Family Preservation in Perspective

This essay traces the family preservation movement to its permanency planning roots; discusses the principles and underlying philosophy of the movement, and suggests the appropriate context for considering further development of child welfare services

The Contrasting Paths of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in Nuclear Cooperation with the United States

As one of about eight countries that supply nuclear materials and equipment for nuclear energy development to the rest of the world, the United States also requires some of the most stringent nonproliferation measures of its prospective clients. In 2009, the United States signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Under the terms of the agreement, the UAE foreswore developing sensitive fuel cycle technologies on its own soil in exchange for the ability to receive U.S.-origin materials and equipment. The Kingdom of Jordan is also seeking to develop a nuclear energy program in the face of its growing energy needs. However, it has refused to sign an agreement with the same restrictive terms as the UAE’s. This thesis seeks to understand why the UAE has signed an agreement while Jordan has not. It argues that the driver of the different outcomes is the two countries’ respective power positions in the international system. This preliminary result seems to imply that contrary to some vigorous arguments in the U.S. policymaking community, the U.S. will have less leverage over global nonproliferation policy if it adopts a one-size-fits-all nuclear trade policy

Frateuria defendens reduces yellows disease symptoms in grapevine under field conditions

Yellows diseases in grapevine, associated with the presence of different phytoplasmas, are a major problem for growers, with no environmentally friendly means of control. Frateuria defendens (Frd), a bacterium with endophytic traits, has been shown to reduce yellows symptoms in grapevine plantlets under laboratory conditions. The objective of this study was to test whether similar effects could be achieved under field conditions. A trial was conducted in a heavily infected vineyard in northern Israel for two consecutive years. A suspension of Frd cells (108·mL-1) was applied bi-weekly by foliar spray on grapevines from bud burst to leaf senescence. Frd penetrated the leaves during the growing period but not during leaf senescence and could be detected in the leaves by PCR analysis up to 14 days post-spraying. The rate of yellows infection was lower in the treated grapevines compared to its increase in untreated grapevines and the yield of symptomatic plants was improved by 10 to 20 %. Taken together, the results suggest Frd acted as a biological control agent in vineyards under the experimental conditions tested

Monitoring of lung edema by microwave reflectometry during lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo

It is still unclear whether lung edema can be monitored by microwave reflectometry and whether the measured changes in lung dry matter content (DMC) are accompanied by changes in PaO(2) and in pro-to anti-inflammatory cytokine expression (IFN-gamma and IL-10). Right rat lung hili were cross-clamped at 37 degrees C for 0, 60, 90 or 120 min ischemia followed by 120 min reperfusion. After 90 min (DMC: 15.9 +/- 1.4%; PaO(2): 76.7 +/- 18 mm Hg) and 120 min ischemia (DMC: 12.8 +/- 0.6%; PaO(2): 43 +/- 7 mm Hg), a significant decrease in DMC and PaO(2) throughout reperfusion compared to 0 min ischemia (DMC: 19.5 +/- 1.11%; PaO(2): 247 +/- 33 mm Hg; p < 0.05) was observed. DMC and PaO(2) decreased after 60 min ischemia but recovered during reperfusion (DMC: 18.5 +/- 2.4%; PaO(2) : 173 +/- 30 mm Hg). DMC values reflected changes on the physiological and molecular level. In conclusion, lung edema monitoring by microwave reflectometry might become a tool for the thoracic surgeon. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Adsorption of Methylmercury onto Geobacter bemidijensis Bem

The anaerobic bacterium Geobacter bemidijensis Bem has the unique ability to both produce and degrade methylmercury (MeHg). While the adsorption of MeHg onto bacterial surfaces can affect the release of MeHg into aquatic environments as well as the uptake of MeHg for demethylation, the binding of MeHg to the bacterial envelope remains poorly understood. In this study, we quantified the adsorption of MeHg onto G. bemidijensis and applied X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to elucidate the mechanism of MeHg binding. The results showed MeHg adsorption onto G. bemidijensis cell surfaces was rapid and occurred via complexation to sulfhydryl functional groups. Titration experiments yielded cell surface sulfhydryl concentrations of 3.8 ± 0.2 μmol/g (wet cells). A one-site adsorption model with MeHg binding onto sulfhydryl sites provided excellent fits to adsorption isotherms conducted at different cell densities. The log K binding constant of MeHg onto the sulfhydryl sites was determined to be 10.5 ± 0.4. These findings provide a quantitative framework to describe MeHg binding onto bacterial cell surfaces and elucidate the importance of bacterial cells as possible carriers of adsorbed MeHg in natural aquatic systems

G-CSF Prevents the Progression of Structural Disintegration of White Matter Tracts in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Pilot Trial

Background: The hematopoietic protein Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) has neuroprotective and regenerative properties. The G-CSF receptor is expressed by motoneurons, and G-CSF protects cultured motoneuronal cells from apoptosis. It therefore appears as an attractive and feasible drug candidate for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The current pilot study was performed to determine whether treatment with G-CSF in ALS patients is feasible.Methods: Ten patients with definite ALS were entered into a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. Patients received either 10 mu g/kg BW G-CSF or placebo subcutaneously for the first 10 days and from day 20 to 25 of the study. Clinical outcome was assessed by changes in the ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS), a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, and by examining hand activities of daily living over the course of the study (100 days). The total number of adverse events (AE) and treatment-related AEs, discontinuation due to treatment-related AEs, laboratory parameters including leukocyte, erythrocyte, and platelet count, as well as vital signs were examined as safety endpoints. Furthermore, we explored potential effects of G-CSF on structural cerebral abnormalities on the basis of voxel-wise statistics of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), brain volumetry, and voxel-based morphometry.Results: Treatment was well-tolerated. No significant differences were found between groups in clinical tests and brain volumetry from baseline to day 100. However, DTI analysis revealed significant reductions of fractional anisotropy (FA) encompassing diffuse areas of the brain when patients were compared to controls. On longitudinal analysis, the placebo group showed significant greater and more widespread decline in FA than the ALS patients treated with G-CSF.Conclusions: Subcutaneous G-CSF treatment in ALS patients appears as feasible approach. Although exploratory analysis of clinical data showed no significant effect, DTI measurements suggest that the widespread and progressive microstructural neural damage in ALS can be modulated by G-CSF treatment. These findings may carry significant implications for further clinical trials on ALS using growth factors

Limits on WWgamma and WWZ Couplings from W Boson Pair Production

The results of a search for W boson pair production in pbar-p collisions at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV with subsequent decay to emu, ee, and mumu channels are presented. Five candidate events are observed with an expected background of 3.1+-0.4 events for an integrated luminosity of approximately 97 pb^{-1}. Limits on the anomalous couplings are obtained from a maximum likelihood fit of the E_T spectra of the leptons in the candidate events. Assuming identical WWgamma and WWZ couplings, the 95 % C.L. limits are -0.62<Delta_kappa<0.77 (lambda = 0) and -0.53<lambda<0.56 (Delta_kappa = 0) for a form factor scale Lambda = 1.5 TeV.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review

Open Problems on Central Simple Algebras

We provide a survey of past research and a list of open problems regarding central simple algebras and the Brauer group over a field, intended both for experts and for beginners.Comment: v2 has some small revisions to the text. Some items are re-numbered, compared to v