Determining the physical limits on semi‐active control performance: a tutorial

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106822/1/stc1602.pd

Short-range correlations in low-lying nuclear excited states

The electromagnetic transitions to various low-lying excited states of 16O, 48Ca and 208Pb are calculated within a model which considers the short-range correlations. In general the effects of the correlations are small and do not explain the required quenching to describe the data.Comment: 6 pages, 2 postscript figures, 1 tabl

Muon capture on nuclei with N > Z, random phase approximation, and in-medium renormalization of the axial-vector coupling constant

We use the random phase approximation to describe the muon capture rate on ${}^{44}$Ca,${}^{48}$Ca, ${}^{56}$Fe, ${}^{90}$Zr, and ${}^{208}$Pb. With ${}^{40}$Ca as a test case, we show that the Continuum Random Phase Approximation (CRPA) and the standard RPA give essentially equivalent descriptions of the muon capture process. Using the standard RPA with the free nucleon weak form factors we reproduce the experimental total capture rates on these nuclei quite well. Confirming our previous CRPA result for the $N = Z$ nuclei, we find that the calculated rates would be significantly lower than the data if the in-medium quenching of the axial-vector coupling constant were employed.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

FYN is overexpressed in human prostate cancer

To test the hypothesis that FYN , a member of the SRC family of kinases (SFKs), is up-regulated in prostate cancer, as FYN is functionally distinct from other SFKs, and interacts with FAK and paxillin (PXN), regulators of cell morphology and motility. MATERIALS AND METHODS Through data-mining in Oncomine ( http://www.oncomine.org ), cell-line profiling with immunoblotting, quantitative reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical analysis, we described FYN expression in prostate cancer. The analysis included 32 cases of prostate cancer, nine of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and 19 normal prostates. Samples were scored for the percentage of stained glands and intensity of staining (from 0 to 3). Each sample was assigned a composite score generated by multiplying percentage and intensity. RESULTS Data-mining showed an eight times greater FYN expression in prostate cancer than in normal tissue; this was specific to FYN and not present for other SFKs. Expression of FYN in prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, 22Rv1, PC3, DuPro) was detected using quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting. Expression of FYN and its signalling partners FAK and PXN was detected in human tissue. Comparing normal with cancer samples, there was a 2.1-fold increase in median composite score for FYN ( P  < 0.001) 1.7-fold increase in FAK ( P  < 0.001), and a doubling in PXN ( P  < 0.05). There was a 1.7-fold increase in FYN ( P  < 0.05) and a 1.6-fold increase in FAK ( P  < 0.01) in cancer compared with PIN. CONCLUSIONS These studies support the hypothesis that FYN and its related signalling partners are up-regulated in prostate cancer, and support further investigation into the role of the FYN as a therapeutic target.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71987/1/j.1464-410X.2008.08009.x.pd

Tropical Herbivorous Phasmids, but Not Litter Snails, Alter Decomposition Rates By Modifying Litter Bacteria

Consumers can alter decomposition rates through both feces and selective feeding in many ecosystems, but these combined effects have seldom been examined in tropical ecosystems. Members of the detrital food web (litter-feeders or microbivores) should presumably have greater effects on decomposition than herbivores, members of the green food web. Using litterbag experiments within a field enclosure experiment, we determined the relative effects of common litter snails (Megalomastoma croceum) and herbivorous walking sticks (Lamponius portoricensis) on litter composition, decomposition rates, and microbes in a Puerto Rican rainforest, and whether consumer effects were altered by canopy cover presence. Although canopy presence did not alter consumers’ effects, focal organisms had unexpected influences on decomposition. Decomposition was not altered by litter snails, but herbivorous walking sticks reduced leaf decomposition by about 50% through reductions in high quality litter abundance and, consequently, lower bacterial richness and abundance. This relatively unexplored but potentially important link between tropical herbivores, detritus, and litter microbes in this forest demonstrates the need to consider autotrophic influences when examining rainforest ecosystem processes

Corticotropin Releasing Factor Signaling in the Central Amygdala is Recruited during Binge-Like Ethanol Consumption in C57BL/6J Mice

A well-established body of work indicates a crucial role for corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in neurobiological responses associated with excessive dependence-like ethanol drinking in ethanol vapor exposed rodents. Recent evidence demonstrates a role for CRF in the modulation of binge-like ethanol consumption by non-dependent mice, a behavior which can precede ethanol dependence. The CRF circuitry that is engaged by binge-like ethanol exposure, however, is unknown. Using converging approaches, we provide evidence that, similar to ethanol vapor-induced increases in ethanol intake, CRF signaling in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) is engaged during binge-like ethanol consumption by C57BL/6J mice. Specifically, we found that binge-like consumption of an ethanol solution (20% ethanol v/v) was attenuated by pretreatment with the CRF1R antagonists antalarmin, (4-ethyl-[2,5,6-trimethyl-7-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl]amino-1-butanol (LWH-63), and NBI-27914 at doses (30 mg/kg, i.p.) that did not alter non-binge-like ethanol consumption. Binge-like ethanol consumption resulted in significant increases of CRF immunoreactivity in the CeA immediately following ethanol drinking and 18-24 h following ethanol removal and also blocked the ability of CRF to enhance GABAergic transmission in the CeA 18-24 h following ethanol removal. Pretreatment with bilateral injections of antalarmin (1 μg/ 0.5 μl per side) into the CeA, but not the adjacent basolateral amygdala (BLA), significantly attenuated binge-like ethanol consumption. These findings suggest that CRF signaling in the CeA is recruited during excessive ethanol intake, prior to the development of dependence. We hypothesize that plastic changes in CRF signaling develop with repeated binge-like drinking episodes, contributing to the transition to dependence

Repeated Cycles of Binge-Like Ethanol Drinking in Male C57BL/6J Mice Augments Subsequent Voluntary Ethanol Intake But Not Other Dependence-Like Phenotypes

Recently, procedures have been developed to model specific facets of human alcohol abuse disorders, including those that model excessive binge-like drinking (i.e., “drinking in the dark”, or DID procedures) and excessive dependence-like drinking (i.e., intermittent ethanol vapor exposure). Similar neuropeptide systems modulate excessive ethanol drinking stemming from both procedures, raising the possibility that both paradigms are actually modeling the same phenotypes and triggering the same central neuroplasticity. Therefore, the goal of the present project was to study the effects of a history of binge-like ethanol drinking, using DID procedures, on phenotypes that have previously been described with procedures to model dependence-like drinking