Progress in building an International Lattice Data Grid

We report on progress in setting up the International Lattice Data Grid. We describe the aims and objectives of the ILDG, what has been achieved during its first year of activity and invite feedback from the community.Comment: Lattice2003(activity), 5 pages 2 figures. Edinburgh address correcte

Evaluation of Pumpkin Cultivars No-till Direct-seeded and No-till Transplanted into Wheat Stubble, Indiana 2004

Double-cropping pumpkins after wheat provides an opportunity to harvest a high-value crop off of land that might otherwise remain uncropped. In northern Indiana, many jacko- lantern pumpkin cultivars may not mature quickly enough to produce a crop when planted in mid-July. This project compared yield and fruit size of eight cultivars or lines when they were either direct-seeded or transplanted into wheat stubble

Bell Pepper Cultivar Evaluation, Northern Indiana, 2004

This paper reports on twelve bell pepper cultivars that were evaluated at the Pinney-Purdue Ag Center in Wanatah, Indiana. Characteristics of interest included yield, and fruit quality, size and shape

Synthesis and biological evaluation of truncated sarganaphthoquinoic acid derivatives as Hsp90 inhibitors

Hsp90 inhibition has been at the centre of attention in current research due to the possibility of “cracking down” on the entire process leading to the development of malignant cancers. Small underlying principles common in all types of cancers have been determined that govern the transformation of normal human cells into cancerous cells, with all relying on the ATPase activity of Hsp90 protein. Hsp90 protein is therefore an attractive drug target that if successfully inhibited can result in the remission of cancer tumours by one form of treatment. To date, no Hsp90 inhibitor has been sanctioned for cancer treatment as most are still in clinical development. Our research was therefore inspired by reports that indicated the potential of quinones / naphthoquinones to act as Hsp90 inhibitors. Preliminary results of a few selected marine natural product quinone systems i.e. sargaquinoic acid (SQA) (2.47) and lapachol (3.6) showed moderate cytotoxicity and weak interactions with the Hsp90 molecular chaperone, and evidence suggested C-terminal binding of these molecules. No correlation has been determined yet between cytotoxicity and Hsp90 inhibition, hence we aimed to develop natural product inspired molecules that exhibit both cytotoxic and Hsp90 inhibition properties. Due to limited amounts of the natural product that can be acquired from natural sources, synthetic analogues were opted for. Isolation of a few selected quinones was conducted to have material that could be used in biological assays. For structural modifications, a series of truncated naphthoquinone systems were prepared adopting the sarganaphthoquinoic acid (3.5) scaffold. The naphthoquinones were prepared via Diels-Alder reactions of relevant benzoquinones with myrcene, followed by aromatization reactions using MnO2. Various alkyl and aryl amines were then coupled to the C-2/3 position of the naphthoquinone using Michael’s addition reactions. Tricyclic naphthoquinones were also synthesized from reactions with hypotaurine and citral. Design of the analogues incorporated functionalities from known Hsp90 inhibitors e.g. geldanamycin (2.28) and its analogues. Preliminary results obtained showed that coupling of naphthoquinones with aryl-amines resulted in the most cytotoxic compounds (4.14-4.19) with IC50 values as low as 0.3 μM against Hs578T breast cancer carcinoma (triple negative). Most of the alkyl amines (4.20-4.25) had IC50 values greater than 50 μM except for 4.20 and 4.21 that showed IC50 values of 7.6 μM and 2.6 μM respectively. Tricyclic naphthoquinones (4.28-4.29) showed moderate cytotoxic activity of approximately 10 μM. Hsp90 inhibition was assessed by client protein degradation assays, of which SQA (2.47), showed the best Hsp90 inhibition properties, followed by compound 4.20. The most cytotoxic arylamino-naphthoquinone (4.16) and tricyclic naphthoquinones (4.28-4.29) showed only moderate inhibition. None of the compounds led to Hsp70 induction, suggesting possible binding to the C-terminus of Hsp90. Interactions at the binding site were assessed by molecular docking studies and saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR. Docking studies were conducted on the N-terminus of Hsp90 and better binding was observed for arylamino naphthoquinones (4.14-4.19) than for other series of compounds. Unfortunately, the co-crystal structure for the C-terminus of Hsp90 is unavailable, hence docking study comparisons on both domains could not be conducted. However, STD NMR offered a platform to assess binding interactions between the naphthoquinones and the N- or C-terminal domains of Hsp90. However no interactions were observed at both the N- and C- termini of Hsp90 due to either weak binding of ligands to the protein or poor water solubility of the ligands. From these preliminary results, naphthoquinones bind to Hsp90 protein but conclusive remarks to which terminal domain they bind to could not be made. The best candidate from amongst the series of naphthoquinones prepared that showed moderate cytotoxicity and promising Hsp90 inhibition was compound 4.20. We therefore succeeded in developing a new series of naphthoquinones that possess moderate cytotoxicity and show Hsp90 inhibition

Pumpkin Cultivar Observation Trial, Indiana 2007

Pumpkins for decorative use are grown on more than 4,000 acres in Indiana. Combined acreage in Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio represents about a quarter of pumpkins grown for decorative use in the United States. Successful pumpkin production requires the use of cultivars that yield well and produce pumpkins of the size, shape, color, and quality demanded by the market. There is keen interest in cultivars that also show resistance to powdery mildew. This trial was conducted to observe the performance of jack-o-lantern, pie, and mini-pumpkin cultivars in northern Indiana

Pumpkin Cultivar Evaluation, Indiana 2005

Pumpkins grown for Halloween and other decorative purposes continue to be an important crop for many Midwestern vegetable farmers. Breeders are developing new varieties with improved appearance and disease resistance or tolerance. This paper reports on yield and fruit size of nineteen varieties evaluated at the Pinney-Purdue Ag Center in Wanatah, Indiana

Sugar-enhanced Sweet Corn Cultivar Evaluation for Northern Indiana, 2007

The Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service reported sweet corn for fresh market sales was harvested from 5,200 acres in Indiana in 2006 and had a total value of $7.6 million. Sweet corn fields are located throughout the state. In northern Indiana, bicolor corn is most commonly grown. Varieties with improved eating quality are of interest to both producers and consumers. Producers are also interested in yield, ear size, appearance, and agronomic characteristics. This paper reports on 11 sugar enhanced and synergistic sweet corn cultivars that were evaluated at the Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center in Wanatah, Indiana

Supersweet and Augmented Sweet Corn Cultivar Evaluation for Northern Indiana, 2004

This paper reports on nineteen sweet corn cultivars including sh2 and augmented sh2 genetics that were evaluated at the Pinney-Purdue Ag Center, Wanatah, IN

Sweet Corn Population Effects on Yield and Ear Quality, 2007

Current recommendations for fresh market sweet corn suggest row spacing of 30 to 40 inches and in-row spacing of 8 to 10 inches for early varieties and 9 to 12 inches for late varieties. This corresponds to populations from 13,068 to 26,136 plants per acre. Variety trials at Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center have been planted at row spacings of 30 or 36 inches and populations of 20,328 plants per acre. Some cultivars may perform well at higher populations. This trial was conducted to evaluate yield and ear characteristics of two cultivars at populations up to 50% higher than normally used in Purdue variety trials

Early results from ISEE-A electric field measurements

In the solar wind and in middle latitude regions of the magnetosphere, spacecraft sheath fields obscure the ambient field under low plasma flux conditions such that valid measurements are confined to periods of moderately intense flux. Initial results show: (1) that the DC electric field is enhanced by roughly a factor of two in a narrow region at the front, increasing B, edge of the bow shock, (2) that scale lengths for large changes in E at the subsolar magnetopause are considerably shorter than scale lengths associated with the magnetic structure of the magnetopause, and (3) that the transverse distribution of B-aligned E-fields between the outer magnetosphere and ionospheric levels must be highly complex to account for the random turbulent appearance of the magnetospheric fields and the lack of corresponding time-space variations at ionospheric levels. Spike-like, non-oscillatory, fields lasting less than 0.2 seconds are occasionally seen at the bow shock and at the magnetopause and also intermittently appear in magnetosheath and plasma sheet regions under highly variable field conditions