Although several studies have previously suggested that several regions of the brain are able to alter kidney function, the anatomical link between these regions and the kidney had not been uncovered. Here that anatomical link is described for the first time with the aid of a neurotropic virus used to trace these paths. A novel neural pathway is described that extends from multiple forebrain regions and projects through the brainstem and spinal cord en route to the kidney. This pathway is activated in response to stimuli associated with the regulation of body fluid balance and both classical...

Automotive assembly plants are unique from other industrial facilities in that they combine high output volume with high part counts (over 4,000 per vehicle) and high variety in a product flow layout involving a large quantity of fixed position material handling equipment. While assembly plants share common factory layout issues such as, dock placement, storage placement, transport batch sizes and aisle design, it is the high material flow volumes of large and heavy products coupled with the less layout flexibility, due to fixed equipment, that make automotive assembly plants uniquely suited...