Epigenetic Effects of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers on Human Health.

Disruption of epigenetic regulation by environmental toxins is an emerging area of focus for understanding the latter's impact on human health. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), one such group of toxins, are an environmentally pervasive class of brominated flame retardants that have been extensively used as coatings on a wide range of consumer products. Their environmental stability, propensity for bioaccumulation, and known links to adverse health effects have evoked extensive research to characterize underlying biological mechanisms of toxicity. Of particular concern is the growing body of evidence correlating human exposure levels to behavioral deficits related to neurodevelopmental disorders. The developing nervous system is particularly sensitive to influence by environmental signals, including dysregulation by toxins. Several major modes of actions have been identified, but a clear understanding of how observed effects relate to negative impacts on human health has not been established. Here, we review the current body of evidence for PBDE-induced epigenetic disruptions, including DNA methylation, chromatin dynamics, and non-coding RNA expression while discussing the potential relationship between PBDEs and neurodevelopmental disorders

AREA OF EXPERTISE TEAMS: THE MICHIGAN APPROACH TO APPLIED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION

Michigan State University's Extension and Agricultural Experiment Station have restructured their educational delivery system through implementation of area of expertise teams. Adopting the concept of self-directed work teams from industry has resulted in enhanced credibility with stakeholders, a seamless linkage between research and Extension, and increased appropriations from the state legislature.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Thermodynamic phase transitions and shock singularities

We show that under rather general assumptions on the form of the entropy function, the energy balance equation for a system in thermodynamic equilibrium is equivalent to a set of nonlinear equations of hydrodynamic type. This set of equations is integrable via the method of the characteristics and it provides the equation of state for the gas. The shock wave catastrophe set identifies the phase transition. A family of explicitly solvable models of non-hydrodynamic type such as the classical plasma and the ideal Bose gas are also discussed.Comment: revised version, 18 pages, 6 figure

Pulsive feedback control for stabilizing unstable periodic orbits in a nonlinear oscillator with a non-symmetric potential

We examine a strange chaotic attractor and its unstable periodic orbits in case of one degree of freedom nonlinear oscillator with non symmetric potential. We propose an efficient method of chaos control stabilizing these orbits by a pulsive feedback technique. Discrete set of pulses enable us to transfer the system from one periodic state to another.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

THE EFFECT OF COMPRESSION TIGHTS AND DURATION OF TESTING ON CONTINUOUS JUMPING MECHANICAL POWER

INTRODUCTION: In order to improve their performance, athletes seek advancements in technology, such as clothing. Manufacturers of compression tights, advertise that their product adds support to lower extremity musculature, thus may slow the onset of fatigue. Few scientific studies, however, have been conducted to identify how advancements in apparel influence an athlete’s performance (Kraemer et al., 1996). The purpose of the present study was to identify the effects of compression tights on mechanical power for continuous jumping. Secondly, the effect of duration on the mechanical power output by using Bosco’s method (1983) over 15, 30, 45, and 60 sec time-frames, as well as the interaction between apparel and duration

Human pancreatic cancer cell lines do not express receptors for somatostatin.

The in vivo administration of somatostatin (SS) or its analogues is capable of suppressing the growth of pancreatic cancer in experimental animals. We examined the effects of SS-14 and its analogue RC-160 on the in vitro growth of two human pancreatic cancer cell lines MiaPaCa-2 and Panc-1 stimulated with epidermal growth factor (EGF) or insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Neither SS-14 nor RC-160 inhibited the growth of either cell line. In contrast RC-160 did inhibit the EGF-stimulated growth of a rat pancreatic cancer cell line AR42J. Binding studies with 125I-Tyr11 somatostatin revealed the presence of a single class of high affinity binding sites with a Kd of 0.20 +/- 0.05 nM and a Bmax of 2.1 +/- 0.26 pmoles mg-1 protein on AR42J but not displaceable binding was observed on MiaPaCa-2 or Panc-1. We conclude that lack of receptors accounts for the failure of SS-14 and RC-160 to influence the growth of human pancreatic cancer in vitro. These results, taken together with other findings, lead us to question the therapeutic efficacy of somatostatin and its analogues as mono-therapy in the treatment of human pancreatic cancer

Mode Bifurcation and Fold Points of Complex Dispersion Curves for the Metamaterial Goubau Line

In this paper the complex dispersion curves of the four lowest-order transverse magnetic modes of a dielectric Goubau line ($\epsilon>0, \mu>0$) are compared with those of a dispersive metamaterial Goubau line. The vastly different dispersion curve structure for the metamaterial Goubau line is characterized by unusual features such as mode bifurcation, complex fold points, both proper and improper complex modes, and merging of complex and real modes

Surface Environmental Surveillance Project: Locations Manual Volume 1 ? Air and Water Volume 2 ? Farm Products, Soil & Vegetation, and Wildlife

This report describes all environmental monitoring locations associated with the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project. Environmental surveillance of the Hanford site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Sampling is conducted to evaluate levels of radioactive and nonradioactive pollutants in the Hanford environs, as required in DOE Order 450.1, Environmental Protection Program, and DOE Order 5400.5, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment. The environmental surveillance sampling design is described in the Hanford Site Environmental Monitoring Plan, United States Department of Energy, Richland Operation Office (DOE/RL-91-50). This document contains the locations of sites used to collect samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP). Each section includes directions, maps, and pictures of the locations. A general knowledge of roads and highways on and around the Hanford Site is necessary to successfully use this manual. Supplemental information (Maps, Gazetteer, etc.) may be necessary if user is unfamiliar with local routes. The SESP is a multimedia environmental surveillance effort to measure the concentrations of radionuclides and chemicals in environmental media to demonstrate compliance with applicable environmental quality standards and public exposure limits, and assessing environmental impacts. Project personnel annually collect selected samples of ambient air, surface water, agricultural products, fish, wildlife, and sediments. Soil and vegetation samples are collected approximately every 5 years. Analytical capabilities include the measurement of radionuclides at very low environmental concentrations and, in selected media, nonradiological chemicals including metals, anions, volatile organic compounds, and total organic carbon

Generation of scalar-tensor gravity effects in equilibrium state boson stars

Boson stars in zero-, one-, and two-node equilibrium states are modeled numerically within the framework of Scalar-Tensor Gravity. The complex scalar field is taken to be both massive and self-interacting. Configurations are formed in the case of a linear gravitational scalar coupling (the Brans-Dicke case) and a quadratic coupling which has been used previously in a cosmological context. The coupling parameters and asymptotic value for the gravitational scalar field are chosen so that the known observational constraints on Scalar-Tensor Gravity are satisfied. It is found that the constraints are so restrictive that the field equations of General Relativity and Scalar-Tensor gravity yield virtually identical solutions. We then use catastrophe theory to determine the dynamically stable configurations. It is found that the maximum mass allowed for a stable state in Scalar-Tensor gravity in the present cosmological era is essentially unchanged from that of General Relativity. We also construct boson star configurations appropriate to earlier cosmological eras and find that the maximum mass for stable states is smaller than that predicted by General Relativity, and the more so for earlier eras. However, our results also show that if the cosmological era is early enough then only states with positive binding energy can be constructed.Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX, 11 figures, to appear in Class. Quantum Grav., comments added, refs update