Search

Cognitive risk factors are key in the vulnerability for internalizing disorders. Cognitive risk factors modulate the way individuals process information from the environment which in turn impacts the day-to-day affective experience. In 296 young adults, we assessed two transdiagnostic, general risk factors-repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and anxiety sensitivity in a high-RNT subsample (

Background A variety of human computer interfaces are used by robotic surgical systems to control and actuate camera scopes during minimally invasive surgery. The purpose of this review is to examine the different user interfaces used in both commercial systems and research prototypes. Methods A comprehensive scoping review of scientific literature was conducted using PubMed and IEEE Xplore databases to identify user interfaces used in commercial products and research prototypes of robotic surgical systems and robotic scope holders. Papers related to actuated scopes with human–computer interfaces were included. Several aspects of user interfaces for scope manipulation in commercial and research systems were reviewed. Results Scope assistance was classified into robotic surgical systems (for multiple port, single port, and natural orifice) and robotic scope holders (for rigid, articulated, and flexible endoscopes). Benefits and drawbacks of control by different user interfaces such as foot, hand, voice, head, eye, and tool tracking were outlined. In the review, it was observed that hand control, with its familiarity and intuitiveness, is the most used interface in commercially available systems. Control by foot, head tracking, and tool tracking are increasingly used to address limitations, such as interruptions to surgical workflow, caused by using a hand interface. Conclusion Integrating a combination of different user interfaces for scope manipulation may provide maximum benefit for the surgeons. However, smooth transition between interfaces might pose a challenge while combining controls.

Published by Elsevier Ltd., Background: Differences in the distribution of individual-level clinical risk factors across regions do not fully explain the observed global disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. We aimed to investigate the associations between environmental and societal factors and country-level variations in mortality attributed to COVID-19 among people with rheumatic disease globally. Methods: In this observational study, we derived individual-level data on adults (aged 18-99 years) with rheumatic disease and a confirmed status of their highest COVID-19 severity level from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance (GRA) registry, collected between March 12, 2020, and Aug 27, 2021. Environmental and societal factors were obtained from publicly available sources. The primary endpoint was mortality attributed to COVID-19. We used a multivariable logistic regression to evaluate independent associations between environmental and societal factors and death, after controlling for individual-level risk factors. We used a series of nested mixed-effects models to establish whether environmental and societal factors sufficiently explained country-level variations in death. Findings: 14 044 patients from 23 countries were included in the analyses. 10 178 (72·5%) individuals were female and 3866 (27·5%) were male, with a mean age of 54·4 years (SD 15·6). Air pollution (odds ratio 1·10 per 10 μg/m3 [95% CI 1·01-1·17]; p=0·0105), proportion of the population aged 65 years or older (1·19 per 1% increase [1·10-1·30]; p, MAG is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (grant numbers K01 AR070585 and K24 AR074534 [JY]). KDW is supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Rheumatology Research Foundation Scientist Development award. JAS is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (grant numbers K23 AR069688, R03 AR075886, L30 AR066953, P30 AR070253, and P30 AR072577), the Rheumatology Research Foundation (K Supplement Award and R Bridge Award), the Brigham Research Institute, and the R. Bruce and Joan M. Mickey Research Scholar Fund. NJP is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (T32-AR-007258). AD-G is supported by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Rheumatology Research Foundation. RH was supported by the Justus-Liebig University Giessen Clinician Scientist Program in Biomedical Research to work on this registry. JY is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (K24 AR074534 and P30 AR070155).

We present theoretical and practical methods for achieving arbitrary reconfiguration of a set of objects, based on the use of external forces, such as a magnetic field or gravity: Upon actuation, each object is pushed in the same direction until it collides with an obstruction. This concept can be used for a wide range of applications in which particles do not have their own energy supply. A crucial challenge for achieving any desired target configuration is breaking global symmetry in a controlled fashion. Previous work made use of specifically placed barriers; however, introducing precisely located obstacles into the workspace is impractical for many scenarios. In this letter, we present a different, less intrusive method: making use of the interplay between static friction with a boundary and the external force to achieve arbitrary reconfiguration . Our key contributions are a precise theoretical characterization of the critical coefficient of friction that is sufficient for rearranging two particles in triangles, convex polygons, and regular polygons; a method for reconfiguring multiple particles in rectangular workspaces, and deriving practical algorithms for these rearrangements. Hardware experiments show the efficacy of these procedures, demonstrating the usefulness of this novel approach.

We introduce a set of global high-resolution (0.05°) precipitation (P) climatologies corrected for bias using streamflow (Q) observations from 9372 stations worldwide. For each station, we inferred the “true” long-termPusing a Budyko curve, which is an empirical equation relating long-termP,Q, and potential evaporation. We subsequently calculated long-term bias correction factors for three state-of-the-artPclimatologies [the “WorldClim version 2” database (WorldClim V2); Climatologies at High Resolution for the Earth’s Land Surface Areas, version 1.2 (CHELSA V1.2 ); and Climate Hazards Group Precipitation Climatology, version 1 (CHPclim V1)], after which we used random-forest regression to produce global gap-free bias correction maps for thePclimatologies. Monthly climatological bias correction factors were calculated by disaggregating the long-term bias correction factors on the basis of gauge catch efficiencies. We found that all three climatologies systematically underestimatePover parts of all major mountain ranges globally, despite the explicit consideration of orography in the production of each climatology. In addition, all climatologies underestimatePat latitudes >60°N, likely because of gauge undercatch. Exceptionally high long-term correction factors (>1.5) were obtained for all threePclimatologies in Alaska, High Mountain Asia, and Chile—regions characterized by marked elevation gradients, sparse gauge networks, and significant snowfall. Using the bias-corrected WorldClim V2, we demonstrated that other widely usedPdatasets (GPCC V2015, GPCP V2.3, and MERRA-2) severely underestimatePover Chile, the Himalayas, and along the Pacific coast of North America. MeanPfor the global land surface based on the bias-corrected WorldClim V2 is 862 mm yr−1(a 9.4% increase over the original WorldClim V2). The annual and monthly bias-correctedPclimatologies have been released as the Precipitation Bias Correction (PBCOR) dataset, which is available online (http://www.gloh2o.org/pbcor/).

This case report describes a 52-year-old male patient, with the incidental finding of inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) fragments impacted into the right ventricle, secondary to IVCF fragmentation and subsequent embolization. While IVCFs are prescribed to prevent pulmonary embolizations when anticoagulation is either contraindicated, or has failed, IVCF embolizations to the heart represent an extremely rare, but potentially life-threatening complication. Of note, at the time of writing, the utility and effectiveness of IVCF are not fully established. Intracardiac embolizations of IVCF typically present with complications such as hypotension, cardiac tamponade, arrhythmias, ventricle perforation, bleeding, cardiac arrest, and death. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of an asymptomatic kidney transplant recipient found to have right ventricle embolizations of IVCF fragments through routine assessment. Additionally, this is also the first report of an asymptomatic patient who presented IVCF fragments embolized to the right ventricle and left gonadal vein in the same clinical setting.

Soil strength testing and collecting soil cores from wetlands is currently a slow, manual process that runs the risk of disturbing and contaminating soil samples. This paper describes a method using an instrumented dart deployed and retrieved by a drone for performing core sample tests in soft soils. The instrumented dart can simultaneously conduct free- fall penetrometer tests. A drone-mounted mechanism enables deploying and reeling in the dart for sample return or for multiple soil strength tests. Tests examine the effect of dart tip diameter and drop height on soil retrieval, and the requisite pull force to retrieve the samples. Further tests examine the dart’s ability to measure soil strength and penetration depth. Hardware trials demonstrate that the drone can repeatedly drop and retrieve a dart, and that the soil can be discretely sampled.

Funding Information: Field work scholarships, stakeholder workshops and travelling costs were supported by the CNRD Network Project ( www.cnrd.info ) and the Tropiseca project ( https://www.researchgate.net/project/TROPISECA-Multi-lateral-University-Cooperation-on-the-Management-of-Droughts-in-Tropical-Catchments ) funded by the German Federal Ministry of International Cooperation (BMZ)/ German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors Droughts are causing severe damages to tropical countries worldwide. Although water abundant, their resilience to water shortages during dry periods is often low. As there is little knowledge about tropical drought characteristics, reliable methodologies to evaluate drought risk in data scarce tropical regions are needed. We combined drought hazard and vulnerability related data to assess drought risk in four rural tropical study regions, the Muriaé basin, Southeast Brazil, the Tempisque-Bebedero basin in Costa Rica, the upper part of the Magdalena basin, Colombia and the Srepok, shared by Cambodia and Vietnam. Drought hazard was analyzed using the variables daily river discharge, precipitation and vegetation condition. Drought vulnerability was assessed based on regionally available socioeconomic data. Besides illustrating the relative severity of each indicator value, we developed drought risk maps combining hazard and vulnerability for each grid-cell. While for the Muriaé, our results identified the downstream area as being exposed to severe drought risk, the Tempisque showed highest risk along the major streams and related irrigation systems. Risk hotspots in the Upper Magdalena were found in the central valley and the dryer Southeast and in the Srepok in the agricultural areas of Vietnam and downstream Cambodia. Local scientists and stakeholders have validated our results and we believe that our drought risk assessment methodology for data scarce and rural tropical regions offers a holistic, science based and innovative framework to generate relevant drought related information. Being applied to other tropical catchments, the approaches described in this article will enable the selection of data sets, indices and their classification - depending on basin size, spatial resolution and seasonality. At its current stage, the outcomes of this study provide relevant information for regional planners and water managers dealing with the control of future drought disasters in tropical regions.

This paper is about the closely-related problems of localization and aggregation for extremely simple robots, for which the only available action is to move in a given direction as far as the geometry of the environment allows. Such problems may arise, for example, in biomedical applications, wherein a large group of tiny robots moves in response to a shared external stimulus. Specifically, we extend the prior work on these kinds of problems presenting two algorithms for localization in environments with curved (rather than polygonal) boundaries and under low-friction models of interaction with the environment boundaries. We present both simulations and physical demonstrations to validate the approach.

An improved representation of the spatio-temporal patterns of climatological variables is crucial for ecological, agricultural, and hydrological applications and can improve the decision-making process. Traditionally, precipitation (P) and actual evaporation (ETa) are estimated using ground-based measurements from meteorological stations. However, the estimation of spatial patterns derived solely from point-based measurements is subject to large uncertainties, particularly in data-scarce regions as the Nile Basin, which has an area of about 3 million km2. This study evaluates six state-of-the-art P products (CHIRPSv2, CMORPHv1, CRU TS4.02, MSWEPv2.2, PERSIANN-CDR and GPCCv2018) and five ETa products (SSEBop, MOD16-ET, WaPOR, GLEAM and GLDAS) over the Nile Basin to identify the best-performing products. The P products were evaluated at monthly and annual temporal scales (from 1983 onwards) through a point-to-pixel approach using the modified Kling-Gupta Efficiency and its components (linear correlation, bias, and variability ratio) as continuous performance indices. The ETa products were evaluated through the water balance approach (due to the lack of ground-based ETa measurements) for 2009-2018 at the multiannual scale. Because streamflow data were not available for this period, an empirical model based on the Random Forest machine learning technique was used to estimate streamflow at 21 catchments at the monthly scale. For this purpose, we used streamflow data from 1983 to 2005 as the dependent variable, while CHIRPSv2 precipitation and ERA5 potential evaporation and temperature data were used as predictors. For the catchments where the model performed well over the validation period, streamflow estimates were generated and used for the water balance analysis. Our results show that CHIRPSv2 was the best performing P product at monthly and annual scale when compared with ground-based measurements, while WaPOR was the best-performing ETa product in the water balance evaluation. This study demonstrates how remote sensing data can be evaluated over extremely data-scarce scenarios to estimate the magnitude of key meteorological variables, yet also highlights the importance of improving data availability so that the characterisation of these variables can be further evaluated and improved.

The Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves are crucial for urban drainage design and to mitigate the impact of extreme precipitation events and floods. However, many regions lack a high-density network of rain gauges to adequately characterise the spatial distribution of precipitation events. In this work we compute IDF curves for the South-Central Chilean region (26-56°S) using the latest version of the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERGv06B) for 2001-2018, with a spatial resolution of 0.10° and half-hourly temporal frequency.First, we evaluated the performance of IMERGv06B against 344 rain gauge stations at daily, monthly and annual temporal scales using a point-to-pixel approach. The modified Kling-Gupta efficiency (KGE’) and its components (linear correlation, bias, and variability ratio) were selected as continuous indices of performance. Secondly, we fit maximum precipitation intensities from 14 long-term rain gauge stations to three probability density functions (Gumbel, Log-Pearson Type III, and GEV II) to evaluate: i) the impact of using 15-year rainfall time series in the computation of IDF curves instead of using the typical long-term periods (~ 30 years); and ii) to select the best distribution function for the study area. The Gumbel distribution was selected to obtain the maximum annual intensities for each grid-cell within the study area for 12 durations (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 18, 24, 48, and 72 h) and 6 return periods (T=2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years).The application of the Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney test indicates that differences between IDF curves obtained from 15 years of records at the 14 long-term rain gauges and those derived from 25 years of record (or more) are not statistically significant, and therefore, 15 years of record are enough (although not optimal) to compute the IDF curves. Also, our results show that IMERGv06B is able to represent the spatial distribution of precipitation at daily, monthly and annual temporal scales over the study area. Moreover, the obtained precipitation intensities showed high spatial variability, mainly over the Near North (26.0-32.2°S) and the Far South (43.7-56.0°S). Additionally, the intensities from Central Chile (32.2-36.4°S) to the Near South (36.4-43.7°S) were systematically higher compared to the intensities described in older official governmental reports, suggesting an increase in precipitation intensities during recent decades.

Climate models have not achieved a consensus about the future trend of long-term average of precipitation. As well as, the future trend of extreme values (including both extreme, droughts and heavy events) has higher uncertainties, because are unusual events. The Colombian territory is permanently in risk due to precipitation climatic extremes: during El Niño years, the rain amounts are severely reduced, consequently the rivers flow and the water resource availability; nevertheless, during La Niña years, floods and landslides events are common, because the rain is excessive.The precipitation extremes are affected due to long-term trends and the inter-annual variability represented by El Niño/La Niña cycle, then conduct this study is relevant. The selected study area is the Colombian territory. A Satellite Rainfall Estimate (SRE) was used to ensure a whole spatial coverage. The SRE has a daily temporary resolution, then it is suitable for building the selected Extreme Precipitation Indices (EPI). Statistical tests were carried out to verify the long-term change of EPI. The hydrological years were discriminated according to the ENSO, in order to perform a statistical test to probe the hypothesis that EPI, during these particular years (El Niño/La Niña), belong to probability distributions different from that distribution of EPI in “normal” years.Mean annual precipitation in the Andean region drops in El Niño years, and it increases in La Niña years. In the Colombian Pacific basin, the number of wet days is reduced by the long-term trend, but the variable is not affected by the ENSO phenomena. However, in the Andean region and the eastern plains, El Niño has a high effect on reducing the number of wet days. Finally, extreme events are affected by both the long-term trend and the ENSO phenomena too; however, the change spatial distribution reveals a high impact on the Andean region.

Rainfall estimate (RE) products at different spatial and temporal scales have proved to be beneficial in different studies. This study evaluated daily performances of five REs (CHIRPSv2, CMORPHv1, MSWEv2.2, PERSIANN-CDR, and ERA5) over three climatic zones according to Koppen-Geiger classification in the ZayandehRud River Basin (Iran) using categorical (FAR, POD) and continuous (KGE’, RMSE) indices. According to the categorical results, the performance of all REs significantly decreased in all zones in light rainfall ($1 \leq$ Rain $\le 5$ mm). MSWEPv2.2 and CMORPHv1 performed better when evaluated with the RMSE, KGE’, and the variability component of the KGE’ in the Dsa zone with higher annual rainfall. Concerning linear correlation and bias, CMORPHv1 and MSWEPv2.2 performed better respectively in all zones and the basin except the Dsa zone in which ERA5, PERSIANN-CDR, and CHIRPSv2 had a slightly lower bias. The seasonal and annual behavior of REs should be therefore considered for further investigation in the basin.

We report detailed small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies of the impact of variable n-decane loadings on the lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) phase behaviors of homologous bis(tetramethylammonium) gemini didecanoate surfactants TMA-7x, which derive from dimerizing decanoic acid through its α-carbon with hydrocarbyl linkers -(CH2)x- where x = 3, 4, 5, and 6. TMA-7x amphiphiles with x = 3 or 5 exhibit a strong propensity to form normal double gyroid (G) LLC network mesophases over wide surfactant hydration ranges, as compared to homologues with x = 4 or 6. On swelling aqueous TMA-7x LLC mesophases with up to 35 wt % n-decane, we demonstrate that odd-carbon linked surfactants (x = 3 or 5) form G and normal double diamond (D) phases over wide water concentration windows with T = 22-100 °C. Complementary studies of decane-swollen TMA-7x (x = 4 or 6) aqueous LLCs instead demonstrate significantly diminished network phase stability, in favor of hexagonally-packed cylinder phases and a zoo of complex quasispherical micelle packings, which include micellar C14 and C15 Laves phases (P63/mmc and Fd3(-)m symmetries, respectively) and high-symmetry hexagonally close packed (HCP) and body-centered cubic (BCC) arrangements. These rich phase behaviors are rationalized in terms of linker length parity-dependent surfactant conformations and the delicate free energy balance that guides the packing of these geometrically anisotropic amphiphiles by minimizing unfavorable water-hydrophobic contacts, maximizing ionic surfactant-headgroup counterion solvation with minimal local variations, and maximizing electrostatic cohesion within these supramolecular assemblies.

In developing countries, an accurate representation of the spatio-temporal variability of rainfall is currently severely limited, therefore, satellite-based rainfall estimates (SREs) are promising alternatives. In this work, six state-of-the-art SREs (TRMM 3B42v7, TRMM 3B42RT, CHIRPSv2, CMORPHv1, PERSIANN-CDR, and MSWEPv2) are evaluated over three different basins in Latin-America, using a point-to-pixel comparison at daily, monthly, and seasonal timescales. Three continuous (root mean squared error, modified Kling-Gupta efficiency, and percent bias) and three categorical (probability of detection, false alarm ratio, and frequency bias) indices are used to evaluate the performance of the different SREs, and to assess if the upscaling procedure used, in CHIRPSv2 and MSWEPv2, to enable a consistent point-to-pixel comparison affects the evaluation of the SREs performance at different time scales. Our results show that for Paraiba do Sul in Brazil, MSWEPv2 presented the best performance at daily and monthly time scales, while CHIRPSv2 performed the best at these timescales over the Magdalena River Basin in Colombia. In the Imperial River Basin in Chile, MSWEPv2 and CHIRPSv2 performed the best at daily and monthly time scales, respectively. When the basins were evaluated at seasonal scale, CMORPHv1 performed the best for DJF and SON, TRMM 3B42v7 for MAM, and PERSIANN-CDR for JJA over Imperial Basin. MSWEPv2 performed the best over Paraiba do Sul Basin for all seasons and CHIRPSv2 showed the best performance over Magdalena Basin. The Modified Kling-Gupta efficiency (KGE′) proved to be a useful evaluation index because it decomposes the performance of the SREs into linear correlation, bias, and variability parameters, while the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) is not recommended for evaluating SREs performance because it gives more weight to high rainfall events and its results are not comparable between areas with different precipitation regimes. On the other hand, CHIRPSv2 and MSWEPv2 presented different performance, for some study areas and time scales, when evaluated with their original spatial resolution (0.05° and 0.1, respectively) with respect to the evaluation resulting after applying the spatial upscaling (to a unified 0.25), showing that the upscaling procedure might impact the SRE performance. We finally conclude that a site-specific validation is needed before using any SRE, and we recommend to evaluate the SRE performance before and after applying any upscaling procedure in order to select the SRE that best represents the spatio-temporal precipitation patterns of a site.

Maintenance of the corpus luteum (CL) during pregnancy is essential for continuing the elevated circulating progesterone (P4) that is required to maintain pregnancy. The mechanisms that protect the CL during early pregnancy when the non-pregnant animal would typically undergo CL regression have been extensively investigated. It is clear uterine prostaglandin F2α (PGF) causes regression of the CL in non-pregnant ruminants and that maintenance of the CL during early pregnancy is dependent upon secretion of interferon-tau (IFNT) from the elongating embryo. A number of specific mechanisms appear to be activated by IFNT. Most studies indicate that there is an inhibition of oxytocin-induced secretion of uterine PGF. There is also evidence for increased resistance to PGF action, perhaps due to secretion of PGE2 and PGE1 or direct endocrine actions of circulating IFNT. These mechanisms occur concurrently and each may help to maintain the CL during the first month of pregnancy. However, during the second month of pregnancy, IFNT is no longer secreted by the embryo. Attachment of the embryo to the uterus and subsequent placentome development have been linked to silencing of expression from the IFNT gene. In addition, there is some evidence that oxytocin responsiveness of the uterus returns during the second month of pregnancy leading to substantial basal secretion of PGF and perhaps PGF pulses. There is also no evidence that the CL during the second month of pregnancy is resistant to the actions of PGF as observed during the first month. Thus, this manuscript attempts to compare the mechanisms that maintain the CL during the first and second months of pregnancy in ruminants and provides a new, speculative, physiological model for maintenance of the CL during month two of pregnancy that is distinct from the previously-described mechanisms that maintain the CL during the first month of pregnancy.

Proper satellite-based crop monitoring applications at the farm-level often require near-daily imagery at medium to high spatial resolution. The synthesizing of ongoing satellite missions by ESA (Sentinel 2) and NASA (Landsat7/8) provides this unprecedented opportunity at a global scale; nonetheless, this is rarely implemented because these procedures are data demanding and computationally intensive. This study developed a complete stream processing in the Google Earth Engine cloud platform to generate harmonized surface reflectance images of Landsat7,8 and Sentinel 2 missions. The harmonized images were generated for two agriculture schemes in Bekaa (Lebanon) and Ninh Thuan (Vietnam) during the period 2018-2019. We evaluated the performance of several pre-processing steps needed for the harmonization including image co-registration, brdf correction, topographic correction, and band adjustment. This study found that the miss-registration between Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2 images, varied from 10 meters in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam to 32 meters in Bekaa, Lebanon, and if not treated, posed a great impact on the quality of the harmonized dataset. Analysis of a pair overlapped L8-S2 images over the Bekaa region showed that after the harmonization, all band-to-band spatial correlations were greatly improved from (0.57, 0.64, 0.67, 0.75, 0.76, 0.75, 0.79) to (0.87, 0.91, 0.92, 0.94, 0.97, 0.97, 0.96) in bands (blue, green, red, nir,swir1,swir2, ndvi) respectively. We demonstrated that dense observation of the harmonized dataset can be very helpful for characterizing cropland in highly dynamic areas. We detected unimodal, bimodal and trimodal shapes in the temporal NDVI patterns (likely cycles of paddy rice) in Ninh Thuan province only during the year 2018. We fitted the temporal signatures of the NDVI time series using harmonic (Fourier) analysis. Derived phase (angle from the starting point to the cycle's peak) and amplitude (the cycle's height) were combined with max-NDVI to generate an R-G-B image. This image highlighted croplands as colored pixels (high phase and amplitude) and other types of land as grey/dark pixels (low phase/amplitude). Generated harmonized datasets that contain surface reflectance images (bands blue, green, red, nir, swir1, swir2, and ndvi at 30 meters) over the two studied sites are provided for public usage and testing.

RESUMEN. El objetivo fue medir el efecto de la Stevia rebaudiana en los indicadores ruminales (pH, recuento de protozoarios, prueba de reductasas) en ovinos provistos de fístula ruminal y alimentados con balanceado de engorde. Para el estudio se utilizaron 3 ovinos, con cánula ruminal confinados en boxes diferentes, sometidos a tratamientos: (TC) 3 animales adaptados a la alimentación con forraje a base de pasto colonial (Panicum maximun); (T1) 3 alimentados con concentrado a base de maíz molido y expeler de almendra de coco acompañado de pasto picado; (T2) 3 alimentados con concentrado, pasto colonial, más hojas de Stevia Rebaudiana al 1%; y (T3) 3 alimentados con concentrado, pasto colonial, más hojas de Stevia rebaudiana al 2%. Las raciones fueron ofrecidas 2 veces al día y las tomas de muestras fueron hechas por la mañana y tarde. Los resultados obtenidos en cuanto al pH en los T1, T2 y T3 demostraron un descenso de sus valores con respecto al TC (p

There are multiple reasons for reduced fertility in lactating dairy cows. We hypothesized that one cause of reduced fertility could be the overall size of the reproductive tract, particularly the uterus, given well-established uterine functions in many aspects of the reproductive process. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the variability in uterine size in primiparous and multiparous dairy cows and to analyze whether there was an association between uterine size and fertility, particularly within a given parity. Lactating Holstein dairy cows (n = 704) were synchronized to receive timed artificial insemination (TAI) on Day 81 ± 3 of lactation by using the Double-Ovsynch protocol (GnRH-7d-PGF-3d-GnRH-7d-GnRH-7d-PGF-56h-GnRH-16h-TAI). At the time of the last injection of PGF, uterine diameter was determined at the greater curvature using ultrasound, uterine length was determined by rectal palpation, and uterine volume was calculated from these two measurements. Blood samples were also taken to measure progesterone to assure synchronization of all cows used in the final analysis (n = 616; primiparous, n = 289; multiparous, n = 327). Primiparous cows had greater percentage pregnant/AI (P/AI) compared to multiparous cows (49.8% vs. 39.1% at 67 days of pregnancy diagnosis, P = 0.009). Diameter, length, and volume of the uterus were larger in multiparous than in primiparous cows (P

The accurate representation of spatio-temporal patterns of precipitation is an essential input for numerous environmental applications. However, the estimation of precipitation patterns derived solely from rain gauges is subject to large uncertainties. We present the Random Forest based MErging Procedure (RF-MEP), which combines information from ground-based measurements, state-of-the-art precipitation products, and topography-related features to improve the representation of the spatio-temporal distribution of precipitation, especially in data-scarce regions. RF-MEP is applied over Chile for 2000—2016, using daily measurements from 258 rain gauges for model training and 111 stations for validation. Two merged datasets were computed: RF-MEP3P (based on PERSIANN-CDR, ERA-Interim, and CHIRPSv2) and RF-MEP5P (which additionally includes CMORPHv1 and TRMM 3B42v7). The performances of the two merged products and those used in their computation were compared against MSWEPv2.2, which is a state-of-the-art global merged product. A validation using ground-based measurements was applied at different temporal scales using both continuous and categorical indices of performance. RF-MEP3P and RF-MEP5P outperformed all the precipitation datasets used in their computation, the products derived using other merging techniques, and generally outperformed MSWEPv2.2. The merged P products showed improvements in the linear correlation, bias, and variability of precipitation at different temporal scales, as well as in the probability of detection, the false alarm ratio, the frequency bias, and the critical success index for different precipitation intensities. RF-MEP performed well even when the training dataset was reduced to 10% of the available rain gauges. Our results suggest that RF-MEP could be successfully applied to any other region and to correct other climatological variables, assuming that ground-based data are available. An R package to implement RF-MEP is freely available online at https://github.com/hzambran/RFmerge .

Concentration-dependent supramolecular self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules in water furnishes a variety of nanostructured lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs), which typically display high symmetry bicontinuous network and discontinuous micellar morphologies. Aqueous dispersions of soft spherical micelles derived from small molecule amphiphile hydration typically pack into exemplary body-centered cubic and closest-packed LLCs. However, investigations of hydrated mixtures of the ionic surfactant tetramethylammonium decanoate loaded with 40 wt % n-decane (TMADec-40) revealed the formation of a high symmetry bicontinuous double diamond LLC, as well as cubic C15 and hexagonal C14 Laves LLC phases that mirror the MgCu2 and MgZn2 intermetallic structure types, respectively. Detailed small-angle X-ray scattering analyses demonstrate that the complex C15 and C14 LLCs exhibit large unit cells, in which 12 or more ∼3–4 nm diameter micelles of multiple discrete sizes arrange into tetrahedral close packing arrangement...

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T17:51:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-04-01 BARD-US Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund WI Experiment Station as Hatch Project from Sao Paulo, Brazil Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Colombian government In ruminants, uterine pulses of prostaglandin (PG) F-2 alpha characterize luteolysis, while increased PGE(2)/PGE(1) distinguish early pregnancy. This study evaluated intrauterine (IU) infusions of PGF(2 alpha) and PGE(1) pulses on corpus luteum (CL) function and gene expression. Cows on day 10 of estrous cycle received 4 IU infusions (every 6 h; n = 5/treatment) of saline, PGE(1) (2 mg PGE(1)), PGF(2 alpha) (0.25 mg PGF(2 alpha)), or PGE(1) + PGF(2 alpha). A luteal biopsy was collected at 30 min after third infusion for determination of gene expression by RNA-Seq. As expected, IU pulses of PGF(2 alpha) decreased (P < 0.01) P4 luteal volume. However, there were no differences in circulating P4 or luteal volume between saline, PGE(1), and PGE(1) + PGF(2 alpha), indicating inhibition of PGF(2 alpha)-induced luteolysis by IU pulses of PGE(1). After third pulse of PGF(2 alpha), luteal expression of 955 genes were altered (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.01), representing both typical and novel luteolytic transcriptomic changes. Surprisingly, after third pulse of PGE(1) or PGE(1) + PGF(2 alpha), there were no significant changes in luteal gene expression (FDR > 0.10) compared to saline cows. Increased circulating concentrations of the metabolite of PGF(2 alpha) (PGFM; after PGF(2 alpha) and PGE(1) + PGF(2 alpha)) and the metabolite PGE (PGEM; after PGE(1) and PGE(1) + PGF(2 alpha)) demonstrated that PGF(2 alpha) and PGE(1) are entering bloodstream after IU infusions. Thus, IU pulses of PGF(2 alpha) and PGE(1) allow determination of changes in luteal gene expression that could be relevant to understanding luteolysis and pregnancy. Unexpectedly, by third pulse of PGE(1), there is complete blockade of either PGF(2 alpha) transport to the CL or PGF(2 alpha) action by PGE(1) resulting in complete inhibition of transcriptomic changes following IU PGF(2 alpha) pulses. Summary Sentence Treatment with PGF(2 alpha) induced dramatic changes in expression of 955 genes, based on RNA-Seq after the third PGF(2 alpha) pulse (FDR < 0.01), whereas simultaneous treatment with pulses of PGE(1) blocked luteolysis and gene expression induced by PGF(2 alpha). Univ Wisconsin, Dept Dairy Sci, 1675 Observ Dr,Room 850, Madison, WI 53706 USA Sao Paulo State Univ, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Anim Reprod & Vet Radiol, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Florida, Dept Anim Sci, Gainesville, FL 32611 USA Univ Florida, Genet Inst, Gainesville, FL USA Univ Francisco Paula Santander, Dept Agr & Anim Sci, Cucuta, Colombia Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Gueiroz, Dept Anim Sci, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil Ohio State Univ, Dept Anim Sci, Columbus, OH 43210 USA Hebrew Univ Jerusalem, Dept Anim Sci, Rehovot, Israel Sao Paulo State Univ, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Dept Anim Reprod & Vet Radiol, Botucatu, SP, Brazil BARD-US Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund: IS-4799-15 WI Experiment Station as Hatch Project from Sao Paulo, Brazil: WIS01240 Colombian government: 497/2009

Temporal and spatial control of growth factor gradients is critical for tissue patterning and differentiation. Reinitiation of this developmental program is also required for regeneration of tissues during wound healing and tissue regeneration. Devising methods for reconstituting growth factor gradients remains a central challenge in regenerative medicine. In the current study we develop a novel gene therapy approach for temporal and spatial control of two important growth factors in bone regeneration, vascular endothelial growth factor, and bone morphogenetic protein 2, which involves application of high intensity focused ultrasound to cells engineered with a heat-activated- and ligand-inducible gene switch. Induction of transgene expression was tightly localized within cell-scaffold constructs to subvolumes of ∼30 mm³, and the amplitude and projected area of transgene expression was tuned by the intensity and duration of ultrasound exposure. Conditions for ultrasound-activated transgene expression resulted in minimal cytotoxicity and scaffold damage. Localized regions of growth factor expression also established gradients in signaling activity, suggesting that patterns of growth factor expression generated by this method will have utility in basic and applied studies on tissue development and regeneration.

Our objective was to compare several experimental preparations of a single injection of long-acting recombinant bovine FSH (rbFSH; types A and B) to a porcine pituitary-derived FSH (Folltropin) to superovulate Holstein dairy heifers. Nonlactating, nonpregnant virgin Holstein heifers (n = 56) aged 12 to 15 months were randomly assigned to one of four superstimulatory treatments. Beginning at a random stage of the estrous cycle, all follicles greater than 5 mm were aspirated. Thirty-six hours later, heifers received an intravaginal P4 device and superstimulatory treatments were initiated. Treatments were (1) 300 mg of pituitary-derived FSH (Folltropin) administered in eight decreasing doses over a period of 3.5 days; (2) a single injection of 50 μg of A-rbFSH; (3) a single injection of 100 μg of A-rbFSH; and (4) a single injection of 50 μg of B-rbFSH. All heifers received 25 mg PGF2α at 48 and 72 hours after the insertion of P4 device. At 84 hours after insertion, P4 devices were removed, and ovulation was induced 24 hours later with hCG (2500 IU). Heifers were inseminated at 12 and 24 hours after hCG treatment. The number of ovulatory follicles was greatest for heifers treated with Folltropin and B50-rbFSH, least for heifers treated with A50-rbFSH, and was intermediate for heifers treated with A100-rbFSH (25.7 ± 3.2, 18.9 ± 3.2, 5.9 ± 0.9, and 16.6 ± 3.1, respectively; P < 0.001). The number of corpora lutea was greatest for heifers treated with Folltropin, B50-rbFSH, and A100-rbFSH, and least for heifers treated with A50-rbFSH (19.1 ± 2.4, 16.1 ± 3.0, 15.9 ± 2.9, and 2.6 ± 0.9, respectively; P < 0.001). The number of good-quality embryos differed among treatments and was greatest for heifers treated with B50-rbFSH, Folltropin, and A100-rbFSH and least for heifers treated with A50-rbFSH (7.6 ± 2.4, 6.5 ± 1.7, 4.3 ± 1.5, and 0.8 ± 0.5, respectively; P < 0.001). In conclusion, a single injection of a preparation of long-acting rbFSH (either 100 μg of A-rbFSH or 50 μg of B-rbFSH but not 50 μg of A-rbFSH) produced similar superovulatory responses resulting in the production of good-quality embryos when compared with a pituitary-derived FSH preparation administered twice daily for 4 days. More studies using different types of cattle and different doses of rbFSH are needed to confirm the findings reported in this preliminary study.

The discovery of progesterone (P4) and elucidation of the mechanisms of P4 action have an important place in the history of endocrinology and reproduction. Circulating P4 concentration is determined by a balance between P4 production, primarily by the corpus luteum (CL), and P4 metabolism, primarily by the liver. The volume of luteal tissue and number and function of large luteal cells are primary factors determining P4 production. Rate of P4 metabolism is generally determined by liver blood flow and can be of critical importance in determining circulating P4 concentrations, particularly in dairy cattle. During timed artificial insemination (AI) protocols, elevations in P4 are achieved by increasing number of CL by creating accessory CL or by supplementation with exogenous P4. Dietary manipulations can also alter circulating P4, although practical methods to apply these techniques have not yet been reported. Elevating P4 before the timed AI generally decreases double ovulation and increases fertility to the timed AI. Near the time of AI, slight elevations in circulating P4, possibly due to inadequate luteal regression, can dramatically reduce fertility. After AI, circulating P4 is critical for embryo growth and establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. Many studies have attempted to improve fertility by elevating P4 after timed AI. Our recent meta-analysis and manipulative study indicated small fertility benefits (3% to 3.5%) mostly in primiparous cows. Thus, previous research has provided substantial insight into mechanisms regulating circulating P4 concentrations and actions. Understanding this prior research can focus future research on P4 manipulation to improve reproductive success.

El objetivo de la investigación fue determinar el efecto antihelmíntico de ivermectina y doramectina en bovinos desmamantes de las ciudades de Abaí y Caapucú (departamentos de Caazapá y Paraguari, Paraguay). A tal efecto se tomaron muestras de 40 bovinos con cargas parasitarias superiores a 400 huevos por gramo de heces, divididos en dos grupos de veinte animales cada uno. Un grupo fue medicado con ivermectina y el otro con doramectina, en ambos casos a dosis de 0,2 mg/kg de peso, vía subcutánea. Las dosis se repitieron 15 días después. Los análisis coprológicos (McMaster) se efectuaron a los 15, 30, 45 y 60 días. Al final, en los animales tratados con ivermectina y doramectina se constataron respectivamente niveles de 83 y 8 huevos por gramo de heces (p

Tropical cow-calf operations using Bos indicus crossbreds are characterized by extended periods of time before the establishment of ovarian cyclicity. The aim was to determine whether the increase of progesterone concentrations during postpartum anestrous using intravaginal devices along with injection of estradiol benzoate would advance the occurrence of first ovulation after calving. 269 suckled crossbred cows kept in different farms at North-Santander (Colombia) were randomized in one of the following treatments: 1:Control (n = 88) no further treatment; 2:P4 (n = 91) cows received an intravaginal device containing 0.588 g of progesterone during 7 days at day 50±3 after calving; 3:P4+E2 (n = 90) as treatment 2 plus an additional injection of 2.0 mg of estradiol benzoate at the time of device insertion. Ovarian ultrasound was performed weekly starting on the day of treatments until ovulation (disappearance of a dominant follicle with later appearance of a corpus luteum within two consecutive examinations). Calving-Ovulation Interval was recorded and means between groups were analyzed using ANOVA (α=0.05). For the control group, COI tended (P = 0.08) to be longer for primiparous cows (149.6±4.5 days, n = 14) compared to multiparous cows (140.4±2.1d, n = 74). Treatment with P4 reduced the COI for both primiparous (105.3±5.4d, n = 15; P < 0.0001) and multiparous (96.4±3.0d, n = 76; P < 0.0001) compared to the controls (P = 0.21 between groups of age). When primiparous cows were treated with P4+E2 the COI decreased compared to both P4 and control treatments (82.3±2.8d, n = 17; P < 0.0001). However, in multiparous cows there was no effect of P4+E2 compared to P4 treatment (94.6±2.6d, n = 73; P = 0.65), then COI was shorter for primiparous compared to multiparous cows (P = 0.03) with P4+E2 treatment. The use of an intravaginal device containing progesterone advances the time of first ovulation after calving in suckled cows. Additional use of estradiol benzoate reduces the time for first ovulation in primiparous but not multiparous cows.

The processes key to enabling 3D manufacturing, namely, bond, backgrind, and through silicon via (TSV) reveal, are extended for 300 mm glass substrates to fabricate a heterogeneous, multi-die, 2.5D glass interposer. Based on an existing silicon interposer offering, the glass interposer is comprised of multi-level "device" side copper wiring, with line space (L/S) of = 2.5 µm, built using damascene techniques, a 55 µm glass core with through glass vias (TGVs), and multiple UBM levels finished with tin silver (SnAg) C4 bumps. The 300mm TGV wafers are processed on existing silicon wafer manufacturing equipment following established, integrated silicon process flows. Once fully processed, the glass wafers are diced, and the interposer joined to a ceramic carrier by mass reflow. Sub-assemblies are then underfilled, the top die attached, and lidding completed. The final assemblies are tested to evaluate performance of chip to chip interconnects, chip-to-package (through interposer) interconnects, and chip-to-PCB (through interposer and package) interconnects. Results of loss vs frequency measurements are compared, for the glass interposer against the existing silicon interposer results.

Loss of pregnancy can occur at many different stages of gestation and for a variety of causes but clearly produces a negative impact for reproductive and economic performances of dairy herds. This review describes four pivotal periods for pregnancy loss during the first trimester of gestation and discusses possible causes for pregnancy failure during these periods. The first period occurs during the first week after breeding with lack of fertilization and death of the early embryo producing major losses in pregnancy, particularly under specific environmental and hormonal conditions. In general, 20%-50% of high-producing lactating dairy cows have already experienced pregnancy loss during the first week of gestation with methods to decrease pregnancy loss during this period targeting improved oocyte quality by alleviating heat stress, inflammatory diseases, and body condition loss, and by increasing progesterone concentrations during preovulatory follicle development. The second pivotal period, from Days 8 to 27, encompasses embryo elongation and the classical "maternal recognition of pregnancy" period with losses averaging ∼30% but with surprising variation between farms (25%-41%). Maintenance of the CL of pregnancy is produced by the embryonic signal interferon-tau and alteration in uterine secretory patterns of prostaglandins F2α, E1, and E2. Failures or delays in trophoblast elongation and/or embryonic development result in loss of pregnancy during the second pivotal period possibly due to suboptimal histotroph. The third pivotal period is during the second month of pregnancy, Days 28 to 60, with losses of ∼12% based on a summary of published results from more than 20,000 pregnancies in high-producing dairy cows. Delays or defects in development of the chorioallantoic placentomes or embryo result in CL regression or embryo death during this pivotal period. Finally, a fourth period during the third month of pregnancy has reduced pregnancy losses (∼2%), compared with the first three periods but can be elevated in some cows, particularly in those carrying twins in the same uterine horn. Thus, there are varied causes for pregnancy losses during each pivotal period that correspond to key physiological changes in the embryo, uterine environment, and ovary. Similarly, strategies to reduce these losses are likely to require a multifaceted approach using rational methods that target the critical physiology in each pivotal period.

In ruminants, there are specific times during the estrous cycle or pregnancy when the corpus luteum (CL) may undergo regression. This review has attempted to summarize the physiological and cellular mechanisms involved in CL regression or maintenance during four distinct periods. The first period is near day 7 when animals that are ovulating after a period of low circulating progesterone (P4), such as first pubertal ovulation or first postpartum ovulation, are at risk of having a premature increase in Prostaglandin F2α (PGF) secreted from the uterus resulting in early CL regression and a short estrous cycle. The second period is when normal luteolysis occurs at day 18-25 of the cycle or when the CL is rescued by interferon-tau secreted by the elongating embryo. The uterine mechanisms that determine the timing of this luteolysis or the prevention of luteolysis have been generally defined. Induction and activation of endometrial E2 receptors result in induction of endometrial oxytocin receptors that can now be activated by normal pulses of oxytocin. Of particular importance is the observation that the primary mechanisms are only activated through local (ipsilateral) and not a systemic route due to transfer of PGF from the uterine vein to the ovarian artery. In addition at the CL level, studies are providing definition to the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are activated in response to uterine PGF pulses or pregnancy. The third period that is discussed occurs in the second month of pregnancy (day 28-60) when undefined mechanisms result in CL maintenance of an ipsilateral CL but regression of a contralateral (opposite side from pregnancy) CL. The final period that is discussed is regression of the CL just prior to parturition. Although, cortisol from the fetus appears to be the primary initiator of luteolysis, PGF seems to be the final signal that causes regression of the CL. Thus, in all four periods, regression of the CL is likely to be caused by the direct actions of PGF that is secreted from the uterus. The uterine mechanisms that result in secretion of PGF seem to be normally inhibited during the early luteal phase, making short luteal phases not a normal event, and are altered during early pregnancy (day 18-25) resulting in prevention of luteolysis. During much of pregnancy, the mechanisms that cause PGF secretion from the uterus in response to oxytocin are intact but luteolysis does not normally occur, perhaps due to lack of efficient utero-ovarian transfer of PGF.

Recent GWAS have identified SNPs at a human chromosom1 locus associated with coronary artery disease risk and LDL cholesterol levels. The SNPs are also associated with altered expression of hepatic sortilin-1 (SORT1), which encodes a protein thought to be involved in apoB trafficking and degradation. Here, we investigated the regulation of Sort1 expression in mouse models of obesity. Sort1 expression was markedly repressed in both genetic (ob/ob) and high-fat diet models of obesity; restoration of hepatic sortilin-1 levels resulted in reduced triglyceride and apoB secretion. Mouse models of obesity also exhibit increased hepatic activity of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and ER stress, and we found that administration of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin to ob/ob mice reduced ER stress and increased hepatic sortilin-1 levels. Conversely, genetically increased hepatic mTORC1 activity was associated with repressed Sort1 and increased apoB secretion. Treating WT mice with the ER stressor tunicamycin led to marked repression of hepatic sortilin-1 expression, while administration of the chemical chaperone PBA to ob/ob mice led to amelioration of ER stress, increased sortilin-1 expression, and reduced apoB and triglyceride secretion. Moreover, the ER stress target Atf3 acted at the SORT1 promoter region as a transcriptional repressor, whereas knockdown of Atf3 mRNA in ob/ob mice led to increased hepatic sortilin-1 levels and decreased apoB and triglyceride secretion. Thus, in mouse models of obesity, induction of mTORC1 and ER stress led to repression of hepatic Sort1 and increased VLDL secretion via Atf3. This pathway may contribute to dyslipidemia in metabolic disease.

Onset of puberty is characterised by a marked increase in the frequency of release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinising hormone (LH). The Kiss1 gene plays a critical role in pubertal development, and its product, kisspeptin, stimulates GnRH and LH release. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that Kiss1 gene expression in the preoptic area (POA) and hypothalamus increases during maturation of the reproductive neuroendocrine axis in association with increased LH pulsatility. Ovariectomised, oestradiol-replaced lambs were euthanised at 25, 30 and 35 weeks of age. Blood samples were collected before euthanasia to characterise the pattern of LH release. Kiss1 mRNA was detected in coronal sections of the POA and hypothalamus and Kiss1-expressing cells were identified on the basis of silver grain density. The mean number of Kiss1-expressing cells in the POA/periventricular (PeV) areas increased from 25 to 30 weeks of age. No further increase at 35 weeks of age was observed, and the changes in Kiss1 expression in the POA/PeV were independent of changes in LH pulse frequency. The mean number of Kiss1-expressing cells in the arcuate (ARC) nucleus did not differ among age groups, although it was greater in the middle ARC of lambs exhibiting increased frequency of LH release. The density of silver grains per cell did not differ among groups in any of the areas studied. The results obtained indicate that the Kiss1 gene is activated in the POA/PeV and ARC of ewe lambs during juvenile development, and that kisspeptin neurones in the middle ARC, in particular, are involved in the acceleration of pulsatile LH release during maturation of the reproductive neuroendocrine axis in ewe lambs.

Objective To estimate the prevalence, burden of illness, and help-seeking behavior of patients with musculoskeletal complaints and provide point prevalence estimates of osteoarthritis, low back pain, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and bone fractures not related to trauma among the adult population in a urban community in Havana City. Methods Home survey of adults validated against physical examination. Forty-eight trained family doctors and 3 rheumatologists supervised the interviews and confirmed diagnoses. Family doctors applied a validated Community Oriented Program for the Control of Rheumatic Diseases core questionnaire. A diagnosis using American College of Rheumatology criteria was established. Analysis was based on descriptive statistics and point prevalence estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of most common diseases and associated disability rate. Results One thousand two hundred thirty-eight men and 1917 women were included. Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain was estimated in 43.9% (95% CI: 42.2-45.7). The knees were the most affected area (11.7%; 95% CI: 10.6-12) followed by low back pain (11.6%; 95% CI: 10.5-12.8). Point prevalence and 95% CI were as follows: osteoarthritis, 20.4% (95% CI: 19-21.8); gout, 0.38% (95% CI: 0.2-0.6); fibromyalgia, 0.22% (95% CI: 0.09-0.4); systemic lupus erythematosus, 0.06% (95% CI: 0.01-0.25); spondyloarthropathies, 0.19% (95% CI: 0.07-0.4); and rheumatoid arthritis,1.24% (95% CI: 0.8-1.7). Bone fractures not related to trauma were found in 1.14%, hip fracture being the most common (30.5%). Most patients were seen by the general practitioner (65.4%) and 6.2% described some disability. Conclusions Musculoskeletal pain is highly prevalent in Cuba. Prevalence estimates are similar to those described in other surveys except for rheumatoid arthritis that seems more prevalent in Cuba and fibromyalgia less prevalent.

Network-phase lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) derived from the water-directed self-assembly of small molecule amphiphiles comprise a useful class of soft nanomaterials, with wide-ranging applications in structural biology and membrane science. However, few known surfactants enable access to these mesophases over wide temperature and amphiphile concentration phase windows. Recent studies have demonstrated that gemini ("twin tail") dicarboxylate surfactants, in which alkyl carboxylates are covalently linked near the headgroups by a hydrophobic bridge, exhibit increased propensities to form double gyroid network phase LLCs. We demonstrate herein that the lyotropic self-assembly behaviors of gemini dicarboxylates sensitively depend on the linker length, whereby odd-carbon linkers stabilize the double gyroid network LLC over unprecedented amphiphile concentration windows up to ∼45 wt % wide between T ≈ 22-80 °C. These self-assembly phenomena, which arise from the linker length-dependent preferred molecular conformations of these amphiphiles, will broaden the technological applications of these nanostructured LLCs.

The mammalian high mobility group protein AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) is a chromosomal architectural transcription factor involved in cell transformation and oncogenesis. It consists of three positively charged "AT-hooks" and a negatively charged C-terminus. Sequence analyses, circular dichroism experiments, and gel-filtration studies showed that HMGA2, in the native state, does not have a defined secondary or tertiary structure. Surprisingly, using combined approaches of 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) chemical cross-linking, analytical ultracentrifugation, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), and mass spectrometry, we discovered that HMGA2 is capable of self-associating into homodimers in aqueous buffer solution. Our results showed that electrostatic interactions between the positively charged "AT-hooks" and the negatively charged C-terminus greatly contribute to the homodimer formation.

Osmotic stress constitutes a major bacterial stress factor in the soil and during industrial fermentation. In this paper, we quantified the metabolic response, in terms of metabolic flux redistribution, of a lysine-overproducing strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum grown under continuous culture, to gradually increasing osmolality. Oxygen and carbon dioxide evolution rates, and the changes in concentration of extracellular, as well as intracellular, metabolites were measured throughout the osmotic gradient. The metabolic fluxes were estimated from these measurements and from the mass balance constraints at each metabolite-node of the assumed metabolic reaction network. Our results show that formation rates of compatible solutes--trehalose first and proline at a later stage of the gradient--increased with osmotic stress to equilibrate the external osmotic pressure. Estimated flux distributions indicate that the observed increase in the glucose specific uptake rate with osmotic stress is channeled through the main energy generating pathways-- glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle--while the flux through the pentose phosphate pathway remains constant throughout the gradient. This results in a significant increase in the net specific ATP production rate, which may possibly be used to support the higher energy requirements required for cellular maintenance at high osmolalities. Finally, nodal analysis confirmed that the PEP/pyruvate node is essentially rigid and that the glucose-6-phosphate, oxaloacetate and alpha-ketoglutarate nodes are flexible and therefore adaptable to changes in osmotic pressure in C. glutamicum.

mGluR8 is a G-protein coupled metabotropic glutamate receptor expressed in the mammalian brain. Members of the mGluR family have been shown to be modulators of neural plasticity and learning and memory. Here we analyze the consequences of a null mutation at the mGluR8 gene locus generated using homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells by comparing the learning performance of the mutants with that of wild type controls in the Morris water maze (MWM) and the context and cue dependent fear conditioning (CFC). Our results revealed robust performance deficits associated with the genetic background, the ICR outbred strain, in both mGluR8 null mutant and the wild type control mice. Mice of this strain origin suffered from impaired vision as compared to CD1 or C57BL/6 mice, a significant impediment in MWM, a visuo-spatial learning task. The CFC task, being less dependent on visual cues, allowed us to reveal subtle performance deficits in the mGluR8 mutants: novelty induced hyperactivity and temporally delayed and blunted responding to shocks and temporally delayed responding to contextual stimuli were detected. The role of mGluR8 as a presynaptic autoreceptor and its contribution to cognitive processes are hypothesized and the utility of gene targeting as compared to pharmacological methods is discussed.

A strategy to enhance the speed and power characteristics of an industrial circuit is demonstrated in this paper. It is shown that nonzero clock skew scheduling can improve circuit performance while relaxing the strict timing constraints of the critical data paths within a high speed system. A software tool implementing a nonzero clock skew scheduling algorithm is described together with a methodology that generates the required clock signal delays. Furthermore, a technique that significantly reduces the power dissipated in the noncritical data paths is demonstrated. The application of this technique combined with nonzero clock skew scheduling to the slower data paths is also described. Speed improvements of up to 18% and power savings greater than 80% are achieved in certain functional blocks of an industrial high performance microprocessor.

Phosphatidylcholine transfer protein (PC-TP) is a cytosolic protein of unknown function that catalyzes intermembrane transfer of phosphatidylcholines in vitro. Using stably transfected CHO cells, we explored the influence of PC-TP on apolipoprotein A-I- and high density lipoprotein 3 (HDL(3))-mediated lipid efflux. In proportion to its cellular level of expression, PC-TP accelerated apolipoprotein A-I-mediated phospholipid and cholesterol efflux as pre-beta-HDL particles. PC-TP increased rates of efflux of both lipids by2-fold but did not affect mRNA levels or the activity of ATP-binding cassette A1, a plasma membrane protein that regulates apolipoprotein A-I-mediated lipid efflux. Overexpression of PC-TP was associated with only slight increases in HDL(3)-mediated phospholipid efflux and no changes in cholesterol efflux. In scavenger receptor BI-overexpressing cells, PC-TP expression minimally influenced apolipoprotein A-I- or HDL(3)-mediated lipid efflux. PC-TP did not affect cellular phospholipid compositions, phosphatidylcholine contents, or phosphatidylcholine synthetic rates. These findings suggest that a physiological function of PC-TP is to replenish the plasma membrane with phosphatidylcholines that are removed during pre-beta-HDL particle formation due to the activity of ATP-binding cassette A1.

The hypothesis was that GnRH on Day 5 of a synchronized cycle in embryo transfer recipients would increase progesterone (P4) concentrations, embryo size, and fertility. Holstein and cross-bred Holstein heifers (n = 1562) were synchronized using a modified 5-day CIDR Co-Synch as follows: Day –8 CIDR inserted; Day –3 CIDR removed; prostaglandin F2α treatment; Day –2 second prostaglandin F2α; Day 0 gonadotropin-releasing hormone (G1, 100 μg of gonadorelin acetate) to induce ovulation. On Day 5.5, heifers were assigned in a completely randomised design to 1 of 2 treatments: Control (untreated) or GnRH (200 μg of gonadorelin acetate). Transfer of fresh in vitro-produced embryos was performed between d 6 and 8 after G1. Data collected from each heifer included embryo stage and quality, body condition score, technician, interval from G1 to transfer, and number of previous transfers. All heifers were evaluated by transrectal ultrasonography on Day 5, 33, and 62 and a subset of heifers was scanned on Day 12 (n = 718; to determine ovulation to treatment) and another subset on Day 33 (n = 296; 16-s video to determine embryo and amniotic vesicle size). Serum P4 was determined from a subset of heifers on Day 12 (n = 467). Fertility data were analysed by logistic regression (LOGISTIC procedure, SAS 9.4), whereas continuous outcomes were analysed by ANOVA (MIXED procedure). Ovulation to Day 5.5 gonadotropin-releasing hormone was 83.9% (302/360) in GnRH-treated heifers v. 3.3% (12/358) in Control (P

A multichip module package has been designed in IBM's silicon technology. The module consists of two chips of same size and type communicating horizontally through a silicon interposer to a large ASIC chip. The chip to chip links operate at 8 Gbps with a loss of 0.5 dB/mm and reflections < 20 dB. All links are skew matched to within 2 ps. Model to hardware correlation was performed and trace loss is within 0.1 dB of modeling data. The input to the module consists of a high speed RF signal and the module was optimized for board to package transition. Outputs of the module are 15Gbps high speed links. Both input and output signals go up or down a through silicon via (TSV) in the silicon interposer as part of their electrical paths. TSV parameters do not limit the electrical performance of the module.

Onset of puberty is characterised by a marked increase in the frequency of release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinising hormone (LH). The Kiss1 gene plays a critical role in pubertal development, and its product, kisspeptin, stimulates GnRH and LH release. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that Kiss1 gene expression in the preoptic area (POA) and hypothalamus increases during maturation of the reproductive neuroendocrine axis in association with increased LH pulsatility. Ovariectomised, oestradiol-replaced lambs were euthanised at 25, 30 and 35 weeks of age. Blood samples were collected before euthanasia to characterise the pattern of LH release. Kiss1 mRNA was detected in coronal sections of the POA and hypothalamus and Kiss1-expressing cells were identified on the basis of silver grain density. The mean number of Kiss1-expressing cells in the POA/periventricular (PeV) areas increased from 25 to 30 weeks of age. No further increase at 35 weeks of age was observed, and the changes in Kiss1 expression in the POA/PeV were independent of changes in LH pulse frequency. The mean number of Kiss1-expressing cells in the arcuate (ARC) nucleus did not differ among age groups, although it was greater in the middle ARC of lambs exhibiting increased frequency of LH release. The density of silver grains per cell did not differ among groups in any of the areas studied. The results obtained indicate that the Kiss1 gene is activated in the POA/PeV and ARC of ewe lambs during juvenile development, and that kisspeptin neurones in the middle ARC, in particular, are involved in the acceleration of pulsatile LH release during maturation of the reproductive neuroendocrine axis in ewe lambs.

Ceramic packages for high performance server processors have many wiring layers and via count due to the large number of input-output (I/Os) needed in high end computers to attain performance targets. Good AC operation of the interconnect is critical to attain since long traces and vias can be very lossy in these applications. The electrical impact of manufacturing changes implemented in these modules due to mechanical, thermal, or yield issues can be difficult to discern due to the large number of structures and parameter variation in the package. In addition, most of the signals in modern processors operate at a fundamental frequency well into the gigahertz range making traditional direct current (DC) electrical measurements less meaningful to designers and process development engineers. We quantify the AC electrical impact of package manufacturing changes using a high speed microwave vector network analyzer (VNA) on the module interconnects. We measure the effect of several of these changes on various ceramic multi-chip modules (MCM) as a function of frequency. We show how these measurements have lead to a modified cross section in high performance glass ceramic (HPGC) packages used for IBM large scale server processors.

High performance glass ceramic (HPGC) packages widely used in various range of IBM server applications are characterized for high frequency performance of SerDes differential links using TDR and network analyzer measurements and their design to performance aspects are analyzed in depth. Also HPGCspsila merits and design to electrical factors are discussed in comparison with an Alumina Ceramic and an organic Flip-chip Plastic Ball Grid Array (FCPBGA) packages alongside application space as the three types of packages were built on the same footprints of chip and board IO interfaces for a test site involving different design strategies to accommodate high link density of SerDes links. While HPGC has greater advantage for reliability and high power, and FCPBGA has greater advantage for cost, both demonstrate similar performance in compromising between through transmission and noise isolation parameters. Both HPGC and FCPBGA perform better than Alumina Ceramic in those areas.