Previous investigations indicated that a correlation exists between the preprocessed dual energy X-ray images of an airport security scanner and subjective tenderness in meat samples PCT ...International Patent Application No. PCT/NZ01/00108, 2001. A method for the non-invasive measurement of properties of meat. Filed 11 June 2001. We performed studies to confirm the patented claims and to pin-point the correlation factors based on unprocessed X-ray images. In two separate trials the peak shear force was determined on cooked samples as a measure of objective tenderness, and DEXA images scanned. The results of Trial 1 suggest that DEXA scans of whole steaks are suitable for tenderness estimation, as a coefficient of determination of
R
2
=
0.69 was calculated for a multiple non-linear regression. These results need to be considered in light of high within-steak coefficients of variation (mean
=
16% and max
=
27%). An additional, though weak correlation (
R
2
=
0.26), was found between a single DEXA parameter correlated to composition and mechanical tenderness. Apparently small sample size and scanning of cooked and frozen meat samples rather than raw steaks were at least partially responsible for the inconclusive results of the second trial, where no correlation could be found exceeding
R
2
=
0.12. More research is encouraged using state-of-the-art scanning techniques and optimized experimental design.
Undergraduate student engagement in research increases retention and degree completion, especially for students who are underrepresented in science. Several approaches have been adopted to increase ...research opportunities including curriculum based undergraduate research opportunities (CUREs), in which research is embedded into course content. Here we report on efforts to tackle a different challenge: providing research opportunities to students engaged in remote learning or who are learning at satellite campuses or community colleges with limited research infrastructure. In our project we engaged students learning remotely or at regional centers to map gene expression in the mouse brain. In this project we mapped expression of the Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule like 1 (Dscaml1) gene in mouse brain using a LacZ expression reporter line. Identifying where Dscaml1 is expressed in the brain is an important next step in determining if its roles in development and function in the retina are conserved in the rest of the brain. Students working remotely reconstruct brain montages and annotated Dscaml1 expression in the brain of mice carrying one or two copies of the gene trap. We built on these findings by further characterizing Dscaml1 expression in inhibitory neurons of the visual pathway. These results build on and extend previous findings and demonstrate the utility of including distance learners in an active research group for both the student learners and the research team. We conclude with best practices we have developed based on this and other distance learner focused projects.
The retina is an intricately organized neural tissue built on cone and rod pathways for color and night vision. Genetic mutations that disrupt the proper function of the rod circuit contribute to ...blinding diseases including retinitis pigmentosa and congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB). Down Syndrome cell adhesion molecule like 1 (Dscaml1) is expressed by rods, rod bipolar cells (RBCs), and sub-populations of amacrine cells, and has been linked to a middle age onset of CSNB in humans. However, how Dscaml1 contributes to this visual deficit remains unexplored. Here, we probed Dscaml1's role in the maintenance of the rod-to-RBC synapse using a loss of function mouse model. We used immunohistochemistry to investigate the anatomical formation and maintenance of the rod-to-RBC synapse in the young, adult, and aging retina. We generated 3D reconstructions, using serial electron micrographs, of rod spherules and RBCs to measure the number of invaginating neurites, RBC dendritic tip number, and RBC mitochondrial morphology. We find that while rod-to-RBC synapses form and are maintained, similar to wildtype, that there is an increase in the number of invaginating neurites in rod spherules, a reduction in RBC dendritic tips, and reduced mitochondrial volume and complexity in the Dscaml1 mutant retina compared to controls. We also observed precocious sprouting of RBC dendrites into the outer nuclear layer (ONL) of the Dscaml1 mutant retina compared to controls. These results contribute to our knowledge of Dscaml1's role in rod circuit development and maintenance and give additional insight into possible genetic therapy targets for blinding diseases and disorders like CSNB.
Much capillary electrochromatography (CEC) work is carried out on bonded silica packings which offer many advantages: the number of such packings which are available; the fact that the chemistry of ...bonding and the separation process are fairly well understood; and the possibility of the transfer to CEC of existing HPLC methods. Packing methods for the preparation of CEC columns have been investigated. The problems inherent in the use of burned-in frits remains an obstacle, but can be at least partially overcome by minimising the length and by silanisation. The influence of a variety of mobile phase variables on aspects of CEC is in agreement with theory for: ionic strength, organic content (including isoeluotropy), and pH. Temperature can be used as a variable to change column selectivity in CEC. The influence of pH on electroosmotic flow (EOF) by changing the degree of ionisation of residual silanol groups is similar for a wide range of neutral bonded groups, but is much less marked for bonded sulphonic acid groups. The EOF may be reversed for bonded groups containing nitrogen.
Study Objective. To ascertain the relationship between warfarin therapy and subsequent hip fracture in a large elderly population.
Design. Retrospective, population‐based cohort study.
Setting. ...Population‐based health care administrative databases for Ontario, Canada.
Patients. Elderly patients receiving warfarin (52,701 patients), thyroid replacement therapy (40,555), an oral corticosteroid (43,915), or a proton pump inhibitor (60,383). The proton pump inhibitor group served as controls.
Measurements and Main Results. The association between warfarin therapy and subsequent hospitalization for hip fracture in elderly patients was examined by researching administrative data from January 1, 1994‐March 31, 1999, for the elderly population of Ontario. Relative to patients receiving proton pump inhibitors, patients receiving warfarin (adjusted risk ratio aRR 0.94, 95% confidence interval CI 0.81–1.09) or thyroid replacement therapy (aRR 1.02, 95% CI 0.89–1.18) incurred similar risks of hip fracture. As expected, patients receiving oral corticosteroids incurred an increased risk (aRR 1.44, 95% CI 1.21–1.70) relative to patients receiving proton pump inhibitors.
Conclusion. Warfarin was not associated with increased risk of hip fracture.
A small sub-catchment in the western Australian wheatbelt was intensively monitored for approximately 5 years to investigate the effect of an established surface water management system, and ...associated tree belts, on the flow of water in the landscape. This change in approach to land management attempts to address the loss of farm productivity due to water logging and secondary salinity. The paper describes the geomorphological setting and the installation of various instrumentation used to monitor the flow of water at both field and catchment scale.
The occurrence of seasonal water logging was studied across a small (639
ha) catchment in the south-west of Western Australia. There are two groundwater systems in the catchment, a seasonal aquifer ...perched on the ‘B’ horizon of a duplex soil, and a deeper, perennial system which upslope is 6–8
m below the surface, but intersects the surface in the valley floor. The perched aquifer causes water logging across about 25% of the catchment. Water logging risk was predicted using a steady state hydrological model (Topog_Simul, Water Resource Res. 22 (1986) 794) and a hydrogeomorphic classification Hydrogeological characterisation of catchments using Hydrogeomorphic Analysis of Regional Spatial Data (HARSD): characterisation of Axe Creek Catchment, Vic., Australia. In: Tanaguchi, M. (Ed.), Subsurface Hydrological Response to Land Cover and Land Use Change. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht and both models compared favourably with occurrence mapped from air photography. The patterns of water logging occurrence also compared well with simulations using a dynamic catchment model (Topog_Dynamic, Modelling drainage and transient water logging in an agricultural catchment. In: Proceedings of the 25th Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium and 2nd International Conference on Water Resources and Environment Research, Brisbane, 6–8 July 1999. Water ’99. Publ. Inst. Eng. Aust., p. 999; Agric. Water Manage. 39 (1999b) 283). The dynamic modelling showed that the impact on transient water logging of an existing drain and tree system in the catchment is only local to the area of the trees and drains, and does not contribute in a major way to the transient water logging further down the slope. However, this modelling, as well as long-term groundwater simulations (FlowTube, Calibration and modelling of groundwater processes in the Liverpool Plains. CSIRO Land and Water Technical Report 5/00.), showed that over time the trees would help lower groundwater relative to the “do nothing different” scenario. The long-term modelling also showed that a substantial portion of the catchment would have to be planted in order to have a major impact on groundwater discharge at the valley floor, and hence on salinity of both the soil and the stream.
This article describes the process of developing an empowerment approach in a comprehensive child development program that defined its mission as empowerment of families living in poverty. This ...description is derived from a seven-year organizational ethnographic research project that included data from participant observation, agency documents, individual interviews of staff and family participants, and focus group interviews with staff. Findings concerning empowerment are presented in two areas: (1) resolution of contrasts and dichotomies related to the nature of services, understanding staff roles, and working with the federal government; and (2) lessons learned for program effectiveness. Implications for empowerment-oriented social work practice and policy are offered.
