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Terms modified by Inaccessible Selected AbstractsStrategies for Successful Marine Conservation: Integrating Socioeconomic, Political, and Scientific FactorsCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2005CAROLYN J. LUNDQUIST áreas marinas protegidas; planificación de conservación; reservas marinas Abstract:,As the process of marine-protected-area design and implementation evolves, the incorporation of new tools will advance our ability to create and maintain effective protected areas. We reviewed characteristics and approaches that contribute to successful global marine conservation efforts. One successful characteristic emphasized in most case studies is the importance of incorporating stakeholders at all phases of the process. Clearly defined goals and objectives at all stages of the design process are important for improved communication and standardized expectations of stakeholder groups. The inclusion of available science to guide the size and design of marine protected areas and to guide clear monitoring strategies that assess success at scientific, social, and economic levels is also an important tool in the process. Common shortcomings in marine conservation planning strategies include government instability and resultant limitations to monitoring and enforcement, particularly in developing nations. Transferring knowledge to local community members has also presented challenges in areas where in situ training, local capacity, and existing infrastructure are sparse. Inaccessible, unavailable, or outdated science is often a limitation to conservation projects in developed and developing nations. To develop and maintain successful marine protected areas, it is necessary to acknowledge that each case is unique, to apply tools and lessons learned from other marine protected areas, and to maintain flexibility to adjust to the individual circumstances of the case at hand. Resumen:,A medida que evoluciona el proceso de diseño e implementación de áreas marinas protegidas, la incorporación de nuevas herramientas mejorará nuestra habilidad para crear y mantener áreas protegidas efectivas. Revisamos las características y enfoques que contribuyen a los esfuerzos exitosos de conservación marina global. La importancia de incorporar a los actores en todas las fases del proceso es una característica exitosa enfatizada en la mayoría de los estudios de caso. Es importante que haya metas y objetivos claramente definidos para todas las etapas del proceso de diseño para mejorar la comunicación y estandarizar las expectativas de los grupos interesados. La inclusión de la ciencia disponible para guiar el tamaño y diseño de áreas marinas protegidas y para guiar las estrategias de monitoreo que evalúa el éxito a nivel científico, social y económico también son herramientas importantes en el proceso. Defectos comunes en las estrategias de planificación de conservación marina incluyen la inestabilidad gubernamental y las resultantes limitaciones para el monitoreo y vigilancia, particularmente en países en desarrollo. La transferencia de conocimiento a miembros de la comunidad local también ha enfrentado retos en áreas donde el entrenamiento in situ, la aptitud local y la infraestructura existente son escasos. La ciencia inaccesible, no disponible u obsoleta a menudo es una limitación para los proyectos de conservación en países desarrollados y en desarrollo. Para desarrollar y mantener áreas marinas protegidas exitosas, es necesario reconocer que cada caso es único, aplicar herramientas y lecciones aprendidas en otras áreas marinas protegidas y mantener la flexibilidad para ajustarse a las circunstancias individuales de cada caso. [source] The LEAD Portal: a TeraGrid gateway and application service architectureCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 6 2007Marcus Christie Abstract The Linked Environments for Atmospheric Discovery (LEAD) Portal is a science application portal designed to enable effective use of Grid resources in exploring mesoscale meteorological phenomena. The aim of the LEAD Portal is to provide a more productive interface for doing experimental work by the meteorological research community, as well as bringing weather research to a wider class of users, meaning pre-college students in grades 6,12 and undergraduate college students. In this paper, we give an overview of the LEAD project and the role that LEAD portal is playing in reaching its goals. We then describe the various technologies we are using to bring powerful and complex scientific tools to educational and research users. These technologies,a fine-grained capability based authorization framework, an application service factory toolkit, and a Web services-based workflow execution engine and supporting tools,enable our team to deploy these once inaccessible, stovepipe scientific codes onto a Grid where they can be collectively utilized. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Checkpointing BSP parallel applications on the InteGrade Grid middlewareCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 6 2006Raphael Y. de Camargo Abstract InteGrade is a Grid middleware infrastructure that enables the use of idle computing power from user workstations. One of its goals is to support the execution of long-running parallel applications that present a considerable amount of communication among application nodes. However, in an environment composed of shared user workstations spread across many different LANs, machines may fail, become inaccessible, or may switch from idle to busy very rapidly, compromising the execution of the parallel application in some of its nodes. Thus, to provide some mechanism for fault tolerance becomes a major requirement for such a system. In this paper, we describe the support for checkpoint-based rollback recovery of Bulk Synchronous Parallel applications running over the InteGrade middleware. This mechanism consists of periodically saving application state to permit the application to restart its execution from an intermediate execution point in case of failure. A precompiler automatically instruments the source code of a C/C++ application, adding code for saving and recovering application state. A failure detector monitors the application execution. In case of failure, the application is restarted from the last saved global checkpoint. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Rapid and easy semi-quantitative evaluation method for diacylglycerol and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate generation in orexin receptor signallingACTA PHYSIOLOGICA, Issue 3 2010M. E. Ekholm Abstract Aim:, Fluorescent protein-based indicators have enabled measurement of intracellular signals previously nearly inaccessible for studies. However, indicators showing intracellular translocation upon response suffer from serious limitations, especially the very time-consuming data collection. We therefore set out in this study to evaluate whether fixing and counting cells showing translocation could mend this issue. Methods:, Altogether three different genetically encoded indicators for diacylglycerol and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate were transiently expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing human OX1 orexin receptors. Upon stimulation with orexin-A, the cells were fixed with six different protocols. Results:, Different protocols showed clear differences in their ability to preserve the indicator's localization (i.e. translocation after stimulus) and its fluorescence, and the best results for each indicator were obtained with a different protocol. The concentration,response data obtained with cell counting are mostly comparable to the real-time translocation and biochemical data. Conclusion:, The counting method, as used here, works at single time point and looses the single-cell-quantitative aspect. However, it also has some useful properties. First, it easily allows processing of a 100- to 1000-fold higher cell numbers than real-time imaging producing statistically consistent population-quantitative data much faster. Secondly, it does not require expensive real-time imaging equipment. Fluorescence in fixed cells can also be quantitated, though this analysis would be more time-consuming than cell counting. Thirdly, in addition to the quantitative data collection, the method could be applied for identifying responsive cells. This might be very useful in identification of e.g. orexin-responding neurones in a large population of non-responsive cells in primary cultures. [source] Database of queryable gene expression patterns for XenopusDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 6 2009Michael J. Gilchrist Abstract The precise localization of gene expression within the developing embryo, and how it changes over time, is one of the most important sources of information for elucidating gene function. As a searchable resource, this information has up until now been largely inaccessible to the Xenopus community. Here, we present a new database of Xenopus gene expression patterns, queryable by specific location or region in the embryo. Pattern matching can be driven either from an existing in situ image, or from a user-defined pattern based on development stage schematic diagrams. The data are derived from the work of a group of 21 Xenopus researchers over a period of 4 days. We used a novel, rapid manual annotation tool, XenMARK, which exploits the ability of the human brain to make the necessary distortions in transferring data from the in situ images to the standard schematic geometry. Developmental Dynamics 238:1379,1388, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] High-resolution computer simulation of the dynamics of isoelectric focusing of proteinsELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 2 2004Wolfgang Thormann Abstract A dynamic electrophoresis simulator that accepts 150 components and voltage gradients employed in the laboratory was used to provide a detailed description of the focusing process of proteins under conditions that were hitherto inaccessible. High-resolution focusing data of four hemoglobin variants in a convection-free medium are presented for pH 3,10 and pH 5,8 gradients formed with 20 and 40 carrier ampholytes/pH unit, respectively. With 300 V/cm, focusing is shown to occur within 5,10 min, whereas at 600 V/cm separation is predicted to be complete between 2.5 and 5 min. The time interval required for focusing of proteins is demonstrated to be dependent on the input protein charge data and, however less, on the properties of the carrier ampholytes. The simulation data reveal that the number of transient protein boundaries migrating from the two ends of the column towards the focusing positions is equal to the number of sample components. Each protein is being focused via the well-known double-peak approach to equilibrium, a process that is also characteristic for focusing of the carrier ampholytes. The predicted focusing dynamics for the hemoglobin variants in pH 3,10 and pH 5,8 gradients are shown to qualitatively agree well with experimental data obtained by whole-column optical imaging. [source] Mapping the information resources available to patients with colorectal cancerEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, Issue 4 2010S.J. KING phd KING S.J., LIVINGSTON P.M., TURNER L., BYRNE K., JOHN M., SIDWELL J. & SCOTT C. (2010) European Journal of Cancer Care Mapping the information resources available to patients with colorectal cancer The objectives of this study were to identify gaps in information provision along the colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment pathway as provided by health services within the North Eastern Metropolitan Integrated Cancer Service in Victoria Australia; to evaluate the information and recommend consistent, high quality health information resources; and to recommend strategies to improve delivery of patient information. A random sample of health professionals (n= 47) from various disciplines at eight health service sites participated in semi-structured interviews regarding the types of information they provided to CRC patients. Information items were mapped against a published CRC patient management framework and evaluated. A total of 193 information items were collected with 24 items specific to CRC. Gaps in information provision were evident in the community, at diagnosis, in clinics, when treatment was determined and when completed. The quality of information delivery to CRC patients across the public health sites was variable. Resources were often unavailable, out of date and inaccessible in other languages. Results indicate a need to improve health information availability and resource delivery to all CRC patients across different health services particularly at diagnosis and after treatment. Further research is required to determine patient preferences for information about CRC. [source] Hydroxy Derivatives of Diamantane, Triamantane, and [121]Tetramantane: Selective Preparation of Bis-Apical Derivatives,EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Issue 28 2007Natalie A. Fokina Abstract Functionalizations of diamantane, triamantane, and tetramantane with electrophilic reagents (Br2, nitric acid) lead to various apical and medial disubstituted products that were separated and characterized individually. The highly desirable and otherwise inaccessible thermodynamically more stable apical bis-derivatives were obtained with high preparative yields through acid catalyzed isomerizations. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007) [source] Reduced pole placement method for cascaded frequency control via dispersed pulse invertersEUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 4 2005J. Sachau Abstract For modular power systems, structures with parallel power inverters are favourable in view of both easy expandability and supply security. The inverters' embedded controllers are implementing voltage and frequency droops and the superimposed frequency control is coupled via fieldbus. This is a case where a superimposed control is acting via one or more locally dispersed subimposed control-loops. As the states of the subimposed loops are inaccessible, their feedback is no longer viable. The method of reduced pole placement allows reformulation of the design task as complete state feedback without employing a feedback of the single virtual state that just globally describes the one or more subimposed systems. Results are presented for a robust grid frequency controller acting via dispersed pulse inverters. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Molecular modeling of the dimeric structure of human lipoprotein lipase and functional studies of the carboxyl-terminal domainFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 18 2002Yoko Kobayashi Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) plays a key role in lipid metabolism. Molecular modeling of dimeric LPL was carried out using insight ii based upon the crystal structures of human, porcine, and horse pancreatic lipase. The dimeric model reveals a saddle-shaped structure and the key heparin-binding residues in the amino-terminal domain located on the top of this saddle. The models of two dimeric conformations , a closed, inactive form and an open, active form , differ with respect to how surface-loop positions affect substrate access to the catalytic site. In the closed form, the surface loop covers the catalytic site, which becomes inaccessible to solvent. Large conformational changes in the open form, especially in the loop and carboxyl-terminal domain, allow substrate access to the active site. To dissect the structure,function relationships of the LPL carboxyl-terminal domain, several residues predicted by the model structure to be essential for the functions of heparin binding and substrate recognition were mutagenized. Arg405 plays an important role in heparin binding in the active dimer. Lys413/Lys414 or Lys414 regulates heparin affinity in both monomeric and dimeric forms. To evaluate the prediction that LPL forms a homodimer in a ,head-to-tail' orientation, two inactive LPL mutants , a catalytic site mutant (S132T) and a substrate-recognition mutant (W390A/W393A/W394A) , were cotransfected into COS7 cells. Lipase activity could be recovered only when heterodimerization occurred in a head-to-tail orientation. After cotransfection, 50% of the wild-type lipase activity was recovered, indicating that lipase activity is determined by the interaction between the catalytic site on one subunit and the substrate-recognition site on the other. [source] The Suffering Mother and the Miserable Son: Organizing Women and Organizing Women's WritingGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 2 2000Heather Höpfl This paper examines the contribution of the writing of Julia Kristeva (1941, ) to post-structuralist ideas about gender in organizations. In particular, it deals with the relationship between her writing and the disciplining of text and, by a parallel movement, with her writings about the body and the regulation of the body. However, it must be said that her writings are ,extremely difficult and complex, and certainly intimidating and inaccessible to the non-specialist' (Lechte 1990, p. 2) but, despite this, Kristeva has come to be considered one of the foremost contemporary French thinkers and her writings have exerted a significant influence on both feminism and postmodernist ideas. Ironically, Kristeva is neither French by birth nor a feminist in the sense that the term is generally understood. Indeed, she has been highly critical of those feminists whom she regards as seeking ,phallic power' (Kristeva 1980, p. 208). [source] Origin of post-Minoan caves and volcaniclastic cave fill, Thera (Santorini), GreeceGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003Joan M. Ramage The Aegean island of Thera (Santorini) was covered by tephra from its cataclysmic Late Bronze Age (ca. 3600 yr B.P.) eruption. Vertical exposures of the eruptive sequence show secondary, nonvolcanic, circular (in cross section) features composed of stratified sediment. Many are inaccessible from the floors of modern quarries and appear to be caves filled with younger sediment, but show no connection to the land surface. A filled cave was found in the wall of a modern gully outside the modern quarries, and a filled cave was found in a terrace scarp, well above the modern gully. Natural (and probably rapid) incision by gullies into the thick tephra deposit left many locations with lateral access to tephra. Inhabitants from post-Minoan to recent times excavated tephra for materials and buildings, and caves were subsequently filled by sporadic (possibly seasonal) flood events that deposited sediment. These gullies may have provided access for modern tephra removal that isolated the filled caves high on the modern quarry walls. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Population Synthesis: Comparing the Major Techniques Using a Small, Complete Population of FirmsGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2009Justin Ryan Recently, disaggregate modeling efforts that rely on microdata have received wide attention by scholars and practitioners. Synthetic population techniques have been devised and are used as a viable alternative to the collection of microdata that normally are inaccessible because of confidentiality concerns or incomplete because of high acquisition costs. The two most widely discussed synthetic techniques are the synthetic reconstruction method (IPFSR), which makes use of iterative proportional fitting (IPF) techniques, and the combinatorial optimization (CO) method. Both methods are described in this article and then evaluated in terms of their ability to recreate a known population of firms, using limited data extracted from the parent population of the firms. Testing a synthetic population against a known population is seldom done, because obtaining an entire population usually is too difficult. The case presented here uses a small, complete population of firms for the City of Hamilton, Ontario, for the year 1990; firm attributes compiled are number of employees, 3-digit standard industrial classification, and geographic location. Results are summarized for experiments based upon various combinations of sample size and tabulation detail designed to maximize the accuracy of resulting synthetic populations while holding input data costs to a minimum. The output from both methods indicates that increases in sample size and tabulation detail result in higher quality synthetic populations, although the quality of the generated population is more sensitive to increases in tabular detail. Finally, most tests conducted with the created synthetic populations suggest that the CO method is superior to the IPFSR method. Los modelos desagregados basados en micro data han recibido la atención relativamente reciente de los círculos académicos y de aplicación. La colección de dicha data es una tarea difícil por cuestiones de accesibilidad, confidencialidad, datos incompletos o altos costos de adquisición. Por esta razón se han creado indicadores sintéticos como a alternativa a la recolección directa de datos. Los dos indicadores sintéticos mas discutidos/conocidos son el método de Reconstrucción Sintética (Sytnthetic Reconstruction method) (IPFSR) que hace uso de técnicas de Ajuste Proporcional Iterativo (IPF); y el método Optimización Combinatoria (CO). Ambos métodos son descritos en este artículo y luego evaluados en base a su habilidad de recrear una población de empresas ya conocidas o preestablecidas. Contrastar una población sintética versus una población conocida es una operación poco frecuente porque la obtención de una población entera es por lo general bastante difícil. El caso presentado en este estudio utiliza una población pequeña y completa de empresas en la ciudad de Hamilton, Ontario (Canadá) para el año 1990. Las variables recopiladas son el número de empleados, SIC (código estandarizado de clasificación industrial), y ubicación geográfica. Los resultados que se reportan en el presente estudio son producto de varios experimentos basados en varias combinaciones del tamaño de la muestra, y del detalle en la tabulación diseñados, los mismos que fueron diseñados para maximizar la exactitud de las poblaciones sintéticas calculadas y al mismo tiempo minimizar los costos de datos necesarios. Los resultados obtenidos por ambos métodos indica que los incrementos en el tamaño de la muestra y en el detalle de la tabulación resultan en un estimado de poblaciones mejor, aunque este estimado es particularmente sensible a incrementos en el detalle de las tabulaciones. Finalmente, la mayoría de pruebas realizadas con las poblaciones sintéticas generadas para este estudio sugieren que el método CO es superior al método IPFSR. [source] A Simple Pore Water Hydrogen Diffusion Syringe SamplerGROUND WATER, Issue 6 2007Don A. Vroblesky Molecular hydrogen (H2) is an important intermediate product and electron donor in microbial metabolism. Concentrations of dissolved H2 are often diagnostic of the predominant terminal electron-accepting processes in ground water systems or aquatic sediments. H2 concentrations are routinely measured in ground water monitoring wells but are rarely measured in saturated aquatic sediments due to a lack of simple and practical sampling methods. This report describes the design and development (including laboratory and field testing) of a simple, syringe-based H2 sampler in (1) saturated, riparian sediments, (2) surface water bed sediments, and (3) packed intervals of a fractured bedrock borehole that are inaccessible by standard pumped methods. [source] The dynamics of unattached benthic macroalgal accumulations in the Swan,Canning EstuaryHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 13 2001Helen Astill Abstract It has been suggested that macroalgal accumulations may impact on benthic nutrient cycling by promoting remineralization of sedimentary nutrients, otherwise inaccessible, and act as sinks/sources for dissolved nutrients in the water column. However, little consideration has been given to the time taken for these impacts to occur, and if accumulations persist long enough in a region for impacts to occur. In this study, accumulations were characterized seasonally, according to biomass, height relative to water depth, and organic content of the underlying sediment, from November 1996 to August 1997, in the Swan,Canning Estuary. Persistence of accumulations was measured from late summer to mid-winter in 1997, by tagging individual plants and recording the time tagged plants persisted at 10 sites. In summer 1998, physicochemical profiles of accumulations were measured over 24 h, at two locations: one with relatively low sediment organic content (SOCn) (1·5% LOI) and one with relatively high SOC (6% LOI). Accumulations rarely exceeded 25 cm in height, regardless of water column depth, and ranged between 100 and 500 g dwt m,2. Macroalgae persisted between one week, in relatively well-flushed regions, to one month in areas with poor flushing. Over the entire diurnal period, almost 100% of incident light was attenuated at the bottom of all accumulations. Dissolved oxygen levels at the bottom of accumulations were generally depressed, particularly at night, with hypoxia (1 mg l,1) recorded at the high SOC site at 03 : 00 h. No significant differences in FRP concentrations (approximately 30,60 µg l,1) were recorded between sites, or within accumulation profiles. Ammonium levels were greatly raised inside accumulations at the high SOC site by 03 : 00 h (10 and 300 µg l,1, inside and outside, respectively). The results show that, where SOC is high, conditions within accumulations are affected. Impacts occurred within 24 h; well within the period for which accumulations persist. These results also indicate that regulation of hydrological regimes in estuarine systems may result in increased persistence of macroalgal accumulations, and associated water quality problems. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Changes in chromatin structure and methylation of the human interleukin-1, gene during monopoiesisIMMUNOLOGY, Issue 3 2010Inga Wessels Summary Interleukin-1, (IL-1,) induces the expression of a variety of proteins responsible for acute inflammation and chronic inflammatory diseases. However, the molecular regulation of IL-1, expression in myeloid differentiation has not been elucidated. In this study the chromatin structure of the IL-1, promoter and the impact of methylation on IL-1, expression in monocytic development were examined. The results revealed that the IL-1, promoter was inaccessible in undifferentiated promyeloid HL-60 cells but highly accessible in differentiated monocytic cells which additionally acquired the ability to produce IL-1,. Accessibilities of differentiated cells were comparable to those of primary monocytes. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation did not affect promoter accessibility in promyeloid and monocytic HL-60 cells, demonstrating that the chromatin remodelling of the IL-1, promoter depends on differentiation and not on the transcriptional status of the cell. Demethylation via 5-aza-2,-deoxycytodine led to the induction of IL-1, expression in undifferentiated and differentiated cells, which could be increased after LPS stimulation. Our data indicate that the IL-1, promoter is reorganized into an open poised conformation during monopoiesis being a privilege of mature monocytes but not of the entire myeloid lineage. As a second mechanism, IL-1, expression is regulated by methylation acting independently of the developmental stage of myeloid cells. [source] Germ-line transformation and RNAi of the ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridisINSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2006H. Kuwayama Abstract To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the tremendous diversity of insect wing colour patterns, it is imperative to identify and functionally characterize the genes involved in this developmental process. Here we report the first successful germ-line transformation using the transposable element vector piggyBac in the ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis, which demonstrates typical genetic polymorphism in its wing colour patterns. The transformation efficiency by piggyBac was 3.7% per fertile G0. We investigated the effectiveness of RNAi in Harmonia by injecting EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) dsRNA into early transgenic EGFP-expressing embryos and observed substantial reduction of EGFP fluorescence in 87.2% of hatched larvae. Application of these new genetic tools to non-model insects such as Harmonia will facilitate the broad understanding of developmental mechanisms and evolutionary processes that are inaccessible using established model systems. [source] Induced and repressed genes after irradiation sensitizing by pentoxyphylline,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER, Issue 6 2007Waldemar Waldeck Abstract Aim in cancer therapy is to increase the therapeutic ratio eliminating the disease while minimizing toxicity to normal tissues. Radiation therapy is a main component in targeting cancer. Radiosensitizing agents like pentoxyphylline (PTX) have been evaluated to improve radiotherapy. Commonly, cells respond to radiation by the activation of specific early and late response genes as well as by inhibition of genes, which are expressed under normal conditions. A display of the genetic distinctions at the level of transcription is given here to characterize the molecular events underlying the radiosensitizing mechanisms. The method of suppression subtractive hybridization allows the visualization of both induced and repressed genes in irradiated cells compared with cells sensitized immediately after irradiation. The genes were isolated by cDNA-cloning, differential analysis and sequence similarity search. Genes involved in protein synthesis, metabolism, proteolysis and transcriptional regulation were detected. It is important that genes like KIAA280, which were only known as unidentified EST sequences before without function, but inaccessible by array technology were recovered as functional genes. Database searches for PTX-induced genes detected a human mRNA completely unknown. In case of suppressed genes, we detected several mRNAs; one thereof shows homology to a hypothetical protein possibly involved in signal transduction. A further mRNA encodes the protein BM036 supposed to associate with the E2F transcription factor. A hypothetical protein H41 was detected, which may repress the Her-2/neu receptor influencing breast cancer, gliomas and prostate tumors. Radiation combined with PTX may lead to a better prognosis by down regulation of the Her-2/neu, which will be proven by clinical studies in the near future. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Visitor and non-visitor images of Central and Eastern Europe: a qualitative analysisINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 1 2008Howard L. Hughes Abstract This study examines the image of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as a holiday destination. The countries are linked by having had communist governments and being inaccessible to tourists from outside the communist bloc. Currently, they seek new tourist markets and this study examines the views of a number of UK residents about destination image of CEE. The study examines, through semi-structured interviews, images held by people who have and who have not visited CEE. The data is analysed qualitatively. Few significant differences were found between views of visitors and non-visitors; most views were positive and associated favourably with ,culture'. Negative images were usually associated with the eastern part of the area especially ex-Yugoslavia. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Consequences of introducing the invasive amphipod Gmelinoides fasciatus into large shallow Lake Peipsi: present distribution and possible effects on fish foodJOURNAL OF APPLIED ICHTHYOLOGY, Issue 2010K. Kangur Summary The objective of the study was to assess the effect of the Baikalian amphipod Gmelinoides fasciatus, a successful invader into Europe, as a fish food source in Lake Peipsi to where it was introduced in the 1970s. In 2002,2006, the littoral macrozoobenthos was studied along 17 transects (0.1,4 m depth, 384 quantitative samples) to determine the recent distribution of G. fasciatus and its share in the benthic community. Earlier records on the littoral macrozoobenthos from the years 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000 were also used for comparison. Our results indicate that the invasive G. fasciatus is the dominant species (about 43% of total macrozoobenthos abundance) in the littoral zone of Lake Peipsi, while the native gammarids Gammarus lacustris and Pallasea quadrispinosa appear to be extinct and oligochaetes seem to have declined. G. fasciatus preferred hard substrates and it was mainly distributed close to water shallow beach areas (water depth <0.2 m), where its abundance reached locally up to 29 000 ind. m,2 (97% of total macrozoobenthos abundance). This distribution pattern of the invader in summer makes it mostly inaccessible for adult fish and increases its survival rate. Being highly mobile, G. fasciatus is not sensitive to water level fluctuations in shallow lakes. These behavioural characteristic increase its population success. [source] Why are very large herbivores absent from Australia?JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2000A new theory of micronutrients Abstract Aim We propose a Megacatalyst Theory, based on the pivotal role of the micronutrients iodine (I), cobalt (Co) and selenium (Se), in answer to the body size anomaly of herbivores on different continents, and the previously unexplained absence of megaherbivores in certain environments. Location It is anomalous that megaherbivores are absent from Australia while present in even dry and nutrient-poor parts of southern Africa, and that they have been exterminated from the Americas, but not south-east Asia. Methods We hypothesize that I, Co and Se are micronutrients in quantity, but megacatalysts in effect, determining maximum body size and pace of life, hence whether energy is used by animals or fire. The Megacatalyst Theory suggests that the greater the reproductive rate and brain size relative to body size, the greater the probable demand for I, Co and Se. Results Balanced supply of I, Co and Se, within narrow tolerances, is elusive because of disparate cycles: I gravitates towards the sea, whereas Co and Se are concentrated in ultramafics and organic shales, respectively. Sufficiency of these micronutrients, at less than toxic concentrations, is vital for rapid metabolism and growth, particularly of the nervous system. Iodine controls thermogenesis, Co controls the gut fermentation supplying herbivores, and Se controls biochemical damage where both processes occur rapidly. The supply of Co allows vegetation to be metabolized instead of combusted, by promoting digestion of fibre by gut microbes. Herbivores demand I, Co and Se in greater concentrations than palatable plants necessarily contain, as an increasing proportion of energy is fermented from fibre with increasing body size. Economy of scale is limited by loss of I in urine (partly compensated by thyroid size), Co in faeces (partly compensated by gut compartments), and Se both ways. Main conclusions The larger the herbivore species, the more it may depend on supplementation in order to survive predation by humans. As body mass increases, Co becomes deficient before I, because it is essential for rumination, and cannot be absorbed by the skin. Moderate uplift of a fairly flat landscape sustainably supplies I from mineralized springs, and Co from rocks (and Se from both), avoiding the excess of I in the sea and the excess of Co on high mountains. Iodine and Se leached to groundwater under dry climates are inaccessible to herbivores on a continent as flat as Australia, where even kangaroos have limited fecundity and intelligence compared to southern African ruminants of similar body mass. Where springs and associated earth-licks were available in the late Pleistocene, megaherbivores could evolve to survive the era of domestication. [source] Baobabs and elephants in Kruger National Park: nowhere to hideAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2008M. T. Edkins Abstract Baobab size class distributions were surveyed in the Limpopo National Park (LNP), Mozambique, and the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. There are very few elephants in the LNP and the baobab population there had a reverse J-shaped size class distribution with many small baobabs. In contrast, the elephant-impacted baobab population of KNP displayed a mono-modal size-class distribution, with a lack in recruitment. Within KNP, elephant impact (percentage bark stripped up to the height of 3 m) decreased with increasing rockiness and slope steepness. We interpret this to suggest that steep rocky slopes are inaccessible to elephants and therefore these sites may act as a refuge for baobabs. In such inaccessible areas, the baobab population has a similar size-class distribution to that of the populations in the LNP. However, these baobab refugia are restricted in the northern KNP landscape and are therefore probably not large enough to sustain a viable baobab population. Résumé On a étudié la distribution des classes de taille des baobabs dans le Parc National de Limpopo (LNP), au Mozambique et au Parc National Kruger (KNP), en Afrique du Sud. Il y a très peu d'éléphants dans le LNP, et la population de baobabs y connaît une distribution de classes de taille en J inversé, avec de nombreux petits baobabs. Par contre, la population de baobabs du KNP est influencée par les éléphants et présente une distribution monomodale, avec un manque de recrutement. Au sein du KNP, l'impact des éléphants (le pourcentage d'écorces arrachées jusqu'à une hauteur de 3 mètres) diminuait quand augmentait le caractère rocailleux et abrupt des pentes. Nous interprétons cela et suggérons que les pentes abruptes et rocailleuses sont inaccessibles aux éléphants et que ces endroits peuvent donc servir de refuges pour les baobabs. Dans ces endroits inaccessibles, la population de baobabs a une distribution de classes semblable à celles des populations du LNP. Cependant, ces refuges pour baobabs se limitent au paysage nord du KNP et ne sont donc probablement pas suffisants pour accueillir une population de baobabs viable. [source] Novel computer program for fast exact calculation of accessible and molecular surface areas and average surface curvatureJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2002Oleg V. Tsodikov Abstract New computer programs, SurfRace and FastSurf, perform fast calculations of the solvent accessible and molecular (solvent excluded) surface areas of macromolecules. Program SurfRace also calculates the areas of cavities inaccessible from the outside. We introduce the definition of average curvature of molecular surface and calculate average molecular surface curvatures for each atom in a structure. All surface area and curvature calculations are analytic and therefore yield exact values of these quantities. High calculation speed of this software is achieved primarily by avoiding computationally expensive mathematical procedures wherever possible and by efficient handling of surface data structures. The programs are written initially in the language C for PCs running Windows 2000/98/NT, but their code is portable to other platforms with only minor changes in input-output procedures. The algorithm is robust and does not ignore either multiplicity or degeneracy of atomic overlaps. Fast, memory-efficient and robust execution make this software attractive for applications both in computationally expensive energy minimization algorithms, such as docking or molecular dynamics simulations, and in stand-alone surface area and curvature calculations. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 23: 600,609, 2002 [source] Use of parenteral nutrition in hospitals in the North of EnglandJOURNAL OF HUMAN NUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 1 2007S. A. Hearnshaw Abstract Background, Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a costly technology used widely to provide nutrition to patients who have an inaccessible or nonfunctioning intestine. A prospective survey was designed to collect data on PN for inpatients to study the current use of PN, its complications and outcomes in the north of England. The study objectives were to use the Northern Nutrition Network to collect data from all acute hospital inpatients prospectively receiving PN, for 3 months and to provide evidence for current PN practice, and to establish whether this is in line with recognized published clinical guidelines. Methods, Using a paper-based collection tool information was recorded on aspects of PN including: total inpatient episodes, patient demographics, indications, duration, venous access used, complications, number returning to enteral feeding and mortality. The presence of a nutrition support team was also recorded. Results, Data on 193 patient PN episodes were recorded totalling 1708 patient days. The median age of the patients was 67 years. Of these, 158 (82%) were deemed to have a clear indication for PN using the indications cited in the NICE guidelines (http://www.nice.org.uk). The median duration of PN was 7 days (range 1,93). Thirty (16%) patients developed complications due to PN, 23 (12%) had catheter infections which were most common on medical wards. Thirty-nine (20%) patients died within 28 days of PN starting; no deaths were attributable to PN. A total of 118 (61%) patients returned to full enteral feeding. Only three hospitals had nutrition support teams, which had no significant effect on outcomes. Conclusions, Parenteral nutrition practice in the north of England is generally in line with current guidelines, however, only three of 15 hospitals had nutrition support teams. Eighteen per cent of patients did not have a clearly documented indication for PN and 15% developed a complication, most often a catheter-related infection. [source] Real-time Fourier velocity encoding: An in vivo evaluationJOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING, Issue 3 2005Christopher K. Macgowan PhD Abstract Purpose To compare in vivo real-time Fourier velocity encoding (FVE), spectral-Doppler ultrasound, and phase-contrast (PC) magnetic-resonance (MR) imaging. Materials and Methods In vivo velocity spectra were measured in the suprarenal and infrarenal aorta and the hepatic segment of the inferior vena cava of eight normal volunteers using FVE, and compared to similar measurements using Doppler ultrasound and gated PC MR imaging. In vivo waveforms were compared qualitatively according to flow pattern appearance (number, shape, and position of velocity peaks) and quantitatively according to peak velocity. Results Good agreement was obtained between peak velocities measured in vitro using FVE and PC MR imaging (R2 = 0.99, P = 2.10,6, slope = 0.97 ± 0.05). Qualitatively, the FVE and ultrasound measurements agreed closely in the majority of in vivo cases (excellent or good in 21/24 cases) while the PC MR method resolved fewer velocity peaks due to the inherent temporal averaging of cardiac-gated studies (excellent or good agreement with FVE in 13/24 cases). Quantitatively, the FVE measurement of peak velocity correlated strongly with both ultrasound (R2 = 0.71, P = 2.10,7, slope = 0.81 ± 0.08) and PC MR (R2 = 0.85, P = 2.10,10, slope = 1.04 ± 0.08). Conclusion Real-time MR assessment of blood-flow velocity correlated well with spectral Doppler ultrasound. Such new methods may allow hemodynamic information to be acquired in vessels inaccessible to ultrasound or in patients for whom respiratory compensation is not possible. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2005;21:297,304. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Frequent Hemorrhagic Lesions in Cerebral Toxoplasmosis in AIDS PatientsJOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, Issue 2 2009Satyakam Bhagavati MD ABSTRACT Cerebral toxoplasmosis is a frequent complication in immunosuppressed patients such as AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Frequently, lesions are located deep in the brain which are inaccessible for biopsy making rapid diagnosis dependent on accurate interpretation of neuroimaging findings. The commonest cranial CT findings reported in toxoplasmosis are ring enhancing hypodense lesions in basal ganglia or cortical gray matter. Hemorrhage has only rarely been described and is usually seen following antitoxoplasma treatment. We reviewed the records of 11 AIDS patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis and found multiple hemorrhagic cerebral, cerebellar, or brain stem lesions in 7 of 11 patients. Six patients had hemorrhage at the time of initial clinical presentation and one developed hemorrhage following 2 weeks of antitoxoplasma treatment. We conclude that hemorrhagic lesions are frequently found on cranial MRI scans in cerebral toxoplasmosis. AIDS patients presenting with hemorrhagic cerebral lesions should be considered for a trial of presumptive antitoxoplasma treatment. [source] C-terminal region-dependent change of antibody-binding to the Eighth Reelin repeat reflects the signaling activity of ReelinJOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 14 2009Takao Kohno Abstract Reelin is a secreted glycoprotein that plays pivotal roles in the development and function of the brain, but how it activates downstream intracellular signaling is not fully understood. We have recently reported that the highly conserved C-terminal region (CTR) of Reelin is required for its full signaling activity, although the underlying mechanism remains unknown. During biochemical study of Reelin, we serendipitously found that one commercially available anti-Reelin antibody G20 can bind to CTR-lacking mutant Reelin proteins, but not wild-type Reelin, on Western blotting. The G20 epitope resides in the last 19 residues of Reelin-repeat 8 (RR8), and neither posttranslational modification nor proteolysis can explain this effect. Furthermore, when an unrelated sequence, such as FLAG-tag, is inserted between RR8 and CTR, the reactivity of the corresponding antibody greatly decreases. These results suggest that RR8 and CTR form a tight structure that makes the surrounding sequence inaccessible to an antibody. Taking advantage of this phenomenon, we show the existence of CTR-lacking Reelin isoform in vivo for the first time and estimate its contribution to the total amount of secreted Reelin. Importantly, the extent to which Reelin mutants react with G20 is inversely correlated with their signaling activity, indicating that the CTR-induced structural change of RR8 is a prerequisite for downstream signaling activation, presumably via binding to a certain neuronal membrane molecule(s). © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Amphotericin B formulations and drug targetingJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 7 2008J.J. Torrado Abstract Amphotericin B is a low-soluble polyene antibiotic which is able to self-aggregate. The aggregation state can modify its activity and pharmacokinetical characteristics. In spite of its high toxicity it is still widely employed for the treatment of systemic fungal infections and parasitic disease and different formulations are marketed. Some of these formulations, such as liposomal formulations, can be considered as classical examples of drug targeting. The pharmacokinetics, toxicity and activity are clearly dependent on the type of amphotericin B formulation. New drug delivery systems such as liposomes, nanospheres and microspheres can result in higher concentrations of AMB in the liver and spleen, but lower concentrations in kidney and lungs, so decreasing its toxicity. Moreover, the administration of these drug delivery systems can enhance the drug accessibility to organs and tissues (e.g., bone marrow) otherwise inaccessible to the free drug. During the last few years, new AMB formulations (AmBisome®, Abelcet®, and Amphotec®) with an improved efficacy/toxicity ratio have been marketed. This review compares the different formulations of amphotericin B in terms of pharmacokinetics, toxicity and activity and discusses the possible drug targeting effect of some of these new formulations. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:2405,2425, 2008 [source] Characterization of amorphous solids with weak glass transitions using high ramp rate differential scanning calorimetryJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 2 2008Derrick S. Katayama Abstract Measurement of the glass transition temperature (Tg) of proteins and other high molecular weight polymers in the amorphous state is often difficult, since the transition is extremely weak, that is, the ,Cp at the glass transition temperature is small. For example, little is known about the solid-state properties of hydroxyethyl starch (HES), which is beginning to become more commonly evaluated as a bulking agent in pharmaceutical products. For weak thermal events, such as the change in heat capacity at the Tg of a pure protein or large synthetic polymer, increased heating rate should produce greater sensitivity in terms of heat flow. Recent innovations in rapid scanning technology for differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) allow measurements on materials where the thermal events are difficult to detect by conventional DSC. In the current study, measurements of the Tg of proteins in the solid state, amorphous pharmaceutical excipients which have small ,Cp at the glass transition temperature, and bacterial spores, have all been made using high ramp rate DSC, providing information on materials that was inaccessible using conventional DSC methods. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:1013,1024, 2008 [source] Acetylcholine and Alcohol Sensitivity of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: Mutations in Transmembrane DomainsALCOHOLISM, Issue 12 2002Cecilia M. Borghese Background The effect of n-alcohols on glycine and ,-aminobutyric acid type A receptors depends on two specific amino acids (AAs) located in the transmembrane domains (TM) 2 and 3. Our aim was to assess whether the corresponding AAs in the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) also formed a binding pocket for alcohols. Methods We made single AA substitutions in the homologous sites in rat neuronal nAChR ,2 and ,4 (,L261 and ,L283) and expressed them in Xenopus laevis oocytes in combination with ,4 wild type. The effect of different n-alcohols was studied in ,4(L261A),4 and ,4(L283A),4 nAChRs. The effect of ethanol, propanol, and octanol on acetylcholine (ACh) responses was studied in ,2(L261X),4 and ,2(L283X),4 nAChRs. Results Most of the mutations in the ,2 subunit, in either the 261 or the 283 position, induced changes in ACh sensitivity and increased alcohol action, but none was able to reduce ethanol potentiation. In ,4(L283A),4, enhancement of potentiation by short-chain alcohols was observed, as well as a change from inhibition to potentiation for long-chain alcohols. The exposure of the AAs was assessed through the action of a charged thiol-specific reagent on ,2(L261C),4 and ,2(L283C),4, and these experiments suggest that the AA in TM2 is located in a water-accessible position, whereas the AA in TM3 is inaccessible. However, a noncharged thiol-specific reagent did not affect either ACh responses or ethanol effect on ,2(L261C),4. Conclusions The AAs located at positions 261 and 283 of the ,2 and ,4 nAChR subunits do not seem to form a binding pocket for alcohols. Additional studies are required to determine whether alcohols act on a site near these AAs or on sites unrelated to the TM2-TM3 site found in glycine and ,-aminobutyric acid type A receptors. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||