Comparison of Th1 cytokines and T cell markers gene expressions between virulent and an attenuated EIAV vaccine strain

The equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is closely related to HIV and has been used as a model to identify protective mechanisms against lentivirus infection. In horses, EIA infection progresses for about a year before infected horses manage to control virus replication. This naturally-gained protection is absolutely dependent on active immune responses as evidenced by the fact that immunosuppressive drugs can induce the recurrence of disease. As the resolution of initial viremia correlates with the appearance of virus specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), we believe that cellular immune responses play a key role in controlling EIAV in the horse. In a previous study, a modified live EIAV stain (D9) provided effective protection against homologous virus challenge without causing disease, but this vaccine could not achieve optimum protective immunity until six months post vaccination. In this study, development of cell-mediated immunity was monitored in EIAVD9 infected ponies over a six-month period. We hypothesized that both Th1 cytokines and CTL would be upregulated in EIAVD9 infected ponies. To test this hypothesis, ponies were inoculated with the attenuated EIAVD9 strain. Whole blood samples were collected into PAXgene™ tubes weekly during the acute infection stage (first 6 weeks) and at monthly intervals thereafter corresponding to the chronic infection phase. Total RNA was isolated from the PAXgene™ tubes and gene expression for both Th1 cytokine (IFN) and CTL markers (Granzyme B and Perforin) were determined using real-time PCR. At the same time, another group of ponies receiving a virulent EIAV were monitored and sampled as comparison. We found that Th1 cytokine (IFN) and CTL marker (perforin) genes were significantly increased four months post EIAVD9 infection. These results indicate that the maturation of cellular immune response in EIAVD9 infected horses requires at least four months

Decolouring bloodmeal: Consumption and potential recycling of peracetic acid

A method of deodorizing and decolouring bloodmeal using an equilibrium mixture of peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid and water has been developed to improve its marketability as a source of protein for bioplastics. The objective of this study was to determine what quantity of peracetic acid is required to give reasonable bleaching of the bloodmeal and determine whether there is potential for the wastewater to be recycled. This was carried out by measuring the quantity of chemical species in the initial equilibrium mixture and the resulting wastewater upon bleaching using volumetric analysis. Bleaching efficacy was determined after exposing 100 g bloodmeal to 1.1, 2.5, 3.6, 4.5 and 5.6 wt% peracetic acid solutions as either 300 g total solution or a constant molar equivalent of 2.2 mmol peracetic acid/g bloodmeal and using a chromameter to measure colour change. Addition of 300 g 5.6 wt% peracetic acid solution resulted in effective bleaching. This represented a ratio of 2.20 mmol peracetic acid/g bloodmeal of which 1.4 mmol peracetic acid/g bloodmeal was consumed (63%). If 300 g 300 g of <2.5 wt% solution is added such that there is still 2.2 mmol peracetic acid/g bloodmeal, bleaching is still insufficient. These results suggest that an excess of peracetic is required for bleaching to occur, and that its concentration is paramount to bleaching efficacy. Due to the excess of peracetic acid used in the bleaching process, there is potential for wastewater recycling to be carried out provided that the wastewater is not diluted

Effect of oxidative treatment on the secondary structure of decoloured bloodmeal

Bloodmeal can be decoloured using peracetic acid resulting in a material with a pale-yellow colour which only needs sodium dodecyl sulphate, water and triethylene glycol to extrude into a semi-transparent bioplastic. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy using Synchrotron light was used to investigate the effect of peracetic acid treatment at various concentrations on the spatial distribution of secondary structures within particles of bloodmeal. Oxidation caused aggregation of helical structures into sheets and acetic acid suppressed sheet formation. Decolouring with peracetic acid led to particles with a higher degree of disorder at the outer edges and higher proportions of ordered structures at the core, consistent with the expected diffusion controlled heterogeneous phase decolouring reaction. The degradation of stabilizing intra- and intermolecular interactions and the presence of acetate ions results in increased chain mobility and greater amorphous content in the material, as evidenced by reduction in Tg and greater enthalpy of relaxation with increasing PAA concentration

The Triassic Saharonim Formation of the Sephardic Province on the Southern Tethyan Margin Is an Analog for the Triassic Germanic Muschelkalk of Western Europe

The Germanic Muschelkalk consists of a sedimentary sequence of limestone and dolostone units that overlies the Permian Buntsandstein Formation and underlies the Middle and Late Triassic Keuper Formation. The three formations form the Germanic Triassic Supergroup. The Muschelkalk was deposited in a shallow marine environment that was only partially connected to the Tethys Ocean to the south with the middle section evaporitic indicating a restricted basin. Fossiliferous beds are often biostromal such as the well-known Coenothyris brachiopod beds (e.g. Terebratula Bed, terebratulid facies) common in the Muschelkalk. The Saharonim Formation of the Sephardic Province, found along the southern shore of the Tethys Ocean, consists of limestone and shale beds with occasional marls and bioturbated micrites. The formation is rich in marine fossils, especially the Fossiliferous Limestone Member from Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel where the brachiopod genera Coenothyris and Tunethyris are common. The formation was also deposited in an open shelf environment that is indicative of the main transgressive phase of the Middle Triassic in the area. A shallow marine depositional environment is suggested by the numerous and diverse nautiloid population. The Saharonim Formation is similar to the Germanic Muschelkalk in that the lithology is comparable and the fossil constituents, although more diverse, are similar, especially among the brachiopods. Characteristic fossils common to both include: Encrinus, Ceratites, Germanonautilus, Lima, Myophoria, Plagiostoma, Hybodus and Nothosaurus

An Unconventional Union: Promoting Information Literacy through Assessment

This year, as a result of a long core curriculum revision process, Information Literacy (IL) finally, for the first time, has been included in our university’s curriculum. However, whereas most IL programs are delivered to students either in discrete IL courses or through IL-flagged content courses (in either the core curriculum, the major, or both), we had to settle for something different: the inclusion of IL learning objectives in our new curriculum is driven entirely by university assessment. The Office of Accreditation and Assessment, in collaboration with academic departments and the Information and Research Literacy Implementation Committee identified four learning objectives of our new core curriculum that overlap with IL. Courses identified as meeting those core objectives have been scheduled for assessment, putting in motion a process whereby departments and individual instructors collaborate with the Office of Accreditation and Assessment, the newly-formed Information and Research Literacy Advisory Committee, and, ideally, departmental subject librarians. The explicit goal of this collaboration is to develop an assessment plan for the designated IL learning objective. However, as faculty and library leaders in the drive to include IL in the core, we see the assessment planning process as a means to achieve work that is more critical: ensuring that IL is taught explicitly, appropriately, and meaningfully. In our presentation we will share our university’s unusual approach to IL via assessment, including the advantages and challenges of this approach

The VANDELS survey: Dust attenuation in star-forming galaxies at z=3−4\mathbf{z=3-4}

We present the results of a new study of dust attenuation at redshifts $3 < z < 4$ based on a sample of $236$ star-forming galaxies from the VANDELS spectroscopic survey. Motivated by results from the First Billion Years (FiBY) simulation project, we argue that the intrinsic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies at these redshifts have a self-similar shape across the mass range $8.2 \leq$ log$(M_{\star}/M_{\odot}) \leq 10.6$ probed by our sample. Using FiBY data, we construct a set of intrinsic SED templates which incorporate both detailed star formation and chemical abundance histories, and a variety of stellar population synthesis (SPS) model assumptions. With this set of intrinsic SEDs, we present a novel approach for directly recovering the shape and normalization of the dust attenuation curve. We find, across all of the intrinsic templates considered, that the average attenuation curve for star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq3.5$ is similar in shape to the commonly-adopted Calzetti starburst law, with an average total-to-selective attenuation ratio of $R_{V}=4.18\pm0.29$. We show that the optical attenuation ($A_V$) versus stellar mass ($M_{\star}$) relation predicted using our method is consistent with recent ALMA observations of galaxies at $2<z<3$ in the \emph{Hubble} \emph{Ultra} \emph{Deep} \emph{Field} (HUDF), as well as empirical $A_V - M_{\star}$ relations predicted by a Calzetti-like law. Our results, combined with other literature data, suggest that the $A_V - M_{\star}$ relation does not evolve over the redshift range $0<z<5$, at least for galaxies with log$(M_{\star}/M_{\odot}) \gtrsim 9.5$. Finally, we present tentative evidence which suggests that the attenuation curve may become steeper at log$(M_{\star}/M_{\odot}) \lesssim 9.0$.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Dielasma or Tunethyris? A Taxonomic Conundrum

A new species of a dielasmid brachiopod from the Triassic Saharonim Formation of Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel, was discovered in Anisian-Ladinian limestones that alternate with calcareous shales. The environment of deposition was an open shelf with normal salinity. The new species is homeomorphic with Paleozoic forms, but may not belong to the genus Dielasma; however, it may be a species of Tunethyris, a Triassic genus from Tunisia. If the Triassic specimens belong to the Paleozoic genus Dielasma, an important new Lazarus genus is added to the systematic literature. However, if the specimens belong to the Triassic Tunethyris, there are important paleobiogeographic considerations to be noted, such as the significance of the enigmatic Ladinian crisis and the influence of the Hispanic Corridor, an immature seaway connecting the western Tethys with eastern Panthalassa that may have been open sporadically during the Late Triassic and affected brachiopod distribution. Points favoring the selection of Tunethyris are: 1. The orientation of the crura in the new species is slightly different from Paleozoic dielasmids, especially D. elongatum from the Permian of Germany; 2. the anatomy of Tunethyris punica from the Norian of Tunisia is very similar to the new species and the anterior commissure of both is sulicplicate, a feature not found in Paleozoic forms; 3. The loop of the Israeli brachiopods is acuminate. In addition to other anatomical characters that support the erection of a new species, Tunethyris calzada has a septalium supported by a median septum whereas the septalium in the brachiopods from Makhtesh Ramon rests on the valve floor

Are Petroglyphs Markers for Frontier Boundaries or Directional to Raw Material Resources?

The Shawangunk, NY region is known for rich mineral resources: anomalous concentrations of quartz crystals; native silver; silver, copper and zinc sulfides; and minimal quantities of native gold. The Shawangunks also host Native American petroglyphs carved into local bedrock. Although the Shawangunks are rich in metallic ores and semiprecious minerals, the entire range is sorely deficient in chert and other raw materials used for prehistoric subsistence. Despite the lack of raw materials for subsistence needs, archaeological tools found in the area are strikingly similar in raw-material type, as well as general morphology, to quarry-extraction tools discovered in the adjacent Wallkill Valley. The Wallkill Valley contains hundreds of prehistoric chert quarries occurring in Cambro-Ordovician carbonates. Recovered objects are fashioned from metaconglomerates, arkoses, quartzites, and argillites occurring within the graded sequences of the middle to upper Silurian Shawangunk Formation. The formation extends from Rosendale, NY southward into Virginia and unconformably overlies shales and graywackes of the Ordovician Martinsburg Formation. The Shawangunk Ridge in the vicinity of New Paltz, NY consists of gray to white conglomerate and quartzite, with milky quartz pebbles and rose quartz in the upper part of the formation. It pinches out near Binnewater, NY. Tools weigh up to 10 kg and are battered on all surfaces. Some surfaces show pitting, grinding and abrasion. Ruptures occurring along joint surfaces, or joint-bedding intersections, are flaked backward to prepare a wedge-like impact surface. The full complement of rock types occurring within the graded sequence are exploited for their durability in production of tools. Morphologically the objects fit categorically into the chain of operation of lithic production described for Wallkill Valley chert quarries. Considering the paucity of subsistence raw material in the Shawangunks, what does the richness of petroglyphs and extraction tools signify? Do petroglyphs represent territorial/frontier boundaries or limits of raw-material resources? Perhaps the petroglyphs mark the entranceway to sources of commodity minerals employed for personal adornment, ideological activities or internment

The VANDELS survey: Dust attenuation in star-forming galaxies at z=3−4\mathbf{z=3-4}

We present the results of a new study of dust attenuation at redshifts $3 < z < 4$ based on a sample of $236$ star-forming galaxies from the VANDELS spectroscopic survey. Motivated by results from the First Billion Years (FiBY) simulation project, we argue that the intrinsic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies at these redshifts have a self-similar shape across the mass range $8.2 \leq$ log$(M_{\star}/M_{\odot}) \leq 10.6$ probed by our sample. Using FiBY data, we construct a set of intrinsic SED templates which incorporate both detailed star formation and chemical abundance histories, and a variety of stellar population synthesis (SPS) model assumptions. With this set of intrinsic SEDs, we present a novel approach for directly recovering the shape and normalization of the dust attenuation curve. We find, across all of the intrinsic templates considered, that the average attenuation curve for star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq3.5$ is similar in shape to the commonly-adopted Calzetti starburst law, with an average total-to-selective attenuation ratio of $R_{V}=4.18\pm0.29$. We show that the optical attenuation ($A_V$) versus stellar mass ($M_{\star}$) relation predicted using our method is consistent with recent ALMA observations of galaxies at $2<z<3$ in the \emph{Hubble} \emph{Ultra} \emph{Deep} \emph{Field} (HUDF), as well as empirical $A_V - M_{\star}$ relations predicted by a Calzetti-like law. Our results, combined with other literature data, suggest that the $A_V - M_{\star}$ relation does not evolve over the redshift range $0<z<5$, at least for galaxies with log$(M_{\star}/M_{\odot}) \gtrsim 9.5$. Finally, we present tentative evidence which suggests that the attenuation curve may become steeper at log$(M_{\star}/M_{\odot}) \lesssim 9.0$.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA