Lattice sites of ion-implanted Li in diamond

Published in: Appl. Phys. Lett. 66 (1995) 2733-2735 citations recorded in [Science Citation Index] Abstract: Radioactive Li ions were implanted into natural IIa diamonds at temperatures between 100 K and 900 K. Emission channelling patterns of a-particles emitted in the nuclear decay of 8Li (t1/2 = 838 ms) were measured and, from a comparison with calculated emission channelling and blocking effects from Monte Carlo simulations, the lattice sites taken up by the Li ions were quantitatively determined. A fraction of 40(5)% of the implanted Li ions were found to be located on tetrahedral interstitial lattice sites, and 17(5)% on substitutional sites. The fractions of implanted Li on the two lattice sites showed no change with temperature, indicating that Li diffusion does not take place within the time window of our measurements.

Development and Process Evaluation of a 5-Week Exercise Program to Prevent Falls in People after Stroke: The FALLS Program

Falls are a common complication after stroke, with balance and gait deficits being the most important risk factors. Taking into account the specific needs and capacities of people with stroke, we developed the FALLS program (FALL prevention after Stroke), based on the “Nijmegen falls prevention program” (a proven-effective 5-week exercise program designed for community-dwelling elderly people). The program was tested in twelve community-dwelling persons with stroke, and a process evaluation was conducted with patients, trainers, health care professionals, and managers. The FALLS program was considered suitable and feasible by people with stroke in the study and relevant health care professionals, and recommendations for implementation in clinical practice have been suggested

Cetrorelix suppresses the preovulatory LH surge and ovulation induced by ovulation-inducing factor (OIF) present in llama seminal plasma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of the study was to determine if the effect of llama OIF on LH secretion is mediated by stimulation of the hypothalamus or pituitary gland.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a 2-by-2 factorial design to examine the effects of OIF vs GnRH with or without a GnRH antagonist, llamas with a growing ovarian follicle greater than or equal to 8 mm were assigned randomly to four groups (n = 7 per group) and <b>a) </b>pre-treated with 1.5 mg of GnRH antagonist (cetrorelix acetate) followed by 1 mg of purified llama OIF, <b>b) </b>pre-treated with 1.5 mg of cetrorelix followed by 50 micrograms of GnRH, <b>c) </b>pre-treated with a placebo (2 ml of saline) followed by 1 mg of purified llama OIF or <b>d) </b>pre-treated with a placebo (2 ml of saline) followed by 50 micrograms of GnRH. Pre-treatment with cetrorelix or saline was given as a single slow intravenous dose 2 hours before intramuscular administration of either GnRH or OIF. Blood samples for LH measurement were taken every 15 minutes from 1.5 hours before to 8 hours after treatment. The ovaries were examined by ultrasonography to detect ovulation and CL formation. Blood samples for progesterone measurement were taken every-other-day from Day 0 (day of treatment) to Day 16.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ovulation rate was not different (P = 0.89) between placebo+GnRH (86%) and placebo+OIF groups (100%); however, no ovulations were detected in llamas pre-treated with cetrorelix. Plasma LH concentrations surged (P < 0.01) after treatment in both placebo+OIF and placebo+GnRH groups, but not in the cetrorelix groups. Maximum plasma LH concentrations and CL diameter profiles did not differ between the placebo-treated groups, but plasma progesterone concentrations were higher (P < 0.05), on days 6, 8 and 12 after treatment, in the OIF- vs GnRH-treated group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Cetrorelix (GnRH antagonist) inhibited the preovulatory LH surge induced by OIF in llamas suggesting that LH secretion is modulated by a direct or indirect effect of OIF on GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus.</p

Poor body condition is associated with lower hippocampal plasticity and higher gut methanogen abundance in adult laying hens from two housing systems

It is still unclear which commercial housing system provides the best quality of life for laying hens. In addition, there are large individual differences in stress levels within a system. Hippocampal neurogenesis or plasticity may provide an integrated biomarker of the stressors experienced by an individual. We selected 12 adult hens each with good and poor body condition (based on body size, degree of feather cover and redness of the comb) from a multi-tier free range system containing H&N strain hens, and from an enriched cage system containing Hy-Line hens (n = 48 total). Immature neurons expressing doublecortin (DCX) were quantified in the hippocampus, contents of the caecal microbiome were sequenced, and expression of inflammatory cytokines was measured in the spleen. DCX(+) cell densities did not differ between the housing systems. In both systems, poor condition hens had lower DCX(+) cell densities, exhibited elevated splenic expression of interleukin-6 (IL6) mRNA, and had a higher relative caecal abundance of methanogenic archea Methanomethylophilaceae. The findings suggest poor body condition is an indicator that individual hens have experienced a comparatively greater degree of cumulative chronic stress, and that a survey of the proportion of hens with poor body conditions might be one way to evaluate the impact of housing systems on hen welfare

Ruimtelijke samenhang en genetische variatie van boomkikkerpopulaties in Nederland

Een modelanalyse van de ruimtelijke samenhang heeft plaatsgevonden van een netwerkpopulatie van de boomkikker (Hyla arborea) in Midden-Limburg. De bezettingskans van poelen is bepaald met een regressiemodel en de ruimtelijke samenhang van de leefgebieden is geanalyseerd met het dispersiemodel Smallsteps. Het herstel-scenario 2010 biedt goede potenties voor de uitbreiding van de netwerkpopulatie. Er zijn echter nog enkele zwakke schakels in de ruimtelijke samenhang geconstateerd. Bovendien dient door het nemen van maatregelen nog meer in het huidige verspreidingsgebied van de boomkikker geinvesteerd te worden. Een genetische analyse in de Achterhoek maakt aannemelijk dat herkolonisatie heeft plaatsgevonden vanuit vier bronpopulaties. Hierbij zijn vier populatieclusters ontstaan die genetisch sterk verschillend zijn. De genetische diversiteit in de Doort (Midden-Limburg) is vergelijkbaar met populaties in de Achterhoek maar kleiner dan in twee Zwitserse populatie

Genomic regions in crop-wild hybrids of lettuce are affected differently in different environments: implications for crop breeding

Many crops contain domestication genes that are generally considered to lower fitness of crop–wild hybrids in the wild environment. Transgenes placed in close linkage with such genes would be less likely to spread into a wild population. Therefore, for environmental risk assessment of GM crops, it is important to know whether genomic regions with such genes exist, and how they affect fitness. We performed quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses on fitness(-related) traits in two different field environments employing recombinant inbred lines from a cross between cultivated Lactuca sativa and its wild relative Lactuca serriola. We identified a region on linkage group 5 where the crop allele consistently conferred a selective advantage (increasing fitness to 212% and 214%), whereas on linkage group 7, a region conferred a selective disadvantage (reducing fitness to 26% and 5%), mainly through delaying flowering. The probability for a putative transgene spreading would therefore depend strongly on the insertion location. Comparison of these field results with greenhouse data from a previous study using the same lines showed considerable differences in QTL patterns. This indicates that care should be taken when extrapolating experiments from the greenhouse, and that the impact of domestication genes has to be assessed under field conditions