Factors determining milk quality and implications for production structure under somatic cell count standard modification

Consumer and processor demand for high-quality milk has placed increasing pressure on US milk producers to achieve higher product standards. International standards for somatic cell count (SCC) are becoming more stringent, but in May 2011, the United States National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments chose to retain the 750,000 cells/mL standard. Using ordinary least squares and quantile regressions on US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Resource Management Survey Dairy Costs and Returns Report data for 2005, we model producer and farm-level characteristics associated with SCC. Quantile regression analysis allows for a more parsed inquiry into statistical associations. Dairy Costs and Returns Report data provide cross-sectional information on the physical structure, input expenses, demographics, and outputs for farms in selected states. Location outside the Southeast, lower herd age, full-time farming status, use of biosecurity guidelines, good milking facilities and operations management, and application of related quality tests are all associated with lower SCC levels. Size of operation had little effect on SCC levels after controlling for other factors. Many of the operations that did not attain a more demanding SCC standard of 400,000 cells/mL had older operators, operators who expressed intention to exit within 10 yr, smaller size, and location in the Southeast when compared with those meeting the tighter standard. The results suggest that the stricter scheme favors larger farms that are more committed to production and are less likely to be sole or family proprietorships.

Windowed Fourier transform profilometry based on improved S-transform

A novel method for windowed Fourier transform (WFT) profilometry is presented. This method is based on improved S-transform. The impact of the second order derivative of the phase (φ''(b)) to the ridge of S-transform is derived, and how to estimate this deviation is discussed. An important conclusion that more accurate instantaneous frequency can be obtained after removing this deviation is shown. Thus, an accurate phase map of the fringe pattern is obtained by using the WFT based on the window size map, and this map is related to the instantaneous frequency. The method is compared with the WFT based on the wavelet transform. A numerical simulation and experimental example have shown its validity in practical applications.

Phenanthrene biodegradation by halophilic Martelella sp. AD-3

AIMS

To investigate the phenanthrene-degrading abilities of the halophilic Martelella species AD-3 under different conditions and to propose a possible metabolic pathway.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Using HPLC and GC-MS analyses, the phenanthrene-degrading properties of the halophilic strain AD-3 and its metabolites were analysed. This isolate efficiently degraded phenanthrene under multiple conditions characterized by different concentrations of phenanthrene (100-400 mg l(-1) ), a broad range of salinities (0·1-15%) and varying pHs (6·0-10·0). Phenanthrene (200 mg l(-1) ) was completely depleted under 3% salinity and a pH of 9·0 within 6 days. The potential toxicity of phenanthrene and its generated metabolites towards the bacterium Vibrio fischeri was significantly reduced 10 days after the bioassay. On the basis of the identified metabolites, enzyme activities and the utilization of probable intermediates, phenanthrene degradation by strain AD-3 was proposed in two distinct routes. In route I, metabolism of phenanthrene was initiated by the dioxygenation at C-3,4 via 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, 1-naphthol, salicylic acid and gentisic acid. In route II, phenanthrene was metabolized to 9-phenanthrol and 9,10-phenanthrenequinone. Further study indicated that strain AD-3 exhibited a wide spectrum of substrate utilization including other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that strain AD-3 possesses a high phenanthrene biodegradability and that the degradation occurs via two routes that remarkably reduce toxicity.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

To the best of our knowledge, this work presents the first report of phenanthrene degradation by a halophilic PAH-degrading strain via two routes. In the future, the use of halophilic strain AD-3 provides a potential application for efficient PAH-contaminated hypersaline field remediation.

An effect comparison between Furlow double opposing Z-plasty and two-flap palatoplasty on velopharyngeal closure

The aim of this study was to compare velopharyngeal closure between patients who underwent Furlow palatoplasty and two-flap palatoplasty. A retrospective review of 88 patients with incomplete palate cleft was performed. 48 patients (17 males; 31 females) aged 2-28 years received Furlow palatoplasty. 40 patients (17 males; 23 females) aged 2-21 years received two-flap palatoplasty. Velopharyngeal function was categorized as adequate, marginal or inadequate. Complications associated with the operation were documented. Statistically significant differences were not found amongst sex distribution, age at operation, follow-up time, and preoperative speech intelligibility. After primary repairs using Furlow and two-flap palatoplasty, the surgeon's incidence of postoperative palatal fistula was 0%. The complications were not significantly different between the two groups. The authors achieved the lowest reported incidence of postoperative palatal fistulas in primary Furlow palatoplasty. The outcomes of the velopharyngeal closure were better in patients who received Furlow palatoplasty (P<0.05). Furlow palatoplasty was more effective than two-flap palatoplasty in obtaining perfect velopharyngeal closure. A probable explanation may be that Furlow palatoplasty can reposition and overlap the divergent palatal muscle and lengthen the soft palate.

Visualization and simulated surgery of the left ventricle in the virtual pathological heart of the Virtual Physiological Human

Ischaemic heart failure remains a significant health and economic problem worldwide. This paper presents a user-friendly software system that will form a part of the virtual pathological heart of the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH2) project, currently being developed under the European Commission Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) programme. VPH2 is an integrated medicine project, which will create a suite of modelling, simulation and visualization tools for patient-specific prediction and planning in cases of post-ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction. The work presented here describes a three-dimensional interactive visualization for simulating left ventricle restoration surgery, comprising the operations of cutting, stitching and patching, and for simulating the elastic deformation of the ventricle to its post-operative shape. This will supply the quantitative measurements required for the post-operative prediction tools being developed in parallel in the same project.

The heart: a novel gonadotrophin-releasing hormone target

Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a hypothalamic hormone transported by the hypophyseal portal bloodstream to the pituitary gland, where it binds to GnRH receptors. However, GnRH receptors are expressed in multiple extrapituitary tissues, although their physiological relevance is not fully understood. GnRH agonists are employed extensively in steroid deprivation therapy, especially to suppress testosterone in prostate cancer. Because GnRH agonist treatment is associated with increased coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, we investigated the impact of GnRH on cardiomyocyte contractile function. Cardiomyocytes were isolated from mouse hearts and mechanical and intracellular Ca(2+) properties were evaluated, including peak shortening amplitude (PS), time-to-PS (TPS), time-to-90% relengthening (TR(90) ), maximal velocity of shortening/relengthening (± dLdt), electrically-stimulated rise in Fura-2 fluorescence intensity (ΔFFI) and Ca(2+) decay. GnRH (1 ng/ml) increased PS, ± dL/dt, resting FFI and ΔFFI, and prolonged TPS, TR(90) and Ca(2+) decay time, whereas 1 pg/ml GnRH affected all these cardiomyocyte variables, except TPS, resting FFI and ΔFFI. A concentration of 1 fg/ml GnRH and the GnRH cleavage product, GnRH-[1-5] (300 pg/ml), had no effect on any cardiomyocyte parameter. The 1 pg/ml GnRH-elicited responses were attenuated by the GnRH receptor antagonist cetrorelix (10 μm), the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H89 (1 μm) but not the protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine chloride (1 μm). These data revealed that GnRH is capable of regulating cardiac contractile function via a GnRH receptor/PKA-dependent mechanism. If present in the human heart, dysfunction of such a system may play an important role in cardiac pathology observed in men treated with GnRH agonists for prostate cancer.

Hydrogen isotope correction for laser instrument measurement bias at low water vapor concentration using conventional isotope analyses: application to measurements from Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii

The hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of water vapor can be measured with commercially available laser spectroscopy analyzers in real time. Operation of the laser systems in relatively dry air is difficult because measurements are non-linear as a function of humidity at low water concentrations. Here we use field-based sampling coupled with traditional mass spectrometry techniques for assessing linearity and calibrating laser spectroscopy systems at low water vapor concentrations. Air samples are collected in an evacuated 2 L glass flask and the water is separated from the non-condensable gases cryogenically. Approximately 2 µL of water are reduced to H(2) gas and measured on an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. In a field experiment at the Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), we ran Picarro and Los Gatos Research (LGR) laser analyzers for a period of 25 days in addition to periodic sample collection in evacuated flasks. When the two laser systems are corrected to the flask data, they are strongly coincident over the entire 25 days. The δ(2)H values were found to change by over 200‰ over 2.5 min as the boundary layer elevation changed relative to MLO. The δ(2)H values ranged from -106 to -332‰, and the δ(18)O values (uncorrected) ranged from -12 to -50‰. Raw data from laser analyzers in environments with low water vapor concentrations can be normalized to the international V-SMOW scale by calibration to the flask data measured conventionally. Bias correction is especially critical for the accurate determination of deuterium excess in dry air.

Using neural network as a screening and educational tool for abnormal glucose tolerance in the community

Background

Accurate, simple and non-invasive tools are needed for efficient screening of abnormal glu-cose tolerance (AGT) and educating the general public.

Aim

To develop a neural network-based initial screening and educational model for AGT.

Data and methods

230 subjects with AGT and 3,243 subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were allocated into training, validation and test sets using stratified randomization. The ratios of AGT versus NGT in three groups were 150:50, 30:570 and 50:950, respectively. A feed-forward neural network (FFNN) was trained to predict 2-hour plasma glucose of 75 g Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) using age, family history of diabetes, weight, height, waist and hip circumference. The screening performance was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and the partial AUC (in the range of false positive rates between 35 and 65%) and compared to those from logistic regression, linear regression and ADA Risk Test.

Results

Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and percentage that needed further testing at 7.2 mmol/L in test group were 90.0%(95%CI: 78.6 to 95.7%), 47.7% (95%CI: 44.5 to 50.9%), 49.8% (95%CI: 46.7 to 52.9%) and 54.2% (95%CI: 51.1 to 57.3%) respectively. The entire and partial AUCs were 0.70 (95%CI: 0.62 to 0.78) and 0.26 (95%CI: 0.22 to 0.30). The partial AUC of the NN was higher than those of logistic regression (p = 0.06), linear regression (p = 0.06) and ADA Risk Test (P = 0.006).

Conclusion

NN can be used as a high-sensitive and non-invasive initial screening and educational tool for AGT.

A role of Miz-1 in Gfi-1-mediated transcriptional repression of CDKN1A

Zinc-finger (ZF) transcriptional repressor Gfi-1 plays an important role in hematopoiesis and inner ear development, and also functions as an oncoprotein that cooperates with c-Myc in lymphomagenesis. Gfi-1 represses transcription by directly binding to conserved sequences in the promoters of its target genes. CDKN1A encoding p21^Cip1 has been identified as a Gfi-1 target gene and shown to contain Gfi-1 binding sites in the upstream promoter region. We show here that Gfi-1 represses CDKN1A in a manner that is independent of its DNA binding activity. Gfi-1 interacts with POZ-ZF transcription factor Miz-1, originally shown to be a c-Myc interacting partner, and via Miz-1 binds to CDKN1A core promoter. Interestingly, Gfi-1 and c-Myc, through Miz-1, form a ternary complex on the CDKN1A promoter, and act in collaboration to repress CDKN1A. Gfi-1 knockdown results in enhanced levels of p21^Cip1 and attenuated cell proliferation. Notably, similar to c-Myc, the expression of Gfi-1 is downregulated by TGFβ and the level of Gfi-1 influences the response of cell to the cytostatic effect of TGFβ. Our data reveal an important mechanism by which Gfi-1 regulates cell proliferation and may also have implications for understanding the role of Gfi-1 in lymphomagenesis.

High-speed modulation of a compact silicon ring resonator based on a reverse-biased pn diode

High speed modulation based on a compact silicon ring resonator operating in depletion mode is demonstrated. The device exhibits an electrical small signal bandwidth of 19 GHz. The device is therefore a candidate for highly compact, wide bandwidth modulators for a variety of applications.

Innate Immune Responses in Swine Resuscitated from Severe Traumatic Hemorrhagic Shock with Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carrier-201

Hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier-201 transports oxygen and improves survival in swine with hemorrhagic shock, but has potential to be immune activating. Herein, we evaluated HBOC-201's immune effects in swine with more severe hemorrhagic shock due to soft tissue injury and 55% blood volume catheter withdrawal over 15 minutes followed by fluid resuscitation at 20 minutes with HBOC-201, Hextend, or no treatment (NON) before hospital arrival. Survival rates were similar with HBOC-201 and Hextend (p > 0.05), but were higher than in (p = 0.007). There were no significant group differences in blood cell count, percentages of leukocyte sub-populations and immunophenotype (CD4:CD8 ratio), adhesion markers expression (neutrophil CD11b; monocyte or neutrophil CD49d) and apoptosis. There was a trend to higher plasma IL-10 in HBOC-201 and groups vs. Hextend. We conclude that in swine with severe controlled HS and soft tissue injury, immune responses are similar with resuscitation with HBOC-201 and Hextend.