Recent advances in the modelling of renal function

Differential equation models have become an indispensable tool in the effort towards a complete understanding of hypertonic urine formation. Recent advances in this field include the treatment of a kidney model as an inverse prob lern, the modelling of the three-dimensional Organization of the renal medulla, and dynamic models for the tubuloglomerular feedback mechanism. The latter make use of techniques from bifurcation and chaos theory

Best management practices for nitrogen fertilizer in Missouri

Integrated Pest ManagementPlant Protection ProgramsCollege of Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesPublished by MU Extension, University of Missouri-ColumbiaPeter Scharf, Plant Sciences Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia; John Lory, Plant Sciences Extension, University of Missouri-Columbiain collaboration with Judy Grundler, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Corn Growers Association, MO-AG/ Missouri Agriculture Industries Council, DOW AgroSciences, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency"Reviewed October 2018" -- websiteMissouri crop producers use a wide range of practices to supply nitrogen to their crops. The timing, rate and method of application, as well as the source of nitrogen and the use of additives, vary widely across the state and often between neighbors. Under certain weather conditions, nitrogen can be lost from the soil between application and crop uptake. This publication is intended to describe crop production practices that have the greatest potential for success in dealing with the complexities of managing nitrogen fertilizer. Successful nitrogen management delivers enough nitrogen to the crop to optimize yield and profitability while minimizing losses to water and air. With nitrogen, economic success and environmental success overlap almost completely. Everyone wants the nitrogen to end up in the crop. Thus, the best management practices (BMPs) presented here are identified as sound practices from economic, production and environmental viewpoints.Funding for development and the initial print run of this publication was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Department of Agriculture

Interpreting Missouri soil test reports (1998)

The Missouri Soil Test Report is an important tool for making management decisions for crop and forage production. This guide will help you understand the soil test report and make the results more useful for your farming operationNew 8/91, Reprinted 11/98

Best management practices for nitrogen fertilizer in Missouri (2006)

"New 8/06/9.5M.""This publication is part of a series of IPM Manuals prepared by the Plant Protection Programs of the University of Missouri. Topics covered in the series include an introduction to scouting, weed identification and management, plant diseases, and insects of field and horticultural crops.""Integrated pest management.

The Single-Nucleotide Resolution Transcriptome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Grown in Body Temperature

One of the hallmarks of opportunistic pathogens is their ability to adjust and respond to a wide range of environmental and host-associated conditions. The human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa has an ability to thrive in a variety of hosts and cause a range of acute and chronic infections in individuals with impaired host defenses or cystic fibrosis. Here we report an in-depth transcriptional profiling of this organism when grown at host-related temperatures. Using RNA-seq of samples from P. aeruginosa grown at 28°C and 37°C we detected genes preferentially expressed at the body temperature of mammalian hosts, suggesting that they play a role during infection. These temperature-induced genes included the type III secretion system (T3SS) genes and effectors, as well as the genes responsible for phenazines biosynthesis. Using genome-wide transcription start site (TSS) mapping by RNA-seq we were able to accurately define the promoters and cis-acting RNA elements of many genes, and uncovered new genes and previously unrecognized non-coding RNAs directly controlled by the LasR quorum sensing regulator. Overall we identified 165 small RNAs and over 380 cis-antisense RNAs, some of which predicted to perform regulatory functions, and found that non-coding RNAs are preferentially localized in pathogenicity islands and horizontally transferred regions. Our work identifies regulatory features of P. aeruginosa genes whose products play a role in environmental adaption during infection and provides a reference transcriptional landscape for this pathogen

Enculturation and alcohol use problems among Aboriginal university students

Objective: To examine associations between Aboriginal enculturation, Canadian acculturation, and alcohol problems among Aboriginal university students living in an urban area in Canada. Methods: Data for this mixed methods study were collected through in-person surveys with a convenience sample of Aboriginal university students (n = 60) in 2008/2009. Results: Students evidenced high levels of Aboriginal enculturation and Canadian acculturation. Aboriginal enculturation was significantly associated with reduced alcohol problems for Aboriginal university students. There was no association between Canadian acculturation and alcohol problems. Qualitative findings suggest Aboriginal cultural practices helped students cope with problems in their daily lives and provided them with both personal and social rewards. Conclusions: This study found Aboriginal enculturation was significantly associated with reduced alcohol problems among Aboriginal university students. Results support the growth of programs and services that encourage Aboriginal students to maintain their cultural identity within the university setting. Can J Psychiatry. 2011;56(12):Ye

Identification of Small Molecule Inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exoenzyme S Using a Yeast Phenotypic Screen

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that is a key factor in the mortality of cystic fibrosis patients, and infection represents an increased threat for human health worldwide. Because resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to antibiotics is increasing, new inhibitors of pharmacologically validated targets of this bacterium are needed. Here we demonstrate that a cell-based yeast phenotypic assay, combined with a large-scale inhibitor screen, identified small molecule inhibitors that can suppress the toxicity caused by heterologous expression of selected Pseudomonas aeruginosa ORFs. We identified the first small molecule inhibitor of Exoenzyme S (ExoS), a toxin involved in Type III secretion. We show that this inhibitor, exosin, modulates ExoS ADP-ribosyltransferase activity in vitro, suggesting the inhibition is direct. Moreover, exosin and two of its analogues display a significant protective effect against Pseudomonas infection in vivo. Furthermore, because the assay was performed in yeast, we were able to demonstrate that several yeast homologues of the known human ExoS targets are likely ADP-ribosylated by the toxin. For example, using an in vitro enzymatic assay, we demonstrate that yeast Ras2p is directly modified by ExoS. Lastly, by surveying a collection of yeast deletion mutants, we identified Bmh1p, a yeast homologue of the human FAS, as an ExoS cofactor, revealing that portions of the bacterial toxin mode of action are conserved from yeast to human. Taken together, our integrated cell-based, chemical-genetic approach demonstrates that such screens can augment traditional drug screening approaches and facilitate the discovery of new compounds against a broad range of human pathogens

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist