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82665667

Detection of [Ca2+]I Changes In Sub-Plasma Membrane Micro Domains in A Single Living Cell By an Optical Fiber-Based Nanobiosensor

An optical fiber-based nanobiosensor, for advanced detection of [Ca 2+ ]i (i.e. intracellular Ca 2+ concentration) changes in sub-plasma membrane microdomains in a single living smooth muscle cell and a single living cardiomyocyte, was successfully prepared by coating silver and then immobilizing Calcium Green-1 Dextran, a calcium ion sensitive dye, on the distal end of the nanoprobe. The constructed nanobiosensor was capable of detecting ultra-low and local intracellular calcium ion concentration within the nanomolar range, which is around the physiological level of free cytosolic calcium ion in a single living cell. The response time was less than milliseconds enabling the detection of transient elementary calcium ion signaling events associated with calcium ion microdomains. The effects of stimulants such as high potassium buffer solution and norepinephrine solution were also investigated. The resulting system could thus greatly facilitate the development of an advanced nano-diagnostic platform for in vivo and real-time sensing/diagnosing of [Ca 2+ ]i at the single cell level.

82971616

Construction of plant bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries: an illustrated guide.

J. Agric. Genomics, 5 ABSTRACT Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries have become invaluable tools in plant genetic research. However, it is difficult for new practitioners to create plant BAC libraries de novo because published protocols are not particularly detailed, and plant cells possess features that make isolation of clean, high molecular weight DNA troublesome. In this document we present an illustrated, step-by-step protocol for constructing plant BAC libraries. This protocol is sufficiently detailed to be of use to both new and experienced investigators. We hope that by reducing the obstacles to BAC cloning in plants, we will foster new and accelerated progress in plant genomics.

83308790

Activation by IKKα of a second, evolutionary conserved, NF-κB signaling pathway

In mammals, the canonical nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway activated in response to infections is based on degradation of IκB inhibitors. This pathway depends on the IκB kinase (IKK), which contains two catalytic subunits, IKKα and IKKβ. IKKβ is essential for inducible IκB phosphorylation and degradation, whereas IKKα is not. Here we show that IKKα is required for B cell maturation, formation of secondary lymphoid organs, increased expression of certain NF-κB target genes, and processing of the NF-κB2 (p100) precursor. IKKα preferentially phosphorylates NF-κB2, and this activity requires its phosphorylation by upstream kinases, one of which may be NF-κB–inducing kinase (NIK). IKKα is therefore a pivotal component of a second NF-κB activation pathway based on regulated NF-κB2 processing rather than IκB degradation.

83667891

Identification and transmission of Piper yellow mottle virus and Cucumber mosaic virus infecting black pepper (Piper nigrum) in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan black pepper with symptoms of yellow mottle disease contained a mixture of viruses: Piper yellow mottle virus (PYMV) particles (30 × 130 nm), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV, 30 nm diameter isometric particles), and unidentified, isometric virus-like particles (30 nm diameter). An effective purification procedure is described for PYMV. Immunosorbent and conventional electron microscopy successfully detected badnavirus particles only when at least partially purified extracts were used. PYMV was confirmed as the cause of the disease, with the other two viruses apparently playing no part in producing symptoms. PYMV was transmitted by grafting, by the insect vectors citrus mealy bug (Planococcus citri) and black pepper lace bug (Diconocoris distanti), but not by mechanical inoculation or through seeds. The CMV isolate was transmitted to indicator plants by mechanical inoculation and by the vector Aphis gossypii, but not by Myzus persicae; but neither mechanical nor insect transmission of CMV to black pepper was successful. A sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay was developed to detect PYMV in black pepper.

83707680

A forkhead-domain gene is mutated in a severe speech and language disorder

Individuals affected with developmental disorders of speech and language have substantial difficulty acquiring expressive and/or receptive language in the absence of any profound sensory or neurological impairment and despite adequate intelligence and opportunity1. Although studies of twins consistently indicate that a significant genetic component is involved1,2,3, most families segregating speech and language deficits show complex patterns of inheritance, and a gene that predisposes individuals to such disorders has not been identified. We have studied a unique three-generation pedigree, KE, in which a severe speech and language disorder is transmitted as an autosomal-dominant monogenic trait4. Our previous work mapped the locus responsible, SPCH1, to a 5.6-cM interval of region 7q31 on chromosome 7 (ref. 5). We also identified an unrelated individual, CS, in whom speech and language impairment is associated with a chromosomal translocation involving the SPCH1 interval6. Here we show that the gene FOXP2, which encodes a putative transcription factor containing a polyglutamine tract and a forkhead DNA-binding domain, is directly disrupted by the translocation breakpoint in CS. In addition, we identify a point mutation in affected members of the KE family that alters an invariant amino-acid residue in the forkhead domain. Our findings suggest that FOXP2 is involved in the developmental process that culminates in speech and language.

84085333

The Growth and Sporulation of the Benign and Malignant Tertian Malarial Parasites in the Culture Tube and in the Human Host

Researches on the cultivation of the parasites of malaria in Liverpool were commenced some time ago at my suggestion by Dr. Sinton, and then, with better success, by Drs. J. G. Thomson and McLellan, and by Dr. D. Thomson. We are greatly obliged to Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence, Bart., for giving us the services of Dr. J. G. Thomson for this important enquiry.— Ronald Ross, 21st May, 1913.

84244109

Innate immunity to a facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen.

The murine response to Listeria monocytogenes has long been considered a paradigm of T-cell-mediated immunity. There is, however, substantial evidence that T-cell-deficient mice are capable of surviving a L. monocytogenes challenge. Recently, advances have been made in our understanding of the cell biology and pathogenesis of infection.

84379954

Diversity and Evenness: A Unifying Notation and Its Consequences

Three commonly used measures of diversity, Simpson's index, Shannon's entropy, and the total number of species, are related to Renyi's definition of a generalized entropy. A unified concept of diversity is presented, according to which there is a continuum of possible diversity measures. In a sense which becomes apparent, these measures provide estimates of the effective number of species present, and differ only in their tendency to include or to ignore the relatively rarer species. The notion of the diversity of a community as opposed to that of a sample is examined, and is related to the asymptotic form of the species—abundance curve. A new and plausible definition of evenness is derived.

84580585

Guide to yeast genetics and molecular biology

This volume and its companion, Volume 350, are specifically designed to meet the needs of graduate students and postdoctoral students as well as researchers, by providing all the up-to-date methods necessary to study genes in yeast. Procedures are included that enable newcomers to set up a yeast laboratory and to master basic manipulations. Relevant background and reference information given for procedures can be used as a guide to developing protocols in a number of disciplines. Specific topics addressed in this book include cytology, biochemistry, cell fractionation, and cell biology.

84784389

Cutadapt removes adapter sequences from high-throughput sequencing reads

When small RNA is sequenced on current sequencing machines, the resulting reads are usually longer than the RNA and therefore contain parts of the 3' adapter. That adapter must be found and removed error-tolerantly from each read before read mapping. Previous solutions are either hard to use or do not offer required features, in particular support for color space data. As an easy to use alternative, we developed the command-line tool cutadapt, which supports 454, Illumina and SOLiD (color space) data, offers two adapter trimming algorithms, and has other useful features. Cutadapt, including its MIT-licensed source code, is available for download at http://code.google.com/p/cutadapt/

84884645

Reproductive physiology of marsupials

Preface 1. Historical introduction 2. Breeding biology of marsupials by family 3. Sexual differentiation and development 4. Male anatomy and spermatogenesis 5. The female urogenital tract and oogenesis 6. Ovarian function and control 7. Pregnancy and parturition 8. Lactation 9. Neuroendocrine control of seasonal breeding 10. Marsupials and the evolution of mammalian reproduction References Index.

85326624

Stage-Specific and Differential Notch Dependency at the αβ and γδ T Lineage Bifurcation

Summary Signals transduced by Notch receptors are indispensable for T cell specification and differentiation of αβ T lineage cells. However, the role of Notch signals during αβ versus γδ T lineage decision remains controversial. Here, we addressed this question by employing a clonal analysis of CD4 − CD8 − (DN) progenitor potential to position the divergence of αβ and γδ T cell lineages to the late DN2 to DN3 developmental stages. Accordingly, αβ and γδ precursor frequencies within these T cell progenitor subsets were determined, both in the presence and absence of Notch signaling through Delta-like 1. Notch signals were found to be critical for the DN to CD4 + CD8 + (DP) transition, irrespective of the identity (pTαβ or γδ) of the inducing T cell receptor complex, whereas γδ T cells developed from γδTCR-expressing T cell progenitors in the absence of further Notch ligand interaction. Collectively, our findings demonstrate a differential, stage-specific requirement for Notch receptor-ligand interactions in the differentiation of αβ and γδ T cells from T cell progenitors.

85394684

Investigating the Intron Recognition Mechanism in Eukaryotes

Recent studies indicate that many introns, as well as the complex spliceosomal mechanism to remove them, were present early in eukaryotic evolution. This study examines intron and exon characteristics from annotations of whole genomes to investigate the intron recognition mechanism. Exon definition uses the exon as the unit of recognition, placing length constraints on the exon but not on the intron (allowing it a greater range of lengths). In contrast, intron definition uses the intron itself as the unit of recognition and thus removes constraints on internal exon length forced by the use of an exon definition mechanism. Thus, intron and exon lengths within a genome can reflect the constraints imposed by its splicing. This study shows that it is possible firstly to recover valid intron and exon information from genome annotation. We then compare internal intron and exon information from a range of eukaryotic genomes and investigate possible evolutionary length constraints on introns and exons and how they can impact on the intron recognition mechanism. Results indicate that exon definition-based mechanisms may predominate in vertebrates although the exact system in fish is expected to show some differences with the better characterized system from mammals. We also raise the possibility that the last common ancestor of plants and animals contained some type of exon definition and that this mechanism was replaced in some genes and lineages by intron definition, possibly as a result of intron loss and/or intron shortening.

85665741

BRAF mutation predicts for MEK-dependence in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5247 Constitutive ERK signaling is common in human cancer and is often the result of activating mutations of BRAF, RAS and upstream receptor tyrosine kinases. Missense BRAF kinase domain mutations are frequently observed in melanoma, colon and thyroid cancers and less frequently in lung and other cancer types. The vast majority (>90%) involve a glutamic acid for valine substitution at codon 600 (V600E), which results in elevated BRAF kinase activity. BRAF kinase domain mutations with intermediate and impaired kinase activity have also been identified, most frequently in NSCLC. We have previously reported that tumors with V600E BRAF mutation are selectively sensitive to MEK inhibition. Using the potent and selective MEK1/2 inhibitor PD0325901 (Pfizer), we examined a panel of NSCLC cell lines with mutant EGFR, KRAS, and/or low, intermediate and high-activity BRAF kinase domain mutations for MEK dependence. In all but one case, EGFR, KRAS and BRAF mutations were mutually exclusive with the exception being a cell line with concurrent NRAS and intermediate activity BRAF mutations. Consistent with our prior results, NSCLC cells with V600E BRAF mutation were exquisitely sensitive to MEK inhibition (PD0325901 IC50 of 2nM). The proliferation of cells with non-V600E mutations, including those with high (G469A), intermediate (L597V) and impaired (G466V) kinase activities, was also MEK dependent with IC50’s ranging between 2.7 and 80 nM. Inhibition of MEK in these cells resulted in downregulation of cyclin D1 and G1 growth arrest, with variable induction of apoptosis. Despite high basal ERK activity, NSCLC tumor cells with EGFR mutation were uniformly resistant to MEK inhibition (at doses of up to 500nM), despite effective and prolonged inhibition of ERK phosphorylation. Tumor cells with RAS mutation had a more variable response, with some cell lines demonstrating sensitivity, while others were completely resistant. There was no correlation between basal ERK activity and sensitivity to MEK inhibition. A strong inverse correlation between Akt activity and PD0325901 sensitivity was observed. These results suggest that MEK inhibition may be useful therapeutically in tumors with V600E and non-V600E BRAF kinase domain mutations. The results also suggest that inhibition of both MEK and Akt signaling may be required in NSCLC tumors with high basal AKT activity.

85693958

THE REGULATION OF NUMBERS OF TROPICAL OCEANIC BIRDS

SUMMARY The ways in which the numbers of tropical sea-birds might be limited are considered; it is argued that food is the only factor likely to be generally effective in limiting numbers, but it seems improbable that food shortage could exert a density-dependent control of the mortality of the birds outside the breeding season. Wynne-Edwards' hypothesis that colonies of sea-birds are able to keep their own numbers below the level at which food shortage would become acute, primarily by exerting control on the output of young, is rejected as unproven and improbable. It is suggested that colonies of tropical oceanic birds deplete the food in the waters round them, and that as the populations increase competition for food becomes more intense, and relatively fewer adults succeed in raising chicks. This would provide a density-dependent control of the output of young and could regulate the numbers of the birds. The peculiarities of long-lived sea-birds (e.g. clutches of one, long fledging periods, deferred maturity) which Wynne-Edwards suggests are adaptations evolved in order to lower the reproductive rate until it balances the mortality, apparently could not be evolved as such; they are more probably adaptations enabling the birds sometimes to raise single chicks in spite of competition for food that makes it impossible to raise more than one. It is considered that variation in the age of first breeding provides an important supplement to variation in reproductive success in regulating the numbers of long-lived tropical sea-birds. The possible applications of this hypothesis to sea-birds breeding in higher latitudes are briefly considered, as are its implications in relation to conservation and exploitation of populations of sea-birds.

86129154

Induced pluripotent stem cell lines derived from human somatic cells.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer allows trans-acting factors present in the mammalian oocyte to reprogram somatic cell nuclei to an undifferentiated state. We show that four factors (OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, and LIN28) are sufficient to reprogram human somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells that exhibit the essential characteristics of embryonic stem (ES) cells. These induced pluripotent human stem cells have normal karyotypes, express telomerase activity, express cell surface markers and genes that characterize human ES cells, and maintain the developmental potential to differentiate into advanced derivatives of all three primary germ layers. Such induced pluripotent human cell lines should be useful in the production of new disease models and in drug development, as well as for applications in transplantation medicine, once technical limitations (for example, mutation through viral integration) are eliminated.

86160128

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum): A Review of Health Beneficial Physiological Effects

Among the spices that are esoteric food adjuncts being used to enhance flavoring and color, fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) also modifies the texture of food. This seed spice is also employed for medicinal purpose in many traditional systems as antibacterial, gastric stimulant, against anorexia, antidiabetic agent and as a galactogogue. In recent decades, several health beneficial physiological attributes of fenugreek seeds have been seen in animal studies as well as human trials. These include antidiabetic effect, hypocholesterolemic influence, antioxidant potency, digestive stimulant action, and hepatoprotective effect. Among these beneficial physiological effects, the antidiabetic and hypocholesterolemic property of fenugreek, both of which are mainly attributable to the intrinsic dietary fiber constituent, have promising nutraceutical value. This article presents an overview of experimental evidence for the nutraceutical potential of fenugreek seeds.

86211914

The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates

The preceding editions made "The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates" the second most cited book in science. This Fifth Edition is the result of years of research providing the user with the drawings of the completely new set of coronal sections, now from one rat, and with significantly improved resolution by adding a third additional section level as compared to earlier editions. Numerous new nuclei and structures also have been identified. The drawings are presented in two color, providing a much better contrast for use, and the accompanying CD-ROM contains all of the drawings from the atlas as well as the corresponding color micrographs (which are not included in the book). Affordable, comprehensive, compact, and convenient, the Fifth Edition continues the legacy of this major neuroscience publication and is a guide to all students and scientists who study the rat brain. It contains 161 coronal diagrams based on a single brain and includes a CD-ROM featuring all of the drawings from the book, plus the accompanying color micrographs that are not in the printed atlas. The delineations are drawn entirely new from a new set of sections. The diagrams are spaced at constant 120 m intervals resulting in the high resolution and convenience of use. The drawings use blue color lines and black labels to facilitate extraction of information. The stereotaxic grid was derived using the same techniques that produced the widely praised stereotaxic grid of the previous editions. Over 1000 structures are identified, a number for the first time in this edition.

86217760

The Self-Incompatibility Genes of Brassica: Expression and Use in Genetic Ablation of Floral Tissues

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394 POLLINATION AND POLLEN TUBE GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 Interaction s between the M ale G ameto phyte and Pistil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 SelfIncom patibili ty Systems: Gameto phytic and S poro phyti c Determin ation of Pollen Phenoty pe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 DEVELOPMENTAL S TUDIES OF REPRODUCTIVE STRUCTURES . . . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . 398 Tissues of the Pistil with Special Reference to Pollination Functions 398 The Male Gametophyte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF SELF-INCOMPATIBILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 1 The S-M ultigene F amily o j Brassica. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 402 Allelism at the S-Lo cus and the SLG Gene""""""""""""""""""""""""" 402 The S-Locus Related (SLR) Genes 405 Molecular Complexity oj the S-Locus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 EXPRESSION OF THE SLG GENE IN PIS TILS AND ANTHERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409 Expression in Cruc ifers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 409 Express ion in Tr ansgen ic Tob acco and the Rel at ionship of G ameto phytic and S poro phyt ic Incompatibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 10 GENETIC INTERACTIONS IN SELF-INCOMPATIBILITY RESPONSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1 2 The Analysis o j Se lf-Com patible Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1 2 The An alysis o j Transgenic Pl ants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1 3 GENETIC ABLATION O F FLORAL TISSUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415 As a Tool Jor the Study o j Pl ant Develo pmen t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 415 As a Tool Jar Cro p Im pro vement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . """ 416

86231298

The Ulp1 SUMO isopeptidase distinct domains required for viability, nuclear envelope localization, and substrate specificity

Protein modification by the ubiquitin-like SUMO protein contributes to many cellular regulatory mechanisms. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, both sumoylating and desumoylating activities are essential for viability. Of its two known desumoylating enzymes, Ubl-specific protease (Ulp)1 and Ulp2/Smt4, Ulp1 is specifically required for cell cycle progression. A ∼200-residue segment, the Ulp domain (UD), is conserved among Ulps and includes a core cysteine protease domain that is even more widespread. Here we demonstrate that the Ulp1 UD by itself can support wild-type growth rates and in vitro can cleave SUMO from substrates. However, in cells expressing only the UD of Ulp1, many SUMO conjugates accumulate to high levels, indicating that the nonessential Ulp1 NH2-terminal domain is important for activity against a substantial fraction of sumoylated targets. The NH2-terminal domain also includes sequences necessary and sufficient to concentrate Ulp1 at nuclear envelope sites. Remarkably, NH2-terminally deleted Ulp1 variants are able, unlike full-length Ulp1, to suppress defects of cells lacking the divergent Ulp2 isopeptidase. Thus, the NH2-terminal regulatory domain of Ulp1 restricts Ulp1 activity toward certain sumoylated proteins while enabling the cleavage of others. These data define key functional elements of Ulp1 and strongly suggest that subcellular localization is a physiologically significant constraint on SUMO isopeptidase specificity.

86326468

Gastropathies in the Lundehund

The mucin profiles of the gastric mucosa in Lundehunds suffering from intestinal lymphangiectasia were examined and compared to the mucin profiles in control dogs from other breeds. A previous study performed on this material had shown that all examined Lundehunds had gastritis and about 30% had gastric carcinoma. Neutral and acid mucins were identified using the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Alcian blue (pH 2.5) periodic acid-Schiff (AB-PAS) methods. The acid mucins were divided into sialomucins and sulfomucins based on their reaction with high-iron diamine Alcian blue, pH 2.5 (HID-AB). In Lundehunds with chronic atrophic gastritis in the fundic and body regions the surface and foveolar epithelium showed a predominantly normal mucin profile although some Lundehunds had a reduced mucin content. The mucous neck cells extended from below the gastric foveolae towards the muscularis mucosae. Morphometric examination showed that the abnormal presence of mucous neck cells occupied 41% of the height of the gastric mucosa in Lundehunds compared to only 19% in the control dogs (p<0.05). Of the four Lundehunds with gastric carcinoma, two possessed neoplastic cells that contained minimal or no mucins. The amount and type of mucin in the neoplastic cells of the remaining two Lundehunds varied both between individuals and within a neoplasm. This study shows that the abnormal presence of mucous neck cells and the associated pseudopyloric metaplasia comprised the predominant changes in the gastric mucin profiles of Lundehunds.

86602746

MicroRNAs: small RNAs with a big role in gene regulation

Key PointsMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of ∼21–25-nucleotide small RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. The founding members of the miRNA family, lin-4 and let-7, were identified through genetic screens for defects in the temporal regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans larval development. Owing to genome-wide cloning efforts, hundreds of miRNAs have now been identified in almost all metazoans, including flies, plants and mammals. MiRNAs exhibit temporally and spatially regulated expression patterns during diverse developmental and physiological processes. Most of the miRNAs that have been characterized so far seem to regulate aspects of development, including larval developmental transitions and neuronal development in C. elegans, growth control and apoptosis in Drosophila melanogaster, haematopoietic differentiation in mammals, and leaf development, flower development and embryogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. The majority of the animal miRNAs that have been characterized so far affect protein synthesis from their target mRNAs. On the other hand, most of the plant miRNAs studied so far direct the cleavage of their targets. The degree of complementarity between a miRNA and its target, at least in part, determines the regulatory mechanism. In animals, primary transcripts of miRNAs are processed sequentially by two RNase-III enzymes, Drosha and Dicer, into a small, imperfect dsRNA duplex (miRNA:miRNA*) that contains both the mature miRNA strand and its complementary strand (miRNA*). Relative instability at the 5′ end of the mature miRNA leads to the asymmetric assembly of the mature miRNA into the effector complex, the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC).Ago proteins are a key component of the RISC. Multiple Ago homologues in various metazoan genomes indicate the existence of multiple RISCs that carry out related but specific biological functions. Bioinformatic prediction of miRNA targets has provided an important tool to explore the functions of miRNAs. However, the overall success rate of such predictions remains to be determined by experimental validation. AbstractMicroRNAs are a family of small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression in a sequence-specific manner. The two founding members of the microRNA family were originally identified in Caenorhabditis elegans as genes that were required for the timed regulation of developmental events. Since then, hundreds of microRNAs have been identified in almost all metazoan genomes, including worms, flies, plants and mammals. MicroRNAs have diverse expression patterns and might regulate various developmental and physiological processes. Their discovery adds a new dimension to our understanding of complex gene regulatory networks.

86694016

Molecular mechanisms of invadopodium formation: the role of the N-WASP–Arp2/3 complex pathway and cofilin

Invadopodia are actin-rich membrane protrusions with a matrix degradation activity formed by invasive cancer cells. We have studied the molecular mechanisms of invadopodium formation in metastatic carcinoma cells. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor kinase inhibitors blocked invadopodium formation in the presence of serum, and EGF stimulation of serum-starved cells induced invadopodium formation. RNA interference and dominant-negative mutant expression analyses revealed that neural WASP (N-WASP), Arp2/3 complex, and their upstream regulators, Nck1, Cdc42, and WIP, are necessary for invadopodium formation. Time-lapse analysis revealed that invadopodia are formed de novo at the cell periphery and their lifetime varies from minutes to several hours. Invadopodia with short lifetimes are motile, whereas long-lived invadopodia tend to be stationary. Interestingly, suppression of cofilin expression by RNA interference inhibited the formation of long-lived invadopodia, resulting in formation of only short-lived invadopodia with less matrix degradation activity. These results indicate that EGF receptor signaling regulates invadopodium formation through the N-WASP–Arp2/3 pathway and cofilin is necessary for the stabilization and maturation of invadopodia.

86704258

Genome downsizing in polyploid plants

All else being equal, polyploids are expected to have larger C-values (amount of DNA in the unreplicated gametic nucleus) than their diploid progenitors, increasing in direct proportion with ploidy. This expectation is observed in some polyploid series, especially those newly formed, but there are examples suggesting that C-values in particular polyploids are less than expected. The availability of the Angiosperm DNA C-values database (http:// www.rbgkew.org.uk/cvavhomepage.html) has allowed this question to be addressed across a broad range of angiosperms and has revealed striking results deviating from expectation: (i) mean 1C DNA amount did not increase in direct proportion with ploidy, and (ii) mean DNA amount per basic genome (calculated by dividing the 2C value by ploidy) tended to decrease with increasing ploidy. These results suggest that loss of DNA following polyploid formation, or genome downsizing, may be a widespread phenomenon of considerable biological significance. Recent advances in our understanding of the molecular events that take place following polyploid formation together with new data on how DNA amounts can both increase and decrease provide some insights into how genome downsizing may take place. The nature of the evolutionary forces that may be driving DNA loss are also discussed.

87337034

Construction of an antisense CYP86MF gene plasmid vector and production of a male-sterile Chinese cabbage transformant by the pollen-tube method

SummaryA plant expression vector pBIA9-AMF containing an antisense fragment of the CYP86MF gene and the tapetum-specific A9 promoter was constructed. Plasmid vectors were introduced by floral-dipping and pollen-tube transformation methods to Chinese cabbage pak-choi (Brassica campestris ssp. chinensis (L.) Makino var. communis Tsen et Lee, syn. B. rapa ssp. chinensis (L.) Makino var. communis Tsen et Lee) and flowering Chinese cabbage (B. campestris ssp. chinensis (L.) Makino var. parachinensis (Bailey) Tsen et Lee). Results showed that KanR seedlings could be obtained by the pollen-tube method through germination tests of T1 progeny seeds, but not by the floral-dipping method. One of the two KanR seedlings proved that the antisense fragment of the CYP86MF gene was integrated into the Chinese cabbage genome by PCR amplification and Southern blotting. Northern hybridization indicated that the CYP86MF gene, under the A9 promoter, was inhibited in the transformant, and self-infertility was found in the trans...

87430549

Stem Cells,Cancer and Cancer Stem Cells

Stem cells are defined as cells able to both extensively self-renew and differentiate into progenitors. Research data show that more resistant stem cells than common cancer cells exist in cancer patients. To identify unrecognized differences between cancer stem cells and cancer cells might be able to develope effective classification,diagnose and treat ment for cancer.

87610599

Characterization and culture of human embryonic stem cells

Objective To explore the in vitro maintenance and characterization of human embryonic stem cells(hESCs).Methods hESCs were cultured on feeder layer with ES culture medium,which consists of 20% Knockout Serum Replacement,Knockout DMEM and 10 ng/mL bFGF.Undifferentiated status of hESCs was identified by cell morphology,and the expressions of cell surface marker SSEA-1,SSEA-3 and TRA-1-60.G banding technique was employed for cell karyotype analysis. Pluropotency of cells were analyzed via in vitro embyoid body(EB) formation and in vivo terotoma formation. Results Most of cells showed undifferentiated properties in cell morphology and normal karyotype throughout extended culture periods. They maintained undifferentiated status with positive immunoreactivity to SSEA-3,SSEA-4 and TRA-1-60.in vitro EB formation and in vivo teratoma formation demonstrated the pluripotency of human ES cells. Conclusion The fundamental requirement to hESCs for research and clinical application were their undifferentiated status and pluropotency in culture. Our result demonstrated their potential for these purposes.

87986426

Detection of Sugarcane bacilliform virus isolate and its influence on yield and quality of cane in Yunnan

Sugarcane bacilliform virus(SCBV) was detected by PCR from sugarcane showing chlorosis and mottle symptom from Kaiyuan,Yunnan Province. Part sequence of replicase gene of the isolate SCBV-Kaiyuan was determined. Sequence analysis indicated that the 589 bp of SCBV-Kaiyuan shared identities of 73.2%-74.0% and 83.1%-84.1% at nucleotide and amino acid levels with SCBV-Australia respectively,66.7%-68.4% and 65.6%-67.7% with SCBV-Morocco. The quality and yield of the sugarcane infected with SCBV-Kaiyuan was also investigated. The juice extraction,sucrose content,gravity purity and average stalk weight were decreased 1.55%,1.24%,2.22% and 0.26 kg in plants infected with SCBV-Kaiyuan,but reducing sugar was increased by 0.21% in infected plants.

90064424

Mitotic chromosomes fold by condensin-dependent helical winding of chromatin loop arrays

During mitosis, chromosomes fold into compacted rod shaped structures. We combined imaging and Hi-C of synchronous DT40 cell cultures with polymer simulations to determine how interphase chromosomes are converted into compressed arrays of loops characteristic of mitotic chromosomes. We found that the interphase organization is disassembled within minutes of prophase entry and by late prophase chromosomes are already folded as arrays of consecutive loops. During prometaphase, this array reorganizes to form a helical arrangement of nested loops. Polymer simulations reveal that Hi-C data are inconsistent with solenoidal coiling of the entire chromatid, but instead suggest a centrally located helically twisted axis from which consecutive loops emanate as in a spiral staircase. Chromosomes subsequently shorten through progressive helical winding, with the numbers of loops per turn increasing so that the size of a helical turn grows from around 3 Mb (~40 loops) to ~12 Mb (~150 loops) in fully condensed metaphase chromosomes. Condensin is essential to disassemble the interphase chromatin conformation. Analysis of mutants revealed differing roles for condensin I and II during these processes. Either condensin can mediate formation of loop arrays. However, condensin II was required for helical winding during prometaphase, whereas condensin I modulated the size and arrangement of loops inside the helical turns. These observations identify a mitotic chromosome morphogenesis pathway in which folding of linear loop arrays produces long thin chromosomes during prophase that then shorten by progressive growth of loops and helical winding during prometaphase.

90756514

REVIEW ON CLINICALLY DEVELOPING ANTIBIOTICS

The world is running out of antibiotics. Between 1940 and 1962, more than 20 new classes of antibiotics were marketed. Since then, only two new classes of antibiotics were marketed. Now, not enough analogues are reaching the market to stem the tide of antibiotic resistance, particularly among gram-negative bacteria which indicates the need of novel antibiotics for their effective action. This review describes those antibiotics in late-stage clinical development. Most of them belong to existing antibiotic classes and a few with a narrow spectrum of activity are novel compounds directed against novel targets. The reasons for some of the past failures to find new molecules and a path forward to help attract investments to fund the discovery of new antibiotics are described.

94109411

Improved Au/Zn/Au ohmic contacts for p-type InP

In this work, an innovated Si3N4 as an out-diffusion barrier layer to Au/Zn/Au contact system for p-type InP has been proposed. Before the contacts were annealed, Si3N4 layer was deposited on the Au(200Å)/Zn(700Å)/Au(200Å), then the Si3N4 was removed by HF and a 2000A layer of pure gold was deposited to facilitate wire bonding. The specific contact resistance dropped to a minimum value of 6×10-7 Ω • cm2 (for an acceptor concentration of about 3×1018 cm-3) and the contact became perfectly Ohmic. Besides, Si3N4 layer is an excellent passivation layer and antireflection coating in InP/InGaAs/InP (p-i-n) photodiodes.

94365950

The reclamation of brine generated from desalination process by bipolar membrane electrodialysis

Abstract Some techno-economical analyses and environmental impact evaluation have proved that bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) is feasible for the reclamation of industrial saline water. However, to date, the technology cannot be put into practice due to some unsolved application-oriented problems, such as the requirements of BMED for feed solution, the availability of the produced acid and base, relatively high salt concentration of the effluent, and relatively low desalinating efficiency and capacity. In this work, a novel hybrid process, which coupled conventional electrodialysis installed with monovalent selective cation-exchange membranes with BMED running in a constant-voltage mode, was designed to reclaim brine generated from surface water desalination by the ion-exchange process. Subsequently, the response surface methodology was employed to establish the empirical models for understanding the influences of some initial operating conditions on BMED performance. Finally, the BMED-based reclamation scheme was confirmed again by a continuous BMED experiment on real solution. Specially, the effects of product concentration on current efficiency and energy consumption were investigated. In this case, an acceptable current efficiency and energy consumption were obtained on the basis of the conventional membranes and spacers when the product concentration was set as 0.9 M, which is adequate for the regeneration of ion-exchange resins.

95102458

Process analysis and economic evaluation for Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production by fermentation

Abstract Several processes for the production and recovery of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) by Alcaligenes eutrophus, Alcaligenes latus, Methylobacterium organophilum, and recombinant Escherichia coli were designed based on the previously reported data and analyzed by computer-aided bioprocess design. PHB productivity, content, and yield significantly affected the final price of PHB. For the annual production of 2,850 tonnes of purified PHB, the process employing A. eutrophus with the recovery method of surfactant-hypochlorite digestion resulted in lowest price of PHB, $ 5.58/kg. As the production scale increased to one million tonnes per year, the price of PHB dropped to $ 4.75/kg. The cost of carbon substrate significantly affected the overall economics in large production scale. Therefore, the production cost can be considerably lowered when agricultural wastes, such as whey and molasses, are used.

95764370

Modification in the chemical bath deposition apparatus, growth and characterization of CdS semiconducting thin films for photovoltaic applications

Abstract In this paper, growth and characterization of CdS thin films by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) technique using the reaction between CdCl 2 , (NH 2 ) 2 CS and NH 3 in an aqueous solution has been reported. The parameters actively involved in the process of deposition have been identified. A commonly available CBD system has been sucessfully modified to obtain the precious control over the pH of the solution at 90°C during the deposition and studies have been made to understand the fundamental parameters like concentrations of the solution, pH and temperature of the solution involved in the chemical bath deposition of CdS. It is confirmed that the pH of the solution plays a vital role in the quality of the CBD–CdS films. Structural, optical and electrical properties have been analysed for the as-deposited and annealed films. XRD studies on the CBD–CdS films reveal that the change in Cadmium ion concentration in the bath results in the change in crystallization from cubic phase with (1 1 1) predominant orientation to a hexagonal phase with (0 0 2) predominant orientation. The structural changes due to varying cadmium ion concentration in the bath affects the optical and electrical properties. Optimum electrical resistivity, band gap and refractive index value are observed for the annealed films deposited from 0.8 M cadmium ion concentration. The films are suitable for solar cell fabrication. Further on, annealing the samples at 350°C in H 2 for 30 min resulted in an increased diffraction intensity as well as shifts in the peak towards lower scattering angles due to enlarged CdS unit cell. This in turn brought about an increase in the lattice parameters and narrowing in the band-gap values. The results are compared with the analysis of previous work.

96222213

Combined sampler robot and high-performance liquid chromatography: a fully automated system for biological small-angle X-ray scattering experiments at the Synchrotron SOLEIL SWING beamline

Small-angle X-ray scattering for macromolecules in solution is now widely used in structural biology to complement high-resolution structure determination obtained by X-ray crystallography or NMR. In the context of third-generation synchrotron sources, this increasing interest leads to developments in sample environments and automation. The presence of an online purification system is justified by the need for sample monodispersity. A combined system including an auto-sampler robot and online high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been developed and optimized at the SWING beamline of Synchrotron SOLEIL (Gif-sur-Yvette, France). In the sample changer mode, a few microlitres of sample can be injected between two air bubbles and circulated at a controlled speed of typically 40 µl min−1. A maximum of 14 samples per hour could be measured in this mode by remote controlling the sample injections. In the HPLC mode, an initially polydisperse sample can be separated into each of its components before immediate data acquisition. The sample cell is thermostated, and offers a visualization control and online UV–Vis absorption monitoring.

97566194

Feasibility assessment of desalination application in Australian traditional agriculture

Abstract Within some data limitations, the paper provides a first assessment of areas in Australia with potential for implementing desalination technologies to supply agricultural water. At the national scale, these areas were identified based on a set of selected criteria: distance from land currently used for irrigated agriculture and feedlots; distance from town sites; exclusion of areas of environmental protection; exclusion of areas with surface elevation greater than 600 m AHD; and exclusion of regions with limited groundwater resources. Industries involved in the production of high-value crops are most likely to benefit from desalinated water as they use more-efficient irrigation practices and have the highest gross value of irrigated agricultural production. Groundwater was identified as the most likely feedwater source for cost-effective desalination, which is also the case worldwide. Brine disposal is a major factor in overall cost effectiveness of desalination. When feedwater salinity is relatively low, mixing permeate with feedwater leads to an increase in water production and a reduction in water cost. It was estimated that Australian farmers are unlikely to pay more than AU$1.2/kL for agricultural water. Generally for agriculture, desalinated water is still more expensive than water from other sources; however, there are likely to be circumstances when the costs could be comparable.

99829811

Development of a specific monoclonal antibody assay and a rapid testing strip for the detection of apramycin residues in food samples

ABSTRACTA specific monoclonal antibody (MAb) against apramycin (AP) was produced and used to develop an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (idcELISA) and a rapid testing strip for the detection of AP residues in foods. MAb exhibited negligible cross-reactivity with other aminoglycosides. Under optimized conditions in 0.01 M PBS, the half maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) of MAb was 0.41 ng/ml with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.15 ng/ml. The ELISA results were obtained within 90 min. The mean recoveries from all the spiked food samples were within the range of 79.02–105.49%, with coefficients of variation in the range of 2.21–11.4%. The strip test results obtained within 5 min had visual LODs in the range 2.5–5 µg/kg (ng/ml) for all food samples tested. Therefore, the developed strip test represents a fast and convenient detection method of AP residues in foods.

104143831

Utilization of Desalination Brine for Sodium Hydroxide Production: Technologies, Engineering Principles, Recovery Limits, and Future Directions

As global desalination capacity continues its rapid growth, the impetus for reducing the adverse environmental impacts of brine discharge grows concurrently. Although modern brine outfall designs have significantly limited such impacts, they are costly. Recovering valuable components and chemical derivatives from brine has potential to resolve both environmental and economic concerns. In this article, methods for producing sodium hydroxide (“caustic”) from seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) brine for internal reuse, which typically involve brine purification, brine concentration, and sodium chloride electrolysis, are reviewed. Because process energy consumption drives process cost and caustic purity determines product usability in drinking water systems, reviewed technologies are benchmarked against thermodynamic minimum energy consumption and maximum (stoichiometric) NaOH production rates. After individual reviews of brine purification, concentration, and electrolysis technologies, five existing facilities ...

108886332

Training toddlers seated on mobile robots to drive indoors amidst obstacles

The goal of this research is to train children seated on mobile robots to purposefully and safely drive indoors. Our previous studies show that in about six weeks of training, infants can learn to drive directly to a goal using conventional joysticks. However, they are unable to acquire the advanced skill to avoid obstacles while driving. This limits mobility impaired children from exploring their home environment safely, which in turn impacts their cognitive and social developments in the important early years. In this paper, we describe results where toddlers are trained to drive a robot within an obstacle course. Using algorithms based on artificial potential fields to avoid obstacles, we create force field on the joystick that trains them to navigate while avoiding obstacles. In this ‘assist-as-needed’ approach, if the child steers the mobile robot outside a force tunnel centered around the desired direction, the driver experiences a bias force on the hand. The results suggest that force-feedback joystick results in faster learning than with a conventional joystick.

109795294

Coming soon to a Wal-Mart near you

According to the Web site of the Association for Automatic Identification and Data Capture Technologies [http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid], "radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is an automatic way to collect product, place, and time or transaction data quickly and easily without human intervention or error. " With the ability to track everything from crates of disposable razors to individual peanut-butter jars on the store shelves, RFID technology offers the potential of "real-time supply chain visibility. " Promoters of RFID technology feel [C. Humer, 2003] that "RF tags are to this decade what the Internet was to the 1990's-a promise of radical change in the way business is done. " However, before the full potential of RFID technology can be realized, several hurdles need to be overcome: reliability, cost, lack of standards, and security. As these hurdles gradually diminish, Wal-Mart publicly embraces the technology.

109946221

Innovative beneficial reuse of reverse osmosis concentrate using bipolar membrane electrodialysis and electrochlorination processes

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a widely used and rapidly growing desalination technology. A major disadvantage of this process is that the concentrate from the RO process, which could be as much as 25% of the feed stream, represents a polluting stream. This waste stream could pose a significant challenge to the implementation of this process, particularly for inland communities which do not have the option of ocean disposal. An excellent environmentally benign approach to disposal could be beneficial reuse of the waste stream. This study presents two innovative beneficial reuse strategies for RO concentrate produced by an integrated membrane system (IMS) from a wastewater reclamation facility. The technologies evaluated in this study included bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) for conversion of RO concentrate into mixed acid and mixed base streams, and electrochlorination (EC) for onsite chlorine generation. Bench-scale studies conducted with BMED demonstrated that RO concentrate could be desalted while producing mixed acids and mixed bases with concentrations as high as 0.2N. Similarly, the EC process was capable of producing a 0.6% hypochlorite solution from RO concentrate. The acids and bases as well as the hypochlorite produced could be directly applied to the RO process as well as upstream pre-treatment processes. A preliminary economic evaluation of the viability of these two approaches was conducted by conducting rough order of magnitude cost estimates based on the bench-scale performance of these processes on RO concentrate. A comparison of the overall costs of an Integrated Membrane System utilizing these innovative reuse strategies with conventional disposal options and thermal zero liquid discharge treatment is presented. This comparison indicates that a reuse approach might be economically viable for inland wastewater reuse facilities that utilize RO membranes and have limited options for concentrate disposal.

116075383

Amplification of siRNA in Caenorhabditis elegans generates a transgenerational sequence-targeted histone H3 lysine 9 methylation footprint

Exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has been shown to exert homology-dependent effects at the level of both target mRNA stability and chromatin structure. Using C. elegans undergoing RNAi as an animal model, we have investigated the generality, scope and longevity of dsRNA-targeted chromatin effects and their dependence on components of the RNAi machinery. Using high-resolution genome-wide chromatin profiling, we found that a diverse set of genes can be induced to acquire locus-specific enrichment of histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3), with modification footprints extending several kilobases from the site of dsRNA homology and with locus specificity sufficient to distinguish the targeted locus from the other 20,000 genes in the C. elegans genome. Genetic analysis of the response indicated that factors responsible for secondary siRNA production during RNAi were required for effective targeting of chromatin. Temporal analysis revealed that H3K9me3, once triggered by dsRNA, can be maintained in the absence of dsRNA for at least two generations before being lost. These results implicate dsRNA-triggered chromatin modification in C. elegans as a programmable and locus-specific response defining a metastable state that can persist through generational boundaries.

116556376

Physicians' initial management of acute low back pain versus evidence-based guidelines. Influence of sciatica.

BACKGROUND Little information is available on physician characteristics and patient presentations that may influence compliance with evidence-based guidelines for acute low back pain. OBJECTIVE To assess whether physicians' management decisions are consistent with the Agency for Health Research Quality's guideline and whether responses varied with the presentation of sciatica or by physician characteristics. DESIGN Cross-sectional study using a mailed survey. PARTICIPANTS Participants were randomly selected from internal medicine, family practice, general practice, emergency medicine, and occupational medicine specialties. MEASUREMENTS A questionnaire asked for recommendations for 2 case scenarios, representing patients without and with sciatica, respectively. RESULTS Seven hundred and twenty surveys were completed (response rate=25%). In cases 1 (without sciatica) and 2 (with sciatica), 26.9% and 4.3% of physicians fully complied with the guideline, respectively. For each year in practice, the odds of guideline noncompliance increased 1.03 times (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.01 to 1.05) for case 1. With occupational medicine as the referent specialty, general practice had the greatest odds of noncompliance (3.60, 95% CI=1.75 to 7.40) in case 1, followed by internal medicine and emergency medicine. Results for case 2 reflected the influence of sciatica with internal medicine having substantially higher odds (vs case 1) and the greatest odds of noncompliance of any specialty (6.93, 95% CI=1.47 to 32.78), followed by family practice and emergency medicine. CONCLUSIONS A majority of primary care physicians continue to be noncompliant with evidence-based back pain guidelines. Sciatica dramatically influenced clinical decision-making, increasing the extent of noncompliance, particularly for internal medicine and family practice. Physicians' misunderstanding of sciatica's natural history and belief that more intensive initial management is indicated may be factors underlying the observed influence of sciatica.

117907685

Appropriate Critical Values When Testing for a Single Multivariate Outlier by Using the Mahalanobis Distance

The Mahalanobis distance is a well-known criterion which may be used for detecting outliers in multivariate data. However, there are some discrepancies about which critical values are suitable for this purpose. Following a comparison with Wilks's method, this paper shows that the previously recommended {p(n-1)/(n-p)}F p,n−p are unsuitable, and p(n-1) 2 F p,n−p−1 /n(n−p−1+pF p,n−p−1 ) are the correct critical values when searching for a single outlier The importance of which critical values should be used is illustrated when searching for a single outlier in a clinical laboratory data set containing 10 patients and five variables. The jackknifed Mahalanobis distance is also discussed and the relevant critical values are given. Finally, upper bounds for the usual Mahalanobis distance and the jackknifed version are discussed.

118215171

How to calculate sample size in animal studies

Researcher must calculate the sample size before starting of any animal study. It should be adequate enough to detect a small significant difference between the groups. Small sample size is not only responsible for the insignificant result but also for the less power of the study. Calculation of sample size involves complex statistics but it can be simplified to help the researchers who are not from statistical background.

120385993

On the Theory and Computation of Evolutionary Distances

This paper gives a formal definition of the biological concept of evolutionary distance and an algorithm to compute it. For any set S of finite sequences of varying lengths this distance is a real-valued function on $S \times S$, and it is shown to be a metric under conditions which are wide enough to include the biological application. The algorithm, introduced here, lends itself to computer programming and provides a method to compute evolutionary distance which is shorter than the other methods currently in use.

121001457

Over 30% efficient InGaP/GaAs tandem solar cells

A two-terminal monolithic InGaP/GaAs tandem solar cell with a new efficiency record of 30.28% is realized with a practical large area of 4 cm2 under one-sun air-mass 1.5 global illumination. We report improvements of the tandem cell performance by introducing a double-hetero (hereafter DH) structure InGaP tunnel junction, in which the InGaP layers are surrounded by high band gap AlInP barriers. The DH structure by AlInP barriers increase the peak current of InGaP tunnel junction. The AlInP barrier directly below the InGaP top cell, which takes the part of a back surface field (hereafter BSF) layer, is found to be considerably effective in reflecting minority carriers in the top cell. The AlInP BSF layer does not only form a high potential barrier but also prevents the diffusion of zinc from a high doped tunnel junction toward the top cell during epitaxial growth. Furthermore, an InGaP tunnel junction reduces the absorption loss, which exists in a GaAs tunnel junction, and increases the photogenerated curr...

121581019

Electrical, optical, and structural properties of indium-tin-oxide thin films for organic light-emitting devices

High-quality indium–tin–oxide (ITO) thin films (200–850 nm) have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on glass substrates without a postdeposition annealing treatment. The structural, electrical, and optical properties of these films have been investigated as a function of target composition, substrate deposition temperature, background gas pressure, and film thickness. Films were deposited from various target compositions ranging from 0 to 15 wt % of SnO2 content. The optimum target composition for high conductivity was 5 wt % SnO2+95 wt % In2O3. Films were deposited at substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 300 °C in O2 partial pressures ranging from 1 to 100 mTorr. Films were deposited using a KrF excimer laser (248 nm, 30 ns full width at half maximum) at a fluence of 2 J/cm2. For a 150-nm-thick ITO film grown at room temperature in an oxygen pressure of 10 mTorr, the resistivity was 4×10−4 Ω cm and the average transmission in the visible range (400–700 nm) was 85%. For a 170-n...

126549848

Disaster Management and Community Planning, and Public Participation: How to Achieve Sustainable Hazard Mitigation

The paper offers first a brief historical overview of disaster management planning. Second, it reviews Australian and American research findings and show that they urge the field of disaster management to shift its focus from response and recovery to sustainable hazard mitigation. It is argued that in order for this shift to occur, it is necessary to integrate disaster management and community planning. Current practice seldom reflects such a synthesis, and this is one of the reasons why hazard awareness is absent from local decision-making processes. Third, it is asserted that if mitigative strategies are to be successfully implemented, then the disaster management process must incorporate public participation at the local decision-making level. The paper concludes with a case study of California's Portola Valley, which demonstrates that when public participation is integrated into disaster management planning and community planning, the result is sustainable hazard mitigation.

129199129

A second generation of homogenized Canadian monthly surface air temperature for climate trend analysis

[1] This study presents a second generation of homogenized monthly mean surface air temperature data set for Canadian climate trend analysis. Monthly means of daily maximum and of daily minimum temperatures were examined at 338 Canadian locations. Data from co-located observing sites were sometimes combined to create longer time series for use in trend analysis. Time series of observations were then adjusted to account for nation-wide change in observing time in July 1961, affecting daily minimum temperatures recorded at 120 synoptic stations; these were adjusted using hourly temperatures at the same sites. Next, homogeneity testing was performed to detect and adjust for other discontinuities. Two techniques were used to detect non-climatic shifts in de-seasonalized monthly mean temperatures: a multiple linear regression based test and a penalized maximal t test. These discontinuities were adjusted using a recently developed quantile-matching algorithm: the adjustments were estimated with the use of a reference series. Based on this new homogenized temperature data set, annual and seasonal temperature trends were estimated for Canada for 1950–2010 and Southern Canada for 1900–2010. Overall, temperature has increased at most locations. For 1950–2010, the annual mean temperature averaged over the country shows a positive trend of 1.5°C for the past 61 years. This warming is slightly more pronounced in the minimum temperature than in the maximum temperature; seasonally, the greatest warming occurs in winter and spring. The results are similar for Southern Canada although the warming is considerably greater in the minimum temperature compared to the maximum temperature over the period 1900–2010.

140098548

Prevention of radiographic-contrast-agent-induced reductions in renal function by acetylcysteine.

BACKGROUND Radiographic contrast agents can cause a reduction in renal function that may be due to reactive oxygen species. Whether the reduction can be prevented by the administration of antioxidants is unknown. METHODS We prospectively studied 83 patients with chronic renal insufficiency (mean [+/-SD] serum creatinine concentration, 2.4+/-1.3 mg per deciliter [216+/-116 micromol per liter]) who were undergoing computed tomography with a nonionic, low-osmolality contrast agent. Patients were randomly assigned either to receive the antioxidant acetylcysteine (600 mg orally twice daily) and 0.45 percent saline intravenously, before and after administration of the contrast agent, or to receive placebo and saline. RESULTS Ten of the 83 patients (12 percent) had an increase of at least 0.5 mg per deciliter (44 micromol per liter) in the serum creatinine concentration 48 hours after administration of the contrast agent: 1 of the 41 patients in the acetylcysteine group (2 percent) and 9 of the 42 patients in the control group (21 percent; P=0.01; relative risk, 0.1; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.02 to 0.9). In the acetylcysteine group, the mean serum creatinine concentration decreased significantly (P<0.001), from 2.5+/-1.3 to 2.1+/-1.3 mg per deciliter (220+/-118 to 186+/-112 micromol per liter) 48 hours after the administration of the contrast medium, whereas in the control group, the mean serum creatinine concentration increased nonsignificantly (P=0.18), from 2.4+/-1.3 to 2.6+/-1.5 mg per deciliter (212+/-114 to 226+/-133 micromol per liter) (P<0.001 for the comparison between groups). CONCLUSIONS Prophylactic oral administration of the antioxidant acetylcysteine, along with hydration, prevents the reduction in renal function induced by contrast agents in patients with chronic renal insufficiency.

140907540

Sample size calculation in epidemiological studies

Summary Sample-size determination is often an important step in planning an epidemiological study. There are several approaches to determining sample size. It depends on the type of the study. Descriptive, observational and randomized controlled studies have different formulas to calculate sample size. In this article, we discuss the formulas that can help to estimate sample size in an epidemiological trial. We present a few examples from clinical practice, which may contribute to the understanding of this problem. Keywords: sample size determination Determining an appropriate sample size for a clinical trial is an essential step in the statistical design of the pro-ject. An adequate sample size helps ensure that the stu-dy will yield reliable information, regardless of whether the ultimate data suggest a clinically important difference between the treatments being studied, or the study is in-tended to measure the accuracy of a diagnostic test or the incidence of a disease. Unfortunately, many studies pub-lished in medical literature are conducted with inadequate sample sizes, making the interpretation of negative results difficult. Conductingastudywithaninadequatesamplesize is not only futile, it is also unethical. Exposing pa-tients to the risks inherent in a research is justifiableon-ly if there is a realistic possibility that the results will be-nefitthosesubjects,futuresubjects,orleadtosubstantialscientificprogress. How many individuals will I need to study? This ques-tion iscommonly asked by a clinical investigator and ex-poses oneof many issues that are best to be settled before actually carryingout a study. Consultation with a statisti-cian is worthwhilein addressing many issues of study de-sign, but a statisticianis not always readily available. Sample Size (n) is the number of individuals in a group under study. The larger the sample size, the grea-ter the precision and, thus, power for a given study de-sign to detect an effect of a given size. For statisticians, an n > 30 is usually sufficientfortheCentralLimitTheo-rem to hold so that normal theory approximations can be used for measures such as the standard error of the mean. However, this sample size (n = 30) is unrelated to the cli-nicians’ objective of detecting biologically significantef-fects, which determines the specificsamplesizeneededfor a specificstudy[1].

142559798

Tammarniit (Mistakes): Inuit Relocation in the Eastern Arctic, 1939-63

Preface Introduction 1. Are Inuit Indians?: Relief, Jurisdiction, and Government Responsibility 2. Social Welfare and Social Crisis in the Eastern Arctic 3. Planning for Relocation in the Eastern Arctic 4. Recolonizing the Arctic Islands: The 1953 Relocations to Resolute Bay and Craig Harbour 5. The Ennadai Lake Relocations, 1950-60 6. The Garry Lake Famine 7. The Whale Cove Relocation 8. Relocation and Responsibility, 1955-63 Notes Bibliography Index

142562844

Levels of selection in evolution

Ever since the groundbreaking work of George Williams, W. D. Hamilton, and Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologists have recognized that natural selection generally does not operate for the good of the group, but rather for the good of lower-level units such as the individual, the cell, even the gene. One of the fundamental problems of biology is: what keeps competition between these various levels of natural selection from destroying the common interests to be gained from cooperation? In this volume twelve prominent scientists explore this question, presenting a comprehensive survey of the current theoretical and empirical research in evolutionary biology. Recent studies show that at many levels of biological organization, mechanisms have evolved to prevent potential conflict in natural selection. Editor Laurent Keller's aim in this book is to bring together leading researchers from all biological disciplines to outline these potential conflicts and discuss how they are resolved. A multi-level approach of this kind allows important insights into the evolution of life, as well as bridging the long-standing conceptual chasm between molecular and organismal biologists. The chapters here follow a rigorous theoretical framework, giving the book an overall synergy that is unique to multi-authored books. The contributors, in addition to the editor, are H. Charles J. Godfray, Edward Allen Herre, Dawn M. Kitchen, Egbert Giles Leigh, Jr., Catherine M. Lessells, Richard E. Michod, Leonard Nunney, Craig Packer, Andrew Pomiankowski, H. Kern Reeve, John Maynard Smith, and Eors Szathmary. "

143381103

A psychometric evaluation of the Beck Depression Inventory–II.

This article provides psychometric information on the second edition of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996), with respect to internal consistency, factorial validity, and gender differences. Both measures demonstrated high internal reliability in the full student sample. Significant differences between the mean BDI and BDI-II scores necessitated the development of new cutoffs for analogue research on the BDI-II. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a 2-factor solution optimally summarized the data for both versions of the inventory and accounted for a cumulative 41% and 46% of the common variance in BDI and BDI-II responses, respectively. These factor solutions were reliably cross-validated, although the importance of each factor varied by gender. The authors conclude that the BDI-II is a stronger instrument than the BDI in terms of its factor structure.

143796742

Why people feel crowded: An examination of objective and subjective crowding

Prior studies have found only a modest relationship between objective and subjective crowding, defying logic and commonsensical notions of why people feel crowded. Using data from a representative sample of Bangkok, Thailand, where the level of household crowding is four times that in western societies, we explore several possibilities of why this is the case. Examining seven different indicators of objective crowding, our analyses suggest that the modest relationship is not an artifact of measurement. Contrary to the assumption of prior investigations, the findings indicate that the objective-subjective crowding relationship is nonlinear and that there is a ceiling effect muting the impact of increased objective crowding. The analyses further suggest that the strength of the relationship is mitigated somewhat, with part of the feeling of being crowded accounted for by household circumstances, such as the degree of control an individual has over the use of household space.

143868995

Self-Report and Tests of Memory Aging

Memory complaints have not correlated well with tests of memory. However, given self-report questions, which tap processes of everyday remembering. sixty volunteers aged 21-84 years adequately rated their memory competence. Categorized into four memory processes, self-report and six tests of verbal, faces, story and nonverbal auditory, visual, and tactual memory ,were canonically correlated (r = 0.67) and both sets of measures declined with age in parallel. Thc old were more accurate than the young in their ratings but by no means on all tests and expectation to perform poorly seemed to have influenced some performances.

144555102

Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City

Inner-city black America is often defined by random, senseless street violence. In fact, although violence is a salient feature, its use is far from random; it is regulated through an informal but well-known code of the street. How you dress, how you talk, whether you make eye-contact, your understanding of the pecking order - such crucial details can have life-or-death consequences and young people are particularly at risk. In this anatomy of the inner-city psyche, the author shows how the code is a response to the lack of well-paid jobs; to the stigma of race; to rampant drug use; to alienation and to lack of hope. The police exercise no control, and the individual's safety and sense of worth are defined by how much respect he can command in public; this deference is based physical and psycholgical control and on an implied threat of violence. The most powerful force counteracting the code is the strong, loving decent family. Unfortunately, the culture of the street thrives and often defeats decency because it controls public space so that individuals with better aspirations are often entangled in the code.

144801076

A generic measure of relationship satisfaction.

The variety of interpersonal relationships in contemporary society necessitates the development of brief, reliable measures of satisfaction that are applicable to many types of close relationships. This article describes the development of such a measure. In Study I, the 7-item Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) was administered to 125 subjects who reported themselves to be "in love. " Analyses revealed a unifactorial scale structure, substantial factor loadings, and moderate intercorrelations among the items. The scale correlated significantly with measures of love, sexual attitudes, self-disclosure, commitment, and investment in a relationship. In Study II, the scale was administered to 57 couples in ongoing relationships. Analyses supported a single factor, alpha reliability of .86, and correlations with relevant relationship measures. The scale correlated .80 with a longer criterion measure, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and both scales were effective (with a subsample) in discriminating couples who stayed together from couples who broke up. The RAS is a brief, psychometrically sound, generic measure of relationship satisfaction.

145335387

ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND SUBURBANIZATION IN CHINA

As in other countries, suburbanization in China occurred after the cities had experienced a period of sustained industrial and population growth. This study examines suburbanization in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Dalian. As a result of economic restructuring, the urban core registered net population loss from 1982 to 1990 because of decentralization while the inner suburbs gained population. Among the forces driving suburbanization were marketization of urban land, the shift of industrial land to tertiary use, transportation improvement, the availability of foreign and domestic capital, housing rehabilitation in the city, and new housing construction in the suburbs. There were certain similarities but major differences between American and Chinese suburbanization. Unlike the current metropolitan landscape in the United States where suburban growth has given rise to a polycentric spatial structure, suburbanization in China is still at the incipient stage of development with suburbs dominated by centra...

145383432

The Assumption of Caregiving: Grandmothers Raising the Children of the Crack Cocaine Epidemic:

In this article, selected findings are presented from a study of the experiences of 71 African American women who have become the sole caregivers for at least one grandchild or great-grandchild as a result of the involvement of the parent in use of crack cocaine. Despite the unique circumstances of each situation, three patterns of the assumption of caregiving emerged from analysis of the intensive interviews and participant observation: sudden assumption, negotiated assumption, and inevitable assumption of the permanent caregiver role. Each pattern is described along six dimensions: forewarning, initiation, the trigger event, the caregiver's goal, her assumed trajectory of the caregiving period, and her perceived influence on her own destiny. These accounts provide important information for those who work with women, children, and families, as well as unique insight into the consequences of the crack cocaine epidemic.

145416918

The effect of information related to fat content and taste on consumer responses to a reduced-fat frankfurter and a reduced-fat chocolate bar

The effects of product information on responses to frankfurter sausages and chocolate bars were studied by comparing sensory and hedonic ratings in two conditions: blind tasting and tasting with information present. Furthermore, the effect of information alone was investigated by having the subjects rate the expected sensory and hedonic intensities of the products on the basis of packages with different claims. Three groups of subjects were tested by giving them different information: The basic group (no added claims, n = 31), the reduced-fat group (products claimed to have reduced-fat, n=29) and the flavorful group (products claimed to have full meat/chocolate flavor, n = 31). Product information increased the rated pleasantness of the frankfurter in all three information groups compared to the blind ratings. The information did not affect the pleasantness of the chocolate bars. The expected attribute intensities of the frankfurters and chocolates were rated lower by the reduced-fat group than by the other groups. Overall, the effect of product information was more clearly seen in ratings of sensory attributes than in pleasantness ratings.

145716849

Transnationalism and identity

Transnationalism and identity are concepts that inherently call for juxtaposition. This is so because many peoples' transnational networks of exchange and participation are grounded upon some perception of common identity; conversely, the identities of numerous individuals and groups of people are negotiated within social worlds that span more than one place. In this introductory article, the transnational perspective on migration studies is first discussed, followed by some critiques and outstanding questions. The final section summarises points raised by the contributing authors of the main articles in this themed issue of JEMS, especially with regard to various ways transnational settings and dynamics affect the construction, negotiation and reproduction of identities.

146653163

Social Isolation and Social Support: An Applied Perspective

Considerable empirical evidence substantiates the importance of social networks and support to health and well-being among the elderly. But considerably more research is necessary before successful interventions can be more generally implemented to positively alter an elder's network. In this article, the authors discuss social supportand isolationfrom an appliedperspective. They have combined presentations originally made at a National Institute on Aging-sponsored symposium on applied gerontology held in August 1992. They make some general observations concerning the field of applied social relations in later life, describe the mental health aspects of these relations, list some fundamental principles and existing technology for this field, describe the use of a brief screening instrument for social isolation developed by one of the authors (Lubben), and explore varying domains of knowledge concerning elder soical relations. They conclude by outlining some areas that they see as requiring the attention o...

147107523

Wine and health: faraway concepts?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers’ perceptions and beliefs in the health benefits of wine and the relationship with wine consumption patterns. Design/methodology/approach – In store face-to-face survey results from 402 wine consumers were elaborated with two-step cluster analysis. ANOVA confirmed differences among groups. Groups were profiled by a χ2 significance analysis when adequate. A multivariate binary logistic regression estimated wine consumption influence on healthiness perceptions. Findings – Consumers converge into four groups: two health-oriented – optimistic and medical; two non-health-oriented – unintentional drinker and unconvinced. Groups are not significantly differentiated in socio-economic terms. Wine consumption behaviour influences health orientation, specifically for monthly and wine drinkers, vs weekly and other alcohol drinkers. Health-oriented consumers favourably welcome and are willing to pay more for health-enhancing wine. Consumers believe that wine c...

153755807

The Changing Problem of Overcrowded Housing

Abstract Overcrowding has increased in the U.S. after decades of decline—dramatically so in some locales and for some ethnic groups. The nature of the problem and its very definition for policy purposes are also changing. We examine the special characteristics of the overcrowded, where they are located, why the incidence of crowding has resurged, and why it is confined to specific locales. Ethnicity, age, immigration, and poverty play important roles, but housing market conditions appear much less important. We also show that the planning standard used to judge overcrowding is a relative one that has varied over time, and that the social norms vary among ethnic groups. The issue of overcrowding may exemplify the current perplexities about imposing uniform standards in an evolving multiethnic society. Worst-case housing needs would be better targeted in highly impacted locales by allowing more “place diversity” in the setting of standards.

154050141

Best response dynamics and socially stable strategies

Abstract An evolutionarily stable strategy (Maynard Smith and Price, Nature (London) 246 (1973), 15–18) is a strategy which is robust against a tiny invasion of mutants. Best response dynamics is a dynamic process in which the frequency of a strategy increases only if it is a best response to the present strategy distribution. Gilboa and Matsui ( Econometrica 59 (1991), 859–867) proposed a stability concept directly derived from this dynamic process. Modifying the above two stability concepts, this paper shows the equivalence between the static concept and the dynamic one. Their set-valued versions always exist. Examples are given to see their usefulness in analyzing forward induction and preplay communication.

154243324

From youth to adult homelessness

Governments have shown an interest in early intervention strategies to reduce youth homelessness, but critics say that early intervention programs lack clear outcomes. This paper investigates what happens when early intervention programs are not in place and young people progress to adult homelessness. The paper assesses the 'social adaptation' hypothesis that the longer young people are homeless the more they adapt to homelessness as a way of life. The paper uses information on 1,677 individuals who first became homeless when they were 18 or younger. Three-quarters of the sample had progressed to adult homelessness (defined as 25 or older) and one-quarter were now young adults aged 19 to 24. The findings confirm that the longer people are homeless, the more difficult it becomes to get out of homelessness. However, the social adaptation account overstates the extent to which people accept homelessness as a 'way of life'. People can return to conventional accommodation if they are given long-term support. The paper concludes with three policy recommendations.

154549459

Urban spatial development in the land policy reform era: evidence from Beijing

This paper examines the characteristics of urban spatial development in Beijing and identifies the extent to which these characteristics can be attributed to the emerging land market in Beijing as well as the impact of land policy reform. Based on the observations of land use rights granted from 1993 to the first half of 2000 in the built-up area of Beijing, empirical analyses illustrate that both land prices and land development density decrease with distance to the city core. It further provides evidence that the slope of the land rent curve also depends on land use types. This leads to the conclusion that the land market influences land development decisions and urban form. Finally, it shows that the slope of the land rent curve and the elasticity of land-capital substitution change over time. The former declines, as expected. This is because Beijing's massive investments in transport have reduced transport costs, which in turn has shifted the land rent curve. The latter rises, implying the price effect on land development density. Both changes—in land rent function and the elasticity of land-capital substitution-point to the maturing of the Beijing land market. It should be mentioned that there are enormous land developments outside the land market (land development on administratively allocated land). These developments can significantly distort urban land use patterns portrayed through this study.

154763124

The Mismatch Argument: The Construction of a Housing Orthodoxy in Australia

Australia's housing policy discourse contains many orthodoxies. While orthodoxies are never totally accepted within a discourse, they are the dominant notions within them and as such carry significant symbolic authority. One orthodoxy that has particular authority in Australia is the notion that there is a 'mismatch' in the housing system between the available stock and the size of households to the extent that there is significant underutilisation and underoccupancy of housing. The mismatch argument's power as orthodoxy is such that the idea is assumed in much housing policy discussion. Criticism of the mismatch orthodoxy can take many approaches, such as empirical, conceptual and discursive. The discursive critique focuses not on the empirical relationship between households and dwellings, but on the statements about that relationship. The resulting analysis shows how the mismatch orthodoxy arose in Australia and its effects on housing discourse. This paper examines the construction of the mismatch orthodoxy, from its first uses in the early 1970s to its entrenchment in national and state housing policy research in the early 1990s. It shows how the structures of the discourse construct the orthodoxy, despite empirical and conceptual criticisms of it. Of particular importance is the effect the orthodoxy has on people deemed to be underutilising their dwellings, and on how the orthodoxy affects policy interpretations, such as occupancy standards.

154796494

Citizen Participation and Citizen Evaluation in Disaster Recovery

In April 1997, Grand Forks, North Dakota, and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, experienced a disastrous flood. Both cities have been textbook examples of success according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They have an updated infrastructure, paid for largely by the federal government. Their downtowns are on the road to recovery with new construction and businesses. The paths of the two cities have diverged in the social and political aftermath of the flood. East Grand Forks, following consultant suggestions, instituted extensive citizen participation initiatives. East Grand Forks has experienced political stability and citizen satisfaction. Grand Forks relied primarily on bureaucratic guidance to react to the disaster. Grand Forks has experienced changes in government structure, turnover of elected and appointed officials, and much less positive citizen evaluation. This study examines the effect of perceptions of citizen participation on the citizens’ evaluation of the success of the recovery.

155200372

Population growth, urban sprawl and landscape integrity of Beijing City

The detailed landscape pattern of the urban area within the 6th ring road in Beijing City was identified using airborne remote sensing data acquired between 1997 and 2002. The landscape indices at landscape level were computed using Fragstats 3.3, and changes in land use/cover types in Beijing from 1997 to 2002 were examined. The results show that urban built area (UBA) and farmland changed greatly within the 6th ring road, and that farmland had been replaced by UBA. The number of patches increased by 106.6%, mean patch area decreased by 51.6%, the splitting index increased by 94.3%, and the landscape diversity index increased by 17.8%. The landscape pattern had become more fragmented and diversified in these 5 years. The main driving forces for landscape change were the increasing demand for land for construction due to the growing population, unreasonable urban growth, and improvements in housing standards. The landscape pattern change in Beijing led by rapid urbanisation has negatively influenced urban...

167469018

Drink Choice: Factors Influencing the Intention to Drink Wine

This paper explores the reasons why consumers choose wine over other alcoholic beverages, with a focus upon the beliefs held by consumers towards the behaviour of wine drinking. The research findings show that attitudes are somewhat more predictive of the intention to drink wine than perceived social pressure. Nevertheless, both attitudinal and normative elements are required to adequately explain wine consumption. Despite the fact that the issue of health figured prominently amongst the salient beliefs identified in the qualitative phase of the research, the subsequent quantitative research found that drinking wine because of its purported health benefits was not a significant attitudinal or behavioural factor. Drinking wine because it provides ‘a variety of tastes and flavours’ and because it ‘goes well with food’ was found to be significantly more important. The results suggest that efforts to actively promote awareness of the health benefits of wine drinking may have limited value.

167944455

Application of growth technologies in enhancing food security and sustainability

Anabolic steroids have been widely used in the beef cattle industry for over 50 years as safe and effective growth-promoting agents, and today, more than 90% of all feedlot cattle in the US receive some type of steroidal implant during their lifetime (NAHMS, USDA 2000). A list of approval of growth promotants by the FDA is shown in Table 1. Generally, implants have been shown to increase growth rate 8 to 28%, improve feed efficiency 5 to 20%, and enhance lean tissue mass of the carcass 3 to 10% (Duckett and Owens, 1997). This improvement in production efficiency has multiple benefits: 1) it clearly and dramatically reduces production costs by reducing the amount of feed required per unit of gain (Avery and Avery, 2007); 2) it reduces the amount of land necessary to produce equivalent amounts of food for consumers; 3) it limits the production of greenhouse gases by reducing the number of animals required to produce equivalent amounts of beef (Avery and Avery, 2007); and 4) it extends cost savings to consumers by providing a year-round, affordable supply of beef at reduced prices (Lawrence and Ibarburu, 2006). Since animal products contribute significantly to the total caloric and nutrient intake in the human population, altering the composition of growth toward more lean tissue and less adipose tissue results in a healthier product with fewer calories that still is rich in beneficial nutrients. In addition to steroidal implants, a newer class of orally active growth promotants, known as b-adrenergic agonists (BAA; Ractopamine-HCl; 2003 and Zilpaterol-HCl; 2006), have been approved for use in finishing beef cattle in the last decade. These products provide similar production benefits as steroidal implants, but differ in application and mode of action. Beta-adrenergic agonists are fed during the last 20 to 42 days of the cattle finishing period, depending on the specific product. The purpose of this paper is to explain how anabolic implants and BAA work and their benefits to beef cattle production.

168265642

Metabolic modifiers as performance-enhancing technologies for livestock production

With the current and predicted increase in world population, growing global demand and consumption of food will result in increasing competition for land, water, and energy. In turn, this will severely affect our ability to produce food as will the urgent requirement to reduce the impact of food systems on the environment (Godfray et al., 2010). Globalization has boosted trade in livestock inputs and products and resulted in industry growth, and concurrently livestock production has undergone a complex process of technical and geographical change (Gerber et al., 2007). This has resulted in a challenge to livestock producers; growing demand for their produce with a dwindling supply of resources, with the only solution being a significant increase in efficiency. Also, as incomes increase in the burgeoning economies, so does the demand for high-quality animal proteins such as meat, milk, and eggs; thus the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations suggests that food requirements will increase by 70% by 2050 (Anonymous, 2009). The recent success in developed and emerging technologies suggests that the animal industries are well placed to prosper through these new challenges. To ensure these technologies—such as metabolic modifiers including somatotropin, immunization against gonadotropin-releasing factor, and orally active dietary additives like ractopamine, zilpaterol, cysteamine, chromium, betaine, and dietary neuroleptics—can be effectively utilized throughout the animal industries, further emphasis is required on their acceptance and development. As a result of these technological advancements, producers have benefited because of improved production efficiencies while meat packers have improved processing efficiencies because of increased lean meat yield. Ostensibly, the consumer has also benefited because meat is leaner and less expensive to purchase. However, there have been some concerns that the focus on increasing production efficiency and lean meat yield has been to the detriment of meat quality (Dunshea et al., 2005). It is also interesting that at a time of apparently greater need for these technologies, there are external influences such as market differentiation and trade barriers as well as consumer resistance that challenge the use of technologies. A tenet of this article is that if we are to meet the increased global demand for animal protein, then we must continue to develop and adopt technologies to improve livestock efficiency, but we must be cognizant of the potential barriers affecting acceptance.

195317463

Assessment of hemodynamic efficacy and safety of 6% hydroxyethylstarch 130/0.4 vs. 0.9% NaCl fluid replacement in patients with severe sepsis: The CRYSTMAS study

Inadequate initial treatment and delayed hemodynamic stabilization (HDS) may be associated with increased risk of death in severe sepsis patients. In order to compare the hemodynamic efficacy and safety of 6% HES 130/0.4 and NaCl 0.9% for HDS in patients with severe sepsis, we designed a prospective, multicenter, active-controlled, double-blind, randomized study in intensive care units. 174 out of 196 patients reached HDS (88 and 86 patients for HES and NaCl, respectively). Significantly less HES was used to reach HDS vs. NaCl (1,379 ±886 ml in the HES group and 1,709 ±1,164 ml in the NaCl group (mean difference = -331± 1,033, 95% CI -640 to -21, P = 0.0185). Time to reach HDS was 11.8 10.1 hours vs. 14.3 ±11.1 hours for HES and NaCl, respectively. Total quantity of study drug infused over four consecutive days, ICU and hospital LOS, and area under the curve of SOFA score were comparable. Acute renal failure occurred in 24 (24.5%) and 19 (20%) patients for HES and NaCl, respectively (P = 0.454). There was no difference between AKIN and RIFLE criteria among groups and no difference in mortality, coagulation, or pruritus up to 90 days after treatment initiation. Significantly less volume was required to achieve HDS for HES vs. NaCl in the initial phase of fluid resuscitation in severe sepsis patients without any difference for adverse events in both groups. NCT00464204

195680777

Comparisons between different polychemotherapy regimens for early breast cancer: meta-analyses of long-term outcome among 100,000 women in 123 randomised trials.

BACKGROUND Moderate differences in efficacy between adjuvant chemotherapy regimens for breast cancer are plausible, and could affect treatment choices. We sought any such differences. METHODS We undertook individual-patient-data meta-analyses of the randomised trials comparing: any taxane-plus-anthracycline-based regimen versus the same, or more, non-taxane chemotherapy (n=44,000); one anthracycline-based regimen versus another (n=7000) or versus cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF; n=18,000); and polychemotherapy versus no chemotherapy (n=32,000). The scheduled dosages of these three drugs and of the anthracyclines doxorubicin (A) and epirubicin (E) were used to define standard CMF, standard 4AC, and CAF and CEF. Log-rank breast cancer mortality rate ratios (RRs) are reported. FINDINGS In trials adding four separate cycles of a taxane to a fixed anthracycline-based control regimen, extending treatment duration, breast cancer mortality was reduced (RR 0·86, SE 0·04, two-sided significance [2p]=0·0005). In trials with four such extra cycles of a taxane counterbalanced in controls by extra cycles of other cytotoxic drugs, roughly doubling non-taxane dosage, there was no significant difference (RR 0·94, SE 0·06, 2p=0·33). Trials with CMF-treated controls showed that standard 4AC and standard CMF were equivalent (RR 0·98, SE 0·05, 2p=0·67), but that anthracycline-based regimens with substantially higher cumulative dosage than standard 4AC (eg, CAF or CEF) were superior to standard CMF (RR 0·78, SE 0·06, 2p=0·0004). Trials versus no chemotherapy also suggested greater mortality reductions with CAF (RR 0·64, SE 0·09, 2p<0·0001) than with standard 4AC (RR 0·78, SE 0·09, 2p=0·01) or standard CMF (RR 0·76, SE 0·05, 2p<0·0001). In all meta-analyses involving taxane-based or anthracycline-based regimens, proportional risk reductions were little affected by age, nodal status, tumour diameter or differentiation (moderate or poor; few were well differentiated), oestrogen receptor status, or tamoxifen use. Hence, largely independently of age (up to at least 70 years) or the tumour characteristics currently available to us for the patients selected to be in these trials, some taxane-plus-anthracycline-based or higher-cumulative-dosage anthracycline-based regimens (not requiring stem cells) reduced breast cancer mortality by, on average, about one-third. 10-year overall mortality differences paralleled breast cancer mortality differences, despite taxane, anthracycline, and other toxicities. INTERPRETATION 10-year gains from a one-third breast cancer mortality reduction depend on absolute risks without chemotherapy (which, for oestrogen-receptor-positive disease, are the risks remaining with appropriate endocrine therapy). Low absolute risk implies low absolute benefit, but information was lacking about tumour gene expression markers or quantitative immunohistochemistry that might help to predict risk, chemosensitivity, or both. FUNDING Cancer Research UK; British Heart Foundation; UK Medical Research Council.

195683603

Invariant NKT cells modulate the suppressive activity of IL-10-secreting neutrophils differentiated with serum amyloid A.

Neutrophils are the main effector cells during inflammation, but they can also control excessive inflammatory responses by secreting anti-inflammatory cytokines. However, the mechanisms that modulate their plasticity remain unclear. We now show that systemic serum amyloid A 1 (SAA-1) controls the plasticity of neutrophil differentiation. SAA-1 not only induced anti-inflammatory interleukin 10 (IL-10)-secreting neutrophils but also promoted the interaction of invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT cells) with those neutrophils, a process that limited their suppressive activity by diminishing the production of IL-10 and enhancing the production of IL-12. Because SAA-1-producing melanomas promoted differentiation of IL-10-secreting neutrophils, harnessing iNKT cells could be useful therapeutically by decreasing the frequency of immunosuppressive neutrophils and restoring tumor-specific immune responses.

195689316

Body-mass index and cause-specific mortality in 900 000 adults: collaborative analyses of 57 prospective studies.

BACKGROUND The main associations of body-mass index (BMI) with overall and cause-specific mortality can best be assessed by long-term prospective follow-up of large numbers of people. The Prospective Studies Collaboration aimed to investigate these associations by sharing data from many studies. METHODS Collaborative analyses were undertaken of baseline BMI versus mortality in 57 prospective studies with 894 576 participants, mostly in western Europe and North America (61% [n=541 452] male, mean recruitment age 46 [SD 11] years, median recruitment year 1979 [IQR 1975-85], mean BMI 25 [SD 4] kg/m(2)). The analyses were adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, and study. To limit reverse causality, the first 5 years of follow-up were excluded, leaving 66 552 deaths of known cause during a mean of 8 (SD 6) further years of follow-up (mean age at death 67 [SD 10] years): 30 416 vascular; 2070 diabetic, renal or hepatic; 22 592 neoplastic; 3770 respiratory; 7704 other. FINDINGS In both sexes, mortality was lowest at about 22.5-25 kg/m(2). Above this range, positive associations were recorded for several specific causes and inverse associations for none, the absolute excess risks for higher BMI and smoking were roughly additive, and each 5 kg/m(2) higher BMI was on average associated with about 30% higher overall mortality (hazard ratio per 5 kg/m(2) [HR] 1.29 [95% CI 1.27-1.32]): 40% for vascular mortality (HR 1.41 [1.37-1.45]); 60-120% for diabetic, renal, and hepatic mortality (HRs 2.16 [1.89-2.46], 1.59 [1.27-1.99], and 1.82 [1.59-2.09], respectively); 10% for neoplastic mortality (HR 1.10 [1.06-1.15]); and 20% for respiratory and for all other mortality (HRs 1.20 [1.07-1.34] and 1.20 [1.16-1.25], respectively). Below the range 22.5-25 kg/m(2), BMI was associated inversely with overall mortality, mainly because of strong inverse associations with respiratory disease and lung cancer. These inverse associations were much stronger for smokers than for non-smokers, despite cigarette consumption per smoker varying little with BMI. INTERPRETATION Although other anthropometric measures (eg, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio) could well add extra information to BMI, and BMI to them, BMI is in itself a strong predictor of overall mortality both above and below the apparent optimum of about 22.5-25 kg/m(2). The progressive excess mortality above this range is due mainly to vascular disease and is probably largely causal. At 30-35 kg/m(2), median survival is reduced by 2-4 years; at 40-45 kg/m(2), it is reduced by 8-10 years (which is comparable with the effects of smoking). The definite excess mortality below 22.5 kg/m(2) is due mainly to smoking-related diseases, and is not fully explained.

195689757

Targeting metabolic remodeling in glioblastoma multiforme.

A key aberrant biological difference between tumor cells and normal differentiated cells is altered metabolism, whereby cancer cells acquire a number of stable genetic and epigenetic alterations to retain proliferation, survive under unfavorable microenvironments and invade into surrounding tissues. A classic biochemical adaptation is the metabolic shift to aerobic glycolysis rather than mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, regardless of oxygen availability, a phenomenon termed the "Warburg Effect". Aerobic glycolysis, characterized by high glucose uptake, low oxygen consumption and elevated production of lactate, is associated with a survival advantage as well as the generation of substrates such as fatty acids, amino acids and nucleotides necessary in rapidly proliferating cells. This review discusses the role of key metabolic enzymes and their association with aerobic glycolysis in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), an aggressive, highly glycolytic and deadly brain tumor. Targeting key metabolic enzymes involved in modulating the "Warburg Effect" may provide a novel therapeutic approach either singularly or in combination with existing therapies in GBMs.

196664003

Signaling architectures that transmit unidirectional information despite retroactivity

A signaling pathway transmits information from an upstream system to downstream systems, ideally in a unidirectional fashion. A key obstacle to unidirectional transmission is retroactivity, the additional reaction flux that affects a system once its species interact with those of downstream systems. This raises the fundamental question of whether signaling pathways have developed specialized architectures that overcome retroactivity and transmit unidirectional signals. Here, we propose a general procedure based on mathematical analysis that provides an answer to this question. Using this procedure, we analyze the ability of a variety of signaling architectures to transmit one-way (from upstream to downstream) signals, as key biological parameters are tuned. We find that single stage phosphorylation and phosphotransfer systems that transmit signals from a kinase show a stringent design trade-off that hampers their ability to overcome retroactivity. Interestingly, cascades of these architectures, which are highly represented in nature, can overcome this trade-off and thus enable unidirectional transmission. By contrast, phosphotransfer systems, and single and double phosphorylation cycles that transmit signals from a substrate are unable to mitigate retroactivity effects, even when cascaded, and hence are not well suited for unidirectional information transmission. Our results identify signaling architectures that, allowing unidirectional transmission of signals, embody modular processes that conserve their input/output behavior across multiple contexts. These findings can be used to decompose natural signal transduction networks into modules, and, at the same time, they establish a library of devices that can be used in synthetic biology to facilitate modular circuit design.

198133135

Association between pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes and trabecular bone score: The Vietnam Osteoporosis Study.

AIMS Trabecular bone score (TBS) is a surrogate indicator of bone microarchitecture. The presenent study sought to examine the association between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and trabecular bone score (TBS) in adult Vietnamese men and women. METHODS The study was part of the Vietnam Osteoporosis Study, in which 2702 women and 1398 men aged ≥30 yrs were recruited from the general community in Ho Chi Minh City. HbA1c levels were measured by the ADAMS™ A1c HA-8160 (Arkray, Kyoto, Japan), and classified into 3 groups: normal if HbA1c <5.7%; pre-diabetes (5.7 to 6.4%); and diabetes (>6.4%). TBS was evaluated by iNsight Software, version 2.1 (Medimaps, Merignac, France) on lumbar spine BMD scan (Hologic Horizon). Differences in TBS between diabetic status were analyzed by the multivariable regression model with adjustment for age and body mass index. RESULTS The prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes in men and women was 30.2% and 8.3%, respectively. In women, TBS was lower in pre-diabetes (-0.02; P<0.001) and diabetes (-0.02; P<0.001) compared with normal individuals. In men, there was no statistically significant difference in TBS between diabetic status. Moreover, TBS was significantly inversely correlated with HbA1c levels in women (P = 0.01), but not in men (P = 0.89). CONCLUSION Women, but not men, with type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes have lower TBS than individuals without diabetes. These data suggest that diabetes and prediabetes are associated with deterioration of bone microarchitecture.

198309074

Adhesion molecules and chemokines: relation to anthropometric, body composition, biochemical and dietary variables

Introduction: Among the inflammatory mediators involved in the pathogenesis of obesity, the cell adhesion molecules Pselectin, E-selectin, VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and the chemokine MCP-1 stand out. They play a crucial role in adherence of cells to endothelial surfaces, in the integrity of the vascular wall and can be modulated by body composition and dietary pattern. Objectives: To describe and discuss the relation of these cell adhesion molecules and chemokines to anthropometric, body composition, dietary and biochemical markers. Methods: Papers were located using scientific databases by topic searches with no restriction on year of publication. Results: All molecules were associated positively with anthropometric markers, but controversial results were found for ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. Not only obesity, but visceral fat is more strongly correlated with E-selectin and MCP-1 levels. Weight loss influences the reduction in the levels of these molecules, except VCAM-1. The distribution of macronutrients, excessive consumption of saturated and trans fat and a Western dietary pattern are associated with increased levels. The opposite could be observed with supplementation of w-3 fatty acid, healthy dietary pattern, high calcium diet and high dairy intake. Regarding the biochemical parameters, they have inverse relation to HDLC and positive relation to total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, fasting insulin and insulin resistance. Conclusion: Normal anthropometric indicators, body composition, biochemical parameters and eating pattern positively modulate the subclinical inflammation that results from obesity by reducing the cell adhesion molecules and chemokines.