Instrumental Learning Within the Rat Spinal Cord: Localization of the Essential Neural Circuit.

Following spinal transection of the upper thoracic spinal cord, male Sprague-Dawley rats given legshock whenever a hindlimb is extended learn to maintain the leg in a flexed position. The region of the cord that mediates this instrumental learning was isolated using neuroanatomical tracing, localized infusion of lidocaine, and surgical transections. DiI and Fluoro-Gold microinjection at the site of shock application labeled motor neuron bodies of lamina IX in the lower lumbar region. Local application of the Na++ channel blocker lidocaine disrupted learning when it was applied over a region extending from the lower lumbar (L3) to upper sacral (S2) cord. The drug had no effect rostral or caudal to this region. Surgical transections as low as L4 had no effect on learning. Learning also survived a dual transection at L4 and S3, but not L4 and S2. The results suggest that the essential neural circuit lies between L4 and S3. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A field comparison of neck and shoulder postures in symptomatic and asymptomatic office workers

Poor neck and shoulder postures have been suggested to be a cause of neck and shoulder pain in computer workers. The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the head, neck and shoulder postures of office workers with and without symptoms in these regions, in their actual work environments. The two all female subject groups reported significantly different discomfort scores across five trials repeated in a single working day. The results of repeated video capture and two-dimensional motion analysis showed that there were trends for increased head tilt and neck flexion postures in the symptomatic subjects (n = 8), compared to the asymptomatic subjects (n = 8). Symptomatic subjects also tended to have more protracted acromions compared with asymptomatic subjects and showed greater movement excursions in the head segment and the acromion. All subjects demonstrated an approximately 10% increase in forward head posture from their relaxed sitting postures when working with the computer display, but there were no significant changes in posture as a result of time-at-work.     

伊士曼推出可持续发展宏伟计划,积极应对全球挑战

伊士曼最近宣布了2030年可持续发展宏伟目标,并发布了2020年可持续发展报告.该报告强调了伊士曼对可持续创新的承诺,同时随着不断增长的全球人口,伊士曼为应对气候变化、塑料废弃物危机以及社会不平等这三大长期潜在挑战,设定了可持续发展目标.     

Col4a3-/- Mice on Balb/C Background Have Less Severe Cardiorespiratory Phenotype and SGLT2 Over-Expression Compared to 129x1/SvJ and C57Bl/6 Backgrounds

Alport syndrome (AS) is a hereditary renal disorder with no etiological therapy. In the preclinical Col4a3^-/- model of AS, disease progression and severity vary depending on mouse strain. The sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) is emerging as an attractive therapeutic target in cardiac/renal pathologies, but its application to AS remains untested. This study investigates cardiorespiratory function and SGLT2 renal expression in Col4a3^-/- mice from three different genetic backgrounds, 129x1/SvJ, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C. male Col4a3^-/- 129x1/SvJ mice displayed alterations consistent with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Female, but not male, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C Col4a3^-/- mice exhibited mild changes in systolic and diastolic function of the heart by echocardiography. Male C57Bl/6 Col4a3^-/- mice presented systolic dysfunction by invasive hemodynamic analysis. All strains except Balb/C males demonstrated alterations in respiratory function. SGLT2 expression was significantly increased in AS compared to WT mice from all strains. However, cardiorespiratory abnormalities and SGLT2 over-expression were significantly less in AS Balb/C mice compared to the other two strains. Systolic blood pressure was significantly elevated only in mutant 129x1/SvJ mice. The results provide further evidence for strain-dependent cardiorespiratory and hypertensive phenotype variations in mouse AS models, corroborated by renal SGLT2 expression, and support ongoing initiatives to develop SGLT2 inhibitors for the treatment of AS.     

快速煅烧分解石灰石对其吸收CO2和SO2的影响

在加热过程中,应用一种新型的快速加热装置——铂膜反应器,及时准确地获得样品质量和颗粒温度,来研究石灰石的煅烧分解,并对石灰石加热速率高达750℃/s下的分解反应特性,及其对分解后产生的氧化钙吸收CO2和脱硫的化学反应特性进行了研究.实验表明,在初始加热阶段,高升温速率明显阻碍了煅烧分解的进行,这对分解后的CaO吸收CO2的效果影响不大.当加热速率升高时,石灰石分解后产生的CaO吸收CO2和脱硫过程中,钙利用率显著下降.     

Effect of temperature on the dielectric properties of low acyl gellan gel

Gellan gum is an increasingly popular and a naturally occurring hydrocolloid. It is widely used in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries as a stabilizer, emulsifier, thickener, and gelling agent. The gel is also used as a model material to study microwave heating dynamics of biological materials in the food processing industry. In this study, baseline data on dielectric properties of 1% gellan gel containing 0.17% and 0.3% CaCl₂ were collected at frequencies between 0.2 and 20 GHz and temperatures between 10 and 100 °C. These data are compared with those of distilled water containing similar ionic concentrations. Models describing the behavior of the dielectric constant, loss factor, loss tangent and the penetration depth for 0.2–3.2 GHz were developed. These models can be effectively used in microwave food processing applications of gellan gel, which will save considerable time and effort often used in empirically determining the dielectric spectra.     

Carbonation in concrete infrastructure in the context of global climate change – Part 1: Experimental results and model development

There is nearly unanimous consensus amongst scientists that increasing greenhouse gas emissions, including CO₂ generated by human activity, are effecting the Earth’s climate. Increasing atmospheric CO₂ emissions will likely increase the rates of carbonation in reinforced concrete structures. However, there is a lack of reliable models to predict the depth of carbonation as a function of time.To address this deficiency, a numerical model involving simultaneous solution of the transient diffusion and reaction equations of CO₂ and Ca(OH)₂ was developed. The model successfully includes the effects of variations in various properties such as porosity, humidity, temperature, atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and chemical reaction rates.The applicability of the model was confirmed after calibration using data from accelerated carbonation experiments, and the model is used to evaluate the possible effects of climate change by inputting various future climate scenarios in Part 2.     

Sustainable construction: life cycle energy analysis of construction on sloping sites for residential buildings

In 2010, the Australian residential construction sector contributed about 28% of the value of all construction and was responsible for 8% of the total energy consumption. Residential construction will continue to increase to cope with the demand due to population growth. Owing to land scarcity, construction on sloping sites has become a common construction method for residential development in Australia. This method has economic benefits but poses environmental issues as it damages topsoil, disturbs natural drainage and groundwater pathways and imposes additional stress on soil under fill. The life cycle energy consumption of the construction process is examined in relation to residential projects on sloping sites on a range of slopes and soil types in New South Wales, Australia. Forty-one detached dwellings were selected and a service life of 60 years assumed for the study. The research findings reveal that the slope for each type of soil has a positive correlation with life cycle energy consumption. As part of the onsite construction process, the results also show that the energy consumption of construction on sloping sites plays a significant factor in the life cycle energy analysis of a building.