Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Feeding on Purple Loosestrife \u3ci\u3e(Lythrum Salicaria)\u3c/i\u3e in Michigan

Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, is an exotic invasive weed which is currently the target of a biological control effort using introduced leaf-feeding beetles. In 1997-1998 we observed larvae of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar feeding on L. salicaria at several locations in south central Michigan. In one-minute timed counts conducted over a six-week period in 1998, densities of 0 to 8 larvae per 1-m2 quadrat were observed. Other observations indicated 23 L. dispar 2nd and 3rd instars on a single L. salicaria plant. Second and third instar L. dispar collected on L. salicaria in the field were successfully reared to the adult stage in the lab on a diet of L. salicaria foliage. This is the first report of L. dispar feeding and development on L. salicaria. In areas where they co-occur, distinguishing L. dispar damage from that of introduced natural enemies will be important so that estimates of biocontrol agent impact are not biased

Analysis of interplanetary solar sail trajectories with attitude dynamics

We present a new approach to the problem of optimal control of solar sails for low-thrust trajectory optimization. The objective was to find the required control torque magnitudes in order to steer a solar sail in interplanetary space. A new steering strategy, controlling the solar sail with generic torques applied about the spacecraft body axes, is integrated into the existing low-thrust trajectory optimization software InTrance. This software combines artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms to find steering strategies close to the global optimum without an initial guess. Furthermore, we implement a three rotational degree-of-freedom rigid-body attitude dynamics model to represent the solar sail in space. Two interplanetary transfers to Mars and Neptune are chosen to represent typical future solar sail mission scenarios. The results found with the new steering strategy are compared to the existing reference trajectories without attitude dynamics. The resulting control torques required to accomplish the missions are investigated, as they pose the primary requirements to a real on-board attitude control system

Proton irradiation of CdTe thin film photovoltaics deposited on cerium-doped space glass

Space photovoltaics is dominated by multi-junction (III-V) technology. However, emerging applications will require solar arrays with high specific power (kW/kg), flexibility in stowage and deployment, and a significantly lower cost than the current III-V technology offers. This research demonstrates direct deposition of thin film CdTe onto the radiation-hard cover glass that is normally laminated to any solar cell deployed in space. Four CdTe samples, with 9 defined contact device areas of 0.25 cm2, were irradiated with protons of 0.5-MeV energy and varying fluences. At the lowest fluence, 1 × 1012 cm−2, the relative efficiency of the solar cells was 95%. Increasing the proton fluence to 1 × 1013 cm−2 and then 1 × 1014 cm−2 decreased the solar cell efficiency to 82% and 4%, respectively. At the fluence of 1 × 1013 cm−2, carrier concentration was reduced by an order of magnitude. Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS) modelling obtained a good fit from a reduction in shallow acceptor concentration with no change in the deep trap defect concentration. The more highly irradiated devices resulted in a buried junction characteristic of the external quantum efficiency, indicating further deterioration of the acceptor doping. This is explained by compensation from interstitial H+ formed by the proton absorption. An anneal of the 1 × 1014 cm−2 fluence devices gave an efficiency increase from 4% to 73% of the pre-irradiated levels, indicating that the compensation was reversible. CdTe with its rapid recovery through annealing demonstrates a radiation hardness to protons that is far superior to conventional multi-junction III-V solar cells

Kinase-activating and kinase-impaired cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome alleles have activity during zebrafish development and are sensitive to small molecule inhibitors

The Ras/MAPK pathway is critical for human development and plays a central role in the formation and progression of most cancers. Children born with germ-line mutations in BRAF, MEK1 or MEK2 develop cardio-facio-cutaneous (CFC) syndrome, an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by a distinctive facial appearance, heart defects, skin and hair abnormalities and mental retardation. CFC syndrome mutations in BRAF promote both kinase-activating and kinase-impaired variants. CFC syndrome has a progressive phenotype, and the availability of clinically active inhibitors of the MAPK pathway prompts the important question as to whether such inhibitors might be therapeutically effective in the treatment of CFC syndrome. To study the developmental effects of CFC mutant alleles in vivo, we have expressed a panel of 28 BRAF and MEK alleles in zebrafish embryos to assess the function of human disease alleles and available chemical inhibitors of this pathway. We find that both kinase-activating and kinase-impaired CFC mutant alleles promote the equivalent developmental outcome when expressed during early development and that treatment of CFC-zebrafish embryos with inhibitors of the FGF-MAPK pathway can restore normal early development. Importantly, we find a developmental window in which treatment with a MEK inhibitor can restore the normal early development of the embryo, without the additional, unwanted developmental effects of the drug

Potential effects of optical solar sail degredation on trajectory design

The optical properties of the thin metalized polymer films that are projected for solar sails are assumed to be affected by the erosive effects of the space environment. Their degradation behavior in the real space environment, however, is to a considerable degree indefinite, because initial ground test results are controversial and relevant inspace tests have not been made so far. The standard optical solar sail models that are currently used for trajectory design do not take optical degradation into account, hence its potential effects on trajectory design have not been investigated so far. Nevertheless, optical degradation is important for high-fidelity solar sail mission design, because it decreases both the magnitude of the solar radiation pressure force acting on the sail and also the sail control authority. Therefore, we propose a simple parametric optical solar sail degradation model that describes the variation of the sail film's optical coefficients with time, depending on the sail film's environmental history, i.e., the radiation dose. The primary intention of our model is not to describe the exact behavior of specific film-coating combinations in the real space environment, but to provide a more general parametric framework for describing the general optical degradation behavior of solar sails. Using our model, the effects of different optical degradation behaviors on trajectory design are investigated for various exemplary missions

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF POSITIVE CYTOLOGY, COLPOSCOPY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY: A METHOD OF SCREENING FOR CANCER OF THE CERVIX

Objetivo: Identificar o número de pacientes encaminhadas com alteração NIC I e NIC II para realização do exame de colposcopia, assim como as alterações no exame de colposcopia de acordo com os encaminhamentos de NICI e NICII e verificar a real necessidade da realização do exame de colposcopia para fins de diagnóstico do câncer de colo do útero. Método: Pesquisa quantitativa, documental e retrospectiva. Analisaram-se 275 fichas de colposcopia no período 2008 a 2010. Os dados foram analisados através da estatística descritiva. Resultados: 11% das mulheres tinham idade entre 18 a 20 anos; 52% tinham resultado do exame citopatológico NIC I; 48% tinham resultado do exame macronucleose; 37% tinham como resultado citopatológico alterações causadas pela infecção do HPV. Conclusão: Este trabalho pode contribuir para a construção novos critérios de encaminhamento para realização de colposcopia, corroborando com políticas públicas e serviços de saúde na prevenção/diagnóstico precoce do câncer de colo uterin

Particularidades da terapia dietética em pacientes felinos com doença renal crônica

A doença renal crônica (DRC) é extremamente prevalente na população de gatos de meia idade a idosos e é uma das razões mais comuns que levam esses gatos a consultas com o médico veterinário. A prevalência de DRC felina é alta e parece continuar aumentando rapidamente. A insuficiência renal crônica ocorre quando os mecanismos compensatórios não são mais capazes de manter as principais funções excretórias, regulatórias e endócrinas em pacientes com DRC. A principal função do rim é servir como filtro, retendo substâncias importantes e liberando as toxinas e metabólitos desnecessários na urina. Essas funções podem ser interrompidas na DRC. Alimentos terapêuticos têm sido utilizados há mais de 50 anos em pacientes veterinários com DRC. Os veterinários deparam-se, frequentemente, com a decisão de recomendar ou não a mudança para um alimento terapêutico ou continuar a dieta atual com a visão de que comer qualquer alimento é melhor do que arriscar a ingestão reduzida de alimentos ao tentar uma mudança dietética potencialmente indesejada. Este desafio clínico destaca a importância de avaliar a qualidade e a força das evidências subjacentes ao uso de alimentos terapêuticos renais. A dieta desempenha um papel importante no manejo do paciente felino com DRC. É importante adequar a dieta às necessidades de cada paciente e compreender os objetivos do uso de dietas renais em diferentes fases da DRC. Tendo em vista a grande prevalência da doença renal crônica em felinos domésticos e a maior expectativa de vida desses animais, esse trabalho de conclusão de curso em Medicina Veterinária tem por objetivo realizar uma revisão bibliográfica sobre a importância e particularidades da terapia dietética em pacientes felinos com DRC.Chronic Kidney disease (CKD) is extremely prevalent in the elderly cat population and is one of the most common reasons that lead these cats to consult with the veterinarian. The prevalence of feline CKD is high and seems to continue increasing rapidly. Chronic renal failure occurs when compensatory mechanisms are no longer able to maintain the main excretory, regulatory and endocrine functions in patients with CKD. The main function of the kidney is to serve as a filter, trapping important substances and releasing toxic and unnecessary excess of metabolism in the urine. These functions are interrupted in CKD. Renal diets have been used for over 50 years in veterinary CKD patients. Veterinarians are often faced with the decision whet her or not to recommends witching to a therapeutic renal diet or continuing the current diet with the view that eating any food is better than the risk in reduced food intake when attempting a potentially unwanted dietary change. This clinical challenge high lights the importance of assessing the quality and strength of evidence underlying the use of renal therapeutic foods. Diet plays an important role in the management of feline CKD patients. It is important to tailor the diet to each patient's needs and to understand the goals of using renal diets at different stages of CKD. Given the high prevalence of CDK in domestic cats and the higher life expectancy of these animals, this work aims to conduct a literature review on the importance and particularities of dietary therapy in feline patients with CKD

Elevated expression of ERK 2 in human tumor cells chronically treated with PD98059.

We examined the effect of chronic exposure of tumor cells to a mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) kinase inhibitor, PD98059, on cell proliferation was investigated. Human renal carcinoma cells (ACHN) and prostatic carcinoma cells (DU145) were cultured in the presence of PD98059 for more than 4 weeks (denoted ACHN (PD) cells and DU145 (PD) cells, respectively) and proliferation and signal transduction pathways were examined. PD98059 significantly inhibited the proliferation of parental cells. However, PD98059 failed to inhibit proliferation of ACHN (PD) and DU145 (PD) cells significantly. Expression of ERK 1 and 2 was elevated in these cells. These phenotypes were reversible. Downregulation of ERK 2, but not ERK 1, by small interfering RNA significantly inhibited the proliferation of ACHN (PD) and DU145 (PD) cells. Taken together, chronic exposure of tumor cells to PD98059 induced elevated expression of ERK 2, which was associated with decreased sensitivity of cellular proliferation to PD98059

Quantitative single cell determination of ERK phosphorylation and regulation in relapsed and refractory primary acute myeloid leukemia

: We investigated the constitutive activation of the MEK/ERK pathway in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) via a flow cytometric technique to quantitate expression of phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK). A total of 42 AML samples (16 newly diagnosed, 26 relapsed/refractory) were analyzed. Normal bone marrow CD34+ cells (n = 10) had little or no expression of p-ERK, while G-CSF-mobilized CD34+ cells exhibited enhanced p-ERK levels. Markedly elevated p-ERK levels were found in 83.3% of the AML samples, with no differences observed between the newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory samples. Treatment with a MEK inhibitor resulted in significantly decreased p-ERK levels in both the newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory samples, which was associated with growth arrest, but not apoptosis induction. In summary, we defined conditions for the analysis of MAPK signaling in primary AML samples. Normal CD34+ cells expressed very low levels of p-ERK, and increased p-ERK levels were found in normal G-CSF-stimulated circulating CD34+ cells. Constitutively high p-ERK levels observed in the majority of AML samples suggest deregulation of this pathway that appears to be independent of disease status. The ability of ERK inhibition to promote growth arrest rather than apoptosis suggests that clinical trials of MEK/ERK inhibitors may be more effective when combined with chemotherapy

Specific requirements of MRFs for the expression of muscle specific microRNAs, miR-1, miR-206 and miR-133

The expression of three microRNAs, miR-1, miR-206 and miR-133 is restricted to skeletal myoblasts and cardiac tissue during embryo development and muscle cell differentiation, which suggests a regulation by muscle regulatory factors (MRFs). Here we show that inhibition of C2C12 muscle cell differentiation by FGFs, which interferes with the activity of MRFs, suppressed the expression of miR-1, miR-206 and miR-133. To further investigate the role of myogenic regulators (MRFs), Myf5, MyoD, Myogenin and MRF4 in the regulation of muscle specific microRNAs we performed gain and loss-of-function experiments in vivo, in chicken and mouse embryos. We found that directed expression of MRFs in the neural tube of chicken embryos induced ectopic expression of miR-1 and miR-206. Conversely, the lack of Myf5 but not of MyoD resulted in a loss of miR-1 and miR-206 expression. Taken together our results demonstrate differential requirements of distinct MRFs for the induction of microRNA gene expression during skeletal myogenesis