Construction of the New Pressure-Insulated Electrostatic Generator at the State University of Iowa (Abstract)

The electrostatic generator will be housed in a new underground laboratory connected to the physics building by a tunnel. Since last fall work has been proceeding on the construction of the generator inside of the 2½\u27 by 50\u27 steel tank. This pressure vessel will allow operation of the generator at pressures up to 8 atmospheres absolute. An intermediate electrode has been introduced. Two cotton fabric woven-endless belts with a linear speed of about 5,000\u27 per minute will charge the high potential electrode. The 22\u27 accelerating tube is being constructed of short porcelain sections with steel spinnings serving as accelerating electrodes

Correction of Measurement Error in Monthly USDA Pig Crop: Generating Alternative Data Series

The imputed pig death loss contained in the reported monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pig crop data over the December 1995–June 2006 period ranged from 24.93% to 12.75%. Clearly, there are substantial measurement errors in the USDA monthly pig crop data. In this paper, we present alternative monthly U.S. pig crop data using the biological production process, which is compatible with prior knowledge of the U.S. hog industry. Alternative pig crop data are applied to a slaughter hog model and tested comparatively to USDA pig crop. Test results reject the validity of USDA pig crop data in favor of the alternative data.biological production process, measurement error, monthly USDA pig crop data, pig death loss, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Q11, Q13, C12,

Understanding the rules governing NCX1 palmitoylation

No abstract available

The Resonance in the B-P-a Reaction

The yield of alpha particles of range greater than 2 cms. from boron bombarded by protons has been studied as a function of bombarding energy in the range from 100 to 200 ekv, using a thin target, either methyl borate or boron trifluoride at pressures of 1 mm. of Hg. The yield vs. energy curve shows an approximately exponential rise on which is superposed a sharp (half breadth ~ 6 ekv) intense line at 150 ± ekv. There is some indication of a weaker and much broader line at 190 ekv. Number range curves are not yet available, but the appearance of pulses on the oscillograph screen leads us to suppose that the high yield (line) at 150 ekv is due to emission of a homogeneous long-range group

Optical properties of Au colloids self-organized into rings via copolymer templates

The investigation of the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance for plasmonic nanoparticles has opened new perspectives for optical nanosensors. Today, an issue in plasmonics is the development of large scale and low cost devices. We focus here on the Langmuir-Blodgett technique to self-organize gold nanoparticles (~ 7 nm) into rings (~ 60 nm) via polystyrene-b-polymethylmethacrylate templates. In particular, we investigated the optical properties of organized gold nanoparticle rings over large areas and report experimental evidence for plasmon resonances of both individual nanoparticles and collective modes. This paves the way for designing devices with multiple resonances in the visible-Infra-red spectrum and developing optical sensors

Control of protein palmitoylation by regulating substrate recruitment to a zDHHC-protein acyltransferase

Although palmitoylation regulates numerous cellular processes, as yet efforts to manipulate this post-translational modification for therapeutic gain have proved unsuccessful. The Na-pump accessory sub-unit phospholemman (PLM) is palmitoylated by zDHHC5. Here, we show that PLM palmitoylation is facilitated by recruitment of the Na-pump α sub-unit to a specific site on zDHHC5 that contains a juxtamembrane amphipathic helix. Site-specific palmitoylation and GlcNAcylation of this helix increased binding between the Na-pump and zDHHC5, promoting PLM palmitoylation. In contrast, disruption of the zDHHC5-Na-pump interaction with a cell penetrating peptide reduced PLM palmitoylation. Our results suggest that by manipulating the recruitment of specific substrates to particular zDHHC-palmitoyl acyl transferases, the palmitoylation status of individual proteins can be selectively altered, thus opening the door to the development of molecular modulators of protein palmitoylation for the treatment of disease

Copolymer template control of gold nanoparticle synthesis via thermal annealing

We present here an original process combining top-down and bottom-up approaches by annealing a thin gold film evaporated onto a hole template made by etching a PS-PMMA copolymer film. Such process allows a better control of the gold nanoparticle size distribution which provides a sharper localized surface plasmon resonance. This makes such route appealing for sensing applications since the figure of merit of the Au nanoparticles obtained after thermal evaporation is more than doubled. Such process could besides allow tuning the localized surface plasmon resonance by using copolymer with various molecular weights and thus be attractive for surface enhanced raman spectroscopy

Can early host responses to mycobacterial infection predict eventual disease outcomes?

Diagnostic tests used for Johne’s disease in sheep either have poor sensitivity and specificity or only detect disease in later stages of infection. Predicting which of the infected sheep are likely to become infectious later in life is currently not feasible and continues to be a major hindrance in disease control. We conducted this longitudinal study to investigate if a suite of diagnostic tests conducted in Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) exposed lambs at 4 months post infection can accurately predict their clinical status at 12 months post infection. We tracked cellular and humoral responses and quantity of MAP shedding for up to 12 months post challenge in 20 controls and 37 exposed sheep. Infection was defined at necropsy by tissue culture and disease spectrum by lesion type. Data were analysed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression models and a subset of variables from the earliest period post inoculation (4 months) was selected for predicting disease outcomes later on (12 months). Sensitivity and specificity of tests and their combinations in series and parallel were determined. Early elevation in faecal MAP DNA quantity and a lower interferon gamma (IFNγ) response were significantly associated with sheep becoming infectious as well as progressing to severe disease. Conversely, early low faecal MAP DNA and higher interleukin-10 responses were significantly associated with an exposed animal developing protective immunity. Combination of early elevated faecal MAP DNA or lower IFNγ response had the highest sensitivity (75%) and specificity (81%) for identifying sheep that would become infectious. Collectively, these results highlight the potential for combined test interpretation to aid in the early prediction of sheep susceptibility to MAP infection. KEYWORDS: Paratuberculosis; diagnostic tests; Mycobacterium; faecal DNA; Johne’s disease; interferon gamma.This work was supported by Meat and Livestock Australia and by Cattle Council of Australia, Sheepmeat Council of Australia and WoolProducers Australia through Animal Health Australia

Distribution in Angle of Alpha Particles from Li7 + H1

We find the distribution of alpha particles from Li7 + H1 is not spherically symmetric, a result in disagreement with the conclusions of earlier investigators,1 who, however, worked at rather low energies only. Thick target data at energies as low as 150 ekv show the presence of a small cos2Θ term and may be represented by I(Θ) = 1 + .16 Cos2Θ while at 440 ekv the asymmetry is very marked, the data being well represented by I(Θ) = 1 + .7 Cos2 Θ. Because of the rapid increase of yield with energy, it is to be expected that thin target data will show a slightly but only slightly greater cos2 0 term. Preliminary thin target data appear to bear this out