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A PCR-based marker technique was developed to discriminate between morphologically similar split seed of vetch (Vicia sativa) and lentil (Lens culinaris subsp.culinaris). Sequence tagged microsatellite site (STMS) markers were more discriminatory than markers produced from the nontranscribed spacer (NTS) region of the 5S ribosomal RNA gene. A sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker, developed from the 5S rRNA NTS region, was sensitive when resolved on agarose. However, the fluorescent-labeled 5S rRNA SCAR marker was unable to discriminate between vetch and lentil, probably because of the low copy number of the marker, and was not visualized on agarose. An STMS primer-pair (PSMPSAD123), developed from field pea, was able to discriminate split red cotyledon vetch from split red cotyledon lentil because it produced specific markers at 563 bp for lentil and 353 and 474 bp for vetch. The vetch-specific STMS marker was conserved among all species of theVicia genus used in this study and was sensitive enough to discriminate both on agarose gels and on polyacrylamide gel-based fluorescent systems. The fluorescent-tagged STMS analysis revealed peaks for vetch and lentil at the expected sizes in admixtures of milled vetch and lentil seeds, and it was sensitive enough to detect one vetch seed in 1999 lentil seeds. The development of PCR-based tests for detecting the level of vetch seed contamination in lentil export seed may provide a method for quality assurance of export lentil seed.

Background. A retrospective analysis was performed on adult renal transplant recipients to evaluate the relationship between tacrolimus trough concentrations and the development of rejection in the first month after transplant. Methods. A total of 349 concentrations from 29 patients, measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were recorded. Based on an increased serum creatinine, 12 patients were considered to have organ rejection. Rejection was confirmed by biopsy in five of these. The median trough concentration of tacrolimus over the first month of therapy, or until the time of first rejection was compared in rejecters vs non-rejecters. Results. Median trough concentrations of tacrolimus were found to be lower in biopsy-proven rejecters vs non-rejecters (P=0.03) and all rejecters vs nonrejecters (P = 0.04). The average median concentration (+/- SD) in the biopsy-proven rejecter group was 5.09 +/-1.16 ng/ml, compared to 9.20 +/-3.52 ng/ml in the non-rejecter group. After exclusion of an outlier, the average median concentration in all rejecters was 5.57 +/-1.47 ng/rnl, compared with 9.20 +/-3.52 ng/ml in non-rejecters. A rejection rate of 55% was found for patients with a median trough concentration between 0 and 10 ng/ml. This compared with no observed rejection in patients with a median concentration between 10 and 15 ng/ml. Conclusion. A significant relationship exists between organ rejection and median tacrolimus trough concentrations in the first month post-transplant, with patients displaying low concentrations more likely to reject. In order to minimize rejection in the first month after renal transplantation, trough concentrations greater than 10 ng/ml must be achieved.

In this study (N = 16,001), the predictors of productivity (i.e., work performance)were investigated with A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool (E. B. Faragher, C. L. Cooper, & S. Cartwright, 2004), which incorporates individual work stressors, stress outcomes (physical and psychological well-being), and commitment (both to and from an organization). Psychological well-being, commitment from the organization to the employee, and resources were found to be predictive. Physical health, individual work stressors (with the exception of resources), and commitment from the employee to the organization were not identified as important. The indings are discussed with reference to both previous and future research. The large sample size and broad range of occupations included suggest the findings are generalizable to other employee groupings. Implications for both stress and management theory are discussed.

Growth in the Armed Forces undertaking public policing is occurring in the United Kingdom and elsewhere and as such a complex security landscape emerges, both practically and conceptually. The aim here is to pose questions of the manifest and latent issues in the assemblage of multiple actors in public policing. It aks to reader to consider the implications of military actors transitioning from defence duties ordinarily associated with military work, to policing activities in public spaces. Taking the London 2012 Olympic Games as our point of reference, this article argues that to understand military presence, their role must be considered in the broader context of military and policing functions, the ‘war on terror’, accountability, and future priorities for public policing. We must be careful not to assign the presence of the military into pre-existing understandings of how mega-events should be secured – the military patrolling the streets of London represents more. Instead, as their presence comes to be legitimate in certain geopolitical contexts, critical questions must be asked especially as public and private arrangements are continually reworked in the domestic fight against terrorism.

Enthalpies of hydrolysis or of oxidative hydrolysis are reported for the hexahalogenometallates(IV) K2[WCl6], K2[WBr6], Rb2[WBr6], Cs2[WBr6], K2[ReCl6], and K2[ReBr6], and for ReCl4 and ReBr4. Enthalpies of formation of these compounds have been calculated from these hydrolysis results. Halide-ion affinities of WCl4, WBr4, ReCl4, and ReBr4, and two-electron affinities of WCl6 and WBr6, have been estimated from these and other thermochemical results. These estimates have been made using the new direct-minimisation method of Jenkins and Pratt based on the Huggins and Mayer potential to assign the lattice energies of the hexahalogenometallate salts involved.

The author shares strategies for developing an OSHA acceptable academic chemistry department.

Background Analysis of key therapeutic targets such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in clinical tissue samples is typically done by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and is only subjectively quantitative through a narrow dynamic range. The development of a standardized, highly-sensitive, linear, and quantitative assay for EGFR for use in patient tumor tissue carries high potential for identifying those patients most likely to benefit from EGFR-targeted therapies. Methods A mass spectrometry-based Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) assay for the EGFR protein (EGFR-SRM) was developed utilizing the Liquid Tissue®-SRM technology platform. Tissue culture cells (n = 4) were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to establish quantitative EGFR levels. Matching formalin fixed cultures were analyzed by the EGFR-SRM assay and benchmarked against immunoassay of the non-fixed cultured cells. Xenograft human tumor tissue (n = 10) of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) origin and NSCLC patient tumor tissue samples (n = 23) were microdissected and the EGFR-SRM assay performed on Liquid Tissue lysates prepared from microdissected tissue. Quantitative curves and linear regression curves for correlation between immunoassay and SRM methodology were developed in Excel. Results The assay was developed for quantitation of a single EGFR tryptic peptide for use in FFPE patient tissue with absolute specificity to uniquely distinguish EGFR from all other proteins including the receptor tyrosine kinases, IGF-1R, cMet, Her2, Her3, and Her4. The assay was analytically validated against a collection of tissue culture cell lines where SRM analysis of the formalin fixed cells accurately reflects EGFR protein levels in matching non-formalin fixed cultures as established by ELISA sandwich immunoassay (R2 = 0.9991). The SRM assay was applied to a collection of FFPE NSCLC xenograft tumors where SRM data range from 305amol/μg to 12,860amol/μg and are consistent with EGFR protein levels in these tumors as previously-reported by western blot and SRM analysis of the matched frozen tissue. In addition, the SRM assay was applied to a collection of histologically-characterized FFPE NSCLC patient tumor tissue where EGFR levels were quantitated from not detected (ND) to 670amol/μg. Conclusions This report describes and evaluates the performance of a robust and reproducible SRM assay designed for measuring EGFR directly in FFPE patient tumor tissue with accuracy at extremely low (attomolar) levels. This assay can be used as part of a complementary or companion diagnostic strategy to support novel therapies currently under development and demonstrates the potential to identify candidates for EGFR-inhibitor therapy, predict treatment outcome, and reveal mechanisms of therapeutic resistance.