The FOMC’s “considerable period”

Monetary policy

Arms Control and Heavy Missiles

The governing concept infnsing US nuclear strategy over the past two decades has been mutual assnred destruction (MAD). This concept postulates that once the United States and the Soviet Union achieved an invulnerable second-strike capabi Ii ty, stabi Ii ty would result. By definition the doctrine required that each side be able to offer a genuine threat to the other in the form of an invulnerable second-strike capability. Thns, if either side\u27s second-strike capability became vulnerable it would be necessary to reestablish an invulnerable retaliatory force

Detection of the sour-rot pathogen Geotrichum candidum in tomato fruit and juice by using a highly specific monoclonal antibody-based ELISA

Copyright © 2010 Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in International Journal of Food Microbiology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2010, Vol. 143, Issue 3, pp. 166 – 172 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2010.08.012Geotrichum candidum is a common soil-borne fungus that causes sour-rot of tomatoes, citrus fruits and vegetables, and is a major contaminant on tomato processing equipment. The aim of this work was to produce a monoclonal antibody and diagnostic assay for its detection in tomato fruit and juice. Using hybridoma technology, a cell line (FE10) was generated that produced a monoclonal antibody belonging to the immunoglobulin class M (IgM) that was specific to G. candidum and the closely related teleomorphic species Galactomyces geotrichum and anamorphic species Geotrichum europaeum and Geotrichum pseudocandidum in the G. geotrichum/G. candidum complex. The MAb did not cross-react with a wide range of unrelated fungi, including some likely to be encountered during crop production and processing. The MAb binds to an immunodominant high molecular mass (> 200 kDa) extracellular polysaccharide antigen that is present on the surface of arthroconidia and hyphae of G. candidum. The MAb was used in a highly specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to accurately detect the fungus in infected tomato fruit and juice. Specificity of the ELISA was confirmed by sequencing of the internally transcribed spacer (ITS) 1-5.8S-ITS2 rRNA-encoding regions of fungi isolated from naturally-infected tomatoes

Project Hydra: Designing & Building a Reusable Framework for Multipurpose, Multifunction, Multi-institutional Repository-Powered Solutions

4th International Conference on Open RepositoriesThis presentation was part of the session : Fedora User Group PresentationsDate: 2009-05-20 03:30 PM – 05:00 PMThere is a clear business need in higher education for a flexible, reusable application framework that can support the rapid development of multiple systems tailored to distinct needs, but powered by a common underlying repository. Recognizing this common need, Stanford University, the University of Hull and the University of Virginia are collaborating on "Project Hydra", a three-year effort to create an application and middleware framework that, in combination with an underlying Fedora repository, will create a reusable environment for running multifunction, multipurpose repository-powered solutions. This paper details the collaborators' functional and technical design for such a framework, and will demonstrate the progress made to date on the initiative.JIS

Biological Survey Report for the Calypso Natural Gas Pipeline: Shore Approach Route North of Port Everglades Entrance Channel with Landing South of Port Everglades Entrance Channel

The Calypso Natural Gas Pipeline Project (project) will include a 24-inch pipeline which will extend from the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the southeast Florida coastline to a shore approach at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This report, which was commissioned in May 2001 and completed in July, 2001, documents the results of a detailed biological survey of underwater marine habitats from 5 to 200 feet water depth for the pipeline route. The route, which was established based on the subsea survey that was completed in May 2001 by Williamson & Associates, Inc., includes a shore approach from the north of the Port Everglades entrance channel to a pipeline landing site south of the Port Everglades entrance channel. The purpose of this biological survey report was to identify benthic characteristics within the nearshore pipeline corridor and to identify and evaluate potential temporary impacts to the marine ecosystems. The pipeline corridor investigated was 300 feet wide and extended from the shoreline to the 200 foot water depth, a distance of approximately 14,000 feet. In addition, some video surveying was conducted to approximately the 250-foot depth contour (an additional distance of approximately 500 feet). Underwater survey methods included use of SCUBA diving to conduct underwater quantitative biological transects and integrated video mapping using a vessel towed system which provided a permanent record together with a DGPS location. Remote sensing information included use of aerial photographs and LIDAR bathymetry to guide habitat delineation. A total of eight (8) benthic habitats were defined within the pipeline corridor. These habitats included: 1. First Reef 2. Submerged Breakwater/Spoil 3. Second Reef 4. Second Reef-Sand Complex 5. Sand 6. Third Reef 7. Third Reef-Sand Complex, and 8. Third Reef Transitional. Density (number per m2) of hard corals, soft corals, and sponges was determined at several representative transects within certain habitats. Results of the study indicated that overall coverage by hard corals, soft corals, and sponges is very low in the proposed project area. Along the proposed pipeline route, percent hard coral coverage ranged from 0.16% in the Submerged Breakwater / Spoil Area to 1.34% in the Third Reef habitat. Soft coral density was lowest in Second Reef-Sand Complex (0.02 soft corals per m2) and highest at the Third Reef (11.85 soft corals per m2). Sponge density varied from 0.23 sponges per m2 in the Submerged Breakwater / Spoil Area to 19.48 sponges per m2in the Second Reef zone. Previous surveys in the general project vicinity indicate that no zooxanthellate reef-building hard corals occur in water depths greater than about 120 feet of seawater (FSW). Direct impacts of approximately 1.60 acres of hardbottom habitat characterized by very low coverage by hard corals, sponges and soft corals are expected. These impacts will occur at proposed horizontal directional drilling exit or entrance holes, laydown areas of pipeline, trenching, and blanketing to bury pipeline from the Port Everglades entrance channel from the shoreline to the 200-foot depth contour, as shown in Tables 5, 6, and 7. A further approximately 4.34 acres of area would be affected adversely by temporary indirect effects (i.e., sedimentation and turbidity) effects as shown in Tables 8, 9, and 10. Table 11 provides a summary total that 5.94 acres of hardbottom habitat would be directly or indirectly affected. In addition, approximately 0.008 acres of very sparse seagrass (Halophila decipiens) will be directly impacted. Finally, no threatened or endangered species (including the federally threatened seagrass Halophila johnsonii) were observed in the project area. Observations were conducted to the approximate 250-foot depth contour. Video surveys to that depth indicated benthic conditions consistent with those of the Third Reef Transitional complex and open sand. Project activities beyond 200 FSW will consist only of pipe placement directly on the sea bottom

Medical and surgical management of gallbladder sludge and mucocoele development in a Miniature Schnauzer

The factors enhancing mucocoele development in dogs remain poorly understood. A 7-year-old female spayed Miniature Schnauzer was presented to the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for progressive lethargy, inappetance and abdominal discomfort. Initial physical examination findings revealed a moderate degree of cranial abdominal pain, with subsequent diagnostic tests confirming the patient as having diabetes mellitus, with a concurrent marked hypertriglyceridaemia. In an attempt to localise the source of pain, an ultrasound examination of the abdomen was performed, revealing a marked degree of gallbladder sludge. With appropriate medical management including ursodeoxycholic acid and insulin therapy, the patient stabilised and was discharged. With persistence of clinical signs three months later, progression of the gallbladder sludge towards mucocoele development was suspected. Exploratory laparotomy was instigated, and an emergency cholecystectomy was performed. This case report therefore entails a suspected gallbladder mucocoele that developed in a diabetic patient with previously diagnosed biliary sludge. A unique feature of this case report is the presence of diabetes mellitus, which has been suggested to be a causative factor in the development of gallbladder mucocoeles. It is also hypothesised that gallbladder sludge and mucocoeles are associated, however it is yet to be ascertained whether this association is causal or contributory. The authors examined the possible relationship between this endocrinopathy and biliary sludge, and their possible effects on mucocoele development. Specific associated factors to sludge formation are also examined. The medical and surgical management of gallbladder mucocoeles is discussed