1,385 research outputs found
Restrictive covenants in Xanadu
Legal scholarship is naturally inclined towards explanations and justifications of contemporary law. In the case of restrictive covenants and building schemes this has led to a distorted perception of the historical record, as revealed in recorded case reports dating from the nineteenth century. It is argued that the restrictive covenant had its historical genesis not in a response to industrialisation and mass urbanisation, but in the developments of resort towns in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as a response to the needs of land developers. Furthermore, it is argued that a better historical understanding of these origins illuminates contemporary problems concerned with the adaptability of law and the potential roles of law in development
Integrative analyses identify modulators of response to neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitors in patients with early breast cancer
Introduction
Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are a vital component of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer treatment. De novo and acquired resistance, however, is common. The aims of this study were to relate patterns of copy number aberrations to molecular and proliferative response to AIs, to study differences in the patterns of copy number aberrations between breast cancer samples pre- and post-AI neoadjuvant therapy, and to identify putative biomarkers for resistance to neoadjuvant AI therapy using an integrative analysis approach.
Methods
Samples from 84 patients derived from two neoadjuvant AI therapy trials were subjected to copy number profiling by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH, n = 84), gene expression profiling (n = 47), matched pre- and post-AI aCGH (n = 19 pairs) and Ki67-based AI-response analysis (n = 39).
Results
Integrative analysis of these datasets identified a set of nine genes that, when amplified, were associated with a poor response to AIs, and were significantly overexpressed when amplified, including CHKA, LRP5 and SAPS3. Functional validation in vitro, using cell lines with and without amplification of these genes (SUM44, MDA-MB134-VI, T47D and MCF7) and a model of acquired AI-resistance (MCF7-LTED) identified CHKA as a gene that when amplified modulates estrogen receptor (ER)-driven proliferation, ER/estrogen response element (ERE) transactivation, expression of ER-regulated genes and phosphorylation of V-AKT murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (AKT1).
Conclusions
These data provide a rationale for investigation of the role of CHKA in further models of de novo and acquired resistance to AIs, and provide proof of concept that integrative genomic analyses can identify biologically relevant modulators of AI response
Sea-level constraints on the amplitude and source distribution of Meltwater Pulse 1A.
During the last deglaciation, sea levels rose as ice sheets retreated. This climate transition was punctuated by periods of more intense melting; the largest and most rapid of these—Meltwater Pulse 1A—occurred about 14,500 years ago, with rates of sea-level rise reaching approximately 4 m per century1, 2, 3. Such rates of rise suggest ice-sheet instability, but the meltwater sources are poorly constrained, thus limiting our understanding of the causes and impacts of the event4, 5, 6, 7. In particular, geophysical modelling studies constrained by tropical sea-level records1, 8, 9 suggest an Antarctic contribution of more than seven metres, whereas most reconstructions10 from Antarctica indicate no substantial change in ice-sheet volume around the time of Meltwater Pulse 1A. Here we use a glacial isostatic adjustment model to reinterpret tropical sea-level reconstructions from Barbados2, the Sunda Shelf3 and Tahiti1. According to our results, global mean sea-level rise during Meltwater Pulse 1A was between 8.6 and 14.6 m (95% probability). As for the melt partitioning, we find an allowable contribution from Antarctica of either 4.1 to 10.0 m or 0 to 6.9 m (95% probability), using two recent estimates11, 12 of the contribution from the North American ice sheets. We conclude that with current geologic constraints, the method applied here is unable to support or refute the possibility of a significant Antarctic contribution to Meltwater Pulse 1A
Identifying adequate models in physico-mathematics: Descartes' analysis of the rainbow
The physico-mathematics that emerged at the beginning of the seventeenth century entailed the quantitative analysis of the physical nature with optics, meteorology and hydrostatics as its main subjects. Rather than considering physico-mathematics as the mathematization of natural philosophy, it can be characterized it as the physicalization of mathematics, in particular the subordinate mixed mathematics. Such transformation of mixed mathematics was a process in which physico-mathematics became liberated from Aristotelian constraints. This new approach to natural philosophy was strongly influenced by Jesuit writings and experimental practices. In this paper we will look at the strategies in which models were selected from the mixed sciences, engineering and technology adequate for an analysis of the specific phenomena under investigation. We will discuss Descartes’ analysis of the rainbow in the eight discourse of his Meteorology as an example of carefully selected models for physico-mathematical reasoning. We will further demonstrate that these models were readily available from Jesuit education and literature
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A new interpretation of total column BrO during Arctic spring
Emission of bromine from sea-salt aerosol, frost flowers, ice leads, and snow results in the nearly complete removal of surface ozone during Arctic spring. Regions of enhanced total column BrO observed by satellites have traditionally been associated with these emissions. However, airborne measurements of BrO and O3 within the convective boundary layer (CBL) during the ARCTAS and ARCPAC field campaigns at times bear little relation to enhanced column BrO. We show that the locations of numerous satellite BrO "hotspots" during Arctic spring are consistent with observations of total column ozone and tropopause height, suggesting a stratospheric origin to these regions of elevated BrO. Tropospheric enhancements of BrO large enough to affect the column abundance are also observed, with important contributions originating from above the CBL. Closure of the budget for total column BrO, albeit with significant uncertainty, is achieved by summing observed tropospheric partial columns with calculated stratospheric partial columns provided that natural, short-lived biogenic bromocarbons supply between 5 and 10 ppt of bromine to the Arctic lowermost stratosphere. Proper understanding of bromine and its effects on atmospheric composition requires accurate treatment of geographic variations in column BrO originating from both the stratosphere and troposphere. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union
Bekkenbanden voor acute stabilisatie van instabiele bekkenfracturen
Bekkenbanden zijn ontwikkeld voor de acute behandeling van instabiele bekkenringfracturen in de prehospitale fase. Deze behandeling is gericht op het beperken van het inwendig bloedverlies door het verkleinen van het bij bekkenfracturen toegenomen bekkenvolume en het stabiliseren van de fractuurdelen. Het effect van commercieel verkrijgbare bekkenbanden op de reductie van de symphysis pubisdiastase en de hemodynamische stabiliteit is aangetoond. Het langdurig gebruik van bekkenbanden wordt ontraden wegens toegenomen risico op het ontwikkelen van decubitus. Met name langdurige immobilisatie met een bekkenband op een traumaplank dient voorkomen te worden. In dit artikel wordt een aantal verschillende bekkenbanden besproken en wordt een casus gepresenteerd.Pelvic circumferential compression devices have been developed for initial treatment of unstable pelvic ring fractures in the prehospital situation. The treatment is aimed at achieving tamponade by reducing the increased pelvic volume and reducing the bleeding from fracture surfaces. The effect of commercially available pelvic circumferential compression devices on the reduction of symphysis pubis diastasis and the resuscitation has been proved. Prolonged use of these devices is complicated by the risk of development of pressure sores. Therefore prolonged immobilization on a spine board should be avoided. A number of different pelvic binders will be discussed in this article, which also presents a case
Search for astronomical neutrinos from blazar TXS 0506+056 in super-kamiokande
We report a search for astronomical neutrinos in the energy region from several GeV to TeV in the direction of the blazar TXS 0506+056 using the Super-Kamiokande detector following the detection of a 100 TeV neutrinos from the same location by the IceCube collaboration. Using Super-Kamiokande neutrino data across several data samples observed from 1996 April to 2018 February we have searched for both a total excess above known backgrounds across the entire period as well as localized excesses on smaller timescales in that interval. No significant excess nor significant variation in the observed event rate are found in the blazar direction. Upper limits are placed on the electron- and muon-neutrino fluxes at the 90% confidence level as 6.0 × 10−7 and 4.5 × 10−7–9.3 × 10−10 [erg cm−2 s−1], respectively
Biology and conservation of freshwater bivalves : past, present and future perspectives
Freshwater bivalves have been highly
threatened by human activities, and recently their
global decline has been causing conservational and
social concern. In this paper, we review the most
important research events in freshwater bivalve biology
calling attention to the main scientific achievements.
A great bias exists in the research effort, with
much more information available for bivalve species
belonging to the Unionida in comparison to other
groups. The same is true for the origin of these studies,
since the publishing pattern does not always correspond
to the hotspots of biodiversity but is concentrated in the northern hemisphere mainly in
North America, Europe and Russia, with regions such
as Africa and Southeast Asia being quite understudied.
We also summarize information about past, present
and future perspectives concerning the most important
research topics that include taxonomy, systematics,
anatomy, physiology, ecology and conservation of
freshwater bivalves. Finally, we introduce the articles
published in this Hydrobiologia special issue related
with the International Meeting on Biology and Conservation
of Freshwater Bivalves held in 2012 in
Braganc¸a, Portugal.We would like to express our gratitude to our sponsors and institutions, especially to the Polytechnic Institute of Braganca for all the logistic support. We acknowledge all keynote speakers, authors, session chairpersons and especially to all attendees whose contributions were fundamental for the success of this meeting. We would also like to thank all referees of this special issue and to Koen Martens, Editor-in-Chief of Hydrobiologia, for all the valuable comments and suggestions. The chronogram was built with the help of the expert opinion of fellow colleagues Rafael Araujo, Arthur Bogan, Kevin Cummings, Dan Graf, Wendell Haag, Karl-Otto Nagel and David Strayer to whom we are very grateful. The authors acknowledge the support provided by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and COMPETE funds-projects CONBI (Contract: PTDC/AAC-AMB/117688/2010) and ECO-IAS (Contract: PTDC/AAC-AMB/116685/2010), and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the COMPETE, under the project "PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2011"
Atmospheric Evolution
Earth's atmosphere has evolved as volatile species cycle between the
atmosphere, ocean, biomass and the solid Earth. The geochemical, biological and
astrophysical processes that control atmospheric evolution are reviewed from an
"Earth Systems" perspective, with a view not only to understanding the history
of Earth, but also to generalizing to other solar system planets and
exoplanets.Comment: 34 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted as a chapter in
"Encyclopaedia of Geochemistry", Editor Bill White, Springer-Nature, 201
Alternative splicing of barley clock genes in response to low temperature:evidence for alternative splicing conservation
Alternative splicing (AS) is a regulated mechanism that generates multiple transcripts from individual genes. It is widespread in eukaryotic genomes and provides an effective way to control gene expression. At low temperatures, AS regulates Arabidopsis clock genes through dynamic changes in the levels of productive mRNAs. We examined AS in barley clock genes to assess whether temperature-dependent AS responses also occur in a monocotyledonous crop species. We identify changes in AS of various barley core clock genes including the barley orthologues of Arabidopsis AtLHY and AtPRR7 which showed the most pronounced AS changes in response to low temperature. The AS events modulate the levels of functional and translatable mRNAs, and potentially protein levels, upon transition to cold. There is some conservation of AS events and/or splicing behaviour of clock genes between Arabidopsis and barley. In addition, novel temperature-dependent AS of the core clock gene HvPPD-H1 (a major determinant of photoperiod response and AtPRR7 orthologue) is conserved in monocots. HvPPD-H1 showed a rapid, temperature-sensitive isoform switch which resulted in changes in abundance of AS variants encoding different protein isoforms. This novel layer of low temperature control of clock gene expression, observed in two very different species, will help our understanding of plant adaptation to different environments and ultimately offer a new range of targets for plant improvement
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