Credit Enhancement Strategies for Higher Efficiency Vehicles in Maine

Credit enhancements are a necessary, but not sufficient policy tool to expand access to clean, reliable vehicles. They are necessary because lower-income and historically disadvantaged groups have less access to low-cost financing. They are not sufficient in that credit enhancements alone, while helpful, are not likely to substantially increase the purchase of clean, reliable vehicles with a higher initial purchase price, but comparable or lower long-term cost of ownership. We review two credit enhancement mechanisms: loan loss reserves and interest rate buy-downs

Middle School Students in Virtual Learning Environments

This ethnographic study examined middle school students engaged in a virtual learning environment used in concert with face-to-face instruction in order to complete a collaborative research project. Thirty-eight students from three eighth grade classes participated in this study where data were collected through observation of student work within the virtual learning environment, an online survey, and focus group sessions with students involved in the project. Results indicated students found the virtual learning environment to be valuable as a platform to complete a collaborative research assignment because of portability, ease of use, and organization. Embedded resources within the environment were helpful because of the convenience. Other people, including peers and teachers, were the preferred source of help when problems navigating the environment or finding information arose. Students communicated within the virtual learning environment as a social outlet, a way to check in, and a means to offer content related comments. Ideally the study's findings will give insight into student experiences in a virtual learning environment in order to help educators design more effective learning experiences and incorporate useful supports within such environments

XX/XY Sex Chromosomes in the South American Dwarf Gecko (\u3cem\u3eGonatodes humeralis\u3c/em\u3e)

Sex-specific genetic markers identified using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, or RADseq, permits the recognition of a species’ sex chromosome system in cases where standard cytogenetic methods fail. Thus, species with male-specific RAD markers have an XX/XY sex chromosome system (male heterogamety) while species with female-specific RAD markers have a ZZ/ZW sex chromosome (female heterogamety). Here, we use RADseq data from 5 male and 5 female South American dwarf geckos (Gonatodes humeralis) to identify an XX/XY sex chromosome system. This is the first confidently known sex chromosome system in a Gonatodes species. We used a low-coverage de novo G. humeralis genome assembly to design PCR primers to validate the male-specificity of a subset of the sex-specific RADseq markers and describe how even modest genome assemblies can facilitate the design of sex-specific PCR primers in species with diverse sex chromosome systems

Fluids and Melts at the Magmatic-Hydrothermal Transition, Recorded by Unidirectional Solidification Textures at Saginaw Hill, Arizona, USA

Fluid exsolution and melt evolution at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition are critical processes driving the metal enrichment of porphyry systems. Coeval fluid and melt inclusion assemblages in unidirectional solidification textures (USTs) at Saginaw Hill—a small, porphyry Cu system in southwestern Arizona—record a dynamic and repetitious process of fluid accumulation and release. The cores of quartz crystals throughout the UST bands host coeval silicate melt and brine inclusions but lack vapor-rich inclusions. This could indicate preferential expulsion of vapor and trapping of high-density brine during episodes of fracturing or the direct exsolution of single-phase high-salinity brine from the silicate melt. In contrast, the rims of UST quartz host abundant coeval brine and vapor inclusions, consistent with liquid-vapor immiscibility at lower pressures compared to the corresponding quartz cores. This transition from dominantly coeval silicate melt inclusions and brine in phenocryst cores to coeval brine and vapor in the rims suggests that the Saginaw Hill system underwent cyclic processes of fluid exsolution, accumulation, overpressure, and decompression at relatively stable temperatures (consistently ~650°C) during UST formation. Melt inclusion data indicate that the melt at this stage was highly fractionated and tended toward muscovite saturation. Metal concentrations in the brine were comparable to or higher than those in fluids reported in world-class porphyry Cu systems and were likely the result of both igneous fractionation and the high chloride content of the exsolved fluids. While limited in scale, Saginaw Hill provides evidence for processes that are predicted to occur at the magmatic-hydrothermal transition during the formation of large, well-mineralized porphyry systems

Zinc supplementation and ractopamine hydrochloride impact gene expression of zinc transporters in finishing beef steers

Zinc is a trace mineral of interest for optimizing growth in feedlot cattle due to its roles in many physiological functions, including growth. Twenty-four Angus-cross steers (467 ± 13 kg) were used to assess the effects of supplemental Zn and ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) on trace mineral concentrations and muscle gene expression. Four GrowSafe-equipped pens were randomly assigned to treatments (1 pen of six steers/treatment): 0 (CON), 60 (LOW), 120 (MED) or 180 (HI) mg supplemental Zn/kg DM (Availa-Zn, Zinpro). Dietary Zn treatments were initiated on d 0 and RAC supplementation (300 mg·steer·-1·d-1; Actogain45, Zoetis) began on d 53. Blood, liver and muscle (longissimus thoracis) samples were collected from all steers on d -4, 48, and 67. The LOW treatment was removed from gene expression analyses due to < 3 steers being represented for 14 of 22 genes. Data were analyzed using ProcMixed of SAS with the fixed effect of treatment and steer as the experimental unit; orthogonal linear and quadratic contrast statements were used to compare treatments. On d 48 and 67, there were linear and quadratic trends for plasma Zn to be greater in Zn-supplemented steers than CON (P ≤ 0.10). On d 48, there was a tendency for a quadratic decrease on the expression of SLC30A4 (P ≤ 0.07) but no other differences due to treatment. On d 67, several genes involved in Zn transport and storage (MTA1, SLC39A7, SLC39A8, SLC39A9, SLC39A10, SLC39A13) were decreased (P ≤ 0.08), suggesting increased growth influences intracellular Zn trafficking and demands

Association of distinct type 1 bone morphogenetic protein receptors with different molecular pathways and survival outcomes in neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a paediatric cancer that arises in the sympathetic nervous system. Patients with stage 4 tumours have poor outcomes and 20% of high-risk cases have MYCN amplification. The bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play roles in sympathetic neuritogenesis, by signalling through bone morphogenetic protein receptor (BMPR)2 and either BMPR1A or BMPR1B. Alterations in BMPR2 expression have been reported in NB; it is unknown if the expression of BMPR1A or BMPR1B is altered. We report lower BMPR2 and BMPR1B, and higher BMPR1A, expression in stage 4 and in MYCN-amplified NB. Kaplan–Meier plots showed that high BMPR2 or BMPR1B expression was linked to better survival, while high BMPR1A was linked to worse survival. Gene ontology enrichment and pathway analyses revealed that BMPR2 and BMPR1B co-expressed genes were enriched in those associated with NB differentiation. BMPR1A co-expressed genes were enriched in those associated with cell proliferation. Moreover, the correlation between BMPR2 and BMPR1A was strengthened, while the correlation between BMPR2 and BMPR1B was lost, in MYCN-amplified NB. This suggested that differentiation should decrease BMPR1A and increaseBMPR1Bexpression.Inagreement,nervegrowthfactortreatmentofculturedsympatheticneuronsdecreasedBmpr1aexpressionandincreasedBmpr1bexpression.Overexpression of dominant negative BMPR1B, treatment with a BMPR1B inhibitor and treatment with GDF5, which signals via BMPR1B, showed that BMPR1B signalling is required for optimal neuritogenesis in NB cells, suggesting that loss of BMPR1B may alter neuritogenesis. The present study shows that expression of distinct BMPRs is associated with different survival outcomes in NB

Sodium/Proton Antiporter Activity is Essential for Virulence of Yersinia pestis

We found that a strains of Yersinia pestis (KIM5) which lacked the nhaA gene was fully attenuated in a plague model. This gene produces a protein of the sodium-proton antiporter family which expel sodium ions from the bacterial cytoplasm in exchange for hydrogen ions, or protons, from the surrounding environment. A Y. pestis strain that contained the nhaA mutation showed a significant decrease in its ability to survive in both sheep’s blood and serum. Decreased growth rates were also observed when the nhaA deficient strain was tested in the artificial serum media Opti-MEM® when compared to the wild type strain. A similar growth phenotype was observed when wild type and nhaA mutant strains were tested in LB media set to mimic pH and salt conditions of blood. These observations indicate that sodium-proton antiporter activity of Y. pestis is essential for the survival of the bacterium in certain environments, such as the blood of an infected host. 2-aminopyrimidine was used to inhibit NhaA activity, and when tested in Opti-MEM®, bacterial growth rates decreased. These findings lead us to propose that sodium-proton antiporter inhibition is a novel way of treating bacterial blood-borne diseases

Na +/H + Antiport Is Essential for Yersinia pestis Virulence

Na⁺/H⁺ antiporters are ubiquitous membrane proteins that play a central role in the ion homeostasis of cells. In this study, we examined the possible role of Na⁺/H⁺ antiport in Yersinia pestis virulence and found that Y. pestis strains lacking the major Na⁺/H⁺ antiporters, NhaA and NhaB, are completely attenuated in an in vivo model of plague. The Y. pestis derivative strain lacking the nhaA and nhaB genes showed markedly decreased survival in blood and blood serum ex vivo. Complementation of either nhaA or nhaB in trans restored the survival of the Y. pestis nhaA nhaB double deletion mutant in blood. The nhaA nhaB double deletion mutant also showed inhibited growth in an artificial serum medium, Opti-MEM, and a rich LB-based medium with Na⁺ levels and pH values similar to those for blood. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that intact Na⁺/H⁺ antiport is indispensable for the survival of Y. pestis in the bloodstreams of infected animals and thus might be regarded as a promising noncanonical drug target for infections caused by Y. pestis and possibly for those caused by other blood-borne bacterial pathogens.Keywords: Vibrio cholerae, Inhibitors, Expression, Ph, Escherichia coli, nhaB, Low calcium response, Homeostasis, Bacteria, resistanc

A multidimensional platform for the purification of non-coding RNA species

A renewed interest in non-coding RNA (ncRNA) has led to the discovery of novel RNA species and post-transcriptional ribonucleoside modifications, and an emerging appreciation for the role of ncRNA in RNA epigenetics. Although much can be learned by amplification-based analysis of ncRNA sequence and quantity, there is a significant need for direct analysis of RNA, which has led to numerous methods for purification of specific ncRNA molecules. However, no single method allows purification of the full range of cellular ncRNA species. To this end, we developed a multidimensional chromatographic platform to resolve, isolate and quantify all canonical ncRNAs in a single sample of cells or tissue, as well as novel ncRNA species. The applicability of the platform is demonstrated in analyses of ncRNA from bacteria, human cells and plasmodium-infected reticulocytes, as well as a viral RNA genome. Among the many potential applications of this platform are a system-level analysis of the dozens of modified ribonucleosides in ncRNA, characterization of novel long ncRNA species, enhanced detection of rare transcript variants and analysis of viral genomes.Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and TechnologyNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES017010)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (ES002109