Wind stress curl and Sverdrup transport in the South Atlantic

Monthly mean values of Hellerman and Rosenstein (HR) wind stress and eight oceanographic transects of the South Atlantic Ocean obtained at different latitudes were used to test the Sverdrup relationship. Seasonal mean wind-stress charts for each season are presented. The zonal migration and splitting of the South Atlantic atmospheric high-pressure centre can be observed, as well as other seasonal changes of the wind field. Charts of the mean wind stress curl show a line of zero curl sloping northeastward across the South Atlantic basin, with negative values north of this line and positive values south of it. The annual mean chart of the Sverdrup mass transport show the same feature, with northward transport below this line and southward transport above it. Zonal values of Sverdrup (S), Geostrophic (G), and Ekman (E) transports, as well as the total transport (R = G + E), were calculated. There is no established relationship between the Sverdrup and total transport with latitude. Within the calculated interval of error (± 1.2 Sv for G and ± 2.3 Sv for S), a good qualitative agreement between R and S was attained at 9°, 11°, 16° and 24° S. The Brazil Current geostrophic transports, at different latitudes, are close to the Sverdrup transport values at the western boundary. However, the poleward increase of the Brazil Current transport with latitude is not presented by the Sverdrup transport.Se utilizaron valores promedios mensuales del esfuerzo del viento de Hellerman y Rosenstein (HR) y ocho secciones oceanográficas distribuidas en el Atlántico sur, a diferentes latitudes, para verificar la relación de Sverdrup. Se muestran mapas medios estacionales del esfuerzo del viento y se observa la migración zonal y la partición del centro atmosférico de alta presión del Atlántico sur, así como otros cambios estacionales del campo del viento. El mapa del rotacional del esfuerzo medio del viento muestra una línea con valor cero extendiéndose desde la costa oeste de áfrica hasta la costa nordeste de Brasil, con valores negativos al norte de esta línea y positivos al sur de la misma. El mapa del promedio anual del transporte de Sverdrup muestra la misma característica, con transportes hacia el Norte por debajo de esa línea y hacia el Sur por encima de ella. Se calculan los valores zonales del transporte de Sverdrup (S), geostrófico (G) y de Ekman (E), así como el transporte total (R = G + E). No se observa una relación establecida entre los transportes de Sverdrup y total y la latitud. Dentro del intervalo de error calculado (± 1,2 Sv para G y ± 2,3 Sv para S), existe una buena concordancia entre R y S en las latitudes 9°, 11°, 16° y 24° S. Los valores del transporte geostrófico de la corriente de Brasil a diferentes latitudes están más cerca de los valores de transporte de Sverdrup en la frontera oeste. El incremento con la latitud del transporte geostrófico de la corriente de Brasil, hacia el Sur, no es observado en el transporte de Sverdrup.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Natural history of G ynaikothrips uzeli (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae) in galls of Ficus benjamina (Rosales, Moraceae)

ABSTRACT Galls induced by thrips are simple structures when compared to those of other groups of arthropods, and little is known regarding many of their aspects. This study aimed to investigate aspects of the natural history of Gynaikothrips uzeli Zimmermann, 1900 in galls of Ficus benjamina L., 1753 using seasonal sampling (summer and winter). Twenty trees were sampled and divided into quadrants. From each of them, five galls were collected, forming a total of 400 galls per collection. Thrips showed greater abundance at higher temperatures (25.7°C) and no precipitation. Sex ratio was biased towards females (0.022 males per female), pointing to an inbred mating structure. Arthropod fauna associated with galls was more abundant (N=798) in winter, and it included representatives of the orders Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Araneae, Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Psocoptera, Thysanoptera, Diptera and Blattodea

Lessons Learned from a Decade of Sudden Oak Death in California: Evaluating Local Management

Sudden Oak Death has been impacting California’s coastal forests for more than a decade. In that time, and in the absence of a centrally organized and coordinated set of mandatory management actions for this disease in California’s wildlands and open spaces, many local communities have initiated their own management programs. We present five case studies to explore how local-level management has attempted to control this disease. From these case studies, we glean three lessons: connections count, scale matters, and building capacity is crucial. These lessons may help management, research, and education planning for future pest and disease outbreaks

A Role for Non-Antimicrobial Actions of Tetracyclines in Combating Oxidative Stress in Periodontal and Metabolic Diseases: A Literature Review

This review addresses the role of adjunctive tetracycline therapy in the management of periodontal diseases and its efficacy in reducing inflammatory burden, oxidative stress and its sequelae in patients with coexisting features of metabolic syndrome. Removal of the dimethylamine group at C4 of the tetracycline molecule reduces its antibiotic properties, enhancing its non-antimicrobial actions; this strategy has aided the development of several chemically modified tetracyclines such as minocycline and doxycycline, by altering different regions of the molecule for focused action on biological targets. Tetracyclines are effective in reducing inflammation by inhibiting matrix metalloproteinases, preventing excessive angiogenesis, inhibiting apoptosis and stimulating bone formation. There are important applications for tetracyclines in the management of diabetic, dyslipidaemic periodontal patients who smoke. The diverse mechanisms of action of tetracyclines in overcoming oxidative stress and enhancing matrix synthesis are discussed in this review

Patient satisfaction with care by dental therapists.

IntroductionPatient reported outcomes of care are increasingly used as a measure of the quality of care. There has been a recent expansion in the number of dental therapists trained in the UK, and with legislation now permitting therapists to take on a wider role in dental practice, patients' perceptions about quality of care provided by therapists is an important issue.Objectives To investigate whether there were any differences in patient satisfaction after a visit to a therapist, compared to a visit to a dentist.MethodA ten-item scale of patient satisfaction (Dental Visit Satisfaction Scale), which provides an outcome measure of overall patient satisfaction as well as three sub-scale outcomes (information-communication; understanding-acceptance; and technical competence) was used. A total of 240 questionnaires were given to consecutive patients attending an appointment with a therapist and 400 questionnaires were given to patients attending dentists, in eight different dental practices.ResultsFour hundred and thirty-one (67.3%) questionnaires were returned. Patients attending therapists were found to have a significantly higher level of overall satisfaction (p ConclusionAlthough a clear distinction in patient satisfaction according to the type of provider was found, the reasons behind this finding are unclear, and so care needs to be taken in interpreting the results, with further work undertaken to explore this phenomenon more fully

On-demand manufacturing of clinical-quality biopharmaceuticals

Conventional manufacturing of protein biopharmaceuticals in centralized, large-scale, single-product facilities is not well-suited to the agile production of drugs for small patient populations or individuals. Previous solutions for small-scale manufacturing are limited in both process reproducibility and product quality, owing to their complicated means of protein expression and purification. We describe an automated, benchtop, multiproduct manufacturing system, called Integrated Scalable Cyto-Technology (InSCyT), for the end-to-end production of hundreds to thousands of doses of clinical-quality protein biologics in about 3 d. Unlike previous systems, InSCyT includes fully integrated modules for sustained production, efficient purification without the use of affinity tags, and formulation to a final dosage form of recombinant biopharmaceuticals. We demonstrate that InSCyT can accelerate process development from sequence to purified drug in 12 weeks. We used integrated design to produce human growth hormone, interferon α-2b and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor with highly similar processes on this system and show that their purity and potency are comparable to those of marketed reference products

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors in recent clinical trials for cancer therapy

Heritable changes in gene expression that are not based upon alterations in the DNA sequence are defined as epigenetics. The most common mechanisms of epigenetic regulation are the methylation of CpG islands within the DNA and the modification of amino acids in the N-terminal histone tails. In the last years, it became evident that the onset of cancer and its progression may not occur only due to genetic mutations but also because of changes in the patterns of epigenetic modifications. In contrast to genetic mutations, which are almost impossible to reverse, epigenetic changes are potentially reversible. This implies that they are amenable to pharmacological interventions. Therefore, a lot of work in recent years has focussed on the development of small molecule enzyme inhibitors like DNA-methyltransferase inhibitors or inhibitors of histone-modifying enzymes. These may reverse misregulated epigenetic states and be implemented in the treatment of cancer or other diseases, e.g., neurological disorders. Today, several epigenetic drugs are already approved by the FDA and the EMEA for cancer treatment and around ten histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are in clinical development. This review will give an update on recent clinical trials of the HDAC inhibitors used systemically that were reported in 2009 and 2010 and will present an overview of different biomarkers to monitor the biological effects

Acquired resistance to oxaliplatin is not directly associated with increased resistance to DNA damage in SK-N-ASrOXALI4000, a newly established oxaliplatin-resistant sub-line of the neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-AS

The formation of acquired drug resistance is a major reason for the failure of anti-cancer therapies after initial response. Here, we introduce a novel model of acquired oxaliplatin resistance, a sub-line of the non-MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-AS that was adapted to growth in the presence of 4000 ng/mL oxaliplatin (SK-N-ASrOXALI4000). SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells displayed enhanced chromosomal aberrations compared to SK-N-AS, as indicated by 24-chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridisation. Moreover, SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells were resistant not only to oxaliplatin but also to the two other commonly used anti-cancer platinum agents cisplatin and carboplatin. SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells exhibited a stable resistance phenotype that was not affected by culturing the cells for 10 weeks in the absence of oxaliplatin. Interestingly, SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells showed no cross resistance to gemcitabine and increased sensitivity to doxorubicin and UVC radiation, alternative treatments that like platinum drugs target DNA integrity. Notably, UVC-induced DNA damage is thought to be predominantly repaired by nucleotide excision repair and nucleotide excision repair has been described as the main oxaliplatin-induced DNA damage repair system. SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells were also more sensitive to lysis by influenza A virus, a candidate for oncolytic therapy, than SK-N-AS cells. In conclusion, we introduce a novel oxaliplatin resistance model. The oxaliplatin resistance mechanisms in SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells appear to be complex and not to directly depend on enhanced DNA repair capacity. Models of oxaliplatin resistance are of particular relevance since research on platinum drugs has so far predominantly focused on cisplatin and carboplatin

Resource-based view as a perspective for public tourism management research: evidence from two brazilian tourism destinations

This study adopted the Resource-Based View approach to analyse two public organizations located in Curitiba and Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. The focus was to verify how organizational and tourist resources are being used for planning and public management in these cities. Data collection was made by adopting semi-structured interviews with two groups: public and private sector managers. The insights of these two groups and the use of documentary secondary data made it possible to infer that the main resource for the implementation of public policies was organizational architecture. However, the most influential resource in public tourism management is the existence of tourist resources and organizational resources related to internal and external relationships and organizational culture. The analysis demonstrated that the researched cities do not use or do not know how to use the available resources in value-creating activities for local tourist management. Both cities present imperfections that do not earmark the full exploitation of organizational resources, compromising the exploration of available tourist resources