: The United States Navy, which maintains a maritime training area in the central Gulf of Alaska (GoA), funded a vessel-based line-transect survey during April 2009 to determine marine mammal species distribution and abundance in the training area. The survey cruise employed multiple observation techniques, including visual and passive acoustic observations, as well as photographic identifications. Results of the survey are presented in this document. During the survey cruise, fin whales were the most common large cetacean visually sighted, while sperm whales were the most common large cetacean acoustically detected. Not unexpectedly, because the cruise did not have any sonobuoys, no baleen whales were detected acoustically. However, photographic identifications of fin and killer whales were quite successful, with 23 individuals (4 fin and 19 killer whales) preliminarily identified from the 721 photographs collected.

Abstract : Little is known about the occurrence of cetaceans found in offshore waters in the Gulf of Alaska; however, whaling records and a few recent surveys have shown this area to be important habitat. The United States Navy maintains a maritime training area in the central Gulf of Alaska, east of Kodiak Island, and has requested additional information on marine mammal presence and use of this area. To determine the occurrence and distribution of marine mammals in and around the Navy training area, a line-transect visual and acoustic survey was conducted 10-20 April 2009 from the NOAA R/V Oscar Dyson. The primary survey area encompassed nearshore, shelf and offshore pelagic waters of the central Gulf of Alaska. Survey lines were designed to provide equal coverage of the nearshore and offshore habitat. During this project, the visual survey covered a total of 760 kilometers (410 nautical miles) on-effort while transit and fog effort legs accounted for 553 km (298 nm). There were a total of 96 sightings (453 individuals) of 11 confirmed marine mammal species; these included fin, humpback, gray, and minke whales as well as killer whales, Dall s and harbor porpoise, Pacific white-sided dolphins and Steller sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters. Additionally, there were 36 sightings (46 individuals) of unidentified large whales, dolphins and pinnipeds. Acoustically, operations were conducted 24-hours/day surveying a total of 3,519 km (1,900 nm) and recording 49 acoustic detections of sperm whales and killer whales. Photographs of nineteen individual killer whales and four fin whales were obtained on this cruise and compared to existing catalogs.

SUMMARY Little is known about the occurrence of cetaceans found in offshore waters in the Gulf of Alaska; however, whaling records and a few recent surveys have shown this area to be important habitat. The United States Navy maintains a maritime training area in the central Gulf of Alaska, east of Kodiak Island, and has requested additional information on marine mammal presence and use of this area. To determine the occurrence and distribution of marine mammals in and around the Navy training area, a line-transect visual and acoustic survey was conducted 10-20 April 2009 from the NOAA R/V Oscar Dyson. The primary survey area encompassed nearshore, shelf and offshore pelagic waters of the central Gulf of Alaska. Survey lines were designed to provide equal coverage of the nearshore and offshore habitat. During this project, the visual survey covered a total of 760 kilometers (410 nautical miles) on-effort while transit and fog effort legs accounted for 553 km (298 nm). There were a total of 96 sightings (453 individuals) of 11 confirmed marine mammal species; these included fin, humpback, gray, and minke whales as well as killer whales, Dall's and harbor porpoise, Pacific white-sided dolphins and Steller sea lions, harbor seals and sea otters. Additionally, there were 36 sightings (46 individuals) of unidentified large whales, dolphins and pinnipeds. Acoustically, operations were conducted 24-hours/day surveying a total of 3,519 km (1,900 nm) and recording 49 acoustic detections of sperm whales and killer whales. Photographs of nineteen individual killer whales and four fin whales were obtained on this cruise and compared to existing catalogs. Density and abundance estimates were calculated for fin and humpback whales by stratum using several models. All results were fairly similar given the constraints of the sample sizes involved. Best estimates were obtained using additional sightings from a previous cruise on a similar vessel for calculating the sighting detection function (distances at which whales were sighted from the transect line). These yielded estimates of 594 (CV=0.29) and 889 (CV=0.57) fin whales for the inshore and offshore stratum, respectively, and 219 (CV=0.57) and 56 (CV=0.57) humpback whales in the inshore and offshore stratums, respectively. A small proportion of large whales were not identified to species but were most likely fin or humpback whales and estimates of these unidentified whales could be assigned to these species based on the proportion of fin and humpback whales identified in each stratum. This raised …

Whistle characteristics were quantitatively compared between both geographically separated and neighboring populations of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and pilot whales (Globicephala spp.) in U.S. waters to evaluate if intraspecific acoustic differences exist between groups. We compared nine whistle characteristics between continental shelf and offshore Atlantic spotted dolphins in the western North Atlantic and between northern Gulf of Mexico and western North Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales using discriminant analysis. Offshore Atlantic spotted dolphin whistles were significantly different (Hotelling's T-2, P = 0.0003) from continental shelf whistles in high frequency, bandwidth, duration, number of steps, and number of inflection points. Atlantic bottlenose dolphin whistles were significantly different (Hotelling's T-2, P < 0.0001) from those in the Gulf of Mexico in duration, number of steps, and number of inflection points. There was no significant difference between pilot whale whistles in the two basins. The whistle differences indicate acoustic divergence between groups in different areas that may arise from geographic isolation or habitat separation between neighboring but genetically distinct populations of dolphins. This study supports the premise that acoustic differences can be a tool to evaluate the ecological separation between marine mammal groups in field studies.

CPT-11, also known as irinotecan, is a prodrug that is approved for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer. The active metabolite of CPT-11, SN38 (7-ethyl-10-hydroxy-camptothecin), has 100- to 1000-fold more potent cytotoxic activity in tissue cell culture compared with CPT-11. However, parental administration of SN38 is not possible because of its inherently poor water solubility. It is reported here that a multiarm poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) backbone linked to four SN38 molecules (PEG-SN38) has been successfully prepared with high drug loading and significantly improved water solubility (400- to 1000-fold increase). Three different protecting strategies have been developed in order to selectively acylate the 20-OH of SN38 to preserve its E-ring in the lactone form (the active form of SN38 with cytotoxic activities) while PEG is still attached. One chemical process has been optimized to make a large quantity of the PEG-SN38 conjugate with a high yield that can be readily adapted for scale-up production. The PEG-SN38 conjugates have shown excellent in vitro anticancer activity, with potency similar to that of native SN38, in a panel of cancer cell lines. The PEG-SN38 conjugates also have demonstrated superior anticancer activity in the MX-1 xenograft mice model compared with CPT-11. Among the four conjugates, PEG-Gly-(20)-SN38 (23) has been selected as the lead candidate for further preclinical development.

Observations of the size of liquid droplets using the Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) and the Aerosizer indicated that the measured size was significantly different from the aerodynamic diameter as calculated by measuring droplet settling velocity. The size shifts appeared to be caused by droplet distortion in the detector flow field for the Aerosizer. However, for the APS, droplet sizing was further affected by droplet impaction on the upstream side of the focusing nozzle. It is suggested that liquid accumulated in and constricted the nozzle, resulting in a particle velocity increase at the sensor. The size shift can occur with the deposition of < 0.5 mu L liquid onto the nozzle; the size shift can occur in 1-10 minutes even at concentrations of 1000 particles/L; and the size shift can disappear after cessation of liquid aerosol sampling. CFD calculations provided information about the amount of velocity increase at the APS sensor for a selected constriction. Both solid and liquid particles are affected by the nozzle constriction, which produces approximately the same percentage size shift throughout the measurement range.The size shifts (Delta) were related to droplet aerodynamic diameter (mu m), viscosity (Pa-s), and surface tension (N/m) by the following empirical equation: Delta = -a diameter(b)/(surface tension(c) x viscosity(e)). The value of b was arbitrarily set to two. The values for a, c, and e for the APS (including both droplet distortion and nozzle constriction) and for the Aerosizer were determined by a regression analysis of the available data.

We present a case of heterotopic pregnancy rapidly diagnosed by an emergency physician. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an emergency physician using bedside ultrasound to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy present simultaneously with an intrauterine pregnancy. Other unique features of this case include the diagnosis being made on initial evaluation and the patient's lack of risk factors for heterotopic pregnancy. A review of the cases of heterotopic pregnancy reported in the emergency medicine literature, the rising prevalence of the disease, and factors that may facilitate in making the diagnosis are discussed as well.

PEG-amide vancomycin derivatives (V(3) position) have been synthesized and found to behave as prodrugs in vivo, demonstrating anti-microbial activity in mice when challenged with Staphylococcus aureus. The corresponding PEG-carbamate derivatives do not manifest this in vivo activity, although both classes of compounds have similar in vitro rat plasma stability. Thus, it appears that extra vascular cleavage of the amide bond can occur if the condition of extended circulation of the conjugate is met, resulting in the release of vancomycin.

The invention relates to branched polymers, substantially non-antigenic. Conjugates prepared from these polymers and biologically active molecules such as proteins and peptides have a long life in circulation in vivo. relatively few regions are used in biologically active material as fixation regions. The invention also relates to methods of forming polymer, polymer conjugation with biologically active fractions and methods of using such conjugates.