Letters to the editor

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Lifespan of long-lived growth hormone receptor knockout mice was not normalized by housing at 30°C since weaning

Growth hormone receptor knockout (GHRKO) mice are remarkably long-lived and have improved glucose homeostasis along with altered energy metabolism which manifests through decreased respiratory quotient (RQ) and increased oxygen consumption (VO2 ). Short-term exposure of these animals to increased environmental temperature (eT) at 30°C can normalize their VO2 and RQ. We hypothesized that increased heat loss in the diminutive GHRKO mice housed at 23°C and the consequent metabolic adjustments to meet the increased energy demand for thermogenesis may promote extension of longevity, and preventing these adjustments by chronic exposure to increased eT will reduce or eliminate their longevity advantage. To test these hypotheses, GHRKO mice were housed at increased eT (30°C) since weaning. Here, we report that contrasting with the effects of short-term exposure of adult GHRKO mice to 30°C, transferring juvenile GHRKO mice to chronic housing at 30°C did not normalize the examined parameters of energy metabolism and glucose homeostasis. Moreover, despite decreased expression levels of thermogenic genes in brown adipose tissue (BAT) and elevated core body temperature, the lifespan of male GHRKO mice was not reduced, while the lifespan of female GHRKO mice was increased, along with improved glucose homeostasis. The results indicate that GHRKO mice have intrinsic features that help maintain their delayed, healthy aging, and extended longevity at both 23°C and 30°C

Antibody-Independent Control of γ-Herpesvirus Latency via B Cell Induction of Anti-Viral T Cell Responses

B cells can use antibody-dependent mechanisms to control latent viral infections. It is unknown whether this represents the sole function of B cells during chronic viral infection. We report here that hen egg lysozyme (HEL)-specific B cells can contribute to the control of murine γ-herpesvirus 68 (γHV68) latency without producing anti-viral antibody. HEL-specific B cells normalized defects in T cell numbers and proliferation observed in B cell−/− mice during the early phase of γHV68 latency. HEL-specific B cells also reversed defects in CD8 and CD4 T cell cytokine production observed in B cell−/− mice, generating CD8 and CD4 T cells necessary for control of latency. Furthermore, HEL-specific B cells were able to present virally encoded antigen to CD8 T cells. Therefore, B cells have antibody independent functions, including antigen presentation, that are important for control of γ-herpesvirus latency. Exploitation of this property of B cells may allow enhanced vaccine responses to chronic virus infection

POWER, ENDURANCE, AND BODY COMPOSITION CHANGES OVER A COLLEGIATE CAREER IN NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN SOCCER ATHLETES

The purpose of this study was to determine longitudinal changes in fitness and body composition throughout athletes\u27 4-year collegiate soccer careers. Performance testing occurred before preseason during freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year in 17 female Division I soccer players. Body composition was assessed through air-displacement plethysmography to determine percent body fat (%BF), fat-free mass (FFM), and body mass (BM). Maximal countermovement vertical jump height was assessed through contact mat using arm swing (CMJAS) and hands-on-hips (CMJHOH) methods to calculate power (CMJwatts/HOHwatts). Aerobic capacity (V̇o2max) and ventilatory threshold (VT) were assessed by indirect calorimetry during a maximal graded exercise test on a treadmill. Linear mixed models were used to assess changes across academic years (p \u3c 0.05). No changes occurred in %BF, BM, V̇o2max, VT, CMJAS, or CMJwatts. A time main effect was seen for FFM (p = 0.01) with increases from freshman to senior (p = 0.02). Time main effects were observed for CMJHOH (p \u3c 0.001) and CMJHOHwatts (p \u3c 0.001) with increases from freshman to junior (CMJHOH,p = 0.001; CMJHOHwatts, p = 0.02) and senior (CMJHOH, p \u3c 0.001; CMJHOHwatts, p = 0.003) as well as sophomore to senior (CMJHOH, p \u3c 0.001; CMJHOHwatts, p = 0.02). Countermovement vertical jump with hands on hips also increased from sophomore to junior (p = 0.005). The lower FFM and power capabilities as freshmen compared with upperclassman indicate a potential limited readiness. Coaches and training staff should account for these developmental differences when entering the preseason. Adequate conditioning programs before starting a collegiate program may help build a fitness foundation and prepare freshmen athletes to compete at the same level as their upperclassmen counterparts

A Method Based on Multi-Sensor Data Fusion for Fault Detection of Planetary Gearboxes

Studies on fault detection and diagnosis of planetary gearboxes are quite limited compared with those of fixed-axis gearboxes. Different from fixed-axis gearboxes, planetary gearboxes exhibit unique behaviors, which invalidate fault diagnosis methods that work well for fixed-axis gearboxes. It is a fact that for systems as complex as planetary gearboxes, multiple sensors mounted on different locations provide complementary information on the health condition of the systems. On this basis, a fault detection method based on multi-sensor data fusion is introduced in this paper. In this method, two features developed for planetary gearboxes are used to characterize the gear health conditions, and an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is utilized to fuse all features from different sensors. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, experiments are carried out on a planetary gearbox test rig, on which multiple accelerometers are mounted for data collection. The comparisons between the proposed method and the methods based on individual sensors show that the former achieves much higher accuracies in detecting planetary gearbox faults

Bearing signal separation enhancement with application to helicopter transmission system

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Bearing vibration signal separation is essential for fault detection of gearboxes, especially where the vibration is nonstationary, susceptible to background noise, and subjected to an arduous transmission path from the source to the receiver. This paper presents a methodology for improving fault detection via a series of vibration signal processing techniques, including signal separation, synchronous averaging (SA), spectral kurtosis (SK), and envelope analysis. These techniques have been tested on experimentally obtained vibration data acquired from the transmission system of a CS-29 Category A helicopter gearbox operating under different bearing damage conditions. Results showed successful enhancement of bearing fault detection on the second planetary stage of the gearbo

A comparative study of the effectiveness of vibration and acoustic emission in diagnosing a defective bearing in a planetry gearbox

Whilst vibration analysis of planetary gearbox faults is relatively well established, the application of Acoustic Emission (AE) to this field is still in its infancy. For planetary-type gearboxes it is more challenging to diagnose bearing faults due to the dynamically changing transmission paths which contribute to masking the vibration signature of interest. The present study is aimed to reduce the effect of background noise whilst extracting the fault feature from AE and vibration signatures. This has been achieved through developing of internal AE sensor for helicopter transmission system. In addition, series of signal processing procedure has been developed to improved detection of incipient damage. Three signal processing techniques including an adaptive filter, spectral kurtosis and envelope analysis, were applied to AE and vibration data acquired from a simplified planetary gearbox test rig with a seeded bearing defect. The results show that AE identified the defect earlier than vibration analysis irrespective of the tortuous transmission pat

2003 AAPP Monograph Series

It is significant that the African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is producing the third edition of its annual monograph series at this time-the fifth anniversary of AAPP. The program graciously accepts the challenge of putting into place a requirement for the scholars to produce quality research papers worthy of publication. This provides widespread visibility for them and enhances their curriculum vitae concurrently. Scholars who have contributed manuscripts for this monograph are to be commended for adding this additional responsibility to their academic workload. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these papers. From neophytes, relatively speaking, to an array of very experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and comprehensively written. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed to address the underrepresentation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored by the University of South Carolina, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits students with bachelor\u27s, master\u27s, and doctoral degrees for disciplines in which African Americans currently are underrepresented. An important component of the program is the mentoring experience that is provided. Each student is assigned to a mentor/professor who guides the student through a selected academic program and provides various learning experiences. When possible, the mentor serves as chair of the student\u27s doctoral committee. The mentor also provides opportunities for the student to team teach, conduct research, and co-author publications. Students have the advantage of attending committee, faculty, and professional meetings, as well as engaging in a range of activities that characterize professional life in academia. Scholars enrolled in the program also are involved in programmatic and institutional workshops, independent research, and program development. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to a window of opportunity to be sensitive to an academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, at the same time, one that allows for the dissemination of AAPP products to a broader community. The importance of this monograph series has been voiced by one of our 2002 AAPP graduates, Dr. Shundelle LaTjuan Dogan, a recent Harvard Administrative Fellow at Harvard University and now Program Officer for the Southern Education Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Dogan wrote: One thing in particular that I want to thank you for is having the African American Professors Program scholars publish articles for the monograph. I have to admit that writing the articles seemed like extra work at the time. However, in my recent interview process, organizations have asked me for samples of my writing. Including an article from a published monograph helped to make my portfolio much more impressive. You were right on target in having us do the monograph series. We hope that you will read this monograph of the African American Professors Program with enthusiasm or enlightenment. John McFadden, Ph.D. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Professor Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1006/thumbnail.jp

2006 AAPP Monograph American Series

The African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is proud to publish the sixth edition of its annual monograph series. The program recognizes the significance of offering its scholars a venue for engaging actively in research and for publishing papers related thereto. Parallel with the publication of their refereed manuscripts is the opportunity to gain visibility among scholars throughout institutions worldwide. Scholars who have contributed manuscripts for this monograph are to be commended for adding this additional responsibility to their academic workloads. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these papers. From neophytes, relatively speaking, to an array of very experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and comprehensively written. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed to address the underrepresentation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored by the University of South Carolina, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits doctoral students for disciplines in which African Americans currently are underrepresented among faculty in higher education. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to a window of opportunity to be sensitive to an academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, at the same time, one that allows for the dissemination of AAPP products to a broader community. The importance of this monograph series has been voiced by one of our 2002 AAPP graduates, Dr. Shundele LaTjuan Dogan, a former Program Officer for the Southern Education Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia, a former Administrative Fellow at Harvard University, and currently a Senior Program Officer with the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, focusing on the Pathways to Success Initiative. Dr. Dogan wrote: One thing in particular that I want to thank you for is having the African American Professors Program scholars publish articles for the monograph. I have to admit that writing the articles seemed like extra work at the time. However, in my recent interview process, organizations have asked me for samples of my writing. Including an article from a published monograph helped to make my portfolio much more impressive. You were \u27right on target\u27 in having us do the monograph series. {AAPP 2003 Monograph, p xi) The African American Professors Program offers this 2006 publication as a contribution to its readership and hopes that you will be inspired by this select group of manuscripts. John McFadden, Ph.D. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Professor Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1008/thumbnail.jp

2002 AAPP Monograph Series: African American Professors Program

The African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is pleased to produce the second edition of its annual monograph series. It is fitting that the program contrives to assume a leadership role in promoting scholarly products that prove to be useful in research endeavors by faculty and students in higher education. Scholars who have contributed manuscripts for this monograph are to be commended for adding this additional responsibility to their academic workload. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these papers. From neophytes, relatively speaking, to an array of very experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and comprehensively written. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed to address the underrepresentation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored by the University of South Carolina, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits students with bachelor\u27s, master\u27s, and doctoral degrees for disciplines in which African Americans, currently, are underrepresented. An important component of the program is the mentoring experience that is provided. Each student is assigned to a mentor professor who guides the student through a selected academic program and provides various learning experiences. When possible, the mentor serves as chair of the student\u27s doctoral committee. The mentor, also, provides opportunities for the student to team teach, conduct research, and co-author publications. Students have opportunities to attend committee, faculty, and professional meetings, as well as to engage in a range of activities that characterize professional life in academia. Scholars enrolled in the program also are involved in programmatic and institutional workshops, independent research, and program development. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to an opportunity to be sensitive to an academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, also, one that allows for the dissemination of AAPP products to a broader community. We hope that you will read this monograph of the African American Professors Program with enthusiasm or enlightenment. John McFadden, Ph.D. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Professor Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1000/thumbnail.jp