Loss of samples in the tissue microarray technique: comparison between slides using adhesive tape and silanized slides

The tissue microarray (TMA) technique allows multiple tissue samples in a single block. Commercial adhesive tape is used to avoid the loss of tissue samples during the immunostaining process. Few reports exist in the literature comparing the use of these adhesive tapes to other adhesive techniques. The objective of this study was to compare loss of sections adhered to slides using commercial adhesive tapes versus using silanized only slides. TMA was constructed with varying tissues using a fixed-base device (Beecher Instruments), placing 108 cylinders of 1 mm diameter in duplicate, spaced 1.2 mm apart. Section of 4 mu m were cut from the TMA block and adhered to 30 silanized slides and 30 commercial glass slides using adhesive tape, according to manufacturer`s recommendations. Vimentin immunoexpression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Antigenic recovery was realized in citrate buffer using a microwave oven. Cylinder loss in the immunohistochemical process was quantified and expressed as: total (>80%), almost complete (75-79%), or partial (50-74%). The commercial adhesive tape group presented lesser total loss (1.1 versus 6.4%), almost complete loss (2.2 versus 3.5%), and partial loss (2.1 versus 3.8%) than the silanized slide group (ANOVA, P < 0.05). The sum of total and almost complete losses in the silanized slide group was 9.9%, greater than the losses in slides using commercial adhesive tapes (3.3%) and less than reported and considered acceptable in the literature (10-30%). In conclusion, the use of silanized only slides presents very satisfactory results, requires less training, and reduces costs significantly, thus justifying their use in research.

Fossil trees in ancient fluvial channel deposits: evidence of seasonal and longer-term climatic variability

It has been established that large numbers of certain trees can survive in the beds of rivers of northeastern Australia where a strongly seasonal distribution of precipitation causes extreme variations in flow on both a yearly and longer-term basis. In these rivers, minimal flow occurs throughout much of any year and for periods of up to several years, allowing the trees to become established and to adapt their form in order to facilitate their survival in environments that experience periodic inundation by fast-flowing, debris-laden water. Such trees (notably paperbark trees of the angiosperm genus Melaleuca) adopt a reclined to prostrate, downstream-trailing habit, have a multiple-stemmed form, modified crown with weeping foliage, development of thick, spongy bark, anchoring of roots into firm to lithified substrates beneath the channel floor, root regeneration, and develop in flow-parallel, linear groves. Individuals from within flow-parallel, linear groves are preserved in situ within the alluvial deposit of the river following burial and death. Four examples of in situ tree fossils within alluvial channel deposits in the Permian of eastern Australia demonstrate that specialised riverbed plant communities also existed at times in the geological past. These examples, from the Lower Permian Carmila Beds, Upper Permian Moranbah Coal Measures and Baralaba Coal Measures of central Queensland and the Upper Permian Newcastle Coal Measures of central New South Wales, show several of the characteristics of trees described from modern rivers in northeastern Australia, including preservation in closely-spaced groups. These properties, together with independent sedimentological evidence, suggest that the Permian trees were adapted to an environment affected by highly variable runoff, albeit in a more temperate climatic situation than the modem Australian examples. It is proposed that occurrences of fossil trees preserved in situ within alluvial channel deposits may be diagnostic of environments controlled by seasonal and longer-term variability in fluvial runoff, and hence may have value in interpreting aspects of palaeoclimate from ancient alluvial successions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Embryonic development of the nervous system of the temnocephalid flatworm Craspedella pedum

The nervous system of temnocephalid flatworms consists of the brain and three pairs of longitudinal connectives extending into the trunk and tail. The connectives are crosslinked by an invariant number of regularly spaced commissures. Branches of the connectives innervate the tentacles of the head and the sucker organ in the tail. A set of nerve rings encircling the pharynx and connected to the brain and connectives constitute the pharyngeal nervous system. The nervous system is formed during early embryogenesis when the embryo represents a multilayered mesenchymal mass of cells. Gastrulation and the formation of separate epithelial germ layers that characterize most other animal groups are absent. The brain arises as a bilaterally symmetric condensation of postmitotic cells in the deep layers of the anterior region of the embryonic mesenchyme. The pattern of axon outgrowth, visualized by labeling with anti-acetylated tubulin (acTub) antibody, shows marked differences from the pattern observed in other flatworm taxa. in regard to the number of neurons that express the acTub epitope. Acetylated tubulin is only expressed in neurons that form long axon tracts. In other flatworm species, such as the typhloplanoid Mesostoma and the polyclad Imogine, which were investigated by us with the acTub antibody (Hartenstein and Ehlers [2000] Dev. Genes Evol. 210:399-415; Younossi-Hartenstein and Hartenstein [2000] Dev. Genes Evol. 210:383-398), only a small number of pioneer neurons become acTub positive during the embryonic period. By contrast, in temnocephalids, most, if not all, neurons express acTub and form long, large-diameter axons. Initially, the brain commissure, pharyngeal nerve ring, and the connectives are laid down. Commissural tracts and tentacle nerves branching off the connectives appear later. We speculate that the precocious differentiation of the nervous system may be related to the fact that temnocephalids move by muscle action, and possess a massive and complex muscular system when they hatch. In addition, they have muscular specializations such as the anterior tentacles and the posterior sucker that are used as soon as they hatch. By contrast, juveniles of Mesostoma and larvae of polyclads move predominantly by ciliary action that may not require a complex neural circuitry for coordination. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

International market selection: Developing a model from Australian case studies

This paper develops a theory that firms seek out new country markets on the basis of expected commercial returns. These expectations depend on judgements about the attractiveness of the market and the firm's competitive position in it, which in turn are influenced by informants. It is the number and strengths of these informants that will underlie the probability of a country being identified and assessed as a new market by any firm.

Sedimentary cyclicity in CRP drillcore, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica

The upper 1200 m of pre-Pliocene sediment recovered by Cape Roberts Project (CRP) drilling off the Victoria Land coast of Antarctica between 1997-1999 has been subdivided into 54 unconformity-bound stratigraphic sequences, spanning the period c. 32 to 17 Ma. The sequences are recognised on the basis of the cyclical vertical stacking of their constituent lithofacies, which are enclosed by erosion surfaces produced during the grounding of the advancing ice margin onto the sea floor. Each sequence represents deposition in a range of offshore shelf to coastal glacimarine sedimentary environments during oscillations in the ice margin across the Western Ross Sea shelf, and coeval fluctuations in water depth. This paper applies spectral analysis techniques to depth- and time-series of sediment grain size (500 samples) for intervals of the core with adequate chronological data. Time series analysis of 0.5-1.0m-spaced grainsize data spanning sequences 9-11 (CRP-2/2A) and sequences 1-7 (CRP-3) suggests that the length of individual sequences correspond to Milankovitch frequencies, probably 41 k.y., but possibly as low as 100 k.y. Higher frequency periodic components at 23 k.y. (orbital precession) and 15-10 k.y. (sub-orbital) are recognised at the intrasequence-scale, and may represent climatic cycles akin to the ice rafting episodes described in the North Atlantic Ocean during the Quaternary. The cyclicity recorded by glacimarine sequences in CRP core provides direct evidence from the periphery of Antarctica for orbital oscillations in the size of the Oligocene-Early Miocene East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Investigating technical and scale efficiencies of Australian universities through data envelopment analysis

Performance indicators in the public sector have often been criticised for being inadequate and not conducive to analysing efficiency. The main objective of this study is to use data envelopment analysis (DEA) to examine the relative efficiency of Australian universities. Three performance models are developed, namely, overall performance, performance on delivery of educational services, and performance on fee-paying enrolments. The findings based on 1995 data show that the university sector was performing well on technical and scale efficiency but there was room for improving performance on fee-paying enrolments. There were also small slacks in input utilisation. More universities were operating at decreasing returns to scale, indicating a potential to downsize. DEA helps in identifying the reference sets for inefficient institutions and objectively determines productivity improvements. As such, it can be a valuable benchmarking tool for educational administrators and assist in more efficient allocation of scarce resources. In the absence of market mechanisms to price educational outputs, which renders traditional production or cost functions inappropriate, universities are particularly obliged to seek alternative efficiency analysis methods such as DEA.

Why farmers continue to use pesticides despite environmental, health and sustainability costs

Use of chemical inputs such as pesticides has increased agricultural production and productivity. However, negative externalities from such use have increased too. These externalities include damage to agricultural land, fisheries, fauna and flora. Another major externality is the unintentional destruction of beneficial predators of pests thereby increasing the virulence of many species of agricultural pests. Furthermore, increased mortality and morbidity of humans due to exposure to pesticides are recorded especially in developing countries. The costs from these externalities are large and affect farmers' returns. However, despite these high costs, farmers continue to use pesticides and in most countries in increasing quantities. In this paper, we examine this paradox and show why farmers continue to use pesticides despite the increasing costs. We also emphasize 'lock-in' aspects of pesticide use. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The filter system for tertiary treatment of sewage effluent by land application - its performance in a subtropical environment

FILTER is an innovative, CSIRO developed system for treating effluent using high rate land application and subsequent effluent recapture via a closely spaced, subsurface drainage network. We report on the summer performance of a FILTER system established in a subtropical environment on a relatively impermeable swelling clay soil underlain by a deep regional water table. Using secondary treated sewage effluent, the FILTER system produced effluent of tertiary nutrient standards (less than or equal to5 mg/L TN; less than or equal to1 mg/L TP), with salinity levels suitable for subsequent irrigation reuse (EC less than or equal to2.5 dS/m). Removal of faecal coliforms was considerably less effective. The hydraulic loading rate achieved was about two and a half times larger than conventional irrigation demand, but this was associated with high deep percolation losses (e 3 mm/day). Comparisons are made with the original FILTER system developed and tested by Jayawardane et al. in temperate Australia. Suggestions are made for modifications to, and further testing of FILTER in a subtropical environment.

Cost of malaria control in China: Henan's consolidation programme from community and government perspectives

Objective To assist with strategic planning for the eradication,of malaria in Henan Province, China, which reached the consolidation phase of malaria control in 1992, when only 318 malaria cases were reported, Methods We conducted a prospective two-year study of the costs for Henan's malaria control programme. We used a cost model that could also be applied to other malaria programmes in-mainland China, and analysed the cost of the three components of Henan's malaria programme. suspected malaria case management,, vector surveillance,,and population blood surveys. Primary cost data were collected from the government, and data on suspected malaria patient's were collected in two malaria counties (population 2 093 100). We enlisted the help of 260 village doctors. in six-townships or former communities (population 247 762), and studied all 12 315 reported cases of suspected malaria in catchment areas in 1994 and 1995. Findings The average-annual government investment in malaria control was estimated to be US$ 111 516 (case-management 59%; active blood surveys 25%;vector surveillance 12%; and contingencies and special projects 4%). The average cost (direct and indirect) for-patients seeking-treatment for suspected malaria was US$ 3.48, equivalent,to 10 days' income for rural residents. Each suspected malaria case cost the government an, average of US$ 0.78. Conclusion Further cuts in government funding will increase future costs, when epidemic malaria returns; investment in malaria control should therefore continue at least at current levels,of US$ 0.03 per person a risk.

Saving, productivity and national income: a discrete-time geometric framework

This paper proposes an alternative geometric framework for analysing the inter-relationship between domestic saving, productivity and income determination in discrete time. The framework provides a means of understanding how low saving economies like the United States sustained high growth rates in the 1990s whereas high saving Japan did not. It also illustrates how the causality between saving and economic activity runs both ways and that discrete changes in national output and income depend on both current and previous accumulation behaviour. The open economy analogue reveals how international capital movements can create external account imbalances that enhance income growth for both borrower and lender economies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Corporate stadium sponsorships, signaling theory, agency conflicts, and shareholder wealth

Contrary to the plethora of critical articles recently appearing in both the popular and business press, this carefully controlled investigation of 49 stadium- and arena-naming-rights agreement announcements provides striking evidence that such sponsorships can significantly enhance the stock prices of sponsoring companies. Indeed, the results of the study show that the average stadium sponsor's stock prices increased by 1.65 percent at the time of announcement of the programs-a result considerably in excess of the returns associated with other major marketing programs such as the signing of Olympic sponsorships and celebrity endorsers. A multiple regression analysis employing firm-specific changes in stock prices as the dependent variable and quantifiable corporate and sponsorship-related attributes as independent variables is also presented. Variables positively and significantly correlated with perceived sponsorship success include team-winning percentages, contract length, and high technology and locally based companies. Overall, the findings of the study are consistent with the novel hypothesis that, for some firms, the real value-added of a stadium sponsorship may lie in its ability to serve as an effective or honest signal of managerial confidence in the future of the company.

The ultrastructure of Amylovorax dehorityi comb. nov and erection of the Amylovoracidae fam. nov (Ciliophora : Trichostomatia)

The ultrastructural features of the holotrichous ciliates inhabiting macropodid maruspials were investigated to resolve their morphological similarity to other trichostome ciliates with observed differences in their small subunit rRNA gene sequences. The ultrastructure of Amylovorax dehorityi nov. comb. (formerly Dasytricha dehorityi) was determined by transmission electron microscopy. The somatic kineties are composed of monokinetids whose microtubules show a typical litostome pattern. The somatic cortex is composed of ridges which separate kinety rows, granular ectoplasm and a basal layer of hydrogenosomes lining the tela corticalis. The vestibulum is an invagination of the pellicle lined down one side with kineties (invaginated extensions of the somatic kineties); transverse tubules line the surface of the vestibulum and small nematodesmata surround it forming a cone-like network of struts. Cytoplasmic organelles include hydrogenosomes, irregularly shaped contractile vacuoles surrounded by a sparse spongioplasm, food vacuoles containing bacteria and large numbers of starch granules. This set of characteristics differs sufficiently from those of isotrichids and members of the genus Dasytricha to justify the erection of a new genus (Amylovorax) and a new family (Amylovoracidae). Dasytricha dehorityi, D. dogieli and D. mundayi are reassigned to the new genus Amylovorax and a new species A. quokka is erected. While the gross morphological similarities between Amylovorax and Dasytricha may be explained by convergent evolution, ultrastructural features indicate that these two genera have probably diverged independently from haptorian ancestors by successive reduction of the cortical and vestibular support structures.

An evaluative case study of a psychological skills training program for athletes with intellectual disabilities

The purpose was to develop an evaluative case study of six 3-hr sessions, spaced over 3 months, of psychological skills training (PST) provided to athletes with an intellectual disability who were training for the Basketball Australia State Championships. Participants were 7 males and 7 females, aged 15.8 to 27.1 years, with a receptive language level of 7 to 13.7 years, 2 female coaches, 2 psychologists, and I registered psychologist supervisor. Sessions focused specifically on stress management, with primary attention given to cue words, breathing techniques, and positive thinking. Findings, based on interviews and participant observations, revealed that all participants believed that the PST was appropriate and worthwhile.

Boundary-layer transition measurements in hypervelocity flows in a shock tunnel

Experiments to investigate the transition process in hypervelocity boundary layers were performed in the T4 free-piston shock tunnel. An array of thin-film heat-transfer gauges was used to detect the location and extent of the transitional region on a 1500 mm long x 120 turn wide flat plate, which formed one of the walls of a duct. The experiments were performed in a Mach 6 flow of air with 6- and 12-MJ/kg nozzle-supply enthalpies at unit Reynolds numbers ranging from 1.6 x 10(6) to 4.9 x 10(6) m(-1). The results show that the characteristics typical of transition taking place through the initiation, growth, and merger of turbulent spots are evident in the heat-transfer signals. A 2-mm-high excrescence located 440 turn from the leading edge was found to be capable of generating a turbulent wedge within an otherwise laminar boundary layer at a unit Reynolds number of 2.6 x 10(6) m(-1) at the 6-MJ/kg condition. A tripping strip, located 100 mm from the leading edge and consisting of a line 37 teeth of 2 rum height equally spaced and spanning the test surface, was also found to be capable of advancing the transition location at the same condition and at the higher enthalpy condition.

A cassette ligation strategy with thioether replacement of three Gly-Gly peptide bonds: Total chemical synthesis of the 101 residue protein early pregnancy factor [psi(CH2S)(28-29,56-57,76-77)]

The 101 residue protein early pregnancy factor (EPF), also known as human chaperonin 10, was synthesized from four functionalized, but unprotected, peptide segments by a sequential thioether ligation strategy. The approach exploits the differential reactivity of a peptide-NHCH2CH2SH thiolate with XCH2CO-peptides, where X = Cl or I/Br. Initial model studies with short functionalized (but unprotected) peptides showed a significantly faster reaction of a peptide-NHCH2CH2SH thiolate with a BrCH2CO-peptide than with a CICH2CO-peptide, where thiolate displacement of the halide leads to chemoselective formation of a thioether surrogate for the Gly-Gly peptide bond. This rate difference was used as the basis of a novel sequential ligation approach to the synthesis of large polypeptide chains. Thus, ligation of a model bifunctional N-alpha-chloroacetyl, C-terminal thiolated peptide with a second N-alpha-bromoacetyl peptide demonstrated chemoselective bromide displacement by the thiol group. Further investigations showed that the relatively unreactive N-alpha-chloroacetyl peptides could be activated by halide exchange using saturated KI solutions to yield the highly reactive No-iodoacetyl peptides. These findings were used to formulate a sequential thioether ligation strategy for the synthesis of EPF, a 101 amino acid protein containing three Gly-Gly sites approximately equidistantly spaced within the peptide chain. Four peptide segments or cassettes comprising the EPF protein sequence (BrAc-[EPF 78-101] 12, ClAc-[EPF 58-75]-[NHCH2CH2SH] 13, ClAc-[EPF 30-55]-[NHCH2CH2SH] 14, and Ac-[EPF 1-27]-[NHCH2CH2SH] 15) of EPF were synthesized in high yield and purity using Boc SPPS chemistry. In the stepwise sequential ligation strategy, reaction of peptides 12 and 13 was followed by conversion of the N-terminal chloroacetyl functional group to an iodoacetyl, thus activating the product peptide for further ligation with peptide 14. The process of ligation followed by iodoacetyl activation was repeated to yield an analogue of EPF (EPF psi(CH2S)(28-29,56-57,76-77)) 19 in 19% overall yield.