The cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) drives self-renewal of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells by activating the transcription factor STAT3. In serum-free cultures, however, LIF is insufficient to block neural differentiation and maintain pluripotency. Here, we report that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) act in combination with LIF to sustain self-renewal and preserve multilineage diff...

Results: The study showed wide variation across different farm sizes with respect to total economic cost and net return per 100 lb (45.4 kg) of live hog produced. The total economic cost was negatively correlated (r = -.318, P = .016) and net return was positively correlated (r = .336, P = .011) with farm size. The average net return for large herds (> 75 sows) was higher (P =.003) than for sma...

The ?1 presence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle can negatively impact a state’s economy and cattle industry. In Michigan, USA, wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are a reservoir for reinfecting cattle herds. Although direct TB transmission between deer and cattle is rare, infected deer may contaminate cattle feed. To mitigate this risk, we designed and evaluated a deer-resist...

With increasing penetration levels of solar PV, the need for inverter technology to provide grid support has become more and more critical. Since 2009, EPRI and industry partners have been working to establish a common set of functions that can provide such capability. The development of a common set of functions is complete, however, very little work to date has addressed the impact these comm...

In this paper, educational software for the reliability assessment of high/medium-voltage (HV/MV) substations and distribution feeders is presented. It is a useful tool for learning the utility of reliability indices of the HV/MV substations and their distribution feeders, and their influence on the electrical power system operation. By means of an interactive graphical interface, multiple conf...

Microscopic sessile suspension feeders are a critical component in aquatic ecosystems, acting as an intermediate trophic stage between bacteria and higher eukaryotic taxa. Because they live attached to boundaries, it has long been thought that recirculation of the feeding currents produced by sessile suspension feeders inhibits their ability to access fresh fluid. However, previous models for t...

The design of industrial parts feeders is a long, trial-anderror process that can take months – even for the design of feeders that orient only one type of part. This paper describes the use of dynamic simulation to expedite the design and prototyping of parts feeders. We give probabilistic descriptions of vibratory parts feeding behavior, and we present a comparison between simulated design ex...

PURPOSE The complex angioarchitecture of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs) sometimes preclude angiographic analyses or superselective procedures. Therefore, the effectiveness of 3 dimensional rotational angiography (3DRA) as a detailed imaging technique for SDAVFs was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Of 57 patients with spinal vascular malformations, recent 13 SDAVF patients underw...