Regulators of G protein signalling proteins in the human myometrium

The contractile state of the human myometrium is controlled by extracellular signals that promote relaxation or contraction. Many of these signals function through G proteincoupled receptors at the cell surface, stimulating heterotrimeric G proteins and leading to changes in the activity of effector proteins responsible for bringing about the response. G proteins can interact with multiple receptors and many different effectors and are key players in the response. Regulators of G protein signalling (RGS) proteins are GTPase activating proteins for heterotrimeric G proteins and help terminate the signal. Little is known about the function of RGS proteins in human myometrium and we have therefore analysed transcript levels for RGS proteins at various stages of pregnancy (non-pregnant, preterm, term non-labouring, term labouring). RGS2 and RGS5 were the most abundantly expressed isolates in each of the patient groups. The levels of RGS4 and RGS16 (and to a lesser extent RGS2 and RGS14) increased in term labouring samples relative to the other groups. Yeast two-hybrid analysis and co-immunoprecipitation in myometrial cells revealed that both RGS2 and RGS5 interact directly with the cytoplasmic tail of the oxytocin receptor, suggesting they might help regulate signalling through this receptor. Key words: G protein-coupled receptors; labour; myometrium; RGS protein

B799: Field Appraisal of Resource Management Systems Farms Crop Yield and Quality Relationships with Soil Erosion

This document presents objectives and preliminary results of the Field Appraisal of Resource Management Systems (FARMS) study. This study assumes that estimates of soil erosion using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) represent long-term rather than short- term effects. The FARMS study randomly sampled 2400 plots over a three year period, 1980-82, for: crop management, soils, conservation practices and management, crop yields, soil chemistry, and sociological data. This report presents analyses from the 800 plots sampled in 1980. Statistics of rill and sheet soil erosion, as estimated by the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), are presented. Data are presented for each of the factors in the USLE, for potato yields and quality, for yield of other field crops, and for soil nutrient analyses. A significant response of yield to erosion was found when the dataset was limited to the most commonly found soil, Caribou (144 plots). Data analyses including potato yields for all varieties and soils (429 plots) do not show any relation to predicted erosion. Regression analysis predicts that for each ton increase in soil erosion per acre per year up to 12 tons, a decrease of 2.3 hundred- weight of potatoes per acre will occur. The cover and management factor (C) was found to be the most important variable in the USLE in predicting potato yield decreases. With each increase of 0.1 C, the predicted yield decrease amounted to 17 hundredweight gross for potatoes, and 20 hundredweight decrease for US-1 potatoes per acre.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1113/thumbnail.jp

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

B811: Field Appraisal of Resource Management Systems Farms Crop Yield and Quality Relationships with Soil Erosion - 1982

This document presents the objectives and third-year results of the Field Appraisal of Resource Management Systems (FARMS) study. The principal objectives of FARMS were to study the relationship of crop yields to predicted soil erosion and to simulate the economics of this relationship. Crop management, soils, conservation practices and management, crop yields, soil chemistry, and sociological data were collected. The data analyzed in preparing this report are from the 800 plots sampled in 1982. This report presents statistics for rill and sheet soil erosion, which is estimated by the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and assumed to represent a long term rather than short term effect. The report also presents summary statistics for each of the factors in the USLE: for potato yields and quality, for yields of four other field crops, and for soil nutrient analyses.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1107/thumbnail.jp

Recent Decisions

Comments on recent decisions by Norman H. McNeil, David N. McBride, Robert J. Hepler, John P. Coyne, and Allan Schmid

B805: Field Appraisal of Resource Management Systems: Crop Yield and Quality Relationships with Soil Erosion—1981

This document presents objectives and results of the Field Appraisal of Resource Management Systems (FARMS) study\u27S second year. The principal objectives of FARMS were to study the relationship of crop yields to soil erosion and to simulate the economic nature of this relationship. Crop management, soils, conservation practices and management, crop yields, soil chemistry, and sociological data were collected from 800 plots in 1981. This report presents statistics for rill and sheet soil erosion, which are estimated by the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and assumed to represent a long-term rather than short-term effect. The report also presents summary statistics for each of the factors in the USLE: for potato yields and quality, for yields of six other field crops, and for soil nutrient analyses. No general response of potato yield and quality to predicted soil erosion was found. However, individual potato varieties responded differently to predicted soil erosion. Potato yields and specific gravity were found to be significantly related to the Cover and Management factor (C). Potato yield was found to decrease as intensity of potato production increased in the rotation period. Potato yields were significantly reduced when the previous crop was potatoes in comparison to grain or hay.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1056/thumbnail.jp

Improving the sensitivity to gravitational-wave sources by modifying the input-output optics of advanced interferometers

We study frequency dependent (FD) input-output schemes for signal-recycling interferometers, the baseline design of Advanced LIGO and the current configuration of GEO 600. Complementary to a recent proposal by Harms et al. to use FD input squeezing and ordinary homodyne detection, we explore a scheme which uses ordinary squeezed vacuum, but FD readout. Both schemes, which are sub-optimal among all possible input-output schemes, provide a global noise suppression by the power squeeze factor, while being realizable by using detuned Fabry-Perot cavities as input/output filters. At high frequencies, the two schemes are shown to be equivalent, while at low frequencies our scheme gives better performance than that of Harms et al., and is nearly fully optimal. We then study the sensitivity improvement achievable by these schemes in Advanced LIGO era (with 30-m filter cavities and current estimates of filter-mirror losses and thermal noise), for neutron star binary inspirals, and for narrowband GW sources such as low-mass X-ray binaries and known radio pulsars. Optical losses are shown to be a major obstacle for the actual implementation of these techniques in Advanced LIGO. On time scales of third-generation interferometers, like EURO/LIGO-III (~2012), with kilometer-scale filter cavities, a signal-recycling interferometer with the FD readout scheme explored in this paper can have performances comparable to existing proposals. [abridged]Comment: Figs. 9 and 12 corrected; Appendix added for narrowband data analysi

Upper limits on the strength of periodic gravitational waves from PSR J1939+2134

The first science run of the LIGO and GEO gravitational wave detectors presented the opportunity to test methods of searching for gravitational waves from known pulsars. Here we present new direct upper limits on the strength of waves from the pulsar PSR J1939+2134 using two independent analysis methods, one in the frequency domain using frequentist statistics and one in the time domain using Bayesian inference. Both methods show that the strain amplitude at Earth from this pulsar is less than a few times $10^{-22}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Proceedings of the 5th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, Tirrenia, Pisa, Italy, 6-11 July 200

A comparison of calcium-activated potassium channel currents in cell- attached and excised patches

Single channel currents from Ca-activated K channels were recorded from cell-attached patches, which were then excised from 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells. Cells were depolarized with K (110 mM) so that the membrane potential was known in both patch configurations, and the Ca ionophore A23187 or ionomycin (20-100 microM) was used to equilibrate intracellular and extracellular [Ca] (0.3 or 1 microM). Measurements of intracellular [Ca] with the fluorescent Ca indicator quin2 verified that [Ca] equilibration apparently occurred in our experiments. Under these conditions, where both membrane potential and intracellular [Ca] were known, we found that the dependence of the channel percent open time on membrane potential and [Ca] was similar in both the cell- attached and excised patch configuration for several minutes after excision. Current-voltage relations were also similar, and autocorrelation functions constructed from the single channel currents revealed no obvious change in channel gating upon patch excision. These findings suggest that the results of studies that use excised membrane patches can be extrapolated to the K-depolarized cell-attached configuration, and that the relation between [Ca] and channel activity can be used to obtain a quantitative measure of [Ca] near the membrane intracellular surface

Will the Conscious–Subconscious Pacing Quagmire Help Elucidate the Mechanisms of Self-Paced Exercise? New Opportunities in Dual Process Theory and Process Tracing Methods

The extent to which athletic pacing decisions are made consciously or subconsciously is a prevailing issue. In this article we discuss why the one-dimensional conscious–subconscious debate that has reigned in the pacing literature has suppressed our understanding of the multidimensional processes that occur in pacing decisions. How do we make our decisions in real-life competitive situations? What information do we use and how do we respond to opponents? These are questions that need to be explored and better understood, using smartly designed experiments. The paper provides clarity about key conscious, preconscious, subconscious and unconscious concepts, terms that have previously been used in conflicting and confusing ways. The potential of dual process theory in articulating multidimensional aspects of intuitive and deliberative decision-making processes is discussed in the context of athletic pacing along with associated process-tracing research methods. In attempting to refine pacing models and improve training strategies and psychological skills for athletes, the dual-process framework could be used to gain a clearer understanding of (1) the situational conditions for which either intuitive or deliberative decisions are optimal; (2) how intuitive and deliberative decisions are biased by things such as perception, emotion and experience; and (3) the underlying cognitive mechanisms such as memory, attention allocation, problem solving and hypothetical thought