Blue-Throated Hummingbird Song: A Pinnacle of Nonoscine Vocalizations

Little is known about the structure and function of hummingbird vocalizations. We studied the vocalizations of Blue-throated Hummingbirds (Lampornis clemenciae) at two sites in southeastern Arizona. Songs were produced by males and females. Male songs consisted of arrays of notes organized in clusters of ‘‘song units.’’ Within sites, all males shared the same song units. Individual differences occurred in some temporal aspects of song, and slight but consistent differences in note structure occurred between the two sites. The organization of units within songs was marked by rigid syntax, and long songs were produced by agglutination of units. Male songs may function in territorial advertisement and mate attraction. Female songs were very different acoustically from those of males and typically were given when females were within a few centimeters of a male. In these situations, the female’s song often overlapped temporally with the male’s song. Of the hummingbird species studied so far, the Blue-throated Hummingbird has the most complex songs and is the only known species with complex female songs. Blue-throated Hummingbirds show convergence with oscines in vocal complexity, song organization, song function, and possible learning of some song elements

Cool Companions to White Dwarfs from the 2MASS Second Incremental Data Release

We present near-infrared magnitudes for all white dwarfs (selected from the catalog of McCook & Sion) contained in the 2 Micron All Sky Survey Second Incremental Data Release(2MASS 2IDR). We show that the near-IR color-color diagram is an effective means of identifying candidate binary stars containing a WD and a low mass main sequence star. The loci of single WDs and WD + red dwarf binaries occupy distinct regions of the near-IR color-color diagram. We recovered all known unresolved WD + red dwarf binaries located in the 2IDR sky coverage, and also identified as many new candidate binaries (47 new candidates out of 95 total). Using observational near-IR data for WDs and M-L dwarfs, we have compared a sample of simulated WD + red dwarf binaries with our 2MASS data. The colors of the simulated binaries are dominated by the low mass companion through the late-M to early-L spectral types. As the spectral type of the companion becomes progressively later, however, the colors of unresolved binaries become progressively bluer. Binaries containing the lowest mass companions will be difficult to distinguish from single WDs solely on the basis of their near-IR colors.Comment: 18 pages, including 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Racial Differences in the Effect of Granulocyte Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor on Improved Walking Distance in Peripheral Artery Disease: The PROPEL Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background The effects of race on response to medical therapy in people with peripheral artery disease ( PAD ) are unknown. Methods and Results In the PROPEL (Progenitor Cell Release Plus Exercise to Improve Functional Performance in PAD) Trial, PAD participants were randomized to 1 of 4 groups for 6 months: supervised treadmill exercise+granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor ( GM - CSF ) (Group 1), exercise+placebo (Group 2), attention control+ GM - CSF (Group 3), or attention control+placebo (Group 4). Change in 6-minute walk distance was measured at 12- and 26-week follow-up. In these exploratory analyses, groups receiving GM - CSF (Groups 1 and 3), placebo (Groups 2 and 4), exercise (Groups 1 and 2), and attention control (Groups 2 and 4) were combined, maximizing statistical power for studying the effects of race on response to interventions. Of 210 PAD participants, 141 (67%) were black and 64 (30%) were white. Among whites, GM - CSF improved 6-minute walk distance by +22.0 m (95% CI : -4.5, +48.5, P=0.103) at 12 weeks and +44.4 m (95% CI : +6.9, +82.0, P=0.020) at 26 weeks, compared with placebo. Among black participants, there was no effect of GM - CSF on 6-minute walk distance at 12-week ( P=0.26) or 26-week (-5.0 m [-27.5, +17.5, P=0.66]) follow-up, compared with placebo. There was an interaction of race on the effect of GM - CSF on 6-minute walk change at 26-week follow-up ( P=0.018). Exercise improved 6-minute walk distance in black ( P=0.006) and white ( P=0.034) participants without interaction. Conclusions GM - CSF improved 6-minute walk distance in whites with PAD but had no effect in black participants. Further study is needed to confirm racial differences in GM - CSF efficacy in PAD . Clinical Trial Registration URL : http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT 01408901

Dose-Related Estrogen Effects on Gene Expression in Fetal Mouse Prostate Mesenchymal Cells

Developmental exposure of mouse fetuses to estrogens results in dose-dependent permanent effects on prostate morphology and function. Fetal prostatic mesenchyme cells express estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and androgen receptors and convert stimuli from circulating estrogens and androgens into paracrine signaling to regulate epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation. To obtain mechanistic insight into the role of different doses of estradiol (E2) in regulating mesenchymal cells, we examined E2-induced transcriptomal changes in primary cultures of fetal mouse prostate mesenchymal cells. Urogenital sinus mesenchyme cells were obtained from male mouse fetuses at gestation day 17 and exposed to 10 pM, 100 pM or 100 nM E2 in the presence of a physiological concentration of dihydrotestosterone (0.69 nM) for four days. Gene ontology studies suggested that low doses of E2 (10 pM and 100 pM) induce genes involved in morphological tissue development and sterol biosynthesis but suppress genes involved in growth factor signaling. Genes involved in cell adhesion were enriched among both up-regulated and down-regulated genes. Genes showing inverted-U-shape dose responses (enhanced by E2 at 10 pM E2 but suppressed at 100 pM) were enriched in the glycolytic pathway. At the highest dose (100 nM), E2 induced genes enriched for cell adhesion, steroid hormone signaling and metabolism, cytokines and their receptors, cell-to-cell communication, Wnt signaling, and TGF- β signaling. These results suggest that prostate mesenchymal cells may regulate epithelial cells through direct cell contacts when estrogen level is low whereas secreted growth factors and cytokines might play significant roles when estrogen level is high

Arsenic, Organic Foods, and Brown Rice Syrup

Background: Rice can be a major source of inorganic arsenic (Asi) for many sub-populations. Rice products are also used as ingredients in prepared foods, some of which may not be obviously rice based. Organic brown rice syrup (OBRS) is used as a sweetener in organic food products as an alternative to high-fructose corn syrup. We hypothesized that OBRS introduces As into these products

Activated zinc transporter ZIP7 as an indicator of anti-hormone resistance in breast cancer

ZIP7, a member of the ZIP family of zinc importers, resides on the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and transports zinc from intracellular stores to the cytoplasm after activation by CK2 phosphorylation on two serine residues (S275 and S276). ZIP7 is known to be required for the growth of anti-hormone resistant breast cancer models, especially acquired tamoxifen-resistant cells developed from MCF-7. Using our new pS275S276ZIP7 antibody which only recognises activated ZIP7 (pZIP7), we have demonstrated that the hyperactivation of ZIP7 is prevalent in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells. This evidence suggests that pZIP7 might have potential as a biomarker of acquired resistance to such anti-hormones in breast cancer, a current unmet clinical need. In this regard, we have also developed a new immunohistochemical assay for pZIP7 which allowed pZIP7 to be tested on a small clinical series of breast cancer tissues confirming its prevalence in such tumours and relationship to a variety of clinicopathological parameters and biomarkers previously associated with endocrine resistant phenotypes, notably increased activated MAPK signalling, expression of ErbB2, CD71 and the proto-oncogene c-Fos, as well as with increased tumour grade

Laboratory Scoping Tests Of Decontamination Of Hanford Waste Treatment Plant Low Activity Waste Off-Gas Condensate Simulant

The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facility will generate an aqueous condensate recycle stream (LAW Off-Gas Condensate) from the off-gas system. The baseline plan for disposition of this stream is to send it to the WTP Pretreatment Facility, where it will be blended with LAW, concentrated by evaporation and recycled to the LAW vitrification facility again. Alternate disposition of this stream would eliminate recycling of problematic components, and would enable de-coupled operation of the LAW melter and the Pretreatment Facilities. Eliminating this stream from recycling within WTP would also decrease the LAW vitrification mission duration and quantity of glass waste. This LAW Off-Gas Condensate stream contains components that are volatile at melter temperatures and are problematic for the glass waste form. Because this stream recycles within WTP, these components accumulate in the Condensate stream, exacerbating their impact on the number of LAW glass containers that must be produced. Approximately 32% of the sodium in Supplemental LAW comes from glass formers used to make the extra glass to dilute the halides to acceptable concentrations in the LAW glass, and diverting the stream reduces the halides in the recycled Condensate and is a key outcome of this work. Additionally, under possible scenarios where the LAW vitrification facility commences operation prior to the WTP Pretreatment facility, identifying a disposition path becomes vitally important. This task seeks to examine the potential treatment of this stream to remove radionuclides and subsequently disposition the decontaminated stream elsewhere, such as the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF), for example. The treatment process envisioned is very similar to that used for the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) that has been operating for years at the Savannah River Site (SRS), and focuses on using mature radionuclide removal technologies that are also compatible with longterm tank storage and immobilization methods. For this new application, testing is needed to demonstrate acceptable treatment sorbents and precipitating agents and measure decontamination factors for additional radionuclides in this unique waste stream. The origin of this LAW Off-Gas Condensate stream will be the liquids from the Submerged Bed Scrubber (SBS) and the Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) from the LAW melter off-gas system. The stream is expected to be a dilute salt solution with near neutral pH, and will likely contain some insoluble solids from melter carryover. The soluble components are expected to be mostly sodium and ammonium salts of nitrate, chloride, and fluoride. This stream has not been generated yet and will not be available until the WTP begins operation, but a simulant has been produced based on models, calculations, and comparison with pilot-scale tests. One of the radionuclides that is volatile and expected to be in high concentration in this LAW Off-Gas Condensate stream is Technetium-99 ({sup 99}Tc). Technetium will not be removed from the aqueous waste in the Hanford WTP, and will primarily end up immobilized in the LAW glass by repeated recycle of the off-gas condensate into the LAW melter. Other radionuclides that are also expected to be in appreciable concentration in the LAW Off-Gas Condensate are {sup 129}I, {sup 90}Sr, {sup 137}Cs, and {sup 241}Am. This report discusses results of preliminary radionuclide decontamination testing of the simulant. Testing examined use of Monosodium Titanate (MST) to remove {sup 90}Sr and actinides, inorganic reducing agents for {sup 99}Tc, and zeolites for {sup 137}Cs. Test results indicate that excellent removal of {sup 99}Tc was achieved using Sn(II)Cl{sub 2} as a reductant, coupled with sorption onto hydroxyapatite, even in the presence of air and at room temperature. This process was very effective at neutral pH, with a Decontamination Factor (DF) >577 in two hours. It was less effective at alkaline pH. Conversely, removal of the cesium was more effective at alkaline pH, with a DF of 17.9. As anticipated, ammonium ion probably interfered with the Ionsiv®a IE-95 zeolite uptake of {sup 137}Cs. Although this DF of {sup 137}Cs was moderate, additional testing is expected to identify more effective conditions. Similarly, Monosodium Titanate (MST) was more effective at alkaline pH at removing Sr, Pu, and U, with a DF of 319, 11.6, and 10.5, respectively, within 24 hours. Actually, the Ionsiv® IE-95, which was targeting removal of Cs, was also moderately effective for Sr, and highly effective for Pu and U at alkaline pH. The only deleterious effect observed was that the chromium co-precipitates with the {sup 99}Tc during the SnCl{sub 2} reduction. This effect was anticipated, and would have to be considered when managing disposition paths of this stream. Results of this separation testing indicate that sorption/precipitation was a viable concept and has the potential to decontaminate the stream. All radionuclides were at least partially removed by one or more of the materials tested. Based on the results, a possible treatment scenario could involve the use of a reductive precipitation agent (SnCl{sub 2}) and sorbent at neutral pH to remove the Tc, followed by pH adjustment and the addition of zeolite (Ionsiv® IE-95) to remove the Cs, Sr, and actinides. Addition of MST to remove Sr and actinides may not be needed. Since this was an initial phase of testing, additional tasks to improve separation methods were expected to be identified. Primarily, further testing is needed to identify the conditions for the decontamination process. Once these conditions are established, follow-on tasks likely include evaluation and testing of applicable solid-liquid separation technologies, slurry rheology measurements, composition variability testing and evaluations, corrosion and erosion testing, slurry storage and immobilization investigations, and decontaminated LAW Off-Gas Condensate evaporation and solidification