In Vivo validation of a bioinformatics based tool to identify reduced replication capacity in HIV-1.

Although antiretroviral drug resistance is common in treated HIV infected individuals, it is not a consistent indicator of HIV morbidity and mortality. To the contrary, HIV resistance-associated mutations may lead to changes in viral fitness that are beneficial to infected individuals. Using a bioinformatics-based model to assess the effects of numerous drug resistance mutations, we determined that the D30N mutation in HIV-1 protease had the largest decrease in replication capacity among known protease resistance mutations. To test this in silico result in an in vivo environment, we constructed several drug-resistant mutant HIV-1 strains and compared their relative fitness utilizing the SCID-hu mouse model. We found HIV-1 containing the D30N mutation had a significant defect in vivo, showing impaired replication kinetics and a decreased ability to deplete CD4+ thymocytes, compared to the wild-type or virus without the D30N mutation. In comparison, virus containing the M184V mutation in reverse transcriptase, which shows decreased replication capacity in vitro, did not have an effect on viral fitness in vivo. Thus, in this study we have verified an in silico bioinformatics result with a biological assessment to identify a unique mutation in HIV-1 that has a significant fitness defect in vivo

The family house chronotope in three picture books by Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus. Idyll, fantasy and threshold experiences

The family house is a distinct and recurrent context for child protagonists in picturebooks by Gro Dahle and Svein Nyhus. Based on Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope, which denotes the unity of time and space in a literary work, this article explores how concepts of time and space are depicted in three picturebooks by Dahle and Nyhus that are set within the family house context. The books were all published around the year 2000. Following Bakhtin’s understanding that the literary chronotope emerges from real historical time and space, the article illustrates how the family house chronotope in the work of Dahle and Nyhus sheds light on the condition of being a child at the turn of the century. Furthermore, it is suggested that what I will term the Dahle and Nyhus’ family house chronotope frames and enables both a vulnerable and strong child, thus reflecting an understanding of childhood in a Scandinavian postmodern context around the year 2000.publishedVersio

Strategic characterization of crack path propagation in brittle structural materials

The mechanical behavior of brittle materials is highly dependent on flaw size and distribution, but once a crack has begun to propagate, the local microstructure plays an important role in whether that crack will lead to ultimate failure. Two case studies involving ceramic thermal barrier coatings (TBC) and polymer matrix composites (PMC) will be presented wherein the local microstructure has been shown to strongly influence crack propagation pathways as well as the active toughening mechanisms. Design of novel TBC material systems is predicated on improving the toughness of this thin ceramic coating via activation of a ferroelastic toughening mechanism. Common descriptions of ferroelastic toughening overlook the impact of local morphology including grain size, orientation, or the presence of a second phase. Preliminary efforts to deconvolute these morphological effects via strategic small-scale mechanical tests will be presented. Similar strain controlled tensile loading of PMCs will also be presented in greater context of integrating local fiber distribution into multiscale modeling efforts

Effects of NDF digestibility on Lactating Jersey Cows: Observed and Modeled Performance

Improving the digestibility of fiber and our understanding of how to feed it will optimize the ruminants’ niche in our society, which is to convert human inedible products to high quality protein in the form of meat and milk. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility has been studied and modeled for decades, but it is increasingly important as livestock production is scrutinized for resource use and sustainability. Increasing the amount of NDF fed and improving models of NDF digestibility will improve sustainability by increasing the precision at which we feed livestock which results in less nutrient and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Profitability for farmers will also improve because feeds with greater NDF concentrations are generally cheaper than those with fat, starch, or other energy dense nutrients. We evaluated how in vitro estimates of NDF digestibility (IVNDFD) affected animal performance predictions from ration software. Forages and fibrous byproducts from 8 energy balance studies were evaluated for IVNDFD, and the IVNDFD estimates were used in place of feed library NDF digestibility (NDFD) values from the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) to evaluate if using IVNDFD of feeds improved ration formulation predictions of milk and CH4 production. The CNCPS predictions demonstrated that using IVNDFD improved predictions of CH4 production, but not of milk production. Our results suggest that using IVNDFD may aid in predicting CH4 production which is of increasing importance as GHG emissions from livestock are scrutinized, but that other strategies, like estimating the indigestible NDF (iNDF) fraction of feeds, should be explored as a way of improving model predictions of milk production. A second experiment evaluated feeding NDF from different sources and processing methods as techniques to optimize NDFD. Seven rumen cannulated Jersey cows were fed in a crossover design with a 2 × 2 factorial treatment arrangement; the factors were forage concentration and DDGS form. Treatment combinations were low forage with meal DDGS (LF-mDDGS), low forage with pelleted DDGS (LF-pDDGS), high forage with meal DDGS (HF-mDDGS) and high forage with pelleted DDGS (HF-pDDGS). Increasing forage concentration slowed rumen passage rate, increased rumen pH and increased rumen NH3, but did not change NDF digestibility or energy corrected milk yield, as we hypothesized. Interestingly, pelleting DDGS appeared to increase the NDF and energy digestibility of the rations, which mirrored results from in vitro evaluations of meal and pelleted DDGS. Further investigation of the effects pelleting has on fibrous feeds is warranted because it may be an effective procedure to improve the feeding value of DDGS or other fibrous feeds by improving their NDFD. Advisor: Paul J. Kononof

Marketability of the Advances Practice Registered Nurse-Family Certified Nurse Practitioner Professions

The literature reveals that advanced practice registered nurses who are family practice certified nurse practitioners (APRN-FNPs) are highly qualified primary care providers, yet some physicians feel that APRN-FNPs are in direct competition with them. It is important for the APRN-FNP to educate patients about their knowledge and skill capabilities. Government reimbursement and inconsistency of APRN-FNPs scope of practice is also a problem contributing to a lack of clarity in the APRN-FNP role. It is the responsibility of health care providers to be advocates for their own profession. Nurses must promote the role of advanced practice nursing in the workplace, community, and political contexts. Such advocating may increase visibility and understanding of the APRN-FNP profession. This can only help improve marketability of the APRN-FNP role and identity in the workplace This project focused on researching the importance of professional advocacy, consistency, and worth of the APRN-FNP profession. It explored the need and importance of APRN-FNPs to the healthcare industry. A poster presentation was given at the Graduate School Scholarly Forum, March 12, 2009, on the University of North Dakota campus to serve as an aide for newly educated and practicing APRN-FNPs in the area who were seeking employment, advocating for their role definition, and developing their scope of practice. The presentation was expected to be particularly helpful to newly graduated APRN-FNPs and currently practicing APRN-FNPs seeking role definition which in return should have provided them with an opportunity to establish professional self worth The purpose of this project was to increase awareness and knowledge among healthcare professionals in the Midwestern region of the United States about the importance of self-advocacy among APRN-FNP professionals, so that (a) the role of the APRN-FNP professional could be clearly defined, (b) the APRN-FNP\u27s role might become more consistent throughout the region, and ( c) the self-worth of professionals in the field be encouraged to grow. Achieving these objectives should increase APRN-FNP marketability. The profession must have an in-depth understanding and consensus of the depth and breadth of its scope of practice. The APRN-FNP profession as a whole must be proactive in order for change to occu

U-Pb ages and Sr, Pb and Nd isotope data for gneisses near the Kolar Schist Belt: Evidence for the juxtaposition of discrete Archean terranes

Uranium-lead ages and Sr, Pb, and Nd isotopic data for gneisses near the Kolar Schist Belt and their interpretation as evidence for the juxtaposition of discrete Archean terranes were presented. The granodioritic Kambha gneiss east of the schist belt has a zircon age of 2532 + or - 3 Ma and mantle-like initial Sr, Pb, and Nd isotopic ratios. Therefore these gneisses are thought to represent new crust added to the craton in the latest Archean. By contrast, more mafic Dod gneisses and leucocratic Dosa gneisses west of the schist belt (2632 + or - 7 and 2610 + or - 10 Ma) show evidence for contamination of their magmatic precursors (LREE-enriched mantle-derived for the Dod gneisses) by older (greater than 3.2 Ga) continental crust. Fragments of this older crust may be present as granitic and tonalitic inclusions in the 2.6-Ga gneisses and in shear zones. The antiquity of these fragments is supported by their Nd, Sr, and Pb isotopic compositions and by 2.8 to greater than 3.2 Ga zircon cores

Tectonic setting of the Kolar Schist Belt, Karnataka, India

The tectonic setting of the Kolar Schist Belt and why the belt may represent a late Archean suture was discussed. The isotopic and chronological evidence that suggest diverse origins of the various packages of supracrustal rocks within the schist belt and the two gneiss terrains adjoining the belt were summarized. The eastern and western amphibolites were derived from sources at similar depths in the mantle (probably at similar ages, ca. 2.7 Ga), but these sources had distinct trace element compositions and histories. A distinctive feature of these differences was shown by the differences between the east and west amphibolites on a Ce vs. Nd diagram. In the gneisses the age and isotopic evidence suggest that the two terranes had distinct histories until after 2520 Ma and by 2420 Ma (Ar-40/Ar-39 age of muscovite in the sheared margin of the schist belt). Based on these data, the schist belt probably represents the site of accretion of diverse fragments (terrains) to the margin of the craton in the latest Archean, possibly as an Archean analog to the Phanerozoic North American Cordillera

Freely-Decaying, Homogeneous Turbulence Generated by Multi-scale Grids

We investigate wind tunnel turbulence generated by both conventional and multi-scale grids. Measurements were made in a tunnel which has a large test-section, so that possible side wall effects are very small and the length assures that the turbulence has time to settle down to a homogeneous shear-free state. The conventional and multi-scale grids were all designed to produce turbulence with the same integral scale, so that a direct comparison could be made between the different flows. Our primary finding is that the behavior of the turbulence behind our multi-scale grids is virtually identical to that behind the equivalent conventional grid. In particular, all flows exhibit a power-law decay of energy, $u^2 \sim t^{-n}$, where $n$ is very close to the classical Saffman exponent of $n = 6/5$. Moreover, all spectra exhibit classical Kolmogorov scaling, with the spectra collapsing on the integral scales at small $k$, and on the Kolmogorov micro-scales at large $k$. Our results are at odds with some other experiments performed on similar multi-scale grids, where significantly higher energy decay exponents and turbulence levels have been reported.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figure