Environmental aspects and challenges of oilseed produced biodiesel in Southeast Asia

Research on alternative fuel for the vehemently growing number of automotivesis intensified due to environmental reasons rather than turmoil in energy price and supply. From the policy and steps to emphasis the use of biofuel by governments all around the world, this can be comprehended that biofuel have placed itself as a number one substitute for fossil fuels. These phenomena made Southeast Asia a prominent exporter of biodiesel. But thrust in biodiesel production from oilseeds of palm and Jatropha curcas in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand is seriously threatening environmental harmony. This paper focuses on this critical issue of biodiesels environmental impacts, policy, standardization of this region as well as on the emission of biodiesel in automotive uses. To draw a bottom line on feasibilities of different feedstock of biodiesel, a critical analysis on oilseed yield rate, land use, engine emissions and oxidation stability is reviewed. Palm oil based biodiesel is clearly ahead in all these aspects of feasibility, except in the case of NOx where it lags from conventional petro diesel.

Low frequency of CHEK2 1100delC allele in Australian multiple-case breast cancer families : functional analysis in heterozygous individuals

A protein-truncating variant of CHEK2, 1100delC, is associated with a moderate increase in breast cancer risk. We have determined the prevalence of this allele in index cases from 300 Australian multiple-case breast cancer families, 95% of which had been found to be negative for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2. Only two (0.6%) index cases heterozygous for the CHEK2 mutation were identified. All available relatives in these two families were genotyped, but there was no evidence of co-segregation between the CHEK2 variant and breast cancer. Lymphoblastoid cell lines established from a heterozygous carrier contained approximately 20% of the CHEK2 1100delC mRNA relative to wild-type CHEK2 transcript. However, no truncated CHK2 protein was detectable. Analyses of expression and phosphorylation of wild-type CHK2 suggest that the variant is likely to act by haploinsufficiency. Analysis of CDC25A degradation, a downstream target of CHK2, suggests that some compensation occurs to allow normal degradation of CDC25A. Such compensation of the 1100delC defect in CHEK2 might explain the rather low breast cancer risk associated with the CHEK2 variant, compared to that associated with truncating mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2.

Physical and functional interaction of the archaeal single-stranded DNA-binding protein SSB with RNA polymerase

Archaeal transcription utilizes a complex multisubunit RNA polymerase and the basal transcription factors TBP and TF(II)B, closely resembling its eukaryal counterpart. We have uncovered a tight physical and functional interaction between RNA polymerase and the single-stranded DNA-binding protein SSB in Sulfolobus solfataricus. SSB stimulates transcription from promoters in vitro under TBP-limiting conditions and supports transcription in the absence of TBP. SSB also rescues transcription from repression by reconstituted chromatin. We demonstrate the potential for promoter melting by SSB, suggesting a plausible basis for the stimulation of transcription. This stimulation requires both the single-stranded DNA-binding domain and the acidic C-terminal tail of the SSB. The tail forms a stable interaction with RNA polymerase. These data reveal an unexpected role for single-stranded DNA-binding proteins in transcription in archaea.

Supporting informed learners in the 21st century

This paper elaborates the concept of informed learning and locates it in educational, workplace and community settings. Drawing from existing research into people's experience of information literacy, it identifies critical experiences of informed learners in each of these three settings. It also explores the support required in educational, community and workplace contexts which makes informed learning possible. Recognising strong implications for policy makers in different sectors, the paper presents a set of guiding principles for developing informed learning and learners. The idea of informed learning represents and advances understandings of information literacy that incorporate the broader concept of using information to learn: those understandings that go beyond the functional or generic information literacy paradigm and draw attention to the transformational, situated and critical aspects of information literacy. Using information to learn is a natural, but often implicit part of all formal and informal learning environments, and is a vital component of the lifelong learning agendas of many nations worldwide. Supporting informed learning requires conscious attention to the use of information in the learning process, by educators, managers, trainers, and policy makers in all sectors. It requires a far reaching response to policy directions involving a wide range of stakeholders.

Inferior visual field reductions are associated with poorer functional status among older adults with glaucoma

Purpose: To examine the relationship between visual impairment and functional status in a community-dwelling sample of older adults with glaucoma. Methods: This study included 74 community-dwelling older adults with open-angle glaucoma (aged 74 ± 6 years). Assessment of central vision included high-contrast visual acuity and Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity. Binocular integrated visual fields were derived from merged monocular Humphrey Field Analyser visual field plots. Functional status outcome measures included physical performance tests (6-min walk test, timed up and go test and lower limb strength), a physical activity questionnaire (Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly) and an overall functional status score. Correlation and linear regression analyses, adjusting for age and gender, examined the association between visual impairment and functional status outcomes. Results: Greater levels of visual impairment were significantly associated with lower levels of functional status among community-dwelling older adults with glaucoma, independent of age and gender. Specifically, lower levels of visual function were associated with slower timed up and go performance, weaker lower limb strength, lower self-reported physical activity, and lower overall functional status scores. Of the components of vision examined, the inferior visual field and contrast factors were the strongest predictors of these functional outcomes, whereas the superior visual field factor was not related to functional status. Conclusions: Greater visual impairment, particularly in the inferior visual field and loss of contrast sensitivity, was associated with poorer functional status among older adults with glaucoma. The findings of this study highlight the potential links between visual impairment and the onset of functional decline. Interventions which promote physical activity among older adults with glaucoma may assist in preventing functional decline, frailty and falls, and improve overall health and well-being.

Ecological aspects of biosecurity surveillance design for the detection of multiple invasive animal species

Complex surveillance problems are common in biosecurity, such as prioritizing detection among multiple invasive species, specifying risk over a heterogeneous landscape, combining multiple sources of surveillance data, designing for specified power to detect, resource management, and collateral effects on the environment. Moreover, when designing for multiple target species, inherent biological differences among species result in different ecological models underpinning the individual surveillance systems for each. Species are likely to have different habitat requirements, different introduction mechanisms and locations, require different methods of detection, have different levels of detectability, and vary in rates of movement and spread. Often there is a further challenge of a lack of knowledge, literature, or data, for any number of the above problems. Even so, governments and industry need to proceed with surveillance programs which aim to detect incursions in order to meet environmental, social and political requirements. We present an approach taken to meet these challenges in one comprehensive and statistically powerful surveillance design for non-indigenous terrestrial vertebrates on Barrow Island, a high conservation nature reserve off the Western Australian coast. Here, the possibility of incursions is increased due to construction and expanding industry on the island. The design, which includes mammals, amphibians and reptiles, provides a complete surveillance program for most potential terrestrial vertebrate invaders. Individual surveillance systems were developed for various potential invaders, and then integrated into an overall surveillance system which meets the above challenges using a statistical model and expert elicitation. We discuss the ecological basis for the design, the flexibility of the surveillance scheme, how it meets the above challenges, design limitations, and how it can be updated as data are collected as a basis for adaptive management.

What aspects of the scoliosis correction are most important to the teenager who has keyhole scoliosis correction surgery? A prospective series of 100 patients

Introduction. Surgical treatment of scoliosis is assessed in the spine clinic by the surgeon making numerous measurements on X-Rays as well as the rib hump. But it is important to understand which of these measures correlate with self-reported improvements in patients’ quality of life following surgery. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between patient satisfaction after thoracoscopic (keyhole) anterior scoliosis surgery and standard deformity correction measures using the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) adolescent questionnaire. Methods. A series of 100 consecutive adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients received a single anterior rod via a keyhole approach at the Mater Children’s Hospital, Brisbane. Patients completed SRS outcomes questionnaires before surgery and again at 24 months after surgery. Multiple regression and t-tests were used to investigate the relationship between SRS scores and deformity correction achieved after surgery. Results. There were 94 females and 6 males with a mean age of 16.1 years. The mean Cobb angle improved from 52º pre-operatively to 21º for the instrumented levels post-operatively (59% correction) and the mean rib hump improved from 16º to 8º (51% correction). The mean total SRS score for the cohort was 99.4/120 which indicated a high level of satisfaction with the results of their scoliosis surgery. None of the deformity related parameters in the multiple regressions were significant. However, the twenty patients with the smallest Cobb angles after surgery reported significantly higher SRS scores than the twenty patients with the largest Cobb angles after surgery, but there was no difference on the basis of rib hump correction. Discussion. Patients undergoing thoracoscopic (keyhole) anterior scoliosis correction report good SRS scores which are comparable to those in previous studies. We suggest that the absence of any statistically significant difference in SRS scores between patients with and without rod or screw complications is because these complications are not associated with any clinically significant loss of correction in our patient group. The Cobb angle after surgery was the only significant predictor of patient satisfaction when comparing subgroups of patients with the largest and smallest Cobb angles after surgery.

Functional role of cell surface CUB domain-containing protein 1 in tumour cell dissemination

The function of CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1), a recently described transmembrane protein expressed on the surface of hematopoietic stem cells and normal and malignant cells of different tissue origin, is not well defined. The contribution of CDCP1 to tumor metastasis was analyzed by using HeLa carcinoma cells overexpressing CDCP1 (HeLa-CDCP1) and a high-disseminating variant of prostate carcinoma PC-3 naturally expressing high levels of CDCP1 (PC3-hi/diss). CDCP1 expression rendered HeLa cells more aggressive in experimental metastasis in immunodeficient mice. Metastatic colonization by HeLa-CDCP1 was effectively inhibited with subtractive immunization-generated, CDCP1-specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) 41-2, suggesting that CDCP1 facilitates relatively late stages of the metastatic cascade. In the chick embryo model, time- and dose-dependent inhibition of HeLa-CDCP1 colonization by mAb 41-2 was analyzed quantitatively to determine when and where CDCP1 functions during metastasis. Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical analyses indicated that CDCP1 facilitated tumor cell survival soon after vascular arrest. Live cell imaging showed that the function-blocking mechanism of mAb 41-2 involved enhancement of tumor cell apoptosis, confirmed by attenuation of mAb 41-2–mediated effects with the caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk. Under proapoptotic conditions in vitro, CDCP1 expression conferred HeLa-CDCP1 cells with resistance to doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, whereas ligation of CDCP1 with mAb 41-2 caused additional enhancement of the apoptotic response. The functional role of naturally expressed CDCP1 was shown by mAb 41-2–mediated inhibition of both experimental and spontaneous metastasis of PC3-hi/diss. These findings confirm that CDCP1 functions as an antiapoptotic molecule and indicate that during metastasis CDCP1 facilitates tumor cell survival likely during or soon after extravasation.