The role of military forces in emergency management (civil-military interaction).

Those involved in emergency response and recovery, including the military, require an acute level of awareness of livelihoods that rely on livestock and their associated implications for human security. Emergencies cause injury and death and devastate livestock-based livelihoods, a key characteristic of the lives of many of the world's rural poor. The role for military forces in emergency management is expanding, and this can cause friction during an emergency due to competing agendas and objectives.

Mechanosensing through cooperative interactions between myosin II and the actin crosslinker cortexillin I.

Background: Mechanosensing governs many processes from molecular to organismal levels, including during cytokinesis where it ensures successful and symmetrical cell division. Although many proteins are now known to be force sensitive, myosin motors with their ATPase activity and force-sensitive mechanical steps are well poised to facilitate cellular mechanosensing. For a myosin motor to experience tension, the actin filament must also be anchored.

Pathogenicity of infectious bursal disease virus variant AL2 in young chickens.

Limited information is available on the effects of the recently emerged infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) variant AL2. In this study, the effects of inoculation of 4-day-old chickens with increasing doses of IBDV AL2 were characterized. IBDV AL2 induced neither overt clinical signs nor mortality.

Modeling cellular deformations using the level set formalism.

Background: Many cellular processes involve substantial shape changes. Traditional simulations of these cell shape changes require that grids and boundaries be moved as the cell's shape evolves. Here we demonstrate that accurate cell shape changes can be recreated using level set methods (LSM), in which the cellular shape is defined implicitly, thereby eschewing the need for updating boundaries.

Comparison of methods for detection of pinworms in mice and rats.

Though pinworm infestation remains common in laboratory rodent colonies, there is little information regarding current practices for pinworm detection and their relative efficacy. The authors surveyed research institutions to find out the prevalence of pinworm infestations and the detection methods they used. They also tested mice and rats from colonies that were known to be infested with Syphacia sp.