The total biomass of a tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea var. Fletcher) pasture was assessed by using a vehicle mounted light detection and ranging (LiDAR) unit to derive canopy height and an active ...optical reflectance sensor to determine the spectro-optical reflectance index, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). In a random plot design, measurements of NDVI and pasture height were combined to estimate biomass with a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) equal to ±455.28 kg green dry matter (GDM)/ha, over a range of 286 kg to 3933 kg GDM/ha. The combination of NDVI and height measurements were observed to be more accurate in assessing total biomass than just the NDVI (RMSEP ± 846.51 kg/ha) and height (RMSEP ± 708.13 kg/ha). Based on the results of the study it was concluded the use of combined LiDAR and active optical reflectance sensors can help unlock the complex interrelationship between green fraction and biomass in swards containing both green and senescent material.
•Classifying sheep behaviour using ear-tag accelerometer signals is proposed.•Grazing, walking and standing activity correctly predicted from ear-worn accelerometers.•Quadratic Discriminant Analysis ...is a valid method of predicting mutually exclusive sheep behaviours.
An animal’s behaviour can be a useful indicator of their physiological and physical state. As resting, eating, walking and ruminating are the predominant daily activities of ruminant animals, monitoring these behaviours could provide valuable information for management decisions and individual animal health status. Traditional animal monitoring methods have relied on labour intensive, human observation of animals. Accelerometer technology offers the possibility to remotely monitor animal behaviour continuously 24/7. Commercially, an ear worn sensor would be the most suitable for the Australian sheep industry. Therefore, the aim of this current study was to determine the effectiveness of different methods of accelerometer deployment (collar, leg and eartag) to differentiate between three mutually exclusive behaviours in sheep: grazing, standing and walking. A subset of fourteen summary features were subjected to Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) with 94%, 96% and 99% of grazing, standing and walking events respectively, being correctly predicted from ear acceleration signals. These preliminary results are promising and indicate that an ear deployed accelerometer is capable of identifying basic sheep behaviours. Further research is required to assess the suitability of accelerometers for behaviour detection across different sheep classes, breeds and environments.
Cytochrome P450 CYP121A1 is a well-known drug target against
, the human pathogen that causes the deadly disease tuberculosis (TB). CYP121A1 is a unique P450 enzyme because it uses classical and ...non-classical P450 catalytic processes and has distinct structural features among P450s. However, a detailed investigation of CYP121A1 protein structures in terms of active site cavity dynamics and key amino acids interacting with bound ligands has yet to be undertaken. To address this research knowledge gap, 53 CYP121A1 crystal structures were investigated in this study. Critical amino acids required for CYP121A1's overall activity were identified and highlighted this enzyme's rigid architecture and substrate selectivity. The CYP121A1-fluconazole crystal structure revealed a novel azole drug-P450 binding mode in which azole heme coordination was facilitated by a water molecule. Fragment-based inhibitor approaches revealed that CYP121A1 can be inhibited by molecules that block the substrate channel or by directly interacting with the P450 heme. This study serves as a reference for the precise understanding of CYP121A1 interactions with different ligands and the structure-function analysis of P450 enzymes in general. Our findings provide critical information for the synthesis of more specific CYP121A1 inhibitors and their development as novel anti-TB drugs.
Summary Background The TROG 96.01 trial assessed whether 3-month and 6-month short-term neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (NADT) decreases clinical progression and mortality after radiotherapy ...for locally advanced prostate cancer. Here we report the 10-year results. Methods Between June, 1996, and February, 2000, 818 men with T2b, T2c, T3, and T4 N0 M0 prostate cancers were randomly assigned to receive radiotherapy alone, 3 months of NADT plus radiotherapy, or 6 months of NADT plus radiotherapy. The radiotherapy dose for all groups was 66 Gy, delivered to the prostate and seminal vesicles (excluding pelvic nodes) in 33 fractions of 2 Gy per day (excluding weekends) over 6·5–7·0 weeks. NADT consisted of 3·6 mg goserelin given subcutaneously every month and 250 mg flutamide given orally three times a day. NADT began 2 months before radiotherapy for the 3-month NADT group and 5 months before radiotherapy for the 6-month NADT group. Primary endpoints were prostate-cancer-specific mortality and all-cause mortality. Treatment allocation was open label and randomisation was done with a minimisation technique according to age, clinical stage, tumour grade, and initial prostate-specific antigen concentration (PSA). Analysis was by intention-to-treat. The trial has been closed to follow-up and all main endpoint analyses are completed. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry , number ACTRN12607000237482. Findings 802 men were eligible for analysis (270 in the radiotherapy alone group, 265 in the 3-month NADT group, and 267 in the 6-month NADT group) after a median follow-up of 10·6 years (IQR 6·9–11·6). Compared with radiotherapy alone, 3 months of NADT decreased the cumulative incidence of PSA progression (adjusted hazard ratio 0·72, 95% CI 0·57–0·90; p=0·003) and local progression (0·49, 0·33–0·73; p=0·0005), and improved event-free survival (0·63, 0·52–0·77; p<0·0001). 6 months of NADT further reduced PSA progression (0·57, 0·46–0·72; p<0·0001) and local progression (0·45, 0·30–0·66; p=0·0001), and led to a greater improvement in event-free survival (0·51, 0·42–0·61, p<0·0001), compared with radiotherapy alone. 3-month NADT had no effect on distant progression (0·89, 0·60–1·31; p=0·550), prostate cancer-specific mortality (0·86, 0·60–1·23; p=0·398), or all-cause mortality (0·84, 0·65–1·08; p=0·180), compared with radiotherapy alone. By contrast, 6-month NADT decreased distant progression (0·49, 0·31–0·76; p=0·001), prostate cancer-specific mortality (0·49, 0·32–0·74; p=0·0008), and all-cause mortality (0·63, 0·48–0·83; p=0·0008), compared with radiotherapy alone. Treatment-related morbidity was not increased with NADT within the first 5 years after randomisation. Interpretation 6 months of neoadjuvant androgen deprivation combined radiotherapy is an effective treatment option for locally advanced prostate cancer, particularly in men without nodal metastases or pre-existing metabolic comorbidities that could be exacerbated by prolonged androgen deprivation. Funding Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council, Hunter Medical Research Institute, AstraZeneca, and Schering-Plough.
Studies estimating canopy volume are mostly based on laborious and time-consuming field measurements; hence, there is a need for easier and convenient means of estimation. Accordingly, this study ...investigated the use of remotely sensed data (WorldView-2 and LiDAR) for estimating tree height, canopy height and crown diameter, which were then used to infer the canopy volume of remnant eucalypt trees at the Newholme/Kirby 'SMART' farm in north-east New South Wales. A regression model was developed with field measurements, which was then applied to remote-sensing-based measurements. LiDAR estimates of tree dimensions were generally lower than the field measurements (e.g., 6.5% for tree height) although some of the parameters (such as tree height) may also be overestimated by the clinometer/rangefinder protocols used. The WorldView-2 results showed both crown projected area and crown diameter to be strongly correlated to canopy volume, and that crown diameter yielded better results (Root Mean Square Error RMSE 31%) than crown projected area (RMSE 42%). Although the better performance of LiDAR in the vertical dimension cannot be dismissed, as suggested by results obtained from this study and also similar studies conducted with LiDAR data for tree parameter measurements, the high price and complexity associated with the acquisition and processing of LiDAR datasets mean that the technology is beyond the reach of many applications. Therefore, given the need for easier and convenient means of tree parameters estimation, this study filled a gap and successfully used 2D multispectral WorldView-2 data for 3D canopy volume estimation with satisfactory results compared to LiDAR-based estimation. The result obtained from this study highlights the usefulness of high resolution data for canopy volume estimations at different locations as a possible alternative to existing methods.
Unusual properties of the cytochrome P450 superfamily Lamb, David C.; Waterman, Michael R.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences,
02/2013, Letnik:
368, Številka:
1612
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
During the early years of cytochrome P450 research, a picture of conserved properties arose from studies of mammalian forms of these monooxygenases. They included the protohaem prosthetic group, the ...cysteine residue that coordinates to the haem iron and the reduced CO difference spectrum. Alternatively, the most variable feature of P450s was the enzymatic activities, which led to the conclusion that there are a large number of these enzymes, most of which have yet to be discovered. More recently, studies of these enzymes in other eukaryotes and in prokaryotes have led to the discovery of unexpected P450 properties. Many are variations of the original properties, whereas others are difficult to explain because of their unique nature relative to the rest of the known members of the superfamily. These novel properties expand our appreciation of the broad view of P450 structure and function, and generate curiosity concerning the evolution of P450s. In some cases, structural properties, previously not found in P450s, can lead to enzymatic activities impacting the biological function of organisms containing these enzymes; whereas, in other cases, the biological reason for the variations are not easily understood. Herein, we present particularly interesting examples in detail rather than cataloguing them all.
Ecological restoration and the mainstreaming of the concept of ecosystem services will be critical if global society is to move toward sustainability. Conference of the Parties 21 (COP21) of the ...United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and COP12 of the Convention on Biological Diversity should help foster support for vastly increased investment in the better management and restoration of natural capital. Large-scale restoration demonstrably improves ecological functioning to sustain both biodiversity and human well-being. However, much progress is needed to improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency of any restoration. The ecosystem services concept provides a framework for identifying the types of restorative interventions needed to target different forms and degrees of degradation, and achieve goals related to both ecosystem health and delivery of services to people. Moreover, it can strengthen the argument for, and planning of, large-scale restoration and conservation of natural capital. We use case studies from four continents to help demonstrate how the interconnection between ecological restoration and the ecosystem services concept is being utilized in land-use planning and enlightened ecosystem management. We offer ways in which this relationship can be better understood and communicated to support the scaling up of restoration activities to the landscape and regional scales across the full spectrum of land uses and ecosystem types.
This book shows how reforestation can conserve biological diversity while improving life for the rural poor. The author integrates ecological and silvicultural knowledge with socioeconomic issues ...that can determine the success or failure of forest restoration.
Aspergillus fumigatus is the opportunistic fungal pathogen that predominantly affects the immunocompromised population and causes 600,000 deaths/year. The cytochrome P450 51 (CYP51) inhibitor ...voriconazole is currently the drug of choice, yet the treatment efficiency remains low, calling for rational development of more efficient agents. A. fumigatus has two CYP51 genes, CYP51A and CYP51B, which share 59% amino acid sequence identity. CYP51B is expressed constitutively, whereas gene CYP51A is reported to be inducible. We expressed, purified, and characterized A. fumigatus CYP51B, including determination of its substrate preferences, catalytic parameters, inhibition, and x-ray structure in complexes with voriconazole and the experimental inhibitor (R)-N-(1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)ethyl)-4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)benzamide (VNI). The enzyme demethylated its natural substrate eburicol and the plant CYP51 substrate obtusifoliol at steady-state rates of 17 and 16 min−1, respectively, but did not metabolize lanosterol, and the topical antifungal drug miconazole was the strongest inhibitor that we identified. The x-ray crystal structures displayed high overall similarity of A. fumigatus CYP51B to CYP51 orthologs from other biological kingdoms but revealed phylum-specific differences relevant to enzyme catalysis and inhibition. The complex with voriconazole provides an explanation for the potency of this relatively small molecule, whereas the complex with VNI outlines a direction for further enhancement of the efficiency of this new inhibitory scaffold to treat humans afflicted with filamentous fungal infections.
Background: The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus causes human diseases that are treated with CYP51 azole inhibitors.
Results: We report crystal structures of A. fumigatus CYP51B complexes with two inhibitors, voriconazole and VNI.
Conclusion: The structures reveal fungus-specific features not observed in CYP51 enzymes from other biological kingdoms.
Significance: This molecular insight facilitates rational design of novel antifungals without inhibition of human enzymes.
•A case study based on the national BCycle bike-sharing program was presented.•The bike usage patterns were compared among different membership groups.•The spatio-temporal trends of empty and full ...bike stations were examined.•The current system configuration was optimized under three hypothetical scenarios.•This study has important implications to other cities in the BCycle program.
Many cities around the world have integrated bike-sharing programs into their public transit systems to promise sustainable, affordable transportation and reduce environmental pollution in urban areas. Investigating the usage patterns of shared bikes is of key importance to understand cyclist’s behaviors and subsequently optimize bike-sharing programs. Based on the historical trip records of bike users and station empty/full status data, this paper evaluated and optimized the bike-sharing program BCycle in the city of Boulder, Colorado, the United States, using a combination of different methods including the Potential Path Area (PPA) and the Capacitated Maximal Covering Location Problem (CMCLP). Results showed significantly different usage patterns between membership groups, revealed diverse imbalance patterns of bike supply and demand across stations in the city and provided three system upgrading strategies about maximizing the service coverage. This case study is committed to future energy conservation and sustainable energy systems nationwide and ultimately worldwide, by holding immerse potential to adapt the resulting optimization strategies to the cities with a similar urban context across the United States, as well as more emerging bike-sharing programs in other countries, such as China.
PDF
