Microglia Distribution in the Lateral Ventricles Following Treatment of Lysolecithin Model of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects an estimated one million people in the US alone (Wallin et al., 2019). We modeled MS in rats using lysolecithin injection into the corpus callosum to diminish motor function unilaterally through demyelination, meanwhile treating the injury with Fluoxetine, Ibuprofen, and ascorbic acid (FIAA) to increase neurogenesis and oligodendrogenesis. Motor function was assessed using the Montoya Staircase test pre- and post-surgery. Motor capabilities recovered in the contralateral limb, but not in the ipsilateral, and recovery was not significantly affected by treatment. We identified microglia by CX3CR1 and examined its distribution in the adult neurogenic niche, the SVZ of the lateral ventricles. Microglia displayed significant regional differences with posterior ventricle slices containing more microglial area than those of the anterior, and the treatment had no significant effect on this distribution. We found CX3CR1 area to be more negatively correlated with functional recovery in treated animals compared to controls, indicating that the treatment may favor recovery in animals with a greater proportion of activated microglia

Rat Elbow Project

Current methods for treating post-traumatic joint stiffness (PTJS), a common clinical problem following elbow surgeries which causes functional impairment of the limb, have proven insufficient.1 The main factors that expose the elbow joint to this complication are a high degree of congruence, the complexity of the joint surfaces and the high tissue sensitivity to trauma, especially the joint capsule.1 As a result, the Lake laboratory is working with elbow tissue to determine how the injury presents itself. With a deeper understanding of the injury, the lab hopes to develop more effective prevention and treatment methods for PTJS. Before the fall of 2016, the lab successfully developed an animal model for the injury which can lead to PTJS. This model utilizes surgically injured elbows of Long-Evans rats. Currently, the lab is using this model to further understand the injury. In order to explore the presentation of the injury, the lab would like to use gait analysis. Gait analysis, or the examination of the steps and stepping patterns of the rats, provides an effective method to test the consequences of physical and drug therapy in a noninvasive manner. This is because walking is a natural behavior and therefore can be used to compare an injured rat to control. Gait analysis quantifies the consequences of injuries and provides useful data which can be used to gain a deeper understanding of the injury. Before the fall of 2016, DigiGait, an automated gait analysis system, was used with minimal success. Thus, the laboratory decided to pursue other methods

The biogeochemistry of carbon across a gradient of streams and rivers within the Congo Basin

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and inorganic carbon (DIC and pCO2), lignin biomarkers and the optical properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were measured in a gradient of streams and rivers within the Congo Basin (Republic of Congo), with the aim of examining how vegetation cover and hydrology influences the composition and concentration of exported fluvial carbon (C). Three sampling campaigns (February 2010, November 2010 and August 2011) spanning 56 sites are compared by sub-basin watershed land cover type (savannah, tropical forest, and swamp) and hydrologic regime (high, intermediate, and low). Land cover properties predominately controlled the amount and quality of DOC, chromophoric DOM (CDOM) and lignin phenol concentrations (∑8) exported in streams and rivers throughout the Congo Basin. Higher DIC concentrations and changing DOM composition (lower molecular weight, less aromatic C) during periods of low hydrologic flow indicated a shift from rapid overland supply pathways in wet conditions to deeper groundwater inputs during drier periods. Lower DOC concentrations in forest and swamp sub-basins were apparent with increasing catchment area, indicating enhanced DOC loss with extended water residence time. Surface water pCO2 in savannah and tropical forest catchments ranged between 2600 and 11922 µatm, and swamp regions contained extremely high pCO2 (10598-15802 µatm), highlighting their potential as significant pathways for water-air efflux. Our data suggest that the quantity and quality of DOM exported to streams and rivers is largely driven by terrestrial ecosystem structure and that anthropogenic land-use or climate change may impact the composition and reactivity of fluvial C, with ramifications for regional C budgets and future climate scenarios

Water‐related research for the Great Lakes region

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95688/1/eost154.pd

Electric Upgrades - Supercapacitor Electric Bicycle

Supercapacitors provide high current capabilities compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, allowing for fast charging and discharging of electrical energy. This project seeks to test the benefits of supercapacitors in an electric bicycle unit in order to gain higher regenerative energy. The main components of the bicycle are its regenerative motor, supercapacitor array, and motor controller. Developing the project will provide data on the feasibility of using alternative battery storage and charging

Accommodative response in asymmetric convergence

Accommodative response in asymmetric convergenc

I am Not Your Felon: Decoding the Trauma, Resilience, and Recovering Mothering of Formerly Incarcerated Black Women

Black women are increasingly targets of mass incarceration and reentry. Black feminist writers call attention to scholars’ need to intersectionalize analyses around how Black women interface with state systems and social institutions. This study foregrounds narratives from Black women to understand their plight while navigating reentry through a phenomenological approach. Through semi-structured interviews, narratives are analyzed using critical frameworks that authentically unearths the lived realities of participants. Themes reveal that for Black mothers, reentry can be just as criminalizing as engaging crime itself. These women face dire consequences around their mothering that induce them into tremendous bouts of trauma. Existing interlocking oppressions enflame newfound barriers due to their contact with the criminal legal system—yet they survive via divergent forms of resilience

Radio Observations of the Black Hole Candidate GX 339-4

The black hole candidate GX 339-4 was first detected as a variable radio source by Sood & Campbell-Wilson in May 1994 with the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST). Since then, several observations have been obtained with the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) in order to study the radio behavior of this source in relation to its soft and hard X-ray activity. We present new results of high resolution radio observations performed with the ATCA in order to study the jet-like feature observed in GX 339-4 by Fender et al (1997). From the ATCA lightcurve at 8640 MHz, we find evidence of quenched radio emission from GX 339-4.Comment: To appear in Proc. 4th Compton Symposium, AIP pres

A novel approach to increasing the reliability of accelerator magnets

Abstract — When a very large particle accelerator with about 8000 electromagnets, such as the proposed Next Linear Collider (NLC), has an 85 % overall availability goal, then all these magnets and their power supplies must be highly reliable and/or quickly repairable. An interdisciplinary reliability engineering approach, more commonly applied to aircraft and space vehicles, has been taken to design maximum reliability in the NLC main linac quadrupoles, while maintaining magnetic field performance and reducing cost. A specially assembled team of engineers with a variety of experiences with magnets carried out a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) on a standard SLAC quadrupole magnet system. This process helped them identify which components were less reliable. Then they redesigned the quadrupole to avoid all the potential problems. A prototype magnet will be made and tested to ensure that functionality has not been lost. Index Terms—Magnet, reliability, FMEA. I