Method of making conical fiber optical components

Improved method for producing fused-fiber optical components is described. These components have a frustro-conical shape and provide high-quality light transmission with high resolution capabilities. Fiber optical components can be used in precision optical systems, such as in certain camera applications

Studies on serpentine flora: A new species of Brachystelma (Asclepiadaceae)

There is a paucity of work on the floras of serpentine areas in southern Africa. During brief visits to the serpentine areas in the south-eastern Transvaal, we have collected several interesting plants among which is a new species of Brachystelma R. Br. This new species, B. dyeri K. & M-J. Balkwill, is described here

Taxonomic studies in the Acanthaceae: The Peristrophe grandibracteata complex

Examination of material of Peristrophe grandibracteata Lindau sensu lato has shown that it comprises a complex that we treat as three species (one of which has two subspecies). The species are P. grandibracteata sensu stricto, P. hereroensis (Schinz) Balkwill and the new P. namibiensis Balkwill, with two subspecies, ssp. namibiensis and ssp. brandbergensis Balkwill. A key to these taxa, descriptions and distribution maps are provided. All three species are endemic to Namibia

The prairie farm rehabilitation administration and the community pasture program, 1937-1947

In 1935, following years of drought, economic depression, and massive relief expenditures, the federal government of Canada passed the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act (PFR Act) to arrest soil drifting, improve cultivation techniques, and conserve moisture on the Canadian prairies. Activities under the act were to last no more than five years and cost no more than five million dollars. By 1937, the act was amended to remove unsuitable land from cultivation permanently, and develop federally controlled community pastures. Settlers on unsuitable land were relocated to reduce relief expenditures, and farmers on quality land could balance their operations by grazing livestock on nearby pastures. The first ten years of the community pasture program (1937-1947) represented an important stage in the federal interpretation of the prairie region. For decades, Ottawa had administered the prairies with policies that reflected a sense of the region's uniformity and a faith in the power of dry farming techniques. The community pasture program acknowledged the ecological diversity of the prairies and the need for agricultural activities to suit the region's natural limitations. Efforts to develop community pastures were complicated however, by economic, political and social circumstances. By the five-year mark of the program, pasture development was at a virtual standstill. But as federal rehabilitation officials negotiated with prairie governments and private landowners for control of land in community pastures, the region was increasingly understood. In practice, the community pasture program reflected the understanding that broadly-based land use policy had to be flexible in order to accommodate the ecological and social diversity of the prairies

Calibration, verification and stepwise analysis for numerical phenetics: Olinia (Oliniaceae) as an example

AbstractCalibration and verification techniques are discussed in the context of numerical phenetic analysis. Calibration is introduced to evaluate the character set, decide on the type of phenetic algorithm to be used, and determine the level at which to recognize taxonomic entities. Clusters are verified by analyzing sub-samples of specimens. This determines whether the groups obtained are dependent on the variation represented by particular specimens or on variation between taxa to which the specimens belong. A stepwise procedure was used to improve resolution on the ordination axes and thus to visualize differences between phenetically similar taxa. The application of these techniques in Olinia Thunb. supports the recognition of six clearly defined clusters which correspond to O. emarginata Burtt Davy, O. micrantha Decne, O. ventosa (L.) Cufod., O. capensis (Jacq.) Klotzsch, O. radiata Hofmeyr & Phill. and O. vanguerioides Bak. The analyses further revealed one highly variable group, referred to as the O. rochetiana complex, which includes O. aequipetala (Del.) Cufod, O. usambarensis Gilg, O. volkensii Engl., O. macrophylla Gilg, O. ruandensis Gilg, O. discolor Mildbraed and O. huillensis Welw. ex A.R. Fernandes

Factors determining levels of threat to serpentine endemics

AbstractTwenty-nine species endemic to outcrops of serpentine soils of the Barberton Greenstone Belt have been identified. Of these only 11 were previously Red Data Listed, six as Insufficiently Known (K) or Data Deficient (DD). The populations of these endemics are extremely fragmented and many are threatened by afforestation. IUCN criteria were used to re-assess their conservation status. One taxon has been assessed as Critically Endangered, eight as Endangered, 12 as Vulnerable, three as Lower Risk and four as Data Deficient. Additional factors, crucial for setting conservation priorities, are identified

Body mass index and incident coronary heart disease in women: a population-based prospective study

BACKGROUND A high body mass index (BMI) is associated with an increased risk of mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD); however, a low BMI may also be associated with an increased mortality risk. There is limited information on the relation of incident CHD risk across a wide range of BMI, particularly in women. We examined the relation between BMI and incident CHD overall and across different risk factors of the disease in the Million Women Study. METHODS 1.2 million women (mean age=56 years) participants without heart disease, stroke, or cancer (except non-melanoma skin cancer) at baseline (1996 to 2001) were followed prospectively for 9 years on average. Adjusted relative risks and 20-year cumulative incidence from age 55 to 74 years were calculated for CHD using Cox regression. RESULTS After excluding the first 4 years of follow-up, we found that 32,465 women had a first coronary event (hospitalization or death) during follow-up. The adjusted relative risk for incident CHD per 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI was 1.23 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22 to 1.25). The cumulative incidence of CHD from age 55 to 74 years increased progressively with BMI, from 1 in 11 (95% CI 1 in 10 to 12) for BMI of 20 kg/m2, to 1 in 6(95% CI 1 in 5 to 7) for BMI of 34 kg/m2. A 10 kg/m2 increase in BMI conferred a similar risk to a 5-year increment in chronological age. The 20 year cumulative incidence increased with BMI in smokers and non-smokers, alcohol drinkers and non-drinkers, physically active and inactive, and in the upper and lower socioeconomic classes. In contrast to incident disease, the relation between BMI and CHD mortality (n=2,431) was J-shaped. For the less than 20 kg/m2 and ≥35 kg/m2 BMI categories, the respective relative risks were 1.27 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.53) and 2.84 (95% CI 2.51 to 3.21) for CHD deaths, and 0.89 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.94) and 1.85 (95% CI 1.78 to 1.92) for incident CHD. CONCLUSIONS CHD incidence in women increases progressively with BMI, an association consistently seen in different subgroups. The shape of the relation with BMI differs for incident and fatal disease.The Million Women Study is funded by Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council, and the NHS Breast Screening Programme. The funding organizations were not involved in the study design or conduct, data analysis or interpretation, manuscript preparation or review, final version approval, or decision to submit the manuscript

"Re-educating" tumor-associated macrophages by targeting NF-kappaB

The nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) signaling pathway is important in cancer-related inflammation and malignant progression. Here, we describe a new role for NF-kappaB in cancer in maintaining the immunosuppressive phenotype of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). We show that macrophages are polarized via interleukin (IL)-1R and MyD88 to an immunosuppressive "alternative" phenotype that requires IkappaB kinase beta-mediated NF-kappaB activation. When NF-kappaB signaling is inhibited specifically in TAMs, they become cytotoxic to tumor cells and switch to a "classically" activated phenotype; IL-12(high), major histocompatibility complex II(high), but IL-10(low) and arginase-1(low). Targeting NF-kappaB signaling in TAMs also promotes regression of advanced tumors in vivo by induction of macrophage tumoricidal activity and activation of antitumor activity through IL-12-dependent NK cell recruitment. We provide a rationale for manipulating the phenotype of the abundant macrophage population already located within the tumor microenvironment; the potential to "re-educate" the tumor-promoting macrophage population may prove an effective and novel therapeutic approach for cancer that complements existing therapies

Two new species of Cineraria (Senecioneae, Asteraceae) from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

AbstractTwo new species of Cineraria L. (Senecioneae) are described: Cineraria glandulosa Cron, endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, and Cineraria dryogeton Cron from the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve on the border of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Both species are narrow endemics, restricted to specific habitats and geological formations, and are therefore vulnerable to human-induced disturbance and the threat of extinction. However, both species occur in nature reserves, which reduce the threat of extinction