Mosaic monosomy 14: clinical features and recognizable facies

A 1-year-old child with clinical features of monosomy 14 is reported. She has dysmorphic facial features including ocular colobomata, dolichocephaly and microcephaly, retinal pigmentation, severe seizures, fair curly hair and tapering fingers. There was severe mental retardation. This is the first reported case of severe mosaic monosomy 14, with up to 30% mosaicism. A recognizable facial gestalt is present in children with 14q deletions or partial monosomy 14, as well as susceptibility to infection, feeding difficulties, seizures and retinal pigmentation. (C) 2004 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

Characterization of 14 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the facultatively eusocial sweat bee Halictus rubicundus (Hymenoptera, Halictidae) and their variability in related species

Sweat bees display considerable variation in social organization and a few species, such as Halictus rubicundus, are even facultatively eusocial. Fourteen polymorphic, unlinked microsatellite loci were isolated from H. rubicundus and characterized in 45 females. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 18 (mean 10.1), observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.24 to 0.98 (mean 0.71) and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.24 to 0.98 (mean 0.70). Six or more loci cross-amplified in four other sweat bees. These loci will be useful for the study of social evolution and population genetic structure in H. rubicundus and many other sweat bees.

Apo J/clusterin expression and secretion: Evidence for 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-PGJ2-dependent mechanism

Cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) and Apo J/clusterin are involved in inflammatory resolution and have each been reported to inhibit NF-?B signalling. Using a well-validated rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell culture model of Cox-2 over-expression the current study investigated inter-dependence between Cox-2 and clusterin with respect to induction of expression and impact on NF-?B signalling. Both gene expression and immunoblot analysis confirmed that intracellular and secreted levels of clusterin were elevated in Cox-2 over-expressing cells (PCXII). Clusterin expression was increased in control (PCMT) cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner by 15-deoxy-? 12,14-prostaglandin J 2 (15d-PGJ 2), but not PGE 2, and inhibited in PCXII cells by pharmacological Cox inhibition. In PCXII cells, inhibition of two transcription factors known to be activated by 15d-PGJ 2, heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)?, by transcription factor oligonucleotide decoy and antagonist (GW9662) treatment, respectively, reduced clusterin expression. While PCXII cells exhibited reduced TNF-a-induced cell surface ICAM-1 expression, IkB phosphorylation and degradation were similar to control cells. With respect to the impact of Cox-2-dependent clusterin upregulation on NF-?B signalling, basal levels of I?B were similar in control and PCXII cells, and no evidence for a physical association between clusterin and phospho-I?B was obtained. Moreover, while PCXII cells exhibited reduced NF-?B transcriptional activity, this was not restored by clusterin knock-down. These results indicate that Cox-2 induces clusterin in a 15d-PGJ 2-dependent manner, and via activation of HSF-1 and PPAR?. However, the results do not support a model whereby Cox-2/15d-PGJ 2-dependent inhibition of NF-?B signalling involves clusterin.

Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of ZSM-5 coatings on a molybdenum support and scale-up for application in micro reactors

A procedure has been developed to grow ZSM-5 crystals in situ on a molybdenum (Mo) support. The high heat conductivity (138 W/mK) and high mechanical stability at elevated temperatures of the Mo support allow the application of ZSM-5 coatings in micro reactors for high temperature processes involving large heat effects. The effect of the synthesis mixture composition on ZSM-5 coverage and on the uniformity of the ZSNI-5 coatings was investigated on plates of 10 X 10 mm(2). Ratios of H2O/Si = 50, SUAI = 25, and TPA/Al = 2.0 were found to be optimal for the formation of uniform coatings of 6 g/m(2) at a temperature of 150 degrees C and a synthesis time of 48 h. Scaling up of the synthesis procedure on 72 Mo plates of 40 x 9.8 x 0.1 mm 3 resulted in a uniform coverage of 14.8 +/- 0.4 g/m(2). The low deviation per individual plate (

Debates over Palaeolithic chronology - the reliability of C-14 is confirmed

The debate about the complex issues of human development during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition period (45-35 ka BP) has been hampered by concerns about the reliability of the radiocarbon dating method. Large C-14 anomalies were postulated and radiocarbon dating was considered flawed. We show here that these issues are no longer relevant, because the large anomalies are artefacts beyond plausible physical limits for their magnitude. Previous inconsistencies between C-14 radiocarbon datasets have been resolved, and a new radiocarbon calibration curve, IntCal09 (Reimer et al., 2009), was created. Improved procedures for bone collagen extraction and charcoal pre-treatment generally result in older ages, consistent with independently dated time markers. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demonstration of saturation in a Ni-like Ag x-ray laser at 14 nm

We report the first demonstration of saturation in a Ni-like x-ray laser, specifically Ni-like Ag x-ray laser at 14 nm. Using high-resolution spatial imaging and angularly resolved streaking techniques, the output source size as well as the time history, divergence, energy, and spatial profile of the output beam have been fully characterized. The output intensity of the Ag laser was measured to be about 70 GWcm(-2) The narrow divergence, short pulse duration, high efficiency, and high brightness of the Ag laser make it an ideal candidate for many x-ray laser applications.

Biological Cell Irradiation At Ultrahigh Dose Rate Employing Laser Driven Protons

The ultrashort duration of laser-driven multi-MeV ion bursts offers the possibility of radiobiological studies at extremely high dose rates. Employing the TARANIS Terawatt laser at Queen's University, the effect of proton irradiation at MeV-range energies on live cells has been investigated at dose rates exceeding 10⁹Gy/s as a single exposure. A clonogenic assay showed consistent lethal effects on V-79 live cells, which, even at these dose rates, appear to be in line with previously published results employing conventional sources. A Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of 1.4±0.2 at 10% survival is estimated from a comparison with a 225 kVp X-ray source.