Pond treatment and effluent reuse of sewage from an oil production site in an arid coastal environment

A pond system consisting of two lines each of an anaerobic followed by facultative and maturation ponds is used to treat site sewage from oil and gas production operations in an arid coastal environment. The performance of the pond system was evaluated together with the suitability of treated effluent for reuse in local irrigation. Effluent from the pond system by-and-large satisfies criteria for irrigation of non-food crop plants with respect to chemical parameters. The primary problem is coliform bacteria levels which are an order of magnitude higher than preferred values. First-order decay rate constants for each pond were calculated from a mass balance model that assumes complete mixing and incorporates the considerable evaporation that occurs in this setting. While the anaerobic ponds of both lines exhibit suitable performance, rate calculations indicate that the facultative and maturation ponds of the East Line are performing better than the West. A tracer study of the facultative and maturation ponds indicates that some short-circuiting is occurring in the West Line. A field experiment of coliform transport in irrigated soil gives indications of short- and long-term risks associated with reuse of the effluent.

Search for R-parity violating supersymmetry in two-muon and four-jet topologies

We present results of a search for R-parity-violating decay of the neutralino chi;01, taken as the lightest supersymmetric particle, to a muon and two jets. The decay proceeds through a lepton-number violating coupling lambda(')(2jk) (j=1,2; k=1,2,3), with R-parity conservation in all other production and decay processes. In the absence of candidate events from 77.5+/-3.9 pb(-1) of data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=1.8 TeV, and with an expected background of 0.18+/-0.03+/-0.02 events, we set limits on squark and gluino masses within the framework of the minimal low-energy supergravity-supersymmetry model.

Biosorption of organochlorine pesticides using fungal biomass

Cladosporium strain AJR(3)18501 was tested for its ability to sorb the organochlorine pesticide (OCP) p,p'-DDT from aqueous media. When p,p'-DDT was added to distilled water, ethanol or 1-propanol solutions in excess of its solubility, p,p'-DDT was sorbed onto the fungal biomass. Increasing the amount of p,p'-DDT in solution by changing the medium composition increased sorbent uptake: p,p'-DDT uptake by the fungal biomass was 2.5 times greater in 25% 1-propanol (17 mg of p,p'-DDT g(-1) dry weight fungal biomass) than in distilled water. When p,p'-DDT was dissolved in 25% 1-propanol (12 mg x l(-1)), rapid p,p'-DDT sorption occurred during the first 60 min of incubation. p,p'-DDT in solution was reduced to 2.5 mg x l(-1) with the remaining p,p'-DDT recovered from the fungal biomass. A number of environmental parameters were tested to determine their effect on p,p'-DDT biosorption. As arsenic (As) is prevalent at DDT-contaminated cattle dip sites, its effect on p,p'-DDT uptake was determined. The presence of As [As(III) or As(V) up to 50 mg x l(-1)] did not inhibit p,p'-DDT uptake and neither As species could be sorbed by the fungal biomass. Changing the pH of the medium from pH 3 to 10 had a small effect on p,p'-DDT sorption at low pH indicating that an ion exchange process is not the major mechanism for p,p'-DDT sorption. Other mechanisms such as Van der Waals forces, chemical binding, hydrogen bonding or ligand exchange may be involved in p,p'-DDT uptake by Cladosporium strain AJR(3)18501.

Prevalence of obstructive airflow limitation in Irish collegiate athletes

BACKGROUND

Asthma prevalence in athletes is variable, depending on the sport and training conditions.

AIMS

To investigate the prevalence of obstructive airflow limitation, asthma control and lung volume differences in a control group and five groups of collegiate athletes--outdoor field, indoor court, endurance, combat sports and swimming.

METHODS

Three hundred and five athletes completed a respiratory questionnaire and performed spirometry during normal training conditions, to determine FEV1, FVC and PEFR pre- and at 5, 10 and 15 minutes post-exercise. Between and within group analysis was carried out using single factor and repeated measures ANOVA.

RESULTS

Previous diagnosis of asthma was reported by 24%, outdoor field sports 4.9%, indoor court sports 2.3%, endurance events 2.6%, combat sports 3%, swimming 6.9% and controls 4.3%. Mean FEV1 and FVC data, expressed as percentage of predicted, were greatest in swimming and lowest in controls. Swimming showed a significant rise in FEV1 post-exercise, indoor court and endurance sports demonstrated no change and outdoor field, combat and control groups showed a fall in FEV1 post-exercise.

CONCLUSION

Warm humid training conditions appear protective against exercise-induced asthma. The greatest reductions in lung volumes occurred following high intensity exercise under cool conditions in the poorly aerobically conditioned.

Improvement of hybrid yield by advanced backcross QTL analysis in elite maize

We applied an advanced backcross breeding strategy to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of agronomic importance in a cross between two elite inbreds of maize, RD6502 (Mo17-type recurrent parent) and RD3013 (Iodent donor parent). Two hundred and four BC(2) families were scored at 106 SSR, 15 AFLP, and 38 Heartbreaker (MITE) loci. BC(2) testcrosses (TC) with B73 were phenotyped at six locations in the Midwest and N.Y. We detected four grain yield, six grain moisture, and three plant height QTLs at which the RD3013 allele had a favorable effect ( p < 0.05). All four yield QTLs were selected as target introgressions in the development of BC(3)TC families. As predicted by BC(2)TC analysis, BC(3)TC entries containing introgressions at yld3.1 and yld10.1 significantly outperformed non-carrier entries by 11.1% (15.6 bu/A at one location) and 6.7% (7.1 bu/A averaged across two locations), respectively, in replicated Midwestern trials ( p < 0.05). Detection of yld10.1 effects in the BC(2)TC by spatial analysis (i.e., incomplete block, response surface, autoregressive, moving average or autoregressive moving average), but not by conventional single point analysis or interval mapping, indicated the utility of local environmental control for QTL mapping in unreplicated maize progeny. This work demonstrated that the advanced backcross QTL method can be applied to identify and manipulate useful QTLs in heterotic inbreds of elite maize. Genetic gains by this approach can be coupled with the maintenance and selection of favorable epistatic gene complexes by traditional hybrid breeding for maize improvement.

Child maltreatment and the early onset of problem behaviors: can a program of nurse home visitation break the link?

This study investigated the relationship between child maltreatment and the early onset of problem behaviors in the Elmira Nurse Home Visitation Program. Participants were predominantly low-income and unmarried mothers and their first-born children who were randomized either to receive over 2 years of home-visitation services by nurses or to be placed in a comparison group. Data were drawn from a follow-up study that took place when the children were 15 years of age. Results demonstrated that, in the comparison group. child maltreatment was associated with significant increases in the number of early onset problem behaviors reported by the youth. For the youth in the nurse-visited group there was no relationship between maltreatment and early onset problem behaviors. We suggest that this finding was due to the effects of the intervention in reducing the number as well as the developmental timing of the maltreatment incidents. Results suggest that prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses can moderate the risk of child maltreatment as a predictor of conduct problems and antisocial behavior among children and youth born into at-risk families.

Search for leptoquark pairs decaying into nunu+jets in pp collisions at square root[s] = 1.8 TeV

We present the results of a search for leptoquark (LQ) pairs in (85.2+/-3.7) pb(-1) of pp* collider data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron. We observe no evidence for leptoquark production and set a limit on sigma(pp*-->LQLQ-->nunu+jets) as a function of the mass of the leptoquark (m(LQ)). Assuming the decay LQ-->nuq, we exclude scalar leptoquarks for m(LQ) < 98 GeV/c(2), and vector leptoquarks for m(LQ) < 200 GeV/c(2) and coupling which produces the minimum cross section, at a 95% confidence level.

Search for the scalar top quark in pp collisions at square root[s] = 1.8 TeV

We have performed a search for scalar top quark (stop) pair production in the inclusive electron-muon-missing transverse energy final state, using a sample of pp events corresponding to 108.3 pb(-1) of data collected with the D0 detector at Fermilab. The search is done in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model assuming that the sneutrino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. For the dominant decays of the lightest stop, t-->b chi+1 and t-->blnu, no evidence for signal is found. We derive cross-section limits as a function of stop ( t ), chargino ( chi+1), and sneutrino ( nu) masses.

Direct search for charged higgs bosons in decays of top quarks

We present a search for charged Higgs bosons in decays of pair-produced top quarks in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV recorded by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. With no evidence for signal, we exclude most regions of the ( M(H+/-),tan(beta)) parameter space where the decay t--> H(+)b has a branching fraction >0.36 and B(H+/--->tau(nu)(tau)) is large.

Delayed transient sciatic nerve palsy after total hip arthroplasty

Sciatic nerve palsy after total hip arthroplasty is a well-known complication, but delayed sciatic nerve palsy is rare. We report such a case with profound clinical manifestations and well-documented electrophysiologic changes. We found no helpful guidance to managing delayed palsy in the literature. We also are unaware of any previous cases reported in which nearly full recovery has occurred.

In utero intervention in a patient with prune-belly syndrome and severe urethral hypoplasia

Prenatal ultrasound scanning of a 20-year-old woman at 17 weeks of gestation revealed findings suggestive of bladder outlet obstruction, including bladder distension, dilated bilateral ureters, urinary ascites, and oligohydramnios. Vesicoamniotic shunts were placed with decompression of the bladder and correction of the amniotic fluid levels. Labor was induced at 36 weeks' gestation. At birth, the infant was noted to have prune-belly syndrome with severe urethral hypoplasia, a variant usually associated with a poor prognosis, necessitating vesicostomy for bladder drainage. We present a case of a patient with prune-belly syndrome and bladder outlet obstruction in whom early intervention resulted in an excellent outcome with preservation of renal and pulmonary function.

Pseudohypoaldosteronism associated with ureterocele and upper pole moiety obstruction

A 2-month-old girl was diagnosed with a febrile urinary tract infection. Subsequent studies revealed a right renal duplication anomaly with a poorly functioning upper pole moiety subtended by an intravesical ureterocele. The patient was also found to have hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, and elevated serum aldosterone. After antibiotic therapy, the urinary tract infection resolved, although the electrolyte and hormonal abnormalities persisted. At 4 months of age, a right upper pole heminephrectomy was performed. The patient's electrolyte and hormonal levels normalized. This case represents an unusual case of pseudohypoaldosteronism presenting with urinary tract infection and obstructed upper pole moiety that resolved after surgical intervention.

Chemistry of inorganic arsenic in soils: II. Effect of phosphorus, sodium, and calcium on arsenic sorption

There are more than 10000 arsenic (As) contaminated sites in Australia. The ability of soils at these contaminated sites to sorb As is highly variable and appreciable amounts of As have been recorded in the subsurface soils. The potential risk of surface and ground water contamination by As at these sites is a major environmental concern. Factors that influence adsorption capacity of soils influence the bioavailability and subsequent mobility of As in soils. In the present study we investigated the effect of PO4(3-) and Na+ and Ca2+ on the sorption of AsV and AsIII by an Oxisol, a Vertisol, and two Alfisols. The presence of P (0.16 mmol L(-1)) greatly decreased AsV sorption by soils containing low amounts of Fe oxides (<100 mmol kg(-1)), indicating competitive adsorption between P and AsV for sorption sites. In contrast, the presence of a similar amount of P had little effect on the amount of AsV adsorbed by soils with high Fe content (>800 mmol kg(-1)). However, AsV sorption substantially decreased from 0.63 to 0.37 mmol kg(-1) as P concentration was increased from 0.16 to 3.2 mmol L(-1) in selected soils. This suggests increased competition between P and AsV for soil sorption sites, through either the higher affinity or the effect of mass action of the increasing concentration of P in solution. A similar effect of P on AsIII sorption was observed in the low sorbing Alfisol and high affinity Oxisol. However, the amount of AsIII sorbed by the Oxisol was much greater than the Alfisol for all treatments. The presence of Ca2+ increased the amount of AsV sorbed compared with that of Na+ and was manifested through changes in the surface charge characteristics of the soils. A similar trend in AsIII sorption was recorded with changes in index cation, although the effect was not as marked as recorded for AsV.

Tandem-cycle high-dose melphalan and cisplatin with peripheral blood progenitor cell support in patients with breast cancer and other malignancies

We evaluated the feasibility of tandem-cycle high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with cisplatin, melphalan, and peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs). Fifty patients with high-risk primary (n = 17) or stage IV breast cancer (n = 29) or other malignancies (n = 4) received 2 cycles of intravenous melphalan, 20 to 151.8 mg/m2, and cisplatin, 200 mg/m2, followed by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or G-CSF. Starting at 40 mg/m2 of melphalan, patients also received PBPCs. Delayed platelet recovery defined the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) for melphalan at 101.2 mg/m2 per cycle. There were no treatment-related deaths. Cycle 2 was delivered at a median of 1.7 months after cycle 1; 72% of patients treated at the MTD received both cycles. Cycle 2 was omitted when patients refused it or had disease progression or toxicities, primarily prolonged thrombocytopenia. Complete response rates in stage IV breast cancer patients increased from 28% pre-HDCT to 55% after cycle 2. At a median follow-up of 4.6 years (range, 1.5-8.1 years), 11 of 29 patients with stage IV breast carcinoma were alive with 5-year projected progression-free and overall survival rates of 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7%-41%) and 39% (95% CI, 20%-62%), respectively. Five-year projected progression-free and overall survival rates for patients with stage IV breast cancer in complete response following HDCT versus all others were 35% (95% CI, 15%-70%) versus 0% (P = .01) and 61% (95% CI, 35%-91%) versus 10% (95% CI, 2%-60%) (P = .003; log-rank test), respectively. Estrogen-receptor positivity was predictive of reduced risk of progression (relative risk [RR], 0.25; 95% CI, 0.10-0.65; P = .003) and death (RR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.10-0.72; P = .009) after adjusting for response status. Five-year projected relapse-free and overall survival rates were 71% (95% CI, 43%-96%) and 82% (95% CI, 56%-100%), respectively, for the 17 patients with high-risk primary breast cancer. Tandem-cycle high-dose melphalan and cisplatin with PBPCs is feasible. Preliminary data suggest significant activity in selected patients with stage IV responding breast carcinoma.

An integrated computational pipeline and database to support whole-genome sequence annotation

We describe here our experience in annotating the Drosophila melanogaster genome sequence, in the course of which we developed several new open-source software tools and a database schema to support large-scale genome annotation. We have developed these into an integrated and reusable software system for whole-genome annotation. The key contributions to overall annotation quality are the marshalling of high-quality sequences for alignments and the design of a system with an adaptable and expandable flexible architecture.

Ratio of isolated photon cross sections in pp macro collisions at square root of s = 630 and 1800 GeV

The inclusive cross section for production of isolated photons has been measured in pp macro collisions at square root of s = 630 GeV with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The photons span a transverse energy (E(T)) range from 7-49 GeV and have pseudorapidity absolute value of eta < 2.5. This measurement is combined with the previous D0 result at square root of s = 1800 GeV to form a ratio of the cross sections. Comparison of next-to-leading-order QCD with the measured cross section at 630 GeV and the ratio of cross sections show satisfactory agreement in most of the E(T) range.

Search for new physics using QUAERO: a general interface to D0 event data

We describe QUAERO, a method that (i) enables the automatic optimization of searches for physics beyond the standard model, and (ii) provides a mechanism for making high energy collider data generally available. We apply QUAERO to searches for standard model WW, ZZ, and t t macro production, to searches for these objects produced through a new heavy resonance, and to the first direct search for W'-->WZ. Through this interface, we make three data sets collected by the D0 experiment at square root of [s] = 1.8 TeV publicly available.

Prior exposure of mice to Fusobacterium nucleatum modulates host response to Porphyromonas gingivalis

Multiple periodontal pathogens sequentially colonize the subgingival niche during the conversion from gingivitis to destructive periodontal disease. An animal model of sequential immunization with key periodontal pathogens has been developed to determine whether T- and B-lymphocyte effector functions are skewed and fail to protect the host from pathogenic challenge. The present study was performed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effect of exposure to Fusobacterium nucleatum prior to Porphyromonas gingivalis. Group 1 (control) mice were immunized with phosphate-buffered saline, group 2 were immunized with F. nucleatum prior to P. gingivalis and group 3 were immunized with P. gingivalis alone. All the T-cell clones derived from group 2 demonstrated type 2 helper T-cell clone (Th2 subsets), whereas those from group 3 mice demonstrated Th1 subsets. Exposure of mice to F. nucleatum prior to P. gingivalis interfered with the opsonophagocytosis function of sera against P. gingivalis. In adoptive T-cell transfer experiments, in vivo protective capacity of type 2 helper T-cell clones (Th2) from group 2 was significantly lower than type 1 helper T-cell clones (Th1) from group 3 against the lethal dose infection of P. gingivalis. Western blot analysis indicated a different pattern of recognition of P. gingivalis fimbrial proteins between sera from group 2 and group 3. In conclusion, these studies suggest that exposure of a host to F. nucleatum prior to the periodontal pathogen P. gingivalis modulates the host immune responses to P. gingivalis at the humoral, cellular and molecular levels.