No Evidence that Extended Tracts of Homozygosity are Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.

We sought to investigate the contribution of extended runs of homozygosity in a genome-wide association dataset of 1,955 Alzheimer's disease cases and 955 elderly screened controls genotyped for 529,205 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms. Tracts of homozygosity may mark regions inherited from a common ancestor and could reflect disease loci if observed more frequently in cases than controls. We found no excess of homozygous tracts in Alzheimer's disease cases compared to controls and no individual run of homozygosity showed association to Alzheimer's disease.

Business representation and the UK regions: mapping institutional change

Political devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the developing regional agenda in England are prompting changes in the organization of business interest representation within the devolved and decentralized territories. In this paper we seek to describe the realignment of business interest representation at the 'regional' scale, first through a detailed review of changes underway across specific business associations and representative fora, and secondly through an initial attempt to compare and 'map' the patterns of institutional change recorded in the various territories. In broad terms the overall scale, operation and degree of formalization of the new political arrangements for business representation tend broadly to reflect the established institutional and political contexts of the respective nations and regions and the level of devolution ceded to the territories. However, there are important variations in a complex process of uneven development. In the concluding section we present some initial thoughts on the nature of the changes observed in the institutional framework for business representation. A key argument is that to date such changes suggest a reconfiguration of business political activity rather than a step-change in the institutional foundation for sub-national business interest representation in the UK. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mapping biological to clinical phenotypes during the development (21 days) and resolution (21 days) of experimental gingivitis

Aim: To characterize and map temporal changes in the biological and clinical phenotype during a 21-day experimental gingivitis study. Materials and Methods: Experimental gingivitis was induced over 21 days in healthy human volunteers (n = 56), after which normal brushing was resumed (resolution phase). Gingival and plaque indices were assessed. Gingival crevicular fluid was collected from four paired test and contra-lateral control sites in each volunteer during induction (Days 0, 7, 14 and 21) and resolution (Days 28 and 42) of experimental gingivitis. Fluid volumes were measured and a single analyte was quantified from each site-specific, 30s sample. Data were evaluated by analysis of repeated measurements and paired sample tests. Results: Clinical indices and gingival crevicular fluid volumes at test sites increased from Day 0, peaking at Day 21 (test/control differences all p

Mapping a Colonial Borderland: Objectifying the Geo-Body of India's Northeast

India’s Northeast frontier is at the margins of three study areas: South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. This paper attempts a history of “mapping” in its broader sense as a cultural universal over a relatively long period. It is not a history of cartography, but focuses on the interface between cartography and cosmography, which were, in turn, shaped by imperial power and geographical knowledge. This approach offers a high-altitude view of this Asian borderland as the imperial frontier of both the Mughals and the British, and the national fringe of Republican India. The authors argue that imperial geographical discourses invested the colonial Northeast (British Assam) with a new kind of territorial identity. Surveyors and mapmakers objectified the “geo-body” of this borderland in a spatial fix and visualized it as a Northeast-on-the-map. Cartographic territoriality naturalized traditional frontiers into colonial borderlands, which, in turn, forged national boundaries.

Increasing the accuracy of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) pollution mapping using geographically weighted regression (GWR) and geostatistics.

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is known to act as an environmental trigger for many respiratory illnesses. As a pollutant it is difficult to map accurately, as concentrations can vary greatly over small distances. In this study three geostatistical techniques were compared, producing maps of NO2 concentrations in the United Kingdom (UK). The primary data source for each technique was NO2 point data, generated from background automatic monitoring and background diffusion tubes, which are analysed by different laboratories on behalf of local councils and authorities in the UK. The techniques used were simple kriging (SK), ordinary kriging (OK) and simple kriging with a locally varying mean (SKlm). SK and OK make use of the primary variable only. SKlm differs in that it utilises additional data to inform prediction, and hence potentially reduces uncertainty. The secondary data source was Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) derived from dispersion modelling outputs, at 1km x 1km resolution for the UK. These data were used to define the locally varying mean in SKlm, using two regression approaches: (i) global regression (GR) and (ii) geographically weighted regression (GWR). Based upon summary statistics and cross-validation prediction errors, SKlm using GWR derived local means produced the most accurate predictions. Therefore, using GWR to inform SKlm was beneficial in this study.

A technique for mapping three-dimensional number densities of species in laser produced plumes

The potential of a diagnostic technique to provide quantitative three-dimensional (3D) density distributions of species in a low temperature laser-produced plume is shown. An expanded, short pulse, tunable dye laser is used to probe the plume at a set time during the expansion. Simultaneous recording of two-dimensional in-line absorbance maps and orthogonal recording of laser induced fluorescence permits the 3D density mapping by scanning the dye laser frequency. Preliminary data, supported by a simple model, is presented for the case of Ba II ions in a YBCO plume heated by a KrF laser. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Characterization of laser plasmas for interaction studies: Progress in time-resolved density mapping

Time-resolved probe interferometry was used to obtain complete density mapping of laser produced plasmas. The plasma was produced by symmetrical irradiation of thin targets, to be used for short pulse delayed interaction experiments. The progress in the plasma characterization due to the use of a picosecond pulse probe is reported, and the relative merits of different target designs are also discussed. The two-dimensional density maps obtained appear to be in substantial agreement with two-dimensional hydrodynamic code predictions.

T lymphocyte epitope mapping of porcine circovirus type 2

Immunoreactive T lymphocyte epitopes within the ORF1, ORF2, and ORF 3 products of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) were mapped. For this, overlapping linear 20-mer peptides were synthesized and tested for their ability to induce T lymphocyte proliferation in porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from experimentally PCV2-infected pigs. After a preliminary screening of 31 (ORF1), 23 (ORF2), and 10 (ORF3) peptides using PBMCs from 4 PCV2-infected pigs, none of the peptides appeared to be immunoreactive (stimulation index [SI] : 2) in all four pigs. Only 14 peptides appeared to be immunoreactive in 3 of the 4 pigs. These peptides were designated as immunodominant in the preliminary screening and selected for further analysis. The immunodominant peptides were resynthesized and purified by high-performance liquid chromatography and tested for their ability to induce T lymphocyte proliferation in PBMCs from another three PCV2-infected pigs. None of the immunodominant peptides appeared to be immunoreactive in all three pigs of the second screening. Only three peptides appeared to be immunoreactive in two of three pigs, two encoded by PCV2 ORF1 (amino acid residues 81-100 and 201-220) and one encoded by PCV2 ORF3 (amino acid residues 31-50), and were therefore considered to be immunodominant in both screenings. Although peptides encoded by ORF2 appeared to show the highest immunoreactivity in some pigs, none of these peptides displayed immunodominance in both screenings. In summary, the present study indicates that the T lymphocyte responses to PCV2 are primarily directed toward epitopes of the nonstructural proteins of ORF1 and ORF3.