Evaluation of SIR-A (Shuttle Imaging Radar) images from the Tres Marias region (Minas Gerais State, Brazil) using derived spatial features and registration with MSS-LANDSAT images

Two image processing experiments are described using a MSS-LANDSAT scene from the Tres Marias region and a shuttle Imaging Radar SIR-A image digitized by a vidicon scanner. In the first experiment the study area is analyzed using the original and preprocessed SIR-A image data. The following thematic classes are obtained: (1) water, (2) dense savanna vegetation, (3) sparse savanna vegetation, (4) reforestation areas and (5) bare soil areas. In the second experiment, the SIR-A image was registered together with MSS-LANDSAT bands five, six, and seven. The same five classes mentioned above are obtained. These results are compared with those obtained using solely MSS-LANDSAT data. The spatial information as well as coregistered SIR-A and MSS-LANDSAT data can increase the separability between classes, as compared to the use of raw SIR-A data solely

D0−Dˉ0D^0 - \bar D^0 Mixing in the Presence of Isosinglet Quarks

We analyse $\Delta C=2$ transitions in the framework of a minimal extension of the Standard Model where either a $Q=2/3$ or a $Q=-1/3$ isosinglet quark is added to the standard quark spectrum. In the case of a $Q=2/3$ isosinglet quark, it is shown that there is a significant region of parameter space where $D^0 - \bar D^0$ mixing is sufficiently enhanced to be observed at the next round of experiments. On the contrary, in the case of a $Q=-1/3$ isosinglet quark, it is pointed out that obtaining a substancial enhancement of $D^0 - \bar D^0$ mixing, while complying with the experimental constraints on rare kaon decays, requires a contrived choice of parameters.Comment: 10 pages plus four figures. The figures are not included but are available upon reques

Pathogenic fungi: an unacknowledged risk at coastal resorts? New insights on microbiological sand quality in Portugal

Whilst the potential impact on beach users from microorganisms in water has received considerable attention, there has been relatively little investigation into microbial contaminants in sand. Thirty three beaches across Portugal were analyzed during a five year period (2006–2010) to determine the presence of yeasts, pathogenic fungi, dermatophytes, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci in sand. Our results showed that 60.4% of the samples were positive for fungi and that 25.2% were positive for the bacterial parameters. The most frequent fungal species found were Candida sp. and Aspergillus sp., whereas intestinal enterococci were the most frequently isolated bacteria. Positive associations were detected among analyzed parameters and country-regions but none among those parameters and sampling period. Regarding threshold values, we propose 15 cfu/g for yeasts, 17 cfu/g for potential pathogenic fungi, 8 cfu/g for dermatophytes, 25 cfu/g for E. coli, and 10 cfu/g for intestinal enterococci

Interphase chromosome positioning in in vitro porcine cells and ex vivo porcine tissues

Copyright @ 2012 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and 85 reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The article was made available through the Brunel University Open Access Publishing Fund.BACKGROUND: In interphase nuclei of a wide range of species chromosomes are organised into their own specific locations termed territories. These chromosome territories are non-randomly positioned in nuclei which is believed to be related to a spatial aspect of regulatory control over gene expression. In this study we have adopted the pig as a model in which to study interphase chromosome positioning and follows on from other studies from our group of using pig cells and tissues to study interphase genome re-positioning during differentiation. The pig is an important model organism both economically and as a closely related species to study human disease models. This is why great efforts have been made to accomplish the full genome sequence in the last decade. RESULTS: This study has positioned most of the porcine chromosomes in in vitro cultured adult and embryonic fibroblasts, early passage stromal derived mesenchymal stem cells and lymphocytes. The study is further expanded to position four chromosomes in ex vivo tissue derived from pig kidney, lung and brain. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that porcine chromosomes are also non-randomly positioned within interphase nuclei with few major differences in chromosome position in interphase nuclei between different cell and tissue types. There were also no differences between preferred nuclear location of chromosomes in in vitro cultured cells as compared to cells in tissue sections. Using a number of analyses to ascertain by what criteria porcine chromosomes were positioned in interphase nuclei; we found a correlation with DNA content.This study is partly supported by Sygen International PLC

Puentes hacia una mejor vida (Bridges to a Better Life): Outcome of a Diabetes Control Peer Support Intervention

Peer support can promote diabetes control, yet research on feasible and effective peer support models is lacking. This randomized controlled trial tested a volunteer-based model of peer support for diabetes control

Simultaneous localization of MLL, AF4 and ENL genes in interphase nuclei by 3D-FISH: MLL translocation revisited

BACKGROUND: Haematological cancer is characterised by chromosomal translocation (e.g. MLL translocation in acute leukaemia) and two models have been proposed to explain the origins of recurrent reciprocal translocation. The first, established from pairs of translocated genes (such as BCR and ABL), considers the spatial proximity of loci in interphase nuclei (static "contact first" model). The second model is based on the dynamics of double strand break ends during repair processes (dynamic "breakage first" model). Since the MLL gene involved in 11q23 translocation has more than 40 partners, the study of the relative positions of the MLL gene with both the most frequent partner gene (AF4) and a less frequent partner gene (ENL), should elucidate the MLL translocation mechanism. METHODS: Using triple labeling 3D FISH experiments, we have determined the relative positions of MLL, AF4 and ENL genes, in two lymphoblastic and two myeloid human cell lines. RESULTS: In all cell lines, the ENL gene is significantly closer to the MLL gene than the AF4 gene (with P value < 0.0001). According to the static "contact first" model of the translocation mechanism, a minimal distance between loci would indicate a greater probability of the occurrence of t(11;19)(q23;p13.3) compared to t(4;11)(q21;q23). However this is in contradiction to the epidemiology of 11q23 translocation. CONCLUSION: The simultaneous multi-probe hybridization in 3D-FISH is a new approach in addressing the correlation between spatial proximity and occurrence of translocation. Our observations are not consistent with the static "contact first" model of translocation. The recently proposed dynamic "breakage first" model offers an attractive alternative explanation

Mapping of land use and geomorphology in the APAPORE project area by LANDSAT satellite data, volume 1

The results of a land use and geomorphological mapping of the so-called Projeto APAPORE area, at Mato Grosso do Sul State are presented. The study was carried out using multispectral scanner (MSS) and return beam vidicon LANDSAT images (channels 5 and 7 for the MSS) at the scale of 1:250,000 from 1980 through visual interpretation. The results indicate that pastureland is the most widespead class and that the agricultural areas re concentrated in the north of the area under study. The area covered with cerradao (arboreous savanna type) has a great areal extention, thus permitting the advance of the agricultural frontier. The geomorphological mapping can be useful to regional planning of future land use within the studied area

Understanding the relationship between environmental arsenic and prostate cancer aggressiveness among African-American and European-American men in North Carolina

High-level exposure to arsenic, a known carcinogen and endocrine disruptor, is associated with prostate cancer (PCa) mortality. Whether low-level exposure is associated with PCa aggressiveness remains unknown. We examined the association between urinary arsenic and PCa aggressiveness among men in North Carolina. This cross-sectional study included 463 African-American and 491 European-American men with newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed prostate adenocarcinoma. PCa aggressiveness was defined as low aggressive (Gleason score &lt; 7, stage = cT1–cT2, and PSA &lt; 10 ng/mL) versus intermediate/high aggressive (all other cases). Total arsenic and arsenical species (inorganic arsenic (iAsIII + iAsV), arsenobetaine, monomethyl arsenic, and dimethyl arsenic)) and specific gravity were measured in spot urine samples obtained an average of 23.7 weeks after diagnosis. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the covariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for PCa aggressiveness in association with arsenic tertiles/quantiles overall and by race. The highest (vs. lowest) tertile of total arsenic was associated with PCa aggressiveness ORs of 1.77 (95% CI = 1.05–2.98) among European-American men, and 0.94 (95% CI = 0.57–1.56) among African-American men (PInteraction = 0.04). In contrast, total arsenic and arsenical species were not associated with PCa aggressiveness in unstratified models. Low-level arsenic exposure may be associated with PCa aggressiveness among European-Americans, but not among African-Americans

Polydispersity and ordered phases in solutions of rodlike macromolecules

We apply density functional theory to study the influence of polydispersity on the stability of columnar, smectic and solid ordering in the solutions of rodlike macromolecules. For sufficiently large length polydispersity (standard deviation $\sigma>0.25$) a direct first-order nematic-columnar transition is found, while for smaller $\sigma$ there is a continuous nematic-smectic and first-order smectic-columnar transition. For increasing polydispersity the columnar structure is stabilized with respect to solid perturbations. The length distribution of macromolecules changes neither at the nematic-smectic nor at the nematic-columnar transition, but it does change at the smectic-columnar phase transition. We also study the phase behaviour of binary mixtures, in which the nematic-smectic transition is again found to be continuous. Demixing according to rod length in the smectic phase is always preempted by transitions to solid or columnar ordering.Comment: 13 pages (TeX), 2 Postscript figures uuencode