34 research outputs found
Peer Review #1 of "The effects of island forest restoration on open habitat specialists: the endangered weevil Hadramphus spinipennis Broun and its host-plant Aciphylla dieffenbachii Kirk (v0.1)"
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Identification, interests and influence : voting behaviour in four English constituencies in the decade after the Great Reform Act.
No full text"All the elements of a permanent community": A history of society, culture and entertainment in the Cariboo.
No full textNo abstract available.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b118590
Effects of pretreatment applied to sugarcane bagasse on composition and morphology of cellulosic fractions
No full textDue to the growing demand for renewable energy, the energy based on biomass plays an important role in energy policies of countries all over the world. Seven different pretreatments were performed on SCB to obtain yields, chemical composition, particle sizes and crystallinity indexes. The tools used to study the effects of pretreatments on SCB were X-ray diffraction (change in crystalline and amorphous regions) and SEM images. The application of microwave-assisted irradiation allowed the obtaining of the lowest cellulose removal with the fractions PT-6 and PT-7. FTIR spectra showed the removal of hemicellulose and lignin content during pretreatments. DP values decreased significantly suggesting higher digestibility of the seven cellulosic fractions by cellulolytic enzymes. In the present work, the presence of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin structures in the sample of sugarcane bagasse and cellulosic fractions were indicated by the characteristic absorption bands (cm−1) of groups shown by the FTIR spectrum for hemicellulose and lignin. SEM images showed extensive degradation of the buddle of fibers of some cellulosic fractions. Mass loss (ML) obtained with SCB and cellulosic fractions were much greater under O2 atmosphere than under N2 atmosphere. The most relevant novelty of the present research was the use of chemical and physical methodologies to characterize sugarcane bagasse and their cellulosic fractions. The objective of this work was to determine the chemical composition and physical characteristics such as particle sizes as well as the removal of components resulting from seven different pretreatments. Nevertheless, future work is greatly required for improvement in this area
The serological grouping system for Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae
No full textLipopolysaceharide from serostrains of Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae for serogroups A to I was characterized using sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining. All strains had lipo-polysaccharide components ranging from 10 to 16 kDa that represented lipid A-core polysaccharide regions, and short O-antigen side chain were also recognized in certain immunoblots.
Serological reactions between lipopolysaceharide and antisera against each of these serostrains were examined by Western immunoblotting. There was relatively little antigenic cross-reactivity between LPS from the nine strains, thus confirming their suitability as serostrains.
Using cross-absorbed sera, isolates within serogroups A and E were shown to possess unique epitopes on the core lipopolysaceharide, distinct from serogroup reactivities. These isolates were therefore identified as serovars within the serogroups.
This study confirmed the usefulness of the serotyping scheme for S. hyodysenteriae, in which the bacteria can be placed into serogroups using unabsorbed sera, and into serovars within these using cross-absorbed sera
Maturation of DC is associated with changes in motile characteristics and adherence
No full textMigration of dendritic cells (DC) from sentinel sites to lymphoid tissue entails the initiation and coordination of a complex series of cytoskeletal rearrangements resulting in polarised protrusion, formation of new adhesion points, and detachment. Although many diverse receptor-ligand interactions stimulating DC maturation and migration have been identified, the changes that occur in the structure of the actin cytoskeleton during these processes have received little attention. When derived in vitro, immature DC floated in clumps, and upon addition of maturation stimuli such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), they rapidly adhered, developed polarity, and assembled actin-rich structures known as podosomes at the leading edge of the cell. Podosome assembly was associated with the specific recruitment of beta2 integrins, which in the absence of the Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp), did not occur. As maturation progressed, normal DC once again became rounded and devoid of podosomes. This change in morphology was closely associated with a quantitatively reduced ability to adhere to fibronectin or ICAM-1-coated surfaces. In immature DC, failure to form podosomes or selective inhibition of the CD18 component of podosomes resulted in a similarly reduced ability to adhere to ICAM-1, indicating that podosomes, through CD18, are necessary for tight adhesion to this ligand. We, therefore, propose that podosomes provide an essential link between directional cell protrusion and achievement of DC translocation by establishing new dynamic anchor points at the front of the cell. The temporal regulation of podosome assembly during DC maturation also suggests that they may be most critical for early movement, perhaps during transmigration of lymphatic endothelium. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc
Changes in urban and environmental governance in Canterbury from 2010 to 2015: comparing Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council
No full textThis article compares the proximate but not parallel trajectories of Canterbury Regional Council’s (ECan) and the Christchurch City Council’s changing authority to manage the urban and natural environment from 2010 to 2015. We ask why the trajectories are so far from parallel, and speculate as to why the central government interventions were so different. The apparent mismatch between the justifications for the interventions and the interventions themselves reveals important implications on the national and local levels. Nationally, the mismatch speaks to the current debate over an overhaul of the Resource Management Act. Locally, it informs current discussions in Wellington, Nelson, Gisborne and elsewhere about amalgamating district and regional councils.
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Ann Brower is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Policy at Lincoln University. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s from Yale.
Ike Kleynbos holds a Bachelor of Environmental Management and Planning degree from Lincoln University and is currently doing postgraduate studies at Lincoln
Genome-wide transcriptional profiling of peripheral blood leukocytes from cattle infected with Mycobacterium bovis reveals suppression of host immune genes
No full textBackground
Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (BTB), a pathological infection with significant economic impact. Recent studies have highlighted the role of functional genomics to better understand the molecular mechanisms governing the host immune response to M. bovis infection. Furthermore, these studies may enable the identification of novel transcriptional markers of BTB that can augment current diagnostic tests and surveillance programmes. In the present study, we have analysed the transcriptome of peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) from eight M. bovis-infected and eight control non-infected age-matched and sex-matched Holstein-Friesian cattle using the Affymetrix® GeneChip® Bovine Genome Array with 24,072 gene probe sets representing more than 23,000 gene transcripts.
Results
Control and infected animals had similar mean white blood cell counts. However, the mean number of lymphocytes was significantly increased in the infected group relative to the control group (P = 0.001), while the mean number of monocytes was significantly decreased in the BTB group (P = 0.002). Hierarchical clustering analysis using gene expression data from all 5,388 detectable mRNA transcripts unambiguously partitioned the animals according to their disease status. In total, 2,960 gene transcripts were differentially expressed (DE) between the infected and control animal groups (adjusted P-value threshold ≤ 0.05); with the number of gene transcripts showing decreased relative expression (1,563) exceeding those displaying increased relative expression (1,397). Systems analysis using the Ingenuity® Systems Pathway Analysis (IPA) Knowledge Base revealed an over-representation of DE genes involved in the immune response functional category. More specifically, 64.5% of genes in the affects immune response subcategory displayed decreased relative expression levels in the infected animals compared to the control group.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that genome-wide transcriptional profiling of PBL can distinguish active M. bovis-infected animals from control non-infected animals. Furthermore, the results obtained support previous investigations demonstrating that mycobacterial infection is associated with host transcriptional suppression. These data support the use of transcriptomic technologies to enable the identification of robust, reliable transcriptional markers of active M. bovis infection.This work was supported by Investigator Grants from Science Foundation Ireland (Nos: SFI/01/F.1/B028 and SFI/08/IN.1/B2038), a Research Stimulus Grant from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (No: RSF 06 405) and a European Union Framework 7 Project Grant (No: KBBE-211602-MACROSYS). KEK is supported by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET) funded Bioinformatics and Systems Biology PhD Programme http://bioinfo-casl.ucd.ie/PhD
