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In this study, we report the characterisation of a novel centrifugation and spectrum-integrated veterinary clinical analyser, the AmiShieldTM, which has been developed for the multiplex measurement of biochemical, electrolyte and immunoassay parameters in a point-of-care testing environment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the analytical performance of the AmiShieldTM and to compare it with six reference instruments using clinical blood samples. Two hundred and four canine and 120 feline blood samples collected from veterinary teaching hospitals were analysed in parallel using the AmiShield and appropriate reference instruments. All results were evaluated separately for canine and feline specimens. The instrument's analytical performance was evaluated initially for short- and long-term precision, bias, and observed total error using quality control material. This was followed by comparison of clinical specimens on the AmiShield analyser in parallel with the Vitros and Hitachi for biochemical parameters, VetScan and SNAPshot for total bile acids, and VetLyte and Biolyte for electrolytes. Overall, the AmiShield analyser's performance met the standards of the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology for total allowable error for most analytes, and can be considered suitable for use in veterinary clinical practices. Using canine samples, excellent correlation coefficients (r ≧ 0.92) were identified for 14 analytes of various categories including glucose, total protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, amylase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, phosphorus, Na+, K+, Cl- and total bile acid, while good correlations (0.91 ≧ r ≧ 0.80) were recorded for albumin (r = 0.91). Bland-Altman difference plots also showed agreement (greater than 95% within Limits of Agreement) for glucose, total protein, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, amylase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, Na+, K+, Cl- and total bile acid between AmiShield and the reference instruments. However, aspartate aminotransferase and phosphorus exhibited higher outliers, implying potential problems associated with matrix interferences such as lipemic samples, which warrant further study. This study demonstrates that the AmiShield compares favourably with standard reference instruments, and the new device generated data of high quality for most analytes in clinical canine and feline samples. The capability of reliably measuring multi-category analytes in one device using minute amounts (170 μl) of whole blood and short turn-around times (< 15 min) underlines the high potential of the device as a good alternative in-house diagnostic application.

The interaction between the host molecule 2,2',2''-(1,3,5-phenylene)tris[1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole] (TPBI) molecule and the guest molecule 1,4-bis(benzothaizlylvinyl)benzene (BT) molecule is elucidated by using he TD-DFTB-D method. Results reveal that the overlap between the TPBI emission and the BT absorption spectra shows an efficient energy transfer from the host molecule to the guest molecule when they are excited.

The assembly of small water clusters (H2O)n, n=1-6, on a graphite surface is studied using a density functional tight-binding method complemented with an empirical van der Waals force correction, with confirmation using second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory. The results indicate that physically adsorbed water molecules show little change in the IR peak position and leave an almost perfect graphite surface.

The geometric and electronic structures of poly(9,9-dicotylfluorene) (PFO) oligomer interacting with Ca atoms are studied. The geometric and electronic structures of complexes between PFO and Ca are revealed by studying their different interactions.

The dorsal raphe (DR) is invested with nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-expressing profiles. To characterize the connections of NO-containing cells and further assess neurochemical relationships maintained by DR, the transmitter identity of the raphe projection to the trigeminal somatosensory system was examined. Rats were injected with retrograde tracer into vibrissae-related target areas or with anterograde tracer into DR. NADPH-diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemistry or NOS-immunostaining was combined with serotonin (5HT)- or serotonin transporter (SERT)-immunolabeling to examine: 1) the presence of NO in 5HT-containing axons from DR; 2) the distribution of NO-containing fibers with respect to other nitrergic profiles in the somatosensory system; and 3) the propensity for individual projection neurons in specific subdivisions of DR to colocalize 5HT and NO. Results confirm that “barrel-like” patches can be identified in several adult trigeminal relay nuclei by NADPHd histochemistry and demonstrate that fibers from DR contain 5HT and NO. Observations include a high percentage of cortical midline projection neurons which contained NADPHd (70–80%) and coexpressed 5HT. In contrast, ~40% of retrogradely labeled DR-thalamus cells in the lateral wing demonstrated NADPHd or 5HT expression, but not both in the same neuron. Colocalization of NADPHd and 5HT within individual DR projection neurons indicates that: i) DR is a source of nitrergic input to trigeminal structures, and ii) NO and 5HT may be simultaneously released to influence information-processing within somatosensory targets. Disparities in NADPHd expression between retrogradely labeled DR neuronal subpopulations further suggest functional differences in the impact of NO on cortical and subcortical targets. J. Comp. Neurol. 466:495–512, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Com o objetivo de avaliar a seletividade e eficácia de herbicidas para a cultura do feijão-caupi (Vigna unguiculata), conduziu-se um experimento no esquema de parcelas subdivididas, no delineamento de blocos casualizados. Nas parcelas, foram avaliados nove herbicidas/misturas (S-metolachlor, bentazon + imazamox, S-metolachlor + bentazon + imazamox, imazamox + fluazifop-p-butyl, imazethapyr + fluazifop-p-butyl, bentazon + fluazifop-p-butyl, bentazon + imazamox + fluazifop-p-butyl, lactofen + fluazifop-p-butyl e fluazifop-p-butyl) e uma testemunha sem herbicidas, e nas subparcelas foram avaliados dois tratamentos: com capinas e sem capinas, para determinar a seletividade e a eficácia dos herbicidas, respectivamente. Os herbicidas S-metolachlor, bentazon + imazamox, S-metolachlor + bentazon + imazamox, imazamox + fluazifop-p-butyl, imazethapyr + fluazifop-p-butyl, bentazon + fluazifop-p-butyl, bentazon + imazamox + fluazifop-p-butyl e fluazifop-p-butyl foram seletivos para a cultura. A mistura lactofen + fluazifop-p-butyl causou severa intoxicação no feijão-caupi, com posterior recuperação e produtividade igual ou superior à dos demais tratamentos. As principais espécies de plantas infestantes foram: Cleome affinis, Trianthema portulacastrum, Amaranthus spinosus, Commelina benghalensis e Digitaria bicornis, sendo todas controladas com eficiência pelos herbicidas S-metolachlor aplicado em pré-emergência + bentazon + imazamox aplicados em pós-emergência e lactofen + fluazifop-p-butyl aplicados em pós-emergência. Conclui-se que a eficiência de herbicidas para o feijão-caupi depende da seletividade para a cultura, bem como de sua eficácia no controle de plantas daninhas, a qual pode variar de acordo com a comunidade infestante.

Brain inflammation in early life has been proposed to play important roles in the development of neurodegenerative disorders in adult life. To test this hypothesis, we used a neonatal rat model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure (1000 EU/g body weight, intracerebral injection on P5) to produce brain inflammation. By P70, when LPS-induced behavioral deficits were spontaneously recovered, animals were challenged with rotenone, a commonly used pesticide, through subcutaneous mini-pump infusion at a dose of 1.25 mg/kg per day for 14 days. This rotenone treatment regimen ordinarily does not produce toxic effects on behaviors in normal adult rats. Our results show that neonatal LPS exposure enhanced the vulnerability of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons to rotenone neurotoxicity in later life. Rotenone treatment resulted in motor neurobehavioral impairments in rats with the neonatal LPS exposure, but not in those without the neonatal LPS exposure. Rotenone induced losses of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive neurons in the substantia nigra and decreased mitochondrial complex I activity in the striatum of rats with neonatal LPS exposure, but not in those without this exposure. Neonatal LPS exposure with later exposure to rotenone decreased retrogradely labeled nigrostriatal dopaminergic projecting neurons. The current study suggests that perinatal brain inflammation may enhance adult susceptibility to the development of neurodegenerative disorders triggered later on by environmental toxins at an ordinarily non-toxic or sub-toxic dose. Our model may be useful for studying mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of nonfamilial Parkinson's disease and the development of potential therapeutic treatments.

This study examines the temporal and spatial changes in land use as aconsequence of rapid urban development in the city of Beijing. Using a combination oftechniques of remote sensing and GIS, the study identifies a substantial loss of plaindryland and a phenomenal expansion of urban construction land over the recent decade.Geographically, there is a clear shifting of urban construction land from the inner city tothe outskirts as a consequence of suburbanization. The outward expansion of the ring-roadsystem is found to be one of the most important driving forces explaining the temporal andspatial pattern of land use change. The uneven distribution of population stands as anotherfactor with significant correlation with land use change. The application of the techniquesof remote sensing and GIS can enhance the precision and comparability of research onland use change and urban transformation in China.

Manipulation of serotonin (5HT) during early development has been shown to induce long-lasting morphological changes within the raphe nuclear complex and serotonergic circuitry throughout the brain. Recent studies have demonstrated altered raphe-derived 5HT transporter (SERT) immunoreactive axonal expression in several cortical target sites after brief perinatal exposure to selective 5HT reuptake inhibitors such as citalopram (CTM). Since the serotonergic raphe nuclear complex projects to the olfactory bulb (OB) and perinatal 5HT disruption has been shown to disrupt olfactory behaviors, the goal of this study was to further investigate such developmental effects in the OB of CTM exposed animals. Male and female rat pups were exposed to CTM from postnatal day 8-21. After animals reach adulthood (>90 days), OB tissue sections were processed immunohistochemically for SERT antiserum. Our data revealed that the density of the SERT immunoreactive fibers decreased ~40% in the OB of CTM exposed male rats, but not female rats. Our findings support a broad and long-lasting change throughout most of the 5HT system, including the OB, after early manipulation of 5HT. Because dysfunction of the early 5HT system has been implicated in the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), these new findings may offer insight into the abnormal olfactory perception often noted in patients with ASD.