bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Engineered cystine knot peptides that bind αvβ3, αvβ5, and α5β1 integrins with low‐nanomolar affinity
Authors: Kimura Richard H. , Levin Aron M. , Cochran Frank V. , Cochran Jennifer R. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractThere is a critical need for compounds that target cell surface integrin receptors for applications in cancer therapy and diagnosis. We used directed evolution to engineer theEcballium elateriumtrypsin inhibitor (EETI‐II), a knottin peptide from the squash family of protease inhibitors, as a new class of integrin‐binding agents. We generated yeast‐displayed libraries of EETI‐II by substituting its 6‐amino acid trypsin binding loop with 11‐amino acid loops containing the Arg‐Gly‐Asp integrin binding motif and randomized flanking residues. These libraries were screened in a high‐throughput manner by fluorescence‐activated cell sorting to identify mutants that bound to αvβ3integrin. Select peptides were synthesized and were shown to compete for natural ligand binding to integrin receptors expressed on the surface of U87MG glioblastoma cells with half‐maximal inhibitory concentration values of 10–30 nM. Receptor specificity assays demonstrated that engineered knottin peptides bind to both αvβ3and αvβ5integrins with high affinity. Interestingly, we also discovered a peptide that binds with high affinity to αvβ3, αvβ5, and α5β1integrins. This finding has important clinical implications because all three of these receptors can be coexpressed on tumors. In addition, we showed that engineered knottin peptides inhibit tumor cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix protein vitronectin, and in some cases fibronectin, depending on their integrin binding specificity. Collectively, these data validate EETI‐II as a scaffold for protein engineering, and highlight the development of unique integrin‐binding peptides with potential for translational applications in cancer. Proteins 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Two centuries of process safety at DuPont
Authors: Klein James A. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractDuPont was founded over 200 years ago with a core value for understanding and managing the hazards associated with our processes. From the beginning of gunpowder manufacture on the Brandywine River, to expansion into chemicals in the early 1900s, to the many, diverse businesses of today, this core value for safety has helped the company reduce risk and prevent serious injuries and incidents. This article reviews some of this basic corporate history, recognizing that the lessons of the past can help us provide for a safer future. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2009
Ratio index variables or ANCOVA? Fisher's cats revisited
Authors: Tu Yu‐Kang , Law Graham R. , Ellison George T.H. , Gilthorpe Mark S. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractOver 60 years ago Ronald Fisher demonstrated a number of potential pitfalls with statistical analyses using ratio variables. Nonetheless, these pitfalls are largely overlooked in contemporary clinical and epidemiological research, which routinely uses ratio variables in statistical analyses. This article aims to demonstrate how very different findings can be generated as a result of less than perfect correlations among the data used to generate ratio variables. These imperfect correlations result from measurement error and random biological variation. While the former can often be reduced by improvements in measurement, random biological variation is difficult to estimate and eliminate in observational studies. Moreover, wherever the underlying biological relationships among epidemiological variables are unclear, and hence the choice of statistical model is also unclear, the different findings generated by different analytical strategies can lead to contradictory conclusions. Caution is therefore required when interpreting analyses of ratio variables whenever the underlying biological relationships among the variables involved are unspecified or unclear. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantitative profiling of biomarkers related to B‐vitamin status, tryptophan metabolism and inflammation in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry
Authors: Midttun Øivind , Hustad Steinar , Ueland Per M. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractVitamins B2 and B6 serve as cofactors in enzymatic reactions involved in tryptophan and homocysteine metabolism. Plasma concentrations of these vitamins and amino acids are related to smoking and inflammation, and correlate with other markers of immune activation. Large‐scale studies of these relations have been hampered by lack of suitable analytical methods. The assay described includes riboflavin, five vitamin B6 forms (pyridoxal 5′‐phosphate, pyridoxal, 4‐pyridoxic acid, pyridoxine and pyridoxamine), tryptophan and six tryptophan metabolites (kynurenine, kynurenic acid, anthranilic acid, 3‐hydroxykynurenine, xanthurenic acid and 3‐hydroxyanthranilic acid), cystathionine, neopterin and cotinine. Trichloroacetic acid containing 13 isotope‐labelled internal standards was added to 60 µL of plasma, the mixture was centrifuged, and the resulting supernatant used for analysis. The analytes were separated within 5 min on a stable‐bond C8 column by a gradient‐type mobile phase containing acetonitrile, heptafluorobutyric acid and high concentration (650 mmol/L) of acetic acid, and detected using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS/MS). The mobile phase ensured sufficient separation and high ionization efficiency of all analytes. Recoveries were 75–123% and within‐day and between‐day coefficients of variance (CVs) were 2.5–9.5% and 5.4–16.9%, respectively. Limits of detection ranged from 0.05 to 7 nmol/L. The method enables quantification of endogenous plasma concentrations of 16 analytes related to B‐vitamin status and inflammation, and may prove useful in large‐scale epidemiological studies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Development of the multiregional inoperability input‐output model (MRIIM) for spatial explicitness in preparedness of interdependent regions
Authors: Crowther Kenneth G. , Haimes Yacov Y. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractAny given region in the US is a complex, interconnected, and interdependent economic system of systems that includes multiple stakeholders, spans multiple sub‐regions, and produces a very large number of commodities and services. This paper provides a holistic, methodological framework with which to model the multisectoral and multiregional economic interdependencies inherent in such a large‐scale and complex system, factors essential to making strategic preparedness decisions. The framework we present extends the Inoperability Input‐Output Model (IIM) [Santos and Haimes, 2004], a model which has been developed to study these large‐scale systems and which has been deployed in various studies. The basic IIM yields only average estimates across geography, and thus may provide insufficient information with which to make decisions about preparedness allocation within and across regions. Such average estimates may lead planners and policy makers to overlook geographically concentrated risks and significant cross‐regional interdependencies, which are critical in evaluating strategic preparedness options. This paper extends the IIM to model the multiregional interdependencies among the various regions in the US by introducing and developing the Multiregional IIM (MRIIM) and by presenting the spatially explicit concepts of intraregional and multiregional interdependency matrices, A* and T*, respectively. The MRIIM possesses important properties that are derived from the databases that support the model and from the construction of the model itself. These properties guarantee unique solutions when studying the cascade of perturbation across regions and guarantee convergence when computational methods are applied. These properties also lead to a notion of resilience that is gained from cross‐regional interdependencies. The major contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of spatial explicitness in interdependency analysis through an example case study. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng
Seed dispersal and predation in the endemic Atlantic rainforest palm Astrocaryum aculeatissimum across a gradient of seed disperser abundance
Authors: Donatti Camila I. , Guimarães Paulo R. , Galetti Mauro 
Published: March 2009

AbstractTropical forests have been subject to intense hunting of medium and large frugivores that are important in dispersing large‐seeded species. It has been hypothesized that in areas with extinction or low abundance of medium and large‐bodied animals the density of small rodents may increase. Therefore, this increment in the density of small rodents may compensate for the absence or low abundance of medium and large frugivores on seed removal and seed dispersal. Here, we fill up this gap in the literature by determining if seed removal, seed dispersal, and seed predation by small rodents (spiny rats, Trinomys inheringi and squirrels, Sciurus ingrami) are maintained in defaunated areas. We accessed seed removal, seed dispersal, seed predation, and seedling recruitment of an endemic Atlantic rainforest palm, Astrocaryum aculeatissimum, in a gradient of abundance of agoutis. We found that seed removal, scatter hoarding, and seed predation increase with the abundance of agoutis. In contrast, the proportion of dispersed but non‐cached seeds decreased with the abundance of agoutis. We did not find any effect of the abundance of agoutis on seed dispersal distance, but we did find a positive trend on the density of seedlings. We concluded that small rodents do not compensate the low abundance of agoutis on seed removal, scatter hoarding, and seed predation of this palm tree. Moreover, areas in which agoutis are already extinct did not present any seed removal or scatter hoarding, not even by small rodents. This study emphasizes both the importance of agoutis in dispersing seeds of A. aculeatissimum and the collapse in seed dispersal of this palm in areas where agoutis are already extinct.
SUBGROUPS OF FINITE GROUPS WITH A STRONG COVER-AVOIDANCE PROPERTY
Authors: BALLESTER-BOLINCHES A. , EZQUERRO LUIS M. , SKIBA ALEXANDER N. 
Published: March 2009

AbstractA subgroup A of a group G has the strong cover-avoidance property in G, or A is a strong CAP-subgroup of G, if A either covers or avoids every chief factor of every subgroup of G containing A. The main aim of the present paper is to analyse the impact of the strong cover and avoidance property of the members of some relevant families of subgroups on the structure of a group.
The control of bacterial growth in fowl semen
Authors: Smith A. U. 
Published: March 2009

1. The bacteria commonly found in freshly collected fowl semen are coliform bacilli, staphylococci, diphtheroid bacilli and haemolytic streptococci. These organisms are probably derived from the cloaca, which usually has the same flora as the expressed semen, while the sperm mass from the vas deferens is sterile.2. In diluted or undiluted semen stored for 24 hr. at room temperature, or 48 hr. at 2°C, there is a great increase in the bacterial population, especially of coliform bacilli.3. Although the presence of egg white did not diminish the growth of bacteria in stored diluted semen it improved the motility of the spermatozoa.4. Sulphathiazole in the concentrations used proved toxic to the spermatozoa, and unreliable for bacteriostasis.
Milk-secretion studies with New Zealand Romney ewes. Parts III and IV
Authors: Barntcoat C. R. , Logan A. G. , Grant A. I. 
Published: March 2009

Milk production is of fundamental and practical importance to the sheep industry. Reports indicate considerable differences in milking ability between ewes of different breeds as well as between ewes of the same breed.Milking capacity of ewes is dependent on both nutritional and hereditary factors, probably the nutritional factor being the more important. Under commercial farming conditions milk yield might affect not only the growth rates of ‘fat’ lambs and the quality of their carcases, but eventually also the constitution of the ewe lambs retained in the flocks for breeding purposes. It therefore appeared that milking ability of Romney ewes in New Zealand would be a matter worthy of investigation.
Prevention of mineral deficiency by soaking seed in nutrient solution
Authors: Roberts Winifred O. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYA method is described for economizing in the use of fertilizers on deficient soil by soaking the cereal seeds in nutrient solutions containing the deficient element at a sufficiently high concentration to supply a large part of the total requirements of the plants.The result of greatest potential practical importance was obtained on oats. Soaking oats in molecular tribasic potassium phosphate brought about an increase in yield from 17 to 25 cwt./acre (46 %) on phosphate-deficient soil at the cost of 13·6 lb./acre of the potassium phosphate (or 4·6 lb. P2O6) without the addition of any phosphate to the soil. There was a correspondingly large increase in the weight of straw. Nearly 75% of the P2O5 introduced in this way was recovered from the harvested grain. Sodium phosphate appears equally efficaceous for oats. Strikingly beneficial effects were also obtained on barley and wheat.
The response of sugar beet to fertilizer and the effect of farmyard manure
Authors: Adams S. N. 
Published: March 2009

1. Forty-nine 33 factorial experiments in 1957–60 tested the response of sugar beet to 0·6,1·2, 1·8 cwt. N, 0·0,0·5,1·0 cwt. P2O5 and 0·8 1·6 2·4 cwt. K2O per acre. On forty-one of the sites, the experiment was repeated in the presence of 12 tons FYM per acre. There were also six trials in which the rates of mineral fertilizer had been altered to suit local conditions.2. Optimum dressings for sugar yield without FYM were 1·0 cwt. N, 0·5 cwt. P2O6 and 1·6 cwt. K2O per acre. This closely agrees with results of experiments made in 1934–39. Exceeding the optimum nitrogen dressing decreased sugar yield although the yield of tops was increased. The main value of dung for beet was in the N, P and K it provided. With FYM, optimum dressings were only 0·6 cwt. N, 0·0 cwt. P2O5 and 0·8 cwt. K2O per acre.3. Response to nitrogen differed greatly from field to field and the best guide to the nitrogen requirement of a field was the previous cropping. Beet which followed two or more cereal crops needed more nitrogen on average than beet which did not. Response to phosphate and potash did not differ much in different experiments and the national optimum would have been satisfactory for nearly all fields. The only use of soil analysis was to identify the very few fields which needed more than the average dressing of phosphate. The efficiency of phosphate and potash manuring could be slightly increased by taking soil type into account.
Establishment studies. IV. The effect on spring oats of undersowing with long-term ley mixtures
Authors: Charles A. H. 
Published: March 2009

The effect of undersowing on a spring oat crop with four long-term ley mixtures was investigated. Ryegrass, cocksfoot, timothy and general-purpose mixtures were used; broad red and white clovers were included in all mixtures and two levels of nitrogen applied, no nitrogen (n0) and Nitro-Chalk at 3 cwt./acre.1. Panicle number was reduced by all the undersown mixtures except when cocksfoot was the only grass sown (mixture B).2. The weight of individual grains was slightly reduced by undersowing with a ryegrass-dominant general-purpose mixture (D) in the absence of Nitro-Chalk, and there was also an indication of a lowering of the total number of grains per panicle when Nitro-Chalk was applied.3. All the herbage mixtures reduced the percentage of kernel at both nitrogen levels under the ryegrass-dominant mixture (A), but only at one level of nitrogen when cocksfoot (mixture B) or timothy (mixture C) were the only grasses sown.
Effects of oxytetracycline and copper sulphate, separately and together, in the rations of growing pigs
Authors: Braude R. , Townsend M. Jill , Harrington G. , Rowell J. G. 
Published: March 2009

1. A co-ordinated trial has been carried out at twenty-one centres to study the effects of feeding to growing pigs oxytetracycline (10 g./ton) and copper sulphate (2 lb./ton) separately and together. Fifteen centres repeated the test and thus there was a total of thirty-six pens with 245 pigs on each of the four treatments.2. Growth rate and efficiency of food conversion were significantly improved by addition to the ration of copper sulphate (9·7 and 7·9% respectively) and of oxytetracycline (3·1 and 2·3% respectively). The improvement due to copper sulphate was significantly greater than that due to oxytetracycline. There was no further improvement when both supplements were fed together.3. The cold dead weight of the pigs was significantly increased by the two supplements, the carcasses were shorter, and the streaks thicker. Supplementation with oxytetracycline resulted in slightly increased fat over the eye muscle and supplementation with copper resulted in increased depth of eye muscle. Percentage yields of fore-end, middle and gammon were not affected by either supplement.4. None of the treatment × centre interactions was significant.
Seasonal fluctuations in the sexual activity of Awassi, German Mutton Merino, Corriedale, Border-Leicester and Dorset Horn rams:II. Seasonal changes in semen characteristics
Authors: Amir D. , Volcani R. 
Published: March 2009

Semen characteristics of local and imported rams were studied over a period of 2 years.Awassi and Border-Leicester rams with regular Awassi and Border-Leicester rams with regular semen collections throughout the year showed definite seasonal variations in the volume and number of sperms in their ejaculates: maximum levels during the autumn and minimum during the spring months. The sperm density reached its maximum during the spring and its minimum during the autumn as a result of the opposite changes of the semen volume. In the rams without regular semen collections, as those kept in the flock, these seasonal changes were not distinct. In the imported rams from breeds without a
Upgrading the indigenous poultry of Uganda IV. Egg production
Authors: Trail J. C. M. 
Published: March 2009

Data on egg production, egg weight, food consumption, broodiness, mortality and body weights of the progeny of indigenous poultry of Uganda crossed with Light Sussex, White Leghorn, Rhode Island Red and Black Australorp breeds were collected collected over the 25-week period from 161 to 336 days of age and compared with the performances of indigenous poultry.In comparison with the indigenous birds, the cross-breeds had a 61% higher mean egg production rate, a 34% lower food consumption per pound of eggs produced, a 15% higher egg weight, a 30% reduction in mortality, a 23% increase in body weight and a decrease in broodiness.All the cross-breeds were superior in productive respects to the indigenous birds and the White Leghorn and Light Sussex breeds appeared to be the best for use in the upgrading of indigenous stock for highest egg production results.
The effects of exposure in Blackface sheep with particular reference to the role of the fleece
Authors: Doney J. M. 
Published: March 2009

1. The effect of shelter from winter conditions was studied in terms of body-weight change of dry sheep individually fed a maintenance ration. In 2 years, one a mild and the other a hard winter, the exposed group lost weight relative to the sheltered group.2. Within the treatments attempts were made to relate individual weight loss to a variety of fleece components. These results were not conclusive, but they suggest that such components as depth of wool and weight or volume of wool per unit area of skin have some effect in reducing weight loss under climatic stress conditions.3. A method of measuring the insulation provided by the fleece in dry environmental conditions was developed. It was shown that exposure to moderate winds increased the heat flow by between three and five times. The results again suggested that significant differences in insulation could be found between sheep within a breed. It was not possible to demonstrate the overwhelming importance of any single fleece component.
Differential response of chickpea (Cicer arietinum)genotypes to salinity
Authors: Dua R. P. 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYTwenty genotypes of chickpea, selected according to their performance in trials conducted during 1988/89 in saline fields having equal concentrations of SO4and Cl, were studied during 1989/90 at Karnal, India. The Cl-dominated soils were divided into microplots with ECe values of 2, 4, 6 and 8 dS/m. Germination, although delayed at ECe 6 and 8 dS/m, was not inhibited up to ECe 8 dS/m. The sensitivity of all genotypes increased with plant growth and greater salinity. Plant growth was most adversely affected by a salinity of ECe 8 dSm. 100-seed weight was less affected by salinity than other yield components, namely, number of pods/plant, number of seeds/plant and seed yield/plant. Chlorides had a more severe toxic effect when present in domination than when they were balanced by an equal concentration of sulphates. Genotypes varied in their tolerance of Cl-dominated salinity. Cultivars ICCC32 and 1CCL86446 showed the most tolerance to Cl-salinity, having > 0·75 Mean Tolerance Index values for all eight characters, followed by ICC5003, ICC10575, ICC12908 and ICC12926. ICC12928 had the highest mean tolerance index value for number of pods/plant and highest threshold value and ICC4953 the highest mean tolerance index for 100-seed weight, indicating their better tolerance at flowering and maturity respectively. Therefore, crossing genotypes of the latter with the former group should produce some recombinants with improved tolerance to salinity at all growth stages and at maturity.
Growth cabinet studies into cold-tolerance of Festuca arundinacea populations: III. Cold tolerance of roots and shoots
Authors: Thomas W. D. , Lazenby Alec 
Published: March 2009

SUMMARYPlants of three populations of Festuca arundinacea, syn. 1 and syn. 2 (North African) and S. 170 (British) were subjected to 3 h cold stress treatments in the range 13–25 °F. Such treatments were applied independently to either roots or shoots, the untreated plant portions remaining at 35–40 F°.In all populations considerable tiller death occurred following exposure of roots to temperatures of 17 °F or below; however at no temperature was there complete killing of tillers. Tiller deaths occurred following shoot exposure to temperatures below 21 °F in syn. 1 and syn. 2, and below 19 °F in S. 170. Universal mortality occurred in all populations after shoot exposure to 13 °F.The degree of insulation of the root: shoot junctions affected survival of both roots and shoots in all populations. Discrepancies between apparent damage to plant parts following treatment, and subsequent survival, suggested that the ability of plants to replace damaged parts might influence survival.Conclusions are included from the completed programme of growth cabinet studies on cold tolerance of F. arundinacea populations reported in the present series of papers.