Stereospecific hydroxylation of long chain compounds by a species of Torulopsis.

Abstract A species of yeast of the genus Torulopsis hydroxylates long chain C18 compounds and then converts them to glycosides of 17-l-hydroxy C18 fatty acids. Incubation of methyl [17-18O]hydroxyoleate with whole cells and of methyl oleate in the presence of 18O2 or H218O showed that the oxygen atom, introduced on hydroxylation, is not lost on glycoside formation and that it is derived from molecular oxygen and not from water. Esters of [18-2H3], [16,18-2H5], [17-2H2], [17-d-2H], and [17-l-2H]octadecanoates have been synthesized. On incubation of these compounds no deuterium atoms at C-16 and C-18 are removed but the 17-l-deuterium atom is lost. Unsaturated intermediates are, therefore, most probably not involved and 17-l-hydroxy acid is produced by displacement of an l-hydrogen atom (retention of configuration). The rate of formation of glycoside from l-deuterostearate was less than half of that from d-deuterostearate or from unlabeled stearate, suggesting the operation of a primary isotope effect

Plyler Children: 21st Century Challenges with Judicial-Policy Implementation Affecting Immigrant Children in New Jersey

Denying unauthorized immigrant children access to a free public education through incomplete judicial policy implementation may lead to an illiterate underclass. Communicating, implementing, and enforcing Plyler v. Doe school registration documentation requirements continue to be difficult at the district level. In 2008, an ACLU study in New Jersey found that 187 of 516 school districts were mandating inappropriate documentation from parents registering their children. Separation of powers requires that executive agencies proactively implement transformative judicial decisions

Informed actions: Where to cost effectively manage multiple threats to species to maximize return on investment

Conservation practitioners, faced with managing multiple threats to biodiversity and limited funding, must prioritize investment in different management actions. From an economic perspective, it is routine practice to invest where the highest rate of return is expected. This return-on-investment (ROI) thinking can also benefit species conservation, and researchers are developing sophisticated approaches to support decision-making for cost-effective conservation. However, applied use of these approaches is limited. Managers may be wary of "black-box'' algorithms or complex methods that are difficult to explain to funding agencies. As an alternative, we demonstrate the use of a basic ROI analysis for determining where to invest in cost-effective management to address threats to species. This method can be applied using basic geographic information system and spreadsheet calculations. We illustrate the approach in a management action prioritization for a biodiverse region of eastern Australia. We use ROI to prioritize management actions for two threats to a suite of threatened species: habitat degradation by cattle grazing, and predation by invasive red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). We show how decisions based on cost-effective threat management depend upon how expected benefits to species are defined and how benefits and costs co-vary. By considering a combination of species richness, restricted habitats, species vulnerability, and costs of management actions, small investments can result in greater expected benefit compared with management decisions that consider only species richness. Furthermore, a landscape management strategy that implements multiple actions is more efficient than managing only for one threat, or more traditional approaches that don't consider ROI. Our approach provides transparent and logical decision support for prioritizing different actions intended to abate threats associated with multiple species; it is of use when managers need a justifiable and repeatable approach to investment

Methamphetamine Induces Striatal Cell Death Followed by the Generation of New Cells and a Second Round of Cell Death in Mice

Our laboratory has been investigating the impact of a neurotoxic exposure to methamphetamine (METH) on cellular components of the striatum post-synaptic to the dopaminergic terminals. A systemic bolus injection of METH (30 mg/kg, ip) induces the production of new cells in the striatum during a period lasting from 24-48 hours after METH. The newly generated cells arise from dormant striatal progenitors and not from the subventricular zone. The newly generated cells display glial phenotypes and begin to die 24 hours after birth, or 2.5 days post-METH. The protracted phase of cell death lasts for at least three months post-METH at which time the bulk of the newly generated cells have disappeared. The METH-induced production of new cells is associated with enlarged striatal volume (up to 50% larger than controls in some animals). As the newly generated cells die over a period of three months, the enlarged striatal volume normalizes. In conclusion, a neurotoxic dose of METH induces the generation of new cells in the striatum associated with enlarged striatal volume. The new cells die over three months post-METH and the enlarged striatal volume returns to control levels. This observation is significant because studies involving METH users show striatal enlargement and the normalization of striatal volume in METH users who have been abstinent for up to 20 months

Factoring attitudes towards conflict risk into selection of protected areas for conservation

The high incidence of armed conflicts in biodiverse regions poses significant challenges in achieving international conservation targets. Because attitudes towards risk vary, we assessed different strategies for protected area planning that reflected alternative attitudes towards the risk of armed conflicts. We find that ignoring conflict risk will deliver the lowest return on investment. Opting to completely avoid conflict-prone areas offers limited improvements and could lead to species receiving no protection. Accounting for conflict by protecting additional areas to offset the impacts of armed conflicts would not only increase the return on investment (an effect that is enhanced when high-risk areas are excluded) but also increase upfront conservation costs. Our results also demonstrate that fine-scale estimations of conflict risk could enhance the cost-effectiveness of investments. We conclude that achieving biodiversity targets in volatile regions will require greater initial investment and benefit from fine-resolution estimates of conflict risk

Tensile rotary power transmission model development for airborne wind energy systems

Rotary airborne wind energy (AWE) systems are a family of AWE devices that utilise networked kites to form rotors. One such device is the Daisy Kite developed by Windswept and Interesting. The Daisy Kite uses a novel tensile rotary power transmission (TRPT) to transfer power generated at the flying rotor down to the ground. Two dynamic models have been developed and compared; one with simple spring-disc representation, and one with multi-spring representation that can take account of more degrees of freedom. Simulation results show that the angular velocity responses of the two TRPT models are more closely correlated in higher wind speeds when the system shows stiffer torsional behaviour. Another interesting point is the observation of two equilibrium states, when the spring-disc TRPT model is coupled with NREL's AeroDyn. Given the computational efficiency of the simpler model and the high correlation of the results between the two models, the simple model can be used for more demanding simulations

Experiences and challenges during the commercialization of a licensed-in monoclonal antibody

A variety of scientific and regulatory challenges may be encountered during the commercialization of a monoclonal antibody process. These challenges may be compounded when the product is licensed-in. In this work, we present case studies detailing a series of experiences and lessons learned during the commercialization of a licensed-in monoclonal antibody process. The work will cover topics including qualification of scale-down models, troubleshooting scale-up and tech transfer, mitigation strategies for process performance variability, and demonstration of clonality. A variety of experimental and statistical methodologies were implemented to address these concerns, including application of multivariate data analysis. Details of the methodologies will also be provided to demonstrate their application to troubleshooting of commercial upstream fed-batch production processes

StreetWise: developing a serious game to support forensic mental health service users’ preparation for discharge: a feasibility study

Forensic Mental Health [FMH] services are tasked with ensuring public safety whilst supporting service user recovery and reintegration into wider society. Due to past histories of offending behaviour, FMH service users are often detained under the Mental Health Act (2007) within secure settings where they are monitored and their freedom and self-governance is limited. Restricted community access makes risk assessment and skill development for community living problematic. The measures of control and security inherent within FMH services pose a challenge to social integration and recovery, whereby users feel empowered with self-efficacy to work towards their own goals with hope and optimism (Simpson & Penney, 2011). Additionally, detention in secure services leads to isolation from the community which adds risk and stigma to the complexity of the service users’ journey of recovery. This feasibility study explores how new technologies may be used to support FMH service users on their journey to recovery. A prototype serious game was co-produced with FMH service users with the aim of enabling service users to engage safely with community based scenarios and begin to develop skills for community living and consider self-management in risky situations whilst detained within a secure environment

Vortical and Wave Modes in 3D Rotating Stratified Flows: Random Large Scale Forcing

Utilizing an eigenfunction decomposition, we study the growth and spectra of energy in the vortical and wave modes of a 3D rotating stratified fluid as a function of $\epsilon = f/N$. Working in regimes characterized by moderate Burger numbers, i.e. $Bu = 1/\epsilon^2 < 1$ or $Bu \ge 1$, our results indicate profound change in the character of vortical and wave mode interactions with respect to $Bu = 1$. As with the reference state of $\epsilon=1$, for $\epsilon < 1$ the wave mode energy saturates quite quickly and the ensuing forward cascade continues to act as an efficient means of dissipating ageostrophic energy. Further, these saturated spectra steepen as $\epsilon$ decreases: we see a shift from $k^{-1}$ to $k^{-5/3}$ scaling for $k_f < k < k_d$ (where $k_f$ and $k_d$ are the forcing and dissipation scales, respectively). On the other hand, when $\epsilon > 1$ the wave mode energy never saturates and comes to dominate the total energy in the system. In fact, in a sense the wave modes behave in an asymmetric manner about $\epsilon = 1$. With regard to the vortical modes, for $\epsilon \le 1$, the signatures of 3D quasigeostrophy are clearly evident. Specifically, we see a $k^{-3}$ scaling for $k_f < k < k_d$ and, in accord with an inverse transfer of energy, the vortical mode energy never saturates but rather increases for all $k < k_f$. In contrast, for $\epsilon > 1$ and increasing, the vortical modes contain a progressively smaller fraction of the total energy indicating that the 3D quasigeostrophic subsystem plays an energetically smaller role in the overall dynamics.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figs. (abbreviated abstract

Using routine clinical and administrative data to produce a dataset of attendances at Emergency Departments following self-harm

Background: Self-harm is a significant public health concern in the UK. This is reflected in the recent addition to the English Public Health Outcomes Framework of rates of attendance at Emergency Departments (EDs) following self-harm. However there is currently no source of data to measure this outcome. Routinely available data for inpatient admissions following self-harm miss the majority of cases presenting to services. Methods: Using the Clinical Record Interactive Search system, the electronic health records (EHRs) used in four EDs were linked to Hospital Episode Statistics to create a dataset of attendances following self-harm. This dataset was compared with an audit dataset of ED attendances created by manual searching of ED records. The proportion of total cases detected by each dataset was compared. Results: There were 1932 attendances detected by the EHR dataset and 1906 by the audit. The EHR and audit datasets detected 77 and 76 of all attendances respectively and both detected 82 of individual patients. There were no differences in terms of age, sex, ethnicity or marital status between those detected and those missed using the EHR method. Both datasets revealed more than double the number of self-harm incidents than could be identified from inpatient admission records. Conclusions: It was possible to use routinely collected EHR data to create a dataset of attendances at EDs following self-harm. The dataset detected the same proportion of attendances and individuals as the audit dataset, proved more comprehensive than the use of inpatient admission records, and did not show a systematic bias in those cases it missed. © 2015 Polling et al