DETERMINATION OF GUSTATORY SUCROSE THRESHOLD IN WATER BY USE OF A LINEAR SUCROSE GRADIENT

A novel experimental method was developed which allows the determination of the threshold concentration of sucrose by use of a linear sucrose gradient in water. With this method a continuous tasting of the test-liquid is possible. A panel of 15 persons experienced in taste-testing was used. Three gradients of different steepness were applied: 0 to 1.5% (w/w) sucrose in 2 min (I), 3 min (II) and 4 min (III). The results of the new method were compared with those of the standard method (DIN). With gradients I and II we found values which were significantly higher than those of the standard method (I: 0.49% (w/w); II: 0.46% (w/w); DIN: 0.31% (w/w)), whereas with gradient III the same threshold value was found as with the DIN-Method (III: 0.32% (w/w)).     

Long-term platinum retention after treatment with cisplatin and oxaliplatin

Background  

The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term platinum retention in patients treated with cisplatin and oxaliplatin.     

Structural, mechanistic and clinical aspects of MRP1

The cDNA encoding ATP-binding cassette (ABC) multidrug resistance protein MRP1 was originally cloned from a drug-selected lung cancer cell line resistant to multiple natural product chemotherapeutic agents. MRP1 is the founder of a branch of the ABC superfamily whose members (from species as diverse as plants and yeast to mammals) share several distinguishing structural features that may contribute to functional and mechanistic similarities among this subgroup of transport proteins. In addition to its role in resistance to natural product drugs, MRP1 (and related proteins) functions as a primary active transporter of structurally diverse organic anions, many of which are formed by the biotransformation of various endo- and xenobiotics by Phase II conjugating enzymes, such as the glutathione S-transferases. MRP1 is involved in a number of glutathione-related cellular processes. Glutathione also appears to play a key role in MRP1-mediated drug resistance. This article reviews the discovery of MRP1 and its relationships with other ABC superfamily members, and summarizes current knowledge of the structure, transport functions and relevance of this protein to in vitro and clinical multidrug resistance.     

Delimitation of the maritime boundary in the gulf of Maine area

The compulsory dispute settlement regime included in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention is recognized as one of the most comprehensive in a modern international convention. Yet, in the recent application of this regime, the question has arisen as to whether the procedural prerequisites associated with the LOS Convention's compulsory dispute settlement mechanism are so arduous as to avoid binding and compulsory jurisdiction in most instances. This article addresses that question by examining, in particular, the reasoning of the Southern Bluefin Tuna arbitration tribunal, which found Article 281 of Section 1 of the LOS Convention to bar jurisdiction to the compulsory dispute settlement mechanism prescribed by the Convention, and offers suggestions as to how states might distinguish or overcome the barriers imposed by the Southern Bluefin Tuna tribunal in future cases.     

Connecting proliferation and apoptosis in development and disease

Cells grow and divide rapidly during embryonic and postnatal development. Net tissue growth reflects the balance between the addition of new cells and the elimination of existing cells by programmed cell death. Cells compete for growth and survival factors to ensure an appropriate balance between the addition and elimination of cells. Elaborate mechanisms ensure that cells do not evade these constraints, and thereby prevent uncontrolled proliferation.     

The Drosophila sterile-20 kinase slik controls cell proliferation and apoptosis during imaginal disc development

Cell proliferation and programmed cell death are closely controlled during animal development. Proliferative stimuli generally also induce apoptosis, and anti-apoptotic factors are required to allow net cell proliferation. Genetic studies in Drosophila have led to identification of a number of genes that control both processes, providing new insights into the mechanisms that coordinate cell growth, proliferation, and death during development and that fail to do so in diseases of cell proliferation. We present evidence that the Drosophila Sterile-20 kinase Slik promotes cell proliferation and controls cell survival. At normal levels, Slik provides survival cues that prevent apoptosis. Cells deprived of Slik activity can grow, divide, and differentiate, but have an intrinsic survival defect and undergo apoptosis even under conditions in which they are not competing with normal cells for survival cues. Like some oncogenes, excess Slik activity stimulates cell proliferation, but this is compensated for by increased cell death. Tumor-like tissue overgrowth results when apoptosis is prevented. We present evidence that Slik acts via Raf, but not via the canonical ERK pathway. Activation of Raf can compensate for the lack of Slik and support cell survival, but activation of ERK cannot. We suggest that Slik mediates growth and survival cues to promote cell proliferation and control cell survival during Drosophila development.     

A spatial analytical approach for selecting reintroduction sites for burbot in English rivers

1. Availability of suitable habitat is a prerequisite for species reintroduction success, and to ensure population persistence, investigations of a species’ habitat utilisation throughout its life history should be conducted as part of a feasibility study. 2. Habitat utilisation models for burbot, Lota lota, developed using data from field studies conducted in France and Germany and information from the literature were used to assess the feasibility of reintroducing burbot into rivers of its former native range in eastern England. 3. Per cent tree roots, aquatic vegetation and flow types were important predictors of adult burbot abundance. Furthermore, the habitat utilisation models were supplemented with information from the literature, which suggested that off‐channel habitat such as wetlands and backwaters is important for spawning and nursery stages. 4. An assessment of the habitat availability in the rivers of the burbot’s former native range using variables related to spawning and nursery and adult life stages showed that although adult habitat was widely distributed, the availability of spawning and nursery habitat was less abundant, potentially limiting successful reestablishment. 5. Potential suitable habitat was concentrated in the central and southern areas of the species’ former English distribution. Overall, rivers of the burbot’s former range potentially afford suitable habitat to sustain a reintroduced population. However, sites should be preferentially selected on the basis of having appropriate spawning and nursery areas.     

Inter‐oceanic variation in patterns of host‐associated divergence in a seabird ectoparasite

Aim Parasites with global distributions and wide host spectra provide excellent models for exploring the factors that drive parasite diversification. Here, we tested the relative force of host and geography in shaping population structure of a widely distributed and common ectoparasite of colonial seabirds, the tick Ixodes uriae. Location Two natural geographic replicates of the system: numerous seabird colonies of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean basins. Methods Using eight microsatellite markers and tick samples from a suite of multi‐specific seabird colonies, we examined tick population structure in the North Pacific and compare patterns of diversity and structure to those in the Atlantic basin. Analyses included population genetic estimations of diversity and population differentiation, exploratory multivariate analyses, and Bayesian clustering approaches. These different analyses explicitly took into account both the geographic distance among colonies and host use by the tick. Results Overall, little geographic structure was observed among Pacific tick populations. However, host‐related genetic differentiation was evident, but was variable among host types and lower than in the North Atlantic. Main conclusions Tick population structure is concordant with the genetic structure observed in seabird host species within each ocean basin, where seabird populations tend to be less structured in the North Pacific than in the North Atlantic. Reduced tick genetic structure in the North Pacific suggests that host movement among colonies, and thus tick dispersal, is higher in this region. In addition to information on parasite diversity and gene flow, our findings raise interesting questions about the subtle ways that host behaviour, distribution and phylogeographic history shape the genetics of associated parasites across geographic landscapes.