AGMAAS: a GIS integrated tool for modelling wind-borne spreading of FMD virus

The aim of our work was to develop a tool integrated into Quantum GIS (QGIS) that can help
the user estimate and visualize the possible infective areas around an outbreak based on HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model

An Examination of the Significance of the Trinitarian Theology of St. Augustine

Despite the noble efforts of modern Christian theologians in attempting to revive popular level interest in the classical Christian doctrine of the Trinity, there has been within the everyday praxis of the individual Christian a discernible neglect and ignorance of this cardinal doctrine. However, with the 20th century advent of Freudian and Jungian psychology, a new opportunity has arisen for a Trinitarian revival in the popular consciousness of the faithful. Due to an increasing level of interest in the notion of understanding the conscious and unconscious cognitive processes that govern the human psyche, there arose an indubitable opportunity for a re-examination of the Trinitarian theology of those writers who based their Trinitarian discourse upon the self-consciousness of man as created in the image of God. Therefore, the essential function of this paper is to explore the Trinitarian theology of St. Augustine, who being the originator of psychological analogies in Trinitarian discourse warrants exceptional contemporary interest given the aforementioned increased receptivity to psychological self-awareness

Totally Acyclic Complexes

We consider the following question: when is every exact complex of injective modules a totally acyclic one? It is known, for example, that over a commutative Noetherian ring of finite Krull dimension this condition is equivalent with the ring being Iwanaga-Gorenstein. We give equivalent characterizations of the condition that every exact complex of injective modules (over arbitrary rings) is totally acyclic. We also give a dual result giving equivalent characterizations of the condition that every exact complex of flat modules is F-totally acyclic over an arbitrary ring

Hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase modulates the effect of inhibitors and alternative substrates of 11[beta]-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1

Intracellular glucocorticoid reactivation is catalyzed by 11[beta]-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11[beta]-HSD1), which functions predominantly as a reductase in cells expressing hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PDH). We recently showed that the ratios of cortisone to cortisol and 7-keto- to 7-hydroxy-neurosteroids are regulated by 11[beta]-HSD1 and very much depend on co-expression with H6PDH, providing cosubstrate NADPH. Here, we investigated the impact of H6PDH on the modulation of 11[beta]-HSD1-dependent inter-conversion of cortisone and cortisol by inhibitors and alternative substrates. Using HEK-293 cells expressing 11[beta]-HSD1 or co-expressing 11[beta]-HSD1 and H6PDH, we observed significant differences of 11[beta]-HSD1 inhibition by natural and pharmaceutical compounds as well as endogenous hormone metabolites. Furthermore, we show potent and dose-dependent inhibition of 11[beta]-HSD1 by 7-keto-DHEA in differentiated human THP-1 macrophages and in HEK-293 cells over-expressing 11[beta]-HSD1 with or without H6PDH. In contrast, 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) did not inhibit 11[beta]-HSD1 in HEK-293 cells, even in the presence of H6PDH, but inhibited 11[beta]-HSD1 reductase activity in differentiated THP-1 macrophages (IC~50~ = 8.1 +/- 0.9 [mu]M). 7-keto-DHEA but not 7-KC inhibited 11[beta]-HSD1 in HEK-293 cell lysates. In conclusion, cellular factors such as H6PDH can significantly modulate the effect of inhibitors and alternative 7-oxygenated substrates on intracellular glucocorticoid availability