Meteor radar measurements of MLT winds near the equatorial electro jet region over Thumba (8.5° N, 77° E): comparison with TIDI observations

The All-Sky interferometric meteor (SKYiMET) radar (MR) derived winds in the vicinity of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) are discussed. As Thumba (8.5° N, 77° E; dip lat. 0.5° N) is under the EEJ belt, there has been some debate on the reliability of the meteor radar derived winds near the EEJ height region. In this regard, the composite diurnal variations of zonal wind profiles in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) region derived from TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) and ground based meteor radar at Thumba are compared. In this study, emphasis is given to verify the meteor radar observations at 98 km height region, especially during the EEJ peaking time (11:00 to 14:00 LT). The composite diurnal cycles of zonal winds over Thumba are constructed during four seasons of the year 2006 using TIDI and meteor radar observations, which showed good agreement especially during the peak EEJ hours, thus assuring the reliability of meteor radar measurements of neutral winds close to the EEJ height region. It is evident from the present study that on seasonal scales, the radar measurements are not biased by the EEJ. The day-time variations of HF radar measured E-region drifts at the EEJ region are also compared with MR measurements to show there are large differences between ionospheric drifts and MR measurements. The significance of the present study lies in validating the meteor radar technique over Thumba located at magnetic equator by comparing with other than the radio technique for the first time

Economic evaluation of sediments as a source of plant nutrients

Sediment deposition as a result of soil erosion is a significant problem in the village water tanks. In order to increase the rainwater storage capacity, removal of sediments from water tanks was taken up under the State Government Water Conservation Programme in Medak District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The feasibility of desilting operations and returning such huge amounts of sediments to agricultural fields was assessed by determining the sediment quality in terms of nutrients, organic carbon (C), biological properties and their economic value as a source of plant nutrients. Analysis of sediment samples showed an average of 720 mg nitrogen (N), 320 mg phosphorus (P), 310 mg potassium (K) and 9.1 g of organic C per kg of sediment. Higher microbial populations were found in the sediments that recorded high nutrient and organic C contents. The microbial biomass C in the sediments recorded an average value of 308 mg kg–1 sediment and the average proportion of microbial biomass C to organic C was 3.8%. Application of 48,777 t of sediment from 21 tanks returned 34 t of N, 15 t of P, 15 t of K and 433 t of organic C to agricultural lands. The benefit– cost ratio of desilting operation and application of sediments to agricultural lands in 21 tanks varied from 0.65 to 5.38, with an average ratio of 1.88. Further, extrapolation of the results for the N, P, K and organic C nutrient values to 78 water tanks in Medak district indicated that 177 t of N, 82 t of P, 76 t of K and 2016 t of organic C could be returned to the agricultural fields. The study suggests economic feasibility for the application of tank sediments to the agricultural fields for crop production, in addition to increased water storage capacity, groundwater recharge and availability of more irrigation water and environmental benefits

Capsomer Vaccines Protect Mice from Vaginal Challenge with Human Papillomavirus

Capsomers were produced in bacteria as glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins with human papillomavirus type 16 L1 lacking the first nine and final 29 residues (GST-HPV16L1Δ) alone or linked with residues 13–47 of HPV18, HPV31 and HPV45 L2 in tandem (GST-HPV16L1Δ-L2x3). Subcutaneous immunization of mice with GST-HPV16L1Δ or GST-HPV16L1Δ-L2x3 in alum and monophosphoryl lipid A induced similarly high titers of HPV16 neutralizing antibodies. GST-HPV16L1Δ-L2x3 also elicited moderate L2-specific antibody titers. Intravaginal challenge studies showed that immunization of mice with GST-HPV16 L1Δ or GST-HPV16L1Δ-L2x3 capsomers, like Cervarix®, provided complete protection against HPV16. Conversely, vaccination with GST-HPV16 L1Δ capsomers failed to protect against HPV18 challenge, whereas mice immunized with either GST-HPV16L1Δ-L2x3 capsomers or Cervarix® were each completely protected. Thus, while the L2-specific response was moderate, it did not interfere with immunity to L1 in the context of GST-HPV16L1Δ-L2x3 and is sufficient to mediate L2-dependent protection against an experimental vaginal challenge with HPV18

Building a community-based open harmonised reference data repository for global crop mapping

Reference data is key to produce reliable crop type and cropland maps. Although research projects, national and international programs as well as local initiatives constantly gather crop related reference data, finding, collecting, and harmonizing data from different sources is a challenging task. Furthermore, ethical, legal, and consent-related restrictions associated with data sharing represent a common dilemma faced by international research projects. We address these dilemmas by building a community-based, open, harmonised reference data repository at global extent, ready for model training or product validation. Our repository contains data from different sources such as the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative (GEOGLAM) Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM) sites, the Radiant MLHub, the Future Harvest (CGIAR) centers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Food Security and Agriculture Program (NASA Harvest), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) citizen science platforms (LACO-Wiki and Geo-Wiki), as well as from individual project contributions. Data of 2016 onwards were collected, harmonised, and annotated. The data sets spatial, temporal, and thematic quality were assessed applying rules developed in this research. Currently, the repository holds around 75 million harmonised observations with standardized metadata of which a large share is available to the public. The repository, funded by ESA through the WorldCereal project, can be used for either the calibration of image classification deep learning algorithms or the validation of Earth Observation generated products, such as global cropland extent and maize and wheat maps. We recommend continuing and institutionalizing this reference data initiative e.g. through GEOGLAM, and encouraging the community to publish land cover and crop type data following the open science and open data principles

Global gene expression analysis of human erythroid progenitors

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website. Copyright @ 2011 American Society of Hematology. This article has an erratum: http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/118/26/6993.3.Understanding the pattern of gene expression during erythropoiesis is crucial for a synthesis of erythroid developmental biology. Here, we isolated 4 distinct populations at successive erythropoietin-dependent stages of erythropoiesis, including the terminal, pyknotic stage. The transcriptome was determined using Affymetrix arrays. First, we demonstrated the importance of using defined cell populations to identify lineage and temporally specific patterns of gene expression. Cells sorted by surface expression profile not only express significantly fewer genes than unsorted cells but also demonstrate significantly greater differences in the expression levels of particular genes between stages than unsorted cells. Second, using standard software, we identified more than 1000 transcripts not previously observed to be differentially expressed during erythroid maturation, 13 of which are highly significantly terminally regulated, including RFXAP and SMARCA4. Third, using matched filtering, we identified 12 transcripts not previously reported to be continuously up-regulated in maturing human primary erythroblasts. Finally, using transcription factor binding site analysis, we identified potential transcription factors that may regulate gene expression during terminal erythropoiesis. Our stringent lists of differentially regulated and continuously expressed transcripts containing many genes with undiscovered functions in erythroblasts are a resource for future functional studies of erythropoiesis. Our Human Erythroid Maturation database is available at https://cellline.molbiol.ox.ac.uk/eryth/index.html.National Health Service Blood and Transplant, National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Center Program, and National Institute for Health Research

ORALLY ACTIVE INHIBITORS OF HUMAN LEUKOCYTE ELASTASE. II. DISPOSITION OF L-694,458 IN RATS AND RHESUS MONKEYS

ABSTRACT: The disposition of L-694,458, a potent monocyclic ␤-lactam inhibitor of human leukocyte elastase, was studied in male SpragueDawley rats and rhesus monkeys. After iv dosing, L-694,458 exhibited similar pharmacokinetic parameters in rats and rhesus monkeys. The mean values for its plasma clearance, terminal halflife, and volume of distribution at steady state were 27 ml/min/kg, 1.8 hr, and 4.0 liters/kg in rats and 34 ml/min/kg, 2.3 hr, and 5 liters/kg in rhesus monkeys. The bioavailability of a 10 mg/kg oral dose was higher in rats (65%) than in rhesus monkeys (39%). In both species, concentrations of L-694,458 in plasma increased more than proportionally when the oral dose was increased from 10 mg/kg to 40 mg/kg. In monkeys a protracted plasma concentration-time profile was observed at 40 mg/kg, characterized by a delayed T max (8-24 hr) and a long terminal half-life (6 hr). [ 3 H]L-694,458 was well absorbed after oral dosing to rats at 10 mg/kg, as indicated by the high recovery of radioactivity in bile (83%) and urine (6%) of bile duct-cannulated rats. Only ϳ5% or less of the radioactivity in bile, urine, and feces was a result of intact L-694,458, indicating that the compound was being eliminated by metabolism, followed by excretion of the metabolites in feces, via bile. Demethylenation of the methylenedioxyphenyl group resulting in the catechol was the primary metabolic pathway in human and rhesus monkey liver microsomes. In rat liver microsomes, the major metabolite was the N-oxide of the methyl-substituted piperazine nitrogen. In rats dosed iv and orally with [ 3 H]L-694,458, concentrations of radioactivity were highest in the lung (the primary target tissue), adrenals, and liver. L-694,458 was unstable in rat blood and plasma, degrading via a pathway believed to be catalyzed by B-esterases and to involve cleavage of the ␤-lactam ring and loss of the methylpiperazine phenoxy group. In vitro studies indicated that in human liver, L-694,458 was metabolized by CYP3A and 2C isozymes, and in both monkey and human liver microsomes the compound acted as an inhibitor of testosterone 6␤-hydroxylation. Leukocyte elastase is a serine protease capable of proteolytic degradation of a variety of substrates, including elastin and collagen, which are components of connective tissue. Specific inhibitors of leukocyte elastase are being explored as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and rheumatoid arthritis where high amounts of extracellular elastase, either free or bound to its natural inhibitors, ␣ 1 -proteinase inhibitor and secretory leukocyte proteinase inhibitor, have been detected extracellularly (1-3). Several classes of inhibitors of elastase have been synthesized and evaluated to date (4 -19). L-694,458 Materials and Methods Chemicals. L-694,458 ( Microsomes. Fresh rat liver and frozen human and rhesus monkey liver tissue were used for the preparation of microsomes. Microsomes containing 1 Abbreviations used are: L-694,458, N-[1(R)-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl

Analysis of promoter regions of co-expressed genes identified by microarray analysis

BACKGROUND: The use of global gene expression profiling to identify sets of genes with similar expression patterns is rapidly becoming a widespread approach for understanding biological processes. A logical and systematic approach to study co-expressed genes is to analyze their promoter sequences to identify transcription factors that may be involved in establishing specific profiles and that may be experimentally investigated. RESULTS: We introduce promoter clustering i.e. grouping of promoters with respect to their high scoring motif content, and show that this approach greatly enhances the identification of common and significant transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) in co-expressed genes. We apply this method to two different dataset, one consisting of micro array data from 108 leukemias (AMLs) and a second from a time series experiment, and show that biologically relevant promoter patterns may be obtained using phylogenetic foot-printing methodology. In addition, we also found that 15% of the analyzed promoter regions contained transcription factors start sites for additional genes transcribed in the opposite direction. CONCLUSION: Promoter clustering based on global promoter features greatly improve the identification of shared TFBS in co-expressed genes. We believe that the outlined approach may be a useful first step to identify transcription factors that contribute to specific features of gene expression profiles

An observational national study of anaesthetic workload and seniority across the working week and weekend in the UK in 2016: the 6th National Audit Project (NAP6) Activity Survey

BACKGROUND: UK national anaesthetic activity was studied in 2013 but weekend working was not examined. Understanding changes since 2013 in workload and manpower distribution, including weekends, would be of value in workforce planning. METHODS: We performed an observational survey of NHS hospitals' anaesthetic practice in October 2016 as part of the 6th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (NAP6). All cases cared for by an anaesthetist during the study period were included. Patient characteristics and details of anaesthetic conduct were collected by local anaesthetists. RESULTS: Responses were received from 342/356 (96%) hospitals. In total, 15 942 cases were reported, equating to an annual anaesthetic workload of ≈3.13 million cases. Approximately 95% (9888/10 452) of elective and 72% (3184/4392) of emergency work was performed on weekdays and 89% (14 145/15 942) of activity was led by senior (consultant or career grade) anaesthetists and 1.1% (180/15942) by those with <2 yr anaesthetic experience. During weekends case urgency increased, the proportion of healthy patients reduced and case mix changed. Cases led by senior anaesthetists fell to 80% (947/1177) on Saturday and 66% (342/791) on Sunday. Senior involvement in obstetric anaesthetic activity was 69% (628/911) during the week and 45% (182/402) at weekends, compared with 93% (791/847) in emergency orthopaedic procedures during the week and 89% (285/321) at weekends. Since 2013, the proportion of obese patients, elective weekend working, and depth of anaesthesia monitoring has increased [12% (1464/12 213) vs 2.8%], but neuromuscular monitoring has not [37% (2032/5532) vs 38% of paralysed cases]. CONCLUSIONS: Senior clinicians deliver most UK anaesthesia care, including at weekends. Our findings are important for any planned workforce reorganisation to rationalise 7-day working

Anaesthesia, surgery, and life-threatening allergic reactions: epidemiology and clinical features of perioperative anaphylaxis in the 6th National Audit Project (NAP6)

BACKGROUND: Anaphylaxis during anaesthesia is a serious complication for patients and anaesthetists. METHODS: The 6th National Audit Project (NAP6) on perioperative anaphylaxis collected and reviewed 266 reports of Grades 3-5 anaphylaxis over 1 yr from all NHS hospitals in the UK. RESULTS: The estimated incidence was ≈1:10 000 anaesthetics. Case exclusion because of reporting delays or incomplete data means true incidence might be ≈70% higher. The distribution of 199 identified culprit agents included antibiotics (94), neuromuscular blocking agents (65), chlorhexidine (18), and Patent Blue dye (9). Teicoplanin comprised 12% of antibiotic exposures, but caused 38% of antibiotic-induced anaphylaxis. Eighteen patients reacted to an antibiotic test dose. Succinylcholine-induced anaphylaxis, mainly presenting with bronchospasm, was two-fold more likely than other neuromuscular blocking agents. Atracurium-induced anaphylaxis mainly presented with hypotension. Non-depolarising neuromuscular blocking agents had similar incidences to each other. There were no reports of local anaesthetic or latex-induced anaphylaxis. The commonest presenting features were hypotension (46%), bronchospasm (18%), tachycardia (9.8%), oxygen desaturation (4.7%), bradycardia (3%), and reduced/absent capnography trace (2.3%). All patients were hypotensive during the episode. Onset was rapid for neuromuscular blocking agents and antibiotics, but delayed with chlorhexidine and Patent Blue dye. There were 10 deaths and 40 cardiac arrests. Pulseless electrical activity was the usual type of cardiac arrest, often with bradycardia. Poor outcomes were associated with increased ASA, obesity, beta blocker, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor medication. Seventy per cent of cases were reported to the hospital incident reporting system, and only 24% to Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency via the Yellow Card Scheme. CONCLUSIONS: The overall incidence of perioperative anaphylaxis was estimated to be 1 in 10 000 anaesthetics