Energy Resolution Enhancement of Mercuric Iodide Detectors

A pulse processing technique has been developed which improves the gamma-ray energy resolution of mercuric iodide detectors. The technique employs a fast (100 ns) and a slow (6.4 µs) pulse height analysis to correct for signal variations due to variations in charge trapping. The capabilities of the technique for energy resolution enhancement are discussed as well as the utility of the technique for examining the trapping characteristics of individual detectors. We have achieved an energy resolution of 2.6% FWHM at 662 keV with an acceptance efficiency of 100% from a mercuric iodide detector which gives 8.3% FWHM using standard techniques

Aquifer simulation model for use on disk supported small computer systems

Includes bibliographical references (p. 21).Cover title

Selected digital computer techniques for groundwater resource evaluation

Bibliography: p. 62.Enumeration continues from preceding title

TLR15 Is Unique to Avian and Reptilian Lineages and Recognizes a Yeast-Derived Agonist

Abstract The TLRs represent a family of pattern recognition receptors critical in the induction of vertebrate immune responses. Between 10 and 13 different TLR genes can be identified in each vertebrate species, with many represented as orthologous genes in different species. The agonist specificity of orthologous TLR is also highly conserved. In contrast, TLR15 can only be identified in avian and reptilian genomes, suggesting that this receptor arose ∼320 million years ago after divergence of the bird/reptile and mammalian lineages. Transfection of a constitutively active form of chicken TLR15 led to NF-κB activation in HEK293 cells and induced cytokine mRNA upregulation in chicken cell lines. Full-length TLR15 mediated NF-κB induction in response to lysates from yeast, but not those derived from viral or bacterial pathogens, or a panel of well-characterized TLR agonists. TLR15 responses were induced by whole-cell lysates derived from Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, but not zymosan preparations from S. cerevisiae. The ability of yeast lysate to activate TLR15-dependent NF-κB pathways (in transfection assays) or stimulate IL-1β mRNA upregulation in chicken macrophages was abrogated by heat inactivation or pre-exposure of the lysate to PMSF. Identification of yeast as an agonist source for TLR15 provides a functional framework for consideration of this TLR within the context of pattern recognition receptor evolution and may impact on the development of novel adjuvants

Water-level decline and pumpage during 1960 in deep wells in the Chicago Region, Illinois

Includes bibliographical references.Ope

A "random-walk" solute transport model for selected groundwater quality evaluations

"ISWS/BUL-65/81."Bibliography: p. 103.Enumeration continues from preceding title

Status of the European Green Crab in Oregon and Washington Estuaries in 2014

Prepared for the Aquatic Nuisance Species Project, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.Once a non-native species arrives and survives in an area, its long-term persistence depends on its recruitment success. If conditions are not favorable for recruitment it will ultimately disappear. The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) has a six-year life span and has persisted at low densities in Oregon and Washington coastal estuaries for the past 17 years. After the arrival of the strong founding year class of 1998, significant self-recruitment to the Oregon and Washington populations occurred only in 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2010. Warm winter water temperatures, high Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Multivariate ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) Indices, late spring transitions and weak southward shelf currents in March and April are all correlated with the these strong year classes and vice versa (Behrens Yamada and Kosro 2010). Right now, green crabs are still too rare to exert a measurable effect on the native benthic community and on shellfish culture in Oregon and Washington. However, this could change if ocean conditions were to switch to a high PDO and strong El Niño patterns. For example, green crabs were first documented in New England in 1817, but it took warm ocean conditions during the 1950’s for their numbers to build to a level at which they decimated the soft-shelled clam industry. Extensive surveys by Fisheries and Oceans Canada found green crabs in all the major inlets on the west coast of Vancouver Island and around Bella Bella on the Central Coast, but so far none have been discovered in the inland sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Therefore, outreach efforts should continue to prevent the establishment of this invader in these inland waters via ballast water, shellfish transport or other human-mediated vectors. Even though green crab abundance in Oregon and Washington is still low when compared to Europe, eastern North America, Tasmania, California and the west coast of Vancouver Island, it is imperative to continue monitoring efforts for two reasons: 1) to elucidate the process of range expansion and population persistence of this model non-indigenous marine species with planktonic larvae, and 2) to predict the arrival of strong year classes from ocean conditions and alert managers and shellfish growers of possible increases in predation pressure from this invader

Selective amylin antagonist suppresses rise in plasma lactate after intravenous glucose in the rat Evidence for a metabolic role of endogenous amylin

AbstractData presented here provide the first demonstration that circulating amylin regulates metabolism in vivo, and support an endocrine hormonal role that is distinct from its autocrine action at pancreatic islets. When rats were pre-treated with the potent amylin antagonist AC187 (n = 18), and then administered a 2 mmol glucose load, the rise in plasma lactate was less than in rats administered glucose only (n = 27; P < 0.02). When rats were treated so that plasma glucose and insulin profiles were similar (n = 8), the increase in plasma lactate in the presence of AC187 was only 50.3% as high as the increase when AC187 was absent (P < 0.001). These experimental results fit with the view that some of the lactate appearing in plasma after a glucose load comes from insulin-sensitive tissues. The experiments also support the view that an important fraction of the increase in lactate depends on processes inhibited by a selective amylin antagonist, most likely amylin action in muscle

Age-Induced Changes in Anti-Tumor Immunity Alter the Tumor Immune Infiltrate and Impact Response to Immuno-Oncology Treatments

INTRODUCTION: Immuno-oncology (IO) research relies heavily on murine syngeneic tumor models. However, whilst the average age for a cancer diagnosis is 60 years or older, for practical purposes the majority of preclinical studies are conducted in young mice, despite the fact that ageing has been shown to have a significant impact on the immune response. METHODS: Using aged (60-72 weeks old) mice bearing CT26 tumors, we investigated the impact of ageing on tumor growth as well as the immune composition of the tumor and peripheral lymphoid organs. RESULTS: We found many differences in the immune cell composition of both the tumor and tumor-draining lymph node between aged and young mice, such as a reduction in the naïve T cell population and a decreased intratumoral CD8/Treg ratio in aged animals. We hypothesized that these differences may contribute to impaired anti-cancer immune responses in aged mice and therefore assessed the anti-tumor efficacy of different IO therapies in aged mice, including both co-stimulation (using an anti-OX40 antibody) and immune checkpoint blockade (using anti-PD-L1 and anti-CTLA-4 antibodies). Whilst aged mice retained the capacity to generate anti-tumor immune responses, these were significantly attenuated when compared to the responses observed in young mice. DISCUSSION: These differences highlight the importance of age-related immunological changes in assessing and refining the translational insights gained from preclinical mouse models