Simulation verification techniques study: Simulation performance validation techniques document

Techniques and support software for the efficient performance of simulation validation are discussed. Overall validation software structure, the performance of validation at various levels of simulation integration, guidelines for check case formulation, methods for real time acquisition and formatting of data from an all up operational simulator, and methods and criteria for comparison and evaluation of simulation data are included. Vehicle subsystems modules, module integration, special test requirements, and reference data formats are also described

Simulation verification techniques study. Subsystem simulation validation techniques

Techniques for validation of software modules which simulate spacecraft onboard systems are discussed. An overview of the simulation software hierarchy for a shuttle mission simulator is provided. A set of guidelines for the identification of subsystem/module performance parameters and critical performance parameters are presented. Various sources of reference data to serve as standards of performance for simulation validation are identified. Environment, crew station, vehicle configuration, and vehicle dynamics simulation software are briefly discussed from the point of view of their interfaces with subsystem simulation modules. A detailed presentation of results in the area of vehicle subsystems simulation modules is included. A list of references, conclusions and recommendations are also given

From Ideal to Practice and Back Again: Beginning Teachers Teaching for Social Justice

The five authors of this article designed a multicase study to follow recent graduates of an elementary preservice teacher education program into their beginning teaching placements and explore the ways in which they enacted social justice curricula. The authors highlight the stories of three beginning teachers, honoring the plurality of their conceptions of social justice teaching and the resiliency they exhibited in translating social justice ideals into viable pedagogy. They also discuss the struggles the teachers faced when enacting social justice curricula and the tenuous connection they perceived between their conceptions and their practices. The authors emphasize that such struggles are inevitable and end the article with recommendations for ways in which teacher educators can prepare beginning teachers for the uncertain journey of teaching for social justice

Identifying metabolite markers for preterm birth in cervicovaginal fluid by magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Introduction Preterm birth (PTB) may be preceded by changes in the vaginal microflora and metabolite profiles. Objectives We sought to characterise the metabolite profile of cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) of pregnant women by 1H NMR spectroscopy, and assess their predictive value for PTB. Methods A pair of high-vaginal swabs was obtained from pregnant women with no evidence of clinical infection and grouped as follows: asymptomatic low risk (ALR) women with no previous history of PTB, assessed at 20–22 gestational weeks, g.w., n = 83; asymptomatic high risk (AHR) women with a previous history of PTB, assessed at both 20–22 g.w., n = 71, and 26–28 g.w., n = 58; and women presenting with symptoms of preterm labor (PTL) (SYM), assessed at 24–36 g.w., n = 65. Vaginal secretions were dissolved in phosphate buffered saline and scanned with a 9.4 T NMR spectrometer. Results Six metabolites (lactate, alanine, acetate, glutamine/glutamate, succinate and glucose) were analysed. In all study cohorts vaginal pH correlated with lactate integral (r = -0.62, p\0.0001). Lactate integrals were higher in the term ALR compared to the AHR (20–22 g.w.) women (p = 0.003). Acetate integrals were higher in the preterm versus term women for the AHR (20–22 g.w.) (p = 0.048) and SYM (p = 0.003) groups; and was predictive of PTB\37 g.w. (AUC 0.78; 95 % CI 0.61–0.95), and delivery within 2 weeks of the index assessment (AUC 0.84; 95 % CI 0.64–1) in the SYM women, whilst other metabolites were not. Conclusion High CVF acetate integral of women with symptoms of PTL appears predictive of preterm delivery, as well as delivery within 2 weeks of presentation

Immunotherapy with MVA-BN®-HER2 induces HER-2-specific Th1 immunity and alters the intratumoral balance of effector and regulatory T cells

MVA-BN®-HER2 is a new candidate immunotherapy designed for the treatment of HER-2-positive breast cancer. Here, we demonstrate that a single treatment with MVA-BN®-HER2 exerts potent anti-tumor efficacy in a murine model of experimental pulmonary metastasis. This anti-tumor efficacy occurred despite a strong tumor-mediated immunosuppressive environment characterized by a high frequency of regulatory T cells (Treg) in the lungs of tumor-bearing mice. Immunogenicity studies showed that treatment with MVA-BN®-HER2 induced strongly Th1-dominated HER-2-specific antibody and T-cell responses. MVA-BN®-HER2-induced anti-tumor activity was characterized by an increased infiltration of lungs with highly activated, HER-2-specific, CD8+CD11c+ T cells accompanied by a decrease in the frequency of Treg cells in the lung, resulting in a significantly increased ratio of effector T cells to Treg cells. In contrast, administration of HER2 protein formulated in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA) induced a strongly Th2-biased immune response to HER-2. However, this did not lead to significant infiltration of the tumor-bearing lungs by CD8+ T cells or the decrease in the frequency of Treg cells nor did it result in anti-tumor efficacy. In vivo depletion of CD8+ cells confirmed that CD8 T cells were required for the anti-tumor activity of MVA-BN®-HER2. Furthermore, depletion of CD4+ or CD25+ cells demonstrated that tumor-induced Treg cells promoted tumor growth and that CD4 effector cells also contribute to MVA-BN®-HER2-mediated anti-tumor efficacy. Taken together, our data demonstrate that treatment with MVA-BN®-HER2 controls tumor growth through mechanisms including the induction of Th1-biased HER-2-specific immune responses and the control of tumor-mediated immunosuppression

Department of Animal Sciences research and reviews: beef and sheep

Relationship of a PCR-SSCP at the Bovine calpastatin locus with calpastatin activity and meat tenderness / H. Y. Chung, M. E. Davis, H. C. Hines, and D. M. Wulf -- Effects of calpain proteolysis and calpain genotypes on meat tenderness of angus bulls / H. Y. Chung, M. E. Davis, H. C. Hines, and D. M. Wulf -- Identification of genetic markers for growth and carcass traits in beef cattle / W. Ge, M. E. Davis, H. C. Hines, and K. M. Irvin -- Relationships of polymorphisms in the bovine leptin gene with differences in beef carcass traits / K. Tessanne, H. C. Hines, and M. E. Davis -- Effects of rate of gain during periods of restricted intake on performance and carcass characteristics in steers fed to achieve step-wise increases in rate of gain / J. E. Rossi and S. C. Loerch -- Effects of feeding regimen and days fed on performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers / J. E. Rossi, S. C. Loerch, S. J. Moeller, and J. P. Schoonmaker -- Effect of an accelerated finishing program on performance and carcass characteristics of early weaned bulls and steers / J. P. Schoonmaker, S. C. Loerch, F. L. Fluharty, T. B. Turner, S. J. Moeller and J. E. Rossi -- Yeast-mineral mixes and beef-cattle performance in fescue-based grazing systems: preliminary report / S. Boyles, W. Shriver, and D. Kobs -- Forage and animal evaluation of heifers at Indian Lake Hydrologic Unit CRP stocker grazing demonstration / S. L. Boyles, B. W. Stoll, and T. L. Dobbels -- Beef quality is every cattleman's business: education program / J. Yates and S. Boyles -- Effects of pelleted alfalfa and whole-shelled corn combinations on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty -- Effects of feeding pelleted, ensiled, or a combination of pelleted and ensiled alfalfa on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- Effects of corn silage vs. alfalfa haylage on lamb growth and carcass characteristics in forage-based finishing systems / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- Effects of feed-delivery system and corn processing on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- Effects of pen floor type and bedding on lamb growth and carcass characteristics / F. L. Fluharty, G. D. Lowe, and D. D. Clevenger -- A PCR-SSCP polymorphism detected in the 5' flanking region of the ovine IGF-I gene / A. Yilmaz, M. E. Davis, and H. C. Hine

Network Economics and the Environment: Insights and Perspectives

Local interactions and network structures appear to be a prominent feature of many environmental problems. This paper discusses a wide range of issues and potential areas of application, including the role of relational networks in the pattern of adoption of green technologies, common pool resource problems characterized by a multiplicity of sources, the role of social networks in multi-level environmental governance, infrastructural networks in the access to and use of natural resources such as oil and natural gas, the use of networks to describe the internal structure of inter-country relations in international agreements, and the formation of bilateral "links" in the process of building up an environmental coalition. For each of these areas, we examine why and how network economics would be an effective conceptual and analytical tool, and discuss the main insights that we can foresee

Small mammal community response to early meadow–forest succession

Abstract Background With farmland afforestation becoming common policy in many European Union countries, we studied how early forest succession (from meadow to young stand) influences small mammal species composition, diversity, abundance and biomass. Despite numerous investigations into forest succession, almost no attention has been given to the small mammal community change in the early-successional forest ecosystems, starting with the pre-forest habitat and ending with stand formation and the establishment of tree dominance. We compared small mammal communities in meadows at the initial stage of regrowth (with saplings less than 10 cm in height), in young forest (5–10 years old) and more advanced forest (15–20 years) in both cases of human-induced forest succession, where the trees had been planted, and natural forest succession, where natural regrowth of meadows had occurred. Results The greatest diversity of small mammal species was recorded in the meadow (H  =  2.95), with a lower diversity found in the young forest (H  =  2.61) and even lower in the advanced forest (H  =  2.04), the last habitat being the most monodominantic. The order of species dominance from Microtus sp. (M. arvalis, M. agrestis), Myodes glareolus, Apodemus flavicollis, Sorex araneus, A. agrarius in the meadow changed to M. glareolus, S. araneus, M. arvalis, M. agrestis in the young forest and to M. glareolus, A. flavicollis, S. araneus in the advanced forest. The lowest relative abundance of small mammals was recorded in the meadow (18.19  ±  2.27 ind. Per 100 trap-days), with Microtus voles being the most abundant. Relative abundance was higher in the young forest (22.72  ±  2.25 ind. Per 100 trap-days), with Myodes glareolus being the most abundant (7.59  ±  0.96 ind. Per 100 trap-days) and at its highest in the advanced forest (23.91  ±  2.77 ind. Per 100 trap-days), again with M. glareolus being the most abundant (15.54  ±  2.35 ind. Per 100 trap-days). Conclusions Thus, our analysis suggests that that during early meadow-forest succession, the diversity of the small mammal community declines – the number of species decreases as typical meadow species are lost due to the transformation of the habitat and one or a few species became dominants. However, the relative abundance of the small mammals increases. Biological indices of small mammal communities differed between natural and human-induced meadow-forest succession