Lower-rim ferrocenyl substituted calixarenes: new electrochemical sensors for anions

New ferrocene substituted calix[4 and 5]arenes have been prepared and the crystal structure of a lower-rim substituted bis ferrocene calix[4]arene (7) has been elucidated. The respective ferrocene/ferrocenium redox-couples of compounds 6 (a calix[4]arene tetra ferrocene amide) and 8 (a calix[5]arene pentaferrocene amide) are shown to be significantly cathodically perturbed in the presence of anions by up to 160 mV in the presence of dihydrogen phosphate

The Current Status of the Limnology and Bottom Fauna of Lakes West and East Okoboji

Lakes West and East Okoboji, Dickinson County, Iowa, were the site of a 1970 summer investigation on the density and diversity within the macroscopic bottom organisms, physical and chemical measurements of the water and substratum chemistry study. These data on Lake West Okoboji were compared with a 1918 and 1950 study of the macroscopic bottom fauna, water analyses dating from 1934, and oxygen and temperature data from as far back as 1915. The sparse species composition of the bottom fauna has remained unchanged; however, pollution indicator tubificid worms have increased in density. Water analysis, oxygen, and temperature data are little changed from earlier studies. Few data have been collected in previous years on Lake East Okoboji. Apparent cultural eutrophication has occurred in the last 60 years, causing extreme nuisance blooms of blue-green algae

The Current Status of the Limnology and Bottom Fauna of Lakes West and East Okoboji

Lakes West and East Okoboji, Dickinson County, Iowa, were the site of a 1970 summer investigation on the density and diversity within the macroscopic bottom organisms, physical and chemical measurements of the water and substratum chemistry study. These data on Lake West Okoboji were compared with a 1918 and 1950 study of the macroscopic bottom fauna, water analyses dating from 1934, and oxygen and temperature data from as far back as 1915. The sparse species composition of the bottom fauna has remained unchanged; however, pollution indicator tubificid worms have increased in density. Water analysis, oxygen, and temperature data are little changed from earlier studies. Few data have been collected in previous years on Lake East Okoboji. Apparent cultural eutrophication has occurred in the last 60 years, causing extreme nuisance blooms of blue-green algae

The Current Status of the Limnology and Bottom Fauna of Lakes West and East Okoboji

Lakes West and East Okoboji, Dickinson County, Iowa, were the site of a 1970 summer investigation on the density and diversity within the macroscopic bottom organisms, physical and chemical measurements of the water and substratum chemistry study. These data on Lake West Okoboji were compared with a 1918 and 1950 study of the macroscopic bottom fauna, water analyses dating from 1934, and oxygen and temperature data from as far back as 1915. The sparse species composition of the bottom fauna has remained unchanged; however, pollution indicator tubificid worms have increased in density. Water analysis, oxygen, and temperature data are little changed from earlier studies. Few data have been collected in previous years on Lake East Okoboji. Apparent cultural eutrophication has occurred in the last 60 years, causing extreme nuisance blooms of blue-green algae

The Current Status of the Limnology and Bottom Fauna of Lakes West and East Okoboji

Lakes West and East Okoboji, Dickinson County, Iowa, were the site of a 1970 summer investigation on the density and diversity within the macroscopic bottom organisms, physical and chemical measurements of the water and substratum chemistry study. These data on Lake West Okoboji were compared with a 1918 and 1950 study of the macroscopic bottom fauna, water analyses dating from 1934, and oxygen and temperature data from as far back as 1915. The sparse species composition of the bottom fauna has remained unchanged; however, pollution indicator tubificid worms have increased in density. Water analysis, oxygen, and temperature data are little changed from earlier studies. Few data have been collected in previous years on Lake East Okoboji. Apparent cultural eutrophication has occurred in the last 60 years, causing extreme nuisance blooms of blue-green algae

Minimal Important Difference (MID) of the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI): Results from patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria

BACKGROUND: The Dermatology Quality Life Index (DLQI) has seen widespread use as a health-related quality of life measure for a variety of dermatological diseases. The purpose of this study was to estimate the minimal important difference (MID) on the DLQI for patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). METHODS: Data from 2 Phase III clinical trials of patients (N = 476 for Study A; N = 468 for Study B) with CIU were analyzed separately to estimate the MID for the DLQI for these populations. Both distributional based and anchor based approaches were used for deriving estimates. The anchor based approach relied upon patient self assessments of pruritus severity; the distributional based approaches relied upon estimating the standard error of measurement, as well as one-half the standard deviation of the DLQI from each study. RESULTS: The distributional approaches resulted in estimates of MID ranging from 2.24 to 3.10 for the two studies. The anchor based approach resulted in estimates of 3.21 and 2.97 for the two studies. CONCLUSION: An MID for the DLQI in the range of 2.24 to 3.10 is recommended in interpreting results for patients with CIU

MAVS Is essential for primary CD4 + T cell immunity but not for recall T cell responses following an attenuated West Nile virus infection

ABSTRACT The use of pathogen recognition receptor (PRR) agonists and the molecular mechanisms involved have been the major focus of research in individual vaccine development. West Nile virus (WNV) nonstructural (NS) 4B-P38G mutant has several features for an ideal vaccine candidate, including significantly reduced neuroinvasiveness, induction of strong adaptive immunity, and protection of mice from wild-type (WT) WNV infection. Here, we determined the role of mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS), the adaptor protein for RIG-I-like receptor in regulating host immunity against the NS4B-P38G vaccine. We found that Mavs −/− mice were more susceptible to NS4B-P38G priming than WT mice. Mavs −/− mice had a transiently reduced production of antiviral cytokines and an impaired CD4 + T cell response in peripheral organs. However, antibody and CD8 + T cell responses were minimally affected. NS4B-P38G induced lower type I interferon (IFN), IFN-stimulating gene, and proinflammatory cytokine responses in Mavs −/− dendritic cells and subsequently compromised the antigen-presenting capacity for CD4 + T cells. Interestingly, Mavs −/− mice surviving NS4B-P38G priming were all protected from a lethal WT WNV challenge. NS4B-P38G-primed Mavs −/− mice exhibited equivalent levels of protective CD4 + T cell recall response, a modestly reduced WNV-specific IgM production, but more robust CD8 + T cell recall response. Taken together, our results suggest that MAVS is essential for boosting optimal primary CD4 + T cell responses upon NS4B-P38G vaccination and yet is dispensable for host protection and recall T cell responses during secondary WT WNV infection. IMPORTANCE The production of innate cytokines induced by the recognition of pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs) via their cognate ligands are critical for enhancing antigen-presenting cell functions and influencing T cell responses during microbial infection. The use of PRR agonists and the underlying molecular mechanisms have been the major focus in individual vaccine development. Here, we determined the role of mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS), the adaptor protein for RIG-I like receptor in regulating host immunity against the live attenuated West Nile virus (WNV) vaccine strain, the nonstructural (NS) 4B-P38G mutant. We found that MAVS is important for boosting optimal primary CD4 + T cell response during NS4B-P38G vaccination. However, MAVS is dispensable for memory T cell development and host protection during secondary wild-type WNV infection. Overall, these results may be utilized as a paradigm to aid in the rational development of other efficacious live attenuated flavivirus vaccines

The impact of seasonal variability in wildlife populations on the predicted spread of foot and mouth disease

Modeling potential disease spread in wildlife populations is important for predicting, responding to and recovering from a foreign animal disease incursion such as foot and mouth disease (FMD). We conducted a series of simulation experiments to determine how seasonal estimates of the spatial distribution of white-tailed deer impact the predicted magnitude and distribution of potential FMD outbreaks. Outbreaks were simulated in a study area comprising two distinct ecoregions in South Texas, USA, using a susceptible-latent-infectious-resistant geographic automata model (Sirca). Seasonal deer distributions were estimated by spatial autoregressive lag models and the normalized difference vegetation index. Significant (P < 0.0001) differences in both the median predicted number of deer infected and number of herds infected were found both between seasons and between ecoregions. Larger outbreaks occurred in winter within the higher deer-density ecoregion, whereas larger outbreaks occurred in summer and fall within the lower deer-density ecoregion. Results of this simulation study suggest that the outcome of an FMD incursion in a population of wildlife would depend on the density of the population infected and when during the year the incursion occurs. It is likely that such effects would be seen for FMD incursions in other regions and countries, and for other diseases, in cases in which a potential wildlife reservoir exists. Study findings indicate that the design of a mitigation strategy needs to take into account population and seasonal characteristics

Rereading The Intellectuals on the Road to Class Power

These essays were originally presented at a symposium of the same title that took place at the annual meeting of the American Association of the Advancement of Slavic Studies in Toronto on November 20, 2003. The charge to the participants was to “to reread the book and make short presentations on it, its significance, the validity of its analysis in hindsight, its historical contribution to our understanding of late communism, its influence on others.” The symposium was timed to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of writing of the book in 1973–1974 as well as the twenty-fifth anniversary of its publication in English in 1979.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43655/1/11186_2005_Article_3293.pd