IMPACT OF DOMESTIC FOOD PROGRAMS ON NUTRIENT INTAKE OF LOW-INCOME PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

Sexual and transovarian transmission of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in Hyalomma truncatum ticks

A partir d'une expérience en laboratoire, il apparaît que les tiques du genre #Hyalomma$ sont un vecteur essentiel du virus CCHF en Afrique. Leur rôle de vecteur efficace est la résultante de leur aptitude à s'infecter, répliquer et transmettre le virus CCHF. La transmission sexuelle suivie d'une transmission transovarienne pourrait participer au maintien du virus dans la nature, en augmentant le taux d'infection du vecteu

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating disease that is almost uniformly lethal within the first year of diagnosis and is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Activating mutations in the KRAS protooncogene are found in nearly all human PDAC cases as well as in early putative PDAC precursor lesions, pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias (PanINs). Modeling of PDAC has been achieved through expression of an activated Kras allele in mouse pancreas that results in PanINs similar to those found in humans. PanINs develop focally, however, despite ubiquitous expression of mutant Kras suggesting that other factors must be involved in Kras-induced PanIN formation. Due to ubiquitous expression of mutant Kras in the pancreas, it is unknown which cell type, or types, can contribute to PanINs. This thesis aims to understand the cellular events that lead to Kras-induced PanIN formation, and to identify the cellular origin of PDAC. We find that mature acinar cells of the adult pancreas are competent to form PanIN lesions following Kras activation, and this process is dramatically accelerated by co-activation of the Notch signaling pathway, which antagonizes differentiation during pancreas development, but is largely inactive in the adult. Lineage tracing indicates that Kras/Notch co-activation drives rapid acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) during which acinar cells take on a duct-like phenotype, providing a mechanism by which acinar cells can serve as the origin of a "ductal" tumor. During ADM, acinar cells lose expression of Ptf1a, a transcription factor that is considered the master regulator of acinar cell identity. To test the requirement for Notch in PanIN initiation we deleted the key Notch mediator RbpJ. Surprisingly, we found that loss of RbpJ resulted in an increase in Kras-induced PanIN formation. In the pancreas, however, RbpJ is part of the Ptf1a complex and we suspect that loss of RbpJ could alter Ptf1a complex function and perturb acinar cell differentiation, which could allow for Kras to drive PanIN formation. We formally tested whether loss of Ptf1a would allow for increased Kras-driven PanIN formation and found that, in the presence of activated Kras, Ptf1a null acinar cells rapidly formed PanINs. Expression loss of key differentiation factors resulting in ADM may in fact be the initial step towards Kras induced tumorigenesis. ADM is similarly seen during acute pancreatitis, although, ultimately, acinar differentiation is restored during the regeneration process. We find that inducing pancreatitis in animals harboring active Kras mutations results in rapid and robust PanIN initiatio

Test Plot Coversion Tables

This document provides conversion tables for test plots, including tables for abbreviations, capacity measurements, linear measurements, cubic and square measurements, and also a conversion factor portion

Effects of excitonic diffusion on stimulated emission in nanocrystalline ZnO

We present optically-pumped emission data for ZnO, showing that high excitation effects and stimulated emission / lasing are observed in nanocrystalline ZnO thin films at room temperature, although such effects are not seen in bulk material of better optical quality. A simple model of exciton density profiles is developed which explains our results and those of other authors. Inhibition of exciton diffusion in nanocrystalline samples compared to bulk significantly increases exciton densities in the former, leading, via the nonlinear dependence of emission in the exciton bands on the pump intensity, to large increases in emission and to stimulated emission

Evaluation of hydrometric network efficacy and user requirements in the Republic of Ireland via expert opinion and statistical analysis

Decreased funding and shifting governmental priorities have resulted in a contraction of hydrometric measurement in many regions over the past two decades. Moreover, concerns exist with respect to appropriate data usage and (transboundary) exchange, in addition to the compatibility and extent of existing hydrometric datasets. These issues are undoubtedly magnified due to enhanced data demands and increased financial pressures on network managers, thus requiring new approaches to optimising the societal benefits and overall efficacy of hydrometric information for future socio-hydrological resilience. The current study employed a quantitative cross-sectional expert elicitation of 203 respondents to collate, analyse and assess hydrometric network users’ opinions, knowledge and experience. Current usage patterns, perceived network strengths, requirements, and limitations have been identified and discussed within the context of hydrometric resilience in a changing social, economic and natural environment. Findings indicate that small (\u3c30 km2) catchment data are most frequently employed in the Republic of Ireland, particularly with respect to extreme event prediction and flood management. Similarly, small catchments and areas characterised by previous/recent flooding were prioritised for resilience management via network amendment. Over half of those surveyed (50.5%) reported the current network as inadequate for their professional requirements. Conversely, respondents indicated network efficacy has improved (53.2%) or remained stable (26.6%) over the course of their professional career, however, improvements (as defined by individual respondents i.e. network density, data quality, data availability) have not occurred at a sufficient rate. User-defined efficacy (adequacy, resilience) was found to be a somewhat vague, multivariate concept, with no individual predictor identified, however, general data quality, network density, and urban catchment data were the most significant issues among respondents. A significant majority (85.4%) of respondents indicate that future resilience would be best achieved via network density amendment, with over 60% favouring geographically and/or categorically focused network increases, as opposed to more general national increases

ZnO wide bandgap semiconductor nanostructures: growth, characterisation and applications

The compound ZnO, or zincite, has a long, fascinating and diverse history displaying a number of peaks and troughs in terms of the degree of research interest, numbers of publications per annum and so forth. These peaks have in some cases been associated with the discovery of a new aspect of its behaviour which is relevant to some scientific or technological focus (such as UV light emission) and the ambitions associated with these technologies. Some of these ambitions have been realized and some, to date, remain ambitions. The general public will most probably know of this material from some of its earlier applications. Zinc oxide was initially known by a variety of names, some of rather unclear origin, including “nihil album”, “flowers of zinc”, “chinese white” and “philosopher’s wool”. The usage of these terms has obviously declined since the standardization of chemical nomenclature since the early 1800’s as discussed by Kent (1958). ZnO is, or has been, used as a pigment in paints and enamel coatings (hence the name “chinese white”) and also as an ingredient in cements, glass, tires, glue, matches, white ink, reagents, photocopy paper, flame retardant, fungicides, cosmetics and dental cements and ~ 100,000 tonnes of ZnO is produced per annum as reported by Klingshirn (2007). These diverse applications rely on various properties of ZnO such as the white colour of the material, its chemical activity, UV blocking capability, heat conductivity and bioactivity. ZnO is used extensively in various pharmaceutical and cosmetic products including ointments and sunscreen preparations (including an appearance in the Hollywood movie “Jaws”, where Brody’s wife enquires if he has remembered to bring the zinc oxide sunscreen before he boards the Orca). ZnO is a material which is used in a very wide variety of applications in a diverse range of technological spaces. In addition to this already impressive technological resume, ZnO is used widely in the semiconductor industry, primarily in varistor manufacture, but also as a transparent conducting oxide, a photoconductor and a phosphor, see e.g. Klingshirn (2007), Minami (2005), Monroy et al. (2003) and Heiland et al. (1959)