Optimal strategies for regional cultivar testing

In undertaking cultivar trials, the variability of the response of the cultivars to the different environments in which they are grown introduces the possibility of release errors and non‐release errors in the decisions made on the basis of the trial results. In this article a model is developed that accounts for the economic costs of those errors as well as the costs of operating the trials, and enables the features of the optimal cultivar testing program to be identified. The model is illustrated by application to wheat cultivar trials in central and southern NSW.Crop Production/Industries,

Enhanced Tissue Integration During Cartilage RepairIn VitroCan Be Achieved by Inhibiting Chondrocyte Death at the Wound Edge

Objective: Experimental wounding of articular cartilage results in cell death at the lesion edge. The objective of this study was to investigate whether inhibition of this cell death results in enhanced integrative cartilage repair. Methods: Bovine articular cartilage discs (6mm) were incubated in media containing inhibitors of necrosis (Necrostatin-1, Nec-1) or apoptosis (Z-VAD-FMK, ZVF) before cutting a 3mm inner core. This core was left in situ to create disc/ring composites, cultured for up to 6 weeks with the inhibitors, and analyzed for cell death, sulfated glycosaminoglycan release, and tissue integration. Results: Creating the disc/ring composites resulted in a significant increase in necrosis. ZVF significantly reduced necrosis and apoptosis at the wound edge. Nec-1 reduced necrosis. Both inhibitors reduced the level of wound-induced sulfated glycosaminoglycan loss. Toluidine blue staining and electron microscopy of cartilage revealed significant integration of the wound edges in disc/ring composites treated with ZVF. Nec-1 improved integration, but to a lesser extent. Push-out testing revealed that ZVF increased adhesive strength compared to control composites. Conclusions: This study shows that treatment of articular cartilage with cell death inhibitors during wound repair increases the number of viable cells at the wound edge, prevents matrix loss, and results in a significant improvement in cartilage-cartilage integration

Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to Develop Physiological Profiles for Bighorn Sheep (Poster)

This study employs new techniques using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to assess the relative health, physiological condition, and reproductive function of wild bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in Montana and Wyoming. Ongoing bighorn studies in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are focused on herd attributes and the population dynamics which are affected by disease, climate, habitat and physiology. Indices of herd health and physiological status are typically obtained through expensive and time consuming lab assays and field measurements. Recently, NMR spectroscopy has been used to revolutionize the assessment of human metabolic health, and we expect that there is similar potential for studies of wildlife populations. Using NMR spectroscopy to assess metabolites associated with disease, nutrition and stress may eliminate the need for many traditional assays and techniques used today. NMR can be used to evaluate a large suite of metabolites associated with a variety of physiological functions from as little as 500 uL of serum or plasma. Blood samples from 242 sheep from 13 different herds were collected during the winters of 2013-14 and 2014-15 to develop a comprehensive metabolite panel for bighorn sheep. We have used a recently developed statistical program known as MetaboAnalyst™ to begin to analyze and evaluate differences in NMR metabolic profiles among herds and across the fall-winter season when nutritional and physiological stress is expected to be acute. We will be presenting the results of this preliminary study and discussing the potential for application in wildlife management

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Metabolic Profiles to Distinguish Geographically Isolated Populations of Mountain Goats

Basic physiological studies on mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) are conspicuously lacking in the literature, and the physiology of this species is perhaps the least known of the high mountain ungulates. The objective of this study was to evaluate metabolic profiles of female mountain goats from five geographically distinct populations using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Serum samples were collected from nannies located in Alaska in September (AK) from Glacier in August (GMT), from the Grand Tetons in November-December (GT), from NE Yellowstone in December (NEY) and from Absaroka in March (AB). Serum was extracted with acetone, dried and re-suspended in a standard NMR buffer. NMR spectra were analyzed with Chenomix™ software. Metabolites were identified and concentrations determined using the Chenomix™ database and the Human Metabolome Database. We identified 55 metabolites in the serum of mountain goats using this emerging technology. Of these 42 metabolites differed among the herds (P < 0.05). Of these 42 metabolites; creatinine, lactate and pyruvate distinguished (P < 0.05) each herd from another. Furthermore, using Principal Component Analyses of these metabolites allowed us to clearly differentiate metabolic profiles in carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism in nannies from these five populations. This study has the potential to enhance our understanding of how changes in nutrition, reproduction, susceptibility to disease, and survival rates drive population dynamics

Drug-responsive autism phenotypes in the 16p11.2 deletion mouse model: a central role for gene-environment interactions

There are no current treatments for autism, despite its high prevalence. Deletions of chromosome 16p11.2 dramatically increase risk for autism, suggesting that mice with an equivalent genetic rearrangement may offer a valuable model for the testing of novel classes of therapeutic drug. 16p11.2 deletion (16p11.2 DEL) mice and wild-type controls were assessed using an ethological approach, with 24 h monitoring of activity and social interaction of groups of mice in a home-cage environment. The ability of the excitation/inhibition modulator N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and the 5-HT1B/1D/1F receptor agonist eletriptan to normalise the behavioural deficits observed was tested. 16p11.2 DEL mice exhibited largely normal behaviours, but, following the stress of an injection, showed hyperlocomotion, reduced sociability, and a strong anxiolytic phenotype. The hyperactivity and reduced sociability, but not the suppressed anxiety, were effectively attenuated by both NAC and eletriptan. The data suggest that 16p11.2 DEL mice show an autism-relevant phenotype that becomes overt after an acute stressor, emphasising the importance of gene-environmental interactions in phenotypic analysis. Further, they add to an emerging view that NAC, or 5-HT1B/1D/1F receptor agonist treatment, may be a promising strategy for further investigation as a future treatment

LMDA Review, volume 11, issue 1

Contents include: Advocacy Guidelines,LMDA Members Meet with the NEA, Update The Elliot Hayes Award,Update Script Exchange, Presentation Of Elliott Hayes Award to Rebecca Rugg, To Lynn Thomson, Conference Panels and Sessions, Conversations About Digital Dramaturgy, Key Note, Dramaturg As Generator, Multi-Authorship: Too Many Cooks?, Desperately Seeking Research, On Copyright, The Dramaturg As Advocate For The Arts On City, State/Provincial, And National Levels, Entrances And Exits, The (New Play) Workshop\u27s The Thing, Anne Cattaneo On Commissioning New Work, LMDA Regions And VPs, News From Canada, News from Baltimore, News from Chicago, The Past Two Years, and On, Notes to Fellow LMDA Members, Spotlight on Early Career Dramturgs, Dramaturgy Opening Arena Stage, Internship at the Women\u27s Project, Literary Residency in New York, Dramaturgy/Literary Management Internship at Arena Stage, Job Opening at UCSD, A Note to LMDA Members, Unity Fest 2001 Call for Scripts, Call for Directors, Actors, Dramaturgs, and Call for Updates to the LMDA Guide to Programs in Dramaturgy.https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/lmdareview/1022/thumbnail.jp

Developing Physiological Profiles using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to Inform Bighorn Sheep Management

This study employs new techniques using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to assess the relative health, physiological condition, and reproductive function of wild bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis)  in Montana and Wyoming. Ongoing bighorn studies in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are focused on herd attributes and the population dynamics which are affected by disease, climate, habitat and physiology. Indices of herd health and physiological status are typically obtained through expensive and time consuming lab assays and field measurements. Recently, NMR spectroscopy has been used to revolutionize the assessment of human metabolic health, and we expect that there is similar potential for studies of wildlife populations. Using NMR spectroscopy to assess metabolites associated with disease, nutrition and stress may eliminate the need for many traditional assays and techniques used today. NMR can be used to evaluate a large suite of metabolites associated with a variety of physiological functions from as little as 500 ?L of serum or plasma. Blood samples from 242 sheep from 13 different herds were collected during the winters of 2013-14 and 2014-15 to develop a comprehensive metabolite panel for bighorn sheep. We have used a recently developed statistical program known as MetaboAnalyst™ to begin to analyze and evaluate differences in NMR metabolic profiles among herds and across the fall-winter season when nutritional and physiological stress is expected to be acute. We will be presenting the results of this preliminary study and discussing the potential for application in wildlife management

Most Common Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Persons of European Ancestry Confer Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis in African Americans

Objective. Large-scale genetic association studies have identified \u3e20 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk alleles among individuals of European ancestry. The influence of these risk alleles has not been comprehensively studied in African Americans. We therefore sought to examine whether these validated RA risk alleles are associated with RA risk in an African American population. Methods. Twenty-seven candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 556 autoantibody-positive African Americans with RA and 791 healthy African American control subjects. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for each SNP were compared with previously published ORs for RA patients of European ancestry. We then calculated a composite genetic risk score (GRS) for each individual based on the sum of all risk alleles. Results. Overlap of the ORs and 95% CIs between the European and African American populations was observed for 24 of the 27 candidate SNPs. Conversely, 3 of the 27 SNPs (CCR6 rs3093023, TAGAP rs394581, and TNFAIP3 rs6920220) demonstrated ORs in the opposite direction from those reported for RA patients of European ancestry. The GRS analysis indicated a small but highly significant probability that African American patients relative to control subjects were enriched for the risk alleles validated in European RA patients (P = 0.00005). Conclusion. The majority of RA risk alleles previously validated for RA patients of European ancestry showed similar ORs in our population of African Americans with RA. Furthermore, the aggregate GRS supports the hypothesis that these SNPs are risk alleles for RA in the African American population. Future large-scale genetic studies are needed to validate these risk alleles and identify novel RA risk alleles in African Americans

LMDA Review, volume 10, issue 1

Contents include: Photo of Conference Participants Annual Conference 1999, Send in your Ballot, A Note to Ourselves, Increase in Dues and New Annual Membership Expiration Date, LMDA Archive, LMDA Administrator; LMDA Interns, Mid-Year Meeting, Early Career Dramaturg Program, Elliot Hayes Award 2000, Report on Canadian Caucus, Script Exchange, Report on the Dramaturgy Focus Group ATHE 1999, Elliot Hayes Award Winners Lue Douthit and Michel Volansky, Acceptance Speech Lue Morgan Douthit, Elliot Hayes Award Presentation to Michele Volansky for Space, On the Elliot Hayes Award Michele Volansky, Day One of the Conference, Day Two of the Conference, Day Three of the Conference, Day Four of the Conference, The Advocacy Caucus Presentation at the Conference, Final Thoughts, Conference 1999 Many Thanks, Arthur Ballet and the Office for Advanced Drama Research, Spotlight on Early Career Dramaturg Vanessa Porteous, A Working History of LMDA The Early Years, From Academia to Arena A Dramaturg\u27s Education in the Real World, Tony Creamer and Death of a Salesman, Two Moments, Jobs and Projects, Scriptseeker.com, LMDA Online Listserv Instructions, Note from James Magruder, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas Bibliography 1999, Noted with Pleasure, and Internship Questionnaire.https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/lmdareview/1020/thumbnail.jp