A history of St. Ignatius Mission : an outpost of Catholic culture on the Montana frontier /

Includes bibliographical references (p. viii-ix) and index.

The Catlin collection of Indian paintings /

An extract from the annual report of the Smithsonian Institution, l890, Report of the National Museum, published by U. S. Govt. Print. Office, Washington, D.C.

Minutes and official proceedings.

Mode of access: Internet.

Policy and recommendations on exclusionary clubs

Mode of access: Internet.

Occupational compensation survey--pay and benefits.

Title from caption.

Seattle Tolt water supply mixed asbestiform removal study /

Mode of access: Internet.

Records of Mount Rainier National Park /

Shipping list no.: 99-0130-P.

Monitoring dendritic cells in clinical practice using a new whole blood single-platform TruCOUNT assay

Dendritic cells (DC) from distinct DC subsets are essential contributors to normal human immune responses. Despite this, reliable assays that enable DC to be counted precisely have been slow to evolve. We have now developed a new single-platform flow cytometric assay based on TruCOUN(TM) beads and the whole blood Lyse/No-Wash protocol that allows precise counting of the CD14(-) blood DC subsets: CD11c(+)CD16(-) DC, CD11c(+)CD16(+) DC, CD123(hi) DC, CD1c(+) DC and BDCA-3(+) DC. This assay requires 50 mul of whole blood; does not rely on a hematology blood analyser for the absolute DC counts; allows DC counting in EDTA samples 24 It after collection; and is suitable for cord blood and peripheral blood. The data is highly reproducible with intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation less than 3% and 11%, respectively. This assay does not produce the DC-T lymphocyte conjugates that result in DC counting abnormalities in conventional gradient-density separation procedures. Using the TruCOUNT assay, we established that absolute blood DC counts reduce with age in healthy individuals. In preliminary studies, we found a significantly lower absolute blood CD11c(+)CD16(+) DC count in stage III/IV versus stage I/II breast carcinoma patients and a lower absolute blood CD123(hi) DC count in multiple myeloma patients, compared to age-matched controls. These data indicate that scientific progress in DC counting technology will lead to the global standardization of DC counting and allow clinically meaningful data to be obtained. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Milk thistle and indinavir: a randomized controlled pharmacokinetics study and meta-analysis

Objectives: To determine whether ingestion of milk thistle affects the pharmacokinetics of indinavir. Methods: We conducted a three-period, randomized controlled trial with 16 healthy participants. We randomized participants to milk thistle or control. All participants received initial dosing of indinavir, and baseline indinavir levels were obtained (AUC(0-8)) (phase I). The active group were then given 450 mg milk-thistle extract capsules to be taken t.i.d. from day 2 to day 30. The control group received no plant extract. On day 29 and day 30, indinavir dosing and sampling was repeated in both groups as before (phase II). After a wash-out period of 7 days, indinavir dosing and sampling were repeated as before (phase III). Results: All participants completed the trial, but two were excluded from analysis due to protocol violation. There were no significant between-group differences. Active group mean AUC(0-8) indinavir decreased by 4.4% (90% CI, -27.5% to -26%, P=0.78) from phase I to phase II in the active group, and by 17.3% (90% CI, -37.3% to +9%, P=0.25) in phase III. Control group mean AUC(0-8) decreased by 21.5% (90% CI, -43% to +8%, P=0.2) from phase I to phase II and by 38.5% (90% CI, -55.3% to -15.3%, P=0.01) of baseline at phase III. To place our findings in context, milk thistle-oindinavir trials were identified through systematic searches of the literature. A meta-analysis of three milk thistle-indinavir trials revealed a non-significant pooled mean difference of 1% in AUC(0-8) (95% CI, -53% to 55%, P=0.97). Conclusions: Indinavir levels were not reduced significantly in the presence of milk thistle.

Effect of sample preparation on the thermal degradation of metal-added biomass

The present study investigates the effect of different sample preparation methods on the pyrolysis behaviour of metal-added biomass; Willow samples were compared in the presence of two salts of zinc and lead containing sulphate and nitrate anions which were added to the wood samples with three different techniques as dry-mixing, impregnation and ion-exchange. The effect of acid and water wash as common demineralisation pre-treatments were also analysed to evaluate their roles in the thermal degradation of the biomass. Results from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (Py-MS) measurements indicated that these pre-treatments change the matrix and the physical-chemical properties of wood. Results suggested that these structural changes increase the thermal stability of cellulose during pyrolysis. Sample preparation was also found to be a crucial factor during pyrolysis; different anions of metal salts changed the weight loss rate curves of wood material, which indicates changes in the primary degradation process of the biomass. Results also showed that dry-mixing, impregnation or ion-exchange influence the thermal behaviour of wood in different ways when a chosen metal salt was and added to the wood material. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biological barriers to the nasal delivery of peptide drugs

The nasal absorption of larger peptide and protein drugs is generally low. The importance of the mucus layer and enzymic degradation in reducing absorption were investigated. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods were developed to assay a variety of compounds. Pig gastric mucus (PGM) was selected to investigate the importance of the mucus layer. A method of treating and storing PGM was developed and evaluated which was representative of the gel in vivo. The nature of the mucus barrier was evaluated in vitro with three-compartment diffusion cells and a series of compounds with differing physicochemical properties. Mucus retarded the diffusion of all the compounds with molecular weight and charge exerting a marked effect. Binding to mucus was investigated by a centrifugation method. All of the compounds tested were found to bind to mucus with the exception of the negatively charged molecule benzoic acid. The small peptides did not demonstrate greater binding to mucus than any of the other compounds evaluated. The effect of some absorption enhancers upon the rate of diffusion of tryptophan through mucus was determined in vi tro. At the concentrations employed the enhancers EDTA, N-acetylcysteine and taurodeoxycholic acid exerted no effect, whilst taurocholic acid and cholic acid, were found to slightly reduce the rate of diffusion. The intracellular and luminal proteolytic activity of the nose was investigated in the sheep animal model with a nasal mucosal homogenate and a nasal wash preparation respectively and a series of chemically similar peptides. Hydrolysis was also investigated with the proteolytic enzymes carboxypeptidase A, cytosolic leucine aminopeptidase and microsomal leucine aminopeptidase. Sheep nasal mucosa possesses significant peptide hydrolase activity capable of degrading all the substrates tested. Considerable variation in susceptibility was observed. Degradation occurred excl us i ve ly at the pept ide bond between the aromatic amino ac id and glycine, indicating some specificity for aromatic amino acids. Hydrolysis profiles indicated the presence of both aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase enzymes. The specific activity of the microsomal fraction was found to be greater than the cytosolic fraction. Hydrolysis in the nasal wash indicated the presence of either luminal or loosely-bound proteases, which can degrade peptide substrates. The same specificity for aromatic amino acids was observed and aminopeptidase activity demonstrated. The specific activity of the nasal wash was smaller than that of the homogenate.

A study in the reduction of efficiency of nitrogen oxide removal catalysts for automobiles

Automotive catalysts are the most effective short-term answer to air pollution from automobiles. Since strict control of exhaust emissions is, or will be,covered by legislation in most developed countries in the world, catalytic devices will be increasingly fitted to cars. There is consequently an urgent need for the development of catalysts that will not compete for scarce precious metal resources. A number of problems have already been identified in connection with base metal catalysts but quantitative investigations are lacking. The base metal reduction catalysts developed by Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, catalysts and Chemical Group, in collaboration with the Air Pollution Control Laboratory, B L Cars Limited for automotive emission control, are susceptible to de-activation by three major mechanisms. These are: physical loss of the wash-coat (a high surface area coating which supports the active species), aggregation of the active species and poisoning by fuel and engine oil additives. This thesis is especially concerned with the first two of these and attempts to indicate the relative magnitude .of their effect on the activity of. the catalysts. Aggregation of the active species or sintering, as it is loosely called, was studied by using impregnated granules to overcome effects due to the loss of the wash-coat. Samples were aged in a synthetic exhaust gas, free from poisons, and metal crystallite sizes were measured by scanning-electron microscopy. The increase in particle size was correlated with the loss in catalytic activity. In order to maintain a link with the real conditions of service a number of monolithic catalysts were tested in an engine-dynamometer and several previously tested endurance catalysts were examined. A mechanism is proposed for the break-up and subsequent 10s.5 of the wash-coat and suggestions for improved resistance to loss of the' coating and active species are proposed.

A study of the regulatory role of retinoic acid receptor gamma in Zebrafish development

Retinoic acid (RA) is thought to signal through retinoic acid receptors (RARs), i.e. RARα, β, and γ to play important roles in embryonic development and tissue regeneration. In this thesis, the zebrafish (Danio rario) was used as a vertebrate model organism to examine the role of RARγ. Treatment of zebrafish embryos with a RARγ specific agonist reduced the axial length of developing embryos, associated with reduced somite number and loss of hoxb13a expression. There were no clear alterations in hoxc11a or myoD expression. Treatment with the RARγ agonist disrupted the formation of anterior structures of the head, the cranial bones and the anterior lateral line ganglia, associated with a loss of sox9 immunopositive cells in the same regions. Pectoral fin outgrowth was blocked by treatment with the RARγ agonist; however, this was not associated with loss of tbx5a immunopositive lateral plate cells and was reversed by wash out of the RARγ agonist or co-treatment with a RARγ antagonist. Regeneration of the transected caudal fin was also blocked by RARγ agonist treatment and restored by agonist washout or antagonist co-treatment; this phenotype was associated with a localised reduction in canonical Wnt signalling. Conversely, elevated canonical Wnt signalling after RARγ treatment was seen in other tissues, including ectopically in the notochord. Furthermore, some phenotypes seen in the RARγ treated embryos were present in mutant zebrafish embryos in which canonical Wnt signalling was constitutively increased. These data suggest that RARγ plays an essential role in maintaining neural crest and mesodermal stem/progenitor cells during normal embryonic development and tissue regeneration when the receptor is in its non-ligated state. In addition, this work has provided evidence that the activation status of RARγ may regulate hoxb13a gene expression and canonical Wnt signalling. Further research is required to confirm such novel regulatory roles.

(Figure 2) Mean discharge per day (total and baseflow part) of the San Francisco River and daily precipitation at station ECPL (Planta), in 2007

We investigated controls on the water chemistry of a South Ecuadorian cloud forest catchment which is partly pristine, and partly converted to extensive pasture. From April 2007 to May 2008 water samples were taken weekly to biweekly at nine different subcatchments, and were screened for differences in electric conductivity, pH, anion, as well as element composition. A principal component analysis was conducted to reduce dimensionality of the data set and define major factors explaining variation in the data. Three main factors were isolated by a subset of 10 elements (Ca2+, Ce, Gd, K+, Mg2+, Na+, Nd, Rb, Sr, Y), explaining around 90% of the data variation. Land-use was the major factor controlling and changing water chemistry of the subcatchments. A second factor was associated with the concentration of rare earth elements in water, presumably highlighting other anthropogenic influences such as gravel excavation or road construction. Around 12% of the variation was explained by the third component, which was defined by the occurrence of Rb and K and represents the influence of vegetation dynamics on element accumulation and wash-out. Comparison of base- and fast flow concentrations led to the assumption that a significant portion of soil water from around 30 cm depth contributes to storm flow, as revealed by increased rare earth element concentrations in fast flow samples. Our findings demonstrate the utility of multi-tracer principal component analysis to study tropical headwater streams, and emphasize the need for effective land management in cloud forest catchments.

(Tables 1-3) Water chemistry of cloud forest streams at baseflow conditions, Rio San Francisco, Ecuador

We investigated controls on the water chemistry of a South Ecuadorian cloud forest catchment which is partly pristine, and partly converted to extensive pasture. From April 2007 to May 2008 water samples were taken weekly to biweekly at nine different subcatchments, and were screened for differences in electric conductivity, pH, anion, as well as element composition. A principal component analysis was conducted to reduce dimensionality of the data set and define major factors explaining variation in the data. Three main factors were isolated by a subset of 10 elements (Ca2+, Ce, Gd, K+, Mg2+, Na+, Nd, Rb, Sr, Y), explaining around 90% of the data variation. Land-use was the major factor controlling and changing water chemistry of the subcatchments. A second factor was associated with the concentration of rare earth elements in water, presumably highlighting other anthropogenic influences such as gravel excavation or road construction. Around 12% of the variation was explained by the third component, which was defined by the occurrence of Rb and K and represents the influence of vegetation dynamics on element accumulation and wash-out. Comparison of base- and fast flow concentrations led to the assumption that a significant portion of soil water from around 30 cm depth contributes to storm flow, as revealed by increased rare earth element concentrations in fast flow samples. Our findings demonstrate the utility of multi-tracer principal component analysis to study tropical headwater streams, and emphasize the need for effective land management in cloud forest catchments.