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Abstract

If you want your car to ride and handle as intended, be sure to buy replacement tires with the manufacturer specification code - Ed. But we expect a bumper crop of LL1 cars next year - Ed. - Ed Pavone Vancouver, WA You get Wonder Woman's invisible Bugatti - Ed. In "Lightning Lap No. 14", the tire specs of the cars you tested included the following designations: , TPC, FP, J, N1, L, NA1, MO1, NFO, and MC1. [Extracted from the article]

Alcohol consumption around the time of conception is highly prevalent in Western countries. Exposure to ethanol levels during gestation has been associated with altered development of the mesolimbic reward pathway in rats and increased propensity to addiction, however the effect of exposure only around the time of conception is unknown. The current study investigated the effects of periconceptional alcohol exposure (PC:EtOH) on alcohol and palatable food preferences and gene expression in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens of the adult offspring. Rats were exposed to a liquid diet containing ethanol (EtOH) (12.5% vol/vol) or a control diet from 4 days before mating until 4 days after mating. PC:EtOH had no effect on alcohol preference in either sex. At 15 months of age, however, male PC:EtOH offspring consumed more high-fat food when compared with male control offspring, but this preference was not observed in females. Expression of the dopamine receptor type 1 (Drd1a) was lower in the VTA of male PC:EtOH offspring compared with their control counterparts. There was no effect of PC:EtOH on mRNA expression of the µ-opioid receptor, tyrosine hydroxylase (Th), dopamine receptor type 2 (Drd2) or dopamine active transporter (Slc6a3). These data support the hypothesis that periconceptional alcohol exposure can alter expression of key components of the mesolimbic reward pathway and heighten the preference of offspring for palatable foods and may therefore increase their propensity towards diet-induced obesity. These results highlight the importance of alcohol avoidance when planning a pregnancy.

Both porosity and tortuosity are important measures for liquid-permeable membranes. Porosity is easily calculated from the membrane's basis weight, density and dimensions. Tortuosity cannot be assessed directly, and is commonly estimated for by the air permeability using the Gurley number. Yet tortuosity may also be determined by measuring the ionic conductivity of an electrolyte-impregnated membrane. In the present work, the resistance of stacked membrane layers impregnated with a lithium-ion electrolyte is measured using a custom designed electrochemical cell optimized for electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Linear regression of the resistance as a function of the number of layers provides the resistance of a single membrane layer. Analysis of the linear fit provides an error-corrected ionic resistance value per membrane layer, which is subsequently used to calculate the MacMullin number and tortuosity. After validating this approach with a commercial polyolefin battery separator, polyetherimide membranes having different pore morphologies were analyzed. The tortuosity values measured through EIS (2.5-3.9) showed a poor correlation to the measured Gurley numbers (34-879 s/100cc), which demonstrates that, depending on membrane structure and composition, Gurley numbers cannot simply be used as a means to predict the effective ionic conduction properties of an electrolyte-wetted membrane.

Field‐effect transistors (FETs) employing the solution‐processed metal oxides as dielectrics have shown excellent performance on rigid silicon substrate. However, there have been very limited reports on FETs with solution‐processed, thermal‐annealed metal oxide dielectrics on low‐cost flexible substrates. To date, to our knowledge there is almost no report on flexible FETs having the similar or better performance than the FETs on Si substrate with solution‐processed, thermal‐annealed metal oxides as dielectrics. Herein, flexible pentacene‐based organic FETs have been demonstrated with polystyrene (PS)‐modified, solution‐processed yttrium oxide (Y2O3), hafnium oxide (HfO2), or aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as dielectrics on commercially available aluminum (Al) foil substrates. The transistors exhibit a good carrier mobility (µ), a large on/off current ratio (Ion/off), a low threshold voltage (VT), and a small subthreshold swing (SS) at a low‐operation voltage (−4 V), which is comparable with the device performance on rigid Si substrate. Therefore, the excellent electrical performance of the FETs on commercially available Al foil substrate, together with the virtue of light‐weight, makes the devices possess the promising potential for various electronic system applications.

Abstract:Wood ducks (Aix sponsa)and other species use tree cavities in forested wetlands and adjacent upland forests for nest sites and cover. The availability of tree cavities suitable for nesting is important to the population dynamics of hole-nesting species, but there is little quantitative information on how forest succession and maturation affect densities of suitable nest sites in eastern deciduous forests. Several studies have measured availability of tree cavities for nesting wood ducks, but data on cavity formation and persistence rates are needed to model changes in cavity abundance. We measured abundance and persistence of tree cavities suitable for nesting wood ducks in southern Illinois, USA, during 1993-2002. We simulated changes in abundance of nest cavities in the Mississippi River floodplain and adjacent upland forests using estimates of tree cavity densities by tree-diameter size classes and 10-year cavity persistence rates by tree species. Cavities were disproportionately common in the largest size classes, but tree species varied in their propensity to form cavities. Beech (Fagus grandifolia;0.41 cavities/tree) and sycamore (Plantanus occidentalis;0.50 cavities/tree) were prolific cavity producers, whereas a small proportion (0.05 cavities/tree) of cottonwoods (Populus deltoides)contained cavities. Kaplan-Meier estimates of annual and 10-year cavity persistence averaged 0.95 and 0.64, respectively. Cavity persistence also differed among species (P= 0.02): cottonwoods had the lowest (0.54) and sycamores had the highest (0.89) 10-year tree cavity persistence rates. Tree fall (50.0%), cavity floor deterioration (37.5%), and narrowing of the cavity entrance (12.5%) were the most prevalent causes of tree cavity loss. Forest stand projections indicated that cavity abundance will increase up to 34% over recent levels during the first 10 years and by 44% after 50 years. Most of this increase will be contributed by tree species that are not commonly used by wood ducks, but cavities will increase in oaks (Quercusspp.) and beeches as the forest matures into cavity-bearing size classes. Sycamores will steadily contribute cavities, but cottonwood is predicted to provide fewer cavities due to low survival of cavity-bearing size classes. Our results suggest that availability of nest and den sites for cavity-dependent wildlife will increase as eastern deciduous forests mature over the next half century. Cost-effectiveness of artificial nest box programs should be reevaluated in light of projected changes in tree cavity availability as deciduous forests mature in the eastern United States.

Abstract:Wood duck (Aix sponsa) hens are known to lay eggs in nests of other wood ducks. Low levels of intraspecific nest parasitism can increase the number of ducklings produced, but at high levels, increased numbers of eggs are offset by reduced hatching success and elevated nest abandonment. Such effects have been observed in nest boxes, stimulating interest in the role of intraspecific nest parasitism in natural cavities. We found high rates of nest parasitism (85% of nests) in natural cavities by applying microsatellite genetic markers to examine maternity for clutches laid in floodplain and upland forests. Clutch sizes, number of parasites per nest, and the number of parasitic eggs deposited per nest were greater in tree cavities located in floodplain than in upland forests (35.2%, 63.6%,75.0% greater, respectively; P < 0.05), although the proportions of nests parasitized were similar (100% of floodplain nests versus 80% of upland nests, P = 0.11). We compared our data to almost 40 years of published data from studies of wood ducks using artificial nest boxes. Clutch sizes in natural cavities were smaller than reported for 3 populations using nest boxes (10.3%, 29.4%, and 49.2% smaller; P < 0.05), except when only floodplain nests were considered (5.0% larger, 11.6% and 28.8% smaller, P > 0.05). Fewer parasites (1.5 ± 0.1 parasites) contributed to nests in tree cavities than in 1 box-nesting population (2.7 ± 0.04, P < 0.05). We suggest that the high parasitism rates observed in natural cavities reflect the accuracy of microsatellite techniques relative to other methods and that conspecific nest parasitism is pervasive among wood ducks, even in natural tree cavities that are more widely dispersed and well hidden than nest boxes. However, despite the large proportion of cavity nests parasitized during this study, parasitism did not severely depress breeding productivity, as observed in some box-nesting populations. Long-term and experimental research on factors contributing to extremely large clutches in nest boxes could improve the efficacy of nest-box programs.

Transitional endoplasmic reticulum (tER) consists of confluent rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ER) domains. In a cell-free incubation system, low-density microsomes (1.17 g cc(-1)) isolated from rat liver homogenates reconstitute tER by Mg(2+)GTP- and Mg(2+)ATP-hydrolysis-dependent membrane fusion. The ATPases associated with different cellular activities protein p97 has been identified as the relevant ATPase. The ATP depletion by hexokinase or treatment with either N-ethylmaleimide or anti-p97 prevented assembly of the smooth ER domain of tER. High-salt washing of low-density microsomes inhibited assembly of the smooth ER domain of tER, whereas the readdition of purified p97 with associated p47 promoted reconstitution. The t-SNARE syntaxin 5 was observed within the smooth ER domain of tER, and antisyntaxin 5 abrogated formation of this same membrane compartment. Thus, p97 and syntaxin 5 regulate assembly of the smooth ER domain of tER and hence one of the earliest membrane differentiated components of the secretory pathway.

A study conducted by Arthur D. Little, Inc. for Northeastern to document benefits for the purpose of stimulating participation by prospective employers. Benefits outlined and discussed for all phases of cooperative education, with special attention to employer problems that can be ameliorated by participation.

Highlights the impact of private (foundation), societal, institutional, and federal institutions on the evolution of cooperative education and other off-campus experience programs from 1957-1973.

The use of nonsedating antihistamines may, on rare occasions, be associated with cardiac arrhythmias. This could be due to blockade of voltage-dependent K+ channels in the heart, leading to a prolongation in repolarization in the human myocardium. For this reason, we examined the effects of the nonsedating antihistamine loratadine on a rapidly activating delayed-rectifier K+ channel (Kv1.5) cloned from human heart and stably expressed in HEK 293 cells or mouse Ltk- cells. Using patch-clamp electrophysiology, we found that loratadine blocked Kv1.5 current measured from inside-out membrane patches at concentrations of > or = 100 nM, resulting in an IC50 value of 808 nM at +50 mV. The drug enhanced the rate of Kv1.5 current decay, and block was enhanced at membrane potentials near threshold relative to higher potentials. Loratadine did not alter the kinetics of Kv1.5 current activation or deactivation. Unitary Kv1.5 currents were recorded in cell-attached patches. At the single-channel level, the main effect of loratadine was to reduce the mean probability of opening of Kv1.5. This effect of loratadine was achieved by a reduced number of openings in bursts and burst duration. Finally, loratadine (10 microM) failed to inhibit HERG K+ channel currents expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. It is concluded that loratadine is an effective blocker of Kv1.5 that interacts with an activated state or states of the channel. This interaction suggests a potential for loratadine to alter cardiac excitability in vivo.

Ketoconazole, a widely used fungicide in patients, has been associated with Q-T prolongation and torsade de pointes when co-administered with terfenadine (Seldane). Both compounds use the same cytochrome-P450 metabolic pathway, resulting in an increase in plasma concentration of terfenadine. We previously showed that terfenadine blocked HERG (Human Ether-a-Gogo Related Gene), an important component of the repolarizing cardiac delayed rectifier IK with concentration needed to obtain 50% of the block (IC50) in the therapeutic range (300 nM). Another target is Kv1.5 (delayed outward rectifier potassium current), an important component of human atrial ultrarapid delayed rectifier current. Whether Kv1.5 and HERG proteins are direct targets for ketoconazole has yet to be addressed. We heterologously expressed HERG and Kv1.5 in Xenopus oocytes and compared their sensitivities to ketoconazole. HERG and Kv1.5 currents were reduced comparably with apparent IC50 values of 49 microM and 107 microM, respectively, when measured using the two-microelectrode recording technique. The differences in the IC50 may help explain the preferential ventricular origin of the ketoconazole-associated arrhythmias during overdose. The mechanism of block was different between Kv1.5 and HERG. Cumulative application of terfenadine and ketoconazole at their respective IC50 concentrations resulted in current reductions that suggest an additive rather than a competitive type of block by the two drugs. We conclude that ketoconazole may potentiate the effects of terfenadine first by an indirect pharmacokinetic action to elevate plasma levels and second by a direct pharmacodynamic action on HERG currents. These potential dual actions on HERG currents suggest that precautions should be taken in long-term ketoconazole treatment, particularly for patients who have decreased liver function or are on a drug regimen requiring simultaneous medications that use cytochrome-P450 for breakdown, such as terfenadine or erythromycin, or Class III antiarrhythmic drugs.

Defines cooperative education and provides an analysis of the development of the movement since it was founded in 1906 at the University of Cincinnati by Herman Schneider.

The running-wheel activity pattern of mature male rats was successfully synchronized to light-dark cycles as long as 48 hours and as short as 16 hours. Even after 6 months' exposure to "days" longer than the normal 24 hours, the animals returned promptly to circadian rhythmicity when placed under free-running conditions of continuous dark. That such rhythms also reappeared when the light condition of the 36-hour cycle was reduced from 660 to 33 lumens per square meter suggests that brightness may be the critical factor in the unexpectedly broad range of entrainment demonstrated.

A new approach of measuring through-thickness Young's moduli of composite materials using nanoindentation was proposed. First, an approximate expression of the reduced modulus of nanoindentation was introduced for orthotropic composites. Second, spherical nanoindentation was conducted for an E-glass fiber/vinyl ester composite system, and measured Young's modulus was quite

A brief, three-item measure of intrinsic religiosity adapted from Gorsuch and Venable (1983) was used with over 900 male and female Reserve Component veterans who had been serving in the military during the Persian Gulf War. In general, approximately two-thirds of the veterans indicated agreement or strong agreement with an internal commitment to their religious beliefs. Despite its brevity, the scale demonstrated adequate estimates of internal consistency reliability (alpha = .93). It was also found that the female veterans reported a significantly higher mean on intrinsic religiosity as measured by this scale than did the male veterans.

This pediatric case report is presented for the interest involved in the cure of an apparently hopeless case of an acute and overwhelming meningococcemia and for the therapy instituted. REPORT OF A CASE D. M., a 4-year-old white girl, was admitted to the children's pavilion of the Jewish hospital, service of Dr. Robert A. Schless, on Dec. 23, 1950. She had been well until two weeks prior to admission, when she had a severe upper-respiratory-tract infection, from which she recovered completely in a few days. Early in the morning of the day of admission she awoke and was feverish and irritable, and she drowsed all afternoon. By 4 p. m. she was semistuporous. She was referred to this hospital when the attending physician was called and found a generalized petechial rash. On admission the patient was seen to be an acutely ill, semicomatose, lethargic, and irrational child lying limply in

Observing mating behaviors in wild populations is difficult because of the relative infrequency of copulations, nocturnal habits of many species, and possible observer effects on behavior. However, the development of genetic techniques has enabled the outcome of reproductive activities to be examined by sampling young and potential parents. Our objective was to examine paternity in a population of free-ranging raccoons (Procyon lotof) in southern Illinois using 10 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers. We determined genotypes for 183 individuals, including 35 young from 11 litters. Most litters (X¯ = 3.2 young/litter ± 0.4 SE) had multiple sires, as indicated by >2 paternal alleles at each locus; =88% of 8 litters with >2 young were sired by multiple males. These results indicate that females mate with multiple males during estrus. We also found evidence that at least 1 male mated with multiple females. Sires (75%; n = 8) were usually trapped <500 m from the locations where dams were trapped. In this raccoon population, the mating system is best described as promiscuous. We hypothesize that this pattern of breeding behavior is influenced by a male-biased sex ratio and high population density of raccoons on the study area.