A high-throughput core sampling device for the evaluation of maize stalk composition.

Background: A major challenge in the identification and development of superior feedstocks for the production of second generation biofuels is the rapid assessment of biomass composition in a large number of samples. Currently, highly accurate and precise robotic analysis systems are available for the evaluation of biomass composition, on a large number of samples, with a variety of pretreatments. However, the lack of an inexpensive and high-throughput process for large scale sampling of biomass resources is still an important limiting factor.

Maize (Zea mays L.) genome diversity as revealed by RNA-sequencing.

Maize is rich in genetic and phenotypic diversity. Understanding the sequence, structural, and expression variation that contributes to phenotypic diversity would facilitate more efficient varietal improvement. RNA based sequencing (RNA-seq) is a powerful approach for transcriptional analysis, assessing sequence variation, and identifying novel transcript sequences, particularly in large, complex, repetitive genomes such as maize.

Shell structures in aluminum nanocontacts at elevated temperatures.

Aluminum nanocontact conductance histograms are studied experimentally from room temperature up to near the bulk melting point. The dominant stable configurations for this metal show a very early crossover from shell structures at low wire diameters to ionic subshell structures at larger diameters. At these larger radii, the favorable structures are temperature-independent and consistent with those expected for ionic subshell (faceted) formations in face-centered cubic geometries.

Predicting Mexican youths' intention to engage in risky behaviors: applying moral norms to the theory of planned behavior.

This study explored if moral norms as applied to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) account for additional variance in predicting intention to consume alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and engage in sexual activity among youth at a high school in Mexico. Additionally, it investigated if moral norms provide a moderating influence on the constructs of the theory: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control for prediction of risky behavior intention. Multiple regression analyses identified predictive power of constructs; interactions of moral norms with the theory constructs were studied.

B73-Mo17 near-isogenic lines demonstrate dispersed structural variation in maize.

Recombinant inbred lines developed from the maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) inbreds B73 and Mo17 have been widely used to discover quantitative trait loci controlling a wide variety of phenotypic traits and as a resource to produce high-resolution genetic maps. These two parents were used to produce a set of near-isogenic lines (NILs) with small regions of introgression into both backgrounds.

Fibroblast activation protein-α promotes tumor growth and invasion of breast cancer cells through non-enzymatic functions.

Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAP) is a cell surface, serine protease of the post-prolyl peptidase family that is expressed in human breast cancer but not in normal tissues. Previously, we showed that FAP expression increased tumor growth rates in a mouse model of human breast cancer. Here the role of the proteolytic activities of FAP in promoting tumor growth, matrix degradation and invasion was investigated.

Genome-wide atlas of transcription during maize development.

Maize is an important model species and a major constituent of human and animal diets. It has also emerged as a potential feedstock and model system for bioenergy research due to recent worldwide interest in developing plant biomass-based, carbon-neutral liquid fuels. To understand how the underlying genome sequence results in specific plant phenotypes, information on the temporal and spatial transcription patterns of genes is crucial.

The FN3 and BRCT motifs in the exomer component Chs5p define a conserved module that is necessary and sufficient for its function.

Chs5p is a component of the exomer, a coat complex required to transport the chitin synthase Chs3p from the trans-Golgi network to the plasma membrane. The Chs5p N-terminal region exhibits fibronectin type III (FN3) and BRCT domains. FN3 domains are present in proteins that mediate adhesion processes, whereas BRCT domains are involved in DNA repair.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the analysis of beta-agonists in animal feed and drinking water.

A reproducible, sensitive and selective multiresidue analytical method for seven beta-agonists: clenbuterol (CBT), clenpenterol (CPT), ractopamine (RTP), brombuterol (BBT), mabuterol (MBT), mapenterol (MPT), and hydroxymethylclenbuterol (HMCBT) was developed and validated by using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in feed and drinking water samples. The validation was achieved according to the criteria laid down in the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, however it was necessary to use minimum required performance limits (MRPLs) proposed by the Community Reference Laboratories (CRLs) due to the lack of maximum residue limits (MRLs) for beta-agonists. By setting up these MRPLs, allows controlling their use in safe mode, since beta-agonists are commonly used in veterinary medicine sometime in a fraudulent manner, for increasing the weigh of animals.

The impact of provider-initiated (opt-out) HIV testing and counseling of patients with sexually transmitted infection in Cape Town, South Africa: a controlled trial.

Background: The effectiveness of provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) for patients with sexually transmitted infection (STI) in resource-constrained settings are of particular concern for high HIV prevalence countries like South Africa. This study evaluated whether the PITC approach increased HIV testing amongst patients with a new episode of sexually transmitted infection, as compared to standard voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) at the primary care level in South Africa, a high prevalence and low resource setting.

Methods: The design was a pragmatic cluster-controlled trial with seven intervention and 14 control clinics in Cape Town.

Different steps of sexual development are differentially regulated by the Sec8p and Exo70p exocyst subunits.

In this paper we show that in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, mating-specific cell adhesion is dependent on the exocyst subunit Sec8p, but independent of the exocyst subunit Exo70p. In the absence of Exo70p, the forespore membrane does not develop properly and the leading edge protein Meu14p is abnormally distributed. Additionally, the spindle pole body is aberrant in a significant number of exo70Delta asci.

Collaborative drug therapy management for initiating and adjusting insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: Collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) by pharmacists for initiating and adjusting insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VAHCS) is described.

Summary: During 2003-04, the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) at Baltimore reported that 24% of its patients with diabetes had a glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) value of >9% or no recently documented HbA(1c) and that 91% of its patients with an HbA(1c) value of >9% were treated with oral antihyperglycemic agents alone. To address this issue, clinical pharmacists at VAMHCS at Baltimore developed the insulin initiation clinic.

Forage quality and composition measurements as predictors of ethanol yield from maize (Zea mays L.) stover.

Background: Improvement of biofeedstock quality for cellulosic ethanol production will be facilitated by inexpensive and rapid methods of evaluation, such as those already employed in the field of ruminant nutrition. Our objective was to evaluate whether forage quality and compositional measurements could be used to estimate ethanol yield of maize stover as measured by a simplified pretreatment and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation assay. Twelve maize varieties selected to be diverse for stover digestibility and composition were evaluated.

Development of a method for the analysis of seven banned azo-dyes in chilli and hot chilli food samples by pressurised liquid extraction and liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry.

An automated, confirmatory and sensitive procedure has been developed and validated for the determination of Sudan (I-IV), Sudan Orange G, Sudan Red 7B and Para Red in hot chilli food samples. The proposed method includes pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) with acetone, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) clean-up and detection by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to electrospray ionization in positive mode tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS-MS). The main parameters affecting the performance of the different ionization sources and PLE parameters were previously optimised using statistical design of experiments (DOE).

Vibrational excitation in single-molecule transistors: deviation from the simple franck-condon prediction.

We investigated the inner-sphere reorganization of ferrocene ((Cp) 2Fe ( n+ )) and tris(2,2'-bipyridine) iron ((bpy) 3Fe ( n+ )) in a single-molecule-transistor geometry. In (Cp) 2Fe ( n+ ) ( n = 0 and 1), almost no vibrations were excited during single-electron transport, whereas in (bpy) 3Fe ( n+ ) ( n = 1, 2, and 3), many distinct vibrations appeared, consistent with its larger reorganization energy. The observed excitation intensities varied significantly across devices, however, and could not be accounted for by "Franck-Condon" factors.

Assessment of human health vulnerability to climate variability and change in cuba.

Reprinted with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives. Dec 2006;114:1942-1949. In this study we assessed the potential effects of climate variability and change on population health in Cuba.

Determination of acrylamide in coffee and chocolate by pressurised fluid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A selective and sensitive procedure has been developed and validated for the determination of acrylamide in difficult matrices, such as coffee and chocolate. The proposed method includes pressurised fluid extraction (PFE) with acetonitrile, florisil clean-up purification inside the PFE extraction cell and detection by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to atmospheric pressure ionisation in positive mode tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS-MS). Comparison of ionisation sources (atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI), atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) and the combined APCI/APPI) and clean-up procedures were carried out to improve the analytical signal.

Development of a pressurised liquid extraction and liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of domoic acid in shellfish.

Amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) is a potentially lethal human toxic syndrome which is caused by domoic acid (DA) that originates in marine phytoplankton belonging to the Pseudonitzschia genus. A confirmatory and sensitive procedure has been developed and validated for the determination of DA in shellfish. The proposed method includes pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) with methanol/acetone (9:1), florisil clean-up purification inside the PLE extraction cell and detection by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to electrospray ionization in positive mode tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS-MS).

Strain-induced self organization of metal-insulator domains in single-crystalline VO2 nanobeams.

We investigated the effect of substrate-induced strain on the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in single-crystalline VO(2) nanobeams. A simple nanobeam-substrate adhesion leads to uniaxial strain along the nanobeam length because of the nanobeam's unique morphology. The strain changes the relative stability of the metal (M) and insulator (I) phases and leads to spontaneous formation of periodic, alternating M-I domain patterns during the MIT.

Review of microarray experimental design strategies for genetical genomics studies.

Genetical genomics approaches provide a powerful tool for studying the genetic mechanisms governing variation in complex traits. By combining information on phenotypic traits, pedigree structure, molecular markers, and gene expression, such studies can be used for estimating heritability of mRNA transcript abundances, for mapping expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), and for inferring regulatory gene networks. Microarray experiments, however, can be extremely costly and time consuming, which may limit sample sizes and statistical power.