Local cytokine transcription in naïve and previously infected sheep and lambs following challenge with Teladorsagia circumcincta

<b>Background</b><p></p> The abomasal helminth Teladorsagia circumcincta is one of the most economically important parasites affecting sheep in temperate regions. Infection is particularly detrimental to lambs, in which it can cause pronounced morbidity and severe production losses. Due to the spreading resistance of this parasite to all classes of anthelmintic drugs, teladorsagiosis is having an increasingly severe impact on the sheep industry with significant implications for sheep welfare. Protective immunity develops slowly, wanes rapidly and does not appear to be as effective in young lambs. To investigate the development of immunity to T. circumcincta in sheep and lambs, we used cytokine transcript profiling to examine differences in the abomasal mucosa and gastric lymph node of naïve and previously infected sheep and lambs following challenge.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> The results of these experiments demonstrated that the abomasal mucosa is a major source of cytokines during abomasal helminth infection. A local Th2-type cytokine response was observed in the abomasal mucosa and gastric lymph node of the previously infected sheep and lambs when compared with those of the naïve during the early stages of infection. In contrast, a pro-inflammatory component more was evident in the abomasal mucosa and gastric lymph node of the naïve sheep when compared with those of the previously infected, which was not observed in the lambs.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p> The greater levels of Th2-type cytokine transcripts in both the abomasum and gastric lymph node of the previously infected compared with naïve sheep and lambs emphasises the importance of these mechanisms in the immune response to T. circumcincta infection. Younger lambs appear to be able to generate similar Th2-type responses in the abomasum suggesting that the increased morbidity and apparent lack of resistance in younger lambs following continuous or repeated exposure to T. circumcincta is unlikely to be due to a lack of appropriate Th2-type cytokine production

Dysregulation of cadherins in the intercalated disc of the spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rat

The structural integrity of cardiac cells is maintained by the Ca2+-dependent homophilic cell-cell adhesion of cadherins. N-cadherin is responsible for this adhesion under normal physiological conditions. The role of cadherins in adverse cardiac pathology is less clear. We studied the hearts of the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive (SHRSP) rat as a genetic model of cardiac hypertrophy and compared them to Wistar-Kyoto control animals. Western blotting of protein homogenates from 12-week old SHRSP animals indicated that similar levels of [beta], [gamma]-, and [alpha]-catenin and T, N and R-cadherin were expressed in the control and SHRSP animals. However, dramatically higher levels of E-cadherin were detected in SHRSP animals compared to controls at 6, 12 and 18áweeks of age. This was confirmed by quantitative Taqman PCR and immunohistochemistry. E-cadherin was located at the intercalated disc of the myocytes in co-localisation with connexin 43. Adenoviral overexpression of E-cadherin in rat H9c2 cells and primary rabbit myocytes resulted in a significant reduction in myocyte cell diameter and breadth. E-cadherin overexpression resulted in re-localisation of [beta]-catenin to the cell surface particularly to cell-cell junctions. Subsequent immunohistochemistry of the hearts of WKY and SHRSP animals also revealed increased levels of [beta]-catenin in the intercalated disc in the SHRSP compared to WKY. Therefore, remodelling of the intercalated disc in the hearts of SHRSP animals may contribute to the altered function observed in these animal

Access to Justice for Refugees: How Legal Aid and Quality of Counsel Impact Fairness and Efficiency in Canada’s Asylum System

This report presents findings from a study exploring relationships between refugee legal aid, quality of counsel, the fairness and efficiency of asylum procedures, and access to justice for refugee claimants in Canada. Legal scholars, jurists and legal associations across Canada have recognized an access to justice “crisis”. The crisis extends to refugee claimants, and is exacerbated by unique vulnerabilities and barriers to justice. This report defines access to justice for refugee claimants in Canada as early and affordable access to high-quality legal representation to both prepare claims and appear before the Immigration and Refugee Board, without systemic or economic barriers; to fully participate in and understand the refugee status determination process; to obtain just and fair outcomes in a timely and efficient manner; and to have recourse for poor quality or abusive representation

Report of the direct infrared sensors panel

The direct infrared sensors panel considered a wide range of options for technologies relevant to the science goals of the Astrotech 21 mission set. Among the technologies assessed are: large format arrays; photon counting detectors; higher temperature 1 to 10 micro-m arrays; impurity band conduction (IBC) or blocked impurity band (BIB) detectors; readout electronics; and adapting the Space Infrared Telescope Facility and Hubble Space Telescope. Detailed development plans were presented for each of these technology areas

Addressing the mental health needs of the rural underserved: Findings from a multiple case study of a behavioral telehealth project

Behavioral telehealth is a reasonable solution to the accessibility to mental health care problem that exists in many rural communities. This paper reports the results of a multiple case study of a behavioral telehealth program administered through a marriage and family therapy training program. The results suggest that mental health services can be effectively delivered using existing distance education technology to underserved rural populations. Rural communities have unique barriers to accessing mental health care, some of which can be overcome through the distance delivery of services and some of which cannot. In order to effectively deliver treatment, accommodations to the technology must be made by both therapist and client

Acceleration management: the semiconductor industry confronts the 21st century

In the recent generations of semiconductor devices, the semiconductor industry has been accelerating towards the limits of the physical sciences. As a consequence, technology managers in that industry face seven major challenges, which will threaten progress: process, complexity, performance, power, density, productivity, and quality / reliability. We believe that confronting these challenges requires a new approach to technology management both within organizations and between organizations that form the backbone of the industry. We call this new approach Acceleration Management. Acceleration Management first requires that firms cultivate deep technical knowledge and inspire creative solutions to seemingly insoluble technical problems. The second stage of Acceleration Management requires the necessary expertise to be pooled, which often demands inter-organizational cooperation. This paper explores these managerial imperatives and analyzes how new semiconductor firms--particularly in China--have created niches in the value chain even during a tumultuous time in the industry\u27s history

Economic Impacts of Farm Program Payment Limits

The high levels of government payments to farmers resulting from the 1985 farm bill have once again led the Congress to examine the payment limit issue. Payment limits were initially established in 1970 and have since been revised several times. In this report, policy and farm management economists analyze the consequences of alternative payment limits on economic efficiency, economic viability of family-size farms, international competitiveness, and consumer food costs. Effective payment limits encourage reduced farm size and in the presence of economies of size, tend to increase production costs for program crops. The Agricultural and Food Policy Center is charged with evaluating economic impacts of policy alternatives -- not recommending, advocating, or opposing particular policies. The Center's orientation is toward Texas agriculture -- evaluating policy impacts on its producers and consumers. Farm prices and income, however, are determined in world markets that are influenced by national economic policy and farm programs. Texas impacts, therefore, must be evaluated in a much broader national and international market and policy context.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Embedding Innovation Process And Methodology In Engineering Technology And Business Management And Marketing Courses

For many business segments, true “out of the box” innovation occurs in entrepreneurial companies where the founders aren’t hindered with the research paradigms established by mainstream businesses. The founders of these companies, many times technologists and scientists, see the application of the technology long before potential customers develop an understanding of the capabilities that the new technology can bring to the marketplace. Many times these “new technology ideas” have been developed though modifying an existing dominant design (product or service) to meet an unforeseen market need or through the development of a new design that may become the new industry standard. The competitors of tomorrow may reside in radically different markets yet have the insight to envision the application or modification of an existing technology to a market segment that they are currently not involved in. Teaching engineering technology students techniques and visioning tactics related to the innovation process has been difficult. Several of the authors have experienced, both in the classroom and in industrial settings, that many engineering and engineering technology students see innovation as the application of engineering principals resulting in small incremental changes in a process. Although these changes may result in a more efficient process through increased productivity, reduced waste, faster cycle times, etcetera; continuous improvement projects many times do not generate the dramatic market changes seen with a new dominant design. In fact in many established industries, disruptive innovation is discouraged in favor of continuous innovation because of the uncertainty of the risk/reward quotient and the impact that failed experimentation (increased research and development costs) can have on Wall Street’s perception of a company. Our university recently merged the colleges of Business and Technology and Applied Sciences resulting in a cross-pollinated faculty and the establishment of courses in the graduate and undergraduate curriculum where business and engineering technology student’s work together on class projects, many of which involve an innovation component. It is interesting that many of the faculty who incorporate a discussion or exercise related to the innovation process in their classroom have had extensive experience in an industrial setting prior to joining the university faculty. Industry seasoned faculty bring their “real-world” experience to the classroom and challenge students to move beyond continuous improvement projects. In several cases, ideas generated in the classroom or through collaborative efforts between the business and technology faculty have resulted in prototypes being built in the laboratory for further testing of the prospective innovation. The presence of a technology-centered business incubator located within walking distance from campus provides students the opportunity to observe several high technology businesses that have developed new technology niches in established market segments. These businesses provide consulting opportunities for cross-disciplinary graduate student teams to observe the challenges of introducing a new technology to address previously met market needs through introduction of a superior product. The business incubator is further linked to a sister technology-centered business incubator in Europe providing students (graduate and undergraduate) the opportunity to evaluate if a new technology should be launched initially in the United States or Europe. The creation of these learning opportunities mimic the industrial setting where graduates will be required to operate in cross-disciplinary teams that may address global manufacturing and marketing decisions. This paper discusses the pedagogical approaches several faculty members have developed to introduce and cultivate a creative innovation process to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in technology engineering and business marketing and management classes. These approaches include identifying unmet market niche opportunities, identifying technologies utilized in alternative markets that could be utilized for different market segments, classroom exercises to compel students to search existing patent literature, ideation and brainstorming exercises and researching business entities to identify their technology strategy and implementation plans