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Biomedical subjects

R B Hopkins

Publications and source records attributed to R B Hopkins.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Phosphorus reductions following riparian restoration in two agricultural watersheds in Vermont, USA.

Achievement of management goals for Lake Champlain (Vermont/New York, USA and Quebec, Canada) will require significant reductions of phosphorus (P) loads from agriculture, the dominant diffuse source in the basin. Cost-effective P reduction strategies must be based on reliable treatment techniques beyond basic erosion control and animal waste storage practices. The Lake Champlain Basin Agricultural Watersheds National Monitoring Program (NMP) Project evaluates the effectiveness of low-cost livestock exclusion, streambank protection, and riparian restoration practices in reducing concentrations and loads of diffuse-source pollutants from grazing land at the watershed level. Treatment and control watersheds in northwestern Vermont have been monitored since 1994 according to a paired-watershed design. Monitoring includes continuous stream discharge recording, flow-proportional sampling for total P and other pollutants, and documentation of land use and agricultural management activities. Strong statistical calibration between the control and treatment watersheds has been achieved. Landowner participation in the land treatment program was entirely voluntary and all treatments were 100% cost-shared by the project and cooperators. Installation of riparian fencing, alternative water supplies, protected stream crossings, and streambank bioengineering was completed in 1997 at a cost of less than US$40,000. The paired-watershed design was effective in controlling for the influence of extreme variations in precipitation and streamflow over six years of monitoring. Two years of post-treatment data have documented significant reductions in P concentrations and loads from both treated watersheds. Reductions of approximately 20% in mean total P concentration and approximately 20-50% in mean total P load have been observed, with greater reductions occurring in the watershed receiving more extensive treatment. The effectiveness of riparian zone restoration in P reduction tended to be lower during periods of very high runoff, especially outside the growing season.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2001

Risk factors for lyme disease in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with increased or decreased risk of infection for Lyme disease in Chester County, Pennyslvania. METHODS: The authors designed an unmatched case-control study involving 294 incident cases reported to the Chester County Health Department in 1998 and 449 controls selected by random digit dialing. All case and control participants were interviewed by telephone. RESULTS: Age is a risk factor for Lyme disease for groups aged 10-19 years old and 50 years or older. Sex was not a risk factor. Incidence of Lyme disease in a rural setting was three times the incidence in an urban setting. Increased risk also was associated with living in single family homes, homes with yards or attached land, woods on the land, signs of tick hosts seen on the land, and homes within 100 feet of woodland. Gardening for more than four hours per week was also a risk factor, but most other outdoor activities were not. Twice as many participants took protective measures against tick bites before outdoor employment than those who merely ventured into the yard or land associated with the home. Only checking for ticks during outdoor activity and the use of repellents prior to outdoor activities outside the yard were unequivocally associated with a reduced risk of Lyme disease. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to increase public awareness about the risk of acquiring Lyme disease from ticks in the immediate environment of the home.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Cloning, expression and N-terminal myristoylation of CpCPK1, a calcium-dependent protein kinase from zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.).

We have isolated a full-length cDNA clone (CpCDPK1) encoding a calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) gene from zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.). The predicted amino acid sequence of the cDNA shows a remarkably high degree of similarity to members of the CDPK gene family from Arabidopsis thaliana, especially AtCPK1 and AtCPK2. Northern analysis of steady-state mRNA levels for CpCPK1 in etiolated and light-grown zucchini seedlings shows that the transcript is most abundant in etiolated hypocotyls and overall expression is suppressed by light. As described for other members of the CDPK gene family from different species, the CpCPK1 clone has a putative N-terminal myristoylation sequence. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis and an in vitro coupled transcription/translation system were used to demonstrate that the protein encoded by this cDNA is specifically myristoylated by a plant N-myristoyl transferase. This is the first demonstration of myristoylation of a CDPK protein which may contribute to the mechanism by which this protein is localized to the plasma membrane.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Synthesis and structure of chiral macrocycles containing 2,2'-bipyridine subunits.

A series of macrocyclic receptors has been prepared containing bipyridine groups linked to two amino acids. Variations in both the amino acid and the linking spacer have been made. The structure of the resulting macrocycles has been investigated using 1H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The use of L-valine leads to an open conformation for the macrocycle in which the 2-propyl substituents are directed perpendicular to the plane of the ring leaving the bipyridine and amide groups accessible for binding to a metal or complementary substrate. Proline-based macrocycles take up a twisted arrangement with the linking chain stretched across the face of the bipyridine which takes up a trans conformation. The metal ion binding properties of these derivatives have been investigated and shown to occur only to the valine macrocyles which have the two pyridine rings preorganized for complexation. These macrocycles have also been shown to bind to phenolic hydroxyl groups by using hydrogen-bond donors and acceptors from the amide groups in the linking chain.

2,2'-Dipyridyl↗
PubMed1978

Immunological relatedness of high mobility group chromosomal proteins from calf thymus.

The non-histone proteins HMG-1, HMG-2, HMG-3, HMB-8, HMG-14, and HMG-17 (Goodwin, G. H., SANDERS, C., and Johns, E. W. (1973) Eur. J. Biochem. 38, 14) were purified from calf thymus. The apparent molecular weights on polyacrylamide gels run in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate of the high mobility group (HMB) proteins were determined. Those for HBG-1 and HMG-2 agreed with the molecular weights determined by sedimentation; that for HMG-17 was anomalously high. Antibodies against HMG-1 were elicited in rabbits. The interaction between HMG-1 and anti-HBG-1 was measured by quantitative precipitation and by the microcomplement fixation technique. Quantitative microcomplement fixation assays revealed that the indices of dissimilarity between HMG-1 and HMG-2, HMG-3, HMG-8, HMG-14, and HMG-17 were 2.0, 1.0, 3.8, 10.0, and 6.1, respectively. These correspond to 6%, 0%, 12%, 20%, and 16% sequence difference between HMG-1 and the other five HMG proteins, although the immunological distance between HMG-1 and HMG-14 may be too large to allow a good correlation between the sequence and the immunological reaction. Antibodies to HMB-1 bind to chromatin purified from calf thymus. Therefore, we suggest that the in situ organization of HMG proteins in chromatin and chromosomes may be studied by serological techniques.

Animals↗