The effects of coarse ground corn, whole sorghum, and a prebiotic on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and cecal microbial populations in broilers fed diets with and without corn distillers dried grains with solubles.

Two experiments were conducted from 0 to 21 d of age and evaluated diets containing combinations of fine or coarse ground corn (557 or 1,387 μm, respectively), whole sorghum, 15% corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), or a prebiotic-type product containing yeast cell wall, lactose, citric acid, and other fermentable carbohydrates. In experiment 1, feed efficiency was decreased (P < 0.001) after the first week of age for broilers fed diets containing whole sorghum, whereas broilers receiving diets with 15% DDGS had increased feed efficiency (P < 0.

Dynamics of Soybean Rust Epidemics in Sequential Plantings of Soybean Cultivars in Nigeria.

Soybean rust, caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is an important foliar disease of soybean. Disease severity is dependent on several environmental factors, although the precise nature of most of these factors under field conditions is not known. To help understand the environmental factors that affect disease development, soybean rust epidemics were studied in Nigeria by sequentially planting an early-maturing, highly susceptible cultivar, TGx 1485-1D, and a late-maturing, moderately susceptible cultivar, TGx 1448-2E, at 30- to 45-day intervals from August 2004 to September 2006.

Beamforming using spatial matched filtering with annular arrays (L).

A linear array beamforming method for ultrasonic B-mode imaging using spatial matched filtering (SMF) and a rectangular aperture geometry was recently proposed Kim et al., [J. Acoust.

Bandwidth and resolution enhancement through pulse compression.

A novel pulse compression technique is developed that improves the axial resolution of an ultrasonic imaging system and provides a boost in the echo signal-to-noise ratio (eSNR). The new technique, called the resolution enhancement compression (REC) technique, was validated with simulations and experimental measurements. Image quality was examined in terms of three metrics: the eSNR, the bandwidth, and the axial resolution through the modulation transfer function (MTF).

Efficient heterogeneous catalytic reduction of perchlorate in water.

A new heterogeneous catalyst that promotes the reduction by hydrogen of perchlorate ion in water under mild conditions has been developed. The catalyst is prepared by adsorption of a rhenium(VII) precursor (either ammonium perrhenate or methylrhenium trioxide) onto carbon powder containing 5% palladium by weight. Under standard batch conditions of room temperature, 1 bar of hydrogen, and 200 ppm perchlorate (as HClO4), reduction proceeded to less than 1 ppm in as little as 5 h.

Detecting transient changes in dynamic displays: the more you look, the less you see.

Objective: Two experiments examined the detectability of transient changes in cluttered and dynamic displays and optimal scan strategies for performance.

Background: Research has demonstrated that onset changes are prioritized by the attention system and onsets are often used to signal important display changes. However, research has mostly used uncluttered, static displays and has largely ignored the role of scan strategy.

Correlates of physical activity among individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Background: There is accumulating evidence that individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are less physically active than nondiseased populations. One method for increasing the level of participation in physical activity among MS patients involves the identification of factors that correlate with physical activity and that are modifiable by a well-designed intervention.

Purpose: This study adopts a social cognitive perspective and examines self-efficacy, enjoyment, social support, and disability as correlates of participation in physical activity among individuals with MS.

Working memory for complex scenes: age differences in frontal and hippocampal activations.

Age differences in frontal and hippocampal activations in working memory were investigated during a maintenance and subsequent probe interval in an event-related fMRI design. Younger and older adults either viewed or maintained photographs of real-world scenes (extended visual or maintenance conditions) over a 4-sec interval before responding to a probe fragment from the studied picture. Behavioral accuracy was largely equivalent across age and conditions on the probe task, but underlying neural activations differed.

Zinc, iron, and sodium in hair of deer from areas of contrasting soil productivity.

The contribution of soils to animal biology through the soil's effect on the ecosystem is an important concept in ecology. Zinc, Fe, and Na contents were determined in autumnal collections of hair of fawn white-tailed doe deer (Virginianus odocoilcus) from two areas of contrasting soil productivity. The area-weighted soil productivity of one area was 40 compared with 79 for the other area.

Comparing prototype-based and exemplar-based accounts of category learning and attentional allocation.

Exemplar theory was motivated by research that often used D. L. Medin and M.

Investigation of human brain hemodynamics by simultaneous near-infrared spectroscopy and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

The aim of this study was to compare functional cerebral hemodynamic signals obtained simultaneously by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The contribution of superficial layers (skin and skull) to the NIRS signal was also assessed. Both methods were used to generate functional maps of the motor cortex area during a periodic sequence of stimulation by finger motion and rest.

Speech errors, phonotactic constraints, and implicit learning: a study of the role of experience in language production.

Speech errors follow the phonotactics of the language being spoken. For example, in English, if [n] is mispronounced as [n], the [n] will always appear in a syllable coda. The authors created an analogue to this phenomenon by having participants recite lists of consonant-vowel-consonant syllables in 4 sessions on different days.

Neural basis of hearing in real-world situations.

In real-world situations animals are exposed to multiple sound sources originating from different locations. Most vertebrates have little difficulty in attending to selected sounds in the presence of distractors, even though sounds may overlap in time and frequency. This chapter selectively reviews behavioral and physiological data relevant to hearing in complex auditory environments.

Computation of the signal-to-noise ratio of high-frequency magnetic resonance imagers.

A method of computing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in high-frequency magnetic resonance (MR) imaging systems is presented. The method uses a numerical solution to Maxwell's equations which can capture all relevant electrodynamic effects at high B0-field strengths. Using this method, the intrinsic SNR of both volume and surface coils loaded with the human head is calculated as a function of frequency.

Localization of multiple sound sources with two microphones.

This paper presents a two-microphone technique for localization of multiple sound sources. Its fundamental structure is adopted from a binaural signal-processing scheme employed in biological systems for the localization of sources using interaural time differences (ITD). The two input signals are transformed to the frequency domain and analyzed for coincidences along left/right-channel delay-line pairs.

Impact of qualified (indeterminate) diagnoses on the accuracy of renal, thyroid, and breast fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

A qualified (indeterminate) diagnosis (QD), such as "suggestive of malignancy," is thought to complicate patient management by heightening clinical uncertainty. We report that QDs increase the overall effectiveness of renal, thyroid, and breast fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy and that the probability that a qualified diagnosis is negative (QDN) can be predicted by the formula QDN = number of QDs x (proportion of false-negative outcomes/disease prevalence expressed as a proportion). Results of renal (n = 24), thyroid (n = 163), and breast (n = 456) FNA biopsies performed from January 1992 through December 1998 were reviewed and correlated with results of tissue biopsies.

The role of computational models in neuropsychological investigations of language: reply to Ruml and Caramazza (2000).

W. Ruml and A. Caramazza's (2000) analysis of the model of normal and aphasic lexical access proposed by G.

Measuring the forces that control protein interactions.

Although the force fields and interaction energies that control protein behavior can be inferred indirectly from equilibrium and kinetic measurements, recent developments have made it possible to quantify directly (a) the ranges, magnitudes, and time dependence of the interaction energies and forces between biological materials; (b) the mechanical properties of isolated proteins; and (c) the strength of single receptor-ligand bonds. This review describes recent results obtained by using the atomic force microscope, optical tweezers, the surface force apparatus, and micropipette aspiration to quantify short-range protein-ligand interactions and the long-range, nonspecific forces that together control protein behavior. The examples presented illustrate the power of force measurements to quantify directly the force fields and energies that control protein behavior.

The persistence of structural priming: transient activation or implicit learning?

Structural priming in language production is a tendency to recreate a recently uttered syntactic structure in different words. This tendency can be seen independent of specific lexical items, thematic roles, or word sequences. Two alternative proposals about the mechanism behind structural priming include (a) short-term activation from a memory representation of a priming structure and (b) longer term adaptation within the cognitive mechanisms for creating sentences, as a form of procedural learning.

Walking in (affective) circles: can short walks enhance affect?

Recent physical activity recommendations call for activities that are of moderate intensity and can be performed intermittently during the day, such as walking. These proclamations were based partly on the assumption that moderate activities are generally more enjoyable than physically demanding ones, and they are, therefore, also more likely to be continued over the long haul. However, little is actually known about the affective outcomes of short bouts of walking and extant findings are equivocal.

Bovine serum albumin-hemoglobin fractionation: significance of ultrafiltration system and feed solution characteristics.

This work investigates the fractionation of similar molecular weight proteins bovine serum albumin (69 kD) and bovine hemoglobin (67 kD) by ultrafiltration. Three different membranes, viz. regenerated cellulose, poly(sulfone) and surface modified poly(acrylonitrile), each with a nominal molecular cutoff rating of 100 kD, were examined.

Quantum dynamics of the femtosecond photoisomerization of retinal in bacteriorhodopsin.

The membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin contains all-trans-retinal in a binding site lined by amino acid side groups and water molecules that guide the photodynamics of retinal. Upon absorption of light, retinal undergoes a subpicosecond all-trans-->13-cis phototransformation involving torsion around a double bond. The main reaction product triggers later events in the protein that induce pumping of a proton through bacteriorhodopsin.

Synthesis of two hyaluronan trisaccharides.

[formula: see text] The synthesis of two hyaluronan trisaccharides, methyl O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyluronic acid)-(1,3)-O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1,4)-O-beta-D- glucopyranosiduronic acid and methyl O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1,4)-O-beta- D-glycopyranosyluronic acid)-(1,3)-O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranoside, are described. Construction of the target molecules was achieved though a combination of the phenyl sulfoxide and trichloroacetimidate glycosylation methodologies. This is the first report on the synthesis of the beta-methyl derivatives, which represent the smallest fragments that incorporate all the structural features of polymeric hyaluronan.

Synthesis of carbamate-containing cyclodextrin analogues.

[formula: see text] The one-pot cyclooligomerization of a saccharide-derived p-nitrophenyl carbamate monomer was developed to generate a series of novel carbamate-containing cyclodextrin analogues. The "transcarbamoylation" occurs by initial base-induced activation to the isocyanate, followed by polycondensation/cyclization of the isocyanato alcohol. In the presence of NaH, only cyclized oligomers were observed, suggesting the importance of Na+ in promoting the efficiency of the cyclization process.

"Masterpiece" copolymer sequences by targeted equilibrium-shifting.

We describe an equilibrium model to determine whether a random population of dynamic copolymer sequences could be driven by molecular recognition to a subset of sequences that tightly bind a specific ligand. The model predicts that the population's mean binding constant can be shifted, but because of competitive binding, only to a limited degree (ca. 2 orders of magnitude larger than the original mean).