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Excitation functions for the formation of the radionuclides 51Cr, 52Mn and 54Mn via deuteron-induced activation of natural iron were measured up to deuteron energies of 35 MeV. The available experimental databases of the reaction products 51Cr, 52Mn and 54Mn were extended and compared with the nuclear model calculations using the TALYS code. The model calculations reproduce our measured data after a careful choice of the input model parameters. Some information obtained on competition between the emission of multinucleons and a bound α-particle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ticks are notorious hematophagous ectoparasites and vectors of many deadly pathogens. As an effective vector, ticks must break the strong barrier provided by the skin of their host during feeding, and their saliva contains a complex mixture of bioactive molecules that paralyze host defenses. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) mediates immune cell activation at inflammatory sites and is constitutively and highly expressed in skin. Here, we demonstrate that longistatin secreted with saliva of the tick Haemaphysalislongicornis binds RAGE and modulates the host immune response. Similar to other RAGE ligands, longistatin specifically bound the RAGE V domain, and stimulated cultured HUVECs adhered to a longistatin-coated surface; this binding was dramatically inhibited by soluble RAGE or RAGE siRNA. Treatment of HUVECs with longistatin prior to stimulation substantially attenuated cellular oxidative stress and prevented NF-κB translocation, thereby reducing adhesion molecule and cytokine production. Recombinant longistatin inhibited RAGE-mediated migration of mouse peritoneal resident cells (mPRCs) and ameliorated inflammation in mouse footpad edema and pneumonia models. Importantly, tick bite upregulated RAGE ligands in skin, and endogenous longistatin attenuated RAGE-mediated inflammation during tick feeding. Our results suggest that longistatin is a RAGE antagonist that suppresses tick bite-associated inflammation, allowing successful blood-meal acquisition from hosts., Introduction Ticks are notorious blood-sucking ectoparasites, and about 1,000 tick species are distributed throughout the world. They have immense vector potential and serve as a unique vector of various deadly [...]

This paper explores the effect of maternal employment on the nutritional status of children below age 5 years in Bangladesh using data from the 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Since mothers' choice to participate in the labor market is endogenous, the estimation of the causal effect of maternal employment on child health is statistically challenging. To correct for the endogeneity of maternal employment, we employ instrumental variable (IV) estimation. While our ordinary least squares results show that mothers' employment has no significant effect on children's nutritional outcome, the IV estimates suggest that maternal employment significantly decreases children's height‐for‐age Z‐score. This result is contrary to conventional wisdom advocating for maternal employment to positively affect child health and well‐being. We, therefore, argue for effective policy interventions—such as childcare centers at workplaces, flexibility in working hours including part‐time options for mothers, restraining child marriages, and strengthening maternal and child health‐care services through community health centers—to foster children's health as well as maternal employment in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we have described the adsorption behavior of a biocomposite adsorbent prepared from crystalline cellulose of jute and kaolinite clay (locally available as Bijoypur clay). Despite lacking structural advantages such as smectite type montmorillonite clay used in other composites, this cellulose-clay composite showed good adsorption capacity. Cellulose was extracted from jute fiber and clay was modified with a surfactant named dodecylamine to prepare the biocomposite adsorbent. Effect of pH and contact time was investigated to figure out chromium adsorption capacity of the adsorbent. Maximum adsorption capacity was obtained at pH 4. The concentration of chromium in the test solution was determined by UV-spectrophotometer. The morphology of the composite was investigated using scanning electron microscope. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis of composite were carried out to investigate thermal behavior of the composite. The composite was characterized before and after adsorption experiment using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to validate the interaction of adsorbate chromium with adsorbent. Adsorption data of chromium by the adsorbent was analyzed according to Freundlich, Langmuir, Dubinin–Radushkevich, and Temkin adsorption models. Maximum adsorption capacity calculated from Langmuir isotherm model was 11.76 mg g–1 which was closer to results obtained experimentally. Pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models were proposed to understand the mechanism controlling the adsorption process. Moreover, this biocomposite was easily regenerated in sodium hydroxide solution and a maximum chromium desorption of 81.9% was achieved, which enabled the scope of reusability. Finally, a mechanism was proposed with illustration to show the adsorption potential of the composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a general formulation and numerical scheme for the fractional optimal control problem (FOCP) of distributed systems in spherical and cylindrical coordinates. The fractional derivatives are expressed in the Caputo-Sense. The performance index of FOCP is considered as a function of both the state and the control variables and the dynamic constraints are expressed by a partial fractional differential equation. A method of separation of variables is employed to separate the time and space terms, and the eigenfunction approach is used to eliminate the terms containing space parameter and define the formulation in terms of countable number of infinite state and control variables. The fractional optimal control equations are reduced to the Volterra-type integral equations. For the problems considered, only a few eigenfunctions in each direction are sufficient for the calculations to converge. The time domain is discretized into several subintervals and the result is more stable for a larger number of time segments. Various orders of fractional derivatives are analyzed and the results converge toward those of integer optimal control problems as the order approaches the integer value of 1. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ticks are notorious hematophagous ectoparasites and vectors of many deadly pathogens. As an effective vector, ticks must break the strong barrier provided by the skin of their host during feeding, and their saliva contains a complex mixture of bioactive molecules that paralyze host defenses. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) mediates immune cell activation at inflammatory sites and is constitutively and highly expressed in skin. Here, we demonstrate that longistatin secreted with saliva of the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis binds RAGE and modulates the host immune response. Similar to other RAGE ligands, longistatin specifically bound the RAGE V domain, and stimulated cultured HUVECs adhered to a longistatin-coated surface; this binding was dramatically inhibited by soluble RAGE or RAGE siRNA. Treatment of HUVECs with longistatin prior to stimulation substantially attenuated cellular oxidative stress and prevented NF-κB translocation, thereby reducing adhesion molecule and cytokine production. Recombinant longistatin inhibited RAGE-mediated migration of mouse peritoneal resident cells (mPRCs) and ameliorated inflammation in mouse footpad edema and pneumonia models. Importantly, tick bite upregulated RAGE ligands in skin, and endogenous longistatin attenuated RAGE-mediated inflammation during tick feeding. Our results suggest that longistatin is a RAGE antagonist that suppresses tick bite-associated inflammation, allowing successful blood-meal acquisition from hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel physiological challenges in different environments can promote the evolution of divergent phenotypes, either through plastic or genetic changes. Environmental salinity serves as a key barrier to the distribution of nearly all aquatic organisms, and species diversification is likely to be enabled by adaptation to alternative osmotic environments. The threespine stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) is a euryhaline species with populations found both in marine and freshwater environments. It has evolved both highly plastic and locally adapted phenotypes due to salinity-derived selection, but the physiological and genetic basis of adaptation to salinity is not fully understood. We integrated comparative cellular morphology of the kidney, a key organ for osmoregulation, and candidate gene expression to explore the underpinnings of evolved variation in osmotic plasticity within two populations of sticklebacks from distinct salinity zones in the Baltic Sea: the high salinity Kattegat, representative of the ancestral marine habitat; and the low salinity Bay of Bothnia. A common-garden experiment revealed that kidney morphology in the ancestral high-salinity population had a highly plastic response to salinity conditions whereas this plastic response was reduced in the low-salinity population. Candidate gene expression in kidney tissue revealed a similar pattern of population-specific differences, with a higher degree of plasticity in the native high-salinity population. Together these results suggest that renal cellular morphology has become canalized to low salinity, and that these structural differences may have functional implications for osmoregulation., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing or financial interests., (© 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)