Identifying bottlenecks and gateways for agroforestry development in Poland

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Development of AIFTDS-4000, a flight-qualified, flexible, high-speed data acquisition system

The NASA flight research center has developed a prototype data acquisition system which integrates an airborne computer with a high-speed pulse code modulation system. The design of the airborne integrated flight test data system (AIFTDS) is the result of experience with airborne pulse code modulation data systems. The AIFTDS-4000 has proved the premise on which it was designed: that the needs and requirements of data acquisition system users can be integrated to produce a highly flexible system that will be more useful than existing systems

SPLENIC REPLENISHMENT OF SYNERGISTIC ABILITY TO BONE MARROW AND THYMIC CELLS OF NEONATALLY SPLENECTOMIZED CBA MICE

Bone marrow (B) and thymic (T) cells taken from adult mice that had been splenectomized within 24 hr of birth showed an inability to cooperate in the IgM response to sheep red blood cells. The defect in collaborative capacity was apparent in both sets of cells, but appeared to be more pronounced in the T cell population. Splenectomy performed at various neonatal intervals indicated that if removal of the spleen were delayed until 6 days after birth, B and T cells of the adult showed a 60% restoration in cooperation. Replenishment of the synergistic ability after neonatal splenectomy could be achieved by injecting spleen cells immediately after spleen removal or 2 months postsplenectomy

How did a Quality Premium financial incentive influence antibiotic prescribing in primary care? Views of Clinical Commissioning Group and general practice professionals

Background: The Quality Premium (QP) was introduced for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England to optimize antibiotic prescribing, but it remains unclear how it was implemented. Objectives: To understand responses to the QP and how it was perceived to influence antibiotic prescribing. Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 22 CCG and 19 general practice professionals. Interviews were analysed thematically. Results: The findings were organized into four categories. (i) Communication: this was perceived as unstructured and infrequent, and CCG professionals were unsure whether they received QP funding. (ii) Implementation: this was influenced by available local resources and competing priorities, with multifaceted and tailored strategies seen as most helpful for engaging general practices. Many antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) strategies were implemented independently from the QP, motivated by quality improvement. (iii) Mechanisms: the QP raised the priority of AMS nationally and locally, and provided prescribing targets to aim for and benchmark against, but money was not seen as reinvested into AMS. (iv) Impact and sustainability: the QP was perceived as successful, but targets were considered challenging for a minority of CCGs and practices due to contextual factors (e.g. deprivation, understaffing). CCG professionals were concerned with potential discontinuation of the QP and prescribing rates levelling off. Conclusions: CCG and practice professionals expressed positive views of the QP and associated prescribing targets and feedback. The QP helped influence change mainly by raising the priority of AMS and defining change targets rather than providing additional funding. To maximize impact, behavioural mechanisms of financial incentives should be considered pre-implementation

Enzymatic Activities of Isolated Cytochrome bc1-like Complexes Containing Fused Cytochrome b Subunits with Asymmetrically Inactivated Segments of Electron Transfer Chains

Homodimeric structure of cytochrome bc_1, a common component of biological energy conversion systems, builds in four catalytic quinone oxidation/reduction sites and four chains of cofactors (branches) that, connected by a centrally located bridge, form a symmetric H-shaped electron transfer system. The mechanism of operation of this complex system is under constant debate. Here, we report on isolation and enzymatic examination of cytochrome bc1-like complexes containing fused cytochrome b subunits in which asymmetrically introduced mutations inactivated individual branches in various combinations. The structural asymmetry of those forms was confirmed spectroscopically. All the asymmetric forms corresponding to cytochrome bc_1 with partial or full inactivation of one monomer retain high enzymatic activity but at the same time show a decrease in the maximum turnover rate by a factor close to 2. This strongly supports the model assuming independent operation of monomers. The cross-inactivated form corresponding to cytochrome bc_1 with disabled complementary parts of each monomer retains the enzymatic activity at the level that, for the first time on isolated from membranes and purified to homogeneity preparations, demonstrates that intermonomer electron transfer through the bridge effectively sustains the enzymatic turnover. The results fully support the concept that electrons freely distribute between the four catalytic sites of a dimer and that any path connecting the catalytic sites on the opposite sides of the membrane is enzymatically competent. The possibility to examine enzymatic properties of isolated forms of asymmetric complexes constructed using the cytochrome b fusion system extends the array of tools available for investigating the engineering of dimeric cytochrome bc1 from the mechanistic and physiological perspectives