited by sacrificing the size of the imaging volume or spatial resolution. Common approaches to imaging biofilm architecture include electron microscopy techniques [2], single or multi-photon confocal microscopy [3] or wide field epi-fluorescence microscopy using low-magnification, low-numerical aperture lenses [4]. Here we use the Mesolens, an optical microscope with a unique combination of a low magnification (x4) and a high numerical aperture (0.47) which can image specimens up to 6x6x3 mm in volume with a lateral resolution of 700 nm and an axial resolution of 7 μm [5]. Using the Mesolens, it is possible to image whole live colony biofilms with cellular resolution in a single dataset. We report the finding of intra-colony channels (measuring ca.15 μm in diameter) which form when Escherichia coli colonies are grown on a solid surface as an inherent property of biofilm formation. By tracking the movement of 200 nm fluorescent microspheres, we observe translocation of the microspheres from the base of the biofilm into the colony with specific localisation to the channel systems. The uptake of microspheres by the colony, infers that these features are inherent to biofilm formation and provide a role in structural support. The biofilms in this work were grown on a nutrient-rich solid medium, and by expanding from the observations of our bead uptake assay we can deduce that the channels may also play a role in nutrient uptake and dissemination throughout the colony. These findings serve as evidence of a fundamental principle of structural biology and bacterial organisation

High School Students\u27 Response to Writing Mentor Feedback of Mirrors, Windows, Doors Literature Circle

How do high school writers feel about feedback on their writing drafts from pre-service English teachers, when those drafts are written during a Mirrors, Windows, Doors Literature Circles unit?https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2023/1026/thumbnail.jp

Synteny mapping between common bean and soybean reveals extensive blocks of shared loci

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding syntentic relationship between two species is critical to assessing the potential for comparative genomic analysis. Common bean (<it>Phaseolus vulgaris </it>L.) and soybean (<it>Glycine max </it>L.), the two most important members of the Phaseoleae legumes, appear to have a diploid and polyploidy recent past, respectively. Determining the syntentic relationship between these two species will allow researchers to leverage not only genomic resources but also genetic data for important agronomic traits to improve both of these species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Genetically-positioned transcript loci of common bean were mapped relative to the recent soybean 1.01 pseudochromosome assembly. In nearly every case, each common bean locus mapped to two loci in soybean, a result consistent with the duplicate polyploidy history of soybean. Blocks of synteny averaging 32 cM in common bean and 4.9 Mb in soybean were observed for all 11 common bean linkage groups, and these blocks mapped to all 20 soybean pseudochromosomes. The median physical-to-genetic distance ratio in common bean (based on soybean physical distances) was ~120 kb/cM. ~15,000 common bean sequences (primarily EST contigs and EST singletons) were electronically positioned onto the common bean map using the shared syntentic blocks as references points.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The collected evidence from this mapping strongly supports the duplicate history of soybean. It further provides evidence that the soybean genome was fractionated and reassembled at some point following the duplication event. These well mapped syntentic relationships between common bean and soybean will enable researchers to target specific genomic regions to discover genes or loci that affect phenotypic expression in both species.</p

Increased expression of IL-16 in the brain of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the CNS, whose pathophysiology involves both inflammatory and neurodegenerative components. CD4+ T cells are one of the key mediators of disease initiation and progression; however CD4 i s also the receptor for the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin - 16 (IL - 16). IL - 16 has been proposed to play a role in several autoimmune diseases, but the exact role of IL - 16 in the CNS during MS initiation and progression remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the expression and distribution of IL - 16 in CNS tissue and investigate whether expression levels correlate with neuro-inflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of MS. EAE was induced in 6 week old C 57BL/6J female mice by immunisation with MOG35 - 55 peptide and adjuvants. Tissue was harvested at onset (day 11), peak (day 16) and resolution (day 26), and immunofluorescence staining carried out to determine CD45, CD4 and IL - 16 expression and localisation in the brain of both control and EAE mice. In addition, co-localisation of IL - 16 with CNS and immune cell subtypes was performed using a Mesolens microscope (McConnell et al., 2016), which allows subcellular detail to be obtained from wide - field epifluorescence images. Expression of IL - 16 and CD4 was observed primarily within the lesions of cerebellum and hippocampus of the EAE brain, whereas little expression was observed in control brains. IL - 16 expression was highest at onset with 76 ±2.8% of cells ( n=3) within these lesions expressing IL - 16. This was reduced to 48±2.4% (n=3) at peak and 16 ±1.3% at resolution (n=3). Co-localization studies revealed that IL - 16 was expressed primarily by infiltrating immune cells but not by neurons or astrocytes. Co-localization of IL - 16 with immune cells in brain lesions of EAE mice suggests that infiltrating immune cells are the primary source of IL - 16. Further investigation is required if IL - 16 is pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory in the CNS during EAE