Assessing biotic diversity : the glorious past, present, and the uncertain future

The recent biodiversity crisis, primarily due to economic models and human population pressure, is paralleled by a taxonomic crisis. The main responsibility for the crisis in taxonomy is the evaluation of the discipline in the sciences. Other factors impeding work in taxonomy derive from practices concerning grants, paradigms in museums shifting away from collection-based studies, biodiversity studies with diminishing effort to adequately identify samples, methods of global diversity assessments, and bureaucratic restrictions regulating field work.peer-reviewe

High resolution Microwave Spectrometer Sounder (HIMSS) instrument program. Appendix: TRMM study (an instrument for NASA's tropical rainfall measuring mission)

The TRMM (Tropical Rain Measuring Mission) Study shows the feasibility of a conically scanned, total power radiometer. The heritage of the TRMM radiometer is the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) flying for the Air Force DMSP

Assessing biodiversity : a glorious past, an uncertain future

Measuring and maintaining diversity of life forms is undoubtedly of high importance. Paradoxically, support allocated to taxonomists, that is to those who reveal this diversity, seems to be negatively correlated to the importance given to biodiversity. The true reasons for the current biodiversity disaster, primarily derived from economic myopia, ignorance, and population pressure, seem to be to a large extent disregarded while, taxonomists are used as a scape-goat.peer-reviewe

Direct Global Measurements of Tropspheric Winds Employing a Simplified Coherent Laser Radar using Fully Scalable Technology and Technique

Innovative designs of a space-based laser remote sensing 'wind machine' are presented. These designs seek compatibility with the traditionally conflicting constraints of high scientific value and low total mission cost. Mission cost is reduced by moving to smaller, lighter, more off-the-shelf instrument designs which can be accommodated on smaller launch vehicles

923-6 Intravenous Adenosine and Lidocaine to Limit Reperfusion Injury During Acute Myocardial Infarction: Preliminary Data

Adenosine (ADO) and lidocaine (LDO) given prior to restoration of blood flow reduces reperfusion injury in animals. We conducted a pilot study of intravenous ADO and LDO in pts undergoing direct angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Pts with ≤12 hours of chest pain and electrocardiographic evidence of AMI were given LDO 1mg/kg iv bolus and 2mg/min iv infusion beginning at the time of recruitment, and ADO 70mcg/kg iv infusion beginning when coronary occlusion (TIMI grade 0–1 blood flow) was confirmed angiographically. Pts with bronchospasm, blood pressure <100mmHg, or<1° heart block were excluded. ADO and LDO were given for 1 hour after vessel patency was restored. Myocardial area at risk and final infarction area were measured with serial Tc-99m-sestamibi perfusion studies (prior to angioplasty, before hospital discharge and 6 weeks after discharge). A salvage index (S1) was constructed by correcting the change in sestamibi perfusion defect for the mass of myocardium at risk. Analysis of 25 patients completing the protocol revealed a mean (±SD) salvage of 20±17% and S1=0.55. Salvage and S1 were 25±18% and 0.54 for anterior infarctions, 13±5% and 0.57 for inferior infarctions, respectively. These data were compared to an historical control group consisting of 50 patients undergoing direct angioplasty for AMI without adjunctive ADO/LDO. After adjustment for time to treatment and perfusion nadir, analysis of covariance revealed a similar degree of early salvage in the study and control groups (p=0.3). However, at 6 weeks, the median infarct size for study pts was 0. Using logistic regression analysis, significantly more study pts had no final measureable infarction at 6 weeks than control pts at hospital discharge (p=0.007). After adjusting for infarct size, location and time to treatment, this difference persisted (p=0.04).ConclusionsAdjunctive ADO and LDO during angioplasty for AMI may favorably affect late final infarction size. Randomized studies assessing 6 week final infarction size are needed

Multi-satellite observed responses of precipitation and its extremes to interannual climate variability

The consistency of precipitation variability estimated from the multiple satellite-based observing systems is assessed. There is generally good agreement between TRMM TMI, SSM/I, GPCP and AMSRE datasets for the inter-annual variability of precipitation since 1997 but the HOAPS dataset appears to overestimate the magnitude of variability. Over the tropical ocean the TRMM 3B42 dataset produces unrealistic variabilitys. Based upon deseasonalised GPCP data for the period 1998-2008, the sensitivity of global mean precipitation (P) to surface temperature (T) changes (dP/dT) is about 6%/K, although a smaller sensitivity of 3.6%/K is found using monthly GPCP data over the longer period 1989-2008. Over the tropical oceans dP/dT ranges from 10-30%/K depending upon time-period and dataset while over tropical land dP/dT is -8 to -11%/K for the 1998-2008 period. Analyzing the response of the tropical ocean precipitation intensity distribution to changes in T we find the wetter area P shows a strong positive response to T of around 20%/K. The response over the drier tropical regimes is less coherent and varies with datasets, but responses over the tropical land show significant negative relationships over an interannual time-scale. The spatial and temporal resolutions of the datasets strongly influence the precipitation responses over the tropical oceans and help explain some of the discrepancy between different datasets. Consistency between datasets is found to increase on averaging from daily to 5-day time-scales and considering a 1o (or coarser) spatial resolution. Defining the wet and dry tropical ocean regime by the 60th percentile of P intensity, the 5-day average, 1o TMI data exhibits a coherent drying of the dry regime at the rate of -20%/K and the wet regime becomes wetter at a similar rate with warming

IGFBP-4 tumor and serum levels are increased across all stages of epithelial ovarian cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We sought to identify candidate serum biomarkers for the detection and surveillance of EOC. Based on RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis of patient-derived tumors, highly expressed secreted proteins were identified using a bioinformatic approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>RNA-Seq was used to quantify papillary serous ovarian cancer transcriptomes. Paired end sequencing of 22 flash frozen tumors was performed. Sequence alignments were processed with the program ELAND, expression levels with ERANGE and then bioinformatically screened for secreted protein signatures. Serum samples from women with benign and malignant pelvic masses and serial samples from women during chemotherapy regimens were measured for IGFBP-4 by ELISA. Student's t Test, ANOVA, and ROC curves were used for statistical analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP-4) was consistently present in the top 7.5% of all expressed genes in all tumor samples. We then screened serum samples to determine if increased tumor expression correlated with serum expression. In an initial discovery set of 21 samples, IGFBP-4 levels were found to be elevated in patients, including those with early stage disease and normal CA125 levels. In a larger and independent validation set (82 controls, 78 cases), IGFBP-4 levels were significantly increased (p < 5 × 10^-5). IGFBP-4 levels were ~3× greater in women with malignant pelvic masses compared to women with benign masses. ROC sensitivity was 73% at 93% specificity (AUC 0.816). In women receiving chemotherapy, average IGFBP-4 levels were below the ROC-determined threshold and lower in NED patients compared to AWD patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study, the first to our knowledge to use RNA-Seq for biomarker discovery, identified IGFBP-4 as overexpressed in ovarian cancer patients. Beyond this, these studies identified two additional intriguing findings. First, IGFBP-4 can be elevated in early stage disease without elevated CA125. Second, IGFBP-4 levels are significantly elevated with malignant versus benign disease. These findings provide the rationale for future validation studies.</p