Development of a Knowledge Management System for Energy Driven by Public Feedback

The Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Department and the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom, is proposing to create an open web platform that makes high-quality scientific data on energy sources readily available, assembles those data into metrics more suitable to the general public’s knowledge and interest (e.g. impact on the family’s budget or green house gas emission), and visually renders such information in a straightforward manner

Effects of Intensified Nutrition on Immune Cell Populations in Milk Replacer-Fed Neonatal Calves

Results from the present study confirm the growthpromoting benefits of feeding an intensified milk replacer to dairy calves. Effects of the elevated plane of nutrition on immune variables examined in the present study were minimal. The number of circulating leukocytes and the composition of the PBMC population as well as this population’s general responsiveness and capacity to secrete IgM were not affected by diet. Relative to responses of calves fed the traditional MR, calves fed the intensified MR demonstrated reduced IFN-γ responses and elevated NO responses during the latter stages of the study. Aberrant NO production, however, can result in undesirable host tissue destruction

An exploration of concepts of community through a case study of UK university web production

The paper explores the inter-relation and differences between the concepts of occupational community, community of practice, online community and social network. It uses as a case study illustration the domain of UK university web site production and specifically a listserv for those involved in it. Different latent occupational communities are explored, and the potential for the listserv to help realize these as an active sense of community is considered. The listserv is not (for most participants) a tight knit community of practice, indeed it fails many criteria for an online community. It is perhaps best conceived as a loose knit network of practice, valued for information, implicit support and for the maintenance of weak ties. Through the analysis the case for using strict definitions of the theoretical concepts is made

Diagnostic Implications of Antigen-Induced Gamma Interferon, Nitric Oxide, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Production by Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells from \u3ci\u3eMycobacterium bovis\u3c/i\u3e-Infected Cattle

Bovine tuberculosis in the United States has proven costly to cattle producers as well as to government regulatory agencies. While in vivo responsiveness to mycobacterial antigens is the current standard for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, in vitro assays are gaining acceptance, especially as ancillary or complementary tests. To evaluate in vitro indices of cellular sensitization, antigen-induced gamma interferon (IFN-γ), nitric oxide (NO), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) responses by blood mononuclear cells from Mycobacterium bovis-infected cattle were quantified and compared. Using an aerosol model of infection, two doses of each of two strains of M. bovis (95-1315 and HC-2045T) were used to induce a range of IFN-γ, NO, and TNF-α responses. Infection-specific increases in NO, but not in IFN-γ or TNF-α, were detected in nonstimulated cultures at 48 h, a finding that is indicative of nonspecific activation and spontaneous release of NO. The infective dose of M. bovis organisms also influenced responses. At 34 days postinfection, IFN-γ, NO, and TNF-α responses in antigen-stimulated cells from cattle receiving 105 CFU of M. bovis organisms were greater than responses of cells from cattle infected with 103 CFU of M. bovis organisms. The NO response, but not the IFN-γ and TNF-α responses, was influenced by infective strains of M. bovis. The TNF-α, NO, and IFN-γ responses followed similar kinetics, with strong positive associations among the three readouts. Overall, these findings indicate that NO and TNF-α, like IFN-γ, may prove useful as indices for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis

Effect of Gestational Folic Acid Supplementation on Offspring Immune Organ Development and Postnatal Immune Response

Pairs of littermate, primiparous sows were fed a low folic acid, basal diet for 98 days to minimize body folic acid (FA) stores. Following the depletion period, sows were synchronized and bred via artificial insemination. Feeding of experimental diets was initiated on day 1 post-breeding and was continued throughout pregnancy. Experimental diets consisted of the low folic acid, basal diet supplemented with either 0 or 8 mg of FA per sow per day. The FA supplementation elevated sow serum FA concentration during pregnancy but did not alter immunoglobulin concentration in sow serum, piglet serum nor sow colostral whey at parturition. The FA supplementation did not affect the number of pigs per litter nor litter birth weight. The FA supplementation of the gravid sow did not alter piglet thymus or spleen weight, DNA, or protein content at birth, but resulted in a lower (