A Small Family of Elements with Long Inverted Repeats is Located Near Sites of Developmentally Regulated DNA Rearrangement in \u3cem\u3eTetrahymena thermophila\u3c/em\u3e

Extensive DNA rearrangement occurs during the development of the somatic macronucleus from the germ line micronucleus in ciliated protozoans. The micronuclear junctions and the macronuclear product of a developmentally regulated DNA rearrangement in Tetrahymena thermophila, Tlr1, have been cloned. The intrachromosomal rearrangement joins sequences that are separated by more than 13 kb in the micronucleus with the elimination of moderately repeated micronucleus-specific DNA sequences. There is a long, 825-bp, inverted repeat near the micronuclear junctions. The inverted repeat contains two different 19-bp tandem repeats. The 19-bp repeats are associated with each other and with DNA rearrangements at seven locations in the micronuclear genome. Southern blot analysis is consistent with the occurrence of the 19-bp repeats within pairs of larger repeated sequences. Another family member was isolated. The 19-mers in that clone are also in close proximity to a rearrangement junction. We propose that the 19-mers define a small family of developmentally regulated DNA rearrangements having elements with long inverted repeats near the junction sites. We discuss the possibility that transposable elements evolve by capture of molecular machinery required for essential cellular functions

Is guaifenesin safe during pregnancy?

It's not clear; little evidence supports or refutes the safety of guaifenesin, a common expectorant, in pregnancy. A small number of observational and case-control studies suggest a weak association between guaifenesin use and inguinal hernias and neural tube defects in newborns. However, substantial methodological flaws, the absence of statistical significance, and low rates of prevalence cast a shadow of a doubt over the data (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, based on observational and case- control studies)

Safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy in the treatment of pulmonary metastases from high grade sarcoma.

Introduction. Patients with high-grade sarcoma (HGS) frequently develop metastatic disease thus limiting their long-term survival. Lung metastases (LM) have historically been treated with surgical resection (metastasectomy). A potential alternative for controlling LM could be stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). We evaluated the outcomes from our institutional experience utilizing SBRT. Methods. Sixteen consecutive patients with LM from HGS were treated with SBRT between 2009 and 2011. Routine radiographic and clinical follow-up was performed. Local failure was defined as CT progression on 2 consecutive scans or growth after initial shrinkage. Radiation pneumonitis and radiation esophagitis were scored using Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) version 3.0. Results. All 16 patients received chemotherapy, and a subset (38%) also underwent prior pulmonary metastasectomy. Median patient age was 56 (12-85), and median follow-up time was 20 months (range 3-43). A total of 25 lesions were treated and evaluable for this analysis. Most common histologies were leiomyosarcoma (28%), synovial sarcoma (20%), and osteosarcoma (16%). Median SBRT prescription dose was 54 Gy (36-54) in 3-4 fractions. At 43 months, local control was 94%. No patient experienced G2-4 radiation pneumonitis, and no patient experienced radiation esophagitis. Conclusions. Our retrospective experience suggests that SBRT for LM from HGS provides excellent local control and minimal toxicity

Adapting Appropriation Water Law to Accommodate Equitable Consideration of Instream Flow Uses

The increasing public interest in naturally flowing streams has fostered efforts to obtain their protection under existing state water laws. In this study, the water laws of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming were examined and compared 1) with each other, and 2) against a set of aleitn criteria, to assess shortcomings in accommodating instream flow protections. It was determined that the appropriation system has the essential features of and ambodies legal principles that should allow the accommodation of instream flow values but, at this time, purchase of existing rights or the exercise of governmental reservation/withdrawal/appropriation authorities seem to be the primary options. Legislative, judicial, and adminsitrative strategies for protecting instream flows apart from the normal appropriation process were reviewed. Certain legislative and administrative strategies hold premise as supplementary to the standard appropriation procedure. Likewise, private sector strategies utilizing contracts, easements, purchase of development rights, etc., need to be more thoroughly considered. Where instream flow protections do not justify preemptive rights and strategies, and if hydrologic imperatives are properly observed, the state administered appropriation systems can accommodate the instream flow needs. However, the need for better technical information for establishing benficial need for the many instream values, and for use in projecting the biologic-hydrologic consequences of particular instream flow regimes remains a stumbling block to the accommodation process

Feasibility Study of Establishing a Water Rights Banking/Brokering Service in Utah

Changes in water use patterns are an inevitable consequence of relentless social transformations taking place. Especially where waters have been fully appropriated, the needs of a dynamic society must be met through transfers in water ownership. Yet, there are a variety of factors that may operate as impediments to the shifting of water according to social preferences as expressed through water markets. As a mechanism for facilitating water transfers, exchagnes, or rentals, the concept of water banking and water brokering may be fruitful. This repot appraises the potential for initiating and operating such a service within the legal, institutional, and organizational framework prevailing in Utah. Questions addressed are: What are the special characteristics of water rights and water right owners that constitute important elements of the market arena? How would a banking and/or brokering service effectively deal with the mix of marketable water right equities ranging from the general corporate right (exercised in satisfying an unlimited variety of individual uses at the pleasure of the corporation, i.e. municipality, conservancy district, etc.); the individual proportion of share of a mutally owned right; to the individually owned water right? However would the water banking operation be coordinated with the State Engineer who must approve all changes in use? What are the organizational alternatives for establishing a water bank? Should such a service be sponsored and operated as a public or private activity? What are the legal considerations that must be addressed? Are there constitutional, statutory, or procedural consideratiosn taht seriously constrain the operation of a water banking/brokering service? Can such a service be made to complement present institutional structures and whatever forms of banking and brokering they may currently provide? What are the economic considerations in the creation of a water banking/brokering service? It is concluded that a water bank could be effective in facilitating cost-effective and resource efficeint matchups of buyers and sellers of water. There are no constitutional, statutory, or regulative elemetns in Utah water administration that would seriously hinder the operation of a water banking/brokering system. However, there are some institutional peculiarities and debt encumbrances that may limit the market potential of particular water right equities. The protection of third party interests to any water rights transaction is a central consideration in arranging water transfers, exchanges, or rentals. Therefore, the water bank must be staffed by individuals having technical understanding of the hydrologic and legal impacts and the economic externalities that accompany particular water use changes. An appraisal of existing Utah organizations capable of assuming a water banking/brokering service suggest the Office of the State Engineer (public) and the Utah Water Users Association (private) as the two most liekly candidates. It is recommended that the evaluation of these two organizations now be made in more detail with respect to suitability of the new banking/brokering service to basin mission, current operating policies and programs, organizational structure, and fiscal and budgetary framework. Decision to initiate the concept should probably begin with a limited level of service, adding more comprehensive and more professional elements as justified by oeprating experience

What is appropriate fetal surveillance for women with diet-controlled gestational diabetes?

No evidence clearly supports the practice of increased fetal surveillance in the pregnancies of women with well-controlled (ie, fasting blood sugar <105 mg/dL) class A1 gestational diabetes (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, consistent retrospective cohort studies). However, a number of guidelines recommend beginning surveillance of some kind between 32 and 40 weeks based on cumulative risk factors, including gestational diabetes (SOR: C, expert opinion)

Liquid-like behaviour of gold nanowire bridges

A combination of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) was used to fabricate free standing gold nanowire bridges with radii of 30 nm and below. These were subjected to point loading to failure at their mid-points using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), providing strength and deformation data. The results demonstrate a dimensionally dependent transition from conventional solid metallic properties to liquid-like behaviour including the unexpected reformation of a fractured bridge. The work reveals mechanical and materials properties of nanowires which could have significant impact on nanofabrication processes and nanotechnology devices such as Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (NEMS)