StAR protein is expressed in both medulla and cortex of the bovine and rat adrenal gland

We have employed polyclonal antibodies to a peptide sequence of bovine steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein and human placental 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) to determine the localisation and distribution of these proteins in rat and bovine adrenal glands. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated the presence of StAR protein in the zona glomerulosa (ZG), zona fasciculata (ZF), zona reticularis (ZR) and in the medulla of both species. For 3beta-HSD, immunostaining was observed in the ZG, ZF and ZR of the rat adrenal and was absent in the medulla. Immunoblotting experiments showed intense bands for StAR protein (30 kDa, 37 kDa) in the mitochondria of bovine ZG, ZF and medulla and a less intense band (30 kDa) in the microsomes. In rat ZG and ZF/R mitochondria only the 30 kDa protein was present. For 3beta-HSD, an intense band (42 kDa) was found in microsomes and mitochondria of rat and bovine ZG and ZFR. A very faint signal for 3beta-HSD was seen in adrenal medulla. In conclusion, StAR (or a closely related) protein is present throughout the adrenal gland in rat and bovine species in contrast to 3beta-HSD which is confined to the steroidogenic zones. The possible function of StAR protein in the adrenal medulla merits investigation.     

Thermo-acoustic effects on images for high resolution scanning acoustic microscopy

A novel scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) technique employing thermal effects to improve the contrast of acoustic images has been demonstrated. Experiments were performed on a buried channel in a thick perspex block; it was found that short periods of sample heating can lead to a stronger image contrast.<>     

Estimation of time-varying delay time in nonstationary linearsystems: an approach to monitor human operator adaptation in manualtracking tasks

Adaptability is one of man's advantages over machines. Perhaps one of the reasons for our limited understanding about human adaptation during manual tracking tasks is that we have only limited tools to identify the model coefficients (especially delay time) of an adapting human operator. In this paper, we introduce a discrete time recursive delay identifier (RDI) capable of simultaneously estimating a human operator's nonstationary delay time and linear model coefficients. At its core lies the extended Kalman filter (EKF). Our goal to obtain fractional delay time estimates was realized by using the bicubic interpolation scheme as part of the EKF to provide subsample magnitude and derivative estimates of the observed input/output time series. While this theoretically limits the RDI applicability to band-limited or differentiable signals, this is seldom a concern in practice. Based on data from simulated and experimental time varying tracking tasks, we show the RDI's potential to substantially increase our understanding about human adaptations thus perhaps offering new avenues for machine adaptation     

Dynamic TCP Acknowledgment and Other Stories about e/(e - 1)

Abstract. We present the first optimal randomized online algorithms for the TCP acknowledgment problem [3] and the Bahncard problem [5]. These problems are well known to be generalizations of the classical online ski-rental problem, however, they appeared to be harder. In this paper we demonstrate that a number of online algorithms which have optimal competitive ratios of e/(e-1) , including these, are fundamentally no more complex than ski rental. Our results also suggest a clear paradigm for solving ski-rental-like problems.     

Serotonin-deficient mutants and male mating behavior in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Defining a behavior that requires the function of specific neurons in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans can allow one to screen for mutations that disrupt the specification or function of those neurons. We identified serotonin-immunoreactive neurons required for tail curling or "turning" behavior exhibited by C. elegans males during mating. Males mutant in three different genes that reduce serotonin expression, cat-1, cat-4, and bas-1, exhibited defects in turning behavior similar to those of wild-type males in which these neurons were ablated. The turning defect of cat-4 males was rescued by exogenous serotonin, consistent with the idea that their behavioral defect is caused by a lack of serotonin. While the serotonin-deficient mutants we analyzed shared certain behavioral traits, they were blocked for serotonin synthesis at different steps. Analysis of these and additional serotonin-deficient mutants may help us understand how a neuron controls the expression of a serotonergic phenotype.     

Intensive sheep and beef production from pasture — A New Zealand perspective of concerns,opportunities and challenges

This paper details current production trends for sheep and beef cattle production in New Zealand and gives some insight into the opportunities for improvement based on New Zealand research at Massey University. Further it outlines some of the challenges the industries face in the near future. The New Zealand climate favours pasture growth and this is the key to sheep and beef cattle production with over 95% of the diet being grazed pasture or crop. Exports are the focus of the industry with 95% of sheep meat and wool, and 80% of beef exported. There have been considerable gains in production over the last 20 years but there still remains a huge opportunity for further intensification through breeding sheep at an earlier age, increasing the weight of lambs weaned per ewe per year and improving beef production systems. These improvements need to occur within a framework of minimal environmental footprint and produce products that are in demand in the high end international markets.     

Permanent Magnet DC Motors Design Criteria and Operation Advantages

Permanent magnet dc motors have found many successful applications in industry. In particular, the machine tool industry utilizes the major share of all the permanent magnet motors produced. These motors typically exhibit greater stability of operation, linearity, higher maximum speeds, straightforward design, and higher efficiency. The applications to which these motors are addressed, however, impose fairly sophisticated design choices to maintain high performance along with optimization of unit design. In trying to optimize motor design without loss of performance, the selection of magnet material has the greatest impact upon eventual motor performance, size, and cost. The criteria for selection of permanent magnet material are reviewed, and the major advantages to using this type of motor in comparison with a wound field dc motor are specified.     

Effects of characteristics of image quality in an immersive environment

Image quality issues such as field of view (FOV) and resolution are important for evaluating "presence" and simulator sickness (SS) in virtual environments (VEs). This research examined effects on postural stability of varying FOV, image resolution, and scene content in an immersive visual display. Two different scenes (a photograph of a fountain and a simple radial pattern) at two different resolutions were tested using six FOVs (30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 deg.). Both postural stability, recorded by force plates, and subjective difficulty ratings varied as a function of FOV, scene content, and image resolution. Subjects exhibited more balance disturbance and reported more difficulty in maintaining posture in the wide-FOV, high-resolution, and natural scene conditions.