2,612 research outputs found
Effects of Heat Stress and Plane of Nutrition on Production and Metabolism in Growing Pigs
We heat-stressed growing pigs and evaluated the differential effects of environmental hyperthermia and reduced feed intake. Our results indicate that hyperthermia directly effects production and metabolism and many of these are independent of reduced nutrient intake. Identifying how and why heat stress alters metabolism and physiology are prerequisites in developing ameliorating strategies to prevent the reduction in performance and lost income typically observed during the warm summer months
Lunar Modular Operations Tool Holster: Space Suit Attachment Quick Release Device
The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Spacesuit Utilization of Innovative Technology Laboratory (S.U.I.T. Lab) specializes in spacesuit operations, testing, and analysis with a focus on human performance. The lab promotes undergraduate research and works to involve students in all disciplines. A majority of the students involved with the lab are studying Spaceflight Operations, Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering, or Human Factors. This proposal, created by undergraduate students at ERAU, seeks to describe the capabilities of the Luna Modular Operations Tool Holster (LunaMOTH). LunaMOTH has been designed to enable an astronaut to quickly and easily remove and replace a tool on the spacesuit utility belt during work on the lunar surface. The attachment system is composed of two interlocking portions: the suit-side interface and the tool-side interface. The tool-side interface is a protruding knob on an oblong neck that slides into a slot on the suit-side interface. This is kept in place by the resistance of spring plungers installed in the sides of this slot. The modular system includes a wedge-shaped backplate that further discourages accidental release of the tool, should an additional level of security be desired. To remove a tool from the stowed configuration, the astronaut applies minimal force to lift the neck of the tool-side interface past the plungers. The tool is returned by guiding the tool-side interface into the opening of the suit-side interface and applying downward force to lock them together. LunaMOTH is designed with user mobility and dust tolerance in mind and will assist astronauts in efficiently completing tasks during Extravehicular Activity (EVA) operations on the Moon
The Fine Line Between Normal and Starburst Galaxies
Recent literature suggests that there are two modes through which galaxies
grow their stellar mass - a normal mode characterized by quasi-steady star
formation, and a highly efficient starburst mode possibly triggered by
stochastic events such as galaxy mergers. While these differences are
established for extreme cases, the population of galaxies in-between these two
regimes is poorly studied and it is not clear where the transition between
these two modes of star formation occurs. We utilize ALMA observations of the
CO J=3-2 line luminosity in a sample of 20 infrared luminous galaxies that lie
in the intermediate range between normal and starburst galaxies at z ~ 0.25-0.6
in the COSMOS field to examine the gas content and star formation efficiency of
these galaxies. We compare these quantities to the galaxies' deviation from the
well-studied "main sequence" correlation between star formation rate and
stellar mass (MS) and find that at log() < 0.6, a galaxy's
distance to the main sequence is mostly driven by increased gas content, and
not a more efficient star formation process.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figure
Does practice analysis agree with the ambulatory care sensitive conditions list of avoidable unplanned admissions: cross-sectional study in the East of England.
Objectives: To use Significant Event Audits (SEA) in primary care to determine which of a sample of emergency (unplanned) admissions were potentially avoidable; and compare to the NHS list of ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). Design: Analysis of unplanned medical admissions randomly identified in secondary care. Setting: Primary Care in the East of England. Participants: 20 general practice teams trained to use SEA on unplanned admissions to identify potentially preventable factors. Interventions: SEA of admissions. Main outcome measures: Level of agreement between those admissions identified as potentially preventable by SEA and the NHS ACSC list. Results: 132 (26%) of randomly selected patients with unplanned admissions gave consent and an SEA was performed by their primary practice team. 130 SEA reports had sufficient data for our analysis. Practices concluded that 17 (13%) of admissions were potentially preventable. The NHS ACSC list identified 36 admissions (28%) as potentially preventable. There was a low level of agreement between the practices and the NHS list as to which admissions were preventable (Kappa = 0.253). The ACSC list consisted mainly of respiratory admissions whereas the practice list identified a wider range of cases and identified context-specific factors as important. Conclusions: There was disagreement between the NHS list and practice conclusions of potentially avoidable admissions. The SEAs suggest that the pathway into unplanned admission may be less dependent on the condition than on context-specific factors, and the assumption that unplanned admissions for ACSC conditions are reasonable indicators of performance for primary care may not be valid
Preliminary investigation of the influence of dopamine regulating genes on social working memory
Working memory (WM) refers to mental processes that enable temporary retention and manipulation of information, including information about other people (âsocial working memoryâ). Previous studies have demonstrated that nonsocial WM is supported by dopamine neurotransmission. Here, we investigated in 131 healthy adults whether dopamine is similarly involved in social WM by testing whether social and nonsocial WM are influenced by genetic variants in three genes coding for molecules regulating the availability of dopamine in the brain: catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), dopamine active transporter (DAT), and monoamine-oxidase A (MAOA). An advantage for the Met allele of COMT was observed in the two standard WM tasks and in the social WM task. However, the influence of COMT on social WM performance was not accounted for by its influence on either standard WM paradigms. There was no main effect of DAT1 or MAOA, but a significant COMT x DAT1 interaction on social WM performance. This study provides novel preliminary evidence of effects of genetic variants of the dopamine neurotransmitter system on social cognition. The results further suggest that the effects observed on standard WM do not explain the genetic effects on effortful social cognition
Innate Immunity in the C. elegans Intestine Is Programmed by a Neuronal Regulator of AWC Olfactory Neuron Development
Olfactory neurons allow animals to discriminate nutritious food sources from potential pathogens. From a forward genetic screen, we uncovered a surprising requirement for the olfactory neuron gene olrn-1 in the regulation of intestinal epithelial immunity in Caenorhabditis elegans. During nematode development, olrn-1 is required to program the expression of odorant receptors in the AWC olfactory neuron pair. Here, we show that olrn-1 also functions in AWC neurons in the cell non-autonomous suppression of the canonical p38 MAPK PMK-1 immune pathway in the intestine. Low activity of OLRN-1, which activates the p38 MAPK signaling cassette in AWC neurons during larval development, also de-represses the p38 MAPK PMK-1 pathway in the intestine to promote immune effector transcription, increased clearance of an intestinal pathogen, and resistance to bacterial infection. These data reveal an unexpected connection between olfactory receptor development and innate immunity and show that anti-pathogen defenses in the intestine are developmentally programmed
The SAMI Galaxy Survey: mass-kinematics scaling relations
We use data from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral-field spectroscopy
(SAMI) Galaxy Survey to study the dynamical scaling relation between galaxy
stellar mass and the general kinematic parameter that combines rotation velocity and velocity dispersion
. We show that the relation: (1)~is linear above
limits set by properties of the samples and observations; (2)~has slightly
different slope when derived from stellar or gas kinematic measurements;
(3)~applies to both early-type and late-type galaxies and has smaller scatter
than either the Tully-Fisher relation () for late
types or the Faber-Jackson relation () for early types;
and (4)~has scatter that is only weakly sensitive to the value of , with
minimum scatter for in the range 0.4 and 0.7. We compare to the
aperture second moment (the `aperture velocity dispersion') measured from the
integrated spectrum within a 3-arcsecond radius aperture
(). We find that while and
are in general tightly correlated, the relation has less scatter than the relation.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, Accepted 2019 May 22. Received 2019 May 18; in
original form 2019 January
Altered drug susceptibility during host adaptation of a <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> strain in a non-human primate model
Infections with Plasmodium falciparum, the most pathogenic of the Plasmodium species affecting man, have been reduced in part due to artemisinin-based combination therapies. However, artemisinin resistant parasites have recently emerged in South-East Asia. Novel intervention strategies are therefore urgently needed to maintain the current momentum for control and elimination of this disease. In the present study we characterize the phenotypic and genetic properties of the multi drug resistant (MDR) P. falciparum Thai C2A parasite strain in the non-human Aotus primate model, and across multiple passages. Aotus infections with C2A failed to clear upon oral artesunate and mefloquine treatment alone or in combination, and ex vivo drug assays demonstrated reduction in drug susceptibility profiles in later Aotus passages. Further analysis revealed mutations in the pfcrt and pfdhfr loci and increased parasite multiplication rate (PMR) across passages, despite elevated pfmdr1 copy number. Altogether our experiments suggest alterations in parasite population structure and increased fitness during Aotus adaptation. We also present data of early treatment failures with an oral artemisinin combination therapy in a pre-artemisinin resistant P. falciparum Thai isolate in this animal model
Patientsâ and caregiversâ perspectives on healthcare navigation in Central Indiana, USA after brain injury
Little research has documented the experiences of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their caregivers in navigating health systems for TBI care. In this qualitative study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 62 participants (34 patients with moderate or severe TBI and 28 caregivers) from Central Indiana. Data were collected from January to September 2016 and analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Participants discussed three significant challenges about navigating health services for TBI care: lack of support for care navigation, financial barriers, and communication barriers. Participants described how navigating outpatient healthcare services for TBI remains complex and emphasised the need for ongoing care navigation support throughout the care continuum. They detailed the long-term financial burden of TBI including high treatment costs, limited insurance coverage, and the emotional toll that financial stress has on their ability to navigate healthcare services for ongoing TBI-related needs. They also discussed how ineffective patientâprovider communication and lack of reliable, timely and comprehensive health information about TBI limited their engagement in and navigation of TBI health services. Findings suggest that persons with TBI and their caregivers need ongoing support to manage the long-term impacts of TBI. Efforts to provide care coordination and navigation to patients with TBI and their families are urgently needed to facilitate greater access to care, effective healthcare navigation and improved health outcomes
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