Epitopes in ChEBI - A Collaboration with the IEDB

*ChEBI background:* Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) is a curated database of small chemical entities important in biosystems. As well as a description of entities, it provides a semantically rich knowledge base; and an internal hierarchy that organises the entities by their molecular structure types and potential rôles.

*The ChEBI-IEDB collaboration:* The Immune Epitope and Analysis Resource (IEDB) is a project supported by contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Its goal is to make epitope-related data on infectious diseases and immune disorders freely available to researchers worldwide. In June 2009, ChEBI began working with the IEDB on a project aimed at incorporating into ChEBI, by manual curation, a pilot subset of immunologically important chemicals identified as immune epitopes.

*The significance of the project:* Numerous reports attest to an increasing global prevalence of immune-related diseases, with a multiplicity of contributing factors. This situation underscores the need for cross-talk among the various scientific disciplines, and makes ChEBI involvement in this project particularly relevant. 

*Collaboration outcome:* That collaboration among curators working on different databases can be reciprocally beneficial has been amply demonstrated by the ChEBI-IEDB teamwork described: while the incorporated IEDB items have substantially enriched ChEBI, the latter’s multiplicity of synonyms, structure tree lay-out and expertise in describing non-peptidic epitopes have been equally useful to the IEDB in facilitating the search process.
*Status quo and plans:* We continue to refine our task of assisting the identification, understanding and utilisation of biologically meaningful chemical entities by engaging in further joint projects

An analysis of the UK public for space exploration

This article presents the results of a survey carried out at two space outreach events in the UK aimed at characterising “the public for space exploration” and measuring public support for space exploration. Attitude towards space exploration and policy preferences were used as measures of public support. The sample involved 744 respondents and was mainly composed of adults between 25 and 45 years old, with men slightly over-represented compared with women. Findings revealed that males appeared to be stronger supporters than females – men had a more positive attitude towards space exploration and stronger space policy preferences. Because mixed groups tend to come together to such events we argue that male respondents would be more likely to be part of the “attentive” and “interested” public who come to outreach activities and bring a less interested public with them

The Case for increased cross-agency data sharing in the State of Nevada

According to a July 2010 survey conducted by CNBC Nevada ranks 34th in its quality of life. Contributing to this low ranking are remarkable statistics that rank Nevada as the highest state in the nation regarding the percentage of 18 to 24 years olds who are not high school graduates and for 16 to 19 year olds who are not in school and not working. In addition, Nevada currently has the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 14%. Recognizing the need to increase the education and work skill levels for Nevada’s youth, and in an effort to remediate unacceptable educational trends, in 2005, the Nevada Public Education Foundation launched Ready for Life, a cross-agency endeavor based on the groundbreaking “Connected by 25” research conducted at Stanford University. The research found that “disconnected” youth without meaningful ties to school or work by time that they were of age 25 would most likely remain “disconnected” through their adult lives, causing a significant financial burden to society. At this crucial nexus in Nevada’s economy and public education, state and local policymakers must discover more cost effective and efficient policies. This paper sought out other state’s “best practices” policies, with research revealing that cross-agency data sharing is a cost effective and efficient strategy, which increases the capacity of agencies such as Ready for Life to better identify and serve client needs. Data sharing also offers flexible policy alternatives where consideration by legislators can occur on an incremental or comprehensive basis

Nutrient Management Practices for the Optimization of Organic Milling Oat (Avena sativa)

Non-Peer ReviewedMilling oats are a valuable organic crop in Western Canada. Saskatchewan alone accounts for almost half of Canada’s total organic oat acreage. This two-year cropping sequence study investigates the impact of previous-year stubble (PS), animal manure (AM) type, and manure application timing on subsequent organic oat yields and quality. Two trials were established from 2019 - 2020 in a lattice design at the University of Saskatchewan’s Kernen Research Farm and Goodale Research Farm, outside of Saskatoon, SK. PS crops consisted of fababean, fababean green manure plough down (PD), fallow, and wheat. Composted cattle manure (CM), fresh laying hen manure (HM), and no manure (control) were applied either prior to PS crop (Yr0) or prior to oat crop (Yr1). PS crop type was observed to have a significant effect on oat yields. Compared to yields following wheat stubble (2243-3941 kg ha-1), fallow increased yields by 26% and 50% at Kernen and Goodale, respectively. Oat yields following fababean PD stubble were comparable to fallow at both locations. A PS by AM interaction was present only at the Kernen site. Fababean PD “ HM resulted in yields comparable to fallow applied with either AM. Application timing of manures did not influence oat yields. The preliminary results of this study suggests that PS crop type strongly influences oat yields, more so than manure and its application timing. Furthermore, growing a fababean crop for green manure can be an effective alternative to fallow for the improvement of subsequent organic oat crops

Saddle pulmonary embolism diagnosed by CT angiography: Frequency, clinical features and outcome

SummaryObjectiveTo assess the frequency, clinical presentation and outcome associated with saddle pulmonary embolism (PE) diagnosed by computed tomographic angiography (CTA).PatientsRetrospective review of 546 consecutive patients diagnosed to have acute PE by CTA from 1 September 2002 to 31 December 2003.ResultsFourteen of 546 patients (2.6%) had saddle PE; 10 were men (71%). None of these patients had pre-existing cardiopulmonary disease. Most common presenting symptoms included dyspnea (72%) and syncope (43%). Hypotension was documented in 2 patients (14%). The most common risk factor for PE was obesity (64%). CTA revealed saddle PE and additional filling defects in the main pulmonary arteries in all patients. Echocardiography was performed within 48h of the PE diagnosis in 10 patients and revealed right ventricular dysfunction in 8 (80%). All patients were initially managed in the hospital, median length of stay of 4 days (range, 1–45 days). Standard anticoagulant therapy with heparin and warfarin was administered to all patients. Five patients (36%) received additional therapy; thrombolytic therapy was administered to 1 patient (7%) and 4 patients (29%) received an inferior vena cava filter. None of the patients died during their hospitalization. Four patients (29%) died following their hospitalization after intervals of 1, 5, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Causes of death were known in 3 patients, all of whom died from progressive malignancy.ConclusionSaddle PE in patients without pre-existing cardiopulmonary disease is associated with a relatively low in-hospital mortality rate and may not necessitate aggressive medical management