Adoption of Conservation-Tillage Practices in Cotton Production

Replaced with revised version of paper 10/23/07.conservation tillage, cotton, genetically modified seed, herbicide-resistant cotton, stacked-gene cotton, simultaneous logit model, single-equation logit model, technology adoption, Crop Production/Industries,

A Binary Logit Estimation of Factors Affecting Adoption of GPS Guidance Systems by Cotton Producers

Binary logit analysis was used to identify the factors influencing adoption of Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance systems by cotton farmers in 11 Mid-south and Southeastern states. Results indicate that adoption was more likely by those who had already adopted other precision-farming practices and had used computers for farm management. In addition, younger and more affluent farmers were more likely to adopt. Farmers with larger farms and with relatively high yields were also more likely to adopt. Education was not a significant factor in a farmer’s decision to adopt GPS guidance systems.binary logit, cotton, GPS guidance system, marginal effect, precision farming, technology adoption, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Q2, Q16, Q19, Q20, Q24,

Panton-Valentine Leukocidin–positive Staphylococcus aureus, Singapore

10.3201/eid1008.031088Emerging Infectious Diseases1081509-151

Synthesis and antiviral activity of novel spirocyclic nucleosides

The synthesis of a number of spirocyclic ribonucleosides containing either a triazolic or azetidinic system is described, along with two analogous phosphonate derivatives of the former. These systems were constructed from the same β-D-psicofuranose starting material. The triazole spirocyclic nucleosides were constructed using the 1-azido-1-hydroxymethyl derived sugars, where the primary alcohol was alkylated with a range of propargyl bromides, whereas the azetidine systems orginated from the corresponding 1-cyano-1-hydroxymethyl sugars. Owing to their close similarity with ribavirin, the library of compounds were investigated for their antiviral properties using MHV (Murine Hepatitis Virus) as a model

InfiniCloud 2.0: Distributing High Performance Computing across Continents

InfiniCloud 2.0 is the world's first native InfiniBand High Performance Cloud distributed across four continents, spanning Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. The project provides researchers with instant access to computational, storage and network resources distributed around the globe. These resources are then used to build a geographically distributed, virtual supercomputer, complete with globally-accessible parallel file system and job scheduling. This paper describes the high level design and the implementation details of InfiniCloud 2.0. Two example applications types, a gene sequencing pipeline and plasma physics simulation code were chosen to demonstrate the system's capabilities

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Lung Lamellar Bodies and Lysosome-Related Organelles

Pulmonary surfactant is a complex mixture of lipids and proteins that is essential for postnatal function. Surfactant is synthesized in alveolar type II cells and stored as multi-bilayer membranes in a specialized secretory lysosome-related organelle (LRO), known as the lamellar body (LB), prior to secretion into the alveolar airspaces. Few LB proteins have been identified and the mechanisms regulating formation and trafficking of this organelle are poorly understood. Lamellar bodies were isolated from rat lungs, separated into limiting membrane and core populations, fractionated by SDS-PAGE and proteins identified by nanoLC-tandem mass spectrometry. In total 562 proteins were identified, significantly extending a previous study that identified 44 proteins in rat lung LB. The lung LB proteome reflects the dynamic interaction of this organelle with the biosynthetic, secretory and endocytic pathways of the type II epithelial cell. Comparison with other LRO proteomes indicated that 60% of LB proteins were detected in one or more of 8 other proteomes, confirming classification of the LB as a LRO. Remarkably the LB shared 37.8% of its proteins with the melanosome but only 9.9% with lamellar bodies from the skin. Of the 229 proteins not detected in other LRO proteomes, a subset of 34 proteins was enriched in lung relative to other tissues. Proteins with lipid-related functions comprised a significant proportion of the LB unique subset, consistent with the major function of this organelle in the organization, storage and secretion of surfactant lipid. The lung LB proteome will facilitate identification of molecular pathways involved in LB biogenesis, surfactant homeostasis and disease pathogenesis

cDNA Immunization of Mice with Human Thyroglobulin Generates Both Humoral and T Cell Responses: A Novel Model of Thyroid Autoimmunity

Thyroglobulin (Tg) represents one of the largest known self-antigens involved in autoimmunity. Numerous studies have implicated it in triggering and perpetuating the autoimmune response in autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). Indeed, traditional models of autoimmune thyroid disease, experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT), are generated by immunizing mice with thyroglobulin protein in conjunction with an adjuvant, or by high repeated doses of Tg alone, without adjuvant. These extant models are limited in their experimental flexibility, i.e. the ability to make modifications to the Tg used in immunizations. In this study, we have immunized mice with a plasmid cDNA encoding the full-length human Tg (hTG) protein, in order to generate a model of Hashimoto's thyroiditis which is closer to the human disease and does not require adjuvants to breakdown tolerance. Human thyroglobulin cDNA was injected and subsequently electroporated into skeletal muscle using a square wave generator. Following hTg cDNA immunizations, the mice developed both B and T cell responses to Tg, albeit with no evidence of lymphocytic infiltration of the thyroid. This novel model will afford investigators the means to test various hypotheses which were unavailable with the previous EAT models, specifically the effects of hTg sequence variations on the induction of thyroiditis